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Asian Veggies with Peanut Sauce

Christine — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 23:01:28 +0000

I was really craving some peanut sauce tonight and I just so happened to have some edamame, sugar snap peas and snow peas that needed to be used, so here’s what I did.

1/2 c. rice wine vinegar
1/2 c. soy sauce
4 Tablespoons sweet chile sauce
2 Tablespoons Toasted Sesame Oil
Zest of one lime
juice of one lime
1/2 c. of smooth peanut butter

Sugar snap peas
snow peas
edamame

Prepare the vegetables. If they’re all fresh, just blanch them till they’re bright green and then then shock them in cold water and set aside.

Combine the vinegar, soy sauce, chile sauce, oil, zest and juice in a mixing bowl. Whisk well and then add 1/2 cup of peanut butter. Don’t panic. It will look like your sauce will never combine, but it will, I promise. Just keep whisking until your ingredients are completely combined.

Here’s where I made my mistake… I poured the sauce over the vegetables and then served them on the side of the grilled chicken and couscous.

It was terrific, but I think next time, I’ll put the veggies, couscous and chicken on the plate and then drizzle the sauce over everything. A small change, but I think it will make it even better!Similar Posts:

I’m An Eye-Fi Big Shot!

Christine — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 23:53:16 +0000

So, what’s an Eye-Fi Big Shot, you ask? Well. Let me tell you.

Back in January I blogged about my new camera and my brand new Eye-Fi Memory card. From the post:

Eye Fi is a wifi enabled memory card, allowing you to upload pictures directly from your camera as long as you can connect to a wireless network or a hotspot. I was all over this! We love to go to community activities and events and I always bring my camera. The thought of being able to upload those pictures to Flickr or Facebook, or to check in with Whrrl with beautiful photos from my camera rather than from my phone was more than I could bear.

So when I heard that Eye-Fi was looking for people to represent the brand, I applied immediately! I was thrilled to find out that I was accepted and I’m so excited to share with people information about a product that I absolutely love.

So go say hi to the rest of the Big Shots and stay tuned for some great, fun ideas, tips and tricks about this great product!

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Mustard Roasted Potatoes

Christine — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 00:20:33 +0000

A couple of months ago, you know maybe it was a year ago, I heard someone mention that they used prepared mustard when they roasted potatoes and I’ve been meaning to try it ever since. I don’t roast potatoes very often however and when I did I kept forgetting. Today, I finally remembered! I decided to use a dark, course ground mustard and it was really outstanding. I think though, that the pairing of the whole dinner is really what made it.

Here’s what I did:

One bag of red (new) potatoes, cleaned and cut into chunks
4 large yellow onions, peeled and cut into chunks
5 cloves of garlic chopped
1/2 c. olive oil
lots of stone ground mustard. I used Grey Poupon Coarse Ground but any coarse ground with dark mustard seeds mixed into it would work.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. On a lipped baking sheet, put the potatoes, onion and garlic. In a mixing bowl, whisk the oil and mustard. You really don’t need to measure. You won’t the consistency to be more like pourable mustard than oil. Pour over the potato/onion mixture and toss (I used tongs – they worked very well).

Put into the oven and start checking at 30 minutes. This is a personal preference. We like ours a little burned, you might not. It’s really up to you and your tastes.

Like I stated above, these were outstanding. However, I think it was the combination of food that really took it over the top.

I served the potatoes with broiled flank steak (you could grill it too) and a salad of spring green, cucumber, tomato and bleu cheese drizzled with a dressing made of chopped shallots and equal parts while balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. The bleu cheese contrasting against the mustard and potatoes was really surprising and delicious. I wouldn’t use an expensive steak with this. Flank or maybe skirt works just fine. I think a better steak might be lost in all the flavors.

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Roasted Asparagus

Christine — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:08:04 +0000

One of my very favorite things to do is roast vegetables. I think I’ve made that pretty clear here, no? It occurred to me that I’d never done a post about roasted asparagus which is one of my favorite things on the planet, so today we’re going to talk about them. These are such a crowd pleaser, everyone loves them. I’ve never once served them to someone and had them refused. They’re easy and delicious. The only problem is that there never seems to be enough!

The trick to asparagus is to fill a large bowl with cool water. Put the asparagus in the water, spear side down. Allow to soak for a minute or two and then shake a few stalks under water, and remove to your cutting board. Repeat until all of your stalks are on the cutting board and then trim off the woody, tough bottoms.

1 bunch of asparagus cleaned and trimmed
3 cloves of garlic
a splash of olive oil
salt

Preheat the oven to 350 and toss the aspragus, oil salt and garlic on a lipped baking sheet.

Cook about 30 minutes.

I served these babies with roast chicken and couscous.

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Nine Ingredients to Amp Up Your Cooking

Christine — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:16:22 +0000

I’m always thinking about new ways to create tastier, more original dishes to serve to friends and family. So I thought that today, I’d share with you some of the “secret” ingredients that I always have on hand.

Celery Seed – Personally, I think that celery seed is the most neglected spice in most people’s pantry. I use it in salads, all the time. From tuna, chicken, or egg salad, to coleslaw, potato salad, macaroni or pasta salad, even deviled eggs. Celery seed adds a slight bitterness that really offsets the taste of mayonnaise really well.
Chipotle in Adobo - Chipotles are dried jalapenos. Adobo is a wonderful hot, tomato based sauce used in Mexican food very often. I finely chop a chipotle and spoon a little of the sauce into rice, chili, tomato sauce for pizza and it adds a surprising amount of heat and smokiness. Just yummy.
Roasted Garlic - I use garlic pretty much every day and I love it in all it’s forms. Raw, sauteed, fried, made into a paste… I just love garlic. Roasted, however is probably my favorite. Spread a little on crusty bread, whisk into a salad dressing, smoosh some into some hummus. The possibilities are endless – anytime you need a more subtle garlic, try roasted.
Honey - I like to use raw, organic honey in place of sugar whenever I can. Yes, it’s still a sugar, but it’s not processed, so it’s better for you. Anything that you eat in its original form is much better than something that’s been to a factory. I don’t really bake, so I can’t help you with replacing sugar there, but salad dressing are always delightfully sweetened with a little raw honey.
Sundried Tomatoes – These little pieces of heaven are one of my favorite ingredients. I use them in hot and cold dishes. Throw them into salads, either as the only tomato or next to fresh tomatoes, I put them in sauces, on pizza, in pasta, mixed with goat cheese. They’re so versatile and I have never once said, “I wish I hadn’t put the sundried tomatoes in there”. They are always a lovely complement to whatever it is we’re making
Red Pepper Flakes - Again, these little guys give you incredible bang for your buck. They spice up any meal! We’ve all put them on pizza, but try putting them into the tomato sauce while you’re cooking it. Or add them to your garlic and oil sauce, your scampi, your alfredo or cream sauce. Stir some into chili, rice… any place you need a little more heat.
White Balsamic Vinegar - Here’s another unexpected sweet treat. Instead of plain white vinegar, or cider vinegar, try some white balsamic. It has a lovely sweet, subtle taste, yet stands up to any salad, or spices. Stir some into your hummus, mash with a little roasted garlic as your acid for dressing, splash some on your potatoes and steak.
Coffee – Have you ever made a sauce, stew or chili and felt it needed just a little more depth? That it lacked a little complexity? Brew up some fresh coffee, pour yourself a cuppa and throw a few tablespoons into the recipe. It adds a complexity, a “Depth of flavor” if you will, that sometimes just hits the spot. And you’ll have a lovely 10 minute date with yourself – probably some much needed “you” time in the middle of it all.
Harrissa – My newest kitchen love, Harrissa is a Tunisian hot chili sauce that Stacy at Stella’s turned me onto. She suggested that I put into my hummus and she was right, it was outstanding, but I became obsessed and brushed it on chicken before roasting and served it with steak and used it as a spread on sandwiches. I haven’t made my own yet, but it’s on my list of things to do. The jarred kind is so good though that I’ve been very happy to just buy it.

I hope this list inspires you to try some ingredients that are a little (or a lot) out of your comfort zone. I’d love to hear what your favorites are and if you try any of mine, please let me know what you do and how you like it!Similar Posts: