Hot Stuff

We had a cute little patio garden this summer, with a topsy turvy tomato plant, lots of rosemary, chives and oregano and some of the hottest peppers I've ever touched. Habanero peppers are whole different type of heat!! I made a few killer pots of chili but needed something different in order to use the harvest in bulk. So we created our own hot sauce recipe and its HOT!

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
5 habanero peppers/7 if small
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoon tomato paste
salt and ground black pepper to taste

• Roast all veggies, skin, seeds and stems on..under the broiler with a drizzle of oil and sprinkle of salt.
• Once browned and a bit blistered, remove from the oven and add to sauce pan with remaining ingredients. Bring to slow boil for 15 mins.
• Let cool for 10 mins, cooled add to blender and puree till smooth
• Once smooth, return to sauce pan and boil again for about 15 mins

Add more vinegar if needed to thin it out. Store in airtight bottle in fridge.
WASH YOUR HANDS before using the restroom!

Hot Pot of soup

More soup, more Asian inspired food...

This is a lunchtime favorite from a dodgy little place near my office. There's very little cooking in this recipe, the hot broth cooks the raw veggies in the bowl. The proteins and veggies can be customized for each serving. The spicy broth is perfect combination with the soft Udon.

Serves 4 lunch servings, or 2 big dinner servings
1 quart (home made) chicken stock
1 Tsp Asian Chili sauce - my new favorite ingredient!
1 Tbs soy sauce Udon noodles
1/2 cup Shredded carrots
1/2 cup blanched broccoli, cut small
2 heads shredded baby bock choy
1/2 thinly sliced red pepper
1/3 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
2 Tbs thinly sliced green onion
1/3 cup Thinly sliced pork, chicken beef, or Tofu

Saute protein in one tsp. sesame oil/olive oil, set aside Cook udon to package directions, set aside Bring stock, soy, and chili sauce to a boil. Divide up veggies, noodles, and meat into large serving bowls. Ladle hot broth in each bowl, cover w/plastic wrap and let sit for 5 mins. Uncover and serve - you'll need a spoon and fork for this one

Feeding My Man

Again, I've disappeared for a several months with my return comes a new purpose for cooking and a new outlook on eating. Still healthy, yet notso healthy sometimes, always simple, but always yummy. Now, its all about feeding my man. Lucky for me, i found a guy that loves to eat well...how rare, even luckier for him, he found a woman that loves to feed him.

The challenge I face is giving him good stuff that fills him up without filling up my skinny jeans.

He likes veggies, soup and generally good food so its not that hard to please him. He's down for a food adventure with a few classics along the way.

here we go.....

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This one is super easy, delisous, different and kinda fun for dinner....Yes, fun. The variety of toppings allows people to control the heat and amount of cheese per serving. A kid friendly recipe if they dont like the spice, likely the lucky 11 year old I often cook for likes it hot.

The toppings work very well together to cool and freshen up the soup. The avocado seems odd but works it compliments the crunchy chips and onions.

There is a complex option and a simple option, both yummy but one can be done in 30 mins and one takes a little longer with more ingredients.
Option 1: Easy and Quick

• 1 can Mild or Medium Enchelada Sauce
• 2 quarts Low sodium chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken

Option 2: A few extra mins and things

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium white onions, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
• 4 ripe medium tomatoes, seeds removed, chopped small (canned works here)
• 2 quart chicken stock
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place a stockpot over medium heat and coat with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, jalapenos, and tomatoes; cook, stirring for 15 minutes until the vegetables are cooked down and pulpy. Pour in the stock, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Ladle the hot soup into soup bowls and put a pile of shredded chicken on top of each. Let people add their own toppings in each bowl, thats the fun part.

Toppings:

• 8 corn tortillas, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips, fried or baked till crisp
• 2 avocados, halved, pitted, peeled, and diced
• 1 cup shredded Jack cheese or queso fresco
• 2 Diced jalapenos, seads removed unless you like extra spice
• 1 lime cut into wedges
• Green onion, diced green section
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves, this can but half parsley/half cilantro for the cilantro haters like me

Raw Zucchini Ribbon Salad

Is it cooking if you don't actually cook?

Either way this one is delish and so perfect for using the abundance of zucchini during the summer. Fresh from your garden or local farm market. This goes really well with grilled fish, chicken or pasta. You can skip the yellow squash and use all green if needed. Works great cold or room temp. Serves 4

• 2 zucchini
• 2 yellow summer squash
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh oregano
• 3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black
• Parmesan cheese curls...optional

Trim the ends of the zucchini and squash, cut in half lengthwise. Using a vegetable peeler, shave the zucchini/squash lengthwise into long, wide strips about 1/16 inch thick. When you get to the center of the zucchini, where the seeds are, turn it over and slice from the other side until you get to the center again.

Put the ribbons in a large bowl. Drizzle with oil, lemon juice, season to taste with salt, pepper, zest and oregano. Toss and coat all veggies with vinaigrette. Let soak for about 10 mins and serve.

Add parm curls at plating, use the same vegetable peeler technique

Other variations, toasted pine nuts, thinly sliced dicon or radish, fresh parsley instead of the oregano

My Fat Camp Essay

A big part of my fight against the fat was a fitness program at the gym, I call it fat camp but they called it The Revolution, a bit corny but its not my title. Its a biggest looser kind of thing that measures body fat, inches lost, weight lost, complete with before and after pictures to really humilate the contestents.
The essay of your "journey" was also part of the decision process, here's mine:

Apparently I’m fat, while this isn’t a surprise to me or anyone that has to look at me every day, typing it makes it official. The other official recognition of my need to drop a few pounds is my participation in this program. Thanks to my sister, I joined the Edge Revolution, met a few goals, changed a few things and am well on my way to dropping those extra pounds.

Somehow, it’s taken me a while to notice my growing behind and increasing width. I assumed I’d be petite forever and considered “small” as I’m a bit horizontally challenged. Unfortunately, at four feet and eleven inches there are few places for the fat to go. In my case, it tends to land on my belly and my-too-big-for-comfort chest. My daily movement has been limited to walking from my desk to the ladies room, a contributing factor to my current state and size. A workout here and there before work in the past few months helped with a serious change in my stress and energy level. However, it wasn’t enough to reset the years of laziness and bad habits I’ve created. In the past eight weeks I’ve stopped making excuses and now plan my life around my work out schedule. No more letting happy hours, shopping or working late deter me from the treadmill. The exercise hurdle I’m most proud of is my recent love and possible obsession with Spinning. Contrary to my original opinion, it was not created by the devil but rather a great way to sweat buckets without having to really think about what you’re doing next.

Food was definitely my other issue, as a self proclaimed foodie I tend to over eat and enjoy every minute of it. I’ve never been into fast food or junk food but I definitely over indulged in some sweets, carbs and good food. After the nutrition seminar and a few articles about food I put down the bread, pasta, cheese (oh how I miss the cheese) and fake food. Instead, I’ve been enjoying fresh produce, grilled veggies and lots of chicken breast. My dinner menus were once filled with mac and cheese on a lazy Sunday and now I’m using chicken broth instead of oil. While I’m sure I’ll return to a balanced diet one day, my recent focus on healthier eating has changed my perception of what is good vs. what I just don’t need.

At the end of the eight weeks I lost a few pounds (17 to be exact) and several inches. I feel amazing every day, with more energy than a pot of coffee. The gym is no longer a hell on earth that gives me workout anxiety but now I actually look forward to trying a new crazy class and pushing myself a bit more than yesterday. I have some more work to do in order to get into my goal jeans but now I know ill actually get in them and stay in them this time.

I didnt win the "competition" but I beat my goal, I won

I'm Back

I've turned into the worlds worst blogger simply by not blogging. Many months ago I decided to put my food talk out there for the world (my small world) to see. I torture people with food and recipe talk all day so I thought it was time to add another outlet for ways to bore them with adventures in my kitchen. There were a few posts, a few pics and even fewer comments but it was going well.

Then a few months ago I changed a few things. My ever growing behind was brought to my attention and I decided to diet and drop a few extra pounds. Dieting is tough for anyone, but just hell for a cheese loving foodie such as myself. I started working out like a nut, eating super healthy and dropped a few pounds, 25 so far.

I still love to cook but I've removed sugar, carbs, processed foods, dairy and pretty much all the fun stuff. Even harder to believe, I'm enjoying it! Fresh veggies, grilled fish, lots of fruit and gallons of water.

Now I'm back and Ill be boring people with my healthy ideas, calorie cutting techniques and cheese free foods.

Enjoy!