Thanks to everybody for the support. Last week was a real tough one at work and all my energy was used up at the job. It seems that casseroles are the number one request. I didn’t have anytime to work on anything new, but stuff like that is on it's way. The problem is that most casserole recipes are not that healthy. I would like to try to do a modern look at them. Here is a quick rundown of this week’s offerings. My apologies to the folks who got some things they weren’t happy with last time around. We are still inventing more than perfecting at the moment. You have some freebies coming your way.
SNAX
The chipotle black bean dip is back. I always want to have beans somewhere on the menu for their fiber. As it turns out, the song was right, they are good for your heart.
Joanna had requested the tuna salad this week again. It is one of her favorites and we sold all of it last time we had it.
We had the weber grill going this weekend and it inspired me to grill some tomatoes, onions, and jalapeños for a salsa. It came out very nice.
SIDES
The love veg has been renamed the Violet Crown Veg due to legal threats from Magnolia Café. This week’s veg includes zucchini, squash, red peppers, sweet onion, carrots with the herbed garlic butter. To use: just sauté the veggies in a bit of oil. Once they are cooked to your specifications, add some of the butter and enjoy.
I was chided for not making enough of the sweet potato hash last time by the wifey, so it is back as well. I like this dish a lot and if my theory is correct, it could be very healthy. Sweet potatoes have a lot of vitamins so I am going to leave the skin on this week. What is your preference on that? Skin on or off?
Two new veg sides round out the menu. Joanna was reading an article in some fit magazine about foods that burn fat. The whole wheat penne pasta dish with pine nuts, feta, sundried tomatoes, and basil was one of the offerings. I am not sure how pine nuts and feta fight fat (they must be double agents), but it sounded good. It is designed as a pasta salad, but I think it would be great served hot as a pasta dish. Gently warm it in a sauté pan careful not to burn the cheese. The microwave could actually be your friend here.
The black beans with corn, roasted peppers, and cilantro is a personal favorite. I tried to get it on the menu at Tacodeli but was denied because it was too 1980’s. And it is. If you look at cookbooks from that era, Santa Fe and Dean Fearing were boldly using this color and food scheme. It is delicious. Put it on some brown rice and top it with some cheese, pico, and sour cream and it is Les Amis all over again. Man I miss that place.
SALADS
This is a completely new idea. Joanna didn’t want to pursue this one, but I couldn’t resist. One of the driving forces behind my cooking these days is health. Hard living has left me with a tattered esophagus, a holey colon, and the cholesterol of a walking dead man. I have since changed my ways and lost 30lbs, dropped the cholesterol 100 points, and traded the colon in for a Buick.
Seriously, salads are important for their roughage. While studying up on my various ailments, I was shocked at how bad the typical American diet is, especially regarding fiber. No one bought the salad dressings last week so I am going to try and provide the complete package.
The Green Salad is the basic garden variety with choice of dressing.
The Mediterranean is a tribute to my dads Sunday evening salads. He would dig in the fridge after the Cowboy game, find all sorts of crazy things we didn’t know we had and put it all on chopped romaine with a tart vinaigrette. It tasted great every time. Don’t worry, I am using fresh ingredients and doing a take on the Greek Salad.
The Spinach Salad is a work in progress and will change from week to week. This week we have goat cheese, roasted peppers, grilled corn and toasted pepitas. I guess it is kind of a southwestern take. The default dressing is the balsamic but you can have whichever one you want.
The House Salad is probably my favorite one of all. Mixed greens, blue cheese, toasted nuts, dried cranberries. I admit, dried cherries sound sexier, but the cranberries are much cheaper and contain more anti-oxidants.
The salad dressings are goat cheese with black pepper, balsamic vin, red wine vin, and the Shady Oaks. The last one is from my child hood and is a classic Dijon vinaigrette. Feel free to sub out any dressings on the salads.
Again, thanks for all the support. I love hearing about what you guys are doing with the food. Keep the comments coming, both good and bad. We never want you guys to be dissatisfied with anything and will strive to fix our mistakes. Like I mentioned before, we are inventing, not perfecting at this stage. Any suggestions for next week’s menu?
JOANNA'S NOTE
Joel is bustin' it on these recipes and everything is so awesome. Last week the Sweet Potato Hash was to die for. . .he didn't mention a couple of items he has this week. The SOUPS are Roasted Butternut Squash and Crimini Mushroom with Marsala. . now you all know me and you KNOW I have no idea what this is but I'll be tasting it and I'm sure it will be yummy.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Week 2, Tuesday Night, All Night!
That was one long night, but we were able to produce a decent amount of food and finally fill the second fridge.
SOUPS.
We did a repeat on last week’s soups but made more of each this time. The Carrot Soup came out nice. We made it using a recipe I wrote for my mom. It is nice to know that some of my recipes are accurate. Some did not cooperate. A nice undertone of ginger and orange balances out the carmelized carrot and onion base. The Black Bean Chili came out a bit spicier than last week, but more flavorful. I used primarily ancho chiles this time and more corn. Next week, I promise two new varietals. Any suggestions or requests?
SNAX.
Joanna has been requesting the Tuna Fish Salad. It is my mom’s tried and true recipe, nothing too fancy, but Joanna likes it. We are hoping Jake does too. I would have loved to use fresh dill, but HEB was out and I had to settle for the dried. It is time to get the herb garden going. The hummus came out nice. I have been using roasted garlic instead of fresh to maximize the garlic flavor, but without the bad breath and bitter bite. I also cut down on the amount of olive oil. Please let me know how it tastes.
The salsa is a chipotle with a medium kick. I used the broiler to roast the tomatoes, onions, and garlic. I have never had an oven with a working broiler. I was excited, I like my new stove. I could have charred them a bit longer to get a toastier flavor, but it tastes pretty good. Also, if you want more heat, let me know. I keep it pretty moderate.
The Cranberry Almond Granola was hit or miss. The new oven has a convection function that works pretty good. A little too good because I burned half the batch. The other half was salvageable. I will probably grind up the burned half and use it as a topping for smoothies. It has a nice carmelized flavor to it.
SIDES.
This is a new offering. I wanted to develop side dishes that are pre-cooked and just need to be reheated on the stove. The problem with pre-cooking veggies is that prior to reheating, they are cold, moist, and limp. (Insert bad joke here.) But once they hit the hot pan, things seem to come together well. To serve, heat a bit of oil in a sauté pan. Add the veg side and get hot, stirring frequently. If there is a sauce, add an appropriate amount and mix it in at the very end. Add some salt if necessary. Please let me know if things worked out according to plan.
The Fried Rice is a dish we eat every week at the house. Brown rice is mixed with edamame, red bell pepper, carrots, onion, and a hoisin ginger sauce. You may not need all of the sauce provided and can use the leftover for something else, like a marinade.
The Sweet Potato Hash is one of my favorites. We combined roasted sweet potatoes, corn, red bell, garlic, cilantro, and onion. This would be great underneath a grilled chicken breast or flank steak. It can also stand on its own.
Jo’s Veggies are a nod to the love veg at Magnolia. They came out different, but delicious. I used green zucchini, yellow squash, orange carrots, red bell pepper, corn, edamame, and onion for a vibrant veg mix. The love comes from an herbed roasted garlic butter that is very, very good. Especially on a piece of bread, after midnight, when concerns for the cholesterol have gone to bed.
SAUCES.
Sauces did not get much attention this week. I do have the BBQ sauce that I have visions of baking chicken wings in or glazing grilled pork chops. That’s right, the really skinny cheap ones. I used an ancho chile puree to give it an earthy feel. A bit more tomato than normal, but still pretty tasty.
The Joelula is still under production, but will hopefully be done. It is a vinegar base pepper sauce like tapatio or cholula. Great for eggs, chili, vegetables and the whatnot.
SALADS.
Salad dressings did not get done this week. Simply ran out of time. Which is where I am now. Gotta go to work.
Please let me know how you like what you bought. Honesty is appreciated. .This is a new concept and mistakes are being made. We value your opinions so we can improve on what we’re doing. As always, if you purchase something you don’t like, we will not make you pay for it. We will fix it, just like the first grade cafeteria.
SOUPS.
We did a repeat on last week’s soups but made more of each this time. The Carrot Soup came out nice. We made it using a recipe I wrote for my mom. It is nice to know that some of my recipes are accurate. Some did not cooperate. A nice undertone of ginger and orange balances out the carmelized carrot and onion base. The Black Bean Chili came out a bit spicier than last week, but more flavorful. I used primarily ancho chiles this time and more corn. Next week, I promise two new varietals. Any suggestions or requests?
SNAX.
Joanna has been requesting the Tuna Fish Salad. It is my mom’s tried and true recipe, nothing too fancy, but Joanna likes it. We are hoping Jake does too. I would have loved to use fresh dill, but HEB was out and I had to settle for the dried. It is time to get the herb garden going. The hummus came out nice. I have been using roasted garlic instead of fresh to maximize the garlic flavor, but without the bad breath and bitter bite. I also cut down on the amount of olive oil. Please let me know how it tastes.
The salsa is a chipotle with a medium kick. I used the broiler to roast the tomatoes, onions, and garlic. I have never had an oven with a working broiler. I was excited, I like my new stove. I could have charred them a bit longer to get a toastier flavor, but it tastes pretty good. Also, if you want more heat, let me know. I keep it pretty moderate.
The Cranberry Almond Granola was hit or miss. The new oven has a convection function that works pretty good. A little too good because I burned half the batch. The other half was salvageable. I will probably grind up the burned half and use it as a topping for smoothies. It has a nice carmelized flavor to it.
SIDES.
This is a new offering. I wanted to develop side dishes that are pre-cooked and just need to be reheated on the stove. The problem with pre-cooking veggies is that prior to reheating, they are cold, moist, and limp. (Insert bad joke here.) But once they hit the hot pan, things seem to come together well. To serve, heat a bit of oil in a sauté pan. Add the veg side and get hot, stirring frequently. If there is a sauce, add an appropriate amount and mix it in at the very end. Add some salt if necessary. Please let me know if things worked out according to plan.
The Fried Rice is a dish we eat every week at the house. Brown rice is mixed with edamame, red bell pepper, carrots, onion, and a hoisin ginger sauce. You may not need all of the sauce provided and can use the leftover for something else, like a marinade.
The Sweet Potato Hash is one of my favorites. We combined roasted sweet potatoes, corn, red bell, garlic, cilantro, and onion. This would be great underneath a grilled chicken breast or flank steak. It can also stand on its own.
Jo’s Veggies are a nod to the love veg at Magnolia. They came out different, but delicious. I used green zucchini, yellow squash, orange carrots, red bell pepper, corn, edamame, and onion for a vibrant veg mix. The love comes from an herbed roasted garlic butter that is very, very good. Especially on a piece of bread, after midnight, when concerns for the cholesterol have gone to bed.
SAUCES.
Sauces did not get much attention this week. I do have the BBQ sauce that I have visions of baking chicken wings in or glazing grilled pork chops. That’s right, the really skinny cheap ones. I used an ancho chile puree to give it an earthy feel. A bit more tomato than normal, but still pretty tasty.
The Joelula is still under production, but will hopefully be done. It is a vinegar base pepper sauce like tapatio or cholula. Great for eggs, chili, vegetables and the whatnot.
SALADS.
Salad dressings did not get done this week. Simply ran out of time. Which is where I am now. Gotta go to work.
Please let me know how you like what you bought. Honesty is appreciated. .This is a new concept and mistakes are being made. We value your opinions so we can improve on what we’re doing. As always, if you purchase something you don’t like, we will not make you pay for it. We will fix it, just like the first grade cafeteria.
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