Thai Pesto

Yum!  Thai Pesto for dinner!  This recipe is easy, relatively healthy, and has 'seconds' written all over it.  I enhanced mine with a bit of Sriracha and added stir fry veggies to the noodles and sauce combo.

February's food.

Well here we are...February 2013 almost over!  I can't believe it's nearly March, and I've only done a few posts.  That doesn't mean I haven't been busy in the kitchen and around the house.

I included this picture just because I chopped all this garlic and ginger up so finely.  Usually I just leave things in chunks and throw it in.  What's it for, by the way?

This chicken is for the same dish...a ginger-garlic marinade with yogurt.  Can you guess what it ended up as?

Chicken Tikka Masala, with cumin-scented jasmine rice.  I was really impressed with this meal, and for once I followed the recipe nearly exactly, except for one small change:  I used a can of tomatoes instead of fresh ones.  Gasp!  Tomatoes are so crummy at this time of year, it definitely would have ruined the dish.  Not to mention canned tomatoes are just so delicious I could probably eat them by themselves right out of the can.

Speaking of canned tomatoes, last week we had Ms. T's spectacular tomato soup. We ate it with a small salad, and topped it with Parmesan and Sheep Mizithra cheeses.  I put my own twist on it, but I checked out her favorite type of tomatoes for this dish, Muir Glen Fire-Roasted.  

Last night was the dinner to end all, though.  I finally got around to cooking one of the dishes out of my favorite and most inspirational cookbook:  Japanese Hot Pots.  I've had this book for over a year and every single dish in it looks absolutely delicious and beautiful, but I've never attempted anything until now.  Even the one where you cook a fish whole in the pot looks good.  I started, however, with one of the easiest dishes:  Yudofu (p. 45).  According to the book, this dish comes from traditional Buddhist vegetarian cuisine, or shojin ryori.  Most Western-style vegetarians won't find this dish particularly suitable, though, as the broth comes from dashi flakes, which come from fish (produced by a fairly scary process, I might add.) If that single component were replaced, with say, vegetable broth, this dish would be completely vegan.

My end result, however, was probably the most authentic-tasting Japanese dish I've ever created.  It was amazing.  I followed the recipe exactly, making my own stock from dashi flakes.  I replaced the negi with regular green onions, because I forgot to grab some at the store while I was at Uwajimaya.  This meal is cooked in a thin broth made of water and seaweed(kombu), then the vegetables are removed from the cooking water and eaten topped with a sauce made of soy sauce, mirin and dashi stock.  Without getting too techincal, this sauce is very similar to the dipping liquid you would get at any Japanese restaurant when ordering tempura.

Yes, I have my warijoyu in a gravy boat.

We even had the shime, which consisted of rice zosui.  Shime is a concept in Japanese eatin' where you finish your meal with an extra, starchy food.  We added rice to the remaining (delicious) broth that the veggies were cooked in to create a fairly sensational soup.  This makes the meal really, really filling.  That's good because you're basically eating boiled vegetables.  You can eat and eat and still not make it up to the calories of a burger and fries.  

If this all sounds very foreign, remember that I studied Japanese language and culture in college, which is why diving into this kind of thing is foremost in my interest.  If you're not so inclined, the beginning of the book has a section which nicely explains all the components of the meals, including instructions for things you may not know how to do, like create your own dashi stock (almost as easy as making tea).  This book is widely available at many Asian bookstores as well as western ones (I got mine at Powell's Home and Garden location on Hawthorne).  

Last but not least (phew, this is getting long) I made kimchi last night.  I am using an experimental packet from Noh foods.  I have used their seasonings in the past with average results, but the lure of supercheap supereasy Kimchi is just too much for me.  I have made my own from scratch before, however I felt the flavor left something to be desired that time.  I added my own peppers, ginger and garlic to the mix.  If you decide to go the packet route, be forewarned that opening it MADE. ME. COUGH.  You're thinking, "dummy why did you open it so close to your face?"  I didn't.  In addition my husband walked by the counter while I was mixing the cabbage and HE STARTED COUGHING, too.  Just put a towel over your face or something.  We're talking powdered hot peppers, here.

The packet calls for five pounds of cabbage but I used probably two and a half, considering I bought three pounds, and used some for the hot pot.  In the end I got about two and a half pint-sized jars of kimchi packet experiment #1.  It's still fermenting in the fridge, I'll be around with the update in 2+ days.

Vegetarian Bibimbap

Beep Beep Bop.  "Robot food" is what we called it in college.  I used to go to a tiny lunch place in Pittsburgh to get their Vegetarian Bibimbap.  Mine is pretty good, too.  Loosely follow the directions here.  I added an egg and a tiny bit of Kimchi.  Very healthy and great food for an afternoon being green!  Lisa knows what I mean...

Mystery Food

What is it? 

 Hasselback Potato.  Yum.

Not too bad, Lindsay...

A little healthy eating never killed anyone...except that one person.  Yes, that person was me.

I've been trying to lose some winter weight lately.  I've got a Caribbean vacation coming up (sadly, not the super cool kind with Raz) and spring clothing is just around the corner.  That, and someone's asshole Wii fit told me I need to lose 10 pounds.   The three C's are strictly off limits:  Candy, cakes and cookies (you know, unless my boss brings in chocolate from her trip to Paris).  Just trying to cut out too many extra carbs and added sugar is really restrictive.  I'm really in need of some method to make eating just vegetables for two meals a day tasty and possible.

Enter this fabulous recipe for Japanese Restaurant-style ginger-carrot dressing.  Not exactly like old Taipei-Tokyo's back in Monroeville, but a great substitute.  Can't be that bad for you, either.

Ugh my camera has the resolution and focus of a potato.

Speaking of slimming down, look at my li'l lady who has been just a tad slimmer since she's been hanging around outside a bit:

Balloon: I'm super sexy!

New inspiration: Quinoa Mac and Cheese

*Update:  This is the best thing I've ever eaten.

Cheese specs:  Half and half, about 3 oz Sharp white cheddar,  3 oz Mizithra Cheese, 3 oz Chevre and some white wine.

Lately I have been very busy on my new favorite site:  Pinterest.  It gives me a place to collect my favorite online recipes and craft ideas in one place, visually.  My most recent discovery on Pinterest is Quinoa Mac and Cheese.

There are many variations of this on the internet.  This particular recipe called for cooking the quinoa and then adding shredded cheese and milk to it, as well as eggs.  I skipped the eggs, but I did make a tasty white wine and white cheddar cheese sauce and added it.  I did leave in the broccoli.  I love broccoli with cheese and while I haven't had any yet (still in the oven!) I did sample the cheese sauce beforehand and it's great.  I regret to say that mine version is probably not as healthy with half and half, regular cheese, and olive oil on my breadcrumbs.  This recipe was actually kind of great to use up some left over ingredients in my fridge though.  Pics to come!

For now, follow me on Pinterest so I can follow you back!

New round of cookbooks from LINCC

I have been getting so bored with cooking lately.  Nothing was inspiring me to try new things or explore.  I started eating take-out and microwave dishes more just to avoid planning and cooking.  Meat was getting in there a little more than I like it to.  I knew this had to change.

Then I got a brilliant idea:  I work at a library.  Libraries have cookbooks!  So I placed a dozen holds on popular vegetarian cookbooks, and I have received a few so far.  Some had so many holds, I'll be lucky to see them by August.  One I was very disappointed with.  I won't mention it (unless you really want to know); the recipes were too frustrating.  It was pretty pretentious.  

Enter The Veganomicon. It's several years old now, so I'm thinking of maybe getting a copy cheap from Powell's.  It's exactly what I like.  Foods I have heard of.  Tasty no-nonsense recipes.  Not just vegan food, because I was a very unsuccessful vegan, but rather variety. It's a thick 250-recipe volume, and it gives you so many options for recipes that you are bound to find one you love.  Especially one you can add cheese to.  

So far I have made two things from it, and both were flavorful and easy to prepare.  

Tonight's dinner:  Scallion flatbread from page 222.  Very good, but maybe not a great, nutritious dinner.  We've been busy today, so I'm not going to count it out as being terrible for you.  They are very fun to make and pretty quick. 

They're cooked on the stove top almost like a pancake, but with little balls of dough rolled out very thinly beforehand and tossed into the pan where they sizzle and brown.  I'd love to try branching out with other types of flatbread, too.  These would be great if company came over.  I recommend using low-sodium soy sauce because the sauce is pretty salty but in general they were great!

Your library is almost certain to have a copy, and used volumes are sold on Amazon for around 16 dollars.  I say give it a try.

The Pizza Stone

My husband has been suggesting to me that we get a pizza stone for the past several years.  Ms. T has one and he likes her caking so he has been bugging me about it. I'm not usually the kind of person to want to buy odd-ish kitchen accessories, so I never bothered to get one. We were having pizza tonight, so since I had to work, Zach was supposed to get the supplies.  Well, when I came home we had a brand new pizza stone.

As usual, the right tools make all the difference.  Our pizza tonight was fantastic!  It really tasted like a restaurant's pizza or even delivery.  The bottom was crispy and the crust was perfect. Delicious.

I recommend this crust.  I replaced about 1/4 of the flour with whole-wheat bread flour and let it rise in the fridge for about 6 hours.  Baked at 450 F for 25 minutes on the stone.  We topped ours with onion mushroom, red pepper, mozzarella and myzithra cheeses and garlic.

Less is more...but sometimes it's not.

My friends are going on a road trip this weekend. You know, without me.  Being short on funds, finding food on a road trip might be a tad difficult.  Baking to the rescue.  Sometimes baking can be healthy...or at least a [somewhat] nutritious replacement for food.

Enter oatmeal cookies.  Well not JUST oatmeal.

Oatmeal-Raisin-Currant-Sesame Cookies.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/oatmeal-raisin-cookies-i/detail.aspx  + Replace half the raisins with dried currants.  Add sesame to your personal taste.  I just shook in the seeds, but you'll need at least a tablespoon.  Sesame seeds, while high in fat, also add fiber, small amounts of calcium and totally delicious flavor to your cookies.  I found that making one inch round balls and no bigger produced a bite-sized cookie with a crisp bottom perfect for snacking.  Ms. T might call this "portion control".

Midnight snack...

What the hell is it?

It's a Jicama, or a "Mexican Turnip".  This one is peeled, normally they look like this.  I doubt you have to actually peel them, but the sticker on mine suggested it.  Don't grab your vegetable peeler, though.  If you can get it started (say, near the stem?) the peel comes of by itself quite easily.  Alternatively, I have seen them in vegetable trays but this isn't very common.

What do I do with it?

My favorite way to eat them is raw with dip.  There are recipes, but I have been trying to incorporate more fresh, raw fruits and vegetables in my diet, and I feel very good.  Nutritional value?  Mostly carbs, fiber and water.  They are chock full of inulin(a kind of fiber), and are extremely filling.  Essentially they are a tasty vehicle for getting your favorite dressing from the bottle to your mouth, while sneaking 6 grams of fiber inside of you with you barely noticing.

How's it taste?

Crisp. Starchy. Wet.  If you like raw carrots or cut up sweet potatoes, you'll like this.  Its really crispy and satisfyingly fun to eat.

Food of the Month: Smoothies

Recently Zach and I bought a blender to make smoothies.  Its so easy, good for you, and cheap.  Breakfast, lunch or dinner.  Many blenders now come with portable drink containers that you can take with you wherever you go...This makes it easier to enjoy healthy foods on the go.

My favorite recipe currently:
Juice from 1 blood orange
Frozen Berry Mix
Almond Milk
Plain Yogurt(optional)
Ice
Honey

Blend that.  Zach would add a banana.  Indeed that would be tasty.

All things Vegetarian...

After a few months of meat-eating, I am trying to go vegetarian again.  I've been cooking up some tasty foods to make the switch easier.  Here are the dishes I've been making this week:

Hummus is an easy favorite.  I try always to make it with chick peas I cooked myself, but this process takes a long time.  Chick peas must be soaked for about 4 hours, then simmered for 2.  I made the hummus over two days using a pretty basic recipe:  Lemon juice and peel, tahini, chick peas, garlic, salt and pepper + some olive oil during blending.  The hummus on the left has added sun-dried tomatoes, and the hummus on the right has a roasted red pepper added to the mix before blending.

:( the kitty-cat is upside down in this shot.

Cheesy tomato bisque is another favorite that practically doesn't need a recipe.  Two cans of whole tomatoes, 1 cup of chopped onions, garlic powder, sugar, salt, pepper, and (quite a bit of) garlic powder.  To this I added cream cheese and small cubes of cheddar.  I used my immersion blender to make it smooth.  Rave reviews from Zach who enjoyed dipping pretzels in it.  Ms. T always makes breadsticks with this soup, but I didn't have time last night.  I'm going to try next time though!  I might also try adding some plain yogurt next time instead of all the cheese, as my stomach is a bit upset from all the unbridled dairy I've been consuming.

Finally, for dessert last night I had some of these:

What are they?  They happen to be the bloodiest blood oranges I've ever seen. I have to go back to the store today and get another bag, because they are fantastic.  They are dark red, almost brown, and they stain your fingers like maybe beets or blackberries.  They are a bit bitter, and they really remind me of this soda:

San Pelligrino Chinotto is a apertif (that means it's bitter!) soda that you can purchase in a lot of Italian grocery stores.  Most stores, if they carry San Pellegrino soda its usually only the orange and lemon flavors.  Its kind of good, but I don't know if I'd recommend other people try it unless they're pretty brave.

That's all for now.  I worked all last weekend, so the cookie of the week got put off.  Maybe i'll whip something up tonight.

Slow-baked beans: Whoa!

A friend recently sent me a recipe that was published in the New York Times.  Because he reads my blog, and wishes he had more time to cook, I decided to make this dish just for him.  ...Also it sounded amazing. Raj, a med student at Yale, has a mother who is an amazing cook and a maker of epic pies.  After eating all that tasty food, I trust his culinary suggestions.  And as I sit here writing and burning my mouth on molten beans, I'm here to tell you that it was totally worth it.

This recipe, vegan in its entirety, is exactly the thing I would expect someone who is intellectual and also vegetarian to eat.  Indeed, what an intellectual dish.  Nourishing, healthy, simple and delicious.  Not to mention economical.

Often times, I use recipes as guidelines and create my own version. However, I wanted to make this one exactly as written.  Safeway, as it seems, wanted to thwart me.  They were out of kale (!), so I decided to substitute fresh spinach.  I also had an early relative casserole dish which wasn't up to the capacity of the recipe, so in the end, I made 3/4 of the actual recipe, leaving a bucket of half-soaked lima beans on my counter.

I upped the temperature to 300 degrees.  Apartment ovens are not famously accurate, and I'm sure mine runs a bit cool.  Also I don't believe ANYTHING can cook at 225 degrees.  That's only 55 degrees hotter than a sauna, and people can survive in that.  

The beans turn creamy, the herbs are delicious, and everything melds together so nicely.  Definitely worth the three hours. Make it on a weekend or ahead of time and heat it up later.

Bean casserole doesn't photograph particularly beautifully...

The Recipe:  Slow-Baked Beans with Kale

Pasta, yum!

Tonight's dinner is something I made up a long time ago, when Zach and I first went vegetarian in college.  This was, of course, long before I started writing this blog.  Its a quiet, unassuming casserole dish that you can't really mess up, and is perfect to take along with you or to make ahead of time and pop into the oven.  Its cheap, and you don't need a lot of stuff to make it.

2 cups of dry pasta.  Any shape works fine, but spaghetti probably wouldn't be very good in this.
1 can of beans (I used garbanzo.  Cannelini beans would also be a good choice.  You could probably use cooked chicken, also.)
1 jumbo log of goat cheese, crumbled up (mine was 11 oz, I only used about 5)
1 jar of pasta sauce.  If you make your own, use it.  I use Newman's.
feta cheese crumbles
vegetable of your choice.  Tomatoes go nicely, I've put onions in before but its a good idea to sautee them a bit first.  Spinach might also.

Cook the 2 cups of dry pasta and drain it.  Chop the vegetables and add them to a medium-sized casserole dish.  Add the beans, pasta, sauce (to your taste) and  goat cheese.  Mix together.  The sauce should get a little creamy.  Top with the feta.

At this point you can put this in the fridge to bake later or pop it in an oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, just long enough for everything to melt together and get really hot.  Serve.

Start to finish this might take 40 minutes.  Made ahead of time, dinner is ready almost before you are!

Note: I said you can't really mess this up, but you can. Tonight I used sun dried tomatoes.  They made everything really salty, so I'd save them for another time, since sauce from a jar is probably already salty enough.  Normally this is damn tasty.

What do to with leftover goat cheese?  I think its fabulous on crackers!

Eat Like an Egyptian

While watching TV late at night I came across an episode of No Reservations where Anthony Bourdain was in Egypt.  I have to say that when I was a young child, studying ancient cultures was a hobby of mine.  Religion, myths and legends, fashion and food and drink of the ancient Greeks, Chinese, Romans and Egyptians continue to fascinate me today.  That is why when I saw Tony Bourdain eating Ful Medames, Egypt's ancient national dish, I decided that I need to find a recipe and make it for myself.

Recipes for this food vary greatly, but mostly involve simmering fava beans (also called 'broad beans'), onions, garlic, tomatoes, and various herbs and spices together in a pan.  While fava beans are a staple in the Middle East as well as Ethiopia and Greece, they are nearly impossible to find here.  I found canned fava beans at Whole Foods...but you know how I feel about canned beans.  Well, maybe you don't.  They're like cheating.  They're like telling your blind grandmother you have a royal flush in poker when you don't.  She won't know the difference, but its still wrong.  Also they don't taste as good (except for in chili where you're using 5 kinds of beans anyway, I don't expect you to cook all those beans yourself).

But I digress.  In Egypt, everyone, rich or poor eats Ful Medames (according to Wikipedia and Tony Bourdain and the recipe book), and there it is mostly a hearty breakfast dish served with a hard-boiled egg and pita.  But I'm from America, and I like to eat Lucky Charms for breakfast.  That's okay, Ful Medames makes a great dinner, too.

Links used in this post:
The recipe I used. This book seems excellent and I want to peruse it more!
Nutrition Data for Fava Beans
Wikipedia article for ful medames.

Food from a real cookbook...

The other day I bought a cookbook.  An actual hard-copy cookbook.The Borders' location nearest to us was going out of business and I don't know what came over me...Especially since the recipes can all be found online. For what its worth, if you know a vegetarian (or someone who is trying to eat healthier) who doesn't love using the internet, I'd recommend this cookbook:  Easy Everyday Vegetarian.

The first recipe I chose to cook out of this new book is Tempeh Stir-Fry with yogurt peanut sauce.  It looked and tasted lovely.  I don't cook with soy too often because sometimes it doesn't agree with me in general, but I wanted to try tempeh just this once. I didn't make any alterations to the recipe, but I think that if tempeh is too odd for you or is unavailable, tofu, chicken, peanuts, mushrooms, or shrimp would all be delicious substitutes.

An easy recipe for a healthy 2011.

What is tempeh?  Read about it over at Wikipedia.
Want to make this?  You don't really need a cookbook at all!  Tempeh Stir-Fry

Edible Geometry.

Now you can have your Fibonacci sequence and eat it, too.

This is Romanesco.  Its a type of cauliflower that looks like it's from another planet.  I first saw it at the Portland Farmer's market a few weeks ago, but I didn't buy any because I had no idea what it was or how to cook it.  I ran into Romanesco again at Trader Joe's the last time I went shopping.  Trader Joe's version comes in a bag with regular cauliflower and in general is foolproof to prepare...And a perfect example of golden section geometry.

How's it taste?   Its a cruciferous vegetable, so its flavor is about halfway between broccoli and cauliflower (as you might guess).  Next time I'll get some to steam myself!

Getting steamy in the pan.

November comfort foods...

Last night's acorn squash was a complete improvisation -- er, I mean success.  I was certainly inspired by this:

Pioneer Woman Cooks - Sweet-Roasted Rosemary Acorn Squash
and this:  Uggh, Martha.

But in the end I mixed butter(nobody will be upset if you sub vegan margarine or olive oil) and brown sugar, used a bit of dried rosemary (I'm too lazy to go downstairs and grab the rosemary growing by the pool), salt, pepper and 1 shallot chopped coarsely.  The last time I roasted acorn squash, I only used brown sugar and butter and it was certainly delicious.  This time, however I wanted a little more flavor, and I was pleased with the results.
Note about roasting squash: A lot of recipes will have the acorn squash just cut in half so that a delicious pool of brown sugar and butter forms in the middle...that's what I did last time, and its great for dipping, but we found the process of eating it just too messy.  Its really up to you.

As a side, my own favorite quinoa with walnuts and onions.

Speaking of quinoa, this morning I made something different for breakfast:  Quinoa Porridge.  Its very good, but I never add any extras until the end of my cooking.  Heat can destroy vanilla especially.  I have heard that adding sugar affects the way grains cook(no idea if its true), so just to be safe I left that out until the end, too.  Besides, it's always better to sweeten something after you've tasted it.  Its really hearty, and great topped with thawed frozen berries.  One recipe equals about one serving, or two small ones.

Yes, I made the bowl, too.

Hey I think both of these are gluten-free, too...

Sweet Potato Pie

I'm really against wasting food, and now that I can afford to just buy more food, I'm trying extra hard to not be wasteful.  So, what to do with 2 extra sweet potatoes in your fridge?  Well you could bake them, or you could bake them into a PIE. This was my first attempt at sweet potato pie, and my first pie for at least six months.  The crust is an all-butter recipe.  Its crispy and I like it, but it might be worth it to try one with shortening in the future.  The recipe is much like pumpkin pie, but working with fresh sweet potatoes is much more managable than either a pumpkin or a butternut squash.  Easy to make in an evening with ingredients you probably have already, great for the holiday weekend.  Happy 4th of July!

 

Amaranth

While shopping in my favorite place today (Whole Foods bulk section) I found yet another unusual grain:  Amaranth.  According to the label at the store, while it is revered elsewhere in the world, its usually considered a weed here in the states and nobody likes it.  The grain itself looks like an even smaller version of quinoa. And, according to multiple sources, one serving has anywhere from 20-80% of your daily iron and a third of your daily calcium.  Awesome.

When I got home, I began searching for some delicious recipes to make with my new mystery grain.  I found two:  Amaranth tabbouleh and a treat from mexico called "Alegria".  Its a "candy" similar to rice krispy treats, made with honey, butter, dried fruits, and nuts.  Zach is leaving for Houston tomorrow, so I figured he could take these with him.

While the tabbouleh was a fairly standard recipe(and frickin' delicious), making the Alegria was a unique experience.  First you have to pop the Amaranth.  It pops fairly easily, just like tiny, tiny popcorn but you have to be extremely careful not to burn it.  Three seconds can be the difference between toasty popped amaranth and a pan of burned crap.

here are the popped amaranths.  They smell and taste like 

classic puffed wheat cereal, just smaller.

While the recipe called for half corn syrup or molasses and half  honey, I didn't have any of the first two so I used all honey.  This made the bars softer than they should have been, but not too bad.  I cut some up and wrapped them in plastic wrap for Zach's journey.  

Here are the recipes mentioned in the post and some Amaranth resources:

Tabouli  I skipped the whole lettuce leaf thing.  The vitamin C from the lemon juice will help you absorb all that Iron!

Alegria

Wikipedia Amaranth

Nutrient data