Recipe Review from 6/21/2020

Lots of new recipes this past week!  When meal planning, I tried to select things that would be easy - or at least not time consuming - to pull together on a weeknight, and would be good for warm temps so I could enjoy sitting out on my porch for supper.   All in all, it worked out well.  The Husband was able to help with the grilling so the tag-teaming helped with how long it took to get from prep to table.   Enjoy!

Spokane Falls, Spokane WA 2015
(C) scifiwithpaprika blog

The Meal Plan:
Sat (L) Korean BBQ Chickpeas (S) Blended burgers
Sun (L) Korean BBQ Chickpeas (S) Blended burgers
Mon - Salmon Caesar Salad
Tues - Grilled Jambalaya
Wed - leftover Salad  Jambalaya
Thurs - leftover Jambalaya
Fri -leftover Salad


Lunches - (me) Chickpea and bulger salad (the Husband) Sandwiches


Korean BBQ Chickpea Bowls (modified from Two Peas and Their Pod blog) vegan
This was pretty simple, despite the call for the oven. What with it being 80* and no air conditioning...yeah, not turning on the oven. So I assembled the chickpeas and Brussel sprouts and put on the grill. It worked...sort of. I had more charring than crisping, the sauce pretty much burning to the aluminum foil, but in the end everything was cooked.

A couple of substitutions - I don't have tamari so I used soy sauce; and I wasn't going to open a can of tomato sauce for 2 tbsp, so I subbed ketchup. The rest was made as written.

I would make these again; and I would do these on the grill again with perhaps only one burner or turning the temp down to 250*. I served with rice because that's what I was in the mood for. This was perfect for a warm summer's evening dinner on the porch. Make it your own. Recommended!

Serves 4 (barely)

For the sauce, chickpeas, and Brussels sprouts: 3 tablespoons tamari (I used soy sauce)

Photo from Two Peas and Their Pod

2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons tomato sauce (I used ketchup)
2 teaspoons honey or coconut sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons chopped green onion
15 ounces chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup halved Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed

For the Bowls:
2 cups cooked quinoa or rice
1 zucchini, ribbon cut
1 carrot, ribbon cut
1 cup sliced grape tomatoes
1 large avocado, sliced

For the Toppings:
1/2 lime, juiced
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
Fresh cilantro
Dash crushed red pepper flakes, optional
Salt and pepper, to taste


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with foil.

To make the Korean BBQ marinade, combine the tamari, water, tomato sauce, honey, ginger, pepper, garlic, sesame oil, and green onion in a medium bowl. Add the chickpeas to the marinade bowl and toss until chickpeas are well coated. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the marinade for topping the bowl.

Spread out the chickpea mixture on the prepared baking sheet. Add the Brussels sprouts Roast for 30 minutes, turning once, until the chickpeas and Brussels sprouts are crispy. Remove from the oven and set aside.

For the bowls, divide the quinoa or rice into bowls. Top with chickpeas, Brussels sprouts, zucchini, carrot, tomatoes, and avocado slices.

Garnish the bowls with lime juice, sesame seeds, cilantro, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Serve immediately.



Salmon Caesar Salad (Eating Well, June 2020)

I simplified this dish a bit - I bought a 1.25lb fillet and grilled it.  Grilling didn't stink up the house, in 80* temps grilling kept the house cooler, I didn't have to clean a pan, and it gave me time to pull the salad part together. 

A couple substitutions:  I used regular Parmesan for the Parmigiano-Reggiano and I used red cabbage for the raddicho because I had that in the fridge. 

With only two of us in the house, I only prepared enough salad for one meal so the lettuce would stay fresh.  I did get three meals out of this with no skimping on ingredients.   This was a perfect dish for a hot summer night, light, filling, and tasty.  Oh!  If you adverse to the lingering taste of garlic, either omit or cut back.  Garlic kinda stuck with me longer than I care for.  Recommended!

Serves 4-6

photo from eatingwell.com

The salmon:
1 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 (5 ounce) skinless salmon fillets (see Tip)

1 teaspoon ground pepper, divided

⅛ teaspoon salt plus 1/2 teaspoon, divided

The dressing:

½ cup buttermilk
¼ cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt

¼ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 

(I kept the cheese separate an put on top before serving)

2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 ½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon grated garlic

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

The salad:

5 cups chopped romaine lettuce
3 cups chopped radicchio (I used red cabbage as I had it in the fridge)
3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil, plus more for garnish
1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon

My note: I grilled...
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Sprinkle salmon with 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Add the salmon to the pan and cook until golden brown and flakes easily with a fork, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and break into large chunks.

Whisk buttermilk, yogurt, cheese, lemon juice, Worcestershire, garlic, mustard and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon each pepper and salt in a large bowl until well blended. Reserve 1/4 cup of the dressing in a small bowl. Add lettuce, radicchio, basil and tarragon to the large bowl and toss to coat.

Arrange the salad on a platter and top with the salmon. Serve topped with the reserved 1/4 cup dressing and more basil, if desired.

Grilled Jambalaya (Eating Well, June 2020)

I love jambalaya and this seemed a great way to enjoy the flavors in a "deconstructed" way. Bonus was I had everything on hand but a pepper!   I simplified a bit here too - I grilled first then cut into pieces.   The sausages were grilled whole, pepper was broken into three chunks and grilled whole, shrimp were threaded onto their own skewers and grilled as such.  This way I could ensure that everything was cooked through and way less work. 

I did make one notable substitution: I used frozen chopped okra that I had in my freezer.  I was going to grill on a small pan, but I ran out of room on the grill so it ended up in the frying pan.  Worked pretty good and my okra had a nice char. 

I would absolutely make this again!  Recommended!

Serves 4-6 (I got 3 meals for two out of this)

photo from eatingwell.com

3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 cup long-grain brown rice
1 ¾ cups water
8 ounces andouille sausage, sliced 1/2 inch thick
8 ounces peeled and deveined raw shrimp (21-25 per pound)  (I used 1lb of shrimp)
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 large red onion, cut into 2-inch pieces
8 ounces okra
2 ½ teaspoons Cajun seasoning, divided
1 ¼ teaspoons celery seed, divided
¾ teaspoon ground pepper, divided
1 large tomato, cored and cut in half
Sliced scallions for garnish

 
Preheat grill to medium-high.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add rice and cook, stirring frequently, until toasted, about 2 minutes. Add water and reduce heat to maintain a simmer. Cover and cook until tender, 40 to 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, thread sausage, shrimp, bell pepper, onion and okra on separate skewers. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning, 1 teaspoon celery seed and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Grill the skewers and tomato halves, turning frequently, until the shrimp are opaque and the sausage and vegetables are slightly charred, about 5 minutes for the shrimp and sausage and 5 to 10 minutes for the vegetables. Remove the shrimp, sausage and vegetables from the skewers and transfer to a plate; cover with foil to keep warm.

Chop the tomato and stir into the cooked rice along with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon each celery seed and pepper. Spread the rice on a serving platter and top with the shrimp, sausage and vegetables. Sprinkle with scallions, if desired.



[Pork]-Mushroom Burgers with Quick Pickles (Eating Well, July/Aug 2020)

Some significant modifications to this recipe in part because there are several items that I can't obtain in my area.  Now I do automatically substitute pork for ground beef, that's my quirk.  I subbed pickled sweet cherry peppers for the piquillo (yeah, not going to find those in Duluth) plus I had the cherry peppers in the fridge.  I subbed pepper jack cheese for the manchego in part because there is only one store that *might* carry it and I'm not running all over town for cheese when I had pepperjack in the fridge.  Brioche buns in this town? Yeah...not happening. 

End result - one very tasty burger.  Kinda hit the spot in this warm weather we're having.  I served with some carrots and dip.   Recommended even if you don't have the exact toppings called for.  Get creative!

Serves 4

1 pound cremini mushrooms, halved if large

photo from eatingwell.com

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
5 tablespoons sherry vinegar, divided
2 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika, divided
2 teaspoons garlic powder
⅛ teaspoon salt plus 1/2 teaspoon, divided
Pinch of sugar
2 cups sliced cucumber
6 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons tomato paste
2 pounds lean ground beef
8 ounces piquillo or Padrón peppers (I used sweet cherry peppers)
6 ounces thinly sliced Manchego cheese (I used some pepperjack)
8 brioche buns, split and toasted  (I used kaiser rolls)
Greens, red onion & tomato for serving


In batches, pulse mushrooms in a food processor, scraping down the sides once or twice, until finely chopped.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and the liquid has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Add 4 tablespoons vinegar, 2 teaspoons paprika and garlic powder. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Scrape into a large bowl and spread into a thin layer. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1/8 teaspoon salt and sugar in a small bowl. Add cucumbers and toss to combine. Combine mayonnaise, tomato paste and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon paprika in a small bowl. Set the cucumbers and aioli aside.

Preheat grill to medium-high.

Add beef and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt to the mushrooms. Mix well. Form into 8 equal patties, about 4 inches in diameter. Toss peppers with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a medium bowl. Transfer to a grill basket.

Oil the grill rack. Grill the burgers, flipping once, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 155 degrees F, 8 to 10 minutes total. Grill the peppers, stirring occasionally, until browned, 5 to 8 minutes total.

Top the burgers with cheese and cook until melted, 1 to 2 minutes more. Serve the burgers on buns with greens, onion, tomato, the peppers, cucumbers and aioli.

Bulger with Chickpeas and Herbs (Fast and Slow Ckbk by Milk Street)   vegan

Made 5 lunches

This salad combines the nutty taste of bulger with the creamy chickpea and everything is tossed with dill and parsley for a versatile salad.  Scallions and pistachio's round out the flavors.   I skipped the pistachio's and added some crumbled feta.  

It was also an opportunity lost for the cook book - they used canned chickpeas when this would have been a great way to reference the homemade chickpeas in the next chapter.

Lest you are wondering if there's more to this recipe, there isn't.  It's bulger, chickpeas, scallions, dill, parsley, and pistachios.  That's it.  The bulger is cooked in the instant pot, the chickpeas and herbs are stirred in when cooking is done, and the nuts sprinkled on top.  Which I skipped.   As I noted above, this is good, I think this has some versatility for use - lunch, dinner, picnic, potluck - and it's easy.   If you have and IP,  and you get this cookbook, I recommend this recipe.

Recipe Review from 6/22/2020

It was a busy week and I admit that my meal plan wasn't quite adhered to.  Problem is, I don't remember what swapped out where so there are some blanks.  I think I did take n bake pizza.  That's what I usually turn to when feeling uninspired to make dinner.

cyclist, Manitowac, WI   
photo (C) 2016 scifiwithpaprika

The Meal Plan:

Sat (L) leftovers (S) Father's Day dinner
Sun (L) leftover from Father's Day dinner (S) Wild Rice burgers
Mon - wild rice burgers
Tues - take n bake pizza 
Wed - leftover pizza
Thurs - wild rice burgers
Fri - grilled cheese


Lunches - salmon pasta salad


Wild Rice Patty Melts (Eating Well c/o Duluth Grill, Duluth, MN) vegetarian

I love a wild rice burger.  I'm from Duluth.  I have wild rice.  What could be better?  Well...if someone else made my burger perhaps.  But!  Baring having to go out to eat I gave these a try.  Despite the rather long ingredient list. these actually came together fairly quickly.  It helped that I made the rice earlier in the day and set aside till dinner. 

A couple of modification - I used panko bread crumbs in place of the cereal (I don't have any cereal on hand); I added the caramelized onions to the burgers instead of layering on top; and I grilled these on a sheet pan on the grill because I didn't want to heat up the house when it's 80* outside. 

These were...fantastic.  Seriously, I would make these again in a heartbeat.  Tasted great right off the grill and reheated beautifully as leftovers.   Moist, flavorful, delicious. You could have a lot of fun with flavors on this one. 

photo from eatingwell.com

Recommended.

Serves 6

Burgers
1 cup wild rice
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
¾ teaspoon granulated garlic
¾ teaspoon crushed red pepper
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
¾ cup reduced-fat mayonnaise

½ cup crushed cereal squares, such as Chex

(I used Panko breadcrumbs)

½ cup finely chopped mushrooms
⅓ cup finely chopped fresh parsley plus 1 teaspoon, divided

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Onions:

1 ½ teaspoons butter
1 ½ teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced

Toppings:

¼ cup jarred roasted red peppers, rinsed and finely chopped

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons minced garlic
¼ teaspoon dried basil

¼ teaspoon ground chipotle pepper

4 ounces sliced pepper Jack cheese
6 slices whole-wheat bread, toasted


Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 40 minutes. Drain and let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, heat butter and 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat until the butter stops bubbling. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are a deep golden-brown, 35 to 40 minutes.

Position racks in middle and upper thirds of oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Combine cumin, granulated garlic, crushed red pepper and white pepper in a medium bowl. Add the cooled rice, mayonnaise, cereal, mushrooms, 1/3 cup parsley and eggs; mix well. Scoop the mixture into 6 portions on the prepared pan and shape into patties.

Bake the patties on the middle rack until firm and lightly browned, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon parsley, peppers, vinegar, minced garlic, basil and chipotle in a small bowl.

Turn broiler to high. Top the patties with cheese. Broil on the top rack until the cheese melts, 1 to 3 minutes. Serve the patties on toast, topped with the onions and vinaigrette.

Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill

Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Read as an audio book.

This was interesting and engaging. A "meaning of life" story though the eyes of robots/artificial intelligence's; a story of survival, friendship, mortality and having a soul.

I'll start with the narrator - well done performance. Each character had its own "voice", and while I didn't agree with all the accents, it worked for the purposes of the story and nothing grated on my nerves.

The story is about Brittle, a former care-giver robot who is now scavenging parts from The Sea of Rust - an area roughly in former Ohio that has become a desiccated, deserted desert. The world has been decimated by the robots in their quest to eradicate humans - which they did, along with all biological life on the planet. Now robots try and eke out an existence while avoiding the battle between the One World Intelligence's who are systematically uploading robots to their mainframes (or some such) creating basically a hive mind. Brittle, fighting for her own survival and facing imminent parts failure is caught up in a quest for a third World Mind who wants to ensure the survival of AI's.

Things I quite enjoyed - it's all robots. All sorts of different robots struggling for survival in various means and ways. The plot just rolls along and the reader rolls along with it. It made for a very enjoyable commute - no shouting in the car, no pounding of fists on the steering wheel, just an engaging story.

A handful of things seemed incongruous and didn't quite work for me: the frequency Brittle swore using "fuck" and "shit". In a future world, I would have expected a robot to use it's own terminology. There were all these little enclaves of robots, yet no robot was manufacturing parts for other robots?

It was emphasized that robots really couldn't overwrite - so to speak - their base programming. Yet Brittle seemed to have no problem not giving a crap about anyone but herself. That seemed a bit incongruous with her programming.

The last think I'll talk about is the robots refering to themselves as "people" or "persons" - human terminology. Early in the story Brittle used the term "citizen", which seemed more apropos for AI's living in an AI world. There were other instances similar to that and combined, threw me out of the flow of the story.

Overall, an easy to listen to story that kept me engaged, held interesting concepts, and had a good performance by the narrator. Recommended.

View all my reviews

Recipe review from 6/1/2020

This was a lazy week meal-wise.  A while back the Husbands co-worker had given him/us a jar of canned venison. We picked tacos - fried up some onions, added the venison, cooked until the liquid had evaporated and topped with avocado, cilantro, queso fresco, and pico de gallo.    And, feeling ultra-lazy, I ended up grabbing a couple take-n-bake's.   Though, I'll note, it wasn't my week for cooking a pizzas on the grill.  Kinda burnt both.  Sheesh.

And a small irony - I have two rhubarb desserts to review this week.  Me. Reviewing two desserts. When I usually don't review any.   Enjoy!  We certainly did. 

So many beautiful pots!  Garden center in Tucson, AZ

The Meal Plan:

Sat (L)  sandwiches  (S) sweet potato hash

Sun (L)  sandwiches (S) leftovers

Mon - venison tacos

Tues - take n bake pizza

Wed - venison tacos

Thurs - venison tacos

Fri - take n bake co-op pizza

Sour Cream Rhubarb Coffee Cake (A Farmgirl's Dabbles blog)

I've had my fair share of rhubarb desserts over the years, and I think this one has just moved into the number one spot.  Outstanding.  Simply outstanding.  Moist, perfect amount of sweetness, perfect amount of rhubarb, and a lovely crackly crust on top.  We went "decadent" and served with some whip cream.   This would be perfect for a picnic, a potluck, tea/coffee social, oh, heck it's just perfect anytime.  Recommended!

Makes a 9x13 pan.

3 c. all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda

Photo from A Farmgirl's Dabbles

1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon, divided
3 large eggs, separated
1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 c. sugar, divided
1 T. pure vanilla extract
2 c. sour cream (I used 1 cup sour cream, 1 cup greek yogurt)
2-1/4 c. thinly sliced rhubarb, divided


Preheat oven to 350° F. Very lightly spray a 9" x 13" baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper, letting the paper extend over the long sides of the pan - if you want to be able to remove the whole cake from the pan for cutting. Otherwise just lightly spray a baking pan and forgo the parchment paper. Set pan aside.

In a small to medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat egg whites until stiff. Gently transfer whipped egg whites to a separate bowl and set aside.

Return bowl to stand mixer (no need to wash the bowl first, just get as much of the egg whites out as possible) and add butter and 1-1/2 cups of the sugar; cream together for two minutes. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla. Alternately mix sour cream and flour mixture into butter mixture in 2 additions each. Mix until batter is incorporated and smooth - it will be very thick. Gently fold in whipped egg whites until incorporated. Then fold in 2 cups of the rhubarb.

With a rubber spatula, spread batter into bottom of prepared pan, smoothing the top. Sprinkle top of batter with remaining 1/4 cup of rhubarb. Then run the spatula very lightly over the top of the batter to gently press the exposed pieces of rhubarb into the batter just a bit, leaving rhubarb pieces exposed as much as possible.

In a small dish or cup, combine remaining 1/2 cup of the sugar and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of the cinnamon. Sprinkle mixture evenly over top of batter.

Place pan in oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Remove to cooling rack to cool completely. Store on the counter for up to a couple days. To keep that crackly sugar topping's crisp texture, do not cover the pan.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp (modified from Cooks Country)

The Husband and I had my Folk's out to our place for an early Father's Day picnic:  grilled steak and shrimp, green bean ceasar salad (also from Cooks Country), rustic bread and a rhubarb crisp.  The lovely thing about many rhubarb desserts is they are quick to assemble and can be made ahead of time.  Which this was. 

You will need an oven-safe 10" skillet for this OR start on the stove and put into a 9x9 greased pyrex pan to finish in the oven. 

My modifications - I used dark brown sugar because that's what I have on hand, and I added a 1/4 to 1/3 cup of chopped walnuts to the topping mixture.  This does come together very quickly - if you can serve it warm, fantastic, but it was also delicious at room temp.  Recommended!

Serves 6.

Topping: ¾ cup (3¾ ounces) all-purpose flour
½ cup panko bread crumbs

Photo from cookscountry.com

¼ cup packed (1¾ ounces) light brown sugar
½ teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ cup chopped walnuts or pecans

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
1 pound fresh rhubarb, trimmed and cut into ½-inch pieces, or frozen rhubarb, thawed and cut into ½-inch pieces (3½ cups)
12 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled and chopped coarse, or frozen strawberries, thawed and chopped coarse (2 cups)
1 ¼ cups packed (8¾ ounces) light brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
⅛ teaspoon table salt


RECIPE NOTES:If using frozen strawberries, there's no need to thaw them completely; you can chop them as soon as they're soft enough. If using frozen strawberries and frozen rhubarb, you may need to increase the stovetop cooking time by up to 4 minutes. Depending on the amount of trimming required, you may need to buy more than 1 pound of rhubarb to ensure that you end up with 3½ cups. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

FOR THE TOPPING: Whisk flour, panko, sugar, salt, and cinnamon together in bowl. Add melted butter and stir until no dry spots of flour remain and mixture forms clumps. Refrigerate until ready to use.

FOR THE FILLING: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Toss all ingredients in large bowl until thoroughly combined. Transfer to 10-inch ovensafe skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until fruit has released enough liquid to be mostly submerged, rhubarb is just beginning to break down, and juices have thickened, about 8 minutes. Remove skillet from heat.

Squeeze topping into large clumps with your hands. Crumble topping into pea-size pieces and sprinkle evenly over filling. Bake until topping is browned and filling is bubbling around sides of skillet, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes. Serve.

Recipe Review from 6/1/2020

We are apparently in a bit of drought in my corner of the world.  Rain seems to literally slide north and south of us - I can see the clouds in both directions, we watch the storms split as it approaches Duluth and re-form heading back over Wisconsin.  Lake Superior is obviously doing something to make this happen.  In the meantime...we're watering the garden every night. 

Happiness is lots of little violets 
photo from scifiwithpaprika.blog

Two new recipes this past week - kinda three, but I don't know that learning how to make chickpeas in the instant pot is really a recipe.  More technique perhaps?  Anyway, the butter chicken I reviewed last week, chickpeas for the chickpea dish are on this week. 

The Meal Plan:

Sat (L) Leftovers   (S) butter chicken

Sun (L) chickpea dish  (S),  butter chicken

Mon - butter chicken

Tues - brats and broccoli salad

Wed - butter chicken

Thurs - brats

Fri (off) (L) out   (S) hash

Chipolte-Cheddar Sweet Potato and Ham Hash (modified from Eating Well, May 2020)

Oddly, I can't find this recipe on the Eating Well website, so I don't have a link or a photo. 

This was good - it's quick, it has some versatility (I subbed breakfast links for the ham) and can be Sunday breakfast or Tuesday dinner.  I did have to cook this in two batches, as my "large" pan, wasn't quite large enough. 

I will note, this really only serves two.  It seemed like a lot in the bowl but as the potato cooks down and it became rather small portions.  So if you are planning on a meal for four, or want leftovers,  bumping up amount the potato and meat might be necessary. 

Serves 2-3

1 1/4 lb sweet potato, scrubbed and peeled (if desired), and shredded

5 scallions, sliced, divided

1 cup diced boneless ham steak (I used chopped sausage links)

1 tbsp chopped chipolte pepper in adobo sauce

1/4 tsp salt

4 tsp canola or avocado oil (I used grapeseed)

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

4 large eggs

1. Mix sweet potatoes, 4 scallions, ham, chipolte and salt in a large bowl.

2. Heat 2 tsp oil in a a large cast iron or non-stick pan over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat to medium and add the hash, spreading in an even layer. Cook, turning occasionally, until the sweet potatoes are soft and starting to brown, 8-10 minutes.  Drizzle the remaining 2 tsp oil around the edge and tilt the pan to help the oil flow under the hash.  Reduce heat to low and sprinkle the hash with cheese.  Cover and cook until the cheese is melted, 2-4 minutes. 

3.  Meanwhile, in a separate pan, cook the eggs as desired - fried, scrambled, poached  (I poached mine).  Serve eggs on top of hash. 

Chickpea and Pita Salad with Yogurt and Mint  (Milk Street Fast and Slow cookbook)

I made the Simple Chickpea recipe for chickpeas for this dish.  This was my first time using dried chickpeas; I've always used canned.  Easy, convenient, and I can store in the basement rather than the already (overfull) freezer.  But I've had enough people enthuse about using dried that I thought I would give it a try.

Okay...we might be on to something here.  Using Milk Street's recipe that includes aromatics such as bay leaf and garlic, these cooked up nicely and had a lovely flavor. 

The Chickpea Salad

The recipe blurb states this is a variation of Levantine fatteh, "...which is made with stale pita bread and often eaten for breakfast."   They use pita chips and I had it for lunch/supper.   I couldn't find whole milk yogurt as the recipe called for, so I used Greek.  Even mixed with the tahini sauce, the dressing was quick thick because of that, more like a dip. but we went with it and actually ate the leftover pita chips dipped in the mixture.  Yum!   

I liked this recipe a lot and can see making it over the summer when temps start to climb.  I strongly recommend this cook book if you have an instant pot or slow cooker. 

The Rest of the Robots by Issac Asimov

The Rest of the Robots by Isaac Asimov

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Jacket Blurb:

ROBOTS
Mechanical servants, doing the jobs too hard--or too boring--for men to handle. They brought mankind into a new age of freedom and leisure. And every robot was completely incapable of harming a human being. So...why did men hate and fear them?

In THE REST OF THE ROBOTS, Isaac Asimov--author of a whole library of science fiction and fact--explores the fascinating future of men and their metal slaves in dramatic detailed stories of high imagination and wonder.

If you have read any of Issac Asimov's Robot books, this is a most engaging companion book. It's been decades (literally) since I've read any Asimov, so this was an interesting selection to read from a historical scifi perspective and a literary viewpoint.

From a historical scifi perspective it's looking at the birth of "robotics" and how humans would fear them. Well...the fear of robots in modern life hasn't been anywhere near what was portrayed, but then how can you compare a Roomba or Alexa to an AL-76?

From a literary standpoint, it's definitely a book of its time and the portrayal of women (Dr Susan Calivin included in this) doesn't meet today's norms. Does this bother me? No, I'm looking at a book and it's author through the lens of nearly 70 years. The 1940's and 50's had vastly different expectations than 2020.

The book is divided into three subgroups: The Coming of Robots, The Laws of Robotics, and Dr. Susan Calvin. I don't say this very often about short story compilations, but I enjoyed every single selection.

If one is interested in a historical look at one of the founding fathers of science fiction and comparing to where we are today. this would be a good book to pick up. Recommended.

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Recipe Review from 5/25/2020

It was a busy week for both the Husband and I, so a heavy reliance on leftovers.  I truly love leftovers.  Make once, eat several times.  A little prep, a little clean-up.  More time to relax. 

Celebrating Andy's Forever Home month

The Meal Plan (this covered Memorial Day weekend)

Sat (L) out with sister (S) brats

Sun (L) leftover brats(S) Low Country Boil with family

Mon (Off) (L) leftovers (S)  Mexican chicken bowls

Tues - leftover chicken bowls

Wed - leftover chicken bowls

Thurs - take n bake pizza

Fri - butter chicken

Lunches (me) hummus sandwiches and fruit, (husband) regular sandwiches and fruit

Crockpot Mexican Chicken Bowls (Clean Food Crush Blog)

This is one of those super simple meals - chop, plop, and walk away.  Come back and assemble for dinner.  This is also super versatile - serve this over polenta or rice, add your favorite toppings or skip toppings.  Have some Frito's scoops handy to scoop up deliciousness.  It's really up to you. 

I made this mostly as written - I didn't use organic corn, I subbed pinto beans for black beans, and I used a can of diced tomatoes instead of crushed.  With toppings, I think I got three meals for two.  Highly recommended.

Serves 5-6

photo from CleanFoodCrush.com

1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 large lime, juiced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste (I used 1/4 teaspoon of each)
15 oz jar crushed tomatoes with juice (I subbed 1-15 oz diced tomatoes)
15 oz black beans, pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1.5 cups frozen, organic corn
1 cup chicken bone broth
4 oz diced green chiles
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

Optional/Suggested toppings:
a small bunch of chopped cilantro leaves, to garnish
2 ripe avocados, diced to garnish
2-3 jalapenos, sliced
2 green onions, sliced
shredded cheese
plain Greek yogurt

Add all the ingredients except for the toppings to the bowl of your crockpot.

Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 4-6 hours.

Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the slow cooker and shred it using forks.

Return chicken to the slow cooker, gently stir everything together and cook for an additional 30 minutes.

Divide the Mexican chicken among 4-5 bowls and top with diced avocado, jalapenos, green onions, shredded cheese, Greek yogurt and lots of cilantro.

Butter Chicken (Milk Street Fast and Slow)

This cookbook was just released back in April, so I'm trying to be considerate of a new release and not post the recipes.  I HIGHLY recommend this cookbook if you have an IP or slow cooker.

Okay, disclaimer over. This was a most excellent version of butter chicken.  I didn't realize until I assembled this that there are only 2 tbsp of dairy in the entire dish.  Seriously - 2 tbsp of butter.  No heavy cream.  Now, the downside is if you are allergic to cashews, this won't work for you as there is a cup of pureed cashews used as thickener.  

I will admit, I had my doubts with the quantity of seasonings used - something like 1/4 cup of garam masala and several tsp of cumin.  But honestly, trust Milk Street, they know what they are doing and the flavor balance was spot on.

I did make some basmati rice to accompany the butter chicken (It's Indian! It needs basmati rice!) and purchased some naan.  I know we'll get about four meals for two out of this. 

I recommend the cookbook.  I HIGHLY recommend this dish.