Monday, November 29, 2010

Split Pea Soup


Over the past week or so, I've just been eating really simple food. A piece of fish, slow simmered. Vegetables either chopped and roasted, or just raw. Handfuls of nuts. Pieces of fruit.

I've discovered some interesting things. First, almost any vegetable is good roasted with salt. This works with fish too. I've never eaten a wide variety of fish, but I like the different flavors of all of them. But flounder is a little weird. On the downside, I've discovered that I don't like radishes. They are fine and crunchy when you stick them in your mouth, but then it starts burning. Yuck.

Moving on from things I've learned to things I've cooked, today, I decided to mix it up a little. And make yet another soup.

I know, you are probably thinking that soup is not really mixing it up for me. But I like it.

Split Pea Soup
1 1/2 cups dried split peas
3 cups water
salt
1 leek, sliced
3 small radishes, diced small
2 cups spinach
dried oregano

Bring the water to a boil. Add the split peas and reduce to a simmer. It will take about a half hour for the split peas to soften and get tender. Add the salt - 1 or 2 teaspoons, the leek, the radish and the oregano. Raise the temp to medium heat and cook the soup until the leek and radish are tender. Add the spinach, just to the top of the soup, don't stir it in yet. Cover the soup with a lid for 3-4 minutes until the spinach wilts. Then stir it in, adjust the seasoning, and serve.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Lentil Dahl

On Day 2 of my rotation, I can have lentils and tomatoes. So I decided to try for the Lentil Dahl recipe that I have posted here.

Of course it needed some tweaking.



My portion is all ready to be taken to work for lunch.

Lentil Dahl
1 cup lentils
3 roma tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic
olive oil
salt
1-2 tsp ginger
dash of paprika

Boil 2 cups of water and add the lentils. Turn down to a simmer. Cook until the lentils have absorbed the water and are soft.

Add a 1/3 cup of water, the diced tomatoes, peeled and smashed garlic, olive oil and spices. Allow the mix to simmer until the tomatoes are tender.

Puree half of the mix (with an immersion blender) and stir everything together. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Note: this could be served over rice.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Tilapia and Cod

I told you not too long ago, that I have adjusted my fish cooking technique.

I used this for all the fish I cooked this week, and it worked out beautifully. The fish was all moist and flaky and really quite delicious.

I had Tilapia


And Cod.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Roasted Carrot Soup

A little wrench got thrown into my meals plans. I discovered that not only do I have to eat only from the green list, but I have to eat the foods in a rotation. This makes things a little harder.

To my surprise and relief, I still found good things to eat. And of course, I'm going to share them.



Roasted Carrot Soup
Inspired by this recipe
8 carrots
2 ribs of celery
Safflower oil
5-6 cups of water
3-4 bay leaves
salt
cumin
coriander

Wash and chop the carrots into halves. Put them on a cookie sheet and drizzle with safflower oil. Bake at 400 until the carrots are tender. Check and flip them about halfway through.

In a stock pot, sautee the celery in a little safflower oil. Add the water, bay leaves, and salt. Bring to a boil and drop to a simmer.

Add the carrots. Simmer for just a little while. Puree everything (using your handy immersion blender -- or a real blender). Sprinkle in some cumin and coriander, and a little salt if needed.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Acorn Squash

I had a lovely acorn squash. I have seen a lot of recipes recently for stuffed acorn squash, so I altered the idea and did it how I can.


Acorn Squash
1 acorn squash. Cut it in half and bake it in a pyrex dish with about an inch of water at 350 until the flesh is tender.
Walnuts, toasted
Olive oil
Salt
Cumin
Coriander
Cinnamon

After the squash is cooked, scoop the flesh into a bowl. Add the toasted walnuts, oil, and spices and mash everything together.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

It's been a very busy week, so when I finished the soup from last week, I was left just eating salads. I had a few veggies still in the fridge though, so I roasted up the rest of the brussels sprouts. It was quick and easy on a cold, rainy night.



Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Washed brussels sprouts, sliced in half
Layer on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt
Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Halfway through cooking, turn the brussels sprouts.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Roasted Veggies

I needed a simple weeknight meal. So I just chopped up a bunch of veggies that were in the fridge and roasted them.

My friend came over and looked closely, poked everything, asked me to identify all the veggies, and after being very uncertain, said everything tasted great.



Roasted Veggies
1 leek
1 beet
1 large carrot
1 turnip
3 cloves of garlic
10-15 small brussels sprouts

Cut everything into chunks about the same size. Put on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil and toss so everything is evenly coated. Spread in a thin layer. Sprinkle with salt.

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Adzuki Bean Patties

I was trying something a little different.


Adzuki Bean Patties
This recipe is slightly modified from Meghan Telpner's 5 Days Vegan.

2 cups cooked adzuki beans
1/2 cup brown rice
1 medium sweet potato, cut into chunks
1 leek
2 tbs olive oil
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1-2 tsp ground mustard seed
1 tbs dry oregano
sea salt to taste

Boil 1 cup of water. Add the rice and beans. About halfway through, add the sweet potato.

In a skillet, heat the oil, add the spices and sliced leek.

When the rice and beans mixture is done, add the leeks. Mash everything together.

Form into patties and bake on a greased cookie sheet at 350 for 20 minutes. Flip over and cook for another 20-30 minutes until dry.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Pumpkin Pancakes

I thought about these pancakes all weekend. I knew there had to be some way that I could eat some baked good.

I can't eat corn right now, so I can't use baking powder (if you have tips on that, let me know). That means that these are not fluffy light pancakes. Sometimes you see pictures of pancakes that double in height. That's just never going to happen here.

Now, some of you know that I live alone. The huge perk is that I can completely control what food is in my house and when I have to change stuff up, I don't have to worry about anyone else's preferences or likes. The downside is that I don't have anyone to be a second taster. So I thought these pancakes tasted good, but I don't know if they would pass for anyone else. But I'm sure with enough maple syrup, anyone would love these!



Pumpkin Pancakes
3/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp clove
1/2 tsp ground ginger
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup rice milk
2 tbs oil
1 flax egg = 3 tbs boiling water + 1 tbs ground flaxseed (add together and let sit for at least 2 minutes)

Mix your flax egg together first, so it has time to sit. Mix the dry ingredients together. Add the wet ingredients. Adjust liquids as needed.

As you cook this, there won't be air bubbles like normal pancakes. Watch carefully and you will see the edges start to firm up when the pancake is ready to flip.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Mahi Mahi

I kept cooking salmon and other fish this summer, and thinking that I am really not good at cooking fish. When I went to a restaurant, the fish was really tender and smooth, and when I cooked it, it was generally pretty dry and not very tasty.

I read this post the other day, and thought, hm, I should really try that.




This is my Mahi Mahi
2 Mahi fillets
drizzle with olive oil
salt

Bake at 200 for about 30 minutes.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Lima Bean Soup

And the day wouldn't be complete without a delicious bowl of soup.


It's called "Lima Bean, Zucchini, and Spinach Soup" from a cookbook called Seriously Simple.

Some of you may be thinking, "Lima beans. Ew..."

But look at how fast I finished it.


It's tasty.

Lima Bean Soup
2 tbs olive oil
2 leeks, sliced
2 yellow squash, sliced
2 cups frozen lima beans
6 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 tbs parsley
1 tbs oregano
1 tbs salt
2 cups fresh spinach
1 tbs lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot. Add the leeks and saute for a few minutes. Add the squash and saute for a few more minutes. Add the lima beans, water, and herbs. Bring to a boil. Then cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the veggies are soft.

Add the spinach and cover for 2-3 minutes until the spinach is wilted.

Remove from the heat. Add the lemon juice and salt and pepper.

Use your fantastic immersion blender to puree.


***This is linked to Amy's Slightly Indulgent Tuesday***

Split Pea Puree with Rice

I said that I am eating off the "green" list. That doesn't really mean that all of my food has to be green.

But today that is what is happening.


This recipe is adapted from this site.

I'm going to give it a new name:

Split Pea Puree with Rice
2 cups dried green split peas
4 bay leaves
1 leek
1 cup rice
salt
parsley
extra-virgin olive oil

Bring 4 cups of salted water to a boil. Add the split peas and bay leaves. Bring it to a boil again and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for about 40 minutes until the peas are soft. When they are ready, there should be a little water left in the pan. Keep a small amount of water and add 2-3 tbs of olive oil, parsley and salt to taste. If the peas are soft enough, they will tall apart as you stir, or you can use an immersion blender to puree them.

While the peas are cooking, cook the rice.

For the leek, cut it into thick slices. Put them on an cookie sheet and coat them in oil and roast them in the oven at 400 degrees.

Serve a scoop of rice topped with peas and a few leeks.

Breakfast Smoothie

At work I am part of a leadership group. One of our projects was taking the StrengthsQuest. This test tells you your 5 strengths so that you can begin to play to your strengths. One of mine is "Deliberative" which means I think very carefully about what information to share.

On a food blog that doesn't really play out as a strength!

So here I am disclosing more.


This is breakfast. It's a smoothie.

My morning smoothie required some adjustments after I got the results of my food allergy test.

Here is the recipe for now:
1 cup rice milk (this is feeling really watery to me, so next week I am trying regular soy milk)
1/4 cup walnuts
1 banana
1 leaf kale
1 leaf romaine lettuce
2 handfuls spinach
1 tbs chia seeds
1 tbs wheatgrass powder
dash of cinnamon
ice

According to my Runner's World magazine, this order that I have written the ingredients is the best order to put them in the blender. My blender is a little weak, so I load the food in and get it all ground up and then I add the ice. I also like my smoothies thick and milkshake-like, so I freeze the banana and then add a good amount of ice.

New Food

This week I got results back from an extremely extensive food allergy test. It tests 200 common foods and gives you four categories. For the next three months, I am only eating foods from the "green" category.

After I got my results, I came home and cleared out the pantry and fridge.



All the unopened non-perishables, I donated to the food pantry at work. I bagged up the perishable stuff, but it's hard for me to throw it away. Especially the unopened stuff.

I also sat down and made a big list of recipes, stuff I already make and new stuff that I have seen that fits the requirements.

Thursday was a big grocery shopping day. I was going to take pictures of my haul, but I was too tired after class. My grocery cart looks different than everyone else's. Mine is full of all kinds of produce... and nothing else.