Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins

I have been trying for a few weeks to make 100% whole wheat muffins without them turning out like hockey pucks or misshapen lead weights. Most recipes I found used a mix of whole wheat and white flours, didn't use any egg (those were, um, interesting...) or just weren't quite right in countless other ways. The recipe below worked really well for me, and like most anything---variations are endless*:

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 T baking powder
1/3-1/2 c sugar*
1/2 tsp salt
1 T cinnamon*
4 T melted butter or some kind of veg fat*
1 egg, slightly beaten
just under 1 c milk*
1 c grated zucchini*
1/2 c chocolate chips (optional)*
cocount or extra sugar/cinnamon to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and lightly grease a muffin pan (or use cupcake liners). Combine dry ingredients in a medium size bowl. Add zucchini and chocolate chips. In a separate (smaller) bowl, combine butter, milk, and eggs. Add wet ingredients to dry, and stir until everything is just moistened. Pour into a 12-count muffin pan, and sprinkle a little something on top if you'd like. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

*I used raw sugar, Earth Balance “butter”, and soy milk with great results. Shredded carrot could stand in for the zucchini, and cinnamon replaced with a bit of nutmeg. Chopped walnuts or pecans would be delicious as well!

A Few Things Avocado

image courtesy of www.foodmag.com.au

I recently learned the magical way to quickly ripen an avocado: put it into a paper bag with an apple and let it sit for a day on the counter. Voila! Ready to eat avocado!

Some fun (ok, educational) facts about avocados, from the Hass Avocado Board:
• Avocados, due to their mono and polyunsaturated fat content, are a healthy substitution for foods rich in saturated fat.
• One-fifth of a medium avocado, or about one ounce, has 50 calories and contributes nearly 20 beneficial nutrients to the diet.
• Avocados act as a "nutrient booster" by enabling the body to absorb more fat-soluble nutrients, such as alpha- and beta-carotene as well as lutein, in foods that are eaten with the fruit.

First on my agenda were B.L.A.T. sandwiches... bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato. I found that it is easier to mash the avocado (rather than slice it) and season with a bit of salt and pepper. Toast two slices of bread, smear with avocado, then layer bacon, lettuce and tomato. Addicitive and super easy to make. I think soy bacon would work well in this, if you're not a carnivore.

Another great way to use avocado and tomatoes is as a "salsa" for scrambled eggs. Dice an avocado and a small tomato, toss together and season with salt and pepper. You could add a squirt of lime juice as well. Scramble a couple eggs, and mound some of this on top. The same "salsa" would work in an omelet as well.

Apparently, mashed avocado can be used in baked goods as a substitute for up to 1/2 of the fat in a recipe. Avocado chocolate chip cookies anyone?

Video Link: Cooking with a Hippie Chickpeas

Three things about this video crack me up:
1. This dude really does use a shaker full of LOVE as a seasoning.
2. There's a rain stick involved.
3. I watched this twice and actually wrote down the recipe.

In the brilliant words of Jacques Pepin... happy cooking!

Tuna and Potato Salad with Green Peas and Egg

This has become my favorite meal to assemble--it can hardly be called cooking, because it's so easy to throw together. I rarely plate meals (when I'm hungry...I'm just hungry....) but this is just weirdly kind of fun to put together. The recipe below serves two.

2-3 potatoes, baked (or nuked)
1 can tuna packed in olive oil (or other really good quality tuna)
olive oil for drizzling (optional)
1/2 c frozen green peas, thawed and ready to serve
2 hard boiled eggs, quartered
sea salt & pepper

On each plate, layer in this order: baked potato (flattened slightly so that it acts as a base), chunks of tuna, a drizzle of olive oil as you like, a sprinkling of peas, and four wedges of egg. Season with a little sea salt and pepper.

Tastes best eaten outside...and followed with a chunk of dark chocolate for dessert!

Recipe Links for 5/14: Sweet Goodness

The recipes I need to try this week have an undercurrent of sweetness to them. Maybe it's the spring weather setting in, or perhaps my denial that I have a dentist appointment coming up. Either way, the goods below make me wanna pick up another bag of raw sugar:

Pepper's Mini Brownies at Frugal Cuisine look like the perfect antidote to a mini chocolate craving, and seem super easy to make. 

I'm partial to my trusty granola bar recipe, but this post by Urban Hippy intrigues me in that it contains... fruit! Wow! I may try these for an upcoming camping trip.

Crystallized ginger made easy at KimmyKokonut. Uses for the leftover syrup are also suggested, I'm thinking it would make a mighty fine ginger beer. 

This cinnamon bread at Got No Milk looks incredible, and as a bonus--it's dairy free! 

Curry Thai Noodles

I had written about this dish some time ago, but have since made it a few times with adjustments I thought I'd share.

Using the right curry paste makes a huge difference; the Thai Kitchen brand I tried originally just wasn't going to cut it. The curry paste I prefer is one I used to buy as a college student in Iowa and had no trouble finding; in Chicago, however, I searched throughout my Chinatown neighborhood with no luck. Happily, I finally found it at a Thai/Vietnamese grocery on Broadway for about 80¢, it's a small red can with the brand name Maesri (yes, I stocked up!!).

Note: This recipe is adapted from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Cooking.

8-9 oz udon noodes (or other Asian wide noodle)
2 T oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
2-3 T curry paste (more or less, to suit your palate)
1 block tofu, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 14oz can coconut milk
1-2 c water
3 T soy sauce
1 T sugar (raw if you have it)
juice of 2 limes
handful of cilantro, chopped

Cook the noodles according to package directions.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onion, garlic, and curry paste for a couple minutes. Add tofu, stirring to coat. Stir in the cocont milk, soy sauce, and sugar; add enough water to make the consistency you like (I like this on the thicker side and use 1 cup of water; 2 cups will give you more of a broth-like consistency). Cook this for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and add drained noodles, lime juice, and cilantro. Stir, and serve with chopped peanuts if you'd like.

Eggplant and Goat Cheese Calzones

There is something so comforting about a calzone, hot little pocket of savory wonderfulness! I picked up a couple Japanese eggplants over the weekend at Mitsua, and made this in an effort to use them while still fresh. Pleased with how they turned out, I will definitely make them again---and am excited about endless variations! I think a cheese of some sort is a must, it sort of binds everything together. But then again, I bet a curry filling would work too...

2-3 Japanese eggplants, cut into 1/4" slices
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4-5 oz goat cheese
2 slices chopped bacon or pancetta
1 recipe fantastic pizza dough (or buy it ready-to-go)

After you've mixed up the dough, and while it's in the 20-minute rest phase:

Brush both sides of the eggplant slices with olive oil and grill until lightly browned. Note: when I made this, it was rainy and nasty outside and therefore using the "real" grill was beyond hope. I used a non-stick grill pan on the stovetop instead. Worked great.

Brown the bacon/pancetta (add a little olive oil if you need to), then add onion and garlic. Cook until softened.

Combine the bacon/onion/garlic mixture, eggplant, and goat cheese in a bowl. Mix so that the goat cheese is thoroughly distributed.

Divide dough into 8 pieces (cut the ball of dough in half... then in half again... then in half again... etc etc). Roll into circles about 6" in diameter. Place a couple tablespoons of the filling on each (evenly distribute the filling among the eight dough circles).

Fold each dough circle in half over the filling, so that it becomes a half-moon shape. Then, with your fingers, roll the bottom edge of the circle over the top edge to seal--or just press edges together. The idea is to seal it up like a big pocket, however you want to achieve it is up to you.

To bake, I usually use a pizza stone but a regular baking sheet is fine. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until nicely browned.

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

I roasted a few pints of cherry tomatoes with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. It took about 45 minutes in a 400 degree oven, and they're fantastic tossed with pasta, more olive oil, and some goat cheese or parmesan.

Red Lentil and Carrot Soup

All day long I kept thinking about carrots. And soup. Since we’re currently working with a no-cow’s-milk scenario in our home, this warming dinner hit the spot. It surprised me, too—it smelled wonderful while it was simmering, even before I added the seasonings.

As with many things I've written about, there are endless variations. We ate this topped with some goat’s milk feta; yogurt or sour cream would work great as well. The seasonings could also be adjusted, by trying a little ginger or chopped cilantro. Serve this with naan and/or rice (side note: we realized tonight that the naan purchased at a traditional Indian/Pakistani grocery contains milk and butter... this will be more difficult than we thought).

3 T olive oil
2 onions, grated or finely chopped
3 good sized carrots, grated or finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or pressed
1-1/2 c red lentils
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
7 c vegetable stock (or 1 msg-free veggie bouillion cube and 7 c water)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp curry powder
salt and pepper

Heat oil in a large pot; add onion and carrots and cook for a few minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute or so.

Add the stock, lentils and tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Simmer with the lid half on the pot for about 40-45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cumin and coriander, then salt and pepper to taste. Cook another five minutes, then serve.

Darren’s Sauerkraut

Our friend Darren F. passed along this sauerkraut recipe of his mother’s, as well as the idea to make soup with it. I made a batch to quickly discover that this makes a TON of kraut! What to do with it? The soup was super easy to make (and very good), and then the rest was used in a classic sauerkraut/sausage dish (easily vegetarian-friendly or for carnivores).

Darren’s Sauerkraut
1/2 stick of butter
3-4 boullon cubes (get the MGS-free variety if you can)
1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
1/8 tsp cumin
1 to 2 tsp caraway seed (more or less, to taste)
salt & pepper, if you think it needs it (totally to taste)

Saute the above for about 20 minutes, or until the onions turn golden.

Next, combine the onion mixture with the following in a slow cooker:
(2) 32 oz cans/jars Polish Sauerkraut (rinsed well under cold water)
2-4 carrots, shredded
1-2 potatoes, shredded
1/2 fresh cabbage, sliced or 1/2 bag of ready-to-go shredded cabbage

Cook on high for 3-5 hours, it will make its own juice as it cooks.
When it is done cooking (keep tasting it, it's done whenever you like it) mix it up well so that the juices get evenly distributed. At this point, the sauerkraut is done and ready to use as you'd like!

Sauerkraut Soup
Bring some veggie or beef stock to a simmer and mix in sauerkraut--the more you add, the thicker the soup. Heat through, and serve. I really liked this poured over a little brown rice, with a splash of soy sauce (I know... the soy sauce thing seems weird, but I swear it's heavenly).

Sauerkraut & Sausages (pictured above)
In a slow cooker, combine whatever sauerkraut you have left (which is probably a lot) with 12 oz of sliced kielbasa sausages. You could use a vegetarian kielbasa, or the traditional pork kind. Cook on low for 3-5 hours*, to heat through and allow flavors to blend. The cooking could also be achieved in a 13x9 pan in a 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes*, or whenever it seems ready.

*The cook times are appropriate for pre-cooked sausage. If you are using a raw sausage, check for doneness and cook longer as necessary.

Salsa for Cold Weather

Tomatoes of sunshine quality are difficult to find in a midwest winter; while my heart will always belong to pico de gallo, this is a great salsa to make in the dark depths of cold weather. It's fast and can be used on its own (with chips, tacos, etc) or used in a dish requiring ready-made salsa from a jar.

1 28 oz can stewed tomatoes

1 7 oz can diced chiles or 1 or 2 fresh jalapeno peppers, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped or pressed

2 T chopped onion (white, yellow, or green--any variety will work)

1 T olive oil

2 tsp red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar (optional, but highly suggested)

1 handful cilantro, chopped

salt & pepper to taste

Combine and it's ready to go!

Goodness Greens!

In our Fresh Picks deliveries, I was often faced with a few pounds of collard greens or kale. I really had no idea what to do with it, and all I could imagine was cooking them into a globby mess. How on earth could greens be cooked and still taste good?

Fortunately, I found this recipe and it's now one of our favorite things to eat along with brown rice. The greens retain their texture and the sweet/spicy seasoning is wonderful.

Collard Greens (adapted from Simply Recipes---also great for Kale)

2 lb collard greens of kale, washed well and chopped

2 T onion, finely chopped

1-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or pressed

2 T olive oil

2 T sesame oil (optional--tastes great with or without)

chili pepper flakes (I like this on the spicy side, and use about 1 T)*

salt (1-2 tsp)*

sugar (1-2 tsp)*

cracked pepper

*The last three ingredients can be varied according to your taste. You'll find the right balance the more you make this dish.

In a big pot with a lid, heat the olive oil and saute onion and garlic for about a minute. Mix in the greens and remaining ingredients. Cover, turn the heat to low, and cook for 8-10 minutes. Stir, and serve. 

Winter Soup with Meatballs

My mom, awesome as she is, recently gave us TONS of frozen homemade meatballs. This soup was made with the last of them (sniff, sniff) but it's a recipe I will most likely turn to again when confronted with a freezer of meatballs waiting to be devoured. The lentils and pasta added to this are already cooked (a great way to use up leftovers); if you add them uncooked, you'll need to add more stock/water. 

12 meatballs (pre-cooked/frozen is easier; if you use raw, brown a little before adding to soup)

1/2 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

1 carrot, sliced or chopped

olive oil

1-2 T flour

1-1/2 cups cooked lentils

2 c stock or water, or a combination

1 bay leaf

salt/pepper or soy sauce (for seasoning)

about 1-2 cups of pasta, cooked

This soup works well either on the stovetop (A) or slow cooker (B):

(A) In a soup pot, cook onion/garlic/carrot in oil for a few minutes. Add the flour, stir to coat and cook another minute. Add lentils, meatballs, and bay leaf, plus enough stock/water to cover. Let this simmer until heated through (if you used raw meatballs, cook until they're properly cooked through). Add pasta 15 minutes before serving, then season with salt & pepper.

(B) In a skillet, cook onion/garlic/carrot in oil for a few minutes. Add the flour, stir to coat and cook another minute. Transfer onion mixture to the slow cooker, add lentils, meatballs, bay leaf, plus enough stock/water to cover. Cook on low for 7-9 hours. Add pasta 15 minutes before serving, then season with salt & pepper.

Fish with Pasta in a Mushroom-Lemon Sauce

Here's the scene: We're in the middle of Mitsuwa Marketplace, and I'm wandering through the seafood section because I could walk around aimlessly for hours. I notice, happily, that the pollock looks pretty good and is really inexpensive. I buy a pound of it. I have never cooked pollock before. It's kind of like cod, right? And, from a little online research, it seems to be a sustainable fish (for now, anyway).

I'm guessing there are plenty of Japanese recipes using this fish, but I was craving something a little different--it needed to be warming and bright at the same time. And thus, came this dish. The ingredients are nothing special, I basically used what was available at the time, and I think there are probably quite a few ways to reinterpret this meal.

1 lb pollock fish filets (or other white fish)
flour for dusting
12 oz (or so) dried pasta (it doesn't really matter what shape--use what you have)
2 T olive or canola oil
2 T butter
2 c. mushrooms, sliced or diced
Juice of 2 lemons (please don't use the bottled stuff)
salt & pepper
2-3 T chopped parsley or cilantro

The key to this dish is timing. The fish cooks really fast. Basically, once the water is boiling and you are ready to add pasta, that is the time to begin the rest of the cooking. This gives you approximately 10-12 minutes, depending on pasta's directions on the package.

So, boil water and add pasta to the pot.

Meanwhile, pat the fish filets dry to remove excess water, and dust with flour. In a frying pan (I used the trusty cast iron skillet), heat up the oil and butter. When hot, add the fish. It will only take a minute or two on each side to cook through. When it's done (flakes with a fork) remove and set aside.

If your pan seems on the dry side, add a little more oil or butter. Keeping the heat on medium-high, add the mushrooms and saute until the start to shrink up a little. To this add lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. NOTE: If you don't like things on the tart side, go easy on the lemon juice. Add the chopped herbs. Stir.

By now the pasta should be done. Drain, and plate this meal quickly--it will cool off fast: pasta, fish, and top with the sauce.

TIP: I've found that about half way through the cooking time on the pasta, it works well to add a frozen vegetable such as french-cut green beans. They heat up in roughly five minutes, and they are easy to drain with the rest of the pasta. Sneaky, huh?

Pumpkin Bisque with Toppings

I made pumpkin bisque last night, and happily cheated by using canned pumpkin instead of roasting the little guy in the pic above. It's an extremely simple soup (basically two ingredients) and the topping below make it killer delicious.  The concept of taking building a soup like this is from one of my favorite food writers, M.F.K. Fisher, writing about borscht.

1 15-oz can pure pumpkin purée (not pie filling)

3-4 cups chicken or veggie stock

pinch of curry powder

salt & pepper to season

In a pot, whisk together the pumpkin, stock, and curry powder, adding the stock a little at a time so that the soup doesn't get too thin. Simmer 10-15 minutes, until heated through. Season well with salt & pepper. 

You could also add cream at the end if you wanted too, but once you add the stuff below you won't miss it. 

Toppings:

Toasted walnuts

Homemade croutons, made with olive oil and seasoned with salt, pepper and fresh sage

Goat cheese

Sautéed onions

Black Bean Soup

When I was a student, there was a dive of a bar where I'd sometimes go for lunch with friends. They weren't known for their food, but it was cheap and filling---both essential for the student budget. Usually, it tasted pretty good too. The only particular dish I can remember from there is black bean soup. It was thick, tasty, and served so that when you dug your spoon into the bowl you'd find fluffy white rice at the bottom. Add some Tabasco sauce and it was oh-so-good. 

That pub is gone now, but when I make this I always think of finding the rice at the bottom of the bowl. I use ham in this recipe, but have used bacon with success as well. If you are vegetarian, I strongly suggest using a vegetarian ham or bacon (or liquid smoke) to give it a good smokey flavor. Tabasco is essential!

This can be made in a slow cooker, or on the stove. For best results, use black beans you've cooked at home; I'm no stranger to using canned, but I think it really does make a difference.

2 T oil

2 onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, pressed

4 c black beans (cooked or canned)

4 c chicken or veggie stock

1 T chili powder

2-3 tsp taco seasoning

juice of 1 lime

salt & pepper

1/2 to 3/4 c cooked ham, bacon, etc., cubed

cooked white rice for serving

Cook the onion and garlic in oil (if making on the stove, do this in a big soup pot; if using a slow cooker, cook in a pan and then transfer to cooker). Add beans, stock, seasoning, and ham. Bring to a boil and simmer 15-20 minutes (if using slow cooker, let it go 6-8 hours, and longer won't hurt). 

At this point you can do one of three things:

(1) leave as is (beans whole)

(2) purée half the soup, to thicken (this is what I usually do)

(3) purée all the soup, it'll be very thick & creamy

Add lime juice before serving, and adjust seasonings. Serve over cooked white rice and garnish with toppings such as avocado, shredded cheese, chopped green onion and/or Tabasco.

Pan-fried Farfalle Pasta with Butternut Squash, Sage, Walnuts, and Goat Cheese

Photo from www.thekitchn.com

We've finally entered the realm of cold weather, watching small bits of snow whirl around us as we bike around the city. This makes me realize a couple things: (A) I need better gloves for biking in cold weather and (B) it's time to get the oven going. My kitchen is now in full swing with warming comfort food.

I found this recipe (and the above image) on AT's The Kitchn, and have found a new earthly delight. It, um, rivals mashed potatoes as "feel good" food. I changed up just a couple things, so here is my version of the recipe. 

1 medium butternut squash, diced

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

olive oil

salt & pepper

1/2 cut fresh sage leaves

1 lb farfalle (bowtie) pasta

3/4-1 c. chopped walnuts, toasted

goat cheese to serve

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the squash, onion, garlic, olive oil, half of the sage, salt, and pepper on a baking sheet and roast approx. 45 minutes.

Near the end of the roasting time, cook pasta according to package directions. When the squash mixture is done, toss it with the cooked pasta and remaining sage. Pan-fry in olive oil until slightly browned and crisp. I originally did this in two batches in my cast iron skillet, but am thinking I could do it all at once in the wok if needed.

To serve, top with toasted walnuts and bits of goat cheese. 

Apple Butter

For my parents this turned out to be a great year for apples, Red Delicious, and we brought plenty of them back with us to Chicago. They've never used pesticides on the fruit, which is fantastic, so we were ready to gobble them up. However, I knew we'd never get through a huge bag of them and I didn't feel like making a dessert. The solution was to make apple butter, my first time ever!

It's so easy that there is hardly a recipe for it. You could do this on the stove, but I prefer the slow cooker as it is completely hands off.

Apples, peeled, cored and sliced (or chopped)---you'll need enough to fill your crockpot to the point that the lid almost doesn't fit.
2 tsp cinnamon
Other spices (ginger, cloves, nutmeg)--totally optional, I didn't use them because I wanted a very mild butter

Contrary to some beliefs, apple butter doesn't have any butter in it.

Combine the ingredients above in a slow cooker, and let it run 10-15 hours or so. I started mine at 6pm one day and turned it off around 9am the next morning.

At this point you can puree the mixture, or store it is as with tiny chunks of apple (I didn't mind the chunks). I have yet to learn how to heat process anything in jars, so I simply filled 3 jars of apple butter and stored them in the fridge.

This is great on just about anything, like toast...!

Musings on a Rainy Night Salad

At times when my family gets together, we've played a what-if game titled "If you were stuck on a desert island for the rest of your life, what is the one food item you'd want to have with you?" (I guess we were short of other fun things to do that day.....)

My immediate answer was always potatoes, mashed with plenty of butter and seasoned with salt and pepper. French fries would also do if fat wasn't an issue. My dad, however, would promptly reply "a fresh green salad." I could never quite figure that out---if I was stuck on an island, I'd want something comforting. Like potatoes, obviously.

At any rate, I think my dad was on to something. When I was living in California, a friend of mine would mention the word "salad" as if she was dying and the only medicinal compound that would extend her life included greens and dressing. She apparently knew something too.

Well, folks, I just had my favorite fresh green salad (so far). It is (un)cleverly called Rainy Night Salad.

Vegetables
I purchased arugula salad mix in bulk, and balanced the bitterness with some grated carrot. Sliced some cucumbers.

Croutons
I had half a leftover baguette, and cut it into small cubes. Tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a tiny pinch of Italian seasoning. I "toasted" them à la Julia and Jacques, by lightly frying/tossing in a pan (or wok), but you could probably bake them, instead, until crisp. I tend to like mine a little on the soft side, so that they can be pierced with a fork easily when eating.

Dressing
A simple vinaigrette.
Combine the following in a small jar:
6 T olive oil, 2 T apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, pinch of salt, and a twist of freshly ground pepper. Either put a lid on the jar and shake to combine, or whisk together. This will keep for about a week in the fridge.

The dressing soaks into the baguette croutons...and now I'm craving salad, too.

Dough for Two Pizzas

When the weather turns cold and it makes more sense to turn on the oven, we make homemade pizza at least once a week. I'd throw a few dough ingredients into Ye Olde Bread Machine and then take it from there.

Sad fact: the old bread machine is dying. Yes, it's true. The temperature isn't as regulated as it used to be, things aren't rising as they should. After all, it is almost ten years old.

I had to find another dough solution. There were two very important criteria: (1) ready to use in less than half an hour and (2) makes more than one crust.

Here's what worked, I found the recipe here; the beauty of this recipe is that you can prebake the crusts and freeze!

4 cups flour (white or whole-wheat)
1 T honey
3 tsp yeast
2 tsp sea salt
1/4 c oil (olive or canola work best)
1-1/3 c warm water (slightly warmer than room temperature)

Combine the dry ingredients, then add oil and water. Knead this mixture for about 3-4 minutes. The dough will be soft and smooth. Let this rest in a bowl for about 20 minutes or so. It will rise slightly.

At this point, divide the dough in half and follow either (A) or (B) below. Mini-pizza crusts are possible, too!

(A) If you are using the dough right away, go ahead and roll out....add toppings...and bake 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees. I like to roll the dough in some cornmeal for texture, and it helps to keep the dough from sticking to the stone or pan.

(B) If you would like to freeze the dough, roll out and pre-bake about 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool completely, then package (plastic wrap, then aluminum foil; ziploc bags would work for smaller crusts) and freeze until ready to use.

Mujadarrah

We have a long standing joke at our place: "when funds get low in the bank, it's all right—we'll just eat rice and lentils!"

The comical part of this is that we've never made good on that threat to ourselves. We usually end up eating pasta instead.

Rewind to an evening eating out at Sultan's Market on North Avenue (just west of Damen). We ordered our usual falafel pitas, spicy and complete with Jerusalem salad and hummus. On this night of nights, however, we branched out and got (gasp!) a side dish: rice and lentils. It was delicious.

So I finally made this at home, and am kicking myself for not attempting this alchemy sooner.

You'll need:
2 cups cooked lentils, the brown or green kind. I usually cook an entire pound and freeze in 2-cup portions.

2 cups of dry white long grain rice, cooked according to package directions,
adding 1 vegetarian or no-MSG bouillon cube (I used beef flavored) and 1 tsp cumin.

2-3 sweet onions, sliced into rings and cooked in a skillet until brown and carmelized in plenty of olive oil. Sprinkle with a little sea salt and black pepper. This part might take 20+ minutes.

good, thick Greek yogurt.

When all of the above are ready to eat, assemble this way:
Mix together the rice and lentils. Stir in half the fried onions. Spoon into bowls, and top with remaining fried onions and yogurt.

Yes, it really is that easy.

Some variations: bulgar can be used instead of rice, and sour cream instead of yogurt. You could also add garlic, curry powder, or whatever else feels right.

Potluck!

Last night we met up with our downstairs neighbors for an outdoor potluck! We got the grill going and enjoyed corn on the cob, sweet potatoes and portabellas. R. made a salad of greens, pears, and a homemade vinaigrette that was perfectly complemented by some raw sheep's milk blue cheese...and, an amazing chocolate cake topped with raspberries (which, by the way, was vegan and lovely). All in all, it was a good night.

I will admit, though, that cooking corn on the cob on our little grill was tough; it took forever!! Next time I might boil it first, then finish on the grill...

Tofu and Ground Pork in a Black Bean Sauce

A couple weeks ago, my friend A. took us to a family friend's restaurant in Chinatown. We've been living a few blocks from it for years, but never found ourselves inside. Perhaps it was the weather beaten exterior, or lack of signage displaying the restaurant's name. Most likely it's because we don't know any Chinese and were totally intimidated. It's called Gourmet Food, and as we found out it's the neighborhood's best kept secret. The food we had was cheap, filling, like nothing you'd get in a typical Chinese-American restaurant...and it was GOOD.

I have not tried to recreate the dish I ate there (after all, it's within walking distance and the frugal foodie's best friend—why bother?) but it did get me thinking about giving Chinese food another shot in my kitchen.

I loosely followed a recipe for Ma-Po Tofu, but seeing as there were so many substitutes it really became something else entirely. It may not be pretty, but was certainly satisfying!

1 block tofu
1/2 lb ground pork
3 T Chinese black bean sauce (with garlic)
1 T soy sauce
1 T rice wine
1 tsp grated ginger
2 T finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 tsp raw sugar (or brown)
1/4 c stock (veggie or chicken will do)
salt & pepper
1 T cornstarch dissolved in 2 T hot water
oil

Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a work, add ginger and onion. Cook for 30 seconds.

To this, add ground pork, black bean sauce, garlic, soy sauce, rice wine, and sugar. Cook 1-2 minutes.

Add tofu and stock, simmer 15 minutes on low heat. After this time, add the dissolved cornstarch and heat a minute or two. It will thicken. Season with salt & pepper and serve with white rice.

A Refried Bean Idea

I have finally figured out how to make refried beans that we like! Admittedly, they don't taste like those you'd get in a homestyle Mexican restaurant, but they're pretty darn good. The secret is the bacon--I guess it simulates lard that would normally be used. If you're vegetarian, it may work to use soy bacon crumbles together with olive oil. These are delicious with corn tortillas and guacamole.

A tip on the beans: if you have a pressure cooker, it is easy to cook a pound of these and freeze in 2-cup portions.

Anyway, here it goes:

1 strip bacon, diced/chopped
2 cloves of garlic, pressed or finely chopped
2 cans of pinto beans, or 3-1/2 cups cooked
salt/pepper
juice of 1 lime

Over medium heat in a 2-quart pot, fry up the bacon until almost crisp--do not drain the fat. Add the garlice, cook about 30 seconds. Add beans and mash with a potato masher. You might want to add a little water if it seems too dry. Season with salt & pepper, add lime juice. Stir this all together and adjust seasonings as necessary.

Grilled Sweet Potatoes & Onions

Last night we took advantage of the cool weather and grilled out--burgers, coleslaw, and this yummy sweet potato side dish. More on the burgers later, I didn't get a very good photo.
The potatoes are super easy, and would translate well to a campfire. The directions are very loose, and open to interpretation!

2 sweet potatoes, peeled & diced in roughly 1" cubes
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
olive oil
salt & pepper
aluminum foil

Toss potatoes and onion with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Using a sheet of aluminum foil, form a packet and seal tightly on the edges (you might need to make two or three packets, I've found they cook faster when in smaller groups). Poke a few holes in the top of the packet(s) with a fork. Grill for about 20-30 minutes on medium-high, they're finished when the potatoes are pierced easily with a fork.

French Lentil Soup with Tortellini and Roasted Red Pepper Purée

Wow, the name of this dish is just way too long. It's difficult to know what to call it. Perhaps I'll just name it Stanley to make it easier on everyone.

It was time to start emptying the freezer and digging through the pantry. I found this to be a great soup to make with little odds and ends, and there are loads of variations. I was a little worried about serving soup in June (makes me think of cold weather) but it's nice and cool outside tonight; somehow this just worked.

1 onion, finely chopped
1-2 T olive oil or butter
1/2 c roasted red pepper purée (frozen leftovers from another dish)
1 T tomato paste (frozen remainder of a can I had to open for something else)
2-3 T pesto (frozen from the last time I made pesto)
2 c vegetable or chicken stock
2 c cooked French lentils (I cook a bunch at once, then freeze 2-cup portions in ziploc bags)
1 10-oz package tortellini (used the cheese variety from Trader Joe’s)
salt & pepper to taste
fresh basil, finely chopped
Parmesan cheese for serving

In the bottom of a large-ish soup pot, heat the olive oil or butter and cook onion until tender. Add the red pepper purée and tomato paste, then add stock and lentils. While this is simmering, cook the tortellini in a separate pot according to package directions (if you cook them in the soup itself, they'll absorb too much water).

When the tortellini are finished cooking, drain well then add to the main soup pot. Simmer just a couple minutes to acquaint the tortellini with the rest of its new family. Season with salt and pepper, stir in some fresh basil, and serve with a mound of Parmesan cheese on top.

Weekend Garden Blogging 2

Okay, okay--it's Monday (certainly not the weekend) but here's the weekend garden update anyway. Things are still blossoming! The roma is turning out to be super sturdy, and there are hardly any suckers (a bummer, since I really like pinching those off). The kung pao peppers are in blossom, and the eggplant is finally showing more growth:

Weekend Garden Blogging 1

Our deck is alive with greenery, a good mix of edibles and ornamentals. I took a few photos this morning (with the intention of an update each weekend) of what's growing.

While John is in charge of the ornamentals, my preference is to grow things that I eat. I blame most of this on coming from a long family history of agriculture! I did a mix of growing from seed, and purchasing transplants. Here's a list of what's cropping up:

roma tomatoes (seed)
kung pao peppers (seed)
jalapeño peppers (transplant)
miniature eggplants (seed)
Japanese cucumbers (transplant)
strawberries (transplant)
green onions (seed)
cilantro (transplant)
basil (transplant)
bee balm (transplant)

Here are a few photos, too! So far, the plants that have really taken off are the tomatoes and cucumbers. The kung pao peppers aren't far behind...

Simple Yogurt Waffles

We received a waffle iron for our wedding, and what a treat! (Um, yeah, I guess that's where I've been hiding out the past few months...getting married!)

Waffles have become a regular Sunday morning treat for us. Before we made our first batch, I began rummaging through the cookbook library looking for interesting waffle recipes with crazy names like blueberry-flax-chocolate-banana-oat-whatever waffles.

This waffle is, thankfully, nothing like that. It will not glue itself to your waffle iron because you've added cheese or something. In the spirit of simple cooking, the fun is in the toppings. I've pictured it above the way we like to eat them--just 100% pure maple syrup and some fruit. And, most definitely, a good slather of butter. (Side note: the link above will connect you to a great article about Iowa maple syrup. There is indeed Midwestern competition for this sweet delight!)

I use vanilla yogurt instead of milk, only because there always seems to be yogurt in the fridge but never the latter. Changing the flavor of yogurt would be an easy way to adapt the recipe to your own taste.

1 c. water
1 c. yogurt (I've used whole and low fat, with equally good results)
2 eggs
2 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

In a medium/large bowl, combine the water, yogurt, and eggs. In a smaller bowl, mix together the remaining (dry) ingredients. Add dry ingredients to wet, and stir to combine. Bake in a waffle iron (according to the directions that came with the appliance).

Top with butter, maple syrup, fruit, chocolate chips, anything!

Bread Pudding

Leftover bread. A conundrum. The freezer is already stocked with fresh bread crumbs, and the pantry well supplied with dry ones. I could have made croutons, but a good old-fashioned dessert was calling my name instead. Bread pudding....and I've never eaten it before. The procedure sounded somewhat familiar to me, though bread pudding just wasn't part of the repertoire I grew up with.

I used some leftover bread I had made last week (a yummy multi-grain based on a traditional Icelandic recipe) that worked better than I had thought; most of the recipes I'd read utilized leftover sourdough, baguettes, or other white bread.

Here's the dish:
4 c cubed multi-grain bread (crusts are ok)
1-1/2 c milk (I used 2%)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 c raw sugar
1/2 c raisins (if they're really dry, soak them in water a few minutes to plump them up)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon

Pecan topping:
3 T butter, slightly softened
1/4 c raw sugar
4 T flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 c chopped pecans

Place cubed bread in a baking dish. Mix milk, eggs, sugar, raisins, nutmeg and cinnamon together and pour over. Toss the mixture a little to make sure all the bread is covered. This should sit for about 5-7 minutes. Meanwhile, you can make the topping: just combine the ingreadients together until you have a crumble concoction.

Sprinkle the topping on the bread mixture, and place into a 350 degree oven. Bake 30-40 minutes, until browned and done.

While I'm happy with the way this dish turned out, my next experiment will be to make a fine sauce to spoon over!