Indian?

So, I've never eaten much Indian food - may be because because where I grew up, there was no nearby Indian restaurants?  But every time I've had some, I've loved it. . . .today, at Trader Joe's, they had samples of their Channa Masala which was rather tasty.  Of course, when I got home, I had to look up recipes to see if I could make it.  Which lead me to the Smitten Kitchen with several glorious Indian recipes:

Smitten Kitchen:
      Chana Masala
      Cucumber Scallion Raita
      Indian-Spiced Vegetable Fritters

So maybe I'll put it on the menu next week . . . . .

Recipes for the week. . . .

Waldorf (Chicken) Salad with fresh fruit
Southwest Tilapia with black bean and corn salad and Zucchini
Dijon Crusted Chicken
Cranberry Glazed Turkey Meatloaf

For next week:
Chili-Lime Grilled Chicken
Chicken Jambalaya

Dinner Thursday

Menu Ideas for today. . . .

I was planning to make some baked Tilapia this evening for supper, but wanted to try something new.  A quick search revealed lots of options!  I picked the following one to try because it didn't have any added salt, and I have everything already on hand:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/lemon-garlic-tilapia/

To go with it, I was thinking of adjusting the following recipe (from the Gorton's website) to remove the shrimp:
http://gortons.com/recipe/guilt-free-shrimp-pineapple-fried-rice

It has pineapple which will make it a little sweet and (hopefully!) get the kids to eat it.

More links. . . .

So after the all the chaos at Thanksgiving (an evening in the ER, followed by an afternoon in the ICU), I never went back to comment on my Thanksgiving recipes.  And now, I don't remember details about how they turned out, or what I could do better.  My Christmas menu was more successful, but then I didn't carefully document what recipes I used.

But that's okay.  I found a lovely little app created by the California Strawberry growers.  It's called 'Strawberries', and not only is it free, it also contains lots of recipes using strawberries (of course).  Each recipe has a photo in addition to the ingredients and steps.  It also has a link to the original recipe.

At this point, I'm not sure what I'll actually use more - the recipes, or the links to the recipe sources.  Every time I find an interesting Strawberry recipe, I check out the source blog and find a dozen or so more recipes that I've got to try.  It's really getting bad.  I'm running out of ways to keep track of them all. Oh, the horror!  The horror!


Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup
Chickpea Stew with Caramelized Onions
Baked Fries
Southwestern Eggs Benedict
Rice Noodle Salad
Granola bars with bananas, cranberries, and pecans
Mini frittatas with broccoli, cheese, and chipotle pepper
Asian beef noodle soup
Chicken, apple, and gorgonzola salad
Cookie and Cream Rice Krispy Treats

Thanksgiving menu

Honey Brined turkey or just a Brined Turkey Breast (recipes are very similar)
Duchess potatoes (Maybe use this recipe with less cream or something like this, although the Pommes de Terre Lorette also sounds lovely)
Dressing (How to Cook Everything - really good with lots of butter!)
Green bean casserole (family tradition)
Another veggie (maybe broccoli / cauliflower with cheese or Hollandaise Sauce using this recipe)
Rolls (something from KAF, either cookbook or website - maybe Golden Pull Apart Rolls)
Gravy
Cheese straws (request from #1; likely use the one from How To Cook Everything or the variation listed here which is slightly spicier, but I ilk the idea of the Italian herbs)
Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake, made in my mini pumpkin cheesecake pan (still trying to figure this one out - I think I want to do some as layers (half pumpkin / half plain) and some just as pumpkin and some just as plain cheesecake)
Cranberry sauce (I normally use this Cranberry-Raspberry Sauce recipe but might try this more straightforward Cranberry Sauce instead.



And as a side note, I made some thin crust pizza using a recipe on the KAF site that was very tasty!

It's cold outside! There's no kind of atmosphere. . .

Not really a post, just adding a few links that I haven't had time to research yet. . . .or in the case of the recipes, make. . . . .


A few more recipe links:


http://www.thehungrymouse.com/2009/10/30/chocolate-stout-layer-cake/

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Montasio-Cheese-Crisps


(a rather dangerous site):

http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2010/10/pumpkin-pie-frosting.html

A cool link to a Google Doodle:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/les-paul-the-coolest-google-doodle-yet-is-picked-for-guitar-greats-96th/2011/06/09/AGWVysMH_blog.html


And a few swimming links:

http://www.articlesbase.com/videos/5min/172311372

http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-Swim-Butterfly-172311421

http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-Swim-Freestyle-172311399

Recipe:

Cornmeal Butter Crust
· 1 cup all-purpose flour
· 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
· 2 tablespoons sugar
· 1/4 teaspoon salt
· 7 teaspoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
· 3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

Instructions

1.     Mix flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add butter and pulse until incorporated. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time while pulsing, until ball forms. Remove and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill at least 30 minutes.

2.     Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 14-inch diameter round. Fit into a 9-inch pie pan, and crimp excess dough around the edges of the pan. Chill at least 15 minutes

More KAF Links. . . .

More recipe links from KAF!

Heavenly Healthy Banana Bread
Whole-grain pizza crust
Barbecued Chicken Pizza
Cupcakes with Bubble Sugar
Baked Zucchini Sticks
Blueberry Breakfast Cake
Nanaimo Bars
Cast Iron Pizza 

I think I'll try the zucchini sticks for supper - maybe with burgers?  Sliders?  The banana bread I've made before, and despite having whole wheat flour in it, it's really tasty (maybe the brown sugar and honey has something to do with that?). I've also mande Nanaimo Bars, but there's a couple of tweaks in this recipe I'd like to try.

I'm more interested in the Bubble Sugar than the Cupcakes - looks really cool!  When it's a bit cooler, I'll probably try the pizza recipes.  The whole-grain one uses roasted potatoes as demo pizza topping.  And I love potatoes on pizza!  Especially if there's some nice rosemary to go with it!

For the rest of the week. . . I'm thinking a fish dish one day (tilapia for the kids; coho salmon for the parents), spaghetti (leftover sauce from last week's lasagna), maybe some Chicken Calypso with island peas and rice or Scallops with creamy bacon corn sauce (both Publix Apron recipes; typically, Publix's recipes use too much prepared stuff,  but if you can substitute something with less salt or additives, they're not bad).

Links

I've been keeping a bunch of emails, just to keep the recipe links in them. But that's what this is is for. . . .

A couple from KAF:

Doughnuts!
Favorite Fudge Birthday Cake

In other news. . . . swam a mile yesterday. I was planning on swimming a half mile . . .then decided 1000 yards. . . .then decided 1000 didn't sound nearly as good as 3/4 mile. . . then figured go ahead and go for the full mile. . . .

Dinner to go

It's been too hot to cook lately . . . been doing too much take out. But it's all right.

Blueberries

Blueberry bushes are full of blueberries.

Tomato plants are full of little green tomatoes.

The blueberries are lovely.

I hope to be eating the tomatoes soon. . . . .

Today's word of the day: Scorpacciata

From CNN.com's Eatocracy: Scorpacciata

Scorpacciata is a term that means consuming large amounts of a particular local ingredient while it's in season. It's a good way to eat.

http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2011/06/08/on-ramps/?iref=allsearch
http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2010/09/10/scorpacciata-mario-batali-explains-it-all/

And miles to go . . .

So I've been trying to focus mainly on food, but I wanna scream to the world that I swam a mile this morning!

It wasn't all freestyle - kept switching to different strokes. But it was a mile!

Latest dinner menu:
Chicken in sage browned butter on top of a spring mix salad with berries (raspberries, blackberries and - my favorite - blueberries! Which reminds me: I need to go check how the blueberry bushes are doing, see if there are any ripe berries.)

Memorial Day

A few recipes for Memorial Day week:

Hawaiian Chicken
http://www.cookinglight.com/food/recipe-finder/healthy-chicken-breast-recipes-00412000070045/page5.html

Chicken sauted in sage browned butter
http://www.cookinglight.com/food/recipe-finder/healthy-chicken-breast-recipes-00412000070045/page6.html

Meatloaf (a request from #1)with carrots and veggies (a request from #2)

Follow up from last week:
I didn't make the chicken divan, and the pizzas were merely okay. The chicken for the taco pizza was good, and the garlicky fries were wonderful. Panini would have been better with different veggies, but the goat cheese was good.

Weekly Menu

Since straightforward blogging to the great unknown doesn't exactly work, I figure I'll use it to track menus for the week . . .

Grilled Chicken taco pizzas
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aaron-mccargo-jr/grilled-chicken-taco-pizzas-recipe/index.html
Makes several small pizza which will be good for customizing for #1 (carbs) and #2 (can't handle spicy)

Stuffed Chicken Divan
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/stuffed-chicken-divan-with-a-sherry-dijon-sauce-recipe/index.html
More of an adult dish, but they might eat the chicken

Buffalo Chicken Pizza
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/stuffed-chicken-divan-with-a-sherry-dijon-sauce-recipe/index.html
More pizza - probably won't make both this week

Fish tacos
Current favorite of the kids - maybe make some for them with the frozen halibut and some for us with blackened salmon

Grilled Veggie Panini
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/grilled-summer-vegetable-panini-recipe
Sounds good, but not sure about the kids.

A few potato recipes. . . .
http://purplefoodie.com/garlicky-baked-fries/
http://purplefoodie.com/hasselback-potatoes/
http://purplefoodie.com/crispy-roasted-potatoes

Cherokee Chocolate

I finally made it to the local farmer’s market. I know – it’s sad it’s taken me this long to get to it. Of course, until a few weeks ago, I didn't know basic details such as place and hours of operation.

I admit I was a little disappointed at first. It seemed there were more people selling soap than there were fruits and vegetables. But then I found the organic heirloom tomatoes - yum! And I’ve been back several times to get more. My favorite so far is the purple/black tomatoes – Cherokee Chocolate (who could pass up a tomato with Chocolate in it’s name?) and Russian Krim.

But then the question becomes what to do with such lovely tomatoes? Ah, such a dilemma!

I’ve made some Tomato Vinaigrette plus some Tomato Bruschetta (with some fresh basil and mozzarella) and have had lots of sandwiches with tomato on them. I'm still trying to find other recipes that use fresh tomatoes. Unfortunately, I think I'm running out of time since the heirlooms are near the end of their season (unless we get some rain!)

Happy Birthday, Miss K! (redux)

On the other side of my reality – work – another Miss K had a birthday. She requested Chocolate Raspberry Mousse pie - a creamy cool treat. I came up with the recipe based on a couple of different ones.

Like most dessert recipes, it’s best to use the best chocolate you can get, but chocolate being yummy in almost any form, you can’t go too wrong with using basic chocolate chips (white, milk, or semi-sweet).

Chocolate Mousse Pie

Chocolate cookie crumb crust (made with Oreos or Chocolate Graham crackers or other chocolate cookies)

4 large eggs
1/3 cup sugar
12 ounces chocolate, chopped – semisweet, white, dark, or milk
1 1/2 cups chilled whipping cream
1/4 cup liqueur – Raspberry (framboise), Amaretto, Kahlua, or Irish Crème

Whisk eggs and sugar in large bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water) and whisk frequently until candy thermometer registers 160°F. Remove bowl from over water, and beat egg mixture until cool and very thick.

Melt chocolate by placing in top of double boiler over simmering water or by slowly heating in microwave (1 minute on low). Stir until melted and smooth. Remove chocolate from over water. Cool to luke warm, and mix in with egg mixture.

Combine cream and liqueur in medium bowl; beat to stiff peaks. Fold in cream mixture (if the chocolate mixture is very thick, start by mixing in about ¼ cup of whipped cream, then gently fold remaining cream into chocolate-egg mixture). Pour into prepared crust, cover, and chill until set, at least 4 hours or overnight.

Can be served with additional whipped cream.

Taqueria del Sol

Last week I went to lunch at Taqueria del Sol – one of my favorite lunch places. It’s fairly small, so unless you want to wait in line, you got to get there early. The menu’s fairly simple, too – tacos, enchiladas, and a few sides. There’s also a weekly special – a taco and a blue plate meal. My favorite meal is a fish taco with a side of greens. Maybe a few chips (always warm, lightly salted and served with freshly made salsa) or some jalapeno coleslaw. Yum!

So over the weekend, I finally broke down and tried to recreate their fish taco recipe. I started with the menu description, made a few tweaks to fit my tastes and voila! I tried finding their recipe for Jalapeno coleslaw – it was posted on-line as part of a Georgia Chef program – but wasn’t able to, so I developed my own. I’ve added my mango salsa recipe which I served with the tacos. And as always, adjust the seasonings and jalapenos to suit your own tastes!

Fish tacos

1 pound tilapia
½ cup corn masa
½ cup fine bread crumbs
egg wash
peanut oil
salt and pepper to taste
4 - 6 flour tortillas
sliced jalapenos

Cut the fish into small pieces. Season the corn masa with the salt and pepper. Dip the fish in the egg wash, then roll in the corn masa. Dip in the egg wash again, and roll in the bread crumbs. Fry in the peanut oil in a cast iron skillet.

Heat the tortillas following the directions on the package. Spread some jalapeno tarter sauce on one of the tortillas, then place the fried on half of it. Add a few sliced jalapenos, and fold tortilla over filling. Repeat with remaining tortillas and fish.

Jalapeno tarter sauce

1 cup mayonnaise
¼ cup relish
2 tbsps diced capers
2 tbsps diced jalapeno (or more to taste)
2 tablespoons lime juice

Mix together. Cover and store in refrigerator. Best if made a day head of time.

Jalapeno Coleslaw

1 small head of cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, grated
½ onion, grated
2-3 diced jalapenos (remove seeds if you wish)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp cider vinegar
¼ cup lime juice
pinch of sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Toss cabbage, carrots, onion, and jalapenos together. Make dressing by combining mayonnaise, vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt and pepper. Toss vegetables with dressing to coat.

Mango Salsa

1 mango, chopped (about 1 cup)
¼ - ½ cup red onion
½ cup diced cucumber
2 tsp dried cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice

Mix all ingredients together and let sit while making the tacos.