February 8, 2010
Let’s get back into the swing of things for 2010 with Monday Morning Links again. I’ve been behind on everything – including reading blogs – but I finally caught up on all the food blogs I have RSS’d. So many new recipes to try and play with. I’m excited to get started this year.
(This image will play into a future post here. I just feel that every post needs an image – so here it is.)
Ham & Cheese Pretzel Bites – I’ve seen these listed *everywhere* in the last few months. I really want to try them. I was planning to make them for Superbowl Sunday, but my schedule prevented me from doing so. I’ve got them on my list to make and I will get to them soon, I promise. Here are a few of the sources for them: EzraPoundCake Pretzel Bites (where I saw them originally), Pennies on a Platter Pretzel Bites, and most recently Annie’s Eats Pretzel Bites.
BLT Wraps – These look so good. I’m not sure they’re entirely low calorie, but I’m willing to make sacrifices for a really good BLT. The sundried tomato variation should make these really delicious.
Meyer Lemon Marmelade – It’s so funny how trends make their way around the food blogging world. I have seen 2 dozen posts about Meyer lemons this past week. I have saved all manner of Meyer lemon recipes, but this is one I really want to try; the suggestion of mixing it in with plain Greek yogurt just makes my mouth water.
Roasted Garlic Three Ways – All of these are things I’ve done before, but it’s always nice to be reminded that there are things you can do with your roasted garlic. If you try this, be SURE and read the directions linked for the garlic oil. Homemade garlic oil can be a breeding ground for botulism – be very very careful!
White Bean Soup – I have nothing really to say about this except that the photo and the recipe made me drool. Literally. So I have to make it.
Bobotie Revisited – Not a whole lot of people know that I spent a good bit of my childhood in South Africa. (Ok, well now a lot of people know!) My father was a communications engineer who built radio systems for governments. We travelled all over the world until I was 15, but SA was my favorite place and I’d love to go back. I haven’t had bobotie in years and am dying to try this recipe to see if I can recreate a childhood favorite.
Posted in monday links 
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January 29, 2010
Yesterday was my birthday. No, I’m not going to tell you how old I am, but I will share one of my presents with you; some cheap red wine. Really. Seriously.
See, I told you!
Posted in drinks, wine No Comments »
January 21, 2010
Yes, I’m back. I’m so excited to be posting photos and recipes again.
This is a recipe that was originally posted as part of a challenge on my diet and fitness forum – I adapted it somewhat and I think it’s pretty darned good.
1 pkg (6-7 oz) soba noodles (these are Japanese buckwheat noodles, but you can sub some kind of angel hair pasta if you need to)
1/4 cup soy sauce (you can use a low sodium variety and cut it back to 1/8 cup if you want)
1 cup water
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup minced green onions
1-2 tbsp grated ginger
1/4 cup shredded and chopped daikon radish
1 large can albacore tuna
1/4 cup shaved daikon radish
1 8oz package mushrooms (sliced)
1/4 cup minced green onion tops
In a small sauce pan combine the soy sauce through the shredded daikon and bring to a simmer. Cook for 15-20 mins until reduced by about 1/3.
About 10 mins before the soy mixture is ready, bring a bit pot of water to boil. Add the soba noodles and cook for EXACTLY 4 mins. Drain and rinse with cold water and return to the pot.
Add the reduced soy sauce mix, the tuna, the remaining radish, and the mushrooms to the noodles in the pot and toss to coat thoroughly.
Divide into 4-5 servings and then sprinkle the top with the remaining green onion tops for crunch and flavor.
(I think I might add some shredded carrot over the whole, just to add color and crunch .. but other than that, it was pretty good.)
Here’s the nutritional info based on 4 servings:
Cals: 292, Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 38mg, Sodium: 1255mg, Carb: 38g, Fiber: 1.5g, Protein, 31.5g.
Posted in fish+seafood, main dish, pasta+grains 2 Comments »
September 4, 2009
A few days ago a friend of mine returned from a trip to south Florida. He was staying with another (mutual) friend who has a plethora of citrus trees on his property – everything from oranges to grapefruit to lemons. Being the kind of guy he is (and also in hopes that I’d make lemon curd for the holidays), my local friend brought me two large boxes of lemons.
Needless to say, my evenings have been spent zesting and juicing lemons like crazy. But what do you do with nearly 30 lbs of lemon? Well, make lemon tart, make preserved lemons, make the aforementioned lemon curd, make limoncello, and just plain freeze zest and juice.
I zest the lemons first and the zest goes into a small glass jar for freezing. Then the naked lemons get juiced and the juice gets strained through a fine sieve:
The best thing about these lemons is that they have so much more juice than the ones you buy in the grocery store. A quick zap (10 secs or less) in the microwave helps make sure you get the most out of them.
I like to use my silicone muffin pan for freezing juice and liquids. Each muffin cup holds a little over 1/2 of a cup of liquid. I also have a silicone mini-muffin pan that holds about 2 tbsp per cup, for freezing smaller amounts. I actually use the silicone more for freezing juices and other things (pesto, fruit purees, etc.) than I do for baking!
It takes about an hour or so for the juice to freeze solid. Then you just pop the little frozen rounds of lemon juice right out of the pan and do it all over again.
About 6 rounds will fit into a 1 qt freezer bag, which is labelled and put back in the freezer.
Now, in the winter when I really want the bright fresh zing of lemons, I’ll have juice and zest to add to my baking and cooking.
Posted in basics, fruit, ingredients, preserves+canning 5 Comments »
September 1, 2009
I don’t know if it’s the blight that everyone has talked about, spreading this far south, or if it’s been the cool weather, or what, but my farmer’s market has had a plethora of green tomatoes lately. And actually that’s fine by me because I love the tangy tartness of a green tomato – fried, grilled, or chopped up in a quick relish. Being a Southerner by birth, though, I have to admit my very favorite way of eating green tomatoes is fried.
I made this last night for dinner – it’s quick, easy, filling, and healthy. It’s so easy I don’t even have a recipe for it … I just make it.
Start with 1 or 2 really green tomatoes. I mean green and hard and not a bit of red on them.
Slice them into thin rounds – about 1/8th of an inch or so. I used a sharp knife, but if you have a mandoline (I was too lazy to get mine out), it’ll make slicing more than 1 or 2 tomatoes a breeze.
Dip the tomato slices into a 50/50 mixture of corn meal and corn flour.
Then fry them in a hot skillet (my 12″ cast iron is my skillet of choice) in about 1/2″ of canola oil
When they’re nicely browned and soft, take them out and drain them on some papertowel or newspaper. Then, sprinkle with salt and pepper, top with a little tomato sauce, and some shredded parm if you have it.
Voila – a quick and easy weekday meal.
Posted in entrees, vegetarian, veggies 3 Comments »
August 31, 2009
Another Monday morning links list … and an image from the archives, since I’m still without cameras and am likely to be for the foreseeable future. The image below is from one of my very first Tuesdays With Dorie postings. I still love the way the individual chocolate tart shells turned out.
And here are the things that caught my eye from last week:
Jamie’s Chicken w/ Lemon & Milk: I took a whole chicken out of the freezer this morning so I can make this tomorrow. It sounds heavenly and I know I have all the ingredients on hand. I might be able to snap some images with my camera phone – so I’ll fill you all in later this week.
Cherries in wine: This just sounds heavenly. I can see using these as a dessert, or adding them to something like venison or buffalo after roasting. I have a half a bag of cherries in the fruit bin that I need to do something with anyway.
Food Timeline: This is fascinating. I don’t know entirely how accurate it is, but it sucked up at least 2 hours of my attention the other night. It definitely appeals to the historian in me.
Cold Noodles and Peanut Sauce: Is there anything more to say? This sounds like a perfect summer dish – I need to hurry up and make it before summer is over!
Tomato, White Bean & Bacon Soup: And sliding from the end of summer right into fall – there’s this soup. Doesn’t that sound heavenly? I love soup in the fall and winter anyway. It’ll be nice to have another to add to my menu.
Sweet & Sour Meatball Skewers: I’m not so much on the sweet and sour part (although H is) but the idea of meatballs on skewers definitely intrigues me. With as much as I grill over the summer, you’d think this one would have occurred to me before! I’m definitely trying this with my turkey meatball recipe soon!
Salmon Burgers: I have been looking for a salmon burger recipe forever. Really. Forever. I keep trying ones that just don’t work for me for various reasons. The capers intrigue me and besides, this looks like it would be super easy to make.
5 Reasons Frozen Shrimp is Better: This article really resonated with me. I buy frozen shrimp from Costco at least once a week (yes, I eat that much shrimp). When you don’t live near the coast, frozen shrimp is actually fresher than the “fresh” shrimp that you can buy at the fish counter.
Slow Roasted Tomatoes: I can’t count the number of times I’ve tried to roast my own tomatoes and failed. Either I cut them too thin and wind up with something blackened and stuck to the cookie sheet, or I forget about them, or … something. I’m determined to follow this recipe to a T and make my own slow roasted tomatoes.
Katherine Hepburn Brownies: I’d make these just because I’m a huge Katherine Hepburn fan anyway, but even without that draw, these brownies sound exactly like the kind I love – rich and fudgy (rather than cakey). They’ll have to wait a few weeks, however, since my household is currently on a no-sweets regime. Gotta knock off a few pounds this month.
Salsa Verde: It wouldn’t be a Monday links list here without at least one salsa/spicy food recipe, right? This is another one that I think I might have to try for canning and gifting this year. I just need to find a sufficient quantity of tomatillos.
Non Food Related:
Subway Tiles in the Kitchen: I love the look of subway tiles and I keep thinking that one day I’ll redo my kitchen (or my bathroom) in them. But this picture – I’ve never seen them used vertically before. Now I’m even more determined to find a use for them somewhere in my house.
Oh and a final PS – be sure and check out my new amazon.com store, linked in the header or on the right side of the page. I’m still adding my favorites and will probably be updating for a few days yet!
Posted in monday links No Comments »
August 28, 2009
As anyone who follows me on Twitter knows, I’ve been slightly obsessed with Gordon Ramsay lately. Thanks to hulu.com I’ve watched 2 seasons of Kitchen Nightmares back to back and I’ve caught up on the last season of Hell’s Kitchen and The F Word.
On a previous season of Kitchen Nightmares, he gave a meatball recipe to one restaurant owner which turned into a huge success for them. Of course I immediately went on a search for the recipe online and found it. I made it the other night (with variations for what I had on hand) and … mmm … it’s going to become a favorite for sure.
Here’s my version of the recipe I came up with, loosely based on Gordon Ramsay’s Italian meatball recipe from “The F Word”:
1/2 lb lean ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium yellow onion, minced
3 tbsp breadcrumbs
1/8th cup milk (approx)
flour
olive oil
Soak the breadcrumbs in the milk (just enough to cover), then drain. Mix together all the ingredients except the flour. Form into small meatballs (I used a cookie scoop to get the right size). Roll the meatballs in a thin layer of flour and then pan fry in olive oil.
Remove the meatballs from the frying pan, place into a baking pan, top with tomato sauce of choice, and bake at 325 for a further 10 minutes.
Although the recipe calls for the meatballs to be fried in olive oil before being baked, the calorie and fat count remains reasonable. However, you could probably reduce both by spritzing the meatballs with oil and frying/oven baking them on a cookie sheet, and then moving them to the pan/sauce to finish up. I might try them that way next.
This recipe makes about 4 servings. Nutritional info for each serving (including about 1/4 cup of tomato sauce for each person): 342 cals, 13.9g fat, 15g carbs, 37.5g protein. (Source: Calorie Count Recipe Analyser)
Enjoy!
Posted in beef, entrees, pork 1 Comment »
August 27, 2009
So this isn’t technically a gadget or utensil, but I figure it sort of qualifies as things I use a lot! One of the things I get asked pretty frequently is what I keep in my pantry on a regular basis to make planning easier.
So here’s a list of what I try to have on hand. As long as these items are around, I know I can pull out a healthy meal for any number of people at the drop of a hat.
- oatmeal – The rolled kind – it’s a great filler, makes a good flour when ground, can be used for a crumble crust, or breading on an oven fried food, or even in a pinch just to make a bowl of oatmeal.
- steel cut oats – This is my standby breakfast in the winter. It’s warm, filling, full of protein and fiber, and makes a great breakfast on cold days.
- pasta – The whole grain variety and I’m partial to rotini because it cooks quickly, has enough shape to hold on to sauces, and works well in casseroles of all kinds. But I also keep lasagna noodles and usually some form of spaghetti on hand as well.
- beans – Dried and canned, in all varieties, usually bought in bulk from someplace like Sam’s Club or Costco or the local farmers/Asian market. Right now I have cans of black beans, and jars of dried navy, pinto, and garbanzo on hand.
- olive oil – I rarely cook with any other kind of oil. I go through a large bottle of this each month. I keep Whole Foods brand around for most of my cooking because the flavor is good and the cost is reasonable, and then I buy specialty brands for drizzling on veggies or making salad dressing – anything where flavor is crucial.
- kosher salt – Not just for cooking, but for scouring out the cast iron skillet. I buy this in the biggest boxes I can find.
- canned tomatoes – I buy canned tomatoes by the case from Costco or Sam’s Club – diced, paste, sauce, and whole. Diced tomatoes are a key ingredient in my homemade tomato sauce as well as being a really healthy addition to just about any casserole.
- Rotel – Anyone who grew up in Texas or the Southwest knows why Rotel is a pantry staple. Think of it as canned tomatoes on steroids. If you can’t get it in your grocery store, you can order it by the case from amazon.com.
- brown rice – I make a batch of baked brown rice at least once a week. It’s good for lunch, as part of the filling for stuffed veg (zucchini, tomatoes, and bell pepper all come to mind), as a base for veggie stir fry, and a dozen other things.
- onions and garlic – I have a basket in the bottom of the pantry that always has yellow onions, red onions, and a handful of garlic bulbs. Anything is better with onions and garlic, IMO.
There you have it. Next time I’ll tackle the fridge and what I keep on hand there.
Posted in misc food 2 Comments »
August 26, 2009
One of the things that comes up frequently when people talk about losing weight or eating healthily is the idea that you have to give up your favorite foods forever. I’ve heard people say “I just don’t know how I’m going to give up hamburgers” or pizza or ice cream or … whatever their food of choice is.
Me? I don’t believe in giving up food forever. I think when you tell yourself that you can never ever eat a favorite food again, you are already setting yourself up for failure. Eventually you’ll cave – you’ll have to have whatever it is you’ve denied yourself, and then you’ll decide that since you “failed” at that, you might as well give up for good. (That’s the way it seems to work for most people, I’ve noticed.)
What I’d rather do is learn to make healthy versions of my favorites – like the burger below:
This hamburger was made with 4 oz of 93% lean ground beef, 1 Pepperidge Farm whole wheat bun, 2 bibb lettuce leaves, a nice thick slice of tomato, 1/2 ounce of sharp cheddar cheese, and some Dijon mustard on the bun. Total calories – 320. It also has 14g of fat, and 32g of protein.
Pair this with a side of fruit salad or some cabbage slaw and you have a good, filling meal for under 500 calories.
If you’re really watching your calories, you can leave off the top of the bun and eat the sandwich open faced, to drop about 40-50 calories.
Here’s a great way to spice up plain lean ground beef:
1 lb 93% lean ground sirloin
1 tbsp dijon mustard (or 1 tbsp A1 steak sauce, or both)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Mix all these ingredients together thoroughly (I use my hands) and divide into 4 portions. Flatten the patties out and use your thumb to make a depression in the center of the burger (this insures that it cooks evenly and doesn’t “dome” up). Grill over a medium flame for 4 mins on each side.
Enjoy!
Posted in beef, healthy eating 2 Comments »
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