Cassie’s Ruminations

Northwest Cioppino

Inspired by a good bowl of cioppino at Anthony’s in Everett and several recipes online (i.e. Cooking Light, Allrecipes, Elise’s Simply Recipes, and Giada of the Food Network), I’ve made my own version of cioppino, filled with great local seafood. I love living near the ocean 😀

Northwest Cioppino
Serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup grated onion (about 1 medium onion)
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp crushed red pepper
2/3 cup dry white wine
2 15-oz cans diced tomatoes
1 8 fl oz bottle high quality clam juice
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
12 manila clams, scrubbed
12 mussels, scrubbed
8 oz large shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 oz skinnless salmon fillet, cut into 2 inch chunks
4 oz lump Dungeness crab meat

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender and starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and saute for another minute. Deglaze the pan with the wine and reduce by half. Add the tomatoes, clam juice, and seasonings, reduce the heat to medium low, cover the pan, and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the clams and mussels and re-cover the pan. Increase the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes until the shellfish just start to open. Add the shrimp, salmon, and crab meat, gently stirring to incorporate, and cover the pan again. Cook for a final 5 minutes, or until the shellfish are all open (discard any that do not open) and the fish and shrimp are cooked through. Serve hot with crusty bread.

Posted in Food, Italian, Seafood, Vegetables | No Comments »

Tonkatsu (Japanese Breaded Pork Cutlets)

Tonkatsu is a very traditional and popular dish in Japan. It consists of thin pork cutlets breaded and pan fried and served with a barbecue-like sauce. It’s a very fast and tasty meal that I’ll definitely repeat in the future 🙂 I just served this with some fresh tomatoes, but rice or even bread to make a sandwich is more traditional. The panko bread crumbs are lighter and fluffier than the average American breadcrumb, and make a very nice light and crispy crust. Almost no oil is absorbed if you let in heat up first, so don’t skip that step. Both the panko and the tonkatsu sauce can be found in the Asian aisle of most grocery stores.

Tonkatsu (Japanese Breaded Pork Cutlets)
Serves 2 generously or 4 if with rice and other sides

1 lb thinly cut boneless pork loin chops
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/8 cup canola oil (enough to fill the skillet to about 1/8 inch deep)
Tonkatsu sauce

Pour the oil into a heavy skillet over medium heat and let it warm up all the way, about 3-4 minutes. When a panko crumb dropped in the oil sizzles vigorously, it’s ready, Lightly coat each pork chop in flour, shaking off any excess, then coat in egg, then finally in the panko. Place the chops in the skillet and fry until deep golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side. Serve hot with tonkatsu sauce.

Posted in Asian, Food, Pork | 1 Comment »

Roasted Chicken and Summer Squash

A quick and easy meal for a late night, this was quite tasty.

Roasted Chicken and Summer Squash
Serves 4

2 lbs summer squash
kosher salt and black pepper
1 lb thinly sliced skinless boneless chicken breast
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut the summer squash into 1/2 inch thick rounds, place in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet, and season with salt and pepper. Season the chicken on both sides with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and oregano, and place the chicken on top of the squash.

Roast for 40-50 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the squash is fork tender. If desired, brown the chicken for 2-3 minutes under the broiler before serving.

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Pan Seared Lamb and Brussels Sprouts

Another tasty standby dinner of ours, I just roasted the little brussels sprouts in the same cast iron skillet as the lamb. I got some nice boneless chops this time, so a bit less work to eat while still very flavorful.

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Winter CSA Box Week 1

Very similar pickings to the summer boxes so far 🙂 The winter boxes are different in that rather than having a separate fruit box and veggie box, I just pick the 12 items in my box from the entire list rather than 4 fruits and 8 veggies.

Pears-DAnjou
Winter Squash-Sweet Dumpling
Apples-Honeycrisp
Flour-Hard Red Wheat
Free-Range Eggs
Lettuce-Red Leaf
Arugula-Cut
Turnips
Tomatoes-Farmer
Tomatoes-Farmer
Cucumbers-Slicing
Beets-Red Ace

Posted in CSA, Food, Fruit, Vegetables | No Comments »

Oysters on the Half Shell

The other part of my treat yesterday for meeting my first weight loss goal was a half dozen Quilcene oysters. These were a little harder to shuck, as barnacles had stuck decent sized rocks to a couple of them, but I did quite well and didn’t lose too much of the liquor. I think next time I’ll promote myself to one of the more delicate and harder to shuck oysters in my quest. 🙂

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First 5% Weight Loss Goal Met!

Yahoo! I’ve lost nearly 16 pounds since September 1st and met and exceeded my first 5% weight loss goal at my weigh in this morning. I’m feeling quite encouraged with my progress 🙂 I’ve started a new ticker on my weight loss page heading towards my next goal – 10% lost. As a little reward for myself, I got some fun Halloween socks to wear this week at work. Told you I have weird taste in socks 😛

Posted in Ramblings, Weight Watchers | 4 Comments »

Mini Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

These are my absolute favorite pumpkin cranberry bread baked into a mini muffin form. Instant easy portion control and an easy to share treat for taking into work. I just moved desks on Friday so I’m finally co-located with the group I’ve been working with all year, and I figure these will be a nice treat to say hi 🙂 Each mini muffin has just over 1 Weight Watchers Point. I used my little size 50 disher to portion each muffin, which worked beautifully.

Mini Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins
Makes 30 mini muffins

1 1/8 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 of a 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray mini muffin cups with non-stick spray.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, spices, baking powder and salt. Combine egg, sugars, pumpkin and oil in small mixing bowl, and beat until just blended. Stir the wet mixture into the dry until the batter is just moistened. Fold the cranberries into the batter. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups.

Bake for 40 minutes to an hour or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

Let cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Posted in Baking, Bread, Breakfast, Food, Muffins and Quick Breads, Vegetables, Weight Watchers | 1 Comment »

Chicken Bruschetta

Chicken bruschetta for dinner tonight. I put in a bunch of extra zucchini since I had a big pile from my last CSA box. Tasty and warming for one of the first days that felt like fall 🙂

Posted in CSA, Food, Italian, Poultry, Vegetables | No Comments »

Aki’s Braised Pork Shoulder

This recipe comes from my local Central Market. They often have recipes near their weekly specials, and this one was a real winner! The only thing I changed was using about 1/4 tsp of dried red pepper flakes instead of whole dried chiles, as I could not find my little stash of them. I made some quick braised brussels sprouts to go with the meat.

Aki’s Braised Pork Shoulder
Serves 6-8

2 tbsp canola oil
6 large cloves garlic, peeled and quartered
2-1/2 cups water
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sake
3 tbsp sugar
1 bunch green onions, ends trimmed and cut into 3 inch pieces
1 3-inch long piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
1-3 whole dried red chile peppers

In a large skillet, heat the canola oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and fry until just turning brown and fragrant. Using a slotted spoon, remove the garlic to the crockpot, leaving as much of the oil as possible. Return the pan to the heat and add the pork shoulder. Brown on all sides, 2-3 minutes per side. While the roast is browning, whisk together the water, soy sauce, sake, and sugar. Stir in the onion, ginger, and chiles and set aside. When the roast is browned, place it in the crockpot and pour the garlic oil over the top. Pour the liquid mixture over the top as well and cook on low for 8 hours. If desired, serve over rice.

Posted in Asian, Food, Pork | No Comments »