7 posts tagged “healthy”
I have trouble playing nice in the kitchen.
When Jon cooks dinner, he frequently has to banish me from the room because I just can't seem to stop myself from giving helpful "suggestions," and "constructive" criticism, which understandably drives him completely crazy.
In my defense, Jon has a habit of not reading instructions, whether they be for putting together an IKEA bookshelf, making cinnamon rolls, or operating machinery. He has that weird male thing of taking a sense of pride in innately knowing how to do something he has never attempted before. Unfortunately that sense is not always so innate as one hopes.
We've even had flare-ups over the grill I got him for his birthday last year (no pun intended). I had noticed Jon's admiration of his uncle, who has a full scale smoker in his backyard in Evanston, and takes great pride in his mad barbecue skillz. My intention was to give Jon a place where he could be master of the realm, cooking-wise. But when our burgers would take forever to cook because all the briquettes were piled on one side of the grate when it says RIGHT ON THE BAG OF CHARCOAL that you're supposed to spread out the coals before cooking if you want direct heat, I couldn't keep my fat trap shut. Yes, I admit it here on the internet: I am a controlling, annoying nag. But honestly, if he would just read those darn directions...
The only thing that matches the intensity of boys' hatred of directions is the intensity of their love of electronic gadgets and watching videos on the internet, and this was our saving grace. Before our latest cooperative culinary endeavor, I went out and bought a fancy instant-read meat thermometer (something I'd been wanting for a while actually), and Jon found this video on proper grilling techniques which we watched together.
Determined once and for all not to interfere, I handed him the pork I'd been marinating in the fridge all day, and went inside to make couscous.
Soon, though, I longed to be having a cocktail on the back porch, chatting amiably with my husband. This was what I have always dreamed of when I imagined cooking with a partner. Cocktails, friendly banter, and handing each other utensils or ingredients as we make a delicious meal together. Was this too much to ask? I headed outside with my rum and ginger ale and an onion to chop for salad. And guess what?
We had our best night cooking together ever. We chatted, drained our cocktails, I made salad and prepared asparagus for the grill, Jon read me Red Sox anecdotes from his new library book and made more cocktails in between supervising the meat and vegetables on the grill, and in the end I didn't worry one bit about the food. And naturally, this turned out to be the best pork that we've ever had, on the grill or elsewhere. It was crispy on the outside, but inside the meat was juicy and soft as butter, and the sauce was sweet, tangy and spicy, a perfect accompaniment. I can't wait to make it together again.
Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Mango-Soy-Ginger Marinade
Ingredients:
1 medium size onion, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons pure olive oil
3/4 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup mango chutney
1 12-16 oz. pork tenderloin
Instructions:
Heat oil until shimmering and then add onions. Turn heat to low and cook onions until very tender, about 10 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes.
In a medium size bowl, combine the cooked onions and the rest of the ingredients except for the pork. Stir well to combine and then pour into a ziploc bag. Put the pork tenderloin in the bag and seal. Shake well to thoroughly coat the pork. Allow pork to marinate for at least six hours, or up to 24 hours.
About 45 minutes before dinnertime, start your grill. When the coals reach medium heat (when you can just stand to hold your hand over the grill for about 5 seconds), put the pork on the grill. Turn frequently, cooking until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 140F, about 35 minutes.
Meanwhile, take the remaining marinade and heat it in a saucepan on the stove. (Or have your cooking partner do this, while you hang out by the grill, sipping your cocktail and turning the meat.) Bring the sauce to a full boil until it is reduced to a nice thick sauce. Pour it into a little bowl and set aside.
When the pork is ready, remove from grill and let it sit. The temperature of the meat will continue to rise for the first few minutes, and then it will begin to cool and the juices will absorb back into the tissues. After about 10 minutes, when the meat has begun to cool a little, carve into 1/2 inch thick slices and fan 4-5 slices on each plate. Pour the carving juices into your bowl of sauce, swirl to combine, and spoon the sauce over the pork. Serve the bowl of sauce at the table because you will probably want more. It tastes good on grilled asparagus and couscous too!
Serves 2-3
I'm not the only one who finds inspiration in limited ingredients either. The classic Caesar salad was invented late one night in 1924 at Caesar Cardini's restaurant in Tijuana, when the chef found himself with a dining room full of people to feed and nothing but romaine lettuce, parmesan cheese, and eggs left in his ice box. He grabbed a few lemons, some garlic, a bottle of worcestershire sauce and some stale bread, and made history.
Since Jon entered my life (and kitchen), he always restocks the fridge before we really get down to the dregs of the pantry that inspired my experiments as a single girl. But every once in a while I end up staring at some empty shelves in the fridge and that old stubborn twinkle comes into my eye.
The other night I was in the mood for something light and vegetabley, but we were out of lettuce and the only vegetables we had were some radishes, a few wilted scallions, some frozen peas, and some green beans in vinaigrette left over from Salade Nicoise the night before. Though nothing but the scallions was even vaguely Asian, for some reason my mind went to this Asian rice salad in one of my cookbooks. I had never made it before, but it sounded like just the thing for a light spring meal. Not only was it adaptable to my paltry vegetable selection, but it was pretty fast. Threw some rice in the rice cooker, sliced up my vegetables, and whipped together a quick sesame-ginger vinaigrette.
I was so pleased with my rice salad that this weekend I decided to try it with some more of the vegetables suggested by the original recipe. They were out of snow peas at the Sunflower Market, and I decided I liked my substitution of radishes better than the recommended water chestnuts. But the red pepper, shitake mushrooms, and bamboo shoots were excellent additions to my pantry challenge version. I love green beans, so I threw in more of them to make up for the lack of snow peas. The results were delicious, and tasted great warm, at room temperature, or cold from the fridge the next day. I sense a new weeknight favorite.
Asian-Inspired Rice Salad
adapted from Rice by Mary Goodbody
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups medium grain white rice, preferably Asian-style
4 tablespoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 cup snow peas or green beans
2 cups coarsely chopped shiitake mushrooms
1/2 cup canned sliced bamboo shoots, drained and rinsed.
juice of 1 1/2 lemons (about 1/4 cup)
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha chili sauce or other Asian chili or hot sauce
3 scallions, thinly sliced
4 large radishes, cut into 1/4 inch thick wedges.
1 medium size red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
Instructions:
Cook the rice, either in a rice cooker or your favorite stovetop method.
Prepare the green beans or snow peas for cooking by cutting off stems and pointy ends, then cut into 1-inch pieces. Blanch them in boiling water or steam them for 4 minutes, then drain and rinse under cold water until they reach lukewarm temperature.
In a small, non-reactive skillet, heat 2 tablespoons sesame oil over medium high heat. Add half the grated ginger and half the minced garlic and stir for about 1 minute, or until aromatic. Add the mushrooms, salt, pepper, and hot pepper flakes, and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes.
Add soy sauce and 1 tablespoon rice vinegar and stir well. Cook another minute or so, then add the blanched green beans/snow peas and the drained bamboo shoots. Stir well to coat and remove from heat.
Combine the lemon juice, Sriracha chili sauce, and the remaining rice vinegar, ginger and garlic in a small bowl. Stir well to combine, then gradually whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons sesame oil. Toss the scallions in the dressing and stir well.
When the rice is cooked, fluff with a fork and stir in the radishes, red pepper, and mushroom/green bean/bamboo shoot mixture and mix well. Add the scallion dressing and toss to coat.
Cover and refrigerate for up to an hour. Serve slightly chilled. (Or serve immediately if you're impatient for dinner!)
Serves 4
I almost can't believe I once hated beets. I hated them so much that when I was five I actually faked vomiting during dinner to avoid eating beet soup. I crammed my mouth full of food (non-beet food, that is), then leapt from my chair and ran urgently to the bathroom. I made some heaving noises and spit my chewed up food into the toilet, and then walked back into the dining room with my best serious expression on my face. "Mom," I whined, "I just threw up." My mom, unflappable, said, "Robin, if you had actually thrown up you'd be a lot more upset than that. Now sit down and eat your borscht."
Thank goodness I've come around to appreciate these scrumptious jewel-like vegetables for the delicacy they are. And like a good convert, I'm out there preaching to the masses. I've already convinced my husband and my friend Heather to see the light and welcome beets into their lives. This photo alone is making me salivate, so maybe I'll reach some more heathen beet-haters with this yummy recipe. Sit down and eat your beets, people.
Golden Beet Salad with Crushed Pistachios and Lemon Shallot Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs golden beets
- 1 shallot, finely minced
- juice from 1/2 lemon
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small head butter lettuce, rinsed and dried
- 3 tablespoons salted shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped or crushed (you can crush them by placing them in a plastic baggie and then smashing the bag with the bottom of a heavy pan)
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Place beets in a single layer on a large piece of tinfoil. Fold edges of foil over to create a tightly sealed packet and place on a baking sheet. Roast for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from oven, open packet slightly and allow to cool 15 minutes.
When beets are cool enough to handle, use an old dishtowel to gently slide off the skins. Dice the skinned beets into 1/2 inch cubes.
Whisk together the lemon juice, shallot and salt. Add the oil and whisk to blend.
Toss the whole lettuce leaves in the dressing and place three or four leaves on each of four plates.
Toss the cubed beets in the remaining dressing and place a hearty scoop onto each plate of lettuce.
Sprinkle with crushed pistachios and if you wish, some crumbled goat cheese. Top with freshly ground pepper and serve.
Serves 4
Last Sunday, I finally cooked the rest of that duck I bought for Valentine's day. This preparation was significantly less laborious than my crazy Valentine's extravaganza. In fact it was quite easy, aside from having to plan far enough ahead to marinate the duck breasts and chuck the onions in the oven an hour and a half before dinner.
I made a recipe that has intrigued me for years, Magret of Duck with Roasted Red Onions and Pomegranate Molasses, from Rozanne Gold's Healthy 1-2-3. The first word of the recipe title alone was intriguing - what is a magret? It seemed mysterious to me - perhaps because I was confusing magret with Maigret, the fictional French police detective. (When I was growing up my parents were constantly reading Maigret mysteries. That and those Rumpole of the Bailey books. Unless we were on a camping trip, in which case it was nothing but Stephen Jay Gould books.) Anyhow, magret turns out to be simply a boneless duck breast.
Pomegranate molasses turned out to be a more detective worthy ingredient - I practically had to whip out a deerstalker, pipe, and magnifying glass to find some. Unfortunately I'm not familiar with any middle eastern or Indian grocery stores, because finding some there would probably have been a snap. I looked at Treasure Island and Whole Foods, my usual go-to spots for exotic ingredients. Treasure Island had pomegranate juice concentrate, but that still looked much too runny to qualify as molasses. Whole Foods didn't even have that - the only pomegranate products to be found there were POM juice and actual pomegranates. Which are cool and all, in fact I recently found out my husband loves them, but not what I needed for this particular recipe. I ended up finding the molasses at, of all places, Jewel. In the Middle Eastern section, which is of course, right next to the Jewish section. (By the way if you are ever looking for some Dr. Brown's soda in Chicago, you can find it at Jewel but not in the soda aisle. Instead, it's in the Jewish aisle! Look right next to the boxes of matzoh and yahrzeit candles.)
When I got home, I instantly had to sample this troublesome ingredient. Oooweee, it was sour! I thought the tangy, deep flavor of it would be good in a cocktail, so I looked in our "liquor cabinet" to see what we had to mix it with. By "liquor cabinet," of course, I mean, free standing cabinet from IKEA that houses our pasta, rice, oil, cat food, and assorted bottles of liquor that are left after we have big party. And I guess it's been a while since we had one, because all that I could find was some Peach Schnapps (which I used in the sabayon recipe) and a lonely bottle of Manischewitz. If I was a liquor anthropologist, I would guess that an elderly Jewish lady lived here. But in our defense, the only reason we had that sickly sweet "wine" was that our friend Zev (the potato critic) brought it as a gag gift to our Chrismukkah party. Given the choice of that or Peach Schnapps, I had to go with the Manischewitz. I thought the sugariness of the wine might be just what was needed to temper the tartness of the pomegranate molasses. I put a teaspoonfull of molasses in the bottom of a rocks glass, poured in about 2 oz of sweet, sweet wine, added 3 ice cubes, and topped it off with some tonic water. The result? Surprisingly delicious! Like a cape codder, but more... mekhaye.
The duck was pretty mekhaye too. Juicy, tangy, and rich, with the yummy accompaniment of a Spanish onion roasted in duck fat. And no tears were shed this time! A savory and luxurious way to end the weekend.
Magret of Duck with Roasted Red Onions and Pomegranate Molasses
Adapted from Healthy 1-2-3 by Rozanne Gold
Ingredients:
2 11-oz boned duck breasts with skin
2 large red onions
5 Tablespoons pomegranate molasses
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
salt and pepper
Instructions:
Remove skin from duck breasts. Set aside.
Place breasts in a large bowl. Peel 1 onion and cut in half through the root end. Grate on the large holes of a box grater to yield 1/2 cup grated onion. Add to duck breasts along with 5 tablespoons pomegranate molasses and some freshly ground black pepper. Mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
About 1 1/2 hours before serving, preheat oven to 350F. Cut remaining onion in half lengthwise through the root end. In a small nonstick skillet, heat duck skin to render fat. Ladle 1 Tablespoon of melted duck fat onto a rimmed baking sheet. Turn onion halves in the fat to coat, and then place them on the baking sheet cut side down and roast for 1 1/2 hours, turning onions over after 1 hour.
Continue heating duck skin until all fat has been rendered and the skin is brown and curled. Discard skin.
About 15 minutes before serving, remove duck breasts from marinade, scraping off and reserving marinade. In a large, nonstick skillet, heat 1 Tablespoon of duck fat (the rest of the duck fat can be saved in the freezer for another use - it's especially good for pan-roasting potatoes).
Add breasts that have been lightly sprinkled with kosher salt and cook over medium high heat for about 3 minutes on each side. Remove duck breasts to cutting board. Add some of the reserved marinade (about 1/4 cup), 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon water to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Pour any juices that have pooled around the duck breasts back into the pan and stir to blend.
Remove onions from oven, removing any skin. Place a roasted onion in the center of each of 2 large plates. Cut breasts on the bias into 1/4 inch thick slices. Surround onion with slices of duck. Drizzle with pan juices. Serve immediately.
Serves 2
I finally got my hands on some Meyer lemons. I've been hearing about these things for years. Brought to the United States from China at the turn of the century, these sweet little lemons were used mostly as ornamental plants until they were popularized by California chefs in the 70s and 80s pursuing a cuisine of locally grown organic foods. Nowadays cookbook chefs are constantly dropping them into recipes all casually, as if we all live in California and can just go pick some off the bush in our back yard.
Even though Meyer lemons are certainly not locally grown here in Illinois you can still find them once in a while, usually during the lemon season which is from December to April. Thought to be a cross between regular lemons and tangerines, they are rounder and more orangey yellow than conventional lemons. Their flavor is sweeter than regular lemons and their skin is soft and has a wonderful orange-lemony fragrance.
So when I finally found some during my weekly grocery shop, I grabbed half a dozen. Now I could finally make all those lemon-snobby cookbook recipes I'd been bypassing! I decided to start with a main course, meyer lemon pasta. I actually had two different recipes for a meyer lemon pasta (one from the Living spa cuisine article and one from Cooking for Mr. Latte). I decided to keep the common elements - spaghetti, meyer lemons, arugula - and just add in which ever of the other ingredients suited me. The result was a light, delicious pasta, which was pretty easy to make (once I got the lemons) and as a bonus, it's pretty healthy to boot!
Spaghetti with Meyer Lemon-Pistachio Pesto
Ingredients:
1 pound whole grain spaghetti (I use Barilla - the yellow box)
2 meyer lemons (the recipe will still be good with regular lemons, just use one lemon instead of two)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
3/4 cup roasted pistachio nuts (buy the kind that are already shelled)
1 large shallot, minced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
3 handfuls arugula, roughly chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Put on a pot of salted water to boil.
Zest the lemons into a large bowl and add the grated parmesan.
Cut the lemons into six wedges each and remove seeds. Discard peels.
Pulse pistachio nuts in food processor until well chopped. Add peeled, seeded lemon wedges and pulse to combine.
When water boils, put in pasta and cook until al dente (about 10 minutes or as package directions indicate).
While the pasta is cooking, heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a small pan and saute shallots over medium heat until fully softened. Add cooked shallots to pistachio-lemon mixture.
When pasta is done, drain, reserving 1 cup of cooking water. Toss cooked pasta in bowl with lemon zest and parmesan. Add pesto, mix thoroughly until all strands are coated. If the dressed pasta is too sticky, add some of the cooking water until it has a nice slippery texture. Fold in creme fraiche. Finally, add the chopped arugula, and mix until it is wilted and evenly distributed throughout the pasta. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with a fresh grating of parmesan on top.
Serves 4
The spa food feature reminded me of when I was in high school and Seventeen would run these Beauty Day articles, with recipes and a timeline for healthy smoothies, 2 mile jogs, homemade mud masks, granola snacks, hot oil treatments, stomach crunches, and salt and baby oil foot scrubs. I loved to go over to a friend's house and spend our whole Saturday following the magazine's regimen, hoping at the end I would somehow be transformed into a glowing, pimple-free teen with boobs and a boyfriend. Unfortunately the spa recipes did not work that fast. All the skin scrubs and exercise gave me a healthy glow, I guess, but that was about it. I did eventually get a boyfriend the summer before college, but boobs didn't fully arrive until the end of my freshman year. And at 32, I'm still working on pimple-free.
Despite the disappointing results, the words "spa cuisine" can still exert their old pull on me and I decided to try one of Martha's recipes. The recipe was actually for an open face salmon sandwich, but I didn't feel like having a sandwich for dinner, so I decided to skip the bread and the sprouts, and turn Martha's wasabi-avocado spread into a light, velvety sauce.
After eating it Jon and I felt satisfied and virtuous. Now if I can just get him to try this mud mask with me...
Poached Salmon with Wasabi-Avocado Sauce
Ingredients:
1 lemon
1 celery stalk
2 sprigs parsley
4 one-inch thick wild salmon fillets, skin on (about 1/4 pound each)
1 tablespoon wasabi powder
1 ripe avocado, halved, peeled and seeded
2 Tablespoons lowfat mayonnaise
kosher salt
Instructions:
Cut the lemon into quarters, lengthwise, and discard seeds.
In a saucepan wide enough to hold the salmon, squeeze juice from 3 of the lemon quarters. Add celery stalk, parsley, and enough water to fill the pan up about 2 inches. Stir in 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium low.
Add the salmon fillets, skin down. Cover and simmer until salmon is just cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove salmon from pan and set aside.
Combine wasabi powder with 1 Tablespoon water to create a paste. Puree paste in a food processor with avocado, mayonnaise, and juice from remaining lemon quarter. Salt to taste.
Heat wasabi-avocade mixture in a small saucepan over low heat until warm. Spoon over salmon fillets and serve.
Serves 4
The only drawback to this book is, some of the preparations are overly fussy. For instance, the Broccoli Soup with Fresh Basil Butter. Rozanne recommends beginning by scraping 1/2 cup's worth of the tiny buds from the top of a bunch of broccoli, then blanching the buds and reserving them for garnish. I mean, come on, woman! A couple of tiny basil leaves and a curl of composed butter is garnish enough! Anyway, the rest of the recipe was right on... for the most part.
The other thing that I find overly fussy about recipes is when they want you to use several kitchen appliances for one dish. I have lived for the past 10 years without a dishwasher, and let me tell you it's enough work cleaning a food processor and all it's various and sundry parts, without having to wash a blender too. So when I had finished blending the butter and basil together to make the enrichment for the soup, I figured "Hey, since my food processor is already all basil-buttery, I'll just use it to puree the soup instead of dirtying my immersion blender!" And it worked great when I added in the boiled broccoli and basil leaves I had strained from their cooking liquid. They were smooth as a dream within 60 seconds. Then I added in the reserved cooking liquid...
So you know how a food processor has that hole in the center where the stick comes through that turns the blade? Yeah, well, turns out broccoli water can flow through that hole out onto the food processor base and the surrounding counter and bag of leftover potato chips. And floor.
It's especially bad when this happens on a day when you have run out of paper towels and you have to clean the whole mess up with toilet paper.
Broccoli Soup with Fresh Basil Butter: the Easy Way
adapted from Healthy 1-2-3 by Rozanne Gold
Ingredients:
1 large bunch broccoli - about 1 1/2 pounds
1 cup packed basil leaves, washed and thoroughly dried
3 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions:
Peel the broccoli stalks, removing all of the tough exterior. I find it easier to start at the bottom of the stalk and peel upwards toward the treetops. Cut off the woody bottoms and discard. Cut peeled broccoli stems and florets into 1/2 pieces and place in 2-quart pot.
Reserve at least 12 of the smallest, cutest basil leaves for garnish. Of the remaining basil, add 1/2 cup packed leaves to the pot of broccoli.
Cover broccoli and basil with 5 cups cold water and add 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cover. Simmer for about 20 minutes until broccoli is tender.
Place butter and 1/4 cup packed, WELL DRIED basil leaves in food processor. Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt and process until well combined. Transfer to a small container and refrigerate.
Place the buttery food processor back on the base. When broccoli is tender, transfer the broccoli and basil leaves to the food processor using a slotted spoon, leaving cooking water in the pot. Process until well blended and smooth.
Scoop out two cups of the cooking water and set aside. Return the broccoli puree to the remaining cooking water and stir to combine.
Add 2 Tablespoons of the basil butter to the soup and stir until completely dissolved. If the soup is too thick, slowly add the reserved cooking water until it reaches the consistency you prefer. Salt and pepper to taste.
Ladle hot soup into bowls and garnish each serving with some tiny basil leaves and a slice of the remaining basil butter.
Serves 6 (makes about 6 cups)
