Switching it up

Recipes discovered on Pinterest can be a total hit or a total miss.  A sticky bun recipe I found that is ridiculously simple {made with a tube of Pilsbury biscuits, butter, syrup, brown sugar, and cinnamon} was a definite keeper, and I've made it several times. Easy and delicious!  A miserable failure was the Creamy Italian Crockpot Chicken, where the cream cheese became curdled and rubbery.  David and I choked that one down...  I am not sure anyone who repinned the recipe ever actually tried it {besides me} because if they did, they wouldn't have repinned it. In one word: gross.

However, I found a recipe for an Edamame Salad with Ginger Vinaigrette this weekend, and decided to mix up my lunch a little bit this week.  David and I both work near the house, so it's easy for us to make a short drive home for lunch most days. I am not kidding when I tell you that David and I have eaten a turkey sandwich on an Arnold's Sandwich Thin every. single. day. when we eat at home, for the past 13 months now. I add mustard and tomato {and some days splurge on mayo}. He adds mustard and muenster cheese, and he always has a side of Cape Cod Salt & Vinegar chips.  Our lunches are down to a science.  There really isn't even a question of "What's for lunch?"... It's a TURKEY SANDWICH.  Back to back episodes of Family Feud are also on the Ellison's daily lunchtime agenda... David and I love to scream out our best answers at the tv, criticize the contestants' ridiculous answers, and will even watch re-runs like we've never seen them before.

Unlike David, who can eat sandwiches and salt & vinegar chips happily for the rest of his life, I am getting a little bit bored with the daily lunchtime routine... So, this week, it's Edamame Salad courtesy of A Communal Table via Pinterest.  It is DELICIOUS! Healthy, light, and best of all, filling! Nothing is worse than battling hunger pains an hour after you get back to your desk.

Here's the recipe:

Dressing:

3 TBSP. low-sodium soy sauce

2 TBSP. fresh orange juice {I had Trop50, so I used that instead of true oj}

1 TBSP rice vinegar {I thought this would be hard to find, but sure enough, it's with the vinegar at the grocery store}

1 TBSP sesame oil {in the Asian section of the grocery store.  If you made my Asian Lettuce Wraps, you should already have some on hand ;)}

1 TBSP honey

2 garlic cloves {I had a jar of minced garlic in the fridge, so I used 2 tsp. of that instead of fresh garlic}

1 TBSP chopped ginger {Again, I used a TBSP of minced garlic from a jar. This is also in Asian section of grocery store}

1/4 cup canola oil

Salad:

2 cups shelled edamame {I bought a frozen bag, boiled the edamame, drained them, and let cool}

1/2 cup diced red onion

1 cup diced red bell pepper

1/2 cup shredded carrots {I bought "matchstick" carrots and probably used closer to a full cup of them}

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro {ahhh, cilantro... herb of the Gods!}

1/4 tsp. szechwan pepper or red pepper flakes

Instructions

In a blender combine all the dressing ingredients except the canola oil. Blend until the ginger and garlic are finely minced. Slowly drizzle in the canola oil. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Combine all the salad ingredients in a bowl. Drizzle with the dressing and toss to combine.

Dump it all into a plastic container, pop it in the fridge, and you've got 4 days worth of lunch!  This is REALLY yummy, and I don't even like carrots!  If you want, put your scoop some on top of fresh greens.  Or put your daily tablespoon of chia seeds on the top-- it's just like adding sesame seeds.

The greatest thing about this recipe is that you can use the awesome ginger dressing on any other type of salad, or try out a different dressing on the veggies {perhaps a buttermilk ranch?? note to self: try this}.  This would also be a great accompaniment to grilled chicken in the summertime...

This is not my picture... but I wish it was.  Enjoy!

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A couple of things...

A bunch of random thoughts that bounce around in this head of mine...

 

- I gave up sweets for Lent. It's Day One. I am already feeling the strain.  A single day without chocolate is a rotten day.  40 Days without chocolate feels like a life sentence.  I am going to allow myself to have fruit since fruit is natural sugar, but that's not making me feel much better at this point.  My best friend's wedding is this weekend. Besides being one of the most fun weekends ever, do you know what that means? It means no wedding cake for me. I plan on taking some gladware in my purse so I can bring a piece home to enjoy on Sunday.... I'm not kidding.

 

- Has anyone watched SMASH on NBC yet? I have been catching up with the episodes On Demand since they are currently conflicting with my Bachelor habit.  I thought the first two episodes were phenomenal! Then, last night, I watched the most recent episode and found it a tad cheesy and uninspired.  A baby shower at a karaoke bar with Katharine McPhee singing Gretchen Wilson's Redneck Woman barefoot on stage? Seriously? Lame. I am hoping this series is not going to be a let-down because Katharine McPhee and Megan Hilty KILL it. Seriously, I get chills from head to toe when either of these ladies belt it out.  Makes me want to book a one-way ticket to NYC and live on Broadway. But since I can't sing worth a toot and my dance moves are questionable at best, I don't think they'd see much use for me. I think I would be pretty good at working the Will Call window.

 

- This weather is crazy.  I have finally given up on my dream of a good winter's snow this season.  It's just not happening. I feel like we are living in an eternal spring.  The other morning, when I walked outside into the 60 degree humid weather, the rain puddle outside our front door had yellow pollen in it. POLLEN, people.  It is FEBRUARY.

- I am currently reading Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts for book club.  When I picked it up from the library, the only copy available was the Large Print edition.   I can't decide if I really like the book, or if I am just obsessed with the fact that the size 72 font makes me feel like a speed reader.  One page = 20 seconds.  The book is also the size of an encyclopedia.

- My cousin Mary Kathryn told me that she has added chia seeds to her diet. I did a little research and they indeed are the same seeds that are used in Chia Pets which is just plain sketchy. Who knew your chia pet was edible? However, they have numerous benefits when you add just a tablespoon to your daily diet. Chia seeds are apparently a great antioxidant, protein, and omega-3 source.  I've been mixing them in with half a cup of orange juice in the mornings and it's not half bad.  They don't really have any sort of taste, and they absorb water.  They expand 9x their original size in liquid and form a gel-like substance that I find oddly satisfying. If you are one of those "texture" people where a banana makes you gag, then this is probably not the right thing for you.  Google chia seeds and read up on them if you are interested. I got a bag from EarthFare for $10. When I asked the lady in the vitamin area where the chia seeds were stocked, she replied "O, we all take chia seeds daily around here," like I was really behind on a very important trend, so if the hippies at EarthFare do it, so should you. I will update you soon and let you know if chia seeds have changed my life or not.

That is all.

Old St. Valentine

I love Valentine's Day.  Not the mushy/tacky parts of the holiday, but pretty much everything else about it makes me grin.  What other day of the year is it acceptable (and encouraged) to combine any shade of pink with bright red?? (J'adore a good pink/red color combo.) What other day of the year is giving a simple carnation to someone sweet and thoughtful?? (Gifting someone a carnation on any of the other 364 days of the year is a hate crime.) What other day of the year can you eat un-Godly amounts of chocolate and not feel guilty about it?? I love those cherry heart shaped suckers. I love fat little cupids. I love the quintessential boxes of the perforated sheets of valentine's cards that you'd scribble your name on the back of and stuff in the envelope with a cheap Palmers' heart-shaped chocolate or Nerds to give to classmates. I love the Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown movie.  I love homemade valentine's cards with delicate paper doilies. I love conversation hearts and am quite preferential to the orange ones.  I love the thought of having a valentine or a sweetheart, if only for the day.  For me, it's always felt like such a happy holiday, regardless of if I have had a valentine or not. 

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Ironically though, David and I don't really do Valentine's... we never have made a big deal about it... 8 years running now.  Neither of us would be caught dead in a fancy restaurant on Valentine's Day-- the thought of that makes my skin crawl.  We usually just cook a semi-nice meal at home or head to a non-lovey type of joint, like a pizza tavern, where we dine with the other non-lovies of the world.

Last night, we decided to cook filet mignon at home.  David sears them in a cast-iron skillet and then melts butter on top of them... Be still my heart!  They are to. die. for.

So, I picked up some asparagus to accompany our steaks, and a while back I had grabbed a bag of the cutest heart shaped pasta from World Market and have been waiting for the opportunity to use it.  Truffle Mac 'N Cheese seemed to the right dish to round out our dinner menu.  And thus, the reason for my blog post tonight...  I found the BEST (and I mean, THE BEST) truffle mac 'n cheese recipe online.  And now I can't find where I found it, so I can't even give credit where credit is due, but I still have to share it with you, at risk of being arrested for plagiarism or whatever.

I didn't take any pictures of the prep because I honestly had NO idea it would be good enough to blog about.  Hindsight is 20/20, they say.

Anyway, I altered the recipe a little bit as I cooked, so I don't feel as bad for not giving you a source for the recipe... I guess you can say that it's partially my recipe.  In 50 years, my grandchildren are going to think that it is their sweet (ha.) old granny's original recipe because, as of 8 PM last night, it became a permanent Ellison Family staple dish.

Here we go.

TRUFFLE MAC 'N CHEESE

Get a box of 1 1/2 lbs. pasta.  I think that bowties or shells would be a solid choice, but choose whatever strikes your fancy. Go ahead and cook your pasta according to the directions on the box.  Drain and keep it warm.  I just placed the colander back into the empty pot and sat a plate on top of the colander to keep the heat from escaping...

Meanwhile, heat 3 TBSP unsalted butter in a LARGE pan over medium to medium-high heat (our stove is a dinosaur, so it took medium-high-- if you are cooking with a relatively newer appliance, a) I am jealous and b) medium heat may be fine. Just don't burn the butter.)

Once the butter starts foaming, add 1/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour.  Stir until it is well-incorporated with the butter.  Slowly pour in 3 cups of milk (I remember the recipe called for whole milk, but I used 1% low-fat and it turned out fine).  Now start whisking the mixture over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, or until the liquid thickens into a sauce-like consistency.  You will need to whisk constantly.  This will count as your upper body workout for the day.  Keep a close eye on it and turn down the heat if you need to-- you don't want to scald the milk.  No one likes scalded milk.

After your milk mixture starts looking saucy, remove the pan from the heat.  You will need to have 2 cups of swiss cheese grated and on stand-by (I just grated a block of swiss cheese, or I am sure you could use the bag of the shredded stuff).  Stir in the swiss cheese little by little until it is melted fully into the sauce. 

Go ahead and add Salt & Pepper to taste at this point.  I found that it needed quite a bit of salt-- Next, add in 2 teaspoons of truffle oil.  I had white truffle oil on hand, and since truffle oil is in my top 4 favorite condiments, I probably added more than 2 teaspoons.  Just add a little and keep tasting and adding until it tells your taste buds that it's PERFECT.

Lastly, take your drained pasta and carefully combine it into the cheese sauce. Taa Daa! David put bacon on top of his. I went sans bacon.  Either way, it is one of the best things I have ever cooked, if I must say so myself.

This picture was a complete after-thought and doesn't do the dish justice, but I had to at least show it off.

I hope that you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day, and that the spririt of love will last year-round!

Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:18