Foods of late summer's past...

Well, it's been awhile. Again. People seem to be asking me if I'm still cooking, and despite the inaction on the blog, I am! Really.

Summer was a bit crazy. Work of course (that's one thing that's different from when I was in school). Not working, but real work. Grown-up work. And then we had a sort of spur-of-the-moment move that ended up not being quite as quick and easy as we initially thought it would be. But the good news is we now have a new kitchen to play in! Packing all our kitchen equipment and utensils in is a bit of a puzzle, but it's working for us.

Above photo courtesy of Evelyn Kritler.

There were also some lovely trips down to Oregon and to the coast with my family for our annual trip to Arch Cape. We had fun cooking for the family again this year, but the food pictures are definitely lacking from that week of the summer, unfortunately. However, Zack had an incredible cooking endeavor...think homemade marshmallows. Uh yes. He had talked about it for awhile and I'll admit, I was kind of like, "whatever." Call me crazy, but I am not the hugest marshmallow fan. When we have s'mores at the coast, I'd rather just eat the graham crackers and maybe a couple pieces of chocolate. Ha. Well, let's just say...huge success. And Zack's cool factor increased even more so after that trip.

Pearl barley risotto with corn, parmesan, basil, and sliced turkey breast.

The photos you see here are just a scattering of some yummy things we made in August and September. My first risotto (with pearl barley), which consisted of a lot of standing in the kitchen whilst stirring. There was also some killer chicken salad, a recipe for which I need to re-find in a library book that has been returned. We had some really tasty grilled sandwiches; one had ham, thinly sliced granny smith apple, and swiss cheese. Lots of muffins..."French toast muffins" (which didn't really taste like French toast, but were very delicious), banana chocolate chip muffins (best banana muffin recipe I've found thus far), and blueberry cornmeal muffins (which was just a must taking my corn obsession into consideration).  Whole wheat penne with skinny asparagus and tomatoes. Salmon with a cilantro sauce and carrot quinoa to name another. I'm telling you, Costco has wild salmon fish fillets (packaged separately and frozen), and it's a good way to go. Pull out a few fillets at a time and it's always fresh. We just got some halibut, so you may see some creations with that coming soon.

Healthier chicken salad sandwiches.

Ham, swiss, and granny smith apple grilled sandwiches with succotash.

"French toast" muffins.

Banana chocolate chip muffins.

Blueberry cornmeal muffins.

Whole wheat penne with skinny asparagus, tomatoes, and basil.

Salmon with cilantro sauce and carrot quinoa.

Moving on. I'm on a new endeavor. Meal planning. Okay, I know this is making me sound ultra-organized and maybe slightly obsessive compulsive, and I was thinking the same thing until I read this Seattle Times article titled How to create a customized meal plan. And yes, this article is probably geared towards families or people with kids, but whatever, what they talk about is really helpful.

Now I'm not going crazy with this, but I have extracted a few great ideas from this article. It makes a lot of sense to create a sort of "weekly menu" and then save these menus (if they turn out to be good) to re-use in the future. I mean if you think about it, sifting through recipes and really planning for meals takes time. Especially if you are trying to eat healthily, and even more so if you shop at multiple places to save money and/or to buy fresh. So obviously this could get really boring if you just use your old menus and don't continue to search for new ways to cook and new ingredients to try. But I'm not too worried about that. Be back soon. Cheers.

Apple Pie

I didn't really grow up watching or helping my mom make pie crust. Or any other pastry doughs for that matter. They actually scare me. Handle them too much, and all your perfect "pea-size" pieces of butter become mush. Don't mix enough, and you might as well have just cut your stick of butter into two. Good grief. It seems like the most finicky thing ever.

Therefore, I recruit Zack when it comes to things like this. Because he grew up watching his grandma handle dough and crust and whatnot. But I do have to say, after making our first pie together, I feel confident that I could make a good pie in the future. I mean, you really just need a good pie crust recipe and then you can fill it with whatever you want!

This crust is the one my mom always uses. It's a pie crust recipe meant for a lattice-top peach pie from Cook's Illustrated. It's flaky and delicious. We filled the inside with lots of thinly sliced granny smith apples, fresh lemon juice, white sugar, cinnamon, and a bit of vanilla extract. And it was a success. Maybe there's more pie in our future and hopefully in yours. Cheers.

Do you like the "Z" on top? :)

Coming Soon: Apple Pie

Happy birthday to my one and only, Zack.

Manhattan Fish Chowder

Chowder. Growing up, seafood was one of my least favorite things. Especially clam chowder. Unless it was loaded with bacon and corn and other delicious items that just might cover up the occasional chunk of clam.

At the same time, I've always wanted to like seafood. Throughout my childhood (and now as the tradition continues to live on), my family has always planned annual trips to the Oregon coast. And "crab night" has always been a regular occurrence. And my mom can't seem to get enough clam chowder when we are there. Then there's the occasional trip to the fresh seafood market; as you pass through the screen door, you can't help but feel like you've just dunked your head into the belly of a whale...the seafood scent is so strong.

So now that I've rambled about my history with seafood, the fact of the matter is this. 1) I continue to try different seafood because I truly want to like it; 2) I married a man who absolutely loves clam chowder; and 3) I now live in Seattle (Pike's Place fish market, anyone...?). Therefore, I now cook seafood. Little by little, slowly but surely.

And what was I battling during this seafood/chowder endeavor? Tilapia. And clam juice. And it wasn't too bad.

Cook pieces of bacon until brown and crisp in a large pot. Spoon off most of the rendered fat. Add diced onion and carrots; seasoning with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. Cook until vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes.

Pour in a 28-ounce can of San Marzano tomatoes (these were crushed), add 2 cups clam juice (I may have substituted a little of that with vegetable stock...I said, slowly but surely) and 1.5 cups of water. Bring to boil. Add a couple russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks, in addition to chopped fresh thyme. Reduce heat and simmer. Cook, uncovered, until potatoes are tender.

 Add about a pound of tilapia fillets (cut into 2-inch pieces) and cook until opaque, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with some crusty bread. This was mild as far as chowders go I think. Maybe more clam juice next time? And you could definitely substitute any white fish for the tilapia...I'm thinking halibut. Enjoy.

Another take on the delicious and multi-use Artichoke-Basil Spread

In a recent blog post, I mentioned potential for using the artichoke-basil spread in other ways. And we did...in this oh-so-tasty wrap. Trader Joe's whole wheat tortilla, pepper turkey, hard salami, spinach, cucumber, sprouts, fontina cheese, and the spread. Got to use up those leftovers somehow! We packed lots of veggies on these things and it was so good. You can find the recipe for this multi-use spread in my last post, Artichoke and Salami Sandwiches.

I know this post isn't that eventful, and that sandwich wraps are kind of a no brainer, but come on. I had to post a picture of this thing. Look at how photogenic it is...

More exciting things to come. Think chowder. Or how about some good ol' apple pie? See you back here soon!

Artichoke and Salami Sandwiches

Annnnnnd, it's been over 3 months since I was here last. I guess I sort of thought that the whole blogging thing was a phase. And when I started getting pretty busy with work, I decided I would just let it fizzle out. But the truth is, I've missed it. Therefore, this amateur (who is hopefully becoming less of one) is back! And just because I haven't been blogging does not mean we haven't been cooking. So there will be some good stuff to share.

First off, something simple. Salami sandwiches with an amazing artichoke-basil spread. A deliciously light dinner or a very splendid lunch. Find some yummy bread that you can toast up in the oven, hard salami, spinach leaves, tomatoes, fontina cheese, and make up the spread as follows.

Artichoke-Basil Spread

In a food processor, combine one 14 oz. can of artichoke hearts (or a 10 oz. package of frozen artichoke hearts, thawed), fresh basil leaves, a couple tablespoons of hummus, fresh lemon juice, about a 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red-pepper flakes, coarse kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Maybe give the artichoke hearts and basil a bit of a chop prior to mixing in the processor. This will make about 1 cup of the spread and it will save in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

This spread would also be good on crackers or as a dip. It has a great, smooth texture and adds great flavor to your ordinary sandwich. 

Well, enjoy. And see you back here sooner rather than later. Cheers.

Root Vegetable Soup

Confessions...this recipe is actually called "winter vegetable soup," but it's not winter, is it. Technically it's spring, but let's be honest, a winter soup sounds great right about now. The sun is trying to come out in Seattle lately, but it's still a little chilly.

What drew me to this soup was the green cabbage and tamari soy sauce, in addition to the corn (obviously (for those of you just tuning in, I am kind of in love with corn)). It also reminded me of a pureed soup my mom made when I was growing up; she called it "root soup." All I know is that she would be chopping for what seemed like forever...all sorts of weird looking root vegetables. And then the strange, diced creatures would find themselves being pureed in batches. In the good ol' blender.

In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, saute diced leeks (white and light green parts only) in olive oil and tamari (and whatever other spices...a bit of curry or cayenne is what we like) until tender. Add diced potato, carrots, green cabbage, celery, salt, and fresh ground black pepper. Stir to combine and add enough vegetable stock to come 1/2-inch below top of vegetables. Bring to boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Remove from heat and puree using a handheld blender. Add frozen corn, adjust with salt and pepper, and serve.

Oh, and we added a little sliced green onion for garnish. I mean, let's be honest. I didn't want to post something that looked like baby food on my blog. So now it's baby food with garnish. A little better? Well, it doesn't even matter, because this soup is amazing. Such good flavor and texture. And the corn adds to it. Of course. :)