Cycling Foodie

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Spinach Linguine with Meat Sauce - made with super lean ground turkey

This would be a wonderful meal the night before, or the night after, a big bike ride!

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A wonderful post-ride recovery meal - easy, low carb, high protein, and delicious!

Spicy Chipotle Shrimp with Stir Fried Vegetables

3 tablespoons good quality olive oil
8 ounces shrimp (medium to large size), cleaned, shelled, & deveined
1 – 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot or red onion
1 – 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 – 2 tablespoon Chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce, finely diced
1/4 cup dry white or sparkling wine
salt, pepper, red chile flakes to taste

about 4 cups of assorted vegetables* of your choice, cut into bite sized pieces
2 tablespoons orange juice
a dash of low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons unsalted cashews, coarsely chopped

Prepare all of your ingredients. Rinse the shrimp, shell, and devein them. You can leave the tails on or pull them off – it’s a matter of personal choice.  Lay them on paper towels to remove excess moisture.

Over medium-high, heat one tablespoon of the oil in a wok. Add the shrimp and cook until they just start to turn pink. Remove from heat and set in a colander to drain. Wipe the wok clean.

Add the second tablespoon of oil to the wok and reheat, on medium heat. Add the garlic and shallot or onion and cook until they just begin to caramelize. Add the Chipotle peppers and heat through. Return the shrimp to the wok and toss to combine well. Add the wine and cook on medium heat to reduce the wine and thicken the sauce. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and chile flakes. Remove from heat, cover and keep warm.

In another wok, heat the last tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add your vegetables in batches and stir fry a few minutes. Add the orange juice and soy sauce, and cook just until the excess liquid is mostly evaporated. It’s important to not overcook the vegetables for this dish, so watch them carefully.

To serve, divide the vegetables between two large dinner bowls, top with the shrimp, and garnish with the cashews.

This makes two large servings.

We used asparagus, carrots, celery, French green beans, mushrooms, and snap peas.

If you want to add some healthy carbs, this would be great with some brown or black rice.

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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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I wanted a dessert that would be comforting and delicious, but also on the lighter side. What could I make? There on the kitchen counter sat a bag of Granny Smith apples, staring at me, calling out, “Pick me! Pick meeeeeeeee!” Hmm … I fondly remembered my mother’s apple crisp … warm, sweet, comforting. How could I take this idea and make it a little lighter, a little healthier? I found an intriguing recipe for a Paleo Baked Apple Crisp. I followed this recipe almost exactly, except that I added the zest and juice of one lemon, a sprinkle of ginger, used butter in place of the coconut oil, and sprinkled a little extra pecans on top for extra crunch. I also covered it during part of the baking.

"Paleo" Apple Crisp

 “Paleo” Apple Crisp

6-7 Granny Smith apples
juice and zest of one lemon
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons raw honey, heated a little to melt, if necessary
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
a sprinkle of ground ginger

For the crumble topping:
1 cup almond flour
2 tablespoons finely ground pecans
2 tablespoons raw honey, heated a little to melt, if necessary
2 tablespoons butter, cut into about 1/4-inch chunks
optional: one additional tablespoon of finely ground pecans to sprinkle on top of the crumble

While the apple mixture is baking, prepare your topping. Combine all of the topping ingredients well and set aside.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Peel, core, and slice apples into about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick slices. Combine apples, lemon zest and juice, orange juice, honey, maple syrup, and spices in a large bowl and gently toss to combine well. Pour into a baking dish. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes, then cover and cook for another 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with crumble topping, and if desired, sprinkle with another tablespoon of finely chopped pecans. Bake another 20 minutes until the juices are nice and bubbly. Allow to cool a bit. Serve warm.

You don’t really need to serve this with whipped cream or ice cream, and that kind of undoes the healthy aspect, but it was still a celebration and everything else was pretty healthy, so we whipped up a little heavy cream with some vanilla sugar and homemade Southern Comfort vanilla extract (“vintage” 2010).

"Paleo" Apple Crisp with Southern Comfort Vanilla Scented Whipped Cream

Enjoy!

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Roasted Crimini Mushrooms with Herbed Goat Cheese & Balsamic Glaze

These are quite simple to make. Rinse and pat dry your mushrooms. Remove the stems and set aside for another use. Drizzle the mushroom caps with a little olive oil and salt, and place stem side down in a roasting dish. Roast in a preheated oven at 350 degree Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool. You can prepare these a day ahead and store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator.

To make the herbed goat cheese, you’ll want to use a good quality plain goat cheese, such as Laura Chenel Chevre. Blend the cheese with a splash or two of good olive oil and your choice of freshly chopped herbs. I used fresh thyme and rosemary, a classic combination, in my opinion. Use just enough olive oil to get a smooth, creamy consistency that you’ll be able to pipe into the mushroom caps.

To assemble, gently pat the mushrooms dry to remove excess moisture. Using a pastry bag*, pipe the cheese into the mushroom caps. Arrange the mushrooms on a platter and drizzle with a balsamic glaze. I like this one from Trader Joe’s.

If you have leftover herbed goat cheese, this is also lovely on bread or crackers.

* If you don’t have a pastry bag, you can use a zip-top plastic bag with a corner snipped off.

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The day looks deceptively beautiful, but the air this morning was thick and cold. Not a good combination for breathing. My guess is that lots of fireplaces are going, lots of people are driving, and recent winds all coupled with the lack of rain are contributing to poor air quality. So, it was an indoor ride for me today. Thank goodness for the trainer!

After 90 minutes, I was thirsty, hungry, and craving something super healthy.  What I really wanted was a Magenta Mystery Smoothie, but I had no purple cabbage. So, here’s what I made.

Purple Smoothie

1 1/2 cups filtered water
1/2 cup dark cherries
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 raspberries
1/2 cup red grapes
1/2 cup pineapple chunks
1/2 cup apricot chunks
1/2 cup papaya chunks

Measure water into a large capacity blender, such as a Vitamix. Add the fruit. Start on low speed, then increase to high and blend until smooth. For a thicker smoothie either use frozen fruit or add ice cubes and blend until smooth.

Makes enough for one large or two medium smoothies packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber.

Enjoy in good health!

Now it’s time to get ready for tonight’s dinner party! The last of the holiday splurges, but with healthy enough treats to meet at least most New Year’s Resolutions.

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Yesterday we went for a walk at Folsom Lake. We started out at Beal’s Point and walked along the trail for about 3 miles before heading down to the beach at one of the boat launch areas. It was a beautiful day, but felt quite chilly for our standards here. There were a few mountain bikers on the trail and I wondered if I’ll ever mountain bike again. I do have my awesome Klein Pinnacle I used to ride a lot in Annadel State Park, but now I just road bike.

Looking towards the boat ramp.

We meandered back along the beach, enjoying the scenery, stopping to visit with an occasional friendly dog out walking his humans.

Near the Beal's Point parking lot. You can see how low the water level is.

While I appreciate these beautiful, sunny days, we really do need some more rain. We’ve had dry, very breezy weather lately, which lead to lots of junk in the air, which you can see hanging over the hills in these photos.

It’s time to brave the cold this morning and head out for a quick ride. I’ve got lots to do today to get ready for a dinner party tomorrow night. I’ll be making Ciopinno, mostly following this Giada De Laurentiis recipe. A friend is bringing one of her amazing salads, with a super healthy orange vinaigrette. We’ll have some good cheeses, loads of veggies, some good crusty bread to go with the Ciopinno, and I haven’t quite figured out dessert yet. It will be just a little decadent, but not too much. I’ve got a lot of Granny Smith apples, so I’m leaning towards perhaps a comforting, warm apple crisp. Perhaps with just a tiny scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream.