Distractions

Poof.

That’s the only way I can think of to describe what happened to the time and my motivation to keep current on my little blog.

With O2 working full-time now, I could say that my impetus to cook on a regular basis has diminished somewhat, but that’s not really true.  In her stead is this rambunctious little scamp who eats practically everything.  Truly, I think the only thing I’ve seen him turn down is lettuce.  He LOVES food.




 

{side story having little to do with the subject of the current post}

 

I was at the Saturday Market down in Eugene a couple of weekends ago and bought a pint of fresh strawberries.  I had the Munchkin in tow, and when he saw the strawberries, he indicated in no uncertain terms that he wanted them…  like, NOW.  So I handed him one and continued along.  He made short work of it and was given another and another.

 

He was obviously enjoying himself, becoming quickly covered in strawberry juice (in a white polo shirt, no less) and eliciting comments from the occasional passer-by.  About this time, I started to realize that I didn’t see a collection of leaves and stems.  And so I watched him devour yet another strawberry from the top down to the tip, greenery and all.

 

Anyway…

 

That story somewhat ties into this post because it was during that trip that I happened upon a shop selling infused olive oils, balsamic vinegars and other related items (pastas, seasonings, etc).  After a little tasting session, I came away with a nice, fruity, Italian olive oil and a peach-infused balsamic vinegar.  I immediately knew what I wanted to do with them.

 

This makes for a good summer-centric meal since the chicken can obviously be grilled outdoors, and the only indoor cooking would involve making the quinoa on the stovetop (couscous would be another good option here).  But here in Oregon, it’s June, and we’re still enjoying mildly warm days, so I just used my grill pan on the stove.  This was a big hit with the Munchkin (who got it as is, minus the almonds, since I wasn’t confident he’d actually chew them first), even with the heat from the chipotle powder.  He discovered that he loves fresh peaches almost as much as strawberries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grilled Chicken with Almond-Peach Quinoa

 

1/4 cup peach-flavored balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (good quality)

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into a chiffonade

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

 

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder

Zest from one lemon

Salt and pepper

2 Tbs lemon juice

About 1 lb boneless chicken thighs

 

1 cup quinoa, rinsed

1 Tbs olive oil

1 1/2 cups water or stock (chicken or vegetable)

1 tsp salt

1 peach, peeled and diced into small cubes

1/3 - 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

 

Prepare the vinaigrette by combining the balsamic vinegar, basil and salt and pepper.  Whisk in the olive oil until emulsified.  Pour out about 1/4 cup of the mixture into a shallow dish.

 

Set a grill pan over medium-high heat and season with a little olive oil (or prepare outdoor grill).

 

Rinse and pat the chicken thighs dry.  Season with mixture of garlic powder, chili powder, lemon zest, salt and pepper.  Add to dish with the vinaigrette mixture, along with lemon juice.  Turn to coat chicken with mixture.

 

When grill pan is hot, add chicken and cook, turning when it is brown on one side, approximately 10 minutes total.

 

Meanwhile, set a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat and add 1 Tbs olive oil.  Add quinoa and allow to toast for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently.  Add water or stock and 1 tsp salt.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium, cover and cook for 20 minutes.  Turn off heat and allow to sit for another 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork.  Pour in remaining vinaigrette mixture, add peaches and almonds, and stir to combine.  Serve with grilled chicken.

 

 



 

Going Against Character

Soon I’m going to have to stop with all of this healthy nonsense and get back to my usual, butter-laden dishes.  But I did this one a while back, and it’s been languishing in my ‘unposted’ pile for too long (with many others), so I thought I’d post.

You may (or may not) notice that the recipe calls for black beans when the photo, clearly, is missing them.   I know I intended to use them (for a catering job), and I can’t for the life of me remember why they were left out.  But then, I don’t like beans, so it’s not like they’re the first thing that pop into my head when raiding the pantry.

Also, in addition to the limes called for to be used in the dressing, I tossed my avocado cubes with a bit more of the juice to help keep them from browning.  I also read somewhere that if you’ll run the flesh of a newly cut avocado under cold water, it will stall the browning process.  I can’t say definitively that this works, although my experience is that it does seem to help, at least.  As a general rule in our house, avocados don’t stay around long enough to go brown, anyway.

If you don’t want to use quinoa here (although I’m getting more and more enamored with the stuff), you could always use cooked rice.  But if you haven’t tried quinoa yet, you really should.  It’s surprisingly tasty for being so darn good for you.

Southwest Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained

1 Tbs olive oil
1 ½ cups broth or water
1 tsp salt

3 Tbs olive oil

Juice of 3 limes (about 6 Tbs)
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp chipotle chile powder
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp Mexican oregano powder
½ tsp each salt freshly ground black pepper

1 ear fresh corn, shucked

1 Roma tomato, finely diced
1 avocado, dices
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 green onion, finely sliced
½ cup cooked black beans, rinsed and drained
¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped

Heat a saucepan over medium heat.  Add 1 Tbs olive oil and the quinoa.  Allow to toast for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently.  Add the broth and salt, bring the heat up to medium-high and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow to stand, covered, for another 5 minutes.  Remove lid and fluff with a fork.  Allow to cool.

Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a jar or plastic container with a lid.  Cover and shake until mixture comes together.

Cook the corn until crisp-tender, either in the microwave or by toasting in a skillet (allow to char slightly).  Allow to cool a bit and then cut the kernels from the cob.

Add the vegetables to a large mixing bowl.  Top with the cooked quinoa, followed by the dressing.  Toss to coat.  Allow to stand about 15 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.  Serve at room temperature.

The Grad and Post #100

I have been terribly lax with my posts as of late. Mostly it has to do with the planning and executing of a graduation party for this one:

Offspring 2 received her high school diploma one year ahead of schedule, and we commemorated the occasion with a summer back yard get together for a few friends and family members. And there, of course was food. Lots and lots of food.

I was thankful to have a few friends volunteer to bring food as well, and we had some amazing veggie and fruit offerings as well as some Vietnamese Chicken Spring Rolls that Carley brought. Yum.

There was a kids table full of various kid friendly snacks, as well as the obligatory penguins, which even donned graduation caps for the occasion (and which I neglected to get any photos of).

Along with various vehicles for the transportation of dip-like substances from plate to mouth and other small munchies, there were the following:

Hummus
Jalapeno Popper Dip
7 Layer Taco Dip

Pigs in a Blanket (Li’l Smokies baked in puff pastry with a bit of Dijon)
BBQ Chicken Quesadillas (BBQ sauce, chicken, Cheddar and green onion)
Mini pizzas with pesto and shrimp or sun-dried tomato tapenade and shrimp

Moroccan Spiced Chickpeas (ok, just go with me here…)

Moroccan Spiced Chickpeas

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained thoroughly
1 Tbs olive oil
½ tsp salt
½ tsp curry powder
½ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp cayenne
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ginger
½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
½ tsp allspice

Heat oven to 400º. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spread drained chickpeas evenly out on pan. Drizzle with olive oil.

In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients and mix well. Sprinkle evenly over chickpeas. Using a spoon, move the chickpeas around on the pan until they are evenly coated with the spice mixture. Place in oven and bake for about 40 minutes.

* * *

I also made a quick bunch of Quinoa Filled Lettuce Cups. All this really amounted to was cooking the quinoa with a little bit of garlic and lemon zest, cooling it, and then adding chopped dried apricots, Kalamata olives and Pepitas (pumpkin seeds). I used just enough store-bought balsamic vinegar dressing to get it to clump together a bit and then spooned it into lettuce leaves. Easy peasy.

For the dessert spread I included a batch of caramel corn, some mini key lime tarts, which never got dressed with their pretty little lime toppers,

and this cookie ‘cake’, which seemed to be the biggest hit of the party (thank you, Martha Stewart):

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
8 Tbs (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 Tbs light corn syrup
1 large egg yolk
2 Tbs milk
1 Tbs vanilla
3/4 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips

1 8 oz tub mascarpone cheese
3 cups whipping cream
3 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs liqueur (I used Frangelico)

1 cup chocolate shavings

Preheat oven to 375º. Cream butter with sugars and corn syrup in a large mixing bowl. Add egg, milk and vanilla and stir until thoroughly combined. Add flour, baking soda and salt and mix thoroughly. Stir in mini chocolate chips.

Drop onto cookie sheet, keeping the dough about the size of a rounded teaspoon. Bake for 8 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. Cool on wire rack.

When cookies are completely cool to the touch, make filling.

Add mascarpone to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat for about a minute on medium-high. Add the whipping cream and beat until soft peaks form. Slowly add sugar and liqueur. Continue beating just until stiff peaks form.

Place one layer of cookies on a serving platter in a circle. Place a couple of the cookies in the center. Spoon about 1 cup of the mascarpone mixture over the top and spread evenly over cookies, almost to the edge. Add another layer of cookies and continue, ending with a layer of the mascarpone. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Add chocolate shavings before serving.

The cookies will soften overnight, and you can cut just like a cake.

* * *

I’d like to give you a report on how the ‘cake’ tasted, but I never got any of it. Maybe I was too busy playing hostess, or maybe I was too traumatized at the idea of my youngest being college bound. Either way, I guess I’ll take the emptied and scraped dish as a good sign…

Spring Rolls for Spring

This was one of those recipes that evolved slowly from inception to realization. Carley made these beautiful spring rolls for our trip to the river, and ever since, I’ve been thinking about making some of my own.

That idea was spurred along after O2 watched Food, Inc. in class and decided that her already lagging meat appreciation had just dwindled to practically nil. Her and her sister were never ones for having large chunks of meat put before them, anyway.

In trying to accommodate her horror over the condition of feedlots and slaughterhouses, I thought I’d pick up some shrimp for dinner. And since those spring rolls were still fresh on my mind, I thought I’d play around with some fillings.

To accompany the rolls, I put together a quinoa with a little dried mango and spices to mirror the filling in the rolls. I also offered up a store-bought sweet chile sauce as well as a quickly concocted peanut sauce… Which turned out to be not so great. The problem was using jarred peanut butter. You know, one of the big name brands that contain stabilizers and what-not. They melt just fine, but when you add the liquids to them, they turn into paste.

And it turns out, this really wasn’t the right accompaniment for these, anyway. The chile sauce, however, was just the perfect thing.

The quinoa, although (I think) a success, was also a little heavy-handed for the spring rolls. The quinoa itself was feather-light, but the spices made this a more appropriate accompaniment to a more substantial main course. Ah, well. You live and learn.

That said, O2 scarfed down the spring rolls, globbed on the peanut sauce, wolfed down a substantial portion of the quinoa and declared the meal ‘awesome’.

Take that, McDonald’s.

Ok, so bear with me. There are a lot of parts here, but once everything was put together, they went together very quickly. And the quinoa is 20 minutes start to finish.

Sesame Rice Noodles

½ package rice noodles
1 tsp sesame oil
½ tsp black sesame seeds

Cook the noodles according to package directions (mine took 10 minutes). Drain and return to pan. Add the sesame oil and seeds, mix well and set aside.


Garlic Shrimp

¾ lb medium-sized raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tsp Ponzu sauce (optional)
2 tsp soy sauce
¼ tsp dried chili flakes
1 tsp sesame oil
1 - 2 tsp canola oil
2 cloves garlic, smashed

Add all ingredients to a shallow dish and allow to marinate for about 10 minutes. Heat a skillet, wok or grill pan to medium-high. Add the marinated shrimp and flash fry just until cooked through. Remove shrimp from pan and set aside to cool.


Shrimp and Mango Spring Rolls

Garlic Shrimp (see above)
Sesame Rice Noodles (see above)
1 small red bell pepper (or orange, or yellow, or a combination), cut into matchstick pieces
1 mango, peeled and sliced
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
About 6 large basil leaves, cut into a chiffonade
1 package rice paper wrappers

A shallow dish filled with hot water

Prepare and assemble all of your filling ingredients.

To prepare the rice paper wrappers, plunge one sheet into the hot water and allow to soften for about 30 seconds. Remove from the water, spread out on a work surface and fill (I prepared one at a time because they’re a bit sticky, and you won’t be able to stack them).

Arrange the filling ingredients across the lower edge of the wrapper, leaving about 1 inch of space. If you want your fillings to ‘show through’ more, put the noodles in the middle and start and end your stack with the more colorful ingredients.

Fold bottom edge over the filling, pulling it back towards you to make it more compact, then fold over the two sides and continue to roll forward until the entire sheet has been rolled. Repeat (I think I made about 8 rolls).

Mango Quinoa

2 tsp canola oil
1 clove garlic, smashed
½ stick cinnamon
3 cardamom pods, seeds removed and smashed
1 cup quinoa
1 ¾ cup water
3 pieces of dried mango, cut into small cubes
2 leaves fresh basil, cut into a chiffonade

In a medium saucepan, bring the oil to temperature over medium heat. Add the garlic, cinnamon and cardamom and sauté for about a minute, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add the quinoa and continue to sauté another minute or so until the quinoa begins to toast. Pour in the water and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 15 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and allow to sit another 2 minutes. Using a fork, fluff the quinoa and then carefully stir in the dried mango and basil.


Note: As you can see from the picture, there was NO BASIL in my quinoa because, well, I was hungry, and it was all I could do to snap a quick photo, much less remember to put everything into the dish that I intended to.

Plan A

I read somewhere that when it comes to things created by your own hand, you should never apologize. Mostly because people will think you’re fishing for compliments. And so I will not apologize for the rather unfortunate color of this Romesco. Basically, the orange peppers were $1 each, and the red ones (which I would normally use) were twice that. I didn’t really think much about it at the time until I ladled some of the sauce over the chicken.

I can assure you that it didn’t affect the taste in the slightest.

Romesco is one of my go-to sauces. It’s nutty, tangy and has that zing of vinegar. For this recipe, I used up the last of the Spanish sherry vinegar I received from some friends after they were lucky enough to go there on a trip. It’s hugely versatile, and I’ve used it as a dip, a spread for crostinis, and on any number of meats (it’s really nice with shrimp).

The quinoa is still a new thing for me. I did read up some more on the preparation of it, and I will have to say that I nailed it this time. My first attempt, although tasty, was a bit heavy because I went by the amount of liquid called for in the recipe, and then tried to stir the additional ingredients into it with a spoon and managed to just turn it into a clump. A tasty clump, but a clump no less.

This rendition was feather-light. If I wasn’t an absolute fan of the stuff before, I surely am now.

I also wanted to use some of the preserved lemon I had on hand. If you don’t have this, just zest one lemon and squeeze some of the juice into the quinoa. I think the flavor will be a bit brighter. Because I used the preserved lemon, it had more of an exotic, deeper flavor. Also, if you’re looking for something a bit less tart, use Kalamatas rather than green olives as I did.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Quinoa with Preserved Lemon and Green Olives
 
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tbs olive oil
2 cups quinoa, rinsed well and drained
1 1/2 cups water
2 Tbs preserved lemon, rinsed and finely chopped
1/4 cup green olives, chopped
 
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a saucepan.  Add garlic cloves and sauté briefly.  Add quinoa and water and bring to a boil.  When water begins to boil, reduce heat to medium low and cover.  Cook for 10 minutes, then remove from heat and vent slightly.  Allow to sit another 5 minutes.  Using a fork, fluff the quinoa until light and fluffy.  Add the preserved lemon and olives and carefully mix together.  Can be served immediately or at room temperature.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Romesco Sauce
 
1/2 cup whole natural almonds (about 3 ounces), toasted
1 cup drained roasted red peppers from jar (or roast your own)
2 tsp sherry vinegar
1 large garlic clove, peeled and chopped
2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil

Add olive oil, vinegar, garlic and almonds to blender.  Top with roasted peppers.  Blend until of desired consistency.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to small bowl. (Dip can be made 1 day ahead. Cover  and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

However You Pronounce It

Sometime over the course of the last year or so I decided to stop making excuses for not doing the things I wanted to and just DO THEM. I talked about starting a blog for years before actually doing it. And before I even knew what blogging was I had a plan for putting down into some kind of tangible format my culinary journey, if only so my kids could have something to look at. I was going to start by taming that stack of food mags, doggedly wend my way through all of the recipes I wanted to try, and put into a perfect, logical order all of the ones I deemed worthy of keeping.

But there were so MANY.

And who has the TIME???

Then last year I forced myself to make the leap and at least START. Baby steps, Grasshopper. And while I can’t really say that the stack of magazines and recipes has gotten any smaller, blogging has at least has forced me to stay on task somewhat. It’s also made me (slightly) less likely to eat a bag of popcorn for dinner when I think I’m not in the mood to cook.

I’ve also gotten serious about exercising regularly. Not because I wanted to be a ‘hot mom’ or anything but because I like food enough that I want to be able to continue to enjoy it on my terms. I don’t want my menu dictated to me by a doctor.

And finally, I decided to set aside the notion that I needed to have a bigger living space if I wanted to cook and entertain for friends. ‘Bollocks’, as my friends in Newcastle would say. Not only has there been enough space, but ‘eating in’ has given me the opportunity to really enjoy the company of friends, instead of feeling like we’re on some kind of time allotted outing that ends as soon as the waiter brings the check to usher us out the door.

But I’m rambling.

Saturday evening was one of those hang out and enjoy the company of friends kind of nights. No schedules. No rush. No wondering how much to tip the waiter.

And as a glaring deviation from my usual m.o., I actually cooked something REALLY HEALTHY. There was no butter to be found in this meal. Well, ok, I didn’t ADD any butter to this meal. Obviously, the little puff pastry ‘lids’ were chock full of the stuff, but considering that the original rendition of this was wrapped in the pastry and served with a cream sauce, I thought I did pretty well.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pomegranate and Balsamic Glazed Salmon with Sautéed Leeks
 
2 leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced
1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil, separated
1 tsp dried tarragon
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup white wine
6 Tbs pomegranate juice
4 Tbs brown sugar
4 Tbs balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs Dijon mustard
2 tsp cornstarch
A pinch (or two) of cayenne pepper
2 lbs salmon fillets, cut into portion sized pieces

Heat oven to 300º.

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, heat 2 Tbs of olive oil.  Add the leeks and onions and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to soften.  Add tarragon and season with salt and pepper.  Deglaze pan with wine and continue to cook until wine evaporates.  Remove to a bowl and set aside.

In a small saucepan, add the pomegranate juice, brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, cornstarch and cayenne.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and allow to reduce until the mixture is of glaze consistency.

In the meantime, heat another 2 Tbs oil in the sauté pan over medium-high heat until the pan is hot.  Season the salmon with salt and pepper and add to the pan.  Sear briefly on each side, about 2 minutes each (for about a 2 - 3" thick slice of salmon).

Place salmon in an oven proof dish (or leave it in the pan you cooked it in if it can go into the oven).  Brush salmon with glaze and transfer to oven.  Cook just until the salmon is translucent and registers 125º internally, about 7 - 10 minutes.

** Serving idea:  I adapted this as a low-fat, sugar-free recipe for a friend by substituting Splenda brown sugar blend in the glaze, and rather than wrapping the salmon in puff pastry (as originally called for), I just cut puff pastry into wedges and baked them in the oven, using the wedges as little 'caps'.


In keeping with the 'healthy' theme, I decided to try something I've been reading about but haven't gotten around to trying....  Quinoa.  In reading up on the stuff, I swear it used to grow wild where I lived growing up (in the South) and was just another weed.  Kind of tickles me that it's the 'in' thing now.

Apparently, the proper pronunciation of quinoa is "KEEN-WAH".  OBVIOUSLY.  Of course the joke the entire night was in trying to get it right and not revert to the more logical "QUIN-O-AH".  Offspring gave up and started referring to it as 'couscous rice'.  Don't blame me.  I'm just her mother.

Anyway, I will have to say that I thought the stuff was pretty tasty.  I used a tri-color mix, just to make it pretty.

If you have been wanting to try it but haven't quite convinced yourself to do so, go ahead and give it a shot.  It's got a nutty flavor and sure beats the heck out of bran in the flavor department (haven't we all tried a 'healthy' muffin with the consistency of sawdust?).  And it's very versatile in what you can add to it.

 

Quinoa with Butternut Squash, Pears and Sage

1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed (in all honesty, I used a Delicata)

1 cup quinoa

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup roasted hazelnuts, chopped
2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs butter (I substituted olive oil in this particular instance)
6 small sage leaves
1 pear, peeled and diced
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 Meyer lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 400º.   Place cubed squash on a small roasting pan, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with a bit of olive oil.  Bake just until squash is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, thoroughly rinse your quinoa, drain well, and add to a medium saucepan.  Add water and about 1/2 a teaspoon of salt.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and allow to simmer for 10 - 12 minutes.  Remove from heat, allow to sit another 5 minutes, and then fluff with a fork.

In a sauté pan heat 1 Tbs oil and add hazelnuts.  Allow to toast just a minute or two, then remove the nuts.  Add pear cubes and sauté until pear is just softened, about 2 minutes.  Add roasted squash to the pan, season with salt and pepper, then add the mustard and lemon juice.  Thoroughly combine and then add to the quinoa pan, along with the nuts.

In the same sauté pan, heat the butter until it sizzles.  Add sage leaves and fry just until they crisp up and are starting to brown at the edges.  Drain on a paper towel.  Crumble 3 - 4 of the leaves and add to quinoa mixture.  Stir to combine.  Use the remaining leaves for garnish.