FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

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.

Lazy Pants Pizza

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Tonight had potential for serious derailment.  I think most Thursdays do.  You spend all week working, dieting, deadlining, exercising, erranding – by Thursday you’re pooped!

I was so close to ordering take-out, but somewhere during the crazy amounts of rationalizing going on in my head, I thought of a quick compromise.  Hooray for pizza!

Lazy Pants Pizza:
– Sprouted Wheat Toast
– Baby Spinach
– Tomato Sauce
– Mozzarella Cheese
– Garlic Powder

While sprouted wheat bread is toasting, heat tomato sauce in the microwave for a minute.  Stir spinach leaves in the tomato sauce and microwave for an additional minute.  Spread tomato sauce on sprouted wheat toast, sprinkle with garlic powder, and cover with cheese.  Toast until golden.

Mid-Day Escape

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I am fortunate to be able to come home daily for lunch.  Most of the time, I re-heat my leftovers from the previous night.  But with spring creeping in, I was in the mood for something fresh.

I’ve had this sandwich in the back on my mind since hitting up the airport Starbucks a couple weeks back.  Don’t get me wrong, theirs was good, but I knew I could bedazzle it and make it mine.  I subbed sprouted wheat toast, nitrate-free turkey, baby spinach, honey mustard vinaigrette, and goat cheese.  So…  I modified pretty much everything but the cuke.  It’s a safe bet that I’ll be eating this exact sandwich for lunch this week until I’m forced to make the vegetarian version because I’ve run out of turkey.

To satisfy my dessert tummy, which on a rare occasion is full, I ate the leftover “Avocado Chocolate Mousse” from last night’s feast.

Great Expectations

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Regarding food, my passion has always been in the known.  If I like a certain restaurant plate, I’ll order it every time.  If I’ve already found enjoyment in a recipe, I’ll serve it to a guest.  I’ve even gone as far as knowing every restaurant I’ll attend while on vacation, and knowing what I’ll order when I get there.  Twenty ten will be different.

Mid-February may be a bit late for a new year’s resolution, but it’s not too late.  After all, what would be the point in setting a pointless goal?  So this year I plan on being adventurous in my kitchen and your table alike.
Being vocally un-fond of tomatoes and having a newly acquired love of mushrooms, sundried tomatoes and portobellos have rarely, if ever, found a spot in my kitchen.  But tonight I was determined to venture recipe free in unchartered vegetable territory.  And I did.  But my spinach, sundried tomato, and goat cheese stuffed portobello creation was like earning a “B” on your report card – it was good, probably acceptable to others, but you know you can do better.
I know this dish has potential and will let you know when I’ve come up with “A” material!