Going Solo

Cooking for myself does not necessarily mean cooking a simple meal. I'm every bit as likely to coax a risotto and pork roast along on a Wednesday night as I am to toss a bag of popcorn in the microwave. But for the most part, my solo meals fall somewhere in between.

I picked up some shrimp when I was at the store because... well, just because. I had a vague idea of what I wanted by the time I made it to the produce department. Peeling the shrimp actually took longer than putting the whole thing together, especially since I decided to forego the side of rice I had planned.

It's still a step up from eating Häagen-Dazs over the sink.

Honey Sesame Shrimp

1 small onion, chopped
1 small head of broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup snow peas
1 Tbs canola oil
½ tsp chile flakes
2 Tbs sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thin
¼” chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined, rinsed and then patted dry
1 Tbs sesame seeds (I used a combo of regular and black)
2 Tbs Sake
3 Tbs Soy sauce
1 Tbs honey
1 Tbs Thai sweet chile sauce
½ tsp Chinese 5-spice powder

In a wok or large frying pan, heat the canola oil over medium high heat until it begins to smoke. Add the onion, broccoli and snow peas and stir fry just until onions begin to turn translucent. Remove vegetables to a bowl, leaving the remaining oil. Add chile flakes and sesame oil to the pan. Allow to heat briefly and then add garlic and ginger. Sauté, stirring frequently, just until garlic softens and begins to turn golden. Add Shrimp and continue to sauté just until the shrimp begins to turn opaque. Add the sesame seeds and continue to cook for another 30 seconds or so. Deglaze pan with sake. Add soy sauce, honey, chile sauce and 5-spice. Cook and stir until liquid reduces slightly, making a glaze. Add vegetables back to pan.

Serve with rice.

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.

A Milestone Birthday

Offspring #1 turned 21 today.  Oy.  I'm still trying to wrap my head around the entire concept and the idea that she'd rather have top shelf vodka than Barbie dolls (although, to be truthful, she was never really a huge fan of those).

Anyway...

Over the weekend we had a family get-together for her.  And I was so wrapped up in getting everything together that I managed to only snap a few pictures.

At her request, I made Shrimp Wraps with Mango Salsa.  And in addition to her birthday 'cake', which was actually a key lime pie, I made her White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Fudge.  There were many other things there as well, but alas, no photos.

The wraps had a number of components, including a revisit to the Toasted Parmesan Flatbread from the previous weekend.  Just thought they'd make a nice substitute for tortillas.

I had eleven people to feed, so I made double batches of everything.  The amounts can be cut down for smaller numbers of servings.  Once the flatbread was ready to go, the next component was a coconut rice flavored with a bit of cumin.

Gingered Coconut Rice

2 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
2 cups long-grained rice
1 14 oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
1 14 oz. can low-sodium chicken broth (or substitute water)
1 tsp salt

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.  As soon as oil gets hot, add cumin and ginger and sauté just until fragrant.  Add rice and stir to coat with oil.  Continue to stir and cook for a minute or two and allow the rice to toast slightly.

Add coconut milk and chicken broth, plus enough water to bring the total amount of liquid to 4 cups.  Add salt.  Turn heat up to medium-high and stir a couple of times to completely incorporate the liquid.  Allow to come to a boil, then lower heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 16 - 18 minutes.  Let stand for 5 minutes, then stir to incorporate the coconut milk solids, which will settle on the top.

Garlic Shrimp

2 lbs peeled and deveined shrimp (I used small 55 - 60 count to better fit in the wraps)
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp dried chili flakes
3 - 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste (I like to use a course salt here)

In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until it starts to smoke.  Add chili flakes and garlic.  Sauté just long enough for the garlic to start toasting.  Immediately add shrimp (if your pan is small, do this in a couple of batches so the shrimp flash fries and doesn't steam).  Cook and stir until shrimp is just cooked through.  This will only take a couple of minutes.

Mango Salsa

1/2 red onion, finely chopped
2 ripe mangos, cut into small cubes
1 small jalapeño, seeded and finely diced
1/2 small red bell pepper, diced to the same size as the onions
1 lime
Salt to taste
(you can also add some finely chopped cilantro to this)

Combine the first four ingredients in a bowl.  Zest the lime and add to the mixture, then add the juice from the lime as well.  Season.


** We set up a buffet and allowed everyone to assemble their wraps according to their own specifications.  Also had avocado and olives on hand to add to the mix.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Fudge

3 cups sugar

3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 small can (5 oz.) evaporated milk (about 2/3 cup)

1- 12 oz. pkg. white chocolate chips

1 jar (7 oz.) Marshmallow Creme

1 cup chopped macadamia nuts

1 tsp. vanilla

Line a 9-inch square pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan; set aside. Place sugar, butter and evaporated milk in large heavy saucepan. Bring to full rolling boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil until a candy thermometer reaches 234° (about 4 minutes), stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Remove from heat.

Add chocolate chips and marshmallow creme; stir until completely melted. Add nuts and vanilla; mix well.

Pour immediately into the prepared pan; spread to form even layer in pan. Let stand at room temperature 4 hours or until completely cooled; cut into 1-inch squares. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature