Food Project

Beer Bread

2010-11-08T22:13:00.001-03:00

This is a pretty common recipe, although I was inspired by Rachel, who always has fun recipes. I really wanted to try her duo together, but then today, I just couldn't wait longer for the bread.

Ingredients:

· 3 cups flour

· 1 tbsp sugar

· 1 tsp salt

· 1 tbsp baking powder

· 1.5 cups beer (I’d go with a stout, for a bit more flavor)

· Oil for greasing pan

· 1 egg, 2 tsp water, beaten (for glaze, optional)

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 and make the bread by combining all the ingredients.

2. GREASE YOUR PAN WELL. Add dough. You can try to shape the top nicely here, but the dough is quite sticky and hard to work with.

3. Put the bread in the oven and set the timer for 40 minutes.

Comments: This is so quick and tasty, you can’t help but love it. If white flour has zero nutritional value, white flour+beer=? I’d use half whole wheat if I had it on hand, but make it again to impress guests even if I didn’t.

Smashed Chickpea Salad

2010-11-06T22:12:00.000-03:00

I’ve been riffing on this recipe forever, but never had all the ingredients together to make it properly and test it as it’s meant to be. Finally, I got my fresh parsley, and went at it!

Ingredients:

2 c. chickpeas, drained
2 T. chopped black olives
1 T. finely chopped onion (red is recommended, but I can never find it)
1 T. chopped fresh parsley
Zest and juice from half a lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
olive oil (to taste)

Directions:

Mix everything but the olive oil in a small to midsize bowl. Very lightly smash the chickpea mixture with the back of a fork or a potato masher (I prefer to pulse a couple times in my mini-food processor). Add the olive oil, mix it lightly and enjoy.

This would be great in pita bread (maybe with more onion, tomatoes, etc.), I like it scooped up on crackers. Deb has additional serving ideas.

Comments: After ad-libbing through this a half-dozen times and loving it, I actually felt like something was missing when I strictly followed the recipe. Maybe this was due to a cold I had coming on? Or maybe I was missing my Provencal mix I used to substitute for fresh parsley.

Oh-Yum Asparagus and Rice with Chickpeas

2010-11-03T21:40:00.002-03:00

Asparagus is looking lovely these days and I made a huge pot of chickpeas, so this recipe (despite its cheesey name) by Heidi seemed like destiny.

Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3-4 cups cooked chickpeas
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1-inch segments
2 cups additional vegetable (broccoli recommended), optional
1 cup almond slivers, toasted
fine grain sea salt

Dressing:

1 garlic clove, smashed and chopped
1/4 cup tahini/peanut butter
zest of one lemon
scant 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons hot water
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Directions:

Cook rice.
Make the dressing by whisking together the garlic, tahini/PB, lemon zest and juice, and olive oil. Add the hot water to thin a bit and then the salt. Set aside.
Add a couple glugs of olive oil (roughly 3 tablespoons) to a big skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl the oil around to coat the pan, then add the chickpeas and sprinkling of salt. Let the beans sauté there for a couple minutes Add the garlic and onions. Stir for a minute. Stir in the asparagus with another pinch or two of salt, cover with a lid for a minute or two to steam - just until the asparagus brightens and softens up just a bit. Uncover and stir in the rice and almond slivers, reserving a few almonds for garnish. Taste and add more salt if needed (likely). Serve family-style in a big bowl drizzled with a few tablespoons of the dressing, let each person add more dressing to their tastes.

Serves 6.

Comments: Yes! This was delicious, and fairly addictive. It made quite a bit though, next time I think I’ll shoot for 3/4 the recipe, so I can finish the leftovers before they go bad.

Colcannon

2010-10-31T17:34:00.000-03:00

I’ve had this recipe from a Spilled Milk podcast pegged since St. Patrick’s Day, but it wasn’t until now that I ended up with the cabbage and potatoes to make it happen. That said, I made quite a few changes, mixing in this recipe as well. Here’s what I did:

Ingredients:

1 pound cabbage, sliced thin
1 pound potatoes , diced into 1-inch pieces
1 small leek, sliced thin
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 pinch ground nutmeg
3 T. butter

Directions:

In a large saucepan, sauté cabbage in 2 T. butter until tender. Meanwhile, boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Remove from heat and drain.
While cabbage and potatoes are cooking (if you have enough pans), simmer leeks in milk, until they are soft.
Add remaining butter and leeks to potatoes and mash well. Stir in cabbage and mix well.

Comments: Creamy, yet so much more flavorful than mashed potatoes (I love potatoes, but mashed have never been a favorite). I look forward to making this again.

Zucchini Pizza

2010-10-29T18:49:00.000-03:00

To top my new pizza, I tried Jenna’s recipe. I followed her recipe perfectly, but wasn’t super impressed. It was lovely looking pizza, but I prefer my own combinations (sundried tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms, blue cheese, olives, etc.) See the link above, if you want to give it a try.

New Deep-Dish Pizza Crust

2010-10-29T18:37:00.000-03:00

So, right around the time I came across King Arthur’s Chicago Style Pizza Crust, I found another recipe which also received great reviews. I knew I needed to compare the two before deciding on a new standard dough.

Ingredients

· 2 teaspoons sugar

· package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)

· 1 cup warm water (100° to 110°)

· tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

· 12.38 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 3/4 cups), divided

· 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal

· 1/2 teaspoon salt

· Cooking spray

· Toppings of choice

Directions:

1. Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water in a large bowl; let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in olive oil.

2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 11.25 ounces (about 2 1/2 cups) flour, cornmeal, and salt in a bowl. Stir flour mixture into yeast mixture until dough forms a ball. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel sticky).

3. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 45 minutes or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes. Roll dough into an 11 x 15–inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Place dough in a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray; press dough up sides of dish.

4. Preheat oven to 400°.

5. Top pizza with desired toppings.

6. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes or until crust browns and cheese bubbles. Cool 5 minutes before cutting.

Comments: I made two of these, as I was afraid one wouldn’t be enough to feed me and my hungry bf. I didn’t need to worry, one was still enough. The dough wasn’t quite as luxurious as the King Arthur’s recipe, but that made it feel better suited to become a regular player in the pizza game. It was also a lot easier, although I think the flavor was less developed due to the shorter rising times. I may play with it a bit, but I think I’ll continue with this new recipe for a while.

Ribollita

2010-10-27T21:15:00.000-03:00

I saved this recipe ages ago, and decided to make it because it sounded “different".” After buying the necessary ingredients and cooking the beans, I started to get nervous at how different it was, with very few herbs in the broth and, well, soggy bread. Luckily, Heidi is a master with soups, I needn’t have worried.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 celery stalks, chopped
½ fennel bulb, chopped
3 medium cloves garlic, chopped
2 medium carrots or equiv. winter squash, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 14-ounce can tomatoes
1 T. crushed red pepper flakes
1 pound greens (kale, chard) stems trimmed off and leaves well chopped
4 cups cooked white beans
1/2 pound loaf of bread
1 1/2+ teaspoons salt
zest of one lemon
lots of well-chopped oily black olives

Directions:

In your largest thick-bottomed pot over medium heat combine the olive oil, celery, fennel, garlic, carrot, and onion. Cook for 10 -15 minutes sweating the vegetables, but avoid any browning. Stir in the tomatoes and red pepper flakes, and simmer for another 10 minutes or so, long enough for the tomatoes to thicken up a bit. Stir in the greens, 3 cups of the beans, and 8 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the greens are tender, about 15 minutes.
In the meantime, mash or puree the remaining beans with a generous splash of water - until smooth. Tear the bread into bite-sized chunks. Stir both the beans and bread into the soup. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the bread breaks down and the soup thickens, 20 - 30 minutes. Stir in the salt, taste and add more if needed. Stir in the lemon zest.
Serve immediately, or cool and refrigerate overnight. Serve reheated, or "ribollita" meaning reboiled, the next day ladled into bowls. Finish each serving with a drizzle of olive oil (optional) and some chopped olives.

Comments: This recipe is extremely flexible, and undeniably delicious. I used plain white bread, with crusts and had no problems, although I’d probably try something heartier next time for a bit more nutrition. I’ll definitely be repeating this, despite it’s less-than-savory appearance.

Spinach Cake

2010-10-26T18:03:00.002-03:00

Sweet Amandine’s recipe for Spinach Cake sounded healthy and solid for a breakfast alternative—and the huge load of spinach I scored from the verduleria.

Ingredients:

About 2 pounds of spinach, stemmed, washed, and more or less dried
2 medium leeks
2 T. butter
Freshly ground salt and black pepper
Several dashes – about ¼ tsp. nutmeg
2 c. whole milk
6 large eggs
A generous pinch of cayenne
About 2 T. of freshly grated Parmesan

Directions:

Over a medium flame, melt the butter in a deep, heavy-bottomed pot. Add the leeks, a few grinds of salt and pepper, and sauté, stirring occasionally, until they are tender but still green, about five minutes.
Sprinkle the nutmeg over top, add a layer of spinach, and season with a few grinds of salt. Next, add another layer of spinach, a few more grinds of salt, and repeat until all of the spinach is in the pot. Turn up the heat slightly, cover the pot, and let the spinach steam over the leeks. Lift the lid to stir once or twice so that you get an even steam. You want the spinach to be just barely wilted, so the steaming should take no longer than two minutes. Allow leeks and spinach to cool.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and butter a deep, 10-inch pie dish. When the spinach-leek mixture is cool, taste it and adjust the seasoning, as necessary. Remember that you are about to blend it with a lot of unseasoned eggs and milk, so if the spinach and leeks taste a little over-seasoned, that’s actually okay.
In a blender, puree the vegetables with the milk and eggs in two batches. Add a few final grinds of salt and pepper, and a pinch of cayenne. Add any remaining cooking juices from the pot to one of the batches before you puree.
The batter will be thin and soupy. Pour it into the buttered pie dish, and grate about two tablespoons of Parmesan over the top. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean and the top is lightly browned. The cake will puff up and dome slightly in the oven and then collapse back onto itself as it cools. Serve at room temperature, or chilled.

Yield: 6 servings

Comments: I subbed 4 egg whites plus 3 regular eggs, since I had egg whites I wanted to use up after my Challah experiment. I think my spinach was way too wet for the recipe, and adding the leftover liquid created a very wet cake. I let it cool and spend a day melding after cooking, as it is supposedly enjoyed best at room temperature after a day, but I still wasn’t impressed. It was a bit bland, and otherwise unexciting. (You’ll see in the photos that some of the egg sunk to the bottom, forming a lighter colored layer. Maybe I didn’t blend everything long enough.)

Whole Wheat Challah

2010-10-25T18:25:00.001-03:00

Quite a while ago, Bridget from The Way the Cookie Crumbles posted a rather complicated method of adapting any bread recipe to whole wheat. I immediately bookmarked it, and despite feeling pangs of guilt seeing it on my list from time to time, managed to avoid it for the next 5 months.

Then she posted a subtle reminder in the form of a Whole Wheat Challah post, and finally, without having to create my own adaptation, I put the method to the test.

Soaker:

1¾ cups (8 ounces) whole wheat flour, preferably fine grind
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup water

Biga:

1¾ cups (8 ounces) whole wheat flour, preferably fine grind
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
½ cup water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large egg
4 large egg yolks

Final dough:

the soaker
the biga
7 tablespoons (2 ounces) whole wheat flour, plus more for adjustments
¾ teaspoon salt
2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
1½ tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Toppings:

1 egg
1 tablespoon water
pinch salt
poppy seeds or sesame seeds (optional)

Directions:

1. For the soaker: In a medium mixing bowl, mix all of the ingredients together. Cover and leave at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours, or refrigerate for up to 3 days. If the dough is refrigerated, leave it at room temperature for 2 hours before mixing the final dough.

2. For the biga: In a medium mixing bowl, mix all of the ingredients together. Knead for 2 minutes; the dough will feel very tacky. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then knead for 1 minute. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days. Leave it at room temperature for 2 hours before mixing the final dough.

3. For the final dough: Cut the soaker and biga into about 12 smaller pieces. Mix the pieces by hand in a large bowl and knead by hand for 6-8 minutes. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then resume kneading for 1 minute. Form the dough into a ball and place it in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise at room temperature for 45 to 60 minutes, until it is about 1½ times its original size.

4. Gently transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into 6 evenly sized pieces for 2 smaller loaves or 3 evenly sized pieces for 1 large loaf. Roll each portion of dough into a rope about 10 inches long, letting the dough rest for 5 minutes if it’s very elastic. Braid the ropes.

5. Place the braid(s) on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. To make the egg wash, whisk the egg, water, and salt (listed above in Toppings) together. Brush the braids with the egg wash, cover, and let rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.

6. Brush the dough with the egg wash again, then top with poppy seeds or sesame seeds, if using. Leave the dough uncovered and let rise for 15 more minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

7. Place the challah on the middle shelf, reduce the heat to 325 degrees, and bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the loaf 180 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes. Check the bread and rotate again if it is baking unevenly. Continue baking for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until the bread is a rich brown all around, sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom, and registers at least 195 degrees at the center.

8. Transfer the bread to a cooling rack and let it cool for at least 1 hour before serving.

Comments: This was quite tasty right out of the oven. I made one massive loaf, and would opt for the smaller loaves next time (and probably freeze one immediately). After a day or two the bread was drying out, so I’m looking at some bread pudding or maybe some baked French toast in the near future.

East Coast Enchiladas (?)

2010-10-24T22:00:00.000-03:00

Another recipe I marked, as I’m always trying to tempt myself to something healthier than cheese enchiladas, I didn’t notice how unconventional it was until I went to make them.

Enchilada Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
1 yellow onion, peeled and finely diced
4 carrots, finely diced
2 celery, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
Water to sauté veggies (between ¼ and ½ cup)
1 teaspoon oregano, dried
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
12 tortillas (whole wheat recommended)
14 ounces tomato sauce
Cumin, oregano, paprika and pepper for topping

Fresh Salsa Ingredients:

1 tomato, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
½ cup cucumber, diced
½ cup cabbage, thinly julienned
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 avocado, finely diced
Oregano, salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook the rice and water and cool to approximately room temperature so that you can work with it.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Sauté the onion, garlic, carrot and celery in water until tender. Add the spices, rice and bean and mix until thoroughly combined. Taste the filling and add salt and pepper as desired.
Fill each tortilla with 1 cup of the mixture and roll up. Place in a baking pan with the seam side down. Top the filled enchiladas with tomato sauce. Sprinkle the top with cumin, oregano, paprika and pepper. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes, until the fillings are hot.
To make the salsa, combine all the ingredients and stir gently to not break up the avocado. Serve the salsa cold on the side of the enchiladas.

Comments: While I can give up a bit of authenticity for health, these just didn’t fly. Rice in enchiladas? Why? Overall, I just found them lacking, the enchilada sauce was underdeveloped, and the vegetables in the enchiladas seemed quite European. Next time, I’d go with my Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas, and keep my rice and beans on the side.

The salsa was interesting, although again…cucumber? Cabbage? I’d go for a more traditional pico de gallo here, as well, but the creativity was appreciated.

Lentil Squash Soup

2010-10-22T20:49:00.001-03:00

I had half a sqash left over from my Butternut Sqash and Carmelized Onion Galette, and decided to adapt Rachel’s Lentil Soup recipe for the occassion. Here’s what I did:

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 fennel bulb, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb. winter squash
1 cup of lentils, rinsed and picked over
1/2 tbsp cumin
1/2 tbsp curry
4 cups of low-sodium vegetable broth
1/4 cup additional low-sodium vegetable broth or 1/4 cup of cream

Directions:

Heat the olive oil and add the carrots, fennel, and onions.

Cook for about 3 minutes, until the veggies soften. Add the garlic, squash, lentils, cumin, and curry, and stir. Heat for another minute.

Add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to low and let simmer for 25 minutes.

For the last 15 minutes, don’t stir at all; the veggies will rise to the top. Skim the veggies off the top and puree with the cream or extra broth.

Stir the pureed soup back into the pot.

Comments: I made this late at night (really late!), so it didn’t occur to me to add bullion to the water I subbed for broth, and perhaps this is why the soup came out a tad bland. Nothing that some hot sauce can’t cure, but I’ll probably stick to my Syrian Lentil and Chard soup next time around.

The sad supermercado near me had no celery, which lead to the fennel substitution.

Leek and Swiss Chard Tart

2010-10-19T21:04:00.000-03:00

Still working my way through tart crusts, I landed on this recipe, also courtesy of Deb at Smitten Kitchen:

Ingredients:

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (half of 17.3-ounce package), thawed (I used a ready made crust)
2 T. butter (I used 1 T.)
3 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), coarsely chopped (I used 2 leeks)
1 t. dried thyme
1/2 bunch Swiss chard, ribs removed, leaves chopped (about 2 1/2 cups) (I used a whole bunch)
1 1/4 cups whipping cream (I used 1/4 c. cream and one cup whole milk)
3 large eggs (I used 4 eggs)
2 large egg yolks (I skipped this, with the extra egg above)
1 teaspoon salt (oops! Forgot this!)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (uh…I think I put in 1 T.)
Pinch of ground nutmeg (and this was forgotten—this is why I need to cook without the distractions of great conversation)

Directions:

Roll out pastry on floured work surface to 12-inch square. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Trim overhang to 1 inch. Fold under; crimp edges. Cover; chill.
Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add leeks and thyme. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover; cook until leeks are very tender but not brown, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add chard; saute until wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cool.
Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 425°F. Whisk cream and next 5 ingredients in large bowl. Mix in cooled leek mixture. Pour filling into crust.
Bake tart 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake until filling is puffed and just set in center, about 15 minutes longer (this took my oven about 10 minutes longer). Transfer to rack; cool 10 minutes.

Comments: This is the perfect example of why I usually cook alone. I was chatting with friends my whole way through this, and not referencing the recipe several times over. However, it seems like a solid recipe when you account for my errors. I’ll probably try this again when I’m in the mood for a tarta de verduras. It felt like it was missing cheese, but that may have just been something I needed to counteract my accidental pepper dump.

Empanadas de Verdura, Cebolla, y Tomate con Queso

2010-10-16T20:45:00.002-03:00

I’ve been making a lot of white-flour dishes lately based on a pack of fresh foods I got—raviolis, tart crusts, fresh pasta, and empanada shells.

I decided to keep things simple for the empanadas, although I also had to get my variety in, to keep things from getting boring. Here’s what I did:

Tomate con queso: Diced tomato, diced cheese, and a mix of provenzal herbs (parsley, garlic, and oregano).
Cebolla: Carmelized onions with more diced cheese.
Verdura: Chard sauteed with onions and garlic and a diced hard-boiled egg.

Comments: I loved the simplicity of the cebolla and tomate con queso, however I definitely should have sought a recipe for the verdura empanadas. They were terribly bland. Many contain a white sauce, which can be good if it’s not too heavy.

Here are the lovely empanadas my boyfriend made, unfortunately filled with meat:

Butternut Squash and Carmelized Onion Galette

2010-10-12T18:25:00.000-03:00

I tried a tart dough…but had no tart pan. Before than shelling out 30 pesos, I started browsing recipes, looking for inspiration, and…realized the existence of a galette! Deb, the mastermind of Smitten Kitchen opened my eyes to this wonderful galette recipe and a solution to my lack of pie pan.

While it made for a tasty treat, I was really impressed at how simply it came together!

Ingredients:

1 pie crust dough
1 lb. winter squash
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 to 2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced in half-moons
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch of sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
3/4 cup Gouda, grated
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Peel squash, then halve and scoop out seeds. Cut into a 1/2-inch dice. Toss pieces with olive oil and a half-teaspoon of the salt and roast on sheet for 30 minutes or until pieces are tender, turning it midway if necessary. Set aside to cool slightly.
While squash is roasting, melt butter in a heavy skillet and cook onion over low heat with the remaining half-teaspoon of salt and pinch of sugar, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly golden brown, about 20 minutes. Stir in cayenne.
Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Mix squash, caramelized onions, cheese and herbs together in a bowl.
Roll out dough and transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Spread squash, onions, cheese and herb mixture over the dough, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Fold the border over the squash, onion and cheese mixture, pleating the edge to make it fit. The center will be open.
Bake until golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, let stand for 5 minutes, then slide the galette onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Comments: This was warm and savory. I think it would have been a tad bit better with the butternut squash, but I enjoyed it either way. Next time I’ll add a bit more cayenne.

Mississippi Mud Cookies

2010-10-11T18:21:00.000-03:00

Being from the West, I’d never heard of Mississippi mud cookies before Bianca mentioned them on her blog.

Her pictures looked so tempting, I had to look up a recipe, and found a few similar ones such as this one here and this one.

I love that AllRecipes offers comments on the recipes, but unfortunately didn’t find their recipe until after the fact, so here’s how things went down:

1/2 cup milk
2 cups white sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter
3 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Wipe 1" wide band of butter around the rim of a 3 quart pan to prevent boil-over.
Combine milk, sugar, cocoa, butter and peanut butter.
Stir and bring to boil over medium heat. Let boil for 1 1/2 minutes, do not stir.
Remove from heat. Stir in oats and vanilla. Stir until oats evenly distributed.
Drop by teaspoon onto waxed paper. Cool. Makes 4 to 5 dozen.

Comments: So, these never set up…it seems that I didn’t boil the mix long enough? Fail. =(

Creamy Mushroom Pizza

2010-10-10T13:53:00.001-03:00

I whipped up some Chicago-style pizza dough the other night, as my boyfriend loved it last time, and decided to try Bittman’s Creamy mushroom sauce for some added interest to my portion.

Here’s what I did:

200 g. mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 shallots (or 1 small leek)
2 T. Butter
Salt and pepper
1/2 c. heavy cream
cheese (gruyere or fontina recommended, I used Gouda)

Saute thinly sliced shallots or the white of a small leek in butter until soft, then add the mushrooms and probably some more butter and certainly generous salt and pepper. Over medium heat, toss or stir until the mushrooms are just about cooked and much of their moisture has been exuded, then evaporated — but let them not be dry or burnt. Then add a moderate amount of heavy cream, let it bubble and reduce for a minute or so, remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool and thicken. You can do this well in advance and store the mixture in the refrigerator.

Pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees F. Stretch or roll out the pizza dough (recommended thin, but as I was preparing a thick crust, I skipped this part) and put it onto a sheet pan. Let it rise for five or ten minutes if you like, then spread on the mushroom-cream mixture, having tasted it once more for seasoning. Top with a very little bit of cheese – just a sparse sprinkling, or even none — and bake as long as it takes your oven to cook it.

Comments: Well…I love mushrooms, so this pizza made me happy, yet…I think sauteed mushrooms would have been equally tasty without the added guilt of cream. (Note: the quantities given covered about half of a large pizza.)

Low-Fat Caponata

2010-10-09T12:42:00.000-03:00

While it was a small, oil soaked, and highly rewarding meal, I was left craving something healthy after my fried rice dinner. So, I turned to the ever-reliable VeganEpicurean for something to absolve me of my dietary sins. And it really did make me forget about the oily goodness of fried rice! Here’s what I did:

1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ fennel bulb, chopped
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)
1 eggplant, diced small into small bite size pieces
1 zucchini, diced small into small bite size pieces
2 cups tomatoes, diced into small bite size pieces
½ cup golden raisins
¼ cup pine nuts
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 T. sugar
1/3 c. olives, chopped

Directions:
Heat the pan with the water on high until it comes to a boil. Add the onions, garlic and fennel and cook, stirring often until they have begun to wilt.

Add the remaining ingredients, except the sugar and cook until the eggplant and zucchini have softened. If you want the caponata to be saucier add as much tomato sauce as you think is necessary. Next add sugar until the caponata is as sweet as you like. You want the caponata to have a sweet and sour flavor. Garnish with fresh parsley or torn basil leaves (if desired) and serve at room temperature or cold.

Comments: I was a little nervous at omitting oil from this recipe, as it is so traditional, but it actually worked fine! That said, I would probably use a tablespoon next time, and sub a cup of garbanzos for the pine nuts to get more protein. The nuts didn’t have much of a crunch, and felt like a waste. My picture isn’t great, but I ate this with quinoa the first day, and afterwards scooped up on crackers, for that added crunch.

Ginger Fried Rice

2010-10-08T23:57:00.002-03:00

I’ve started some menu planning in an attempt to work through my ever-growing TBD File, and it’s been quite successful (as you will soon see), though not necessarily the lowest-fat week of my life!

I started with Smitten Kitchen’s Ginger Fried Rice, which I collected during a fried-rice spree I was on a few months ago. Unfortunately, after roaming my suburban Mar del Plata neighborhood for several hours on a Sunday afternoon, I finally conceded fresh ginger wasn’t going to be had. So, here’s what I did:

1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon ground ginger
Salt
2 cups thinly sliced leeks, white and light green parts only
4 cups cooked rice
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons sesame oil
4 teaspoons soy sauce

In a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp and brown. With a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels and salt lightly.

Reduce heat under skillet to medium-low and add 2 tablespoons oil and leeks. Cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very tender but not browned. Add ginger and season lightly with salt.

Raise heat to medium and add rice. Cook, stirring well, until heated through.

Season to taste with salt.

In a nonstick skillet fry eggs in remaining oil, sunny-side-up, until edges are set but yolk is still runny.

Divide rice among four dishes. Top each with an egg and drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil and 1 teaspoon soy sauce. Sprinkle crisped garlic and ginger over everything and serve.

Comments: While I love the ability of fried rice to accommodate whatever random vegetables I have hanging around, this was lacking nothing. It was delicious, and while I would love to try it with fresh ginger (and recommend following Deb’s recipe), it worked well with my adaptation.

King Arthur’s Chicago Style Pizza Crust

2010-09-28T11:56:00.000-03:00

Gah! Some very cool blog pointed this pizza crust out to me, and now I’ve totally lost it! Anyway, my bf is a fan of thick-crusts, and I usually go for thin, because I like a challenge.

So, when I saw this, I decided to give it a try. Here’s how it went down:

Ingredients:

4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
2 3/4 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or salad oil
1 cup + 2 tablespoons lukewarm water

Directions

1) Mix the dough ingredients, and knead to make a smooth crust. This will take about 7 minutes at medium-low speed in a stand mixer. You can also make the dough in a bread machine set on the dough or manual cycle.

2) Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl or 8-cup measure (which makes it easy to track its rise), cover, and let rise till very puffy, about 60 minutes.

3) While the dough is rising, ready your 14" deep-dish pizza pan. Grease it with non-stick vegetable oil spray, then pour in 3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil, tilting it to cover the bottom of the pan, and partway up the sides.

4) Stretch the dough to make as large a circle as you can. You can do this on a lightly oiled baking mat, if you choose; or simply stretch the dough in your hands.

5) Lay the dough in the pan, and stretch it towards the edges till it starts to shrink back. Cover, and let it rest for 15 minutes. Start preheating the oven to 425°F (or high) while the dough rests.

6) Stretch the dough to cover the bottom of the pan, then gently push it up the sides of the pan. The olive oil may ooze over the edge of the crust; that's OK. Let the crust rest for 15 minutes or so, as your oven comes up to 425°F.

8) Bake the crust for 10 minutes, until it's set and barely beginning to brown.

7) Decorate the pizza with toppings of your choice. We kept it simple with just queso cremoso (or mozzarella works) and olives on most of it, and a few sundried tomatoes on my portion.

12) Bake the pizza for about 25 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the topping is golden brown. Remove it from the oven, and carefully lift it out of the pan onto a rack. A giant spatula is a help here. Allow the pizza to cool for about 5 minutes (or longer, for less oozing) before cutting and serving.

Comments: This turned out really well! I skimped on the yeast, thinking I’d have extra time to let it rise, and then didn’t. But the bf loved it, igual. It’s heavy, and I was scared the dough was too heavy as I kneaded it, but it all turned out well. I will have to test this with some whole wheat flour and see if I can healthify it!

Chipotle Hummus

2010-09-25T23:31:00.000-03:00

I’ve had a ton of chipotle peppers in adobo, since every recipe seems to use just a bit, so I decided to try some chipotle hummus. I found this recipe at AllRecipes, and was enamored by the addition of both chipotles AND some healthy veggies.

Ingredients

2 (15.5 ounce) cans garbanzo beans, drained
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup tahini (sesame-seed paste)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 (7 ounce) jar roasted red bell peppers, drained
6 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Place the garbanzo beans, water, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, chipotle pepper, garlic, and cumin in the bowl of a food processor; blend until smooth. Add the red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Pulse the mixture until the ingredients are coarsely chopped into the hummus base. Transfer to a serving bowl, cover, and chill until ready to serve.

Verdict: I had to omit the tahini and cilantro, as the tahini is super-expensive here, and cilantro wasn’t available. However, I read other reviews that omitted the cilantro as well, with no ill effects. I added about a teaspoon of peanut butter, but didn’t want to add too much. That said, it wasn’t rich and creamy, but tasted watery. I think it’s due to the veggies. However, it makes a lot, so I have plenty left to experiment with.

Quinoa Zucchini Lasagna

2010-09-23T23:29:00.002-03:00

I’ve found very few ways I enjoy quinoa, so I’m always on the lookout for something new and promising. This was posted a couple weeks ago, and immediately jumped on my to-do list.

· 3 large zapallitos (or 2 large zucchinis)

· 1 cup quinoa, rinsed

· 1 cup vegetable stock

· 1/2 cup tomato sauce

· 1/4 cup finely chopped onion

· 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

· 1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley

· 2 tablespoons CasanCrem (or light cream cheese)

· Salt and pepper

· 1.5 cups marinara sauce

· 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400*

2. Chop the top and bottom off of the zapallitos and slice each one the long way into 6 pieces. These will be your noodles. Lay the zapallitos on a paper towel, sprinkle with salt, put another paper towel on top, and let them sit while the water is released.

3. Combine the rinsed quinoa, vegetable stock, tomato sauce, and onion in a pan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

4. When the quinoa is done cooking, add the CasanCrem and parsley and mix thoroughly.

5. Wipe the zucchini clean of any excess moisture.

6. In an 8×8 dish, pour 1/2 cup of marinara sauce. Put 4 slices of zapallitos, one next to the other. Top with a layer of the quinoa and 1/3 cup of marinara sauce.

7. Repeat: zucchini, quinoa, marinara.

8. Add the final zapallitos, top with marinara, and top that with the cheese. Bake in the oven for 20 – 30 minutes, or until everything is heated through and the cheese is bubbly.

Comments: Despite being slightly fearful of this, it was quite tasty! Of course, I can’t really relate to it on a lasagna level, but I’ll definitely be repeating it!

Scalloped Cabbage

2010-09-23T23:23:00.002-03:00

I don’t know why, but I’m always fascinated by cabbage. Maybe because we only ate it on St. Patrick’s day (occasionally) and in cole slaw, neither of which ever did it justice.

So, I keep trying to find my own way. My latest attempt was found on AllRecipes, an adaptation of Scalloped Cabbage. Here’s how I did it:

Ingredients

· 2 tablespoons butter

· 1 medium head cabbage, cored and sliced thin

· 1 large onion, chopped

· 1 1/2 cups milk

· ½ t. nutmeg

· 4 eggs, lightly beaten

· 1 cup crushed saltine crackers

· 1 teaspoon salt

· 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

· 2 T. parmesan cheese, grated

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x12 inch casserole dish.

2. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add cabbage and onion and cook for about 10 minutes, or until tender, stirring often. Add milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Gently pour in eggs, stirring constantly. Stir in 3/4 of the cracker crumbs, and the salt and pepper; mix well. Pour into casserole dish and top with remaining cracker crumbs and parmesan cheese. Dot with butter.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown and heated through.

Comments: I really enjoyed this. I was afraid of it being bland, but I didn't have that problem at all. I attempted to temper the eggs a bit, before mixing them in and also didn't have the scrambled egg problem. My only change next time is to try and make it a bit healthier--nonfat milk, less butter, and maybe using breadcrumbs instead of crackers.

Salt and Vinegar Chickpeas

2010-09-15T21:04:00.000-03:00

I certainly haven’t missed the ravings about Angela’s salt-and-vinegar chips (and green beans), but I hadn’t gotten around to buying potatoes and vinegar at the same time. Then, I came across this variation on JL’s blog, JL goes Vegan, and thought another crunchy snack might be in order. Here’s what I did:

Ingredients:

1 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight
3-4 cups white vinegar
1 tsp Coarse sea salt
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Add chickpeas and vinegar and place in a medium sized pot. Bring to a boil and cook as normal, 1-2 hours.
When chickpeas are cooked (try one, the vinegar turns a bit sweet), add a dash of sea salt and then remove from heat. Let sit in pot for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425F. Carefully drain chickpeas and return to pan. Drizzle with olive oil and salt, then mix with hands or a spoon, ensuring all chickpeas are coated with oil.
Place on a lightly-oiled baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes, flipping once half way through. Keep a careful eye on them after 35 minutes of cooking to ensure they don’t burn. The goal here is crispy and golden chickpeas, not black.

Comments: After popping these in the oven, I remembered my previous chickpea roasting failures. They never seem to turn out like the ones in the store. But, I was optimistic. Unfortunately, they were a bit ho-hum. The flavoring was all there, it just didn’t pop. And, some of the chickpeas were so hard I was afraid of breaking a tooth, while others stayed a bit spongy. They felt like a healthy snack, but nothing I’ll rush to make again.

Amazing Brownies (with beans)

2010-09-12T20:48:00.000-03:00

Brownies with beans? Nutritional value? Kind of like subbing apple sauce for oil? I’m all over it! So, of course, I was all over this recipe from Heidi at 101 Cookbooks. Here’s how I did it:

4 ounces dark chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups soft-cooked black beans, drained well
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ cup instant coffee
¼ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1½ cups sugar or honey

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line an 11- by 18-inch (rimmed) baking pan with parchment paper and lightly oil with canola oil spray.
Melt the chocolate and butter in over low heat or in the microwave for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on high. Stir with a spoon to melt the chocolate completely.
Place the beans, 1/2 cup of the walnuts, the vanilla extract, and a couple of spoonfuls of the melted chocolate mixture into the bowl of a food processor. Blend about 2 minutes, or until smooth. The batter should be thick and the beans smooth. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together the remaining 1/2 cup walnuts, remaining melted chocolate mixture, coffee, and salt. Mix well and set aside.
In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer beat the eggs until light and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the sugar/honey and beat well. Set aside.
Add the bean/chocolate mixture to the coffee/chocolate mixture. Stir until blended well. Add the egg mixture, reserving about 1/2 cup. Mix well.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Using an electric mixer, beat the remaining 1/2 cup egg mixture until light and fluffy. Drizzle over the brownie batter. Use a wooden toothpick to pull the egg mixture through the batter, creating a marbled effect.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the brownies are set. Let cool in the pan completely before cutting into squares. (They will be soft until refrigerated.)

Makes 45 (2-inch) brownies.

So, the verdict? These were tasty, I noticed no hint of beans. My boyfriend didn’t either, although he tried them without knowing. The downside? They needed to cook a lot longer than indicated (although that may have been my oven temperature), and they never really solidified. They were gooey and yummy for me, my boyfriend complained they didn’t seem cooked well enough (they were, they were just soft), so I felt kind of funny sharing them. Still, for an at-home treat, it’s a winner!

Salt and Vinegar Chips

2010-09-10T21:29:00.006-03:00

Well, I didn’t waste much time in recovering from my salt-and-vinegar chickpea debacle to give the vinegar another try. This time, I was a bit more confident, as oven-baked potatoes are one of my favorite treats in the world.

Here’s how it went down the second time:

Ingredients:

Approx 3 cups (or more) white vinegar
3-4 medium sweet potatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
1-1.5 tsp salt
Very small sprinkle of ground black pepper
2 tsp Extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Wash and slice up the potatoes into 1/4 inch rounds. Place in a medium sized pot. Pour vinegar into pot until all the potatoes are covered by the vinegar.

Bring to a boil and then reduce to medium heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit in pot for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, drain the potatoes and return to pan. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle salt and pepper, and mix with hands, then lay the potato rounds flat on a greased baking sheet.

Bake for 30-35 minutes at 425F. After 30 minutes of baking, flip carefully and bake for another 10-15 minutes, watching carefully not to burn the potatoes. Serve with ketchup and more sea salt if preferred. Enjoy!

Comments: Woa! Unlike the chickpeas, the vinegar was overpowering in this recipe! The potatoes seemed to take forever to bake (again, my oven was probably too low), and the acidic specimens that came out…well, they were a bit of a disappointment. The vinegar flavor was overpowering, I ended up dabbing some mayo on (something I rarely do) to tame the burn. Another bust.

Creamy Chipotle-Carrot Soup

2010-09-10T21:29:00.004-03:00

Captious Vegetarian inspired me in the best way for this creamy carrot soup. Her version roasts the carrots first, a technique I’d never thought of. This is where I went with it:

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 medium onion, halved and sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 fennel bulb, halved and sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 T. vegetable oil
1 t. salt
4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
4 cups water or broth
2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo

Instructions:

Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Toss half of the carrots with half the oil and place in a single layer on a small baking sheet. Sprinkle with 1/4 t. salt. Place the garlic cloves on the pan as well, they will roast with the carrots.
Toss the fennel and onion with the rest of the oil and place on another small baking sheet. (Alternatively, do this in two stages.) Sprinkle with 1/4 t. salt.
Roast the vegetables until they are browned and softened, stirring occasionally. This will probably take 15-20 minutes for the fennel and onion and twice as long for the carrots.
When vegetables are finished, or near-finished, heat the water or broth to boiling. Add the remaining carrots and boil until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the roasted vegetables (taking the garlic out of its skin) and chipotles, and continue cooking another 3-5 minutes.
Allow to cool slightly and puree the mixture in a blender until smooth. Return to the saucepan to heat completely, or store in an airtight container for up to five days.

Comments: I thought this was terrific. The roasted sweet vegetables are balanced by the heat of the chipotle, creating a very healthy and satisfying snack or appetizer.

Homemade Pasta by Mabel

2010-08-15T22:22:00.003-03:00

I’ve been away—first a move, then a vacation to the US, and now another move is coming soon, so I haven’t been cooking as much as usual, but I do have a couple new recipes to share, courtesy of my boyfriend’s mother, Mabel.

First up are homemade, whole wheat spinach noodles, whipped together without the aid of any pasta-making devices. It’s a labor-intensive process, but uses whole, healthful foods and the family loves it. Here’s how she does it:

Ingredients:

1 kg. whole wheat flour

100 g. gluten (white, with no additives)

1 packet of spinach, washed

1 clove of garlic

2 T. oil

4 eggs

2 T. olive oil (optional, but recommended)

Steps:

Sift together the flour and gluten until well mixed, and any impurities have been removed. Put 3/4 of the mixture in a bowl and create a well in the center.
Cook spinach, if desired. Add spinach, garlic, oil and two eggs to a blender, and blend until well mixed. Pour into the well in the flour-gluten mixturee.
Beat the remaining to eggs and olive oil, if using. Mabel throws them in the empty blender, to rinse out any remaining spinach-goodness, before adding them to the well in the flour mixture.
Mix well, until the dough forms a solid, non-sticky ball, as shown below.

5. Separate the dough into 4-5 balls.

6. Now, comes the tricky part. Roll out one of the balls of dough until it is paper-thin. If you have a pasta machine, this may be easy, but Mabel uses a rolling pin to stretch the dough as she rolls it out, as shown. She works deftly, with years of practice. Basically, it’s a matter of wrapping a bit of dough over the rolling pin and stretching the dough by pushing on the pin. Repeat until the entire mass is a uniform thinness. Use the extra flour in the process, as needed to keep the dough from sticking.

7. Next, coat both sides of the dough with the leftover flour mixture, and roll the dough into a log. Check while rolling to ensure the dough doesn’t stick to itself, and add more flour if necessary.

8. Cut tiny spirals from the log, as shown below.

9. Using another pile of the flour-gluten mixture, toss the spirals to unravel them., being sure they stay coated and don’t stick to one another.

10. Repeat until all the pasta has been rolled, cut, and tossed. Toss in boiling water for about 5 minutes, tasting for doneness after about three. Serve with a delicious sauce, or just oil and grated cheese.

¡Buen Provecho!

Mexican Salad

2010-07-02T18:57:00.001-03:00

Vegan en Mexico shared this Avocado and Black Bean salad recipe a while back, and I’ve been waiting for some avocados to make it. Finally, the time came.

1 tomate picado
1/2 pimiento morron picado
1/2 lata de frijoles negros enteros
1/4 de cebolla morada picada
1/2 cucharadita de cascara de limón.
El jugo de 1 limón
1/8 taza de aceite
1 cucharadita de sal
1/2 cucharadita de pimienta
1/2 cucharadita de ajo picado
1/4 cucharadita de cayenne, o 1/2 cucharadita de paprika
1 aguacate picado

Combina el tomate, pimiento morrón, frijoles y la cebolla en el traste en el que vas a servir la ensalada.

En otro plato combina los ingredientes para la vinagreta. Algo importante de cuando ralles cascara es que no quieres rallar la parte blanca del limón, solo lo que aun tiene el color verde.

Cuando estés listo para servir corta tu aguacate, agregalo al plato con el tomate, pimiento, frijoles y cebolla, y agrega la vinagreta. Mezcla con cuidado para no romper el aguacate.
¡Listo!

Comments: One whole lemon was WAY too much. I only used half, and still had to add a lot more oil to tame down the lemon-ness. I also didn’t find it too satisfying on its own, so I added tabasco and served it in tortillas, which worked great—slightly warmed.

Fennel & Orange Salad with Black Olive Vinaigrette

2010-06-29T23:01:00.000-03:00

I was inspired to make this by VeganEpicurean, but as she mentioned it’s a healthified version of a classic, I decided to find a more authentic version—and healthify it myself, if necessary. I didn’t find it necessary. This take on the salad, from Eating Well actually popped up in my inbox within hours of my decision to make the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/8 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

3 medium navel or Valencia oranges

10 cups mixed lettuces, (3 small heads), such as chicory, radicchio and leaf lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces

2 heads Belgian endive, sliced

2 bulbs fennel, trimmed and sliced

DIRECTIONS

1. To prepare vinaigrette: Whisk vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in oil. Stir in olives and parsley.

2. To prepare salad: Using a sharp knife, remove peel and white pith from oranges. Quarter the oranges; slice pieces crosswise.

3. Just before serving, combine lettuces, endive, fennel and the orange slices in a large bowl. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad and toss to coat well.

MAKE AHEAD TIP: Cover and refrigerate the vinaigrette (Step 1) for up to 2 days. Washed, dried lettuce will keep in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours. Keep prepared oranges and fennel in separate containers in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours.

Comments: This was definitely tasty, and it was easy enough to throw together, I repeated it several days. Sorry for the lack of photos, I’m not sure what happened to them!

African Pineapple Peanut Stew

2010-06-27T22:50:00.001-03:00

This is a recipe from Bridget at The Way the Cookie Crumbles adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home.

4 servings

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced
1 bunch kale or Swiss chard, large stems discarded, leaves chopped coarse
1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
½ cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup peanuts, chopped
1 scallion, sliced

4 servings cooked grain, potato

1. Heat the oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sauté, stirring occasionally, until just browned at the edges, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

2. Add pineapple to the pot and bring to a simmer; add the greens, cover, and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until just tender. Stir in the peanut butter and hot sauce and simmer for another 5 minutes, until the flavors are blended. Stir in the cilantro just before serving and add salt if necessary. Serve over rice or couscous, garnishing each serving with the peanuts and scallions.

Comments: Definitely needs the recommended cayenne. I used the full T. of Tabasco, and was underwhelmed. Otherwise, it’s a decent dish, but not something I went crazy for. I probably won’t return to it. On the other hand, it was great for getting ideas on how to shoot an otherwise un-photogenic dish.

Cauliflower Cheese Pie

2010-06-24T22:42:00.003-03:00

INGREDIENTS

Butter (for greasing pan)

2 c. raw potato, grated

¼ c. grated onion

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 T olive oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

½ t. dried basil

½ t. dried thyme

1 t. salt

1 T. flour

Olive oil (for brushing)

1 med. Cauliflower, coarsely chopped

1 c. grated cheddar cheese

2 eggs

¼ cup milk

Paprika (for sprinkling)

POTATO CRUST:

1. Set the oven at 400F. Use butter to grease a shallow 9 inch baking dish.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the grated potato, onion, egg, salt, and flour. Transfer the mixture to the buttered pan and pat it down with a rubber spatula.

3. Set the pan in the hot oven and bake for 30 minutes. Brust the crust lightly with olive oil, return the pan to the oven, and bake for 10 minutes more. Set the pan aside.

4. Turn the oven temperature down to 350F.

FILLING:

1. In a saute pan, heat the olive oil until it is hot. Add the onion, garlic, salt pepper, basil and thyme. Saute over medium heat for 8 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Stir in the cauliflower and cook for 5 minutes more.

2. Spread half of the cheese on the potato crust. Spoon the sauteed vegetables on top, then sprinkle thos e with the remaining cheese.

3. In a small bowl beat together the eggs and milk, and pour this over the vegetables. Sprinkle with paprika and transfer to the oven.

4. Bake the cauliflower for 35 minutes or until the custard is set and the top is browned. Serve at once with a salad and crusty

4 servings.

Comments: I used nutmeg and sage instead of thyme and basil. This was another just-okay recipe. No zip, no zing (I added Tabasco)…but nothing wrong with it. It wasn’t as cheesy as I’d hoped for. I made the potato crust the night before, and it was soggy, although this may have been my own fault.

Quick Pickle Cucumbers

2010-06-18T23:09:00.000-03:00

After falling in love with the quickie pickle carrots, Alicia at VeganEpicurean posted about her Quick Cucumber Pickles, and that became next up on my list.

Ingredients:
4 small cucumbers, cut in half and thinly sliced
½ cup vinegar (any type of light colored vinegar, I used champagne)
½ cup water
Stevia, to taste (I used 6-1gram scoops)
Fresh cilantro, minced, to taste (I used about ¼ cup)
Directions:
Heat the water, vinegar and stevia until about body temperature. Place the cucumbers and pickling solution in a jar. You are heating the vinegar so the flavor will penetrate the vegetable more quickly. Refrigerate until needed. If the liquid doesn’t cover all the cucumbers turn the jar over periodically so all the cucumbers are submerged for part of the time. I made these about 30 minutes before dinner but sooner would not be a bad thing. When you are ready to serve drain the pickles and toss with cilantro.

Comments: Despite looking beautiful, these just didn’t do it for me. I replaced the stevia with sugar and used apple cider vinegar. I also had a giant cucumber which I know was part of the problem (too juicy!)…and no cilantro, although I don’t think that would have saved this in my books. I’m not sure if her tastes are just so different from mine, or my changes added up…but I’ll keep looking!

Cauliflower Cheese

2010-06-16T23:00:00.002-03:00

Craving Mac-N-Cheese once too often, I decided to make a cheesy cauliflower dish to keep my refined wheat intake in check. Little did I know, it’s a traditional British dish.

1 large Cauliflower
300ml (½ pint) nonfat milk
110g (4oz) gouda cheese
3 tbsp Plain Flour
50g (2oz) oil
25g (1oz) Fresh Breadcrumbs
1½ tsp Mustard
Nutmeg
Salt & Black Pepper

Trim the cauliflower boil in salted water for 5 minutes or until just tender.
Drain and place in a flameproof dish.
Add the milk, flour and butter to a saucepan.
Heat, stirring continuously until the sauce thickens, boils and is smooth.
Allow to simmer for a further 2 minutes.
Add three-quarters of the grated cheese, mustard, a pinch of nutmeg and seasoning.
Cook for further minute stirring well.
Pour the sauce over the cauliflower.
Mix the remaining cheese and breadcrumbs together, sprinkle over the top.
Place under a hot grill until golden brown.
Serve immediately.

Comments: This is no mac-and-cheese, but it’s not a bad healthier fix. I actually felt full after a bowl, rather than ready for more like I usually feel after pasta dishes. I added hot pepper to it, as I usually do in homemade mac-and-cheese and I added spinach, since I had it and it seemed like a good add. I also made some tweaks to the original recipe from the start. Next time, I’d chop the cauliflower smaller, as the bigger pieces were distracting. Otherwise, it was a success!

Vegan Almond Feta

2010-06-06T21:41:00.001-03:00

Ah, but for valiant efforts! Alicia at Vegan Epicurean has raved about this vegan cheese forever. We have very little (very expensive) feta, so I was eager to find a replacement. Unfortunately, I also lack a blender and reliable oven in Argentina.

Ingredients:
1 cup of blanched almonds
Juice and zest of one lemon (approximately ¼ cup of juice)
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 clove of raw garlic (if small clove use it all)
1 ¼ - 1 ½ teaspoons salt
¼ cup water, or more if necessary

Directions:
In a jar with a lid, cover the blanched almonds with water and refrigerate 24 to 48 hours hours. Then drain the nuts rinse them thoroughly and drain again. The longer soak seems to make the nuts process more completely.
Move the drained nuts and the remaining ingredients to a food processor and puree until the mixture is very smooth but has a very slightly crumbly texture. This took 8 minutes during which time I periodically stopped the processor and scraped the side of the container and restarted the machine. If after 10 minutes the consistency is not smooth you can add up to another ¼ cup of water to help the mixture to process.
If you used the extra water to process the nuts, then take the nut mixture and move it to a strainer lined with three layers of cheesecloth.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees when you are ready to proceed.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Put the cheese onto the baking sheet and form it into a flat disk that is about ¾ of an inch thick. Bake the cheese until it begins to become slightly firm on the top. (About an hour)

Remove the cheese from the oven and allow it to cool to about room temperature before you move it to a serving platter. If you have a wide spatula and have cooked it long enough it will move in one piece. Be careful it is delicate.
To serve: Drizzle the nut cheese with the extra virgin olive oil and salt, freshly cracked pepper and thyme leaves.

Comments: While the recipe wasn't so terrible I had to toss it, from the perspective of cheese, it was a definite FAIL. I found it very lemony—not in a bad way, but too strong to resemble the acid of feta. And of course, my texture was WAY off (I may attempt it again, and steal my roommate's blender for the project)...and it was clearly cooked. Browned on the bottom. I ended up tossing it in various dishes throughout the weak, giving them a lemony, savory twist.

Cupboard Oatmeal Cookies

2010-06-06T20:55:00.000-03:00

Another night of cookie searching lead me to Heidi's recipe on 101 Cookbooks. I had enough of the ingredients, I decided to give it a go. However, I made quite a few substitutions. One day I’ll have to try her recipe.

1 cup white flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 c. chopped prunes (or raisins, if you have them)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (not sure if I had this to use, maybe I used powder?)

Preheat oven to 375F degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and oats. Add the sugar, oil, and ginger and stir until just combined. Carefully mix in the nuts and prunes.

Drop onto prepared baking sheets, one level tablespoonful at a time, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Bake in the top 1/3 of the oven for 10 - 12 minutes or until the cookies are golden on top and bottom.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Comments; These are great cookies. They're not grandma's, but I probably shouldn't expect them to be, given the healthy twists.

Carrot and Ginger Quickie Pickle

2010-06-04T20:34:00.000-03:00

Pickles grab my attention at times, and then leave for long periods...but suddenly they were popping up all over my blogosphere, and I knew I had to give them a shot. I chose Clotilde's recipe to start, as, conveniently, I had all the ingredients on hand.

- 2 medium-small carrots, about 200 grams (7 ounces)
- a 40-gram (1 1/2-ounce) knob of fresh ginger, scrubbed but unpeeled, sliced thinly
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

Makes about 1 2/3 cups; the recipe can be doubled.

Peel the carrots and, using the vegetable peeler, cut them into thin ribbons. Place the ribbons in a heatproof bowl, and set a fine-mesh sieve over the bowl.

Combine the ginger, vinegar, salt, sugar, and 240 ml (1 cup) water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When the mixture boils, stir with a wooden spoon to make sure the sugar and salt are dissolved, and remove from the heat.

Pour the ginger brine through the sieve and into the bowl of carrots. Make sure the carrots are completely immersed, cover with a plate, and let cool to room temperature. Transfer to a clean jar, close tightly with the lid and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Comments: I had no sea salt in my kitchen, so I used regular. The first time I doubled the recipe (a single recipe just seems so small), and had TONS of extra brine, so the next time I doubled everything except the water. I also left the ginger in the mix, which I enjoyed, although I'd probably decrease the ginger a bit next time. These are a bit addictive, but a great healthy snack!

Regina (Pinto) Bean Balls 6/2

2010-06-02T20:44:00.000-03:00

I've been on the quest for the perfect vegan bean balls for a while, but it only became a priority when I moved away from Trader Joe's, to a land nearly absent of meat analogs. So, I bookmarked this recipe from Matt, but was again delayed by a search for pinto beans. Alas, they're called regina beans in Argentina!

Ingredients (for 4 servings):

30-0z cooked pinto beans,
1 carrot, minced (or processed)
A big handful of fresh parsley, minced (or processed)
1 clove garlic, minced (or processed)
1/2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp olive oil or canola oil
1-2 Tbsp your favorite Italian seasoning (basil, oregano, garlic, salt, etc)
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, combine carrot, parsley, garlic, Italian seasoning, bread crumbs, oil, and beans. Mash with a potato masher (or use a food processor) until the mixture is sticky and relatively homogeneous. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Form the bean mixture into 1-inch balls and align on a cookie sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes, turning once midway through, until the bean balls are nicely browned all over. Serve over pasta or on sub rolls.

Comments: Pasta or sub rolls are my dream! I tried these plain, and with a bit of tomato sauce. The mix came together a bit moist, so I needed extra bread crumbs, otherwise they were good, though fragile.

Texas TVP Chili

2010-05-31T22:53:00.000-03:00

I had a ton of chipotles in adobo left after my Adzuki Butternut Squash soup, so I was in search of more chipotle-friendly recipes, and found Captious' Texas Tofu Chili. Here's what I did:

For the TVP:

2 cups TVP, either in granules or larger chunks
2 Tbs. peanut butter
3 Tbs. soy sauce
1/4 cup tomato sauce (from a 14 ounce can)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 ¾ c. liquid (I used flat stout beer I had laying around)

For the chili:

1 Tbs. olive oil
2 onions (diced)
6 cloves garlic (diced)
1 bell pepper
1 jalepeno pepper
5 Tbs. chili powder
1 T. chipotle chiles (in adobo)
1 Tbs. cumin
1.5 cups pinto beans, soaked, cooked, and lightly salted
1.5 cups tomato sauce (rest of 14 ounce can)
4.5 cups bean cooking/TVP soaking liquid (supplement with vegetable broth, water liquid)
3 cups whole tomatoes or diced with juice
1-1.5 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oregano
1 cup corn

Mix together peanut butter, garlic powder, soy sauce, and tomato sauce and TVP hydrating liquid. Heat to a boil, and add TVP, taking off heat. Heat 1 Tbs. of oil in a large stockpot. Sauté peppers, onions, jalepeno, and garlic together, chili powder, and cumin. If using large chunks of TVP, cut. Next add the TVP, pinto beans, the tomatoes, the rest of the tomato sauce, and the bean cooking liquid. Season with salt and oregano. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add the corn. For the best flavor let sit overnight.

Comments: This was good, I actually don't notice a huge difference in most chili recipes. I think I'd leave out the TVP next time, as I didn't find it necessary, and probably go with a simpler recipe, as I'm not sure the peanut butter and soy sauce added much. I ended up adding a lot more chili powder (3 T?) to get the flavor I was after.

About.com Peanut Butter Cookies 5/29

2010-05-29T20:49:00.000-03:00

Late-night cravings are often the result of my dessert experiments. And peanut butter is something I usually have on hand. A bit of googling lead me to this promising recipe, and I set to work.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups flour, sift or stir before measuring
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 T. chia seeds, hydrated in water or one egg

Preparation:

Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder; set aside. Cream shortening, peanut butter, and sugars; beat in vanilla and egg. Stir in flour mixture, blending well. Shape mixture into 3/4-inch balls; place on greased baking sheets. Flatten each cookie with the tines of a fork; dip fork in flour periodically to keep it from sticking to the peanut butter cookie dough.

Bake peanut butter cookies at 375° for about 10 to 12 minutes.

Comments: These were good cookies, but not the best I've ever had. They just didn't do it for me—and it might be because I had to sub out the brown sugar, but...I'm not sure.

Fennel and Orange Salad

2010-05-27T23:56:00.000-03:00

I’ve been eyeing the giant, beautiful fennel at the verduleria lately, but I wasn’t sure what to do with it. Finally, I went tonight, with nothing in mind, and walked out with some fennel.

I decided to try a version of this salad, from VeganEpicurean, since I also had some beautiful oranges. However, I had no red onion and wanted to try a more authentic version before trying her cleaned up version. So, I chose this recipe, swapping out the arugula for spinach, which I had on hand.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 bunch arugula
2 orange, peeled and segmented
1 bulb fennel bulb, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons sliced black olives

Directions

Whisk together the honey, lemon juice, salt, and pepper; slowly add the olive oil while continuing to whisk.
Place the arugula in the bottom of a salad bowl; scatter the orange segments, fennel slices, and olives over the arugula; drizzle the dressing over the salad to serve.

Comments: Overall, this was good. I shy away from making salads at home because they always seem to have a zillion ingredients which are leftover, when making a single portion. I halved the recipe, and had no problem eating it as one (large) serving.

However, I found it a bit sweet and simple. I think I’ll swap the lemon juice for red wine vinegar next time, and leave out the honey.

Curry Apple Fried Rice

2010-05-26T20:39:00.000-03:00

Rachel is quickly winning my props for her ability to choose recipes! This was easy and a delicious variation of my typical fried rice. Here's my version:

Ingredients (Makes 3 Servings)

1 cup uncooked brown rice

3 eggs, scrambled

3 cups small diced vegetables

1 small onion, chopped

1 apple, chopped with skin on

1 glove garlic, minced

1 T. finely chopped ginger

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp curry powder

1/2 tbsp ground cumin

2 tbsp chopped peanuts or cashews

Sriracha to taste

This Is How We Do It

Cook rice according to package directions with a bit of salt. Parboil the vegetables (just a couple minutes should do it).
Meanwhile, preheat a pan over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, then add onions, curry powder, and cumin and cook about 5 minutes.
Add apples and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until garlic begins to color.
Remove everything, fry a scrambled egg in the pan. Chop.
Add rice, veggies and onion mix. Cook for 2 more minutes.
Top with nuts and soy sauce and sriracha to taste.

Comments: Loved it. I mixed the fruit and veggies together, and simple fried the egg, then added rice and veggies to the fry pan for subsequent servings. Only complaint is that I used a ton of oil, so I'll have to work on that.

Gratuitous Pizza

2010-05-24T15:21:00.001-03:00

Just because there haven't been any photos in a while, I whipped this up the other day...

Eggplant Caviar

2010-05-21T12:03:00.000-03:00

Well, the name alone has kept me away from many similar sounding recipes, but when it comes from Smitten Kitchen, I just can’t help myself!

And good thing, this was fabulous! (Although the garlic was a bit offensive to my dinner partner later that evening.)

Makes about 2 cups

1 eggplant, about 1 pound

Half a large tomato or one Roma

2 to 3 small garlic cloves

3/4 teaspoon salt

Few grinds of black pepper

3 tablespoons vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prick the eggplant all over with a fork, and roast on a foil-lined baking sheet for 30 to 45 minutes, until soft. Make a few slashes in the bottom of the eggplant, and drain it in a colander for about 20 minutes. Cool completely.

Cut eggplant open and scrape out flesh and seeds with a fork onto a cutting board, discarding the skin. With a large knife, chop the eggplant flesh into very small bits. (Unfortunately, the food processor, although speedier, only purees the eggplant, leaving little texture.) Scrape into a medium bowl.

In a food processor, puree the tomato with garlic. Pour puree into bowl with chopped eggplant, add the salt, black pepper, vinegar and vegetable oil. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Adzuki Butternut Squash Soup

2010-05-20T14:59:00.000-03:00

This recipe happened from a perfect pairing of ingredients. I found chipotles in adobo about a month ago, and quickly swiped them. Then, I bought Adzuki beans on a whim, to try something new. Butternut squash is always plentiful, and then the weather turned cold.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cumin
3 teaspoons finely chopped chipotle pepper
2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
2 medium-large onions
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
5 - 6 cups water
1-2 red bellpeppers OR 5 tomatoes, chopped
4 cups cooked or canned adzuki beans

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the cinnamon, coriander, chipotle and salt and saute for a minute or two - until aromatic. Add the onions and saute another 5 minutes or so, until they start to go translucent. Add the garlic and bell pepper, if using stir well, and then add 5 cups of water. Increase the heat to bring to a boil, and once boiling, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for a few minutes, until the pepper begins to soften—no more than 5 minutes.

Once the pepper has softened, add the squash and use a potato masher and break up the pieces a bit. Add the tomatoes (if not using bell pepper), and cook a couple more minutes before adding the beans. Serve drizzled with the cilantro.

Comments: What can I say? It's healthy and delicious, and freezes well, so I have leftovers for rainy days. I love it.

Clotilde’s Rice and Beans

2010-05-19T14:53:00.000-03:00

I honestly can't say what it is, I have other recipes quite similar to this, but something about this is just oh-so good, I can't get enough! (Although it’s not photogenic for anything!)

-240 ml (1 cup) mixed dried beans and legumes
- 240 ml (1 cup) brown rice
- a 3-cm (1-inch) piece of dehydrated kombu seaweed (see note below)
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 rounded teaspoon strong mustard
- Tabasco sauce
- 2 tablespoons good oil, such as olive or sesame
- a small bunch chervil or flat-leaf parsley or cilantro, roughly chopped
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- mixed greens for serving

Makes 4 to 5 servings.

Soak the beans in a large bowl of cold water for 12 hours, or up to a day.

A little while before cooking, soak the rice: rinse in fresh water, drain well, and put in a medium saucepan. Add the volume of water recommended on the package -- mine says to use double the volume of water, but I use a little less (1 4/5 cups rather than 2 cups) because I like the texture better that way -- and let the rice soak in the water for 20 minutes to 1 hour.

Rinse the soaked beans in fresh water and put them in another medium saucepan with the kombu. Cover with cold water (no salt) by about 2 cm (1 inch), cover, and bring to a simmer. As the water comes to a simmer, a white foam will collect at the surface; skim and discard it.

Cook the beans at a low simmer for 1 hour, or until the beans are just cooked through: you want them to retain their shape, and not turn to mush. Drain, remove the seaweed, and let cool slightly.

While the beans are cooking, get the rice started. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt to the pan, cover, bring to a simmer, then lower the heat and cook at a low simmer, without disturbing, until all the water is absorbed -- this will take anywhere from 12 to 40 minutes, depending on your particular type of rice. Remove from the heat and let rest for 10 minutes, then uncover and let cool slightly.

In a large salad bowl, combine the vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and Tabasco sauce and pepper to taste. Add the oil slowly, stirring to blend and form an emulsion.

Add the beans and fold them in gently with a spatula; you want to coat them with the dressing without mushing. Fluff the rice with a fork (to separate the grains) and add it in along with the herbs -- again, using a gentle hand. Taste, correct the seasoning and (probably more important) the acidity of the dressing, and serve in shallow bowls, on a bed of mixed greens.

Pasta with Leeks, Spinach, and Sundried Tomatoes

2010-05-17T14:44:00.001-03:00

Captious vegetarian posted about this recipe recently, and it just sounded like a great combination of flavors and perfect for the veggies I was seeing at the verduleria. Here's the version I made:

2 T. olive oil
2 large leeks, total weight about 450g/1lb, thinly sliced
500g pasta
200ml tub Casan Crem*
1 T. mustard
125g Roquefort cheese
8 sundried tomatoes
225g bag spinach leaves

Soak the sun dried tomatoes in 1/2 cup boiling water. Put a large pot of water on to boil.
Heat the oil in another large pot (do this part first if you only have one pot). Add the leeks and a pinch of salt, and splash in a little hot water. Cover and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.
When the leeks are done, add the mustard and mix. Add in the spinach leaves, cover, and turn off the heat.
Cook the pasta in salted water. Drain the pasta.
At this point the tomatoes should be soft. Remove from the water, reserving the soaking liquid. Slice the tomatoes and add them to the vegetables with the Casan Crem. When the pasta is done add it to the sauce as well, adding enough of the tomato soaking liquid to make the sauce coat the pasta. Heat gently and serve immediately.

*Casan Crem is often thought of as the Argentine equivalent of sour cream. It has the texture of cream cheese, but that sour twang you find in…sour cream! The original recipe calls for crème fraîche

Comments: This was delicious, but unnecessarily heavy. I think the Casan crem was a bit much, and would like to try it again without, and maybe a touch more olive oil, if necessary.

Tomato Tart (Best of Craigslist)

2010-05-15T18:27:00.002-03:00

I've had this Craigslist recipe forever, but kept passing it up for the fabulous Tarte a la Moutarde. However, the time came when I was in the mood for something new—and possibly facing an olive craving? And it was time to try a new tomato tart.

1 Pre-baked pie crust (I used this recipe from Smitten Kitchen)
4 onions, sliced in rounds, then sliced in half
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup of Dijon mustard
2 medium-large sized tomatoes, sliced
6 canned Kalamata olives, thinly sliced
6 regular Spanish olives with pimentos, thinly sliced
1/2 to 3/4 cup or of fresh finely grated parmesan cheese
good drizzle of olive oil
1 heaping tablespoon of snipped chives

Caramelize onions in olive oil as long as it takes to get them that lovely brown color on low heat. During the last 10-15 minutes toss in the garlic and cook.
When tart crust is done and cool, slather the bottom with mustard. Spoon in the onions and spread evenly. Slice the tomatoes and cover the onions with them, overlapping them.
Toss on the sliced olives. Sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Bake in pre-heated 375 degree oven until the top is brown, 10 to 15 minutes. I used the broiler briefly to get it brown on top.
Snip chives on top. Serve.

Comments: I followed the recipe up until the chives, as I just didn't have them. Well, and I made the pie crust in a cake pan, which wasn't exactly a successful substitution. The tart was yummy, I think I have an unhealthy addiction to tomato tarts, but the Tarte a la Moutarde is still my favorite.

Double Broccoli Quinoa

2010-05-13T14:21:00.002-03:00

This is something i made once from 101 Cookbooks, thought it was nearly terrific. I used frozen broccoli in the middle of summer, so it seemed with a tweak in the pungent raw garlic and fresh broccoli, it could be mind-blowing

3 cups cooked quinoa
5 cups raw broccoli, cut into small florets and stems

3 medium garlic cloves
2/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 big pinches salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup heavy cream

Heat the quinoa and set aside.

Now barely cook the broccoli by pouring 3/4 cup water into a large pot and bringing it to a simmer. Add a big pinch of salt and stir in the broccoli. Cover and cook for a minute, just long enough to take the raw edge off. Transfer the broccoli to a strainer and run under cold water until it stops cooking. Set aside.

To make the broccoli pesto puree two cups of the cooked broccoli, the garlic, 1/2 cup of the almonds, Parmesan, salt, and lemon juice in a food processor. Drizzle in the olive oil and cream and pulse until smooth.

Just before serving, toss the quinoa and remaining broccoli florets with the broccoli pesto. Taste and adjust if needed, you might want to add more of the pest a bit at a time, or you might want a bit more salt or an added squeeze of lemon juice. Turn out onto a serving platter and top with the remaining almonds, a drizzle of the chile oil, and some sliced avocado or any of the other optional toppings.

Serves 4 - 6.

Comments: So, I tried this again, halving the garlic called for, and still found the recipe overwhelmingly garlicky. I'm not sure what other differences I made from the last time I used the recipe, but after a second try, it's just not worth repeating.

Ultimate Peanut Butter Cup Cake

2010-03-20T20:36:00.003-03:00

I had a full day ahead of me and a craving for a cooking adventure (one last hurrah before my roommates returned and I had to go back to sharing the kitchen), so I clicked through some archived recipes, and came across the Ultimate Peanut Butter Cup Cake recipe posted by The Voracious Vegan.

I had to make some changes, so here’s how I did it.

2 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 t. baking powder

½ t. baking soda

¼ t. salt

1½ c. granulated sugar

½ c. natural peanut butter

1/3 c. butter at room temperature

1 c. milk

¼ cup mashed banana

2 t. vinegar

1 t. vanilla extract

1 c./180 grams chocolate

1 c. natural peanut butter

½ c. powdered sugar

1/3 c. butter at room temperature

Pre-heat the oven to 350F and oil and flour two 8-inch round cake pans. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, peanut butter, and butter and beat until fluffy. Beat in the milk, banana, vinegar, and vanilla extract. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and stir until just combined. Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool.

Melt the chocolate chips in a double-broiler over gently simmering water. Combine the melted chocolate with the peanut butter, powered sugar, and butter and until fluffy.

Remove the cooled cakes from the pans and spread about one-third of the frosting over 1 of the cakes. Place the other cake over it and frost the top and sides. Cover and store in the refrigerator until serving time.

Comments: This was rich and delicious, though not as awe-inspiring as I expected from The Voracious Vegan’s buildup of the recipe. It was great though, as I had all the ingredients, and made my first cake in Argentina’s crazy (unpredictable) gas ovens!

“Grilled” Summer Vegetable Salad

2010-03-11T21:27:00.000-03:00

All the summer veggies looked fabulous at the verduleria today, and I was craving some major veggies, so I took a bit of each with a salad in mind. Eggplant, cherry tomatoes, basil, cucumber, something Mediterranean was coming to mind, and I wanted to douse it in balsamic vinegar.

I started with this recipe, which was quite close to what I was shooting for. And then I found this recipe for my balsamic dressing, which seemed great, until I had it almost made and saw the 3/4 cup oil it called for!

So, here’s what I did…

1 small eggplant

1 small onion

1 red bell pepper

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1 smallish cucumber

3 T. chopped basil

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon light brown sugar

1 garlic clove, crushed through a press (optional)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Cut the onion, eggplant, and bellpepper to bite sized pieces. Toss with cherry tomatoes and 1 T. oil, salt, and pepper and place in the oven for 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the cucumber into wheels, and cut each wheel in half. Chop basil. Mix remaining ingredients together until blended.

Take the veggies out of the oven, and toss with dressing. Allow to cool to desired temperature before adding cucumber and basil. Makes about 3 servings.

Comments: This turned out great, although it had about twice as much dressing as needed. Next time I’d only use half the dressing. I didn’t miss the feta I’d normally think was essential with something like this…maybe I’m adapting?

Chickpea “sliders”

2010-03-10T23:10:00.003-03:00

After my initial bean-burger success, I eagerly raced on…after hearing great reviews of this recipe, adapted by 30 Bucks A Week here. And they were fabulous, so much flavor, I wouldn’t dream of hiding them in a burger, but try them as you like…here’s the recipe with MY adaptations…

Middle Eastern Chickpea Sliders

Adapted from Cooking Light, November 2009

· about 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I used these as I have tons, but I’d prefer to use the potato in the original recipe)

· 3 T. oil, 3 tablespoons, divided (I used olive oil for the first T, followed by canola)

· 1 large clove garlic

· 2 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas

· 1 T. minced celery leaves (I subbed these for the parsley since they’re what I had on hand, and it was a great move)

· Salt, 1/2 teaspoon (or more, I salted to taste)

· Lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon

· 1/4 t. cumin

· 1 T. onion flakes (because I had them)

· Pepper, 1/4 teaspoon

· 1 T. chia seeds soaked in 1/2 cup water (I had no eggs on hand, but also like that this made the recipe vegan)

Process all ingredients in a food processor (or mash and mix by hand) until well blended. Stir in remaining chickpeas. Form small patties with the mixture, about 2 heaping tablespoons each patty.

Heat one tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add patties to pan, cook over medium heat for four minutes and turn over and cook for another four minutes. Work in batches if your pan isn’t big enough.

Makes about 9 patties.

So, I loved these! They were fairly crumbly which could be due to the lack of potato or eggs, but the taste was phenomenal, and they are quite healthy, especially if you can reduce the oil used to cook them (my one beef with the recipe).

Butternut Squash with Quinoa and Dried Fruit Stuffing

2010-03-07T22:49:00.000-03:00

Angela of Oh She Glows posted this tempting-looking Baked Acorn Squash with Quinoa, Cranberry, and Apricot Stuffing. As I’d just baked a giant butternut squash, and had quinoa ready to go, I gave it a go.

Obviously, I tweaked it to what’s available in Argentina, but thought I stayed pretty close to the original recipe, overall. So what happened?

SERVINGS: 4

INGREDIENTS
1 cup quinoa

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

3/4 cups diced onion

salt

1/4 cup diced carrots

1/4 cup diced celery

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teapoon dried sage

1/3 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup dried peaches, chopped the size of raisins

1/3 cup sesame seeds

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

pinch of ground cinnamon

freshly ground black pepper

roasted butternut squash

PREPARATION

1. Simmer the quinoa in 2 cups of water until fluffy, 15 to 20 minutes.

3. While the quinoa cooks, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and cook until softened, stirring frequently, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the carrots, celery, ginger, and sage.

4. Cover the pan and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 5 to 7 minutes (add a tablespoon of water, if necessary, to prevent scorching.)

5. In a large bowl, toss together the quinoa and vegetables. Stir in the dried fruit, sesame seeds, nutmeg, and cinnamon, season with salt and pepper. Top squash with mixture, and heat in oven until hot.

Well, it was edible, but definitely not on my list of top 100 recipes. I mixed the leftovers with a tablespoon of arugula pesto, which helped considerably. It was very short on vegetables for my taste, but it also just didn’t come together. I won’t be making it again.

Sweet Potato-ish Gnocchi

2010-03-07T20:24:00.002-03:00

I first attempted gnocchi about a year ago, a first attempt, that ended like most first attempts at gnocchi in utter failure. I want to say a large part of it wasn’t my fault so much as my ignorance. My coworker made us butternut squash gnocchi for lunch frequently, and assured me it was simple. Unquestioningly, I believed her, and set to work.

Now, nearly a year later, inspired by the Outside of the Box Challenge (thanks Rachel!), I attempted it again.

I still had no intention of following a beginner’s recipe, not after Alicia at Vegan Epicurean posted such an easy-sounding Sweet Potato Gnocchi recipe. But this time, I knew some research was in order.

Sure enough, my initial brushing over of Alicia’s “I used to make this all the time…” was nearly fatal. I studied the techniques used by Deb at Smitten Kitchen (here) and Heidi at 101 Cookbooks (here), and set to work.

I used the same basic recipe found on Smitten Kitchen and 101 Cookbooks, but subbed a sweet potato in with my two white potatoes. I had already baked the potatoes per Alicia’s recipe, which left the outside hard (beyond the skin), and my shredder…well, it’s crap, so that idea was quickly sacked.

I did my best to imitate Heidi’s technique with a fork. The dough appeared a little chunky, which I think was due to the texture of the sweet potato, and I used significantly more flour than called for, but not so much as with the butternut squash disaster.

And, it appears to have paid off! While they may not be perfect gnocchi (they certainly don’t look perfect), it was perfectly delicious with some homemade pesto (although I employed my new mini-food processor rather than the make-shift mortar and pestle this time around)!

Walnut Cheeze Spread

2010-03-05T20:53:00.000-03:00

I’ve been attempting to eat more vegan, and intrigued by vegan cheezes for a while. I have no idea where to begin to look here in Argentina, but Alicia at Vegan Epicurean has also been talking about them. I finally bought some walnuts to make the cheeze, went back to her site, and…nothing?

So, I emailed her, and apparently walnuts are the one nut she hadn’t used to make cheeze! But she promised to try it out right away, and sure enough, within a few days, a very simple recipe was posted on her site, and I set to work, soaking my almonds.

All went according to plan, until I started the food processor. She warned you may have to scrape it down once or twice to get a smooth consistency. My mini-processor lasted about 10-seconds before needing a scrape down…and 10 more…and 10 more…and…well, finally I gave up, and decided it’d be tasyt or not, but it would never be creamy in my machine.

I stuck the mixture (smelling cheezey due to the nooch) in the fridge overnight, and checked it out the next day.

I can’t comment on cheesieness, as I have very little vegan cheeze experience, and the texture was WAY off for real cheese, but it definitely made a yummy spread, and I can see making it a PB substitute (since there’s no other nut butters sold here)… and maybe even a cheese sub, under the right circumstances?

Black Bean Burgers

2010-02-26T21:13:00.001-03:00

Rachel at Shedding It and Getting It posted this recipe for black bean burgers, and as I had some black beans to use, I jumped on it. I’m always interested in finding recipes for burgers and (un)meatballs, so this was perfect.

Ingredients

4 cups cooked, rinsed and drained black beans (I used two 15-ounce cans)

1/2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs

2 large eggs

4 scallions, both white and green parts, minced

3 tablespoons (a small handful) chopped basil or cilantro, or a combination

2 garlic cloves, minced

1.5-2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 .5 teaspoons dried oregano

1-2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon coarse salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

Place 2 cups of the black beans in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until chunky.

Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add remaining whole black beans, with bread crumbs, eggs, scallions, fresh herbs, garlic, cumin, oregano and red pepper flakes and mix until well combined.

Roll the mixture into balls and flatten to form patties. Suggested diameter: 3 inches; otherwise, the patty will be difficult to flip when cooking. [Extra step that's worth doing: Place patties on a plate or tray and chill for 15 minutes so they can set up.]

When ready to cook, remove patties from refrigerator and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in a nonstick pan coated with cooking spray.

Cook for about four minutes on first side or until well seared and with a spatula, turn onto the second side and allow to cook for an additional five minutes, over medium heat. Flip carefully…I had to use my fingers to guide them to keep them from breaking apart. (One did, so that crumbly one was mine!)

And they turned out great. The guac really clinched it, as they were a bit difficult to handle (crumbly), but I could definitely see throwing these in between some buns, and saying adios to Morningstar forever!

(And yes, for those of you who may be wondering, two at a time was WAY too much!)

Eggplant Lasagna with Nona’s Tomato Sauce

2010-02-16T23:19:00.000-03:00

No pictures, this will be quick:

Eggplant Lasagna from Danny Boone

I’ve been wanting to try this idea forever. While it made for a good dinner, it definitely didn’t feel like lasagna. Next time I’ll try my own lasagna recipe, and just sub the noodles with eggplant to see how it goes.

The sauce was even less impressive. I had a bad feeling going in, using that many carrots, but figured I’d give it a go…my own creations have been much healthier and much tastier.

Baked Apple Pudding

2010-01-10T21:57:00.000-03:00

I first heard breakfast puddings mentioned on Oh She Glows. But, as she’s wont to do, Angela used a ton of “special” ingredients—some I didn’t have on hand, others are probably impossible to even find here. So, I tracked back to her reference, in Diet, Dessert and Dogs, which may just get added to my Reader lineup real fast. I’ve been to that site about 5 times in the last week!

Diet, Dessert and Dogs had a slightly simpler recipe, but it still was a bit more complex than ideal, and had another reference in Have cake, will travel. Jackpot!

This recipe called for the complicated ingredient of applesauce—I know I’ve seen it here, but I gave up on looking real quick, when I realized how easy it is to make!

1/2 teaspoon butter, to grease the ramekins
1/4 cup (20 g) old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup (75 g) walnuts halves
1/4 c raisins
1/2 cup (122 g) applesauce
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus a little extra to sprinkle on top
Pinch fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4). Lightly coat two 6-ounce oven-safe ramekins with butter.
Combine oats and walnuts in food processor. Blend until finely ground, and that the walnuts start to release their oil a little.
Add dates, and process until the pieces of dates disappear into oblivion.
Add the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth, scraping sides and bottom once to make sure everyone joins the party.
Divide the sticky batter into the prepared ramekins. Sprinkle just a pinch of ground cinnamon on top of each ramekin.
Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool and chill in the fridge before eating.

Yield: 2 servings

429 calories, 29 grams fat, 6 grams fiber

Comments: This was tasty, but heavy. I baked it all in one pan, since that’s what I had, and it worked out fine. It wasn’t as creamy as the photos appeared, but I probably should have processed it more. Next time I’ll make three servings and have some fruit with it, as that’s more in line with my typical breakfast patterns. I also can’t wait to experiment!

Shakshuka

2010-01-08T00:23:00.002-03:00

I’d heard a bit about Shakshuka, and it sounded so perfect for a vegetarian meal, I was immediately intrigued. Sweet Amandine posted a recipe, and tomato season hit, and suddenly, the stars were aligned.

1 large yellow onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 28 oz. can of whole tomatoes
1 T. tomato paste
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
4 large eggs
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (or more)
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped fresh cilantro
1 bunch fresh spinach
1 cup brown rice

Bring the 1 cup of brown rice to a boil in 2 cups water. Turn the flame to low, and allow the rice to simmer gently until all of the water is absorbed (approximately 40 minutes).

Slice the onion into thin rounds and sauté in about a tablespoon of olive oil. Once the onions are translucent, add the chopped garlic. When the aroma of the garlic rises, stir in the tomato paste. Then, pour the can of tomatoes, juices and all, into the pan. Break up the whole tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Season with the cayenne pepper and salt. Stir. Allow the tomatoes and onions to simmer insistently; the goal is to reduce some of the liquid in the pan. Give it a stir every now and then. When the sauce thickens (approximately 20 minutes), stir in the drained black beans. Once the beans are heated through, use the back of a wooden spoon to make four round indentations in the bed of simmering vegetables. Crack one egg into each little hole. Cover the pan, and allow the eggs to poach for 3-4 minutes. Don't let the yolks firm up all the way. (Unless, for some reason, you have something against gorgeous yellow yolks seeping deliciously into your rice and tomatoes.)

Meanwhile, heat a few dribbles of olive oil in a second pan and sauté the spinach until it is just a little wilted. It should only take a couple of minutes.

Spoon a little mound of brown rice onto each plate. When the eggs are finished, scoop out each one, together with its tomato-y bed, and place over the rice. Sprinkle with a pinch of cilantro, and drop a few forkfuls of spinach on the side.

Serves 2-4 people, depending on whether you and your guests prefer one egg or two. (What with the beans and rice, one egg happens to be plenty filling.)

Comments: The good thing about vegetarian dishes is that even when they don’t work out for you, they’re rarely inedible. This was the case with this one. I subbed white beans for black, since that’s what I had cooked, and otherwise stuck to the recipe.

The spinach was the first disappointment. It sat by its lonesome, despite my efforts to include it in the mix. The flavors just didn’t meld and include it as they should. The rice had an easier time, being underneath everything. However, the biggest issue was that my egg never really cooked. I made two attempts, the second with a bit higher heat, and fully covered, and had marginally better results, but this still didn’t compete with the idea in my head. I may try this again, with a different recipe, or may just wait until it crosses my way in a professional context.

Lemon Barley Risotto

2010-01-08T00:01:00.003-03:00

I was looking to experiment with barley, in order to diversify my grain intake, and this sounded like a good option, from 101 Cookbooks.

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 cebolla verdeo, grande (giant giant green onion), chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon fine-grainsalt
2 cups lightly pearled barley
1 cup white wine
5 1/2 cups whey (I had it on hand, water or stock work as well)
Grated zest of 3 lemons (more to taste if you like)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup cream
3 big handfuls of greens, chopped

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat, then add the onions, shallots, garlic, and salt and saute, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften.

Add the barley to the pot and stir until coated with a nice sheen, then add the white wine and simmer for 3 or 4 minutes, until the barley has absorbed the liquid a bit. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle, active simmer.

In increments, add about 6 cups of water or stock, 1 cup at a time, letting the barley absorb most of the liquid between additions; this should take around 40 minutes altogether. Stir regularly so the grains on the bottom of the pan don't scorch. You will know when the barley is cooked because it won't offer up much resistance when chewing (it will, however, be chewier than Arborio rice).

When the barley is tender remove the pot from heat. Stir in the lemon zest, Parmesan, and cream. Taste and adjust - add more salt if needed, more lemon zest. Then stir in the greens. Garnish with toasted pine nuts and a dusting of extra Parmesan before serving.

Easily serves 4 to 6.

Comments: I need to learn to halve recipes! Of course, it says quite clearly it makes a lot of servings. Anyway, it was good, but not mind-blowing. I made a side of beets and paneer, and ended up mixing them in. I’ll definitely pursue the risotto idea, but not this specific recipe. Maybe this one?

Peanut Butter Cookies

2010-01-07T23:54:00.003-03:00

I wanted something sweet, quick, and easy. AllRecipes had this highly rated recipe.

Ingredients

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
Combine ingredients and drop by teaspoonfuls on cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. Let cool. Recipe doesn't make very many, so you could double recipe as you desire.

Comments: These served the purpose, but next time I’d put in the extra effort to make the flour, eggs, and butter version.

Homemade Apple Sauce

2010-01-07T00:04:00.000-03:00

I needed apple sauce for this recipe, and since it didn’t show up at my first two grocery stores, I decided to google it. Gold! This recipe, adapted from AllRecipes was perfect!

2 apples--cored and chopped
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 T. white sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a saucepan, combine apples, water, sugar, and cinnamon. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until apples are soft. Allow to cool, then process in a food processor.

Asian Ginger Dressing

2010-01-06T20:54:00.000-03:00

3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
3/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup water

Blend in food processor (or whisk by hand).

Comments: Good dressing. I ate it with green salads, it’d also be good over cooked veggies.

Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas

2010-01-04T04:14:00.002-03:00

The original plan behind my Mexican feast was enchiladas. I had a bunch of veggies I needed to use up, so to prolong their lives, I diced them and threw them in the oven. When they came out, I ate half, before deciding enchiladas would be a better purpose.

I made some whole wheat tortillas (since I was feeling industrious), and as my tortillas always come out a bit thick, I decided to make an enchilada casserole. I started by putting a thin layer of sauce in the pan, then threw in some fresh tortillas.

A layer of veggies came next, followed by a bit of gouda. More tortillas followed, and sauce, and well…did I mention I already ate half the veggies? I covered it with cheese, a bit more sauce, and threw everything in the oven.

Half an hour later, dinner was served! See other posts for sauce, refried beans, and Mexican rice.

Enchilada Sauce sans tomato

2010-01-04T04:02:00.003-03:00

I usually fall back on this 10-Minute Enchilada sauce, which is tasty with its 1/4 cup chili powder, but I was in the mood to try something different, and decided to go with this one.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup diced onion
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons hot chili powder
4 1/2 cups vegetable
1/2 (1 ounce) square semisweet chocolate

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in flour and chili powder, reduce heat to medium, and cook until lightly brown, stirring constantly to prevent burning flour.
Gradually stir in tomato sauce, water, cumin, garlic powder, and onion salt into the flour and chili powder until smooth, and continue cooking over medium heat approximately 10 minutes, or until thickened slightly. Season to taste with salt.

Comments: This was good, I was surprised at not missing the tomato taste, although I had to omit the chocolate (due to not having any). I also used bouillon instead of broth, and simply mixed it with less water rather than using the full amount and reducing it. However, I think I still enjoy the 10 minute sauce best.

Refried Beans

2010-01-03T04:08:00.000-03:00

I adapted this recipe from Emeril Lagasse.

1 cup dried pinto beans, soaked overnight in a large bowl with water to cover by 2-inches, and drained
1 bay leaf
1-2 T. vegetable oil
1 cup chopped yellow onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced, seeded jalapeno
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch cayenne
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup grated queso blanco

Directions

In a medium, heavy pot, combine the beans, bay leaf, and enough water to cover by 1 to 2 inches. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the beans are very tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours, adding more water as necessary to keep covered. When the beans are soft, mash in the pot with a potato masher or the back of heavy wooden spoon. Remove from the heat.

In a large, heavy skillet, heat the bacon fat over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, jalapeno, chili powder, cumin, salt, and cayenne, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 45 seconds to 1 minute. Add the beans and any cooking liquid from the pot, and the oregano, and stir to combine. Cook, stirring with a heavy wooden spoon, until the mixture forms a thick paste, 5 to 10 minutes, adding water 1 tablespoon at a time to keep from getting dry.

Comments: So, the jalapeno is ideal, I used pickled jalapeños, as fresh hot peppers are hard to find. The first time I made this, I threw in some gouda, however it didn’t make a huge difference, so I omitted it the second time, and didn’t miss it. I’m never happy with mashed refried beans, and since I got a new mini-food processor for Christmas, I whirled the cooked onion mixture with the beans for a bit, and found it great.

Mexican Rice

2010-01-03T03:54:00.000-03:00

I still use my mom’s Mexican rice as my gold standard. Although not necessarily authentic, I enjoy it and it is similar to what restaurants usually serve. However, I’ve never learned exactly how she does it—she was supposed to show me last time I visited, but we got sidetracked.

Most recipes call for tomato sauce, which tends to leave the rice too wet for my taste, so I knew I wanted to use tomato paste. This website was a great resource in getting started. Here’s what I ended up doing:

Ingredients:

1 c. brown rice
1 T. oil
1 medium onion
1-2 cloves garlic
1 T. chili powder
1 t. cumin
1-2 T. tomato paste
Salt to taste

Cook brown rice with bay leaf, according to package directions. Sautee onion and garlic. Add chili powder and cumin, cook one minute. Add tomato paste and mix, then add rice and incorporate mixture well. Add salt as needed.

Comments: I added the cumin and chili powder based on an old recipe I had, and thought the rice was a bit overpowering. The website I found (later) cautioned against using too many seasonings in rice for this reason. Next time, I would omit the chili powder and cumin It was still a bit wetter than I’d like, I remember my mom saying she made it more like a pilaf with tomato, so maybe I will try that next time. But so far, it’s the best I’ve made.

Peach Oat Bran Scones

2009-12-26T12:56:00.001-03:00

My friend Jen used to always make these super healthy scones full of exotic flours and bran, so when I had oat bran left over from these, I decided to see what I could do.

I found this recipe for apple scones, and saved it at a time when I had apples on hand. When I got around to making it, I only had a peach, so I used that instead. Here’s what I did:

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ c all-purpose flour

1 ½ c. whole wheat flour

1 c Oat or wheat-bran flaked

4 ts Baking powder

1 ts Ground cinnamon

1/2 ts Salt

1/4 c Milk

1/4 c Vegetable oil

1/4 c sugar

1 lg Egg

1 t. vanilla

1 peach

PREPARATION

1. Heat oven to 425F. Grease large baking sheet. In large bowl, combine flour, oat bran, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

2. In medium-size bowl, beat together milk, oil, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients; mix lightly with fork until mixture clings together and forms a soft dough. Add peaches, and carefully mix to incorporate into the dough.

3. Form dough into a ball, and press into a disk, about an inch and a half thick. Cut into 8 triangles (I only got six, but my measurements were probably off due to the Argentine estimation system), and separate so the individual pieces are not touching.

4. Place scones, 1 inch apart, on greased baking sheet. Pierce tops with tines of fork. Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with additional cinnamon, if desired.

5. Bake scones 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Comments: These are quite healthy and granola-y t asting. They remind me of bran muffins more than anything else, so the peach helps with the dryness. And they weren’t too dry. I might make these again, but I’m not running to the dietetica for more oats at the moment. These are better (though obviously not as nutritous).

Simple Greek Style Green Beans

2009-12-25T22:51:00.000-03:00

Green beans are very seasonal here. They show up for a couple months, the conventional ones are pricy (the broader style are more affordable), and then they’re gone until the next spring. I usually make them using this Sweet and Spicy Green Beans recipe, but decided to try something different, from Captious Vegetarian.

This is what I did:

In a skillet saute:

· 2 tsp. olive oil

· 1/2 onion, diced

· 1/4 tsp. dried chili flakes

· 3 garlic cloves, minced

When the onions are soft, add:

· 1 lb fresh green beans

· 1/2 tsp. dry oregano

Finally, while the green beans are cooking, add:

· 1/2 cup tomato sauce

· 10-20 kalamata olives, chopped

Stir and heat through, then serve.

Optional: sprinkle with a little crumbled feta.

Comments: Upon a closer look, this is essentially green beans in spaghetti sauce. And that’s basically what it tasted like. Not bad, but not very exciting either. (I didn’t use feta, as it’s hard to find/expensive. I thought about adding parmesan, but decided not to.)

Savory Bread Pudding

2009-12-25T22:47:00.000-03:00

Apparently I’ve gotten over my cream anxiety. This is a Craigslist classic that I’ve had filed away for a while now. And for good reason, it’s as excellent as the fat count would lead you to believe. I halved the recipe, and it made about 4 servings. All measurements are approximate.

Ingredients:
6 cups of brioche or sweet baguette (crust removed) cut into 1 inch cubes. Make sure that the bread is either a couple of days old or dry it out in a 200 degree oven for 1 hour or so.
2 cups of heavy cream
1 cup of milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup of diced leeks (white and light green only)
1 1/2 lb of mushrooms (if you are in a fancy mood chanterelles are incredible, otherwise use a mix of oyster, crimini, shitake, etc)
1 cup of grated gruyere
1/2 cup of white wine
4 tbs of butter
1 tb thyme
2 tsp of salt or more or less to taste
3 tsp of black pepper or more to taste

Heat up a pan and add 3 tbs of the butter. Add the mushrooms and half the salt and let all water leach out and keep sauteeing until they brown a bit. Add the leaks and cook till they begin to soften. Add the white wine and reduce almost entirely. Let this mushroom leak base cool down to room temp.

Beat the eggs and mix in the milk and heavy cream. This is basically a custard base. Season this custard with thyme, salt and pepper.
Butter a casserole dish and place the cubed bread in it. Add the mushroom-leak base and the gruyere cheese and mix well. Pour the custard over it and make sure it is evenly distributed with the other ingredients. You may have to mix them around.

Bake in a 300 degree oven for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. The top and bottom should be a bit brown, but the center should be soft and somewhat creamy, like really good bread pudding.

Comments: It was fantastic, however I was forced to make some modifications—there were no mushrooms when I went to buy them! I subbed peeled eggplant cubes, and had great success. I also used an ordinary baguette and left the crust on, as it wasn’t very tough.

Roasted Tomato Pasta Sauce

2009-12-24T22:39:00.000-03:00

Roasted tomatoes. You really can’t go wrong. Unless you burn the tomatoes, and I managed not to! I’m finally starting to learn the ins and outs of this silly gas oven! This is based on a Cook’s Illustrated recipe, posted by Captious Vegetarian.

1 small shallot, sliced thin
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 pound cherry tomatoes (about 1.5 pints), each tomato halved pole to pole
1/4 tsp. salt + extra for pasta water
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
3/4 tsp. sugar
1/2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1/3 pound whole wheat rigatoni
2 Tbs. torn basil leaves
parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, gently toss the tomatoes with 5 tsp. of oil, salt, pepper flakes, black pepper, sugar, vinegar, and garlic. Spread in even layer on rimmed baking sheet (about 17 by 12 inches). In the same bowl, toss shallots with 1 teaspoon oil; scatter shallots over tomatoes.
Roast until edges of shallots begin to brown and tomato skins are slightly shriveled (tomatoes should retain their shape), 35 to 40 minutes. (Do not stir tomatoes during roasting.) Remove tomatoes from oven and cool 5 to 10 minutes.
While tomatoes cook, bring 2 quarts water to boil in large stockpot. Just before removing tomatoes from oven, stir 1 tsp. salt and pasta into boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain pasta and add to the large bowl you used for the tomatoes. Using a metal spatula, scrape the tomato mixture into the bowl on top of the pasta. Add the basil and toss to combine. Serve immediately, sprinkling cheese over individual bowls.

Comments: This was tasty and easy. I was surprised at how simple it was. However, it wasn’t mind-blowing, as I think CI recipes should be. I’ll probably make it again, as it is tomato season, but I don’t think I’ll miss it terribly in the winter.

Lemon Ricotta Scones

2009-12-24T12:35:00.002-03:00

This is a great recipe, also a Craigslist classic , that I make whenever I have extra ricotta laying around.

Makes 6 scones

Ingredients

1/2 cup light ricotta cheese (or regular)

1 egg

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons lemon zest

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees, and spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

2. In a small bowl, combine ricotta cheese, egg, lemon juice and lemon rind.

3. Mix well with a fork until well combined and not very lumpy. (Do not mix until all lumps disappear).

5. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

6. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.

7. Stir in cheese mixture lightly, then combine quickly.

8. Be careful not to overmix, knead no more than 10 times.

9. You may need to add another tablespoon of lemon juice depending on your flour, dough should be slightly sticky and shiny.

10. Place on the baking sheet, and pat into 3/4 inch thickness.

11. Cut round into 6 wedge-shaped pieces.

12. Move scones so they are not touching, and dust with sugar and cinnamon.

13. Back 15-20 minutes, or until browned.

Comments: I am having disastrous results with our oven! However, once I scraped way the top and bottom of these, they still tasted great. I just needed two instead of one. They’ll be prettier when you make them.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Shmooed Food)

2009-12-18T13:21:00.001-03:00

As soon as I saw these, I knew I had to make them. And, so, despite a few lacking gadgets (food processor!), I did!

1 cup walnuts
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup canned garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup oat bran
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
18 to 20 large cabbage leaves
1 cup tomato-vegetable juice blend
2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Process nuts in food processor. Set aside.

Add the garbanzo beans and brown rice to the bowl of the food processor and process until the mixture forms a coarse mash. Add to the mixing bowl along with the oat bran, marjoram, thyme, onion powder, soy sauce, and mustard. Using your hands, knead the mixture well until it is thoroughly mixed and holds its shape. Set aside.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the cabbage leaves and cook for 2 to 3 minutes (the leaves should be limp enough to roll but not cooked through). Drain the leaves thoroughly.

Divide the bean and rice mixture into ten equal portions

Stuff each cabbage leaf and place in an oiled baking dish.

Mix the tomato juice and lemon juice together and pour evenly over the rolls. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Bake the rolls for 45 to 50 minutes, until gently brown on top.

Comments: I replaced the herbs with a mixed set for Sauces and Stews (Alicante Condimentos para Tucos y Guisos). I used a small, fresh onion (sautéed in a bit of oil), and tomato sauce instead of juice. I should have thinned the sauce with water, but didn’t. I also mixed a bit of the spice mix into the sauce.

My filling didn’t bind well enough to make loaves (probably because of the lack of food processor), which may be why I ended up with 8 instead of the planned 10. And way more cabbage than necessary.

So, how was it? Delicious! And savory and heavy. This is the perfect vegan dish to serve to an ominvore, it’s so substantial. Next time, I’d probably mix a bit of tomato sauce into the filling as well as some cayenne or hot sauce. I used the extra cooked cabbage leaves to scoop up the filling with my hands, as I love eating with my fingers.

Spicy Sesame Cabbage

2009-12-17T18:34:00.000-03:00

Cabbage is so cheap! And supposedly good for you, I keep trying to make it work. Here is my latest (and most successful) attempt.

Ingredients:

1/2 head of Savoy cabbage
2 T. sesame oil
2 T. soy sauce
2-3 T. rice vinegar
Sea salt to taste
1/4 t. cayenne pepper, or more, if you like things particularly spicy
1/4 c. sesame seeds, lightly toasted

Directions:
Slice the cabbage into fine ribbons, and heat the sesame oil in a pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes, until the cabbage is tender, but still lets out a gentle crunch when you bite in. Reduce the flame to low, and add the soy sauce and rice vinegar. Stir, and taste. Add a few grinds of sea salt, and the cayenne pepper, to taste. Stir in the toasted seeds right before serving.

Comments: I didn’t get any sesame seeds, although I’m sure it’d be better with them. It was still tasty. Not too spicy, next time I’d increase the cayenne. Repeat-worthy.

Quinoa Ricotta Stuffed Zucchini

2009-12-17T18:14:00.000-03:00

Another recipe I've been eyeing for a while was this one from Chocolate and Zucchini. It sounded so simple and healthy! Here's how it went down:

Ingredients:

3 large zapatillos

Provenzal

175 g quinoa (3/4 cup)

1 1/4 cup vegetable broth

3 T. pine nuts

½ cup ricotta

1 T pesto

Begin by soaking the quinoa for 15 minutes. While the quinoa is soaking, cut each zapatillo in half. (Preferred method, cut off just the top to stuff, and replace the cap, however I was working without a spoon, just a fork, and lacked the precision to make this work.)

¨Place the hollow zucchinis in a baking dish, sprinkle them with salt and bake them in a hot oven for 20 minutes.

Rinse the quinoa, and bring 1 1/4 cups broth to a boil. Add quinoa, and lower heat. Simmer 15 minutes. All the water should be absorbed.

In the meantime, sauté the zucchini flesh with garlic and herbs de provence

toast about 3 tablespoons of pine nuts in a dry skillet (watch these very closely, they burn fast. Here's a tip: if it starts smelling good, it's too late).

Mash the zucchini flesh in a colander, draining it well.

In a medium bowl, mix the zucchini, the quinoa, the pine nuts, half a cup of ricotta, and a generous tablespoon of pesto.

After removing the zucchini shells from the oven, drain any water that has collected in them. Fill the zucchini shells with this mixture and return the oven for about 10 minutes, until heated through.

Comments: Halfway through I became quite preoccupied with these turning out bland. So preoccupied, I forgot to add the pesto! Still, I was worried for nothing, they lacked a bit of salt (I’m a chronic under-salter), but were otherwise delicious. I subbed mixed peanuts and almonds for the pinenuts, as I couldn’t get any in time for the recipe, and it worked fine, although I’m sure pinenuts would make it that much better. Repeat!

Polenta “Pizza”

2009-12-16T18:32:00.001-03:00

Still trying to diversify my grain intake, I had been hearing about polenta pizza, and decided to give it a try. Most looked more like polenta casseroles with mozzarella and tomato sauce. I found two possibilities that seemed like they’d hold up a bit more like the real thing. That’s My Home used egg in the polenta, presumably to hold it together, while Fat Free Vegan Kitchen used a smaller crust, baked before adding toppings.

In the interest of simplicity, I decided to try the latter version first. Here’s what I did:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups milk

3/4 cup instant polenta

1 teaspoon salt (optional)

tomato sauce

cheese (I used queso cremoso, because that’s what I had)

sun-dried tomatoes

mushrooms

green onions

garlic

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425. Oil a cookie sheet or 8 inch pan.

Bring the water, milk, and salt to boil. Whisk in the polenta, continually stirring until very thick.

Spread the polenta evenly in the bottom of the pan, about half an inch thick. This quantity of polenta will make enough for two personal-sized pizzas. I saved half for another use. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 12 minutes.

While the crust is cooking, prepare your toppings. Rehydrate and chop the tomatoes, sauté the vegetables lightly in a non-stick pan until onion begins to soften.

After 12 minutes, take the crust out of the oven and invert itonto another dish. It should fall right out of the pan. Spread each crust with tomato sauce (don't use too much or they will be soggy) and top with veggies. Sprinkle with oregano

.
Return to the oven for about 10 minutes, until toppings look done. Lift off the baking sheet carefully using a large spatula and your hand--they are not sturdy like regular pizza, so be careful not to let your toppings slide off. Cut into 4ths and serve.

Comments: There was a reference in the original recipe to parchment paper. I believe she used this instead of oil for the initial cooking, which seems like it’d be helpful, as mine stuck a bit even with the oil. Otherwise, the recipe went as predicted.

The pizza wasn’t quite solid enough to pick up, but I could pick up pieces of it, which satisfied my love for eating with my hands. Still, I wouldn’t call it pizza. It is definitely its own creature. The toppings felt a bit all over the place, so I’d like to refine them, but it was tasty! A bit of trouble, so it won’t become a regular rotation, but otherwise worthy of experimentation.

Pea ‘n Cheese Salad

2009-12-15T17:32:00.002-03:00

Had I thought this recipe through, I would have found it way too heavy for my tastes and lacking spice, but at an initial glance, it seemed different enough for my normal routine that I decided to give it a go. I mean, it got great reviews, and when was the last time I had a mayo-based salad? Or peas? I found it looking for a recipe to use the leftover radishes I had from

my Cabbage Carrot Salad with Peanut Dressing.

Ingredients:

300 grams frozen peas, defrosted

3/4 cup diced carrots

2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1/2 cup cubed cheese

1/2 cup thinly sliced radishes

125 grams mayonnaise

1 t. sugar

1 t. salt (Argentine salt is not as strong as US salt.)

1 t. spicy dijon mustard

Directions:

Mix first 6 ingredients together. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Comments: As I mentioned above, I wasn’t a huge fan. It’s heavy and lacks interest. If I were to attend a very American gathering, with conservative tastes, and wanted something they’d enjoy, I might make it again, otherwise, no.

Vodka Sauce

2009-12-11T12:11:00.004-03:00

Another recipe I’ve been wanting to try for ages! It was my favorite in my favorite Italian restaurant in Madrid, and I found a bottled dressing that was quite tasty (Newman’s, I think) at home (and another, Trader Joe’s brand, that was horrible)…but I had never made it myself. The cream scared me off for a while. But a year in Argentina has done wonders to change my perception of cream, so it was time!

Ingredients

· 1 quart tomato sauce, or store-bought marinara sauce

· 1 cup vodka

· 1/2 cup cream, at room temperature

· 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

· 1 pound pasta (I used spaghetti)

Directions

1. Simmer the tomato sauce and vodka in a heavy large skillet over low heat until the mixture reduces by 1/4, stirring often, about 20 minutes.

2. Stir the cream into the tomato and vodka sauce. Simmer over low heat until the sauce is heated through.

3. Stir in the Parmesan cheese until melted and well blended.

4. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta and transfer it to the pan with the sauce, and toss to coat.

Comments: This was awesome in the pot and when I dipped my bean balls in, but pouring it over pasta made it very watery. I think next time I’ll reduce the vodka a bit, as it was still very alcohol-y tasting, which will reduce some of the liquid, and then make sure to simmer it down so it’s a bit thicker. I also didn’t use very much parmesan, as the recipe was already fairly indulgent. This would be great for company and special occasions.

White Bean Balls

2009-12-10T12:33:00.001-03:00

I've been wanting to make a meatball alternative for ages now, and recently begun stockpiling recipes, as at one point I was ready and couldn't find anything tasty-looking. However, this is the first time it's all come together. The recipe is a de-veganized version of this one.

ingredients:
1 small white onion, and finely chopped
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
15 fresh basil leaves, well chopped, or 2 T dried basil
2 tbsp dried parsley
2 cups cooked white beans plus 1/4 cup cooking liquid
1-4 cup bread crumbs or 2 slices bread pulsed into crumbs in food processor
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 T. powdered milk, or 1/4 c. milk and eliminate the bean liquid

what'cha gotta do:
Heat a small amount of water in & saute the onions, garlic and seasonings until they're soft on medium heat (about 8-10 minutes). add the white beans, parsley, basil (if using fresh), to the skillet. cook for another 5 minutes then transfer the mix of yumminess to the food processor. pulse until the beans are well chopped (and no whole beans remain) then dump the pulsed bean mixture into the mixing bowl. add the bread crumbs to the mixing bowl, adding the non-dairy milk & nutritional yeast to it, too. mix everything until well combined, adjust seasonings to taste, and start making some balls (made 16). wipe out the skillet, spritz a little more of the olive oil cooking spray in it, and saute the bean balls on medium heat (turning often) until browned up a bit (you can also bake them on 350 for 10 minutes. remove from heat & eat 'em up!

Comments: These are tasty. They’ve got a little kick that makes me think they’d be great dipped in a yogurt sauce.

Cabbage carrot salad with peanut dressing

2009-12-09T12:31:00.000-03:00

I found this recipe on the captious vegetarian’s blog and was obviously initially attracted by the peanut sauce-Cook’s Illustrated combination. I tried the peanut sauce before, wasn’t too impressed. However, I still had faith in the recipe as a whole, so here’s what I did:

Makes about 5-6 cups.

1 pound green cabbage (about 1/2 medium head), shredded fine

1 large carrot, peeled and grated

2 T. smooth peanut butter

2 T. peanut oil

2 T. rice vinegar

1 T. soy sauce

1 t. honey

2 medium cloves garlic, chopped

1 1/2 inch ginger, peeled, chopped

1 t. Sriracha or 1/2 jalapeño chile, halved and seeded, chopped

4 medium radishes, sliced thin

4 scallions, sliced thin

1. In bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade, puree the peanut butter, oil, vinegar, soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, and jalapeño until smooth paste is formed.

2. Toss the cabbage and carrot, radishes, scallions, and dressing together in a medium bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Comments: This was decent, but not outstanding. It needed some sweet, I tried adding raisins, but it still wasn't outstanding. However, it is filling and takes a lot of chewing to eat, so if you have the munchies, this is probably a healthy way to satisfy the urge. I probably won't make it again, though.

Homemade Flour tortillas

2009-12-04T19:45:00.001-03:00

I had a craving for Mexican food, with some black beans in the fridge, and decided to make black bean quesadillas. But, just for kicks, I thought I’d try homemade tortillas, instead of the Rapiditas they sell here. I used this recipe, as it was greatly detailed, and one of the only ones that didn’t call for shortening. Even the vegetable shortening here contains animal fats! Here’s what I did:

2 cups of white flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vegetable oil
3/4 cup warm water

1. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In another bowl combine the warm water and oil.

2. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour mixture, a few tablespoons at a time and mix the dough with a fork. Once the water is mixed in, add a little more water and repeat the process until all the water is mixed into the dough. The dough will be sticky.

3. Lightly flour a wooden cutting board and knead the dough 4-5 minutes, adding flour when the dough gets sticky. Eventually the stickiness will go away and you will have a nice smooth dough.

4. Place the dough back into the bowl and cover it with a damp towel or damp paper towel. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.

5. Divide the dough into golf-ball-size balls by pinching off the dough with your thumb and fore finger. Form each ball into a nice ball shape.

6. Place the balls on a flat dish making sure they don't touch each other and cover with the damp cloth.

7. Let the dough rest again for 10 minutes.

8. Lightly dust your wooden cutting board with flour. Take one of the balls of dough and flatten it out on the cutting board to a 4 inch circle. Rub flour on your rolling pin and begin to roll out the dough starting from the center out. Roll the tortilla until it is 6 or 7 inches in diameter and about 1/8 inch thick.

9. Once you have rolled out the tortilla, place it on a preheated skillet. You don't need to add any oil or butter. Cook the tortilla for about 30 seconds. You will notice brown spots all over your tortilla. Flip it over and cook an additional 30 seconds. Don't over cook it as you want the tortilla to be nice and soft.

10. Keep your tortillas warm by covering them in a towel on a plate or in a tortilla warmer.

Tortillas are best eaten hot right off the griddle, but you can refrigerate and freeze them too. If you freeze the tortillas, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and put them in a ziplock bag. When you are ready to use them, first thaw at room temperature and then wrap them in foil and place them in a 250 degree oven for a 10 to 15 minutes.

Comments: I never got these thin enough to really resemble tortillas, they were more of a flat bread, but that didn’t stop me from demolishing them! I think I have an addiction to white-flour foods.

Update: I've also made this recipe using 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 cup white. Works well!

“Rice Stuffing” (Rice and veggies)

2009-11-28T23:21:00.002-03:00

While trying to figure out what I could do for Thanksgiving in Argentina, without the use or a turkey or cranberries (they don’t have cranberries here, turkey for the obvious reasons)…I came across a recipe for Quinoa Stuffing.

Although the title seemed like a stretch, it got great reviews and seemed to be something I could adapt with local ingredients. Here’s what I did:

· 2 cups cooked rice

· Drizzle of EVOO

· 1 small zucchini, cut into 1-inch cubes

· 1/2 butternut squash, peeled and diced

· 4 large green onions, chopped

· 1/2 cup dried apricots, diced

· 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, re-hydrated

· 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

· 1 lemon

If needed, cook rice with bay leaves and salt. Remove from heat; remove bay leaves and let cool.

Meanwhile, heat 3 tbsp oil in a frying pan. Sauté zucchini and squash — season with salt and pepper — until slightly browned. Combine vegetables and quinoa. Drizzle on remaining 1 tbsp oil. Stir in onions, apricots, sun-dried tomatoes, parsley, and mint. Grate in lemon peel and squeeze on lemon juice to taste. Season with salt and pepper.

Comments: I swapped out the dried cranberries for sun dried tomatoes, thinking they’d give a necessary tartness, but the new sundried tomatoes I got were incredibly bright-tasting and sweet, more like fresh tomatoes.

Chopped cashews would be a great addition. The zucchini cooked much faster than the butternut squash—additionally, the squash needed to be cut smaller—no larger than 1/2 inch cubes, and it could be doubled (as could the zucchini). Raisins might be a better addition instead of the tomatoes, and apricots were barely noticeable.

Overall, this is a flexible dish. It’s light and healthy, and easy to play with.

Boy Meets Girl

2009-11-24T20:15:00.005-03:00

Boy eats:

Girl eats:

Guess who this belongs to!

Teriyaki Stir Fry

2009-11-23T12:11:00.002-03:00

I was looking for a stir-fry sauce, and came across this one. It was great, although even when I scaled it down to two servings and used half, it was too much for my giant plate of veggies, tofu and rice.

Ingredients

2/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

Directions

In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, ginger, and garlic.

Comments: As I mentioned, this made too much for the serving, but it was good, and definitely improved my typical stir fry. The recipe originally called for sherry instead of vinegar, but I subbed the vinegar as I had no sherry and topped everything with sriracha. I'd mix sriracha into the sauce next time, before cooking everything, but this was good.

Veggie Tofu Thai Green Curry

2009-11-18T13:58:00.006-03:00

I scored some vegetarian Thai curry paste the last time I was in the US, and am finally giving it a go! Here's what I did:

1 container cream (8 oz or so?)

1 1/2 T green Thai curry paste

2 cups vegetables (green beans, tomato, and bell peppers)

1 cup tofu, cubed

I steamed the green beans a bit, and warmed the cream and curry paste. Then I added the veggies and tofu, and simmered for 10 minutes.

Comments: This was an interesting first attempt. I thin next time I'll add onions, garlic, and at least 2T of curry paste. Also, there was too much liquid, so I will probably reduce the cream/milk next time, and switch to either full milk or coconut milk. I don't think the cream was necessary (but there's only one way to find out!) I'd also like to add some aji picante or cayenne, as it needed a lot of sriracha to up the spice, and that took away from the curry flavors.

Nirvana tags and a Polenta Revelation

2009-11-16T22:47:00.002-03:00

Orangette talked about a list of CILTE (Crap I Like To Eat) a while back, and I thought it was a cute idea--compile a list of stuff that makes you happy, to make on those days when you're feeling totally unmotivated to eat.

Then, I was eating black beans with tomato sauce and polenta today, sighing blissfully to myself as I shook on more Cholula, and thinking...bliss...nirvana...

I have these moments from time to time, and they never stay with me. At least not with homemade cooking. And thus was born the nirvana tag, to mark these moments in the indelible memory of the internet!

So, back to dinner...I am certain I could eat black beans and tomato sauce over some kind of carb every night and never get tired of it--especially when a bit of cheese and hot sauce is mixed into the game.

However, polenta was never my favorite. I liked it enough prepared in restaurants, but at home? Pain in the ass! All the stirring, stress over clumping, waiting...wondering is it done yet? Stirring some more...

And then I accidently bought instant polenta...something I'd normally shy away from, because it just seems...like a shortcut? Microwave popcorn? Packaged mac and cheese? These things never seem to work out for the best. But, lo and behold, it did!

A couple minutes of stirring, and my polenta was thick and rich. I took it off the heat a couple minutes later, and came back in five minutes to find a solid block of polenta! I've never had the patience to see this happen with the traditional stuff! I'm so hooked...and so looking forward to my polenta and tomato sauce--with black beans, and a bit of cheese--for dinner tomorrow!

And maybe tomorrow I'll savor it long enough to snap some photos...

Old Fashioned Pesto with Walnuts

2009-11-16T13:10:00.005-03:00

I've been craving pesto, but stumped by my lack of food processor-blender gadget. So, yesterday I looked into the traditional mortar and pestle methods...then fashioned a mortar and pestle from the end of a wide-handled fork and ceramic bowl, and went to town. Ghetto? Desperate? Tasty!

Here's how it went down:

Ingredients:

2 cups loosely packed basil
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted, plus crushed pine nuts for garnish
2-3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese, grated, plus more for garnish
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt

Method:

Combine basil, toasted pine nuts, garlic, and salt in your mort ar.
Grind with pestle in a pounding and/or rotating motion until a paste is formed, about 5 minutes.
Add cheese; grind until combined.
Briskly stir pesto with a wooden spoon while drizzling in the olive oil.
Drizzle pesto with more oil until desired consistency is reached.
Let rest while cooking your pasta.
Stir pesto into drained pasta while still hot.
Garnish with extra cheese and crushed pine nuts.

Comments: So, I'm terrible at following directions, and began grinding the basil with just salt. I believe the garlic and nuts would allow it to break down faster, and give much better results. Also, I used walnuts instead of pinenuts, as I had them on hand. I halved the recipe, because that was how much basil I had, but next time I'd try and do a full batch, this went too quickly!

Black beans and quinoa with tomato sauce

2009-11-13T11:46:00.002-03:00

This is based off a Vegan with a Vengeance recipe for bell pepper stuffing. Captious didn’t review it highly as a bellpepper filling, so I gave it my own spin. It turned out delicious!

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 hot pepper, such as jalapeno, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups finely chopped mushrooms (optional)

1 Tbs. chili powder

1 tsp. salt

15 oz. tomato sauce

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup quinoa

2 cups cooked black beans

Saute the onions and pepper until soft, then add the garlic and mushrooms and cook until dry.
Add the chili powder, salt, tomato sauce, water, and quinoa and and simmer the mixture for 20 minutes.
Afterwards, the black beans are added to the mixture.

Comments: I served this over cubed, boiled sweet potatoes with some paneer mixed in. It was fabulous!

Pitas

2009-11-10T23:57:00.008-03:00

So...I made a bunch of the best pizza dough ever, and then our oven broke. It was sitting in the freezer, when I got the itch to make pita bread. I compared the recipes, and ended up using my pizza dough for the pita!

3 cups plus a scant 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (16 oz./454 grams)
2 teaspoons salt (1/2 oz./13.2 grams)
2 teaspoons instant yeast (6.4 grams)
2 tablespoons olive oil (1 oz./27 grams)
1 1/4 cups water, at room temperature (10.4 oz./295 grams)

1. About 1 1/2 hours before shaping, or for best flavor development, 8 hours to 3 days ahead, mix the dough: In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except for a scant 1/4 cup of the flour. With a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until all the flour is moistened. Knead the dough in the bowl until it comes together.

Sprinkle a little of the reserved flour onto the counter and scrape the dough onto it. Knead the dough for 5 minutes, adding as little of the reserved flour as possible. Use a bench scraper to scrape the dough and gather it together as you knead it. At this point it will be very sticky. Cover it with the inverted bowl and allow it to rest for 5 to 20 minutes. (This rest will make the dough less sticky and easier to work with.)

Knead the dough for another 5 to 10 minutes or until it is soft and smooth and just a little sticky to the touch. Add a little flour or water if necessary. (The dough will weigh about 27.75 oz./793 grams.)

2. Let the dough rise: Using an oiled spatula or dough scraper, scrape the dough into a 2-quart or larger dough-rising container or bowl, lightly greased with cooking spray or oil. Press the dough down and lightly spray or oil the top of it. Cover the container with a lid or plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough overnight (or up to 3 days), checking every hour for the first 4 hours and pressing it down if it starts to rise.

3. Shape the dough: Cut the dough into 8 or 12 pieces. Work with one piece at a time, keeping the rest covered with a damp cloth. On a lightly floured counter, with lightly floured hands, shape each piece into a ball and then flatten it into a disk. Cover the dough with oiled plastic and allow it to rest for 20 minutes at room temperature.

4. Roll each disk into a circle a little under 1/4 inch thick. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes before baking.

5. Bake the pita: Preheat a griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly grease the surface and cook the pitas one at a time. Cook for about 20 seconds, then turn the dough and continue cooking for 1 minute or until big bubbles appear. Turn the dough again and cook until the dough balloons. If the dough begins to brown, lower the heat. The entire cooking process for each pita should be about 3 minutes.

The pita should be completely puffed but not beginning to brown. The dough will not puff well if it is not moist enough. See how the pita puffs, then, if necessary, spray and knead each remaining piece with water until the dough is soft and moist; allow to rest again and reroll as before.* (However, those that do not puff well are still delicious to eat.)

* After my first pita didn’t puff well, and I realized I was too lazy to spritz and reroll and rise each remaining pita, I instead spritzed each rolled-out pita with water two or three minutes before baking it. It worked magically — all of the remaining pitas puffed perfectly. Try this method first if yours don’t puff, if it doesn’t work to you, revert to Beranbaum’s suggestion of kneading the extra moisture in.

Proceed with the remaining dough, baking 3 or 4 pieces at a time if using a stone or baking sheet. using a pancake turner, transfer the pita breads to a clean towel, to stay soft and warm. Allow the oven to reheat for 5 minutes between batches. The pitas can be reheated for about 30 seconds in a hot oven before serving.

Whole wheat variation: For a whole wheat version, use half whole wheat and half white flour. If using regular whole wheat flour, for best results, grind it very fine or process it in a food processor for 5 minutes to break the bran into smaller particles. Finely ground 100% whole wheat flour (atta), available in Middle Eastern food markets, is the finest grind available. Or, for a milder but wheatier flavor and golden color, try 100% white whole wheat flour. You will need to add 1/4 cup more water, for a total of 1 1/2 cups (12.4 oz./354 grams).

Comments: The pita turned out great once it was done. I think next time I'd divide the pizza dough ball in three to make sure the pitas are small enough for my pan. First pita was a little...well, it made great flat bread! Next up, some whole wheat adaptations!

Paneer

2009-11-10T23:44:00.009-03:00

I saw how simple it was to make paneer (thanks Pranav!) and immediately had to give it a go. After consulting several recipes, I ultimately went with this one.

Homemade Paneer (FXcuisine.com)

· 1 liter milk

· 1+ t. lemon juice or vinegar

· A large pot

· A cheese cloth or clean towel or clean tee-shirt

Gently heat the milk just to boiling and turn off the heat. Pour a little lemon juice in it.

Not too much, all you want is for the milk to curdle. Gently mix with a and add more lemon juice (or vinegar) until the milk has split into a transparent liquid and little lumps of soft white matter. That's your cheese.

Take a clean towel and wrap it into a bowl or strainer, put everything in the sink and pour in the split milk.

Let the milk water (whey) drain.

... then turn it and squeeze the cheese.

Put it in a plate or form. Add a plate and some weight on top and leave in the fridge for a couple hours. Some more water will come out, just discard it.

You can cut it in pieces and pan-fry it for 3-4 minutes in a little oil or ghee for longer preservation or use within a few days.

Comments: This is great and mild as is. I might try adding a bit of lemon juice and salt in the future and using it in place of feta. Or just salt to give it more flavor on its own. I mixed it in a sitr fry with lemon dressing, mustard, and sriracha, and was a happy camper, eating it with my new pita recipe.

More Peanut Sauce--The winner!

2009-11-09T18:03:00.004-03:00

Okay, so I gave things another go a few days ago, and found what I was looking for! while the sweet potato recipe is good for veggies, this one holds up to pasta as it's a bit thicker.

2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter

2 tablespoons peanut oil

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon honey

2 medium cloves garlic, chopped coarse

1 ½ inch piece ginger , peeled

½ jalapeño chile , halved and seeded

Comments: Perhaps due to its thickness, this utterly failed on my beets and sugar snap peas. I'll have to compare it to the sweet potato recipe to see how it compares with the addition of water, as they're probably quite similar. I subbed vegetable oil for the peanut oil, a mix of vinegars for the rice and sriracha for the jalapeño.

Comments Update: I tried this again with veggies and tofu. Not happening, this is delicious on pasta, but I'm returning to the old recipe for veggies.

Crepes

2009-11-06T21:54:00.004-03:00

I've been craving crepes for days! Finally, I finished off my huge stockpile of veggies and salads, and was able to move on to satisfy my urge. I decided to go with this recipe, as it was easy to divide in half, and very clear cut. However, next time I'd like to try one that uses beer and see if there's a difference in the flavor.

Making Crepes

If you're making enough crepes to serve a lot of people, there are three easy ways to handle it. First, you can stick the crepes on a plate in a barely warm (200°F) oven, where they'll stay warm until you are ready to assemble them. Second, you can serve them as you make them. When serving family on a busy night, it's sometimes okay if people eat them as they are served. Third, it's not a big deal if the crepes cool down a little bit before you eat. If the filling is warm, it makes up for it.

To make about 20-24 crepes, you'll need:

4 eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
2 ¼ milk
¼ cup (½ stick) melted butter or margarine

Sugar, rum, and vanilla for sweet crepes.

It is no problem to make a half-batch or a double-batch.

Making the Crepe Batter

Gather your ingredients.
Break four eggs into a bowl. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to eggs and whisk eggs and salt together until the egg looks uniformly yellow.
Measure two cups of flour and add some of the flour to the egg mixture.
Whisk the flour into the eggs. It will be a bit lumpy right now, but that's okay.
Whisk some of the milk into the batter. It will get thinner. Keep adding milk and flour alternately until you've added it all.
Whisk the batter until it is smooth. It shouldn't take more than a minute or two to whisk it smooth, from the time you started to add the flour.
Add the melted butter to the batter, and again whisk it until it's smooth.
Cover the batter.
Put the batter in the refrigerator

At this point, your batter is ready to go, and you can begin making the crepes whenever you are ready. You can the batter a few hours or even a day in advance of when you make the crepes. If you let it sit for a long time, the butter will separate from the rest of the batter, but you just need to whisk it for ten seconds or so, and it will be ready to use. I've kept my batter for several days, and it has been fine. After a couple of days, the batter gets a bit darker in color, but the crepes still taste fine.

If I'm making the batter right before I make the crepes, I refrigerate the batter while I prepare the filling.

Cooking the Crepes

1. Select a non-stick skillet (8 inches is ideal).

2. Preheat your pan on medium heat. Use about one-fourth of a cup of batter for an 8 inch pan.

3. Pour the batter into the pan.

4. As you pour the batter, twirl the pan around.

5. As you twirl the pan, the batter coats it and makes the crepe. If you put in too little batter to begin with, pour in some extra batter to fill in the gaps.

6. As the crepe cooks, it changes in appearance. The batter starts out looking moister and hasn't set. Once it has set, it’s still a bit moist. You can usually see a lace pattern developing on the underside of the crepe.

7. When the crepe has set you can see the spatula through the crepe. The crepe will also usually slide around when it is ready. (It make stick a bit a the edges though.)

8. Slip the spatula under the crepe. Sometimes you need to poke it a bit. If it helps to pick up the edge of the crepe with your fingers, do it.

9. Flip the crepe over. Look at that nice lace pattern on the crepes. If you're skillful, you can flip the crepe with a quick action of the wrist and no spatula.

10. After the second side has cooked for maybe twenty seconds, slip it out of the pan onto a plate for serving, or into a baking dish that you can put into a warmed (200°F) oven.

Comments: These turned out great! Well, the recipe was easy enough. I didn't get much crepe, I think I used too much unseasoned spinach and too little cheese, so it mostly tasted like spinach, until I went for the dessert crepes. Dulce de leche was purchased for the occassion, and yum! Mine weren't too circular, as my pan was pretty big, and I didn't want to attempt giant crepes, but otherwise they were fabulous and easy.

Beets and Sugar Snap Peas with Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette

2009-11-06T21:10:00.003-03:00

I was thinking a lemony dressing would make for a nice beet and pea salad, however I came across a peanut dressing yesterday that I couldn't pass up--what isn't better with peanut? Apparently, sugar snap peas and beets!

Luckily, I used just a bit, and was able to save the remaining veggies and peanut sauce separately. I don't think the sauce was flawed, just the combination was...ugh.

So, today, I went back to the original lemony idea, and came up with a winner! It's based off this recipe.

1 small lemon, zested and juiced

1 t Dijon mustard

3 T red wine vinegar

3 T extra-virgin olive oil

1 t honey

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients well.

Black Bean Hummus

2009-11-05T23:20:00.002-03:00

I had black beans, and wanted to make a bean spread, so this seemed like the perfect answer. Except I didn't have tahini or a food processor, and wasn't about to wait to buy the food processor. Tahini was already priced out of my league in local stores.

And one reviewer spoke of a great substitution of sesame oil. Well...sesame seeds are right, although the flavors don't seem that similar. But hummus usually has oil, and this one didn't, so maybe...

Ingredients

1 clove garlic

2 cups cooked black beans

2 T lemon juice

1T toasted sesame seed oil

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

Mince garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Add black beans, 2 tablespoons reserved liquid, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, oil, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper; process until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Add additional seasoning and liquid to taste.

Disaster! The cumin and chili did not go with the sesame seed oil at all! I'm not sure this recipe would be tasty anyway (although the reviews certainly seem to point to it)...but I was only able to dilute my mess over rice (it was quite ugly, hand-mashed)...and feel like I was not being wasteful and getting some solid protein. Ugh...

Braised Red Cabbage

2009-11-04T23:07:00.000-03:00

Red cabbage is great for healthy variety, and plentiful here in Argentina. I'm just trying to find the recipe that compliments it best. I tried one a while ago that wasn't worth repeating, so this time around I went with a craigslist suggestion, similar to others I researched:

Ingredients:

1 large red cabbage

1 apple

1/2 c. red wine

1/2 c. red wine vinegar

2-3 cloves garlic

oil

salt/pepper

Slice/shred thinly (like coleslaw) the cabbage. Saute in a large non reactive pot til transparent a finely chopped large onion in some oil you prefer. Pile cabbage on top, add salt/pepper, a grated apple, 1/2 cup red wine and 1/2 cup red wine vinegar, 2 or 3 cloves of garlic skewered on a tooth pick (retrieve when done and throw away) and simmer for 1-2 hours. You can make this way before and reheat, in fact it is better reheated. (This is how Grandma made it; it's not really a recipe, she glugged in the wine and wine vinegar, but a half cup each was probably average and everything else is accurate; you have to taste for salt and pepper as usual).

Comments: Another, not worth repeating. I'll look for feedback, as it was similar to so many others, but just overpoweringly acidic. And with no other noteable features. I only cooked it a scant hour, maybe this was the issue? As it's reportedly better the next day, I waited to review it...3 days have now passed, and...no improvement has been noted.

Pizza Crust, Take 2 (101 Cookbooks version)

2009-10-27T22:02:00.005-03:00

So, I found the purported "best pizza dough ever," and since I wasn't bowled over by my first run, I decided to give it a try. The dough is much more difficult to work with than the last dough, and the recipe more finicky. Here's my version, simplified where possible:

4 1/2 cups (20.25 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 3/4 (.44 ounce) teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon (.11 ounce) instant yeast
1/4 cup (2 ounces) olive oil (optional)
1 3/4 cups (14 ounces) water, ice cold
Semolina flour OR cornmeal for dusting

1. Stir together the flour, salt, and instant yeast in a bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). With a large spoon, stir in the oil and the cold water until the flour is all absorbed (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment), If you are mixing by hand, repeatedly dip one of your hands or the metal spoon into cold water and use it, much like a dough hook, to work the dough vigorously into a smooth mass while rotating the bowl in a circular motion with the other hand. Reverse the circular motion a few times to develop the gluten further. Do this for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are evenly distributed. If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for 5 to 7 minutes, or as long as it takes to create a smooth, sticky dough. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet and doesn't come off the sides of the bowl, sprinkle in some more flour just until it clears the sides. If it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a tea- spoon or two of cold water. The finished dough will be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky.

2. Oil a sheet pan or other storage container (Tupperware). Cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (to make individual-sized pizzas), You can dip the knife into the water between cuts to keep the dough from sticking to it. Lift each piece and gently round it into a ball. If the dough sticks to your hands, coat your hands with oil. Transfer the dough balls to container, coat with oil, and cover.

3. Put the dough into the refrigerator overnight to rest the dough, or keep for up to 3 days.

(Note: If you want to save some of the dough for future baking, you can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag. You can store the dough in the freezer for up to 3 months. Transfer them to the refrigerator the day before you plan to make pizza.)

4. On the day you plan to make the pizza, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator 2 hours before making the pizza. Before letting the dough rest at room temperature for 2 hours, oil hands and gently press the dough into flat disks about 1/2 inch thick and 5 inches in diameter. Mis dough again with oil, and cover the dough loosely. Now let rest for 2 hours.

5. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on a rack in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven as hot as possible, up to 800F. If you do not have a baking stone, you can use the back of a sheet pan, but do not preheat the pan.

6. Make the pizzas one at a time. Dip your hands, including the backs of your hands and knuckles, in oil and lift I piece of dough by getting under it with a pastry scraper. Very gently lay the dough across your fists and carefully stretch it by bouncing the dough in a circular motion on your hands, carefully giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss. If you have trouble tossing the dough, or if the dough keeps springing back, let it rest for 5 to 20 minutes so the gluten can relax, and try again. You can also resort to using a rolling pin, though this isn't as effective as the toss method.

7. When the dough is stretched out to your satisfaction (about 9 to 12 inches in diameter for a 6-ounce piece of dough), lay in on the pan, making sure there is enough semolina flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide. Lightly top it with sauce and then with your other top- pings, remembering that the best pizzas are topped with a less-is-more philosophy.

8. Slide the topped pizza onto the stone (or bake directly on the sheet pan) and close the door. Wait 2 minutes, then take a peek. If it needs to be rotated 180 degrees for even baking, do so. The pizza should take about 5 to 8 minutes to bake. If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone to a lower self before the next round. if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone for subsequent bakes.

9. Remove the pizza from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Wait 3 to 5 minutes before slicing and serving, to allow the cheese to set slightly.

Makes six 6-ounce pizza crusts.

from The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart (Ten Speed Press) - reprinted with permission

Comments: While this recipe is a lot more difficult than the other, the taste is far superior. It-s also forgiving, as I added a lot of extra flour to the first ball while trying to shape it, and after another hour of rest, it was just as springy and tasty as the others. I'm trying a calzone version tomorrow, with one of the frozen dough balls.

Simple Cauliflower Recipe

2009-10-26T22:23:00.001-03:00

Simple Cauliflower Recipe (101 Cookbooks)

To make this recipe vegan, just omit the Parmesan cheese finish - still delicious.

2 - 3 heads of small cauliflower (or 1/2 head large)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
a couple pinches of sea salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small bunch of chives, chopped
zest of one lemon
freshly grated Parmesan
a bit of flaky sea salt

To prep the cauliflower, remove any leaves at the base and trim the stem. Now cut it into tiny trees - and by tiny, I mean most florets aren't much larger than a table grape. Make sure the pieces are relatively equal in size, so they cook in the same amount of time.

Rinse under running water, and set aside.

Heat the olive oil and fine grain salt in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the cauliflower and stir until the florets are coated. Wait until it gets a bit brown on the bottom, then toss the cauliflower with a spatula. Brown a bit more and continue to saute until the pieces are deeply golden - all told about six minutes. In the last 30 seconds stir in the garlic.

Remove from heat and stir in the chives, lemon zest, and dust with a bit of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a pinch of flaky sea salt (if you have it on hand). Serve immediately.

Serves 2-3 as a side.

Comments: I make my own variations of this all the time, based on what I have on hand. It's a great jumping off point.

Pizza Crust (and pizza!)

2009-10-20T11:06:00.005-03:00

Martín and I have been buying a bunch of prepizzas lately...and since making your own crust isn't that difficult, I figured it was time to give it a go. However the stores I went to didn't have the dry yeast I'm used to...one of the women gave me a 101 on the wet stuff, and I was ready to experiment, when we discovered all her packs had expired--yesterday! I would have bargained, but she wanted to sell me the flour with yeast already added. This doesn't appear to be the same self-rising flour they sell in the US--it contains yeast, not baking powder. So, I went to adapt the recipe, but found the recipe is so simple, it's really more a matter of adjusting for texture.

Really Simple Pizza Dough (Smitten Kitchen)

Makes enough for one small, thin crust pizza. Double it if you like your pizza thick and bready.

1 1/2 cups flour (can replace up to half of this with whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water (may need up to 1 or 2 tablespoons more)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Stir dry ingredients, including yeast, in a large bowl. Add water and olive oil, stirring mixture into as close to a ball as you can. Dump all clumps and floury bits onto a lightly floured surface and knead everything into a homogeneous ball.

If you are finding this step difficult, one of the best tricks I picked up from my bread-making class is to simply pause. Leave the dough in a lightly-floured spot, put the empty bowl upside-down on top of it and come back in 2 to 5 minutes, at which point you will find the dough a lot more lovable.

Knead it for just a minute or two. Lightly oil the bowl (a spritz of cooking spray perfectly does the trick) where you had mixed it — one-bowl recipe! — dump the dough in, turn it over so all sides are coated, cover it in plastic wrap and leave it undisturbed for an hour or two, until it has doubled in size.

Dump it back on the floured counter (yup, I leave mine messy), and gently press the air out of the dough with the palm of your hands. Fold the piece into an approximate ball shape, and let it sit under that plastic wrap for 20 more minutes.

Sprinkle a pizza stone or baking sheet with cornmeal and preheat your oven to its top temperature. Roll out the pizza, toss on whatever topping and seasonings you like. (I always err on the side of skimpy with toppings so to not weight down the dough too much, or if I have multiple toppings, to keep them very thinly sliced.)

Bake it for about 10 minutes until it’s lightly blistered and impossible to resist.

So...the crust turned out well. The flavor seems a bit off, and I'm not sure why...like it's missing a bit of tang or something. However, it was super cheap and definitely edible! Maybe my pan is a bit smaller, or I made a bit more dough (measuring is a difficult task here!), but I think doubling the dough would be fairly disasterous, and it wasn't super thin as it was...my final learning experience, the oven was slightly higher than the lowest setting, next time it needs to be hotter. I was just nervous after previous pizza burning experiences.

Smitten Kitchen also has a stepped up dough I can't wait to try! As you can see, I topped this with queso cremoso and something random I had in the fridge. I think I prefer a queso cremoso/mozzarella blend, but wasn't up for going to the store. I also used thinly sliced zapallitos and a squeeze of lemon. Fabulous!

Chickpea Salad with Lemon and Parmesan

2009-10-20T01:23:00.003-03:00

I made this "salad" the other night. Simple and tasty, although it seemed like it could benefit from some added pizzaz...or at least a better quality cheese (I used the packaged queso rallado).

2 c. cooked chickpeas
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 ½ tsp. olive oil
A pinch of salt
¼ cup Parmigiano Reggiano

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and stir gently to mix. Taste, and adjust seasoning as necessary. Serve immediately, or chill, covered, until serving.

Note: This salad keeps well in the fridge and is, in my humble opinion, best eaten cold.

Yield: 2 servings

Future add-in ideas:

"I like to crumble some sharp and salty Greek Feta into mine and maybe, if the content of my fridge allows, a handful of flatleaf parsley, and for good measure some cubed cucumber, bell peppers (though never green ones: I loath green peppers) or a celery stick. I might even sneak in a black olive or two. I douse it with olive oil and lemon juice and a pinch of cumin, coriander and chilli if I am feeling sophisticated. "

"I tried this earlier in the summer and LOVED it. This afternoon I grabbed the chickpeas and parmesan, but also threw in some leftover pesto and toasted sunflower seeds (good if you like a little crunch) - YUM! Throw it all on a bed of spinach and life is truly good!"

"I made this for dinner last night. After I mixed it up I was thinking of what to serve with it to bulk it up a bit when I remembered some whole wheat rotelli in my cupboard. While digging for that I found a can of black olives. I mixed in the olives and the pasta, added a bit more cheese, oil and lemon and had a hearty and delicious meal. "

Delicious Dal

2009-10-14T11:58:00.000-03:00

I picked this up when I was in the US...omigod, it's making me so happy in the spice-free land of Argentina!

Drop Biscuits

2009-10-14T00:58:00.002-03:00

I had to try Trader Joe's drop biscuits because the recipe looked to simple to be true. They turned out great!

2 ½ Cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tsp Salt
2 Cups heavy cream

Pre-heat oven to 350°. Mix all-purpose flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add heavy cream and stir until the mixture starts to get dough-y. Scoop out a golf-ball size of the dough and squeeze into a “drop of biscuit” – drop “drops” onto an ungreased baking sheet. Repeat (be sure to give each drop sufficient space). Bake for about 15 minutes (time may vary depending on oven calibrations) until the
bottom and crests of the biscuit are golden brown. Cool (if you can) for a few minutes.

Brighten Up The Biscuits: Serve them with raspberry fruit spread. Or... add shredded cheddar cheese or freshly chopped herbs to the dough prior to making the biscuit drops.