What's Teresa Cookin'?

Butternut Squash Hummus

2013-11-21T09:35:00.000-08:00

I love hummus. Recently I wanted some, but didn't have any cooked garbanzo beans. Rather make a trip to the grocery store, I decided to use the thing I had plenty of--delicious, cooked, really sweet butternut squash.

I looked up a few recipes online, and found that most people who make butternut squash hummus make it with the garbanzos, and the squash is a flavoring. Since I didn't have the beans, I took a deep breath and made it my way.

I tweaked my hummus recipe. Here's the result (adjust any of them to taste):

1 c roasted butternut squash, cubed
1/4 c tahini
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 T lemon juice
1 T salt
1/4-1/2 c olive oil

Put all ingredients except olive oil in blender. Pulse a few times, then pour the olive oil through the hole in the blender lid. If the olive oil does not help it to complete blending, turn off the blender and stir with a spoon. Remove spoon, return lid, and try again. Blend until smooth.

It tasted great right after it was made, but the sweetness of the butternut squash was a little over-the-top. I put it on celery sticks. The next day, all the flavors had blended better, and I used it on spinach-rice fritters (recipe to come).

This "hummus" will definitely be on the snack table this Thanksgiving!

Sneaky Vegetables

2013-10-28T03:00:00.001-07:00

Photo of Purple Cauliflower by Teresa Y Green

I'm not a vegetarian. If you look around the blog, you'll see plenty of recipes with meat. But that doesn't mean I dislike vegetables, or think they are unimportant. Veggies are the most important part of a diet. I sometimes have a hard time with my vegetarian patients because too often these "vegetarians" live on rice, beans, and soymilk.

When I ask people, vegetarian or otherwise, why they don't eat more veggies, usually the problems are the time it takes to cook multiple vegetables, or the trouble fixing things the rest of the family will eat.

I have similar problems. My husband does a lot of our cooking, and he gets impatient with cooking several vegetable dishes. I often cook for others who are used to fast food, and are not used to eating vegetables. Here are some of the ways I creatively get veggies into people:

Puree them. Sauces are a great way to sneak vegetables into the veggie-resistant. Mild tasting vegetables blend easily into any kind of sauce or soup.

Spaghetti sauce is especially easy way to sneak in multiple vegetables, since the sauce is usually strongly flavored. Cook squash, sweet red or green peppers, carrots, or tomatoes, then blend with your regular spaghetti sauce.
Veggie purees also make great soups. Blend cooked veggies with flavorings. Here's a quick sample recipe: 3 cups cooked yellow squash, 1 sweet potato, 3 cloves garlic, 2 tsp salt, 1 cup of vegetable or chicken broth, 1 tsp oregano, 2 tsp basil, 1/2 cup heavy cream. Blend, then bring to a simmer for 15 minutes.

Chop them up. The Darling Beloved, as my husband is known, does not like squash. Does. Not. Like. But squash is usually one of the most economical vegetable choices out there. Besides, I like it. So he eats a lot of squash. In order to make the process less painful, I sneak the squash in. Making chili? I saute a finely diced squash along with the onion, garlic, and any meat I may be using. Stir fry? At least half a zucchini is chopped in there. It works for any other mild veggie as well. I've also taken brussels sprouts, shredded them, then sauteed them with carmelized onions and butter. They don't look like brussels sprouts, so people are more likely to try them--and if they try them, they often like them! When in doubt, chop it fine and run with it.
Flavor them up. Too many people only think of vegetables as steamed, boiled, or baked--with little flavoring other than some butter or salt. How about sauteed with some garlic, broiled with fresh basil and cheese, or mixed with other vegetables or even fruit? I use the kale and squash my husband doesn't care for in an Italianesque blend. I mix kale, squash, onions, garlic, tomato, basil, and chickpeas together. It's unusual, and tricks his tastebuds into thinking "different" instead of "yuck." Carmelizing is another great trick. Carmelized onions are a revelation--sweet and deep and rich tasting, they can almost make it into a dessert. Mixed into any other vegetable dish, they lend a level of flavor nothing else can give. And they don't look like onions, so people who usually reject onions find they like them. Carmelize any other veggie by roasting or sauteeing--the natural sweetness will come through and make them appetizing to even die-hard veggie haters.
Make them a treat. I love fried food. Ok, I've admitted it. I'm southern. But I want to be as healthy as I can with my love of grease. So when we go out to eat, if I'm craving a grease fix, I'll look for eggplant parmigiana rather than fried chicken. It's not exactly healthy, but I'm getting some extra veggies. Tempura vegetables instead of chips or french fries, veggie lasagna instead of meat (or added to a meat sauce), and that ultimate veggie treat--the tomato sandwich--turns vegetables from a chore into an indulgence. Now that I'm gluten free, I've had to be a little more creative, but I've found restaurants that make amazing gluten-free dishes with vegetables.

I hope this quick list of suggestions helps you get more vegetables eaten in your house. If you have ways you get more veggies into you, your friends, and family, please share. Vegetables are the basic building block of nutrition, any way we can get more into people, the better!

No Pasta "Lasagna"

2013-10-23T13:33:00.000-07:00

So. . .I've started eating low starch. The switch has not been particularly hard, except for the times I crave a specific food, like lasagna. Now, I never made lasagna when I ate pasta--all those noodles get messy. I just made spaghetti and called myself happy. But the hubby (the Darling Beloved) needed an idea for lunch that we could make ahead and then heat up. So No Pasta Lasagna was born.

It has everything you could want in a meal--plenty of garlic, melted cheese, great veggies, a yummy sauce, and can be heated up over and over and it will only get better. There are plenty of variations you can do to make it your own, so don't be afraid to get creative!

This one has hamburger, because that's what the Darling Beloved likes in his lasagna. I'll go over possible substitutes at the end of the recipe.

Here's the list of ingredients you'll need:

3/4 lb hamburger
1 red pepper, sliced into strips
about 1-1 1/2 cups cooked spinach, squeezed dry
1 zucchini, sliced in rounds
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp dry oregano, or one or two sprigs fresh, leaves removed
1 tsp dry basil, or a small handful of fresh leaves
1 4-6 oz tub of pesto (you can make your own with this recipe
Several thick slices of mozzarella cheese, preferably whole milk from grass-fed cows
Salt to taste
Coconut oil and/or butter to saute the vegetables (the coconut oil will give the veggies a sweetness).

This recipe is odd for me because it has several steps, and you have to keep it all separate until the end. I did mix the peppers and zucchini, because it seemed easier. Keep them separate or not as you wish.

Saute all the veggies and the hamburger. I used coconut oil for the pepper/zucchini mix, and butter for the onions.

I measured the dry spices just for this recipe--usually I just toss them in whatever amount looks pretty. Cooking them with the onion made the onion prettier and made sure they got mixed in to dish well. I also tossed the garlic in with the onions after about a minute.

The spinach was already cooked, so I just squeezed it dry (NOTE: if you are smarter than me, you will have the spinach cooked and cooled before you start. Hot spinach hurts!)

Once you have all your layers cooked, including the hamburger, assemble your lasagna. I started with sauce, then kind of lost all sense. I did one layer of pepper-zucchini, then pesto, then spinach, then cheese,
then onion, then meat, then remembered the pesto and added it. I don't think the layers were orderly, but I got the thing full. I had to press it all down occasionally to pack it in.

Now, everybody into the oven! Since all the ingredients were cooked, and I knew we would be heating it up repeatedly, I just put it under the broiler long enough for the cheese to turn brown and gorgeous.

Thoughts/Impressions:

I cooked everything separately in hopes of avoiding too much liquid from coming off the vegetables. The next time I make this, I may try roasting the vegetables instead of cooking them on the stovetop. The final product came out a little greasy for my taste, but the Darling Beloved loved it.
Hamburger is not my favorite lasagna ingredient, and there are a few other things I like better than the ingredients above. So if I were making this dish just for me, I would make these modifications:

Substitute fresh basil leaves and parmasan cheese for the pesto. (I'd just drink the pesto instead--I love it!)
Use shredded poached chicken, turkey, or even portabello mushrooms for the meat portion.
Mix feta cheese into the spinach (and I might use kale instead).
I would use more zucchini and/or yellow squash, and some sliced or sun-dried tomatoes.

Other ideas:

Use butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and leeks for your veggies. Keep the garlic! Substitute sage or nutmeg (probably at least a teaspoon, probably more) for the basil/oregano--two very different taste choices, but I think either would be best. Use ricotta in the dish, and keep the mozzarella just for the top.
For a more Mexican flair, add 1 T cumin and 1/4 t coriander to the spice mix. If you like heat, finely chop a jalapeno pepper or two and add it to the spinach. Serve with guacamole and sour cream.
If you don't do dairy, you can either skip the cheese entirely, or make a tofu "cheese" the night before (it needs to sit to let the tofu absorb flavors). Use 1 tub of tofu, weighted and drained for a couple of hours. Mix in 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1/4 t nutmeg, 1 T fresh parsley, and 2 cloves of very finely chopped garlic. Layer into the dish as usual, but be sure to cook the lasagna at least half an hour.

Let me know if you have any other additions to suggest. I think this dish can be endlessly adapted.

Mixin' It Up

2013-10-17T11:38:00.000-07:00

Photo Credit: Teresa Y Green

Hi, everyone! I've been off this blog for a year now, and have really missed it. Where else can I put my pictures of food? A lot has happened food-wise in the past year, so it felt like the right time to bring the blog back up to speed.

For almost a year now, I've eaten gluten-free. Close to starch free, with a few notable binges on gluten-free starches that were not nearly as fulfilling as I imagined them.

Now, I've looked at a lot of "gluten-free" recipes. If they work with baked goods, they seem like a lot of trouble to find something that "sort of" tastes like a gluten-y goody. Many people love these recipes, and for those that do, carry on. I find them too much trouble for the product. So I've opted for recipes that don't need gluten in the first place. (I have the same idea towards vegetarian dishes--why make a veggie dish to act like meat? Let the veggies be themselves. Then again, I'm not a vegetarian so maybe the added variety from "mock meats" is more important when you limit your options.)

So here's the 2.0 version of the site: I will post recipes I love that are gluten-free, low starch, and real, clean food. Sort of Paleo, but I just hate the name Paleo, so not going to claim it. If you have anything you want to try but want someone else to burn it first, let me know. I may be up for the challenge.

Thanks for the readership, and happy cooking!
Teresa

Curried Chicken Soup (and Variations)

2012-10-21T13:14:00.000-07:00

As my Facebook friends will tell you (since I've been whining about it ad nauseum), our family has had a cold for the past 2 weeks. We don't often get sick, but when we do, I'm not courageous. I also crave soup. Lots of soup, usually with chicken. My husband does *NOT* crave soup; in fact, it repels him. So usually my soups are simple blends of chicken broth, chicken breasts, potato, carrots, and onions. I eat it for a few days, I feel better, end of story.

This time, however, the cold wouldn't go away. Even I got tired of simple chicken soup. So I poked around in the kitchen. One of the problems with being sick for over a week is the meagerness that attacks your pantry. By the time our slight remaining staples were cross-referenced with my sickness-altered taste buds there was not much available to make. Somewhere, in the phlegm-blocked, coughing-fit addled center of my brain, a lone creative cell sparked. And Curried Chicken Soup was born.

I don't know if it's good blogging technique to tell you up front all the things I'd do differently with this recipe. As I mentioned, this dish was made out of what was left in our cupboard. If I had the luxury of choosing ingredients based solely on how they would taste, I would add a handful of chopped cilantro, a handful of basil, and probably a tablespoon of chopped lemongrass. I would make some jasmine rice to serve it over, and perhaps use cashews instead of peanuts. I would also add a cup of coconut milk, or a dollop of Greek yogurt. It turned out lovely as it was, though, so here is the version in the picture, instead of the "perfect" version I imagine.

Curried Chicken Soup and Vegetables (Variations Above):

1/2 lb boneless chicken breast tenderloins, chopped (if, like me, you start with frozen breast, you can cook it in the soup and chop it once it's cooked)
2 T organic extra virgin coconut oil
1 T toasted sesame oil
1 2-in piece ginger, shredded
3 cloves garlic, minced or run through a garlic press
1 small to medium zucchini, cubed
1/2 cup shredded cabbage
1 cup baby carrots, or 3 regular carrots, chopped
1/3 onion, chopped
1 cup packaged or homemade chicken broth (if you use packaged taste it before salting the soup)
1 cup white wine (I used Chardonnay)
2 cups water
1.5 T curry powder (I got a "mild" one from an Indian market, so it's probably more like medium)
3 strands of saffron (I got a great deal on saffron years ago and still parse it out. If you don't have any, don't buy it just for this. Consider it optional)
1 T sugar
2 t dried basil
Salt to taste
1 cup millet cooked millet, jasmine rice, or rice noodles (optional)
Peanuts for garnish (optional)

Heat the coconut oil and saute the ginger, onions, garlic, basil and curry powder for about a minute, stirring constantly. Add the chicken, saffron, and liquids, and remaining chopped vegetables. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes or until chicken and vegetables are cooked through. Add sugar and sesame oil, and check broth for salt. Serve over cooked grain and garnish with peanuts.

Makes 4 servings

The great thing about this soup is how nicely it serves its purpose of treating a cold. The vegetables are mostly cooling, according to the dietary therapy principles of Chinese medicine. The carrots, which are slightly warming, and the millet, are nourishing to the digestive energy, which plays a part in regulating mucous production in the body. The spices are warming, which opens your pores (not the best choice if you have a high fever, but great if you are chilled), and are full of antioxidants. All the liquid is great for helping your body flush the mean little germies. And a warm soup like this just feel good inside when you're sick. Let me know how you like it!

Peanut-Sesame Chicken

2012-09-23T18:19:00.000-07:00

Tonight I got stuck with dinner duty. Don't get me wrong, I love cooking. But it's nice to have a husband who usually does the kitchen work (he's all mine!). I lost the scissors/paper/rock battle this time, so I burrowed through the fridge like a good girl.

I found a red pepper, broccoli, chicken, sesame oil, leftover millet, and peanut butter. Grabbing an onion and a bunch of garlic, I realized I had the fixin's for some great Peanut-Sesame Chicken. Here's how it's done (serves 2):

Heat an iron skillet on medium high heat while preparing ingredients.

Chicken:
1 large boneless chicken breast (mine was around 2/3 of a pound)
3 cloves garlic
2 T sesame oil
Chop chicken into equal-sized pieces. Finely chop garlic, or run through a garlic press, and add to chicken along with sesame oil. Set aside to marinate.

Veggies:
1 small broccoli stalk (about 3/4 cup).
2/3 of a red pepper
1/2 onion
2 cloves of garlic
Peel broccoli stalk and cut stalk and florets into bite-sized pieces. Chop remaining veggies (or use a garlic press on the garlic). Set aside.

Add 1 T olive oil, and 1 t sesame oil to skillet. Give it 15 seconds to heat, then add veggies. Saute for about 7 minutes, then add chicken and marinade. while mixture cooks, make sauce.

Sauce:
1 T peanut butter
1 T sesame oil
1 T organic white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, or the same of fresh ginger
1/4 c boiling water
Mix all ingredients until smooth.

Once chicken is just cooked through, add sauce to pan, stirring until everything is evenly coated. Serve over rice, millet, angel hair pasta, or thin Asian rice noodles. Toss with peanuts, if desired.

Calming Rose Tea

2012-09-19T08:53:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning with the virtual palpitations--my term for the feeling I sometimes get when my mind shoots around at a mile-a-minute. Sometimes it's fun--I feel exhilirated and energized. Today, when I want to focus, it's hard. Since it usually comes after I have too much caffeine, or eat something weird, I know it will only last about a day or so. But how to function until it gets better?

Fortunately, I'm a master herbalist, which in practice means I can forage through my cupboards better than most people for medicinal foods. Today I found my decaffeinated green tea (which helps the digestive side of things) and my food-grade rose petals (which are calming and soothing). I put a couple of rosebuds into a teaspoon of tea, and made a cuppa.

It's only been 5 mintues, but I can already feel myself calming down. If you're having unwelcome exhiliration, try a cup today!

Photo by BenDad

Curried Chicken and Squash Over Millet

2012-09-18T14:09:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we just get bored with our usual food choices. When that happens, I rummage in the cupboards and see what's around. Last week we had too many meals consisting of chicken and cabbage, or hamburger and pasta, or anything over rice, and something just snapped. I remembered my once-favorite grain, millet. Since we had also just found our stash of spices (which we misplaced in our move in April), I also had the lovely mild curry powder we buy from our local Indian market. Problem solved.

Millet is a neat food that does not get the respect it deserves. Believed to have come from China in antiquity, it is mentioned in cuisines from the Far East to Africa and India, is is also mentioned in the Bible. It is not, in fact, a grain, but a seed. It is alkaline in nature, gluten-free, and high in nutrients. I use it to quickly replenish my energy and balance my digestive system when I'm fatigued or suffering reactions from some poor food choice. The curry powder is a spice blend that varies from mix to mix, but always includes spices that are good for digestion. Squash is considered a sweet bland food in Chinese medicine, which is easy to digest. So this meal is excellent for those with digestive challenges.

You cook millet much as you would brown rice. Use one part millet to two parts water or other liquid. You can vary the recipe using any broth, canned or pureed tomatoes, 1/3 milk, yogurt (add 1/4 cup more water or broth if you use yogurt), or some other exciting liquid. Here's what I used:

1/2 lb chicken breast fillets, thawed or frozen
1 cup millet
2 cups water
2 heaping tsp curry powder
1 tsp salt
2 small crook neck squash, cut in approximately 1-in pieces
1 small red pepper, cut into 1-in cubes
1-2 tsp tahini

Preheat oven to 400F. Dump millet, spices, salt, and vegetables into the bottom of a greased (with olive oil or butter) casserole dish that has a secure fitting lid (mine says it's a 3-liter size). Bring the water to a boil, and dissolve the tahini into it. Pour the water over the millet, and stir well. Place the chicken pieces on top, cover, and cook for 45 minutes. Remove lid, and check that chicken is done and millet is soft. If not, cut chicken into cubes, stir into millet, add 1/4 c more water if millet seems dry. Cover and cook 15 more minutes.

This dish is great on its own. If you want side items, I'd offer yogurt to pass around for garnish, chopped herbs such as parsley or cilantro for topping, and small bowls of chopped vegetables, such as cucumber, onion, and tomato, and perhaps a side of cream of tomato soup. We had maple yogurt for dessert, but something Middle Eastern, such as baklava, or Indian, like gulab jamun or rose-infused rice pudding would be tasty. Or a nice bowl of fresh figs.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Cake

2012-05-02T17:48:00.000-07:00

Stay with me, here! I did my time eating carob cakes trying to be chocolate, and whole wheat indiscriminately substituted for regular flour where it had no business. So I'm not trying to force chocolate cake into some sort off unnatural healthfulness.

Here's the problem. We moved about a week ago. When we move, it's not pretty:

Thankfully, our place is not that bad now, but it's not a lot better. Which means most of our life is still in boxes. We also haven't taken time to go to the grocery store and really stock up since we moved. So when I get a craving for something sweet, and don't want to leave home to get it, I have to scrounge a little to make it work.

Quick check of ingredients:

Mr. Skitty, Pumpkin Eater

Flour--only have whole wheat (ok, I'll make banana bread)
Bananas--none AARGH! Maybe I'll not plan this until I see what ingredients are available
Oil/Butter--only have olive oil and coconut oil
Dairy--about 2 cups half and half
Eggs--check
Leavening--only baking powder
Sweeteners--surprisingly big variety. We have regular granulated, light brown, and powdered sugar, all organic. Honey.
Flavorings--a little pumpkin. (But since I use it as Mr. Skitty's filler so he can lose weight, I'm afraid to use it. I always use a clean spoon to scoop it out to mix in his food. The Beloved Husband, however-- who also often licks lids and drinks out of containers), may not have. Don't want cat food in my dessert!) Also some vanilla, almond, coconut, and orange extracts. Oh, and cocoa powder.

Now, to check the internet. For those out there who don't cook a lot, knowing how to play with ingredients is a real boon when you don't have the exact ingredients a recipe demands. After surfing around a few minutes, I found a recipe on Whole Grain Gourmet for a Decadent Chocolate Cake. Unfortunately, it calls for whole wheat pastry flour, sour cream, baking soda, chocolate, and butter, and I have none of those. But I am really jonesing for some cake by now (go look at the picture on the site!), so here's the version of the cake I made, with notes:

7 T Dutch-processed cocoa (1 oz of unsweetened chocolate roughly equals 3 T cocoa + 1 T oil)
1 1/4 c whole wheat flour (the recipe called for sifting, but I'm a little lazy, so I just put all the dry ingredients together, then whisked it vigorously)
1 t baking powder
1/4 t kosher salt
1/4 c plus 3 T coconut oil (since I only had coconut and olive oil, I felt coconut oil went better with chocolate)
1 c lightly packed brown sugar (the original recipe called for 1 1/4 c)
2 eggs
2 t vanilla (the recipe called for 1 1/2 t, but I usually add extra vanilla)
1/2 c half-and-half
1/2 cup boiling water

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Grease a 9” cake pan. My pan was evidently a little smaller, because I had leftover batter that I put into a loaf pan.

2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, cocoa, and salt together; set aside.

3. I tried to beat the coconut oil and sugar, the way the original recipe said to do with the butter. It didn't really cream together, so I would simply stir them together well in the future.

4. Add the eggs and beat well, then add in the vanilla and half-and-half. I tasted the batter at this point. If the cake had not turned out well, I would have saved the recipe and just made it to this point to eat with a spoon. The brown sugar and vanilla made this a rich delicious batter.

5. The original recipe said to mix the flour into the liquid a little at a time, which is standard procedure for baking. As mentioned earlier, I was working with what we had unpacked already. And our kitchen is tiny now, so my counter space was rapidly being taken over by baking implements. So I decided to live wild. I dumped the liquid into the flour, and folded them together with a fork, since I could not find any spatulas. I stirred in the boiling water, and poured it into the pan. I didn't fill the pan for fear of it bubbling over, so I used a loaf pan for the leftover.

Since the cake did not rise much, (and I'm pretty sure it wasn't supposed to), I could have just used the one cake pan and had a thicker cake. I baked mine for 25 minutes total, but I also opened the oven door several times to pull out the little loaf pan, check it, put it back, and then finally to pull out the final cake.


The little hole is where the toothpick went.

We felt it was very tasty, but I probably should have followed the original instructions and added the extra sugar. It would have been perfect just as it was with a little whipped cream, or chocolate ganache, as recommended on the Whole Grain Gourmet site.

So there you have it. Never miss dessert because you don't have the exact right ingredients. There is usually a way, unless all you have on hand are some anchovies and mustard, in which case you don't really deserve dessert, now do you?
.

Creamy Brussels Sprouts

2012-02-12T16:50:00.000-08:00

These Brussels sprouts are delicious, easy, and something a little different. If you have picky eaters who won't try them if they recognize them, shred the brussels sprouts.

Creamy Brussels Sprouts
2 large handfuls brussels sprouts, bottoms removed, and cut in quarters (enough for 8-10 brussels sprouts per person)
1 clove garlic per serving, minced or run through garlic press (so I used 2)
1/4 c whole milk, cream, or half n half
1/4 c white wine per 2 servings
1 T butter per every 2 servings
Salt to taste

Place brussels sprouts in a saucepan, add wine and butter. Bring to a boil, turn down to simmer and cover. If it looks like the sprouts might boil dry, add another 1/4 c water. Heat until brussel sprouts are cooked through (5-10 minutes), then add milk, salt, and garlic. Stir well, and serve.

Cannot Stoppa This Tapa! Polenta and Guacamole

2012-02-09T14:40:00.000-08:00

I haven't used polenta in years, and recently it showed up in our pantry. Here's what I came up with:

These lovely tapas are polenta with guacamole, cilantro, and greek yogurt. It is amazingly simple to make.

First, the guacamole:
I like a very simple guac. All of these measurements are changeable. I like a strong garlic and lime taste, but you may prefer more coriander or salt.
2 avocados, peeled and seeds removed
2 large cloves garlic
1-1 1/2 tsp lime juice
1/4-1/2 tsp dried coriander
1/8-1/4 tsp salt
Usually, that's it. But as I had a some fresh cilantro, I chopped about a tablespoon of that into the guacamole and used some for garnish.
Mash all ingredients together into a slightly chunky consistency until well blended.

Now for the polenta:
I used an organic tube o' polenta from Trader Joes. If you make it fresh, can use this recipe, refrigerate the final product for at least 2 hours, and form it into rounds. You will have leftovers. Take your rounds of polenta and cook in a little olive oil over medium-high heat.. It will take a long time for the polenta to brown, maybe as much as 15 minutes, flipping halfway through. The polenta should turn a warm brown when ready.

To assemble, place a healthy spoonful of guacamole on each polenta round, followed by slightly less Greek yogurt. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro, and serve with sangria (or in our case, ginger ale). With a bowl of hearty soup (carrot, perhaps?), you've got yourself a meal.

It's LEFTOVER MADNESS!!!!!

2012-01-29T18:30:00.000-08:00

So. . .I wanted to do a posting on uses of tahini that didn't involve hummus. Now I love hummus, but decided I didn't need to showcase it again. Because I've done that. More than once. But the information I found pretty much involved odd recipes that probably tasted great, but didn't sound wonderful (one for Sesame Flapjacks With Tahini-Maple Syrup was intriguing, but didn't sound like me), or using thinned tahini as a sauce for almost anything, which seemed basic to me, and I'm feeling kind of sophisticated today. My husband always laughs when I say that, but you may not know me, so I might get away with it here.

Anyway. . .the reason I was looking for tahini uses is the 1/3 a can of tahini I have after making hummus. So I decided to share some of the ways I use up leftovers:

Reduce: Anything that started out thin can usually be thickened.

Brothy soup: You can thicken a liquid soup with any number of things. . .heavy cream, butter, pesto, TAHINI (see! in a sauce!), peanut butter, flour, cornstarch, mashed potatoes, or cooking with some raw pasta or rice and letting the starch thicken it. You can also thicken soup by pureeing (I would only do this with vegetables, so if you have meat in your soup, pull it out, puree the soup, and either add it back or serve it on the side). To thicken, start with 1 tablespoon of whatever thickener you want for each cup of soup. In the case of rice or pasta, I'd add a handful per 2 cups, and plan on 15 minutes for the pasta to cook, 20 minutes for white rice, and 40 minutes for brown rice.
Vegetables: Mashed potatoes or cooked soft vegetables can be thickened into all kinds of wonderful new incarnations.

Fritters: chop and saute some onions, an egg, and 1/4 cup of flour per cup of veggies. Press most of the water out of the veggies, and if you can cut them into small pieces (as with broccoli, cauliflower, etc.) do so. Stir together the onion, egg, flour, and vegetables. You can add other flavorings if you like--garlic, chopped herbs, or a little cayenne. Form into patties and saute for about 5 minutes on each side.

Sauce: Mix the veggies together, and thicken it with any of the thickeners listed above to form a sauce. Add a a few chopped mushrooms or sauteed chicken or browned ground beef. You can then serve it over pasta, rice, or millet.

Desserts: If you have soupy-sweet-stuff leftovers (like chocolate milk, fruit sauce, or poaching liquid), the same principle applies.

Pudding: Chocolate milk is a fine base for chocolate pudding with the addition of a few teaspoons of cornstarch (per 2 cups), maybe 1t extra cocoa, and a carefully added egg (heat the milk first, then add a little to the egg while constantly beating, then add that mixture to the hot chocolate milk). I would try leftover eggnog with the same recipe, substituting a smaller amount of nutmeg for the cocoa.

Syrup: Fruit sauce or poaching liquid can be thickened by boiling it down while carefully watching it, or if it isn't super-thin, you can stir a little butter into the sauce to thicken it. Use it for pancake syrup, over cake, fruit, or yogurt.

Thin: Many things that start out thick can be thinned. It's like a culinary George Carlinism--to reduce something liquid is the opposite of thinning it. Thinning is faster than reducing, because you basically just add liquid. Here are some great ways to think thin with leftovers:

Soup: Creamy soup can be thinned to become the base of a more brothy one. Spaghetti, alfredo, or other sauce can be thinned to become soup. Mashed potatoes can also be thinned, add a little garlic and a chopped and well-washed leek, and--tada!--you have a delicious potato soup.
Sauce: Peanut butter, TAHINI, pesto, or miso can be thinned and used as a sauce with no other changes, or add a little soy sauce, lemon juice, or other addition to enhance the flavor.
Dessert: The last little bits of jam, crystallized maple sugar, or honey can also be thinned and used. Thin them with water or apple juice and use it to steep fruit or in place of some liquid in a cake or muffin recipe.

Reuse/Recycle: Other ways to transform foods.

Leftovers to Fancy Breads: Puree vegetables and mix into bread or biscuit mixes for gourmet bread. You can also use any bits of leftover fresh or dried herbs, grates bits and pieces of cheese, and finish off the last drops of milk to change a simple biscuit into sophisticated (there's that word again) accompaniment to dinner.
Deliciously complicate plain cooked meat.

Sandwich fillings: Mix leftover meat with with mayonaise, pickes, celery, and shredded carrots to make sandwich fillings (chicken salad, tuna salad, corn beef spread, etc.)

Pasta/Rice combos: Chop meat finely, mix with chopped cooked vegetables and put over pasta--bonus points if you use a leftover thickened soup or other reduction to make the sauce.

Salad: Chopped meat can be tossed with arugula or other salad components, and tossed with a dressing made from any kind of oil, herb, vinegar or citrus juice mixture for a lovely salad.

International Quickies: Mix the meat with spices based on the country you like for leftovers with an international flair. Quantities are per 2 cups of meat:

Mexican: Mix meat with up to 1 cup of cooked pinto, kidney, or black beans, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, and: 1/4 t dry oregano (or 1 T fresh), 1 t (or more) cumin, 1/4 t coriander (or 2 T fresh cilantro), 1/8 t cocoa, 1/8 t cinnamon, 1/2 t dry basil (or 2 T fresh), and 1/4 c salsa verde. Serve with tortillas or plan corn chips, tomato, lettuce, sour cream or Greek yogurt.
Italian: 1/4 t dry oregano (or 1 T fresh), 1/2 t dry basil (or 2 T fresh), 3-4 cloves crushed garlic, 1 cup chopped fresh, or 1/3 cup canned mushrooms, 1 12-oz can pureed tomatoes, 1/4 c red wine (or sub 1 c white wine, 2 T pesto, and 1/2 c starchy water from cooked pasta for the tomatoes and red wine for a tomato-free sauce). Serve over pasta with a side of broccoli raab and some garlic bread for an amazing use for leftover chicken or hamburger.
Greek: Shred chicken, lamb, or other meat. Toss with feta cheese, 1 T fresh organo, 1 1/2 t minced rosemary, and 1/2 cup sliced olives (kalamatas are best, but you will need to pit them). Heat together in a skillet with 1/4 cup dry white wine until just warm. Remove from heat, toss with 2 cups fresh baby spinach (or toss with cooked eggplant or summer squash), 1/2 t lemon juice and 1/4 c flavorful extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup pine nuts and serve as a wilted salad or over orzo pasta.
Asian: Take your plain cooked meat, toss in 1 1/2 t sesame oil, 1 T soy sauce, 1 tsp peanut butter (optional), and a little bottled hot sauce (optional). Heat together with 1-2 cloves of crushed garlic until hot. Toss with baby spinach leaves or finely chopped cabbage, and chopped cilantro and/or fresh basil leaves. Or wrap in lettuce leaves with cooked rice noodles, chopped peanuts, and a few sprigs of cilantro. Serve with a dipping sauce of 1 T soy sauce, 1/4 teaspoon rice vinegar, 1/2 t sugar, and 1 t sesame oil.

The Omelet Just about anything can go into an omelet. Start with 6-8 eggs for 2-3 people (or more if you have extra veggies and bread). Add leftover greens, meat, beans, potatoes, sauces. . .almost anything can go together. Here's a recipe using wine and cheese; and another using kale. I've seen recipes for omelets using green beans and onions, potatoes, asparagus, even corn chips and black beans. I've scraped the last bits from pesto containers into my omelet, as well as dregs of mustard, tomato paste, wine and even salsa. Any savory combination that tastes good without eggs will probably taste good with them, too!

There are tons of ways to use up leftovers. Let me know of any creative ideas you have!

Boozed Up Edible Eggs

2011-12-30T09:41:00.000-08:00

I eat a lot of eggs. . .they are cheap protein, full of nutrients, and can be made a variety of different ways. Unfortunately, I also can get tired of eggs quickly, to the point that I push them around listlessly on my plate at breakfast and decide to have a big lunch instead of finishing them.

Today I played around with my Plain Old Scrambled Eggs, and made something really yummy! (I did not post a picture of my actual eggs because my skill at photographing food does not seem to be anywhere near my skill at making it and eating it!) I waited around a while to make this, so I was hungry, and used 3 eggs. I've made the recipe for 8 eggs, enough for 4 people. . .adjust as you see fit.

Anyway, today all I really had for breakfast was. ..you guessed it. . .eggs. I wasn't really feelin' the love, so I decided to be a little more creative than usual. Thankfully we had been to Trader Joes (thank you for 3 Buck Chuck!) so I had some white wine. I mixed all the things that usually make eggs better into my omelet, and really enjoyed the finished product! I also recommend this for a quiche filling.

Boozed Up Edible Eggs
8 eggs, beaten
2-4 oz. of crumbled feta cheese
3 T grated Parmesan (or other dry cheese)
1/4 c dry white wine
3 T all purpose flour
4 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed (the garlic mellows beautifully, so don't worry about using too much)
1/3 c whole milk
1-1/2 tsp grated dry herbs (I used a wonderful bottle of organic Greek herbs that have a grinder on it to keep it fresh, you can mix whatever you like--oregano, basil, fennel, thyme, etc.)
1 T butter or olive oil

Mix all ingredients but the butter or olive oil. Heat a large skillet and add butter or olive oil. Allow butter to melt and the foam to die down, if using, then pour the egg mixture into the pan. If you are good at flipping omelets, let the mixture sit until mostly set, then flip and finish cooking on the other side. If, like me, you have watched Jacques Pepin and Julia Child flip omelets, but you have only thrown them on the floor when you try to flip them, just push the eggs around so they finish cooking to the extent you like (soft, hard, creamy, rubbery--yes, I know of at least one person--my husband--who prefers his eggs a little rubbery). Transfer to a plate and eat. If you want to take a picture of your eggs, transfer them to a plate that is not stark white--red or orange or yellow is nice, otherwise you will just use a picture of fresh eggs when you show off your new recipe.

If you decide to make a quiche, you can make a pastry crust or a prepared pie shell, and put the uncooked egg mixture in it. Cook in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes, then lower heat to 350 degrees and bake for 30 more minutes. (Or do what I would do--bake the crust in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes; pour in the cooked eggs, and put back in the oven with a little mozzarella for 10 minutes so it looks like the eggs cooked in the pie shell.)

**The lovely egg photo is by A. Laczek.

Hamburger Sliders, Yellow Squash with Feta, Cannellini Beans with Spinach

2011-11-13T09:14:00.000-08:00

This is a fun and quick meal. If you are a vegetarian, veggie burgers, a big slice of grilled portobello or a vegetable saute can be used in the sliders.

Sliders
Dinner rolls (I got mine from http://thewilliamsbakery.com/
1/2 lb of hamburger
Condiments and toppings of choice (mayo, ketchup, chopped onions, hummus, lettuce, tomato, yogurt sauce, pickle, etc.)
Salt and pepper to taste
olive oil or butter (if you want to toast the buns)

Form hamburgers into 4 equal size patties, slightly larger than the rolls to allow for shrinkage during cooking. sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in frying pan set on medium-high heat (or grill) and cook to well or medium-well done, approximately 5 minutes on each side. Cut a small slit into one to check for doneness, if necessary.
Cut dinner rolls in half. Brush with olive oil or a bit of butter and brown in the oven or set in a hot frying pan for 1-2 minutes to toast, if desired.
Assemble sliders by putting hamburger on roll, adding desired condiments and toppings.

Yellow Squash with Feta
2 small to medium yellow squash
1-2 cloves garlic
1/4 white onion, chopped fine
dried oregano and basil to taste (1/4 - 1 t each)
salt and pepper to taste
2-4oz feta cheese
2 T olive oil

Cut squash in to 1/2-in slices, then quarter each slice.
Put olive oil in a large frying pan (I use an iron skillet) and set heat to medium. Place one piece of chopped onion in oil, and when it starts to sizzle add the rest. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion softens, about 2 minutes.
Add garlic, spices, salt, pepper, and chopped squash and stir to coat all ingredients with oil. Turn heat to medium low and cover for 5 minutes.
Remove cover, and stir. Check squash for doneness--it should be tender but not mushy. Crumble feta over dish. You can serve as is, or sprinkle with another teaspoon of olive oil and broil in the oven (check it constantly so it doesn't burn) until feta browns slightly.

Cannellini Beans and Spinach
1 T olive oil
1 can cooked cannellini beans, with liquid, or 2 cups cooked beans
1 handful fresh spinach (or 1/2 of a 13-oz can of spinach, drained through a colander)
1-2 cloves garlic
1 tsp balsamic or apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice
1/4 cup canned tomatoes (optional)
water, white wine, or chicken or vegetable broth to thin to desired consistency
freshly gratted Parmesan cheese (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Place olive oil in pan and allow to heat on medium for 1 minute.
Crush garlic or slice thinly; add to oil. Let cook for 30 seconds.
Place cannellini beans and liquid in pan. Stir for about a minute, then crush the beans slightly with a potato masher or fork. Add spinach and tomato, if using. Allow spinach to wilt if fresh
If mixture becomes too thick, add liquid in tablespoons until it reaches the desired consistency.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper, stir.
Sprinkle with cheese, if desired, and serve.

"Refried" Beans

2011-10-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

This is perhaps the simplest recipe of all time:

1 can, or 2 cups cooked pinto, kidney, black beans (or a mix), liquid with liquid
1 tsp coriander
2 tsp cumin (optional)
1/2 salt or to taste
1-2 cloves garlic, pressed
1-2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella or pepper jack cheese (optional)
cilantro or scallions for garnish (optional)

Put olive oil into an iron skillet or frying pan. Add cooked beans, and mash with a potato masher to desired consistency. Add remaining ingredients, except cheese, and stir/mash together. Just before serving, sprinkle cheese over beans, if using, and garnish with cilantro or scallions. Serve with tortillas or other dishes (rice, taco filling, etc.)

Chicken with Hummus Sauce

2011-01-30T18:17:00.000-08:00

Tonight Jim didn't know what to make for dinner, so he was procrastinating on making it. I was hungry, so I decided to make some quick hummus for a snack. For some reason, I didn't drain the chickpeas, and the hummus came out runny. It looked like a sauce, so I suggested to Jim that we have Chicken with Hummus Sauce for dinner. Here's how we did it:

Hummus Sauce
1 can chickpeas, with liquid
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 T tahini
approx. 1/4 c good extra virgin olive oil (you can substitute sesame oil (NOT toasted) for some or all of the olive oil)
salt to taste
Chuck everything into a blender and blend until mixed. Set aside. Will yield 1 1/2 to 2 cups sauce.

Chicken
1 lb of chicken breasts, cut into chunks
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 red pepper, cut into strips
1/2 onion, cut into strings
1/4 c white wine
olive oil
1 1/2 cup Hummus Sauce
White or brown basmati rice
Water or chicken broth

In a saucepan poach chicken pieces just until done in just enough chicken broth or water to cover them, about 5 minutes at a vigorous boil. Remove from heat, cover pot, and allow them to sit. Cook 2 cups basmati rice in water or chicken broth according to package directions. Meanwhile, saute the vegetables in a tablespoon or so of olive oil until softened, about 5 minutes. Add white wine, broth, Hummus Sauce, and chicken, and allow to simmer for 15 minutes or until warmed through. Fluff rice. Serves at least 4.

Variations:

add 1 cup chopped green or other olives in last 5 minutes of cooking.
add chopped sun-dried tomatoes in last 5 minutes of cooking, or 1 cup diced tomatoes with all liquids, and increase cooking time to 25 minutes.
add any combination of following herbs to the meat mixture in the last 5 minutes: fresh herbs: (1 tablespoon each) basil, oregano, rosemary, or cilantro, or 1 teaspoon each of any combination of dried herbs: cumin, coriander, oregano, rosemary.
add some of the following fresh ingredients into the cooked rice just before serving: a mixture of fresh herbs such as oregano and cilantro, or dill alone, or parsley and mint, at least 2 tablespoons of each. You can also add chopped almonds, or pistachios, or sesame seeds.
use millet or barley instead of rice
instead of chicken, use boneless cooked lamb, or cook some falafel (haven't tried it yet, so for now I'll recommend using the mixes that aren't bad), and serve with sauce on the side.

Hummus Among Us

2010-12-26T07:49:00.000-08:00

My recent recipe for millet salad only used 1/2 a can of chickpeas, which meant I had some chickpeas leftover. Hummus is the fastest way to use up chickpeas. Here's my recipe, but the fun thing about hummus is you can add so many different flavors: roasted peppers, onions, herbs--feel free to play!

1/2 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 or more cloves of garlic, run through garlic press (if you can't get the taste strong enough, let it sit a few hours: garlic gets stronger in hummus with time)
1/4 t cumin
1/2 t salt (hummus absorbs a lot of salt)
2 T tahini
1/4 c olive oil (some people use UNtoasted sesame oil instead
a little water to get the hummus to your desired consistancy

Mix ingredients together in a blender, or mash in a bowl with a potato masher (for a chunkier texture). Allow to sit for an hour, then adjust seasonings to taste. Serve with crackers or on toast or raw veggies, or thin and use as a sauce for veggies, on sandwiches, or just eat it with a spoon from a bowl. (Keep some mints handy if you have a job interview or date afterward!)

Olive-Millet Grain Salad

2010-12-24T09:29:00.000-08:00

Howdy! Time off means I'm let loose in the kitchen more often. And I get munchy, and lazy, so about: home it's time to use up leftovers. Today I had leftover millet in the fridge, so while I was at the store I got some olive mix, and made this millet salad.

Ingredients:
1 cup of millet
1 cup assorted olives (the better the quality the olives, the better the salad. . .I don't recommend canned olives if you can find them in brine in the prepared food section of your grocery)
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 can chickpeas (about 1/2-2/3 cup), rinsed
1 t balsamic vinegar
2 large cloves garlic, run through a garlic press
Any fresh or dried herbs you like, up to 1-2 tablespoons fresh, or 1-2 teaspoons dried. Oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, mint, or sage could fit here.
Toss all ingredients together, and adjust salt olive oil, and vinegar to taste. Ideally allow it to set overnight for th flavors to marinate. I like to serve it room temperature, or even a little warm.

Reuben, Curried Butternut Squash Soup, Fruit

2010-12-19T18:38:00.000-08:00

This is kind of a "fix it on the fly" kind of meal. But since it's what we had for supper one night last week, and took a nice picture, I thought I'd share.

Reuben, Teresa-style, Soup, and Fruit
Since I'm not a cheese lover, we don't keep a bunch of different kinds around. Basically, mozzarella is our soft cheese, parmesan is our dry cheese, and feta is our crumbly cheese. Jim likes to pick up bits and pieces that Whole Foods has out, so sometimes we have havarti, or gouda, but those are usually not in shareable quantities. So even though Swiss is the official Reuben cheese, I think, we used mozzarella.

Ingredients
2 thick slices mozzarella cheese
Several slices of uncured pastrami or corned beef deli meat (or uncured corned beef brisket if you have time to cook one).
Rye bread (we use Whole Foods Jewish Rye)
butter
Butternut squash soup (I used Trader Joe's box'a'soup)
curry powder (I get mine from one of our local Indian markets and look for the mildest one I can find)
Fruit (we used apples and giant purple seedless grapes)

Make sandwiches using meat and one slice of cheese. Butter one side of the bread, and toast the outside on a hot iron skillet for 2-3 minutes until bread has browned. Butter the side of bread facing you, then carefully turn the sandwich over to brown the other side for anothe 2-3 minutes (the cheese will also soften at this point).

To make soup: heat soup, stir in 1/4 teaspoon of curry powder per cup of soup, and salt to taste.

Chop fruit as needed, and arrange on plate.

Eat. (I had a Reed's Extra Ginger Ale with mine).

Chocolate Pudding!

2010-11-06T19:25:00.000-07:00

(It is much more chocolate-y looking in "real life.")

This is based on Vanilla Pudding in The New Laurel's Kitchen, a great vegetarian cookbook I've had for years. Since chocolate makes everything better, I made it a chocolate pudding, and worked around some things I was missing in the pantry.

2 cups 1/2 and 1/2
1 egg
2 t rice flour
1t potato starch
1 t vanilla extract
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 t salt
3 oz dark chocolate (I used Green & Black 80% cacao)
3 t cocoa

In a small bowl mix 1/2 cup half-and-half, 1 t potato starch, and the egg and vanilla; reserve. Pour 1 1/2 cups half-and-half and sugar into a saucepan and heat on medium until steaming, stirring frequently. Add chocolate and whisk until mixed. Add salt, then stir vigorously and mix in the reserved egg/half-and-half mixture. Continue heating until pudding thickens and makes "volcano" bubbles (I'm sure you'll know them when you see them). Pour pudding into a bowl and refrigerate several hours to cool. Makes 4 servings.

Lemon-Herb Chicken, Steamed Cabbage, and Mashed Potato Soup

2010-11-04T17:51:00.000-07:00

I'm taking some time away from the blog while I get things retooled. Until then, here's a great recipe!
Lemon-Herb Chicken
A rare baked dish--I usually feel safer sauteing anything I eat so I can keep an eye on it. No picture, because I forgot until after we ate. Jim was bummed about "boring" chicken until it was served. . .and there were no leftovers!

1 lb boneless chicken breast, cut into large bite-size pieces
1 T chopped oregano
1 T chopped chives (or 1/4 large white onion, chopped fine)
1 t chopped rosemary (or 1 4-in sprig, not chopped)
a handful of baby carrots
1 T lemon juice
dash of olive oil
2 T butter (or 1 T butter and 1 T rice flour in 1/4 c of water)
2 T white wine
1/2 cup water
1/2 t salt
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
3 cloves fresh garlic, chopped fine or run through a garlic press

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rub the olive oil into a small lidded oven safe pan. Lay the carrots in the pan. Mix all remaining ingredients except the butter, toss with chicken and add to the pan. Add one tablespoon of butter, cover and bake about 30 minutes, checking to be sure chicken is cooked through. Strain the juices from the chicken into a saucepan and boil on high for 10 minutes. Whisk in the butter or mix the flour and water and allow to thicken (I used the rice flour this time and it turned out beautifully). Pour over chicken, and garnish with a sprig of oregano or rosemary.

Steamed Cabbage
Roughly cut 1/3 of a cabbage. Place in 1/2 c of water, cover, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to medium, and allow to cook 5-10 minutes or until cabbage reaches desired doneness. Remove from any remaining water.

Flavoring Choices for Cabbage:

Whisk 1 T butter into the cooking water for the cabbage. Add a dash of lemon juice, and/or 1 t grated lemon rind and toss with cabbage.
Instead of water, cook cabbage in 1/c white wine with 1 t chopped rosemary and 1/2 t salt.
After cabbage is cooked, drain the water and add cook cabbage with 1/4 cup cream and 1 clove of garlic for 5 minutes.

Mashed Potato Soup (what mashed potatoes become when I make them too runny)

2 red potatoes, eyes removed and cut in small pieces
1/2 c milk, half/half, or cream
1 T butter
2 T chopped chives
Salt and Pepper to taste

Boil 2 cups salted water or chicken broth to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender, 5-10 minutes. Add milk and butter, stir, then mash potatoes until mixture resembles a thick soup. Add chives, salt and pepper and serve.

Penne in Tomato Sauce

2010-11-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

I've never been able to buy bottled or canned spaghetti sauce--it's over- or under- spiced, too sweet, or so expensive for something that doesn't have to take very long to make with fresh ingredients. If I'm in a real hurry, all I have to have are some form of cooked tomato, fresh garlic, and basil to make a lovely sauce. Here's more or less the basic sauce at our house, that we improvise freely:

Tomato Sauce:
makes 2-4 servings, depending on how much sauce you like on your pasta, and how much pasta makes a serving. this would be enough for about 4 servings at our house, with a little left to mix into veggies another day.

1 can pureed or diced organic tomatoes
5 garlic cloves, peeld and diced small or run through a garlic press
1 t each dried basil and oregano, or several teaspoons total of any combination of fresh basil, oregano, chives, marjoram, or thyme, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1/4-1/2 cup wine, preferably red (merlot is usually good, but in a pinch I've even used rice cooking wine and adjusted the salt)
4 oz. chopped mushrooms, or a small can of mushrooms, drained
up to 1 t salt (taste the sauce first to see if it needs any salt at all)
1 t sugar, if you taste the sauce and it seems harsh at all
3 T good Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, freshly grated (or just use the grated Parmesan if it's what's in the fridge--the flavor is different, but still works)
1 lb meat (usually ground beef or chopped chicken breast in our house. If you use the ground beef, you can cook it separately to minimize the fat ) - optional
Extra Virgin olive oil for sauteing and to drizzle over sauce
Penne pasta, cooked just al dente (reserve the cooking water separated from the pasta in case the sauce is runny), enough for each serving (since a serving can be anything from 1/2 cup cooked pasta in a weight-watching household to a full cup or more per person in a munchie household, it's hard to say how much pasta to have here).

Pour 1 T olive oil into a saucepan and add the onion and red pepper. Saute on medium for about 5 minutes, then add the garlic. Cook an additional 1 minute, then the ground beef or chicken if using, and cook another minute or two. Add the tomato, red wine and dried spices, if using and simmer about 10 minutes. Add any vegetables you want (see below) including the mushrooms, the sugar (if needed) and salt, and simmer another 20 minutes, uncovered. Add the fresh spices if you are using them. If the sauce seems too thin, add a ladle-full of the starchy pasta cooking water and simmer another 10 minutes. Mix in the cooked pasta, and cook another 5 minutes. Sprinkle with grated cheese and a drizzle of olive oil, and serve.

Optional add-ins: plan on thickening the sauce with the pasta water, or a little extra grated cheese if you use any raw veggies in the recipe. If the sauce just won't thicken (it's happened to me), mix 1 T of rice flour or cornstarch to 1/4 cup water, and add to the sauce to thicken.

Vegetables:

1-2 handfuls fresh chopped spinach
1 cup cooked greens of any kind, squeezed dry and chopped
1 cup chopped broccoli or cauliflower
1/2-1 cooked zucchini or yellow squash, cut small if necessary
1-2 raw tomatoes, cut small
a handful of pitted olives, chopped

Other additions:

Grated mozzerella, crumbled feta or other cheese
chopped beef or turkey bacon--cook bacon first, then drain almost all fat and begin recipe as usual

Carrot Soup

2010-11-03T13:01:00.000-07:00

This was a surprise hit in my continuing effort to make vegetables interesting to the Man of the House (it's not that he doesn't eat them, he just usually doesn't like them as he eats them). We had some carrots dying of old age in the fridge because Jim doesn't like to cook them, so I decided to make soup.

Sweet Carrot Soup
makes about 3 cups
6-8 small/medium carrots, peeled and chopped into 2-in pieces, or about a half pound of "baby carrots"
1 cup Trader Joe's Organic Tomato Smoked Red Pepper Soup (if you don't have that, you can use 1/2 cup purreed tomatoes, 1/2 cup purreed pumpkin, or 1/2 cup of cream and 1/4 cup water or chicken broth--it won't taste the same, but it will be yummy!)
1/2 cup sweet white wine (I used Dr. Beckermann "Liebfraumilch"-which means "Mother's Milk" from good ole Trader Joes. If your wine isn't really sweet, add more maple syrup).
1/2-2/3 cup milk, half and half, or heavy cream
2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
1/2-1 T powdered ginger
1 T ground cinnamon
1/2 or less teaspoon salt
2T Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream (optional)

Steam the carrots in a little water 15-20 minutes or until soft. Put the carrots, any remaining steaming liquid, and all ingredients except yogurt or sour cream into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, until heated through. Stir in yogurt or sour cream, or add to each serving as pictured. The soup is really rich, so I serve it in small ramekins of no more than 1/2 cup at a time.

Lamb again, and leftover pilaf

2010-11-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's right, making the Husband eat lamb again. And sneaking kale into rice (kale is another of Jim's not-favorites). So far he hasn't run away, so I guess it's ok.

Rosemary Garlic Lamb with Leftover Rice-Kale Pilaf

Preheat oven to 350.
1-lb lamb leg (sirloin half, bone-in)
several sprigs fresh rosemary
5 cloves of garlic, diced
splash of organic seasoned rice vinegar (or balsamic vinegar for a different flavor)
splash white wine
salt and ground pepper to taste

Pour a good splash (+/- 2 T) good quality olive oil into a small baking dish, and add the garlic, vinegar, wine, and oil. Lay the lamb in the oil mixture to coat all sides, then put the rosemary under and on top of the lamb. Cover and put in oven--about 30 minutes for medium-rare, 45 for medium-well.

Before:

After:

Leftover Rice-Kale Pilaf
2 cups leftover cooked rice
1/3 large yellow oven, diced
1/3 red pepper, diced
olive oil (I actually used a blend of coconut and olive oil, but would have preferred it with olive oil alone)
a splash of white wine (what isn't better with a splash of wine?)
2 handfulls cooked kale, well-chopped

Saute the onion and red pepper in the oil until the onion is translucent, then add the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low until heated through, 15-20 minutes.

Greek-style Lamb, Rice Pilaf, Green Beans

2010-10-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), lamb, onion, and garlic are good for building yang; rice and green beans are good for Spleen qi, or digestive energy, and herbs are good for moving qi. This meal is great for autumn, especially when you have fresh herbs handy!

Greek Style Lamb:

1/3 or a large white onion
3 cloves garlic
1/2 lb boneless lamb leg, chopped in bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon pesto
...1 green zebra tomato, chopped
1 tablespoon pureed tomatoes
1/2 cup water
large handful fresh herbs (in this case, a sprig of rosemary, and chives, mint, and oregano)
dash salt

Saute the onion for several minutes in a tablespoon or so of oil (I used walnut, but olive would be great too). Add the garlic and cook for about another minute, then add the lamb and brown on all sides, then add the chopped tomato. Mix the pesto, water, and tomato paste, and add to the lamb, then add the sprig of rosemary. Cover pan and allow to cook for 20-30 minutes on medium low, and just before serving add the rest of the fresh herbs and remove the sprig of rosemary. Serves 2.

Pesto Rice Pilaf
1 c white basmati rice
2 heaping T pesto
1 cup beef broth
1/2 water
...handful of chopped fresh herbs (same as above)
Put one cup of white basmati rice into a small saucepan with 1 tablespoon oil over med to med high heat. Stir constantly until you can smell the rice cooking and it may be slightly brown, about 2 minutes. Mix the pesto, beef broth, and water, and pour over the rice. Cover and simmer about 20 minutes, checking to see if all the water is absorbed after 10 minutes. Once all the water is absorbed, turn off the heat and allow to steam with the cover on for another 10 minutes. Just before serving, add the handful of fresh herbs, and toss with a fork. Makes enough for 3-4 servings.

Green Beans
Two large handfuls fresh green beans, stemmed and tails removed
2 cloves garlic
2 T pureed tomatoes
1/3 c water
...
Stir all ingredients after green beans together, and add to green beans. Turn on high until brought to boil, and cook until done, maybe 5 minutes. Add salt to taste and serve.