Goulash Soup with Red Peppers and Cabbage:ARF/5-A-DayFrom the Recipe Archives

Once again it's time for ARF/5-A-Day, Sweetnicks Tuesday blog event designed to motivate us to eat more fruits and vegetables, particularly those high in antioxidants. This soup has red peppers and tomatoes, and this time I added some cabbage to make it even more healthy, since cabbage is one of The World's Healthiest Foods. The soup is reminiscent of Hungarian Gulyas, but without any potatoes. If you're not interested in lower carbs, you could certainly add a few diced potatoes. Serve with a good sized dollop of sour cream.

The soup bowl used in this food photo was a gift from my sister Laurel, who lives in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, with her husband and three brilliant children. A few years ago Laurel undertook an amazing project where she scanned all our old family photos and put them on a CD for everyone in the family.

Goulash Soup with Cabbage
2 onions, cut half both ways, then in thick slivers
2 tsp. finely minced garlic
1 T olive oil
2 T sweet Hungarian Paprika (I recommend Penzeys)
1 T hot Hungarian Paprika (I recommend Penzeys)
1/2 tsp. crushed caraway seed (optional)
4 cups homemade beef stock (or 3 cans)
3 cups roasted tomatoes (or 2 cans diced tomatoes - I recommend Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes if using canned)
2 cups finely diced cabbage
1 lb. lean ground beef (ground chuck is best)
1 jar (12 oz.) roasted red peppers, diced into 1 inch pieces
sour cream for serving (I use light, do not use fat free)

Heat large heavy frying pan, add oil, and saute onions about 5 minutes, until barely starting to color. Add garlic and saute 2 minutes more, then add paprika and caraway if using and saute 1 minute more.

Put onion/spice mixture into large soup pot. Deglaze pan with 1 cup of beef stock, then add that and rest of beef stock to soup pot. Add roasted tomatoes, cabbage and 2 cups water to soup pot and start to simmer.

Brown ground beef in frying pan until quite brown, breaking into small pieces as it cooks. When browned add to soup pot. Let simmer on very low heat one hour. (Taste for seasoning and add more paprika if desired. I personally think you can never have too much paprika in a soup like this.) After one hour, add diced red peppers and simmer one hour more. Serve hot, garnished with sour cream. This freezes very well.

I served this for lunch with a freshly baked loaf of 100% whole wheat bread. (Ok, I confess I used a bread machine and a mix from Bob's Red Mill to make the bread, but my friend was still quite impressed.) For dinner, add something like Arugula and Sweet Mini-Pepper Salad for even more great antioxidants.

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Wekend Herb Blogging #21 RecapHappily Herb Blogging Together

In Salt Lake City we're having an especially nice weekend, with the weather being in the 50's, unusual for this time of year. For sure it's making everyone who loves to garden long for the arrival of spring. One of our local weather forecasters did some comparing of temperatures and calculated that if you label *winter* the coldest three months of the year based on average Utah temperatures, the first day of spring here would actually be February 21. I love hearing that warmer weather is on the way. In other places, lots of people are growing interesting herbs, plants, veggies and flowers and sharing them for Weekend Herb Blogging. It's great seeing the photos of things growing in other parts of the world that my herb blogging friends send me. But even when you have to buy your plant foods, it's fun learning about new herbs and plants together. Let's see what people have been blogging about this week.

New York City, New York, U.S.A.

This week at The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz, Paz is making a delightful sounding Tandoori chicken, a dish I've always wanted to try cooking myself. Paz garnishes her chicken with red onion, lemon, cilantro and tomatoes.

Athens, Ohio, U.S.A.

Barbara from Tigers and Strawberries tells us about curry leaves or Kadhi Patta, from the plant called Murraya Koenigii. The leaves are used in India to flavor many foods including dal, eggplant, and potatoes, and Barbara uses them in her Curry Leaf and Ginger chicken.

San Francisco Bay Area, Wine Country, U.S.A.

Sicilian Oregano, originally brought to the U.S. by a friend of her grandmother but now growing wild, is the plant that was featured this week by B'gina from Stalking the Waiter. B'gina also shares a fantastic sounding recipe for Vera Cruz Style Tomato Sauce which includes tomatoes, onion, garlic, oregano, capers, and green olives, and is which she uses on fish or chicken thighs.

Barcelona, Spain

At Green Olive Tree, Kel has been infatuated with pumpkin, which she buys in slices from her green grocer. For this week, she uses the pumpkin to make Spicy Thai Pumpkin Soup, flavored with wonderful sounding things like garlic, shallots, dried shrimp, red chili peppers, lemongrass, and coconut milk.

Kronshagen, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

In northern Germany, Kuchenlatein is sprouting seeds again, this time the wonderful tasting sesame seeds, which she tell us are a good source of calcium. Bananas are flavored with ginger and honey and then rolled in sprouted sesame seeds to make Sesame Coated Banana, a tasty and nutritious dessert.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Fiber from 28 Cooks has recently catered a pre-wedding cocktail party for a friend, where she served some of her wonderful sounding Hot Pepper and Garlic Jelly. She reports that this is good with cheese, crackers, mixed with cream cheese as a dip, or thinned to use as a glaze.

Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.A.

The Unemployed Cook combines fresh rosemary, sage, lemon zest, garlic, and salt to make a mixture which is dried, then used as a rub on pork Tenderloin "in Crosta". Marianne roasted the pork inside a French batard, a thicker baguette, and the finished dish sounded amazing.

Davis, California, U.S.A.

Sher from What Did You Eat features rosemary this week, used in a recipe from Deborah Madison, Split Pea Soup with Rosemary Croutons. Be sure to click through to see her gorgeous photo of the flowering rosemary bush in her yard.

Melbourne, Australia

Ed Charles from Tomato still hasn't used up all his zucchini, but now he's wondering about cooking some of a Prickly Pear Cactus that has lost a leaf. Also, be sure to read about Ed's new blog event, Post and EaT Everything Weekend Lame LeftoverS (Pete Wells), which kicks off March 13. The idea is to use up and post about anything that would ordinary be thrown away.

Istanbul, Turkey

From the blog Veggie Way, Isil sends us information about Mountain Tea, made from the plant sideritis arguta, which is a member of the mint family. The tea, rich in ethereal oils, is great for sore throats, or simply for helping you relax.

Farmgirl's Farm, Missouri, U.S.A.
On the farm at Farmgirl Fare, Susan is telling us how she manages to grow and harvest turnips all year round. Don't miss this if you're interested in gardening! She also gives some ideas for using every part of the turnip, from the baby bulbs to the greens.

Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A.

My own herb blogging this week was about garlic, which is technically a spice and not an herb. I gave links to information about the health benefits of garlic, recipes with garlic, and growing garlic, and also shared a recipe for Roasted Broccoli with Garlic.

Also, don't forget to check out Weekend Cat Blogging at Eat Stuff and Weekend Dog Blogging at Sweetnicks.

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Weekend Herb Blogging #21: Garlic.Roasted Broccoli with Garlic.

Garlic is not an herb, technically it's a spice, but since all plants are eligible for Weekend Herb Blogging I'm writing about it this week. If you're unclear about the difference between herbs and spices, as I was, here's a great definition from Barbara Fisher of Tigers and Strawberries: “A spice is the root, bark, flower, fruit, bulb, rhizome or stalk (or part thereof) of an aromatic plant in either fresh or dried form that is used to flavor or scent food or drink, as a perfume or a medicine. An herb is the leaf and/or soft stem of an aromatic plant that is used for the same purposes." Barbara is thinking of creating a monthly Spice Blogging event, which could be a fun way to learn about more spices.

Last year was my first attempt at growing garlic myself, and I did have fresh home-grown garlic most of the summer. However, my garlic never reached anywhere near the size of these big cloves that I must confess I purchased already peeled in a large jar from Costco. Probably a garlic purist would never buy their garlic already peeled, but the quality is really remarkably good, and since I work 40+ hours a week as a teacher and spend many more hours writing my blog, I don't mind using a convenience product as long as the quality is still acceptable!

There's a lot of online information available about the benefits of eating garlic, even a Garlic Information Center for those who really want to learn more about it. In Gilroy, California, they've been hosting the Gilroy Garlic Festival for 23 years now, and I'm sure most of the garlic I've had in my life has come from California. According to the Cook's Thesaurus, the California variety is the most potent form of garlic.

Even those who are huge garlic fans like me have to admit that garlic is widely known for causing bad breath; it's even mentioned in the Wikipedia article on garlic. However, in spite of this side effect, it's widely used in nearly every cuisine and the flavor is thought to enhance many other foods. In addition to culinary uses, the health benefits of garlic have been widely documented.

As a kid, growing up in white-bread Bountiful, Utah, my first experience with garlic was garlic bread. Certainly rubbing garlic on some type of bread product is a practice that exists in many cultures. I love garlic no matter how it's prepared, and especially in things like pesto or gremolata, where the garlic is only slightly cooked or raw when it's eaten.

I used some of the garlic you see in the photo to make Roasted Broccoli with Garlic, a dish that greatly exceeded my expectations. I found this recipe online at The Food Network, and only changed it a tiny bit, increasing the garlic and olive oil slightly. The preparation was so simple, and the flavor so complex, that I know this is something I will make over and over.

The lovely pale yellow bowl in this food photo was a gift from my brother Rand, the creative genius in our family and one of the most loving people I know. Rand lives in Venice, California, with his partner Bradley and an adorable dog named Dr. Love.

Roasted Broccoli with Garlic
1 bunch broccoli, about 1 1/2 pounds, cut into bite sized flowerets
3 T extra virgin olive oil
6-8 cloves fresh garlic
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 F. Cut broccoli into bite sized pieces, and peel and slice stems if large. Slice garlic cloves, and cut slices in half. Toss broccoli with olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper, then spread on a baking sheet. Roast until broccoli is bright green and edges are starting to brown slightly, 20-30 minutes. Serve hot.

If you're a food blogger with something to say about any herb, plant, veggie, or flower, post about it on your blog with a link to Kalyn's Kitchen, then send me the link by midafternoon on Sunday (kalynskitchen AT comcast DOT net) and I'll include you in the recap on Sunday night. If herbs and plants are not your thing, don't forget about Weekend Cat Blogging at Eatstuff or Weekend Dog Blogging at Sweetnicks.

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Food Blog Finds: Who Knew Low Carb Was So Easy to Find?

I'm going to start sharing some Food Blog Finds with you once a week or so on Kalyn's Kitchen. These are some of the best lower carb recipes I've seen on other food blogs this week.

The first thing that caught my eye recently was Salmon with Greens and Shitake Mushrooms on What Did You Eat. Salmon, Bok Choy and Mushrooms were combined to make a dish that looked fantastic to me.

At Just Braise I was taken by the sound of Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup. Stacey says this was inspired by a soup she had in an Indian restaurant in Chicago.

Rorie at Milk and Honey had the idea of combining edamame with pasta, which really appealed to me. I would use Dreamfield's pasta to keep this lower in carbs, but otherwise wouldn't need to change a thing!

The Travelers Lunchbox does two delicious pestos in a delightful post called Pesto with a Pedigree. For my lower carb way of eating I would use the pesto on Dreamfield's pasta, as a stuffing for chicken breasts, or spread on fish.

At Orangette, Molly prepared a fantastic sounding Quick Braised Pork with Vinegar and Peppers. Vinegar lowers the Glycemic Index of other foods, so this would be perfect to serve over brown rice, or Use Uncle Ben's Converted Rice if you want the lowest glycemic index white rice.

At The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz, Paz is cooking one of my favorite types of fish, Tilapia. Her Tilapia with Citrus Bagna Cuoda looks great.

Foodatista is cooking Salmon Fillet with Smoked Salmon and Horseradish Crust. I would reduce the amount of breadcrumbs and use whole wheat panko crumbs to make this lower carb, but this recipe sounds wonderful.

Seared Striped Bass with Green Curry from Beyond Salmon,
Photo by Helen Rennie

Finally, at Beyond Salmon, Helen has prepared Seared Striped Bass with Green Curry. To me this looks like it would taste amazing. I would use Uncle Ben's Converted Rice for a lower glycemic white rice, but otherwise this recipe is perfect for my way of eating. I'm really loving this blog. If you don't feel that confident about cooking fish, it's a great resource.

When I look at the recipes I chose for this week, there seems to be a fish theme, doesn't there? I guess I need to be cooking more fish. So many good recipes, so little time . . .

Speaking of time, it's almost time for Weekend Herb Blogging again. Simply post about any herb, plant, veggie, or flower, send me the link by mid-afternoon on Sunday (send to kalynskitchen AT comcast DOT net) and I will include you in the recap on Sunday night. You can visit the Weekend Herb Blogging Archives if you want to see what kinds of things other people have done in the past.

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Egg Muffins RevisitedNo More Cupcake Liners!

Can you stand one more post about the delicious egg muffins I eat for breakfast every week day morning? I hope so, because I can't resist sharing my latest egg muffin discovery. For a quite a while I'd been resisting buying these silicone muffin pans, mainly because of the cost. However, recently I saw them in a discount cookware store for $5.99 and decided to splurge on a pair. I tried them out on egg muffins, and had a geniune egg muffin epiphany!

These silicone muffin pans are perfect for cooking egg muffins. I sprayed my pans with nonstick spray, and the egg muffins popped right out when they were done. I did notice the muffins took a bit longer to cook, and next time I would let the muffins cool completely in the pan to keep the shape, but I know I'll never make egg muffins in any other kind of pan again.

If I've inspired you, check out the Basic Recipe for Egg Muffins or Green Chile and Cheese Egg Muffins. I did find that the silicone cups were a little larger than my metal ones, and I used 15 eggs to make the muffins you see here. My current favorite egg muffin variation is lowfat sharp cheddar, feta, and green onions. The variations to this recipe are endless. Cyndi even left a comment one day to tell me that Giada from the Food Network was making them on her show, only of course she called them mini-frittatas.

Of course, if you're more of a cupcake maker than an egg muffin eater, the pans would be perfect for that too.

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Pork Chops with Balsamic Glaze

I read Gourmet magazine, but have to confess that I've hardly ever made anything from it. Most of the recipes seem just a bit too fussy for me, since I'm usually cooking after work and want something quick. But this recipe from the latest issue (March 2006) sounded great, although it called for shallots which I didn't have. It's the kind of recipe that takes ingredients that are quite ordinary and transforms them into something quite memorable. Even without the shallots, I thought this recipe was completely a keeper.

I made this with those big, thick pork chops that you buy in a large package at Costco. Besides leaving out the shallots, I couldn't resist seasoning the pork chops with a bit of pork chop seasoning from Penzeys, which I think is a great spice blend. If you don't have that, I'm sure this would be great without it. I didn't replace the small amount of sugar in the recipe with Splenda because I wanted the glazing effect that sugar produces, but you could certainly do that if you wanted even less carbs. Truthfully though, the only thing in the entire dish that has any carbs to speak of is that tiny bit of sugar. Vinegar not only has very few carbs and a G.I. value of zero, but it also reduces the glycemic index of other foods, which is why salad dressing that contains vinegar is such a good choice if you're eating the lower carb way.

The dish used in this food photo was a gift from my sister Janet, who lives in Riverton, Wyoming and is the proud grandmother of two, with one more on the way. Janet is also the best singer in our family, and a talented quilt maker too.

Pork Chops with Balsamic Glaze
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine

4 center cut boneless pork chops, pounded to 3/4 inch thick
1 tsp. Vege-sal or salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp. Penzeys Pork Chop Seasoning (optional, contains salt, hickory smoke, garlic, onion, white pepper, and ginger)
2 T olive oil
2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. sugar

Trim fat from pork chops, and pound to 3/4 inch thickness. Season chops on both sides with Vege-sal or salt, pepper, and pork chop seasoning if using. Heat pan 1 minute, add olive oil, heat one minute more, then add pork chops and cook over medium high heat until well browned on both sides and cooked through, about 5 minutes total. Remove pork chops to plate, lower heat slightly, and add vinegar and sugar and cook until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Put pork chops back into pan with any liquid which has collected on plate, and cook about 4 minutes, turning several times to glaze pork chops with sauce. Serve hot, with sauce poured over.

This would be a great dish for any phase of the South Beach Diet. It would taste great with Cauliflower Fried in Butter or Stir-Fried Bok Choy with Hoisin Sauce. For a more substantial meal you could add a side dish like Barley with Dried and Fresh Mushrooms.

Now I am off to read my new bookbook, Eat This Book - Cooking with Global Fresh Flavors, by Tyler Florence. The book came in the mail today from my great blog friend Lisa from In a Nutshell. She gave it away on her site, and I was the lucky winner. I can already tell I'm really going to like this book. Thanks, Lisa!

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Weekend Herb Blogging #20The End of a Cheesy Week

It's been quite a week in the food blog world, with cheese sandwich sightings, cheese sandwich commentary, and cheese sandwich solidarity for the most part. If you missed it, you can find links to most of the cheese sandwich posts in the final installment of The Cheese Sandwich Chronicles.

I wasn't sure how all this cheese sandwich silliness would impact Weekend Herb Blogging, but today we have more new herb bloggers and new locations than ever before! Seems like more and more people are discovering Weekend Herb Blogging. Get comfortable, because you're going to be here a while learning about new plants.

New York City, New York, U.S.A.

Paz from The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz survived the blizzard and celebrated by making a tasty cheese sandwich, with a bit of tomato and basil thrown in. Doesn't everything taste better with tomatoes and basil?

Kronshagen, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Our first new herb blogger, and new location too, is Ulrike from the blog Kuchenlatein, who gives information about how sprouting chickpeas increases the nutritional value. The salad of Sprouted Peas with Orange looks delicious, and there's a photo and a recipe for this interesting dish.

Mumbai, India

Our next herb blogger, also a new participant, is Anthony from Anthony's Kitchen of Bachelor Cooking who writes about Maroi Napakpi, a member of the onion family. Anthony shows some great photos of the plant he's growing, and tells how this plant is used in Indian cooking.

Pistoia, Tuscany, Italy

At Lucullian Delights, Ilva has a wonderful photo of Radicchio di Treviso, which she says is best cooked. She uses her Radiccho and leftover Taleggio to make a wonderful sounding Risotto with Treviso Radicchio and Taleggio.

Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.

Felicia from The Web Sorceress Cooks is telling us all about mushrooms this week. She shares information about the nutritional value of mushrooms, the antioxidants they contain, and describes the many varieties of mushrooms.

Singapore

The wonderfully witty Stephanie from The Feast Crusade wrote about Lotus Leaf, Lily Bulb, and Wintermelon this week, with a touch of Chinese medicine and a great sounding recipe for Lotus Leaf and Pork Soup in Steamed Wintermelon. Stephanie also shares some interesting secrets from her childhood in this delightful post.

San Francisco, California, U.S.A.

Another new participant this week is Ed from Is It EDible, who shares amazing orchid photos he took at the Pacific Orchid Exposition. Ed also introduces us to his latest orchid acquisition, the Vanilla Bean Orchid.

Istanbul, Turkey

Another new herb blogger, and a new location, is Isil from Veggie Way who shares information about the mallow plant, botanical name malva sylvestris. Isil also shares a recipe and photo of a great sounding dish, Mallow with Rice and Carrots.

Gurgaon, India

The Timid Cook is also a new herb blogger, and she writes about fenugreek, called Methi in India. This post has a recipe for Methi Chicken combining methi leaves, chiles, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and coriander, which sounds delicious.

Melbourne, Australia

Ed Charles from Tomato is living the simple life, with lunch of roasted tomatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper, served on sourdough with basil and oregano, followed by a dinner of fresh figs with proscuitto and pepper. Be sure not to miss the Food Fascist section of this post.

Toronto, Canada

At Once Upon a Feast Ruth is enjoying Sunday, her favorite day of the week by making sandwiches of Grilled Goat Cheese with Basil and Pancetta. Later she'll be having a pizza making party with her niece who is celebrating her sixth birthday - sounds like a great day!

San Francisco Bay Area, Wine Country, U.S.A.

B'gina from Stalking the Waiter was wandering around with her camera and discovered Lemon Balm growing. She gives suggestions for ways to use this wonderfully lemony smelling herb, which sounds like it's wonderfully versatile.

Athens, Ohio, U.S.A.

Another new herb blogger is Barbara from Tigers and Strawberries, who shares a very informative post about fenugreek greens, or the methi plant, a legume which can be used as a vegetable or an herb, and which produces the seeds that make the spice called fenugreek. Barbara also includes recipes for Fingerling Potato Aloo Methi and Dal Tarka Methi, and promises she'll be back next week with another post about curry leaves.

Los Gatos, California, U.S.A.

The next post came from Heidi at Foodatista, who writes about the morphing characteristic of the eggplant, like Zelig from the Woody Allen movie. She also shares a recipe for eggplant with poblano chiles which sounds wonderful.

Farmgirl's Farm, Missouri, U.S.A.

From the farm, Susan shows a photo of some beautiful spinach, explains why she doesn't grow it herself, and gives information about why it's important to choose organic spinach. She also shares a recipe for a delicious sounding soup, Farmgirl Susan's Super Spinach Soup. (Her lentil soup was fantastic, so I suggest you try it.)

New Jersey, U.S.A.

I appreciate the persistence of Ramya from Cooking Within My Grasp who grappled with browser problems to get her post to show properly for Weekend Herb Blogging. Originally from Tamil Nadu, India, Ramya wrote about the banana blossom and its use in Indian cooking. She also includes a recipe for Plaintain Flower with Steamed Lentils Curry.

Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A.

My own post this week was about cauliflower, minus the cheese, which I had already had enough of by the time Sunday rolled around. I gave some nutritional information about cauliflower, and shared a recipe for Cauliflower, Bacon and Mushrooms.

That's all the herbs for this week, but don't forget Weekend Cat Blogging at Eat Stuff . Also, get well wishes for Sweetnicks, who normally hosts Weekend Dog Blogging. Since Sweetnicks is recovering from surgery, Weekend Dog Blogging can be seen at Something So Clever.

Next week, Weekend Herb Blogging will go back to Sunday night. That is, unless someone can figure out a way to get another holiday next weekend! If you're a blogger who would like to participate, visit the Weekend Herb Blogging Archives for ideas and more information.

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Weekend Herb Blogging #20: Cauliflower.Cauliflower with Bacon and Mushrooms.

I've been seriously off topic lately due to Cheese Sandwich Day. If you missed that little food blogger uprising, here's the Cheese Sandwich Announcement, my first cheese sandwich, my second cheese sandwich, and my third cheese sandwich. The third sandwich post is the ongoing roundup of links to all the other cheese sandwiches out there in food blogdom, so be sure to check them out. There's obviously a lot of talent and passion in the food blog community. More sandwiches are still coming every day, so if you're a food blogger and haven't had a cheese sandwich lately, it's never too late to make one. For me, I've eaten my fill of sandwiches and it's time for Weekend Herb Blogging. (Don't forget I'm publishing the Recap on Monday this week due to President's Day in the U.S. If you're a food blogger and would like to participate, check out the Weekend Herb Blogging archives for some ideas and where to send your link.)

It's snowing in Salt Lake City, and those plants you see poking up through the snow are my herbs. Now that's just sad. If I hadn't created Weekend Herb Blogging when it was gloriously summer in Utah I might have thought to call it Weekend Plant Blogging! Luckily blogging about any kind of plant is acceptable, so this week I'm talking about cauliflower.

Cauliflower is considered one of The World's Healthiest Foods, according to the George Mateljan Foundation. It's a close relative of broccoli, but the cauliflowerets don't turn green because the leaves of the plant shield them from the sun. It's very low carb, low in calories, and is a cruciferous (cancer-fighting) vegetable.

There are some people who object to cauliflower because of the smell when it's cooking, but this winter it actually was featured quite a bit on the food blogs. A Veggie Venture did Cauliflower with Pancetta, Parmesan and Capers. At In Praise of Sardines it was Slow Roasted Cauliflower with Pounded Anchovies. Lucullian Delights did Salad with Cauliflower, Olives, Capers, and Roasted Pinenuts. Mahanandi taught us to make Cauliflower Potato Curry. Are you getting the idea that there are a lot of tasty ways to prepare cauliflower?

For my cauliflower recipe I used a new cookbook, Vegetable Love by Barbara Kafka. This was the first recipe I'd made from the book, but I was very happy with how it turned out. I did modify the recipe to make it more South Beach Diet friendly and I was out of shallots so I used red onion.

Cauliflower with Bacon and Mushrooms
Adapted from Vegetable Love

4 slices pre-cooked bacon (or use regular bacon)
1 T butter (or olive oil)
small head cauliflower, cut into small bite-size pieces
8 oz. mushrooms, cut in half, then into thick slices
1/2 red onion, diced into small pieces
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Cut bacon into small crosswise strips, then cook in large frying pan until quite crisp. Pour off most of bacon fat, but don't wipe out pan. (The original recipes leaves all the fat in the pan, but since bacon isn't even officially allowed on The South Beach Diet, I used much less bacon and then left just a tiny bit of the fat for flavor.) Add butter or olive oil, heat for 1 minute, then add cauliflower and mushrooms and cook over very high heat, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes. Add onions and cook about 2 minutes more, or until veggies seem nearly done and are starting to brown a bit. Add bacon and parsley and cook 2-3 minutes more. Add 1/4 cup water, then scrape pan to get browned bits off and cook until water has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot.

I actually ate this as a complete meal when I made it. It would also taste great served with something like Forbidden City Chicken or Sauteed Scallops with Garlic. For phase one, just add a green salad. For phase two add Georgette's Really Lemony Greek Pilafi.

(Edit, added May 2007: Here is an interesting story about how Carolyn of Tasting Spoons started blogging and her version of Cauliflower with Bacon and Mushrooms.

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The Cheese Sandwich Chronicles #3Cheese Sandwiches are Like Food Blogger Friends, You Can Never Have Too Many!

Just for the record, despite what you may have read, it was not actually me who came up with the idea of food bloggers all making cheese sandwiches as a protest against the Pete Wells article saying most food blogs are no more interesting than cheese sandwiches. Paul, html master and Food Blog List Keeper was the one who thought of making the sandwiches. The idea was quickly seconded by Mrs. D., and Sam, who jokingly proposed that we send half of our cheese sandwiches to Mr. Wells. I, of course, chimed in that I thought it was a great idea, as did others. Kitchenmage had the idea for the Technorati tag saying "Pete Wells Loves Cheese Sandwiches, which may be snarky or simply fun, depending on your point of view. This was all being posted in the comments on Food Blog S'cool and soon ideas were flying around like hotcakes. It was a revolution in search of a leader when Paul finally selected Thursday as the day for the sandwiches to start to appear.

After that things started happening quickly. It's true that I was more angry than most, since one of the blogs quoted without permission was mine, and since the quote referred to Herb Bloggers, it was easy enough for people to identify me (something I'm quite sure Pete Wells didn't realize, since I doubt he read enough of my blog to even understand the quote.) Frankly, I was insulted. My blog may not be magazine quality, but plenty of people read it every day. I posted first my snarky post (seen by over 300 people in a few hours, but now gone forever, except as a broken link on Technorati), and then my post with the bite out of the cheese sandwich declaring cheese sandwich day. Random cheese sandwiches started popping up on blogs. Creative sandwich maker Magic Tofu produced an entire new blog devoted to cheese sandwiches. My ever talented brother Rand designed some great icons.