baked rosemary sweet potato fries [porter]

Baked rosemary sweet potato fries

Fiance and I had a very productive day cleaning the apartment, grocery shopping, ordering save the dates, and doing laundry.  Today is the kind of day where cooking dinner is the last thing we want to do, so we made it pretty easy on ourselves.  We had left over hamburgers from July 4th, boiled corn, and these sweet potatoes fries.  Okay, so these fries don't quite fit a "do nothing" menu, but we had sweet potatoes that needed to be used.  I started using the basic idea of this recipe a couple years ago after seeing it on the ginger cook. 

Ingredients:
2 medium sized sweet potatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

The how to:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Chop the sweet potatoes into this fries.  Add to a boiling pot of water and boil for 5 minutes.  Drain water.  Add the remaining ingredients to the pot of drained potatoes and toss to coat evenly.  Transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking pan and spread to one even layer.  Bake for about 30 minutes, flipping fries halfway through (watch closely, the time will depend on how thick the fries are cut).

Side notes:
The fries are essentially cooked after the boiling, but the oven gets them to the correct crispy texture.  Feel free to finish off with a quick broil if needed to get desired coloring.  Try finishing with freshly grated Parmesan for an Italian taste.

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berry good salad dressing [porter]

Tonight I wanted my favorite salad as a side but did not have any fresh fruit which is a key ingredient.  I did have frozen blueberries though so I let my little brain wander, and I came up with this perfect dressing that I used to substitute for the sweetness in the quintessential spinach-walnut-fruit-and-cheese salad.  Many of these ingredients can be interchanged with similar ingredients making this dressing flexible to what you have on hand.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup frozen blueberries
2 tbsp Greek yogurt
1 tbsp agave nectar
2 tsp lime juice
pinch of salt

The how to:
Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend completely.  Feel free to adjust to taste.  The mixture will thin out as the blueberries melt.  If it is still too thick, add more agave nectar to get to the desired consistency.

Side notes:
Feel free to slip some ground flax into this dressing for more hidden health benefits without compromising taste.  Fresh berries can replace frozen (and may actually be tastier if they are in season).  Try any berry in place of blueberries.  I used plain Greek yogurt because it's what I had on hand, but non-Greek yogurt and flavored yogurts will work too--try to stick to plain, vanilla, or complimentary fruit flavors.  The agave nectar adds sweetness and helps to thin the dressing out.  Honey or sugar will work, too.  If using sugar to sweeten, try some water or milk to thin it out.  Any citrus will work in place of lime (think lemon or orange juice).  I used bottled lime juice, and it turned out fine.  The salt can be left, but it helps to cut the sweetness.  Another twist would be to create a berry vinaigrette: use red wine vinegar in place of lime juice, salt, and half of the agave nectar.

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seriously delicious and easy roasted broccoli [porter]

Roasted broccoli in under 20 minutes

The fiance and I went to my friends house last night to help hang their new TV.  When I say that we went to help, I mean to say that fiance went to help, and I went to hang out with my friend Y.  While the boys were having all kinds of trouble (breaking a bolt off into the stud, starting over, finally succeeding and then realizing that this mount blocked the TV's power source--the TV just ended up on the entertainment stand 3 hours later) Y and I made dinner.  She showed me how to make this fantastic dish, and I couldn't wait for the boys to finally call it quits so we could indulge.  I intended to make it tonight as well, even before I remembered that I started a blog yesterday and would probably need to make it again so I could get a photo that would grab your attention :)  I might make it again tomorrow.  Seriously, it is that good and it's broccoli.

Reasons why we should eat broccoli (World's Healthiest Foods):

1. Cholesterol lowering benefits
2. Boosts your body's ability to detoxify
3. May lessen reactions to allergies
4. Studies show that it reduces the chances of several forms of cancer

Reasons why we want to eat broccoli:

1. If cooked properly it is quite tasty
2. It adds color to our plates (if you ask my friend Y, pretty food is just as important as good food)
3. It is so fast and easy to cook

Okay, now go buy broccoli! 

Ingredients:
1 bunch of broccoli
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp seasoning (I used Tony Chachere's Cajun seasoning, but feel free to change it up)
1 tsp garlic powder
1-2 dash cayenne (optional)
1 lemon, halved

The how to:
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.  Chop the broccoli into large florets, discarding the lightest part of the stems, and wash and dry thoroughly.  Place the broccoli in a large bowl and toss to coat with the remaining ingredients except for the lemon.  Line a cookie sheet (one that has a rim so any juices don't run off and make a mess) with foil and spread the broccoli as a single layer.  Roast for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and squeeze half of the lemon (to taste).

Side notes:
All parts of broccoli are edible, but simply may take longer to cook, so slice thinner or use different pans to roast accordingly.  For a one pan method, which you probably don't even need to clean because of the foil lining, skip the bowl for tossing and use a plastic bag (I'm frugal and would rather clean the extra dish, but we can call it "green" of me if you want).  Try adding other things to the pan for different flavors: garlic, shrimp, peppers, etc.  Also, these seasonings may also be worth trying on steamed broccoli; just add the seasonings after steaming florets for 5 minutes over 2 inches of boiling water.

How do you like your broccoli?

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