quick and cheap

Nearing test week, time isn’t cheap. But happiness is. It is a blessing how easily I am pleased by most anything not involving school right now. On my trip home from HEB today, I ripped into the package of chocolate truffle bars I bought, turned on some radio-edited Lil Wayne and found myself almost giddy I was so content. Dinner is cheap too, because I just do not have the time to play fancy right now. Here’s to speed from kitchen to table with minimal clean-up!

One skillet Orzo and Chicken

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into little pieces


1 can of navy beans, drained


garlic powder


1 small onion chopped 

1 Tb olive oil


3 cloves garlic, minced


1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained


4 cups of fresh spinach chopped


1 cup chicken broth


1 cup uncooked orzo pasta


1 tsp italian seasoning (I just threw in dried basil, oregano, and thyme)


grated Parmesan cheese to top

In a large cast iron skillet, saute chicken in olive oil for 5-6 minutes until it is nearly done. Add beans, onion, garlic and a good sprinkle of garlic powder. Saute about 1-2 more minutes. Next dump in the diced tomatoes, spinach, chicken broth, seasoning, and orzo. Stir to mix the orzo into juices. Cover and simmer for 15 more minutes until orzo is tender and liquid is absorbed. Serve in a deep dish topped with cheese!

Adapted from a Taste of Home recipe- feeds 4-6

soul food salmon

Why are foods good for your soul not better for your body? What does that say about our soul and body? That they direct towards unparallel ends? Yup, a teleological paradox: our soul and our body must ultimately be headed in different directions. Just consider the satisfaction fried chicken evokes in your soul and simultaneously the arteries in your body its actual components could eventually damage. It is the root of an age-old quality of life conundrum often faced in medicine, but really faced daily in the decisions we make that either improve the health of our bodies OR the health of our souls… or conversely harm them. I am torn at this juncture, as a future physician but a current fan of food.

Perhaps we ought to focus instead on food that not only nourishes the body, but nourishes the soul as well—that food that not only makes you sigh with gratitude for the sense of taste so graciously endowed you but which also allows you to thank yourself for putting something so nutritious in your mouth.

I think salmon is the ticket. Or at least a good place to start. Good for your heart (omega 3s decrease triglycerides in your blood and are anti-inflammatory) and your soul (especially if shared at a dinner table with someone you love).

Southwest Chipotle Rub

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

2 ½ tablespoons finely ground coffee grounds

2 tablespoons salt

1 ½ tablespoons granulated dry garlic

1 tablespoon paprika

1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano leaves

1/3 cup Tabasco brand chipotle pepper sauce

Combine the dry ingredients first then stir in the Tabasco until well mixed. Rub on salmon and refrigerate for 20 minutes before grilling. Keep left-over rub refrigerated (use on chicken, roasts, ribs, etc). 

Adapted from http://joylicious.net/2011/09/14/texas-style-chipotle-rubbed-salmon/

lemon blueberry breakfast cake

I am beginning to suspect that my dog Quimby thinks his name is ‘iloveyou.’ I do tell him that quite a bit, but anytime I even voice the phrase (occasional affirmative directed at the hubby), Quimby turns his head and looks right up at me like he is expecting something.

I suppose this is a proper response, however, when someone calls your name…or when they say “I love you.” It just seems natural to turn your attention towards them in expectation.

And we should be expectant. Expectant that something grand is to follow “iloveyou.” Expectant that we will not only hear the words, but we will see their implications in the person’s actions. Expectant that they really mean it, in that moment and all the time that follows it.

I really intend to improve on this front. I like to say iloveyou (to Ben and Quimby), but it is much more difficult to do iloveyou (can I also preface this disclosure of selfishness with the fact that test week is approaching?). Wouldn’t it be far better to make iloveyou a behavior and to let actions that flow forth from a feeling of love supplant a mere confession of that love?

LEMON BLUEBERRY BREAKFAST CAKE

Great for mornings when you have company
and want to offer them something more than cereal

Serves 4-6

¾ stick of butter, room temperature


1 tsp. lemon zest 


½ cup sugar, divided 


1 egg yolk


½ tsp. vanilla


1 cup flour


1 tsp. baking powder


½ tsp. salt


1 cup fresh blueberries


¼ cup greek yogurt

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cream butter with lemon zest and ½ cup of the sugar (minus 1 tablespoon- save it for later) until light and fluffy.

Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat until combined. Toss the blueberries with a tablespoon of flour and set aside.  Whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.

Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the yogurt. Fold in the blueberries.

Grease a pie plate (smear with butter and sprinkle with flour then dump excess flour off, or just use Baker’s Joy). Spread batter into pie plate and sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar on top.  Bake for 25-30 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness. I turned on the broiler at the last second (for only about 30 seconds to a minute) to nicely brown up the top of my pie. Let cool at least 10 minutes before serving. 

this little fella bellied up to the breakfast table this morning
nephew robby

                                              

Fig Torte

black mission figs

Who invented the springform pan?
I wish I could thank them...

mostly followed the directions from  http://www.beyondtheplate.net 
and ended up with a quite tasty torte!

pizza

I have eaten pizza seven times over the last six days. Don’t worry, only once did I stoop to eat pizza from a chain (doesn’t that make you less worried about my health now?). I cultivated a sincere admiration for a good pizza ‘round about the same day I walked down the aisle. You know, you get married and then you can eat however much you want. I think that’s a rule or something. Kind of like how gaining 15 pounds your first year of college seems to be an accepted rule (don’t worry, I did not do that).  Anyway, back to my specific love for pizza.

Tonight Ben took me on a date to a new ristorante italiano called Coppa. The lighting was low, wine lined one wall from floor to ceiling, and brick arches towered overhead our little section. Three distinctive smells drifted through the room as soon as we sat down: first truffle oil (start the night off right!), then rosemary, then hints of crisping prosciutto. Lots of fancy people nibbled their dinners quietly around us, but I was pretty taken by the red head at my own table.  Properly romantic. So, of course, I ordered pizza. Mushroom, taleggio, melted leeks, oregano, and mint pizza. And the crust: ahh, perfectly yeasty, soft and chewy Neopolitan style that can only be truly accomplished in a brick oven (even better in a brick oven straight from Italy like they boast at Coppa). 14 inches of pure satisfaction. And I ate every last bite.  I would share a picture with you, but my romantic husband deemed it inappropriate for me to whip out my iPhone and snap one (the flash might ruin someone’s dreamy buzz). I suppose I will just have to go back…soon.

Ryan

Current Obsession: Ryan

Made the steak in cast iron skillet.
Fries complimentary of Tiny's No 5 in West U.

It all started with Crazy Stupid Love (or was it The Notebook so many years ago?). Ben started an intense infatuation with Ryan Gosling that I sort of find humorous to indulge. Yes, I celeb-crush on Ryan Gosling too, but Ben...he really likes this guy. After seeing Crazy Stupid Love the second time, we drove immediately to Target to buy V-neck t-shirts and the movie Dirty Dancing, which we stayed up late into the night to watch and practice the lift (you know the move). Last night we saw Drive, Ryan's latest endeavor. SO GOOD. Ryan is perfect (semi-autistic seeming and uber-attractive...much like his real self I bet), and I dare say this movie is the new Pulp Fiction. Ryan wears this ridiculous silk bomber jacket with a scorpion stitched on the back, I suppose as an allusion to the fable of the scorpion and the frog. It will be interesting to see how Ben tries to emulate his style now....

snack break

crostini with fig jelly, ham, fontina and truffle salt

Drizzle olive oil over sliced crusty bread. Broil until golden. Top with jelly, ham, and cheese then broil again until bubbly. Sprinkle with truffle salt!

coconut macaroons

A girl in my class (who incidentally got married on the same day I did, and now dons the same new last name) just had a baby.  Like fresh-out-the-oven, real bouncing (and crying, and sleeping, and pooping I am sure) baby boy. Perhaps one day, when I am more altruistic and less selfish with my time…

One day, I will teach a daughter how to be a real woman.

I will teach her how to sew and mend the little things.

I will teach her how to plant and use herbs and the value of picking your own tomatoes right off the vine.

I will teach her how to clean baseboards and scrub porches.

I will teach her how to talk to boys (how to empower them, especially when it comes to helping clean the house they live in too).

I will teach her how to set the table and iron her cloth napkins.

I will teach her to appreciate family and tradition at an early age, but I will understand if she needs a moment of rebellion before she comes around.

I will teach her how to host a dinner party.

I will teach her to explore philosophy (even if her father does not encourage it).

I will teach her to work hard, to exhaust herself for her passions.

I will teach her how big the world is, but that she is still responsible for her place in it.

I guess if I have a son, I will think of a few things to teach him too…

Coconut Macaroons

4 egg whites

3 c. sweetened, shredded coconut

2/3 c. sugar

shake of salt

½ tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp almond extract

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Stir together egg whites, coconut, sugar and extracts in a heat-proof bowl and using the double boiler method, set the bowl over a pan filled with 2 inches of simmering water. Heat mixture until it has thickened, about 7-9 minutes.  Scoop 2 inch scoops (I used a little ice cream scoop/melon baller tool) onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You will know the mixture has thickened enough if the scoop can hold its shape without liquid puddling around the bottom. Bake cookies for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool cookies on the baking sheet, this gives the bottom of the cookies a perfect crunch.

Dip in chocolate ganache: after cookies have cooled completely. Melt a handful of chocolate discos (or the equivalent in whatever dark chocolate you have on hand) with about half a tablespoon of butter in a glass, microwave safe dish. Stir well so that the chocolate is smooth. Dip each macaroon into the chocolate then allow to dry completely on a cookie sheet. 

Adapted from www.dinnerordessert.com

weekend

Favorite Guacamole:

Avocados

Tomatoes

Garlic

Red onion

Cilantro

Fresh squeezed lime juice

Fresh squeezed orange juice

Garlic salt and pepper

Mango Margarita:

Margarita mix

Lime juice

Tequila and triple sec (in a 3:1 ratio)

Fresh mango

mini donut mmmmms

It gratifies me greatly when people consume my little projects; somehow they validate my efforts when they just cannot stop popping something baked into their mouth. These little puppies are one such project—I brought them to a small group class and genuinely felt my classmates’ appreciation through their yummms and mmmmss.

  

Mini Donut Muffins

1 cup white sugar, divided

½ cup butter or margarine, divided

½  teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ cup low-fat milk

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and prep a 24 mini muffin pan.

In a large mixing bowl, add in ½ cup white sugar, ¼ cup melted butter, and 1 teaspoon nutmeg and mix. Add in ½ cup milk and mix a few more times. Then slowly add in the dry ingredients (1 tsp. baking powder and 1 cup flour and dash of salt).

Pour batter until half full in muffin pan holes. Place in preheated oven and bake for about 15 minutes.

While the muffins are baking, get out 2 more bowls. In the first one, melt the remaining 1/4 cup of butter (I added about ½ teaspoon vanilla) and set aside. In the second bowl, mix together remaining sugar (1/2 cup) and ground cinnamon and set next to the melted butter to create an assembly line.

Remove muffins from oven when an inserted toothpick comes clean. Remove muffins from tin and start assembly line by dipping muffins into melted butter and then coating with the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Serve immediately or store in an air-tight container.

Afternoon snack and musing

I heard a lecturer last week remind us how important it was to have someone who “knew your song” so that they could turn it up a little louder for you when you began to wear thin in your passion. This “song,” I suppose, refers to your unspoken mantra, that which wells forth from you as an identifying drive. The idea follows that those closest to you can almost hear this silent melody, then hold you accountable to making life decisions coherent with it. After deciding my current fixation, “Brand New Key*,” does not quite embody my full ideals of one day being a humanitarian doctor/chef/super mom/loving wife, I decided to ask Ben what my song sounds like. “Animal?**” Great. Well, regardless of the gulf between my self-perception now and my projected more mature future self, the idea still stands strong: it would be nice to have someone sing your current hopes back to you in ten, fifteen, twenty years and remind you of the energy/ideals with which you started your profession.

Figs and Blue Cheese 

Heat up your broiler. Slice figs in half (my favorite are fresh Black Mission Figs). Top with crumbled blue cheese (look at that beautiful vein of blue!) and stick under your broiler for about 3-5 minutes (or until cheese looks bubbly). Drizzle with balsamic glaze before serving.  

*Brand New Key by Melanie 

**Animal by Miike Snow

pb&c

Peanut butter + chocolate = husBen’s favorite combo when it comes to sweets (my favorite combo = anything + truffle salt, in case you were wondering).  These cookies nicely marry salty and sweet and even provide that healthy daily dose of dark chocolate (yes, healthy, and yes, recommended on a daily basis). Enjoy

Peanut Butter Cookies with Dark Chocolate Discos

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

hearty pinch of salt

8 tablespoons of salted butter, melted and cooled

6 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter, melted and cooled

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg and 1 egg yolk, room temperature

2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups dark chocolate discos (or dark chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Add butter and peanut butter to a microwave safe bowl, and heat until melted. Let cool completely.

Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, mix the cooled butter/peanut butter and sugars until they are combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir until mixed. Gradually add flour and mix until combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Drop golfball size balls of dough onto cookie sheet about two inches apart.  Bake for about 12 minutes or until the edges are slightly brown and the centers are puffy. Do not over bake. Cool for as long as you can stand it then eat ‘em up!

Makes about 24 cookies. Adapted from How Sweet Eats blog

Ben and Quimby helping me clean up after

a tough act to follow

My grandmother Nell is the toughest woman I know. She probably would not describe herself as such, but from my perspective two generations down, I know she is. She is seventy nine years old, still runs a cattle ranch, can turn leftovers into a meal for twenty six, and has a no-nonsense approach to life in general. She makes oatmeal the old way (on the stove, with lots of butter), makes the best rolls I have ever had, and knows more about Kappa Kappa Gamma (our sorority) and Baylor University than I could ever even learn. She also embodies a frank honesty worth appreciating in this overly saccharine South. She passed along this recipe for her Buttermilk Pie to me, albeit rather unscientifically, so I hope it at least almost measures up.

Nell’s Buttermilk Pie

Unbaked pie crust

3 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

½ cup melted butter

3 tablespoons flour

1 ½ cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

Whisk together all the ingredients and pour into pie shell (prick the pie crust with a fork before you pour in mixture). Bake at 350 º for about an hour.