21 June 2011

Gwyneth Paltrow's Corn Vichyssoise

Gwyneth Paltrow has recently released a new cook book "My Father's Daughter". She was recently showcased in Bon Appetit Magazine and this recipe is one of my favorites!

Vichyssoise (pronounced /ˌvɪʃiːˈswɑːz/ US dict: vi·shē·swäz′) is a thick soup made of puréed leeksonionspotatoescream, and chicken stock. It is traditionally served cold, but can also be eaten hot.[1]




Serves 4
2 Tsp Olive Oil
2 Medium Leeks, white and light green parts only, coarsely chopped
5 ears shucked corn, kernels cut from cobs, cobs reserved
1 cup coarsely chopped potato (about one medium)
4 cups good quality veggie stock
Salt and Pepper
1 Tsp of fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup of creme fraiche (Tracy's Note: sour cream would work too)
1 Tsp. finely chopped fresh chives (Tracy's Note: I used scallions because its what I had in my fridge)

Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring occasionally until softened. Add corn kernels, and reserved cobs (I broke them in half because my pan was not that big), potato and veggie stock. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Increase heat to high and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, cover with lid slight ajar, and cook till veggies are soft, about 35 min.




Discard the cobs and let soup cool slightly. Working in batches, puree soup in a blender until very smooth.

I loved this soup hot you  can chill the soup as well. If it gets too thick, thin with water by the 1/4 cupfuls. Season with salt and pepper.
Spoon a dollop of creme fraiche atop each serving and sprinkle with chives.

Enjoy.

14 June 2011

6/13: Meal Plan & Grocery list

Whole Foods $56 and Trader Joes $54



Waffles / Limes (5) / Chia Seeds / 2 yellow pepper / 1 orange pepper / 1 red pepper
grated parm / 2 medium leek / 5 ears of shucked corn / 1 potato
4 cups veggie stock / 1 jar chicken base / chives / can black beans x
cherry tomatoes over 4oz + 2 cups / avocado / Cheddar / Bread / Linguine / Basil Leaves
asparagus / israeli couscous / Cuke / cheddar / berries / banana / Juice / Roasted Chicken

This Weeks Menu
Monday: Chicken Cheddar Sandwiches with Avocado and Tomato & Corn Vichyssoise
Tuesday: Southwest Chicken Salad with Tomato and Black Bean Salad
Wednesday: Parmesan Peppers & Spinach Salad
Thursday: Linguine with Roasted Asparagus and Almond Pesto
Friday: Toasted Israeli Couscous salad with mint, cukes and feta



07 June 2011

Spicy Veggie Rice Tostada









Serves 4
4 Cups of roughly chopped veggies
1 ½ TB olive oil
1/8 tsp salt
Black pepper to taste
Dash of Cayenne Pepper
Whole wheat tortillas
One cup uncooked favorite rice
2 cup chicken stock
Sliced Chicken Breast (optional)
4 Slices of Provolone Cheese
1 Avocado
Salsa

Roasted Veggies
I always have veggies in the fridge. Use whatever you have. Today I used Zucchini, Roma Tomato, Red Bell Pepper, Frozen Corn, Frozen Okra, and Yellow Onion.
Roughly chop all your veggies and add to a big bowl. Add the salt, olive oil, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Mix and place in baking sheet.
Pop the veggies in the oven on Broil for 10 minutes
Rice
I use Basmati rice. It’s a 1 to 2 ratio = 2 cups of liquid for 1 cup of rice. Instead of water I use chicken stock, but you can also use veggie stock.  Add rice to chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then set to simmer. Cook covered  for about 20 minutes or until fluffy.
The Final Product
Place two tortillas at a time on the baking sheet. Place in oven till toasted, then pull out and add a layer of rice, and layer of veggies. Add the sliced chicken breast if you are using that and lastly the slice of provolone cheese.  Place back in oven till cheese is melted.
For the finishing touches, add diced avocado and salsa.

Enjoy.




Everything is so colorful

I love the summer time because food gets so colorful.
Yesterday for Lunch I have half a veggie burrito with guacamole and cauliflower

This morning for breakfast and added some melon into the mix on my waffles. Is that not beautiful or what



I always enjoy a little ice water with lemon. Its really refreshing on a warm summer morning.



I cut up the rest of the melon and added some berries. This is going to be a very nice treat at work today!


06 June 2011

Berry Delicious Waffles

Two Waffles
2 Sliced Strawberries
Handful of Blue Berries
Justin's Chocolate Almond Butter (or your Favorite Spread)

Toast Waffles and spread on the Chocolate Almond Butter
Add sliced fruits

Enjoy.

05 June 2011

Simple Lobster Salad


Simple Lobster Salad

1 1/2 cups of lobster
1 tsp dried parsley
2 TB of red onion
2 tsp of lemon juice
A dash of black pepper
2 TB of mayo
A couple of drops of hot sauce

Mix all together and add on a roll or a lettuce wrap or just eat as is. 

Enjoy.

Meal Plan This Week : May 6th

Food This Week

Sunday - Lobsters and Caviar Bellinis
Monday - Tuna Lettuce Lunch Wraps and Toastadas
Tuesday - Roasted Veggie Wraps and Veggie Feta Cheese Rice
Wednesday - Shrimp Kabobs and Spinach Salad
Thursday - Veggie Rice Surprise (this means use whats left in my freezer)

Week of 5/6: Grocery List - Lobsters and Bikes

The Groceries: $55


Tomatoes / crème fraîche / cream cheese / smoked salmon 
Pancake mix / lobster (2) / Spinach / Chicken (pet food for KGB)
Rice / Small Can Diced Tomatoes / Red Pepper 
Berries / Yogurts (on sale) / Almond Milk 
Juice / Waffles 


Lobsters $32


I have named my new lobsters - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner (a little shout out to my friend Stetson).
Soon they will go into this pot.






Last thing on the Grocery List: A Road Bike. We bought this at The Bike Club this morning. Its an early birthday gift for CJ. (his birthday is in August) This will allow him to cross train now. I am happy to make him happy. He is such a cutie.

Snack Attack.




Blueberry waffle with Justin's chocolate almond butter and fresh strawberries.

03 June 2011

Friday Night Pre dinner snack Inspiration


Inspired by Ali's post earlier this week at FoodFitFashion
I put together a per dinner snack for CJ and I.

Whole Wheat Square Crackers, Green Grapes and a little Double Cream Brie. I am going to top this off with some Sangria to get this Friday night started.

It's Friday !

*Breakfast*
Time for a smoothie



My vitamix grinds apples whole. Boo ya.



Two small peaches, two whole apples, half a cup of almond milk, ice and blend



Delish.
*lunch*



Lunch was leftover kabobs, a handful of kettle salt and pepper chips and a peach.

02 June 2011

And that's a day folks...

This mornig I woke up late and had to prep for tonights dinner. I just recently bought the Cuisinart PSC 400 4Qt Slow Cooker. I wanted to make my Any Bean Chili in it so it would be ready when we got home. So there was no time for breakfast at home.

When I got to work, I headed down to the Caf and got this
*breakfast*



Some low fat cherry vanilla granola cereal with skim. And a cafe com leite. (basically half coffee, half skim milk)
The cereal wasn't as good as I would have liked so I pitched it. My motto is to never eat anything that I am not really enjoying.

For Lunch, We hit the Indian Buffet as another Farewell to my co-worker Alex. I have consumed a lot of  calories for him this week. I have to check out a few other blogs to see how others are handling eating out.


*Dinner*




Chili in my new slow cooker.





Dinner on our Balcony





AnyBean Chili - Recipe to Follow





I cut up corn tortillas and bake in the oven to make my own chips





Finished off with 2 scoops of Trader Joe's IceCream.

And thats a day folks.

01 June 2011

Why am I a PBS Junkie...

I have been watching 4 hours of PBS: "Les Miserables - 25th Anniversary" with Nick Jonas! And he is really good. Just an amazing score and  fantastic cast, Alfie Boe is magnificent. I honestly have goose bumps listening to some of these voices. 

Went Shopping this afternoon to buy goodies for the rest of the week. In addition to my list, I bought some yogurts on sale, blueberry waffles and Sangria. 
Groceries! $75 @ The Whole Foods


*Dinner*  Shrimp Kabobs



and  Spinach Salad

Chocolate Cheesecake Trap!

Lunch started out well. Some lettuce wraps from our caf.




However, in honor of my very cool co-worker Alex's departure, it was all delicious downhill roll.




I present to you the Cheesecake Factory Chocolate Peanutbutter cake of awesome.

I need to hit the gym. I just need to remember where I left my motivation.

I need a snack!

It's not pretty but it's good. I needed a snack so I have having some leftover trader joes veggie chili.



Breakfast and the Turtle Pool Time


It has been a busy morning here. KGB was up for his morning swim. I set up twitter and Facebook pages for my site. Get the word out.
And now it's on to breakfast.



To change it up a bit I put Justin's chocolate almond butter on my waffles today. I am trying to use the last of the peaches so chopped some of those up and ta-da breakfast.




A little decaf coffee with vanilla almond milk finished it off.