Back in Style

I'm back after a few weeks of not blogging - but back in style!
It has been busy and hectic, but one of the things that has kept me going are freezer meals, adding salad and quickly sauteed vegetables to relatively plain meals (like brown rice and chicken), and good quality snacks.
I wanted to share another power snack item with you. I call them Quinoa Power Drops (if you wanted to entice someone who is more timid you can call them cookies - but these are no conventional cookies). The original recipe was something I found on the Bauman forum, but modified slightly.
These are great for a substantial snack because they pack good protein, carbohydrates, fat (anti microbial from the coconut oil and flakes) and just enough sweetness from the fruit to be tasty.

Quinoa Power Drops

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
1/2 banana. mashed
8 Medjool dates, chopped
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1 heaping tablespoon organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
1 heaping tablespoon organic roasted almond butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Makes approximately 16 cookies
Directions:
1. Rise 1 dry cup of quinoa in water. Add 2 cups of water to quinoa in a medium pot. Bring quinoa to a boil, and then simmer for about 12 minutes.
2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
3. Transfer the quinoa to a large mixing bowl.
4. Add coconut oil and mix it into the quinoa.
5. Mix in banana, almond butter, and dates.
6. Add sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and shredded coconut, and mix thoroughly.
7. Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg into the dough and mix everything together.
8. Grease a baking sheet with coconut oil or use a silpat pad.
9. Use a large spoon to pick up a heaping tablespoon of the dough and form it into a ball with your hands. Place the ball onto the greased cookie sheet and press the middle of the ball down gently to form a circle a bit more than 1/2 an inch thick. Repeat until all of the dough has been made into circles on the baking sheet.
10. Bake for 50 minutes.
11. Turn off the oven and allow the cookies to cool for 15 minutes on the baking sheet. Then transfer the cookies into a sealed airtight container.

Weekly Menu

This week's menu is inspired by a few things I have been meaning to make, but had not gotten to in awhile or at all.
Monday - Gumbo (delish! made Sunday evening as it takes about an hour to make - perfect meal to come home to)
Tuesday - business meeting, dinner provided
Wednesday - Beet, Fennel, and Cabbage Salad with Orange Fennel Dressing and roast chicken
Thursday - Vietnamese Bun with grilled pork, thin rice noodles, lettuce, shredded carrots and napa cabbage
Friday - beets with blue cheese and toasted almonds and roast chicken caesar salad

The Success of Beef Stout Pie

I get really excited when the Williams Sonoma catalog comes, simply for the recipes. I can check online, but I always forget that this is a great source for either inspiration, or comfort classics that I wouldn't normally make or seek recipes for (note to self, add it to favorites list). This last catalog that came is focusing on gastropub food - pub food revamped and made popular again. My husband and I both dig on the whole pub scene as a casual place to grab a pint, eat a good hearty meal and be in good company. Doing it in our own home is fun and cheaper. This is definitely a meal that falls into good entertaining food.
One of my major philosophies about entertaining and food is that while a gourmet meal may be very tasty and impressive, the best conversation and mood setting is with casual and home style food that has been done really, really well. This pie falls into that category. It is a comfort favorite of beef stew, but kicked up with the deep flavors of the stout and mushrooms and pearl onions and a pie crust with blue cheese folded in. Serve it with a nice red wine and a simple salad and I am sure you will be able to please all your guests and they will walk away thanking you.

The recipe is located here: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/recipedetail.cfm?objectid=A3F7E1DB-E41C-E23E-FBA1EA0EE6A953B1

Here are the modifications that I made:
1) I only did 2 lbs of meat. Then I cut everything else roughly in half. I think that would feed a family of 4-5 easily. If you wanted leftovers for a family that large, certainly do the whole thing.
2) I did half lamb and half beef. It is a flavor combo that we appreciate more in this house. If you don't like lamb skip this, but if you do, try mixing these.
3) I used baby portobellos instead of white mushrooms because that is what I picked up at the farmers market. Definitely let the onions and mushrooms cook down as long as they say - the smell was amazing!
4) I used blue cheese instead of specifically stilton and it was still tasty as heck.

Here are some pictures, but the smell will make your mouth water alone. Try it!

Here is the original recipe.

Beef Stout Pie

Ingredients:
7 Tbs. olive oil
1 lb. white button mushrooms, quartered
2 cups frozen pearl onions, thawed
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 1/2 lb. beef chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs. tomato paste
2 1/2 cups Irish stout
1 cup beef broth
1 lb. carrots, cut into chunks
1 lb. red potatoes, cut into chunks
1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh thyme
One 16-inch round Stilton pastry (see related recipe at left)
1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp. water

Directions:
In a 5 1/2-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm 1 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the mushrooms, onions, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Season the beef with salt and pepper. Dredge the beef in the flour, shaking off the excess. In the Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm 2 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add one-third of the beef and brown on all sides, about 7 minutes total. Transfer to a separate bowl. Add 1/2 cup water to the pot, stirring to scrape up the browned bits. Pour the liquid into a separate bowl. Repeat the process 2 more times, using 2 Tbs. oil to brown each batch of beef and deglazing the pot with 1/2 cup water after each batch.

Return the pot to medium-high heat. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Add the beef, stout, broth and reserved liquid, stirring to scrape up the browned bits. Add the mushrooms, onions, carrots, potatoes and thyme and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the beef and vegetables are tender, about 3 hours.

Preheat an oven to 400°F.

Brush the rim of the pot with water. Lay the pastry round on top, allowing it to droop onto the filling. Trim the dough, leaving a 1-inch overhang, and crimp to seal. Brush the pastry with the egg mixture, then cut 4 slits in the top of the dough. Bake for 30 minutes. Let the potpie rest for 15 minutes before serving. Serves 8 to 10.

Stilton Pie Pastry

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. sugar
16 Tbs. (2 sticks/250g) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/3 to 1/2 cup ice water
4 oz. Stilton cheese, crumbled

Directions:

In a food processor, combine the flour, salt and sugar and pulse until blended, about 5 pulses. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 pulses. Add 1/3 cup of the ice water and pulse 2 or 3 times. The dough should hold together when squeezed with your fingers but should not be sticky. If it is crumbly, add more water 1 Tbs. at a time, pulsing twice after each addition. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and shape into a disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the top of the dough lightly with flour, place on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper and roll out into a 12-by-16-inch rectangle. Sprinkle the cheese over half of the dough, then fold the other half over the cheese. Roll out the dough into a 16 1/2-inch square. Using a paring knife, trim the dough into a 16-inch round.

Refrigerate the dough until firm, about 10 minutes, then lay the dough on top of the beef and stout pie and bake as directed in that recipe. Makes enough dough for a 16-inch round.

The Small Salad

I am guilty of having checked out the new 90210 show last night. For those who know me, you know that is sooooo not something I normally watch, but there was so much hype on the radio I wanted to give it 15 minutes of my time.
I was sorry I did that, but this is not about my rating of the show exactly.
I am sharing this moment with you because in the 15 minutes that I did watch the show, I caught the cafeteria scene. And do you know what every single woman in that shot was eating? Either nothing, water, or a small salad. And I mean small. At first I thought "oh she is going to grab another thing from the line to accompany that salad", but no. That is all 'Kelly' ate for lunch. Then it pans to the new girl who is the Principal's daughter, and all she is eating is the same tiny salad. Like literally not more than a cup of salad with a bit of cut up fruit or veg.
This aggravated me to no end because there are millions of young people watching this show, and while it wasn't painfully obvious that all that was for lunch was this small rabbit like lunch, it is going to stick in the sub conscious and message that popular girls and celebrities only eat small salads for lunch. That is not enough to feed a growing child, and honestly not enough for an adult!
There have been so many articles written about the media and it's influence on kids. See my posting about Michael Phelps - I believe that better habits have to be implemented by parents and teachers, etc on an ongoing basis. I am not writing about it to say they shouldn't have the show (although, I would appreciate it if they plugged healthier habits in the sub conscious). I am writing about it so anyone who didn't notice, sees it, and can register that a proper lunch is a balanced and portioned lunch.

Summer Pasta Toss

Change of plans on the ricotta being added to the pasta (too much traffic to go out and get it). However, it still turned out fabulous. Pasta tosses are nice when you are doing an emptying of the fridge, but also are great for summer. Summer is almost at an end and I wanted to do something special with the blossoms and artichokes I had picked up on Saturday. Lemon and just a hint of pecorino or Parmesan are a nice touch to make this dish still light but flavorful - so you don't feel like you are eating something really healthy. You can change the ingredients up based on what you have locally and what you like. The trick to this dish is seasoning as you go, layering veg in according to how quickly it cooks, and topping it off with just the right amount of zing to entice the palette.
Here is the recipe:

1 large handful angel hair pasta
Water to boil pasta

4 baby artichokes, trimmed and outer leaves peeled, thinly sliced
1 small red onion
3 tbls olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 small zucchini
1/2 cup swiss chard
1 cup mushrooms
1/2 cup beef broth (or water or chicken stock - I had beef broth from the beef stout pie recipe already out)
1/4 cup red or white wine (optional)
1/2 lemon zested
1/2 cup pecorino romano
4 zucchini blossoms sliced

Boil the water for the pasta.

Warm the oil over medium high heat and saute the red onion for 2 minutes. Toss in the artichokes hearts, saute for 2 minutes. Toss in the red wine and beef broth and cover to let the artichokes steam for 2 minutes.
Salt your pasta water and toss in the pasta. Should take about 4 minutes. You want it al dente.
Toss in the zucchini and mushrooms and cover for another 2 minutes. Add more broth or water if it gets too dry.
Toss in the chard and cover for 2 more minutes. Season at each layer of veg you add.
Toss the drained pasta into the vegetable mixture. Plate the pasta mixture up and top with cheese, lemon zest and zucchini blossoms.
Enjoy!

Weekly Menu

Our week of dinners was nicely kicked off with inspirations from our Slow Food Nation trip, the Williams Sonoma catalog and meals my friends at work have been preparing (more specifically I am attempting to make Indian food again!).
Monday - Sauteed zucchini blossom (one little stand had these at the farmer's market and I couldn't resist - wanted to stuff them, but too small to stuff), zucchini, baby artichoke and angel hair pasta tossed with riccota and lemon.
Tuesday - Williams Sonoma Beef Stout Pie. Actually made the fixings for this today to then assemble and bake for dinner tomorrow.
Wednesday - Indian style okra, Indian style cauliflower and pototoes, grilled steak
Thursday - Roast chicken, brussel sprouts with leeks, roasted potatoes
Friday - Indian style spinach with 'paneer', rice and chicken

Slow Food Nation

Today we walked into my comfort zone - The San Francisco Slow Food Nation 2008 Tasting Pavilion event. This movement/organization is a fantastic idea - getting people to rely on themselves and home cooking, knowing the source of their food and doing it all in a way that is sustainable, rather than fast food and over commercialized production of food. You can check them out on the web at http://slowfoodnation.org/
The tasting pavilion event we chose to attend is a collection of artisan food makers and educators that align with these Slow Food values. Let me walk you through our day:
Started at the fermented booth (they call it something cuter like Pickles and Chutneys...but it was fermented stuff) and I was re-inspired. A number of them rely on Sandoor Katz's "Wild Fermentation Book" which I myself have not purchased but might after realizing that their stuff tasted a lot better then mine - salt was the big one to actually add flavor. They had about 6 types of kraut, kimchee and one other thing I can't remember, and an amazing rye bread. Similar to the rest of the event each item at the tasting table is served and explained to you by people from all over the U.S. who make it. Adds a real nice touch.
Second we went down to Honey and Preserves - fantastic little vanilla cupcake with rose cream icing and a pistachio. Then a cheese roll with sweet potato butter (which is like apple butter but with sweet potato). This was tasty. They also had some nice jams and bread - tasty but nothing super exciting.
Then we headed over to the fish - they had a really cool display to show all the different types of local fish, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium was there talking about sustainability and sound practices with fishing. The food was interesting - smoked salmon on toast, marinated calamari with tomatoes and basil, tuna with white beans and dill and parsley and a herring wrapped around mozzarella, tomato and basil. This was nice because it all tasted fantastic and except maybe the white beans I would not have done this on my own.
Next in line was the spirits section. This of course was my husbands favorite (until we got to the meat section or 'Charcutiere'). There were about 6 bartenders and/or spirit makers present to let you taste ingredients separate, or mix you a drink. All were extremely tasty and our favorite was that we learned about this other style of gin (Dutch Gin vs London Gin which is what you usually have here in drinks like Bombay or 209). It was something I had never given any thought too, and the taste was pretty amazing - best of all we can visit the distillery here in San Francisco.
After that was coffee, which my husband didn't want to do, but he thanked me afterwards. We were greeted by a perky woman (dipping into the company yummies perhaps....) and a very chill red haired man who gave me a high five when I stopped at his station. He proceeded to tell me all about coffee processing techniques, where this one was from and then let me enjoy it in a nice little espresso cup. It was a nice break in my day for just a moment to sip on that loveliness (I generally don't drink coffee, but I do love the taste and flavor so I indulge here and there).
Then we hit up the ice cream booth which was not terribly impressive. There were some really good ice cream sandwiches that I hope to find in a grocery store soon. The guys are from Portland who make it.
Next was Indian - 3 types of naan (Indian bread) one was garlic, another chilies and the third was a sweet one with raisins and walnuts. They gave two chutneys with it and this was a fantastic snack while we waited in the long line for meats.
Meats were great. It may not be fashionable to be a woman who loves cured meats as much as my husband does for example, but I attribute it to my German heritage and growing up with a Dad and Grandmother who had an appreciation for the Old World connection to it. Anyway, point is I was pretty dang excited about this station. My husband wants to start curing his own meats and making more of his own sausage and everyone on this line was really helpful explaining to him where to start and what to look for. The people in line might have been mad because they just wanted to plug through, but thank you for waiting and thank you to the meat dudes who took the time. Here we had mortadella, sopprasata, pork confit with pepper jelly on toast and salami - all without nitrates/nitrites, all natural meat. It was a good moment.
We skipped cheese, chocolate, wine and olive oil because the line was around the corner and out the door for cheese, and the lines were long for the others and we just didn't see anything compelling to taste. Lines were the biggest problem at this event. Otherwise, so worth it. Pretty kid friendly too I would say.
We ended the day at the American Indian food booth - where I asked a woman in front of me if the Cheese booth was waiting in line for because I saw she had a plate. She looked at me and said 'oh yes, and actually we got two plates would you like the other'. THANKS! yes yes yes yes. And it was worth it. So although I skipped that booth, and although the chili and wild rice cakes at the American Indian booth were tasteless, I got some great cheese. After the American Indian booth we walked right across to the beer booth. Both full as heck by this time, we picked two each and that was the end of what our stomachs could handle. My favorite was this ale aged in pinot noir barrels- really unique.
All in all, a great day and I would recommend going next year. Definitely take the time to ask questions at the booths and the people standing around - most are working for a really great cause that you make want to take part in.