Refreshing summer soup - chilled cucumber beet

I have obviously been on a crazy beet kick for a few months...I also have a very short attention span, so I quickly got bored with eating sliced beets over and over (but I still wanted beets).  Oh, first world problems...

My boredom with sliced beets coincided with the explosion of my deck garden.  I have tomatoes, bell peppers, strawberries, and cucumbers in the produce section this year, and the only thing that the squirrels and the doberman leave for me are the cucumbers.  (Sidenote: I must have the most healthy wildlife in the city given the amount of veggies that have been plucked in their prime).

Winning.

The obvious solution, inspired by one of my favorite, now-defunct lunch spots, was to combo sweet beets and refreshing cucumber into a delicious combo of healthy goodness.  I combined a number of recipes that I found online to get the combo that I wanted, and this is the result:

What you need:
1 large cucumber
4 beets
4 scallions/green onions
1 tsp creamy horseradish
1 tbsp wine vinegar
up to 1 cup of low sodium chicken stock
3/4 cup light sour cream
a food processor (please note, this is NOT a mixer - this thing has blades...you may substitute with a good blender)

Step 1:  Clean and cook the beets per my previous entry.  After they are cooked, let them cool for about 60 mins.  SAVE the beet juice/water from the cooking.

Pretty purple

Step 2:  Peel and dice the cucumber, and place it into a food processor.

Step 3:  Chop the green onion up to where the stem turns to leaves into pieces similar in length to the cucumber dice length.  Place the onion in the food processor.

Step 4:  Cube the beets into the same size as the cucumber.  Place the beets into the food processor with the other veggies.

Ready to rumble.

Step 5:  Run the processor until things start to look smooth.  Then add the horseradish and the wine vinegar.

Step 6:  Now comes the tricky part...you will need to add the chicken stock to taste.  I like a stronger flavor in mine, so I added almost the whole cup.

Am I allowed to call a 1-cup carton of chicken stock "adorable?" 

Step 7:  You will want to use the beet juice/cooking water in order to regulate the consistency of the soup - I only used about a half cup to thin mine out.

Step 8:  Mix with the food processor til everything is well blended.  Your mix will be a deep purple color.  The fun part is adding the sour cream, since it will take it to a vibrant violet color and will add the sour element to balance out the sweetness of the beets.

before

After

Step 9:  Pour into an easy container for refrigeration.  Cool for at least 6 hours before eating.  Enjoy!

Cooking tip:  Remember to always taste as you cook!  This keeps you on top of your seasoning.  Nothing is worse than bland or overly seasoned food...you want to find that happy medium, and you need to taste as you go in order to do that.

Counting calories?

With all these delicious food options, it is easy to pile on the pounds (guilty).  To try to keep myself in check, I downloaded the MyFitnessPal app for iPhone (and I think it is also available on a Droid).  There is a huge database of food with nutritional information so that you can track the calories you eat, as well as the cals you burn through exercise.  You can type in your weight and weight goals information so that it can set calorie recommendations and track your weight.  You can also connect to friends so that you can encourage one another.  I highly recommend it!

Me after vacation

I am now eating Chobani with fresh peaches and 1/8 cup low fat granola on the regular.  Protein up to kill the aggressive hunger of a stretched out belly

Nice rack

More rack of lamb!  I have been playing with the seasoning and technique since my last entry (oh darn, so much practice lamb to eat).  Lamb is delicious no matter what, so the trick is to get the right rub to bring out the flavor profile you prefer.

What you need:
8 bone rack of lamb
1.5 tsp lemon thyme
1.5 tsp parsley
2 tsp crushed rosemary
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper - 1/8 tsp each
mint jelly for garnish

The players: Even my seasoning represents Bucknell.

Step 1: get your rack, and leave it out of the fridge for about 1 hour before cooking so that it will cook evenly.

Step 2: preheat the oven to 400 and let it heat while you prep your herbs

Step 3: Chop all the herbs and mix them in a bowl with the EVOO and garlic, then add salt and pepper

Step 4:  Score the fat on the lamb - take a sharp knife or set of kitchen scissors and make grid-like cuts on the fatty portion.  Note: some people are tempted to cut the fat off - do NOT do this until AFTER the lamb is cooked, or you lose a lot of flavor.



Step 5: Rub the herb mixture all over the lamb and place the lamb bone side down, fat side up in a baking pan.

Step 6:  Cook the lamb to rare - please do not ruin the lamb with well done!!!  Depending on the size of the rack, this can be anywhere between 7mins and 15 mins, depending on the size.  It will be a light brown on the outside when done.

Step 7: Remove from the oven, let it sit about 2 mins (I hate waiting any longer than that), and then slice between each bone.  Serve with mint jelly and any sides you want! And, obvi, a mojito.

Confession: the beets weren't great with lamb, but I wanted both so I ate both.  Judge all you want.

Mojito (say it with an accent)

Out of necessity, I have recently become hooked on mojitos - this is due to a very aggressive mint plant in a window box.  Once the mint dies or they make an aggressive tequila plant, I will switch back to my beloved margaritas.  Til then, I am a mojito gal.

What you need:
fresh mint
silver rum (do NOT get crappy rum...trust me on this.  There is not enough in a mojito to cover up crap rum)
soda water
sugar or sweet n low
lime juice

Step 1: Put on your helmet and padding and wrestle a sprig off your mint shrub/tree.  Pop it in a glass.

Step 2: Add a tsp of sugar or 2 packets of sweet n low.

Step 3: Add just enough soda water to cover the sugar (VERY little)

Step 4: Use a pestle or similar implement to muddle the mint, sugar, and soda water.  What is muddle?  Smoosh it with force so that the flavors all seep out and mix.

Step 5: Add rum:soda water in a 1:3 part ratio.

Step 6: Squirt in lime juice to taste (I like it more tart, so .5-1 tbsp, and then stir.



If you want to do a less traditional route, you can add a splash of fruit juice or include fruit slices in the muddling step.  Play around with it to find your favorite flavor!

Mojito with a splash of Light Cranberry Juice

Do you know what mojitos go well with?  Lamb. 

Beet the heat

There are a few foods that I will always associate with old people, the top three of which are prunes, metamucil, and beets.  Due to the severe emotional trauma and constant state of denial that accompanied my last birthday, I was understandably dubious at the thought of incorporating one of the triple threats into my diet.  After a long and possibly schizophrenic debate, the argument of "beets are pretty!" won out over "only old people like beets."

So, after deciding that I could eat beets and still be young, I faced my next problem: I am terrified of root vegetables.  I love eating them, but I have had one-too-many kitchen disasters that usually stem from (haaa get it?) potatoes.  Beets are from the potatoe's domain, and therefore, they are to be feared.  I am a litigator who fights the good fight against ambulance chasers, and I used to spend my time throwing violent criminal offenders in jail...none of that scared me, but root vegetables remain a constant, haunting horror.

I decided that beets were a great way to face my fears, because unlike stupid potatoes, beets at least pretend to bleed when you stab them, thereby making the victory satisfying and dramatic.  Beets are my first step up the rickety ladder of the root vegetable family.  I can do beets.  I own beets.  Beets now fear ME. 

Step 1: locate beets.  When you fail to get to the farmer's market on time (due to the mojito recipe that you can see in the next entry), you will then proceed to three different grocery stores before you locate your veggie prey.  While you are at the store, pick up a really stiff nail or tub brush - plastic bristles.  Make sure you keep that brush where your visiting mothing is not tempted to use it to scrub the sink.

Step 2: Cut the stems off with scissors and size up your roots.  They are ugly and dirty in their natural form, like a Real Housewife.  Preheat the oven to 350.

Step 3:  Under running water, use your stiff brush to aggressively scrub the beets.  Don't get carried away or you will waste beet (guilty).  Purple juice is going to start running down the drain, and the beets will turn a deep purple on the surface.  When they are purple all over, they are clean.

Step 4:  Place the beets into a deep casserole dish.  Most of my beet bunches have consisted of 3-4 beets.  Pile them all in there and cover them with water.  Place a cover or foil on top of the dish (keeps in the steam/water)

Step 5:  Place the casserole dish on top of a cookie sheet in the oven.  Cook at 350 until the beets are soft to the stab of a fork - this depends on your beets, but it is typically 1.25 - 1.5 hours

Step 6:  Slice the beets on a plastic cutting board.  THE JUICE WILL STAIN WOOD.  Wipe up the juice overflow as you go to avoid repainting your kitchen to match the new color scheme.

Step 7:  Serving options -you can eat them plain, over a salad, over sauteed spinach (strangely it works), with crumbled goat cheese, or with my artichoke dipping sauce mentioned earlier.

Beets with crumbled goat cheese

Cooked beets will last in the fridge for about a week.  I won't tell you what to expect the next morning...it explains why old people like them so much.  Do not be alarmed, do not go to the emergency room, you are not bleeding internally.

Sidenote: dobermen also love beets. 

Picasso grilled cheese

I recently had a craving for sherried tomato soup (see recipe here: http://ataps-easyeats.blogspot.com/2011/10/snow-day-soup-creamy-sherried-tomato.html), so I of course needed to come up with something that would go along with it nicely aside from bud light lime.  The first challenge of course was that I discovered halfway through making the soup that my sherry was missing.  It immediately obvious that the dogs have been having parties without me while I am at work.

Exhibit 1: evidence of costumes

Exhibit 2: Evidence of capes.

I made an easy substitution with brandy, because that's what they left me with, and you can't have alcohol-free tomato soup.  Anyway, the soup was delicious, as always.

Now, let's discuss our side options.  What goes well with tomato soup?  Nothing better than grilled cheese, that's for sure!  Now fancy tomato soup deserves a fancy grilled cheese, so let's get creative...I like the idea of two cheeses and a bonus ingredient.  It keeps things simple yet makes it look like you are some sort of creative genius.  Also, the bread is important...you want something that will grill well.  I highly recommend ciabatta because I like the way it crunches when you bit into it, and the crust keeps everything crisp while the cheese gets melty.

So, I visited heaven (the cheese section of the grocery store), and carefully made my selections.  I wanted a smoky sort of taste to my sandwich, so I went with apple smoked gruyere and chipotle gouda.  The third ingredient is always the exciting one, since it can be anything from fruit for a sweet kick, to tomatoes, to a meat.  It was obvious that my choice had to be pancetta.  Sweet, salty, smoky, genius.

Sherried (actually brandied) tomato soup with an apple gruyere-chipotle gouda-pancetta panini on ciabatta.

Grilling methods - I finally found a use for my George Foreman grill - perfect panini maker!!!  Butter the outside of your bread and pop it on.  You can also of course use a real grill, a toaster oven, or a nonstick skillet on the stove.

Other gourmet grilled cheese topping ideas:
sliced figs or fig jam (get crazy and do fig & pig - figs and prosciutto yummmm)
bacon (really an option for any dish)
tomato
thin apple slices
prosciutto
apricot jam

TexMex crockpot chicken

This is a delcious and super easy dish that will make people think you know how to cook and that you are good at it.  Impress your guests, parents, spouse, etc.

Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts or cutlets
1 package of taco seasoning
2 tbsp. flour
1 green bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 cup frozen corn (let this thaw for about 30 mins before you toss it in the crockpot)
1.5 cups of chunky salsa
white rice
grated mexican cheese mix

Step 1:  Cut the chicken into 1 inch squares and toss them into the crockpot.  Pour the taco seasoning and the flour over the chicken and stir.

Step 2:  Dice the bell peppers and add them into the crockpot.

Step 3:  Add the corn and the salsa, and stir.

Step 4:  Cook the mixture on low heat for 6-8 hours, or on high heat for 3-4 hours.

Step 5:  Serve over rice (or quinoa), sprinkle with grated cheese, and use hot sauce if desired.  It is the perfect dinner for any season.