Experimenting

I haven't have a whole lot of time or inclination for cooking or blogging lately, as music making has been edging out other activities as a priority. So it makes me happy when I manage to find an occasion to cook something new rather than the tried and true like yesterday's post.


I had some delicious soft and slightly sweet bread at Spring Street Natural a few weeks ago that we deduced to be sweet potato bread. I experimented with making my own recently, adapting the potato bread recipe from my trusty copy of Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book. And my new apartment came with a dutch oven(!), which makes it easy to achieve this beautiful crust without needing to adapt my slow cooker crock with aluminum foil. I used one medium sweet potato in my version, and the flavor came out nice but a little too subtle, so I'd like to experiment again with a greater proportion of mashed yams.


I also tried my hand at homemade veggie burgers for the first time recently. I don't know why I'd never done this before...I guess I thought it was more complicated, but it really is as easy as throwing beans and a few other ingredients in a food processor, forming patties, and frying them. I forgot to snap pictures, but I made vegan black bean burgers with onion, garlic, cumin and other spices, and oats instead of bread crumbs. Well, they were vegan until I added cheese on top. It was a winning combination together with toasted slices of sweet potato bread and mustard.


I would have liked my burgers to be less mushy on the inside, which seems like a common problem with veggie burgers - does anyone have any tips on that? My sister recommended incorporating wheat gluten for consistency. I will be experimenting with homemade veggie burgers more now that I have become an almost vegetarian (more on that another day), so I'll report back once I settle on a recipe or two I like.

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How to Eat at Summer's End

Somewhere along the way, I forgot to keep taking photos of my farmers market hauls, but I've still been bringing home bags of produce and finding time to cook despite my newly busy schedule. This time of year, I like to focus on tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant, which in past summers, I would have grilled and turned into caponata. Lacking a grill has required me to get a little more creative this year. Below are some dishes I've enjoyed in the past couple weeks, showing how seasonal vegetable driven meals can be as lazy or as complex as you have the time and inclination for.

For a still hot summer night when you don't feel like cooking:
Deconstructed cheese and tomato sandwiches
Top one cube of Bread Alone organic baguette with one slice of Bobolink grass fed cheddar and one cherry tomato (preferably from a mother's garden) and pop in mouth. Chase with a sip of Troegs Sunshine Pils.



For a cooler late summer Sunday when you have time for a cooking project, so that you can eat quick meals with little prep later in the week:
Roasted red pepper hummus
Cook a large batch of dried chickpeas, let cool, drain, and apportion into jars in freezer for future meals. Also roast two or three red peppers until blackened on each side, remove skins, slice into strips, and marinate in olive oil and garlic in refrigerator. Either that day or sometime in the next week, prepare the hummus - thaw one jar of cooked chickpeas, and blend in food processor with 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, a generous stream of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of tahini, juice of 1/2 lemon, and a sprinkling of crushed hot pepper. Serve this special sweet and spicy hummus with warmed pita as an appetizer or as a dinner for one.





For a cool evening when you have time to make a more complicated dinner, company to help, and/or a desire for leftovers:
Eggplant parmesan sandwiches
Slice one large eggplant into thin rounds. Salt heavily and let drain in colander for 30-60 minutes, rinse, and dry with paper or cloth towels. Dredge eggplant in a bowl of beaten egg and then in a plate of homeground breadcrumbs. Fry in a shallow layer of hot oil until browned on each side. As you dredge and fry, have a helper remove the cooked eggplant from the pan and layer it in a baking dish with homemade tomato sauce and grated parmesan cheese. Warm in oven for 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted, alongside slices of Amy's rustic Italian bread drizzled with olive oil. Plate sandwiches, enjoy with a red wine, and remember to thank your helper for doing the dishes.

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Summer Salads

I haven't written about food in a while, probably because I haven't had the time or brainspace to think about cooking.

That said, I'm a big fan of grainy summer salads that can be scooped up with pita chips, like tabbouleh. If you make the chickpeas and grains ahead, these are practically no-cook meals and great for parties. Here are a few I've made this summer. Measurements are approximate - add ingredients like grated parmesan, olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh herbs liberally and adjust to suit your taste.

Cabbage, Chickpea, & Rice Salad
1 cup cooked brown rice
1-2 cups cooked chickpeas
1/3 - 1/2 head of red cabbage
1/2 onion
3 tbsp fresh mint leaves
1/3 lemon, juice & zest
olive oil
salt
pepper


Israeli Couscous, Chickpea, & Arugula Salad

1 cup israeli couscous
1-2 cups chickpeas
2 red pepers, roasted and cut into strips
2 heads green garlic or 2 cloves regular garlic
1 bunch arugula
olive oil
grated parmesan
salt
pepper


"Bruschetta" Tabbouleh
This mediterranean bulgur salad doesn't have to be all about the cucumber and parsley. Here's a version I made focusing on my favorite flavors of summer - fresh tomatoes, basil, and garlic - thrown in with bulgur instad of topping toasty bruschetta.

1 cup bulgur
1 1/2 cup boiling water
2 tomatoes, chopped
3 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1 zucchini, diced (optional)
3 cloves garlic, diced
salt
pepper
juice of 1/2 lemon
olive oil

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Smoky Vegetarian Crock Pot Baked Beans

After a trip to the southern BBQ joint Blue Smoke, I was craving some more warm, tangy baked beans. I figured it would be easy enough to make in my crock pot. I was also lucky enough to receive a jar of Catskills homemade maple syrup as a gift - I don't know how he made it, but his syrup has a crazy smoky flavor! So it was perfect for whipping up a smoky barbecue sauce to coat the beans. Thanks to the special syrup, this recipe tasted great without any bacon or pork (as baked beans traditionally include), but I think I'd be happy making these vegetarian again even without the benefit of the smoke.

Smoky Vegetarian Crock Pot Baked Beans

2 cups dried beans
1 onion, diced
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp smoky maple syrup
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp mustard
2 tbsp molasses
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp salt
several grinds of pepper

The night before, place dried beans in bowl to soak, filled with water about two inches above the beans.
Whisk together remaining ingredients and reserve in an airtight container in the fridge overnight.
The next morning, drain and rinse beans. Combine beans, barbecue sauce, and 1 1/2 cup of water in crock pot and stir until beans are coated in sauce. Let cook on low approximately 4 hours, turn to high for 2-3 hours, and then turn to low until ready to serve.

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Healthy Beans and Rice

It's a typical story but true - after gorging on food of all sorts over the holidays, I actually couldn't stand the thought of any more sugar and started craving whole grains and greens. So I devised this healthy version of rice and beans, with spinach, brown rice, and quinoa for added nutrition. For flavor, I tossed in salsa and cheddar cheese, but plenty of other cheeses would work well with this, and you can dial down or up the cheese as much as you want. This recipe is endlessly flexible. Use all brown rice, or all quinoa. Swap in an onion or shallots for the leek depending on what you have on hand. Other greens besides spinach, such as kale, swiss chard, thinly sliced cabbage, or even chopped brussel sprouts will work just as well here.

My boyfriend called it his "favorite thing you've ever made." Of course - this is exactly the kind of one pot dish he loves - a creamy bowl of hearty grains, protein and greens. I only wish I had made more because he ate about 3 straight servings, leaving me without leftovers, so next time I might double the recipe.

Healthy Beans and Rice

1 cup dried black beans (or 2 cans black beans)
1/2 cup brown rice
1/2 cup quinoa
1 leek
1 bunch spinach
1/4 cup grated cheese
1 cup salsa
salt
pepper
crushed hot pepper
cumin

Soak dried beans overnight (or bring to a boil and then let soak for one hour). Rinse beans and then return to pot covered with two inches of water. Bring to a boil and simmer until tender, about 60-90 minutes.

Combine rice, quinoa, and 2 1/2 cups water in a small pot, and simmer for about 40 minutes until rice is tender.

After about 30 minutes, rinse and chop the leek into half moons. In a large pan, sautee leeks over low heat. Then rinse the spinach, chop into small pieces, and sautee until wilted. Add salsa to pan to warm.

When rice and beans are done, combine in pan with spinach, grated cheese, salsa, and spices. Makes about 4 servings.

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The Usual

This is how most weeknight dinners in my home end up. I cook a big one-pot dish that includes some form of protein, vegetable, and grain, and then we each eat a bowl or two of it for dinner, and the rest goes into tupperware stored in the fridge and freezer for future lunches/dinners/boyfriend's midnight drunk ransacking of the kitchen.

Pictured above is my naive attempt at making Indian food at home: a variation on aloo gobi, with the addition of chickpeas for protein. I simmered dried chickpeas until soft, while cooking brown rice, and while boiling cauliflower and potatoes until tender and while defrosting blanched summer tomatoes from the freezer. Then I sauteed onions in a big pot until translucent, added in the potatoes, cauliflower, chickpeas, and rice with a whole heck of curry powder (probably 2 tbps), tumeric, cumin, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper and simmered it all together a few more minutes. Not as good as what you'd get at an Indian restaurant. But good enough for a healthy, everyday kind of meal.

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Roasted Root Vegetable and Bean Casserole

While the pumpkin was roasting on Sunday night, I also roasted up this squash casserole for dinner. This is one of our favorite go-to fall/winter dishes, so I thought I'd bring it back from the archives for you.

I like making it best with butternut squash, potatoes, onions, and a couple different kind of beans, but you can throw in whatever you have on hand. Other kinds of squash, carrots, parsnips, celery root, and leeks also work well. If you only have a squash and a can of beans, you can make a small batch like that, or you can make a huge casserole with all the vegetables in your fridge, but the fuller your casserole dish, the longer it will take to roast. Either way, at the end you will have a dish of tender roasted vegetables and beans that are slightly softly falling apart on your fork, enhanced by creamy melted parmesan.

Roasted Root Vegetable and Bean Casserole

1 butternut squash
2 small or 1 large potato
2 small or 1 large carrot
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1 can white beans
1 can black beans
extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
dried rosemary and/or sage
parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Peel the squash (but not the other vegetables) and chop vegetables into 1 inch pieces. Dice the garlic. Rinse the beans. Coat the bottom of a casserole dish with olive oil. Throw all the ingredients in, add the spices and another glug of olive oil, and lightly stir to create an even mixture. Cover with aluminum foil and cook in the oven for 20-45 minutes until tender. Remove the foil and cook for another 10 minutes, until vegetables are soft and browning slightly. Grate and stir in parmesan cheese.

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Save Your Parmesan Rinds!

The good news is that I got the internet working on my computer again. The bad news is that I'm sick. I stayed home from work today, lounging on my bed with my napping dog to keep me company. Somehow, earlier in the week before I came down with this cold, I had the foresight to make a big batch of soup, which is interesting because I'm usually not much of a soup person. Must be the chilly fall weather.


Well I'm glad I had this tasy lentil vegetable soup to warm my aching bones for lunch this week. Paired with hearty whole wheat toast, it was just what I needed. That, plus hot toddies and lots of sleep and bundling up in warm clothes and episodes of Mad Men and a leisurely walk in the autumn air, have me feeling a lot better this evening.

I had a couple rinds of old parmesan in the freezer, because I'd heard that throwing a parmesan rind in soup is a great way to add flavor. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was true - the rind melted and added much needed salt and richness to what would otherwise be a somewhat bland soup. I will definitely continue to freeze parmesan rinds once they're too stale to grate, and use them in future soups and stocks. It's the thrify way to go!

Lentil soup doesn't require an exact recipe. Here are some guidelines:
Soak a cup of lentils in water for an hour. Meanwhile, dice and sautee vegetables in a big pot until softened - I used 3 carrots, 3 leeks, and a bag full of banana peppers, becase that's what I had in the fridge from the farmers market. Add lentils and parmesan rind to the pot, along with enough chicken or vegetable stock to cover it all by an inch or two, add desired spices such as salt, pepper, oregano, sage, crushed red pepper, and then simmer for about an hour until lentils have softened. Remove parmesan rind, and ta da!


As for the bread I paired this with, it was a whole wheat loaf from the farmers market, because the bread I made myself last weekend was inedible. A sad waste of flour. I had no idea what went wrong, since the two loaves of dough felt perfect in my hands until they headed into the oven. As you can see, the crust puffed up , while the bottom layer of dough remained gummy, with a huge pocket of air in between. I had never seen anything like it, and I thought I did something wrong, but it turns out that our oven is broken! This also explains the undercooked eggplant in the eggplant parmesan I made last week, and our inability to bake potatoes into fries in the oven this week. We're getting a new oven this weekend, and I cannot wait to bake some cookies or pumpkin bread or some other tasty fall treat. It's fall, it's cold, and our landlord doesn't like to turn on the heat, so I'm dying to do some baking to warm/cozy up the apartment!

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Another Barbecue

Another weekend, another barbecue, trying to fit them all in before summer slips away. I invited friends over last night for a low key gathering, and wasn't sure how many people would come, so I ended up with a lot of leftovers, both food and alcohol-wise. I guess that's a good thing, except it means I'll have to move all of it (see below).

I made grass fed burgers using ground beef from Elk Trails with my signature fresh sage (from my deck) and worcestershire sauce combination. I grilled them myself - it was the first time I'd ever personally made hamburgers on the grill, and they came out perfectly medium and yummy.

I baked up the crisp flatbread again, this time using 1 cup local whole wheat flour and 3/4 cup white flour, and mixing in fresh ground pepper instead of rosemary, and I thought it had much better depth of flavor.

For dipping, I made hummus and baba ghanoush. I bought eggplants from a new, mad cheap vendor at the Union Square Greenmarket, but I was unlucky and it turned out they had tons of seeds, so I did my best to remove them to keep the baba ghanoush from being overly bitter. I'm not going to post the recipe I used because it was kind of fly-by-my-pants and didn't come out quite as magical as I hoped. I also ended up with less than stellar corn, that was small and not especially sweet, but people enjoyed it anyway, especially topped with some Ronnybrook butter.

And now, I should probably continue packing, since I'm moving into my new apartment tomorrow. I like to think I don't own a lot of posessions, but I've realized that my obsession with food means I will have to ferry box after box after box of foodstuffs and kitchen accoutrements. Moving is a bitch.

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Maine Part III: Cooking Locally at the Campsite

I was disappointed to learn that I would miss both the Portland and Bar Harbor Farmers Markets by just a few hours each due to our traveling schedule. To compensate, I packed food from the Union Square Greenmarket that I thought could stand the trip - butter, honey, maple syrup, potatoes, onions, zucchini, and eggs. I was also buoyed by the fact that restaurants in Maine make an effort to serve locally produced food - more on that later. And I figured there would be plenty of farm stands to provide fresh veggies during our week-long stay.

Since we ended up going out to eat more than I expected, we only needed to pick up groceries a couple times. One of those times was a trek to the western side of the island to Beech Hill Farm, an organic farm run by College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor. Their farm stand offers produce from Beech Hill, along with produce, meat, dairy, etc from other local farms. We picked up dried blueberries (which went into pancakes), milk (into coffee and pancakes), bacon (an impulse buy from Jesse that I eventually appreciated because it helped a morning hangover and was cooked with scallops below), and swiss chard (cooked with tacos and scallops below).We got a terrific recommendation from our server at a bar to go to Parson's (64 Eagle Lake Rd/Rt 233 near Bar Harbor) for fresh fish to cook. It's a total mom and pop operation where the fish comes in fresh everyday (though you never know exactly when and what she'll have in stock!) She said everything is caught locally in Maine, which made me happy.

At our first visit to Parson's, we picked up haddock and clams. Jesse does most of the cooking when we go camping because he knows how to light the camping stove and I don't - ha! I sliced zucchini (from NY farmers market), sprinkled it with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and put it over the fire in an aluminum pouch. It took a while, but it did actually work, unlike our previous foible with potatoes. Meanwhile, Jesse cooked quinoa over the stove, steamed clams in a Bar Harbor ale, and finally sauteed the haddock with olive oil, salt, and pepper. The end result was a huge heaping meal. I yelled at Jesse for getting too much fish (a pound and a half for two people!), but the leftovers went into fantastic tacos with tortillas, beans, salsa, and local swiss chard the next night.
After getting bacon from Beech Hill, Jesse became possessed with the idea of making bacon-wrapped scallops. We visited Parson's the next day, but they were already out of scallops. Back we went the next morning with a mission on our mind. This time, the scallop guy hadn't yet made his delivery. We went again to Parson's that afternoon, and still no scallops. Finally, an hour later after some beers in nearby Bar Harbor, we were rewarded with scallops!

Following Liz's advice, this time I threw an aluminum pouch of chopped potatoes (coated with olive oil, salt, and pepper of course) right into the fire. A few of them burned, but the rest cooked right into tender bites before the rest of our dinner was done. Amazing!

Meanwhile, I cooked just one strip of bacon in a pot, then tore it up and threw it back in the pan with swiss chard and onions in the same pan to soak up all the bacon flavor. Jesse painstakingly wrapped the scallops in the rest of the bacon and sauteed them until browned and firm. It was another delicious and overwhelmingly huge meal, with all those bacon and scallops. The leftovers went into tacos again with more smooshed beans, onions, and hot sauce (out of salsa at that point) for a surprisingly delicious breakfast. We made more intricate meals than we have on past camping trips, as our priorities change, and it made us happy to eat like kings, as Jesse put it.

To be continued...

Other posts in the Maine vacation saga:

V. Drinking in Bar Harbor
IV. Lobster Pounds on Mount Desert Island

II. Camping in Acadia National Park

I. A Night on the Town in Portland

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Adventures in Freeganism

I was happy to join fellow blogger, Megan of Fix, at a freegan dinner this week. Called Grub, the dinner is hosted biweekly (or maybe monthly?) by In Our Hearts and is open to anyone who chooses to wander into this out-of-the-way space in Brooklyn. My boyfriend was a confused by my interest in freeganism, and he envisioned lots of stale donuts and bagels and rotting food that would make me sick. Moreover, he argued, the quality of this food goes against your interest in eating fresh, locally grown food. Which is a good point, but I also believe in the value of keeping food out of the trash and finding ways to stem the tides of waste of our throwaway society. Adam on Wild Green Yonder has an excellent discussion of the extent of food waste in New York City, and the New York Times also recently reported on freeganism as a growing trend.

Neither I nor Megan were sure what to expect, but I was certainly pleasantly surprised by the delicious array of vegetables on the menu. It felt like one of the healthiest meals I'd eaten in a while. Not all of the food was freegan, some of it coming from someone's garden and from a CSA, in addition to grocery store dumpsters. Amazingly in all, this multicourse meal for forty people cost the hosts only $36, for which they accepted donations. We ate dinner on the roof, where there was a garden and a "lovely" view of the BQE (unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera up there). I brought along couple beers because the post said BYOB, but no one was drinking so the beers came back home with me. Proof that the world does not revolve around alcohol.

This is not to say I am about to become a freegan, although I am curious to go on a dumpster diving run and see how it goes down, how people even know where to look for the food. It was a refreshing change of pace to go out, do something on my own, meet new people - things I wish I could push myself to do more often. I enjoyed chatting and biking with Megan, and perhaps not surprisingly, I ran into a few people I know peripherally. I really liked Grub's message about "looking for practical ways to build community" because a sense of community is something that I've found lacking in New York City. I miss the time spent with friends at the cooperative dorm on my alma mater, where the residents shared the responsibilities of cooking and cleaning and ate communal dinners. After two years of post-graduate life in New York City, I still have no semblance of a community, with everyone scattered throughout the city, plans too hard to make. I didn't find a new community on Sunday night, but maybe this will motivate me to seek out more new experiences that interest me.

After dinner, many bags of lettuce and greens (from the CSA I think) and bread were leftover, and I was happy to take some away at their urging. But once home, I realized that this left me with the question of how to use up all the extra food I myself now possessed. A conundrum made worse by the fact that I'm leaving for a long vacation on Friday.

So I decided to pass on the goodwill by using all these veggies to cook dinner for a friend. Tonight, another Meagan came over, and I made a vegetarian peanut sauce stir fry. I sauteed an onion, carrot, and half a zucchini from the greenmarket in olive oil, then added baby bok choy from Grub until wilted, while lentils and rice from my pantry simmered away in separate pots. I whisked together a peanut sauce from a couple tablespoons of peanut butter, a teaspoon of tahini, a tablespoon of soy sauce, about a cup of warrm water, along with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper for a spicy kick. Once plated, I draped it in the peanut sauce and garnished the meal with sunflower sprouts from Grub. Peanut sauce stir fry was one of my favorite go-to meals in college, which I haven't made much since then, so it was nice to return to this simple (cheap!) and delicious dish.

Continuing to work through the perishables in my fridge, I also prepared myself a healthy grilled zucchini sandwich for lunch tomorrow. I sliced the other half of the zucchini, loaded it up with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and then grilled until charred and tender. I don't like zucchini much, but grilling somehow transforms it into tastiness. The zucchini strips went on a sandwich with homemade tofu cream cheese, a few basil leaves from my deck, and the rest of the sunflower sprouts.

I made the tofu cream cheese last week with my sister's guidance and wanted to use it up, since I figured it probably won't last as long as store-bought tofu cream cheese. It was easy to make by throwing half a package of tofu (pressed for an hour first) into the food processor with a couple garlic scapes, salt, pepper, a handful of almonds, a handful of parsley, several shakes of nutritional yeast, a dash of cayenne pepper, a few teaspoons of vinegar, and a few teaspoons of water too. Similar to the tofu garlic scape pesto salad, but in spreadable form. Really whatever spices you have on hand will work, and cashews can be used in place of almonds. My sister also recommends making tofu cream cheese with sundried tomatoes and herbs.
This picture is a good literal representation of where my mind frequently wanders: into the kitchen wondering what to cook next. I've now successfully eaten or cooked for later all my produce for the week, with the exception of kale from Grub, which my roommate promises me she will eat while I'm gone. I'm thinking of transforming some of it into a kale basil pesto first to take along my camping trip, but I'm not sure how long that will stay good in the cooler. So although i was unable to make any completely local meals this week for One Local Summer, Greenmarket and CSA ingredients found their way into every meal, and by participating in Grub, I helped to divert food waste from the landfill, so I'd say that balances it out.

PS. If I don't post again for a couple weeks, it's because I'm on a camping vacation in Maine, enjoying the woods, ocean, lobster, blueberries, and beer!

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Rice Pilaf with Chickpeas and Spring Vegetables

My dear fun sister Lisa is graduating from college next week, and what would graduation be without a party to celebrate? My mother has relinquished cooking responsibilities for her graduation party to Lisa and I, our family's resident foodies. I love planning and cooking for parties so it wasn't long before we started brainstorming ideas, some of which will surely appear here after the fact. Among those ideas was a light pasta with spring vegetables, which transformed into a rice pilaf instead, because I have a hard time warming up to tomato-sauce-less pasta. I made a test run tonight, and the healthful combination of rice, chickpeas, and tender green vegetables was so wonderful that this one is being added to my rotation.

Spring garlic, also known as green garlic, has just come into season and is making the rounds on the blogosphere. I was eager to try it when I saw it at Union Square today, especially because I figured it would go perfectly in the rice pilaf I had planned for dinner. Spring garlic looks, slices, and cooks like the texture of a small leek, but with a sharper garlic taste and smell. I wasn't sure if I could cook the whole plant, since google resulted in conflicting advice. In his artful New York Times article, Daniel Patterson seems to be telling us only to use the white and light green parts. Meanwhile, Farmgirl Fare encourages us to go ahead and use the whole thing. So I did what seemed right, which was to use the whole stalk, minus the tough outer dark green leaves. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.


This dish is brilliant and warm and very green, like early spring. The creamy chickpeas, heightened by an hour of simmering and a bright tinge of lemon, contrasted perfectly with crunches of asparagus and mouthfuls of soft rice. It would have been more perfect if I were capable of cooking fluffy rice instead of the gummy wet rice that always comes out of my saucepans, but that's a challege for another day. I used a mixture of brown short grain rice and black himalayan rice, lending it a colorfully dark hue, but any rice that pleases you would suit this, as would bulgur or orzo I think.


Likewise, other spring vegetables such as peas or fava beans (which are not yet in season here in New York) would also do well in this dish. I couldn't much discern the green garlic, but I'm sure it helped things along. The parsley came from my herb garden, where it is flourishing over all the other herbs, straight on its way to becoming a veritable bush of parsley. And the cheese is optional, but cheese makes everything better, don't you think? I was out of parmesan, so I used a sharp Edam-like cheese, or a swiss cheese would work.


Rice Pilaf with Chickpeas and Spring Vegetables

3/4 cup dried chickpeas
1 cup rice
2 stalks spring garlic
1 bunch asparagus
couple handfuls baby bok choy
1 tsp lemon juice

The day before or that morning, place chickpeas in a pot covered with a couple inches of water to let soak.

After 6-24 hours, drain chickpeas, rinse, and return to pot. Refill with water, again covering chickpeas by a couple inches, and add a pinch of salt to water. Bring to a boil and then let simmer 45-90 minutes until chickpeas are tender. Drain and set aside.

Just after starting chickpeas, combine rice with 2 cups water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and let simmer until rice is tender.

While chickpeas and rice simmer away, clean spring garlic as you would leeks and dice its stalks, discarding tough dark green leaves. Sautee spring garlic in olive oil over medium low heat.

Rinse asparagus and break off woody ends where the asparagus naturally breaks in your hand. (Reserve ends for future use, such as soup or dip.) Chop asparagus into one-inch pieces and sautee with garlic for a couple minutes.

Rinse and roughly chop baby bok choy and add to sautee pan. Continue to sautee another few minutes until wilted.

Combine chickpeas and rice in pan with vegetables. Stir in lemon juice and salt pepper and pepper to taste. Add grated cheese, if desired, and garnish with parsley.

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Kale Hummus

Last Saturday I had some week-old kale that was on its last legs, yellowing in its vase. I wasn't sure what to do with it. It didn't fit into my dinner plan of braised lamb and cabbage. Being just a few leaves, it didn't seem like enough to make it worth it to sautee and freeze it for some future meal. And the leaves were too small to make kale chips.

Then Jesse requested an appetizer before dinner. Not wanting to spend money on cheese and crackers or non-local salad greens, I thought about what I had in the kitchen. A can of chickpeas, easily transformable into hummus. And an opportunity to use up old flour to try my hand at making crackers for dipping. But would kale go well with hummus? A quick search on google revealed that it has indeed been done before
in the form of kale and sundried tomato hummus. I didn't have sundried tomatoes on hand, but I went ahead and made it without it.

The kale hummus turned out surprisingly tasty (though my crackers did not). And as I mentioned, it was so good that we ruined our appetite for dinner. In fact, I'm still paying the consequences of this - I've been trying to use up the leftover rice and cabbage in various forms for lunch and dinner all week. I've found that grated parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper work wonders at masking the taste of slimy old braised cabbage.

I recommend only using half a bunch of kale or less so that the kale taste isn't overpowering. While I enjoyed this kale hummus just fine, I can see how it would benefit from sweet sundried tomatoes. But I'll have to wait till tomato season to try that combination, if I ever get around to making my own sundried tomatoes.

Kale Hummus

1 can chickpeas (or 1 cup chickpeas soaked overnight and simmered for an hour until tender)
few leaves of kale
2 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp olive oil
2 fat cloves garlic
salt
pepper
lemon juice
cayenne pepper
paprika

Tear or chop kale into pieces, discarding thick stems. Place in a pot with half an inch of simmering water and cover until steamed(wilted). Remove kale from pot and let cool.

Combine first six ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Add remaining spices to taste and process again. Add water if needed until hummus reaches a creamy consistency. Serve with pita or crackers.

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Dark Days Challenge Week 6: Orzo with Sausage, White Beans, and Kale

I've wanted to make orzo ever since a coworker brought a delicious orzo and vegetable salad tossed simply with olive oil to a potluck last spring. So I bought some dried colorful orzo from Fairway in bulk, and then kind of forgot about it in the back of my cabinet, not sure what to do with it.

Then I was reminded of it when I saw a post on Serious Eats about cooking orzo as a kind of short-cut risotto. I looove risotto - it's one of my go-to dishes - and the idea of being able to make something almost like risotto in less than half the time sounded brilliant.

So last night I was starving on the way home, dreaming up a creamy orzo dish that I would make as soon as I walked in the door. I figured I could make it quickly, have a bite to satiate my hunger, and then save the rest for lunch tomorrow. But Jesse got home earlier than I expected, so there wasn't time to cook before we went off in the snow in search of sushi. Instead, I ended up making a cozy orzo dish later that night, long after we had returned home, shaken off the snow, drank some wine, and he fell asleep. He is in for a real treat when he opens his lunch box tomorrow.

It surprised me in how creamy it turned out. I threw a ton of stuff in there, including local turkey sausage, a can of white beans (yes I feel guilty about using a can lined with plastic that leaches potentially harmful chemicals but sometimes convenience wins), parsley leftover from making falafel over the weekend (yes I know parsley is not in season right now, but a girl's gotta have some fun sometimes), and even a couple leaves of kale so I can pretend I am being healthy without it overwhelming the flavor. Altogether, it formed a cozy one-pot winter dish that is tender and delicious, and with enough parmesan, tastes almost like risotto.

Orzo with Sausage, White Beans, and Kale

1/2 lb sausage
2 cloves garlic
1/2 onion
handful of kale, rinsed and torn into pieces
1 can white beans (or 3/4 cup dried white beans soaked and cooked)
1 1/2 cup dried orzo
3 cups water
salt
pepper
crushed red pepper
1/4 cup grated parmesan
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Heat sausage in a large pot over medium heat until it begins to brown. Add garlic and onion, turn down to low heat, add a little olive oil or butter if necessary to keep from sticking to bottom of pan, and sautee until onions soften. Add kale and white beans and continue to sautee another few minutes until kale wilts. Add orzo and stir to combine. Add water and salt, bring to a boil, and then let simmer for approximately 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the water is absorbed and orzo is creamy and tender. Add pepper, crushed red pepper, parmesan, and parsley (optional).

All ingredients for this meal were found at Greenmakets from farms within approximately 250 miles away, except except for dried bulk orzo, beans, salt, pepper, red pepper, and parmesan. So I guess you could say half local on this one.

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Dark Days Challenge Week 4: Lamb and Vegetable Stew

Now that I go to the Union Square Greenmarket on Saturdays, I have a much wider selection than I'm used to. I even saw venison this week - I didn't think it was legal to sell that! (Jesse loves venison, but I didn't buy it...to give him incentive to join me on next week's trip to the Greenmarket so that he can get it and I can have company). What I did end up getting was lamb from 3-Corner Field Farm in Shushan, NY (200 miles away, near Saratoga Springs but nestled in a valley on the border of New York and Vermont). I'm kind of obsessed with this farm now. Just look at how cute those sheep look in the photo on their website. I've already decided that next weekend I'm going to buy lamb shanks so I can make their recipe for lamb shanks with red wine, garlic, and rosemary. Maybe with mashed potatoes and turnips. Can you tell I plan my meals too far in advance?


This week, I've just started reading In Defense of Real Food: What to Eat and Why by Nina Planc, which champions "real food," such as meat, milk and vegetables, that humans have eaten for thousands of years, over the modern glut of industrialized foods. She makes the interesting point that it is nutritionally beneficial to eat meat, butter, and cheese, which in this age are all feared for the threat of cholesterol, as long as they come from pasture-raised animals. I know I've heard this before, but can't quite remember where (Omnivore's Dilemna or maybe Animal, Vegetable, Miracle?) and Planc provides scientific evidence to back up her theories, but as a psych major, I remain skeptical because I haven't done the research myself. Yet, it was great to see 3-Corner Field Farm's website reaffirm the claim that naturally raised, grass fed lamb contains more omega-3 fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), vitamin E, which are all linked to lower risks of heart disease and cancer, than factory-farmed meat.


I know environmentalists are advocating vegetarianism to save the planet and humanity, but I think the better route is to eat humanely and naturally-raised meat from local farms and to eat it sparingly. Humans are omnivores and should continue to eat meat as they have since forever, but they should do it with a conscience. This argument is hot topic right now, which I recently read on Jen's inpiring food blog Last Night's Dinner and in the New York Times, thanks to Mark Bittman. And this is something that even I struggle with. I know I shouldn't always eat meat when I'm out at restaurants, when I know nothing about the path of that slaughtered animal to my table. I know I shouldn't cook so much meat at home. But I don't think that soy protein every day is healthy and I am surprised by so many vegetarians I know (including myself during college) who blindly eat processed foods up the wazoo in the form of veggie burgers and fake bacon without knowing what they're actually eating or its impact on their environment. I have a boyfriend who feels he must eat meat almost daily to feel healthy and satisfied. My personal choice then for our household is to only cook meats that are pasture-raised and procured from local farms, and to supplant meat-based meals with lots of vegetables and/or beans so that they can be stretched into multiple servings and leftovers. I'm also going to try to remember to eat fish at least once a week and to cook vegetarian meals (look forward to lots of beans) at least once a week. This choice makes me feel happy (to eat great food and support local farms) and healthy (to eat food that is better at providing nutrients than supermarket food).


Back to what I made today - I bought boneless pieces of lamb shoulder that are perfet for stewing, and combined them in my crock pot (which doesn't get nearly enough action to justify its existence) with one of every vegetable from my fridge. It was done in less than six hours while I was busy (or actually, lazy) doing other things this afternoon - easy and so delicious. It reminded me of the simple beef and vegetable stews that my mother frequently made in her crockpot when I was growing up. The long time in the crockpot really mellowed out the flavors of the lamb and vegetables, while intensifying the water into a sweet broth. Jesse paired his with quinoa, a grain that originated in the Andes and provides a balanced set of amino acids (pictured above), while I enjoyed mine with lightly toasted homemade wheat bread because I'm not overly fond of quinoa. This stew was the perfect ending to a cold afternoon walk with my boy and my dog in Prospect Park.


And I just couldn't resist posting this photo of my dog Spencer, who is too cute in his plaid winter jacket that is (suprise) made from recycled plastic fabric.


Lamb and Vegetable Stew

1 1/2 lb lamb meat (I used boneless shoulder meat)
1 onion
1 large clove garlic
1 parsnip
1 turnip
1 potatoee
1/2 bunch kale
3 cups water
2 tsp dried rosemary and thyme
salt and pepper

Chop lamb and vegetables into 1-inch cubes. Combine all ingredients in a crock pot and cook, covered, on low heat about 5-7 hours.

This post is part of the Dark Days Challenge, in which I prepare at least one meal each week comprised of mostly local ingredients. All ingredients for this meal were found at Greenmakets from farms within approximately 250 miles away, except except for the spices and Jesse's quinoa bought in bulk at Fairway.

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Lentil, Sausage, Kale, and Rice Stew

Usually I'm not bothered by dishes that take their time to cook (see risotto, chili, dishes involving dried beans, etc), but today I kept looking at this pot, tasting the crunchy lentils, and thinking Why isn't this done yet? Finally, Jesse distracted me by taking our dog fora walk, whilethe stew lightly bubbled away. When we returned, it was done, finally, kind of like how a watched pot never boils. I was afraid it would be bland, but it's not at all. Instead it's surpsingly yummy - a sweet and tangy way to scarf down the healthfulness of lentils, kale, and brown rice (that sausage is just in there for fun).

I would make this again, but do one of two things to ease the long cooking time:
1. Soak the lentils for an hour beforehand so that they cook faster than the rice, instead of more slowly than the rice. It's been so long since I've made lentils that I forgot that's what the box recommends.

2. Throw all the ingredients in my crock pot in the morning and let the crock pot do its magic at low heat all day while I'm at work. Had I done that today, we could have eaten this when we were hungry, instead of filling ourselves beforehand on a bag of chips as a snack.

Lentil, Sausage, Kale, and Rice Stew
1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic
1/2 bunch kale
2/3 lb sausage
1 cup lentils
3/4 cup brown rice
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 1/2 cups water
2 cups chicken stock
salt
pepper
crushed red pepper

Dice onion and mince garlic. In a large pot, sautee onion and garlic in olive oil over medium low heat until they begin to soften.

Add sausage (broken into small pieces) and sautee over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sausage begins to brown. If you want, you could drain the pot at this point to remove sausage fat that has accumulated in the pot.

Meanwhile rinse kale and chop into small pieces. Add kale and 2 tbsp water, scrape bits off bottom of pot. Cover and let steam for a few minutes until kale begins to wilt.

Add lentils, rice, mustard, and balsamic vinegar, and stir to combine.

Then add water, chicken stock, and spices. Bring to a boil and let simmer about an hour until rice and lentils are tender, stirring occasionally. Add additional water if you like a soupier consistency. Serve with hunks of crusty bread or toasted pita.

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Moroccan Carrot Dip and Hummus

This Saturday I held my annual holiday party, and for some reason decided to be ambitious and spend all day in the kitchen for it. It was nice to spend the day by myself cooking in a peaceful apartment. My roommates were both out all day so no one was in my way, and I just had my cute dog hanging out on the couch to keep me company.

When party time came, and people didn't eagerly gobble my food, I decided that I won't go to so much effort next time. No one cares that it was homemade. They would have been perfectly happy with storebought hummus and chips and chocolate and so on.

Early in the day, I made chips and dips. I used my old standby recipe for pita chips, which is always a crowd pleaser. Next it was time to tackle the food processor. Jesse got the food processor for Christmas. For some strange reason, he decided that we needed it. I was, and still am, skeptical about this, as I always got along fine in my life without one. Up until Saturday I had never used a food processor before. If I wanted to puree something, such as soup or pesto, I have always just done it in my blender.

I watched the 45 minute instruction video to see if I could get some idea of whether this device is actually useful. Interestingly, on the video they often put prepeeled and sliced vegetables into the processor to chop them up more finely and mix them. Now I think this is kind of silly. If you've already gone to the trouble of getting out a cutting board and a knife to chop a pepper into large pieces, why not just go all the way and knife it up into fine little pieces rather than having to use electricity and getting a whole other object in the kitchen dirty to chop it up more finely. Same goes for mixing cookie batter in a food processor. Are people too lazy to use their arm muscles anymore?

But I figured I should give the food processor a try, since it is ideal for making dips and spreads. After completing the recipes below for hummus and Moroccan carrot dip, I will agree that it is a lot easier to use the food processor than the blender for dips. I think I might also try using the food processor when I want to tackle pastry dough someday. But other than that, I think it will stay hidden in our makeshift kitchen storage, aka the underneath of a table in my living room (our kitchen is impossibly small).

Some Moroccan carrot dip recipes call for cinnamon and honey, so I included them. However, carrots are already sweet and this made the dip a little too sweet for what should be a savory snack, so I omitted them from my recipe below. The hummus came out great. In the next month I really want to try cooking Mediterranean food more often - hummus, falafel, tabouleh, tajine, and so on. Mmmm.



Moroccan Carrot Dip

4 medium sized carrots
1 large garlic clove
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ginger
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
juice of 1/2 lemon squeezed
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Chop carrots in large pieces and unwrap garlic clove, leaving it whole. Place carrots and garlic in a pot of salted water, bring to a boil, and then let simmer, partially covered, about 20 minutes until carrots are tender. Drain in a colander, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water. Let carrots cool for a few minutes.

Place carrots and garlic in food processer and process until smooth. Add cooking water and process again until smooth. Add spices, honey, and lemon juice, and process again. Add olive oil slowly while the machine is running. Taste and add more spices to your liking. Spoon into a serving bowl, drizzle with a little olive oil, and serve with pita chips.



Hummus

1 cup dried chickpeas
1/3 cup tahini
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 garlic cloves
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
dash of paprika

Put the raw chickpeas in a pot with cold water to cover and soak overnight.

The next day, drain and rinse the chickpeas, then place them in the pot and cover with about an inch of water. Add one whole clove of garlic to the pot. Bring to a boil, and then simmer, partially covered, for about an hour or until the chickpeas are tender.

Drain the chickpeas and garlic, reserving the cooking liquid. In a food processor, process the chickpeas and garlic until finely ground. Add tahini, lemon juice, remaining garlic clove, and 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and process until smooth. Add cumin, salt and pepper and process again, adding more of these spices to taste. While food processor is running, add 2 tsbp olive oil. If consistency is too thick, add more of the cooking liquid a little at a time until hummus is smooth and paste-like. Spoon hummus into a serving bowl, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle paprika over the top. Serve with pita chips.

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Stuffed Kabocha Squash with White Beans, Kale, and Rice

We've been trying out new squashes from the Greenmarket, and this week we selected Kabocha, a Japanese winter squash. According to Wikipedia, it has a strong, sweet, moist, fluffy texture, but I didn't find that to be particularly true. It tasted a little more bland and bitter than butternut squash, and the texture was flat - but I think this is because of how we cooked it. First, we roasted it the first time with the insides up, and next time I would try with the insides down because in past squash-roasting experience that allows sweeter carmelization. Second, we didn't continue to cook the squash long enough once we added the stuffing. Jesse took it out too early, when we really should have left it in until it was mushier, or fluffier.

This is a labor intensive dish, because all of the components have to be cooked separately before being combined, stuffed, and cooked all together in the oven. After all that work, it turned out to be fairly bland. Next time, in addition to cooking the squash longer, I would add a lot more cheese, more salt, more pepper, maybe some crushed red pepper, and more spices in general. At least by the time I was eating the stuffed squash, I had drank enough wine to feel relaxed and able to enjoy eating this food that Jesse and I had prepared together for our friend. (Even though we had started the cooking process by fighting over cooking space and know-how in our tiny kitchen.)

I've been trying to cook with dried beans more often than canned beans, but it's hard because it involves knowing ahead of time when you will be cooking the beans, so that they can soak long enough. This time, I started the beans soaking in the early afternoon, and 5 hours turned out to be enough - the beans still cooked in an hour - so that's good to know.

To make this vegan, I would recommend adding soy cheese, since this dish really needs some kind of cheese to turn it from bland health food to a delicious dish.

Stuffed Kabocha Squash with White Beans, Kale, and Rice

2 medium sized kabocha squash

3/4 cup dry white beans, soaked in water for at least six hours or the night before (or 1 can beans)

2 2/3 cup water

1/2 cup short grain brown rice

1 cup water

1 bunch kale

1 small onion

3 cloves garlic

rosemary

sage

salt

pepper

olive oil

1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese

Drain beans that were soaking in a colander and then return to their pot. Add 2 2/3 cup water, 1 tsp olive oil, rosemary, sage, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil and then let simmer for approximately one hour, until beans are tender and a small amount of liquid is left.

Meanwhile, add rice and water to small pot, bring to a boil, and then let simmer for approximately 50 minutes, until rice is fluffy and all water has been absorbed.

Preheat oven to 400. Slice squash in half and scoop out seeds. Drizzle with olive oil. Place squash insides down on baking pan and bake for 20-30 minutes until slightly tender.

In a large pan coated with olive oil, sautee garlic and onion over medium low heat until softened. Rinse kale, tear into small pieces, and add to pan with a tbsp water. Place cover over pan to allow kale to steam, uncovering occasionally to stir so that garlic and onion don't stick to the bottom.

When all above ingredients are done, combine kale mixture and rice with the beans and bean liquid in the bean pot. Stir in cheese, rosemary, sage, salt, and pepper. Scoop mixture into squash halves. Roast stuffed squash in oven for additional 20-40 minutes, until squash is totally tender. Serves 4.

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