Goin’ Vegan (for just a week) September 30, 2008

My boyfriend and I were to set to the challenge of eliminating all animal products from our diets for one whole week. This really isn’t a “challenge” for me since I was a vegetarian for a few years right out of highschool and I love tofu and other soy products. The real challenge is going to be in creating meals for my man that will fill him up but that he will enjoy as well. I have a few tricks up my sleeve with some ol’ vegan recipes that I’ve made for years but I will also be trying a few new vegan recipes as well. I will make sure to blog about them later this week. If you have any vegan tips or tricks let me know. I would love to hear about them!

The first thing I made was for lunch today. A Whole Wheat Vegan pizza with fresh zucchini, tomatoes, mushrooms and carmelized onions topped with a soy mozarella cheese. It turned out so tasty that I think my man forgot it was actually good for him and 100% vegan too!  Stay Tuned.

Feta Chicken with Zucchini September 23, 2008

I found a new “staple” recipe at realsimple.com. This baked chicken was so easy to make, easy to clean up after and the simple flavors were just so tasty. I followed the recipe exactly and I served it with Organic Shells & White Cheddar although I think it would be really great served with rice or mashed potatoes. This will be a definite “go to” dish in my menu planning!

 

Recipe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. So EASY and YUMMY! :)

http://food.realsimple.com/realsimple/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1192200

Sweet Potato & Zucchini Bread (Muffins) September 18, 2008

After I blogged about those sneaky spinach brownies that weren’t to my particular liking a few weeks ago my best buddy Chelsea sent me a recipe that she had she revised for the following nutrient packed veggie bread. She actually turns the recipe into muffins which when topped with a homemade cream cheese frosting makes them more like cupcakes. Omigosh! These little tasty treats were sooooo… good.

 

Her revisions to the recipe are as follows (I followed her revisions exactly)

- Whole wheat flour instead of white flour

- 1 cup of sugar in lieu of 2 cups

- 1/2 cup apple sauce and 1/4 cup oil in lieu of 3/4 cup oil

- 1 tsp. baking powder in lieu of 1/4 tsp. baking powder

When cooked as muffins, cook for 22-26 minutes.

 

Chelsea usually serves these muffins with breakfast but she suggested that homemade cream cheese frosting would make them more “treat-like”. My frosting was made up of 1 cup fat free whipped cream cheese, 2 tbsp. honey, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 tbsp. sugar, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon and 1 tsp. lemon juice. All ingredients were mixed with a handmixer. After I frosted the muffins I topped them with an  equal mixture of brown sugar and chopped walnuts.  

 

Recipe Rating: 4.5 out 5 stars! I loved them!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/SWEET-POTATO-AND-ZUCCHINI-BREAD-2674

Baked Cod with (Turkey) Chorizo & White Beans September 18, 2008

Okay bloggy world open your mind. The following dish may not sound incredibly appetizing at first but let me tell you this… IT IS. Not to mention that it was incredibly easy to make.  I found this recipe on EatingWell.com and it is actually quite healthy. I’m sure you could even use soy sausage as a substitue. If you do use an alternative I would add a little paprika along with the fresh thyme for some smokey flavor.

 

I used wild pacific cod in accordance with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch. My only other revisions to the recipe are that I used smoked turkey kielbasa instead of chorizo and I also added one chopped zucchini to the mixture at the same time as the grape tomatoes.

 

I served this meal with brown rice and it was very tasty. The classic Spanish flavors were also complimented by a nice glass of red wine. Yum, yum!  

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/cod_chorizo_white_beans.html

My Top 3 Kitchen Appliances September 17, 2008

One of the key factors that can make cooking more simple and fun is having the right tools. But there are so many kitchen gadgits, appliances and tools out there; how do you know what you really need? I am quite familiar with how the marketing of such products work… You see an add or commercial and all of a sudden you are saying to yourself “How can I live without that “3 in 1″ juicer, slicer, pasta maker?”. So you break down, you buy it and where does it sit? In the cabinet, pantry, closet, garage, etc… next to all the other impulse buys that you never use. Right?

 

I thought it would be fun to open up this entry up to y’all. What are your Top 3 Kitchen Appliances/ Gadgits/ Tools? And why? You can leave out the obvious such as a stove top or refrigerator…  It was hard to narrow down to just 3 but mine are as follows; 

 

1. My George Foreman Grill. I seriously could not live without this one. I use it probably 3 times a week on average. It cooks perfectly and the clean-up is a breeze!

2. My Cuisinart Mini Food Processor. I have a beautiful large food processor but I never used it because I thought it was a pain in the booty to clean. I use the handy mini version all the time.

3. A quality chef’s knife (mine is a J.A. Henckel). Food prep goes by without a hitch when you are using a high quality knife.      

 

Can’t wait to hear some of your suggestions.

Southern Indian Curry September 17, 2008

So last week I decided to make a curry because my boyfriend was out of town and he is not a big fan of curry (actually he can’t stand it). I found the following recipe on Real Simple. I thought this particular curry sounded so tasty plus it called for fresh peaches and I had just picked up some beautiful peaches at the market. Since I was cooking for one, I halved the recipe and planned to eat it for dinner one night and then lunch the next day.

 

I made the following revisions to the recipe;

- After the onions cooked for 5 minutes I added 1 chopped zucchini to the saute pan and cooked them both for 2 minutes more before following the recipe again.

- I added 1 cup of frozen peas to the pan at the same time as the peaches. My boyfriend doesn’t care for peas either so I figured I was killing 2 birds with one stone.

- I used reduced fat coconut milk 

 

When ready I spooned a hearty serving of curry into a bowl then put a scoop of cooked jasmine rice on top. That is a tip I learned from Rachael Ray. If you put the rice on the bottom and then serve the curry on top of it; the rice will absorb all of the liquid and it changes the consistency of the dish.

 

I will definitely make this curry again.

Recipe Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.

 

http://food.realsimple.com/realsimple/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1072641

Cooking for One September 10, 2008

One might think that if there is only one person eating and that one person is YOU; then it isn’t worth your while to create a meal plan or cook creative meals. I am here to tell you different! Ditch the Lean Cuisine, branch out from the ol’ Progresso Classic Chicken Noodle, and maybe it is time to ease up on the speed dial to your favorite local take-out. Cooking for one just takes a little creativity which doesn’t necessarily mean more work.

 

This week I am cooking for one. My boyfriend is off on the East Coast for a week riding his bike for an amazing charity (www.tourdeforceny.com) Although I am solo doesn’t mean either of the following a.) that I didn’t plan my meals for the week or b.) that I am not going cook something tasty and creative for myself.

The key to cooking recipes for one has to do with two main principles;

1. Can the recipe be cut in half or in quarters to satisfy and accommodate just one person?

2. Is the recipe in question “leftover appropriate” or can it be evolved into another meal?

 

It’s really that simple. For example… If you are making a  grilled chicken breast for dinner one night to be served with steamed vegetables and rice. Instead of grilling just one you should grill two breasts instead. The next day you can use the leftover rice and vegetables tossed with a light vinaigrette and turn them into a veggie rice salad topped with the second chicken breast. See what I am talking about?

 

Another thing to keep in mind is this… if you are used to cooking for other people and you finally have an opportunity to think about no other special requests besides your own… make something that you wouldn’t normally make. Something that maybe your family, significant other, etc… wouldn’t like. FOR EXAMPLE… I LOVE curry! Love, love, love it! But my dude… not so much. So guess what is on my meal plan this week. CURRY! Yay! I am reducing the recipe in half for dinner tonight and I plan to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.  (I’ll probably blog about the curry later in the week)

 

If you have any “cooking for one” questions or suggestions, please let me know. I would love to hear from you!

 

One is not always the loneliest number! So turn on your Project Runway (that’s what I plan to do tonight. What can I say… Guilty Pleasure!) or curl up with a good book, pour a nice glass of wine and enjoy your meal for one!

Zucchini with Quinoa Stuffing September 5, 2008

Sometimes I actually get a little thrill when a problem presents itself in a recipe and I am forced to be creative while cooking. I found the following recipe in this month’s Real Simple (really good issue by the way). The problem is that after I combined the stuffing part of the recipe together I realized that I had way more stuffing than I had to room to stuff in my medium sized zucchinis. So I decided that instead of stuffing my little courgettes (that’s what my English friends across the pond call them) I would just chop and roast the zucchini then combine them with the stuffing ingredients. It turned out to be a really wonderful and hearty side dish. My beau and I both agreed though that the Cannellini (Italian white) beans were unnecessary. They didn’t ruin the dish or anything but they didn’t really add anything flavor wise. It’s up to you; Next time I am deleting the beans.   

My revisions to the recipe below.

I chopped my zucchini into 1″ chunks, tossed them in a little olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted them uncovered in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. 

I combined the quinoa stuffing made per the recipe with the roasted zucchini (with the addition of 1 tsp. Herbs De Provence). I covered with foil and followed the recipe from that point forward. 

Next time, I will try to find larger zucchini so that I can stuff them but I think that the recipe served in this almost casserole style would be a great side dish to take to a potluck. Finally this dish can easily be turned into a vegetarian option by deleting the cheese or by using a soy substitute. And for those vegetarians out there, I would leave the beans in the recipe. You need all the protein you can get!!

http://food.realsimple.com/realsimple/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1834016

9 Fat-Burning Eating Tips – Article September 3, 2008

You have probably read about the following before but I thought this was a fun article and a good reminder.

http://food.yahoo.com/blog/hungrygirl/22863/9-fat-burning-eating-tips

Roasted Fennel and Red Onion Salmon September 2, 2008

I was going through my beloved recipe book filtering through the recipes. I needed to make space for new recipes and get rid of ones that I really didn’t think I would ever make. I stumbled on the following recipe for salmon that I’ve had for a few years but never made. I decided to give it a shot this week and if I liked it; it would continue to hold a place in my precious book.

This was a really simple dish to make and the flavor combinations were great. I served it with an organic parmesan risotto that I found at Trader Joe’s. It was a really healthy meal and nice change to a usual salmon dish.

http://food.realsimple.com/realsimple/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1107180

Recipe Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.