A Few Meals

First off...Happy Birthday Scott! My lovely husband turns ** years today.

Here are a few meals I made this week:

Monday Dinner

I made hamburger's Monday night! I've never made them before. I'm continuously proud of myself when I use the grill. There were a lot of flare-ups on the grills but I managed to successfully cook hamburgers!





I served the hamburgers with some purchased potato salad and sauteed spinach (I'd planned on eating fresh spinach but the bag had seen better days and was only edible well cooked).

I served the meal with two heirloom tomatoes that I bought at the farmer's market on Saturday. It was fun to eat these unusual varieties.



The long striped tomato was good but nothing unusual. The orange one was very sweet and tasty. I haven't eaten the middle one yet; it's supposed to be smoky.



Tuesday Dinner

It was a light dinner Tuesday night. But it tasted delicious. I made a sauteed dish of tofu and vegetables with a peanut sauce, served over rice.



Peanut Sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T minced ginger
Red pepper flakes
1 cup water
2 T lime juice
2 T soy sauce
2/3 cup peanut butter
1 T brown sugar

1. Saute garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes.
2. Add in remaining ingredients.

The peanut sauce made a much larger serving than I needed for dinner. I added some to the veggie/tofu mix thinned with some chicken broth and refrigerated the rest.

Dessert

I made special summer cookies - with zucchini. I found the recipe in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. The cookies are fabulous and pretty healthy.



ZUCCHINI CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
(Makes about two dozen) - Made a lot more for me



1 egg, beaten
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

-Combine in large bowl.

1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg

-Combine in a separate, small bowl and blend into liquid mixture.

1 cup finely shredded zucchini
12 oz chocolate chips

-Stir these into other ingredients, mix well. Drop by spoonful onto greased baking sheet, and flatten with the back of a spoon. Bake at 350°, 10 to 15 minutes.



Twilight

I indulged my Twilight obsession today.

I bought a Twilight magnet puzzle at Barnes & Noble and put it on the huge filing cabinet next to my computer.



I also put up Twilight wallpaper on my desktop.



I feel like I'm 13. Actually, not really - if I was a teenager I'd be even more obsessed than I am now.

Bobbing for Hot Dogs

Saturday morning I took Snowbird to a dog festival in Burnsville. He loved all the attention and free treats! Everyone was fascinated with Snowbird - no one has ever seen a dog that looks quite like him. Snowbird's favorite part was the hot dog pool. For $2, Snowbird got to bob for hot dogs - 6 bites. It's quite an amusing sight as the video can attest:



I clearly was also highly entertained.

Months of Cooking

Red Beet Risotto

serves 4 as a main course

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, cut into 1/4 inch dice (or enough tiny onions to equal about 1 cup diced)
• 3 medium-sized beets, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice (about 2 cups)
• 2 cups arborio rice (or 1 cup pearl barley)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 6 cups chicken stock, heated over medium heat
• 4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup walnut halves, toasted, for sprinkling on top

Method:

1. In a large skillet with tall sides, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and beets and cook until the onions ahve softened and translucent, about 8 minutes.
2. Add the rice and stir with a wooden spoon until toasted and opaque, 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the wine to the toasting rice and then add a 1/2 cup of stock. Cook, stirring constantly, until the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding stock by 1/2 a cup at at time, waiting until the liquid is absorbed before adding more. Cook until the rice is tender and creamy, yet still a little al dente, about 20 minutes.
4. Stir in the butter and cheese until well mixed.
5. Serve immediately with toasted walnuts crumbled on top.

Blueberry Crisp

5 cups blueberries
1/4 cup sugar (I'd recommend less unless the berries are really sour)
3 T flour
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tspn cinnamon
1/4 cup butter

1. Mix together blueberries, sugar, and flour. Pour in 2 Qt pan.
2. Mix together oats, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter or your hands (hands are easier).
3. Pour crumb mixture over blueberries.
4. Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes. Serve with ice cream.



Grilled Vegetable Sandwich

I made a grilled vegetable sandwich. I grilled zucchini, eggplant, and red peppers in stages on the grill. I also grilled the bread for a few minutes.





I topped one side of the bread with goat cheese. The other side was topped with homemade pesto. I threw a bunch of basil from my backyard into my food processor. I also added a few pine nuts, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, garlic, and a little olive oil. It was easy and delicious!



Halloween Bars



2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 stick butter, melted
1 can (14 oz) condensed milk
1-2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 - 1 cup coconut

1. Stir together graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Spread evenly in a 9x13 pan.
2. Top with chips and coconut
3. Pour condensed milk over crumbs.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Baked Eggplant

Another tasty, simple meal! I made baked eggplant.



I cut up half an eggplant into thick slices. I dredged the slices in egg whites (I used 3) and then panko bread crumbs. I baked them at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes.



To go with the eggplant, I boiled 8 oz of Smart Ronzini pasta. I also sauteed a bunch of spinach and garlic. I added the cooked pasta to the spinach. I drizzled the pasta mixture with olive oil and lemon zest. And then sprinkled on freshly grated Parmesan.



I topped the eggplant slices with homemade tomato sauce: garlic and crushed tomatoes. Topped with fresh Parmesan, the eggplant made a perfect main dish!



Homemade Pizza





Pizza! I had so many vegetables on this pizza that I didn't need to have a side salad. I made homemade pizza sauce with crushed tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil. I sauteed an onion and yellow bell pepper. I also added chopped spinach and basil to the vegetable mixture. I topped the veggies with some goat cheese and a few chopped up figs.

Salmon. I sprinkled salt and pepper on the salmon and then broiled it for about 15 minutes. I served it with a yogurt sauce made from greek yogurt, a little lemon juice, a little garlic, some dill, and salt.



Kabocha: I boiled it in a sauce of 5 T soy suace, 2.5 T mirin, and a little honey. I simmered it until the sauce had basically reduced to a syrup, turning the kabocha nearly black.



Suffed Zucchini: I boiled 4 little zucchinis for about 10 minutes. Then I hollowed out the middle and stuffed it. The stuffing consisted of the zucchini innards, goat cheese, and sun dried tomato pesto. I baked the stuffed zucchini at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.



Speedy Steel-Cut Oats

1 cup steel-cut oats
4 cups water

1. Bring water to a boil and add oats. Boil for one minute. Turn heat off and leave saucepan on the stove overnight.
2. In the morning, bring the oats and water back to a boil. Then simmer for about 10 minutes. By this time, it should be thick and creamy. Add any desired toppings and serve.



I added peanut butter, blueberries, jam, and crystallized ginger to my oats.

Massaged Kale Salad

1 bunch kale, stems discarded
1 tspn kosher salt - a little goes a long way
2 T olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 red bell pepper, cubed

1. Cut kale into ribbons. Stir in salt. Massage with hands for 2-3 minutes. The kale should be visibly greener and shrink significantly.
2. Add oil, vinegar, and bell pepper


Pre-Massage

Post-Massage

Eggplant-Bell Pepper Mozzarella Stack



1 eggplant, sliced 1/2-1 inch thick
1 red bell pepper, sliced flat
8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced 1/2 inch thick
18 oz polenta, sliced 1 inch thick
1 cup pesto
2-3 roasted bell peppers (from a jar)

1. Optional - Salt eggplant well and soak in a colander for about 30 minutes. Rinse well.
2. Roast eggplant and bell peppers at 475 for 20-30 minutes.
3. Remove vegetables and put polenta slices in oven for a few minutes until heated.
4. Place bell peppers in foil and wrap the foil closed for 5-10 minutes, until cooled. Peel skin off peppers.
4. Put cheese slices on top of polenta slices for a minute or two to warm them
5. Blend pesto with jarred roasted red peppers. Heat the sauce on the stove or in the microwave.


The sauce

Roasted veggies

Peeled red bell peppers

The stack before adding the sauce

Almost Flourless Chocolate Cake





The recipe comes from A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg of the Orangette Blog.

7 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used the food processor)
7 oz butter, cut into smallish chunks
1 cup sugar, plus 2 T - not divided
5 eggs
1 T flour

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and butter an 8 inch cake pan. Put parchment on the bottom of the pan and butter that too.
2. Melt chocolate and butter in microwave in 30 second spurts, stirring well in between. It took me 90 seconds to melt the mixture. Add in sugar.
3. Add in eggs one at a time, stirring well with each egg. Stir in flour. Pour into pan.
4. Bake for 20-30 minutes until cake just barely jiggles in the middle.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread



2 cups (1 can) pumpkin
3 cups sugar (wow, that's a lot)
1 cup water
1 cup oil
4 eggs
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tspn baking soda
2 tspn cinnamon
1 tspn salt
1 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn nutmeg
3/4 tspn ground cloves
2 cups chocolate chips

1. Beat pumpkin through eggs until well mixed.
2. Stir together dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
3. Slowly mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients until batter is smooth
4. Pour batter into two 9x5 loaf pans
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes

Vermont Cheddar Spoon Bread







1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons cornmeal, divided
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
2 large egg whites
1 cup frozen or fresh corn kernals
1 cup shredded Vermont sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375°.

Coat a 1-quart soufflé dish with cooking spray; sprinkle with 2 teaspoons cornmeal, and set aside.

Combine 1/2 cup cornmeal, milk, salt, and black pepper in a medium saucepan, and cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Gradually stir 1/2 cup hot cornmeal mixture into egg yolk, and add to remaining cornmeal mixture, stirring constantly. Cool completely. (I did this quickly by resting the saucepan in a bowl of ice water for a few minutes, plus adding unthawed corn kernals).

Beat egg whites at high speed of a mixer until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites and cheese into cornmeal mixture.

Spoon batter into prepared dish. Bake at 375° for 1 hour or until puffy and browned. Serve immediately.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Blondies

6 ounces (1 single-serving sized container) plain or vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons molasses
1.25 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1.5 cups Trader Joe's Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels, crushed into smaller pieces (**feel free to substitute 1 cup crushed pretzels and about 1 cup peanut butter, if you cannot find the TJ's treat!!**)
Milk, added to the batter as needed

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly coat an 8"x8" baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, add in the yogurt, oil, sugar, vanilla extract, and molasses. Mix well.

In the same bowl, add in the flour, baking soda, and crushed peanut butter pretzels. As the mixture starts to thicken up/combine, add as much milk as you need (but not too much) so that the batter is mixable. (I didn't need any)

Pour mixture into the 8"x8" baking pan (coated generously with nonstick cooking spray).

Bake for about 32-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the blondies comes out clean.

Makes 16 blondies.

Pumpkin Oat-Bran Muffins - I added chocolate chips for good measure



1 1/2 cups unprocessed oat bran
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed pumpkin, cooked
1/2 cup skim milk
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup chocolate chips.

1. Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Make an indentation in the dry ingredients and carefully mix in the wet ingredients - only enough to mix together. Mix in chocolate chips.
2. Spoon into muffin pan. The recipe said it made 9 muffins, but I filled 12 muffins easily.
3. Bake 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees.

Thai Chicken Pizza



1 pizza crust (I used a whole-wheat crust from Trader Joe's)
4 T peanut butter
4 T hoisin sauce
1/2 T honey
1.5 tspn red wine vinegar
1 tspn minced ginger
1 tspn minced garlic
1 T sesame oil
1 tspn soy sauce
1/2 T oyster sauce
1/4-1/2 cup water - add more or less depending on the sauce's thickness
12 oz chicken, poached and shredded
Shredded carrots
Broccoli slaw
Cilantro

1. Mix together peanut butter through water for the sauce in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then simmer until well-mixed.
2. Add a few spoonfuls of the sauce to the chicken and mix together.
3. Pour remaining sauce over crust (I actually didn't use all the sauce). Top with chicken, shredded carrots, broccoli slaw, and cilantro.
4. Bake at a 450 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies


Pre-Baking


Makes about 24-28 cookies

1 cup natural PB - I used half crunchy, half creamy
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tspn baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix PB and sugar. Add egg and baking soda. Mix in chocolate chips.
3. Shape into walnut sized balls and place on baking sheets
4. Bake for 8-10 minutes

Shrimp with Mango



1 lb shrimp
1 egg white
2 tspn cornstarch
3 tspn sesame oil, divided
1/2 tspn salt
1 T garlic, minced
1/2 T ginger, minced
2 mangos, chopped
1 T sake
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1. Mix shrimp, egg white, cornstarch, 1 tspn sesame oil, and salt. Marinate for 20 minutes.
2. Stir-fry shrimp in olive oil until cooked. Remove and set aside.
3. Add garlic and ginger to skillet and cook for a minute or so. Add mangos and sake. Cook until mangos are soft. Add back in shrimp and cook until warm.
4. Sprinkle cilantro over shrimp and mango mixture



I also made Kale Chips for the first time. They were fantastic! Very simple to make. I love their crunch and the nice tang from the vinegar.



1 bunch kale, chopped into small pieces
1 T rice vinegar
2 T olive oil
1/2 T salt

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Put kale on baking sheet. Pour vinegar, oil, and salt over it and mix together.
3. Bake for 20 minutes or so until crispy. Stir once or twice.

I served the shrimp and kale with a microwaved sweet potato half.



Curried Quinoa Salad with Mango



1 1/3 cup quinoa, rinsed
3 cups water
2 mangoes, chopped
Spinach
1/3 cup almonds, chopped

Curry Dressing

3 T plain yogurt
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 T lemon juice
1 tspn curry powder
4 T olive oil
Salt
2 T cilantro, chopped

1. Add quinoa and water to pan. Bring to a boil and then simmer about 15 minutes until the liquid is gone.
2. Mix spinach, mango, and quinoa.
3. Dressing: Stir together yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, and curry powder. Whisk in olive oil. Add salt to taste. Add cilantro at end.
4. Mix dressing into salad.

Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice) - Adapted from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

4 cups cooked brown basmati rice
1 onion, chopped
1 orange pepper, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
14 oz firm tofu, cubed
3 T soy sauce, divided
1 T molasses
1/2 T barbecue sauce
1/2-1 cup peas
Crushed red pepper and salt, to taste

1. Saute onion, orange pepper, and garlic until soft.
2. In a separate skillet, cook tofu until brown. Add 1 T soy sauce towards the end.
3. Mix soy sauce, molasses, and barbecue sauce.
4. Add tofu and rice to vegetable mixture. Stir in sauce. Stir in peas. Salt to taste.








Cauliflower Soup

16 oz frozen cauliflower pieces
Water to cover
Seasonings - I used chicken bouillon granules, curry powder, and salt

1. Cook cauliflower in water until thawed and softened.
2. Remove cauliflower from pan with a strainer. Place in blender. Add water to cover and blend until smooth. Add more water if necessary to smooth. Add seasonings and blend again.