Foodie Wannabe

Chicken with Kale and Wild Mushrooms

I've met far too many people in my adult life who don't like mushrooms. Don't like mushrooms?!? I wouldn't want to live in a world without mushrooms! In honor of my love of mushrooms, here's a recipe that puts these fungi in the spotlight.

Wisma: French Market, Chicago

My knowledge of Chicago's north side is limited to the Edens expressway and the magnificient Inovasi restaurant that we ate at once upon a time. The chef (John Des Rosiers) at said restaurant recently opened two take-away, prepared food locations, called Wisma. I asked Husband (who travels north for work) to bring dinner home multiple times, but my request was never fulfilled. Lucky for me, the food came to me when Wisma opened a new location in the French Market. Now I can walk by their selection of salads, soups, sandwiches, and full entrees every day and drool. It didn't take long for me to grab something for dinner on the way home.

Barley Risotto with Shrimp and Peas

Did you miss me?

I am very aware that it's been about a month since my last post, and I'm very sorry. However, I'm pretty sure my dad is the only one who's been crushed by my hiatus. I know that you're dying to know what I've been doing since late December.  Here it is:

1. We took a trip to St. Lucia. The food was so uninspiring that I worked out every day and took to a much healthier diet.

2. Husband and I have been glued to our workplaces since our return from the trip though I've also stuck to working out and cooking nearly every night (meaning that we haven't had time for much else). I sit down on Sunday, find a few recipes, and shop for the week.

But sometimes, the planning isn't so awesome, and I'm left saying, "Well, I have frozen shrimp and some barley... what can I make?" Thank goodness for Google because instead of turning to GrubHub on Saturday night, I made this great dish!

Chicken and Chickpea Noodle Soup

I live and work in the city of Chicago, and one of the things I love most about living here is that I can get to work using public transportation, meaning I get to read, listen to music, or tweet all the way to work without fear of crashing a car. The only drawback is the walk to the train and from the train each morning and evening. In the spring, summer, and fall, the walk is certainly welcome, but in the winter? Not so much. After fighting the wind and stepping into work in the morning or home at night, I need soup. All I want is soup. Breakfast, lunch, dinner = soup. Husband, who commutes by car, can't relate, and I know that he gets frustrated by constant need for soup. The best one I've made lately is this heavenly recipe from Food Network. I doubled the recipe so that I could eat it for every meal for a week.

Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers feels like going home. I know it was a dinner that we regularly had growing up, and I'm pretty sure that I didn't like it. I didn't like the pepper part at least. I could get on board with warm, cheesy ground beef. I thought that I'd try my own version of a stuffed pepper as a grown-up, using ground turkey instead of beef to make it a little healthier. My inspiration was Greek and though the result was pretty good, and I'll probably try a few more new things next time.

Peach and Tomato Couscous Salad

My only regret when it comes to this dish is that I made it as soon as the peaches came in season. It is a wonderful side dish, especially when you get some good ripe peaches. Can't it be summer a little longer?

The Garden: Part II

I wanted to follow up on an earlier post featuring photos of my dad's garden in August. One month later, here's the crop:

Harvest Time!

When I was visiting Michigan in August, I had a chance to sample some of the fruits (really vegetables) of my dad's laborous gardening. It's really motivating to see the results, and now I want to garden myself make Husband grow more plants on our deck. The fall is even better since my favorite vegetables (squash!) are harvested during this, my favorite season. Behold, the beauty of the vegetables (and a sunflower).

Moo-Approved Chili: Spicy vegetarian fare

UPDATE: Vote for me here! (please)

You all must know by now that Foodie Wannabe loves some good, healthy competition, and this time it's a contest to use chilies (as in chile peppers!)! The fine folks over at MarxFoods.com invited me to participate in this recipe contest that required including some of the many varieties of chilies that you can get from them. To get me started they sent me sample of six different kinds of dried chile peppers! What should I make with my chilies?  Of course, chili! I knew I needed a recipe to stand out, and since I'm trying to find ways to be healthier, I decided on this doozy. I present the Moo-Approved Chili.

If you scroll down to the recipe, you'll see why it's "moo-approved." The protein comes from other sources, including those soy crumbles that you can find in the freezer section. I was going to trick Husband, but I told him prior to dinner. Despite his grumbling, he had some nice complements.

I love a lot of veggies in my dishes, but I think the reason for the great taste of this chili was the chilies. Usually when we make chili, it's either too bland and we have to throw a bunch of sriracha in the bowl, or we go overboard and have to tone it down with milk, cheese, or sour cream. This was the perfect heat. And it's a good thing too because we have a lot of leftovers! Want to come over for dinner?

Poached Chicken with Tomatoes, Olives, and Green Beans

I love pulling out my giant green Gourmet Today cookbook and deciding which dish we'll have that week for dinner. I limit myself to one dish because like this one, even if it's "Easy Weeknight Cooking," it's not really. One time Husband and I were cooking until 9 pm. Not so easy. This one was very doable on a weeknight, and it got a thumbs up from both of us for going beyond the normal, boring chicken breast dishes.  I did, however, have to cook the chicken a little longer in the oven because it wasn't done enough after the poaching, but it was still nice and juicy after a spin in the oven.