Creamy Broccoli ???

I came across this recipe called Creamy Broccoli Soup in the February 2011 issue of Real Simple. And even though the idea of broccoli soup makes me make the eeewwww face, I thought it sounded healthy and it didn't seem too involved.

It was definitely easy to make and fit almost perfectly into a weeknight schedule as I was able to squeeze in a short workout during the hands-off cooking time. I hesitate, though, to call it a soup. I didn't care for it thin like a soup; it wasn't creamy enough. I kept it thick instead, though it's not exactly stew-like either since it's all pureed. It reminded me of Cream of Wheat or Malt-to-Meal in consistency.

Basically, it's green mush. But it's tasty green mush!

Sam I Am. Paging Mr. Sam I Am. Your green mush is ready.
Creamy Broccoli Soup ?

Creamy Broccoli ??

Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, roughly chopped

⅛ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

1 bunch broccoli, florets roughly chopped, stems peeled and chopped (about 7 cups)

1 large russet potato, peeled and cut into ½" pieces

½ tsp salt

¼ black pepper

2 oz grated sharp cheddar cheese and croutons for topping each serving

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pot (I used my stock pot, you'll see why in a minute) over medium heat. Add the onion and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, about 6 minutes.
2. Add the broth, broccoli, potato, ½ tsp salt, and ¼ black pepper to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are very tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Using an immersion blender, puree the vegetables in the pot until smooth, adjusting the consistency with water as needed (this is why I used the stock pot, alternately, you could use a blender, working in small batches).

Scoob was a little dubious during the grocery shopping when I told him what I was planning to make, but he's a good man and eats just about anything I put in front of him. Even my disasters. But he did say this smelled good once it got going in the pot and was looking forward to dinner.

The original recipe called for 2 cups of water during the second step, but I'm pretty sure I didn't use it. Although, now I can't quite recall. I do remember thinking that there didn't seem to be enough liquid, but it turned out fine.

The recipe also called for sharp white cheddar cheese and bagel chips for topping. I remembered the part about sharp, but not the part about white, while I was at the grocery store, hence to orange-yellow cheese you see in the photo. I toasted up a couple slices from a baguette loaf instead of the bagel chips.

And even though the recipe says the red pepper flakes are optional, I think it would have been way too bland without them.

Eggplant Pomodoro Pasta

So, about that eggplant. I use eggplant nearly every week as part of a veggie pizza, but I always have about ½ an eggplant left over from that dish that goes bad before we use it. This got me thinking about what I could make with that leftover eggplant to stop throwing money in the garbage.

I generally use the big, fat eggplants for pizza, and this recipe uses Japanese eggplants (longer, more slender, and fewer seeds), so I still have an eggplant problem. I'm working on the finer points of a recipe to deal with it. Although, I do usually have leftover mushrooms from the pizza, and this recipe takes care of that.

This recipe was inspired by a dish Scoob ordered at The Charcuterie in Healdsburg, CA, where we stopped for lunch on our trip north for Christmas.

Eggplant pomodoro ingredients

Eggplant pomodoro pasta

Eggplant Pomodoro Pasta

Prep time: 20 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

3 Japanese eggplants, quarter lengthwise, chop into ½" pieces

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

½ onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

½ a portbello mushroom, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 Tbsp capers, minced

12–15 Calamata olives, sliced

1 14oz. can diced and peeled tomatoes, undrained

juice and zest from ½ a lemon

1 tsp Italian seasoning

½ cup water or broth

crumbled feta

dried or fresh parsley

Kosher salt

Directions

1. Cut eggplants, place in a colander and salt. Let stand 15–20 minutes to help leech out the bitterness. Meanwhile, do the rest of the chopping, dicing, and mincing.
2. Start the water for your pasta and cook according to package directions. Heat 2 Tbsp of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add eggplant to the pan. The eggplant absorbs the oil quickly, so you'll want to keep them moving when you first add them to the skillet to help distribute the oil more evenly. Cook for 6–8 minutes, stirring often, until tender
3. Remove eggplant from the skillet and set aside. Heat the remaining oil and saute the onions, garlic, carrot, and mushroom for 6–8 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is tender.
4. Return eggplant to the skillet and add tomatoes, capers, olives, Italian seasoning, and water/broth. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for about 10 minutes.
5. Add lemon juice and serve over pasta. Top each serving with feta, parsley, and lemon zest if desired.

This one is a keeper at our house. I made it again last night and added a zucchini (sliced into ¼" half-moons) with the onions to up the veg factor. I will say that I would wait until the onions are about halfway done to add the zucchini if I do that again. They got a little mushier than I would have liked.

Also, I discovered we were out of lemons last night. I didn't make this discovery until after I'd finished chopping everything. I substituted 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar for the lemon juice. And it was good.

Sweet Potatoes with Pecans

We're in our last moments of the Thanksgiving weekend and I want to hold onto the good feelings. Mom and I have our own Thanksgiving tradition. Each year we're together, we sit down and watch an old musical. I love the old musicals and was really looking forward to Seven Brides for Seven Brothers or The King and I. It doesn't matter how many times I see these movies, I always enjoy them.

I was really hoping Netflix had some of these available via streaming because I've also had a song or two from Summer Stock running through my head lately. But alas, you actually have to reserve the DVDs and wait for them to be mailed. Normally that wouldn't be an issue and if I'd known earlier we would be spending the holiday at home I could have set it all up. But, since I couldn't watch the oldies I decided to catch up on missed episodes of Glee. It's still musical and I enjoy it, but it's just not the same.

Anyhow, here's the recipe for the sweet potato dish I made instead of the more traditional gooey marshmallow covered dish. It was super easy, and Scoob really liked it. I thought the herb flavor was a bit over powering, so I might cut back on that ingredient if I make this again. Or, maybe I just bought some really strong thyme.

Sweet Potatoes with Pecans

Sweet Potatoes with Pecans

Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

2½ lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into ¼-inch rounds

3 Tbsp olive oil

½ cup grated Parmesan

1 tsp Kosher salt

¼ tsp black pepper

¾ cup chopped pecans

¼ cup light brown sugar

2 tsp fresh thyme leaves

pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375°. Toss sweet potatoes, with 2 Tbsps oil, Parmesan, salt, pepper in a large bowl and transfer to a 2½–3 quart baking dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake 45–50 minutes; until the potatoes are tender.
2. While that is baking, combine the pecans, brown sugar, thyme, cayenne, and the remaining Tbsp of oil in a small bowl.
3. Once tender, remove foil from the baking dish and sprinkle the pecan mixture over the potatoes. Continue to bake, uncovered, until the pecans are toasted, about 10–12 minutes.

I got this (and the cranberry compote) recipe from the Nov. 2010 issue of Real Simple magazine. By not oiling the baking dish (there's plenty of oil already, sticking was not a problem) and eliminating additional salt and pepper from the pecan mixture, I've cut down slightly on the amount of oil and salt used in the original recipe, but otherwise it remains the same.

Roasted Garlicy Cauliflower

Growing up, the only way mom could get me to even consider eating cauliflower was when it was steamed to almost complete softness and then slathered in some kind of cheese substance. I've never tried to replicate this myself. Cauliflower was never one of those "must have" vegetables for me. Not like, say, green beans are.

As I got older I found I liked cauliflower raw. But still, it's not something I go out of my way for.

But this, dear friends, this is the most glorious cauliflower I've ever eaten. I don't have a picture for this one. Or maybe I took one at some point and just decided it didn't look good. But trust me, it is delicious. When the weather is cool enough for oven cooking, I make sure I always have a head of cauliflower in the fridge. If I don't, I swear I'm like a cauliflower junkie—I start to get anxious about where I can get some and when I can get my next cauliflower fix.

Roasted Garlicy Cauliflower

Total time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

1 large head of cauliflower, cut into florets

3 Tbsp olive oil

4 cloves of garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Heat oven to 450°. Toss cauliflower, oil, garlic, salt, and pepper in a bowl until thoroughly coated with oil and place in 9 x 13 baking dish. Sprinkle with half of the Parmesan cheese and roast for 15 minutes.
2. Stir the cauliflower, sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese, and continue roasting for 10 minutes.
3. Flip on the broiler for 3–5 minutes, until golden brown on top.

I love that the ingredient list is small and it takes almost nothing in prep time. Make sure you get the bits that stick to the pan… mmmmmm.

Acorn Squash and Tomatoes

So I lied. Again. I seem to do that a lot with y'all. It seems the book that came across my desk last Friday was not the last one. I forgot we'd had a problem with the first set of printer proofs for Germany. Turns out the gal who sent the files to the printer sent the original uncorrected files by mistake, and somehow in the mix up, the corrected files were lost. So we had to redo that book again from scratch. Yeah. So NOW the final fall book has crossed my desk. 14 down and 2 to go!

Ohh, and one of my coworkers gave me a nice compliment on my hair today—he said it looked sassy. That's probably the first time anyone has used that word to describe me when not referring to my mouth. Sassy!

People, I am so, so, so behind in posting recipes, so these won't necessarily be coming up in chronological order. That said, I made this for the second time this past Saturday night. It's one of my new favorites—ranking right up there with the roasted garlic cauliflower goodness that I've been making at least once a week ever since the weather became cool enough to turn the oven on.

I just scrolled through my logs and it seems I’ve never posted that cauliflower recipe, so I guess that one will have to be next. But first, Acorn Squash and Tomato goodness!

Roasted Acorn Squash and Tomatoes with Tilapia

Roasted Acorn Squash with Tomatoes

Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 small acorn squash (about 1½ lbs.)—halved, seeded, and cut into ¼ inch slices

1 pint grape or pearl tomatoes, halved

4 cloves of garlic, sliced

3 Tbsp olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat oven to 425°. Toss squash, tomatoes, and garlic with the oil, salt, and pepper and place in 9 x 13 baking dish. Roast until the squash is tender, about 30 minutes.

I love that this is so super easy and uses seasonal squash. And I love that I don't have to peel this squash like I do with some butternut squash recipes. The first time I made this, I served it with a quick pan-fried tilapia seasoned with salt, pepper, and coriander (pictured), which was nummy. When I took left overs for lunch, I had it with almond rice pilaf instead of the fish and loved it. And that's how I made it for Saturday night's dinner, too.

White Bean and Artichoke Salad

I've been having a difficult time trying to carve out some time this week to write up the second recipe I tried over the weekend, but it's so worth the wait. I thought for sure Scoob would be beaned-out by now what with the 2 attempts at Green Bean Pesto Salad and this White Bean Salad, but he actually requested some of the leftovers with dinner last night.

White Bean and Artichoke Salad

White Bean and Artichoke Salad

Total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

3 cups white beans (2–15oz cans, drained and rinsed)

1–14oz can quartered artichoke hearts (I sliced them once more for eighths.)

⅓ cup red bell pepper, diced

⅓ cup yellow bell pepper, diced

¼ cup onion, diced

½ cup celery, diced (1 stalk)

½ cup kalamata olives, sliced (15 or so whole olives)

⅓ cup packed parsley leaves, finely chopped

1 Tbsp finely chopped mint

1 cup packed basil leaves, finely chopped

⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

⅓ cup red wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Combine beans, artichoke hearts, red and yellow bell peppers, onion, celery, olives, and herbs in a large bowl. Place olive oil, vinegar, and garlic in a small sealable jar and shake to combine, then pour over the content of the bowl and mix well. Salt and pepper to taste.
2. Refrigerate for several hours, or overnight, to let the flavors meld.

I used a combination of a couple recipes I found online as a jumping off point, but knew it wasn't going to be as good as what I got at the Pasta Shop. So I made a couple substitutions and additions and I really like how this turned out just as it is. I don't think I'll change a thing when I make this again.

Speaking of which, now that I've tasted it, I think I'll take this to tomorrow's barbeque instead of the Green Bean Salad. Though both are yummy. Actually, Scoob is a little resentful that I'll be taking the next batch to work. Maybe I'll have to make a double so we'll have some at home too. Either way, I'll need to stop at the store on my way home from work tonight.

Green Bean Pesto Salad

Yum. And I do mean YUM! I made this twice this past week and I still want more. Then again, I may be biased seeing as how green beans are my all-time favorite veggie. But even Scoob, who has repeatedly declared he does not like pesto, has given this the Scoob Seal of Approval.

I found I was able to make the pesto without busting out the food processor by using an immersion blender, which means not only is this painless to make, but clean up is a breeze as well. And other than bringing a pot of water to boil for blanching the beans, there's no cooking involved, so I'm filing this in the "It's Too Damn Hot to Cook" file.

I'm debating making this for a company barbeque on Thursday. What do you think?

Green Bean Pesto Salad

Green Bean Pesto Salad

Total time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound of fresh green beans, stem ends trimmed

1 small clove of garlic, peeled

1½ cups packed basil leaves

½ cup packed flat parsley leaves

juice and zest from 1 lemon

6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

¼–½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

⅓ cup sliced, toasted almonds

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. While bringing water to boil in a stockpot or large sauce pan, fill a large bowl with ice and cold water, trim the green beans, and place garlic, basil, parsley, lemon juice and zest, and olive oil in a food processor and blend for about 1 minute, or until pesto is smooth but slightly thick.
2. Add Parmesan cheese and blend another 15–30 seconds. The pesto should be thick, but not stiff. If needed, add olive oil to thin it out
3. Add green beans to boiling water and cook until bright green and crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and transfer immediately to the ice bath for about 2 minutes, then drain again.
4. Place green beans, pesto, and almonds in a large bowl and toss to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Can be served at room temperature or chilled.

Green Chicken Masala

Mmmmmm. Mom made this dish when I was visiting back in June. My first reaction (before tasting it) was to take a quick inventory of her refrigerator to see what else I could subsist on for the next few days because I do not like Indian food. I did eat a small bowl of the marsala (because it would have been rude to refuse outright) and proceeded to have leftovers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner until it was gone. It seems my aversion to Indian food has more to do with the heavy-handed use of curry than anything else; and this recipe uses no curry.

After a little prodding, mom sent me the recipe the other day and I stopped at the store after work yesterday to pick up whatever ingredients I didn't have on hand. It's a long list of ingredients, but it's easy to assemble. I did spend a fair amount of time cursing my limited counter space as I barely have enough room to have the cutting board, ingredients, and a mini food processor out at the same time. This will be one of the recipes I'll run through in my head when we're house hunting again.

Green Chicken Masala

Green Chicken Masala

Ingredients

2 cups cilantro leaves

cup mint leaves

3 jalapeño, coarsely chopped (plus 1 serrano)

8 garlic cloves, crushed

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

½ cup water

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 large onions, finely chopped

1 roasted chicken, cubed or shredded

1½ teaspoons turmeric

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

⅛ teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup unsweetened reduced fat coconut milk

4 cups chicken broth

Kosher salt

Basmati rice, for serving

Directions

1. In a blender, combine the cilantro, mint, jalapeño, garlic, lemon juice and water and puree until smooth.
2. In a large, deep skillet, heat the oil. Add the onion and cook over moderately high heat, stirring frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add the chicken, cilantro puree and coconut milk, chicken broth, season with salt and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat until the sauce is slightly reduced, about 15 minutes. Serve with basmati rice.

I left out the ½ cup of water while preparing the puree and, as a consession to Scoob's onion aversion, I only used 1½ onions instead of a full 2. I thought since I was using Walla Wallas he wouldn't object as much, but I did decide to puree them with an immersion blender once they'd finished cooking.

I've found he's much less likely to whine about the onions if he can't even find them. That, and I wouldn't have to watch him pick them out of his food. He really liked the meal and didn't even mention the onions until I specifically asked about it.

I had also seeded the jalapeño and serrano chiles before adding them to the food processor, mostly out of habit since the instructions don't call for it. When I make this again I'll probably keep some of the seeds in for a little more heat.

Now if you'll excuse me, it's time for lunch. Mmmmmm.

Zucchini Orzo Salad

I made this recipe a couple weeks ago with basil, and again when we got home from vacation with dill, and it was good both ways. Scoob has said this is his newest favorite dish, "Even better than macaroni salad." Which, for a Hawaiian, where nearly every meal is served with two scoops rice and macaroni salad, is saying a lot.

Either that, or it's his subtle way of telling me to quit trying to make macaroni salad, 'cause I jus' can' make da kine. You see, I've tried to make several variations of Hawaiian-style macaroni salad, but that right there is the problem—I'm trying to make a variation of it, not the real thing. The "real" thing consists of macaroni elbows, a butt load of Best Foods mayonnaise, and maybe 3 individual peas and 4 or 5 shreds of carrot. Seriously.

I like my macaroni salad to have a little zing. A little flavor. So I keep trying to find a macaroni middle ground that appeals to both of us. Even though he has liked several of the salads I've made, none of them is da kine.

Anyhow, enough about macaroni salad, on to the newest favorite, Zucchini Orzo Salad. It's super, super easy, and if you (or your neighbor) planted zucchini this year, you may want remember this one later when you've eaten all the zucchini bread you can manage and you're staring at a pile of summer squash wondering "What the hell am I going to do with all this zucchini squash?"

Zucchini Orzo Salad

Zucchini Orzo Salad

Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

8 oz. orzo pasta (½ a box)

3 Tbsp olive oil

3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tsp crushed red pepper

Kosher salt and black pepper

2–3 medium zucchini, cut into half-moons

8 oz. Feta, crumbled

¼ cup fresh dill (or basil), chopped

Directions

1. While waiting for water to boil for the orzo, combine the oil, vinegar, red pepper, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add the zucchini and marinate, tossing occasionally, for 20 minutes—about the time it takes to boil the water and cook the orzo.
2. Cook the orzo according to the package instructions, drain and run under cold water to cool.
3. Add the orzo, Feta, and dill (or basil) to the zucchini mixture and toss to combine.

Tomato and Snap Pea Couscous Salad

I made this recipe last weekend and loved it. The snap peas in the couscous were a sweet surprise when I bit into them. I'm pretty sure I'll keep this in rotation as the weather warms up since it doesn't require much in the way of cooking. I'm sure it would make a nice side for just about anything.

Tomato and Snap Pea Couscous Salad

Cooking time: 5 minutes
Prep time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup couscous

¾ pound cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered

¼ pound snap peas, thinly sliced

½ cup torn fresh basil

½ tsp grated lemon zest

2 Tbsp lemon juice

salt and pepper

Directions

1. Place the couscous in a large bowl. Add 1 cup hot, almost boiling, water, cover and let sit for 5 minutes; fluff with fork. Add the snap peas, basil, leamon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and toss to combine.
2. Add the tomatoes just before serving.

This was really tasty and the leftovers disappeared quickly. A note about the leftovers though—If you expect to have leftovers, keep the tomatoes separate from the rest of the salad. I didn't do this when I made it and the couscous that stuck to the tomatoes became very soggy and pasty for leftovers.

Tomato Florentine Soup

We went out to dinner last night with a dear friend and had lovely time catching up. We were supposed to have met up with her for dinner back in April, but then I learned I was going to the tech conference and we had to switch up plans. One of the things that amazes me most when we catch up with someone we haven't seen for a while is how much it feels like so much has happened and yet when we sit down to talk, everything is pretty much exactly the way it was before. Even if it's still same-old same-old, it doesn't change the fact that we're exhausted.

Oh, and my god, enough with the allergies already. The constant sinus pressure and not being able to stop rubbing my eyes is not helping with the exhaustion levels. I've finally come to the conclusion that I'm not developing allergies—I've had them for years. Every April-May. I'm just cluing in to the pattern this year though and realizing it for what it is. I don't know how Scoob does this year round—I have no patience, I'm constantly tired, I'm craving sugary food (because I'm constantly tired), and I'm pretty sure Day One will be here momentarily.

I saw my first blooming Matilija poppy on the drive to work yesterday, which is mom's special mother's day flower. Speaking of which, I'll be hitting the open road (or the gridlocked road) this holiday weekend to drive up to Oregon to visit mom and grandma for a few days. Scoob will be staying home with the kitties. I sure hope the change of scenery will help with the sinus pressure, but of course it seems like it's been just as damp and cool up there as it has been here so far this year. I still have my winter blankets on the bed and it's nearly June! I'm soooo ready for some heat.

So, while we were at dinner last night, we were talking about eating better and how we really try to scale back on the amount of meat that we eat. But Scoob ran out of ideas for what to make for his lunches ages ago and he eats a lot of pasta. A lot. I've tried to explain to him before that half a box of spaghetti noodles is not a single serving, but it never really sunk in. Until last night. We needed to stop and get him some more pasta and I was reading the label to him and and he picked up on the fact that a box has 8 servings in it. He just about flipped out when he started breaking that down and comparing it to what he actually eats at a single meal.

So anyhow, I've been hitting the recipe stacks trying to find things for him to make that are quick, simple, and more balanced. I made this soup for dinner tonight and he insisted that I blog the recipe so I won't ever lose it. I guess that means he liked it ☺

Tomato Florentine Soup

Cooking time: 25 minutes
Prep time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

1 tsp olive oil

½ a medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 14oz can diced tomatoes

½ cup mushrooms, sliced

1 can chicken broth

1 cup red wine

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp. dried basil

pepper to taste

½ cup pasta shells

1 cup fresh spinach

Directions

1. In a saucepan, cook onion and garlic in the olive oil until tender. Stir in tomatoes, mushrooms, broth, wine, Worcestershire sauce, basil, and pepper and bring to a boil. Let simmer for about 15 minutes , then add the pasta shells and cook according to directions.
2. Stir in the spinach and cook until bright green and wilted; about 2 minutes.

This was really tasty and I'm bummed I didn't make more so we could both have left overs for lunch tomorrow. It came out very stew-like, so you may want to add some water to thin it out if you're looking for a soup. Could probably make this with frozen spinach, but we had fresh in the house, and frankly, unless it's being really cooked, like a quiche, I'll always use fresh spinach.

Halibut with Lemony Yogurt Dill Stuff

In an effort to eat less red meat (and more fish), I tried cooking halibut. I've always been intimidated by fish in the kitchen for some reason, and rarely attempt to cook it. Okay, that just conjured up an image of a massive menacing mackerel with a mallet staring me down in front of the stove. (How's that for some alliteration!) I'm not being bullied, I'm really just worried that I'll really screw it up because I can never really tell when fish is done. And let's face it, fish is not cheap.

So, I've made this a couple of times now, and it's a hit. As Scoob says, "It's fancy fish."

Halibut with Lemony Yogurt Dill Topping

Halibut with Lemony Yogurt Dill Topping

Cooking time: 20 minutes
Prep time: 5 minutes
Servings: 3–4

Ingredients

2 6oz halibut steaks

zest and juice from 1 lemon

salt and pepper to taste

½ cup plain yogurt

1 Tbsp breadcrumbs, plus 1½ tsps for topping

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus 1 tsp for topping

2 tsps fresh dill, chopped (or ¾ tsp dried)

Directions

1. Place oven rack in top third of oven an d preheat to 425°.
2. Place the halibut steaks in a small baking dish lined with foil. Sprinkle with half of the lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Bake for about 8 minutes.
3. In a small bowl, stir together yogurt, 1 Tbsp breadcrumbs, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, dill, and the remaining lemon juice. Spread over the tops of the steaks, sprinkle with remaining breadcrumbs and cheese. Bake for 10–12 minutes or until fish is cooked through. Finish by browning the tops under the broiler for about 2 minutes, and serve with lemon zest sprinkled over the tops.

The first time I made this I used fresh basil in place of the dill, not because I thought they would taste the same, but because I'm just more likely to have basil in the house than dill. But the dill is definitely a more noticeable flavor and the one I preferred (though Scoob liked the basil version better). My dill version was also more lemony because instead of using just half a lemon like the original recipe called for, I thought the breadcrumbs and Parmesan made the topping too stiff so I used the rest of the lemon juice to thin out the topping a bit and make it more spreadable.

Chicken and Parsley Couscous

I liked this when I made it for dinner last night, but discovered I liked it even more for lunch the next day.

Chicken and Parsley Couscous—you know you want some
Side note: Pictures from the iPhone aren't half bad, are they?

Chicken and Parsley Couscous

Ingredients

1 cups couscous, cooked by package directions

1 cup diced bell pepper (yellow is what I had in the fridge)

2 portobelinni mushrooms, chopped

1 cooked chicken breast, chopped

2 Tbsps minced, fresh parsley

1 Tbsp lemon zest

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

juice from ½ a lemon

salt and pepper to taste

½ cup loose leaf spinach per plate/bowl

1 Tbsp crumbled feta per plate/bowl

Directions

1. in a bowl, mix the couscous, bell pepper, chicken, parsley, and lemon zest. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and mix again.
2. Spoon over a bed of spinach leaves and top with feta.

I think I liked this better as leftovers for lunch because I microwaved the spinach leaves with the couscous when I warmed it up so they were wilted and mixed throughout. And the lemony flavor seems much stronger today. Yum! (Also, found it much easier to eat from a bowl.)

Savory Chicken Wild Rice

So the plan was to cook Cornish rock game hens for dinner tonight, and they seemed to be thawing fine when we left to run errands. But after we got home from Home Depot (for home tinkering stuff, furnace air filter, light bulbs for the bathroom light fixtures, and a replacement gasket thingy for the shower door), the post office (I started putting a bunch of books up for sale at Amazon last night and 5 had sold by this morning!), lunch (Phớ Gà), the Sports Basement (because at my last physical therapy appointment the therapist told me we weren't making much improvement and I would need to get some of the equipment we'd been using at the clinic for home—a hard foam roller and a balance ball), and Coldwater Creek (mom, sent me 2 lovely shirts that were unfortunately way to large that I needed to return), I found that only the top sides of the hens had truly defrosted.

So as Scoob started tinkering in his bathroom, I moved laundry to the dryer, put the new furnace air filter in place, did my work out, then my physical therapy workout, and wracked my brain for dinner and I came up with a brown and wild rice mushroom dish called Harvest Rice that I've made before and really like. Except I don't have any mushrooms. Or cranberries. So I adapted and made something the world has never seen the likes of before. Okay fine, I've never seen it before. But in my mind it sounded like it would work, so here's what I cooked for dinner—entirely experimental. I've at least tasted the finished product, so I can vouch that its palatable. (Though Scoob hasn't had his say yet. ***Update—Scoob likes it too! This from the man who hates onions.) I sure hope it's at least partially healthy.

Savory Chicken Wild Rice

Ingredients

2 cups chicken broth

½ cup brown rice

½ cup wild rice

3 Tbsps butter

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1 onion, chopped

1 apple (I used a Fuji), chopped

1 chicken breast, chopped into small (¼–½") pieces

½ tsp sage

¼ tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

⅛ tsp allspice

Directions

1. Mix broth, brown rice, and wild rice in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes, until rice is tender and broth is absorbed.
2. In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion, apple, and brown sugar. Saute until butter is absorbed an onions are translucent and soft.
3. Add chicken, salt, pepper, sage, and allspice to skillet, stirring until chicken is cooked through. Reduce heat to low and cover.
4. When rice is finished, stir rice mixture and almonds into skillet. Serve warm.

Spiced Nuts

I know I said I would get the recipe for the spiced nuts up yesterday but people, yesterday was a madhouse. The evening commute took over an hour last night and I had to stop at Target on the way home for kitty litter. WHAT was I thinking? I was seriously tempted to start swing that 25 lb. box of litter. And I (successfully, thank god) battled the urge to grab this one guy's keys and park his damn car for him. Gah!

Memo for next year—lay in a several month supply of kitty litter by mid-November.

When I finally got home I still needed to cook dinner and put some meat up in the freezer before it turned and wait for Scoob to go to bed so I could wrap his gifts. By then it was 2:00 am and I called it a day and went to bed.

Back up this morning bright and early for physical therapy and woke up with a cold sore and a seriously sore throat. I've still got too much to do to take time out for being sick, not to mention we're leaving for North Carolina in a few days. And I seriously don't want to be traveling while sickly—I'll be that awful person sitting behind you on the plane hacking, coughing, sneezing, and sniffing (did I miss a dwarf?) for 6 solid hours. Not to mention being a lousy house guest invading my hosts' home with my germs.

So anyhow, here are my nuts.

I know you can't really see my nuts here, but I was pretty darn pleased with the packaging.

Spiced Nuts

Ingredients

2 cups nuts (I used almonds)

Spice Mix:

2 Tbsps sugar

¾ tsp kosher salt

½ tsp cinnamon

⅛ tsp allspice

⅜–½ tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)

Glaze:

1 Tbsp water

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp canola or corn oil

Directions

1. Heat the oven (or toaster oven) to 350°. Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast them for 6 minutes or until they are fragrant and their color deepens slightly.
2. In a medium-size bowl, stir together the spice mix.
3. In a saucepan, combine the glaze ingredients and bring them to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Stir in the toasted nuts and continue to stir until all the nuts are shiny and the liquid is gone, about 1 to 2 minutes. Move the glazed nuts to a mixing bowl, sprinkle on the spice mix, and toss them well to coat.
4. Spread the coated nuts on a cookie sheet and return them to the oven for another 4 minutes; check regularly to make sure they don't burn. Remove and let cool. (If you try to taste test these before the nuts cool you'll experience chewy, soggy nuts and be tempted to throw them out.)

I've found I like this recipe more when I double the amount of nuts and triple the glaze and spice mix.

**I can't even work up the energy to feel even the slightest bit embarrassed about all the nut references—toasted nuts, shiny nuts, chewy nuts, soggy nuts. Go ahead, laugh at me while I'm down. I would except that laughing kicks off a chest rattling cough.

Peppermint Bark-y Patties

So we had the bake sale at work yesterday and we raised about $425 for the Alameda County Community Food Bank. Yay! Here's the thing that gets me about these bake sales—we're selling all this stuff to ourselves. Add to that all the treats being sent in by authors, agents, and even our website server host and I'm doomed. Like I seriously need any help padding my hips and arse.

And if the other people who brought things to sell are anything like me, they've got leftovers from what they made at home already and the last thing I need is to buy more sweets to bring home. I was seriously hoping we would be able to set up our table on the sidewalk outside our building. We're right on a high-end retail strip in Berkeley and I'm sure the sweets, not to mention the cause, would be well received. I'm not sure why we didn't though I'd wager money that permits and health codes factored into it.

Since I knew a bake sale would mean lots of breads/cakes/pies/cookies and the like, I tried to mix it up a bit and took spiced nuts and these Peppermint Bark-y Patties and I tried to package things so that they could be gifted. One co-worker told me she gave a package of nuts to her son's teacher and I thought that was awesome. I'll get the nuts recipes up tomorrow.






Instead of the irregular pieces that you usually get with peppermint bark, I decided to try making these little cups using a mini cupcake pan. I really like the way they turned out.

Peppermint Bark-y Patties

Ingredients

12 oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

12 oz. bag of white chocolate chips

6 full-sized candy canes, crushed

Peppermint extract

Directions

1. Melt the white chocolate over indirect heat with a few drops of peppermint extract and spoon into the cupcake pan. You'll need to let the white chocolate set up before moving to the next step—10–15 minutes in the refrigerator should do it. (I learned this the hard way. Though Scoob was happy because he snacked on the rejects.)
2. While the white chocolate sets, unwrap the candy canes and place in a plastic zippy bag and crush. The smashing/crushing part was great for getting out some frustrations! Be sure to use the freezer-style zippy bags—the thicker the plastic the better, those candy cane shards are sharp and rip right through a regular zippy bag. (Another lesson learned the hard way. I had so much [sticky] candy cane dust on the counters I thought the Candy Cane Fairy had been here.)
3. Melt the semi-sweet chocolate over indirect heat and spoon into the cupcake pan, completely covering the white chocolate and spreading to the sides of the cups.
4. Before the semi-sweet chocolate sets, place the crushed candy canes in a sieve and shake the fine candy cane dust over the cupcake tray. Then place the larger pieces into the cups. You may need to press down a little so the chocolate gets a grip on the pieces.

I did 2 batches of these (24 patties per batch) and one thing I noticed while making them is that the semi-sweet chocolate melts to a thinner consistency than the white chocolate. So while a 12 oz. bag of white chocolate chips barely made it through 24 cups, I had extra semi-sweet chocolate. (What a crying shame, I tell you. Don't worry, no chocolate was wasted.) Oh, be sure to add the extract to the white chocolate and not the semi-sweet, otherwise the semi-sweet will seize and have a grainy texture. (Thankfully mom warned me about this before I started so I didn't have to learn that lesson the hard way.)

I turned the cupcake pan upside down on a sheet of waxed paper and a few taps on the back of the pan was enough to free the cups.

Broccoli Rabe Pasta

So I'm finally getting around to posting the recipe for the second side dish we had for Thanksgiving dinner. I've tried it a second time, and we still ended up throwing some out even after I cut the recipe down.

I first had something like this at a catered lunch in the office and went hunting for the recipe and found a good base to start with over at Rachel Ray. Anyhow, my home version wasn't as good as what we had for lunch. I liked it, but I don't know that I'll make this again—it's just way too much food and it didn't seem to reheat well.

Broccoli Rabe Pasta

Cooking time: 30 minutes
Prep time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

½ lb. pasta (I used campanelle)

1 lb. broccoli rabe

⅓ cup olive oil

6–8 cloves of garlic, minced

1½ tsps. red pepper flakes

½ cup grated Parmesan

½ cup crumbled feta

½ cup shopped red bell pepper

fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Trim the end and coarsely chop the broccoli rabe and add it to a deep skillet. Add 2–3 cups of water, cover, and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 7 minutes, or until no longer bitter. Drain and set aside.
3. Return the skillet to the stove over medium heat. Add oil, garlic and pepper flakes and saute for 3 minutes.
4. Return broccoli rabe to the skillet and turn to coat with the oil.
5. Toss pasta and broccoli rabe in a bowl with cheese and ground pepper. Serve while warm.

Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes

As promised, here is one of the side dish recipes from our Thanksgiving dinner. It's a super simple sweet treat. I even skipped the last step, partly because I forgot I'd even bought the limes and partly because I didn't have much olive oil to drain off.

Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Cooking time: 30 minutes
Prep time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

¼ cup olive oil

2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into half moons

2 Tbsps brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¾ tsp kosher salt

1 pinch freshly ground pepper

1 tsp fresh lime juice (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Pour the oil into a 9x13 inch baking dish, and place in the oven until hot, about 5 minutes.
2. Add potatoes to the oiled dish, and bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, turning after 10 minutes. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and pepper.
3. After the 20 minutes is up, remove the potatoes from the oven, and sprinkle with the brown sugar mixture. Stir to coat. Return to the oven, and roast for another 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and golden brown. Stir potatoes as necessary to allow them to brown evenly.
4. Remove potatoes to paper towels to drain, then transfer to a serving dish, and sprinkle with lime juice.

I made this mainly for Scoob since he loves candied yams. I liked that it was sweet without being over-the-top and that it uses real sweet potatoes instead of pureed yams from a can.

Tofu with Peanut Ginger Sauce

We've been trying to work more meatless meals into rotation at the Wayward house and we've had this a few times now. I keep tweaking the recipe, but I think this is pretty close to our final keeper version.

Tofu with Peanut Ginger Sauce

Cooking time: 20 minutes
Prep time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

5 Tbsps. water

4 Tbsps. smooth, natural peanut butter

1½ Tbsps. rice vinegar

2 tsps. reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 tsps. honey

2 tsps. minced ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

14 ounces extra-firm tofu

2 tsps extra-virgin olive oil

14-oz can baby corn, drained

4 cups baby spinach

1½ cups sliced mushrooms

4 scallions, sliced

Directions

1. Prepare the sauce by whisking together the water, peanut butter, rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, ginger, and garlic in a bowl the set aside.
2. Drain and rinse the tofu then pat dry. Slice the block. Slice the tofu into half-inch cubes.
3. Heat he oil in a large skillet over high heat and add the tofu in a single layer. Cook for about 5–7 minutes without stirring or until the bottom of the tofu pieces are golden brown. Turn the pieces and repeat.
4. Reduce heat to medium and add the baby corn, spinach, mushrooms, scallions, and the peanut sauce and cook while stirring until the spinach wilts.

The original recipe didn't have the baby corn, which I think adds a nice textural variation, color, and some additional fiber, and the original called for the tofu to be crumbled, which I didn't much care for; the end result didn't look at all palatable.

I also upped the rice vinegar quantity a bit to balance the sweetness of the honey and help the sauce from becoming too thick and dropped the stove temperature when adding the sauce; my first attempt scorched (and set off the smoke detector) because the pan was too hot at this step.

Baked Butternut Squash

Okay, so I made the butternut squash for dinner last night, and it was amazingly good and super easy. I liked that it wasn't a soup or puree—that's pretty much the only way I've eaten butternut squash up to now. And it was sweet, even though I didn't add any kind of sweetener. Even though most people would probably consider this a side, this was our main last night along with a salad.

Scoob's only complaint was that we didn't have a sourdough bread to go with it. My only complaint is that I only had one squash to cook. No leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I'll definitely be getting more squash.

Baked Butternut Squash

Cooking time: 50 minutes
Prep time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. dried parsley (or 2 Tbsps. fresh, chopped)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

½ tsp. cayenne pepper

1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1" pieces

⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400° and combine first six ingredients in a bowl and let sit while prepping the squash.
2. Add the squash and cheese, and toss to coat.
3. Transfer to an ungreased, shallow 2-quart baking dish and bake, uncovered, for 50 minutes, or until squash is tender.

I've got a head of cauliflower in the fridge waiting to be roasted, but I seriously need to make this again. Soon.