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Susan the FoodBlogga has one of my favorite blogs. Everything is always so fresh, simple, and beautiful. When I saw she was hosting a blog event, Beautiful Bones, I knew I wanted to participate. The event asks bloggers to make a calcium-rich dish to bring awareness to osteoporosis.
I was actually planning on thinking something up and making it next week for the event, since I already had my dinners planned out for the week. But, as I was reviewing the event on Susan's blog (and also inputting my meal into SparkPeople), I realized the chicken salad I was making was mighty high in calcium. Cheese? Check. Sour cream? Check. Avocado? Check. Black beans? Check. Lime? Check. Corn tortillas? Check. Tomatoes? Check. Oregano? Check. Tequila? Okay, that's not high in calcium but it's good to have.
When all is said, calculated, eaten and done for, this salad provides you with a shade under 40% of the recommended calcium intake for the day. w00t! It's good to know I am naturally planning calcium rich foods without really thinking about it.
I suppose this is what is called a "Santa Fe Chicken Salad." Honestly, I have never had one of these concoctions before in a restaurant, but that goes without reason. I love all the components in this salad and it's a nice twist on a boring ol' grilled chicken salad. I haven't calculated the nutritional value for this (other than the chicken itself) because it will really vary based on whether you use full fat cheese, sour cream, ranch, etc. If you don't, this is definitely a light, healthy and filling salad. Take that, osteoporosis!
Santa Fe Chicken Salad
Serves 2
Tequila Lime Chicken
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 4.5 oz. each)
1 lime, zested and juiced
2 Tbsp. Tequila
2 Tbsp. orange juice
2 tsp. canola oil
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. chili powder
2 cloves garlic, smashed
salt and pepper
Combine the lime juice and zest, tequila, orange juice, canola oil, spices and garlic and whisk together. Pour into a dish or resealable bag along with the chicken and refrigerate for 30 minutes - 2 hours (any longer and the acid in the citrus could start to "cook" the chicken).
Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and then grill or saute the chicken, basting with the marinade, until cooked through (about 4-5 minutes per side).
Nutritional information per piece, if consuming all marinade (which, you probably won't): Calories: 225 / Fat: 7g / Carbs: 4g / Protein: 29g
Dressing
1/4 cup salsa
2 heaping Tbsp. sour cream
2 Tbsp. ranch dressing
hot sauce (optional)
Combine all ingredients (and a few dashes of hot sauce, if you'd like) and refrigerate as you make the rest of the salad.
Salad
3-4 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
1 large tomato, diced
1/2 avocado, diced
1/3 cup black beans, drained/rinsed
1/3 cup corn
1/3 cup cheddar jack cheese
2 corn tortillas
cooking spray
Cut the corn tortillas into squares and spray with oil. Bake at 350 in your oven (or toaster oven, as I like to use for these small jobs) until crispy.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Toss with the dressing and then stir in the crispy corn tortillas. Top with chicken.
The other day I posted an entry for Mochachocolatarita’s Chinese Take-Out Party…(if you guys haven’t checked out her party yet, get over there! There are tons of delicious dishes to be had!)…Of course, once the round-up was posted, my fingers couldn’t click the mouse fast enough to get to her site. There are main dishes, rices, noodles, appies, soups and desserts. There were a couple (ok, ok *more* than a couple!) of dishes that really caught my eye. The Kung Pao Chicken entries were especially insistent with the powers that be within my grumbling stomach. Kung Pao Chicken is basically chicken and peanuts, stirfried in a delicious brown sauce. But take this simple dish and add a bunch of ginger and vegetables, and you have elevated it to something sublime. The entries on Rita’s page inspired me to go out and make some Kung Pao, go and see what inspires you! 
For the Kung Pao Chicken recipe, please visit: http://canarygirl.com/?p=183
Yeah, so earlier in the week I had posted about staring at Peter’s (of Kalofagas) delicious Eggs Benedict recipe…Staring at Peter’s recipes is nothing new for me. His site is a daily read. He has a wonderful sense of humor, and is a phenomenal cook. You should SEE some of the delicious things he cooks up! He is of Greek descent, and, luckily for us, he shares his mouthwatering recipes, and the fun stories of Greece and his heritage that go along with them. Not too long ago he had posted his recipe for Cheese Stuffed Keftides (couldn’t you just *die* at how good those sound?)…well, I knew I had to put those on the menu. I mean, Come ON! Keftides? Stuffed with Cheese? I may have fainted into my keyboard. Actually, I’m pretty sure I did, because I had these weird square bruises on my forehead. 
This week, I could wait no more. Monday I bought the ingredients to make his hellaciously good recipe.
I’m not going to post Peter’s recipe, because I actually followed it pretty much to the letter…I had to substitute Gouda cheese (see it trying to escape there? lol) for the Greek cheese, though, since I can’t get the types he recommended for the recipe.
To go along with these delicious morsels of Greek joy, I decided to make a fresh tzatziki (pictured here) and hummus (pictured below).
The hummus was an excellent dip for both the keftides and the pitas. I tell you, this is perfect summer food, you guys. The next time you plan on grilling plain old burgers? Forget that idea, and make these instead! Seriously, they are amazing.
For the tzatziki and hummus recipes, please visit: http://canarygirl.com/?p=182
Ok, so that’s fun to say, isn’t it? lol Fun to say, and fun to eat! Looking for something simple and packed with flavor? This is just the ticket. Active work time is only about 15 minutes, the rest is just bake time. Empanadas are great for lunch, or for a snack, and are great the next day…perfect to take with you wherever you need to go. They’re even good cold, so are perfect picnic fare! When we had the sailboat, I’d make these all the time to take with for a day out on the water. You can make them up ahead of time, and they keep really well. Empanadas can be made into a pie, like I’ve done here, or if you’re feeling feisty, go ahead and make them into individually sized empanadas, for a quick bite, or a great party appetizer.
For recipe, please go here: http://canarygirl.com/?p=180
Don’t forget! Only 5 days left to enter the free cookbook drawing!
This is the first dish I tried: a Sri Lankan fish stew called Meen Kari, along with a very simple, unleavened bread called Tawa Paratha. The bread was unremarkable, but the stew was excellent. It was also very simple, and quick (if it wasn't, I'd never dare try baking bread along with it, heheh).
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp ghee or butter
12 shallots (I used 6)
1 1/2 tsp AP flour
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp chili powder (I used a full teaspoon, which was a little too much -- but that all depends on how hot your chili powder is, of course)
1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
salt to taste
14 oz kingfish or salmon fillet (I used the latter), skinned and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup thick coconut milk
1 tsp wine or cider vinegar (I used rice wine vinegar)
pinch of crushed black peppercorns
1. Sautée shallots in ghee/butter until browned.
2. Add flour, tomato paste, chili powder, coriander, turmeric and salt. Mix well.
3. While stirring constantly (to avoid lumps), slowly add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.
4. Add fish, cover and let simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the fish is cooked.
5. Remove from heat and stir in coconut milk and vinegar.
6. Sprinkle with crushed black pepper (I also added chopped cilantro) and serve.
The flavor of this dish wasn't hugely different from anything else I've had, but it was definitely a new taste -- and an excellent one, at that. The sweetness of the shallots and coconut was perfectly balanced against the heat of the spices and the sharpness of the vinegar. I tasted the sauce before I added the vinegar, and found that it was really pretty spicy, so I decided to go with the mildest vinegar I had on hand -- rice wine vinegar. I think that was a good decision. A sharper vinegar would have bumped the heat up even more.
Serving this over rice would be good -- so it could soak up the sauce. Also, I think adding some potatoes to the stew would be a good idea.
As far as the paratha goes -- I used kosher salt, but not enough. When I use kosher salt, it seems like I almost have to double the amount, compared to regular salt. So it was very bland. Also, it was too thin to be able to soak up the sauce. I didn't have time to rise a leavened bread, but a naan would have been far better.
Well, Meen Kari is definitely gonna see some repeat play.
I've been digging into the Curry Cuisine cookbook recently. I was going to make Chingri Malai Curry (Jumbo Shrimp in Coconut Curry Sauce from Bengal), and noticed a comment in the introduction to the recipe, that the author was very surprised by how similar it was to a Malaysian Laksa. The book had a recipe for Laksa Lemak (Laksa with Shrimp and Tofu), so I had a look... As it turns out, Laska Lemak is made with noodles, and since we had rice yesterday, and since I'll be serving rice the next day, I decided to go with this Laksa thing instead.
According to the recipe, Laksa used to mean fine rice noodles, but today the dish is made with whatever noodles you've got. It's basically a spicy soup with coconut milk, noodles, and whatever protein you can find: chicken, fish, shrimp, scallops, tofu etc. Lemak translates literally as fat, meaning rich, lavish and luscious -- I agree. Wikipedia says the word Laksa may have come from the Sanskrit word for "many" -- referring to the many ingredients in the soup, and that it is a Peranakan dish, originating from Chinese migrants to Malay and Java -- Wikipedia has a few other things to say on the subject, so follow the link if you'd like to know more... (Sorry. Yeah, I'm an unapologetic, black-belt nerd...)
Here's my recipe, which includes a few modifications that I made.
Paste:
2 large, chopped medium hot red chilies (If you like heat, use hotter ones, or more chilies -- if you can't stand heat, seed and devein them. I like hot and spicy food, and have a higher tolerance for it than most people, but I think additional heat would detract from the complex flavors, and the gentle sweetness from the coconut milk. Too little heat would would -- well, I feel kinda pretentious to say this, but if there's no heat at all, it would sort of throw it off "balance," if that makes sense? It really does need a little heat.)
2 chopped shallots
8 chopped garlic cloves
1/4 cup cashew nuts
1 1/2" chopped ginger
1 1/2" chopped galangal
2 Tbsp ground coriander
2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp tamarind juice
2 Tbsp peanut oil
Soup:
3 cans chicken or vegetable broth (if you don't mind losing a little richness, you can substitute about half of that for water -- the majority of the flavor comes from the paste).
1 can coconut milk
Salt and pepper to taste, as you cook
8-12 oz of whatever noodles you like
1 lb peeled shrimp (or other protein)
1/4 lb mushrooms (or other vegetables)
1 hardboiled egg (per 2 persons)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
(Taste frequently throughout the cooking process, and season with salt and pepper accordingly)
Instructions:
1. Grind the paste ingredients together, into a very fine paste (I didn't grind it as much as I should have, which resulted in the occasional chunk of ginger and galangal, which I didn't like too much).
2. Fry the paste in oil for 2-3 minutes, while stirring constantly (don't overdo it, as it gets extremely fragrant) and set aside.
3. Bring the broth and coconut milk to a boil, and add pasta. Let simmer until almost done.
4. Add mushrooms, simmer for 4 minutes.
5. Add shrimp and simmer for 4 more minutes (adjust time according to what veggies and proteins you're using).
6. Serve with cilantro for garnish, and a quartered, hardboiled egg.
I made a couple of mistakes when I followed the original recipe (which I have NOT repeated in the above recipe, of course): I didn't grind the paste as much as I should have. I sautéed the mushrooms and shrimp before adding them to the soup -- this was pointless, and added nothing to the dish (plus -- extra pan to clean). Finally, I was a little freaked out by how much liquid there was and decided to reduce it by almost half before adding the pasta, mushroom and shrimp -- at which point I discovered I didn't didn't have enough soup... Duh.
Avoid those three mistakes, and you'll have a great Laksa Lemak. Highly recommended.
Oh, and it makes for some awesome leftovers... I don't normally go for leftover seafood, but this stuff is great for next day's lunch... The phrase "brown-bagging it" has such a mundane, or even pitiful ring to it. But when some poor, hapless bastard plods past your cubicle with his greasy bag of McDumpster, stopping dead in his tracks, and starts begging for a taste -- hey, maybe I'm evil -- but sometimes that can be the highlight of your day, you know?
My third go at this dish, and I'm becoming very comfortable with it. I had the dough for some naan to go with it -- cooking it isn't a big deal (not anymore, at least, now that I've got the hang of it), but I knew I was gonna be pretty tired, so I wanted something easy, and that's Meen Kari in a nutshell.
1 Tbsp ghee or butter
6 shallots (Occasionally I use a red onion, since I always have them on hand)
1 1/2 tbsp AP flour
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp mild chili powder
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 finely diced Serrano chili
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
3 cups of water
1 lb. Salmon fillet or steak, deboned, skinned and cut into 1" pieces
1 cup thick coconut milk (make sure to include the thick bits of the milk)
1 tsp white wine vinegar
Freshly crushed black peppercorns
Chopped cilantro (coriander) leaves
1. Sautée shallots in ghee/butter until browned.
2. Add flour, tomato paste, chili powder, coriander, turmeric and salt. Mix well.
3. While stirring constantly (to avoid lumps), slowly add the water and bring to a boil.
4. Add fish, cover and let simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the fish is cooked.
5. Remove from heat and stir in coconut milk and vinegar.
6. Sprinkle with crushed black pepper and chopped cilantro (coriander) leaves and serve.
If you don't have naan, some plain rice in the bottom of the bowl would work very nicely for soaking up the juices, too. And of course, there's no strict need to stay on an Asian theme, either: you could just get a baguette. After all, the Vietnamese learnt to make a baguette from the French -- theirs is made from rice flower, and called Bánh mì.
This is yet another excellent America's Test Kitchen recipe. It uses minced garlic, sautéed; an entire bulb of garlic, simmered; and garlic chips, deep fried. Hey, garlic is good for you! Plus, there are an awful lot of vampires hopping around these days...
For the soup:
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- White and light green parts from a medium leek, chopped (don't forget to wash it)
- 6 cloves of minced garlic
- One whole bulb of garlic
- 5-6 cups low-sodium chicken broth/stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 lb. potatoes (use high and low starch taters for a varied texture—like russet and red)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 tsp minced fresh thyme (less, if using dried)
- 1/4 fresh, minced chives for garnish
For the garlic chips:
- Olive oil for deep frying (in the smallest pot you have)
- Half a dozen cloves of garlic (or to you liking)
1. The soup starts by softening the finely chopped white and light green parts of a leek, in butter for about 5-8 minutes.
2. Then, add the minced garlic for 30 seconds, and a bunch of low-sodium chicken stock, a couple of bay leaves and a bit of salt—and an entire bulb of garlic with the top 1/3 cut off. If need be, add more stock to cover the bulb.
3. Cover partially and let simmer for 30-40 minutes, or until the garlic bulb is soft. Remove the garlic bulb, and using paper towels, squeeze out the contents and mash it into a pulp with a fork. Add it to the soup.
4. Add potatoes, cut into 1/2" cubes (for a more varied texture, you can use a mix of russet and red potatoes). Let simmer for an additional 20 minutes.
5. Bring olive oil to medium-high heat in a small pan and add thinly sliced garlic chips sliced lengthwise. This, you have to watch like a hawk, because I left them in too long and they got a tad too dark. They are supposed to have a bittersweet flavor, but the darker they get, the more bitter they get. I left them in too long.
6. Take the soup off the heat and add the cream.
7. Buzz the soup with a stick blender, according to desired thickness/chunkiness.
8. Serve garnished with garlic chips and chopped chives.
Dagnabbit, I keep writing "garlish" every time I try to write "garnish." I'm all garlicked out here. (Clue ridiculously hammy Klaus Kinski: "Listen to them: the children of the night—what music they make!") (Oh yeah, that's the ticket: I wanna be the Alton Brown of food blogging, heheh.)
For the cakes:
1 lb boneless catfish cut into 1" pieces
1 tbsp fish sauce
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
2 tbsp fresh cilantro (coriander leaves), chopped
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
(Optional: fine, hard breadcrumbs for breading)
Peanut oil for deep frying
For the dipping sauce:
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp water
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp fish sauce
Lettuce, apple slices, cilantro and mint leaves
1. Use a food processor to coarsely chop the fish.
2. Add everything else, and run the food processor again. Don't make it into forcemeat though; it should still be a little chunky.
3. Shape into 2" patties. They will swell up quite about during cooking, so if you want them flat, you'll have to make them very flat. (Optional: bread them in fine, hard breadcrumbs).
4. Deep fry at 375°F for about 3-5 minutes.
I was a bit skeptical about exactly how crispy these cakes would (but they turned out just fine), so I decided to bread a couple of them with some fine, hard breadcrumbs, and that turned out to be a good idea. This made them even crispier, and also gave them a more pleasing color, in my opinion. I'll definitely do that next time around.
I expected the cakes to be quite potent in flavor and spiciness, but they were surprisingly subtle. In fact the accoutrements sort of overwhelmed the flavor of the cakes themselves. Especially the lettuce, which was fairly bitter. It was very good, but I enjoyed eating the cakes on their own even more. I could increase the flavor components of the cakes — maybe even double them — but I might also find an entirely different method of serving them.
The first thing that came to mind would be to use a yogurt or sour cream dipping sauce with lime juice (maybe zest also), chopped mint and perhaps some honey (and possibly, also some finely chopped apple) — and double the amount of cayenne pepper in the cakes. Hot cakes and a cooling sauce. It'd make for a great hors d'oeuvre.
...or fasolakia me arni, if you're Greek :)
I love almost every type of cuisine but if I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be Lebanese. It's probably a bit of a cop out, really, because it's just so similar to Greek food. That's probably why I like it, eh? I could honestly eat Middle Eastern or Mediterranean food every day for the rest of my life and I would be okay with that. Actually, I had Lebanese for 3 meals last week alone.
Lubyee bi laham (or any varation of that spelling) is a Lebanese lamb and green bean stew. Greeks make almost the same thing, with slightly different spices, and occasionally with okra instead of lamb. It is one of my absolute favorite things to eat, no matter who makes it. I grew up in a city with a population that was about 50% Arabic. In other words, I was extremely spoiled with Middle Eastern food. The local restaurants were authentic and the foods my friends' parents made me were, too! There are some great Lebanese joints in Chicago but I haven't found one that is totally up to par with Dearborn. But, that doesn't stop me from getting my fill of shawarma, kofta, pilaf, fattoush and jerusalem salad in a week, apparently.
This recipe is basically a combination of the one from Ally's blog, Culinary Infatuation, and the one from Katie's blog. Good Things Catered. Both have some Lebanese blood in them so I knew it had to be good.
And good it was. So tasty, so comforting. Letting this simmer for a few hours is seriously killer. It smells SO good. I was ready to dive into it before I had even added the green beans. Like Ally, we had this over some Middle Eastern couscous, which I already had in my cabinet. I just toasted it in olive oil and then cooked in a mixture of water and broth.
This was a little too liquidy, so next time I'll simmer uncovered for a few minutes at the end to thicken.
Lubyee bi Laham
Serves 4
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. lamb stew meat
2 onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
allspice (errr, I never know how much because I only have the whole allspice and I throw in quite a few; maybe 1/2--3/4 tsp. if you have it ground?)
1 lb. fresh green beans, ends trimmed
salt and pepper
Heat a dutch oven over medium heat and then add the oil. Sprinkle the lamb with salt and pepper. Once the oil is hot, add the lamb and brown on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon.
Add the onions and cook until tender. Add the garlic, sauteing until fragrant. Pour in the water and crushed tomatoes, deglazing the pot and scraping up all the browned bits. Add salt, pepper and allspice and bring to a boil. Put the lamb back in. Cover and turn the heat to low, simmering for 1-2 hours.
Add the green beans and simmer covered for an additional hour.
If you need to thicken the stew, simmer uncovered for a few additional minutes at the end.
Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 300 / Fat: 10 / Carbs: 26 / Fiber: 5g / Protein: 28.5
