Moroccan Lentil and Chickpea Soup

Now that I'm back on track with my diet, I'm back to trying new recipes.  And this one's a good one.  I really love Moroccan food.  The unique combinations of the spices, the heat, the brightness of the cooking, and actually, it's not very hard nor is it difficult to find most of the ingredients.  This recipe comes from Cook's Illustrated magazine.  Generally, I don't find a lot of great recipes from this magazine, but I do find a lot of great techniques.  This just turned out to be the rare great recipe.  

Ingredients:

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped fine

2 celery ribs, chopped fine

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

1/2 cup fresh parsley

4 cups chicken broth

4 cups water

1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas

1 cup brown lentils, picked over and rinsed

1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup orzo

4 ounces Swiss chard, stemmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 tablespoons lemon juice

I did change a few things.  I didn't include nearly as much cilantro.  I'm one of those people who don't really like cilantro.  I think it's a gene thing, like being color blind.  I want it to taste good, but it just doesn't.  Also, I used baby spinach instead of Swiss chard.  All greens pretty much taste the same to me.  Maybe it's that same gene?  Spinach is easier to find and prepare.  

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering.  Add onion and celery and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent and starting to brown, 7-8 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium, add garlic and ginger, and cook until fragrant, 1 minute.  Stir in coriander, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, and pepper flakes, and cook for 1 minute.  Stir in 1/2 cup cilantro and 1/4 cup parsley and cook for 1 minute.  

2. Stir in broth, water, chickpeas, and lentils; increase heat to high and bring to simmer.  Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and gently simmer until lentils are just tender, about 20 minutes.

3. Stir in tomatoes and pasta and simmer, partially covered for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in chard and continue to cook, partially covered, until pasta is tender, about 5 minutes longer.  Off heat, stir in lemon juice, remaining 1/4 cup cilantro, and remaining 1/4 cup parsley.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add additional lemon to taste. 

I've found that if I prepare and assemble the ingredients before I start cooking, things move along a lot more smoothly.  I have these little half-cup, glass bowls that I put the spices in.  It's a little more difficult to assemble the bulky cut greens without dirtying multiple dishes, but I do think overall it's easier to wash dishes, than to try to play keep up while cooking. 

Yesterday, I got my new Cooking Light magazine.  It has a ton of chicken recipes that I plan to try in the near future.  

Cappuccino Anyone?

I know I haven't added anything to my blog in some time, but I've reached a point in the semester where I don't make anything but old favorites.  I make big batches, store, and refridgerate in one-size servings and zap my lunches and suppers.  However, something I make from scratch a couple times a day are my cappuccinos.  They are undoubtedly my primary source of caffeine, dairy, and unfortately, sugar.  I don't go in for those sugar-free drinks at all.  I HATE sugar substitutes.  And unless I stop losing weight and start packing on the pounds again, I will not stop drinking my cappuccinos. 

Here in Estherville, we have a new coffee house, Central Perk.  Although the name has much to be desired, I fell in love with their really good cappuccinos.  So much so, I was buying a $5 drink daily.  I quickly realized that I couldn't keep this up.  So I did a little searching for an upgrade from my old cappuccino machine and bought a new one.  Although this new one has a brand name that might be percieved to be crap (Mr. Coffee), I love it!  It's easy and makes great cappuccinos.  So since I got it about a month and a half ago, I've saved tens of dollars.  Seriously, I'm certain I've saved plenty of money from making my own. 

One thing that costs big time when you make your own cappuccinos is the syrup.  But rather than purchasing these exhorbitantly priced syrups, I make my own.  They're great!  I make it by making a symple syrup.  That's one to one sugar to water.  You simply stir it and cook it on the stove until the sugar is melted.  Then you let it cool a bit and add vanilla extract.  I insist on the real stuff, not imitation vanilla, and I use quite a bit of it.  Frankly, you should be able to do this with any kind of extract and a simple syrup.  If you are one of those strange people who like hazelnut (yuck!), you can do it.  I've thought almond might be nice.  The possibilities are pretty limitless as long as you can find the extract. Hmmm?  I wonder if there's a pumpkin spice extract....  You do have to refridgerate it.  There are no preservatives in simple syrup.  I just pour it into an old cruet, and it looks like liquid gold to me. 

Breakfast!?!

I've been struggling with breakfasts lately. If I try to eat one more bowl of oatmeal, I think I'll hurl it against the wall.  And I'm even tired of eggs and bacon.  When you're dieting, especially when you're doing it over a long period of time, it's hard to come up with something that really tastes good and is going to get your through your day until lunch.  Fruit alone won't cut it.  I really need protein and a small amount of fat.  So here I am digging for recipes.  Today I tried one that I saw on Facebook.   It's at https://www.facebook.com/officialgoodful/videos/1460451714025290/.  (I tried to link the video, but it wasn't working out for me).

It looks good, doesn't it?  Well, it was quite bland.  And what few instructions the video gives, wasn't adequate.  For one thing, it says you can make the cups with 5 large eggs.  In order to fill the cups, I had to use 9 large eggs.  Of course, there is the possibility that the muffin tray I was using was larger than what they used, but it sure didn't look that way, and if it was much smaller, there wouldn't have been enough to eat.  The time and temp of 20 minutes at 350 worked out fine.  It didn't call for salt and pepper, but I added them anyway, and still, it was unbelievably bland.  I decided what this little cup needed was a little butter.  Without any butter it was only 149 calories per cup.  I decided to do a little experiment.  I tried a second cup with half a tablespoon of butter, and it was so much better, but then, just about everything is better with a little butter.  This brought it to 199 calories which is certainly lower than most breakfasts.  The extra butter would also help curb my appetite until lunch.  However, I will continue my hunt for better breakfasts.

By they way, for those who are interested, I've now lost 84 pounds.

Thai Chicken Noodle Salad

This salad was really quite good; however, I don't think I chose the best day for it, or even the best meal for it.  It's very light and refreshing.  It would be perfect for a summer day luncheon.  Instead, I made it for a rainy day dinner.  And yes, technically it is still summer, but it feels like fall.

It's actually quite easy as well, once you've acquired the ingredients.  And although it calls for an English cucumber, a good old U.S. cucumber tastes the same.  The English cucumber is just more cooperative when it comes to slicing.  It's nice and straight and therefore slices easily and each piece is identical to the next.  And I couldn't find anchovy paste.  I had to mince a single anchovy out of the can.  I suspect the folks at HyVee think I'm nuts.  Frankly, I really didn't taste the anchovy, but I suspect the dish would lose some depth without it.

The only thing I didn't include in the recipe was fresh basil.  It is really hard to find for some reason.  I need to start growing my own herbs again.  It's so annoying to go without, and this is one instance in which dry basil would be a poor substitute.

The recipe came from the Everyday Food "Light" cookbook. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients for Salad:

1.25 pounds boneless, chicken breasts, thinly sliced and marinated in Spicy Asian Dressing.  The dressing recipe follows.

2.5 ounces Chinese rice noodles

1 Tablespoon Vegetable oil, such as safflower

2 medium carrots, shaved into ribbons

1 English cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise

.24 cup fresh basil leaved

Assorted garnish, such as bean sprouts, chopped peanust, fresh mint leaves, red pepper flakes, and sliced scallion greens, which are all optional.  I just added chopped peanuts.

Spicy Asian Dressing Ingredients:

4 scallions, white parts only, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves minced

.5 cup soy sauce

.25 cup rice vinegar

2 tablespoons light-brown sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

.5 teaspoon anchovy paste or 1 minced canned anchovy

.5 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients of the Spicy Asian Dressing.  Bring ingredients to room temperature.

2. Place chicken and half of the Spicy Asian Dressing in a ziploc baggy.  Marinate at room temperature 20 minutes.

3. Cook Chinese noodles according to instructions.  Drain and rince

4.  In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high.  Working in batches (do not overcrowd skillet) cook chicken until cooked through.  1-2 minutes.  Placed chicken on top of noodles.

5.  Add carrots, cucumber, and basil.  Drizzle with reserved dressing, and serve with garnishes as desired.

Moroccan-Style Split Pea Soup

I'm dedicating this weekend to cooking. This preliminary week back to school has been rough on the diet. I realized that I need to have a lot more food prepared so all I need to do is warm it up; otherwise, I will do very bad things, like go through drive-thru. In addition to the soup I'm describing here, I've already made hummus, kombucha, and marinara sauce. Tomorrow, I plan on making vegetable-beef soup and chicken salad. My refridgerator is overflowing. But for someone who is as obsessed by food as I am, that's a comforting feeling.

I don't know if I ever had split-pea soup growing up. I suspect that one or both of my parents disliked it. As an adult, I'm not the biggest fan of the stuff yet, but this same cook book that I used last week, 1,000 Low-calorie Recipes has a Moroccan-Style Split Pea Soup recipe, and I do like Moroccan food. I love the strange marriage of spices we'd never consider putting together, like cinnamon and cumin, and yet, they really work.

The soup itself is ok.  It's filling and different than what I usually eat.  It'll be a nice change of pace now and again, but if I ever make it again, I'll leave out the cilantro.  It's too overwhelming.  I don't know if the other spices' flavors are lost in the cooking or whether they're simply masked by the cilantro.  Although I'm not one of those people who hate  cilantro because to them cilantro tastes like soap, I'm not too far off.  I prefer just a hint of it to as opposed to being hit over the head with it.

 Again, the calorie count is different in the book than what myfitnesspal.com has come up with.  The book says 150 calories/serving.  Myfitnesspal figures 114 calories.

Moroccan-Style Split Pea Soup:
Ingredients:
1 Tble Olive Oil
1 large onion chopped
1 large carrot finely diced (I use baby carrots. I like the convenience. I think I used 5 or 6)
2 tsp rice vinegar
1.5 tsps salt
2 large garlic cloves minced
1.5 tsps gingerroot grated (by the way, scraping gingerroot with the edge of spoon really does work well for scraping. I tried it for the first time tonight)
64 ounces ouf vegetable broth Swanson makes a 32-ounce carton
1.25 cups of split, dried, green peas
.5 tsp freshly ground black pepper
.5 tsp ground cinnamon
.25 tsp ground cumin
.25 tsp ground turmeric
.25 cup chopped fresh parsley
.25 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, viengar, and .25 tsp of salt cook until onion is softened, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and cook one minute.

2. Add the broth, split peas, pepper, cinnamon, cumin, tuermeric, and remaining 1.25 tsp salt. Bring to a boil over high. Reduce to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 1.25 hours. Stir occationally.

3. Stir in half the parsley and cilantro. Add remaining Parsley and Cilantro to individual bowls.

Ok. I didn't do the whole individual garnish thing. I added it all at once. When you reheat most of the soup, there's simply no sense to garnishes.

Cincinnati-Style Chili

I know. I haven't blogged in ages, but while I was on the low iodine diet in preparation for my follow-up scan, I wasn't eating much of anything let alone anything interesting. Then after the scan, I went a little crazy eating stuff I shouldn't have. I gained three pounds, and I really knuckled down, and I've lost that weight, so now I feel as though I can play again.

Not too long ago, I got low calorie cookbook, with the highly original title of 1,000 Low Calorie Recipes...I'll prove it.

See, I didn't make it up. Tonight I tried one of these recipes for the first time. It's called Cincinnatti-Style Chili. It was interesting because it has chocolate in it, and it's served over pasta. I dated a guy from Cincinnatti once, but we never got around to discussing chili, so I don't know how authentic it is. This recipe definitely gave my spice rack a work out. The only thing I didn't have was fresh oregano, but on top of cocoa powder, it called for chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, cayenne pepper...believe me, it smelled fabulous. It was a bit spicy too. Thank goodness I had a tall glass of kombucha. Beans were optional. I don't like chili without beans, so I added some pintos. Now the book said it was 290 calories a serving (it makes 6 servings), but when I figured it out with myfitnesspal.com, it was about 324. Not only was it good, but it was easy too. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 tble grapeseed or canola oil

1 pound ground turkey

1 large sweet onion, finely diced

1 large gralic clove minced

1 tble Worcestershire sauce

1 tble apple cider vinegar

1 (15 ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce

1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth

1/2 ounce unsweeted chocolate finely chopped or 1.5 tbls unsweetened cocoa powder

2.5 tsps chili powder

1.5 tsps ground cinnamon

1 tps. cumin

1 tsp salt

.75 tsp ground allspice

.5 tsp cayenne pepper

.5 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp chopped fresh oregano

1 pound spaghetti or linguine

Instructions: 1. Heat oil in large pan over medium high heat. Add turkey and onion and cook until the onion is softened and turkey is crumbled and just cooked through, about five minutes. Reduce heat to medium, add garlic, and cook 1 minute. Stir in Worcestershire sauce and vinegar and cook for 1 minute.

2. Stir in the tomato sauce, broth, chocolate, chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, salt, allspice, cayenne, and dried oregano and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered. Stir in fresh oregano and serve over cooked pasta.

I'll definitely being having this again, and I'll be exploring a lot more recipes from it.

Shrimp and Cabbage Lo Mein

If you had just met me, it would not take long for you to realize that I love food, especially Asian food. Since I've been dieting, I've been very good about not going to the local Chinese restaurant. I worry about them. They're probably about to file for bankruptcy without my patronage. I realize there's a lot of Asian food that isn't calorie dense, but frankly I don't trust myself.

I've decided to expand my recipe sources. Yes, Cooking Light is an awesome magazine with marvelous recipes, but then, I started looking in my cookbooks, and I came across Everyday Food Light, which is a collection of lighter recipes from the magazine Everyday Food, one of the Martha Stewart magazines. It's no longer being published, but it had some of the best recipes, many of which I go back to on a regular basis. But the recipe I made tonight is a new one for me from the cookbook, Shrimp and Cabbage Lo Mein.

There are several things I'll change next time. First, I'll use my wok. The recipe didn't say to use a wok, but I realize trying to cook down cabbage is so much easier in a wok. Also, I'll either chop the cabbage smaller and sooner, or I'll buy a prepackaged presliced bag. There were too many undercooked cabbage ribs in this batch. I'm tempted to say that I'd add more noodles, but I don't dare. Oh, I love rice noodles. And finally, I'd cook the asparagus, that wasn't part of the recipe, but a side-dish, right into the cabbage. But the noodles, shrimp, and sauce were wonderful!

I was asked to share a picture of my kitchen when it's turned into a disaster after cooking like this. Well here is a small portion of it:

Most of it is from tonight's cooking. Yes, I really am a messy cook. Some of it will get cleaned up tonight (not much) and most of it'll get cleaned up tomorrow. This is my least favorite thing about cooking.

Dieting update: Some days are good, and some days are not so good. I'm getting a little frustrated with talking about how much I've lost because I lost it in two time periods. Last year, I lost about 15 pounds. So far this year I've lost between 44 and 45 pounds. Altogether, I've lost about 60 pounds, but I don't want to seem deceptive and tell people I've lost 60 pounds, when in fact, most recently I've only lost 45. Apparently, ethics can be involved even in dieting. I'm hoping to lose at least 20 more before school starts in August. So, I've been walking and using the elliptical. I'd much rather walk than use the elliptical, but it's getting too damn hot already. I'll hold out as long as I can.