Taste of Guilt

If you haven’t already noticed, chia seeds are all the rave these days because they’re a great food source, providing protein, essential minerals and fiber. Vegans soak it in water to create an egg substitute for baking and I’ve been adding a teaspoon to my daily oatmeal to make it thicker and fluffier. When I saw this Chia-seed pudding recipe in the latest Food & Wine magazine (the cover with pancakes was styled by my sister!), I had to make it right away. If you enjoy tapioca or rice pudding, you’ll have to try it out. It’s thick and gooey yet still has a bite.

Chia-seed Pudding

copied directly from Food & Wine recipe

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups almond milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
• 3 tablespoons agave nectar (I only had honey on hand and it worked out just fine)
• 1/2 cup chia seeds (can be found at Whole Foods in the bulk bins)
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (I omitted this only because I didn’t have lemons)

Last weekend I went to Pizza Antica for dinner and we ordered their Warm Brussel Sprout Salad but I didn’t expect it that good (or maybe I was just starving?)! The best part was that I knew it would be easy to replicate.

Ingredients:

• 1 pack or 30 bulbs of brussel sprouts, cores trimmed and chopped
• 5 strips of bacon (I used turkey bacon to be a tad healthier), chopped
• 4 eggs, medium boiled and chopped (I put eggs in a shallow pot with enough water to cover majority of egg. Once the water boils, I turn the burner all the way to low and let it simmer for 6 minutes)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (or no oil if you’re using regular bacon)

On medium high heat (with or without oil), add the bacon to the pan until slightly browned. Add brussel sprouts and toss and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Plate mixture with the chopped hard boiled eggs on top.

To make it into a heartier meal, I placed the brussel sprouts and eggs over a mound of pre-steamed lentils from Trader Joe’s with some canned smoked herring. It was delicious!

Since I had some fruit and veggies lying around that needed to be eaten up, thought it’d be perfect to blend it all together for a healthy morning snack/drink. Super easy way to get veggies and fruit and calcium into your diet (and trick your kids into eating greens since you don’t taste the spinach)!

Green Drink

1 handful baby spinach, washed

2 kiwis, peeled

1 banana

1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

3/4 scoop of vanilla protein powder

Blend all the ingredients in a blender, or in my case an emulsion hand held blender. Drink!

I’m headed to my first cookie exchange party tomorrow and wanted to make something other than just chocolate chip cookies or oatmeal raisin. So when I saw this recipe…I just had to try it. What’s great about this Chewy Caramel Apple Cookie is that it not only tastes like apple pie, but it’s super fast and easy to make. It’d be perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Chewy Caramel Apple Cookie

makes about 3 dozen cookies

recipe taken directly from here

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter, softened

2 cups brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 apple (I used 2 mini gala apples only because I already had them)

1 bag mini caramels (found at Target)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the vanilla and egg and continue to beat until combined.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking powder, baking soda and salt in another bowl.

Grate the apple with a cheese grater and squeeze out all liquid with paper towels. Add shredded apple to the flour and then add the flour mixture to the creamed butter and mix until combined. Then, add the caramel bits. Dough will be a little dry.

Roll small balls of dough out and bake on a lined baking sheet for 12-14 minutes. Let cookies completely cool before attempting to move them off the baking sheet or else they will fall apart! Trust her on this one.

Here’s a super simple, healthy snack to munch on in lieu of potato chips. The ingredients/recipe are incredibly versatile so adjust however you please!

Brussel Sprout Chips

1 bunch of brussel sprouts (5-6 sprouts = roughly 1 cup of chips), stems cut and leaves separated

pinch of salt and pepper

pinch of cayenne pepper (for a kick)

pinch of red pepper flakes

pinch of garlic powder

Olive oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a bowl, toss brussel sprout leaves with olive oil (just enough to coat) and seasonings. (I didn’t wash my sprouts because I was afraid the leaves would get soggy so I just trashed the outer leaves). Line a baking sheet with foil and dump the seasoned leaves on, spreading evenly. Bake for 10 minutes. Transfer the browned leaves onto a paper towel to soak up oil. Place pan back into oven with the leaves not yet browned, and repeat as many times as necessary checking on them every few minutes or so.

Kale is another green that bakes up nicely as well. Enjoy!

When I saw this article on SFgate.com, I knew I had to attempt making ramen. It’s a LONG process of simmering but it hit the spot on a cool Fall night.

Roasted Duck Ramen

adapted from this recipe

*We halved the original recipe and we easily served 5 people + extra broth with the portions below

• 1 Chinese-style whole roast ducks*
• 2 pounds chicken bones or feet*
• 1 1/4 gallons water
• 2 12-inch pieces dried kombu seaweed*
• 1/4 cup peeled crushed garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup crushed ginger slices
• 1 yellow onions, chopped
• 1 serrano chiles, chopped
• 4 whole dried shiitake mushrooms
• 12 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
• 1 bunch baby bok choy, cleaned and trimmed
• Store-bought fresh ramen noodles, cooked*
• 5 hardboiled eggs, halved
• bamboo shoots (jarred or canned)
• Japanese fish cake*

Instructions: Using a sharp knife or your hands, separate the roasted duck meat from the bones. Set the meat aside as a topping for the ramen. Cut the duck carcass into smaller pieces, and add all the duck and chicken bones, as well as any extra fat or skin from the roast duck, to a 1.5-gallon stock pot. Cover with 1 gallon of water and bring to a simmer. Continue simmering gently for 1-1.5 hours on medium-low heat, skimming any debris that rises to the top just a few times.

Wipe the kombu with a damp cloth or soak in water for a few minutes, then add it to the pot with another 1/4 gallon of water; simmer 1-2 more hours.

Add the garlic, ginger, onions, chiles and dried shiitakes. Simmer for another hour.

Remove pot from the heat. Strain the broth into another stock pot large enough to hold all the liquid – you should have about 0.5-1 gallon of broth. If you have more than that, continue simmering to reduce further.

Return the strained broth to the stovetop, add salt or soy sauce to taste, and bring to a simmer. Blanch the fresh shiitake mushrooms and greens in the broth for 30 seconds; remove and set aside.

To serve, pour about 2 cups of broth over the desired amount of noodles; refrigerate or freeze extra broth for a later use. Top with the blanched mushrooms and greens, eggs, bamboo and reserved roasted duck meat.

*Whole roast ducks, chicken feet/carcass, kombu, Japanese fish cake and fresh ramen can be purchased at Asian supermarkets like 99 Ranch.

Last night while I was planning out my 4-mile run for this morning, I was figuring out what to eat for breakfast. I knew I needed energy for the run but I also knew I couldn’t eat too much either. Then I came across the perfect combo of fuel + craving for pancakes. Oatmeal pancakes. It gave me the right amount of energy without giving me runner’s cramp (but I waited 20 min after eating )!

Oatmeal Pancakes

adapted from a SmittenKitchen.com recipe

**I prepared the dry ingredients the night before and stored it in mason jars for future use.

Makes about 18 pancakes

3/4 cup oat flour (pulse rolled oats in a food processor. 1 cup of oats =  3/4 cup oat flour)
1 cup whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon Kosher or coarse salt
1 1/4 cups almond milk or whole milk
1 cup cooked oatmeal*
2 large eggs

Apples (chopped into a bowl sprinkled with cinnamon and heated in microwave for 20-25 seconds to soften)

**For 2 pancakes, I used 1/4 cup dry ingredients + 1 egg +  1/2 cup milk + 1/4 cup cooked oatmeal

Whisk the dry ingredients (oat flour, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt) together in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk milk, cooked oatmeal, and eggs together until thoroughly combined. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Do not overmix.

Heat pan over medium heat with a little bit of butter. Pour however much batter into pan as you want the size of your pancakes to be. (Add any fruit on top at this time. I don’t tend to like my fruit mixed in the batter but I also heat up the fruit before I put in because it tends to not cook evenly). Once bubbles have begun to form on the top side of the pancake, flip the pancake and cook until the bottom is dark golden-brown, about 5 minutes total. Continue with the rest of the batter.

*Cooked Oatmeal—Heat up 1/4 cup oats + 1/2 to 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan over low heat. Let sit for about 10 min, stirring occasionally. Once thickened up, it’s done.

A substitute for syrup is powdered sugar and Fage if you want to go the healthier route like I did. But the toppings are endless!

I am one of those people who will eat or at least try any sort of innards. Liver is one of my favorites. Pate is delicious and foie gras is even better. A few days ago, I was to bring bread and butter to a gathering but I couldn’t just show up with just that! I decided to make something else that is not only spreadable on bread but is even better than butter. Chicken Liver Pate. This tasty recipe is even easier than I thought it’d be!

Chicken Liver Pate

adapted from this recipe

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 tablespoon onion, chopped
• 1/4 pound chicken livers, trimmed and chopped (bought prepackaged from Ranch 99)
• 1 tablespoon dry sherry
• 8 ounce package light whipped spreadable cream cheese
• hot sauce to taste
• salt and pepper to taste

I have been wanting to try Flour + Water for so long that I finally now understand what all the hype is. The pasta is to-die-for and the pizza is just right. Don’t bother making reservations since you’re not going to get one online even 2 weeks in advanced. Walk in on a weekday before 6PM and you’re likely to get a table.

Started off with the Pork Terrina with Fig, Almond & Fresh Horseradish. Perfect light start with the sweet from the fig and the savory from the terrina.

I ordered the Funghi Pizza with Nettles, Chanterelles, Fontina & Sage Cream. YUM. Can’t go wrong with mushrooms.

And then I tried the Garganelli with Rabbit Polpettine & Spinach and wished I had ordered a pasta. Next time!

Finished the night with a Humphry Slocombe Black Sesame kid (but not so kid-like) scoop of ice cream in a cone. Ahhh. The small joys of life.

Just had one of the most delicious meals I’ve had in a long time at Chef’s Night Off. From what I believe, every last Monday of the month for the next 2 months, Radius will host pop-up dinners prepared by husband-and-wife, Evan and Sara Rich (former chefs at Coi, Michael Minna and Quince), with two seatings each at 630PM & 8PM. $60/4-course meal. It’s well worth it, guys!

On the menu for tonight:

• Amuse Bouche: roasted corn fritters :: YUM
• 1st course: red beets, goat cheese, almonds, flame grapes, dill :: LICKED MY PLATE CLEAN
• 2nd course: squid, black olive vinaigrette, watermelon, crispy onions :: MY LEAST FAVORITE DISH OF THE NIGHT
• Palette cleanser: tomato gazpacho :: NORMALLY DISLIKE TOMATOES BUT NOT THIS ONE
• 3rd course: pork shoulder, black garlic, red cabbage ::  MARMITE-LIKE SAUCE MADE THE DISH
• 4th course: “peach cobbler” :: SO SIMPLE BUT A GREAT END TO DINNER
• Complimentary sweets: red pepper gelee :: SAVORY AND SWEET ALL IN ONE