[Written later after the fact]. I made the Smokey Tortilla SoupJustin & Meredith Winokur's Kitchen Cooking Notebook
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posts/2015/01
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Smokey Tortilla Soup and Roasted Delicata Squash -- back to top
[Written later after the fact]. I made the Smokey Tortilla Soup
originally from 2014-11-22. We didn't have fire roasted tomatoes so I just regular canned ones. I think I may have added a tiny bit of liquid smoke. I also didn't have ground clove so I omitted it. I use some leftover tortilla chips in making it and on presentation.
I also started to make a squash dish with feta from How Sweet Eats. I ended up skipping everything but the squash prep so I'll just include that here.
I heated
I though the sugar would melt into the oil but it didn't (Is sugar lipophobic?). I then poured this (homogeneous) mixture onto de-seeded and sliced delicata squash. Baked at 375 for 40 minutes, flipped half way.
They cam out really, really good. Thankfully a lot of oil was left behind too, but I am sure it got a good number of extra points from the addition of the oil and sugar, but oh well.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 9404, 2015-01-01_162518
"Original" Beef jerky -- back to top
I made another batch of ground beef jerky. I aimed for a "Classic" or "Original" recipe. I based mine off of two of Alton Browns [1, 2, local]
My adaptation was as follows. Note that this was for 1 lbs of extra-lean ground meat:
I marinated the ground beef in that over night. When I pulled it out, there was some liquid not absorbed so I drained it.
I rolled it into thicker strips than last time using a plastic chopstick as a guide. I think they were about 1/4 in. going it. I dehydrated them for about 6 hours on the hottest setting.
It worked out really well. This could very easily be my "Original" recipe. Maybe a bit lighter on the liquid since I didn't need it anyway. And more agave! I will be playing with, and modifying this one some more. I am not sure how it would need to be adapted for slices of meat instead of ground beef.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 9406, 2015-01-01_165053
Chicken Saltimbocca -- back to top
I threw together chicken saltimbocca (ish). I started with chicken breast flattened out pretty well (though need to do more next time) with some salt and pepper. I topped it with a slice of extra-lean ham and then sautéed spinach-kale mix. A few pieces of fresh sage and some cut of ham on top of that. I rolled them up as best I could and used a toothpick to secure them.
I dredged them in flour with salt and pepper then cooked them on a medium-heat pan for 2 minutes on all four sides. I then added some chicken stock and white wine (not sure how much), covered them, and let them steam for a bit. When they were cooked through, I put them over some spinach-kale plus arugula mix and made a sauce in the pan with more wine and stock.
They were really good. Pretty easy and certainly interesting. Also, pretty low in points. It was basically just the chicken (though I wish I could fine smaller breasts) and the ham (which was super low). The only bad thing was I think my piece had some undercooked chicken that I didn't realize until it was too late. I was too afraid of overcooking them that I messed up. (I didn't get sick though)
So for next time,
Additional Photos:
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 9417, 2015-01-03_191537
Not much too it. I made fruit leather with the dehydrator and unsweetened apple sauce. Super easy and pretty good!
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 9421, 2015-01-03_202557
Mie Goreng with Kohlrabi Noodles -- back to top
Meredith and I made Mie Goreng again (see recipe attached to that page). I think we made the same changes as last time except we used all cashews and realyue choy instead of American mustard greens. And we forgot the sprouts until the end.
The meal was a ton of work. Lots of chopping and prep plus all of the stir-frying (two batches) but it was worth it. Really good! The points were not as low as I would have hoped because of all of the sugar, nuts and oil used but they were still not too bad.
I am sure there were other changes and notes but I do not recall them now.
| Item | x | Cal | Fat | Carbs | protein | fiber | per | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turbinado Sugar | 36 | 15 | 0.00 | 4.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.43 | 15.63 |
| Shrimp | 1 | 361 | 6.00 | 3.00 | 70.00 | 0.00 | 8.27 | 8.27 |
| Cashews | 1 | 150 | 12.00 | 8.00 | 5.00 | 1.00 | 4.33 | 4.33 |
| Oil | 3 | 3.00 | 9.00 | |||||
| Total | 1051.00 | 18.00 | 155.00 | 75.00 | 1.00 | 37.23 | ||
| Per Serving | 4 | 262.75 | 4.50 | 38.75 | 18.75 | 0.25 | 9.31 |
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 9424, 2015-01-04_192511
Miso Mushroom Jerky -- back to top
I tried to make mushroom jerky. It was strange. I took about 10 large portabella caps, removed the stems and gills and made a marinade. The marinade was essentially exactly that ofMiso-Marinated Portobello Carpaccio(recipe) but with the following changes
I sliced the caps and marinated them over night. I then dried them on 135-145 until dry (~7 hours). They are strange to say the least. Not bad but weirdly chewy and rubbery.
I like the general idea and I will keep experimenting. Maybe ground up mushroom would work better.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 9431, 2015-01-05_073555
Okonomiyaki with Rutabaga Noodles -- back to top
Meredith and I made okonomiyaki again using the same basic recipe an the same basic changes. (see that post for a complete list, but basically we used mostly-cooked center-cut bacon instead of raw pork belly). However we did make a major change this time; we used rutabaga noodles!
It actually worked really well. We spiralized the noodles and then stir-fired them down until they were well cooked. We then used them like the regular ones including adding okonomiyaki sauce. They were slightly less crispy, but only by a little bit.
We would definitely do this again with these changes. Some prep but not too bad and lots of flavor.
A rough point calculation is (I didn't work it all out)
bacon ... 3
egg ... 2
flour ... 6
okonomiyaki sauce ... 1
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 9435, 2015-01-05_194519
Harissa Stuffed Chicken -- back to top
I threw together a chicken dish inspired by the chicken saltimboca . I flattened out a chicken breast, coated it with harissa and some sautéed greens, rolled it, and baked it. I had some trouble with temperatures, etc and I think I may have burned it. I need to figure out a better way to make stuffed chicken things. Maybe sear+oven?
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 9439, 2015-01-07_134031
Tuna Tataki over Zucchini Noodles -- back to top
We made tuna tataki over zucchini noodles with avocado. We used our regular tataki recipe and just quickly sautéd the noodles. The whole thing was inspired by this.
It wasn't anything special but it was quick and easy
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 9442, 2015-01-07_204052
I made quick(er) pho! It was inspired by Serious Eats Kenji's recipe here. Basically, I used his idea to do the onions and ginger in the pan (they really smoked) and used the pressure cooker.
Other than that, I halved my quick Pho and did the pressure cooker for 30 minutes. After straining, I heated a pack (6 points) of fake chicken. I served it over zucchini noodles (not pre heated like rutabaga).
Doing the onions in the pan was nice but super smoky. The whole apartment filled with smoke and the oil was so burned that I had to clean out the pan! Other than that, the only real issue is that this was a ton of soup to eat alone! 1/2 gallon for lunch!
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 9445, 2015-01-08_134032
Potsticker Meatball Soup -- back to top
We made Potsticker Meatball Soup from I Breathe...I'm Hungry. We basically followed their recipe for the meatballs (with turkey) and with regular flour. We also made their broth.
The biggest difference was that we used zucchini noodles instead of shirataki. And a ton of cabbage and other veggies.
The meatballs were ok. A bit dry but reminiscent of potstickers. The broth was also pretty good. Not amazing; but good. We did use too much crushed red pepper.
The real problem was that we had too many veggies and not enough broth. It became like eating nearly-raw veggies. If we make this again, we'll fix the proportions.
Photos:
Recipe
Potsticker Meatball Soup (from I Breathe...I'm Hungry)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 9450, 2015-01-08_204020
I tried making kale chips in the dehydrator. I just rinsed kale then topped with salt and dehydrated.
Next time, I will toss with a bit of olive oil, then salt and other flavors. The salt just fell off and it was just eating plain old crispy kale. I will play more.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 9453, 2015-01-10_134006
Mushroom Soup and Zucchini Noodles with Avocado Basil Cream Sauce and Steak. -- back to top
Meredith and I made mushroom soup and zucchini noodles with avocado basil cream sauce and steak.
The soup was just thrown together. I sautéd a pack of baby bella, enochi, beech and maitaki mushrooms with onions and garlic. I then added chicken broth (9 cups), some soy sauce and 1/2 a cup of finely diced carrots. Finally about 2.5 inches of ginger. I pressure cooked it for 30 minutes. We served it with a big thing of rutabaga noodles.The soup was ok. Not a ton of flavor. But lots of veggies and very filling for very few points.
The zucchini dish was amazing. First of all, we bought sirloin steak and cut it up then cooked it in a pan (somewhere on the line between sauté and pan-fry). I didn't cut them perfectly evenly since I was trying to avoid the fat, but it was fine. Some pieces were over cooked; some under. But it was all tender.
The noodles and sauce came from Inspiralized. We essentially cut the recipe into 2/3 (since that is all the avocado we had) and skipped the corn. And we went heavy on the basil (used original amount). Other than that, we stayed pretty true to it. It was super flavorful, had a nice texture and was pretty easy! It was not a great pair with the steak. We should have stuck with her directions and used seafood. Next time! (and there will be a next time)
Avocado-Basil Zucchini Noodles with Chile-Lime Shrimp & Corn (from Inspiralized)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 9456, 2015-01-11_194039
Rad Thai (SweetGreen) Copycat Salad -- back to top
Meredith and I made a salad inspired by one we had at Sweet Green. The salad was based on Rad Thai:
"organic arugula + organic mesclun, sprouts, carrots, shredded cabbage, spicy sunflower seeds, cucumbers, basil, citrus shrimp, spicy cashew dressing"
We made our salad with
We then attempted a salad dressing with: (inspired by this image)
We used the immersion blender in a cup to blend. That was a huge mess. But it eventually came together.
The thing is, theirs is a claimed 370 calories. Guessing at fat, it is around 10 to 11 points. Ours we calculated to be much higher. Maybe the nuts in the dressing. Not sure. But the salad was very good!
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 9459, 2015-01-12_144301
"Original" Flavor Beef Jerky (take II) -- back to top
I made another thing of "Original Flavor" beef jerky. I was going with thicker slices so I also did two lbs of extra-lean ground beef.
My recipe was as follows:
I mixed the liquids together and let them sit for a while. I then marinated the beef overnight. This texture was good but I still really struggled to form it. I am going to look into something like a jerky gun. I do not think all of the pepper made it in and I liked that. Less pepper next time
I made about 14 ounces all said and done. The nutritional info is below but it's essentially 2 points/ounce with 335 mg sodium. Not bad. I do not think I will be messing much with this recipe or process (other than forming and pepper as noted). And I do still want to try with beef slices instead of ground.
| Item | x | Cal | Fat | Carbs | protein | fiber | Sodium (mg) | per | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soy Sauce | 6 | 15 | 0.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 460.00 | 0.22 | 1.30 |
| Worcestershire | 18 | 5 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 65.00 | 0.11 | 1.95 |
| Agave | 1.333 | 60 | 0.00 | 16.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.74 | 2.32 |
| Sriracha | 3 | 5 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 80.00 | 0.11 | 0.33 |
| Beef | 8 | 130 | 4.00 | 0.00 | 22.00 | 0.00 | 65.00 | 3.04 | 24.32 |
| Total | 1314.98 | 32.00 | 54.33 | 176.00 | 0.00 | 4690.00 | 30.22 | ||
| Per Serving | 14 | 93.93 | 2.29 | 3.88 | 12.57 | 0.00 | 335.00 | 2.16 |
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 9524, 2015-01-12_150106
Broccoli Stir-Fry -- back to top
Thrown together broccoli stir fry with Broccoli Beef recipe
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 9528, 2015-01-12_200517
Cod over kale greens -- back to top
This was awful! We defrosted cod (quick-defrost) and tried to cook it on the pan. We may have messed up the heat or something but it just overcooked to death! We will investigate alternative cod-cooking techniques!
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 9536, 2015-01-14_211505
We were invited to a dinner and wanted to make a healthy dessert so we made Pavlova, a traditional New Zealand and Australian (they fight over who "owns" it) dish. This was our first attempt and it came out ok. It may have been a bit too humid and the oven may have been too warm, but the general dish worked.
It is essentially a meringue but you whip it in such a way that the inside remains soft while the outside gets crisp. Then you top it with whipped cream or something.
Our plan was to use tofu mousse but we couldn't get the silken tofu so we used cool whip. Then we topped it with mangoes. We wanted to do pomegranate seeds but they had gone bad.
Given that this is a pretty easy and healthy recipe, we will make this again!
Pavlova (from The Kitchn)
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Additional Photos
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 9533, 2015-01-14_201045
Cherry Fruit Mousse -- back to top
I got this idea from Serious Eats. It is a frozen fruit mousse. It is super easy and low points. You take around 1/2 lbs of frozen fruit and chop it well in a food processor (~1 min) with 2-3 splenda packets. Then you add an egg white and let it go for 2-4 minutes. What you get is a super creamy, low point mousse. I guess you may want to count some points given that it is a lot of points calories, but still, it is mostly fruit
Light and Easy 5-Minute Fruit Mousse (from Serious Eats)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 9550, 2015-01-20_153025
Beer House Clams -- back to top
Meredith had leftover clams from when I was out of town so we tried this lady and pups recipe. I think we followed the recipe pretty closely though these were significantly larger than the ones in her picture.
We also did the de-sanding which seemed to be useful. They were pretty good. We took them off as soon as they started to open since we didn't want to over cook them but I think we should have used the induction to get a stronger boil and more steam. The likely would have opened more.
For the toppings/vegetable part, we used a super heated cast iron dutch oven as my "wok" (high heat like a wok but slow response unlike a wok). We skipped the MSG and the extra dark soy sauce. The real problem was the thai chili pepper made us cough and gag but other than that,success! I think I would use her sauce idea with mussels. The clams were fine but I prefer mussels.
Also, we got the cooking rice wine she suggests and it was super super salty. I would prefer regular sake and adding salt as needed next time!
Taiwan Beer-House Woked Clams (from Lady and Pups)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 9553, 2015-01-24_133047
Modified Super Quick Pho -- back to top
We made quick pho again but on Meredith's behest, we went super light on the spices. I think it was 1/2 tsp coriander and 2-3 star anise. We still charred the ginger and onions (in the pan) and used the fish sauce at the end. I think it was fine with fewer spices. I would say more coriander and some cinnamon. Skipping the pepper, clove, additional salt, and cardamom were fine; especially reducing the salt. Also it is debatable if toasting the spices make a difference.
We served it with rutabaga noodles and just egg (no other protein). We also super-finely sliced onion and added that with the fish sauce to wilt. We also forgot the gelatin. Not sure if that mattered or not but it was fine. I would add it next time.
I updated the recipe page with the instructions on2015-01-28. I may (in the future) update with these lower spice amounts. See "changes" section on that page for details.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 9559, 2015-01-26_210054
Scallops over Kohlrabi Orzo -- back to top
We made a kohlrabi orzo dish from Inspiralized. We decided to skip the spiralizing then dicing and instead tried just used the grater on the food processor. It extracted a lot of liquid too so we used the salad spinner to dry it.
We also misread the thing about arugula being a replacement for Egyptian spinach and instead used regular. We also forgot the lemon juice.
Honestly, the meal was fine but rather boring! There wasn't much flavor to the orzo. The scallops were good enough to stand on their own but the base was just boring. Oh well.
Kohlrabi and Egyptian Spinach Creamy "Orzo" with Seared Lemon Scallops (from Inspiralized)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 9562, 2015-01-28_205522
Ground Beef Taco-Burritos (make ahead lunches) -- back to top
I wanted to make food that I could freeze for lunches so I made taco burritos with roasted cauliflower rice.
I made the rice and beef then assembled on multi grain (but regular fiber) tortillas (3 p+ each) with cilantro and spinach. The only real problem was that a bunch of of the tortillas ripped when folding. I noted them so we know they may be messy.
I made the rice by grating whole florets of cauliflower then spreading it thin on a covered and greased baking sheet. I salted it and roasted for 20 minutes until it was starting to brown. I think this worked well. I would do it again
I sautéd an onion with some mini-bell peppers. I then added the beef (96/4) and chopped and cooked that. I added a zucchini for bulk and then the spices. I doctored the spices by, in addition to the taco seasoning packet, adding garlic powder, sriracha and a bit of liquid smoke. I think the smoke was actually really good. You could taste it at the end and it was nice. I would use that again!
Skip whole-grain tortillas. They simply do not fold well. Also, I'll make sure to heat them more to be more pliable. And we'll see how the defrost. Maybe I'll cook them a bit next time and wrap them in something other than aluminum foil
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Original WP Post ID: 9581
Original WP Pub Date: 2015-01-29_133304
Seared Salmon and Roasted Cauliflower -- back to top
We wanted a pretty simple but "comfort" food type dinner so we made seared salmon and roasted cauliflower. I love roasted cauliflower but I can only really do it in the winter since it requires a 500 degree oven for an hour.
The cauliflower was seasoned with salt and a spice mix from my Indian friend's mother. The salmon was done with Emril's Cajun seasoning.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 9585, 2015-01-31_204506