Monday, September 27, 2010

Saying Goodbye to Tomatoes

Evolution Tomato Salad pg. 113
Let's say good bye to another summer friend. Tomatoes. I was excited to do this recipe because I've loved all of the other Evolution recipes, have I mentioned that before? I love that the base ingredients are very simple and I can count on having most of them on hand in my kitchen which makes me feel very smart and like a savvy chef. I can see all of the Evolution recipes helping me in a pinch to get something together quick for a potluck, picnic or a spontaneous dinner at a friends house. This one didn't disappoint me. I bought one of those cute little containers of tomato "medley" where they have all different sizes, shapes and colors. Beginning to end it took five minutes to make. Starting with about one and a half pounds of tomatoes, I cut the larger ones and then put them in a bowl. Next I added 6 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Tossed everything to coat and then scattered some basil leaves on top. Seasoned with salt and pepper. And I was done! You could also add black olives, white beans or tuna.
Recipes cooked: 58
Recipes left: 115
Days left: 164

Monday, September 20, 2010

Saying Goodbye to Summer

As the days have gotten a bit shorter and the nights a bit chillier, I've frantically been going through "Jamie's Food Revolution" trying to squeeze in all of the "summer" recipes as one hot summer draws to a close. For my final summer recipe I finally settled on Paella (pg. 292). What I love about Jamie's write-up is that he encourages you to be creative and select your own ingredients. The prep on this one was a bit of work and a football game was calling to us in the background so both the husband and I chopped away to get it done…chicken, chorizo sausage, bacon, onions, parsley, TOUCHDOWN! Just another sign that fall is on the horizon. Once this is done, it really was a matter of throwing everything into the pot with some rice and letting it simmer. In the last few minutes I added frozen peas, fresh lemon juice, mussels, shrimp and scallops. My pot was a bit full and the kid gave me some advice on how to distribute the mussels (her favorite part) into the overflowing pot, comparing it to one of her science experiments. School. Summer really is over, isn't it? As I buried the mussels, my mind wandered to a nice summer evening with friends on the patio, this would be a great recipe for a night like that! The dish also had a "throw it together" feel to it, even if I had planned it out the night before.
For our "say goodbye to summer" dessert, I made Strawberries and ginger snaps with vanilla ice cream (pg. 326.) As I assembled them, I thought about what a great treat it would be at a 4th of July party. Thinking back, 4th of July seems like a long time ago. Goodbye Summer 2010.
Recipes cooked: 57
Recipes left: 116
Days left: 167

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Broccoli and Pesto Tagliatelle

Broccoli and Pesto Tagliatelle (pg. 46)
Another win! Great! I thought this dinner was a great reminder that dinner doesn't have to be complicated and can still be placed on the table with no mommy guilt and make everyone happy. I imagine you could replace the broccoli with another green veggie if you wanted too.
Recipes cooked: 55
Recipes left: 118
Days left: 179

Ingredients
serves 4 to 6
• 1 medium potato
• 1 head broccoli
• A large bunch of fresh basil
• Sea salt
• 1 pound dried tagliatelle
• 1/4 cup green pesto
• 3 ounces Parmesan cheese

Wash and peel the potato and cut it into very thin shavings using a speed peeler.
Cut little broccoli florets off the head and put them to one side.
Halve the thin stalk lengthwise, then slice thinly. Pick the basil leaves and discard the stalks.

Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil. Add the tagliatelle and broccoli stalks and cook according to the tagliatelle package instructions.
Two minutes before the the tagliatelle is cooked, add the broccoli and potato slices. Drain everything in a colander over a large bowl, reserving some of the cooking water, and return to the pan.
Roughly chop half of your basil leaves and add to the pan with the pesto and half of the Parmesan.
Give it all a good stir and if the sauce is too thick for you, add a splash of the cooking water to thin it out a bit.

Divide the pasta between your serving bowls. Sprinkle over the rest of the Parmesan and the remaining basil leaves. Serve it a lovely big bowl of salad.


Monday, September 13, 2010

Labor Day Potato Salad

Yummy! Finally! I felt like I was on a losing streak and then I threw together this easy potato salad, Jamie's "Evolution Potato Salad" on page 111. Now I've never made potato salad but it conjures up images of a huge sack of potatoes and me peeling, peeling, peeling. Labor. Lots of Labor. "Easy" and "potato salad" are not two words I would have put together in the same sentence. The perfect recipe for a Labor Day cookout, right? The recipe calls for those baby potatoes and I picked up some nice red ones at our produce stand. I asked if anyone minded if I kept the skin on, they said no. After throwing my baby potatoes into a pot of salted water I got my dressing ready by mixing olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt and pepper. Easy! The little potatoes just needed about 15 minutes to cook then I drained them, tossed them with the dressing and added the rest of the ingredients: chives, lemon zest, plain yogurt and cut up bacon. This was so good and went great with our burgers from the grill. Best of all, no labor! I don't think the kid has ever tried potato salad but she loved this and scarfed it up!
Recipes cooked: 54
Recipes left: 119
Days left: 180

"Hot" Chocolate

I knew the "Pineapple and Chile with Chocolate Ice Cream" on page 326 was something no one else would try with me and I was right. But, I made it anyway when I realized one day that I had all three ingredients in the house at the same time. Interesting. Easy to make. Checked it off the list too. Not sure I'll ever make it again. And that's pretty much all I have to say about that one.
Recipes cooked: 53
Recipes left: 120
Days left: 184

Thursday, September 2, 2010

To: Jamie, From: Amy

August 30, 2010

Dear Jamie,
Thanks so much for encouraging me to make my own oatmeal. I just made the last oatmeal recipe today--Banana, Whiskey and Nutmeg Oatmeal (pg. 300). Jamie, maybe when I'm a Rock Star Celebrity Chef or at least my kids are grown and out of the house will I be able to have whiskey for breakfast, but at this stage of my life, I call "Uncle."

Your Revolutionary Pupil,
Amy

Recipes cooked: 52
Recipes left: 121
Days left: 187

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

A Huge Moment

One of the reasons that I started this Food Revolution in my kitchen was to learn to be a better cook. Part of my definition of a good cook is someone that can, on occasion, improvise and come up with something without necessarily having to look up a recipe, right down the ingredients and make a special trip to the store. One night, last Wednesday to be exact, I needed a veggie dish to go with dinner. I looked around and basically came up with a bag of broccoli in the freezer. As I started to steam it on the stove, I thought, "What can I do with this broccoli?" Since I'm still trying to catch up from my summer hiatus I tried to think of a recipe in Jamie's book that I could check off of my list and I remembered the Broccoli with Asian Dressing recipe. I looked it up (pg. 220) and glanced down the ingredient list. It looked like I had everything, another first! My kitchen was finally showing signs of being "well-stocked." But it called for a pound of broccoli and we definitely didn't need that much so I was going to have to do a bit of math, and some taste testing. When I set the finished product on the table, it looked like the picture and tasted great. I was so proud of myself!
Recipes cooked: 51
Recipes left: 122
Days left: 192

Evolution Green Salad

The same day I made the cookies, I needed a salad to go with our dinner. I love these Evolution recipes and decided to try the Evolution Green salad (pg. 108). It was simple and delicious and once again reminded me that making your own dressing is easy, better for you and really yummy. I started with lettuce and added parmesan cheese, bacon and Jamie's lemon dressing. That's it!
Recipes cooked: 50
Recipes left: 123
Days left: 193