Broccoli with Spicy Balsamic Dressing and Olives

I found this recipe on one of my favorite blogs, years ago.  (http://julia.typepad.com/julia/) and it just hits the spot after all the excesses of Thanksgiving past and Christmas yet to come. 

Steam some broccoli. take 1.5 lbs of broccoli (a medium sorta bunch) and separate the florets from the stalk and then steam them for 4 1/2 to 5 minutes. Tender but crisp.


Vinaigrette:

2 t balsamic vinegar
2 t red wine vinegar
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 t red pepper flakes (more if you like it spicy)
1/4 t salt
1/4 c olive oil

Combine. I have old canning jars or jelly jars around, those work perfectly. Put the ingredients in, twist the lid on and shake shake etc. (this is a great kid job--kids love making salad dressing and it ups the odds they may taste the ensuing salad)

Toss warm broccoli with the vinaigrette and oh, say, 1/3 to 1/2 cup roughly chopped kalamata olives. Feta is nice too.Other goodies can be added--a handful of chopped chicken or chickpeas to make it a meal, pine nuts for crunch, thin strips of sundried tomato.  Mmmmm . . .

Maintenance Food

Sometimes life is so fast paced that you need to just maintain a certain level of nutrition and comfort.  So a few ideas to share for quick but still "real" food.

Congee:  About 5 cups of stock to 1 cup of rice.  Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat until you have a nice porridge consistency.  At this point add some finely diced vegetables, a few cubes of tofu, some finely chopped left-over chicken, chili flakes, some sliced green onions, sesame oil, whatever sounds good.  Improvise to your own tastes.  On a well organized night, I put out bowls of goodies and let everyone add to their own.  If time allows a tablespoon each of ginger and garlic to start in a little oil before the stock goes in gives you more flavor.

Oven quesadillas:  This may be obvious, but it didn't dawn on me until a few years ago that you can make a half dozen half moon quesadillas on a cookie sheet in the oven all at once.  A light brushing of butter or olive oil and few seconds under the broiler gives them a nice crispness once they're good and hot.

What we call snacky dinner:  a big bowl of popcorn (after all, it's wholegrain) a bunch of sliced cheese, some sliced fruit and sliced veg.  Even five year olds can eat this in the living room and chill without causing too much damage.

Fuller Hash:  Get out an onion, dice it up.  Get it into a nice sized pan with some oil, over heat, and start chopping up everything else that seems compatible that's lurking unloved in the fridge. Fling it in, stir it round now and again,  When that gets to be nice and  crispy, but a nice handful of cheese on top.  Cover until it melts and serve.

I'd love to hear other people's tired/hurried night dinners in the comments, if you're game!

Savory Squash

I've been following Francis Lam on Salon.com and read this article with interest recently:

http://www.salon.com/food/francis_lam/2010/10/29/sausage_fat_roasted_butternut_squash/index.html

I think he brings up a good point that healthy nutritious food can sometimes taste a little bland and virtuous without a smidgen of something or other to enhance flavor and savoriness.  And yep, that smidgen often is fat, in the form of cheese or nuts or even meat.

I liked his approach, frying sliced squash in the sausage drippings left in the pan, and told myself I'd try it soon.  Then yesterday, upon opening the fridge, I realized my lunch choices were pretty minimal but we did have a heap of cooked acorn squash and a moderate of sausage gravy.  I combined the two, figuring they'd be tolerable together, if not completely my first choice, and headed to work. 

The work lunchroom can be a dismal place--wilted sandwiches, frozen dinners unmindfully reheated in little plastic trays, soggy vegetables, cottage cheese, leftovers grabbed out of expediency.  We eat out of necessity and not for pleasure.  Yesterday was a welcome change.  It turns out the combination of sausage gravy and winter squash hits several prime spots on the palate--sweet, salt, savory--the smooth vegetable goodness of the squash interspersed with the crispy meaty savor of sausage crumbles.  I had assembled my container thinking I would have two meals out of the concoction and ended up having a second helping instead. 

Ain't it lovely when practicality turns out something that would have been good enough to have been created intentionally. 

Dinner with Friends

Often during the work week I daydream all day long about cooking, peruse recipes online at lunch hour and break, fantasize about just calling it a day and going home to my kitchen.  Often by the time I do get home, I'm beat and there's homework, yardwork, laundry to all take up my time.  It's another round of grilled cheese or quick pasta--the new recipes shelved for another time. 

But . . .every once in a while there is a day where I finally had the time and the opportunity to try out some new things.  Whenever I have extra adventurous souls round the table it's a wonderful opportunity to finally give those recipes a whirl.  Tonight we had lentil salad tossed with a Georgian cilantro sauce, a quinoa salad with balsamic vinagrette, some wonderful roasted squash and apples ala Mario Batali and to finish, an apple frangipane tart.  ( I realize re-reading that I should give credit where credit is due to some wonderful braised beef and grilled chicken that John prepared too)

I first heard this tart recipe on NPR, and it sounded amazing.  However, when I printed out the full instructions off their website it ran to three full pages and took a little over two days to make.  I simplified because dinner was in three hours.  This is what my version came down to:

Start with a simple pastry crust, pressed into a 8-9 inch tart pan--I used the basic version from the old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.  Blind bake this for 8-10 minutes, until it starts to look palely golden, but nowhere near cooked.

Fill that up with this, which has a lot of ingredients but is pretty dang zippy in a food processor:

1 cup (4 ounces) blanched slivered almonds
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, minced
1/4 cup dried cranberries, minced
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces and softened to room temp.

I used whole almonds with the skins on, which made a more nubbly sort of texture but all in all did give me an epiphinal "aha" moment.  This stuff is darn close to what you might have inside a good quality almond croissant.    Start with the almonds and the sugar, reduce those to a nice sandy texture, and then keep adding a couple more ingredients and incorporating them until you have a nice uniform paste.  Spread this into your tart shell.

At this point, I topped this all with a pretty layer of sliced apples (about two small apples worth), but I think one could easily use plums or apricots.  Bake all this in the oven until it looks pretty and browned up nicely--20-30 minutes.  The almond filling will puff around the fruit a little.

Definitely a nice "ta-da" kind of dessert to bring out for a party, and probably one to save for a good sized party at that, because I do suspect there may be a calorie or to lurking there. 

Dahl and Diwali

I told myself when I started this blog that I would do my best to publish once a week, which I am not quite managing.  Last weekend our family celebrated Diwali (the East Indian festival of light--about the equivalent in importance as Christmas might be in the West) and the anniversary of our oldest boy's arrival from India, and this week there was Halloween.  We so love holidays but they do put a dent in the schedule.   

This week's recipe is a simple one, the East Indian lentil dish called "dahl".  For those who are not familiar, I often describe it as quite similar in texture to refried beans and it does fill that purpose, creating a simple filling for chapatis (similar to tortillas) or eaten alongside rice.  There are hundreds of variants on dahl--one can use different types of beans, lentils and peas and add in all sorts of variants--spices, vegetables and even meat.

I often make a double recipe and freeze the extra for a tired night when making a pot of rice and a salad sounds about my speed.  

Dahl

1 1/2 cup red or brown lentils, yellow or green split peas, or split, hulled, mung beans (I use red lentils)
4 cups water
2 dried chilies, whole
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ghee(clarified butter) or vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 cup chopped onions
1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon garam masala or more to taste
salt to taste

Wash the lentils, peas, or beans in several changes of cold water. In a medium pot, cover them with the water and add the whole dried chilies, turmeric, and salt, Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, stirring often, until very tender. This will take about 30 minutes for red lentils, 45 minutes for peas, or an hour or more for mung beans. It may be necessary to add more water to prevent sticking, but only 1/2 cup at a time, because the final consistency should be fairly thick.

When the lentils are almost cooked, heat the ghee or oil in a small pan, add the cumin seeds, and cook for 10 or 12 seconds. Stir in the onions and ginger and cook until the onions begin to brown, about 5 or 10 minutes.

When the lentils are tender, remove and discard the hot peppers. Stir in the onion mixture, lemon juice, garam masala, and salt to taste. Serve, passing additional garam masala to sprinkle on top, if desired.

Variations:

Spinach Dahl: Add 4 cups of chopped, fresh spinach to the onions after they have sauteed for about 5 minutes and then cook for 5 minutes more. 

Potato and Chicken Dahl—a real one pot meal.  Add 2 cups diced raw potatoes towards the last 10 minutes of cooking and simmer til tender.  Add 1 cup chopped cooked chicken or turkey. 

Tomatoes

Here I am just beginning and I've neglected writing longer than I ought to.  I'll blame it on the round of family birthdays and school activities and TOMATOES that have beset us.  Seattle has had such a cool summer that anyone with tomatoes was just biting their nails waiting for those first red tomatoes to appear.  Round here, we finally got impatient and pulled a few off the vines to ripen inside in a paper bag and at least enjoyed those.  Then suddenly it was just time and we have started pulling them all.  Ready or not. 

We've (and by we I mean John) been making tomato sauce and green tomato pickle and a bizarre looking yet tasty green tomato ketchup.  We did enjoy a bunch of lovely red and yellow we coaxed into ripening in a traditional tomato and mozzarella salad.  Nothing too secret or special about it.  Slices of fresh cheese (I used a nice log from Trader Joe's) interleavened with slices of tomato.  A bit of good olive olive, balsamic, salt, pepper and basil splashed over the top.

I did have a bit of luck in that we had a bottle of balsamic reduction we splurged on a bit ago, still kicking round the cupboard.  It's also not too hard to make your own, and boy howdy, there is nothing like it.

Take about a cup of decent balsamic and simmer it on the back burner until it is reduced by half.  Save it in a jar for drizzling and/or dipping purposes.  One can also include a handful of whole garlic cloves in there--say a dozen and let those steep and simmer along with everything else.  A good loaf of bread smeared with soft goat cheese, a couple cloves of that soft garlic and a good astringent green salad makes a lovely dinner on a tired evening. 

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

We are now just creeping up on fall and I do love the changing of the seasons and not just outside.  There is such pleasure in anticipating seasonal food and here we are all set to enjoy apples, pumpkin, and all the lovely root vegetables (preferably with bacon!)

I came across this recipe via my friend, Georgia.  It somehow transforms oatmeal which at it's stereotypical worst is gluey, grey and grim to a lovely nearly cobbleresque spicy delight.  (and it's healthy too!)
 

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

Ingredients

1 cup old fashioned oats not quick cook
1 Tbs whole flax seeds (optional)
2½ Tbs brown sugar, packed
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp allspice
⅛ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla
½ tsp lemon zest (orange is nice too-but both are optional)
2 tsp butter, softened
¾ cup pumpkin puree
¾ cup milk 

Topping:
¼ cup pecans, chopped
2 tsp butter, softened
1 Tbs brown sugar

Combine the oats, flax seeds, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Stir well.  

In a separate bowl, combine the vanilla, lemon zest, butter, pumpkin, and milk. Whisk thoroughly. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the oat mixture. Stir until combined.

Pour into a buttered casserole dish. 

 

Meanwhile, combine the ingredients for the topping: chopped pecans, butter, and brown sugar. 

The oatmeal can be prepared up to this point the night before.  I put the oatmeal mixture in the fridge and cover the topping and leave it handy for next morning.  My typical routine is wake everyone up, top the oatmeal, pop it in the oven at 375, take a shower, and breakfast is ready.  (This will need to bake around 20-25 minutes)

Beet Hummus

I saw a passing reference to Beet Hummus on someone's Facebook page.  (ah, ain't that sophisticated)  and was intrigued.  We decided to improvise this past weekend, I think with spectacular results.  Here's what we came up with:

Beet Hummus

1 can beets, drained (or the equivalent amount, baked and peeled--about 3-4 medium sized beets)
1 can chickpeas, drained
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup of almonds or walnuts, toasted
a good handful of fresh mint, coarsely chopped
**1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses (balsamic vinegar and a pinch of brown sugar will do if you don't keep crazy stuff like that around)
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Whizz all that together in the food processor and taste.  You may need to add a bit of water to thin it down to an appealing consistency.  I have been reminded recently how very appealing blenders and food processors are to kids.  We've been making a lot of salad dressings and dips with the crew, which is a great way to then have them downing tons of fruit and veg, sampling their creations.

As you can see from the picture, this is a spectacular color and would be really striking to offer along with regular hummus and other dips for a an appetizer or light dinner.  

**This is a really fun pantry ingredient, if you can lay your hands on it.  Middle Eastern groceries carry it and the flavor is sweet tart perfumy all at once.  It's great drizzled in salad dressing or over hot grains.  It keeps just about as long as typical molasses in the cupboard.

As you can see from the picture, I was having a dip sort of weekend.  Beet hummus and two kinds of salsa.  Sometimes dinner doesn't get much better than some good bread, crackers or chips, something to dip or slather and lots of good veggies and fruit. Oh . . and maybe a glass of wine.

Tomato Soup via Chennai

 I've made the below tomato soup for years, it comes from the original Moosewood Cookbook and is deliciously everything tomato soup should be.  But, as a good friend once said of me and my cooking, I never do leave well enough alone.  Last week I was craving something spicier and more eastern.  I took the recipe below and added a 2 teaspoons of garam masala instead of the dill.  And instead of the simple yogurt and scallion topping I topped it with dollops of this:

1/2 cup yogurt
zest from one lemon
2 minced green onions
1 finely diced fresh tomato
2 tablespoons fresh parsley (cilantro, mint or basil would be good too)

Mix together and spoon on top of the soup at the last minute so you have a contrast of hot and cold. 



Spicy Tomato Soup


1 1/2 cups minced onion
3 cloves garlic -- crushed
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon dill weed
1/8 teaspoon black pepper -- or more
2 pounds canned tomatoes -- crushed
OR:
6 cups canned tomatoes -- chopped with liquid
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon mayonnaise -- or sour cream


  yogurt, parsley & scallions for topping

Saute onions and garlic, with salt, in combined olive oil and butter in a
kettle or large saucepan. Cook five minutes - until translucent- then add
dill, pepper, tomatoes and honey. Cover and simmer at least 45 minutes -
low heat.

Five minutes before serving, whisk in mayonnaise or sour cream . Taste to
correct seasonings.

Salsa

If you know me, you know I feel pretty passionate about waiting to eat produce until it's at it's very seasonal best, for a variety of reasons.  And it's tomato and tomatillo season, finally, after a long rainy Seattle summer.  Right now the fridge has two of my favorite salsas in it--all ready for dipping and topping and snacking and slathering.

Peter Reinhart's Green Salsa (from Sacramental Magic in a Small Town Cafe)


2 1/2 cups fresh tomatillos, quartered
1 small onion, quartered
*1-3 teaspoons smoked chili flakes or 2-8 fresh jalapenos
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 large avocado, seeded and scooped
3 large cloves garlic
1/4 cup white vinegar
salt and sugar to taste

Put all this in the food processor and puree.  Taste and adjust--you may need more vinegar, salt or sugar.  If you've actually grown tomatillos in your garden, this is indescribably good with still frozen tomatillos on a hot day--a savory icee, so to speak, scooped up with chips.

*You know your taste for hot best--if you tend to be sensitive, start on the cautious end and add more.   I've been known to add as many as seven jalapenos . . . .


Pebre (Chilean Pico de Gallo from Sundays at Moosewood)

1/3 cup sliced green onion 
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro 
4 medium tomatoes, chopped 
2 tablespoons hot sauce (Tabasco or your favorite brand) 
2 tablespoons vegetable oil 
1 tablespoon cider vinegar 
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (give your self extra points if you grind it fresh)
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all together in a bowl and refrigerate.  You can add a lot of things to this and make it almost a side dish--sliced zucchini, radishes, finely chopped cabbage.  Do remember the acidity may leach color out of things and so it's prettiest eaten within an hour or two.  It stays delicious for several days.

Well, Hello There . . .

I've thought off and on for several years about starting a blog.  I can't recall exactly when I discovered this medium but it has always been such a wonderful glimpse of other people's lives and interests--all over the globe.  I finally fell off of/onto the Facebook wagon last year when I was unemployed and I often find myself wanting to say a little more about dinner last night, or the fresh raspberries this morning or the idea I had about lunch tomorrow, so here I am.  Yet another blogger in a well-saturated field . . talking about food.  Hope you'll join the conversation.