Chicken, Brussels Sprouts & Taters

All playing well together.

After Saturday's successful trip to the farmers' market, I created a pretty well balanced dinner with a bunch of ingredients currently in season. Some elements were more successful than others, but I've noted modifications in the recipes below. Hope you enjoy them!

To start things off...

Mixed Greens with Fennel and Roasted Beets
Mixed salad greens
1 beet, roasted and cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 avocado, sliced
1/4 c fennel, shaved

Vinaigrette
1 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp champagne vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp tarragon
salt
pepper

Whisk together all vinaigrette ingredients and toss a small amount with the mixed greens (you don't want to douse them in dressing). Add fennel, beets and avocado on top. Toss before serving.

The main course...

Green Garlic Chicken Roulade

2 chicken breasts, butterflied

1 stalk green garlic

2 1/2 tbsp plain greek yogurt

3 tbsp parmesan cheese, shredded

1 tbsp hot sauce

salt

pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Puree green garlic, yogurt, hot sauce and parmesan cheese together. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Spread 1/4 of mixture on each breast half, roll chicken up tightly and secure with two toothpicks. 

Place chicken in a baking dish, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165. Let rest for a few minutes and slice before serving.

Caramelized Onion and Brussels Sprout Hash
3/4 lb brussels sprouts, shredded
1/3 c caramelized onions
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp canadian bacon, finely chopped
1/3 c fennel, shaved
1/4 tsp lemon zest
salt
pepper

Heat butter in a saute pan over medium high heat. Brown bacon, then add fennel. Cook for 2 minutes before stirring in brussels sprouts. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3-5 minutes. Add onions and lemon zest, reduce heat to medium low and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
1-2 c fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp dill
freshly ground pepper

Heat oven to 400. Toss ingredients together and spread out on a baking sheet. Roast for 20-25 minutes.

March ingredients used: avocado, beet, brussels sprouts, fennel, green garlic, lemon, onion, potato

For dessert, Jamie and I snacked on a variety of baked goods we picked up on our walk through Chinatown:

Sweet Melon Cake (texture was a little weird...sort of like a shredded vegetable meets spongy texture) and Mini Custard Bun (not what I thought it was going to be, but not bad...moist cake with a tiny little custard bit inside)

Coconut Tart (Jamie was into this one, but I did not care for the texture. It was a moist spongy cake with a whole lot of shredded coconut) and Lotus Moon Cake (the ratio of filling to cake was weird and there was a salty surprise in the middle).

Personally, I wasn't that into any of the baked goods so I ended up snacking on one of the many oranges I collected that morning. It needed to be done.

Chocolicious

The other day I got home to a surprise package with a note from the cousin:

Hooray for treats! I guess living in the land of Ghirardelli, I tend to forget that there are other fancy chocolatiers out there. From the mini book/map in my box o chocolates:

Jacques Torres Chocolate products are hand crafted with premium ingredients selected by Master Pastry Chef Jacques Torress himself. Every ingredient that goes into a Jacques Torres confection is made from scratch - from the marzipan and the marshmallows to the peanut butter. Each piece is a celebration of chocolate in its purest sense, and never contains preservatives or additives.

Makes it sound super fancy, no? I was too nervous to ruin the delicately designed chocolates, but clearly you can see I had no problem eventually sampling a few :)

How adorable are these?? I've already savored the Got Milk Chocolate (milk chocolate ganache with a kiss of cognac), European Peanut Butter (homemade with fresh roasted peanuts and hazelnuts in milk chocolate), and Grand Cru (fine red wine complimented by rich dark chocolate). All deliciously rich and a great treat at the end of a rough day. 

I think they're worth sampling...maybe not such a great idea to have a box full just hanging out in the apartment though ;)

Spinach Artichoke Di...Pasta?

Temperatures dropped a bit today so I found myself craving a hearty, warm dinner. Unfortunately, I didn't get out of work until late-ish so I also needed something quick. Tonight's dinnertime experiment:

Spinach Artichoke Penne

1/2 lb penne, cooked according to box

1 c artichoke hearts, chopped

2 1/2 c baby spinach

1 small shallot, chopped

2 links chicken sausage (I used Aidells Artichoke & Garlic), chopped

1 tomato, diced

2 tbsp dry white wine

1 tbsp olive oil

light sprinkling chili flakes

slight dusting parmesan cheese

salt & pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Brown chicken sausage (I like mine pretty brown so they aren't too mushy) and stir in shallot. Cook shallot until translucent and add white wine. Cook for 1 minute before stirring in tomato and artichokes. Cook for 2-3 minutes and slowly stir in spinach. Cook until spinach begins to wilt, stir in chili flakes, parmesan, salt and pepper. Pour over penne and mix well. Serve immediately.

If you salt your pasta water properly, you really won't need the extra salt at the end. The artichokes, parmesan and sausage add just the right amount of salt and flavor to the dish! Quick, easy and delicious! It also doesn't hurt that it looks a little like springtime in a bowl :)

I got a couple packages in the mail today and one of them was from Foodbuzz's Tastemaker Program. It's been awhile since I've opted in to receive samples and I completely forgot about this one. Hooray fun surprise!

This sample came from Pure Dark and timing couldn't be better! I've had this random sweet craving lately, plus Jamie's on his way here at the end of the week...here's hoping these samples last ;p

I got a sample of the Classic Bark - sheets of immensely deep dark chocolate studded with cherries, roasted almonds and caramelized nibs and the Chocolate Slab - a thick slab of dark chocolate. AMAZING. I broke into the Bark and holy delicious.

It's just the right level of darkness for me and the nuts and nibs were great crunchy additions! Didn't get a cherry (at least I don't think I did), but that's fine with me...ahhh love!

Great start to the week! Well...it could have been an even better start to the week had I been able to get to the gym, but alas, it was not in the cards. It's probably for the best. After yesterday's run, my calves were crazy tight/sore...even after a decent stretching session! Ah well, looks like the rest of my evening will involve hanging out with the Stick. My trusty buddy.

Good news is that I'm finally getting back into running pretty consistently. It's still really frustrating doing super short runs and spending more time stretching/stick-ing than actually running, but I know it's all for the best. GAH. Anyone have good workout suggestions for someone with severe gym ADD?

Spirit fingers

Apparently I need to be around runners and races all the time...

As you know, I originally planned on running the California International Marathon as marathon #5 this past weekend. Of course, shortly after signing up and getting everything squared away, my legs decided they had other plans for me.

I couldn't let running buddy (lost count, but let's call her SF running buddy) travel to Sacramento alone...especially after I convinced her to run! So I packed my cheering gear and hopped on a train headed north to Sacramento.

I traded this familiar view (the ride between DC and Metropark)

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for this one (the ride between Emeryville and Martinez)

Just a couple notes:

1. Amtrak here is definitely not the same as Amtrak on the East Coast. This was like riding a double decker NJTransit or MARC train. So weird.
2. Downtown Sacramento on a Saturday afternoon...DEAD. Interesting.

I walked from the train station over to the expo before walking over to our hotel. Yes, I'm trying to load up on the walking. No, I don't like it.

SF running buddy (will now be referred to as SFRB) got in shortly after I did and we settled on an early dinner at Kru. I stuck with my standard rolls and tried a Spicy Tuna Hand Roll. Not really into it...way too much fish per bite.

Do you get crazy sweet cravings after eating sushi? I sure do. We did a little Yelp search and discovered nearby Mochii Yogurt. In addition to offering tasty (and pretty tart) fro-yo, they also make a ton of flavored mochi! I sampled the Tiger's Blood which was an interesting mix of fruity flavors...I think there was cherry and maybe a hint of berry and citrus?

I couldn't commit to it in my yogurt, so I went with the standard Tang with Yogurt Chips and Strawberries. There were a few too many chips and (I can't believe I'm saying this) the yogurt was a little too tart for me to finish my cup. Still tasty, though!

I also walked away with a little bag of mochi for you know, emergencies.

A bunch of the Yelp reviews said Mochii was pricey, but I was shocked at how much cheaper it was than say, Tuttimelon or any other place I've tried. Clearly I've been living in expensive cities for too long.

We were up SUPER early the next morning so SFRB could catch the shuttle to the start in nearby Folsom. I went back to sleep for an hour or so before beginning my run/walk to my cheering spot at mile 21. See, SFRB is speedy. Did I mention her goal was to qualify for Boston? Yeah, I didn't have a ton of time to get to 21.

I ran/walked a total of 8 miles (to mile 21 and back) and it felt AMAZING to get moving again. Part of me really wanted to run the whole thing, but I knew that even this was pushing it just a tiny bit. Ugh.

I soaked up the perfect weather (very light mist and 50 at the start, warming up to the mid 60s) and scenery...

Palm trees on one side, regular trees on the other and autumn leaves at my feet. So bizarre.

Crossing the bridge as the elite runners pass through (around mile 22)

A serene river photo

Stalking the crowd for SFRB!

After seeing all the lonely patches at the end of the race, part of me was glad I wasn't running. I've really only run big races and the crowd support is what gets me through the last few miles. Then again, another part of me was frustrated that I couldn't run...especially with the perfect conditions. Ah well. At least I was a cheerleader.

Oh, and SFRB...ROCKED the marathon. She knocked THIRTEEN minutes off her PR and BQ'd. O heeeeyy! I'm living vicariously through her :)

Too much soup?!

What do you think?

I think you guys know by now how much I enjoy a fall day of cooking and today was no exception. I had a 14 miler on deck (yep, back to training...California International Marathon in December!), but I ended up listening to my legs and scaled it back to a 10.5 miler. Definitely didn't do enough stretching/sticking post-Chicago.

Met Selin to cause some trouble at Sports Basement, but I only stuck to the necessary items:

(source)

Headlamp to, you know, see (Tuesday's run was not only a rough return to weekday running, but it was also a super dark one).

(source)

And arm warmers. I have a really hard time controlling my temperature when I run and I really really hate having to tie anything around my waist. These will do. Successful morning :)

The rain finally started pouring down when I got home (thank goodness) and it was perfect for the afternoon of cooking I had planned. I've wanted to make a big batch of soup for awhile now and I picked up some lentils the other day at Whole Foods.

So colorful!

Paired with a few other ingredients,

I made that soup happen.

Veggiful Lentil Soup

1 onion, chopped

1 leek, chopped

3 stalks celery, sliced

1 large carrot, sliced and halved

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 tbsp thyme

5 slices turkey bacon, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

10 c chicken broth

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tbsp hot pepper paste

1 1/2 c green lentils

1 1/2 c red lentils

parmesan rind

2 c broccoli rabe, chopped

Place lentils in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside as you prepare the rest of the soup.

Heat olive oil in a stockpot and brown bacon bits.

Add onions, leeks and celery; cook until softened. Add carrot and pepper paste and cook for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and thyme and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

Stir in lentils and pour in broth. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add parmesan rind and broccoli rabe and let simmer for another 20-30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

I thought this was a pretty good soup...not my favorite, but I'm sure it would be better with some homemade chicken stock. Maybe swap out the turkey bacon (which honestly doesn't have much flavor in my opinion) for some chunks of nice smokey keilbasa?

For dessert, I sliced into a dragon fruit for the first time

I'm obsessed with anything dragon fruit flavored and I love the way dragon fruit looks.

Plus, how can you not love a fruit that doubles as a bowl?

Sadly, I'm not really that into the taste. It definitely doesn't taste like artificial dragon fruit flavor. In fact, I think it tastes a lot like water :[

Luckily I had some red bean mochi to snack on. I don't know why but I LOVE LOVE LOVE anything made with glutinous rice. I guess it's not a texture most people enjoy, but there's just something about that chewy, sticky, gummy texture that I can't get enough of!

Nomnomnom.

As all this cooking and snacking took place, I also felt compelled to watch the Giants/Phillies game. Let it be known I usually don't watch baseball, but for some reason I've been following since I went to my first Giants game last month. What can I say? This city is glowing with orange and it's hard not to get caught up in it!

I planned on baking some blondies for book club tomorrow based on this recipe by Smitten Kitchen. It was incredibly easy and I ended up adding some 62% cacao dark chocolate chunks and 1/4 c bourbon to the mix. Also, since I don't have any brownie tins, I turned these into mini muffins.

They smelled SOOOO good as they baked and I was on the edge of my seat waiting for them to finish while watching this:

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The minute they won, I heard yelps and screams outside and lots of honking and celebrating. I love this city :)

I might even love it as much as I love snacking on these nuggets:

Yum. Not quite what I expected, but not bad. I was hoping for a slight bourbon taste, but I guess it all burned off? Maybe I should have done half without the bourbon and half with just to compare. Ah well. These puppies are all packed and ready for tomorrow!

How would you spend a rainy fall afternoon?

Monday, Monday...

Haaaappy Monday, kiddos! Why so chipper at 10pm on a Monday? Well, I did it again...late workout means I'm wired for the evening. Agh.

On tonight's workout menu: KnockOUT Pilates at the Lululemon on Union Street.

30 minutes of kickboxing followed by 30 minutes of pilates...all for the low low price of FREE. Hurrah! The email popped up in my inbox late last week and I figured I would give it a shot.

I was a little lethargic at the end of the work day (LONG day of staring at a spreadsheet) so I almost bailed on the class. I told myself to just go and check it out if not just for the potential to meet new people.

I got there early, filled out my waiver and wandered around a bit. There was actually someone else wandering around that hadn't taken a class there before and we got to chatting. Turns out she's a transplant from the East Coast too! Yay!

Class started with some fun music and I realized I was totally in over my head. I'm not exactly the most coordinated lady out there and I'm sure I looked like a fool and half-assed my first kickboxing attempt. However, I will be making a return visit next Monday. :)

A delicious post-workout perk was provided by MetroMint:

We had a choice of Peppermint, Orangemint and Chocolatemint. I was seriously tempted by the Chocolatemint, but stuck with the safe bet - Peppermint. It was actually quite refreshing and nice post-workout. I dunno if I'd go out of my way to buy a bottle, but I like knowing it exists. I bet the Chocolatemint tastes deeelicious.

Ok, let's take a quick rewind to capture some of the weekend's eats:

Saturday's second breakfast/first lunch - friend's homemade whoopie pie. I snacked on half since it was so deliciously rich and saved the rest for later. *drool*

No, I'm not going to start taking pictures of solo fruit. This was a random snack during the day and I was so amazed at the size of this apple. For real? It barely fit in my hand! Sad fact - it didn't taste like anything :(

Sunday morning brought my weekly walk to the Fort Mason Farmers Market. The vendor with the asian greens was there this time so naturally I picked up another bunch of kai-lan to be used later on this week, as well as a couple new varieties of peaches and nectarines. Did you know that there are something like 200 different varieties of peaches grown in California?? I think I've sampled maybe 5. HA.

I also grabbed some fresh green peas

I've never had fresh green peas before. Never ever. Now I don't think I can go back to frozen. D'oh!

I also needed some basil in my life so I picked this bunch up...

For a mere $1.50. :) It made my bag smell FAAAAHHHBULOUS.

Shortly after the farmers market, it was time to meet up with friends for some World Cup watching. Of course, while watching I started to daydream about what I was going to make with my farmers market finds. Is that normal? I think that's normal.

I pictured ribbons of egg noodles coated with a light cream sauce, lightly flavored with garlic and anchovies, and sprinkled with peas and basil. Of course I had to pick up a couple extra ingredients on the way home:

In hindsight, I think the pappardelle was too wide of a noodle for this dish, which is why I put fettuccine down for the recipe.

Creamy Egg Noodles with Basil and Peas

1/2 lb egg fettuccine, cooked according to package

1 pint fresh green peas, blanched

2 tbsp basil, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 anchovy fillets, minced

1 tbsp butter

1/2 tbsp anchovy oil

1/4 c heavy cream

1 tbsp white wine

3 tbsp chicken broth

salt

pepper

3 tbsp parmesan cheese, shredded

1 tsp lemon zest

Combine noodles, lemon zest and peas in a large bowl. Set aside.

Heat anchovy oil and butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Saute garlic and anchovies for 1 minute. Whisk in wine, heavy cream and chicken broth. Reduce heat to medium and continue whisking for 2-3 minutes. Stir in cheese and pour over noodles. Stir, add basil and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

My serving needed a little more salt so definitely taste test. Aside from the too wide pasta, I think this turned out fantastic. I might add another anchovy fillet just for fun, but it's not totally necessary. Super easy and fast meal :)

Ok, time to try to go to sleep. Five miler w/the running group tomorrow and a test run in sneaks. Nitey :)

Festivals!

Sunday was an absolutely gorgeous day - PERFECT for wandering around a street festival!

I woke up pretty early and started out the day with a spicy oat bowl (oats, cheese, MSF maple sausage patties, arugula, sriracha, salsa, egg).

Nothing says g'morning quite like a smile in a bowl!

I also made my first french press coffee

Does that look strangely light to you?? It sure tasted light.

I hung out and cleaned the apartment a bit before heading out to meet a friend by Fisherman's Wharf at noon. We had plans to check out the San Francisco Wine Market - a "farmer's market for wine" that takes place every Sunday. Tastings are free when you buy a $20 wine tote (just have to remember to bring it each time!). I stumbled upon this while searching for free things to do in San Francisco and we thought it would be fun to check out. Unfortunately, I missed that it opens at 1pm, not noon ha!

Friend and I wandered and stopped into the Winery Collective to see what sort of tastings they offered as we killed some time. The tastings were not free, but we learned about the wines of Lake County and I took note of some tasty, bold reds I would like to own one day. We also learned that the wine market was actually closed because of Father's Day and the North Beach Festival. Good to know!

We started wandering toward North Beach for the festival not really knowing what to expect. We saw everything fenced off at Washington Square Park and decided to commit to that location for some food, beer and spots on the grass. Can I just say that poor food decisions are always made after a wine tasting??

Yep, we ate all that - mozzarella sticks, 'deep fried chicken breast' (still can't figure out why they weren't just chicken fingers), 24 oz refreshing adult beverage, and a potato & spinach knish. All while soaking up the sun and scenery!

Beautiful!

After awhile we gave up on the grass and music and explored the streets of North Beach. We turned the corner onto Green Street and poof more food and people. Obviously we should have studied the map! At that point, we were starting to grow tired of the crowds and decided to head back to my place to hang out on the rooftop. Hey, gotta make use of it, right?

On the walk back, my eye caught a display of baked goods and something inside of each of us screamed 'Go inside! Buy some treats!'

M'okay.

We found ourselves inside Mara's Italian Pastries, drooling over cannolis and tiramisu. Yea, I might have a soft spot for Italian pastries. It might be my Jersey roots coming out. Prices and names are not listed for any of the items, so it was a 'let's hope we have enough cash' sort of thing. We got 2 cannolis, tiramisu and 2 chocolate rugelach (last minute addition b/c I LOVE chocolate rugelach) and hoofed it to my apartment. Check out the spread:

You bet I sent a picture to Jamie ;p

The tiramisu was excellent. The creamy part wasn't too dense or too sweet. The espresso ladyfingers - perfectly soaked and had a delicately sweet and only slightly bitter coffee taste. AAHHH! The cannolis were good, but I'd like to try the chocolate dipped one next time (I think that's the one I saw the most reviews for). Rugelach...I want more. Enough said.

We enjoyed those treats with some wine from the Winery Collective

and enjoyed the weather and views. An excellent end to the weekend :)

After all the weekend indulgences, all I wanted was a salad. So I made a mini one. Ok, who am I kidding. I made another massive salad! I promise, no more boring, big salads for dinner!

Tuesday night I made a super quick noodle stirfry for dinner. I was pressed for time, so as soon as I walked in the door, I started cooking. 24 minutes later, I had a hot bowl o dinner ready! What was this ridiculously fast dinner? Spicy Peanutty Noodles with Eggplant

Spicy Peanutty Noodles with Eggplant

1 tbsp peanut butter

1 tbsp hoisin sauce

1 tsp mirin

2 tsp chili garlic paste

1 1/2 tbsp chicken broth or water

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp olive oil

1 c baby bok choy, sliced

1/2 c baby spinach

1/2 block high protein tofu, cubed

1 package tofu shirataki noodles, boiled

4 large shiitake mushrooms, sliced

1 1/2 c eggplant, diced

1/2 small onion, thinly sliced

Combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Saute onion and eggplant with a tablespoon of peanut sauce until eggplant begins to soften. Add mushrooms and bok choy and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add tofu and peanut sauce. Stir and lower heat to medium. Let cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in spinach and shirataki noodles, cover and cook until spinach wilts. Serve immediately.

Not bad for a totally random experiment! In hindsight, I'd probably peel the eggplant since a couple pieces were still a little tough after cooking. If I had more time I'd cook them for a little longer with the peel. I had no idea I bought tofu shirataki noodles, but I really liked them. They were only a little different than regular shirataki noodles...maybe a little tofu overkill in this dish, but I'd buy them again.

I had the leftovers the next day for lunch - still yummy!! Hooray for my first noodley stir fry!

To counteract the super savory sauce, I snacked on some cherries for dessert.

Good thing I ate them because one more day and I think they'd be too ripe!