spices

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When last week’s plan of healthy eating turned into dining out, events, and takeout every night, we were left with a fridge full of produce that we needed to eat in a short space of time. Smoothies and chips took care of the kale overload, but we had a bunch of other healthy ingredients to use up. With temps falling, soup seemed like the perfect idea, and in just a short amount of time, a vibrant veggie soup came together.

broccoli

The ingredients:

4 cups broccoli florets, roasted at 400 for 20 minutes

3 cups baby spinach

2 cups sweet peppers, roasted at 400 for 20 minutes

1 cup white onion, chopped and sautéed in olive oil until soft

4 large potatoes, boiled until soft

Coconut milk – enough to make it into a soupy consistency

handful fresh cilantro

pepper

spinach

So Delicious Coconut Milk

Once the veggies were roasted and the potatoes were cooked through, I added it all to my Ninja blender with some curry powder, garlic, cumin, and chili powder and pureed until nice and smooth.

potatoes and spices

I returned it all to the pot and simmered it on low until we were ready to eat.

creamy vegetable soup

We each had a big bowl topped with Greek yogurt to add some protein and creaminess to it. For being just a bunch of vegetables and a few other ingredients blended together, we both thought the soup tasted like something you’d find at a nice restaurant. It was a great green color, packed full of nutrients to keep us from getting sick, and an easy way to avoid wasting food, something I absolutely hate doing. I’m trying to be more careful with grocery shopping, only getting enough for what we need and also trying to stay home more. It’s not been too hard in this frigid weather!

It’s time to meal plan for yet another week; what do you have on your menu for next week?

Tags: broccoli, coconut milk, Food, healthy, peppers, potatoes, recipe, soup, spices, spinach, vegan, vegetables, Vegetarian

Woohoo for Wednesday! Gloomy weather and a weird work schedule have made this week a little less than fabulous for me, but that’s  just fine. I have Provincetown waiting for me at the end of the week, and the trip is always one that brings lots of fun. There’s really nothing better than time at the ocean to lift up low spirits, is there?

I’ve been trying to do more home cooking during the week since weekends are generally spent on the boat, at friends’ houses, or restaurants. Last night I warmed up the house with a slow cooker chicken with layers of flavors created with spices and one of my favorite ingredients, harissa.

spices

harissa

 

The ingredients:

3 chicken breasts

1 small can of harissa (purchased from Whole Foods)

1 tablespoon each chili powder, paprika, ground ginger, granulated garlic

1 large onion, roughly chopped

8 large carrots, broken into pieces

2 cups dried apricots

harissa chicken

I started by marinating the chicken in the spices and harissa for a few hours in my slow cooker bowl.

About three hours before dinner, I poured in a cup of water and tossed the veggies in.

carrots and onions

I cooked the chicken and vegetables on low for a little over two hours, made sure the chicken was done, and added the dried apricots for about 20 minutes, then served. Note, I have tried to make chicken with apricots in the past and added them at the beginning, before I went to work. I arrived home to black apricots stuck to the side of the slow cooker and a completely ruined meal. Sugar + long term heat = burned

apricots

These apricots, however, had just enough time to soak up the spices and soften. I loved the sweet and spicy combination. It made for a nice, comforting meal for a gray and chilly night.

The weekend forecast is looking chilly but sunny. I am hoping for a little bit of beach time, even if I am bundled up, but any day is a good day to be at the Cape!

Tags: chicken, dinner, harissa, recipe, spices

Our first meal of 2012 was brunch at Papagayo. It was fabulous, and contrary to what  I said about writing about food this year, I did take pictures, and I will be blogging about it. A make-your-own Bloody Mary bar is worth writing about.

Unfortunately, brunch, followed by shopping for new running shoes, followed by grocery shopping, was too much for my illness-worn body, and by the time dinner rolled around on January 1, I was back in bed. At 6:00.

Thank goodness for Sex and the City marathons to pass the time. Oh yeah, and Homeland and Midnight in Paris. Clearly, I had an active weekend. I pretty much did nothing for three days, but I don’t feel at all relaxed. Does that even make sense?

Anyway, I woke up Monday with my 10th day of a sore throat but feeling better. I was determined to make something delicious for dinner, even though my appetite was still missing.

whole chicken

I started by cleaning a whole chicken and popping it into a large tupperware container for brining. On my way home from Ireland, I watched a Jamie Oliver Christmas special on the plane, and I had been thinking about his jerk ham brine ever since. I used some elements of it as inspiration for my own brine.

Brugal

I coated the chicken in salt and let it sit out in the open air while I mixed up its bath for the day.

Ingredients:

About 1 cup of Brugal white rum – I planned to use more, but I think it evaporated because most of the rum was gone.

A ton of spices – fresh black pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, chili powder, paprika, cinnamon, and more salt

spice blend

I added the spice mixture and rum to the chicken, rubbing it on with the back of a spoon and filling the cavity with some of the mix. Then I poured in enough water to cover the chicken, added more salt, some cumin, mixed it all up, and then put the sealed container in the fridge for about six hours.

brine

Before I was ready to get cooking, I set the oven to pre-heat to 375 and got started on some veggies. I found these beautiful sweet peppers at Market Basket, and they were the perfect thing for roasting, along with some yellow onions.

image

Once the chicken was out of the brine, I stuffed it with a few pats of butter and let it cook for about an hour and 20 minutes until crispy and golden. In the meantime, I mashed up a bunch of sweet potatoes with SO Delicious coconut milk. I highly recommend.

image

The chicken smelled amazing, and the peppers cooked down really nicely. Apologies for the mangled drumstick, I went to check it, and it fell off.

image

image

Yum. I served the chicken atop the sweet potatoes and alongside the peppers and onions, topped with a simple homemade gravy. It was such a satisfying, delicious, and somewhat healthy meal and a great way to kick off the New Year. Lots of leftovers mean lunch for both of us today!

What was the first thing you cooked in 2012?

Tags: brine, Brugal, chicken, dinner, Food, peppers, roast chicken, rum, spices

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