Intuit Cooking

Intuit Guacamole

It's getting near the end of cheap avocado season, so get a bunch of dark, slightly soft Haas avocados and some green ones which can ripen over the next week or so.

If you have a food processor, this will take you about 5 minutes to make. 

2-3 avocados, pitted and scooped out from shell

1/2 c. salsa

1/2 bunch cilantro leaves

1/4 c. sour cream or plain yogurt

1 lime, juiced

Place all ingredients into food processor. Pulse until desired texture is reached.

Remove to a bowl. Add salt and lime juice to taste.

Serve with chips, soft tacos, quesadillas, fish, burritos, any grilled meat.

If you have leftover guacamole, it will keep tightly sealed in the refrigerator for a couple of days. 

iPhone cooking apps - learning to cook intuitively

Check out this funny article at Slate.com about trying to cook using your iPhone cooking app!  It's so true! I have been using my iPhone epicurious app to pull up recipes when I have ingredients I want to cook with, but really don't know what to do with. 

I love my iPhone and the iPhone apps work, except that you can't really follow a recipe because your phone switches off to the sleep mode all the time. Right when you need to review the recipe, with your hands all sticky and wet, you look to your iPhone and all you see is a black screen!

The only solution is intuitive cooking. What I mean is, you choose a recipe you want to use and review it for the following: 

1. ingredients - line them all up
2. technique - get the gist of what's going to have to be done
3. cooking time and temperature

So the other day, I chose collard greens. I got a bunch of them in my latest CSA delivery from Be Wise Ranch Organic Farm. I'm not from the south (in fact, I'm from the opposite direction -- the Great White North [White, as in snow and ice!]), so I have no idea what to do with collard greens. 

My takeaway from the recipe is that these things take a long time to cook. First you have to wash and de-vein them; then you have to boil the crap out of them (30 minutes), then to give them back some flavor, saute them in olive oil, garlic, and this recipe suggested lime juice.

So, that's what we did. You don't need a recipe to boil collard greens. When they were ready to saute, I did my usual 3 cloves of chopped garlic in olive oil (I love garlic), with a splash of balsamic vinegar at the end. The balsamic adds a little sweetness as well as the sour flavor to the greens. A dash of salt, and . . . done!  

I only used the iPhone app at the very beginning, to find and review the recipe, get the feel for it, then start cooking using my intuition. It worked better than running back and forth to my iPhone! 

Now when the iPad comes out, that's ANOTHER story! Now we're talking!

Borscht (or Roasted Beet Soup)

What can I say about Borscht? Beet Soup. This is a Ukrainian classic, which allowed people survive brutal winters with no food, except for the root vegetables they dug up in the fall and stored for the winter. 

Done badly, it is horrible. As my dad says, who wants to eat purple soup? But done right. . . ah, it's sublime. 

This recipe is a combination of my grandmother's Borscht with my own take on the delicacy. 

It's a meal in itself, and full of anti-oxidants and omega-3's, so make a massive pot of soup, freeze some for later, and enjoy many bowls of Borscht!

Borscht

4 beets, roasted

1 onion, chopped

1/2 head cabbage, shredded

2 carrots, shredded

1 can chopped tomatoes

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 can kidney beans, drained

fresh dill, chopped

Salt, pepper

Lemon juice

Clean, peel and quarter beets. Save any beet greens to chop and toss into the soup at the end. Coat beets in olive oil, then roast for 45 min - 1 hr at 375 degrees. This makes the beets intensely sweet. When cool, shred the beets in a food processor. Also, shred the carrots and cabbage.

Saute the onion in olive oil in a large soup pot or large chef's pan. Add the shredded vegetables, tomatoes, broth, and kidney beans. Simmer for 35-45 minutes.  At the end of cooking, add the fresh dill and beet greens to the pot and stir. Add in salt and pepper to taste. For a little extra zing, add juice from 1/2 a lemon. Add more lemon juice slowly to desired tartness.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream (or plain yogurt) and fresh, crusty bread or toast.

Corn Chowder

We just had a massive rain storm in San Diego and it actually got cold here for a while!

We were in the mood for comfort food in the form of a rich, filling but healthy soup. I had twenty minutes to whip this up for lunch, but with this basic soup technique, you can do it.  

Use this technique with any vegetable soup or mixed veggies, and you'll have delicious, homemade soup in less than 30 minutes!

Corn Chowder

1 onion, chopped

Olive oil

1 med yukon gold potato, cubed into 1" cubes

1/2 teas. thyme or herbes de provence

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 16oz bag of frozen sweet corn

Salt, to taste

Lemon juice, maybe 1/4 lemon or to taste

Saute the onion in olive oil over medium heat until translucent. Add the potato cubes and saute for 5 minutes, turning occasionally. Add the thyme or herbes and saute 1 more minute until the aroma of the herb is released. 

Add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are cooked through, approx. 10-15 minutes.

Add 1/2 the bag of corn and bring back to a simmer. After about 1 minute, blend the soup with a hand blender in the pot until relatively smooth. Add the remaining corn and bring back to a simmer. Switch off. 

Adjust for flavors. You may need salt if your broth was not salty. But be careful of adding extra salt if you use commercial broth because it may already be salty enough. The soup should have a slight sweetness, due to the sweet corn. You don't want to cook it too long after the corn is added because that could reduce the sweetness of the corn. If you want the flavor to "pop" or brighten a little, add some lemon juice in small quantities, stirring in and tasting after each tablespoon or so. You don't want to overdo it with the lemon, but just have the flavor come alive!

Serve with warm sourdough or whole grain toast and a side of your favorite cheese for a wonderful winter dinner or lunch!

Healthy Celery Leek Soup

So, I joined a CSA, also known as, Community Supported Agriculture. It provides a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal and sometimes organic food directly from a local farmer. The CSA I joined is BeWise Ranch in Escondido, CA.

You agree to purchase weekly or bi-weekly boxes of fresh produce from locally grown organic farms. The most recent box I received included lettuce, beets, celery, leeks, limes, avocado, mandarin oranges, apples, swiss chard and cabbage. 

I don't usually do much with celery or leeks, but I do know that celery makes a great soup. Usually people make leek and potato soup, or vichyssoise, which I find a bit bland. So I combined the two into Celery Leek Soup, and here is the result! Enjoy this with warm, crusty sourdough bread and butter.

By the way, not only is this an incredibly cheap meal to make, but it is low calorie, substantial and healthy!

Celery Leek Soup

1/2 onion, chopped

2 small leeks, chopped 

8 stalks celery, chopped, leaves included

2 med. sized yukon gold potatoes, cubed

4 c. chicken or vegetable broth

salt, to taste

Saute the onions and leeks over medium heat until translucent, then add the celery and saute, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes or so. Then add the potato, and saute for another 5-7 minutes. Add the broth, bring to a boil, and simmer for about 30 minutes. When potatoes are cooked through, blend soup in the pan with a hand blender until smooth.  Taste. Add salt by the 1/2 teaspoon, stirring and tasting after adding, until it tastes right for you. Enjoy!

Indian Daal or Curried Lentils

When my husband, Danny, and I traveled in India on our honeymoon, we had to be very careful with the foods we ate. He is deathly allergic to nuts, and there are a lot of ground nuts in Indian curries. We were also careful about eating meat, because we didn't want to end up with some kind of food-borne illness, which would land us in the hospital. 

So, we were ultra careful and for about six weeks, ate almost nothing but Daal.  Daal is curried lentils - just veggies and legumes, no meat or fish which could go bad and make you sick.  By the end of our travels to India, I was so sick of Daal, I did not eat it for over 10 years!  

But this week, I had a craving for some kind of vegetarian curry, and Daal was the natural result. So here's my Daal recipe. Serve it over brown rice and use a little Sweet Thai Chili Sauce for an extra flavorful kick.

This Daal is a low calorie, high nutrition and CHEAP meal to help get you through a bad recession.

Indian Daal

1/2 c. lentils, washed

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 onion, chopped

Olive oil

1.5 T. curry powder

1.5 T. tumeric

1.5 T. cumin

1/2 T. coriander

5 cups vegetable or chicken broth

1/2 red pepper, chopped

big handful of cilantro, washed and chopped

juice from 1/2 lime or lemon

Salt to taste

Butter

Rinse the lentils in a strainer then add to a pot of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let lentils simmer for about 25-30 minutes, or until no hardness is apparent when tasting the lentils.

Meanwhile, in a different large, heavy bottom pot, saute the onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Do not let it get brown.  Add all the spices and saute for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, to release the aromatics.  Switch the heat off if the lentils are still cooking.

When the lentils are ready, add them to the onion, garlic and spices, along with the broth. Throw in the red pepper.  Cook for another 30 minutes or so until flavors are blended and lentil mixture thickens.  

In the last 5 minutes of cooking, add the cilantro and lemon/lime juice and taste. Add salt in 1/2 teaspoon increments, until it suits your taste. If you want it more tangy, add a little more lemon/lime juice. To bring more body or depth to the lentils, add 1-3 T. butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, to the desired richness. I like just over a tablespoon. It gives the lentils a little richness, without adding too many extra calories.

Serve over rice with mango chutney or Thai sweet chili sauce. And don't forget the hot chili sauce for that extra kick!

Leftover Salmon Tacos

What do you do with leftover salmon? That question always tormented me. Salmon on the night it is cooked is fabulous, but the next day, putting it into a sandwich is just sort of . . . blah.

Until we tried these Salmon Tacos. We always go to Rubios, our local San Diego Mexican fast food place, where we love the fish tacos. They always put cabbage and a creamy sauce, along with a salsa, in their deep fried fish pieces. So we tried our own version at home. The Cilantro Mayonnaise and avocado chunks really makes these tacos taste great. Also, if you have some Phyl's Coleslaw on hand, add these to your tacos for a tangy bite! If you don't, regular shredded cabbage will do and will add some crunch along with good antioxidants for your body.

Salmon Tacos

Taco sized flour tortillas

Salmon pieces, either leftovers or canned salmon 

Cilantro Mayonnaise

Phyl's Coleslaw or shredded cabbage

Avocado chunks

Assemble all ingredients in advance. Either warm multiple tortillas in the oven wrapped in tin foil, or heat up individual tortillas in a dry, hot frying pan.

Place ingredients in the center of tortilla in a line. Don't fill too full or it will spill out.  Roll burrito from the top down, folding in the sides as you roll. Enjoy! 

Holiday Cooking

Wow! What a holiday season! Lots of cooking, eating and fun. Although, not your typical Christmas dinner - we're not much into turkey. Instead, we had Broiled Salmon with Cilantro Mayonnaise and Shitake Brown Rice for Christmas Eve dinner. 

What to do with leftovers? We made Salmon Tacos with Phyl's Coleslaw and Cilantro Mayonnaise. 

We also made homemade pizza with whole wheat pizza dough, Thai Fresh Spring Rolls and Black Beans and Rice. 

For breakfast, some creamy scrambled eggs, bacon, bagels with smoked salmon and creamy oatmeal.

And for New Year's Eve, a taco bar potluck with the salmon tacos making their second appearance in a week!

Overall, Christmas dinner was delicious and we didn't feel stuffed or like we over-ate. It was untraditional, but this was the first time my family came down from Canada for Christmas, so it should be out of the ordinary!

More importantly, we are trying to reduce the amount of meat we eat, and increase the amount of fish. While farmed salmon is not as good for you as wild salmon, at least it's fish. And fish has healthy omega-3 acids, which is good for preventing heart disease. Combined with a big green salad and brown rice with mushrooms, dinner was light, tasty and delicious!

Cilantro Mayonnaise

This is a luscious little sauce which goes great with grilled salmon. And you can put it on your salmon tacos if you have any leftovers!

Cilantro Mayonnaise

1 c. mayonnaise

1 large handful of cilantro leaves

1 shallot, chopped 

3 green onions, chopped

juice from 1-1.5 limes

Saute chopped shallot and green onions lightly in olive oil until translucent. Remove from heat.

Place all ingredients into a food processor and process until well blended. Test for taste, adding more lime juice, if needed, and possibly a pinch of sea salt. If satisfied with the flavor, scrape out of processor into a serving dish and serve with fish or tacos.

To test for taste, you should be able to taste the cilantro, but not be overpowering. To enhance the taste and make it more lively, add lime juice. I prefer to add an acid, such as lemon, lime or vinegar first. Only at the end, add salt if you want a more full-bodied taste. If you add the salt at the end, you use less. And less salt is better for you!

Asian Chicken Salad

This salad makes a delicious and healthy dinner. Or pack it into your lunch and dress it just before eating.  Start with your basic spring greens, and add vegetables that give it an Asian feel. Finish with teryaki grilled chicken, a sprinkle of peanuts and a ginger based dressing. 

Asian Chicken Salad

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Soy Vay teryaki sauce, or another good teryaki sauce

1/2 to 3/4 cup peanuts, chopped

Ginger-based salad dressing, like Paul Newman's Lowfat Sesame Ginger

Spring mix salad greens (grab one large handful for each serving)

Wash, and slice into small bite sized pieces, the following veggies: 

red onion

red pepper

sugar snap peas, cut in half, crosswise

cucumber

mushrooms

carrots

red cabbage

green onion

chopped cilantro

First, marinate the chicken thighs for 1 hour or so in a good teryaki sauce, containing ginger (for tenderness). I like to use either Soy Vay or Trader Joe's brand, called Soyaki.

Next, place the chicken thighs on a broiler pan and broil. Make sure you monitor the chicken so it doesn't burn. When you start to see the edges of the chicken turning dark brown, and the overall look is golden, then remove from the broiler and turn the pieces over. Cook on this side until a nice golden crust has formed on the thighs. Then, switch the broiler off and change the heat to bake at 375 degrees. Continue cooking the thighs another 10 minutes in the oven until completely cooked through. This method of broiling first, then baking to finish, gives you that nice, golden, barbequed look and taste, while avoiding the burning from an overly hot broiler. Here's what the chicken should look like, coming out of the oven:

Allow the chicken to cool, then slice across the grain into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

Meanwhile, prepare the salad foundation, by placing the salad greens, then all the sliced veggies layered into a wide-brimmed salad bowl. 

It will look similar to this:

Now, top your salad with the sliced chicken, a sprinkle of chopped peanuts, a little cilantro and green onion. 

You can either toss the dressing into the salad, or leave it on the side for people to add themselves.

I like to toss the dressing if I think the salad will be eaten up. If you think you'll have leftovers, your salad will keep for 1-2 days in the refrigerator as long as it is not dressed. That makes a great lunch to bring to work the next day! 

Here are pics of the chopped peanuts and salad dressing: