Bruschetta Chicken

I realize I definitely didn't invent this recipe, but it's just what I threw together tonight.  It was super duper quick and pretty darned tasty.

I made a simple bruschetta by chopping up a tomato, garlic, and basil.  Drizzle that with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and set aside.

The I brushed a little balsamic vinegar and oil on a chicken breast, which I later cut in half when I realized that would speed up my time.  I put that in the grill pan since it was just me for dinner.  I always think things are better on the real grill, but sometimes the grill pan is just more convenient.

As it was grilling I steamed some broccoli and asparagus.  You could also put the asparagus on the grill which, again, would be better.  I also did a little tap dancing in front of the mirror in the hallway it was cooking, but you can go ahead and skip that step.

When the chicken was about done, I put some sliced mozzarella on top and let it get all melty.  When it was done, I put it on my plate and then topped it with a very healthy portion of the bruschetta and served it up with the broccoli and asparagus.

Start to finish, it was about 15 minutes I bet.  It tasted like balsamic-y, basil-y goodness.  The sweetness of the balsamic vinegar caramalized on the grill pan a bit.  Yum!  Summa time!

Molly

Bamboo Shoots

When I planted bamboo at the top end of the property to form a visual barrier from the road and the neighbors' house a couple of years ago a certain environmental restorationist in the family warned me about the horrors of planting such an invasive species noting that it would spread uncontrollably and take over southeastern Pennsylvania.  I have been egging it on year by year, trying to get my visual screen established.  Up until today, when I found one long invasive root sending a line of shoots up from the perennial flower garden in front of the fence. Well, I wanted it to spread, but not to there...

I dug up the offending rhizome and found it covered with bamboo shoots, which I harvested:

My total culinary knowledge of bamboo shoots consists of "they come in a Chung King can" and "I think the catalog said the shoots from this variety were edible" so I proceeded to stumble forward in the dark.  I found that the tough outer leaves peel off in layers leaving a soft, edible core.  It reminded my of artichokes:  tough stringy leaves which break off of a soft core where the edible part starts.  Here's what I wound up with after cleaning:

So, I gathered some last-of-the-season asparagus from the garden, cut up a little broccoli, minced a shallot, some garlic, and some fresh ginger and started stir frying using sesame oil and soy sauce, extra water to steam the vegetables, etc.   I added in some left over white rice:

At the end, I cooked off the excess moisture and added two scrambled eggs to make a sort of egg fu yung, I guess.  It was good.  It was a hoot getting fresh bamboo sprouts from the bamboo stand.  A few of the pieces still had some tough woody parts which had to be spit out so I need to work on how best to clean them.

Pickles again!

Hey all,

While it's basically always summer here, it is heating up and starting to feel even more like "summer."  It got me thinking about homemade pickles.

Now I somehow went and married someone who doesn't like pickles.  Fine by me...now I don't have to share :-).

But that means I don't want to make up a big old crock of pickles.  So I just went back and read the pickle entries we already have on this blog.  Am I correct to assume I can make pickles right in a mason jar?  Do I just have to make sure it's full to the brim?

Not sure if I'll be able to find grape leaves here, but I'll do some looking.  I know I can find banana leaves...in my backyard.  We always wrap pigs in banana leaves when we cook em in the ground.  I wonder if those would work?  Might be worth an experiment?

Anyway, any tips on making pickles in a mason jar?  Is it easy enough?

Molly

hypo-allergenic dinner party

OK family, here's the challenge:  My old friend Jeremy, his wife Lauren, and their 8-mo old son Caelen are coming for a visit on Wed evening, will stay until Fri morning.  On Thursday, there is a good chance that a bunch of other old friends will come over.  Dinner party time!  Here's the tricky bit, the other old friends have challenging dietary restrictions.  One of them is vegetarian (easy!) and one of them is attempting to eliminate all food that may cause allergies from her life at the recommendation of her naturopath.  Here's the list: NO soy, meat, sugar, gluten, peanuts, alcohol, or dairy.  As this eliminates virtually 100% of my go-to dinner party recipes, I'm looking for suggestions.  Also, Jeremy and Lauren are foodies, but very nice about it, and Patrick is allergic to spinach, walnuts, moldy cheeses, and hazelnuts.  Sarah and Jasper may be here, too.  Thankfully Sarah is done with her paleo diet, which also excluded legumes, grains, and potatoes [the answer is sweet potatoes, avocados, and eggs if you're wondering what is left to eat on that diet].  But Jasper is allergic to shellfish.  Samara and Patrick will not consume anything with a hint of spice in it.  I'm looking for complete menu suggestions, no need to include a dessert.  Something a little fancier than homestyle comfort food is OK, because I am planning to leave work early on Thursday and have a few days lead time.  Suggestion for Wed dinner for a family just in from a long drive would be good, too though. It is great to have foodies in the family!  Thanks in advance.  PS Jo, we have been enjoying tomatillos lately--thanks for the good suggestion.

Roasted corn and poblano soup with avocado

I was craving the taste of roasted corn and poblanos the other day, so I decided to make some soup today.  I borrowed heavily from this recipe, which is excellent:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cold-Avocado-Corn-Soup-with-Cilantro-Oil-231993

I didn't actually follow the recipe, so I'll write what I did.

4 ears of corn
2-3 poblanos/pasilla chilis (fresh, not dried)- to taste
1 med or 1/2 very large onion - chopped for soup
~6 cloves of garlic
2 medium carrots - chopped for soup
2-3 stalks celery - chopped for soup
a left over grilled chicken leg or two (you know, if you have them lying around and need to use them for something)
some chicken base/stock/boullion
1-2 avocados
~3/4 t ground cumin
~1/2 t ground coriander
1 small bunch cilantro
a little cream if you want it extra rich
a dash of lime juice

Roast and/or broil 3 ears of corn and poblanos.  I roasted at 425 for 17 min, then 450 for 7 min, then finished off in the broiler, because I was baking bread at the same time.  Cut the kernels off all the cobs (3 roasted + 1 raw, then chop the cobs into 3-4 pieces each.  Start your soup (as far as I can tell, the pretty much always means saute your carrots, onions, and celery in olive oil with a bit of salt until soft, adding the garlic in at some point).  Thow in your chicken pieces if using (these aren't necessary, but I did enjoy the slight smokiness they gave the broth) and about half the corn kernels.  Add water to cover - I used 6 cups, and about 2-3 teaspoons of chicken base (about half the ratio you would want for full strength boullion broth).  Simmer briskly until your bulbs that didn't do much this spring are dug out of the garden and your new flowers are planted - about 35 minutes.  Remove the corn cobs and any chicken bones.  I also removed most of the meat to eat another day.  If you like a chunky soup, Briefly chop the cilantro, then blend cilantro, cumin, and coriander with some of the soup, then stir into the pot.  Peel and seed the poblanos, and chop and puree them with some of the soup.  Finally, do the same with 1 of the avocados.  If you like smooth soups, just dump everything into the same blender.   Add the remaining corn kernels.  I also added a little cream, but I wouldn't next time.  It just wasn't necessary.  I didn't add lime juice, but I will add a bit tomorrow for lunch.

I made our soup with about 1 - 1 1/2 poblanos, but then put the remaining poblanos, pureed with some of the soup on the table for those of us who wanted more of that flavor and spice to stir into our soup.  How many to use really depends on your taste and how spicy your poblanos are.  I also cut up the second avocado and put it on the table.  Aleks added some cherry tomatoes to his.  We served it with plain cheese quesadillas.  They went well and the cheese added some protein.

This was delicious.  And healthy!  I'm sure I'll be making various versions of this many times to come.

-Maggie

Hey Fam,
Finally getting around to contributing to this blog!
So yesterday I went to the grocery store for my $30 worth of yogurt and fruit (Working at a restaurant keeps the grocery budget down, but the waistline up) and I was walking around trying to decide if I wanted kale, spinach, or broccoli for my greens of the week, when I saw that tofu was on sale. So I bought some, and found some mango/jalapenio dressing (with minimal sugar added) to marinate it in. Then, since it was a sunny day and my Saturday, I decided to just make a full on tropical themed dinner. So I bought a pineapple, a plantain, some jalapenos, and some coconut milk. I got home and put the tofu on to marinate. For those of you into the meatier sides of things, my roommate is a veg, so we usually go for the pan-fried tofu, but chicken would obviously work. I then cut up the pineapple pretty fine (small dice), threw it in a bowl with some minced ginger and cilantro, and a little bit of coconut milk, maybe about a third or a half cup? I took a potato masher to it to get a saucierish texture, so it was still chunky, but slightly pureed. I then texted my friends telling them dinner was on me, and cleaned up my apt a little bit. When they were on their way, I cooked up some white rice, and pan fried the tofu, and set to work on the greens. I loved that salad that Andy posted a while back with the kale and canellini beans (or something like that), and also Kate's idea of cooking kale in milk (years ago from a trip to Portland) so I put some butter in the saute pan with more ginger, garlic, and a jalapeno. Added the beans, and the rest of my can of coconut milk. Right before serving I tossed in the kale with some fresh lemon juice and a bit of salt and sauteed it up. The result was a killer dinner of pan fried tofu, white rice with the pineapple cilantro coconut salsa, and some truly kickass kale.
I know Dad won't go for this because he JUST LIKES PLAIN SHORT GRAIN WHITE RICE but I highly recommend the cool pineapple salsa topping the hot rice. I really surprised myself with how much I liked it, and I don't think I'm too biased, but it got good reviews from my friends as well.
All in all, it was really damn good, if i do say so myself, and perfect to celebrate the oncoming summer. Happy eating!