Cooking: A recipe for deliciousness

I have gone on and on about my love of soup. I credit being "thin" and never getting sick to my love of soup in the winter time. My family is not so in love with this concept, but I figure I cook lots of meat so...there!

This past week I made a delicious variation of a tomato soup  that I have made for years. 

I was craving a certain flavor and I totally created something that hit the spot.

My favorite way to cook is roasting. I roast veggies all the time. The smells it creates in my house are amazing. The flavors roasting creates are much deeper than sauteing. Plus, I am lazy.

I got home from work and made a little brie with apples and nuts to snack on while I cooked the soup.

I quartered 10 very mealy Roma tomatoes (I hate mealy and this is a great way to get something good out of mealy tomatoes).  Sliced up a large container of mushrooms, covered them with a little olive oil and Alchemy Spice seasoning salt and threw them in the oven at 425. About 20 minutes into it, I stirred them and returned to the oven.

While those roasted, I diced a large onion and sliced a medium fennel bulb. Fennel is one of the most under used veggies. I love the taste of fennel, which I learned the beauty of working on fine dining restaurants in the 1990's. Fennel was it in the 1990's.  While the tomatoes finished roasting, I sauteed the onion and fennel in a dutch oven and when the onions were almost brown, I lowered the heat and covered the dutch oven to simmer. My house smelled amazing.

Here is that recipe, which I have to say is  my newest favorite. I ate it all week, with a little smoked cheddar crumbled in on top. Amazing.

Yes, my dishes are pink and aqua. 

Roasted Tomato Soup

• 10-12 roma tomatoes, quartered
• 1 large container mushrooms (sorry, I don't know the size), sliced thickly
• 1 med/large onion diced
• 1 medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced
• 1 4 cup container of vegetable broth
• 1 28 oz. crushed tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• crushed red peppers (to taste)
• 1 1/2 table Alchemy Spice Mediterranean seasoning

On a greased cookie sheet, combine tomatoes and mushrooms, drizzle with olive oil and generously season with salt and pepper ( I used Alchemy Spice Seasoned Salt). Roast in a 425 oven for about an hour. Half way through, turn and adjust temperature if needed. Saute onion and fennel in a little olive oil in a dutch oven. Once onions begin to brown, reduce heat and cover, sweating the veggies. Once tomatoes are starting to get really good and roasted (and a little charred) remove from oven. Add garlic to dutch oven and cook until fragrant. Add tomatoes, broth and roasted veggies. Add seasoning and crushed red pepper, if using. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, tasting occasionally to see if seasonings are right. Adjust if needed. This makes a large amount of soup. 

Serve with really good bread, cheese quesadillas, or just by itself with some smoked cheese. Yum-o! 

Cooking: Salmon Rushdie

Remember when Salman Rushdie was in hiding in the 1990's for writing The Satanic Verses?

I read the book and actually loved it. Funny how people got so worked up about a book they probably did not even read. 

On that note, I made the most delicious dinner tonight. I raved. Steve raved. Delaney inhaled it (Delaney inhales everything these days with two sports being played right now..). Ellie balked. 

It was a huge hit. 

I should have taken photos, but I was too busy shoveling it into my mouth.

Here's the recipe I altered and made my own...enjoy!

Salmon Florentine (A la Tanya )

• 2 cups spinach, chopped 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small minced onion
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 can stewed tomatoes, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta
• 4 skinless salmon fillets (6 oz each), rinsed and patted dry (salted and peppered)

Heat oven to 350°. de. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions; cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute more. Add spinach, tomatoes, salt, pepper flakes and pepper; cook, stirring, 2 minutes more. Remove from heat; let cool about 15 minutes. Add ricotta; stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Pack  spinach mixture on top of each fillet, matching the shape of the fillet. Place fillets on a rimmed baking sheet or in a glass baking dish; bake until cooked through about 15 minutes. 

 

Cupcakes I am making for my daughter's Halloween party on Saturday

Maybe...?

 

Cooking: Why eat out?

I always have a million blog posts running through my mind. 

Things I want to preach about...(people taking responsibility for how their kids behave, what they eat, how they shop, Monsanto), things I want to learn about...(how to have a better attitude, how to pray better, how to raise successful teenagers) and things that I do and find surprisingly good.

This past week, I made two really great meals. Well, three if you count what I ate and not the boring tacos I made for my family. Steve and I have gotten to the point that we rarely eat out. When we do it is often anticlimactic, as we find that most of the foods we love to eat, which are higher end at restaurants, I make at home. 

We eat better than a lot of our peers, mostly because we are cheap and we love food.

I lucked into two great deals on seafood these past 10 days and we have had Red Royal Shrimp (a treat if you ever can get them) and wild Alaskan salmon. Both were half price at Earthfare, which has wonderful meat and seafood. (I am not being paid to say that, I wish I was..ahem, Earthfare, ahem). 

This week we had tacos, shrimp and salmon.

I made my own shrimp boil and it was absolutely delicious. I usually use Zataran's shrimp boil, but as I am sure it has MSG in it, have ceased buying it.  I tweaked a recipe I found online and even Mr. Hard-to-Impress was indeed, impressed.

For the salmon, I threw three ingredients together and marinated the fish for about 45 minutes.  We love horseradish, so I mixed equal parts mustard, horseradish and Stubb's BBQ sauce (no cornsyrup) together. A little salt and pepper, and the salmon grilled up nicely. Delaney oohed and aahed over it, as well. Succeess.

Cooking is not hard, it just takes a little forethought. As a country with so many health problems caused from affluence, we could all use a little more home cooked, not out of a box meals.

Here is the recipe for the shrimp boil  I made. Try it once and you won't go back.

Happy Eating.

Shrimp Boil for 2 pounds of shrimp

• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbl. peppercorns
• 1 1/2 tsp. mustard seed
• 1 1/2 tsp. celery seed
• 1 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/4 tsp. cloves
• 1/4 cayenne pepper
• 1/8 cup kosher salt
• 4-6 bay leaves

To boil shrimp, bring 8 cups of water to boil, add spices. Add shrimp and cook til done. If cooking Royal Reds reduce cook time to half.
Rinse shrimp under cool water to cease cooking.
Serve with sauce of choice. We recommend Louisiana Hot Sauce brand cocktail sauce

Cooking: Menu and a recipe

Now that it is summer, we are eating our "big" meal at lunch. 

Which means we all sit down together to eat as a family.

I could go on and on about the benefits of a family meal together, but since most people know at least one of the statistics, I won't.

We managed to get schedules, which for at least last week and this week,

  allow all four of us to be home for lunch.

her idea of a heavenly lunch

Casa Swann Summer Meals Together Menu

• Grilled flat bread sandwiches (chicken and/or veggie)
• Salmon cakes/ kitchen sink salad
• Taco Salad
• Grilled flat bread pizzas /mixed greens chef salad

Grilled flat bread sandwiches are a summer staple at our house. They are easy to make, low fat and very savory.  I am sure I have posted the recipe before, but here it is again. Joseph's stone ground wheat bread is my favorite. 

Grilled Flat Bread Sandwiches

serves 4

• 3 chicken breasts
• 2 med zucchini (med sliced)
• 1 med yellow squash (med sliced
• 1 medium onion (peeled and cut in half)
• Olive oil
• Seasoning of choice (I use Alchemy Spice Mediteranean)
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 package Joseph's or other flat bread
• 1 cup greek yogurt or sour cream
• 1 glove garlic, diced
• 1 tbl. dill
• spinach or other green

In a bowl, combine chicken breasts and olive oil to coat (about 2 tbl). Add 1 tbl. seasoning and salt and pepper well. Allow to sit approx. 30 minutes. Meanwhile on a plate, coat veggies with cooking spray or olive oil and season and salt/pepper as well. Heat grill.  Combine yogurt with dill, garlic and 1 tsp. seasoning. Salt to taste. Cook veggies over low, turning once.  Cook chicken over indirect heat until cooked through. (remove veggies while still firm, but be careful not to burn). Allow chicken to sit for 5-10 minutes after removing. Slice veggies and chicken. Serve on flat bread (which can be grilled for a few minutes as well) with spinach.

Easy and yum.

Exercising: Getting back on the horse or in a bikini

So after my delusional winter of  giving lip service to working out, I am back full force.

Seriously...I like wearing shorts and not having bat wings or a belly.

I have been at the gym or worked out at home at least 5 times a week for the past 6 weeks. 

The 6 lbs that have been lurking for months are still here, apparently it is never leaving.

I have made peace with that fact, but I am going to whip it into shape, non the less.

Aging is tricky. We make concessions for our aging bodies. Weakening knees can't run as often, backs can't lift as much. I personally find that is an excuse we use to let ourselves off the hook. 

If I can't run, I need to figure something else out. Being a weak old lady is not the fate I want to experience. I have seen too many "middle aged" people who are on the fast track to aging. I am going to fight it.

55 years old and my goal (via)