Taking a hiatus

It's been tons of fun sharing my cooking and eating adventures on this blog, but I've just been too busy with work lately to keep it up on a regular basis, so I'm taking a brief hiatus. I still have plenty of pictures and recipes to share though, including my newfound obsession with ice cream making (mmm...yum!), and I'll be sure to post whenever I can. :)

Marrakesh Vegetable Curry

I made this for dinner a few weeks ago and boy, was it good! The original recipe called for eggplant, which I can't stand for the life of me, so instead I used an extra sweet potato (yum!) and zucchini. This recipe yielded about 8 servings, so took me a while to finish up :P, but I actually didn't mind eating all those leftovers for an entire week!

MARRAKESH VEGETABLE CURRY

Ingredients:

• 2 sweet potatos, peeled and cubed
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped (I used about 1/2 pound of baby carrots)
  
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 tablespoon sea salt
• 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
• 1/4 cup blanched almonds
• 2 zucchinis, sliced
• 2 tablespoons raisins
• 1 cup orange juice
• 10 ounces spinach

Directions:

1. In a large Dutch oven place sweet potato, peppers, carrots, onion, and three tablespoons oil. Saute over medium heat for 5 minutes.
2. In a medium saucepan place 3 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, turmeric, curry powder, cinnamon, salt and pepper and saute over medium heat for 3 minutes.
3. Pour garlic and spice mixture into the Dutch oven with vegetables in it. Add the garbanzo beans, almonds, zucchini, raisins, and orange juice. Simmer 20 minutes, covered.
4. Add spinach to pot and cook for 5 more minutes. Serve with rice.
   

Yields: 6-8 servings

Links:
Original recipe

Cherry Tomato Salad

This is one of my favorite salads that's super easy to make. Lord knows I need recipes like this when life gets real busy!

CHERRY TOMATO SALAD

Ingredients

• 40 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup pitted and sliced green olives
• 1 (6 ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced
• 2 green onions, minced
• 3 ounces pine nuts
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a big bowl, combine cherry tomatoes, green olives, back olives, and spring onion.
2. In a dry skillet, toast pine nuts over medium heat until golden brown, turning frequently. Stir into tomato mixture.
3. In a small bowl, mix together olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, and oregano. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour over salad, and gently stir to coat. Chill for 1 hour.

Links:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cherry-Tomato-Salad/Detail.aspx

Shrimp Paulista

I've been super busy lately, so I've been attracted to dishes that are relatively quick and easy to make. Here is one I quite enjoyed. I paired it with some rice and veggies and made an easy meal out of it.

SHRIMP PAULISTA

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
• 8 cloves garlic, minced, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, divided
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Place shrimp in a medium nonreactive bowl and toss with lime juice, 1/4 cup cilantro, half the garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp, marinade and remaining garlic; cook until the shrimp are just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; add the remaining 1/4 cup cilantro, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper. Toss to combine.

Yields: 6 servings

Links:
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/shrimp_paulista.html

Casa Oaxaca (Washington, DC)

Last week I met up with a couple of friends at Casa Oaxaca in Adams Morgan for dinner. I had never been there before, but suggested that we try it out since it was featured in my eat.shop guide and sounded interesting. Once again, eat.shop didn't let me down. :) Casa Oaxaca doesn't have a big menu, but everything looked so good it took me a long time before I finally decided on the Mole Coloradito:

Light red mole served over grilled beef.

My buddies both got the De Vegetales (which I had also considered):

Squash blossom, zucchini and fresh corn Sauteed in Hierba Santa oil.

I loved the Mole Coloradito, and though I didn't try the De Vegetales, it looked awesome and my friends both thought it was delicious. We had also gotten some guacamole which was great as well. Casa Oaxaca is definitely worth a repeat visit!

Pertinent info:
Address: 2106 18th St NW, Washington, DC 20009
Phone: (202)387-2272
Nearest Metro: Dupont Circle (Red line)

Rosemary Chicken Thigh

This recipe is an old favorite of mine that appeared in the 1998 Milk Calendar. The outside of the chicken thigh is a little crunchy, while the inside is moist and tender. I've always found Milk Calendar recipes to require minor adjustments to bring out the taste, so the recipe below reflects the adjustments I've made.

ROSEMARY CHICKEN THIGHS

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) cornstarch
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) minced fresh rosemary or 1 tsp (5 mL) dried
  
• 1 cup (250 mL) milk
• 3 cups (750 mL) fresh bread crumbs
• 3/4 cup (125 mL) grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) minced fresh parsley or 2 tsp (10 mL) dried
• 1/4 cup (50 mL) butter, melted
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) all-purpose flour
• 8 skinless chicken thighs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
2. In a small saucepan, whisk together egg, cornstarch, mustard and rosemary. Add milk and whisk over medium-high heat until mixture thickens. Remove from heat; set aside.
3. In a bowl, toss together bread crumbs, cheese, parsley and melted butter. Mix well.
4. Scoop flour into a pie plate. Coat each chicken thigh with flour, then dip into the milk mixture covering completely and finally roll well in the crumb mixture. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet.
5. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until crispy and golden. Serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, if desired.

Yields: 4 servings

Link:
Original recipe

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Sage Corn Bread Crust

This was the first time I had cooked pork tenderloin, and may even have been my first time eating it, and it turned out delicious so I'm glad I tried it out!

ROASTED PORK TENDERLOIN WITH SAGE CORN BREAD CRUST

Ingredients:

• 1 (1-lb) pork tenderloin
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 corn toaster cakes, crumbled, or 1 cup crumbled corn muffin
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh sage
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Pat pork dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Heat oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown pork, turning, about 4 minutes. Transfer to an oiled shallow baking pan.
4. Add butter to skillet and cook garlic over moderate heat, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove pan from heat and stir in crumbs, sage, and salt and pepper to taste.
5. Spread mustard over pork and pat half of seasoned crumbs onto mustard, then sprinkle with remaining seasoned crumbs. Roast in middle of oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted diagonally 2 inches into meat registers 155°F, 20 to 25 minutes. (Check after 15 minutes to see if crumbs are getting too dark; if they are, tent loosely with foil.) Transfer to a cutting board, then tent loosely with foil and let stand 10 minutes before slicing (temperature will rise to 160°F).

Yields: 4 servings

Link:
Original recipe