at home with ann

We've been having unseasonably warm temperatures in New England the past few days.  It feels more like July than May, but I will take it.  In honor of the unofficial start to summer, we ate dinner from the grill on our porch last night.  Aside from the fact that our neighbors have inexplicably acquired a bug zapper ( Who knew you could still buy those?  Also, who still thinks they work? ), it was a wonderful evening. Our dinner was grilled salmon, grilled corn and wild rice pilaf.  Simple, but fresh and delicious. Grilled Salmon After extensive research by our grill master, we opted to go with the aluminum foil approach for the salmon.  We don't have a grilling basket yet, and it looked like it is possible to put fish straight on the grill if it's well oiled, but there is a risk it will break into pieces and your nice dinner will end up in the coals. We used a very simple technique.  Spray a piece of aluminum foil with cooking spray.  Arran...

I tried chia seeds for the first time yesterday.  Yes, the ch-ch-chia.  Same stuff.  In addition to sprouting within hours to make a fun toy, they are also high in fiber, antioxidants, protein, and full of vitamins, minerals and omega-3s.  All good stuff.  When you add chia to any liquid, it gels and thickens up.  This is why it lends itself to making healthy pudding.  A mixture of milk and chia seeds, stirred together and chilled in the fridge for 30 minutes, and you have instant pudding that's actually good for you! Chia Chocolate Pudding Serves 2 1/4 cup chia seeds 3/4 cup milk (I used almond milk) 2 Tablespoons hot chocolate mix or 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder 1 Tablespoon sweetener (sugar, stevia, or agave) Combine all ingredients in a covered container.  I used a mason jar.  Stir well.  Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. My verdict: I used hot chocolate mix and foun...

At long last, we had Taco Night this past weekend.  As some of you know, tacos are my husband's favorite food, and he would be happy if we ate them every week.  I like tacos quite a bit myself, but we need some balance.  This makes enough to serve at least 4.  We usually eat the tacos in tortillas the first night, and taco salads for the leftovers. Ground Turkey Tacos Ingredients: 1 pound ground turkey Canola oil 1 onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, chopped 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce 1 Tablespoon each cumin and chili powder 1 teaspoon coriander 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne or habanero pepper Tortillas Shredded lettuce Chopped tomato Shredded cheese Sour cream Hot Sauce Other topping ideas: pickled jalapenos, avocado, mango, salsa In a saute pan, or large frying pan, brown the meat.  Drain in a colander and wipe out the pan. Heat canola oil over medium heat, add onion, garlic and bell pepper and saute a few minutes. Re...

This is one of the most requested dinners around here.  Cauliflower is kind of a tricky vegetable.  On it's own, I think it's kind of tasteless, but roasted with olive oil and garlic, it's good stuff.  Plus it's full of good things for you, so added bonus.  The recipe was originally from Cooking Light, but I've modified it a bit (mostly making it less light...).  It only takes about 20 minutes to pull together, which means it's great for a quick dinner, or if you are cooking at 10:30 in the morning because you didn't plan ahead.   Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower and Chicken Sausage adapted from Cooking Light Ingredients: 1 package (4 links) chicken sausage - I've used spicy jalapeno and chicken apple, both with success 3 cups   small cauliflower florets - I use the entire head of cauliflower 2 tablespoons   extra-virgin olive oil, divided 1/2 teaspoon   salt, divided 5  garlic cloves, sliced 4 cups   uncooked farfalle -...

This weekend marks the one year anniversary of our move to this house.  I can't believe it!  It's certainly been quite a year.  While there are advantages (free reign to decorate how I want, plenty of space, our own yard and wonderful porch) and disadvantages (replacing the water heater, the prospect of paying a mortgage for the next 30 years, the mysterious scratching noise in the attic) to owning a home in the suburbs as opposed to renting an apartment in the city, one of the things that has significantly changed are our weekend activities.  Back in the day, we would go out to eat at one of the many fantastic restaurants a few steps from our apartment.  Now, although the suburbs do have some good dining out options, we usually find ourselves cooking at home. If you've been reading for a while, you know that homemade pizza is one of our favorite weekend dinners.  It's great to cook together - even when one of the cooks is kind of bossy like me....

It is no secret that I love pancakes.  Blueberry, strawberry, banana, chocolate chip - all pancakes are good in my book.  While pancakes are a frequent menu item on weekend mornings around our house, it's hard to justify filling up with flour, butter and sugar on a weekday.  Not exactly a breakfast of champions to give you energy.  Yesterday I had a major craving for blueberry pancakes, and came up with this oatmeal bowl as a slightly healthier alternative.  If you read any of the "healthy living blogs," oatmeal is no new thing to you, but I feel like it's sometimes forgotten and considered an unglamorous breakfast (I'm not sure what a glamorous breakfast is).  Old fashioned oats have many great benefits.  They come in that old school canister, they are full of fiber, and have a low glycemic index, which means you digest them slowly and your blood sugar remains steady.  Instant oats, while convenient, taste like glue, so if you have the time, go o...

You've seen variations on both caprese and panzanella here before.  They are favorites around our house.  Today's salad included pesto coated chickpeas for a little variation, and a little protein to make it a meal.  Panzanella is one of my favorite ways to use up stale bread, right up there with french toast. Caprese Panzanella with Chickpea s Ingredients: 1/2 loaf french baguette (or really any bakery bread), cut into bite size cubes 1 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas) 1 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in half 8 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into cubes 1/4 cup pesto olive oil vinegar (I used red wine, balsamic works, too) Lightly toss bread cubes in olive oil.  Toast in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, mix together chickpeas and pesto. Add in tomatoes and mozzarella. Mix in bread cubes.  Drizzle with a little vinegar.  I really like vinegar, so I'm usually pretty liberal with my pour here,...

I thought I had a fridge full of vegetables ready to go into a stir fry.  When I actually took a look, it turned out to be mostly broccoli, but broccoli is good stuff, so broccoli stir fry it is.  As with any stir fry recipe I share with you, all the ingredients and amounts are customizable to your tastes or what you have available. It's all about creating a mixture of vegetables (and meat if you're into that), a savory sauce, and some grain to serve it over. Broccoli Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce Ingredients: 2 bunches broccoli, cut into florets (about 3 cups) 1/4 bell pepper, sliced (I thought I had more, but no) 1 onion, sliced 2-3 carrots, cut into matchstick slices 1-2 teaspoons canola oil any other vegetable you like - celery, mushrooms, bok choy, whatever spaghetti, soba noodles, any kind of noodle or rice Peanut Sauce 1/4 cup peanut butter (I used crunchy) 3 Tablespoons soy sauce 1 Tablespoon each sesame oil, mirin, and rice wine vinegar 1/4-1/2 teaspoon c...

If you've been reading for a few months, a form of this quinoa may look familiar to you from back in February .  For that meal, we had it as a side dish, but today I changed it up a bit, and added some protein in the form of chickpeas to make it a light meal.   Apple and Cranberry Quinoa with Chickpeas adapted from Oh She Glows Ingredients: 1 cup uncooked quinoa, washed well 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 cup chopped onion 1 cup diced carrot 2 cups vegetable broth or water 1/4-1/2 tsp kosher salt, to taste 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 1/2 cups diced Granny Smith apple, not peeled (one large apple) 1/2 cup dried cranberries black pepper, to taste Directions : Rinse your quinoa.  Don't skip this step!  For reasons I can't recall right now, it's very important. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in pan over medium heat.  Add chopped onion and carrots and sauté until the onion is translucent.  Add broth, quinoa, chickpeas, salt, pe...

This pasta bake has all the components of traditional lasagna: noodles, tomato sauce, meat, onions, garlic, ricotta and mozzarella cheese.  Instead of layering, it's all just tossed together and sprinkled with cheese, a much easier and quicker dish. One night this Fall I was eating dinner with my then-4 year old nephew and he was a little wary of it, as 4 year olds tend to be.  We described it to him as a combination of pizza and lasagna.  He said, I don't know if I like pizzagna, and then ate most of it. Not-Lasagna Pasta Bake or Pizzagna Ingredients: olive oil 1 pound ground turkey, chicken or beef - I used ground turkey 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes 1 onion, diced 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon dried basil 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon dried parsley 2 cups uncooked pasta (I used rotini) 1/4-1/2 cup ricotta cheese 1/2-1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese In a large saute pan or soup pot (something with at least 2 inch sides), heat a little olive...

This should actually be the smoothie of the week, because I ate it for breakfast five days in a row.  It's refreshing, and the tropical flavors are a delicious combination. It used to seem that unless you had access to Trader Joe's, the frozen fruit selection at the market was primarily strawberries, blueberries, and the occasional raspberry.  While those are all great, it restricts smoothie recipes a bit.  Now, even at the regular grocery store, you can find everything from cherries, peaches, pineapple, even mango in the frozen fruit section.  Frozen fruit makes the best smoothies, because blending it results in a thick and frothy drink without the addition of ice cubes.  Of course, you can freeze fresh fruit yourself, which I often do whenever things are getting a little soft in the fruit bowl. This smoothie was a combination of fresh banana, frozen peach, frozen pineapple, and lowfat milk.  So good I photographed it two days in a row. Cup from Qu...

I apologize for the inconsistency in my blogging lately.  I've been feeling a bit off, and as a result, my cooking isn't very adventurous or interesting.  We still need recipes for off days, though, and this soup has been my go-to all week. Minestrone Soup 1 onion, chopped 2 small zucchini, chopped 2 carrots, chopped 1 stalk celery, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced olive oil 1 teaspoon dried thyme 2 teaspoons dried oregano 1 teaspoon dried basil 1 teaspoon dried parsley 2 cups chickpeas (any bean will do) 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes with liquid 28 oz. water or vegetable broth Heat olive oil in a large soup pot. Chop and drop the vegetables into the pot- onion through garlic.  Cook for about 3-5 minutes. Add in the spices and cook one minute more. Add in the chickpeas, diced tomatoes and water or broth. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce and simmer for 20 minutes. A quick, easy, healthy meal in no time.  If you need extra comfort, pair it with gril...

I know you are all probably Mexican-fooded-out after yesterday (is that even possible?), but I'll share a few more ideas. At the recent request of one of my friends, I have been working on making queso dip that does not involve fluorescent, processed cheese.  Searching online led to a lot of dead ends with the dreaded velveeta, so I went with a very simple creamy cheese sauce with a kick. Easy  Queso Dip Ingredients: 4 oz. reduced fat cream cheese 1/4 cup milk 1/2 cup shredded cheese - I used a Mexican four cheese blend.  A cheddar jack mix would work as well. It's important to have some blend that includes an easy melting cheese, all cheddar will give it a grainy texture. 1/4 cup salsa - I used hot hot sauce, for topping In a saucepan over medium low heat, soften the cream cheese with a couple Tablespoons of milk. When mixture is melted and creamy, slowly add the cheese, stirring well. Add milk, one Tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency. Stir in...

A couple years ago we were out to dinner and Jon had a loaded baked potato along with his steak.  It was huge, topped with all the good stuff: bacon, cheese, scallions and sour cream.  He's been talking about it ever since, so I knew I would make it for the birthday dinner, with my own twist. Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes russet potatoes, scrubbed (I baked two so we could have leftovers.  No one is going to eat more than one half of these at a time.) olive oil kosher salt milk cheddar cheese bacon scallions sour cream Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prick potatoes with a fork several times. Rub with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake for about an hour, or until the skin is crispy and the inside is soft. Allow to cool until you can handle the potato. Cut in half and scoop flesh into a bowl. Add milk, sour cream or greek yogurt, and stir until creamy.  I used milk.  Season with salt and pepper. Refill potato skins with mashed filling, top ...

Yesterday was Jon's birthday, so a few of the recipes this week will be parts of his birthday dinner.  Instead of our usual tradition of going to a fancy steak house, this year we bought fancy steaks to cook on the new grill!  The birthday boy came up with the menu, and blueberry pie was his request for dessert.   Making pie crust from scratch is not hard.  It really only takes a few minutes in the food processor.  It's a little more time consuming by hand, but still not difficult.  And if you read the ingredients on refrigerated pie dough at the market, you may find even more incentive to make your own.   Normally, even when I use someone else's ingredient list, I give my own version of the directions.  You don't mess with the baking queen herself, though, so I'll give you Martha's instructions straight.  With my comments in italics.  Pate Brisee (Pie Crust) recipe from Martha Stewart Ingredients 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flou...