Sunday's dinner

Continuing the theme of cleaning out my freezer, Sunday night, I made tortellini with peas and roasted lemon chicken with a side or Trader Joe's cauliflower and romanesco  (http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article.asp?article_id=224) . (minus 3 1/2 from my freezer!!)

Romanesco belongs to the broccoli-cauliflower family, and if you can determine from the vegetable's name, it's from the Rome region of Italy. You can pretty much prepare it as you would broccoli or cauliflower: steamed, boiled, sautéed etc. TJ's has it in the freezer section, and it's served in a butter sauce. The bag gives directions to microwave its contents, but I think it would have been better roasted. If you see this vegetable, definitely give it a try. It's also pretty cool looking! 

As for my tortellini with peas, here's my recipe: 

- 1/2 small onion, diced

- 4 small garlic cloves, diced

- 1/2 cup green peas

- 3 tbsp olive oil

- 1 tbsp tomato paste

- 1 box tortellini

salt and pepper

  

Sauté onion and garlic for 5 mins in olive oil. Add tomato paste and combine. Add green peas and continue to cook until peas are tender. 

In the meantime, boil water to cook tortellini and follow cooking time according to package. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water. When the pasta is almost completely cooked, combine with onions and peas and add pasta water to combine ingredients. 

Serve and enjoy!

To make the chicken, I thawed two chicken breasts, and I seasoned the meat with salt, pepper, and oregano. 

Cook at 400F for 45 mins (Note, my oven temp may be different than yours, so if clear liquids come from the chicken or if you have a thermometer, then it's ready!) Add juice from one lemon. 

Here, I have it served with Trader Joe's cauliflower and romanesco. 

I add lemon last to intensify the lemon flavor, and it's a nice bright surprise on a cold night!

can you pass the salt?

Last night I kept dinner simple. I took out Trader Joe's soy-ginger glazed cod (http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article.asp?article_id=230), steamed rice, and popped a bag edamame in the microwave  (minus 2 from the freezer!!) The cod had great flavor, and the ginger wasn't too overpowering as Brian puts it.  It was a great meal with very little effort.

After steaming the edamame, Brian sprinkled some salt onto the pods and asked,"Does all salt have iodine?" The answer is no; not all salts contain the micronutrient.  With many recipes calling for Kosher salt or sea salt, these do not contain iodine. Even basic table salt has to state whether or not it iodized.

So what's so important about iodized salt? It helps prevent iodine deficiency, which was first recognized as a public health concern in the 1920's, and shortly after, iodine was added to flour first, then to salt. It may seem that two main staples of our basic diet, flour and salt, should be sufficient in preventing iodine deficiency; however, today, flour is not iodized, and companies are not mandated to add it to salt. Compounded by the fact that we are all "trying" to use less salt, these factors are leading to a decline in the intake of iodine and a rise in the deficiency.

Iodine is needed to produce thyroid hormones, and without its intake, hyperthyroidism can cause the thyroid gland to swell resulting in a goiter. Another concern of iodine deficiency is in pregnant women. Without the intake of the element, the health of the mother and child are at risk, including potential miscarriage, stillbirth, or mental retardation.

Just before you start taking iodine supplements, too much iodine is also not a good thing! It you consume  excess iodine, you can stimulate too much thyroid hormone. If you keep to the required daily allowance of salt, which is less than one teaspoon (and remember most food we consume contain sodium), then your iodine intake should be covered, unless you're expecting, then talk to your doctor.

Manhattan Clam Chowder

When we were in Cape May, we ordered softshell crabs to-go from the famous Lobster House. With the remaining legs and shell, I made a crab stock. I had seen that recipes call for fish stock, and I after a few google searches (http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Lobster-Broth),  I assumed that if you seeped the shells, it would yield a broth outcome, and it did. I just never knew what I wanted to do with fish broth. 

Until last week, my fish stock tupperware inhabited my freezer!  I decided to make Manhattan Clam Chowder. I even tried to replicate the Lobster House recipe, since I kept the lid and the ingredients were listed, so I decided to give it a whirl!

In my clam chowder (made 4 servings), I used the following
- 2 celery stalks
- 1 large carrot
- 1/2 medium onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 hand fulls of fingerling potatoes
- 2 cans of minced clams
- 4 cups of crab stock
- 1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
- 1 cup water
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp oregano
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 3 slices of Bacon diced

First, dice the bacon and cook until the fat is rendered. Use a medium heat, but if the bacon starts to burn, lower the heat.

As the bacon is cooking, dice the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic. 

Next, remove the bacon from the pot, and keep it aside. Sauté the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic in the bacon fat. Add spices. Cook for 5-7 mins at medium heat. 

Add potatoes and continue to cook for additional 5-7 mins. 

Add fish broth, water, and diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 mins. Add the clams and bacon. Continue to cook for 15 mins.

Serve and enjoy!!! 

cleaning out my freezer!

So being that I've had this thought for sometime now, I've been in the process of cleaning out my freezer, and boy did I have some winners - like Christmas cookies from last year!

Here's a picture of my freezer about two weeks ago.

Stuff to capacity! Here is the door...

Now, many of you might be wondering about the dreaded freezer burn. As long as you store your food in airtight packages, your food should be safe. The problem with freezer burn is that if you do not store your food in airtight containers, the moisture within the food will freeze, leaving ice crystals behind and your food (especially meats) becoming dehydrated and "burned", thus freezer burned. Also, because water leaves your food, then it is possible for oxygen to seep in, and by doing so, the flavor and/or color of your food can change. Food that has freezer burn is safe to eat, but it might have a different taste or flavor than a normally fresh piece of food (like a steak) would have.


I've made several attempts to remove items to have a clean fridge by the new years. My first recipe: Manhattan Clam Chowder.