The Incorrigible Cook Strikes Again

Market Haul

2011-04-23T21:21:00.003-07:00

My eyes were clearly bigger than my stomach at the market today. I brought home tons of colorful veggies: multi-colored radishes, beets, and carrots, snap and sugar peas, tomatoes, artichokes, fennel, lettuce, cucumbers, broccoli, cabbage, onions, leeks, and the long awaited garlic scrapes. Plus I bought a dozen multi-colored eggs and white mulberries. YUM!

Rapini in gingered soy sauce

2011-04-01T19:14:00.000-07:00

Approx. 90 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 (large) servings.

When I started cooking this, I intended to make grilled chicken to go along with it. I got a little lazy and decided that if I ate half the pan, I would be full and didn't need to bother with the chicken. This recipe makes enough for 2 large servings (as main course) or 4 small side dishes.

Ingredients

16 oz rapini
2 Tbs soy sauce (low sodium)
4 Tbs grated ginger
1 clove grated garlic
red pepper flakes, to taste
1 cup water

Directions

Wash rapini and cut stalks in half.
Add water, soy sauce, grated ginger and garlic, and red pepper flakes to a skillet; bring to a boil.
Add rapini and cook until tender but not mushy.

Beef with Pea Pods

2011-03-30T18:06:00.000-07:00

Approx. 270 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 3 servings.

I had a piece of sirloin steak left, so I decided to make beef with pea pods. I was going to just remake the beef with snow peas recipe, but I didn't have quite enough peas for the amount of beef that I had. I did have some sugar/snap peas, so I decided to just blend the two types. I also decided to "cheat" and use ready-made Teriyaki sauce instead of making my own sauce.

Ingredients

8 oz sirloin steak
2 cups snap/sugar pea pods
2 cups snow pea pods
3/4 cup yellow onion
1/2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs spicy Teriyaki sauce (I used East-West brand, Spicy Ginger)

Directions

Slice beef into thin strips.
Add oil to a skillet and heat.
Stir fry beef until pink.
Add onion and stir fry until just slightly softened.
Add pea pods and cook until almost tender.
Add Teriyaki sauce and continue to cook until all vegetables are tender, but not mushy.

Grilled Fennel and Carrots w/ Sirloin Steak

2011-03-28T21:53:00.003-07:00

I bought a few cute baby fennel and some baby carrots at the market this weekend.I wasn't sure what to do with them, and decided that I just wanted something really simple, so I tossed them in a grill pan along with a sirloin steak I bought with a Groupon. This really isn't a recipe, since all I did was season the beef with black pepper, and just tossed the fennel and carrots in the pan with it. I just "grilled" everything until the meat was done and the veggies tender, then plated everything and served with leftover carrot and radish salad.

Approx. 380 Calories for the entire meal as shown.

Ingredients

2 small baby fennel bulbs (approx 1 cup)
7 small baby carrots (approx 1 cup)
8 oz sirloin steak (I cut in half and only ate 4 oz)
black pepper, to taste
carrot and radish salad (approx 1 cup)

Directions

Heat grill pan until hot.
Season beef with black pepper and put on grill.
Wash fennel and carrots and place on grill.
Grill until everything is cooked and tender, turning as needed.
Plate and serve with carrot and radish salad

Carrot and Radish Salad

2011-03-27T21:38:00.000-07:00

Approx. 50 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 4 servings.

At this week's farmer's market, I found an assortment of colored carrots and giant white sweet radishes. They were too pretty to pass up, so I added them to my shopping bag. When I got home, I wasn't sure what to do with them, so I just chopped them to make a quick and easy salad. I made the dressing with vinegar and an assortment of spices, but a bottled Italian dressing would probably work just as well.

Ingredients

1 huge sweet radish (approx. 2.5 cups)
4 large carrots of different colors: pale yellow, gold, orange, purple (approx. 2.5 cups)
9 Tbs red wine vinegar
Sprinkle dried basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes, to taste.

Directions

Wash and chop vegetables.
Mix spices with vinegar.
Pour vinegar over chopped vegetables and let sit at least 30 minutes before serving.

Grapefruit and Nasturtium Salad

2011-03-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

Approx. 120 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 (large) serving.

I love early spring at the downtown Phoenix farmer's market. One of my favorite vendors is the Roosevelt Grow Collective Garden. Right now, they have bags of mixed field greens with nasturtium flowers. I always buy the greens with the flowers. Seacat Gardens had a nice baby spinach, so I needed to get that too. I still had several grapefruits from a coworker, so I just decided to combine these simple ingredients into a beautiful, colorful, tasty salad. I decided that the peppery nasturtium plus the bitter/sweet taste of the grapefruit had enough flavor that I didn't need any additional dressing. I was quite happy with the way it turned out.

Ingredients

2 cups baby spinach
2 cups mixed greens
1 cup nasturtium flowers
1 medium grapefruit (w/ juice)

Directions

Peel and segment grapefruit.
Mound mixed greens and spinach on a plate.
Add flowers and grapefruit segments and juice.

Gingered bok choy and tomatoes

2011-03-18T22:02:00.000-07:00

Approx. 100 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

It's Friday night and the fridge is pretty empty, since tomorrow is farmer's market day. I had bok choy leaves left over from the meal I made the other night, along with a few cherry tomatoes and some mushrooms. I decided that these would be good combined in a gingered soy sauce "stir fry". As it was cooking, it seemed to be lacking something, so I added a few toasted sesame seeds. They gave it a bit more texture and really enhanced the flavor.

This makes a great side dish. I didn't feel like making anything else, so I ate both servings as my full meal.

Ingredients

3 cups bok choy
1 1/2 cup mushrooms
1 cup grape/cherry tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbs grated ginger
2 Tbs soy sauce (low sodium)
1 1/2 Tbs toasted sesame seeds
1 cup water
red pepper flakes, to taste

Directions

Wash and chop bok choy leaves.
Chop mushrooms and slice grape/cherry tomatoes in half.
Add water, soy sauce, grated garlic and ginger, and red pepper flakes to a skillet.
Heat until water boils.
Add bok choy leaves and mushrooms. Cook until tender and most water has evaporated.
Add tomatoes. Cook until warm and just barely tender (not mushy).
Add sesame seeds, mix well, and then serve.

Teriyaki Chicken and Broccoli

2011-03-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

Approx. 215 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I had some chicken left over and wanted to make something quick and easy. I decided to make a quick stir fry of Teriyaki chicken and broccoli. I really like the spicy ginger teriyaki sauce from East-West, so I used that instead of making my own.

Ingredients

5 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast
4 cups broccoli
1/3 cup green onion (white bulb and a little bit of the green stem)
1/2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs spicy ginger Teriyaki sauce (I use East-West brand)
1 cup water

Directions

Slice broccoli and green onion.
Cut chicken into small pieces.
Add oil to a skillet and heat.
Add chicken. Cook until white (about 3-4 minutes).
Add green onion and cook for 1 minute.
Add water and broccoli. Cook until broccoli is tender and water has evaporated off.
Add teriyaki sauce. Mix well and heat until warm.

Chicken in Panang Curry

2011-03-16T12:14:00.004-07:00

Approx. 180 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 3 servings

I was having a rough day and really needed some “comfort food”. I find the warmth of Thai curries combined with the creaminess of coconut milk to be very comforting. I really wanted to make a noodle dish, but didn’t want the calories that go with it, so reached a compromise with the bok choy. By cutting the stems into thin slices and cooking them until they were soft, they had the texture of noodles. I almost used a yellow onion, but decided the dish would be too monochromatic and decided to use a green onion to give it a splash of color.

Ingredients

6 oz boneless skinless chicken breast
3 cups bok choy stems
2 cups mushrooms
1 can (8 oz) sliced water chestnuts
1 can (8 oz) bamboo shoots
2 cups green onions
2 Tbs Panang curry paste (Maesri brand)
3 Tbs coconut milk
2 cups water

Directions

Thinly slice bok choy stems (save green tops for something else).
Chop mushrooms into small pieces.
Slice green onions (green part only).
Cut chicken into small pieces.
Add water, coconut milk, and curry paste to the skillet and bring to a boil.
Add chicken and cook until white (about 2 minutes).
Add bok choy, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots. Cook until bok choy is almost soft (about 3-4 minutes).
Add mushrooms and cook until they are tender and water is evaporated off to desired consistency (about 2 minutes).
Add green onion slices and heat until warm.

Halibut with Grapefruit Salsa

2011-03-14T19:14:00.000-07:00

Approx. 400 Calories per serving (excluding steamed asparagus). Recipe serves 1.

I enjoyed the grapefruit sauce I made the other night, so I decided to make another one to try with fish. I really liked the crunch of the red onion with this salsa. It would have been a little better if I had added cilantro, but I forgot to do that. I served this dish with steamed baby asparagus. I think it is something I will make again while I have an abundance of grapefruit!

Ingredients

5 oz halibut
1 tsp olive oil
1 green onion
1/4 cup red onion
1 medium grapefruit (approx. 1 cup sections plus juice)
black pepper, to taste

Directions

Peel and segment the grapefruit.
Chop green part of green onion and dice red onion.
Add to grapefruit.
Add oil and fish to a skillet. Cover and cook on medium heat for approx. 4 minutes.
Season fish with pepper and flip.
Cook approx. 3 more minutes, or until fish is done.
Remove fish.
Add grapefruit salsa to the pan and heat just until it is warm.
Pour grapefruit salsa on top of fish to serve.

Halibut with Grapefruit and Orange Sauce

2011-03-12T22:52:00.008-07:00

Approx. 440 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

A coworker has grapefruit trees and has brought in several huge baskets full of them. I have tried to be a good coworker to her, so I "forced" myself to take home several (20!!) grapefruits. Some of them were getting a bit soft, so I decided to cut them into segments so I wouldn't have to deal with the peel each time I wanted to eat one. If you don't know how to segment a grapefruit, there is a great video HERE.

Ingredients

6 oz. halibut
1/2 Tbs olive oil
1 oz white wine
1 small grapefruit (approx. 1 cup slices w/ juice)
1 small orange (approx. 1/4 cup slices w/ juice)
1 sprig cilantro
1 green onion
black pepper, to taste

Directions

Peel, pith, and segment the grapefruit and orange, capturing juices.
Chop cilantro and green part of green onion.
Mix herbs with the fruit segments.
Add oil and fish to a skillet. Cover and heat on medium for about 4 minutes.
Season fish with black pepper and flip.
Add grapefruit mixture and a dash of white wine.
Uncover the skillet and heat on high, until fish is done and liquid has evaporated to desired consistency.
Remove fish and serve with grapefruit sauce.

Halibut with Asparagus Sauce

2011-03-01T21:51:00.003-07:00

Approx. 325 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 Serving

I spent the past weekend in Las Vegas. One night I had dinner in my hotel's restaurant, the Tuscany Gardens. I ordered the halibut with asparagus sauce. It was 8 oz. of halibut covered in a spoonful of thinly sliced asparagus and diced tomatoes in a white wine herb sauce. I would have preferred more asparagus, so in my attempt to recreate the dish, I added a lot more veggies (but I totally forgot to add wine! oops)

Ingredients

6 oz halibut
1 plum tomato
1 green onion
1/2 cup asparagus stems (I saved the tops for another dish)
1 tsp olive oil
1 dash each of garlic powder, crushed red peppers, black pepper, and dried basil (add to taste)

Directions

Slice asparagus stems into small pieces.
Dice tomato and finely chop green onion.
Add oil and fish to a skillet. Cover and heat on medium for approx. 4 minutes.
Season fish with pepper and flip.
Add asparagus and herbs (and white wine if you remember) to the pan, cover, and cook until fish flakes (approx. 3 minutes).
Remove fish from pan.
Add tomato and green onion to the pan. Heat until tomato is warm and starts to soften.
Serve over/under the fish.

Market Haul

2011-01-15T11:12:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted my weekly haul from the Downtown Phoenix Public Market, so here it this week's shopping haul. My eyes were bigger than my stomach once again.

I came home loaded with carrots, onions, leeks, potatoes, sweet potatoes, daikon radish, kohlrabi, fennel, winter squash, lettuce, mixed greens, snow peas, sugar peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, grapefruit, tangerines, a lime, and apples. I also bought tortillas, hummus, smoked mozzarella cheese, and - thanks to a Groupon - some beef for stew.

Bok choy and pomegranates in masaman curry

2011-01-11T08:01:00.001-07:00

Approx. 145 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I was still on my Masaman curry kick. I just tossed in what veggies I had around the house, and added some pomegranate seeds. I really liked the sweetness, juiciness, and crunch that they added.

Ingredients

4 cups bok choy (stalks and leaves)
3 cups Brussels sprouts
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
2 Tbs Masaman curry paste
2-3 cups water

Directions

Cut ends and "ugly" leaves off the Brussels sprouts. Cut in half lengthwise
Wash and chop bok choy.
Add water and curry paste to a skillet. Bring to a boil.
Add Brussels sprouts and bok choy stems.
Simmer until Brussels sprouts are tender but not soggy, and then add bok choy leaves.
Simmer until bok choy leaves are tender.
Evaporate off as much water as you want.
Add pomegranate seeds and cook until warm.

Tomato, Artichoke, and Avocado Salad

2011-01-07T18:53:00.003-07:00

Approx. 175 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I love the flavor of tomato and avocado together. I contemplated eating them on a lettuce salad, but I really wanted something a little different for lunch. I found a can of artichoke hearts and thought this would go well together. It was a tasty salad, but could have used something a little crunchy to improve the texture .... maybe cucumbers or even red onions.

You could also use marinated artichoke hearts or toss it with Italian or Greek dressing if you don't like the flavor of just vinegar.

Ingredients

1 can artichoke hearts
1 medium tomato
1 small avocado
2 Tbs red wine vinegar
black pepper, to taste

Directions

Drain, rinse, and quarter artichoke hearts.
Cut tomato into chunks.
Add tomato, black pepper, and vinegar to the artichoke hearts and mix.
Remove pit from avocado and cut into chunks.
Lightly mix with remaining ingredients.
For optimum flavor, allow to sit at least 15 minutes prior to serving.

Chicken and Broccoli in Masaman Curry

2011-01-02T15:08:00.004-07:00

Approx 170 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I had some Masaman curry paste left over, so instead of making the chicken and broccoli stir fry with teriyaki or soy sauce like I usually do, I decided to make it with the Masaman curry paste instead. It was pretty good, but the curry flavor was pretty weak. If I make it again, I would double the amount of curry paste. I evaporated off almost all the liquid, but if you serve it with rice, you might want to leave more of the liquid as sauce.

Ingredients

4 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast
5 cups broccoli
1 cup mushrooms
1 Tbs Masaman curry paste
2 cups water

Directions

Chop vegetables and cut chicken into chunks.
Add water and curry paste to the skillet and bring to a boil.
Add chicken and cook until it is white (and cooked through).
Add broccoli and mushrooms.
Cook until broccoli is tender, but not mushy.
Evaporate off water until desired liquid level is reached.

Brussels Sprouts and Lima Beans in Masaman Curry

2010-12-30T06:02:00.000-07:00

It was cold and rainy tonight, and I wanted something really hearty and warm. I spotted some Brussels sprouts and Lima beans in the fridge. I LOVE both of these veggies and debated which one to eat, or whether I should combine them in a nice warm chicken soup. I really wasn't in the mood for soup, so I opened the cupboard and stared into it, looking for inspiration.
That's when I spotted this can of Masaman curry paste. I know it's a bit unorthodox to combine these veggies with Masaman curry paste, but I decided to give it a try. (I had a half hour to change my mind because the beans were still in their pods and I had to shuck them first.)
Everything is simmering away, filling the house with the wonderful curry aroma. I like to evaporate off most the liquid, but if you are serving with rice, you can leave the liquid in and serve once the veggies are tender. I really enjoyed the curry flavor with these veggies. It really hit the spot for this cold, rainy evening.

Approx. 200 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

Ingredients

1 cup Lima beans (I used fresh, but you could easily use frozen)
2 cups Brussels sprouts
1/2 medium onion
1 1/2 Tbs Masaman curry paste (approx. 1/4 can)
2-3 cups water

Directions

Shuck Lima beans if they are still in their pods (or use frozen).
Cut ends and "ugly" leaves off the Brussels sprouts. Cut in half lengthwise.
Slice onion.
Add water and curry paste to a skillet. Bring to a boil.
Add onions, beans, and Brussels sprouts.
Simmer until Brussels sprouts are tender but not soggy.
Evaporate off as much water as you want.

Squash with goat cheese and dill

2010-12-28T20:52:00.004-07:00

On Christmas eve, I made an appetizer of cherry tomatoes stuffed with goat cheese and dill (I forgot to take pictures). I had some of the cheese and dill mixture left over, so I decided that I would add it to some squash I had. I liked this better than the stuffed tomatoes!

While I ate this dish for lunch, it would also make a nice appetizer or side dish.

Approx. 240 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

Ingredients

1 small winter squash (3" across or approx. 1 cup mashed)
1.5 oz goat cheese
5 sprigs of dill

Directions

Cut squash in half and remove seeds.
Place squash cut side up on a paper plate, cover with a wet paper towel, and microwave on high for 7-10 minutes (turning midway).
Chop dill and mix with softened goat cheese.
Add cheese to cooked squash.
Scrape squash from skin, mixing with cheese mixture, being careful not to tear the skin on one half.
Place full mixture into one half, and serve using the skin as a bowl.

Quince and Blueberries

2010-12-21T19:14:00.000-07:00

Approx. 70 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

After making my lamb dish, I still had 1/2 quince left over. I decided to eat it warm for dessert. My original plan was to mix it with pomegranate seeds (which I think would be a delicious combination) but I was too lazy to open a pomegranate and dig out the seeds. So, I decided blueberries would be the next best thing. I only had frozen, so I decided to use them.

The berries and quince were a flavorful combination. If I had any whipped cream, I would have tooped the warm fruit with a spoonful. I think that would have really made this dish.

Ingredients

1/2 medium quince
2/3 cup blueberries (I used frozen)

Directions

Peel, core, and slice quince.
Place in a bowl and cover with a wet paper towel.
Microwave for 5 minutes, or until tender.
Add blueberries (since mine were frozen, I microwaved another 2 minutes until they were thawed).
Optionally add a spoonful of whipped cream.

Slow Cooker Lamb with Quince, Carrots, and Sweet Potatoes

2010-12-20T18:54:00.005-07:00

After trying the quince, I decided that it would taste amazing with lamb. I'm not sure why I immediately thought that, since I only eat lamb once every couple of years and I've never cooked lamb in my life. But, I decided that I must have lamb with my remaining quince.

I bought a small arm chop to cook along with some beautiful baby carrots, a sweet potato, my pineapple quince, and some garlic and rosemary.

Since I've never cooked lamb before, I decided that I couldn't go wrong if I threw it in the slow cooker/crock pot. My instinct was spot on. The quince was delicious with the lamb!

Approx. 340 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

Ingredients

7 oz lamb (arm chop)
1/2 medium pineapple quince
1 small sweet potato (approx. 1 cup cubed)
10 baby carrots
2 cloves garlic
3 stems rosemary
1/2 cup water

Directions

Peel, core, and cube the quince.
Peel and cube the sweet potato.
Peel and slice the garlic.
Trim excess fat from the lamb.
Add sweet potato and quince cubes to the bottom of the crock pot.
Cover with slice of lamb.
Press garlic slices and rosemary onto the lamb.
Cover with baby carrots.
Add water.
Cover and cook on low for at least 8 hours.

Pineapple Quince and Butternut Squash

2010-12-18T18:37:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I updated this blog, mostly because I ran out of new ideas of things to cook and just made dishes that were already posted (or variations of them).

Then I discovered this "new" fruit - the pineapple quince. I had no idea what to do with it, so decided to buy 2. That way I could experiment a little bit.

After a very brief google search, I learned that you need to peel and cook the quince, otherwise it is woody and really sour. You also need to completely remove the core, otherwise it is really gritty tasting. These are important things to know!

Since I don't use my oven to bake things, I decided to "poach" the quince slices in a little bit of water and white wine. (The "ice cubes" are really frozen white wine - I make ice cubes with leftover wine and then use the cubes for cooking.)

Part way through cooking the quince, I decided to toss in some chunks of butternut squash, and sprinkle the whole mixture with some dried sage and freshly grated ginger. The final product was so tasty that I ate both servings! The best way I can describe the flavor of the quince is that it has a slightly tart cooked apple flavor, layered with the flavor of rose petals.

Approx. 100 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

Ingredients

1.5 cups butternut squash
1 medium pineapple quince
2 oz white wine
1/2 tsp dried sage
1 tsp grated ginger
water

Directions

Peel, core, and slice the pineapple quince.
Peel and cube the butternut squash.
Add the quince to a skillet with just enough water to cover the bottom of the skillet.
Add white wine and bring to a boil.
Cook quince for about 3 minutes and then add squash cubes.
Cook until squash and quince is tender (approx. 6 minutes).
Add sage and ginger.

Summer squash sautee with beans and tomatoes

2010-06-29T19:07:00.000-07:00

Approx. 60 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I planned to grill a piece of chicken for dinner and wanted a quick and easy vegetable side dish to go with it. I basically had squash, tomatoes and beans in the house, so I just tossed them all into a pan with a little bit of balsamic vinegar and red pepper flakes. Light, simple, and spicy: what more could you want from a side?

Ingredients

1 cup cherry tomatoes (I used heirloom red and orange)
2 cups summer squash
1 cup snap beans
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
Red pepper flakes, to taste

Directions

Slice/chop vegetables.
Add water to a skillet and bring to a boil.
Add beans and cook 1-2 minutes.
Add summer squash and cook approx. 2 minutes, or until almost tender.
Add cherry tomatoes and red pepper flakes. Cook until tomatoes are heated through.
Add balsamic vinegar and mix well.
Serve as a side dish.

Market Haul

2010-06-27T17:37:00.002-07:00

I went a little bit crazy at the farmer's market this weekend. Everything looked so tasty - especially the fruit - so I really stocked up.

For fruit, I bought 2 honeydew melons, 1 cantaloupe, a huge bag of plums, 10 peaches, and a big bag of green apples. The veggies I bought included green beans; yellow, pattypan, and zucchini squash; regular and Armenian cucumbers; red and green bell peppers; red vine and yellow cherry tomatoes; Japanese eggplant; yellow and green onions; and garlic, carrots, spinach, and lettuce. I also bought 2 pieces of Alaskan fish: halibut and coho salmon.

Chicken Fajita Salad

2010-06-25T21:53:00.000-07:00

Approx. 310 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 3 servings.

After a long day, I really craved chicken fajitas. The tortillas that I had were a little too old and unappetizing (realized that half way through cooking the dish), so I decided to turn the recipe into a salad and top with avocado. You could easily serve this in tortillas.

Ingredients

6 cups Romaine lettuce
1.5 avocados
4.5 oz chicken breast (boneless, skinless)
2.5 cups zucchini
1.5 cups yellow summer squash
1.5 medium tomatoes
2 cups red bell pepper
1 cup yellow bell pepper
0.5 cup onion
0.5 cup green onion
1 serrano chili pepper
1 tsp olive oil
2 Tbs Worchestershire sauce (I used low sodium)

Directions

Slice/chop all vegetables (I left the seeds/membrane in the chili pepper; remove them if you want it less spicy)
Add oil, chicken, chili pepper, and yellow onion to a skillet.
Heat until chicken is cooked through and onion starts to get tender.
Add yellow and red bell pepper and cook until almost tender.
Add zucchini and summer squash. Cook until almost tender.
Add Worchestershire sauce, tomatoes, and green onion. Heat through.
Place lettuce on a plate and cover with 1/3 of the fajita mixture.
Top with 1/2 of an avocado (diced).

Summer squash sautee with teriyaki sauce

2010-06-23T17:42:00.000-07:00

Approx. 55 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I had some yellow pattypan squash and the last few garlic scrapes of the season that I wanted to use up. I added some green onions, red bell peppers, and spicy teriyaki sauce and had a tasty side dish to go with a piece of grilled chicken. You could use any summer squash for this recipe (or pretty much use any vegetable combination).

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup summer squash (I used yellow pattypan)
3/4 cup red bell pepper
2 garlic scrapes
1/2 cup green onion
1 Tbs spicy yeriyaki sauce (I used East-West brand, Spicy Ginger Teriyaki)
1/2 cup water

Directions

Slice/chop all vegetables.
Add water and garlic scrapes to a skillet.
Bring to a boil.
Add bell pepper and summer squash.
Cook until tender and the water has evaporated off.
Add teriyaki sauce and green onions. Heat through.
Serve as a side dish.

Shimp stir fry in orange sauce

2010-06-21T17:27:00.001-07:00

Approx. 330 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 (huge) serving.

I had a jar of orange sauce in the fridge that was getting a little old. I decided to make a quick stir fry to use up the sauce (and a bunch of the summer squash I bought). This recipe was big enough to easily serve 2 people if you double the shrimp.

Ingredients

6 large shrimp (approx. 1/8 lb - I used precooked)
3 cups summer squash (various types)
1 1/2 cup mushrooms
1 cup bell pepper (red and yellow)
1/4 cup onion
1 serrano chili pepper (or to taste)
1 tsp olive oil
2 Tbs orange sauce (I used Panda Express, Orange chicken sauce)

Directions

Slice/chop all vegetables.
Add oil to a skillet and heat.
Add onions, chili peppers, and bell peppers, and cook until almost tender.
Add mushrooms and squash; cook until tender, but not soft.
Add shrimp (I removed the tail shells) and heat until warm.
Add sauce and toss together before serving.

Curried summer squash and halibut

2010-06-18T17:17:00.000-07:00

Approx. 375 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

While this dish has a savory taste, the zucchini and halibut provided a lightness to it, making it the perfect spicy summer dish.

Ingredients

4 oz halibut or other firm white fish
4 cups zucchini
1 cup onion
1 cup red bell pepper
2 Tbs curry powder
1 Tbs grated ginger
1 Tbs olive oil
3 Tbs cocounut milk
1 cup water

Directions

Dice/chop all vegetables.
Add oil, ginger, and curry powder to a skillet and heat.
Add onions and cook until almost tender.
Add bell pepper, zucchini, water, and coconut milk.
Cook for approx. 2 minutes.
Add fish and cover.
Cook until fish flakes and all vegetables are tender (but not soft) - approx. 4 minutes.

Golden beet and feta salad

2010-06-15T17:05:00.001-07:00

Approx. 140 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

In April, I made a beet, feta, and cucumber salad. While it tasted good, it was very unappetizing because I used red beets, which stained all the other ingredients. I decided to make the same dish using golden beets. While it tasted about the same (actually a little sweeter and less earthy), it was much more visually attractive.

Ingredients

8 small golden beets (approx. 3 cups chopped)
1 medium cucumber (approx. 2 cups chopped)
3 Tbs feta cheese (I used fat free)
3 Tbs red wine vinegar
black pepper, to taste

Directions

Peel beets, cut into slices, and steam them (approx. 3 minutes in the microwave).
Toss with vinegar and let cool.
Add diced cucumber (I left the skin on).
Add cheese.
Mix well and season with black pepper.
Serve as side dish or on top of larger salad (as shown below).

I ate one serving of this beet salad as a side dish with a piece of grilled chicken. For the second serving, I steamed a couple of red beets (let them cool) and then placed them on a bed of romain lettuce and topped it with the second serving of this beet salad. YUM!!

Halibut with Apricot Salsa

2010-06-12T16:50:00.002-07:00

Appox. 300 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

A while ago, I made halibut with mango salsa. I didn't have any mangoes, but I bought some delicious apricots at the farmer's market, so I decided to adapt this recipe for the apricots. It was pretty good, but I liked the mango salsa better.

Ingredients

4 oz halibut or other firm white fish
1 tsp olive oil
2 small apricots
1 small chili peppers (<>
4 sprigs cilantro (approx. 2 Tbs)
1 tsp grated ginger
1/8 cup red onion
2 Tbs coconut milk
black pepper, to taste

Directions

Remove pit and chop apricots into a fine dice.
Cut chili peppers into thin rings (leaving in seeds).
Finely chop cilantro and red onion.
Mix together the apricot, cilantro, chili peppers, and red onion.
Add oil and fish to a skillet. Cover and heat on medium for approx. 4 minutes.
Season fish with pepper and flip.
Add coconut milk to the pan, cover, and cook until fish flakes (approx. 3 minutes).
Remove fish. Add apricot salsa to pan and toss with warm coconut milk.
When salsa is just warmed, serve over the top of the fish.

Halibut with balsamic blackberry sauce

2010-06-04T17:43:00.000-07:00

Approx. 220 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

Blackberries have been on sale for 99 cents per 6 oz container, so I have bought as many as I could carry and store. I've mostly been eating them raw or on salads, but tonight I thought they might taste quite nice on the last piece of halibut that I had. And they did! :-)

I served this with a nice salad of zucchini, yellow summer squash, and tomatoes.

Ingredients

4 oz halibut or other firm white fish
1/4 cup blackberries
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1/4 Tbs olive oil
2 oz water
black pepper, to taste

Directions

Add oil to a skillet and heat.
Season fish with black pepper and add to the skillet.
Cover and cook approx. 3 minutes before flipping.
Cover again and cook approx. 2 minutes or until it flakes.
Set fish aside to rest.
Add water, blackberries, and balsamic vinegar to the same skillet.
Heat until blackberries are warm and liquid is reduced 60-80% (approx. 2 minutes).
Pour blackberries and sauce over fish.

Spicy peanut "noodles"

2010-06-01T17:56:00.001-07:00

Approx. 200 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 3 servings.

At the market this weekend, I bought 2 purple bell peppers. I wasn't quite sure what to expect. When I sliced them, I discovered that only the outer skin was purple, and the inner part of the pepper was green. I thought it would look good in this dish, so decided to add them. I should have taken a picture of them before adding them, because shortly after they were warmed, the purple color reverted back to green. So, if you buy purple bell peppers, plan to eat them raw if you want to show off the color. Otherwise, just get the green ones.

This recipe used the same ideas as Zucchini in Peanut Sauce and the Thai Peanut Noodles recipes that I previously made. However, I wanted something a little more substantial for dinner, so I added some chicken and a few more veggies to it. Because I was adding peanuts to this dish, I went pretty light on the amount of peanut sauce that I added. If you like a stronger peanut flavor (and want the dish to be saucier), you may want to double the amount of sauce.

Ingredients

7 oz boneless skinless chicken breast
1 jumbo zucchini (approx. 3 1/2 cups)
1 medium chili pepper (mine was yellow, approx. 1/3 cup)
2 bell peppers (approx. 1 1/4 cup)
1 large bulbed green onion
1 tsp olive oil
2 Tbs Thai peanut sauce
1/8 cup peanuts (I used unsalted)
1/4 cup water

Directions

Julienne the zucchini to form "noodles", avoiding the seeds.
Slice the other vegetables.
Cut the chicken into cubes.
Heat the oil in a large skillet and then add the chicken.
Cook the chicken until nearly done and then add the bell pepper and chili peppers.
Cook until the pepper is tender and the chicken is done.
Add the water and the zucchini "noodles" and toss with the other ingredients.
Cook until the "noodles" are tender.
Add the peanut sauce, green onion, and peanuts.
Mix well and heat until everything is warm.

Green beans and halibut in Thai red curry sauce

2010-05-29T20:49:00.003-07:00

Approx. 345 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

I craved Thai food, so this quick dish of halibut, green beans, and Thai red curry paste really hit the spot.

Ingredients

4 oz. halibut
1 2/3 cups green beans
2/3 cup yellow onion
1/8 cup green onion
2 Tbs cilantro
1 tsp Thai red curry paste
2 Tbs coconut milk
1 cup water

Directions

Chop onions and snap green beans into short sections.
Add water to a large skillet and bring to a boil.
Add curry paste and mix well.
Add green beans and yellow onions; cook until almost tender and much of the water has evaporated off.
Add halibut and coconut milk.
Cover and cook approx. 4 minutes (or until fish is done).
Garnish with green onion and cilantro.

Fennel, squash, and garlic scrapes

2010-05-27T20:36:00.003-07:00

Approx. 115 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I bought some garlic scrapes at the farmer's market and decided to make this side dish that has some earthy wintery flavors combined with fresh springy flavors. It was quite tasty served with a nice piece of salmon.

Here is a picture of the garlic scrapes. They are the curly tops of the young garlic plants, and are a little bit tougher than green onions, but chock full of garlic flavored deliciousness!

Ingredients

1 medium fennel bulb (approx. 2 1/2 cups)
2 cups zucchini
2 cups summer squash
2 cups mushrooms
3 long garlic scrapes (approx. 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)
2 Tbs worcestershire sauce (I used low sodium)

Directions

Slice and chop all vegetables and garlic scrapes.
Add water to a skillet and bring to a boil.
Add pepper flakes, garlic scrapes, and fennel; cook until almost tender.
Add mushrooms, zucchini, and and summer squash.
Cook until everything is tender, but not mushy.
Add worcestershire sauce and mix well.
Serve as a main dish or as a side.

**I almost tagged this as vegetarian, but then I remembered that worcestershire sauce contains anchovies. You could use balsamic vinegar instead of worcestershire sauce if you wanted to make this vegetarian.

Melange of veggies

2010-05-25T20:25:00.003-07:00

Approx. 130 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

Because I hate washing the big pot, I decided to steam the last 3 artichokes of the season at the same time. I knew I wouldn't be able to eat all 3 at once, so I made a strategic decision. I decided that I would scrape the leaves from all three and then leave the hearts for a future recipe. This recipe incorporates the leftover hearts, along with tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, summer squash, and an assortment of herbs. It tasted great served alongside grilled chicken.

Ingredients

3 artichoke hearts (already steamed; you could also use canned - about 1 cup)
1 medium tomato (approx. 1 cup)
1 cup summer squash
2 cups zucchini
1 cup bell pepper (I used a mix of red and yellow)
1 clove garlic
1 tsp olive oil
red pepper flakes, to taste

Directions

Chop all of the vegetables.
Heat oil and add grated garlic and red pepper flakes.
Add bell pepper and cook until almost tender.
Add zucchini and summer squash, and cook until just tender.
Add tomatoes and artichoke hearts.
Cook until warm and tomatoes start to soften.
Serve as a side dish.

Market Haul

2010-05-08T08:59:00.003-07:00

This morning at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market there was evidence that the seasons have changed. Most of the winter fruits and veggies were gone, and there were signs of the summer veggies (peppers, summer squash, etc.) starting to arrive. This made me very happy, since I was running out of creative ways to cook the winter veggies, and was making some of my favorite dishes over and over again.

This morning was the last week for artichokes (so I bought 3), and probably grapefruit (I bought 3 of those too). I bought a bag of peaches, but I don't think they will even last through the weekend (I ate two while just taking the pictures!!) I also picked up 1 bunch of golden beets, 1 bunch of mixed colored beets, red vine and heirloom cherry tomatoes, 2 red and 1 gold bell pepper, broccoli, 2 summer squash, a zucchini, 4 cucumbers, green beans, lettuce, a red onion, a yellow onion, a shallot, a bag of Nasturtium and sweet pea flowers, a leek, and a bulb of fennel. And the fish guy made sure to bring a small piece of halibut, just for me. Yeah! :-)

Steamed artichokes with balsamic mayo dipping sauce

2010-04-27T18:17:00.001-07:00

Approx. 115 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I bought artichokes at the market this weekend and decided to steam them and serve with just a simple dipping sauce. When I eat artichokes, I only dip every second or third leaf (otherwise all I taste is sauce) so this recipe provided me enough sauce for both artichokes. If you dip every leaf (or load it with sauce) you will need to increase the recipe. I served this with a nice piece of grilled steak (not included in the calories).

One note of caution: Be sure to check the water level in the pot from time to time. I didn't check it until the house stunk like burned vinegar and realized that all the water escaped as steam. Needless to say, I got a good workout scrubbing the bottom of that pot!

Ingredients

2 artichokes
2 cloves garlic
3 Tbs red wine vinegar
1 bay leaf
2 Tbs mayonaise (I used fat free)
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
water

Directions

Clean artichokes and trim off any thorns.
Add water, red wine vinegar, bay leaf, and garlic to the bottom of a large pot and cover with a steamer basket.
Place artichokes in the steamer basket and cover the pot with a lid.
Steam for approx. 30 minutes or until leaves easily pull off the artichoke.

To make sauce:

Mix mayonaise and balsamic vinegar.
Remove garlic from the steamer pot and smash. Add to the sauce and mix well.

Market Haul

2010-04-25T16:12:00.003-07:00

Here's what I picked up on Saturday morning at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market:
10 grapefruit, 1 bunch of golden beets, 1 bunch of baby carrots, red vine and heirloom cherry tomatoes, broccoli, acorn squash, 3 cucumbers, snap peas, green beans, 2 types of lettuce, 1 mature red onion and a bunch of young red onions, a yellow onion, garlic, a bag of Nasturtium flowers, and 2 artichokes.

Strawberry spinach salad

2010-04-24T14:45:00.000-07:00

Approx. 85 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 8 servings.

This is one of my favorite simple summer salads and made a similar version of it previously (recipe here). Last weekend, I planned a quick day trip to visit some friends in San Francisco and hoped that this would travel well for the short flight, which it did. I added the vinegar after I arrived, just before serving.

Ingredients

3 cups strawberries
8 cups baby spinach leaves
1 cup red onion
1/2 cup chopped Nasturtium flowers (optional)
10 Tbs blue cheese
1 oz balsamic vinegar

Directions

Dice onion, slice strawberries, and chop edible flowers.
Layer red onions, stawberries, flowers, and blue cheese on top of the spinach.
Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Shrimp beet salad wraps

2010-04-22T17:41:00.001-07:00

Approx. 210 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving (3 wraps)

After several days of eating beet greens, I decided it was time to eat some of the beets. I only used the lighter colored beets, since the red ones stain everything they touch. I originally was going to just cut lettuce and use it as a salad, but this head had such nice big leaves, that I decided to make lettuce wraps instead. There was enough for 3 generous wraps.

Ingredients

9 medium shrimp (3 oz) - I used pre-cooked.
1 1/2 cups beets
3 large lettuce leaves
1/2 cup red onion
1 Tbs red wine vinegar
3 sprigs cilantro

Directions

Peel and slice beets. Steam until tender and then let cool.
Dice the red onion and chip the cilantro.
Remove tails from the shrimp.
Toss all ingredients together and serve on lettuce leaves.

Beet greens with carrots

2010-04-20T17:34:00.000-07:00

Approx. 70 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

The bunch of beets that I bought had mixed colors. Some of them were the normal red beets, and others were the colored beets (white, pink, golden). The previous recipe used the greens from the lighter colored beets. These greens were from the red beets, which meant that the stems also contained the red. As a result, this dish is much darker looking than the other.

Because it was so dark, I decided to make it even darker by adding the carrots with the purple/burgundy skin. This recipe makes enough for 2 pretty filling side dish servings. I still hadn't gone shopping for meat, and ended up eating both servings as my entire dinner. It was VERY filling.

Ingredients

6 cups beet greens
1 cup carrots
1/2 cup yellow onion
8 oz water
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

Directions

Wash and chop beet greens (leaves and tender stems)
Dice the onion.
Cut the carrots into thin slices (I left the skin on).
Heat the water in a skillet and then add the onion, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder.
Heat until the onion gets tender.
Add the beet greens and carrots.
Cook until the beet greens and carrots are tender.

Grilled chicken with tropical mango salsa

2010-04-19T17:26:00.000-07:00

This is essentially the same exact recipe as the halibut with tropical mango salsa I previously posted, except I put the salsa on grilled chicken instead of fish. I also didn't have any edible flowers, so I added a little bit of diced red onion instead. This recipe was good with chicken, but I liked it much better with the halibut.

Beet greens with tomatoes and chili peppers

2010-04-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

Approx. 90 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

With the weather warming up, this might be the last week to get the tender beet greens at the Farmer's market. So, I stocked up on a HUGE bunch of greens (with the beets). Look for many recipes this week that feature beets. This recipe makes enough for 2 pretty filling side dish servings. I didn't feel like making any meat to go with this, and ended up eating both servings as my entire dinner. It was VERY filling.

Ingredients

8 cups beet greens
1 tomato
2 jalapeno chili peppers
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup yellow onion
4 oz water

Directions

Wash and chop beet greens (leaves and tender stems)
Dice the onion.
Cut the jalapenos into thin slices (I left the seeds in).
Heat the oil in a skillet and then add the onion and chili peppers.
Saute until the onion gets tender.
Add the beet greens and water.
Cook until the beet greens wilt and get tender.
Add the tomato and cook until it softens.

Curried squash soup

2010-04-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

Approx. 200 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 4 servings.

I had a couple different types of winter squash in the kitchen that I wanted to use up. I decided to blend them together into this savory curried soup. This bowl was a little thicker than I anticipated. I added a bit more water to the remaining soup to thin it out a little bit more.

Ingredients

1 small butternut squash (about 3 cups)
1 medium acorn squash (about 2 cups)
2 cups canned pumpkin
1 Tbs olive oil
4 Tbs coconut milk
4 tsp curry powder
2 tsp grated ginger
5 cups water
cilantro, for garnish

Directions

Peel and cube the squash. Grate the ginger.
Add olive oil, ginger, and curry powder to a pot.
Cook until the spices release their scent and the ginger softens.
Add water and the cubed squash.
Cook until the squash is soft.
Add the canned pumpkin and coconut milk.
Heat until everything is warm.
Remove from heat and blend (I used an immersion blender).
Garnish with cilantro before serving.

Grilled chicken with tomatoes and fennel

2010-04-16T07:04:00.002-07:00

Approx. 375 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

I didn't get home until late last night and really didn't have much energy to cook anything complicated, so I decided to make this quick dish. Including the prep time, this dish took less than 10 minutes to make. I put the chicken on my George Foreman grill right after getting the fennel into the skillet, and the timing worked that they were both done at about the same time.

Ingredients

8 oz chicken breast
1 medium tomato
1 bulb fennel (approx. 2 cups)
4 oz water
1 oz white wine
red pepper flakes, to taste
edible flowers (Nasturtium) for garnish

Directions

Cut fennel into thin slices and dice tomato.
Add water, wine, and red pepper flakes to a skillet and bring to a boil.
Add fennel and cook until soft and most liquid has evaporated off.
Add tomato and cook until tender.
Serve with grilled chicken breast (I cooked it on my George Foreman grill).
Garnish with edible flowers.

Gingered shrimp with green onions

2010-04-13T17:56:00.001-07:00

Approx. 300 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

My favorite Chinese restaurant, China Chili, has a tasty Sichuan prawns dish, that is made out of butterflied jumbo prawns, battered and deep fried, and coated with a sweet and spicy garlic sauce. It is served on a bed of sliced cucumbers and is sooooo tasty. They also have a pretty good Mongolian chicken dish (they have Mongolian beef too, but I usually don't order beef dishes).

When I opened the fridge, I saw shrimp and cucumbers and thought about making my version (not deep fried) of the Sichuan prawns. I had no idea how they make the sauce though. Then I saw the green onions and thought about making Mongolian shrimp. I have no idea how to make that sauce either, although I'm sure I could have found it on the Internet if I were so inclined to look it up (I wasn't!).

So, I decided since I didn't know how to make either sauce, I would combine the two dishes and make up my own sauce. As a whole, this dish was pretty good, but I used way too many green onions! The green onion flavor was overpowering!!! The recipe below contains only half the amount that I actually used, so your dish won't quite look like mine, but will hopefully taste better.

Ingredients

4 oz shrimp (I used pre-cooked)
2-3 green onions, cut into 1 inch segments -split the white bulbous part into quarters lengthwise (approx 2/3 cups)
1 cucumber, thinly sliced (approx. 1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, grated
ginger root, grated (approx. 2 tsp)
1 tsp olive oil
red pepper flakes, to taste
1/2 Tbs soy sauce (low sodium)

Directions

Add oil, red pepper, grated garlic, and grated ginger to a skillet.
Heat until it sizzles.
Add green onion slices and cook until they are tender.
Add soy sauce, cucumber slices, and shrimp.
Cook until cucumber softens and shrimp is warm (or cooked if using raw) all the way through.

Halibut with tropical mango salsa

2010-04-12T18:51:00.000-07:00

Approx. 410 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

I love champagne mangoes and have been looking forward to them being back in season. I decided to use the first ripe one of this season in a fresh mango salsa served over fish. I also bought some edible flowers (I believe they are Nasturtium) at the farmer's market this weekend and was looking for an interesting way to use them. These have a nice peppery flavor that I thought would be a nice addition to the sweet mango and the spicy chili peppers. Plus, they would add some color. So, I chopped up a few flowers and mixed them into the salsa.

The chilis were a bit spicier than I anticipated, so at the last minute I decided to add some coconut milk to the pan while heating the fish, and then toss the salsa in the warm coconut milk. Brilliant!!! It was so good. I actually had enough salsa for 2 servings (the picture only shows half the salsa). I thought about saving the leftover salsa for something else, but it was so good, after I took one bite, I dumped the rest of the salsa on top of the fish and ate it all!

Ingredients

5 1/2 oz halibut or other firm white fish
1 tsp olive oil
1 medium champagne mango (approx. 3/4 cup)
2 small chili peppers (approx. 1/8 cup)
4 sprigs cilantro (approx. 2 Tbs)
8 edible flowers (I think they were Nasturtium)
2 Tbs coconut milk
black pepper, to taste

Directions

Peel mango and chop into a fine dice.
Cut chili peppers into thin rings (leaving in seeds).
Finely chop cilantro and 5 edible flowers.
Mix together the mango, cilantro, chili peppers, and flowers.
Add oil and fish to a skillet. Cover and heat on medium for approx. 4 minutes.
Season fish with pepper and flip.
Add coconut milk to the pan, cover, and cook until fish flakes (approx. 3 minutes).
Remove fish. Add mango salsa to pan and toss with warm coconut milk.
When salsa is just warmed, serve over the top of the fish.
Garnish with remaining flowers.

Chicken broccolini stir fry

2010-04-11T17:43:00.000-07:00

Approx. 200 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I was having one of those nights where I really didn't know what I wanted to make for dinner. After staring in the fridge until I was freezing, I pulled out some chicken and a random assortment of veggies, and just started chopping things up. I ended up with this stir fry, which I kind of had to improvise on.

Normally, I would mix the broccolini in with everything else in the pan (so that's how the recipe will read). However, I started with a very small pan, and ran out of room. Basically, I added the broccolini to the top of the pan, and ended up steaming it while everything else cooked below. Since the pan was too small to mix everything without making a mess on the stove, I just pulled off the steamed broccolini, put it on the plate, then scooped the rest of the stir fry on top.

Ingredients

6 oz boneless skinless chicken breast
4 cups broccolini
1 cup mushrooms
1 medium tomato
1 Tbs stir fry sauce (I used East West Brand, spicy ginger teriyaki sauce)
1/4 cup water

Directions

Add water to a skillet and bring to boil.
Add cubes of chicken and cook until white throughout.
Add mushrooms and stir fry sauce.
Mix and cook down.
Add tomatoes and broccolini.
Cook until all vegetables are tender.

Bloody Mess!!! Beet cucumber salad

2010-04-09T17:32:00.000-07:00

Approx. 125 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

Along with all the beet green dishes, I've also been using the beets in separate dishes. I didn't take pictures of some of the dishes, because I haven't quite figured out how add beets to a dish without making it look like a bloody mess!

This salad is visually unappealing, but it was quite tasty. I liked the sweet earthiness of the beets, the salty tang of the cheese, and the crunchiness of the cucumber. It just looked like a murder scene!

Ingredients

4 small red beets (approx. 1 1/4 cup chopped)
1 small cucumber (approx. 1 cup chopped)
2 Tbs feta cheese (I used fat free, tomato and basil flavored)
1 Tbs red wine vinegar
black pepper, to taste

Directions

Wash beets and steam them whole.
Once tender, cool, then peel and cut into cubes.
Toss with vinegar.
Add diced cucumber (I left the skin on).
Add cheese.
Mix well and season with black pepper.
Serve immediately before everything turns beet red!

Shrimp with beet greens in Thai red curry

2010-04-07T17:21:00.000-07:00

Approx. 180 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving

I wanted something spicy and savory and still had a big bunch of beet greens left. I really didn't want a garlic sautee again, so decided to cook them in a Thai red curry sauce. I had some frozen cocktail shrimp, so I quick thawed those and tossed them in too.

Ingredients

3 oz shrimp (I used pre-cooked)
4 cups beet greens
1 tsp Thai red curry paste
1 1/2 Tbs coconut milk
4 oz water

Directions

Wash and chop beet greens.
Remove tails from shrimp (so they are easier and less messy to eat).
Add water, curry paste, and coconut milk to a skillet.
Heat and then add beet greens.
Cook until greens are tender.
Add shrimp and heat until warm all the way through.

Salmon with sauteed beet greens

2010-04-05T18:10:00.000-07:00

Approx. 400 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

Salmon is a little too rich tasting for me, so I usually prefer a lighter white fish. However, a nice coho salmon steak was calling my name the other day, so I bought it.

I bought a big bunch of beets (with greens attached) and decided that some spicy garlicy greens would counter the rich taste of the salmon. I also had multi-colored carrots, so I sliced those and added them to the greens for a little more color and texture. Overall, this was a very satisfying dish.

Ingredients

11 oz coho salmon
3 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 red pepper flakes (or to taste)
4 cups beet greens
1/4 cup carrots

Directions

Add 2 tsp olive oil to a skillet.
Add salmon, skin side down and cover.
Cook on medium for approx. 6 minutes.
Add black pepper to top, then flip and cook approx. 3 more minutes until done (flakes easily).
In a second pan (while salmon is cooking), add 1 tsp olive oil.
Add grated garlic and red pepper flakes.
Heat and then add chopped beet greens and sliced carrots.
Cook until the greens and carrots are tender. If there isn't enough moisture, toss in a splash of water (or stock).
Serve the salmon on top of the greens.

Fish leek soup

2010-03-30T22:11:00.002-07:00

Approx. 315 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I've had a few recipe misses lately (that didn't make the blog) and decided to fall back on making trusted recipes for a while. Here is a quick soup I made that pretty much used up every member of the onion family, plus a few other assorted veggies. I basically added the carrots for some color and texture.

Ingredients

1 large leek (approx. 2 cups)
1 medium onion (approx. 1 cup)
1 shallot (approx. 1/4 cup)
2 green onions (approx. 1/3 cup)
2 cloves garlic
3 small red potatoes (approx. 1 1/2 cups)
1 medium carrot (approx. 1 cup)
4 oz halibut or other firm white fish.
1 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
black pepper, to taste
8 cups water

Directions

Wash and slice potatoes and carrots (I left the skin on both).
Add to a pot of water.
Add grated garlic and spices.
Cook for approx. 5 minutes.
Clean and chop all other vegetables and add to the pot (except green onion).
Cook until all vegetables are tender.
Cut halibut into cubes and add to pot.
Cook until fish is done and flakes.
Add green onions.
Mix well, and then serve.

Beet salad with orange halibut

2010-03-25T22:39:00.003-07:00

Approx. 290 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

After making the beet salad, I decided that I wanted to make it a little bit more substantial for a complete dinner. I had a small piece of halibut in the fridge and decided to cook it again in the orange juice, since was so good the first time.

Directions

Make beet salad as described.
Cook halibut in orange juice as described (but leave out vinegar, since it is already on the beets).
Place halibut on top of beets and cover with the orange juice sauce.

Beet salad

2010-03-24T22:32:00.000-07:00

Approx. 75 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

I had an assortment of multi-colored beets and decided to make a simple salad with them. I was worried about the colors bleeding together, so I sliced and steamed each color individually, and then combined them into the salad.

Ingredients

4 small different colored beets (approx. 1 1/4 cup sliced)
1 Tbs red wine vinegar
black pepper, to taste

Directions

Peel beets and cut into thin slices.
Steam beats (I steamed them 1 color at a time) for approx. 2-3 minutes.
Arrange on plate.
Drizzle with vinegar and add pepper to taste.
Serve hot or cold.

Halibut salad with orange dressing

2010-03-21T11:36:00.001-07:00

Approx. 290 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

I had so many fresh colorful veggies from the farmer's market, that I wanted to start eating them right away. I decided to make a colorful salad for lunch using the multi-colored carrots. I was a bit disappointed when I cut into the purple carrots to discover that the purple color was just on the skin and the carrot inside was orange. Oh well. It was still delish!

As I was cooking the fish, I decided to add juice from one orange to give it some sweetness, and then to serve as the dressing for the salad. I was quite pleased with the results. The salad had a nice sweet and sour taste with the vinegar.

Ingredients

3 oz halibut (or other firm white fish)
1 tsp olive oil
2 cups lettuce, chopped
1/2 cup sliced carrots (I used white, orange, and purple carrots)
1/2 cup quartered cherry tomatoes (I used multi-colored heirloom tomatoes)
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 small orange (juice only)
black pepper, to taste

Directions

Add oil to a skillet and place fish fillet on top.
Cover and cook on medium heat for approx. 4 minutes.
Flip the fish and season with pepper.
Cut orange in half and squeeze the juice from both halves over the top of the fish.
Cover the pan and cook for approx. 2 more minutes, or until fish flakes and is done.
Place lettuce, sliced carrots, and quartered cherry tomatoes on a plate.
Place cooked fish on top of salad.
Add vinegar to the orange juice left in the pan and mix well.
Pour the liquid over the fish and salad.
Season with black pepper, if desired.

Market Haul

2010-03-20T10:11:00.003-07:00

Spring has arrived on the farms around Phoenix. I'm sad that the apple season is over and there are no more to be found, but there were so many colorful veggies at the market this morning that it made up for it. I had a hard time deciding what to buy. I probably bought too much!

Here's what I picked up today at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market:
A HUGE bag of oranges, 4 grapefruit, 1 bunch of multi-colored beets, 1 bunch of multi-colored carrots, red vine and heirloom cherry tomatoes, purple cauliflower, golden cauliflower, acorn and butternut squash, 3 cucumbers, snap peas, 2 types of lettuce, red potatoes, green onions, and a yellow onion.

Winter Vegetable Soup

2010-03-16T18:57:00.000-07:00

Approx. 165 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 4 servings.

I was trying to use up the veggies that have been sitting in my fridge for a while and decided to make soup, which is my typical approach. I already ate most of the chard leaves, so I had a bag of mostly stems and leaf fragments. I chopped the stems and added that instead of celery. I had planned to add about 1.5 cups of lima beans, but I only had half that amount, so that's what I used.

With the jalapeno peppers and the red pepper flakes, this ended up very spicy (which was perfect for me). If you don't like spice, cut back on one or both ingredients.

Ingredients

1 large white potato (approx. 2 cups)
1 large carrot (approx. 1 2/3 cups)
1 medium onion (approx. 1 cup)
3 cups Swiss chard (I used mostly stems)
2 jalapeno peppers
3/4 cup lima beans (I used frozen)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/4 cup green onion
water (approx. 8 cups)
salt, to taste

Directions

Dice potatoes and slice the carrots (I left the skin on both of these).
Add to a pot of boiling water (approx. 8 cups)
Dice onion and slice jalapeno peppers (I kept the seeds in the slices)
Add diced onion, grated garlic, and other spices.
Cook until potatoes are tender but not completely done.
Add chard and jalapeno peppers.
Cook until chard and potatoes are done.
Add lima beans. Cook until lima beans are thawed and hot all the way through.
Serve and garnish with sliced green onion.

Fennel Grapefruit Salad

2010-03-14T13:45:00.000-07:00

Approx. 125 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

When I used some fennel for a different recipe a while ago, I sliced the entire bulb, even though I only needed half of it. At the time, my thoughts were that I would use the left over slices to make fennel tomato soup. That didn't happen. I decided to make a simple fennel and grapefruit salad. While this had very nice flavor, the fennel pieces were a little too big and crunchy. If you make this, I recommend using very thin/shaved slices, like you can make with a mandoline.

Ingredients

1/2 fennel bulb (approx. 3 cups)
fennel leaves, for garnish
2 pink grapefruits
black pepper, to taste

Directions

Core fennel and then shave into thin slices.
Place fennel in a bowl.
Remove peel and pith from grapefruit and cut into segments (cut over the bowl that the fennel is in, so the juices and segments cover the fennel).
Allow flavors to blend for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Put fennel and grapefruit segments on a plate. Garnish with black pepper and fennel leaves.

Crab Salad

2010-03-12T21:26:00.006-07:00

A couple of weeks ago some friends were in town and we got together for a BBQ. I volunteered to bring some appetizers. I originally was going to make three different kinds, but was having a hard time thinking of a third, especially with the constraint that they couldn't be spicy.

Luckily for me, the two I made filled the whole tray and I was saved from having to be creative.

Tonight, the cupboards were pretty bare, and I spied the canned crab I bought for the third appetizer. This is what I was thinking of making, but just couldn't get all that excited about - pea pods stuffed with crab salad. I'm glad I didn't try to bring these. They were a pain to make and looked really messy when I was done (I only made the 5 shown here, but there was enough crab salad to make about 25). I also forgot to add the capers before I started filling the pea pods, so they were really bland.

So then I decided to see if it could be salvaged into a different appetizer. This one was a little better (this picture is without the capers). I stuffed the crab salad into a hollowed out tomato. You could probably fill cherry tomatoes too for finger food. This is a small tomato and could be served as an appetizer for a sit-down dinner. It is a bit messy to eat though. There is enough crab salad to stuff 4 small tomatoes.

Ultimately, I remembered to add the capers, then chopped up the remaining pea pods and tomatoes, and mixed it all together. Not pretty at all (hence no picture) but fairly tasty.

The crab salad has approx. 130 Calories for the full batch (not counting pea pods or tomatoes).

Ingredients

1 can crab meat (approx. 4.5 oz drained)
1 Tbs low fat mayonaise
1 tsp capers (don't forget these or it is really bland!!)
1/4 cup diced red onions
1 squeeze fresh lemon juice
black pepper, to taste

Directions

Drain the crab and remove any shell pieces.
Mix with all other ingredients.
Spread on toast, stuff in vegetables, toss on a salad, or just eat it as is.

Halibut with mashed gingered turnips

2010-03-10T21:47:00.000-07:00

Approx. 300 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

The weather has been cold and rainy lately, so I decided to cook something warm and savory to take the chill off. I really like the combination of ginger and turnips, so decided to make gingered mashed turnips. Since that didn't seem like a complete meal, I added some fish and greens. I had already used the turnip greens, so I used Swiss chard for my greens. If the turnips still have their greens, you can use those instead.

My mashed turnips were a bit runny. I should have drained off the cooking water, but I didn't think there was that much, so I didn't bother. I highly recommend draining them before mashing. I also just fork mashed them. You could make them smoother if you blended or whipped them.

Ingredients

4 oz halibut or other firm white fish.
2 medium turnips (approx. 2 cups)
2 cups of greens (I used Swiss chard)
6 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp olive oil
water
black pepper, to taste

Directions

Wash and dice turnips.
Add grated ginger to the turnips and cook until tender (I added about 1/4 cup water and microwaved for about 6 minutes. You could also boil them).
Add oil to a skillet and cook fish (approx. 3-4 minutes per side) until it flakes.
When the fish is done, remove from heat and let rest.
Using the same skillet, cook greens (add a splash of water if the pan is too dry).
Drain and mash turnips.
Add greens and fish.
Season as needed.

Curried Squash and Lima Beans

2010-03-09T18:21:00.001-07:00

Approx. 390 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

Since I've been eating a lot of light, fresh, fruity flavored main courses lately, I decided to change things up and make a hearty, stick to your ribs, savory dish tonight.

Ingredients

1 cup lima beans (I used frozen)
1 small butternut squash (approx. 2 1/2 cups)
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup yellow onion
1/3 cup green onion
1 1/2 cups mushrooms
2 tsp olive oil
4 tsp curry powder
1/4 cup coconut milk

Directions

Peel and dice butternut squash. Microwave on high for 4 minutes while chopping all other vegetables.
Dice yellow onion and cut green onion into thin slices.
Chop mushrooms.
Grate garlic and add to skillet with oil, diced onions, and curry powder.
Cook until onions get soft.
Add mushrooms, squash, lima beans (I added them frozen), and coconut milk.
Cook until squash and mushrooms are tender, and beans are warm.
Add green onion slices.
Mix well and then serve.

Halibut with fennel and grapefruit

2010-03-07T21:04:00.003-07:00

Approx. 280 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I really like the taste of fennel and grapefruit together. I thought about making a fennel grapefruit salad (might still do that since I have both ingredients in the house) but I really wanted something warm for dinner tonight. I decided to cook everything instead. I added the juice from one orange to make it a little bit sweeter. Poaching the fish in the fruit juice allowed it to pick up some of the sweetness, which was nicely offset by the spice of the red pepper flakes.

The chard got a little overcooked and lost some of its bright green color. If I make this again, I would probably add the fish immediately after adding the chard.

Ingredients

8 oz halibut
1 small bulb fennel (approx. 2 cups)
1/2 small onion (approx. 1/3 cup)
2 cups Swiss chard
1 medium pink grapefruit
1 small orange (juice only)
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp dried oregano leaves
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

Directions

Remove the core from the fennel, and then cut fennel, onion, and chard into thin slices.
Remove peel and then segment grapefruit, saving as much juice as possible.
Cut orange in half and squeeze to juice. Add to the segmented grapefruit.
Add oil and spices to a hot skillet.
Add onions and fennel. Cook until tender.
Add swiss chard and cook until wilted.
Add fish, then cover with grapefruit segments and the orange juice.
Cover the pan and cook on low heat for approx. 6 minutes or until the fish is done.
Drain excess liquid from the pan before serving.
Garnish with fennel leaves.

Chicken with Avocados and Blood Oranges

2010-03-04T17:31:00.002-07:00

Approx. 310 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

I bought a couple of blood oranges this weekend and was trying to think of a creative way to cook/serve them, but I was drawing a blank. Maybe it was because I was tired or not feeling particularly creative today, or maybe I just wanted something simple that wouldn't compete with the flavor. I don't know. At any rate, this isn't really a recipe, but it's what I ended up making.

Ingredients

1 small blood orange
1/2 avocado
4 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts

Directions

Remove orange peel and cut into segments.
Slice avocado.
Grill chicken until cooked (I used my George Foreman grill).
Place the three ingredients on a plate and enjoy!

Halibut ai Frutti di Bosco

2010-03-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

Approx. 265 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I was in San Diego last week and had dinner at Asti Ristorante one night. I ordered the Tilapia ai Frutti di Bosco, which was described as grilled tilapia topped with berries and extra virgin olive oil. I asked them to go light on the oil, since I didn't want the fish swimming in it. They brought me a beautiful grilled tilapia fillet, topped with whole blueberries, diced strawberries, and diced ripe tomatoes. Tomatoes? I didn't notice any olive oil in the sauce, so I guess they really went light. At first I thought the tomatoes in the berry sauce would be weird, but because they were so ripe, it was delicious! So delicious that all I could think about for the last week is buying fish at the farmer's market so I could try to recreate this dish. The tiramisu was AMAZING too, but I'm not even going to attempt to recreate that dish!

I'm not a huge fan of tilapia, so I decided to use halibut for my version. I also decided to toss in a couple yellow cherry tomatoes for some added color, and a little bit of fresh mint, just to boost the flavor. I also added a little white wine while I cooked the fish. (I drank a glass of white wine in the restaurant while enjoying this dish.) While it doesn't taste exactly the same as the restaurant's, it is pretty close. And very tasty! I'll probably resist making this again though until summer, when the berries are actually in season (and not so expensive!).

Ingredients

2 halibut fillets (5 oz each)
3 large strawberries
1/4 cup blueberries
1/2 medium tomato (very ripe)
2 yellow cherry tomatoes
5 leaves of mint (plus leaves for garnish)
1 tsp olive oil
1 oz white wine
black pepper, to taste

Directions

Dice strawberries and tomatoes.
Chop mint.
Add mint, stawberries, blueberries, and tomatoes together and let flavors marry.
Rinse halibut and pat dry.
Season each side with black pepper.
Add oil to a skillet and add the halibut fillets.
Cook approx. 4 minutes and then flip.
Add wine to the pan and cover.
Cook approx. 4 more minutes (or until fish flakes).
Remove from heat and top with the wild berry sauce.
Garnish with additional mint leaves.

Black bean mash appetizer

2010-03-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

Approx. 20 Calories per piece. Recipe makes 30 pieces.

This is the other appetizer that I took to the BBQ on Sunday. I wanted something simple, yet tasty. If the presentation is too much work, this could easily be served as a dip, either with veggies, chips, or crackers.

Ingredients

1 can black beans
1/3 cup yellow onion
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp olive oil
8 sprigs cilantro
2 watermelon radishes
2 small cucumbers

Directions

Dice onions and grate garlic.
Add oil, garlic, onions, chili powder, and cumin to a skillet.
Heat until onions are soft.
Rinse and drain the black beans, and then add to the skillet.
Mash the beans and mix well with other ingredients.
Add finely chopped cilantro and stir in.
Allow bean mixture to cool.
Slice cucumbers into thin slices (I peeled off strips of skin).
Top with bean mixture.
Add a small cilantro leaf and quartered slice of watermelon radish as garnish.

Stuffed red peppers appetizer

2010-02-28T11:35:00.000-07:00

Approx. 45 Calories per piece. Recipe makes 12 pieces.

I had plans to go to a BBQ and meet some of the friends that I had made online through my dogs' blog. I volunteered to bring appetizers, since they were planning to grill steaks, make a salad, etc. At the market yesterday, I saw the arugula flowers, these cute little peppers, and the farmer's cheese, and knew that they would find their way into an appetizer. This is one of the two that I decided to make. I will post the other recipe tomorrow.

Ingredients

12 small red peppers (Hungarian sweet peppers)
4 oz soft whole milk farmer's cheese (I used Rainbow Valley's)
4 cups spinach
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp olive oil
5 sun dried tomatoes
1 oz white wine
arugula flowers for garnish

Directions

Remove tops and seeds from the peppers.
Grill until tender (I used my George Foreman grill).
Soak sundried tomatoes in white wine to soften (approx. 15 minutes). Then dice into small pieces.
Chop spinach and grate garlic.
To a skillet, add olive oil, garlic, and sundried tomatoes (reserve any soaking wine).
Stir fry 1-2 minutes.
Add spinach and reserved wine.
Cook until spinach is tender.
Allow mixture to cool and then mix with room temperature cheese.
Stuff the mixture into the red peppers.
Garnish with arugula flowers.

Market Haul

2010-02-27T09:25:00.000-07:00

Here's what I picked up today at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market:
1 bulb of fennel, 2 turnips, 2 carrots, 1 bunch of watermelon radishes, 1 bulb of garlic, 1 leek, a bunch of green onions, 6 oranges, 2 blood oranges, 4 grapefruit, 3 lbs pink lady apples, 1 bunch cilantro, 3 cucumbers, 1 butternut squash, swiss chard, snap peas, Brussels sprouts, vine and heirloom cherry tomatoes, 2 yellow banana peppers, 14 red Hungarian sweet peppers, a bag of arugula flowers, a bag of spinach, Romanesco broccoli, fresh farmer's cheese, and a nice piece of frozen halibut.

Vegetable Medly Saute

2010-02-24T17:52:00.002-07:00

Approx. 135 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 3 (large) servings.

I got a bit carried away with the vegetables tonight. I couldn't decide what I wanted to eat, so I tossed a little bit (ok, a LOT) of everything together. This was really tasty. I ate two servings as my entire meal (and was very full). If you are serving this with just a piece of meat, this probably makes 3 good sized servings. If it is part of a larger meal, this recipe is big enough for 6 side dish servings. The picture shows 1/3 of the completed dish.

As the vegetables sauteed, I added a little bit of water at a time. I added just enough to keep the vegetables moist and "steam" them, but not enough for them to really sit in water.

Ingredients

1 large leek (approx. 1 1/3 cup)
1 bunch Swiss chard (approx. 3 cups)
10 cherry tomatoes (approx. 1 cup)
1 large carrot (approx. 2 cups)
2 banana chili peppers (approx. 1/2 cup)
4 cloves garlic
1 Tbs olive oil
1/2 cup water

Directions

Wash and chop vegetables. I cut the cherry tomatoes in half and julienned the carrots. I also separated the chard leaves and stems.
Grate the garlic and add to the oil.
Add the chili peppers (I left the seeds in).
Saute for about 1 minute, then add the leeks.
Saute for about 1 minute, and then add the carrots, chard stems, and a little bit of the water.
Saute for about 1 minute and then add the chard leaves (and more water as needed).
Saute for about 2 minutes and add the tomatoes.
Cook until the tomatoes are warm and just starting to soften.

Fish and turnips in enchilada sauce

2010-02-22T18:11:00.001-07:00

Approx. 325 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

The curried turnip dish was so easy to make, that I decided to make something else that was easy using the turnips. I thought about making turnips in a Thai red curry, but that wasn't really the flavor I wanted. Then I saw the can of enchilada sauce in the cupboard. Bingo!

Since everything was cooked in the enchilada sauce, this is the predominant flavor. Make sure you get a sauce that you really like. The cilantro really added to this dish and added dimension to the flavor. If you don't like cilantro, add green onions or something to help break up the enchilada sauce flavor.

Ingredients

4 oz halibut (or other firm white fish)
2 medium turnips (approx. 2 cups)
greens from 2 medium turnips (approx. 1 cup)
3/4 cup red enchilada sauce (I used Hatch brand)
3/4 cup water
cilantro (for garnish)

Directions

Wash and chop turnips and greens.
Add turnips, enchilada sauce, and water to a skillet.
Bring to a boil and cook until turnips are almost tender.
Add greens and mix well.
Add fish and cover with the sauce.
Cook approx. 5 minutes or until fish is done and flakes.
Serve and garnish with chopped cilantro leaves.

Chicken and Root Vegetable Soup

2010-02-20T13:14:00.000-07:00

Approx. 190 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 3 servings.

I was going to make this soup in the crock pot, but didn't get around to putting it together on Thursday night and didn't have enough time to wash and chop the veggies before work on Friday morning. I'm glad I didn't, since the turnips would have gotten really mushy if they had cooked all day.

I initially debated whether to post this recipe. The pumpkin colored and thickened the broth, but didn't add much to the flavor. The soup tasted ok, but it probably wasn't something that I was going to make again. My mind changed though after eating the leftovers for lunch today. After the soup sat in the fridge overnight, the flavors really blended together and it tasted so much better as a leftover than it did fresh out of the pot. I could taste the pumpkin, the turnips, and the sweet potato, and they had all soaked up the garlic and red pepper flavors. If you decide to make this, you might want to either let it simmer for a lot longer than I did, or just toss it in the fridge and plan to serve it as leftovers.

Ingredients

1 cup sweet potatoes
1 cup turnips
1 leek (approx. 1 cup)
1 cup mushrooms (I used portabella)
1 cup canned pumpkin
7 oz boneless skinless chicken breast
1 tsp red chili pepper flakes
2 tsp garlic powder
6-8 cups water

Directions

Wash and chop all vegetables; dice chicken.
Add sweet potatoes to a pot and cover with water. Cook for approx. 4 minutes.
Add chicken and spices to the pot. Cook until chicken is cooked all the way through.
Add remaining ingredients. Cook until sweet potatoes and turnips are tender.

Halibut, Grapefruit, and Avocado Salad

2010-02-18T12:39:00.001-07:00

Approx. 425 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

The weather has been sunny and reasonably warm lately, so I decided to take a break from the hearty winter dishes and make this lighter summery type of salad. I really like the combination of the sweet fish, the tart grapefruit, and the rich creamy avocado mixed together.

Ingredients

4 oz halibut (or other firm white fish)
1 large grapefruit
1/2 small avocado
cilantro (about 2 sprigs)
1 cup spinach
1 cup chopped romaine lettuce
1/2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup water
black pepper, to taste

Directions

Remove peel and white membrane from grapefruit and cut into segments, saving the juice.
Chop cilantro and mix with grapefruit.
Cut avocado in half, and peel one half of it. Then cut into thin slices. Add to grapefruit and gently toss to coat with the juice.
Rinse halibut and pat dry, then sprinkle with black pepper.
Add fish to a skillet with hot oil.
Cook approx. 4 minutes and then flip.
After flipping the fish, add water and the reserved grapefruit juice to the skillet.
Cook approx. 4 minutes or until fish is done and flakes.
Place spinach and lettuce on a plate.
Add cooked fish.
Add grapefruit avocado mixture (I arranged around the edges, you you could just pour on top).
Drizzle any remaining juice over the lettuce.

Purple cauliflower and potato soup

2010-02-16T12:10:00.000-07:00

Approx. 250 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 (large) serving.

I've been fighting a bad cold and thought a nice hot bowl of soup would make me feel better. I still had half the purple cauliflower, so I decided to make a festive purple soup. I actually thought it would turn out a bit deeper purple than it did, but I have no complaints. You can use regular cauliflower for this recipe too, but the soup will be beige instead of light purple.

This recipe makes one extremely filling serving if this is your entire meal. Divide it into two servings if you plan to eat it as an appetizer or side dish.

Ingredients

1 medium white potato (1 cup)
2 cups purple cauliflower
1/2 cup onion
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste
green onions for garnish
water (approx. 3 cups)

Directions

Dice potato (I left the skin on) and onion. Cut cauliflower into small bite sized pieces.
Add potatoes, onion, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder to a pot and cover with water.
Boil for 5-10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
Add cauliflower and cook until tender.
Blend until smooth (I used an immersion blender).
Garnish with sliced green onions.

Curried turnips

2010-02-15T17:58:00.000-07:00

Approx. 140 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I love that my neighborhood is filled with delicious smells almost every night as I walk the dogs. Some nights it's steaks or burgers on a grill, other nights I can spell enchiladas, and tonight, I smelled a delicious curry as I was walked the dogs past the Sikh Gurdwara. Of course, that made me totally crave curry tonight. I actually thought about getting Indian take out, but then decided to try making a curry dish using some of the turnips that I have. It really hit the spot. I had planned to eat the leftovers tomorrow, but they didn't last the night.

Ingredients

3 cups turnips
5 Roma or plum tomatoes (approx. 1 cup)
1/2 cup green onion
3 garlic cloves
1 Tbs curry powder
2 Tbs grated ginger
1/2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 cup water

Directions

Dice turnips and tomatoes, slice the green onions.
Grate garlic and ginger.
Add to a skillet with the oil and heat.
Add turnips and coat with curry, garlic, ginger mixture.
Add water and tomatoes.
Cook down until tomatoes are soft and turnips are tender. (Add more water if needed.)
Right before serving, add green onions and mix well.

Sauteed Purple Cauliflower

2010-02-14T17:30:00.000-07:00

Approx. 95 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

Do you love the Phoenix Suns or LSU Tigers? If so, show your love for your team this Valentine's Day by making this tasty side dish in your team's colors.

I bought some purple cauliflower yesterday, and decided to make something that wouldn't compete with the lovely color. I was going to make grilled chicken to go with it, but ended up eating both servings as my main dish instead. It was quite tasty and filling. I still have half the cauliflower left, so I will need to think of a second way to use it.

Now..... where's an LSU alumni potluck when you need it?

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups cauliflower (I used purple, but you really could use regular or any of the heirloom colors)
1/2 cup yellow cherry tomatoes
1 shallot (approx. 1/8 cup)
1 clove garlic
1 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 cup water

Directions

Cut cauliflower into bite sized pieces.
Cut cherry tomatoes into quarters.
Dice shallot and grate garlic.
Add shallot, garlic, pepper flakes, and oil to a skillet.
Heat until shallot softens.
Add water and cauliflower.
Cook until cauliflower is tender and water evaporates.
Add tomatoes.
Cook until tomatoes soften.

Market Haul

2010-02-13T14:39:00.003-07:00

I developed a nasty head cold yesterday, and had to force myself out of bed this morning to brave the chilly Phoenix weather (it was only 50 degrees!!) and go to the market this morning. Once I was there, I was overwhelmed with too many choices of things to buy. That's when I remembered the maxim, "feed a cold, starve a fever". Since I have a cold, I decided to feed it this week.

Here's what I picked up today for about $30.

1 bulb of fennel, 2 white potatoes, 4 turnips, 1 carrot, 2 onions, 6 tangelos, 1 lemon, 6 lbs pink lady apples, 1 leek, 1 bunch green onions, 1 bunch cilantro, 2 cucumbers, 1 butternut squash, 1 acorn squash, romain lettuce, swiss chard, snow peas, Brussels sprouts, Roma and heirloom cherry tomatoes, broccoli, and a purple cauliflower.

I'd love suggestions on how to cook the purple cauliflower (does the color bleed into other foods?).

Cherry Chicken Acorn Squash

2010-02-12T17:42:00.000-07:00

Approx. 250 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I bought an acorn squash a couple of weeks ago that I hadn't got around to eating yet. I decided that I better use it up before going to the market tomorrow. I thought about just cooking it and eating it with a bit of butter and pepper, but then decided that I wanted to stuff it with something sweet and savory. Based on the limited assortment of stuff in the fridge, this is what I came up with. I enjoyed the taste of it, but the chicken got a bit discolored because of the cherries.

Ingredients

1 medium acorn squash (4" diameter)
4 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast
3 cups spinach
1 cup mushrooms (I used portabella)
1/3 cup sweet cherries (I used frozen and didn't bother to thaw them)
1/8 cup dried bing cherries
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup water

Directions

Cut squash in half and remove seeds/strings.
Poke skin several times with a fork, cover with a wet paper towel, and then microwave on high for 5-6 minutes, or until tender (you could also bake it in the oven if you prefer).
While squash is cooking, chop cherries, spinach, mushrooms, and chicken.
Add oil and chicken to a skillet. Cook until chicken is cooked all the way through.
Add all remaining ingredients and cook until spinach and mushrooms are soft.
Fill cooked squash halves with the chicken, cherry, spinach mixture.

Swiss chard with beans and tomatoes

2010-02-11T17:57:00.000-07:00

Approx. 200 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 3 servings.

Swiss chard is one of my favorite greens (along with spinach) to cook. Often, I just saute it with a little garlic, olive oil, and red pepper flakes, but every now and then I like to dress it up a little and toss in a few other veggies or some meat. Tonight, I decided that garbanzo beans would round this out from a tasty side dish and into a main dish.

This dish is just as tasty cold as it is warm. I filled a container full of mixed greens and then added a serving of the leftovers on top and just a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. I can't wait to eat my yummy salad during lunch tomorrow.

Ingredients

3 cups Swiss chard leaves
1 can garbanzo beans
1/2 onion (approx. 2/3 cup)
4 Roma or plum tomatoes (approx. 1 cup)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup water
1/2 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

Directions

Wash and chop the chard (I didn't include the stems this time)
Dice the onion and tomatoes.
Drain and rinse the beans.
Grate the garlic into a skillet with the oil.
Heat the oil and add the onions and red pepper flakes.
Cook until the onions soften.
Add the chard, water, and tomatoes.
Cook until the chard is tender and the liquid has evaporated off.
Add the beans and mix well. Cook until the beans are hot all the way through.

Carrots and broccoli with gingered soy sauce

2010-02-09T18:48:00.001-07:00

Approx. 120 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

I found more bolted broccoli with flowers at the market this week. I was feeling a bit uninspired and decided to just make a simple quick dish for dinner. I used my julienne peeler on the carrots so they would cook quickly and cooked using a shallow pan boil/steam. This recipe is big enough for one large main dish serving or could be divided into two servings if eating it as a side dish.

Ingredients

2 cups broccoli
2/3 cup carrots
1 Tbs soy sauce (low sodium)
2 Tbs grated ginger
1/2 cup water

Directions

Add water, ginger, and soy sauce to a skillet and bring to a boil.
Add carrots and broccoli.
Cook on high, stirring frequently until vegetables are tender and liquid evaporates off.

Brussels sprouts and tomato salad.

2010-02-07T11:32:00.004-07:00

Approx. 120 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

I love Brussels sprouts. I love the color, I love the shape, I love the yummy taste of little cabbage goodness. Usually I eat them hot, often with just a drizzle of olive oil or just a little dab of butter.... or with Parmesan cheese. I decided to try something different and eat them cold in a salad. This made the perfect light lunch today.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup Brussels sprouts
3 Roma or plum tomatoes
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1-2 dashes dried oregano
1-2 dashes dried basil
1 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste.

Directions

Mix vinegar and spices together (you could add a bit of oil too if you want).
Cut the Brussels sprouts in half and cook until just tender.
Run under cold water to cool down.
Add to the vinegar mixture.
Add chopped tomatoes and mix together.
Cool the salad for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator so everything is cold and the flavors can blend.

Fennel Broccoli Salad

2010-02-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

Approx. 120 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

I know a lot of people don't like to eat broccoli once it bolts and starts to flower, but I love it. I love the long spindly stems and the taste of the flower buds, although sometimes the pollen can give a bit of a gritty texture. So, when I saw this broccoli at the farmer's market, I snapped it up. I used raw broccoli for this salad, but you could easily blanch it if you like it a bit more tender.

Ingredients

2 cups broccoli florets
3 Roma or plum tomatoes
3/4 cup fennel
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
black pepper, to taste

Directions

Remove outer layer (if tough) and core of fennel and then chop.
Chop tomatoes and cut broccoli into bite sized pieces.
Mix all the vegetables together.
Add vinegar and season with freshly ground pepper.

Potato Dill Soup

2010-02-04T18:05:00.000-07:00

Approx. 220 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 3 servings.

While the fish with dill potatoes dish was quite tasty, I still craved potato dill soup. I had lots of dill, so I made a big pot of soup!

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups red potatoes
1 cup onion
1 Tbs butter
water
12 sprigs dill (approx. 1/8th cup)
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Wash and cube potatoes (I left the skin on).
Dice onions.
Add to a pot and cover with water.
Boil until potatoes are soft.
Remove from heat and blend (I used an immersion blender and left a few chunks for texture).
Chop dill and mix in, leaving a little bit to garnish the top.
Add butter and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Dill Halibut and Potatoes

2010-02-03T17:44:00.001-07:00

Approx. 340 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

I couldn't really decide what I wanted for dinner tonight. I thought about making a potato dill soup but I had some fish that I needed to use (so I didn't have to refreeze it). But I really wanted potato dill soup. That's when it hit me that I really just wanted the flavors of potato and dill together, and decided that the fish would work with it. I had planned to add a little pat of butter to it, but decided that butter wasn't needed after I tasted it. Because the potato slices were so thin, this dish had a very light taste to it, even though it was quite hardy.

I don't have much counter space, and most of my cupboards are filled with martini glasses and booze, so I don't have lots of space for kitchen appliances. As a result, my kitchen is pretty low tech. I just used a cheapo box grater to slice the potatoes and to grate the lemon zest (mine doesn't even have the fancy bottom that catches the stuff).

Ingredients

3 oz halibut
2 small red potatoes (approx. 1 1/2 cup)
1/2 lemon
5-6 sprigs of dill
water (approx. 2 cups)

Directions

Wash potatoes and cut into thin slices.
Grate zest from lemon.
Chop dill, removing any woody stems.
Add water, half the dill, and potato slices to a skillet.
Heat until potatoes are tender but not completely cooked (approx. 3 minutes).
Add the fish and squeeze the juice from the lemon on top.
Cook for about 2 minutes and then flip.
Cover the fish and potatoes with more dill and continue cooking until the fish flakes and is cooked all the way through (about 2 more minutes).
Serve and garnish with the lemon zest and remaining dill.

Skillet ground chicken chili

2010-02-02T19:05:00.000-07:00

Approx. 250 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 3 servings.

I was going to make chili in the crock pot this morning so that it would be done and ready for dinner when I got home from work tonight. I usually assemble everything the night before and didn't, and I was running a little late this morning and didn't have time. I needed to use up the ground chicken, so I made a quick skillet chili for dinner instead. The flavors aren't as blended together as they would be if it simmered all day, but it was still quite tasty, and I actually liked the non-soggy jalapeno slices in it.

Ingredients

4 oz ground chicken breast (you could also use turkey, beef, etc.)
1 can red kidney beans
1 jalapeno
4 Roma or plum tomatoes
1/2 cup yellow onion
1 tsp olive oil
2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbs chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin

Directions

Dice onion and tomatoes.
Slice jalapeno (leave seeds in if you want it spicy).
Add oil to a skillet and heat.
Add ground chicken, onions, and spices.
Cook until well blended and chicken is cooked all the way through.
Drain and rinse the can of beans.
Add the jalapeno slices, tomatoes, and the beans.
Heat until the tomatoes are soft and the beans are hot all the way through.

Wine Steamed Halibut With Vegetables

2010-01-31T18:52:00.004-07:00

Approx. 415 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

I wanted something that was fresh and light tasting tonight, but was still filling. The vegetables were essentially boiled in white wine and the fish was steamed in it, providing a nice flavor in both. The amount of vegetables in this dish is probably really enough for two servings, so you could easily just double the amount of fish without making any other changes.

Ingredients

4 oz halibut fillet
1/2 lemon
1 cup carrots
1 cup Swiss chard
1 1/2 cup leeks
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup water

Directions

Julienne washed leeks, chard, and carrots.
Cut 2 slices of lemon off the lemon half.
Add wine and water to a skillet and bring to a boil.
Add all the vegetables.
Place the fish fillet on top of the vegetables.
Squeeze juice from the lemon half on top of fish and then place two lemon slices on top.
Cover pan and turn heat down to simmer.
Simmer for 5 minutes or until fish flakes and vegetables are tender.
Drain off cooking liquid and serve.

Spicy butternut squash and leek saute

2010-01-29T18:01:00.000-07:00

Approx. 220 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings

One of the dishes that I actually used my oven to cook (before it scared me) was roasted butternut squash slices, sprayed with a bit of olive oil and coated with garlic, oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes. I usually would toss a couple of onions in too and get the nice roasted onion slices. It was delicious hot and also quite tasty cold, especially on a spinach salad. I was craving that, but not quite enough to test the scary oven. Instead, I adapted it to the stove (and used leeks instead of onions). It doesn't quite have the depth of flavor that the roasted squash had (or the yummy crispy edges), but it was still pretty tasty.

Ingredients

1 medium butternut squash (approx. 4 1/2 cups)
2 medium leeks (approx. 1 1/4 cup)
1/2 Tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano

Directions

Peel squash and cut into thin slices; microwave for approx. 3 minutes or until nearly tender.
Wash and slice leeks.
Grate garlic and add to oil in a skillet.
Heat and then add leeks and remaining spices.
Saute leeks until tender.
Add microwaved squash and toss with leeks to fully coat with oil and spices.
Serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side dish.

Chicken and winter vegetable soup

2010-01-28T19:20:00.000-07:00

Approx 160 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

It was cold and rainy again today, so I made a nice hearty soup for dinner. I was going to take the leftovers to work tomorrow, but changed my mind and ate the entire pot of soup tonight since the brussel sprouts can get a bit "stinky" when reheated.

Ingredients

4 oz boneless skinless chicken breast
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cups Brussel sprouts
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup green onion
8 cups water
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp red chili flakes
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano

Directions

Slice Brussel sprouts in half, slice carrots and mushrooms, chop onion.
Add water, carrots, onion, chicken, and spices to a pot and bring to a simmer.
Cook until the chicken is done and the carrots are tender (about 15 minutes).
Add Brussel sprouts and cook 2-3 minutes, or until they are just tender.
Serve and garnish with sliced green onions.

Kohlrabi, lima beans, and tomatoes

2010-01-25T18:21:00.001-07:00

Approx. 220 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

Having grown up in the midwest, I associate kohlrabi with being something that is picked out of the garden in the middle of the summer. However, here in Phoenix, it is a winter crop. I've been so cold lately that I needed something that reminded me of summer, so I bought some kohlrabi, lima beans, and tomatoes. As a kid, I loved eating kohlrabi (and lima beans, and tomatoes....) but I only remember eating it raw - with a little sprinkle of salt. I decided to see what would happen if I cooked it.

This was unbelievably good! (If you dislike cabbage and/or turnips, you might not agree with me). Even BLU, my dog that HATES vegetables, was begging for kohlrabi pieces .... and eating them.... and begging for more! She spit out the lima bean that I gave her.

Just a warning if you make this dish. While it was delicous, it left a rather distinctive sour cabbage smell in the house that even Oust air freshener didn't make a dent in. My house smells like an old German grandma's house right now. I had planned to take the leftovers for lunch tomorrow, but I might have to rethink that - since it might "stink" up the place when I reheat them.

Ingredients

1 large kohlrabi (about 3 cups)
1 cup lima beans (I used frozen)
4 Roma or plum tomatoes (about 1 cup)
1/2 Tbs olive oil
1/4 cup water
1 oz white wine
red pepper flakes, to taste
black pepper, to taste

Directions

Remove leaves and then peel the kohlrabi.
(If the leaves are tender, you can add those too. If the skin is tender, you don't need to peel it. The skin was woody and the leaves were really tough on mine, so I removed them both.)
Julienne or matchstick cut the kohlrabi.
Dice the tomatoes.
Add the oil to a skillet and heat.
Add the kohlrabi and stir fry for 3-4 minutes.
Add the lima beans (I didn't bother to thaw them first), water, and a splash of white wine.
Let cook until the kohlrabi is tender and most of the fluid evaporates off.
Add the tomatoes and spices.
Cook until the tomatoes are hot all the way through and just start to soften.

Bok choy, shiitake mushroom, and cod soup

2010-01-24T12:33:00.001-07:00

Approx. 240 Calories per serving.

I had a serving of bok choy and shiitake mushroom soup left over from last night that I decided to eat for lunch today. Instead of just popping it into the microwave, I added a little more water and then heated it on the stove. As it was heating, I tossed in a 2 oz. cod fillet and let it boil for about 3 minutes. It jazzed up the leftovers so it seemed more like a new dish.

The ingredients and directions are the same as yesterday's soup, except you just add a piece of cod or other white fish while reheating.

Bok choy and shiitake mushroom soup

2010-01-23T19:42:00.004-07:00

Approx. 180 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

Even though it stopped raining today, it was still cold out and I had a chill that I couldn't get rid of. I made a big pot of piping hot spicy soup in an effort to get warm inside and out. I used fresh shiitake mushrooms, but you could easily make this with dried shiitake or with other varieties of mushrooms.

Ingredients

3 cups bok choy
1 1/2 cup shiitake mushrooms
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup chopped onions
3 cloves garlic
3 Tbs grated ginger
2 Tbs soy sauce (low sodium)
1 tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)
2 tsp olive oil
8 cups water

Directions

Wash and chop bok choy, separating stems from leaves.
Slice carrots and mushrooms, dice onion. and grate garlic and ginger.
In a soup pot, add oil, grated garlic and ginger, and red pepper flakes.
Heat until spices release their scent.
Add onions and mushrooms. Cook until softened.
Add water, bok choy stems, carrots, and soy sauce.
Cook until carrots are tender.
Add bok choy leaves and cook until wilted and tender.

Potato and Broccoli Soup

2010-01-22T17:57:00.000-07:00

Approx. 350 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

It's Friday night and time to toss some unused veggies together into a soup. Earlier this week I ate the florets off the broccoli, but saved the stems. I chopped them up, added a few chopped potatoes and boiled them together to make this simple soup. I wish I would have had a more broccoli, since I tasted mostly potato with just a hint of broccoli. I would have liked the broccoli flavor to be stronger.

I also had a little chunk of Fiscalini's San Joaquin Gold cheese left over from a party earlier in the month. I shaved off several slices and added them to the soup. Since the cheese is already rather salty, I didn't add any salt to the soup. As I stirred in the cheese, not all of it completely melted, so I got nice little bits of gooey, globby, cheesy goodness in some bites. Yum!

Ingredients

3 cups potatoes
2 cups broccoli (I used stems only)
2 oz hard cheese
water
red pepper flakes, to taste
black pepper, to taste

Directions

Wash and dice potatoes - approx. 1/2" cubes (I left the skin on)
Cut broccoli stems into 1/2" slices
Add broccoli and potatoes to a pot.
Add enough water to cover by about 1".
Add red pepper flakes, to taste (I used approx. 1/4 tsp)
Boil until potatoes and broccoli are soft.
Remove from heat and blend (I used an immersion blender).
Season with black pepper.
Serve, garnished with cheese (stir it in so it partially melts).

Black bean and chicken chili

2010-01-21T18:16:00.000-07:00

Approx. 400 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

It's been cold and rainy this week, so I made a nice hot, spicy chili to warm me up. I used ground chicken breast, but you could easily use ground turkey, beef, or pork. I also was impatient while I was cooking it and didn't let the vegetables cook down very much, so mine were a little bit crispy (I only spent about 6 minutes of actual cooking time). Increase your cooking time if you want the vegetables to have a softer texture or the broth/sauce to be thicker.

Ingredients

4 oz ground chicken breast
1 can black beans
2 jalapeno peppers
2 cloves garlic
7 Roma or plum tomatoes (approx. 2 cups)
1/2 cup green bell pepper
1/2 cup yellow onion
1/4 cup green onion
1/2 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1 Tbs chili powder
1 cup water

Directions

Drain and rinse beans.
Chop yellow onion, tomatoes, bell and jalapeno peppers, and slice green onions (green part only).
Grate garlic into a sauce pan and add oil.
Heat until oil sizzles and then add ground chicken.
Cook until chicken is cooked all the way through.
Add onion, jalapeno, cumin, and chili powder.
Cook until onion softens.
Add tomatoes, bell peppers, and water.
Cook until tomatoes cook down and soften.
Add black beans.
Simmer until vegetables are to desired level of tenderness and broth/sauce is to desired level of thickness.
Serve garnished with green onion.

Halibut with fennel and tomato sauce

2010-01-20T17:58:00.000-07:00

Approx. 475 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

I love the taste of fresh fennel and tomatoes together, and thought they would make a nice sauce to accompany the remaining halibut that I had. I didn't want to spend a lot of time getting the fennel soft; I grated it so that it would cook in about the same amount of time as the tomatoes.

I decided to toss in wine, basil, and a few olives to round out the flavor. I debated whether to make this more of a fish stew, but since I had luck pan frying the halibut last time, I decided to leave it in a single large piece. The only thing this meal was missing was a nice piece of crusty bread to mop up the remaining juices.

Ingredients

6 oz halibut
1/2 fennel bulb (approx. 1/2 cup)
4 small roma or plum tomatoes (approx. 3/4 cup)
4 large green olives
6 large basil leaves
4 oz white wine
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Remove outer layer of fennel bulb. Cut in half and remove core. Grate the fennel.
Dice the tomatoes, slice the green olives, and chiffonade cut the basil.
Rince the halibut. Pat dry. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
Add olive oil to a skillet and heat. Once oil is hot, add fish.
Cook approx. 4 minutes on medium heat to brown the fish.
Flip the fish and add wine to the skillet. Cook approx. 4 more minutes, or until fish is done and flakes.
Remove fish and set aside.
Add fennel, tomatoes, and olives to the pan.
Cook until tomatoes are soft.
Add basil and mix together.
Serve with the cooked fish.

Halibut poached in lemon dill wine sauce

2010-01-18T17:51:00.000-07:00

Approx. 450 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

I bought fresh dill on Saturday, and it has been filling my kitchen with its wonderful aroma. I decided to make a nice simple sauce that would showcase the dill flavor. If you like your sauce a little richer, you can add some butter towards the end, right before you mix in the dill. I liked it light and bright from the lemon and the dill.

Ingredients

6 oz halibut
1 shallot
4 oz white wine
1/2 lemon
1 tsp olive oil
1 Tbs fresh dill
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup haricot verts (or green beans) - I used frozen

Directions

Dice shallots and chop dill.
Rinse fish, pat dry, then season both sides with salt and pepper.
Add oil to a skillet and heat.
Add fish to the hot oil. Cook until one side is browned.
Flip the fish and then add wine, juice from the lemon, and shallots.
Reduce heat to simmer.
Simmer until fish is done, shallots are tender, and the sauce has reduced.
Once fish is done, remove to plate, and then add dill to the sauce.
Pour sauce over the fish and serve with steamed haricot verts.

Spicy chicken lettuce wrap

2010-01-16T20:51:00.003-07:00

Approx. 130 Calories per wrap. Recipe makes 6 wraps.

I bought fish at the Farmer's Market to cook for dinner tonight, but it was still frozen by the time I was ready to cook and I didn't want to deal with it. I made a quick trip to the grocery store and decided to buy a package of ground chicken breast. When I got home and surveyed the kitchen for available ingredients, I decided that a quick Asian-style lettuce wrap would be tasty and would use up some items that either needed to be eaten or tossed.

I normally wouldn't put tomatoes or rice in this dish, but I had a handful of cherry tomatoes left over from last week that were shriveling up and starting to look less than appealing. I also had some leftover rice from Chinese takeout and decided to toss that in too. Lucky for that, since I went a little crazy with the chili peppers (it was HOT!!) and the rice helped cut the spiciness.

Ingredients

8 oz ground chicken breast (or ground turkey)
3/4 cup onion
3/4 cooked rice
1/2 cup water chestnuts
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup Serrano chili peppers (adjust to your taste)
1/4 cup basil
1/4 cup green onion
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbs grated fresh ginger
2 Tbs soy sauce (low sodium)
2 tsp olive oil
6 large lettuce leaves

Directions

Chop all herbs and vegetables.
Wash lettuce leaves and pat dry - make sure they are dry before serving!
Grate ginger and garlic into a skillet.
Add oil and heat until it sizzles.
Add ground chicken and cook until mostly white.
Add onion and chili peppers.
Cook until chicken is completely cooked and onion and chili peppers soften.
Add rice and water chestnuts, and cook until warm.
Add soy sauce and mix well.
Add basil and green onions, and cook until just wilted.
Scoop onto lettuce leaves to serve.

Halibut, sweet potato, and rapini curry

2010-01-14T19:43:00.003-07:00

Approx. 420 Calories per serving (excluding rice). Recipe makes 2 servings.

I had another piece of halibut and some rice that was leftover from Chinese takeout, so I decided to make a savory curry to use them up. This turned out really tasty, and I ended up picking out (and eating) all the fish pieces that were in the second serving that I was saving for lunch tomorrow. I "justified" that decision because 1) I don't like leftover fish so I might as well eat it all while it is fresh and tasty and 2) my coworkers don't like leftover fish stinking up the microwave and break room. I'm still bringing the leftover veggies though - it hopefully will just be a little less aromatic at work.

Ingredients

6 oz. halibut
2 cups sweet potatoes
3 cups rapini leaves
2 green onions (approx. 1/8 cup)
1/2 cup bell peppers (mix of red, green, yellow)
2 Tbs curry powder
1 Tbs garlic powder (if you have fresh, add 2 cloves)
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup coconut milk
2 cups water

Directions

Dice bell peppers and slice green onions.
Cut sweet potatoes into thin strips, fish into 1 inch cubes, and rapini leaves into bite sized pieces.
Add oil, curry powder, and garlic to a skillet; heat until it sizzles.
Add bell peppers and stir fry approx. 1 minute.
Add water, coconut milk, and sweet potatoes. Cook approx. 4 minutes or until sweet potatoes are almost tender.
Add fish and cook approx. 3 minutes or until done, turning occasionally.
Add rapini and cook until wilted.
Add green onion. Mix in and heat until warm.
Serve with rice.

Halibut and vegetables in spicy ginger teriyaki sauce

2010-01-13T18:30:00.006-07:00

Approx. 385 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

I bought a nice big piece of halibut and decided to cook half of it today. I wasn't sure what to make, but decided that I needed to use the rapini as it was getting a little wilted. I also had carrots and pea pods left over from the party, so tossed them in too. I thought a spicy Asian flavor would be good, and had a new bottle of spicy ginger teriyaki sauce. Unfortunately, I was a bit slow in getting it opened. I panicked that the fish was going to burn to the bottom of the pan once the water evaporated, and just dumped it on without shaking it well. Most of the red pepper flakes (that float at the top of the bottle) got dumped into the pan. It ended up spicier than I intended, but still tasty. If you use the same sauce, make sure to shake it well before adding.

Ingredients

6 oz. halibut
1/2 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup snap peas
1/2 cup rapini
2 Tbs spicy ginger teriyaki sauce (I used East-West brand)
1 cup water

Directions

Add water to a large skillet and bring to a boil.
Add fish.
Once fish is cooked about half way, add carrots.
Once fish is white nearly the entire way up the side, flip, and then add remaining vegetables.
Cook until fish is done and all water evaporates off.
Add teriyaki sauce, coating fish and vegetables.

Mixed nuts and veggies with Thai red curry

2010-01-11T19:06:00.000-07:00

Approx. 280 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

I'm still eating party leftovers tonight. I decided to mix leftover veggies with some of the nut mix that I had. The nut mixture contained cashews, almonds, pecans, and hazelnuts. All the nuts worked ok with this dish except for the pecans. They made it taste weird. I ended up picking them out and just eating them separately. I think it would have been better though if I had just used cashews.

Ingredients

1 cup celery
1 cup broccoli
1 cup bell pepper (mixture of red, yellow, green)
1/4 cup mixed nuts (it would taste better if you just use cashews!!)
2 tsp Thai red curry paste
1/2 cup water

Directions

Heat water and curry paste.
Add chopped celery and bell pepper.
Cook for about 2 minutes.
Add broccoli.
Cook until tender and water evaporates off.
Add nuts and mix well before serving.

Avocado stuffed with shrimp salad

2010-01-10T14:25:00.005-07:00

Approx. 210 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I had some cocktail shrimp and lots of vegetables left over from a party that I had, so I needed to come up with a way to use some of the leftovers. I had kohlrabi slices left from the party, so I added those. If you don't have kohlrabi, you can use radishes, salad turnips, jicama, or just leave it out. Similarly, if you don't want the spice of a red chili pepper, you can add red bell pepper instead.

This doesn't use up much of the vegetables, but it makes a light and tasty lunch. I really enjoyed the combination of the crunchy vegetables, the sweetness of the shrimp, the "bite" of the chili, and the creaminess of the avocado.

Ingredients

1 medium avocado
3 oz. cooked shrimp
2 key limes
1/4 cup red onion
1/4 cup celery
1/4 cup kohlrabi
1/4 cup red chili pepper
2 tsp mayonnaise (I used low fat)

Directions

Finely dice vegetables and mix together.
Add mayo and juice from one key lime to the vegetables; mix together.
Remove tail shell from shrimp and slice shrimp in half lengthwise.
Add shrimp to the vegetables and gently mix together.
Cut avocado in half, remove pit, and then carefully peel off the skin.
Place an avocado half on each plate, filling it with half of the shrimp salad mixture.
Garnish with slices of the remaining key lime.

Herbed Squash and Brussel Sprouts

2010-01-07T20:48:00.000-07:00

Approx. 125 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

I was in the mood for something warm and savory today. Brussel sprouts and butternut squash remind me of winter and since I felt wintery cold, I decided that they would be perfect together. I don't know what the technical cooking term is (or even if there is one) for a shallow skillet boil/saute/steam/braise, but that's how I cooked it.

Ingredients

1 small butternut squash (approx 2 1/2 cups)
12 small Brussel sprouts (approx. 1 1/3 cup)
1/8 cup vegetable stock
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp butter

Directions

Peel butternut squash and cut into 1/2 inch cubes.
Clean, trim, and cut Brussel sprouts in half.
Add water and vegetable stock to a skillet. Bring to a boil.
Add spices and mix well.
Add vegetables and mix well.
Cook until everything is tender but not mushy (approx. 4 minutes).
Add butter to skillet and let it melt, coating vegetables.
Serve as side dish (or meal).

Shrimp with garlic lemon Swiss chard

2010-01-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

Approx. 180 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 1 serving.

The meat counter at the grocery store had shrimp already marinated for scampi. I decided to pass on those and just get the large (pre-cooked) shrimp, but then kept thinking of the delicious taste of lemon and garlic together. When I got home, I decided to make a lemon garlic shrimp and serve it mixed with Swiss chard instead of pasta. It was quite tasty. When I add shrimp to a dish, I like to remove the tail shell, so it is less messy to eat. If you like the shell for presentation, feel free to leave it on.

Ingredients

6 large shrimp (approx. 2.5 oz)
4 cups Swiss chard leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/2 lemon
1/2 Tbs olive oil

Directions

Wash chard and remove stems (save stems for another recipe).
Cut chard into bite sized pieces.
Grate garlic and zest lemon peel.
Add oil, garlic, and lemon zest to a skillet and heat.
Once oil is hot, toss in chard, and heat until wilted.
Squeeze in the juice from the lemon.
Add shrimp and cook until done (or until warm if using pre-cooked shrimp).

Sauteed Arugula with Grapefruit and Leeks

2010-01-04T19:17:00.000-07:00

Approx. 145 Calories per serving. Recipe makes 2 servings.

One of the farmers at the market this weekend was selling arugula flowers. A bunch cost $1.50 (including the leaves) and I decided to give them a try.

The farmer suggested tossing the flowers into a salad, but I was cold and wanted to eat something warm. I decided that I would saute the arugula with a leek and a grapefruit, and then garnish with the flowers.

I made a bit of a mess while attempting to segment the grapefruit. Here's a video of how to segment a grapefruit if you don't know how to do it. She's much more proficient at it than I am!

While I was cooking the arugula, I tossed a piece of steak on the George Foreman grill.

This is what my full meal looked like.

Ingredients

4 cups arugula (plus flowers if you have them)
1 leek (approx. 1 cup)
1 medium grapefruit (approx. 2/3 cup of segments)
1 Tbs olive oil
1/4 cup vegetable stock

Directions

Remove arugula flowers (if you have them) and set aside.
Clean and chop leek and arugula leaves.
Segment the grapefruit, squeezing juice from peel or remaining fruit, and set aside.
Add oil to a skillet and heat.
Saute the leek until tender.
Add vegetable stock and arugula.
Saute until tender.
Add grapefruit segments (and any juice you collected).
Heat until grapefruit is warm.
Serve garnished with arugula flowers.