Daring Cooks - September 2011 - Stock to Soup to Consomme

Peta, of the blog Peta Eats, was our lovely hostess for the Daring Cook’s September 2011 challenge, “Stock to Soup to Consommé”. We were taught the meaning between the three dishes, how to make a crystal clear Consommé if we so chose to do so, and encouraged to share our own delicious soup recipes!

I'm the kinda girl who saves chicken carcasses...I'll admit it. I come from a long line of soup makers, what can I say? So when this challenge came up, it was pretty easy to figure out what I was going to do. I rescued some of the bones from the freezer, threw in some celery, onions, a full bunch of parsley, a tablespoon or so of peppercorns, thyme and rosemary, turned the burner on and away we went. I found the key was to fill my pot with bones, tuck in the veggies (sauteed in another pan until soft), sprinkle the seasonings, and then add cold water to the top of the pot.  I let it cook for 4 hours, then strained it.  I used about half of it in the soup and I still have half left over to try and turn into consomme this week (I know, I'm late, but the consomme wasn't mandatory!)

Bubble...bubble...

I was really happy to have my fat-separator measuring cup to help get the fat out of the stock before I used it (apparently there was a lot of skin and fat in with the bones that I froze).

A handy tool

The broth itself was rich and satisfying, with a lot more flavour than I would have expected considering it was just bones and veggies.  I had to add quite a bit of salt to the soup, but it wasn't lacking for depth of flavour otherwise.



Chicken Florentine Soup

• 2 whole chicken breasts
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt to taste
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 28-ounce can tomatoes, undrained
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 Tablespoon dried basil
• 2 bunches spinach, washed, stems removed and chopped
• 1 cup small dried GF pasta (or you could use rice or quinoa, if you prefer)

Poach chicken breasts in stock until fully cooked, then chop up in little pieces.  Reserve stock.

In the bottom of your soup pot, saute carrots and onions in the olive oil until soft.  Add garlic and saute for a further 2 minutes, being careful not to burn it.  

Add tomatoes, stock, bay leaves, basil, salt, pepper and pasta (I used GF orzo, but you can use pretty much any small GF noodle). Cook until the noodles are al dente.  Add chicken, and chopped up spinach.  As soon as the spinach is wilted, adjust the seasoning if necessary, and serve the soup!

The finished product!

Daring Cooks - August 2011 - Appam and Curry

Appam, Sri Lankan Lamb Curry, and Carrots with Tropical Flavors

Toasting the spices...mmmmmm!

Mary, who writes the delicious blog, Mary Mary Culinary was our August Daring Cooks’ host. Mary chose to show us how delicious South Indian cuisine is! She challenged us to make Appam and another South Indian/Sri Lankan dish to go with the warm flat bread.


For starters I got very, very excited about the chance to make a gluten-free flatbread. My hubby realized he has a significant sensitivity to wheat almost a year ago now, so there's been little-to-no bread baking around here, and no naan (which I love!)


Secondly, I love curry...pretty much all curry (Indian, Thai, white-trash...you name it).  So all-in-all, I was pretty happy about the challenge for August. Within 2 days of it being posted online, I decided THAT WOULD BE THE NIGHT.


Unfortunately, I decided about 10:00 in the morning.  What I didn't recognize was that the second stage of the appam recipe involved letting the batter stand for 8 - 12 hours.  (I know, I know...I should have read it all the way through, but I just got so excited...).  So instead, the raw rice got only 2 hours to soak, and then the batter got maybe another 6 to ferment.  It made for a much thicker batter than it should have been, and as a result, the appam were...well, GLUEY.  Yuck. I will have to try this again when I have the right amount of time, because I think, cooked correctly, they could have been quite tasty.






As for the curries, I made the Sri Lankan lamb curry.  It was just delicious, although a bit of a pain as the only lamb stew meat you can get around here is BONE-IN, great for flavour but a whole lotta work if you actually want to EAT it. I thought the curry was delicious, but my husband and son thought the curry was actually too mild for their tastes (personally, I think the fact they wanted theirs on rice was at fault.  Everyone knows rice neutralizes about half of the flavour of things!)


The run-away surprise hit of the dinner, though, was the "Carrorts with Tropical Flavors" side dish that was offered. You would think it was just a carrot salad, but it was SO much more than that, with the creaminess from the coconut milk and the savoriness and depth from the curry leaves and the shallots.  Mmmmm...needless to say we made it again for company the same week and we will make it again often in the future!

Quinoa Pudding

Dessert...or breakfast...?

Whew...that was a bit of a long break while the rest of my life took over!

I'm back now, and trying to get back to posting regularly.  Have you missed me?  No...?  Well, then I'll have to make you something sweet to make it up to you!

I bought a couple of bags of quinoa on sale at Costco a week or two ago (because we seem to be going through it like water around here) and I was looking for new ways to use it.  A quick search led me to Cannelle et Vanille, and this recipe. I made a couple changes to better suit my tastes and the ingredients I had in the house.  And instead of topping it with macerated strawberries, we just stirred in a little raspberry jam, which was also delicious!

At the moment I'm telling myself it's healthy so I can eat it for breakfast* tomorrow...

QUINOA PUDDING
Adapted from Cannelle et Vanille

• 2.5 cups homogenized milk
• 1 cup heavy cream (not optional)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• jam or jelly of your choice

Rinse your quinoa if necessary (ours is prewashed, so I never bother with this step).  Bring milk, cream, sugar, vanilla and salt just to a simmer, then add quinoa.  Heat at a simmer for approximately 30 minutes, stirring regularly.  As it simmers, the milk will form a skin, which you can just stir back into the pudding.  The milk will also reduce and thicken up as the quinoa cooks.

After 30 minutes (or when the quinoa is cooked to your liking), turn the heat off and let it cool until it isn't scalding (my kids liked it still a bit warm).  Scoop into bowls or cups and top with a spoonful of jam or jelly, which you can mix in for some fruitiness.

*(Right...like there will be any left by breakfast tomorrow...)

Sweet and Sour Bean Salad

Pretend you see red kidney beans...ok?

This recipe has been in my family for generations...literally.  My grandmother used to make it, my mother did, and now it's all on me.

There's a reason, though, that this has been handed down...it's worth making! If you've never made a mixed bean salad before, this one will become your "go-to" as well...you can count on it! This last time I made it we were out of kidney beans so I used navy beans instead.  Most beans work well, except black beans, which tend to dye the whole salad a very unappetizing color.

SWEET AND SOUR BEAN SALAD

• 1 can garbanzo beans (chick peas)
• 2 cans kidney beans
• 3 cups cut green beans, steamed
• 3 cups cut wax beans, steamed
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped celery (optional)
• 1 cup chopped red bell peppers (optional)
• 1/3 cup oil
• 2/3 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 Tblsp. GF Worcestershire sauce

Drain beans. Add celery and onion.  Combine oil and vinegar and add sugar and seasonings.  Combine dressing and vegetables and toss lightly.  Marinate overnight in the fridge.  Drain before serving, if desired.

Save your ice cream pail for this one!

Roasted Veggies - Carrots and Cauliflower

Carrots -- delicious!

These vegetables had mixed results.  The carrots were SO good...for vegetables, as my kids say!

The cauliflower was a bit of a "fail" with my family, at least in part because roasting it seemed to bring out the "cabbagey taste", as my husband described.  All the blog posts I saw seemed to indicate it would get sweet and nutty, but that's not what we got.

To roast the veggies, it's really more of a method than a recipe.  It's a matter of cleaning, peeling (in the case of the carrots), and cutting up some veggies, a toss with some olive oil and salt and pepper, and then tuck them into a hot oven (425 - 450F) for 20 minutes or so.  I would suggest checking them after the first 10 minutes, and then every 5 minutes thereafter.

Once the veggies are tender, and a little browned, they are done and ready for noshing. Eat your veggies!

Cauliflower -- fail?

Green Chili Chicken and Lime Soup

Soup? Stew? Stroup?

This is yummy.  And hearty.  And not at all how the original author intended, I don't think.

I made it the right way the first few times, honest I did, but I kept finding myself still, well...peckish after lunch.

At which point I decided I'd better make it bigger and heftier the next time.

Feel free to adjust the amount of chilis when you make it (or quite frankly, the amount of any of the ingredients), because it's got to taste good to YOU.

GREEN CHILI, CHICKEN AND LIME SOUP
Adapted from Picky Palate

• 2 Tblsps. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 64 oz chicken stock (for how-to, click here)
• 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 7 oz can diced green chilies
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 cups uncooked rice*
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin, or to taste
• 3 cups cooked chicken, cubed
• 1 can red kidney beans
• 1 bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped
• salt and pepper

In a large pot, saute onion and garlic over low heat until soft and translucent.  Be careful not to let the garlic burn!

Stir in the water, tomatoes, chilies, lime juice, rice, cumin and Knorr.  Let simmer until rice is cooked, stirring occasionally.

Add in chicken and kidney beans and simmer until they are heated through. Just before serving, season with salt and pepper and add in the chopped cilantro.

*For rice, we have a brown and wild rice blend that we really love.  Brown rice would also be great, but use whatever rice you prefer.

Green Salad with Apples and Apple Dijon Dressing

Best. Dressing. Ever!

This was good...so good, in fact, that my daughter insisted on cutting up a second apple to dip in the dressing and eat for dessert.  No lie!

Adapted from this recipe on The Sisters Cafe, we changed it up to suit what we had in the fridge, and it was AWESOME!

GREEN SALAD WITH APPLES AND APPLE DIJON DRESSING

For Salad:

• 1 - 2 heads romaine lettuce, in bite-sized pieces
• 1 bunch kale, chopped
• 1 handful fresh spinach
• 1 apple (we used a Fuji), in bite-sized slices
• 1/2 red onion, sliced thin
• 1/2 - 1 cup toasted pecans

For Dressing:

• 2 Tblsps. olive oil
• 1 1/2 Tblsps. apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tblsp. grainy Dijon mustard
• 1 Tblsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground pepper

Toss all your salad ingredients in a bowl until well distributed.

Pour all dressing ingredients into a jar and shake until completely mixed.  Pour over salad and toss, toss, toss.  And then eat.  And then, eat seconds!

Sole with Thai Coconut Sauce

Fishy, fishy on my dishy...

Day 8 of the Hormone Diet.  5 lbs. down for me, about the same for the hubby.  Not too bad as we don't really feel like we are suffering at all.  The food has been awesome, once you get the hang of things and plan ahead.


Last night's dinner was an amazing sole dish, adapted from Grilled Mahi-Mahi with Thai Coconut Sauce found on Epicurious. We served it with some basmati rice and an amazing salad that I'll post about later.



SOLE WITH THAI COCONUT SAUCE

• 2 cans (400 ml each) unsweetened coconut milk 
• 4 Tblsps. fresh lime juice 
• 4 tsps. minced peeled fresh ginger** 
• 4 garlic cloves, pressed 
• 2 tsps. fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam) 
• 2 - 3 minced seeded Thai chiles (or leave the seeds in, depending on how spicy you like things) 
• 4 Tblsps. chopped fresh cilantro 
• 4 Tblsps. minced green onions

• 6 - 8 sole fillets

Combine first set of ingredients (everything except fish) in medium skillet.  Over medium-high heat bring to the boil, and then turn down to a simmer.  


Poach fish in sauce for about 10 minutes, or until flaky. Remove fish and tent with foil to maintain heat.

Turn heat back up on sauce and boil until reduced to your liking.  Season sauce with salt and pepper.

Divide coconut sauce among plates; top with fish and serve. 

** The ginger trick...buy fresh ginger root and keep it in the freezer in a plastic bag. When you need some "minced" or "chopped fine" you can whip it out, and grate it on a rasp or a fine grater. Easy-peasy lemon squeezy! Oh, and as Jamie Oliver says, I wouldn't bother peeling it unless you are bothered by the appearance of the skin in your dish. Otherwise, it seems to cook down just like the rest of the ginger does and I don't find it to be noticeable at all.

Vij's Prawns in Pomegranate Curry

Mmmm...date night!

So apparently, we CAN have date night without cheating on the Hormone Diet!

Along with the kale I posted about yesterday, we enjoyed this delicious prawn curry, from the second Vij cookbook, Vij's at Home: Relax, Honey: The Warmth and Ease of Indian Cooking.

Once again, this is a book worth having.  Vikram and his wife Meeru not only share some awesome recipes, but every single recipe starts with the history of the recipe, what to serve it with, etc.  It's a very personal book that makes you feel like you might just know the authors a little bit. And in my house, it got read straight through from cover to cover.

And the prawns...well, we were a little skeptical when we saw there were THREE CUPS of onion in the ingredient list.  By the time we were done cooking, we were believers.  The deliciously sweet and sticky caramelized onion and tart pomegranate juice were the perfect fit for the prawns, and this one's definitely on our list to make again!

(Along with the Amazon link above, Vij's books are also available at Costco from time to time, and worth the money for the anecdotes alone.  PLUS you get recipes!)

Coconut Kale Vij's Style!

Eat your veggies!

Hubby and I love Indian food, and this date night was no exception. We're still in the midst of the Hormone Diet, but we knew that there were lots of Indian options that we could eat.  We pulled out both our Vij's cookbooks (he's a local celebrity chef) and went to work.

Our first choice was the Grilled Coconut Kale from Vij's: Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine. This is kale marinated in coconut milk and spices, and then grilled to perfection.

It is SO hard to stop eating, it almost tastes like warm, coconutty kale chips, only not quite so crispy.  We make this every time we make Indian food for date night (and sometimes just because we're craving it). It's one of our favorites.

And my suggestion to you is to run out and buy the book, NOW and try it yourself!  ;)

SO delicious!

Robin's Quinoa with Mushrooms and Spinach

LOVE that quinoa!

Still moving forward with the Hormone Diet, this has been one of our favorites for lunch.  It makes lots, is full of protein and freezes well.  It may not look like much, but it is loaded with FLAVOR! I've made a couple of minor changes to the recipe, but if you want to read the original, just click on the title below and it will take you to the original recipe.


ROBIN'S QUINOA WITH MUSHROOMS AND SPINACH
Adapted from allrecipes.com

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 3/4 cups chicken broth (for how-to, click here)
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 (8 ounce) package sliced mushrooms
• 4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 1/4 cup chicken broth 
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (10 ounce) bag washed spinach leaves
• 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in quinoa until well blended.

Pour in 1/2 cup red wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed by the quinoa, about 30 seconds. Stir in 1 3/4 cups chicken broth, 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar, and 1 teaspoon chopped thyme. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Pour in 4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup white wine, 1/4 cup chicken stock, and 1 teaspoon chopped thyme. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the mushrooms soften, about 5 minutes.

Once the quinoa has cooked, stir in the mushroom mixture, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove quinoa from the heat and stir in spinach leaves, which will wilt. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese.

Mmmm...Butter Chicken...

Seriously delicious!

This is one of my favorite things to cook while on the Hormone Diet...or anytime, really. It's that good! It's so good, that there was only this tiny bit left for my breakfast this morning, as the family kept going back for seconds...and thirds...

BUTTER CHICKEN

To marinate:

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in bite-sized chunks
• 1 head of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. cardamom
• 1 Tblsp. fenugreek leaves
• 2-3 limes, juiced (you are aiming to have the marinade just liquid enough to coat the chicken)

To cook:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 whole onion, diced
• 1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. cardamom
• 1 Tblsp. fenugreek leaves
• 1 can coconut milk (preferably Arroy-D) DO NOT SHAKE!!
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped

Combine marinade ingredients with chicken in a large zipper bag. Marinate in fridge overnight (the longer you marinate the better it will taste, but there are many times it only gets a couple of hours around here and it's fine).

Melt butter in large pan over medium heat and saute the onion until soft. Add the chicken and marinade and cook until the chicken is sealed on the outside.

Add the tomatoes (mixture will be quite runny at this point) and lower heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered, stirring from time to time until most of the liquid has reduced (this can take 30 - 45 minutes, depending on your stove).

Open coconut milk and add just the thickened part to the mixture in pan, along with the remaining dry herbs and spices (NOT the cilantro). Cook for an additional 10 minutes or so, until the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat, stir in cilantro and serve over basmati rice.

SO good!

Chocolate Halva Smoothie

Chocolate...one of the five food groups!

I'm not much of a breakfast person (heck, I'm not much of a morning person!), and this Hormone Diet exacerbates that issue. One of the principles is that you have to eat breakfast within an hour of rising. And what breakfast, you may ask? Well, Dr. Turner's suggestion is a smoothie, preferably made from berries. Or eggs, which is even less appealing.

So on smoothie days, I wind up not doing quite what she recommends. I'll do a smoothie, but I'll do it MY way, with spinach and chocolate instead of berries.

Chocolate Halva Smoothie

• 2 Tblsp. cocoa powder
• 2 Tblsp. tahini
• 1 packet stevia powder
• 1 large handful of raw spinach
• 1 scoop protein powder
• 1 cup water

Put everything in a blender (we have a Vitamix that we LOVE!) and whiz it up. Add ice and whiz some more until it's smoothie-like.

The cocoa keeps you from tasting the spinach at all, and it really does taste an awful lot like chocolate halva (don't ask me about my halva issues, you don't want to know).

Have a great morning!

White Bean and Spinach Dip

Beans, beans, they're good for your...waistline?

So today's Hormone Diet foray into the kitchen was to make a healthy lunch from a recipe on one of my favorite go-to blogs, Choosy Beggars.

While most of their food is delicious, Tina has a real love for, and way with, beans. And by "a way with beans" I mean NOM NOM NOM! I think I've learned more about the dispatching of these legumes from her than anyone else. This recipe was no exception.

Mine is a lot greener than hers, as I let it blend for a lot longer, I suspect.

It's a lot sweeter tasting than I expected, and not super cumin-y. But, it did make for a great, "no contraband" snack this afternoon, with some veggies.

(Click the post title above or HERE to go to Choosy Beggars and try the recipe)

Greek Salad for lunch!

Nobody's missing the feta!

So...we're doing the whole Hormone Diet induction phase again, which means no sugar, wheat, pork, beef, citrus, dairy...basically anything I REALLY love. :(

It's making eating really challenging, that and the fact that you have to consume protein at every meal whether you want to or not. And LOT of veggies.

So lunch wound up being some salad shrimp with cocktail sauce (meh), and this salad.

Because I had already eaten my protein, and because I'm not allowed dairy right now (wah!) I had to leave out the feta cheese, but it was full of peppers, cucumber, tomato and black olives (I wound up having to use green onions instead of red, but that worked out fine).

GREEK SALAD DRESSING

• 1/4 cup oil
• 3/4 tsp garlic powder
• 3/4 tsp dried oregano
• 3/4 tsp dried basil
• 3/4 tsp pepper
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp onion powder
• 3/4 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar (or more, I like my dressing less oily and more "zippy")

Put all ingredients in a jar and shake it up! Enjoy with your choice of fresh veggies, olives and feta cheese (if you're allowed...sniff...)

Num Num Nuts

Num num num!

These are the things that happen in desperation on a Saturday afternoon when faced with another day of the Hormone Diet.  When the munchies hit, it's easy to reach for the nuts. And in my hubby's case, sometimes they have to be REALLY GOOD nuts.

So this Saturday, he came up with these peppy numbers, that were helped along with some Vulcan's Fire Salt from The Spice House (we very kindly received a sample with our last order and it is just delish...so spicy and complex it begs to be sprinkled on everything!).  These were all gone within an hour (and almost gone in the photo), so don't say I didn't warn you!

NUM NUM NUTS

• 2 Tblsps. butter
• 2 Tblsps. water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups mixed nuts (we used walnuts, pecans, cashews and hazelnuts)
• a few teaspoons of Vulcan's Fire Salt

Heat nuts in a dry skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until nuts begin to toast, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside. Add the butter, sugar, water and spices to the hot skillet and cook, stirring, until a glaze forms, about 1 minute. Return the nuts to the skillet and toss to combine with the glaze. Cook for about 1 to 2 minutes, or until the nuts are glazed and golden brown.

Remove from the heat and transfer to a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil, separating with a fork. Let rest until cooled and thesugar has hardened, about 10 minutes. Store in an airtight container.