Getting "Steamy" - Again

I've been away from this blog for way too long.  For those that read my family blog, you'll know why.  If you need a quick recap...2 weeks ago I twisted my knee wrong in a yoga class and 'pop' it went.  I've been slowly recovering, but I'm still in pain.  MRI results have been read and I have an appointment with an orthopedic doc tomorrow to find out what it shows.  So long story short, the pain took me out of the game for awhile.  Then the emotional aspects kicked in and took me out of the game for awhile longer. 

But now I'm back!  And what better way to get back in the game than by getting back in my kitchen.

As I wrote about in my last entry, I was selected to be a recipe tester for Jaden over at the Steamy Kitchen.  The deadline for testing is today so I knew last night was my last shot at working through a handful more recipes.  So I chose five recipes to try and invited our neighbors over to join in on the fun.  (For the record, I premixed all of the sauces and 'secret' stuff so as to not divulge the exact recipe ingredients.  I take this recipe testing seriously!)

Our neighbors brought wine, cheese, their culinary skills and lots of good conversation.  I "steamed" up the kitchen with the following menu:
- Miso Soup
- Steamed Asparagus tossed with a ginger-miso butter
- Cauliflower "Steaks"
- Seared Scallops over a bed of greens, topped with a tasty vinaigrette
- Blackened Tofu that had been rubbed in seasonings and topped with a soy-ginger sauce
- Plus I pulled out the frozen shrimp and spinach dumplings I made the first time I tested recipes...cooked those up too.

Oh my word.  It was a tasty night.  And fun.

Not to sound too old fashioned, too Norman Rockwell-ish, but the kids were outside, playing, enjoying the spring weather.  Instead of catching lightning bugs, they gathered up stink bugs.  Us ladies hunkered down in the kitchen and got busy cooking.  The men talked UVA sports. 

The format of the dinner was to eat each thing as it got plated up, (after I plated up the one perfect plate to photograph) then we talked about what we liked, would change, etc.  Then we'd drink more wine and start with the next dish.  All of the dishes, except for the miso soup, were mouth watering good.  Absolutely delicious and things that I will definitely make again.  The recipes also got me excited to buy Jaden's cookbook when it comes out.  The cookbook that will have my name listed in the "special thanks to" section :)

And without a doubt if there's money to be made as a Professional Recipe Tester, then count me in.

My Own "Steamy Kitchen"

About a year ago I stumbled upon the Steamy Kitchen website and blog.  The author, Jaden Hair, specializes in "Fast, Fresh and Simple" meals.  She had me at fast, roped me in further with fresh and sealed the deal with simple.  I've been a fan of her Asian inspired meals from the minute I bookmarked her page.

Around the end of February she put out a call for Recipe Testers to help her out with her second cookbook.  She was looking for around 20 people.  I quickly sent an email volunteering my services, but considering she has 22,000 Facebook fans, and who knows how many thousands follow her blog, my chances were most likely slim to none.  Well guess what...I was chosen!

My name is Tracy and I'm a recipe tester.

Once I received my email with instructions and links to the recipes, I hit Whole Foods, then got busy cooking.  Tonight I made three of her recipes:
1. Chicken & Mango Lettuce Wraps
2. Crispy Rice Patties
3. Sriracha Sauce (to top the lettuce wraps)

I wish I was a better food photographer, because I'd love to share some gorgeous photos that would show off how tasty the dishes came out.  The lettuce wraps were incredibly tasty, and definitely "fast, fresh and simple".  My husband and I loved them, my picky girl ate the chicken from the mix, and my youngest ate everything in the mix.  The rice patties were a disaster to look at (except the one, and only one, that I snapped a picture of), but they were very tasty to eat.  Again, us grownups loved them.  My youngest thought it was super fun to eat rice with her hands, and my oldest daughter (the picky one) wouldn't touch them with a 10-foot pole.  And the sriracha sauce, while not what you think of as the stuff in the rooster bottle, was a fun twist on a hot pepper relish.  Definitely something I will make again...especially when we start picking our own homegrown peppers.

Dishes next on my list to try...chilled soba noodles, tofu and mushroom miso soup, a salmon dish, a seafood curry, an asparagus side dish, and broiled mango dessert.  Plus anything else I can squeeze in.  My 'Steamy Kitchen' is going to be busy these next 2 weeks.

VOTM - Just Barely Made It

Thank heavens it's a leap year, because without it I would have failed with my personal Vegetable of the Month challenge.  And to fail only 2 months in to this endeavor, might have just flat out defeated me.

But thanks to the 29th day in February I was able to squeeze in my third (and most likely final) attempt at making brussel sprouts.

To recap, Brussel Sprouts way #1 was sauteed in a pan with some oil, garlic, shallots and bacon.  Pretty good.  Mostly likely because of the bacon.  For Way #2 I roasted the little guys.  Decent.  For Way #3 it was back in a pan with some garlic, a touch of butter, oil and chicken stock.  Yuck.  Out and out yuck.

I really, really wanted to like brussel sprouts.  After I posted my sprouts entry on Facebook, I was overloaded with emails, FB messages and links to blogs with recipes to try out.  I was even treated to a very fun email from my aunt with stories of my maternal grandmother (whom my oldest daughter is named after) and how she liked to cook this veggie.  Food was connecting me to friends and family, so I was even more determined to blog today that I was a brussel sprouts convert, and then just rave about how much I love these little green mini cabbages.  And pat myself on the back because "look how healthy I am.  I'm a real food foodie that not only eats, but loves, brussel sprouts."

But all said and done, I just didn't like them.  I tried.  I stayed open minded.  But there's a pretty good chance that I'll never make another brussel sprout again in my entire life.  Although, my husband liked all 3 ways I made them so maybe for him I'll add them in to our rotation every so often.  Maybe.

Now it's time to think of March's Vegetable of the Month.  Any suggestions?

It Sure is Heavy

Believe it or not, I've never made a lasagna.  Not once.  Never.

Why not?  Well, I don't really know why not.  Maybe I thought it was too intimidating.  Maybe I thought it would turn out bad.  Maybe I thought it was too fattening (back when I believed that no fat = healthy).

Well I'm proud to say that I've made my first lasagna!

Tonight I tackled Spinach Lasagna roll-ups - basic lasagna cheese mixture (or at least I assume it's basic...like I said this was my first time at the rodeo), add some spinach, spread mixture on each cooked lasagna noodle, roll up, put spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a 9x9 pan (for the record, I made my own sauce...YUM!), make 9 roll-ups, cover with more sauce, mozzarella, bake covered, uncover and broil until cheese turns into a delicious bubbly brown color.

As I was putting my dish into the oven, a funny thing happened.  I had a incredibly vivid, wonderful memory of my Uncle Tom.  Uncle Tom passed away when I was in high school, but one of the things I'll never forget about him is every time he made a lasagna for our family gatherings - every single time - he'd say "it may not be good, but it sure is heavy."  Tonight when I lifted up my lasagna I was surprised how heavy it was, and of course I thought "it may not be good, but it sure is heavy."  I was immediately transported back to my aunt's and uncle's house, with my cousins and their cat Beezus.  I was in that kitchen (which if I remember correctly had a classic 70s yellow fridge and matching oven).  Technically I was right outside of the kitchen on a barstool at the counter.  My mom and my aunt (sisters) would be whirling about the kitchen getting everything else together for the meal.  Someone would be warning me not to touch the scalding hot pan.  Most likely later at dinner I'd slop sauce on the nice tablecloth.  After dinner I'd go to the formal living room and look at the "Rome - Then and Now" flip book.  Loved that book!

Just for the record, my uncle's lasagna was incredible.  Every single time he made it.  It was heavy AND delicious.  My lasagna tonight was delicious.  And even if it hadn't of turned out very well, I will make lasagna from now until my final days.  Food is first and foremost about nourishment, right?  Then after that food is about fun times.  Family.  Friends.  Memories.  Food should connect us...to our present and to our past. And tonight my lasagna did just that.

VOTM - Brussel Sprouts

February's Vegetable of the Month: BRUSSEL SPROUTS!

Last month as I was trying to think of ideas for February's VOTM, I started asking around for ideas.  I asked friends, yoga instructors, gym rats, preschool parents, neighbors, blogging friends, etc.  Then it occurred to me...I need to ask my husband!  My cooking selections directly affect his nightly dinner plate so what better person is there to pick our next Vegetable of the Month.

Well guess what he picked...Brussel Sprouts!  Next time I won't be so nice as to include him on the decision making.  Kidding of course.  I can definitively say that not once has a brussel sprout ever crossed my lips. And I am proud to say, after dinner tonight it is definitely a vegetable that I'm looking forward to having 2 more times in the next 2 weeks.  (As a reminder, my goal is to cook the VOTM 3 times in 3 different ways all in 1 month.)

Can anyone guess my basic cooking method for my Brussel Sprouts Dish #1 that I made tonight?  Think back to Kale Dish #1.  Yup, you guessed it...with bacon.  If I'm going to try a new vegetable, there's a pretty good chance it's going to first be sauteed in a bit of bacon.  A little bit of sugar helps the medicine go down.

So if you're interested, here is the recipe for my first ever cooking of this mini cabbage looking vegetable:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/quick-brussels-and-bacon/detail.aspx
(For the record, my changes were to only use a couple pieces of bacon.  I skipped the olive oil, and just used the bacon grease already in the pan.  I only used 2 shallots.  I added a bit of fresh minced garlic, and I used fresh instead of frozen brussel sprouts.  Lesson learned - I should have steamed those little suckers for a couple of minutes, and/or cut the larger ones in even smaller pieces.)

Overall, it was a tasty dish.  Hubby had 2 helpings.  I made it most of the way through my first helping.  (That's saying a lot for me.)  The girls picked out the bacon from around the weird looking green things. 

So there we go!  Brussel Sprouts Dish #1, done.  And as far as vegetables go, it was a smashing success.  My ideas for dishes #2 and #3include oven roasting in salt, pepper and olive oil; sauteing them with mushrooms; and/or pan steaming them with a bit of stock, flavorings, etc.  If anyone out there has some tried and trued (and beloved) recipes, please send them my way!

Ghee

Ghee = Indian Clarified Butter

Not that that means all that much to me, but after reading about ghee in my local paper's food section a couple of weeks back, I was interested in trying it out.   What intrigued me were statements like this, "ghee is a rich indulgence" and ghee "is butter on steroids."  You had me at butter.  So off I went to Whole Foods to poke around until I found it...not the easiest thing I've ever done since I really didn't know what I was looking for AND I went on a Saturday afternoon when it was wall to wall people.  But there were free dark chocolate tastings so I couldn't be too annoyed, right?

So I found my ghee, paid just over $5 for the jar, cut out the recipe from the paper, and got busy cooking.  Best case, I'd have a yummy new recipe (and cooking oil) in my rotation.  Worst case we could have salad for dinner...and popcorn, with regular butter.

Long story short, the meal was decadent.  Butter on steroids is an understatement.  It was rich and creamy.  Almost sinful.  Just look at that golden color on the ravioli!

Ghee = Deliciousness

Have you ever tried ghee?  If so, let me know some of your favorite uses!
For those interested, here is the recipe I used (from the January 25 Daily Progress Food Section, by J.W. Hirsch, the Associated Press):

Ravioli with Fried Sage, Asparagus and Walnuts

Ingredients

• 10-ounce package fresh cheese ravioli
• 3 tablespoons Ghee
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• 5 large Sage leaves, left whole
• 1 bunch asparagus, bottoms trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1/3 cup toasted walnuts, lightly chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste 

Directions

1. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil.  Add the ravioli and cook according to package directions, then drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the ghee.  Add the red pepper flakes and sage leaves, then fry until the sage is crisp.
3. Remove the sage from the pan and set aside.  Return the pan to the heat and add the asparagus.  Saute until just tender, 4-5 minutes. 
4. Add the walnuts, toss well, then add the ravioli and toss again.  Crumble the fried sage leaves into the dish.  Season with salt and pepper.  Other variations: Instead of asparagus and walnuts, try almonds and cauliflower, or pistachios and baby bella mushrooms.

VOTM - Kale: Ways 2 and 3

So I did it!  I managed to prepare my Vegetable of the Month - Kale - in three different ways.

As a recap, my first way was in a White Beans Stew & Greens dish.

Way #2: Kale Chips.  In my bio over there to the right, I resolved to make kale chips.  And technically I did make them.  I just didn't make them well.  They weren't awful.  But they weren't great.  First off, I didn't cut them correctly...I left on some thick stems which made me gag at one point.  I also possibly didn't dry them well enough after washing the leaves.  And lastly I definitely DEFINITELY accidentally over salted them.  And I love salty things so for me to say it was too salty says a lot.  But the few chips I did get that were nice and dry and crisp and just the right salty were absolutely scrumptious.  So I will definitely be trying these again.  (If anyone out there has any kale chip tips for me, please pass them along!)

Way #3 - Kale & Mango Smoothie.  As recommended by the instructor over at the Bikram Yoga Studio, 2 mornings in a row I whipped up this kale and mango smoothie.  It definitely turned out bright green so if that color isn't appealing, this might not be the recipe for you.  But my word, oh my, this thing was tasty.  I crammed the bottom of the Bullet full of kale, then topped it off with as much frozen mango as I could fit and then some water.  (For the record, after blending for a minute or so I added another couple mango chunks).  So, so, so stinking good.

So there you go!  My recipe of the month challenge was a success!  And kale is definitely something now that will make it into my regular buying rotation.  Now I have 5 days to think of my February VOTM.  Any suggestions??