Leek and Potato Soup

Leek and Potato Soup

Simple dishes are great!  They're quick and easy to make after a long day at work and delicious to devour.  This is definitely one such dish.  The ingredients are simple:  leeks, potatoes, butter, water and seasonings.

The one thing to screw up, which I did, is the amount of water.  I added a few cups too many.  The soup still turned out good and was enjoyed, but next time I am definitely going to cut back to make it more hearty.

Spaghetti Squash with Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms

Spaghetti Squash with Caramelized
Onions and Mushrooms

For a while now I've been seeing spaghetti squash all over the internet.  Of course, that meant that I had to try this gourd out for myself.

I baked the squash and scraped it out with a fork, but the flesh came out in chopped pieces.  Not at all like the long strands that I was seeing in pictures.  I found out later that I scraped the squash out all wrong.  You're supposed to do it crosswise, I did it lengthwise.  No wonder I ended up with something resembling vermicelli more than spaghetti.  Good thing looks didn't affect the taste of the dish.

As I was looking at different recipes online, a lot of people seemed to think that the squash was rather tasteless on its own and required lots of help from a flavorful sauce or the like.  I opted for a tried and true mushroom and onion addition.  I made sure to season it on the heavy side to account for the bland-ness of the squash.  Unfortunately, it turned out that the squash had plenty of flavor all of its own.  Next time, I am definitely going to go easier on the seasoning.

I was pretty impressed by the spaghetti squash and would definitely try my hand at it again.  At one point, I'd like to try to make a baked dish using the spaghetti squash.  Maybe a baked "pasta" with meat sauce is in the future.  Although, The Guinea Pig might kill me for that one.  He's been dying for a pasta dish.

Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

It feels like fall outdoors.  That means it's time for hearty soups.  I wanted a smooth and creamy soup while at the same time trying something new.  I settled on seeing what a carrot and sweet potato soup would taste like.  I wasn't disappointed.

I came up with a relatively simple blend of carrots, sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, chicken stock, water and salt and pepper for seasoning.  The result was tasty and satisfying.

I was going to use water for the soup, the way I usually try to keep vegetarian soups vegetarian, but something nudged me in the chicken stock direction.  I'm not sure if it were a good nudge or not.  The flavor wasn't very noticeable.  Although, there is something to be said for subtlety.

While at the market, I picked up a loaf of sourdough.  I was going to just slice it up and serve with the soup, but in a stroke of inspiration, I made croutons instead.  I'm glad I did!  The croutons provided a much needed crunch and texture to the soup.

As I was finishing up the seasoning, The Guinea Pig asked me why I chose to use black pepper instead of white pepper.  The funny thing is, I was just thinking to myself that the soup would go well with either.  I guess I just wasn't feeling like it at the time.

Braised Pork Stew, Take 2

Braised Pork Stew, Take 2

A short while ago I first experimented with a braised pork stew.  This weekend the weather has been dull and rainy and more like fall than summer.  I decided it was time to experiment with the pork stew recipe again.

I had half the pork top loin left over in my freezer from the last time I made this dish and since then have also come across some colorful potatoes (also from Costco).  Onions, carrots, and a green apple round up the stew ingredients.  For the rub, I used pressed garlic, salt, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, and three types of pepper - black, white, and chipotle.  I skipped the stock and wine this time and used all beer instead.

The stew came out delicious yet again.  It had a bit of a bite without being spicy.  Pork was moist throughout and the veggies cooked perfectly.  The one thing that surprised me most was the blue and pink potatoes that were part of the mix all turned the same color as the white ones did.  This is definitely a recipe I will play around with again and again and again.

Tropical Chicken Salad

Tropical Chicken Salad

I was in the mood for a cornish hen.  I go to the store, a large supermarket, and what do you know?  They have none!  They did have whole chicken on sale, so it forced my hand.

I get it home and break the bad news to The Guinea Pig.  He relents to letting me make the chicken instead of the hen.  Not surprisingly, we have half a chicken in leftovers.

This is when my brain starts working over time.  Uh oh!  What to do with leftover chicken?  Make chicken salad!

That's easier said than done, or so it would seem to me.  I've only had chicken salad maybe twice in my life (not counting the one I just made), so figuring out a recipe would be nerve wracking.

I decide to go with what I believe to be the staples of celery and red onions.  I get to the store and they have no celery that looks good to me.  Nothing wrong with it, just not catching my eye at all.  Back to the drawing board I go.

I ran across a kiwi and that's when I remembered that I had a mango at home.  Add to that an avocado, keep the red onion and substitute Greek yogurt for mayonaise and voila!

The mix needed some salt, but not too much.  I served it inside a whole wheat pita with some red leaf lettuce and vine ripened tomatoes.  The Guinea Pig was satisfied.

Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

A local market had Portabella mushroom caps on sale.  Of course, I couldn't resist picking them up!  What's the first dish that came to my mind to make?  Stuffed mushrooms.  That got me thinking on what to stuff it with.

Initially I was going to go with a quinoa mix of some sort.  I didn't get too far with that train of thought.  Instead, I went in a totally different direction.  One of my family favorite dishes is mashed potatoes with sauteed mushrooms.  Usually I serve the mashed potatoes drowning in mushrooms.  I decided I would put a spin on the dish and stuff the Portabella mushroom caps with mashed potatoes.

I feared that the dish would be bland and decided to add pepper, garlic and green onions to my grandmother's standard mashed potato recipe.  I also seasoned the mushrooms with generous amounts of salt and pepper while I pre-baked them.  The flavor was definitely there still the mushrooms supported it.  Juicy and flavorful.  This dish came out to be a nice twist on an old family staple.

Honey Slaw

Honey Slaw

Like coleslaw, but could live without the guilt of mayo?  That's me!  I went looking for recipes without mayo and got inspired to create my own version of coleslaw.

Originally I was going to use green cabbage, red cabbage, and carrots.  As I was shopping, I came across radicchio and thought that it might make a nice red cabbage substitution.  I also ended up throwing in a granny smith apple for good measure.

Seasoning the slaw was where I had the most fun.  I started by adding celery seeds, then some honey, then the Greek yogurt.  After tasting it, I decided that the slaw needed some more honey and some salt for balance.

The end product was a delicious honey slaw that was fit to be eaten as a dessert.  The Guinea Pig did just that.  He had some as a side with dinner and then some more as dessert.