Month: August 2011

Recipes, Rice, Sides

Healthy “Fried” Rice

Sarah

Wednesday night pop quiz. What makes fried rice the color of… fried rice? Any guesses?

Soy sauce!

Seriously. Soy sauce. What?

For years, I always ordered fried rice at Asian restaurants because I just love the flavors, the crisp texture, and the itty bitty pieces of egg scattered throughout the rice. But what I don’t love is the lack of vegetables. Usually, the pieces are miniscule, and I’ve all but given up on ordering chicken or shrimp fried rice because most places are pretty skimpy on the good stuff.

However, I always thought that there was some secret “special ingredient” that restaurants added to fried rice that was so complicated and mysterious that I could never recreate it at home. Boy, was I wrong. Soy sauce is all that’s needed to create delicious, restaurant-style fried rice at home. My world was rocked the day I learned I could make a healthier, lighter version of fried rice, full of the good stuff, whenever I pleased. It’s so easy, and I typically have many of the ingredients already so it’s just a snap to make for a quick weeknight dinner. I’m excited to play around with this recipe more and find some new variations. But for now… here’s the classic!

What are your favorite additions to fried rice?

Healthy “Fried” Rice [from About.com and Daily Garnish]
printable version

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups cold cooked brown rice [prepared the day before from 1 cup dry brown rice]
  • 2-4 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 2-4 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 3 medium carrots, diced small
  • 1/2 cup shelled edamame [I used frozen]
  • 1/2 cup peas [I used frozen]
  • 1 egg, beaten

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat about 1 tablespoon sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add rice to skillet and stir frequently to coat, approximately 4-6 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together 1 tablespoon sesame oil and 2 tablespoons soy sauce in a small bowl.

After rice is warm and has incorporated the sesame oil, mix in the vegetables. Cook thoroughly, until carrots are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Then, add sesame-soy mixture and stir quickly to mix in. The sauce should steam.

Push rice to sides of the pan, leaving a hole in the center of the pan. Pour egg into the hole and quickly scramble it, breaking the egg apart. Then mix egg with rice and vegetables, taste, and season with additional soy sauce and sesame oil to taste.

Breakfast, Muffins, Recipes

Whole Wheat Zucchini Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Sarah

Need a way to use up an abundance of late summer zucchini? Well, look no further. I have the perfect solution for you.

Simply put, these muffins are awesome and a great way to combine two of my favorite quick breads. They have a long name–Whole Wheat Zucchini Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins–but each part of the name is important and revealing of the muffins’ wonderful components.

The “whole wheat” assures you of the health component. Blah blah blah. Not very exciting, I know, but I had to throw that in there. These muffins have very little sugar but are still sweet and flavorful. “Zucchini” and “banana” demonstrates the main components, the main kinds of flavor–and add a little extra fruit and veggies to your day. And last but not least… “chocolate chips.” Well, I think we all know what those morsels of goodness are… deeelicious!

I made these muffins on a Friday, and by Monday, they were completely inhaled. I need to get my hands on some more zucchini asap! Anyone have some to send my way?

Whole Wheat Zucchini Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins [from Eats Well with Others via Marcus Samuelsson]

printable version

Ingredients:

  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas [about 2 medium]
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • pinch salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 1/2 cups zucchini, grated [from 2 small or 1 medium zucchini]
  • 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin tin or line with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, beat together eggs, honey, banana, brown sugar, and vanilla until well mixed.

In another bowl, sift together the flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the egg mixture, then add in zucchini and chocolate chips. Stir until just combined, then spoon into muffin cups, filling about 2/3 of the way.

Bake for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cover with foil after 20 minutes if the tops are starting to brown but the center is not fully cooked.

Yield: 16-18 muffins

Time: 40 minutes [10 minutes active]

Menu Plans

Menu Plan

Sarah

Week of August 29…back to school!

Monday: Eggplant Potato Frittata

Tuesday: night class/Ben fends for himself

Wednesday: corn cakes

Thursday: black beans and something… tacos or rice, I’m not sure yet 🙂

Friday: dinner with friends

Saturday: homemade pizza

Sunday: leftovers

Family, Sheba

Sheba Saturdays

Sarah

On this installment of Sheba Saturdays, I’d like to introduce you to Ben’s favorite time of the day: Bathtime. Don’t worry, there’s nothing inappropriate in these photos. I even had Ben put a shirt on just to make sure of it. 🙂

Most days when Ben gets home from work, he’ll give me a quick hello kiss while I’m in the kitchen getting dinner ready, and then head on into our bedroom to change into comfy clothes. Inevitably, Sheba will follow Ben into the bedroom, hop up onto the bed, meowing all the way to tell Ben about her day.

Ben, sometimes needing a rest after a long day at work, will lay his head down on the bed. Sheba understands that Ben is also a dirty little boy and needs to be cleaned up. So, she begins mothering him by licking his little head clean. This can go on for ten minutes at a time, and I have learned that if Ben is taking a long time changing that it is not “his fault,” but rather, the kitty’s.

Bathtime is not restricted to after work hours, as evidenced by the iPhone photos below.

Ben can occasionally be found sitting on the couch, reading a book, when Sheba will take one look at him and decide that he is due for a bath. She jumps right up and bathtime begins.

Both Ben and Sheba enjoy this little ritual which has become a fixture in our day. I wish I could partake, but alas–I have too much hair on my head and Sheba does not know what to do with it. It would be a sad, sad day if I ever had so little hair that she could bathe me like she bathes Ben. So long, until the next installment of Sheba Saturdays.

So tell me… have you ever had cats/know of cats who bathe their humans? I’d never heard of it until Sheba started doing it, so I guess Ben just needed mothering and Sheba stepped into that role. 🙂

Main Dishes, Recipes, Sauces

Roasted Tomato Sauce

Sarah

So, let’s talk about red pasta sauce. Ahh, that oft-neglected component of many Italian dishes [at least in my world]. Funny, red pasta sauce is a staple in my kitchen yet I don’t really think about it. I’m too busy thinking about the layers of cheesy, meaty goodness in lasagna or the fact that spaghetti is a speedy, brainless, and relatively healthy dinner to truly consider what the sauce is made out of and how it tastes. Most of the time, I purchase a decent store-bought jarred pasta sauce and that’s the end of the story.

Things are a-changing now. I’ve moved passed the typical “end of the story” and on into uncharted waters. A sequel, if you will.

This journey takes us into the land where pasta sauce is just veggies and herbs, with a tiny bit of seasonings and oil, but mainly just the good stuff from the ground [and the bush and the tree, I suppose]. But you get my gist, right? It’s all about the flavor and freshness of ripe August tomatoes, nutty yellow summer squash, sweet onions, crisp Carmen peppers, and mellow cloves of garlic.

Not only do the flavor and freshness of these veggies make this sauce stand out, but the cooking method does as well. Slow roasting the vegetables provides extra depth, richness, and sweetness that cooking down on the stove top cannot achieve. Plus, this relatively hands-off cooking method is a breeze! Feel free to add a pinch of sugar or extra seasonings to taste, but we found anything else to be unnecessary.

We love topping hot noodles with Roasted Tomato Sauce, but it’s equally great eaten cold with a spoon in front of an open refrigerator door… or, you know, as a bread dip. Delicious either way. I don’t think I’ll ever leave this wonderful land of veggielicious pasta sauce. Stay with me? And eat cold pasta sauce? You know you want to…

What do you eat cold in front of the refrigerator? Fess up below! 🙂

Roasted Tomato Sauce
printable version

Ingredients:

  • 5 cups roughly chopped tomatoes [I used Roma]
  • 1 small yellow summer squash, chopped
  • 1 medium sweet onion, chopped
  • 1 Carmen pepper, halved [or substitute half of a bell pepper]
  • 4 cloves garlic, papery skin removed, and cloves smashed
  • olive oil
  • black pepper
  • salt
  • dried rosemary
  • fresh basil [about 4-5 leaves]
  • fresh oregano [about 2-3 sprigs]

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using two baking sheets [preferably jelly roll-style pans with sides at least 1 inch deep], lay out all vegetables [tomatoes, squash, onion, pepper, and garlic] skin side down in one layer. Drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with pepper, salt, and rosemary. Bake for about 60 minutes or until vegetables start to blacken around the edges.

Remove to a deep bowl and add basil and oregano. Use an immersion blender to puree mixture until you reach your desired level of smoothness. Alternatively, a blender or food processor would work too but be careful with using hot food in those appliances. Serve on top of your favorite pasta.

Yield: 4 cups

Time: 70 minutes [10 minutes active]