I am a raw tomato addict. It runs in the family.

The story goes that all my mother ate when she was pregnant with me was raw tomatoes so the lust for them must have been transferred to me while still in the womb. And for as long as I can remember the ushering in of summer in my childhood home involved finding massive amounts of tomatoes, taking them home, slicing them, and standing around in the kitchen eating them. All of us looming around a puddled cutting board of juicy red tomatoes, the liquid running down our arms while we devour these succulent bits of red tomato flesh.

There were also a lot of tomato, Miracle Whip and white bread toast sandwiches involved. Which has consistently been one of my favorite things to eat. I could have one everyday for weeks and never get sick of them. When I read Tom Robbins essay about tomato, mayonnaise and white bread sandwiches being the best food on earth I fell a little in love with him. Its called Til Lunch Do Us Part and you can read part of it in the book preview on Amazon if you want to thoroughly understand the term “food porn.” Then you should read Skinny Legs and All or one his other novels because hes a genius.

Tom Robbins was the first person outside of my family Id ever heard talk about the joy of raw tomatoes, almost everyone else Ive encountered finds eating them as if they were candy an unusual thing. Its something the fella and I tease one another about on a regular basis. He hates them, I love them, how can we possibly stay together with such opposed views on such an important issue. Somehow we soldier on, obviously we just stay together for the dog.

Sadly bread, white or otherwise is not part of this French diet so Ive been feeling the lack of my favorite sandwich for some time now. I do still have tomatoes however which our CSA share has been providing us in great abundance. There are pounds of them in the kitchen at the moment and more keep coming every week. I finally hit the too many tomatoes point this week, when I started dreading just eating them raw and had to start finding things to put them in.

Luckily Mark Bittman has a very handy recipe for easily taking care of large amounts cherry tomatoes in a yummy way. It seems too easy to be that good but it really is. And yes I will eventually start posting something other than salads soon. Ive just been short on free time and not feeling up to turning on the stove now that summer here in Wisconsin has finally decided to start. So for now here is another salad sans lettuce.

Cherry Tomato Salad

2 handfuls cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 large dash dark sesame oil
1 sprig cilantro

Cut tomatoes in half. Place in bowl.

Whisk together soy sauce and sesame oil. Pour over tomatoes and toss thoroughly.

Garnish with coarsely chopped cilantro.

This is even better the second day after it has sat chilling out in the fridge over night marinating until the tomatoes are little salty tart bombs that explode on your tongue.

Recipe from Mark Bittman in The New York Times.

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Yum

Breakfast

Organic Oatmeal with Banana Slices, Cinnamon and Real Organic Maple Syrup

We recommend Coombs Family Organic Maple Syrup

Mid Morning Snack

Brads Raw Sweet Potato Chips

Get them here.

Lunch

Butter-Seared Shrimp in Balsamic Vinaigrette, Whole Wheat Toast and Tomatoes on the Side

Afternoon Snack

Grapes

Dinner

Herb-Rubbed Broiled Chicken Breast with Steamed Green Beans on the Side

Thanks for your time!

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Hope to see you next time!

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Yum

A HUGE misconception about the clean eating diet is that clean eating meals, or weight loss foods in general, require fancy, exotic ingredients and complicated steps to make.

In reality, a clean eating diet is simple: use as little processed ingredients as possible, and make quick and easy meals. For these reasons, clean eating has gained much popularity in the last few years. Its simple, tasty and creates a healthy lifestyle. Whats not to like?

Clean eating diet can also help you lose weight, because eliminating processed ingredients eliminates refined sugar, hydrogenated oil and all the harsh artificial ingredients that induce weight gain. By simplifying your meals, you reduce unnecessary calories--and most of them develop into fat.


Todays healthy lunch and clean eating recipe reflects just the simplicity that defines clean eating.

With only five ingredients, this juicy, delicious and completely clean sandwich was a pleasure to both make and eat.

Plus, it took less than five minutes to make. We all like that, dont we?

Healthy Lunch Recipe: Avocado Tomato Open Face Sandwich

Ingredients:
- 1 piece of whole wheat bread, slightly toasted
- 1/2 avocado, peeled, de-cored and sliced
- 2 slices of tomato
- 1 slice of all-natural swiss cheese
- 2-3 leaves of basil, broken
- 1 tea spoon of extra virgin olive oil and 1 tea spoon of organic balsamic vinegar (optional)

Directions:
1. Slice toast in halve, and lay each piece on a plate.
2. Stack swiss cheese, avocado slices and tomato on top. 
3. Splash basil leaves. Then drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar, if you choose to use them.

Thats all. Now enjoy each bite.

Thanks again for coming by Clean Eating Weight Loss Meal Plan!

I hope you enjoy todays Healthy Lunch Recipe.

(I think you would if youre an avocado-lover.)

I also hope to see you next time!

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I have this habit of refusing to remember that the concept of marination is involved in cooking.  I read recipes ahead of time, comprehend the words "marinate over night" then selectively erase that phrase from my memory.  Then when the night comes that I want to make that recipe its as if evil elves have come in and rearranged the world since the last time I looked at the recipe and malevolently invented the word "marinate" just to torture me.  Well at least thats how it feels when Im looking forward to something for dinner and see that horrible world and realize that not only do I have to make new plans for dinner I also have to prep a part of tomorrows dinner.  And darn it at that point I just want to eat.

I mean Ill follow some pretty crazy cooking instructions with no problem but marinating things just irks me every time, I never learn.  Twice last week this happened to me as if I was trying to subliminally teach myself a lesson by planning to eat two recipes with one of my least favorite words in it.  This recipe for cumin crusted lamb was totally worth eating dinner late while waiting for the meat to get all sticky and soft in the egg white and saki.  The meal was amazing and the chemistry of the marinade really did something wonderful to the texture of the lamb so that I would be more than happy to eat this again.  The slightly spicy cashew cauliflower only made the meal better.

However the spicy chicken thighs I had planned for tricked me two nights in a row.  So I added "marinating" to the list of things Im leaving to the fella from now on since Im apparently unable to grasp the concept.  He was more than happy to prep the chicken and really loved the end result.  I dont know if it was because I was still holding a grudge against that recipe for making me have to re-plan dinner or if the recipe wasnt just for me but I wasnt a fan.

So there you have it of all of the things I can do Im stymied by the idea of putting meat in tasty liquid over night to make it even more tasty.  How sad is that?  I maintain that all recipes that have a marination step should start out with "warning marination ahead" in big bold letter before the ingredient list just to prevent these sort of cooking failures from happening.  Who is with  me?

Cumin Crusted Lamb

1 egg white

1 tablespoon rice wine or saki

2 teaspoons rice flour

1 teaspoon salt, more to taste

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 pound boneless leg of lamb or lamb shoulder, cut into strips about 1/2 inch by 2 inches

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons cumin seeds, lightly cracked in a mortar or grinder

2 tablespoons whole dried red chili peppers

4 scallions, white and green parts only, cut on diagonal into 1-inch lengths

Sesame oil, for seasoning.

In a deep medium sized bowl combine egg white, wine, rice flour, salt and pepper. Add lamb and set aside to MARINATE 1 HOUR. 

Heat a large skillet (non stick works best) over high heat until a drop of water sizzle on contact. Swirl half the oil into pan and carefully add lamb, spreading it in a single layer. Let sear a moment, then stir-fry briskly just until lamb is no longer pink on the outside. Transfer to a plate. 

Swirl remaining oil into empty pan, add cumin seeds and chilies and stir-fry a few seconds until cumin seeds start to pop. 

Add scallions and stir-fry 1 minute. Then return lamb to pan and stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes more until lamb is cooked through. Turn off heat, sprinkle with salt and drops of sesame oil, and serve immediately.

Original recipe in New York Times food section.

Cashew Cauliflower

2 tablespoons oil

1 shallot, diced

1 medium head cauliflower, cut in florets

1 star anise

2 dried red chilies

salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup of water

1/2 cup cashews

Place oil in large frying pan over medium low heat.  Cook shallot in oil until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes.  Add cauliflower and raise heat to medium high to brown the cauliflower.  When the cauliflower has some color to it and is just starting to get tender, add the star anise, chilies, and salt and pepper.  Stir fry ingredients for another minute.  

Add water to the pan, turn heat back to medium low and cover.  Cook for about 10 minutes or until cauliflower is tender.

Remove cover from cauliflower and add cashews to pan until theyre toasted, raising heat if necessary.  Remove star anise and chilies to serve.

Modified from a recipe in Padma Lakshmis Tangy Tart Hot and Sweet.

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While getting ready to host a wine tasting party this upcoming weekend Ive been shuffling through all the bookmarked recipe ideas I have saved to see what weird and wonderful snacks to make. In the process Ive been finding recipes Ive been remiss in not yet posting.

I made these scones months ago for our house warming party. They were delicious. So delicious in fact no one even noticed they were gluten free which is a compliment when you can trick wheat eaters into making yummy noises over something sans flour. But shame on me for taking so long to tell you about them. They were easy, had a nice chewy consistency and took care of the scone craving I had at the time. Now that I rediscovered this recipe I might have to make them again tonight.

Gluten Free Double Chocolate Scones

2 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup agave nectar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 chopped dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl mix almond flour, salt, and baking soda together. In a separate medium bowl mix the coconut oil, agave nectar, and eggs together until blended. Add cocoa powder to wet ingredients. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix well. Briefly stir in dark chocolate.

Place 1/4 cup of batter onto parchment paper lined baking sheet or silicone baking mat. Repeat for each scone and space about one inch apart. Bake 12 to 17 minutes or until scones pass the clean toothpick test.

Original recipe from Celiac Chicks blog.

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These cold windy fall evenings are perfect for rich spicy curries. And we all know how much of a curry obsession I have so when I saw yogurt, goat cheese and kidney beans in a recipe I was all over it. This recipe is perfect so there isnt much for me to add. Three chilies made for a very spicy curry though so be warned if you like to take it easy on the heat scale.

I paired it with Helfrich Gewurtraminer and some almond naan and couldnt have been happier. It seems crazy but Gewurtraminer and curry is amazing. The wine was a easy sweet spice and fruit wine with okay body but after a few bites of curry and it just popped, making both the wine and the food that much better. Learning this fact has only helped fuel my obsession for two of my favorite things.

Spicy Kidney Beans with Tomato and Yogurt Sauce

1 1/4 cup of dried kidney beans

1 cup of yogurt
2 tablespoons of chickpea flour
1/2 cup of goat cheese, mashed with a fork

1 small clove of garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne
3 - 4 fresh chilies, finely chopped

2 tablespoons of oil
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon of asafoetida

1 large tomato, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of garam masala

2 tablespoons of fresh parsley, chopped


Soak the kidney beans overnight in enough water to cover. Drain, transfer to a medium large pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cover and simmer until the beans are tender - roughly 1 hour. Drain the cooked beans and set aside.

Whisk together the yogurt and chickpea flour until smooth. (The chickpea flour helps to prevent the yogurt from curdling. I made my own by putting some chickpeas through the coffee grinder.) Mix in the mashed goat cheese, stirring well to make sure the cheese breaks up evenly throughout the yogurt. Stir in the garlic, salt, turmeric, cayenne, and chilies. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a medium large pan over medium heat. When hot, toss in the ginger and asafoetida and stir and fry for a few minutes. Now add the tomato and garam masala and simmer until the tomato thickens - roughly 5 minutes.

Stir in the cooked kidney beans and yogurt mixture. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens to your desired consistency. Garish with the parsley and serve over hot rice.

Original recipe from Lisas Kitchen Blog.

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Below are some notes about the highlights of this diet.

I do recommend purchasing the book because it provides concise and informative explanations for the various parts of the diet as well as information about how metabolism is supposed to work. It also has recipes you can eat on the diet =)

$15.48 online
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-fast-metabolism-diet-haylie-pomroy/1113745604?ean=9780307986276

There is also an app for you iPhone users.

$1.99 app store
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fast-metabolism-diet-app-customized/id626362411?mt=8

However the reviewers say it is only partially useful and still needs many updates.

3 PHASES

You go through these phases every week for 4 weeks (28 days)

Phase 1 - Unwind
Stress and Calm the Adrenals
Days 1 and 2


Phase 2 - Unlock
Stored Fat and Build Muscle
Days 3 and 4

Phase 3 - Unleash
The Burn - hormones, heart, and heat
Days 5 and 7

What is happening?

Step 1: Take your food and turn it into energy

Step 2: Release stored fat

Step 3: Turn newly released stored fat into energy

Phase 1 Food

This is the high-glycemic, moderate-protein, low-fat phase.

- three carb-rich, moderate-protein, low-fat meals

- two fruit snacks

Phase 2 Food

This is the very high-protein, high vegetable, low-carbohydrate, and low-fat phase.

- three high-protein, low-carb, low-fat meals

- two protein snacks

Phase 3 Food

This is the high healthy-fat, moderate-carbohydrate, moderate-protein, low glycemic fruit phase.

- three meals

- two healthy-fat snacks

THE RULES

The Dos

1. Eat 5 times a day: 3 meals 2 snacks

2. Eat every 3 to 4 hours unless you are sleeping.

3. Eat within 30 min. of waking. Every day.

4. You must follow the meal plan for 28 days.

5. Stick to the foods allowed for each phase. Religiously.

6. Follow the phases in order.

7. Drink half your body weight in fluid oz. of water every day.

8. Eat organic wherever possible.

9. Meat choices must be nitrate-free.

10. You must exercise 3 times a week, according to the phase.

The Donts

1. No wheat. 

(what?!)

2. No corn. 

(aw... that buttery salty goodness)

3. No dairy. 

(no!!! my ice cream and yogurt!)

4. No soy. 

(sauce? but I cook with it all the time!)

5. No refined sugar.

(i saw that coming)

6. No caffeine. 

(NOOO! here comes the coffee withdrawal)

7. No alcohol. 

(this... will be a test... I love my cider)

8. No dried fruit or fruit juices. 

(I will miss my morning OJ)

9. No artificial sweeteners. 

(We can use Stevia still... even if it does taste funny)

10. No fat-free "diet foods" 

28 days later...

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This is a great meal to use should you need to impress someone without having the time to put tons of effort in to it.  Because nothing says "fancy" like serving someone a whole fish.  It seems complicated and complex but in actuality couldnt be easier.  Of course if youre squeamish about whole fish or know someone who is this probably isnt for you.

The fella surprised me by making this for dinner one night when we were having a friend over.  We were both quiet impressed and blown away by the presentation.  And this is a great way to prepare fish, it comes out at a perfect level of doneness so that is is flaky but very moist and flavorful.  The next time we made this dish I helped prepare it and realized just how easy it is to make and became an even bigger fan of this meal.

You can use any whole white fish, herbs and veggies you like.  This is just what weve come up with.  If you have any other combinations you find that you like let me know.

Whole Baked Trout with Fennel

3 tablespoons oil

2 whole trout, gutted

1 bulb fennel

4 sprigs fresh thyme

1 lemon, sliced

salt and pepper, to taste

Grease the bottom of a baking dish large enough to fit the fish using the oil.  Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the fish and place into dish.

Cut the fronds off of the fennel bulb and put half of the fronds into the cavity of each fish.  Cut the fennel bulb into 1/2 inch thick chunks and scatter around the bottom of the dish around the trout.  Salt and pepper the fennel.  Place 2 sprigs of thyme inside each fish.  Divide the slices of lemon between the fish and place in the cavities.

Place in over for 15 minutes.  Check for doneness by poking thickest part of fish with a knife, if the knife goes easily through the flesh the fish is done and ready to eat.  If the fish isnt cooked through put in for another 5 to 10 minutes at a time until it is cooked to your preferred level of doneness.

Remove fennel fronds, thyme, and lemon from inside fish and serve with roasted fennel bulb.

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This is one of my favorite low maintenance menus taken of course from a Rachel Ray recipe and improved upon. There are three different things to work on all at the same time (four if you add a steamed green vegetable to the mix as I do) but none of them take any effort. Its almost too easy after some of the things Ive been making, that probably means I need to start coming up with really complex menus soon to make up for it.

I have a thing about not liking plants from the lily family raw. It probably has something to do with the fact Im allergic to the flower. This I found out the hard way a couple years ago when the fella bought me a huge arrangement of purple and orange lilies. It was gorgeous and exactly my taste and my favorite colors. It should have been perfect birthday gift except for the fact that the next day I woke up unable to breath and spent the rest of it feeling like I was about to die at any second. We put the lilies outside to think about what they had done and I miraculously returned to normal.. The poor pretty lilies got re-gifted to a friend and the fella wisely has not buy me flowers since. Its better that way, I prefer my flowers alive in the ground and to be able to breath.

So though I adore garlic, shallots, leeks and on a limited basic onions they absolutely have to be cooked in order for me to eat them. This makes things interesting considering the large quantities of raw onions people seem to toss on seemingly everything Ive ever ordered in a restaurant. I also cook the hell out of

The original recipe for this called for both raw garlic and scallions, obviously that had to change I have a tried it a couple times that way and hated it so this time around I took the time to cook them both slightly before adding them to the butter spread. This I loved. It made the spread much less intense and allowed the sun dried tomato to really shine. If youre into raw lilies feel free to just mix up the butter ingredients and save yourself some time.

This horribly divine butter is great on the fish and beans but it would be sinful not to slather it on some warm potatoes. Unfortunately potatoes arent in my near future. Instead we made a much better fake out cauliflower version of mashed potatoes than the ones I posted the recipe for a week or so ago. Boiling the cauliflower made it too wet, it wasnt possible to add cream or butter to it without making cauliflower soup. Steaming solves the problem, this makes the cauliflower the right texture to mash and mix with your favorite creamy mashed potato fixings. Top it with the sun dried tomato butter and you wont know they arent real potatoes.

Drinking a glass of the Cline Viognier made this dinner even more enjoyable. Ive already talked a couple times about how much I love everything Cline so it was no surprise that I fell in love with this bottle. It was super floral (more along the lines of roses and not lilies thankfully) on the nose and the perfect balance of dry and sweet. There were all sorts of delicious summer fruits on the first sip, I got pear and a tart apple where as the fella loved that it was citrusy. With fish and faux potatoes I couldnt have picked a better wine.

Halibut with Sun Dried Tomato Butter and “Potatoes”

BUTTER
1 tablespoon oil
1 scallion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, diced
3 tablespoons softened butter
2 sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, finely chopped

In a pan warm the oil over medium heat, add garlic and scallion and cook until tender but not browned. Place in a small bowl to cool then add butter and sun dried tomatoes, combining well to create a soft butter mixture to use when serving meal.

FISH:
3 tablespoons butter
4 six-ounce halibut fillets (or whatever tender white fish you choose)
2 tablespoons flour (if you can use it)
salt and pepper

Melt the butter in the same pan you used in the first step over medium heat. Season fish fillets with salt, pepper and flour (if using it) on both sides. When butter is fully melted and foamy start pan frying fish. Cook fish about 8 minutes total, longer if using a thicker piece of fish, flipping over half way through cooking time. Transfer to a serving dish when cooked through.

“POTATOES”
1 head cauliflower, cut into rough florets
1 tablespoon butter
1/ 4 cup milk or cream (maybe less depending on how creamy you want your “potatoes”)

Place the cauliflower pieces in a steamer and cook until tender. Mash cauliflower in large bowl until the consistency of mashed potatoes. Add butter and enough milk to make cauliflower creamy. Season with salt and pepper then serve topped with sun dried tomato butter.

Original recipe from Everyday with Rachel Ray.

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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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From the emptiness of the bowl by the time I got around to photographing it you might be able to guess how good it was. And you would probably be right. After all the time I spent stressing about large amounts of expensive beef going to waste, this ended up being my favorite part of the meal. That was a pretty impressive feat considering the amazing things that were on my Easter dinner menu.

Vichyssoise
Cauliflower “Potatoes”
Steamed Fresh Green Beans
Boeuf en Duebe in the Crockpot
Flourless Dark Chocolate Cake

Not a tradition holiday menu by any means but it worked out well. Doing the main dish in the crockpot really freed us up to concentrate on the side dishes, not to mention enjoying the company of my family rather than running around slaving over a hot stove. It was even less maintence than a roast or a turkey. The day we were cooking it that is, the days leading up to it we spent a lot of time babying this beef.

First we had to go out and buy a crockpot big enough to handle 5 pounds of beef, a pound of shallots and a bottle of red wine. This was actually good motivation to finally go out and do something weve been talking about for awhile. As much as we use the crockpot we really needed a nice one that was programable, it will make our lives much easier.

Next I spent the week making sun dried orange peel. This wouldnt have been a problem except there was no sun to speak of most of the days leading up to Easter. Thankfully Friday and Saturday were sunny and that seemed to give the orange peel long enough to dry out. But leave it up to the weather to add extra stress to preparing this meal. Supposedly fresh orange peel works just as well but we didnt have to find out this time.

Now came shopping for wine. Burgundy isnt an easy wine to find and the couple that were in town were all over $20 which was more than I was willing to spend on a wine that was going in a recipe. Someday I will put the investment into buying a nice bottle of Burgundy but it was not going to be now. Beaujolais is technically in the Burgundy region of France and there were several Id tried before that I thought would work fine to cook with. The Georges Deboeuf Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau is too green to make a drinkable glass of wine but I think it did fine in the beef. It actually helped to make the recipe a bit less boozy which I was worried about.

This recipe also wanted cognac which was more of an investment that I was looking to make that day so I went for the next best thing and got a small bottle of Korbel brandy. Both made of them are made of grapes, who cares, right? There was so little of it in the actual dish it didnt make a difference, you could probably leave the distilled liquor out of this all together and not even notice, the wine is plenty.




With this the crock pot we served up the soup and finished up the vegetables during the last hour of cooking time. We also opened a couple bottles of wine. The Parducci Petite Shiraz was a huge disappointment. I was excited about it being organic and sustainable produced on a family farm which is all well and good except the wine stunk. It tasted like fermented grape juice and nothing else, it had no subtlety or depth. My mother asked me to review it and “do my thing.” All I could say was, “It tastes like grapes.”

At that point I opened the Conquista Malbec, the wine that is the love of my life, which I knew I liked and actually had good things going on in it. Its produced biodynamically without pesticides but doesnt have the expensive organic certification. At the same time its actually a good well rounded spicy wine unlike so many wines that make a big deal about being organic or green which they use as their selling point forgetting to actually put the effort into making a good wine. So many of these organic wineries just throw an unpalatable mix of grapes together and think the organic label will keep people coming back for more. A boring undrinkable wine is bad regardless of its sustainability. Unfortunately Ive yet to find many good organic wines, they all taste largely the same.

Ah well, my family isnt big on wine anyway. My mother got to try a couple different wines she wouldnt have gotten to otherwise, that all that mattered. Hopefully the strange Easter wont keep my family from coming back for another meal. They were probably glad they brought their own bread to comfort them through courses of food theyre never heard of.

The beef was actually pretty decent. I dont know that I would ever feel the need to put that much effort into making it again but it was a fun experience. It tasted nice served over the faux potatoes with some green beans on the side. A pleasant special occasion meal for sure. Now I know what the big deal about Beef Burgundy is.

Crockpot Boeuf En Daube

5 pounds prime beef, cubed & trimmed of fat
1 pound shallots, peeled and coursely chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped finely
1 sprig fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 bottle Burgundy wine

2 tablespoons oil
1 pound smoked bacon, chopped
1/2 ounce dried mushrooms (we used a couple ounces fresh buttons mushrooms)
6 pieces of dried orange peel *
1 tablespoon brown sugar (we omitted this)
4 sun dried tomatoes, finely chopped
1 8-ounce can chopped tomatoes

2 tablespoons arrowroot
2 tablespoons cognac (or brandy)


Marinade the beef with the herbs, shallots and garlic over night in the bottle of red wine in a sealed container.

Before cooking, drain wine and reserve for later. In a large skillet sear and brown the beef pieces over high heat in the oil until brown, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Place browned beef into the crock pot.

Fry the bacon pieces until crispy and golden brown. Drain bacon, reserving fat for later and add bacon to the beef in crockpot.

Brown the shallots and garlic in the bacon fat then add to the crockpot. Add all the other ingredients, except the arrowroot and cognac to the crock pot, including the reserved wine. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for up to 6 hours. (If you want to use the oven preheat it to 325 and cook slowly for approximately 4 to 6 hours; check towards the end, the meat should be extremely tender.)

Half an hour before the end of cooking time use a ladle to remove some of the wine stock from the crock pot. Place in a small bowl and whisk in the arrowroot. Add back into the crockpot to help thicken sauce. It should have the consistency of a glaze not a gravy. Add the cognac to the crockpot and allow to cook until the timer goes off.

Traditionally this dish is made the day ahead of time to allow the meat to further marinate then reheated for serving over mashed potatoes.

* To make dried orange peel, peel 2 oranges and cut peel into narrow strips. Place on a flat surface and leave in direct sunlight for a couple days. Or place on a baking sheet and bake overnight at a very low temperature. Fresh orange peel will work in this recipe as well but will change the intensity of the citrus flavor in this dish.

Original recipe from Recipezaar.com.

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Clean Eating Recipe: Tomato Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of grape tomatoes, cut into halves
• 1 - 2 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
• 1 table spoon of real butter
• 1 cup of organic heavy cream
• 1 pinch of sea salt or kosher salt
• 1 pinch of fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat sauce pan on high over stove top.
2. Add butter and let it melt.
3. Add garlic and tomato halves into melted butter, and let  cook for one minute.
4. When tomatoes and garlic turn brown, reduce heat to medium, and let simmer for about 2 – 3 minutes. Stir occasionally.
5. Slowly stir in heavy cream.
6. Add a sea salt and pepper.
7. Let simmer for another 2 minutes while stirring often.
8. Pour sauce over pasta or cooked meat, like todays baked chicken breast.

Enjoy! 

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Another day another perfect summer salad.  This one is courtesy of the Lisas Kitchen Blog where there is no shortage of out of this world vegetarian recipes.  Whenever I want to cook a really unique curry this is the blog I go to because this is perhaps the only other person as obsessed with Indian cooking as I am.  She has some of the coolest recipes and flavor combinations, stuff Id never think to cook.


Like this salad, I was a little leery of the cooked beans, raw veggies and lots of sun dried tomatoes combo but after I poured on the sun dried tomato dressing I became a believer.  The flavors are just what I was looking for an a warm afternoon when I didnt want to turn on the stove for more than 5 minutes.  The tomatoes and balsamic vinegar create a nice tangy edge for the beans. 

The fella who isnt a huge fan of tomatoes wouldnt stop eating this.  He said it was like a less evil version of mayo encased potato salad.  And hes right the parmesan cheese (I used a half nutritional yeast half ground almonds substitute for vegan parm) and garlic create a pleasant creaminess that reminded us both of mayo but without the heaviness and the fat.  And because there is no mayo involved this would be a killer salad for a picnic. 

This is another salad that is going into heavy rotation on my summer menus.

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The fella made this the other day when he took a half day. When I came home the house smelled divine. Of course that tends to happen when heavy cream is involved. It was nice to take a night off from cooking. Not to mention priceless to come into the kitchen to see the fella clawing at his remaining hair looking totally baffled, the kitchen a mess asking me, “Why are these flipping directions so complicated?” If he didnt before, now he knows what Ive been going through. Happily for us both the Boulud cookbook that has been causing us both so much frustration went back to the library this evening. Hes been good to us but its time to move on.

For such a seeming simple recipe this meal really puts you through the paces. It has a fussy sauce. It requires the use of a sieve on said sauce. And it requires keeping the sauce edible while thin cutting slippery pieces of salmon. The fella cheated and used full thickness salmon when I assured him he didnt need to impress me with fish mongering skills at this point in our relationship.

Sieving off the solids in the sauce creates a really creamy but delicate sauce. Somehow it managed to be both delicate and decadent at the same time. The crisp perfect asparagus probably helped even out the naughtiness of the cream. Though I do have to admit at this point in the diet Ive lost my ability to feel guilty about eating a meal with a pint a cream per serving. I figure with all I have to deny myself its the least Montignac can do to allow me some heavy cream.



I also found perhaps the best wine to pair with this dish. The Aveleda Fonte Verde screams spring to me. Its tart and full of green apple flavors not to mention a semi sparkling feel on the tongue. Yet there is the sweetness of tropical fruit in there too. And at about $7 its a wine I can afford to buy every spring to brighten my spirits as the long grey days drag on before summer actually appears. The added bonus was it was just what this sauce needed, the tartness of the wine accented the cream and the sorrel.

Salmon and Sorrel Troisgros

SAUCE:
1 teaspoon butter
2 medium white mushrooms, finely chopped
1 large shallot, finely chopped, rinsed and dried
1 cup dry white wine

1 cup heavy cream
2 ounces sorrel, washed, dried and cut into very thin strands (baby spinach marinated in lemon juice for a couple minutes works as a good substitute)

Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat, then add mushrooms, shallot and white wine. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil while keeping a close eye on the pan. Boil until wine is completely evaporated.

Lower the heat to the lowest possible setting. Pour in the cream and let cook very slowly for about 15 minutes, until the cream is thickened enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Using a metal sieve or cheese cloth, strain the cream sauce off of the vegetables into a bowl or another saucepan.

Add the sorrel (or spinach) to the cream sauce and put saucepan over medium high heat. Bring cream just to a boil and then remove from heat. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

SALMON:
2 center cut salmon fillets about 1 inch thick and skinned
oil

Using a long thin knife, slice each salmon in half horizontally, creating two wide thin pieces of fish. It should look like the salmon version of scallopini.

Coat the bottom of warm dinner plates with the sorrel sauce and keep warm as fish cooks.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat with enough oil to keep fish from sticking without frying it. When pan is hot, slip in the fillets. Cook for no more than 2 minutes, then flip the fish to cook the other side for another 10 to 30 seconds until fish is warm yet still pink at center without being raw.

Serve immediately by placing warm fish in the center of the sauce covered plate.

Original recipe from Cafe Boulud Cookbook.

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After cooking this three times, I finally stopped myself from devouring it and took a picture.  Isnt it beautiful?

 

This soup was so good it never crossed my mind to take a picture of it.  I was way too busy eating it.  Its that freaking good.  And I thought it up all by myself.

See in my odd little world Monday is my day off to have the house to myself and do whatever I please unmolested.  This usually involves laying in bed until 10 or 11.  Reading in bed with the dog.  Having breakfast while watching an episode of some mindless TV show online.  Then I spend the rest of the day grocery shopping and cooking.  Usually while singing along to Goldfrappe/Lily Allen radio on Pandora.  There are are also periodic bouts of dog love throughout the day. 

And that for me is the perfect day off.  Thats partly because Im a huge food nerd who loves to cook and also because if I dont cook on Monday I wont get a chance to the next two days while working double jobs.  I learned early on that I can put up with most anything at work as long as I know I have something good to eat on my break, it keeps me from ripping out my hair and wanting to strangle co-workers.  So on Monday I make something delicious that will re-heat well to keep me sane at work the two following days. 

The fella also benefits from this situation as he doesnt have to spend his evenings alone trying to decifer whatever gibberish Ive written on the weekly menu that he should be cooking that night, that almost never ended well.  I love him like crazy but one of his talents is not reading Emily-ese.    And yeah thats right I plan a menu every week so that everything that gets bought gets cooked.  I hear about people who go to the store throw things in the cart and hope for the best when they get home, I cant imagine it.  Its insanity.

So being the super planny sort it probably wont surprise you that my next weird admission is that Im a terminal follower of recipes. Im lost without them.  Or was until recently.  Something clicked in my brain this week and I noticed I dont need recipes much anymore, theyre more of a way to come up with a concept and then I cook it the way I would like it better.  Its worked out so far. 

Then magically on Monday I closed my eyes thought “lentil sundried tomato soup” and made it happen with no recipe guidance whatsoever.  It was a big moment for me and I was rewarded with literally the best soup Ive ever made.  Its big and thick and tasty.  Exactly what I want to eat when its cold and the lack of sun is making me a bit punchy.

Something tells me this newly concocted recipe will be in heavy rotation on the menu for the rest of the winter.  And it should be on yours too because it couldnt be easier.

 

Sun Dried Tomato and Lentil Soup

2 tablespoons oil from jar of sundried tomatoes
2 small onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 large stalks celery, chopped

1 bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup lentils
5 cups vegetable stock

8 sundried tomatoes packed in oil, rinsed and chopped
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

In a soup pot over medium high heat warm the sun dried tomato oil, when oil is warm add onions, garlic and celery.  Saute the vegetables until soft but not browned, agitating them often while cooking.

Add the bay leaf, thyme, lentils and vegetable stock.  Allow to come to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer.  Let cook about 15 or 20 minutes, or until lentils are tender.  Depending on how thick you like your soups you may need to add more vegetable broth at this point.

Add the rinsed sundried tomatoes and red pepper flakes to the soup.  Stir well and cook soup just until tomatoes are heated through.  Add salt and pepper to taste if necessary.  Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaf and enjoy.

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So even though I have been super busy with work, I have religiously stuck with cooking at least three times a week. I even went as far to create a binder with meal plans laid out for each month, ingredients needed, and cost of each meal. I hope to revert back to it in the future to make life a little easier as a Mom.

A lot of these upcoming meals were made a while ago... but I got so far behind posting them because of all that has been going on. Im thinking for upcoming posts that I will only submit my favorite meals for you since why would you want to see that ones that didnt impress me :)

Taco Stuffed Shells (www.budgetbytes.com) $14.65

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1½ lb. ground beef
• 2 cups black beans
• 2 cups pinto beans
• 1 taco seasoning packet
• 1 tsp salt
• 12 ounces jumbo shells
• 1 can enchilada sauce
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• 3-4 whole green onions

Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Cook both in a large skillet over medium heat with the olive oil until soft and transparent (about 5 minutes). 

Add the ground beef and continue to cook until browned. Mix together the taco seasoning ingredients while the beef is browning. Once the beef is fully cooked through, add the taco seasoning and stir to combine. Drain the beans and add to the skillet. Stir until combined. Taste and season with salt as needed (I used about 1 teaspoon).

Allow the beef and bean filling to sit while you cook the pasta shells. Bring a large pot to a boil, add the shells and cook just until tender. Be sure not to over cook the shells or they will be soft and difficult to fill.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Drain the shells in a colander and rinse with cold water until they are cool enough to handle. Spray the inside of a 9×13 inch casserole dish with non-stick spray. Fill the shells with the beef and bean filling and place in the casserole dish. It’s okay if they’re not aligned neatly or if they topple over and spill some filling, it will still be good.

 

 

Once all of the shells are filled and in the casserole dish, pour the prepared enchilada sauce over top and then add the shredded cheese. Cook in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and everything is heated through (all ingredients are already cooked, so there is no real danger of undercooking here. You just want to get it all HOT).

Slice the green onions and sprinkle over top after it comes out of the oven. Serve hot!

Dan rated this a 4.5 out of 5 stars. I liked it because there were a lot of leftovers which meant I was off the hook cooking for a few days :)

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