Nudity is Only Skin-Deep

In case you haven't figured it out, I'm clearing my tabs. There are so many open.

Here are a bunch of recipes I want to try out. Maybe you'd like to try them, too.

Apple Banana Quinoa Breakfast Cups

Dark Chocolate and Parsnip Cakes

Greek Avgolemono Chicken Soup

Intrigued? You should be. It's good. I'm eating it right now. It's delicious. I based the recipe off this. Here's my version.

- 2 onions, diced
- 2 Tbsp grapeseed oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- about 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 2 tsp anchovy paste
- 1 peeled and diced sweet potato
- 660 ml of strained tomatoes
- 2 tsp Bragg's Organic Herb Sprinkle (or dried basil)
- about 12 black olives
- 4 filets white fish (I used haddock), fresh or frozen
- about 20 shrimp, deveined and peeled, fresh or frozen
- salt and pepper to taste

- Boil the sweet potato until soft. Will take approximately 20 minutes.
- Put oil in a large soup pot at medium heat. Add the onions to the oil and put the lid on the pot. Cook for 5 minutes, then take lid off, turn heat up to medium-high, and sautée until edges start to brown. Add garlic, and sautée for about 30 seconds. Add the wine, and listen to the delicious sizzle. Add anchovy paste and stir in until it dissolves.
- Add cooked sweet potato, tomato, herbs, and olives. Give it a stir and simmer on medium-low for about 15 minutes.
- Add fish and shrimp. If they're frozen, cooking time will take longer. Cook until fish flakes with a fork. Season with salt and pepper.
- Eat it! It's good!

I have so much leftover turkey from T-day, and two cabbages from the farm share. What to do?

This.

I adapted this recipe from here, and it's absolutely delicious.

• 1 Tbsp bacon fat
  
• 1 medium onion, chopped
  
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
  
• About a pound of chopped, leftover turkey
  
• 4 cups chopped cabbage
  
• 1 giant carrot, sliced
  
• 2 cups of strained tomatoes
  
• about 3-4 cups of turkey stock
  
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  
• 1 tsp salt
  
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
  
• 1/2 Tbsp Italian spice blend
  
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Brown the onion and garlic in bacon fat in a stew pot. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the vegetables are soft.

That's it.

Om nom nom....

This recipe is very approximate, since I made it up with what was handy. It's pretty good, though. Next time, I think I'd like to add sweet potato. I think it would also be good with chicken or pork, but as is, it's vegan.

1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 medium to large onion, diced
1 tsp ginger (I'd have preferred fresh, but powdered is all I have, atm)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 banana pepper, seeded and diced (mine was pretty mild and sweet, and from my garden)
half a can of pumpkin puree (about 1.5 cups)
2 Tbsp Tikka curry powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried pepper flakes
2 tsp mixed Thai spice
1 can coconut milk
1 can chickpeas
about five nice-sized very ripe tomatoes, diced
salt to taste

Heat the oil in a big pot or wok, then saute the onion until transparent, but not brown.

Add the ginger, garlic, and banana pepper and cook for about 2 minutes.

Blend in the rest of the spices, then add everything else and heat through. If it seems a little dry, add some water. Simmer for a half hour or so.

I made this on Friday, and it is very good.

I based the recipe off one found in the January/February issue of Muscle and Fitness Hers magazine.

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
  
• 1 lb beef stew meat
  
• 2 large onions, diced
  
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
  
• 1 tsp ground cumin
  
• 1 tsp whole cumin seeds
  
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes
  
• 1 can diced tomatoes
  
• 1 can tomato sauce
  
• 2 cups beef broth
  
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  

• Heat a large soup pot over medium heat and add olive oil. Brown meat on all sides. Don't overcrowd the meat, and cook in batches if necessary.
  
• Remove beef and add onions, stirring until caramelized. Add garlic, cumin, and chili flakes, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce, then add meat.
  
• Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes. If stew is too thick, add more broth.
  
• Add sweet potato and cook for another 20 minutes or until beef is tender. Season with salt and pepper if desired.

The sweet potato I used was enormous: about half the size of my head. The stew is very filling, and the chili gives it more of a bite than I expected.

I made soup yesterday, adding stuff by intuition. I'm rather fond of it, so here's the recipe, as much as I can remember it. The ingredients listed are approximate.

This has just a hint of burn to it, and is just the thing if you have a cold. It will definitely get the sinuses moving. And it tastes really nice, too!

1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 leek sliced lengthwise and chopped, green end discarded
1/2 Spanish onion, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1/4 cup peas
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 bay leaf
a pinch of sage
1 Tbsp curry powder
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp herbes du provence
1/4 tsp dried chili pepper
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp season it all (a general all-purpose seasoning with sea salt, chili, black pepper, cumin, etc. in it)
about five or six long hand-made vegetable egg noodles, broken into 1" pieces

- In a frying pan, sauté chicken in the oil until cooked all the way through.
- Dump all ingredients except noodles in a large pot and add water until it just covers everything. Cook on high until boiling.
- Lower heat to let the soup simmer and add noodles. Stir every now and then to make sure noodles don't stick to bottom of pot.
- Simmer until noodles are cooked through.

Today is kitchen today. The projects were vegetable stock, and sweet and sour beets.

The stock is a total success, and is absolutely delicious and packed full of good-for-you. The beets are still on the go, but the sauce is amazing.

EDIT: I'm eating the beets now. Holy shit. They are so yummy!

Here are the recipes, so your kitchen can be as excellent as mine is today....

Vegetable Stock

1 1/2 lbs red onion
1/2 lb baby carrots
1/2 lb sweet potato, chopped in 1" pieces
1 lb chopped tomatoes
1 lb bell peppers. (I used one green and one yellow)
1/2 lb butternut squash, cubed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb celery
2 cloves garlic
2 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
6 black peppercorns
1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
16 cups water

- Heat oven to 450.
- Toss onions, carrots, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers, and squash with olive oil. Put them in a roasting pan and roast for at least an hour, until vegetables have browned and onions begin to caramelize. Stir vegetables every 15 minutes.
- Remove leaves and tender inner parts of celery. Chop celery into 1" pieces.
- Put browned vegetables, celery, garlic, cloves, bay leaf, peppercorns, parsley, and water into a large stock pot and cook uncovered until liquid is reduced by half.
- Pour broth through a colander, catching broth in a large pot or bowl. You can use it right away, or store it for later use. The veggies are good hot or cold.

Sweet and Sour Beets

- 3 cups cooked beets, sliced or diced
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 Tbsp corn starch
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp butter

- Mix the sugar, salt, and corn starch, stirring as you add the vinegar and water.
- Cook mixture 5 minutes or until it begins to thicken a bit. Remove from heat and add beets, coating them with the mixture. Let stand for 30 minutes.
- Heat to boiling and add butter. Serve hot.