Hands down, this is the easiest recipe on this site, with the fewest ingredients: one. I stumbled upon this recipe for banana ice cream on the same day I noticed a few sad bananas sitting in the kitchen, and it seemed too crazy-majickal to pass up. Freeze bananas, blend bananas. That’s pretty much it. It turns into “ice cream”. Really. The texture is awesome — not icy, not dry: creamy goodness without any cream. The original suggests blending until the consistency is like soft-serve ice cream, but I stopped blending sooner, as soon as the bananas formed a solid mass and jumped above the blades. If you have some over-ripe bananas in the kitchen and you’re not in the mood for banana bread, I highly recommend this treat.

Lisa:

What? It worked? No way!

Chris:

How crazy is this? It looks and feels just like ice cream!

Lisa:

If you don’t like the taste of bananas, though…

Chris:

Yeah, it’s banana-y. But if you don’t like that taste, I’d hope you wouldn’t prepare a recipe where that was the only ingredient.

Lisa:

Next time you should totally add in a little peanut butter or something.

Chris:

Honey might be good, too — yeah, let’s do it.

Lisa:

Wahoo! Also, I just realized you made it through this entire conversation without making any banana puns.

Chris:

Yeah, I didn’t see the a-peel.

Banana Ice Cream
2 over-ripe bananas
Optional: honey or peanut butter

Peel the bananas and cut into small pieces. Freeze for a few hours. Stick in a food processor and pulse until crumbly, scraping down the sides as needed.
At some point the bananas will turn from crumbles to a solid mass and rise above the blades (similar to making dough in a blender) — you’re done! Scoop into a bowl and enjoy!

It’s that time of year that some wait on pins-and-needles for… hatch chile season!  The roasters are out in full force at several grocery stores in the area, and with a freezer full of chiles, I wanted to find a recipe off the beaten “green chile stew”/”green chile enchiladas” path.  This recipe is adapted from Real Women Eat Chiles and has quite the eye-appealing presentation. Tilapia, catfish, or any other firm-fleshed whitefish is baked in a corn husk with freshly-cut corn, hatch chiles, green onions, and lime. Simple and delicious.

I promise not to make any corny puns in this recipe review. 

Lisa says:

I’m pretty sure that counts as one, so too late. 

Chris says:

Ah, crap. Oh well — so I was describing this dish to someone and he said it almost “sounds like a tamale”, which is exactly what it’s called in the book. 

Lisa says:

“Sounds like a tamale” is a strange name for this recipe.. 

Chris says:

Okay, *now* who’s being silly? Yeah, you. No, it’s called “Tamale-style catfish”. 

Lisa says:

Ah, because of the wrapping with the husk and steaming and such. 

Chris says:

Yes! Anyway, I think the presentation of this dish is pretty cool. 

Lisa says:

Agreed — but don’t let that detract from the delicousness. I love the corn and hatch chile combo on top, and the fish is perfectly cooked. 

Chris says:

More than just a kernel of truth there — no dryness. That corn husk seemed to keep all the moisture in. 

Lisa says:

You were just waiting to make a corn pun, weren’t you? 

Chris says:

Or a corn pone — yum! 

Tilapia with Fresh Corn and Hatch Chiles
2 ears of fresh corn
1/4 cup hatch chiles (more or less, depending on your desired heat level)
1/4 cup green onions
1/2 lime
2 tilapia fillets
ancho chile powder, to garnish

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Carefully peel back the husk from each corn cob. You will use it for baking the fish.
Cut the ear of corn off the stem just above the end of the cob, leaving the husk intact. Set the husk aside. Cut the corn off the cob and combine with green chiles, green onions and the juice of a quarter of a lime.

Rinse the fish and pat dry. Place one fillet inside each of the corn husks. Top each with one-half of the corn mixture and close the husks over the fish, overlapping slightly.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily. Cut the remaining lime lengthwise into 2 wedges. Serve the fish in the husk with a lime wedge on top.

2 Servings

We had banana leaves left over from the Steamed Salmon recipe, and I happened to stumble across this tasty-looking pork dish a couple of days before a PEPS potluck, so it was a no-brainer to make it our contribution.  I’m still partial to the Carnitas that we’ve made a few times previously, but this recipe is easier, and actually tasted better the next day as leftovers.

I love finds like this, that come out of trying to use up something we bought for a different recipe — banana leaves!

Lisa says:

I love recipes that list 20 cloves of garlic in the ingredients list.

Chris says:

That too — between the garlic, citrus, and achiote paste, the pork has a pretty distinctive flavor. I really like it, it’s different.

Lisa says:

You’re right, it’s different and it’s delicious — so what’s the deal with the ‘real’ recipe?

Chris says:

Oh, so traditionally you’re supposed to roast a whole suckling pig in a hole in the ground.

Lisa says:

(…)

Chris says:

Yeah, I thought you’d be fine with pork shoulder.

Cochinita Pibil
1 3.5-oz package of El Yucateco Achiote Red Paste
20 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 cup of freshly-squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup of freshly-squeezed orange juice
5-6 lbs boneless pork butt
1 package of banana leaves, defrosted

Combine the achiote paste, garlic, lime juice, and lemon juice in a blender, and puree until smooth. Cut pork into large square portions, leaving much of the fat (you can always remove any fatty pieces after it’s cooked) cover with the paste mixture, and marinate in refrigerator overnight, 12-24 hours.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Line a roasting pan with overlapping banana leaves, letting them hang over the sides. Put the pork and marinade inside, wrap the leaves over the top, then top more overlapping leaves on top to create a sealed package. You should also then line the roasting pan with foil to prevent steam from escaping.
Cook 3.5-4 hours, until pork shreds easily with a fork.
Serve in tacos with pickled onions (recipe here), guacamole, and a *very* spicy hot sauce.

8 Servings

This is seriously one of the easiest and tastiest salmon recipes we’ve ever made.  Adapted for two from the excellent Good Fish: Sustainable Seafood Recipes from the Pacific Coast by Becky Selengut (from whom I received a private cooking lesson, jealous much?), salmon fillets marinate in sake and mirin before being steamed along with mushrooms and onions.  The marinade is reduced to make an addictive, aromatic sauce.  We served the salmon with some roasted fingerling potatoes. Highly recommended!

I wonder if people think we just don’t cook anymore?

Chris says:

I barely do…

Lisa says:

Yeah, well I do all the time… I guess we just need to keep adding new recipes to the mix, like this one…

Chris says:

Totally! I’m so glad I picked up this book — all the recipes look fantastic.

Lisa says:

This salmon is awesome. I love the sauce on top. And hooray for mushrooms!

Chris says:

I love recipes that look fancy but are super-simple like this. I guess the hardest thing was finding the banana leaves — which smelled really good while this was steaming, by the way.

Lisa says:

Yeah and that wasn’t even that hard — hooray for HT Market!  By the way, it was total torture that the house smelled so good while I was stuck upstairs putting Cason to bed.

Chris says:

I do what I can…

Steamed Banana Leaf Salmon
1/4 cup sake
1/4 cup mirin
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp lime juice
salt
2 6-oz. sockeye salmon fillets, from the belly
banana leaves, cut into two 8.5 x 11″ pieces
1 oz shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, tops sliced thin (heaping 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup thinly sliced onion
2 tsps unsalted butter

In shallow glass dish, combine the sake, mirin, soy sauce, ginger, lime juice, and salt. Add the salmon and marinate for about 30 minutes.

Lay the banana leaves out and place half the mushrooms and onions on each. Top with a piece of salmon, reserving the marinade. Top each salmon piece with a tsp of butter. Fold the sides of the leaves over the fish and then tuck under the top and bottom to make a packet. Place the two packets into a steamer basket. In a medium saucepan over high heat, add 2 cups water; when it boils, reduce the heat to a simmer, place the steamer basket into the pan and cover. Cook for about 8 minutes per inch of thickness.

Meanwhile, add the marinade to a small saucepan over high heat and reduce until it gets syrupy, about 10-15 minutes. Remove the salmon packets from the steamer basket and let them rest for a few minutes. Check for the level of doneness you like. Open each packet and top with some of the sauce.

2 Servings

I gotta say, this is a great turkey sub…

Lisa says:

What? This isn’t a sandwich…

Chris says:

Sigh… “sub” as in “substitute”.

Lisa says:

Yeah, I know. It’s called playin’ around. Heard of it? Anyway, I agree. It’s awesome! I heart the shrooms.

Chris says:

Well *I* heart the cranberries.

Lisa says:

I suggest we make this again some time… perhaps in May, when Thanksgiving is all but a hazy memory…

Chris says:

How about June? I’m predicting a busy first half of the year.

Lisa says:

May, June, Nachatta, Colada, whateva. It’s all good, as long as it happens eventually!

Chicken Nachatta

2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup thinly-sliced red onion
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, (approx. 1 lb)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1/4 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup Marsala wine
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup heavy cream

Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the red onion and cook until tender and somewhat browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Coat the chicken breasts with the flour, patting to remove excess.
Add the olive oil to the skillet and heat to medium-high. Add the chicken breasts and brown, 1-2 mintues. Turn the chicken over, add the brown sugar to the skillet, and stir so that it melts. Add the chicken broth and boil until reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the Marsala, mushrooms, onions, and dried cranberries. Bring to a boil, add the cream, and lower the heat to medium. Simmer until reduced by half and the chicken is cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes, turning once or twice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Transfer to plates and top with the pan sauce.

This chowder recipe is from Sunday Soup: A Year’s Worth of Mouth-Watering, Easy-to-Make Recipes, a book Lisa’s mom got for us on a recent visit. We’ve already made two or three recipes, and all have been delicious. Salmon, potatoes, asparagus, what’s not to like?

Yum! I love asparagus season. And in a salmon chowder? Sweet!

Lisa says:

So good! And it’s similar to the one my brother made in that it’s mostly broth, with just a bit of half-and-half. Not super creamy.

Chris says:

Well, it’s awesome — man, I love coming home to food!

Lisa says:

It’s kinda funny how much more often I’m cooking now that we have a kid.

Chris says:

A lot of things are “funny” now that we have a kid. Like how early we eat, how fast we have to scarf everything down, how tired we are, how…

Lisa says:

…how awesome he is?

Chris says:

Exactly. Worth it!

Salmon and Asparagus Chowder
1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 lb yukon gold potatos, unpeeled, washed, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chicken stock
1 bunch green onions, cut into 1/4 inch slices
4 oz asparagus, tips removed and reserved, stalks cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup half-and-half
8 oz salmon, skinless, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
2 tsp chopped dill

Heat the butter in a large dutch oven over medium heat. When hot, add in the potatoes; cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add the onion and cook, stirring continuously, for 2 minutes. Add the garlic, decrease the heat for low, cover, and cook for another 2 minutes.
Use a fork or the back of a wooden spoon to mash the potatoes. Add the chicken stock and kick the heat back up to medium, stirring well.
Bring to a simmer and add the green onions and asparagus, keeping the tips aside. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer until the asparagus is tender, about 3 minutes.
Stir in the half-and-half, reserved asparagus tips, and salmon. Turn off the heat and cover.
Let sit for 4 minute or so until the salmon is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve and top with chopped dill.

4 Servings

We’ve discovered that having a newborn really cramps your keeping-up-with-a-food-blog style (shocking, no?) — but we’re back with our first recipe in 2011, a delicious Green Chicken Posole, from the book Sunday Soup: A Year’s Worth of Mouth-Watering, Easy-to-Make Recipes. This posole is of the green variety, and the broth is chock-full of tomatillos, cilantro, and oregano. Yum!

Whoa, are we really back? I thought WHF might go the way of our hiking site…

Chris says:

Hey, don’t say that! Besides, we’ll be doing hikes again this summer. And it’s not like we haven’t been eating, or trying new recipes…

Lisa says:

I know, I know… time..

Cason says:

Glar-lar-lar… burble..

Chris says:

Uh-oh, let’s get through this quick.

Lisa says:

Oooh, yeah — okay, well, you know I love posole, and this one might be one of my new favorites.

Chris says:

Yeah, mine too! I love the tomatillo-broth base.

Lisa says:

It’s a bit spicy, but not overwhelming. Just right.

Chris says:

I tamed it a bit by not including most of the seeds from the jalapeño. It –

Cason says:

*Spit-up*

Lisa says:

Uhhh, can you grab a towel? And can we be done?

Chris says:

Yeah, we’re done — hey, people, it’s easy and delicious!

Mama Veli’s Posole
4 cups chicken stock
12 oz boneless chicken breast halves
12 oz tomatillos
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup cilantro
6 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 large jalapeño pepper, most of the seeds removed
1 30 oz can hominy, white or yellow
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Salt

Garnishes:
Sliced radishes, cubed avocado, shredded cabbage, cilantro, chopped onion, and limes

Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a large pot with a lid. Add the chicken breasts, cover, and simmer until cooked through, about 14 minutes. When done, remove the chicken, shred with two forks, and place aside. Measure out three cups of the cooking liquid and set aside.
Remove the husks from the tomatillos, then rinse and chop. Add to a bowl along with the onion, cilantro, garlic, and jalapeño. In a food processor, add half this mixture, along with 1/2 cup of water, and puree until chunky. Do the same with the remaining half.
Pour the tomatillo mixture into a dutch oven. Add the 3 cups of reserved cooking liquid, the shredded chicken, hominy, and oregano. Bring it to a simmer and cook until just heated through. Season with salt.
Ladle into bowls and serve with garnishes!

6 Servings

Wow!  A few days ago Lisa pointed out that we haven’t updated the food blog in over two months — now, lest you think we’ve been dying of hunger, don’t despair.  We’ve just been rotating through a few old favorites while we’ve been preparing for our new arrival (We [Heart] Baby Food, anyone?)… so we’re still here!  I adapted this recipe from one found in The Fishes & Dishes Cookbook: Seafood Recipes and Salty Stories from Alaska’s Commercial Fisherwomen — I got to meet one of the authors when we picked this up at our local Whole Foods.  The book is filled with easy recipes that highlight fresh seafood — so far, every one we’ve tried has been delicious.  Here, coho is pan-seared, then finished in the oven, and placed atop a bed of sauteed leeks and chanterelle mushrooms.  We served it alongside some roasted fingerling potatoes — yum!

I don’t remember what we discussed when we had this, other than it was delicious.

Chris says:

…and that you loved the potatoes.

Lisa says:

Well, obviously. They were covered with crispy garlic.

Chris says:

I did like the how the outside of the salmon was crispy from the pan-sear — and still moist inside. And anytime you add mushrooms to a dish, I’m there.

Lisa says:

You and me both, sucka.

Oven-Roasted Coho Salmon with Leeks and Chanterelle Mushrooms
1 cup leeks, white and pale green parts only
2 6-oz skinless coho salmon fillets, deboned
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup sliced chanterelle mushrooms
1/3 cup chicken sotck
1/3 cup white wine
1 tsp herbes de provence
1 tbsp olive oil

Clean the leeks of all dirt and grit, rinse, and cut into 1/4″ rings. Season the salmon on both sides with salt and pepper.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter, then add the leeks and garlic, cooking for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, stock, wine, and herbes de provence, and lower the heat to medium. Simmer until the leeks are very soft and most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, and keep warm over low heat.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 475.
Heat an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat for several minutes, then add the oil and heat until it shimmers. Place the salmon fillets in the pan flesh-side down, and cook, without moving, for about 4 minutes. Flip the salmon over, place the pan in the oven, and let bake for 3 minutes.
Spoon the leek/mushroom mixture onto serving plates, and top each with a salmon fillet.

2 Servings

This recipe is an adaptation of an all-veggie version in Super Natural Cooking. We wanted to bump up the protein so we added shrimp; we also cut the amount rice in half to make the toppings-to-base ratio more to our liking. The dish has the ingredients and taste of a sushi roll, without the need for a bamboo rolling mat.

Wahoo! This does taste like a sushi roll when you get a little bit of everything in one mouthful.

Chris says:

Totally — and I like the citrusy rice seasoning. It’s obvioulsy a bit stronger than what you’d find in your usual sushi roll, but adds just a bit of sweet and tart.

Lisa says:

I’d order this in a restaurant.

Chris says:

Well if we were in a sushi restaurant, I’d be ordering … sushi.

Lisa says:

Smartass.

Chris says:

Just sayin’.

Lisa says:

Well I’m just sayin’ I love this dinner.

Sushi Bowl with Grilled Shrimp, Tofu, and Avocado
1 cup brown rice (short-grain, if on hand)
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 lb shrimp
6 oz extra-firm tofu
zest and juice of 1 orange
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp cane sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 4″ squares of toasted nori, chopped coarsely
2 green onions, choped
1 avocado, peeled and sliced into thin wedges
toasted sesame seeds

Rinse and drain the rice, then combine the rice, water, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed.
Meanwhile, clean and peel the shrimp, then grill or saute until opaque and cooked through. Set aside.
Drain the tofu and pat dry. Cut the tofu into 1/2″ wide slices. Cook two at a time in a dry nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes until browned. Flip, then continue cooking until browned on the other side and firm. Remove and set aside. When cool, cut crosswise into matchsticks.
To make the dressing for the rice, combine the orange juice, lemon juice, and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a slow boil. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add the soy sauce and vinegar. Return to a boil and cook for another minute or so until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon and orange zests.
When the rice is done, stir in 3 tbsp of the dressing and add more to taste. Divide the rice into separate bowls and top with the nori, green onions, tofu, avocado, and shrimp. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

2-3 Servings

One of the fun perks of doing a food blog is the occasional opportunity to try out new products, be they food samples, spices, or even kitchen tools. So I was very excited when I was asked by New West KnifeWorks if I’d be interested in trying out one of their knives from the Fusionwood line: the Petty. I’d seen these same knives featured in a recent issue of Saveur magazine, and thought they looked pretty cool, and from the writeup, they sounded perfectly functional as well.

A few days after our initial correspondence, our knife arrived in the mail. (Isn’t it always exciting when a package arrives at your doorstep? It’s a little like Christmas.) There was a bit of reading material sent along with the knife, including a history of the company, their philosophy, etc., and I liked the fact that they encourage knife owners to send in the knives once in a while for a free “tune up” — resharpening and repolishing.  But enough reading — I wanted to play with the new knife!

The Petty is shipped with a leather sheath to protect the blade, and obviously your fingers — this thing is extremely sharp!  After a few minutes of handling the knife, and using it to cut some veggies (Is there anything better than using a new sharp knife to cut a tomato?) I unfortunately came to the conclusion that it was a bit small for my hands — perhaps I’m just used to the grip I use on my chef knife, but I was continually hitting my knuckles on the cutting board.  I asked Lisa to come in and give it a try, and lo and behold, she loved it.  It was a perfect fit for her smaller hands, and she pretty much immediately declared the knife as “hers”.  Now whenever Lisa is cooking in the kitchen, she’s using the Petty — she even brought it with her on a weekend trip to a mountain cabin a few weeks ago.

For me, I’ll be sticking with my beat-up chef’s knife (and one day checking out one of New West’s chef knives), but the Petty has become Lisa’s everyday knife. The cutting performance is great, and it just. looks. cool.  Check them out here.