Into the Strenuous Briefness

I posted my dinner from last night and a few people asked for recipes.

Pan Fried Lemon Garlic Tilapia

1. (The hour marinade is really not critical, but it does improve things) About an hour before you want to cook, put the tilapia filet in a ziploc bag with about 1-2T olive oil, juice from 1/4 a lemon, a clove of minced garlic, and some salt and pepper. Lemon zest never hurt anything either. Seal the bag and put it in the fridge until you’re ready to cook. 
2. For the breading, I use about 3/4 cup panko-style breadcrumbs with about 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. I also mix some lemon pepper into the breading. 
3. Heat some canola oil in a pan while you bread the fish. Once the oil is hot, fry for about 3 min a side.
4. Eat.

Asparagus: Toss some asparagus in olive oil, put on foil-lined baking sheet, bake at 325 (or any temp, really, tbh, this isn’t analytical chemistry) for about 10 min or so, until the asparagus is tender. I often cover mine in feta cheese. Or goat cheese. Or any kind of cheese you have in the fridge.

Lemon Risotto with Spinach:

I used this recipe. I didn’t have any onions so I substituted 2 shallots. The original recipe called for arugula, but I prefer spinach so that’s what I used. I used veggie stock instead of chicken stock (which is why mine had such a dark color, I think, but the flavor was great). The recipe calls for 1 or 1.5 lemons; I used one decent sized lemon and ended up with a very strong lemon flavor. For me juicing another half lemon would definitely have been too much.

I actually didn’t feel the need to add any cheese to the risotto; it was really rich all on its own.

Enjoy.

Yesterday I made the most awesome side dish! I inhaled the leftovers for lunch today.

I diced two sweet potatoes and 3 large shallots and tossed it all in a few tablespoons of olive oil along with minced garlic (two cloves) and some kosher salt. Bake the whole mess at about 425 for about 25 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.

It is fantastic and you won’t regret it. I think it’s the most delicious thing I’ve made in months.

(I’ve only recently discovered shallots, and they’re wonderful! If you aren’t cooking with them yet you should be.)

I like it! But it’s definitely got a unique flavor. Here’s what I did:

1. Chop one large sweet onion, one red bell pepper, one half a large green bell pepper, one jalapeño, and two or three chipotle chiles (I used the ones that come canned in adobe sauce).
2. Sauté all that stuff in olive oil in a large pot. Add 3-4 cloves garlic (minced).
3.While the veggies are sautéing, prepare 1 cup quinoa.
4. Season veggies with cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, and chili powder. I added about 1 tsp of cocoa powder and about 2 tsp brown sugar on a whim.
5. When veggies are soft, add two cans black beans (undrained) and one can crushed tomatoes.
6. Add about a half cup or 3/4 cup frozen corn.
7. Stir in quinoa and keep in medium heat until it’s all heated through. I added some of the adobe sauce from the chiles and a little vegetable broth too, and some hot sauce.

This is going to be great as lunch for this week—it strikes me as a recipe that will get better after a day or two in a fridge. It’s got a good kick but the tomatoes and cocoa powder/brown sugar leave a sweet aftertaste. I think it will be a fall standard for me.

or: Lessons in Keeping a Well-Stocked Pantry

Boil some whole wheat rotini. Wish you had an onion. Remember you have shallots! Sauté a shallot and a clove of garlic in a little olive oil. Add some oregano and basil. Remember that you have some white cooking wine and splash a little of that in the pan too.

Mix shallots & garlic with pasta. Add a little more olive oil and black pepper. Cover in Parmesan cheese.

So easy, and pretty good.

• Put one package of skinless, boneless chicken thighs in crockpot (about 1lb; I started with frozen chicken)
• Add 1 diced red onion
• Add about one cup of frozen corn
• Add 1 bottle (18 oz) of your fave BBQ sauce 
• Season to taste; I used liberal amounts of cayenne pepper, black pepper, and garlic powder, as well as a few generous dashes of buffalo sauce
• Cook on low for about 6 hours or until chicken is fork tender

I’m eating mine with a baked potato and green beans. It would go well with rice, too—I’m going to make some rice to pack in my lunch tomorrow. I might throw in some pinto beans next time I make this.

Guys, I started eating this dinner and I thought, “Here’s my Wellness Wednesday post!” but it’s so delicious that I have to post it for you all now.

Chickpea Burgers (maybe falafel?)

• Roughly dice about 1/3 of a large red onion and put it into a food processor with 3 garlic cloves
• Drain one can chickpeas and add to the food processor with some cumin, paprika, and cayenne pepper if you want a kick
• Blend until smooth-ish
• Transfer to bowl. Mix in about one cup of bread crumbs and two egg whites.
• Heat some canola oil in a skillet. 
• Form the chickpea mixture into patties; fry until brown and crispy on both sides. You could probably bake it to make it actually healthy.

I’m eating mine covered in feta and sundried tomatoes.

So. Good.

I sort of used this recipe and sort of improvised.

Here’s what I put in the crockpot:

• 2 cans of medium enchilda sauce
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 can diced green chiles
• about 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 cup black beans
• 2 ancho chiles + a tablespoon-ish of ancho chili sauce (dumped in part of the can)
• about 1 lb frozen stew meat (beef)

Cooked on low for about 11 hours. When I made it I considered dumping a ton of Tabasco in it, as is my way, but I’m very glad I didn’t because there’s quite enough heat in this even for me. Smothered in sharp cheddar, it’s just completely delicious.