..cricket cricket…. pretending there was no hiatus…….
so, i have exciting news! i’ve officially moved into the new apartment with the boyfriend, and that means a new kitchen! okay, maybe not as exciting as i made it sound. but i was pretty psyched to set up a new cooking workspace. anyway, i’m now in pennsylvania, specifically in one of the suburbs of philadelphia- and the food scene over here is pretty spectacular. first of all this area is just crawling with farms (amish country is about an hour away, i think?) so there’s lots of nice, fresh, local produce all around. there’s tons of farmers markets, which i haven’t gotten to hit yet unfortunately, but that’s this weekend’s project (along with setitng up track lighting and hitting a few local wineries/breweries.. ahem.. anyway..) besides the farms, we also have a trader joe’s and whole foods basically around the block.
in other news, as i mentioned i’m living with the boyfriend: a pretty dedicated carnivore. if you haven’t noticed, eat very little meat. not that i’m a dedicated vegetarian, i have a bite of his steak or chicken every once and a while, but i don’t eat it on a daily or even weekly basis. so, how is this going to work? i’m wondering the same thing. beside the fact that i’m a B.S. in nutrition and he’s being living on cheeseburgers for the past 2 months. well, it hasn’t been difficult or messy yet. luckily, he does like beans and most vegetables, and he even loves soyrizo as much as i do. about once a week i’m making a meal that can have meat for him and meatless for me (this week it was pasta and broccoli alfredo- with chicken for him and chickenless strips for me) but other than that there’s been some pretty delicious vegetarian meals going down here =)
anyway, onto the “recipe.” this isn’t even a recipe. it’s a list of ingredients that together makes a delicious salad. i’ve been craving salads lately, i guess it’s the hot weather and all the nice summer produce around. i would call this spanish inspired, but as the 2 other girls who write on this blog have lived in spain, i hesitate to call it that… =p
Salad Which May or May not be Inspired by Spanish Ingredients.
Arugula
Tomatoes
Peaches
Mango
Black Beans
Corn on the Cob
Vidalia Onion
Scallions
Manchego Cheese
Avocado
Radishes
Mixed (red, yellow, orange) Baby Bell Peppers
Butter and Chili Powder (for the corn)
We grilled the peaches, peppers, and corn on our illegal-in-the-new-apartment propane grill. To be honest, the salad could have done without with peaches and more mango- i love mango! but it wasn’t bad tasting by any means. The corn got hit with some butter and a ton of hot mexican chili powder.
As for the dressing… I used Lemon-Tahini dressing from 101 Cookbooks because I was unsure about what kind of dressing would got best with the flavors in the salad, and i wanted a break from the bottled dressing we always use. I just saw a nice looking recipe for lime-chili sauce, which probably would have worked well.
Filed under: bell pepper, bulgar, cheese, quinoa, spinach, tomato, zucchini | Tags: bulgar, feta cheese, food orgasm, pepper, quinoa, spinach, tomato, zucchini
oh. my. god. i just had a food orgasm.
it was perfect. well seasoned. time consuming, but worth it. it was even so good we can totally disregard how i cannot eat anything a stuffed pepper in a neat and/or ladylike fashion.
yes, a stuffed pepper. but it doesn’t have to be, if that’s not your thing. that’s the beauty of it.
i started off with this recipe for spinach and bulgar pilaf. this is what it became:
ingredients (this is enough to make a big ol pot. roughly 5-6 cups.)
the ingredients listed in the original recipe were in much better proportion than my “use what i got” technique. obviously my obsession with tomatoes and caramelized onions would incline me to use way more in the future. but this worked fine.)
also, obviously i make meals in huge portions, it’s so i have something i can just throw in tupperware and bring to work the rest of the week. adjust accordingly.
4 plum tomatoes.
1 t brown sugar.
1 T olive oil.
1-2 t balsamic vinegar.
2 t minced garlic.
1/2 t coriander.
1/2 t salt.
1/2 an onion, finely chopped.
1 tsp minced garlic.
1 T olive oil.
6 oz bulgar.
6 oz quinoa (RINSED).
2 1/2 cups stock (i used water).
salt and pepper.
1 large zucchini, chopped.
about 5-6 oz chopped spinach. use as much as you want, it wilts anyway.
2 t olive oil.
hungarian paprika and ground fennel (to taste) (i used a lot)
the other half onion, finely sliced.
1/2 T olive oil.
sprinkles cinnamon and brown sugar.
and, if you’re following my lead: 1 green bell pepper and feta cheese.
1. preheat oven to 350º F. cut up the tomatoes, and put them in a baking dish with the brown sugar, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, coriander, and salt. stick it in the oven for about 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. i did this in 2 separate pots.. i don’t know quite how it would work out in just one. divide the onion and oil among two pots over a medium heat, stirring until the onion is transluscent. add the garlic and cook for another minute or so. add 6 oz of each grain to each pot and cover with 1.25 cups of stock/water. bring to a boil, then reduce both to a simmer and cover. the bulgar should take about 15 minutes and the quinoa about 20.
3. in a large pot over medium to high heat, combine the zucchini, oil, and spices you choose. once these have cooked a bit, add the spinach and cook thoroughly. if you are making this in stuffed pepper form (and i suggest you should), now is the time to stick your hollowed out pepper shells with feta cheese in the bottoms in the oven (oh yeah, you heard me. feta cheese in the bottom. heck yes). once all veggies are combined you can add in the grain mixture and the roasted tomatoes.
4. in a small frying pan, heat up the last bit of oil good and hot. now, without burning yourself, add the sliced onions. cook until they are crispy and brown, and add the cinnamon and brown sugar. cook about a minute longer until the resemble all that is good and beautiful in the world.
now, stuff the pepper and then stuff your face. or, use this as a side dish. or a main dish, sans pepper. it would probably be really, really good with toasted sunflower/pumpkin seeds or pine nuts. i’m serious, this will change your life. it also goes really well with barefoot moscato wine. alas now due to my exam tomorrow, i’m switching to coffee and headed out to study……
Filed under: 1
what a weekend. srsly.
there’s a lot of cooking involved here. in the essence of saving time (and not failing the exercise physiology test i have on tuesday) i’m not going to list all the recipes, but rather where i got them from and my notes/thoughts. and my pictures. be excited.
oh, before i get started- the proposal for the NYS tax on soda and other SSBs (sugar sweetened beverages) was overturned this week (grrrrrr) i discussed it a little bit on my blog along with a really interesting article about it in last weeks new england journal of medicine.
also, i had big dreams of starting a garden this week. yeah, it didn’t happen. bigger plants (tomatoes) were held off on because i’m moving in about a monthish and didn’t want to deal with transporting a growing plant. i bought a basil plant, but it was hydroponic and i haven’t managed to get to the store to get soil yet and it’s seriously wilting. we’ll see if it makes it til tomorrow.
i could live on wine and tomatoes (if the all cheese diet doesn’t work out).
because i’m a poor college student and the majority of my money is directed toward ridiculous impulse purchases. anyway, i am on a constant mission to find cheap yet delicious bottles of wine. i was especially lucky this weekend, and discovered two new, amazing, and most importantly cheap wines. (note: if your definition of a delicious wine means “dry” or “red,” you can just skip this section. i like em sweet). here are my top 4 as of right now:
4. gallo family twin valley moscato ($7.99 for a mag)
3. saracco moscato d’asti ($13.99 for a 750)
2. sutter home california moscato ($7.99 for a mag)
1. bricco riella moscato d’asti ($8.99 i think for a 750– but i believe this was the sale price)
until this weekend, the gallo and the saracco were my all time favorites, the two ones i tried this weekend undoubtably replaced them. the other mission of this weekend was blood orange mimosas. don’t ask me why. i’ve never even had a blood orange or blood orange juice. i don’t even drink juice. but on friday i was on a mission to find blood orange juice, and once i was done jumping through hoops and had paid my $5.00 for a small bottle of juice (!!) i was ready. and it was seriously everything i had hoped and dreamed for. i highly suggest it.
in addition to the adventures in alcohol this weekend, there were several exciting cooking adventures. sadly, i was too involved in all the visiting friends (and about 20 bottles of wine we finished) to take pictures. but it’s okay, i know you don’t mind.
on friday we made spaghetti all’ubriaco (drunken spaghetti). hello, boiling pasta in wine, how have i not thought to do this before?? it was delicious, especially with a bit of parmesan cheese, roasted cherry tomatoes, and brussells sprouts. mmmmmm.
on saturday i had big dreams of making home made pasta, but after a particularly long day at work and a bit of too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen syndrome we ultimately decided make your own pizzas would result in much less tears. it actually turned out wonderfully- everyone purchased their own desired toppings so there was no need for compromises among people with such varying tastes (ie, one of us doesn’t eat mushrooms, one of us doesn’t eat onion, one of us doesn’t eat meat, etc etc etc). i adapted a tomato sauce recipe found here and it was delicious. i’m seriously looking forward to the leftovers.
caramelized cherry tomato sauce
ingredients:
2 pints cherry tomatoes
cooking spray
brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1 yellow onion, chopped up small
spices i used: mexican hot chili powder, smoked paprika, sage, salt, and cumin.
red wine- about half a cuppish.
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1. heat oven to 350. wash and dry cherry tomatoes and cut them in half. spray a cookie sheet with the cooking spray and spread out the tomatoes on the sheet. (i also spray the tomatoes with a bit of the spray). sprinkle with brown sugar and throw in the oven for about 20-30 minutes, depending on how caramelized-brown-burnt-crispy you like your tomatoes.
2. once those are done (or almost done) melt the butter in a sauce pan. add the onion, chili powder, and salt and saute until the onions are clear looking.
3. add the red wine and cook until the liquid reduces slightly. at this point add the crushed tomatoes and continue simmering. this is when i added (half the jar of) paprika, sage, and cumin. but you can add whatever you like.
4. add the roasted tomatoes and enjoy =)
Filed under: meat substitute, quinoa, summer squash, tomato | Tags: pumpkin seeds, quinoa, soapbox, summer squash, tomato
first of all, i wanted to post a link from my personal blog. it’s nutrition related, so it’s appropriate. but it’s long, and i didn’t want to take up space. you can find it here.
moving on. i made dinner today (which will actually end up being my dinner for tomorrow, but as i won’t have time to cook tomorrow i made it today). i took inspiration from a recipe from 101 cookbooks but as usual changed it up a bit…
(note: i’m not in a very chatty mood, due to the nearly 2000 word count soap box on my blog. but this came out pretty wonderfully, so i would like to share =) )
Filed under: random
okay. this is day 2 of blogging and i’m confessing deep dark secrets. i guess that’s the effect the internet has. here is my secret: i have never eaten a mushroom. and anytime they are in a dish, or someone offers one to me, i always shriek “ewwww i don’t like mushrooms!” yes.. i did not think i would be a person who would choose to arbitrarily not eat a food, but alas. i don’t know if i’ll ever get over this mushroom thing. but ANYWAY. the point of me telling you my life story is not just for the quiz (which there will be one later) but i’m wondering what other food issues, fears, strong dislikes, and obsessions you all have. and by “you all” i mean “shap and ohlno,” because, no one else reads this.
here’s my NO list:
1. mushrooms- see above.
2. shellfish- i’m allergic. but i used to not be. i can’t say i really miss it, though.
3. caraway seeds- i used to gag when a single caraway seed would make it’s way onto my sesame seed bagel (when i used to eat bagels).
4. rye- obviously, the caraway issue.
5. now, i’m really really not one of those nutrition people who think anything besides broccoli is evil. this fact will be evinced by my YES list. but i do have issues with processed foods, soda, bagels, pepperoni… not to say i don’t like those because they are not healthy, but i have issues with them for a variety of reasons…
6. dry red wine. or dry white wine for that matter. give me a riesling or a moscato, please.
7. egg yolks- just creep me out.
8. olives- again, never eaten one. i think the smell turns me off.
the YES list:
1. brussells sprouts and cara cara navels are my newest obsessions- i mentioned this yesterday.
2. CHEESE. any and all varieties. i would live on cheese alone if i could. maybe one day i will. favorites: fresh mozarella, smoked gouda, extra extra sharp cheddar, smoked cheddar, jarlsberg baby swiss, BRIE, parmesan, asiago… i could keep going.
3. tomatoes. i wish i didn’t live in this silly city so i could grow tomatoes, being as i would eat about 3 pints of grape tomatoes every day if they weren’t $3 a pint.
4. bread- especially the crust. not sliced bread, you know, the good stuff.
5. having said the above three, pizza is definitely my favorite food.
6. i’m currently obsessing over vegetarian sausage and more specifically “soyrizo.”
7. saracco sparkling moscato wine. there are no words.
8. proscuitto. i haven’t eaten meat in about 3 months, but, holy shit that’s good stuff.
moving on, i made a really simple dinner tonight so i could make it to class on time. i used the brussells sprouts recipe i mentioned yesterday and made a veggie burger from trader joe’s. but as i am trying to get a handle on this whole taking pictures of food business (and i bought batteries for my camera today) i present to you my dinner…
Filed under: bulgar, cous cous, summer squash, tomato | Tags: bulgar, grape tomato, israeli cous cous, summer squash
ok, so, i think i made bulgar.
but i’m not sure.
this all started with a trip to honest weight on sunday following an adventure trying to find a farmer’s market in march in upstate new york (don’t get me started). as it was the first time i had been there, i was experiencing far too much wonder and awe to be paying much attention at all to what i was doing (which is pretty typical for me). i purchased a few grains from the bulk bins, but didn’t feel the need to label what i bought. so thusly, i’m about 95% sure about this bulgar situation.
the food co-op, by the way, was pretty wonderful. i purchased 2 summer squash, a pound and a half of brussels sprouts (more about this later), 2 cara cara navels (also more on this later), polenta, bulgar (?), and red quinoa (!!!)… for $9.70. holllerrrrrrrr! so, i made the brussels sprouts last night, something i have never tried before, and used a recipe from one of my new website obsessions, 101 cookbooks. they were… awesome. crispy, salty, cheesey. really i’m all about anything golden crusted. the cara cara navels? wikipedia them. seriously. they are like the most deliciously delectable sweet orange i have ever experienced.
anyway, the bulgar recipe. i tried to do that fancy thing where the rest of this entry would be in a link in case you aren’t interested in my experience with bulgar, but during that attempt all that i had typed up til this point disappeared and i had to start over. so until i become more tech savvy, you will have to deal. i also want to point out how it currently says its 11:28 am, when it is most definitely 10:28 pm. hmmmmm. i got a few ideas for this recipe from smitten kitchen.
bulgar and israeli couscous pilaf.
makes about 5 cups.
(this is not technically a pilaf because i did not brown the couscous before i boiled it. i did this the last time i made it, and i wanted to try it a different way. attribute the weird amounts of ingredients below to me wanting to use up what i had in the pantry)
ingredients:
1/2 cup israeli (pearl) couscous
3/4 cup bulgar
1 summer squash
1 pint grape tomatoes
drizzle of olive oil (this is a really exact measurement)
sea salt and old bay seasoning to taste (don’t go overboard on the old bay like i did)
feta cheese (optional)
1. i put the oven on 325 (a number i randomly chose) and chopped the summer squash to bite size pieces and the grape tomatoes in halves. i put them on a baking tray with some olive oil and sea salt and started them roasting in the oven. i ended up keeping them in for about 30 minutes, but this is personal preference (read: i like really crispy things).
2. i boiled 1 1/2 cups of water for the bulgar and then let that simmer for about 20-30 minutes until it appeared to be soft, absorbed, and all that good stuff. (i had to strain some water out in the end, but from what i read about bulgar this is sometimes normal? i’m not sure. this is the first time i’ve made it.)
3. then boiled 1 cup of water for the couscous, let that simmer for about 5 minutes until it was good and done.
4. can you guess what comes next? i mixed the bulgar and the couscous and seasoned with (too much) old bay. it evened out when i added the veggies though, so all’s good. i sprinkled it with some feta cheese before i ate it and it was delicious!
since i’ve got that whole nutrition thing going, here’s some info on this dish (according to my various resources/calculations):
1/2 cup israeli couscous: 285 kcal, .75 g fat, 0g fiber, 9g protein.
3/4 cup bulgar: 113 kcal, .3g fat, 6g fiber, 4g protein.
1 summer squash: 31 kcal, 0g fat, 2g fiber, 2g protein.
1 pint grape tomatoes: 50 kcal, 0g fat, 2g fiber, 4g protein.
1 T olive oil: 124 kcal, 14g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein.
totals: 603 kcal, 15g fat, 10g fiber, 19g protein.
per serving: 120 kcal, 3g fat, 3g fiber, 6g protein.
(1/2 oz of feta cheese adds an extra 40 kcal, 3g fat, and 2g protein.)
i promise, the next time i make food i will take pictures so i don’t end up with such a boring looking blog update ever again. if i can learn to make food look artistic/pretty. shap will have to teach me. i just want to say this took me like 2 hours to write. i’m serious. okay bye!
