veggie stir fry

For as long as I can remember, I’ve talked with our kids about caring for our planet. We talk about trash that ends up in the ocean, fossil fuels that weaken our ozone layer, and polar bears who are losing their sea ice. We pick up trash in the neighborhood, bring our own Tupperware to restaurants, and have been known to pull a plastic water bottle or soda can out of a trash can and bring it home to recycle. (I know. That’s disgusting.) And more recently, those darling little environmentalists have corrected my behavior.

“Mom, turn off the car. You’re wasting gas.”

“Mom, you really shouldn’t be using that straw.”

Andrew, who is already drafting plans (very vague plans, mind you) for massive ocean clean ups, is my darling who takes these lessons to heart. In fact, I took him to Party City to buy decorations for his birthday party, and when he realized we were there to buy paper products that would end up in a landfill, he shook his head at me and told me we already had plates at home. We left the store with nothing, and I served dinner to all the guests on our regular dinner plates. Bless.

I continue to read over and over again that the best thing I can do for the planet is to cut back on meat consumption. So that’s what we’ve been doing. Not vegetarians, but we’ve consciously cut back on our meat consumption this past year and aim for 3-4 vegetarian dinners each week. Some recipes are not well received—I’m looking at you Black Bean & Quinoa Tacos—and others have quickly become regulars in the rotation. This Veggie Stir Fry is one of the favorites, and shows up in every monthly meal plan.

Note: I don’t measure the vegetables, and I use this recipe as a way to load up on veggies while also clearing out anything that needs to be used. If you only have 1 pepper, don’t run out to the store for another. If you don't like mushrooms, don’t use them. If your kids really carrots, add six instead of four.

One More Note: And while I’m at it, I don’t measure the sauce ingredients either. (And this is why I’ll never write a cook book.) I add each ingredient with a heavy hand because a good sauce makes everything better.

Serves: 4-6 Total time: About 30 minutes

The Sauce:

• 1/2 cup soy sauce or coconut amino if you’re into that stuff

• 3 TB honey

• 1 TB (minimum!) fresh ginger, minced—I actually use a microplane to grate it.

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• pinch of red pepper flakes

• 2 tsp corn starch

The Stir Fry:

• small spoonful of coconut oil

• 3-4 cups broccoli florets

• 4 large carrots, sliced

• 2 bell peppers, sliced

• 1 red onion, sliced

• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced

• 1 cup snow peas

• 2/3 cup frozen edamame shelled

• 1 small can of sliced water chestnuts

• handful of cashews

• rice for serving

Sauce: Whisk all of sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. 

Sauté Vegetables: In a large pan or wok, heat the coconut oil. Cook broccoli and carrot slices in oil for 5-7 minutes. Then add bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, and snow peas. Sauté for another 5 minutes until softened. Add edameme and water chestnuts for last 2 minutes of cook time.

Add sauce to vegetables: Stir in the sauce with cooked vegetables, and cook for 1 minute with veggies until sauce thickens. Serve with rice and top each serving with a some cashews.

Enjoy!

creamy broccoli cauliflower soup

It’s cold and rainy this weekend in Cincinnati, the crazy in-between weather where we fire up the grill one night and curl up by a fire the next. We contemplate buying watermelon because it’s going to hit 80 this week, but we also turn on the heat because there is a frost warning tonight. We don’t know if our table should have creamy soup or tulips. I say do both.

Soup season is all-year-round for me. Since this one packs 12 cups of veggies, and my family licks their bowls, I will happily make it no matter the weather. Some broccoli soups are so thick I can turn my bowl upside down with no movement. They’re also so loaded with heavy cream and cheese that I feel like I need a Zumba class afterwards, but also know I’d never make it more than 10 minutes. Instead, I made up my own with lots of veggies, including cauliflower which gives it a good creaminess without as much cheese. I don’t measure my veggies exactly and always err on the side of more. Happy spring(ish).

Serves: 6 Time: About 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon plus 1/4 cup butter, divided

• 1 onion, chopped

• 1/4 cup flour

• 2 1/2 cups half & half

• 3 cups vegetable stock plus a few more splashes

• 4-5 cups broccoli, cut into bite size pieces (This is about 3 heads of broccoli.)

• 4-5 cups cauliflower, cut into bit size pieces (This is 1 large head of cauliflower.)

• 2 cups carrots, chopped

• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

• salt and pepper

Special Equipment: Immersion blender (or blender)

Soup

1. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat in large pot. Sauté the chopped onion and set aside.

2. Melt 1/4 cup butter in the pot and sprinkle the flour over the melted butter. Whisk for 2-3 minutes to create your roux. Stir constantly as you add the half & half.

3. Add the vegetable stock and simmer for about 10 minutes.

4. Add the broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and reserved onions. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook over low heat for 20-25 minutes. You want your veggies nearly covered with liquid, but it’s ok if some are not. The veggies will cook down, but feel free to add a splash more of broth if needed.

5. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup. At this point, it is your call how chunky or smooth you want your soup. Blend to you personal liking. I prefer a bit chunky. (If you do not have an immersion blender, you can transfer the soup in small batches to a blender, and be sure to loosen the center cap for steam to escape.)

6. Remove the soup from the heat, and stir in the nutmeg and cheese. Taste and adjust salt as needed.

Enjoy.

stolen tulips & bbq chicken salad

It was Mother's Day 2007. Stephen and I had been married just over a year and living in a spacious but sketchy apartment in the suburbs of Chicago. We invited my parents, my brother and his wife, and both of my grandmas into our apartment for a three-tiered tower of various bruschetta and an absurd amount of this salad.

California Pizza Kitchen had been a family favorite in my childhood home, and despite the extensive pizza offerings on their menu, my mom always gravitated toward this salad. I was able to hunt down the recipe, and it was a perfect choice for Mother's Day lunch.

Stephen and I decorated our tiny table with a lovely, yet stolen, bouquet of purple tulips. I do not condone stolen tulips, but our budget barely left room for chicken breasts let alone fresh flowers. So we got creative - or perhaps unlawful. There was a community of "luxury" townhomes nearby with an enormous display of tulips surrounding their entrance sign. On our way home from church (from church!), Stephen pulled into the entrance and u-turned around the large island of tulips, setting up our car for a quick getaway. He sprung into action, flying out of the driver's side door and yanking up tulips in a manic fashion. He dove back into the car with a mass of flowers clutched against his chest, threw them in my direction, and squealed out as he shut his door. I was stunned by the speed and agility I had just witnessed.

I started to wonder if he had stolen tulips before.

We were so cute. You see those purple tulips? I didn't pay for those...

*****

BBQ Chicken Salad: Adapted from California Pizza Kitchen

Serves 4 as a main dish

The chicken in this salad is best served cold, so I would recommend grilling it the night before or earlier in the day. However, I don't always plan ahead that well. The salad will still be delicious if your chicken is warm or room temperature.

Also, the fried tortilla chips are fun to make at home and can be made ahead of time; however, if the idea of making your own tortilla strips is a total turnoff, you can buy these in bags at the grocery story. No shame.

Grilled Chicken

• 4 boneless chicken breasts

• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil

• 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic

• 2 teaspoons soy sauce

• 2 teaspoons salt

• about 1/4 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce

Get your grill set for medium heat.

Mix the olive oil, garlic, soy sauce, and salt. Pour over the chicken and let it marinade at room temperature for about 15 minutes.

Grill the chicken until cooked through, about 5-6 minutes on each side.

Let the chicken cool and cut it into cubes. Toss with BBQ sauce and keep chilled. 

Tortilla Strips

• about 12 corn tortillas, cut into 1/2 inch wide strips

• vegetable or canola oil for deep frying

Using a heavy frying pan, heat a couple inches of oil. Carefully add strips and submerge into the oil with a metal slotted spoon. Do not overcrowd the pan. Fry until golden brown, 1-2 minutes. Carefully lift out of the oil using a slotted spoon and let them drain on a paper towel.

Salad

• 1/2 head iceberg lettuce, cleaned, dried, and chopped

• 1/2 head Romaine lettuce, cleaned, dried and chopped

• 12 large basil leaves, chopped

• 1 pound jicama, cut into matchsticks (see below)

• 1-2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese

• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

• 1 can sweet corn, rinsed and drained (even better if you grill some corn alongside the chicken!)

• big handful chopped cilantro

• 1 pound tomatoes, diced - or cherry tomatoes cut in half

• about 1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce

• about 1 cup of your favorite ranch dressing

***I buy jicama in the produce section at Kroger, so hopefully you can find it at your grocery store. It is a large, round root vegetable that looks similar to a turnip. However, its flavor and texture is somewhere between a potato and pear. Just try it. You'll like it.

To assemble the salad, mix the lettuce, basil, jicama, cheese, black beans, corn, cilantro, ranch dressing, and half the tortilla strips. Top the salad with tomatoes, chicken, the rest of the tortilla strips and drizzle with BBQ sauce.

And I would like to formally apologize to the fancy townhome community down the road from Country Glenn Apartments in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

We should not have stolen your beautiful tulips, even if there were hundreds.

Even if we had no money.

Even if it was Mother's Day.

Even if the entrance sign by our apartments only had cigarette buds and old condoms.

No excuses.

I'm sorry, and I owe you some tulips.

Or some BBQ chicken salad.

P.S. This is another except from the book I am writing for my children.

ricotta surprise

In my last post, I promised one more of our early free cable favorites. This pasta dish is the only early favorite that has stood the test of time. Ten years later, and it still makes regular appearances around the table.

Under most circumstances, I advise against dishes with the word "surprise" in the title; however, when the surprise is a large dollop of lemony ricotta cheese hidden under a pile of sausage, broccoli, and pasta, you have nothing to fear!

 Ricotta Surprise

• salt and pepper

• 1 pound short-cut pasta

• 1 cup ricotta cheese

• zest and juice of 1 lemon

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 pound Italian sausage - mild, sweet, spicy, whatever you prefer

• 1 large head of broccoli

• 1 onion, chopped

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• pinch of red pepper flakes

• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock

• big handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped

• big handful of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and while you're waiting, get to work on a few other things.

In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, lemon zest, pinch of salt, and lots of pepper. Set this aside to come to room temperature.

Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat with olive oil. Add the sausage and break it into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook the meat until brown, about 5 minutes. Brown bits should be forming on the bottom of the pan. This is good news.

While the sausage is browning, cut the broccoli tops into small florets.

By this time, your water should be ready for salt and pasta. Cook the pasta until al dente. Before you drain the pasta, scoop up a cupful of the starchy cooking water to use later for the sauce.

Once the sausage is brown, remove it to a paper towel-line plate. Return the skillet to the heat and add all of the broccoli and onion. Spread the veggies out in an even layer, season with salt and pepper, and let the broccoli brown up a bit, about 2 minutes.

Add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Keep cooking a few minutes more.

Add the sausage back to the skillet along with the stock. Ladle in some of that starchy cooking water you saved, and bring it to a simmer. Don't forget to scrap up all those yummy brown bits.

Cook until the broccoli is tender and the liquids have reduced, about 2 minutes.

Add lemon juice, parsley, and drained pasta. Toss to combine and simmer another minute, allowing the pasta to soak in all that yummy sauce. Turn off the heat, add the cheese, and toss again.

Now, here's the fun part! To serve, place a large dollop of the ricotta mixture in the bottom of each bowl and bury it with hot pasta.

 I love surprises.

I owe it all to free cable

I'm writing a book.

Sort of.

I was taught to begin my writing with a strong lead in order to hook my reader, so I attempted a more dramatic approach there. Did it work? Are you hooked? But perhaps a more accurate statement would be: I am making a gift for my children.

If you hang around this place for a few minutes, you will learn of my love for mashing food, recipes, and storytelling. In our home, food sparks memories, and memories spark stories.

This first book is filled with meals and stories of our life before children - the years Stephen and I learned to cook together, party plan together, and open our home and table. I have such a soft spot in my heart for those years because they were the beginning. We were figuring out marriage, adulthood, eating without the Taylor University Dining Commons. We were creating family routines that became such a part of us I can still see them 12 years later.

I want to remember those years.

I want to remember those meals.

I want my children to peek into that first kitchen to see the disasters and the delicious.

The book will begin with a section entitled I Owe It All to Free Cable, the story of how it all began.

Take a look.

*****

I don't have an exact memory of the day we plugged my brother's old, college television into the wall. I suspect it was sometime in early December 2005 as we moved a mix of elegant wedding presents and hand-me-down necessities into a spacious but shady two-bedroom apartment in Arlington Heights. I don't think we initially realized we had inherited cable from the former tenants, and if so, we probably thought it would disappear by the end of the month, or a bill we certainly couldn't afford would soon arrive. 

Both of us had grown up in cable-less homes, so we didn't have favorite shows or channels. It probably wasn't until mid-January that I stumbled upon a cooking show.  I was ignorant to the fact that there was entire channel dedicated to food, and I certainly had never heard of this up-and-coming Food Network star, Rachael Ray. Her spunk and colorful kitchen were an initial draw for me as I watched her prepare a citrus salmon with green beans. I'd only caught the tail end of this 30 Minute Meal show but jotted down enough to help me find this recipe in one of her cookbooks. (We didn't have Internet, so I sat on the floor of Barnes & Noble flipping through each of Rachael's books until I found the citrus salmon.) To my delight, a second episode of this 30 Minute Meal show came on, and I diligently wrote down every detail for her Cornbread Pizza. 

This was the start of my love affair with the kitchen. 

Everyday from 5-6 pm, I would faithfully watch Rachael prepare gourmet feasts in thirty minutes, all the while learning the basics of the kitchen. I learned to cut an onion, dice a pepper, and mince garlic. Prior to this, I couldn't have picked a garlic clove out of a line up. I began buying fresh herbs, working alongside a garbage bowl, and utilizing multiple burners at at time. I learned to butterfly a chicken breast, indent the middle of a burger before grilling, and watch carefully when placing a cheesy casserole under the broiler. Who knew ovens had broilers?

I'd built up a solid collection of recipes by the time the cable company caught on to our free ride and cut us off. 

Those first few years, I relied heavily on Rachael's cookbooks. On our first anniversary, your dad and I waited in line for a picture and autograph with Rachael. I was too starstruck to tell her she'd changed my life, which is somewhat dramatic but also true. Although I don't use many of Rachael's recipes anymore, the following recipes will always hold a special place in my heart - and belly - because they were some of the first. 

For your dad and I, the kitchen became our special place. We have never had a fancy kitchen, but we have always had a full kitchen and a delicious time attempting all sorts of culinary feats. 

I hope the same is true for you.

*****

Pan-Seared Salmon with Citrus Vinegar Glaze and Green Beans

The recipe that started it all. 

• 4 salmon fillets

• olive oil for brushing the fillets

• salt and pepper

• 1/2 cup dry white wine (I have also used chicken broth)

• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

• big splash of orange juice

• small splash of lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 1 pound green beans, trimmed

• orange and lemon rind slices

Preheat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high skillet. *See note below*

Open the wine, and pour yourself and anyone else in the kitchen a glass. Be sure there is 1/2 cup left for the glaze. 

Rinse the salmon under cold water and pat dry.

Brush each fillet with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Cook the salmon until just cooked through, about 3 minutes on each side.

At this point, I pop the skillet into a 350°F oven to finish cooking the fish for a few more minutes as I finish up the glaze and green beans.

While the salmon cooks, bring wine, vinegar, citrus juices, and brown sugar to a boil over high heat in a saucepan. Reduce the glaze for 3-4 minutes, until thickened. Remove from the heat, and stir in a good pitch of pepper.

To another skillet, add the green beans, orange and lemon rinds, and 1/2 inch of water. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook 3-4 minutes. Drain the beans and season with salt and pepper.

Drizzle the glaze over the salmon and serve the beans.

*Note* If you do not have a cast-iron skillet, any oven-proof skillet will do. However, it would be remiss of me not to take this opportunity and tell you to buy a cast-iron skillet. It took me ten years to get one, and everything from pancakes, to brussels sprouts, to salmon tastes better cooked in that skillet. What a tragedy I will never get those years back.

Just add glaze. They'll love it. 

Check back next week for another favorite recipe from the early years.