All Good Things
This weekend was an insanely busy one, between work events, volunteer events and family events.
But it was also a good one.
I made a dessert.
I had dinner with my friend, Chrissy, last week and she made these “cheesecake” stuffed strawberries for dessert. It seemed easy enough for me to replicate (since it was no-bake…we all know I’m not a baker), so I copied her and made a batch for Mother’s Day yesterday.
I should really make desserts more often. Especially when they’re pretty easy and healthy like this one.
We told my nephews they were stuffed with whipped cream and they went nuts over them. Apparently they don’t think they’re fans of cheesecake but whipped cream they can get on board with. I love kids. They’re so easy to mess with.
We had a fun, drama-free Mother’s Day. My whole family got in on a rousing game of wiffle ball in my parents’ backyard and we all agreed that it was the most fun we’ve all had together in a long time.
We’re practically the Waltons.
And then we feasted.
Lobster is such a special meal for my family, so any time we all eat it together, I’m happy. And happy that I could celebrate Mother’s Day with my wonderful mom and sister.
And lastly, see that there “Recipe” tab? It finally happened. I now have a recipe page. I actually organized and posted a page with (most of) the recipes that I’ve written up on Braise The Roof over the nearly two years that I’ve been blogging.
So that means that I’m finally quasi-legit as a food blogger, right?
See? All good things.
Low-Tech Zucchini Chips
I love cookbooks. I love blogs that showcase beautiful recipes. I even love FoodNetwork.com despite the fact that a pop-up window opens every time you click on something.
I don’t love, however, when I look through a recipe that looks like it would be fantastic and find that I need a specialty jellyroll pan, a fondue fountain and a blow torch to achieve it.
I don’t have all that many fancy kitchen tools. I mean, I have a potato masher. It was a Christmas present.
I played with it for about 4 hours Christmas morning, ask my family. And I didn’t even cook that day.
So, when I found myself with a leftover zucchini from making these burgers, I looked to the interwebs for ideas. There were several recipes for zucchini chips, but I noticed something: they all called for special equipment.
A mandolin.
A dehydrator.
I own neither of those things, not to mention, where in the Sam Hill would I put a dehydrator in my 1200 square foot apartment?
I DO have a knife. And an oven. And I even have a Silpat, which I realize makes me totally fancy. But parchment paper would work just as well, I promise.
Low-Tech Zucchini Chips
serves 1
1/2 large zucchini
1 t olive oil
1/4 t salt or seasoned salt
1/4 t garlic powder
1. Preheat oven to 225°.
2. Slice zucchini into coins as thin as possible. Mine were anywhere between the thickness of a dime and a quarter and the thinner slices baked up better. This is where a mandolin would have come in handy, but I valiantly forged on with my regular ol’ knife.
3. Toss zucchini slices in oil and spread on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat (silicone mat) or parchment paper. Sprinkle with seasonings, going a bit lighter than you may be tempted to.
4. Bake for 40 minutes on top rack. At this point you can taste one to see if you need more seasoning.
5. Rotate pan and bake for another 35-40 minutes, until the chips are starting to turn golden and are curling up at the sides.
This really isn’t much of a recipe, I realize that. It would work equally well with radishes, beets, root vegetables, even potatoes.
My only point is that you can often easily adapt hoity toity recipes to work with what you have on hand, so don’t let the equipment requirements scare you off.
Unless, of course, you’ve been looking for an excuse to buy that shaved ice machine.
Deceptively Creamy Mushroom and Kale Fusilli
Ah, Sunday.
There isn’t a better day suited to comfort food.
Ah, the first Sunday in May.
There isn’t a worse time to be thinking about comfort food.
I really should be thinking about the rising temperatures and how I’m going to squeeze myself into a bathing suit come beach season.
So this past Sunday, I decided to compromise and make something that felt comforting but without using any heavy ingredients.
Creamy Mushroom and Kale Fusilli
serves 2
4 oz uncooked brown rice fusilli (or pasta of choice)
1 cup sliced cremini mushrooms
2 cups kale, stems removed and roughly chopped or torn
1/2 T butter
salt+pepper to taste
1/2 cup chicken (or vegetable) broth
2 T low fat milk
1 t cornstarch+1 t water
1/2 oz crumbled feta cheese
1/4-1/2 t red pepper flakes
1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Heat butter in a skillet over medium-low heat.
3. Add mushrooms and saute for about 10 minutes. Do not salt at this point in the cooking process (the mushrooms will develop better color without the salt).
4. Add kale to the skillet, season with salt and pepper. Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.
5. Pour broth and milk into the skillet and bring to a gentle bubble, then reduce heat to low.
6. Combine cornstarch and water in a small bowl and stir until cornstarch is dissolved. Add to the veggie skillet and stir. Allow sauce to thicken until it easily coats the back of a wooden spoon.
7. Add feta to the sauce and stir to allow the cheese to partially melt.
8. Drain pasta and add to the sauce, season with red pepper flakes and toss to combine well.
With brussels sprouts on the side. Obviously. Because we all know that those little cabbages are strangely comfort food to me, too.
My 12 year old self just shuddered.
I calculated the stats on this stuff and a serving only comes to about 330 calories and 10 grams of fat. That’s a heckuva lot better than a creamy pasta you’d order at any restaurant.
And look how creamy!
Let’s just not talk about the whole “using cornstarch is cheating” thing. Because sometimes a girl’s gotta eat a cream sauce without actual cream. And this is America.
