For quick meals you really can’t beat a good stir fry. And you can make it even healthier by changing up the rice for a better grain. In my case I used a bed of cooked coarse bulgur wheat. My stir fry was very simple – chicken breast, red bell peppers, onions, garlic, and ginger. It was flavored with soy, sesame sauce and lots of lime juice (I like it tangy). A bit of corn starch to thicken it and make it glisten was all it needed. The accompanying side dish is just shredded cabbage seasoned with soy and sesame oil.
Archives for February 2008
Chicken Stir Fry
February 29, 2008 by Leave a Comment
Chicken Curry Barley Risotto
February 27, 2008 by 5 Comments
If you’ve followed my cooking exploits for a while you might know that I tried to make a healthier version of seafood risotto a while back using barley. It turned out well then and I’ve done another barley risotto this time using chicken and Indian curry flavors. Of course you can add whatever flavors you like to a basic risotto method. This is just what I had on hand last night when I was throwing together dinner at the last minute. For this risotto I used the following ingredients.
1 medium onion, diced small
3 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
2 large carrots, diced small
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 cup red bell pepper, cut into small strips
14 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups pearled barley
~6 cups beef broth (made from water and beef dashi powder)
2 tbsp Madras curry powder
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder
I started by heating a large flat pan. In went the olive oil followed by the onions, carrots and mushrooms. They were seasoned with salt, pepper, curry powder, and asafoetida and cooked together for a few minutes until they began to soften. Then I threw in the garlic and barley. These were tossed together in the pan for about a minute. Then began the risotto process. I added a couple cups of beef stock to the pan. This was cooked with stirring now and then until the stock reduced. More stock was added in small amounts and stirring/cooking was continued until the barley was toothsome but tender, about 35 minutes. I then added the chicken and pepper. I made sure there was enough liquid for it to cook for another 8-10 minutes. This was cooked down until the broth was all absorbed and the chicken was cooked thoroughly.
Next time if I were to plan this I would add some lemon juice at the end to give it more zing. I might also add some green chilis to the mix to give it more fire. Of course if I had fresh cilantro that would be added to the top after it was plated up. You can’t really go wrong with this. I can envision a Thai inspired version using green or red curry paste for flavor and some coconut milk/chicken stock for the broth.
Fish and Seafood Chowder
February 26, 2008 by 3 Comments
I love a good chowder and haven’t had any in quite a while. So I threw together this New England inspired soup with an eye for making it light and healthy, but very tasty. I started with a medium onion chopped finely. This was sweated in a hot pan with a splash of olive oil and some salt and pepper. Once the onions began to turn translucent I threw in a good healthy dose of chopped garlic and a couple cups of finely diced cabbage along with two finely diced potatoes and a cup of frozen corn. After sautéing for a few minutes I added 3 cups of skim milk and 3 cups of water. I also seasoned the broth with some clam dashi powder to give it more of a seafood flavor. I also sprinkled in a tsp or so of Old Bay seasoning. I let this simmer for about 15 minutes until the vegetables were thoroughly cooked. At the end I added 1 can (~15 oz) of pink salmon, 8 oz of imitation crab meat, about 20 peeled raw shrimp and 6 oz of chopped up pollock filets. This was cooked for an additional 8-10 minutes just until the fish was cooked through. Even though the chowder was low fat with all the fish and seafood it had a wonderful texture and an even more wonderful hearty flavor. It was very satisfying.
It’s all about MeMe
February 25, 2008 by 5 Comments
Yes, I’ve been tagged. Astra Libris of Food for Laughter fame has tagged me with a MeMe. You know the drill on these things. One blogger tags you with something where you have to ask questions then you get to tag five others to do the same thing. Kind of like a blogger chain mail but more fun. We get to find our more about everyone. Now, you all have to put my name on a list and send me $5 to continue the chain. Oh wait, wrong chain letter. Let’s get back to ME, shall we? Interesting questions.
What were you doing 10 years ago?
Oh boy, I can hardly remember what I was doing yesterday. Now I have to think about 10 years ago? Let’s see – February 2008. I had just moved from California to Fargo in July 1996 and was right in the middle of my second year as an Assistant Professor. My lab was set up and running and my first graduate student was working my research group. We had survived the worst winter on record in North Dakota and the flood of the millenium. My son was born just six months before and we were in our first house. Life was good.
What were you doing 1 year ago?
After 10 years I was still in Fargo. I was an Associate Professor and had won the college teaching award. Last year at this time I had (and still have) a thriving research group looking for new anticancer compounds. I was preparing for a two week trip to France in May which turned out spectacular. I was also enjoying my new kitchen remodel that we completed a few years ago.
Five snacks you enjoy:
I have to pick five? That’s hard. Let’s see what I can come up with.
1. Raw vegetables. Yes, I like carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower – all the typical vegetable platter raw vegetables.
2. Dill Pickle potato chips. I love the tangy taste of these. I can’t buy them because I’ll sit down and eat every last one as soon as the bag is opened.
3. Mixed nuts. Good for you but calorie and fat dense. I have to be careful with my portions.
4. Chocolate. Love the stuff. Especially dark chocolate.
5. Red wine! Is that a snack? It is to me!
Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
A tough question. I’ve never imagined myself as a millionaire, so it’s hard to decide. A million dollars is not a lot these days. I guess I will think about what I would do if money were not an object for concern.
1. Start a winery.
2. Buy a new car.
3. Take a long cruise with my family.
4. Really outfit my kitchen with every gadget and dish I like.
5. Give to every charity that asks.
Five bad habits:
I don’t have bad habits. I’m perfect!
1. I like to argue and play Devil’s Advocate.
2. I leave my dirty socks on the bedroom floor.
3. I procrastinate.
4. I don’t call my father often enough.
5. I don’t hear what people are saying when I’m concentrating on something else.
Five things you like doing:
This one is easy.
1. Running.
2. Cooking.
3. Gardening.
4. Photography.
5. Enjoying wine.
Five things you would never wear again:
Hmm, that would imply that I have worn them before. This MeMe business must have been started by a woman! Men don’t think about what they wear.
1. Red heart boxer shorts.
2. Black ‘Member’s Only’ jacket.
3. Cowboy boots.
4. V-neck sweater.
5. Velcro tennis shoes.
Five favorite toys:
Another easy peasy question. Of course I have lots of kitchen toys, but I’m not sure if they are my favorites compared to these.
1. iPod Touch.
2. iPod nano.
3. Macbook air
4. Apple TV
5. Canon Rebel XT.
Can you tell I like Apple products?
Now it’s the hard part. I have to pick five other bloggers to tag. The problem is there are way too many? How do I decide who to tag? Ok . . here’s five that I think will have fun with this.
First – Kevin at Closet Cooking. He makes some fantastic food and I want to see how another guy will answer these silly questions.
How about Anne over there in Sweden? She is such a prolific blogger. I can’t keep up with all the wonderful stuff on her blog.
I’d like to call out Christine who is much more than a Fledgling Cook!
Miss Bliss the frolicking foodie hasn’t been blogging that long. Time to share with us who you are!
And last, but certainly not least, Nora with Life’s Smörgasborg. She has some very interesting food from down under, and I think she’s a runner too!
Oh, there are so many more I could have called out for this. Sorry if you weren’t picked. I love all your blogs.
Fish Tacos
February 25, 2008 by 3 Comments
I actually have never had fish tacos before and I haven’t made them before. I just kind of winged it the other night when I was looking for something quick, light and healthy to eat for dinner. I found some frozen pollock filets in the freezer. My fridge was rather bare so I wasn’t sure what to do with them. I had cheese, lettuce and some cherry tomatoes. There was also a package of tortillas there. AHA! Time to try this dish. I didn’t really follow a recipe and threw it together pretty quickly, but it came off ok. I started by seasoning the fish with cumin and searing it in a hot cast iron pan. I made a simple spicy tomato relish by chopping the cherry tomatoes with some pickled jalapeño peppers. All this was simply wrapped in a tortilla with lettuce and a bit of cheese. I didn’t have cilantro (which I love) otherwise that would have been added in as well. While I love sour cream, it doesn’t love my waistline so I forwent that too. Overall it was a very quick and satisfying meal. Next time I’ll plan it better and marinate the fish in lime/cumin for a while before cooking it.