more than just dumplings

Wisdom Toothy Smoothie

tdumpling — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:08:46 +0000

So, since I’ve been relegated to drinking my food, I’ve been trying to find a good smoothie. Milkshakes are too sweet and not that healthy for day after day consumption unless I’m looking to take up Sumo wrestling. I tried a berry one, but since the blended berries got stuck in my teeth and flossing really hurts and keeps making me bleed…well, you get the idea. I needed something healthy, tasty and easy to make. Really easy to make. I’m still dopey, you know.

Here’s what I’ve come up with:

3 ice cubes
small banana
1/2 small container plain non-fat yogurt (3 oz)
two tablespoons of Ovaltine powder (chocolate malt, baby!)
two teaspoons of peanutbutter
splash of skim milk

Throw it in the blender and do it up!

Filed under: recipes, sort of healthy Tagged: chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie, ovaltine, wisdom teeth

My Oral Surgeon Can Bite Me

tdumpling — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 23:07:32 +0000

On Friday, I did something that I’ve been putting off for over a decade. I got my wisdom teeth out. All four. Impacted. One growing sideways (which required some fake bone). At the age of 31. I hate the dentist to begin with…the regular cleaning makes me curl into a ball, so this is a special sort of hell. (Honestly, the only reason I’m writing this is because after four days of doing very little but hold ice packs, gently rinsing and spacing out on painkillers, I’m damn bored.)

My husband has been great–although the jerk doesn’t have any wisdom teeth so he doesn’t know what this is all about. But he even offered to watch football on the small TV so he could keep me company. The pain has been very strange…my tongue and gums are so swollen that I feel like my mouth has taken over my entire body. My jaw is sore and i can barely open my mouth enough to gently brush my teeth as instructed.

Let me tell you, I’d kill a man and a small kitty for a grilled cheese right now. I’ve had my fill of mashed potatoes, lukewarm soup, smoothies and polenta. My co-worker gave me the good idea of Slim-Fast shakes, but even those lost their luster very soon. At first I thought this would be a great diet, a nice opportunity to get creative with cooking. Aside from pureeing a healthy version of creamed spinach, there wasn’t a whole lot of creativity to be had.

Yesterday I woke up and the pain was worse. Excuse me? Three days in and it gets worse? Budgeting my Vicodin to get me through today was…painful, pun intended. I called at 8:30 a.m. to see what could me done, but no dentist was available to consult with until an appointment tomorrow at 9am. I just got a call today at 5:46 p.m. and hallelujiah, more pain killers! That’s a start…

However, I’m afraid I’m going to permanently look like an Asian chipmunk who lisps because my inner cheek is keeping me from enunciating my words.

Filed under: blitherings Tagged: oral surgery, wisdom teeth removal

Baking is…complicated!

tdumpling — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 02:07:16 +0000

For our wedding, a friend gave me a copy of Baking Illustrated, apparently the Bible of baking. She was probably tired of my panicked emails saying, “why did my cookies come out like muffins????” and “Uh…is it supposed to look like this?” complete with pictures. I started reading it this morning, and have now realized that baking is complicated. The writers launch into protein content of flour and the acidic and alkaline properties of things like baking powder, soda and cream of tartar.

So far I have learned that I’ve been storing my cornmeal and whole wheat flour incorrectly (did you know that if you don’t store it in airtight containers in the freezer, it can go rancid?!), using old butter, and putting my eggs in the wrong place in the fridge. I wonder if I might have inadvertently poisoned everyone I love over the years.

However, I’ve also learned about how to properly measure sifted flour, that there really is no difference in light or dark brown sugar, and that true Irish soda bread doesn’t have eggs in it. I just hit the yeast bread section and already have a long list of things to make–blueberry muffins, homemade pretzels, the previously mentioned Irish soda bread…and I’m only 70 pages in!

While I try to make cooking recipes my own, the scientific explanations in this book make me think that meddling with a baking recipe might not be the best idea. With my luck, I’ll wind up with a flat cake heavy as a rock, and smooshy muffins.

Filed under: blitherings Tagged: baking, baking illustrated

Shrimp & “Polenta Grits”

tdumpling — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 00:55:31 +0000

For Christmas, a friend gave us a cookbook for newlyweds full of good recipes. The shrimp and grits one sounded really good, and looked sort of fancy…something that might win me good wife points. Of course, I have to make it my own by tweaking things a little bit, and replacing some thing to make it healthier. So, here’s my slightly healthier version.

half a pound of shrimp, de-shelled and de-veined
1/2 c yellow cornmeal
1 c skim milk
2 1/4 c fat free chicken broth
1/3 c low fat cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
4-5 piece of turkey bacon
1-2 tbs EVOO
1/2 scallions, chopped
3/4 c chopped peppers–we used red and green
1/2 c or small can of mushrooms
2 tbs flour
salt and pepper to taste

Bring milk and 1 1/4 c of the chicken broth to a boil. Stir in cornmeal and stir regularly for 15-20 minutes.

Cook the bacon in the olive oil until crisp, allowing the bacon to flavor the oil. Remove bacon and set aside on a paper towel. Add the peppers and saute for 3-4 minutes over medium heat. Add scallions and mushrooms, saute another 2 minutes. Add shrimp, and cook for 2-3 minutes until pink. Stir in flour until everything is well coated. Add remaining 1c of chicken broth and stir slowly until “gravy” thickens a bit. Turn heat to low for another minute. Add salt and pepper to taste.

When polenta has reached desired consistency, stir in cheddar cheese and red pepper. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Dish polenta out, and cover with shrimp and vegetable mixture–be generous with the gravy! Crumble bacon on top and serve hot.

Filed under: comfort food, main meals, recipes, sort of healthy Tagged: healthy recipes, polenta healthy dinner, shrimp and grits, shrimp recipe

New Year’s Dumplings

tdumpling — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 18:41:43 +0000

Yes, I made a bunch. Here’s the recipe.

Filed under: asian goodness, recipes Tagged: dumplings, new year's

Butternut Squash and Turkey Sausage Lasagna

tdumpling — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:07:10 +0000

Last winter, my friend sent me a pumpkin and sausage lasagna recipe from Rachael Ray (who, as a side note, I sort of hate). My friend had made some brilliant alterations to it like using butternut squash and adding kale. So, I altered it a little more to add some spice and here you go:

2-3 lb butternut squash
3 cups chicken broth
1 package spicy turkey sausage
1 large bunch of kale
3 cups skim milk, heated
1/4 cup butter
4 tbsp white flour
whole wheat lasagna noodles
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4-1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp nutmeg (split)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp honey
1/2 cup reduced fat Italian cheese blend
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
olive oil for drizzling
salt and black pepper to taste
parsley

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Halve the squash lengthwise, drizzle with olive oil, black pepper and salt. Place open face down in a pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until soft enough to scoop. While it’s cooking, cut up the sausage and kale. Saute together with black pepper and a little salt. Let simmer on warm. Boil and rinse lasagna noodles according to package (I usually make 11–9 for the lasagna with two backups because I always tear one! The dog gets leftovers.) Melt butter over medium heat and blend with flour, then add the hot milk, black pepper, salt, 1/4 tsp nutmeg and a little cayenne. Stir often over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until it thickens some into a nice bechamel sauce. Once the squash is done, flip it and stab it a few times so it cools faster. Scoop out the meat into a large saucepan, add the chicken broth, honey, some nutmeg and 1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne and the cumin. Heat for about 10 minutes over medium to let the flavors come together. Then using an immersion blender, or in batches in traditional blender, puree the squash mixture. Pour a little into the bottom of your baking pan. Layer lasagna noodles, add a little more squash mixture, some of the bechamel and half of the sausage and kale mixture. Sprinkle half the Italian cheese and 1/3 of the Parmesan, half the red pepper flakes and then add a little more of both sauces. Add another layer of noodles and repeat. Add your third layer of noodles, pour the rest of the squash mixture over the entire thing, drizzle some more of the bechamel (you may not use it all), and sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle the top with the parsley, cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and broil for 5 minutes. Remove from over, let set for 5-10 minutes and serve. It take a while to make, but it’s so damn good. And…as lasagnas go, not that bad for you!

Filed under: comfort food, main meals, recipes Tagged: butternut squash, butternut squash and sausage lasagna, comfort food, fall recipes

Yoda’s a Lucky Car

tdumpling — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 22:02:54 +0000

So here in CT, we were walloped by a winter storm. This morning, this is what we woke up to:

There’s a tree. Fallen. To the right of it is my car, Yoda the Toyota. Talk about a close call. The man clearing off my car is the new husband. I think I’ll keep him.

Filed under: blitherings, new england Tagged: connecticut snow, near misses, october snowstorm