what are you people making?

It's summer and I don't ever feel like cooking.  What are you cooking lately?

roasted chick peas with garlic and chard

I know this little blog is all but dead, but I made this recipe tonight to finish off some chard we picked up from our food co-op last weekend and I loved it so much, I needed at least the perception that I was sharing it with someone, even if no one reads it (besides my sisters, whom I will coerce both to read and to make immediately.)

I got this recipe from Dinner with Julie (original link to this recipe here) who has posted some incarnation of this several times, and it finally stuck with me enough to try it out. but the basic gist is this: rinse 1-2 cans of garbanzo beans. throw on a baking tray with a whole head of peeled garlic cloves (not chopped - just peeled and left whole), toss with olive oil and roast in the oven at 450* until golden. meanwhile, tear up a bunch of chard (except the tough center stalk), saute it in more delicious garlic (chopped this time - 6 cloves! yum) and olive oil for a few minutes until it starts to wilt, toss some liquid over it (I used chicken broth, about 1/2 cup), cover it and let it cook down. Mix all together, and eat it all up.

this recipe makes me glad I bought the giant container of garlic from costco, because I'm going to have to make this a LOT more often, and I'm going to need a lot of garlic to do it. seriously, it's delicious. try it! (oh, p.s. I only actually had half a bunch of chard because Jim put the other half in our smoothie this morning, so I supplemented with spinach and it was still delish.)

Moroccan Squash

I made the following dishes for dinner tonight--both very yum.

From SMITTEN KITCHEN (link here)

Moroccan-Spiced Spaghetti Squash
Adapted from Gourmet

Cooking spaghetti squash in your microwave is super-quick, but roasting it isn’t much more work — I’ve made it both ways and it works equally well. This works great as a side, but I tried something different this time and bulked it up with canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed. We had it with couscous but if I had thought of it sooner, it would also be great with some sautéed greens.

Serves 4

1 (3 1/2- to 4-pound) spaghetti squash
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley, if you’re cilantro-averse

To cook the squash in a microwave: Pierce squash (about an inch deep) all over with a small sharp knife to prevent bursting. Cook in an 800-watt microwave oven on high power (100 percent) for 6 to 7 minutes. Turn squash over and microwave until squash feels slightly soft when pressed, 8 to 10 minutes more. Cool squash for 5 minutes.

To roast the squash, two methods: If you’d like to roast the squash whole, pierce it all over with a small sharp knife to prevent bursting and bake it in a 375°F oven for one hour. If you are good with a big, sharp kinfe, you can save some time by cutting the squash in half lengthwise, scooping out the seeds and roasting the halves face-down in an oiled baking pan for about 40 minutes in a 375°F oven.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until it is barely golden. Stir in spices and salt and remove from heat.

If you have microwaved or roasted your squash whole, carefully halve it lengthwise (it will give off a lot of steam) and remove the seeds.

Carefully halve squash lengthwise (it will give off steam) and remove and discard seeds. Working over a bowl, scrape squash flesh with a fork, loosening and separating strands as you remove it from skin. Toss with the spiced butter and cilantro.

and this from VEGAN YUM YUM

BROILED HARICOTS VERT WITH ROASTED TOMATOS (link here)

Slow Roasted Tomatoes
2-3 Pints Grape Tomatoes
Oil
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 350º F. Coat tomatoes in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil. Bake for 40-60 minutes until very soft and beginning to color. Can be made a day in advance.

Broiled Green Beans
16 oz Haricots Verts (or regular green beans)
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
1 Pinch Sugar

Coat green beans in oil, and season with salt, pepper, and sugar. Place them on a baking sheet covered in foil.

Both yum and not very hard.

homemade pizza

so...this isn't the healthiest thing on this blog, but it's summer and it is what i am eating.

I found the recipe and pictures on smittenkitchen.com.

here is her recipe:

1 batch Simplest Pizza Dough or a store-bought pizza dough that will yield one small (approx. 11 to 12 inches across), thin pizza

1 lemon
4 ounces goat cheese, at room temperature
Few leaves of fresh basil, cut into thin slivers
1/2 medium yellow zucchini, sliced as thinly as you can pull off with a knife or your mandoline (I went for 1/8-inch thick with mine)
1/2 medium green zucchini, sliced as the same as above
Drizzle of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Roll your pizza dough into a thin 12-inch circle and lay it on a tray or stone that has been dusted lightly with cornmeal.

In a small bowl, stir together the goat cheese with the juice of half your lemon. Season it with salt and freshly ground pepper, and spread it over your pizza dough. Scatter fresh basil slivers over the cheese.

Arrange your zucchini coins in concentric circles over the goat cheese spread, overlapping them slightly. You can alternate their colors, if you’re feeling fancy. Squeeze the juice of the second half of your lemon on top of you zucchini, then drizzle with olive oil and finish with more salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes (your baking time will vary, so please watch carefully), or until the edges of your pizza are golden brown and the zucchini looks roasted and a little curled up at the edges. Serve with a green or even simple tomato salad.

WHAT I DID DIFFERENTLY:
my lemon was moldly, which was really too bad, so i added sauteed mushrooms and red onion. it was tres tres yum.

Barley, Black Bean, & Corn Burrito Recipe

A new-found favorite!

Ingredients:
1 can (15 ounce) black beans, rinsed and drained (or 1 cup dry and prepared)
1 can (10 ounce) diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
1 cup uncooked fine barley
2 cups fat-free, less-sodiumchicken or vegetable broth
3/4 cup frozen whole-kernal corn
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
16 totillas (6 1/2 inch)
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese,
2 tablespoons shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
8 cups thinly sliced curly leaf lettuce
2 1/4 cups salsa1
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons sour cream

Place first 11 ingredients in a 3-1/2- to 4-quart electric slow cooker; stir well. Cover with lid; cook on low-heat setting 4 to 5 hours or until barley is tender and liquid is absorbed. Stir in cilantro. Heat tortillas according to package directions. Spoon 1/3 cup barley mixture down center of each tortilla; sprinkle each with 1 Tablespoon cheese. Roll up. Place 1 cup lettuce on each of 8 plates; top each with 2 burritos. Spoon 1/4 cup salsa and 2 Tablespoons sour cream over each serving.

Bible Sandwiches

Whole Wheat Pitas
1 Head Cabbage, Shredded
4 Avacados, Smashed
Mayonaise to Taste
Sprouts
Sunflower Seeds
Tomatoes, Sliced
Monterey Jack Cheese
Spike Seasoning

Shred the cabbage or chop finely. Smash avacodos and mix into cabbage. Dab in some mayonaise to taste. GENEROUSLY flavor with Spike seasoning (key ingredient). Mix thoroughly. In pita pocket layer LIBERAL amounts of cabbage mix, sunflowers seeds, cheese, tomatoes, and sprouts. Enjoy!!! Definitely my favorite sandwich.

Olive Garden Soup Recipe--YUMMY!

Tried and True! Quick and easy!

2 T olive oil
1 c diced onion
2 ribs diced celery
2 c chopped italian plum tomatoes with juice
6 c chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 t oregano
1 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
1 15 oz can garbanzo beans with juice
1 15 oz can white northern beans with juice
1 c ditalini or small pasta

In large stockpot, heat oil. Add onion and celery; cook for 2 minutes on low until soft. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Add all ingredients but pasta. Simmer 30 minutes, add pasta and cook 10 more minutes. Taste for seasoning. Remove bay leaves before serving and top with 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup fresh parsley.

my new obsession: roasted vegetables

it's true. I'm completely obsessed with roasted vegetables. I started down this road with this recipe for Orzo with Roasted Vegetables out of my Barefoot Contessa Parties! cookbook, also available at the Food Network's website (click on the recipe name to get there). Anyway you get there, though, it's seriously delicious. But then I ran out of orzo. And feta. And basil. And scallions. So I left those out, and mixed it with brown rice and it was still delicious. And then I didn't feel like making the dressing, so I just tossed the roasted vegetables with brown rice and ate it plain and guess what? still delicious. And also delicious with rice and a little sweet teriyaki sauce. Can you tell I've been eating this a lot lately?

And the more I eat it, the more I just adapt based on what I have in my fridge. My basic recipe for roasted vegetables follows the recipe above, but with more variety. so:

any variety of roasted vegetables, chopped into ~ 1 inch pieces. (I love to use eggplant, red/yellow/orange bell peppers, asparagus, mushrooms, zucchini, red onion...)

toss lightly with olive oil (basically just enough to coat the veg), and a little salt and pepper.

Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Could be longer depending on how big or small you cut your veg. I try to remember to toss them / flip them over about half way through the cooking time. I don't always remember. And I try to flip them over right when they come out of the oven again so they don't stick to the pan.

yummy.

I've also started cooking broccoli this way and I'm telling you, it's changed my life. I would eat broccoli before, but usually out of duty - like it seemed the right thing to do or something. folic acid and whatnot. but I wouldn't say I loved broccoli. those days are gone, though! I have become converted to broccoli now that I've started...yes, roasting them! sounds weird, I know. I heard about it a while ago, but took a while to try it. my loss. In addition to the olive oil and salt/pepper, I add a couple of cloves of chopped garlic, and I'm telling you, I can't wait to eat it. I just want to snack on it all the time. it's so good! my favorite is when they get a little crispified, so don't be afraid if that happens. just dig in.

Are you achin...for some bacon?

Well, this post has nothing to do with bacon. But it does have to do with a delicious salmon dish and some salmon bedding a la Rachael Ray. Here goes.

Lime-and-Honey Glazed Salmon with Warm Black Bean and Corn Salad

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (medium heat to extra spicy)
1 teaspoon ground cumin (1/3 palmful)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 2 limes
3 tablespoons honey (3 gobs)
1 teaspoon chili powder (1/3 palmful)
4 6-ounce salmon fillets
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
1 10-ounce box frozen corn kernels, defrosted
1/2 cup chicken stock or broth
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves (a handful), chopped
6 cups baby spinach

Preheat a medium skillet over medium heat with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil (twice around the pan). Add the onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.

While the onions are cooking, preheat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. In a shallow dish, combine the juice of 1 lime, honey, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Add the salmon fillets to the lime-honey mixture and toss to coat thoroughly. Add the seasoned salmon to the hot skillet and cook until just cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

To the cooked onions, add the bell peppers and corn kernels and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and continue to cook for another 2 minutes. Add the black beans and cook until the beans are just heated through. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the juice of the second lime, the cilantro, and spinach. Toss to wilt the spinach and then taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve the lime-and-honey-glazed salmon on top of the warm black bean and corn salad.

If you don't want to go all out with the salmon, or if you're just not feeling fishy, the black bean/corn bedding is delicious on its own as a side or a salsa with chips. YUM.

Butternut Squash Pear Soup

This is actually a recipe that originated with Jennie Jane, but Aunt Robyn emailed it out, and for any of you who didn't get it, or lost it or forgot about it, it's worth revisiting! I think it was maybe the most delicious butternut squash soup I've had. I loved the pear and the fresh rosemary in it. I doubled it because the squash I had was a 2 pounder, and I loved having leftovers for a few days. I added a tablespoon of fresh chopped ginger, because I had some, and I used rice milk and it tasted great.

enjoy!

Butternut Squash & Pear Soup

2 Tbsp ghee, butter, or olive oil
1 small onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
2 c. vegetable or chicken broth
1 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 inch cubes (Fresh is best, but for a faster soup you can sometimes find it already peeled and cubed in the frozen section)
2 medium pears, peeled and sliced
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup soy milk (or fresh milk)
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans, for garnish
medium pear, sliced for garnish

Melt ghee/butter/oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and stir occasionally until onions are tender. Stir in broth, two sliced pears, rosemary, ginger and remaining spices. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes or until squash is fork tender. Puree soup in batches in food processor or blender (or use immersion blender). Return pureed soup to pot. Stir in milk. Reheat, stirring frequently, until hot. Do not boil. Garnish with pecan and sliced pear.

From Delicious Living e-news

Banana Bread

As you can see from Jim's post, we were on vacation, which explains why after not eating much meat for weeks and then having tuna for dinner, bacon and eggs for breakfast, a cheeseburger for lunch and then KFC for dinner, I was SICK. I was hunched over my stomach for hours and even felt a little sick the following morning. Enough said, I had a vegan dinner last night. I've always made fun of those crazy vegans, but I'm really coming around!
On to what this post is really about: banana bread. I had 4 brown bananas on my table when we came home from said vacation, so I decided to make banana bread and use the non-dairy subs just to see how it turned out. That's not my bread there, but they all look the same, right? It was really good, pretty much just as good as any banana bread you've all eaten a million times, nothing too different. I was just excited that my substitutions didn't change it one bit.

1 cube Earth Balance butter sub.
1 1/2 c flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
4 ripe bananas
3/4 c sugar
2 large eggs + one yolk (who knows why?)
1 t. vanilla
1/4 c Tofutti sour cream sub.

Bake: 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

I admit, I still don't love soy milk, or any other milk substitute, but I'm doing it. But as to the butter, I think this Earth's Balance stuff is yummy, I have both the spread and the cube version and it tastes great. I don't miss butter a bit. The Tofutti sour cream is pretty good, but you can tell it's not the real thing if you are paying attention. However, I need to say that Tofutti makes a killer cream cheese (among a string of other products). I dream of clam dip...I'll never feel guilty again for eating the whole bowl!

*One more thing, since it took coming back to this three or four times to finish, I had a tasty treat that I'll share as well. Pita bread (the thick soft kind that doesn't make pockets) heated in the oven on bake, rip it in half, then spread hummus on both pieces. Add some black beans, sliced tomato & mixed greens and you have your tasty little sandwich. Just arugula would have made it really good, or it could have been beefed up for a full meal.

I have questions....

um...I'm a boy. Am I allowed here? Does it make a difference if I have bad grammer and can't spell? sometimes ya'll can be intimidating but I'm jumping in anyway.

Marie and I have really tried to embrace this lifestyle over the last month and it has been great. I'm still trying to figure out how to get enough food to keep me going through the day (I accidentally just ate about a pound of snap peas that were supposed to last me a couple of days - I ate them in less than 30 minutes. Seriously.)

So questions for you smart people - What do you do when you are on the road? How do you plan for it - what types of places do you eat? Are there things you often take with you? Things you buy along the way that work for you? let us know.

Also - Sometimes you just need something fast for dinner. You know, the days you are late coming home from the park and you have a church meeting your are late for but if you don't help get your kids in bed your wife might be crying when you get home and the art project from this morning has dried to the table and you can't get it off and so you really want avoid that room and you haven't been to the store for awhile and there is nothing in the cupboard but Ramen but you ate so much of that in college that it gives you a stomach ache because your body rejects it immediately and if you don't eat soon you may start using inappropriate words around your children and you just really need food now. You know those days?
Any simple things you have all come across that you can throw together in a pinch?

PS - I can no longer live without our blender. We got the Blendtec (http://www.willitblend.com/) over the vita mix because it can not only make good smoothies it can blend up a lava lamp if you need it too. This morning's concoction was 2 oranges, 1 kiwi, 1 banana, 1 cup soy milk, a few pieces of pineapple, a big handful of parsley, and an inch of ginger. yummy.

Taking Care of Your Beans & Grains

Hi there, ladies--

Aunt Robyn talked in her class about how grains need to be properly treated before consuming them. I found this very helpful article on the subject that I REALLY liked. Maybe you will, too. I remember that Robyn taught, "Fresh is best, fermented is next." The article talks about how important it is to ferment your beans and grains. Below is a list of directions to do so. I have done them with the raw apple cider vinegar and found no noticable difference in the taste. Let me know what you think. I know this is a controversial topic--wether it is necessary to do so or not.

ARTICLE:
http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/be_kind.html

DIRECTIONS for FERMENTING BEANS/GRAINS:

FOR WHOLE GRAINS: For millet, brown rice, oatmeal, amaranth, etc. soakdesired amount of grain in an equal amount ofwater to which you've added 1 tbsp. raw vinegar, fresh lemon juice, or plainyogurt. ( use 2-3 tbsp. if your cooking a large amount of grain)Cover and let sit at room temperature for at least 7 hours, preferablylonger. When ready to cook, add remaining required amount of water or stockand cook. NOTE: To soak whole-grain flours or pancake mixes, follow thesame procedure as above, but make sure the flour is mixed well with thesoaking water.FOR

RAW BEANS AND LENTILS: Soak desired amount of beans in an equal amountof water to whichyou've added 1 tbsp raw vinegar, fresh lemon juice, or plain yogurt. ( Use2-3 tbsp if your cooking a large amount of beans or lentils) Cover and letsit at room temperature for at least 7 hours, preferably longer. When readyto cook, discard soaking water; add remaining required amount of water orstock and cook.

FOR RAW NUTS AND SEEDS: Place raw nuts or seeds in a bowl, add 1 tbsp seasalt and cover with water. Leave at room temperature for 6-8 hours. Drainthe water. Place the nuts on a cookie sheet, and dry on low heat in theoven. You can also air dry the nuts on a towel, but it takes much longer todry them this way.

SPROUTED ALMONDS: Sprouted almonds are much more digestible than untreatedones. Rinse 3 times per day. Ready in 3 days. Sprout is merely a tinywhite appendage, about 1/8 inch long.

BREAKFAST PORRIDGE:1 cup oats, steel cut, or rolled, or coarsely ground in your own grinder.1 cup of water plus 2 tbsp. fermented whey, yogurt, or buttermilk. ( I dont see why you could not use kefir)1/2 tsp. celtic sea salt1 cup water1 tbsp flaxseeds (optional)For highest benefits and best assimilation, porridge should be soakedovernight or even longer. (ancient recipes from Wales and Brittany calledfor a 24 hoursoaking ) Once soaked, oatmeal cooks up in less than 5 minutes-----truly afast food.Mix oats and salt with water mixture; cover and let stand at roomtemperature for at least 7 hours and as long as 24 hours. Bring additional1 cup of water to boil. Add soaked oats. Reduce heat, cover, and simmerseveral minutes.Meanwhile, grind flaxseeds in a mini grinder. Off heat, stir in flaxseedsand let stand for a few minutes. Serve with butter or cream thinned with alittle water( I use kefir here ) and a natural sweetener of your choice.

EASY BROWN RICE: 2 cups brown rice4 cups water of 2 cups of water mixed with 2 cups stock1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or yogurtSoak rice in 2 cups of water with the vinegar or yogurt for at least 7 hours Transfer to your pot or rice cooker. Add theremaining water or water/broth, and cook till tender. If your cooking therice on a stovetop, bring to a boil then lower heat to a simmer and cookcovered, stirring occasionally. Serves 6-8. This recipe can be used forany whole grain you wish to serve by itself.

All of these recipes for fermented grains, etc. are from The Makers Diet.

Jackie

(I took these instructions from this website:
http://archive.kefirtanesi.com/how-to-ferment-grains-whole-grains-beans-and-lentils--yazi51353.html)

BAD COMBO

Warning: Whatever you do, don't mix broccoli and grapefruit in a smoothie. GROSS.

We've been trying to make green smoothies a lot. Jim's been taking full creative license with this venture, and blending just about everything he can think of (but not quite everything that cath can think of - she's hoping to blend a few of my dad's clothes, but I don't think they'd taste very good.)

Anyway. We were running low on fruit and on greens, and didn't have a lot of variety on hand. We put in a couple of grapefruits, and all of our greens were gone, but we had broccoli and Jim, in typical fashion, thought, "why not?" Well now we know why not. Because it's disgusting.

Consider yourself warned.

as a side note, here's something I don't understand: Romney, who turns his nose up at most other delicious tasting smoothies mysteriously chose to drink his! completely! and Laine drank hers too, although she had the same response as I did, which was a shiver/gag response with each sip. How does that make sense?

The Mormon Diet Cookbook

I hope no one minds that I changed the blog design. I figured no one else would since Marie made the blog. This one is kind of plant-y, per the new diet. Speaking of, my friends mom has been doing this diet for about five years because she's been fighting her husbands prostate cancer, and she has other health problems that she has solved with it as well. She recommended this cookbook:


The Mormon Diet Cookbook. It isn't all totally vegan but has easy places to substitute. I hear the recipes are really good.
By the way, I also posted that picture from my shower, of lots of the Curtis women. I wish you could see it better! AND, for the record, anyone who really wants to eat what Marie's cooking can come to dinner at my house, since that is where most of her meals end up. :)

What a lovely idea, Marie- thank you for inviting me to see what you eat. It is very beautiful.
Your Thai dish looks truly inspiring. Which is also code for intimidating. I mean color pictures, fish paste (?!!) a tablecloth and all. But seriously, kudos to you for taking this thing seriously. I would rather be invited to dinner than look at your leftovers, but at least we get to talk to each other, right?

Please forgive me if my recipe tones this thing down a notch (for people who accidentally eat 7-9 peanut butter blossoms on the weekends) by contributing the ASPARAGUS SOUP I made up last night- As near as I can remember, not having photographed it.

In a few cups of vegetable stock simmer 1/2 -one onion, one potato, three ribs celery and finely chopped celery leaves, 1 to 2 c baby bella mushsrooms, half -1 diced red pepper and many asparagus. I don't know how much, about half or more of the big bunch you get at Costco - all finely chopped if you don't have a Vita-stinking mixer- no bitterness there. Add salt, pepper and whatever spices you prefer. I add garlic and secret herbs I crush under the heel of my name brand boots. Just Kidding! My boots are from Costco.
When the veggies are tender, pour them into a blender and beat them to a pulp. Gently. I have to do this in about three batches. Add stock to make your desired consistency. I leave mine thick. It is rather delicious with peanut butter blossoms. Only three at a time. I have also added spinach and carrots, but prefer the original grouping I have named. To health! Love, nanny

Coconut Curry Tofu Noodle

I know, the title is kind of a mouthful, but it was really yummy! I actually downloaded the original recipe from here. It was printed in the New York Times on Jan. 7, 2009. Delicious. BUT, I substituted tofu for chicken (I used silken tofu, but next time I'll use something just a bit more firm) and I used rice milk instead of half and half. Also, I only had Indian curry powder, so instead I used about two teaspoons of Thai red curry paste, which gave it a really yummy Thai flavor. I also used matchstick carrots along with the bean sprouts as a garnish to give it a little more substance.

If you don't like Thai food, don't make this. Also, if you haven't made much Asian food, there are probably a lot of ingredients you won't have on hand (like fish sauce or chili paste, for example), and I did have to buy a few extra things, but it was worth it! Jim and I really liked it, our kids wouldn't touch it. They had top ramen instead. Coconut Curry Chicken Noodle Soup (Curry Mee)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 small onion, minced

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 tablespoon minced lemon grass or pale green cilantro roots

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dark red chili paste, such as sambal, more for serving

3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken thigh or breast meat, thinly sliced and cut into bite-size pieces

3 tablespoons curry powder, preferably Malaysian, Thai or Vietnamese

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 can (14 ounces) unsweetened coconut milk

1/2 cup half-and-half

4 cups chicken stock

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon sugar, more to taste

About 12 kaffir lime leaves or curry leaves, fresh or frozen (optional)

8 ounces dried thin rice noodles (bun or vermicelli), or other Asian noodles such as udon or lai fun

Salt to taste

1 cup bean sprouts

3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 scallions, cut into thin rings

2 shallots, thinly sliced and deep fried in vegetable oil until brown (optional)

Quartered limes for serving.

1. Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add onion, ginger and lemon grass and cook, stirring, until softened, about 10 minutes. Do not brown; reduce heat if necessary. Add garlic and chili paste and stir until fragrant. Raise heat, add chicken and stir-fry one minute. Add curry powder and paprika and stir to coat. Then add coconut milk, half-and-half, chicken stock, turmeric, fish sauce, sugar and lime or curry leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 7 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cook rice noodles in boiling water according to package directions (about 4 minutes). Rinse and drain.

3. Taste broth and adjust seasonings with salt and sugar. Divide noodles into large soup bowls. Bring broth to a boil, then ladle over noodles. Top with bean sprouts, cilantro, scallions and fried shallots, if using. Pass limes and sambal at the table.

Yield: 4 main-course servings.

Note: To make this rich soup more substantial, boiled potatoes are sometimes added to the simmering broth and cooked until very soft.

Szechuan Noodles

this recipe comes from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook which is one of my favorites. I don't have a picture of this dish, and I'm sorry about that, because nine times out of ten I decide whether or not I'll make something based on the picture! But if you can, just believe me that it's delicious! Basically, it's just pasta and veggies with a yummy peanut-buttery sauce (the sauce has most of the ingredients - don't be afraid.)

6 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup tahini (sesame paste)
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup good soy sauce
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup sherry vinegar (I didn't have any of this so I used rice vinegar instead and it tasted fine)
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon hot chili oil
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 pound spaghetti (I used whole wheat spaghetti - you can't tell the difference with this yummy sauce all over it!)
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 yellow bell pepper, julienned
4 scallions , sliced diagonally - white and green parts

Place the garlic and ginger in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the vegetable oil, tahini, peanut butter, soy sauce, sherry, sherry vinegar, honey, chili oil, sesame oil, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Puree the sauce. Cook the spaghetti. Drain the pasta. While still warm, toss with three-quarters of the sauce. Add the red and yellow bell peppers and scallions; toss well. Serve warm or at room temperature. The remaining sauce may be added, as needed, to moisten the pasta.


The cookbook also says that the sauce can be made a week ahead and then added to the hot pasta just before serving, which I did. I also added carrot slices and broccoli (and boiled them just for a minute along with the pasta to gently cook them a bit first) and it was all delicious! I only made as much pasta as we were going to eat at once, so I didn't toss in all of the veggies or all of the sauce, so I still have more in the fridge that I can add to make more fresh next time, instead of having reheated leftovers. SO delicious!

this is just the beginning...

HELLO CURTIS COUSINS!

I'm starting a blog for all of us to use (I hope) and share our ideas and recipes and tips for implementing the things we learned from Aunt Robyn last week. I admit, this is a little selfish on my part. I know some of you are better at this and have been working at it longer than I have, and I want to know what you know!

This past week as I've been thinking over Aunt Robyn's wonderful presentation, I realized that if I couldn't come up with enough recipes and good things to eat, I couldn't sustain this less-meat, less-dairy approach to eating. So the math is pretty simple. If I find a couple of good recipes, and a few of you are willing to share a couple of good recipes, then I've already multiplied my chances of success. We have such a great resource right here among ourselves in the fabulous Curtis family, and I think we can benefit from pulling together, as our family motto suggests: In Unity There Is Strength - strength not only in terms of love and support, but strength from increased physical and spiritual health through shared knowledge and healthier lifestyles.

My thought for this blog is that we could all be authors and post great recipes/ideas/tips/successes/struggles as we come across them. It would be great for every one of us to be an administrator on this site - I don't want this blog to be mine. I'd love for it to be ours - the Curtis Cousins!

Here's how this works: to participate, you'll need a google account. So many of us already have blogs and google accounts, which makes this part even easier. If you don't have one, you can create one pretty easily (and attach it to your current email, even if you're on yahoo or msn or hotmail or whatever. YOU DO NOT NEED A GMAIL ADDRESS.) I can help you do this if this is confusing.

Next step: email me if you'd like to be an author (please please PLEASE), and I'll add you, then you just have to accept the invitation to be an author.

Next step: Post! Share the best recipe you've tried so far. Tell us what has been the hardest part of this for you. Let us in on your tips and discoveries.

I love my Curtis family and I'm hopeful that this will be a useful tool for each of us. And anyway, I am always looking for more ways to spend time with you - even if it's online! This is a total experiment, and if someone has a better idea of how this might work, let's make it happen! also, since all of us are equal owners here, feel free to change the look of the blog, come up with a better title, add any features (rockin tunes, pictures, links) and anything else you can think of. PLEASE. we all know that style is not one of my stronger points.

Love to you all! Hope to see you here soon!