Grilled Vegetables with Grilled Fish, Orzo, and Feta

If it seems that I haven’t cooked in a while based on the absense of recipes, it’s true.  This weekend the non-cooking trend was finally broken and I’ve been cooking for a few days.  It’s been fantastic!  I love my tiny kitchen and how comfortable I’ve become in it.  And to keep the enjoyment going in the kitchen, I made a few of my favorites and of course an experimentation or two.  I made my favorite roasted chicken and paired it with the potato & green bean salad and a slaw for the crunchy craving.  And for the experimentation in the kitchen, I tried my hand at grilling veggies in a grill pan and thought that orzo and feta would make addition to the veggies.  I was right!

Grilled Zucchini, Summer Squash, and Tomatoes

Grilled Zucchini, Summer Squash, and Tomatoes

Grilled Fish

Ingredients:
1 medium sized zucchini, sliced into large chunks
1 medium summer squash, sliced into large chunks
10-ish small tomatoes, halved
1/2 pound firm white fish (optional), sliced into medium-sized cubes
3/4 cup orzo (uncooked)
1/3 cup of parmesan
Feta – to taste
Mrs Dash, McCormick Steak Seasoning, salt, pepper – to taste
1/2 cup of olive oil (for the marinade)

Steps:
1. Create the marinate for the veggies and fish. Use as much Mrs. Dash Original seasoning and McCormick Steak Seasoning as you like and mix it with olive oil.
2. Slice the veggies and toss them in the marinade. I left them to sit in the oil & spice mixture for about a half hour, which allowed the veggies to soak up the flavor. Grill the veggies.
3. In the marinada that was left over from the veggies, marinade the sliced fish. I let the fish sit for a while as well. Grill the fish.
4. Make orzo according to package directions.
5. Mix it all together, adding the cheeses as you go. I grilled the veggies and fish one day, and did the orzo with cheese the next day, so there’s flexibility so you can save time.

Alterra on the Lake

I love to travel.  I love to take photos.  I love to take photos when I travel.    So this year, before I go on another trip, I thought it would be a good idea to take a Travel Photography class.  The continuing education arm of the local university has a wonderful program and I finally found the time for this class.  So this past weekend, we had our first photo shoot.  We were supposed to see the city as if we’re travelers here and discover something new or different.  Of course, like any class, we had a specific set of things we needed to capture.

Here are a few photos from that photo shoot.

Runners in a Milwaukee Lakefront Park

I love the early spring, when the trees are just coming into their full glory. Gorgeous. And notice the people in winter coats! It was cold and a little windy that morning.

Calatrava Wings (Burke Brise Soleil) and Crab Apple Tree Blossoms

This addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum, by Santiago Calatrava has become an iconinc building for the city and it’s easy to see why. The sleek, modern lines that it almost defies logic that Milwaukee has such a treasure. But we do! It’s amazing on so many levels. And because it’s so iconic, there are thousands of pictures of it, which makes it harder to have a unique perspective. I noticed these blossoms, so bright and cheerful on a cold, gloomy day, that I just couldn’t resist using them in the photo.

"Milwaukee Clock" at the Milwaukee Public Market

I just really liked the clock, and it didn’t hurt that it was in front of a cheese store. It’s Wisconsin, we’re famous for cheese, so how could I not include it?

Calatrava Burke Brise Soleil and US Bank Building

Our one and only “sky scraper” and the wings of the Calatrava addition to the art museum. I like the lines and since I can’t keep my camera straight anyway, thought I’d lean into it and just go completely tilted for this photo. This one won “Best of Class” in the class (don’t think I’m bragging, there were only 9 people in the class).   Oh, and the odd-looking specks are birds.

Chicken Stock in a Slow Cooker (Crock Pot)

Stock. Chicken Stock.  Beef Stock.  It’s one of those things many people find intimidating, and I have to admit, I was one of them.  I thought I didn’t have a stock pot big enough, I thought I didn’t have the time to babysit the cooking pot.  Then, I decided that I could use my slow cooker, and all my problems melted away.

Right now, I have a most delicious beef stock brewing.  I started it last night, and this morning, I woke up to a most delicious smell eminating from my kitchen.  Coming home, this same delciousness welcomed me.  MMMMMMM!

Since I want the stock to be very versatile, I keep it very simple.  Onions, carrots, salt, pepper, and a red chili pepper (dried, whole), sometimes I throw in a bay leaf.  That’s it.  Couldn’t be easier or faster.

What’s your favorite way of making stock?

In situations like these, it’s great to have an easy, healthy, go-to meal.  At this point, I really only have one:

Salmon and Rice.  The salmon takes no effort at all, and now that I’ve discovered rice cookers, this meal is zero effort, takes a minute to assemble and turn on the timer.  And my rice cooker is super simple, no bells or whistles, just about $10 from a drugstore.  I just add spiced to the water while the rice is cooking and it flavors the rice with no effort.

On other occasions I’ve done fried potatoes and liver or fried potatoes and hot dogs or just hot dogs with salsa, but I almost never want to peel potatoes and stand in the kitchen, watching them cook so they don’t burn, just doesn’t sound like something I’d want to do while working a 60+ hour week.

I suppose pasta with sauce could be another go-to meal, just like a sandwich, but those hardly seem like “cooking”.  Which is the point on crazy-busy days.

What’s your go-to meal?  What’s your strategy for cooking when you know you’ll be incredibly busy?

Alamo at night

This past weekend I took a little trip to San Antonio, Texas. I’ve never been there before and heard great things about the city so thought I’d check it out. Even with everything I read, I was still surprised by the city. It’s compact, lovely, easy to navigate, and with tons to see and do.
I arrived at my hotel, Crockett Hotel, a bit after midnight and the check-in process couldn’t have been more painless. The hotel has a continental breakfast and it was enough for me to hold me over till lunch (I just had some toast and jam).

Roasted Cilantro Chicken at Azuca Restaurant in San Antonio

After some sightseeing, lunch was at Azuca, a great restaurant with a lively decor and fantastic food.  I had Roasted Cilantro Chicken. If you’re not a fan of cilantro, you shouldn’t get this.  But I happen to adore cilantro so this made my tastebuds dance.  The veggies were crisp and delicately seasoned and I wish I had asked for seconds.    The chicken breast was very thinly sliced and was very juicy and delicious.  It was good enough that I considered going back there during my stay, but since it was my first time in this city, I chose to check out another restuarant.

Steak a la Tampiquena at Mi Tierra Restaurant in San Antonio

Another great restaurant was Mi Tierra, where I enjoyed Steak a la Tampiqueña.  This was, by far, the best fajita meat, and I’ve head a lot of fajitas over the weekend.  The steak had a great grilled flavor and it was marinated in something absolutely delicious.  Wish I had the recipe!  The chicken enchelada (the space between the tortilla chips and rice) was delicious too.  The flour torillas seemed to be home made, but I didn’t confirm it.  The decor here was quite festive and as you can see by the green tint in the photo, the lighting was quite festive too.  Lots of pinatas hanging on cielings, mariachis wandering serenading diners, and servers dressed in the colors of the Mexican flag added to the fiesta atmosphere.  I was craving something chocolatey for dessert and they had a brownie at the bakery.  I was a bit disapointed in it as it was rather dry and “dusty” tasting.

Swiss Chard at San Antonio Botanic Gardens

Check this out.  This is how Swiss Chard was groing at the Botanic Gardens.  I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to show it to you.  I admit, I’ve never actually eaten Swiss Chard, or any other dark green like that.  But look at how gorgeous it is!  Definitely deserves a second look at the grocery store.  The gardens were great.  Though it was February, enough things were in bloom to make it a good visit.  But because it was on the colder side and a bit drizzly, as well as not having everything in bloom contributed to a very peaceful, quiet, contemplative experience. Highly recommend the garden in any season.

San Antonio River Walk

But if you’d rather hang around downtown and not venture much out, the Riverwalk is great.  There are lots of shops and restaurants.  Just imagine how wonderful that all looks when trees are sporting their lusciously green coats!  I found it astounding that people were dining outside even in the middle of winter.  But it’s Texas, not Wisconsin, so it works.  And many restaurants have blankets they just leave on chairs for the diners, in addition to the heaters.  But once the sun sets, it seems like everyone in San Antonio goes for a walk on the Riverwalk.  Definitely not something I’m used to seeing here, especially when it’s cold.  But that could also be because I don’t get out much when it’s cold. LOL.

Window at Mission San Jose

Another thing I’d receommend is a Trolley Tour.  This one was a hop-on hop-off, with a great itinerary.  It took us all over the place, but I was really interested only in the Missions.  One thing I didn’t realize was that the Alamo was originally a mission.  Now, it’s the only one that’s not still holding services.

This window is at Mission San Jose and is named after a young woman, Rosa (I think) who was traveling across the ocean to marry her intended, but was “lost at sea”.  This window is a tribute to her by her finace.    Visiting the mission was interesting.  This particular one, San Jose, was huge!  There were also church-goers in the morning here; you could see the lit candels.  The day I visited was actually rainy, not just drizzly, so I was a little afraid for my lenses, but decided to risk it and took lots of photos.   And I’m so glad I did!

San Jose, San Antonio, Texas

Mission Concepcion, San Antonio, Texas

Beef Stew with Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Mushrooms, and Parsnip

The last few weeks have been exceptionally busy here; I feel like I hardly spend any time at home, and I love being home.  But I did manage to make a really rustic, hearty, and healthy beef stew.  It is tender and flavorful and just fantastic. This stew just hit the spot during those cold winter days we’ve had lately. Just complete satisfaction. Warm, like a blanket; bursting with flavor like summer. Feeds your belly and your soul. The potatoes and sweet potatoes are actually still from one of the winter shares of the CSA.  I couldn’t believe it that they’re still good.  But sure enough, if you store them properly (cool, dark place), they’re great.  And I have to comment on the beef.  I purchased it at Grassway Organics and it’s truly delicious.  I have noticed that I am able to detect a difference (sometimes) in the quality of the beef and this is by far the best I’ve tasted.

Beef for stew

Diced Beef for Stew

So this is the beef. It looks great and smells clean. Have you ever smelled meat when it’s raw? No? Too weird? I know. But sometimes I do smell it and often detect a hint of something. Not quite sure what but it’s not spoilage. This just smelled clean, almost grassy, which would make sense since these are grass fed and grass finished cows. Don’t know how else to describe it other than “clean”.
And those bones…. Oh wow…. They add so much incredible flavor. Plain water would have made it a good stew, but when I added the beef stock to this stew, it just put it over the top.

Check out the marrow. It’s that squidgy, soft part inside the bone. When cooked, it’s quite delicate in flavor and has a hint of sweetness. I saw a show once where it was served as a delicacy in some fancy NY restaurant. Just a few bones on a plate and a spoon. LOL. Delicious, I’m sure, but just a few bones… C’mon… But I’m off on a tangent. So back to this particular stew. Here is what I did.

Ingredients:
1 large onion
4-6 cloves of garlic, finely minced (it’s really good for you!)
1.5-2 lb beef, diced into large-ish pieces (see picture)
2 medium carrots, cut into large bite size pieces
3 smallish sweet potatoes, cut in large chunks
10 oz of mushrooms
1/2 large parsnip, large dice
3-4 cups beef stock (or you can use another stock or water)
1 qt diced tomatoes (or you can use 2 15oz cans of diced tomatoes)
1 lb of potatoes (Yukon Gold; cut into large chunks or if they’re small enough, I just threw them in whole)
3 bay leaves
Salt, Pepper, Cumin, Coriander, to taste; a touch of Spanish Smoked Paprika
A little parsley, for garnishing, optional

Onions Sauteing

Beef Browning

Beef, Carrots, Parsnip

Beef, Carrots, Parsnip, Sweet Potato

Home-canned diced tomatoes

Beef stew with home-made diced canned tomatoes

Beef Stew with Mushrooms

Beef Stew cooking

Beef Stew with Potatoes

Beef Stew with Root Vegetables

Steps:
1. Saute some onion. Once they are gorgeously sauteed, add the garlic and saute them too. Add spices as you go along to build the flavor, but start slow.

2. Brown the beef. If the beef chunks didn’t fit into the pot all at once, split them into several batches. You want to brown it instead of steam it.

3. Add cumin and coriander.

4. Add the carrots, parsnip, and sweet potato. Let cook for a while.

5. Add the diced tomatoes. Let cook for a while. These particular ones are the ones I canned in the summer/fall and I’m very proud of that (I’ve never canned anything or done any food preservation before). And I’ve eaten canned tomatoes for innumerable years. But I have to tell you, once I opened this jar, I could smell summer. Didn’t expect that, but all that hard work from last year really payed off.

6. Add bay leaves. I tend to add them toward the end because I think they add bitterness if they’re in too long, and I don’t like bitter stuff.

7. Add stock (or water) and simmer on low-ish heat for about a an hour and a half. Longer if the beef is still tough, so check at this point and decide. In my case, 1.5 hours was enough and the sweet potatoes and carrots didn’t disintegrate, but were nice and delicious.

8. Add potatoes (yukon gold). IF they’re large, cut them up in large chunks to match the sweet potatoes. If they’re small, just throw them in whole, I didn’t even bother with peeling (just be sure to scrub them well). There was enough liquid in my pan for the potatoes. I just pressed on them and they went under the liquid. If you need more liquid, add some stock or water.

9. Taste to make sure seasoning is to your liking and adjust what needs adjusting.

Given all that (and a quick perusal of the blog), it probably wouldn’t surprise you that I set annual goals.  But first, let’s reassess last’s years.

Ugh.

Here is what I said at the beginning of the year, and a few updates.

“Without further ado, here are my food goals for 2011:

1. Learn to make Challah – Make Challah at least once
   • I sorta/kinda almost reached this goal.  I made a challah at a challah-making event, where the dough was already prepared.  But I haven’t tried it on my own.
2. Expand my soup repertoire – make soup at lest twice a month, even if it’s a soup I made previously
   • Pepper Soup
   • Leek and Cabbage soup
   • Patty Pan zucchini soup
   • As you can see, I didn’t do so well on this goal either.  I did cook more soups, but definitely not twice a month. More like once every two months, at best.  Definitely something to work on going forward.
3. Make more Uzbek food – learn at least two new recipes
   • I tried making Plov, but didn’t blog about it because it didn’t turn out quite perfect.  The trick to that dish is rice and I haven’t been able to find the right rice in my neck of the woods. 
4. Use fewer processed foods – yes, this seems very general and not “measurable”, but this means I’ll have to give up hot dogs, ketchup, sugar, canned/jarred/pre-packaged foods, etc.  The sugar will be a hard thing to give up in certain situations like dessert; giving up hot dogs will be really hard too since they’re such an easy meal and I like them.
   • Butter
   • Butter was as far as I got.    Didn’t do anything else on that list.  Still eat the hotdogs and sugar and ketchup and other such stuff.
5. Cook more Jewish/Russian/traditional dishes – a way to explore my culinary and historical heritage, a way to recreate things I haven’t eaten in decades – make 1 new thing every season
   • Holodetz
   • Traditional Cherry Preserves
   • Cherry Compote
   • Tomatoes:Pickled
   • I did a lot of food preservation, and lots of jams (strawberry, raspberry, and cherry).  Didn’t blog about a lot of it because I was too busy preserving all that bounty of the season.  Froze a lot of tomatoes and peppers, as well as making tomato sauce of sorts, and preserving chopped tomatoes.

”

The conclusion I draw from last year is that I need to be a little more focused and maybe have fewer goals.

So here’s what I want to try for 2012 (and yes, some of these are repeats from 2011).

1. Make Challah (Jewish food)
2. Make Samsa (Uzbek food)
3. Make a dish using beef tongue (are you grossed out already?)
4. Continue with canning/jam making/food preservation
5. Reduce sugar consumption (not sure how to measure this one yet, other than avoiding dessert)
6. Make bone broths/stocks (I’m actually already on my way with that, having 2 fresh stocks in the freezer already; turkey and beef)
7. Eat more fish
8. Cook something I encountered on my travels, regardless of when I encountered it or where.

I better stop here.  Here’s to a more delicious 2012!

Stuffed Shells Detail

I have always wanted to make a stuffed pasta dish but was always intimidated by it. Not quite sure why, because it’s so easy. Easier than lasagna, and I consider lasagna to be easy.  And when I found a recipe in a magazine (Whole Living, March 2011 edition) and realized I had all the ingredients, I knew I had to try it.  I was also surprised at how quick this came together.  It is also healthy and very satisfying.  The spinach, the low-fat farmer’s cheese (I noticed it’s lower fat than the ricotta the original recipe called for), the mushrooms in the sauce (another one of my tweaks) all contributed to the guilt-free satisfaction of this cheesy dish.  It was devoured quickly, hence no shots of plated shells.  But trust me, this is quick, easy, delicious, healthy, satisfying on a deep level, and elegant enough for a dinner party. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Ingredients:
1 28-oz. can whole tomatoes (I used tomato sauce instead)
1 14 oz container of mushrooms (I added these since I had them on hand)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Coarse salt and ground black pepper
3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 cup bulgur (I omitted this)
25 jumbo pasta shells (I think I used about half)
1 pound bunch spinach, stems removed (I used frozen)
1 15-oz. container part-skim ricotta (I used farmer cheese instead)
1 egg, beaten (I’m pretty sure I omitted this)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan (or any other melty cheese)

Onions and Garlic sauteing

Added mushrooms to onions and garlic

Sauted mushrooms

Tomato sauce with mushrooms

Spinach and Farmers Cheese

Spinach and Farmers Cheese Mixed

Mushroom tomato sauce

Shells stuffed with farmer cheese and spinach

Stuffed Shells with Sauce

Spinach and Farmers Cheese Stuffed Shells

Steps:
1. Saute onion and garlic until tender, about 7 minutes, in a pan over medium heat.
2. Add mushrooms and cook until they’re cooked down, about 5-10 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool.
4. Cook shells in a large pot of salted boiling water. Drain and let cool. Don’t cook all the way through as they will be further cooked in the oven, I cooked them for about 4-5 minutes, just enough for them to be pliable.
5. Add defrosted spinach to farmer’s cheese. Mix, season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
6. Coat bottom of a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish with 1 cup sauce.
7. Spoon filling into shells and arrange in pan.
8. Cover with remaining sauce, cover with foil, and bake until bubbling, about 40 minutes, in a preheated oven at 350 degrees.
9. Sprinkle with Parmesan before serving.

Leek, Cabbage, Potato Soup

Take a look at this soup.  It’s not photogenic.  It’s not sexy.  But it’s first and foremost delicious.  Of course, it’s also healthy and incredibly easy to make.  And on cold autumn or winter days, it really hits the spot.  How could it not?

The other fabulous feature of this soup is that it features veggies from the CSA (Highcross Farms), and home made chicken stock (chicken was from Grassway Organics).

If you think that this combination is a little odd, I wouldn’t blame you.   But then again, I think anything with peanut butter is strange.  Just think about it, there is a leak and potato soup, and cabbage and potato soup.  I just combined them.  See?  Logic!  Without further ado, here’s what you’d need.

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
2 smallish green peppers (optional, they were part of the CSA box that week)
3 large stalks of leeks (sliced thinly, but not too thin)
2 large-ish carrots (sliced into medium thick half moons)
4-6 smallish potatoes (cubed into bite-sized chunks)
1 medium size cabbage
8 cups (or more) of chicken stock
Parsley, for a garnish, optional
Salt and pepper to taste. Add other spiced if you like (a warm curry would work beautifully here).

Cleaning Leeks

Leeks sauteing

Cabbage

Leek, Cabbage, Potato Soup cooking

Steps:
To wash leeks, slice them first and then dunk them into cold water. Some wash them in the sink or a large bowl, but I prefer to use the salad spinner since it’s a bowl, a colander, and a spinner in one. This way, only one “dish” gets washed, and reducing cleanup is always welcome.

1. Saute onions for a few minutes, until they become soft and translucent.
2. Add leeks and let cook for few minutes.
3. Add carrots and let cook for a few minutes.
4. Add green peppers and let cook until carrots get a little softer, about 20 minutes.
5. Add cabbage and let cook for a few minutes. While all the veggies cook, add the seasonings.
6. Add chicken stock. If you like it a little thicker, use less liquid.
7. Add potatoes and cook till potatoes are tender.
Garnish with parsley, if you like, when you serve it.

Winter Squash, Pumpkins, Acorn Squash

It’s true, I’ve never had acorn squash before.  “How can that happen?”, you ask.  Simple.  I thought I didn’t like it.  It looked foreign (which it really is, to me), and hard to figure out, and since I’ve never had it before, I never knew what I’d ever do with it.  But as I mentioned in some of my earlier posts, one of the benefits of joining a CSA is that you get veggies you might not have picked out on your own.  Just check out the pumpkins/squash in the picture for an example of what I got in the last few CSA boxes.  The folks at Highcross Farm do a great job with getting fantastic food to us and I take these opportunities to try these new foods.  So, here’s my very first introduction to acorn squash.  I hope you like this as much as I did.

Acorn Squash, removing seeds

Roasted Acorn Squash with butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup

Roasted Acorn Squash

Ingredients:
2 acorn squash (cut in half lengthwise)
Brown sugar, maple syrup, and butter, to taste (in total, I used about a table spoon each of butter and brown sugar, and maybe 1.5 tb of maple syrup; and a few tablespoons of water)

Steps:
1. Cut the acorn squash lengthwise, after scrubbing the outside a little. Be careful when cutting into it. I had to use a hammer since I couldn’t get the knife to go into the squash enough to cut it. So be careful!  Remove the seeds and the stringy stuff.
2. Sprinkle the brown sugar, a bit of butter, and some maple syrup on each half of the squash. Add a few tablespoons of water to the oven-proof pan.
3. Roast uncovered for about 30-45 minutes at 375 degrees.