Potato and Kale Hash

The only cruciferous vegetable that did well in my garden this year was a curly-leafed kale. Kale is a wonderfully nutritious and flavorful leafy green. It also tends to be really bitter if you don't treat it just right. In this rendition, it added a nice flavor and no bitterness. It also helped me use up my potatoes, something I'm always forgetting to do.

Potato and Kale Hash

5-6 medium potatoes, medium to large dice
4 oz bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 or so cups chopped kale (could have done more, but this was a nice amount)
salt and pepper to taste
extra virgin olive oil as needed

Pre-cook potatoes in the microwave for about five minutes (I used a microwave vegetable steamer with some water in the bottom to prevent them from drying out or getting tough). Meanwhile, render bacon in a frying pan. Add onion and some salt and sweat for a few minutes until just becoming translucent. Add potatoes and cook for a few more minutes. Add kale and continue to cook, adding olive oil as needed to keep things from sticking too badly, until potatoes are soft. Salt and pepper to taste.

Great for breakfast or dinner.

Rosemary

Asian BBQ Marinade

I found this one on another food blog and have LOVED it! It has been delectable on pork, chicken, and tofu (more on that later). Here's the original recipe and link.


Asian BBQ Chicken
Adapted from Cooking Light

1/4 C packed brown sugar
1/4 C soy sauce
2 T lime juice (about 1 lime)
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t curry powder
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 t grated fresh ginger
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Combine everything but the chicken in a small bowl. Whisk to dissolve brown sugar. Place marinade and chicken in a zip-lock bag. Pop that bag in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours, or longer if you have it (even overnight)
 

Preheat a grill (or an indoor grill pan or broiler). Spray cooking surface with cooking spray and place chicken on it to cook. Cook for 5-10 minutes on each side depending on the thickness.  Optional:  garnish with sliced green onions

*Tip:  When I make this I usually make 1 1/2 times the marinade.  I reserve some of the marinade before adding the chicken and then use it in the last few minutes of grilling, or just brush it on after for extra flavor.

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2011/05/asian-bbq-chicken/

Now, as I promised, here is more on the tofu. We are a tofu eating family. We haven't always been, but I've been trying to incorporate it for some time. At first, it just wasn't coming out well. But my techniques have improved and now the results are turning out fantastic. Tonight I made up two 14-oz packages of extra firm tofu and there was barely enough left for hubby's lunch. My 3-year-old loved it as much as the adults did. The 9-month-old can't give much of an opinion on the grilled tofu but she did have some silken tofu which she thoroughly enjoyed.

Why tofu? Tofu is inexpensive and good for you! It's also very versatile. It can be used as a meat alternative; just don't expect it to have the exact same taste and texture any more than you'd expect an egg (another meat alternative) to have the same taste and texture as meat. Silken tofu is great for smoothies, desserts, and more. So don't let all of the bad tofu-based meat substitute products put you off. When you take tofu on its own merits, it can be wonderful!

For great tofu "steaks", buy extra firm tofu. Drain the water from the tofu (most tofu is water-packed) and freeze. Freezing helps give the tofu a meatier texture. When you thaw the tofu, wrap it in a clean towel (tea towels are best) and place between two plates or cutting boards with weights on top. This presses out excess liquid so that the tofu is ready to take on the marinade flavors and, again, have a meatier texture. Once thawed and pressed, slice tofu into desired size and shape of steaks (I first cut mine in half to make it thinner kind of like you would a layered cake then cut in half width-wise to give 4 steaks per 14 oz package). Place steaks in an airtight bag with the marinade and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes; the longer the better.  Grill for 5-6 minutes over medium heat. Enjoy!

Rosemary

Experiment Polenta: Success!

I remember eating polenta at my Italian grandafather's house and not being particularly impressed with it. I learned to enjoy it more after having a variation of it in Africa, and especially after a fabulous polenta dish I had in Italy when I was visiting relatives. But I'd never actually tried to make it before. However, since our son was recently diagnosed with multiple food allergies, we've been getting more creative than usual in finding complete meals that we can enjoy together, and it seemed time to bring polenta to the table.

I used a basic recipe I found on foodnetwork, and tweaked it just a touch:

5 cups vegetable broth, 1 cup water
2 tsp salt
1 3/4 c. stoneground corn meal
1 tsp olive oil

Bring the broth/water to a boil, add salt, then whisk in corn meal. Stir it frequently for about 15-20 minutes until it's thick enough for a spoon to stand up in. Once it's cooked, turn off heat, add some olive oil (the recipe calls for butter...but milk happens to be one of the wee one's allergies) to make it creamy.

We served it with a marinara sauce (sausage, onions, garlic, crushed tomatoes, fresh sage, oregano, and parsley). The three year old wasn't interested, but the rest of us enjoyed it.

-Thyme

The Great Smoothie Challenge of 2011

It's hot where I live. That means it's smoothie season! Smoothies are great for breakfast or for a snack. They can be very nutritious and tasty or just plain sugary indulgences, all depending on how you put them together. My basic formula for a nutritionally balanced smoothie goes like so:

1 cup plain yogurt (I like plain because I can control how much sugar is going into the soothie, but you can use flavored if that's what you have around, just don't add as much honey later on; maybe omit the banana as well if it's already sweet enough)
1-2 cups frozen fruit
1 small or 1/2 regular/large overripe banana
honey to taste (if necessary at all)
1-3 tbsp ground flax seed for a nutrition boost

Blend to perfection

You can play with this to get all kinds of variations. For instance, when I'm using frozen berries that include dark berries like blueberries and black berries, I like to throw in a big ol' handful or two of fresh spinach; you don't really taste it and with the dark color, you don't really see it either. Then again I know some kids enjoy the green color, so you can do the spinach trick whenever it strikes your fancy as long as the color doesn't bother you.

Coming to the present, I was making smoothies today for snack. Instead of following the above formula, I was winging it with very ripe fresh strawberries that needed used. Since my yogurt was fat-free I needed to add some fat* to the mix. Peanut butter usually overpowers things, so I got creative and went for the Nutella. It was a total gamble and it paid off. So I'm going to continue tweeking this idea now and then to get the perfect strawberry Nutella smoothie. This unexpected flavor combo brings me to the premise of this post:

Please post your favorite or most creative smoothie flavor ideas and how you make them great. Nobody wants to eat the same smoothie over and over all summer long; or at least I don't. So post away. There's no prize except for the wealth of ideas that we'll get from each other.  Now get blending!

Rosemary

*Yes, I said fat. Fat is important as a part of your meals and snacks to help keep you full for longer. It actually slows down the rate that your stomach is emptying, hence keeping you full. It's also very important for small children. Their stomachs are very small and without the concentrated calories from fat it can be hard for them to get enough calories. So when I'm making these for my kid, I'm extra conscious to make sure that there's some kind of fat either in the smoothie or on the side.

Gumbo!

There was a time many moons ago when our parents were high adventurers in culinary land. I distinctly remember a cajun food kick which included the making of gumbo and jambalaya. The jambalaya I was never too fond of as I am not a fan of [un-battered and deep-fried] shrimp. The gumbo on the other hand, became a family favorite. This old favorite vanished for a few years, forgotten in the annals of Lewis family history until a recent family reunion when I requested that we eat it again. This time, I was wise enough to get the recipe. I'll document it here and post comments with any alterations that I might create later on.

Chicken and Okra Gumbo
from La Cuisine Cajun
3/4 cup of cooking oil
3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
2 large onions, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks of celery, minced
1 hen (6 1/2 to 7 pounds), cut into serving pieces and most of skin removed
2 tsp of chicken seasoning (our mom used a cajun seasoning blend)
2 3/4 quarts of chicken stock, chicken broth, or water
3/4 pound of tasso (smoked beef) (I don't think we've ever had this one on hand, you can substitute sausage. Mom uses hot Italian sausage that she cooks ahead of time to removed most of the grease.)
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp sweet basil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp of onion powder
1/8 tsp of white pepper
1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp of freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp of Tabasco sauce
1 1/2 tsp of salt
2 1/2 cups smothered okra (last time we used frozen; canned is also an option)
1 tsp of file powder (the label says it contains thyme and sassafras)
3/4 cup of chopped green onion
1/4 cup of minced fresh parsley
file powder to taste
cooked white rice

*In a gumbo pot or large stockpot (2 1/2 to 3 gallons), heat the cooking oil over high heat until the oil begins to smoke. Add the flour and stir constantly with a wire whisk or wooden spoon, making sure that the roux is constantly moving and not sticking in any part of the pot. (I find that tilting the pot from one side to another helps.) Continue to cook over high heat until the roux becomes a dark reddish-brown. This will take about 3 minutes.
When the desired color is reached, add the onions, bell pepper, garlic and celery. Saute over medium heat in the roux for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Season the chicken with the Chicken Seasoning Mix. Fry half of the chicken in the roux mixture over medium heat for 5 minutes, then remove that half and fry the other half for 5 minutes.
Put all the chicken back into the pot and add the Chicken Stock. Stir  until the roux is absorbed into the stock. Add the tasso, bay leaf, sweet basil, garlic powder, onion powder, white pepper, cayenne pepper, black pepper, Tabasco sauce and salt. Heat over medium heat until the gumbo comes to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours, then add the smothered okra and the teaspoon of file powder and continue to cook at a low simmer for 2 1/2 more hours.
Add the green onions and parsley and stir them in well. Cook for 7 more minutes at a low simmer. Serve hot in individual serving bowls with file powder over cooked white rice. Serves 10.

Rosemary with help from Nutmeg

Moroccan-style Chickpeas and Greens

So I saw this recipe for Spicy Moroccan Chickpeas and thought yummm... Plus we'd gotten both mustard and collard greens and I thought how that would be a great combination. So I mostly followed the instructions in the above recipe (I forgot to read the part where you coat the chickpeas in oil first and then coat in spices, so I mixed all the spices in the oil and then coated the chickpeas). I also used less cayenne since someone's heartburn acts up when things are excessively spicy, and cut back on the salt a bit. Also, I only used about 3/4 of it.

Then I sauteed the greens with some scallions and garlic, braised them with some vegetable broth, and then tossed in the rest of the oily spices. We served with rice. So delicious!

So delicious in fact that I made up the seasonings again the next night and used it on baked chicken (again with rice and collards). And then the chicken on a salad today.

Here's a list of the seasonings, for reference:
½ teaspoons Curry Powder
½ teaspoons Allspice
½ teaspoons Ground Cloves
½ teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice (optional... If You Have It In Your Spice Rack, Use It!)
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
½ teaspoons Cayenne Powder (or More... If You Are The Spicy Type!)
2 teaspoons Fresh Grated Ginger
2 teaspoons Sea Salt


-Thyme

Pizza Style Carrots, Iceberg Lettuce Tarts and other fine foods

Pizza Style Carrots

Serves 5

You will need:

• 2 carrots
• 10ml milk
• 10g pickle

Instructions:

1. pre-heat the oven to 220 C
2. whisk the pickle
3. fry the milk
4. defrost the carrots
5. bake for 50 minutes and serve hot

Yum.

 

Ok, so we found a site http://jamesoff.net/site/fun/random-recipe-generator/ You should check it out.