Creamy Green Pea Soup

When I saw that the ingredient list for this recipe included frozen peas I bookmarked it.  For some reason when I am in Trader Joe's I always buy frozen peas.  The only thing I use them for is the Minty Pea Dip or Fried Rice. I would never cook up some peas as a side dish or use them for anything else so I'm not sure why I mentally insist on having them readily available.  Therefore I usually have a bag that is hardening into a solid mass of ice and peas, slowly getting freezer burnt.  I figured this would be a good use of that bag. 

Green Pea Soup
Adapted from the Cooks dot com and Simply Recipes version

1/2 cup onion
1 Tablespoon of butter
2 cups peas
2 cups vegetable broth
5-6 mint leaves
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper

Saute onion in butter over medium heat until softened.  Add broth and peas and bring to a boil.  Boil for 5 minutes, add mint leaves and reduce to a simmer.  Simmer for about 10 minutes, until peas are softened.  Remove from heat and pick out mint leaves.  Puree with an immersion blender or in a blender then add 1/2 cup of heavy cream and salt and pepper.

This was a really easy recipe but has the same issues as my butternut squash soup.  One main ingredient makes it kinda one dimensional. Not a soup I will eat every night for a week but definitely one I will have as a side dish with lunch for a couple of days.  I added croutons (wheat bread, toasted and sliced into squares)  which added a mildly interesting element but overall not very exciting.  I did use up that bag of peas; although I now have a whole clump of fresh mint that needs to be used in the next few days.  Mojitos? 

Steak Notions

Ok, the following recipe is new for me but not neccesarily healthful.  It's delicious though so that is what counts today.   

I have this preconceived idea that good steak needs to be grilled and I have not been able to break away from that.  Therefore when I get a steak, I take out the grill and charcoal and fight with the wind to get that charcoal lit.  It’s a huge hassle for one person.  I know that good steak can be cooked in a cast iron skillet but until I get one of those I have reverted to cube steaks.  According to Wikipedia cube steaks are “a cut of beef, usually top round or top sirloin, tenderized by fierce pounding with a meat tenderizer”.  According to me cube steaks are a cheap, fast way to have some delicious meat. 

I generally fry my cube steak in butter or olive oil or a combination of both.  It takes about 4 minutes and I usually end up with a medium cooked steak.  I’m shooting for medium rare so should knock off a minute next time.  Cube steaks can be served with the usual steak sides, on bread as a sandwich, on bread and finished in the panini grill with your choice of cheese.  Pretty much any way you eat steak you can eat your cube steak.  Except faster and for less money and with that same delicious meaty taste. 

Last night I made Chimichurri to go with my cube steak.  Here’s another pre conceived steak notion of mine, good steak needs no sauce or condiment.  And here’s where the cube steak wins again, it’s not a good steak and it tastes amazing with the Chimichurri. 

Chimichurri 

1 cup parsley

3 garlic cloves, chopped very fine
2 tablespoons fresh oregano or 2 teaspoons dried
½ cup olive oil (use the best you have)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sea salt
couple grinds of black pepper
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Chop the parsley, garlic and oregano very fine (I used my mini chopper) and then transfer to a wide-mouthed glass jar. 

Add the rest of your ingredients and mix well.

Serve a generous spoonful over your steak. 

The Chimichurri can also be uses as a sandwich spread, swirled through some cooked grains or to top a salad or a baked potato. 

I started with the Simply Recipes version of Chimichurri, found here.

Festival dining part two

Looks like it has been awhile since my first post about eating well at a festival, morning edition.  I got caught up in various vacations but am back to the blog.

In my last post I forgot to mention fruit for breakfast.  A healthy part of a usually not very healthful weekend.  I recommend cut up watermelon for breakfast delicious and refreshing.  If you have even a whiff of a hangover some juicy, cold watermelon is just the thing.  Other good options are grapes and cherries.

On to lunch/dinner and snacks.  Again the ideal is prepared items.  You don't want to be setting up a cookstove and dealing with multiple ingredients.  You need to be able to reach in to your cooler and pull out something tasty and ready to go.  A good option is the prepared salad, not a green salad but a brown rice salad packed full of beans and veggies or a yummy sesame noodle salad.  If you include vegetables you will want to avoid ingredients that spoil easily; think avocado or tomatoes, and choose longer lasting vegetables such as green pepper or corn.

Sesame Noodle Salad
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
4 cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 tsp hot chili oil
4 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons hot water

12 oz noodles
4 green onions sliced thinly

While water boils for noodles, combine all ingredients except noodles and green onion in a bowl and whisk together. 
Pour sauce over cooked warm noodles and toss to coat, add green onions and toss again.

Chill and serve.