Kale and White Bean Soup

Last week, I was feeling a bit under the weather with that general feeling of "bleh."  It was one of those evenings when all I wanted to do is sit at home under the covers with a hot bowl of soup.  This brothy, vegetable-filled recipe really helps makes life feel good again.  The ingredients in this soup that make for a well rounded pick-me-up include:

• Beans for some hearty protein and iron
• Cayenne for increased blood circulation,  potassium and vitamins A, B6, E, and C 
• Garlic historically used for antibacterial and antiviral purposes
• Kale for anti-inflammatory, calcium, and carotene 
• Tomatoes for antioxidants and vitamin C
• Vinegar for fighting infections 

Plus the many spices and the heat, both spicy and temperature, makes it a delight as well as a healthful meal.  This soup hits the spot!

Kale and White Bean Soup

1 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves chopped

1 large onion, chopped

3 ribs celery, chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely minced

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped

2 teaspoon dried oregano

30 oz can diced tomatoes
15 oz can of cannellini

4 cups water

cayenne

juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil in a big pot over medium-low heat.  Sauté the onion and celery in the pot until the onion begins to brown and turn translucent.

2. While onion is cooking, prepare the kale by removing the center stem all the way up the leaf.  Cut the remaining, curly leaf into bite size pieces.  Rinse the chopped leaves to be sure all dirt is removed.

3. Once the onion has begun to brown, toss in the garlic and sauté about minute.  Add kale and let that cook in the pot while you add the parsley, basil, and oregano.

4. As the kale begins to wilt, add the canned tomatoes, cannellini, and water and allow the soup to simmer, adding extra water as needed, until the kale is tender.

5. Before serving, add cayenne, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and salt & pepper.  Taste the soup and add more basil (or any other spice) to your liking.

Now curl up with your favorite tv show or a good book and enjoy your healthy road to recovery!  ...or just a light and tasty meal.  :-)

Fajita Bowl

Summertime foods like squash, corn, avocados, and tomatoes make for fresh and delicious Mexican-California-style recipes.  While growing up, taco night in my family's house consisted of a seasoning packet tossed into some ground beef or ground turkey fried in a pan.  Now that I am steering clear of both meat and prepackaged goods, this meal plan no longer really works. The following recipe is my first attempt at seasoning my first fajita bowl.  It was quite tasty, but still needs some tweaking.  Some variations I may try for next time is removing the cumin and adding some vinegar, perhaps of the red wine variety.  This time around, I served the veggie stir fry with the Refried Black Beans recipe and then topped it with various farmers market veggies and some aged blue cheese.  So good!

Spring Fajita Bowl

1 yellow squash

1 zucchini

1 onion

olive oil

garlic

5 mushrooms

1 carrot

1 small bell pepper

1 1/2 tsp cumin

2 1/2 tsp oregano

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

salt and pepper

Tasty Optional Toppings and Sides:

corn tortillas

rice

Refried Black Beans

cilantro

cheese (I used blue cheese!)

lime

tomato

avocado

corn

1. Slice the zucchini and summer squash.  Put the slices into a colander and lightly coat the slices in salt.  Set aside to let these veggies "weep."  (By pulling some of the water out of the squash beforehand, makes for a less soggy stir fry later!)

2. Chop the onion.  Heat a pan with olive oil.  Once the olive oil is hot, toss the chopped onion into the pan and listen to it sizzle!  Turn the heat to low and let the onions cook for about 10 minutes.

3. While the onions are cooking, dice the garlic and chop the mushrooms.  Once the onions begin to look translucent, add the cumin, chili powder, and oregano.  Incorporate the spices fully then add the garlic.  Cook for one minute, then add mushrooms.

4. While the mushrooms get a head start on cooking, cut up the bell pepper, remove the seeds, and chop into bite size pieces.  Slice the carrot.  When the mushrooms have started to turn darker brown and reduced some in size, add the carrots and bell peppers.  Stir veg to incorporate spices and other goodness.

5. It takes a while for the peppers and carrots to cook, so while they're doing their thing, this is a good time to slice avocado, cut lime into wedges and chop the tomato and cilantro (and prep any other topping you choose!).

6.  When the peppers and carrots look to be about five minutes from being done, rinse the salt off the squash and zucchini and toss them in to the pan with the rest of the cooking veg.

7. I like the fajita bowl veggies to be al dente, so after about five more minutes of cooking, remove the pan from the heat and add salt & pepper this dish to your liking.  Serve this dish with the tomato, avocado, lime, and cilantro you prepared.  This is also delicious with blue cheese, Refried Black Beans, corn tortillas, and/or rice.  Fix 'em how you like 'em and enjoy!

Oysters and Quinoa Salad by the Bay

One can do so much eating over Memorial Day weekend! It is always exciting to pack a picnic and head to the bay side to crack into some fresh oysters while munching on fresh cherries and quinoa salad!   We prepared the quinoa salad ahead of time and stuck it in a cooler with some fresh cherries, and left overs from our cook-out the night before.  We headed up to Tomales Bay Oyster Co where they have scores of picnic tables each decked out with a bbq and an oyster shell recycling bin.

The scene there is always lively on a beautiful day and I love being surrounded by various people having a good time around fresh food and a smokey bbq.  For the picnic, we opted to eat our oysters raw.  When they have just been pulled out of the bay that day, it is not possible to get any fresher and the best opportunity to eat some good seafood!

Oysters Raw

You will need an oyster shucking knife and as many raw oysters as you think you can eat!  

Picking oysters: When choosing oysters, it is important to make sure they're fresh so there are two rules!

     1. they do not smell 

     2. they should not be open.  If it is open, it should quickly snap shut once tapped. 

If the oyster doesn't fit both of these criteria, don't buy it!

1. To shuck, hold the oyster firmly in one hand with a cloth towel so the shell does not hurt your hand.  If you can, find a bit of a gap in the oyster shells and slip the knife blade between the shells.  Ideally, the hinge of the two shells will be opposite of where your leverage is with the knife.

2. Using a twisting motion, pry the top and bottom shells apart.  Run the knife around the oyster continually doing this.  Try not to lose the delicious brine inside!  As you get more practice, you can also work on keeping little pieces of shell from getting into the meat too!  Remember, this is challenging so be forceful yet patient!  

3. Once you are in and have removed the top part of the shell, run the knife along the bottom of the oyster to detach the tough knob from the underside. 

4. Toss some hot sauce on the meat and down the hatch!

We ended up ordering too many oysters so we had the raw for lunch and then took the leftovers home to grill out that evening. 

Storing: Do not store the oysters in water. If you do not plan to eat them right away, arrange them flat on a tray, cover them with a damp towel, and store them in the refrigerator. They'll keep this way for about a day.  Or if you're on an out door adventure like we were, keep them in a cooler with a bag of ice on them until you can get to a refrigerator.


Grilling Oysters

Once you have a hot grill going, place your closed, raw oysters on hot grill.  Be sure to place them so the cup side on bottom to keep all the delicious juices in the oyster.  Cover barbecue with lid and cook until shells just begin to open to indicate doneness.

Spicy Quinoa, Cucumber and Tomato Salad

1 cup quinoa
3 cups water
Salt to taste
2 cups diced cucumber
1 small red onion, green onion, or shallot finely minced (optional)
2 cups finely diced tomatoes
1 to 2 jalapeño or serrano peppers (to taste), seeded if desired and finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro, plus several sprigs for garnish
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 avocado, sliced, for garnish

1. Bring the 3 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Rinse quinoa and add to boiling water along with a dash of salt. Simmer for about until most of the water has been cooked into the grain. Cover the pan and allow to sit while you are preparing the veggies.

2. While the quinoa is cooking, finely chop the jalapeño and onion.  Since they will be raw, you only want small bits of these in your mouth when eating the end product.  Chop cucumber, cilantro and tomato. 

3. Combine the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, chilies, cilantro, vinegar, lime juice and olive oil in a bowl.  Add quinoa then toss together, and taste and adjust seasonings to your liking. Serve garnished with sliced avocado and cilantro sprigs.

Inspiration for quinoa salad is from nytimes.

Curried Egg Salad with Mango Chutney

Getting ready for the week takes lots of planning.  I like to make lunches that I can easily put into to-go containers throughout the week.  Egg salad definitely fits into that category!  This is a new recipe I tried from Simple Recipes.  I cut down on the chutney and added some celery to reduce the sweetness.  Plus, the cilantro lover that I am, I can't resist adding it to dishes for an extra twist.  

The initial inspiration came from one of my favorite dishes that I periodically order at a local tea shop.  This recipe comes close, but not quite.  I will have to continue to tamper.  I hard boiled the eggs by bringing water to a boil then placing the egg in the boiling water.  After about 12 minutes I remover the eggs from the water and rinsed them in cool water to prevent them from cooking any further.

Curried Egg Salad with Mango Chutney

 

6 hard boiled eggs, peeled

1/3 cup mango chutney

1 1/2 tsp yellow curry powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbs mayonnaise
1 Tbs chives, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
cayenne for taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
lettuce or raw spinach
cilantro for garnish




1. Do the prep: chop celery, dice chives.

2. Place peeled, hard boiled eggs into a medium sized bowl and roughly chop by taking two table knives and slicing them accross the eggs. (To make a finer egg salad, you can use forks to press against the cooked egg pieces to break them into smaller pieces.)

 

3. Add the mango chutney, yellow curry powder, salt, mayonnaise, chives, celery, black pepper, and cayenne to the eggs. Mix until well combined.

4. Place lettuce or spinach on place and serve the curried egg salad on the bed of lettuce.  Sprinkle chopped cilantro on top. 

Note: If you're making appetizers, just get some gluten free crackers from the store and spread the curried egg salad on the crackers, then top with a touch of cilantro. 

Grillin' and Chillin'

Memorial Day weekend!  A perfect time to get out of town.  My roommate from college came for a visit so we went to the coast and spent the days hiking and eating.  Nature and food: two of my favorite things!  Plus sharing them with a good friend makes it all the more enjoyable!

Before leaving town, Kelsey and I walked to the farmers market to to peruse the seasonal produce.  Part of me wondered if we were going overboard when we left with a whole array of spring fruits and vegetables.  We had bags filled with cherries, zucchini, asparagus, apricots, peaches, snap peas, cilantro, cucumber, shallots, avocado, kale, and kiwi.  In all honesty though, I was showing great restraint by not getting the strawberries or almonds.

What's that you say? This haul is a lot of food for two people?  Well, we ate it all in our three day excursion.  The first night at our hostel by the beach, we grilled zucchini, asparagus, and peaches along with some polenta we picked up from the store.  We lacked some foresight with the seasoning so we were at the mercy of what spices past hostelers left behind! 

We were fortunate to find that there was just enough herbes de provence to lightly coat the zucchini and the asparagus with some vegan butter we found in the fridge.  For future grillers, I would def recommend the herbes de provence but would switch the oil to some nice extra virgin olive oil for nicer flavor.


This was the first time I was in charge of the grill so there are a few things I learned from this first experience.

+ Grill Longer. Generally, I prefer to cook my veg al dente.  Non-mushy vegetables are a definite plus.  So I ran into an issue with the grill: take the veg off the grill with the typical "cookedness" I enjoy or cook longer for the nice char-grilled taste.  I ended up choosing the first option and pulled them off too soon and found that I would have like to leave them on to have more of that smokey flavor I so love about cooking out. 

+ Spices and Marinade. The herbes de provence was an excellent addition to our cookout.  I would like to experiment more with fresh herbs like rosemary and thyme as well as vinegars and sauces.

+ Polenta. The polenta grilled fantastically!  It got a nice crispy exterior and did not leave a messy clean-up job later.  I have just found that I prefer the homemade, non-tube variety.

+ Peaches.  Peaches are sweet, tender, and juicy so I placed them further away from the fire thinking that they would not respond well to such high heat.  In the end, despite leaving them over the fire for a longer period of time, I wanted them warmer and more of that great grilled flavor.  They were so delicious!  It's like cobbler!  I would recommend it with chocolate and ice cream!

Despite all these modifications listed above, this was still a very delicious meal.  We had just finished eight miles of hiking in fantastic and sitting on a beautiful beach.  Being outside with the setting sun with marvelous company and a hungry belly only enhanced the enjoyment of the fresh produce we picked up that day.  I look forward to many more cook-outs this summer to perfect my skills as a master griller! 

Oh My Sweet Pea!



Mint Pea Soup



Peas are in Season!

This minty pea soup is a great introduction to Spring with its fresh and tangy lightness that still leaves you with the feeling of home comfort.  It can be made in under an hour for a quick evening meal and can also be served chilled so this recipe is fantastic to make ahead of time if you plan to have guests over.  One thing to note is that frozen peas make this dish more budgetable and does not detract for the nutrition value of the meal.  I found this recipe on Chow and have modified it by adding white balsamic vinegar for a more crisp taste, but the essence is still there.

Mint Pea Soup

1/2 Tbs unsalted butter
1 medium leek, trimmed to white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced and rinsed
1 cup gluten free vegetable broth
1-1/2 cups water
3 cups shelled fresh peas (about 2 1/2 lbs of peas in their pods or 16oz frozen peas)
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
freshly squeezed lemon juice
white balsamic vinegar
freshly ground black pepper
salt
Crème fraîche, extra virgin olive oil optional for the table

1) Heat butter in heavy bottomed sauce pan. Saute leek until it has softened.

I like to get the leeks a little brown to add flavor.

2) Add broth and water and bring to boil.  Add green peas.  Return to boil, reduce heat, and simmer until peas are tender (about 5 minutes).

So Green!

3) Remove from heat.  Stir in mint and allow flavors to meld for 10 minutes or so.

Lovely Mint!

4) If you have a submersible blender, this is the easiest way to purée the soup, otherwise, transfer soup to a blender or food processor and purée in batches until smooth. Add lemon juice, white balsamic, salt and pepper to taste.

mmmm...frothy-ness!

5) Serve hot or cold with a dollop of crème fraîche, a sprinkle of olive oil and/or finely chopped mint.

Pea Soup with Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Bon Appetit!

Easy Thai Shrimp Curry

This recipe is simple and quick which makes it great for the middle of the week!  I keep Thai curry paste in the freezer and coconut milk on the shelf for just these evenings.  What I like so much about this dish is that it can so easily be modified to your personal preferences.  I have made this dish with only shrimp and again with only veg.  It's a great dish to use up the extra contents of your fridge and also exciting enough to serve up to guests!

1 Tbs vegetable oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 Tbs Thai curry paste
1 lb uncooked shrimp (I get the frozen bag from Trader Joes)
1 cup coconut milk
1 lime, cut in wedges
cilantro

- if you have frozen shrimp, put them in a colander and run cold water on them.  set them aside to defrost.  Once the shrimp is defrosted, they are easier to eat later if you go ahead and remove the shell.  I also de-veined them, this is a personal preference.

defrosting shrimp

- heat the oil in a frying pan at medium heat.  Toss the onions in once the oil has gotten hot enough that the onions will sizzle excitedly as soon as you toss them in.

sizzling veg

- lower heat and stir onions.  once onions are looking translucent, add bell pepper cook until slightly tender.








- add shrimp.  cook until they have just turned pink then add coconut milk

- while coconut milk is getting hot, put lime, cilantro, and rice into serving dishes and set them on the table.  at that point the coconut should be hot and ready to serve!

dinner!

Other really tasty condiments to add to this dish are chopped tomatoes and fresh spinach!