Chicken Soup for the Burnt Soul

The burns are better today, but they are in such an annoying place. Despite the gauze/giant bandaids, my scrub pants still create some friction when I walk. And I'm exhausted. I guess that's what happens when you burn 2% of your body. I'm so happy I only had to work for 4 hours today. (Tomorrow and Wednesday will be another set of 12-hour stories.) I just don't feel like myself.

I decided chicken soup would help revitalize my being. I looked up some recipes for chicken soup, but most of them required a whole chicken. Now, really. I am so not into moving, so there is no way I am going to cook anything involving a whole bird. The recipe below is what I came up with.


Easy Chicken Soup

10 whole black peppercorns
2 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, plus more roughly chopped for garnish
1 sprig thyme
1 dried bay leaf
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 leek, white and light-green parts, thinly sliced and washed well
8 cups homemade or low-sodium canned chicken stock
1 whole skinless and boneless chicken breast
3 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 stalks celery, cut into 1/2-inch dice
3/4 cup long-grain rice (optional)

1. Make "bouquet garni"... or bundle the peppercorns, parsley, thyme, and bay leaf in a cooking sachet or cheesecloth secured with kitchen twine. Start the rice, if you are adding it.

2. Heat butter in a small stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and leek, cooking them for about 5-7 minutes or just before they become soft and translucent. Add the carrots and celery, and cook for another 5 or so minutes more.

3. Add stock and spice sachet, and chicken. Bring the mixture to a simmer and poach the chicken, uncovered, until it is cooked all the way through (about 15 minutes).

3.5 If you are adding rice, add it at the end, so it doesn't bloat and soak up all of your soupy goodness.

4. Serve and enjoy... maybe add a piece of G-F toast with butter on the side

40 Degrees of Winter Grilling

I'm not sure where I'd rate this weekend. It started out a little rocky. Nick and I went to MF Sushi bar to relive our first date for our 6:30pm reservations. (It will officially be a year tomorrow.) He ordered a beer, I ordered a hot green tea to take the chill off. My green tea was incredibly hot. I went to touch the cup, and did the insta hand recall. At some point in yanking my hand away, I tipped the cup enough to spill the tea on my lap. Everything happened in slow motion after that. I was in the bathroom, putting cold layers of paper towels on my burned lap. Rinse, repeat, cry and sit on the floor in between. I emerged from the bathroom and told Nick we had to leave. Now.

Nick, of course, saved the night. We stopped at Kroger for frozen corn. He coxed me through my tears, and got us home despite the sudden onset of transmission problems in his car. Once I was settled, went to the store to pick up food. I am not sure how he did it, but Nick managed to invent a way of fixing an incredible steak on the stove with onions and a side of steamed rice. (I hope he remembers the recipe later. It was simply amazing.)

The results this morning were a patch of blistery burn on each thigh and another area which I prefer not to reveal on my g-rated blog. Today was a slower, more enjoyable day for the two of us, once Nick attempted to get his car looked at. We took a late-afternoon nap, and grilled outside. (I cut up a cucumber for an appetizer.) I made a sweet and sour sauce for dipping the chicken, green/red pepper, onion, and pineapple skewers in. The sauce recipe is from the book The Gluten-Free Gourmet Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy.

Sweet and Sour Sauce
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons ketchup
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon GF soy sauce (optional- I omitted this)

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and use immediately or store, when cool, in a jar in the refrigerator. Makes about 1 1/4 cups.

Pan-roasted Pork Chops with Cranberries and Red Swiss Chard

With Valentine's day around the corner, maybe you're looking for a special meal to cook for your honey muffin. I planned a romantic evening last night, set up the table with a few special items, and got to cooking. This recipe was delicious and not too difficult. Bon appetite!


Pan-roasted Pork Chops with Cranberries and Red Swiss Chard

For Swiss chard

• 1/3 cup minced shallots (2 medium)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 lb red Swiss chard, stems and center ribs cut out and chopped together, leaves coarsely chopped separately

For pork chops

• 4 (1 1/4-inch-thick) rib pork chops
• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

For sauce

• 1/3 cup minced shallots (2 medium)
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 cup fresh or thawed frozen cranberries (4 1/2 oz)
• 3/4 cup chicken stock or broth
• 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried, crumbled
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Prepare Swiss chard:
Cook shallots and garlic in butter in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add chard stems and center ribs and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Add leaves and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then transfer chard to a heavy saucepan and wipe out skillet.

Cook pork chops:
Pat chops dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chops, about 3 minutes per side.

Transfer skillet to oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally 2 inches into meat registers 155°F, 7 to 9 minutes. Transfer chops with tongs to a platter, leaving fat in skillet, and cover chops loosely with foil to keep warm.

Make sauce:
Sauté shallots in fat remaining in skillet over moderately high heat, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add wine and deglaze by boiling over high heat, scraping up brown bits, until reduced by half. Add cranberries and stock and simmer, stirring occasionally, until cranberries begin to burst, about 2 minutes. Stir in brown sugar and thyme and simmer, stirring, until berries are collapsed, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter until incorporated, then season with salt and pepper.

Assemble dish:
While sauce is cooking, reheat chard over moderate heat, stirring. Divide among 4 plates and top with chops, then spoon sauce over.

Lunch it Up

Monday means cooking for work. I am glad to have Mondays off as a way to put space between wonderful weekends and the push through 12 hour days at work. This week, I chose something healthy and spicing to load up my lunchbox.


Chili Honey Lime Chicken

* 2 tablespoons chili powder (not pure chili powder)
* 1 tablespoon mild honey
* 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* Chicken breasts, strips, legs, thighs, or wings

Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 425°F. Line the bottom of a baking pan with foil.

Stir together chili powder, honey, lime juice, salt, and pepper in a prep bowl. Smear the chicken in the mixture until it is completely covered.

Place the chicken in that baking pan, arranging in 1 layer. Bake, turning over once, until cooked through, 30 to 35 minutes.

Eros World Tapas Bar

For Amanda's birthday, we all piled into Eros on Friday night. Eros, formerly Pie Bar, and (rumor has it) formerly a bank, has a unique circular shape and a tall domed ceiling. The Mediterranean tapas bar plays club music and has a patio that (as of the day after we went) has a heated patio.

My waitress was a bit stunned at my GF/soy-free requests. My choices were: Mussels Garlic White Wine Sauce, Eros Salad, a d Grilled Lamb Chops. I ordered all three. The mussels broth was unfortunately overpowered by black pepper. My Eros salad was good, but was a bit heavy on the dressing. Thankfully, the lamb chops were masterfully cooked.

Aside from not enjoying 2/3 of my meal, my biggest problem came dinner, when I had a gluten reaction from the food. I might go back... but only for a plate of lamb chops with a drink at the bar.

Sunday Sandwiches

It's playoffs, people, playoffs.

We could do hamburgers and beer, like most Sundays. The boys did burgers yesterday, so the choice is (thankfully) healthier- sandwiches. Only, it's not just a few pieces of meat stuck between some GF bread. Oh no. This is THE sandwich of sandwiches.

Sunday Sandwich

* Glutino Flax Seed Bread
* Boar's Head Oven Gold Turkey
* Boar's Head Hard Salami
* Whole Food's 365 Canola Mayonnaise
* Drunken Goat Cheese
* 1 Haas Avocado
* 1 Tomato

Prepare sandwich with above ingredients. Add a side of Lay's or apple slices, and your sandwich plate will look like the above illustration.

The Counter

I grew up in Duluth- what is now John's Creek. I used to think about how neat it would be to live in the city and have everything trendy at my disposal. Apparently the suburbs have upped the anty. Besides good shopping, North Point (Roswell/Alpharetta) can boast about having the best burger experience in Atlanta.

Burgers become a gluten-free staple when you are new to G-F. Almost every restaurant has a pile of meat they can turn into a simple G-F meal (although you still may have to settle for salad instead of fries). Now that I am a mature G-F eater, I have been seeking a more tasty, sophisticated version of the burger.

Outside, The Counter looks like a bank. Inside, it has a modern diner feel. I enjoyed picking out the flavors of my burger on their sectioned check-off menu. I chose a 1/3 pound burger in a bowl, on a bed of mixed greens, with a thick coating of herb goat cheese spread, pineapple, scallions, red onion, and hard boiled eggs. I eighty-sixed the sauce. I did not order any fried sides, because they are cooked in soybean oil. (Nick's serving of sweet potato fries was big enough for both of us.) To top off the extensive choices, the meat is certified humane. For the non-G-F folks, The Counter has a beer menu. For the rest of us, there is also a wine menu and a Woodchuck pear cider available.

When it was served, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. The bowl was big enough to have some greens leftover in the bottom and me being completely stuffed. I highly recommend a trip out to Roswell for this burger experience. This may not only be the best burger in Atlanta, but a burger restaurant with endless flavor opportunities.

PS - If you want to check out their website, http://www.thecounterburger.com/ you can also see their allergen information on the link to the menu.

New Year!

The holidays came around so quickly. All of a sudden, my sister (Tiffany) arrived from the DR, Nick's family was here, and I was fighting for glimpses of sleep in between reconnecting with friends and family. Time went by in a glimpse. All too soon Tiffany was back on a plane home, Nick's family returned home, and New Years crept up.

I usually find New Year's uninspiring. This was the first New Year's Day I had off, and I was ridiculously sick. Maybe getting over my sinus infection made the arrival of 2009 seem like the changing of the leaves; for the first time I feel like something new has started.

Here are a few of my New Goals for a New Year:
* Dance more often
* Be able to run 3 consecutive miles (aka do the Mazz Family run)
* Get rid of all the furniture in the storage room (need any?)
* Finish my WOCN certification
* Get a job at Shepherd as a full-time WOCN
* Take better care of myself


In interest of a newer, healthier year, here is a recipe for a low-fat dinner.


Pork Tenderloin with Apricot Mustard Rub

INGREDIENTS
* 1/2 cup grainy mustard
* 1/2 cup apricot jam
* 1 garlic clove, forced through a garlic press
* 2 small pork tenderloins (1 1/2 to 2 pounds total)
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 pound fresh apricots, quartered and pitted

PREPARATION

Preheat broiler and line rack of a broiler pan with foil.

Whisk together mustard and jam in a small bowl. Whisk together 1/3 cup mustard mixture with garlic in a large bowl.

Pat pork dry, then sprinkle all over with teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Coat pork with 2 tablespoons mustard-garlic mixture, then arrange without crowding on broiler pan.

Toss apricots and remaining 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper with remaining mustard-garlic mixture. Arrange apricots in 1 layer around pork (including space between tenderloins) and broil 5 to 6 inches from heat, turning pork over once, until thermometer inserted diagonally into center of each tenderloin registers 145°F and apricots are softened, about 15 minutes. Transfer pork to a cutting board (leave apricots on pan) and let stand 5 minutes.

Cut pork crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices and transfer to a platter. Spoon apricots over pork and serve remaining mustard-jam mixture on the side (sweeten with additional jam if desired).