Quick and Easy

Gnocchi with broccoli and scape pesto

When you need a meal that's fast and easy and delicious, it's helpful to have a package of potato gnocchi lying around. If you have a package of potato gnocchi around, and your boss has a small garden and brings you a romanesco broccoli head, it may occur to you to saute the broccoli (and leaves!) to go with the gnocchi. If you saute the broccoli and leaves to go with the gnocchi, you may want to use the leftover olive oil from frying sage leaves for frying the broccoli. And if you fry up broccoli in a bit of sage-flavored olive oil, you may want to add some homemade scape pesto that's been sitting in your freezer. And if you add some homemade scape pesto, you may want to go ahead and use the last little broccoli and cauliflower florets harvested from your garden. And if you do all these things, you may well sigh contentedly after your quick and easy meal at the incredible deliciousness that 4 ingredients can make.



Romanesco Broccoli
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanesco_broccoli



Sunday gleanings

Well originally this morning I told myself - that's it, no technology today, have a sabbath rest from the internet! Of course, did I listen to myself? Not so much. It's so hard when you use the internet to call far-away family and friends, or if you want to boast about your latest cooking adventures on the only day you really have time to do so....   I guess there's always next Sunday. Actually since it is Sunday, I have had this quote floating around in my head about being with God  that continually brings a smile to my face:

God
and I have become
like two giant fat people living
in a tiny
boat.

We
keep bumping into
each other
and laughing.
(Shams-ud-din Muhammad Hafiz)

 

And now back to food. We had a couple of friends over for dinner last night; one has extreme dietary restrictions. She offered to bring her own leftovers for herself, but I couldn't bear not to be able to feed her food that I made so I ended up with an all vegetable soup (kale, carrots, onion, celery, tomatoes, parsley) plus chickpeas from scratch - no vegetable broth shortcuts which can have unexpected ingredients in them - and I found an actual bread that works for her! A flat bread that made her rejoice in its similarity in taste to cornbread when she hasn't been able to eat anything with corn for a couple of years. Apparently it's Italian in origin and, since it only contains chickpea flour, oil, salt, and spices,  it's gluten-free, sugar-free and vegan!!! I tried two versions of the recipe (Version 1, Version 2) and the second was my favorite for the crispiness (due to more oil and the way the batter is added to oil).

So for Version 1, I used a 9x13" metal baking pan. I brushed the pan with a bit of olive oil and added 2 Tbs of olive oil into the batter when beating it. I baked for about 20-30 minutes and did not take the time to broil it as I was trying to finish baking version 2 in the oven simultaneously. The texture is like a flat cornbread, soft, and crackles on the top as it bakes. For this version, I added ground toasted cumin as the spice.

For Version 2, I used a cast iron skillet and poured the 4 Tbs of olive oil in per the directions. This meant that when the batter was poured in, oil was both underneath the batter and rose up to cover the batter, leading to all around crispiness. I did have to bake this version for something like 30-40 minutes, due to the thicker layer of batter in the pan. For this version, I added dried rosemary which was another lovely flavor. I did NOT add the onion.

Version 2: Chickpea-Rosemary Flatbread

Moroccan-Spiced Spaghetti Squash

The last squash from our garden

Everything "from scratch" can take a while if you want to accomplish it all on the same day, which is why I frequently ended up cooking things after I've just finished dinner -- getting ahead on the next recipe. I was so pleased with the way this meal worked out and being able to reuse parts of the ingredients in other parts of the meal. I soaked the chickpeas the night prior, and boiled them away for about an hour with 1 quartered onion, 5 cloves garlic, 1/2 tsp asafoetida, 3 sprigs parsley, and a bit of celery, adding salt at the end.

Chickpeas from scratch - thanks Deborah Madison!

The squash was cut in half and microwaved to cook it. I used this recipe for the Moroccan-Spiced Spaghetti Squash but amended it a bit: sautéing a chopped onion with the minced garlic until tender in olive oil, adding in the spices (double the amount), and about 2 c. worth of chickpeas with the cooked squash, until all warmed through and seasoned.

Onion, garlic, chickpeas, squash, and spices

To prepare the couscous dish, I boiled 2 cups of the broth from the chickpeas with a cinnamon stick for 10 minutes before pouring it over 1 c. couscous and 1/2 c. raisins and letting sit until the couscous is cooked and raisins were plump.

Served on top of a bed of couscous
with raisins and parsley

Serve the squash over the couscous and top with lots of fresh parsley. You could also try adding yogurt or lemon juice.

I ended up with leftover chickpeas and broth, so I'm thinking these might be used to together for some kind of italian soup....  but for a rest! and leftovers!

Banana Almond Butter Granola Bars

Success! I have at last found a recipe for granola bars that does not use honey or sugar. Thanks to Anja for posting this recipe. Almond butter and banana serve as a binder and the bar is filled with oats, nuts, and dried fruit. I substituted walnuts for the almonds, dried cranberries for the cherries, and used a combination of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds in the 1/4 c. mixed seeds. The only change I would make is including dried coconut (instead of the cranberries) and adding some salt. It was actually quite sweet with the banana, the natural almond butter, and dried fruit.

Before baking

In terms of baking - I used a 9x5" loaf pan. This produces a very thick granola bar - it's probably more accurate to describe it as a baked oat bar (not so much crunchy), but I suspect if you cooked it in an 8x8" pan, it might get much crunchier. The thickness of the bars is about 1 1/4" or a bit more. I also baked it for about 35 minutes to get a bit of a crunchy crust on the top.

Cut into squares!

So excited to take these for snacks!

Fuzzy Logic

Do you ever wake up in the morning and wonder what on earth you were thinking the previous night? How your decision making process came up with an entirely unlogical conclusion?

Yep logic fail. Yesterday = work day. Getting up at 7am, cycling for 40 min, heading off to work, getting home at 6:30pm. Gulping down dinner before driving off to our new minister's covenanting service. In the car was a shopping list and bags, like somehow after the service ended (at 8:30pm) I would go to Superstore and stock up on much needed supplies. By the time I got to my house at 9pm, I decided no, far too late, best to just call it a night. EXCEPT, what do I do once I make it indoors? Oh, nothing much, just cook some chickpeas from scratch (they had been soaked overnight), make some banana almond butter granola bars, and cook spaghetti squash. And it only took until 11:42 pm.... at which point, wife had already been asleep for 1.75 hrs. Yep, we know who was the smarter of the two. And it's also the first fall morning of rain...  come on motivation!

The good news is, thanks to my late night escapades, a) healthy snacks for my weird 10:30-11 am tummy rumbles, and b) almost everything is prepped for making Moroccan Spiced Spaghetti Squash tonight!

My TO-DO List

Clearly, after a couple of days of too much computer work at my desk, I have been distracting (ehem tormenting) myself by reading food blogs. I have started creating a list of recipes that I want to cook this fall, but who knows when I will have time! Anyone with other good fall themed recipes featuring squash, kale, apples, root vegetables, etc. let me know.

Squash-black bean soup (done!)

Sweet potato/chard gratin  (DONE!)
Apple challah
Yogurt semolina cake
Moroccan spiced spaghetti squash (DONE!)
Honey cake
Olive and parsley quinoa cakes  (DONE!)
Veggie meat from scratch
Brussel sprouts salad with cornbread croutons
Banana pecan granola bars
Almond butter granola bars (DONE!)
Winter pasta (kale sauce)
Pumpkin Dumplings with Masala Sauce (DONE!)
Roasted Vegetables in Kalamata Olive Galette
Pumpkin Scones (DONE!)

Spaghetti Squash Black Bean Soup with Kefir Cheese

The saga of squash soups continues! With all the black bean broth left over from my crockpot black beans and a new batch of chipotle sauce, I decided this was a perfect opportunity for another take on squash soup. The pureed black beans and broth were a lovely texture addition to the soup and the tangyness of the kefir cheese with toasted cumin seeds was perfect.

Squash Soup with Black Beans (makes a LOT - approximately 4 L of soup)
2 spaghetti squash, cooked and peeled
2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled, chopped, and roasted (approx 40 min in a 400 degree F oven with olive oil)
4 celery ribs, chopped
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
2 large onions, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
8 c. water
500 mL bean broth + 2-3 c. black beans pureed with 2 c. broth (a total of ~ 3/4 L was added)
4-6 Tbs ground cumin
1/4 - 1/2 c. Chipotle sauce
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar (or fresh lime juice)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Once the squash and sweet potatoes are cooked, sauté the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic in olive or canola oil until the onions are translucent and all the veggies are fragrant.
2. Add water, cumin, squash, sweet potatoes and bean broth and bring to a boil. Simmer until all the veggies are soft (or not if you like texture). Use an immersion blender to puree the soup.
3. Add in the pureed black beans, chipotle sauce, cider vinegar, and salt to taste. Let simmer for another 20-30 minutes and adjust seasonings as needed.

Excellent served with more chipotle sauce for those who like it spicier, or kefir cheese stirred together with a bit of salt and ground toasted cumin seeds. (Alternately you could add sour cream)

Photo to come

Simple Foods

This week has been long and hectic what with cleaning our old apartment and finishing up all those last chores. Although looking at the sink and shower in our new apartment, I have to say we were far kinder to the next tenants than the people who lived here before us .... Also, I decided it must be true that I am a bit of a foodie given that as I have been practicing counting daily gratitudes for the past week that usually 9 out of 10 of my gratitudes for the day seem to revolve around food: ie. the smell of mint chocolate tea, the golden orange yolk of a free range brown egg, the tingle of chipotle burn on your lips, a perfectly moist cupcake... and so on :)

Regardless, it has been a week of simple foods, and yet for some reason, likely the quality of ingredients, the flavors have more than compensated for the lack of finesse.

Monday Night: Cheese toast with homemade salsa verde and perfectly fried eggs.

Tuesday Night: Toast with sauteed kale (from the garden) and less perfectly fried eggs....  and I started a crockpot full of black beans!

Wednesday Night: Black beans, rice, sautéed kale (from the garden), and shredded cheese. Magnificently easy and delicious.

And I learned a new trick -- once the black beans are done, sauté the kale in a cup or so of the bean broth and simmer until almost all the liquid is gone to really pull more flavor into the kale. You could easily top this bowl of goodness with chopped tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, etc, but this was just right for us.

Thursday Night: BBQ Tofu, Southern Greens, and Cornbread. A cornbread recipe that is "the one" as in you will never need another one and never desire another one. It comes from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads -- a whole section on cornbreads, but this recipe is the one with a giant star next to it and the scribbled phrase, "This is it!"

BBQ Tofu is my new go-to-protein that I can put onto roast any time of the day or week that I have 40 minutes and store for up to a week in the fridge. Slice up a block of firm or extra firm tofu into 1/4" pieces. Pour BBQ sauce into the bottom of a 9x9" baking dish (or something relatively that size) and lay out all the tofu strips, covering with more BBQ sauce. Roast at about 375 degrees F for 40 minutes, checking to make sure the sauce doesn't evaporate to the point of burning. This recipe is especially good for overly thin BBQ sauce as it will concentrate into a nice thickened coating on the tofu.  You can then use the tofu  as sandwich filling or as an entree that just needs to be reheated to go along with southern greens and cornbread.

Southern Greens (Adapted from Rachel Ray)
2 Tbs butter
1/4 - 1/2 medium onion, chopped
A skillet full of greens: I had a mix of kale, chard, and beet greens. If you do use kale in your mix, I recommend cooking it for twice as long as something like chard as it takes much longer to soften. (Can also use collard greens)
3 Tbs white vinegar
2 1/2 c. water
2-3 tsp sugar
1- 3 tsp Hot sauce (Tabasco)

1. Melt butter in the skillet, add onion and saute until golden.
2. Add in the greens (kale first if you have a mix), vinegar, water, sugar and hot sauce (start small and work your way up).
3. Cover and let simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add beet greens and chard as appropriate for the cooking time. You can remove the lid and let some of the liquid simmer off or save the liquid for broth.
4. Taste and add more vinegar/sugar/hot sauce as needed. Note, the kale tasted much spicier than the broth so be careful about adding tabasco liberally and only tasting the broth :)

Cornbread (the best cornbread ever IMHO)
1 c. all purpose flour
1 c. cornmeal
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 c. sugar
1 cup milk
2 eggs room temperature
1/4 c. butter, melted
1 c. frozen corn kernels (optional - but I always put it in!)
1/2 - 1 c. shredded cheese and/or diced jalapenos (optional)

1. Sift dry ingredients together.
2. Beat eggs together, then beat in milk and then butter.
3. Stir wet into dry ingredients, adding in corn/cheese/jalapenos at the end - stirring the batter just until moistened all the way through.
4. Pour into a greased 9x9" baking pan or a greased cast iron skillet and bake at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. The top should be a bit browned and test for done-ness with a knife/cake tester.

Autumn Flavors: Squash Soup with Chipotle Sauce

The air is turning cooler and trees are starting to resemble living flames. The garden is being stripped of its final summer burst of produce and winter rye is planted. We also have a shelf full of squash to consume. To inaugurate our new apartment, my friend M came over to cook and "christen" the apartment for its soon to be many culinary adventures. We doubled this Epicurious recipe for a squash-sweet potato soup with a chipotle sauce that is drizzled over the top. Just fabulous.  Of course we tweaked it a little bit too ......

Squash-Sweet Potato Soup
3 lb squash (we used half acorn and half spaghetti squash, but you could use butternut, acorn, etc. - we roasted the acorn squash w/ olive oil and microwaved the spaghetti squash to cook it)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 lb sweet potatoes (2 large), roasted in the oven with olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 leek, chopped
1-2 Tbs chopped ginger
8 to 10 cups veggie broth
1- 2 apples, peeled and cored, chopped
Pepper and salt to taste

1. Per the directions on the website, you need to cook the squash and sweet potatoes first.
2. Saute the onion and leek in olive oil. When almost done add in the ginger.
3. Add in the broth and apples, bring to a boil. Simmer until apples are tender. (You can reserve part of the broth until you know the soup is the consistency you want)
4. Add in squash, sweet potatoes, pepper and salt. Simmer 10 minutes, then puree with an immersion blender.
5. Serve in bowls, drizzled with chipotle sauce (see below)

Chipotle sauce
1 small yellow onion (or half of a large onion), chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 dried ancho chiles
1 chipotle chiles (canned or dried - we used canned)
2 c. water
2 Tbs toasted cumin seeds (or freshly ground cumin)

1. Saute onion and garlic in a bit of oil until golden.
2. Add water, cumin, and chiles. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes or so, until dried chiles are tender.
3. Puree in a blender. Add water or spices as needed for right consistency/flavor.

Pumpkin Ale - What Says Fall Better?

Tour of the New Place

Entry Closet - All the Camping Stuff Fits!

Entry Hall way

Entry way to Living Room

Living Room

"Pantry"

Dining Room/Kitchen

Kitchen view #1

Kitchen view #2

Bedroom

Bedroom

Bathroom (A Shower with a Tub!)

Somehow I will survive the lack of counterspace... somehow .... I'm pretty sure the untouchable ceilings, huge windows, patio, and giant living room will make up for it :)

Oh The Things I've Cooked (and not Photographed)

Maybe it's because I have a meeting every night this week, or the fact that I just facilitated a 30 person conference, or that I'm moving next weekend, but somehow I haven't managed to photograph the food that I've made this week, which makes me disappointed because it was pretty darn interesting!

Food item #1: Shakshouka, an Israeli/Middle Eastern dish traditionally made up of a spicy tomato sauce upon which eggs are poached. Here's one recipe link and a photo from Wikipedia's entry:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/04/shakshuka/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakshouk

You might also call this dish the perfect dinner or breakfast item for a quick protein and lots of vegetables. I chopped onion, garlic, and zucchini, sauteed them and then added in a bunch of chopped fresh tomatoes from wife's garden (you can use a can of diced or plum tomatoes that are chopped), sumac, and coriander. I didn't go the spicy route this time but you could add peppers, paprika, cayenne, cumin, etc. Add salt and pepper to taste. Then crack about 4 -6 eggs spaced over the top of the sauce. Cover with a lid and let simmer gently until the egg whites are cooked and the egg yolks have slightly cooked. To serve, scoop up the egg and sauce underneath and top with cheese (shredded cheddar, feta, etc. ) and possibly herbs (chopped parsley). Have some kind of bread or pita along side for scooping up extra sauce!

Food item #2: Tapioca pearl dumplings. Of course. If you have 1 cup of tapioca pearls that you inherited that previous recipe experiences have shown have an odd smoky flavor - you must seek long and hard to find one of the few savory recipes that might benefit from an odd smoky flavor. And  you're trying to clear out your pantry of odds and ends before you move. So this perfect confluence of events led to: Thai Tapioca Pearl Dumplings. Check out Sala's gorgeous photos!
 
This is one of the most creative savory uses of pearls that I was able to find, but let me just say the implementation of this recipe also requires creativity. I was able to successfully make the tapioca dough consistency, but it's a perfectly timed process: e.g. the dough needs to cool enough after boiling water that you don't burn your hands while needing, but if you let it cool too much, the dough seizes up. You also have to keep the dough from sticking to your hands. Also, I had difficulty stuffing it without the filling falling out. Could be my mixed veggies weren't minced enough? I used a mixture of onion, garlic, ginger, minced cabbage, carrot and peanuts. My dumpling balls were not perfect by any means - some of them looked more like I had simply mashed the filling together with the dough and rolled it into a ball :)  but once I steamed them (using a bamboo steamer) for about 20 minutes (I had very small pearls), they were a beautiful translucent, jelly like texture on the outside and you could see the darker filling inside. The sauce that goes along with this dish was delicious.  I don't know if I would make these again, but they do look impressive. Unfortunately I have about 3 cups of left over filling so I guess now I have to figure out if I can use my small quantity of rice flour to make another kind of dumpling dough from scratch....

Food Item #3: Fried green tomatoes! Enough said! Lots of green tomatoes from wife's garden tempting me to try my hand at frying again. I did a simple batter of cornmeal mixed with my cajun spice mix (roughly I can recollect that I made this spice mix when I made fried okra using paula deen's recipe). If the green tomatoes were juicy, I just dipped them straight in the cornmeal mixture. If they were a bit drier, I dipped them quickly in milk and then into the cornmeal mixture. SOOOOO wonderful. (fried in canola oil - no bacon lard for me!)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/fried-green-tomatoes-recipe/index.html