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Posts Tagged ‘fennel’

Quiche Anyone?

Posted by terrepruitt on March 27, 2017

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitAs you may know – because I talk about it a lot – we get a box of organic produce delivered twice a month.  The service we have might be different from ones you have heard of because it is not the type of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) that is or used to be the norm.  The CSAs that I knew of were ones where you purchased them for months and you got what they shipped (or what you picked up).  But this one allows me to pick what is in the box – kinda of defeating the purpose of why I joined in the first place, but in the end proving to be best and less wasteful.  Sometimes those fruits or vegetables that I didn’t know what to do with would just go to waste.  So now I can decide.  But, like many CSAs you can choose to ADD things to the delivery . . . like flowers or farm fresh eggs or honey.  Well, I never do that.  But recently I decided to order a quiche.

I ordered the quiche thinking I could pop it in the oven and have a yummy meal.  The description said it was the perfect base for adding fresh herbs or sautéed veggies.  I bought some mushrooms in anticipation of added them atop the quiche.  When I saw the box with the quiche in it I was somewhat annoyed because it did not look like it could feed 4 to 6 people.  It was very small and not even close to be the size of an average pie.  Then I picked up the box and noticed it said DIY Quiche Kit.

SNAP!  I have to make the thing?!?!?  If I would have know that I would not have ordered it.  To me the price included it being made.  Anyway, I was stuck with it.  So what was I going to do but make the damn thing.

The produce box that week included fennel – and you know I love fennel.  So I sautéed the fennel and put it in the quiche.

One of the reasons I did not want to have to make the quiche myself is because I am no good with dough.  As you can see it did not matter that the dough was already made and all I had to do was roll it out.  Even rolling dough out proves to be a challenge for me.  The dough, however, was super-duper yummy!  I think they sell that dough local enough that we can get some.  It was so good.

So, I made the quiche.  And now that I have made a quiche, I do plan to make more.  I have been thinking I will even make my own crust.  I mean the recipes for crust I have seen seem easy enough (but, ya think rolling out dough would have been easy).  And the recipe for quiche is really easy, I mean, cheese, eggs, and half and half.  How easy is that?  Adding whatever veggies I want doesn’t make it that much more difficult.  So, that is the plan.  I am going to make quiche . . . .eventually, I have other stuff I am trying to deal with now first.

This one completely filled the dish.  I thought it was going to overflow.  Then it started getting too cooked on the edges but was not cooking in the middle.  So I put it in a foil wrap.  I didn’t want the bottom crust or the side crust to burn.  I ended up having to cook it much longer than instructed, about 20 minutes longer.

Here is the recipe and a bunch of pictures of the one I made.

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Do you like quiche?  Do you MAKE quiche?

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What To Do With CousCous

Posted by terrepruitt on August 26, 2016

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitWhat do you do with couscous?  I like couscous.  One time when I made it, both my husband and I decided that we really like it.  I usually buy Near East brand.  I usually by flavored kind.  Our favorite is a Garlic and Olive Oil.  We also eat a Parmesan flavor.  But the boxes are very small and they really, when I think about it, are kind of expensive. I usually pay over three dollars for a box.  It really only works for one meal.  So to me that is expensive.  So I went to where I always go to when I am shopping for less expensive stuff – Amazon.  I ended up buying a lot of couscous.  I got FOUR bags, that can serve as FOUR meal sides EACH, for $16!  But now what do I do with all that couscous?

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One thing I LOVE about it, is that cooks so fast.  It is so easy.  So really adding too much to it, just takes away from that.  But when you have as much as I do ya look for different things to do with it.

One thing I did that was awesome and easy was just chop us some kale and throw it in.  I chopped up the kale and two minutes into the last five minutes of the couscous cooking I put it in the pot and stirred it.  Then let the couscous continue to cook.

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Beef, Kale, and Couscous

1/4 teaspoon coconut oil

1 tablespoon red onion

a little less than 1/4 pound ground beef

2 kale leaves

1 1/4 cup water

2 teaspoons butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon garlic salt

3/4 teaspoon powdered garlic

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

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Fine chop the kale.  After the water has boiled, add the couscous to the water.  Set a timer for 2 minutes.  When the timer goes off sprinkle the garlic and turmeric on the couscous and add the kale, then sprinkle the garlic salt on top of the kale.  Stir everything together.  Then set the timer for 2 minutes and let it all finish cooking.

Once the couscous is done add the meat.  Then stir it all together, mixing it well.  Then serve.

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The beef adds a richness and not a lot is needed.  The beef also helps it be satisfying as an entrée.I added more garlic salt while it was on my plate.  I added pepper to my husband’s plate.  My hubby and I really enjoyed this so I will probably be doing it again.

So, as I said – what do you do with couscous?

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PS  While I was looking for my kale and couscous pictures a search reveal this post Couscous, Fennel, and Garbanzo Beans.  I forgot about this.

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Couscous, Fennel, and Garbanzo Beans

Posted by terrepruitt on April 25, 2016

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitSometimes I just don’t take out meat in enough time for it to defrost by dinner.  I thought about it early enough.  But I am at that state of meat-in-the-freezer where it is the stuff I don’t know how to cook.  My mental inventory check led me to hamburger, but I didn’t want to cook that, so then my brain flitted off to something else.  Then later, I think I might have opened the freezer and, uninspired, shut it.  Then, by the time I got serious it was too late.  I was HOPING it was not too late, but alas when it came time to cook dinner, the meat was not defrosted.  And on top of that we didn’t really have all that many veggies in the fridge.  Sigh.  We have lettuce and salad fixings, but nothing to cook except fennel.  We had leftover couscous from the other night.  So I was thinking I could roast the fennel AND some garbanzo beans and then mix it with the couscous.  Ahhh . . . sometimes I love when there is “nothing” in the house to eat.  I loved it.

I always say I don’t like beans, because I don’t for the most part.  I don’t like BEAN beans.  I like green beans, but I don’t think of them as beans because they are long.  Or more so because green beans are eaten fresh like a vegetable and not dried like a “bean bean”.  I do like garbanzo beans though.  And I like red kidney beans but only in Red Beans and Rice and in THIS bean salad.

I like garbanzo beans or chickpeas as they are also known, because they taste buttery.  They add a butter flavor to dishes — to me.  And I really like them roasted.  So I decided to roast them with the fennel.

I actually roasted them both on the same pan.  I put parchment paper on a large jelly roll pan.  I cut up the fennel and — well, if I am posting a recipe I put is in that form.

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–2 cups prepared Couscous
–olive oil
–1 bulb Fennel
–1 can Garbanzo beans
–handful of grape tomatoes
–garlic salt
–pepper (if you like)
–1 1/2 tablespoon butter

Drain the beans and rinse them.  Set them aside to dry.  Cook the couscous according to the package (I used left over couscous).  Preheat the oven to 450° F.  Cut up the fennel and put it on a parchment paper lined oven pan.  Drizzle olive oil on it and sprinkle garlic salt on it.  Toss it.  Then put it in the oven for five minutes.  After five minutes take the pan out and put the beans on the pan.  (I kept the fennel and the beans separate on the same pan because I was not sure they would cook to my liking at the same time.  This gave me the option of taking one off the pan.)  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Take them out of the oven and toss both the fennel and the beans (keeping them separate).  Adding more salt if you would like.  Bake for 15 minutes.

Cut the tomatoes in half.

Add the butter to the couscous and mix it withe the roasted veggies.  Add the cut up tomatoes before serving.

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Of course, since I was just throwing veggies in leftover couscous I didn’t think to photograph any of it until the end and it came out so lovely – at least I think so.  Probably the bright red tomatoes.  They make dishes look pretty.  And it tasted fairly good.  I really like fennel.

As a note, since I used leftover couscous, I heated it in a pan with a little butter, then I added the roasted veggies.  The recipe is written using just made couscous.

If you like roasted tomatoes you could roast them, too.  I prefer tomatoes raw so I put them in just before serving.

Couscous is great. It is like pasta you can add anything you want to it.  It can be a side dish or a main dish.

Do you like couscous?

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Swiss and Chicken Casserole

Posted by terrepruitt on June 11, 2013

Ok, the thing about recipes is you sometimes have to adapt them for your family’s tastes, but it is nice to have the idea, ya know the starting point.  I love the ease of canned soups, but I have decided to work through my present supply and then no longer use them because I don’t care for the ingredients in them.  Yeah, I could just throw them out but I have issues with wasting “food stuffs” and money so I am working my way through what I have.  It is taking me a long time too because I keep finding recipes for which I concoct my own “soup” or, like the recipe in this post, not use soup, but still get the creamy soupy taste and texture.  The following recipe is from the blog Rantings of an Amateur Chef.  If you have not visited the Ranting Chef’s blog, you might want to.  It is full of all kinds of recipes.  He even has a cooking competition that you might want to participate in.  Go check it out . . . . after you read my post first, of course!

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, ZumbaI changed the ingredients to work for what we like.  I’ve swapped out the Miracle Whip for mayonnaise.  We DO NOT like Miracle Whip so that was switched out no doubt.  I used the chicken option, as stated in the recipe.  I made my own “croutons”.  To assist in avoiding some of the “extra” ingredients in store bought croutons.  Celery is in a lot of recipes.  I don’t know if I have ever mentioned that I do not like celery.  If I make this again, I might use celery, but this first time, I used fennel.  I know I have mentioned how much I love fennel.  Originally I was going to use ground turkey.  You may have read a post or two about how much I love ground turkey.  I have a Turkey and Fennel recipe.  I love the way those two flavors marry.  But I decided that if I used turkey in this it would be too much like my other meal so I opted for the chicken.

Original SWISS ‘N TURKEY CASSEROLE from the Ranting Chef

Ingredients:

1 cup Miracle Whip
4 cups chopped cooked turkey (or chicken)
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
2 cups croutons
2 cups sliced celery
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup chopped onion

Directions:

Mix all ingredients. Spoon into 2-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with croutons if desired.  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes, or until thoroughly heated.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, ZumbaMY version: (this time)

Swiss and Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:

1 cup mayonnaise
4 cups cooked and chopped chicken
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
2 cups croutons
2 HEAPING cups fennel, chopped
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
a few turns of the pepper mill

Directions:

Mix almost all the ingredients together, save some of the cheese for the top, if you want. Spoon the mixture into 2-quart casserole dish.  Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F.  Then sprinkle with the remaining cheese and extra croutons if desired.  And bake for 20 more minutes.

So this was a really good treat!  It really taste like warm chicken salad.  I can see myself using less mayonnaise when I make it again or maybe even something else (stayed tuned for THAT post!).  Some may argue that casseroles are not a very healthy meal, but to me, it beats fast food and sometimes they are a nice change of pace.  Maybe not something you have all the time.  And in fact, I will say this is a pretty rich casserole.

Do you like Miracle Whip?  Are you a mayo family or a Miracle Whip family?

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Fennel Another One Of THOSE Foods

Posted by terrepruitt on November 17, 2012

As you may have read, I recently received fennel in my organic produce box that I have delivered.  I was excited because I have heard of fennel, but never cooked with it.  I think I might not have even realized that I have had some before.  As I am thinking about it, I bet I had it put on my plate at a restaurant and assumed it was onion and didn’t eat it.  It looks like onion to me although it does not have an onion flavor at all.  The information I am seeing is that it is compared to anise.  Fennel is an herb that is used both as a flavor and a vegetable.  The bottom portion, the bulb is eaten as a vegetable.  It is related to carrots, parsley, dill, and coriander as it is a member of the family Apiaceae (formerly the Umbelliferae).  Its fronds remind me of the greenery on carrots, so it doesn’t surprise me that they are related.  Fennel is vegetation of which all of it can be eaten, the bulb, stalk, leaves, and seeds (I know I’ve had the seeds).  According to the World’s Healthiest Foods, this plant contains a unique combination of phytonutrients.

There is one, anethole, that has shown in animal studies to help with the reduction of inflammation and help prevent cancer.  Now, I have stated over and over that chronic inflammation is the body is not good.  Inflammation is an immune response in the body so having the body be in battle mode all the time is not a good thing.  The American lifestyle with its high stress and the average Western Diet which is full of food stuffs have been shown to CAUSE inflammation.  Having herbs and vegetables that can be easily added to the diet and might help with a chronic condition sounds good to me.  Anethole has also been found to have anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties according to Nutrition You Can.

Fennel also has vitamin C, potassium, and fiber.  Vitamin C is the antioxidant that helps fight against free radicals, the things, that in excess, can cause damage in the body.  Potassium is the electrolyte that is essential for the proper functioning of the heart, kidneys, muscles, nerves, and digestive system.  And dietary fiber is necessary to help with digestion and elimination, which when both are properly working systems tend to signify health.Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba

USDA National Nutrient database states the Nutrient value 1 cup of sliced fennel is as follows:

Energy kcal  27
Protein 1.08 g
Total lipid (fat)  0.17 g
Carbohydrate 6.35 g
Fiber, total dietary  2.7 g

Calcium, Ca mg 43 mg
Iron, Fe  0.64 mg
Magnesium 15 mg
Phosphorus, P 44 mg
Potassium, K 360 mg
Sodium, Na 45 mg

Vitamin C 10.4 mg
Vitamin A 117 AU

I am interested in foods that can help with chronic inflammation, I would like to have more of them in my diet.  At the same time I am interested in reducing the foods in my diet that cause inflammation.  How about you?  Are you interested in foods that might help with chronic inflammation?  Do you think you could add fennel to your diet?

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YAY To New Things

Posted by terrepruitt on November 3, 2012

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Yay!  I am so excited — I am taking the next level of Nia, Blue Belt AND I received fennel in my organic produce box.  Fennel.  Yay.  Two new things.  As you may know if you’ve read any of my posts about the delivery I receive, I ordered it partly because I wanted to try new stuff.  Yeah, it is possible to go to a store or a Farmer’s Market and purchase produce I have not tried before, but I don’t.  I just stick to what I know.  But when I get it delivered to me then I can work with it.  I am excited to be trying new things.  Ok, I just realized though that while I am cooking with a new-to-me vegetable I did it the same way I do everything.  I have heard about roasted fennel and again, if you’ve read anything about my cooking you know I roast pretty much all my veggies.  So I did that again with the fennel.  This time I also looked at the information on the website of the company that delivers the produce.  Yes, I learned after chopping off the beat greens and throwing them away, that I should find out what portion of the fruit/vegetable can be used.  The information indicated that the bulb can be roasted and the fronds can be used to flavor meat.  I am not familiar with fennel.  It is not a vegetable I even think about.  So I was happy to receive some to try.  Yay a new-to-me vegetable.

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As soon as I cut the fennel I recognized the smell.  So I must have had the flavor somewhere.  Which makes sense because fennel is actually an herb that is eaten as if it were a vegetable.  I’ve probably had it in a Greek dish or something from the Mediterranean region.  I decided to use some of the fennel with the chicken I was cooking.  I just cut off some of the fronds and put them in the dish with the chicken that I was cooking.  I didn’t change the recipe I was planning for the meat, I just put the fennel tops around the chicken.

The bulb of the fennel I sliced, put in a pan, sprayed with olive oil, drizzled with balsamic vinegar, sprinkled with salt, and put in the oven at 400 degrees F.  I cooked it for about 40 minutes.  It was good, but I thought it was sour.  My hubby didn’t think it was sour.  I am wondering if it was because I took the pieces that were drenched in vinegar.  He doesn’t really like vinegar so I decided to take those pieces.  Or maybe it was just what I was tasting.  But I will get some fennel in the future to see.

I still have some of the fronds left so I plan I using them in other dishes.  Maybe cut up on a salad, added to a soup, or cooked with other meat.

Have you eaten fennel before?  Do you cook with fennel?  How do you cook it?

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