Cycling Foodie

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One of my culinary “specialties” when I was kid was Chicken Cacciatore. I’m not sure when or where I first had it, but it inspired me to find my own way of preparing it. Growing up we ate lots of spaghetti and lots of chicken legs. So, why not together?

Initially I started out with jar of prepared spaghetti sauce, whichever brand my mom happened to buy (which was whatever brand was on sale). I simply browned the chicken legs in a little oil in our large Revereware skillet, then poured in the jar of spaghetti sauce and probably also a can of tomato paste. I would cook this on medium high heat until the sauce is heated through, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the chicken is cooked through and falling off the bones. We served this over spaghetti and generously garnished with that grated Parmesan cheese that comes in the shiny cardboard tube.

Over the years, my Chicken Cacciatore has evolved quite a bit to a fully from scratch dish including fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, fresh herbs, and sometimes onion or fennel, freshly grated cheeses, and NO pasta sauce from a jar. Perhaps a bit of tomato paste, depending on how much liquid the fresh tomatoes produce, but that’s the only non-scratch ingredient in the sauce.

Chicken Cacciatore … recipe to follow later.

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Seafood Stew

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large fennel bulb
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 to 2 pounds of fresh tomatoes
1 to 1 1/2 pounds fresh wild-caught seafood (I like cod or snapper, prawns, scallops)
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 or more large fresh thyme sprigs
1 large bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon (or more, to taste) red chili flakes
2 tablespoons tomato paste (optional)
Salt to taste
Chopped fresh thyme for garnish

Assemble and prepare all ingredients. Clean, trim, and chop the fennel into about 1/2-inch cubes. Rinse tomatoes and roughly chop into about 1-inch cubes. Rinse and pat dry fish and seafood, cut fillets into about 1-inch cubes.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat in a heavy bottomed non-reactive pan. Saute the fennel over medium-high heat until it begins to caramelize a bit. Add fennel seeds and tomatoes, cover and simmer on low until the tomatoes soften and the sauce is heated through. This will take about 30 minutes or so. At this stage, I often puree the tomato and fennel mixture to make a more smooth sauce, but you can leave it as is or puree just a bit for a more rustic stew (as shown below).

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat in a heavy bottomed non-reactive pan. Add the seafood and saute until it’s about half-way cooked through. Add the wine and cook about 5 to 10 minutes to cook down the wine a bit. Add the tomato-fennel sauce to the pan along with the fresh thyme, bay leaf, and chili flakes. Stir gently to combine.

Cover and cook on low heat for about 30 minutes until the fish is cooked through. Season to taste with salt. If your sauce is too thin for your liking, add the tomato paste and stir gently to combine.

Remember to remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs before serving.

Serve with a good hearty brown rice, or on top of some freshly made homemade croutons. Garnish with a bit of feta cheese, if desired.

To serve, I like to place some homemade croutons (still warm from the oven is best!), sprinkle a little feta over the warm croutons, then ladle some stew over top. If I’m feeling decadent, I’ll add a little more feta and chopped fresh thyme on top as a garnish.

This makes about 4 servings.

I’ve been promising this recipe for a while, haven’t I? This stew is light and healthy, but also hearty and satisfying. A bit of heat from the chili flakes lends a warm comfort. Apologies for the lousy picture, I assure you this tastes better than it looks in this photo.

Homemade Croutons

Day old bread – a good artisan bread is best
Good quality olive oil
Salt

Cut the bread into bite-sized cubes and place in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and toss well to combine.

Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven until they’re golden brown. You’ll want to give the pan a few shakes now and then, and turn the cubes with a spatula so they’ll cook evenly.

Remove from the oven and place the baking sheet on a cooling rack. Sprinkle the croutons with a little salt – be careful to not over salt.

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I cooked a heart healthy Thanksgiving dinner for my mom and sister this year.

• Pork Tenderloin, marinated in fresh rosemary, thyme, olive oil, a splash of white wine
• Roasted Yams & Carrots
• Roasted Asparagus
• Steamed Haricot Verts

Heart healthy, comforting, and delicious!

I did not get to ride on Thanksgiving (the first time in 10 years!), but I did get a few walks in throughout the day. The weather was crisp and clear, and the light was bright and cheery.

This burst of color caught my eye.

Strolling along a creek side path in Santa Rosa..

Alas, the Holiday weekend comes to an end and I’ve got to head back to work. Now the count down to Christmas break begins! More blogs soon. I’ve got a few new recipes to post.

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It’s really hard to believe that Thanksgiving is tomorrow. I’m cooking for family. It will be a pretty basic and healthy menu: Pork tenderloin. Asparagus. Green beans with mushrooms (no, not the ooey gooey casserole with canned mushroom soup and canned crunchy onions on top, but my healthy “stir-steamed” version). Roasted yams. Mom’s coleslaw. Mom is making pumpkin pie, so no dessert for me. That’s fine – I won’t have worked hard enough to earn it, so … dessert will have to wait for the weekend.

I’ll also cook something for dinner tonight and I’m thinking my seafood stew will be a hit. I’m just realizing that I have yet to post that recipe. It is a simplified version of this cioppino recipe. One of these days I will post that recipe.

Here are a few photos from my early morning walk … it was quite chilly out there in Davis this morning!

Thistles

Just my shadow and me, out for a chilly morning stroll.

Can you tell I like Autumn leaves?

Love my sunrise walks. I’m looking forward to sunrise bike rides again. Sigh…

There are lots of details to attend to before I head out for the holiday, so I’d best be getting to them. Here’s wishing you a wonderful, safe, and happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy in good health!

I am really sad that I won’t be able to ride tomorrow. It will be the first Thanksgiving in 10 years that I have not cycled in the morning. Hopefully I will be able to make up for it over the weekend!

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This recipe is based on this Apple Oatmeal Quickbread recipe. I made just a few changes.

Apple Oatmeal Muffins

1 cup non-fat Greek Yogurt, plain
1 cup whole oats
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
2/3 cup white whole wheat flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup unbleached white flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large apple (about 2 cups diced apple – peeled or not, your choice)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare a standard size muffin tin. You can line with muffin cups, or simply coat with some non-stick spray.

Mix together oats and yogurt. Set aside and allow to sit for 5 or more minutes.

Whisk together eggs, oil, turbinado sugar. Set aside.

Whisk together flours, soda, spices, and salt.

Dice apple and add to yogurt/oat mix.  Stir in the egg mixture and combine well.  Add dry ingredients and stir until well incorporated, but be careful to not overmix. This batter will be stiff.

Portion equally into prepared muffin tins and bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.

Allow to cool briefly in muffin tins, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Enjoy warm!

Wholesome and comforting, warm and spicy.

The hearty whole grains and spicy warmth will fuel you for a chilly morning ride.

Enjoy!

 

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Mmm … doesn’t this look like a good thing to have on a chilly, rainy Sunday?

Yesterday was ride day, with about 57 miles Davis-Dixon-Winters-Davis.

Today is a day of trying to get caught up on a few things. Wishing I had something fun to do today, rather than just chores. I might play in the kitchen a bit later. It is the perfect soup and bread making day – chilly, rainy, breezy.

Vegetable Soup with Spicy Chicken Andouille Sausage

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I don’t often eat eggs for breakfast, but when I do, they have to be perfect.

Fried Egg, Avocado, Homemade Focaccia

And this was perfect.

Happy Monday!

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… makes for refreshing cycling!

Welcoming the much, much needed rain!

The rain is almost here!

I made it home just in time to enjoy the sweet, gentle rain from inside. Although, when properly attired, I do enjoy cycling in a gentle rain. It’s refreshing!

This weather has me wanting to make a spicy seafood stew and some homemade bread. Mmm … doesn’t that sound good? I’ve got the base for the stew started and some focaccia dough rising.

The stew is a simplified version of this cioppino recipe.

Enjoy your Sunday! I hope you have the chance to ride and/or relax today.

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I rode just shy of 100 miles this weekend: 64 miles on Saturday and 30 something today. The original plan for today was to do another 60 or more miles, but my cycling partner had one flat and 3 blowouts. So that cut today’s ride a bit short, but made it a more intense ride.

Stopping to fix a flat ...

Yesterday I made pizza dough and today pizza. Everything was entirely from scratch: the crust, spicy turkey sausage, and the tomato fennel sauce.

Homemade From Scratch!

Blogging from the phone is fun, but it is also kind of a pain. So hard to see on this tiny screen!

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Today was my first opportunity to ride in a while. Too long. I got just over 50 miles in and it felt great! It was a beautiful day … not too hot … not too cold … a bit breezy, but not too much.

Quick water stop at William Pond Park, off the American River Trail in Sacramento.

I rode on the American River Trail from Old Town Sacramento towards Fulton, about 20 miles on the path, before turning around to head home. I was hoping that the wind I rode into would help me on the way back home, but …not so much.

Although, I suppose it’s a matter of framing. If I look at it from the perspective that I really need to train for my upcoming 2015 Napa Valley Tour de Cure Ride, then yes, it was indeed helpful because it made me work harder.

It was an interesting ride out there today. I encountered a snake crossing the path (shudder!) … wild turkeys … geese … squirrels … lots of wild life on the Trail today!

I was pretty hungry when I got home, but it was mid-afternoon so I didn’t want a very big meal. On the ride, I got to thinking about smoothies, and I haven’t had one in a while. This was a very light smoothie, very refreshing, and not super sweet.

Perfect Post-Ride Snack - Blueberry Cherry Protein Smoothie

Blueberry Cherry Protein Smoothie

1 cup filtered water, chilled
1 cup crushed ice
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup frozen cherries
1 scoop whey protein powder

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Makes just over a pint of smoothie.

Whey protein is a great recovery food, so it’s often recommended after a ride or workout. This smoothie held me over a while, so I could get some chores and stuff done.

For dinner, I had some Rock Fish (a type of cod), shrimp, and tomatoes that I wanted to use.  I chopped and then sauteed the tomatoes in a little olive oil, added a bit of slightly crushed fennel seeds, herbs de Provence, and a little crushed red pepper flakes for a bit of heat. I simmered the tomatoes with the fennel and herbs until the tomatoes began to break apart a bit. I cooked these on low for about 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. In another skillet, I briefly sauteed the shrimp (just until they turned pink) and added them to the tomatoes. Then I sauteed the fish in a bit of olive oil. Then, I poured the tomato and shrimp mixture over the fish, gave it a gentle stir, and turned the heat down to low, simmering until the fish was fully cooked, tender and flaky.

To serve, I had some leftover homemade croutons, so I placed a few in the bottom of a bowl. I ladled some of the fish-shrimp-tomato mixture on top, being sure to include plenty of the juices, then topped with a bit of Feta cheese.

Rock Fish, Shrimp, Tomatoes, Fennel, Feta

This came out even better than I expected! The picture does not even begin to do this dish justice.

I hope you had an awesome day and got to get some great cycling and amazing food in.

I had a very short weekend after a very long week, and may I just say that I am looking forward to Saturday already?