Salmon with Red Pepper and Hazelnut Salsa

As you probably already guessed, this detox is tough.  There is such a limited amount of things that I am permitted to eat.  Salmon is one, and even with chimichurri sauce (OMG, I love it) I was starting to get bored of it really quickly.  I also want to be able to participate, at least a little bit, in the featured cookbook thing for the month - we're doing Ottolenghi and Plenty together, two books I've been dying to cook from, and there are only a select few recipes I can make from them while doing this detox.  As it turns out, I had this salmon recipe flagged already, and I was excited to be able to try it.  I knew when we started mixing together the salsa ingredients that it was going to be a huge hit.

Honestly, I could eat this salsa every day, on anything.  It is so good.  It sticks to your expectations about what a salsa should be while totally blowing them away.  I am obsessed with it and I can't wait to have it again.  This is the way salmon was meant to be eaten.  I had my leftovers for lunch the next day, but Ken ate that second serving right after finishing the first, and I was tempted to do the same.  (I'm glad I prolonged my gratification by saving it.)  As a huge bonus, this was really simple and easy to make, so I expect it to become a staple in our house.

A few notes on the prep... mainly reminders to myself :)  Roast the hazelnuts and the peppers at the same time.  Cook the salmon opposite of the recipe directions, so that you get a crispy skin.  Make the salsa the day before if possible (oh, and double it while you're at it!) and this will come together in a flash.

2012 Whole Living Healthy Detox: Week 1

I'm doing the 2012 Whole Living Action Plan, which is kind of a healthy 3-week detox.  This first week, I ate only fruits, veggies, nuts, and plant based oils.  It was hard at times, because I was seriously craving sweets from the holiday season, but we made it through the cravings and I even dropped a pound or two of unwanted weight!  We cut this week short to 5 days instead of 7 because we have another family Christmas gathering to attend and we wanted to have more options than just the veggie tray.  I'll write more about week 2 next week.  I've been too busy during the week to post, so while I'm doing this detox, I'll do a summary at the end of the week.  Hopefully when I'm done I'll be craving nutritious foods instead of all the sugar I've been craving.

Here are some of the foods I've eaten this week...

Fruit Salad Smoothie - from the Vitamix cookbook, which came with my Christmas gift :) and this was the first smoothie I tried with the Vitamix.  It was delicious.  It had a bunch of different fruits along with carrot and cucumber.

Berry Delicious Smoothie - also from the Vitamix cookbook, some pineapple and berries, including cranberries, which provided a really nice flavor.  I plan to make this again this week.

Orange-Berry Smoothie - This one was pretty good, kind of tangy from all the orange juice. I would make it again.

Beet and Carrot Smoothie - This was my least favorite. I couldn't even force myself to eat it. I don't like beets, so I thought this would make them easier for me to stomach so that I could get all their nutrients without the flavor and texture I don't like, but the beet overpowered the smoothie and the ginger didn't help either.

Carrot, Mango, and Herb Smoothie - I'm drinking this one right now and it's one of my favorites from the week, probably because it doesn't have any veggies in it... just carrot juice, orange juice, mango chunks, and mint.  I put about half the amount of mint in because it can be overpowering, and I just get a slight refreshing coolness from it.

Kale Slaw with Red Cabbage and Carrots - I had this for lunch a few times, and I really liked the tangy dressing and the crunchy pepita seeds and the hemp seeds were good too.  I liked the refreshing bite of parsley though toward the end of the week I got lazy and it was just kale, cabbage, the nuts, and dressing.

Steamed Broccoli and Squash with Tahini Dressing - We had this for dinner one night and it was one of our least favorites of the week.  The broccoli with the tahini sauce was the best part.  I definitely wouldn't make this one again.

Roasted Peppers, Cauliflower, and Almonds - This one was pretty good.  I liked the roasted peppers and the saltiness from the kalamata olives.  One thing I would do differently is to make a better dressing, since this one was mainly just lemon and oil.  This would also be really good with feta.  Boy do I miss cheese.

I've already started week 2, and I've moved on to making mostly my own recipes either improvised or from other sources.  One in particular deserves its own post, and if time allows, I will share it this week.

Slow Cooker Pinto Bean & Veggie Chili (Dark Days 3)

I'm a little behind with the Dark Days Challenge - I think everyone else is on their 4th or 5th post or so?  But anyway, I'm doing my best, and I managed to squeeze in one more local meal in between finals (my last ever!) and Christmas.  This dish was a chili, entirely local (except for the chili powder and cumin, which if I remember correctly are organic, so there you go) and mostly organic.  After my last Dark Days disaster, I was really excited just to have had this idea (which also uses my slow cooker!), and even more so when it came out so good!

Here's the "recipe" along with my specific sources.  All frozen things were defrosted in the refrigerator overnight.  It made a little over 3 quarts.

Beef, Pinto and Veggie Slow-Cooker Chili

THE NIGHT BEFORE: In a skillet, saute 1 lb ground beef (Cherry Grove Farm) until browned.  Set aside.  In the same skillet, cook 2 chopped medium onions (Whole Foods), stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes.  Add 3 diced small carrots (CSA) and 4 chopped giant garlic cloves (Cherry Grove Organic Farm - a different farm than the ground beef) and cook for about 5 minutes, until the mixture begins to soften.  Add 1 diced red bell pepper (CSA, frozen) and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add 1 1/4 tsp cumin and 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp mild chili powder, stirring evenly to distribute it.  Turn off the heat and stir in the ground beef.  Let it cool for a few minutes, then put it in a container (ideally glass) and refrigerate overnight.  Pick through, rinse, and soak overnight 2 cups pinto beans (Cayuga Pure Organics).

THE NEXT DAY: In your slow cooker, spread the beef mixture to cover the bottom.  Drain your pinto beans and layer those on top of the beef.  Next, layer ~2 cups corn kernels, from 3 ears of corn (Princeton farmers' market, frozen, probably not organic), ~2 cups 1/2-inch cubes kabocha or other winter squash (CSA, frozen), and ~2 cups zucchini, cut in quarter circles about 1/2 inch thick (CSA, from frozen).  On top of this, pour 2 undrained pint jars fire-roasted tomato pieces (CSA, home canned) and 1 drained pint jar tomatillos (CSA, home canned).  Fill each of the tomato jars with water once, and pour over the pile in the slow cooker (about 4 cups).  Cook on HIGH for 8 hours.  When ready to eat, taste and add ~1 1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt, ~1 Tbsp + 2 tsp chili powder, and/or as much/whatever spices you want, to taste.  Top with grated Garlic Peppercorn Jack cheese (Cherry Grove Farm) to serve.  You can also top with cilantro, which I did have from a local source (Terhune Orchards), but when I finally got to eat at 9pm I just didn't feel like washing and chopping it.

The final product was just slightly more watery than I am used to having in chili - but I really liked that!  The cheese made it even that much better.  And I usually make vegetarian chilis, so the ground beef was a great touch too.  I think this is a great way to eat meat - a small amount of local, grass fed beef surrounded by a ton of local and mostly organic beans and vegetables.  The meat adds a lot to the texture and flavor for such a small input.  After this recipe, I feel a little more confident in my ability to cook without a recipe.  Maybe my best Dark Days meals in the future will be ones that I make up myself.

Roasted Tomato Soup

I was attracted to this recipe by the "roasted" part.  And the "tomato" part.  And the "soup" part.  It came out a lot different than I expected, but it was delicious.  It was simple to roast all the tomatoes, pepper, onion, and garlic.  I didn't even set the timer.  I think since I used plum tomatoes, it was not as tomato-y as it should be, so I added a bit of tomato paste to amp up the tomato flavor.  I left tiny chunks in the soup, so it had a bit of chew, and added some cooked brown rice, which complemented the texture of the soup.  I also had to add an extra sprinkle of the smoked paprika... very tasty.  This was a small pot of soup, so it's already all gone!  You can see the recipe here, but it's also in Super Natural Cooking.  I think the lack of photo in the book is probably the reason I haven't thought to make it before.

Deborah Madison's Black Bean Chili

This month, the 101 Cookbooks Library is trying something a little different - a featured author instead of a featured book.  October's featured author is Deborah Madison.  I didn't participate in September (I didn't have much interest in the Zuni Cafe Cookbook) but I'm all set for October.  I already own Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, and my mom got me a few of her other books from the library: the Greens Cookbook, Vegetable Soups, and Local Flavors.

This Black Bean Chili from the Greens Cookbook was recommended to me when I posted a question on the 101 Cookbooks Library asking for favorite chili recipes.  (I found it on this blog page when I was searching online.)  Since I got the book from the library just for October, I decided to kick it off right by making this chili on October 1st.

In addition to the fact that, well, it's chili! I was attracted to this recipe when I read in the headnotes that it's used in a few other recipes in the book, Black Bean Enchiladas and Black Bean Chilaquiles.  I'm not sure about the chilaquiles yet as I don't exactly know what they are, but the Black Bean Enchiladas sound great!  I've always wanted to make enchiladas and now seems like a great time.  I took a look at the recipe, and besides making the chili, it seems like it can be done fairly easily.  The enchiladas use 3 cups of the Black Bean Chili, so I'm freezing 3 cups just for that.  It will be a good one to try a little later this month when I'm more pressed for time.

The Black Bean Chili itself is a leisurely weekend recipe that took me about 4 hours.  I soaked 2 cups of my Rancho Gordo midnight black beans overnight in the refrigerator.  (I have about 1/2 cup left... what will I do with them?! should have just used the whole pound...)  I drained them and put them on to simmer while I did the rest of the prep for the recipe, as the instructions suggest.  Basically, the rest of the ingredients go into a large skillet to simmer for 15 minutes, before being added to the pot with the beans.  Then it all cooks for another hour at least, until the beans are done.  I used half regular paprika, half smoked paprika.  In hindsight, I should have used all smoked paprika, since the smokiness was not that strong, and this is a chili after all!  (The real reason is because my regular paprika expired in 2009.  Oops.)  I left out the 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper that the recipe called for, because I think it's gross.  Why use that when you can use a delicious and flavorful chile instead?  (I tasted a piece of yellow pepper before adding the mixture to the beans, and it kicked me in the face for just a second, so I definitely won't be missing the heat of the cayenne.)  I also used ancho and chipotle chili powders in place of grinding my own dried chili - just over 2 tbsp total, which is exactly what I had left in each plastic bag.  I added a diced yellow bell pepper, because I like peppers in my chili and I wanted to add a vegetable to this dish.  I used up the last of my fresh tomatoes, including an orangey-yellow heirloom tomato, and some leftover fire-roasted plum tomatoes that didn't fill a jar when I canned them earlier this week. 

This was a lot of work, but the few bites I tasted of the results seemed to be worth it.  With more preparation it could certainly be an easier recipe to make, just needing one eye kept on it as it simmers.  I'm sure I'll try this one again, and I especially look forward to the enchiladas.

Peppers Stuffed w/ Israeli Couscous and Basil Pesto

I made the Stuffed Peppers with Israeli couscous and pesto featured in the Recipes for Health column a few weeks ago.  These have been on my list for a while and I haven't gotten to them.  Now that they're done I'm not sure what I was waiting for.  Since I already had pesto and tomato sauce (home)made, it was just a matter of cooking up some couscous and cutting the peppers.  The prep time was minimal (I prepped the peppers and watched the clock while the couscous was cooking) and the cook time, about 45 minutes, was actually a good opportunity for me to go and do something else.  We still ate dinner at a reasonable hour.  As an added bonus, the recipe makes six servings, so there's a lunch in store for each of us tomorrow, plus one more for lunch or dinner or in-between.  For a more substantial meal I'd recommend a nice sweet Italian sausage.

My original plan was to try this recipe with Heidi's "Magic Sauce" which I have been meaning to try in some capacity.  But the pesto was made, and given the flavors of the Roasted Tomato Marinara I used, I'm glad I stuck with the pesto.  I'd like to try it with the Magic Sauce, but I'll have to think of an alternative sauce.  A plain tomato sauce might work, or one flavored with some of the same herbs as are included in the Magic Sauce.

Weeknight Curry

To use up a glut of string beans from the farm, as well as some eggplants and peppers, I decided to try the Weeknight Curry recipe from Super Natural Every Day.  It's a Thai red curry, which is the best kind.  I used far more curry paste than was called for and a bit more coconut milk as well.  I added red curry powder at the end to kick up the heat.  We sauteed some shrimp separately, seasoning those with the red curry powder as well.  I made some brown basmati rice to go with this.

Heidi's recipes in Super Natural Every Day have really amped up my cooking confidence.  Next time, I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to make a good approximation of this dish without looking at the recipe.

Tomato Soup with Cumin and Figs

Sometimes things from recipes stick in my mind.  Little things.  This Tomato Soup with Cumin and Figs from Moro East, a book I haven't looked at in a while, calls for six fresh figs.  I remember this and when I am reminded of it, like when I saw the figs at Nonna's last week, I think of the recipe.  There were three fresh figs that day.  "I need six figs," I told her, "when they are ready."  And a few days later there were twice that many waiting for me.  I knew I needed to make this soup.

It's delicious.  It's sweet, and I taste the fresh tomatoes.  I think it would be reasonable to make a less-fresh version in the winter with canned tomatoes and only the dried figs.  Fortunately, though, I saved a bit for the winter.  :)

Hurricane Pasta

In preparation for the hurricane (which seems to be winding down, and so far I still have power, yay!) we tried to eat as much as possible from the refrigerator.  Early in the day, we made some pita "pizzas" to use some of the mozzarella and other cheeses.  We roasted bell pepper, eggplant and yellow squash to put on top.  We had leftover veggies and tomato sauce, and used barely any of the mozzarella, so for dinner we decided to make a throw-together pasta dish.

We cooked 1/2 package of whole wheat fettuccine, then put the tomato sauce (5-6 oz) in a pot.  I added the already-roasted veggies, about 1.5-2 cups.  We sliced a clove of garlic into the pot, and I added fresh basil, oregano and chives, super easy since all my herb plants were inside!  Finally we added 4 diced cherry tomatoes and a big pinch of salt and we let it simmer just enough to heat up.  We topped the pasta with the sauce and then diced fresh mozzarella, finishing it off with a grating of Parmesan or Romano... not sure which.  It was surprisingly tasty.  Making dishes like this really inspires my confidence.  I know I can make something good if I just focus and put forth some effort.

Fattoush (A Variation)

 

I found this recipe in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.  It appealed to me immediately when I saw sumac in the list of ingredients - a spice I love but can't find much use for.  The other main ingredients - cucumber, tomato, pepper, and herbs - are widely available right now.  Just reading the recipe made me realize that sumac is the spice in the side salads at Sahara - I have been trying to figure this out for years.  When I tasted the salad, it was confirmed.  I followed the recipe except for excluding the mint, and I used two small yellowish-orange peppers instead of the green ones called for.  I also skipped the toasted pita.  I don't have any pita, and I don't like soggy pita either.  I ate this with a fork.

This is a bright, simple, flavorful summer salad.  I think it would be perfect for a picnic.  I expect to be making this again soon.

Baked Vegetables with an Eggplant Sauce

This is the first recipe I made from Tender.  Too bad I didn't like it very much.  Basically, you roast zucchini, onion, tomato, and red bell pepper, adding harissa and cumin near the end of cooking.  Meanwhile, you also roast eggplant, which you mix with yogurt, olive oil and mint (I used cilantro) to make a sauce for the vegetables.  It wasn't as exciting as it sounded.  My eggplant also didn't roast enough, I think, because I ended up pureeing the eggplant sauce in the food processor.  This is not something I will make again, but at least it exposed me to the book and the way the recipes are written - I thought I'd need a little more guidance than the book provided, but I found myself getting more involved with the cooking and looking at the book a little less.  On the other hand, I didn't like the way the recipe turned out, so maybe I need that extra guidance after all...

Herbed Shrimp and White Bean Salad

We made this Herbed Shrimp and White Bean Salad for dinner down the shore this weekend.  We all agreed it was more of a lunch salad.  I loved the peppery arugula and the variety of herbs.  Shrimp is always good.  I could see using a bit more dressing next time.  The bean mixture and dressing would be so delicious tossed with a hearty grain for a different take on the salad.  What a delicious summer salad.  I'll be taking some inspiration from this for other fresh, light salads.

Pasta with Summer Veggies and Shrimp

We made this tasty pasta dish from the multitude of veggies in the fridge.  Zucchini and red bell peppers sauteed with onion and garlic, with torn spinach mixed in, plus pieces of shrimp and red pepper flakes, and some canned tomatoes to make it saucy.  Super tasty and full of veggies!

Grilled Vegetable Couscous

Last weekend, I made a whole bunch of grilled vegetables and had way too many left over.  After having the vegetables with pasta and in wraps with hummus, I wanted to do something a little different.  I toasted some pearl couscous and after cooking, mixed in chopped grilled vegetables and pesto (frozen without cheese).  Super quick, easy and tasty.

Pasta with Middle-Eastern Spiced Lentils

I found this recipe for Pasta with Middle-Eastern Spiced Lentils in the NY Times Recipes for Health section.  I thought it would be a nice quick meal.  I love cumin and coriander and cilantro, so I did enjoy it, especially with the whole wheat spaghetti.  I'm still not totally sold on lentils - I just don't like the texture, as is the case with beans as well.  I'm working on getting over it by incorporating more of them into my diet (at least, I'm trying).  I think this might be good with diced tomatoes as well.  Unfortunately, I did not really enjoy the leftovers.  Maybe because I don't like reheated pasta very much.  I probably won't make this again, but it makes me want to look for other lentil/bean recipes, and ones with cumin and coriander as well.

Vegetarian Black Bean Chili

Chili is the new soup.

I made (and ate) chili for the first time just a few weeks ago - the Confetti Chili, if you recall.  It was delicious, but I wanted to try a vegetarian version as well.  During Meatless Mondays in December, Georgie posted a Vegetarian Black Bean Chili.  She made it using dried beans, but wanted to hear back from someone trying it out with canned beans instead.  You can see her recipe here. 
I made the following adjustments:
- 3 cups of water instead of 4
- 2 cans of black beans instead of the dried
- 1 tsp salt (because of the canned beans, though I did rinse them)
- 4 tsp regular chili powder instead of 2 Tbsp, which I thought was hot enough but Ken disagreed
- added 1 cup of frozen corn, because it's one of my freezer items needing to be used up.

It came out tasty.  Texturally, I think I prefer a mix of meat and beans, but it was good, so I have a bit in the freezer to eat when I don't have quite enough time to make anything.  I wish I had made cornbread to go with it, but I just didn't think of it, I guess.  I might make this again, but more likely I will make a variation of it to make a chili using up some of what I have to use up from the freezer.  If I do make it again, I want to try it with dried beans in the pressure cooker.  I've only used my pressure cooker a few times and I want to get more comfortable with using it since it's such a useful tool!

Confetti Chili

So I have never had chili before.  (I know, I am totally weird.)  I have been thinking about it for a few weeks (kinda like my soup thing) and it finally culminated in this Confetti Chili from Ellie Krieger's book The Food You Crave.  I didn't plan for it to be so appropriate for New Years (confetti, get it?) and I was skeptical about it being a healthier recipe but I think it hit all the important components.  My friend Hilary mentioned a few essential things that could not possibly be left out of a good chili recipe.  I don't remember them all but cumin was one that stuck with me and I looove cumin so I was happy to see quite a bit of that in here.  Another plus was that this used up a bunch of stuff from my freezer, although it also caused a bit to be added - but this chili was delicious, so I'm sure it won't be staying long!  In fact, I already defrosted one container for my lunch today!

The one departure I made from the recipe was in regards to the chipotles in adobo sauce.  The recipe called for one chipotle chili to be seeded and minced, plus two teaspoons of the sauce to be added.  Instead, we used two chipotles and did not attempt to seed them, plus the sauce as well.  I think the level of heat was appropriate, but I think we could probably go a little hotter next time.  I also got some delicious (and local, yay!) cheese from Cherry Grove Organic Farm at the indoor market a few weekends back.  It's called Cuminjack and the guy told Hilary and me that it would be perfect for chili, right after we were talking about chili, so naturally I had to get some.  I tried it there and it was delicious.  I already mentioned I love cumin.  So tasty!  Anyway, when I first made the chili and had a big bowl of it, I totally forgot all about the cheese.  It was delicious on its own.  I tried it with the cheese for lunch today and it was OK.  I feel that the outstanding flavor of the cheese gets lost in the chili, though.

I made some cornbread to go along with the chili too.  Ken's boss asked (out of nowhere) if I was going to make chili and cornbread this weekend.  I swear, he had no way to know that!  Ken said actually, yes, but probably not cornbread.  Actually, I love cornbread.  It reminds me of when I was little and we had Jiffy corn muffins all the time.  So I whipped some up according to the directions on the package of cornmeal I have in my fridge.  I was happy to use up some of that too.  I added a bit of extra sugar, bumping it up from 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup, mainly because I couldn't find my 1/4 cup, but I thought it was the perfect sweetness to go with chili.  I froze two pieces per serving of chili that I froze, because you wouldn't want to go without it.

I look forward to making more chili in the near future.  I'd like to try a white chicken chili in particular - I have a microwave version from Pampered Chef done in the Deep Covered Baker, I've heard good things about that one.  I'd also like to try Heidi's Pierce Street Chili on 101 Cookbooks, a vegetarian chili that looks like it's going in a different direction.  Lentils, barley, bulgur, chickpeas, etc.  That would be fun to play around with.  Plus Georgie's vegetarian black bean chili - I'm going to give that one a shot too!  So many options!

Leftovers Fried Rice - Take 2

 I cook from recipes almost exclusively.  I want to try harder to foster my own creativity.  In trying to come up with a quick weekday lunch, I ended up making fried rice.  So here we have leftovers fried rice, take 2.  (Much more interesting than take 1, interestingly posted at almost the exact same time last year.)

I used leftover brown rice from my Thai food, a scrambled egg, some chunks of yellow zucchini, half a small red pepper (diced), frozen broccoli, and some scallions.  I cooked it in canola oil and garlic (not enough, though.  More next time!) and added a drizzle of sesame oil, a splash of soy sauce and a sprinkling of black sesame seeds.

As I said, this was delicious, but I need to get a better handle on the seasonings.  My timing was much better than it has been in the past, despite the mix of fresh and frozen.  More garlic!!!!

Oven Roasted Ratatouille

Browsing through one of the food blogs I read, I came across this recipe for Oven Roasted Ratatouille.  I wasn't previously very interested in ratatouille, but fortunately I clicked on the link and looked at the recipe.  The list of ingredients appealed to me: eggplant, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, onions and garlic, a little olive oil, rosemary and thyme.  The ingredients are sliced and roasted in the oven.  Simple, delicious and a great way to use up some CSA veggies - this recipe seems easily adaptable as well to your particular vegetable supply.

Andrea and I made this on the weekend to eat during the week - the recipe made a huge batch, so we split it.  (I made it in my Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker instead of covering the top with foil - the covered stoneware really roasts things beautifully!)  I made some Israeli couscous to go with mine - I put sprigs of rosemary and thyme in the pot to add the same flavor profile.

This was absolutely delicious!  An added bonus was that it only got better and better as it sat in the fridge for a few days - I always had a big, healthy pile of veggies to eat when I was hungry.  What a fabulously delicious way to get a huge serving of vegetables, with only a little oil and a lot of flavor!

The only thing I would do differently next time is cut things into smaller pieces, especially the eggplant.  The big slices were a little more difficult to eat.  But I will definitely make this again!

Pork and Mango Stir Fry

I love Asian food, mostly Thai, but I get the occasional craving for Chinese as well.  I also love stir fry, but every time I try to wing it, it comes out disastrous.  When I saw this Pork and Mango Stir Fry recipe in So Easy, I had to try it.  When I saw that one of the ingredients was Chinese five spice powder, I was even more intrigued.  I had first heard of it when my next door neighbor used it in her cookies for my mom's annual holiday cookie exchange, and I hadn't heard of it since.  I was curious to see how an ingredient in cookies would work as an ingredient in stir fry.

The first bite was interesting.  I tasted a lot of spice and a lot of flavor.  I wasn't sure how I felt about it.  A few bites later, though, I was really enjoying it.  The recommended portion size of 2 cups was HUGE and filled me to the brim.  When I ate the leftovers I had less to save some calories.  (You can also save a bunch of calories if you skip the rice altogether.)  I thought the leftovers were actually better!  The flavors kind of mellowed out, particularly the spice.

This was really delicious, and I will definitely make it again.  I might try it with pineapple instead of mango sometime too.