Something Like Chicken Curry with a Cauliflower Puree

Does adding curry to something make it a curry? I'm really asking. I don't know. Anyway, this is another attempt to pull something creative out of whatever I have in my fridge. I've been craving curry for a while, but I couldn't imagine it could be any good without rice. In desperate times like these, you have to make sacrifices and compromises. I thought I'd try pairing curry with that infamous cauliflower puree that all low-carbers experiment with once in a while because someone told them it was supposed to be like mashed potatoes but really it tastes nothing like mashed potatoes. Lies! It certainly doesn't taste anything like rice, but it did the job- soaked up the sauce, balanced the heat, and was pretty light.

Something Like Chicken Curry

• 3 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
• 1 med red onion, sliced
• 3/4 c fat free sour cream
• 1 1/2 Tbl lime juice
• 3 Tbl green curry paste *You could probably just use whatever curry spice you have lying around. I personally really dig green curry. You can find it in the Asian food aisle just about anywhere
• 4 sprigs mint, chopped fine
• olive oil
• salt/pepper
• a lil fresh parsley for garnish
• a few pinches cumin*
• a pinch cayenne pepper*

First, get the sauce ready. Stir together the sour cream, lime juice, green curry paste, and mint. Set aside for now.

Heat up the biggest flat bottom skillet you've got on med-high heat with about a Tbl of olive oil. When it's hot, add the onions. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, cumin, and cayenne pepper- these amounts are up to you and how much heat you want. Sautee until they're clear. In the mean time, pound down the chicken breasts until they're all one thickness, but don't destroy them. No need to get them super thin. Salt and pepper both sides. Reduce heat to medium. If your skillet is big enough, shove all the onions to one side, add another Tb of olive oil, and lay down the chicken flat. If your skillet isn't big enough, just take out the onions for now. Let the chicken fry for a couple minutes on both sides, so they're starting to brown. Reduce heat to low, but still simmering. Add the sauce and try to mix it in with the juices coming from the chicken a bit. Put the onions back into the pan and cover. Let that cook up for about 10 minutes. Take the lid off and let the sauce thicken a bit. This is really the key to this recipe. You need the sauce to be decently thick and creamy (of course don't overdo it and make your sauce all caky). This may mean taking the chicken out and setting it aside if it finishes cooking before the sauce is thick. It's worth the extra time. Serve on top of the cauliflower puree with plenty of sauce and onions. Top it off with the parsley.

Cauliflower Puree

You can probably get a more reliable recipe for this off any old low carb website, but I'll tell you how I do it, super easy style.

• 1 bag steamable cauliflower
• 1/4 c fat free sour cream
• 1/4 c fat free mayo
• 2 Tbl cooking sherry*
• salt/pepper to taste

Steam the cauliflower then combo everything in a food processor if you've got one, blender if you don't. If you go the blender route, add little bits of cauliflower at a time. It's kind of a pain in the neck getting this nice and smooth- you'll have to stir it a bit. Start on a low setting until everything's broken up, then switch to ultra super power and GO! until it's creamy.

If you want to be fancy you can roast some fresh cauliflower with garlic and olive oil and use that in your puree. I'd probably do that if I was making this as a stand alone side, but since it's just backdrop, I got all lazy.

Rasberry Mojito Jello

This was quite obviously one of those "what disaster can I make from the crap in my fridge that's about to go bad?" recipes. College students- you know what's up. It's times like these I'm glad blogs don't have editors. For 10 calories, 0 carbs, and a scavenger hunt through my fridge, this was a very nice little treat. It made my tongue all tingly. If you serve it to others, I'd recommend actually using a mint leaf as garnish. It helps get the mint scent across.

• 1 package instant rasberry sugar free jello (that's what I had in my cupboard- if I made this again, I'd definitly use lime jello)
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup soda water
• the juice from 1 lime
• about 4 sprigs of mint, chopped coarsely

Set the water to boil, then in a metal bowl put the jello and chopped mint. When your water's singing add it to the bowl and stir to dissolve the jello. Put a plate on top to cover and let it sit for another 3 minutes or so. My theory is that this lets the mint oil get into the jello without letting the jello set. I don't know if this really makes sense. Afterwards, send this mixture through a wire mesh strainer into another bowl. Add the soda water and lime juice. Pour it into serving containers and fridgerate. I thought it filled 3 wine glasses generously. I also made a fantastic mess, so if you have a bowl with a spout of some sort, I recommend using that. I think this is best eatin' when it's still soft set- after about 1 1/2 hours, depending on your fridge. I'm pretty psyched to make this into jello shots at the next appropriate gathering.

Pesto Stuffed Chicken Breast

This isn't exactly your "light summer chicken" recipe. It doesn't mess around. I ate mine with a simple side salad, and that's just what it needed. I also think it's not quite as bad for you as the ingredients list will make it sound- most of the fat cooks off when you bake it. Also, the low/no fat version of everything works fine. This recipe is surprisingly quick and easy, and produces very few dirty dishes, which is always nice. What you'll need:

• 2 chicken breasts, fat trimmed (A note about chicken breasts- I have always found that the most tender chicken I cook is from the frozen aisle. It's counter intuitive, but has never failed me).
• 1/3 c pesto (store bought or home made, if you're into that sort of thing)
• 1/3 c mozzarella cheese
• 1.5 tbl mayo
• 1/3 c Parmesan cheese, grated
• 2-3 cloves garlic, sliced* (I only recommend this if you share my boundless infatuation with garlic)

Preheat your oven to 375. You need to pound the chicken breasts flat. If you've never done this, just place one between 2 sheets of saran wrap and pound away with a kitchen mallet, or just something flat and heavy. Go ahead and release a little aggression. You want it as flat as possible without demolishing it- no more than 1/4 inch thick. Now mix the mozzarella, mayo, and pesto together. Spread this on the more raggedy side of the chicken, then roll it up. You may need a toothpick to hold it together, but this has never been an issue for me. Place the chicken in a baking dish, coated with cooking spray. Take that Parmesan and coat the chicken, pressing it in so it sticks. Top the chicken with the sliced garlic, if you're so daring. Put it in the oven for about 45 minutes, although you'll want to check on it around 40 minutes, and it might take a little longer. It all depends on how big the chicken breasts were that you purchased. You want the chicken to be firm to the touch. The garlic and cheese will be starting to brown. If you're not too concerned about calories, drizzle some of the cooked off sauce over the top.

Next time I make this, I think I'll add some chopped mushrooms to the filling. I think that would be a really nice touch.

Less a Recipe, More a Recommendation: Elvis Costello's Favorite Spinach Dip

My mom has always put this dip out at family gatherings or football games, and it's always a crowd pleaser. When I called to ask for the recipe, expecting it to be some magical secret passed down for generations, she just told me to buy a package of this:

It's all on the label, and is probably the only recipe that I follow to a tee. I won't bother reproducing the recipe here, because you're going to have to buy the soup mix, but it's essentially spinach, mayo, sour cream, water chestnuts, and whatever magic is contained in that packet. I used low calorie/low fat everything and couldn't tell a difference. It's especially delicious when served out of a loaf of pumpernickel. In the past I've had a lot of trouble finding whole loaves of pumpernickel that I can hollow out, and my expectations of success on this island (where "going clothes shopping" means a trip to Target and we don't exactly have Jewish bakeries on every corner) were low. Leave it to Wal-Mart to once again save my ass with their overload of variety. It's also great (and low-carb friendly) with raw broccoli and cauliflower.

Not the prettiest picture, but I was having a hard time sneaking one in before my brother dug in and got his greedy fingers all over my shot.

Another completely unrelated recommendation that is useless to any non-Galvestonites: the mahi-mahi at the fish market right now is amazing.

Multicultural Stuffed Portabello

If you're low-carbing it, and find yourself in the grips of a pizza desperation, this is a more than adequate alternative. It's pretty damn good no matter what you're dietary status is. You'll need:

1. portabello mushroom caps- I recommend the biggest you can find
2. 8 oz Italian sausage- I use turkey for calorie/fat sake, and I really can't tell the difference
3. 1 small onion, chopped
4. 3 cloves garlic, crushed*
5. 1 poblano pepper, chopped*****
6. mozarella cheese - here's where the extra calories are probably worth it. If you can't bring yourself to get the real stuff, at least avoid the super skim milk version.
7. 1/4 c fresh parsley, chopped*
8. cooking spray/olive oil
9. salt and pepper

*****A word about poblano peppers: I'm a huge fan of the seasonings in Italian sausage, but poblano peppers have this incredible smokiness that I cannot get enough of. I do my best to weasle poblanos into every recipe I can, and this is no exception. It is, however, a somewhat tricky ingredient. First of all, I HIGHLY recommend using gloves if you're going to be slicing them open. Trust me. I've cooked some up, showered, dinner partied, then attempted to take out my contacts, only to end the evening in writhing agony, all Polyphemus-like. Second, there's a lot of variation in the strength of flavor in these guys. Sweetness, heat, flavor are never the same in poblanos, and I am not aware of a method to deduce this without tasting them. I say 1 poblano for this recipe, which is usually correct, but I recommend taking a taste test to see just how much you want to add.

On with the recipe.
Preheat the oven to 400, and start prepping the mushrooms. Cut the stems so they're equal in height to the walls of the mushroom, then with a spoon, carefully shell out the gills. Put all this byproduct in a medium-sized bowl- you'll use this for all the stuffing. Spray a glass pan with cooking spray, or brush it with olive oil, and put the mushroom top side down on the pan. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip them to stem side down and bake for another 5 minutes.

While this is happening, work on the stuffing. Brown the Italian sausage in a frying pan, breaking it up with your spatula. Once that's done, scoop it out of the pan and onto a papertowl to absorb some of the grease. I use the grease left in the pan to fry up the onion, garlic, and poblanos, but feel free to drain it off if it seems like too much (especially if you're using non-turkey sausage). Fry the veggies until they're tender and the poblano tastes more sweet than hot. Add a little salt and pepper to taste. Now put all the veggies, the cooked meat, and parsley into your bowl previously designated as the stuffing container. Add about 1/4 c mozzarella cheese. Mix everything up, then stuff it into your cooked mushrooms. Fit as much as you can, packing down if necessary. You'll probably have a lot leftover, but this stuffing makes a KILLER omelette the next morning. Top each mushroom with a thick coat of cheese, I'll say about 1/4 cup each. Put everything back in the oven for another 5 minutes, then flip it over to broil. Broil your meal for a few minutes until you see that golden-brown color. I like mine pretty crispy...

A Soapbox Entry: Salt

Salt was an epiphany for me. It's probably the most integral ingredient in any kitchen in any nation in the world, and yet I used to casually leave it out of my recipes thinking I was "cutting back on my sodium intake." This entry is not meant to debunk any myth about how bad high sodium diets are for you- 150 hours of studying for a cardiovascular exam have taught me quite the opposite. I would, however, like to point out one misconception that has given salt a bad rap. This adorable little graphic from The Mayo Clinic illustrates nicely where our high sodium intake comes from:

The point I'm trying to make is that if you're consuming too much sodium, it's not from the extra dash here and there in your cooking, and if you're cooking with real, natural ingredients, then you're probably not getting too much sodium.

That being said, allow me to elaborate on how wonderful salt is. There's a reason that nearly every recipe, from casserole to curry to cookies calls for salt. You do not add salt to foods to make them taste like salt. In fact, you shouldn't taste "salt" at all. The point of this magic ingredient is to crystallize the flavors- to make them bold, independent, and sparkly. Once I got over my society-bred salt phobia and started adding salt to my food, I began to realize its true power. Adding salt just turns up the volume on whatever it is you're cooking. The draw back, of course, is that once you've added too much salt, it's almost impossible to go back. It's a critical ingredient, but you walk a very fine line, hence the irreplaceable importance of the taste test. If you've been hesitant, just try it out, in small doses. There's a reason an entire portion of your tongue is devoted to this flavor.

Exam Week Staples: Mushroom Chicken Soup

It may not look like much, but this soup has gotten me through some long, dark, unbelievably boring days, when my culinary repertoire is limited by time and attention span, with the possible exception of my caffeine source. I find myself making it nearly every exam for several reasons: 1. I can make a huge batch at once, 2. It's reasonably healthy and hearty (when compared to some of my other test week staples, namely coffee and string cheese), and 3. I almost always have the ingredients I need stashed away. Here's what you'll need:

1. a container of mushrooms, sliced
2. 1 medium onion, chopped
3. a few cloves of garlic, chopped*
4. 1 1/2 cups chicken stock - I just reconstitute mine from the bouillion cubes so I don't have to worry about keeping cans of stock... uh... in stock. Yup. Obvious pun resisted! Congratulate me!
5. 1/2 cup cooking sherry
6. a TB or so of olive oil
7. 1 cup chopped up, cooked chicken -either leftovers, or I buy bags of pre-cooked chicken that you can keep in the freezer. They're always really tender.
8. 1 cup broken up cauliflower, steamed - again, frozen is the way to go. Just pop it in the microwave and you don't have to worry about cooking it.
9. a couple shakes of dried basil*
10. 1 bay leaf*
11. 1/4 cup cream*
12. salt and pepper, naturally

*I've always had a habit of skipping ingredients in recipes when I was either too cheap or too lazy to purchase them. Sometimes this works out fine, and sometimes it ruins the whole thing, so from now on, I'll always * ingredients that are not absolutely necessary.

Now that all this is in list format, and I'm not just haphazardly tossing stuff in a pot, this seems like a lot of stuff, but it's all stuff that I always seem to have in my kitchen.

If you're going the bouillion route, go ahead and reconstitute a cube according to the instructions so you'll have it ready. Next, fry up the onions, garlic, and mushrooms in a little olive oil on medium-high heat until everything's tender. Put these cooked veggies into a blender along with the chicken stock (the cubes usually make more liquid than you actually need) and sherry. You may have to do this in batches. Go ahead and play with the amounts of liquid you add, depending on how thick you want your soup to be. Use your nose to guide how much sherry you should add- it's probably a better guide than my crappy estimate. And don't worry about adding too much- you'll have a chance to cook off that alcohol taste a bit later on. Now pulverize this mixture until it's absolutely creamy. This might take a few minutes. Add the cream, basil, and salt and pepper, then pour the mixture into a saucepan along with the bay leaf and set it on medium heat, stirring occasionally. If you're using frozen cauliflower and chicken, go ahead and thaw it in the microwave, then put it in the pot with the rest of the soup. Take your time here to play with the flavors until you've got it how you want it. If you taste too much sherry, just let it cook off. That's the best part about soup- you've got tons of flexibility with the subtle flavors, so you can make it just right. This will make about 4 filling bowls, and it reheats perfectly.

Low Carb Blueberry Cheesecake

Somehow I'm allowed to eat this and call it dieting. Would I serve this to my too-skinny-to-diet circle of friends and try to pass it off as a legit cheesecake? Probably not. I could do better. Would I serve this to a hypothetical obese, diabetic friend? Probably not. They would eat the whole thing in one sitting. To someone abstaining from sugar for over a month, this is quite the indulgence.

Preheat your oven to 325 and set out 2 blocks of cream cheese so they can reach room temperature by the time you need them. This will make your life a lot easier.

Now take about 4 oz of crushed up pecans and mix them with a 1/2 stick of butter and 1 TB of imitation sugar. Spread this inside your pie pan, covering the bottom evenly. Set that aside.

Using a mixer, blend:

1. 2 blocks of cream cheese
2. about a TB of vanilla (I used clear vanilla so your cheesecake looks pretty)
3. imitation sugar to taste (I used about 1 cup, I think. It depends on how sweet you like your cheesecake)
4. 2 eggs, added one at a time
5. Next time I make this, I'll probably add a little lemon peel as well, which I think would add a little zing.

Blend until smooth- if your cream cheese isn't at room temperature, this will be difficult. Finally, fold in about a pint of blueberries. I left a handful in the container to use as garnishes. I broke up the blueberries a little bit with my spoon just to get some pretty blueberry juice swirl in the cheesecake. Place in the oven for 30-35 minutes.

While your cheesecake is baking, make the sour cream topping, which is just:

1. 1/2 cup sour cream
2. another tsp of vanilla
3. about 1/4 of imitation sugar

After your cheesecake has baked for 30-35 minutes, pull it out and spread the sour cream topping on, then put it back in the oven for another 7 minutes. Let the cheesecake cool in the fridge before you binge eat the whole thing.