Tender Greens, eat your heart out

Farmer's Market Sunday always inspires me to eat fresh multi-colored things that grow out of the ground (see also: vegetables). And Sundays are always grocery days for me, which means eat all the left over vegetables to make room for new ones in the fridge. So today, I brought those two together and made my ridiculously simple but oh-so-good staple.

Oven Roasted Vegetables

 

pictured here:
butternut squash (the already cut up kind from TJ's)
zucchini (farmer's market)
fennel (farmer's market)
red pepper (TJ's)
brussel sprouts (TJ's)
onion (farmer's market)
crimini mushrooms (TJ's)

slice/chop, arrange on baking sheet, drizzle with oil (Grapeseed for me these days), bake at 400deg for about 15 min. sprinkle with salt. cool, chop into smaller pieces, and serve with a fun starch (quinoa, pasta, etc.)

your body will thank you for it.

Fuel your ski legs on a budget.

Some friends and I just took an awesomely awesome trip to Mammoth. Seriously, awesomely awesome. And throw in the words ridiculous, epic, and booyah, and that pretty much sums up the trip.

I, of course, loved being executive chef on the trip, and planned the meals around a hearty and tasty, but definitely on a budget since we're spending so much money on the slopes theme.

Friday night dinner:

Chili a la TVP (adapted from my friend TVP's recipe)
1 lb lean ground beef ($2 frozen from costco)
1 lb ground turkey breast ($7 from TJ's)
2 packets Lawry's chili seasoning ($2.50)
1/2 diced onion ($.50)
1/4 jar Pepperoncinis, with brine ($.75)
3 cans diced tomatoes ($3)
1 can pinto beans ($1)

Total: $16.75

served 5 hungry skiers as main course, coupled with some of those DIY biscuits, crackers, and shredded chedder.

Saturday night's dinner was a bit more elaborate with 9 hungry mouths, so I'll just post the winning risotto recipe:

Mushroom risotto
arborio rice ($2)
1/2 diced onion ($.50)
1 1/2 boxes chicken broth ($3)
1/2 pkg chopped crimini mushrooms ($.75)
1 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese ($3)

Total: $9.25

served 9 hungry skiers as one dish among many

yum! and look how cheap!

Friend or pho?

I love pho. That broth. That rare sliced beef that cooks ever so gently and tenderly. The fresh basil. The bean sprouts that you put in ASAP so they soften to perfection. The lime. The extra lime, and can I use yours too, actually.

My hands down favorite pho joint on the westside is Le Saigon. I go there when I'm sick, when I'm well, when I'm cold, when I'm warm, when I've just finished a major climbing session, and when I've been sitting in front of my TV for way too long. It's really my go-to meal.

I usually order #3, pho tai. And this place, because it's awesome, has DIY rolls where they give you the rice wrap, sliced meat, veggies, and sauce, and you, well, DIY. It's perfect for the chef in all of us. That's #17, I believe. And they run your order out to your car in the back alley so you don't have to try to park on SM Blvd. And their service is unparalleled by any other Asian restaurant.

The fact that I heart Le Saigon, however, really makes me dislike other pho joints. I shall not name them for fear of taking away even more business in a down economy, but the pho experience elsewhere just does not compare. So when it's Monday and Le Saigon is on hiatus and I've been sitting at the bus stop way too long in my too-thin sweater for 6:30pm and I really just want that steaming hot bowl of pho tai, I begin to curse Le Saigon for making me even consider going to another place.

Damn you and your sriracha too.

God bless fake TiVo.

Ok I need some recommendations on what to watch on Food Network. So, now that we've gotten to know each other a little better (over, you know, a week of blogging), I can only semi self-consciously admit to you that I used to watch Rachel Ray religiously. I got over her annoying quirks early on and really began to appreciate the quick simplicity of her meals. And, I have to admit, trying out her recipes got me into the kitchen during those just out of college years. That phase is over for me, however, and I have zero interest in watching that show anymore.

So as I'm beginning to re-program my DVR, I'm realizing that I really don't watch much Food Network anymore. I think it's because we're past that era of leaving the TV on a particular channel in the background. Or at least I seem to be. And I have been listening to more music and podcasts in the kitchen/living room areas. All of this leaves me without knowing which Food Network shows are worth watching and which ones aren't. Paula Deen, as much as I appreciate your zest for indulgence and the way you pronounce "oil", I don't think I'll ever cook with that much cheese and mayonnaise. So Paula, I'm sorry, but you're out of the picture. Others that I haven't been a fan of are Barefoot Contessa and Semi-Homemade. Not really sure why.

So, what should I watch?

Sake it to me.

I made a quick stop at Nijiya Market after the gym to pick up some sushi essentials. I thought I'd give what I learned in Hipcooks a whirl. Plus, I had a ton of leftover rice from Sunday night's dinner party. (which turned out to be not so good of an idea to use... I thought I could revive the day old rice, but I was sadly mistaken, so let that be a lesson to you all. fresh rice.)

Ingredients:
rice
seasoned rice vinegar (the kind with salt and sugar already added) ($2)
tatami mat for rolling ($2)
avocado
sashimi grade salmon ($19.99/lb... I got about a .4 lb piece)
nori ($2)
wasabi and soy sauce

So this sushi dinner turned out to be fairly inexpensive... about $15 for what is pictured below, plus the ugly pieces (about the size of another large roll) and a quick sashimi appetizer (the pieces of salmon that I just had to snack on while rolling).

Et, voila! Sake maki, salmon and avocado cut roll, and something resembling a rainbow roll w/ the salmon on the outside.

They're actually called "grape-nuts"

Tyson suggested that I post photos of my food. I remembered after eating half of this, but hopefully I will be less compulsive of an eater during my future food endeavors and actually photograph uneaten food.

So, I am perplexed at the whole grape-nut phenomenon (that's right, it's actually grape-nuts hypenated on the box, not grapenuts or grape nuts. new observation). According to wikipedia, they've been around since 1897 and neither have had grapes nor nuts as their ingredients. They're made mostly of wheat and barley flour and allegedly look like grape seeds.

But that's not what I'm perplexed about. I am perplexed at... why are they so freakin' good? Seriously, they taste like, well, healthiness personified. Like wheat flour and barley flour, followed by utter cardboard blandness if you let it just hang out on your tongue or by I guess a salty sort of nuttiness if you start to chew, and then again, there's that cardboard blandness. And they're only sort of healthy, in fact, low in its healthy:taste/texture ratio. I think that's it-- texture. I am absolutely enamored by its unparalleled, I-hope-my-dentist-aced-his-final-exams monster crunch. Nothing compares.

So for my afternoon snack today, I went straight for the grape-nuts. And I felt I had to somewhat justify eating grape-nuts, because what, am I going to just spoon it out of the box (yes, guilty)? Hence the Fage 0% Greek Yogurt, dash of stevia, sliced Gaviota strawberries from the Mar Vista Farmer's Market . Very satisfying. Now back to work.

I could eat this every morning.

This morning I geared up for a morning hike up to Parker Mesa Overlook. After staying out late last night, and not wanting to look out of shape to my friends, I decided I needed a hearty breakfast that wouldn't weigh me down. I absolutely cannot do physically strenuous activity with a lot of high fat food in my system. So, in comes the protein pancake. It's a take on a Body For Life recipe, and honestly, I could eat this every morning. I guess I could call it my morning crack.

The premise of Body For Life is eating 6 small meals a day that balance lean protein and good carbs, so this recipe fits that formula pretty perfectly. At first taste, I think the texture can throw people off, because of its density, but once you get past that, you learn to love the wonder of this breakfast staple. And hey, you definitely shed that belly softness on this eating plan.

Protein Pancake, serving for 1 person
1/2 cup lowfat cottage cheese
1/2 cup rolled oats
3 egg whites
stevia, cinnamon, vanilla to taste
hearty sprinkle of flaxseeds for added nuttiness and all the good fat you get from flax

stick all of it in your blender and hit blend. it's quite thick, so you'll have to stir it around and pulse it. cook like a pancake, but you'll have to keep it on the heat much longer.

enjoy!

I should just call it crack.

My newest dish was originally inspired by the idea of paella, but the more I think about it, really has very little to do with paella anymore. Except that I could probably eat both dishes non-stop, to the absolute extreme of fullness, and then possibly one bite more. Tyson calls it the "Spicy Chicken Sausage Barley Peas Thing".

My recipe for SCSBPT.

Pearl barley
chicken breast, chopped
spicy andouille chicken sausage
frozen peas
italian parsley
chicken broth
dash of white wine
cayenne, paprika, cumin, salt, saffron

Chop sausage, saute on high heat in a little oil to get a nice char. Set aside. Brown chicken in the same yummy sausage oil drippings pan. Coat with cayenne, paprika, cumin, salt. Set aside. Using the same pan, toss in the pearl barley and a dash of white wine to deglaze pan. Add chicken broth and let barley cook as long as it needs to (I like my barley nice and firm, usually a 3:1 ratio of liquid to barley, cooked for about 25 min?) When there's just a little simmering liquid left in the pan, toss back in the sausage and chicken, along with chopped italian parsley, peas, and a few saffron threads. Cook down the rest of the liquid. Season/spice to taste-- in my case, I went a little overboard with the cayenne, and it was awesome.

Warning, I ate it for dinner and breakfast, and Tyson ate it for lunch, so luckily it's gone and I don't need to eat any more of it now.

(btw- a previous version of this had a couple of scallops thrown in, and mostly arborio rice, which made me think of paella... this is a healthier, cheaper version)

(and another btw- made that Indian dish from yesterday's post again... this time, just a couple of heaping spoonfuls of 2% fage greek yogurt. awesomeness.)

chicken saag yogurt something or other

I thought it would be fun to cook some Indian food. Tyson's downstairs neighbor is an amazing cook, so his apt oft smells like all sorts of yummy Indian flavors. So I thought I'd give it a whirl. (mind you, I know nothing about cooking Indian food)

Ingredients:
Trader Joe's curry simmer sauce
boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into small pieces
frozen spinach, thawed and drained
greek gods plain nonfat greek yogurt

So I threw it all together (you know, browned the chicken first in a bit of grapeseed oil, simmered in the sauce and spinach, and then added the yogurt at the end). The yogurt tartness was way overpowering (I was sort of just trying to get rid of it), so I mixed in some Stevia (my go to natural no calorie sweeter, a post in itself), some cayenne for heat, a dash of cumin for smokiness, and tumeric because, well, everything has tumeric in it. Not great, but better.

So there you go. My version of chicken saag yogurt something or other. I think in the future I would try a smaller dose of lowfat yogurt. Or even, gasp, full fat stuff. Other suggestions?

Oh yeah, served over TJ's Garlic Naan aka toasty heavenliness.

Pink is the new orange.

So I've joined my wonderfully handsome diabetic boyfriend Tyson (like Top Chef's Sam!) in the "no sweets with added refined sugar" commitment, and so far it's been a solid 9 months. Yup, 9 months. A whole human gestation period. Well, almost a whole gestation period. I did work my way up to a "planned cheat" for Leah and Tony's wedding cake (hey, they were more excited about the cake than most of the other wedding things, so it was my duty to partake in its splendor). And there has been a taste here or there, justifiably to actually taste what different desserts taste like as I continue on my quest to cooking greatness.

But really, I have not eaten "sweets with added refined sugar" (mind you, it's a descriptive yet arbitrary rule) for quite some time now. And it has just become a way of eating. I've completely lost my craving for lots of sweets now, such as cookies, candy, and cake (yes, definitely cake, in fact I have somewhat of an aversion to seeing people eat cake). I do, however, have intense cravings for chocolate. Luckily they are satiated by fruit juice sweetened double chocolate cookies from Mrs. Fabes (avail. at Whole Foods for a pretty penny) and Mani's (avail. at both their Fairfax and Main St. locations for a pretty penny). And things like Carbolite from Bigg Chill and no sugar added Fudgesicles. But really, I'm not that into going broke at Mani's (and increasing my carbon footprint) or putting all that artificial crap into my body. And sugar-free chocolate is known to have a laxative effect. ew.

So here I am, during an afternoon lull in front of my computer. I saw Mell's away msg "resisting thin mints" (she has given up sugar for lent. and will eat dizzying amounts of sugar on day 41 if anyone would like to join her) and immediately had a craving for something sweet.

So I grabbed a Cara Cara orange from the fridge. I'd have to say, I'm not a fan. And it's a freakin' orange, so who says they're NOT a fan? But it's flavor was just so so, even though it was juicy, and that color is oddly off putting. Kind of like God threw a little red 40 dye into his naval orange cauldron just for kicks.

Did I just get a bad Cara Cara (ha, a lemon)?

Back in business.

That's it. I miss blogging. Twitter mobile and Facebook notes sufficed for a bit, but I have to say blogs bring the whole daily quick idea thing to a new level. And though I am nowhere near a devout blog follower, I do stay connected thanks to Blackberries and Opera Mini and LA's lovely Blue and Green buses. And it feeds my soul. And makes that ungodly stretch of Wilshire Blvd east of the 405 somewhat more palatable.

So here I am, newly inspired by the online writing community in all its illustrious glory (i.e. the most famous Michelle Woo in the world). I will have to re-learn how to insert a link again. something about a href=" "...

My blog, as you can see, is titled "will cook for food" which was my clever tagline during my brief match.com stint. Or so I thought. Turns out I found a dozen or so others with the same tagline. Mostly men who wanted to exhibit their kitchen prowess in hopes of, well, gettin' some. And then I thought it would be my clever [insert title here].blogspot.com URL, but someone else already staked claim in May 2008. Even though he/she has not posted once. Not that I'm bitter.

So here I am, Ms. twelvegrain. And no, I don't think I can name the twelve grains off the top of my head. Something along the lines of wheat, barley, oats, flax, and spelt. Especially spelt, because it's such a cool word. 1 vowel, 4 consonants.

The focus of my blog will be food. Food I cook, food I eat, food I'd like to cook, food I'd like to eat. I know there are a ka-jillion (shh, the mathematician is using a non-number number word) foodie blogs out there, and I'm sure they're awesome. This one, however, is different because it's about food<-->me (we social researchers love the double arrow). It's supposed to somehow connote the two-way food-me relationship, how I interact with food, how food interacts with me. And I should put a contextual bubble around the food<-->me diagram, but I just don't know how to do that here on blogger, so let's just pretend it's there.

Disclaimer: I am not nor do I ever begin to represent myself as a trained chef. Who I am is someone who loves to cook, someone who is continually intrigued by the social and physical effects of good food, and someone who wishes to share her daily food experiences within the blogging community. This may entail asking amateur questions like "do I stir risotto or leave it alone?" I'm sure the experts out there would love to comment.

Thanks for joining me as I embark on this new journey, among others. Comments always welcome. Even if they're lame. Well, not too many lame ones, I guess. But don't worry, your comment isn't lame.