Foodies-8/28/2014 Street Food

Aleathia says:

This week I found a cool cook book tucked back in the stacks.  Susan Feniger's Street Food looks at cultural cuisine that you can find at street vendors.  These are foods you would have to wander around to find in the heart of a communities cultural center.

There are some exotic wonderful foods in this book.  If I weren't running out the door for vacation I would put a recipe or two, so you'll just have to find this book at your local library or book store and explore it for yourself.

Foodies-8/14/2014 Budget Bytes

Aleathia says:

This week Michael knew that I needed another cook book to look at and while he was checking the new releases at the library he came home with one called Budget Bytes.  When looking up this book on the internet for a photo for the cover of the book, I came upon the website above.

This is Beth Moncel author of the book and blog Budget Bytes.  She is self proclaimed broke woman who loves to eat.  Her website and book allow for you to eat super tasty items on a budget.  Who doesn't want to save money at the grocery store?  I'm pretty sure this is why Michael brought this book home because I'm always complaining how high our grocery bill is.  So we are going to give some of the recipes a little try in the coming weeks.

I had plans to surf the book and type out recipes for you, but on Beth's website she does a wonderful job giving photo step by step recipe directions.  And, I just helped clean a gross basement so I'm now lazy. Here is the link for Spicy Hoisin Noodle Salad!

And a Pesto Ricotta Pasta Salad.

This one is high on my list to try:  Choizo Sweet Potato Skillet. Oh baby.

Enjoy!!

Foodies-7/17/2014 Tacos

Aleathia says:

This week's cook book review takes a look at Mark Miller's book Tacos.  Who doesn't love a damn taco? These are pretty fancy.  I'm giving you one veggie and one meat example.  This book has recipes for vegetarian, chicken, turkey, seafood, fish, pork, beef and breakfast tacos.  It also has a few recipes for salsas and slaws.  Get busy cooking!

Mushrooms with Roasted Corn and Marjoram

Makes 6 Tacos

2 medium poblano chiles (oil roasted, peeled, cored, seeded)

3 T butter

6 oz Portobello mushrooms, 1/4 inch slices

1.5 oz shiitake mushrooms (stemmed, cut in 1/4 inch slices)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

1 cp fresh corn, dry roasted

1 T olive oil

1 tsp chipoltle puree (1 jar chipoltle peppers in adobe sauce, blended)

1 tsp fresh lime juice

2 tsp loose packed chopped fresh cilantro

1 tsp chopped fresh marjoram

white corn tortillas

garnish with fresh julienned basil or toasted pine nuts

*saute mushrooms in a large pan with butter, add garlic, salt and pepper until golden

*remove pan from heat.  Stir in corn, olive oil, chipoltle, lime, cilantro, marjoram.  Serve immediately

Paired beverages:  Pinot Noir or Tempranillo

Chicken with Chorizo

Makes 8 Tacos

1/2 cp water

1 T fresh lime juice

1 poblano chile, stemmed

1 jalapeno chile, stemmed

leaves from 1 bunch of cilantro

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp green chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin seed (toasted and ground)

1/2 tsp coriander seed (toasted and ground)

1/4 tsp Mexican oregano (toasted and ground)

1 tsp salt

1/4 cp fresh flat leaf parsley

1 bunch green onions, cut in big pieces

1.25 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast (cut in 1/2 inch wide strips)

6 oz Mexican pork chorizo

1 T vegetable oil

1/2 white onion thinly sliced

yellow corn tortillas

*blend water, lime, chiles, cilantro, garlic, cumin, coriander, chili powder, oregano, salt, parsley, and green onions in a blender.

*cut chicken in strips and pour marinade over the chicken, cover and let stand 1 hour.

*saute onion until carmelized, then add chorizo.  Cook through fully.  Remove from pan but leave the fat.

*cook chicken in the same pan.  Pull chicken from the marinade without excess marinade.  Cook until done.

Serve with salsa of your choice.

Paired beverages:  Dark Beer or  Chilled Rose

Foodies-7/3/2014 Marinades

Aleathia says:

It is that time of the week again where we go on a food adventure.  New this week at the library is a cookbook called Marinades by Lucy Vaserfirer.  It literally is an entire book of marinades from all over the world for all different kinds of proteins.  I am sure you could use many of them on veggies as well.  The world is your oyster, as they say.

The book is sectioned off very nicely by types of marinades and then later in the book by geographic location.   The recipes are very easy to follow and many contain ingredients you would have lying around the house.  The marinades are either mixed or blended.  There are a few that require some extra steps, but most are simple.

In the recipe I will note either "mix and marinate" or "blend and marinate".  The marination time for proteins is 2 hours to overnight.  For fish and seafood it is up to 45 minutes.  Each recipe will be noted with a serving size and this would be equal to the number of servings of protein you are going to marinate.  Let's get going.

Rosemary Maple (fish, pork, chicken)  2 servings

2 T soy sauce

2 T maple syrup

1 T EVOO

1 garlic clove, minced

1 1/2 tsp minced fresh rosemary

fresh pepper

Mix and marinate

Spicy Cajun (chicken, beef, shrimp)  2 servings

1/4 cp canola oil

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp white pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne 

salt

Mix and marinate

Fennel Citrus (chicken, pork, fish)  2-4 servings

3 T EVOO

3 T orange juice

1 T lemon juice

1/4 cp diced fennel

2 garlic cloves, sliced

1 T sugar

Salt and pepper

Blend and marinate

Tandoori (chicken, beef, lamb, shrimp)  2-4 servings

1/3 cp plain yogurt

1 T lemon juice

2 tsp fresh ginger, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp paprika

3/4 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground

1/8 tsp cardamom

salt and pepper

Mix and marinate

Mango Cilantro (chicken, pork, beef)  5-8 servings

1 T canola oil

1 T fresh lime juice

1/4 cp lightly packed cilantro

1/2 large mango, diced

1 garlic clove, sliced

salt and pepper

Blend and marinate

Foodies-6/26/2014 Carla's Comfort Foods

Aleathia says:

Hello again.  It is time to try out a new cookbook.  This week we are going to look at Carla Hall's new cookbook called Carla's Comfort Foods.  You might know Carla from Bravo's TV show Top Chef.

Carla's cooking is all about healthy, nutritious foods that are also bursting with flavor.  This book in particular is set up in sections like normal cookbooks, but in the upper left corner near the name of the recipe she also lets you know what country the recipe is inspired by or where it comes from.  Today we are going to look at a Chinese dish that features eggplant.

Hot and Sour Eggplant Stir-fry

5 small, stripy eggplants (Chinese or Japanese), trimmed, cut in eighths lengthwise, then cut in half crosswise

Kosher salt

3 quarts warm water

2 serrano chiles, stemmed and minced, with seeds

1 T sugar

1.5 T soy sauce

1 T red wine vinegar

1 tsp cornstarch

2 T canola oil

2 scallions, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces

2 T sliced fresh basil leaves

Sprinkle egglpant with 1 T salt and then immerse in the warm water in a large bowl.  Let stand while you prepare the other ingredients

In a small bowl, stir in the chiles, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, and cornstarch until the sugar dissolves.

Drain the egglpant very well and press dry between paper towels.  Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat until very hot.  Add 1 T of the oil and then half of the eggplant.  Cook, tossing and stirring, until browned and just tender, about 5 minutes.  Transfer to a plate.  Repeat with the remaining oil and eggplant and then return the first batch to the wok.

Add the scallions and the chile mixture.  Cook tossing and stirring for 2 minutes.  Toss in the basil and serve immediately.

Note:  Have your rice in the rice cooker and time it to be done around the same time.

Serves 4

This cookbook is full of wonderful dishes from around the world and the recipes are very simple and easy to follow so this would be a great way for a new cook to try out more fancy dishes.  Have fun.  Cook often.

Foodies-6/5/2014

Aleathia says:

It is food time again folks.  On another jaunt to the library I found a great cookbook by J. M. Hirsch called High Flavor, Low Labor.

The idea behind this cookbook is that you don't have to sacrifice great flavors because you don't have enough time.  These meals are easy to prepare, but still pack a punch in the taste department.  Most of the recipes have 10 or fewer ingredients with very simple preparations.  I am going to be sharing a recipe for Lemon Grass and White Bean Chili:

As with any recipe, I make alterations of my own to make it more palatable for my family.  This recipe calls for several things which I am going to swap out.  We can't tolerate jalapenos in this house due to stomach issues so I'm substituting a can of prepared green chilies.  The recipe says to used ground turkey, but remarks that ground chicken or lean ground beef can be used as well.  I'm going with the beef.  It also calls for fresh spinach that gets wilted through the soup but I detest wet spinach so I am going with kale instead.  It holds up better and could be frozen if there are leftovers.

Lemon Grass and White Bean Chili

15 inch stalk lemon grass, cut into 4 segments and gently crushed

2 T olive oil

1 can prepared green chilies (or 1 T diced jarred jalapeno slices)

1 large yellow onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp smoked paprika

14 oz can of coconut milk

1 cp chicken broth

1 1/4 pounds ground meat

15 oz can cannellini beans, drained

4 cps lightly packed chopped kale (or whole baby spinach)

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan or medium Dutch oven over medium-high heat, combine the lemon grass, olive oil, chilies, onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, and paprika.  Saute for 3 minutes.

Add coconut milk, broth, ground meat, and beans (note: I am leery about the safety of this step of adding raw meat to the broth so if you also worry, cook the meat with the onions and spices, then add the liquids). Bring to a simmer, then cover, reduce heat to low and cook for 20 minutes.  Discard the lemon grass.  Add the kale and stir for 1 minute or until it wilts.  Season with salt and pepper.

I plan on trying this recipe next week!  Enjoy.