This weekend was a whirlwind of work, running, walking, dinnering and finally, finally, on Sunday evening, relaxing. Briefly, I worked (standing) all through the night on Friday (till 11pm, taking a break only to run 4.5 miles-ill advised) then on Saturday (8am-3pm) and finally went for another run (6 miles, I'm a nut) and then headed downtown for a great outdoor pizza dinner with friends (with nutella cake for dessert, seriously!). Afterwards, our plans for the night fell through and we walked, and walked, and walked all the way from downtown financial district to union square (about 3.5 miles). You'd think my legs would have been jello, but we got up on Sunday morning and did a 4 mile run in the park before brunch. Actually that last 4 mile run was an absolute misery, I felt sluggish and awful throughout the whole thing. Still it was worth it for a sangria, ceviche, shrimp salad-filled lunch. Dinner even featured a small slice of carrot cake for dessert. So I'm done, relaxing, and making some baked tofu to put in my pear salad
Ok, now onto the attempt at Stroganoff. Come on now, I am Russian after all, it was only a matter of time before I tried to tackle Stroganoff. Of course, this recipe would have to take a LOT of modifications and I'm not too surprised when the end-product turned out to be delicious, but not at all a Stroganoff.
Here's the ingredient list for a "simple" Beef Stroganoff I found online. This thing serves 4 and it doesn't even include the wide flat noodles that go along with a Stroganoff:
6 Tbsp butter, 1 pound of top sirloin or tenderloin, 1/3 cup chopped shallots (can substitute onions), 1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, Salt/pepper to taste, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon of dry tarragon or 2 teaspoons of chopped fresh tarragon, 1 cup of sour cream at room temperature
But I was gonna work with what I had. Since we had just found some mushrooms on sale (and they were probably getting ready to turn, so I figured they'd have to be made stat) but had no beef, this was gonna be a vegetarian Stroganoff. Or...a creamy mushroom rice, if you will. I'm posting this recipe because it was not only a tasty success, but it took the over-the-hill-mushrooms and allowed them to sit in our fridge for enjoyment for over a week. A week.
Ok, now onto the attempt at Stroganoff. Come on now, I am Russian after all, it was only a matter of time before I tried to tackle Stroganoff. Of course, this recipe would have to take a LOT of modifications and I'm not too surprised when the end-product turned out to be delicious, but not at all a Stroganoff.
Here's the ingredient list for a "simple" Beef Stroganoff I found online. This thing serves 4 and it doesn't even include the wide flat noodles that go along with a Stroganoff:
6 Tbsp butter, 1 pound of top sirloin or tenderloin, 1/3 cup chopped shallots (can substitute onions), 1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, Salt/pepper to taste, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon of dry tarragon or 2 teaspoons of chopped fresh tarragon, 1 cup of sour cream at room temperature
But I was gonna work with what I had. Since we had just found some mushrooms on sale (and they were probably getting ready to turn, so I figured they'd have to be made stat) but had no beef, this was gonna be a vegetarian Stroganoff. Or...a creamy mushroom rice, if you will. I'm posting this recipe because it was not only a tasty success, but it took the over-the-hill-mushrooms and allowed them to sit in our fridge for enjoyment for over a week. A week.
Ingredients (this made 4 servings at about 200 cals each, good for main lunch course or hearty side)
1 cup (or so...) chicken stock + 1 cup H2O
1 cup rice (I used the TJs wild rice)
1 cup yogurt
1/2 onion
1 pack mushrooms (all shown)
1 cup (or so...) chicken stock + 1 cup H2O
1 cup rice (I used the TJs wild rice)
1 cup yogurt
1/2 onion
1 pack mushrooms (all shown)
First I dropped the cup of rice into a pot with 1/2 cup water, 1/2 chicken stock. I added just less than a tbsp of salt to the water (chicken stock was unsalted). While this was heating up, I chopped up the mushrooms and onion.
Big pan (absolute necessity) sprayed down with Pam got all the mushrooms and onion. I covered the pan and let them hang out and release some juices. Eventually I added a few tbsp chicken stock.
By this time, the liquid in the rice had gone down and I added the remaining 1/2 cup water, 1/2 chicken stock. This is the secret to creamy as opposed to fluffy rice (if you prefer fluffy, just do as it says on the box). I let that boil down and kept stirring it every now and then while the mushrooms kept cooking.
In the end, I added a bit of water to the mushroom mixture because it was getting a bit dry. No biggie.
Big pan (absolute necessity) sprayed down with Pam got all the mushrooms and onion. I covered the pan and let them hang out and release some juices. Eventually I added a few tbsp chicken stock.
By this time, the liquid in the rice had gone down and I added the remaining 1/2 cup water, 1/2 chicken stock. This is the secret to creamy as opposed to fluffy rice (if you prefer fluffy, just do as it says on the box). I let that boil down and kept stirring it every now and then while the mushrooms kept cooking.
In the end, I added a bit of water to the mushroom mixture because it was getting a bit dry. No biggie.
Andddd....finally, when the rice was just a LITTLE bit al dente (chewy) I threw it into the pot with the mushrooms and added in the 1 cup greek yogurt. It developed a strange grainy texture as it heated, but eventually dispersed into the rice, giving it a nice creamy taste. I also put in a BUNCH of black pepper grounds to give it some kick.
This is definitely going to be made again. =)
Now, since I've been so delinquent for so long, I'll post another quickie "recipe" though it's really just the easiest fastest dinner solution to a stressful work day.
This is definitely going to be made again. =)
Now, since I've been so delinquent for so long, I'll post another quickie "recipe" though it's really just the easiest fastest dinner solution to a stressful work day.
At a fruit/veg 24 hour store (gotta love Manhattan!!) we ran across these giant brussel sprouts. So I boiled them in some hot water (just until the biggest ones were easy to split in half) and quickly whisked together a sauce: 2 parts balsamic vinegar, 1 part soy sauce good ole squirt of wasabi mustard. I know I make this one a lot, but it works out really well! It's kind of heavy on the salt (even though I use the low-sodium soy sauce) but I suppose I'll just have to hope my kidneys are up for the challenge.
And there it is, a 20 minute dinner (10 of that was waiting for the sprout water to boil) and the other 10 was spent splitting the sprouts and making the sauce. So filling, so healthy feeling. I know, I know, no protein and that big glass of wine doesn't look so healthy but....when I got home from a looong day of work and gym this sure hit the spot.
To end on a personal note, my hellish rotation is finally over and I'll be able to spend more time actually getting my life together. However, because it's summer, I do expect to be going away on quite a few trips, doing a lot of outdoor picnicking and so forth. Hopefully I'll have something to share now and then, but I'd rather spend my summer outside than inside the kitchen!
Though I'm excited to make some cold soups, so maybe I'll have plenty to write about after all!
To end on a personal note, my hellish rotation is finally over and I'll be able to spend more time actually getting my life together. However, because it's summer, I do expect to be going away on quite a few trips, doing a lot of outdoor picnicking and so forth. Hopefully I'll have something to share now and then, but I'd rather spend my summer outside than inside the kitchen!
Though I'm excited to make some cold soups, so maybe I'll have plenty to write about after all!
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