Brazilian Shrimp Soup

It was a cold, snowy night in October.....wait, OCTOBER?  Sounds crazy, right?  Too early for cold weather, let alone snow.  I should still be grilling my dinner, not thinking up something warm and comforting to eat!  So, after grumbling a bit about the wonders of nature, I decided upon this tomato-based shrimp soup, and whole-wheat biscuits.  It definitely hit the spot, and warmed me up!

I diced an onion, a few little red and orange peppers, some thai red peppers from my garden (I miss my garden!) and 5 cloves of garlic and sauteed it all in olive oil.  Then I added a can of crushed tomatoes and 2 cups of water, brought that up to a boil, and covered and simmered for about 20 minutes.  I stirred in a can of light coconut milk and about a pound of peeled whole shrimp and cooked until the shrimp pinked up, about 2 or 3 minutes.  Finally, I added the juice of 1/2 lime and a generous handful of chopped cilantro, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste, and served.  According to various recipes I found, Brazilian shrimp soup is served with rice, so you can always add a cup of cooked brown rice to this.

This was surprisingly tasty for such a simple recipe.  The coconut milk gave it a nice creamy consistency without an overpowering taste of coconut.  As I was writing this, I was wondering how it would taste with about a half a cup of tequila cooked down after the crushed tomatoes and before the coconut milk and shrimp.  Also, a handful of arugula tossed in at the end might be nice.  Since this recipe is definitely a keeper, I will experiment next time and keep you posted!

Baked Fried Chicken

This is a much healthier way than the traditional deep frying.  I removed the skin from chicken thighs, then rubbed spicy brown mustard on both sides of each thigh.  Then I rolled each piece in a mixture of cornmeal, turmeric, smoked paprika, cumin, salt and black pepper.  To give it a nice crust, I heated a SMALL amount of oil in a skillet, then browned each piece on both sides.  Finally, I placed them in a baking dish and baked at 350 for about 40 minutes or so.

Of course it doesn't have that luxurious greasiness of real fried chicken, but this version is nice and crispy on the outside, and moist and juicy on the inside.  The "breading" has a nice flavor, too.  The best part is how much fat and cholesterol is eliminated by removing the skin and baking instead of frying!

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

I wasn't planning on doing soup recipes here just yet, probably because I am still in denial about summer ending.  However, a friend recently asked me for the recipe for Chicken Pot Pie soup, which was a big hit from our cafe days.   I looked for the recipe but only found a list of ingredients.  Most of what we do is just throw stuff in a pot anyway, but it usually works out pretty well. So here is a sketchy outline of the recipe.  Feel free to improvise, I think that's what makes good soup!

Chop up a large onion, a potato or two, some celery and carrots.  Sautee in your soup pot with about 2 tbsp olive oil and salt.  When the veggies (not including the potatoes) are soft, add your chicken broth and water, about a quart in total.  Add to that some frozen vegetables, including peas and some string beans (I like the thin French cut). You can think outside the pot-pie-box and add sauteed mushrooms, broccoli or cauliflower, as well.

Simmer all of that for at least half an hour, until the vegetables are tender.  For the chicken, you can go either of two ways:  You can dice up some chicken breasts and cook them right in the soup for about ten minutes, or you can shred some leftover cooked chicken and throw it in at the very end.
Finally, you can thicken and "cream-ify" the soup either of two ways. There's the guilt-free way, and there's the half-and-half, high-cholesterol way.  At the cafe, we always made our roux (thickener) with white flour and a good amount of melted butter, then added half-and-half (about a cup for this size recipe).  Of course, for a healthy eating blog that won't do.  Instead, melt just two tbsp butter, stir in about two tbsp whole wheat flour until slightly browned.  Finally add about a cup of 1% milk to the mixture, heat gently, then add to the pot.  Another way to add creaminess without the cream would be to boil another potato (maybe use a little less in the beginning), then mash and stir into the soup.  Remember to season well during each phase of cooking.  As always, I like a good amount of freshly ground pepper, and dill and chopped parsley go well with this particular soup.

Okay, no more soup recipes for a little while. I am just not ready for fall yet!

Baked Oatmeal

So just because I am stuck in the house in the middle of a hurricane doesn't mean I am not going to blog.  What else is there to do but eat, drink and watch movies?

Starting with breakfast....I found a recipe for Baked Oatmeal online and tweaked it a bit.  Sometimes it is hard to get a bowl of oatmeal down, especially when rushing to get out of the house in the morning.  This one is easy to make, has lots of healthy stuff in it, and can be eaten with one hand while driving!

Mix together 1 1/2 cups quick oats, 1 tsp baking powder, 2 tbsp ground flax seeds and salt.  I also added in raisins, chopped walnuts, cocoa powder and a good sprinkling of cinnamon.  In another bowl  beat one egg, 1/4 cup honey, 3/4 cup milk, some vanilla and 1 tbsp melted butter (I actually used refined coconut oil instead, but I have been reading a lot about it and am trying to incorporate it into my diet.  More about that later....). Mix the wet ingredients into the dry, and pour into a baking dish.  Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Cool and cut into squares.

This is really very tasty, as well as versatile.  You can skip the cocoa, raisins and nuts, add chocolate chips, coconut or peanut butter, and serve with fruit and syrup on top.  I sliced some bananas and drizzled a little (real) maple syrup on top.  I plan to make another batch and see how they freeze, for those "grab and go" situations when there is no time to make something healthy.

Zucchini Slaw

Zucchini seems to be the best thing growing in my garden this summer.  The tomatoes were a little disappointing, and the insects got to my peppers, but if I don't check on my zucchini every day, they grow to gigantic proportions!  I prefer them smaller, because I think the taste is sweeter and, of course, the smaller ones don't have such big seeds.

So tonight my friend had a great idea as to how to use one of my zukes, which more than doubled in size on the vine after Sunday's storm.  It really is as simple as making cole slaw and adding ribbons of raw zucchini! Once again, we used a vegetable peeler to create thin ribbons, which add a nice texture to the slaw.  Carrots were shredded, as was a wedge of purple cabbage.  The dressing was easy, just a mixture of mayonnaise, spicy brown mustard, a splash of apple cider vinegar, a little agave for sweetness, salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.  This is a pretty healthy slaw, and having a bit of mayo isn't so bad considering you are eating some healthy veggies with it, especially the raw cabbage!  We had this with barbecued chicken and some grilled sweet potato "fries", which were dusted with cajun seasoning and cayenne pepper.  The cool, slightly sweet zucchini slaw complemented the spicy potatoes really nicely.

I have plenty of zucchini left, and quite a few are still on the vine.  This recipe is a keeper, and I am thinking I will probably be making this again tomorrow! I will try to make the next batch well in advance, as the flavors come together better when it sits in the fridge for a while.

Black Bean Burgers

Today was a rainy summer Sunday.  I was bored and hungry, so I went searching in my pantry for something interesting.  A can of black beans caught my attention.  I decided to make Black Bean Burgers.

The first thing I did was dice a stalk of celery, a small onion, and a jalapeno and Thai red pepper from my garden.  While those were sauteeing in a skillet, I coarsely chopped some arugula that was getting wilty in the fridge.  I added that at the end of cooking, then left the mixture to cool slightly.  Meanwhile, I drained the black beans and mashed them in a mixing bowl, leaving about 1/3 stil whole.  I added a beaten egg, a spoonful of salsa (drain it if your brand is drippy), and about a cup of uncooked oatmeal (you can use breadcrumbs).  I seasoned with cumin, chopped cilantro, salt and pepper, and mixed.  It is important to make sure the mixture has enough binding agent (oatmeal) or the patties won't form.  Once you are satisfied with the consistency, refrigerate the mixture for about a half an hour.  Before I learned this little trick, my patties would fall apart in the skillet.  This way, they stick together and brown up nicely.  Once they have chilled, just form the burgers and lightly cook in a small amount of oil.  Olive oil is great, but you can also use grapeseed, which has a higher smoking point.  It also has a nice fruity flavor, and is good for you, too!

I like to serve these with salsa and a spoonful of light sour cream on the side.  You can also serve on a whole grain bun with a little bit of grated cheddar or jack cheese melted on top. 

Did you notice my little salad of cherry and grape tomatoes from my garden?  So pretty, and as sweet as candy!

Garden Vegetable Ratatouille

This summer vacation I am mastering the art of laziness, and don't even feel bad about it.  Even in the kitchen I am looking for easier ways to make a healthy meal.  So tonight I came home after an action-packed day of appointments, and tried to figure out what to do that would keep me on track health-wise, but wouldn't take too much preparation.  I looked at the pile of vegetables on my counter, both from my garden and a friend's, and decided to do a one-pot dish.  Ratatouille doesn't seem to have a lot of rules, so I just pulled out a cutting board and started chopping.  I had a yellow summer squash, a purple eggplant, red bell pepper, some tomatillos and the first of the ripening tomatoes.  I chopped these, as well as a store-bought onion, into large chunks, then added minced garlic, and some minced hot peppers from my garden.  I just seasoned, added a small amount of olive oil, and started cooking over medium heat.  When everything started softening, I added about a half cup of white wine, and a few teaspoons of tomato sauce.  I didn't want everything mushy, as some recipes for ratatouille tend to be, so I watched closely. At the very end of cooking, I added my fresh chopped parsley and oregano from the garden.  I thought about adding some kalamata olives for some briny-salty personality, but I was too lazy to pit them, so instead I opted for a spoonful of capers. Same effect.  I served all this over some barley prepared in my trusted rice cooker, and next to some grilled chicken.  Quick, tasty, healthy, and plenty leftover for another day.  I may add some chick peas to the vegetables and mix with brown rice for a meatless lunch.