YumSugar

Chilled Zucchini Soup Two Ways - Beginner and Expert

YumSugar — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 05:50:49 -0700

I'm a major supporter of soup, and believe in eating it year-round, regardless of the weather. Yet I know how some of you can't bear to steam up sun shades with bowls of hot liquid in the Summer. If you fall into the latter category, chilled zucchini soup, with its creamy body and subtle flavor, is just the thing to talk you off the ledge. Add a quick course to the dinner menu when you blend together zucchini, broth, dill, and shredded cheese - or transform it into more of a substantial meal by topping off bowls with cumin-spiced shrimp and tangy cilantro cream. Decide between the two when you read more

Fast & Easy Dinner: Couscous With Vegetables and Chickpeas

partysugar — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 06:50:13 -0700

Tonight, feed your family a healthy, filling salad. Inspired by Middle Eastern cuisine, this dish features the aromatic flavors of cumin and lemon. Roasting the vegetables adds depth, but you can achieve the same results by firing up the grill if you prefer.

Use the recipe loosely as a guide and toss whatever vegetables you have on hand with the couscous and beans. Interested in making this vegetarian meal? Get the recipe when you read more.

Couscous With Vegetables and Chickpeas
From Everyday Food

Ingredients

1 pound carrots, sliced 3/4 inch thick on the diagonal
1 head cauliflower (3 pounds), cored and cut into florets
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
3 tablespoons olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup whole-wheat couscous
1 tablespoon lemon zest, plus 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (from 3 lemons)
1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
6 scallions, thinly sliced
5 ounces baby arugula

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place carrots and cauliflower on a rimmed baking sheet; toss with cumin and 2 tablespoons oil. Season with salt and pepper. Spread half the vegetables on a second baking sheet. Roast until browned and tender, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating sheets and tossing halfway through.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/4 cups salted water to a boil. Stir in couscous; cover and remove from heat. Let stand until tender, 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork; set aside to cool, uncovered.
Make dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together lemon zest and juice and remaining tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper.
In a large bowl, combine roasted vegetables with couscous, chickpeas, and scallions. Place arugula on a serving platter, and drizzle with 1 tablespoon dressing. Add remaining dressing to couscous mixture, and toss; serve over arugula.

Serves 4.

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Fast & Easy Dinner: Cumin Chicken With Black Beans

partysugar — Tue, 19 May 2009 06:50:47 -0700

Take a flavorful trip south of the border with this cumin and cayenne scented chicken dish. Pounded chicken breast halves and canned black beans make this meal come together in a flash.

First the chicken is seared, then the black beans are sautéed with vegetables in the pan drippings. Sound delish? Wait till you taste this healthy and provocative dish! To get the recipe, read more.

Cumin Chicken With Black Beans
From Real Simple

Ingredients

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
3 cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 1/4 cups cherry tomato halves
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

Directions

Place chicken between 2 sheets of plastic wrap; pound with a mallet to 1/2-inch thickness. Combine cumin with cayenne pepper and rub over chicken.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté chicken for 4 minutes per side. Remove to a cutting board.
Return the skillet with pan drippings to medium heat. Add the onion and jalapeño and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, and 3 tablespoons water and cook, stirring, 1 or 2 minutes, until ingredients are just heated through.
Remove from heat and toss with the scallions, cilantro, and vinegar. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Slice chicken and arrange on top of beans.

Serves 4.

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Celebrate Rosh Hashanah With Honey-Glazed Cornish Hens

YumSugar — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:00:33 -0700

L'Shanah Tovah (Happy New Year)! Last night was the beginning of the Rosh Hashanah. During this time of reflection and rejoicing, much of the celebration happens at the dinner table. The evening meal often includes the bounty of the autumn harvest, such as pomegranates, persimmons, and avocados. Honey is also significant during Rosh Hashanah, as it symbolizes the hope for sweet and joyful days in the year ahead. To ring in the Jewish new year, which is observed through Wednesday night, I made honey-glazed Cornish hens. Since Cornish hens are smaller, they can be roasted whole in less time than it takes to make a roasted chicken. To get this holiday recipe, read more.

Honey and Cumin-Glazed Cornish Hens
From Jewish Holiday Feasts by Louise Fiszer and Jeannette Ferrary

Ingredients

Glaze
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons cumin seed, toasted and crushed
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 Cornish hens, split in half
Salt and pepper

Directions

Combine glaze ingredients.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Rinse hens and blot dry. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Using about a third of the glaze, brush both sides of hen halves.
Place, skin side down, on a baking sheet with low sides. Place in oven and roast 10 minutes.
Turn heat down to 375°F, brush hens again with half the remaining glaze and roast 5 minutes.
Turn hens over and roast 10 minutes.
Brush with remaining glaze and roast until deep golden brown, about 5 minutes more. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 8.

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Fast & Easy Dinner: Shrimp and Chickpeas

partysugar — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 06:45:43 -0700

Fancy a trip to an exotic Mediterranean destination? Take one tonight with this enticing meal. The shrimp is marinated in a cool, cumin-flavored yogurt before being seared on a hot grill. Canned garbanzos get a grown-up makeover when seasoned with red pepper flakes and fresh tomatoes. Fill out this pairing with a store-bought roasted red pepper hummus and pita chips, and you've got a meal ideal for entertaining. To escape from the mundane and get the recipe, read more.

Shrimp and Chickpeas
From Every Day With Rachael Ray magazine

Ingredients

2 cups whole milk yogurt
Juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 pound large shrimp, deveined
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
One 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
4 plum tomatoes, chopped

Directions

In a large bowl, mix together the yogurt, lemon juice, half the garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and the cumin.
Transfer half the yogurt mixture to a small bowl. Add the shrimp to the large bowl and mix; cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
In a medium saucepan, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, the crushed red pepper and remaining garlic over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the chickpeas and cook, stirring, for 4 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and remaining 1 teaspoon salt, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Lower the heat and keep warm until ready to serve.
Rub a grill pan with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and heat over high heat. Add the marinated shrimp and grill, turning once, until cooked through, about 3 minutes on each side.
Top the chickpeas with the shrimp and serve with the reserved yogurt sauce.

Serves 4.

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Let's Dish: What Spice Can You Not Live Without?

YumSugar — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:15:03 -0700

Although I have a large spice rack, I have a designated mise en place area for ingredients I use all the time. This includes seasonings like salt and pepper as well as my favorite spice, cumin. While we never cooked with it growing up - my mother hates the smell of it - I have grown to love it, and now I don't think I could live without it. It lends a certain earthy smokiness that no other spice can add, and I put it in everything from Indian-inspired salsas to house pickles.

What spice is indispensable to you?

Source

Monday's Leftovers: Chicken Salad with Cumin Carrot Raita

partysugar — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 06:45:12 -0700

Making chicken salad is a classic way to use up leftover grilled chicken. However, when the leftover chicken happens to be tandoori style grilled chicken, the chicken salad is anything but ordinary.

This recipe combines the moist meat with cumin, radishes, and carrots. There's no mayonnaise involved, instead the base of the sauce is whole milk yogurt.

To check out the recipe - which is tasty inside warmed pita bread - read more.

Chicken Salad with Cumin Carrot Raita
From Food and Wine magazine

Ingredients

One 3 1/2-pound roasted chicken, meat shredded (4 cups)
3 large radishes, thickly sliced
1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped mint leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Cumin-Scented Carrot Raita, recipe below
Salt
Cayenne pepper
Lime wedges and warmed pita, for serving

Directions

In a large bowl, toss the chicken with the radishes, onion, mint and cumin.
Stir in the raita and season with salt and cayenne. Serve with lime wedges and warmed pita.

Serves 6.

Cumin-Scented Carrot Raita

2/3 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 carrots, coarsely shredded
2 scallions, white and tender green parts only, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro leaves
Salt
Cayenne pepper

Spoon the yogurt into a coffee filter set in a strainer and let stand until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Transfer the yogurt to a medium bowl.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a small skillet. Add the garlic and cumin seeds and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the carrots and scallions and cook, stirring, until just heated through.
Add the carrot mixture and the cilantro to the drained yogurt and season with salt and cayenne. Serve the raita warm, at room temperature or chilled.

Makes 2/3 cup.

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Secret Ingredient: Cumin Recap + Chicken is Next!

YumSugar — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 10:57:17 -0700

The next secret ingredient is chicken.
I've been pretty specific with the ingredients lately, so this week I thought I'd take a broader step. Put all of your best chicken recipes (I'm talking soups, pot pies, bbq, anything!) up on TeamSugar and tag them with the following phrase: "Secret Ingredient Chicken" - make sure it's all one phrase, no commas, etc. (or, alternatively, you can also find old recipes you've already posted and add that phrase to the keyword section). I can't wait to see what you guys come up with! Thanks for playing along, we'll recap your entries next week!

This week, the secret ingredient was cumin. There were some delicious looking recipes including Cumin Coriander Chicken, Homemade Burgers and Salsa (yum!), but my favorite was definitely these Frijoles Negros from user DesignRchic. It's a lovely Cuban dish that doesn't require the beans to be soaked for hours. To check out her recipe, read more

Recipe submitted by TeamSugar member DesignRchic

Here's another Cuban dish I'd love to share with you all and LisaK
It compliments a side of white rice along with any meat. Typically, black beans are made with a package of dry beans, boiled and soaked for an hour, sometimes you can use a ham bone for flavor, BUT most of us want something that’s quicker, so here’s my version.
Ingredients
Ingredients

1 can black beans
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed (or use minced garlic)
A quarter of sweet onion, peeled and chopped
1 Half bell pepper, chopped
3-4 strips of bacon, chopped
3 teaspoons ground cumin
Small handful of chopped cilantro (cut off stems, and only use leaves)
Small handful of chopped parsley (cut off stems, and only use leaves)
1 teaspoon of Adobo powder (shown in picture)
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium sauce pan, add the chopped bacon bits and fry. Next, add the onion, pepper, and garlic, cook until onion is partially transparent.
Step 1

Next add in the can of black beans (include the water that comes in the can). Add in remaining ingredients & spices and leave on a low heat for 15 minutes.
Step 2

Add salt & pepper to taste.
Compliment with white rice!
Serves: 4
Time to Prepare & Cook: Approx 25 minutes

Aye Pero Que Rico!!!

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Reminder: Secret Ingredient - Cumin

YumSugar — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 10:57:19 -0700

This week's secret ingredient is cumin.

There's still a few days left, so don't forget to submit your best recipe! I can't wait to see what you guys come up with. I'll pick my favorites and put them on the site for everyone to see.

To submit your cumin recipe just tag your recipe (it can live in any group) with the keyword phrase: Secret Ingredient Cumin.

I can't wait to see what you come up with! To learn how to post a recipe, read more

I know this looks scary, but it's really simple once you get the hang of it. Send me a personal message if you have any problems!

Click "Create & Share!" on the left hand side
Choose "Blog"
Give your recipe a Title
Change the category to "recipe"
Change the channel to "food and entertaining"
Add keywords "Secret Ingredient Cumin" and any other keywords you'd like to use (ie: tofu, chicken, spicy, etc.)
Type your recipe into the body box
If you have an image, click on the "Add Image" link below the "body" box
A popup window will happen - click on "Browse" to find your image on your computer
Once you have the image chosen, click "Submit"
The popup will show you your image, choose size: "normal" - if you want, you can give it a title (which will show up as a caption)
Click "Insert" and the popup will go away
Your "body" box will now have the code for the picture. Leave it as is.
Click Submit

Secret Ingredient: Cumin

YumSugar — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 12:55:32 -0800

Okay, so I'm going to throw a wrench in to an otherwise working system...

I've received some emails wondering how to submit recipes to the Secret Ingredient challenge that have already been posted/are are going to be posted in other groups (Kitchen Goddess, Let's Have a Drink, etc.).

So from now on, we'll try taking advantage of the cool keyword thing. Each week I'll tell you exactly which keywords to use on your recipe. This way you can post them in any group you want! If you don't have another group, feel free to keep posting them in the Secret Ingredient group.

This week the secret ingredient is cumin.

So please give your new recipes (or edit old recipes) the keyword phrase: Secret Ingredient Cumin.

I can't wait to see what you come up with! To learn how to post a recipe, read more

I know this looks scary, but it's really simple once you get the hang of it. Send me a message if you have any problems! I bolded the new step.

Click "Create & Share!" on the left hand side
Choose "Blog"
Give your recipe a Title
Change the category to "recipe"
Change the channel to "food and entertaining"
Add keywords "Secret Ingredient Cumin" and any other keywords you'd like to use (ie: tofu, chicken, spicy, etc.)
Type your recipe into the body box
If you have an image, click on the "Add Image" link below the "body" box
A popup window will happen - click on "Browse" to find your image on your computer
Once you have the image chosen, click "Submit"
The popup will show you your image, choose size: "normal" - if you want, you can give it a title (which will show up as a caption)
Click "Insert" and the popup will go away
Your "body" box will now have the code for the picture. Leave it as is.
Click Submit