Soba Noodles with Salmon

It's interesting how one's life can change so quickly. I remember only a few months ago I was going to the farmers market, spending hours cooking every day, making things like peach jam, getting lost in the glory of food. All that has changed. Now I want it fast. I don't have the time nor the energy for hours of cooking. I need it to almost cook itself. I don't want a lot of clean up either, I don't have the energy to do dishes at night, I am just too tired. What the heck? I liked it better before! But alas, one must come to terms with reality and make the adjustment, no matter how painful.


It's all because of "THE JOB". Working full time does not allow for much time left over to shop or prepare meals. I hate it. I remember meandering along rows of fresh produce, lost in my own thoughts, imagining all the things I could do with this vegetable or that fruit. Dreaming about the pleasure of not only picking out the item, but taking it home and gazing at it's beauty sitting on my kitchen counter. The excitement of beginning to cook the meal, to put everything together and somehow make it all come out so beautifully in harmony, the gratification of the finished dish, and pleasure of the first bite. How I miss all that. But I know I will have it again some day, so for now, I need to get my head out of the clouds and find something the eat.

All my energy is now applied to making the quickest meal possible. After working a couple of months it become clear how poorly we were eating. I found it hard to even make it to the market so sometimes it was whatever I could scrap together, and sometimes it was truly pathetic. We also started eating more take out, which is not good. That brought me to this point, where I can come up with quick recipes that I, or my husband, can whip up in a few minutes, and that still had some semblance of a healthy balanced meal.


Ta Da! I give you Soba noodles with Salmon. It's fast, it's healthy and it's easy. It's filling, you get a healthy carb, a vegetable, and some protein, all in one bowl.



Most of my posts in the near future will be in this vain. IF I can get them posted. I am sorry, I have been negligent in the blogging duties, but now you understand. Thanks for your empathy.


Ingredients:
Soba Noodles
Olive oil
Canola oil
Garlic, minced
Ginger, minced
Sambal
Teriyaki sauce
Asparagus
Salmon
Sesame seeds


Cook the salmon and asparagus.



Method 1. Coat the salmon and asparagus with olive oil, salt and pepper. and throw it on the grill for a couple minutes. We made this recently and my husband handled the grilling while made I did the slicing and dicing, the sauce and put it all together.



Method 2. Coat the salmon and asparagus with olive oil, salt and pepper. Put on a baking sheet and stick it in the oven for about 10 minutes.

While this is cooking boil the noodles. This only takes a few minutes. Drain them.



To make the sauce coat the pan with some canola oil, add the garlic and ginger and cook slowly for one minute. You do want this to burn. Add the teriaki sauce. I also add a little bit of sambal because I like a slight under current of heat, without it being too hot to eat. I always have a jar of this in my refrig, but if you don't use it, don't add it to the recipe.


To assemble, add the cooked noodles to the pan with the sauce and coat well. Next add the asparagus, cut into bite sized pieces. Plate the noodles, then top it with the cooked salmon and some sesame seeds.

Done, fast and easy. The thing I like about this basic recipe is that I can alter it depending on my mood or what I happen to have in the kitchen.


You could also use:
Chicken or shrimp
Cilantro
Peanuts
Scallions
Broccoli
Red bell peppers
Mushrooms
Sesame seed oil
Noodles, any type you have. I've used whole wheat linguine for this dish but my fav is the soba noodle as they are quick to cook and light. I don't feel stuffed after eating them as you might with some heavy pasta.



Make a little extra so that you can take it to work the next day for lunch.


You can make any combination of flavor you want to create the final dish. My fav is the salmon and asparagus but I have made it with many other things and it is just as good. I like using the salmon because, 1) it doesn't take that much so it is less expensive and 2) I don't get enough fish in my diet and this is a simple way of getting it. Plus my dog loves it! Ah ha, the truth come out!

Multigrain blueberry pancakes

I buy an all natural muti grain baking and pancake mix. It is simply grains, no additives. It contains very little sugar, only 2 grams per serving, but 4 grams of protein and some fiber. I always feel guilty when I eat pancakes and therefore I don't eat them very often. But with these I don't feel quite as guilty. They are actually more in the healthy column, as long as I don't pour a load of maple syrup over them. I try to use fresh fruit, and sometimes I put on a small amount of all natural peanut butter. All natural peanut butter has no added sugar, its just nuts, and high in protein.

There are recipes that usually come with the mix but I just make up my own.

Multigrain pancake mix
1 egg
1 fresh Orange
Cinnamon
Fresh blueberry's
Milk
Canola Oil and butter

I use one heaping tablespoon of mix for each pancake. If I want to make 6 pancakes I use 6 heaping tablespoons. Put that into a bowl. Add an egg.

Use a grater and zest the orange. Zest only the orange part, try not to get the white. Add that to the bowl. Cut the orange in half and juice the orange into the bowl. The zest and juice of an orange adds some wonderful flavor to the otherwise bland mix.


Add a bit of cinnamon. I add more than a bit because I like it that way. You can also add a little fresh nutmeg if you are so inclined.


Add some fresh blueberrys. Now you want to mix very gently and add milk until you get it to the consistency you want for pancakes.


I use a big giant non stick skillet because I can make several at one time. Heat it with a little canola oil and a small amount of butter. I like the flavor of the combo.

If I don't have blueberrys make other flavors. You can add vanilla. You could make them plain and cut fresh strawberries over the top. You could add an egg, or top them with peanut butter and syrup. Yes together. It's delish. Whatever flavor you decide, just make them for a nice Sunday morning breakfast. They are special. Perhaps with some pressed coffee?

Minestrone Soup with Sausage and Tortellini

It's flavorful and filling. It's a meal in a pot.

It's been raining a lot in California and that's when I pull out the warming winter recipes. I recently made a big pot of minestrone soup but instead of all keeping it all veggies I added some sausage and cheese tortellini.



What you are going to need:

• Olive oil
• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian sausage
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 to 4 carrots, thinly sliced
• 2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 to 3 medium size medium zucchini, diced
• 1 1/2 cups green beans, sliced
• 5 cups beef stock
• 4 cups water (approx)
• 1 35 oz can Italian plum tomatoes, crushed
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• Salt and pepper, freshly ground
• Outer rind of Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 1 14 oz can cannellini beans, drained
• 6 ounces dried cheese tortellini
• Freshly grated Parmesan, Asiago, or Romano cheese

Directions: in a large soup pot, saute the whole sausage in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Cook them only until slightly underdone as they will cook more in the soup. Remove from the pan and set aside. Once they are fully cooled slice them.

In the same pot add the chopped onion. Cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the sliced carrots, potatoes, zucchini, and green beans cooking 2 to 3 minutes between each addition.


Add the beef stock, water, canned tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt and pepper to taste. A word about the water. Add enough to make it a fairly thin soup because later when you add the tortellini they will suck up a lot of the broth. Add the cheese rind to the center of the pot, cover and cook for 2 1/2 hours on a slow simmer.


15 minutes before serving add the sliced sausage back in, then the beans and the tortellini. Again if the soup gets too thick add a little more water. Heat this for 15 minutes or until the tortellini is done.

Serve in large bowls with freshly grated cheese on top. A nice hunk of bread with this soup and you have a very hearty meal.


I have learned after making this soup many times that adding the pasta early will make for a mushy soup as the pasta will fall apart.


Hint: When ever I have rind left from Parmesan, or other hard rind cheeses, I save it. I keep it in a Ziploc bag and use it for soups and stews or pot roasts. It adds a wonderful flavor and it is usually something that is thrown away.

This soup is very satisfying. The men in your life will love it.

Oh those potatoes!

Do these look fantastic or what?

These potatoes are outrageous! Seriously. Once you have them you will want them again. You will think about them.....daydream......you might even have a dream or two. BUT let me break the news to you, these are potatoes you have every once in awhile, not every day. They contain cream, butter, and gooey cheese. I usually serve them at Christmas with a Prime Rib roast. Every person who has had them falls in love.

The basic idea is that, using a baking dish, you are making layers. I use a mandolin to cut the potatoes so they are thin and evenly sliced. The thinness of the potatoes make for more layers, which is a good thing, and they cook faster.

The recipe:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper, freshly ground
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
• 1 pound baking potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
• 1 to 2 cups Gruyere cheese

The amount of cheese is really a personal thing. Adding one cup gives the dish a great flavor but if you want it to be over the top adding two cups make is extra gooey and cheesy. I mean, if you are going to bother to make this and eat it, make the way you want it. Especially if you only have it once a year.

Preheat the oven to 375.

In a saute pan heat the oil and add the onions. Cook on med heat until translucent. Add the butter and cook a few minutes longer until slightly caramelized being careful not to burn. Add the garlic, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cream. Cook a few minutes just until the cream starts to get thick and reduce. Set aside.

Grate the cheese and slice the potatoes.

Now you are ready to assemble.

I would suggest using a little cooking spray in your baking dish to make sure they don't stick terribly. Start with the potatoes and layer around the pan until they are almost half way up the dish. Pour the onion cream mixture over the layered potatoes, then half of the grated cheese. Now make another layer of potatoes until the dish is full, then top with the second half of the cheese.

Bake for 60 minutes. This dish is somewhat forgiving. You could make this ahead of time and then reheat it. I've cooked them with other things in the oven, like Prime Rib, set at a higher temp and they come out fine. As the picture above shows they can get a little crispy on top so you want to be careful the cheese does not burn. If they are getting too brown you could cover them with foil and continue to cook.

Options: you could also add a little freshly chopped rosemary, or perhaps chopped ham.

Give them a try. I hope they will become a special dish in your home. Perhaps for a special birthday or with a ham for Easter. Or with a big hunk of beef at Christmas. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cookies

I meant to post this prior to Thanksgiving. Yeah this whole working full time thing has really cut into my blogging time. Sorry for the delay. Pumpkin is a fall vegetable and these cookies are wonderful for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

I have been making these for probably 30 years. They are a little different in that they are very light, as in airy, but they are also lite, as in taste. They are not real sweet which is what I like about them. They puff up to produce an airy cookie but the problem is that you can eat about 10 of these before you realize what you've done. Really, I am not kidding. You'll see. And with some coffe or tea you are a goner.

The recipe includes:

• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 egg
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup raisins
  

Icing: powdered sugar and milk.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper. You don't want these cookies to brown and the parchment paper will help with this.

Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon and set aside.

In a mixer beat the shortening with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the pumpkin then the egg, mix well. Mix in the dry ingredients until just blended, add the raisins.

Drop by tablespoons on lined cookie sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Cooking time depends on how many cookies you put on the cookie sheet at one time. The more cookies the more time. I tend to make about 12 at one time on a large sheet pan so it takes a full 15 minutes. I then remove them from the oven and allow them to cool on the sheet pan for 2 minutes before I remove them to a sheet of wax paper on the counter. These must cool completely if you are going to ice them otherwise the icing will just melt all over.

To make the icing put the powdered sugar into a small bowl. Pour in some milk very slowly and stir with a spoon to a smooth consistency. It takes very little milk for a lot of sugar.


Once you have an icing that is thick, creamy and will drip slightly, but is not too runny, you can drizzle them over the cookies. I make little zig zag patterns that look pretty. Allow them to set up.


These cookies are best if eaten soon. I usually make a double batch then pack them in clear glasen bags and tie them with ribbon to give out to friends.

A note about the shortening. I buy the Spectrum brand shortening that contains no trans fats. You know, it just seems a little bit healthier.


I hope you will make them for your family. Happy Holidays!