Curry Carrot Soup

Well, I have to say that my lack of blogs this week is not due to the fact that I haven't been cooking.  I haven't really made anything all that noteworthy! It did however occur to me that the fact that my food has been lacking in flavor may have something to do with the rather 'blah' mood that I've been in since Friday.

Saturday I said "Forget it!" and just steamed some asparagus, drizzled balsamic vinegar over it, sprinkled some shredded cheese on top and called it dinner. Sunday I atleast put in a bit of effort boiling some new potatoes, quartering them and covering them in a tomato mustard sauce before placing them on top of a bed of steamed broccoli and asparagus.  This dinner had quite a bit of potential actually, it was just lacking something that I still can't quite decide on. Monday, however, was the last straw for me when I tried to make something a bit more creative. I sliced some asparagus and placed this on a sheet of puff pastry spread with honey goat cheese, rolled this up and sliced it into rounds, baking at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. I also made corn on the cob and shaved the corn off the cob, adding the usual sour cream and chili pepper to it, because I really wasn't in the mood to deal with corn getting stuck in my teeth. To go along with this I made some broccoli with a little garlic salt and butter. Now at first glance Monday's meal might seem rather good, however this was just not the case.  The middle of my puff pastry refused to cook, while the bottoms were overly cooked and I added way too much garlic salt to the broccoli so by the time I even attempted to eat my corn I was too disappointed to even enjoy it!

Which brings me to tonight's dinner.  I was on a mission not to repeat my poorly made meals from the last few nights and find a way to use up all of my carrots, so I decided on soup! This turned out to be a pretty good idea actually and since I had curry on hand from making hummus a couple of weeks ago, I added that in too. 

I started the soup by adding a chopped onion and a couple of heads of garlic, minced, to a large stock pot with some olive oil.  When the onion was translucent, I added a spoonful of curry powder and stirred to coat the onion, then I added two bunches of peeled, chopped carrots and stirred to coat them.  Next I poured in one 32 ounce carton of vegetable broth and brought to a simmer. This was left to cook for about 20 minutes, until the carrots were soft.  Since my blender is broken, I had to add this in batches to my small food processor and blend until smooth.  To serve, I topped with a bit of sour cream and shredded gruyere cheese.  Now this was good.  Even Dylan enjoyed it and she didn't even mind the spice!

Friday Bin 5/27/11

I actually switched up my bin a bit this week, I ordered the smaller personal bin instead of my regular standard sized bin.  I haven't been able to cook as often as I would like lately and thought this would be a better idea, since I'm getting busier again. Even with the smaller bin though, I still received quite a bit of wonderful ingredients, and I won't have to worry about running out of food this week!

Green Cabbage
Nante Carrots
Sweet Corn
Local Red Radish
Broccoli
New Crop Yellow Potatoes
Asparagus
Cantaloupe
Ataulfo Mangoes
Valencia Oranges
Strawberries

I ordered extra corn this week too, since it was so wonderful last week and Dylan ate all of it before I could get very much!

The produce this week is a bit on the basic side, but definitely not lacking in quality or inspiration!

Rockfish with Steamed Asparagus and Tomatoes

Once again, I have to say "Thank you!" to the guy who works the seafood counter at Whole Foods.  Dylan and I knew we wanted fish for dinner, we just had no idea yet what kind, so he suggested his current favorite, rockfish.  He said tha he just coats it in breadcrumbs and panfry's it for a few minutes on each side.

I followed his advice, only I added fresh ground black pepper and lemon zest to the breadcrumbs before coating the fish and panfry'd it in a bit of olive oil and unsalted butter.  It took about 5 minutes per side on medium-high heat.

Meanwhile I made the rice, steamed the asparagus and rinsed off a few butter lettuce leaves.

When the fish was done I added some chopped onion into the pan to saute until softened, then added some chopped tomatoes and coarse sea salt and cooked just until the tomatoes were warmed and began to release their juices.

To plate my meal, I placed two butter lettuce leaves on a plate, topped with a scoop of rice, a filet of rockfish, some asparagus spears and a spoonful of the tomato relish. To finish it off, I squeezed some lemon over top.

Wow! I think that rockfish is officially my new favorite type of fish. It was moist, flaky and slightly sweet, which went really well with the asparagus and tomatoes. 

At first Dylan couldn't stop talking about how pretty dinner looked tonight, then she took a bite and couldn't stop talking about how good it was!

Lamb Tips with Roasted Fingerling Potatoes and Steamed Radishes

After Dylan said to me that she would never eat lamb and then made some faces about just the thought of eating it, of course we had to have it for dinner tonight! So, we went to Trader Joe's and picked up their Burgundy Pepper Lamb Tips. I put the tips in a large saute pan over high heat with a bit of olive oil and cooked the tips for around 5 minutes and set aside to rest.  For the sauce, I boiled down the pan drippings, added some white balsamic vinegar and white wine, boiled this down a bit and added some heavy cream.

For the potatoes, I quartered each one, added some halved, sliced leeks and coated with olive oil, salt, pepper and red pepper. I placed this on a foil lined baking sheet and baked for about 15 minutes.

And finally, for the radishes, I trimmed the tops, rinsed them, put them into a small glass bowl and cooked them in the microwave for 4 minutes.

For being as quick and easy as dinner was tonight, I have to say, there was a lot of great flavor going on. I didn't even overcook the lamb tonight so it turned out great!!  The sauce was so easy and tasted so good that I covered my potatoes in it too. I also really enjoyed the steamed radishes, they had an almost sweet flavor, it was a nice change from their normally spicy crunch.


Oh, and Dylan, she loved the lamb, just like I knew she would.

Prosciutto Wrapped Cantaloupe with Asparagus

Since my daughter will not be with me for dinner tonight, we decided to make lunch instead.  We wrapped cantaloupe slices with prosciutto, sauteed asparagus spears with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, sliced some mango and threw in some honey goat cheese from Trader Joe's with a few crackers.

I think that I've made a fan out of Dylan, she can't seem to get enough of the cantaloupe slices!  I also have to say, that this is probably my favorite way to eat lunch on the weekend. Just a few munchies, super simple to make and lots of wonderful flavors.

BLTO's and Corn on the Cob

I have to say, I'm awfully glad that no one is here but me and Dylan as we are eating our corn on the cob slathered in sour cream and chili powder. As good as it is, I have no desire to have anyone see me eating it! Haha!

We also had sandwiches with pepper bacon, roma tomatoes, heirloom lettuce and sweet onion. These were extremely good, but equally messy!

I didn't even get to have more corn and it's a good thing that I took one when I did, because Dylan ate the other three!

Friday Bin 5/20/11

Several of my favorite fruits and veggies showed up in today's bin!

Carrots with Tops
Cucumber
Sweet Corn
Butter Lettuce
Purple Garlic
Roma Tomatoes
Imperial Sweet Onions
Local Asparagus
Cantaloupe
Ataulfo Mangoes
Braeburn Apples
Minneola Tangelos
Strawberries

I can't wait to dig into this cantaloupe! I'm also really excited for my first corn on the cob of the year!! Yum. I've been thinking about it for a couple of weeks now and the first thing Dylan said to me was "Are you going to make it the good way?"! So I took that to mean that she is pretty excited to. Also, a lot of these ingredients will work well with what I still have so I should get to use up a lot of that too, which I'm looking forward to.

Dylan's Stuffed French Bread

When Dylan got home from school today, one of the first things that she asked me was if she could make an appetizer for tonight's dinner. She was so excited at the thought of being able to cook, that I decided we better just make that the whole meal!  So, off to the store we went. Dylan was on a definite mission to find the perfect bread for her dish. She decided that it had to be fat and soft, none of that crunchy, thin stuff. Once the bread was taken care of, off to the cheese aisle.  Havarti, with it's creamy texture seemed to do the trick.

Once home, Dylan raided my vegetables, deciding that cucumber, zucchini, spinach and onion would be the best mixture to stuff her bread with.  Now, being the only thing that I really had to help her with, I sliced the bread (but not all the way through, it still had to be one piece so that she could stuff it!).

After the vegetables were all chopped up, this was added to a large saute pan with a little bit of olive oil. She sauteed the mixture just until it was softened and the spinach slightly wilted.  The bread was then stuffed with this mixture and the cheese went on top to cover.  This was then baked in a 350 degree oven, covered, for about 10 minutes. Just long enough to melt all of the cheese.  Then uncovered for another 5 minutes, to crisp up the bread a bit.

Oh my gosh! This bread turned out amazing.  It has become a huge hit and Dylan is definitely proud of herself for this dish (as well she should be!). I don't think that I could have done it any better myself.

Tofu and Green Bell Peppers with Salad

I had to figure out a way to use up the tofu left over from last nights dinner, so I chopped it up with some sliced green bell pepper and onion added some fajita seasoning and sauteed until cooked through. I also added some broccoli and cauliflower just until starting to soften.

To serve with this, I figured I should do another salad, since well, I have an abundance of salad greens. I made a sort of ranch dressing to go on the lettuce and spinach mixture tonight, using mayonnaise, sour cream, chopped fresh parsley, salt, pepper, garlic powder and finely chopped onion.  I also added a bit of fresh squeezed orange juice to this to give it a little extra flavor.

To go on top of the salad, I thinly sliced some radishes,apples and tangerines. I also added more of the fresh mozzarrella, because it's just so good!

Even though it sounds like an interesting mix of flavors, they all worked really well together! The hot with the cold, the crunchy with the soft and even the creamy with the spice!  Dylan especially liked it, in fact, I don't think that I've ever seen her eat a salad so quickly before!!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries!

Well, you didn't think that I was going to continue to get all these beautiful strawberries and not make this at least once did you?  After a rough couple of weeks, I finally decided that it was time.

I brought some heavy whipping cream to a simmer and poured it over semi-sweet chocolate chips. I also sprinkled some cinnamon over top of the warm whipping cream (for a slight flavor boost) and let this sit for about 5 minutes.  Once the chocolate was melted I mixed it with the cream until smooth.  Then I dipped the strawberries in the chocolate mixture and placed on a plate to set for a few minutes.

Definitely the perfect way to end a rough Monday and these taste great with my plum vodka cocktail! Yummy!

Tofu, Roasted Asparagus and Mixed Salad

While roaming through Trader Joe's tonight trying to figure out how I was going to cook my tofu for dinner, I came across this wonderful sounding Island Soyaki sauce. It's a mixture of pineapple juice, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and sesame seeds. Yum.  So I brought it home, sliced up my extra firm tofu and marinated it in the sauce for roughly 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, I cooked the rice and placed the asparagus on a foil lined baking sheet and baked for 15 minutes in a 425 degree oven.  I also prepared the salad, chopped heirloom lettuce and spinach with a light dressing of fresh squeezed juice from one tangerine and a bit of white balsamic vinegar. To top it off I added some sliced tomato and fresh mozzarrella.

For the tofu, I just simply seared it over medium high heat for a few minutes per side, just until browned and called it good.  I also took the remaining sauce and simmered it down with a bit of rice wine vinegar to make a glaze.

I finished off the asparagus with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and plated it all up.  The whole meal took around 45 minutes (including marinating time!), so this was a great Monday night meal.  It also tasted pretty good, and that is saying a lot considering I've only just recently started cooking with tofu and have never really liked it.  Dylan really liked  it too!

Tomato, Spinach and Green Bell Pepper Pizza

When I got my bin on Friday, I immediately thought "Pizza!".  I was too lazy to make homemade pizza dough so I went to the store and bought a Pillsbury pizza crust.  I did however make my own sauce.  I put olive oil, minced garlic, chopped onion, chopped tomatoes, coarse salt, fresh black pepper and a splash of balsamic vinegar into a small sauce pan and simmered until soft. Using a potato masher, I mashed the sauce until it had a smoother consistency and spread on top of the pizza crust.  Next, I put down a layer of fresh spinach and placed a layer of thinly sliced green bell peppers, tomatoes and fresh mozzarrella on top.

I baked the pizza for about 20 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

I'm not super happy with the way the store bough pizza crust tastes, but other than that this pizza turned out pretty good! The tomatoes and bell peppers were delicious and the fresh mozzarrella on top was amazing. (I actually think that I ate half of the ball of mozzarrella before even putting any onto the pizza!) 

Friday Bin 5/13

My bin today is so exciting!

Cucumber
Green Peppers
Radish
Roma Tomatoes
Zucchini
Broccoli
Asparagus
Heirloom Baby Lettuce
Braeburn Apples
Minneola Tangelos
Bananas
Strawberries

I am a huge fan of tomatoes, so to have them in my bin this week is really great and I am looking forward to eating them! I'm also very happy to have green bell peppers and spinach. I've already got all sorts of ideas for my meals this week and can't wait to get cooking! Although I did come home and eat a plate full of ribs and a bowl of popcorn for dinner (not a fresh veggie in sight!).

Leek, Rapini and Rice Soup

I made this soup last night for dinner because it was quick, easy and I really wanted to find a way to use these up!

I heated olive oil and butter in a pan until melted, added the leeks and some minced garlic until soft.  Then I added chopped rapini, rice, chicken broth, white wine, salt, pepper and lemon zest.  This was cooked until the rapini was wilted and the rice was cooked all the way through.

I really enjoyed this soup! I had two huge bowls of it. It was light and refreshing and if I hadn't had to share it with anyone, I probably would have finished off the whole pot!  It also took less than 20 minutes to make, which was another huge bonus.

Pork Loin with Roasted Fingerling Potatoes and Gold Beets

Well, it seems that I've gotten ahead of myself in the meat cooking department.  After having so many good meals turn out and thinking that I have redeemed myself, I go and cook my pork too long. I mostly forgot that it was in the oven because I was preoccupied with cupcakes and potatoes, but no excuses! I overcooked it by about 15 degrees or so. I'd say that if you like your meat well done then you would definitely have liked this, and it really didn't taste too bad, it was just a bit on the dry side.  I sprinkled the top of the loin with garlic salt, lemon pepper and red pepper before putting in a 350 degree oven. It was supposed to be pulled out of the oven when the inside temp reached 150, but by the time I got to it, it was already at 160.  The seasoning on the pork was really good, which made it edible at least, so I think that I will definitely have to make this again and just keep a better eye on it.

To serve along with this I quartered the fingerling potatoes and gold beets, peeled about 6 cloves of garlic and placed them on a baking pan with some olive oil, salt and pepper to coat.  These were roasted in a 425 degree oven until cooked through (about 15 minutes).  I also made up some broccoli and cauliflower, since it's really good and I haven't used it all up just yet.

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp and Heirloom Salad with Creamy Citrus Dressing

I decided to continue with the seafood theme this weekend by making shrimp! I've never cooked raw shrimp before so I thought that I would give it a try. I started off with the shrimp wrapped in half a slice of bacon and sprinkled both sides with fresh ground black pepper and paprika. This was baked in a 450 degree oven for about 15 minutes (until cooked through).

I also figured that the best side to serve with this would be a citrusy salad. I made the dressing using mayonnaise, red vinegar, fresh orange juice, fresh lemon juice, lemon and orange rind, fresh thyme, salt and pepper mixed until well blended. After rinsing and chopping some of the heirloom lettuce, I poured the dressing over top to coat.  I also served this with some cucumber salad, halved radishes and sliced avocado.

This turned out quite tasty! The bacon was perfectly cooked and the shrimp not at all overcooked like I thought it might end up being. The salad also turned out great, even if I did add a bit too much thyme to the dressing. The leftover dressing will also be great with some cauliflower and broccoli for a snack tomorrow.

Tonight, I was also able to make a tasty pomegranate plum cocktail (courtesy of my wonderful boyfriend) to serve along with my Mother's Day dinner! (Pearl Plum Vodka and Pomegranate juice.) Very tasty!

Cucumber and Zucchini Salad

I made an easy salad today to take over to a friend's for dinner. I thinly sliced cucumbers, zucchini and sweet onion with a mandoline slicer and placed into a large bowl. For the dressing, I mixed sugar and vinegar together with hot water to dissolve the sugar and added some black pepper, lavendar salt and red pepper flakes. The dressing was poured over the cucumber mix and stirred to coat. I placed the salad in the fridge for an hour to marinate and allow the flavors to develop, stirring occasionally.

This salad turned out great and the total prep time was less than 10 minutes! It also went really well with the tomato and fresh mozzarella salad and the excellent grilled tuna steaks that my friend made. I think that I will have to make this salad again tomorrow so that I can munch on it throughout the day!

Friday Bin 5/6/11

It's Friday! Finally! It has been such a long week that I thought it was never going to get here.  My bin today is definitely full of beautiful inspiring spring colors. I can hardly wait until tomorrow to start cooking!

Cauliflower
Broccoli
Cucumbers
Leeks
Rapini
Zucchini
Fingerling Potatoes
Heirloom Baby Leaf Lettuce
Red Radish
Lemons
Braeburn Apples
Minneola Tangelos

New in my bin this week is the rapini. It looks similar to the broccoli and kale raab, and I enjoy getting new vegetables that I've never used before. I'm also happy about the radishes! Dylan loves them, so I will probably have to hide them from her to be able to use them in anything.

Maple Sausage, Fried Potatoes and Steamed Cabbage

Well, tonight's meal comes from several different cravings that I've had lately!  I think that the maple sausage and fried potatoes are pretty much a given, but the cabbage?  For some crazy reason, I've been missing just basic, steamed cabbage. My mom used to make it when I was younger and I don't think that I've had it since!  So, there you have it.  I sliced up chunks of cabbage and placed it in a pan with a small amount of water and about 2 tablespoons of butter and let it simmer for about 20 minutes until it became a buttery soft and beautiful bright green.

Because you can't just eat cabbage for dinner, I decided to also give in to the maple and brown sugar sausage that I've been wanting (Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage, yum!).  And to keep with the theme, I chose to make fried potatoes. I added chopped potatoes and onion to the same pan that I cooked the sausage in and added a little salt and pepper. I cooked this until the potatoes turned brown and crispy.

Dinner tonight was very simple and definitely comfort food! It was very satisfying and since I don't eat this way very often, I chose to finish my meal off with some salted caramel chocolate cupcakes!

Caramel Apple Chai Cupcakes

I realize that cupcakes with a bit of apple in them isn't exactly following the guidelines of my blog, but I'm trying to post every day this month so I figured I could make it work. I am after all using some of the apples from my bin!

I started with making just a basic yellow cupcake, except when I added the milk I added a packet of vanilla chai tea latte mix to it before adding to the batter. Once the batter was completely mixed, I folded in two chopped, peeled apples. I put these into my mini cupcake liners, baked for 15 minutes and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, I made the Caramel Swiss Buttercream Frosting. Swiss buttercream is a bit different than traditional frosting, using a mixture of warmed egg whites and sugar whipped into a meringue and beat with butter. I added about a cup of caramel sauce to the buttercream and mixed until combined.

To finish them, I dusted the tops with cinnamon. 

These turned out great! Caramel chai latte's are my favorite drink and now I've made it into a cupcake and added apple to it, so good! I hope that the ladies at my daughter's school enjoy these for their Staff Appreciation lunch tomorrow just as much as I do.

Trio of Sausages with Roasted Vegetables

It's official. I have redeemed myself in the meat cooking area (or rather the guy at the Whole Foods meat counter has helped me to succeed at meat cooking).  After work today I went to the meat counter (after for some crazy reason having craved sausage for 2 days now) and said "Do you eat sausage?".  The nice guy said "Yes I do! I've tried all of these. Which ones can I get for you?".  To which I responded "Whatever ones you tell me to get and tell me how to cook!". He then proceeded to ask whether I liked chicken or pork and what I was serving with this and suggested a few, to which I agreed to do one of each that he recommended, and he gave me several tips on how to cook them! It was great! I came home followed the instruction that the guy had given to me and it worked perfectly! No crispy, crunchy, dried out mess of nastiness like my previous experience with cooking sausage (which is the sole reason I've been dubbed the girl not allowed to cook meat), but wonderfully moist, perfectly browned sausage! I chose to do a trio because they all sounded so good that it was hard to choose just one and came home with Pork Bratwurst, Pork Sausage with Basil and Garlic and Spicy Pork Sausage. I'm actually not sure which one I like the best, they all have such a wonderful flavor to them!!  The secret to cooking sausage you ask?  Water!  Put about 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch water in the bottom of a large saute pan, place the sausages in the pan and cook at a low simmer until the water evaporates. This will steam the sausage. Once the water has evaporated, turn up the heat to medium and brown on all sides.

To serve with my wonderfully cooked sausages, I roasted some vegetables! I placed halved and quatered baby parsnips, golden  beets, russet potatoes and crimini mushrooms in a small bowl. To the bowl I added some olive oil to coat, chopped fresh sage, lavendar salt and fresh ground black pepper.  I spread the vegetables out onto a baking sheet covered with foil and sprayed with cooking spray. Then I sprinkled some chopped green garlic scapes and thinly sliced and quartered blood oranges over top.  This was baked in the oven at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes, just until the vegetables were cooked through and starting to brown.

Meanwhile, I made a quick salad using the heirloom lettuce from my bin and some shredded carrot. I also made an easy balsamic vinaigrette for this (balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh orange juice from half a navel orange whisked together) and poured over top of the lettuce.  Sliced cucumber was served alongside.

It sounds like a bit of effort was put into this meal, but really from beginning to end it only took me 30 minutes!! How great is that? Very full of flavor, extremely filling and relatively healthy considering what we could have eaten tonight. It was also a pretty big hit. Dylan even loved the spicy sausage! (Of course I'm sure she covered it with ketchup before allowing it anywhere near her mouth!)

Leek, Mushroom and Chard Tart

This recipe actually comes from the New Roots website. It was the recipe of the week last week and I said, "I have to try that!".  I'm sure glad I did too! I also pretty much followed the recipe, the only thing I added was the mushrooms and I used fresh thyme instead of the dried stuff.

I started by thawing a sheet of puff pastry, rolling it out, placing it in a pie plate, crimping the edges and placing in the fridge until ready to be used.  Next, I added 3 chopped leeks and 2/3 cup of chopped crimini mushrooms to about 2 tablespoons of butter and added some salt and pepper. These were cooked until soft and then I added the chopped rainbow chard (stems removed). The mixture was cooked just until the chard was wilted and then removed from the heat to cool.

For the egg mixture I put just over a cup of whipping cream in a large bowl and added 3 eggs and 2 egg yolks, salt, pepper and a little nutmeg until just mixed. I then added the leek mixture to the egg mixture and poured this into the pie crust.

The tart was baked at 425 degrees (in the lower third of the oven) for 15 minutes and at 350 for about 25 minutes (it took longer to cook because of the added moisture from the mushrooms).

I have to say that this turned out really well! Even I had seconds tonight (and I hate anything with eggs being a key player)!  Dylan is currently on her 3rd plate and she is really loving it!

Friday Bin 4/29

You know how when you get behind on something and it takes forever to get back on track? I'm finding that I'm having that problem with posting my Friday Bin updates! Grr..I promise to be on time next week!! Thankfully, I haven't had any time to make anything with my bin yet, so I'm not behind on any other posts. This week I have some pretty neat ingredients to work with too!

Sweet Nante Carrots
Cucumbers
Leeks
Texas Sweet Onions
Gold Beets
Russet Potatoes
Baby Turnips with Tops
Crimini Mushrooms
Rainbow Chard
Heirloom Baby Leaf Lettuce
Lemons
Braeburn Apples
Minneola Tangelos
Strawberries

I have already used some of the carrots and cucumbers and my strawberries (which I got a full pound of this week) are now all gone! I set out a plate with some sliced carrots, cucumbers, celery and strawberries yesterday and that's what everyone spent the day munching on! It was a very good idea and way healthier than the typical snacks that everyone usually grabs.