Tilapia with Bell Peppers and Parsley-Spiked Couscous

A few years back, while teaching on the island of Ebeye, I encountered a problem with words.  It started while reading Encyclopedia Brown with my 5th graders.

"Then Encyclopedia and... and..." the little girl stopped.

"Phoebe," I suggested.

"... and" then she dropped her voice down to a whisper, "Phoebe followed the trail.
Popcorn Manty."  She let out a sigh of relief and relaxed back into her chair.

It was Manty's turn to read, but he just looked at the book for a moment.  Finally he read, "Fo-ay-bee and Encyclopedia..."

"Phoebe, it's Phoebe."

"Um, ok... 'she picked up her magnifying glass and looked down at the ground.'  Popcorn Bokjuwa."  Another sigh of relief, another body relaxing into a wooden chair.

Man, I thought, what is with these kids today?  You would think that after me telling them it is Phoebe for the fifteenth time, they would get it.  

But no, Bokjuwa had the same problem.  Except hers was pronounced like Foo-bay.

"Guys, it's Fee-bee.  FEE-BEE.  Say it with me."

Silence.

And then a hand shot up.  "Miss?" Pamela called out, "Um, that name, that word, um..."  She hesitated for a minute and then blurted it out, "In our language it means, you know, a girl's..." Then she glanced down at her crotch.

Oops.

I learned a valuable lesson that day.  Don't name your daughter Phoebe if there is any chance she may live in the Marshall Islands some day.

It wasn't long after that my roommate and I were making some couscous for dinner.  A neighbor girl, originally from the island of Pohnpei, was doing her homework at out table.  Lisa and I kept talking, but every time we said "couscous" Dixie started to giggle.  Finally, I asked her what was up.

"Oh Miss!  Couscous," giggle giggle, "it means something kind of bad in my language."  And then she giggled some more.

So, couscous.  What does it mean in Pohnpeian?  Like she said, something 'kind of bad'.  Not anything I can repeat here, being family-friendly and all.  I will let your imaginations run with that one.  But let's just say that every time I cook couscous, I giggle.

But dinner tonight?  No giggling needed.  Straight-up good.  Good for you, good tasting, and good on the wallet.  Tilapia with bell pepper and some parsley spiked couscous.

Couscous.

*Giggle, giggle*

Recipe from Everyday with Rachael Ray, March 2011

  Serves:  4          Prep Time:  10 minutes          Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

TipGrate the lemon peel and stir it into the couscous.

TipDust the tilapia with flour before cooking to give it a light crust.

TipMake fish tacos by serving the cooked tilapia and vegetables with warm flour tortillas and salsa.

• 1 7.6 ounce box  couscous

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

• Salt and pepper

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 4 skinless tilapia fillets (about 1 1/4 pounds), patted dry

• 2 lemons, cut into wedges

• 2 bell peppers, cut into thin strips

• 1 onion, thinly sliced

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups salted water to a boil; remove from the heat, stir in the couscous, cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Using a fork, stir in 1/2 cup parsley, salt and pepper. Keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Season the fish with salt and pepper, add to the pan and cook, turning once, until golden-brown and just cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, squeeze a wedge of lemon over each fillet and tent with foil to keep warm.
3. Using the same skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the bell peppers and onion and season with salt and pepper; cook until softened and golden-brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Spoon the vegetables over the tilapia and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons parsley. Serve with the couscous and remaining lemon wedges.

COST:  $11.12     COST PER SERVING (4): $2.78

Whole Wheat Pasta with Walnut Garlic Pesto

It has been ages since I have posted a new recipe.  And by ages I mean two weeks.  But when you love to cook, two weeks can seem like ages.

Yesterday, though, the business slowed down a bit and the rain paused long enough for me to do what I enjoy.  Who cares that there was laundry to be done and work to do?  The conditions outside were right, and I wanted to cook.

This is not actually a new recipe.  In fact, this was one of my original recipes on this blog.  But it was time to do it again.  What can I say -- my pictures in the early days were atrocious.  ATROCIOUS.  Oh well, I have lived and I have learned.  And I needed an easy unprocessed recipe for dinner.  What's easier than pasta???  I like the ingredients on this bag of penne:  organic whole wheat flour.  YES.

Pesto is always so easy to make if you have a food processor, and this pesto is no different:  walnuts, garlic, parsley, olive oil, and lemon juice.  Mix it up and that's it.

The recipe called for cooked mushrooms and spinach, but there was no spinach to be found in my fridge... but there were brussel sprouts!  Yes, you heard me correctly -- I added brussel sprouts.  Don't yuck my food just yet.  These things taste good when cooked right!  And I cooked them right :)

The end result?  A fast, unprocessed, vegan meal that you can make in 20 minutes or less.  And a happy, happy Tiffany.

Man, it feels good to be back in the kitchen!

Recipe adapted from Everyday Food with Rachael Ray, August 2010

Ingredients

TipBuy walnut pieces, which are cheaper than whole walnuts, when the shape of the nut doesn't matter.

TipToss a small handful of baby arugula with the spinach or brussel sprouts.

TipSpice up the walnut sauce with crushed red pepper.

• 1 pound whole wheat penne rigate pasta

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 2 cups white mushrooms (about 5 ounces), thinly sliced

• 1 cup brussel sprouts, leafed or spinach

• 4 cloves garlic

• 1 cup walnut pieces (about 4 ounces), toasted

• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped parsley

• Grated peel and juice of 1/2 lemon

• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until al dente, about 12 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, and return the pasta to the pot.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until lightly colored, about 5 minutes. Stir in the brussel sprout leaves and cook until wilted, about 1 minute.
3. Using a small food processor, mince the garlic. Add the walnuts, parsley and lemon peel and process until finely chopped. With the machine on, add the lemon juice and remaining 1/4 cup olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Process to form a paste.
4. Add the walnut pesto and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water to the pasta; toss to coat thoroughly. Stir in the mushroom mixture, adding more pasta water if needed; season with salt and pepper.

COST: $6.83   COST PER SERVING (4): $1.71 

Camping + October Unprocessed

This was my view when I woke up yesterday morning.

Man, I love camping!

Camping along the California Coast at Big Sur is a yearly tradition of our.  We have a group of friends that makes a point of getting together every year, bringing tents and marshmallows with us.  It has become one of my favorite annual events, but this year the adventure landed smack dab in the middle of another yearly deal: October Unprocessed.

So, what's one to do when you are going to be spending your days out of your kitchen and sharing food with a bunch of friends that probably won't be all too excited about an entire weekend of eating all unprocessed food?  Easy...

You turn to Trader Joe's for pancake mix.  Pumpkin pancake mix.  Sure, if I were in my kitchen I would make it from scratch.  But we are camping.  And this stuff is made with unbleached flour, organic raw cane sugar, and all other good things that are OK'd for the challenge.  No preservatives or artificial colors... PERFECT.

You enjoy that steak your husband cooked over the campfire.  And you enjoy a LOT of it.  Steak, after all, is unprocessed.  The healthiest thing for you?  Probably not.  But unprocessed?  Yes.

You chow down on roasted veggies for dinner.  And then secretly jump for joy when you realize that nobody remembered to bring hot chocolate or stuff for s'mores.  So we snacked on asparagus.  Sad for them, but happy for me ;)

And you pack snacks.  Banana chips are a great munchy food when everyone else is chomping down on Cheez-its.  The best part?  You don't have to be obnoxious about it.  They reach for the Cheez-its, you reach for the banana chips, and you all munch away.  Honestly, I don't even think anybody noticed...

So, can you be unprocessed even while camping?  Yes, yes you can.  But if you want those s'mores, you better go in another month ;)

Carrot and Sweet Potato Bisque

It all started when I wanted soup.  Simple request, usually.  But with October Unprocessed I was a little worried that it would be much more complicated.  I mean, I would have to make my own stock first!  That seemed like a lot of work...

Except it is NOT.

I took all the odds and ends of veggies I had laying around in the fridge, dumped them in a soup pot, covered with water and added some salt, then let it boil for about an hour.  While I watched TV.  Yes, that's how complicated it was.

But what kind of soup did I want to make?  Well, I wanted to make I-don't-need-to-go-out-in-the-rain Soup.  The perfect kind for a day like yesterday.

Cupboards and fridgedoors were opened.  Kale?  Nah... enough of that recently.  Beet?  No.  I did not want beet soup.  But I did see those beautiful, colored carrots I got for a buck at Farmer's Market a few days ago.  And there were a few sweet potatoes hiding in the bottom of my pantry.  The perfect ingredients for the perfect soup.

In the end I wound up with a creamy (thanks to pure Greek yogurt and a blender) sweet potato and carrot bisque.

Guess what?   It was delicious, unprocessed, and cost about 75 cents per bowl.

And I didn't have to go out in the rain...

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 2 T butter
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t nutmeg
• 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 5 medium carrots, cut into medium-sized pieces
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt, plus a little more to top the soup
• sprigs of fresh herbs, your choice, to top the soup

DIRECTIONS

1. In soup pot, melt butter and saute onion and garlic, about 5 minutes.  Add cinnamon and nutmeg and cook another 2 minutes.
2. Add potatoes and carrots to pot and cover with stock.  Add up to 1 cup water, if needed.  Bring to a boil, and then reduce to low and simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes and carrots are soft.
3. In a blender, working in small batches, puree the soup mixture.  Be careful to let the steam out before blending to avoid any explosions. 
4. When finished, stir in yogurt and salt/pepper.  Top each bowl with a small dollop of yogurt and fresh herbs of your choice.

COOK'S NOTE

To save time, use bullion cubes.  Otherwise, make your own.  It tastes AMAZING!

COST: $2.98   COST PER bowl (4): $0.74

It's KALE Day! Woot-woot! (Kale Hand Pies)

Do you know what today is?  It's Kale Day!

I know, I know.  That is a silly thing to be excited about.  Kale, Tiffany?  Really?

Yes, really.  We LOVE kale in our family.  Blame it on the Brazilian, but we love kale.

In honor of this very special day, I made some kale hand pies.  This was seriously one of the most time consuming recipes I have made recently.  And my kitchen was covered in flour afterwards.  But our taste buds and bellies were happy, so it's all good.  ALL good.

As the kale lovers we are, we have lots of great kale ideas:

Click any picture to be taken to the recipe.

White bean soup with kale and chicken sausage

Kale and cheddar biscuits

Kale quesadillas

Potato and kale pancakes

Kale and spinach green smoothies

Chicken and kale casserole

Sauteed kale with garlic

I told you we love kale ;)

Recipe adapted from Everyday Food, November 2011

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups unbleached flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for rolling
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt
• 1/2 cup ice water
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 10 ounces (about 1 1/2 links) sweet Italian sausage, casings removed (I used chicken sausage)
• 1 medium onion, diced medium
• 1 tart apple, such as Granny Smith, peeled and diced medium
• 1 bunch kale (3/4 pound), tough stems and ribs removed, leaves coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup cranberries
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• Egg yolk, for brushing

Directions

1. In a food processor, pulse flour, butter, and salt until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. With machine running, sprinkle with 1/4 cup ice water; pulse just until dough holds together when squeezed (if necessary, add up to 1/4 cup more water, 1 tablespoon at a time); do not overmix. Form dough into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate 30 minutes (or up to overnight).
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add sausage and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 6 minutes. Add apple, kale, and cranberries and cook until kale is almost tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; season with salt and pepper.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to an 1/8-inch thickness. With a large round cookie cutter or small bowl, cut out eight 6- to 7-inch rounds (reroll scraps if necessary). Place 1/2 cup kale mixture in center of each round and fold over filling to form half-moons. With a fork, press edges firmly to seal. Place pies on baking sheets and brush with egg yolk.
4. Cut a small vent in each pie and bake until golden brown and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool slightly on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cook's Note

To save time, use store-bought rolled pie dough to make the crusts for these hand pies.

COST: $7.28   COST PER PIE (8): $0.98

Farmer's Market Finds

Purple carrots and yellow tomatoes.  The feel of paper money slipping through your fingers instead of a plastic cards.  Coins clinging in your pocket.  A soft reggae version of "I'm Yours" plays in the background.

Must be farmer's market.

I walk home with three bags filled with goodies -- carrots and fresh greens, local honey and just-baked bread, smoked salmon and heirloom tomatoes with the dirt still on them -- and I ask myself, "Why don't I do this more often?"

October Unprocessed Survival Guide -- Week Two

Our produce for the week -- FRESH!

We have made it through the first week of all unprocessed food!  It has taken more consideration and planning, but it feels GOOD.

Last year we when we participated in this, I felt so overwhelmed.  My days were consumed with thoughts like, "How can I make this work?  What can I substitute instead of ______? What do you mean sugar is processed?!"  But because I stuck with it I learned so much, and this year is much MUCH easier.

One of the best parts about it this time around?  I have recruited friends to join me.  And then they recruited their friends, and on and on.  At this moment we are up to 93 of us in a group supporting each other.  NINETY-THREE!  Some are full on, like my husband and I (100%, everything, everyday), while others have committed to one meal per day or something like that.  However they are getting it done doesn't matter.  What matters is this: we are helping each other stop and think about what we are putting into our bodies.

And there have been some moments of success!  One friend noticed she lost some weight -- and not because she was hungry.  Awesome!  Another friend in Brazil discovered a great place to find healthier food choices than she was aware of.  So many others have felt victorious in making new dishes and trying new things.

Of course, there have been some moments of struggle.  I have heard people say they fell off the wagon on day 1, or had great intention but kept going back to their old routine.  And that's OK, too!  As I told these friends, it's not about being perfect.  It's about getting back up and trying again.  That's what counts.  If you keep trying then one day you will get it.  If at first you don't succeed, try try again!

Last week I made a menu for the first week, and I will be doing the same this week, except this time it is vegetarian.  I realized that I have a lot of vegetarian friends who want to participate but are used to relying on processed veggie meat to get their protein.  Obviously, this veggie meat is a big NO for this challenge, so they need some more ideas.  For that reason, this week's menu is vegetarian.

Day One //  Vegetable Frittata minus the sour cream
Day Two //  Zucchini Carrot Pancakes with salad on the side (seasoned with lemon juice and salt -- YUM!)
Day Three //  Mushroom Risotto
Day Four //  Chicken (or Hard Boiled Egg) and Apple Salad with homemade dressing
Day Five  //  Asparagus and Goat Cheese Pasta
Day Six  //  Butternut Squash and Mushroom Tortellini
Day Seven  //  Leftovers or Eat Out -- Whatever!  Just take a break :)

SHOPPING LIST

PRODUCE

2 red onions

1/2 lb. green beans

1 tomato + what you want for salad

1/2 lb. potatoes

1 zucchini

1 large carrot

head of garlic

1 lb. mushrooms, divided for two meals

salad greens of your liking (spinach, lettuce, etc.)

2 apples, fuji or gala

cranberries

2 bunches asparagus

small butternut squash

fresh sage

fresh dil

parsley

chives

DAIRY

block of Parmesan

1 dozen eggs

real butter

buttermilk (smallest you can get)

organic, unprocessed mayo (you can get it at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods or make your own)

8 oz. fresh goat cheese

DRY/OTHER

Extra virgin olive oil

unbleached flour

2 c. aborio rice

fresh vegetable bullion (TJ's or Whole Foods, or make your own)

white wine vinegar

1 lb. fusilli & 1 lb. tortellini, UNPROCESSED (again, check TJ's or Whole Foods.  They've got you covered.)

Great Breakfast Ideas

Green Smoothies!  Oh yeah!

Just add PURE soy or almond milk (you know where to go!), a frozen banana, some spinach and kale, a bit of fresh honey and a tablespoon of natural peanut butter.  Ta-da!

Or click HERE for more ideas :)

CRAVING SNACKS?

Get some nuts for salty cravings, and mix bananas with pure cane sugar and cinnamon and put in the microwave for 45 seconds for sweet cravings.

And remember to check Andrew Wilder's site Eating Rules for other great suggestions throughout the week. We can do it!!!

Apple, Chicken, and Cranberry Salad with a Creamy Homemade Dressing

Whoa.  I just typed the title and it was LONG.  Anyway...

I made some dressing today.  A ranch-type of dressing.  And I feel pretty darn cool right now.

What can I say?  Simple pleasures, my friends, simple pleasures.

It was pretty easy actually.  Just a few ingredients --

Buttermilk (or in my case milk plus some white vinegar, because I didn't have buttermilk), mayo (organic and unprocessed from Trader Joe's, since this is October Unprocessed month), white wine vinegar (um... champagne vinegar -- it's what I had), parsley (at least I think that's parsley... I just pulled it from my mini-herb garden), and some (sea) salt.

At least I got the salt part right.

I also made something like fried chicken.  Just not too fried.  I feel so domestic today.  All these new things that I have never done before...

The rest?  No brainer.  Throw some greens down, slice some apple and put on top, add a handful cranberries and the chicken, and drizzle the dressing on top.  A complete meal in a salad.  Score.

Simple pleasures.  They're a good thing.

Recipe adapted from Everyday Food, November 2011

PREP TIME: 20 min      TOTAL TIME: 30 min       YIELD: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup unbleached flour
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs -- Trader Joe's has completely unprocessed ones)
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound total)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 pound fresh spring greens
• 2 apples, such as Gala or Fuji, cored and cut into thin wedges
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions

1. On a plate, season flour with 1/4 teaspoon salt. In a shallow dish, whisk egg with 1 tablespoon water. On another plate, season panko with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Pat chicken dry. Dredge chicken in flour, then dip in egg, letting excess drip off. Coat with panko, pressing gently to adhere.
2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium. Add chicken; cook until golden brown and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes total, flipping once. In a small bowl, whisk buttermilk, mayonnaise, vinegar, and parsley; season with salt and pepper. Arrange greens, apples, and cranberries on a platter. Slice chicken, add to platter, and drizzle with dressing.
   
   

   COST: $7.97   COST PER SERVING (4): $1.99

Tortellini with Butternut Squash, Sage, and Mushrooms

I am a lover of Summer.  Truly, I think I would be happy if I had Summer all year long...

Oh, wait.  I did that.  Living on the equator for a year (Palau and Ebeye) will give you that...

Ok, let me say that again.  I think I would be totally happy having Summer nine months a year.  That would leave one for Spring (and everything would be green), one for Winter (meaning I could get my hot chocolate fix for the year), and one for Fall (allowing us to have butternut squash and other lovely Fall veggies).  However, if I were the one in charge of such things (and all of life on planet Earth did not depend on the changing of seasons) I would spread them out so there would be three months of Summer between each one.

Perfect.

Butternut squash... oh man.  I didn't even know this stuff existed until last year.  Yes, you heard me correctly.  There were/are plenty of things I never really knew of.  Chalk it up to living off of boxed food and TV dinners 90% of my younger years.  My family single-handedly kept Kraft Foods afloat.

Thank goodness for Brazil, a masters class, and Jamie Oliver!  I kid you not, that guy and his Food Revolution timed themselves perfectly with my newlywed-trying-feed-her-Brazilian-husband-who-has-never-had-box-food-in-his-life phase as well as me being enrolled in 'Advanced Health Education'.  Good things come in threes, I have been told...

So now I know (and love) butternut squash.  And sage.  Have you ever smelled that before?!  Wowsers.  It's pretty amazing.  Mushrooms, those I did know, no worries ;)

October Unprocessed is this month, and for the second year I am participating.  I learned so much last year, and am hoping to do so again.  The truth is, though, that it is not that hard this time.  Why?  Because I am pretty much stuck to this diet throughout the last year.  But there is always room to grow...

Which lead me to reading every single ingredient on the pasta in Trader Joe's.  I know, I know.  There is no artificial anything in TJ's food.  But I was looking for what I consider "the next level".  What kind of flour did they make it with?  Any added sugars?  If so, what kind?  And lo and behold, I found out something wonderful.  The pastas are made with unbleached flour (unprocessed!) and raw cane sugar (unprocessed!), not to mention the salt is sea salt (unprocessed!).  Thank you, Trader Joe's!

Not only can I enjoy my favorite Fall veggie, but I can have it with tortellini.  My favorite!  I guess I can enjoy the season of Autumn now.  If only it was followed by Summer...

PS - If you have been following me, you have seen this recipe before.  TWICE.  I did it last year for October Unprocessed, repeated it again in January (with 'better' pictures), and am sharing it today because, well, the pictures are WAY better :)  If you are new to my blog, you are in for a treat!

Recipe from Real Simple, October 2011

Ingredients

• 1 small butternut squash (2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/2 pound button or cremini mushrooms, stems trimmed and halved if large
• 1/4 cup fresh sage leaves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• sea salt
• 1 pound fresh, UNPROCESSED tortellini
• 2 ounces fontina or Gruyère, grated (1/2 cup), plus more for serving (Or Parmesan.  They're all good!)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 450° F. On 2 rimmed baking sheets, toss the squash and mushrooms with the sage, oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Roast, tossing once and rotating pans halfway through, until the vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cook the tortellini according to the package directions. Reserve ½ cup of the cooking water; drain the tortellini and return to the pot. Add the vegetables, fontina, ¼ cup of the cooking water, and ½ teaspoon salt and toss gently to coat (add more cooking water if the pasta seems dry). Sprinkle with additional cheese

COST: $8.26    COST PER SERVING (3): $2.75