Baby Potatoes with Kale

A few years back, I recall the word "superfood" becoming a regular fixture in healthy eating articles. Some of these superfoods have been a regular fixture in my diet for years...berries, tea, salmon, etc. But the greens was an area that I desperately needed to explore a bit more.

I can thank some of my regular dinner companions in Columbia Heights for introducing me to kale. Sometimes they'd serve it crispy and baked with chili oil and sesame seeds. Other times it would be mixed into a power salad. For something I never really cooked with before, I was developing a taste for it. This is one of the better kale recipes I've tried in recent months, which makes for a great side dish for a group. And it takes a little less than 20 minutes to cook from start to finish.

Baby Potatoes with Kale (serves 4 as a side dish)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb sliced baby potatoes
• 1 1/2 TB canola oil
• 2 TB sliced garlic
• 3 cups chopped kale
• 1 TB water
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

Place potatoes in a saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Cook 8 minutes; drain.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add canola oil. Add potatoes and garlic; cook 3 minutes.

Add kale and water. Cover and cook 3 minutes. Add sesame oil, salt, and pepper; toss and serve.

Raspberry Lemon Muffins

As evidenced by the wide variety of things I make on this blog, I'm not much of a creature of routine when it comes to lunches and dinners throughout the week. I like to mix it up. But when it comes to breakfast, it's rare that I stray too far from the staples, namely Cheerios with the occasional egg-based weekend breakfast.

Last week I made raspberry lemon muffins for a brunch I was hosting with some friends, and took the rest into my always hungry government office. These simple muffins were not only tasty, but also relatively low-fat. They were a hit with everyone and something I plan to add into my somewhat predictable breakfast routine.

Raspberry Lemon  Muffins (makes 12 muffins)

Ingredients:

• 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup lowfat buttermilk
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup white whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 12 large (1/2-cup) muffin cups with paper liners.

Use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest from the lemon in long strips. Combine the zest and sugar in a food processor; pulse until the zest is very finely chopped into the sugar. Add buttermilk, oil, egg and vanilla and pulse until blended.

Combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add the buttermilk mixture and fold until almost blended. Gently fold in raspberries. Divide the batter among the muffin cups.

Bake the muffins until the edges and tops are golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Best served warm.:)

An Oldie but a Goodie-Grilled Peach and Prosciutto Salad

A while back I indicated that I was going to employ some strategies to this blog that we use at work. Such as "Throwback Thursdays", or "F-ing Fantastic Food Friday." But in all reality, I'm too busy to keep up with any sort of set schedule like that, I just really try and post twice a week. And I kind of screwed that up last week. But I have been doing a lot of cooking and eating lately, and am building up a stockpile for September as my work schedule gets even nuttier.

Some of what I've been making lately have been repeats on previously successful dishes. This is one of them.  I made this Grilled Peach and Prosciutto Salad a few weeks back when I had a ton of peaches and was looking for something light to eat on a Monday after a weekend of excess (which seems to be every weekend as of late!) Here's the recipe in my original post from last year.You won't be disappointed. Trust me.

Lamb Pita Pizza

I too find it hard to believe I've never cooked with lamb before. My early interactions with the meat had not been good ones. Bless her, but my grandmother didn't really season the meat when we'd have it during the holidays and she would effectively cook it to death. Which is a funny phrase when you think of it, considering when you're cooking meats, they are most often quite dead. But I digress...

So the first time I ever had lamb and enjoyed it was at a Mediterranean tapas place on the Hill that closed many years ago. It was a spiced, lamb kebab. Cooked to perfection. And I thought, "Wow this is what I've been missing!" Since that day, I've occasionally had a lamb chop or a kebab here and there, but had yet to cook with the meat. That all changed last week when I found this great recipe that was perfect for weekday lunches. It's simple and tasty. Try it out for a different kind of lunch!

Lamb Pita Pizza (makes 4 pita "pizzas")

Ingredients:

• 6 oz. ground lamb
• 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
• 1 TB minced fresh garlic
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 3/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chopped seeded tomato
• 1 1/2 TB fresh lemon juice
• 2 (6-inch) pitas
• 1/2 cup plain hummus
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 TB pine nuts, toasted

Directions:

Preheat broiler to high.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add lamb to pan; cook 3 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble lamb. Remove lamb from pan.

Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion to pan; sauté 4 minutes. Stir in garlic, cumin, oregano, salt and cinnamon; sauté 1 minute. Stir in tomato; bring to a simmer. Cook 4 minutes or until tomatoes begin to soften. Stir in cooked lamb.

Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 4 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice.

Split each pita into 2 rounds. Place pita rounds on a baking sheet. Broil 1 minute on each side or until crisp.

Spread 2 tablespoons hummus on each round. Top each serving with about 1/3 cup lamb mixture. Sprinkle evenly with cilantro and nuts.

Fried Big Noodle with Pork

As I've mentioned before, I took a Thai cooking class while on vacation last year in Chiang Mai. As part of the class, we made several different dishes, but we were also provided with a booklet to take home with us including some additional recipes. A few weeks ago, I elected to make two of these dishes for a Sunday dinner party. The chicken satay dish was simply amazing. You can get the recipe here. The other dish was similar to a drunken noodle dish, dubbed "Fried Big Noodle with Sweet Soy Sauce" in the book. I managed to find fresh, big noodles at H-Mart. Score.  And this was quite tasty.

The recipe in the book is for two servings, but you can easily multiple for more people, which is what I did. Here's my best multiplication skills to make this for four people.

Fried Big Noodle with Pork (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. fresh big noodle
• 8 oz. pork, thinly sliced
• 4 TB oil
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 6 oz. kale, roughly chopped about 2-inches long
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp. soy sauce
• 2 TB oyster sauce

Meat marinade:

• 2 TB fish sauce
• 2 TB soy sauce
• 2 TB oyster sauce
• 4 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp pepper

Directions:

Combine marinade ingredients and set sliced pork into dish with marinade. Chill for 30 minutes.

Cook noodles according to package instructions. Once just cooked, drain and set aside.

Heat 2 TB oil in wok on medium to low heat until oil is hot. Add garlic, stir for 2 minutes, then add pork. Cook until pork is no longer pink, 3-4 minutes, stirring on occasion. Add kale and stir for a minute until they are soft and start to wilt. Add noodle, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Stir to combine.

Move all of the mixture to one side of the wok, add 1 TB oil and beaten eggs, frying for 30 seconds. then combine with rest of noodle mixture.

Stir well and combine and serve.

I'm a Cheater...When it Comes to Baking

I've inherited many gifts and attributes from my grandmother. The gift of gab? Check. Short stature with a commanding presence? Check check. My name? Biggest check of them all.

But there is one very big gift I did not get from my grandmother.When it comes to baking, I cheat. I don't have the patience and skills to make really elaborate desserts. My grandmother always had a cake that she had baked ready for us when we visited. She would take hours to make the perfect cookies at the holidays. When it comes to desserts, I've tried many times and I only succeed in rare instances, usually on basic cookies. But a cake or pie? Forget it.

I wanted to make cookies in the shape of bocce balls (round, how hard could that be?) for a friend's impending departure. I took many shortcuts to get to the finished produce.

Refrigerated sugar cookie dough? Check. It already being in a loaf making the cookies close to round? Check. Red dye to make the icing bocce red? Yep, that too.

However, they turned out a bit pink, and I ran out of decorative black icing 3 cookies in. But they tasted great and I can thank Pillsbury for helping me cheat and whip these cookies together quickly.

Ingredients:

• Sugar Cookie dough
• Icing
• Food dye

Directions:

Buy these ingredients and follow their instructions.

Yep, I phoned this one in. :)

Tomatillo Peach Salsa and Taco Night!

Each week, a group of my friends in the neighborhood get together for an HBO viewing party. Several months ago it was Game of Thrones, the last several weeks have been for True Blood. It's a great excuse to watch some pretty ridiculous shows (let's be honest, True Blood is nutty) and eat some ridiculously good food. My neighbors Aniello and Jay always host since they have a ginormous TV, and a kitchen to die for. Due to some travel conflicts with our hosts, I stepped up to be in charge of this week's offerings. I opted for a Sunday fiesta of sorts, with two types of tacos and some homemade salsa. We had traditional beef tacos, but I also made one of my favorite fish taco recipes, which you can get here.

I have made salsa before, but never like this. My friend Nick at www.macheesmo.com (seriously, I've been turning to his blog on the regular this summer...amazing stuff) posted a great peach salsa recipe last year that I had bookmarked, but peach season passed before I had a chance to make it. But not this time! This was simple and delicious. So go grab some peaches and do it!

Tomatillo Peach Salsa

Ingredients:

• 1 pound tomatillos
• 2 large peaches
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• 1/3 cup red onion, minced
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 lime, juice only
• 2-3 TB cilantro, chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste
  
  

Directions:

Peel the tomatillos and halve them. Sprinkle with salt and roast at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.Let tomatillos cool slightly and puree in a food processor.

Seed jalapeno and chop finely. Also chop red onion and add to tomatillo puree.

For peaches, cut a small "X" on the end of each peach and dip in boiling water for about a minute. Remove peaches and use a paring knife to peel off skin. Dice peaches and add to salsa.

Add minced garlic and cilantro to salsa and season with salt and pepper.

I let it chill int he refrigerator for an hour or so before serving, which I think helped the flavors really meld together. This salsa was hands-down ten times better than the jarred variety we also had. Awesome!