Recent Meals and Experiments

My work schedule has changed in the last few months. I am working later into the evening or have a short break between jobs then go back to work. Z. and I mix up having dinner together when I finally get home or I cook a quick meal for myself before leaving. Fajitas are a staple. I use whatever vegetables are in my fridge. The picture above shows an experiment: onion, corn, black beans, corn, acorn squash, cauliflower, thinly sliced brussel sprouts, radish, and fresh green beans.

Then, the leftover corn and black beans become a marinated salad for my lunch the next day. Imagine my Marinated Chickpea Salad with corn and black beans. I love Trader Joe's white balsamic vinegar with corn and black beans. It's bright, light, and makes a great vinaigrette.

 

Z. suggested I try adding edamame. I really enjoyed this variation: onion, corn, black beans, bell peppers - red and green, and edamame. What other fajita variations do you enjoy? 

I love how my soba noodle salad looks but I haven't quite gotten the dressing right. I tried an orange-miso vinaigrette. I enjoyed the orange with the noodles and the vegetables but I think it was too much for the miso. Soba noodles are one those pantry essentials that make for quick meals for Z. and myself.

Even though I didn't make this last meal I want to share, I had to brag.  Z. was the chef and I had the privilege of cutting the carrots and asparagus for his Asparagus Risotto. Z. makes amazing risotto. There's no cream and no butter but the risotto is still rich and creamy. Maybe someday he will let me share his secrets.

I'm Seasonally Confused

I have had so many great recipes to share lately that I never got around to sharing my adventures with persimmons. Well, it is now March, the time of asparagus, citrus, and green beans. The brief life of persimmons has long been over. These persimmon recipes are a nostalgic look back at the past winter and fall.

I had a bag of Fuyu persimmons, which you can read about here. My first adventure with persimmons was a crisp. I followed Dinners and Dreams Persimmon and Crisp recipe, only omitting the dried cranberries (not because I didn't think it would be delicious, just didn't have any). This was a simple, homey desert that allowed the exotic (to me) fruit shine.

Here are the ingredients for the fruit portion of the crisp. I love honey!

Ingredients for the crisp topping.

This just makes me smile. It's a sunset in a pan.

Yum! Simple, homey, and let's the fruit shine.

My Persimmon and Parsnip Stir-Fry is one of the best meals I have made this winter/fall, alongside my Peanut and Yam Curry and Pappa al Pomodoro. This stir-fry had two keys to its success: multiple textures and the balance of flavors. I use a variety of textures like soft persimmon, crispy parsnip, crunchy broccoli and included more toothsome chicken. The balance and layers of flavors was created by using spicy, citrusy red chile pepper, sharp ginger, earthy parsnip, and sweet persimmon. Onion and garlic round out all my stir-fries. The element that ties everything together is the miso.

My first time cooking with chicken at home in years. I was home alone and feeling sorry for myself so I splurged. This one chicken breast became 2 meals and would have become a third. Look for my Kitchen Misadventures to find out what happened to the third portion.

 There was a time when I was afraid of miso. It's alive, after all. Before experimenting with miso at home, my one experience with miso was a bowl of miso broth at a sushi restaurant. I thought it was...interesting. I kept coming across recipes that use miso and finally decided to give the stuff a try. My first miso adventure was with chickpea miso. The co-op in Corvallis has a huge variety of misos in bulk, including chickpea miso, which is great if you just want to commit to a little bit. No more chickpea miso for me. Eating my chickpea miso broth was like slurping bean cooking liquid with some extra earthiness.

I tried again with some Westbrae Organic Mellow Red Miso. I have fallen in love and going we are still going strong, three tubs later. If you are unfamiliar with miso, the only adjectives I have are earthy and funky.

 

This was one good looking meal.

Turns out, that earthy funk goes great with persimmons. To create the rest of the sauce, I just used my standard stir-fry trifecta: soy sauce, rice vinegar, and Sriracha sauce. Enjoy!

P.S. I can't wait to try Dinners and Dreams version of cobbler with quinoa topping.

**As you can see in the photo, some of my persimmons still had a green tinge and most were very firm. I stored my persimmons in a paper bag until they were softer.

Persimmon and Parsnip Stir-Fry

by Ace Nation

Keywords: stir-fry chicken miso

6044523

Ingredients (serves 2 hungry adults)

For the Sauce

• 2 teaspoons miso
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• Sriracha, to taste

For the Stir-Fry

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1/3 pound chicken breast, diced into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2-3 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
• 1 fresh red chile, such as Fresno or red jalapeno, seeds removed, and minced finely
• 2 parsnips, peeled and sliced into half-moons
• 1 cup broccoli, including the stem, cut into small pieces
• 3 Fuyu persimmons, peeled and cut into similar-sized pieces as the rest of the vegetables

Instructions

For the Sauce

Mix the ingredients in a small bowl or cup until combined. Set aside.

For the Stir-Fry

Heat oil in a wok or high-sided skillet over medium heat.

Cook chicken, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, 4-5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add onions to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, adding garlic after about 5 minutes. Cook until onion is translucent and beginning to brown.

Add chile pepper and parsnip to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes.

Add ginger and broccoli to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until broccoli is just beginning to become tender, about 4 minutes.

Return chicken to the pan and add persimmons. Very gently stirring, cook until chicken and persimmon is just heated through.

Add enough stir-fry sauce to coat all ingredients. Serve immediately over rice.

Enjoy!

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Ace's Adventures with...Chayote Squash

I have finally tried chayote squash! This was a nice surprise. If I had known had tasty and versatile this little gem was, I would have been using chayote far sooner. The flavor seemed to be a cross between the stalk of a broccoli crown and zucchini. The texture is crisp, much like a radish.

If you are looking for something crunchy and mild to a salad, consider chayote.

I was planning on making a salad that used edamame and corn but other than that, I had no idea what I wanted to add. I took a stroll through the produce section of the market for inspiration. Not only did this particular market suddenly carry chayote, it was a great deal at $0.50 each. I picked one up, not knowing exactly how to use the fruit.

I did a little research and found that chayote can be used both raw and cooked and the seed is edible, as well. Perfect! My salad began to take shape. Here is what I created:

Chayote and Edamame Salad

1 cup edamame, prepared according to package directions
1 can corn, drained and rinsed,
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 chayote squash, diced
1 small red onion, finely diced
2-3 carrots, diced
1 chile pepper of choice, deseeded and minced finely
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons rice vinegar *
freshly ground pepper and kosher salt to taste

*I used rice vinegar but lime juice would be a tasty substitute.

Combine all in ingredients in a large bowl and let marinate 30 minutes in the refrigerator before serving.

A few thoughts, of course:

• Followed exactly, this recipe makes a huge salad. Feel free to adjust as needed.
• Edamame is a great source of protein. Edamame can be found in the freezer section of the market, in the pod or de-shelled. I use the de-shelled variety. Edamame has a very mild flavor. Honestly, I do not think it has much of a taste but I love the color. The little beans are such a cute shade of bright green! The texture is nice, too. The bean has an initial bite but then gives way to its slightly creamy interior.

• If I were making this as a side dish, I would have left out the kidney beans
• I enjoy salads like this just the way they are, while other times I combine the salad with my favorite whole-grain for a nice dinner. Enjoy!

Ace's Adventures with . . . Peach Salsa

I noticed that when I say adventure, I really mean that I am trying something new and I have no idea how the dish is going to turn out. I had an adventure making Peach Salsa yesterday, which I have never had before. Conceptually, I like the idea of the sweet peaches with something crunchy from the allium genus and a little spicy chili pepper topping something savory. After all, I really enjoy mangoes in my Black Bean Salad, I thought I might enjoy some Peach Salsa on some fajitas. What did I learn:

• Peach Salsa is rather weird and I will not be making it again. I think chutney has more potential.
• I would not eat Peach Salsa on chips but I did enjoy the salsa with the ground turkey that was on my fajita. The flavors of the salsa and meat complement each other. If I just had vegetables, the sweetness would have been too much.
• I added some grated garlic. I knew I was taking a risk and it turned out to be a risk I should have avoided. The garlic did not enhance the salsa.
• Fresh cilantro would have helped to bring the salsa all together.

Here is the recipe of what I made yesterday:

Peach Salsa, serves 3

2 nectarines or peaches, skin and pit removed
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 jalapeno, seeds removed and minced
1-2 tablespoons lime juice
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Mix everything in a small bowl and let sit for 20-30 minutes before serving.

Ace's Adventures with...Granola

I have been researching making homemade granola for quite some time now but thinking once I start adding nuts, seeds, and dried fruit, my cheap recipe will no longer pass the Cheap not Frugal Eats test of cheapness. Making granola seems so easy that I finally bit the bullet and made my own. In passing, Z. said he would prefer the loose granola to the clumpy granola so I went with the loose grains. I was surprised at how tasty my homemade granola turned out. I started my granola adventures with a very plain granola without any nuts, seeds, fruit, or anything extra to see if I would actually like the simplest version, first. Here is what I learned making my first batch of granola:

• Most of the recipes I found called for baking the granola at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour, stirring every twenty minutes. This recipe for granola called for an oven temperature 300 degrees, also, but had a total baking time of 37 minutes. I cooked my granola for 40 minutes, stirred occasionally, and it was slightly burnt. Next time I plan on a cooking time of about 35 minutes and I will stir my granola every 15 minutes or so. I am pretty sure that the granola will still come out cooked and crunchy when cooled after 35 minutes. Maybe the recipes that cook longer, are also recipes that use water. I could not wrap my brain around the idea of adding water to grains and then baking them to dry them out. Then again, those granola-makers may be on to something.
• I did not want a product that was too sweet so I used slightly less than 1/4 cup honey. Using honey does raise the cost of making the granola. I thought I would taste more of the honey flavor in the finished dish than I did. Next time, I might try 3/8 cup (1/4 cup plus 1/8 cup) brown sugar mixed with enough water, about 1-2 tablespoons, to make a thick paste.
• I used 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. That small amount was enough to make the apartment smell delicious while baking but was not enough to spice the granola.
• I really like the idea that I can use any combination of grains I want when making my own granola. This time I used old-fashioned oats, rye flakes, and barley flakes. The bulk sections at a couple of my local grocery stores, especially the bulk section at the Market of Choice, has a wide variety of rolled grains, including oats, rye, spelt, barley, quinoa, and wheat. 

From the top: Barley flakes, rye flakes, old-fashioned oatmeal

Granola waiting to go into the oven

Here is the recipe I used for my first adventure with granola. Enjoy!

Granola

3 cups rolled grains, could be all oats, or a combination of any rolled grain like oats, barley, rye, etc.
1/4-1/2 cup honey or brown sugar moistened with enough water to make a paste
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray or line with parchment paper. Set aside. Mix the grains with the salt and cinnamon. Add the honey and oil to the grains and mix thoroughly. Spread the granola in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 30-35 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Once baked, remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheet. When cool, transfer to an air-tight container. Store in the refrigerator or freezer to preserve freshness.