adventures of a tired coder

I was forced to eat many gross-tasting “healthy things” as a child, but Brussels sprouts apparently isn’t in the Chinese diet, so I don’t remember ever eating them until I was much older. So I don’t have all the “blech” reaction that some people seem to have when I think of them. It’s hard to say, maybe I wouldn’t have hated them as a kid, since I didn’t hate eggplant or broccoli, and really, what’s to hate? They’re sweet little gems in the sad, bitter world of winter vegetables.

After eating out for two weeks in China and eating out most of the days since I’ve been back, I felt like it was time to start cooking today. I cooked for a few hours, hopefully making enough to get me through most of the week. After having a great Brussels sprouts and turnip dish at Tavern Law, I knew I wanted to make some. It was convenient to toss them into the pot when I was making 40 Cloves and a Chicken, but this time I felt like something not as garlic-centric. I asked the internet, and it turned up this recipe that spoke to me. It’s probably the title that did it; who can say no to “Oven-Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Autumn Fruits”? I modified it a little to remove the pears (I wanted less fruit in proportion to the sprouts), remove the onion (it’s on my list to avoid), and use dried herbs (that’s what I had on hand). Martha Stewart also has a version of this that replaces a lot of the seasoning with red wine vinegar. I don’t think I’d do that, but I do like the instructions to cook the bacon separately.

Verdict: the recipe is a winner! The sweetness of the apple really works with the Brussels sprouts. Next time, I’d probably try cooking the bacon separately before adding it to the mix and halving the recipe so it could fit in one pan. I don’t need that much just for one person… or do I? I have a feeling these aren’t going to last too long in the fridge.

Oven-Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Autumn Fruits, Modified (Original)

Ingredients
2 lbs Brussels sprouts
2 medium apples (I used either Gala or Pink Lady, I forget)
3 slices bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 tsp dried thyme
1 Tbsp dried sage
5 gloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 tsp hot red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp brown sugar
Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Put 1-2 pans in the oven to warm up. You need enough surface area to form a single layer with all ingredients. I used 2.
3. In a big bowl, combine all ingredients. Season well with salt and pepper.
4. Pull out pan(s) and put ingredients in them, forming a single layer.
5. Bake until everything is browned and sprouts are tender, about 30-40 minutes, turning ingredients every 10 minutes.

While it seems like most other people in the world are currently scrambling frantically to start their restrictive diets and health resolutions, I am on day seven of my elimination diet. When I mention this to people, they assume I’m either doing a cleanse diet, a weight loss diet, or permanently eliminating lots of foods from my regular diet. Not the case at all. An elimination diet lasts for a few weeks. During the first two weeks, you remove any foods with the potential of causing allergies or intolerances so that you are symptom free for at least a few days before beginning the next part, which is the reintroduction of foods, one at a time, to try to identify which ones cause discomfort.

Why am I doing this? Mainly because I want the knowledge. I don’t have one of those stomachs of steel, and I’m certain I do have food intolerances. They aren’t nearly as life-disturbing as the ones that some of my friends have experienced, but they can be uncomfortable and inconvenient. It’s also possible that they could be the cause of the gastritis symptoms I experience every once in awhile. So I might as well figure it out, if I can.

What can’t I eat during my elimination diet? A lot. All grains except rice. Dairy. Soy. Eggs. Pork. Potatoes. Tomatoes. Onions. Most tropical fruit. There are some more limitations, but those are the most annoying ones. The restrictions leave plenty of things that I can eat, but it makes eating out a problem. One thing might be vegan. One thing might be gluten-free. One thing might be soy-free. But how many things are all of the above? And if they are, they might still contain potato or onion. I mean, who deliberately makes things onion-free?

As a result, I have been cooking a lot.

40 Cloves and a Chicken (and Brussels Sprouts)

This is a great one because I didn’t have to modify the recipe at all! There are many variants of this garlicky chicken. I used Alton Brown’s recipe and used chicken thighs instead of a whole chicken, which is something I would definitely recommend. Thighs are better for this sort of long cooking because they don’t dry out. I also added Brussels sprouts when there was about 30 minutes left in the cooking to get some veggies in the dish, and it goes perfectly with the garlic and the cooking method.

Pesto Rice Noodles with Italian Chicken Sausage

Originally, I was going to cook the rice noodles (the type you eat in pad thai) in a sad pseudo-Asian way with garlic (and without soy sauce), but Trader Joe’s had attractive looking packages of basil, so I decided to see how it would work in an Italian preparation. Verdict is good! I was really careful to make sure the rice noodles didn’t overcook, so they have a nice tooth to them that doesn’t make me feel like it’s a substitute pasta at all.

Basic recipe:
Put dry rice noodles in a big enough pan or dish and pour enough boiling water over to cover the noodles. Mix the noodles occasionally and test to make sure they don’t overcook. Depending on the noodles, they should be done in 5-10 minutes. Drain the water and stir a little olive oil in the noodles so they don’t stick together.

Make pesto in the normal way, except no cheese. I eyeball correct measurements for basil leaves, walnuts (I use these instead of pine nuts), garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Here is a real recipe if you need measurements.

Brown the sausage in a pan, cut it into pieces if you want, then add the noodles and pesto.

I’ve been cooking a lot again this summer, thanks to the weekly supply of veggies from my CSA. But I haven’t been all that great about posting about it because most of what I’ve been making has been really simple. For example, tonight, I fixed some Rice-a-Roni, but I added half a can of cannelloni beans and two shredded zucchinis. Actually looks like real food, but I can’t write a whole post about it.

About a week ago, I felt like doing something that was a little more involved than steaming vegetables or making a chopped salad. I’d eyed the summer issue of 30 Minute Suppers by Cook’s Illustrated / America’s Test Kitchen after seeing it in an airport or something, but I couldn’t bring myself to pay $8 for it. With 40% off at one of the Borders closing sales, though, I snapped it right up. I’m actually a terrible fit for America’s Test Kitchen because they go to all this effort to find the perfect recipe, and I never follow recipes exactly and these days I don’t even bother measuring most things. But whatever, I liked the pictures in this magazine.

It was also kind of dumb because most of the recipes in the magazine involved a lot of meat, and I’ve basically stopped cooking non-seafood meat at home. But when I saw the recipe for polenta with leeks and corn, I knew I had to make it. I love polenta. I love leeks. I LOVE corn. I even had leeks from my box. And if it were last year, I’d have corn, but for some reason it’s really late in the boxes this year.

My assessment? Yummy recipe! They called for both parmesan and mascarpone cheese and fresh corn, and I used only parmesan and corn from a can. I also substituted half and half and water instead of whole milk because that’s what I had on hand. And if I were to make this again, I’d do it all on the stove instead of microwaving. I don’t mind stirring, but I do mind being burned by the steam that comes out of a bowl that has been covered in the microwave for 10 minutes. Finally, the one thing about polenta is that it doesn’t taste as good once it has cooled because it solidifies.

Creamy Polenta with Fresh Leeks and Corn
serves 4

2 cups whole milk
2 cups water
1 cup medium-grind cornmeal
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter
3 leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise and sliced thin
1 can corn
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Whisk milk, water, cornmeal, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper in large microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on hgih power until cornmeal is thick and creamy, 15 to 22 minutes, whisking cornmeal and replacing wrap halfway through cooking.

2. Meanwhile, melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks and corn and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Transfer half leek-corn mixture to bowl with basil. Cover to keep warm.

3. Stir microwaved polenta into saucepan with remaining leeks and corn. Whisk in Parmesan cheese. Simmer over medium heat until creamy and cheese is melted, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Divide polenta among individual bowls and top with reserved leek-corn mixture. Serve.

Last year, I was all about throwing things together in a pot to make risotto. So far this summer, my obsession has been quiches. Quiches aren’t new to me – I’ve been making this Chard Tofu Quiche for years. But for some reason, I’d only think about making a quiche when I had chard I needed to use, which meant I always made the same one over and over again.

This year, I was reading my CSA’s weekly newsletter and saw a recipe for asparagus quiche. Coincidentally, I had a bunch of asparagus in my fridge and many of the ingredients I needed to make a quiche, so I did it! I feel really guilty making an egg-only quiche because of the number of eggs that go in it. Tofu-only quiches don’t hold together as well as they should. So I compromise by using half eggs, half tofu, and it has worked out well.

(quiche with duck eggs, cheddar cheese, spinach, onion,
asparagus, and shiitake mushrooms)

I’m not really big on measuring things or following recipes, so admittedly some of my quiches have been a little too watery or not watery enough (in that case, I end up with veggies at the bottom and a solid tofu-egg mixture at the top). Still, it has been a great way to use up a bunch of whatever is in my box that week, and I’ve been doing quite a few weekly quiches. For reasons I can’t explain, stir-fried vegetables don’t sound like an appropriate breakfast, but vegetables in a quiche are just fine. So it’s a great way to get veggies in three meals a day.

One particularly interesting week, I had a bunch of basil, some grape tomatoes, and a few zucchini. So I shredded the zucchini and made a caprese-inspired quiche, perfect with some aged balsamic vinegar drizzled on top!

(quiche with basil, zucchini, tomato, garlic, cheddar
cheese, and mozzarella cheese)

My extremely approximate quiche recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• Half package extra firm tofu (~7 oz), chopped into 1 inch blocks
• Store-bought pie crust
• Shredded cheddar
• Milk
• Assortment of vegetables (spinach, asparagus, tomato, mushrooms, peas, etc.)
• Spices/salt/pepper

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350. Prebake the crust as instructed on the package.
2. Cook the vegetables as needed – this is different depending on what you’re using. You should season appropriately as well.
3. Using a food processor or immersion blender, blend the tofu, eggs, some milk, and spices/salt/pepper.
4. Put the veggies in the prebaked pie crust and pour the tofu/egg mixture over it.
5. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until firm.