This Cilantro is Killing Me!

Not really.

I LOVE cilantro - in salads, salsas, tacos, rice, everything.


Our cilantro is going crazy though. It's dominating the poor thyme that it's sharing planter with.

So I wanted to find a recipe that called for a lot of cilantro and sounded tasty and healthy to boot.

This recipe is from Settings: Sunrise to Sunset, the same book I pulled a recipe from on my last post. I try not to cite the same book twice, but I gotta get rid of this cilantro!

This recipe serves 10 and looks really good - should be enough to last all weekend!

Corn Salad with Cilantro Dressing

ingredients

- 2 bunches cilantro, stems removed (2 cups)
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 jalapeno chile, chopped
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 (16 ounce) package whole kernel yellow corn, thawed (or, roast a couple of ears and cut off the kernels with a sharp knife to make about 2 cups worth of corn)
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 small onion, chopped

directions
- Process the cilantro, oil, vinegar, lime juice, honey, jalapeno chile, 1/2 onion, the salt and pepper in a blender or food processor until blended.
- Combine the corn, bell peppers and 1 small chopped onion in a large bowl and stir to mix.
- Add the dressing and stir to coat.
- Chill, covered, for 4 to 8 hours.
- Drain before serving.

Taco Salad with a Twist

On the note of being conservative and getting as much as you can out of what you have (re-using, recycling, composting, etc.), I love recipes that call for ingredients you likely have on-hand and are flexible enough for improvisation.

All Holly Clegg's book and recipes follow this principle.

This recipe for Taco Salad with a Twist from the Assistance League of the Bay Area out of Houston, Texas, is the kind of recipe that calls for things that are already in the fridge, garden or cupboard. It's quick and easy to make, make adjustments to, as well as take to an impromptu dinner, BBQ, Quinceañera, whatever.

I really like how this taco salad recipe steps it up a notch and calls for some macaroni noodles too.

Taco Salad with a Twist

ingredients

- 2 cups macaroni

- 1 pound ground round

- 1 envelope taco seasoning

- 1/2 cup spice ranch or Catalina salad dressing
- 1/2 head lettuce
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut into halves (or, just pull any type out of the garden - yum.)

- 1/2 cup chopped green onions

- 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper

- 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

- 1 small can sliced black olives, drained

- 1 (11 ounce) can Mexicorn, drained

- 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

directions

- Cook the macaroni according to package directions. Rinse the macaroni with cold water and drain. Chill for at least 1 hour.

- Brown the ground round in a skillet, stirring until crumbly. Drain the grease.

- Stir in the taco seasoning mix and salad dressing.

- Let stand until cool.

- Combine the macaroni, ground round mixture and remaining ingredients in a large bowl and toss to mix.

- Serve immediately.

- Guacamole, sour cream, and salsa are optional and preferable!

***Photo courtesy of http://www.beloblog.com/ProJo_Blogs/foodblog/2007/10/taco_salad.htm***

Cafeterias Making Compost

Green Daily's Kelly Leahy reports that Yale cafeterias are dedicating their wasted scraps to compost heaps for student gardens. Read the entire article HERE.

Everyone could pseudo-adopt this practice in their own lives and homes, and enhance their own gardens.

Now if only everyone would recycle....suppose that takes a little more effort and infrastructure. Regardless, composting at home is a personal choice and not hard to do (although, neither is recycling - most people just choose to view it as an inconvenience...)

If you do want to compost at home, the good people of Marion County, Oregon (represent!) present great tips for composting at home, creating your own compost bin, etc. Check it out HERE!

Veggie Cafe in East Nashville

Glad to see East Nashville's Veggie Cafe got a little press in the Tennessean this morning. Sounds like the cafe serves up vegetarian dishes with a homestyle twist.
Check out this new privately-owned culinary experience for yourself!

go to the garden....

"Go grab me some rosemary out of the garden."

While I should have added "please," that was the request I made last night while I was throwing together my impromptu version of Garlic Rosemary Chicken.

This quick poultry dish was one of my first attempts to throw something together to share with someone else. While I've always been content with my quick cooking attempts, I also admit I usually just add lots of ketchup and Tabasco to whatever it is I'm eating. The result: simply delicious...according to my taste buds anyway.

So I felt a little boost of confidence that adding fresh herbs and plenty of garlic would be a surefire way to make quick chicken taste good.

Also, there was something very pleasing to be able to step right outside (or send a cute man outside) to the garden to get those fresh herbs.

The chicken didn't taste too bad (I didn't even need any ketchup). Although the following recipe for Chicken Rosemary from the Junior League of Roanoke Valley's cookbook, Oh My Stars!, appears to be a much more flavorful version of what I attempted last night.

It requires a little planning ahead for the marinating, but you're likely to have the ingredients on-hand. And if you don't have the fresh rosemary planted in the backyard, get your herb garden in this afternoon! Trust me - there's something wonderful about going to your own garden...

Chicken Rosemary

ingredients

- 1 (16-ounce) bottle Italian salad dressing (use low-fat to cut unnecessary calories)

- 1/2 cup white wine

- 1/4 cup soy sauce

- 1/4 cup (heaping) brown sugar

- 2 to 4 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

- 1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper

- 8 boneless skinless chicken breasts

directions

- Combine the salad dressing with the wine, soy sauce, brown sugar, rosemary and pepper in a sealable plastic bag. Add the chicken, shake it [like a Polaroid picture], coating well.

- Marinate in the refrigerator for 8 to 48 hours, mixing occasionally.

- Remove from the marinade and grill the chicken until done, to taste.

Serves eight.

Nominate Your Favorites!

Mark Bittman of the NY Times is creating a list of the all-time best cookbooks and looking for public suggestions for help.
So go here to name your own favorites!

Tortilla and Mimosas

No one could make a tortilla like my Spanish mother, Pepa.

I've thought of this delectable treat often since I left Spain years ago.

When I found what looked like a pretty standard recipe for tortilla de papas y cebollas in the cookbook Sunny Days, Balmy Nights, from the Young Patronesses of the Opera in Miami, Fla., I wanted see if I've retained any of Pepa's cooking lessons.

In Spain, a tortilla is actually a mix of potatoes, onions, eggs, and copious amounts of olive oil. The only ways it compares to the flour tortillas we buy at the grocery is that both are flat, tasty and relatively cheap.

My potatoes were a little aged, but with some mad knife skills I pared the bad spots right out.

From what I remember and proved true in this cooking endeavor, the potatoes should be sliced rather small - close to the size of pineapple pieces when they are served on pizza. You have to saute/fry them in olive oil for quite a while, along with the onion, to soften them up, before putting them in the eggs and making the actual tortilla.

Cooking is always twice as nice with a little sweetness too. And, this man sooooo knows his way around a kitchen - his guidance and skills might as well be on my ingredient list (for all my endeavors, really).

This was the amazing sauce, or salsa, that I had nothing to do with. I had, however, planted the basil in the garden a month or two ago. We used it in this sauce and it was so reFRESHing.

A tricky part of making this tortilla is sliding it out of the pan and inverting it.

Note: I wasn't the one to do this maneuver.

This is what the finished product looks like....

...and this is how it's served: sliced, covered in the salsa, and preferably with a mimosa.


This whole experience was by far one of my favorite parts of the weekend!








Tortilla de Papas y Cebollas (Spanish Omelet)

ingredients
SAUCE
- 6 tomatoes (I cheated and used canned whole tomatoes - turned out great)
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 garlic clove, pressed
- 3 yellow bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch wide strips
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons fresh basil
- Salt and pepper, freshly ground, to taste

OMELET
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed
- 4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch half-moon shapes (just cut 'em into small little wedges that will turn soft in 20 minutes or so upon frying...)
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced into half-moon shapes
- 6 eggs
- Salt and pepper to taste


directions
SAUCE
- To prepare sauce using canned tomatoes (NOTE: the book explains how to boil and then peel tomatoes...I am lame and took an easier route,). Slice the tomatoes to make wedges.
- Saute the onion, garlic and bell peppers in the olive oil in a saucepan until the onion is golden brown.
- Stir in the tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper.
***To make sauce ahead, prepare as directed but do not stir in the basil until just before serving.)

OMELET
- To prepare the omelet, heat the olive oil in a 9-inch omelet pan. Add the garlic and saute until golden brown. Remove the garlic and discard (or use in garlic butter for other purposes - YUM).
- Add the potatoes to the pan and cook over medium heat for 5+ minutes. Add the onion and cook until tender, stirring constantly.
- Beat the eggs with a fork in a large bowl until slightly foamy. Add salt and pepper.
- Spoon the potato mixture with a slotted spoon into the eggs and mix well, leaving the drippings in the pan (***Make sure the potatoes have softened and aren't crunchy before you do this --- cook them as long as it takes, until they're soft.)
- Pour the egg mixture into the drippings in the omelet pan, adding additional oil if needed to prevent the eggs from sticking. (Didn't need extra oil....)
- Spread the egg mixture evenly in the pan and cook over medium heat, shaking the pan.
- Gently run a spatula around the edge of the omelet to loosen as the eggs begin to cook. Continue to cook until the eggs leave the side of the pan.
- Invert a plate over the pan and flip the omelet onto the plate.
- Slide the omelet back into the pan to brown the other side.
- Serve hot or at room temperature with the sauce.



***Pepa would always serve this tortilla cold, on white bread, as a sort of sandwich...also delicious!

Wanna Save Money? Buy a Cookbook

An article in the Chicago Tribune today cited "10 ways to save at the supermarket."

Suggested methods for saving pennies include the following (I'm paraphrasing) :

1.) Shop for foods in their natural state -- i.e. don't buy a bunch of packaged foods; buy produce
2.) Use what's in the pantry -- i.e. dried foods (noodles, rice, and herbs). This suggestion even states USE A COOKBOOK!
3.) Make your own salad dressings, marinades, sauces, etc.
4.) Buy meats in bulk and freeze them (Holly Clegg has a great new "Freezer-Friendly Cookbook along these lines that's loaded with awesome recipes you can make now and freeze for later....or eat now, which usually gets my vote!!!!)

The MAIN POINT I think we can get from all this: you'll save money if you cook your own meals at home!

This isn't really a huge revelation. We could never get the fancy packaged junk when we were kids because a.) our Mom didn't want us eating a bunch of processed elements and b.) it was cheaper for her to make wholesome, delicious meals from scratch.

So the moral of my story is that you can invest $25-30 dollars in a cookbook, which has probably 200-400 recipes for great meals, and start saving $$$$ by giving up the prepackaged foods (oh-so-often junk foods) and cooking at home.

P.S. Another $5 says your health/waistline might improve a little too, if you're careful to use lighter versions of things like mayonnaise, butter, and olive oils. You'll see: eating well and doing it at home will yield so many great benefits!

Pancetta/Prosciutto = HAM

P.S.

The recipe I just lined out for you calls for "pancetta" or "prosciutto."

Both are hams - pancetta is dry-cured ham, prosciutto is apparently an Italian dry-cured ham.

Don't laugh at me - those who already knew this.

As I stated from the beginning, this is all a learning process....albeit rather extensive.

A Taste for Lentejas

I practically lived off lentils, or lentejas as they're called in Spanish, when I lived in Spain.

My 'mother,' Pepa, was an extraordinary cook. She even made a pot of lentils something I craved daily.

Of course, anything tasted amazing with a huge chunk of the daily loaf (it was my job to run downstairs to the bakery that was two doors down, past the bar that we lived above, to pick up two loaves of the most delicious, light and fluffy white bread I'd ever tasted).

I've tried to cook up my own pots of lentils from time to time, but sadly nothing ever compares. I doubt it ever will. But I still crave lentils often, and keep my eyes out for appealing lentil recipes to try.

The Junior League of Seattle has what looks to be a great recipe for "Lentil and Roasted Tomato Soup," in Celebrate the Rain. The book suggests that "for a classic combination, try a hefeweizen unfiltered wheat beer with hints of barley and hops."

OHHH if only I had access to a six pack of Henry Weinhard's down here in Tennessee - my evening would be all the more complete!

Regardless, here's the recipe - I'll let you know how my stab at it turns out!

Lentil and Roasted Tomato Soup

ingredients

- 4-5 large, ripe tomatoes (stemmed and halved crosswise)

- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

- 3 ounces pancetta or prosciutto, chopped

- 1 1/2 cups chopped onion

- 1 1/2 cups finely diced carrots

- 1 1/2 cups finely diced celery

- 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (probably, the more, the better...)

- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

- 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram

- 5 cans (14 ounces each) vegetable or chicken broth

- 2 cups French green lentils

- salt and pepper, freshly ground

directions

1.) Preheat the broiler and set the oven rack about 6 inches from the top element. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet and arrange the tomatoes in a single layer, cut side down.

2.) Use 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to lightly brush each tomato. Broil them until they darken, soften, and begin to blister, 4 to 6 minutes.

3.) Take the baking sheet from the oven, cover the tomatoes with a towel, and set aside on a wire rack to cool. When cool, gently peel away as much of the skin as you can with a small, sharp knife. Cut the tomato halves into 1/2-inch dices.

4.) Cook the pancetta in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until crisp, about 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Scoop out the pancetta onto paper towels to drain and pour off the grease.

5.) Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the same pan, add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and saute until tender, aromatic, and richly browned, about 7 to 8 minutes (take care not to scorch the veggies; reduce the heat a bit if needed).

6.) Stir in the balsamic vinegar, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the thyme, marjoram, and pancetta and cook for 1 minute longer.

7.) Add 7 cups of the broth with the tomatoes and lentils and bring to a low boil.

8.) Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 40 minutes.

If the soup is quite thick, add a bit more broth.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Makes 6 servings.

I Need Coffee

A beautiful, sunny Tuesday morning. Regardless, I could so use another pot of coffee about now.

Actually, I don't even need the actual coffee - just the buzz you get from it.

I always hit the gym in the mornings - most days it perks me up and gets me going - I get a little runner's high and then down a couple cups of coffee - then am set for the rest of the day.

There are days like this, though, when I just can't get going - and for no particular reason either! It's not as if I earned it by playing hard last night. Am just tired - aren't we all?

Passion for Coffee is a cookbook that has 204 recipes that all call for coffee. I don't wonder if I maybe infused my breakfast with some java as well, then maybe I'd be a little more perky.

Some of the breakfast recipes, like the Coffee Belgian Waffles with Caramel Coffee Sauce, or the Coffee Whole-Wheat Pancakes with Cranberry Sauce (YUM!) sound like they'd hit the spot on a morning like this.

Of course, I'd still have to drink one more stout Americano to really get me rolling. When will they put a good coffee shop near my office!?!

Here's one of those delectable breakfast recipes from Passion for Coffee. Go to http://www.coffeecooks.com/ to check out more recipes from Passion for Coffee, and to read some excerpts about people who live on Colombian coffee plantations and the history of coffee, as well as learn how to cook with it.

Coffee Whole-Wheat Pancakes with Cranberry Sauce

ingredients

- 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour

- 2 tablespoons dried cranberries

- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar

- 1 teaspoon freeze-dried or granulated instant coffee

- 1 teaspoon baking powder

- 1/4 teaspoon salt

- 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted

- 1 egg

- 1/2 cup milk

- 1 recipe cranberry sauce

directions

1.) Place the flour, cranberries, brown sugar, coffee, baking powder and salt into a small bowl. Mix with a fork.

2.) Add the butter, egg, and milk and mix gently with a fork until the batter looks smooth.

3.) Place a 6-inch nonstick pan over medium-low heat. Spray with nonstick spray.

4.) Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and cook until golden brown, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Turn and cook for 20 seconds more, until golden on the second side. (The Second side takes less time.)

5. Serve pancakes warm, topped with the cranberry sauce.

Cranberry Sauce

ingredients

- 1/4 cup evaporated milk

- 1/4 cup heavy cream

- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar

- 3 tablespoons chopped, toasted pecans (toasted optional)

- 2 tablespoons cranberries, dried

- 1 tablespoon brewed espresso or basic concentrated coffee

- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

directions

1.) Combine the evaporated milk, cream, sugar, pecans, and cranberries in a saucepan over medium heat.

2.) Bring to a boil and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, until golden.

3.) Add the coffee and vanilla extract and stir to blend. Serve warm.

Cooking and Sailing (easier for some)

I was told before we left on our little sailing excursion, that the experience would be a lot like camping.

Naturally, I bought Saltines and peanut butter for my three-day sustenance. This is my own special camping fare, and a diet I highly recommend for anyone who is setting off into the wild blue yonder for any amount of time. A photographer who worked throughout Bosnia in the 90s once told me she lived off peanut butter the whole time she was there. As I'm not at war and just camping, I splurge on the Saltines. (Okay, I bought some Corona Lights too. The amount, however, will remain unknown.)

Much to my surprise, my sailing mates had different plans for what they'd eat while 'camping on a boat.'

While we didn't shower the entire time, we certainly ate well, thanks to our personal chef (a man who can make anything taste wonderful if he only has some garlic.)

Some garlic, chicken, frozen veggies, salt and pepper, and some Dale's sauce made for a super tasty and really healthy dinner. The Corona's may have counterbalanced the health value in the meal, but they were Light....

I'll always love Saltines and peanut butter and carry them with me on any outdoorish excursion, but apparently you can camp on a boat and eat what some might call a 'real dinner,' really well too.