tangy coconut lime soup.

so, i didn't feel like making a big, grand meal. & i had some leftover ingredients hanging out in the fridge. my basil (which i bought only a week ago!) was beginning to wilt. there were scallions boring holes in my very being every time i opened the crisper. and the pre-seasoned chicken thighs i'd cooked last tuesday were just sitting in their own juices. angry. neglected. unloved. so, i decided to make a soup. this soup is somewhat complicated, but all the way awesome. it's an all-day-long recipe.

ingredients and instructions are posted in the order of their addition to the soup. omit or add what you like, where you like, w/ the exception of the lime vegetable broth -- the addition of coconut milk really cuts its flavor.

lime vegetable broth
2 medium carrots, skinned, whole
6 scallions
4 celery stalks
6 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed
juice of 1 lime
salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)
crushed red pepper (about 1 tablespoon)
1 tbsp ground thyme

olive oil

in a stockpot, add scallions, garlic, and olive oil. saute all until scallions become fragrant. add spices, carrots, celery, and water. bring to a boil. lower to a simmer; cook until carrots and celery are soft. remove celery, carrots & scallions. add coconut milk. bring to a full boil; lower to a simmer. add more seasoning & the juice of up to 3 more limes per your taste.

this is where the recipe gets all choose your adventure for folks. veggies/ vegans/ ppl w/ no desire to add meat: turn off the soup, add veggies of your choice. i like bell peppers, broccoli, sliced carrots, a diced onion.

for the meaties:

this is where i threw in some leftover bone-in, skin-on, seasoned really well chicken thighs. 3 of them. and all their drippings. i simmered everything until the meat fell off the bone. i then added more spices, turn the pot off, added broccoli, bell peppers, and mushrooms, and served w/ white rice.

serves as many as you want, depending on how much you make... or how many ppl you have to feed to begin with.

i made a meatloaf, and it didn't suck!

if you know anything about me, you know that i make my dishes up as i go. so, when i decided that i wanted to make meatloaf, i totally fucking winged it. here goes nothing. meatloaf with balsamic onion marmalade.

ingredients

meat loaf:
1 lb ground turkey (shadybrook farms' 85/15, not 93/7 or turkey breast)
1 small red onion, grated
sea salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
1 egg, whipped
4 white button mushrooms, sliced thin
olive oil
garlic powder, to taste
about 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
& the special ingredient!! about 1 cup cheerios (plain), crushed & smashed into smithereens.


onion marmalade:
butter (or earth balance or whatever buttery thing you use), abt 1 tbsp
2 medium sized red onions, diced
balsamic vinegar, abt 1/2 cup
a pinch of salt
a pinch of black pepper
a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
2 tbsps agave nectar or honey (it's all i had. other marmalade recipes call for sugar, of course)
a dash of garlic powder

instructions!

- preheat oven to 375 degrees
- saute the sliced mushrooms in olive oil, garlic & a pinch of salt. once the mushrooms are soft, set them aside to cool.
- while mushrooms cool, add the remaining meat loaf ingredients in a bowl. mix thoroughly -- set mixture aside.
- in a saucepan, add all marmalade ingredients EXCEPT the vinegar and agave.
- stir frequently, cooking on high heat.
- once the onions become translucent, add agave syrup.
- cook mixture for about 3 minutes on high heat or until the agave reduces to a thicker consistency.
- add balsamic vinegar; reduce heat.
- cook marmalade on medium heat for approximately 10 minutes, or until the onions are completely soft, stirring often.

- after the marmalade is done, comes the fun part: the meat loaf.
- mix the mushrooms into the turkey mixture.
- coat the inside of a large-enough roasting pan with olive oil.
- pour the turkey mixture into the roasting pan. shape the meat into a rectangle with rounded edges (that's loafy, right?).
- roast for approximately 40 minutes, covered with aluminum foil or a lid (if your roaster has a lid, awesome).
- remove from oven. cover the meat loaf in onion marmalade.
- return to oven and cook, uncovered for approximately 15 minutes more (or until the meat loaf is your desired firmness).

enjoy!

deliciousness unreal: black eyed pea salsa.

i think black eyed peas are awesome. after making & eating this salsa, you probably will, too.

ingredients:
1 big-ass can of black eyed peas (i use goya), drained & rinsed
1 bag frozen corn, thawed & drained
1 large green bell pepper, large dice
3 roma tomatoes, large dice
1 medium white onion, large dice
3 celery stalks, sliced horizontally (you can be fancy and dice if you want, i don't really care)
the juice of 1 lime
sea salt, to taste
cayenne pepper, to taste
crushed garlic, to taste
black pepper, to taste
olive oil (about 3 tablespoons) (optional)

combine spices, lime juice, onion, & celery in a bowl. mix enough to thoroughly coat the onion & celery. set aside for about 10 minutes. (during this time, you can finish any chopping or do the rinsing/ draining of the corn and black eyed peas)
add all other ingredients; mix gingerly, as the peas will be kind of soft & you don't wanna turn them into mush. chill the salsa or serve at room temperature.

this salsa is also absolutely fucking delicious when served as a soup, in chicken or veggie stock. jesus.

chick peas!

because i have this bad habit of tweeting about what i eat & not posting it here, i've been chastised by some folk who simply wanna know how i do what i do in the kitchen. so, here it goes:

ingredients:
1 can chick peas, rinsed and drained
1 medium heirloom tomato, large dice (any tomato will do, this is just what i had on hand)
1 small white onion, large dice
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 cup water or vegetable broth
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
salt & pepper, to taste
olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of a small saucepan)

instructions:
coat a small saucepan with olive oil. add salt, pepper, onion, garlic, curry powder, & tomato.
when the onions begin to turn translucent, add the chick peas & water or broth. bring to a full boil for about 5 minutes.
lower the heat, cover the pot & cook for about 10 minutes or until the chick peas are the texture you like.
remove from heat -- serve over rice.

fried rice.

i like rice.
i am also kinda broke on the regular.
so, i make fried rice. like this. (as per usual, no actual recipe, just an ingredient list & room for modifications and substitutions)

ingredients:

2 cups of rice (i prefer brown, but it's not necessary), cooked (make sure it isn't sticky)
1 large white onion, diced (or 1/4 lb scallions, chopped)
carrots (three medium sized),cut into medallions about 1/4 inch thick
the juice of 1 lime
toasted sesame oil, to taste
sea salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
garlic (about 2 tablespoons,minced)
3 medium sized chicken breasts marinated (optional)
olive oil

instructions:
cook chicken breasts in olive oil, salt, pepper & garlic. set aside to cool. cube the chicken once it cools.
in the same pan, add rice & carrots. cook on medium-heat for about 2 minutes. reduce heat. add scallions. add a splash or two of sesame oil. add lime juice. while the rice & veggies are cooking, season the mixture to your tastes. add chicken to rice by folding (don't stir, you may break the rice, & nobody really wants that). return to high heat. cook for about 5 minutes.

serve w/ as many or as few veggies as you like, with or without soy sauce, with tofu, red meat, or pork. it's up to you! just don't forget the lime juice. lol.

this blog is moving.

sooner or later.

to a new URL, with pics, and all that fancy shit y'all like.

in the meantime, dig through the archives, check the links, & relaaaaax.

kale recipes abound!

look at this fabulous link: 20 kale recipes, all of which are easy to prepare (by my standards) and probably taste just as yummy as they want to.
enjoy!

(oh. i live in nyc now. i've been busy/ lazy/ my laptop is a piece of crap -- not a lot of blogging. some new food delights have come into my life, though, and i'll have to blog on them soon.)

turkey sage sausage.

see, the thing about me & my food allergies is that the allergies never leave me. i may have fewer symptoms, but i'm never scot-free. so that means that most pre-packaged sausages are not for me. they usually contain soy -- which is my greatest problem when it comes to eating foods prepared by hands that are not my own. so, i talked to my mom -- who is the guru of food allergy stuff now, since she has celiac disease and a mounting list of foods that bother her -- and was able to figure out my own recipe for turkey sage sausage. ready? let's do it!

ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey (can be white meat or dark, i prefer stoneybrook farms' 85/15, as it is dark meat and has lots of good flavor)
about 7 leaves of sage, chopped finely or torn into little pieces
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and pressed
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
about 1 tbsp of onion powder (i had no onions, but strongly recommend trying this w/ a finely diced vidalia)
crushed red pepper, to taste
olive oil

instructions:

mix all ingredients in a glass bowl (in my opinion, raw meat should not touch plastics, if possible -- plastic is too porous and i personally don't like the idea of meat remnants being all in my tupperware)
make small meatballs -- about 1.5 inches in diameter and flatten them to the palms of your hands (to keep them from sticking to your fingers, it may be necessary to cover your hands in olive oil beforehand) into patties.
coat a skillet (y'all know i use cast iron) with olive oil; heat the skillet over medium-high heat.
**to tell if the oil is hot enough, drip a wee bit of water into the skillet. if the water dances, it's ready.
fit as many patties as you can into the skillet. brown them fully on each side. make sure the juices run clear from the sausage patties, else you've got some raw meat on your hands. that's not what we're going for here, not at all.
remove each patty from the skillet individually -- be old school like me, and place them on paper towels to catch the oil. lol.

serve w/ biscuits, waffles, grits, oatmeal, or whatever you like. enjoy!

white bean turkey chili

quick, easy chili that can be veganized and goes really well with kale or collards. enjoy!

3 cans cannelini beans, rinsed (i use trader joe's)
1 can tomato paste (trader joe's organic)
1 lb ground turkey (shadybrook farms)
olive oil
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
1/2 large red onion, diced
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
cumin, to taste
1 tbsp chili powder
1 crushed red pepper, to taste
juice of 1/2 lime
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 can diced tomatoes

1) brown turkey in a skillet w/ olive oil, two cloves of garlic, salt and pepper to taste.
2) add diced bell pepper and onion; add cumin and lime juice.
3) transfer contents of skillet to stock pot; add lime juice.
4) add tomato paste, chili powder, crushed red pepper, diced tomatoes and beans.
5) fill tomato paste can w/ water; add to pot.
6) bring mixture to a boil; reduce to a simmer.
7) simmer for about 45 minute , stirring often to help prevent sticking. serve with rice.

and, of course, it tastes even better on the 2nd day!

the apologies of an absentee foodie.

dearest readers (all three of you): 

i'm sorry. i've been cooking and not sharing info. i made a garlic citrus risotto a few weeks ago. i have yet to post the recipe here.  i'm obsessed with salads now that it's spring. i haven't recorded a single thing about my foray into making my own salad dressing.  & heaven only knows when i'll post my new spring/ summer beverage recipes.

i'm working on getting better at this. i am.

be patient with me. :)

in the meantime, heidi swanson is still a beast! go to her site and behold the greatness.