Pasta Salad

I was looking for a side dish that would also serve as a light lunch.  I wanted it cold, mainly because it's hot outside.  I also didn't want anything mayonnaise-based much for the same reasons.  I settled on making a pasta salad.  Nothing earth-shattering, it was just something light and tasty.  I did have a few other requirements.  For example a light dressing, not only not mayo-based but something you don't need a lot of it.  I wanted it to compliment the flavors of the other ingredients, not overrule them.  What I discovered was that you can put pretty much any veggie you like and a wide selection of cold-cuts.  It's more versatile than I thought and it's a great way to deal with a few veggie-draw leftovers.  For example those basil leaves left over from a Caprese salad, or that half a cucumber or onion.  Here's what I did:

I boiled up a pot of the three-color rotini pasta, 12 oz box.  It's not that the green and red one are flavored all that different from the white ones, but the color contrast works nicely.  Cook this slightly past aldente -- and I mean slightly.  If you overcook these, they tend to fall apart.  The reason I go slight past aldente is that since this is a cold dish, aldente pasta tends to become a little harder once cooled down.  My preference more than anything else.  Once cooked and drained, set aside to cool.

While it was cooling, I broke out the chef's knife and started cutting and chopping.  Here's what I had on hand for my first attempt at this sort of salad:

• 1 whole cucumber, peeled (it was an older one and the peel tends to get bitter), small dice
• 1 medium red onion, small dice
• 1 large sweet red bell pepper, small dice
• 1 medium ham steak, also small dice
• 1 head of broccoli, chopped
• 2 carrots cut and sliced into thin matchsticks about an inch or so long
• 1 ball of mozzarella (1/4 inch cube dice).  I prefer fresh over the part-skim drier form.
• 4 green onions, sliced on a bias, about 1/4 inch long
• 4 basil leaves, chiffon-ed. That is rolled up together lengthwise, then thinly sliced with a sharp knife across the width.  You end up ribbons of basil.

Lastly the dressing, you put 3 Tbs of red wine vinegar in a bowl, add about 2 tsp of Dijon mustard and one finely chopped (or minced) garlic clove.  Then whisk as you slowly drizzle in 6 Tbs of good olive oil (extra-virgin is best).  The ratio of 3:1 or 4:1 seems to work well.  If you drop it to 2:1 it tastes more of the vinegar, and anything over 4:1 comes across a little oily texture.  For this type of dressing, I stay away from the county-style Dijon's, they are a bit lumpy and the flavor doesn't seem to distribute that well.

Once you are done adding the oil, whisk for another minute or two, check the seasoning for taste and add salt and pepper.  It's a nice light dressing and you won't need a lot of it.  In fact it all depends on the volume of the other ingredients.  I usually dress with half and see how things look and taste before I add any more.

And that it.  Just put everything in a large bowl and dress to your taste.  Like I said, this was what I had on hand.  The ingredients for this sort of summer salad are pretty versatile.  If my veggie drawer had a different selection, I would have used that.

An added note, I did this salad a second time and added some diced fresh button mushrooms.  The flavor was good, but they were a little woody.  So the next time, I made up the dressing early and twice the usual amount.  Then I marinated the mushrooms for a couple of hours before doing the rest.  That softened them up and they became more part of the whole instead of a slightly discordant note.

Hard-boiled eggs, leftover chicken or turkey, shredded lettuce, celery, and even a little canned tuna might work well in various combinations.  I am also tempted to spice things up a bit with some jalapeno, cilantro, and even red pepper flake, but that will have to wait until I am flying solo.  Not everyone appreciates such spices.

Ranch Fried Chicken

I made something that went over real well with the family, Ranch Fried Chicken.  I'd heard of it before but the recipes always involved a packet of dry ranch seasoning, which to me never tasted very much like Ranch dressing once cooked in anything, like a meatloaf.  Well I caught an episode of America's Test Kitchen or Cook's Country (I have trouble telling those two shows apart) and they did Ranch Fried Chicken without using the packet of whatever.  It was intriguing.  I couldn't use part of the recipe, since cilantro and cayenne don't agree with my spouse, so I changed things a couple of times and hit a recipe that not only did remind me of Ranch, but the family enjoyed it!

Ingredients:

• Finely chopped fresh Dill (5 Tbs, divided 3 and 2)
• Finely chopped fresh Parsley (5 Tbs, divided 3 and 2)
• Finely chopped fresh Rosemary (3 Tbs, divided (2 and 1)
• Finely minced garlic (2 cloves)
• Buttermilk (1 cup)
• White Vinegar (2 tsp)
• Salt (1/2 tsp)
• Black Pepper (1/2 tsp)
• AP Flour (1 cup)
• Cornstarch (1/2 cup)
• Garlic Powder (1 tsp)
• Old Bay Seasoning (2 tsp)
• 6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs (yes, boneless and skinless, it really does work)

Preparation:

• Dry, salt and pepper your Chicken Thighs
• Mix the Buttermilk, Vinegar, 3 Tbs of Dill and Parsley, 2 Tbs of Rosemary, Salt and Pepper, and minced Garlic in a bowl.  
• Reserve a quarter cup as a dipping sauce.
• In a separate bowl combine the Flour, Cornstarch, Garlic powder and Old Bay Seasoning.
• Soak each Thigh in the Buttermilk mixture to coat.  No need to brine or marinate for long period, that's the benefit of using chicken thighs.
• Dredge in the Flour mixture and set aside.

Cooking:

• Preheat 2-3 inches of Vegetable or Peanut oil to 350F degrees is a vessel wide and deep enough for some frying.  I usually use a cast iron dutch oven.
• Once the oil is hot, gently, and I do mean gently, slid in two pieces of chicken.  Fry for approximately 7-8 minutes.  You do have to keep adjusting the flame to keep the oil about 350. 
• You will see a drop in temperature when the pieces are added, but it should recover quickly.  If it falls too far, you might need to cook one piece at a time.  About the 3.5-4 minute mark turn over the pieces.
• Remove to a paper towel for just a few seconds to get some of the surface oil off.  
• Then transfer to a wire rack over a sheet pan to drain off any more oil.  If the oil remains hot enough, there is usually very little oil drained off.
• Repeat with the other three batches.
• Let the last batch rest while plating, using a little of the reserve buttermilk mixture as a dip.  I have also found Ranch Dressing and even Frank's Red Hot are excellent accompaniments rather than the buttermilk mixture.
• I have made as many as 6 batches (12 thighs) and the first pair of thighs were still plenty hot when I was done.  If you are making more, I recommend placing your wire rack/sheet pan in the oven at 200 degrees.  It will keep it hot without cooking it further and shouldn't start drying out out before you are done.

Some notes:

• Do not let the oil go too high.  Not only can you burn your chicken, but if you let it get over 400F, you shouldn't strain the oil and reuse.  I use two strainers and a double piece of cheesecloth between them to strain my oil and I can set several fries out of each container.  I don't use it for anything other than frying.  You wouldn't want to make a salad dressing out of it.
• The chicken is also good cold and even as leftovers.  I know it sounds like a sin, but I simple put the leftovers in a plastic ziploc bag.  It's never going to be as crispy as freshly fried, so I have given up trying to maintain the crispness.  None of the techniques I have heard of seemed to work overnight anyway.

Sous Vide Cooking

I picked up a Sous Vide Cooker (Anova Precision Cooker) and have been experimenting with it.  So far, so good!  Chicken breasts come out perfectly cooked and incredibly juicy.  I vacuum-packed two of them with some thyme, froze them, and then dropped them in 145F water for two hours.  After letting them cool, I diced them and mixed in some chopped celery, onion, mayo, and some seasonings and had a great tasting and basic chicken salad.  Served with some lettuce and lunch is on.  Going to be doing some more soon!  Pork Tenderloin is up next!  I'm thinking of dicing it and tossing into a sweet-sour sauce -- NOT on of those sickly-sweet red jarred sauces -- I'll let you know how it turned out.

Only downside of sous-vide cooking is the time.  It's not for a quick meal after work.  However, I have found that if you cook it ahead, you can simply dice, brown, and mix it into just about anything else and time is less of a problem.  Just a bit of planning.

Pressure Cooker Soft Chicken Tacos

I've been doing more cooking lately, but haven't been blogging about it.  I will try and get things down on paper . . . so to speak . . . more often.  Recently I did a Root Beer BBQ sauce that came out great and last night I did chicken thighs in the pressure cooker and everyone loved them.

Ingredients:

• Chicken Thighs (about 2lbs):  I used skinless and boneless thighs, but you can use bone-in.  I do recommend removing the skin, it's kinda nasty in the pressure cooker.
• Canned Tomatoes (1 14.5 oz can of crushed or diced)
• Onion (1 chopped)
• Garlic (3 cloves, minced)
• Chicken Stock (1/2 cup)
• Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Serve with:

• Tortillas (I like soft, taco size)
• Lettuce (about 2 cups shredded)
• Tomatoes (2 fresh, diced)
• Onion (1 diced)
• Shredded Cheese
• Salsa

Steps:

1. Salt and pepper the chicken thighs liberally.
2. Heat some olive oil in your pressure cooker, medium heat
3. Add the chopped onion, saute until softened
4. Add the minced garlic, saute for about 30 seconds
5. Add chicken stock and de-glaze the pan
6. Add the chicken and canned tomatoes
7. Seal the lid and let the pressure rise to it's limit
8. Cook for 10 minutes under pressure and then turn off the heat
9. Let the pressure release naturally.  It will take 10-15 minutes.
10. Once the pressure is gone, remove the lid and take the chicken out with a slotted spoon
11. Shred the chicken between two forks and return to the cooking liquid to stay warm and juicy.
12. Once the rest of the meal is ready, spoon the chicken into a serving dish, it's OK to have some of the cooked onion and tomatoes as well.

Should make enough for 12-15 tacos, depending on how loaded you like them.  Serve with the condiments of your choice.  I like keeping it simple with lettuce, fresh onion and tomato, salsa, cheese, and sour cream.  But whatever you like will work!

Changes
This isn't a very spicy dish because a couple of family members can't handle spice.  There are plenty of alternatives:

• Season the chicken with Chile Powder or Cumin, in addition to salt and pepper
• Use Salsa instead of canned tomatoes for the cooking medium.  You should be able to eliminate the onions and garlic if you use salsa instead.
• Use Beer or Apple Juice instead of Chicken Stock
• I do recommend Chick Thighs over Chicken Breasts, I have had very little luck with breasts in the pressure cooker.  They get surprisingly rubbery and dry.

Blood Sugar and Oatmeal Choco-chip cookies

OK, it's been 2 months since my last post.  My blood sugar reading has been pretty stable, today was 104, 7 day average 102 and 30 day average 101.  I had one low reading, low as in way off the norm, of 90.  I took it twice to make sure I didn't mess anything up.  But I think it was because I had a very busy day, very physically busy, and really ate light, including very few carbs, much lower than normal.

I also had two high reading, 126 and 128 about a week apart.  Both of those readings were after eating out.  I think I need to work on making better choices whenever I eat out, but to be honest, i don't like eating salads in most places.  I don't mind a side-salad instead of fries or potatoes, but most of the larger, meal-sized, salads are nearly as bad as most of the rest of the menu.

To help deal with that, I've downloaded a bunch of restaurant menu nutritional information PDF's to my phone and PC. This way I can plan what's better on their menu than take guesses.  Hopefully that will help.

As for cooking, so far I have been keeping things pretty basic.  Grilling meats as opposed to other preparations, lots of greens and salads, and for snacking I've been making batches of oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies that contain about 10-12 carbs each.  So two cookies for a mid-afternoon snack satisfy a little sweet-tooth and don't do much in elevating my blood sugar.  I evaluated a number of recipes and settles on one with minimal white flour and use walnuts and Spenda Brown Sugar blend instead of straight-up brown sugar.  I've estimated the carb count based on several recipes and the best part . . . the whole family likes them, so I make them in large batches and they usually last most of a week.

Ingredients:

• 1 Stick of Crisco Butter Flavor shortening (16 Tbs)
• 4 Tbs of unsalted butter, melted
• 1 Cup and 2 Tbs of Spenda Brown Sugar Blend
• 3 whole eggs
• 3 tsp vanilla
• 1 Cup Unbleached White flour
• 1 Cup Whole Wheat flour
• 4.5 cups of Old-Fashioned Oatmeal
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 2.25 tsp baking soda

Recipe:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350F.
2. I melt the butter while beating the shortening on low.  Once it's melted I add it to the bowl of the mixer to combine.
3. Then I add the brown sugar blend and beat on medium until well blended.
4. Add the eggs and vanilla.  Beat on medium until well combined.  I have tried to beat until light and fluffy, incorporating more air, but I haven't seen it make much of a difference.
5. While the liquid ingredients are beating, I combine the oatmeal, white and wheat flour, salt, and baking soda in a separate bowl and mix well.
6. Once the liquid ingredients are ready, I incorporate the dry with the liquid about a quarter cup at a time, on low.  It comes together as a very dry mixture and I usually have to switch to my dough hook to mix.  
7. Once done, I toss in 1.75 cups of chopped walnuts and 12 oz of semi-sweet chocolate chips.  Be careful here, the mixer will be working very hard!  You might need to push the mixture back down to get it well mixed.
8. I prep two cookie sheets with parchment.
9. Using a tablespoon scoop, I scoop up a level tablespoon and place on the cookie sheet about 1.5 inches apart.  I get 25 per sheet.  The cookies don't spread a lot.  If you are after more of a flat cookie, up the butter content.
10. Bake one cookie sheet at a time, 7 minutes, then rotate and cook another 7 minutes.  When I pull one out, I put in the next right away.
11. Once out, I pull the whole parchment sheet off onto a cooling rack so they don't keep cooking on the hot sheet.  
12. After rotating, I prep the next sheet.

I get about 125 cookies.  Once cool, I bag them up in two gallon-sized zip lock bags.  Like I said they last between 5 and six days around my house.  Because of my blood sugar, I limit myself to 6 a day, two about 10 AM, two about 3 PM, and if I get munchie after dinner, two more.  So far. so good!

Changes are needed!

Hey everyone,

No, I haven't been doing much original cooking and that needs to change.  A couple of months ago I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, so I have had to change my diet  . . . at the moment I am 35 lbs lighter and my blood sugar seems to be under control.  But I do feel pretty bored with a lo-carb diet so it's time to start cooking again and try and work on diabetic friendly recipes.

Am I surprised by the diagnosis?  Not overly shocked.  Diabetes does run in the family, including my grandmother and my daughter.  I've also been eating-out way too much and certainly been enjoying baked goods an awful lot.  So with a prescription for MetFormin and a few classes on dealing with Type 2 diabetes, I've been seriously watching what I eat . . . and to tell you the truth, I am bored!  There are hundreds of diabetic cookbooks and many of the recipes I have tried might please my doc, they do little for me . . . well other than in the blood sugar area.  I will be continuing my journey and looking for lo-carb, high taste, and interesting food.

Seriously, this isn't like a diet to lose a few pounds that you cheat on.  Cheating on diabetes is really life-threatening, and you can see the results every time you check your blood sugar. So no one else might end up reading my blog, but I do plan on writing more and more and focusing on my life with diabetes.  Every post will include my latest sugar result in three ways, that day's reading, my 7 day average, and my 30 day average.  For today I was 126, 102, 103.  Yes, I know today was a bit high, and I am pretty sure I can blame yesterday's mistakes with my diet.  I think that's how I realized how bored I was getting with my current diet and one of the reasons to start jazzing things up! 

So here goes a new chapter in my life and in my blog.  Anyone who wants to offer feedback and recipes, please do!  Who knows, I might actually learn something :-)

Chili Verde (2)

I know I haven't been posting, in reality I haven't been doing much original cooking.  It's been a busy year in a number of ways.  However, my office decided to have a carry in over several days so I decided to do a Chili Verde.  Now I have a recipe for one that I like and has been well received in the past, but I couldn't get my favorite Chili Verde ingredient, Tomatillos.  Instead of being in the dumps over it, I decided to do a little experimenting and take a new approach.  In addition it got me posting again here :-)

So the ingredients:

• 10 Anaheim Chiles
• 3-4 lbs of Pork Shoulder
• 2 Onions
• 6 Garlic cloves 
• 2 Tbs cumin seeds
• 1 Tbs white pepper
• 4 cups of Chicken Broth

I know,  a pretty light ingredient list, but I was really figuring this as a good starter and something to build on.  Once I was tasted the end result, I won't be doing much different the next time.

OK, now on to the cooking:

• Roast the chiles on a gas flame, charring the skin.  Place the chiles in a plastic bag or a tightly covered bowl and allow to steam for about 10 minutes.  Once steamed, the skin pretty well peels right off.  So peel and seed the chiles.  Rough chop and set aside.  Note, you can used canned green chiles, but they cannot compare in flavor to roasted fresh chiles!
• While the chiles are steaming, place the cumin seeds in a dry frying pan and roast for a couple pf minutes.  As soon as you can smell them, get them off the heat and out of the pan.  Be quick because they can burn quickly once they become fragrant.  Place in a spice grinder and reduce to a powder. 
• Trim the pork shoulder and cut the meat into 1 in cubes.  Save the bone.  Salt and pepper the meat and then brown in batches using a little olive oil.  I used a large dutch oven.  Save the meat in a bowl to also capture any juices following the browning.
• Rough chop the onions and saute in a little oil in the dutch over.  Scrape the bottom of the pan as the onions soften and release liquid.  This should take about 5 minutes or so.  I am not after browning as much as I am softening. 
• Finely chop the garlic and add to the onion.  
• Then add the cumin and white pepper.  Stir for about 30 seconds until the garlic is fragrant.
• Add in the roasted chiles.
• Add enough chicken broth to deglaze the pan, then add the rest of the broth.
• Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for about an hour.  The meat should be right at the stage of falling apart!
• If it seems fatty, you can scoop the solids out with a spider and run the broth through a gravy separator.  If it seems thin, you can crank up the heat and reduce it a bit.  Your own experience will tell more than I can at this point.  

It worked well.  If it seems thin and maybe more like a soup, it goes well over rice.  I usually thicken the broth a bit through cooking rather than any thickening agents.  I like it plain!  It's not very spicy hot, which is OK once in a while.  I think I might experiment with some mixed green chiles.  But as a simple straight forward recipe., it worked surprisingly well.