Sunday Blathering: Breaking Through the Fog & a Yummy Watermelon Sorbet

It's time to see if I can fit sentences together.

Why, look!  I put one.  Two.  Three.  Maybe even a paragraph together?  Voila!  Yes, I've been struggling a bit this summer.  Before, I really could blame fatigue and work for my inability to get things posted, but now I can honestly say it's a simple problem of a brain fog that I can't get to leave me be.

I mentioned that I had to go to the ER for a pretty nasty migraine several weeks ago.  Well, the doctors decided to put me on Topamax, which has put my brain into a type of fog and my extremities into pins and needles.  Listen, I think it will all fade over time--I hope?  I haven't had a migraine in two weeks though, and only the faintest of headaches.  What I wasn't aware of though, was that I've been living with constant headaches around the clock.  I had just grown used to them, and even more used to downing a couple of liver and kidney killing Ibuprofen a day.

Needless to say, I'll be quiet about my mind-numbing health issues and try to put words together!  Thanks to this medication issue, I have literally been writing a blog post for over seven days--not cool.  I'm going to try to finish it today and get it posted for Monday or Tuesday, while I'm feeling a little less foggy.

On the home front, my mother is still sitting patiently on the short sale offer.  In the meantime, we're taking exercise classes, eating really clean and healthy, and getting some good R&R.  I'm taking a couple of professional development classes dealing with technology in the classroom and then teaching an online course, so there is still a little going on outside of the general summer slowdown.  Overall though, it's all very nice.

Well, before I run off for the day, let me share a really delicious recipe we whipped up out of some watermelon we were going to have to throw out if we didn't put to use.  It's a pretty simple  Watermelon Sorbet.

You start with a simple syrup by boiling together 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, and 1/4 c. lime juice.  You then want to let it chill so you can bring it together with your watermelon puree.

Combine your simple syrup with 3 cups of watermelon puree, which we took our cubed watermelon and put through a blender and then through a fine sieve to get out the seeds.  Combine the liquids to create a beautiful liquid like this:

I combined it together in a measuring bowl that I could then use to pour it into the ice cream machine.

It then took about 30 minutes of constant spinning to get it to a nice, hard enough consistency to serve.

As you can see, it's still fairly loose.  You can then freeze it.  If you don't have an ice cream maker, just freeze the liquid in a cake pan and scape it with a fork to fluff it.

Either way, it comes out really beautiful and serves up a gorgeous color in the glass.

And the taste, is like summer in a glass!  :)  If you don't believe me, whip some up today!

If you'd like some more great ideas for recipes check out Weekend Cooking.  It is a great, weekly post run by Beth Fish Reads.  There are some really great food-related posts there.  Stop by to check out other great posts from this weekend.

Review & Weekend Cooking: The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook

End of term is over, and thanks to one last six hour push yesterday, all is graded an in.  Thank.  Goodness.  I'm completely and utterly exhausted, which is perfect for sinking into many a good book today. 

In the meantime, I wanted to get back in the game with a little Weekend Cooking post and book review.  I managed to get my hands on a copy of The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook.  Yes, it's "unofficial," but with a couple of long months ahead of us as we painfully wait for season three, it still is pretty fun to check out the recipes that just might be cooked up for our famous Downton clan.

Set up in a pretty classic fashion, this cookbook is minus the glossy pictures we expect today.  In the post-Edwardian era, the cooking was an interestingly sauced bunch of meats and "veg," with puddings and pastries for dessert and tea.   The contents of the book are separated into two parts: Part 1, "Dining With the Crawleys"; and Part 2, "Sustenance for the Staff".  From there, the book is separated into twelve chapters--eight for the Crawleys and three for the staff.

One of the things that I found nice about this cookbook is that it breaks its chapters into the courses in the meal that you might have with the Crawleys (yes, I picture being there).  We open with Hors d'Oeuvres, soup and fish.  Then it moves to entrees, meat course, game and salads, vegetables, and then desserts.  You'll find plenty of things like oysters, ducks, and roasts galore, with fancy wine and mushroom sauces.  The desserts are also somewhat familiar, with chocolate mousses, cakes, and eclairs, but also contains an Apple Charlotte and Bakewell Tart recipe to remind us of another era.    Tea Time wraps up the Crawleys' section, with delightful scones, curds, and finger sandwiches that seem fairly simple and straightforward to make.

The staff doesn't seem to eat that poorly, but maybe a bit less sauced.  Their food feels a bit more like standard "Toad in a Hole," "Bangers and Mash," and "Bubble and Squeak".  As Americans, if you're not an Anglophile, these terms might make the food sound creepy and a bit frightening, but really it's just basic things like sausages and potatoes.

I really enjoyed the range of recipes in this cookbook and the whimsy of tying it to Downton Abbey and our favorite characters.  Honestly, this is more of a classic British food cookbook, but adds that nostalgic look at a time and show we have all been captivated by.  I've thoroughly enjoyed it and plan on trying out some of the soups in particular. 

Now, can we get back to the show at some point!?!  I'll be keeping my eye out for these glorious foods the next time the Crawleys or staff have a bit of a sit down.

Weekend Cooking is a great, weekly post run by Beth Fish Reads.  There are some really great food-related posts there.  Stop by to check out other great posts from this weekend.

Paris in July Meets Weekend Cooking

Hartini, "Madeleines" July 17, 2008 via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution.

Happy Sunday!  What a strange week, but so nice at the same time.  I'm working on a professional development course online, as well as teaching a class, so I often feel like I spend way too much time online.  As I mentioned earlier this week in my "The W's of Reading: Required Reading," that has taken me away from some of my own reading.  I'll get back there though.  I always do.

In the meantime, I've been reading a couple of books set in France, I've watched a couple of French films, and I finally tried out my new Madeleine pan.  I've wanted to make these cute little desserts for awhile now.  I know they are supposed to be a cookie, but they have a bit more of a cake consistency and texture.  My first introduction to Madeleines wasn't from my trip to France (I wish), but from the show Extra Virgin on the Cooking Channel.  It stars Debi Mazar and her adorable husband Gabriele Corcos.  In one episode they whipped these little beauties up and I was sold!  The real struggle was the pan.  I looked here in my area and I found a couple of different types--small and medium molds.  I finally settled on the smaller ones and purchased one little pan.  Using the Extra Virgin recipe they provided for Madeleines (see link), I made a batch today. 

I'm kind of kicking myself that I didn't go ahead and take a picture of them, but I was embarrassed by their turn out and want to try again.  Because I only had one pan, I overfilled the molds.  As a result, they puffed up as they cooked and many of them cooked together along the back.  Now, that didn't affect the taste, just the look.  I also noted that if I left them in a little longer than the recipe called for, they had a really nice, buttery flavor to the lightly browned edges. 

Here's my take away:

• 1st attempts sometimes aren't perfect (imagine that).
• Don't overfill the molds!
• Maybe use a piping bag to load the molds so you don't spill in between the cookies--the look is essential to these beauties.
• Be prepared to share!  They taste best right out of the oven, so I think these are a treat I'll be making when I have more people around who want to snatch them up right out of the oven.
• Take a picture! Regardless of whether they're messy or not doesn't matter.  Right?  It's a journey, not a destination.  

Well, this was a fun experiment.  I'd like to try it again and hope to dig up a few more recipes that I can try out.  For now, I'm pretty happy about my first try!

This post was done in participation with two great challenges I'm joining in on.  Stop by these sites to see some more great recipes and posts for Paris in July and Weekend Cooking!

Paris in July is a challenge being hosted by Tamara at Thyme for Tea and Karen at Bookbath.  See their sites for more information and great posts about all thing French.  They have posts up about books, food, music, culture, etc. 

Weekend Cooking is a great, weekly post run by Beth Fish Reads.  There are some really great food-related posts there.  Stop by to check out other great posts from this weekend.

Weekend Cooking: Trying to Use Kale

Like most folks, I'm always trying to figure out ways of getting more veggies into my diet.  No insult to my mom's great cooking, but I wasn't exactly raised on a variety of veggies that could be prepared in a variety of ways.  We were a meat and potatoes family, with boiled or canned vegetables on the side.  Now I'm left trying to figure out how to cook vegetables in something other than water!  As an adult I've really tried to incorporate new vegetables into my diet and think this is one way that feels pretty decent for doing that.

Veggies before adding the pasta.

This is based on a Giada De Laurentis recipe that I've adapted...a lot.  This is my Pasta with Squash & Zucchini recipe, that I've also added Kale into.

1 box/package Orecchiette (or shape of your choosing)
1/2 lb. sausage (I like sweet Italian)
1 yellow, crook necked squash
1 small zucchini
1/2 bundle of Kale
4-5 cloves garlic
red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Start by prepping all of your vegetables.  Your squash and zucchini should be cut in roughly the same size chunks (I like to stick to semi circles of each).  Slice your garlic into thin slices and set aside.  Prep your Kale by pulling the leaf away from the stem & then slicing a rough chiffonade (small ribbons) of the leafs.  Now you're ready to cook!

Begin cooking the pasta as directed.  In another pan, heat the pan on medium-high heat.  Fry the sausage until brown and remove to a plate on a paper towel.  In the drippings left behind, stir in your garlic slices and red pepper flakes and cook for a minute, followed by the squash and zucchini.  Cook until veggies are soft--about 4 minutes. Toss in the kale slices and cook an additional minute or two until the kale wilts.

When the pasta has cooked, drain it (retaining a little pasta water for the finished dish) and put it in with the vegetables.  Use a little of the pasta water to loosen up the whole mixture.  It's ready to serve!

This was really good and kept very well.  I think that the kale will take some getting used to, even though its flavor isn't really that strong.  This was still a nice way of adding it in to a recipe. 

*For more weekend cooking, go to Beth Fish Reads.  You'll find all sorts of great food-related posts and recipes!  

Weekend Cooking: Oatmeal Cookies

Coming up for Memorial Day weekend, my bff is coming out for a wedding, to rent out her old apartment, and to see me!  In preparation, I'm doing a little cooking and cleaning.  The thing about my friend Monica is that she LOVES homemade cooking whenever she can get it.  I could tell you stories about her bad cooking, so she begs and pleads for "down home" food whenever she is around.  I am proud to say though that she is dabbling with cooking and has figured out a few recipes for herself.

Since I can't exactly cook meals a week in advance--well, I could, but I don't want to freeze them--I'm making oatmeal cookies today.  These cookies are genius, and they freeze really well.  You can whip up a batch, throw them in a freezer bag, and pull them out for that yummy cookie fix at any time.  I know she loves her mom's oatmeal cookies and I probably can't compare, but I do have a great recipe that will fit the bill!

Back before I finished getting my degree, I had to take a couple of years off to work so I could get insurance.  It's a long story, so I won't bore you with it, but I did have to take a break from college to work.  During that time I worked in our local hospital in admitting, insurance, and PBX--front desk.  I met an amazing group of friends who I had a really great time with at that point in my life.  My friend Heather is the one I credit for these cookies.  She was an amazing cook and these oatmeal cookies prove it!  My picture of the batch I whipped up today doesn't really do them justice. 

I've made a few heart-healthy adjustments and added flax meal and things like whole wheat flour and replaced 1/2 of the butter with applesauce.  I mainly just stick with adding 2 tbsp. of flax meal to the normal recipe, and it turns out great.

Heather's Oatmeal Cookies

1 c. Shortening or Butter
2 Eggs
1 c. White Sugar
1 c. Brown Sugar
1 1/2 c. Flour
2 tsp. Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Vanilla (Use really good quality, if possible.)
3 c. Oatmeal  (Not quick cooking.)
1/4 c. Walnuts or Pecans, chopped  (optional)

Cream the shortening, sugars, eggs, & vanilla together.  Add in all the dry ingredients until incorporated.  Mix in the oatmeal at the very end.  Drop by small spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

Now, let's hope that Monica enjoys these cookies!  How can she not?  Well, that's my weekend cooking for now.  How's that for simple, yummy, and straight-forward?  I'm pretty sure they'll be a nice hit.

*For more weekend cooking, go to Beth Fish Reads.  You'll find all sorts of great food-related posts and recipes!  

Sunday Blathering & Weekend Cooking

I'm so happy to say goodbye to this past week and more than ready to welcome a new one!  Almost every single year I have started to feel sick on the last day of school and ended up with a nasty cold or bronchitis.  My guess is that I just got it a bit early, so now I can finish off the school year with confidence, right?  Enough talk of plagues and scourges.  I'm so much better that I am feeling pretty chipper.

This coming week should be a great one at school.  My Popular Literature students have picked their Literature Circle books and had an amazing selection of new YA novels to choose from.  They checked them out on Friday, and I suspect that a good 1/3 of them will have them all read by our next class on Tuesday.  They really do show me that teens will make time for reading, no matter how busy they are at the time.  As with anything, it just depends on what you're wanting to do at the moment.

My other classes are doing projects and presenting them over Les Miserables and Tess of the D'Urbervilles, both books I adore teaching.  I'm excited to see what they come up with in their projects and presentations.  They always surprise me!

As for the home front, there isn't much to report.  Life can be pretty routine, with flashes of grandeur.  I think I'm doing the routine thing at the moment, saving up for the grandeur down the line.  At the moment, the grandeur comes in the great things I'm reading.  This past week I finished To Dance With Kings by Rosalind Baker.  I really can't say enough good things about it.  The grand, epic nature of the story about Versailles and the families associated with it were just all-encompassing, and I loved every minute of the story.  Now it's that slight let down you get when you finish a great book and find yourself searching for the next great read.

Well, enough of all that!  Today I finally started to get my taste buds back again, but had a fridge full of produce that was going to go bad if I didn't' cook with it.  You don't anticipate getting ill when you buy food for the week, so I really had to figure out a way of utilizing it all before it spoiled.  So, I came up with a quick pasta sauce that I could put all the veggies into like a paste.  It turned out amazing!  It really has a tanginess to it that deepened the flavor of the sauce, so I might be sneaking a load of veggies in again sometime.

Becky's Veggie Sunday Sauce

1 lb Ground Chicken Sausage
1 1/2 Red Onion
2 Celery Stalks
1/2 C. Chopped Carrots
1 Red Pepper
1 Zucchini, chopped
6 Cloves of Garlic
3 12 oz cans of Crushed Tomatoes
2 C Water or Beef Stock
Olive Oil
1 Tbsp. Basil
1 Tbsp. Oregano
1/4 C. sugar (optional)
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Begin frying the sausage in a large pot to develop the caramelization on the meat.  In the meantime, dice up 1/2 C. of red onion & set aside.  In a food processor, blitz together the remaining onion, celery, carrots, red pepper, zucchini, and garlic into a fine paste.  Return to the pot, stirring the meat until completely cooked & slightly caramelized.  Add the diced onion and cook for several minutes until almost tender.  Then add in the paste from the food processor along with the 2 C. of water or beef stock.  Add in the remaining tomatoes and spices to the pot, turn down to a low simmer, and let cook for 1-2 hours.

Serve with pasta or freeze into portions that can be used later.

*For more weekend cooking, go to Beth Fish Reads.  You'll find all sorts of great food-related posts and recipes!   

Review: Sweet Macarons--Delectable French Confections for Every Day

In the world of sweet confections, macarons surely rank up there with some of the world's prettiest creations--at least in my humble opinion.  If you've ever walked into a sweet shop with a glass showcase filled with colorful macarons, there just doesn't seem to be anything better.  Their vibrant colors, intricate flavors, and gentle sweetness come together to make a delightful dessert.  Besides, they can make you wish yourself in Paris with nothing more than a bite!

In Sweet Macrons, I really appreciated the amount of time and space spent to explaining the issues that come up with macarons.  These can be tricky little cookies, that I have yet to really master.  Although I've only attempted them twice, both times my cookies spread out on the baking sheet and I had a bit of a mess on my hands.  After reading through the suggestions at the beginning of the book, Mercotte explains that part of my problem had to do with not separating my egg whites early enough for them to sit out.  Once you've measured your egg whites, almond meal, and sugar, it seems like you can really get to the heart of macaron making, which opens up a bevy of beautiful desserts.

There is a nice variety of recipes in this little cookbook to keep every taste happy.  I loved the fruit ones, with flavors like citrus and kaffir lime, and mango and passionfruit.  There are also some of the standards, such as chocolate and salted caramel.  Regardless of difficulty or time, this cookbook has a nice and simple outline for their recipes, with pretty pictures to help you see your end goal. 

Now, it's time for me to try to tackle these little beauties again!

*FTC Disclosure:  This review was based off of a review e-copy from Netgalley.

Weekend Cooking: Hasselback Potatoes

This was a very good week.  I finished grading that huge stack of essays, another huge stack of annotated bibliographies, and a stack of quizzes.  What does that mean?  It means that the light is at the end of the tunnel BEFORE I hit "end of term" next Friday.  To be honest, I put in some long evenings to get it all done, so I'm a much happier teacher about now.

As you can imagine, I didn't get a lot of reading done, nor any exercising.  I swear that "dieting" or doing anything fun like reading goes out the window when you're on a deadline, so to say.  I've had a major Mexican food craving lately, so I broke my own eating out rule and picked up burritos twice last week.  I don't care.  It was all for the cause!  I'm still kind of battling that craving though, so what in the world am I lacking in my diet that I would crave HOT Mexican food so much?  I'll load up on vitamins and see if I can figure it out.

As I mentioned, this was not a good week for reading.  I had too many papers to read to actually escape into some good fiction.  I did, however, pick up and finish Les Belles Souers, a play that a book blogging Santa sent me for Christmas year before last.  I'm glad I finally had a chance to read it, because it got me warmed back up to do some more reading today.

Since I haven't really cooked in a bit, what with grading and all, I decided to try out a potato recipe.  I have this huge box of potatoes that my mom brought down from Idaho for Christmas, and although I gave a bunch of them away, I still have way too many to eat.  As an Idaho girl, I acknowledge that I'm a bit of a potato snob.  I can't stomach the dry/dehydrated versions, and I will push aside a bad mashed potato if I'm ever served one.  To be honest, I don't know that we ever had to buy potatoes, as we got them for free from people in our community. We could go to my Uncle Ralph's potato pit and pick up a huge burlap sack of potatoes  that would feed the family for most of the winter.  I just grew up on giant potatoes, cooked in every conceivable way, with almost every meal (thus my diet woes of today).  Having shared that preamble, I did find a potato recipe that we haven't ever tried--the Hasselback Potato. 

I can't even remember where I first saw these potatoes, but they have stuck in my memory and I had to try it out this weekend.  They are very simple to make, but do take a little preparation.

Recipe:
Potato--Russet is my choice.
Garlic--sliced
Butter--1/2 Tbsp per potato
Olive Oil--1 Tbsp per potato
Thyme--sprinkle
Sea Salt

Now, this is tough!  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Take your potato and wash it well.  Slice it in small slices about 3/4 of the way through the potato, without cutting it through completely.  Slice up several heads of garlic and place a slice between each layer in the potato.  Season the slices with salt, and then coat in melted butter mixed with olive oil and thyme.  I simply used a pastry brush and dabbed the butter and olive oil in between the slices and covered it on top with the butter & oil mixture.

Place the potatoes in the oven for 1 hour, basting near the end of cooking (at about 10 minutes left).  Take out and serve right away.  I topped mine with a touch of butter to shine it back up.  Then eat and enjoy!

These potatoes were GLORIOUS.  I love the addition of the garlic.  I've seen some recipes that put cheese on top, but I really liked the simplicity of the olive oil, butter, thyme, and garlic.  It was so tasty, and the crunchy ends and bottom were delightful.  I actually made three potatoes, so I'm going to wrap the other two (that I didn't eat) in tinfoil and reheat them over the next couple of days for dinner.  Yum!

Try these out.  They take a little time to prep, but are well worth it.  This will definitely be in my arsenal of potato dishes from now on! 

*For more weekend cooking, go to Beth Fish Reads.  You'll find all sorts of great food-related posts and recipes!  

Well, I do have a bit of grading to do today--blog posts for my Popular Fiction class, but once I'm finished I'm logging off to do a bit of reading and to watch the Kansas vs. Purdue game later tonight.  What are you doing today and how has your weekend been?

Sunday Blatherings & Weekend Cooking

With the start of a new term, comes that ever-needed brief reprieve from the grading that haunts me.  Honestly, I have to say thank goodness for that, because I have been so burned out that it has frightened me a little.  I'm talking epic burnout that I usually don't experience until about April.  Thankfully, Thanksgiving is right around the corner, so I'm looking forward to those five days off to check out for awhile. 

Nothing new is really going on in my world.  I've just been relaxing this weekend, doing a little cooking and cleaning, and reading more than I have in quite awhile.  Although I'm having a bit of downtime this weekend, I did review a couple of cookbooks that I received from Netgalley, The Sweet Life and I Love Meatballs!  Digital cookbooks are really great once you get used to using a device like the iPad when you're cooking.  In a lot of ways, it has completely changed the way I cook and gather recipes!

The Sweet Life: Diabetes Without Boundaries is a great cookbook by Top Chef runner up Sam Talbot (although I kind of thought he should have won).  As with many health oriented cookbooks, Sam's cookbook encourages healthy eating that doesn't require you to give up flavor, taste, and enjoyment.  Many of his recipes center on foods that are high on energy and low on refined products, all in an effort to keep blood sugar levels steady and energy high.  Many of his recipes feature low-fat proteins like eggs and fish, but also utilize nuts, legumes, and beans; all of which will keep your body fueled and running properly all day long.  One of the recipes I'm dying to try out is his "Soft-Cooked Eggs with Yellow Squash and Broccoli Rabe Pesto."  Because I'm not very imaginative on how to include more vegetables in my day, and especially not in breakfast, this recipe sounds really interesting and delicious!  Although the recipes are aimed at demonstrating how to eat well with diabetes, he does still have foods that we might consider quick sugar burners, such as fruits and breads.  These foods though are used in small portions and are mixed with other foods that are on the low end of the glycemic index.

Much of the recipes in The Sweet Life draw on flavor profiles from around the globe, which we know add great flavor without the fat and sugar.  He has everything from Asian flavors like Ponzu and lemongrass, to south of the border tacos and grilling.  (The "Lemon Chicken with Lemongrass and Love"--love being this amazing marinade of basil, parsley, garlic, ginger, and rice vinegar--sounds amazing!)  Regardless of whether you have diabetes or not, I found his recipes to be so smart and unlike anything I'd seen before, that I know I'll be trying them out in an ongoing effort to eat healthy, eat fresher, and eat at home.

I Love Meatballs by Rich Rodgers is a nice look at all the ways that meatballs can be incorporated into various meals, and at all their varieties.  Obviously, meatballs can be eaten with pasta, but they can also serve as a nice protein to add to soups, as a nice appetizer, as a base in a sandwich, or as the main protein to a meal with sides.  The thing I most liked about this cookbook, to be honest, were the guidelines and suggestions at the beginning of the book.  I've cooked a lot of different types of meatballs, to freeze for quick meals and such, but have run into issues with meatballs that fell apart, dried out, or didn't cook all the way through.  The introduction really gives some great tips on binders, cooking, and preserving that will help me the next time I cook up a batch of meatballs.

Although I've cooked a lot of different types of  meatballs, I really want to try out some of the Asian meatball recipes in his cookbook, such as the "Braised Vietnamese Meatballs in Caramel Sauce."  The caramel bit freaked me out a bit, but once you read the recipe it all makes sense.  They are these great pork, ginger, garlic, and rice masterpieces, dipped in a sweet and sour type sauce of sugar, broth, shallots, lemongrass, ginger, chilies, and cilantro that sounds really good.  Who knows, I might have to try this one out of my family one night over Thanksgiving break. (Speaking of which, this cookbook even has a recipe for "Turkey Meatball Subs with Cranberry-Chipotle Mayonnaise" that is very Thanksgiving-ish.)

There are lots of different versions to the meatball that I find interesting and really enjoy in this cookbook.  You can eat a nice Greek-style meatball with a yogurt sauce, a Spanish tapas version with sherry sauce, a nice Asian-infused meatball with a sweet & sour sauce, or a simple escarole and meatball soup.  Whether you only like meatballs with your spaghetti or have fully embraced the meatball as a protein that can stand on its own, you really should check out the amazing variety of recipes this cookbook has to offer.  I can't wait to try some of these out!

Well, that's all for my great weekend.  I'm off to read the afternoon away before I have to hop online for my classes I teach there.  Hopefully you're eating well, reading well, and resting well!  Have a great weekend! 

For more weekend cooking, go to Beth Fish Reads.  You'll find all sorts of great food-related posts and recipes!

Weekend Cooking: Vegetable Primavera Pasta

This is one of my favorite dishes, and it has a lot of room for switching up the base vegetables you want to use.  I used to try to meal plan before heading to the store, but I watched a show where Cat Cora helped a mother meal plan and suggested she go to the store to see what was in season and on sale.  I don't know why I didn't think about that before, but now I'm walking into the produce section with that in mind.  Having said that, yellow squash and small, spring zucchini were on sale, so I grabbed a couple for this recipe! 

I have to be honest.  This recipe is kind of a take off of a Giada recipe where she cooked squash and sausage together, before tossing it with bowtie pasta.  I made that original recipe with turkey sausage, red pepper flakes, and a lot of garlic, but found that if we removed the pasta and sausage, that it was still a great side dish.  Enough rambling on my part.  Let me get to the recipe!

Vegetable Primavera Pasta

3 Cups of sliced small yellow squash & zucchini
1 red pepper, diced (optional)
3-5 cloves of garlic, minced (to your tastes)
red pepper flakes (to taste)
3 tbsp Olive Oil + additional as needed in sauteing
1/4 C. cream  (optional) 
3 C. cooked pasta
Top with Parmesean cheese

Slice up the vegetables in similar size and thickness.  Heat a large, non-stick frying pan to medium high heat.  Toss in the olive oil, followed by the red pepper flakes to quickly infuse the oil with its heat.  Quickly add vegetables and garlic to saute until nearly tender.  You can add a few tablespoons of water at this point to gently loosen any bits stuck to the pan. 

If you want a creamier finish, add some cream at the end and incorporate with the vegetables with some salt and pepper to finish off.  If you want a lighter, equally as delicious version you can finish it off with a 1/4 of chicken stock or white wine.  To this cooked vegetable base, toss in 3 C. of cooked pasta.  Bowtie, penne, or even a stuffed pasta generally make the best choice (something with a larger surface to catch any sauce and to go with the vegetable chunks), but use what you have!  As you can see, I used fresh ravioli that was on sale. Finish off with some fresh Parmesan and freshly cracked pepper.  Buon apetito!

Leftover Alert:  This tends to soak up any liquid you have leftover, so it's a bit drier when you go to heat it up again.  If I know I'm going to pack it up for leftovers, I sometimes add a bit more broth or water before I finish it off.  Yes, it makes it a little looser for your first meal, but if you serve it with a slotted spoon, leaving the sauce in the pan, then you have plenty of liquid to get you through your leftovers.

Other Optional Veggies for Recipe Base:  mushrooms, asparagus, carrots (but be careful, because their sweetness can be odd), a diced tomato, spinach, peas, and it always tastes great with a chiffonade of fresh basil!  Dare I admit that it also tastes great to cut up some sliced bacon and use it with the olive oil to get things started?  Yes, it's really good!

For more weekend cooking, go to Beth Fish Reads.  You'll find all sorts of great food-related posts and recipes!

Weekend Cooking: Chicken & Black Bean Enchiladas

What a nice weekend!  My house is all clean, and I mean CLEAN, from the floors and laundry to the junk drawers, windows, and sweeping.  I'm telling you, I really had a burst of energy and tackled the inside and outside, cleaning and clearing away cobwebs.  I'm completely exhausted at this point, but it's a nice exhaustion that has nothing to do with hours of grading or paperwork, so it feels pretty satisfying for a change!  Besides, now I know the cobwebs are all gone and I don't have to freak out about nasty spiders.  *shudder*

I ran to the store today and decided to make Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas, which is a recipe I found online several years ago, but adapted in a million different little ways.  I love it, and any guest I've ever had over  has loved it as well.  The ingredients cost about $12-15 for the finished pan of about 8 enchiladas, so I'd say that's one cost efficient meal!  I've never joined in on Weekend Cooking that is hosted by Beth Fish Reads, so I thought today would be a great day to start!

Chicken & Black Bean Enchiladas

2 chicken breasts
1 medium onion
1 can black beans
1 package of soft taco shells
1 can of green chili enchilada sauce (Las Palmas is my absolute favorite, if you can find it!)
1 1/2 c. shredded cheese (I like a blend that has Monterrey Jack and cheddar.)
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. cumin powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
dash or two of red pepper flakes  (optional)

Chop the onion into a nice dice and the chicken breasts into small cubes.  Heat a frying pan and coat with enough olive oil to fry  up the chicken and onions, about 2-3 tbsp.  Cook the chicken, just until cooked through (but not browned, as that makes it too tough) and then add the onion and cook to tender.  Turn the heat to low and add in one can of black beans, rinsed and drained.  Salt and pepper the mixture, adding in the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and chili flakes.  Stir the ingredients together and then remove from heat.

Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.  Pour 2/3 of the can of green chili sauce on the bottom of the pan, then begin filling the soft taco shells with the chicken and black bean mixture, rolling them up enchilada style after each one and sliding them in close to one another  (I usually fill and roll all in the baking dish, which is messy, but coats each one in sauce.)  The pan should hold 7-8 enchiladas. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, uncovered.  Remove from the oven, cover in the shredded cheese and return to the oven for another five minutes or until the cheese has melted and has begun to bubble.  Remove from the oven and serve with sour cream, salsa, black olives, or other toppings of your choice.

My suggestion & advice:  I like to make a batch of these enchiladas and portion them out for lunch during the week.  I'll admit that it can get soggy if you leave it in the fridge for too long, so I like to portion it out and freeze it in small, individual containers.  That seems to stop some of the liquid from completely soaking the shells.  I'm really not a big leftover fan, but I love these! 

Review: I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Giulia Melucci

From time to time, I like a good "foodie" book.  There is this comfort factor that goes along with reading about someone who not only makes lovely food, but has TIME to make lovely food.  I like to cook on the weekends and often put up food for the week, but rarely cook more than simple throw-it-together meals midweek, or grab something on my way home.  Listen, I think I've given up on trying to keep salad fixings from going bad.  When you're single and cooking for one, salad goes bad too fast.  I've decided that I'll splurge on the weekly Cafe Zupas salad rather than keep throwing out the stuff I bought at the store!  Having said that, I ran across Giulia Melucci's book, I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti.

Synopsis:  From Goodreads, "In the early '90s, Giulia Melucci moved out of the Brooklyn home where she was raised full of romantic hopes and her mother’s excellent Italian cooking. She dreamed of finding the perfect guy, but fresh ingredients were scarce. After nearly twenty years of New York City dating she had nothing more than a slew of broken relationships under her belt. Well, that and a heap of delicious recipes, which she shares along with stories of her doomed amorous adventures.
 
An affectionate alcoholic, a classic New York City commitment-phobe, a hipster aged well past his sell date, and not one but two novelists with Peter Pan complexes no matter what their fatal flaw, Giulia has cooked for them. She suffers each disappointment with resolute cheer (after a good cry) and a bowl of pasta (recipe included), and has lived to tell the tale so that other women may find a better recipe for love or at least go to bed with something good to eat.

You will laugh along with Giulia as she manages to find the lighter side of each disappointment as you swoon over her irresistible culinary creations. Mix one part humor, a dash of sarcasm, and lots of heart then devour this story of a woman looking everywhere for love . . . and finding it on the stove."

Review:  With a witty way of telling a life story and a book full of great recipes, Melucci's story was not only fun to read, but also yummy to devour! Yes, this is very much a single gals journey through relationships and good food, mainly at the same time.  Not one of the men that she dated ever seemed to complain about the fact that she could cook.  Really, what human being would ever complain about a really good cook? With her Italian heritage and her appreciation for good products, the meals she created didn't just please her men, but will easily please her readers as well.

One recipe I jumped on was her angel hair with asparagus.  With a quick saute in olive oil and garlic, the asparagus takes only minutes to cook.  Toss in a bit of angel hair, and top with Parmesan, and what could be better?  What's not to love?  Other recipes in the book included a variety of pasta dishes, breakfast foods, and roasted meats.  Intermingled with Melucci's stories of the men she dated, loved, and lost, you come to believe there will be a giant epiphany at the end of the book, but it's not there, and that feels all right.  In a surprising sense, there isn't really a great arrival point in the book, but more a series of experiences that came into her life.  On the whole, this was a great "journey" story, filled with great food, recipes, and characters who all work together to create an engaging recipe for a book.  Now, if only I could find the energy to cook like she does!

Check out this fun YouTube video with the author where she describes her own book:

Happy Thanksgiving!

To all of my American friends, I want to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving today!  Although I'm thankful for many things, today I'm just happy for the chance to take a time out and gear up for this wonderful holiday season.

Yesterday I made a traditional carrot pudding that my grandma always used to  make.  It takes three to five hours to steam, so it's a real treat for our family. If you're interested, here's the recipe:

Carrot Pudding

1 c. shredded potato (fresh, not frozen)
1 c. shredded carrot
1 c.  shredded apple
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. melted butter
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. raisins

 Mix potato with the baking soda to help prevent browning while you shred and prepare the remaining ingredients.  Into potatoes, mix carrot, apple, brown sugar, butter, and spices.  Toss raisins in the flour and put the flour and raisins into the wet mix & fold in.  Healthy version:  I like to replace 1/4 c. of the flour with wheat bran and then add 3 tbsp. of flax meal.   You can't taste it and it adds a nice healthy touch!

Steam the pudding in a double broiler (make sure to put water in the bottom and to check it often because the water runs out and needs to be refilled) for anywhere from three to five hours.  The longer the better actually.  You want the final pudding to be a dark brown and a little firm.  We like to serve the pudding warm with a little warmed up cream that has had vanilla pods steeped in.  Also, my grandma would make a caramel sauce to pour over it.  I was always a cream girl though.  Enjoy!  It makes a great breakfast treat.

Avoiding the Inevitable End to My Summer

As much as I love my home, my job, and my life back on the mainland, I can't help but have a little anxiety about leaving Hawaii.  I've done this every summer, so I should be ready for the inevitable freak out, but it popped up this weekend!  Here's how I solved it:

A lady in our neighborhood had a big bunch of bananas that another neighbor was trying desperately to get rid of, since they had ripened and were just too much for one family. How could I resist?  These were, actually, my first "off the tree" bananas for this summer.

My mom asked me to make a family get-together favorite, Easy Banana Pudding that I picked up when I lived in Mississippi.  Here is the pudding bit, just waiting for the vanilla wafers and banana slices.

Here's the final product.  This isn't rocket science to make, but a real sugar overload, and yummy to boot.  I made this with the mini Vanilla Wafers and will NEVER do that again.  They were too little, and I didn't like the look of them.  As my mom said, "Who cares!  It will still taste good."

Here's the recipe if you're interested:

1-2 bananas, sliced (depending on how many layers you make)
1 large box of instant vanilla pudding
2 C. milk
1 large whipped topping
vanilla wafers (It usually only takes 1/2 a box or less)

Directions:  Mix the pudding mix with the milk, until there is a slight set on the pudding.  It will be fairly stiff.  Fold in the whipped topping until the mix is incorporated.  Slice the bananas & reserve for the layers.  In a bowl, make small layers of pudding, vanilla wafers, pudding again, bananas, and then repeat, leaving the top layer as the pudding.  You can then decorate the edge of the bowl with vanilla wafers if you like.

I actually did a lot of reading this weekend.  I finished:

I'm also just finishing up:

One more week in paradise!  Yes, I'm a bit late posting this for the weekend, but what have you been up to?  Does anyone else cook when they're anxious, or am I a horrible stereotype gone awry?!?

Tapenade or Pesto, Each Spell Love

Pardon my post today, while I digress from reading, to food.  They're a great combination though, if I do say so myself!

I'm a bit late in the game to Pesto sauces and Tapenades.  Come on.  I grew up in Idaho where the only sauces or spreads we used were butter, gravy, ketchup, or barbecue sauce.  Yes, not all that adventuresome when it comes to robust or spicy flavor profiles.  Several weeks ago we discovered this little Italian eatery in Kaneohe that introduced a basket of bread and the most wonderful black olive spread to us.  The thought of that black olive pesto spread has been calling my name ever since.

I have since decided that I have to try my hand at this great recipe, so I've tracked down a recipe that looks very similar to the one that we have eaten at this little restaurant.  The closest to the one I like is called "Black Olive Pesto Sauce" and was found at Cooking.com. 

I actually am leaving out the orange zest, and instead including a small strand of roasted red peppers bottled in olive oil (Less than 2 Tbsp chopped).  I happen to keep roasted red peppers on hand now, after including them in quite a few of my pasta recipes and salads.  I think that the peppers are sweet and mild enough, that they will make up that last component I was looking for in this original recipe.  I know that a few other recipes call for capers, which I'm sure are very good in this as well, but I don't keep them on hand. 

Image thanks to Healthy Food For Living

The other delight I've been introduced to recently is Creamy Pesto dishes.  Who knew that pesto could be creamy?  So, I might be the last person on the planet to have discovered this delight, but it's now a "guilty pleasure" dish.  I know they sell packets of "Creamy Pesto" that you can whip up.  *shudders*  I'm just not sure though that a powdered version would get the flavor you're looking for?

Does it look like I'm hungry lately?  There is something about eating a food that you really enjoy and think you could fix for yourself that sticks in your mind.  I'm now feeling a bit inspired to see what I can do with these flavor profiles, especially in the case of the Black Olive Pesto/Tapenade.  These were two newer dishes for me that I really want to try, and will be sharing.

If you haven't had either of these dishes, I recommend that you try them as soon as possible. 

Does food ever strike you in a way that you HAVE TO find a recipe to recreate it?  One step further, do you ever find yourself inspired to create new dishes from the original that you had? 

Bethenny Frankel: Simple Lunch Salad Recipes & Blog Award

In my never-ending endeavor to eat natural and healthy, I thought these recipes by Bethenny Frankel (one of my favorites on Real Housewives of NYC) were really great. Bethenny has also recently put out a book called Naturally Thin, which I have a sample of waiting on my Kindle. I hope to read it this summer.

Well, off to the gym...and maybe the Pesto Chicken Salad after?!? :) Also taking a great book with me to the gym. How can you go wrong, I ask?

Also, Desert Rose was so kind and awarded me the #1 Blogger Award! It was so nice of her, and the picture is too cute. (Head over to her blog to say hi!) Since I'm up to my eyebrows in finals for my online classes, I thought I'd pass this on to just one new blogger I stumbled onto. She is Gaby317, over at Starting Fresh. I was excited to see someone new, and wanted to give her this cute award! Congrats.