3 Tbsp olive oil

1 large leek

2 lbs chicken (I like thighs because they’re juicier and more flavorful, but breasts will also work well)

1 tub Knorr Chicken Homestyle Stock concentrate

2 cups pomegranate juice

8 oz walnuts

1/4 tsp cardamom

basmati [...]]]> Chicken stewed in a gravy of pomegranate and ground walnuts

Ingredients

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 large leek

2 lbs chicken (I like thighs because they’re juicier and more flavorful, but breasts will also work well)

1 tub Knorr Chicken Homestyle Stock concentrate

2 cups pomegranate juice

8 oz walnuts

1/4 tsp cardamom

basmati rice, prepared

Directions

1. Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat
2. Thinly slice and caramelize the leeks, and brown the chicken. Make sure the leeks are well caramelized, releasing all their sugars. This will help to counteract the tartness of the pomegranate juice.
3. Add one tub of Knorr Chicken Homestyle Stock concentrate and thin with the pomegranate juice.
4. Grind the walnuts to the size of breadcrumbs in a food processor, and add to the pot along with the cardamom.
5. Cover and allow to simmer for approximately 20 minutes. Cook time will vary, just make sure the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165°.
6. Shred or cut chicken into bite size pieces and stir back into gravy. Remove the lid to allow the gravy to further reduce. It should be thick enough to sit on top of the rice rather than run right through.
7. Serve on basmati rice.

Notes:

• If the gravy is a little too tart, add a tablespoon of sugar, but not too much. This isn’t supposed to be dessert.
• Cooking the chicken in larger pieces results in juicier meat, but if you are in a hurry, cut the chicken into bite sized pieces before browning, and do not cover while simmering to significantly cut the required cooking time.

This isn’t a pretty dish, but it’s yummy. In fact, you might even find yourself closing your eyes as you enjoy it.

———–

FTC disclaimer: I received free product from Knorr for use in creating this recipe.

Ina Garten’s Ultimate Ginger Cookie

Ingredients 2 1/4 [...]]]> Ginger helps more than anything when chemo brings on nausea. My mom came across this recipe for ginger cookies while watching the Barefoot Contessa on TV. She made up a batch last night, and they are perfect. Real ginger flavor, plenty of spice, soft, hearty.

Ina Garten’s Ultimate Ginger Cookie

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
1 extra-large egg, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups chopped crystallized ginger (6 ounces)
Granulated sugar, for rolling the cookies

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and salt and then combine the mixture with your hands. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the brown sugar, oil, and molasses on medium speed for 5 minutes. Turn the mixer to low speed, add the egg, and beat for 1 minute. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat for 1 more minute. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the crystallized ginger and mix until combined.

Scoop the dough with 2 spoons or a small ice cream scoop. With your hands, roll each cookie into a 1 3/4-inch ball and then flatten them lightly with your fingers. Press both sides of each cookie in granulated sugar and place them on the sheet pans. Bake for exactly 13 minutes. The cookies will be crackled on the top and soft inside. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 1 to 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Thanks, Mom, these cookies made my day.

CONTEST RULES O Foods Contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and for the second year in a row, Sara [...]]]>
I’m still mulling recipe ideas for the O Foods Contest, but in the meantime, I’ll go ahead and post this notice to spread the word.

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and for the second year in a row, Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy and Michelle of Bleeding Espresso are hosting the O Foods Contest to raise awareness of this important health issue.

There are TWO WAYS to take part in the O Foods Contest:

ONE: Post a recipe to your blog using a food that starts or ends with the letter O (e.g., oatmeal, orange, okra, octopus, olive, onion, potato, tomato); include this entire text box in the post; and send your post url along with a photo (100 x 100) to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on Monday, September 28, 2009.

PRIZES for recipe posts:

• 1st: Signed copy of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen by Gina DePalma, Executive Pastry Chef of Babbo Ristorante in NYC, who is currently battling ovarian cancer, inspired this event, and will be choosing her favorite recipe for this prize;

• 2nd: Signed copy of Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home by Mario Batali (winner chosen by Sara);

• 3rd: Signed copy of Vino Italiano: The Regional Italian Wines of Italy by Joseph Bastianich (winner chosen by Michelle).

TWO: If you’re not into the recipe thing, simply post this entire text box in a post on your blog to help spread the word and send your post url to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on Monday, September 28, 2009.

Awareness posts PRIZE:

• One winner chosen at random will receive a Teal Toes tote bag filled with ovarian cancer awareness goodies that you can spread around amongst your friends and family.

———

From the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund:

• Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women; a woman’s lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is 1 in 67.
• The symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague and subtle, making it difficult to diagnose, but include bloating, pelvic and/or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly; and urinary symptoms (urgency or frequency).
• There is no effective screening test for ovarian cancer but there are tests which can detect ovarian cancer when patients are at high risk or have early symptoms.
• In spite of this, patients are usually diagnosed in advanced stages and only 45% survive longer than five years. Only 19% of cases are caught before the cancer has spread beyond the ovary to the pelvic region.
• When ovarian cancer is detected and treated early on, the five-year survival rate is greater than 92%.

And remember, you can also always donate to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund at our page through FirstGiving!

Gina of Lattes and Lipstick (which I’m adding to my rss reader right now) is raising money to pay for her husband’s cancer treatment by compiling and selling an [...]]]> Tricia at Shout brought this story to my attention and I want to repeat it here to do my part in helping spread the word.

Gina of Lattes and Lipstick (which I’m adding to my rss reader right now) is raising money to pay for her husband’s cancer treatment by compiling and selling an eBook of recipes.

I know I have a lot of foodie friends out there, a lot of friends whose lives have been touched by cancer, and a lot of friends with really big hearts. I hope together we can make a difference for this family.

Their Story:

Our names are George & Gina Williamson. We have been married for nearly 17 years. When George turned 50 he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. After radical surgery and painful radiation failed to cure his cancer, George opted to take an alternative route using diet and supplementation. His health greatly improved and he has felt better than he has in years. As he puts it, he is a “specimen of health” outside of cancer. However, his PSA levels did still continue to rise over the next several years.

In 2007 we victoriously enjoyed a Cancer Survivor Day Cruise. George was in his 6th year of survivorship at this point, surprising the doctors that he had made it this far, with no symptoms- and no metastasis. But still that pesky PSA rising…

In spite of uncertainties we have opted to enjoy life to its fullest- because none of us have tomorrow guaranteed, anyway! George just had a birthday- he is now 57.

He also just had some scans done after a pretty substantial PSA jump. For the first time, there is visible metastasis in his hip bone.

Why am I telling you all this??

Because of our belief in following a more natural path toward healing (and because of the lack of any curative options from the medical world), we have determined that George will be treated at an alternative treatment center in California- www.issels.com.

However, because it is alternative, insurance will NOT pay for it, and payment is required up front, in full. We are not wealthy people- as aren’t most people!

Therefore, we have realized that if this is going to be a reality, we need to be CREATIVE.

An idea occurred to me one day while I was brushing my teeth…

If I were to sell SOMETHING of SOME VALUE for only $1.00 and I sold 20,000 of it that would be $20,000-and that would be just about enough to send my husband to this treatment center.

BUT WHAT???

And then it hit me-

RECIPES!!

Everyone loves to share recipes.
So I have chosen to compile a collection of recipes from “Friends of George”
and sell them for only $1.00.
And every penny goes directly into a fund solely created to send my husband to this treatment center.
Hey…
It might sound crazy.
But it might be crazy enough to work.
And I’m crazy enough about this guy to do anything to keep him around-for a very long time.

Friend, can you spare $1.00

Pass It On.
_________________________________________

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Come on, there has to be at least one instance in all your life when you wanted some dessert but couldn’t bear the thought of another bite of that Alaskan-sized sheet-cake.

Ok, well that’s the situation I found myself in this week.

We had another graduation party for [...]]]> What? You’ve never had that problem?

Come on, there has to be at least one instance in all your life when you wanted some dessert but couldn’t bear the thought of another bite of that Alaskan-sized sheet-cake.

Ok, well that’s the situation I found myself in this week.

We had another graduation party for Mr. H tonight and I was on deck to bring the dessert. We had plenty of sheet cake left from parties earlier in the week. I couldn’t bear to eat another bite of cake, but it just seemed too wasteful to throw it all away.

lightbulb!

I sliced up a couple pounds of strawberries that needed to be eaten up anyways. Instead of putting sugar on them, I doused them liberally with Godiva liqueur (mom calls this “medicine,” we both make sure to have a bottle handy in case of emergencies).

While I let the strawberries soak in their chocolate hooch. I whipped up a pint of whipping cream with yet a little more Godiva Liqueur – again no sugar, it wasn’t necessary.

Quantities? I have no idea. Just added till I felt like it might be enough.

Then I took a bowl and made a deep layer of leftover cake, topped it with a layer of drunk strawberries and then topped that with a layer of drunk whipped cream and repeated until everything was gone.

oh my goodness, I think I’ve got a buzz. Not sure if its a sugar buzz or from all the booze, but I think I’ll wait a while before dribing home.

So next time I have leftover costco cake from any kind of event, I know what I’m going to do with it. But next time I think I’ll remove a lot of the frosting, that just got in the way.

_________________________________________

Other CoffeeJitters recipes:

• Fried Bananas
• Curried Chicken and Lentil Soup
• Spiced Chocolate Chip Cookies

_________________________________________

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I rummaged through the pantry and pulled together what items I had on hand and [...]]]>
Cookies and Milk, originally uploaded by coffeejitters.

Tonight I was in need of cookies. Desperate need of cookies. Not just any cookies, I needed chocolate chip cookies. But then I wanted something a little less ordinary too…

I rummaged through the pantry and pulled together what items I had on hand and found a collection I thought might be nice in chocolate chip cookies, that included pecans and coconut as well.

My package of chocolate chips was from Safeway’s O Organics line and had an interesting recipe on the back so I used that as a starting point. I used that as a starting point because, of course, I cannot follow directions from start to finish, I have to make it my own.

Here is the O Organics “Really Delicious Organic Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies” Recipe as it is written on the back of the label:

1/2 lb butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed golden brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp powdered ginger
2 1/2 cups quick rolled oats
1 cup O Organics chocolate chips
1 cup raisins
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans

Here’s what I used:
1/2 lb butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed golden brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cardamom
2 tsp powdered ginger
2 cups quick rolled oats
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup coconut
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Obviously the changes were not drastic, but the cardamom really brightens up the flavor of the cookie.

The remaider of the directions follow standard cookie baking conventions.

Preheat oven to 375
cream butter with sugars on low speed until blended. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Slowly add powdered indgredients until incorporated. Add oats, coconut, chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

Obviously my changes to the cookie recipe were not that drastic, but the cardamom really brightens up the flavor of the cookie and adds a bit of an exotic dimension.

Unfortunately, I think it needed salt and maybe a little extra something for crunch. Maybe next time I will crumble up some potato chips and add it to the batter.

Don’t think I’m kidding, that sounds yummy!

I simmered the lentils in the chicken stock, chopped and [...]]]>
curried chicken and lentil soup, originally uploaded by coffeejitters.

What does a starving student cook when the pantry’s paltry offerings are little more than leftover chicken, lentils, chicken stock and some leftover vegetables? This starving student made curried chicken and lentil soup.

I simmered the lentils in the chicken stock, chopped and added the chicken, seasoned with curry and cinnamon (the secret ingredient and key to this soup), and then added the veggies shortly before serving. The entire dish took about 20 minutes to complete. A quick and easy dinner that was absolutely delicious.

Last night my dear Mr. H bought me a George Foreman Grill – and then we went out and bought steaks and veggies and had ourselves a little balcony BBQ. Yummy.

I think I’m gonna be playing with this bad boy a lot this summer (and the grill [...]]]> I’m a happy, happy girl.

Last night my dear Mr. H bought me a George Foreman Grill – and then we went out and bought steaks and veggies and had ourselves a little balcony BBQ. Yummy.

I think I’m gonna be playing with this bad boy a lot this summer (and the grill too).