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Cue the music…Baby, it's cold outside.
The calender is approaching April 1st but my my kiddos are still walking to school with hats and mittens (well not my middle schooler, she has braved the winter elements in her hoodie, assuring me that she was not cold as her teeth chattered).
It was 25°F this morning. UGH! I needed some sunny flavors to snap me out of my March funk. Pair some frozen mango chunks with some tasty canteloupe and boom boom pow, it tastes like July, despite what the thermometer says.
Mango Cantaloupe Cooler
1 cup OJ or Trader Joe's Orange Mango Juice
1/4 cantaloupe cut into small chunks
1 tsp. agave or 1 packet stevia (optional)
Add the above ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
Add 1 cup frozen mango chunks and blend until smooth.
This makes about 2 servings (I save one in the fridge for later in the day).
DELISH!
March 30th, 2011
Romesco sauce originates from Spain and is one of my favorite schmootzes. Usually it's enjoyed in the spring as a sauce for grilled spring onions. I've seen versions of it made with walnuts, almonds and pine nuts or a combination of all of them.
Since my other favorite schmootz is muhammara is made with walnuts; I like to use hazelnuts in this roasted red bell pepper spread.
Any leftovers are delicious on sandwiches.
Hazelnut Romesco
2 ancho chilies, re-hydrated in boiled water, stems removed and then pureed
(cascabel works well too)
1/4 cup EVVO, divided
1/2 cup hulled hazelnuts (almonds are also good)
1 large slice of day old bread, roughly chopped
4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups roasted, peeled red bell peppers (about 2 large ones)
1 Tbsp. sherry vinegar
1 large tomato, peeled and seeded or 1 cup peeled chopped tomato from a can
(Muir Glen Fire Roasted would be a nice touch)
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp. Spanish paprika
flat leaf parsley
Heat a Tbsp. of the olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the hulled hazelnuts and bread. Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes. Place the mixture into the work bowl of a food processor.
Return the skillet to the stove and add the remaining oil, chilies, garlic, bell peppers,sherry vinegar, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the paprika and then place this mixture in the food processor as well.
Pulse the mixture together for as long as you like. I like mine to be a little crunchy so I pulse it until it just begins to form into a puree. Taste for seasoning, add more salt and pepper, if necessary. Garnish with flat leaf parsley.
Serve along side, crostini or with grilled spring onions.
March 27th, 2011
During my vegan detox, one thing that I missed was ice cream. I come from a long line of ice cream lovers and knew that I would have to come up with a plan to fill the ice cream void.
Canned coconut milk is a luxurious ingredient, it adds an unmistakable richness to Thai and Indian currries and I am happy to report that coconut milk can be used very successfully as an "ice cream" base.
You could certainly make a straight coconut sorbet but my detox required no sugar so I opted for a version that used ripe bananas as a sweetener and almond butter for added texture and flavor. A little touch of vanilla extract and a small amount of agave pulled the recipe together.
Adjust the recipe to suit your preferences, add a bit more agave, almond butter or a touch of almond extract. Top your dish with some toasted almonds, shredded coconut or chocolate shavings.
This "ice cream" is certainly a healthier option to traditional ice cream which is loaded with butter fat and sugar. And here’s the good news: It is wholly satisfying (see pic below, if you don’t believe me).
I make homemade ice cream in my Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker. It worked especially well with this vegan version because as it froze the ice cream it incorporated air, in effect lightening the finished product.
Banana Almond Vegan Ice Cream
1 (13.5) oz. can coconut milk (full fat is better than light in this recipe)
2 ripe bananas, sliced
2 – 4 Tbsp. almond butter (to taste)
1- 2 Tbsp. agave (to taste)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch kosher salt
Add all of the ingredients to a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Refrigerate the mixture overnight.
Give the mixture a good stir until it is smooth and pour it into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer instructions.
Serve immediately or transfer ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze until it’s time for dessert. When serving this ice cream straight from the freezer, allow it to warm up for 10 minutes so that it softens up a bit making it easier to serve and eat.
FMI on Meatless Monday, click here.
March 14th, 2011
First let me just say that I absolutely love Molly O’Neill’s new book One Big Table. In her words, "I was on a mission to dispel the rumor that Americans don’t cook." After 10 years of zipping around the country, she compiled all these incredible recipes and anecdotes from and from die-hard cooking Americans.
If you need to purchase a cookbook this year, let this be the one as you will given a host of incredibly unique and interesting recipes from people who love to cook and love their heritage.
"A portrait of American Cooking" says it all but what you won’t find in here are recipes from celebrity chefs. There are a few but mostly there are ingenious recipes from people all over the country. Some recipes and techniques are handed down from years ago and others a wonderful marriage of two cultures coming together to create their own heritage.
How Molly achieved this is a wonder. Here are some of the recipes I will serving at our big table here in Boulder:
John Newman’s Abelskivers (Tooele, Utah)
Bill McIntyre’s Marinated Feta (Corydon, Indiana)
Roopa Unnikrishnan’s Cucumerb Pudina Sandwiches (New York, New York)
Grandmother Ojeda’s Toasted Pasilla Chile & Sunflower Seed Salsa (San Diego, CA)
Veronique Nguyen’s Cold & Frothy Fresh Pea Soup (Vail, Colorado)
Gina Caldrone Tsonga’s Fennel Slaw with Orange, Cumin and Chilies (Scottsdale, AZ)
Paulo’s Monkfish Moqueca (Martha’s Vineyard, MA)
Tia Rosa and Ruth Eichneer’s Sweet-n-Sour Carrots (Middlebury, VT)
Big Mama’s Whipping Cream Pound Cake (Clarke County, Alabama)
Gaynelle Tillet’s Fig Cake (Ocracoke, North Carolina)
That’s just to name a few. I’ll be sure to post the results -but it might take some time. Did I mention it’s a BIG book? Her blog is fabulously written so I advise you to check it out.
March 10th, 2011
You may say, why bother to eat cauliflower, but really it can be very good. With winter in full swing, fresh produce will continue to become repetitive and very cruciferous so I would like to offer up some creative things to do with cauliflower to get you through the somewhat bleak winter months.
BTW – Look at all the caratenoids in the above photo of the yellow cauliflower! You could make this dish really fabulous by mixing some white with yellow cauliflower.
Guy Fieri featured a puree of cauliflower in milk combined with roasted cauliflower served his with a butterflied chicken cooked under 4 bricks. Yum.
Flavorista Tracey, my sister-in-law whose photos have often graced this blog, was here recently so I made my favorite – cauliflower couscous and tossed it with a vegan pesto made from spinach, cilantro and ginger. The textures were fantastic. I highly recommend it. This would pair perfectly with roasted vegetables for a Meatless Monday. I served in with grilled ono and ladolemono.
Almond, Ginger & Coriander Pesto with Cauliflower Couscous
Pesto
4 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger
2 bunches cilantro, leaves picked off
1 1/2 cups spinach (I used the baby spinach which is already pre-washed. It’s far more tender. Do not use frozen)
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup peanut oil
1 cup almonds
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse together. Don’t just run the food processor. The beauty of this pesto is the texture.
Click here for the procedure to make the couscous. Omit the scallions and peppers.
Once the couscous is tender, place the pesto in the pan with heat off and stir all the pesto and cauliflower together. Place on a platter and top with roasted vegetables (like yellow squash, red bell peppers and zucchini), pan-fried tempeh slices or the fish and sauce
March 7th, 2011
It is quite freezing outside today, we still have ample snow abounding and according to the news "More snow is on the way." YIKES!
Vincenzo and I put together this carrot top garden a few weeks back and it has been fun to watch. It is a gentle reminder that the crocuses will be presenting themselves soon, as soon as the foot of snow that is currently covering my garden melts.
And oy vey, it is going to be a muddy spring.
The carrot top garden is easy to make, simply buy some carrots with the tops still intact. I found mine at Hannaford.
Trim the greens to about 1/2-inch and trim the carrots to 3/4-inch. Line a shallow dish or bowl with some type of gravel (we used some sea glass; this satisfied a summer craving as well). Add enough water to the dish to keep the gravel wet. Place the dish in a sunny window, water as necessary and watch your carrots grow!
Spring will be here soon enough? Right?
One Very proud, hydroponic gardener!
March 3rd, 2011
Traditionally made with pork and chicken, posole made with the right ingredients can also be delicious vegetarian. In Mexico, this dish is consumed like menudo, to help quell the effects of a hangover. I just love the buttery, crunchy texture of hominy.
Two "secret" ingredients for me were my vegetable stock (see the post on Soup Swap for the recipe)and the new (but hard to find) fire roasted tomato with chipotles from Muir Glenn. I’ve been a huge fan of the fire roasted with green chilies for a while, and those are in this recipe too. The fire roasting flavor of the tomatoes helps to add the needed depth to this hearty "stoup". A few classic Mexican cooking techniques are also essential.
I
Vegetarian Posole
¼ cup olive oil
2 Ancho chilies, top stem removed
2 large onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped finely
2 Tbsp. whole coriander seed, crushed
1 Tbsp. whole cumin seed crushed
4 cans Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes with Green Chilies
Or 2 of Fire Roasted Tomatoes with Chipotle Chilies and 2 with Green Chilies, your choice
4 cans of hominy (2 yellow and 2 white), rinsed and drained
4 Quarts homemade vegetable stock (I added an ancho chilie and guillio chilie to this batch), hot
Procedure:
Heat a large heavy bottomed pan on the medium heat. Add the olive oil, the whole ancho chilies, onions and garlic. Add the ground spices and stir until they are fragrant. Allow to cook for 10 minutes. Now add the hominy and stir well. Add the tomatoes of your choice.
Remove the ancho chili and place in a blender with some of the hot stock, just enough to cover. You can add the garlic to this as well. Puree until smooth. Add the hot vegetable stock to the posole and then stir in the chili puree.
Allow to cook for 30 minutes over low heat stir every so often. You may now season with salt and pepper to your heart’s content. If you want to make it thicker and have a more potent masa punch, place whole corn tortilla in with the posole and let it soften for 5 minutes. Now remove it with some of the broth and puree it with your immersion blender as you did for the chilies. Add back into the posole and stir well.
Serve garnished with freshly chopped avocados, cilantro, fresh lime and slices of radish.
February 28th, 2011
You’ve got to love a store that greets you with this message:
Isn’t it the truth? But that is not all there is to love at Eataly, brainchild of Oscar Farinetti. With the help of celebrity chefs Mario Batali and Lidia and her son Joe Bastianich New Yorkers are lucky to have this gem. You will get frustrated by the crowds but it is still so worth going.
The food is beautiful, there are many different places to dine and sections to shop. I could easily spend a day there, starting with breakfast, burning a few calories around the block across the street, then returning for lunch and food shopping for all the wonderful things I’d make the next day. And then an early dinner.
I love how they sell their beans and grains in these lovely jars. I think I will steal this idea for my home pantry. There are gorgeous cheeses and Italian meats and many beautiful Italian drinks and condimenti.
I could see moving into the Flat Iron district or Chelsea just so this could be my neighborhood jaunt.I am actually kicking myself that I didn’t try and stuff this ginormous chocolate hazelnut trunk into my suitcase. My waistline begged me to resist.
I’ve never seen one so big. Well there is always next time…
February 24th, 2011
As I head into week three of the 21-day vegan detox, I am happy to report that all is well. Of the six of us participating, very few have fallen off the gluten-free vegan train and those who have (including me) have gotten right back on. To date, my efforts feel very worthwhile. I seem to have more energy and I have even lost a few pounds.
The biggest challenge with this whole detox is cooking for my family and cooking for me. This restrictive vegan diet definitely requires a commitment to planning, shopping and cooking (and willing participants). A few of us gals have been participating in an informal food swap by trading sweet pea hummus for traditional hummus etc. and this has been exceedingly helpful.
This pepper and pinto bean chili came together without a recipe; I wrote the recipe as I cooked with the hopes that it would be worthy of a Meatless Monday post. I had gone to the store in search of black beans and my little market was sold out so I settled for pinto beans but this recipe could be made with black beans, white beans or even chick peas.
I have found that cooking 1 pound of dried beans at the beginning of the week makes vegan eating easier for the rest of the week. The cooked beans can be tossed into soups, sprinkled into a salad or pureed for a dip. This recipe comes together in about 30 minutes and is delicious served over brown rice or quinoa.
These photo were taken in two consecutive weeks. The recipe above was made with yellow and orange bells along with summer squash. The finished recipe below was made with red bell peppers and a zucchini. Both were mighty tasty, budget-friendly and quite filling.
Pepper and Pinto Bean Chili
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. kosher salt, more to taste
1/4 tsp. ground chipotle
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 zucchini or summer squash, chopped
2 sweet bell peppers (any color you like)
1 (28-oz. can whole tomatoes
3 cups cooked pinto beans
1 tsp. hot sauce (green or red), more to taste
1 Tbsp. finely chopped cilantro
In a large soup pot, warm the olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add the onion, jalapeno, garlic, cumin, salt, chipotle and black pepper. Cook and stir until the onions soften, about 5 minutes.
Add the zucchini, cook and stir for about five minutes and add the peppers. Cook and stir until until the peppers are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, beans, hot sauce and cilantro. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes.
This chili freezes and reheats well making for some yummy lunches.
February 21st, 2011
The inspiration for this recipe came from the wonderful blog The Nourished Kitchen. I changed the recipe considerably and the end result is a delicious oatmeal-like cake.
Make it once and have a slice every morning for a few days or serve it to a crowd at brunch. With some warm maple syrup and a dash of whipped cream it is really delicious! Perfect for winter weekend mornings.
You can use any dried fruit and nut combination. A few suggestions are apricots and pistachios, dried plums, apples and pecans, raisins or currants or cranberries and walnuts. Regardless of the combination you choose, it is delicious.
Baked Oatmeal (inspired by the Nourished Kitchen)
This recipe is easily doubled but this serves 6 for breakfast.
1/2 lb. rolled oats (she uses steel cut but I loved using rolled)
2 Tbsp. buttermilk or yogurt
1/2 cup whole chia seeds (optional)
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp. vanilla bean paste, or 2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 /2 cup brown sugar or maple syrup
1 cup dried cherries
1 cup almonds
butter or non-stick spray for the baking dish
Place oats into a large bowl and pour on enough water to just cover them. Stir in the buttermilk or yogurt and add a dash of sea salt. Let sit overnight (8 hours to 12 hours is fine).
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place oats in a colander and and push out any excess water. Transfer oats to a large bowl.
Butter a small square (9×9-inch) or rectangular baking dish, like one you would use for brownies. Beat together the milk, eggs and vanilla and brown sugar or maple syrup. Sprinkle the chia seeds and cinnamon into the drained oats. Add dried fruit and nuts then stir in the milk/egg mixture.
Pour into the baking dish and cook for 30 to 45 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Pour warmed maple syrup and a dollop of freshly whipped cream and tuck in.
February 16th, 2011
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