This isn’t exactly how I made it, but how I want to try to make it next time.

• 2 cans white beans
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 minced garlic
• 3-4 diced sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 cup kalamata olives
• 1 cup artichoke hearts
• herbs (rosemary, basil, oregano, parsley)
• olive oil
• champagne vinegar
• salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes

Saute garlic and onions in olive oil with herbs and salt and pepper. Add a bit more olive oil and whisk in vinegar. Fold in beans and tomatoes and heat through.

Tried making this Mario Batali recipe, only without the butcher’s twine. Ended up cooking up the onions, garlic, and pancetta, then rolling up the filling in thinly sliced veal (8-9 slices) and adding it to the mixture and browning both sides. Obviously, things fell apart a little, but not too much, and I think the sauce was made better by it. Once everything was browned, I added the rest of the sauce-like ingredients and simmered it for about an hour.
Filling
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted in a 400 degree F oven 2 minutes and roughly chopped
1/2 cup currants
1/2 cup freshly-grated pecorino
3 ounces prosciutto, cut into 1/8-inch dice
1/3 cup Italian parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt and pepper
1 egg

Sauce
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, thinly sliced
2 ounces pancetta, minced
1 (28-ounce) can San Marzano tomatoes and their juices, crushed
2 cups red wine

Asparagus with Cucumber Dressing
From Epicurious. I did it a little differently than the recipe called for and it still came out really good. And my way was a lot easier.

Boil 3 pounds asparagus for about 3 minutes and then place into cold water for a couple of minutes. Then, move to a plate and pour the dressing on top.
Dressing
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons honey (my addition)
4 cups thinly sliced green onions
3 cups 1/4-inch cubes peeled seeded Kirby or English hothouse cucumbers
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chervil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon

Pizettes
Also from Epicurious.

1 13.8-ounce package refrigerated pizza dough
3/4 cup grated Fontina cheese (about 2 ounces)
8 cherry tomatoes (about 3 ounces), quartered
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
1 1/2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, coarsely torn into strips

Also good vegetarian. And there are lots of possibilities here. Both for the crust and the toppings.

Mashed Turnips and Potatoes with Horseradish Crumbs
From Epicurious. We added parsnips, which didn’t soften up quite as much so didn’t mash well. I might choose different root vegetables next time. I grated fresh horseradish in with the crumbs. You’re supposed to toast up the breadcrumbs with half the butter, then added the other half of the butter in with the mash.
2 pounds yellow-fleshed potatoes such as Yukon Gold
1 1/4 lb turnips
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
1 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs (from 2 slices firm white sandwich bread)
2 tablespoons drained bottled horseradish, patted very dry between paper towels
3/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallion greens

Last weekend, I made way too much food, but it was all really good. I got the recipes from the Food Network web site, but of course, I sort of made things up as I went along.

Goat Cheese and Ricotta Crostini
Easy and delicious recipe from Giada De Laurentiis. The trick is not burning the bread when you broil it.

Baquette - sliced, brushed with olive oil, and broiled
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 ounces soft fresh goat cheese
1/4 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
Salt and pepper

I think you can overdo the lemon peel, so watch for that. Mix the spread ingredients together and serve it with the bread. The spread is also excellent mixed with mashed potatoes the next day.

Spicy Bean Soup
Also from Giada De Laurentiis. This is really spicy, especially the next day. I say the spicier the better, but you know, use your own best judgment. This also makes A LOT of soup.
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup chili powder (I used a bit less; it still was super spicy!)
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juices
1 (11 1/2-ounce) can tomato juice
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 (3-inch) piece Parmesan cheese rind (this didn’t actually seem to melt or add much, oddly)
2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
8 cups vegetable or chicken broth
2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup dried green lentils
3 cups broccoli florets
2 zucchini, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick rounds
2 yellow crookneck squash, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick rounds
1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

Really good with bread.

Pollo alla Cacciatora
Nigella Lawson recipe. Super fast and easy, yet delicious. I liked it best so far with mashed potatoes.

1 tablespoon garlic oil
1/2 cup pancetta cubes
6 scallions, finely sliced
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 pound chicken breast, each cut into 4 pieces
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 cup white wine
1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 (14-ounce) can cannellini beans

Probably too much to eat all in one night, particularly when you add the nectarine and blueberry crisp, served with vanilla ice cream. We tried our best though. 

Sometimes I forget how good vegetables are roasted. This recipe helped me remember. I added a bit of balsamic vinegar rather than lemon juice. I think I liked them better before the balsamic. But then I added some Humboldt Fog cheese and while that may have made them slightly less healthful, it did make them even tastier than before. Which is to say, really tasty. Any goat cheese would likely do.

I also made Kieca’s lentil soup recipe (well, Cook’s Illustrated, technically). Also really great. Although I may have oversalted it.

I may have gotten full from bread and cheese before I started eating, so I might have quite a few leftovers. It’s possible is all I’m saying.

I make recipes from Cooking Light all the time. And normally, they’re very good. But I made a recipe the other day that is causing me to break the food blog hiatus so I can warn everyone about it.

The trouble with this recipe is that it says to roast the cauliflower for 20 minutes and then to mash it with a potato masher. I knew when I read the recipe that this had to be wrong. Cauliflower is not mashable after a 20 minute roasting. But I let my belief in the magazine overrule my intuition.

Basically, you roast a bunch of cauliflower with olive oil and garlic at 500 degrees for 20 minutes. Then, you add green onions, 1 cup of milk, a couple of tablespoons of butter and some salt and pepper. You know, like you would with mashed potatoes. And then you mash it all together.

Right. I tried that. Mashing was not happening. And I didn’t think more roasting would really help. So, I improvised. I made a roux and then I made a white sauce with the milk and green onions, and tossed in some grated cheddar. And then I poured it on top of the cauliflower and roasted it a bit longer.

And it was good, don’t get me wrong. But it sure wasn’t a mash.

Every week at the (Kirkland) farmer’s market, I’ve been scouring the place for fava beans. I finally was rewarded last week. I love making dips and pesto with fava beans, but my very favorite way to make them (and eat them) is sauteed in a little olive oil. I did a quick search for fava beans recipes before making them this time, but found surprisingly little. So, here’s what I do (the amounts depend on how many fava beans you have, so it’s best to just use whatever amount you think is best):

1. Buy A LOT of fava beans.
2. More than that. (Fava beans are similar to spinach in that 8 cups turns into about 3 tablespoons once you’re done.)
3. Shell beans, much like you might do with peas.
4. Blanch for about 2 minutes in boiling water.
5. Drain and let cool a little. Then, slip them out of their skins. You normally can just squeeze them a little to do this, although you might need to tear a little hole in the skin first.
6. In a pan, put a bit of olive oil, minced garlic, and red pepper flakes. After about 30 seconds on the heat, add the fava beans and a bit of salt and pepper. Saute for maybe 5 minutes until the beans soften a little.
7. Toast up some pine nuts; or if you’re lazy, just add them in with the beans and hope they toast a little as things cook.
8. Take the beans off the heat and add the pine nuts, then grate a bit of parmesan cheese over everything. Add a bit of sea salt if you want.
9. Enjoy.

This seems like a bit of work, but I find the shelling sort of relaxing, oddly. For 8 cups of beans, I probably use 3 cloves of garlic, 1 tsp of red pepper flakes, and 4 tablespoons of pine nuts. That probably serves 2-3 people as a side dish, although I could eat the entire thing myself.

Taquitos
I had some avocadoes left over from my latest trip to California and what can you do with four really ripe avocadoes when your boyfriend is too lazy to make his tasty guacamole? I thought I might try to make something like avocado eggrolls from the Cheesecake Factory, only I was thinking taquitos rather than eggrolls, and I wondered how I could make it a bit healthier. They came out very tasty, although I don’t know that they were strictly speaking low-fat.

Filling
4 small avocadoes
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 tbl fresh oregano, chopped
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes (soaked in hot water for 10 minutes, then chopped)
salt and pepper to taste
dash red pepper flakes
dash cumin

I filled 6 corn tortillas and put them in an oiled baking dish. I sprayed some oil over the top so they’d get crispy as they baked. I baked them at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Sauce
1/4 cup cashews
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup parsley
salt and pepper to taste
dash red pepper flakes
dash cumin
2 green onions, chopped
3 tbl honey
dash worcestershire sauce
1 tbl white wine vinegar
1 tbl balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

I mixed everything up in the food processor and served it on the side.

Cheese enchiladas
I really wanted cheese and onion enchiladas, but I didn’t have any of the ingredients. So, I made it up as I went along.

Sauce
28 oz. tomato sauce
1 tbl minced onion
2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbl cumin
1 tbl chili powder
2 chipotle peppers, chopped
1 tbl adobo sauce
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tbl sugar
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 dried habanero pepper

I adjusted these spices to taste, so I’m not sure exactly what I ended up with. It was spicy though. I simmered it for about 20 minutes.

Filling
1 sweet onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbl olive oil
2 cups fat-free sour cream
4 oz chopped green chiles
2 cups shredded monterey jack
2 tbl fresh oregano, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
dash red pepper flakes

I sauteed the onions and garlic in olive oil and added salt, pepper, and a few spices. Then I added them to the rest of the ingredients and mixed it all together. I covered the bottom of a baking dish with some of the sauce, heated up 1o flour tortillas so soften them, then filled them up and rolled them and put them in the baking dish, seam down. Then, I poured more sauce over everything to cover (I only used about half), and sprinkled shredded cheese over the top. I baked it for around 25 minutes, then sprinkled some chopped tomatoes and chopped green onions over the top.

So cheesy and good.

Continuing my efforts to use up what we have, and yet still keep things relatively healthy, I made up some subs earlier today. We had them for dinner and P. said that they were so good I had to write down how I made them, so here goes.

12 cherry tomatoes, seeded and diced (you could probably use any tomatoes; I used what I had)
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
2 tbl each oregano and basil, chopped
juice of 1/2 lime
salt and pepper
2 tbl olive oil
3 tbl red wine vinegar
2 tbl balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella
baguette

I mixed everything together in a bowl, sliced the baguette lengthwise, scooped out the soft bread inside, and added it to the bowl. Then, I put the mixture back into the hollowed out bread (both sides), pressed the bread together, and wrapped it really tightly with plastic wrap. Then, I refrigerated it until dinner (about 7 hours).

The flavors all melded together and soaked into the bread. And it was so easy to make.

Last night, I made a meal of all the leftover vegetables we had to use up before their time was up. I made cream cheese mashed potatoes, chipotle sweet potatoes, creamed spinach, and roasted cauliflower with cheese sauce.

I almost forgot how much better I like roasted cauliflower than steamed and I had just started the water for steaming when I remembered. I preheated the oven to 450 and cut up all the cauliflower and put it in two baking dishes. I had 3 heads of cauliflower to use up so they took up a lot of space. I sprayed them with cooking spray and added salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Then I roasted them for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile I made the cheese sauce.

2 1/2 cups low-fat milk
3 whole cloves
1/2 red onion
1 bay leaf
1 dried habanero
pinch each ground nutmeg and allspice
4 tbl butter
4 tbl flour
salt and pepper
pinch paprika
1 tbl mustard (I used sweet potato mustard)
dash dry mustard
1 cup low-fat cheddar
1 cup bread crumbs

I simmered the milk with the cloves, onion, bay leaf, habanero, nutmeg, and allspice while I made a roux of butter and flour. After about 10 minutes of cooking each, I strained the milk and added it to the roux, whisking all the while until it thickened. I added the other ingredients, other than the cheese, and stirred that all together. I then added the cheese a little at a time until it melted.

I took the cauliflower out of the oven, combined it all into one pan, then poured the cheese sauce over the top and sprinkled the bread crumbs over it. I added a bit more salt and pepper and let it bake about 20 minutes more. When it was done, I sprinkled a bit of sea salt on top.

Roasting the cauliflower really brings out the flavor and makes it crispy on the edges. And of course, how can you go wrong with cheese sauce?

I have a huge backlog of food and wine and restaurants to talk about. I’m thinking I’d better write it all down soon before it’s gone from my head forever.

P. loves meatball subs and I’ve been experimenting with different recipes for a while, but I haven’t come up with anything I really think it spectacular. But this last attempt was the best try yet. I even tried to make it somewhat low-fat, so it’s a keeper all around.

Meatballs
4 slices low-fat bread (I used Sara Lee Delightful)
1/4 c low-fat buttermilk
1 lb ground turkey breast
4 links italian chicken sausage, casings removed
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
1/2 c egg beaters
3 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper
2 Tbl each chopped fresh basil, oregano, and thyme

I preheated the oven to 400 degrees and sprayed cooking spray in 2 six muffin tins.

I tore the bread into pieces and soaked it in the buttermilk while I mixed everything else together in a large bowl. Then, I added the bread and mixed that in.

I made 12 balls and put them in the muffin tins then baked until done (I think it was about 30 minutes). (When they were done, I put the meatballs on paper towels to drain some of the fat.)

Sauce
1 tbl olive oil
I small onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes
1/2 cup red wine
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
28 oz can tomato sauce
6 oz can tomato paste
2 pinches sugar
2 tbl each chopped fresh basil, oregano, and thyme

I cooked up the onion and garlic with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste, deglazed the pan with the wine, added the canned tomatoes, sauce, and paste. I let everything simmer for about 20 minutes, then added the sugar and herbs. I let it simmer a few minutes more.

I split open some crusty bread rolls, put two meatballs on each, poured sauce over, then added some sliced (low-fat) mozzarella. I had oven fries on the side (that I had tossed with the herbs, salt, and red pepper flakes before baking). We had it with more red wine.

I wanted to, but I did make other things.

I made both cornbread and regular stuffing, because why choose when you can have both? I realized that the only cast iron skillet I have is a grill pan (I used to have a complete set of cast iron, years and years ago, but I lived a half mile from the beach, and the ocean air left the pans a little, erm, rusty). I plowed ahead with it with great success. Since Thanksgiving (well, the day after) only comes once a year, I figured if things weren’t all that low-fat. I may have gone overboard though.

I chopped up eight slices of bacon and fried that in the pan. I then took out the bacon, but used the remaining oil in the cornbread mixture. Then, I poured the mixture into the bacony pan and baked it in the oven. Nothing makes cornbread tasty like bacon. In the stuffing, I added roasted anaheim peppers, the bacon (obviously), sauteed onions, celery, and garlic, red pepper flakes, cheddar cheese, cumin, oregano, and lots of others peppers and spices I happened to have on hand. I’m thinking of frying some up today for lunch.

The other stuffing was your typical Joy of Cooking recipe with added mushrooms. I cut up a baguette into cubes and toasted them up in the oven. I never make the cubes small enough because I’m always worried that because the bread is so crusty, the knife will slip, and I’ll cut my finger. Which only happened the one time, but now I’m forever making the cubes too big. I should really use a food processor.

I also made Alton Brown’s chipotle smashed sweet potatoes, which I recommend making way more often than just at Thanksgiving. I add about three times the chipotle peppers and sauce he recommends though. It’s the easiest thing to make and so hot and good.

I made mashed potatoes the same way as always: with some butter, milk, chives, and cream cheese.

I wanted to make garlic green beans, but by the time we made it to the store, the beans were looking pretty wilty and sad. So, we made due with creamed spinach, with lots of onion, garlic, and mushrooms. And er, cream cheese.

I didn’t need to make any dessert since P. had made the most delicious cheesecake ever earlier in the week. And we had store- bought rolls. I admit it.

It was all good, but it mostly made a nice foundation for the gravy.

I mean, I could eat this gravy with a spoon, as a soup. Which is fortunate since it took me the entire day to make. Totally worth it.

I used The Best Recipe’s gravy recipe as a guide, although I left out the part where it has you cut up the turkey heart and lungs and soul and whatever else is in that bag ‘o parts that comes with your turkey and put those parts back into the gravy. Actually, I didn’t have a bag ‘o parts because my week was so crazy that we didn’t even get to the grocery store until Wednesday night and they only had frozen turkeys, which would take a month or so to thaw. (OK, maybe not a month, but it was unlikely we could have a thawed turkey by Friday. Yes, I made the big dinner on Friday. We were at relatives’ on Thursday, but cooking and then eating for days is my favorite part of Thanksgiving, so we did it the next day.)

The point is that we ended up getting a fresh turkey breast, which was basically the same as the whole turkey only without legs. and the bag of parts. I cut off some pieces that didn’t look very edible to use in place of the parts in the recipe.

I brined the legless turkey in beef broth, red wine, kosher salt, and spices. When I roasted the turkey, I filled it with lots of vegetables and herbs. I also poured some chicken broth in the roasting pan, and sprinkled around more vegetables and herbs. I added water every half hour or so.

I followed the basic instructions for the gravy (brown the turkey parts, onion etc., simmer in chicken broth for a while, strain, separately make a roux, pour all but one cup of the liquid into the roux and whisk for a long while). Once the turkey was done, I put the roasting pan on the stove and deglazed the pan with a cup of white wine. I added the final cup of the liquid to that and let it simmer for a while. I probably had six cups of liquid. I strained that and then added about half to the roux mixture, slowly, as I whisked. I did not add the parts back to this.

Seriously, you are looking for things to pour this gravy on. I still have half of the pan drippings and stock I made from the turkey, and I am making that gravy again as soon as we finish eating this batch.

I thought I only liked cheesecake this much.

Dude. Biscuits are easy and so good. Who knew? Well, probably you knew and you make them every morning for breakfast, but I had no idea. None.

I used the Joy of Cooking recipe (although in a food processor and with half non-fat milk and half regular milk). I remembered Alton Brown’s show on biscuits and tried not to mix everything too much. These biscuits were so easy and so flaky and so good. I highly recommend that you go make some biscuits right now. Maybe I will too.

I haven’t made many original recipes lately. I’ve been starting work at about 7am most days, and by 7 or 8 at night when I finally get out of the office, I’m more hungry than creative.

This week, has mostly been Italian. So much for low-fat cooking.

A few nights ago, I made three Rachel Ray recipes. Say what you want about her, when it’s 8pm and you need to stop at the grocery store on the way home to pick up ingredients and you’re going to have to work some more after dinner, the thought of a 30 minute meal is a pretty good one.

I made Florentine meatballs, Papa al Pomodoro and onion tartlets.

I didn’t veer too much from the recipes, although I spiced up the meatballs a little more and used fat-free milk and fresh provolone in the sauce. For the soup, I used cannellini beans, even though she specifically says to use something smaller, mostly because the lame Safeway by my house didn’t have any smaller beans. Tomato sauce, bread, and parmesan cheese? There’s no way to go wrong with that. I made the tartlets with french bread, rather than white, which worked out pretty well. I used about half as much cheese as the recipe called for though. A pound of cheese! I love cheese more than most people, but seriously, that’s a lot of cheese.

Then the next night, I made some angel hair pasta and pesto and some garlic bread, but I also tried the malfatti recipe from Accidental Hedonist. Oh Kate. It sounded so good. And I made it so badly. My dumplings fell completely apart when I tried to boil them. I know that she warns of that and cautions of less-than-dry spinach. I guess that could have been my problem, although I had a bad experience with watery spinach and ham lasagna years ago, which has served as a cautionary tale ever since. I wring out my spinach and wring it out some more and then I bake it in the sun and leave it in the sauna for a while. The problem might have been the ricotta. I used a combination of really good (and dry) ricotta, and some low-fat (somewhat watery) ricotta. I should never try to go low-fat with cheese.

I fished out my watery spinach and drained it on paper towels. It tasted OK with the quick tomato sauce I threw together. But it sure wasn’t as good as Kate described it. I’ve just never been able to make dumplings of any kind. I’ll have to keep trying.

The tomato sauce was easy. I softened up a chopped onion and some minced garlic in olive oil, and added some salt and pepper, red pepper flakes, dried basil and oregano. Then I deglazed the pan with some red wine, added a 15 oz can of tomato sauce and a 6 oz can of tomato paste. I simmered it for about 20 minutes and added a splah of red wine vinegar. I normally would have used diced tomatoes, but tomato sauce was what I had on hand.

We had all this with a 95 Terra Blanca cab. We were at the Terra Blanca winery over labor day weekend (we’re big fans of the late harvest gewurtz). We tried the 2001 Red Mountain cab, which was really good, and the Onyx blend, which was even better. We snagged a few bottles of the Onyx, but we ended up with a case of the 95 cab. It generally sells for $25 a bottle, but we got a case for $75 because sadly, it’s peaked. It still has aromas that give you a hint of how flavorful it used to be, but the taste has faded. But it’s still a great tasting wine at $75 a case. (It’s a pretty poor wine for $25 a bottle though.)

Believe it or not, I have cooked things and eaten them in the last month, but first, what I’ve been drinking lately.

Tonight, it’s margaritas, unsurprisingly enough. We’re grilling up our own grilled stuffed burritos, along with Spanish rice and Spanish potatoes. And by “Spanish”, I mean, assuredly like nothing you’d find in Spain, but I’m throwing in lots of onion and garlic and oregano and cumin tomatoes and saying “hola” a lot. Also, after I cooked up the onions and garlic and poblano pepper for the rice, I deglazed the pan with tequila. Surely that counts for something.

Speaking of margaritas, we were at the liquor store yesterday and we noticed that our favorite tequila (El Tesoro anejo) was marked “close out”. We asked the cashier: close out? Surely that doesn’t mean you’re not going to carry it anymore. He told us yes, that once it was gone, it was gone. I turned to P. “We should buy more. The rest they have. I’m not even kidding.” I wasn’t even kidding. I’m still thinking of going back. Not tonight, obviously, as our state-run liquor is not available for purchase on Sundays. I wonder how many I can find…

Yesterday, we were helping a friend work on his house, so obviously, we were drinking beer. Later, he made us “vampire kisses”, which were 2 parts vodka, 1 part chambord, and a splash of cranberry juice. I highly recommend them. For dessert, we had Godiva chocolate liqueur and cream. And also vanilla ice cream topped with both the Godiva liqueur and Bailey’s. Also highly recommended. (Also, we ate Chinese food, in case you were thinking we just drank our dinner. Which we only did sort of.)

Friday, I was at my work’s corporate office and of course there was beer as it was Friday afternoon. When I’m sitting out on the patio, drinking a beer, soaking up the sun, I wonder why I don’t head over to work more often.

Thursday night, also at work, I spent the evening on another patio, this time with Clos du Bois Merlot. By the time we got to the two buck chuck Chardonnay, I thought it tasted OK. I mean, not good or anything. I wasn’t that drunk

Wednesday night was also Merlot. Francis Coppola. My hotel room had a gift basket with a half bottle in it. I don’t normally drink Merlot, but I thought both of these were pretty tasty. Not super complex and intriguing and the best wines ever. But tasty and drinkable

I probably wouldn’t drink that two buck chuck again. Well, not if it was my first glass anyway.

We went to Lola over a month ago, and I’m only just now getting around to writing about it.

It had a more casual, relaxed atmosphere than I was expecting. And it was cozy, with an open kitchen and friendy waitstaff.

We had the skordalia appetizer. We asked what it was when we ordered it, but if we hadn’t known, we never would have guessed that it was bread. I would have said it was some kind of bean. It was odd to spread bread onto bread, but it was yummy.

P. had the lamb burger with chickpea fries and I mixed and matched and got a chicken kabob, smashed garlic potatoes, and sauteed pea vines and chard. I’m a potatoes kind of girl, but I loved the chickpea fries. I want to make them at home, although I’m thinking they aren’t the healthiest food ever. I was on the fence about the sauteed greens. I like both pea vines and chard, but didn’t love them together. (I first had pea vines when I was out with the Seattle food bloggers and like it so much that I tracked some down and made it at home.)

We also tried a Greek white wine. We’d had red Greek wines before (and, in fact, have a few bottles in our wine racks right now), but had never tried the white. I have the name written down somewhere. I’ll have to dig it out later. We finished the meal with this great goat cheese and honey pastry (they put a candle on it because P. told them that it was my birthday when he made the reservation, damn him).

I’m sure it seems weird since I live in Seattle(ish) and love food, but this was my first visit to a Tom Douglas restaurant. I’ll have to remedy that soon.

Well, sort of. I’m not a Rachel Ray apologist or anything, but I do find it curious how much people love to hate her. I think her show has an important premise (not the shows where gets just drunk and slurrily fawns over celebrities — the 30 minute one). It is true that lots of people order takeout when they could cook something themselves in the same amount of time and her show really does show people how they can do that.

And I have to wonder about everyone who hates her: do they all really spend hours and hours every night making elaborate meals? I would really like to know what they eat every night. And when they manage to get their laundry done. Or sleep.

I look forward to cooking when I come home from work. I find it relaxing and fun. And even I don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen on the weeknights because I have other things I need to do. I use ideas from Rachel Ray all the time.

Which isn’t to say that I cook her recipes exactly as she makes them. I get that her show is sort of a gimmick. It’s kind of like all those cookbooks that have recipes that are “quick and easy” and therefore, each recipe has to have less than some arbitrary number of ingredients. I take both her show and the recipes in those cookbooks and think, what could I make with this in five more minutes or with two more ingredients?

(I’m not even getting into how everything she needs is always at the front of the shelves and how she piles everything up in one trip, because, well, those things are just funny.)

I tend to use her recipes as foundations. Or to get general ideas. When she uses preshredded bagged cheese, I grate my own. I have the extra two minutes. If I’m going to use pesto, I’ll mix it up myself rather than use a jar. And sometimes, adding just a few extras and spending a few more minutes makes all the difference.

Talking about loving to hate though, I find that semi-homeade girl just inexplicable. She seems to go for processed ingredients just because she can. I watch that show sometimes because I find it kind of fascinating.

Anyway, here is a mini-review of one of her (er, Rachel ray, not the semi-homemade girl) dishes I made the other night.

Hungarian hot sausage and lentil stoup
OK, I will admit that typing the non-word “stoup” is almost enough to make me side with the haters, but if you just squint a little and ignore the “t”, the soup is pretty good.

I didn’t actually see this episode, so I’m not sure if the recipe calls for canned lentils or dried. I’ve used both in my cooking and it seems like neither fit the cooking time listed here. I went with dried and switched up the recipe a little. I cooked it all for 30 minutes (the cooking time of the lentils) and put the potatoes in at the 15 minute mark.

I used chicken sausage and swiss chard and I sprinkled a bunch of parmesan cheese on at the end. I used white mushrooms, since that’s what we already had and plus that meant I didn’t have to figure out what she meant by the whole “scraping out” part. I served it with sourdough bread that I had drizzled olive oil on and lightly toasted, then rubbed raw garlic over.

Well, here’s what actually happened. We had a friend over, who was talking to me when I put the bread under the broiler. After only a couple of minutes, I noticed flames leaping through burners of the stove and smoke started pouring out of the oven. I turned on the fans (fortunately, the smoke detector was still disconnected after my last fire fiasco) and P. opened up the oven to find the bread completely in flames. It was kind of impressive, actually. I went for the fire extinguisher but he grabbed a kitchen towel and tried to get a hold of the pan. I could just see the entire towel burning up, along with his hand and yelled helpful things like “you’re going to catch on fire!” But he managed to spectacularly blow the flames out and took the pan out of the oven and outside to the deck.

I then told him I was removing myself from bread responsibility and made him do up another batch. Which turned out great and not at all a giant ball of flames.

Week before last, I was totally craving french toast. I don’t know what the deal was, but I just really wanted some. So, every so often, I’d ask P. to make me some, and he would in turn laugh at me. I had recently proclaimed (once again) my determination to eat more healthfully, so he wondered where the french toast would fit in. I said that I could make it low-fat. He laughed again. I took that as a personal challenge. He doesn’t even like french toast, so he’s suspect anyway. Who doesn’t like french toast?

One weekend morning, I decided to attempt some low-fat, low-tech french toast. I thought about baking it or stuffing it with cream cheese, but in the end, I was pretty lazy. It was a Saturday morning, after all.

I mixed together some egg beaters and skim milk and added a bit of cinnamon and vanilla extract. I heated up some low-fat butter in a skillet. I used the Sara Lee Delightful bread, which is pretty good bread for being only one Weight Watchers point for two slices. I soaked the bread in the egg mixture in the usual way and then cooked it for several minutes on each side. Once both sides were crispy, I added a little more of the low-fat butter, poured a bit of low-calorie syrup over it (the fat-free stuff doesn’t even taste like food, so it’s been relegated to the very back of the cabinet), and sprinkled just a teeny bit of powdered sugar over the whole thing.

I admit, it was not as good as your full-fat french toasts. But it was pretty tasty. I’ll be more adventurous and try a baked/cream cheese version on a Saturday when I’ve had more coffee.

After eating my fantastic breakfast, I got to thinking that hey, eggs? bread? This just might qualify for Cook Sister’s end of the month egg on toast extravaganza! However, I haven’t participated lately, despite it being just my kind of thing (with no rules or deadlines) and I see that things have turned literary. Dr. Suess? Well, alrighty then!

French toast I wanted, “No!” said P.
“What about your healthy plea?”
“I have some tricks here up my sleeve,
I’m not on Weight Watchers leave.”
P. just laughed, but I’d show him.
I’d eat it all and still stay slim.
I could not have them with whole diary.
No yolks either? That was scary.
I could not have french crusty bread.
The light would have to do instead.
I could not have full butter fat.
What if the bread ends up too flat?
But it was great when it was done.
So, P. can laugh, and he’ll get none.

I made a kind of manicotti last night. I meant for it to be low-fat, although I don’t know how successful I was. I probably should give up trying to stuff pasta, and just make these kinds of dishes lasagna style. They end up that way in the end anyway.

This ended up pretty tasty. I bet I can spice things up a little more next time.

Marinara sauce
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1+ cup chopped mushrooms
olive oil
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes to taste
chopped fresh thyme and oregano
8 (or so) chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
splash red wine vinegar
pinch of sugar
sliced fresh basil

I cooked up the onion, garlic, and mushroom in some olive oil. I added the salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and herbs. Then, I added the tomatoes and let everything simmer for a couple of minutes. I added the wine, red wine vinegar, and sugar and let everything simmer for about 20 minutes. Near the end, I threw in the basil leaves. I found that I needed a lot of salt. I added it throughout the process.

Shells
Before I started the filling, I boiled a pot of water and then added 12 manicotti shells and let them cook about halfway, then drained them.

Filling
dash of olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 lb ground turkey
chopped fresh oregano and thyme
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes
1 package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
16 oz low-fat cottage cheese
1 egg white, beaten
1/3 cup grated parmesan

I cooked up the onion, garlic, and turkey with the herbs and spices. Once the meat was cooked, I added the rest of the ingredients and stirred it all together.

Topping
Sliced low-fat mozzarella
Chopped basil
grated parmesan

Baking
I preheated the oven to 325. I put a layer of the sauce in a bakin dish, then stuffed the shells with the filling and placed them in the baking dish. Well, mostly I accidentally split open the shells so they ended up being more like tortillas with the seam side down, but same idea. Then, I poured the rest of the sauce over the whole thing, placed the mozzarella, parmesan, and basil over the top, then covered the baking dish with foil. I baked it for about 30 minutes, then took the foil off and baked it another 10 minutes. Then, I took it out of the oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes.

I had with the red wine I used in the dish (a Syrah that I will write up shortly). If only I had thought ahead and made some garlic bread…

I’ll just come clean right now. I really hate that “semi-homemade” show on Food network. It’s the one Food network show I can’t have on even as background noise. That said, I really felt like I had stepped into the world of semi-homemade a few nights ago when I made dinner. But how else was I going to make turkey and stuffing on week night?

The turkey was more not at all, not even a little, homemade. I picked up a roasted turkey breast from the grocery store deli. I highly recommend that actually, if you’re ever craving those day after Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches. But anyway, what really worked was the stuffing. Everything else was just OK. As a whole though, the meal was pretty tasty.

mashed potatoes
I’ve finally faced that I really don’t like skins in my mashed potatoes. I tried to like it for a while, but I really only like skins that have been roasted in the oven: baked potatoes, twice-baked potatoes, roasted potatoes. Skins boiled and then mashed? Not so much. It’s too bad, really, because it’s pretty convenient to peel a couple of russets, cube them, and then halve a bag of those teeny red potatoes and throw it all into the water. Which is what I did for this. Next time, I’ll get the larger red potatoes and peel them first. Anyway, I boiled the potatoes, drained them, mashed them a bit with a potato masher, then added salt and pepper, along with some melted butter, milk, and sour cream. My standard mashed potatoes. They were fine other than the whole skin issue.

sauteed chard
I just chopped this up and sauteed it in some olive oil with a few cloves of minced garlic, red pepper flakes, sea salt, and honey. And I added a little maple syrup at the end because the greens tasted a little bitter. Greens are so good with mashed potatoes, seriously.

gravy
I don’t even want to talk about it. This didn’t turn out at all. It tasted great and it served the purpose it needed to — that is, to make my open-faced sandwich not so dry, but it didn’t thicken at all. I think I needed more flour in my roux. All I did was melt some butter and add an equal part flour, and a little salt and pepper (and a few spices: maybe some poulty seasoning and some garlic powder… possibly a few other things). I stirred it all together and let it cook for a few minutes, then whisked in a couple of cups of chicken stock. I let it simmer a bit and then added a touch of milk at the end.

stuffing
I sauteed a chopped sweet onion, several cloves of garlic, minced, and a couple of Italian chicken sausage links with casings removed in a bit of olive oil. I added in some sliced mushrooms and let that cook until the mushrooms were soft. I also added in some herbs and spices: salt and pepper, poultry seasoning, celery salt (I could have added actual celery, but I really don’t like the consistency), chopped fresh parsley, sage, and rosemary. Once everything was cooked, I added a couple of cups of chicken stock. Then, I added a boxed stuffing mix and some french bread I had toasted and cut into small pieces. I mixed everything together and added a bit more chicken stock until there was a bit more than could be absorbed by the bread. I let them simmer on low heat for several minutes, then I transferred everything to a baking dish and let it bake at about 350 for 20 minutes or so (just until it was crisp on top).

I served it thusly:

french bread roll, split
layer of stuffing
layer of turkey
layer of mashed potatoes
poured gravy over the top
greens on the side

So, semi-homemade, but it only took about 40 minutes and I had Thanksgiving dinner!

At the grocery store on Saturday, I got pulled in by the heirloom tomatoes. I didn’t have a recipe in mind, but they were so ugly, I just couldn’t resist them. And then the cashier rung them up. $15. I am notorious for letting tomatoes go bad, so I knew I needed to make something with these tomatoes so P. couldn’t mock me for throwing about 15 bucks. And I wanted to make something that would showcase their flavor.

So, last night, I sliced them all up. I also sliced up some mozzarella. I heated up olive oil and added some minced garlic and dried basil (I didn’t have any fresh on hand). I added the tomato slices, then freshly ground salt and pepper. Then, I turned over the tomatoes and added the cheese and let it melt. I did the tomatoes in batches so they wouldn’t get too mushy. When all the tomatoes were done, I tossed a bunch of crusty bread I had cut up into the pan and let the oil and tomato juices soak in. Then, I put the bread on a plate, topped it with the tomatoes, and sprinkled over some sea salt.

It was delicious.

I love burgers, but I know they’re not the healthiest thing for me. The other day, P. and I picked up some ostrich burgers. They have a similar taste and texture as beef, but 40% less fat. It’s even lower in fat, calories, and cholesterol than skinless chicken or turkey. 100 grams of ostrich has 2.8 grams of fat and 140 calories, compared to 7.41 grams of fat and 190 calories for chicken and 9.28 grams of fat and 211 calories for beef. “`Cardiologists have given ostrich two thumbs up,’ says Doug Hendrix, a spokesman for Von’s, the supermarket chain that carries the meat of this big bird at its 32 Pavilion stores in California.”

But how does it taste?

P. had never had ostrich before, so he didn’t want to overwhelm the flavor too much the first time. He wanted to know what ostrich tasted like. We seasoned the burgers with just salt and pepper and worcestershire sauce. Then, we grilled them. They tasted remarkably like burgers.

Admittedly, they didn’t taste like the very best flavorful and juicy burger ever, but then, they’re much leaner, so you can’t really compare them that way. If you’re looking for the best tasting burger ever, you go for Kobe or you grind your own beef. If you’re looking for a pretty good burger that you can eat and still stay on your diet, check out ostrich.

It’s best to season them, I’ve read. To add moisture, you could prepare them as you might turkey burgers or you could mix a few extras in with the ground meat or marinate them for a while. And you don’t want to overcook them. That seems to be the biggest thing that just kills the flavor. Grilling adds a bit more flavor to them, and anyway, it’s so dang hot, why not grill everything.

We melted some cheddar on them, then put them on toasted buns with lettuce, onion, tomato, and avocado. And I mashed up some potatoes and cooked up some vegetables (zucchini, yellow squash, onions, and tomato). It was great. Now that we’ve had the “baseline” burger, we’ll try some things for added flavor and moisture next time.

We’ve been so busy with the unpacking and the cleaning and the parents and the working, but last night, I couldn’t face take out again. So, I went to the grocery store and grabbed random food and then set out to cook. It ended up working out really well and have I mentioned how much I love my new kitchen?

Anyway, here’s what I made.

a sausage, bean, spinach, and vegetable soup
This was a matter of adding whatever I had that happened to sound good. It all worked except maybe the pasta, which didn’t add anything except distraction. I wanted to add a short, wide pasta of some kind, but all I had was angel hair, so I broke it up into small pieces and dumped it in. I’d recommend skipping that part.

4 links Italian chicken sausage, casings removed
1 Tbl olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
several sprigs of rosemary and thyme
1 zucchini, diced
1 yellow squash, diced
several crimini mushrooms, roughly chopped
1/2 cup white wine
1 russet potato, diced
about 6 cups of chicken broth
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped (it could have used more, definitely)
2 cans cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed
1 package fresh spinach
some pasta (see caveat, above)
grated parmesan cheese

I crumbled and browned the sausage and then removed it to drain. The pan was really dry, so I added a little olive and then the onions, garlic, and herbs, along with some salt and pepper. I let that get all wilty and then added the zucchini, squash, and mushrooms and let that cook just a couple of minutes. Then, I added the white wine and deglazed the pain, then the potoates and chicken broth (oh, and the pasta that I don’t recommend).

I let everything simmer until the potoatoes were soft (20 minutes?), then added the tomatoes, beans, and the sausage. I let that heat up for about 5 minutes, then added all the spinach, stirred it through, and then put a lid on it and let the spinach wilt down (about 5 more minutes).

Once it was done, I grated some parmesan cheese over it and a bit more salt and pepper. I served it with crusty bread. It was really good, but it could have used maybe a bit more herbs and spices. Also, it probably would have been great with a little really good olive drizzled over the top at the end, but I was trying to stay somewhat healthy.

steamed broccoli
Well, there was nothing much to this. I steamed some broccoli until it was tender, then sprinkled on some red pepper flakes, Maldon sea salt, and grated parmesan cheese. Simple and good.

rosemary and thyme mashed potatoes
I peeled and quartered 4 red potatoes and 2 russets, and boiled them until soft. Then, I drained them, put them in a bowl, and mashed them, just a little, with a potato masher. Then, I melted a couple of tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan and added chopped rosemary and thyme. I let that simmer for a few minutes until the herbs got crispy. I reduced the heat to low and added maybe half a cup of buttermilk and 2 tablespoons sour cream. Once it was warmed through, I slowly drizzled it over the potatoes and mashed them just a little more. I added a bit of salt and pepper. Yum.

sort of like chicken cordon bleu, but probably not really
I know; no measurements

thin chicken breast filets (my package came with 5)
thin sliced deli ham
thickly sliced jarlsberg cheese (or another swiss)
buttermilk
fresh rosemary and thyme
bread crumbs
honey mustard
rosemary sprigs

I soaked the chicken in buttermilk for a half hour or so. I layed the chicken with the herbs. Then, I took a chicken breast and laid it flat. I spread mustard over it, then added a couple of slices on ham to the entire thing, then put the cheese slices on half of it. I folder the other half over and secured it with a rosemary sprig. I coated it in breadcrumbs and put it in a baking dish. I baked them for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

I also made a mustard sauce to put over the chicken at the end.

mustard sauce

2 tbl butter
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup honey mustard
1 tbl dijon mustard
2 tbl honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
splash champagne vinegar
salt and pepper

I softened up the mushrooms (I used shiitake and crimini) and garlic in the butter. Then, I basically just added everything else and let it simmer for about ten minutes. The measurements are approximate. I mostly just did it to taste.

On the 4th, we had only gotten the kitchen unpacked. We have our priorities. We barbecued Kobe beef (sirloin and NY strip), seasoned with salt and pepper and grilled on each side for just a couple of minutes. It was pretty good, but not as good as Kobe that we’ve had in restaurants (or, for that matter, Kobe burgers that we’ve grilled ourselves). But still, really really good.

P. made a balsamic reduction for them. I’m not sure exactly how he made it, but I think he sauted some garlic, shallots, and mushrooms in butter, then added balsamic vinegar and let that simmer and reduce for a while (45 minutes?). Possibly there was more to it than that. A friend of mine is about to publish her second cookbook and we talked about adding a few of our recipes to it, including that one. Which means P. will have to write it down and then I’ll know for sure.

We also made twice baked potatoes. I basically followed the Joy of Cooking recipe. I noticed a variation that used bacon and pepperjack cheese. I decided to use some of the wild boar bacon we had. I also used butter, buttermilk, sour cream, green onions and possibly a few other things I’m forgetting. But I’m sure you have the cookbook, so no need to repeat it all here.

I made some cauliflower, baked in a cheese sauce, also from the Joy of Cooking. I would recommend doubling the sauce. I used one head of cauliflower and it was a little dry. Very tasty though.

We tossed together a salad with lots of greens and veggies and that balsamic viniagrette that I like to make and that I make differently every time. (Mostly it’s balsamic, olive oil, garlic, shallots, citrus juice, salt and pepper, honey, and honey mustard.)

We made some bruschetta with goat cheese from Quickies for Couples. We had that out on the deck before dinner with some cheeses, breads, crackers, sausages, and mustards. Oh, and margaritas. We could have just had a full dinner of that.

I made up a dressing I found in Sunset magazine (a magazine from which I will make every recipe listed as to recoup my investment as I realized only as the cashier was ringing it up that it was $9.99. $9.99 for a magazine!) with olive oil, mustard, shallots, garlic, thyme, and other sundry spices that I brushed on sliced summer squash, red onions, and grape tomatoes and then skewered. We grilled these along with some corn on the cob that P. brushed with some type of melted butter concoction and then wrapped in foil.

We had some Chateau Ste. Michelle Eroica Riesling and then some of their limited edition 2002 Sangiovese. Eroica is our favorite Riesling, and this was the last of our 2002. The Sangiovese was great with the steak.

We also made a lemon meringue pie (also from Quickies for Couples, but we were way too full to eat any of it.

We actually did do some cooking on the 4th, but mostly, we’ve been eating out. When you’re packing and moving and unpacking, there’s no time to cook, no room to prepare, and no food in the refrigerator. So, here are a few mini-reviews of a few places we’ve been.

Cafe Juanita, Kirkland, WA
We’ve been here before, and as much as we enjoyed it last time, I think this time may have been even better. Last time we went, it was New Year’s Eve, so it was a little more of a formal atmosphere. This time, it was a lot more relaxing. In fact, the waiter said that one reason he loves working there is that it’s not at all stuffy. We took P.’s parents as a thank you for helping us move.

After we ordered, we took a walk through the herb garden as the hostess suggested, although it was getting pretty dark. (It was probably about 9:30.) But it was beautiful out there. P.’s dad had the Limoncello Martini with Caprino Crostino, which I had a sip of, and which was excellent. We also ordered a couple of bottles of wine, but I’ll give them their own entry, since they were so good and anyway, I left the paper with the names on them that the waiter wrote down for us at home.

I had the Prosciutto di Parma with Ninety Farms Fava Beans and Pecorino Staginato and P.’s dad had the Seared Foie Gras with Bing Cherries, Candied Ginger, Cocoa Nibs and Vin Santo. I admit, his was a little better than mine. The foie gras was seared on the outside, which gave it a wonderful crispness. P. and his mom both had Hearts of Romaine with Parmigiano Reggiano, Garlicky Lemon Vinaigrette and Toasted Breadcrumb, also excellent. My appetizer was mostly prosciutto, and while it was really good, I’m not much of a “meat-only” kind of person. I was hoping for more fava beans, but they were tiny. I think it’s pretty early in the season for them.

I also had the soup of the day, which was a chicken broth with handmade noodles and I am so not doing it justice with that description. The waiter brought four spoons, even though only two of us had ordered it, because he said that without fail, people request more spoons once they’ve tasted it. It was a good call.

Then, I had the Barbaresco Risotto with Braised Oxtail. I asked the waiter if I should get the smaller or larger dish, since I was getting so much other food. He said I’d probably only have room for the small, but I should get the large because everyone else would be sneaking bites. My only other experience with oxtail was a sandwich at Salumi. I didn’t think I’d ever experience a better oxtail dish. I was wrong. This was the best risotto I’d ever had. P.’s mom had the Sheep’s Cheese Gnocchi with Cherry Tomato Salsa Fresca or with Ninety Farms Veal Sugo and Sweet Loraine Fava Beans. And both P. and his dad had Grilled Dry Aged RibEye Chop with Walla Walla Salad Onions and Balsamic. P.’s dad said it was the best steak he ever had.

I didn’t have much room left for dessert, so I got some Gianduja and Sea Salt Chocolates. Sea salt and chocolate. Brilliant combination.

The food was great, but the service was just as good. Our waiter was attentive, but not oppressive. He was very knowledgeable about the wines and just in general kept things casual and non-stuffy. I would go there all the time, but then, of course, I would be very broke.

Sage’s, Redmond, WA
I don’t know why I’m even linking to their site, actually, since it doesn’t seem to actually work. Well, maybe you’ll have better luck. (Oh yes, it’s just Firefox it doesn’t like. IE seems to work just fine.) The site says “Don’t come here if you are in a rush though, Chef Bart makes all his dishes from scratch and he prepares everything himself. Plan on spending some time, and enjoying yourself. You know that what you order is prepared by him and not a side chef. He takes great pride in his dishes and strives to please his customers.” We though it was eh. The people we were with really liked it, but anytime the menu includes phrases like “our popular pink sauce”, you have to wonder. I mean, don’t you? The chicken gorgonzola was excellent (how can you go wrong with blue cheese and cream), as was the tomato soup (again, with the cream) but everything else our table had (caprese, chicken ravioli, clam linguini, gnocchi, and a salmon pasta) were just OK.

The waiter seemed a little irritated at us the entire time, like we were putting him out, but there were only maybe two other parties in the restaurant, so I can’t imagine we made things that difficult. We ordered a bottle of pinot grigio (the only Italian pinot grigio on their wine list, sadly) and it was again, just OK. We went to order a second bottle of wine and the waiter automatically went to get the same one. I asked if we could see the wine list again so we could try something else and he seemed very annoyed and said that if we were going to get a red, we may as well get the special as it was only $28. I would have rather looked over the wine list, but P.’s dad said we should give it a try. It was OK. But not as good as I would have expected from the wine specifically recommended by the waiter.

The entire wine list was a little sad anyway. One Italian pinot grigio in an Italian restaurant? I notice they had the Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay listed for $70. And yes, I realize that the markup on wines in restaurants is huge, but that seems a little excessive for a wine you can get for $35 at the grocery store. Part of what I figure I am paying for in the restaurant markup is the restaurant’s research. They are doing the work to find me unique and different wines to try. That’s worth paying for. A wine list that looks like someone ran down to Safeway that afternoon and picked up whatever was on special isn’t quite the same.

Mayuri, Bellevue, WA
I got takeout the other night, so I can’t speak for the ambiance. The saag paneer was great. The chicken korma was just OK, but I’ve started to realize that when I don’t like the chicken korma, it’s not that I don’t like the sauce generally. It’s that the dish has dark meat in it, rather than chicken breasts, and I just don’t like dark meat at all. So, I think that was the problem. The naan was pretty good also, although not the best ever or anything. But definitely worth a return trip to check out some other dishes. I think I should try their lunch buffet next.

Raga, Kirkland, WA
A friend and I tried the lunch buffet last week. We were the only people in their, which seemed odd at noon during the week. A guy was in front, yelling at someone on a cell phone. The waitress seated us and tried to discreetly motion the man to the back. He went into a back room, and we could hear his muffled yelling continue. I tried a little of everything in the buffet, but nothing really stood out. It was just OK. Not memorable or really worth going back.

P.’s parents are going to Lola in Seattle tonight and unfortunately, we have to miss it. Well, maybe next time

I’m not very good about writing things about restaurant experiences. I don’t know how people do it, really. Do they steal the menu? Secretly jot down little notes throughout the meal? By the time we finish the bottle of wine, all I have is a vague recollection of the whole thing. So, instead, I present mini-reviews. I don’t claim that these will provide much information, but if you’re looking for just a vague, random sense of a place, look no further!

La Costa - Issaquah, WA
We wanted to try a new Mexican place. We normally go to Torero’s in Bellevue, and we really like it, but we thought we’d try something different. It was OK. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t Azteca bad or anything. The margaritas were marginal, unfortunately. They had this “we came from a mix” vibe to them, so that was disappointing. I had fajitas and P. and enchiladas. They give you salsa and bean dip with the chips. The bean dip is surprisingly good.

Casa Vallarta - Bellevue, WA
We don’t like it quite as much as Torero’s, but it’s pretty good. They margaritas are really good. They have many choices, and I recall that mine was better than P.’s. Of course, I don’t recall what mine was called, but it had several tequilas in it, and maybe grand manier. We didn’t try the flavored ones, but they have a bunch of those too.

Cascade Garden - Issaquah, WA
We got Chinese takeout from this place the other night. We normally get takeout from Hunan Garden in Bellevue, and this definitely wasn’t as good. We got Mongolian beef, General Tso’s chicken, and vegetable spring rolls. The spring rolls were crunchy, which was good. The Mongolian beef was OK, but just nowhere near as good a Hunan Garden.

Grazie Ristorante - Bellevue, WA
This Italian restaurant is behind Factoria mall. We really like it. They send the waiters to Italy to learn about the food and wine there. They have a nice selection of wines. I really liked the one we tried last time, but of course I can’t recall what it was (other than it was an Italian white). They group the wines by region in the wine list. I did take the cork home, thinking that would help me remember, but when I looked at it later, I saw that it had no name on it. Damn cork. They give you a dipping sauce for the bread with just olive oil and garlic. That’s an evil little dipping sauce because you end up wanting to guzzle olive oil all night. I think the spaghettini pomodoro is my favorite.

Marina Park Grill - Kirkland, WA
I’ve only been here for lunch, but everything I’ve had has been really good. None of it seems to be very low fat though…

So, there you have it. Mini-reviews from the East side. More as the situation warrants…

Memorial Day weekend, P. and I were completely exhausted from moving heavy furniture all day and P. suggested we grab some burgers. Actually, he said, “well, since we’re eating badly today anyway, we may as well have burgers.” And I said, “when did we eat badly today?” “Tonight, when we have burgers!” Gotcha.

And then I remembered reading about XXX Rootbeer in Issaquah. So, off we went. We actually were planning to have root beer floats anyway, so I ordered some root beer, which they gave me in a frosty mug to enjoy while our food was being cooked. They transferred it to a to go cup once everything was ready.

I had no idea what to order, but I ended up getting a cheeseburger that came with the best chili cheese fries. P. got some pig-inspired creation, with ham and bacon and some other kind of pork. And onion rings. The root beer really was some of the best I’ve had. As were the extremely messy, oversized burgers. If you plan to eat there (which we didn’t), just be prepared for an overabundance of 50’s fun.

(Speaking of burgers, we were in LA this weekend, so I was able to clog my arteries with both In-n-Out and a Carl’s Jr. western bacon cheeseburger, so I think I’ve met my burger quota for a while.)

P. and I aren’t good with planning. But it generally works out OK because our days are full of good surprises. Saturday, we had this vague notion that we wanted to barbecue burgers. Seattle was just about tied with the surface of the sun for ambient temperature and the oven was an arch-enemy, to be avoided at all costs.

We stopped by Exotic Meats, planning to pick up some Kobe beef burgers. While we were there, I remembered the poetic waxings about wild boar bacon over at I Heart Bacon, so we picked up some of that also. And we hadn’t had ostrich burgers in a while, so we grabbed some of that too. And then we found out that on Saturdays, you get a dollar off a pound. We also learned that there are tastings every other Saturday. We came on the wrong Saturday, but I think we’ll have to check that out next time.

We stopped by Larry’s to get some avocado and buns and sundry other stuff. Larry’s was having some big lobster sale. They had live lobsters in ice out front — $8.97 a pound. As we were walking through the produce section, I asked P., “what do you want with your burger?” He looked at me, guilty (but cute) look on his face. “Lobster.”

So, lobster it was.

Margaritas
When we got home, we made margaritas. We’ve been on a quest for the ultimate margarita, and I have a huge barrage of thoughts about different kinds of tequilas and citrus choices and liqueurs and sugar and salt, but that’s an entry for another day. Our current favorite is this:

4 parts citrus juice (we’ve been using three limes and a half lemon)
2 parts simple syrup (easily made by heating equal parts sugar and water until dissolved)
3 parts El Tesoro anejo tequila
3 parts Grand Marnier

Put in a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice. Do a bit of shakin and pour, straight up, into martini glasses.

Then, we saw Rachel Ray making this potato salad on some block party special. No, it’s not that we were watching Rachel Ray, but the Food Network was on. She was just there. That inspired us to make our own potato salad, loosely based on that one. It was entirely based on what we had on hand, as opposed to what we thought would taste best, but it turned out wonderfully.

Potato Salad
3 russets, peeled and cubed
1 tsp dried rosemary
2 Tbl champagne vinegar
3 Tbl sweet potato mustard
1 Tbl dijon mustard
1 Tbl honey
3 Tbl olive oil
1/2 red onion, chopped
salt and pepper
chiffande fresh basil leaves (1/2 a bunch of so)

I wrapped the potatoes in foil and sprinkled them with a little olive oil and rosemary. I let them cook on the grill until they were soft (30 minutes or so). In the meantime, I whisked everything else together (except the basil). When the potatoes were done, I put them in a bowl, tossed them with the dressing, then gently tossed in the basil. I then let it all cool while we grilled the burgers and boiled the lobster.

Sometimes, dinner works without a plan.

When we were in Mexico a couple of weeks ago, we went to this great restaurant and tequila bar where they served this delicious bean dip with the chips (in addition to salsa). It wasn’t bean dip like we normally think of: these were whole beans, not pureed.

We attempted to make it Sunday night and were mostly successful. We also try to recreate a particular margarita that we loved, but we haven’t quite gotten that down yet. I guess we’ll have to keep practicing. Anyway, this was really easy to make and good!

1 15 oz can black beans
1 15 oz can pinto beans
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper
1 jalapeno, diced (or some type of hot sauce)
chopped cilantro

I drained and rinsed the beans, then put them into a bowl. I added the other ingredients. Our limes weren’t very juicy, so I used a couple. I also forgot to get jalapenos, so instead I added a couple of flavors of tabasco (the green jalapeno sauce and the garlic pepper sauce). Once it was all combined, I let it sit for an hour or so to let the flavors meld.

Then we ate it with tortilla chips. And margaritas, of course.

I went to the Seattle Cheese Festival at Pike Place market on Sunday. It was very crowded. Too crowded to get cheese really. It’s a great idea, and lots of vendors were there, but the space needs to be about 10 times larger. We only managed to try three or four cheeses and then we had to go away to keep ourselves from stabbing people in the crowd with our toothpicks. We considered the wine tent, but the very long line did not move at all while we were in it. We imagined that the people inside the tent crossed from line to wine and thought, “woo hoo! I’m in the tent! I’m staying!”

So, we wandered off and shopped for vegetables instead. I was on the hunt for fava beans, but they don’t seem to have made the stands yet. (I hear they’ve shown up in CSA baskets in California, but I guess they have a bit of an earlier season down there.) We loaded up on tomatillos, tomatoes, onions, basil, garlic, and potatoes. I see garlic scapes abound, but I passed on them. I made them three or four different ways last year and couldn’t find a way to prepare them that I liked. I don’t know that I tried pesto though. Hmmm…

We parked in our favorite free-for-an-hour parking lot. It looks like it’ll no longer be free after June 1. This makes me a little sad for some reason.

I got a latte from the original Cherry Street Coffeehouse nearly every week day for a year when I worked on the same block. Coworkers and I would escape there, drink our coffee down the stairs near the painted fireplace. When we ran out of conference rooms, we’d have meetings there. When I needed to edit or write in quiet, I would sneak away with a printout or my laptop and work in the corner.

Now that I work on the East side, I rarely am able to go, but I never pass up on opportunity. A friend from out of town and I were in Seattle for a conference, and rather than make due with the Starbucks at the convention center, we drove over to Pioneer Square. My friend said she might dream about her latte forever. She made me drive her back the next day so she could have one more opportunity before she went home.

Cherry Street Coffeehouse is not just about coffee. It’s about community.

Here, there is no customer service because there is no customer. We are building individual relationships through mutual respect and forging a great community through the fire of love.

Pick up one of Ali’s cards while you’re there.

I am searching for the moment that I am so intoxicated with love that if you offered me another cup, I could not take it.

Ali, the owner, does the graphics himself, on his computer. Sometimes you’ll find a new saying on the side of the cup, or on a little sign near the lids.

It doesn’t matter how dark it gets out there, when you are the light.

Ali doesn’t just want to serve great coffee, although he certainly does. He wants to be a light in the community. He is.

I have finally been to Salumi. I have been wanting to go for a really long time, and it’s amazing that I’ve never been there, since I used to work only a couple of blocks away. But somehow, I’ve never made it over there. P. and I drove over that way once and couldn’t find it (we figured we knew Pioneer Square well enough that we could drive around and didn’t need an actual address… we were wrong). It is in a tricky spot.

This time, I was with a friend and we drove around, first down third, until it somehow turned into second, and then we circled around onto the real second and I refused to give up. So, I called P., who was at work and could give us step by step directions from an Internet map. Turns out, it’s best just to park somewhere once you’re in the general vicinity and find it on foot.

It was, of course, awesome. We were completely overwhelmed and had no idea what to get. I was tempted by the potato gnocchi, being made right before my eyes. Then a guy behind the counter started talking about the oxtail sandwich and how they’re the only place in town where you can get it. And then he brought out a plate of various cured meats for us to try. They were like nothing I’ve ever had before. He rattled off the spices they used. It was a wonderous combination.

We ended up getting the oxtail sandwich and the meat plate. We wanted to try a variety. That meat plate is really big. You could easily share it. The oxtail sandwich was great on the crusty bread. And the meatballs in the meat plate made me pretty sure the meatball sandwich is just as good.

Armandino Batali wandered in from the back and we caught a glimpse of the huge operation behind the scenes. Wine was on the tables, a bunch of people were sitting at the big communal table. The guys behind the counter chatted with us as we ate — it’s just a great atmosphere.

Unfortunately it’s open only on weekdays and only for lunch. Well, it’s not that far a drive from Kirkland, right?

I used to go to Bakeman’s all the time when I worked in Pioneer Square. I haven’t been there in a while and I sort of forgot how great it is. I took my out-of-town friend there for lunch on Wednesday and I remembered. Bakeman’s is on Cherry Street, between 1st and 2nd, down some stairs in the basement (possibly a remnant of the underground, but I’m not sure). There’s always a really long line, but it goes really quickly, as the people working behind the counter, led by the owner, have everything down to a science.

The menu is posted on the wall, clearly visible from the line, and it’s best to know exactly what you want once it’s your turn. The deli workers will shout out questions, to speed you up, but it’s all in good fun. All the bread is wonderful and freshly baked. My friend got the turkey (my favorite sandwich). You can specify white meat, dark, or a combination. This is day-after-Thanksgiving turkey: carved right from the bird. You can get cranberry sauce on it, as well as cheese and the regular sandwich fixings. I got the meatloaf sandwich, which comes with two thick slices of meatloaf and piled with any extras you want.

The soups are all homemade, and I just couldn’t pass up a cup. I love it when they have potato, but the day we went, I got a fantastic butternut squash. We made it to the cash register where the owner just quickly glances at your tray and knows exactly how much you owe. And reminds you that he just made the desserts this morning. You can get a slice of cake for a dollar. And he just made the cake. Why don’t we want cake?! Well, of course, we did want cake. We split a vanilla poppy seed slice that was creamy and light and delicious.

The prices are great. I think sandwiches are about $3.50 and soups and salads are about $1.50. My friend got a drink, but when she went to the fountain to fill it, she found only Pepsi, so she went back to get a canned Coke. The owner scowled at her. You already paid for a drink! Yes, but realized it was Pepsi. Well, then you better just take the Coke, he told her. You paid for a drink already. She came back in a daze (and with her Coke). He’s so nice, she said (even with the scowl!).

As we ate, I eyed the huge pieces of cornbread on the counter, remembering how great they are with the homemade chili. Maybe next time.

My favorite little coffee place is all grown up. Ali Ghambari now has four locations and his latest one serves dinner: Persian food. I was at the original location a few months ago, before the new place opened, and Ali was telling us all about his plans and ideas for the space and the food. When I stopped by to get a latte on Monday, he told me how wonderfully things are going at the new place, so I figured it was time to check it out. (The Stranger seemed to like the place also.)

I had a friend in from out-of-town and she was excited to try it, so we headed over Wednesday evening after an afternoon of wandering around the furniture stores in Pioneer Square. The newest location is trademark Ali, but it’s a bit more hip and upscale than the original location. The atmosphere is relaxing and soothing, just as a good coffeehouse should be.

We decided to get some wine, and took a look at the variety available. The house red is a Spanish Tempranillo and the house white is a Viognier, both of which are a nice change of pace from house wines you generally find. We each tried one and agreed that the Tempranillo was better for dinner (the Viognier was a little sweet), so for our second glass, we both stuck with the red.

We ordered the appetizer, which was hummus and toasted pita accompanied by tomatoes, feta, and cucumbers, sprinkled with fresh basil. It was yummy. Just really really good.

We got two entrees and shared them. We ended up ordering the first two items on the menu because they looked so good we never got to the third option. Each entree comes with either soup or salad and all are served with rice. I got lentil soup that was delicious and my friend got a salad of mixed green and vegetables with a lemon viniagrette. She reported it lovely as well.

The Khoresh-e Fesenjan (chicken with pomegranate walnut sauce) was creamy with just a hint of sweetness. A yogurt sauce and tomato and red onion condiments are served on the side and the yogurt nicely balanced the sauce. This was our favorite dish.

We also liked the Khoresh-e Gheymeh (beef and split peas in a cinnamon tomato sauce). It was topped with crispy little potatoes and carmelized onions. The crispness of the potatoes worked well with the soft split peas. It made for a very well-rounded and wonderful tasting dish.

We skipped dessert and my friend opted for a latte. We lingered for quite a while in the laid back atmosphere. It’s a great spot to hang out and eat. I hope that as word travels and people keep coming for dinner, Ali will expand the menu. If we can ever make it past the first two things listed.

I made Alton Brown’s mustard green gratin last night. I saw his show on greens yesterday and it made me feel guilty about eating so many non-veggies lately. I figured greens would redeem me.

I made a few substitutions. I used low-fat ricotta rather than regular, egg beaters rather than whole eggs, and corn flakes rather than crackers on top. But same basic idea.

First, on the show, he makes it seem very easy to chop and wash the greens. Since the recipe calls for a pound of greens after destemming, that’s a lot of chopping and washing and rinsing. I used three big bunches. It took a while. He suggests putting the greens in a pillow case and then tossing that in your washing machine’s spin cycle for a few minutes to dry everything, but I just put handfuls in paper towel and squeezed. My washing machine was occupied with laundry.

After all that work, I started to remember that I don’t really like mustard greens. Kale, chard, yes; mustard greens? Not so much. But after all that work, I figured I should see it through.

I made some mashed potatoes to go along with it. I just peeled and cubed some yukon golds, boiled them until tender, then used a potato masher to mash them with a little low-fat butter, low-fat buttermilk, and fat-free sour cream. (I melted that all together in the microwave first.) I tossed in a little salt and pepper and some chopped chives. I meant to add roasted garlic also. But I had some issues. I didn’t want to wait the hour or so roasting garlic normally takes, so I separated the head into cloves. I baked it at 450 for maybe a half hour. That’s way too long. They came out hard as rocks. So, I don’t really recommend that part.

Anyway, once it all was done, I tasted it and sure enough, the greens were a little too bitter for me. What to do… I looked in the pantry for inspiration and spotted the molasses. I drizzled a little on top of the greens and suddenly, I had a delicious gratin! So, if you want to make this, but fear the mustard greens will be too bitter, maybe add some molasses or other sweetener in with the ricotta mixture. It makes a lot of difference.

A blurry picture:

This salad was really good. Exactly what I was wanting to make. And seriously easy. I based it off of Rachel Ray’s recipe and then changed it up a bit.

1 bag baby spinach
1 can chick peas (drained and rinsed)
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
2 small tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 cucumber, diced

I tossed all that together and then mixed together a quick dressing of:

juice of 1/2 lemon
2 Tbl balsamic vinegar
1 Tbl olive oil
1 Tbl water

I poured the dressing over the salad and then added a bit of sea salt and freshly ground pepper. It probably makes 4 servings, or 2 servings for a standalone lunch.

Last night, we grilled Kobe beef burgers that P. picked up at Exotic Meats. I think it was the best burger I’ve ever had. We first tried Waygu beef fairly recently, although this was our first encounter with Waygu from Kobe.

I knew the burgers would be good, but I didn’t know they would really be that much better than the burgers we normally make. We generally grind the beef ourselves and grill it up. Lately, we’ve been using beefalo since it’s so much lower in fat than beef. But Kobe has half the saturated fat of regular beef, so although it may not be as healthful as beefalo, it’s still a good choice.

P. asked me, “is it worth $12 a pound?” Um, yes, I think it is. We had ours on toasted buns, with lettuce, red onion, tomato, and slices of avocado I had brought back from California. I put some delicious aged white cheddar on mine.

I think we as well give up our quest to find the best burgers in Bellevue and just stick with these.

P. and I were wandering around Pike Place Market last weekend and we popped into Sur La Table. Turns out, Giada De Laurentiis is going to be there for a book signing on April 12th from 12-2pm. She has a new book out (called, not surprisingly, Everyday Italian). They had plenty at the store when we were there, but the flyer I picked up notes that you can call and reserve a copy (206-448-2244). I imagine they might sell out at the signing.

If it’s anything like the Alton Brown book signing at Elliot Bay Bookstore, it’ll be a good idea to get there early.

Unfortunately, I’m not sure if I’m going to be in town that day. Hopefully, I will be. There’s not much room in that store though. I bet it’ll be crazy.

A few days ago, during one of my many moments of searching the kitchen for something healthy and portable to grab for lunch, I had an epiphany. OK, it wasn’t as dramatic as all that, I just started wondering if I could make a muffin that was more like a lunch. Originally, I was thinking something along the lines of turkey bacon and spinach and onions. But then last night, when I finally got around to trying it, I realized I didn’t have bacon or spinach and I was much too lazy to go to the store.

However, I scrounged around in the refrigerator and found some other things: a leftover chicken breast, some frozen peas, a few aging mushrooms. What if I made a chicken pot pie, but as muffins? I knew it could all go terribly wrong, but I thought I’d give it a try. I took a look to see what else I had. The shallot might work, those soggy green onions, the parsley. Radishes? Probably not. I almost tossed in some watercress but chickened out at the last minute.

What I ended up with was surprisingly tasty, portable, and low in WW points. Well, maybe it’s low in points. I calculated it on the site and each muffin seems to be only about 3 points. But the site’s been having technical difficulties, so don’t hold me to that or anything.

Here’s what I did:

Sauteed the following (medium heat; I used a little cooking spray on the skillet):

1 shallot, chopped
3 garlic gloves, minced
1 carrot, shredded
5 white mushrooms, chopped

Once that was all wilted, I threw in some:

chopped parsley
fresh thyme
fresh rosemary
salt and pepper

Then I added a splash of dry Riesling and let it simmer for a few minutes. Then, I added:

1 chicken breast, shredded
1/4 cup grape tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 green onions, chopped

And just warmed it all through.

In a bowl, I mixed together:

1/2 cup egg beaters
1/2 cup fat-free milk
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1/2 cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
1 cup mashed potatoes (I made some instant, since I didn’t have the patience to make real ones)
the chicken mixture

In another bowl, I mixed together:

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbl sugar

Then, I combined the wet and dry ingredients. I spray two muffin tins with cooking spray and then added spoonfuls of the batter. (I ended up with 12 muffins.)

I baked them at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. It was completely an experiment so I had no idea how they’d turn out, but they were pretty good. I would probably omit the tomatoes next time. They didn’t really add anything and seem to detract a little. I think these basic muffins could be made with whatever leftovers happen to be around. Well, maybe not any leftovers. I really wanted to figure out a way to incorporate some leftover white gravy, but I just couldn’t see how to do it and keep everything portable. I’ll keep thinking about how I might do that next time though.

OK, so I also made spinach artichoke dip last night, which I pretend is a vegetable side dish. Spinach! It’s good for you! Actually, this recipe isn’t bad at all — 2 WW points per serving, assuming 6 servings. I adapted this from Alton Brown’s recipe, although I’m sure he would take the recipe away from me and never let me make it again if he saw how I make it. Without the fat, how can all those chemical reactions and phsyics and geeky things he talks about that make him so sexy happen? I know, probably they can’t.

On the DVD for his Cheesecake episode, he reads letters that he got about the episode and answers questions. When he reads the letter asking about making a low-fat cheesecake, he says that if you’re looking for something low fat, you should just make something else. And probably this is also true of this dip. But I really like it the way I make it, even though I’m sure it’s nowhere near as good as the original. I’d rather not try the original, really, because then my version wouldn’t taste as good.

1 package chopped frozen spinach
1 jar artichoke hearts, packed in water (or frozen hearts, or whatever)
6 oz fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup fat-free sour cream
1/4 cup low-fat mayo
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 cup parmesan cheese, grated
salt
red pepper flakes

Defrost the spinach. Boil the spinach and artichokes in water for a couple of minutes until soft. Drain well. (I squeeze it all out by hand.) Put into a bowl. Add all of the other ingredients and mix together well. You can sort of mash up the artichokes a little as you mix. Put into a baking dish (I use a pie plate) and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes until it’s all heated and melty.

Serve with sourdough bread.

I seem to pick up cookbooks wherever I go, and then they just sort of sit in my bookcase until I discover them again. Which often takes years. Last night, I was thinking I wanted to make something low fat, but I was tired or looking in the same Weight Watchers cookbooks. And then I saw Lean and Lovin’ It : Exceptionally Delicious Recipes for Low-Fat Living and Permanent Weight Loss by Don Mauer. I picked this up at Half-Price Books who knows how many years ago, but I don’t know that I’ve ever made anything from it.

The author lost over 100 pounds and then managed to keep the weight off by just modifying foods he already made so that they were lower in fat (and also by working out and that kind of thing). He makes a good point in the introduction that when he first lost the weight, he sought out low-fat cookbooks, but realized he could not commit to eating the foods they suggested for the rest of his life. And it does take a lifetime committment of healthful eating to keep the weight off, so he decided to figure out how to make the foods he liked low fat.

That said, this first recipe I tried looked a little bland on its own. So, I substantially revised it, keeping the general ideas that made it low fat, and it was delicious. And only 5 Weight Watchers points per serving (assuming 8 servings). To be fair, you’d only get 8 servings for dinner if you served something else along with it. A big salad with lots of veggies would probably be best. We went with other things that I’d rather not mention, ‘lest they ruin my health-conscious image. Ha.

8 oz spaghetti
1 lb lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
6 oz can tomato paste
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
pinch sugar
splash red wine vinegar
8 oz fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1/3 cup chopped green onions

Preheat oven to 350.

Boil a bit pot of water and cook spaghetti until al dente.

In a large skillet, saute ground beef, onion, and garlic until cooked. Add tomatoes and tomato paste, then add seasonings and red wine vinegar to taste. I’m not sure if we actually used 1/2 tsp of oregano and basil exactly. I added some stuff, P. added some stuff. Eventually we liked what we ended up with.

Meanwhile, mix together cream cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, and green onions.

Coat a large baking dish with cooking spray. Add half the spaghetti. Spread the cheese mixture evenly over the spaghetti. Add the rest of the spaghetti. Pour the sauce over the entire thing. Bake, covered, for 35 minutes, then bake uncovered for 10 additional minutes.

I was just listening to NPR and they were doing a story on the United States Barista Championship that is apparently going on right now. The show home page has a link to the audio (I couldn’t find a direct link to the story). The semifinals are on Saturday and the finals are on Sunday (in the old temporary library building in downtown Seattle). I’m going to try to at least go to the finals, because how cool does that sound? Coffee!

On the show, they were also talking about the best places to get coffee in Seattle. The owner of Hines Public Market Coffee (where the barista who won last year works) was one of the guests. Is it possible they have no Web site? Well, here’s someone’s blog entry about it. There’s a picture there that shows how they make hearts on your coffee, which the owner learned from Cherry Street coffee, where he used to work way back before he had his own shop. I love both Hines coffee and Cherry Street coffee and I really love the hearts. At Cherry Street, they sometimes make a leaf instead. Normally in the fall. How can you not love a design to top your latte?

When I used to work in Pioneer Square, and was trying to cut my daily calories, my favorite barista there wouldn’t make me a non-fat latte. He would compromise and do 2%, but he thought non-fat was going just too far. It’s funny because the owner of Hines just said the same thing on the radio. Never use non-fat milk in a latte. Well, sure, the flavor isn’t the same, but it’s better than no latte, which is really my only other option when I’m trying to cut calories. And no latte is no option at all.

Speaking of Cherry Street, I was there the other day, talking to the owner, and he’s got three stores now (all in the general Pioneer Square/Belltown area), and is opening a restaurant. You know, come to think of it, the restaurant might have opened this past week. I might have to try and check it out tonight.

Actually, what I ended up making was nothing like fondue, but the recipe I started with was called a fondue. I kept wanting to say to the recipe namer, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” But possibly the original was more fondue-like, because I didn’t actually follow the recipe very closely. OK, at all. So, never mind about the fondue.

P. and I picked up some humboldt fog at Beecher’s Handmade Cheese at Pike Place Market on Sunday. We also wandered through the market itself and picked up some vine-ripened tomatoes and some teeny onions. I forget what these onions were called. They looked like regular yellow onions, only they were in miniature. How could I resist something so cute?

Humboldt fog is really fantastic cheese. It’s lighter than other goat cheese, and it has a hint of citrus, which gives it a nice kick. It might be my favorite cheese right now, although I still would like to keep my Jalsberg in reserve. I can have two favorite cheeses, right?

So, the recipe:

1 Tbl olive oil
4 teeny onions, chopped (probably the teeny onions aren’t required; one regular one would be OK)
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
4 tomatoes, chopped
1 cup red wine
2 pinches sugar
2 dashes balsamic vinegar
1 Tbl dried basil (fresh would be better; mine was looking a little too wilty)
goat cheese (I used 1/3 lb of the aforementioned humboldt fog)

(Preheat oven to 325.)

I sauteed the onions and garlic in the olive oil, and seasoned with salt and pepper. Then, I added the tomatoes and let them reduce down a bit (maybe five minutes or so). Then, I added the wine, and let that simmer until it reduced a bit (maybe ten more minutes). Then, I added the sugar, vinegar, and basil and simmered it a couple minutes more. I poured all of that into a baking dish (I used a glass pie plate, actually), then sprinkled chunks of the cheese all over the top. I baked it for about 20 minutes, until the cheese was all melty and had it with crusty bread.

It was really great. And the good thing about serving the cheese this way, rather than as cheese on bread (which would also be delicious), is that you end up consuming fewer calories. Assuming six servings, this dish is only 3 weight watchers points a serving (not including the bread). I still get all the wonderful cheesy goodness, but I don’t end up eating the entire block of cheese by myself. Which I totally would do if given the chance.

I really want to like India Gate. It’s the closest Indian restaurant to me, and I like Indian food a lot. The other nearby Indian restaurants are not only farther away, but also on the other side of serious traffic. And when I’m ordering take out, I like to get the food home before it’s icy. Also, I’m fairly lazy.

Unfortunately, it really is worth it to drive right past India Gate, through the traffic, and onto other places.

My favorite dishes are chicken korma and saag paneer (spinach with cheese), but I’ve been disappointed by both. The chicken in the korma tastes like… well, I hate to compare food to old shoes, but that really is the first thing that comes to mind. The sauce itself isn’t bad, although it doesn’t compare to say, Chutney’s near downtown, who will make chicken korma for you even though it isn’t actually on the menu (although their quality has taken an abrupt dip, so I don’t know what’s going on there). The chicken is so bad that I have to eat around it. The saag paneer is better, but it’s extremely salty, almost too salty to eat.

The vegetable pakora is OK, although nothing extraordinary. By the time I get it home, it’s a little soggy, but it could be pretty crisp if you dine-in.

I gave them one final try the other night. I ordered chicken tikka masala, as that’s made from breast rather than dark meat, and I wanted to see if it was any better than the chicken in the korma. I also ordered the saag alu (spinach with potoatoes) to see if the cheese was what was causing the saltiness.

I also tried the vegetable samosa, which was actually very good. The surrounding pastry was good and crisp, and the filling had a good balance of flavor. This boded well for my meal. The rice was a little suspect. It was mixed with a hearty helping of cumin seeds, and while I’m all for cumin, the seeds are a little cumbersome to eat. The garlic naan was more salty than garlicy and was cooked to the point of tasting nearly like charcoal. But I pushed on.

Unfortunately, the chicken was only slightly better than what I had tried in past dishes. I was back to pushing it to the side and eating just the rice and sauce after only a few bites. The sauce was, well reddish. The paag alu wasn’t quite as salty as what I’d had before, but it didn’t have much of anything to it. It was spicy enough, but it had a cumin bitterness to it, with no sweetness to balance it out. The potatoes were completely tasteless, and nearly textureless.

In the end, I decided that trying more dishes wasn’t the answer. The answer is to keep driving, go through a little traffic, and find a truly good Indian restaurant.

I love potatoes, love potato soup, and I’ve made it a million ways. This one was particularly good, although I did go the opposite direction than normal. I usually try to make recipes lighter and this time, I added some fat in. Still only 7 WW points a serving though (assuming 4 servings).

1 garlic bulb
2 cups fat-free chicken broth
4 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 slices bacon
1 onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
random fresh herbs, chopped (I think I used rosemary and thyme)
2 cups low-fat buttermilk
salt and pepper
chopped chives
shredded low-fat cheddar

I roasted the garlic in the oven (350 for an hour?). I cooked the bacon in a large saucepan and then set it aside on paper towels to drain. I poured out most of the bacon fat, but left a little and sauted the onion in that. I added the potatoes, chicken broth, and bay leaf. I simmered that (covered) for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes were soft. Then, I removed the bay leaf. I used a slotted spoon to remove one cup of potatoes and squeezed the pulp from the garlic into the mix. Then, I used an immersion blender to blend it all up. I added the potoates back, along with the buttermilk and herbs. I added salt and pepper to taste. I sprinkled the cheese, chives, and bacon on the top of each bowl.

This is based on a Weight Watchers recipe, but the original just doesn’t look all that great. It seemed to have potential though, so I didn’t want to discount it entirely. Here’s my version. It’s made with a lot of low-fat cheese (called “lite” on the packages, of course), but I thought it tasted great and cheesy. You could use regular cheese though, obviously. I call them fake enchiladas, because seriously, they’re not enchiladas, but they are rolled up cheese goodness.

Sauce
8 oz can tomato puree
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
dash worcestershire
other spices to taste

Filling
cooking spray
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tlb fresh oregano, chopped
salt and pepper
10 oz chopped frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed to remove water
15 oz light part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup light part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
5 flour tortillas ( I used the 98% fat-free ones)
1/4 cup reduced-fat cheddar cheese

First, we made the sauce. The original version just calls for 1/4 cup of salsa spread over the top of the dish, and you could do that, or use bottled enchilada sauce. P. sometimes makes a homemade version of that Taco Bell hot sauce (he found a copy cat recipe online), so one time, we used that sauce in this. So, go with whatever sounds good to you. When we made it last night, we doctored up some tomato puree by simmering it with 2 minced cloves of garlic and sundry spices that P. added. I’m not sure what all went into it, but it ended up pretty tasty. I know he added chili powder, cumin, and onion powder. Maybe worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Use whatever you’ve got.

Then, I sauteed the onion and garlic with salt and pepper and set that aside. I put the spinach in a bowl. The thing with frozen spinach is that you really have to get every last drop of water out or your dish will be watery and icky. The best way I’ve found is just to squeeze it with my hands. Anyway, I added the ricotta and mozzarella to the spinach and mixed it up so that the spinach was evenly distributed and there were no big spinach clumps. Then, I mixed in the onion mixture and just a little bit of the sauce.

I microwaved the tortillas for a second to soften them up. Then I filled the tortillas with the mixture, put them seam side down in a glass baking dish, poured the rest of the sauce on top, then added the cheddar. (I used 5 tortillas because that’s what I had filling for. Your results may vary.)

I baked it covered at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, then I uncovered it and baked it another 10 minutes. This is so good. So cheesy. I love cheese.

Using the 98% fat-free tortillas and the low-fat cheeses, and ending up with five total, the WW points come to 7 each.

I started with a Cooking Light recipe and then just sort of improvised.

One part of the recipe I should have followed? That part about putting bread into the food processor to make bread crumbs. I decided that would be way too much work, since I’d have to get the food processor out and then clean it all later, so I thought I’d just use P.’s huge bread knife to cut the stale sourdough bread that I had into chunks. That was a great idea until the knife slipped on a particularly dry piece and sliced right into my finger. After I jumped around for a while, shrieking, I realized that the bleeding just would not stop. I started wondering if maybe all this food would go to waste while I spent the evening at the ER. I called P. at work in a panic. He must have been imagining severed body parts and splattered blood everywhere. So he rushed home to find my little cut. Which stopped bleeding right before he got there. I refused to go near the bread after that, so he got out the food processor and made crumbs the right way. The top part of my finger still doesn’t have all the feeling in it, and I’m having trouble bending it. I’m sure it will all heal up eventually.

Anyway, on to the recipe.

Some form of bread crumbs. I used about half a loaf of sourdough bread.
1 head cauliflower
2 heads broccoli (they were small)
4 teaspoons butter, divided
1 onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced and divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 cup low-fat cheddar
Cooking spray
random fresh herbs, chopped

Preheat oven to 400°.

Steam broccoli and cauliflower. Drain and set aside.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and 3 garlic cloves; cook until tender. Combine flour and milk, stirring with a whisk; add to pan. Bring to a simmer; cook 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Stir in teaspoon salt, cheese, and pepper. Remove from heat; stir in cauliflower and broccoli. Spoon cauliflower mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Melt remaining 1 teaspoon butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add remaining 3 garlic cloves; cook 30 seconds or until lightly browned, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Combine breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and herbs. Drizzle with garlic-butter mixture; toss to combine. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture evenly over cauliflower/broccoli mixture. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until bubbly and browned.

This was very good, especially with mashed potatoes and gravy. Even with a hurty finger.

Wheat flour
Cinnamon
Creme fraiche
Oranges

When I read the ingredients for Paper Chef, I immediately thought cinnamon rolls. Probably this is because I have been craving cinnamon rolls for at least a week. I keep asking P. to make some for me and he keeps saying no and laughing. He’s actually being nice to me (well, the saying no part, not really the laughing part), because I did ask him to help me stick to eating healthfully and cinnamon rolls aren’t exactly the healthiest food in the world.

So, when I told him that I was making cinnamon rolls, but that it was for art, for science, for truth and honor, he laughed at me again and said I was making up this whole thing and its ingredient list just as an excuse. And when I showed him the Tomatilla Web page with the ingredients clearly listed, he accused me of making the whole site while he was in the shower as an elaborate ruse. I am so offended at his lack of trust in me.

I would only go to such great lengths for cheesecake.

Then I got to thinking about how I’ve been wanting to make tortillas, and wondered if I could figure out some enchilada-style thing with the ingredients as well. Which is how it came to be that we had tequila-orange chicken with ancho chile sauce for dinner last night, accompanied by margaritas with a hint of orange juice, and orange-glazed cinnamon rolls for dessert.

I did try to make things a little lower in fat. You might not really notice that, mostly. Well, until you get to the baby food in the ingredient list.

(In an odd coincidence, I happened to pick up a jar of creme fraiche at the grocery store last week, and hadn’t used it yet. It’s a good thing, because when we stopped by a different grocery store to get oranges yesterday, we couldn’t find creme fraiche anywhere. )

orange-infused margaritas
P. makes the best margaritas in the world, with tequila, triple sec, and lemon and lime juices. Last night, he added a bit of orange juice in a nod to the night’s theme, and it was a nice twist that added just a bit of sweetness.

tequila-orange chicken with ancho chile sauce
I loosely based this recipe on the pork-filled enchiladas with orange-red mole from Authentic Mexican by Rick Bayless. Very loosely. (I think the orange in the name must refer to the color, because there are no oranges to be found in the recipe.) But I like his techniques and spice combinations and and so this recipe caught my eye as it featured cinnamon. I went down a different path with it though. Bayless says to go with the shaggy-looking cinnamon sticks over the smooth ones, and I did find some loose in the produce section of the grocery store. However, once I read further, I found that he wanted me to grind the stick with a mortar and pestle, so I went with the already ground spice.

And hey, I managed to use one of the bonus ingredients, stale bread, in this one!

Marinade: I sliced the chicken into long strips and added it to a marinade of:
2/3 cup tequila
juice of 1/2 orange
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbl honey

I refrigerated that for about an hour.

Sauce: I combined the following in a blender (although in hindsight, a food processor would have worked a little better):

2 ancho chiles (that I had soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes)
4 garlic cloves, roasted (see note*)
1/2 stale baguette (sliced and toasted)
2 small tomatoes (quartered and broiled for about 10 minutes)
1/2 chopped onion
1 Tbl fresh oregano
1/2 tsp cinnamon
salt and pepper
1 tsp honey
1 cup chicken broth

*Note about the garlic: I used a technique I read about in the cookbook, which is to roast unpeeled garlic over high heat in a skillet until they blackened (about 15 minutes). It worked!

Then, I poured the sauce into a saucepan, added 2 cups chicken broth, and let it simmer for about 45 minutes.

filling: In a skillet, I cooked:

chicken (that I took out of the marinade and cooked on the same skillet, then shredded; the marinade carmelized the outside of the chicken and gave it a nice smoky quality)
2 small red potatoes (diced and boiled)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tomato, diced
1 ancho chile (soaked with the others and chopped)
salt and pepper

Once the filling was reduced and cooked through, I added 1/4 cup of creme fraiche and mixed it through.

tortillas: These were very simple. In my mixer, I creamed together 3 Tbl low-fat butter and 2 Tbl shortening. I then added 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour and a little salt. Once that was mixed in, I slowly added all-purpose flour. I ended up adding about 1 1/2 cups to get it to the consistency I wanted. I made 11 balls of dough and let them sit for a few minutes. Then, I rolled them out (once again, using ice wine; that’s some great ice wine and I don’t even know what it tastes like yet!). P. fried them as I rolled (in a dry, hot pan, on both side, just until they started to darken).

Then, I added filling to each tortilla, rolled them up, placed them seam-side down in a glass dish, and poured the sauce over the top. I baked it for 10 minutes at 350 (just to heat everything through). I ended up using maybe 8 tortillas, so we just ate the rest with butter with dinner.

This came out great. You could definitely taste the cinnamon throughout the dish. The tortillas were light and rustic. The creme fraiche added a touch of tartness to it that balanced the sweetness of the chiles and honey.

orange-glazed cinnamon rolls
I was worried about these, since I sort of made up the recipe on the fly, and tried to make it as low-fat as I could without sacrificing taste, but they were really good.

I combined:

1/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 packages yeast

I let that sit 10 minutes and combined it in my mixer with:

4 oz oatmeal cinnamon pear baby food
2 Tbl shortening
1/2 cup warm skim milk
1/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup egg beaters
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

I switched to my dough hook and kneaded it a bit. Then, I covered it with a towel and let it rise for about an hour. After that, I rolled it out to a long rectangle and:

• spread low-fat butter over the top
• spread a thin layer of honey over that
• liberally sprinkled cinnamon over everything
• covered all of that with brown sugar

Then, I rolled up the dough the usual way for cinnamon rolls, cut the roll into 12 or so equal parts, and put each piece into a pie plate (2 actually) and let them rise for about 30 minutes).

I baked them at 375 for 25 minutes. Once I took them out of the oven, I poured over a glaze that I made with the following:

1/3 cup creme fraiche
1 cup powdered sugar
juice for 1/2 orange
1 tsp vanilla extract

The glaze went everywhere.

The creme fraiche helped the glaze not be overly sweet. And I would never have known the dough had baby food in it if I hadn’t made it myself. I think I want one right now.

This recipe, from Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico, is one of the first things P. made for me after we started dating. So, in addition to be really fantastically good, it holds a special place in my heart.

The key to this dish is the sweet tomatillo sauce and P. is great at it. I just relax on the couch with a glass of wine and let him have it at. Sunday night, he decided to make a low-fat version for me, and surprisingly, he changed very little, yet the final dish was very health-conscious indeed.

He used fat-free sour cream and skipped the step that has you fry the corn tortillas in 1/4 cup oil before you fill and wrap them. That’s it. No other changes. (Well, we also used a combination of grated parmesan and fat-free monterey jack on top, but that’s not really a change; the recipe says to use any ‘ole cheese you want.) We estimated that we ended up with 5 servings (we used 8 corn tortillas), and when I calculated the Weight Watchers points, I was amazed to find that it was only 6 points a serving. I told P. he was going to have to make these for me every night.

We also added chopped green onions and tomatoes after the enchiladas were done cooking. And we got some of those packaged shredded potatoes you can get next to the eggs at the grocery store, baked them until they were crispy, and added them to the filling. Hey, those potatoes are fat free, so they barely counted. They sure added great texture and flavor though.

I obsessively collect cookbooks, and lately, I’ve been obsessively reading food blogs. I can’t help it. I’m trying to eat healthy stuff, so I’m living vicariously through others. I came upon Cook Sister and saw that she is hosting a a very serious and somber event: End of the Month Egg on Toast Extravaganza!

It just so happens that I devour quite a bit of a particular egg on toast creation, and I felt it only proper, in the interest of sharing with all of mankind, that I participate in this momentous occasion.

It’s without shame that I admit that I love McDonald’s sausage mcmuffins with egg. Yes, I’ve seen Supersize Me and I know the Weight Watchers points (11), but I can’t help it. They’re really good. However, 11 points is half the total points I get in a day if I’m sticking with the WW plan, so I can’t exactly go through the McDonald’s drive-through every day and expect to be ready to wear a bikini when we go to Mexico in May.

So, I’ve found a substitution that, while not the same as the McDonald’s version, is very tasty and satisfying. And while you may recoil in horror at my preparation method (primarily involving a microwave), it’s just so quick and easy in the mornings, and I don’t find it detracts at all from the taste. But then, my morning alternative tends to be a little granola and fat-free plain yogurt, so maybe it’s all a matter of context.

In any case, I give you the four-point egg and sausage muffin:

english muffin
Morningstar (fake) sausage patty
1/4 cup Egg Beaters

Step 1: put the english muffin in the toaster.
Step 2: put the sausage patty on a plate and microwave for 1 minute.
Step 3: pour the egg beaters into a small bowl (or the As Seen On TV Egg Wave, which P. so thoughtfully bought for my birthday)
Step 4: when the sausage is done, put the egg beaters in the microwave for 1 minute.
Step 5. Pop out the english muffin, add a little ketchup, then add the sausage and egg (and a bit of salt and pepper).

Done!

I know. Fake sausage? Fake eggs? Eggs cooked in the microwave? No butter, no cheese? I’m telling you, it’s really really good. And you don’t get that bogged down, greasy, guilty feeling after, either. I might have to go make one right now.

I love white sauce. I love all its many incarnations: white gravy on biscuits, cheese sauce on cauliflower, and especially, alfredo sauce on pasta. Last week, when I was at the Olive Garden, I remembered why that place is so dangerous. Their food may be simply adequate, and their wines from aluminum cans, but I could eat the bread sticks dipped in their alfredo sauce all night. I don’t need to order a meal, just bring me more sauce and bread!

I enjoy alredo sauce that’s brought to me infinitely more than sauce I’ve made beacause I can feign ignorance about the ingredients. I can pretend that I don’t know that I’m eating a stick of butter, a cup of cream, and a chunk of parmesan cheese. When I made goat cheese ravioli for our wine and cheese party, every bite came with a memory of the two sticks of butter, heavy cream, pancetta, and cheese I had used in the sauce.

In the most basic sense, white sauce is just butter and flour and milk, so I decided to try and make a low-fat version that wouldn’t make me feel so guilty. I was hoping to come up with a nice base that I could then add to, depending on what I was putting it on, or dipping in it, or you know, if I was drinking it straight.

I diced a shallot and a couple of garlic cloves and sautéed them in a teaspoon or so of low-fat butter (I used I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Light). After a few minutes, I added another tablespoon or so of butter, and when it was melted, I added maybe a 1/4 cup of flour. I stirred that for a while until it was all dissolved or whatever it is that flour does in butter and then added 3 cups of 1% milk. Then I added a couple of cloves, a bay leaf, a teeny bit of nutmeg, freshly ground pepper, and some kosher salt. I let that simmer for maybe 10 minutes until it thickened up a bit, then I removed the bay leaf. So far so good. I added some grated parmesan for good measure.

Then I thought I’d try it out on some pasta. I cooked up some angel hair and gave it a taste. So boring. No flavor. Huh. I wanted to add bacon, but that wouldn’t help the calorie count. I added a bit more parmesan, some Maldon sea salt, a little more pepper, and half a chopped tomato. Heaven. Amazing what a little sea salt can do.

I think this base would also work well for vegetable cheese sauce. Just add a bit of 2% sharp cheddar. You could add a little monterey jack and some chopped green chiles and maybe some fat-free sour cream for an enchilada sauce (and with low-fat tortillas and shredded chicken breast, that would make for a great, low-fat meal). You could add mushrooms and herbs for a different kind of pasta sauce.

I admit though, I am sort of craving that goat cheese ravioli. Just make it for me and don’t tell me what’s in it.

We decided to try Bis On Main in downtown Bellevue after reading about it at Seattle Bon Vivant. It’s true that the restaurant selection is slim on the Eastside, and we’re always looking for new places.

Overall, we enjoyed it very much, and I’m sure we’ll try it again. Bis On Main is just west of Bellevue Square in the the more charming portion of downtown. We got there just before our reservation time and it took several minutes for anyone to notice us, possibly because there were at least six other people waiting in the foyer area (who had already been helped, they weren’t all waiting out there abandoned or anything). Someone came over and brusquely told us that it would be a few minutes before our table was ready and then hurried off. It was fine. I got the impression that he was busy, not rude, but still, it made for an odd beginning.

The service was very prompt and attentive throughout the meal, but the brusqueness continued. This was probably magnified by the fact that the couple seated at the table next to us apparently knew the staff and various employees kept dropping by their table, offering things, laughing and talking, and it was quite a stark contrast to the demeanor presented to us. In any case, we were soon seated. Although the tables are fairly close together, they do a good job of making each table seem intimate. Unfortunately, P.’s chair was situated in a rather high-traffic area, so after waiters squeezed past him several times, he moved his chair a little closer to me (not that I complained about that).

The art on the walls made for a nice atmosphere, as long as you didn’t look too closely. I’ve noticed that several restaurants around town have similar art. It’s not quite abstract, not exactly representational. The distorted shapes are in bright, primary colors, and seem to be of cheerful scenes. Until you look closely and notice, for instance, that the plump blue dog has two human heads growing out of his back.

We were offered a bread basket, and the bread was very flavorful, with a crunchy crust and soft middle. We contemplated the wine list. It’s certainly a very large list, but unfortunately, it doesn’t provide a wide variety of whites to choose from. The whites are primarily Chardonnays, with a few Sauvignon Blancs and Pinot Grigios thrown in. (Their variety of reds is much better.) I had looked at their wine list on their Web site beforehand and had done a bit of research to figure out what we might choose. I was hoping to try the Pinot Grigio “Collio”, Attems. Unfortunately, this wine was no longer on the list at the restaurant. We went with Macon-Villages, Joseph Drouhin instead, which we enjoyed very much.

I had also scoured the online menu before we went. I don’t like seafood and am mostly trying to avoid red meat on the advice of my nutritionist, and sometimes that doesn’t leave much of a selection. I had eyed the heirloom tomato and summer squash gratin appetizer, but when we arrived, it too was missing from the menu. I’m not surprised, as I’m sure it’s seasonal, but they didn’t seem to have a winter-appropriate seasonal replacement, at least one that wasn’t seafood-centric. So, we skipped the appetizer and went straight to the salad.

I got the house salad with bleu cheese and P. went with the ceasar. Both were excellent and we ate every last bite.

Next, P. had dungeness crabcakes with corn fritters and a creamy saffron vinaigrette. P. said the crabcakes were excellent. I kept sneaking bites of the corn fritters, which were crunchy on the outside and sweet and soft on the inside. They were perfect with the sauce. I went with the butternut squash risotto with dried cranberries, which was creamy and light. The dried fruit gave the dish a hint of tartness that balanced the squash nicely.

In deference to my attempts to not completely blow my diet, we skipped dessert.

The food was definitely better than most places we’ve tried in Bellevue and the atmosphere is relaxing and intimate. The wine list provides more options if you’re in the mood for a red and the staff was either a little busy (which can certainly be the case at 8pm on a Friday night) or wasn’t quite sure if they liked us. Maybe they’ll like us better once they get to know us. We’ll have to go back and find out.

I’ve been trying out a lot of Weight Watchers recipes, and although some, like the chicken chowder, have been very successful, others have been… less good. OK, they’ve been disasters. I made several vegetable-based dishes that I ended up throwing away, rather than have them take up precious room in my refrigerator. And I need to document those, as a reminder to myself of what not to do (after all, isn’t that at least half the point of experimentation in cooking?), but not today. Today, I’d rather document last night’s success.

I was a little hesitant about how things were going to turn out last night since the dishes were vegetable-heavy: the cause of my downfall in the dishes that ended up in the garbage disposal. But they turned out wonderfully, as good as Chinese take-out. They weren’t exactly the same as Chinese take-out, of course, but they weren’t a pale, flavorless imitation either.

I made three dishes: fried rice, moo shu chicken, and beef with broccoli. Each was based on a Weight Watcher’s recipe, but I made my typical modifications. The results were spicier than what the originals intended, but also lower in points. How cool is it when you modify a dish and it gets more healthful! That almost never happens.

I gathered up all my ingredients and made this at P.’s house. His kitchen is big and clean and has lots of countertop space. It took a good hour and a half to get everything chopped and cooked.

Fried Rice
Fried rice is best made with cold, cooked rice. I didn’t have any, so I cooked some brown rice first, and then made the marinade for the chicken and beef for the other two dishes. Once, the rice was cooked, I put it in a container in the freezer and left it there while I made everything else. By that time, the rice was nice and cold, so I finished it up. I’ll describe what I did all at once though, rather than the crazy way I actually did things.

1 1/2 cups cold brown rice
1/4 cup beef broth (chicken or veggie would work too)
1 Tbl soy sauce
1 tsp hot chili oil
1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp sesame oil
1 egg + 1/4 cup egg beaters, lightly beaten
2 shredded carrots
6 sliced green onions
1/2 cup frozen green peas, partially thawed

First, I combined the broth, soy sauce, chili oil, and ginger in a bowl. I heated a tsp of the sesame oil in a non-stick pan and stir-fried the eggs until they were cooked, but still moist. I added the eggs to the sauce. Then, I heated the second tsp of oil and stir-fried the carrots and green onions. After about five minutes, I added the rice and the peas and stir-fried them about 10 minutes, until the rice started to brown. Finally, I added the sauce and cooked several more minutes until all the liquid was absorbed/evaporated.

Moo Shu Chicken
The trouble with these was with the pancakes. They actually tasted pretty good, so I guess I just needed to have faith. And a rolling pin.

4 Tbl soy sauce
4 minced garlic cloves
3/4 pound chicken breast, cut into strips
1 tsp ground ginger
2 cups shredded napa cabbage
2 cups shredded bok choy
1 shredded carrot
1/2 cup canned straw mushrooms
4 chopped green onions
1 tsp hot chili oil

I made the marinade of 2 Tbl soy sauce and 2 minced garlic cloves and added the chicken (in a ziplock bag) and refrigerated that while I got to chopping. All was fine until I got to the boy choy. I don’t recall ever preparing bok choy before. Did I shred the leaves? The stalks? Both?

As always, I turned to the Internet and found that both are edible, but the stalks take longer to cook. They have somewhat of a creamy texture, while the leaves are somewhat like swiss chard. Well, my recipe had me add everything at once, and didn’t mention differing cooking times, so I thought I’d made it easy on myself and just shred the leaves. I saved the stalks for later.

I’d never used canned straw mushrooms either. The recipe said to thinly slice them, but they’re really soft. I just sort of chopped them up. I worried they’d be really mushy in the finished dish, but I barely noticed them.

I used cooking spray, and stir fried the chicken until cooked, then set it aside. I then stir-fried all the vegetables until the cabbage wilted, about five minutes. I added back the chicken and a sauce made of 2 Tbl soy sauce, 2 minced garlic cloves, and 1 tsp hot chili oil.

Then, I made the pancakes. I forgot that P. doesn’t have a rolling pin. The dough was easy enough. I combined 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour with 6 Tbl of cold water and mixed it until it formed a dough. Then, I made 8 little dough balls.

I had to roll each ball out into a very thin pancake. But with no rolling pin, I turned to Ste. Chapelle Ice Wine Riesling.

It worked out OK, but I’d still recommend going with a rolling pin. Once I had flat pancakes, I placed them one by one in a hot pan and flipped them back and forth until they were starting to brown.

(The original recipe recommends serving the moo shu chicken with a bit of hoisin sauce as well.)

Broccoli with Beef

2 Tbl dry sherry
2 Tbl soy sauce
1 Tbl grated gingerroot
6 minced garlic cloves
2 tsp sesame oil
several dried red peppers
1/2 lb beef tenderloin, cut into strips
1 tsp cornstarch
4 cups broccoli florets
3 sliced green onions

I made the marinade in a ziplock bag with the sherry, soy sauce, gingerroot, garlic, 1 tsp of the sesame oil, and the dried red peppers (I took a handful and crushed them). I added the beef and got everything else ready.

The recipe says to drain 1/3 cup of the marinade into a bowl and add the cornstarch and whisk to make the sauce. Mine ended up pretty dry at the end, so you might double the marinade and use all of it for the sauce.

I heated 1 tsp sesame oil in a non-stick pan and added the beef. Actually, it might be better to use an oil that can get hotter (vegetable oil maybe) and use really high heat. The beef could have been crispier. After a couple of minutes, I removed the beef and stir-fried the broccoli for a couple of minutes, then covered it for another minute to steam it. Then, I added the beef back in, along with the sauce, and tossed everything around. Then, I sprinkled the green onions over everything.

Finally
It was all really good. Much better than I expected. P. liked it too: “This is low-fat?” I know when he asks that, I’ve done OK. (As you might imagine, it’s much better than “This is low fat, isn’t it.”)The points tally? 4 points per serving for each dish. 1 point additional for each pancake.

Wine and tacos: the classic pairing.

Well, maybe not, but why not try a little wacky pairing with some wackily-named wines? And anyway, we drank the last of the tequila Sunday night in margaritas and were too lazy trek out to the liquor store. I took this as a sign that we should take Is My Blog Burning up on the challenge and taste some wines with wacky names (hosted by, and theme created by Chez Pim).

It’s rare that I browse the grocery store aisles for wine that we’re going to drink that night, as we somehow manage to accumulate plenty of wine reserves. I studied the labels judiciously, hoping that the wine guy wasn’t around to ask if I needed help. I could just picture it: “Can I help you find some wine tonight? What will you be cooking? Are you looking for a white or red? Dry or sweet?” “Oh, I’m just looking for something with a crazy label. Do you have anything like that? Something that repels people right away from the shelf?” Fortunately, it didn’t come to that.

I managed to find two entirely different wines.

Mark Ryan Dead Horse Red 2001 is a red table wine made by a winery right here in Bellevue, WA (I think the wine is bottled in Bellevue, but the tasting room is in Woodinville). The description written by the grocery store said Mark Ryan is the hottest winemaker in Washington, and I saw that the grapes come from the Red Mountain appellation, which seems to be the hottest Washington state appellation these days. Columbia Valley may grow more grapes, but it’s nowhere hear as hip as Red Mountain (although to be fair to poor Columbia Valley, Red Mountain is contained within it; it just doesn’t get Red Moutain’s bling).

Dead Horse is a “blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Franc and 10% Petit Verdot.” The winemaker notes say that it is “Left Bank Bordeaux in style”. I have no idea what that means, so I’ll just have to take his word for it. (He has another wine, Long Haul, which he says is made in the Right Bank style.) He says he named the wine “Dead Horse” because the vineyard where the grapes are grown, Ciel du Cheval, translates into “horse heaven” in French. Why then he didn’t just name the wine “Horse Heaven” I have no idea. Dead Horse sounds more appetizing maybe? He does note, in all caps, that no horses were hurt in the production of the wine.

Wine Enthusiast gave it 93 points; Wine Spectator gave it 90. It was $35.

Mad Housewife Chardonnay 2003 is a California Chardonnay priced at $6.99. I figured it was the perfect balance to the red, both in style and in quality.

The Tasting
We set about to taste (after some makeshift chilling). First, the Chardonnay. I was expecting a typical cheap California Chardonnay.

Me: “What does it smell like?”

P: “I don’t know. I’m not really getting anything.”

Me: “Peach?”

P: “Maybe. It’s too faint to tell. It tastes funny.”

Me: “It doesn’t really taste like a Chardonnay. No finish.”

P: “No.”

Me: “Better than the Olive Garden house wines.”

P: “Much better.”

Me: “Overall assessment?”

P: “Mild.”

Me: “That’s it? Mild?”

P: “Yep.”

The only mention I could find of this wine on the Internet was at winesquire.com. They said:

“This easy drinking white shows juicy fruit flavors of ripe apple, melon and pear that give way to hints of toasty vanillin oak, mineral, and cinnamon notes, wrapped in a soft texture that is well balanced, and gives way to a smooth, creamy finish. A very nicely priced new entry to the Seattle wine market. ”

This is when I think wine writers are just making stuff up. This wine was in no way flavorful enough to get all of that out of it. It was drinkable, it was pleasant. It wasn’t acidic and thankfully didn’t taste like a tin can. It didn’t taste like a Chardonnay either. It had none of the traditional buttery taste, and while it can be refreshing not to be overpowered, I wonder if they used any malolactic fermentation at all on this wine. It had no finish. I don’t where these people got smooth and creamy.

Had I tasted this in a blind test, I would have guessed that it was a lackluster Pinot Grigio. It just didn’t taste like much of anything.

Next, we tried the red. P. thought it smelled of rasberries. But the tannins were too much for him. They really did take hold of your entire mouth and coat your tongue. His final assessment? “Strong.” This wine had much more powerful flavors. It was complex and rich. But just a little thick. I guess this is a wine meant for a bit of aging. At 14.7% alcohol, it was strong in another way too. One glass was plenty.

I just never know what to do about red wines: when you store them, when you drink them. Wine Spectator agrees with P. about the tannins, calling the wine chunky and chewy: “Needs time to resolve the tannins. Best from 2006 through 2012.” Only 224 cases were made. Should I go buy some more and cellar it for a couple of years? Can you really know how a wine is going to age? (I said to P., “you’re a wine expert; you said exactly what Wine Spectator said. Well, you said, “bleech”, but same thing really.” “Yeah, that’s what I meant anyway,” he told me.)

Wine Enthusiast doesn’t mention aging. It calls the wine a stunning success: inky and thick, tasting of iron. Iron? I admit, my palate didn’t pick up on the iron. The black cherry, yes. Iron, no.

Conclusion: Cellar the dead horse. Pick the mad housewife over the Olive Garden house.

chipotle beef tacos with radishes
The tacos came about like this. As we drove by my favorite taco truck on Sunday, I said to P., “I want a taco!” He looked at me lovingly, ready to grant my every whim, and said “no.” He thinks I mostly wanted the taco in an abstract way, but not in an actual way, as I’m trying really hard to eat healthfully. But, no, actually, I wanted the taco. So, he said he’d make me tacos.

My love for taco truck tacos started back in high school. On the weekends, we’d head out for this dirt parking lot in the middle of nowhere. Someone always brought beer, someone else would turn up the car stereo. Sometimes, someone brought a keg. And the taco truck was always there. He got there around 10pm and stayed as long as we did. The lines were always long. Two tacos for a dollar. He topped them with whole radishes.

We made up the recipe for last night’s tacos as we went along. We cut some beef into long strips, then made a marinade of the juice of four small limes, half a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, and salt. We let that sit in the refrigerator for about a half an hour while the grill heated up. Then we grilled them for a few minutes on each side.

Meanwhile, we sauted a sliced sweet onion and some garlic in olive oil. We sliced up some lettuce, avocado and, of course, radishes.

The beef turned out great, crisp and spicy, with a coating of the chipotle marinade. I like my tacos with corn tortillas; P. prefers taco shells. We added a little sour cream to cut the heat, and a bit of cheese. They were perfect (and I think it was about 8 WW points for two tacos).

This was very simple to make. However, I ran into some trouble with the potatoes. The recipe says to cube the potatoes, which I did, but I don’t think I made them quite small enough. They weren’t soft after 20 minutes, and by the time they were soft, everything had gotten pretty starchy. Also, the recipe says to add the beans at the very end, and simmer only about 5 minutes more, but I added them when I first checked the potatoes, so they ended up cooking for about 20 minutes, which made the beans fall apart a little bit. Don’t do these things.

I altered the recipe a bit (the original is from Weight Watchers). One thing I did was make it spicier by adding half an Anaheim chile and a jalepeno. I left the seeds in. You might not want to. Don’t rub your eye later like I did. I also used canned diced tomatoes with chiles, rather than the crushed tomatoes the recipe called for. Also, I used an entire can of cannellini beans. The recipe says to use 1/2 cup. This wasn’t exactly intentional. I just wasn’t paying attention. But I like the way it came out. It’s more chili-like than soup. I was able to use the chicken stock I had just made, which I think gave it some additional flavor also.

This makes 4 servings, at 5 points per serving (well, the original did; I bet with the extra beans I added, it might be an additional point or so).

Saute the following:

2 tsp olive oil
2 carrots, thinly sliced
6 green onions, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 Anaheim chile, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped

Add:

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with chiles
2 cups chicken broth

Bring to a boil and add:

2 medium potatoes, diced
1/2 tsp marjoram (I didn’t have any of this)
1/4 tsp oregano (I used double this to make up for the lack of marjoram)
salt and pepper

While the potatoes are cooking, cube 1/2 pound of chicken breast and saute it in 2 tsp olive oil until cooked.

Once the potatoes are soft, add:

1 can cannellini beans (or 1/2 cup, you know, whatever)
2 Tbl chopped parsley
cooked chicken

Heat through for an additional five minutes (er, not the 20 that I gave it).

Update: We had this last night with cornbread and margaritas. It was great with cornbread. And P. liked it a lot. He said it didn’t taste low fat at all.

I grabbed this great vegetable wrap the other day from a deli. I decided to recreate it at home, and was really proud of myself for coming up with a tasty, low-fat lunch, but then I noticed that the hummus I bought was not exactly low-fat. So, I checked the WW cookbook, and sure enough, I found a recipe that was 2 points per serving. I was a little worried about the end result, but it came out tastier than the store-bought version.

I don’t think it was exactly two points though. The recipe doesn’t call for tahini, but a little tip on the side says you should add some if you have it. I do so I did, although I noticed that 2 tablespoons contain 16 grams of fat. I also noticed that the recipe claims to make 8 servings. Maybe this isn’t lower-fat than the store version after all. But it was really easy, so I can’t complain.

hummus
Combine the following in a food processor and puree:

15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup plain non-fat yogurt
juice of one lemon
3 garlic cloves
2 tsp olive oil
1 Tbl tahini
1 Tbl water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp allspice

My cooking tends to be very chaotic and messy, so I just don’t have the pretty plating pictures that I love so much in food logs. Maybe one day I can change that. I did clean the kitchen before I went to bed last night, rather than waiting until today when everything was caked on, so I’m making progress.

baba ghanouj
I figured if I was making hummus, why not baba ghanouj too! I’m envisioning a relaxing evening, with pita bread, and a greek salad, feta cheese, olives… We have some Greek wine we got at a Greek festival a few months back, but I’m a little scared of it. We did taste it before we bought it, but that doesn’t always mean anything.

This came out really well, but the lemon was a bit overpowering. I think it’s because my eggplant was small. It’s not exactly eggplant season. The recipe calls for a one-pound eggplant. I like this picture because you can see my laptop in the background with my journal up.

I pierced the eggplant and then baked it at 425 for about 45 minutes. Then, I peeled it (well, I let it cool a bit first) and then added it to the food processor, along with:

3 Tbl cilantro
3 Tbl plain non-fat yogurt
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 garlic clove
3/4 tsp coriander
1 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp salt

The cookbook says it makes 4 servings at 2 points a serving, including 1 pita for each. That’s pretty awesome.

So, I got it into my head to make stock. I guess I was thinking that it would taste better and be lower in fat than store bought, but is that really true? With the chicken stock, I’m not so sure, because the WW recipe that I used claims 1 point per serving, but also instructs the cook to skim the fat off the top. I imagine this works pretty well after refrigeration, but I used about half the stock in two recipes right away, so those might not have quite been 1 point scoops.

What’s the difference between stock and broth? This is one of those things I know, or I’ve heard, but promptly tucked into a corner of my brain that’s completely inaccessible to me. It’s the same place the names of new people I meet hide away. I did a quick search, and found an illustrated instruction on how to boil a chicken (”To pluck a freshly killed chicken or stewing hen first dunk and hold in a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds to loosen the feathers. Then remove feathers by the handful, and finish by individually extracting the few remaining pin feathers.”) I’m a little scared to continuing to look now.

That site, which also talks about slitting the throats of chickens and hanging them upside down to drain them (am I supposed to be hungry after this somehow?), claims the difference is in the gelee and that stock will bind pan drippings during the deglazing process, and says that broth has a high flesh-to-bone ratio, wherease stock as a low flesh-to-bone ratio.

See, this is the problem with chicken in general and stock in particular. You have to deal with parts: flesh and bones. I prefer to think of my chickens as vegetables — no livers, no blood, no parts. Which is why I tend to only cook with breasts, and even then I get a little wigged sometimes. P. is the same. When I told him I made stock with backs and necks he asked why, for the love of God, did I not just boil some chicken breasts. I could even use the breasts for another dish after. Had I done my stock/broth search before talking to him, I could have told him that breasts would have given me broth and sounded all Alton Brown-like.

This site is not so strict: “By the way, if you’ve ever wondered what the difference is between a “stock” and a “broth,” relax: they’re essentially the same thing. Or at least the differences between the two definitions are minor. I have plowed through a library of cooks’ references, including Larousse Gastronomic, The New Food Lover’s Companion, Barbara Kafka’s Soup: A Way of Life, and The New Professional Chef by the Culinary Institute of America. In virtually every case, both “stock” and “broth” are defined as a liquid made from bones and meat, sometimes with vegetables, herbs and seasonings.”

And this gave me pause: “When a true stock is chilled, it congeals because of the gelatin.” Isn’t that congealed part what the WW cookbook wants me to scrape off? Does that mean I’ve gone through all the trouble for nothing because I’m getting rid of the best part?

And none of this gives me no help on the difference between vegetable stock and broth.

But maybe all of this means nothing, because I just found this: “Now the basic difference between a stock and a broth is this: a broth is seasoned (with salt) and a stock is not.”

I give up. As luck would have it, I’m going to see Alton Brown today. He’s here for a book signing. P. was teasing me the other night that I’m so concerned with being brilliant and insightful so that he’ll remember me forever from the book line. No. Well, maybe. If anyone can provide a definitive answer for this question, it’s him.

On to the actual cooking. As I mentioned in my journal, I bought way too many vegetables yesterday. I basically went with the ingredients listed in the recipe, although it said you could use practically anything. My favorite ingredient was parsnips:

Vegetable Stock
I don’t think I’ve ever used parsnips before. They smell a little spicy and minty. And they look like a new potato and a carrot got together in the garden, under the moonlight, deep in the dirt.

Everything else was fairly standard. I chopped up onions and leeks and carrots.

The craziest part was that I was supposed to cook a bunch of the vegetables in the pot for a while first, to soften them up. I think I need bigger pots, because that didn’t go exceedingly well.

But after about 15 minutes or so, things were getting softer and reduced down a little. I had to stir a lot, because for a while, I didn’t think some of the vegetables on top were even going to get warm. Then, I added 12 cups of water, lots of fresh herbs, peppercorns, salt, dried mushrooms. So, it’s a broth, not a stock then? Never mind.

I simmered it all for about three hours, partially covered. Then I drained it through a colander into a big bowl. The smart thing to do is to put it into 1 cup containers and freeze it. Well, I was out of containers and out of room, so I poured all of it into one big ziplock bag and froze that. Hopefully in the next day or two, I can free up some room, thaw it out, and do things properly.

Chicken Stock
I made the chicken stock the same basic way I made the vegetable stock. I just included backs and necks. Now, necks and backs are pretty icky. But cheap! I got them for like 75 cents. I didn’t even know the grocery stores sold any kind of 4 pounds of meat for 75 cents anymore. I boiled the chicken for a while on its own before I added the vegetables (and in this picture, you can see a bit of the fire damage from my spectacular attempt to make beef stew a while back; while I was cooking, P. called to make sure I had the fire extinguisher ready).

Appetizing, yes? No.

After everything was boiling, I added the vegetables, let them simmer partially covered for a few hours, then drained it like I did the vegetable stock. Now that I’ve done more research, I see that it’s recommended that you simmer chicken stock for around six hours, and you only need the vegetables simmering for three. I didn’t simmer anything that long, but it seemed to be OK. I made tortilla soup with some of the stock, and it tasted pretty good. (Better than store-bought stock? I’m not sure. Maybe.)

The rest is in the freezer, taunting me with its gelatin.

I’ve had this cookbook, Feed Your Family on $10 a Day, for years. I don’t remember where I got it, probably Half-Price Books or something. I don’t know if you could still do the meals for $10, since it was published in 1993, but maybe.

Tortilla soup was not on my grocery list today, but after making some other things, I was left with half a 28 oz can of tomatoes, I knew I had a whole bunch of tortillas in the fridge, so I figured what the hell. This soup is exactly like a Mexican version of a French onion soup. And if you care about Weight Watchers points, this makes 4 servings at 3 points a serving for the soup, plus whatever the points are for the tortilla you use. (I used a large 98% fat-free tortilla, which added 3 more points.)

2 tsp olive oil
2 onions, cut into chunks (I used sweet onions)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 Anaheim chile, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (the original recipe calls for 1 bell pepper instead of the Anaheim and jalepeno; I like the added heat)
3-4 ripe tomatoes (I used 14 oz of whole canned tomatoes, plus juice and 1 chopped fresh tomato)
4 cups chicken broth (I used fat-free; I also used 3 1/2 cups since I used the canned tomato juice)
1/2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper
2/3 cup cheese (I recommend Monterey Jack; I’ve also used mozarella and cheddar)
4 stale tortillas (or baked in the oven for a minute to get ‘em crispy)

Saute onion, garlic, and chiles in olive oil until onion is translucent (salt and pepper). Add tomatoes and stir. Add broth and cumin. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Reduce heat and stir in cheese. If your tortillas aren’t stale, crisp them up a bit in the oven. Ladle soup into bowls. Tear tortillas into pieces and stir one tortilla into each bowl of soup.

I’ve apparently been making a lot of stir fry dishes lately. I guess I’ve been lazy. What I made last night was entirely accidental. It went a little something like this:

P. called me as he was leaving work.

“Hey, do you want to come over?”

“Sure. But you have to make me dinner. I need to be enticed. I’m not a cheap date.”

I got there just as he did.

“So, where’s my dinner?”

“It’s in the refrigerator. And probably the pantry. It may need to be assembled. You can probably get assembly instructions over there.” (As he pointed to his bookshelf with the cookbooks.)

His refrigerator contents were pretty pathetic. I managed to retrieve the following:

1/2 carton sliced mushrooms
4 green onions
1/2 bag cole slaw mix (no dressing)
1 thai chile
1/2 red onion

I also found some garlic on the counter. I chopped it all up and sauted it in some sesame oil. And then I tried to figure out a sauce. I was feeling pretty desperate and was thinking of going with a peanut butter/rice wine vinegar/soy sauce style thing, but then I saw a used-up bottle of curry paste and some coconut milk in the refrigerator.

So, I added the curry paste (probably 3 Tbl) and the coconut milk (maybe half a cup), and a couple of tablespoons of red chile paste. And about a half a cup of chicken broth. Once that was all simmering together, I threw in some leftover noodles that were past their prime and sprinkled in some salt, pepper, and curry powder. Oh, and a teeny bit of fish sauce.

It was actually the best stir fry I made all week. It could have used something to give it a little more oomph. Probably chicken. But still pretty good considering that I expected it to be so bad we’d have to scrap it and order take out.

I have a love/hate relationship with Indian food. I love it, but I know it’s not the healthiest of foods (at least the dishes I like best), so I try to eat it sparingly. And that being the case, I want it to taste really great. The hate part comes in when I’m in one of my many frustrating and unsuccessful attempts to make it.

I don’t have better luck when I get take-out. My experiences have definitely been hit or miss.

But anyway, the other night, I saw this post about a chicken korma recipe. Chicken korma is one of my favorite Indian dishes, so I thought I’d give it a try. However, I didn’t have any chicken and it was nearly 11pm, so I didn’t feel like running to the store. Why was I making Indian food at 11 at night? Because I saw the recipe and wanted to try it of course.

I did have tofu, that I had drained a few days earlier (for the soba stir fry) but hadn’t used. So, I needed to cook that up.

A brief note about tofu: I really don’t know how to cook it. It was only recently that I saw Alton Brown do a show on tofu that I realized “drain” meant to put the tofu between two plates, pile heavy cans on top, and leave it for a few hours. Also, I went to lunch at PF Chang’s with my friend E. the other day and we got a tofu-based stir fry. The tofu was exactly like a soggy sponge. A soggy old sponge. That’s been sitting out on the driveway since you used it to wash the car last week. And then it rained.

So, I really had no idea how to incorporate this tofu into the dish. Here’s what I did.

Cooked one chopped onion in a tsp of olive oil.
Added two cloves chopped garlic.
Added 2 tsp garlic/ginger paste.
Added the following spices:

• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 1/2 tsp red pepper

Then, I added maybe 1/4 cup water and let all the spices simmer together. After a few minutes, when most of the water had evaporated, I added the diced tofu and stirred it around so it got coated and warm. I think I would have liked to have gotten the outsides crispy, but I don’t think you can do that with everything else in the pan. Maybe I should have done the tofu first? Broiled it? No idea.

Then, I added 1/2 cup light coconut milk. I had it with jasmine rice.

You know, it really wasn’t all that great. The spice (maybe the coriander?) was too overpowering. I just don’t know enough about Indian food to know how to adjust the spices when things don’t taste quite right (this even though I have three cookbooks about how to make Indian food, have taken lessons from an Indian friend, and have been eating lots of Indian food for years). Maybe I could take a class or something.

I made these my usual way of looking at four or five different recipes and then using the parts of all of them that sounded good and improvising a little more as I went along.

15 oz can black beans (drained and rinsed)
3 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1 carrot, shredded and steamed (I steamed it in the microwave while I chopped up everything else)
1 diced jalapeno pepper
1 diced thai chile (you might omit if you don’t want to set your tongue on fire)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 Tbl ginger, chopped
1 Tbl lime juice
1 tsp chili powder (or to taste)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup egg beaters

I mashed everything up with a potato masher (so some beans were still whole) then fashioned it into four patties. I showed P. and asked him if they looked good. He started laughing. We grilled them until crispy on both sides and then put them on buns with avocado, red onion, tomato, and lettuce. They tasted much better than they looked.

I also found some frozen hash browns that had 0 fat grams, so I baked those with some chopped onion, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chili powder.

This is why I can never write a cookbook. I am wholly unable to come up with descriptive names.

I cleaned my pantry today. My too small, boxes and cans and bags toppling everywhere, no way I have any clue what’s in there, much less find it pantry. How long can you keep flour anyway? Is five years too long?

I decided that I’d better use up a few things. I made it all up as I went along.

Things I learned:

• Don’t touch a hot glass dish when you take it out of the oven.
• Figure out a way to keep cream cheese stuffed into the chicken. Charred cream cheese isn’t quite as flavorful as one might think.
• Make things up. What the hell. Add enough wine and it’ll be fantastic!

What I did:

I attempted to pound the chicken breasts very thin. I was not very successful, which would nearly doom me later. Mostly I was too lazy to do it right. Then, I soaked the breasts in milk while I got the accoutrements ready.

breading
Add together:

3/4 cup (all measurements approximate; I rarely measure; I’d probably be wiser to) bread crumbs
grated Parmesan cheese
fresh thyme
1 Tbl Italian seasoning
sea salt and pepper
1 tsp chili powder

jalapeno mustard coating
I sauted the following in 2 tsp olive oil:

2 cloves chopped garlic
2 finely chopped shallots

I added salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Then I added:

1/2 cup honey mustard
1/8 cup honey
1/2 cup jalapeno jelly

Once it was bubbly, I set it aside. Then I made the filling.

cheese filling
I sauted a bit more:

3 chopped cloves garlic
1 chopped shallot
5 chopped sun-dried tomatoes

I added salt, pepper, and thyme. Then I added:

1/2 fat-free cream cheese
1/2 cup low-fat ricotta

Admittedly, this low-fat/fat-free combination didn’t have much flavor. I added a little honey mustard. Next time, I’ll use less cheese and more of the rest.

the assembly
To put it all together, I coated the chicken in the jalapeno sauce, then covered it in bread crumbs, and put it on a greased glass dish. I then put some of the cheese on top of the chicken and folded it in half. See? I should have done something like used one chicken piece on the bottom and one on the top, or sealed the sides with toothpicks or something. But I didn’t, so a bunch smooshed out and got kind of crispy in a bad way. Anyway. I did that for all of the chicken and then poured the rest of the jalapeno sauce on top. I should have made a lot more jalapeno sauce.

I baked it at 350 for about 25 minutes. Meanwhile…

sourdough bread cranberry stuffing
This is loosely based on a James Beard pork chop stuffing. Very loosely.

I melted a little olive oil and butter and sauted:

1/2 chopped onion
2 chopped shallots (I had some left over, could you tell?)
2 chopped garlic cloves
4 oz chopped mushrooms
a bunch of chopped parsley

Once everything was reduced a bit, I added sourdough bread cubes. I happened to have some rock hard sourdough bread in the refrigerator and it was either this or the end of the line. I had to chip away at it with my bread knife like it was an ice block.

I folded all that together and added:

1/4 cup red wine
1/2 cup fat-free chicken broth

Basically, I just needed to get enough liquid in there to soften the bread. I also added some salt and pepper and a bit of grated Parmesan. Oh, and more thyme. I had it, so why not. Once it was all soft and mixed, I added a handful of dried cranberries. Then, I added it to my baking dish so it could bake a little with the chicken.

pan-fried potatoes
In some butter (I use I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Light, by the way, as embarrassing as that is. It’s actually not too bad for cooking, as far as using fake stuff goes.), I sauted:

the rest of my shallots (I think three)
a bunch of garlic (5 cloves?)
3 really sad looking (fairly small) potatoes, diced

I added salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. I think I was out of fresh thyme at this point. I covered it and let it cook on medium heat, stirring every so often, for about 15 minutes until the potatoes were soft inside and crispy outside.

It all could use a bit more flavor, although it was actually pretty tasty all together. I had it with some more jalapeno jelly on the side (P.’s mom makes it and it’s so good) and some more red wine. I know white is traditionally served with chicken, but the bottle was already open. I’m easy like that.

I figured I should write all this down before I had another glass of wine and forgot entirely how I made it.

Stir fry is mostly preparation. I made this for lunch, and it came out surprisingly well. I’d only make a few adjustments.

As I boiled some soba noodles, I chopped up:

2 garlic cloves
1/2 yellow onion
1/2 cup mushrooms
1/2 cup wild mushrooms (these ended up really mushy; I’d leave them out next time)
2 carrots (well, I grated them rather than chopped them)

I heated up some peanut oil in a wok, then added everything but the mushrooms. I added salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. When everything had cooked a little, I added the mushrooms. I also added:

8 oz can of water chestnuts (I had whole ones, next time I’ll go with sliced)

Then I added the cooked noodles and stir fried it all for a few minutes.

Next, I added:

1/2 cup peanut satay stir fry sauce (I just added enough to coat)
1/2 cup light coconut milk (maybe a bit less)

I mixed it everything up until it started to simmer, then added:

1/4 cup peanuts

I had planned to add tofu, but my wok ran out of space. You should use a larger wok. Once it was all warm, it was done!

Sometimes WW recipes work out really great, and other times, not so much. But generally even the not so much times give you a nice low-calorie base to start from the next time, or at least tips for making another recipe more healthful.

And so it was last night. I made a WW version of General Tsao’s Chicken (6 points including rice!) that got rave reviews, as well as some vegetable wontons. I made them basically according to recipe, since I wanted to see how it all turned out before I messed with it. My clever addition was cream cheese wontons, which I made without the crab (you can’t make them without crab, said P. that’s what adds the flavor!). But I don’t like crab even though I love crab rangoon, which I call cheese wontons to trick myself. And then I used the technique in the vegetable version to cook them. Eh, it all turned out just OK. P. said, “this isn’t general tsao’s chicken! it’s not deep fried!” Which was true. Next time, I’ll add more vegetables and spices. And the wontons baked for 15 minutes at 350, but they could have used more time. And maybe a minute or two under the broiler at the end.

We also had shots of Crown Royal. P.’s parents gave it to us for Christmas. (Merry Christmas! Have some liquor!) I’m not a big whiskey fan, but we did note hints of butter and caramel. Mostly the whiskey though.

I picked up this wine after reading an article in Cooking Light about New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Like no other wine! So great! The store didn’t have the recommended wines, but this one got good reviews on that little cardboard sign hanging under the shelf. Also, we were making chicken with a goat cheese sauce, and the recipe specifically recommended a Sauvignon Blanc pairing.

The wine was pretty good. Not anything special. P. noted that it smelled more flavorful than it tasted and it’s true. Had it tasted more like it smelled, it would be better. It’s really light with not much of a finish.

It didn’t seem to do much for the goat cheese, although the sauce itself was a bit flavorless. What it did pair well with was P.’s cheese dip, featuring velveeta (which we had with garlic pita bread).

The dinner itself was also just OK, although it was fun watching P. pound the chicken breasts. The roasted potatoes could have used more seasoning and the sauce could have used more… anything. The best part was the salad. The nutrionist recommended eating big salads to get in that five a day thing, and I notice that when I have a big salad first, I mostly don’t go back for seconds of the dinner part.

The dressing was left over from pizza night (all measurements approximate):

4 smashed garlic cloves simmered in the juice of two limes
1 chopped shallot
2 Tbl honey
4 Tbl fig vinegar
1 Tbl olive oil
4 Tbl water
salt and pepper
juice of a lime

Huh. There may have been more to that. I don’t remember. Anyway I tossed together:
a bag of lettuce mix
sliced red onion
black olives
chopped tomato
2 small heads of broccolini, chopped
1 small avocado, chopped
2 diced carrots
grated parmesan
4 sliced green onions

I think that was about it. Tasty.

I made a chili tonight that was based on a recipe in a WW cookbook. I’m really excited about this chili because it’s really good, only 3 points, and dude, I can eat it as chili! Or on potatoes! Or in a tortilla as a burrito! On fries! Or fat-free hot dogs! On veggie burgers! Since I had one for dinner tonight and it tasted like cardboard! (Possibly it had been in the freezer a really long time, and also, I may have baked it a little too long.)

2 chopped onions
1 chopped carrot
6 crushed garlic cloves
2 diced jalepeno peppers

Saute in olive oil until softened. Deglaze pan with a little red wine. Add:

4 tsp chili powder
1.5 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
.25 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp cocoa powder

Mix together well. Add:

3/4 cup canned pinto beans (rinsed)
3/4 cup canned lentils (rinsed; I did not even know you could get these canned)
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (and juice)
1 packet instant vegetable broth and seasoning mix (I had a very large packet of Korrs; I used 2 tbl)
4 cups water

Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Uncover and simmer for 15 minutes more. You can serve it topped with fat-free sour cream, red onion, and cilantro. I haven’t tried that part yet.