Moroccan Sweet Potatoes

2 large sweet potatoes
1 small onion
5 or 6 oz. package of white mushrooms
1 15.5 oz. can of chickpeas
2-3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3-5 tbsp. honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
10-15 cloves
5-10 cardamom pods
sea salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400F.

Wash sweet potatoes. Cut into 1/2 inch thick slices. Quarter the slices. Drain chickpeas. Slice mushrooms and onion.

Put sweet potatoes, mushrooms chickpeas and onion in large mixing bowl, and douse with olive oil. Mix thoroughly with hands until vegetable mixture is coated. Sprinkle with cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and vanilla extract and mix again with hands. Drizzle honey over vegetable mixture (3-5 tbsp., to taste depending on how sweet you'd like it) and mix again with hands until evenly coated with honey and spice. Stir in 10-15 cloves and 10 cardamom pods. Sprinkle with sea salt and ground pepper to taste.

Transfer sweet potato mixture to two baking pans (I used 9" round cake pans) or dishes, with about 3-4 tbsp. water in the bottom. Cover pans with foil and bake for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Bake uncovered an additional 5 minutes. Serve hot as main course or side.

Nosh: Abba smoked herring and smoked salmon pates

One of the quickest, tastiest snacks in my pantry right now.

shitake and asparagus risotto

as you can see by the photo, i served this with the herb crusted chicken. i got this recipe from epicurious too.

i was inspired to make risotto after having lovely shrimp risotto from grotta azzurra. i've always been afraid to make it -- i heard somewhere that it was difficult, but bolstered by the disclaimer in the epicurious recipe, i tried it.

it wasn't hard at all, just a little stir heavy for the last 15-20 minutes. i would definitely recommend having leftover chicken broth (or veggie broth) to thin out leftover risotto. i also didn't use shitake mushrooms, but i used a mix of sliced portobello and white mushrooms.

shitake and mushroom risotto
5 cups chicken broth (40 fl oz)
1 cup water
1 lb thin to medium asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices, leaving tips 1 1/2 inches long
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
3/4 lb fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice (10 oz)
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 cup)

Bring broth and water to a boil in a 4-quart pot. Add asparagus and cook, uncovered, until crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer asparagus with a slotted spoon to a large bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking, then drain and pat dry. Keep broth at a bare simmer, covered.

Heat oil with 1 tablespoon butter in a 4-quart heavy saucepan over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then transfer to a bowl.

Cook onion in 2 tablespoons butter in saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed, about 1 minute.

Ladle in 1 cup simmering broth and cook at a strong simmer, stirring, until absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue simmering and adding broth, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently and letting each addition be absorbed before adding next, until rice is just tender and looks creamy, 18 to 20 minutes. (Save leftover broth for thinning.)

Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup cheese, remaining tablespoon butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Gently stir in asparagus and mushrooms, then cover pan and let stand 1 minute. If desired, thin risotto with some of remaining broth. Serve immediately with remaining cheese on the side.

herb crusted chicken

i got this recipe from my favorite online recipe source, epicurious.

the chicken was very easy to make and had bonus points b/c it was baked, not fried.
however, i didn't pound the chicken breasts; i simply bought thinly sliced chicken breasts. i also didn't use any fresh herbs or juice. i just used what i had in the house -- lemon juice concentrate and dried herbs.

i would recommend using real lemon juice, as the chicken tasted a bit too lemony at times, but it did make the chicken moist, even tho they were thin slices. i would also recommend oiling the baking sheet very well -- i lost the bottom bit of my crust to my baking pan, even tho my pan is supposedly non-stick (i bought it at the grocery store, so who knows?).

6 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups plain dry breadcrumbs
6 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Lemon wedges

Using meat mallet, pound chicken breasts between sheets of plastic wrap to 1/2- to 3/4-inch thickness. Arrange chicken in 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish. Pour lemon juice over. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour. Remove chicken from dish and pat dry with paper towels.

Preheat oven to 450°F. Melt butter with oil in small saucepan over medium heat; cool slightly. Mix breadcrumbs, basil, parsley, rosemary, salt, and pepper in pie dish. Brush chicken breasts on both sides with melted butter mixture. Coat chicken on both sides with breadcrumb mixture. Place chicken on baking sheet. Bake until chicken is cooked through and breadcrumbs are golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer to plates. Serve, passing lemon wedges alongside.

Soup's On

Here are three of the recipes I've posted to my other blog.

1. A low-fat, no-carb seafood chowder: it's cream-, potato- and flour-free, thickened only by blended cauliflower. I had wanted to make either the creamy cauliflower soup from Rachel Ray's book 30 Minute Vegetarian Meals, or the New England veggie chowder from the Claire's Cornercopia Cookbook, but I didn't have the right ingredients for either recipe and am not crazy about potato based soups, so I scrapped them both and made something up.

1 lb. baby or bay scallops
1 medium to large head cauliflower
1 small white onion, diced
1 clove minced garlic
3 cups skim milk
1 cup water
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. thyme
1 bay leafCoarse salt and ground white pepper to taste

In a large pot, boil cleaned and trimmed head of cauliflower until tender. Remove florets and set aside. Discard stem (feel free to remove florets first and then boil them, which is probably quicker).

In 3 quart saucepan, saute onions, garlic and 1/3 to 1/2 of scallops in olive oil until scallops are thoroughly cooked and a small amounf of stock has formed. Remove from heat.

Remove scallops from onion and garlic mixture. Add milk, water and cauliflower florets and blend, using hand blender, until relatively smooth. Return to heat. Add thyme, bay leaf, cooked scallops and remaining scallops. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

And that's it. I think this version might benefit from a spinkling of shavings of hard cheese, like asiago or romano, which is what that Rachel Ray suggests in her book. I also think it could do with a splash of white cooking wine, but I didn't have any on hand and that might just counterbalance this soup's many health benefits: Calcium! Protein! Fiber! I'm pretty happy with the results, but I think I'll tinker with the recipe for next time. Parsley might be nice. Using a cup of vegetable stock instead of plain water might also add a more interesting note to it. And more veggies--say, corn, celery and carrots-would undoubtedly be good. I just liked the idea of having a pure white soup this time around.

2. Black bean soup, a fast favorite
2 15.5 oz. cans of black beans
1/3 large sweet onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced1 jalapeno, diced
1 bay leaf
2-3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. minced garlic (or about 1-2 minced fresh cloves of garlic)
2 c. water
Sea salt to taste
Cumin to taste
(optional--as much cilantro as you like)

In 3 qt. saucepan, saute onions, garlic, bay leaf, jalapeno and bell pepper in olive oil over medium-low heat, until onions are transparent.While onions and peppers are cooking, open and drain both cans of beans. Leave one can of beans whole; mash other can of beans until they form a paste (easiest to do this right in the can with a fork or wooden spoon).

Add whole beans to onion mixture and stir. Add water and bring to a low boil. Add bean paste and stir until the paste is dispersed and soup has thickened. Add cumin to taste (I like it a lot so I add at least a full tsp., sometimes more). Add cilantro and salt to taste. Simmer over low heat for another 10 or so minutes, then remove from heat. Serve topped with a sprinkling of diced peppers and onions, nonfat plain organic yogurt, and home-made guacamole or a sprinkling of low-fat cheddar cheese.

3. Scottish Stilton Soup: I got the recipe online, from Recipegoldmine.com. I had to tweak the recipe so it wasn't so, you know, obscenely fatty and dangerous to one's health. The original can be found here. Here's my tweaked version.

1 head cauliflower
1/2 c. diced shallots
1/2 c. diced carrots1 bay leaf
1/4 c butter (or, if you're really trying to be good, 2 tbsp. of olive oil, instead)
1/4 tsp. white pepper
2 c. vegetable broth (unsalted, non-tomato based)
1 1/2 c. skim milk
1 1/2 c. crumbled stilton cheese
1 tsp. sea salt

Boil cauliflower until tender. Remove florets from stem, chop and set aside. Discard stem. In 3 qt. saucepan saute shallots, bay leaf and carrots in pan with butter over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Remove bay leaf.

Add cool broth, milk and florets to saucepan and blend ingredients in saucepan with hand blender (or in standard blender) until fairly smooth. Return soup to heat and bring to a low boil, stirring constantly. Add crumbled cheese and stir until melted. Add sea salt to taste. Serve hot with crusty bread.

Next time, solid food, promise.