Playing with Mussels

I've been ordering from Peapod alot lately. I've been having really good success with the quality of their produce, meat, and seafood. So when I saw they had a special on mussels I ordered some up and when looking for a healthy recipe to make with them. I decided on Mussel Chowder I found.

The first step in the recipe was to "scrub and de-beard" the mussels. I had no idea what de-beard means or how to do it so I did a quick search on YouTube and found the following video.


What really scared me was when she mentioned that submerging the mussels in fresh water would kill the mussels because I had them soaking in a bowl of cold water as I was watching the video! It was only for about 10 minutes though so everything worked out fine.

I had a hard time looking over the mussels and determining which ones were dead. I pulled out all the cracked ones but other were mostly closed, and just a little open, but when I banged them on the counter as she did in the video they didn't close. I just wasn't sure about them. But I ended up cooking them in some water and wine and they all opened up so everything was fine.

The next step was to pull out the meat from most of the mussels and then I started chopping vegetables.  It wasn't too bad... just dicing up potatoes, garlic, carrots, leeks, and fennel.

The house smelled wonderful just from sauteing the leeks! Then it was a matter of cooking the other veggies, adding in the reserved broth and letting it sit for a while. At the end I added in the half-and-half and reserved mussels. There really wasn't that much liquid left, so it was definitely a chowder. But everyone loved it! We had it for a late Sunday afternoon lunch while the Masters was on.

Love is all around you...

- Rachel

Twitter: @RachelRubin
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Tasting Chicago's Best Dishes

I'm intrigued by this list of 30 dishes to eat while visiting Chicago published by the Red Eye. While I've been to about half of the restaurants featured in the list, I think I have only tasted one of the dishes, #23 Saganaki at Parthenon. But I'm not even sure because I've been to a bunch of restaurants in Greektown, and probably had Saganaki at all of them, but not 100% sure.

So this looks like a good taste challenge for the Spring and Summer!


Love is all around you...

- Rachel

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Hell No to the GMO!!! by @YumYucky

YumYucky is hilarious! Any way to get people more interested in GMO is good with me. Ew, they really need to label foods with GMO at least.


Love is all around you...

- Rachel

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Julia Child Remixed

In celebration of her 100th birthday, PBS Digital Studio produced Julia Child Remixed by John D. Boswell, aka melodysheep. Makes me smile. Love the use of the old black and white clips. "Bring on the roasted potatoes..."  Bon appetit!


Love is all around you...

- Rachel

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Purple Cabbage Salad with Edamame, Golden Raisins, and Smoked Almonds

Photo by Rachel's Bite, Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 3.0 US licensed. 

This is a really unique salad! Packed with all sorts of good veggies, it's the sauce made of mint, lime juice, honey and chile-garlic sauce that makes this stand out. It's both refreshing and comforting at the same time. The almonds adds a bit of crunch which is nice for a dynamic texture.

Notice all the beautiful colors? It's very impressive because of both the color and the flavors. This was a great find from Vegetarian Times.

Purple Cabbage Salad with Edamame, Golden Raisins, and Smoked Almonds Serves 6 1 1/2 cups frozen shelled edamame 2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage 1 orange bell pepper, cored, seeded and thinly sliced 1 cup finely diced pineapple 1/4 cup golden raisins 16 smoked almonds 1/4 cup choppped fresh mint 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice 2 Tbsp. honey 1/4 tsp. chile-garlic sauce

Bring small pot of water to a boil. Add frozen edamame, and cook 10 minutes. Drain, and refresh under cold water. Transfer to large bowl; add cabbage, bell pepper, pineapple, raisins, almonds, mint, lime juice, honey, and chile-garlic sauce. Toss well, and season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Nutritional information provided in magazine:
Per 1-cup serving: 127 CAL; 5 G PROT; 4 G TOTAL FAT (<1 G SAT FAT); 22 G CARB; 0 MG CHOL; 33 MG SOD; 4 G FIBER; 15 G SUGARS.

Love is all around you... Enjoy!

- Rachel

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Blue Cheese-Apricot Bites

Photo by Rachel's Bite, Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 3.0 US licensed.

Sweet, savory, and crunchy! You do have to be a fan of blue cheese to enjoy these, but I think there's nothing better than a pungent cheese with a bit of sweet. I found this recipe for Blue Cheese-Apricot Bites in a 2010 Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publications for Appetizers. It's the perfect party food! And these candied walnuts you end up with, you'll want to make a whole batch of just those. But be careful, they can get soggy.

I have made this recipe several times. I usually make a double batch because you only end up with 16 and I always eat 3 or 4 while I'm putting them together because they are so yummy. I have tried these with organic apricots which is a bit better for you, but the organic apricots are darker and might look strange to some. Being an appetizer people just think they are dark because they are cooked, but I wanted to warn you of the discoloration in case you try those out.

Blue Cheese-Apricot Bites
Makes 16 appetizers

2 tsp. butter
2 Tbsp. finely chopped walnuts
2 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. snipped fresh rosemary or ¼ tsp dried rosemary, finely crushed
¼ cup crumbled Gorgonzola,Roquefort, or other blue cheese (1 ounce)
1 ounce cream cheese
16 dried apricots
Snipped fresh rosemary (optional)

In a small skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add wlnuts and sugar; cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes or until walnuts are lightly toasted. Stir in ½ teaspoon fresh or ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary; cook and stir for 30 seconds more. Transfer nuts to a foil-lined baking sheet; cool.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine Gorgonzola cheese and cream cheese. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth.

Spoon about ¾ teaspoon of the cheese mixture on top of each dried apricot. Sprinkle with nuts. If desired, garnish with additional fresh rosemary.

Per appetizer: 33 cal., 2 g total fat (1 g sat. fat), 5 mg. chol., 24 mg sodium, 3 g carb., 0.3g fiber, 1 g pro.


Love is all around you... Enjoy!

- Rachel

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Very Green Lentil Soup

Photo by Rachel's Bite, Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 3.0 US licensed.

Is there anything that makes you feel more healthy than loading up your shopping basket with a bunch of green vegetables? I find it especially comforting when they are to make a big pot of healthy soup. I knew had to try this recipe for Very Green Lentil Soup when I saw it featured in "The Soup of Life", an article highlighting green soups made with lots of veggies from the September/October 2011 issue of Eating Well magazine.

Lentils are a super food, right? They are high in nutritional value, easy to prepare, and cheap! I know some people are afraid of them, but I am so glad I got into eating them. They fill you up and mostly take on the flavor of whatever you are cooking. To me, they are a comfort. This recipe calls for French green lentils, which are available in many specialty markets or natural-foods stores, but you can also use plain brown lentils if you can't find them.

This soup has a bit of an Indian flavor due to the cumin and coriander, but the fresh lemon juice makes it super fresh. And of course the feta cheese adds a wonderful richness that really makes this soup have several layers of flavor.

Very Green Lentil Soup
Makes 8 services, about 1⅔ cups each

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
2 large yellow onions, chopped
1¼ tsp. salt, divided
1 cup French green (Le Puy) or brown lentils
8 large green chard leaves
1 medium Yukon Gold potato, scrubbed
12 cups gently packed spinach (about 10 ounces), any touch stems trimmed
4 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
5 cups vegetable broth
2 cups chopped broccoli
1 Tbsp. cumin seeds, lightly toasted and ground
½ tsp. ground coriander
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint
½ jalapeno peppe, minced
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
Crumbled feta cheese for garnish

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add onions and ¼ teaspoon salt; cook, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add 2 tablespoons water and cover. Cook stirring frequently until the pan cools down, and then occasionally, always covering the pan again, until the onions are greatly reduced and have a deep caramel color, 25 to 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, rinse the lentils and pick out any small stones; combine the lentils with the remaining 4 cups water in a soup pot or Dutch oven. Bring to aboil. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Trim the white ribs out of the chard; chop the greens and slice the ribs (keep in separate piles). Cut potato into ½-inch dice. Chop spinach; set aside.

When hte lentils have cooked for 20 minutes, stir in the chard ribs, potato, scallions, broth and remaining 1 teaspoon salt; return to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.

Stir in the chard leaves, broccoli, cumin and coriander. When the onions are caramelized, stir a little of the simmering liquid into them; add them to the soup. Return to a simmer, cover and cook 5 minutes more. Stire in the reserved spinach, cilantro, mint, jalapeno and pepper; return to a simmer, cover and cook until the spinach is tender but still bright green, about 5 minutes more. Stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Taste and add more lemon juice and/or pepper if desired. Garnish each bowl of soup with a drizzle of olive oil and crumbled feta cheese.

Per Serving: 191 calories; 5 g fat (1 g sat, 3 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 30 g carbohydrate; 9 g added sugars; 10 g protein, 9 g fiber; 735 mg sodium; 793 mg potassium.


Love is all around you... Enjoy!

- Rachel

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Spicy Shirataki Noodles

Photo by Rachel's Bite, Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 3.0 US licensed.  

Have you heard of no-calorie noodles? I had just heard about them when I saw the feature "Oodles of Noodles" in the January/February 2011 issue of Vegetarian Times magazine. The noodles featured are Shirataki noodles which do have a few calories per serving, but very minimal. Instead of regular flour, they are made with Asian yam flour. I have see tofu shirataki noodles at Whole Foods and other natural food stores.

This is a quick and easy stir-fry that ends up light and fresh. The noodles do taste like a light noodle! The consistency is pretty much the same, it's just a light bit on the chewy side. As you can imagine, the don't have much taste on their own to having the proper amount of sauce and seasoning is important.

Note: if you want to make these vegan, make sure the noodles you buy are marked as vegan. Some brands add calcium derived from shellfish.

Spicy Shirataki Noodles Serves 4 4 Tbsp. gluten-free, reduced-sodium tamari 2½ Tbsp. lime juice 1 Tbsp. light brown sugar 2 tsp. sriracha sauce 1 Tbsp. grapeseed oil 2 Tbsp. chopped jalapeno chile 3 cloves garlic, minced (1Tbsp.) 1 onion, sliced (1 cup) 1 red bell pepper, sliced 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced 2 8-oz. pkg. tofu shirataki fettuccini, prepared according to package directions ½ cup fresh basil leaves, torn

Whisk together tamari, lime juice, brown sugar, and sriracha in bowl. Set aside.

Heat oil in wok over medium-high heat. Add jalapeno and garlic, and cook 1 minute. Add onion and bell peppers, and stir-fry 5 minutes. Add tamari mixture and shirataki, and simmer 3 to 5 minutes, then toss with basil.

Nutritional information provided in magazine:
Per 1½-cup serving: 130 CAL; 5 G PROT; 4 G TOTAL FAT (<1 G SAT FAT); 19 G CARB; 0 MG CHOL; 770 MG SOD; 4 G FIBER; 8 G SUGARS.

Love is all around you... Enjoy!

- Rachel

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Slow-Cooker Black Bean-Mushroom Chili

Photo by Rachel's Bite, Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 3.0 US licensed.   

I try to make as many recipes as beans as possible. They seem like a miracle food! Cheap, healthy, and filling. I order often from Rancho Gordo because I think their beans are high quality and I never know how long a pack of beans have been sitting around on a shelf at the store. It's not that they go bad or anything, but I find fresher beans more flavorful.

This recipe for Slow-Cooker Black Bean-Mushroom Chili appealed to me not only for the use of beans, but also because I am a huge mushroom fan AND you get to use your slow cooker! You do end up with a really tasty dinner but it is nothing like traditional chili. The use of tomatillos and chipotle peppers gives it a really great flavor and I find those ingredients fun to play with.

The recipe for Slow-Cooker Black Bean-Mushroom Chili is available on EatingWell.com.

Love is all around you... Enjoy!

- Rachel

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Chard and Tofu Wontons in Sambal Soy Sauce

Photo by Rachel's Bite, Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 3.0 US licensed. 

Be prepared for some time in the kitchen to make these wontons. It doesn't take too long, but you do have to hand fold about 30 wontons which does take a bit of time. I just cranked up the music and sipped some wine while putting these together and it was kind of meditative. And yum did they taste good! Way better than frozen wontons you can buy at the store. But if you do use wontons from the store, this sambal soy sauce recipe is delicious so try and make that on your own.

I did have one issue though when I made the wontons ahead of time and froze them. They stuck together because I let them sit on top of each other in the freezer bag, so definitely free them on a parchment-lined baking sheet before transferring them to the freezer bag. Cooking them practically tore them apart when I cooked them in a big lump.

The recipe calls for "baked soy-seasoned tofu" which I could not find anywhere. I used a recipe for Basic Baked Tofu from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's "Appetite for Reduction"which is my favorite vegan cookbook. Cut pressed tofu into 8 equal pieces and marinade in ¾ cup vegetable broth, 3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar, 2 Tbsp. tamari or soy sauce, 1 tsp. dried thyme and 3 cloves of minced garlic. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, spoon on some marinade and bake for another 10.

Chard and Tofu Wontons in Sambal Soy Sauce
Serves 10

Wontons
2 tsp. roasted sesame oil
1 medium carrott, finely chopped (½ cup)
4 cups chopped Swiss chard leaves
6 oz. baked soy-seasoned tofu, chopped
1 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
⅛ tsp. ground white pepper
1 12-oz. pkg. wonton wrappers
3 green onions, chopped, for garnish
¼ cup chopped cilantro, for garnish

Sambal Soy Sauce
6 Tbs. Chinese malt vinegar or 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar plus 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
6 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp. sambal oelek
4 tsp. maple syrup
2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)

To make Wontons: Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrot, and stir-fry 3 minutes. Add chard, and cook 5 minutes, or until wilted. Transfer mixture to food processor, and pulse until finely chopped. Add tofu, and pulse until combined. Transfer to bowl, and stir in soy sauce and white pepper.

Set 1 wonton wrapper on work surface. Spoon 1 tsp. tofu mixture in center of wrapper. Brush wrapper edges with water, and fold wrapper into triangle around filling. Press edges to seal, and place on lightly floured baking sheet. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.

Bring large pot of water to boil. Cook 10 Wontons at a time in boiling water 90 seconds. Remove from pot with slotted spoon, and place in bowl.

To make Sambal Soy Sauce: whisk all ingredients together in small bowl. Top Wontons with Sambal Soy Sauce, and garnish with green onions and cilantro.

Per serving (5 wontons plus 1½ Tbsp. sauce): 168 cal; 8 g prot; 3 g total fat (<1 g sat fat); 26 g carb; 3 mg chol; 736 mg sod; 2 g fiber; 3 g sugars

Love is all around you... Enjoy!

- Rachel

Twitter: @RachelRubin
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