WIAW — Cleanse Continued

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Pas de Duex Blog

As I mentioned last week, I’ve been following a modified version of the Food Lover’s Cleanse from Bon Appetit. I’m now on Day 11 out of 14, and have gotten more flexible with my interpretation of the meal plan as time has gone by. Even so, I’ve been making better decisions, I’ve successfully cut back on my coffee intake, and I’ve felt generally more healthy.

Here are some of the highlights of the past week of my “cleanse”.

Day 4

Yogurt Chicken, Carrots, and Bulgur

For dinner last Wednesday, I made yogurt chicken with ginger-cilantro chutney and carrots with mint (both recipes on Day 3 on cleanse plan), and served them up with the last of my bulgur with parsley and lemon. The chicken was moist and full of flavor. I’ll definitely make it again!

Day 5

Thursday was a series of leftovers and repeat dishes, most of which were enjoyed whilst sitting at work.

Day 6

Applesauce with Walnuts

Friday, my afternoon snack of applesauce with walnuts was surprisingly enjoyable! I want to make my own applesauce, and make this a more frequent treat!

Chili and Salad

For dinner, I made white bean chili with winter vegetables (recipe from Day 5 on cleanse) and a spinach salad with clementines. I loved the avocado on top of the chili. It was a fresh and creamy addition to the complex flavors of the chili.

Day 7

Kale Salad

I had a long shift on Saturday, so I packed up a fruit salad and almond milk for breakfast and a big salad with kale, smoked salmon, tangerines, and radishes for lunch. I took a break from the plan that evening, and went out for a drink and dinner with one of my girlfriends.

Day 8

Blackberry Oatmeal

Sunday’s breakfast was a new twist on my usual bowl of oats. I cooked the oats in almond milk (nothing unusual), mixed in some berries while the oats were still cooking, and topped it off with fresh berries and a bit of chopped sage. The sage added an extra oomph to an otherwise basic bowl.

Mango Lassi

Afternoon smoothies are definitely going to become a more regular thing for me! Sunday I made a mango lassi with one mango, some Greek yogurt, a pinch of chile powder, and a dash of salt.

Radicchio Salad

I used up all of my leftover produce from the week in a giant dinner salad! Radicchio, pear, avocado, and dried cranberries were mixed in with sherry shallot vinaigrette and white beans. Yum!

Day 9

Chickpea Salad

Monday was another crazy workday, so I packed up smoked salmon and avocado on rye crackers, an apple, and a big salad with chickpeas, arugula, clementine slices, tahini dressing, and a leftover dollop of ginger-cilantro chutney.

Day 10

Oatmeal with Berries

I’ve enjoyed mixing up my breakfast routine, but I still always enjoy a nice bowl of oats in the morning! I kept the berry theme going with a smoothie later in the day, made with apple cider, half a banana, and frozen raspberries and blackberries.

Berry Smoothie

For lunch on the run, I had another “clean the icebox” type of salad, using pineapple, smoked salmon, arugula, tahini dressing, and the last bit of ginger-cilantro chutney.

Salmon and Pineapple Salad

Dinner, vegetable pot-au-feu and soft thyme-scented polenta, was listed on Day 11 of the cleanse. I am realizing how much I LOVE parsnips and carrots. I could eat them every day! I’m looking forward to the leftovers.

Vegetable Pot-Au-Feu

I love how many fruits and vegetables I’ve been eating! I intend to keep this trend going once my 14 days are up. Even though I haven’t followed the full cleanse, I feel as though I’ve cleaned up my act.

Thanks, Jenn for hosting this “What I Ate Wednesday” party!

Happy eating!

-C

Meyer Lemon and Blueberry Scones [MMAZ]

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Pas de Duex Blog

Spring is officially here! We even had a taste of summer last week, with a few days of 80 degree temperatures. Suffice to say I am craving lighter foods, fresh fruits, and delicate flavors like lemon (Meyer lemon to be exact).

Spring colors and flavors

Meyer lemons are actually a cross between a lemon and an orange, resulting in darker, deeper yellow skin and aromatic, less sour juice than a typical lemon. The taste is absolutely incredible in baked goods–light and “zippy”, taking a dish to a whole new level of “yum.”

It’s been a while since I cooked with new-to-me ingredients that required research… Enter the result of this weekend’s kitchen experiment: scones made with spelt flour and coconut palm sugar, inspired by the recipe Shanna shared, via her friend Kendra, last Tuesday. Shanna’s recipe used Einkorn flour, but I could not find any at the store, so I decided to use spelt flour instead.

Meyer lemon and blueberry oat scones

Spelt is an ancient grain with a mellow, nutty flavor, and slightly higher protein content than wheat. Though it is not gluten free (it actually has more gluten than wheat), it is easily digestible. Sarah B of My New Roots explains more:

“Spelt is an excellent source of manganese, which helps protect your cells from free radical damage, keeps your bones strong, maintains nerve health, and promotes the function of the thyroid gland. Spelt is also very high in fiber and contains a good amount of protein.” (source)

Delicious!

Coconut palm sugar is made by tapping the nectar from the coconut palm tree and drying the juice in a kettle drum. It condenses into an unrefined brown sugar that can be used as a 1-to-1 replacement for white or brown sugar. It has a deep caramel flavor, perfect for baked goods. You can read more information here.

Perfect for breakfast or tea time

Meyer Lemon Blueberry Oat Scones

Adapted from Shanna’s recipe

Makes 8 scones

Ingredients:

1 cup spelt flour

3/4 cup oat flour (make your own by blending steel-cut oats until fine)

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1/4 cup coconut palm sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ginger powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Zest of 1 – 2 meyer lemons

8 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or, in a pinch, strained regular yogurt, per above note)

3 tablespoons honey

Juice of 2 – 3 Meyer Lemons

1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Method

Preheat your oven to 400°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, oats, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ginger and salt. Toss the lemon zest with the dry ingredients.

Add the cubed butter to the dry ingredients. Rub or cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles small, coarse peas (using your fingers or a pastry cutter). Add yogurt and honey, and toss everything together with a fork or your hands until all of the dry ingredients are moistened.

Add the lemon juice last. Use the juice to bring the batter together, adding a little at a time until the mixture forms a nice dough that will hold together in a disc shape–not too wet or too crumbly. Gently fold in blueberries.

Form the dough into a large, flat disc on the parchment paper, pressing with your fingers as needed. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until golden brown on top. Cool for 15 minutes before cutting into 8 pieces.

Cut into wedges, like a pie

The “base” for these scones came from Shanna and Kendra, but the blueberry-lemon combo was inspired by this week’s Meatless Monday from A – Z link-up, hosted by Heather. Although I missed the last two weeks (avocado), I hope to make it to the party more often this round!

Though I did not notice a huge difference in taste using the spelt flour (versus my usual whole wheat), I like the idea of an easier to digest and higher protein grain. Have you ever cooked with spelt flour? Please share any recipes you have tried!

Enjoy!

-L

Apricot Coconut Quick Bread

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Pas de Duex Blog

When we started this blog almost a year ago, I wasn’t quite sure why I really wanted to try out this whole blogging thing.

I have worked to improve my food photography skills, sometimes with success, and other times, less successfully. But in the past few months I have realized that photography is not my passion.

Apricot Coconut Quick Bread

Sometimes the lighting in my apartment is just right, and I love taking photos of my food. I love that I have learned to use my husband’s DSLR, and I am very proud of how far my photos have come.

But sometimes, the lighting is just blah and I am more invested in the process of cooking and sharing the food I make with others than in the process of photographing my food.

Sliced bread

In the almost year we have been blogging, I have invented some delicious new recipes, but in the past few months I have realized that recipe development is not my passion.

I much prefer to be inspired by other peoples’ recipes or to just throw “a little of this and a little of that” into a dish, no measurements required. By the time Friday rolls around, I have pinned and bookmarked more recipes than I could ever tackle in one weekend, and I don’t really feel like creating something “new” of my own.

(Note: Mom got a new bunny apron this year!)

But blogging has helped me to learn more about myself and to find a way to articulate my true passion(s). It has helped me to understand why I cook, and it has awakened in me a curiosity about why other people cook.

Blogging has helped me to learn more about our food system, and to understand how my personal choices can and do have an impact on our larger food culture and food systems.

Blogging has helped me to understand that the pursuit of self knowledge and taking time out for self care make me a better person not only for those I love, but also enables me to work towards something greater than myself.

Hello gorgeous!

Blogging has helped my sister and I connect over food in a new way, and it has created a platform by which my family has begun to share stories about out “kitchen history.”

After losing our Grandma last August, these stories are more important than ever. They are slowing coming out—like a few weeks ago, when my Aunt Kris followed up on my post about pizza with an email telling me that Grandma used to make huge batches of pesto, with basil that the neighbors left on the porch for her (the whole plant, roots and all!), and froze it in ice cube trays to have on hand whenever it was needed.

Freshly baked

All of this is to say that as life has gotten busy in the past few months, the frequency of our posts has decreased, and will likely continue to remain at 1 or 2 posts per week rather than 3 or 4. But I will continue to document and recount my kitchen adventures when I can! I assure you that I spend most weekends on my feet making one thing after another, even when I forget to take photos.

I whipped up this lovely loaf of bread last Saturday to serve on Sunday morning for Easter Brunch with the East Coast portion of my family (Casey was sorely missed). Inspired by Smitten Kitchen, I did what Deb said was not necessary, and adapted Bill Granger’s recipe for Coconut Bread. I wanted to incorporate the dried apricots that my sister’s mother-in-law brought as part of a house-warming basket for my parents, and this bread seemed the perfect use.

While I have no doubt that the original recipe was fabulous, I really love the addition of the apricots.

Served for Easter Brunch

Apricot Coconut Quick Bread

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

2 large eggs

1 1/4 cups canned coconut milk milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

1/4 teaspoon table salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup coconut flakes

3/4 cup chopped dried apricots

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Method

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and sugar and coconut, and stir to mix. Make a well in the center, and pour in egg mixture, then stir wet and dry ingredients together until just combined. Add butter, coconut, and apricots and stir until just smooth — be careful not to overmix.

Butter and flour a 9×5-inch loaf pan, or coat it with a nonstick spray. Spread batter in pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool in pan 10 – 15 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.

Hope you had a happy Easter with your loved ones!

-L

Almond Pulp Crackers

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Pas de Duex Blog

“Once you start cooking, one thing leads to another. A new recipe is as exciting as a blind date….We make things from scratch just to see if we can.” -Barbara Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (p. 130)

Almond Pulp Crackers

We found ourselves with the rare weekend to ourselves. Friday evening, after a casual dinner out and a glass of wine, we wandered into Barnes and Noble, one of our favorite “date night” destinations. While other couples may prefer to go to movies, concerts, etc., my husband and I love passing time in the bookstore. As usual, he headed for the architecture section while I headed to the food and cookbooks section.

We each left the store with three new books in hand, excited for a lazy weekend spent reading and working on pet projects. And while I was able to do plenty of reading this weekend (full book post coming soon), the majority of my time was spent making mess after mess in the kitchen.

Flatten the dough and slice the crackers

Following a Saturday morning coffee date with Sarah, I whipped up muffins and scrambled eggs for brunch. Next, I moved on to Nutella bites, cucumber salad, and almond milk. After dinner, the almond pulp I had saved from making the milk was beckoning me, calling me back to my recently cleaned kitchen to spend just a few more hours experimenting.

Baking crackers

As the quote above suggests, the more time I spend in the kitchen, the more adventurous I feel with my cooking. I am now at a point where I prefer to make from scratch anything that I “can.” While I have yet to tackle yeast bread (perhaps a project for next weekend?!), crackers seemed like a no-brainer.

In the past, my nut pulp has almost always ended up being mixed into Greek yogurt or otherwise consumed as a component of my breakfast. But no longer – these crackers were so simple to make, and I just love the fact that I made them myself!

Nut milk and crackers, a perfect combination of kitchen DIY treats.

Almond Pulp Crackers

Inspired by Edible Perspective and Kath Eats

Makes about 50 – 100 small crackers

Ingredients

1 cup almond pulp (leftover from making almond milk)

1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1/4 cup ground flax meal

1 Tablespoon honey

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 Tablespoons water

Method

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Add all ingredients in a large bowl and mash together with a fork until fully combined. You should be left with a soft, loosely formed ball of dough. Split the ball in half, set each half on a non-stick baking sheet, and spread each piece of dough with your hands evenly and as thinly as possible, ideally, 1/4 – 1/8-inch thick. Score with a butter knife into about 1×1-inch sized crackers. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pans. Bake 15 minutes more, then carefully flip each cracker over and bake for another 15 minutes. Flip again and bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until deep golden brown, for a total of 55-65 minutes. Let the crackers fully cool. They will become crunchy as they cool. Store in a sealed container on the counter for 1-3 days.

Perfectly crunchy and slightly sweet, I am loving having these made-from-scratch crackers around to nibble on. Perhaps with some turnip hummus?

Have you ever made your own crackers?

-L

Thank You, Blog World #10, or Hummus: Beyond Chickpeas

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Pas de Duex Blog

Another month has come and gone, and to be honest, I am not really sad to see February go… I am over winter. It’s been a fairly mild one here in VA, but I am tired of wearing sweaters and coats, and anxiously awaiting the return of spring produce.

Although I have been dreaming of asparagus and strawberries, I have been enjoying the root vegetables that continue to be available from our local farms. I recently purchased a “Virginia Bounty Box” from Relay Foods that featured apples, squash, potatoes, and turnips. LOTS of apples, squash, potatoes, and turnips.

Most of the box made its way into the oven–roasting root vegetables is, after all, my favorite way to prepare them. I enjoyed many a salad topped with roasted turnips, but I also decided to try something a little different…

Turnip Hummus.

Hummus is traditionally made with chickpeas, but add some tahini, garlic, and lemon juice to almost any starchy-vegetable-based spread, and you have a delicious alternative! I threw a pinch of a Tandoori spice blend I had on hand into my turnip hummus for a bold flavor.

Turnip Hummus

Yields about 2 cups hummus

Ingredients

3 cups roasted turnips

Juice from 1/2 large lemon (about 2 Tablespoons)

2 large garlic cloves

2 generous Tablespoons tahini

pinch Tandoori spice blend

salt and pepper, to taste

Method

Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. Serve with crackers, pita, or vegetables.

So I started to wonder – what other alternative hummus recipes might I like to try? Of course, the blog world was able to deliver.

All of the alternative hummus recipes I found include tahini, and most include lemon juice and garlic, but the “base” ranges from starchy vegetables to beans and even and nuts. Those that stick to the traditional chickpea add awesome flavors or toppings that take hummus to a whole new level.

As we do at the start of each month, I would like to say “Thank You” to my fellow bloggers for the inspiration they provide me on a daily basis. Here’s a round-up of a some of my current favorites blogs and their alternative hummus recipes: