I made this one up! Back in February, my boyfriend came home from work earlier than expected. So I hurriedly whipped up this chicken dish. Tasted amazing to both of us though I tend to like any dish that involves lots of artichokes. I tried making it again a few weeks later but I must've forgotten how to make it because it didn't taste the same. Still tasty, just not awesome. The chicken wasn't cooked perfectly like the first time. Maybe I needed to pound flatter the second time. I had scribbled down some notes if you want to try making it.

Chicken with Artichokes

1. Start with split chicken breasts with bone. Pound them flatter.
   
2. Sprinkle with salt and pepper under the skin, on top of the skin, and on the back side of the chicken.
   
3. Sautee some minced garlic then push garlic to the sides of the pan.
   
4. Put the chicken in, skin side down for about 3 minutes. Then flip and let the other side cook about 4-5 minutes. Still not all the way done.
   
5. Remove chicken and deglazed the pan with some chicken stock.
   
6. Mix in the coarsely chopped artichokes.
   
7. Add back the chicken (keeping skin above the liquid) and let simmer another 5 minutes until it is just finished cooking.
   
8. Splash it with two squirts of lemon juice.
   
9. Serve with some rice or roasted asparagus.
   

Ever eat something at a restaurant and have that dish linger long in your memories? That's how it was when my sister took me to The Helmand in Cambridge, MA, for my birthday. I don't know what food from Afghanistan is supposed to taste like but I loved everything. In particular, I loved the appetizer, Kaddo Bourani, that my sister got. It didn't sound like the sort of thing I would like since it involved a yogurt sauce and pumpkin and I don't care all that much about either of those things. But when I tasted it, I was a convert. The sweet hot pumpkin mixed with the tang of the cold yogurt sauce and then melded with the hot savory ground beef sauce. (They also offered this as a vegetarian option by leaving out the meat sauce.) The blend of flavors, textures, and temperatures made me sigh happily. When I got home, I looked on the restaurant's website to see if they shared the recipe and they didn't. Alas. If you're in San Francisco or Boston, I heartily recommend making reservations to eat at The Helmand.

When I was looking for pumpkin recipes last month, I stumbled upon The Recipe! I read it eagerly and was surprised to see that it required baking the pumpkin for over 3 hours. Not something to make on a whim. Well I finally tried it and it was worth every moment of waiting. The hardest part was preparing the pumpkin. The rest of the recipe is fairly simple and straight-forward. But it did take a long time. I kept going over to check on things. By the time I was done cooking, eating, and cleaning everything up, I lay down and noticed, "Wow...my FEET are sore from all that cooking and cleaning." But you know what? I loved it. I couldn't believe that something that tasted so good had come out of my kitchen. I only regret that the stores around here seem to sell fresh pumpkins only for Halloween. So I guess I'll have to wait until next year to make this again.

(If anyone in Boston or Seacoast New Hampshire knows where I could buy some sugar pumpkins, please let me know!)

Here's another recipe from my friends list. angel_vixen posted this amazing recipe that has been met with rave reviews both times I've made this now. I modified it slightly to use less honey (because I'm running low on honey and my boyfriend doesn't like things to taste too sweet). She originally made it with boneless chicken breasts, but I've made it with pork cutlets since that's what I had at home from this month's meat CSA share. First time served up with some curry-roasted cauliflower. Second time we paired it with green beans and mashed potatoes. Very satisfying meal for not much effort.

One thing I love about the internet is how there's a never-ending supply of recipes to try. I have a long list of recipes from my LJ friends that I've been meaning to try. So here are some that I did get around to making. This one is from my globe-trotting, super-athletic friend, rogerdoger. I've made this a few times since it's easy, filling, and healthy.

Looking for new ideas for cooking pumpkin? I first made this soup in 2007. My boyfriend, Brian, liked this so much he ate three bowls of it while standing in front of the stove. Why would I then wait so long before posting? Because my photos made it look like unappetizing baby food with the consistency of applesauce. But! It tasted great. And now I have a better photo so I can share this recipe with you.

I thought this was a clever a cappella version of the theme from The Simpsons.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM-_hz2LLZk

I love it when a dish is both quick and easy to prepare. To make things even faster, you could mix up the seasoned flour and pre-chop the pecans and just keep them in tupperware containers until you're ready to cook. I served these with roasted spiced sweet potatoes (which were awesome and I'll post those separately).

Ever since I joined the Chestnut Farms Meat CSA last year, the meals I've cooked at home have been determined partly by what shows up in our monthly share. Part of me loves being surprised. Part of me wishes I could just specify things so that I could do things like perfect the pulled pork recipe that I didn't quite get right the first time. And besides, some cuts I'm never sure what to do with. Anyone have a fool-proof recipe for Country-Style Pork Ribs? That's one where I tend to fail miserably. Oh and if I could request their bacon for every month, that would be great too.

We get the 10-pound monthly share and we had requested no beef since Brian doesn't eat beef. Here's what we got our last 2 shares:

August: 2 packs of pork loin chops, 2 packs of ground pork, 2 packs of pork cutlets, 1 pack of chicken legs, 1 pack of chicken breasts, and 1 pack of Pork Sweet Italian Sausage.

September: 1 pack of Greek Lamb Sausage, 1 pack of lamb for stew, 2 packs of ground lamb, 1 pack of lamb rack rib chops, 1 pack of chicken breasts, and 1 big chunk of Leg of Lamb. I supplemented and picked up 4 lamb tongues that are sitting in the freezer until I figure out what to do with them. Anyone have any ideas?

Clearly September marks the return of lamb. Great for us since we love lamb. They said that in October, they should be able to offer some goat too. Excited to try that though I have no idea how to cook goat. Luckily the internet should yield some ideas.

Tonight I plan to make Marcella Hazan's Split Chicken with Herbs with the chicken breasts. I haven't made that recipe in ages and I'm getting hungry just thinking about having it again. I hope it's not a disappointment.

I just put a bottle of white wine in the fridge for it. I love that so many places have cheap (yet drinkable) wine now. I'm not enough of a wine connoisseur to turn my nose up at cheap wine from Trader Joe's. Besides, I'm the only one who drinks alcohol in my house. At least if it's a cheap wine then it's not tempting me to drink the whole bottle by myself that night just so it doesn't go to waste.

Ten pounds of meat per month for 2 adults has been the right amount for us. At first I had worried whether or not that would be enough. I didn't want to buy more meat because I didn't think it would fit in our freezer. Besides, 10 pounds is already $80/month. We still eat out so we get more meat that way as well. But at home, we've cut back on our meat consumption. Not to the point where we don't get enough meat...just that now I think I eat the recommended 4oz portion of meat. Before, I more typically ate 8oz of meat and maybe even 10-12oz if there were going to be leftovers. Just because I could.

I had joined the meat CSA due to feeling guilty over how animals in the factory farming system were being treated. Since then, I've read more and more articles and books about the environmental toll that system takes. And it makes me think paying more for humanely and sustainably raised meat is worth it to me. So I'm going to keep up with the meat CSA for as long as we can afford it. He's been laid off so we're down to being a one-income household but so far, we've been able to keep it in the budget. We eat out less often. And if we do have to give up the meat CSA, at least I've adapted my eating habits to eat more reasonable portions of meat.

Neat! I just found a link to an NPR interview with Chestnut Farms:
Read or listen to the interview
They're having an open house Oct 11 so members can go meet their meat.

Sorry I couldn't come up with a shorter and catchier name but at least the finished result is pleasing enough that I made up a second batch immediately. (OK, so I made the second batch because I had all the ingredients on hand already but I would've wanted more anyhow.)

Came up with this side dish to accompany Chicken Breasts in a Middle Eastern Marinade. The olives really make this dish. I had set aside half for Brian since he didn't like olives, and then I mixed in olives for the other half for myself. Side-by-side taste test found that you really need the olives. Without olives, it's not bad...but it's nothing special either. It tastes kind of like the salad toppings without the greens. But with the olives, it's quite interesting. Yummy. Brian even preferred them with the olives.

I've been feeling like I needed to increase the variety of vegetables I cook since I've fallen into something of a veggie rut. Lately, I cook zucchini, cauliflower, potatoes, and corn. I eat other vegetables when we eat out but at home, I keep cooking the same things. Granted, I love how I cook these so I'm not tired of eating them. I just thought I should try cooking some new vegetables too. Any suggestions?

I spotted this bunch of salad turnips at the Farmers' Market recently. I vaguely remembered trying a slice of turnips somewhere that was surprisingly sweet. The farm even had a recipe printed out that said you could be eating "Tender Roasted Turnips" in 30 minutes, so I decided that should be my experimental veggie.

In the end, the turnips were as tender as promised with practically creamy insides. I overcooked them a little since I had cut them into smaller cubes. Also decided to prepare the greens as well but didn't care as much for those.

This recipe is getting invited back because it hints of fried chicken, but it's baked so there's no hot oil popping and burning my skin. It was simple to make and my boyfriend loved how it tasted. I used two chicken legs with each leg cut into two pieces (a thigh and drumstick). I left the skin on and with the coating, it formed a nice crisp (though not extra crunchy) crust. I liked how it tasted but wanted it to have a little more oomph. Maybe I'll try brining the pieces first next time. I'll have to look up how to do that. Any suggestions?

I love museums and I like it even more if I can visit for free. I've compiled a list of ways to get in to a bunch of museums around Boston for free so that you can also indulge without needing to pay admission. The first two on this list are available nationwide and you can look for museums near you at those websites. The rest are mostly around Boston and are behind an LJ-cut.

If you know of other ways and places to get in free, let me know and I'll add it to the list!

Bank of America Museums On Us (nationwide)
http://museums.bankofamerica.com/
Discussion: http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=1389299
Got a Bank of America ATM, credit, or check card? Each card holder can get into a bunch of museums free on the first full weekend of each month. Check website to find participating museums (or zoos and gardens) near you. In the Boston area, this deal gets you into:

• Museum of Fine Arts (www.mfa.org)
  
• Harvard Museum of Natural History (www.hmnh.harvard.edu)
  
• DeCordova Sculpture Park & Museum (www.decordova.org)
  
• Danforth Museum of Art (www.danforthmuseum.org)
  
• EcoTarium (ecotarium.org)

Target sponsored nights (nationwide)
http://sites.target.com/site/en/corporate/page.jsp?contentId=PRD03-002065
Here's another deal where a big corporation sponsors a bunch of free or cheap admissions. Check website to find one near you. We went to the MoMA in NYC for their Target Free Thursday night and the line was so long we were tempted to give up. But we joined the line and it moved surprisingly quickly. Boston options are:
- Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) Thursdays 5-9pm
- Boston Children's Museum Target $1 Fridays 5-9pm
Discussion: http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=1328567

( Click to see the rest of the listings for mostly Boston-area museums )

I love fried fish. So does my boyfriend. But this is not a post about fried fish. While I love the smell of anything frying, Brian feels nauseous at the smell of frying oil. So I've been banned from trying to fry fish at home. Alas. I would like to learn to make fried fish. I keep meaning to try it whenever he's out of town on business trips.

Recently, Brian and I were having dinner with friends and Suzanne served up what she called a simple meal of baked cod, green beans, buttered pasta, and fresh bread. Delicious. Most excitingly to me, Brian enjoyed the fish and had not smelled it cooking while we were there and I was trying to coax their French-speaking 3-year-old daughter to talk to us. (I regard kids who speak any non-English languages as little child prodigies even if that other language is the ONLY language they know.) Back to the main point. The fish was tasty and didn't smell bad. Hooray! I could cook this at home and get some more omega-3 fish oil into our diets.

One note of caution about the fish. Cod (and white fish in general) can have worms in them. It doesn't happen so often that you should expect to see worms every time you see fish but it happens regularly enough that it's not entirely unexpected either. They're harmless for the most part. Apparently you're supposed to just remove the worms and continue preparing the fish. Google cod and worms for more details. I don't think my cod had worms but I didn't know to look for them and I didn't do my Google search until after we had eaten all the fish.

The recipe turned out to be very simple indeed. The basil got a little dried out so I think next time I'll mix the shredded basil up with the diced tomatoes first. Served this with some zucchini and rice. Very satisfying!

Thanks to cmmunchkin and chipleduff, I've decided to try streaking. Before you book flights to come visit and post videos to YouTube, I'm talking about something more G-rated. The United States Running Streak Association (www.runeveryday.com) has collected the names of compulsive runners who run every day. At least one mile. Every day. No excuses about "I stayed up late finishing a paper" or "I have an early meeting at work" or "But I have a sore throat!" I think cmmunchkin is on day 150 and chipleduff has hit 97 days of running in a row. An unbroken string of days where they each managed to squeeze at least one mile into their busy days. I had heard of this several years ago and while the idea appealed to me, I kind of shrugged it off as something people who were crazily dedicated to running did. But when I heard those two LiveJournal friends were streaking, it suddenly seemed a lot more possible. I mean...these are two Real People (or at least I assume so...they could be imaginary friends for all I know).

So yesterday, after noticing that even trying to wash and brush my hair was painful, I decided that I wouldn't try to go to the gym to lift weights. Instead, I ran Day 1. Later I learned it was National Running Day. I liked the coincidence. And today I got up insanely early to run day 2 of my fledgling streak. My 8am meeting was then postponed by 2 hours so really I could have slept in a little more but at least I got my run out of the way. I still find running a conscious effort. But I also still feel tremendous pride in myself after I finish.

Blame this long post on alchemi since he challenged people to write about what it's like to be beautiful. I'm curious about your thoughts on beauty too. Do you think yourself good-looking? What do you think of the Really Beautiful people of the world? (for me, that's people like Brad Pitt and Tom Brady) What do you think and feel when you find yourself in the presence of Beautiful People?

I do not think I fit the beautiful category though I know some people have described me as such. Mine was described as the beauty you don't recognize at first. Many years ago, some friends and I were talking about attractiveness and one of them said that at first glance, he probably wouldn't take notice of me. But that if we were waiting for the elevators or something that gave him time to glance again, he'd think, "Hey wait a minute...she's kinda cute!"

My mom was frustrated with me because she felt that I didn't properly exploit what physical attributes I have. "You have no sex!" she would complain, meaning that I dressed androgenously in comfortable loose jeans and t-shirts (my lack of a sex life suited her just fine). "People can't tell if you're a boy or a girl!" That's not technically true though there was that one time in marching band when a little kid pointed up to me in delight and said, "Mommy mommy! Lookit the man in uniform!" My mom also felt that making yourself look prettier was something you owed to others around you. They were the ones who had to look at you and it was your responsibility to make the experience as pleasant as possible for them. That argument always disgusted me. I didn't feel I owed anyone anything besides a basic level of mutual respect. And besides, was she implying I was ugly without makeup?

( The rest is behind a cut because I ramble on a good while )

Last December, corvidophile posted a recipe for Prosciutto Pesto Egg Cups. It looked incredibly simple to make and it yielded a cute little cup made of prosciutto that cradled an egg, cheese, and pesto. I love recipes that give me a good picture in the end and both my boyfriend and I love all the ingredients so this shot to the top of the list of recipes I wanted to try. WE LOVED IT. We made it 4 times in the space of 9 days, playing with variations on the fillings and also baking them in a ramekin, as suggested by Mark Bittman. Sadly, I didn't write down notes on my computer. There's probably a scrap of paper somewhere with notes that I'll find next week but in the meantime, I'll post this now since I've been meaning to do so for months now.

As always, I'm grateful for all the help you guys offer. This time around, this request for easy recipes for spinach artichoke dip yielded 0utre's guidelines for this dish. Bonus points for avoiding any ingredients that I'm still scared of (sour cream, mayonnaise). Tasted rich and satisfying and I've made it twice now, including once for dinner with friends.

In this post, I had asked what to do with the cans of Spam my sister gave me. You responded with so many good ideas that I was eager to try my first taste of spam. You talked of your own and others' fondness for this canned meat and made me look forward to tasting it myself.



And then I opened it. Have you ever visited the website where it shows photos of fast-food ads side-by-side with the actual photo of what gets served? (It's here) The gleaming burger that you can almost smell that turns out to be two pieces of smashed bread around a lukewarm ostensibly beef pattie? That's how it felt to peer inside the opened can of Spam. It looked like dog food (though its claim to the title of food is questionable). Have you ever looked at the nutritional label for Spam? For the Spam Lite version, it's only 110 calories per serving (1/6 of the can). That doesn't sound too bad until you realize 70 of those calories come from fat!



But it's cheap, right? Sort of. A 12-ounce can of Spam goes for $2.50 on sale here. That's $3.33 per pound. Ground beef is cheaper. Same for ground turkey. And I often see boneless chicken breasts go on sale for $2 a pound. But real meat doesn't have the convenience of Spam. I love that a can of Spam can sit in the pantry indefinitely.

Most importantly, how did it taste? I liked it! For my own mental comfort, I needed to pan fry it and of course I could tell it wasn't a choice piece of meat, but it tasted pretty good for what it was. I liked the Spam, Egg, and Cheese English Muffin enough to have that 3 or 4 times I think. Then I tried making Spam Musubi (the ones that look like spam sushi). And finally, I cut the rest up into thin strips and fried them up so they were crispy and clumsily rolled those into a handroll with some sushi-seasoned rice. That handroll was my favorite way to eat it. I loved how the spam strips got all crispy crunchy.

And I still have one more can to play with. Then again, I'm not sure I'll get much experimenting in. I might just make a whole batch of handrolls. But I'll give my arteries a bit of a break before I go for another round of Spam. Thanks for the Spam, sis!







Thread at trashy_eats: http://community.livejournal.com/trashy_eats/905608.html

Hooray! I got back into the habit of trying new recipes. Last year I counted 53 recipes and that wasn't even counting everything. (Although looking back at the list for 2008, I'm not sure why I didn't think the ice cream and sorbet didn't merit being counted. Maybe because I used an ice cream maker?)

Another new year, another list. Let me know if you're tagging your food posts too and want to be added here.

New Recipes Tried in 2009

1. 01/12 Pan-Fried Lamb Leg Steak with Rosemary
   
2. 01/13 Spam, Egg, and Cheese English Muffin
   
3. 01/16 White Bean, Prosciutto, and Kale Soup
   
4. 01/19 Roast Leg of Lamb
   
5. 01/19 Cauliflower Popcorn
   
6. 01/20 Spam Musubi ('sushi') and Spam Handrolls
   
7. 01/25 Pan-Seared Pepper and Sesame-Encrusted Tuna
   
8. 01/30 Honey-Curry-Roasted Cauliflower (modified this)
   
9. 01/31 Peppercorn-Parmesan Crisps
   
10. 02/05 Braised Lamb Shanks (recipe)
    
11. 02/09 Mint-Pickled Cucumbers (served on Lamb Burgers)
    
12. 02/13 Hasselback Potatoes (from Passover by Design)
    
13. 02/16 Spinach Artichoke Dip (as guided by 0utre)
    
14. 02/20 Chicken with Artichokes (I made this one up!)
    
15. 02/21 Irish Lamb Stew (bland)
    
16. 02/22 Roasted Leg of Lamb (recipe)
    
17. 03/09 Seven Hour Leg of Lamb (from All About Braising)
    
18. 04/07 Pulled Pork (recipe)
    
19. 04/14 Mint-Braised Lamb Foreshank
    
20. 05/28 African Chicken Peanut Soup
    
21. 06/04 Suzanne's Baked Cod
    
22. 06/08 Grilled Butterflied Leg of Lamb with Fresh Mint Sauce (recipe)
    
23. 06/08 Roasted Spiced Sweet Potatoes (recipe)
    
24. 06/11 Honey-Pecan Pork Cutlets
    
25. 06/28 Basic Hummus (recipe from Simply Recipes)
    
26. 07/01 Beet Greens (recipe)
    
27. 07/02 Baby Beets With Balsamic Honey Glaze and Garam Masala (recipe)(That's tigerberries)
    
28. 07/04 Quinoa
    07/10 Chili Burger (variation on the turkey chili recipe)(7/10 and 8/6 photos)
    
29. 08/06 Fried Corn Off the Cob (adapted from recipe)
    08/09 Chili-Lime Fried Corn Off the Cob (variation on above)
    
30. 08/10 Chinese Chicken Nuggets
    
31. 08/22 Gingerbread Muffins
    
32. 08/26 Scarborough Fair Chicken (recipe)
    
33. 09/04 County Fair Chicken
    
34. 09/12 Barley and Lamb Stew (recipe)
    
35. 09/18 Tender Roasted Turnips (with greens)
    
36. 09/21 Chickpea Cucumber Tomato Olive Salad
    
37. 09/29 Vegetable Rice Sticks (Mei Fun)
    
38. 10/01 Mom's Chinese Canned Tuna (over an Asian Noodle Soup)
    
39. 10/02 Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe from cwhf)
    
40. 10/07 Pecan Burgers (modified from this recipe)
    
41. 10/09 Sweet and Salty Pumpkin Seeds
    
42. 10/10 Honey-Mustard Pork (from angel_vixen)
    
43. 10/10 Lime-Thyme Potatoes (from angel_vixen)
    10/12 'Grilled' Bananas with Mangoes
    
44. 10/12 Spiced Almonds (recipe)
    
45. 10/24 Alton Brown's Best Ever Green Bean Casserole (recipe)
    
46. 11/01 Lamb Shanks On Cannellini Beans (recipe)
    
47. 11/04 Kaddo Bourani (Afghani Pumpkin Dish from The Helmand)
    
48. 11/06 Cauliflower Leaf Pakoras (recipe)
    
49. 11/08 Aloo Gosht (made with goat)(Pakistani meat and potatoes) (recipe)
    
50. 11/08 Basmati Rice (recipe)
    
51. 11/11 Salt and Vinegar Broiled Potatoes (recipe)
    11/11 Hot Buttered Rum (recipe)
    
52. 11/12 Sweet Potato Chips (recipe)
    
53. 11/13 Crash Hot Potatoes (recipe)
    
54. 11/14 Crepes (recipe)
    
55. 11/14 Julia Child's French Onion Soup (recipe and this one)
    
56. 11/18 Crispy Chicken Thighs done on stovetop (recipe)
    
57. 11/19 Lemon Garlic Chicken Breasts (adapted from this recipe)
    
58. 11/22 Ciabatta
    
59. 11/23 Homemade Breakfast Sausage (recipe)
    
60. 11/25 Apricot-Glazed Goat Shoulder Chops (adapted from this recipe)
    
61. 11/27 Baguettes
    12/02 Used breakfast sausage meat to make Pasta with Meat Sauce
    12/03 Used yesterday's leftovers to make Sausage Pasta Bake
    
62. 12/07 Biscuits (recipe)
    
63. 12/09 Braised Leg of Lamb (recipe)
    
64. 12/11 Saj Bread (Arabic flat bread) (recipe)
    12/13 Made Kaddo Bourani again but with butternut squash instead of pumpkin
    
65. 12/14 Pulled Pork (repeated recipe with an adaptation from this recipe)
    
    

From the 2009 list, these dishes have been invited back for repeat performances. (generally means that we liked the way it tasted and they were simple enough to cook more frequently)
#8 Honey-Curry-Roasted Cauliflower
#12 Hasselback Potatoes
#21 Suzanne's Baked Cod
#23 Roasted Spiced Sweet Potatoes
#24 Honey-Pecan Pork Cutlets
Chili Burger (variation on the turkey chili recipe)
#29b Chili-Lime Fried Corn Off the Cob
#36 Chickpea Cucumber Tomato Olive Salad
#42 Honey-Mustard Pork





2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006

smoochie kept nudging me so now y'all are stuck with a bunch of posts from me, clogging up your friends page.

What's up with this LJ situation? I finally sign up to be a paid member and now they might go away? I hope this is just speculation and LJ sticks around.

But just in case, I would like to have some way of keeping in touch with you in case LJ disappears. (Really, this just gives me an excuse to stalk you online.)

Comments and poll results are screened.

Poll #1330326
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: None, participants: 30

What is your name?

Address?

Phone Number?

Email address?

IM name? (include which messaging service you're using)

While I have you, when's your birthday?

Do you have any other ways to track you down? a website URL? Facebook?