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Winter, meet Summer.

January 12, 2011 in Food, recipe by traveleatlove | 22 comments

After a freezing cold 18 mile run yesterday, all I wanted was to order some pizza and to spend the rest of the night on the couch. But that wouldn’t be a fun blog post, now would it?  So I persevered with my plans to whip up a crab and corn chowder without following a recipe. One of the reasons I love soups and chowders so much.

potatoes and onions

I started out the chowder by dicing up a small yellow onion and cutting about 15 small red potatoes in eighths. I then added them to olive oil in my Le Creuset French Oven. A few minutes after I started cooking the onions and potatoes, I added two cups of water to the mix as well as a vegetable bouillon cube and a few shakes of cayenne pepper.

Letting all of that bubble away, I poured myself a glass of Bonny Doon Vineyards Muscat and went off to read blogs for a few minutes.

I returned when the base of the chowder was bubbling away, checked the potatoes to see that they were cooked most of the way through, and added an entire bag of Trader Joe’s organic sweet corn. Trader Joe’s sells some good frozen corn, especially this organic variety and their frozen fire roasted corn which they were out of. As much as I love Trader Joe’s it makes me sad when their supplies are inconsistent.

organic sweet corn

Here is the part where I ask you not to judge. I used Trader Joe’s canned crab, two cans to be exact. I had planned on buying fresh crab meat, but once I got home did not feel like going out again. I keep canned crab on hand for quick dishes like garlicky crab and pasta, and these always seem to do the trick. But they make me feel as un-gourmet as it gets.

crab meat

corn and potatoes

Once I added the crab, it was time for a quick taste, where I determined that more cayenne and black pepper needed to be added. I swirled in about 3/4 cup of heavy cream, stirred it all up, and let it simmer until the hubby arrived home.The whole time I was cooking, I was thinking that corn and crab chowder really blends some of my favorite things from summer, corn and seafood, with some winter comfort, cream and potatoes. It’s an almost deceiving meal, like a crab bake in a pot.

corn and crab chowder

Mmm mmm mm. . . the chowder turned out perfectly. The broth had a slight hint of heat but nothing spicy, the crab was succulently sweet, and the potatoes provided a filling, warm addition for my growling stomach. After we had eaten, I proclaimed, a few times, that I am pretty good at this cooking thing!

corn and crab chowder

I served the chowder with corn bread from a box, Trader Joe’s style. I know corn bread is easy to make, but I had this in my cabinet and decided to make it. Just add an egg, oil, and milk, and pop it in the oven!

corn bread

My husband received the official word that he can work from home, and since I am home everyday anyway, today should be a fun combination of work, cleaning, baking, and hanging out.

Do you have a snow day or a work from home day today? Or should we all be jealous that you live somewhere warm and sunny without everlasting snow? Winking smile

Tags: chowder, corn, crab, dinner, Food, potatoes, recipe, soup

Baked Potato Bar

January 11, 2011 in Food by traveleatlove | 16 comments

Oh healthy day! If you are like me, you have had your fair share of cookies, cheese, wine, beer, and gravy over the course of the winter so far. And if you are like me, there will probably be some unhealthy “hibernating” food as we get snowed in tomorrow yet again. 

I love to eat creamy soups like the corn and crab chowder I am working on, indulge in cake like the flourless chocolate cake I am making this evening, and taste all sorts of delicious wines, but I only enjoy those things because of a careful balance. Healthy weekday meals are a major part of that balance. While I find my breakfast and lunch usually a little too mundane for blog fodder, I am pretty excited about some of the easy, healthy dinners that we have.

sweet potato

One recent, make ahead meal was a baked sweet potato bar. I knew we were going to be out of the house all day and until about 8 pm without a chance to grab dinner, so the night before I baked two large sweet potatoes all the way through. When dinnertime came, I just popped them in the microwave to heat up.

sweet potato

As you would imagine, baked stuffed potatoes of the regular variety are pretty big in Ireland, where they are called jacket potatoes, and some of my stranger baked potato combinations are actually things I have eaten there. One Galway restaurant I love to visit is called Couch Potatas, a cozy café where you can get potatoes stuffed with everything from curried vegetables to coleslaw, beans, and cheese. For some reason, there is a LOT of coleslaw in Irish cuisine. I generally like it, but it’s a bit much when you order the salad plate and every salad on the dish is covered in mayo. I have learned to ask over the years Smile

On this particular evening, I did decide to make my baked potato with the coleslaw, baked beans, and aged Kerrygold cheddar combination.

I pre-purchased the coleslaw from Market Basket which was a bad idea; it is much better to make this sort of thing on your own.

cole slaw

In my potato, I also used half of a can of vegetarian baked beans and a handful of shredded cheddar.

baked potato bar

I also ended up sneaking in a couple of scoops of homemade hummus, my own very simple blend of chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, and garlic.

hummus

Baked potato bar nights are a favorite in our house because of the versatility of the toppings. From grilled chicken, to vegetarian chili, to tuna melt potatoes, baked potatoes are a fun, quick, and cheap way to get in a healthy meal after a long day.

What are your favorite baked potato toppings or ways to eat potatoes? I have a MAJOR weakness for some good French fries. . .

Tags: dinner, Food, healthy eating, healthy recipes, potatoes, quick recipes, recipes, vegetables, vegetarian recipe

Bringing the Indian Restaurant Home

January 10, 2011 in Uncategorized by traveleatlove | 19 comments

One of the best meals I have ever cooked, hands down, last night’s vegetable Korma was a healthy blend of vegetables, spices, and most importantly, textures.

I have made various coconut curries in the past; my love for ingredients from the East is definitely evident in my favorite cuisines, Thai, Vietnamese, and Indian. Yesterday, however, I decided to actually follow a recipe. Well, sort of.

Basmati rice

One thing that I did do was make sure that I had as many of the ingredients from the recipe as possible, including fragrant Basmati rice and golden raisins. I don’t like any rice, other than Basmati rice, and the rice that we bought at Trader Joe’s did not disappoint.

golden raisins

I had a very special sous chef, the normally way-too-busy mister, to help me chop the veggies. I ended up going off of the recipe, which called for nine different vegetables, and went with cauliflower, red peppers, green beans, and potatoes.

cauliflower and red pepper

The flavorful base of the meal was one of the most important features though. I made a homemade clarified butter (also made here during my Saag Paneer post) using a lump of Kerrygold, heating it until foamy and then skimming off of the white solids. To the clarified butter, I added a diced white onion and a ton of chopped garlic.

chopped garlic

Mmmmm garlic.

To the garlic and onions, I added about half a can of tomato paste and the chopped red bliss potatoes. And then the layering of spices began.

There was powdered ginger (because Trader Joe’s was out of fresh ginger), cinnamon, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and curry powder. The smells from this pot were incredible.

potatoes

I let the potatoes cook with the garlic and onions and spices for awhile before adding in a whole can of tomatoes, pureed in the food processor, liquid and all. Once all of that was mixed and had simmered for about 15 more minutes to let the potatoes cook, I added the rest of the vegetables, about a cup of golden raisins, and the finishing touch, 1/4 cup of heavy cream.

Vegetable Korma

I put a lid on the Korma and watched it bubble away as we prepped the rice and other toppings, yogurt and toasted almonds.

image

Once we were ready to eat, I scooped Basmati rice into bowls and topped it with the Korma, making sure to grab a lot of the liquid. I topped each bowl with toasted almonds and plain yogurt.

Vegetable Korma

I ate FOUR bowls of this! That is far more than I ever eat at dinner, but the blend of spices, the contrast between the soft, sweet raisins with the crunchy vegetables, soft fragrant rice, and crunchy almonds was almost too much. While we were eating we exclaimed many times how good the meal was. Luckily there were plenty of leftovers for our lunches today.

In addition to an amazing home cooked meal, it was so nice to spend the evening in the kitchen with my husband, listening to James Taylor and cooking together. I almost fell asleep after, I was so relaxed.

Today I have some serious brainstorming to do for the blog and other projects, along with a spinning workout and a seasonal Guinness dinner at Landsdowne Pub. I am hoping to get all of my major marathon workouts in early in the week, some say there is another nor’easter headed our way!

I will be announcing the winner of the restaurant gift card a little later today, so make sure to check my next post! Smile Happy Monday!

We love cooking at home on Sunday nights; do you have any special rituals or traditions for Sundays (or any other day of the week)?

Tags: cooking, Food, Indian Food, recipe, vegetables, Vegetarian

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