pollo casero and gnocchi with spinach in wine sauce

A few weeks ago, I was intrigued by a recipe in a book I was thumbing through at Barnes and Noble.  Because I am broke and ghetto, I copied it down on the back of a receipt I had in my bag (whilst glancing furtively around me, convinced that should I be caught doing such a terrible--or at least tacky--thing, I would suffer great public humiliation and possible prosecution).  I have been meaning to make it for awhile, but just never got around to it.  The opportunity presented itself when I decided to take a meal over to my friend Sarah's house.  Her new house.  That she owns.  She took a break from painting and all the other moving-into-a-new-house work and ate and chatted with me.  I made the chicken and created a recipe for a side dish that incorporated gnocchi, which, devotees will remember, I love.  Here are the recipes and my thoughts on both:

(My goal in cooking this was to feed my friend, my mom, and me for dinner, to leave gnocchi leftovers with my friend, and to have enough chicken for my parents and I to eat again at least once during the weekend.  So the ingredients listed below make a good amount of food.)

Pollo Casero

I liked this chicken well enough (I am not a huge fan of meat.  My mother, who has a discerning palette, gave it rave reviews.) and decided to share it.  And because I clearly lifted the recipe from somewhere else, I found it online and am linking it here.  Full credit for this goes to Mario Batali.

almost done!

The only things I did differently were to add black pepper to the rub, drastically reduce the amount of salt, and to return the discarded garlic to the pan when I added the peppers.  Oh, and I used a jar of roasted red peppers instead of piquillo peppers.  Other than that, it's a go.

Gnocchi with Spinach in Wine Sauce

To be honest, I'll have to say I was a little proud of this.  It was simple and tasty, and went nicely with the chicken.  I will definitely be making this again, and will eat it on its own without chicken.  (honestly, chicken is just so gross to work with raw.  I hate cooking meat, and find the product rarely worth the effort.)  Anyway, I am glad that I'm blogging about it so that I'll actually have a written record of what happened here tonight.  I'd like to recreate it.

Ingredients*:

~2 tablespoons butter

1 shallot, finely chopped

5 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 chicken broth

salt and pepper to taste

2 bags of fresh baby spinach

1 bag of frozen gnocchi (16 oz)

drop of olive oil 

For the gnocchi:  put a large(ish) pot of water on to boil with a tad of olive oil in it.  The water will be ready by the time the spinach mixture is finishing, and you can dump the gnocchi in then.

For the spinach and sauce:  Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat.  When the butter is melted but not bubbling vigorously, stir in the shallot.  When the shallot is starting to soften, add in the chopped garlic and salt and pepper.  When the shallot and garlic are obviously cooked and about to begin browning, pour in the wine and chicken broth.  Raise heat to medium and let the liquid reduce some.  

While the liquid reduces, steam baby spinach in a skillet with less than 1/4 cup water.  When it's just wilted, add to the sauce mixture.  Remove from heat.

Pour gnocchi into the boiling water.  Let it cook until it rises to the top (about 2-3 minutes).  Drain immediately and return to pot.  Stir in spinach and sauce mixture until gnocchi is well coated and spinach is evenly distributed.  Finally, stir in freshly grated parmesean to taste.

*to make this vegan, replace butter with olive oil, replace chicken broth with vegetable broth, and omit the parmesean.

Sorry for the terrible plating of the finished product.  That was actually in a tupperware dish that I put my mom's dinner in!  I took it to her so that she'd have a meal waiting for her when she finished teaching.  Convenient, yes.  Aesthetically pleasing, no.

I'm having a love affair...

...with Sunshine Burgers.  I have been really into these patties of goodness recently.  The taste, the texture, the purity, oh my.  For the sake of perspective, I will admit that as far as love affairs go, this one is not spectacular.  But as far as healthy, easy food goes, however, these burgers are amazing, and I am indeed having a love affair with Sunshine Burgers.

Yesterday, I had a Sunshine Burger for lunch on a toasted english muffin smeared with somewhat overripe avocado and dijon mustard.  That sandwich is definitely in my top-5 of all time now.  In the past, I have also topped them with caramelized onions and Spanish goat cheese, which was a big hit.  My young cello student's mother (who introduced me to these burgers) serves them on millet rolls with more traditional burger toppings.  But honestly, these are so good, they don't need to be dressed up very much.  I guess that's another thing that makes them so ideal: they stand alone well but are also excellent foundations for more elaborate and adventurous creations.

If you check out the website, you will see that there are several different varieties of Sunshine Burgers.  I have only purchased the original and garden herb varieties, and I liked them both.  My mom, however, made me one at her house that I thought was kind of gross (sorry, Mom).  Unfortunately, I can't give you adequate cautionary information because she threw away the box and forgot which ones she had purchased.  I'm guessing it was the Southwest one, but I could be wrong.  

Anyway, below is a picture of the package.  The word blocked by the glare (sorry I didn't notice it before) is "vegan".  I also took a picture of the ingredients, because you should be really, really impressed by them.  Notice how pure and simple it is.  No chemicals!  I usually cook them in a skillet, though it generally doesn't take as long as the box indicates.   Enjoy!

 

the lazy-ish cook: broccoli and couscous and carrots and hummus.

Disclaimer: I am aware that the "recipe" I posted below is not a real recipe, nor gourmet food, nor terribly creative. It's just an idea that may provide inspiration when overwhelmed by the I-am-totally-starving-and-tired-and-don't-want-to-cook-and-anyway-can't-come-up-with-an-idea-for-a-quick-and-healthy-meal-monster.

Sometimes, I get hungry.  and tired.  and lazy.

combined, those three elements are a surefire nutritional disaster.  So, I am trying to stockpile recipes and ideas that I can rely on when hunger and fatigue strike simultaneously.  The requirements are: healthy and uses primarily whole foods (no mixes), is obscenely easy, is ready for consumption in less than 20 minutes, and will not make me loathe myself for 2 days after I eat it.

Today's was a winner.  On the table in less than 15 minutes!!!

Preheat oven to 425-ish.  Spray a small pan with nonstick spray (I like organic Pam).  Take some ready-to-eat fresh broccoli florets and place them in the pan.  Drizzle with a teaspoon of olive oil and toss with salt and pepper.  Stick it in the oven for around 10 minutes (however long you like it, about 10 minutes is good for me).

Prepare a serving of couscous according to package directions (I like Near East brand).

While the couscous is sitting covered and the broccoli is finishing up, put a spoonful of hummus on a plate alongside some ready-to-eat fresh baby carrots.

Put the couscous in a bowl, top with the broccoli, and enjoy with the hummus and carrots.

there's gonna be a floody, floody

This year I've been serving in children's worship at the church I'm attending while in Florida.  Usually I am just around to lead the singing and to run crowd control the rest of the time, but during the month of June I will be teaching the Bible story as well.  The curriculum we were using earlier in the year was nice, but was a bit lacking in substance (don't waste time, people-- give 'em straight-up theology from day 1!).  So until we figure out what's happening next, I'm just using various stories from the Jesus Storybook Bible, which I love.

For some reason, I have had Noah on the brain recently.  I'm not sure why.  Perhaps it's because of all the torrential downpours we've had around here.  Torrential downpours that occur day after day after day after day after day after.... you get the picture.  Anyway, I decided to go with Noah for this week since his story kept popping relentlessly into my head.  

It's a familiar story to everyone who was raised in church, and it's an easy story to do with children: the building of a boat, the animals, the rain, the rainbow.  There are also fun songs that go along with the story (like the one referenced in the title of this post).  We talk about God's promises, and fun is had by all.  To be honest, I originally felt like it was a wee bit lazy to do such an easy story, and decided to do some more personal study in the hopes of deepening my understanding and thus improving the lesson I would teach. 

As I contemplated good old Noah and his floating menagerie throughout the week, I was impacted far beyond my expectations.  (Scripture is just so rich!)  The last time I read through Genesis was probably about 4 years ago, and I don't remember that these chapters made a particular impression.  But this time-- WOW!  How convicting and humbling...and encouraging.

The first thing that struck me on this reading was how off I had been about the logistical facts of the story.  I guess my basic theological points were accurate, but the whole "40 days and 40 nights" thing had me thinking that Noah, his family, and the animals were in the ark for 40 days and nights.  Being in cooped up in an ark for that long would have been dreadful.  I would have hated the boredom, the smell, the motion, the darkness, the fear, the lack of privacy, and the unvarying company.  But when I actually took the time to read the passage closely, I realized that while it rained for 40 days and 40 nights, they were in the ark for over a year!!!  I can't even imagine how unspeakably awful it must have been.  I can, however, imagine my reaction to it had I been inside:  "God, You saved me for this??? Are you kidding???  Gee, thanks a lot!  I would have rather drowned!"  Sadly, I can so vividly imagine my probable reaction because it too closely resembles the real reactions of my ungrateful heart.

I also spent some time thinking about what it meant that after everyone who should have been in the ark was inside, God shut the door.  Not Noah or one of his sons, but it was God who sealed them safe and sound inside.  It was a reminder to me that God is my true Protector and Provider.  So often I make plans and try to create situations that I think will give me security instead of relying on God's faithfulness and goodness.  And in reality, all the safety nets I create for myself are more like spider webs.  Sometimes I think if I could only do something to make myself more beautiful or more talented or more intelligent or more kind, then I would be okay.  But God is the only source of my protection and provision; the only source of my salvation.  Nothing I do, no matter how great, will ultimately protect and save me.  I know that it's obvious to Christians, but when I genuinely examine my heart, I realize how shallow and fragile my understanding of this important truth really is.

Also, God gave Noah and his family instructions and when they followed them, God was able to protect and provide for them.  Had Noah refused to build the ark, he would not have been safe.   If he had decided to leave the ark as soon as the rain subsided, he would not have been safe.  Not only that, but Noah and his family remained inside the ark even after it seemed clear that the land was dry; they did not leave until God gave His permission to do so.  This kind of stalwart obedience can only stem from a deep faith and great wisdom that inspires awe in me.  

As I pondered this, I was reminded of some of my favorite imagery from the Psalms.  Often, the psalmists invoke the image of God's hand being on us, or us sitting in His hand.  I love the picture of myself sitting in the hollow of His hand.  I imagine myself planted there securely as I trust and obey, safe from all the dangers, threats, and anxieties that are swirling about beneath His grip.  I rest there contentedly, basking in His loving gaze and confident in His strength and wisdom, knowing that no evil can befall me as long as I am in His hand.

But as I examined my own heart in the light of the story of Noah, I realized that this beautiful picture is rarely--if ever-- reality.  Not that it's not possible, of course.  Ideally, I would be resting in God's hand like that.  But I don't.  More accurate imagery would be that of a petulant toddler who is being prevented from doing something and held against his will.  Imagine a blotchy, red, sweaty, tear-stained face, a voice hoarse from screaming, clothes wet with drool and tears, a body exhausted from kicking and writhing in anguish, and a mind irrationally tormented with desires for control and the opportunity to do that which is not beneficial.  That's what I look like.  More optimistically, I could perhaps see myself sitting in His hand, peering anxiously over the edge at the dangers and wondering just how I am going to take care of all those problems.  Very seldom do I actually rest in His grip, and it's usually not until after I have exhausted myself from kicking and screaming.

The ark was certainly not pleasant.  It may have not seemed like such a great reward for a (very long) lifetime of faithfulness and obedience.  But it was how God protected Noah and his family.  It was the best thing for them.  And even as I see the story of my life unfold and am astounded by the amazing opportunities that God gives me, I am too often unthankful and resentful for the roads the journey takes me down.  I've had some really hard things in my life.  While I have been blessed abundantly, few things have come without struggles-- some of them profound.  Unfortunately, I easily become angry or despondent when it seems like my obedience has led me to yet another place I'd rather not be.  But then sometimes He gives me these moments of sparkling clarity when I get to see how things are working together: a friend who blessed me or whom I was able to bless, a lesson I learned, a skill I developed, how I was protected from harm, how I was forced to do a 180 degree turn and go in a completely new direction, and, sometimes, how I was able to have time for much needed rest and reflection instead of continuously charging ahead.  When I am able to glimpse just a small part of the "why", I am humbled, awed and thankful for a God who is so powerful and wise and yet is so personal and loving.  I am also deeply ashamed and sorrowful for my grotesque lack of faith in light of all that He has done.  May these tiny glimpses be instructive to me as I grow in faith and wisdom and learn to rest in His protection.

So, Sunday morning, I'll talk about Noah with the children.  We'll sing silly songs and make animal noises (will I regret opening that door?) and rejoice in God's promises.  Hopefully, our faith will be renewed and our resolve to obey will be strengthened.  And most importantly, I hope that each one of us leaves that room tomorrow more deeply in love with our gracious God and more able to rest competely in His hand.

Sing with me now! 

(c'mon, you know you want to)

...So, rise and shine

And give God the glory, glory

Rise and shine

And give God the glory, glory

Rise and shine and (clap)

Give God the glory, glory

Children of the LORD!

gnocchi with vegetables and cannellini beans

I like frozen gnocchi.  A lot.  It took me awhile to discover these tasty morsels.  See, I have enjoyed gnocchi in restaurants for a very long time (a particular favorite is at Max SoHa in NYC).  But whenever I made it at home, I used dried gnocchi and it was always disgusting.  Then, one day last year, I serendipitously happened upon a bag of frozen gnocchi in a grocery store near my last apartment in Harlem.  I happily discovered that frozen gnocchi has a tender, fluffy suppleness that rivals fresh gnocchi.  And while I readily admit that frozen gnocchi isn't better than fresh, it is an adequate substitute (at least until I attempt to make gnocchi from scratch!).  

I hadn't made any gnocchi dishes for awhile, but was recently inspired and decided to have a go. It was a success, and I am sure I will be making many more gnocchi dishes in the near future.

This dish was inspired by a picture that I saw in a magazine.  I didn't read the accompanying recipe; I just saw a picture of gnocchi with zucchini and tomatoes, and this was born.  (Sorry for my questionable units of measurement.)

gnocchi with vegetables and cannellini beans

chop up: 1 medium zucchini, 1 medium carrot, 6 campari tomatoes, 2 spring onions, 6 cloves of garlic, fresh basil (about 8 leaves), and most of a container of baby bella mushrooms.

You will later add a few generous handfuls of fresh baby spinach, a can of cannellini beans, some wine, black pepper, scant tablespoon sugar, 1/3 jar of tomato sauce, and a package of frozen gnocchi.

Instructions:

Put a pot of salted water on to boil.  Over another burner on medium to medium-high heat, give a skillet two turns of olive oil.  Let it heat up and add the zucchini and carrots.  Cook them for a few minutes, then add the garlic, spring onions and mushrooms.  Cook that a little longer and add the tomatoes.  Drain a can of cannellini beans and dump them in.  Add black pepper to taste.  If you have about a cup of wine leftover, then by all means, pour that in (I emptied a bottle of Chardonnay).  If you think it needs it, sprinkle a scant tablespoon of sugar in as well.  Let that all simmer until the vegetables are just tender; overcooking vegetables makes them mushy, which will ruin just about any dish.  Pour off--or ladle out-- some of the extra juice.  Add in 1/3 jar of tomato sauce (I used some cheap Classico sauce).  Finally, throw in the spinach and fresh basil leaves.  Stir well until the spinach is just starting to wilt.  Cover and remove from heat. Let it sit and finish steaming the spinach while you prepare the gnocchi.

Prepare the gnocchi according to package directions.  Do NOT overcook-- it really does only take about 2 minutes, and they're done as soon as they float to the top.  Drain them immediately and stir them into the vegetable mix.  And you're ready to eat!  I topped mine with parmigiano-reggiano.

Obviously, this was a very loose recipe and there's lots of room for improvisation with your own culinary creativity!  Enjoy!

The pictures are: 

1.  The vegetables simmering in in their own juices and wine, before removing some of the liquid and adding the beans and tomato sauce.

2.  The completed sauce as I took it off the heat to finish steaming.

3.  yummy supper.

    

return with lox

I'm back... by (suprisingly) popular demand.

I did think anyone was reading.  I was wrong!  Several friends have requested that I put more cooking info (tips, recipes, ideas, etc.) on the blog.  I would love to help!  I love to cook and have all kinds of hospitality ideas.  I want all my friends that want to cook and entertain to never be intimidated by the idea.  So while I will definitely be posting on other things as well, I promise to share all my cool culinary finds and ideas with you.

With that in mind, I'm starting a "Lauren likes..." section.  I will post pictures and/or links to products that I really like.  And away we go.

This is not really a recipe, since it's just a sandwich and you don't really make anything.  It's just an idea and some product suggestions.  Anyway.

This is one of my favorite lunches to make for myself.  It's on Whole Foods prairie bread, which I love.  Spread a thin layer of cream cheese (I like Snofrisk, more on that in a second) on both sides.  Add thinly sliced European cucumbers, spring mix, and smoked salmon.  Delicious!  I had mine with some raw baby carrots.

In order to make this well, I think a few things are important.  First, European cucumbers are awesome.  They are seedless and taste amazing (and are, unfortunately, more expensive).

Second, the type of salmon you use is important.  At least it's important to me.  I hate, hate, hate overly fishy-tasting salmon.  Also, salmon is not so cheap, and it is quite disappointing for me to shell out my hard-earned money on some only to find it repulsive.  Luckily, I have found my perfect smoked salmon match at Whole Foods, and it doesn't even cost an arm and a leg.  It has a delicately smokey flavor, it's not too salty, and while you're aware that you're eating fish, it doesn't taste like it had a terminal illness prior to being caught and smoked.  Here it is (sorry that I forgot to take a picture before I opened it! I was hungry!):

And last but not least, the cheese.  I love this new cheese I found at Whole Foods:

If you enlarge the picture, you'll see that it's made from goat's milk.  This gives it a little bit of that characteristic bite found in chévre. It's not overwhelming by any means, but I think it has a better taste and slightly better texture than regular cream cheese. 

For those of you that are gluten-free (love ya, Megs!) or don't want a sandwich, this could also be a salad.  Omit the bread, replace the snofrisk with goat cheese crumbles, and add tomatoes.  Drizzle it with olive oil and lemon juice.  Yum!  And if you're vegan, better luck next time (sorry, fern).  

on airports.

I just arrived back in Jville after about 3 weeks traveling for auditions. I am missing NYC (especially YOU, nyc friends!) in a big way, but am so happy to be back in my own house again and not living out of a suitcase. This morning was the best part—a great quiet time at my kitchen table with my carefully prepared café au lait in my favorite mug. I made a chocolate-caramel-sea salt tart for my parents last night, and have spent today teaching and “nesting” (cleaning, unpacking, resettling, etc.) It’s good to be back in my own space again. I plan to spend tonight reading and watching movies. Good stuff.

There are many things I feel I could share, but for some reason I want to tell you about the Detroit and Cincinnati airports. I don’t have much to say about the Detroit airport other than to say that there is a psychedelic tunnel there that reminds me very much of waiting in line for Space Mountain at Disney World. There was even music to go along with it. It was weird. Apparently, other people thought so too because there were videos of the tunnel on youtube. Here is one of them. I prefer the more clichéd tunnel at the Zurich airport, which my Swiss friend, Reto, says is the shame of his nation. Here is the romantic ending of the tunnel’s video.

The Cincinnati airport made more of an impression on me. First of all, it smells strongly of popcorn. There are worse smells, but at 8 am it wasn’t very appealing to me. The second thing I noticed is that there were airport info desks throughout the airport with signs indicating that all the info desks were staffed by volunteers from the community. While a very nice gesture, it struck me as being very, very odd. Who decides to go to the airport and volunteer to direct travelers to their gate and/or where to buy a magazine?  My mom suggested that perhaps those who couldn't afford to travel might like to at least go to the airport.  This suggestion is far beyond depressing to me.

Also, the Cincinnati airport features this statue, with a sign saying something about the "Spirit of Pigcinnati”. While I realize there is some significance to the flying pig in this fair city, it seems like a town that could summon enough volunteers to staff their airport info desks deserves a better monument in its airport.

My final comment on the Cincinnati airport is that the sinks in the bathroom have made it into my Top 5 Weirdest Public Sinks list (which I just now created). The sinks look normal enough—like any other sinks. I approached a sink and stuck my hands under the faucet. Nothing happened. I looked to see if I had to turn something on, but no. I did, however, see a small sign that instructed hopeful hand-washers to walk up to the sink in order to activate the sensor that turned on the water. The sign then went on to inform us that black clothing would not activate the sensor. Because I was wearing a black shirt and black coat, I had to bend down and swing my colorful scarf in front of the sink in order to turn on the water. Had I been wearing a black scarf also, apparently I would have been forced to leave with dirty hands.

I started to also write about traveling with my cello and maneuvering airports with her on my back, but that would make the post way too long and I would probably come across sounding like a bitter woman.  So I’ll save it for another time when the wounds aren’t so fresh.

The weather here is nice and I learned how to make that great chocolate-caramel-sea salt tart. Come visit.