Well I Spent A Lifetime Looking For You

I was super late to learn of the beauty and simplicity of the common American meatloaf.  What an amazing wonderful dish to whip up in minutes.  Such a time saver. And as diverse as chili or pasta sauce recipe.  There is almost no way to screw it up.

And the ability to stretttttttttttch out a pound of meat is fantastic!  This is a Mexican Ground Turkey version with pinto beans and loads of veggies.

Served with quick pan seared asparagus with garlic and lemon.

Mexican Turkey Meatloaf:

• 1 lb of ground turkey
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup of flax seeds
• 1/2 cup of oatmeal
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 can of drained and rinsed pinto beans
• 2-3 chopped jalapeno
• 1 large zucchini diced small chunks
• 1/4 cup of frozen corn
• garlic, minced
• Seasoning: squeeze of dijon mustard and dashes of Worcestershire Sauce, cumin seeds, dried Mexican oregano, dash of cayenne, s&p
• 6oz Can of tomato paste OR your homemade roasted tomato salsa

Mix it all together except for the tomato paste, not too much.  Form it on a sheet pan and bake on 350 for 50 minutes.  Ten minutes before it's done, top with the seasoned tomato paste or right after it comes out, top with your homemade salsa.

Asparagus and Black Rice

 

My sister R and I coincidentally have both discovered some great deals on asparagus this week.  I roasted mine with garlic, EVOO and lemon, along side a couple of plum tomatoes.

I served it over a little seasoned ground turkey and my new friend, black rice.  I had a dish downtown that featured black rice warm with cold snow peas, corn and cilantro and mint.  It was so refreshing and I've looked forward to making something similar in the spring.

Looks like there are different types of black rice as this one was more short grained and mushier.  Not like the ultra thin aldente kind I was served at the restaurant.

But nonetheless it was very tasty, almost a perfumed aroma.

And sometimes I over roast the asparagus but this time I got it just right so you could pick them up and they still have some bite but the outside has a bit of caramelized and smoky taste.

When You Get Caught Between the Moon and New York City

P had a big show in Brooklyn tonight. I wanted to make a dinner that was not too heavy, yet would be filling enough to last all night and give energy. I wanted the food to be festive. This was to build a base for a great evening

The night went very well and show was spectacular. The food was so-so. I wanted to make this warm crusty bruschetta with nectarine and tomato topping that is heavenly normally with just the right amount of juicy tomato olive oil and lemon with the sweetness of the onions and nectarine...but somehow I didn't get the right bread and it was just okay.

The steak was thin and good and the roasted asparagus was the right choice and super tasty. Nothing blew your socks off and ended up being the beginning of my cooking rut that I am now in the middle of. Sometimes the best that you can do is just to show up and let what's gonna happen happen.

One star shines brightly tonight and another one burns out. (sigh)

Cream Dream

I had no game plan at the PathMark this week. I went in hoping to find inspiration in the fresh seasonal produce. All the vegetables were wilted and on their last leg. Maybe last week's storm prevented the trucks from delivering? Regardless, I ended up with mixed bags of things on sale with no clear idea of how they'd go together. But that can be good. Sometimes I come up with a new dish when I have to be creative.

Then this morning on my ride to work while the icy sleet was pelting me in the face I realized I forgot to thaw out the chicken thighs. Tragic. What a rookie move. So I came up with a quick one pot supper tonight using arugula pesto. P doesn't really do pasta, so I have to disguise it somewhat. And the pasta vegetable ratio has to be skewed.




I wanted everything to be green because all you see outside now is dirty snow, white skies and black puff jackets. I found baby asparagus at the fifteen dollar store so I chopped those up and mixed them with peas and made the arugula pesto using walnuts, thyme, parsley and chicken stock. I had some turkey sausage that I chopped into small cubes and fried up with the onions and garlic to get a little crisp, then mixed that with some bow-tie pasta. I added a 1/4 cup of non-fat ricotta while the pasta was hot and then the veggies and pesto. Kind of a little cream dream.




The bright green color is refreshing and the ricotta gives it just enough smoothness to make up for all the lost olive oil, although I did use some. It tastes like a rich cream sauce but its not at all. The asparagus still has some bite and the peas just melt with the sauce while the thyme gives it fresh flavor. I'm stuffed after a small bowl.