Sweet and Tart

BIG NEWS! We now have two doctors in the house (or at least doctors-to-be)!! It's been an amazing day with such exciting news. I'm so happy and so relieved. This weekend will be filled with celebrations--acceptances and birthdays. So happy!

Unfortunately, the new addition to the field of medicine is working a graveyard shift tonight, so I was on my own for dinner. I wrestled between various delivery places--pizza, Chinese, sandwiches... but I really wasn't in the mood for any of that. I rummaged through fridge and found some extra lamb, frozen asparagus, and a bottle of pomegranate juice. I actually managed to whip up a pretty gourmet meal with very limited ingredients. We have done this lamb recipe before for holidays and it is absolutely delicious. Normally we use a rolled leg of lamb and roast it, but I just had one lamb leg steak and grilled it on the George Foreman. It turned out just perfect, but be careful not to overcook the lamb. It can be tough because you can't watch it cook with the grill closed. But keep a close eye on it and it will turn out amazing. The pomegranate sauce is perfect with a bit of sweet and tangy tart. I omitted the lemon juice from the sauce because I didn't have any on hand, but it still tasted great. For the asparagus, I simply defrosted it and tossed it in some olive oil, pepper, and kosher salt. Throw them on the grill for about 3 minutes and you have an amazing side vegetable. This was so simple and the perfect amount for a single serving.

One more thing, I'm reading "Kitchen Confidential" by Anthony Bourdain. It's amazing. Go read it. 

Grilled Lamb with Pomegranate Glaze
adapted from Grilled Leg of Lamb with Pomegranate Molasses by Alton Brown

• 1 lamb leg steak
• 1 c. pomegranate juice
• 1/8 c. sugar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the George Foreman Grill for 5 minutes.

Place the pomegranate juice and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the mixture has reduced, approximately 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

Season the lamb with salt and pepper. Once pomegranate sauce has cooled, pour some over the lamb. Place the lamb on the grill and cook for about 4 minutes. While it is cooking, brush with more sauce ever minute or so.

Once the lamb is cooked, remove from heat and brush more sauce on top before serving.

It's Pronounced "Keen-Wah"

Still sick, so we had soup again tonight. I also wanted to make a hearty and healthy quinoa as a side. Quinoa is not found in most kitchens, but it definitely should be. It's super high in protein, has lots of essential amino acids, gluten-free, and high in fiber. Everyone should eat it because it's also delicious and has a great texture. We had some artichokes from the CSA and I found a great Artichoke Asparagus Quinoa recipe on Closet Cooking. I modified the recipe a lot. I added some garlic (of course), sauteed rather than blanched the asparagus, and removed the garbanzo beans. If I were to do it again, I would definitely not do the artichokes. Those things are so hard to prep! Removing the tough outer leaves, peeling away the skin around the heart, and then taking out the choke. Way too much work for not much product. I think the dish would be perfectly fine with just the asparagus. Unfortunately, I'm still sick which means I don't have my sense of taste. But luckily, the taste tester was here and said it was delish! It might not be the prettiest dish, but it certainly does taste good. Who knew something so healthy could be so yummy?!

Artichoke and Asparagus Quinoa

• 8 baby artichokes (optional)
• 1/2 pound asparagus (trimmed, cut into 1 inch pieces)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup pesto
• 1/4 cup feta (crumbled)

1. Peel the leaves from the artichokes until you get to the paler tender inner 2. leaves. Cut the top third off and discard and cut the artichoke in half. Remove the inner choke (the furry part).
2. Heat the oil in a pan.
3. Add the artichoke hearts and asparagus and saute until tender, about 6-8 minutes.
4. Add the quinoa and broth, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the quinoa is tender, about 15-20 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and mix in pesto and feta.

Here's a cute picture of a puppy:

Make your Own Pizza Night

These dishes were actually for dinner last night, but I had so much work to do that I didn't have the time to post about them. I'm actually eating them for lunch right now.

I picked up our veggies from the CSA yesterday. I'm getting kind of tired of winter greens like swiss chard and veggies like carrots. We also got more beets and to be honest, I really don't like beets, they taste like dirt to me. I've tried to like them, I've made roasted beet salad, beet ravioli, and now a beet hummus from Biggest Diabetic Loser, but still the taste buds are still not happy. Some people love their flavor and I just love their color. What a pretty reddish purple! With that said, I don't have much to stay on the beet hummus other than it looks nice. I asked the official taste tester about his comments (he actually does like beets) and he told me to say "It's pretty tasty!" So, decide yourself if you will enjoy this dish or not.

Main dish for tonight was a Swiss Chard and Asparagus Pizza adapted from Farmgirl Fare. I was tired of simply making sauteed swiss chard and throwing it in pasta, so to twist things up a bit we did a pizza. I love the pizza dough from Trader Joe's. They have a plain, whole wheat, and a garlic herb. The dough is so easy to work with and I roll it out onto a metal pizza pan. I use flour to coat my rolling surface, but I have also heard of using plain cream of wheat to give the dough a little more crisp. I also used frozen asparagus from Trader Joe's. These bags are great to have on hand in the freezer. Anytime you're in the mood for asparagus, just pop one of these out of the freezer, run under cool water, and tah-dah! Whenever you want an easy dinner, that is healthy too, try homemade pizza. You can put anything on top, use whatever kind of sauce, and it will be exactly how you want it to taste. So much better than Dominos or Pizza Hut.

A few things I did notice while making the pizza. Make sure when you cook the mixture until most of the liquid has evaporated off. I dumped the moist mixture onto my pizza dough and it was so soggy. It still tasted good, I just had to eat it with a knife and fork because it would fall apart if I picked it up. Also, be wary of topping with too much mozzarella cheese. I am a cheese lover and have a tendency to pile it on too high. With pizza, too much cheese can actually be a hindrance. You're not able to cut the pieces very well, it doesn't melt completely, and it just doesn't look very pretty. So if you want extra cheese with your pizza, make a side of cheesy bread sticks instead.

Beet Hummus

• 2 medium beets
• 2 tablespoons tahini sesame seed paste
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• zest of one lemon
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans
• 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
• salt and pepper to taste

Cut ends off of beets and place in a large pot of water. Boil beets for 30 minutes on top of the stove until tender over low heat. Cool, peel and put everything in a food processor and blend until smooth. Refrigerate. Serve with pita chips.

Swiss Chard and Asparagus Pizza

• Pizza dough (use your favorite or I like Trader Joe's refrigerated pizza dough)
• 6 to 8 ounces mozzarella, thinly sliced or shredded
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion (about 5 ounces)
• 4 to 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bunch Swiss chard with ribs removed, leaves chopped (about 12 ounces or 4 cups packed of leaves)
• 1 lb asparagus, cut into one inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese

If using Trader Joe's pizza dough, remove dough from package and let rest for 20 minutes on a lightly floured surface.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a 4-quart or larger pot. Add onion and chopped Swiss leaves and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, 2 minutes; do not let garlic brown.

Add asparagus into onion mixture. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, about 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce. Continue to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove pan from heat and let chard mixture cool slightly, and then stir in Pecorino Romano.

Roll out the pizza dough and shape into a circle. Place on a pizza baking dish or a pizza stone. Spread the chard mixture evenly over the dough. Top with mozzarella. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges brown the the cheese starts to bubble.

Fancy Schamcy Dinner Night

Tonight I was signed up to volunteer at the CUP Women's Clinic, but there was only one patient scheduled so I didn't have to show up. I thought I was going to be busy all night, but now that I was free, I took the opportunity to cook a wonderful meal. We also had a nice night in because our puppy was neutered today, so we have a sleepy post-op puppy to take care of as well.

To start we have a Dandelion Greens with Balsamic Vinegar Marinated Onions and Strawberries. I have never tasted dandelion greens, and like most people, I had always considered them weeds. However, I do drink dandelion tea when I am sick as directed by my personal Chinese herbalist. I found the recipe on SeriousEats and I thought it would be perfect, with some alterations, with strawberry season. The grocery store was full of those little red gems and all of them were on sale. My strawberry plant in the backyard is also starting to grow some fruit as well. Unfortunately, the dandelion greens are extremely, extremely bitter. Apparently, they are one of the most aggressive of the bitter greens, but I was not expecting this. Like a punch in the face! I took one bite and my eyes almost started watering. I couldn't finish the greens, but I gobbled up the marinated strawberries and onions. Those were delicious. Next time I will put the strawberries and onions on a simple spinach or arugula salad, but never ever again those bitter dandelion greens.

For our main course, we had Asparagus and Fava Bean Israeli Couscous (adapted from Culinerapy) and Beet Ravioli in Poppy Seed Butter (from Desert Candy). They were both wonderful.

The israeli couscous was originally supposed to be a risotto recipe. But since I didn't have any risotto, risotto can take forever to make, and also that I love israeli couscous, I decided to change it a bit. Because of that, I had to alter the recipe some, but that ultimately made it even easier. The original recipe would have taken over an hour to make, my version took maybe 45 minutes. Fast, easy, delicious... that's my motto. The only thing that took a bit of time was preparing the fava beans, that can easily be left out, but it really isn't too terrible to set them up. You can clean them and study for TL at the same time (or watch Top Chef Masters...). I had never cooked with fava beans before, but the minute I heard we were getting them all I could think about was serving it with liver and a nice chianti (Alex, I know that you get my reference there).

The Beet Raviolis with Poppy Seed Butter was excellent as well. So simple to make. If you don't feel like making your own pasta dough, I used wonton skins and they worked wonderfully. The pasta was an amazing red color that looked terrific with the green of the couscous. They weren't too heavy and would be great as a main dish or a side.

Greens Salad with Strawberries and Balsamic-Caramelized Onions

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, sliced into 1/4-inch-wide rings or half moons
  
• 10 ripe strawberries, sliced
  
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, divided
  
• 2 tablespoons sugar
  
• Salad greens
  
• Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium frying pan. Add the sliced onions along with a good pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are soft, lightly brown, and reduced to about 1/3 of their raw volume. You may need to reduce the heat gradually as the onions shrink.

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, toss the strawberry slices with 2 tablespoons of the balsamic vinegar and the sugar and set aside.

3. When the onions are nearly done, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar to the pan and continue cooking until it has thickened slightly, a minute or two. Remove the onions from the heat.

4. In a salad bowl, combine the greens, onions and strawberries with all their juices, scraping down the onion pan with a rubber spatula to incorporate all the oil and vinegar into the salad. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss, and serve.

Asparagus and Fava Bean Israeli Couscous

• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into one-inch-long pieces; set aside tips
• 1 - 1 1/2 pounds fava beans, in pods (about 1 cup of shelled beans)
• 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 large red onion, diced
• 8 oz. box of Israeli Couscous
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Salt to taste
• 1 scallion, green parts chopped
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. To prepare fava beans: bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, shell the beans by pulling on the stem of the pod, and “unzip” them on both sides. Pop out the light green beans. Take the beans and drop them in boiling water for about 4 minutes. Prepare a bowl with ice and water. Remove the beans from the boiling water and plunge into ice water to cool. Peel off the beans' waxy outer covering. Drain and set aside.

2. Refill medium pot of water and bring to a boil. Add half the chopped asparagus stalks (not the tips) and cook until quite soft, at least 5 minutes. Rinse quickly under cold water. Put cooked asparagus in a blender or food processor and add just enough water or stock to allow machine to puree until smooth; set aside. Put 2 cups of stock and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the couscous and simmer covered for 10 minutes or until the couscous is soft.

3. Put 1 tablespoon of oil and the butter in a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium heat. When it is hot, add onion, stirring occasionally until it softens, 3 to 5 minutes.Add white wine, stir, and let liquid bubble away. Add a large pinch of salt.

4. When the couscous is ready, add it to the onion mix, stirring occasionally,about 2 to 3 minutes. Add more stock 1/2 cup at a time if the couscous mixture looks dry. Add remaining asparagus pieces and tips, continuing to add stock when necessary. In 5 minutes, add shelled fava beans and stir in the asparagus puree and chopped scallions. Remove skillet from heat. Add Parmesan and stir briskly, then taste and adjust seasoning. Serve immediately with additional Parmesan.

Beet Ravioli with Poppy Seed Butter

• 4 small red beets
  
• 1/2 cup fresh ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs
• 1 package Wonton wrappers
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut off the beet greens and peel the beets. Wrap beets individually in foil; place on baking sheet covered in foil. Roast until tender when pierced with knife, about 1 hour. Open foil carefully (steam will escape). Cool. Finely grate into medium bowl. Add ricotta cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in breadcrumbs.

2. Place a few of the wonton wrappers on your work surface, and place a small bowl of water nearby. Spoon 1 tablespoon beet filling onto each wonton wrapper. Dip fingertip into water and dampen edge of 1 round. Fold dough over filling, pushing out as much air as possible and pressing edges firmly to seal. Repeat with remaining rounds.

3. In a wide skillet, melt the butter with the poppy seeds, keep warm over very low heat. Working in batches, cook ravioli in large pot of boiling salted water until just done, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to skillet with melted butter; toss to coat. You may need more butter. Place ravioli on plates; sprinkle with Parmesan if desired.