I was telling someone about this blog the other day and she asked why I didn't have any pictures and I didn't have a good excuse other than I like to get right to the eating part! So, I will scour to find pics me or hubbie have taken over time :)
Tonight I am going to make a new chipotle grilled chicken with grilled zucchini. Update, recipe and PICTURES to come!
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Trying to do the "healthy" thing
I made dinner Monday night in efforts to get us back on track and mixed with the excitement of a thousand children that Spring food is in season! Yay!
I made steamed artichokes with chile crusted salmon and little papitas and everything turned out really well. Which is kind of a feat because all three components have very different cooking times and prep! So here is the process:
Fill 1" of a pot with water and put on med/high heat
Clean potatoes and artichokes (be careful of the artichokes, they have thorns)
Stab the potatoes a few times and wrap in a clean kitchen towel, place in microwave for 4 mintues
Set the oven to bake 375
Take your kitchen shears (yes, you should have a pair of scissors for ONLY FOOD) and cut the tops of the artichoke leaves
Using a paring knife, chop off the top of the artichoke flower and the stem leaving 1" or so
Take the potatoes out of the microwave (if you are using ginormous potatoes like I did, microwave for 3 more minutes)
Now, if you are fancy and have a steamer rack or something of the sort you will put this over the water and the artichokes in it. If you are raised in a "utilitarian" (translation: cheap) house like I was you now take a few minutes to "make-shift" a steamer. My set up includes a colander and hand mixer mixing parts.
Set the artichokes in the pot and cover, steam for 30 minutes-ish.
Now that your potatoes are cool enough to handle; dice into 1/2" cubes and toss with olive oil, salt and cracked pepper and lay out on a cookie sheet and pop in the oven. Toss them around in 15 minutes to get the browning on all parts.
Heat a pan over med/high heat
Coat the salmon flesh with whatever rub you want, I used "arizona rub" blends chili lime and rattlesnake and a light garlic powder dusting. I really like the Arizona rubs because they don't have salt in them, yay.
Spray Pam on the pan and place the salmons flesh down on skillet, let sit for about 4 minutes then flip and cook for another few minutes, Reduce the heat to low then finish with the lid on to make sure the fish is cooked throughout.
Now that all the cooking is essentially done, you can make your dips!
I melt two tablespoons (or more if you want more) of butter on the stove, bring the butter to a boil and keep boiling until the butter isn't white anymore now you have clarified butter,squeeze in some lemon juice and that is good to go.
I personally prefer a yogurt mix to the typical mayonnaise blend.
Yogurt mix
In a bowl, mix plain fat free yogurt, dijon mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. It's important to use fresh ground salt and pepper because the stuff from the shaker will look weird. Just mix and enjoy...the best part is it's essentially fat free!
I hope you like it, it was a nice end to the day on the patio :)
I made steamed artichokes with chile crusted salmon and little papitas and everything turned out really well. Which is kind of a feat because all three components have very different cooking times and prep! So here is the process:
Fill 1" of a pot with water and put on med/high heat
Clean potatoes and artichokes (be careful of the artichokes, they have thorns)
Stab the potatoes a few times and wrap in a clean kitchen towel, place in microwave for 4 mintues
Set the oven to bake 375
Take your kitchen shears (yes, you should have a pair of scissors for ONLY FOOD) and cut the tops of the artichoke leaves
Using a paring knife, chop off the top of the artichoke flower and the stem leaving 1" or so
Take the potatoes out of the microwave (if you are using ginormous potatoes like I did, microwave for 3 more minutes)
Now, if you are fancy and have a steamer rack or something of the sort you will put this over the water and the artichokes in it. If you are raised in a "utilitarian" (translation: cheap) house like I was you now take a few minutes to "make-shift" a steamer. My set up includes a colander and hand mixer mixing parts.
Set the artichokes in the pot and cover, steam for 30 minutes-ish.
Now that your potatoes are cool enough to handle; dice into 1/2" cubes and toss with olive oil, salt and cracked pepper and lay out on a cookie sheet and pop in the oven. Toss them around in 15 minutes to get the browning on all parts.
Heat a pan over med/high heat
Coat the salmon flesh with whatever rub you want, I used "arizona rub" blends chili lime and rattlesnake and a light garlic powder dusting. I really like the Arizona rubs because they don't have salt in them, yay.
Spray Pam on the pan and place the salmons flesh down on skillet, let sit for about 4 minutes then flip and cook for another few minutes, Reduce the heat to low then finish with the lid on to make sure the fish is cooked throughout.
Now that all the cooking is essentially done, you can make your dips!
I melt two tablespoons (or more if you want more) of butter on the stove, bring the butter to a boil and keep boiling until the butter isn't white anymore now you have clarified butter,squeeze in some lemon juice and that is good to go.
I personally prefer a yogurt mix to the typical mayonnaise blend.
Yogurt mix
In a bowl, mix plain fat free yogurt, dijon mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. It's important to use fresh ground salt and pepper because the stuff from the shaker will look weird. Just mix and enjoy...the best part is it's essentially fat free!
I hope you like it, it was a nice end to the day on the patio :)
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Iranian New Year!
Traditional nooruz dinner is Baghali Shivid Polow, a rice dish with dill and lima beans served with white fish and mast khiar. But I like to feed the people! So I usually make ghormeh zabsi, but this year I did both! Yep believe it! Granted I didn't work that day so it was really nbd. The weather just turned so we ate outside on a long table with astromania flowers from trader joes in little jam jars with some sheer orange ribbon and twine with battery tealights in frosted votives. With the table set we shall discuss the food:
Ghormeh Zabsi
1 lb chopped frozen spinach (frozen but broken apart)
1 can of black eyed peas - do not use frozen, they taste weird!
1 lb sirloin cut into 1/2" cubes
1 onion diced
Couple handfulls of zabsi mix
Couple dried lemons
Lemon Juice
1 can of chicken broth
In a large pot saute the onions and add beef, once beef is browned - add zabsi mix and black eyed peas
add one can of chicken broth and then fill with water and add that, a couple tablespoons of lemon juice (add extra water so all the beef and stuff is covered with liquid), pop in the dried lemons and cover to simmer for a couple hours.
Serve over basmati rice
Baghali Shivid Polow
2 cups basmati rice
Couple handfuls of Dill
10 oz or 1 bag frozen lima beans - thawed
Some kind of white fish - I like mahi mahi
Mast khiar - recipe below
Boil salted water
add 2 cups rice, boil 1/2 done, strain the rice return to the pot and mix in dill and lima beans, cover with 2 paper towels folded and lid, steam until done (I have no idea on the timing but I wait until the towels are wet around the edges).
Mast Khiar
1 qt Low fat or non fat plain yougurt
1 cucmber
dried mint, lemon juice, and salt to taste
Peel and grate cucumber and drain of juice, mix into yogurt with mint, lemon juice and salt to your liking.
Enjoy!
Ghormeh Zabsi
1 lb chopped frozen spinach (frozen but broken apart)
1 can of black eyed peas - do not use frozen, they taste weird!
1 lb sirloin cut into 1/2" cubes
1 onion diced
Couple handfulls of zabsi mix
Couple dried lemons
Lemon Juice
1 can of chicken broth
In a large pot saute the onions and add beef, once beef is browned - add zabsi mix and black eyed peas
add one can of chicken broth and then fill with water and add that, a couple tablespoons of lemon juice (add extra water so all the beef and stuff is covered with liquid), pop in the dried lemons and cover to simmer for a couple hours.
Serve over basmati rice
Baghali Shivid Polow
2 cups basmati rice
Couple handfuls of Dill
10 oz or 1 bag frozen lima beans - thawed
Some kind of white fish - I like mahi mahi
Mast khiar - recipe below
Boil salted water
add 2 cups rice, boil 1/2 done, strain the rice return to the pot and mix in dill and lima beans, cover with 2 paper towels folded and lid, steam until done (I have no idea on the timing but I wait until the towels are wet around the edges).
Mast Khiar
1 qt Low fat or non fat plain yougurt
1 cucmber
dried mint, lemon juice, and salt to taste
Peel and grate cucumber and drain of juice, mix into yogurt with mint, lemon juice and salt to your liking.
Enjoy!
Haven't Written, Cooked or Worked-out
So, pretty much I have not cooked, worked out or done any real me-thing in like forever. It started with a trip to CA and ended with prepping our house for sale. In the meantime, I have eaten a lot!
Oh I did cook once, I made Iranian New Year Dinner, I will post recipes and story in another post.
La Provence: So awesome, I went twice in two days! First for dinner where I had the escargot (delish) and the lamb, also awesome but I was stupid full by the end of dinner. While reading the menu I noticed a beef bourguignon cooking class the next night! So I reserved 2 spots and grabbed my foodie friend where we had amaze-balls food! Deviled eggs and asparagus with a vinaigrette, beef bourguignon and a heavenly dark chocolate mousse...devine! All paired with wine and for $40! I definitely recommend!
Dim Sum @ AmerAsia: I have said before and will say again, that I love this place! So good and the owners are awesome.
Prime: Sandwich joint for froufrou sandwiches by Vernon's steakhouse. I had the tuna, it was good but I won't make a final decision until I try once more.
Zacatecas: The "new hot taco place" in Nob Hill, it's good but not as good as el paisa, granted it's more froufrou so you can go for a night out but I am a flavor girl :) The margs are very strong and good. I say try it and be the judge :)
Il Vicino Canteen: Re-modeled from the original brewery where you grabbed a pint while filling a growler. We tried the salsa and chips and the "brewers board" mainly a meat and cheese board which is delightful and paired well with the beer.
That's it for now! Tonight we are getting into bathing suit season with steamed artichokes and salmon :)
Oh I did cook once, I made Iranian New Year Dinner, I will post recipes and story in another post.
La Provence: So awesome, I went twice in two days! First for dinner where I had the escargot (delish) and the lamb, also awesome but I was stupid full by the end of dinner. While reading the menu I noticed a beef bourguignon cooking class the next night! So I reserved 2 spots and grabbed my foodie friend where we had amaze-balls food! Deviled eggs and asparagus with a vinaigrette, beef bourguignon and a heavenly dark chocolate mousse...devine! All paired with wine and for $40! I definitely recommend!
Dim Sum @ AmerAsia: I have said before and will say again, that I love this place! So good and the owners are awesome.
Prime: Sandwich joint for froufrou sandwiches by Vernon's steakhouse. I had the tuna, it was good but I won't make a final decision until I try once more.
Zacatecas: The "new hot taco place" in Nob Hill, it's good but not as good as el paisa, granted it's more froufrou so you can go for a night out but I am a flavor girl :) The margs are very strong and good. I say try it and be the judge :)
Il Vicino Canteen: Re-modeled from the original brewery where you grabbed a pint while filling a growler. We tried the salsa and chips and the "brewers board" mainly a meat and cheese board which is delightful and paired well with the beer.
That's it for now! Tonight we are getting into bathing suit season with steamed artichokes and salmon :)
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