Mothers Day Beef

For mother’s day this year, I gathered with my mom, two of my aunts, and my cousin. We had a pot luck lunch. For the lunch I made a Zinfandel-Braised Beef Brisket with Onions and Potatoes. I followed the recipe for the most part but I ended up cooking with both beef brisket and stewed beef (I wanted to make sure there was enough meat for all). The beef brisket was a bit overcooked for my taste but the stewed beef melted away in my mouth. I also substituted the Walla Walla onions and used Sweet Cipolline Onions.

Guaco de Mayo

I spent most of my childhood as a picky eater. I would throw temper tantrums when faced with something I thought was disgusting. I distinctly remembering passing broccoli under the table to my friend at dinner who enjoyed eating broccoli.
I have no idea where all my food aversions came from; but I am still amazed when my friend’s kids will eat anything put in front of them.
Today my food aversions are limited, only celery and anise seasoned items are still on the permanent list.
One may think that I regret spending many years missing out on so many good foods but it is quite the opposite.
I was enriched by my experience of having a colorful beet salad for the first time years ago. I was delighted that I discovered that not only did I like pineapple, but that I loved it. Most recently I discovered that I love guacamole, even I after refusing it for so many years because I thought it was “disgusting”.
Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo, the US marketing party “holiday”. At our local grocery store, I was able to sample their guacamole. I loved it. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. But for some reason I wanted to spend the day at home, relaxing, instead of partying with the masses. I almost gave up that idea at the thought that I could get some more guacamole. Haas avocados were in stock at home and my husband suggested we try to make our own. And I did. I didn’t have to leave the house!

1 ripe Haas avocado
4 cloves garlic minced (use fresh garlic)
1/2 teaspoon each cumin, onion powder, cilantro (add more spices to taste)
1/2 key lime juice (juice it well, include some pulp in there)
1 tomato chopped
1/2 orange bell pepper chopped in small pieces (red bell will work as well)
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Mix it up and enjoy.

Note: I would have used fresh onion instead of powder but we had none in the house. I would have used fresh cilantro as well but cilantro is all dead in the garden

Easing into the Green Smoothie

From Photo Challenge

Smoothies can be incredibly healthy things for you to drink. I have a very healthy co-worker who swears by them. As part of my weight-loss-slash-get-healthy journey I have decided to give green smoothies a try. But before I give you the recipe that I used, I want to give you a number of disclaimers so I don’t hear you complaining about my recipe.

Disclaimers:

My smoothies are typically assembled with yogurt, greens, banana, and whatever fruit (frozen or fresh) that I have available in my house. The fruit provides some nutritents but I add it mostly to sweeten the drink.
This smoothie is not low in calories. In time less fruit should be added and more veggies should appear. My last recipe came out to almost 550 calories (maybe 1.5 servings though).
My blender is a high quality blender from the 1980’s (I am proud of my blender that I acquired from my mom years ago). It made of glass (not plastic) and is still kicking; but even it is not idea for green smoothies. It is highly recommended if you are serious about this smoothie thing that you invest in a blender that handles greens well like a Blendtec or a Vitamix. If you don’t, it is very likely that there will be little chunks of spinach or kale floating around in your smoothie; floaters are bothersome to most people.
Some people have issues with mixing the dairy in the yogurt with all the other ingredients (stomach doesn’t like it). I have no issues with it (even though I have a slight lactose intolerance) but you should monitoring this for yourself. I like how the yogurt makes the shake creamy. Down the road I will be adding less of this though to cut back on calories (maybe add only 1/2 cup).
There is a debate about the type of protein powder that is best for the smoothie. I use whey protein but I know someone who swears by a expensive hemp protein. This is another topic where you have to do the research and decide what is right for your smoothie.
Finally, this is the first go around for me. It is heavy on the fruit. The goal ultimately is to get as green as you can. I mean you are drinking a green smoothie because you are obviously interested in improving your health….why else would you do it?

Recipe:

Very Important: A good quality blender is needed.
Applesauce, unsweetened, 0.25 cup
Banana, fresh, 1 medium (7″ to 7-7/8″ long)
2 large leaves of Kale chopped, stalk removed
1 cup Spinach frozen
1 cup Stonyfield Farm Lowfat Plain Yogurt
1 cup Ocean Spray fresh Cranberries (I had them sitting in the freezer)
1 scoop of protein powder

Blend it!

Fun With Quiches

From Food

If the name sounds French, I am cooking it lately.
We had a work pot luck today and the theme was supposed to be “Thanksgiving Breakfast”. Peeking at the sign up sheet I discovered that most of the items consisted of store bought baked goods. I decided to make a quiche.
My only fancy egg dish experience is making a few frittatas in the past. My quiche was a hit at the pot luck.
I pretty much followed the recipe below….

Ingredients

frozen pie crust
5 slices thick cut bacon, chopped
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 cup half-and-half
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup grated gruyere

How to make it

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line pastry shell with foil. Bake in oven for 12 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until crust is set and dry. Remove from oven.
In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Crumble the bacon and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together milk, salt and eggs. Stir in bacon and cheese. Be sure to mix well. Pour egg mixture into pie crust.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until knife inserted in center of quiche comes out clean. If necessary, cover edge of crust with foil while baking to prevent burning or overbrowning. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Note: I cannot find the original recipe I used when searching online. The recipe comes from a Spring 2009 issue of The Nest Magazine. However this recipe is similar and I used it when documenting the recipe here.

What I want to do different in the future
Use whole wheat crust or attempt to make my own crust out of healthier flour.
Use less or no bacon.
Use chives, roasted red peppers.
Add more eggs….it could have been thicker.
I tried this recipe once more and cooked the bacon in the microwave. It made the bacon very tough and chewy – best to stick with pan frying.

What did you make for your pot luck?

And More:
After eating crap food for the past week, it has become very difficult to run. I must get my diet back on track if I am going to meet my running goals. There might be a half-marathon that I will be walk running in the future. I will keep you posted.

Veggie Lasagna

I made a fresh vegetable lasagna about a week or so ago.

From Lasangna

Ingredients:

Shredded Tomme Cheese (From a local Dairy)
Shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese
Shredded Mozzarella
Ricotta Cheese
Bay Leaves
Parsley
Basil
Oregano
Dash of spicy seasoning
Thyme
Olive oil
whole wheat Lasagna noodles
roasted red peppers
Muir Glen crushed plum tomatoes
eggplant
salt to taste
onion
garlic
green pepper
zucchini
glass of wine to drink while cooking

From Lasangna

I chopped up all veggies and sauteed them in olive oil or canola oil (with the exception of the roasted red peppers that were already cooked). I added the canned tomatoes and spices to the sauteed veggies and let them all simmer together for about 30 minutes. I cooked the pasta according to package requirements (it recommended al dente for lasagna making). I oiled a glass pan and started a bottom layer of the cooked pasta. On each layer I put first ricotta, second pasta sauce mixture, third some chopped roasted red peppers, and fourth spread a layer of shredded cheddar, tomme, and mozzarella. At the very top, more shredded cheese was added to melt over the lasagna noodles. It was cooked in the oven at 350 for 30 -40 minutes (inspect for lightly browned at top). After it cooled, I cut the lasagna and placed it into multiple freezable containers. It is a great quick dinner for when you don’t have time to cook. We still have a few servings left in our freezer from this batch. It was yum yum good.

From Lasangna