What I made for dinner: Paprika Shrimp and Green Bean Saute

(From EatingWell Healthy in a Hurry)

Ingredients

• 4 cups green beans, trimmed (about 12 ounces)
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and de-veined
• 2 16-ounce cans large butter beans, or cannellini beans, rinsed
• 1/4 cup sherry vinegar, or red-wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preparation

1. Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Put green beans in a steamer basket, place in the pan, cover and steam until tender-crisp, 4 to 6 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and paprika and cook, stirring constantly, until just fragrant but not browned, about 20 seconds. Add shrimp and cook until pink and opaque, about 2 minutes per side. Stir in beans, vinegar and salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup parsley.
3. Divide the green beans among 4 plates. Top with the shrimp mixture. Sprinkle with pepper and the remaining 1/4 cup parsley.

Makes 4 servings (but I cut it all in half for the S.O. and me).

This dish was super easy (I bought shrimp that was already de-veined!) and really delicious -- for those out there who like shrimp and green beans, of course.

Mutant strawberry

I baked a cake last weekend for the S.O.'s birthday. It was a lemon cake with vanilla frosting, and I sliced fresh strawberries to put on top.

It was not a beautiful cake but it was quite tasty.

You can't tell from the picture of the cake, but there were a few strawberries in the batch that were huge. They weren't just kind of big; they were seriously, massively, monstrously giant.


Look:

Lest you think that's Photoshopped (which I don't have, by the way), here's another for perspective.

The strawberry on the left is still larger than average and it's dwarfed by the mutant strawberry.

That big old thing tasted just like any other strawberry though. And since consuming it, I have not developed any special powers.

But they tasted good

The Boot Tracks turned out to be a big hit, and not one person said they looked like poo. And not one person knew they were made with whole-wheat pastry flour, raw sugar, organic cocoa powder and cage-free eggs.

Shhh. Don't tell anyone I've turned into such a hippy.

Baking cookies

Tonight and tomorrow night we celebrate the end of our spring tutoring session. I got it in my head to bake cookies for the little nippers because I hate all the processed crap out there and plan to force my healthier ways on the kids, whether they know it or not.

So, I headed over to EatingWell.com and found this recipe: Boot Tracks. Cute, right? Plus, they actually kind of fit, because the theme of our curriculum is Pikes Peak and hiking and climbing the mountain, etc. (This replaces my original idea of making sugar cookies shaped like the Cat in the Hat's hat. I couldn't find a hat cookie cutter and I know my limitations.)

However, being the bad planner that I am, I barely had enough sugar to make one batch, even though I'd planned to make at least two. And they are not dusted with confectioners' sugar, because the bag I had in the pantry had a "best by" date from more than a year ago. And I only have a Belgian waffle iron. Which the recipe specifically says not to use.

So, although my Boot Tracks cookies taste yummy. They look more like something you might scrape off your boot at the end of a hike than a boot track.

Bet you wish you could have one now, don't you?

Big Night Out

Thanks to my part-time gig, the S.O. and I got to go to a fancy schmancy fund-raiser event last night. We got dressed up and ate and drank too much. It was a lot of fun.

It was the American Culinary Federation Pikes Peak Chapter Presents Simply Colorado, and the menu looked like this:
Reception
Chef Mark Painter C.E.C., Pikes Peak Community College
Reception Platters
Artesian Rolls
Chef Pete Aiello C.E.C., C.E.P.C., Alpine Chef
Artesian Rolls with Sweet Cream Butter
Fish
Chef Gary Hino C.E.C., Pikes Peak Community College
Sea Bass and Asian Medley En Paupiette with Green Tea Beurreblanc
Soup
Chef Walter Lofton, Springs Rescue Mission
Five Onion Soup with Scallion and Gruyere Croutons
Salad
Chef Bill Poulin, Cheyenne Mountain Resort
Roasted Chili Apple Bouquet with Candied Pecans and Spiced Yogurt Dressing
Intermezzo
Chef Richard Carpenter C.E.P.C., Harvest Mountain Foods
Wild Strawberry Yuzu Sorbet
Fowl
Chef Eric Viedt, The Margarita at Pine Creek
Southwest Duck ala Orange
Meat
Chef Tyler Peoples, Briarhurst Manor
Split Rack of Lamb Crepinette with Smoked Lamb Belly Duxelle
Dessert
Megan Walter, Sweet Daphne
Lemon Chevre Cheese Strudel, Black Berry Port Syrup with Cardamom Cream
Coffee Service
Jewels Burdick, Colorado Coffee Merchants
Mignardise
Richard Carpenter C.E.P.C, Harvest Mountain Foods
French Cinnamon Macaroons
Matcha Green Tea Mousseline
Coconut and Guava Pata de Fruit
Single Origin Chocolate Truffles

And because I had no idea what "mignardise" meant, I looked it up. This Web site says:

Mignardise are the tiny, bite-sized desserts that often follow a meal at high-end restaurants. They frequently include tiny cookies or chocolates, as well as other edible delights.

It also tells me that the word translates from French to mean "delicate fondling." Gotta admire the French for their love of food.

And now back to my regularly scheduled diet that excludes eight-course meals and wine pairings.

Big-Ass Spider

I have been pretty good lately about cooking more. And for the most part, I cook healthy meals, with fresh, whole ingredients.

Tonight's dinner was Vietnamese-style beef and noodle broth. It's kind of like pho, traditional Vietnamese soup. I thought it tasted pretty good, but the S.O. thought it needed some tweaking. I think I can accommodate him and keep it fairly healthy.

But the real reason for this post isn't to share the recipe, it's to tell you about what I found in the basil. Because I don't have any kind of green-thumb whatsoever, I buy fresh herbs in these flat plastic packages. They're pretty convenient, and I don't usually waste too much that way. Tonight, I opened the package to pull out some basil for the soup and found a big-ass black spider.

I'm not usually terribly squeamish about spiders, but this one was sitting in my basil. And I freaked a bit. And by a bit, I mean I pretty much lost it, slamming the package closed and calling the S.O. to deal with it. (He washed it down the sink.)

I put the basil in a colander to rinse it and assure myself that Charlotte didn't leave any babies behind. I was thisclose to just throwing the entire package into the garbage -- the outdoor garbage. But I know that would have been really wasteful.

Still, I have to admit my skin is kind of still crawling.

What I watched: "Julie & Julia"

I just finished watching "Julie & Julia." No, really, just five minutes ago, I finished watching the movie. And now, I don't know if I'm inspired to write or cook or crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head because I'm never going to get a book deal out of this blog!

The movie is cute and sweet and funny and inspiring but not cloying and has just a dash of spice. Meryl Streep is brilliant -- but how can you not love Meryl Streep -- as Julia Child. Stanley Tucci is her amazingly sweet and loving husband. Jane Lynch shows up in a small scene as Julia's sister and, as Jane Lynch is wont to do, steals my heart.

Amy Adams is Julie Powell, a government worker who takes on the challenge of cooking every single recipe in Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in one year -- and blogs about it. (The bitch gets a book deal and a movie out of it! Yes, of course I'm envious. Why didn't I think of that? Well, except for the fact that I know I could never boil a lobster alive or bone a duck. But I could write the hell out of reading about it! And I did make beef and barley soup for dinner tonight. Yes, I know it's not French. Shut up.)

I loved this movie. There's not much more I can say about it. I have no objective critiques. I just loved it. It made me happy. It was like a really great dinner, with a really great wine and really great friends.

I hate cooking

But Mom tried to get me to like it. One of the things that made me want to cook was this book:Published in 1965, the book was around before I was, so Mom must have bought it for my older brothers. And it was marketed to both girls and boys, which seems pretty progressive for 1965. The book sits on my shelf now. I brought it from Mom's house for the nostalgia -- and because it's actually kinda fun.

The "Bunny Salad" (made with pear "bunnies") was my favorite recipe. I honestly can't remember actually making it, but look how cute.

And pay no attention to that "Rocket Salad" in the upper right-hand corner. I never noticed it as a kid but my (perverted) adult mind doesn't exactly see a "rocket" there.

Bonus:
I just found this cookbook, tucked inside the kids' cookbook: It's Betty Crocker's "Piggy Bank Casseroles; A Special Collection of Penny-Wise Recipes," copyright 1970. Betty writes, "Dear Friend, Feeling the squeeze from the high cost of feeding a family? (Who isn't these days!)"

Betty Crocker has always been relevant, hasn't she. With recipes like Bologna Biscuits with Vegetable, Frank-Bean Casserole and Bean and Wiener Bake (yep, two beans and wienie recipes!), she'll show you how to save money, because "Whatever the reason, when your budget cries 'Help,' it's casseroles to the rescue."

Look! Pie!

For the past few minutes, I was working on a post about how I didn't feel good and WebMD can turn me into a hypochondriac with every condition from the flu to lyme disease. But that post felt whiny and boring. But I have just a few days left of NaBloPoMo and I'm not about to fail now. So look at my beautiful Frozen Pumpkin Mousse Pie and enjoy the recipe below.

Ingredients

Crust

• 30 small gingersnap cookies (about 7 1/2 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons raisins
• 1 tablespoon canola oil

Filling

• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 pints (4 cups) frozen low-fat vanilla yogurt, softened (see Tip)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan with cooking spray.
2. To prepare crust: Combine gingersnaps and raisins in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add oil and pulse until blended. Press evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan.
3. Bake the crust until set, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. To prepare filling: Combine pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in a large bowl and mix well. Add ice cream and stir until blended. Spoon the mixture into the cooled pie crust. Freeze until firm, at least 2 hours. Let the pie soften slightly in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.

• Tip: To soften ice cream quickly, microwave on Medium-Low for 30 to 60 seconds.

Two things

1. Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful. I highly recommend all three of the recipes I tried from EatingWell.com.

2. While Ripley still has no social graces and doesn't really appreciate the wee one visiting, both dogs enjoy our back yard. See? Pictures!

She might not notice if I stay way back here.

Oops! She noticed.

Please be my friend.

Happy Thanksgiving

After yesterday's miserable failure at trying to cook chestnuts, I took a giant chance and bought a new batch from a different store. This morning, I roasted them (cut an X on the flat side of each nut, spread them on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes). I'm guessing I got bad nuts the last time because these came out beautifully. Really, this picture doesn't do them justice.

Chestnuts are odd. They taste a bit like bacon, so they should taste good in the Brussels Sprouts. My pumpkin mousse pie also looks lovely. If nothing else, our table will look great. And even if the food ends up tasting less beautiful than it looks, I will still have plenty to be thankful for today.

Things like:
my friends (furry and otherwise)
my family
the S.O. (who counts as both -- friend and family, but not furry)
cheesy SciFi shows
silly video games
laughter
my health
the S.O.'s job
and a beautiful sunny day in which to enjoy the little things in life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Chestnuts roasting on an open FAIL!

I guess I thought I was Martha Stewart, imagining that I could cook my own chestnuts for my Thanksgiving dinner. Silly girl. I followed directions (from a recipe Web site) for roasting them in the oven -- to no avail. I followed the S.O.'s experience with steaming chestnuts -- nope. They are hard little rocks. Not something that will evoke thoughts of home.

So, despite my best efforts to have everything I need for tomorrow's dinner, I have to run back out to the store.

What's on the menu

I'm trying to include some healthier side dishes in our Thanksgiving dinner this year. In addition to turkey and stuffing -- which the S.O. makes and are delicious -- I am making:

• Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts & Sage
• Smashed Spiced Sweet Potatoes
• Frozen Pumpkin Mousse Pie

(All from EatingWell.com) I'll let you know how they turn out. But they sure sound yummy. No Tofurkey in this house!

Activities on the menu are playing with the S.O.'s new Playstation 3, board games, several episodes of Farscape and playing with Ripley and my dear friend's puppy.

It promises to be a fun day.

Resisting temptation

With an early deadline for my test drive next week, I decided to work on it over the weekend. That way next week will be open to just relax and fix the big meal.

I thought it would be easier to get out of the house. So I headed to Barnes & Noble, where there is free WiFi and (of course) Starbucks. The holidays are coming, and Starbucks has its signature holiday lattes on offer -- sticky sweet coffee drinks with a ton of whipped cream on top, like gingerbread latte, peppermint mocha and caramel brulee latte. They all sound and look delicious -- and full of really unnecessary calories. So I resisted and got tea. yum.

No. I love tea. But gingerbread latte? Come on!

UPDATE: I have to add that Starbucks is packed and noisy and not doing much for motivating me to work on this test drive. Also, is it so unusual to see someone typing on a laptop that you have to stare at me?

Six Words

DOVE Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate PROMISES

Yogurt tastes good, part II

As I said yesterday, Ripley loves yogurt. And even when I don't have yogurt for breakfast, she expects to have some -- to the point of not leaving me alone until I prove to her there's no yogurt.

See?



I guess I understand. I get like that about my coffee. Mmmm, coffee.

Yogurt tastes good

Ripley is the creature of habit. If you do something once, she remembers it forever. The S.O. let her lick the bowl after he finished his morning yogurt one day. Now, she begs for it everyday. Days we don't eat yogurt for breakfast are like torture. She'll whine. It will take us a bit to figure out why she's whining.

Of course, we have to have a conversation with her to try to figure it out.

Ripley: Ehnnn. Ehnnnn.
Me or the S.O.: What? What's wrong?
Ripley: Ehnnnn. Eeeeehnnnnnnn.
Human: What? What is it Ripley?
Ripley: Rarf! Rarf!
Human: What's that? Timmy's in the well?!?
Ripley: RARF! RARF! RARF!
Human: Well, that's not even possible. We don't have a well.
Ripley: Ehn.

But when we do have yogurt for breakfast, it looks something like this:

T. Rex doggie closes in on its prey.

Nom. Nom. Nom. Yogurt tastes good.
.

Doughnuts!

.

We took the Cog Railway to the top of Pikes Peak yesterday and ate doughnuts at 14,110 feet above sea level. Mmmm... doughnuts.

More healthy, yummy food

Because I'm still a lazy cook, but trying to actually be a cook and to also eat and serve good, healthful meals, here's another kitchen-tested recipe from "Healthy in a Hurry." Or you can find the recipe at the Eating Well Web site (they include all the nutrition info over there).

Adobo Pork & Potato Packets

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red-wine vinegar
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1 small sweet potato, peeled and very thinly sliced
1 medium yellow-fleshed potato, peeled and very thinly sliced
1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 bone-in pork loin chops (1 1/2-1 3/4 pounds), trimmed of fat
Preparation

1. Preheat grill to high.

2. Combine oil, vinegar, paprika, garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a blender; process until creamy, scraping down the sides as needed. Place sweet potato, potato and onion in a medium bowl. Add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 3 tablespoons of the sauce; toss well to coat. Rub both sides of pork chops with the remaining sauce.

3. To make a packet, lay two 24-inch sheets of foil on top of each other (the double layers will help protect the contents from burning); generously coat the top piece with cooking spray. Spread half the potato mixture in the center of the foil in a thin layer. Bring the short ends of foil together, fold over and pinch to seal. Pinch the seams together along the sides to seal the packet. Make a second packet in the same fashion with the remaining potato mixture.

4. Place the packets on the hottest part of the grill and the pork chops in the front or back. Cook the pork for 3 to 4 minutes per side and the packets for 5 minutes per side. Transfer the chops to plates and let rest while the packets finish cooking. Open the packets (be careful of steam) and serve the pork chops with the vegetables.

Makes 4 servings

I don't consider potatoes to be a vegetable, so I served this with candied carrots -- which probably aren't all that healthy, what with the 4 tablespoons of butter, but are delicious and, I'm told, can be made with less butter -- but I think a tossed green salad would go well with this dish.

Still here

Hello! I'm still here. Don't worry. I didn't keel over from my Boot Camp workouts. In fact, I've been blogging for my "drill sergeant."

So, I'm working out and still trying some new recipes. Last night's dinner was Chili-rubbed Tilapia with Asparagus and Lemon from "Healthy in a Hurry." You can also find the recipe at EatingWell.com. It was quite yummy and good for you -- but you don't have to tell anyone that. Serve brown rice or couscous with it to make it a little more filling or if you have an S.O. that must have a side dish besides veg.

I recommend this dish because it's quick and easy, as well as healthy. And it is quite tasty. Tilapia doesn't taste too strong, so it's a great way to add fish to your weekly menu without a lot of work.