Curiosity…

Posted on September 9, 2013 by melsmosaic

…might kill the cat, but it only creates a (better) cook.

I had this huge bunch of basil left from a recipe I made yesterday and was trying to figure out what I could/should do with it. Didn’t want tomato-basil salad, pesto wasn’t striking my fancy so decided to walk into my kitchen and see what I could do. I opened the freezer and scanned what was in there that I could be creative with and also looked around the counter. And the wheels starting spinning…

I was going to make a unique (?) dressing with fresh basil, fresh lime juice, shallot, pepper, black sea salt (decided that after the first blend) and a bit of olive oil. Wanted to play with appliances so threw it all in the mini-prep. That’s all it took. WOW!

Then, the ingredients I found — simple, basic, easy and healthy — what other words do I need? Like I said, I found them ‘sitting’ around — some were in the freezer and some were fresh. Sort of mentioned this in another post — use what you have! Corn, tomatoes, edamame, mango, olives.

Put them in a bowl (some of each — no specific quantities or ratios), toss with the dressing. Can we say colorful?

Then I served the salad with some pan seared scallops. Great balance of flavors all around. And, a pretty healthy Sunday night meal. Also, with the rest of my tons of basil, I did make pesto — basil, walnuts, olive oil, S&P — that’s it. Forgot garlic…

Use What You Have

Posted on September 5, 2013 by melsmosaic

It’s amazing what you can find in the kitchen, between both the cupboards and what you recently bought at the store, that can make a great meal. I got creative tonight and whipped up a tasty salad that required nothing but ‘shopping’ in my own cupboards and fridge. It took less than 10 minutes but has and will provide(d) hours of happiness, from a full stomach…to multiple meals, aka leftovers.

Ingredients:

-(Trader Joe’s) couscous
-(Trader Joe’s) grape tomatoes
-(Trader Joe’s) frozen artichoke hearts
-(Costco) hearts of palm
-Grapefruit
-Leftover chicken breasts
–Tessemae‘s Lemonette
-S&P

Directions:

-Cook couscous per directions — boil water, put in couscous, let sit 5 minutes.
-While that’s happening, defrost artichoke hearts, cut hearts of palm, peel and cut grapefruit. The chicken I had was already sliced from last night.
-When couscous is done, place in large bowl, top with all other (solid) ingredients. Toss with salad dressing, season to taste. Eat.

Rough, right? Just think about all the additions/subtractions/changes you could make to this, too, to fit your tastes.

-add nuts
-add beans (garbanzo (chick peas), black, kidney)
-no meat
-seafood (I’m out of chicken — only had a couple pieces left so salmon or tuna’s going in there tomorrow)
-dried fruit
-different dressing
-more seasoning
-base of quinoa vs. couscous

What’s the most important thing? You can make SO MUCH out of what is in your kitchen so you don’t have to go out night after night. What’s the worse case scenario? You experiment, it’s not great. You know everything that went in there and you just keep trying. Cook on my friends, cook on.

Easy Wrap-Up Dinner

Posted on August 20, 2013 by melsmosaic

So I’m a bit late writing about a quick, easy wrap-up dinner I made for Sunday night. It only took a few minutes but gave so many flavors that it was just perfect, and it was lactose free! Served some wine with it and it made going back to work on Monday even worse. Always think…make things easy…use this during the week if you want to.

I had a yellow squash that had been around for a few days that I needed to use before it went bad. So I just sliced that and put it in a pan for a bit until it was cooked to the level I wanted. A few minutes before it was done, I threw some grape tomatoes in the pan just to have them ‘pop.’ I’d been craving shrimp, so I pulled some of the frozen one out of the freezer earlier in the day. I just pan seared those about half way through the cooking of the yellow squash. Oh, for spices on these, I just picked one of my Penzey’s blends.

I looked in my fridge for what else to serve. Had some grapefruit that I always love and they are highly recommended to eat before a meal (if you’re able to) — just having it on the plate was good enough for me. Served a couple pieces of that. And I can never turn olives down. Threw some of the greek ones from Trader Joe’s on there. Had also grabbed some bread earlier in the day and just did some olive oil, S&P for dipping.

Next, the vino! At the liquor store outside of Annapolis this time, Edgewater Liquors, the recommendation was La Mondianese Grignolino. Was about $16… Very light, refreshing…will have to get more.

Also had a little bit of Cline’s Cool Climate Pinot Noir. This is one of my favorites. Since it’s grown where the temps don’t rise a ton (I learned the specs once and don’t remember all the details), it has a different taste than the other Pinot. It’s usually about $18-$20.

Love finishing the week with a nice dinner before starting a new one.

New All Around

Posted on August 6, 2013 by melsmosaic

Had some friends over for dinner the other night and there were new tastes all around the table, from cheese to salad to wine.

For pre-dinner, my friend was kind enough to bring non-cow milk cheese to make the lactose intolerant person happy. One of them was a Honey Goat Gouda from Trader Joe’s. I normally can’t stand goat cheese but love gouda. This was totally on the good side. I highly recommend it! The other was a manchego from TJ’s that I’ve had before that is equally as delicious! Great way to kick off the night.

We had three wines throughout the evening, kicking off with a Virginia white. The first was Rappahannock Cellar’s Viognier. It was a nice local grape, pairing nicely with the appetizers.

For dinner I made a recipe I had been wanting to try for awhile — Citrus-Avocado Salad. It was AMAZING! For the tamari almonds it calls for, a friend gave me the great idea of making them vs. buying them to save money. All you need to do is toss the almonds in some soy sauce, a couple dashes of Worcestershire Sauce and a pinch of sugar. You bake them at 250 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Done! For the blood oranges, sometimes they are tough to find. I came across red oranges at one grocery store. Otherwise I was going to use grapefruit or just regular oranges.

With this salad I served some pan seared (vs grilled because I live in an apartment and can’t have a BBQ) chicken breasts and quinoa.

The wines we enjoyed with this included two reds. One from Virgina — First Colony Cab from a winery in Monticello — very nice. Again, I’m finding Cabs I like — something is happening to me. The second red is one I discovered/was introduced to a few years back — Eleven. It’s from Washington and the specific varietal was the 2008 La Ronde.

Recap: Great dinner. Rave reviews around the table. Now I just keep thinking about what the next meal will bring. Cheers.

Zuch-anoush and More Mediterranean Flair

Posted on August 1, 2013 by melsmosaic

More playing in the kitchen! I had this enormous zucchini that my friend gave me from her garden that led me make a twist to one of my favorite dips. When I can find Baba Ganoush without dairy (yogurt) because of my lactose intolerance I love it, but it can be hard. So, I tend to make it at home. But, it’s fun to make small changes to the recipe. Therefore, I have made it with zucchini vs. eggplant a few times. The hardest part of all this is thinking ahead and roasting the zucchini a for a good 45 or so minutes. You just cut the zucchini into big chunks, throw it on a cookie sheet and put it in oven at about 425 to roast it.

When it’s done, you want to be sure to squeeze it to get rid of extra water. After that, throw it in the food processor and add tahini, lemon juice, garlic, S&P…and any other spices you might like. This batch seemed to be missing something but it was still good! I dipped carrots and crackers into it.

I was in a Mediterranean mood that day and continued in the kitchen and made a Village salad. I’d grabbed a great yellow (vs traditional red) tomato at the farmer’s market and added a cucumber that I had from my friend’s garden and some greek olives. I had a red onion in my fridge but totally forget to put that in there. I threw some other ingredients in the mix to both clear out my fridge and add some fun — celery and walnuts. Sprinkled with a Penzey’s spice mix and olive oil. Great, healthy, hearty meal!

Veggies, grains, fish and nuts

Posted on July 23, 2013 by melsmosaic

I continue to enjoy little-to-no-cook meals, and my next great chance came when my friend gave me some cucumbers from her garden the other day. Can’t let those go to waste. So I debated what to do with them. Normally I like to cover them in hummus but decided I could expand my horizons. I decided to go for a simple quinoa and veggie salad.

Quinoa is just a powerhouse for us, if you hadn’t heard. Need a quick cheat sheet? Check it out here. It’s also great for those who are gluten intolerant. My favorite one is the Tri-Color Quinoa from Trader Joe’s. I cooked that first (the nice 15 minutes, including boiling time). While that was underway, I cut my cucumbers into big chunks and found the other ingredients I wanted to throw into the salad. I opted for grape tomatoes, canned tuna, some walnuts and just a simple oil & vinegar dressing, oh, and S&P.

This was perfect! So refreshing, healthy and very filling. There are so many variations you can make to it, too. Any veggie, any meat, any nut. So, what are you making for dinner tonight?

No-Cook Delicious Meal

Posted on July 22, 2013 by melsmosaic

Well, it’s still nice and hot here in DC. That makes turning on anything in the kitchen unappealing. For the last week I’ve been craving gazpacho and finally got it done today. My favorite recipe is beyond simple. It barely requires a knife. Though it’s not from my favorite chef, I’ll give ’em dibs on the amazing recipe. It’s called Macho Gazpacho.

I add garlic to the recipe because that’s just essential to life and this kind of soup, and I cheat with Tabasco vs. jalapenos. I also didn’t use the entire amount of cayenne and used a regular vs. English cucumber (just cleaned out the middle/seeds).

You just cut some of the ingredients into smaller pieces, throw everything in the food processor, blend, eat. Before the actual eating part, I added some pre-cooked shrimp.

I served this with Stacy’s Pita Chips, olives from the olive bar at Wegman’s (ahhh, bliss…), some hummus and a new wine that the two sommeliers at Wegman’s recommended…a nice, crisp white from Spain, the Valminor Albarino.

Despite the heat, my friend and I sat outside to enjoy the meal and watched a thunderstorm roll in. It was a perfect meal and nice way to wrap up a weekend. Cheers until next time.

Hot Temps Mean Refreshing Dinners

Posted on July 16, 2013 by melsmosaic

Washington, DC (All Summer) — It’s mid-July, I’m in the DC-area. What does that mean? HOT temps. And, it’s only going to get worse. This Thursday is going to be high 90s without factoring in the humidity. So, easy-to-make, refreshing dinners are the best way to go.

My brother told me about an Alton Brown Grilled Mahi Ceviche recipe that was top-notch, and it sounded great. Since it’s grilled you don’t have to remember to throw the fish in the lemon and/or lime juice many, many hours ahead of time. Just two and then you throw it on the grill. Decided to pair that with some easy oil-based coleslaw, chips, salsa and guacamole.

For the Mahi, you just put some basic ingredients together and let them sit for a couple hours. I bought the Mahi chunks from Trader Joe’s because they were half the price of the steaks!

After a couple hours, pat the fish dry and throw it on the grill.

You keep the ‘marinade’ from the fish, heat in on the stove, and eventually use it again on the fish.

For the ‘slaw, I grabbed a great bag of broccoli slaw mix from Trader Joe’s — super easy! No cutting or chopping required for the base. I did chop some cilantro and garlic and for the dressing, just did a quick vinaigrette of:

-lemon juice

-lime juice

-cumin

-coriander

-olive oil

-hint of chili powder

-S&P

Next step was prepping the pre-made guacamole (because the avocado would have required electrical equipment to mash). I always add some spice to the packaged stuff:

Now, it’s dinner time!!!! Mahi, coleslaw, tortilla chips, salsa, guac, red wine. All to wrap up a great weekend.

As I enjoyed this dinner, I kept thinking the guac was off. Well, I was house sitting and used what appeared to be salt for the guac. Yes, I was right when it tasted sweet the first time and added some more of the fine crystals. It finally occurred to me to taste the stuff. Oh, I was adding sugar not salt. Note: Sweet guacamole IS NOT good.

Kale Mary!

Posted on June 26, 2013 by melsmosaic

Summer is here, temps are high, so cooking extreme meals isn’t really the most appealing thing to do. I love kale chips but right now don’t feel like turning on the oven so was looking for something else to do with that health-benefit-bearing kale. Though I don’t really enjoy it raw when it’s in large pieces, I learned a couple years ago to take it to the food processor!

Was trying to clear out some stuff from my kitchen and came up with the following combo based on my mood:

-kale
-frozen mangoes (chunks — love the ones from Trader Joe’s)
-peanuts
-basic seasoning of garlic, onion powder, lemon juice, S&P, olive oil

So, I just put the kale (stems removed) in the food processor bit by bit to get it to the texture I like. Then I threw the frozen mango chunk in there and just pulsed a couple times and it got them into smaller, yet still good size pieces. Threw the spices in and perfect. Removed it from the food processor and stirred the peanuts in. Then tossed in some canned tuna. So good, very filling and healthy.

What’s great about this quick recipe is that there are so many options. You just need the base of kale and can change the rest around:

-Any fruit, fresh or dried (have used apricots and cherries before)
-Any nuts (almonds, walnuts, etc)
-So many spices!
-So many meats, if you even want them. How about a nice grilled chicken breast or seared tuna steak to serve on the side?

Grown-Up Kids’ Food

Posted on June 25, 2013 by melsmosaic

I had my monthly supper club the other night and was excited as usual! How can you not be excited about getting together with a bunch of people who love to cook with a changing theme every month? This month’s theme — grown-up versions of kids’ food (based on foods you loved — at least that was my addition to it).

It took me awhile to decide what to make because a lot of kids’ foods that I think of have dairy (aka cheese) and I have to nix those because of the darn lactose intolerance. So I did some personal outreach and mental recap of what I liked as a kid (and what others would eat since I grew up eating almost everything). So what did I come up with — Caesar Salad. Ahh, Caesar Salad. Come on, how could that not be a kid food. Ok, ok, I’ll stop now.

The recipe I use is from The Washington Post in the ’80s. It’s scribbled down though now I have it pretty much memorized. Simple basic ingredients, combine, shake, taste, dress romaine. And, in the interim, toast some bread for croutons to throw in there.