New Recipes: May

I am right on target for May with four new recipes this month!  And even better, no duds like in April.

First up were Lentil "Meatballs" with Lemony Pesto.  The recipe is slightly more involved than the ones I usually choose for myself, and in preparing the meal I made a pretty big mess.  The end result was totally worth it though, and I bet I can make it in a more streamlined way next time around.

I couldn't find  basil at the grocery store (I swear, everyone is making pesto every week...there is never any there when I shop,) and I didn't want to prune my own tiny plant down to a stalk, so I substituted more parsley and greens in the pesto.  Otherwise I followed the recipe pretty closely.

Next, I took care of an excess of squishy bananas the best way I know how: combining them with generous amounts of butter, sugar and chocolate to make Double Chocolate Banana Muffins.  The result was much closer to a cupcake without frosting and made excellent mid-morning snacks as long as they lasted.  With this recipe, I feel I have restored my baking credibility after last month's miss with the peanut butter banana cookies--phew!

I don't remember quite how I came across this recipe on the internet, but it sounded too good not to try: White Pizza Quinoa Casserole.  The ingredient list was full of things I like, but don't always have on hand which was the perfect excuse to make a trip to Trader Joe's and spend a little too much money.

Overall, a good recipe but I felt like there was a little something missing.  Maybe it's been a bit too warm to really enjoy a cheesy baked casserole, or maybe it needs a little extra flavor from some meat, like pancetta?  With the weather getting warmer, a remake of this recipe will have to wait until fall, but I think it's worth a shot.

The fourth new recipe this month was Crunchy Mandarin Salad with Miso Chicken.  I have made various renditions of this before, but this was my first attempt with this particular recipe (found on a loose sheet of paper with handwritten notes at my aunt's house) and adding chicken.

The salad was a winner, and the chicken marinade smelled wonderful.  I highly recommend toasting the almonds and ramen noodles that get sprinkled on the salad for a bit of extra flavor.  I also made the dressing in a jar, and dressed each serving as I ate them throughout the week.  The next time I make the chicken, I will let it sit a bit longer than the recommended two hours, and maybe by then I will have learned how to not overcook chicken.  I am so afraid of it being pink in the middle that most of my chicken dishes turn out a bit dry.

It doesn't look like it in the photo, but I promise there are leafy salad ingredients under all of the toppings!

I will be very impressed with myself I can keep up a new recipe per week through the summer.  My desire to cook tends to wane when it gets warm, and my diet shifts to lots of salads and frozen treats.  Technically, a new kind of homemade popsicle every week would count, right?

List for the week

The theme for this post is from the Blog Every Day in May challenge.  I am getting an awfully late start and won't be writing everyday, but the prompts are interesting and it will be nice to try something new around here.

List(s) for the Week

I have a plethora of lists to choose from for this post.  As I mentioned in my last post (and probably several other times over the course of blogging) I am very good making lists, although a bit less skilled at completing everything on them.  When I do get to check things off, I feel very accomplished!  

At any given time, I have several lists going at once.  Most are themed--work to-do list, home to-do list, a weekly meal plan and grocery list, and mini daily to-do lists that I put on post-its or write directly on the pages of my weekly planner.

With so many lists, I couldn't very easily pick just one for this post.  So today I am sharing the two most important lists: my grocery list and my weekly planner.

This week's grocery list is a bit shorter and less thought out than others.  I didn't sit down and choose out recipes in advance, and made the list pretty quickly before I headed to the store.  It does look like most of my other grocery lists though: handwritten on a recycled scrap of paper in roughly the order that I collect things around the store.  Produce is up at the top left, canned goods towards the bottom of the left hand column, household items and dairy products on the right hand side.

Having a weekly planner was essential in grad school.  But even before I started taking classes again, I began buying pocket-sized weekly planners from the dollar bins at Michael's and Target.  I think this is my 4th such planner, and even in this increasing digital age I really prefer writing things down and having a physical calendar I can refer to.  

Last week and this week, both pictured above, are a bit busier than usual with more evening activities and work outside of regular hours.  Given the number of scribbles on most of the other days, I am particularly excited about the blank expanse I have left for Memorial Day tomorrow.  The empty lines are a bit misleading given the number of things I want to get done around the house, but it is still really nice to have an extra day to sleep in and schedule as I please!

Happy

The theme for this post is from the Blog Every Day in May challenge.  I am getting an awfully late start and won't be writing everyday, but the prompts are interesting and it will be nice to try something new around here.

10 Things That Make Me Happy

(in no particular order)

Delicious new recipes

recipe

Holiday lights all year round

(strings of lights, not the whole slew of decorations; those start way too early as it is!)

Letters in the mail

People riding bikes around to look at backyard chickens

Tour de Coop 2014

Gin tonics

(or margaritas, or mojitos, or sangria...)

Talking & laughing with this guy

(which happens almost daily even though we are usually 7,000+ miles apart)

Sunshine, lots and lots of sunshine

Valencia Spain, 2010

Reading

Thinking about, making and especially eating dessert

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cream Pie

Seeing things checked off on a to-do list 

(which is why mine always include things like "get dressed" and "eat lunch")

Start small

I tend to over think things.  Blame my gender, my personality, a fear of making mistakes--any or all of the above.  I get easily overwhelmed by possibilities and what ifs.  Today's post is a reminder for myself and anyone else who finds themselves stuck in their head all too often.  

I first heard the following advice at the National Women's Bicycling Summit in early March, but a quick Google search reveals that it is well known and oft repeated.  The advice is this:

Just start.

So simple, yet so hard to do sometimes.  There are a few reasons I find those two words so useful.  One is regardless of whether I tackle something for 5 minutes or complete the task in one fell swoop, progress is made and things start to feel a bit more manageable.  Another is that sometimes just starting is all that's needed to finish.  Ideally, every looming task would turn out like my garden.  

Since winter took so long to give way to spring, I felt behind before I even got started.  I did a little research (browsing a gardening book I picked up last year, reading the back of seed packets) and discovered that for most of the things I wanted to grow I still had time to make it happen.  

tiny spring lettuces

After that, there was the somewhat laborious task of weeding out the raised bed in the backyard.  I kept putting it off, but finally we got some nice warm weather, and I couldn't justify being indoors any longer.  I told myself I would clear one of the four corners, and work through the rest over the course of a week.  However, once I got started I decided to power through to the end.  I was already dirty, found ripping out the crab grass to be very therapeutic, and really liked seeing a noticeable difference after all of my hard work!

zucchini sprout

I got a few things planted; it poured rain for a few days and after a bit of waiting, the plants are starting to emerge.

oregano

Am I finished with my garden?  Certainly not.  There are already weeds coming back in, the soil probably needs more organic matter and the starter plants I bought almost a month ago are still sitting in their flimsy plastic pots that blow over in a strong wind.  Nonetheless, my garden is a wonderful visual reminder of the power just starting something can have.

New Recipes: April

Perhaps I was making up for lost time and only two new recipes in March--I tried six new recipes in April!  The recipes are split evenly with three in the sweets/baking category and three in the dinner category.

Sweets:

1) Chocolate Almond Bread from an old Family Circle.

This was a fun weekend project that turned out beautifully.  The next time I make it I will knead it for less time (the recipe said 10 minutes!) consider replacing the almond paste/chocolate middle with Nutella to save a step, and skip dusting the loaves with sugar before baking.  After sharing some with my housemate and co-worker, I ate the rest of the slices for my breakfasts with a smear of peanut butter and strawberries on top.


2) Lemon Pound Cake with Lemon Poppy Seed Buttercream from Joy the Baker

I am usually pretty adamant that dessert isn't really dessert without chocolate, but when I was doing my meal planning this past week, this cake was the only recipe that caught my eye and I wanted to make.  The gorgeous spring weather may have had something to do with it and had me dreaming of tank tops, shorts and lemonades on the porch.

While my first slice didn't quite live up to my expectations, my second, third, fourth (and so on) pieces have been quite delicious.  I frequently find that with recipes that I am excited to make, the first bites somehow fall short, but the next day I am pleasantly surprised by my creation.  Does this ever happen to anyone else?


3) Peanut Butter Banana Cookies from All New Low Carb Recipes Cookbook

No photos, no rave review.  I should probably know better than to expect delicious cookies from a low-carb cookbook.  Perhaps most frustratingly, the portions were such that I could eat four no problem and while there was no sugar, each cookie clocked in at 100 calories.  Not quite as "healthy" as they tasted.

Dinners:

1) Shrimp & Grits

The impetus for this meal came from a package of grits that has been sitting in my pantry since one of my housemates moved out almost a year ago (Hi Christina!)  While technically past the expiration date, I still wanted to try and make something with them--and even when I halved the amount of butter and cheese called for in the recipe--I was a huge fan!  I added some extra veggies in the form of zucchini and tomatoes to make it a more complete meal, and was really excited for the leftovers at lunch the next day.  An easy recipe with a simple ingredient list, yet different enough from what I usually make.

2) Chicken & Sausage Gumbo from All New Low Carb Recipes Cookbook

 I wrote about this recipe earlier in the month.  And yes, those are more grits in the background.


3) Chicken & Tofu Scramble with Peas & Carrots from Homestyle Japanese Cooking

I picked up two slim paperback Japanese food cookbooks when I was teaching in Japan, and in the six or so years that I've had them have made only about two recipes from them.  With this recipe, the total climbs to around three!

As tofu is often considered a meat substitute, it may seem a bit odd to see it paired with chicken.  In Japan I found several instances where tofu was used as "meat-extender" if you will, adding some bulk but retaining the meaty flavor of the dish.  This scramble also featured the classic Japanese cooking combo of soy sauce, sugar, and sake.  I didn't have any sake, but some white wine worked in a pinch.

***

Without a doubt, some good eats this month!  I would make everything again, with the exception of the peanut butter cookies.  If I had to pick just one winner from each category I would choose the Chocolate Almond Bread and the Shrimp & Grits.

Flavor of the week

I wasn't aware of it until sitting down to write this post, but I was on bit of a pineapple kick this week.  In addition to the meals pictured here, I also enjoyed the "The Pina Loco Margarita: Sauza Conmemorativo Tequila, Grilled Pineapple. Grilled Jalapenos & Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice"  at Mono Loco on Thursday night.  

My first pineapple dish was Asian Style Fried Rice with Beans for dinner on Wednesday.  After a few days of leftovers, I was pretty proud of myself for cooking--on a weeknight no less!  I had made this recipe once before, and was a bit disappointed in the the results.  This time, I started by browning the pineapple, removed it, and then thought better of it, and threw it back in the pan with the vegetables in the hopes of imparting more flavor.  I also used only about 1/3 to 1/2 of the soy sauce called for in the recipe, which made it taste much better (as in, taste like something other than soy sauce.)

With the chickpeas, this recipe could be a one-pot meal, but since I went for a run after work and it was nearing 8 o'clock by the time I ate, I added a fried egg and a 1/4 of an avocado on top.  Something was still missing, so I added a few dashes of Tapatio hot sauce.  I am glad I tried this recipe again; it's quick and easy and much more appealing with less soy sauce.

Pineapple meal number two was one of my breakfast smoothies.  This not only fit this week's unofficial theme, but was the first smoothie I have ever made that is worth sharing the "recipe" for!  It was tropical and delicious.

Put the following ingredients in the blender, add the lid and blend away!

• 1 banana
• 1/4 c frozen pineapple chunks (Trader Joe's)
• 1/4 c frozen mango chunks (Trader Joe's)
• 1/2 c plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 c oatmeal
• 8 oz orange juice
• 1-2 dashes of cinnamon

This week was also the first time I tried adding raw oats to my smoothies.  They blended well, and weren't too noticeable aside from making the smoothie a bit thicker.  I am looking forward to replicating this again next week!

Perhaps inspired by that yummy smoothie, I picked up a mango today at the store.  I think my taste buds are telling me it's time for a beach vacation somewhere...

Stubborn

As I write this, I am wearing a sweatshirt with the hood pulled up and have a mug of hot cocoa next to me. By mid-late April I would much rather be outside in a sundress, but clearly Mother Nature has other plans this year.  After reaching over 80*F last Sunday, this week it was near freezing for two of my morning commutes!  Finally, yesterday morning I dared to leave the house without gloves, feeling strongly that they shouldn't be a necessity in April.  Unfortunately, this conviction was not enough to keep my hands warm as the high was a paltry 57*F.

One way that I keep warm is by getting active in the kitchen.  I cooked twice this week, and both dishes had a little kick to them that made the house smell good and generated some heat in my tummy.

Meal 1--Chicken & Sausage Gumbo from All New Low Carb Recipes.  I found this book at my aunt's house, and was intrigued by the numerous dessert options in the back.  I surprised myself by choosing to make my first recipe from the front of the book instead.

The recipe came together easily, and I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor, since most of the ingredients were pretty basic.  I also sabotaged the "low-carb" nature of the recipe by serving it with a scoop of grits.

Meal 2--Spicy Chickpea Samosas with Raita from Cooking Light.  I first made this recipe in November 2013, but it doesn't appear to have made it onto the blog.  I know when I first made it because just like my mother, I am now putting the date and a letter grade on all of the recipes I make in my binder full of magazine cutouts.  Another way I recently discovered I am exactly like my mom?  Spending an inordinate amount of time comparing the color combinations of multi-pack tissue boxes to best "match" my decor.

Anyway...samosas!  I think the recipe is intended to make appetizers for a small group of people, but both times mine have turned into generously sized triangular pockets, two of which make a decent meal.  One benefit to going the appetizer route is the samosas will all be consumed while the outsides are still crispy.  This is not one of those meals that makes even better leftovers.

The ingredient list is a bit lengthy, but a good portion of the list are spices or other pantry staples.  The process is also pretty straight forward--chop, saute, season and fold.

My fillo dough had been chillin' in the freezer (pun intended) since the first round of this recipe last fall, so it was drier than usual and a little tricky to work with.  But coating them with melted butter and popping them in the oven at 400* for 10 minutes certainly helped cover up any flaws.

While the samosas baked, I prepared the raita.  Last time I remembered having a lot leftover, so this time I only used a 1/2 cup of yogurt, rather than the 3/4 called for in the recipe.

Served with a side of roasted brussel sprouts.

A nice veggie-rich dinner meant more room for Cadburry Mini-Eggs afterwards.  Even if the weather isn't cooperating as nicely as I want it to, it's still spring!