Trains and Tacos: Summer Lentil Salad

I haven't been spending a ton of time with Thatbaby lately.  Thatmom spent last week picking him up from daycare and entertaining him since I was buried in trial.  I wanted to make it up to him this weekend.  Especially because I was going to be ditching him again on Sunday.  So on Saturday I planned a day of fun for us.

I had found a park in Poway with a real, honest to goodness, steam engine!  So Saturday morning we headed to check it out.

Thatboy fell asleep in the car on the way there.  When he woke up, he could hear the train and he chimed in with "choo choo" before he even fully opened his eyes.

He was so excited to see the train.  He kept pointing and saying choo choo.  When I asked if he wanted to ride it, he nodded emphatically.  He played with the train table while I bought our tickets, and sat nicely in line with me while we waited for our turn.  Once we got on the train he got very serious about it.  I asked if he wanted to kneel or stand on the bench so he could see out the window better, but he just wanted to sit in the choo choo.

Once we got started, he loosened up a bit and enjoyed the view out the window as the train went around the park.

I was worried he'd throw a fit when the train stopped and we had to get off, but he actually filed out, just like everyone else.  We headed for our next date - lunch with Horse Whisperer and Little HW.  Mr. HW was out of town, so Horse Whisperer suggested that we "single moms" get together for lunch (and margaritas) with our children (neither of which partook in the margaritas).  Instead, Thatbaby and Little HW had tacos, beans, and chips.

All in all it was a beautiful summer days - filled with parks and margaritas, as all summer days should be filled. It was too lovely to use the oven for dinner, so a salad was in order.  Thatbaby's not a huge fan of the green kind of salads, but he loves both lentils and rice, so I used that as a base.  For Thatbaby, I made a mild version, which just included the lentils, rice and cucumbers tossed with balsamic vinegar and oil.  I like spicy in the summer, so my version included some chorizo (one of my favorite ways to spice up a meal).

Summer Lentil Salad

1/3 cup canola oil

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar

1 chipotle in adobo

2/3 cup lentil

1/2 cup brown rice

4 oz chorizo

1 red onion, thinly sliced

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced

1 pasilla chile, roasted, peeled, and diced

1. Combine the oil, vinegar and chile in a food processor and puree until smooth.
2. Fill a saucepan with 8 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Add the lentils and rice and cook for about 20 minutes, until the rice is cooked through.  Drain and set aside.
3. In the same pan, cook the chorizo until cooked through.  Remove from heat.
4. Combine the chorizo, lentils, rice, red onion, cucumber, poblano, and dressing.  Tossing to combine.

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

Many of you will remember that I have recently discovered the world's easiest way to make chicken mole.

The problem with this, is that now chicken mole has become an almost weekly menu item in Thathouse.

The problem with this, is that I always have extra mole sauce leftover. 

So I am always on the lookout for ways to use up the extra mole.  Luckily, doing a search through my Google reader for recipes that require a mole sauce has turned up some really good solutions to my Mo' Mole, Mo' Problems.


This recipe is one of those "couldn't be easier" weeknight meals.  Especially if you have the mole sauce ready to go.  Because then you're just combining tomatoes, beans, rice, and cheese and baking it.  There's no finicky meats to flip, or pasta to drain.  It's even better if you have leftover rice to use up.  And rice and beans are such fantastic partners.  Dressed with a rich sauce it's a new twist on South of the Border cuisine.

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 Cheesy Rice and Bean Strata (From Branny Boils Over)

2.5 cups cooked brown rice
2 cups kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup chopped onion
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 tsp ground cumin
5 oz fresh spinach, washed and chopped
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 cup mole sauce
2 scallions, sliced

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Spray an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray.  In a bowl, mix beans with diced tomatoes.
2.  Saute minced onion and garlic for 3 minutes.
3. Add cumin and spinach and cook until the spinach wilts.
4. Place 1 1/2 cups of rice in the baking dish.  
5. Top with 1/2 of the bean/tomato mixture.
6. Top the beans and tomatoes with the spinach.
7. Add another layer of rice and the remaining bean/tomatoes.
8. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
9. Remove foil, add the cheese, and bake 5-7 minutes, until the cheese is melted.
10. While cheese is melting, heat the mole stovetop.  Pour over the finished strata, top with sliced scallions, and serve.

Sprinklin'

We moved to California when I was in 10th grade.   I remember looking out of the plane window as we approached and being struck by the fact that it seemed like every house had a pool in the backyard.  This was unusual to me.  Where I grew up, almost no one had a pool in their backyard. 

This made sense, given that a pool wouldn't be of much use for about half the year.  Instead summers were spent gathered around the community pool, or running through sprinklers in the backyard.

So when we got an invitation to a backyard sprinkler party from The Horse Whisperer, I immediately sent back my RSVP with a resounding YES!

Thatbaby wasn't too sure what to make of the sprinkler.  He didn't seem to hate it, but he didn't really love it either.  I think he viewed it as a necessary evil that stood between him and what he really wanted - a ball.  This kid loves balls.

The adults gathered around, eating homemade tamales and drinking beer and margaritas as we watched the little ones.  I'm so impressed that The Horse Whisperer makes her own tamales and I think I've convinced her to give me a lesson or two.  (And she sent us home with some extras.  I'm very lucky)

Never one to be left out of new food experiences, Thatbaby was introduced to yogurt covered pretzels.  He was a fan.

So much so, that the yogurt pretzels weren't safe on anyone's plate.

In my quest to make the most of summer produce, I brought home a bunch of zucchini and yellow squash from the supermarket.  And I'd had this recipe starred to make for a little bit now.  It's the perfect use for squash!  The Chinese 5 spice, along with the sugar, make this a surprisingly sweet dish. And the soy sauce balances that out.

Summer Squash Rice with Sausage (adapted from Bookcase Foodie)

6oz chicken sausage, sliced

2 cups cooked brown rice

2 cups chopped summer squash

1 1/2 cups cauliflower broken into small florets

4 scallions, snipped

3/4 red pepper, chopped

1/4 green pepper, chopped

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce

1 teaspoon 5 spice Chinese seasoning

2 tsp sugar

salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Brown sausage and remove from heat.
2. Place all the cauliflower in the pan and cook until tender crisp.
3. Place remaining vegetables in with the cauliflower.  Cook until tender.
4. Combine the soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, Chinese seasoning, sugar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.  Pour over vegetables.
5. Stir rice and sausage into vegetables.  Heat through and serve. 

Shopping Saturday

Do you remember when the weekends were all about relaxing?  Sleeping in, rolling out of bed around noon, eating a leisurely brunch while kicking back?  Yeah.  Me neither.  Weekends are full of errands and runarounds.  This one was no different.

Except it kind of was.

It started out like normal - we headed to the mall to take care of about a million things that needed to be done.  We were there for hours but were incredibly successful.

I have a baby shower this weekend so first stop was a new outfit!  I ended up with a dress and shoes, and Macys paid ME $2.80.  Thatboy picked up some new workshirts.  Macys did not pay him.

Next came an exchange of baby clothes.  I forgot to check an outfit Thatboy had picked out.  It's a size Thatbaby fits in rightnow, but probably won't for too much longer.  So we got it in a bigger size with the hopes he'll be able to wear it more than once.

And then it was shopping for presents!  We took advantage of the Presidents' Day sales to get some really great deals on gifts for upcoming events we have.  I'll keep them under wraps for now since the recipients might stumble upon them.  Let's just say I ended up saving more than I spent!

And then we headed to the supermarket for the week's shopping.  By the time we got home it was time to tuck Thatbaby into bed.  And that's where our real weekend relaxing began.

For Valentine's Day Thatboy got me a "now and later" gift.  He gave me my favorite movie - The Big Sleep, with the promise that we would open a bottle of wine and watch it later.  And so Saturday night, that's what we did.  We opened a bottle of Malbec and sat and watched a movie.  We stayed up way too late.  I think something like 11pm.

Every now and then you need a break from the ordinary.  Like dressing up rice.  Thatboy grew up with rice as a side dish for almost every meal.  Plain white rice, topped with butter.  We usually only had white rice with Chinese food (or saffron rice with shrimp.)  So I don't have a lot of experience making rice side dishes and Thatboy doesn't have a lot of experience eating them.  But I love fancy rice dishes - great ingredients mixed in with a basic.  A little different from your typical boring rice.  This one is warm in both temperature and spice.  So very cozy and comforting.  Perfect for curling up on the couch beside someone you love.

Tomato Rice

1 Tbsp butter

1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 apple, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar

salt and pepper

1 cup cooked rice

1. Melt the butter in a skillet.  Add the onion and cook until the onion is translucent.
2. Add the apple and cook for 5 minutes more. 
3. Stir in the tomatoes, curry powder, vinegar, salt, and pepper.  Cook, stirring for 5 more minutes.
4. Add the rice and heat through before serving.

Arroz by any other name

I'm not sure when I discovered Arroz con Pollo. I grew up in a pretty small town without a lot of ethnic diversity when it came to restaurants (or people for that matter).

I do know, however, that I discovered I could make Arroz con Pollo at home this summer. Which was a game changer here. I found a recipe which made the entire thing seem like child's play, because really, the thing that make arroz con pollo what it is, is this magic seasoning in a box - Sazon.

And of course, this little box contains more than one seasoning packet. Which I've been more than happy to make use of. I've started arroz con-ing on a near weekly basis. Almost anything I can get my little hands on because it's just that easy - make a sauce with tomato sauce and sazon, add rice, add protein of choice. It works just as well with chicken as it does with shrimp or pork.

Now that I shared with you my secret of how easy this dish is, I'll tell you a way to make it even easier - use pre-cooked meat! Which makes this a fabulous way to use up leftovers (anyone still have turkey in their fridge? Arroz con pavo!). And if you want to go even easier than pre-cooked meat, use precooked meat someone else cooked! I love some of the prepared meats at Trader Joes - their potroast, pollo asada, and most especially carnitas. I picked up a package of their carnitas, used a fork to pull it apart (okay, I'm not going to lie - I pulled it apart with my fingers, but if I were serving this for company I would most certainly use a fork) and threw it in with my rice. Voila - arroz con carnitas!

Arroz Con Carnitas
3 Tbsp canola oil
1 cup tomato sauce
1 packet Sazon
2 bay leaves
1/ tsp cumin
2 cups of uncooked rice
4 cups water
salt and pepper
12 oz cooked carnitas, fork-pulled

1. Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium heat.
2. Add tomato sauce, Sazon, bay leaves and cumin. Cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add the rice and cook for 1 minute.
   
4. Stir in the water. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
5. Boil for 10 minutes, then lower heat and simmer for 25 minutes.
6. Stir in the carnitas and heat until the entire dish is warmed through.
   

Scalloped Corn (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)
3 Tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp dry mustard
pinch of cayenne pepper
3 Tbsp butter
1 small green pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup milk
2 cups corn kernels
1 egg yolk, slightly beaten
2/3 cup buttered bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 400. Spray a baking dish with baking spray. Mix flour, salt, paprika, mustard, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl.
2. Melt the butter in a skillet, add the green pepper and onion and cook until soft.
3. Stir in the flour mixture and cook, stirring for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the milk while stirring. Bring to a boil
5. Stir in the corn and egg yolk.
6. Spoon into the baking dish and sprinkle with the bread crumbs. Bake 25 minutes.
   

Lunch Lessons

There are times when I'm such a mom it kills me. Take, for example, lunch. Every night I pack a lunch for Thatboy and I. I don't have to, I could make him fend for himself, but I pack myself a lunch, so it just makes sense for me to pack lunch for him too.

Rarely, I use leftovers. Most of the time I actually make a whole new meal for the two of us. I vary between the most basic of easy - sandwiches and fruit, and some form of Asian cuisine. Because it's also easy and reheats beautifully. There are curries and stirfries, classic dishes like beef and broccoli or sesame chicken, and of course, one of my favorite easy meals - fried rice.

I said I rarely use leftovers, however, upon reflection, I make use of some dinner components. I hate leftover rice. Refrigerated and reheated it never tastes quite the same. So if we have rice for dinner, I always use whatever is left to create fried rice for our lunches. Adding the egg, soy sauce and veggie somehow solves that whole reheating problem. And it contains almost all the basic food groups, which makes it a well rounded meal. (You can always add chicken, pork, beef, or even shrimp if you so desire) Toss in an orange, apple, or even a pear and you're completely covered!

Lunch Fried Rice
2 Tbsp oil
2 cups cooked rice
2 Tbsp green onions, sliced
3/4 Tbsp soy sauce
pepper
1 egg, slightly beaten

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the rice, scallions, soy sauce and some ground pepper.
2. Cook for 5-6 minutes. Press to side of pan and add egg to the open space.
3. Scramble the egg, and once cooked, stir it into the rest of the rice so it breaks into smaller pieces. Remove from heat and serve.
   

I got a very important phone call this afternoon. Well, it wasn't a phone call. It was a text. A text with almost no information. Thatboy told me he was at Borders, they were having their closing sale and did I want anything. DID I WANT ANYTHING?

I quickly sent him a series of texts asking for more information. Was he there right now? Should I head down and meet him? How long was this sale going on? When are they closing? Was there a large selection? He didn't respond to any of theses text and THAT'S what led to the important phone call where I asked why he didn't drop everything to respond. Apparently, he just couldn't text me back fast enough before I shot another one at him.

So I headed down to Borders to scoop up some deals. I was able to get some new fiction and non fiction books, a workout DVD, and the highlight of my trip:

A Punky Brewster DVD. Everyone grew up on this right? I know I did. I'm so excited to force Thatboy to watch episode after episode with me.

Here's another favorite of mine. Short ribs. I love short ribs, but I never make them at home. Which is a shame, because they're so easy to make. Tender and fall of the bone meat definitely calls for braising. Braising short ribs makes them a cross between a stew and a pot roast, but personally I find them more flavorful.

Braised Shortribs
1 1/2 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 lbs beef shortribs
2 Tbsp butter
4 carrots, peeled
1 large onion, quartered
1/2 cup celery, sliced
2 sprigs of parsley
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 cup red wine

1. Preheat oven to 350. Combine the flour, salt, pepper and coat the shortribs in this mixture.
2. Melt the butter in a dutch oven, and brown the meat.
3. Reduce the heat and add 1/2 cup of water and all the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook in the oven for 1 1/2 hours.

Those ham croquettes worked so well, we decided to try our hand with a rice version. Similar to risotto balls this works as a fabulous way to use up leftover rice.

Rice Croquettes
1/2 cup cooked rice
1 egg, separated
3 Tbsp butter
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp oil

1. Combine rice, egg yolk and 1 Tbsp butter.
2. Place egg whites in a shallow dish and breadcrumbs in another dish.
3. Shape the rice into logs/balls/patties, whatever you like. Dip in egg white and then roll in crumbs.
4. Melt remaining butter and oil in skillet. Fry the croquettes until golden brown.

Have it Your Way

Lately it has been all about me in Thathouse. And I'm telling you, a girl could get used to this. You see, last weekend Thatboy headed out to the store to pick up a movie, and came back with "How to Train Your Dragon." This is a big deal, because normally when Thatboy goes to pick up a movie, it's usually a movie you've never heard of, and 9 times out of 10, it's in another language. Yep, foreign Indie films are his favorite.

I felt pretty lucky to be able to see a movie I wanted to see without having to threaten dismemberment or refusal to cook another meal. I figured it was a one time deal.

Then this morning as we were lazily lying in bed trying to figure out what to do (can you remember the last time you had no plans whatsoever?) when I suggested going to a movie. Usually that would involve Thatboy popping open his computer and checking to see what's playing - naming only movies I've never heard anything about. Which of course, prompts the question: "What's that about?" and the inevitable answer: "I don't know, let me check." He pretty much assumes if he hasn't heard of it, it must be a fantastic movie. So you can imagine my surprise when he told me to check and see what was playing. Which means I got to screen the movie choices before and purposely not tell him the movies who had names I couldn't pronounce. I gave him a list of several options, and he told me to go ahead and pick whatever I wanted to see. I stared at him in disbelief. "You don't even want to rule one or two of them out?" He didn't. And that, my friends, is how we got to see "Cedar Rapids" today. And we spent the entire time bent over in laughter. We both find John C. Reilly hilarious, especially when he's Dr. Steve Brule. And how can you not find a place in your heart for doofy, affable, Ed Helms. He's just got such an "aw shucks" quality about him.

On the way home, we stopped to return "How to Train Your Dragon" and pick up a new movie. And this is where things got suspicious, because Thatboy let me get "Toy Story 3." (Can you tell my taste in movies is a bit different than him?) I cornered him in the car, asking what gives. I thought maybe he had heard I only had a couple days to live, or something similar. Nope. Turns out, he's been feeling bad that it's been all about him with movies for almost the entire last year, and this was my turn to cash in. (I knew going to all those Twilight movies with him would eventually pay off for me.)

Dinner was one of my favorite "company meals" - Steak au poivre. Just say it, it even sounds fancy, which is why it's such a great company meal. But like any great company meal, it is much easier to make than it sounds. Because when you have company over, the last thing you want to do is spend forever in the kitchen worrying about dinner.

There are various recipes for steak au poivre, but they all bear one thing in common - coating the steak with crushed peppercorn. (That's the au poivre part) A lot of recipes use a cream sauce, but I don't think you need it. A simple gravy made with just enough bourbon to deglaze the pan has always been my go-to.

Now to add the finishing touch and really impress your guests, dress up your rice dish. Thatboy grew up with his "fancy rice" as Uncle Ben's wild rice mix. You don't need a mix though to make easy, delicious rice. And in Thathouse, unless it's Thatboy's birthday, we usually stay away from rice mixes. Instead, stir in your own spices. Add some rice and toasted almond, and you'll be amazed at the silence that fills your room as your guests fill their mouths.

Steak au Poivre
4 steaks (filets are the typical cut of choice, but I also like thin guys because they cook so quickly)
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp peppercorns, coarsely crushed (I give 'em a good whack with the meat tenderizer)
3 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp oil
4 Tbsp bourbon

1. Rub the steaks with salt. Sprinkle them with half the peppercorns. Now, remember that meat tenderizer you used to crush the peppercorn? Use it again to pound the pepper into the steak. Flip the steak over and do the same thing on the other side.
2. Heat the butter and oil in a skillet and saute the steaks, 4 minutes per side. Remove from pan.
3. Add the bourbon and 2 Tbsp water to the still hot pan. Cook, scraping the browned bits off the the bottom of the pan. Boil for one minute, and pour over the steaks.

Turkish Pilaf (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)
6 Tbsp butter
1 cup rice
1 1/2 cups onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 bay leaf, crumbled
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
2 cups chicken broth

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Melt the butter in a skillet and stir in the rice. Cook over low heat a couple minutes till the rice is shiny.
2. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until they are soft.
3. Pour the skillet contents into casserole. Add the salt, bay leaf, cinnamon, raisins, and almonds.
4. Heat the chicken broth until it's boiling and mix with the rest of the ingredients. Cover and bake 45 minutes.

The Best Laid Plans

There's a saying that if you want to make G-d smile, tell him your plans. Today, G-d was having a big ole laugh on my behalf.

It started with lunch. A couple weeks back I got an email at work. There was going to be an art exhibit outside my office during the month of February. I forwarded the email to Thatboy and asked if he wanted to make a lunch date out of it. He agreed, and today was the day we were supposed to go.

We planned to meet at the post office, because Thatboy had to mail the anniversary gift for his parents that I spent all weekend working on. That was the first laugh. I convinced Thatboy the post office would have a box big enough for the gift. I was wrong. Which had us then running to the supermarket to pick up some brown paper bags to wrap the gift in. Except the supermarket no longer carries brown paper bags. Sooooo that was a bust.

We headed back to look a the exhibit, and it was GONE. G-O-N-E. With no explanation (I even looked at the email again when I got back to my office and it definitely says it would be up until February 28 - laugh 3, if you're keeping track.)

My next plan involved leaving work at a reasonable time. Even I should have known better than this one. I was going to stop off at the store and grab a duck, roast it while I hit the gym with Thatboy. I got home about 2 hours later than that plan. Too late to stop for ducks. Too late for roasts. Too late for the gym.

And I got cranky on my way home, thinking of how the day had gone so far from planned. I didn't want to deal with anything, least of all dinner. I wanted something easy and comforting. I kept thinking about baked pasta - even though we had had pasta for lunch. When Thatboy called to see if he could do anything to help with dinner (because he was already home from the gym) I asked if he could cook up some rice. He is a fantastic rice cooker.

Thinking of the rice and cheese from the other night, I figured I'd play with that. Adding some parsley and onion for a little more flavor than just cheese (although there is nothing wrong with cheese). Using an egg gives it a rich silkiness and also helps it puff up a bit. And for something completely unplanned, it came out pretty damn good!

Cheesy Baked Rice
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1 cup milk
4 Tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup swiss cheese, grated
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 cup parsley, chiffonade
1 egg, beaten
salt

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a casserole dish with baking spray. Combine all the ingredients.
2. Pour into casserole and bake 40 minutes.

A day of goods and bads

The good: I got to sleep in this morning all the way till 9. I never get to do that.

The bad: Because I slept in, I didn't have time for a run or the farmer's market before my lunch date with H.

The good: Lunch with H. One of my favorite people. And the perfect day to split a grilled cheese and tomato soup.

The bad: It started raining again, which meant my outside run was canceled and I had to run on the treadmill at the gym.

The good: At least I got a run in. And I got to watch Spongebob while I ran. Interesting fact, for some reason, Spongebob is always on when I'm on the treadmill. It's like, fate.

Also good is that I was able to get a lot accomplished today, including picking up an anniversary gift for TFIL and TMIL and I'm warming up our whole place with some heavy duty oven work. I started with dessert, because - well, a nice warm dessert is always nice on a rainy weekend evening. And then I moved on to dinner. Something warm and baked was definitely in order.

Usually this would be a mac and cheese kind of night. But we wanted something a little bit different. That, and I was all out of elbow macaroni. And Thatboy gets weird when I try to throw in a different noodle. Of course, I can do anything I want if I don't bother telling him he's getting mac and cheese. "Just wait till you try this new dish!" I tell him. "Cheesy rice! It's got rice, it's got cheese, it's baked and warm, you're going to love it!" He didn't even know what hit him. And neither will you!

Rice and Cheese
2 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup crackers, crushed

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a baking dish with baking spray. Spread half of the rice in the dish and sprinkle with half of the cheese.
2. Sprinkle a little cayenne pepper on top and a pinch of salt. Dot with 1 Tbsp butter.
3. Create another layer of rice, cheese, cayenne, salt, and butter.
4. Pour milk over all, and sprinkle with crushed crackers. Bake for 30 minutes.

Summer Makes Me Crabby Week: Crabmeat Indienne

I'm completely wiped out today, so I'll keep this one short and sweet - and include the explanation for my fatigue at a later time. Instead, let's talk a little of "what's in a name." Shakespeare makes a fairly compelling case that what something is called does not affect its inherent values. But names definitely lead us to expectations. I wouldn't expect something called an "orange" to be purple in color. Likewise, I would expect a dish called "Spicy chicken" to be, well, spicy. In "Can-Can" Frank Sinatra makes a similar observation - "I once knew a girl who had the nerve to call herself Virginia!"

Today's crab recipe is named Crabmeat Indienne. And do you know what makes this recipe "Indienne" my friends? Well, that's easy! It's the inclusion of curry powder!

Honestly, I would consider this dish much more "curried crab" than an Indian dishes I've ever had. It lacks the complexity of flavors of most Indian dishes. The balance of spices with a buttery sweetness. So I was disappointed in it. It didn't meet my expectations because what's in a name does matter. So I present it to you with all pretenses pulled. Don't pay attention to the name and see if you enjoy this crabmeat with curry.

And because I want to be perfectly up front with what you're eating, no fancy name for the rice, just good ole rice cooked with saffron, raisins, and pine nuts. This is a recipe I've used often with couscous, and thought "huh, bet it would be good with rice too." It is. I love raisins and pinenuts in pretty much everything. The only other addition I would suggest is some feta, but I didn't know how that would work with a crab main dish.

Crabmeat Indienne (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

• 3 Tbsp butter
• 1Tbsp finely chopped onion
• 4 Tbsp flour
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups crabmeat

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the onion and cook over low heat for 3 minutes, stirring often.
2. Stir the flour and curry powder into the skillet and cook 2 minutes more.
3. Add the chicken broth slowly and cook and stir for 5 minutes.
4. Add the crabmeat and cook only until heated through.

Saffron Rice with raisins and pine nuts

• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 cup rice
• 2 cups chicken stock
  
• 1/8 tsp crumbled saffron
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 Tbsp pine nuts
  

1. Preheat oven to 375. Saute the onion in the butter about 3 minutes.
2. Add the rice and stir, cooking just long enough to coat the rice, 2 or 3 minutes.
3. Add chicken stock to rice and bring to a boil.
4. Remove 1/4 cup of the hot liquid and pour over saffron. Let steep 5 minutes, then add back in to the boiled chicken stock.
5. Pour rice and stock into a 1 qt. casserole and stir in rice and pine nuts. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, or until all the stock is absorbed.
   

Summer Makes Me Crabby Week: Crabmeat Terrapin Style

I know, I know, I owe you a ton of recipes and catchups! Thatboy and I just got back from our 4 year anniversary trip (can you believe we've been married 4 years? It seems so weird given that we've dated over twice that many years!) and blogging is not the only thing I'm behind in.

Returning from a vacation back to regular life is always hard for me. I'm a schedule person by nature, and while I'm fine with venturing afield, part of me is always distracted by missing out on my usual routine at home. So now we're back and trying to get back into the swing of things. I finally caught up with most of the housework and can devote myself back to frivolous stuff like blogging. Which is exciting because you have a lot to look forward to: Vacations, adorable babies, a race, and eventually we'll move away from crabs onto something equally as fun!

But for now, let's continue on with the crab recipes, shall we? The next recipe is for crabmeat terrapin. I'm not really sure what the name means. I have no history or no reasoning for what makes this dish a terrapin. Because frankly, when I think of terrapin I picture this guy:

And there are certainly no turtles in this dish. Although both turtles and crabs have shells, there aren't a lot of other similarities. For instance, for many years I had a pet turtle named Chris - and I've never had a pet crab. Wait a minute. I think I might have had a hermit crab at one point in time, although I'm fairly certain that's not the type of crab you would use in this dish. I used those snow crab legs I was telling you about ages ago (or at least that's how long it seems).

The finished product reminded me of a crab omelet. It would make an excellent breakfast, although we ate it for dinner with some rice. As a dinner, the finished product reminded me a bit of an egg foo young, so I paired it with some steamed rice. Of course, adding some peanuts and celery helped with that whole egg foo young comparison, but if I were serving it for breakfast I'd probably top it with some avocado instead.

Crabmeat Terrapin Style (The Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

3 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups crabmeat
3 Tbsp dry sherry
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 egg yolks
salt
dash of cayenne pepper

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan.
2. Stir in the onion and cook over low heat until soft and yellow.
3. Remove the onion and set aside.
4. Stir in the crabmeat, add the sherry, and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes.
5. Beat the cream and egg yolks together. Slowly add to the saucepan, stirring briskly.
6. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes until the sauce is smooth and thickened.
7. Remove from the heat and season to taste with salt and cayenne.
   

Steamed Rice with Peanuts

3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp butter
1 cup brown rice
1 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup peanuts, chopped

1. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil.
2. Add the salt and butter.
3. Slowly add the rice, celery and peanuts.
4. Cover and simmer. Don't remove the cover for 40 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork before serving.
   

Summer Makes Me Crabby Week: Creamed Crab

Do you feel deserted? I know it's been a while, but we had a major emergency in Thathouse - Thatmom needed an escape. So in the middle of the week last week, we headed out for an emergency girls' vacation.

To the Bacara Resort and Spa in Santa Barbara.

First stop was lunch with Toxicesq and China who happened to be visiting the Happiest Place on Earth. And then we were off.

Alllll the way to the outlets, where we had to make a second stop. Because Thatmom and I needed some retail therapy. And some hats for lounging by the pool, since we had both forgotten to bring our own.

By the time we got to Bacara, it was LATE. And we had been in the car all day. We were exhausted.

So while Thatmom checked in,

I scoped out the lobby.

Our room was gorgeous - Thatmom's first order of business is always to check the bathroom for "product" (as Thatdad used to call it). She loved that it was Fresh toiletries, but didn't love that most contained mango, which she is ridiculously allergic to. She did love the oversized shower - she's really into those.

I showed Thatboy a picture of the room and showed him which bed I slept in and he laughed and told me I got the jenky bed. We had to tell him it was just the angle, and it was the same size as the other bed. Both beds were already turned down for us, because, as I said, it was late!

On our drive up, we were starving and didn't want to stop because we'd already been on the road ALL day. "Let's order room service!" Thatmom suggested. So as soon as we got into the room we called down and had them bring up two giant cheeseburgers for us. They brought up more than that - check out the setup!

What, you don't go to a spa and order cheeseburgers? Well maybe you should.



Thatmom dug right into hers. And even though both of us are notorious for not finishing our burgers, we made a good showing! I think we both did about 3/4 of a burger.

And then it was off to bed - because driving, shopping and eating makes you very very tired. The next morning I was with it enough to take a picture of our view. That's the ocean over there to the left!



And then we did a tour of the grounds before hitting up the fitness center....and then I retired my camera for the rest of the trip, but rest assured, there was plenty of lying by this:



Nothing better than a pool with a view.


But I can't leave you during crab week without a crab recipe! So let's go with another great spa option - creamed crab. I doubt you'll find it on any spa menu to be honest, because it's not exactly light or healthy. Then again, neither was the creme brulee oatmeal we enjoyed at the spa. But we're big fans of "everything in moderation" in Thatfamily, so having creamed crab one night certainly is allowable. Especially when paired with something lighter like boiled brown rice.

Creamed Crab (The Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

• 3 Tbsp butter
• 3 Tbsp flour
• 1 1/2 cups light cream
• dash of Tabasco
• 3-4 Tbsp dry sherry
• 1 1/2 cups crabmeat
• salt

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan.
   
2. Stir in the flour and blend until smooth.
3. Slowly add the cream, stirring consistently, until smooth and thickened.
4. Add tabasco and sherry and cook over low heat for 3 minutes.
   
5. Add the crab and salt to taste, and cook only until heated through.

Why boil rice? It's a little trick I picked up from the back of a rice container. I am NOTORIOUS for ruining rice- well, that is, until I got my rice cooker. Before that it was either a soggy mess, or burnt to the bottom of the pot. But pasta? I can make pasta with the best of them. This is a similar method - boil rice like pasta and then drain. Even I don't mess this one up.

Boiled Rice

• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup brown rice
• 3 qts water

1. Bring water and salt to a boil.
2. Slowly add the rice to the water so that it doesn't stop boiling. Give the pan a shake so the rice levels.
   
3. Boil rice 35-40 minutes, until the rice is firm, not mushy.
4. Drain the rice in a colander.