June 8: Carrot Soup with Cilantro alongside Brie and Spinach Grilled Cheese

As part of our 5 nights of blog posts resurgence, we chose one of the hottest days of the year to make soup. (Oh well.) We saw a recipe in our weekly produce newsletter for Carrot Soup with Cilantro, and decided it would be delicious with sourdough grilled cheese sandwiches.

I almost ran out of room on this cutting board. Holy carrots.

Chop up a ton of carrots (1 1/2 pounds), then add 1/2 pound of cubed sweet potatoes and one diced apple. We used a Gala apple we had in the house.

Woohoo, beta carotene.

This recipe was our first time using fennel seeds! Toast the fennel seeds in the pan with the heated vegetable oil for about 3 minutes before adding in the other ingredients.

Whatever, people. We were excited.

Then add the carrots, apple and sweet potatoes into the pot and cook for 5 minutes.

Someone (okay, me) was getting a little frantic trying to get the last ingredients (rice, turmeric, vegetable stock and bay leaf) in the pot, and may have caused a bit of a turmeric explosion. You know what stains? Turmeric. Paul had an interesting clean up idea.

I have to admit, it worked. Paper towels made it smeary.

Okay, back to the task at hand. Everything was finally in the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 30 minutes to get all the vegetables to soften.

While the soup cooked, Paul started making the spinach and brie sandwiches. We had gotten some great savoy spinach in the produce box, so we washed and chopped up the leaves.

We lightly buttered slices of sourdough bread, filled with spinach leaves and slices of brie cheese. We toasted these on the stove much like regular grilled cheese sandwiches.

Once the soup was finished cooking, I strained out the vegetables (and the bay leaf, which you throw away) and pureed them in batches in the food processor with a little bit of the broth. The directions said to just use a little bit of broth to puree the vegetables, but I still had quite a bit of broth left over once I finished pureeing everything. I decided to stir in the thickened puree with the remaining broth in the pot, while on a low heat. This helped incorporate the two together. I figured this would make it more soup-like vs. a plain vegetable puree.

Soup!

We topped the soup with a little chopped cilantro.

Do not adjust your television sets. It was really this bright orange.

The small grilled cheese sandwiches also came out nicely.

Crunchy toasted bread with cheese AND a vegetable? Yes, please.

While the soup wasn't the quickest to make, it was pretty easy. Even without cream, it was not too thin. I wasn't a fun of the light brie, and would go for regular brie next time. I did think the spinach leaves gave it a nice touch. I think the soup/sandwich combo will be a part of our easy dinner rotation.

Green Thumbs (Hopefully!)

I'm pulling for you, little parsley buddy.

Paul and I decided to restock our sad and dying herbs. I had over-picked, under-watered, and then (oops) left them to dry out during our 90+ degree hot spell last week. We had like one sad yellowy-green sprig of Italian parsley left (see above), and a very dried out rosemary plant. The basil had long ago kicked the bucket. 

While we were grocery shopping this weekend, we found fresh herbs that could be easily sustained (no potting) and picked up a few more: basil, Italian parsley and some cilantro.

Of course, we got all motivated then -- and decided to buy some tomato plants, plant some garlic, as well as try to "save" the sad Italian parsley and the rosemary. What are we, some sort of horticultural Florence Nightingale? This will be the true test of if we're any good at keeping things alive. 

Our ill-fated tomato plants. 

P.S. I'm already concerned about leaving them when we travel at the beginning of July for a couple days. It's so soon after we got them! Are they going to be okay with out me? Should I have someone come check in on them? Reality check, Christine: they are plants. They cost $2. If they bite it, it'll be okay. Killing plants? Not anything new around here.

June 6: Grilled Lobster Tail with Mediterranean-style Bok Choy

One of the great things that has come from us doing this blog (and by default, talking about it) is that we get great new ideas and cooking advice from our friends and people we meet. Paul had picked up two lobster tails at the grocery store, switching things up a little bit from our regular once a week salmon habit. We just happened to meet up with some friends at Maifest who had experience grilling lobster tails and were able to give us some helpful instructions for preparing and cooking them.

I'm glad Paul was paying attention during that conversation. I was focused on my German beer.

Paul cut open the shells, and pulled them back to reveal the lobster meat inside. Inside one of the lobster tails, there was this weird green stuff. I spent about 20 minutes trying to figure out if I was going to die. In the meantime, Paul was busy washing it off. I think it was the tomalley (the liver). Whatever it was -- I clearly made it to blog another day.

After Paul split open the shell, he basted the meat with melted butter and minced garlic. While Paul cooked the lobster tails on the grill, I started on the side of bok choy, Mediterranean style.

I separated the stems from the leaves, and chopped them both. The stems take a little longer to cook than the leaves, so I put them on a couple minutes ahead.

Bok Choy sauted with a little olive oil.

At the very end of the recipe, you add capers, chopped black olives, and minced garlic and cook for just a few seconds.

We had only half a head of bok choy, so we cut the other ingredients in half as well.

After you turn the heat off the bok choy, you top it with either balsamic vinegar or lemon juice. I went with balsamic vinegar.

Paul cooked the lobster tails on a medium hot grill for 4 - 5 minutes on each side.

Hello, buttery, garlicky goodness.

And shown paired with the Mediterranean bok choy side.

We were going for speed, not cleanliness here. Sorry, folks.

Overall, I was pleased with our first foray into lobster tail cooking. The lobster tasted deliciously buttery and was the perfect amount of meat (for me). We had been told (repeatedly) that undercooked lobster was better than overcooked lobster, so we erred on the side of caution in terms of length of cooking. I thought the bok choy was a little salty -- between the capers and the olives, and then topping it with the balsamic vinegar, I guess that wasn't too surprising.

But I have a sad confession to make. I'm not sure I like lobster. (Eek. I know.) I love me some buttery and garlicky stuff (bread, shrimp, pasta), so I figured I'd be all over this. I have some issues with texture, especially with seafood and meat, so I'm thinking that may have been my problem. While it tasted really good, I struggled with the consistency a little. At first, I asked about cooking it more -- but Paul thought it would become rubbery, which I imagine would make it pretty much inedible.

I'm not ready to give up. Now I'm thinking -- lobster bisque? Lobster paella? Some sort of seafood bake? Gonna get back on the (sea) horse.

June 5: Grilled Beer-Butt Chicken with Baked Potatoes and Chioggia Beet Salad

Beer Butt Chicken. Such a lovely concept. We have heard that it is some of the most flavorful and most chicken there is. Since the weather was so great last Sunday, we decided to make a 2 lbs. bird. We followed this recipe that we found online.

We heated up the grill, and made the spice mixture -- both to baste the chicken with and to put inside the can of beer. Half the mixture went inside the can of beer, and the other half was left for us to baste the chicken periodically.


Melted butter, paprika, garlic salt, salt and pepper mix for basting.



"Discard half the beer." What are they, bananas? We're talking BANQUET BEER here. Paul took care of the "discarding."

We had some issues getting the chicken to fit standing up inside our grill. Not to get too graphic, but essentially the entire beer can had to be crammed inside the chicken in order for it to fit upright in the grill. Sorry, chicken. I didn't want it to be this way either.

Photo documentation:

He looks kind of sad. We put the baked potatoes in front of him in case he tipped over.

Alongside the chicken, we decided to make baked potatoes (cooked on the grill in front of the chicken), and a raw beet salad. We had received these cool looking Chioggia beets in our produce basket the week before.

WHOA.

We sliced the beets thinly using the mandolin.

A very careful action shot. The mandolin has wronged me before.

To the dressing, we added basil, rosemary, and some Italian parsley. We substituted low-sugar maple syrup in place of the agave nectar. 

Clipped fresh from the front porch plants!

Back to the Beer Butt. We cooked the chicken on the grill for about 1 1/2 hours. We basted it with the remaining sauce at about 45 minutes in. Here's how it came out.

Paul, master butcher.

The seasoning on the chicken was really good. It's a nice blend of spices without being overpowering. I'm usually not a chicken-skin eater, but I indulged this time because it was quite tasty.

We thought the chicken came out a little overcooked -- based on the recipe, we were thinking it would be 3 hours to cook through, but it was actually a lot less. I thought the grill had to be at 180 degrees -- not that 180 should be the chicken's internal temperature. A problem that pretty much could have been solved had I read the recipe again. Oops. Regardless, we thought the recipe called for cooking the chicken a lot longer than it needed. We probably could have gotten away with pulling it off at 1 hour 15 minutes or so (assuming the temperature was right -- it was definitely over 180 when we pulled it off at 1 hour 30 minutes).

(Quickly) Finishing up the salad, we plated the beets underneath, and then added a small handful of greens, some chopped walnuts and the dressing on top.

So colorful!

The salad was very earthy and crunchy. It was definitely unlike anything I had eaten before. Were we to make something like this again, I think I would slice the beets more thinly. I would also probably add more orange juice and a little less walnut oil. Paul did not mind the walnut oil, but agreed with adding more citrus. We also went a little overboard with the fresh herbs -- I would not use as many, and I would eliminate the rosemary. I felt like it dominated the dressing a little.

Grilled chicken and a baked potato. I am a happy camper.

Can we discuss how amazingly good baked potatoes are? Add some shredded cheddar, sour cream and chives, and I could eat one every day. Paul was not so pleased with the outside of the potato -- he thought the texture was a little weird.

The meal was relatively simple to make, especially after a Sunday morning/afternoon spent busy with work. You do need to keep an eye on the chicken, but it's not a time-consuming meal to prepare. We will definitely be making this again.

May 10: Grilled Flank Steak with Chimichurri, Bean and Corn Casserole

Paul and I were really excited about making a chimichurri sauce, using the parsley from our herb garden (read: three pots of dying plants on our front balcony). We decided to make a grilled flank steak as our protein, and use the sauce as a marinade. I found a recipe in my fave book, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, for an easy chimichurri sauce.

To accompany the steak, we went back to the book for an Enchilada Style Baked Black Beans and Corn. (Note: the base recipe is listed at the top of the page, but we made the modifications for the version listed at the bottom of the left column for the enchilada style recipe.)

As per usual, I forgot to take photos until everything was assembled. We used a jarred salsa instead of a homemade version. We layered the salsa, the drained black beans (2 cans), the cubed Monterey Jack cheese, and topped it with the crushed tortilla chips and queso fresco crumbles. This went into a 400 degree oven.

Tortilla chips, beans and two types of cheese? Yes, please.

Paul got to work on the chimichurri sauce. He added 2 cups parsley, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 3 cloves of garlic (we used jarred minced garlic) and 1/2 cup olive oil. 
 

We spread the sauce on the steak (we had bought a 2 lb. flank steak), and let it rest for about 30 minutes, turning it periodically to coat in the marinade. 
 

I whipped up a quick avocado and mango salsa to go with the steak. The avocados were a little overripe, but they still tasted good. 
 

Ignore the brown spots. When it comes to avocados, I will eat these regardless of how brown they are.

Chopped up the mango we had...
 

I mixed everything up with a little diced red onion. 
 

Paul cooked the steak on the grill for about 6 minutes on each side. We covered it with aluminum foil and let it rest for about 10 minutes before slicing.


Extreme close-up, a la Wayne's World. Whooooooooooaaaa!

The bean and corn dish cooked in the over for about 30 minutes. We topped it with some chopped cilantro. 
 

Obligatory melty-cheese close-up...

Paul put his excellent plating skills to good use...

We really liked how this turned out. The steak was cooked to the right temperature for me, and wasn't chewy (my main gripe with rare or medium rare meats). I think were we to make it again, I would marinate the meat longer so that it soaked up more of the chimichurri sauce. 

The bean dish, albeit a little unhealthy, was pretty good. We ate leftovers with chips as a dip later in the week, and as a filling for tacos. Paul sliced up the remaining steak, coupled with the bean mix made for a tasty lunch.

We're back!!

Friends, I acknowledge I have been slacking a little with the posts. My goal was to make at least five dinners at home each week, with three to four of them being blog-worthy (or at least a part of them being blog-worthy). I confess, there have been a couple of thrown-together, reheated meals over the last couple weeks. The grocery store hadn't seen us in a while, and it was getting depressing.

However, I am re-invigorated and re-inspired by a) the amount of delicious produce I saw at the grocery store this weekend (YAY! It's summer!) and b) a slight loosening of our schedule. 
 

This photo is supposed to represent summer. Even thought it was taken in October.

Paul and I made a rather aggressive menu for this week, so get ready! (This also makes me accountable when I usually say mid-week, "Let's just get some falafel sandwiches for dinner." NO. Internet, you are my witness.)

Sunday: Grilled Beer-Butt Chicken with Baked Potatoes and Chioggia Beet Carpaccio
Monday: Grilled Lobster Tails with Mediterranean-style Bok Choy 
Tuesday: Vegetable Salad and Curried Chicken from our cooking class at Naveen's Cuisine
Wednesday:  Carrot Soup with Cilantro, alongside Brie and Spinach Grilled Cheese
Thursday: Kale Leaves with Quinoa, Feta and Tomato
Friday: Bacon. And. Pea. Risotto. (I did that for delicious emphasis.)

Here we go!

May 11: Grilled Salmon Steaks with Sauted Leeks and Quinoa

I have been dying to make quinoa for a while now, but haven't been able to find any at our local grocery store. Last week, I saw it and snatched it up. I decided to use the recipe for Quinoa with Caramelized Onions to go alongside some fresh salmon we picked up as well. In How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, they suggest replacing the 4 medium onions with 1 1/2 pounds of leeks, which is what I opted for. It's not a super quick cooking recipe, but it's pretty simple to cook. You follow the exact same recipe, just replacing the vegetable.

P.S. Leeks are not fun to clean. My new preferred method is (assuming you are using chopped leeks) to trim them down until just a little green remains, chop the white parts, and submerge them in a bowl of water. Lots of dirt gets stuck in the layers, and it is hard to get out unless the layers are separated.

Cook the leeks for about 20 minutes. Add the olive oil and brown sugar and cook, stirring occasionally for another 10 to 15 minutes. You toast the quinoa for a few minutes, and then add in the vegetable stock. Bring everything to a boil.

Here's what it looked like:

I remember thinking, "Those quinoa are small. Will they puff up? Is Paul going to be starving in like 10 minutes?" Nope and nope.

After it is boiling, add a couple sprigs of thyme, and reduce heat to low. Cook, covered, for about 15 minutes. 

Paul added salt and pepper to the salmon steaks and cooked them on the grill, heated to about 350 degrees.  It was a while back, but Paul thinks he cooked them for 6 to 7 minutes per side.

I had to ask Paul what to call these. "You know those salmon you cooked that have like the feet?" Paul: "You mean the steaks?" This is why we are married.

We added the salmon to a bed of the quinoa.


Oops. We forgot to eat a vegetable side with this dinner.

We really liked how this tuned out. The quinoa was nutty and caramelized from the brown sugar. I'm looking forward to trying this with onions to see how it turns out differently. Leeks are kind of creamy, so I wonder if it will be sweeter using onions.

Paul liked cooking these salmon steaks better than regular filets as well. You do have to avoid the bones a little, but it cooks up really nicely. I think with it being a thicker cut, you don't run the risk of overcooking it as much.