Vacation!

We are taking a vacation for a week, so this will most likely be the last post in a little while, unless I get otherwise inspired. Last night we had a wonderful dinner with some new friends W and K. We made grilled pizzas and a lemon meringue pie. It was delicious, and the company was GREAT.

W is a photography nut, and he helped me work out a couple of issues with my camera. He also snapped away and got some wonderful action shots of the meal coming together. So, when I get my hands on those images, I will post them. For now, here's a picture of the pie to wet your palate!

Pesto Pasta with Breaded Chicken

Tonight was another night to use up some of the wildly growing basil from our garden. We decided to add a little more protein to our traditional basil pesto by adding some chicken tenders. We dredged boneless-skinless chicken tenders in some unseasoned bread crumbs, and placed them in a saute pan lightly coated with olive oil. They only look about 10 minutes to cook, and it was the perfect addition to this delicious pasta! I also added some halved grape tomatoes for some color and flavor. See http://whatsfordinner-fft.blogspot.com/2010/07/pesto-pasta-with-garlic-steamed.html for the pesto recipe.

I can't say enough good things about pesto. I just love it in every imaginable form! This basil pesto is just so perfect with the basil from our garden. I take it from the plant just seconds before putting the dish together, so it doesn't get any fresher than this! D loves it as well, and we all know J's a pesto-fiend! J finished off his meal with a piece of watermelon that he insisted on eating with an adult-sized fork! He is one determined little fellow.

Food for Thought: Basil contains a compound that is a powerful antioxidant, which means that it has been shown to fight disease and lower inflammation. It also contains a lot of vitamin K, some vitamin C, and many minerals including calcium.

Greek Salad Pitas with Olive Tapenade

Olive Tapenade
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 c kalamata olives, pitted
1 tbs olive oil
1 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar

Place ingredients in a food processor and process until a chunky paste is formed.



Greek Salad Pitas
1 c roma tomatoes, chopped
1 c cucumber, chopped
1 c roasted beets, chopped
1/2 c radishes, chopped
3 c baby spinach, washed and dried
1/2 c feta cheese, crumbled
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp oregano, dried
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Pita pockets

Place some of the vegetables in a pita pocked along with some cheese and olive tapenade (recipe above). Mix the oil, vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper in a small prep bowl. Spoon some of the dressing into the pita sandwich.

Tonight's dinner inspiration came from the latest edition of Fine Cooking Magazine. I changed a couple of minor things and added the roasted beets. The garlic, cucumber, and beets came from our farm share. And, they were fresh and perfect. D commented how much he was enjoying the cucumber, and then asked if it was from the farm share...he had forgotten we had one. But, you can really taste the difference!

J was being picky tonight! We made him a vegetable burger, and I gave him some feta cheese along with some squash. He wasn't too interested in his meal, but was really enjoying the watermelon that I gave him for dessert. We even had to change his T shirt because he was soaked in watermelon juice!

Food for Thought: Tapenade is traditionally olives, capers, anchovies, and olive oil pureed and formed into a paste. There are many modern variations on the traditional theme. Olive tapenade is a popular choice, and is perfect on bread as an appetizer or as a sandwich condiment.

Fresh Herb, Summer Squash, and Tomato Frittata

Fresh Herb, Summer Squash, and Tomato Frittata
1 tbs olive oil
3 whole eggs
2 egg whites
1/4 c whole milk
1 yellow summer squash, chopped
1 roma tomato, chopped
1/2 c fresh basil, chopped
3 tbs fresh chives, chopped
3 tbs fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 c shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Preheat the broiler. Place the olive oil into a cast iron (or other non-stick, oven safe) saute pan. Meanwhile, beat the eggs, egg whites, and milk in a medium sized bowl. Add the herbs and beat again. Pour egg mixture into hot pan and scatter the summer squash and tomato into the egg. After about a minute, sprinkle the cheese, salt and pepper over the top of the egg and cover. Cook until the egg is very slightly under-cooked. Remove from stove top and place under the broiler for a couple of minutes, carefully watching to make sure to remove it before the frittata turns a golden brown.
If you want to, you can reserve a small amount of the fresh herbs to sprinkle on top of the frittata before serving.

Because we have so many fresh herbs growing in the garden, and we had a summer squash from our farm share that we needed to use up, I decided that this was a great meal to put together. It's very easy to make, and it tastes summery and delicious! We served the frittata with some pumpernickel bread and some carrots from our farm share.

We all had dinner together, and J ate exactly what we ate. Although he got some extra broccoli and a half a banana as well. He seemed to enjoy the frittata, but I did see a disproportionate amount of the summer squash left on his tray, with the surrounding egg removed and in his little belly. Hmmmm....

Food for Thought: Since I haven't talked about them before, carrots are a SUPER nutritious vegetable. They are full of vitamin A and beta carotene. In addition they boast a moderate amount of vitamin C and smaller amounts of almost every other vitamin and mineral imaginable! Interestingly enough, the bulk of the beta carotene (what's good for your eyes!) is not readily released until the carrots are cooked or pulped. I had no idea...

Chicken Sausage, Sweet Red Cabbage and Apples, and Potato Salad

Sweet Red Cabbage and Apples
1 tbs olive oil
1 small sweet onion, sliced
2 c red cabbage, sliced
1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
1 tbs water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbs sugar
2 1/2 tbs white vinegar

Place the olive oil into a saute pan. Add the onions and cabbage and saute until wilted. Add the apples, water, salt and pepper and cover. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the sugar and the vinegar and cook for another 5 minutes. If it's too sweet, add more vinegar, and if it's too tart, add more sugar!

Potato Salad
4 c red potatoes, washed and diced
1/2 c scallions, chopped
1/4 c cider vinegar
2 tbs mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 c olive oil

Precook the potatoes in a pot of salted boiling water. Remove from water just as the potatoes begin to soften. Set aside in the fridge to cool for at least 1 hour. Add the scallions to the potatoes (after they have chilled) and mix. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and whisk together to emulsify. Add the dressing to the potato salad, mixing as you go. There will be more dressing than is needed, put that aside in the fridge for later!

Tonight I felt like we should be eating outside in a German beer garden with this meal! We had a red cabbage and some onions from the farm share this week, plus a whole bunch of red potatoes. D loves sweet red cabbage, so I thought that this whole meal would be a great way to use up our farm share vegis! We had a couple of chicken sausages frozen away, so that made it even easier! We ate the sausages with a bit of Dijon mustard and the two delicious sides! I really enjoyed having a potato salad with a vinaigrette for a change, and the cabbage was perfectly sweet to balance it all out!

I had thought ahead and got things moving so that the 3 of us were able to eat together. J had a chicken apple sausage and some spinach with a banana for dessert. I tried to give him one of the apple chunks from our cabbage, but he didn't seem to interested.

Food for Thought: Apparently the color of this cabbage variety is varied from red to purple depending upon how acidic the soil is in which it's grown. Red cabbage is very high in vitamin C and K, and even manages to pack in some potassium. It is slightly less bitter in flavor than its greener counterparts, which lends itself well to a sweet cabbage dish.

Waffles: A Pleasant Oops!

Waffles
1 c all purpose flour
1 c cake flour
1/2 c white-whole wheat flour
2 tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 c skim milk
1 c whole milk
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tbs vegetable oil
1/2 c wheat germ
2 c fresh blueberries, washed and dried

Preheat a waffle iron sprayed lightly with olive oil. Pour about 1/4 c batter into each section of the iron and cook about 5-8 minutes or until waffle is just golden brown.

I'm calling these waffles an "oops!" because I accidentally dumped in the cake flour thinking that it was white-whole wheat flour! I thought it looked a bit white and fluffy, but didn't think too much of it until I was putting it back into the cabinet and noticed the label. Since I had already dumped everything else into the bowl, I figured I'd add some white-whole wheat flour to thicken the batter, and go from there. The result was surprisingly delicious. The waffles were very crispy on the outside, but perfectly light and fluffy on the inside. D, J, and I loved them! And, we have a bunch that we froze for J to eat later.

Food for Thought: Cake flour is a very finely milled low-protein flour. This means that it is less glutenous, and thus prevents a very doughy or dense product. Basically it makes baked goods very light and fluffy; exactly what it did to our waffles.

Chocoate Chip Cookies!

Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
9 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

In the bowl of a stand mixer, place the butter and the sugars. Cream the ingredients together. Add the egg, followed by the egg yolk, and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 3 stages. Once the flour is well-mixed. Add the chocolate chips and mix just to combine.
Place the dough in the fridge for 36 hrs!
Preheat the oven to 350F. Roll the dough into balls, using about 2 tbs of dough/ball. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until cookies are just cooked through. If the dough is very cold, it may take a bit longer.

This recipe is from America's Test Kitchen, but I discovered it, along with this technique on The Pink Apron's blog: http://pinkapronbaker.blogspot.com She swears by this recipe, and now that I've tasted the results, I can definitely say that these are worth the LONG wait!

I had to use the utmost restraint not to eat all of the raw dough out of the fridge, and I think almost all of it actually made it into the cookies...only some made it into my belly pre-cookies! I also used the Ghirardelli chocolate chunks that are VERY large, and semi-sweet, so the chocolaty flavor was certainly robust! D agreed that these cookies are divine. They are thick, crunchy on the outside, still wonderfully chewy on the inside, and crying out for a glass of milk. Basically, they're perfect!
Food for Thought:
Dark chocolate is actually quite healthy, when eaten in moderation! The darker, the more bitter, but also the better. It's full of very potent antioxidants, which have been shown to fight disease, boost immunity, and benefit circulation!

First of the Harvest!

Here it is! The first harvest of the summer 2010 season. This is a banana pepper and our first cherry tomatoes. I'm sure there will be more garden updates, but it appears that the watermelon plant is quickly overtaking everything, so that might be all we're left with soon!
I'm trying to come up with some interesting ways to use the banana peppers. Suggestions are more than welcome.

D and I already ate those three tomatoes, and they were deliciously sweet. I love the way they "pop" in my mouth! Such a perfect reminder of summer!

Rainbow Trout Packets with Citrus-Cucumber Salsa

Rainbow Trout Packets with Citrus-Cucumber Salsa
Rainbow Trout Packets

1 1/2 lb rainbow trout
1/4 c soy ginger sauce
1 tbs orange zest
2 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sriracha
2 tbs scallions, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place everything but the fish in a small bowl and whisk together. Place the fish onto a piece of tin foil. Cover with sauce and fold ends of foil to form a packet. Place into oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through.

Citrus-Cucumber Salsa

1 orange, sliced and chopped
1 grapefruit, sliced and chopped
1 c cucumber, finely chopped
1/2 c fresh mint, chopped
1 tbs ginger, chopped
1 tsp lime zest
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp sesame oil

Place all ingredients in a medium size bowl. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes before serving. Place on top of the fish (recipe above).

The inspiration for this meal came from the latest edition of Fine Cooking Magazine. The original recipe involved tea-smoking salmon, but I decided to make things a bit simpler, and the rainbow trout was fresher than the salmon today. The method of cooking the fish in a packet with sauce provides a moist cooking environment and prevents the fish from drying out. It also infuses the flavors into the fish without requiring marinating time. The salsa balanced out the fish very well, and provided a crisp and crunchy addition. We served the meal with some sushi rice cooked with 1/4 c of scallions and 1 tbs of rice wine vinegar.

We had our friend A over for dinner tonight. A's wife is out of town for a couple of weeks, so we thought it would be fun to have him join us, and he seemed happy to come and eat with us! A said that this meal deserved "4 stars", so thank you A!

Because we had a guest, we decided to make things easier by feeding J earlier. He had a vegetable burger, some broccoli, and some banana.

It's late, and I'm tired, so no food for thought tonight!

BBQ Chicken with Cherry Barbecue Sauce and Garlic-Herb Polenta

BBQ Chicken with Cherry Barbecue Sauce
The Sauce

1 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbs chili powder
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 c orange juice
1/4 c brown sugar
1 c water
6 oz tomato paste
1 1/4 c cherries, halved and pitted

Place the olive oil into a sauce pan and heat. Add the onion and saute for about 5-8 minutes, or until the onion starts to become translucent. Add the garlic and chili powder and saute for another minute. Next, add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for about 20-30 minutes, or until the sauce significantly reduces in volume and thickens. Let it cool slightly, and place into a food processor and process until it's a smoother consistency (only a few seconds).

BBQ Chicken
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Cherry barbecue sauce (recipe above)

Heat a gas grill. Meanwhile, baste the chicken in the Cherry BBQ sauce making sure to save some sauce that has not come into contact with any raw chicken. Place the chicken on the grill and cook for about 8-10 minutes a side or until cooked through.

Garlic-Herb Polenta

1 1/2 c water
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 c polenta
3/4 c basil, chopped
2 tbs thyme, chopped
1/2 c parmesan cheese, grated

Place the water into a sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Add the garlic and the polenta. Stir and remove from heat. Stir in herbs and cheese. Let polenta sit covered for about 5-10 minutes to absorb the water.

Since it's cherry season, I thought I'd do something a little different with sweet cherries. I decided to make a sweet BBQ sauce that incorporated the fruit. The sauce was definitely sweet, but I'm not sure how strongly I would have been able to identify the cherry taste. But, both D and I agreed that it was a great BBQ sauce!

Since I felt like we needed something a bit starchy to go along side of the chicken, I threw together the polenta. It's super quick, and a great way to use some of the herbs from our garden. I rounded out the meal with some green beans from our farm share. I just sauteed them in some olive oil and gave them a pinch of salt. Fresh and delicious. We even had enough of the barbecue sauce left over to stick in the freezer for another day.

We managed to have everything on the table by J's dinner time, so we all ate together again. J ate what we ate, along with a spinach patty. He wasn't too into the polenta tonight, but he LOVED the green beans! He couldn't get enough of them!

Food for Thought: There are two major varieties of cherries that are used for consumption. The first is the sweet cherry, and the second is the sour cherry. All cherries boast very powerful antioxidant qualities and have demonstrated superb disease-fighting properties!

Grilled Stuffed Naan

Grilled Stuffed Naan

Naan Dough
3 c flour, roughly, although depending on humidity, you may use more or less
1 tbs sugar
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 c yogurt
1/2 of a large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 c lukewarm water
2 tbs olive oil

Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix to combine. Meanwhile, whisk the yogurt and the egg half (I just scrambled the egg and then poured about half of it down the drain) in a small bowl. Add 3/4 c of lukewarm water and the oil and whisk together. Add the yogurt mixture to the flour mixture and mix on a low speed using the dough hook. Add more flour as needed if the dough appears sticky. Only add an additional 1 tbs of flour at a time. The dough should be slightly sticky, but it will form a large round around the dough hook. Once the dough is done, turn onto a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper and floured. Divide the dough into 5 rounds and lightly brush each with a bit more olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for 1-2hrs.

Filling
3/4 c cilantro, chopped
1/2 c mint, chopped
1/4 c parsley, chopped
4 tbs almonds
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbs olive oil

Place all ingredients through the salt into a food processor. Process until small pieces. Add the oil while processing to form a pesto-like consistency. Set mixture aside.

Stuffing and Grilling
1/2 c chevre (goat cheese)

Preheat gas grill. Meanwhile, roll each dough-ball into around a 5" circle. Spread 1 heaping tbs of the herb mixture onto the dough. Then spread a thin layer of chevre over the herbs. Fold into a pocket and roll out again to flatten further and attempt to make another round. Place naans onto grill directly. Grill for about 3 minutes, flip and grill another 3-4. Enjoy!

The recipe is an adaptation from a recipe in the June/July 2010 Fine Cooking Magazine. It was a bit of an experiment since I had never made a non-yeasted naan dough before, and I had never grilled naan (only pizza). First off, I halved the original recipe, which explains the half an egg! Next, I accidentally substituted the baking powder for baking soda. I did consider starting over, but by the time I realized this, I wouldn't have the required resting time before dinner. I also hoped that this would work out since baking powder is just baking soda with an added acid. Because this recipe contains yogurt, which is fairly acidic, I hoped that the acidity of the yogurt would be enough to activate the baking soda.

The recipe suggests serving these naans along side either a lamb dish or a tandoori-style chicken. Both sounded like great options, but because we were trying to keep things a bit lighter for a summer meal, I decided to serve them with a large salad. Traditionally, naan is usually brushed with melted butter after cooking, but these definitely didn't need it, so I skipped the butter.

The result was superb! One of our favorite meals in a while. The acidity of the yogurt definitely did it's trick because the naans rose and became quite fluffy. The herb mixture was delightful, and perfectly balanced with the cheese. And, the actual hand-on time to get these cooked was pretty minimal.

We all ate dinner together. D really loved the meal as well. J had a small piece of naan to accompany his squash, peas, and Dr. Praeger vegetable burger, and he finished his meal with some pear.

Food for Thought: Naan is a leavened flat-bread that is native to many S. Asian countries. Many varieties of naan are available, and they are largely dependent upon their country of origin. Naan can be plain or stuffed with meats or vegetables. It is usually eaten as an accompaniment for a meal.

Tricolor Summer Pasta with Ricotta Cheese

Tricolor Summer Pasta with Ricotta Cheese

8 oz tricolor rotini pasta
1 tbs olive oil
2 garlic cloves
4 roma tomatoes, diced
1 yellow summer squash, chopped
1 c basil, chopped, divided
1/4 c chives, chopped
1 c ricotta cheese, divided

Place the pasta in a large pot of heavily salted water and cook according to the directions on the package. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a saute pan. Add the garlic, saute for about 1 minute, then add the tomatoes and the squash. Saute for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in about 3/4 c of basil and all of the chives. After about a minute, remove from heat and stir in about 1/2 c of the ricotta cheese. Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and add it into the tomato-ricotta mixture. Toss well. Serve topped with a dollop of ricotta and basil.

D came back late last night, thankfully, so we were both pretty tired from a long weekend. Because of that, I wanted to make sure that we had something easy and healthy for dinner. So, I decided to throw together this summer pasta. Plus, it was a great way to use the summer squash from our farm share, and to use some of the herbs from our garden. The finished product was fresh, simple, and just what the doctor ordered!

And, since the meal was ready in a snap, we all ate together. J had the pasta as well, with a side of broccoli and some pear for dessert. He seemed to enjoy it, and he is really enjoying trying to master using a fork!

Food for Thought: Summer squashes include yellow squash (both straight and crook-necked), zucchini, and pattypan squash. They are harvested in the early to mid-summer season and are decidedly more tender than their "winter" cousins (acorn, butternut, etc). Summer squashes are easy to cook with because they do not need to be peeled in order to eat, and are much juicier than winter squashes. Yellow summer squash is high in vitamin C, riboflavin and potassium.

The Garden!

Here's our garden! I'm so proud of how well everything seems to be growing, and the fence is keeping out the deer, bunnies, woodchucks, and other offending garden-eaters.
We have basil, cilantro, parsley, chives, taragon, cherry tomatoes, banana peppers and watermelon. Can you tell what each plant is?

Bagel Sandwich

There's not too much exciting on the home front tonight, including this not-so-wonderful picture of my bagel sandwich! D is out of town for the weekend, so it's just J and I holding down the fort. Typically when D's away, I don't tend to cook anything elaborate. I've definitely been known to eat my fair share of oatmeal for dinner! So, there's probably not going to be any more posts this weekend...unless I get inspired to get in the kitchen!

Tonight I made a bagel sandwich with some fava bean hummus, avocado, CSA lettuce, and a slice of provolone cheese. It was pretty tasty. The lettuce really gave the sandwich the crunch it needed. I made the fava bean hummus yesterday, since we had gotten more favas in the farm share last weekend, and they needed to get used. For some reason fava beans by themselves just don't appeal too much to me...maybe it's that ugly casing or just the large bean itself. If anyone has any good fava bean recipes, please feel free to share them!

I made J a half of a sundried tomato-mozzarella vegetable burger, and a spinach patty. He finished his meal with some mango, and I finished mine with a peach.
No food for thought here tonight...D, we miss you already!

Bratwurst Sandwiches with Tomato Jam

Tomato Jam

3 medium-sized, ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 tbs sugar
1 tbs cider vinegar
1/2 tsp thyme, dried
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Place ingredients in a sauce pan and heat over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat. Let the tomato mixture simmer for about 30-40 minutes, or until the liquid has evaporated and a chunky jam remains.

I've shown two pictures here during the cooking process of the tomato jam so that you can see how much it really cooks down.


Bratwurst Sandwiches

2 chicken brats, grilled
2 hoagie rolls, lightly toasted
1/2 c sauerkraut
1/2 c tomato jam (see recipe above)

Place half of the sauerkraut in one of the hoagie rolls, place in one brat, and top with half of the tomato jam.

Tonight's recipe came from the latest Fine Cooking Magazine. (This edition is especially good.) It was surprisingly excellent. The tomato jam was very simple to make, although since it did require significant simmering time, I had to plan ahead a bit. The jam was both sweet and tart and the sauerkraut balanced out the flavors perfectly well. Luckily for us, chicken bratwursts were on sale at Whole Foods, so that was just an added perk!

Since I had thought ahead and made the tomato jam during J's nap, we were able to get everything on the table in time for J's dinner. D manned the grill, and we just missed a severe thunderstorm! I think the first raindrops were falling as D brought in the brats. Talk about timing! We gave J half of the inside of one of the bratwursts, and he seemed to really enjoy it. He also had some sweet potato, broccoli, and a half of a banana.

I want to give a special shout-out to my mother-in-law because it's her birthday. So, happy birthday D!

Food for Thought: Bratwurst is a type of sausage, and it usually made from either red meat or pork, however chicken and turkey brats are now available as well. Brats are German in origin, and can be prepared in various ways, usually stemming from the specific region from which them come. They are often fried or cooked in beer.

Tofu and Shitake Kebabs and Green Beans

Tofu and Shitake Kebabs

1 14 oz package of extra firm tofu, well drained and cubed
1/4 c soy sauce
3 tbs fresh ginger, chopped
3 tbs hoisin sauce
2 tbs rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tbs honey
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs sesame oil
6 oz shitake mushrooms, stems removed
1/2 c scallions, cut into 1" pieces
1 orange, sliced into 2" triangles

Soak 8 foot long bamboo skewers in water for at least 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the soy sauce, ginger, hoisin sauce, rice wine vinegar, honey, olive oil, and sesame oil in a large bowl. Whisk well. Add the tofu, mushrooms, and scallions. Fold to coat. Let this sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. After the marinating time has passed, place vegetables on the pre-soaked skewers, making sure to save the marinade.
Preheat the broiler and coat a jelly roll pan in tin foil. Place the kebabs on to the baking sheet, and place into the oven. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, flip, and broil for another 5-7 or until the tofu is browning.
Meanwhile, take the remaining marinade, and place it into a small sauce pan. Bring the marinade to a boil, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Let it simmer for about 3-5 minutes, or until it thickens.
Drizzle the reduced sauce onto the kebabs before serving.

Green Beans

1 tbs olive oil
2 c green beans, washed and trimmed
2 tbs marinade (see recipe above)

Place the oil into a large skillet. Heat. Once hot, add the green beans and saute until they begin to brown. Stir infrequently. Once the beans are browned, add the sauce and saute, stirring constantly for about 1 minute.

Tonight's dinner inspiration came from a recipe in the latest edition of Fine Cooking Magazine. I only changed a couple of minor things in the kebab recipe, and since the marinade looked so good, we decided to use that on the green beans we had from our farm share. We also served the meal with a little bit of sushi rice that we popped into our rice cooker. This meal was excellent. The flavors were GREAT; very complex and perfect. The orange gave a nice infusion of citrus to the dish as well! D isn't usually a big tofu fan, but he was raving about this meal!

Since this dinner was a bit more labor intensive, we didn't get to eat with J. J had some of the leftover pesto pasta from last night, with a little more added parmesan cheese for protein. He also had a spinach patty and a banana for dessert.

Food for Thought: Tofu, or bean curd, is made from soy milk. It is used in many types of East Asian cuisine. It is a "health food", with a lot of iron, protein, and very little fat. It is available in varying degrees of firmness, which constitute its many uses, from a meat-substitute, to a smoothie ingredient. Tofu lacks a strong flavor, and essentially takes on the flavors used in its cooking.

Pesto Pasta with Garlic Steamed Broccoli

Pesto Pasta

8 oz rigatoni, cooked
3 c fresh basil leaves, washes and dried
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/4 c pine nuts
1/2 c parmesan cheese, shredded, and divided
3 tbs olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Cook the rigatoni according to the directions on the package. Meanwhile, place the basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, and 1/4 c of cheese into a food processor. Process until the leaves have significantly reduced in size and a chunky paste has formed. Add the oil into the pour spout while the machine is running. Add the salt and pepper. Toss over the cooked pasta, top with more parmesan, and enjoy!

Garlic Steamed Broccoli

2 c broccoli florets
2 cloves garlic, minced

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and place a steamer insert on top of the pot. (If using a multi-cooker for pasta, just place the steamer on top of the pot while the pasta is cooking.) Once the water is boiling, add the broccoli and garlic to the steamer and cover. Steam for about 5 minutes, or until the broccoli has begun to soften.

Tonight's dinner was a CSA and our own garden masterpiece! The basil came from our garden, which is doing amazingly well, and the garlic and broccoli were from our farm share this week. The food was absolutely fresh and delicious. It's incredible how much better really farm-fresh food does taste.

D and I were both commenting on how much we were enjoying this meal, until I spotted something lurking in the very bottom of the bowl with the broccoli...are you ready for this one? There were 2 small maggots!!! EWWWWW. I almost vomited onto my pasta! (Sorry for being so graphic!) Luckily, the pasta was not mixed with the broccoli, and D and I both concluded that if we had in fact eaten one of the "unwelcome guests" we most likely would have noticed. So, we discarded the remaining piece (yup, we had already eaten the rest of it!), and went on with our meal...only slightly disheartened! I guess the moral of this story is that farm-fresh broccoli heads might contain some surprises, and it would be wise to check more carefully during the cleaning process!

Since this meal is a snap to make, it was easily ready for all of us to eat together. J LOVED the pesto, as usual, and he had some broccoli as well. But, his broccoli was from some mashed frozen broccoli I had stored away, thankfully! And he finished his feast with some mango. I'm so proud that he loves his pesto!

Food for Thought: Garlic is a close relative of an onion. It has long been touted for both its culinary and medicinal uses. It is used in just about all types of cuisine imaginable. And, it boasts some pretty well-proven health benefits, such as lowering of cholesterol, reducing heart diseases and atherosclerosis, and even is often used as an antiseptic! It also contains a variety of vitamins and minerals...I guess there's not much not to love!

Chicken Lettuce Cups

Chicken Lettuce Cups

2 tbs olive oil, divided
5 oz shitake mushrooms, chopped
1 medium shallot, chopped
4 tbs scallion, chopped
1/4 c fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
3/4 lb white meat chicken breast, ground
5 oz water chestnuts, chopped
3 tbs hoisin sauce
1 1/2 tbs soy sauce
1 1/2 tbs rice vinegar
1 tbs oyster sauce
2 tsp sriracha
1 head butter lettuce, leaves washed and dried.

Place 1 tbs olive oil into a large skillet. Meanwhile, mix the sauce (hoisin through sriracha) in a small bowl. Whisk together. Once the oil is heated, add the mushrooms and saute for about 5-7 minutes, or until the mushrooms soften and release their juices. Remove mushrooms from pan and set aside in a large bowl.
Place the remaining oil in the skillet. Add the shallot and scallions and saute for about 1 minute. Add the ginger, saute for another minute. Add the chicken and break up meat with a wooden spoon. Once chicken begins to brown, add the water chestnuts and the sauce. Stir to combine, and cook until the chicken has cooked through and the sauce has thickened slightly.
Place about 1/4 c of the chicken mixture in the center of a lettuce leaf and wrap into a small burrito-like pouch. Enjoy!

The inspiration for this meal came from 2 different recipes in the latest editions of both Fine Cooking Magazine and Cooking Light Magazine. Each recipe was actually fairly different from each other, and neither was exactly what I was looking to make. So, with a little tinkering from my inspirational sources, I ended up creating this meal. D and I really loved it! The flavors were so tasty, and it was slightly sweet, slightly salty, and slightly spicy. Plus, the crunch and coolness of the lettuce was awesome. We actually used a head of lettuce we got this week from our farm share, so it was extra crispy and fresh.

I was proud that even though D was slightly later coming home from work than he usually is, I managed to get J entertained with our pizza peel while I got dinner together. So, when D walked in the door, it was virtually ready to be put on the table, meaning that the three of us could eat together. J didn't want to pick up his chicken, but happily ate all the chicken that I spooned into his mouth! He has some broccoli, mango, and peach as well.

Food for Thought: Hoisin sauce is a traditional Chinese dipping sauce. It is made from various ingredients including rice, wheat, or sweet potato, with sweet potato being the most traditional. It is most commonly found in Cantonese cuisine, although it is used in other Chinese cuisines and in Vietnamese cooking as well.

Pizza and Old Friends

This weekend we have some friends visiting from out of town. We haven't seen them in a very long time (about a year!), so it's fun to see old faces again. Because they were arriving around dinner time and because they have a little one, who's just over 2, we decided to do grilled pizza. See April 21, 2010 post for recipe. We made 2 pizzas. One was a margarita with tomato and basil, and the other was a mushroom-olive. Because the grilling time is so short, I pre-cooked the mushrooms in a saute pan with a little bit of olive oil to make sure that they were cooked when the pizza came off the grill. The results were delicious, and I think everyone enjoyed it! J even had a slice of the margarita one with a side of peas and carrots!

Check it out!

Check out my new blog, an adjunct to this one, to answer all of your food related questions. See the link on the right-hand side of this blog, or on the tab "Ask Culinarian?", and start asking away!

Gazpacho and Parmesan Toasts

Gazpacho

1 large English cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 large red pepper, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
4 roma tomatoes, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 c tomato sauce, canned
1 c water
1/4 c white wine vinegar
1/4 c olive oil
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper, freshly ground

Place each of the vegetables in a food processor, one vegetable at a time. Pulse the processor until the vegetables are cut into small pieces. Do not puree. After processing, place vegetables into a large bowl, along with the remaining ingredients. Mix well, and set in the fridge for at least 2 hrs before eating to let the flavors meld.
Serve with either sour cream or Greek yogurt.

Parmesan Toasts

Rustic Italian bread (or other soft white bread with a crusty-crust!), sliced
2 tbs olive oil
1/4 c parmesan cheese

Preheat the broiler. Brush one side of the bread with olive oil and top with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. Place on a baking sheet and broil for about 5 minutes, or until the bread begins to toast and the cheese begins to melt.

Gazpacho is the perfect summer refresher. It's healthy, light, cool, and flavorful. The longer gazpacho sits, the better it tends to taste, so this makes a perfect leftovers meal! Since I don't prefer very strong onions, I soaked my chopped red onion in a bowl of cold water for about 5 minutes before I placed it in the food processor. This tends to mute the onion flavor a little, but if you like a strong onion taste, then pass on the soaking! Another nice touch is to finish the soup with a handful of chopped vegetables that did not go through the food processor. This gives a more textured soup and a nice presentation. Unfortunately, I didn't go the extra-mile tonight to chop a few more vegetables for presentations sake...maybe next time!

Since it's been so unbearably hot here for the past few days, this was the perfect meal to cool us off. And, the heat should be breaking later tonight, so it couldn't have come at a better time! We ate our gazpacho with a dolup of Greek yogurt, which provided the perfect balance to the acidity of the tomatoes. The parmesan toasts flushed out this meal a bit giving it a more filling aspect. Yum!

J had a some meatloaf, peas, spinach, and banana. We all ate together. I did give J some Greek yogurt with a taste of gazpacho on his tray. He was excited about the yogurt, but not so excited about the gazpacho!

Blog update: As some of you may have noticed, I have hit a slight roadblock in the updating and reformatting of the blog. To my disappointment blogger does not allow me to post on a second page, so for now "Ask Culinarian?" is on a temporary hold. I will remedy this problem soon, so stay tuned!

Food for Thought: Gazpacho originated in Southern Spain, and it is basically a cold, raw, tomato-based soup. Several variations of gazpacho exist depending upon the region in Spain. It is also eaten in Latin America and Portugal.

Fava Bean Hummus and Roasted Vegetable Wraps

Fava Bean Hummus

1 1/2 c shelled fava beans
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 c lemon juice
1 tbs tahini
2 tbs olive oil

Place the whole fava beans into a bowl of water and soak for about 30 minutes. Using a paring knife, slice along the seam of the bean and open shell. Pull out beans. Boil beans in water for about 30 minutes. Rinse under cold water and then remove waxy outer shell of the bean.
Place shelled beans into a food processor along with the other ingredients and process until a paste-like consistency.

Roasted Beets and Turnips


2 c beets, trimmed and cubed
2 c turnips, trimmed and cubed

Preheat oven to 375 F. Place beets and turnips onto a baking sheet. Toss them with oil and salt. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Fava Bean Hummus and Roasted Vegetable Wraps

Fava bean hummus
Roasted turnips and beets
Lettuce
Tomato, diced
Avocado, diced
Cucumber, diced
Goat cheese (crumbled chevre)
Whole wheat lavache

Spread fava bean hummus on lavache. Fill with vegetables and roll up, as you would a burrito. Enjoy!

I had a dentist appointment tonight at 8pm, so I had to make sure that dinner was ready to get on the table by the time J needed to eat. And, since I wasn't sure what time D would come home from work, I did the roasting of the vegetables and I made the hummus yesterday. So, all I had to do to get dinner on the table was just to throw everything into the lavache and put the wraps on the table! D and I were both pleasantly surprised at how tasty the hummus was, and decided that fava beans were worth the work in this hummus! The consistency was nice and thick, which was perfect to help hold everything in the wrap.

J had a piece of meatloaf, a spinach patty, and some banana for dessert. He kept pointing at our wraps, but that wasn't really an option. I did give him a few goat cheese crumbles, but he didn't seem too interested in eating those.

Food for Thought: Fava beans are a traditional bean eaten in many Mediterranean cultures. Interestingly enough, there is a medical condition called favism, which is defined by a severe hemolytic anemia (lysing of red blood cells) as a result of eating fava beans! This problem stems from a lack of a specific enzyme, and this condition is found in individuals of Mediterranean decent.

What's For Dinner? Facelift!

Ok, so here it is: the NEW and IMPROVED blog! I've added a search box for easier targeted searching, and a new index by food or meal type. This should make it MUCH easier to sort through all the past postings and find the perfect recipe!

I've also added another tab called "Ask Culinarian?". This is a new format for my blog, and it is meant to be a question/answer setting for all of your burning cooking questions. I can't wait for questions to start rolling in, so ask away!

BBQ Leftovers

Tonight D and I decided that there was certainly no good reason to buy more food for dinner since the house is pretty stocked with leftovers from last night's 4th of July BBQ. J and I ate sundried tomato pizza vegi burgers made by the brand Gardenburger, and D had a leftover turkey sausage. The chunk of bun missing in the photo had already disappeared down J's hatch before I began my dinner! J seemed to enjoy his vegi burger, and I'm glad because that is a quick-fix for dinner if I haven't planned ahead. We all ate some baked beans and coleslaw as well. We've been loving the maple and onion vegetarian baked beans from Whole Foods' 365 brand.

Since there isn't too much exciting going on here in the way of cooking tonight, I'll give you a teaser for what's to come! I've been roasting some beets and turnips (from our farm share), and I'm boiling some fava beans as I type this...

4th of July BBQ

4th of July BBQ

This evening D and I threw a BBQ for his new residency class, and it was so much fun! To make our lives slightly easier as the hosts, we had people bring their own meats (or fake meats) to grill. Some people also brought some chips, dips, and other sides. We had also made Cole Slaw (see post from May 2, 2010 for the recipe), and I made Ina Garten's flag cake, another once-a-year treat. For this year's cake, I used fresh berries from the farmers market! See this link for the amazing recipe:

Vanilla Custard Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Vanilla Custard Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

1 1/2 c whole milk
1 1/2 c cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6 large egg yolks
1/2 c plus 2 tbs sugar
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Place milk and 1 c of cream in a sauce pan. Heat it over medium heat until the edges begin to bubble. Stirring so that a skin doesn't form.
In a separate heat-proof bowl, combine the remaining cream, egg yolks, vanilla, and sugar. Whisk together until the sugar dissolves.
Add 1/2 c of the hot milk mixture to the egg mixture and stir. Pour the egg mixture into the sauce pan and cook over medium heat stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Lower heat to a simmer and cook about 5 minutes, or until the custard begins to thicken. Do not let it boil. Once thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and leave a trail when a finger is drawn through it, remove from heat and pass through a strainer to collect any of the egg solids. Discard solids.
Place the custard into a bowl sitting in a larger bowl filled with ice. Place plastic wrap over the top of the custard, touching the custard top to prevent a skin. Once cooled, place into the fridge for 4+ hrs.
Place into an ice cream maker and freeze accordingly. Once the ice cream is pretty solid, add the chocolate chips and continue to mix for about 3-5 minutes. Place into a tupperware container and freeze for at least 4 hrs before eating.

About once per summer I make homemade ice cream. I should really make ice cream more often! This was really tasty! I think that custard bases always seem to work best for homemade ice creams because they stay creamy and do not get too icy. Custard based ice creams are also really rich and complex in flavor. This recipe is an adaptation from a Williams Sonoma ice cream cookbook that I have, and it tends to turn out wonderfully. Sometimes when I want to make life easier, and I want to make a slightly healthier ice cream, I'll use egg beaters instead of the real deal. This way I also don't have to cook the eggs, so it is a definitely short-cut as well. Another good trick to tuck away!

Food for Thought: I tried to look up the origin of ice cream and its varieties, but after some research into the topic, I have no idea where to begin! Almost every country one can think of has it's own take on this frozen treat. Traditionally ice cream has been made with dairy, but now it can be made with soy milk, rice milk, coconut milk, almond milk, etc, etc!

Grilled Chicken, CSA Lettuce, Corn, and Nectarine Salad

Grilled Chicken, CSA Lettuce, Corn, and Nectarine Salad

Grilled Chicken

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tsp basil, dried
1 tsp oregano, dried
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayanne
1/8 tsp garlic powder

Preheat a gas grill. Meanwhile, mix all the spices in a small prep bowl. Apply spice rub to chicken. Place chicken on grill. Grill for about 8-10 minutes, flip, and cook for another 8 minutes or until cooked through.

Grilled Corn Kernels

Preheat a gas grill. Place the corn in a pouch made out of tin foil. Place the wrapped corn on the grill for about 12-15 minutes. Remove from the foil, and let cool slightly. Using a sharp knife, cut the corn kernels off of the cob.

Salad

Chicken with above spice rub
Grilled corn kernels (from above)
1/2 red pepper, diced
1 nectarine, diced
4 c bibb lettuce
juice from one lime
Greek yogurt
Guacamole
shredded Pepperjack cheese

Place the lettuce in a large shallow bowl. (I like to use a pasta bowl.) Top with chicken, pepper, nectarine, corn, cheese, and a heaping spoon on yogurt and guacamole. Pour lime juice over the entire salad as a dressing.

Originally D and I had planned to have grilled chicken tacos with a nectarine salsa, but dinner wasn't coming together quite as quickly as we might have liked, and the thought of finding the recipe to follow was not appealing. In addition, we had this deliciously fresh bibb lettuce head from our farm share that just needed to be eaten! So, we decided to do a spice rub, grill the chicken, and just enjoy the fresh vegetable and fruit flavors. What a delightful meal this turned out to be! Both D and I were surprised and impressed with how tasty everything was. The lime juice really brought the whole meal together, and we both decided that this might have been our favorite meal of the week.

We ended up going over to our friend B and J's house after J's afternoon nap, and we stayed there until his dinner time. That being said, we didn't all eat dinner together. J had some more of the red pepper pesto pasta, a tiny morsel of turkey meatloaf, some sweet potato, cauliflower, and banana for dessert. He's walking up a storm these days, so I think he's really packing in the food to make up for the increased caloric expenditure!

Food for Thought: Sometimes when things aren't going exactly as planned, just changing it up and going out on a limb can be the best problem solver!

Basil Pistachio Pesto and White Bean Pasta

Basil Pistachio Pesto and White Bean Pasta

1 tbs olive oil
1 c basil leaves
1/4 c pistachios, shelled
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
8 oz pasta, cooked
15 oz white beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 c grape tomatoes, halved
2 c arugula, washed
1/4 c parmesan cheese

Place the basil, pistachios, and garlic into a food processor. Process until fairly smooth. Place the olive oil into a large skillet and heat. Add the basil mixture, stirring, and heat for a couple of minutes. Add the pasta, and toss to coat with pesto. Add the salt, pepper, beans, and tomatoes. Heat through. Remove from heat, stir in arugula, and serve topped with parmesan cheese.

Tonight's recipe came from the latest edition of Cooking Light Magazine, and both D and I were very disappointed. We agreed that the pistachios were the best part of the dish, and that a pistachio pesto is a good idea, but beyond that, this meal was completely lacking. The white beans were bland, and they seemed to diminish the flavor of the pesto. And, since this was a "healthy" pesto with very little olive oil, there wasn't much sauce, or too much flavor. I definitely wouldn't make this again...and honestly, I'm not sure you should either! Still wondering why I bothered to type out the recipe...at least the picture looks pretty decent!

We didn't get to eat with J tonight since we took him to one of the summer music festivals. I had made him some red pepper and parmesan pesto pasta, which his ate with zeal, and honestly, I think his dinner was much tastier than ours! He also had some pear, sweet potato apple sauce cookie, a few raisins, and some cheese that one of the other parents at the concert so generously shared with him when he went up to their kid. I'm constantly amazed at how much he can eat!

Food for Thought: The word pistachio not only describes the nut, but also is the name of the tree from which the nuts grow. Pistachios are a very healthy nut. They are loaded with protein, minerals, B vitamins, lutein (for eye health), and fiber.

Philly Cheese Steaks #2

Today we repeated a recipe. See the post from March 7, 2010 for the "Philly Cheese Steak" recipe. D had his first day as a "radiologist", and he had requested this for dinner a few days ago. And, since we were running late and didn't get our dinner put together until after J was in bed, these were the perfect thing to eat. I chopped all the vegetables right before we gave J a bath, and D actually made the sandwiches (while I was tediously filling out the special US Census form we got selected to do). Kudos to D for making these extra tasty!

J had a scrambled egg, some spinach, zucchini, mango and banana for dinner.

No food for thought here tonight...I'm busy thinking up some fun treats to make for the 4th of July!