Grilled Steak with Ginger Mushroom Broth and Radish and Orange Salad

Source:  winning dish on Hell's Kitchen

3 T grated fresh ginger
1 clove minced garlic
1 t sesame oil
4 cups chicken broth (I used my homemade vegetable broth)
1/3 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup enoki mushrooms, sliced thin
1.5 c sliced rainbow chard
5-6 radishes sliced thin
1 orange peeled and sectioned
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1/8 t Dijon mustard
salt and pepper
1.5 lb grilled flank steak, sliced thin


In a large pot, saute ginger and garlic in sesame oil for 2 minutes.  Add broth and soy sauce.  SImmer for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and add mushrooms and chard.
Combine radishes and orange sections, vinegar, oil and mustard.  Season with salt and pepper.

To serve:  Pour broth into a bowl.  Top with steak and radish orange mixture.


I had to try this recipe.  It sounded so weird, and so different.  All the elements -- I love, so I thought why not try it.  It was pretty easy to make.  The broth simmering on the stove smelled divine.

This is a fantastic dish.  Fantastic.  I'll be honest -- if you are not willing to suspend preconceived notions on how a dish is supposed to be -- don't try it.  But if you are up for a delicious and unique twist on an Asian noodle bowl -- this is it.  The elements work perfectly together. Alone, the broth is overly salty.  But add thin slices of the grilled beef and it's delicious.  The chard is a little bitter, which is nicely balanced with the sweetness of the orange, and the radishes are a welcome fresh texture.  Fantastic dish -- MAKE IT.

Flaxseed Muffins

This week's post is going to be a little bit different.  The flaxseed muffins were a complete failure.  I am not even going to put the recipe here, b/c, well, it was just bad.  I don't even think that there is a way to salvage it, or tweak it.  The recipe is chock full of good things for you -- flaxseed meal, oat bran, shredded carrots, grated apples, raisins, pecans -- I was excited to come up with a healthy breakfast muffin.  BTW, the recipe also didn't have any fat in it - -other than what is in the nuts, eggs and milk.  So, off I went baking these muffins.  I had to specially find oat bran at the store (think gluten free section).  I already have flaxseed meal in my freezer b/c I like to sneak it into my daughter's yogurt.  So, the muffins are super healthy, and they taste exactly like that -- super healthy -- you can "feel" all the fiber you are eating, the moisture is the "fake" moisture coming from the carrots and apples and not the silkiness that comes from fat, they are not sweet, and they don't have much flavor despite generous addition of cinnamon and vanilla.  So. I remain on the hunt for a healthy and tasty breakfast treat, and won't make these again unless I have taste for "cardboard muffins."

Creamy Sweet Potato Soup

Source:  Dannon Yogurt container

2 T canola oil
1 large sweet onion sliced
2 t ground cumin
3 sweet potatoes peeled and cubed (I didn't bother peeling the potatoes -- you don't even notice the peels once you've pureed the soup)
1.5 qt chicken broth
1 3/4 c plain yogurt
2 T chopped parsley or cilantro  (I used parsley)
1/4 c pumpkin seed

In a soup heat oil, add onion and cumin.  Sautee for 3-4 minutes.  Add potatoes and chicken broth and bring to boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 20-25 minutes.   Puree soup with 1.5 c yogurt and parsley.  Serve soup with a dollop of sour cream, and toasted pumpkin seeds.

You ask -- why do a hot creamy soup right when the weather finally got warm?  There is no reason other than I like soup, and this looked incredibly intriguing.  Let me just say up front that I find the combination of cumin and sweet potato heavenly.  The soup simmering away smelled incredibly delicious.  It was fairly easy and straightforward. The pureeing of hot soup in batches is a bit of a pain -- those of you with an immersion blender probably would have a much easier time with this recipe.

The soup is delicious.  Creamy, sweet with a bit of heat from the cumin, and the salty crunch of the pumpkin seeds is the perfect garnish.  Be aggressive with the seasonings -- salt and cumin, the soup can take it.  Also, fair warning, this makes a HUGE batch of soup, making it perfect for company. Also, very healthy -- I used fat free yogurt, and my home made vegetable broth -- so low fat, no preservatives, beta carotene from the sweet potatoes, probiotics, calcium from the yogurt - -a delicious, healthy and different meal.  Would be perfect with a grilled cheese sandwich in the winter.

Mexicali Cube Steaks

source:  Schnucks circular

4 cube steaks (1-1/4 lb)
1/2 c flour
1 t salt
1/2 t ground pepper
2 T oil
2 green peppers, sliced
1 large onion sliced
15.5 oz chunky salsa


Place cube steaks in large zip-loc plastic bag, add flour, salt and pepper.  Seal bag, then shake to coat steaks with flour mixture.  In nonstick skillet, heat oil.  Remove steaks from flour mixture, shaking off excess.  Don't discard flour.  Cook steaks 2 minutes on each side or until browned.
Meanwhile, in slow cooker bowl, toss bell peppers and onion with remaining flour mixture in bag.  Stir in salsa.   Place stakes over onion mixture.  Cover and cook 7-9 hours on slow.  Serve over rice.


This seemed an appropriate recipe after Cinco de Mayo.  And, we can repeat my little rant from last week's post about the virtues of slow cooker cooking.  You have to be a little organized for this recipe unless you have 20 minutes in the morning to do the chopping and searing of the steaks.  I did that the night before, and had everything to just put together in the slow cooker in the morning before I left for work.  Oh, and I had some leftover diced tomatoes, so I threw them in the crockpot too.

Sure enough, there was a heavenly smell when I got home for work.  Smelled like someone was cooking for me all day, and smell of onions, tomatoes and peppers cooking together evoked childhood memories.

The meat was a little dry, the sauce tasted great -- I used a medium salsa, so there was a little heat in the sauce.  This a good workhorse of a meal -- easy to put together, ready by the time your get home.

Baked Spinach and Mushroom Rigatoni

Source:  Real Simple Magazine

28 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes
2 T olive oil
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1/2 lb rigatoni
1 red onion sliced (I chopped mine -- b/c I didn't read the directions carefully).
1 lb mixed mushrooms trimmed and sliced (I used baby portobella, shiitake and enochi mushrooms)
2 10 oz packages of spinach thawed and squeezed of excess liquid
15 oz container of ricotta
8 oz mozzarella cheese

Break up the tomatoes and their juices in a medium bowl with your hands.  Be careful, with my first enthusiastic squeeze, I managed to squirt tomato juice all over myself, my daughter and the kitchen floor.  Add the garlic, oil, 3/4 t salt and 1/2 t pepper.  In a separate bowl (and pick a really nice big bowl), combine the uncooked rigatoni, onion and mushrooms.

Spread a third of the tomato mixture in the bottom of a 4 to 6 quart of slow cooker.  Top with half of the pasta mixture, half the spinach, a third of the tomato mixture, half the ricotta and half the mozzarella.  Repeat.

Cover and cook on high until the pasta is tender, 3.5 to 4 hours.

Serve sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

I picked this recipe b/c I love slow cooker recipes -- it is so nice to come home at the end of a long day to a house that smells delicious and it feels like someone spent all day making you dinner.  They are also nice on a lazy Sunday like today, b/c it just feels so homey.  It's great in the winter b/c you can make soups, stews etc.  They are great in the summer b/c you don't have to slave over a hot stove or oven.  They are great.  Why, I ask myself, then, do I have one of those cheesy old slowcookers that have the designs on the outside and are tall and narrow?  Why don't I have one of those sleek new steel models with the lids that lock in place?  Why?  I don't have the answer to that, other than I don't think about slow cookers other than on the few occasions that I use them.  But there is a great gift idea should someone want to get me a birthday/Christmas present :)

I am having an attention deficit sort of day.  I failed to follow the recipe in several respects.  I completely messed up the layering sequence, for one.  In the end, I just randomly put things in the crockpot.  I also didn't realize until about 5 minutes after I turned it on, that I completely omitted the mozzarella cheese.

Another note on the recipe -- it makes a lot.  I am not sure what size my crockpot is -- it's the standard old school slow cooker -- it is overstuffed with the amount of stuff this recipe makes.  However, as you start cooking and the mushrooms shrink -- the space issue improves greatly.

OK, so no picture of this dish -- it is just not that pretty -- it's pasta and a bunch of stuff -- there was just no pretty way to dish it up.  By the way, for serving, I put some of the mozzarella cheese I left out on top of my pasta.

This is a solid, hearty vegetarian dish -- perfect for a weeknight.  I would recommend solid seasoning with salt and pepper as there are a lot of mellow flavors going on in the dish.  And I would also highly recommend using a mixture of interesting mushrooms -- the texture of the mushrooms are key in this dish, and lets face it, button mushrooms don't have much of a texture or flavor.  So splurge on some good mushrooms, your dish will thank you.

Cucumber and Radish Salad

Source:  Bon Appetit Magazine

3/4 c sliced almonds -- toasted
1 small shallot finely chopped
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
1.5 lb English cucumber cut into 1/2" pieces
1 bunch radishes, trimmed, cut into thin wedges
2 c flat leaf parsley leaves chopped

Whisk shallot, oil and vinegar in a large bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add cucumbers, radishes, parsley and almonds, toss to coat.  Season with salt and pepper.

It was high time I tried something healthy.  Spring is coming, and I felt like we needed a fresh and vegetable based side dish.

Obviously, this is a very easy dish to make.  I love cucumbers and radishes -- so I knew I would like this combo.  Radishes are an early spring food for me.  When I was little, it was very exciting when the little fresh radishes became available.  My mom would slice them really thin, and it was delicious on sandwiches, or on a fresh roll with just butter and salt.  These days, I like to dip them in sea salt and eat them.  I enjoy the tender little radishes first out in the season, and this salad seemed like the perfect dish for that.

The salad is fresh, light, crunchy and delicious.  The sliced almonds provide an unexpected and different texture in an otherwise crunch salad.  All the main ingredients are up front and center -- so only make this if you like cucumbers, parsley and radishes.  Also, be sure to use plenty of salt and pepper -- it really brings the flavors together.

Roasted Pork Belly

Source:  Bon Appetit Magazine


I skipped two weeks.  I can assure you guys that I did try more than two recipes during that hiatus, but with Easter and everything else, things were just a little a hectic, so I didn't have time to blog, take pictures etc.  And frankly, the recipes I tried weren't all that great.  So no harm no foul -- hopefully no more hiatus either.

Now for the Roasted Pork Belly

3 lb pork belly, skin removed, fat intact
2 T fresh thyme
2 T sugar
2 T kosher salt
2 t black pepper
1 medium onion, sliced into 1/2 inch rings
1 c dry white wine

Using a sharp knife, score pork belly fat in a crosshatch pattern at about 3/4" intervals, taking care not to cut into the meat.

Mix thyme, sugar, salt and pepper in a small bowl.  Rub thyme mixture on both sides of pork.  place pork in a large resealable plastic bag, and seal bag, chill at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.

Preheat oven to 250.  Arrange onion in bottom of large heavy pot with a lid.  Rinse pork, and place fat side up on top of onion, add wine.

This is the pork right after you put it in the put -- not very appetizing, right?

Cover pot, place in oven and braise pork, basing occasionally, until fork-tender 2.5-3 hours.  increase oven temperature to 400.  Uncover pot, and cook until meat is very tender and fat is crisp and golden brown, about 1 hour longer.

This is the pork belly after a couple of hours of braising -- lots more liquid (fat?)  -- and still not looking very good.  I kept going b/c it smelled good, and b/c frankly, there was not much else to do.

And, the finished product -- much better, right?  And something you'd actually want to have for dinner.


So I picked this recipe b/c , well, I've heard about pork belly before, but never used it.  It is supposed to be a delicacy (although not a lean protein, to say the least), used in Asian cuisine a lot.  This recipe looked fairly simple (although time consuming), so I thought I'd give it a try.

I have read other people having problems sourcing the pork belly.  People on line were suggestion Asian markets or grocery stores.  I had no problem finding pork belly at Whole Foods -- $7 per pound. Not cheap, but also not terribly extravagant.

So pork belly is a very fatty cut of meat -- in fact, I think bacon comes from pork belly.

This was very easy to make.  All it took was patience.  And the smell of the pork, onion and wine in the oven while gently braising -- it was very pleasant.

The dish is good.  Incredibly rich, salty -- but very tasty.  With the time, health effects and cost involved -- I would probably not make this dish very often.