Sounds Good #13 Mushroom Risotto

Photo and recipe from www.allrecipes.com

I found this recipes at www.allrecipes.com and just love it so I'm passing it along. 

6 Cups of Chicken broth, divided

3T Olive oil, divided

1# Portabello Mushrooms - thinly sliced

1# white mushrooms - thinly sliced

2 shallots, small diced

1.5 Cups Arborio rice

.5 Cup Chardonnay wine

Sea Salt to taste

Fresh Ground pepper to taste

3T finely chopped chives

4T butter

.33 Cup grated Parm

Cook thinly sliced mushrooms in about 2T of oil in a pan. About 3 minutes. Set aside. Use a cap full of olive oil and saute the chopped shallots and cook for about 1 minute. Add rice, stir to coat the rice kernels with the oil for about 2 minutes. This is called Nacre. When the rice has become a golden color add Chardonnay and stir until wine is fully absorbed. Add broth or stock .5 Cup at a time. Continue adding until rice is au dente (not hard but not mushy). Remove from the heat and mix in mushrooms, butter, chives and cheese. Season with salt n pepper. Enjoy!

Sounds Good #12 Italian Tuscan Soup (slightly spicy)

I unfortunately do not have photos of this recipe yet.......I will add and edit this post when I have time to buy the ingredients and post photos for you. This recipe makes about 1 gallon of soup which is a lot but it's a hearty meal and if you like soup, you'll like this. 

This is a modified recipe from a restaurant chain:

1# of Ground Sausage (Try to avoid sausages that have dextrose or sugar)

2 teaspoons of Crushed Red Peppers

2 oz of Ham preferably cubed or small chunks

1/2# Onions (White or Yellow). 

2 oz of Green Onions thinly sliced

1T of Minced Garlic

4T of Chicken base

2.5 Qt Hot Water

2.5# of Russet or Chef's potatoes sliced thinly or into small cubes

1 Pint Cups of Heavy Cream

1 teaspoon of Pepper

Start a large pot on the stove on a medium-high heat and cook sausage. Use the fat from the ground up (or broken up if you wish) sausage to saute the minced garlic, pepper, crushed red peppers, green and yellow onions, and ham. 

Cook until onions become translucent without scorching other ingredients. Lower heat if necessary. Mix hot water and chicken base and stir until dissolved. De-glaze the pan by pouring the "chicken stock" into the pot to loosen anything and unlock all the flavors. Add potatoes and bring to a simmer. 

Once temperature hits at least 185 F test consistency of potatoes, to make sure fork tender (fork can enter and exit softly and with out force). Mix in heavy cream gently whisk until thickens. Once soup hits at least 185 again, turn off heat, and serve. If you wish to serve later chill rapidly till at least 32 F. When reserving make sure temperature reach again at 185. 

What I love about this recipe is that it can be modified very easily. You can make it spicy, you can make it bland, you can use bacon or no meat at all. You can add greens like spinach or collard greens for a green leafy flavor, or you and other ingredients to make it your own. 

Enjoy :) 

5 Worst Foods for your body/10 Best

http://revistaepoca.globo.com/Revista/Epoca/0,,EMI8290-15254,00-A+BATATA+FRITA+E+UM+PESADELO+NUTRICIONAL.html

My wife found this article on the Brazilian News Network: Globo.com. It is a book written by an American by the name of Jonny Bowden. The article lists the 5 worst foods you can eat and lists the 10 best for your body. This caught my attention because unfortunately I eat 4 out of the 5 regularly!!! To make things worse I rarely eat any of the 10 Best foods for your body, according to this author. So, here are the Worst:

1. Chips/Snacks: Full of Sugar, Trans Fat, and very little nutritional value they don't really benefit the body in any real form other than pleasure.
   
2. Soda: Full of Sugar/High Fructose Corn Syrup and other chemicals. Even diet sodas are full of "sweeteners" and other chemicals that aren't found naturally.
   
3. French Fries: Deep fried in oil, that is repeatedly used, it raises the fat and trans fat levels in fries. Bad for the heart. Too bad they're so tasty.....
   
4. Cotton Candy: According to the author Jonny Bowden, Cotton Candy shouldn't exist. Made of pure sugar and other chemicals Cotton Candy is the only item on the list I don't eat.
   
5. White Bread: Pure Carbs, white bread has no real nutritional value.
   

1. Sardines: Rich in proteins, full of magnesium and other essential minerals. This kind of fish also helps out the digestive system. Bowden calls Sardines "Health Food" in a can.
   
2. Cabbage: Very high in anti-oxidants.

3. Beet leaves: Are almost always thrown away, however apparently are rich in vitamins, minerals, and anti-oxidants. Bowden also says that beets themselves are a vegetable very full of healthy vitamins and minerals. The leaves can be eaten raw just like spinach in a salad.
   

4. Acai: A Brazilian fruit is one of the fruits in the world with the highest concentrate of anti-oxidants. It is also rich in Mono/Poly saturated fats that reduce cholesterol.
   

5. Guava: Another fruit found in Brazil very rich in fiber, minerals and vitamins.
   

6. Fresh Cherries: Very high in vitamins and contains a natural anti-inflammatory. Eaten alone or with yogurt it benefits the body.
   

7. Bitter-Sweet Chocolate: Helps lower blood pressure and good for the circulatory system of the body. Contains high concentrates of magnesium.
   

8. Nuts: Cashews, Peanuts, Almonds, all can raise your calorie count but they all contain lots of minerals, proteins, and are high in Omega 3 & 9.

9. Cinnamon: Helps control sugar and cholesterol in the blood.

10. Pumpkin seeds: Full of Magnesium. They are so full of magnesium Bowden says that French studies conclude that men with high levels of magnesium have a 40% chance of suffering from premature death as compared to those with lower levels. Toast them and eat them whole. The shell is very rich in fiber.

Well, unfortunately, in my personal diet, I include very few of these items. I love chocolate, but unfortunately, not bitter-sweet. I've eaten pumpkin seeds, but I'm not a huge fan of them. I love Guava Juice but at the moment it is very expensive, about $3 a liter. I love cinnamon but usually on baked goods. I love cherry flavoring, and even the cocktail cherries but don't regularly eat them.

As far as the 5 worst things to eat, I consume 4 of them regularly and will have to do what I can to limit or eliminate them from my diet.

Sounds Good #11 Home Made Flat Bread Pizza

MMMM Flatbread pizza with Mozz & Goat Cheese, and Portabello Mushrooms

MMM Creamy n Cheesy 

A few slices of the flat bread and

 some sliced green olives for Lisiane

1 Envelope of active dry yeast

1 cup lukewarm water

2 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons white sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/3 cup butter or margarine

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

mix water and yeast and let stand for 1o minutes. Mix remaining ingredients 

Bake at 350 F until just golden. Remove bread and butter. Spread cheese, and desired ingredients on top and bake until melted. Remove, Cut, ENJOY!

If you drink wine, this best goes with a red wine particularly Cab. Sauvignon especially if you add portabello mushrooms and goat cheese. 

Organic Food is important a short 2 minute clip

I found this clip on youtube about Organic Farming and foods. It's worth watching.

Substainable Farming, A cool story about a local farm

Sounds Good #10 Orange Chicken

Serves 4

Sauce

1.5 Cups of Water

2T Orange Juice

.25 Cup of Lemon Juice

.33 Cup of Rice Wine Vin

2.5T Soy Sauce

1t Grated Orange Zest

1 Cup Brown Sugar

.5t Fresh Grated Ginger 

.5t Minced Garlic

2T Scallions (Green Onions)

.25t Red Pepper Flakes

Slurry

1T Water

2t Corn Starch

Chicken

2 Boneless Chicken Breasts cut in .5 inch cubes

1 Cup AP flour

.25t Salt

.25t Pepper

3T Olive Oil

Pour 1.5 Cups of water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice wine vin, and soy sauce into a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir in the orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chopped onion, and red pepper flakes. Bring mixture to a boil and remove from heat. Cool 10 to 15 minutes. 

Place chicken pieces into a re-sealable plastic bag. When contents of saucepan have cooled pour 1 cup of sauce into bag. Reserve the remaining sauce. Seal the bag, and refrigerate at least 2 hours. In another re-sealable plastic bag, mix the flour, salt and pepper. Add the marinated chicken pieces from the other bag (after 2 hours of refrigeration), seal the bag and shake to coat. 

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken into the skillet, and brown on both sides. Drain on a plated lined with paper towels and cover with aluminum foil. Keep warm in oven about 200 degrees F.  Mix together 1T of water and 2t of cornstarch and stir into remaining heated sauce. Pour over cooked chicken and serve. 

Sauteed carrots, peanuts, broccoli, scallions, snow peas, or mushrooms can be added to make meal even better. Server over basmati or jasmine rice.

Sounds Good #9 French Crepes

This recipe is from Susan Spicer and her Cookbook: Crescent City Cooking page 61 to 63

3/4 Cup of milk

2 Tablespoons of butter, plus extra for frying

3 eggs

1 Cup Flour

1/8 teaspoon Salt

2 Tablespoons of herbs, such as any combo of Tarragon, thyme, chives, and parsley

Scald the milk and add the 2 tablespoons butter, then cool to lukewarm. 

Place the eggs, flour, salt, and cooled milk in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the herbs and pulse a time or two to mix. Let the batter sit for 15 minutes or overnight in the refrigerator to relax and release air bubbles. If used the next day from fridge, thin slightly with a tablespoon or 2 of water. Melt a small amount of butter in a small nonstick skillet or crepe pan and when hot, pour in about 2 tablespoons of batter swirling to coat  the bottom of pan. Cook for about 30 seconds, then flip and cook for about 5 seconds. Remove from the pan and repeat. Should make about 12-16 crepes. Wrap extra crepes in plastic and refrigerate or freeze for another time. 

Sounds Good: Not forgotten......

To anybody who frequents this blog I have not forgotten the major point of having this blog and that is: Recipes. Having spent to much time battling the "evil ones" on an website that shall remain nameless, I have just been to lazy to post anything new. I have tried some different things and even bought a new book that has some awesome recipes in it. If I get around to it on my day off tomorrow, I'll post one.