Coconut Lime Chicken

 

I love dishes so wonderful you feel like your taste buds won the lottery.  But, stickler that I am, the dishes also have to be healthy and make my ever so humble guests hold up their plates and whine, “Please, sir.  May I have some more?” But unlike the hardhearted characters of Oliver!, I happily fill their greedy gullets and put another spot of wine in their glasses.  

 

With this recipe, your guests will be beggin’ you for an autograph!

 

I’m telling you, lads and lassies, if you pass up this dish, you’ve passed up a mortal’s taste of heaven!  Best of all, puttin’ the sauce together is a snap and can be done a day ahead, covered and stored in the frig.

 

Now stop hesitating and let’s get on with it!

 

Coconut Lime Chicken

 

1 cup whole fat coconut milk

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup white wine (for deglazing the pan)

Zest and juice from one lime

1 cup red onion, diced

3 tablespoons of pickled jalapenos, diced

½ teaspoon grated ginger (I used fresh ginger, of course)

1-2 teaspoons of corn starch or rice flour (I used rice flour)

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

chopped fresh cilantro or chimichurri (see recipe below) 

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Getting’ It Together

Blend all ingredients except chicken, wine, and cilantro.

 

Heat a slosh of olive oil in a pan and lightly brown both sides of the chicken thighs. Put them aside. Pour off any excess oil.

 

Note:  Don’t worry that the chicken is not fully cooked. It will be chopped, added to the sauce and cooked until it is done. Leaving it undercooked means more juices will flavor the sauce.

 

Now splash in a cup of white wine to deglaze the pan, and add the brown bits to the sauce.

 

Put the sauce in a large pan and cook until thickened, less than five minutes.

 

Cut the thighs into bite-sized pieces and add to the sauce. 

 

Cook until the chicken is done.

 

Sprinkle cilantro, or chimichurri on top and serve over rice or butternut squash squares, or sweet potatoes.  I served on halves of baked sweet potato.

 

Chimichurri Recipe  (This recipe is good place to start, but I make it differently every time I make it!)

 

1cup diced sweet onion

 

 3 garlic cloves thin sliced

 

½ cup seasoned rice vinegar

 

2-3 packed cups cilantro

 

a few slices of pickled jalapeños to taste

 

Salt to taste

 

Put everything in a blender and blend to the desired consistency.  Add a bit more vinegar if needed.

I served the Coconut Lime Chicken with a side of fresh Brussel sprouts, tossed with some shreds of carrots and cherry tomatoes, cooked altogether in chicken broth.

Now wasn’t that delicious and deliciously easy?  Didn’t your guests sing your praises?  Aren’t you glad you didn’t spend another hundred bucks in a restaurant tonight?

 

Well, I’m always happy to help. Kompai! Cheers! Cin-cin! Prost!

 

Now, don’t forget to subscribe!

 

 

 

 

Sweet Potato, Salsa and Egg Breakfast

 

My faithful readers will realize that my blog is quickly becoming a food and recipe blog.  That’s not my intend, per se. I wake up hungry and with a will of iron, I force myself to hit the bike trail or take long beach walks.  And, these days, seldom do I settle into an arm chair and sip a libation before noon….well, I cheat once in a while, but doctors agree that Jim Beam is good for you…or is that red wine….or maybe Mimosas and Bloody Marys.  So many doctors and so many opinions. I say, doctors are like lawyers.  Find one who agrees with you and go with it.  Why bother with consternation and pay good money to disagreeable people.

 

And then there’s the opinion of my significant other.  Well, I won’t bother you with that either.  She’s young and beautiful and I’ve almost got her student loans paid for. 

 

But, I’ve strayed too far afield.  Let’s get back to recipes that are tasty and will make you feel 25 again, even if you’re already ripening to 29.  And for the rest of us, this one will keep you in the tip top peak of senility. 

 

Sweet Potato, Salsa and Egg Breakfast

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

2 medium sized sweet potatoe

1–2 eggs per serving

olive oil

sea salt and pepper

 

For the Tomato Avocado Salsa:

1/4 cup minced red onion

1 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro, leaves and stems

2 Teaspoons minced jalapeno

sea salt to taste

2 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

2 big handfuls of mixed cherry tomatoes, quartered, seeds removed (see note)

2 Tablespoons oil cured, sundried tomatoes, chopped

1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and cube

Olive oil

 

NOTE:  I rolled my sliced cherry tomatoes on paper towels to remove the seeds and keep the salsa from being too watery..

 

PUTIN IT TOGETHER:

Preheat the oven to 425ºF.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray the paper with olive oil.

 

Wash the sweet potatoes and cut off both ends. Cut them in half lengthwise, and place them face down on the parchment paper. Roast in the oven for about 25 minutes or until soft.  

 

While the sweet potatoes are cooking, make the salsa. 

 

Mix all the prepped ingredients. Set the salsa aside to let the flavors marinate while the potatoes finish cooking.

 

Heat a medium sized skillet over medium heat, and add a small amount of  olive oil. Add the eggs to the heated pan one at a time, and season with salt and pepper. Place a lid over the skillet for over-easy eggs and cook until the eggs reach your desired doneness.

 

Serve the eggs over the warm sweet potatoes and load on the fresh salsa!

 

Now that you’ve gotten back from your bike ride, it’s time to shower, shave, give your significant other a kiss, if the two of you are still speaking.  Dress yourself, find an easy chair and grab that Jim Wine or Mimosa Beam.  It’s a late lunch anyway, so it can wait a little longer.

 

 

Tuscan Bread Soup, Ribollita

 

Tuscan Bread Soup, Ribollita

 

Lately, my three faithful readers may have noticed…sobriety is a key to whether they noticed or not….that I’ve dwelt on Italian food, and with good reason.

 

Far and away, the most important point is that Italian cuisine stands proudly shoulder-to-shoulder with French cuisine in the ever important Stroud taste test, but with one important factor that tips the scale.

 

Let’s see…hummmm….how many clichés and trite phrases so far?  I count four, but I’m just getting started.  Whoops, there’s one more!

 

Ok, back to the important factor:  Italian recipes are one hellova lot easier to make.  Tuscan Bread Soup is exactly what I mean.  Sure, there’s some dicing to do and not much of that. And best of all, the ingredients are probably in your kitchen already, but if not, it’s still only a very quick trip to the grocers.

 

Tuscan bread soup is also very adaptable. Want it vegetarian style?  Just sub vegetable stock for chicken stock. Gotta be adaptable.  After all, this was a dish for the poor, featuring stale bread.

 

One more thing, what does Ribollita mean in English?  It comes from the Italian verb ribollire, to boil, or to boil again.

 

But, I know you’re hungry, so let’s stroll into the kitchen, pour ourselves some vino and sharpen the chef’s knife.

 

Ingredients

 

1½ cups of split, then thinly diced carrots

3 cups thinly diced celery

3 cups finely cut onions  (I used a large sweet onion)

2 cans cannelloni beans, rinsed

1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes (I used Polpa di Pomodoro brand.  Grown in the U.S., but very similar in taste to Italian tomatoes)

Bits of kale leaves (about 8 cups), torn off the stalks.  Some prefer to chop, but I prefer to tear by hand to prevent collateral damage, especially if I’ve been drinking heavily.

2 32oz cartons organic chicken broth

5 slices of pumpernickel bread, lightly toasted and torn into bits

Sloshes of olive oil as needed

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Sprinkle some grated Parmesan on top, it you must. I didn’t.  This soup has a wonderfully robust flavor all by itself.

 

You’ll note, there is no garlic in this recipe. After a lovely trip to northern Italy, I found out that in the northern regions seldom are onions and garlic used in the same dish.

 

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2017/04/lunch-with-daniela-cinque-terre-part-ii.html

I already hear the question:  Why pumpernickel and why toasted? Didn’t the Italian peasants use white bread?  Yes, they did use white bread, BUT, latest nutrition advice I’ve read says rye flour is better for you.  If you disagree, don’t worry.  I’m married.  I ‘m used to it. As for the ‘toasted’ part, I’d run out of wine waiting for the bread to go stale and a light toasting does the job just as well.

 

Another question came up:  How much is a ‘slosh’?  Well, it’s right between a little bit and WHOOPS!

 

Puttin’ it Together:

 

Slosh some olive oil in a large pot at low to medium heat.  Add the carrots, celery and onion and cook them slowly. There should be just enough oil for the vegetables to slightly glisten, but not swim for their lives. 

 

When the onions are limp (about 7 minutes), add the beans, tomatoes, kale and broth. Turn the heat up slightly and cook another ten minutes. You want the kale leaves well cooked and tender. 

 

 Add the torn bread. Stir well, breaking up the bread and allowing the soup to thicken.  Cook until it’s the thickness you like.  If you overdo it, just add more broth.

 

Add salt and pepper to taste. 

 

Salute!  Cin Cin! (chin chin)  In Italian and France, Cin-Cin means something like Health or Cheers.  

 

Note:  Where did the expression Cin-Cin come from?  I don’t know.  Nobody else does either. Fu-git-aboudid and have another glass of delicious Italian vino.

 

Spaghetti alla Nerano (Spaghetti with fried Zucchini)

 

Spaghetti alla Nerano  (Spaghetti with fried Zucchini) 

 

Another wonderful pasta dish from Campania, Italy.  Where the hell is Campania?  Check out the map below and let your thoughts drift to well known Campania  places, such as Naples, Capri, Mount Vesuvius, the ruins of Pompeii and let’s not forget the delicious cuisine spread throughout the region.

Had the best pizza of my life in Naples! No other pizza comes even remotely close. Click on the link below to see the Naples pizza experience.  Can’t begin to duplicate it in my home oven, but I’m going to show you another Campania recipe you can reproduce!

 

Pizza in Naples

 

So, let’s move on to today’s recipe.  After you taste it, you’ll dream about it.

 

Spaghetti alla Nerano

 

First off, I didn’t use spaghetti because I didn’t have any.  I substituted Linguini and it worked out just fine.  

 

Ingredients

 

1 package of spaghetti, cooked as per package directions

2 lbs zucchini, sliced thinly

Olive oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

salt for pasta and to taste

7 ounces Provolone cheese, either grated or chopped finely (I used the chopped method because the only Provolone I could find was sliced)

A handful of fresh basil, chopped

 

Puttin’ it together

 

Fry the zucchini slices in olive oil until browned.  Put the zucchini on paper towels to soak up some of the grease.  

Prepare the pasta.

 

When the pasta is almost ready, put the zucchini in a colander and dip the colander in the pasta water for only 4-5 seconds.  After that, chop the zucchini a little bit. You’re not making mush, just cross-slicing the zucchini to spread the flavor when you toss it with the pasta.

 

Strain the pasta, reserving a cup of pasta water to use if the pasta gets too dry.

 

Add a little bit of olive in a pan and the two cloves of garlic.  Cook until the cloves are browned.  Remove from the pan and chop them roughly.

Put the pasta in the oiled pan, then add the zucchini and the provolone.  Toss well, adding pasta water if necessary.  Add the chopped garlic and toss some more.  Serve in bowls with fresh basil on top.  Drizzle some of the garlic-flavored olive oil over everything.

 

Pop the cork on that Italian white wine…..hold on….pop two corks!

 

I served mine with baby broccoli, pan roasted in a bit of garlic oil, with a quarter cup of water added to steam the broccoli.  I cooked it until the water evaporated.

 

Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of the recipe! Your jovial guests will no doubt be speaking Italian and singing your praises by the end of the meal!

 

Grazie mille!

Perfetto!

Più Vino!

 

 

 

 

Younger Next Year, Part II: A Second Glance

 

Younger Next Year, Part II:  A Second Glance

 

If you and I are both lucky, you glanced through my first review of Younger Next Year.  Possibly, you found some good information, but decided to wait a bit, or got distracted by that cold beer in the frig.

Younger Next Year, Part I

 

Maybe you just need some more details.  After all, a new you is not just about exercise, but about being healthy and happy. You are in luck! As usual, I do everything I possibly can for my three faithful readers.

 

First two rules: 1. Get a physical checkup before you start.

                               2.  Unless you’re used to exercising, start slowly.

 

Let’s lean a little heavier into the science of exercise.  In a nutshell:  Your body decays everyday.  The book lays out specifically what forms decay.  For now I’ll stick to what fits under the nutshell.

 

According to Dr. Lodge, growing old and weak is not normal.  Cells in your body die every single day.  Natural chemicals clean up the mess and also, if you exercise, the same chemicals call on other body chemicals to come behind and repair things.  But, without exercise, there is no call for repair.  This is such a brief description that I’m almost ashamed to write it.  Younger Next Yearexplains the process in more precise detail.

 

But, your exercise program builds up your cells, your muscles. In other words, it repairs the body. 

 

Let’s step back a moment and quickly discard two normal approaches:  #1 – I’ll try it for a while and see how I like it.  #2 – I’m too busy.

 

#1 is a no win.  Start slowly, but commit to exercise for the rest of your life.  Chris Crowley relates the story of a middle age guy, a hundred pounds over weight, who could only walk a hundred yards. But he DID walk a hundred yards and did it everyday, losing weight and building up to a five mile walk!

 

#2 is a whimp-out.  At the age of 50 or older, surely you can arrange your day to get 45 minutes of heart pumping exercise.  We’re all blessed with the same 24 hours each day.

 

The authors use the analogy of tearing down an old house and building a new one.  As a house sits, it decays.  You bring in a wrecking crew to tear it down.  Then you bring in the construction crew to build your new house.  A sedentary person never brings in the construction crew.

 

Dr. Lodge explains the science. “With the chronic stress of modern life, the chemistry of inflammation persists, but the renovation never gets started.  Decay becomes a career path for your body, and your blood itself becomes an inflammatory caustic stew.”

 

Here’s the good news:  “You can control the cycle.  Commuting, loneliness, apathy, too much alcohol and TV all trigger the inflammatory part of the cycle (the decay).  But, daily exercise, joy, play, engagement, challenge and closeness all trigger the crucial repair.”

 

Don’t know about you and my faithful readers, but I love knowing I can control the situation.

 

Cynics may sneeringly ask, “So, what the hell do you do?”  I ignore their cynicism.  Been bike riding for about a year and my body keeps pushing me to pedal faster.  I belong to the local YMCA and swam until the cold weather hit. Now that warmer weather is just around the corner, I’ll be at it again.  Haven’t jogged in years, so I followed what the exercise magazines tell you to do. I’ve start off with a short run and short recovery walk, run and walk, run and walk, for about an hour.  If you’re lucky enough to live by a beach, it’s easy.  For me, this has turned out to be a blast!  Younger Next Year explains a host of exercises that will do the job.  Just pick one or two or three you like.

 

Don’t forget hitting the weights and those push-ups and pull-ups.  Both are easy ways to work the upper body, build strength, and call in that construction crew.

 

Yes, the book also gives interesting perspectives on nutrition and how it affects your blood, your heart, and the rest of your body.  It also convers answers to a host of questions:  Is a heart attack really a heart attack, or is what we call a heart attack really something else?  And, how are “heart attacks” and strokes similar?  Best of all:  How exercise and nutrition help you avoid both! 

 

Younger Next Year packs in humor, science, and loads of encouragement.  NOW, grab a copy of Younger Next Year, get motivated, and start building a NEW YOU!

 

News about one of the authors, Chris Crowley, who was 70 years old when the book was published.  He is now 86 and still skiing the double black slopes!

 

 

Soffritto: Classic Italian Cuisine

 

I’m going to show you how to make my rendition of a mainstay of the Tuscan table, Soffritto.  Long in tradition and even longer in flavor, it’s the best pasta I’ve ever tasted.  I drool just thinking about the delicious flavors that spread so lusciously over al dente pasta.

 

But, before I give my three faithful readers the very simple and yet astoundingly satisfying recipe, I’m going to tell you a source that will  introduce you to hundreds of Italian foods, as well as give you a good start on planning your wonderful (post-Covid-19) vacation. 

 

I’ve always said the French can teach anyone how to eat well.  I make an exception for the Italians who can match the French step for cooking step, with a hell-of-a-lot more humor and conviviality!  In Italy, a party blooms wherever two or more Italians gather to sip and sup!

 

Are you familiar with the actor Stanley Tucci?  He has a fun filled and inspiring eponymous show, on CNN-on-demand, whose full title is “Stanley Tucci Searching for Italy.”  

 

Tucci, who travels across the 20 regions of Italy and who proudly proclaims “I’m Italian on both sides,” invites viewers to meet interesting people who live for food, preparing it, growing it, maintaining the region’s traditions and who give you quick as a wink culinary ideas. In short, it’s a blast!

 

In one episode, in Tuscany, where Tucci explores a dozen wonderful dishes, one dish quickly caught my eye for two reasons:  It was described as the heart of ‘poor food’ and looked incredibly simple to make.  Once again, I call upon my three faithful readers to affirm my kitchen motto:  I don’t make anything that’s difficult!  An addend is:  I don’t make anything YOU can’t make in your kitchen.

 

But, Soffritto, loosely translated as sautéed, goes beyond simple, into the realm of “it’s so simple it can’t be good!”  Oh ye of little faith and even less imagination.

 

Another thing about Soffritto, it is completely vegetarian and can also be vegan if you leave off the cheese, or substitute that semi-cheese that really wants to be cheese, but hasn’t got the guts.

 

Ready to cook and eat?  One warning: These simple ingredients do take some time to become out-of-sight delicious.

 

Soffritto

 

Ingredients

 

2 carrots, peeled and minced

1 onion, also minced

3 stalks celery, minced

Olive Oil and salt (more on these…keep reading!)

Feel free to double or triple the ingredients

28 oz can of Italian crushed tomatoes, plus any other tomatoes you care to add.

Pasta of your choice, but not a stringy pasta like spaghetti or linguini.

 

Why do I specify Italian tomatoes?  Two reasons:  depth of flavor and a natural sweetness.  You will be amazed!

 

A note about Olive Oil.  You will use a slosh of it while cooking and also pour some to put in the pasta water, and lightly sprinkle some over the cooked pasta when serving.

 

A note about salt.  Tuscans do not use salt on this dish.  In the bad old days when Italy (which did not become the united country of Italy until 1861.) was a collection of city-states and kingdoms, Pisa controlled the salt trade.  Citizens of Florence indignantly refused to lower themselves and pay Pisa’s tax on salt.  However, to assuage my un-traditional taste buds, I added a little salt.

 

Puttin’ It Together!

 

Put the diced vegetable in a large pan, add a slosh of olive oil and cook slowly until the vegetables are soft.  This took about 45 minutes.

 

Add the can of crushed tomatoes and cook another 45 minutes, without covering the pan.  Allow the mixture to thicken.

NOTE:  I made a big batch of Soffritto, so I used four plump Roma tomatoes, three heirloom tomatoes, diced them and added them after the vegetables were soft, then cooked the tomatoes down before adding the Italian crushed tomatoes, then cooked longer to once again thicken the sauce.

 

Serve over al dente pasta, add a delicate slosh of olive oil and sprinkle grated Parmesan or another dry Italian cheese over the top.

 

I had this for supper and my household supervisor preferred that I not heat it up again for breakfast.  I bit my tongue and swore softly.

 

However, despite the possibility of objections, there will be Soffritto for lunch and dinner.

 

When you try this dish, don’t forget to hoist a full glass of Italian white wine and add Mille Grazie! to your blog comments!  And be sure to tell your friends!