Chard Tacos - Vegan/Low Fat/Low Cal Section

---As Stolen & modified from Allrecipes---

Disclaimer: These sound like they would be terrible - but they were awesome!!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• Some green onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 bunch Swiss chard, tough stems removed and leaves cut crosswise into 1 1/2-inch slices
• 1 pinch salt
• 12 corn tortillas
• 1 cup crumbled queso fresco cheese or any cheese <------non-vegan
• 3/4 cup salsa
• Cooked whole grain rice <-----I added that since I was out of salsa

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook onion. garlic and red pepper flakes, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the chicken broth, Swiss chard, and salt. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer until chard is nearly tender, about 5 minutes. Remove lid and increase heat to medium, stirring until the liquid evaporates, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. I use a pancake skillet, Crisp up the tortillas in the skillet for about 1-5 minute per side. Fill the warmed tortillas with the chard, and top with the queso fresco cheese, salsa and/or whole grain rice.

I don't know about you, but any excuse to celebrate food works for me.
Not only is today Echo's birthday (AND Chuck Norris' birthday) but is also Blueberry Popover Day! Now I know what will be in Echo's birthday care package next year :D

For a food holiday everyday, check out this link:
FOOD HOLIDAY CALENDAR

CAUTION: Can cause spontaneous urges to "ooooh - I gotta try that". Could also result in a time-sucking vacuum until all 12 months have been thoroughly perused.

Baked Ziti ... aka the Lazy Lasagna
This evening I decided to make baked ziti...

1 lb. box ziti pasta
1 26 oz jar of your favorite pasta sauce
1 bag Italian shredded cheese
Parmesan cheese (the kind you use for spaghetti)
1 small can mushrooms (drained)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees... meanwhile...

1 lb. sweet Italian sausage
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon basil
dash garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 or 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Brown sausage with onion in olive oil;
then add basil, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, & set aside.

Start (kosher) salted water to boil for pasta...

15 oz. ricotta cheese
dash of garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon parsley flakes
dash of basil

Mix the above 4 ingredients together & set aside.

Boil pasta as directed on the package to firm,
Do NOT over cook your pasta...
After you have drained your pasta, put in a bowl & mix with mushrooms & 1 cup pasta sauce.

Now: take out your casserole dish (I always spray my dish with vegetable spray),
& put a 1/4 cup of pasta sauce in the bottom of the pan to cover:
add a layer of the sausage mixture;
a layer of pasta mixture;
a layer of the ricotta cheese mixture;
spoon some sauce over;
sprinkle with Italian shred cheeses & Parmesan cheese;
& repeat.
Add remaining shredded cheese on top & bake for 25 minutes.
After you remove the baked ziti from the oven, let stand 10 minutes...

Then Eat & Enjoy!

Fillet of Sole and Garlic Shrimp

The Fillet of Sole recipe I borrowed from Emeril Lagasse. It is called Fillet of Sole Escabeche. Start by getting the sole into the marinade.

1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup lime juice (I used lemon because I didn't have lime.)
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro (I didn't have this ingredient either. Cilantro has a unique flavor that cannot be replaced, but I substituted some basil and parsley.)
1 small jalapeno, finely chopped (I added a little extra because Nate loves jalapenos!)
1 teaspoon chopped garlic

Allow the fish to marinade in the fridge for about an hour. Next, season some flour (about 1 cup) with salt and pepper. Take the fish out of the marinade and coat with the flour.

The recipe calls for the fish to be cut into cubes, but I decided to leave the fillets whole. I later discovered that was a mistake because the fish won't hold up in the oil, so I suggest cubing the fish. Heat some vegetable oil in a large skillet. To test if the oil is hot enough to begin frying, drop a pinch of flour in. If the flour sizzles, it is ready.

Fry the fish in batches until golden brown. Remove the fish from the oil and place on a plate covered with paper towels to soak up the extra oil.

Now, time for the shrimp. Start with 1 pound raw shrimp that has been peeled and deveined with the tail on. If you have to devein yourself, use a small paring knife and slice about 1/4 inch deep down the back of the shrimp. Use either your fingers or the tip of the knife to pull the vein out. If you don't see a vein, leave it alone.

The recipe comes from a Taste of Home cookbook. Besides the shrimp, you will need 3 minced garlic cloves, 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, 3 tablespoons butter, and 1/2 cup of white wine. Cook the garlic and pepper flakes in the butter for about 1 minute. Add the shrimp, and cook until pink.

Remove the shrimp and add the wine. Reduce the wine by half. Return the shrimp to the pan and cook until heated through. I steamed some zucchini to add to the plate and garnished with some parsley.

Don't know why that picture is showing up sideways, but you get the drift. :) Enjoy!

Seafood Pasta

To get started, I needed to come up with sauce recipe. I wanted a white sauce that wasn't going to over-power the flavor of the seafood. Here is the recipe I came up with:

1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, chopped
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup white wine
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large saute pan. Saute the garlic until golden. Add the cream, wine, and cheese. Simmer for about 6 minutes. Whisk in the rest of the butter.

Cook about a half of a package of spaghetti according to the directions. Set aside.

Add about a half pound of uncooked, peeled shrimp to the sauce. Cook until the shrimp turns pink. Mix in 2 cans of clams, 1 can of whole oysters (I like to break them up, but they can be left whole), and either lump crab meat or imitation crab meat if you are short on cash. Let the ingredients simmer in the sauce to allow the flavor to combine.

While the sauce simmers, steam some fresh broccoli and spinach. Then, add the vegetables to the sauce. I also added a can of diced tomatoes, drained. Toss in the pasta, and you are done! Serve with grated Parmesan on top.

Kimchi Time!

Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish consisting of fermented vegetables. There are many kinds of kimchi, but we will focus on the most commonly known napa cabbage version. Since Kimchi has been around for hundreds of years, it's kinda like spaghetti sauce or lasagna: every family seems to have their own recipe handed down through generations. So this recipe is by no means the ONLY way to make it. In fact, I have a couple of different versions depending on the season. This recipe will take a couple of days to make, and will sit longer than that, depending on how sour you like your kimchi.

OOPS!!! Wrong picture...

You'll need:

Napa Cabbage - They vary in size, so you can decide how much you want to make. I used two this time.

Korean hot pepper flakes (Pictured above).

Garlic - At least one head

Ginger - The store was sold out of fresh, so since I was going to mince it up anyway, I just got the tube of pureed ginger, which works just as well.

Salt - At least 3 cups

First, pick off all the wilted layers off the napa cabbage. Then cut off enough of the stem to get rid of the dried brown end, but leave enough to hold the cabbage together.

Then quarter the cabbage:

In a large bowl, lightly salt the inside edges of the the napa quarters, gently lifting the leaves to get the salt deep into each layer. When all the quarters are done, pack them in the bowl or a pot big enough to hold them and add enough water to cover the napa by an inch. Keep in mind that they will float, so push them down to get true depth. Add another half to 3/4 cup of salt to the water to create a brine. Place a plate on top of the napa, and something heavy on top of the plate to completely submerge the cabbage into the brine and leave overnight, no refrigeration required.

The next day, reserve 2 cups of the brine, and drain the rest out.

Take each quarter and cut into 1-2 inch pieces including the core and place in a large bowl.

Peel and finely mince garlic and ginger (if fresh).

Add ginger, garlic and about a cup of the red pepper flake to the napa cabbage and mix. If more heat is needed, you can always add more pepper flake later. After all the "dry" ingredients are mixed in, add the reserved 2 cups of brine.

If you like fresh kimchi, you can let it sit in the refrigerator overnight and then begin to eat it right away. If you like sour kimchi, you need to let this sit out for a few days before refrigerating to begin the fermentation process. Do NOT add vinegar to try to imitate the sour taste...it'll be gross ya'll...

We found a large, ex-artichoke jar from Costco in which to pack ours...

Good Luck!!!