Wine and Soy Mushrooms

Wine and Soy Mushrooms, page 193

Elliott and I both love mushrooms, Jonathan tolerates them and Chas, bless his taste buds, avoids them. Always. I knew that if I served this as the main dish 2 of the 4 around the table would need an alternative, so I served it as a side. Because it was served as a side, I eliminated the bread which the recipe calls for the mushrooms to be served over.

I allowed these to simmer for much longer than the 8 - 10 minutes suggested, adding a splash of wine here and there when the pan began to look a bit dry. It seems to be the way I work in the kitchen; a little more wine is usually not a bad idea.


Kitchen Action
Lacking in Pantry: Nothing
Additions, Subtractions or Method Changes: No bread, extra wine, GF tamari for soy sauce, chives instead of parsley and chicken stock because that was what I had on hand.
What I'll try next time: I think these would be delicious with a red wine sauce too.
How it Scored:
Jonathan: 3
Elliott: 4
'becca: 5
Chas: Well that night for dinner his plate looked like this:

Beef hot dogs and his favorite, Cabot extra sharp white cheddar. He did not like what we were having, so he fixed his own dinner.

Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Turkey Lettuce Wraps, page 204

"Are you going all P.F. Changs on us tonight?" Jonathan asked when I told him what we were having for dinner? "I'm trying," I replied, except I really wasn't because I was using masala spices. I do however feel safe eating there because of their GF menu. Did you know that they serve their GF meals on plates which are marked? The bowls have a thin black line around the edge. This recipe review is a bit ironic, as I am meeting a few girlfriends there today for lunch.

My favorite thing about this recipe are these words: 2 tablespoons favorite spice mix (Asian, Mexican or Indian curry blend), providing the opportunity to make this meal 3 times, 3 different ways. It's a 3 for 1, I love 3 for 1, especially when it's 3 cute summer-y dresses from Athleta for the price of 1. Tell me if you find that deal, okay or better yet, just surprise me and send them directly to my house.

I used one of my favorite spice blends I buy when in Rwanda, Tropical Heat's Chicken Masala, and I freshly ground fennel seeds. I like the combination of fennel and raisins, but the whole seed can be over powering. I knew if I wanted Chas to like it, they needed to be ground. It worked! He liked it. He did pick out the raisins and there was no way it would be wrapped in lettuce, but wrapped in a tortilla, minus the raisins and no peanut sauce -- he gave it a 5!

Kitchen Action
Lacking in Pantry: I didn't have lettuce, but ran to the grocery only to find they were out of the lettuce I wanted, boston, so I bought green leaf. It worked.
Additions, Subtractions or Method Changes: I left out the onion and chilies on purpose. I used chicken masala spices with ground fennel as my spices, in the sauce I used unsalted natural peanut butter, but added salt, apple cider vinegar, not white and lemon, not lime.
What I'll try next time:
For my family, I may or may not try different spices in the meat. What I used went over well with everyone, so I hate to stray too far. I need to work on the sauce a bit more. If preparing for guests, I'd like to try it with an Asian mix and also Mexican. If using Mexican spices, I'll probably swap the peanut sauce for salsa.
How it Scored:
Elliott: 3.5
Jonathan: 4
Chas: 5
'becca: 4.5

As I type this, I have Savory Bread Cakes baking in the oven. I'll be taking them to fuel the Triple Threat Racing triathletes after a morning swim on Saturday and before a bike. Many of the families of TTR athletes and the coaches are cooking from The Feed Zone and are discovering how great they feel. Are you flying solo with The Feed Zone or are you cooking with a community?

Fish Tacos (with a spin)

Fish Tacos, page 201

The parents of Triple Threat Racing kiddos gathered to brainstorm and plan how we can raise funds for equipment for the team. If you are a triathlete, you understand it is not only an investment of time training, but a financial commitment as well. We have a number of companies who have chosen to partner with TTR graciously offering discounts and some have even chosen to go beyond that, kicking back a percentage of the purchase to the team. Guess who one of those companies is...drum roll...SKRATCH LABS!

~THANK YOU~THANK YOU~THANK YOU~THANK YOU~THANK YOU~THANK YOU~

If a purchase is made using the code they have provided (TTRacing) they are offering a discount and will make a donation to the team. So, if you have not ordered their cookbook, which I have highly encouraged you to do, you should do it, but order with the code. There is a link on the TTR homepage if you scroll to the bottom. (Before I have shared that there wasn't anything in this for me and really, there still isn't, but for the future of the sport and the team my boys are on...ya get the picture.)

Now, the Tacos with a Nimrod spin. I followed the recipe for the fish preparation, using taco seasoning I'd made a few weeks ago. Halibut was the fish I chose, for its thicker cut and how well it holds together. I followed the suggestion to use grapeseed oil and liked the results. 

The spin comes in the rice and with the tortillas. I added tomatoes, cilantro, black beans, diced chili's, cholula sauce and a bit of salt to the rice. Knowing one of TTR's junior elite athletes is vegetarian, I wanted to provide an alternative to the fish. As the fish was cooking I heated the oven to 300 and pulled wonton wrappers from the fridge, grabbed a pastry brush and a little bowl of oil, grapeseed for consistency. 

I lightly brushed both sides of the wonton wrappers with oil and placed them into a muffin tin, making a little bowl. Next, I baked them for a few minutes, until they bubbled and began to brown around the edges. After I allowed them to cool on a wire rack, I put a large spoonful of the rice mixture into each wonton bowl topping it off with a couple of pieces of fish making little fish taco bowls. 

Unfortunately I wasn't able to eat the them because of the gluten factor, but I made sure to have a little bowl of rice and another of fish, to wrap in corn tortillas. I tried to see if the corn tortillas would make the little bowls, but they broke when I put them in the muffin tins. Not quite as cute, but I know they were just as tasty. 

Kitchen Action
Lacking in Pantry:
lime
Additions, Subtractions or Method Changes:
Buckwheat flour for regular flour and wonton wrappers for wheat tortillas
What I'll try next time:
greens, some sort of chopped greens between the rice and fish
How it Scored:
Again, I didn't get numbers from people. They were shared with a group, ages 5 - 48 and the comments were positive. I'm giving it a 5.

Spring Pea and Herb Bruschetta

Spring Pea and Herb Bruschetta, page 119

I prepared this and served it as an appetizer at our St. Patrick's Day party. It was fresh and easy and paired just fine with green beverages. I had my camera ready and snapped these photos as I prepared the appetizer. 

blanch

pack

 blanch

 toast

 blend

share

Kitchen Action:
Lacking in Pantry:
I remembered my grocery list, so I had it all.
Additions, Subtractions or Method Changes:
I added a little extra pesto. I did serve it as pictured above on toast, but I also wanted a GF version. I served it in a bowl and had rice crackers in a basket near. It could be used as a dip or a spread on the crackers.
What I'll try next time:
It would be pretty topped with fire roasted peppers around Christmas time.

How it scored:

'becca: 4

Jonathan: 3 

Friends: I don't know numbers. I had 2 pieces of the bruschetta topped bread at the end of the night and had to refill the bowl that was being used as a spread on rice crackers twice. I did hear that it was a nice spin on traditional tomato bruschetta and a great spring dish. 

Orzo-Stuffed Peppers

Orzo-Stuffed Peppers, page 219

I've not made stuffed peppers in months. Last time it involved ground venison and fennel and was not a hit with Elliott or Chas and Jonathan said that it would be OK if I didn't make them that way again. So polite, Jonathan, so polite. Knowing that I hoped this recipe would salvage the reputation of the stuffed pepper.

Right away I knew if I wanted to eat it I'd have to change the main ingredient, orzo. An easy and obvious choice, rice;  Arborio rice, the kind used for risotto. I served them with spinach & chicken sausage risotto.

The yogurt in the recipe was especially delicious, making the stuffing creamy and smooth. This recipe would be an excellent choice as a heavy appetizer for a dinner party. I made 4, one was left over. Can you guess who didn't eat theirs? I placed it in the fridge and reheated it the following day after a run. Yum.

As a dinner party addition or post workout meal, this recipe did what I hoped it would do. Consider the stuffed pepper back on the menu at the Nimrods.

Kitchen Action:
Lacking in Pantry:
Orzo, regular yogurt
Additions, Subtractions or Method Changes:
Arborio rice for Orzo
Greek yogurt for regular yogurt
Mozzarella on the inside and Parmesan on the top
What I'll try next time:
Perfect the way it was. I'll keep it the same.

How it scored:

Jonathan: 4

Elliott: 3

Chas: 1

'becca: 5