Cassie’s Ruminations

Blackberry Blossoms and Ripening Berries

There is a blackberry bramble on the other side of the fence behind our house. Many tendrils poke over, much to my delight. I’ve been happily watching it grow all summer. Now, there are many blossoms and baby berries. I’m looking forward to picking a few in several weeks!

(disclaimer – I am not a photographer. I carry a little point and shoot Kodak. It has a decent lens and some good settings, but nothing even vaguely close to professional, and I can’t recall my f-stops and apertures and whatnot unless I read up on them every time. Regardless, I think these photos are pretty, and they are mine, so if you borrow them, please give credit to me, thanks. I do have higher quality images on the off-chance that you want to print them out or something =P )

Posted in Ramblings | No Comments »

Grilled Balsamic Chicken

Another quick and easy grilled dinner. I had some thinly sliced skinless boneless chicken breasts and just wasn’t feeling like piccata, so I tossed them with a quick marinade and grilled them.

Balsamic Grilled Chicken Breasts
Serves 4
1 lb thinly sliced chicken breasts (or tenders, or pound regular breasts to about ¼ in thick)
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano

Mix all of the marinade ingredients in a large zip top bag. Add the chicken, seal the bag, and squish it around to coat completely. Light the grill and let it heat up to medium heat. Put the chicken on and grill for 4 minutes on each side or until cooked through.

I served this with some steamed carrots and tossed green salad.

Posted in Food, Grilling, Poultry | 1 Comment »

Emma’s Big Day

Today was a big day for Emma. We started out with a big corgi meet-up at a local dog park. There were tons of other corgis there, and Emma had fun after she got over being overwhelmed by so many other dogs. I didn’t let her off the leash this time, because the dog park was huge (several acres!) and she’s not yet trained well enough for me to trust her to always come when I call (unless I’m holding a bag of chips, which are her favorite thing in the whole world). Here are a few pictures:

Arriving at the park and meeting new friends

Yay! Balls and frisbees!

Lots of walking too

Awww, is it time to go home already?

She was so tuckered out that she slept most of the way back home and for most of the afternoon. In the late afternoon, we set off to our first puppy kindergarten class. She was a very good little dog, and hopefully we’ll both get a lot out of the class. Shaun will come when he can, but between the Navy now and with the LSAT coming up in a few months in the midst of working, he has other priorities right now.

Posted in Corgi, Ramblings | 2 Comments »

Broiled Tuna Melts

This was a quick and easy lunch. The proportions below are for one serving – two if you serve it with some sort of side, but I was lazy and just had the melts on their own. Feel free to use whatever bread you have on hand.

Broiled Tuna Melts
1 (6 oz) can of tuna packed in water
2 tbsp mayo
2 tbsp pickle relish
2 tsp yellow mustard
1/3 cup (40 g) finely grated cheddar cheese
2 mini bagels

Preheat the broiler. Slice open the bagels and lay them flat on a cookie sheet, cut side up. Mix together the other ingredients and spoon evenly onto each of the four bagel halves. Pop into the oven just under the broiling element for 2 minutes or until the cheese is melted and a nice golden crust has started to form.

Posted in Easy, Food, Seafood | 1 Comment »

Italian Vegetable Sauté

This was a great light dinner. It would also work well as a side dish.

Italian Vegetable Sauté

Serves 4 as a side

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, pressed

2 medium zucchini, sliced into rounds

1 tsp dried oregano

dash of salt

¼ tsp pepper

1 15 oz can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

2 small tomatoes, cubed

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds or until just turning golden and fragrant. Add the zucchini, oregano, salt, and pepper and cook for 5 minutes or until starting to get tender. Add the beans, tomatoes, and vinegar and cook for another 5 minutes or until the beans are hot.

Posted in Beans, Food, Italian, Sides, Vegetables | 2 Comments »

Galbi and Fresh Heirloom Tomatoes

Galbi (aka Kalbi) is a Korean dish made from beef short ribs cut across the bone and marinated in a soy based sauce before being grilled. I’ve been trying to perfect my own version of this tasty meat ever since trying it about 3 years ago (okay, so I haven’t been trying very hard or very often). I was quite satisfied with tonight’s iteration, and I think it will only need minor tweaking from here on out. One of the key secrets to the marinade is grated pear. It really made a difference in the flavor and tenderness of the meat. To go along with the meat, I just sliced up a couple gorgeous heirloom tomatoes and sprinkled with a touch of kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. A wonderful summer meal! I can find the beef short ribs cut galbi-style in my supermarket, but if you can’t feel free to substitute any other fairly thin cut of meat, such as boneless chuck strips – just thread the marinated meat onto skewers before grilling.

Galbi
Serves 4

Marinade:
4 large cloves garlic, pressed (about 4 tablespoons)
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp honey
1/2 of a ripe bartlett pear, cored and grated
1 tbsp sake
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp black pepper

2 lbs beef short ribs, cut galbi style

Mix all of the marinade ingredients in a large zip top bag. Add the short ribs, squeeze out all the air, and let marinate for 15 minutes to 2 hours. Don’t go for much longer than this, as the pear’s tenderizing effect can make the meat too mushy.

Preheat the grill to medium high heat. Grill the ribs for 5 minutes on each side or until cooked all the way through.

Posted in Asian, Beef, Food, Grilling | 2 Comments »

Shrimp and Egg Stir Fry and Gai Lan in Oyster Sauce

Tonight’s dinner was another foray into Jaden’s blog and soon to be published cookbook. The main dish was this delightful shrimp and egg stir fry, and the side was a recipe for gai lan (Chinese broccoli) in oyster sauce that will be in her cookbook. My favorite oriental grocery store didn’t have good looking gai lan today, so I got some yu choy (Chinese spinach) instead. It was all very tasty and I’m looking forward to more of Jaden’s recipes!

Shrimp and Egg Stir Fry

Yu Choy in Oyster Sauce

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

Baked Turkey Chimichangas

Tonight’s dinner was baked turkey chimichangas. These are a healthy way to enjoy a great Mexican treat. Sometimes I make a quick green chile sauce to go on top, but tonight we just wanted them plain. If you can find them, get Tortillaland uncooked tortillas. I get mine at Costco. They are sold online at Mexgrocer. These tortillas are amazingly good! I also use them for burritos, baked egg rolls, mini pizzas, homemade chips, and tons more. They’re a little bit smaller in diameter, so you’ll end up with about 6-8 chimichangas.

Baked Turkey Chimichangas
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 lb thickly sliced mesquite smoked turkey from the deli counter
10 oz bag of thinly sliced cabbage
1-3 chiles in adobo (1 for mild, 2 for medium, 3 for spicy)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
Salt and pepper
4 12-in (burrito size) tortillas
Non-stick cooking spray

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking dish with foil. Spray the foil with non-stick spray.

Cut up the turkey slices into strips with a pair of kitchen shears and put into a large mixing bowl. Finely chop the chiles in adobo. You can find these in the Mexican aisle of your grocery store. They come in a can with 10 or so of them, but you can easily freeze the rest and just scoop out what you need for future recipes. Mix the chiles in with the turkey until it looks evenly coated. Add the tomato sauce, chili powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir gently until everything is evenly coated. Add the cabbage and toss to combine.

Divide the filling into four equal parts and fill each tortilla in a wide strip down the middle. Fold in the ends, roll them up, and place them in the baking dish seam side down. Spray the tops and sides of the tortillas with more non-stick spray. Bake the chimichangas for 20 minutes or until they’re pretty golden brown and crunchy on the outside. If you get the uncooked tortillas, it will take closer to 30 minutes.

Posted in Food, Mexican, Poultry | 1 Comment »

Emma and the Octopus

Here’s Emma with her toy octopus, tied around her thanks to my goofy husband. She walked around with it for quite some time, only occasionally giving us looks like we were insane for cracking up at her 😀

Posted in Corgi | 1 Comment »

White Chocolate Lemon Fudge

This is a lighter more summery take on fudge. If you don’t have lemon oil on hand (and you really should – it’s a great addition to marinades as well as baked goods), substitute lemon extract, but you’ll want to at least double the amount (4 tsp of extract) in order to get the same lemony zing.

White Chocolate Lemon Fudge
Makes 1.5 lbs

Ingredients:
18 oz (3 cups) white chocolate chips
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
2 tbsp butter
2 tsp lemon oil
Zest from 1 lemon (about 1 tbsp, packed)

Line an 8 inch or 9 inch square cake pan with parchment paper.

Put the white chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and butter into a large microwaveable bowl. Heat the mixture on medium high (70%) for one minute. Stir the mixture with a spatula and return to the microwave for another minute at medium high heat. Stir again until the mixture is smooth and well combined. If your microwave does not do power settings, do this in 30 second bursts, as white chocolate is prone to burning. Stir in the lemon oil and zest and pour the mixture into the cake pan.

Chill in the fridge for 2 hours or until firm. Turn the fudge out onto a board and cut into 16 squares. Store the fudge in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

Posted in Desserts, Easy, Food | 3 Comments »