Cycling Foodie

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This is an awesome dinner to serve the night before a big ride. To make it a great recovery meal, serve it as a side dish with some good lean protein such as fish, chicken, turkey, or pork tenderloin.

Pasta Primavera

1 tablespoon good olive oil
Assorted vegetables*, cleaned, trimmed, and cut into about 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 can tomato paste
1 jar of marinara sauce
your favorite pasta

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large heavy bottomed skillet. Saute the vegetables for a few minutes, just to start them cooking. Add the tomato paste and marinara sauce. Stir to combine well. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and allow to simmer for about 15 to 30 minutes. How long you cook the sauce will depend on how crisp you like your vegetables. I tend to like mine on the crisp side, so when I prepare a Primavera this way, I only cook the sauce 15 to 20 minutes.

Cook your pasta according to the directions its packaging. Drain the pasta, and if desired, toss with a little olive oil.

To serve …

Portion your pasta into a bowl.

Ladle your Primavera Sauce over the pasta.

If desired, sprinkle with a little freshly grated cheese, such as Parmesan, Asiago, or Romano. A good, crusty bread will be a nice accompaniment, also. If you feel like something a bit richer, then feel free to add a bit of Italian Sausage, sweet or spicy would be good. To keep it on the light side, be sure to use a lower fat sausage, such as chicken or turkey.

* Tonight I used asparagus, carrots, fresh fennel, French green beans, heirloom cherry tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, and snap peas. You can use any combination you like! That’s the beauty of a recipe like this – it is so very flexible. It’s easy, nutritious, low in fat, and delicious, too.

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On the stove right now is a big batch of super healthy, super easy Pasta Primavera sauce. It’s loaded with veggies, low in fat, nutrient-rich, and flavorful. I’ll post the recipe soon.

Pasta Primavera Sauce ... perfect with spinach linguine!

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Last night I had some friends over for dinner. After the holidays, we’re all feeling a bit, dare I say, overindulged? However, last night was the final “holiday” party for 2014. It just had to wait until 2015 due to everyone’s schedules. So a light and healthy meal with just a touch of decadence was in order.

We had a few appetizers, the usual fresh vegetable platter, some cheese and crackers, and one experimental recipe – Roasted Crimini Mushrooms with Herbed Goat Cheese and a Balsamic Vinegar Glaze.

Roasted Crimini Mushrooms

Fresh Veggies

For the entree, I made Cioppino, mostly based on this recipe from Giada De Laurentiis. I made just a few modifications, but tried to follow her recipe as closely as possible because I’ve never made Cioppino before.

Cioppino

3 tablespoons avocado oil
1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1 onion, chopped
3 large shallots, chopped
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup tomato paste
28 ounces of chopped fresh Roma tomatoes
1 1/2 cups dry white white
2 cups oyster broth
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth, low sodium
1 1/2 cups water
1 bay leaf
2 1/2 pounds mixed seafood: mussels, shrimp, scallops, calamari
1 1/2 pounds wild caught fresh swordfish, cut into chunks

Mis en place: assemble and prepare all of your ingredients.

In a large pot (at least 5.5 quarts), heat the oil over medium heat. Add the fennel, onion, and shallots; saute about 8-10 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute another 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, tomatoes, wine, broths, water, and bay leaf. Stir to combine well. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow to gently simmer for about 30 minutes. This will allow the flavors to blend.

Add the mixed seafood, cover and cook for about 5-10 minutes. Add the fish, stir gently, and cook another 5-10 minutes more. Season to taste with salt and red pepper flakes.

Ladle into bowls and serve with a good, crusty bread. This recipe makes six generous portions.

Cioppino - light, yet rich and satisfying, this Cioppino will make you want to head back for seconds.

We served a 2011 Luna Canto, which paired nicely and stood up to the spicy kick of this Cioppino.

For dessert, I made a “Paleo” Apple Crisp that I know you’ll want to try.

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Legend has it that lentils will bring good health and prosperity in the New Year. How convenient that we just happened to have a bone-in ham for Christmas! I’ve got my batch of lentil soup on the stove right now and it will be ready later today.

I sort of followed the recipe on the bag of lentils, but mostly improvised. I didn’t quite have enough stock, so I used some dry white wine for part of the liquid. I don’t like canned tomatoes, so I used fresh heirloom cherry tomatoes. All of the measurements below are approximate. Normally I would add an onion or shallots, but I didn’t have any on hand (shocking!), so they’re omitted from this recipe.

Lentil Soup - a family tradition for good luck, health, and prosperity for the New Year!

Lentil Soup

2 pounds lentils
1 tablespoon oil (I like avocado or olive oil)
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup diced lean ham (optional)
1 ham bone*
1-2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
2-3 cups dry white wine
8-10 cups chicken stock (low sodium)

Prepare the lentils – spread the dry lentils out over a kitchen towel and check to make sure there are no pebbles or sand in them. Next, place the lentils in a colander and rinse with cool water. Set aside.

In a large, heavy-bottomed stock pot, heat the oil over medium heat. If you’re using onion or shallots, saute them a bit first, then add the carrots and celery. Saute the carrots and celery to soften a bit. If you’re adding the additional diced ham, add it now and saute a bit with the vegetables. Add the wine and increase the heat to bring to a gentle boil.

Add the ham bone, sliced tomatoes, and lentils; give a good stir. Pour in 8 cups of stock, stir well. Cook on medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook on low heat until the lentils are tender. You’ll want to stir the soup every 30 minutes or so and if necessary, add the additional stock. After about 2 hours, the soup will be ready to eat, but I usually cook it longer (3-4 hours) because I like the lentils more well done.

* For the ham bone … if you’ve recently cooked a bone-in ham, you’ll want to save the bone for making soup like this. If you don’t have a leftover ham bone, then you can use 3-4 ham hocks. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that ham hocks will add more fat to this recipe. They’ve got great flavor, but they are loaded with fat. If you don’t have a ham bone and don’t want to use ham hocks, Trader Joe’s makes a Smoked Chicken Apple Chardonnay Sausage that would also be good in this soup. Just dice it, saute it in place of the ham, and there you go.

You could also make this vegetarian by omitting the ham and using vegetable stock. Oooh, you could use Shiitake mushrooms to give a bit of meaty texture. Adding a bit of brown rice or barley would round out the protein in a vegetarian version, also.

Oh, the possibilities!

This soup tastes even better the next day, and it freezes well, so make a big pot today – just in time for the New Year. Enjoy!

Serving suggestion ... serve with homemade biscuits.

Here’s an idea … take your favorite biscuit recipe, add a handful of shredded Parmesan, Asiago, and/or Romano cheeses, and some chopped fresh herbs. Simple, easy additions are often the best!

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We have finally been getting some rain here in Northern California and I am loving it! It does interfere a bit with cycling, but the air is cleaner, fresher, and far more breathable. I am fortunate enough to have access to a fancy Compu-Trainer, elliptical, and treadmill so I am getting at least some exercise.

The rain has held off this weekend, so I was able to get a short ride in yesterday and a longer ride in this morning. Cool temperatures and very little breeze made for a pleasant ride on the American River Bike Trail.

The rainy weather is calling for some serious comfort food.

Cream of Tomato Soup

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Probably not the healthiest dinner, but sometimes comfort wins out and that’s OK. It’s not entirely unhealthy, though. I always add my little touches that help ease the guilt a bit … organic, lower-sodium cream of tomato soup … whole grain bread … just a touch of butter in the pan, mixed with a touch of olive oil to give a nice, flavorful crisp the the bread … a combination of cheese that included at least half reduced fat cheese.The trick is to use just enough full fat cheese to give a touch of the ooey-gooey melty cheese thing that people love about a grilled cheese sandwich.

So, that was Friday night’s dinner … after what felt like an unusually long week.

Saturday … the sale I’ve waited all year for! The Meyer Factory Outlet Sale!! I haven’t been to this in years and I had planned to go last year, but I missed it. It’s running until December 15th – if you need any kitchen stuff, now is the time to stock up. Check out their website and you can download a coupon for an extra 30% off. Go ahead – splurge on your inner foodie.

After some shopping and errands, I grabbed a quick late afternoon ride yesterday. The weather cleared up and it was gorgeous!

Tower Bridge

River heading towards Downtown Sacramento

Last night’s dinner was a bit healthier – a spicy beef stir fry with asparagus, green beans, and mushrooms, served over brown rice.

Spicy Beef with Asparagus, Green Beans, & Mushrooms with a little extra chili garlic sauce

This was super easy to make. Simply marinate some thinly sliced beef in a bit of soy sauce, white white (or dry sherry), fresh minced garlic, Tiger Sauce, a little honey, and a little sesame oil. I didn’t measure … just go by taste. Whisk together these ingredients and then taste before adding the raw meat. Next time I make this, I will add some chili garlic sauce or Sriracha sauce. I wanted it spicier!

Clean and trim your vegetables. Be sure to cut them into consistently sized pieces so that they’ll cook evenly. Heat up your wok with a little avocado (or peanut) oil. Quickly stir fry the mushrooms, then set aside. Next cook the asparagus, then green beans, setting aside. Remove the meat from the sauce and set the sauce aside. Cook the beef a few pieces at a time so that they’ll cook quickly. Remove from the heat and set aside, repeat until you’ve cooked all the meat. Pour the reserved sauce into the pan and heat quickly, bringing to a boil. Reduce heat, add the meat and vegetables and toss to combine. Cover for just a few moments to heat through. You want the vegetables to be crisp-tender, so be careful to not overcook.

Serve over brown rice and if desired, add a splash more hot sauce.

Be sure you make a BIG batch, because it makes for terrific and easy leftovers. Enjoy!

Now it’s time to turn the Christmas lights on and enjoy a Christmas movie to get in the spirit. This week I’ve got to get started on my holiday baking.

Suggestions? Requests?

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This year’s Bake Off was on Wednesday. Here are a few photos of some of my submissions.

Chocolate Overload Brownies ... won "Best in Chocolate"

Almond Macaroons with Dark Chocolate Ganache

Lemon, White Chocolate Chip & Chia Seed Cookies ... won "Best in Fruit"

Peanut Butter Maple Oat Bites with Dried Cherries ... won "Best in Health"

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As promised, here is the recipe for Chicken Vegetable Soup. This is a very homey and rustic soup recipe. You can use homemade chicken stock or your favorite brand of prepared stock.

Chicken Vegetable Soup

Serve piping hot garnished with a bit of Parmesan cheese

Here’s what you will need:

About 2 tablespoons of olive oil
3 carrots
3 stalks celery
1 medium onion
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
6 ounces fresh cooking greens, such as kale or Swiss chard, roughly chopped
12 ounces cooked kidney beans, rinsed and well drained
1 cup fresh or frozen peas and/or corn
1 cup chopped fresh Roma tomatoes
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup shredded chicken meat (optional)
4 quarts of chicken stock
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
2 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste
freshly grated Parmesan cheese to garnish

Assemble and prepare all of your ingredients. Wash, drain, and cut the vegetables and herbs. You can cut the vegetables into bite sized pieces, or a little larger, depending on your preference. Remember that larger pieces take longer to cook, and you don’t want them so large that they’ll make the soup difficult to serve or eat. If you are using baby greens, you may not need to chop them at all, but I usually give them a chop or two just to make sure I don’t end up with a stem falling off my spoon and making a mess while I’m trying to enjoy the soup.

In a large, heavy bottomed stock pot over medium heat, add about 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the onions and saute until softened. Add the carrots and celery, stirring to combine with the onions. Saute a few minutes, then add the mushrooms briefly. Cover and reduce heat to low. Allow to sweat a few minutes.

Click here for a culinary definition of “sweat.”

Remove the lid, give a good stir to the onion mixture. Add the chopped greens, beans, peas, corn, tomatoes, rice, and chicken meat.

Add the fresh greens, cooked rice, and beans.

Add the stock and give a good stir. Cover and bring the heat up to medium high. You want to watch this carefully because when it gets close to a boil, you’ll reduce the heat to low. Allow to simmer until all of the vegetables are cooked to your liking. This will take a good 2-3 hours on low heat. Add the fresh herbs in the last hour of cooking; this will help to maintain their fresh flavor.

Add the stock, bring to a gentle boil, and then set to simmer.

This soup is terrific with a hearty homemade bread, like this multi-grain bread.

This recipe is very flexible – you can adjust the amount of any of these ingredients, substitute different vegetables, use pasta in place of rice, omit almost any of the ingredients (except, of course, the stock!). Have fun with it – try different variations and combinations.

For my vegan friends, you can easily make this vegan by using a vegan vegetable stock and omitting the chicken meat. There will be plenty of protein from the rice, beans, peas, and corn.

Legumes and grains are complementary proteins. What this means is that pairing a grain with a legume will provide you with a nutritionally complete protein. For example, rice + beans, or corn + peas.

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Homemade Chicken Stock

There are so many good quality pre-made stocks available at the store now, but they’re just not quite as comforting as a homemade stock.

I am fortunate that I learned at a very young age how to make homemade stock. My mother, who has always been very frugal, never let anything go to waste. Any time we had roasted chicken or turkey, she saved the carcass for stock.

This is a very rustic, homey recipe for stock.

To make homemade chicken stock from a leftover roasted whole chicken, first removed as much of the meat as you can from the bones. I like to remove the skin, if there’s any left, because it just adds fat to the stock. Set this meat aside for the soup, or to make a chicken salad or curry … whatever you like.

If you’ve saved the neck and giblets from the whole bird, you’ll want to add them, too. Don’t add the liver, though, as it will lend a bitter flavor to the stock.

Clean and trim a few large carrots, stalks of celery, onion, clove or two of garlic, a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, thyme, and parsley. Cut the carrots and celery into about 2-inch chunks, quarter the onions. I also like to add a couple of Roma tomatoes, quartered.

Place the carcass in a large, heavy bottomed stock. Add the vegetables and herbs. Add about 6 whole peppercorns. Cover with cool water. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer a few hours. How long you simmer is going to depend on a lot of factors, so you’ll go by taste and sight. The vegetables will be completely cooked and very soft after a few hours. I cooked this stock for about 4 hours before straining.

Allow the stock to cook a little, then with a slotted spoon scoop out as many solids as you can. I like to place the solids in a colander inside a large bowl so I can catch any liquid that drains from them. Strain the stock through a fine sieve, or if you desire through cheesecloth. Don’t skip this step – you want to be sure to capture any bone fragments that may have separated from the carcass.

Chicken Vegetable Soup

Depending on how much meat there left was on the carcass, you may want to pick through the solids and pick any remaining meat off the bones. You can add this to soup.

If you’re making soup right away, then set the hot stock aside while you’re preparing your soup, otherwise you will want to quick chill it and keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to use it. It will keep a few days in the refrigerator.

Soup recipe coming soon!

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Lemon Herb Roasted Chicken

Last night I roasted a whole chicken. The basic procedure for roasting a chicken is posted here, but I modified it a bit based on what I had on hand. I found myself without any fresh herbs (gasp!) and no carrots, so I used a combination of dried herbs: thyme, rosemary, oregano, basil, along with some fennel seeds. I let them sit in olive oil for a bit, while I prepared the chicken.

There was lots of leftover chicken. Tonight I used most that to make a pasta dish.For the recipe below, you will want to adjust the quantity of the ingredients based on what you have and how much meat vs. pasta vs. vegetables you want.

Pasta with Chicken & Vegetables

Chicken Mushroom Pasta

Your favorite pasta
Leftover roasted chicken
Fresh garlic, minced
Mushrooms
Cooking greens, cleaned and well drained (spinach, arugula, chard…)
Peas
Pine nuts
Avocado and/or olive oil

1. Set a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Follow the directions on whatever pasta you’re using. Remember that if you’re using fresh pasta that it cooks very quickly, so you’ll want to do this last, not first. You’ll want to start cooking the pasta as soon as the water is boiling; it will be cooking while you’re preparing the rest of the ingredients.
2. Rinse the mushrooms and set aside to drain. Tonight I used a combination of Chantrelle, Shiitake, and Crimini mushrooms.
3. Cut or shred the chicken into bite-sized chunks.
4. If you’re using frozen peas, remove from the freezer and rinse with cool water. Set aside in a colander to drain.
5. Lightly toast the pine nuts and set aside. You can do this in a heavy bottomed skillet on the stove or in the oven. Just watch them very carefully – they can turn from not quite perfect to scorched in an instant. If you’re not sure, click here for more detailed instructions.
6. In a large, heavy bottomed skillet, heat some of the oil. Place the garlic in the oil and cook until it just starts to color. Add the mushrooms and saute on medium-high heat. When they’re cooked to your liking, remove from the heat and set aside in a covered bowl. Return the pan to the heat.
7. If needed, add a little more oil to the pan and then add the chicken. Saute over medium-high heat until it browns a little. Remove from heat and add to the bowl with the mushrooms. Add the peas, then cover to keep warm.
8. If needed, add a little more oil to the pan and turn the heat to high. Add the greens and cover. They’ll cook quickly, so keep an eye on them. When the greens have wilted, return the chicken and mushroom mixture, toss to combine well, cover and allow to heat through. Tonight a used a combination of spinach and arugula, but really any cooking greens you like will be wonderful in this.
9. The pasta should be cooked by now. Drain and return to the cooking pan. Add the chicken and mushroom mixture and gently toss to combine well.
10. Garnish with the toasted pine nuts and some freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt, pepper, red chile flakes.

Keep in mind that this makes for great leftovers, so feel free to make a big batch.

I think it was a hit ... don't you?

This pasta dish makes an excellent dinner for the night before a big ride, or a recovery dinner after a big ride. It’s also easy to make and comforting after a long day’s work. Protein, carbs, vegetables, healthy oils, and it tastes great!

It paired quite nicely with a Pinot Noir, or would also go well with a Chardonnay.

Enjoy in good health!

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Here’s a healthy, light, and easy to prepare dinner that’s perfect for a chilly autumn night.

Wild Ling Cod Provencal

2 tablespoons avocado oil
2 pieces of wild ling cod
1 1/2 cups heirloom cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 tablespoons pesto

Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed skillet. Quickly sear the fish on each side. Reduce the heat and add the halved cherry tomatoes, spread evenly around and on top of the fish. Top with the pesto. Cover and simmer on low until the fish is cooked through, about 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of your pieces of fish.

Serve steamy hot with some brown rice, or a good, crusty bread.

I wish I had taken photos of this dish – it was beautiful!

Enjoy!