Category Archives: My food creations

Big lunch Tuesday

Posted by sarah3030 in Christmas, food, Home cooking, My food creations, work it out and tagged with ,

Late workouts = big lunch!

Many, many years ago I used to eat at Rainforest Cafe.  When I lived in Orlando and worked for Disney my friends and I seemed to end up there a lot.  They had a chicken dish there called Typhoon Chicken that was pasta with grilled chicken and a corn/black bean/tomato relish on top of it.  That may have been my first experience with black beans ever.  I loved it.  Of course, as if often the case with my favorite item at a restaurant, it did not make a menu revision a couple of years later.

Today, while thinking about what to make for my big lunch, that combination came back to me.  It came back to me for the following reasons:

  1. I made black bean burgers and pico de gallo last night for dinner and have some leftover and I like to repurpose food.
  2. Meg left me a bag of salmon fillets in the freezer.
  3. I had exactly one portion of whole wheat linguini left in my pantry.

Done.  I took the salmon fillet, sprinkled it with salt and pepper and then spooned pico de gallo on it.  I put this in a foil package and popped it in a 375 oven for 20 minutes.

Before cooking - salmon with pico de gallo salsa in foil pack

Meanwhile I boiled my linguini.  When fish and pasta had just a couple minutes left I popped a black bean burger patty in the microwave to heat up.  These had black beans, corn, garlic, chipotle pepper, oats and bread crumbs in them.  After everything was finished I assembled.

Pasta with crumbled black bean burger

Salsa'd up fish on top

So good!  I maintain that I’m not a great cook, but I am an excellent copy cat.  So, thanks to Rainforest Cafe for inspring today’s lunch.  My run and Zumba workout thank you.

(Okay, and as I was typing I just got a phone call offering me an ACTUAL final interview for this position that has been courting me since September.  I’ve had 4 other interviews.  I thought the last one was the final one.  I was mistaken.)

(Also, I’m watching Enchanted as I put up my Christmas decorations.  It’s such a cute movie.)

 

 

…and calm returns

Posted by sarah3030 in cooking, food, Home cooking, My food creations, photography, work it out and tagged with , , ,

There are things that always work for me when I start spinning as fast as I was a couple of days ago.

  1. Go for a long walk with good conversation.
  2. Write it out so I can put it behind me.
  3. Take pictures of food.
I’m not always rooted in rational and linear thoughts.  You know how if you thrust a stick into a spinning bike wheel everything comes to a halt?  Sometimes I need somebody to be a stick.  Take a 4.5 mile walk with a good friend (who also told me to leave figure skating with Scott Hamilton on The List 2.0 - why not?) who thinks you have valuable opinions and perspective on items outside of your own head and I’ll show you how to feel better immediately.  I appreciate all the kind comments after my spazzing out two nights ago.  All of you offered perspective and helped to calm me down as well.
As for taking pictures of food – let me show you what I made for lunch.  Tuesday nights are my longest work out nights.  I do a 30 minute run/walk on the treadmill and then a 60 minute Zumba class.  I try to time it so I can do some arm strength training in the middle of the two workouts.  by the time I get home it’s after 9:30pm and I don’t like to eat dinner that late.  Typically I’ll make a smoothie and just drink a lot of water.  When I can, I make a bigger lunch on Tuesday afternoons.  This gets me through the evening without feeling starved at 9pm.  Todays lunch was salmon and tomato orzo.

Risotto-like Orzo

I make this orzo all the time.  It’s really versatile and flavorful and is a quick and tasty substitution for time consuming risottos.  I start by sauteing a shallot in a tablespoon of olive oil.  Once the shallot has softened I add 2 cups of vegetable broth.  You can supplement some of the stock with water or white wine if you’d like.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Today I added some grape tomatoes I had in the fridge.  I wanted them to burst while everything cooked.  Here’s the super easy part- bring to a boil, put the lid on it, turn to a simmer and let cook about 10 – 12 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed.  No need to drain anything and all the flavor of the stock or wine is in the pasta.  I like to add fresh spinach in the last couple of minutes of cooking and put the lid back on.  The spinach wilts really nicely into the dish.  After it’s done you can add some grated parmesan to increase the creaminess of the dish.

I splurged by starting with butter.

My salmon is super easy too.  Pat dry the fish filet and sprinkle with salt, pepper and dill.  I add two very thin lemon slices to the non skin side of the fish also.

Fresh lemon is so good with salmon.

After the flip.

I put my salmon into the melted butter with the skin side down first.  After about 6 minutes I flipped the fish with the lemon slices still in place over.  The lemon cooks and lemon juice steams it’s way into the fish filet.  I just love salmon like this!

After the cooking.

Lunch is served!

There you have it.  How I come back down after a minor meltdown.  Walk it out.  Write it out.  Take pictures of food.  A fairly fool-proof 3 part plan.  Add my favorite work out night to the mix and today is going to be okay.

*insert chicken noise here*

Posted by sarah3030 in cooking, food, Home cooking, My food creations and tagged with , ,

I cannot make great chicken dishes.  I attribute this in part to being married to a gentleman who doesn’t eat chicken (for no good reason- he ate all other meat, just not chicken) and then dating a vegetarian for over a year.  I’ve never needed to make chicken dishes in my adult life.  I have two dishes I do that are consistently successful – both involve taking a chicken breast and pounding it really flat so it cooks quickly and evenly.

Tonight I set out to make chicken drumsticks with biscuits and tomato jam, courtesy of Food Network.

Photo from FoodNetwork.com

Doesn’t it look good? Everything was going well.  The tomato jam smelled delicious and had a great texture.  I pulled the chicken out of the oven.  I made a plate.  I went into my living room to eat while I watched Modern Family.  I use my fork to pull apart some chicken and it’s still mostly raw.  Oh dang it.  I put it back on the stove.  I eat two biscuits with tomato jam while I wait.  It’s phenomenal!  This is going to be my new condiment of choice for dinner parties.  After 6 minutes or so I check on my chicken.  It looks better.  I bite into it.  I’m still not sure it’s done.  It goes back on the stove.  I eat another biscuit with more tomato jam.  Finally, I have fully cooked chicken.  And while it was tasty, I’m not sure it was worth the wait.

Also learned: don’t try to eat chicken drumsticks from your lap while on the couch.  This is more of a table meal.  Messy.

But make the tomato jam.  Excellent and so easy!  I may go have some more.

Variations on a pie

Posted by sarah3030 in baking; food, cooking, dessert, food, My food creations and tagged with , ,

I made my first apple pie of the season.  This is about a month later than I typically start baking pies, but there was that whole vegan month thing.  Butter is a key component in my crust, so it had to wait.

I’ve played around with apple pie recipes for some time.  Experimentation continued today.  With oatmeal!  I took Ina Garten’s perfect pie crust recipe and substituted one cup of flour with one cup of quick cooking oats.  As with most pie crust recipes it calls for very cold butter and shortening.  I put mine in the freezer for about 90 minutes before I worked with it.  It was indeed very cold.

oatmeal and flour crust

For the apples themselves I added 2/3 cup sugar, 2/3 cup brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of the Baking Spices Penzeys mix.  The Baking Spices mix includes the following: All-purpose blend of sweet baking spices-a mix of Ceylon softsick Cinnamon, rich Mace, Sweet Anise, and a hint of cool Cardamom. Perfect for muffins, coffee cakes, pies and banana bread; just add up the spices your recipe calls for and use the same amount of Baking Spice instead. Baking Spice is also a nice sprinkle for coffee or hot chocolate,. Hand-mixed from: Ceylon cinnamon, Spanish anise, Grenadian mace, Guatemalan cardamom.

I was a little nervous.  I’ve had a run in with all spice in my apple pie before.  It did not go well that time.  I was hoping the interesting blend would add a more balanced depth this time.  I struggle with making the top of my pies as pretty as Martha Stewart makes the top of her pies.  With some help from Google Images I found a fun idea.  I cut out lots and lots of little leaves with a cookie cutter and layered them on top of the pie.

tiny leaves cover my pie

All done! Now cover in egg wash and raw sugar.

Close up of the cooked leaves.

Time to eat!

It is a great pie!  The oatmeal crust has a very different taste – I didn’t realize it would be so obvious – but I love it.  Also, it is really flaky and delicious.  Yum!  Fall is here, I have made pie.

 

 

 

Hopeful

Posted by sarah3030 in cooking, food, My food creations and tagged with , ,

I had a 2nd interview today.  It was good.  I liked it.  I love the opportunity.  I am hopeful.  I will be anxiously awaiting what happens next.

In the meantime, I fell off the vegan wagon.  It was sour cream that did me in.  One tablespoon of sour cream.  Sometimes between vegan diet and working late nights at the Kitchen Conservatory I don’t get a lot of calories in.  Yesterday’s total was only 850.  I woke up this morning and was out of bananas, which meant I did not make my now signature breakfast smoothie (banana, peanut butter, cocoa powder, almond milk, ice).  I had some coffee while I got ready for the interview.  On my way home I was famished.  I had no healthy snack to tide me over.  I started to have unpure thoughts about a cheese pizza.

I righted my mind and headed to the grocery store to pick up just a few things.  I’ve been thinking about making black bean burgers for a few days.  I wanted avocado to go with it.  (And I needed bananas!)

I whipped up a pretty tasty black bean burger.  Black beans, oats, frozen corn and some bread crumbs.  Plus cumin and chili powder.  I was worried they may be too dry, yet they were great!  Perhaps the best batch I’ve made.  I sliced up the avocado to put on top of it.  Then…I went one step further.  I had some just-past-the-expiration-date sour cream in the fridge.  I had lime and cilantro.  I thought a mixture of those things would be really nice on the burger.   I threw them all in the blender.  It was good.  It was really good.

In retrospect I could have thrown the avocado in with the lime juice and cilantro and made a guacamole type sauce and omitted the sour cream.  I wasn’t thinking straight!  I wanted them both!  I have let down vegan month.

I won’t let it get me down.  I’m going to keep going to finish October strong.  Since October 1 I’ve lost 8 lbs.  That was 11 days ago.  I’m like a Biggest Loser contestant.  The fact that I’ve worked out at least an hour every day is a factor as well, but I cannot deny that being very conscientious about what I am eating matters.  It is true that my desire for sweets is less.  I was hoping that would be a side effect of vegan month as well.

Here’s hoping…for a new job and for less cravings for dairy!

Eggplant meatballs

Posted by sarah3030 in My food creations and tagged with , ,

I am suffering with some kind of cold or sinus thing.  All I wanted tonight was a hot, comforting meal.  And a nap.  I took the nap and much to my disappointment, found no hot comfort food magically in my kitchen.  I was a little burnt out on the food I had in my fridge as I’ve had leftovers most days this week.  Spaghetti and meatballs sounded so good.  Here in Vegan Month that would need some adjustments.  I had run across a recipe for eggplant meatballs and made the trip to the store to buy the few things I needed to make this happen.

I couldn’t remember which blog I found this recipe on, so I worked off of memory.  I sauteed an onion and garlic, added a diced up eggplant and lots of italian spices.  Once that was all soft I put it in the food processor with about 1/2 cup bread crumbs and walnuts I had in the pantry.  I used my small cookie scoop to portion out “meatballs” onto a cookie sheet and baked for half an hour on 400.  Meanwhile I made a really simple marinara, just adding a can of crushed tomatoes to sauteed shallot and mushrooms.

I didn’t take a single picture of any of it.  I don’t feel well.  This whole process took an hour.  I was hungry.  I wish I had.  It turned out well.  The eggplant meatballs were very good.  A very different texture than a real meatball, but the flavor was great.  Please don’t forget to spray some nonstick spray on your cookie sheet.

Vegan month is ongoing and going well.  I relaxed my rules a few nights ago to have dinner with my cousin.  Risotto and sweet potato pie were involved.  This first week was all about getting into some better food habits and trying to kick the sugar/alcohol dependency I have.  Is dependency too strong of a word?  I don’t think it is.  When Meg, the roommate, was here, we were imbibing with a pretty high frequency.  I keep lots of wine in stock, she makes a great gin and tonic – it was a match made in heaven.  All good things must come to an end.

I would like to incorporate another good habit into this next week.  On top of my ongoing cleaner eating, I’m going to leave the tv off as I fall asleep.  I like noise and I maintain that I can play music or a book on tape or something from my iphone, but no tv.  The light from it is really messing with my falling asleep.  And often times I’m playing something that I get caught up in watching and that isn’t helping either.  I need all the sleep I can get.

Stay tuned for on the job updates…

Why you should purchase an immersion blender…right now

Posted by sarah3030 in My food creations and tagged with , ,

Butternut squash soup.  That is the reason you should buy an immersion blender right now.  I’ve made this soup about 3 times in the past.  This may have been my best effort yet.  This is an extra exciting discovery because this version, while most delicious, was also my vegan effort.  I love cooking when I can wing it.  Here’s what I did:

Please insert the word about before each line of ingredients.

4 cups vegetable broth

2 cups diced butternut squash

half a yellow onion, roughly chopped

one apple chopped, skins on

5 sage leaves

1 bay leaf

1 tsp cinnamon

salt and pepper

Bring to a boil and let simmer about 30 minutes.  Take the immersion blender to it and don’t let up until it’s smooth.  At this point you could add a touch of cream if you wanted slightly more richness.  I never missed it.  Seriously, make this soup.

I put a quick spinach salad that I topped with carrots, alfalfa sprouts and sunflower seeds on the side.  I made a quick vinaigrette with white wine vinegar, squeeze of lemon juice, olive oil, basil and tarragon and tossed my spinach in that.  I also toasted one piece of whole wheat bread and smeared on a tablespoon of apple butter.  I’m just so pleased with how everything turned out.  Vegan Day 2 – I did me proud


Holy Guacamole

Posted by sarah3030 in My food creations and tagged with ,

I have a reputation for my guacamole.  The people love it.

Can I tell you a secret, or two?  1.  I only started liking avocados about 3 years ago.  I don’t know how it started, but one day I wanted to give them a shot.  2.  My killer guacamole recipe?  Yeah – it’s based on the Weight Watchers guacamole recipe.  I’ve added some Sarah to it, but it’s roots are absolutely in WW.  And a little garlic technique from Bobby Flay.

My guacamole was so in demand at the office that I made a Power Point presentation for everyone so they could make it themselves.  And here now, I present to you, how to make my guacamole.

Ingredients:

3 – 4 avocados, depending on size

2 roma tomatoes, squeezed free of seeds

1 small red onion diced

3 garlic cloves

1 lime

cilantro

sea salt

Ingredients to begin with

Start with mashing garlic and sea salt together into paste

Cut avocado and add to garlic paste

I use a pastry blender or potato masher to mix avocado and garlic

Squeeze half a lime over avocado mixture and then add chopped onion and tomatoes

Lastly, squeeze other half of lime and chopped cilantro on top and mix in

 

Enjoy with your choice of delicious chips!