Winter Break and Food

I love Winter Break; it is the second most wonderful thing about my job (the first being Summer Break).  Don’t get me wrong; there is plenty of work to do for a college professor at this time of year.  There are new courses to be prepped, scores to study, rehearsals to plan, and a whole new summer season to schedule; but there is something wonderful about being able to do all this work from the comfort of my own home.

I mentioned before that I recently moved into my dream apartment, a sweet studio with windows facing south onto Main Street.  South facing windows is such a necessity for me – I simply must have the sun, or I become completely crazy during the winter.  Fortunately, today I can sit in the window and enjoy the sun in full force and pretend that it isn’t 10-degrees on the other side of those panes.  Here’s my view this afternoon:

Winter is for regrouping for the next two months of classes, rehearsals, and cold; and regrouping means getting back into the habit of cooking.  Fortunately, I love cooking warm, wintery foods, so its a fairly easy habit to form.  This month’s Bon Appétit has an awesome section giving lessons on specific cooking basics; a section on braising included this recipe.  I realized I was only missing a few items from the recipe and decided to make it happen.

Every afternoon, I take a walk for tea or a chat with a friend.  I also take a jaunt down to the grocery three blocks away for fresh ingredients.  The recipe called for 6 whole chicken legs (drumsticks with legs), ginger root, cilantro, and spinach.

I’ve hit a tipping point with meat and intend to buy locally and organic as best I can during 2013 to foster the idea of local farmers raising meat untouched by hormones and keeping fossil fuel usage to a minimum.  Unfortunately, the only colorado chicken they had was in drumsticks and thighs separately.  But when I looked at the only whole chicken legs, they were as big as pigs legs and $3.97 for four – these must be beefed up on some chemicals, right?

I bought the smaller, Colorado-raised chicken (5 drumsticks and 4 thighs), and it worked beautifully and made all the difference.  This is a great dish – easy to construct and warm and spicy (more fragrant than hot) for the cold winter months.  I’m finishing off the leftovers again today for lunch.  I’ll make this recipe again; I hope you enjoy! 🙂

Indian-Spiced Chicken over Brown, Long-grain Rice

Indian-Spiced Chicken with Chickpeas and Spinach

This recipe is from Bon Appétit, January 2013, p.81.  It is basically appears as it did in the magazine, which was very clean from the beginning.  I made a few adjustments based on what I had on hand and keeping the dish non-dairy. Enjoy 🙂

1 Tbsp. safflower oil (I used safflower oil because I had it on hand; it called for vegetable oil)

5 chicken drumsticks and 4 chicken thighs, skin removed

Salt

1Tbsp. coconut butter spread (it originally called for unsalted butter)

2 large onions, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 1/2 Tbsp. grated peeled ginger

2 tsp. ground coriander

2 tsp. ground cumin

2 tsp. ground turmeric

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (I used a bit more)

1 15-oz. can of chickpeas, rinced

2 cups (or more) low-sodium chicken broth

5-oz. baby spinach

1/4 cup soy yogurt (originally called for greek yogurt)

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Browning the chicken

1. Place a rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 350.  Heat oil in dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Season chicken with salt.  Working in batches, cook chicken until golden brown on all sides (careful of over-browning) – about 8-10 minutes per piece.  Transfer to a plate.

2. Add butter and onions to drippings in pot; season with salt.  Cook, stirring often, until golden and soft – 10 minutes.  Stir in garlic, ginger, and ground spices.  Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant – 1 minute.  Stir in chickpeas and broth; add chicken and any drippings.  Add more broth if necessary to cover chicken 3/4.

3. Bring to a simmer, cover pot, and place in stove for 45-55 minutes until chicken is fork-tender.

4. Transfer chicken to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm.  Place spinach to pot, cover, and remove from heat allowing to wilt – 5-7 minutes.  Stir in yogurt and season all with salt.  Warm up over low heat and add chicken back.  Serve over basmati rice (I used brown long-grain); top with cilantro.

Indian-Spiced Chicken and Rice

 

 

 

Foodie Friends and Adventures

As a dyed-in-the-wool “foodie”, I enjoy having foodie friends.  I’m not talking about friends who like food; I mean people who prefer to make eating an adventure whenever possible.  Actually, I think that may be my new motto:

I prefer to make eating an adventure whenever possible.

Take yesterday, for instance.  After reading in bed until late in the morning and my hunger had left me brainless, the best idea I could come up with for brunch was “burgers at Red Robin”.  This is where having a “foodie friend” comes in handy.

Nick said, “Red Robin is terrible.”

“You’re right,” I responded, and snapped back to reality.  Having nearly broken my clean eating regime, I refocused on finding a healthier burger.  We settled on Bin 707 Food Bar in the Alpine Bank Building in downtown Grand Junction.  I was shocked; the restaurant was nearly empty at 12:30 on a Sunday afternoon.  We ordered grapefruit mimosas – the juice was comically juiced from fresh grapefruits right before our eyes.  Nick had their amazing (and cheap! – $7.00) bison burger; I had the Salmon BLT (with a balsamic aioli instead of the garlic aioli to stay true to my new plan). At $8.00, it was also perfection – pan seared salmon, bacon, frisee, and served with dill and vinegar french fries!!!  Unbelievably good – go check them out.  Perfect sized portion for brunch.

We geeked-out afterward at Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocers, and I explored the joys of dairy-free foods.  I also ran into a colleague of mine; another witty foodie.  After my friend Terril recommended a clean “chicken nuggets” recipe, I finished the day by cooking some awesome organic, free-range chicken.  I couldn’t eat the parmesan cheese in her recipe, so I did some research (Real Simple dinner tonight: done!) and made some adjustments.  I’ll tell you about the soup tomorrow 🙂

Crispy Herbed Chicken Strips and Soup (I'll tell you all about it tomorrow)

Crispy Herbed Chicken Strips

You could easily use whole wheat flour and egg whites to lower even more from this already low-point extravagance.  Enjoy! 🙂

1/4 cup all-purpose flour (next time I’ll use whole wheat flour)

1 egg (beaten)

1 cup Panko bread crumbs (these are awesome; you can find them in the the asian foods section of your grocery)

1/4 cup dried dill weed

1 lb. chicken breast (cut into strips)

3 tbsp olive oil

The assembly line...

Place flour and egg in separate bowls.  Mix bread crumbs and dill weed in a third bowl.  Pat chicken breasts dry and season with salt & pepper.  Dip each strip into the flour covering completely.  Dip strip in egg and shake off excess.  Dip strip in bread crumbs/dill weed and set aside.

Heat oil in skillet on medium-high.  Cook each strip for 2-3 minutes on each side.  Enjoy!:)

...and assembled.