Lemony Rockfish, Jeweled Couscous & Wilted Spinach

Somebody has a case of Summertime Fevaaahh, baby!


Oh yeah. That would be me. How can I stay inside on the internetz, blogging away, when I could be outside playing volleyball (terribly), paddleboarding (dangerously), visiting the Chicago Greenmarket (hungrily), or patio drinking (heavily)?


So I apologize for my less-frequent posts (or, for those of you who hate seeing it pop up in your newsfeeds coughjerkscoughcough, you're welcome). But the sun has been out! The bikini has been on! And the fun just hasn't stopped!


Yes, I've been cooking. But I've also been wolfing down whatever I've made in attempt to return to the glorious agenda of summertime activities as quickly as possible. Until I get my blogging act together and give the people more posts, please enjoy this light, healthy, summery and delicious fish dish! (Warning: this makes a boatload of couscous - which bodes well for all your BBQ and potluck picnic needs.)

INGREDIENTS

2 rockfish (or other white fish) fillets
flour for dredging
olive oil and butter (don't be a wimp about it)
a couple cloves of garlic, minced
juice of one lemon
salt and pepper
parsley for garnish

1 cup whole wheat couscous
1 large shallot, minced
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
roasted red peppers, drained and cut into small pieces
kalamata olives (no pits)
capers
cucumber, small dice
fresh chopped parsley

lots of spinach (I used a 10-oz bag)
olive oil
squeeze of lemon juice
salt and pepper

STEP 1:

Heat a skillet. Add some olive oil and butter. Add the garlic and cook for about a minute. Meanwhile, pat the fish very dry. Dredge it lightly in the flour and tap off the excess. When the oil and pan are very hot, cook the fish until it's brown and crisp on one side. Flip it and cook until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Remove from pan and set aside. Deglaze the pan with the lemon juice, then pour the pan sauce over the fish.

STEP 2:

Meanwhile, heat a little olive oil in a pot with tight fitting lid. Cook the couscous according to package directions. When it has absorbed the water, stir in the cucumbers, peppers, capers, and all the rest of the ingredients. Season with salt and pepper.

STEP 3:

In another pot, heat a little more olive oil. Put the spinach in and cover it. Wilt it down to your desired level of wiltiness. Season with salt and pepper and lemon juice. Serve the fish with couscous and the spinach. Enjoy!

Couscous-Stuffed Zucchini with Chevre Sauce

ODE TO GOAT CHEESE
by Elizabeth Stephens

O, Chevre, you were surely ne'er meant to be eaten
By the likes of us humans who're long past our teatin.'
But when you've been churned, so pearly and white,
You make every recipe an udder delight.

I try to ignore you, but you traipse in unbidden,
You jump right in my cart - oh, who am I kiddin'?
You know I couldn't stop loving you if I tried.
While your hand is upper, my hands are just tied.


You're creamy and succulent in your unaged glory,
You and Fig on a cracker - now that's a love story.
At my Trader Joe's I can find you quite cheaply,
Though for your piquant flavor, I'd pay quite steeply.

I wish you could know how exactly I feel -
How I long to shower you with bright lemon peel.
You've no brain and no pulse and nary a soul,
Yet here I sit writing, chevre, it's you I extol.


COUSCOUS-STUFFED ZUCCHINI WITH CHEVRE SAUCE

INGREDIENTS

two medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise
handful grape cherries, quartered
1/2 c. dry cousous
1/2 white onion, diced
about a dozen kalamata olives, chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 T. olive oil
1/2 a small log of goat cheese
1/2 c. white wine
1 big tablespoon light sour cream
fresh chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
juice of one lemon

STEP ONE:

Using a spoon, scrape out a little of the middle of the 3 out of the 4 zucchini halves. Chop the remaining 4th one into small pieces. Place the 3 hollow ones in a baking dish and season with a little salt and pepper.


STEP TWO:

Preheat the oven to 375. On the stovetop, cook the couscous in 1 cup of water. Cover and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet. Cook the onions until they start to get some color.

STEP THREE:

Add the zucchini pieces (the small cut up ones), garlic, olives and tomatoes to the pan. Season with salt and pepper and cook until everything has some color. Stir in the couscous and cook for another minute.


STEP FOUR:

Spoon some couscous mixture into the hollowed out zucchini, smashing it in. Pile a little more on top. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.

STEP FIVE:

While the zucchini are baking, heat the white wine in a saucepan. Add the sour cream, goat cheese, lemon juice, and parsley. Whish over medium-low heat until smooth. Bring the heat up until it's simmering, and cook for a few minutes, until it thickens. Keep warm.


STEP SIX:

Place the zucchini on a plate. Spoon the goat cheese sauce over them. Enjoy!


Thanks for reading! More soon...

Lamb Stew with Exotic Flavors PLUS Bonus Dinner!

Whenever I go to yoga, it makes me think of India. I have a small - OK large -
obsession with that country...and no, I haven't been there - yet (I'm currently accepting donations to the Send Me to India Fund - rupees and dollars accepted).

This manifests itself in a myriad of ways: a chai latte at Starbucks, microwaveable palak paneer pouches, and - if I'm most fortunate - a trip to the Indian buffet. At the very least, my yoga-cum-Indian-cravings at the very least motivate me to scrounge through my spice cabinet for interesting flavors.


I had almost forgotten about my half-pouch of ras el hanout from my trip to the Spice House awhile back. I thought it would be the perfect way to lend a transcontinental flair to the lamb stew I was planning on making this evening (from the leftover Mint Creek farm lamb that I'd frozen). Frankly, I wasn't sure how the ras el hanout would blend with the spices that I'd rubbed on the lamb before (garlic, thyme, etc.), but this being the Fearless kitchen and all, I figured I'd throw it all in and see what came of it.

Oh - now might be the time in my narrative to explain that ras el hanout is not actually an Indian spice - it's Middle Eastern. Sometimes, my Indian obsession manifests itself in ways that, quite frankly, make very little geographical sense. That notwithstanding, I present to you:

LAMB STEW WITH EXOTIC FLAVORS OVER COUSCOUS

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. lamb leg (mine was previously roasted and frozen; fresh would obviously be ideal)
1 large baking potato, unpeeled, cut into large chunks
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into large chunks
1/2 red onion (or any onion), chunked
1 and 1/2 T. ras el hanout
2 c. chicken broth
1 c. cooked whole wheat couscous
chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
salt and pepper


STEP ONE:

Combine all ingredients except for couscous in Crockpot. Cook over low for 6 hours, until lamb is spoon-tender.*

STEP TWO:

Cook couscous according to package directions. Serve lamb stew over couscous and top with cilantro. Enjoy!

*When cooking in a Crockpot, I never season with salt and pepper until the very end. The nature of slow-cooking dictates that you can't taste your dish all along, so I recommend waiting until the end to season, so you don't grossly oversalt something.

The lamb stew came out really well - the lamb was fall-apart tender, the potatoes were hearty, and the ras el hanout made it all interesting. The flavors of ras el hanout are so different from typical, everyday American flavors - I really encourage you to try some if you happen across it.

I wanted to include this little BONUS recipe, just because I made it the other night, and I thought it would be a great introduction to those just beginning to experiment in the kitchen. So many people say to me, "I read your blog, but I know I could never make those recipes!" Not true. Something like the beans-rice-and-sausage recipe below (inspired by the much more complex jambalaya, a favorite of mine) is something that literally an 8-year-old could make (provided he or she could safely wield a can-opener).

I whipped this up on a chill Saturday night in, and it was the perfect bowl of hearty goodness to curl up and eat on the couch, book in hand. (It would also be wonderful topped with a dollop of sour cream.) So to those of you who wouldn't know a whisk from a waffle iron, behold the following: a meal you can make at home, easily and quickly, with very inexpensive ingredients. Magic!

EASIEST DINNER EVER, A.K.A. BEANS, RICE, AND KIELBASA

INGREDIENTS

about 15 thin slices kielbasa sausage*
1 can "Southwest" style black beans
1 can stewed tomatoes
1/2 c. dry white rice
splash of chicken broth
squeeze of hot sauce
chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

*I have a ton of kielbasa around due to my CostCo trip awhile back, but this is also great with chicken, shrimp, or really any variety of sausage (turkey Italian sausage would be good), or with tofu if you're a vegetarian. If you don't like tofu but don't eat meat, I'd throw in something with a neutral flavor, like zucchini. It would also be good with butternut squash.


STEP ONE:

In a large skillet, brown kielbasa. Do not drain.

STEP TWO:

Add the beans with liquid, tomatoes with juices, and rice to the skillet. Cover and cook until the rice is tender, about 10 minutes, adding a little chicken broth if the mixture isn't liquidy enough. Stir in the hot sauce and top with cilantro. Enjoy!

Apricot-Cashew Moroccan Tofu & Couscous

Pardon me while I perch upon my culinary soapbox for a moment: it annoys the [bean curd] out of me when people claim they don't like tofu. Mostly because 90% of those people have never tried it. Most irritating of all is the insipid half-question/half-excuse, "Well, I don't even know what tofu IS...!!!"

To which I might reply, "Ever heard of Wikipedia?" Or perhaps, "And I suppose you know EXACTLY what comprises a Filet-o-Fish?"


Tofu is made from the soy plant. You know, the amazing crop that has sustained civilizations all over the world for thousands of years? The simple, humble legume that contains ALL of the essential amino acids, is high in protein, and is - oh yeah - delicious?!? Many of my cohorts loooove to have edamame before they eat their designer sushi rolls, but a scrumptious tofu stir-fry? Never.

OK, OK, I'll step down off my soapbox now. (Although the view is really quite nice.)

All smug, pro-veg-agenda rhetoric aside, tofu is really a wonderful kitchen staple. It's the picture of versatility - which is why it's so often compared to the egg (that, and its textural resemblance to egg whites). It takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it in, hence its comparison to the ubiquitous chicken, the flavor-sherpa of the animal kingdom.

I had been meaning to pick up some tofu for awhile, and as I think more and more about the many unsettling things I've learned about the American meat industry, I felt that today was the day for a delicious return to a forgotten favorite. I was craving something spicy and restorative after a draining weekend of traveling (not to mention eating crap airport food).

I remembered I had some couscous, which inspired me to create a Moroccan-spiced, (almost) vegetarian dish that completely hit the airport-garbage-laden spot.


APRICOT-CASHEW MOROCCAN TOFU & COUSCOUS

INGREDIENTS

1/4 block extra firm organic tofu, cut into chunks
1/2 zucchini, halved and cut into half moons
1 yellow bell pepper, chunked
handful dried apricots
handful whole raw cashews, unsalted
1/2 a medium white onion, chunked
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T. Moroccan spice mixture (from The Spice House or specialty store)
2 T. peach preserves (apricot preserves would be ideal, but I had peach on hand)
1 tsp. minced fresh ginger
1 T. Sriracha hot sauce, or to taste
1 c. chicken broth
1 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1 c. dry whole wheat couscous
1 T. butter or olive oil
salt to taste

STEP ONE:

Heat the olive oil and butter over medium-high heat in a large nonstick skillet that has a lid. Saute the onions until translucent and brown at the edges. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for about a minute.

STEP TWO:

Add the chicken broth and the rest of the ingredients (except the couscous ingredients, of course), stir to combine, cover, and cook on medium until the veggies are just tender and the liquid is slightly thickened.



STEP THREE:

Meanwhile, cook the couscous according to package directions. Serve the Moroccan tofu mixture over couscous in a shallow bowl. Enjoy!

This came out lovely. The balance of savory and sweet elements punctuated with a bit of fiery Sriracha was just what the flight attendant ordered. The Moroccan spice blend really complemented the apricot flavor, and the tofu was the perfect protein star player. Next time, I'd chop some fresh cilantro as a garnish (I completely forgot to pick it up - if I didn't live in a dark Lincoln Park shoebox, I'd just grow my own).

This recipe, be forewarned, makes enough for about 3-4 meals. I have an inkling that it will only get tastier with time. I can't wait to have it for lunch tomorrow!


I can see this recipe being a nice introduction to the world of tofu for those who may be uninitiated. If you didn't know that there was tofu in the dish, you wouldn't even notice it - its meaty, silky texture is great with the crisp veggies, but its neutral taste allows the bold, exotic flavors to take center stage.

Hopefully the tofu-shy out there will venture into the world of complete vegetarian protein - if just as a brief departure from omnivorousness.

Thanks for reading! More soon...

Recession: Party of One - A Tale of Two Lunches

I can feel good about myself when I don't eat out every single meal on the weekend. Now that Recession: Party of One is in full swing, I'm finding it a lot easier to stay in and cook - whatever motivates you, right?

My lunch Saturday was another attempt on my part to eat more vegetarian meals. Sunday, however, was a completely meat-tastic day. Read on to see how to make two yummy, simple lunches, and of course I'll give you the Party of One Price Index Update for both meals.

GARDEN VEGETABLE SOUP WITH HAM, PEAR, & MOZZARELLA SANDWICH



I debated even posting this at all, considering I didn't actually MAKE the soup, but I thought the sandwich was creative enough - and the overall meal was thrifty enough - to warrant a R: P of 1 shout-out. And frankly, I thought the picture came out nicely. This was a really yummy meal - it rained non-stop here in Chicago all weekend, and soup and a gooey cheesy sandwich seemed like the perfect stay-in-and-watch-the-entire-season-of-The-City meal.

INGREDIENTS

2 slices French bread
2 slices deli ham
1-2 slices mozzarella cheese
1/2 pear, very thinly sliced
1 can Muir glen Garden Vegetable Soup
2 pats butter for grilling sandwich
1 T. sour cream (optional), for stirring in soup

STEP ONE

In a medium pot, cook the soup until steaming hot. Top with a dollop of sour cream if you want.

STEP TWO:

Place the ham, pear, and cheese on the bread. In a nonstick skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Cook the sandwich until golden brown, cooking the side closest to the cheese first so it melts. Flip, and cook until the other side is also golden brown. Slice in half, serve with soup, and enjoy.

PARTY OF ONE PRICE INDEX:

PEAR: I'm going to call this free, since it was on the verge of being wasted (it was once one of a 3-lb. bag).
HAM: 66 cents
MOZZARELLA: 15 cents
BREAD: 14 cents
SOUP: $1.66

The GRAND TOTAL is...

$2.61. This really only made one serving (I had about a 1/2 c. of soup left over), but I think that was still a very Recession-friendly lunch!

And now on to my attempt at vegetarian cooking...

SPICY VEGETABLE CURRY



INGREDIENTS

1 T. olive oil
1 red bell pepper, cut into chunks
1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
5-6 frozen broccoli florets, thawed
1/2 c. chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 c. whole cashews
2 T. chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 c. sour cream
1/4 c. chicken broth
Sriracha to taste
Moroccan spice blend (or curry powder), to taste
juice of half a lime

1/3 c. dry couscous
2/3 c. chicken broth
salt and pepper

STEP ONE

Bring chicken broth to a boil for the couscous. Add couscous, stir, cover, and remove from heat. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

STEP TWO

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the bell pepper and carrots, and season with some of the spice blend/curry. Cook until the vegetables have begun to soften. Add the chicken broth, broccoli, and chickpeas, and some more spice blend. Reduce heat to medium, stirring frequently. Stir in the sour cream until it is well-incorporated and the whole mixture is smooth. Stir in the cashews, Sriracha, and half the chopped cilantro. Cook until all vegetables are tender-crisp.

STEP THREE:

Serve over couscous, garnishing with the lime juice and the rest of the cilantro.

PARTY OF ONE PRICE INDEX:

BELL PEPPER: $1.08
CARROT: 9 cents
BROCCOLI: 54 cents
CHICKPEAS: 10 cents
CILANTRO: 83 cents
CHICKEN BROTH: 40 cents
CASHEWS: 50 cents
SOUR CREAM: 50 cents

I'm not counting the Sriracha, couscous, olive oil, and spice blend, because those are pantry staples I tend to have on hand.

So the total for the ingredients comes to $4.04, but I got two servings out of them, which makes the GRAND TOTAL...

$2.02...not too shabby!

The curry came out nicely, although it's worth noting that the sour cream and chicken broth, as opposed to the blend of heavy cream and milk I used last time made the curry significantly more savory than the other one I made recently. It sort of balanced out the natural sweetness of the cumin, but I think that in the future I'll use the cream/milk instead, since I like the cumin's sweetness to shine through. I really like the bite of the lime juice and the freshness that the cilantro added. And I'm always surprised at how full I can get from vegetables alone! The protein and richness from the cashews and sour cream help, of course.

Well, it's been a weekend of disappointing weather, but that almost always leads to great food. One more R: P of 1 post to come soon! Thanks for reading!

Can I Pick[y] Your Brain?

duh-NUH. duh-NUH. duh-NUH. [Insert classic Jaws theme music rising to a heart-stopping crescendo here....] PICKY EATER!!!



Don't look now, but it's the number one fear of the bravest of cooks: a picky guest. Jess' longtime friend Chris was in town on business, and of course we wanted to have him over for a home-cooked meal. Jess (by way of Chris' wife, her good friend Molly) warned me that back in Chris' college days, he ate exclusively hamburgers - no cheese. I was worried. This Fearless challenge could implode on me in an instant.

A few choice quotes from Chris:

"Cheese on my burgers? I might go there now, once in a while."
"I don't like salad. Lettuce in general kinda skeeves me out."
"I like chicken stuffed with stuff."



Well, that last quote was all I had to go on, so - with Jess' input - we came up with a suitable menu. Once we ran it by the Mrs. on the phone, Jess got all the groceries and we were as good as committed. Besides, according to Molly, married life has had a very positive effect on Chris' palate, since Molly has instituted an If-You-Don't-Like-It-Then-Make-Your-Own-Damn-Dinner policy.

FEARLSS FACTOR: 9. Downright terrifying.

I made Feta, Mushroom, and Sun-dried Tomato-Stuffed Chicken, with herbed olive Couscous and roasted garlicky Broccolini. It was a Mediterranean-inspired meal that might make even adventurous eaters a mite nervous, so I wasn't sure how it would all shake out. Read on to find out....

INGREDIENTS

4 skinless, boneless, fresh (not frozen) chicken breasts
4 oz. feta cheese with Mediterranean spices
3 medium portobella mushrooms
1 jar julienned sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
1 1/2 c. dry whole wheat couscous
1 1/2 c. chicken broth (for couscous)
6-7 pitted kalamata olives, chopped
1/4 c. chopped parsley
1 lb. broccolini
3 cloves garlic
2 T. olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
1/2 c. chicken broth (for sauce)
dash cayenne pepper
1/4 c. honey
2 T. butter

STEP ONE:

Slice the chicken breasts in almost half lengthwise, but not all the way through. Lay them flat on a cutting board, cover them with Saran wrap or wax paper, and flatten them out with a meat tenderizer until they're thin enough to work with easily (about 1/2" thick in most places). Salt and pepper the inside.



STEP TWO:

Chop the mushrooms. Drain a little of the oil out of the sun-dried tomatoes, leaving enough to cook the tomatoes and mushrooms in. Add them to the pan with the mushrooms, adding a little salt and pepper, and saute them on medium heat for about 8-10 minutes. Then drain them on a paper towel to remove the excess oil.






STEP THREE:

Place about 1 oz. feta cheese on one half of each chicken breast. Top with some of the tomato-mushroom mixture. Flod the other half of the chicken over the top, lightly salt and pepper the outside, and place in a baking dish. Bake at 375 for about 25-30 minutes.




STEP FOUR:

Trim the tough ends off the broccolini and place in a baking dish. In a saute pan, heat 2 T. olive oil and saute the garlic until it's fragrant. Then pour the olive-oil-garlic mixture over the broccolini and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes (you can just put it in there with the chicken).




STEP FIVE:

In a saute pan over medium heat, toast the raw pine nuts for about 5 minutes, until they begin to brown. Chop the parsley and the olives. In another pot, cook the couscous according to the package directions, substituting chicken broth for the water. When all the liquid has been absorbed by the couscous, stir in the parsley, pine nuts, and olives.





STEP SIX:

In a saucepan over high heat, combine the balsamic vinegar, chicken broth, cayenne pepper, and honey, and reduce by 2/3. Stir in the butter and allow to cool and thicken for a few minutes before serving over the chicken. Enjoy!




Chris, the Picky Eater in the flesh, is in the middle in the photo below. As it turned out, he cleaned his plate, and had only good things to say about the meal! I was flattered and relieved. He was a delightful dinner guest.



JUDGES' VERDICTS

Jess: I wasn't confident that this meal would turn out well. I mean any meal I helped come up with, you just never know. But it was really one of the best meals you've made in a long time. I thought the pine nuts were going to be a weak flavor addition to the couscous, but it was really good.

Chris: This was really good. I even liked the couscous, and Molly said I wouldn't eat it all! This was definitely good "chicken stuffed with stuff."

Ross: Mmmmmmmmmmm. Mmmmmmmmmmm.

MY VOTE ON MY DISH:

I give it 8 stars. Pretty tasty. The chicken was not overcooked, the flavors worked well, and while I thought the broccoli was a bit salty, overall everything was good. I thought for sure the sauce was going to be too sweet, but the sweetness of the sun-dried tomatoes made it complementary.

I'm so glad everything turned out well! After dinner, we braved sub-zero temperatures to have a beer at the BOB (not just a cozy neighborhood fixture but a DESTINATION when friends are in town).



Thanks to Chris for being such a great guest! I'm glad you got to see Chicago in all its wintry glory.

Thanks for reading! more soon....