Stewing Up A Storm!

What I Used for Inspiration:

Half-empty bottle of red wine

Frozen beef that was on the verge of getting funk-ay

Mini potatoes

This weekend I definitely "stewed" up a storm in my kitchen--I decided to clean out my freezer and any odd bits from my fridge to make space for new groceries. I made one dish with chicken, spinach, and this "brown rice on steroids" called Wehani--it's seriously the most delicious brown rice I have tasted!! Highly recommend.

But the piece de resistance was the beef stew (a la boeuf bourguignon) that I made last minute and tasted deeee-licious! The beef tenderloin I had in my freezer (that had been there for too long to admit haha) and the half-empty bottle of red wine sitting on my counter (for also too long to admit) were screaming at me-- "beef stew!! beef stew!!" What, doesn't your food talk to you!? I luckily had a bag of mini red potatoes that needed to be cooked as well as onions, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes I had just purchased at the market, and chicken broth I had just made from leftover rotisserie chicken bits--the making of a grand pot of beefy goodness.

Beef Stew Frenchy Style :)

Ingredients:

1/2 bottle red wine + 2 C chicken broth (or one whole bottle of wine if you're so inclined)

1 lb beef (roast, tenderloin, whatever you have) cut into 1" cubes

2 small or 1 large onion, cut into chunks

4 cloves garlic, sliced in half

1/2 lb baby carrots (or large carrots cut into chunks)

8-12 oz baby potatoes (or large potato cut into cubes)

1 pt cherry tomatoes (or one small can canned tomatoes or large tomato cut into chunks)

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

Why yes, I most definitely bought the wine because of the big yellow smiley on the bottle. I'm a sucker to the marketing machine :) (but it did taste good!)

In a large pot (thank God for my Le Creuset!), saute the onions and garlic until soft; add carrots

Add the cubes of beef and then the potatoes and tomatoes. Sprinkle in the dried rosemary.

Now comes the fun part: pour in the chicken broth and/or red wine

Cover and simmer on low for 1 hour. Remove cover and check consistency of the stew:

If the stew is very liquidy: Let simmer for another hour uncovered.

If the stew is slightly thick, keep covered and simmer for another hour, making sure there's enough liquid so it doesn't burn.

In the end, the stew should be fairly thick and the meat fork-tender.

Dish up a hearty serving of this one-pot meal, serve with some crusty baguette and a stiff glass of wine and be ready to savor one heck of a dinner! (although it tastes even better the next day)

Blueberry Bran Muffins: delicious and fiberlicious!!

What I Used for Inspiration:

2 near-empty boxes of seriously stale cereal

I've had two near-empty boxes of cereal sitting in my pantry for a loooooong time (cheerio-esque and ode to raisin bran). I absolutely hate throwing food out (duh!), so I kept holding onto them until I had inspiration to turn them into something delicious! Today was the day--I remember my mom making some bran muffins from bran cereal, so I thought ok let's try something similar with what I have!

After a quick search online, I found this recipe and decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did! These muffins are low in fat, full of fiber, have just the right amount of sweetness, and are just plain yummy!

Blueberry Bran Muffins

*recipe adapted from the Cheerios Muffins available at www.mrbreakfast.com

yield: 12 muffins

2 cup Cheerios or similar cereal

1 and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 cup apple sauce

1/3 cup milk

1 egg

3 T vegetable or canola oil

1 cup fresh blueberries or 1/2 cup raisins

Prehet oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare 12 muffin cups with paper lining or grease.

Using a food processor, grind the Cheerios (or other cereal) into a powder.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the Cheerios, flour, brown sugar, baking powder and baking soda.

Stir in the applesauce, milk, egg, and oil until the mixture is moistened.

Gently stir in the blueberries. Mmmm blueberries...

Divide batter evenly among muffin cups and bake about 15 minutes until golden brown. Use the toothpick test to see if they're done. A toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin should come out clean if they're finished. If batter sticks to the toothpick, give it another few minutes.

Ready to go into the oven!

YUMMY!!!

It's cool to make some coulis!

What I Used for Inspiration:

Strawberries on the fritz

I made the mistake of not refrigerating the strawberries I bought yesterday at the market (and to make matters worse they were suffocating in a plastic bag! horrors!)--this morning they were definitely on their last leg! There's no way I was going to throw them out, so instead I made a puree the French call coulis (say cool-ee). Coulis is basically a strained puree of fruit, traditionally made with berries. It's great to use as a topping for yogurt or ice cream, and can also go on top of cake (angel food, anyone?) or I suppose can be the base for making homemade jam (which is a lot easier to make than you'd think!)

In any event, I turned my berries-gone-wild into this delicious culinary canvas. If you find yourself in a similar situation, I encourage you to give this a try! It's more of a technique than a recipe, so below are the step-by step photos.

Coulis aux fraises (Strawberry Coulis)

My berries don't look so bad in this photo, but trust me, they were on the verge of fermentation! haha

Instead of using the stove, I harnessed the power of microwave energy

After about 3 minutes in the microwave oven, the berries were nice and squishy. Be careful when you cook them--they have a tendency to boil over in the microwave and make a mess!

Next step is to pass them through a strainer...

....and squish the pulp! (it's good exercise, I swear!) The seeds and any other tough bits will be left in the strainer, the yummy pulp and juice ends up in the bowl.

Mmmmm pulp

All that should be left in the strainer is a bunch of insoluble fiber bits and seeds--ready for the compost bin!

What's remaining in the bowl is a smooth, semi-viscous puree of strawberry goodness. As the coulis cools off, the natural pectin from the fruit will thicken the liquid.

Berry coulis is a perfect naturally sweet topping for yogurt, ice cream, or cake. Enjoy!!

Baked Goat cheese-stuffed Chicken with Pesto Risotto

What I used for inspiration:

Chicken breast in my freezer

Rice in my pantry

Herbed goat cheese

Mushrooms that were about to go funky

Chicken broth leftover from the pesto

Pesto from yesterday

As I was looking at the pesto and the chicken I thought, hmmm let's do that combo. And then I had an epiphany--if pesto goes with pasta, why not rice! And then the goat cheese said to me, stuff me inside of the chicken! (yes, my food speaks to me) So there you go!

I present to you:

Baked Goat cheese-stuffed Chicken with Pesto Risotto

For the risotto:

1 T olive oil

8 button mushrooms, quartered (I used baby portabella aka cremini)

1 C rice (I used arborio, the kind traditionally used to make risotto)

4 C (1 whole container) chicken stock

Dried parsley and garlic

1/4 C homemade pesto

For the chicken:

1 large or two small chicken breasts

2 oz herbed goat cheese

In a medium sauce pan, heat the olive oil and and then add the mushrooms. Saute for a few minutes, and then add some dried parsley and garlic for good measure, and then the rice.

While that's getting happy, prepare the chicken breast. The piece of chicken I had was pretty large, so I cut it in half and then sliced each piece almost all the way through, making a nice pocket in which to stuff the herbed goat cheese. Set aside.

When the rice is coated in the oil and a little bit toasty (takes a few minutes), add all of the chicken stock. Let simmer uncovered for about 15-20 minutes. It should still be pretty crunchy (it'll finish cooking in the oven) and look something like this:

Then add about 1/4 C of the pesto--it gives the rice a subtle green color and of course adds a ton of flavor!

I decided to finish cooking the rice in the oven while baking the chicken, so pour the rice into a baking dish and place stuffed chicken on top

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked.

To round out the meal, I lightly steamed some French green beans called haricots verts

What a beautiful dish! Looks great, tastes even better!!

Bon appetit!!

Pesto is the best-o!

What I Used for Inspiration:

Basil that was on its last leg

Having recently returned from a week-long vacation, I took a peek in my fridge to see what foods were on their last leg and needed to be consumed pronto. Surprisingly, some organic basil I had washed about a week and a half ago was actually still viable! But I knew it hadn't a ton of life left in it, and I surely couldn't consume a whole pack of basil over the weekend.

What to do, what to do...

One trick I use over and over is that if something's going a bit funky and developing brown spots, puree it! No one would ever know... ;)

So I look at my sad, sad basil, and remember I have some pine nuts in my pantry...but not enough to make pesto I thought! Oh no! Not to worry, walnuts came to the rescue. Olive oil is always on hand, so I streamed some of that in while my mini food processor was whirling around. To keep it light, I went easy on the oil and added some left-over chicken stock. After a taste I knew it needed salt and lemon juice. Sha-bang! Pesto in a flash! Although it doesn't have any parmesan cheese in it (didn't have any), it still tastes fab.

Some might shy away from pesto because of its caloric content, but I assure you this is one of the most nutrient-dense things you can make. Basil contains essential oils and other compounds that function as antioxidants, and they may also contain anti-cancer, anti-viral, and anti-microbial properties. Pine nuts are full of unsaturated fats and also provide B-vitamins and a bit of protein. Similarly, walnuts add some protein to the mix and are an excellent vegetarian source of omega-3 fatty acids. The king of oils, extra virgin olive oil, plays a prominent role in pesto--it binds everything together while lending even more heart-healthy unsaturated fatty acids. The nuts and oil make pesto pretty caloric, so feel free to lighten it a bit by substituting some of the oil with chicken or vegetable stock.

At 90 calories per tablespoon, pesto isn't typically thought of as a "healthy" food, but remember how it contains lots of healthy fats--you're getting a lot of bang for your caloric buck! Still, it's best to limit the intake and only use it as a condiment or accent to a dish.

With that said, here's my recipe for:

Pesto a presto!

1 bunch basil, thoroughly washed and dried

Handful of pine nuts

Handful of walnuts

1/2 C olive oil

1/2 C or so of leftover chicken stock

Lemon juice

Salt

Whiz the basil and nuts in a food processor. While the machine is running, drizzle in some olive oil until the mixture is thick. Then, if you have it, throw in some chicken stock--by this point the mixture should be spoon-able (not too thick, not too runny). Add some lemon juice and salt to taste and voila! Parm cheese can of course be added--I happened to not have any on hand. But if you do add cheese, wait to season the pesto with salt at the very end (it most likely won't need any since parmesan cheese is pretty salty).

Serve the pesto on some toasted bread (crostini), mixed with pasta, or on top some chicken.