Cuban Black Beans and Brown Rice

This has been a crazy week of barbeques and potlucks so I haven't posted. For one of the barbeques I needed to take a salad. I used the leftover Pasta with Roasted Vegetables from a few days before, added romaine, feta cheese and italian dressing, making it a Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad. I got several compliments on it. Go figure. The original recipe had made so much that everyone was pretty much tired of it by that time. It was a nice little ressurection.

We remade the Sweet Potato Stew again yesterday, but I didn't take pictures since it was included in a dinner last week. We had the Cuban Black Beans and Brown Rice today with Summer's family. Everyone loved it (except Joe who hates tomatoes and Josh who informed us he doesn't like rice). I thought it was very good.

We also made the banana ice cream from Eat for Health. In the jana/drjoel blog, she added strawberries and dates. I thought that sounded nummy so I tried it that way. About half way through blending my VitaMix motor stopped. It was totally dead. Matt drove over to their house and brought back their BlendTec. Before the ice cream was done his blender was smoking and giving him messages that the motor was overheating! We went ahead and ate the ice cream at that point. It had small little pieces of dates in it, but was still wonderful. Unfortunately, it was all so stressful that I didn't even think of pictures. We'll have to try the recipe exactly as it's written next time and hopefully get some pictures. (btw, I read my VitaMix owner's manual and after 45 minutes the machine reset itself and everything was good)

Tomato Barley Bean Soup

On the Jana/DrJoel blog, Jana's husband complains that the meals aren't salty enough. This one was definitely not too salty. I substituted organic low sodium beef broth for the vegetable broth because I thought that sounded good with barley. It was still pretty bland. I think as I get weaned from salt I probably will really like this soup. Mark said he would eat it again. I told Dad to go ahead and salt it if he wanted to. I noticed that he didn't and just ate it as it was.

Green Beans with Gado Gado Sauce

Love this! Andrew thought that this was a great dinner. He loved the flavors in the Gado Gado sauce, but he told me that the green beans were too crunchy and the sauce was a bit bland. I agree with him completely about the green beans. I didn't steam them long enough. I really enjoyed this and I will definitely make it again. The recipe was fairly simple. The sauce was quick to make and it all came together really well. There was enough left over for my lunch tomorrow. Maybe the beans wont be as crunchy after a night in the fridge.

Turkey Spinach Burgers

We took the day off Eat for Health yesterday because we got home late from our Eagle Creek hike. Oops. Doesn't look like we'll finish before I take Andrew back to BYU! Oh well. We'll finish after I get back from Provo at the end of August. I almost took pictures of our Panda Express takeout last night and pretended it was day 3's EFH dinner!

Today was fast Sunday and I just did whatever was quick from day 3. That ended up being the turkey spinach burgers since I had everything ready from yesterday. The burgers were very good! We ate them on whole grain buns with watermelon and the leftovers from the last few days. Everyone agreed that they were very tasty and we'd enjoy having them again.

Pasta With Roasted Vegetables

Today was day 2 of Eat for Health. I notice that I'm not using the breakfast and lunch menus because things have been a little crazy during the day. This is the main dish from day two's dinner menu. I made a few small changes. Instead of eggplant and yellow crookneck squash I substituted zucchini and baby bella mushrooms. That was just what I had on hand. We also had a green salad and watermelon with our dinner. We all thought it was good and would like to try it again.

"Eat for Health" day one

This is the Braised Bok Choy. It looked so pretty that I wanted to take a picture of it on its own.

Here is the bok choy with the Spiced Sole (I didn't have Tilapia or Haddock on hand) and Chunky Sweet Potato Stew. The flavors of this dinner were very complimentary. The stew said it served 2 people. The four of us each had generous portions and we still had a full cup of stew left over. Everything was VERY tasty. We didn't fix the brown rice or the Poached Pears with Raspberry Sauce for dessert. We did start with a romaine salad, though. Everyone agrees that this whole meal is a keeper and that we want to someday try the pears.

Green Beans with Gado Gado Sauce and Easy Herbed Yogurt Bread

The Green Beans with Gado Gado Sauce were quite tasty. I especially liked the edamame in it. It was just a little different. I thought the sauce was a little heavy on the lemon, but Mark didn't think so.

I was so excited to try the Easy Herbed Yogurt Bread. It sounded so good. Well, it really wasn't. None of us liked it that much. Andrew summed it up for us when he said, "Its ok if you put enough butter and jam on it." I guess this one's not a keeper.

Mexican Pinto Beans and Brown Rice

I love cooking a new recipe every night. It's like an adventure every day. This dish was quick and easy to make. After the last two nights I was ready for something easy. I didn't have any pinto beans, so this became Red Beans and Rice. The whole apartment smelled yummy as it simmered on the stove. We couldn't wait to eat it. Thinking back, I should have de-seeded the chipotle peppers before I added them to the pot. After one bite my lips were on fire. Andrew decided not to eat it. We are having a Mexican themed luncheon on Thursday. I think I'll make this again tomorrow to take to work, just not as spicy!

Mexican Pinto Beans and Brown Rice

We all enjoyed this dish. I left out the chipotle peppers so that Grandpa would like it. (Also I didn't have any chipotle peppers on hand and I didn't want to go to the store!) The only negative comment was that it would have been better with the peppers. Even Grandpa said that it probably could have used the peppers! Crazy. Mark said that it was a definite keeper but that it might be better as a side dish. Hmmm...I think it would be great as an Eat to Live meal with a large green salad.

Potatoes Anna

Another Eat Clean recipe today. I had Russet and sweet potatoes on hand, so I used both in the dish. Unfortunately I don't have a very good concept of time, so the bottom (that became the top after it was cooked) burned around the edges. I used the food processor to slice the potatoes for me, so the only part that took a lot of time was the layering.

I put the pan on the stove, turned on the burner, and started layering potato slices in a pretty spiral pattern. This took longer than I thought it would. The perfectionist in me took over. By the end of the first layer the pan was very hot and the potatoes had started down their path of eventual charring. After 4 layers of potatoes and 3 layers of onions I was tired of layering. The potatoes smelled good and tasted decent, however Andrew decided not to eat them. He saw me make it and told me that there were too many onions. I actually cut the amount of onion down! Anywho, the potatoes tasted a bit strong on the rosemary and were way too labor intensive for my taste. Either I have to learn to leave my OCD at the kitchen door or I need to find a way to make these potatoes tastier if I'm going to make this again.

Potatoes Anna

This was another "Eat Clean" recipe. We had lots of Yukon Gold and red potatoes on hand that needed to be used so we made the recipe variation that didn't include sweet potatoes. It was still very good. Crunchy on the top and tender in the middle. The herbs were nice, maybe just a little too much thyme, but other than that they were great.

After we are finished with "Eat for Health" Mark and I agreed that we definitely want to try these again with sweet potatoes.

Ratatouille

We decided to invite another couple over for dinner because this dish made so much. Even after cutting the recipe in half we were afraid that there would be too much.

Dana and Mark Poling came over to our apartment shortly after church, but the food was not ready. Everyone sat around for a bit while I finished sauteing all the veggies before they went into the oven. We played some games and then a few more. When the food was done we were all starving. We had the ratatouille over brown rice. I think the rice made it a lot better than it would have been on it's own. Dana and Mark enjoyed it so much that they had 3 servings each! Andrew didn't like it very much. He said that everything seemed mushy. Between the four of us we ate it all. I couldn't tell if it really was THAT good or if we were all THAT hungry. Mark said that he would gladly replace the typical Sunday Roast, Carrots and Potatoes with Sunday Ratatouille.

In the end, I really enjoyed it, but Andrew did not. This might be something we eat with the Polings again, but I'm not going to go to all the trouble of fixing this again for just Andrew and me. I don't think I could eat that much Ratatouille by myself.

Ratatouille

Today's Eat Clean recipe was Ratatouille. Sunday evenings we have dinner with Matt and Summer's family. Since this recipe should serve 12 and we usually have 11 for Sunday dinner, I thought this would be the perfect choice. The dinner was split. Everyone under 20 years old didn't like the dish, everyone over 30 liked it. Anyone who was between 20 and 30 or over 90 year of age just tolerated it.

I thought it was very tasty, but a little more time intesive and expensive than I would have liked. We had lots of leftovers because I didn't take into account that instead of 12 one-cup servings we had 5 individuals that had to be bribed to eat 1/4 cup each! Fortunately it freezes well. Willow was going to cut this recipe in half. I wonder how many leftovers she and Andrew will have!

We ate this with whole grain baguettes, green salad and watermelon. Here we are enjoying our dinner.

Paradise Island Bean Burger

Today is the first day that Willow and I are both making recipes from "Eat Clean" and posting them. This was a much tastier burger than the one last night. The only problem is that it didn't stick together very well. I would like to have this one again if I can figure out how to make it a little sturdier. Mark agrees.

Brown Rice Patties

Okay. So it was bound to happen. This was an Eat Clean recipe that I didn't especially like. We had Sarah, Elijah and Elsie visiting us. We served the patties on a bun with all the condiments you would want on a hamburger. Sarah actually ate hers and then asked for a salmon patty. Elijah and Elsie just ate the bun and left the patty. Mark thought they were tasty. I wasn't terribly impressed. Andrew wouldn't even try them. He fixed himself and Sarah a salmon patty. Hopefully the bean burgers will be better tomorrow.

Chickpea Stew

Today I tried another recipe from "Eat Clean". This was a fun recipe because I had never used dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans) before. The recipe said to soak the beans overnight, but I decided to do this recipe early this morning. I drove to Fred Meyer, bought some chickpeas from the bins, hurried home and started soaking the beans. They had 7 hours to soak before I started to cook them. This seemed to be just about the right amount of time.

The recipe didn't call for any salt. When I tried it at the end it was quite bland. I added a scant teaspoon of celtic sea salt and it was much better. The stew had a mild curry flavor and was quite delicious. We served it over rice. Mark says this is another keeper.

Chickpea Stew

1 cup dried chickpeas

4 Tbsp coconut butter or EVOO

3 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

1 tsp ground turmeric

2 tsp curry powder

1 yellow onion, peeled and coarsely chopped

3 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

2 firm good-sized potatoes, cut into chunks

4 stalks celery, cut into chunks, leaves included

4 cloves fresh garlic, passed through a garlic press

Pinch cayenne pepper

½ cup raisins, soaked for one hour in hot water then drained, reserving liquid

1.            Place dried chickpeas in a large bowl. Cover with about six inches of water. Place a large plate over the bowl and let soak overnight on the counter

2.            The next day drain the chickpeas and place them in a large stockpot with plenty of water. Cook until tender – about one hour. Remove from heat and let the chickpeas stand for an hour. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid. Rinse well. Repeat.

3.            Combine soaking liquid from raisins with a minimum of two cups of the reserved cooking liquid from the chickpeas in a large measuring cup. Stir and set aside.

4.            Place half of the cooked chickpeas in a blender and sue half of the reserved chickpea/raisin liquit to blend the chickpeas to a uniform smoothness. Place half of the coconut butter or oil in the blender along with the chickpeas and add rosemary, turmeric and curry powder. Blend again. Set aside.

5.            Heat remaining coconut butter or oil in the soup pot. Add onion and cook for several minutes, or until onion becomes soft and translucent. Add remaining vegetables and cook, stirring all the while. Add a bit more coconut butter or oil if the pan is too dry. Add remaining chickpea/raisin liquid. Cover the vegetables and let cook for another several minutes.

6.            Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Add chickpea mixture from blender and stir again. Cook, covered for 20 minutes.

7.            Serve over hot couscous or rice.

Nutrition information:  Yields 8 x one-cup servings, 171 calories each

Orange-Scented Eggplant and Couscous Rolls

I am taking a little diversion today and making a recipe I got from our local newspaper, the Statesman Journal. These were excellent. Maybe not quite up to "Eat to Live" standards because of the feta cheese, but other than that pretty close. I used less olive oil by just spraying the eggplant with pam before baking.
The top picture is of the filling. The second is of the rolls before baking. The last picture is the final product just out of the oven.
The flavor of these was very interesting - like nothing I've tasted before. The subtle taste of the orange and feta in the couscous paired with the eggplant and marinara sauce was excellent. Mark said he would definitely want these again.
The recipe can be found at: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20107140381

Update:  I noticed the link no longer works, so I'll include the recipe here...

Orange-Scented Eggplant and Couscous Rolls

1 Large eggplant (about 1 pound)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 oranges

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 cup water

¾ cup couscous

2 cups crumbled feta cheese, divided

4 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley, divided

Ground black pepper, to taste

1 cup prepared marinara sauce

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

      Trim both ends of the eggplant. Standing the eggplant on end, slice it lengthwise into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Discard the end slices of skin

     Arrange the slices on the baking sheets and brush with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Bake until lightly browned on the undersides, about 10 minutes. Turn the slices over and c continue baking until the second sides are lightly browned and the flesh is tender, about 10 to 15 minutes longer.

     To make the filling, grate the zest of a half an orange, then juice both oranges. Transfer the zest and juice to a medium saucepan. Add cinnamon, cardamom, apple cider vinegar, the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the water. Bring to a boil. Stir in couscous and remove the pan from the heat. Cover and let stand until the liquid absorbs, about 5 minutes.

     Uncover the couscous and fluff with a fork, then let cool. Stir in 1 ½ cups of the feta and 3 tablespoons of the parsley. Season with pepper.

     Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Place about ¼ cup of the couscous mixture at one end of each eggplant slice. Pressing with your fingers to compact the filling, roll up each slice and transfer them, seam-side down, to the prepared dish.

     Heat the marinara sauce and drizzle it over the rolls. Cover dish tightly with foil and bake until the rolls are heated through and the sauce is bubbling, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining feta and parsley just before serving.

Nutrition information:  4 servings, 508 calories each

African Potatoes and Beans

Willow and I are going to try recipes from the "Eat Clean" cookbook by Tosca Reno over the next week. I decided to get an early start.

Tosca suggests serving this dish with chicken, but that it can stand as a meal by itself. I served it as a main dish with a green salad.

I made a few small changes. I didn't have any celery on hand so I excluded it. I added black beans for the extra beans and didn't add any salt or pumpkin seeds.

I had mixed feelings about this dish. It seemed like it should be moist, but the sweet potatoes seemed dry. Another time I might try the orange variety of sweet potatoes. They seem to be a little moister. Other than that it had a nice flavor. Mark liked it and said he would like to have it again sometime.

The Beauty of Food

I was reading a beauty article today before I went to fix my lunch and a few phrases jumped out at me: "You always pay a price for overindulgence, so switch to a bare-bones regimen", "The key is to pamper with the fewest possible ingredients", "Sometimes what we need more of is less". Although the author of the article hadn't been talking about food, food was on my mind so that's the way I applied these phrases.

For breakfast I had cream of wheat with homemade strawberry jam. Not very healthy but it was warm and filling.

For lunch I decided to go with the "bare-bones regimen". I ate a medium-sized apple and a large serving of steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots seasoned with a dash of Spike Vege-mal (don't ask me what that means) Seasoning.

For dinner, umm, I haven't had it yet, I'll let you know!

Jane's Monday and Tuesday Menus

Monday, September 15
Breakfast: 2 slices Vitabee toast with Yumm sauce, fresh salsa, and 2 small tomatoes
Lunch: watermelon, apple
Dinner: brown rice, black beans, Yumm sauce, salsa, tomato, romaine, red onion

Tuesday, September 16
Breakfast: blueberry, banana, pineapple, apple, OJ, soy smoothie
Lunch: Amadeus Cafe's Spartan Salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamata olives, red onions, feta, oil and vinegar dressing)
Dinner: Armenian Soup (red lentils, carrots, onions, dried apricots, spices), Spinach Salad (spinach, apple, craisins, slivered almonds, Bacos, sweet onion dressing), Smashed Potatoes, Watermelon