Fruit Salad

Fruit Salad

I grew up with fruit salad that had a little bit of orange juice stirred in.  However, if you are using oranges in your fruit salad, you can just cut the orange segments out for one of them instead of the larger orange slices, and then squeeze what's left and you have enough fresh orange juice to help out your fruit salad!

Butterscotch Pudding

Butterscotch Pudding

Barbuzzo in Philadelphia has an amazing dessert that has me searching for the right layers for my own layered dessert.  I made the pudding that is from their dessert to test it out.

Recipe from:

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/09/caramel-budino-with-salted-caramel-sauce

The pudding part of the recipe is copied and pasted below:

Budino

• 3 cups whole milk, divided
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 3/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 5 large egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons dark rum
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• Whisk 1/2 cup milk and cornstarch in a small bowl; set aside. Heat remaining 2 1/2 cups milk in a small saucepan just to a simmer; set aside. To make caramel, stir sugar and 3/4 cup water in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; cook without stirring until an instant-read thermometer registers 210°–220°
• Line a sieve with a double layer of cheesecloth and set over a large pitcher. Whisk egg yolks in a large bowl. Gradually whisk in hot milk, then cornstarch mixture. Slowly whisk in caramel. Return mixture to saucepan. Whisk constantly over medium heat until mixture thickens and a thermometer registers 175°, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in butter, rum, and salt. Pour through prepared sieve.
• Pour 1/2 cup budino over crust in each jar. Cover; chill until set, 4–5 hours. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.

Chicken

I baked a whole chicken.  Stuffed it with half a small Gala apple, half an onion, and half a lemon.  Rubbed it with olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh rosemary.  Baked it in the oven at 425? until the thermometer read 165 degrees.  Best chicken I've ever baked!  I baked it uncovered and there was no "steam" from another pan of water underneath.  The skin really kept the chicken tender.

Super moist piece of flavorful chicken!

I used the carcass to make stock.  Simmered the carcass with carrots, celery, onion, for about 4 hours.  All the chicken from the baked chicken disappeared fast.  I needed more chicken for the soup so I poached two chicken breasts in some chicken stock and then shredded it for my Chicken Noodle Soup.  Delicious with parmesan.

Spinach Kugel

Spinach Kugel

4 eggs, well beaten
1 lb. spinach
1 lb. whole wheat egg noodles
1 pkg. dry onion soup mix*
1/4 lb butter (1 stick, 1/2 cup)
1 c milk

Cook the egg noodles.

Cook the spinach if using fresh spinach; defrost and dewater the spinach if using frozen spinach.

Blend eggs, onion soup mix, non-dairy creamer, and margarine (you can use your blender).  

Pour onto hot noodles, mixing well.  Add spinach.  Mix well.  

Pour into a baking pan and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

*I've been trying out substitute recipes for Lipton's onion mix but they have yet to measure up.

This is one of my dogs; his name is Kugel.
He is eating kugel! 

Quesadillas

Chicken & Veggie Cheese Quesadillas with Salsa & Sour Cream

Heat up a little bit of oil in a flat pan.  Let both sides of a whole wheat tortilla begin to brown.  Sprinkle on your cheese (I used raw cheddar) and other ingredients (including spices - I leave out salt because the cheese is salty enough).  When the cheese is melted, either fold in half or put another tortilla on top.  Press together; flip.  Eat with salsa and sour cream (guacamole would be good, too).

My veggies - onions, green and red peppers.

How to poach chicken

I used shredded chicken for the quesadilla.  To make shredded chicken, the first step is to poach your chicken.

You can use any liquid bath you want for this - stock, mead, water...  You can add juice, soy sauce, oil, herbs, vinegar, etc.  Whatever you want, you really can't go wrong.  You can marinate the chicken in an acid first or you can not.  It's hard to go wrong when you poach chicken.  Put the chicken in a saucepan and make sure it's covered with the poaching liquid.  The liquid should not be hot - room temperature is fine.

Put the stovetop on medium heat.  When the liquid begins to boil, turn off the heat.  Set your timer for 15 minutes and let your chicken sit in the liquid covered.  Your chicken is now cooked!

Some people suggest shredding chicken with a fork, but your fingers work just as well.  Up to you how finely shredded you want it!

The free-range chicken breasts I poached and shredded.

Pesto Pasta

Whole grain pasta with pesto, peas, and ground lamb.

Lentils & Rice

Pictured with a little bit of aged provolone melted on top.

This is a family food I my mom used to make.  1 part cooked rice, 1 part cooked lentils, and LOTS of onions, all mixed together.  Sweat or caramelize the onions (for at MINIMUM 10 minutes) depending on your preference.  Mix at least half of the onions in with the lentils and rice but reserve some of the cooked onions for putting on top of the lentils and rice when you serve it.

Feel free to keep as bland as you like or spice as much as you want!  Cooking the rice and lentils in stock will add flavor, and other good things to add include salt, pepper, chili, cumin, garlic, paprika, parsley, etc.  I squeezed some lemon juice and mixed it in.  Any rice or lentil will work or even a mixture (For the lentils and rice above, I used three different lentils and used up three different rices that were all quite low).

I was bored of the leftovers so I added ketchup and some soy sauce and then baked it into a lentil loaf.  Serve with ketchup on top!

A "Lentil Loaf" sandwich

Chocolate Pudding

Spiced Chocolate Pudding with Whipped Cream

I made a recipe I found at http://www.evilshenanigans.com/2009/03/spiced-dark-chocolate-pudding/

The only changes I made were that when I made fresh whipped cream I added in lemon zest.  This recipe would work well as a basic pudding recipe without the spices as well.

Serves 4

1.  In a saucepan, heat 1 cup of the milk with the a cinnamon stick, 2 lightly crushed cardamom pods, 1 clove, 1 1/2 t vanilla extract, and 1/4 t salt.  Bring to a simmer then shut the heat off, cover, and let steep for 15 minutes.  Then remove the cinnamon stick, cardamom pod, and clove from the milk.

2.  Whisk well 1 more cup of milk, 2/3 c sugar, 1/4 c cocoa, and 3 tbs corn starch.  Stir constantly over medium-low heat until it begins to thicken, 5+ minutes.

3.  Pour a ladle of the chocolate mixture into a bowl with a beaten egg and whisk well together.  Then return the egg mixture into the main mixture and cook over medium low heat until it begins to boil.

4.  Remove from heat.  Stir in 2 tbs butter and 3 oz chopped bittersweet/extradark chocolate.

5.  Pour into containers and chill for 2 hours.

6.  Top with whipped cream and a dusting of cinnamon.

Ricotta Gnocchi with Beef Tomato Sauce

Sauce:  Onion, garlic, sage, ground beef, peas, crushed tomatoes, vegetable bouillon paste, agave syrup, fresh basil

Gnocchi:  This gnocchi recipe is from one of my favorite restaurants in Philadelphia - Mercato.  They have a delicious short rib ragu with ricotta gnocchi, broccoli rabe, and shaved locatelli.  A good combination I've done at home but braised short rib gives the meal a different flavor and takes many hours to cook.

Mercato posted their gnocchi recipe here.  I have also included it below.  I used whole wheat flour but otherwise followed the recipe.

1 pound low-moisture Ricotta cheese (note: the stuff in the tub, NOT ricotta salata)
1 whole egg
1 egg white
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup fine ground parmesan cheese
1 - 2 cups flour

Mix all ingredients together well except flour.  Gradually add in flour in increments until you have reached a dough that can be rolled but it still delicate and soft.

To form the gnocchi, flour work surface, roll out a quarter cup of dough at a time into long thin lines.  Cut with a knife into 1 inch long pieces.  Indent each with a fork to help catch sauce.  (Or if you are not as concerned with appearance, you can just roll them up and pull them apart).

Drop into boiling water, gnocchis are ready when they float to the top of the water.

Strain and serve.  (A helpful time to have a spider/skimmer)

Red Curry Beef and Vegetables w/ Cous Cous

I made a stir fry with whole wheat cous cous.  For the vegetables, I brought a can of coconut milk mixed with the curry paste to boil and let it heat up for 5 minutes.  This way when I put in the vegetables they are almost "fried" in the oil from the coconut milk.

Cous cous is a great grain to use not only for its taste but when time is short.  1 part cous cous to 2 parts near boiling water (or stock).  Stir and let sit covered for 5+ minutes.  All ready!

Sugar+ Cookies

Marissa and I made sugar cookies.

We used a traditional sugar cookie recipe
but added freshly juiced ginger, fresh lemon zest, and fresh mint.
In Snickerdoodle fashion we took the sugar cookie dough
and rolled little balls of it in a cinnamon sugar combination before baking.

BBQ Tofu & Fruit Salad

BBQ Tofu and Fruit Salad

Barbecued Tofu is a comfort food for me and one of my favorites.  I grew up eating BBQ Tofu on brown rice.  It's delicious!

Use extra-firm tofu, cube it, marinate it in the BBQ sauce, and then bake it in the oven on parchment paper.  When it seems like its near done, broil it to brown.

I grew up on homemade BBQ sauce and the storebought stuff is just not the same.  Here's how to make delicious homemade barbecue sauce:

1.  Put ketchup in a bowl.  BBQ sauce is mostly ketchup.  If you end up adding too much soy sauce and make the sauce too thin, you can always add more ketchup later.

2.  Add in some soy sauce (or shoyu, or Braggs, etc.).  When you mix it, it should become the right thickness, color, and taste.  This is the base of your BBQ sauce.  If you end up with too much of everything below, you can add more ketchup and soy sauce to dilute the other flavors.

3.  If you want to, add in a dash of worcestershire sauce, tempura sauce, fish oil, or anything of the like.

4.  Add in a bit of olive oil.

5.  Add in sweet and sour.  Keep in mind the ketchup is likely already sweetened.  I used honey, freshly squeezed lemon, and a dash of apple cider vinegar.  Depending on your mood any sweetener and any citrus or vinegar will do.

6.  Add in seasonings (garlic and onion can be fresh, dried, or both):  minced garlic, minced onion, pepper, a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg (optional), a dash of mustard, some heat if wanted (e.g. jalapenos, crushed chili flakes, etc.).  Note: I do not add salt because soy sauce is usually already pretty salty and ketchup usually already has salt in it as well.

Voila!  You have delicious BBQ sauce.

Salmon with Sweet Potato Fries and Sauteed Broccoli

Salmon with Sweet Potato Fries and Sauteed Broccoli

For the fish:

I got wild salmon from Captain's Catch in Northern Delaware.

First I rubbed the salmon with a mixture of cumin and zatar.

Next I heated a pan, heated coconut oil in it, and then pan-fried/seared the salmon for a couple minutes on both sides.

Then I took the salmon, put it into a glass baking tray sprayed with oil, poured freshly squeezed lime juice on top, and put it in a preheated oven to bake so the middle could cook more and to keep it warm while the rest of dinner finished cooking.

Finally I heated a bit of butter in a saucepan until it browned and when I removed the salmon from the oven I poured the butter on top of the salmon before serving it.

For the sweet potato fries:
I cut raw sweet potatoes into fry shape.

I tossed them very lightly with olive oil.

I laid them out on a baking tray on parchment paper, sprinkled them with cinnamon, sea salt, and hot red pepper, and then baked them. Once the sweet potato fries were cooked through, I turned the oven to broil to brown them a bit and give them a firmer texture.

For the broccoli:
I sauteed it with a little big of Bragg's (like soy sauce), Ginger juice (grated squeezed ginger), minced garlic, and sesame oil.

A cutting trick I learned at the Natural Gourmet Institute regarding broccoli is that one should use the stalk but only the less tough parts.  If you cut a bit off the sides from each part of the stalk and make it into a rectangular prism (kind of like if you were peeling it but taking more off), you will get rid of the tough part and will only have stalk left that tastes great as part of the stir fry.

Panna Cotta

 

Panna Cotta

I made 1.5 times the recipe for 10 pretty full glasses worth.

In a large bowl, sprinkle 4 1/2 teaspoons gelatin over 6 tablespoons cold water.  Let sit for at least 5 minutes.  Next time I will try this with 4 teaspoons gelatin - it stuck together perfectly well and I would like it to be a little more silky.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat 4 cups heavy cream and 1/2 cup sugar, stirring until warm and sugar is dissolved.  Take off heat, stir in 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of maple syrup, then pour the cream mixture over the gelatin mixture and stir to dissolve gelatin mixture throughout the cream mixture.

Pour into containers and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

I poured these into cups to serve directly from the fridge.  Alternatively and for a more fancy panna cotta, put into oiled custard cups and then knife the rim and turn upside down.

I topped them with refrigerated blueberry sauce - I heated in a saucepan frozen wild blueberries, fresh lemon zest, and water, and then put in a little bit of cornstarch mixed with water for it to thicken.  It tasted like it would be really good with some dark chocolate sauce.

Tandoori Chicken

Tandoori Chicken

1.  Pierce chicken with fork all over and make big knife cuts into the chicken.

2.  Marinate the chicken for many hours.

3.  Bake it on parchment paper - broil at the end to brown.  (I use a thermometer for timing)

I served with brown rice (yellow from turmeric) mixed with sauteed minced red onions and tomato (deskinned and deseeded).

Marinade:

Plain yogurt is the base
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
Ginger (I juiced ginger by peeling it with a spoon, shredding it, and squeezing it)
Garlic (I used fresh minced)
A healthy dose of paprika, esp. for the coloring
Cumin, coriander, chili, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, salt, pepper

Baked Taquitos

Baked Beef Taquitos

This recipe was based largely on a recipe I found here:
http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/09/baked-creamy-chicken-taquitos.html

Essentially I put a dollop of filling in tortillas, rolled them up, and baked them on parchment paper in the oven at 425 for about 20 minutes when they were well browned on the edges.  They stayed together nicely when I took them out.

Filling:
1)  Ground beef (sauteed with green onions and Nuevo Cocina taco seasoning that has raisins and olives in it)
2)  A mixture of Neufchatel cheese, salsa, olive slices, freshly squeezed lime juice, cumin, chili, onion, garlic, and cilantro.
3)  A bit of grated cheese - I used raw smoked goat cheddar cheese.

To serve:
1)  I served them with fresh avocado.
2)  For a dipping/drizzling sauce, a combo of salsa and ranch dressing.

Salted Caramel

Salted Caramel Sauce
Where did the rest go?

1.  In a saucepan, combine 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon agave syrup (or other liquid sweetener), and 3 tablespoons water.

2.  Bring to a boil and swirl for about 5 minutes until it turns dark amber in color.

3.  Remove from heat, slowly add in 1/4 cup cream (mixture will foam/bubble).

4.  Stir in 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.

5.  Allow to set/thicken by letting it cool a little bit.

Turkey Soup

Turkey Soup

In the past when I've had fresh stock I like a simple soup of ground turkey, spinach, and cannelini beans.  I also like a Pistou soup with vegetables, pasta, and beans with a tomato-basil broth.  I had pesto on hand and no homemade stock so I decided to combine the recipes for a hearty and tasty stew.

1.  Cook ground turkey with onion and garlic.

2.  Boil stock.

3.  Add ingredients, giving each some time to cook:
potato, carrot, leek, whole wheat orzo, kidney and garbanzo beans, yellow squash, corn, spinach, ground turkey mixture.

4.  Stir in pesto and tomato sauce.

Baked Ziti

Baked Ziti

Italicized ingredients are not optional
1.  Cook noodles
2.  Cook ground beef or other protein with onions and garlic.  Cook broccoli florets.
3.  Mix beef and broccoli with ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, tomato sauce, peas, kalamata olives, parsley.  Mix with the pasta.
4.  Grate cheese - I used mozzarella, cheddar, and jack.
5.  Layer noodle mixture and cheese, with cheese on top, and bake in the oven.

The second photo was of the leftovers.  I froze the remaining ziti.  After defrosting it, I mixed in quartered turkey meatballs and more tomato sauce and then topped it with grated smoked cheddar cheese before rebaking the ziti.

Chicken Fingers

Chicken Fingers

This is also the same recipe to use for Fish Sticks.

1.  Cut your protein to the correct size (pound/cut chicken, cut fish, etc.)

2.  Coat in flour, dip in egg, coat in herbed/spiced breadcrumbs.
(I used ground cereal instead of bread this time around).

3.  Bake in oven until done; serve with your favorite dipping sauce!