Ever since the Julia and Julia release, I have had an urge to try my hand at a Julia Child’s recipe. With neither the time nor the skill nor a well stocked kitchen, I haven’t quite made it there. The other night, I was dreamily staring at the Chocolate Whiskey & Beer Cupcakes on Smitten Kitchen and clicked around a bit to find a mushroom bourguignon recipe. Much simpler and quicker than the original Julia Child’s version with beef. Even better, I love mushrooms of all kinds, but especially portobellos and criminis.
I halved the recipe found on Smitten Kitchen (by the way, truly amazing) and made a few small changes- including no thyme.
- 1 TBSP olive oil, divided
- 1 TBSP butter, divided
- 1 pound mushrooms- 2 portobello caps and “a bunch” of cremini mushrooms
- 1/3 carrot, diced
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1 cups beef broth
- 1 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup pearl onions
I followed the directions exactly, including the cook times, and the end result was a beautifully thick sauce full of mushroom goodness. Now for some food porn thanks to my new camera.
Don’t worry, I drank some of that wine too. Not sure why you would be worried? Sauteing vegetables.
Pearl onions
Steamy bowl. I served it over about a half serving of whole wheat penne.
While the mushrooms simmered away, I decided I needed to make a green, too. I bought kale for the first time this week and wanted to make kale chips (sooo food blog of me). Ashley of edible perspective posted a recipe for salt and vinegar kale chips that caught my eye.
In order to “evenly disperse” the oil and vinegar, I used a pastry brush since I thought pouring it over the top would go poorly…. or should I say pourly? They were extra crispy (I may have over done it) but very tasty, with a flavor reminiscent of cabbage. I will be making this more often and experimenting with various toppings.
All in all, two succesful food experiemnts gone right! Now, I just need to learn how to say the word “bourguignon” instead of pronouncing it like “bore-gig-ni… or whatever.” 😉
Today was hectic and I didn’t take pictures of nearly anything I had! I ate an apple and some pretzels mid-morning, my oats didn’t hold me over as well today. I should have added peanut butter or some other source of protein or fat to keep me full. Lunch was a freezer special:
The stats were okay (mostly don’t like that sodium), but the taste was great!
I took these pictures while it was warming up in the microwave, and then blanked on taking a real picture.
I had half a Luna bar as soon as I came home because I was hungry and going to run. I also ate one of the chocolates my mom sent me in a Valentine’s box. What else was in that package?!? NEW CAMERA!!! 😀 😀 😀 Stay tuned, great pictures coming later tonight! Now, first things first, the gym for a 30 minute run.
By the time my Green Monster digested and I was hungry again, it was going on 8 PM and I had a cover letter to finish. As much as I would have rather spent time in the kitchen, I do need to find a job! I went with a simple 2 egg, spinach, tomato, onion, and Laughing Cow omelet alongside an English muffin with jam. If you’ve been reading along, that’s 3 or 4 servings of spinach yesterday!
This morning, my thoughts were all about the blueberries again. Yesterday I said the oatmeal was reminiscent of blueberry crisp, so I used that as inspiration and made blueberry crisp oats.
First, I cooked the following over medium heat:
- 1/4 cup oats (I usually use 1/3 but planned on other add-ins)
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 banana
- 1/2 c. blueberries (I said I used 1 c. yesterday?? Lies, definitely more like 1/2)
I didn’t even need cinnamon or vanilla with the fruit sugars. The blueberries added a purple hue to the oats.
The cooked oat and fruit mixture went into an oven-safe bowl and I topped it with about a tablespoon or two of granola and a few pinches of brown sugar, sprinkled around evenly. I popped it under the broiler for about 5 minutes or less, checking it every so often so it was ‘crisped’ and not burned. The end product:
Maybe it’s not as sugary as the dessert kind but this worked for breakfast. I didn’t want the bowl to end and ate it very slowly to savor the crispy top. I want to experiment and make the top crispier, but that might necessitate more sugar than I want to add in breakfast.
Time to work! I skipped coffee today and I’m definitely noticing it (it’s been daily for a few weeks now), a trip to the campus coffee shop might be in my near future. Or maybe I should go to bed earlier tonight and just give myself the sleep I really need!
Enjoy your Wednesday!
