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.

 

 



 

Preparing for Fall

We’re in the midst of one of those ‘tweener’ type seasons.  Can’t really decide if it’s summer or fall at the moment.  Our days are warm (too warm for September, in my book), but the evenings are too cool to go running around without a jacket.  Personally, I’d like to pick a season and stick with it.  Maybe I’m just looking forward to some crisp, fall weather.

With the cool temps in the evening, I got a sudden craving for warm pudding.  And since I had just bought a box of those ginger thins I so love, gingerbread pudding sounded really good.  But I had a hard time trying to find a recipe online.  Most of the recipes that came up upon Googling ‘gingerbread pudding’ were either baked, or they were more of a cake than a pudding.  I just wanted something simple to whip up on the stove.  So I decided to experiment, and you know what?  I think I got it right on the first attempt.  This is a super rich and decadent pudding, but with the hominess of spices.  It will find a place with future, more elaborate desserts, I’m sure.  But at the moment, I was content to scarf it down with some of those lovely thin cookies.

It was perfect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gingerbread Pudding

¾ cups whipping cream

2 ¼ cups milk (I used 2%)
1 vanilla bean pod, halved lengthwise and seeds scraped out
2” piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into slices
1 tsp black peppercorns
2 cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces
6 cloves
1 star anise

3 egg yolks

½ cup sugar
3 Tbs corn starch
1 tbs molasses

3 Tbs butter

1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp salt

In a medium saucepan, combine the whipping cream, milk, vanilla bean pod AND seeds*, ginger, peppercorns, cinnamon, cloves and star anise.  Heat over medium heat, just until milk starts to simmer around the edges.  Remove from heat and allow to sit for 20 minutes.

Combine the egg yolks, sugar, corn starch and molasses in a small bowl.  Whisk until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Slowly pour about half of the milk mixture through a sieve into the egg mixture.  Whisk thoroughly and then pour this mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk mixture.  Place over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and just begins to reach a boiling point.  Remove from heat and add butter, the vanilla extract and salt.  Stir until butter is melted.  Place a piece of wax paper directly on the pudding to keep a skin from forming and allow to cool until ready to use.  Refrigerate any leftovers.

* If your sieve has too fine of a mesh, you might want to keep the vanilla bean seeds set aside until after you've strained the milk mixture and then stir it in.