Corn Clam Chowder

I wanted to share a new chowder recipe I found–Corn Clam Chowder, courtesy of Gourmet. In the chowder camps, this is decidedly a thinner broth, but still buttery and creamy. The corn is a nice addition, and definitely sets it apart from a traditional chowder (traditional=Ivar’s-esque, for those of you from the Northwest!). For simplicity and frugality I used canned clams, though I am sure it would be fabulous with fresh clams, too. I recently served it at a luncheon for our school teachers and staff, so I made this the night before on my stove top with my dutch oven, but reheated it on low for 4 or 5 hours in a crock pot. Great, comforting soup for a winter day!

Here’s my version, with only minor tweaks, in particular the canned vs. fresh clams: Corn and Clam Chowder

Jamaican Sausage, Sweet Potato, Apple Stir-fry

I must confess I love my slow cooker, but am pretty picky about what I try in it as far as recipes–nothing too blah, squishy, or full of “canned this” and “canned that”. My other problem is that sometimes I think about a recipe, but then forget to start it and then run out of time. One such recipe involves throwing some slices of chicken sausage, apples, and sweet potatoes in the pot for a few hours. Everything is sort of soft after the four hours or so, but generally pretty tasty. Well of course, I forgot to get it started, so I needed to scramble one night on what to do in place of it. I searched around for some online recipes involving apples and sweet potatoes, but came up with a lot of sweet potato casserole type things, but I wanted more of an entree. With enough digging, I found a recipe that included pork, appples and sweet potatoes with Jamaican Jerk seasoning (from Better Homes and Gardens) . I didn’t have the pork, but thought I could substitute the chicken sausages that I liked in my crock pot recipe. I also liked the recipe as it had a recipe for your own Jerk seasoning, which of course let’s you control both the saltiness (none added in this recipe) and spiciness that way. It turned out great and by using fully cooked sausages, it turned out to be pretty fast. Kids gave a modest thumbs up and my husband put it in the coveted “make again” category. I must say, I liked it even more than the crock pot version, though I’m sure to try that again on some busy kid/family day!

My recipe, as I adapted it, in PDF form: Jamaican Sausage Sweet Potato Apple Stir-Fry

A summary of my changes from the original recipe:

• Used chicken apple sausages (fully cooked, Aidell’s this time)
• I doubled the sweet potatoes
• I used the apples I had on hand, which were Fuji. Granny smith would be nice, but I really think anything would be fine! Next time I’d add double as the kids adored their sweet, mild spiciness
• I used only 1/3 of the jerk seasoning from the original recipe, leaving the rest on the table, for my spice craving husband. The kids announced “spicy mouth” but it seemed just about right for them!

Some favorite salads

I thought I’d share a couple of a favorite salads at our house . . . both vegetarian, but both high protein. Both are even well received by the kids, and solicit the rare clap of delight when I tell them what I’ll be making.

The first is a favorite of mine from the deli at PCC, our local natural foods market: Perfect Protein Salad. It takes a bit of chopping, but makes a nice huge batch and is great for lunches–yes, even the kids’ lunches. It keeps pretty well for a couple days in the fridge, but after that veggies like the cucumber turn funky on you. The only modifications I make are to cut down on the onions–no red onions, and only a few very thinly sliced scallions. Even those are picked out by my pickiest eater. Otherwise its, well, perfect.

By the way, did you know that you can request the recipe for any of the deli foods you find at PCC? Many of the recipes, like the Perfect Protein Salad, can be found on their website: www.pccnaturalmarkets.com, or you can call the deli office and they’ll email you the recipe, too. When I originally requested the recipe, I quickly received it, but had to modify the servings down from 50 to a more manageable size!

The second protein packed salad that is devoured at our house is Black Bean and Tomato Quinoa Salad from Gourmet. I’ve been trying to cook more with Quinoa, as it’s a great alternative to rice as it cooks quickly and is high in protein and fiber. This salad is light and tangy . . . I love to serve it as a side to Mexican dishes like tacos, or a side to grilled chicken. Again, a little bit of chopping, but really most of it can be done during the time it takes to prepare the quinoa. You could certainly mix up the veggies adding what you have on hand–bell peppers, maybe even shredded carrots or zucchini? This recipe also seems to make enough for sides for our family of four plus extras for lunch. Delicious! The recipe, I’ve linked to here describes a very complicated procedure for cooking the quinoa. I’ve never had any problems preparing it as follows–2 cups water, 1 cup quinoa, plus a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, simmer, covered for about 15 minutes. Taste for tenderness and that is it!

Vegetarian Stuffed Squash

I made this one a while ago after seeing the recipe in Sunset magazine, and remember liking it, but tried it again this week when a delicata squash arrived in the CSA box. Yum! Remarkably filling, I served it with a salad. I omitted the sage as I thought I had some in the cupboard, but didn’t. Also substituted hazelnuts for pinenuts, again because that was what I had on hand. We couldn’t, of course convince the kids to try it, despite our moans of yummy!

Recipe from Sunset, October 2008: Nut-stuffed Delicata Squash

Quick and yummy–Orzo with ham and goat cheese

I love the Nieman Ranch ham steaks you can get at our natural market–PCC. I picked one up the other day and was looking through Epicurious for a ham pasta recipe, something along the lines of a carbonara when I found this recipe: Orzo with Ham and Goat Cheese. It fit the bill of “comfort” food and simplicity in preparation. I made it as directed in the recipe–yum! Better yet, the kids liked it too! Sure, it’s not a real nutritional packed meal, but simple comforting food was what I was after and it was certainly enjoyed by all. We augmented it with a salad. I’m sure we’ll be making it again some busy weeknight.

Thoughts for the future:

• Needs lots of ground pepper in my opinion.
• Could add some frozen peas or broccoli cooked to tender crisp when you add the cheese.
• Try different meat–maybe smoked turkey?
• Experiment with cooking temperature–maybe 350 for 15-20 minutes?

Cabbage Babbage

I think like many people, cabbage is not my favorite vegetable. Yes, I know cabbage, in particular red cabbage, has many good qualities that include being vitamin packed and high in antioxidants, but I just haven’t convinced my palate that cabbage is where it is at. I’m not a “slaw” person, and rarely do I see a recipe with cabbage and think to myself, “Wow, that sounds good”. This time I surprised myself–a recipe did catch my eye when I was looking for a use for some Napa Cabbage. The addition of apples and dried fruit with a light lemony dressing made me think maybe, just maybe my kids might even give it a try, too.  I was right–this was light and crisp, a great side dish. My kids who are not fans of nuts, picked those out, but otherwise enjoyed it too. I could even see adding some grilled chicken on top and turning it into a heartier entrée salad. This one is from Bon Appetit and my only substitution was to use the dried cranberries I had on hand. Some of the apples were died pink from being stored with the cabbage overnight, but it was delicious as part of my lunch today.

Red and Napa Cabbage Salad with Apples and Spiced Pecans

My new Go-To Frittata Recipe

For brunch with friends the other day, I was looking to use up some items in the CSA box–leeks and potatoes. After searching for online egg recipes that included both items, I found this one from Martha Stewart: Ham and Leek Frittata. Loved it! It is so nice to have a few breakfast recipes that aren’t heavy on the breads or cheeses. Working with this frittata also gave me a chance to experiment more with my cast iron skillet, which I’m learning to love. This time I made the recipe with the stated ingredients, though I’m sure I’ll play around with ingredients in future versions swapping out meats and/or veggies. Potatoes per the recipe were just halved or quartered, but maybe next time, I’d slice them thinner and layer them all around on top of the eggs before broiling.

Nice twist on a fall fruit crisp

I was looking for a dessert to have with company and wanted to use up some pears and/or apples. I found this recipe from Sunset Magazine: Apple-Pear Gratin. I liked the subtle addition of cream, which doesn’t make it creamy, but just adds a nice richness to it. I also used crumbled short-bread cookies on top which were delicious and a nice alternative to the standard oatmeal toppings. An added bonus–the only shortbread cookie (Pamela’s Pecan Shortbread Cookies) I could find at the natural food market just happened to be gluten-free, something we’re now exploring with our daughter. They were good on top of the crisp and by themselves!

Pumpkin Cilantro Quesadillas

This recipe was an interesting find this week and a good use of my sugar pumpkin in the CSA box. Not the fastest thing to prepare with the cutting, peeling and mashing of the pumpkin, but really tasty. Follow the ingredients and directions–don’t substitute the cheese as the feta was great and don’t skip the lime. I cut back on the jalepeno because I just wasn’t sure, but I could hardly taste it, so I’d definitely up the amount next time to what the recipe suggested. My pickiest eater even seemed to enjoy them and they’d make a fun fall appetizer.

The recipe is from Bon Appetit, October 2009: http://tinyurl.com/yacve7l

Barley Corn Salad

We needed something light to eat after a big weekend of feasting at a family wedding. I was hankering for something with veggies that would use up some things from the fridge, including corn on the cob. I searched on Epicurious for corn salad and found this recipe that I tweaked a little to accommodate what I had on hand. I love the chewy, heartiness of barley and the combination of that with some veggies and the recipe’s vinaigrette sounded good.

My tweaks:

• I reduced the green beans to about 1/2 pound because that’s all I had, but added the red bell pepper thinking that would be nice sweetness and color.
• Also, I added a can of garbanzo beans to give it some protein. I was hoping I’d find a can of black beans in the pantry, again from a color point of view, but all I had was garbanzo beans. Blander in the color scheme with barley and corn, but that’s okay because my kids love garbanzo beans.
• I even had the goat cheese in the fridge but forgot about it at the end; still tasted fine without, though I think the tanginess of the goat cheese would be a nice contrast with the dressing’s sweetness.

Would definitely make again, maybe with black beans and the goat cheese. I think it’d make a nice summer potluck salad. Here’s my version of the recipe: Barleycornsalad