FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Beautifood

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Tonight’s meal inspiration stemmed from an article that was sent to me a while back entitled ’10 Ways to Eat Yourself Gorgeous’.  The article was shelved and I’m not certain why.  But from this point forward, food brain-block or not, I will be referencing it quite often.

My plate consisted of broiled salmon brushed with olive oil and fresh dill and boiled artichoke with dill garlic butter for dipping.  The salmon/artichoke combo created a dish rich in Omega 3 Fatty Acids, Protein, Vitamins B/C/D, Magnesium, Folic Acid, and Biotin.  And chances are, if the last sentence bored you, you’re in dire need of a meal like this!

I am beyond pleased.  So pleased, in fact, that I am immodestly giving myself the highest rank on every scale – A+, 5 stars, all 10’s.

Spaghetti? Sort Of…

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A few weeks ago, a friend suggested a spaghetti squash recipe she made post kicking butt at the Boston Marathon.  I raided her leftovers and knew I’d give it a shot.

After a weekend of birthday/mother’s day glutton, I was craving something veggieful.  And subbing a meal’s primary starch with a veggie?  Well, that sounded right about where I wanted to be.  I scribbled down the ingredients and B-lined it to the market on my way home from the office.

My excitement for the recipe grew as I realized my basket was only lacking two ingredients and I hadn’t yet left the produce department.  And feta and kalamatas?  I barely had to brush the processed aisles to scoop those up!
This dish was a delightful main course, but could also be served along side a lean meat for a more “complete” meal.

Side Note:  Tastes even better chilled the next day.

Wokin Wontons

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The first blog entry after a brief hiatus better be a good one.  And because of this, the pressure for a blog worthy dish has been rearing its ugly head for entirely too long.  Solution?  A gift from my favorite (and only) uncle.

At first glance, bamboo steamers seem like they could be deceivingly difficult.  Not the case.  Just set atop a wok with shallow boiling water and you’ve got yourself a deal.

And homemade dumplings?  The closest I’ve ever come is plopping a few frozen nuggets in a traditional pot of boiling water.  And even though I’ve always purchased a “natural” brand, their contents have always been a slight mystery.

The following shrimp wonton recipe is heavenly.  They’re fresh, and there’s nothing mystery about them.

– 1/4 to 1/2 lb of cooked shrimp
– 1/2 cup mushrooms (I used baby portobellas)
– 3/4 cup green cabbage
– 1/3 cup green onions
– 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
– 2 teaspoons fresh ginger
– 1 tablespoon Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 1 packet of Nasoya Wonton Wraps
– Ponzu Sauce

Finely chop all of the ingredients up until the ginger.  Use a cheese grater to grate the ginger.  Mix the shrimp, veggies, and soy sauce in a bowl.  Plop a spoonful of the filling in the center of each wonton wrapper.  Wet the edges of the wonton wrappers, fold them, and firmly press the edges together.  Fill a wok with as much water as you can that won’t seep into the bamboo steamer and bring to a boil.  Place the wontons on cabbage leaves on each rack of the bamboo steamer (this will prevent them from sticking to the steamer).  Set the bamboo steamer in the wok and steam wontons for 6 minutes.  Serve with ponzu sauce for dipping.

Flavor a la Low Sodium

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Rice and chicken, chicken and rice.  I’ll eat them, I like them, but if you told me I couldn’t have either again, I wouldn’t be heartbroken.  And since I don’t eat either on the regular, I didn’t mind one bit when tasked with providing a flavorful, low sodium, rice recipe.

I can unbiasedly say that boiled bone-in chicken is highly underrated.  It’s tasty, healthy, and most importantly, hard to mess up.

1 Carrot
2 Celery Stalks
3 Cloves of Garlic
1 lb of Drumsticks
2 Serrano or Jalapeno Peppers (guts removed)
2 Spanish Onions
Boil in Bag Brown Rice
1-2 Handfulls of Long Leaf Spinach
1 Tbsp Earth Balance “butter” or real butter

Chop veggies into big pieces.  Boil water in a large pot and add veggies and drumsticks.  Reduce heat to medium, cover, and boil for 30 minutes.  Remove drumsticks and add rice bag to chicken broth.  Remove skin, cut chicken off the bone, and set aside.  When the rice is finished, remove the rice and veggies with a slatted spoon.  Add spinach leaves to chicken broth until they are wilted and remove.  Strain excess water from spinach leaves.  Mix “butter”, chicken, and rice.  Add seasoning to taste.