Cumin-Rubbed Beef

Step 1 : Mix together cumin, mustard powder, garlic powder, sea salt, sage, and bread crumbs.
             Heat water for pasta, add pasta when the water boils.  Try to time it so pasta is done around the                    same time as the beef.

Step 2 : Coat pieces of eye of round beef with the seasoning mixture, then brown them on each side.

Step 3 : Pour red wine into the pan, just enough to cover the beef. 

Step 4 : When the beef is about halfway done, add vegetables to the pan.  

             I used cabbage and carrots.  I also grated some ginger into the pan. 

Step 5 : Remove the beef from the pan when it is done.  Once the pasta is drained, add it to the pan with the              vegetables and sauce, mix well. 

Step 6 : Eat.

Cumin-Rosemary-Ginger Pork

This is the first time I cooked pork in the oven instead of in the crock-pot or on the stove-top.  I had originally intended to stick the 1 1/2 pound tenderloin in the crock-pot to make some of my delicious apple-cider cinnamon pulled pork, but I never quite got around to getting out the crock-pot.  So, I decided to use the oven for once.

I coated the pork with ginger, cumin, and rosemary, and stuck it in the 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.  Then, I flipped it over and cooked it for another 30 minutes.

I had some for dinner along with zucchini spaghetti (sauteed in olive oil with garlic and ginger) and quinoa. 

It was delicious.  

Mini Peach-Ginger Pies

Disclaimer : If you have a sweet tooth, this is probably not going to satisfy you.  

If you are like me and prefer your desserts to be less sweet, you might love it. 

preheat the oven to 350

The Crust

1/4 c butter

1/4 c whole wheat flour

1/2+ c white flour

1/4 tsp sea salt

3 tbsp cold water

The Filling

2 peaches, peeled & chopped

1 inch ginger root, grated

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/8 c flour

1 tsp ginger powder

1 tbsp mint leaves, chopped

1 tsp butter

I rolled the pie dough out and then used the mouth of a large plastic cup to cut out circles, which I then placed in 6 cups of a muffin tin, with some dough left over for the pie tops.  I mixed all of the filling ingredients together and then spooned them into the little pie shells.  I used the extra pie dough to put Xs on top of the pies.  

Bake for 20-30 minutes. 

I almost threw out the peach skins, but then I decided that instead of letting them go completely to waste, I could make a nice, refreshing, cocktail out of them.  

Peach-Skin Cocktail

skins from 2 peaches

2-3 sections of grapefruit

2 sprigs of basil

Jameson

Club Soda

muddle together the skins, grapefruit, and basil

add Jameson and Club Soda

add ice

stir well

The Pumpkin Saga continues...

The Kale

(steamed with garlic and ginger)

The Pork Chop

(cooked in pumpkin cider, sage, and ginger)

The Linguine

(tossed with a pumpkin/apple cider/sage/ginger cream sauce)

Immersion Blender!

I just bought myself a new kitchen toy that has made soup-making sooooo much easier.  

I've been planning to make carrot-ginger soup for awhile now, but it's usually such a pain, I was dragging my feet about making it, even though I was craving it.  But then I ordered an immersion blender and it came yesterday.  So tonight I made my soup.  Cooked everything, threw it all in a pitcher, and blended it smooth.  So much quicker and easier than processing it cup by cup in my food processor.  Also, the immersion blender is so easy to clean!

Olive oil, 2 inches of ginger root, 1/2 yellow onion, garlic powder, mustard powder, splash of veggie stock.

9 carrots, steamed with 1/2 stick butter, a bit of water.

When the carrots were soft, I poured the entire contents of the pot into the larger pot with the onions, etc.  Then I added 1-2 cups of heavy cream and a bit more veggie stock. 

I let it cook for a few minutes, then I spooned it into a pitcher.

Then I put my new toy to work.

Yes, I made soup in a green drink pitcher.  

The instructions for the blender said tall and thin containers work best. 

I decided this was the best thing I had.

Deliciousness.

Strawberry - Ginger Fruit Topping

Ingredients

12 strawberries, chopped

c. 1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger root

1 spoonful of brown sugar

orange juice

Brown the ginger in a little bit of olive oil in a 2 qt saucepan, then soak up as much oil as possible with a paper towel.  Add enough orange juice to cover the bottom of the pan.  Add the chopped strawberries and the sugar.  Stir for a bit, then bring it to a simmer and let simmer til it has reached the desired thickness. 

Stuffing Muffins

I always throw the ends of bread loaves into the freezer.  Sometimes they turn into stuffing, sometimes bread pudding.  I got a new roommate recently, and it's been getting hard to close the freezer door.  I had almost 2 loaves worth of bread in there, so I figured it was about time to do something with it.  I didn't manage to use all of it, but I did manage to use of some of it!

Ingredients

garlic cloves

fresh ginger root

1/4 yellow onion

2 slices of bacon

2 small carrots

big handful of cranberries

1 egg

veggie stock

c 3/4 loaf of dried bread

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350.

Chop the garlic, ginger, and onion and saute in some olive oil.  Chop the bacon and add it when the onion starts to brown.  Grate the carrot and put it in a big bowl.  Chop the cranberries and add them to the bowl. Add the garlic/ginger/onion/bacon mixture.  Beat the egg and add it.  Add c 1/2 c of veggie stock.  Mix well.  Break the bread into roughly 1 inch pieces and add it.  Stir well until all of the bread is moist.  Add more veggie stock if needed.  Grease a muffin tin.  Shape the stuffing mixture into 12 balls and put them in the muffin tin.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.  

Crockpot Chicken Stew

3 b/s chicken breasts

4 cloves garlic

1 inch ginger root

1 small onion

5 celery sticks

7 small carrots

1 can of corn

1 can of stewed tomatoes

1 1/2 c pumpkin

1 1/2 c veggie stock

basil

oregano

turmeric

cumin

Mince the garlic and ginger and saute them in bacon grease.  When they are browned, add the onion and cook til translucent.  Put the chicken in the bottom of the crockpot, add the garlic, ginger, and onion on top.  Chop the celery and carrots, add them to the crockpot.  Add the corn, then the tomatoes.  Mix together the pumpkin with 1/2 c veggie stock, then pour it over the contents of the crockpot.  Mix the rest of the veggie stock with herbs & seasonings, then add to the crockpot.  Cook on low for 6 hours. When done cooking, shred the chicken and mix well.  

This made a tasty lunch on a stormy day.  I ate it with a gouda and spinach grilled cheese sandwich.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies

The Cream Cheese Cookies I made on Sunday were so delicious, I just had to whip up another batch!  This time, I added some cocoa powder...can't ever have too much chocolate!

Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies

4 tbsp butter

2 oz cream cheese

1/2 c brown sugar

1/4 c sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1+ tsp ginger powder

3/4 tsp vanilla

2+ tsp cocoa powder

1 egg

1/2 c wheat flour

1 c flour

handful of craisins

handful of mini chocolate chips

bake @ 375 for 10-12 minutes

These cookies hold their shape very well while baking.  The tops may look slightly under-done when you take them out, but they will firm up the rest of the way while cooling on a wire rack.  You don't want to over-bake the cookies, or the bottoms will burn.

I received a bottle of Smooth Ambler Old Scout Rye Whiskey for my birthday.  Cracked open that bottle this evening and tried it with the cookies.  Perfect match. 

Broccoli Salad

1 1/2 heads of broccoli 

(steamed and chopped)

3 slices bacon

1 inch ginger root

3 cloves garlic

(chopped and cooked together in a skillet)

1 large spoonful of mayonnaise

soy sauce

ginger powder

mustard powder

(blended together)

small handful of chives

(finely chopped)

mix everything together