Simply Recipes: Low Carb

Egg Drop Soup

Tue, 19 May 2009 12:37:12 -0800

Please welcome guest author Garrett McCord of Vanilla Garlic as he shares his favorite Chinese egg drop soup. ~Elise

In college one of the dishes I relied on was my own version of egg drop soup. It was simple, tasty, comforting and (most importantly) budget friendly. As I started to make it more and more I began to notice that friends started to drop by for dinner with increasing frequency. This was fine as all I had to do was add a bit more chicken stock and soy sauce and toss in another beaten egg. I could feed my guests cheaply and enjoy their company.

For years I ate what I thought had been faux egg drop soup cobbled together by a hungry student, however it was only recently I discovered that my recipe was actually quite accurate. With the addition of some cornstarch and the use of white pepper the soup is dead ringer for the one at your favorite Chinese-American restaurant.

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Flank Steak Stir-Fry with Asparagus and Red Pepper

Sun, 17 May 2009 11:37:57 -0800

Recently I got a call from my friend Elizabeth who said, "You've got to try my mother's flank steak; it's soooo good!" I begged the recipe from Maria (Elizabeth's mother) and tried it out last night. It was terrific. Very tasty, everyone ate it right up. Best thing about it? It's fast and easy. Maria adapted her recipe from one in a Williams Sonoma cookbook (details below).

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Spring Fava Bean Fennel Salad

Thu, 14 May 2009 19:38:20 -0800

Fava beans are a gardener's dream. The come up early in Spring, they're easy to grow, and their roots fix nitrogen in the soil, helping to prepare the soil for vegetables planted later in the season. They are delicious, though you do have to work for it. Unless very young, the beans need to be shucked twice, first before cooking to remove the bean from the pod, and then after cooking to remove the tough outer membrane from the bean. Garrett was over the other day to help pick and shuck and we made this lovely spring salad with fava beans from my garden. Fennel and Parmesan are one of those weird but wonderful flavor combinations that work great alongside fava beans and mint .

We still have plenty of favas growing in our garden. Do you have a favorite way of preparing them? (Hold the Hannibal Lector quote, thank you.) If so, please let us know about it in the comments.

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Mom's Ground Turkey and Peppers

Sun, 10 May 2009 23:28:29 -0800

I'm smiling as I write this. Why? Because there is no dish that reminds me more of my mother than her ground turkey with peppers. I've never had it anywhere but at home, not even at a school cafeteria, where God knows they've served every other budget meal known to mankind. Did my mother invent it? Probably not, but she may just as well have. We've eaten this in our house at least once a month for almost 50 years. And you know what? It's good. It's cheap (especially ground turkey thighs which have the added benefit of more flavor). It can be cooked in the time it takes to make some rice or pasta to go with it. For years she seasoned the ground turkey with chili powder or chopped pickled jalapenos. These days she likes to add the smokey flavor of chipotle powder.

Do you have a favorite ground turkey recipe? Please let us know about it in the comments.

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Perfect Guacamole

Tue, 05 May 2009 00:00:29 -0800

From the archives, �Happy Cinco de Mayo! ~Elise

Guacamole, a dip made from avocados, is originally from Mexico. The name is derived from two Aztec Nahuatl words - ahuacatl (avocado) and molli (sauce). The trick to perfect guacamole is using good, ripe avocados. Check for ripeness by gently pressing the outside of the avocado. If there is no give, the avocado is not ripe yet and will not taste good. If there is a little give, the avocado is ripe. If there is a lot of give, the avocado may be past ripe and not good. In this case, taste test first before using.

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Pacific Black Cod Escabeche

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:07:56 -0800

Escabeche is a dish of Spanish origin in which fish is marinated in an acidic marinade. Somewhat similar to ceviche, but the fish is cooked a bit first. Because of the acidity of the marinade, the dish lends itself to fatty fish, especially mackerel. When I first had this version of escabeche, prepared by Chef Sean Bernal in the Bahamas (see Matt's account), it was with a wahoo fish, and all I could think of was how good it would taste with mackerel. Unfortunately for me I haven't been able to find any fresh mackerel (or herring, or sardines for that matter) in Sacramento. The fishmonger at Whole Foods recommended pacific black cod (also known as sablefish) as a substitute because it is fairly oily (and packed with omega 3s). The fish may seem a little delicate for the task, but you know what? When I prepared it, it firmed up beautifully overnight. I also tried it with tuna, but the tuna ended up being too steaky for the dish, it didn't flake like the black cod. Because of the acidity, you can't eat too much of the escabeche at once. It does work great though, for quick fish tacos. Just take a basic cheese taco and add a bit of the fish, peppers and onions. Normally you wouldn't use melted cheddar in a fish taco, but because the cheese cuts through the acidity, it works.

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Asparagus with Lime and Mint

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 22:38:53 -0800

Please welcome guest author Garrett McCord of Vanilla Garlic. ~Elise

As a child I despised the asparagus my mother served. It was steamed to a dreadfully pathetic wilt and tasted, I assumed, no better than the old grass clippings trapped in the blades of the lawn mower. Only until I decided to overcome my own fear of these precocious green stalks did I come to fully appreciate them. Now every spring I prepare them the same way - lightly sauteed in a bit of oil, salt and peppered, and then a good squeeze of lime juice over them to give them a bit of spark. Plus these have an ear pleasing snap when you bite into them.

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Saut�ed Petrale Sole in Herb Butter Sauce

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 10:23:01 -0800

Raised Catholic, I grew up eating fish every Friday (not just during Lent as the custom goes these days). Often it was just a simple tuna macaroni salad, but we kids were exposed to a variety of fish and seafood on a regular basis. Thank goodness! We still eat fish almost every Friday (old habits die hard) and are always looking for new ideas to cook with the fresh fish we find at the market. Here is a recipe for petrale sole (a Pacific flounder) that is served with a quick sauce made with shallots, white wine, and butter. You could use this sauce over any mild fish fillet. This recipe we adapted from a recipe in a newsletter from a favorite local bistro, Paul Martin's which focuses on using organic, local ingredients.

Do you have a preferred way of preparing sole fillets? Or other Lenten dishes? If so, please let us know about it in the comments.

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Cowboy Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 12:43:29 -0800

The first time I saw a "cowboy steak" at our local butcher, all I could think was, "wow, that's one BIG steak". Looking like a two-inch thick steak ping-pong paddle, the cowboy cut of steak is actually a beef rib-eye, bone-in, with the bone Frenched, so that if you were the cowboy eating this steak, you could just hold it by the bone. (So cowboys don't use forks and knives?) I can just see Marlboro Man now, sitting by the campfire, tin coffee cup in one hand, cowboy steak in the other. (Hmm. Maybe I should ask Ree, the Pioneer Woman herself, if cowboys even eat steaks like this.) Or maybe it's just a marketing ploy to sell more steak. In any case, we love cooking meat bone-in for the flavor, and this is a very flavorful cut. We marinated the steak in, and served it with, an Argentinean chimichurri sauce, appropriate because, as you know, Argentina is home to the famed gauchos, South American cowboys.

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Tilapia with Pimiento Sauce

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 21:51:26 -0800

Tilapia, a tasty farm-raised fish originally from Africa, has become more and more popular here in the states. I recently brought home a whole tilapia from our local Asian fish market and made quite a mess of trying to fillet it myself. Dad pitched in, with no more luck than I, and we ended up throwing the pieces (you couldn't quite call them fillets anymore) into a fish stew. Now we know better. Just buy the straight fillets. Tilapia are delicious, and relatively inexpensive compared to other fish. Here is a quick and easy, one-pan way of preparing this versatile fish.

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Pan Seared Salmon with Avocado Remoulade

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:44:47 -0800

"Bacon" variety avocados are in season in the winter; lighter in flavor than the more popular Haas variety, these large, thin-skinned avocados are exceptionally creamy and are perfect for using in sauces. While remoulade is typically made with mayonnaise, in this case we've substituted the mayo with avocado and seasoned it with lime juice.

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Simple Cauliflower Soup

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 23:00:11 -0800

Making soup doesn't have to be difficult, and if you are working with fresh, high quality vegetables, you don't even have to add stock. This cauliflower soup couldn't be easier; just blanch cauliflower florets for a few minutes, pur�e them with some of the blanching liquid, salt, and butter, and serve with olive oil and chopped chives. The idea for this soup comes from my pal Garrett who was raving to me recently about a cauliflower soup he had at a local Sac bakery. Sam of Becks & Posh made a similar soup a while back. Of course when you are working with so few ingredients, you have to make sure that each ingredient is as good as it can be. There's no place to hide if something is off. What I love about this soup is that the cauliflower really shines through, and it's also pretty light, so it works well as a starter for other courses.

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Hanger Steak with Shallots

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:12:01 -0800

Looking for a quick, easy, yet special meal for Valentine's? Try this hanger steak, just cut the recipe in half if you are making it for two. ~Elise

One of the best things about having a butcher close by who knows a thing or two about meat is that we are often inspired to try cuts that would otherwise be unfamiliar to us. Hanger steak is one of those cuts. Also known as a "butcher's steak", the hanger steak "hangs" down from a steer's diaphragm, attached to the last rib and spine near the kidneys (according to the Wikipedia). It is highly flavorful, but isn't perfectly tender, so it responds well to quick cooking with searing heat, and a thin slicing against the grain to serve. This recipe we picked up from our local butcher at Corti Brothers who in turn got it from Chef Daniel Boulud. According to chef Boulud, French bistros traditionally serve this steak along with pommes frites (French fries). We passed on the fries and went with broccoli and boiled potatoes. Outstanding, and very easy to make.

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Chayote with Tomato and Green Chile

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:33:08 -0800

Perhaps you too have noticed an odd, pale green, oblong is-it-a-fruit is-it-a-vegetable in your market and wondered what the heck it was, or what you could make with it. Actually I've known the name of it for a while—chayote; one sees them often in Mexican markets out here, and Whole Foods carries them. But it wasn't until a friend thrust one into my hand with the challenge "it's good, I'd love to see what you make with it" that I actually set out to cook one.

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Mom's Turkey Soup

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 10:57:02 -0800

Updated, from the recipe archive

Every Thanksgiving my mother takes what's left of the turkey carcass and makes a delicious turkey soup that we enjoy for days.

The first step is to make the stock, which you can get started on right after dinner.

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