Potato Leek Soup for One

What do you do with leftover potatoes and leeks? Potato leek soup, of course!

After my quick trip east, I wanted something fast, easy and comforting for dinner. I thought roasting the potatoes and leeks would add a little more oomph to the soup and if I had some chicken apple sausage leftover, I totally would have browned up some bits to sprinkle on top.

Wow. My soup is the same color as my bowl. Oops.

Potato Leek Soup

3 potatoes, cut into uniform pieces

2 small leeks, cut into 2 inch pieces

1 tbsp olive oil

1 c low sodium chicken broth

1/4 c soy milk

1/4 c skim milk

1/2 tbsp salt

1 tbsp hot sauce

1/2 tbsp pepper

Heat oven to 375. Toss potatoes, leeks and olive oil and spread out onto a baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes. 

As potatoes and leeks are roasting, bring 3/4 c chicken broth, soy milk and skim milk to a rolling boil in a medium pot. Add leeks, potatoes and hot sauce; bring back up to a boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook for another 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Stir in salt to taste and remove from heat. 

Carefully puree the soup with an immersion blender, adding remaining 1/4 c broth to thin soup out as necessary. Serve immediately.

April ingredients used:  leeks, potatoes

Not bad for a quickie soup. I've got soup saved for the next couple of days...just enough that I won't get sick of it. Feel free to add more hot sauce if you like a little more kick in your soup. Just make sure it doesn't turn too orange ;p

Last part of labor day. For reals.

Had enough yet? Too bad. I have more photos and recipes for you!

We took things easy on Monday with a leisurely stroll through Russian Hill and Nob Hill. To kick things off, we had lunch at Za...delicious pizzas as usual. Then some neighborhoody shots

And some wandering in Grace Cathedral

I even attempted to walk the Labyrinth (emphasis on attempt), but got impatient. Surprise. I opted to photograph it instead :)

It was incredibly warm out on Monday. I was so glad we went wine tasting the day before...it would have been way too hot to be wandering around up there! We called it quits early and I whipped up a tasty and light dinner for us. On the menu: Pan Seared Tilapia with Heirloom Tomato and Watermelon Salsa and an Arugula and Frisée Salad.

For some reason I had an urge to combine tomatoes and watermelon...I'm very glad I acted on that urge.

Pan Seared Tilapia with Heirloom Tomato & Watermelon Salsa

3 tilapia fillets

1/4 c fresh pineapple with juices, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 tbsp salt

1 tbsp mirin or dry white wine

1/2 c watermelon, diced

2 medium heirloom tomatoes, diced

1/2 shallot, minced

1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 c cilantro, chopped

Combine watermelon, tomatoes, shallot, balsamic vinegar, 1/2 tsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt and cilantro in a bowl. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

Combine pineapple, garlic, olive oil, salt, mirin and tilapia in a dish. Let marinate for 5 minutes on each side.

Drizzle some olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Cook tilapia for 2-3 minutes on each side. Serve immediately with 2 spoonfuls of watermelon salsa on top.

For some starch, I quickly roasted some fingerling potatoes (garlic, olive oil, salt, rosemary, thyme). Standard. Addicting. Yum.

Arugula & Frisée Salad

1 large head frisée

1 c arugula

1 c spring mix

1/2 avocado, sliced

1 plum, sliced

shaved parmesan

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp maple syrup

2 tbsp champagne vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together mustard, syrup, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Combine greens in a large bowl and coat with half the dressing. Top with plum, avocado and parmesan.

I'm having a rough month with plums. I just can't find one with the right flavor...it's either too tart or too sweet. Gah! I was happy with my vinaigrette though!

Phew. Labor Day weekend is done! We'll return to your regularly scheduled blogging topics shortly :p

Ode to a Sweet Potato

I've been reunited with a delicious tuber that my mom introduced me to several years ago.

Blogbuds, allow me to introduce you to the Japanese Sweet Potato *nice to meet you*

Since my schedule has been a bit nutty and I'm trying to save up some cash, I have to admit that this starchy, chestnutty tasting guy has been my go to meal lately. Scrubbed clean and wrapped in a paper towel, this guy just needs a few minutes in the microwave and a sprinkle of salt. Warm, comforting and filling. I heart you.

Unfortunately, I think I've hit the bottom of the barrel at the Real Foods. *sigh* 'Til we meet again...

Taste Testers

Finally feeling a little bit better!

I was up bright and early and trekked off to the grocery store to prep for tonight's dinner. I always get into trouble whenever I go to Whole Foods, so I made a strict list (yes, that says fun fruits) and packed one of my Envirosax bags.

I love these bags so much! Now that DC is charging 5 cents for each plastic bag, it helps that I can roll these up and keep them in my purse at all times...great for those impromptu post-work grocery trips.

Once I was all unpacked, I got to work on some mashed potatoes for my entry to Sophia's I am What I Cook Challenge and started on some dessert items. There's nothing I love more than multitasking in the kitchen. Getting into the groove with a bunch of different things going at once = awesome.

I was so psyched to come up with an entry for Sophia's challenge. The minute I read about it, I knew exactly what ingredients I wanted to use and I prayed they would work. According to tonight's dinner guests, they did! What dish defines me?

I present Karenabeana's Chorizo and Corn Potato Croquetas! There's nothing I love more than a big bowl of mashed potatoes, corn, cheese and doused in hot sauce. We all know this. I also love me some cilantro, lime and avocado. Hello, sauce!

How does this define me? Just like these croquettes, I like to be all tough (or maybe crispy) on the outside, but really I can be a giant mushy mess inside. I also like a hint of green in my life ;) I guess now is be a good time to explain the 'beans' in Run Beans, Run ya? In college my friends started calling me by my AIM screenname (karenabeana) and then it got shortened to 'beana' and then some shortened it to 'beans' and it just stuck.

Karenabeana's Chorizo and Corn Potato Croquetas

4 large yukon gold potatoes, boiled

1 tbsp butter

2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp garlic powder

4 tbsp parrano cheese, shredded

1 c corn, drained

1 c chorizo, chopped

2 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated

2 tbsp mexican cheese blend

2 tbsp panko, plus 1 c for dredging

Mash potatoes and mix with butter, salt, garlic powder and parrano. Chill for at least an hour.

Brown chorizo, drain well and cool.

Combine chorizo, corn, parmesan, mexican cheese blend, 2 tbsp panko and mashed potatoes. Form into 1 inch balls and roll in panko forming a slight oval shape.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until panko starts to crisp.

I split this in half to make some vegetarian ones for a friend. For the vegetarian version, I obviously omitted the chorizo, used 1/2 c corn, 1 tbsp adobo sauce (from chipotle peppers) and upped the cheeses a bit (about 1 1/2 tbsp each).

So, I'm not much of a deep fryer. In fact, tonight was my first deep frying experience. Big fat fail. These little suckers just fell apart in the hot oil. Then I tried pan frying. Nope, the panko just fell off. I gave up, sprayed them with PAM and baked them. Apparently I should have used some egg. Oops. They still tasted phenomenal. Little nuggets of potato, cheesy, chorizo-y goodness. AHHHHH :)

To counteract the richness of the croquettes, and because I heart green things (especially cilantro, lime and avocado), I served them with a smear and dollop of Cilantro Lime Avocado Sauce (yes, I'm terrible at naming things)

Cilantro Lime Avocado Sauce

1 handful cilantro

juice of one lime

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp greek yogurt

1 clove garlic

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp honey

1/4 tsp jalapeno pepper

3 tbsp avocado

Blend all ingredients with an immersion blender or food processor.

This was an AMAZING dollop of green! A great blend of spicy, sweet and earthiness. I'd probably even use this on chicken or pork I love it so much!

On the side, because every plate needs a little ruffage, some baby arugula blend dressed with some lemon juice, zest, honey, salt, pepper and olive oil. What's in your glass??

Sometimes a glass is better than a bowl for mixing!

So that was my 'me meal' slash appetizer for everyone. Tonight's main course was an attempt at a vegetarian dish. I'm terrible with vegetarian dishes - definitely not my forte. I'm just more comfortable being creative when meat products are involved :\ Anyway I decided to do a variation on an appetizer I made a longlong time ago - Goat Cheese Eggplant Rolls.

Goat Cheese Eggplant Rolls

1 large eggplant, sliced lengthwise into 1/4" slices

olive oil

salt

1/2 jar Bertolli Arrabbiata Sauce

Goat Cheese Filling

1 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated)

Pour sauce into an 8"x8" baking dish and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Sprinkle salt on eggplant slices and let sit for 15 minutes. Pat slices dry.

Drizzle olive oil in a grill pan and cook eggplant for 2-3 minutes on each side. Lay eggplant on a flat surface and smear 1/2-1 tbsp of filling in the middle of each slice. Roll slices and place seam side down in baking dish with sauce. Cover with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and bake for another 5 minutes.

Goat Cheese Filling

4 oz goat cheese

3 tbsp greek yogurt

2 tbsp roasted red pepper diced

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp shallot, minced

Mash all ingredients in a small bowl and keep at room temperature until ready to fill the eggplant.

Overall, not a bad experiment. The Arrabbiata sauce wasn't too overpowering or spicy as I thought it would be. Pretty tasty! Thanks Foodbuzz and Bertolli!

For dessert some Pecan Pie Tarts and brownies!

Have a good Monday!!

Fancy Pants

Sometimes you just need to treat yourself to a pretty meal. I did just that this evening :)
I don't know why, but I was craving a pretty looking dinner ALL day. Strange, right? So I pictured a potato crusted salmon and that was it. The side dish was pretty much up in the air until I got to the grocery store and saw some fatty asparagus (it's pretty rare I find asparagus this plump). Check it out:
I know, not super plump, but our Giant usually has super super skinny asparagus.

Potato Crusted Salmon for One
1 (6-oz) salmon fillet
1 tsp fresh rosemary
1 fingerling potato, thinly sliced
salt
pepper
olive oil

Preheat broiler. Place fillet on a baking sheet and scatter rosemary, salt and pepper on top of fish. Lay potato slices on fish, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with additional salt and pepper.
Broil for 5-7 minutes or until fish and potatoes are cooked through.
Do you like my super thin potato slice? The thinner you can get the slice, the better. I find myself wishing I had a fancy mandolin on days like this...

To supplement my fishy, I went with some Quinoa, Asparagus, Mushrooms and Artichoke "Risotto".

Since I usually make quinoa into a salad or tabbouleh, I thought I'd experiment and take a different approach this time around and treat it like I would a risotto...sort of.
Quinoa, Asparagus, Mushroom and Artichoke "Risotto"
1 c quinoa
1 1/3 c broth, plus 1/3 c
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small shallot, minced
1/4 c cremini mushrooms, diced
1/3 c artichoke hearts, quartered
4 stalks asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/4 c fontina cheese chunks
1 tbsp parmesan cheese
1 tbsp white wine
salt and pepper

Boil 1 1/3 c broth and salt in a small saucepan. Add quinoa, cover and cook for 15 minutes; set aside.

Heat olive oil and butter in a pan and saute shallot until softened. Saute mushrooms until softened and then add white wine. Add asparagus and artichoke hearts and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in quinoa and cheeses and reduce heat to medium low.
Slowly add 1/3 c broth to thin out cheese and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately
Once I had that done, I placed the fish on top
and worked on a quick sauce (I microwaved because I completely forgot about sauce until the last minute):
Lemon Mustard Sauce
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp white wine
1/4 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp maple syrup

Stir all ingredients in a bowl, microwave for 30 seconds stirring frequently.

Kinda reminded me of a dressing I've made, but you know what, I thought it tasted good with the quinoa AND the fish. Not too shabby for a last minute item!
Ok, now I MUST crash. Almost fell asleep while at job #2...perhaps I'm too old for sleepovers haha.

I broke myself

Well, maybe I did. I'm taking an easy week as far as workouts are concerned since I'm super paranoid about the whole Achilles thing. I'm all about the ice and rest right now. See?
Why buy a fancy ice pack when you can use a container of frozen soup?? Hehe. I MAY be stubborn and still try to get my 20 mile run in on Saturday...and still run the Army 10-Miler on Sunday. We'll see how I feel. And no, I'm not crazy - there will be no 'racing' at the race for me.

Ok! Time for fun dinner experiments! Last night I played with some blue brie, polenta, steak, mushrooms, brandy and POM Wonderful pomegranate juice to make Blue Brie Polenta with Brandied Mushrooms and Steak with Pomegranate Sauce. I envisioned a really pretty meal as I walked home, but the actual plate didn't turn out as planned...
So I cooked the polenta as I normally would using chicken broth, butter and some light cream. Instead of parmesan cheese, I dumped in some blue brie - THE WHOLE WEDGE. :[ I kept tasting it and maybe blue brie was a bad idea. It just didn't have a strong enough flavor. Perhaps next time I'd go with a mixture of blue brie and gorgonzola? Also, the cornmeal we had wasn't as coarsely ground as I usually get and I think that might have made the polenta have a weird texture? Too smooshy?

For the mushrooms, I reached out to one of our many Tyler Florence cookbooks:
Tyler's Ultimate has a ton of fun recipes and we've tried a handful of them. Tyler Florence has never steered this household wrong! Well, maybe until now...sort of. I went with his Brandied Mushrooms, which called for cream (that I thought was a little weird), but I swear, his mushrooms in the picture looked the opposite of creamy!
Mine? Um, that is CREAM! I quartered my cremini mushrooms and threw in some greens for fun. I think I should have gone with like sherried mushrooms or something. Or maybe followed his WHOLE recipe for his New York Strip Steak with Brandied Mushrooms and Thyme.

We grabbed a package of sirloin steak from the Giant and they were just the right sizes for us. After a generous sprinkling of salt and freshly ground pepper on each side, they were pan seared for a couple minutes on each side and rested while I worked on the sauce.

I melted 1 tbsp butter to the steak pan and added 4 ounces of POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice and reduced the mixture. Spooned some on top of the steak and called it dinner.
The acidity and sweetness of the pomegranate juice actually worked well with all the creaminess of the polenta and mushrooms, but it still wasn't quite what I had pictured. Ah well.

While I was cooking last night's dinner, Chef Jamie started working on prepping tonight's dinner - Caesar Potato Salad with Sugar Snap Peas
This is what it looked like in the magazine - isn't it fun with the multicolored taters? Mine wasn't so colorful:
We stuck with the regular fingerling potatoes they had at the Giant and they were just as good. We did all the steaming and cutting last night and Jamie made the dressing this evening. It tasted pretty good this evening, but I'm sure it'll be even better tomorrow once the potatoes absorb the dressing! Instead of using just regular Dijon mustard, we used 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard and 1/2 tsp whole grain mustard (because I love it so much haha). Definitely a great, light and tangy potato salad :)

Time to think of things to do with a fun package I got in the mail today:
Thanks to Foodbuzz's Tastemaker program, I have two loaves of Nature's Pride bread to test out! That's a whole lotta bread! Sammiches? Eggs in Holes? What on earth am I going to do with all this bread? haha. I'm open to suggestions!

One potato, two potato...

It's a potato sort of month. For dinner we had Pork Chops and Mashed Potatoes with Peas and Onions:
I'm guilty of loving mashed potatoes so much that we keep a box of potato flakes handy at all times. There's nothing wrong with potato flakes...you never know when you'll need them (I've even used potato flakes as filler for mini meatballs for a friend that's allergic to gluten). Tonight's dinner made use of actual potatoes, some peas, onion and lemon zest. It was inspired by Tyler Florence's Smashed New Potatoes with Peas, Lemon and Pearl Onions - a dish I made for Christmas dinner this year.

Mashed Potatoes with Peas and Onions
4 small white potatoes, cooked
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp butter
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp salt
1/4 c peas
2 tbsp cream or skim milk
1 tbsp butter
pepper

Heat olive oil and 1/2 tbsp butter in a skillet. Add onions and saute until soft. Add potatoes and break up with a spoon. Add cream or milk, remaining butter, pepper and lemon zest, stir to combine. Add peas, pepper and salt to taste.

This dish was pretty good, though I think I prefer the potato dish I made last week. Of course, this pales in comparison to the original recipe which was AMAZING. I was worried when I made it for Christmas dinner without trying it first, but the fam seemed to enjoy it! The peas, potatoes, lemon and onions were such a great flavor combination - something I wouldn't have thought of on my own. I must say, Tyler Florence has yet to disappoint me.

My potatoes were just missing one little thing....
A BATH IN TEXAS PETE. Haha. I know most people will find that absolutely disgusting, but I love mashed potatoes doused in hot sauce. I don't know why, but it's my ultimate comfort food. Do you have any weird/random favorite flavor combinations?

Sorry for the short post! LONG day tomorrow with an early start :( Have a great night!

Could it be??

I can't run with music anymore??

I did a quick 3 mile loop downtown on my own so I decided I'd bring the ipod with me (keep in mind I rarely run with music these days). I don't know if I just had a weird playlist or what, but I just couldn't get into a comfortable pace! Plus, the whole earphone cord flopping around and having to hold my gigantor brick of an ipod was annoying. I dunno...my run just didn't feel right. It also could have been all the people/car dodging and traffic lights...hmm. Do you prefer city or bike path/trail running?

Jamie got dinner started while I walked home from running errands in Cleveland Park and I was able to have dinner ready in less than 30 minutes. YAY teamwork! Tonight's dinner was something I pulled together with the help of a friend this afternoon - Smashed Red Bliss Potatoes with Artichokes and Spinach served with a Side Salad with Salsa.
Occasionally I don't want to cook what we have planned for the week and instead I try to come up with a way to use any leftover ingredients we might have (hey, there's nothing wrong with not wasting food!). Tonight's 'must be used' ingredients were about 1/2 lb of red bliss potatoes, a bag of baby spinach and approximately 5 artichoke hearts. Random, right? My friend almost immediately suggested I grab some cream and cheddar cheese to make some artichoke and spinach mashed potatoes. Being a HUGE mashed potato fan, I was sold on the idea...with a few modifications of course ;)

Jamie chopped up a few slices of the deli ham we have (I think we're on a ham kick at the deli counter...or maybe ham's the only thing on sale lately ;p) and I stopped at the Giant for a lemon, cream and a shallot...and maybe a few other random things you'll see later on this week.

Here's the ham, shallot, spinach and artichoke mixture. Something about it just screams spring to me:
I drained the potatoes and smashed them into the mixture - that was the fun part :)
Everything was smelling good, but looking a little dry so I added a smidgen of butter (barely half a pat) before the cream. A few minutes later, it was dinner time!
I wasn't really sure what to eat with the potatoes so I went with the last bit of bagged salad we had and threw in some leftover red peppers and some snap peas. Instead of dressing I used the leftover fresh salsa (which btw, I am never buying again - it was a random brand and not that good) from the Taco Bowl incident.

The smashed potatoes turned out to be surprisingly delicious for a random afternoon suggestion! I think I'm going to play this game more often :)

Smashed Red Bliss Potatoes with Artichokes & Spinach
1/2 lb red bliss potatoes, cooked
1 shallot, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 c baby spinach, chopped
5 artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
3 slices deli ham, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp light cream
1/2 tbsp butter
1 tsp lemon zest
salt
pepper
1 tbsp parmesan cheese (optional)

Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Saute shallot and ham until shallots begin to soften. Add artichokes and spinach and cook until spinach begins to wilt. Add potatoes to the pan, smashing with the back of a spoon.

Add butter, cream, lemon zest, salt and pepper and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle with parmesan and serve immediately.

I'm off to bed. I'm thinking about being ambitious and running my 5 miles tomorrow morning since I might have to work late again tomorrow. We'll see!

Mmm...steak.

I love do nothing Sundays :)

I started the day off with some Pilates/Yoga blend and when I was done, I browsed Exercise TV for a quickie workout add on. I stumbled upon Jillian Michaels - 30 Day Shred. Now, I've read about this workout on almost everyone's blog and I'll admit I've been both curious and skeptical about it (I'm kinda picky about workout videos). I gave it a little preview, tested out a few moves and I think this might be my fill in workout now that bootcamp is over. I think I'm going to try it out this week and see how it goes :)

Dinner this evening was total comfort food. I pan-seared a steak, topped it with some roasted grape tomatoes and a drizzle of sauce from the pan and served it up with a side of green beans and a baked sweet potato.
The roasted grape tomatoes were a last minute addition when I opened the fridge and saw I hadn't even touched the pint last week. They were a surprisingly nice touch with the steak!

Again, up close because I was secretly hoping to get an artsy shot. How do people take such fantastic close ups of food??
After dinner, I followed up with a cupcake from yesterday and a mug of my favorite tea:
This stuff tastes more complex than regular green tea...and it smells a little like popcorn when it's steeping :)

Green Beans with Garlic and Lemon Zest
green beans, blanched
salt
1 clove garlic, minced
drizzle of olive oil
lemon zest

Toss all ingredients together and add a sprinkle more lemon zest before serving.

Roasted Grape Tomatoes
grape tomatoes
olive oil
salt

Drizzle olive oil over tomatoes, sprinkle with salt and roast until tomatoes pop.