Sriracha chicken Salad, quick bean soup

08/29/13 Sriracha chicken salad, adapted from Salad for Dinner, p 134 6 T apple cider vinegar 1/3 c. sriracha sauce 2 T. paprika ½ tsp kosher salt 1 ½ pounds chicken strips Romaine lettuce Celery Scallions, thinly sliced for garnish Blue cheese crumbles for garnish Olive oil Combine vinegar, sriracha, paprika and salt. Add chicken and stir to coat. Refrigerate for 8 hrs and up to 2 days. When ready to cook: heat the olive oil and sauté the chicken. Combine romaine and celery for the salad. Blue cheese dressing: 2 ounces crumbled blue cheese 3 T. chopped shallots ¼ cup sour cream 3 T. olive oil 1 T. red wine vinegar ¼ tsp. salt 1-3 T milk Combine all ingredients except milk. Blend well. Add milk if needed to make a pourable consistency. Assemble the salad, garnish with blue cheese crumbles and scallions. How I did it: I substituted goat yogurt for the sour cream, which made a thin vinaigrette. I used one already cooked chicken breast and didn’t heat it. It was still delicious. I like the marinade! This would be terrific on beef for BBQ. Sept 2, 2013 Quick Three-bean soup, adapted from The China Study Cookbook, p. 131 1-2 T. olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1/2 -1 chopped jalapeno (fresh or canned) 1 15 oz can black beans 1 15 oz can kidney beans 1 15 oz can white or garbanzo beans 2 cups mixed vegetables (carrots, celery, corn, beans, peas, zukes, whatever you want) 3 cups water (or so) 1 tsp smoked paprika 1 tsp ground cumin (or more to taste) 1 tsp Mexican oregano (or more to taste) Salt & ground pepper to taste 2 T. or so of chopped cilantro Sauté the onion and garlic in the oil. Drain and rinse the beans. Add all ingredients except the cilantro. Bring to a boil and cook until the vegetables are done. Stir in the cilantro. This makes a lot (as do most soups), so I’ll have plenty for the week for breakfast, snacks or quick dinners.

I'm back (Did you miss me? Didn't think so.) Cannellini bean & tuna salad

Sept 1, 2013 I can’t really say why I stopped blogging the recipes, but—mostly, I got tired & bored. It was no longer a challenge, but became more of a chore. I have enough of those. Since then, there have been a lot of changes in my life. In 2012, I started taking travel jobs and got rid of almost everything I own. After 3 jobs, I decided that travel jobs (13 week assignments) weren’t for me and I came home. I moved from Tempe to north Phoenix, settled into an apartment and have started replacing some of the things I got rid of. Mostly kitchen stuff and cookbooks -- I seem to have different food preferences now. Since I settled down, I’ve been buying new cookbooks on 5 basic categories: fish, salads/vegetables/raw food, slow cookers, hand pies/ small pies (especially savory pies) and vegan. I’m not vegan, but if you want good recipes for legumes, grains, vegs, fruit that are dairy-free, that’s the way to go. I don’t use the spread sheet any longer, I just go through the cookbooks every week and make a weekly lunch/dinner menu. I’m still trying not to repeat recipes, but there’s been a little more give and take since this started in 2009. Tonight I made fish tostadas, loosely based on a previous recipe and a new recipe, but mostly ad-libbed. I marinated the fish in lime juice, cilantro & red onion. (I used orange roughy, but any firm white fish will do. Red snapper is traditional. If you use tilapia, don’t marinate it too long or it turns to mush). (While it marinates, make the slaw and mango salsa.) Grill it in a hot grill pan brushed with olive oil. Cook until it flakes with a fork. Flake the fish and set aside. While the fish cooks, toast the tortillas. **There's a trick for the lime juice: take limes that have a smooth skin, cut off the ends and quarter the limes. Puree the limes (peel & all) in a blender or food processor and puree, then drain the pulpy mush through a cheese cloth. Super easy. If the lime skins are old and pitted, the juice with be sour. Hmmm, lime -- sour, go figure. For the slaw: use thinly sliced green cabbage, jicama, red onion, cilantro, jalapeño, and dressing made of mayo, chopped dill pickle, red onion, Dijon mustard, ground cumin, salt & pepper. For the mango salsa: diced mango & pineapple, red onion, cilantro, and jalapeno. You can add diced avocado to the salsa if you like, but I find that it gets mushy. Slice an avocado for garnish for the tostadas. I toasted a couple of corn tortillas for the tostadas. Then I assembled them: slaw, fish, salsa, sliced avocado. They were pretty good, and since there was no real recipe, I’ll be able to make fish tacos again. Friday, August 30, 2013 Cannellini bean & tuna salad: 1 can cannellini (white kidney) beans, drained & rinsed (great Northern beans would also work) 1 can tuna, drained & flaked 1 T capers, drained and coarsely chopped ¼ cup chopped Kalamata olives 1 plum tomato, seeded and chopped or about 10 grape tomatoes, quartered Chopped red onion, to taste Chopped parsley or cilantro for color, about 2 T. Dressing: ¼ c fresh lemon juice ¼ c olive oil 1 tsp Dijon mustard Sea salt to taste Blend the dressing ingredients in a blender or food processor or whip with a whisk until emulsified. Mix all ingredients and the dressing. Chill to blend flavors. Serve over mixed greens or toss with cold, cooked pasta. This was really good. You can make it without the tuna and it would still be delicious.

Cornish Hens with scallion butter & lime

January 9, 2011

Cornish Hens with Scallion Butter & Lime, from Food & Wine books “Chicken & other birds”, pg 83.

2 Cornish game hens, cut in half
4 T butter, softened
1 ½ tsp oregano
1 ½ tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper

combine the butter, salt and herbs. Microwave until melted. Arrange the ½ birds in a roasting dish, cover with melted butter and herbs.

Roast @ 425° fir 30-40 minutes, until golden brown and done.

It’s very easy to toss in some quartered red potatoes or a bag of Trader Joes fingerling potatoes and 1 or 2 quartered onions to the roasting pan.

The recipe didn’t melt the butter, but I found it impossible to spread on the hens, that’s why I melted it.

The recipe says to top it with thinly sliced scallions and wedges of lime. I didn’t do that because enough is enough and I was hungry.

Flank steak with rosemary & roasted garlic

January 2, 2011

Flank steak with Rosemary & Roasted garlic, from “High Heat” by Waldy Malouf, pg 122

½ tsp coarse sea salt
3 heads garlic, halved
2 T olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
3 T chopped fresh rosemary
1 flank steak (1- 1 ½ pounds)
½ cup Dijon mustard

Preheat the oven to 400°. Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Add the garlic and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain well. Place the garlic in a small ovenproof dish and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover the dish with foil and roast for five minutes, then reduce the oven to 325° and continue to roast until completely tender, about 35-45 mintues.

Let the garlic cook slightly, then squeeze the cloves from their skins into a small bowl. Use a fork to mash the garlic into a rough puree and stir in the chopped rosemary. Season with the ½ tsp salt and plenty of pepper.

Using a sharp knife, lightly score the steak across the grain at ¼ inch intervals on both sides. Season the meat all over with salt and pepper. Set aside half of the rosemary-garlic paste and rub the rest all over the steak. Wrap the meat tightly in plastic wrap and marinate. If you are pressed for time, marinate the meat at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Place the meat on a hot grill and cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side for rare. Or broil the meat for 2 to 3 minutes, then turn and cook for another 3-5 minutes for rare.

Transfer the meat to a board and let rest for 5-10 minutes to allow the steak to reabsorb the juices. Meanwhile, combine the remaining garlic-rosemary puree with the mustard.

Slice the meat to 1/3 inch slices on the diagonal across the grain and serve with the garlic mustard sauce.

How I did it: after I added the mustard to the remaining garlic sauce, there wasn’t much there. So I coated the steak with all of the sauce. It turned out pretty good. I like it.

Malay Barbecued chicken

December 22, 2010

Malay Barbecued Chicken, from “A Spoonful of Ginger” by Nina Simonds, pg 98

This is wonderful chicken.It's fabulous in salads later in the week.

1 whole roasting chicken, about 4-5 pounds, giblets removed and trimmed of excess fat

Roasting sauce:

4 ½ T oyster sauce
2 T soy sauce
1 ½ T ketchup
1 ½ T light brown sugar
2 T minced garlic
1 ½ T minced fresh garlic
5 small shallots, peeled and minced
1 ½ tsp hot chile paste

The day before or several hours before cooking, prick the chicken all over with a fork so the seasonings can penetrate. Whisk the roasting sauce ingredients in a bowl, then rub the sauce all over the chicken and inside the cavity. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 425°. Arrange the chicken with its sauce, breast side down, in a roasting pan. Roast for 30 minutes, then turn the chicken over and baste with the sauce. Continue roasting for another 40 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked and has turned a deep golden brown.

How I did it: I use Bragg’s Aminos instead of soy sauce and I forgot to add extra salt. I also forgot to prick the skin on the chicken. OOPS. When you cook at high heat, if anything drips onto the bottom of the pan, it will smoke. I set off the smoke alarm when I took the chicken out to turn it over. I added some broth to the bottom of the pan for the remainder of the cooking. At the end, I strained it, reduced it and adjusted seasonings, then served it with the chicken.

This was really good. It smelled wonderful when it was roasting.

Pakistani-style grilled lamb chops

December 17, 2010

Pakistani-Style Grilled Lamb Chops, from “At Home with Madhur Jaffrey” by Madhur Jaffrey, pg 119

4 tsp very finely chopped ginger
2 tsp garlic, crushed to a pulp
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 ¼ tsp salt
½-3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
freshly ground pepper
½ tsp garam masala
2 pounds lamb chops, shoulder or ribs
2 T mustard, olive or canola oil

Combine the ginger, garlic, lemon juice, salt, cayenne, black pepper and garam masala in a shallow dish large enough to hold the chops. Mix well. Rub this marinade on both sides of the chops, cover and refrigerate for 4-24 hours.

Just before eating, preheat the broiler and set a rack 4-5 inches from the heat source.

Put the chops, with any marinade that clings to them easily, in a baking tray. Brush both sides with oil and place under the broiler for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until browned. If you want them more done, put them in a 350° oven for 5-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chops and the desired doneness.

How I did it: I used ginger pulp and garlic pulp. I got the garam masala at the Indian market in Tempe. I

These were really good. I liked them a lot.

Provancal Beef Stew

December 18, 2010

Provencal Beef Stew, in “Stews” by Jenna Holst, pg 12

This is one of my favorite beef stew/soup recipes. To make it soupy, omit the flour but otherwise cook it according to recipe.

1 ½ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
all purpose flour for dusting the meat (I used garbanzo bean flour)
2 ½ pounds beef round or chuck, cut into 1 ½ inch cubes
2 ½ T olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes (or 1 15 oz can)
2-inch strip of orange zest
¼ cup frsh flat-leaf parlsey, chopped
1 bay leaf
3 springs fresh Thyme
1 ½ cups full bodied red wine
½ cup beef broth or water

Mix the flour, 1 tsp of the salt and pepper together and dust the meat. Heat the 1 T of the oil to hot in a large (stew) pan. Add the meat and brown on all sides. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside.

Add the onions, celery and carrots and sauté 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, orange zest, parsley, bay leaf, thyme and remaining salt and cook for 2 minutes longer.

Pour in the wine and broth. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any cooked on bits.

Return the meat to the pot. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the meat is tender, about 1 ½ to 2 hours.