Simple Strawberry Jam

Strawberry Jam and Wheat Biscuits

The longer I live, the more I find little agreements I have made with myself that I didn’t even realize existed.  For example, I spent all of my life having made the agreement that “Making jam is a very difficult and nearly impossible feat to accomplish.  And canning?  Well, just forget about it…nearly impossible.”  I don’t know where I picked up these ideas along the way – little snippets of parts of conversations between women in my life, maybe?

I had started rewriting this agreement with myself this past Holiday when Bon Appetit Magazine gave a simple recipe for Cranberry/Pepper Jelly.  I made it; it was incredibly simple to make and was so tasty that I made another batch a few weeks later.  This past March or April, I noticed another remarkably simple and clean recipe for Strawberry Jam.  I made it a few times using up the pounds of strawberries I froze last summer.  The recipe was so easy and a smash hit amongst the brunch crowd.  I even tried it with the blueberries I had frozen – took them longer to cook down, but very tasty.

Despite the fact that I had made several batches of jellies and jams over the last six months, I had yet to actually can a batch for preservation…until yesterday.  I had spent several weeks reading up on canning techniques in The Joy of Cooking and had purchased everything necessary for the process – pressure-cooker, jars, lids, and accessories.  And in about two hours, I had sealed cans of red beauty!  I love strawberries; and these jars will go a long way to carrying this beautiful summer and its bounty into the coming dark winter months.

My recipe journal entry for Strawberry Jam.

This is a recipe from either the March or April 2012 edition of Bon Appetit Magazine; they explained that the sour granny smith is so high in pectin that it naturally jells the jam.  Consequently, I used a honeycrisp apple once, and it did not set nearly as well.  I changed this recipe to use sucanat (evaporated cane juice) instead of refined white sugar.  For canning, I used half sucanat and have pure cane sugar.  For canning, I also used bottled lemon juice rather than fresh.  I doubled the recipe today and canned about 32 ounces, so this recipe as written should yield around 16 ounces.  My best calculations leave a serving of this jam at 1.5 Tbsp for 1 Weight Watchers point.  This is one healthy, clean, and simple recipe; Enjoy! 🙂

1 lb. fresh strawberries (you can also used frozen, thawed) hulled, quartered

2/3 cup sugar (see note above about substitutions)

1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored, and coarsely grated

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Combine strawberries and sugar in a large heavy skillet.  Stir in apples and cook on medium-high, stirring to help sugar dissolve and strawberries to break down.  Simmer for 10-15 minutes until jam thickens.  Stir in lemon juice and transfer to jars.  Allow to cool, then cover and chill until set (about 2 hours).  Keep chilled; serve within 2 weeks.

If you decide to can this jam, please refer to canning guides for safety and use substitutions mentioned above.

All the ingredients coming to a simmer…

…and getting ready to go in the jar!

Rosemary & Lemon Sea Bass

Last night was leftover night for dinner – hard to complain about Rosemary and Lemon Sea Bass with Zucchini, Squash, and Peppers!

Back in rehearsal this week for a production of the musical Cats; I’m music directing and playing “Bustopher Jones” and “Gus the Theatre Cat”  in three weeks.  I know that a few of you who are aware of how ridiculous it is that I am playing anybody in this dance musical – a Pentecostal upbringing and a Southern Baptist training hardly makes for a triple threat.  Your doubts not withstanding, this is actually my second contract to perform in the show.  And while I don’t particularly ever want to watch the show again, it is one of my favorite shows to sing.  It has a big belty score with a ton of different styles from pop to chorus and quasi-opera; tons of fun but big energy and character specificity required.

I’m 34 years old.  I was 26 when I sang in this show last, and I’m finally admitting to myself that there is a definite difference in my abilities the older I get.   Don’t get me wrong, the performance isn’t becoming more difficult.  On the contrary, the older I get, the performance seems to become easier and easier – easier to focus, easier to process, easier to connect, easier to create.

But the preparation to perform – that is another matter.  I find that the preparation to sing and perform at full tilt for two hours in a unitard is considerably greater than it was 8 years ago.  It means that here we are at three-weeks out from production, and I am back in the gym (boy, will I feel it tomorrow), I’m cooking and back on my clean diet, writing again, back in the practice room…getting myself into the physical endurance and mind frame for performance.  Difficult, tiring, and glorious!  How magnificent that I am 34 and doing what I love to do every day of the week!

Last night, I finished running my number for “Bustopher Jones” – an homage to the wealthy, proper epicurean and (quite literal) fat cat, sung in the style of Gilbert & Sullivan – and returned to my seat at the front of the studio.  My friend Jacob sat laughing and mentioned the possibility of type-casting.  I told him to wait until he saw the enormous costume I will be wearing during the performances.  Having not seen me since our last contract together a few short months after my last Cats contract 8 years ago, he quickly responded with, “What is it?  Your old body?”

I needed to hear that.  No matter how tired I may get during the next few weeks, I need only remember that I am in immensely greater shape than I was 8 years ago!  And perhaps the reason that it is so much harder to prepare to perform is because I am actually doing the preparation necessary.  Growing older is still better than the alternative; and my 30’s are still light years ahead of my 20’s.

Ready to be wrapped up for the oven!

Rosemary & Lemon Sea Bass with Squash, Peppers, and Zucchini

I was inspired to create this after a successful visit to Fisher’s Market where I found this beautiful Chilean Sea Bass.  I took about five or six different recipes describing this method and then used the ingredients I had here in the house.  Terribly simple and unbelievably tasty; I made this Sunday and had it again for dinner last night after rehearsal.  Enjoy! 🙂

4 – 6 oz. sea bass filets, cleaned and deboned (you could also use most white fish – halibut would be great)

1 zucchini, cut julienne

1 squash, cut juliene

1 red bell pepper

1 lemon, thinly sliced (you could also use an orange or lime)

4 sprigs rosemary (you could also use thyme, basil, etc.)

2 tsp coconut butter spread (you could use butter or your favorite substitute – or a bit of white wine!)

salt and pepper

4 sheets of parchment paper

Heat oven to 400.  Make a bed of squash, zucchini, and bell pepper in the center of each sheet of parchment paper.  Put 1/2 tsp butter on top of each vegetable bed and place sea bass on top; salt and pepper top of fish.  Place two lemons on top of each filet and place one sprig of rosemary beside.  Wrap parchment paper and place on a cookie sheet.  Cook for 20 minutes or until fish is done.   Place each parchment packet on a plate and slowly opening – watch out for steam!  Serve immediately with some tasty bread – the broth is amazing!  I used my Whole-Wheat Bread recipe; try it out.

Fresh out of the oven!

Black Bean Salad

For Memorial Day today, I had The Best Clean Burger with Non-Dairy Ranch Sauce, Quinoa ad Vegetable Salad with Tahini Dressing, and Black Bean Salad. I tried out a few recipes today – I’ll be sharing them with you later this week.

So, here’s the first part of the recipe breakdown from Monday’s Memorial Day Feast:

A little over a week ago, I went to have dinner at my friends Melonie and Steve’s house.  We had such a great time sitting on their lovely refinished patio sipping homemade mojitos (yum!) and munching on this Black Bean Salad (“Why are there no pictures?” you may ask.  Unfortunately, the answer is, “My camera is missing.”:( )

Before I left, I asked Melonie for the recipe for the black bean salad.  She walked me through her process, but was quick to explain that it is different every time depending on what is in the fridge.  I didn’t hesitate in trying it out on Monday.  Although there are a few slight differences, I think this is pretty close to Mel’s version.

Thanks for the inspiration, Mel!  I hope Texas isn’t too humid. 🙂

I threw all the ingredients in, put the lid on, and shook it up. Or I guess you could just stir it.

My friend Mel served this as a dip with tortilla chips, and I prefer it that way.  However, this is such a fresh and tasty summer dish that you could easily use it as a side dish if you like.  Although there are a few slight differences, I think this is pretty close to Mel’s version.  Feel free to experiment, though – I certainly did! Enjoy! 🙂

1 15oz. can of black beans (drained and rinsed)

1 15oz. can of whole kernel corn (drained)

1 avocado (peeled, pitted, and cubed)

1 cup of pico de gallo

1 jalapeno pepper (seeded and diced small)

1 onion (I used a half of a leftover red onion and a green onion – chopped)

1 handful of cilantro (chopped)

Combine. Serve. Enjoy. 🙂

The Alchemist’s Return!

Joey and Desmond on their visit to the Alchemist’s Kitchen last month.

Hopefully, you noticed the absence of my blog entries since early April.  You’ve possibly been tearing out your hair while you searched the interwebs for signs of my return to the collective kitchen, begging for more to eat than just stale bread and gruel.  Maybe you’ve at least missed me a little bit during this past month of meetings, finals, grades, and starting a new theatre company (the Mesa Repertory Theatre) that kept me from my stove.

Either way, I’ve certainly missed being in my kitchen and sharing food.  The final straw came in the form of a text from my friend Joey a few days ago.  Joey wrote:

“I had a long crazy dream about your egg pepper burrito brunch meal I always have at your house!  you should send me your specific directions and recipe :)”

The “egg pepper burrito brunch meal” of which Joey texted.

The “egg pepper burrito brunch meal” he was referring to was my recipe for Huevos Rancheros.  I laughed and put a post-it on my brain as a  reminder to find the recipe’s hyper link and forward it to Joey.

The post-it must have fallen off.  I received this text message this morning from Joey:

“I hope I did not offend you asking for that recipe.  I only ask because I love it so :)”

Of course, it didn’t offend me, but it sure reminded me that it was time to be more mindful of my food again.  To be honest, not only have I been wrapped up in my busy work schedule, but I haven’t very mindful of my food either.  I have been living and eating at work, not at home – and that is always a bad sign of impending weight gain for me.  Joey’s text reminded me that it was time to be mindful of my physical energy source again – to be mindful of the friends that I so enjoy dining and sharing my life with – to be mindful of my body and my breath – to be mindful in all things.

So, the Alchemist is in the kitchen, and the kitchen is open again!  I’ve had a couple of great food and recipe adventures in the past month that I’ll be sharing over the next few days, but in the meantime, check out the Huevos Rancheros recipe and the adjoining blog Huevos and Hitchhikers.  Both

are great, and this “egg pepper burrito brunch meal” would make a great and easy start to your Memorial Day celebrations tomorrow!

Braised Beef Stew

Actually when it was printed in the October/November 2011 edition of Clean Eating Magazine, it was called Braised Beef with Caramelized Onions & Greens Chiffonade – quite a mouthful.  I just call it “braised beef stew” – but it’s not really a stew – more a soup – so call it a soup – or just “braised beef” – or just “shut up, and eat it!”

It came out at 6 points per serving out of 5 servings.  Enjoy! 🙂

Braised Beef Stew

16 oz lean beef stew meat

1/4 tsp sea salt, plus additional to taste

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper, plus additional to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

1 yellow onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced lengthwise

4 cups low-sodium beef broth

4 medium carrots, peeled and halved (if small) or sliced 1/2 inch thick on the diagonal

1 large turnip (I usually use 2), cubed

5 cloves garlic, chopped (I left it out this time, but against my will – it was truly missed)

1 large rosemary sprig (I used 1 tbsp dried rosemary, but it wasn’t the same – get the sprig, you’ll be glad you did)

1 small bunch of turnip greens (I almost always use kale)

 

Pat beef dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper.  Heat the oil in a large dutch oven on medium.  In order to not overcrowd the meat, work in batches to braise the beef on all sides – about 8 minutes.  Transfer beef to a plate and cover to keep warm.

Turn heat to low and brown onions until carmelized – 10 -15 minutes.  Pour in about 1/2 cup of broth and return heat to medium; bring liquid to a bowl and use a wooden spoon to scrape up the “brown bits” that have cooked onto the bottom of your pan.  Stir in carrots, turnips, garlic, rosemary, beef, and broth and return to a boil.  Partially cover and return heat to low allowing to simmer and cook for 2 hours.

About 5 minutes before cooking has completed, cut up greens – removing stems – and throw into the pot for five minutes.  Serve immediately; great with a baguette and some parmesan cheese!  Enjoy! 🙂

 

 

Biscuits to Go with the Bacon

I mentioned yesterday about my bacon craving, but I only told you half the story.  Actually, I only told you a third of the story – I woke up with a trifecta of intentions for Saturday brunch.  They were biscuits, eggs, and bacon.  The bacon was set, and I knew I would make eggs some way (I ended up making mushroom, pepper, and onion omelets), but what about the biscuits.

I decided to try a recipe from the Weight Watchers site, but after mixing them up I knew they weren’t going to turn out great – more like bland scones than biscuits.  Before the boys arrived, I quickly decided to try another recipe.  This one was for “whole wheat drop biscuits” that were worth only 1 point a piece (makes 16)!  They were perfect; I finally found a good, clean, low-fat, wheat biscuit recipe – glad to share it with you.  Though, I must admit that there are no pictures of the good ones; only the “bland scones”…the good ones didn’t last long enough to get a picture.  And that’s the truth!

Wheat Scones - I'm gonna keep playing with this recipe until I get it right!

Whole Wheat Drop Biscuits

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (original called for fat-free skim milk)

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

Preheat oven to 450.  Stir all dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Combine applesauce and milk in separate bowl.  Add wet mixture to dry ingredients all at once, mixing until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  Drop spoonfuls onto baking sheet.  Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until browned on top and bottom.  Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Biscuits

The Great Bacon Splurge!

Zippy Praline Bacon!

One of the many things that I love about Weight Watchers is that it encourages you to go on a controlled food splurge every once-in-a-while.  Everything in moderation, right?  At the end of this week, I had a desire for bacon in all it’s fatty, porky goodness.

I know, I know.  You’re thinking, “You can’t have bacon; you’re on a diet!”  I could hear it in my mom’s voice this morning when she asked, “Did you get turkey bacon?”  “No, mom,” I said; “I got the real thing from the butcher.”  “Oooh,” was all that she said in response.

But no, I’m not on a “diet”; I’m just eating well.  Bacon isn’t BAD for you unless you eat it all the time.  So, having eaten very well this week, I decided to make bacon this morning.  Normally, Saturday Brunch is vegetarian since David is a vegetarian, but I decided to make it even if I was the only one who ate it.  As it turns out, Devon showed up and not only doesn’t eat meat but actually has never eaten meat – ever.  This left it all for me and Schmitty.

The idea to cook bacon was planted in my head earlier this week when I received a cookbook in the mail from my dear friend from high school, Joslyn.  She had made a note for me to check out a certain page that included one of her own recipes – Zippy Praline Bacon!  I immediately thought to myself, “I’ll never be able to make that, but damn, that sounds good.”  It took merely days for me to change that thought into: “I’ll take a half a pound of your peppered bacon, please.”

Actually, in the end it wasn’t all that bad.  I changed the brown sugar to sucanat, baked the bacon, and drained the grease away.  So, in the end, three slices was only 7 Points per serving (roughly two slices) – not bad for a tasty splurge!  I took a slice and chopped it up and included as one of the ingredients in my omelet – YUM!

The Cookbook my friend Joslyn sent me with this wonderful recipe inside.

 

Zippy Praline Bacon

1 lb. sliced bacon

3 tbsp. sucanat (original recipe calls for brown sugar)

1 1/2 tsp. chili powder (I used chipotle chili pepper)

1/4 c. finely chopped pecans (I used walnuts because I had no pecans)

 

Preheat oven to 425.  Line cookie sheets with foil and and arrange bacon in single layer.  Bake for 10 minutes.  In a small bowl, combine the sucanat and chili powder.  Bring bacon out of the oven, drain fat, and flip bacon.  Sprinkle the sucanat/chili and pecans on bacon and return to oven for 5-10 minutes until bacon is crispy.  Drain bacon on paper towels.  Makes 10 servings.  Enjoy!

Nice Work If You Can Get It

I’ve been spending a lot of hours at work, and as exhausted as I am, it’s a great amount of fun.  As I admitted in a lecture for my Theatre Appreciation class recently, I get paid to spend all my waking hours talking about music and theatre – something I would do if they didn’t pay me.  So as two old Gershwin songs say –

It’s nice work if you can get it…who could ask for anything more?

Nevertheless, with my new nutritional restrictions, I am struggling to find snacks that give me enough pep to make it through these long 12-hour days.  This has recently become my favorite – Creamy Peanut Butter on Honey Nut Rice Cakes with an Apple.  All organic, and yummy! 🙂

And it made me wonder – what are your favorite healthy snacks?

Peanut Butter on Honey Nut Rice Cakes with an Apple

The Evolution of Recipes

I’m always enjoy knowing where a recipe comes from and the “what for” that causes someone to get into the kitchen and experiment on a particular dish.  Last night, I cooked one of my favorite stand-by recipes – Minestrone Soup – and was reminded of the history behind this one recipe.

About seven years ago, I was visiting my friends Gene and Terril.  We had spent the better part of the afternoon hanging out and had grown hungry.  With nary a dollar between us, Terril took to the kitchen to see what she could whip up.  This soup was the end-result of her creativity that day, and we enjoyed it so much that I asked her to write down the “recipe” for me.  For the next six years, the recipe would gain a great deal of wear but simply by being in the kitchen, not from use.

Not until last year around this time did I decide to try it for myself.  Much like it’s original incarnation, I had most of the ingredients and made substitutions for the rest of the recipe.  Over the year, it has been my joy to play around with the recipe to make it my own, but I can’t help but be grateful for its long history.  Terril was the first person who made me realize that creativity in the kitchen really only calls for one to learn a few basic pieces of information and after that to be fearless in their attempts.  Through this recipe, I learned the basic steps of making any soup – and since then, the sky has been the limit for me in the kitchen.  What is that they say about teaching someone to fish?

In the end, though – this is still one of my favorites; I hope you enjoy it, too! 🙂

Minestrone Soup and Herbed Chicken Strips

Minestrone Soup

 

1 red bell pepper (chopped)

4-6 cloves of garlic (chopped)

1/2 yellow onion (chopped)

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

6 cups of stock (chicken or vegetable)

29 oz. can of whole peeled tomatoes

1 stalk of celery

15 oz can of kidney beans

15 0z can of navy beans

15 oz can of corn

1 zucchini (quartered and chopped)

1 squash (quartered and chopped)

1 cup quinoa (or 1/2 lb. of pasta)

 

Heat oil in stockpot.  Add garlic, onions, and peppers – cook for 5 minutes.  Add thyme, fennel seeds, oregano, and rosemary – cook for 1 minute.  Add stock, tomatoes, and celery – cook for 10 minutes.  Add beans and corn – cook for 10 minutes.  Add zucchini, squash, and quinoa/pasta – cook for 10 – 20 minutes until quinoa or pasta is done.  Remove celery and serve!

The original recipe Terril gave me seven years ago.

 

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.