Monday, May 21, 2012

weekend review: kitchen courage

This weekend I put on my big girl pants and tackled cooking two foods I love, but have always been intimidated to attempt in my own kitchen: scallops and artichokes.

I rocked them both - and you should too.

Figure 1. Friday night's dinner: scallops with spinach and paprika syrup (you will want to drink this syrup) and tomato and olive couscous (see recipe below).


Tomato and Olive Couscous (Serves ~4)

Ingredients:
1.5 cups couscous, prepared
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped grape tomatoes
1/4 cup kalamata olives
1/4 tsp sat

Cook 1-1.5 cups of couscous according to package directions. Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 cup chopped red onion, 1/2 cup chopped grape tomatoes, 1/4 cup chopped kalamta olives, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add red onions, saute 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and olives, saute about 4 minutes more or until tender. Toss with couscous.

Figure 2. In preparation: sun-dried tomato and feta stuffed artichokes. Don't be afraid, it isn't that hard - I used this artichoke preparation tutorial.


Figure 4. Sunday afternoon baking: flax-seed whole wheat applesauce muffins.

Figure 5. Sunday night's dinner: quinoa mac and cheese (drool) and lemon and honey 
cabbage salad.

And to think I cooked this all for just myself, party of 1 style. Man, I'm good to myself.

20 comments:

  1. Wow, quinoa mac and cheese?!!! No way, I have to check that out! I have never tried scallops or artichoke, clearly I need to get more kitchen courage :)

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    1. yeah the mac and cheese was really amazing. and you get a huge portion for the recommended serving size of only ~330 calories!

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  2. I've always wanted to make artichokes, but I've always felt like you don't really walk away with a decent amount of food from them. Are they actually filling or are you kind of left sucking out tiny pieces of food from a leaf?

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    1. i had this same fear. and i kept debating on whether i needed an additional side because i would not be satisfied. i actually with just this (large) artichoke and stuffing (1 cup of stuffing with cheese is pretty substantial here) and the asparagus i was quite satisfied. if you didn't stuff your artichoke i could see it leaving you hungry...but a substantial filling with whole wheat bread (like this one) or quinoa or other grains makes it a meal. plus it is fun to eat!

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  3. I've got no kitchen courage... I've never had artichokes but they look really intimidating. All spikey and shit. I LOVE SCALLOPS THOUGH, but I don't get to eat them often.

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    1. haha yes, artichokes are spikey and shit. :) you have to cut off the spikey with scissors first!

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  4. According to my mother, I used to love scallops. As a vegetarian who eats white fish and tuna (no labels needed) I shy away from anything like scallops, but who knows what the future holds. Artichokes on the other hand are no stranger to me. I love them dipped in mustard and topping my pizza.
    Also quinoa mac and cheese? I am SO skeeved out by the texture of quinoa, but that might just be going on my 'to try' list so I can get over that. Quinoa is quite good for you.

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    1. the quinoa mac and cheese is really great. and the texture is a bit different because it is baked.

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  5. Kudos to you for tackling your foodie fears! I have a lot of dishes that I would like to try, but am intimidated by them. Artichokes are definitely on that list!

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    1. the artichokes weren't nearly as hard as i had envisioned. just patience, like jennie said.

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  6. Good for you! I was really scared of scallops and artichokes, too, but they are not so hard to cook at all :-) Actually, I've found that artichokes don't require additional cooking skill, but a lot of patience!

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    1. agreed! actually the scallops were really simple (i think the key is just to not over cook them) and yes, the artichokes just require patience, but really not a lot of skill. :)

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  7. Ah getting to grips with preparing artichokes is definitely on my to-do list but mysteriously keeps getting pushed down further and further...haha. You are encouraging me to maybe finally get on it! I love the sound of the quinoa mac'n'cheese - I saw on Twitter that you were making that and was hoping you'd blog the link!

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    1. do it lady. they aren't that hard. and the quinoa mac and cheese is definitely a MUST MAKE.

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  8. I loveeeeeeeee scallops, yum! And quinoa mac n cheese?! Count me in.

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  9. Quinoa mac and cheese looks SO awesome!

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  10. Is that Iowa Girl Eat's quinoa mac n cheese? I want to make that so bad! I recommended it to my Dad and he gave me this "there's only so far I'll go for you, kid" look.
    Perhaps I'll have to bring it up again, because it looks Amaaazing

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    1. yes, it is! soo good and i think your dad just might like it!

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  11. Scallops are the best! Its always my dad's signature meal

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  12. this looks great! I am gonna take this idea for fathers day, he loves Quinoa.

    xo Nav
    http://navlandstyle.blogspot.ca/

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