Kitchen Adventurer

Once upon a time there was a ballerina who was terrified of the kitchen. Now she is conquering her fears. They call her the Kitchen Adventurer...

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Oat Milk

This mornings #VeganAdventurer lesson: oat milk is great in cereal, but not so great in coffee. #kitchenadventurer

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Tonight’s #MadKitchenAdventure (I know, it’s been awhile since my kitchen adventure posts) was such a success! Coconut crust fish with a lime marinade, mixed potatoes with rosemary and thyme seasoning, and sautéed spinach!

Here is the recipe for the fish!

http://www.abelandcole.co.uk/recipes/incredible-coconut-crust-fish

It'lltake

Prep: 10 mins / Cook: 10 mins

It'llfeed

4 people

Stepbystep

1.

Rinse the whiting. Pat dry. Cut butterflied fillets in two, along the central seam.

2.

Grate a touch of lime zest into a shallow dish. Halve. Squeeze all of the lime’s juice.

3.

Season the fish with salt. Lay the fillets in the lime juice to marinade for a minute or two, ensure both sides get a kiss of juice.

4.

Mix the flour and coconut into a separate dish. Press the fish fillets in the mix, one by one, coating them on both sides.

5.

Get a large frying pan really hot. Add enough oil to create a thin film. Sizzle the fish in this until golden, about 2 mins on each side. Do in batches, if needed, as you don’t want to crowd the pan.

6.

Finish with a touch of sea salt. Amazing with Ginger Squash Mash and Chilli Soy Greens.

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Juicing for dessert has become one of my favorite things! Here is just a simple carrot and apple juice.

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Today's adventure = homemade hummus I'm never buying hummus again.

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Homemade guacamole and tortilla soup.

Tortilla Soup Recipe:

http://tastefoodblog.com/2011/07/21/harvest-chicken-tortilla-soup-recipe/

(I roasted the chicken with chili seasoning, cumin spices, and olive oil in the oven before using two forks to shred the chicken)

Guacamole Recipe: 

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blog/best-ever-guacamole-again

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Today's delicious nutribullet drink... - Spinach - Banana - frozen blueberries - frozen raspberries - frozen blackberries - presoaked almonds

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I think I must have been an Italian in another life.  I would have no qualms about eating pasta for every day and every meal.  I usually just go the route of butter and parmesan cheese, but in honor of my new Kitchen Adventurer Adventures I thought I should try a little harder.  

For this simple yet delicious meal I made whole wheat pasta, sautéed spinach with garlic, roasted cherry tomatoes, and topped it all with some feta cheese.  It was absolutely delicious, and I think it was a pretty good upgrade to my usual.

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Juicing for dessert

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Tonight's adventure was sweet potato cakes topped with a delicious yogurt sauce, and a simple spinach salad on the side.  This recipe is from the wonderful Sara Forte of Sprouted Kitchen (www.sproutedkitchen.com). If you have never heard of Sara or Sprouted Kitchen you should definitely check it out!  Her book is amazing and she regularly updates her website and blog with delicious, new recipes.

I'd say it was another success!

Here is the recipe: www.sproutedkitchen.com/home/2012/3/14/sweet-potato-cakes.html

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Tonight’s Kitchen Adventurer adventure was stuffed peppers…

Here is the recipe and directions that I followed:

http://www.goodlifeeats.com/2010/03/quinoa-stuffed-bell-peppers.html

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

adapted from Vegetarian Times

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon olive oil 1 medium onion, finely chopped 2 ribs celery, finely chopped 1 8-oz. pkg. mushrooms, stems removed and saved for another use and caps sliced very thin 1/2 of a poblano pepper, diced 1 tablespoon ground cumin 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 – 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved 1 – 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained 3/4 cup quinoa 1 1/2 cups grated carrot 1 1/2 cups grated Pepper Jack cheese, divided 4 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs removed

Directions:

Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and poblano pepper and cook 5 minutes, or until soft. Add cumin and garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Stir in mushrooms and drained tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes, or until most of liquid has evaporated.

Stir the quinoa, carrots, and 1 3/4 cups water together in a medium saucepan. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. Combine quinoa and carrots with black beans, 1 cup of cheese, and the onion mixture from the first step, . Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour liquid from tomatoes in bottom of baking dish.

Fill each bell pepper half with heaping 3/4-cup quinoa mixture, and place in baking dish. Cover with foil, and bake 40 minutes. Uncover, and sprinkle each pepper with 1 tablespoon of remaining cheese. Bake 15 minutes more, or until tops of stuffed peppers are browned. Let stand 5 minutes. Transfer stuffed peppers to serving plates, and drizzle each with pan juices before serving.

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My first attempt at making homemade almond milk was a success! It is super easy…

I actually found and followed this little YouTube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THgouLGS_HU

If you search Pinterest you can also find a ton of different recipes though.

Here is one very simple example:

http://www.wileyvalentine.com/blog/2013/06/03/mom-monday-homemade-almond-milk/

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I think I’ve used almost every kind of coffee maker out there at this point…

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Simple Salad: Using what I had in the fridge I threw together a simple salad: - Mixed lettuce with half spring mix and half baby spinach - cucumber - cherry tomato - avocado - cheddar cheese - smoked salmon - fresh dill, salt, and black pepper for seasoning -olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dressing

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Juice time! Today I just made a simple carrot juice with carrots and a few celery sticks.

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Today I made my first soup! I made a carrot soup that was very delicious and easy. I got the following recipe and instructions from this website (found via pinterest): http://wherewomencook.com/creamy-carrot-soup/ Creamy Carrot Soup Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 45 mins Serves: 8 Ingredients: 4 cups carrots, peeled and thinly sliced 1 small onion, finely minced 4 TB. butter 1 tsp. minced ginger 1 large potato, peeled and cubed 3¼ cups chicken or vegetable broth 2 cups half and half 1 tsp. fresh chopped rosemary Salt and pepper to taste Instructions: In medium sized stock pot melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and ginger and cook until tender. Add carrots, potatoes, chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 30-40 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 20 minutes. Using an immersion blender mix carrot mixture until smooth. (you can do this in a traditional blender in small batches) Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Cook over medium heat 5-10 minutes or until warm. Stirring frequently. Top with croutons for an added touch. Author: Stephanie Hansen Where Women Cook/The Daily Blarg"