Not any cooking, that’s for sure! We successfully resisted the urge to turn on the A/C (aside from in our bedroom) – and of course, the Spring heat wave has ended with rain, wind, and chillier weather, as expected. On Monday, though, after two days of the heat, we decided a cold soup was in order:

This one is a favorite that we don’t have very often – it’s a lot of chopping, and J’s not a huge fan of avocado. The summer I lived in Boston, we had lunch at (and I went to alone a couple of more times) The Elephant Walk, a fantastic French/Cambodian restaurant a mere block from my door. As an appetizer, they had this lovely fruit/vegetable dish – Avocado Citrus Soup. I seriously just about licked the bowl clean. When I got home, I figured there was no harm in emailing the restaurant/chef to ask if maybe, possibly, they wouldn’t mind sharing the recipe?

Imagine my surprise when they DID let me have it! I spent a good part of that fall snacking on it, but I think have only made it one other time since. It was perfect for this weather – nice and cold, refreshing and filling. Paired with a mixed lettuce salad with a little EVOO and balsamic, topped with a few shrimp tossed on the grill by J while he was having a beer and a little lemon, it was the perfect (almost) Summer meal. And it looked darn pretty, too.

(Not posting the recipe since it’s not mine, nor is it online or served at the restaurant anymore, so if anyone is curious or interested, let me know and I’ll be happy to email it to you!)

It’s still , but the weather is trying. The backyard postage stamp is cleaned up, thanks to J, and Lucy likes to spend as much time out there as she can.
The weekend was spent in a whirlwind of a Pilates workshop, knitting and margaritas with friends, a fantastic cooking class at Sur la Table, and accidental shopping. My free time over the past few weeks has gone to either working on a quilt for my MIL, spending time with my mom while was here for my birthday, and worrying about my mom, who spent the night in the hospital last week.
Blogging…since the Blogger snafu, I have felt less in the mood. This place just doesn’t feel like “home.”

Some Like It Hot….

….we certainly do. Although me less so lately. J, though, will put chipotles in just about anything. Smidge of adobo here, bit of powder there. And I’m not talking that fast food Mexican place, although it does have a warm spot in my heart.

Chipotles, for those who haven’t met one, are smoked jalapenos. Sometimes dried, often powdered or canned in a tangy sauce called adobo. We always have some on hand – you don’t use much, but if you open a can and use one, you can most definitely put them in a container in the back of the fridge, where they will merrily add a spice to your life on command for a good amount of time.

I was introduced to these stunning little yummies while I lived in Chicago – through various trips to Frontera Grill (BEST MARGARITAS ever) and, on a rare, lucky occasion, Topolo’. Completely clueless me had no idea that Rick Bayless had a show on PBS, or cookbooks galore, or an entire line of food products…but I digress. His food is amazing, and he introduced me to chipotles (and chile rellenos) and I am forever indebted.

Salads are best when topped with his Smoky Chipotle Balsamic Dressing, and nachos are never better than with his Chipotle Salsa. The moral to this story: these little guys pack a punch flavor-wise. Even if chipotles are not your thing, they do demonstrate that flavorful ingredients go a long way – you don’t need a lot of fat for food to taste good, and true Mexican foods often aren’t the greasy, cheesy food we know and love (although they do have their place).

Smoky Chipotle Salsa with Pan-Roasted Tomatillos

3 garlic cloves (OK, 4) peeled
4 medium tomatillos, husked, rinsed, & halved
2 chipotles en adobo
salt

In a large non-stick skillet over med-high heat, lay in the garlic and tomatillos (cut side down). After ~4 minutes, when the tomatillos are well browned, flip everything and brown the other side. The tomatillos should be totally soft.
In a blender combine: the garlic, tomatillos, chipotles, and 1/4 c water. Process until desired consistency. Cool & serve with your favorite nachos.

Smoky Chipotle Balsamic Dressing (Modified)

1/2 c EVOO / vegetable oil
1/3 c balsamic vinegar (again, good quality balsamic makes a big difference)
1 canned chipotle en adobo
1 t adobo sauce from the chipotle can
1 t dried oregano
salt

Combine all in a blender, and use a scant 1 t salt. Further season to taste. Refrigerate any leftovers. Serve with lotsa veggies – romaine, grilled vegetables…

We cut back on the oil in this one and add more vinegar. We’ve found that while some oil is necessary to get the dressing to stick, you definitely don’t need that much! We do this same modification for any dress we do – less oil, more flavoring!

I’m sorry about last week, dears – my health issues have me thrown for a bit of a loop, and food is not really high on my mind right now. I’m working through it, but I apologize for being quiet around here for a bit.

Well, a day late – but we’ve had kind of a stressful couple of days and not much sleep around here, so Thai takeout and a couple glasses of wine had us sound asleep on the sofa before 8pm last night. We tried some new recipes this week – but the first time through, we always make them pretty much as they say and then start adjusting.

So, for this week, one of our originals. It originally came from J’s parents, who had edited from someone else’s, and then we’ve edited it even more. It’s our “date night” recipe – has been since we were actually dating – since it’s a perfect recipe to split the prep down the middle so you can make it together. Served with a mixed greens salad with olive oil and a nice balsamic vinegar, it’s a nice, light meal.

Amanda & Jason’s Deviled Crab Cakes

¼ c. finely chopped onion
¼ c. finely chopped green bell pepper
3T finely chopped celery
2T butter (or margarine, or whatever)
1 large egg
1T sour cream (always reduced fat)
½ t. dry mustard
½ t. Worcestershire sauce
Cayenne pepper
1/8 t. salt
2T thinly sliced green scallions
18 finely ground saltines
½ lb. (1 can) jumbo lump crabmeat (we use claw meat, too)
1T vegetable oil
Cajun seasoning – just a bit

Cook onion, pepper, and celery in butter in a nonstick skillet over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until veggies are softened – about 8 min.
Whisk together egg, sour cream, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne, Cajun seasoning, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in scallions, cooked veggies, and 12 ground saltines. Gently stir in crabmeat & form 4 cakes. Dredge cakes in remaining saltine crumbs. Heat oil in the skillet over moderately high heat, cook cakes, turning once until golden.

So flavorful and moist they don’t even need a remoulade or sauce. Cheers!

Around the time I got married (*gasp* approaching 6 years ago now), J and I happily planned setting up our little nest, and gleefully looked forward to all of the yummy meals we would cook. Cooking together was (is – we should do it more) one of our favorite things to do.

Around then, Martha Stewart had just started yet another new magazine – Everyday Food. I bought the first issue. Variety? Check. Healthy? Check. Nutritional info included? Check. Won’t take up my entire evening to cook and does not require raising my own chickens? Check. We subscribed. And it is now the longest running magazine subscription we have. Not a month goes by that we don’t cook something out of the latest issue, and going back 6 years, we certainly have our favorites that we revisit. When the latest issue comes in the mail, J and I “fight” to be the first to read it and dog-ear what we want to try.

This week has been the coldest of the season in the DC area. Today, I woke up to a whopping 13 degrees and our townhouse’s heat pump fighting for every degree of warmth. The rest of the week brought us into the 30′s and low 40′s during the day – simply balmy for a half New England / half Midwestern couple. Cold weather = soup. Plain and simple. Liquid warmth poured down your throat at the end of a cold day.

So, for this week – one of our Everyday Foods favorites. From far enough back that it’s even posted online now!

Mushroom Barley Soup

If anyone wants the full nutritional info, please let me know, but I do know that this clocks in at a healthy, but filling, 352 calories per serving. Bacon included!

Notice that Dutch Oven there? Again – why do they taunt me?

Our modifications:

• Jason has been known to toss in more bacon when I’m not looking. I try to keep on him about it. This week, it had the correct amount – he knows I’m watching my calories carefully right now.
• No quick cook barley around here for some reason – regular barley works just fine, just be prepared for some extra time.
• For the love of all things gourmet, try to use cremini instead of button or a mix. Creminis are baby portobellos, so if needed, chop some of those up and use them instead. Additionally, these mushrooms are more substantive and filling. There’s a reason they use portobellos as hamburger substitutes, you know! And the flavor is rounder and richer, to boot.
• Play with the vinegar. We usually end up using 2 t – 1 T. We like vinegar anyway, but in this recipe you can’t really taste it and it brings up the other flavors. The tomato paste really brings up the sweetness level.
• Our standard is usually one more clove of garlic than it says, in just about any recipe. Free flavor!

I see on the webpage that one person posted saying this was “OK” and “lacked flavor, tasted like something was missing.” I personally have no idea how she would get that unless it WAS missing something. This is one of our favorites in terms of flavor – J flat out craves it. It’s no beef-and-barley – so if that is what you’re looking for, this ain’t it.

Warm, balanced flavors, lightly hearty – perfect for a health conscious winter night meal. Cheers!

PS – IT HAS COME! Our fabulous Kiwi Le Creuset. Not used yet, but SO worth the wait….we can’t wait!!

I was just reading Irishgirlieknits’ New Year’s resolutions post, and among the “to dos” were eating more healthy, cooking in more, and just plain cooking more. It got me thinking….if there is one thing I love, it’s eating good food. And I’ve been lucky enough to marry a guy who loves to cook. (I’m a good helper.) While he is roughly the size of my pinky, I am always trying to balance keeping (or getting) slim with continuing to eat well but healthy. We’ve spent the last few months focusing on eating in more and eating out less, and while we’ve fell into a routine of “go to” meals that we love, we’re looking forward to trying new things this year. We aim for one new recipe a week, and often, I end up editing it a bit to reduce fat and calories. Admittedly, it’s an experiment – some work, some fail, and I am really picky about what I call a success!

So, Feasting Friday will celebrate those successes – I’ll reference the original recipe, and share with you the A & J Version. Sometimes, when I find one that’s good as is, I’ll just post a link with comments.

If you try one – please let me know your thoughts and what YOU do to make it your own!

This week – or, rather, from last week – we had a fantastic version of Coq au Vin at my Dad’s. He loves to do the same healthy editing that we do, so this is his version. We’re currently plotting (read: saving) for a Le Creuset dutch oven, so of course every recipe we see seems to be dutch oven-ready. This was no exception – but it can also be done in a crockpot with a little tinkering, or in an oven-safe stockpot. In fact, we used a Calphalon stockpot for this pass of it since that was on hand.

Usually, Coq au Vin recipes take 4, 6, or even 8 hours. Simply, we picked this recipe because it only took 2 (plus prep). This is a weekend recipe for sure, but the leftovers will carry you into the weeknights!

The original recipe can be found at Cooking.com – here. And our version:

Amanda’s Dad’s Coq au Vin

Ingredients:
For Chicken
2 T olive oil (set aside, and keep a teaspoon handy)
2-3 lbs of packaged boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 c whole wheat flour, lightly seasoned with salt and pepper

For the Sauce
1/3 c brandy
3 c red wine (you didn’t really think I’d skimp on the alcohol, did you?)
2 c reduced fat/low sodium chicken broth or stock (canned is perfect)
1/4 c balsamic vinegar (never underestimate the value of good balsamic vinegar)
1 T dijon mustard (coarse ground is great, but regular will do)
1 bag of frozen pearl onions, thawed (you can buy fresh and peel if you really want to – I’ve done
it, it sucks)
1 (16 oz or whatever is closest) can of chopped tomatoes with juice
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced. (yes, more!)
1 lb baby carrots (just a bag of ‘em) OR 1 lb regular carrots, scraped & sliced
3 ribs of celery, sliced however the heck you want
3 cups sliced button mushrooms (J will slice himself, I buy pre-sliced)
2 T fresh chopped rosemary (seriously, fresh matters here – dried just isn’t the same)
1/4 c fresh chopped parsley (ditto)
s & p

Now – just follow the directions as above in the original recipe. To cook the chicken, I dredge it in flour, shake it off, and brown it in as little oil as possible – hence the teaspooon, and add it a teaspoon at a time. We used up 2T – but it’s important to get those browned goodies, so I don’t advise much less. And after the prep time? Yes, I KNOW it’s over 2 hours, but well, just do whatever you do around the house (knit?) and stir occasionally, we’re not talking risotto here! That’s why this is a weekend recipe!

The original recipe says 664 calories a serving – but we’ve got less oil, no dark chicken parts, reduced fat/sodium broth, and no skin. Sad, I know, but trust me, it’s OK. The chicken breast just falls apart and is not dry at all, and the rest of the ingredients are fresh – vegetables, herbs…good for you! I don’t even like carrots, but trust me, they are awesome this way. I didn’t actually sit down and calculate, but I’d think we’re somewhere in the ballpark of 400 – 450 calories for this one. Not bad at all – not even “special occasion” calorie level!

And it’s YUM the second day, so break out your Tupperware! Leftovers for the week!

Just a comment on the alcohol – some of the wine and brandy flavor does come through, so I don’t recommend omitting it completely, but you can always play with more broth, less wine if you want. In addition to the flavor, there is the liquid volume consideration to bear in mind. Omitting wine does omit more calories, but I try to keep my meals in the 350 – 450 calorie range, and I’m pretty confident we’re in that already. French bread to sop up the sauce is a nice addition, but more calories….I’m all about the protein and veggies when I can, and less refined sugars/carbs, so I don’t typically use it. Skinny Hubs loves to, though. Lucky schmo.

Wishing you fantastic feasting! Cheers!