Wordless Wednesday: My Tiny Kitchen, Seasoned with Love

 

(I love my small apartment and tiny kitchen, but dream of someday having counter space again!)

Are You a Taste Trekker?

Do you start planning your vacations by asking yourself, "Where in the world do I want to eat next?"

If so, the Taste Trekkers Food Tourism Conference  (September 20-22, 2013) might be right up your alley. This conference is the latest culinary adventure proposed by Seth Resler, founder of Mystery Meet. Some of the advertised conference highlights include: a kick-off cocktail reception at The Dorrance on Friday evening, a keynote address from Chef Matt Jennings followed by breakout sessions led by other culinary superstars on Saturday, and a food truck brunch on Sunday. I'm thrilled about the idea of the world's first food tourism conference kicking off here in Providence, so I was happy to back the project on Kickstarter earlier this month. Are you excited about this conference too? There are just four days left until their fundraising deadline, so head on over to their Kickstarter page to check out the awesome perks they're offering backers.

I'll be celebrating my 30th birthday later this spring by taste trekking down to New Orleans with some of my best friends. When we started discussing this vacation, my pals left it up to me to choose the destination- I suspect a few of them were hoping this would be their chance to finally visit my family in Bermuda. I wanted to go somewhere new (that ruled out Bermuda), somewhere fun, and somewhere known for its amazing food. I thought about it for weeks, and finally settled on New Orleans. It seems that foodies in the know agree that this is the American food destination, and SAVEUR magazine has named it the "best food city in the nation" in their April issue. I'm already following a number of local food trucks and restaurants on Twitter so that I can start planning our meals. I can't wait to spend three glorious days eating my way around the city with my nearest and dearest friends!

In fact, it was research for my upcoming vacation that inspired last night's dinner. Jambalaya kept popping up in the articles I was reading, and suddenly I had a hankering for the classic rice dish. I searched a number of different websites for recipes, and found that Cooking Light has a great collection of New Orleans inspired recipes. I loved the low-fat version that I whipped up, and it has made me even more excited to get to the Big Easy! From what I gather, many authentic versions of this dish contain sausage, chicken and shrimp, but I didn't want to spend the extra money on shrimp- after all, I need to budget carefully so that I can eat lots of real, Louisiana jambalaya in May!

A taste of the Big Easy in the Renaissance City

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

Servings: 4 Serving Size: about 1 and 1/4 cup Points Plus*: 9 pts
(Adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients

2 tsp Olive oil
6 oz Boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
7 oz  Lean turkey kielbasa, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 cup Chopped onion
1 cup Chopped bell pepper (I used red, yellow and orange for color)
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 dash Ground black pepper
1 cup Uncooked long-grain white rice
1 cup Water
1 cup Fat-free reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp Crushed red pepper flakes
2 tsp Cajun seasonings (I happened to have two types on hand, and used 1 tsp of each)
1 (14.5 oz) can No-salt-added diced tomatoes, not drained
1 dash Worcestershire sauce

The colors were gorgeous!

Directions 

Using a soup pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Swirl to coat the pan. Add the chicken cooking for 3 minutes, stirring so that all sides begin cooking. Add the sausage, and saute another 2 minutes until starting to brown.

Add onion, bell pepper, garlic and dash of black pepper. Saute for 6 minutes, or until tender.

Add rice, water, chicken broth, crushed red pepper flakes, and Cajun seasonings. Bring contents to a boil, then cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until rice is cooked.

Stir in the tomatoes and the dash of Worcestershire sauce. Cook another 3-5 minutes, until hot.

Serving Suggestion: I decided to sneak in some extra vegetables, and put a half cup of spaghetti squash in the bottom of my bowl before adding my heaping serving of jambalaya. What a satisfying dish!

Pre-portioned leftovers ready for the fridge and freezer

*PointsPlus values calculated using the Recipe Builder on the Weight Watchers website

Do Try This At Home: Tilapia with Coconut Curry Sauce

I typically love experimenting with new ingredients and recipes as often as possible; it's always exciting to tackle something new. When I decided to attempt cooking fish for the first time, however, I found myself riddled with anxiety. For some reason I had decided that fish was one of those delicate proteins that I was sure to mess up.

Everything about this experience was intimidating, starting with the shopping process. "I don't event know how to buy fish," I thought to myself as I walked into the super market. I took a look at both the fresh and frozen options. Since I was pretty sure that something would go wrong with this experiment, I decided to go the cheaper route and bought frozen tilapia. After leaving the store I did a little research about my selection and found that Stop and Shop is committed to supporting sustainable seafood practices. I was glad to know that my frozen filets had likely come from a well managed farm.

That fish sat in my freezer for a month before I decided that I was feeling brave enough to attempt cooking it. I moved it from the freezer to the fridge before heading to bed one night, and then spent the next day thinking about how I was going to cook it. I chatted with friends, took a poll in the office, and searched the web for recipes. People agreed that tilapia was incredibly easy to cook and, perhaps more importantly, that it was almost impossible to screw up. There was also some consensus about the best way to cook it- broiling was was going to be fast and simple. By the time I got home I was confident that I was up to the "challenge".

Guess what... My homemade, broiled tilapia was delicious! It really was as easy to prepare as I'd been promised, and the coconut curry sauce that I made to pair with the fish was bursting with flavor.

I'm curious, what are your favorite fish recipes? 

Broiled Tilapia with Coconut Curry Sauce

Servings: 4 Serving Size: 1 (6 oz) filet with 1/4 of the sauce Points Plus*: 7 pts
(Adapted from Skinnytaste.com)

Ingredients

Cooking spray
1 tsp Toasted sesame oil, divided 

2 cloves Garlic, minced 

1/4 cup Finely chopped red or green bell pepper 

3/4 cup Finely chopped onion

3/4 cup Finely chopped carrots 

2 tsp (plus a pinch) ground ginger

2 tsp Red curry paste 

1/2 tsp Ground cumin 

1 tsp Sriracha 

1 tbsp Chili garlic sauce

4 tsp Soy sauce 

2 tsp Fish sauce 

1 (14-ounce) can Light coconut milk

4 (6-ounce) Tilapia fillets 

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste 

Onion powder to taste

Directions

Gather your ingredients and preheat broiler.

Since the sauce is going to come together pretty quickly, you'll want to be sure to chop your vegetables before you start cooking. I used my tiny food processor to get a nice fine chop on everything in no time at all.

Prepare a 9" x 13" baking tray with cooking spray and set aside.

Heat half of the sesame oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add pepper, onions, carrots and ginger and cook for 5 minutes.

Stir in curry paste, cumin, sriracha, and chili garlic sauce, cooking for another minute. Add soy sauce, fish sauce and coconut milk, and bring to a simmer (do not boil). I simmered the sauce for about 10 minutes to allow the carrots time to soften a little. The carrots still had a little bite to them which I thought was a nice contrast to the flaky fish.

While the sauce simmers, prepare your fish. Brush the filets with the remaining oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, ground ginger and onion powder to taste. Place fish on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
Broil 7 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. 

Serving Suggestion: This fish was perfect served over a bed of jasmine rice. I plated it with a side of grilled vegetables to round out the meal. If you didn't have the points to spare, I'd think that this would be just as delicious served over some fresh spinach or tofu shirataki noodles.

I found that this recipe made enough sauce for at least six servings, so you could add another two filets of fish and still have enough sauce to top each. The points plus value of each serving would likely decrease a little if you decided to do that.

*PointsPlus values calculated using the Recipe Builder on the Weight Watchers website

Wordless Wednesday: Babies & Bugs

Last week's computer mishap seems to have killed my hard drive, so I've lost all of my recent photos. (Always backup your files, folks!) Tonight I stumbled across a 2010 picture series of babies and bugs that felt fresh and springlike, so I thought I'd share.

Happy first day of spring!

Be Back Soon

I broke my laptop on Thursday. Ugh!

I guess that's what happens when you attempt to multitask while getting ready for work in the morning. I was brushing my hair while checking email, and my elbow sent my computer crashing to the ground. Now I'm faced with the unpleasant task of buying a new laptop, but I'm so mad at myself about this silly accident that I'm finding it hard to make a decision. Looks like I'll be forced to take a hiatus from blogging until I have a shiny new laptop from which to type.

Be back soon... I hope!

My beloved broken Dell

Wordless Wednesday: Dinner for Two

In addition to being the kind of guy who will relieve a gal of her shoveling duties in a snow storm (read: awesome!), my friend Luke is also one of my favorite dining companions and a very talented photographer. A few weeks ago we decided to treat ourselves to dinner at Providence's acclaimed Al Forno restaurant. Is the food really as good as they say? Abso-freaking-lutely! Don't take my word for it, though- go, and find out for yourself. Not in Providence? Then you'll have to savor these photos for now.

One Monster of a Smoothie

Last week was a beast! I had to put in sixty hours at the office, and to make matters worse I tweaked my back on Friday morning while leaning towards the mirror to put on some mascara. So, Friday's fifteen hour shift was made all the more painful by persistent back spasms. 

I knew that Thursday, Friday and Saturday would be hectic, so I made a concerted effort to load up on as many healthy meals as possible during the first half of the week. I packed big salads to enjoy with lunches the first three days of the week, and incorporated plenty of grilled and steamed vegetables with dinners. On Friday and Saturday, though, there was no time for a sit down meal. I grazed on the leftovers from each event that I was managing: so, my diet consisted of leftover bagels, cold pizza, cheese and crackers, and bar snacks. I guesstimated the points plus values I used up on junk, and the results were pretty grim. I'm not sure I consumed a single power food over a two day period!

Cheese balls

On Sunday morning, I slept late. It felt great. Despite getting plenty of sleep, I still felt sluggish when I rolled out of bed. The week had been challenging mentally, physically and nutritionally. While the extra rest had helped with my mental and physical ailments, I was still in need of a nutritional boon. I decided that it might be the perfect time to try out one of the Green Monster smoothies that I had read about on multiple food blogs.

Everything about these smoothies is amazing! It's amazing that they taste great, despite looking like swamp. It's amazing that they almost instantly elevate your mood. And it's amazing how many vitamins and minerals you can blend up and fit into a glass. Now, despite being heavy on the fruits and vegetables, these smoothies aren't without points plus values. The number of points involved will depend on what you choose to include.

Green Monster Smoothie (recipe below)

Green  Monster Smoothie

Servings: 1 Serving Size: about 2 cups Points Plus*: 7 pts
(adapted from Skinnytaste.com)

Ingredients 

1 cup Fat free milk 
1/2 medium Banana, fresh frozen
1/2 cup Strawberries, fresh frozen
1 cup Chopped spinach, fresh frozen
1 tsp Reduced fat peanut butter
3 oz Fat free Greek yogurt

Directions 

Blend ingredients together until smooth. It's best to put the milk in first, and then layer the rest of your ingredients on top. Since I used frozen fruits and vegetables, I used the ice crush function first and then the milkshake function blended it all together. I served over ice.

Today's version: homemade coconut berry popsicle, milk, spinach, strawberry & cucumber

*PointsPlus values calculated using the Recipe Builder on the Weight Watchers website

Before there was Pinterest...

In the days before Pinterest, I would cover my coffee table with piles of cooking magazines and stacks of cookbooks when trying to decide what to make for dinner. Every now and then, in a fit of indecision, I would spend an entire day dogearing possibilities for that evening's meal... Eventually running out of time to make anything more complicated than scrambled eggs and toast. These days countless hours are spent pinning delicious possibilities onto my "nom nom nom" Pinterest board.

It's been months since I last added a new magazine to my collection, and even longer since I have treated myself to a gorgeous new cookbook (I covet them from afar on Amazon, though). There was a time when I couldn't make it through the checkout aisle at the grocery store without adding Cooking Lite or Food Network Magazine to my cart (sometimes both!). Last month's snow storm, left me trapped inside looking for ways to pass the time. All that time in the house gave me a great excuse to spend a few hours poring over the pages of some of my old magazines.

Since there was a driving ban in effect, I was somewhat constrained by the ingredients that I had in the fridge and in my cupboards. I had done a pretty good job of stocking up before the storm, but there were plenty of recipes that I was not equipped to handle (anything calling for pork or beef, for example). While I didn't have all of the ingredients, I decided to give Cooking Light's Dan Dan Noodles a try. I had to modify their recipe a fair amount, but the results were fabulous! So, without further ado...

Dan Dan Noodles

Servings: 4 Serving Size: about 1 cup Points Plus*: 8 pts
(Adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients

1/4 cup White wine
1/2 cup Fat-free reduced sodium chicken broth
4 tbsp Reduced-fat peanut butter
3 tbsp Soy sauce
1 tbsp Brown sugar
3 tbsp Chili garlic sauce (or to taste)
1 tsp Toasted sesame oil
1/3 cup Minced onion 
1/4 cup Minced red or green bell pepper
1/2 cup Minced carrots
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 tbsp Powdered ginger (2 tbsp minced fresh ginger if you have it)
2 tsp Canola oil
1 pound 99% fat-free ground turkey breast

Directions

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the wine, chicken broth, peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, chili garlic sauce, and sesame oil.

In a large non-stick skillet, heat the canola oil over medium high heat. Stir-fry the onion, bell pepper, carrots, ginger and garlic until fragrant- about 2-3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, add the turkey and divide it into large chunks. Flip each chunk over after 3 minutes, and then break into smaller chunks as the turkey browns.

After about 5 minutes, the turkey will be nearly cooked. Stir in the peanut sauce that you prepared earlier. Simmer for about 5 minutes until turkey has completely cooked and the sauce has thickened.

Pictured in a nest of a combination of Smart Taste & Tofu Shirataki spaghetti

Serving Suggestion: Pair with spaghetti squash or Tofu Shirataki spaghetti, and your "noodles" won't cost any additional points plus values. If you have enough points to play with, use your favorite high fiber pasta or rice noodles. I like my food spicy, so I also added a little extra chili garlic sauce and sriracha. 

This was a super tasty Chinese-inspired dish, and I definitely recommend it if you're looking to try something a little different with ground turkey. The meal comes together pretty quickly, so it would make for a nice and easy weeknight dinner.




*PointsPlus values calculated using the Recipe Builder on the Weight Watchers website

Wordless Wednesday: Produce, Prep & Practical Use