4th of July Vacation

No post on Sunday. Sorry! I'm on a little vacation to visit my parents. I'll be back to my regular Sunday posts on Sunday, July 12.

Chicken Satay (No Dairy!)

I've actually made this dish many times. Its fallen out of my rotation, but I'm plugging it in back in. It's super simple. And who doesn't love peanut sauce? I could eat it like soup.

Cut 1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breasts into strips (or if your market sells raw chicken cut into tenders, buy that). Combine 1 TB fish sauce, 1 TB red curry paste and 1 TB vegetable oil. Pour marinade over chicken and let sit in refrigerator for 1 hour.

While chicken marinates, combine the following in a saucepan on medium low heat

1 16 oz can of unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup peanut butter (use the organic, sugar-free kind)
1 tsp red curry paste
1 tsp sugar

Use a whisk to help ingredients come together. Cook for about 15 minutes. Feel free to add more curry paste or sugar to taste.

Take chicken out of refrigerator and thread onto wood skewers. Grill for about 2 minutes on each side.

Spoon some hot peanut sauce over the chicken, and garnish with chopped cilantro and peanuts. Serve over rice.

Vietnamese Grilled Pork Skewers

I have a new diet for awhile. I must go dairy-free. My son is more then just sensitive to my dairy consumption, he's allergic. Sad, but true. So I need to re-think my entire diet. I'm most sad about cheese. Soy milk is not so bad, and soy ice cream is actually quite delicious, but there can be no replacement for cheese.

This is going to be hard, but thankfully there are cuisines that involve little to no dairy. Vietnamese being one of them. Thank GOD!

My husband made Vietnamese pork on Saturday night.

This marinade will work for about 1 lb of pork.

Buy any cut of pork you like -- boneless loin or chops work well -- and cut into thin strips.

Combine the following ingredients:

zest of one lemon
half of one onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 TB sugar
3 TB fish sauce
Juice of 2 limes
1 tsp black pepper

Blend in a blender until it's a thick paste. Pour over the pork and marinate for up to an hour (don't do it any longer, since these are strong flavors). Thread the pork onto wood skewers and cook on a hot grill for just 1-2 minutes per side.

Serve over rice noodles, and garnish with chopped peanuts.

You say tomato, I say hell yes

I think it's clear by now that I have some pretty strong feelings about food, but few ingredients inspire the rapture that I experience at peak tomato season. We're not there yet, but local tomato perfection happens on the East Coast beginning in July and stretches almost through September. I was fortunate to grow up in a home with a sizeable vegetable garden and when the tomato harvest hit, I was sent door to door to our neighbors to offer up the bounty we couldn't consume alone. I remember my parents sending me out into the garden with a huge metal collander to pick the tomatoes that were so huge and beautiful that they bent their plants to the ground. I also remember hauling pounds and pounds of tomatoes inside and slicing one open, salting it and eating it like a piece of fruit (which technically, it is, but that's a conversation for another time). The memory of the scent of the tomatoes, their plants and the heat are practically tangible to me. Heaven.

As I type, I'm looking out my dining room window at my little cherry tomato plants in my container garden. They won't bear fruit until much later in the month at the earliest, but I can't wait! These are the things that keep me going. Still, some nice tomatoes are popping up in stores now.

I feel like people tend to pick tomatoes by color alone. Color can be a good indicator, but it's certainly not everything. A lot of hot house tomatoes available in super markets have gorgeous red outsides and pale, mealy, sad insides. Tragic. I think the best way to pick a tomato is to smell it. To me, the smell is earthy and warm and sort of like what I assume heaven will smell like, but again, I think that's the rapture talking. I actually own tomato scented cologne (demeterfragrance.com) so objectivity might not be for sale here today. I think that during the summer months, you should definitely go to a farm stand or a farmers' market to get your tomatoes. There's not much point in making this recipe in the winter.

This recipe is perfect for showcasing peak tomatoes. It's not a traditional Spanish Gazpacho, which has much less going on and consists mainly of tomatoes, stale bread and sherry vinegar, but this soup does boast some pretty amazing seasonal flavors. It's also really flexible. No red bell peppers? Use whatever color you like. Don't like garlic? Leave it out and kick up the lemon. The only really important part is the tomatoes.

Not-so-traditional Gazpacho

Ingredients:

8 - 10 medium fresh, ripe tomatoes, seeded. No need to be too precise.

4 scallions, rinsed well with outer layer removed, trimmed of root end and tough green tops; PLUS one scallion, cleaned, trimmed and diced, set aside for garnish, not blending

2 cucumbers

1 jalapeno, stem, seeds & membrane removed

3 or 4 cloves garlic, peeled

1 cup fresh cilantro or parsley leaves, whichever you prefer (or a combo of both)

1 red bell pepper, seeds and membranes removed

3 T. sherry vinegar (you may use red wine vinegar if you prefer)

1 12 oz. can low sodium V-8

2 stalks of celery, diced

The juice of 1 lemon

kosher salt, cracked pepper and red pepper flake or your fave hot sauce to taste

Instructions:

Peel skin from 1 & 1/2 cucumbers. Split down the center and scoop seeds out with a spoon. Dice remaining 1/2 cucumber and reserve for garnish later. In the blender or bowl of a food processor, combine 1/2 the tomatoes & the cucumbers, half the vinegar & herbs, garlic, peppers and scallions. Pulse until desired texture is acheived, adding V-8 a little at a time just to keep the mixture moist enough to process. I typically do not use the whole can of V-8. I like it pretty finely pureed, but you are free to leave it chunkier if you like. Pour into a large bowl and set aside. Repeat process with remaining ingredients, tomatoes through vinegar, and as much V-8 as you need. Don't worry about putting exactly the same amount of each ingredient into each batch...breaking the recipes into two batches just allows you better control and is easier than dealing with an overflowing blender and will make no difference once everything is mixed together.

Mix two batches together and taste. Season with lemon juice, salt, pepper and hot sauce to your taste. Stir in diced cucumber, scallions and celery reserved for garnish...this step just provides a nice crunch to the texture. Cover soup tightly and chill for at least an hour before serving.

I like the gazpacho just as it is, served with a piece of good, rustic bread toasted in a pan with a little olive oil and a grating of manchego or parmesean cheese melted on top (as shown), but you may also garnish with a drizzle of really good olive oil or a dollop of sour cream (not both) or a tablespoon of coarse chopped herbs. Makes 8 - 10 servings. Enjoy.

Too Many Bananas!

My smoothie craze is over, mostly because my son Simon is not fond of my consumption of dairy. He screamed last Saturday after my last smoothie, pretty much all day.

Got the message! I'll try making smoothies with soy milk. Although I've heard that soy may not be so good for baby boys either, something to do with estrogen. Whatever.

Here's my point: I have too many bananas now. So on Saturday I made banana bread. I browsed lots of recipes, and I came up with my own version. It's not too sweet, and is perfect for breakfast.


10 TB unsalted butter softened
3 bananas, smashed
1/2 cup nonfat yogurt
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flower
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9" x 5" loaf pan. If you don't have this size you can use 8 1/2" - 4 1/2" loaf pan. Just don't use all the batter. Fill pan to 3/4 full.

Mix together flour, sugar, backing soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl mix together bananas, yogurt, eggs and vanilla.

With hand mixer, mix butter with dry ingredients. Then start adding banana mixture. Mix at medium speed until smooth batter forms.

Pour into loaf pan and bake for 60 to 70 minutes.

Hola! Me llamo Lupe.

Thanks to the Wethersfield, Connecticut Public School System and, later, Loyola College in Maryland (now Loyola University of Maryland...no comment), I have absorbed portions of 7 school years of Spanish language education. I say portions because I am nothing like fluent in reading, speaking or understanding the Spanish language. Not. Even. Close. Of my handful of educational failings, it is definitely the most glaring. Considering the amount of time spent in Spanish class and considering that one of those years was spent in honors Spanish (clearly, the result of placement by an over-confident guidance counselor), I know next to no Spanish.

My knowledge of Spanish is so scant that by junior year of high school, I was terrified of being called on in Spanish class because that was the year that la professora (the delightfully wacky Sra. Peel) stopped speaking any English, so not only was I sure I could not answer her properly, I probably wasn't even going to know what I had been asked. Unfortunately, my Spanish name, Cristina, was not only pretty common but it was practically the same as Catalina, Catarina and several other names also very common in Spanish class. I was so regularly alarmed that my name might have been being called that I was eventually prompted to research and construct the proper verb tenses and sentence structure to request of Sra. Peel an official name change. Needless to say, I have no recollection of that question, but Sra. Peel was impressed enough to grant me my name change. Henceforth, I would be referred to in spanish class as Lupe. Ahhh...Lupe. Similar to nothing and much, much more conducive to zoning out in spanish class.

While my knowledge of the Spanish language is poor, my knowledge of the cuisines of Spain, Mexico and much of Latin America is extensive and growing. I love authentic Spanish cooking, especially lovely little tapas. We'll talk about that some other time. I also loove Mexican food, and I'm no snob about it...Tex Mex is just fine by me. I just really appreciate the balance of fresh ingredients, nice spicy spices, good cheeses, the almighty and prominent tomato and cilantro flavors and, of course, we all know how I feel about braising and grilling. Basically, in my heart of hearts, I am Lupe, my generic American rootlessness replaced by rich Latin cultural heritage. Or, at the very least, rich, Latin food.

So, on behalf of Lupe, I present a burrito so profoundly good that my jaded husband (who is totally spoiled by my willingness to make elaborate and tasty meals on an average Wednesday) looked at me the other night and said "wow." Translation: Muy Bueno.

Green Chicken Burritos

Ingredients:

1 & 1/3 - 1 & 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 small Haas Avocados, peeled, pitted and diced into 1/2" chunks (in this recipe, you can get away with using avocados that are a bit on the firm side. If you use really ripe ones, they might get a little too mushy)

1 medium red onion, diced

2 cups shredded cheddar & monterey jack cheeses (I also like the Kraft Mexican blend shredded cheese, but for God's sake, not the one with taco seasonings mixed in)

About 2 dozen grape tomatos, halved

1 bunch fresh cilantro, rinsed thoroughly and mostly dry

2 limes

1 or 2 jalapeno peppers, to your taste

6 burrito size flour tortillas, any flavor or variety you like

Tomato salsa, tomatillo or green chili salsa and/or sour cream for garnish.

Instructions:

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and a bit of olive oil just to prevent them from sticking to the grill. Grill until cooked through, but not over cooked since they will esentially be cooked again once they are incorporated into burritos. (If you prefer to roast, poach or broil chicken breasts, go ahead. I just like the grilled flavor in this recipe.) Chop into 1/2" chunks and set aside.

Preheat oven to 425. In a large bowl, combine chicken, onion, tomatoes, cheese & avocados and toss to mix. Set aside.

Using your blender or food processor, combine 1 generous handful of cilantro leaves; the zest of one lime; the juice of both limes and one jalapeno, stem, seeds and membranes removed.* Blend until a pesto-like texture is acheived. If you need extra liquid, use a few drops of canola oil or water. Taste the mixture. If you want it to be spicier, add the second jalapeno. If you want it super spicy, leave some of the membranes and seeds in tact but proceed with caution; you can always add more spice but you can't take it out.

Pour green lime-cilantro-jalapeno dressing over chicken mixture and stir to coat. Place tortillas in microwave between damp paper towels and zap for one minute. Working on a large cookie sheet, add a few heaping spoonfulls (about 3/4 to 1 cup) of chicken mixture directly into the center of the first tortilla. Fold left and right sides of tortilla inward over mixture, and then roll the burrito from top to bottom snugly, placing the finished product seam-side down on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas & mixture. Bake for 20 minutes until tortillas brown just slightly.

Serve with your favorite salsa and sour cream, or "Christmas style" with red AND green salsas as shown. Enjoy!