Cooking Ahead

Steak Salad with Corn and Poblanos Two Ways

  This steak salad is a perfect example of what you can do with leftovers.  Eat some of this for dinner, then turn the rest into satisfying and simple salads for lunch over the next couple of days. 
  Here's how:

Simple Steak Salad with Corn and Poblanos Two Ways
Adapted from a Food and Wine recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 pound Tri-tip steak, skirt steak, chicken, tuna, tofu etc.
• 2 ears of corn, shucked
• 2 poblano peppers
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Salad greens

  Preparation
Using a grill pan or grill, grill shucked corn and poblanos over high heat.  Grill until charred, but peppers still firm, 3-5 minutes or more.  Cut corn from cob.  Place corn from one cob in blender, reserve the corn from the other cob in a bowl.  Seed and chop the poblanos, placing one chopped poblano in blender and the other in the bowl with the corn.  Add 2 Tablespoons of olive oil and 1 Tablespoon of water to blender.  Blend to form a chunky sauce.  Mix together reserved grilled corn and poblano.  Set aside.
Grill meat.  Slice against the grain, and cut into smaller pieces.  Serve with corn and poblano mixtures.
Refrigerate remaining meat and sauces.

Serve leftover meat and corn-poblano mixtures over salad greens. 

The Warmth of Kith & Kin

Park County Aspen

  Fall is in full swing out here in the West, and Winter is already rearing its white head in the high country.  Have I mentioned how much I love this time of year?!?  Autumn has a smell- a sensation: the sweet, wet scent of decaying leaves, wisps of campfire and smoke, crisp air that cools on into the evening.  This season of death reminds us of the cyclical timeline of nature.  From marveling at the splendidly white, snow-capped peaks, to coaxing the first tender shoots out of the ground, to cooing over delicate wildflower blossoms, and then soaking in the vibrant golds, reds and oranges of the changing leaves.

  Last weekend we attended the wonderful wedding of one of my very best friends, Megan.  She and her husband Chris were married in Asheville, North Carolina in the Swannanoa Valley, surrounded by over 200 of their family and friends.  It was such a joyful occasion, and an opportunity to visit with friends that I hadn't seen in quite a while.  Probably the most heartwarming thing about this wedding was how everyone came together to help and make it happen.  All out of love for the bride and groom!
  Dunce that I am, I forgot to bring my camera.  I know, I know, I was continually kicking myself.  But let's just say that I threw my meat free, dairy free and egg free diet completely out the window!  Maybe it's better that I didn't document the absolutely uncontrolled feasting I was doing in the Cackalack...everything from pulled pork to pimento cheese!  Apparently the pimento cheese is a 'Southern Thing.'  NPR did a good story about it a few years back.
  Despite the backsliding, I did eat some other delicious things that are completely vegan...

North Carolina Muscadines

  A member of the grapevine species, muscadines have been cultivated since the 16th century and are native to the Southeastern United States.  You might also see them used to make wine, juice or jam.  They have a sweet, jelly-like consistency.  To eat just bite a hole in the tough skin and suck out the insides.  Watch out for the seeds!

Salad made from local tomatoes, greens and raw baby turnips

Vegan Tofu Scramble @ Early Girl Eatery in Asheville

  However, since I really wanted to include a yummy vegan recipe for this blog post, I've decided to share something I made recently that perfectly captures the warm feeling that being around all of those wonderful people gave me:

Super Easy Creamy "Chicken" and Gravy Stew  

         
  I love comfort food, and it's not something I'm willing to give up just because those foods are normally made from the flesh and excretions of animals.  The Skinny Bitch cookbooks have been a great place to start when putting together vegan meals.  They tend to be heavy on vegan cheese and meat substitutes- not my favorite and not really necessary- but the basic flavors are there and you can make subtle changes to suit your palate.
  The changes I made to this recipe are:

• Cubed, extra firm tofu 
• Gardein Seven Grain Crispy Tenders served on the side (In place of vegan chicken strips)

  Clicking on the title of the recipe will take you to Google Books, where you can view the recipe along with the entire Skinny Bitch in the Kitch cookbook- but you can't print so don't even try.  I didn't post the recipe here because of copyright laws.

  Moment of zen:

Sweet terrarium w/ Red Leaf Maple Tree 

  

Weekend in the Clouds

  This past weekend we had the pleasure of enjoying Alma's Festival in the Clouds with new and old friends.  The festival is in its 14th year and is an annual free event that the town sponsors.  There was live music all day, children splashing in the Platte River and scraping in the sand at its shore, artists vending their wares, and a few rain showers to keep us on our toes. 

bruised sky threatens wet/snug in flimsy house we laugh/daring the drops down.

  Probably the most exciting part of the weekend was the chance to see my dear friend Lauren and meet her new husband, Greg.  The Foxes are on a westward honeymoon journey and we were just lucky enough to rendezvous with them on their travels.  Both have quit their jobs and embarked upon a quest to find their place in this vast space we call the American West.  I, for one, can't wait to see where they end up!
  We took a nice hike at Kite Lake on Sunday.  The lake is above timberline and gives access to three mountains over 14,000': Mount Democrat, Mount Lincoln and Mount Bross.  Though we chose not to climb much above the snowline, it was still magnificent.  Wildflowers blanketed the valley- sunflowers, Columbine, Indian paintbrush, and many others I could not identify.

Mariposa Lily

Some weather rolls in...

Indian Paintbrush

Puppies playing in the snow

Satisfying Summer Recipes

I'm sharing some summer favorites that require little to no cooking. Enjoy!  Comments and recipes are always welcome!

Summer Berry Salad

Black & Blue Summer Salad

Strawberry Salad

 The beauty of these salads is that you can use any fresh ingredients you have on hand.  It seems we can never eat our fresh fruit fast enough, so one day I decided to put some in the rather boring-looking salad I was having for lunch.  What a pleasant surprise!  I know I'm not the first to put fruit in a salad with lettuce, but sometimes you forget the simplest and most delicious things.

Ingredients

Salad greens; such as mâché, spinach, arugula
Fruit (strawberries, peaches, blueberries, blackberries- whatever sounds good!)
Sliced almonds
Chèvre, crumbled (optional) 
Raspberry vinaigrette or other vinaigrette salad dressing

Preparation

Rinse greens; fruit.  Place greens in a bowl.  Top with fruit, crumbled chèvre, if using, and sliced almonds.  Drizzle with vinaigrette.   

The Minimalist's (Revised) Corn Chowder

I first tried this recipe last summer and got rave reviews from everyone who tried it.  The original recipe is Mark Bittman's and stands alone as one of the best and easiest corn chowder recipes I have ever come across.  His recipe, as is, is only 60 calories per serving.  My version ups the calories a bit for the sake of flavor. 

Ingredients

4 to 6 ears of corn
1 TB butter or neutral oil, such as canola
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 tomatoes, cored, seeded and chopped
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped

Preparation

1.  Shuck the corn and strip the kernels from the cob with a sharp knife.  Reserve kernels, making sure to capture any juice.  Put cobs in a large pot with 2 cups of water and 2 cups of broth.  Cover, simmer for 10 minutes.
2.  Place butter or oil in saucepan and heat on medium-high.  When hot, add onion and potatoes; season.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture begins to soften, about 5 minutes.  Add tomatoes.  Cook, stirring for another minute or so.
3. Strain the corn cob mixture, return to large pot, and add onion potato mixture.  Bring to a boil, turn heat down so mixture simmers.  When potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes, add corn kernels and heavy whipping cream.  Heat through.  Season with salt and pepper and fresh parsley.

  

Sweet Alma Soul Sisters perform @ Festival in the Clouds