Recipe of the Week: Pan Seared Scallops with Saffron Risotto

Even though it's officially spring, the weather in PA has been far more winter like and I always want to make more comfort food when its cold and wet out. 
Risotto takes a while, and requires a little tending too, but it's not that hard. I tend to keep my risotto on the al dente side as I'm not fond of mushy stuff!

Ingredients:

1 quart vegetable broth
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup brown arborio rice
1/2 lb sea scallops (mine were huge and I sliced them in half)
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 onion diced
1/4 of red pepper sliced
handful of snap peas, cut in 1/2
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 Saffron threads, crushed
ground pepper

1. In a saucepan add vegetable broth and wine, heat at medium low until warm and then turn off. Keep a lid on the sauce pan
2. Add rice to large saute pan, put heat on medium and toast rice, until fragrant. Turn heat down.
3. Add 2 cups of vegetable broth/wine mixture to rice, stir gently and cover
4. When liquid is almost absorbed by the rice add another cup of liquid
5. Meanwhile in another saute pan add 1 tablespoon butter and saute onion, pepper and mushrooms.
6. When vegetables are close to cooked add snap peas. When snap peas are warmed remove all veggies from the pan
7. Add another tablespoon of butter, turn pan to medium high heat, wait for pan to heat and then add scallops
8. Sear scallops for a couple minutes on each side until just cooked through
9. Test rice. It is cooked when the rice is still firm, but soft. Add Parmesan at this point and stir
10. Add saffron and a dash of pepper, mix in
11. Add sauteed veggies in  and place cooked scallops on top. 

NOTE: The whole process take about 45 minutes. 

Vegetable Substitutions:
Celery
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Spinach
Grape Tomatoes
Carrots
Corn

Use your imagination and combine different things.

Recipe of the Week: Tuscan Spinach, Bean and Sausage Soup

This super easy, super fast soup is great for a weeknight meal. It's ready in 30 minutes. Serve with rustic bread and a salad if you desire.

1 link hot Italian sausage
1 19 ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed
2 cups of chicken broth
1 14 ounce can of diced or crushed tomatoes
1 clove garlic, smashed
8 ounces of fresh spinach, washed and stem removed
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
salt and pepper to taste
garnish with grated Parmesan

1. Bring sausage and 1/4 inch of water to simmer in a large sauce pot over medium heat. 
2. Cook uncovered until water evaporates, approximately 8 minutes. Cook until sausage until is browned.
3. Remove sausage to a cutting board and slice into 1/4 inch pieces when cool enough to handle.
4. Add broth, beans, garlic and marjoram to saucepan. Add sausage. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Add spinach stir gently until wilted. When spinach is completely wilted, remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Garnish with Parmesan if desired and serve.

Where am I sourcing my food from?

Sausage: Forks Farm (This is part of my 1/2 hog that we bought in December. I don't usually like hot sausage, but this is not too hot and really flavorful)
Chicken Broth, Canned Beans and Tomatoes: Kimberton Whole Foods
Spinach: Two Gander Farm (my winter CSA)

All About GMO's

Natural Foods Merchandiser

Click on the link above. This is a great article about GMO plants, how they have come to be and their environmental impact. Have patience the link takes a minute to open as it is from an e-zine, but it is worth the read.

Recipe of the Week: Super Easy Sauteed or Grilled Chicken

This is my go to marinade for chicken and as a quick vinaigrette for salads, both green and pasta. I made it last week and added sliced almonds and dried cranberries to the rice and grilled the aspargus with a little salt, pepper and dried lemon peel.

Marinade:
Juice of two lemons
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Mix everything together and whisk, stir or shake until everything is very well mixed.

Marinate chicken for at least 30 minutes and up to a couple hours. Place the chicken in a saute pan or on the grill and cook. Don't flip until the edges of the face side are starting to cook.

Note: Other options for the marinade could be rice vinegar instead of the lemons, chopped rosemary, sage, lemon zest, limes, limes zest. Play with the recipe and see what you like best. 

Recipe of the Week: Golden Harvest Muffins

I started making these when Brian was a toddler...an eternity ago. I love the muffins because they are relatively healthy and my kids and all their like minded non-vegetable eating friends (back when Brian only ate yogurt and frozen tortellini)  love these muffins.

It has been a while since I made these and I'm thrilled that I found this recipe when I was looking for something different to have for dinner. I'll be making them this weekend in a triple batch and freezing most of them for the boys to eat later. I'll post a picture after I make them!

Here is the recipe:

1 cup white flour
1 cup wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Granny Smith (or any other type of apple), peeled, cored and shredded
2 medium carrots, shredded
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar

Optional - Include any of the following to mix and match for whatever suits your taste:
1/2 shredded coconut
1/2 raisins, currents or dried cranberries
1/2 chopped walnuts, cashews, almonds or pecans
1/4 cup shredded zucchini or summer squash

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and grease muffin pans with olive oil
• Stir together all dry ingredients
• Shred apple, carrot and squash if adding, into a separate bowl
• In large mixing bowl combine oil. milk, vanilla and eggs. Beat for 1 minute, then add sugar and beat for an additional minute. 
• Add half of dry ingredients, and then add apple carrot and squash (if using) mixture. Stir
•  Add the rest of the dry ingredients
• Add nuts, raisins and/or coconut
• Mix to combine and drop into muffin pans
• Bake for 20-25 minutes. 

Enjoy! And keep eating real food!

Recipe of the Week: Moroccan Lentil Stew

I made stew for friends the other night. It is great on cold, snowy nights because of the wonderful combination of sweet and spicy flavors. Not too hot, the stew really warms you. It also makes great leftovers. 

The original recipe came from Vegetarian Times, but below are the ingredients I used. I don't usually use prepared soups either, but Dr. McDougall's* soups are all real food (I checked the ingredient list!) and on a busy weeknight this can be made in 30 minutes or less.

Serves 6

• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3 carrots diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs.)
• 1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 2 18.2-oz. cartons prepared lentil soup, such as Dr. McDougall’s
• 1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup raisins or dried currants
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon,
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 1/2  teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4  teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 6 Tbs. plain nonfat Greek yogurt or soy yogurt, optional

1. Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add carrots, saute for 5 minutes. Add onion, and saute for 3 minutes, or until softened and translucent. Add garlic, and cook 1 minute, or until garlic is softened, but not browned, stirring constantly.
2. Stir in tomatoes, soup, chickpeas, raisins, and all spices. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Bring stew to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes, or until mixture is reduced and sauce has thickened, stirring often from bottom to prevent sticking. Garnish each serving with 1 Tbs. yogurt, if desired. 

*Dr. McDougall soups come in  box and can be found in the "organic" section at Giant, at Wegman/'s and health food stores.

Enjoy and keep eating real food!

Turkey and Black Bean Soup

I posted this last year at about this time and since it is so cold, and all I really want to do is hibernate, I thought I would re-post it. I made the soup this evening and added a parsnip and a little chipotle pepper. Everyone was happy at my house

Turkey and Black Bean Soup: This is a staple at our house. It's easy to make, you can double recipe, it freezes and frequently it's something I give as a gift. Even Brian, my oldest and my sister, who claim they don't like beans, love this. The original recipe is from Cooking.com, but I have changed enough to call it my own.

The Recipe:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion chopped

1 lb ground turkey

1 tablespoon chilipowder

1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika

2 teaspoons oregano

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

several dashes tabasco

1 15oz can diced tomatoes

1 15oz can black beans

1 quart chick stock

10oz spinach, kale or other steaming greens, washed, stems removed

1. In a large stock pot or dutch oven add olive oil and ground turkey. Brown turkey until completely cooked. Remove turkey.
2. Add onion and saute over medium heat until translucent
3. Add turkey back to pot and add spices. Let cook for several minutes to allow flavors to blend
4. Add chicken stock, tomatoes and beans. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutes
5. Add spinach or kale. Cook until wilted and serve.

Serve with at little parmesean as garnish.

Note:

I prefer Kale when I know I'm going to freeze this. The kale holds up better and doesn't get mushy.

A Tail of Two Cows, Happy Cow vs Nexium Cow

Once upon a time in lands that aren't so far away lived two cows. The first cow, Happy Cow lived on a farm in  rural Pennsylvania. Happy Cow ate grass as his relatives before him did. He roamed in the pasture, ate grass, left manure in the field to fertilize the soil and enjoyed the sunshine. Happy Cow had little stress in his life and acted as the herbivore he was.

Nexium Cow, on the other hand, lived somewhere farther west than Pennsylvania. We're not sure where, because it didn't say on the styrofoam package he came from. All we know is that he lived in a CAFO (Confined Animal Feeding Operation) with thousands of other cows. Nexium Cow had almost no room to move and was fed corn and soy so that he grew quickly and became obese. Nexium Cow had a constant upset stomach, called acidosis, because of the corn and soy he was forced to eat. Not his natural diet. All the acid in poor Nexium Cow's tummy makes it more likely that he will have the very dangerous E. coli O157 in his belly. When he goes to slaughter he has a more likely chance of contaminating his meat.

Happy Cow was at a healthy weight and had more omega 3, up to 400% more, 40% fewer calories and less cholesterol, saturated fat and about 90% less fat overall than Nexium Cow.  Since Happy Cow has been raised on pasture, has room to move, and doesn't have to stand in manure every day he is more likely to not need antibiotics and at least 60% less apt to have E.coli 0157 in his belly. Nexium Cow has a constant stream of antibiotics fed to him.

Happy Cow goes to slaughter calm, not afraid and is treated humanely.Nexium Cow - not so much.

I choose to eat Happy Cow. What do you choose?


NOTE: Nexium is a prescription drug for humans used to treat acid reflux. As far as I am aware it is not used on cows. I have used Nexium only for the purpose to relate how a cow might feel with all the acid in its stomach. In no way am I suggesting that Nexium be given to cows nor is there any malicious intent implied or otherwise towards the makers of Nexium or those who have taken it. I know many people it has helped.

What We Had for Dinner

The fall back to school schedule is a bit full this year, I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow the boys have at least one commitment most weekdays. Tuesdays are my favorite, there is cross country, intramural sports, baseball and piano, and Tuesdays happen to be the day that I have most of my networking events too. Finding the time to make dinner, never mind something that everyone likes and is healthy seems like an impossible feat. This last week we have had the following:

Lemon Garlic Braised Chicken: I made this last Sunday and while it does take a while to make, about one hour of cooking time, I made a lot of extra brown rice which I used later in the week. For this dish, you place whole cloves of garlic in 2 cups of chicken broth and simmer for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, place the chicken thighs a saute pan and brown. When the chicken is done add 1 tablespoon of flour and make a roux with the fat. Slowly add about 2/3 cup of white wine, stirring constantly. Pour the chicken broth in the saute pan and continue to stir until slightly thickened. Place chicken, sliced lemon, and liquid into oven-proof dish and cook for about 45 minutes on 350. I served with local green beans, beets and shitake mushrooms, but you can serve with whatever makes you happy. While it does take a while to make, I love this dish because I can double or even triple it and we have leftovers or I can freeze it for dinner another week.


Fried Rice: With the left-over rice from the Lemon Garlic Braised Chicken I made what we call "Fried Rice" Not exactly Asian, our Fried Rice includes whatever vegetables are on hand at the moment. For this I scrambled 2 eggs and then sauteed, onions, carrots, swiss chard,  and mushrooms. I add the cold rice to the pan and let it heat through, not stirring too often. Once heated I add mixture of tamari, minced ginger, fish sauce and rice vinegar. Toss gently until mixed through. Serve with cashew if you like. Oh, and make sure you stir the ginger in thoroughly. I got sidetracked and we had a lot of ginger in one area.

Stuffed Pumpkins: I made this Saturday with the local Sweet Italian Sausage, red quinoa, and lentils as the base. Again I cooked extra lentils to use in soup later. For this I sauteed onions, garlic, carrots, sweet potatoes and one beet. Mix everything together and stuff your pumpkin. Cooking time is about one hour, but at least you can do something else while it's in the oven.

Lentil Soup:  We'll be having this on Tuesday! I made this on Sunday, while I was making a bunch of other things. Sauteed onions, carrot and sweet potatoes, added the lentils in and the broth that was left over from cooking them. Next add one 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes and I had some broccoli left over from something else so I put that in too. When I reheat I'm going to add some baby spinach and serve with a loaf of this amazing bread I bought from Sweetwater Baking Co. http://www.sweetwaterbakingcompany.com/index.html

Enjoy and try something new

More About Chicken Nuggets

A couple weeks ago I posted about some of the ingredients in Chicken McNuggets. My son Brian is still walking around muttering about Silly Putty being one of the ingredients. To follow up that conversation, below is the link for a recent Huffington Post article showing how chicken nuggets are made. It is a little graphic just to give you the heads up.
 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com//2010/10/04/mechanically-separated-meat-chicken-mcnugget-photo_n_749893.html

12 Fish You Shouldn't Eat

 Many of you have asked about what fish are ok to eat and what is better, farmed or wild caught. Click on the link to read about 12 fish that you should think twice about before buying. I liked this list because it also makes suggestions as to what fish are safe to eat and/or not endangered.

http://foodfreedom.wordpress.com/2010/09/21/12-fish-you-shouldnt-eat/#comment-3745

Healthy, Easy Dinner Salad

We haven't had summer squash or zucchini since the zucchini cakes about a month ago, but I saw this recipe from Clean Eating and had to try it. The local zucchini/summer squash season is pretty much over, but I was lucky to find a few at my favorite farmers market. I added mushrooms and substituted the champagne vinegar for rice vinegar and fresh mozzarella for the feta, because I forgot to pick up feta at the farmers market. The feta would only make this dish even better than it was.

http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/recipes/downloads/ce32_harvest_salad.pdf

enjoy and eat real!

Silly Putty and Petroleum in Chicken McNuggets?

 For those of you who still, on occasion visit McDonalds, I thought I would share this article with you. We stopped going after I read Fast Food Nation and after a couple of occurrences where McDonald's went into Brian (at age 2 1/2) and came flying back out the other end about 30 minutes later. I know, gross, but I presume you have had a similar experience. Last time I knew food wasn't supposed to do that, but as you will read, a Chicken McNugget has 37 ingredients. I have made baked chicken fingers in the past, I only needed a few ingredients: chicken, bread crumbs, egg, flour, salt and pepper. I froze them and the chicken fingers lasted for several months in the freezer.

http://foodfreedom.wordpress.com/2010/08/09/a-little-silicone-and-petrol-in-your-mcnuggets/

Nutrient Dense Foods

I see, and I presume you do too, lists of foods to eat all the time. Most of the time they are pretty similar. I liked this one from Delicious Living as it encompasses vegetables, fruits, legumes and beans, and nuts and seeds. Each section lists the top fruit, vegetable  etc, why it is important, and has links to recipes for each food that is listed. Check it out and I hope you try one of the recipes. I have made several of the recipes from the site and they have all been pretty good.Click on the title to go to the article.


http://deliciouslivingmag.com/health/nutrition/0727-nutrient-dense-diet/index.html

Too Much Zucchini - Make Zucchini Cakes

Yes, you read that right, Zucchini Cakes. This is the time of year where all of my garden growing friends are trying to pawn of their summer squash and zucchini on me. I'm pretty sure we have has some sort of squash every night this week.. I'm a little tired of it (coming from someone who barely makes the same thing twice) and have been trying to come up with something creative to do with all the squash.
Don't get me wrong, I like zucchini and pretty every other squash. It's versatile and easy to cook. So in an attempt to do something different, I came up with these. The cakes kind of tasted like potato cakes.  They were a touch on the mushy side. Zucchini has a high water content and normally I would have pressed the water out, but I wanted to see what they came out like this way.

This is what I did:

Shredded 2 good sized, but not baseball bat size zucchini (in the food processor)
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1/4 cup quinoa flour
1/2 cup cooked quinoa (substitute with rice or couscous, I happen to have quinoa left over
1/4 teaspoon tabasco
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cumin
salt
pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, mashed

1. Mix all ingredients together except olive oil and garlic. Form into patties
2. Heat olive oil and mashed garlic
3. Place patties into heated pan, cook for 4-5 minutes on each side, until golden brown
4. remove from pan, sprinkle a touch more parmesan cheese

I served this with a little arugula, chopped tomatoes, and roasted cumin scented chickpeas.

Eat Your Way to Health

• One third of all children are overweight or obese. 
• The number of people who have Type 2 Diabetes has doubled over the last 10 years. 

Are you aware  that diabetes practically didn't exist 100 years ago? That the average doctor could work his or her entire career and not treat one single case of diabetes. I have read that this is a "life style" disease. And it is. We as a society don't eat well. We love quick and convenient, more is better.  All you can eat means you should arrive as hungry as you can and stuff as much food into yourself, because some how that is "value." It doesn't matter that you just consumed enough calories for 3 days because it was all fried.
It concerns me that we, as a society, are eating ourselves into disease. That we will spend an enormous amount of time and money at doctor's offices, on prescriptions, and tests that we could have spent on a vacation. That we will be sick and not feel well all for the sake of a cheap, easy meal.

I hear people say that buying organic or locally produced food is too expensive. That they don't like vegetables. And yes in some cases the up front cost is a little more (and even then not always) but the back end cost is lower... you are healthier, with a lower risk of cancer, heart disease, and arthritis. You are out doing what you love and less likely to be driving to a multitude of doctor's offices and taking expensive medications.  You are living!

I listen to Pete Dominick on POTUS, Sirus/XM a lot. His show focuses on whatever the political hot topics are, but what I like about him, is not only is he well researched, but he encourages everyone to do the same. He believes that in order to make smart decisions we all have to know the facts, and that comes from reading multiple view points.  I encourage you to do the same when it comes to your food. Read what is out there, check out my reading list if you want. OR to get started read Dr. Oz and Michael Roizen's book, YOU: Staying Young  or Wired Magazine's article about Google's Sergey Brin and how he is reducing his risk for Parkinson's Disease through diet and exercise. http://www.wired.com/magazine/?intcid=gnav

Food Labeling - Does it Help?

I have read in several food magazines about the ongoing dilemma over the benefits (or not) of labeling food products in more detail. Even Philly has an ordinance, that I believe was delayed until the fall, written that will require restaurant chains (more than 15 stores) to provide labeling for most menu items. Do you think this will help? When you go to the grocery store to you look at the label or read the ingredients. I would really like to know who is adding up the vitamin B12 they consume every day. Do you really want to know the nutritional value of Rita's water ice?  Please let me know what you think, write a comment. I would love some feedback.

I am all for more information when it's helpful, but in this case the only part of the label I read is the ingredients list. If it's not all real food, for the most part, I don't buy it. A quick scan at the ingredients will tell you how good something is. If it sounds like a real food, and is recognizable as one, then most of the time you should be ok. If you don't read ingredient list, I ask to you to check it out the next time you are at the grocery store. You will be surprised at what you are not putting in your body. And yes that would be real food. You are consuming lot's of preservatives, chemicals, extra sugar and fat. All stuff designed to make you want more, so you buy more.

So, if you have been thinking about trying to eat more healthy food try this:

1. Eat more veggies
2. Read the ingredients

Small changes will make a difference

And, by the way, that "natural flavor" that is in so many things, it comes from corn.

What We Ate for Dinner

Life had been full as of late, and last week was the first time in a while that I had a menu for dinner planned. What did we eat?

BBQ Shrimp and Sugar Snap Pasta Salad:
Another Clean Eating Magazine recipe. Oh this was so good and easy. The salad had grilled shrimp with Chinese 5 Spice powder on it, snap peas, cucumber, cilantro, basil and soba noodles with a gingery soy vinaigrette. A version of this will show up at the cafe. Email me at mary.kirschner@gmail.com if you would like the recipe.


Whole Wheat Pasta with Fresh Tomato Salad:
I made this at Brian's request. Another exhausting day at the pool (it's a tough life for Brian :) ) left him craving carbs. And you might be thinking whole wheat pasta, what a mushy mess! We only eat whole wheat and multigrain pasta. Cook it al dente and you should be ok. I made a fresh tomato sauce with local tomatoes from Lancaster that were super ripe, sauteed summer squash, zucchini and mushrooms, added a clove of garlic, a little fresh thyme, oregano and basil and of coarse a dash of sea salt and pepper. After sauteing the squash and mushrooms, I added the chopped tomatoes and herbs to the hot pan and let it sit for about 10 minutes to let the flavors mesh. Anyone can make this, just add your favorite veggie if you don't like squash or mushrooms.

Baharat Tomato Soup with Couscous:
I made this one of the days it was over 90 degrees thinking my family would revolt because I was serving hot soup on such a hot day. We were all surprised by how refreshing it was. The soup is made with a mixture of spices called Baharat which means "spice" in Arabic, fresh tomatoes (again) jalapeno, couscous, cilantro, and mint. When you taste this soup there is a hint of heat at first. Without adding any real "minty" flavor the mint finished the flavor sensation with a refreshing coolness. I can hardly wait to make this again. AND I had extra  of the Baharat and I have been using it as a rub on chicken steak too.

Yup, That's the Logo

I finally uploaded my new logo and here it is. emi's cafe is making progress. I still don't have my location worked out yet but the delay has given me the opportunity to really refine my business plan and learn more about green initiatives that restaurants can take take to lower water consumption and electrical usage, even things like composting are an option. And yes, I will implement green practices where ever I can.  I firmly believe that small changes do make a difference. I won't be saving the world, but it's a start.