I'm so ready to cook.

After last week's non-cooking, I'm ready for a challenge…so it's officially Jamie Oliver week. I totally got excited/ahead of myself and shopped for like a week's worth of food...only to later realize that I'd only be cooking Sunday, Monday, Tuesday (only for myself, Hubby has a game), and Wednesday...Thursday I'll be in LA hanging with Daniel Tosh (as well as two of my fave gf's), followed by a ridic weekend of LA/SD/LA/back home. So needless to say, a lot of what I bought ended up in the freezer. On the menu we have beer butt chicken, green chili, and couscous and zucchini salad...and once things are thawed, we also have gumbo and enchiladas. First, however, we're trying braised pork with greens and turnips.


I have never made collared or other greens…I've only even used kale and swiss chard like once each, so I have no idea what I'm doing. Jamie was kinda vague, so I did a quick peek around the interweb and took some advice from Ms. Paula Deen—after washing the greens, I cut out the hard center stalks before slicing them. Pretty sure this was a good call, cause they were super tender.

Jamie's recipe also calls for pork knuckle…I have no idea what that is, and the only real descriptions I found online were less than helpful ("A lean boneless cut from the tip portion which is the front part of the leg above the kneecap also known as the forecushion of the hog. Braised or "red cooked" pork knuckle is a classic Shanghainese dish"......oh.). Whatever the hell it is, Vons definitely didn't have it…so we went with pork shoulder, instead. And it was fantastic...fall off the bone-tender-fantastic.

As I served this, I told Hubby that Jamie is convinced that everyone has a favorite part, be it veggies, pork or broth, and to be ready to pick one. So once all the dishes were clean and we were settling down for the Grammys (you're so welcome to everyone who got to follow my running commentary on fb last night), I asked for his decision. His answer? "I liked the veggies...and the broth...and the meat was great."

Normally I would totally roll my eyes at this non-response, but to be honest, I totally agree. The meat was perfectly tender, the veggies were delish, and we both slurped up the broth at the end, totally face first. Next time I may even try this in the slow-cooker and see how it turns out. Cause there will definitely be a next time.

And with that, day one of the Jamie Oliver Experiment complete, I gotta say...I'm excited for the rest of the week.


Greens with Pork and Turnips
Pork Shoulder (ours was 3lbs, that was the smallest they had)
S&P
Cooking spray
4 Bay leaves
A couple large bunches of greens (I used one bunch of mustard greens and one bunch of kale, both washed and stalks removed)
2 or 3 carrots, peeled and cut in big pieces
2 or 3 stalks of celery, trimmed and cut in big pieces
4 or 5 medium sized turnips, peeled and quartered
Vinegar and tabasco to serve

Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Coat a large soup/stock pan with cooking spray and heat over high heat. Be sure and use a large enough pan; I started with my dutch oven, but had to relocate everything to a stock pan once it came time for the veggies. Not something I recommend. When hot, add meat. Place two bay leaves on top and cook over high for a couple of minutes. Turn meat over, repeat with remaining bay leaves, and brown the other side another couple minutes.

Reduce heat to medium and add about 3 cups water. When it comes to a boil, cover and let simmer over medium low for about 2 hours or until the meat starts falling off the bone. Add carrots, turnips and celery and a good pinch each of salt and pepper. If the water is really low, add another half cup or so. Cook about 20 minutes, add greens (smash them down if you need to!), stir it up a bit, and cook another 30 minutes or so or until tender. (If you are using collard greens, they take longer, so put them in at the same time as the turnips, carrots and celery and cook about an hour total.)

The meat should be basically unattached from the bone at this point, so it should be easy to remove. Besides the bone, also remove any pieces of fat you can see and the bay leaves. Add a good few shakes of tabasco and/or vinegar before you dish it up (and we each added more tabasco at the table).

You'll probably want to serve with some bread to help mop up any extra goodness.

Ahhh, fatkid food.

Far better for my psyche than my ass. But beneficial all the same.

-posted out of laziness from my iPhone.

We are finally out of bread.

And not a moment too soon.

I. want. meat. Or at least something completely different…I want sushi. Or tapas. Or, like, a hot dog. Seriously, I'm so bored with soup, salad and sandwiches I could go insane.

But with the exception of my caving for pho once and a $2.99 shrimp appetizer (plus wine) from Tahoe Joe's Happy Hour menu once, we spent less than $20 on food this week. Good to know it's possible, but not a fun experiment to try. Even if I did cheat...oops. Here's a run down of the "highlights."

Wednesday & Thursday
Made a little 'soup to go,' with shirataki noodles,* a mix of fish sauce, lemon grass, and sriracha, lemon and beef bouillon. Microwaved about 3 cups water with the bouillon till hot and added the rest of the stuff.

* If you haven't tried this stuff, consider it. It's kinda slippery, and it smells nasty (to get rid of that, drain and rinse them, then cover in water and microwave 1 minute and a half. Drain and rinse again and you're good to go), but those are non-issues when you consider the fact that a full package is 40 calories. That's literally like a tenth of that same amount of regular pasta. Amazing.

Cream of mushroom soup with a veggie sandwich…provolone, tomatoes, cukes, lettuce and homemade herbed cream cheese (light cream cheese with some finely chopped green onion, cilantro, garlic and grated romano—would make for a great cheese ball and is also fantastic on triscuits, btw.)

More soup…with a turkey, mustard, tomato, provolone and cuke sandwich.

Green salad a la Buffalo, AKA a bunch of greens with some light blue cheese dressing and some Frank's hot sauce…mostly hot sauce, seeing that we only had about a tbsp of dressing left. Not bad. And low cal. Seems to be a theme this week…

Ugh. Just looking at this stuff makes me bored. Yet what was the first thing I ate when I deposited my paycheck at lunch?

Vegetarian Pho. The irony kills me. Now watch me eat a salad for dinner.

And it's only Tuesday.

We're poor this week. Like, have my understanding hair stylist hold my check, eat nothing but pantry meals, buy gas with pocket change poor.*

So, here's the plan. I made a double recipe of tomato soup, stocked up on bread and deli meat (using hubby's $8 Super Bowl winnings, cha-ching), and am intent on getting creative.

Please keep in mind this is all on-a shoestring ridiculousness. I'm not proposing you eat any of this (except the soup, definitely eat the soup), but in the spirit of full disclosure, I'm simply documenting. I can tell you one thing...I'm going to be over grilled cheese by Friday.

Monday:
Start with the week with Tomato Soup and Cauliflower & Broccoli Au Gratin. Yes, because we had a bag of Steam-fresh Cauliflower & Broccoli. And about 2 tbsp of cheddar, total. It worked out. We're out of butter and/or margarine, though, so I totally went with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray. I'm not proud of this.


Tuesday:
An almost exact repeat of my All-American Meal, except that this grilled cheese was two slices provolone, a bit of turkey, mustard and dill. It was ok. Better with green onion, but I'm totally open to trying it a bit differently every night for experimentation's sake. Also used a pan rather than our grill, and it didn't melt as nicely.

* Thanks for calling me out, Jenny!! Shhhh! Cheap lunch and happy hour (once each!) totally don't count in the 'poor' budget this week. Or so I'm telling myself (wink).

Tomorrow we watch commercials and eat.

I miss college. As a communication major at UCSD, there were no scantrons...there was no library time. I read and I wrote. A LOT, but these are things I know, and these are things I love. Obviously. So I have been looking forward to going back to school for my Master's since I graduated with my second bachelor's degree in 2006. Am I a nerd? Yes. And totally ok with that. When that will happen, I really don't know. Hopefully when all of some of our student loans are paid off? Sigh. It sucks being poor.

(This is where I insert how grateful I am for my parents having paid for my first degree. Thanks, Ma. Thanks, Daddy. You guys rule. But we really should have worked out some sort of language around the four years you paid for being the four most expensive, not just the first four...)

My point in all of this? Well, this blog is my compromise. And some days, well, some days I need to write. Thus explaining this rather non-topical intro. And so, with that, let's get back to food.

Superbowl is tomorrow. I must admit, as apathetic as I feel about "the big game," I'm pretty ridiculous about the commercials.
(My college roommates may grudgingly remember one of the years (2003?) Pepsi teamed with Britney for a commercial...As far as I can remember, it never ended up airing, but I demanded a mandatory silence during all commercial breaks in anticipation. Said commercial was streamed ad nauseum for the next 2 months, which I guess prefaces a future post about my love for all things Brit-Brit.) I'm also a fan of "party" food, and I'm a fan of hosting...unfortunately, we have a lot of friends who feel the same way, so tomorrow we're off to one of the several parties we were invited to (it's so fun/hard being popular!)

In all seriousness, no matter where we watch, I'm going to cook. Tomorrow the plan is to steal the BBQ for an improvised version of Grilled Jalapeno Poppers (both stores I tried were out of goat cheese), chicken drumsticks and spare ribs. Hubby is in charge of meat around here, but I know his chicken marinade consists of a combination of Bernstein's Italian dressing and Basque marinade. The ribs so far have been rubbed with Pappy's and will get a coat of Sweet Baby Ray's tomorrow.

Yum. I'm excited. Somehow this entry turned into a Superbowl commercial in and of itself (I am NOT sponsored by any of above referenced brands, but am taking all offers), but it's gotten me in the mood for some football. Or—more correctly—some beer, some food, and some commercials. Here's hoping Britney makes an appearance.

Oh, and go Packers.

Going All American

In honor of Super Bowl week, (AKA, 'I don't have to watch football for months and months' week.) I thought we'd go a bit more traditional than normal.

I somehow stumbled across a tasty little recipe for tomato soup the other day while perusing Cooking Light for cheap recipes (not only are we on a diet, but a budget as well), and figured I'd play with it a bit and try my hand at an "all American" meal.

Why does tomato soup go hand-in-hand with grilled cheese? I know that tends to be the norm, but I never ate them together growing up, as far as I can remember, so I figured I'd try it out for myself with some grown-up homemade versions of each.

I'm going to go ahead and interject that I'm, as you probably have realized, off the wheat-free kick. I have two reasons:
1. Vitamin D. I take a boatload of it a day. My mom insists it's just a placebo effect, but my dermatologist recommended it, so I'm gonna go ahead and go with it.
2. CeraVe lotion. I got so hooked on their cream that I also have the night and day face lotions now, too. It's fantastic.
Between those two things, I am hardly itching and quite the happy camper. And had I not needed a second opinion from a second dermatologist (Kaiser=Fail, CBCC=Win) I'd still be back in miserable I-hate-gluten land.

And so, without further ado, low-fat, grown-up grilled cheese and tomato soup. Hubby didn't have a grilled cheese, but his official soup review was, "Wow, you can make this anytime. Was it hard? This is better than Fresh & Easy's."

*Blushing*

Grilled Cheese (per person)
2 slices sourdough
dijon mustard
one slice provolone
2 thin slices of ham
a few thin slices of green onion, separated
small bit of shredded sharp cheddar or other cheese
cooking spray

Spread dijon on each slice. Stick everything else in between (you know how to make a sandwich). Spray skillet or griddle with cooking spray, cook about 3 minutes a side.

Tomato Soup
One peeled brown onion, chopped coarsely
Olive oil (about 1 tbsp)
1 tbsp flour
1.5 cups chicken broth
Large can crushed tomatoes (the kind with basil is great)
6 tbsp fat-free half & half (a bit less than a 1/3 cup)
S&P (good pinch each)
Small pinch of cardamom (optional)

Saute onion in oil a couple minutes until soft. Add flour, mix in well for about a minute. Add broth and tomatoes, bring to a boil. Turn off, and either blend in batches until all is smooth, or use an immersion blender (buy one.) to blend in the pot. Add half and half and return to simmer. Turn off and add S&P, etc. to taste.

See? Not hard. In fact, super, super easy. And yes, better than Fresh & Easy's...and I do love me some Tomato Basil from F&E.

Laker Fans

Her eyes are totally open, btw. Mine, however, not so much...

Herbed Roasted Butternut Squash

I keep hearing that people don't like squash. And I have to say...really? If you're one of said squash-haters, please share your beef (so to speak, you probably like beef). Cause I don't get it. I think most types of squash are quite delish, especially when cooked with herbs and/or spices. Yum. So when I was searching for something interesting to do with butternut squash as a side, this one jumped out at me. Roasted with whole garlic and thyme? Done.

And wow. It's not often dinner smells amazing right off the bat. But literally, this one started beckoning my nostrils after...well, how much time does it take to change laundry from the washer to the dryer? I popped my squash in the oven (adjacent to the back door, which is three steps from the garage door, which is two steps from the washer/dryer), changed the laundry, and what, two minutes later? The house smelled fab. I'm guessing it's more the smell of the chicken in the oven, but even the monsters were hanging out in the kitchen. Yuh-uh-um.

Super easy, too, if you do it the Pammy way (aka the Sandra Lee/cheat it way). Try it. Especially if you don't "like" squash. Trust me here, ok? Roasting makes it caramelize just enough to add a tad of sweetness, while the herbs and garlic give it big-kid flavor.

Oh, and I used the convection/toaster oven for this, so I only cooked it for 35 min total at 375. If you are using the regular oven, follow the given directions.


Bay and Thyme Roasted Butternut Squash
1 lb package pre-cubed butternut squash
1 package pre-peeled whole garlic cloves (aka, about 8 of them. If you're not hugely into garlic, remove before serving)
olive oil
good pinch pepper (1/8 tsp ish)
salt (1/2 tsp or more) kosher salt
3 or 4 springs of fresh thyme
2 large bay leaves

Preheat oven to 450. Combine all in bowl, tossing to coat. Spread onto small pan (in one layer), and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, stir, and put back in oven for another 25 minutes or until cooked.

Remove bay leaves and big thyme stems before serving. Great with roast chicken (totally store bought, btw) and a green veggie. Yes, I'm back on a diet. Even Ramona wanted some. Though, really, when doesn't she...

Leaving it to the Pros.

I don't have much experience with the whole meat-less lifestyle. I went a few years attempting to be a quasi-meat eater, only eating chicken and fish, but even then I would cheat every six months or so and go to town on an In-N-Out Burger. I guess I'm fine with my omnivore lifestyle because I'm a fan of the food chain, and like to pretend it's ok that the animals I eat were raised for that purpose (which kind of negates the point of the food chain, but whatever). I'm not insensitive, I'm an animal lover, we know this. I won't eat foie gras, because I have seen in person how those geese/ducks are force fed (plus it tastes like fat). And to my knowledge, I have never even tasted veal. And don't plan to.

That said, I have a lot of respect for vegetarians (at least the kind that let you eat next to them without a grimace on their face while citing evil facts and such). It's a difficult choice to make, and I admire their conviction—and depending on their reasons behind it, it's an understandable decision.

I know I claim to make a lot of 'veggie' meals, but I've never tried a true vegan dish. So when I saw a pic of my one true vegan buddy's breakfast the other day, I figured she could do a much better job in this department than I can. And so, I turn it over to fellow Central Cali-an and blogger Jessica. Like me, she's a big fan of big taste and small effort...Thanks so much for sharing your recipe and writing this all up! It looks absolutely delish...and from your hubby's ravings, sounds like it tasted just as good! It's on my 'to-try asap' list.

She was also kind/smart enough to include a little glossary for us meat-eaters at the end of the recipe. Enjoy!


Vegan Sausage and Spinach Frittata
 
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
¼ yellow onion, chopped
½ package vegan sausage (I used Lightlife Gimme Lean)*
1 block extra firm tofu
1 ½ cups cooked chopped spinach
Vegetable broth
Unsweetened almond milk
Ener-G egg replacer* (or cornstarch could would work)
2 TB Nutritional yeast*
S&P
Parsley
Chives
8 spears of asparagus, quickly steamed
 
Preheat oven to 400.
 
In a large sauté pan, sweat onion and garlic in olive oil.  When translucent, crumble sausage into pan and brown.  In a bowl, mash cold tofu with fork until crumbled.  Add tofu and spinach to sauté pan and add a splash of vegetable broth to deglaze the pan.   Add in pepper and salt, to taste.  Warm throughout and then add in about a cup of your milk substitute of choice.  You want the mixture wet, but not thin.  Sprinkle about a teaspoon or two of egg replacer (or cornstarch) over the top along with nutritional yeast and fresh or dried parsley and chives.  Mix well and pour into baking dish.  Press asparagus spears into the mixture.  You can quickly steam them, or if you’re lazy like me, buy a package of already cooked frozen spears from Trader Joe’s and just use those.
 
Place dish into oven until bubbling and browned.  Depending on how deep your dish is, you could bake this from 25 to 45 min.  You’ll know when it’s ready when you shake the dish and the frittata doesn’t jiggle.  Let cool for 5 minutes before devouring.
 
Served with some ketchup, this thing is a brunch dish from heaven.  When your omnivore husband goes back thrice**, it’s a winner. Big thanks to Pam for inviting me to be a guest on her fabulously delicious blog!

*Glossary:
If you’re not vegan/vegetarian, some of these items may sound unfamiliar or even frightening. I’ll elaborate a little on each to better acquaint readers

Vegan sausage; Comes in all shapes and textures. The tube of Gimme Lean is nice because you can slice it into patties or crumble it into dishes. I often crumble it into breakfast potatoes and peppers for a brunch potluck dish and the omnivores are none the wiser.

Ener-G egg replacer: This yellow and orange box is easily found in health food stores. It’s a mixture of tapioca and potato starch. An excellent stand-in for eggs in baking, but it is also useful in dishes like these, which are normally entirely egg-based. The tofu replicates the eggs, but the Ener-G gives it a little puff-up and hold. Cornstarch would work just as well here.

Nutritional Yeast: An excellent source of protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Lends a cheesy/nutty flavor and creamy texture to dishes. Mix it into soups, stews and casseroles or sprinkle it atop veggies for a B12-filled cheesy boost.

**You’re welcome, Conan.

The Jamie Oliver Experiment

I'm not sure how I feel about Jamie Oliver. I mean, I hardly ever watch him, and I don't know much about him...Being British indisputably gives him that pompous air, which is bad, yet funny (you know this is true)…but he's got that laid-back vibe going on, which is good...so far, the worst thing I can find about him is that his children are named Poppy Honey Rosie, Daisy Boo Pamela, Petal Blossom Rainbow and Buddy Bear Maurice. Though, really. That's, well...siiiigh. I can't talk crap about people's kids. Even if it's just their names. But come. on. Even for a big hippie-fan like myself, that's kinda much.

Anyway. Hubby bought me one of his cookbooks for Christmas, and thumbing through it, we both saw tons that looked great. So, as a heads-up, we'll be adding a lot of his recipes in the next few months.

This particular recipe came from his website; I was at work when I made my shopping list, so the first couple we're going to try are basically our 'intro to Jamie' recipes. Starting with Linguine with Tomatoes and Capers.

At the beginning, I was a little worried. A) I had never heard of tomato passata, and even me, the Google Queen, couldn't find any definitive explanations for it. Instead, it was a bunch of generic, "it's sorta tomato paste but not tomato paste and sometimes it's cooked and sometimes it's not and it's not really sauce but it's kinda sauce...and so I was forced to wing it. And B) This is basically red clam linguine, sans clam. And since I think the clam is the best part of red clam linguine, I was worried it would be pretty much blah.


All was fine. For my passata, I chopped a brown onion and about 6 garlic cloves, sauteed them in a bit of olive oil about 5 minutes, then added about half a can of tomato puree (the big can). Cooked a few minutes and then proceeded with the recipe. Easy, especially with my chopper. And I do love easy.

Final results? We both give thumbs up. Simple, fast, and tasty. Make sure and use the lemon, btw, I think it brightens it up quite a bit.