38 Healthiest Ingredients

38 Power Foods, Week 9 — Kale — Baby Kale and Spinach with a Roasted Chicken Breast

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 While I didn’t grow up eating kale, I got to it as soon as I could.  My folks were transplanted southerners.  Greens made an appearance, oh yeah.  I ate them.  (not)
There were lots of reasons why I finally hit on kale (baby kale first, actually)  once I knew from good.  One was its curly beauty:

       One was its strength and goodness.
     

One cup of kale contains 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 15% of the daily requirement of calcium and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), 40% of magnesium, 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus.

Kale’s health benefits are primarily linked to the high concentration and excellent source of antioxidant vitamins A, C, and K — and sulphur-containing phytonutrients.(courtesy webmd.)

Another was its price.  Even at Whole Foods, kale was doable, payable, and edible.

Last was its ease of preparation. Clean well, chop, saute, season, eat.  Repeat.  Mix in another bit of greens if you like.   Herbs?  Oh, yes.  Heat?  Sure.  Good in soup?  Perfect!  And…
 Served with a bit of rice or a piece of chicken, I loved, loved it.    Try this:
baby kale and spinach with a roasted chicken breast
  A. first roast your chicken breast
Roast  olive oiled and salt and peppered bone-in breasts 45 minutes at 350 F a la Ina.

  B.  toward the end of the cooking time for the chicken, begin cooking the greens:

In a medium skillet or sauté pan, pour in about a tablespoon of olive oil.  (No need for extra virgin.)  Heat over medium heat with a pinch of crushed red pepper and kosher salt. 
  1. Add 4-5 very thin slices of red onion, torn or cut if they’re large. Cook, stirring, for one minute.
  2. Drop in 4 cups or so spinach and baby kale. (Use chopped kale in place of baby kale if that’s what you have.)  Let cook down as much as you like; watch it carefully.  Stir.   Some people like greens barely cooked; some like them well done.  Suit yourself.
  3. When almost done to your liking, toss in about 6 sliced cherry or grape tomatoes.  
  4. Heat through and serve hot or at room temperature.  (You can add a splash of apple cider vinegar if you like.)
 Never cooked greens like kale?  Watch how here:


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If you liked this recipe, you might like:

Alyce’s Red, White, and Blue Kale Salad

Stay cool!
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 38 Power Foods is a group effort!   Stop by these other blogs and see what they’re cooking each week as we team up to bring you some of the healthiest cooking available.

Ansh – SpiceRoots.com  
Jill – SaucyCooks 

Sarah – Everything in the Kitchen Sink
Anabanana – adobodownunder.blogspot.com
.
As we go along, I’m guessing we’ll get some other writers involved.  If you’re interested in joining the gang writing each week, get in touch with Mireya from My Healthy Eating Habits:  Mireya@MyHealthyEatingHabits.com

Sing a new song,
Alyce

baby kale and spinach with a roasted chicken breast originally posted by alyce on dinnerplace.blogspot.com

two-dog kitchen and around the ‘hood

Earlier this week on More Time:  Homemade Potato Chip-Steak Salad with Homemade Mayonnaise Dressing
Just add fork

Right now on the dinnerplace blog:  Would you make breakfast?
Egg+Egg White Omelet filled with Nonfat Cottage Cheese on WW Toast

Guacamole Soup with Cheese Quesadillas…recipe I’m working on for the book.  Five tries and I’m finally happy.
Miss Gab and Tucker under my make-shift desk.

  Today I took a break from recipe development and sat out on the front deck with a cup of coffee for a few.  In the crab apple tree off to the right was a tiny chickadee singing, “CHRIS-tine.”  I’ve never seen chickadees in Colorado, much less in my own yard.  Soon, I saw there was a second chickadee.   Of course, they’re always in pairs.  They seemed to be digging around for insects in the bark of the tree.  Sitting quietly, I finally saw one of the birds  go to a nest–right in the tree. 
How could I not have noticed them, the building of the nest, or the baby birds?

 Lesson for the day:  If you don’t take the time to rest or sit quietly, you won’t know what’s going on in  life right outside your own front door.

38 Power Foods, Week 8 — Carrots — On the Loose

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I have no idea what you’d do without carrots.  I think I just couldn’t cook without them.
I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about, “Oh, I love carrots,” but there isn’t a week that goes by that I don’t buy them. I can’t imagine my crisper without carrots.  But I don’t think I ever thought much about them before.

Two carrot stories come to mind…after this gorgeous salad:

Moroccan Carrot Salad

 We were camping in Texas once where we spent long days tubing on the Guadalupe River.  (Folks floated by with six-packs tied to their inner tubes.)  It was so hot the ice was a constant puddle in the coolers and we worried about our food.  (Why didn’t I sell ice in south Texas?  Once again I had chosen the wrong profession.)   Insert bad language; there were six of us to feed three times a day for a week.  One poor woman stopped to say only one thing to me, “Even my carrots rotted today.”   I knew how she felt; I was down to cabbage, potatoes, and onions, though I always have cans in the back of the van.  If your carrots betray you, you’re in trouble.  She was heartbroken and I understood why.

And the other story….

Once, when I’d been on Weight Watchers forever, Dave said,

I liked you a lot better when carrots were no points.

You see, carrots, along with all the other vegetables in the world, were FREE–point-wise, that is.  Until one year, somebody smartened up and figured out they had a little sugar.  Wowee-zowee; they were then 1 point.  Broke my heart.  (Since then, a WW friend reports carrots are once more free.  I’m breathing a bit easier though I simply use myfitnesspal.com to track my weight and exercise now.  Love that site and there’s an app for it.)

Took this at Pike Place Market.  Gorgeous sentiment, “Carrots on-the-loose.”

 
Carrots make nearly everything taste better. Without them, how could you make soup?  If you skip them and just add the onions and celery to flavor the broth, it’s just not the same.  What about stew?  Roast chicken with vegetables?  Salad?  Veggie tray?  Pot Roast? Carrot cake? 

I make carrot cake cupcakes at Easter; recipe here.  It’s for the sheetcake, but works just the same.

 How about…

Alyce’s  Egg Salad?

or…

Split Pea Soup for One?

 

Pasta out of the Frig and Pantry??
Lentil Soup?

  or..

Could you bring potato salad?
Make your own Chicken Noodle Soup from scratch?

Chicken Noodle Soup in Under an Hour (above)  has morphed into a soup with a 30 minute finishing time for cookbook I’m working on…It works. Just wait and see how.

Unless you have spent a lot of time thinking about it, you’ve just realized the cooking world

would be a very different place without carrots. (One note: if you like them in spaghetti sauce or marinara, be careful; too many and you’ve ruined it.  I sometimes like just a bit of carrot in my marinara.)   Naturally, they’re good for you.  Didn’t your mother tell you to eat your carrots so you could see better?  A deficiency of vitamin A can cause night blindness, according to several sources, but it doesn’t appear carrots truly help you see better. 
Carrots are an excellent source of vitamin A, a good source of potassium, and contain vitamins C & B6, copper, folic acid,thiamine and magnesium. The high level of beta-carotene is very important and gives carrots their distinctive orange colour.
Carrots also contain, in smaller amounts, essential oils, carbohydrates and nitrogenous composites. They are well-known for their sweetening, antianaemic, healing, diuretic, remineralizing and sedative properties.
In order to assimilate the greatest quantity of the nutrients present in carrots, it is important to chew them well – they are the exception to the rule – they are more nutritious cooked than raw.

Did I mention they keep a good long while?   How long?

2-3 weeks fresh in the refrigerator
12-18 months blanched and stored well-wrapped in the freezer

~Stilltasty.com

Read a poem about a pea who wants to be a carrot here.
National Carrot Day?  February 3,  naturally. 





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 38 Power Foods is a group effort!   Stop by these other blogs and see what they’re cooking each week as we team up to bring you some of the healthiest cooking available.

Ansh – SpiceRoots.com  
Jill – SaucyCooks 

Sarah – Everything in the Kitchen Sink
Anabanana – adobodownunder.blogspot.com
.
As we go along, I’m guessing we’ll get some other writers involved.  If you’re interested in joining the gang writing each week, get in touch with Mireya from My Healthy Eating Habits:  Mireya@MyHealthyEatingHabits.com
 

two-dog kitchen and around the ‘hood

Our eastern view the morning after the big rain storm.  Roads washed out and a bridge collapsed.

Next afternoon, more rain while our house was being painted.  I just can’t capture the rainbows in Colorado, but here’s my try.  This is just off to the southeast from the mesa up on the west side of Colorado Springs (up above I-25 if you’ve ever driven through north to south in the state.)

My temp office to write the book.  I love being alone to write.  We moved out the bedroom furniture to give me space.

One of two soups I worked on this week:  Alyce’s Spicy Cucumber-Feta photographed in my tiny herb garden.

Sing a new song; chew your carrots up, honey,

Alyce

38 Power Foods, Week 7 — Brussels Sprouts –Pan-Roasted Brussels Sprouts with New Potatoes and Parmesan

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.
When brussels sprouts (note spelling) first came back in vogue (they were vegetable non grata for a long time, right?), I put off making them.  It seemed everything was being thrown into the oven with olive oil, salt and pepper. Was there anything you couldn’t cook that way? Brussels sprouts joined in the olive oil-oven fun all over the food world.  I waited. 

(above) This is one of Madeline L Pots’ award winning songs from her CD “Gonna Plant A Garden”.

As a kid, I didn’t like brussels sprouts.  Did anyone?  As a young bride, I occasionally bought a package of frozen ones (just for something different) as there weren’t fresh ones available at the places I shopped.  As time went on, they just disappeared from my repertoire until a few years ago when I began to see them fresh in tiny bags or right on their very own totem poles at Whole Foods. (illustration courtesy Merriam-Webster)

 A few special recipes began to be part of our regular meals as I developed not one, but several ideas for these special tiny lovelies.  (I share a couple of them below- one with potatoes and one without.)  Cooked slowly in a sauté pan, the inherent bitterness dissipates into the air, and the gentle beauty of brussel sprouts begins to shine in their sweet, tender nuttiness.  Carmelization might be the word.  Makes them wine-friendly, too.

Prep:  Try to buy young sprouts; older ones tender toward the bitter side.  Store young, fresh brussels sprouts (yellowed leaves removed if they’re a bit older) for up to two weeks loosely covered in refrigerator.   When ready to cook, wash them well, remove a leaf or two, and trim the stem–not too far up or all the leaves will come off. You can also cut an X into the stem to quicken cooking time and ensure even cooking.  If they’re huge, cut them in half.   There’s a video for everything and here’s one about cleaning brussels sprouts since I know you have nothing else to do today:
 .

Now that you know all about them, try this:

PAN-ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS with New Potatoes and Parmesan 

             2-3 servings
  • 2T olive oil (regular is fine; don’t need extra virgin)
  • 12 fresh brussels sprouts, cleaned, trimmed, cut in 1/2
  • 6 red potatoes- 1/4d if large, left whole if small
  • 1 large onion, peeled and cut into eighths 
  • Kosher Salt, freshly-ground pepper, pinch of crushed red pepper (or to taste)
  • 1/4 c Parmesan cheese, “grated” in large shards with a potato peeler (skip for vegan version)
  1.  Heat oil  in a 12- inch skillet over medium heat.   Add brussels sprouts, potatoes, and onions.   Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, and add just the pinch of crushed red pepper.   Stirring frequently to avoid burning, but still to brown nicely, cook  for about 10 minutes.
  2.  Add Parmesan to the pan.  Turn heat down to medium-low and cook until vegetables are fairly well-done, but still somewhat crispy. Take care to not burn the Parmesan but  it should be quite brown; some of it will be almost chip like.  This may take another 20 minutes or so, depending on how hot your skillet is.   Taste; re-season if necessary.  Serve hot or at room temperature.
  3. Cool completely before storing well-wrapped leftovers  in refrigerator for 2 days.  
  4. To re-warm,  place in a skillet over medium heat with a tiny bit of olive oil to prevent sticking.  Heat, stirring often, until  hot–about 10 minutes.

Saving the best for last, here’s my pan-roasted brussels sprouts mixed up with only very crispy shards of Parmesan and topped with pumpkin seeds for crunch.   Cooked slowly and thoroughly, the sprouts become a little nutty and the Parmesan turns into something akin to chips.  Scrumptious.  Even if you never wanted to eat brussels sprouts.

 

PAN-ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH PARMESAN AND PUMPKIN SEEDS
  • 12 fresh brussel sprouts, cleaned and trimmed (Take l layer of leaves off,  cut off bottom tiny core) and cut in half
  • 2T olive oil
  • 1/4 c Parmesan cheese, “grated” in long pieces with a potato peeler
  • 1/4 c pumpkin seeds
  • Kosher Salt and freshly-ground pepper
In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat and add brussels sprouts. Stirring frequently to avoid burning, but still to brown nicely, cook brussels sprouts for about 10 minutes. Add parmesan and pumpkin seeds. Turn down heat to medium-low and cook until sprouts are fairly well-done, but still somewhat crispy. Take care to not burn the parmesan; it should be quite brown. Salt and pepper well.   Serve  hot.  Follow storage and re-heating instructions above.
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I’ve served these brussels sprouts for many occasions, but particularly like them for my fast Thanksgiving dinner.
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 everything you didn’t want to know about brussel sprouts
courtesy brusselsprouts.com:

Brussels sprouts, or Brassica oleracea gemmifera, are related to other better-known vegetables in the Brassica genus like broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. They are part of the cruciferaeor mustard family, so known because of a four-part flower in the shape of a cross.

HISTORY: Sprouts were believed to have been cultivated in Italy in Roman times, and possibly as early as the 1200s in Belgium. The modern Brussels sprout that we are familiar with was first cultivated in large quantities in Belgium (hence the name “Brussels”sprouts) as early as 1587, with their introduction into the U.S. in the 1800s.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Brussels sprouts are a very good source of many essential vitamins, fiber, and folate. They are especially high in Vitamin C. (Click here to see the nutritional label) They, along with their other cruciferous cousins, have been shown to have some very beneficial effects against certain types of cancer, as they contain many different ingredients that are believed to help prevent the disease 

These recipes originally available on More Time and Dinner Place in separate blogs.
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38 Power Foods is a group effort!   Stop by these other blogs and see what they’re cooking each week as we team up to bring you some of the healthiest cooking available.

Ansh – SpiceRoots.com  
Jill – SaucyCooks 

Sarah – Everything in the Kitchen Sink
Anabanana – adobodownunder.blogspot.com
.
As we go along, I’m guessing we’ll get some other writers involved.  If you’re interested in joining the gang writing each week, get in touch with Mireya from My Healthy Eating Habits:  Mireya@MyHealthyEatingHabits.com

Sing a new song; cook a new brussels sprout,
Alyce

two-dog kitchen and around the ‘hood

Miss Gab watching Ina with me.

Lovey-Dovey

 I’m busy developing and testing recipes for the soup cookbook.  This week, I’m working on
Pozole (Mexican stew–mine’s made with pork tenderloin, corn, and hominy) and  Tom Kha Kai (coconut/chicken from Thailand).  I’m finding the most difficult part is figuring out how this whole thing goes from a Word doc (actually becomes a pdf first) to the 6×9, 100  printed page.
How can I be sure that the pagination makes sense or that recipes are on one page?  Or that the margins are accurate?  Did I consistently use “t” or “tsp” for teaspoon?  You get the picture!  Slowly, I’m starting to see how it works.  I have a bunch of home-testers cooking away.  If you have a testing recipe and I haven’t heard from you, I’m looking forward to a response pretty soon.  Test on!

It’s NW blueberry time; I’m eating all I can get and freezing the rest.

You can see how easy it is to move around my kitchen.

In Colorado, we have time for movies with the grandkid.  Thanks, God.

Just for grin and giggles, I made homemade mayonnaise for a dressing for a steak and fresh potato chip salad.  Dear.

  That’s all she wrote.

38 Power Foods, Week 6 — Broccoli — Broccoli Soup with Toasted Brie

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When my kids were growing up, they all loved broccoli.  Pretty unusual.   One of them adored spinach and one of them always wanted pickles, but all of them would eat broccoli.   So broccoli it was.  A lot. To this day, when our youngest, Emily, is home from grad school, she asks for Chicken-Broccoli Casserole (a quick Chicken Divan known as “Government Girl Casserole” around the D.C area) and I don’t have to look for a recipe.


You get the picture:  I seldom make broccoli anymore.  Being a healthy (see below for nutrition information) and relatively inexpensive cruciferous ( a family of plants which have four petals arranged like the arms of a cross, as the mustard, radish, turnip, etc.) vegetable, I know I’d like to buy it more, but some days I just can’t.  I have fallen in love with broccolini (a cross between broccoli and Chinese broccoli) and often sauté it with large shards of Parmesan until the cheese is a golden, crispy chip-like accompaniment.  The Parm-crusted broccolini is then laid gently atop greens and tiny tomatoes with a bit of lemon, black pepper, and olive oil for a filling main-course salad.

Working on the soup cookbook for the past two months (I got an ISBN number yesterday..AHHH!!) has been one of the most positive, annoying, interesting, and P-Offing of all my cooking experiences.  Somehow, the first soup I worked on (can’t remember why) was broccoli.   Too funny.   Maybe I had a plethora in the vegetable bin for some terribly odd reason; I don’t know.  Maybe it was on sale.  Whatever; that soup is out to a couple of testers now, but I’ll share it here with you.  I’ve made it  several times shall we say.    If you make it, I’d enjoy knowing how your soup turned out.   Read this carefully as we’re in the middle of a wretchedly hot summer in the U.S. (unless you’re an Australian or Scot reader):

This soup is luscious hot or cold.  The cold version is served differently:  instead of the brie toasting on top, you put a spoonful of peppered (or you could use lemon peel) yogurt down in the middle of the soup as a surprise to your table mates.  Being sure ahead of time, naturally, everyone eats dairy.  To serve cold, make it early in the morning before the heat of the day claims your kitchen.  Let cool and refrigerate covered until dinnertime.  

Shopping note:  Fine French brie is an expensive, highly caloric treat.  While I’m crazy about it,  I wouldn’t necessarily use it in this soup, though of course you can if you like. (I like my French brie as is.)  Domestic brie, often made in the great state of Wisconsin, is sold for a great deal less and is fine here.  The Whole Foods in St. Paul, for example, sells a good-sized wedge for $2.99–a sale price, but it’s often on sale.  I haven’t checked the Colorado Springs Whole Foods for its availability.  Anyway….

Try the little preview from my soup book and have fun!

 

 

This soup is warm and filling without being heavy.  Made with puréedbroccoli and other vegetables, it appears to be a cream soup, but contains no cream. Topped with a slice of brie and slipped under the broiler for a few minutes until toasty, it’s a perfect lunch for guests arriving midday.  Ladled into tiny bowls or cups, hot or cold, it’s a first course for a birthday dinner with the surprise of a tiny spoonful of peppered Greek yogurt hidden in the middle.  While it may take a few minutes past the 30-minute mark, it’s worth it!

Still working on getting a good picture!

Broccoli Soup with Toasted Brie         4-6 servings

  • ·        2 quarts low-salt chicken stock**, heated in microwave or on stove
  • ·        2 tablespoon olive oil
  • ·        Crushed red pepper, fresh ground black pepper, and kosher salt
  • ·        2 garlic cloves (one left whole to flavor oil and one chopped for the soup)
  • ·        1 medium onion, peeled, trimmed, and cut into eighths
  • ·        3 stalks celery, trimmed, and cut into 2” pieces
  • ·        2 carrots,  trimmed, and cut into 1” pieces
  • ·        ½ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
  • ·        1½ teaspoon herbes de Provence (or a mix of dried basil, thyme and rosemary)
  • ·        5 cups fresh broccoli, trimmed well, and chopped finely*
  • ·        Hot sauce, 4-6 drops, or to taste
  • ·        Zest and juice of one lemon
  • ·        6 1-oz slices of Brie
1.     Heat the chicken stock in the microwave or on the stove. (I like an 8-cup Pyrex measuring cup for the microwave.)
2.     Place the chopped garlic clove, onion, celery, and carrots into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until chopped coarsely. (Or chop by hand.) 
3.     In an 8-qt stock pot over medium heat, sauté a pinch each of the pepper and salt along with the other whole garlic clove for one minute.  Add the chopped vegetables, stir, and cook covered about five minutes until beginning to soften.
4.     Meantime, preheat the oven broiler.
5.     Add the broccoli, hot stock, hot sauce, ½ t each kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, and lemon zest and juice to the stockpot. Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat a bit, cover, and cook until broccoli is tender, about 10 minutes. Stir once or twice.  Using an immersion blender (or process in batches in food processor), puree the soup.  Taste and adjust seasonings.
6.     Ladle soup into broiler-safe bowls and top each with a piece of Brie cheese.  Place bowls on baking sheet about 4 inches under broiler and broil 3-5 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned. (You could also bake this soup at 350 degrees F for several minutes if you do not have broiler-safe bowls.  Alternately, simply place the cheese in the bottom of the bowl, ladle soup on top, and let sit a couple of minutes to melt cheese.)     
  7.   Serve hot or let cool, chill covered in refrigerator, and serve cold with a surprise small spoonful of peppered plain Greek yogurt hidden in the middle of each bowl.
*You could also use leftover cooked broccoli here to hasten cooking.
**Use vegetable stock for vegetarian option
Accompaniments:   Midsummer, a small plate of ripe tomatoes and peppered cottage cheese with crackers for lunch.   Add a salad and grilled salt and pepper baguette for supper anytime of the year.
Wine:  I like a California Chardonnay with this soup, but a French Sauvignon Blanc with its grassy nose would also work.
Dessert:  Blueberries and a spoonful of lemon ice cream or sorbet.

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a few facts about raw broccoli

According to the USDA Nutrient Database, a standard 100 g serving of raw broccoli has 34 calories with .37 g fat, 1.70 g sugars, 6.64 g carbohydrates, 2.6 g dietary fiber and 2.82 g protein. Broccoli also contributes greatly to your daily vitamin and mineral requirements. For example, raw broccoli delivers 89.2 g of vitamin C, which equates to 149 percent of your daily allowance. In its raw state, broccoli provides 9 percent of your daily requirement of potassium and 12 percent vitamin A.

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Every Friday for the foreseeable future, I’ll be blogging one of the 38 healthiest ingredients from POWER FOODS : 150 DELICIOUS RECIPES WITH THE 38 HEALTHIEST INGREDIENTS by the editors of Whole Living Magazine.

38 Power Foods is a group effort!   Stop by these other blogs and see what they’re cooking each week as we team up to bring you some of the healthiest cooking available.

Jill – SaucyCooks 

Sarah – Everything in the Kitchen Sink
Anabanana – adobodownunder.blogspot.com
.
As we go along, I’m guessing we’ll get some other writers involved.  If you’re interested in joining the gang writing each week, get in touch with Mireya from My Healthy Eating Habits:  Mireya@MyHealthyEatingHabits.com

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in memoriam
 \
One of my great cooking heroes, Marion Cunningham, is now cooking in that great perfect kitchen where the Tupperware bowls and lids all match and the whole world comes to the table in peace to ease their hunger….  Read my tribute to Marion on the Dinner Place Blog.

 

Bannocks- a simple, flat, oaty, crispy Scottish cracker-bread..from Marion’s BREAKFAST BOOK

Sing a new song; cook something of Marion’s,
Alyce

 

38 Power Foods — Green Peppers — Alyce’s Ratatouille

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IMG_0692

Ah, summer.  Here’s my favorite use for green peppers.   Right after my mom’s stuffed green peppers, that is.

I loved the movie (Ratatouille).
Also “The Big Night”
And “Babette’s Feast”
Try them.   Food movies.  Ah.

I love the real deal better.   If you become a devoted cook, your world will revolve around the seasons.  Stews in winter.  Apple pie in the fall.  Berries in the spring.  And…
High summer: Tons of vegetables at their peak.

Continue reading →

38 Power Foods, Week 3 — Avocado– Chicken-Guacamole Salad

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                                                                     Chicken-Guacamole Salad with a Big Squeeze of Fresh Lime… 

If you live in the part of world where it’s summer, this is your dinner.  Because it’s just too hot to cook nearly anything.  Grill up a few chicken breasts at a time and you’ll have plenty for this meal and tomorrow’s, too.  (Chicken tacos?  Chicken salad sandwiches?)  This guacamole couldn’t be better or easier:  chop up a simple pico de gallo and stir it into avocados.  Some cut-up or sliced chicken, greens, some lime?  You’re already eating.   Buy your avocados a couple of days ahead and let them ripen on the counter or in a paper bag if your grocery doesn’t carry ripe avocados.   Try this:



  
chicken-guacamole salad                             3-4 servings

  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped roughly, divided
  • 1/2 cup fresh green pepper, chopped in 1/2″ pieces
  • 1/4 cup red sweet pepper, chopped in 1/2 ” pieces
  • 1/2 jalapeño, minus seeds and veins, very finely minced (for more heat, use the whole pepper)
  • 1/4 cup red onion, minced
  • 1 cup roughly chopped tomatoes
  • 2 ripe avocados,  peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped
  • 1 cup cooked rice seasoned with a light sprinkle of salt and pepper
  • Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
  • 1 Lime, cut in half  (Cut one of the halves into slices)
  • 2 chicken breasts, grilled and chopped
  • 2 cups baby spinach leaves
  • 1/2 cup sharp cheddar grated

Mix cilantro through tomatoes in a large bowl, reserving 2 T cilantro.  Stir in avocados.   Mix the reserved 2 T cilantro into the cooked rice and add the rice to the guacamole salad. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning. Squeeze half of the lime over the salad. Add chopped chicken breasts and spinach and stir gently. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve mounded, with a piece of lime on each plate to use at table.

Cook’s Notes: Don’t even have the energy to chop, stir, or cook?  Buy a roasted deli chicken and pre-made guac for an even easier meal.  Many shops now sell freshly-made pico de gallo or salsa.  The packages of microwave rice would work well for this dinner and would cut both time and kitchen heat.

Wine?  Not.  It’s time for a margarita or a beer.  (Ok,  Sangria,  Riesling or an Oregon Pinot Blanc if you have to have wine.) 

Dessert?  Lemon sorbet. 

about avocados from the California avocado commission

                                                                                                                                                                                         courtesy ca avocado commission

Calories, yes.  Cholesterol, no.

Avocados provide nearly 20 essential nutrients, including fiber, potassium, Vitamin E, B-vitamins and folic acid. They also act as a “nutrient booster” by enabling the body to absorb more fat-soluble nutrients, such as alpha and beta-carotene and lutein, in foods that are eaten with the fruit.

Avocados and Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, but a healthy diet and exercise plan may help reduce your risk of developing the life-threatening illness.
The American Heart Association (AHA) Dietary Guidelines recommend a diet that has at least five servings of fruits and vegetables, contains up to 30% of calories from fats (primarily unsaturated) and is low in saturated fat, cholesterol, trans fats and sodium while being rich in potassium. Avocados can help you meet the AHA dietary guidelines because they have both monosaturated and polyunsaturated fat and contain potassium.

 

  Want more avocado recipes?

If you liked this, you might like other avocado recipes like  Shrimp Cobb from More Time at the Table

or

Pico de Gallo Halibut on Warm Rice Salad with Bacon Pintos from More Time at the Table

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Every Friday for the foreseeable future, I’ll be blogging one of the 38 healthiest ingredients from POWER FOODS : 150 DELICIOUS RECIPES WITH THE 38 HEALTHIEST INGREDIENTS by the editors of Whole Living Magazine. 

38 Power Foods is a group effort!   Stop by these other blogs and see what they’re cooking each week as we team up to bring you some of the healthiest cooking available:

Jill – SaucyCooks 

Sarah – Everything in the Kitchen Sink
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As we go along, I’m guessing we’ll get some other writers involved.  If you’re interested in joining the gang writing each week, get in touch with Mireya from My Healthy Eating Habits:  Mireya@MyHealthyEatingHabits.com

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two-dog kitchen and around the ‘hood
  first three taken with my iphone

Sweet Peas next door in front yard
My hydrangeas from the west garden
South garden hostas in bloom

 

All the toys are mine, you see.  Right?

 

Sing a new song,
Alyce

38 Power Foods, Week 2 — Asparagus — Asparagus Soup

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Alyce’s Asparagus Soup a la Silver Palate

Every Friday for the foreseeable future, I’ll be blogging one of the 38 healthiest ingredients from POWER FOODS : 150 DELICIOUS RECIPES WITH THE 38 HEALTHIEST INGREDIENTS by the editors of Whole Living Magazine. 

38 Power Foods is a group effort!   Stop by these other blogs and see what they’re cooking each week as we team up to bring you some of the healthiest cooking available: 

Ansh – SpiceRoots.com  
Jill – SaucyCooks 

Sarah – Everything in the Kitchen Sink
.
As we go along, I’m guessing we’ll get some other writers involved.  If you’re interested in joining the gang writing each week, get in touch with Mireya from My Healthy Eating Habits:  Mireya@MyHealthyEatingHabits.com
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Read me regularly and you know asparagus is just about my favorite vegetable.  Maybe zucchini is first; I don’t know.  But I cook asparagus at the drop of a hat.  In lots of ways.  Here’s one of my favorite recipes, worth buying some gorgeous tiny bowls for (think antique store) so you can make this as a first-course.  I first made Asparagus Soup as a starter for the lunch celebrating my daughter’s baptism, and have been making it ever since.

alyce’s asparagus soup a la silver palate
   4 main course servings         6-8 first course servings

  • 1 1/2 medium onions, chopped coarsely
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 2T butter or olive oil
  • Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • 6T fresh tarragon (or 2t dry), divided
  • 1/4 c fresh parsley, chopped
  • 2# asparagus, trimmed well and chopped
  • 1 1/2-2 quarts chicken broth, unsalted*
  •  3 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 stalk celery with leaves, chopped
  • 4-6 drops hot sauce (I like Tabasco.)
  • 1/4 c low-fat sour cream*
  • Lemon rind
In  6qt stockpot, heat butter or oil over medium-low and add chopped onions and shallot. Saute about 10 minutes until softened; add garlic.  Cook another 5 minutes or until vegetables are very soft.  Add salt, pepper, tarragon, parsley, and asparagus.  Let flavors marry by cooking a minute or two, stirring and smelling as you go.  Oh, tarragon.
Pour in 1 1/2 qts chicken stock and add the carrots and celery.  Add the Tabasco carefully.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer 40 minutes or so until all the vegetables are very tender indeed.  As it cooks, add more broth if it seems too thick.   Taste and adjust seasonings. 
 Carefully puree in batches in blender (hold down top with a big towel) or in the food processor.   You can use an immersion blender if you have one, of course.
Pour back into pan and serve hot or let cool and chill to serve cold.  Top with a spoonful of sour cream, a sprinkle of tarragon, and a grate or two of fresh lemon rind.
*For a vegan version, use vegetable broth and leave out sour cream
If you live in St. Paul, my tarragon is right off my back porch in a whiskey barrel; you’re welcome to pick some.
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about asparagus   
                                                                                                             A. Morgan
  Asparagus is the leading supplier among vegetables of folic acid. A 5.3 ounce serving provides 60% of the recommended daily allowance for folacin which is necessary for blood cell formation, growth, and prevention of liver disease. Folacin has been shown to play a significant role in the prevention of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, that cause paralysis and death in 2,500 babies each year.

Its wealth of nutrients, fiber and very low sodium and calorie content make asparagus a nutritionally wise choice for today’s health-conscious consumer.

Asparagus is:

  • Low in calories, only 20 per 5.3 oz. serving, less than 4 calories per spear.
  • Contains no fat or cholesterol.
  • Very low in sodium.
  • A good source of potassium.(1)
  • A source of fiber (3 grams per 5.3 oz. serving). (2)
  • An excellent source of folacin. (3)
  • A significant source of thiamin. (4)
  • A significant source of vitamin B6. (4)
  • One of the richest sources of rutin, a compound which strengthens capillary walls.
  • Contains glutathione (GSH). (5)  
  • nutrition info:  courtesy asparagus.org
other new projects – phew!
Here’s my fast Clam Chowder.  Should it go in the new book???
I’m SO excited:  I’m just starting to write a small cookbook called 30 Soups in 30 Minutes, and would enjoy some ideas you might have about what soups you’d like to know how to make quickly–or which soups from either blog you particularly like.   There’ll also be some simple accompaniments for the soups, wine pairings, and a few tiny (read instant) desserts.  It looks like I’ll be publishing through amazon on Create Space and then on to  Kindle.  Thoughts?  Anyone done this before?  I have July and August to work hard on it; I’m not directing a choir and only have some lessons and a seminar to teach.  If you’d like to test any soup recipes, let me know; I need testers.  The first recipe, Broccoli Soup with Toasted Brie, is ready for testing.   Someone once wanted to do wine pairings for this book.  Still up for it?!   I’m so grateful to each of you for your support over the last three years (or more) and can’t wait to show you the book!  Now that I’ve put it out on the blog, I’m gonna have to come through, eh?  Sounding real.
Sing a new song; cook a new soup,
Alyce

50 Women Game-Changers in Food – #50 – Julie Powell – Poached Eggs

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Poached Eggs:  They’re not just for breakfast anymore.   Alyce’s  Poached Egg Chef’s Salad

If you saw the movie “Julie and Julia,” you’ll know Julie Powell didn’t like eggs.  While working her way through Julia Child’s Mastering The Art of French Cooking, Volume I in one year, Julie one day had to wake up and smell the eggs.  Yuck.  Something she never cooked.  But eggs were on the list and eggs are what she finally did fix.  And liked.  Who knew?

To begin with, Julie was a young married woman in NYC with a job that was stressful.   She needed more.  She loved to cook.  What else to do but to cook all of Julia Child’s recipes from The Art of French Cooking in a year and blog about it?  The original blog (2002-3?) is still online if you’d like to peruse it; blogs have changed immeasurably since then.  I actually did read it once upon a time…  If you’d like to read quite a bit of it all at once, you can still order the book, Julie & Julia .  As you more than likely are aware, the book became a very popular movie of the same name (2009) that taught everyone I know about  food bloggers.  I no longer ever have to explain what I do with my free (insert eye roll) time; people just say, “Oh, like Julie in Julie and Julia.”  I just nod my head, “Yes.”  What more can I say? She did change our world.  No doubt at all.  I don’t know how many food bloggers there were in 2005 versus 2012, but a current figure  (wrong/right?)  is over 11,000 in the United States alone.  Smile.

As far as poached eggs go, I’m a fan.  I often blog them:

Egg Salad #2

Alyce’s Asparagus-Mushroom Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette and Poached Egg #3
Poached Eggs on Grilled Cheese Tomatoes–one of my favorite breakfasts
After the cut.

Don’t know how to poach eggs or are scared?  Ah, gwahhn.  Heat up some water and let those eggs slip naked into the hot tub.   There are ways to make them more perfect, but here’s the easy lesson I posted in my Dinner Place blog, which is all about cooking for one person: 


Alyce’s Method for Poaching Eggs:

1. In a deeper small skillet or saucepan, heat 3″ water to boiling.  Turn down the heat to simmer and add a small splash of white vinegar (1 tsp) if you have any.  You don’t want a big boil here, the whites will fly all through the water.

2.  Crack one egg into a ramekin or tea cup and tip the egg slowly and gently into the water, holding the cup in place for a couple of seconds as the egg begins to set.  Repeat with second egg a certain distance away so that the whites, if possible, aren’t touching.  Either let simmer for 3 minutes or so (occasionally spooning hot water over yolk if you like)  or, alternately, turn heat off and cover tightly for 3-5 minutes, depending on how set you like your eggs.  3 for runny yolks, 5 for firm.  Approximately.

Not perfect, but perfectly edible.  Just add salsa.
I like my eggs “eye ball” set (haven’t drawn hot water over tops) and quite runny — often for salad dressing or part of anyway.   Most people want the yolk completely masked–above.

3.  Remove each egg from its bath using a slotted spoon or spatula and tap the spatula gently on a towel or paper towel to remove excess water before sliding the egg onto the plate.

4.  Season well with salt and pepper.   Eat immediately.

A couple of tips:  Room temperature eggs crack more easily than cold eggs; you have less chance of shell fragments.  Also:  crack  your eggs on a flat surface, not on the edge of the pan.  You can also buy egg poachers (metal cups with long handles on legs) or silicone poachers for the microwave.  I’ve never tried either gizmo, so let me know if you like them.

Here’s my equipment:

 
And, of course, tasty eggs–all sizes!

We can raise chickens right in the city here in St. Paul.  These are from Cathy Velasquez-Eberhart and her ladies.

Here’s my copy–a first edition even.

Julia’s Method

 Notice that Julia Child was always “Julia Child” until the movie came out.  Now she’s just Julia.  Kind of like Just Joan. (“Jewel of the Nile” l985–Kathleen Turner)  Well, maybe not!

Just for grins, I’m going to look up Julia’s instructions. Hold on.  Whoa.  This is all coming back to me.  If you’ve the book (Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I), it’s on pages 116-117.  Yes, it’s two pages of instructions that you’re welcome to.  I make my instructions short and simple; you’ll learn technique and improve your eggs over time IF you’re a beginning cook or even an accomplished cook who hasn’t made poached eggs.  Not that my technique is better (cough cough), but while I’m wordy, I’m not quite as wordy as Julia—usually. 

One biggy is that even Julia admits you might want to make a 6 minute (boiled) egg instead of poached.  (Not likely for me.)  She also wants you to use fresh eggs, which are worth hunting for.  Check out your Farmer’s Market if you can’t find eggs any other way.  You can then set up a schedule to buy eggs from that person throughout the year.  I trade things for my eggs–things like baked cookies, granola, homemade ice cream sauces, etc.  You could try trading a service even.  Often, however, the eggs are no more expensive than quality eggs from the store.

One thing Julia writes is that if you need to keep the eggs for any length of time, place the cooked eggs in ice water.  You can store them in the frig like that.  Later, to heat them, slide them into salted hot water for 30 seconds. This is perfect if you’d like to have some friends for Sunday brunch.  You fix your poached eggs on Saturday, and do the hollandaise and English muffins (oven) on Sunday.
Or what if you’d like to do a few eggs for yourself for weekday breakfasts?  Do them Sunday afternoon and eat them Monday-Tuesday.

A Couple of Thoughts About Eggs 

We eat a lot of eggs and while they have a bad rap for cholesterol, so far we have no problems as we ease on toward 59.  I encourage young or new cooks to make eggs.  They are easy, fast, accessible, and inexpensive protein.   They store well.  They travel beautifully (if boiled.)  You can do all kinds of things with them!  In two minutes flat, you have an omelet and you can put nearly anything in the frig or pantry into it.  In twenty, you’ve cooked a dozen, boiling, and you  have lunches for work done.  Go eggs.

Want more about Julie Powell?

Watch a great video of Jacques Pepin and Julia Child poaching eggs together.  Julia uses the metal egg poacher with the long handle!  HA HA!!
Read Amanda Hesser’s 2003 NYT article about Julie Powell’s “web log or ‘blog'”
NYT 2009 updated article on Powell
Julie’s 2010 blog
Wiki biography
Time Magazine, 2010–Julie becomes a butcher.

~

With this post,  I give a low bow and fine thanks to our great group of bloggers writing about Gourmet Live’s 50 Women Game-Changers in Food as we come to the tail end of our project.  A few folks will write another post summing up the whole 50 or writing about someone spectacular who didn’t make the list (Marion Cunningham for me), but mostly this is our last hurrah.    I joined the group late, but have enjoyed all of my experience and am thankful for all of the learning, camaraderie, and fun…  Please take time to visit the other fine bloggers and see what they made for “Julie” week — or any other week, for that matter.

THANK YOU, LADIES:

Val – More Than Burnt Toast, Taryn – Have Kitchen Will Feed, Susan – The Spice Garden
Heather – girlichef, Miranda – Mangoes and Chutney, Amrita -Beetle’s Kitchen Escapades ,

Linda A – There and Back Again, Nancy – Picadillo, Mireya – My Healthy Eating Habits
Veronica – My Catholic Kitchen, Annie – Most Lovely Things, Jeanette – Healthy Living
Claudia – Journey of an Italian Cook, Alyce – More Time at the Table
Kathy – Bakeaway with Me, Martha – Simple Nourished Living, Jill – Saucy Cooks
Sara – Everything in the Kitchen Sink

Several of us plan to begin another blogging venture (though I’m about to put the blog on vacation and join up a little later) featuring the 38 healthiest foods featured in 


Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients by The Editors of Whole Living Magazine (Dec 28, 2010)

I hope you’ll join us!

Sing a new song and poach a new egg,
Alyce