90 degree Spring?

Somewhere the weather here took a turn for summer much faster than it should have, perfect illustration of that fact: yesterday my sister, mom and I met up with my grandmother in San Antonio for the day.  We packed a picnic, wandered some of our favorite thrift stores, a normal  spring day I could've gotten by with a t-shirt and jeans and not been sweating to death...no, yesterday I wore a tank top and shorts and there were a few times where I think I might've been overdressed still.  It's a really good sign that it's ungodly hot here already and it's just April 2.  Needless to say cooking with a stove hasn't really been at the top of my list in this weather, lots of grilling, plenty of cold meals and salads. 

I'm kind of picky about salad, I hate iceberg lettuce, it's void of any flavor in my opinion, isn't quite as nutritious as it's pretty dark green cousins (or red ones for that matter) and frankly it's boring.  No wonder I don't love salad, iceberg, ick.  For years salad meant pasty looking iceberg lettuce to me, no my mom (who is an amazing cook) didn't force-feed us iceberg but it's just what I associated salad with.  As I've learned to expand my definition of salad I've become a bigger advocate of them, you'll see, perusing any salad recipes I post, many don't even have lettuce in them but iceberg is definitely not featured here!   This salad is no exception, a few weeks back I was getting head after head of cabbage in my Farmhouse Delivery boxes, green, napa, red, you name it, I got it.  So I made slaw, a lot. I wouldn't call this a slaw since I feel like slaw is another one of those terms with not so pretty connotations but I'd say it's a cabbage salad instead. 

Asian Red Cabbage Salad with Pan Roasted Chicken

Salad:
1 Small Head Red Cabbage, Chopped
1/2 - 3/4 Cups Green Onions, Chopped
1/2 Cup Chopped Dried Pineapple (no sugar added)
2 Tbsp Black Sesame Seeds
2 Tbsp Hemp Hearts

Dressing:
1 1/2 Tbsp Coconut Aminos
2 Tbsp Coconut Vinegar
1 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
1/2 Tsp Minced Garlic
1/2 Tsp Minced Ginger

Chicken:
3 Chicken Breasts
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
1 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp Coconut Aminos

1. Coat chicken in sesame oil, rice wine vinegar and coconut aminos, let it marinade for at least 30 minutes.
2. Once chicken is ready, head a cast iron skillet over medium high heat with 1 Tbsp Sesame Oil, once skillet is hot add chicken and brown well on each side, cooking time will vary based on thickness of chicken but mine took about 8 minutes on each side before it was cooked through.  As it was cooking I poured the leftover marinade over the chicken.
3. Once chicken is cooked, slice and set aside. 
4. To make dressing, mix vinegars, coconut aminos, garlic and ginger together.  Slowly add oil in, whisking continuously so that the oil is well incorporated and doesn't separate.
5. Toss salad with dressing, top with sesame seeds, hemp hearts and chicken.

A quick note about one of the salad toppings listed above (and shown below), Hemp Hearts.  I stumbled across these in my local Whole Foods recently, they are a great nutty, crunchy topping for things and I've just started using them.  I loved the nutty flavor and they have super healthy benefits, they are rich in Omega's with a great balance of Omega-3 to Omega-6 and also are a great source of gamma-linoleic acid which has been shown to support healthy skin, hair and nails. Tasty and good for you, double win!

First Day of What?

Here in Austin it's been "spring" for a while...I've been working out in shorts and t-shirts and sweating to death for at least three weeks, maybe more because Texas doesn't seem to know that the first day of spring was actually today.  Ha, someone let me know when we officially hit summer too, I'd bet $10 it's summer here much earlier, ahh the pleasure of living in Central Texas.  While I moan about the heat I should stop to consider the irony of posting this recipe, who knew I'd be so behind that I would be posting pumpkin recipes the first day of spring...

So why pumpkin? Besides the fact that I'm completely obsessed with them every fall and that the seeds make tasty tasty snacks, they are hugely good for you, just a few things you should know:

• Just like all brightly colored fruits and veggies, the gorgeous orange color of pumpkins is a key indicator that it's loaded with beta-carotene, which may reduce the risk of certain types of cancer, offers protection against heart disease and the degenerative effects of aging
• Just one half cup serving of pumpkin contains 5 grams of fiber which helps decrease cholesterol levels, control blood sugar and promotes healthy digestion
• Pumpkin is rich in vitamins C and E which boost immunity, reduces risks of high blood sugar and promotes healthy skin
• Pumpkin is also rich in potassium and magnesium which are extremely helpful to the body in a range of ways from promoting a healthy immune system to contributing to bone strength

Do you want to be less healthy? No, didn't think so.  Isn't pumpkin tastier than taking a fist full of pills to supplement your diet? Yes, it very much is. 

With a pretty little pumpkin that came in my weekly Farmhouse Delivery box I set to finding something to do with it.  I was a little unsure at first, pumpkin is something I don't cook with a lot, love carving them but cooking with them was a little foreign.  Inspired by the Farmhouse Table (Farmhouse Delivery's Blog) I grabbed some green curry paste and a good knife and went to work.

Thai Green Curry with Pumpkin
inspired by Farmhouse Table

4 oz green curry paste
2 14 oz cans coconut milk (full fat)
1 6 oz can coconut cream
1 Tbsp fish sauce (or to taste)
½ small pumpkin, peeled and cut into chunks
1 pound cubed chicken
1 bunch basil, leaves picked

1. Place thick coconut cream in a large cast iron skillet or dutch oven, add curry paste and fry til fragrant.
2, Add remaining coconut milk, simmer for 5-10 minutes, then add fish sauce.
3. Add pumpkin cubes and meat.
4. Simmer til pumpkin is tender, then stir in basil leaves

The original recipe is served over rice, I roasted some cauliflower in the oven while the curry was cooking and served it alongside.

Just a few of the reasons I love Spring...

1. Everything is blooming.



2. Herbs can be found fresh in the backyard.











3. 80 Degrees and not a cloud in the sky!

4. Strawberries!











5. Did I mention 80 Degrees?

Spring in Texas is a neat thing, it's short, beautiful, fleeting and what you wish summer felt like. In Central Texas the high is typically 75-85 degrees, it's breezy and cool and perfect weather to enjoy a cool glass of iced tea on the porch. In July you wish for that 85 degree high, and then you step out into the sauna that is 90 degrees at 7AM and wish for winter...it's funny, our weather is very schizophrenic during certain seasons (spring included) but it's pretty much a certainty that summer is hot as hell and that it lasts from mid-May through mid-October (that's right almost 5 months!). Don't get me wrong, I love it here, wouldn't trade it for the world but it's important not to delude people, it's hot here!

In honor of spring (and the fact that strawberries have been delicious and dirt cheap for the last few weeks), I picked up strawberries and then searched three grocery-stores for fresh rhubarb (which I was not lucky enough to find, had to settle for frozen)! I came home, poured a glass of tea and sat on the patio contemplating how to use my red ingredients and settled on Strawberry-Lemon Glazed Strawberry Rhubarb Bread.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Bread
1 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Nutmeg
1 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Zest
2 Eggs
1 1/2 Cup Halved Strawberries
3/4 Cup Frozen Rhubarb
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 9x5 loaf pan (or two 3x8 pans).
2. Heat frozen rhubarb in a microwave safe bowl for a minute in the microwave, allow it to cool for a minute, then place in blender with strawberry halves and puree.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, soda, salt and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, whisk together lemon zest, eggs, strawberries/rhubarb puree, and vegetable oil. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients, whisking until well blended.
4. Pour batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 55-60 minutes for 9x5 pan or 40-45 minutes for 3x8 pans, until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Strawberry-Lemon Glaze
8oz Frozen Strawberries
1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Lemon (Zest and Juice will be used)
1 Tbsp Cornstarch
3 Tbsp Water

While the bread is baking, make the strawberry glaze.

1. Combine the sugar, water, lemon juice, lemon zest and strawberries in a saucepan. Stir to dissolve the sugar into the liquid while bringing it up to a boil.
2. Once the mixture begins to boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for about ten minutes. When the strawberries get soft enough, break them in half with a spoon to help release more flavor from the strawberries.
3. Remove from then heat and strain the liquid from the strawberries. Press on the solids to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Return the liquid (not strawberries) to the pan.
4. Bring the liquid back up to a simmer. Whisk 3 tablespoons of water into the cornstarch and then pour it into the simmering liquid.
5. Increase heat and whisk until the glaze comes to boil. Continue to whisk while the glaze boils and thickens, about 5 minutes. Pour into a bowl and set aside to cool.
6. Once glaze has cooled, pour over tops of bread loaf/loaves.


First go round on this was pretty successful, I like it, my boyfriend (the self-professed strawberry addict) liked it, next time, I'm thinking lime instead of lemon and maybe muffins?