Chicken Piccata
October 7, 2010 – 7:00 pmMy take on chicken piccata was dinner tonight. The pasta was a real treat as we’re still trying to keep our refined carb intake down. Yum!
CSA Box Week 17
October 7, 2010 – 6:56 pmIt’s the second to last week of the summer CSA season, but I’ve already signed up for the winter extension into December 🙂
Free-Range Eggs
Lettuce-Green Romaine
Arugula-Cut
Winter Squash-Farmer
Tomatoes-Sungold
Tomatoes-Sungold
Squash-Farmers Choice
Peppers-Mixed Bell
Pluot-Dapple Dandy
Plums-Angelina
Peach-September Sun
Apples-Gala
Smoked Sausage and Brussels Sprouts
October 5, 2010 – 7:37 pmAn easy, fast, and tasty dinner for a night when we were both feeling wiped out! I used our favorite chicken smoked sausage.
Smoked Sausage and Brussels Sprouts
Serves 2 generously
1 large link, 14 oz, smoked sausage, cut into 1/4 inch thick rounds
1 lb brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half
kosher salt and black pepper
1/2 cup water
Spray a skillet with non-stick spray turn the heat to medium. Add the sausage and brown on both sides. Add the brussels sprouts and season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat to medium high, add the water, and cover the pan tightly. Steam the sprouts for 3-5 minutes or until tender. Remove the cover and boil off any remaining water before serving.
Roasted Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Honeyed Apples
October 4, 2010 – 5:58 pmThis is another great recipe inspired by Fine Cooking. Pork and apples are a time honored combination, especially for fall, and this version is quite good. I’m not much of a fan of scallions (the whole not cooked to death onion = migraine thing 😛 ), so I used parsley instead, but I think I used too much. I made a few other modifications based on our tastes and what I had around too. I served this with some steamed broccoli and cauliflower.
Roasted Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Honeyed Apples
Serves 6
2 baking apples (I used honeycrisp, but granny smith, golden delicious, or any other firm baking apple will work)
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
2 pork tenderloins, about 2 lb total weight
1 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt and black pepper
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Peel, core, and chop the apples into 1/4 inch pieces and place them in a mixing bowl. Add the honey, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and thyme, and toss to coat well.
Rub the tenderloins with olive oil and generously season with salt and pepper. Cut a lengthwise pocket in each one and divide the apple mixture evenly between the two. Close up the pockets and secure with butchers twine or some toothpicks. Place the tenderloins on a rimmed baking sheet and cook for 35-40 minutes or until the internal temperature of the pork reaches 150 degrees F. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Roasted Potatoes
October 3, 2010 – 5:14 pmAn easy and tasty side dish! Potatoes are a good healthy starch, and roasting them makes a nice crispy exterior with a tender interior. You can easily change the seasonings to match your tastes and the rest of your meal. I often add thyme and oregano.
Roasted Potatoes
Serves 4
2 lbs white potatoes, washed and cut into 1 inch chunks
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Toss the potato pieces with the olive oil and seasonings. Spread the pieces out in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour or until fork tender.
Pan Seared Lamb Chops and Roasted Summer Squash
October 2, 2010 – 7:31 pmPan seared lamb chops and some roasted summer squash for an easy and tasty dinner.
Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps
September 30, 2010 – 6:43 pmThis is a delicious meal that I’ve made before. I recently bought shaoxing rice wine, and I really liked the depth that it added!
Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Serves 4
For the chicken:
1.5 lbs skinless boneless chicken thighs, diced
1 egg white
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine, dry sherry, or sake
For the sauce:
1/3 cup water
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 tbsp cornstarch
For the stir-fry:
2 tbsp canola oil, divided
1 lb shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and diced
1 8-oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained and diced
For serving:
1 head butter or Bibb lettuce, separated into leaves, rinsed clean, and patted dry
red pepper flakes
Whisk the egg white, cornstarch, and Chinese rice wine in a medium bowl to combine. Add the diced chicken and toss well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Whisk together the stir fry sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
When ready to cook, remove the chicken from the fridge and let warm on the counter for 10 minutes. Heat 1 tbsp of canola oil in a large skillet or wok over medium high heat. When the oil just starts to smoke, add the chicken. Let sit for 1 minute to develop a nice brown surface, then toss and continue to cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 4-5 minutes more. Remove the chicken to a bowl.
Add the second tbsp of canola oil and heat again. When just about smoking, add the mushrooms and water chestnuts and stir to cook well, about 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken back to the wok along with the stir fry sauce and toss to combine well. Cook for 1-2 minutes to meld the flavors.
Serve warm in the lettuce leaves garnished with red pepper flakes to taste.
CSA Box Week 16
September 30, 2010 – 6:36 pmAnother gorgeous box. One of my boxes of sungold tomatoes was moldy last week, sadly, but they more than made up for it giving me an extra box of them this week and a little bouquet of snap dragons 😀 Some roasted chipotle tomatillo salsa is in the cards this week.
Free-Range Eggs
Tomatillos
Tomatoes-Sungold
Tomatoes-Sungold
Squash-Romanesco
Onions-Yellow Storage
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Nectarine-White
Pluot-Flavor Grenade
Pluot-Dapple Dandy
Peach-Suncrest
Pumpkin Chocolate Cake
September 29, 2010 – 6:53 pmThis is an incredibly easy and relatively healthier cake. Just take an 18 oz box cake mix (I chose devil’s food, but spice is also very good) and one 15 oz can of pure pumpkin and beat together. Don’t add anything else. It will form a thick batter. Follow the baking directions on the box for your chosen pan, cool, and enjoy 😀 I’ve packaged up most of the pan to take to work tomorrow, but had a little piece to celebrate my birthday on the day. We celebrated this past weekend for the most part, doing some fun Halloween shopping, relaxing, and going to a very good brunch at Salty’s on Alki. A good start to a new decade of life 😀
30 Things to Do in My 30th Year
September 28, 2010 – 6:54 pmWell, I turn 30 tomorrow, September 29th, and, inspired by a post I saw on Made by Mike, I’ve compiled a list of 30 things I’d like to do this year. 
- Make a weekend trip to Canada
- Make a loaf of sourdough bread entirely from scratch
- Get under 200 pounds
- Make the trek across the Cascades to see my grandmother
- Bring in homemade goodies of some sort to my office 6 times
- Spend a day at Pike’s Place Market
- Take a day trip to Whidby Island
- Take a picture of my fun socks at least once a month and share them on here. I love fun socks; they make me smile, and I should share that goofiness with more people. It’s only fair to warn them that I’m a weirdo, right? 😀
- Invite some friends and/or neighbors over for a food and fun
- Take Emma to the dog park at least once a month in the summer and fall
- Take Emma up in the Cascades to play in the snow
- Make pizza on the grill
- Enjoy a meal at the restaurant on top of the Space Needle
- Break in our new tent and go camping
- Take Emma canoeing
- Start up an online homemade dog treat business
- Take an Alaskan cruise
- Enjoy a spa day
- Learn some conversational Japanese
- Sell, donate, or otherwise get rid of our collection of duplicate media
- Take up yoga again – find a class or at least do some sun salutations on the weekends
- Eat tons of dungeness crab with my parents
- Get better at shucking oysters
- Share some of said oysters with my brother
- Plant some roses next to the front door
- Play Final Fantasy IX (yes, I’m hopelessly behind)
- Take a cooking class of some sort
- Learn to make a great pad see ew (thai noodle dish)
- Make at least one of the random cross-stiches that have been sitting in my sewing basket forever
- Update and modify this list as necessary
(yes, I’ve run out of ideas 😛 )
