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.

What We are Having for Dinner

I spent Saturday working on menus and food costs projects for Emi's Cafe (I should be officially incorporated by the end of this week!) and found a bunch of recipes that I saved and haven't made yet. I was creating our menu for the week simutaneaously so I added a couple of them. I always try to incorporate at least one new recipe. I get bored eating the same thing so there is lots of change. My family is getting used to trying new flavors, textures and ingredients etc. I'm not hearing "What is that glop" as much.

This week:

Gingered Red Lentil Soup with Sweet Potatoes: This tasted great, was easy to make and would probably freeze pretty well. The only problem was the color and texture. The directions tell you to blend the cooked red lentils, which is fine but the color turned out to be a bit pukeish and very pasty. I'm going to have to try this again before I give out the recipe or send a link out. If I can improve looks and texture this will be a winner.

Soba Noodle Salad: Soba Noodles are made from buckwheat and can be found in the Asian section of the grocery store or at an Asian market. This would be great in the summer since it is served cold. It was very simple to make. I would marinate the flank steak (or you could use chicken) first before cooking it. The recipe didn't call for it, but it would add a little more flavor. Cook the soba noodles, shred about 1 cup of nappa, add about 1 cup shredded carrots, I added chopped scallions even though the recipe didn't call for them,  and a few bean sprouts.  For the dressing add equal parts of rice vinegar and tamari (all natural soy sauce) about a tablespoon of sesame or peanut oil, 1 teaspoon of minced ginger and a sprinkle of sesame seeds and mix. Toss over noodles and veggies.  You can either grill the steak (3/4 lb) and then slice thinly or stirfry. Let the steak cool a little and add to the salad. Let it all sit together for at least 1 hour.

Next time when I make this I will double the dressing and marinate the steak before cooking.

Other things to substitute or add to the salad:

snap peas
snow peas
mushrooms,
broccoli
cauliflower
or anything else that appeal to you

My Family's New Favorite Soup - Chicken Tortilla Soup

We have been eating a lot of soup lately. Mostly because I can double the recipe easily and freeze half. On those nights I don't feel like cooking, it's really easy to pull out some frozen soup and heat it up.
With all the snow on the ground there is nothing more comforting than hot soup. I made this twice in the last week it is so good. It takes about 45 minutes to make, you can double the recipe and freeze the soup too. And again, even my son Brian, who claims he dislikes chicken, loved it

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

4-6 chicken thighs (see note)

1 onion diced

1 jalepeno pepper, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 qt chicken broth

28oz can diced tomatoes

1 cup frozen corn

2 14oz cans black beans, rinsed

1/4 cup parsely and/or cilantro, chopped

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

3 soft tortillas, sliced thinly

1 lime quartered

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large sauce pot brown chicken thighs until cooked through, remove from pot and let cool. Drain fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon.
2. add onion and garlic. Saute until the onion is translucent Add jalepeno pepper, saute for 30 seconds
3. Add the chicken broth, deglazing the pan and scraping any bits from the bottom of the pan.
4. Add tomatoes, corn, black beans, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes
5. Meanwhile shred the chicken, and add back to the pot and simmer for 5-10 minutes
6. Heat a small sauted pan over medium-low heat. Add sliced tortilla strips and "saute" until the strips start to brown and become crisp.

TO SERVE:

Ladle soup into bowls, add a little parsley/cilantro and squeeze lime on top of soup. Garnish with tortilla strips. Serves 4-6 as a main dish.

NOTE:

You can substitute 2 chicken breast for the thighs if you like. I use thighs because I think they add better flavor. The chicken breast have less fat.

Dinner Ideas: What We Are Eating This Week - part two

So what else are we eating besides Turkey and Black Bean Soup?

Tonight we are having Salmon w/ Pepita Lime Butter, and Curried Squash. The Salmon is from Eating Well http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/salmon_with_pepita_lime_butter_for_two.html and the Curried Squash is from Clean Eating Magazine. It has brown basmati rice, acorn squash (although I'm going to use butternut squash) and baby spinach in it. I thought the combination of the flavors of Mexico/Latin America and India might be fun to try. We'll see how everyone else likes it.

Rustic Genovese Basil Pesto Pasta:  Again this is from Clean Eating Magazine. This is pasta (multigrain) with  basil pesto,  1 russet potato, cherry tomatoes and green beans. I'm going to add parsely to my basil pesto because I don't have enough fresh basil to make pesto. Of course you can buy pesto too and just add the other ingredients. 

I'll also be serving a huge salad with this too. Probably mixed field greens and cucumbers and who knows what else. I always do something different!

Black Bean and Feta Quesadillas:  I'm planning to make this on the weekend. It's quick, easy and really good.  I saute a little onion, add a 15oz can of tomatoes, one 15oz can of black beans and mash it together so that it becomes a really rough paste.  Add a little salt and pepper, about one teaspoon of chili powder and a tablespoon of chopped parsely. Mix altogether and add to whole wheat tortillas. You can cook them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or put them in a saute pan with a tiny bit of oil heat them that way.

Enjoy and I hope you try something new.

Dinner Ideas: What We Are Eating This Week

It's been warmer here the last couple of days and I'm really dying to grill. The grill, however is in the gargage surrounded by the sub-floor, the bamboo floor, and bathroom fixtures for the basement project we've been working on for a couple of months. There is a small path from the back door through the garage and out the garage door, so getting the grill out isn't going to happen for at least another week when we should have the sub-floor down. So since I'm stuck cooking inside for the next couple of days, this is what we are having:

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.