La Chiesa

I'm completely reinvigorated. Tonight, I went to the first of 3 cooking schools given by the chef and owner Jeremy Neppl of La Chiesa, a new Italian restaurant in Spencer. I have to admit, I haven't eaten there yet...I'm just going to have to get pushy and insist on going there sometime.

I learned so much tonight. I'm worried I've already forgotten a lot of it. These workshops are a month apart. Tonight we did hors d'oeuvres. Next month we'll do entrees and in March deserts. I especially want to try making some of the different kinds of bruchette we had tonight. I loved the carmelized onion with gorganzola. The carmelized mushrooms with goat cheese was also awesome.

I stopped at the grocery store on the way home tonight. I had to stop myself from buying some of these ingredients spontaneously. I've learned from past experience, I need to have a plan made as far as when and making sure I have all the ingredients at one time before, I start buying things. I've boughten some really expensive ingredients in the past that have gone bad because I wasn't able to get to them in a timely manner.

By the way, if anyone wants poached tuna steak. I think I now know how to do it. :)

Homemade Sushi

Mari and I did it! We made sushi last night. To be more specific, we made California roll last night. It may not have been expertly done, and as you can see in the picture, it was a little sloppy and loose, but we even improved with the second one. I think if we had had enough rice and enough room in our stomachs, we would have done even better in the third one. Mari came up with the key. You really have pack it tight, like a snow ball. We are going to get even more experimental and next time we go to Mankato, we're going to sit at the sushi bar and watch how it's all done.

Despite it being loose, the flavors were great. I do think, however, I need to find a different kind of sushi nori (the seaweed wrapping). This one was really tough to bite through and I frequently felt as if part of it was going down my throat while the rest was still in my mouth. It was an uncomfortable feeling, but still the flavors were great.

I'm tired tonight. For the last two days, I've been taking students down to the library and getting them into the stacks. They really are unfamiliar with how a library works, so I made them answer questions on a worksheet that required they find specific books and answer rather strange and obscure questions. It was actually sort of fun, but as I said tiring. Tomorrow I start in showing them how to look stuff up on databases, which is also strange to them, and even to people my age who didn't grow up with these things. That'll be tiring too, but satisfying. It feels good when you know your students are actually learning something knew...That is, if they show up.

So, I came home tired tonight. It wasn't even 5:00 and I decided to go upstairs and change into my nightgown. The idea was to get my bra off. It was rubbing and irritating me. So, I went upstairs followed of course by Joey. I was about to put my nightgown on, and I saw Joey heading for the stairs with one of my new socks. I wanted to chase after her, but you see, I envision these horrible headlines and they frequently stop me from doing stupid things. For example: "Naked, local English professor falls to her death in home: With a sock in its mouth, her loyal dog remained beside her." Is that weird or does everyone do that?

Beef Tagine with Butternut Squash and Scallion Couscous

This last week has been very busy. I had to wrap up the Christmas break fast track class, and of course, the weather wouldn't let us slip by without disruptions. We had to make up a class, and so, I'm still waiting for final exams and essays to be submitted. In addition, we started the spring semester. I've got 4 sections of Composition II and 2 sections of Composition I. It's going to be a very busy semester. Fortunately, we have a long weekend. We're taking off Martin Luther King Jr. Day. And I'm happy to say that I have NO papers to grade. So, I'm going to try to kick back, relax, and fit in some fun activities.

Sometime, in the next couple of days Mari and I are going to make sushi....or at least California rolls. It wasn't easy, but I found the ingredients I need. When we had it in Mankato, the California roll had an orange roe (fish eggs) on it. Mari said that's actually a LA roll. I really liked that, but couldn't find any. The recipe I found called for black sesame seeds, that's the one thing I couldn't find, but I suspect it's not going to make a major difference on the flavor. And besides, this is our first attempt. I think we'll be lucky if any of it holds together. If this works out, we're going to try different kinds and then, maybe eventually have a sushi party. I'll definitely write about our adventure.

Tonight, I decided to try two new recipes that struck my fancy. They're both on page 80 of the January/February edition of Cooking Light. They are Beef Tagine with Butternut Squash and Scallion Couscous.

The Beef Tagine is very spicy and yet very hearty. I've been meaning to try couscous for a long time, and I'm glad that I finally did. If you haven't tried it before, it's sort of like rice, but small and pearl like. Think small tapioca. It is a great winter food that sticks to your ribs. And despite the fact that it's really quite healthy, the serving size is generous. I'll definitely eat this again. There are a lot of ingredients. Mari, it goes well past your limit of 5, but most of the ingredients are spices, and I had no trouble at all finding them, except the beef. The recipe calls for a shoulder roast. I had to settle for a rump roast, which worked well, except it was a bit tougher than I would have liked. I probably should have simmered it a lot longer than the recipe calls for.

This dish is worth it if for no other reason than to experience the aroma as you cook the spice-coated beef. It is heavenly, and it makes you feel as if you've been transported to somewhere exotic like Marrakesh.

I also screwed up. I was supposed to toss the beef in the spices, which I did, but I forgot to include the ground ginger. I realized this after I added the squash. So, I went ahead and added the ginger to the whole dish. I have no idea if that affected the taste or not. I guess I won't know until I make it again.

Ingredients
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (1-pound) beef shoulder roast cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 shallots, quartered
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
3 cups (1-inch)cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 pound)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add beef; toss well to coat.
2. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add beef and shallots; cook 4 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes. Add squash; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until squash is tender. Sprinkle with cilantro. Yield: 4 serving (serving size: 1.5 cups)

Nutrition
Calories 283; Fat 9.5 grams; Protein 25.6 grams; Carbs 25.7 grams; Fiber 4.8 grams.
10 Weight Watcher's plus points

Scallion Couscous

Bring 3/4 cup fat-free, lower sodium chicken broth and 1/2 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Gradually stir in 1 cup uncooked couscous. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork. Stir in 1/3 cup chopped green onions. Yield: 4 servings

Nutrition
Calories 169; Fat 0.3 grams; Sodium 80 mg.
4 Weight Watcher's plus points

Sushi!!

I've been wanting to try sushi for years, but no body I knew was adventurous enough to try it. In my conversations with Mari I learned that she loved sushi, but then we didn't get anywhere to eat it until yesterday. It was purely happenstance that we found this restaurant in Mankato. I have to say, I love sushi. I've already ordered a cook book and I plan on trying to make my own. And most sushi really does stand up to my dietary restrictions. So, keep watching the blog because I will undoubtedly share my experiences with you, and maybe you'll get invited to a sushi party. :)

Anyone Can Make This

I know I've been rather silent for awhile again, but between the holidays, and the fast track I'm teaching, I just haven't focused on one thought long enough to actually get it posted.

As I expected, I ate too much during the holidays, and I'm working at taking it off again. I've gotten back into the diet and I've been walking, albeit not as regularly as I'd like, at the wellness center. And I think through the early months of the year, I'll really be able to establish good habits. I just hope we don't have too many snow days. I'm too close to the refrigerator on snow days.

I know some of you were interested in my efforts to pull up the carpet in my living room and dining room. I got the last of the carpet pulled up last week. There are still some tack strips and a few staples left (I got cold and achy down on the floor after awhile), but they'll be easy enough to pull up a bit at a time. Although the living room and dining room are essentially one single room, the floor in the living room has a higher finish. It's sort of weird. I do plan on refinishing them to a certain extent this coming summer, but isn't really going to take much.

Last night, I had Mari over for supper. She was game for playing the guinea pig with a new recipe. I was a bit anxious about it because it could have been a real dog of a recipe. Happily, I can say that it turned out very good. As we talked about it between our groans of pleasure with each bite, I kept on reassuring Mari, who claims to be not much of a cook, that she could easily make this. After saying "Anyone could make this" about 3 times, she suggested that that's the title I should give my cook book Anyone Can Make This. I don't know about the cook book idea, but it's true, if you can read directions, and sensibly make changes, anyone can make most of the dishes.

So anyway, the dish I made was Broiled Tilapia with Frisée-Apple Salad and Mustard-Parsley Sauce found on page 48 in the December 10, 2010 Best of Cooking Light: Fast Healthy Meals in 30 Minutes or Less. I wasn't able to acquire the arugula and frisée. For some reason, greens aren't as well accepted in this part of the country. Considering this is grassland, you'd think it would be a natural. So instead, I substituted my beloved spinach. I'm glad I could find the mint leaves. They made a real difference in the salad. The recipe makes 6 servings, so I halved it. Once we dug into it, we both wished I had made a full recipe.

Ingredients
1 cup water
4 teaspoons salt divided
1 teaspoon sugar
6 (6 ounce) tilapia fillets.
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
8 cups arugula
6 cups trimmed frisée
1/2 cup mint leaves
2 Gala apples, cored and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon whole-grain Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon water

Preparation
1. Combine 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon salt, and sugar in a shallow dish. Add fillets; let stand 15 minutes. Remove fillets from brine; pat dry. Discard brine. Brush fillets with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper.
2. Preheat broiler
3. Place fillets on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; broil 7 minutes or until desired degree of doneness.
4. Combine arugula, frisée, and mint in a large bowl. Combine apple and 1 tablespoon oil; toss well. Add apple mixture and 1/4 teaspoon salt to arugula mixture, and toss gently.
5. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon oil, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, chopped parsley, and remaining ingredients, stirring with a whisk until blended. Divide arugula mixture evenly among 6 plates; top each with 1 fillet. Drizzle about 1 tablespoon sour cream mixture over each serving.

Yields 6 servings

Nutritional information:
Calories 294
Fat 11.5 grams
Protein 35.4 grams
Carbs 15.2 grams
Fiver 4.1 grams

All of which equals 8 weight watcher points plus value points