This is the second night in a row that weve eaten something that just didnt do it for me. Its starting to make me despair and wonder where I went wrong figuring out the menu for this week. The fella had to convince me that not liking dinner wasnt an excuse not to write and share the recipes with the world. Perhaps someone else will love something I hated and who am I not to post the recipes for other people. Besides everyone has cooking failures, it would be dishonest not the show the bad along with the good. The fella is a very wise person. So here I am to tell you about another dinner I didnt like.

In this meals defense after typing out the recipe I dont think I did it properly. The pan wasnt heating up and I was impatient so I ended up with soft thoroughly cooked chicken with no browning. Then of course the pan was too hot and the spices got over heated. Next the yogurt curdled halfway when I thought the heat was low enough to add it. This made the chicken taste unpleasantly like baby spit up and had the fella wondering what Im eating when hes not around given that I could recognize that flavor.

Without the yogurt incident this probably would have been a completely different dish. I cant tell whether it is supposed to be saucy or creamy. Mine turned out a thick sauce with tiny curdles. Even so the fella loved it and would have eaten the entire thing if I hadnt restrained him and pointed him towards a lonely apple in order to jealously guard my portion of left overs for tomorrow. Maybe Im too hard on my cooking and it was better than I realized. Im just glad the fella is enjoying these dinners, someone should.

There were high points to the meal like the perfectly steamed asparagus we had on the side and the Washington Hills Gewürztraminer we drank with the meal. The wine wasnt anything special on its own, very light and drinkable but missing the spicy profile that a Gewürztraminer should have. With the slightly spice chicken however it really popped and showed sweetness and tropical fruit that I wasnt tasting while drinking it alone. Not too bad for a cheap wine sitting in the impulse buy case stacks at Whole Foods.

Cardamom Chicken

1 pound chicken breasts, cut in bite size pieces
2 tablespoons oil

1 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon grated ginger

1 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground fennel
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 whole cloves
1 2-inch piece cinnamon stick

1/2 cup plain yogurt
cilantro, to garnish

Heat skillet over medium high heat and add 1 tablespoon of the oil. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper then cook until browned lightly on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and saute onion, garlic, and ginger for about 3 minutes or until the onion is tender. Add the spices and lower heat, toasting for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Reduce the heat further to low. Add the yogurt and slowly bring to a simmer, stirring the entire time. Do not boil.

Return chicken to the skillet and coat well with spice mixture. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes or until chicken is tender and cooked through. Garnish with cilantro.

Original recipe from 30-Minute Asian Meals by Marie Wilson.

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Continuing the easy and very tasty meals with crème fraiche theme I present these very simple and sinful mushrooms. I refuse to spend $5 for a couple ounces of gourmet mushrooms so I used everyday ordinary white button mushrooms and this was delicious but with a crème sauce what mushroom wouldnt be? And they were nice with lean cuts of beef smothered with spicy peppers. A pleasantly simple meal.

Mushrooms in Crème Fraiche


2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon oil
1 pound of fresh chanterelle mushrooms, cut in half (I used button mushrooms)


1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon parsley, minced
1/ 2 cup crème fraiche


In a frying pan over medium heat, melt the butter with the oil. When the butter foam, add mushrooms and season with salt. Turn the mushrooms a couple times to brown on all sides and cover with oil then cover pan and cook until mushrooms have released their juices and browned on all sides, about 10 minutes.


Add garlic, parsley, and season with pepper. Cook uncovered, until mushrooms have rendered more of their juices, about 2 minutes longer. Add the crème fraiche, raise heat to medium high and cook while stirring until the cream thickens and blends with the juices, about 2 minutes longer.


Original recipe from Savoring France by Georgeanne Brennan.

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Since Ive had the money to develop a taste for it sushi has been both my comfort food and the meal Im most likely to splurge on for a special occasion. It was definitely the food I was most worried about losing to the French diet, necessitating a pricey sushi binge the day before the diet began. Fortunately weve been making so many meals that have either been so delicious or so odd I havent had much time to lust after sushi. Much.

This next best thing for next time the overwhelming urge for sushi appears and made totally diet friendly by substituting brown rice for the traditional sticky white and using only good low carb fats and veggies Its also good for sushi when youre feeling lazy and cheap because the ingredients are readily available and there is no rolling or Japanese food artistry necessary.

Im not a big fan of the texture of tofu however so we substituted a nice firm tasty tempah for tofu which made preparing this even easier. And the fella dislikes avocado with a passion so he used cucumber on his portion. Overall he just wasnt that into this faux sushi experience, the real thing isnt his favorite but its a sign of his niftyness that he acquiesced to a meal he would never eat on his own just for my love of sushi. It was glorious, I may eat nothing but this when the fella goes out of town in May.

Sushi Bowls


2 cups short-grain brown rice
3 1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
2 (4-inch) square sheets nori seaweed
6 ounces extra-firm tofu


grated zest and juice of one orange
grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
2 teaspoons fructose
2 tablespoons shoyu sauce (or soy sauce)
2 tablespoons (brown) rice vinegar


4 green onions, chopped
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted


Rinse and drain the rice two or three times. Combine the rice, water, and salt in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, cover, and simmer gently until the water is absorbed, about 45 minutes.


Toast the nori in a preheated 300F degree oven or a medium-hot skillet for a few minutes. Crumble or chop coarsely.


Drain the tofu and pat it dry. Cut the block of tofu lengthwise through the middle to make four 1/4-to 1/2-inch thick sheets of tofu. Two at a time, cook in a dry skillet or well-seasoned skillet over medium-high for a few minutes until browned on one side. Flip gently, then continue cooking for another minute or so, until the tofu is firm, golden, and bouncy. Let cool, enough to handle, then cut crosswise into matchsticks. Repeat with the remaining sheets.


To make the dressing, combine the orange juice, lemon juice, and fructose in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Cook for 1 or 2 minute, the add the shoyu and vinegar. Return to a gentle boil and cook another 1 or 2 minutes, until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the zests.


When the rice is done, stir in 1/3 cup of the dressing and add more to taste. Scoop the rice into individual bowls and top with the toasted nori, green onions, tofu, avocado slices, and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.


Original recipe from 101 Cookbooks Blog.

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Yum

Clean Eating Recipe: Tuna Deviled Eggs

Ingredients:

- 3 to 5 cage-free eggs
- 1 can of tuna in spring water
- 1 table spoon of organic mayo with safflower or olive oil
- 1 table spoon of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch of sea salt

Directions:

1. Hard boil eggs. Peel them, cut in halves and scoop out the yolk in a separate bowl.
2. Drain tuna in can. Add it to egg yolk, and create filling by adding mayo, olive oil and sea salt. Mix well.
3. Scoop filling into each egg half.

Enjoy!

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