Cassie’s Ruminations

Teriyaki Chicken with Brown Rice and Stir Fried Veggies

A quick and healthy meal tonight: stir fried teriyaki chicken, savoy cabbage, and broccoli. I heated a little canola and sesame oil in my wok, added the sliced cabbage, stir fried for a minute to brown, then added water and steamed for another 2 minutes to wilt, then removed it to a bowl and repeated the process with some chopped broccoli, just increasing the steam time to about 5 minutes, then finally stir frying the chicken and adding the sauce just to it. You can get more detailed stir fry instructions and my sauce recipe here.

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Even More Stuffed Zucchini

Just a small tweak tonight. I realized that I was out of tomato sauce after being quite committed to making this for dinner, so I added a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes and about 2 tbsp of tomato paste and boiled off the excess liquid. It worked pretty well. I like the tomato sauce better, as it permeates the filling, but I could definitely see adding diced tomatoes in future iterations.

Posted in Food, Italian, Poultry, Vegetables | 1 Comment »

Cobb Salad

There are probably as many variations of Cobb Salad as there are people that make it. This is the version I made tonight. Avocado is pretty traditional, but sadly the one I had in the fridge had gone mushy and grey Blue cheese is also often used, but I never have any around.

This version has baby romaine and butterhead lettuces, beefsteak tomato, and hard boiled eggs all from my CSA box, crumbled bacon, ham, and chicken. The chicken was one of those pre-”grilled” packets you find near the lunch meat. They’re surprisingly good and make a great instant protein addition to a light meal. I used a little bit of ranch for dressing, but you could use just about anything. Vinaigrette is also very good.

For perfect hard boiled eggs, place them in cool water in a pot and bring it to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover, and let stand for 10 minutes. Move the eggs to an ice bath to stop the cooking, let cool for 5 minutes in the ice water, then remove, dry, and peel.

Posted in Easy, Eggs, Food, Poultry, Salads, Vegetables | No Comments »

CSA Box Week 11

Another beautiful box

Free-Range Eggs
Lettuce-Baby Heads
Tomatoes-Sungold
Tomatoes-Sungold
Tomatoes-Big Beef
Squash-Romanesco
Sweet Corn
Potatoes-French Fingerling

Peaches-Red Haven
Blueberries
Blueberries
Apples-Shamrock

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Roasted Fingerling Potatoes and Rib Eye Steak

I love potatoes These gorgeous little fingerlings are some of the last remnants from last week’s CSA box. I tossed them in olive oil, seasoned with salt, and roasted them at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes in a cast iron skillet with a quick seared little rib eye steak. Easy and delicious!

Posted in Beef, Food, Potatoes, Vegetables | No Comments »

Smoked Salmon Chowder

This was a quick, easy, and flavorful soup. The smoked salmon is the star, so be sure to get a high quality piece. I used SeaBear Coho Salmon.

Smoked Salmon Chowder
Serves 4 as an appetizer, 2 as a light meal

3 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp all purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 dash garlic powder
1 dash onion powder
1 dash white pepper
6 oz hot smoked salmon
1 cup half and half

Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan. When the butter starts to foam and turn slightly brown, add the flour and stir to combine completely, making a roux. Add the chicken broth and spices and whisk to completely incorporate the roux. Break up the salmon into small pieces and add to the soup. Bring to a gentle boil. Add the half and half and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, cook for 2-3 minutes, and serve hot.

Posted in Appetizers, Food, Seafood, Soup | No Comments »

Avocado, Tomato, and Surimi Salad

This is a fast and refreshing summer salad. It works great with shrimp or crab too, but surimi (aka krab) is what I happened to have on hand. I just ate it on its own, but it would also be good on tortilla chips or bruschetta.

Avocado, Tomato, and Surimi Salad
Serves 4 as a side. 2 as a light meal

2 large hass avocados
1 large beefsteak tomato
juice of 2 key limes
dash garlic powder
dash onion powder
dash ground cumin
8 oz whole leg style surimi, cut into bite sized chunks

Coarsely chop the avocados and tomato and place into a large bowl. Pour the lime juice over the top, sprinkle with the spices, and gently stir to combine. Add the surimi and stir one last time.

Posted in Appetizers, Food, Fruit, Salads, Seafood | 1 Comment »

More Stuffed Zucchini

I made a big pan of stuffed romanesco summer squash tonight, following my previous post. Very good as usual and the leftovers will get me through the weekend

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CSA Box Week 10

This week’s box:

Free-Range Eggs
Lettuce-Butterhead
Tomatoes-Big Beef
Tomatoes-Big Beef
Squash-Gold Rush
Squash-Romanesco
Sweet Corn
Cucumbers-Slicing

Peaches-Red Haven
Peaches-Red Haven
Blueberries
Apples-Shamrock

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Crema Funghi – Creamy Mushroom Soup

This is an elegant and rich mushroom soup. The recipe is inspired by one from Carnival Creations, the cookbook based off of Carnival Cruise recipes. My folks picked up this book on our first cruise back in the day, and I made copies of a few of my favorite recipes, including the one that inspired my own recipe below. Rather than season the entire pot of soup with salt, I topped my bowl with a couple grinds of lovely Himalayan Pink Sea Salt from a local store that specializes in gourmet salts. It was the perfect finishing touch!

Crema Funghi
Serves 6 as an appetizer or 2-3 as a meal

2 tbsp unsalted butter
8 oz crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/4 cup brandy
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup half and half
1/8 cup roux – 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, and mixed thoroughly with 2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 bay leaf
1/8 tsp white pepper
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a 4 quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook until the mushrooms are tender. Add the brandy and increase the heat to medium high. Reduce the liquid by half – about 3-4 minutes. Add the half and half, roux, bay leaf, and pepper, and whisk to combine completely, stirring until no lumps of roux remain. Bring the soup to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat and discard the bay leaf. Stir in the whipping cream and season to taste with additional white pepper and kosher or sea salt.

Posted in Appetizers, Food, French, Soup, Vegetables | No Comments »