Ratios

I'm an intuitive cook; I just "feel" my way through it.  I have a good foundation in culinary techniques, but it's my sense of what flavors and textures go together that defines my way of cooking. In the kitchen I don't necessarily "play by the rules;" there are no rules.  (Again, this is why I don't bake).

But there's a great book called Ratio, by Michael Ruhlman.  It offers a kind of blueprint to cooking certain basic recipes; for example, there's a ratio of 3 parts flour, 2 parts liquid and 1 part fat in biscuits.  You first learn the basic recipe/ratio, and then you can switch up the types of ingredients, add spices, etc. and create a world of variations on the basic biscuit.  This makes sense, and I realized that even though it seems like "rules" to me, it does offer me a little inspiration.

I don't necessarily look at my recipes in terms of ratios, but I have a student this semester in the chef program at Bauman College who is very new to cooking and he has opened my eyes to the ratios that exist in some of my everyday recipes.

Take pesto, for example.  I had some basil that was in the use-it-or-lose-it stage, so last night I decided to make pesto: herbs, nuts, cheese, garlic, oil.  I got to thinking about how easy it is to make variations on the theme.  I had some grape tomatoes left over from a green papaya salad I made the other day, and realized that if you were to ask basil what it likes to hang out with, it'll say "tomatoes." (And yes, sometimes I do have conversations with my food.....not weird!)

So let's sauté some little tomatoes and garlic slices....

 

 Saute them in a good amount of olive oil, so you really flavor that oil, and be sure to get every drop of it into your food processor when you make the pesto.  Cooking the tomatoes will give the pesto a deeper flavor, and it also boosts the health benefits  Tomatoes are chock-a-block of lycopene, which is helpful in reducing cardio-vascular disease and LDL levels (the bad kind of cholesterol).  Thing is, the lycopene becomes more available to our bodies when it's cooked....so cook 'em up!

A pesto always includes nuts, usually pine nuts.  I tend to use walnuts when I make pesto, mainly because I always have them in my freezer (and they're much less expensive than pine nuts).  Unlike tomatoes, nuts don't necessarily get any healthier for you when they're cooked, but toasting nuts brings out more flavor.  I chose to toast some almonds.....

 You simply need to heat a dry skillet over medium heat and add the nuts (works for any type of nut).  After a few minutes or so, keeping them moving so that they don't burn, you'll have lovely fragrant nuts.  Throw those puppies into a food processor (works better than a blender for pesto, because the base around the blade is larger, so everything moves around and get ground easily).  Let it go until the almonds are finely ground, then add the cooked tomato mixture, a couple cups of basil leaves, some Parmesan and lemon zest.  Let it rip until all ingredients are well chopped, scrape down the bowl and with the motor running, slowly stream in oil (I like to use half oil and half water to cut the amount of fat).  Once you have the consistency you like, season with salt, pepper, and a little smoked paprika.  Sooooo good!

Pesto is so versatile; toss it with quinoa pasta and fresh veggies, top grilled chicken, steak or snapper with it, spread over French bread and broil for a new spin on "garlic bread."  people often ask me how long it lasts in the fridge.  I wouldn't know...it's so dang good I use it all up immediately!

Smokey Tomato Pesto
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes (about a dozen), halved
3 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 cup almonds, toasted
2 cups basil leaves , firmly packed
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt & pepper to taste

• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in small skillet over medium high heat.  Add tomatoes and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally for 5-8 minutes until tomatoes are lightly browned and softened.
• Meanwhile heat another small skillet (not teflon coated) over medium heat.  Add almonds and toast them, tossing often to prevent burning.  Remove from heat and place in bowl of food processor.
• Process until almonds are finely ground.  Then add tomato & garlic mixture, basil, Parmesan and lemon zest.  Process until well combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• With the motor running, add remaining 6 tablespoons of oil and 1/4 cup water (more or less) to reach desired consistency.
• Scrape down the sides again and add smoked paprika, a pinch of salt and pepper.  Taste and adjust seasonings to your preference.

Yum it up!!

 

Don't Knock Chicken Soup!

I'm emerging from the ashes!!  For months I managed to dodge that nasty cold/flu that everyone around me was getting.  Then Tom and I went  a lovely, romantic Caribbean cruise, and we both got hit with that bug halfway through.  SERIOUSLY????!!  So much for our romantic get-away; the Love Boat turned into the Coughing & Hacking Boat!

I pushed through and still went cave tubing and zip lining (that cold isn't ruining my vacation!)

 

 ...but when I got home, I was flattened!  My energy was zapped.  All I wanted to do was sleep.  It's one of those vicious Catch 22's.....no energy to cook or grocery shop, and no energy because I wasn't eating.  After a few days, I decided enough was enough.  I had to cook, and I needed chicken soup!

There's some actual science that supports the old wives' tale that chicken soup helps relieve cold and flu symptoms....the aromatics used are powerful anti-inflammatory ingredients, the bones add essential minerals, and the heat itself helps loosen up congestion.  And come on, it's just good old-fashioned comfort food, right?  That makes you feel better with each bowlful.  So off I went to the store for chicken soup ingredients.

Not one to go with the usual suspects, I decided to make Chicken Tortilla Soup.  I thought a spicy version of chicken soup would help sweat out this dang thing....

I started with a base of onions, leeks, jalapeno peppers and garlic.  When they were softened and fragrant, I added shredded rotisserie chicken, black beans, fire roasted tomatoes, chicken stock and smoky spices, and let that simmer away

 Meanwhile, I heated a little olive oil in my cast iron skillet (just enough to cover the bottom), and pan fried corn tortillas that I cut into strips. 

I added some chopped cilantro, lime zest & juice, and a pinch of salt (about 1/4 teaspoon; I've measured my pinches!) to the soup and let it cook for a little bit longer. And now it's time!!  You can lay some of the tortilla strips in the  bottom of the bowl and ladle the soup over them, but I like to  float them on top for a crispy bite.  Add a little dollop of Greek yogurt (or sour cream, if you're one of THOSE) on top, and this is definitely not a bitter pill to swallow!!  Sure, it won't cure me, but it makes me feel warm and just a little bit better.

Sick or not, give this yummy soup a try......

Chicken Tortilla Soup                                                                                                         Serves 6

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 cup chopped onion

2 small jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

1 leek, white and light green part thinly sliced

1 tablespoon chopped garlic (about 3-4 cloves)

2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded

1 14 oz can fire roasted tomatoes

1 14 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

4 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon coriander

½ teaspoon ancho chile powder

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Zest and juice from one lime

Salt to taste

4 corn tortillas, cut into strips

Greek yogurt for garnish

·         Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat.

·         Add onion, jalapeno, leek and garlic.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes until softened.

·         Add chicken, tomatoes, black beans, broth, cumin, coriander, and chile powder.

·         Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20-30 minutes.

·         Add chopped cilantro, lime zest and juice, and salt to taste (about ½-1 teaspoon).

·         Continue cooking for 5 minutes, uncovered.

·         Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.

·         Add tortilla strips and cook, tossing occasionally, until lightly browned and crisp.

·         Ladle soup into bowls, top with tortilla strips and a dollop of Greek yogurt.

All Hail the Salad Queen!

If you are not new to this blog, then you know that friends, family and students have dubbed me "The Salad Queen."  Not sure what the fascination is with my salads; students photograph them, ask me for recipes, and more than one has told me that I need to write a salad cookbook.  Really?  Would anyone buy a cookbook just on salads???

Well then there's this salad....this is the one that makes me believe.  It makes me believe in turning people on to salad.  Every time I make it, people gobble it up...and there isn't even any cheese in it!!  And this is the best time to fix it, when grapefruit and oranges are at their juicy best.

My last blog was about a cleanse diet that I wanted to try, but as I mentioned, my schedule of classes at Bauman College and my own cooking classes makes it a little difficult to stick to a specific meal plan.  But I thought at least I could follow the idea of the plan: mainly fruit and veggies.  And this salad fit the bill.

I love teaching people to make this salad because it not only tastes delicious (and surprises everyone who tries it), but because I get to show them a cool knife skill called "supreme." ( Pronounced like "creme" not "cream.")

You can youtube it and watch someone do it, but I'll walk you through the basics....

Start by cutting the ends off the orange or grapefruit

And then then cut off the white part (the pith) by following the curve of the fruit.  The pith holds a great amount of nutrients, but is unfortunately too bitter to enjoy.  Keep following around the citrus until all the pith is removed.  You'll probably need to trim it a bit around the edges before you're done to get all the white off.



Next you're going to need a bowl to catch the juice as you remove the segments. (I'm watching Grey's Anatomy as I write this, and I'm feeling like an attending explaining a procedure to an intern!)  Cut between the membranes to release the segments.

Do this over a bowl (placing the segments into a separate serving bowl) so you can capture all the juice that's released; you'll use it for the dressing.  When you're done, you're left with something that resembles a book....

Take that and squeeze all the juice out of it into the bowl you've reserved for the dressing.  Repeat the same process with all of the citrus.  When you have all the segments in your serving bowl, add sliced fennel.  OK, let me talk about this for a sec.  DON'T BE AFRAID OF FENNEL!  (so glad I got that off my chest) 

Most people think they don't like fennel, but oddly, I bet they ate black licorice as a kid and loved it.  I did.  But I guess you can't ignore the fact that now you can only find Red Vines at the movie theater snack shack, and black licorice has mysteriously disappeared.  Here's the thing, though.....thinly slice your fennel and let it sit in that delicious citrus, and it takes the sting out, softens it up, and even my biggest critic likes it.

So here's how to prep it.... cut off the green fronds close to the white bulb and discard the fronds, or save it for your veg stock (just don't use too much).  Then cut out the core with a diagonal slice from each side of the bottom.



I cut the cored bulb in thirds vertically and then thinly slice.  Add this to your citrus segments and toss.  Next I mix up the citrus juice that I reserved with a little Dijon mustard, honey, salt & pepper and olive oil, and pour that dressing over the fennel and citrus segments.  The longer you can let that rest the mellower your fennel will be...I go for about 30 minutes.

When ready to serve, toss it all with some baby spinach and top with toasted walnuts and sliced avocado, if you'd like.  You're gonna be a rock star with this one!  Even my sister, who's not a huge salad fan (and an even less fennel fan) made this over and over after trying it in one of my cooking classes; that's a huge compliment for this salad.  Go on; give it a try, and don't forget to tell me how much you loved it!

Citrus Salad withAvocado                                                                                                       Serves 4

4 large cara caral oranges (can use blood oranges or valencia)

2 large grapefruit or pomelos

1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced

¼ cup olive oil

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

Salt & pepper to taste

4 cups baby spinach

½ cup chopped toasted walnuts

1 avocado, chopped (just before serving)

·         Cut off both ends of the oranges.  With a sharp knife remove skin and then segment the orange between the membranes over a bowl.  When segmented, squeeze the juice from the orange into the bowl.  Repeat with grapefruit.

·         Toss segments with fennel.

·         In a small jar, combine juice from oranges and grapefruit, olive oil, and mustard.  Shake to combine, taste and season with salt and pepper, adding additional olive oil if needed.

·         Pour dressing over citrus and fennel and let stand 10-30 minutes.

·         Just before serving, toss with baby spinach. Top with toasted walnut and avocado.

Boom!

The Last Supper

I've been feeling a little sluggish lately.  Maybe the weather, maybe burning the candle at both ends, maybe not taking as good care of myself as I should.  Probably all of the above.  So when I read about a cleanse in this month's Whole Living magazine, and it talked about giving me increased energy, I thought maybe I should give it a try.  I could never do a cleanse that didn't include food,  but this one is packed with great plant-based recipes that look and sound delicious.  Week 1 recipes are courtesy of Sara Forte of The Sprouted Kitchen, and my mouth watered while looking at the pics.  I'm happy (and ready) to turn my meal planning over to someone else!

I went to my friend Francesca's house last weekend for lunch, and she coincidentally made three of the recipes from this cleanse.  I took that as a sign.  So I decided to finish out the weekend and begin the cleanse this week.  It's hard with my job(s) to commit exclusively to any kind of meal plan; between my own cooking classes and my three days at Bauman College, I have more than enough food on my plate.  So it'll be a little sporadic, but I want to take the general idea into practice:

The diet is designed to detox the body and is not that far from the way I like to eat, but I'll need to give up dairy, gluten, alcohol (wait, what?!), coffee (huh?!), along with two things I don't normally eat anyway, processed foods and added sugars, so Sunday night I decided to fix a delicious "last supper" for me and Tom over at his place.
I had some chicken that needed to be cooked, and I remembered a delicious Martha Stewart recipe I made once: Chicken in Poblano Cream Sauce.  That would be it!  Even though Tom is an accomplished chef in his own right, his fridge and pantry are pure college bachelor (sorry, honey).  So I like this recipe because it requires very few ingredients.....but I had to mix it up a bit, of course.

I started by roasting a pasilla pepper on the gas burner until good and charred.  I popped it into a paper bag and let it steam until I was ready to peel it and chop it up.  Be sure to remove the seeds and veins if you're not a fan of spicy food.

Next I sauteed a couple chicken breasts in olive oil in one skillet while I sauteed a chopped onion and a shallot in another. 

When the onion was softened, I added a few garlic cloves and chopped cilantro and sauteed a bit longer.  Then I removed the pan from the heat and stirred in cream and transferred the mixture, and the skinned, seeded pepper, to a food processor to blend. 

It tasted pretty good, but Tom has made me a big believer in acid, adding the flavor boost that takes a dish from "yum" to YUUUUMMMM!"  So I added the juice of one lime and some Greek yogurt.  And because sweet is the great equalizer for spicy, I added some grade B maple syrup (not that gross pancake syrup stuff, but rather some good,  pure maple syrup....grade B stands for "better;" it's cultivated later than grade A so it's deeper in flavor and carries more nutrients.)

I cooked up a little pasta and tossed the sauce with it, then sliced the cooked chicken and away we go!!  This one is fantastic, people!!  It took all I had to not go back for seconds (the same cannot be said for my dinner companion, but I take that as a huge compliment!). 

Great last supper before a cleanse (or any time)!  What could make it better????  A little sweet treat.  It's weird; I don't have much of a sweet tooth at all.  I never crave dessert, but for some reason the past few weekends that Tom and I have cooked together, I've been wanting a cookie after dinner.  I think my "I wish I had a cookie" thoughts worked their way into his brain, because a little while after dinner he said, "I want a cookie." He dug out his ancient, passed down from mom or grandma cookbook and whipped up a super yummy batch of peanut butter cookies! (Peanut butter is always in a college bachelor's pantry!)  He'll have to give you that recipe....all I did was help hurry the process by dumping ingredients into the bowl as directed, but DANG were they delicious!!

And now I'm onto my week of fruits and veggies...... stay tuned, there are guaranteed to be some yummy recipes in our future.  In the meantime, eat this up:

Pasilla Pepper Sauce

Makes approximately 1 cup

1 Pasilla pepper

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

I cup chopped onion

2 tablespoons chopped shallot

¼ cup chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 cup half and half

Juice of one lime

2 tablespoons Greek yogurt

2 teaspoons grade B maple syrup

Salt & pepper to taste

·         Place Pasilla pepper over a gas burner on high heat and continue turning until charred on all sides.   Place in a paper bag or in a bowl covered tightly with plastic wrap to steam 10-20 minutes until skin easily peels off. (If you don’t have a gas stove, you can char under the broiler, turning often.  Once peeled, remove seeds and membrane, chop and set aside.

·         Meanwhile in a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.

·         Add chopped onion and shallot, and cook until softened and translucent, about 8 minutes.

·         Add cilantro and garlic and cook an additional 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.

·         Remove from heat and add half and half.

·         Pour mixture, and chopped pepper, into food processor and blend until smooth.

·         Add lime juice, yogurt and maple syrup and blend again to fully combine.

·         Season to taste with salt & pepper.

·         Serve over pasta,  fish, chicken or steak.

Yum it up!!

New Year, New You



It's a funny thing when you really think about it.....if you're at all like me, there are two days in our lives when we think about renewing ourselves: our birthdays and New Year's Eve.  What is it about the click of that clock at midnight or the day on the calendar that marks our birth that makes us feel like starting anew, being better, healthier, learning something new???  I'm not exactly sure what it is, but I dig it.  A new start.  A clean slate.  A fresh look.  Ahhhhh....it's the beautiful face of optimism!

I gave up on New Year's Resolutions loooong ago, when I realized that I never stuck with it.  Always the usual: eat healthier, work out more, watch TV less.  Then by February I'm back on the couch with a burrito, a Real Housewives marathon (don't judge me!), and the new workout video still neatly wrapped in pastic in the spot where my Christmas tree used to stand.

A couple years ago I got the idea to change up my look at New Year's Resolutions: to DO something.  One year it was to send birthday cards through the mail and not via email or facebook.  Another year it was to take more pictures of friends and family times together.  So what about this year?????

I sat down tonight to watch a movie...a lovely little chick flick that I would never ask my boyfriend to sit through (the only resolution I've kept for decades!) and I saw this "trailer."  I thought it might be for a documentary, and I was excited to add it to my queue.  Turns out, it was a kind of PSA.  I think it's beautiful, and the last man who speaks in it actually touched me the most..... please take two minutes and 15 seconds to watch.

http://www.wecanbeheroes.org/


I ate A LOT over that glorious week between Christmas and New Year's.  I'm not ashamed or guilty, though my belt is a little pissed at me currently.  But now we're all back in the real world.  A world where we never have to wonder where our next meal is coming from or when that will be.  So maybe we can give a little to those who are in need.  Those who don't know when they will eat again.  Those who need that meal more than we need that next latte.  It can be that simple, that small.  Maybe just give up your latte for a week and give that money to www.WeCanBeHeros.org or www.FeedingAmerica.org.  Maybe you can just buy a couple more cans of soup on your next shopping trip and donate them to your local food bank.  For your next birthday, why not have a party and invite friends to bring non-perishable food instead of presents, that you can deliver to a shelter, food bank or local families in need (most schools know who can use some aid).

So if you haven't figured it out, this is my resolution for 2013 (and beyond).  And I hope you'll join me.

I'll still be here sharing healthy, delicious recipes with you.  But I'd like to remain mindful of how lucky I am, the wealth of friends and family that surround me and pay that forward even just a little bit.  Hope you'll come along for the ride.....

Cheese-less Mac & Cheese???

I've been craving mac & cheese for about a week now, but I didn't want all the cheese. I was still feeling a little guilty about my wicked grilled cheese sandwich that accompanied Tom's awesome tomato soup this weekend.  But the nature of mac and cheese is THE CHEESE, so what to do???  Get wackadoo....and get out the nutritional yeast. Oh, I can hear you....."Yeast? Gross!"  Come on, haven't you learned to trust me yet????

I had never heard of nutritional yeast until a couple years ago when, like all the crazy cooking stuff I learned about, I went through the Natural Chef program at Bauman College.  Truth be told, I had the same "Yeast?  Gross!" thought when they first brought it up in class, but then I tried it, and I learned about the health benefits, and I was sold.  It's full of B vitamins, including B12, which makes it a terrific addition to a vegetarian or vegan diet.  It also provides protein, essential amino acids and fiber.  But what I dig the most...it gives a cheesy flavor to things.  So I figured I'd give it a shot in creating my cheese-less mac & cheese.  It did not disappoint....

I started out the usual way:  Sauteed a chopped onion in a little olive oil until they're soft and translucent.  Then it's time to roux....

Add a tablespoon of butter to the pot and let it melt.

Then add a tablespoon of flour and whisk it until combined and the onions are coated, just a couple minutes.  A roux is essentially equal parts fat (in this case, butter) and flour, so use as much as you need.

Next add a cup of milk and stir to combine.  I also save about a cup of the pasta cooking water, so I can use that to either thin out or add body to a sauce later (I added about 1/3 cup at the end for the consistency I like).... always save a little bit of that good starchy water no matter what kind of sauce you're making for your pasta.

Next I stirred in 3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast, a couple cups of chopped baby spinach (kale, arugula or collards work great, too) and some chipotle puree (I take a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and whip it up in my mini food processor and keep it in the fridge for aaaallllll kinds of things that could use a little kick).  Toss in cooked quinoa pasta shells (a full package) and you can thank me later!! (I've left all other kinds of pasta in favor of quinoa pasta...great for the gluten intolerant, and I just love the protein it provides, since I don't eat a lot of animal proteins.)

I only added spinach this time around (cuz that's all that Mother Hubbard's cupboard had), but this is a great opportunity to work some vegetables into your diet in a really easy and yummy way.  This time of year try sauteed mushrooms, roasted butternut or acorn squash, and lots of greens.  In summer try zucchini and tomatoes.  This one will keep you going year round! (I ate the whole pot in 24 hours!)

Next experiment....making it completely dairy free.  I'm going to try coconut oil for my roux and coconut milk....think it's gonna be yummy!

There's an App for That.....

...not that kind, you techie geniuses.  I'm talking appetizers! 

This is my favorite time of year, because appetizer parties are all the rage during the holidays.  This pic was taken at a Holiday Appetizer class I taught recently: Procsiutto, Arugula & Fig Roll-ups on the left, Vegetarian Potstickers next to it, and Field Green Salad in a Parmesan Cup.  Soooooo yummy!!

But no appetizer party is complete without crostini.  It's the most versatile appetizer on the planet because you can top them with any single dingle thing you like.  My new obsession is a Shiitake Mushroom Crostini:

There are two key things to remember when making crostini:  1) They get crispier (not in a good way) the longer they sit, so don't make too many at once or too far in advance.  You can make a bunch of your filling ahead, but toast the bread as you need it,  They only take about 8 to 10 minutes to toast, so it's not time consuming.  2) Brush both sides of the bread with olive oil; this helps them stay nice and soft right out of the oven.

I like to buy chiabatta baguettes and cut them into 1/4" slices.  Bake them at 350 for about 8 minutes until lightly toasted.

While they're baking, saute some sliced shiitake mushrooms, sliced shallots and chopped garlic in a little bit of almost-browned butter over medium high heat until the mushrooms are soft and brown.  Add chopped thyme leaves, a splash of balsamic vinegar or marsala, a pinch of salt and pepper and remove from the heat.

Place the toasted bread on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and top with the mushroom mixture. 

If you want to....and you know you do.... add a little dollop of Pt Reyes bleu cheese and pop back in the oven for another five minutes or so until the cheese melts.

Soooo dang good!!  I can't get enough of these little nuggets!  Give it a try at your next dinner party and you'll start the night off right!  Or do what I did the other night.....just make this for dinner with a big ol' salad.

Great..... now I'm hungry all over again.  So tell me, what's your favorite appetizer to make or eat???

Yum it up!!