Framboise and ginger ale … I’m probably not the first to put together this concoction, but I’m feeling pretty innovative, nonetheless.
Archive for the ‘Eats’ Category
Experimental drink WIN
Posted in Eats, tagged drinks, Framboise, ginger ale, postaday2011 on March 12, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Reconsidering our food sources, again
Posted in Eats, tagged cooking, food, Inc., movies, postaday2011 on March 8, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I saw Food, Inc. at the Huntsville Botanical Garden on Saturday, and I’m still trying to process it.
It showed in vivid detail the conditions that chickens, cows and pigs live and die in, conditions that so many of us are already aware of but choose to ignore. It also revealed that our entire food supply is increasingly under the control of just a handful of companies, and our government’s food safety system is horribly broken.
All in all, it revealed that even a carefully considered family meal plan with fresh, seemingly wholesome ingredients may not be enough.
Two citrus flavors combine in exceptional quinoa dish
Posted in Eats, Photographs, tagged citrus quinoa, cooking, mojo shrimp, postaday2011, quinoa, shrimp, shrimp quinoa on March 7, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Last night, I finally got around to combining two dishes that I knew would taste great together, a la Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups: Citrus Quinoa and Mojo Shrimp.
The Citrus Quinoa recipe, from Coastal Living, was designed to go with a snapper entrée. The Mojo Shrimp recipe is actually a Mojo Chicken recipe that seemed like it would work for shrimp, too. The quinoa has an intense lime flavor, and the shrimp adds a light burst of spicy orange flavor to the mix.
I made a few changes to the original Citrus Quinoa recipe, so I’ve outlined my version below. The original calls for parsley, which I never have around and never seem to miss. I also made a couple of changes to the cooking process, since the original version resulted in mushy quinoa.
Citrus Quinoa
Adapted from Coastal Living’s Citrus Quinoa Recipe
1 1/4 cups uncooked quinoa
2 1/2 cups water
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lime zest
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Rinse quinoa thoroughly. Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the quinoa and 3/4 teaspoon salt; reduce heat and simmer until the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients.
Mojo Shrimp
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
1/2 pound medium shrimp
Combine juices, oil, garlic, paprika. oregano, salt and chili flakes in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add the shrimp; seal and marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour and up to three hours.
Pour about a tablespoon of olive oil into a medium skillet and add the shrimp; stir fry for two to three minutes or until shrimp are opaque. Serve over Citrus Quinoa.
Baking the annual king cake
Posted in Eats, Photographs, tagged baking, cinnamon, cinnamon sugar, cream cheese, food, frozen bread dough, king cake, Mardi Gras, postaday2011, recipes, Southern Plate on March 6, 2011| 6 Comments »
I made our annual king cake today with a recipe from Southern Plate that called for frozen bread dough. It was a cinch to make compared to my traditional recipe, which calls for making the dough, letting the dough rise, punching down the dough, letting the dough rise yet again, rolling and shaping the dough, letting it rise again, baking the cake, and finally decorating the cake. If it sounds like a ton of work that takes all day, you are correct.
This recipe calls for adding lemon extract to the cream cheese filling; I associate king cakes with a light cinnamon flavor, so I substituted cinnamon for the lemon. How much cinnamon? A few shakes. This was a cooking-by-taste experiment.
If I made it again, I would skip the cream cheese filling altogether and simply coat the dough with butter and cinnamon sugar before rolling it up. Simple is better when it comes to king cakes.
Like Southern Plate’s Christy Jordan, I couldn’t find purple sugar at the grocery store, so I ended up with hot pink. I’m pretty sure the cake glows in the dark; I really need to go downstairs and check before the cat freaks out.
The ring obviously did not maintain its shape during baking, but it didn’t totally stick together in the middle.
The husband’s verdict: It’s OK, but not as good as the make-king-cake-all-day version.
My verdict: It’s definitely got a shot without the cream cheese filling.
King cake shortcut
Posted in Eats, tagged baking, food, frozen bread dough, king cake, Mardi Gras, postaday2011, Southern Living, Southern Plate on February 28, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Mardi Gras is approaching, and I’m craving king cake. Although the king cakes at Publix are looking better than they did a couple of weeks ago, I’m tempted to make my own this year. Only the extremely complicated recipe that my mom culled from Southern Living a couple of decades ago takes the better part of a day to make. It also yields two king cakes, a bonus if everyone in the household works in an office, but about 1.5 king cakes too many if one person works at home with a finicky tabby cat.
I may have found my answer over at Southern Plate, where Christy Jordan has made a perfectly presentable king cake using a roll of frozen bread dough. I don’t know that I can abide hot pink sugar on my king cake, and I may skip the cream cheese filling in favor of my usual buttery cinnamon sugar, but other than those two elements, I think Christy may be my inspiration this year.
A long journey to better quinoa
Posted in Eats, tagged cilantro, Costco, Earth Fare, food, kitchen, pine nuts, postaday2011, quinoa, recipes, red quinoa, superfood, toasted pine nuts on February 22, 2011| 9 Comments »
About 10 years ago, my husband brought home a small bag of quinoa from the local health food store. I don’t remember if he called it a superfood, but he did note that it was packed with fiber AND protein, making it a rare grain indeed.
The problem was that we had no idea how to make it edible. We learned the mechanics of making quinoa pretty quickly: Rinse it thoroughly before cooking, and then simmer it like you would rice.
Our cooked quinoa was bland, however. We added broth. We salted. We oversalted. We added herbs. We added spices.
We gave up.
Fast forward to 2008. Quinoa is officially a superfood, and recipes abound. It’s also more readily available, so no more trekking to the health food store for expensive 8-ounce bags of grain.
I finally got my act together with quinoa last year, after I found a couple of basic recipes and started experimenting.
My first discovery: You REALLY need a well-made strainer with tiny holes to properly rinse the grains. Covering the quinoa with water and then pouring it off just makes a huge mess, no matter how careful you are. Just pour the dry quinoa into the strainer and turn on the tap for a minute or so, making sure the water runs over all the grains.
I adapted a Rachael Ray recipe as my go-to quinoa dish, cutting it in half and making a few tweaks. The original calls for a blend of cilantro, basil and parsley. I NEVER have parsley in the house, and I rarely have cilantro AND basil. Her recipe also called for a mixture of black olives and green olives; the husband determined that he preferred the dish with green olives only.
Splurge for the pine nuts: They MAKE this dish. I toast mine in a skillet over low heat until they’re slightly fragrant and starting to tan and I’m a little freaked out that I might burn them. So they’re probably under-toasted, but delicious nonetheless.
I get most of my quinoa at Costco, which sells it in 4-pound bags, and augment it with a pricier red quinoa from the bulk bins at Earth Fare. I don’t think the red quinoa changes the taste much, but it does make the dish more colorful.
The husband prefers quinoa as the base for chicken, but I eat the leftovers meat-free.
Quinoa with Herbs and Olives
(Adapted from Rachael Ray’s Quinoa with Herbs and Mixed Olives)
In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add the quinoa and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
Stir in 1 1/8 cups water, season with salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat, cover and simmer until the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let the quinoa stand for 5 minutes. Add the olives, pine nuts and herbs and toss with a fork to combine. Season with salt to taste.
Pies on the prize
Posted in Eats, tagged baking, food, kitchen, Mrs Dragon, Mrs Dragon's Den, pecan pie, Pi Day, pie, pie crust, postaday2011 on February 17, 2011| 2 Comments »
Is there such as thing as a pie gauntlet? If so, then Mrs Dragon has thrown it down.
In celebration of Pi Day — 3/14 — she has issued a pie challenge, complete with nifty prizes. I certainly won’t be making any more sweet potato pies, but I do have some pecans awaiting their destiny in the freezer.
I also have an awesome recipe from the folks at America’s Test Kitchen. All I lack now is the ability to properly roll out a pie crust.
Impress your vegetarian friends with black bean salad
Posted in Eats, tagged black bean salad, black beans, cooking, food, olive oil, postaday2011, potluck, recipes, vegetarian on February 12, 2011| 1 Comment »
I’m not a vegetarian, but I always seem to bring vegetarian dishes to parties. I guess I’m a sympathizer.
This is a recipe that several people have requested. Last week, a friend remembered the dish from a year ago and asked me to bring it to a gathering tonight.
It’s ridiculously easy to make. The original recipe, which someone emailed to me a few years ago, called for a couple tablespoons of olive oil, but I left it out after the oil got clumpy in the refrigerator once. You won’t miss it. Also, the original recipe says it makes four to six servings, but it makes tons of servings for a potluck-style dinner.
Black Bean Salad
Two 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tomatoes, seeded, chopped
1 small bell pepper, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons minced cilantro
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and black pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients, mixing well. Chill, covered, for at least one hour.
Conquering the trendy cookie
Posted in Eats, tagged Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookie Sandwich, cookies, digital scale, kitchen scale, Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies, Oreos, postaday2011 on February 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Here it is: my version of the Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookie that’s been mentioned on dozens of food blogs over the past few weeks.
I’m glad I got that out of my system.
They were delicious just out of the oven, but they seem to be getting crunchier with every hour that passes. I prefer my cookies softer.
I used mini Oreos instead of the full-sized cookies, since blog after blog warned me that these cookies were ridiculously oversized. Since I don’t own a cookie scoop of any size, I weighed small balls of cookie dough on my digital kitchen scale. Two .5-ounce dough balls covered each cookie.
My verdict: They’re fun, but overrated. I’m taking them to a party tomorrow night, so we’ll see if I change their rating based on the reaction of other diners.
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