Recent Meals

Here is another update of my cooking. On Wednesday, I made an easy slow-cooker meal, Orange Chicken. I have a jar of orange marmalade in the refrigerator left over from another recipe that I keep trying to use up. I figured this recipe would be a good way to work on that. I thought it tasted pretty good. I forgot to add the flour, so I added a cornstarch/water slurry at the end to thicken it up a bit. Next time, I would decrease the marmalade. The orange taste was a bit strong. I served the chicken with roasted sugar snap peas and rice.

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken Recipe from www.recipezaar.com

SERVES 4
8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
3 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup orange marmalade
1/3 cup barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated fresh gingerroot

Toss chicken with flour in slow cooker.
Stir in all remaining ingredients; cover with lid.
Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours.

Thursday night Scott did the cooking for me. My visiting teaching companion arrived to pick me up to go visiting teaching right as I was starting the recipe. Scott was kind enough to finish up for me. He even added his own secret: corn and extra cheese.

Stove Top Tamale Pie Recipe from www.recipezaar.com

SERVES 4

1 lb ground beef
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14 ounce) can kidney beans, undrained
1/2 cup water
1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning
1 (8 ounce) package corn muffin mix (I used Jiffy)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used white cheddar)
1/4 cup sliced green onions (I didn't have any of these)

In a large skillet, brown ground beef over medium-high heat; drain.
Stir in tomato sauce, beans, water and taco seasoning mix.
Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes.
Prepare corn muffin mix according to package directions.
Drop small spoonfuls of muffin batter over meat mixture in a skillet.
Cover and cook over medium-low heat 15-17 minutes or until corn bread is done.
Top with cheese and green onion.
Cover and cook over low heat until cheese melts.

Friday night was a very tasty meal of eggs and rice from my favorite blog, www.101cookbooks.com. I used Bhutanese red rice, which I had bought at a co-op in San Francisco. It had a nice taste to it and the color was wonderful. It was a nice, simple meal. Heidi, the recipe creator, has a really interesting method to poach eggs. I tried it out and it worked better than any other method I've tried (admittedly few).

I served the dish with grilled eggplant. I brushed olive oil and eggplant slices and grilled them on my George Foreman grills. Very easy and delicious.

Poached Eggs over Rice

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 pinches of salt
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (optional) (I omitted)
3/4 cup organic extra-firm tofu (optional), 1/4 inch dice (I omitted)
1 small clove garlic, chopped
2 - 3 cups dark leafy green, deveined and finely chopped (I used kale)
2 - 3 cups pre-cooked whole grain rice (brown is fine) (I used Bhutanese red rice)
4 good quality eggs
Soy sauce to taste

Fill a wide-mouthed saucepan with 3-4 inches of water and bring to a simmer.
Separately, warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion, salt, and crusher red pepper flakes. Let the onions soften up a bit - a couple minutes. Stir in the tofu if you are using it - let that heat up and brown a tad. Now stir in the garlic and greens. Cook the greens for a couple minutes, until they collapse and soften up. Stir in the pre-cooked rice and saute until hot. Remove from heat, and set aside. Taste for seasoning as well. Add a few splashes of soy sauce to taste.
Now back to the simmering water. You are going to use this to poach the eggs one at a time. Gently crack egg into a ramekin, carefully slip it into a mesh strainer over your sink - some of the whites will run through and strain off (if the mesh is too fine, you won't get the desired effect). This minimizes the fly-away whites you normally get. Now, carefully slide the egg back into the ramekin. Lower the ramekin down into the simmering water and let the egg slip out. Let it simmer there for a few minutes, past the point when the whites have become opaque. If you like a loose yolk, cook for less time. Remove the egg with a strainer or slotted spoon and either serve it atop some rice or set aside while you repeat the process with the remaining eggs.
Divide the rice between four bowls and serve each topped with one of the poached eggs.
Makes four servings.

Snowbird at the Dog Park

Today I took Snowbird to the dog park for the first time. He loved it! The dog park (in Burnsville) had a special event called Dog Days, essentially a number of vendors advertising their services, as well as a silent auction to benefit the dog park. We went into the dog park after going around the venders. The dog park has a large pond that all the dogs, including Snowbird, seem to love. There were lots of dogs there for him to play with. After we got home, he was so muddy that I had to give him a thorough bath before I would let him back in the house.

The coolest part of the Dog Days event was Bobbing for Hot Dogs - 3 hot dogs for $1. Money well-spent.

Snowbird at the dog park.

Snowbird after the dog park.

Various Dinners

Things have been a bit crazy adjusting to life with a dog. Snowbird is going great. My routine for the last few days has been to get up at 5:30, take him out to the bathroom, stick him back in the crate (for which he thinks I'm a monster), and go to the gym for 30 minutes. Then I come back and we go on a 30 minute walk before I stick him back in the crate while I'm at work. After work, I take him outside to the bathroom, work out on the bike downstairs for 30 minutes while he plays, and then go on another 30 minute walk. Then I cook dinner. Things are slowly developing into normalcy. I need to get back into my cleaning routines too. The extra dog hair is requiring a lot more vacuuming and swiffering.

Here are a few of my recent dinners.
On Sunday night, I decided that I wanted to make blueberry sauce with a bunch of leftover blueberries. To go with it, I made gingerbread pancakes - breakfast for dinner. The pancakes tasted good, but did not look very good, so no pictures. The blueberry sauce was also excellent - I've been eating it for breakfast with oatmeal or yogurt.

GingerBread Pancakes from http://www.recipezaar.com/

1 1/3 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
1 egg
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup molasses
3 tablespoons canola oil

Sift together the dry ingredients.
Beat egg well.
Add milk, beat in molasses, then canola oil. Mix in dry ingredients until smooth.
Using a quarter cup measure, spread pancake on preheated griddle and cook until golden brown.

Blueberry Sauce from http://www.recipezaar.com/

2 1/4 cups

1 lb fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

Combine all ingredients in medium saucepan.
Stir over medium heat until cornstarch dissolves.
Boil until thickened, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes.
Cover and refrigerate.

On Monday night, I made a pesto crusted salmon. I put leftover pesto on two pieces of wild salmon, seared it, and baked it at 400 degrees until it was done - about 15-20 minutes.

On Tuesday night, I made a roasted beet salad. I roasted a bunch of small beets I'd bought at the farmer's market for about an hour at 375 degrees and some asparagus at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. To that I added a bag of baby spinach, half of a green pepper, and about 4 oz of feta cheese. I used the creamy garlic dressing (recipe and picture posted below). It was quite tasty. I don't love beets, but I like them well enough to try them once or twice a year. I think roasting brings out a nice flavor. See the photo:

Snowbird

We have a dog! We adopted him yesterday from Homeward Bound Rescue. He's a basset hound/lab mix (although some think he's a beagle/lab mix). He's a nice, gentle dog so far. He doesn't bark much, although he did bark/howl for awhile when first put in his crate. His only real drawback so far is that he smells pretty bad - even after a bath. We'll have to see if there's a way to decrease that.

I had planned on naming him Arthur. Scott wanted to name him Uintas, after the Utah mountains or Alta, the ski resort. Since I could barely pronounce Uintas and don't like to ski, I compromised on Snowbird - also a ski resort, but to me it refers to all the old people who go down to Arizona in the winter. I think it's a cute name.

Here's some pictures:

Snowbird's first bath. He tolerated it pretty well, although his tail was between his legs most of the time:
A long first day:
I woke him up this morning, took him outside to go to the bathroom and play a bit. He seemed more interested in lying down.

Wednesday Night Dinner

Another tasty dinner. I had bought a large bunch of basil at the farmer's market last Saturday and decided to use it to make pesto. I'd never made it before, but it turned out very well. I used half the pesto to make a yummy pasta dish. I'm thinking of using the other half to serve with salmon.

Basic Pesto Recipe from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

2 loosely packed cups fresh basil leaves, big stems discarded, rinsed, and dried
Salt, to taste
1/2-2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons pine nuts or walnuts, lightly toasted in a dry skillet
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Combine basil, salt, garlic, nuts, and about half the oil in a food processor or blender. Process, stopping to scrape down the sides of the container occasionally, and adding the rest of the oil gradually. Add additional oil if you prefer a thinner mixture. Stir in the refrigerature for a week or two or in the freezer for several months. Stir in the Parmesan by hand just before serving.

Zucchini, Corn, and Basil Fusilli with Bacon from Gourmet

Makes 6 servings

6 bacon slices
1 pound fusilli
3 ears corn, kernels cut from cob
1 1/2 pounds zucchini, coarsely chopped (1/2-inch pieces)
1 (5- to 7-ounce) container basil pesto (I used about 1/2 half cup homemade pesto)

Cook bacon in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally, until crisp. Drain on paper towels; discard drippings from skillet.
Meanwhile, cook fusilli in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (3 tablespoons salt for 6 quart water) until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta-cooking water, then add vegetables to pasta in pot and cook, partially covered, 2 minutes (water will stop boiling). Drain.
Add pasta with vegetables to skillet along with pesto and 1/4 cup reserved cooking water and toss. Season with salt and moisten with additional cooking water if necessary.
Top with crumbled bacon and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper.

A New Me

I finally got around to what I've wanted to do for months - chopping my hair. I like having long hair, but it got to the point where it was unmanageable, not to mention hot. Every day I had to comb these horrid knots out of my hair. I got 12 inches cut off. The hair is actually sitting on the counter downstairs in a bag, since I'm going to donate it to Locks of Love.

I also took some pictures of our lovely summer flowers.

Monday and Tuesday Night Dinners

Here are recipes for dinner the last two nights. I didn't love the curry/soup from Monday night, but I liked it enough that I'd be willing to make it again. The chicken salad from tonight was really tasty and quite easy. It would've been easier if I'd had cooked chicken in my freezer (which I thought I did). Instead I had to poach some first.

Monday Night:

In A Hurry Green Curry from Heidi Swanson at http://www.101cookbooks.com/

2 teaspoons green curry paste (I used 3 teaspoons and it wasn't very spicy)

scant 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 14-ounce can coconut milk (light ok)

1 large onion, sliced

14 ounces water or light vegetable broth (I used chicken broth)

6 ounces of firm tofu cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 cup peas, fresh or frozen

2 cups asparagus, cut into 1/2-inch segments

squeeze of fresh lime juice

1/4 cup small basil leaves (I used cilantro instead)

In a large thick bottom pot over medium heat whisk the curry paste with the salt and a small splash of the coconut milk. Simmer for just a minute. Add the onion and saute until it softens up, just a minute or so. Add the rest of the coconut milk and broth and simmer for another five minutes. Taste and adjust for flavor - this would be the time to add more curry paste if needed.

Stir in the tofu and (JUST BEFORE SERVING) the peas and asparagus, simmer for just a minute or two, just long enough for the vegetables to cook a bit. Finish the pot with a squeeze of lime and basil leaves. Taste, and adjust seasoning again if needed.

Tuesday Night:

Chicken-Chickpea Salad Recipe
This is a tasty, quick salad from Cooking Light Superfast Suppers. I served it with more salad - baby spinach with tomatoes and cucumber and slices of Italian bread. Pita bread would also be good and appropriate here.

Generously serves 4:

8 ounces chopped cooked chicken breasts
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped seeded cucumber (about 1 small)
1/2 cup chopped green onion (about 4 small)
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint or basil
1/2 cup plain fat-free yogurt (I used Greek yogurt from Trader Joe's)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups baby spinach leaves
1/3 cup feta cheese with cracked pepper, crumbled
4 lemon wedges

Combine first 8 ingredients. Toss gently.
Gently fold in spinach and feta.
Serve with lemon wedges.

A Summer Barbecue

We went to a barbecue full of anesthesiologists this afternoon - a sleepy group. :-) It was at one of Scott's fellow resident's home. We had a great time. I always find myself oddly surprised that doctors are just like the rest of us. I don't know why this continues to surprise me, especially since I'm a lawyer and I know that lawyers aren't anything special...but doctors just seem like they would be super-human or overtly erudite.

The barbecue was a BYOM event: bring-your-own-meat. I bought some brats from Byerlys which turned out very well. I also made a terrific blueberry crisp (from www.recipezaar.com) and the black bean-corn salad recipe I posted yesterday. Here's a recipe and pictures:

The Absolute Best Blueberry Crisp Recipe

SERVES 6 -8

1 quart fresh blueberries (about 4 cups)
3/4 cup sugar (or (to taste)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
3/4 cup rolled oat
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted (no substitutes)

Set oven to 350°. Prepare a 13 x 9" baking dish (do not grease). Spread the fresh OR frozen blueberries in the bottom of the prepared baking pan (ungreased).
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, cornstarch and water and 2-3 Tbsp lemon juice; cook and stir until thick and clear, then add in the vanilla. Pour over, then gently stir in the cooked mixture with the blueberries.
In a bowl, combine the flour, rolled oats, brown sugar and cinnamon. Add in the melted butter to the oat mixture; mix until crumbly, then sprinkle over the top of blueberries, as evenly as you can (there will be a couple of empty spots).
Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until blueberry mixture bubbles, and the topping is brown.


The black bean-corn salad - see recipe from yesterday.

Recent Recipes and Photos

Here are a few of the tasty things I've made in the last week or so. The first is from the Magazine Everyday Food. The rest are from www.recipezaar.com:

Creamy Garlic Salad Dressing Recipe
This is a super easy salad dressing. It's suprisingly creamy given that there's no cream, buttermilk, or mayonaise in it. I highly recommend it. I easily doubled it the other day, but didn't completely double the oil.

SERVES 3 -4

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (white vinegar is fine)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove
fresh herb (optional)

Mix all ingredients and stir or shake vigorously.

Spicy Baked Sweet Potato "Fries"

SERVES 4

2 medium sweet potatoes, washed and cut lengthwise into strips 1/3 inch on each side
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Preheat oven to 450°F With aluminum foil or parchment paper, line a cookie sheet.
In a medium bowl, combine sweet potatoes with olive oil and seasonings. Mix well to evenly coat potatoes. Place potato strips on the foil or parchment lined cookie sheet and leave space between strips for even baking.
Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until potatoes become crispy. Turn strips every 5 to 7 minutes as needed. Serve immediately.

Black Bean And Corn Salad Recipe

No picture for this one. I took it for lunch last week.

SERVES 4 for a light main dish or 8 for a side dish

2 cups canned black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups crisp canned corn, drained
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

Mix all ingredients and chill overnight.

Chicken and Egg on Rice (Oyako Donburi)

This is a typical Japanese dish that Scott has made before. It was the first time I'd made it. I, of course, left out the mushrooms. The pictures didn't turn out that well, but you get the idea.

SERVES 4

12 ounces boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 eggs
4 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 onion
Simmering Sauce
1/2 cup water
4 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon sugar
5 cups cooked rice
cilantro, for garnish (optional)

Cut the chicken breast into thin slices.
Soak dried shiitake mushrooms in lukewarm water until soft.
Cut off hard stems and cut in halves.
Cut onion into thin slices.
Chop cilantro.
In a large skillet with a lid, mix all the simmering sauce ingredients and bring to a boil.
Add chicken, mushrooms and onion and cook over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, or until chicken is done and onion is tender.
Beat eggs in a small bowl, then pour over the chicken and cover with a lid.
Cook until the egg is set, about 1 minute on low heat.
Sprinkle cilantro on top.
To serve: put about 1 1/4 cup of rice in a large, deep bowl and gently lay 1/4 of the chicken and egg mixture on top.
Pour simmering sauce over and serve immediately.
Spoon out 1/2 servings as needed.

Roasted Sugar Snap Peas Recipe



SERVES 6

1 lb sugar snap pea (also called sugar peas, these peas are not shelled, as the entire pod is eaten)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
coarse salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Preheat broiler.
Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Toss peas with olive oil on prepared baking sheet.
Spread peas in a single layer.
Broil approximately 2 minutes, or just until crisp-tender and they are beginning to brown in spots, stirring once.
Remove from oven and transfer to a serving bowl.
Sprinkle with coarse salt and chives.
Serve immediately.

Disneyworld

We had a terrific time at Disneyworld. We started the trip out with an unexpected adventure to Cleveland! Our original flight plan was to fly through St. Louis to Orlando. That flight was cancelled due to mechanical problems. We were put on a flight that went through Cleveland and onto Orlando. The next problem arose when Cleveland had severe storms, causing us to divert to Detroit. We didn't even get off the plane in Detroit - just sat on the tarmac for about 20 minutes and then flew to Cleveland (only 20 minutes away). Of course, by the time we got there, our connecting flight was long gone. So we spent the night in Cleveland...without luggage.

But the rest of the trip (until the return flight where we had a 1.5 hour delay in Cleveland - a cursed city) was great!

We stayed off-resort, but spent much of the time at my parent's hotel, The Yacht Club. We went to every park at Disneyworld: Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studioes, and Animal Kingdom. We also spent a day at the Kennedy Space Center. My favorite rides were Soarin' and Toy Story Mania (a brand-new ride). Scott's favorites were Everest, Rockin' Rollercoaster, Space Mountain, and Splash Mountain. I like roller coasters as well, although not as much as Scott. I really like the Rockin' Rollercoaster ride. And there's a cute spinny rollercoaster in Dinoland in Animal Kingdom.

Scott and I both really love Disneyworld. I can see us going there almost every year, especially once we have kids. We even went to one of their timeshare talks. We certainly wouldn't buy in right now, but I think it might be an interesting option in a few years.

Here's a few pictures from our trip: