Sweet Love and Ginger

Spring

Image Inspiration: Red Pepper Sriracha Kabobs & Radish, Snap Pea Salad

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I love our new outdoor table that we got from Grammy Chuck.
Not only can we eat outside, but now we can actually fit more than 2 plates on
the table! Plus it has an umbrella for super sunny days.

Today’s meal was inspired by images, and the garden. I had
so many radishes that needed to be eaten this day.  

Sometimes I see images of food and get really excited thinking
OMG I NEED TO MAKE THAT RIGHT NOW! Then I look at the recipe and all my
ambition falls flat because it looks gross, or I have nowhere near those
ingredients in my cupboards. That’s when I begin to improvise.

Luckily this is one thing I have always had a knack for.

This meal was sparked by the images above, but I totally
didn’t follow the recipes and made it up as I went.

Red Pepper Sriracha Chicken Kabobs

1 roasted red pepper

1 tbs sriracha sauce

1 tbs rice wine vinegar

1 tbs olive oil

2 cloves of garlic

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-2 inch
pieces

Place all ingredients, except chicken pieces in a blender
and blend until smooth. Place the chicken in a small bowl, pour the red pepper
mixture over the top and toss to coat. Pierce the chicken with skewers and
place on a preheated grill for 3-5 minutes per side, or until chicken is cooked
through. Serve warm.

 Radish, Feta and Snap Pea Salad

1 bunch radishes, trimmed

1 lb snap peas

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

1-2 tbs white wine vinegar

1 tbs olive oil

1 tsp Pepper

Combine radishes, peas and feta in a bowl. Drizzle vinegar
and olive oil over the top, add pepper and toss to coat. Serves 4.

The Sriracha skewers were actually reminiscent of barbeque
sauce but slightly sweeter, for those who aren’t a huge fan of spicy food, like
me they are great dipped in ranch dressing. The heat from the skewers was also
a great match for the Radish, Feta and Snap Pea Salad; it was so light and
fresh, with a delicious crunch that I just couldn’t stop eating it all.

Rainy Days & Lemon Oregano Chicken Paillards

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Man o man this whole rain thing is really putting a damper
on my garden, there’s been so much rain that many things are having a hard time
growing, my little babies need sunshine too! Speaking of little babies, Brody
has been getting into all kinds of trouble this week, I think he could use some
sun time too. Unfortunately Chuck has to work all weekend; his crazy hours are
really starting to bug me. I told him to tell his boss I was going to have words
with him, but I don’t think I’m threatening enough. Maybe he will be able to
take all the money he’s banking and spend on me or something? Just a thought.

Without him around there’s no one to occupy the little Brody
man while I run, and his little joints are strong enough for a long run with
me, so I haven’t gone over a mile in a couple weeks. I just do not feel it’s
fair to put him back in his crate once I’m home from work, even if is only for
a 45 minute run, so if Chuck isn’t around I spend my time doing sprints with
him, or just playing. I need to get my gym together so I can actually use it!
Is it awful that we STILL don’t have the house together yet? I’m still moving
boxes from my parents, it’s pretty ridiculous.

With all this rain, and lack of actually workout time I have
had more time to experiment in the kitchen. I consider this a good thing since I
have finally been able to develop a successful recipe for Lemon Oregano Chicken
paillards. One of you asked for it a very, very long time ago when I posted my
Lemon Oregano Chicken Thighs and Green Beans Recipe. I’m sorry for the pictures,
it was late and I was tired. I promise it tastes better than it looks.

The previous recipe used whole chicken thighs, so I didn’t have
to contend with crisping the skin, or making sure it was cooked through (bone
in are always more difficult that way), however there were a lot less drippings
in the pan to help punch up the flavor. Also the lemons don’t get quite as caramelized
in this recipe, but they are still pretty delicious, that is if you like to
suck all the life out of them like I do. 

Lemon Oregano Chicken Paillards

4 Chicken Paillards

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 tbs butter

2 small shallots, diced

2 cloves of garlic minced

2 sprigs fresh oregano

½ a lemon, sliced & De-seeded

½ cup low sodium chicken broth

Heat oil over medium high heat and liberally season the
chicken with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken for 2-3 minutes a side, or until
the juices run clear. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add butter to the pan and
sauté shallots, oregano and garlic until it becomes aromatic (1-2 minutes).
Place the lemon slices flat in the bottom of the pan and cook for an additional
minute. Deglaze with the broth and cook for 3-4 minutes while the broth reduces,
scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the
pan and toss with sauce. Serve warm, placing a lemon on top of each paillard.

Oh! I didn’t have green beans, but you can blanch them and add them to the pan with the chicken much like the last recipe, and I suggest serving it with the Simple Parmesan Pasta that I posted recently, the parmesan cheese blends so well with this dish. And a final note if you don’t know what in the hell a paillard is, check out this post.

Friends & Grilled Tapas!

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Over the holiday weekend I was lucky enough to have my good
friend Amanda over, whom I hadn’t seen in roughly 12 weeks since she decided to
run a half marathon, which you can read all about on her blog, Tales of a Married Runner Lady.

Since it had been so long I wanted to keep it casual, and
chatty, we had A LOT to catch up on so I wanted to prepare something that would
not get in the way of that. I decided to go with a kind of tapas menu, It
turned out pretty good, there are a few recipes that were fantastic so I have
to share them. The one thing I would have done different is had a bigger table
outside so I didn’t have to keep running in and out of the house. Oh well, next
time.

Let’s start with the drinks, since tapas, are traditionally
Spanish I figured I should probably make a sangria (those who know me know I
pretty much make sangria for everything and need no excuse).

This is an old standby that I use in impromptu sangria
making situations; the directions are for 1 drink, so just multiply for more.

Quick & Easy
Sangria

1 cup red wine
1 oz dry gin
2-3oz seltzer
2 tsp sugar
1 small handful
frozen mixed berries

Place in a shaker and
shake lightly, pour into a red wine glass and serve.

I started with the obvious cheese and crackers, we had this
wonderful cheese that I got from the farmers market in Ithaca the weekend
before. It’s so herby and fresh, I love it. Shortly after the cheese came out
the Grilled Marinated Olives were ready, I also warmed up a small loaf of
sprouted wheat bread on the grill to dip in the olive juices, and it was sooo
good.
Grilled Marinated
Olives

1 cup olive medley
2 tbs extra virgin
olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
minced
1 tsp red pepper
flakes
Salt & pepper to
taste

Combine all
ingredients in a small bowl and toss to coat, transfer to a large sheet of tin
foil. Fold into a packet and place on a preheated grill for 5-10 minutes to
warm.

I made a quick Grilled Pear Salad with Shallot &
Vinaigrette Dressing to start us off. The soft red pear was really good and
soft grilled, and the shallot vinaigrette was amazing, so I think I will be
making this a few more times this summer. 

Grilled Pear Salad w/
Shallot Vinaigrette

3 cups mixed greens
1 medium red pear cut
into wedges
1 small shallot,
minced
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp Dijon
1 tbsp Honey
3 tbsp Red wine vinegar

Preheat the gril to
medium high heat, and place the pear wedges directly onto the grill. Grill for
roughly 5 minutes per side, or until the pear begins to carmelize. Set aside to
cool for a few minutes, meanwhile in a small bowl whisk together shallot, Dijon,
honey, and red wine vinegar. Pour over mixed greens and toss to coat. Serve
greens topped with grilled pear. (Serves 3)

Is there anything more reminiscent of spring than fresh pea
soup? I made a very simple Minted fresh pea soup on the stove top that I kept
in the fridge until serving. 

Minted Fresh Pea Soup

1 tbs chopped onion
1 tbs oil
1 cup peas fresh or
frozen
½ cup chicken or
vegetable broth
1 tbsp fresh mint
¼ cup cream
1 tbs chopped fresh
chives

In a small pan warm sauté
onion in oil for 3-4 minutes or until it begins to soften. Stir in peas and
broth and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in mint, cream,
and chives. Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Add more cream if necessary.
Place in the fridge to chill for 15-20 minutes. Serve chilled with mint sprig
for garnish (Serves 1)

For the protein portion of the meal I grilled up some shrimp
in a quick and easy scampi sauce. It was so quick and easy, I’m thinking that I
might make them up some time to pair with pasta, for a quick and easy week
night meal.

Grilled Lemon Thyme Shrimp
12 medium shrimp, peeled and diveined
1/2 – 1 tbs of oil
2 cloves of garlic
pinch of red pepper flakes
3-4 slices of lemon
Juice from 1 lemon
1 tsp chopped fresh tarragon
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
Combine all ingrediants in a small bowl and toss. Place in the refridgerator to marinate for 30 minutes. pour out the contents of the bowl onto a large piece of foil and create a pouch. Place on a preheated grill over medium high heat and grill, turning regularly for 8-10 minutes, or until the shrimp are cooked through. Serve warm. (Serves 3)

For the Finale I made a grilled bread pudding. Who would
have thought of such a thing? I stumbled on it somewhere or other and
remembered it when I was trying to think of what to make, so obviously I have
to make it, and I got quite a few compliments, so I think this is another thing
that will be showing up fairly often this summer.

 Grilled Strawberry Bread Pudding
4 slices crusty bread
1 cup cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sliced strawberries
On a heated grill toast the bread for 2-3 minutes a side, and cut into 1-2 inch squares. In a small bowl whisk together cream, sugar, and vanilla and add bread. Toss the bread in the mixture and pour the entire contents onto a large piece of tin foil. Fold the foil into a packet and place on the grill for 15-20 minutes, turning several times. Remove from heat and toss with strawberries. (Serves 3-4)

Finish it up with some more sangria, and a few laughs and
what could possibly make for a better evening?

Vegetable Spotlight & Spring Vegetable Ravioli

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One of my many goals for this year was to bring vegetables to the forefront of our lives. I want to stray from the typical American focus on meat as the main dish at meals. The hope is that this helps us to be healthier. There is so much research out there that shows just how much better a vegetable based diet is. I know this, and what I don’t know is why it took me so long to make this step.

This does not mean that we will be going vegetarian by any means, or anything of the sort, instead meat will be used more as a flavor enhancer
than a main staple. I am nowhere near ready to give up steaks and bacon believe me.

A vegetable based diet to me is more about taking a step back in time back to a more traditional diet; a time when meat was expensive and the personal garden was in large part a main source of food. Yes I am aware that protein is important especially for those of us who are very physically active, but you can get protein from more than just the handful of meat sources that we focus on today, not to mention the quantity of protein that the average American consumes far exceeds what the body actually needs daily.

This is not the end of steak dinners, chicken parmesan, and burgers, but these will be less often and more of a side dish than the main course.

I am very excited about this change, about the chance to experiment with different flavors and textures. Meat only comes in a handful of flavors and textures that in order to change we typically add vegetables and herbs to it, so why don’t we just focus on the vegetables and herbs to begin with?

I hope that you can appreciate my efforts, and join in with me in this. If you have any ideas, or things that you would like me to try please don’t hesitate to email, or comment.

In honor of the topic at hand I thought I would post a fabulous recipe that I came up with upon experiment with the fresh spring vegetables that are showing up in stores.

 

Ravioli with Spring Vegetable Toss

1 tbs butter
1 tbs oil
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 large leek, sliced
1 lb asparagus, cut into 1-2” pieces
1 cup fresh shelled peas (or frozen)
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup low sodium vegetable broth (or Chicken)
1 tsp cracked red pepper
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 lbs whole wheat ravioli prepared according to package instructions.
Fresh grated parmesan cheese

Heat oil and butter in a large cast iron skillet, stir in mushrooms and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add leek and continue to cook for 2-3
minutes. Add asparagus and peas. Deglaze with white wine, and allow it to reduce again to a glaze. Add in broth and spices. Simmer for an additional 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and add cooked ravioli tossing with sauce and vegetables to coat well. Serve warm topped with Parmesan.