Best...Onion Rings...EVER

Just to check off an item on the Western Mass. to-do list, Chris and I went to the St. Patrick's Parade in Holyoke. After New York City, it's the second largest St. Patrick's Parade in the country (I would have thought Boston, but no).

On our way, we stopped at Nick's Nest on Northampton Street. It's a cute little luncheonette that has changed little since the 1940's. We had their signature steamed hotdogs, which were good but not particularly worthy of raves. But the onion rings, oh the onion rings...those were awesome. The rings were made of whole slices of onion, not diced onions mashed together, the breading was perfectly crispy and not too greasy, and the portions were generous. The onion rings were made to order, but only took a couple minutes to come out.

After agreeing that these were the best onion rings we'd ever had, we got another order to take to the parade with us. 2 hotdogs, 2 orders of onion rings, and drinks, came out to less than $15.

My favorite dinner, entirely from from Trader Joe's

I love Trader Joe's. Pretty much anyone who has been to a Trader Joe's will tell you they love it. It's really good food for surprisingly little money.
Sadly, I'm about an hour away from either of the nearest TJ's, West Hartford, CT, (across the way from the Westfarms Mall) and Hadley, MA (next to the Hampshire Mall on route 9).
I see a doctor in Northampton for integrative medicine, so every couple months, while I'm up in that area anyhow, I go to TJ's and stock up like mad on whole wheat pasta, nuts, dried cranberries, castille soap (entirely natural/cruelty-free/non-toxic, doesn't dry my skin out, and can be used to get wax off fruits and veggies), and the all-natural powdered detergent which is eco-friendly and fragrance free (my skin is absurdly sensitive, so I need fragrance free) and about $10 for a box that does about 80 loads.
Having spent a long day out of the house (it takes at least 2 hours on the bus system to get there, though Chris picks me up after), I want something easy for dinner--something so easy, even Chris could do it. Here it is.

*Rice (we get slow-cook brown rice, but TJ's also carries microwaveable heat-and-eat rice in the freezer case)

*Mandarin Orange Chicken (in the freezer case)

*"Harvest Hodgepodge" frozen vegetable blend (which includes peppers, water chestnuts, and mini corns, so it's like authentic Chinese restaurant veggies.)


If you are doing slow-cook rice, start it first. If you are doing heat-and-eat rice, do it last.

Cook the Madarin Orange Chicken chunks according to the oven directions.

Set aside the sauce packets from the Mandarin Orange Chicken

When there's about 5 minutes left for the chicken, warm a a couple tablespoons vegetable oil in a skillet, and stir-fry the vegetables according to the package directions.

When the veggies look mostly done, add the sauce packets to the skillet, and stir.

When the chicken is done in the oven, transfer the chunks to the skillet and toss until uniformly coated in sauce.

Serve over rice.
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Googling " Trader Joe's Mandarin Orange Chicken " (not in quotes) generates over 7,000 results. Looking around, it's apparent that people really love this stuff. According to Trader Joe's and cited in Gourmet News, an industry newspaper, Mandarin Orange Chicken is the #1 favorite product of Trader Joe's customers.

Besides the official Trader Joe's website, there is a fan site (hmm...what doesn't have a fan site out there on the wild wild web?)

http://www.traderjoesfan.com/ which has helpful reviews, and could have been a major time sucker for me if I let it.

Tofu Salad

I bought more tofu than was wise on sale last month, and I can't serve it for dinner, because Chris won't eat it. So I went in search of what to do with it, and came across the concept of Tofu Salad, the easiest way ever to use tofu.

Like egg, ham, chicken, or tuna salad, it's a mash up of a protein source (the tofu) and a mayonnaise-based dressing. Unlike the others, Tofu Salad will not have cholesterol unless the mayonnaise does. It is most like egg salad in texture, but quicker to make because you don't have to boil and peel the eggs.

I was severely lazy when I made mine this morning, so I made a very basic version of it. I didn't feel like chopping anything else.

Take a block of tofu (I had extra firm), drain it, and chop it (I used my round manual chopper) until it's medium-sized crumbles.
Add an amount of mayonnaise that is to your liking.
Add lemon juice to taste (a couple quick squirts from the bottle, for me)
I added brown mustard, but that is optional.

Suggested ingredients to mix in include green onions, apple chunks, celery, raisins, dried cranberries, nuts... whatever one would put in a chicken or tuna salad. I used flax seeds because they had been lurking in my fridge anyhow.

Beet it!

(OK, couldn't resist the corny 80's pun...)

I love the salad bar at Ruby Tuesday. The avocado ranch dressing, the multiple protein sources, the convenience of being in the mall, all endear me to it. But perhaps my favorite ingredient in the spread is the beets--cut into matchstick pieces, not the alternatingly limp or rigid slabs of magenta, but in the perfect form to sprinkle on the salad like confetti and coat with dressing.

I figured out how to make my own beet confetti at home.

You will need:
*an egg slicer
* a can of sliced beets

1. Drain the beets.
2. Lay up to 3 slices of beet on the slicer in the spot where an egg would fit
3. Slice the beets the same way as you would an egg.
4. Remove the beets slices you've done, repeat the process with the rest.

You may need to use your hands to push the beets through the wires if there's a particularly tough slice, but it's much quicker than using a knife, and it's nice to have another use for that egg slicer.

Did Nixon ever eat this stuff?

Digging through the magazine clippings and scribbled slips of paper that make up Mom's recipe collection...

The mid-20th century saw the invention of many modern artificial ingredients, and the resulting oddities that showcased them.
This at least has some actual fruit and nuts to redeem it. But, really, the highlight has to be the mini-marshmallows (the pastel multi-color kind, if you can find them).

Watergate Salad

1 20-oz. can of crushed pineapple (include liquid)
1 pkg. instant pistachio pudding mix
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 9oz. tub cool-whip

Mix all ingredients together and put into an oblong casserole
Put in fridge to set.

Red Pepper Bruschetta with Feta

I was looking for a dip to make for my family's potluck, and I found this one at http://www.condenet.com/promo/athenos/redpepper.html, a promotional recipe from Athenos feta.


Red Pepper Bruschetta with Feta

Prep: 20 minutes
Broil: 5 minutes

1 jar (7 oz.) roasted red peppers, drained, chopped
1 pkg. (4 oz.) ATHENOS Traditional Crumbled Feta Cheese, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 clove garlic, minced
Olive oil
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 loaf French bread, cut into 1/2-inch slices

MIX red peppers, feta cheese, onions, garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil and lemon juice; set aside. BRUSH bread slices lightly with additional olive oil. Place on cookie sheet. Broil on each side until lightly toasted. TOP each toast slice with about 1 tablespoon red pepper mixture. Makes about 1-1/2 dozen.

Great Substitute: Try ATHENOS Crumbled Feta Cheese with Peppercorn in place of Traditional Feta Cheese.



I pulsed the peppers, garlic, oil, and lemon juice in the blender, unfortunately, I rendered it too runny. I hand-stirred in the green onions and the feta, and added chopped black olives to adjust the texture.

The toasts were made from pre-sliced "bruschetta" bread, which I had purchased off the half price "Yesterday's Bread" rack at Stop and Shop. (They put those racks in the frozen food aisles. Clearance produce is always around the fish counter--nice to know when you want bananas ready to be made into banana bread.)
I also had made a hummus platter, with toasted whole wheat pita slices, and those were good in this dip too.

I love these guys!

Once more, I think I'm in love. The website is Cookography.com, produced by Luke and his wife Carolyn, who are based in the D.C. area, although Luke is originally from Western MA. The food is exquisite, and the lively conversational tone on the site makes me want to be friends with these folks, and, well, have dinner with them.

The best proof that Cookography's people are my soulmates is their Vermont Cheese Tour. I toured the Cabot cheese factory on my honeymoon. Great minds think alike and love cheese.

I want to conquer this recipe for Chicken Piccata with Prosciutto as soon as possible. Maybe Mom and I can bond this weekend and make it together. I can't wait; I am drooling in advance.

Chicken Piccata with Prosciutto
Ingredients:

2 large lemons
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (5 to 6 ounces each), fat trimmed
Salt and ground black pepper
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small shallot, minced, or 1 small garlic clove, minced or pressed through a garlic press
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons small capers, rinsed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 1 by 1/4-inch pieces
Directions:

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position, set a large heatproof serving or dinner plate on the rack, and heat the oven to 200 degrees.
Halve one lemon pole to pole. Trim the ends from one half and cut it crosswise into slices 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick; set aside. Juice the remaining half and whole lemon to obtain 1/4 cup juice; reserve.
Sprinkle both sides of the cutlets generously with salt and pepper. Measure the flour into a shallow baking dish or pie plate. Working with one cutlet at a time, coat with the flour and shake to remove the excess.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Lay half of the chicken cutlets in the skillet. Saute the cutlets until lightly browned on the first side, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Turn the cutlets and cook until the second side is lightly browned, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes longer. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the cutlets to the plate in the oven. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the now-empty skillet and heat until shimmering. Add the remaining chicken cutlets and repeat.
Add the prosciutto and shallot to the now-empty skillet and return the skillet to medium heat. Saute until fragrant and the prosciutto is just lightly crisped, about 45 seconds.
Add the broth and lemon slices, increase the heat to high, and scrape the pan bottom with a wooden spoon or spatula to loosen the browned bits. Simmer until the liquid reduces to about 1/3 cup, about 4 minutes.
Add the reserved lemon juice and capers and simmer until the sauce reduces again to 1/3 cup, about 1 minute.
Remove the pan from the heat and swirl in the butter until it melts and thickens the sauce. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve immediately.