Simple Syrups, Simplified

Thyme-infused Simple Syrup
Note: Brownish color from raw sugar.

Simple syrup, quite simply, is liquid sugar. It's great to use in cocktails, iced tea, or coffee drinks. It dissolves easily; giving you blendable sweetness, without the granular texture of sugar.

You can buy it, but it's easy to make at home (and, cheaper). Just remember the 1:1 ratio - equal parts sugar & water. It lasts up to 2-4 weeks in the fridge. I make just enough for each time I need it, but you can always make more and store it for future use. 

Basic Recipe

1/2 cup
1/2 granulated sugar

Combine ingredients in small saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes until mixture thickens, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat to cool. Strain, if desired.

Tip: I like to put the finished syrup in a mason jar (since these containers can tolerate hot temps) and stick in fridge or freezer to speed up chilling time. 

Now that you know the basics, let's add some interesting flavors...

Homemade Hot Sauce

Homemade Hot Sauce

Another employee sale from from Frieda's. Thanks, Hanna! The last time my friend let me shop with her friends & family discount, I made some healthy, fresh recipes from the specialty produce.

Hanna dropped off a 10 pound box of Fresno chili peppers. That weighs as much as my dog! What do with them?!


I don't typically use fresh peppers in my cooking. Not because I am against heat; I just don't find the need to use them. For kick, I frequently use crushed red pepper or cayenne.

The peppers were not very fresh (hence the flash sale), so I Googled food blog recipes for applications that would not be successful with semi-fresh ones. 

I came across a recipe for homemade hot sauce. Since, we were grilling meat for dinner, it was the perfect opportunity to multi-task the grill.

Oven-Roasted & Herbed: Portobello Mushrooms & Potatoes

Oven-roasted Portobello mushrooms, oven-roasted herb potatoes, and sautéed kale

On Tuesday, I stuck to my meal plan. I wanted to oven-roast the organic produce I brought from Sprouts. I made multiple sides to eat as a small, healthy meal.

Recipe: Oven-roasted Portobello Mushrooms

• Organic Portobello mushrooms caps (2) You can fit up to six large caps on a sheet tray
• EVOO
• Salt & Pepper
• Fresh thyme sprigs
• 1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 400 F.
• Place mushroom caps on sheet tray. Drizzle generous amounts of EVOO on both sides.
• Finely chop (2) sprigs of time and sprinkle on caps. Add garlic.
• Lightly salt & pepper.
• Optional: Place any remaining sprigs of thyme directly over the caps to infuse flavor. I also lightly sprinkled Herbes de Provence.
• Cook in oven for 15 minutes.  

Recipe: Oven-roasted Herb Potatoes

• 12 small roasting potatoes (Tip: Use Yukon Gold potatoes for roasting. The ones I bought were labeled "small yellow potatoes")
• EVOO
• Salt & Pepper
• 2-3 fresh rosemary sprigs, leaves removed & roughly chopped
• 3-4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• Optional: Fennel seeds

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 400 F.
• Slice potatoes into quarters. If some pieces are larger, you can cut again into eights. Add to sheet tray.
• Sprinkle chopped rosemary & chopped garlic onto potatoes. 
• Drizzle very generous amounts of EVOO. Season with salt & pepper. Add any other additional herbs you like. 
• Cook for one hour in middle rack. After 30 minutes, toss the potatoes around. 

Note: The garlic burned in this recipe, so you can lower heat to 375 F, sauté the garlic separately and add to potatoes later, or add crushed gloves with skin on for aroma. 

Recipe: Sautéed Kale

• Organic Lacinato Kale This is the flat one, not the curly one that looks like parsley. 
• EVOO
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Credit: Inspiration recipe by Bobby Flay

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, take the kale greens off the center stalks. 
• Add the garlic to pan and cook until soft, but not colored. I omitted this from my recipe since my other two oven-roasted veggie dishes were using garlic. 
• Raise heat to high, add the stock and kale and toss to combine. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove cover and continue to cook, stirring until all the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add vinegar.
• Optional: Add toasted, roughly chopped nuts. For added protein and a textural component, I used Marcona Almonds.

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Note: The portions of the entire meal (picture at top) were small, so I made a small bowl of gluten-free pasta for my husband and myself afterwards.
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What are your favorite vegetarian sides?

Mesquite Grilled Chicken Thighs

Mesquite Grilled Chicken Thighs

Victory! I stuck to my meal plan on Monday night. My inspiration for the meal: I wanted to cook something that would allow me to use a new dry rub recipe and our new grill.

We invited our friend, Eugene, over for dinner since he was in the area. I also felt like I needed to redeem myself since the previous (and first) time he came over to our place, I regretfully served him over-cooked grilled chicken breast. But, who isn't guilty of that at least once in their life?

This was the perfect opportunity to use the new grill and do chicken right. Read on for my grilled chicken dish...

Dry Spice Rub

Dry Rub in Mason Jar

A few months ago, I was shopping at Sur la Table and I was offered a free one-year subscription to Bon Appetit magazine for spending over $50. 

I've been enjoying the gourmet mag coming in the mail monthly. In the annual grilling issue, I stumbled upon this super simple dry rub. It doesn't even have a formal recipe name. I shall call it the "7 Dry Rub" since it has seven tablespoons of ingredients. There are only four ingredients and it's in a 4:3:2:1 ratio. 

Original Bon Appetit Recipe:
4 Tbsp. Kosher Salt 
3  Tbsp. Brown Sugar 
2 Tbsp. Sweet Paprika 
1 Tbsp. Cayenne Pepper 

I spooned the ingredients in a mason jar and shook it up to distribute the spices. The seven spoonfuls filled up a 1/2 pint container.

Meal Planning ~ Week of 7-29-13

Bon Appetit Magazine

I like to grocery shop often to prevent myself from over-buying and throwing out spoiled, unused items. Yes, it is inconvenient. But, this has literally saved me money in recent years. Plus, I stay inspired by fresh ingredients. 

In the past, I used to grocery shop for an entire week's worth or so. But, alas, unexpected events or laziness would arise and I would neglect my food in the fridge. I don't know how much money I wasted by "wishful thinking" shopping.

Additionally, now I only buy ingredients that I have high probability or plans to use in a dish (aside from staples like spices or oil, and fresh fruit).

I am starting to incorporate more organic produce into my diet (which I will share more about in a future post). The organic grocery store is further from me than my go-to market(s), so I will need to buy more per visit. This means that I need to start meal planning, so I can ensure I use all of the products I buy, no mater what they are. 

I literally cook on daily inspiration, so meal planning is going to be a growing experience for me. Here's my first attempt. There are some holes, but at least I am giving myself some structure. In the long run, I hope this will save me stress from coming up with new menu items daily.

Dinner for the Week

• Sunday - Leftovers from Saturday
• Monday - Mesquite grilled chicken thighs with BA "7" dry spice rub (picture above)

Organic arugula + caprese salad in lemon/mustard vinaigrette (and roasted sweet potatoes as a snack for tomorrow)

• Tuesday - oven-roasted organic Portobello mushroom steaks; oven-roasted herb potatoes; sautéed organic kale (with garlic & parmesan cheese)

• Wednesday - TBD (my husband is working late so it can be as minimalistic as a snack)
• Thursday - TBD (dine out with a friend or cook something simple at home)
• Friday - out of town
• Saturday - out of town
  
  

Snacks

• Fresh blueberries, strawberries, and figs


• Here's a short video on how I made an easy yet fanciful fruit parfait 


• Organic plain yogurt
• Organic Chia seeds in my drinks and lunch salads
• Organic dark chocolate (gluten-free, too)

How do you like to meal plan?

Grilled Hanger Steak Two Ways

My little brother is studying abroad in China right now and he is visiting California for a couple weeks. Today is his first day back, so I decided to cook him and my family dinner. 

I picked up some hanger steak a few days ago while I was grocery shopping. I got the inspiration for this protein after watching re-run episodes of Anne Burrell's show on the Food Network called "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef." 

This entry will give you some information about hanger steaks and a couple recipe preparations.

Photo Credit: www.eatmedaily.com/