Yellow Beet, Avocado, Gorgonzola on Mix Greens Salad

Look at that lovely photo. Yes that is fake wood, and a legal pad in the background. The yellow beets really bring out that legal pad yellow. That's right, today's installment is food that you can assemble at work. Yea workday salads!

I created this one last week after a trip to the farmers market. I was shopping around and wanted to see what beets were available. Only ONE vendor had them. And they were yellow! They have a mellower flavor and were just as good. They have so many bonuses involved with cooking yellow beets. Less messy. It doesn't look like you commited murder. AND last but not least, it doesn't look like your dying when you go to the bathroom.

Night before: chop off the greens on the beets and scrub thoroughly and drop into boiling water. Cook for 20 minutes or so. allow to cool completely and use the back of the knife to peel the skin on the beets. dice and put in a small container.

Make or buy sweetened roasted pecans. I had some leftover from the Lost Night beet salad (see 2 posts ago).

Mix a couple kinds of prewashed greens - spinach and romaine. Put in a tupperwear. What's not to love about the organic greens selection at Traders.

1 whole ripe avocado. cut in half, scoop out. dice. do this at work, not at home.

2 tablespoons of gorgonzola cheese. I was out of goat, I prefer goat cheese, but this was a really nice change. I think the potency of the gorgonzola was a nice contrast to the beets.

Extra Virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dressing.

Just before eating, place ingredients in a tub or plate or bowl or whatever. Juice your lemon and add the dressing. toss.

Asparagus, Spinach, and Shrimp Tossed Pasta

I love farmers markets! Especially the one in OB. I always get really inspired from the fresh ingredients and different flavors. The crazy thing I saw on my way out was a garlic spread. It tasted like cilantro, garlic, and good oil creamed together. But there was no butter but flax seed oil so it was heart healthy. I started to think instead of putting this on bread, how good it would be on pasta. Went home, and this is what I came up with:

extra virgin olive oil

1 pound of shrimp, peeled and deveigned.

1 bundle of super skinny asparagus

3 green onions sliced

2 handfulls of baby spinach

4 heaping tablespoons of cilantro garlic-flaxseed oil spread

1/4 cup or so of heavy whipping cream

1/2 pound of cooked colored rotini pasta

fresh grated parmegiano oregiano shredded with a microplane

fill enough water in a stock pot to cook a 1/2 pound of pasta and set to high heat. add pasta when it comes to a boil and cook as directed.

liberally heat a couple tablespoons or so of extra virgin olive oil in a very large non stick skillet on mediums heat. The shrimp from costco already came deveined so the peels were super easy to pull off. Plus the shrimp were massive so less work for more shrimp...yea! Anyways cook the shrimp on one side and season with salt and pepper. Flip them over after a minute or so when they turn pink and season again. Then top them with the spinach and asparagus and cover to make the spinach wilt. Add the white part only of the green onions. add two tablespoons of the spread and toss to coat. Create some space in the middle add two more tablespoons of spread. pour on some whipping cream and mix. Then toss. Add in the drained pasta and toss to coat. Top with some green onions and toss again. Top with fresh grated parm. Salt and pepper to taste.

Protein, veggies, and carbs in a bowl. A delicious post run meal.

Roasted pecans, beet, avocado, and goat cheese salad on mix greens

Lost Night. A night of friends, food, and good TV. I ended up making 4 dishes... and this was the starter.

heat oven to 375.

2 cups of pecans
1/4 cup sugar
canola oil

while the oven is preheating mix the pecans while drizzling the canola oil to coat. Pour over sugar and mix thoroughly. Use tin foil and prep it cookie sheet with a spray of Pam. Pour into a single layer and bake for 10 minutes.


2 bunches of beets.
a bottle of balsamic vinegar
water

Increase heat to 400. Pour enough balsamic vinegar into a baking dish. Fill half way with water. Take beats and trim stems, and scrub beets. cut the beets in half. Place into the roasting pan and bake for an hour or until tender. I ended up increasing the heat for the last 20 minutes to 425.

Fill a large bowl of ice water. Drop the beets in the ice water to shock them and stop them from cooking. Peel the beets, slice and dice.

Balsamic Vinagrette:

1 glove of garlic
1/2 tsp of Dijon mustard
balsamic vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon of italian seasoning
honey
Salt and Pepper to taste

Crush and mince garlic and place in a small bowl. Add the mustard. Pour in some balsamic vinegar, and be sure to double the amount of olive oil to vinegar. add in seasonings. Drizzle in some honey and be sure to stir vigorously.

1/2 bag of organic baby spinach
1/2 bag of organic romaine greens
2 ripe avocados, pitted, removed from its skin, and diced.
roasted pecans from above
crumbled goat cheese

In a large bowl, mix the greens. Place on top diced avocados, pecans, and roasted beets. Toss the balsamic dressing in and mix thoroughly. top with crumbled goat cheese and toss again.

The WTAH Bomb... a la Jill

This is a picture of what could be a really good night, or a really awful next day. This is debauchery in a glass. This is WTAH...more specifically, The WTAH Bomb.

First of all, I need to explain what is WTAH. WTAH is Wild Turkey American Honey. Is it the next phenomenon....maybe. It's bourbon but sweet. Then it goes down pretty easy, warms, and kinda burns after. It feels thicker going down. Overall, it's not too bad.

I have to admit. I am not the originator of the WTAH bomb, but I improved on it significantly. The end of a happy hour and a few drinks in later, Landon comes up with dropping the WTAH into a Newcastle. It's a brown ale, so it's already a little sweeter. But I felt that it could be taken to the next level. And Stronger.

In a bit of a drunken genius moment, I felt that the sweeter shot should be offset with something bitter. The IPA The Whiskey Girl had on tap was Stone IPA. Which not only my favorite IPA, but probably one of the best on the market. Some would say that it's a waste of good beer. But is an Irish car bomb a waste of a Guiness?? I think not.

Drink down a 1/3 Stone IPA, drop in a shot of WTAH. Chug. Make a face. Something involving an open mouth. Repeat. Let the good times roll! Or in case of this group of friends, let the drama begin.

St Patty's Goes Asian

I'm at my desk at work pondering what I should bring to a Saint Patrick's Day dinner party. I heard there were two potato dishes goin on, so scratch that. And I wanted a main dish that I could eat because I wasn't sure what was available. So I start doing some research online and found out that corned beef isn't even Irish. There were other foods that were traditional and they didn't appeal to me, or I didn't feel like making a bread or a potato dish. So it had to be green to be festive. Eureeka, green sauce it is!

The origin of the dish is called "Thai - ish chicken pasta". I've probably made this dish about ten times, and at least ten different ways. But now there are several asian things going on in there and not just thai spices, so it's just being called Asian Chicken in Udon and Cilantro Sauce.

Cilantro Sauce:
1 large bunch of cilantro - don't knock the organic section people, it was 10 cents more but you got twice as much.
2 jalapenos - stem and seeds removed. cut into quarters
3 garlic cloves
1 inch piece of ginger, remove skin. cut into quarters
sesame oil
honey
water

9.5 ounce pack of Udon - Organic rice noodles

olive oil - enough to coat the bottom of a pot
1 large chicken breasts - about 1 pound
1 small onion, or half of a large one
7 cloves of garlic
3/4 a pack of white mushrooms. I would use a full one if I had it.
3 carrots - peeled and chopped
1 cup of chicken broth
1 large handful of Chinese snow peas
2 green onions or scallions

Seasonings:
salt and pepper
soy sauce
cumin
dry oregano
red pepper flakes
patis (asian fish sauce)
red chili oil
honey

There are 3 parts to this dish, and it took about 45 minutes to make. Take a stock pot and fill with enough water to boil the pasta (1/3-1/2 full) and bring to a boil. Start making the sauce.

Deleaf your cilantro. This is course after you wash and spin dry and/or towel it off too. It's a bitch and this is probably is the most time consuming part of the whole dish. But you can't have stems in it. I like to take one or two stems at a time, then run my finger down to yank it them off in one swoop. Drop the pretty little leaves in the food processor. Do this until you deleafed them all. add in the quartered jalapenos, ginger, and garlic. Add in two circles worth of sesame oil (do a slow pour from one point and make a circle around the food processor), one round of honey, and one round of water. I know I am mixing oil and water. It'll be fine. Crank on the food processor and let it go. No need to drizzle in oil as it doesn't have to emulsify like pesto. But it should look like pesto, without the olive oil. Pour into a bowl and set aside.

add the pasta in whenever the water comes into boil and cook as directed. Should be about 4-5 minutes of cooking time and drain. Run some cool water over it afterwards.

Preheat a pot on low, and cover the bottom with olive oil. Chop the chicken breast into bite sized pieces and drop in and brown with the heat on medium. Add onion (but not the scalion). season with S+P, a teaspoon of cumin, 1/2 tsp of oregano, 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes. While that is cooking peel the carrots and slice the mushrooms. add those in as you are done chopping them. Stir occasionally to cook evenly. add in the broth when the veggies are done cooking to deglaze the pan. (The broth part was new because I looked in the pan and saw that I was about to overcook the chicken, said shit, ran to the fridge saw that I had broth and poured it in). Add in a teaspoon of patis and another tablespoon of soy sauce. Stir and add the green cilantro sauce. add the snow peas.

Take the noodles and place in the pot. drizzle chili oil - probably 3 seconds worth - over it. and also drizzle about a 1/4 cup of honey over the noodels. toss - I find tongs are best. Finish with the slices green onion on top and toss.

You're Welcome Vicky =)

Post Run Pesto Cream Sauce, Salad, and Signature Garlic Bread

There are two things in this dinner that I rarely make variations on: my basic pesto and my garlic bread. I've made lots of different pesto recipes by adding different meats and veggies to it, but the basic pesto itself stays the same.

1 pound of Penne

Garlic Bread:
1 loaf of baguette bread. In this case I used 2 demi batards
1 stick of salted butter at room temperature. If not at room temperature, nuke for 25 seconds.
3 large cloves of garlic
italian seasoning
black pepper

Basic Pesto:
1 large pack of basil - or two massive handfulls no stems
5 cloves of garlic
1 handful of lightly toasted pine nuts
salt and pepper
extra virgin olive oil - EVOO
parmigiano reggiano chunk

Heavy Whipping Cream (um yeah...this isn't a low fat blog)

Boil enough water to cook a pound of penne pasta. 3 quarts or so. Add salt to the water and pasta when it reaches boiling point. Cook until al dente as directed and drain.

Pesto: In a food processor, place garlic, basil, pine nuts, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, three turns of EVOO. Grate the cheese directly into the processor. Cover and Pulse. Then stream EVOO through the top of the processor while it's mixing so it emulsifies. Do a taste check and adjust seasonings to taste. Presto... Pesto!

preheat oven to 400 degrees

Pour Pesto in a large/tall skillet over medium low heat. No olive oil or other fat necessary as there is plenty of EVOO in the Pesto. Cook until bubbly. Add 3 turns of a pan worth of heavy whipping cream and cook until heated and bubbly. Turn heat to low. Add pasta and stir to coat. Grate more cheese on top and stir.

In a small bowl, cream softened butter with minced garlic. add enough italian seasoning - a tsp or so or so that you see little green specs in the butter after stirred. add black pepper. Spread over sliced bread and place on a foil wrapped cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.

Prepare a simple salad of prewashed greens, 3 peeled carrots, and a peeled cucumber. add some bottled poppyseed dressing. Sorry after writing out two courses I am getting lazy.

Add three courses to a plate and voila

Mushroom and Cheese Scramble

Breakfast is probably one of the few things I know how to make for 1.

2 teaspoons of olive oil
5 mushrooms sliced
2 cloves of garlic
2 eggs
splash of milk
2 tablespoons of cream cheese
2 tablespoons of goat cheese
1 slice of pioneer bread

Heat pan and add olive oil. add mushrooms and garlic and saute until mushrooms are tender. Then season with salt and pepper. Be sure not to salt mushrooms too early as to not draw the water out. Scramble eggs and with a splash of milk. Pour over mushrooms and add broken pieces of cream cheese then goat cheese. Scramble eggs until done - slightly wet. Serve with a slice of whole grain pioneer toast =)

Red Chicken Curry and Brown Rice

If I ever go out for Thai food, I never order chicken curry just because I make it so much at home. It's one of my go-to dishes. I make it all the time, but it differs each time. And they tend to be kind of ingredient heavy. Here is this variation:

1 cup brown rice.
2 cups water

Place rice and water in a rice cooker and set. This will probably take 45 minutes.

4-6 tablespoons of olive oil
1 pack chicken breasts tenders
1 large onion
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1.5 tablespoons chili paste
1 piece of ginger - Between 2-3 inches
5 cloves of garlic
3 potatoes
4 carrots
1/3 box of chicken stock
1 can - 13.5 ounces of coconut milk
3 heaping tablespoons red curry paste
3 tablespoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 cup frozen peas
1 handful of fresh basil
1 pack of fresh cilantro.

Put a light coating of olive oil in a pan and heat on low. Cut up chicken breasts tenders. and add to pan and brown. Turn heat to medium. Season with salt and pepper. Season with cayenne, cumin, and turmeric. In the meantime, cut up an onion and add covering the chicken. Peel potatoes and cut into quarters. Then cube into 1/2 inch pieces and add to pot and cover. Peel ginger, and dice and add. Mince garlic and add. Peel and cut carrots into 1/4 inch slices. Cook for a couple minutes. Add three turns of a pan of chicken stock to deglaze and use a spatula to scrape the bottom Bring to boil. Pop the can of coconut milk on both ends and pour. Add curry paste and stir vigorously to break apart and blend. Add fish sauce, sugar. Turn heat to low. Add peas and cover. Chop basil and stir to wilt. Then chop cilantro and add. Season to taste. Serve over rice.

An Epiphany

Okay so this doesn't have to do with food, and there isn't a recipe, it's just an epiphany. I am in marathon training. I've had a base for awhile, and just been building on it. So I ran 20 miles last week. I ran it in three sessions, and it was all at the end of the week. After my 12 mile run, my running buddy Kris and I were discussing things, and one of the points she brought up was that we just burned 1400 calories in this one run. Awesome, right. Then I counted the beers I drank this week, which kind of was alot for me, which turned out to be 13. They aren't light beers either. She laughed and said that I didn't burn off the amount of beers I consumed this week in the one run. That bummed me out a bit, not the fact that she laughed at me, but because I really didn't burn off all the beer. So I calculated 12 miles into 1400 calories is about 117 calories per mile (it's 116.67 but let's just round to make things easier). I ran 20 miles for the week, at 117 calories per mile is 2,340 calories burned. I don't drink light beer, and a regular beer ranges anywhere between 140-200 calories. Per Bottle. There were pints involved, and also a couple goblets. But I would say most of them were bottles. I think. So I am going to err on the side of high and said 180 calories per beer on average. 13 beers times 180 calories is...drum roll please....2,340 calories. Would you look at that. Crap. Well it could have been worse, I could have came in at a loss instead of just zero'd out. But still. I thought that was a lot of miles to work off that many beers. So I am cutting down. Officially. Starting this week.

Magical Penne with Vodka Cream Sauce

To brag or not to brag about ones own cooking. OK, brag. This sauce is so good you weaken at the knees and raise your eyebrows. It's almost hypnotic. It's shockingly simple (well what I consider simple for a sauce). There is some magical property that happens when you reduce vodka into garlic, shallots, and tomatos and cream. Alright I have to admit, this is not ENTIRELY of my own creation, and I am stealing this a little from Rachel Ray, who is my Julia Child in terms of cooking inspiration. But, I've made some mods. So here is my take:

1/2 pound of penne pasta

2 tbsp (a couple pan turns) of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 shallots

7 cloves of garlic

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 to 1.5 cups of vodka

1 large can of whole tomatos

heavy whipping cream (or half and half)

8-10 basil leaves. or a big handful.

handful of parmegiano oregiano. or fresh grated parm.

salt and pepper to taste

Bring to boil a large stock pot of water, salted. Once the water boils, add pasta and cook as directed. Drain.

While the water is going, preheat a very large pan with olive oil over low heat. Mince shallots and add, bringing the heat to medium. I find this works well to prevent the olive oil to reach a smoking point. Mince garlic, add to pan, and season with salt and pepper and add red pepper flakes. Cook for a minute and add vodka. I like to pour enough vodka until it reaches the sides of the pan. it looks like a lot, but reduces a lot too - by at least 1/2 to 3/4. So don't use crap plastic bottle vodka because you concentrate flavors when you reduce. While the vodka is reducing, crush the whole tomatos in a blender until smooth. then add to the reduced vodka. Allow that to heat through while you are mincing basil. add a couple turns of the pan of heavy cream. You'll want it to be pink. add in the basil and stir to wilt. then add a handful of cheese. S n P to taste. Add the cooked drained pasta to the sauce and stir. Sprinkle some parm on top, cover, and allow to melt for a minute. Taste. Yeah, it's that good.