Lemon Chicken

No pictures this time. Last night I made this with some roasted Brussels sprouts. I used dried spices instead of fresh (including the garlic...my fresh garlic had some cobwebby looking thing going on, I decided it wasn't a good idea.) My pepper wasn't fresh and my salt wasn't kosher, but WOW was this recipe good. Reviews have said that you can use chicken broth instead of white wine. Here's the recipe! http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lemon-chicken-breasts-recipe/index.html

Salmon and Winter Veggies

Since I'm on break, I've had a little bit of time to do some cooking. We've decided to try and stick to seasonal vegetables, which means that for the winter we're eating a lot of root veggies. We're also trying to eat healthier, which means that Isaac is making his first real foray into fish. It's a little scary, since I've never really cooked fish before...but Isaac's never really eaten fish before, so my "expertise" wins. Here's what I made tonight! (ps--it turned out awesome and it was really easy)

Mustard Roasted Salmon (originally posted here)

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 pound wild salmon, skin removed, cut into 4 pieces
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
• 2 tablespoons 100% pure maple syrup
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon

  
  

Directions

Preheat oven to 400-degrees Fahrenheit. Place salmon pieces on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Season with salt and pepper; roast for 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine mustard, maple syrup, garlic and lemon juice. After the 10 minutes of cooking, brush salmon with mixture and return to the oven for 5 minutes or until salmon is just cooked through.

I cooked my salmon in a Pyrex, since I didn't have any parchment paper. It turned out alright, but the skin kind of got stuck to the dish. I'm sure it'll come off after a good soak.

The salmon didn't seem to care that I used 2 tablespoons of lemon juice rather than "juice of 1/2 a lemon"

Roasted Potatoes, Carrots, Parsnips, and Brussels Sprouts (originally posted here)

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 medium carrots (about 3/4 pound), cut into 1 1/2-inch thick circles
• 1 1/2 cups Brussels sprouts (about 1/2 pound), halved
• 4 cups red bliss potatoes (about 1 pound), cut into 1 1/2-inch thick slices
• 3 medium parsnips (about1 pound), cut into 1 1/2-inch thick slices
• 1 cup sweet potatoes (about 1 pound), cut into 1 1/2-inch thick slices
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Grease an 11 by 17-inch baking sheet pan with extra-virgin olive oil. Place vegetables in baking sheet and add the dried herbs, salt and pepper. Toss well, evenly coating all the vegetables with the seasonings and oil. Add more oil if the vegetables seem dry.

Spread the vegetables evenly on a large baking sheet. Place on middle rack in oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

• I didn't quite follow the directions as far as amounts go...I used 3 parsnips, 3 carrots, 4 red potatoes, roughly 15 Brussels sprouts, and 1 sweet potato.

  
  

  

  All cut up! Isaac got me a really nice 8" chef's knife for Christmas, so I made quick work of all of the vegetables.

  
  

  

  All of the spices and the olive oil. Despite my lack of sea salt and fresh ground pepper, the vegetables tasted fine.

  
  

  • • 

      Everyone in the baking pan, ready to go in the oven! I found that mixing the olive oil and spices in a separate bowl and then tossing it into the vegetables made things pretty easy.

      
      
      
    • Everything! I had some mandarin oranges, too. And a huge glass of milk. I was very happy.

A Refreshing Side or Snack

Today I made Indian food (and fish) for the first time in my life! But that's not what this post is about (I'll talk about that adventure later). This post is about something I made just over a week ago. We decided to have taco night, and I thought that it was a good excuse to try out a recipe that I've had in my recipe box for some time. It looks great, tastes fresh, and is really refreshing on a hot day. Here's the recipe! (and a picture of how it looked when I made it)

Mediterranean Barley Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup barley
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 7 sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (I used white vinegar)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped black olives
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

1. Bring barley and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the barley is tender, but still slightly firm in the center, about 30 minutes. Drain and cool to room temperature in a bowl.
2. Puree the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and balsamic vinegar in a blender until smooth. Pour over the barley. Fold in the cilantro, olives, and remaining olive oil until blended. Cover, and refrigerate until cold. Stir before serving.
3. • 
     
   • 

Potatoes!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/rosemary-red-potatoes/Detail.aspx

Cooking for my Family

It's been a while since I've updated this blog! I've finally finished my first year of law school, so now I have time to get back to cooking (or, you know, watching season after season of How I Met Your Mother and playing Call of Duty, but anyway...). I've been out of school for just over a week, and I have yet to cook anything other than pirogies or microwave food. But tomorrow, my family is coming up to have dinner! We were going to eat in my sun room, but the forecast says it's going to be 49 degrees tomorrow (boo), so the plans to grill burgers and eat them in the sun room are sort of out the window. Instead, we're going to try slow cooking some peachy pulled pork for the main course, with sides of rosemary garlic roasted potatoes and lemon chive brussels sprouts (the second recipe in the link), and I might make lemon drop cookies for dessert.

If it goes well, I'll post the recipes I used!

Now, off to clean my entire house...

Also, I might try to make a lettuce soup tonight to use up some leftover lettuce...when I lived in France, my host mother used to make it all the time, and I loved it. Unfortunately, she never gave me the recipe, despite my requests for it. So, I grabbed this recipe, and if I can get myself out of my house to get a potato, I'll make it tonight.

Carrot Cake

Nothing better than baking at midnight on a Thursday.

I made this: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Carrot-Cake-III/Detail.aspx

You should make it, too. It's easy, and there's nothing better than shredding carrots for a little bit of productive stress relief!

Something I Did

Every once in a while I get a little stir crazy, especially when I'm in high-stress situations for a long period of time. I've found that the best way to resolve those situations is to change something about myself.

When I wrote my senior thesis, I dyed half of my hair blue.

Last semester, I got another earring.

This semester, I was feeling that stir craziness again. I can't exactly dye my hair some odd color, because it's interview season and I have a feeling that lawyers would be hesitant to take a girl with purple hair as an intern. And frankly, I don't think I can put many more holes in my ears. So...what to do what to do? I pondered this question as the creeping blackness of law school doldrums crept up behind me. And then it occurred to me: my hair is terribly, terribly long. So long, in fact, that I could cut almost a foot off and still maintain a girly hairstyle. And this long hair, as pretty as it is, has lately been nothing more than a nuisance. Solution: cut it all off!

But Erica, you have such lovely hair...what a waste. Not quite! I had enough hair that I could cut it off and donate it to Locks of Love, which is an organization that makes wigs out of donated hair for children suffering from long-term medical hair loss. I figured that the hair that was a nuisance to me would be a blessing to someone else.

So. Here is where I started:

Tons and tons of hair

All gone!

That came off of my head! Now on to someone else's head...

The finished product.

Overall, that was one of the most fulfilling feelings I've ever had. Hopefully I'll have the opportunity to do it again. (That, and everyone keeps telling me how "adorable" my short hair looks. That is also nice.)