Delicious Food And Beverage fan-Healthy Care And Tips

After two weeks of throwing moderation out the window I figured it would be a good idea to focus on some healthy eating for a little while. I also wanted to make something quick and something that would incorporate a good amount of veggies from my weekly farm box. I immediately thought of Quinoa!

A friend of mine made a quinoa pilaf for me a few years back and it was, for all it's hippy and healthy connotations, surprisingly delicious. She added sesame oil to it and the nuttiness of the oil mixed with the grain packed a flavor that I did not expect and tickled me right pink.



I now love this little grain. Unlike other, more common grains, such as wheat or rice quinoa contains a balanced set of amino acids making it a uniquely complete protein. It is also gluten-free which is nice for the surprising number of friends I have that are allergic to it.



I looked through my farm box and found beets with their greens, spinach and avocado and with that trifecta, I went to work. Yet another great thing about quinoa is that it takes very little time to prepare, in fact the longest part of this whole dish is roasting the beets.



Although I made this for a random Tuesday night dinner, this dish is also a beautiful first course for a fancy dinner party - the purple color of the beets bleeds into the quinoa and then the fresh green of the avocado is a nice finish.

RECIPE

pink lady quinoa pilaf
serves 5 as a starter, 3 as a main

1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups water
4 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp fresh thyme
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 beets, diced and greens set aside and loosely chopped
3 cups packed fresh spinach
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp dried avocado (3 fresh)
1 avocado, diced
3 Tbsp sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste

-preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- put the beets in mounded on a sheet of tinfoil with the sprigs of thyme and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 35-40 minutes.
- place the quinoa and water in a pot and cook over medium heat until the water is all gone. If the quinoa doesn't seem quite done then add a little more water.
- meanwhile, saute the onion and dried basil in two Tbsp of oil until translucent. Then add the garlic, spinach, beet greens and balsamic vinegar and cook for about 8-10 minutes until wilted.
- when the quinoa is ready combine the spinach mixture and the beets with the quinoa. Add the sesame oil and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly and the quinoa will get to be a nice pink color.
- plate the pilaf and put a third of the avocado on top of each serving.

My friend Heather turned 30+1 last Saturday and she threw herself a rockin' party. There were beers and bbq and beer cricket and a bonny time was had by all. It was not a potluck per se, but rather a skewer bar. Each guest brought an ingredient or two that would grill well when placed on a wooden stick, and it was a huge success.

My task, beyond marinating chicken and zucchini as my skewer contributions was to make the cake. When I asked Heather what her favorite cake flavor was, she proved, once again that she is a woman after my own heart. Red Velvet.



What is it exactly about this brightly-hued cake that makes people (myself included) go gaga?!?! Is it the not-so-natural redness? Is it the not-quite-vanilla, not-quite-chocolate nature of this marvel? Or is it the luscious and very requisite cream cheese frosting that is lathered atop it?



I would have to guess that it's actually these three facets combined into a perfect storm that makes this cake well, dang near perfect.

It turns out that for a time, this type of cake was not so popular. In the 70's people started getting leery of the red dye and stopped eating anything that contained it (including red M&Ms which were taken out of circulation until 1987). But luckily, the scare passed and we are able to enjoy our raunchy red foodstuffs without fear.



Now, my complaint with many a Red Velvet cake is that they don't quite have enough cocoa in them. Now I know, I know that they're only supposed to have a smidge and really only for color, but can one more tablespoon really hurt? I don't think so. I like the extra earthiness that added cocoa gives, so go for it I say. I also think that buttermilk is key in this cake, it just gives it that extra tang.



All in all my cake turned out beautifully, except for one thing...a Red Velvet cake requires a lot of red food coloring. And when I say a lot I mean about two bottles worth...something I did not plan ahead for and found myself with a decidedly pink cake. It turns out that people like pink cakes almost as much as they like red cakes, and some people even preferred knowing that there isn't quite as much red dye no. 5 in their dessert.

RECIPE
pink velvet cake with cream cheese frosting
serves 10-14

3 Tbsp cocoa powder (not dutch processed)
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 lg. eggs @ room temp
1 Tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 Tbsp red food coloring (2-3 Tbsp for RED cake)
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar

- set oven to 350 degrees and place oven rack in the middle
- grease two 9-inch pans and dust with cocoa powder
- whisk together flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl
- in another medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, vinegar, food coloring, cocoa and vanilla
- In a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer) beat the butter and sugar on high until fluffy (3-6 min)
- reduce speed and mix in 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by 1/2 of the buttermilk mixture.
- repeat until both are gone
- making sure the batter is thoroughly combined, scrape the batter into both of your pans, leveling them slightly
- Bake the cakes 20-25 minutes, until a knife or toothpick comes out clean
- let the cakes cool slightly and then turn them out onto drying racks.
- cool completely before frosting.

cream cheese frosting
2 8-oz packages of cream cheese
10 Tbsp butter - completely softened (or you'll get little chunks of butter in your frosting)
3 Tbsp sour cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups confectioners sugar

-beat the cream cheese, butter, sour cream and vanilla together until light and fluffy
- increase beater speed and mix in sugar, beat about 5 or 6 minutes
- frost your cake

Oh my goodness, the last month has been such a whirlwind. Buying a house, selling a condo, moving out of a condo, moving into a house. Needless to say, very little cooking was going on.

But now we're in and, for the most part, the dust has settled. The kitchen resembles less a repository for cardboard boxes and more somewhere where a little culinary magic might just happen.

I was finally able to take a deep breath one evening and whip a little something up with the few ingredients I had on hand. I have this great book called 30-Minute Meals and I was able to adapt a very swift chicken dish that was fit for company.



The beauty of the pan roasted chicken is that it takes no time at all and you get some of that yummy brown stuff on the bottom of your pan to deglaze and use as in your sauce. The artichoke hearts and tomatoes add both color and flavor and make a very mediteranean meal out of pantry staples.



One detail the the books recipe called for the I substituted was bone-in chicken breasts. These do typically have much more flavor and if you can find them, they work great. I, however, usually only have the boneless kind in my freezer and so I went with those - all turned out just fine.



I served this accompanied with blanched green beans and biscuits and it was truly a delicious 30-minute meal.


4 chicken breasts (bone in or out)
olive oil - about 5 Tbsp
1 large jar artichoke hearts (10+ ounces)
1 pint cherry tomatoes
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried (or fresh) thyme
2 pinches red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

-preheat the oven to 450 degrees
-put 1-2 Tbsp oil in the skillet and heat
-season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown on both sides (about 5 minutes total)
-transfer the chicken to the oven and bake for 15 minutes (closer to 20 if using bone-in), until the thermometer reads 160 degrees
- toss the artichokes with salt and pepper and thyme and oregano. Add more oil to the skillet and heat, then brown the artichokes, stirring occasionally (about 8 minutes), then add in tomatoes until just wilted (2 minutes)
-spread artichoke and tomato mixture over the chicken breasts
-whisk together remaining olive oil with the lemon juice, garlic and pepper flakes, drizzle over chicken when serving.

I was recently given a mountain of grapes. Out of nowhere, the grape gods opened their hearts and rained their green and red jewels upon me...so much so that we just couldn't finish them in time (before the bowl on my counter spontaneously turned into a winery)...so I had to find something else to use these little beauties for.

I do have a great love for goat cheese, in fact I would probably eat anything if the goat cheese to said "thing" ratio was high enough. But, as is commonly put into practice, goat cheese is remarkably good when paired with sweet things. Something about its creamy tang lends itself well to toning down sugars and so it was an obvious choice for a teammate in my quest to conquer the pile o' grapes.



Now, having just moved into my new favoritest place ever, I haven't exactly been baking with my usual fervor and so, no, I didn't just have a homemade pizza dough lingering around for use in this concoction. But no matter, Trader Joe's (for those of us lucky enough to have access to them) happens to carry delicious, fresh pizza dough in three (yes, THREE!) different flavors (plain, herb and whole wheat). I happen to love, love, love their whole wheat dough and thought that it would be the perfect pairing for my sweet and tart ingredients.



Now, the accessories. Grapes and goat cheese are a great start, but where's the pizazz, the color, the spice? Enter red onion, olive oil and rosemary. done.

This pizza is so simple yet completely satisfying. You can serve it as a meal perhaps with a side salad and a glass of red wine or you can make small individual ones and serve it hors d'oeuvres style (which I plan on doing at an engagement party I've been asked to help cater).



Moral of this story is put this in your repertoire of fast, easy and beautiful dishes do be done in a pinch but where there's no slacking on class.

RECIPE
roasted grape and goat cheese pizza

1 package of whole wheat pizza dough (or you can make your own)
2 cups grapes (you can use green, red or both), halved
2 oz goat cheese
2 Tbsp minced rosemary
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 sliced red onion
salt and pepper

- preheat the oven to 500 degrees
-roll out your dough into a pizza pan or cookie sheet, spread the olive oil to cover
- sprinkle grape halves and onion slices evenly over dough
- drop dabs of goat cheese evenly
-sprinkle salt, pepper and rosemary on top.
- bake in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, until the goat cheese turns golden and the crust begins to brown.