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chia seed pudding

The longer I hang out in San Francisco, the more of a weirdo tech hippie I become. Today’s exhibit: I am writing to tell you all about chia seed pudding. “Pudding” that isn’t even dessert, but rather some quasi heath food, apparently full of vitamins, fiber, protein, omega-3s. Blah, blah, you’re bored already.

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Chia seed pudding looks terrifying. Swampy, gooey and black. I admit, it’s a texture that is more on the acquired side, but after getting over my initial trepidation, I’m super into it. It’s been a great breakfast to have at work, filling but not heavy, enough to keep me going until I rise from my keyboard and somehow it’s already 1 pm. The past few weeks of Back to School have been madness, in a good way, and we’re not totally out of the woods just yet, so I’m glad to have this ‘power breakfast’ to keep me going. That’s just the type of badass boss I am.

Are you ready for it? Ready to take the world by storm after eating some tiny, jelly seeds suspended in ‘milk’ made from nuts?!? You sure as hell are, you beautiful hippie.

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Chia Seed Pudding
They call it pudding, it seems a bit odd to call a health food pudding, but I don’t have a better idea soo …
3/4 cup chia seeds (use 1/4 cup chia seeds for each 1 cup of liquid)
3 cups almond or coconut milk (I’ve done both types, in plain and vanilla. Both were good. I’ve found better quality ‘milk’ = better flavor. Chia seeds are more of a texture thing, they don’t add any flavor)
bananas
strawberries (or any other berry, or stone-fruit, whatever you got)
slivered or sliced almonds (or pistachios, or pecans, or any other nut!)
honey (more or less depending on if your almond milk was sweetened)

In a large tupperware, whisk together the chia seeds and almond milk. Let stand for a few minutes, whisk again. Let stand for a few more, whisk again. You want to make sure there aren’t any big clumps as the chia seeds gel together. Put in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. I usually do this on Sunday night while prepping dinner to get ready for the week.

The next morning, scoop a few scoops of pudding into a bowl (or – real talk – an old ice cream container/tupperware since you’re probably eating this at work in front of your computer), slice a banana and a handfuls of strawberries, sprinkle those on top. Add a drizzle of honey and a sprinkle some almonds, and you’re set.

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Jordan’s getting into it too, though I believe he still prefers toast, cream cheese, and smoked fish.

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Recipes

green smoothie

We’ve been having smoothies for breakfast everyday for a while now and have been tweaking this recipe along the way. It started out as an attempt to sneak more leafy greens into my diet, but Jordan and I both got hooked. It’s a great way to start the day—fresh and full of fruits and veggies. We use one of those infomercial-famous Magic Bullet blenders, which was my dad’s parting gift when I moved out of the house, so this recipe for a single serving.

Like all smoothie recipes, this recipe is flexible. If you’re missing an ingredient, swap it for something else in your crisper. Also, if you’ve got a winning smoothie recipe, please let us know. We’ve been enjoying this one for about a month straight, but I expect we’ll hit a wall with it eventually.

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Green Smoothie
1 banana
2 – 3 tablespoons of frozen pineapple tidbits
2 – 3 tablespoons plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup fresh spinach (or as much as you can cram into the remaining space in the blender)
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup coconut water

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Combine ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Though the Magic Bullet infomercial claims it will make a fruit smoothie in miraculous 5 seconds, mine usually takes about a minute.

-Emily

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Recipes

tabbouleh salad with chicken shish kebab

Jordan and I both love tabbouleh. The first time we had tabbouleh it was purchased from a tiny on-campus grocery store while I was studying at Georgetown. It was delicious. I made meals of it. Case in point: When I was an editor at The Georgetown Voice,  I would fuel the long nights we spent putting together that fine newsmagazine with a container of tabbouleh, a stack of pita bread and a pack of Haribo gummy bears. A balanced diet if there ever was one.

Now that I am older and wiser (and can no longer consume the quantity of candy I could during my Voice days), I decided to pair the tabbouleh with rice and chicken shish kebab. For those of you that might be skeptical, you don’t miss the gummy bears at all.

Chicken Shish Kebab
1/2 lb chicken, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 t paprika
1/2 t cayenne
salt and pepper

In a medium bowl, mix the yogurt, lemon juice, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper. Taste for seasoning  — it should be well seasoned since this is the only seasoning you’ll put on the chicken. After your satisfied with the taste of your marinade, add the chicken and let sit for at least one hour or overnight. Meanwhile, make the tabbouleh.

Tabbouleh Salad
1 cup fine-grain bulgur wheat
2 bunches parsley, chopped
1 bunch mint, chopped
1/2 red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 lemon, juiced
salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Bring two cups of well-seasoned water to a boil. Add the bulgur, cover and set aside for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the salad. Chop the herbs—some stems are totally ok— chop the onion and garlic. Mix the herbs and vegetables together in a large bowl. If tomatoes are in season, feel free to chop a few of those and add them in as well.  Add the lemon juice. Drain the excess water out of your bulgur and add that to the herb mixture. Toss well and season with salt and pepper. It should be quite herby and lemony. Add a hearty drizzle of olive oil to help mellow the flavors out and set aside. This salad only improves as the flavors meld.

Put the chicken cubes onto skewers. You’ll lose some of the yogurt marinade while skewering, but the flavors should have had time to permeate the chicken. Heat a grill or grill pan over high heat. Cook the skewers for several minutes per side, until the chicken is cooked through. Serve over rice alongside the tabbouleh salad.

-Emily

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Recipes

leek and tomato chowder with dover fillets

Remember these georgeous leeks from our CSA box?

We got around to using them this past Sunday in a delicious soup. I wanted something with leeks and tomatoes, Jordan wanted fish. This soup was our delicious compromise. It is also a really quick dish to throw together and only uses one pot, a bonus for a Sunday night.

Leek and Tomato Chower with Dover Fillets

According to Jordan, something becomes a chower when you add potatoes to it. I decided to not verify the accuracy of this statement because I like it’s simplicity. Isn’t he cute?

2-3 large leeks, sliced and rinsed of their grit
4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 medium potatoes, diced 1 carrot, diced
1 quart vegetable broth
1 16 oz can of diced tomatoes
A bay leaf, chili flake, salt, peper
2 – 3 dover fillets, or other mild, flakey white fish
Lemon, for serving

Sautee the leeks in a little butter and olive oil until they are soft. Add garlic and carrots and sautee for a few more moments.

Add tomatoes, chili flake and a little salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes. Add broth, bay leaf and potatoes. Cook for another 15 – 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Salt and pepper the fish fillets. Lay them on top of the simmering soup. Let them sit their quietly poaching for about 6 minutes, or until the fish is opaque. Serve with a squeeze of lemon and some fresh bread.

This soup was delicious, fresh and seasonal. I also have to say that I am pretty impressed with Jordan’s ingenuity on the fish-cooking method. It was perfectly moist, the delicate texture was preserved, it looks awesome and was super easy. Can you ask for more?

-Emily

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Recipes

oven roasted fish with citrus

Tonight’s dish was inspired by a recipe in The Chronicle for a quick week-night dinner.  I prepared it as directed in the recipe last week and with my own twist this week.

Oven roasted fish with fennel and grapefruit, or with lemongrass and ginger
1 – 2 fillets of a mild, white fish (I used rockfish)
2 T fronds from a nice, fresh fennel bulb OR 1 stock lemongrass, cut into slivers
1/2 grapefruit, juiced OR 1 t fresh ginger, minced and 2 T lemon juice
2 T butter, cut into small pieces
Salt and pepper
Lemon, for serving

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Place fillets on a large piece of tin foil. Liberally salt and pepper both sides of the fillets. Lay the fennel fronds on top of the fish. Crinkle the sides of the tinfoil up a little and squeeze the grapefruit juice onto the fish. Top with the butter and close the foil package. Cook for 15 – 20 minutes, until the fish is just flaky. Be careful when opening the foil packet, the steam inside is really hot!

Serve fish with a fennel salad OR cabbage salad and a grain. We had wild rice the first night and jasmine rice the second time.

Conclusions: Tasty, seasonal, super easy and pretty healthy (although not the most photogenic). This recipe is also incredibly adaptable to different seasonings and flavors …  it may just become a weeknight favorite.

-Emily

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Recipes

we don’t just eat pork and desserts

Jordan loves pork and desserts. I love desserts and pork. Still, most nights we eat reasonably healthy (those just aren’t always the most fun to blog about). Last night, we ate great! (And local! And balanced! And pretty darn healthy!) It was awesome.

The menu:

Pan-seared sturgeon – salt and pepper, sear briefly on each side, rest, add a squirt of lemon

Red rice – 2 parts rice to 3 parts water, cook covered for 25 minutes, rest for 5 minutes

Sauteed green cabbage – toast some pistachios, sauté the cabbage for 3 – 4 minutes, add a little shallot, add chicken stock, cook until evaporated 4 – 5 minutes more , stir in nuts

Green salad with pesto and cara cara oranges – wash greens (and well when you get them from your CSA box and they are full of grit), supreme oranges, top with pesto (carrot tops, pistachios, orange zest, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil all mushed together in a mortar and pestle or blender)

I would recommend all the items this menu. It was delightful and satisfying. I especially loved the pesto!

-Emily

P.S. It couldn’t be all healthy, so there’s a little lemon, brown butter sauce on the fish.  I simply browned about a tablespoon of butter, added some lemon zest and salt and spooned a little over the fish.

-Jordan