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Recipe: Kale, Pear, & Spiced Pecan Salad

November 8, 2012 by Renee Claire

Kale, Pear, and Spiced Pecan Salad with Shallot Mustard Vinaigrette

Here’s the recipe for my new favorite salad and salad dressing. It’s quick, savory, and stars raw kale, one of the healthiest foods you can eat. Be sure to cut the kale finely, and remove any large stem pieces–the leaves are chewy enough.

Kale, Pear, & Spiced Pecan Salad

Serves 1 to 2 people

Several handfuls raw Tuscan kale, roughly chopped, then cut into slivers
1 d’Anjou pear, cored and diced
Trader Joe’s Sweet & Spicy Pecans, broken into small pieces*
Shallot Mustard Vinaigrette (recipe below).

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Food, Recipes

Recipe: Black Bean Soup

November 4, 2011 by Renee Claire

Black Bean Stoup

I’ve been looking to add more stew recipes to my arsenal, and recently had success with this modified Rachel Ray black bean soup recipe. It’s simple & hearty, and can easily be vegetarian.

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra- virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 bay leaf
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3 (15-ounce) cans black beans (I like Goya brand)
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 1/2 tsps ancho chili powder (optional)
salt and pepper
2 to 3 tablespoons hot sauce (I recommend Tapatío or Cholula)
3 1/2 cups less-sodium, low-fat chicken or vegetable broth
1 (15-ounce) can diced stewed tomatoes
1/2 lime, juiced
2 to 3 scallions, chopped

Preparation

Heat a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add olive oil to the pot, then add the onion, garlic, jalapeno, and bay leaf. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, then add the red pepper. Drain 2 cans of black beans and the can of pinto beans, and add them. Mash the remaining, undrained can of black beans with a fork, and add to the pot along with the coriander, ancho chili powder, salt and pepper, hot sauce, broth, and tomatoes. Bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes over low heat. Add the lime juice, and remove and discard the bay leaf. Serve with scallions and sliced crusty bread.

Black Bean Stoup

Filed Under: Food, Recipes

To Try: Stroopwafels, or Dutch Caramel Wafers

October 24, 2011 by Renee Claire

In high school, I went to Holland on a school-sponsored exchange program. One thing I discovered was the delicious stroopwafel, a treat made from two crisp wafers held together by spiced caramel.

Stroopwafels are traditionally placed over a hot mug of coffee or tea. Not only do they act as mug snugglers, but the steam from the beverage softens the wafer and the caramel inside. In other words, they are perfect cold weather treats. 

Daelmans caramel wafers1

Stroop waffle unboxing-1

Stroopwafel on mug

Stroopwafel close-up

I found these at Cost Plus World Market, and recommend the brand (each box contained 8 wafers and cost $4). People in larger cities should also check in the international sections of their grocery stores or at local bakeries. You can buy stroopwafels online at Amazon or from The Vermont Country Store as well, although prices can be steep. 

Have you eaten stroopwafels? If so, what did you think?

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: TBD

Fall Frame of Mind: 7 to 9

October 21, 2011 by Renee Claire

Just as Miss Moss had to psyche herself up for summer, I’ve decided to do a series of posts to get myself and readers psyched for fall. Think of it as a to-do/photo inspiration list. Here are items 7 to 9:

PopBetty Fall Inspiration - Apples
Clockwise from left: crockpot apples from Skinny Chef; easy apple tart by Pioneer Woman; apple cider cups by BusyMommy.

7. Eat apples: If you can, try to get some local farm apples (for Atlanta residents, I can recommend Farmers Fresh CSA). Eat them raw or cooked (I’ve made that easy apple tart twice in three days). Also, if you have any tips for making apple cider that isn’t mouth-curlingly sweet, please share them with me below.

PopBetty Fall Inspiration - Soups and StewsAll photos by me; the two left images (brunswick stew with paprika & minestrone) have related posts, while the other two recipes are not yet posted (links to come).

8. Make soup & stew: Soup is healthy, it’s tasty, and it’s total comfort food. Now that temperatures have gone down, it’s a lot more fun to eat, too.

PopBetty Fall Inspiration - Fluffy Beds
Clockwise from left: Rachel Thurston‘s place via Design*Sponge; Ten Broeck Cottage via A Cup of Jo; photo of my own bed.

9. Snuggle under a down comforter: I know of nothing more lush and delicious when it’s cold out than burrowing deep into the folds of a down comforter. Getting out of bed can be a problem, though.

Filed Under: Fall Frame of Mind, Festivus, Food

Recipe: Basic Beef Daube

October 17, 2011 by Renee Claire

The following beef stew recipe is a family favorite, and is perfect for colder months. It’s an altered version of this Cooking Light beef daube recipe. I’ll admit: I like this dish without loving it. Other people always seem to enjoy it more than me. It’s tasty, don’t get me wrong, and the meat comes out incredibly tender, but the flavor isn’t as rich or complex as I want. So I’ve also included potential improvements in the Notes section, and will try them and post an update.

Beef Daube

Basic Beef Daube

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
12 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (2-pound) boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup red wine
2 cups chopped carrot
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup less-sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Dash of ground cloves
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 bay leaf
salt & fresh ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over low heat. Add garlic; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove garlic with a slotted spoon, and set aside.
2. Increase heat to medium-high. Season cut beef with salt and pepper. Add beef to pan; be sure to cook in batches to avoid overcrowding. Turn meat frequently to brown on all sides. Remove browned beef from pan & set aside.
3. Add wine to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add garlic, beef, and the remaining ingredients, plus salt & pepper to taste. Bring to a boil.
4. Place beef mixture in a slow cooker. Cover & cook on high for 5 hours. Remove bay leaf before serving; serve with French bread, mashed potatoes, or egg noodles.

Notes

By far the most time-consuming & difficult task is cutting and trimming the chuck roast. Here’s a video showing you how; I’d budget at least 35 minutes for it. That said, don’t buy precut stew meat! It’s inferior quality meat to begin with, costs more, and meat surfaces degrade quickly once exposed to oxygen.

Go very light on the cloves. A “dash” means just that; I’ve overdone the cloves before, and regretted it.

Use a decent red wine. Burgundy is traditional.

Consider adding any or all of the following: mushrooms, potatoes, and corn starch or flour at the end to thicken the sauce. Also consider substituting baby carrots for the chopped carrots, and dusting the beef lightly with flour before browning. Finally, you might lightly brown half a pack of bacon (cut into 1 inch strips), and use the resulting fat to then brown the beef (the browned bacon also goes in the stew). I do this for boeuf bourguignon, and it adds a lot of flavor.

Filed Under: Food, Recipes

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