No recipes this week

Hi,

As I had enough food frozen from weeks past, I decided to clean out the freezer and not cook this week.

I did try to make a coffee gelatin desert, but it didn't come out quite right. It's edible, but that's not enough. I'll try again shortly and post the recipe if I succeed.

Kathy's Citrus Cabbage Salad

I tried something unusual and entirely original. At leas, I came up with the recipe all on my own. So I'm putting my name on it.

Ingredients:

Salad:
1/3-1/2 a Head of red cabbage, chopped
1 Teaspoon olive oil
2 Cloves of garlic, minced
1/3 Onion, sliced
2 Carrots, thinly sliced (you may want to use a slicer, like a Presto Salad Shooter)
1 1/2 cups soybean sprouts
Ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup orange juice
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
4-5 mushrooms, sliced

Dressing:
1 Teaspoon olive oil
1 Teaspoon sesame seed oil
1 Teaspoon honey
1 1/2 - 2 Teaspoons mustard (I used plain yellow mustard, but any mustard is good mustard)
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Ok, in a large, deep saucepan or a wok, heat the olive oil and roast the garlic in it for about a minute. Add the carrots and onions and cook for about two minutes more. Sprinkle some black pepper, stir well. Add the cabbage and soybean sprouts. Continue cooking for 2 minutes. In a cup mix the orange juice and 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Add it to the pan and stir well. Cook for about three minutes more, but don't let the vegetables get too soft. Remove from heat.

With a slotted spoon or a large serving fork, transfer the vegetables to a salad bowl, leaving in the pan most of the remaining o.j. vinegar mix. Add the raw, sliced mushrooms.

In a bowl mix the dressing ingredients and whisk well. You want a brownish, thick, homogenous mixture. When you get it, add the liquid left in the pan and whisk some more. Again, you want a homogenous mixture.

Pour the dressing on top of the vegetables and toss well.

I recommend letting it cool before serving. In fact I cooked this rather late yesterday, so I put it in the fridge overnight. I had it for lunch the next day and it was delicious at room temperature. I do like to let salads soak in dressing overnight, too.

Simple spaghetti recipe

I didn't feel like making anything complicated this weekend, so I got some spaghetti and Prego sauce. If that were all, I wouldn't post about it, but I tend to add some things to the store-bought red stuff.

Ingredients:

350 gr. Spaghetti cooked to taste
1 Jar Spaghetti sauce (about 650 gr. if memory serves)
1 Cup snow peas
1 Cup Soybean sprouts
1/3 Red onion, thinly sliced
1 Clove garlic, minced
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/3 teaspoon fine herbs
1 Tablespoon oregano, crushed
Ground black pepper to taste
2 Turkey sausages, diced
A dash of Worcestershire sauce

I've found it best to prepare the pasta and sauce at the same time, because cooked pasta left in a colander tends to get sticky. It also helps to spray the cooked pasta with cold water after draining it.

So, in a deep saucepan, and I mean deep, or a pot, heat the olive oil. Saute the onion and garlic until the onion begins to turn flexible. Next add the bell pepper and keep cooking for two minutes. Add the soybean sprouts and snow peas, and sprinkle the black pepper. Cook for a few minutes longer until the vegetables are cooked to your taste.

Next reduce heat to minimum and add the jar of sauce and stir. Add the fine herbs, oregano, Worcestershire and sausages next, stir again. Bring the whole thing to a slow boil, and add the cooked Spaghetti (if it's done then). Stir/toss the pasta to mix it well with the sauce and veggies.

The added vegetables make the sauce really thick, so it's easier to ad the pasta to it rather than the sauce to the pasta. Also, commercial Spaghetti sauce already has oregano, so taste it beforehand and see if you want to add more.

I have been looking for recipes for tomato sauce to make my own, but I haven't had much success there. One time I attempted my own recipe with tomato puree and spices. The result were ok, but no better than store-bought sauce, so why bother?

On the plus side, my inability to find good recipes led me to develop my own recipe for Green Bell Pepper Fettuccine, which led to the recipe for Fettuccine with Poblano Chile Sauce.

Chicken and Lentil stew

I did take a break from the sweet and sour, and the tomato-based dishes. Instead I retook my budding love affair with lentils, which are both tasty and versatile, if not particularly colorful... In other words, this weeks' dish isn't much to look at, but it's tasty.

You may notice some similarities to my Dry Lentil Soup. I've been thinking about using lentils in a stew since then.

Ingredients:

1 Chicken breast without skin and bone, cut in bite-size pieces
1 Cup green lentils
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Large green bell pepper
2/3 Red onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Carrots, diced
2 Medium-sized potatoes, diced
1 Cup soybean sprouts
2 Cubes chicken bullion, low-fat, low-sodium
1/3 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1/3 teaspoon fine herbs
1/3 teaspoon dried pesto
1.75 liters of water
3 1/2 Tablespoons corn starch dissolved in 1/4 cup of water

First let the lentils soak for a few hours. Next cook the chicken on a skillet with a little oil or cooking spray and set it aside.

In a pot heat the olive oil, saute the onion, garlic and bell pepper until the onions turn translucent, then add the potatoes and carrots, and sprinkle the black pepper. Saute for about 3 minutes. Add the water and reduce heat to medium. When the water warms up, add the lentils, spices and chicken bullion cubes. Stir well and reduce heat to minimum. When you see any bubbles, add the chicken. Stir again.

Let it cook for about an hour and fifteen minutes (your times may vary), or until both the potatoes and lentils are tender. Add the corn starch dissolve din water for a thicker consistency, stir well. You will then see larger bubbles forming. Remove from the flame, let it cool and serve.

I'm not entirely satisfied with the end result, but right now i can't think of any improvements.

See you next week!

Textured Soy Chili

Here's my take on vegetarian chili, or as I call it, chile sin carne.

And yes, it's another textured soy recipe. I've a few of them. Textured soy is low-fat and a good source of protein, but lacks flavor. So I tend to drown it in sauces, or mix it with ground beef.

Textured soy needs to be hydrated. So soak about 1/3 of the weight you want in water for a few minutes, then drain it. after you drain it, you need to squeeze it to remove excess water. And then it's ready to be used.


Ingredients:

300 Gr. prepared textured soy
1/2 Onion, chopped
2 Cloves of garlic, chopped
1 Cilantro twig, with stem, chopped
1 Teaspoon powdered turmeric
1/2 Teaspoon cumin
1 Tablespoon oregano
1/2 Teaspoon fine herbs
840 Gr. Tomato puree
2 Chicken bullion cubes (low fat, low sodium)
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 Chipotle chilies, chopped
1 Carrot in cubes
1 Cup snow peas
2 Cans baked beans (560 gr. each)
1 Teaspoon olive oil

In a large pot heat the olive oil. Saute the onion and garlic until the onion turns translucent, then add the cilantro and saute for another minute. Add the textured soy, carrot and snow peas and stir fry until the vegetable soften a little.

Reduce heat to minimum and add the tomato puree, the spices, canned beans, Worcestershire sauce, chipotles and chicken bullion cubes. Stir well, making sure the bullion cubes dissolve (if you can, crumble them first so they'll dissolve easier). Bring to a slow boil, stirring occasionally. When it boils, let it simmer for a few minutes, then let it cool and serve.

This dish goes very well with unflavored boiled rice.

Sweet and Sour Cabbage, Second Draft

I'm more nearly there, I think,  but the recipe still needs some work.
I went in a different direction, foregoing ketchup entirely and using canned pineapple bits in syrup, which happen to be sweet and sour.

Ingredients:

Sauce
1 Cup chicken broth
1/4 Cup Rice vinegar
1/4 Cup white sugar cane vinegar
1/3 Syrup from canned pineapple bits
210 Gr.tomato puree
1 Teaspoon powdered turmeric
3 Tablespoons Soy sauce (low sodium)
3 Tablespoons corn starch dissolved in 1/4 cup of water

1/2 Head of green cabbage
1 Carrot, cubed.
1 Cup snow peas
1 Red onion in thin slices
2 Cloves garlic
1 Teaspoon sesame seeds
1 Cup pineapple bits, drained of syrup

For the sauce mix the chicken broth, both types of vinegar, syrup, tomato puree, turmeric and soy sauce in a  bowl and whisk vigorously. Set aside. As always, taste it and adjust ingredients to your taste.

In a pot heat some olive oil. Saute the onion and garlic for a few minute, then add the sesame seeds and saute for another two minutes. Add the cabbage, carrot and snow peas. Don't add the pineapple yet. Stir fry until the vegetables soften a little. Reduce heat to minimum and add the sauce and pineapple. Stir well so everything is well covered in the sauce.

Let the dish come to a slow boil. When it boils, add the corn starch solution and stir well, again making sure everything gets well covered. You'll feel the sauce thicken while you stir. Let it simmer for a minute or two, let it cool a bit and serve.

I'm not satisfied with the dish as it is, or with the sauce. But I think I'm headed in the right direction. I'll likely rest from sweet and sour, and tomato puree (see following post, eventually) for a week or two, then get back to it.

But the way, the sauce does look a little more red than it shows in the photo.

Sweet and sour cabbage, first draft

I thought this one up while at work late this afternoon. I've tried some sweet and sour recipes before, but was disappointed with the results. This one comes close to meeting my expectations, but it's not all it could be yet. Think of it as first draft.

Ingredients:

1/2 A head of green cabbage, shredded
1/3 Onion, quartered
2 Cloves of garlic, minced
1 Cup soybean sprouts
1 Cup snow peas
1 Cup chicken broth (Ok, I used a cup of hot water and one cube of low sodium, low fat chicken bullion)
3 Tablespoons soy sauce (low sodium)
4 1/2 Tablespoons vinegar
1/4 cup Ketchup (I used low-sugar ketchup)
2 Tablespoons Splenda (you can use sugar in the same proportion)
Black pepper to taste
1 Teaspoon sesame seed oil
3 Tablespoons corn starch dissolved in 1/4 cup of water

Preparation:

First do the sauce. In a bowl mix the chicken broth (cold or warm, not hot), ketchup, soy sauce and vinegar. Whisk until you can't see lumps of ketchup. Taste to see if it's sour enough. if it isn't, add more vinegar (carefully, you don't want it too sour). Add the Splenda and whisk again. Taste again to check if the sweet and sour balance is ok. if not, adjust as needed by adding more sweetener or vinegar. Just be careful not to mess it up, or to add too much liquid. Set it aside.

Heat the oil in a pot. Add the onion and garlic and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the cabbage, snow peas and soybean sprouts. Sprinkle with pepper, if you want, and stir well. Stir-fry for ten to fifteen minutes, or to the point where you think the veggies are soft enough.

Reduce the heat to minimum and add the sauce (it won't hurt to give it a last whisk). Stir well so everything gets coated. You may need to toss it like a salad. Let it simmer for three minutes and add the corn starch dissolve din water. Stir/toss well again, insuring everything gets well-drenched in sauce. Let it simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, remove from heat and serve.

I need, and I will,make some improvements. For one thing I should add sliced carrots and pineapple bits in syrup (which would alter the sweetener amounts). It might also serve for sweet and sour meats like chicken or pork.

Enjoy!

Green Bell Pepper Fettuccine

As promised, here it is:

You'll note is very similar to my Fettucine with poblano chile sauce. It's not a coincidence, as both are based on the same use of cottage cheese as a creamy, thick base. The green pepper one I made sooner, after several iterations.

Ingredients:

250 gr. Fettuccine cooked to taste
2 Green bell peppers cut in bite-sized pieces, divided
1/2 Onion, chopped
2 Cloves of garlic, minced, divided
2 Scoops, about 220 gr. cottage cheese
1/2 Cup skim milk
1 Teaspoon oregano
1/3 Teaspoon dried pesto
1/3 Teaspoon fine herbs
1 Cup finely shredded green cabbage
1 Cup soybean sprouts
2 Teaspoons olive oil
2 1/2 Teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup of water

Preparation:

First heat up 1 teaspoon olive oil and add one (1) of the green bell peppers, plus a little bit of the chopped onion. Saute until the bell pepper is a little burnt (the onion will brown and go limp sooner). When they're done, let it cool for a few minutes. You can cook the pasta at the same time.

Once they've cooled enough, say till they're only warm to the touch, put them in a blender with 1 clove of garlic, the cottage cheese, milk and a pinch each of oregano, fine herbs and dry pesto. You know what comes next, don't you? That's right: Liquefy throroughly. Set it aside.

In a deep saucepan or wok heat up 1 teaspoon olive oil and add the rest of the onion and 1 clove of garlic. Saute for a few minutes. Add the cabbage, soybean sprouts and the other bell pepper and stir fry until you achieve the desired softness for your veggies.

Set heat to low and add the sauce you blended. Mix well. Add the oregano, fine herbs and pesto and stir some more. Let it come to a slow boil. When you see any bubbles, add the cornstarch dissolved in water. Keep stirring until large bubbles form.

Now you can either add the sauce to the fettuccine, or the fettuccine to the sauce. It works out the same thing. Let it cool a bit and serve.

Oh, there's a  reason to cook the bell pepper before blending it. Raw bell peppers have a very subtle flavor. When you cook them in a bit of oil, the flavor becomes stronger and mixes better with the other ingredients. I first tried 1 raw pepper for the whole recipe, half in the blender, half sauteed with he other vegetables. I found the sauce barely tasted of green bell pepper.

So naturally in the next go round I used a whole pepper in the sauce. I got the same result. So I gave up on the recipe. But a few days later while eating something else I cooked (I forget what exactly), I noticed sauteed peppers tasted more strongly of bell pepper. Then I decided to try again.

It just goes to show you should experiment and pay attention to the things you eat. How they taste, what texture they have, what color, etc. You never know when one thing can work in another recipe.

Oh, as a bonus here's a photo of part of my kitchen. As you can see, it's a working kitchen :)

I love the overhead light on the GE stove

New recipes coming

I'm cooking green bell pepper fettuccine right now, and will post the recipe in a few hours.

I hope to have the cottage cheese enchiladas done by Tuesday. Maybe I'll post pictures of my kitchen as well.

Stay tuned!  Please?