"Lemony Fresh"

still life
8x10
oil

Snow @ the beach!

Enjoy the following Hipstamatics from my friend Glen at Specialty Color Services

 

Found this one somewhere on the interweb (probably facebook?)

Great pics (not mine, random interweb findings)

German food - German inspiration!

The following dinner was inspired by these two questions: "What is in the fridge that will rot by the end of the week?" and "How can I make more space in my cupboard?"

German culture food

.....because nothing was left in the fridge :)
This German-inspired dinner is dedicated to my friend Ina, in Hamburg.

German food - ingredient list

Here are the critical foodstuffs that framed my decision for tonight's meal:
-1 lb of Buffalo chuck roast (had been defrosting in fridge for 4 days)
-Fresh, green thyme that had been sitting in a moist paper towel for a week
-a misplaced box of spaetzle (b/c the "correct" shelf is currently full)
-a bag of celery that only has a few days left
-A packet of Sweinebraten mix (there are too many packets of German food mixes on the spice rack-which by the way, is the same gift from you, Steph!)
-leftover scallions from last night's dinner

Typical German food

Sweinebraten is a German pork roast, however my parents gave me a ton of buffalo (and it's taking up half the freezer) so I'm making a buffalo roast. HERE GOES!

German Food - Schweinebraten

Brown 2 spoonfuls of scallions in garlic-olive oil, in my Le Creuset dutch oven on med-low. Sprinkle some garlic on the meat-brown both sides & remove from heat. Add 1.5 cups of water (per packet mix instructions). NOW: Since this aint no pork dish, I'll add a spoonful of beef broth for flavor. And heck, even a bay leaf. Stir stir stir, bring to boil.... aha!

Add browned meat to pot. NOW: the husband is a big fan of vegetables. So, like ye olde pot roast I'm going to put in some vegetables! In goes chopped celery, and chopped carrots for kicks. (Avoiding potatoes b/c the accompanying side dish is quite evil...)

Now for some extra flavor: gotta get rid of this thyme! In it goes. Hey, we have a rosemary hedge outside and some fresh parsely.... (If you know my husband, he can't pass up anything rosemary). SO in it all goes.

Add packet of Sweinebraten mix-stir stir stir... let's cook this for 45 min. or so on med-low.

German food - Spaetzle

Spaetzle is cooked like gnocchi: in salt water or broth. Yours truly chose salt water.

Drain out spaetzle into baking dish and reserve 1/8 cup of "pasta water" in pot-. Add the rest of the scallions to "pasta water", added some coursely ground peppercorns for flavor. boil for a minute. Add to spaetzle in the dish- stir it all around really well.

Grate gouda cheese- sprinkle all cheese onto spaetzle & scallions. Add panko bread crumbs to the top. (mine were 'plain'- so I threw on a bit of italian herb spice for flavor). Cook on 375 for 25 minutes. You won't regret it.

German food - the verdicts:

Meat gravy turned out fantastically thick and flavorful.
Gravy goes especially well with spaetzle.

Spaetzle with gouda cheese is freaking awesome.

2 green dinners: >20 minutes, >$20

That's salmon- it came in a frozen packet pre-marinated. Toppings are tomatoes, onions, mangos, a few interesting things. Grill pan on Med-Low: no longer than 15minutes!

Greens- broccolini & spinach.
Add olive oil (enough to coat the pan), add 1 teaspoon of chopped scallions, brown.
Add broccolini ,cook/stir around 5 minutes on med.
Add spinach cook for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth, cook for 5.
Garnish with parmesan cheese


brown basmati rice- cook in rice cooker until done. Garnish with TJ's 21 Seasoning Salute

Saute steak-seasoned (sliced) chicken breast in a wok
Add dried garlic, cumin.
Add vegetables of choice: today's choices include Chop Suey, broccoli & carrot slices.
(i.e., whatever I could find in the fridge that was green)
Cook on med-low.
Add sauce: 1 cup chix broth, 2 juiced key limes, 1 tsp cornstarch & a few drops of soy sauce
bring to boil let simmer for no longer than 10 minutes.

And if your man gives you lip always remember:

Good night!! ;)

Too much basil & frozen fish.....?

Yep- what's a girl to do... Found a bag of Rockfish in the back of the freezer, and the fresh basil from Nana's backyard is slowly turning brown (that'll happen when she sends close to a pound of it...!)

Hello Tagine, it's time to get creative:
juiced two lemons (Thank you 4th mother)
halved 6 key limes (Thank you Grandma J)
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 teaspon of red chili flakes
6 whole garlic cloves
as much fresh basil as possible (Thank you Nana)
the frozen fish we're trying to get rid of...! Place in Tagine....


Now, this is fish, so let's cook this for no longer than 30 min. on 'simmer'. (lest it dry out)

Oh yeah, forgot about the 2 baby bok choys that are starting to wilt. Hello, Kasha Pilaf:

used a bag of steamable broccoli & carrots (diced), added cut up bok choy
cook broccoli and carrots until good and sauteed
add 2 cups chix broth, cook for 1 min
add 1 cup kasha
put bok choy on top
Cook for 20 min on low (follow box directions)

NOTE: don't let Kasha undercook, lest it turn into mush; don't overcook it either, lest it turn into popcorn.

Tagine Recipe - lemon basil garlic chicken

Tagine recipe - a burst of flavor baking can never deliver!

Thanks to the Tagine I never bake- it's just not necessary with such an amazing device, especially when I've got frozen solid poultry that we're somehow supposed to eat within the next hour. In fact, frozen chicken comes out even better with this bad boy- no need to defrost!

Show all

Chicken tagine recipe

Tonight's dinner was a succulent Lemon-Basil-Garlic Chicken.

Requirements:

1 tagine

2 lemons from a tree (not the kind that go 'poof' when you cut them)

5 whole cloves of garlic

a shit-ton of fresh basil (OR, 4 sprigs fresh rosemary)

2 chicken breasts (preferably frozen!)

optional: 1/4 cup olive oil

How to do it:

squeeze/juice your lemons

add all the basil (or rosemary), creating a "bed" for chicken to cook on top of

add chicken. bury garlic in there somewhere.

cook on 'low' for 1 hour.

The best part: remove chicken from tagine. take your immersion blender, and blend everything together, creating a 'gravy' or 'dip'. Use as a side-dip for your chicken (or top off on chicken)

Some favorite side dishes include:

Steamed Spinach (4 cups of spinach steamed in 1 cup of chicken broth is awesome, and good for 2 people)

Seasoned garlic potatoes: 2 totally diced up GOLD potatoes; olive oil, garlic salt & dried herb (either basil or rosemary, whichever you didn't use above) & COAT potatoes-shake in ziploc bag or toss in bowl- cook on foil lined cookie sheet in oven or toaster oven, at 425 for 20 minutes (or until golden color).

A family favorite.