Eda- What?

On the opposite page from the artichoke ragout is a delicious looking sandwich that sounded really interesting with an edamame pate spread. And best yet, we had just bought some edamame! This sandwich was a sure thing for our weekly dinner menu. I accompanied the sandwich with a homemade tomato soup that would have been delicious all on its own. A perfect soup and sandwich combo!


Edamame Pate Sandwich (Vegetarian Times, March 2010)

This edamame pate is so good that I would just eat it on pita chips or raw veggies as a dip.


1 1/4 cups frozen shelled edamame, thawed
1/2 cup walnuts
1/3 cup mint leaves (packed)
1 green onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbs. lemon juice
8 slices whole-grain bread
2 cups arugula
4 jarred red peppers, drained
2 small cucumbers, thinly sliced

1. Puree edamame, walnuts, mint, green onion, and salt in food processor until finely chopped. With motor running, add lemon juice and 3 Tbs. water. Process until smooth.
2. Spread each of 4 bread slices with 1/3 cup pate. Add 1/2 cup arugula, 1 roasted red pepper, and cucumbers to each. Top with remaining bread slices.


Theresa's Double-Tomato Soup (Cooking Light, March 2007)

1 Tbs. butter
1 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
3/4 cup shredded carrot
1 Tbs. minced garlic
1 Tbs. minced shallots
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. salt
10 large basil leaves, divided
3 drain sun-dried tomato halves, packed in oil with herbs (such as California Sun Dry brand)
2 (14.5-oz) cans organic diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (14-oz.) can fat-free less-sodium chicken broth [or veggie broth]

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, garlic, and shallots to pan, and cook 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring frequently. Add sugar, pepper, salt, and 4 basil leaves, and cook 5 minutes. Add sun-dried tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour. Remove from heat. Place half of soup in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining soup. Divide soup evenly among 6 bowls. Garnish each serving with 1 basil leaf.

Deliciously Healthy

Quinoa is one of my favorite new grains. It's packed with protein and adds great texture to any dish. As I was searching 101cookbooks, I found this amazing looking recipe for quinoa mixed with kale, corn, tofu, and then topped with pesto. Coincidentally, I had most of these ingredients. We ended up adding mushrooms and forgetting the tofu, but other than that we kept the recipe pretty much the same. With a meal like this, you know that you truly can get a healthy meal without losing any flavor.

Heather's Quinoa Recipe (Heidi Swanson, www.101cookbooks.com)

a splash of extra-virgin olive oil
a pinch of fine grain sea salt
1 shallot, minced
3 cups cooked quinoa* (or brown rice, or other grain)
1 cup corn, fresh or frozen
1 1/2 cups kale, spinach or other hearty green, finely chopped
2 cups extra-firm nigari tofu, browned in a skillet a bit
1/3 cup pesto
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
1/4 cup roasted cherry tomatoes (or chopped sun-dried tomatoes) [we used sun-dried tomatoes]

1. In a big skillet or pot heat the olive oil and salt over medium-high heat. Stir in the shallot and cook for a minute or two. Stir in the quinoa and corn and cook until hot and sizzling. Stir in the kale and then the tofu, cooking until tofu is heated through. Remove the skillet from heat and stir in the pesto and pumpkin seeds. Mix well so the pesto is spread throughout. Turn everything out onto a platter and top with the cherry tomatoes.

Pizza Pocket (aka Calzone)

Adam loves calzones. So, whenever I want to make a simple meal that I know he'll love, I go right for them. Calzones are great because there is a never-ending list of stuffers. I made the dough with the usual recipe (you can find it in any number of my previous posts), but you could certainly use a pre-made dough, such as the one Trader Joe sells. This time the dough was half whole wheat to make them a little healthier. I filled the lucious pockets with slightly steamed broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese. After folding them over and tightly sealing them, I topped them with cooking spray and a bit of Garlic and Wine seasoning from the Melting Pot. Garlic salt would be a great substitute. I baked them at 450 for 15 minutes until they were golden brown. I served them with tomato sauce for dunking. Next, Adam and I devoured them!

I Love Pasta!

Adam and I have definitely been in the habit of making our own pasta lately. It's just way better than anything you can buy in the store. And, if you have an electric pasta maker, it's a cinch. This time we made half whole wheat pasta and combined it with patty-pan squash, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted garlic, and parsley in an olive oil, butter sauce. Fantastic is all I can!

If you look back at my "Impress the Guests" blog in February, it will have the pasta directions. If you don't have the machines to make the pasta, don't hesitate to use the fresh pasta from the grocery stores.


Patty-pan Squash and Sun-dried Tomato Pasta

1 package or recipe of pasta
10-12 patty-pan squash, quartered
6 sun-dried tomatoes, sliced thinly
1 head garlic, cloves peeled and separated
1/4-1/3 cup parsley, chopped
a few Tbs. olive oil
1-2 Tbs. butter (as much as you feel comfortable using)
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Wrap the cloves of garlic in aluminum foil and drizzle a bit of olive oil over them. Place in a preheated 350 oven for approximately 40 minutes or until golden brown.
2. Prepare pasta to package directions. If you are using fresh pasta, generously salt the water.
3. In a medium sized skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil and squash. Saute the squash until slightly softened and browned. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, butter, roasted garlic, and parsley. Allow the butter to melt completely, then toss the pasta with the mixture. Salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil if the pasta looks too dry. Serve and enjoy!

Radical Rellenos

As usual, we looked through a variety of cookbooks for this upcoming week's meals. Adam found a fantastic looking recipe for empanadas, so we went in search for a main dish to go with these appetizers. We came upon an awesome chile rellenos recipe that we just had to try. It ended up that we didn't make the empanadas, but look for them next week when we will make them for (hopefully) some sort of gathering. We paired the rellenos with some Mexican brown rice and a fresh salad of greens and tomatoes with a lime vinaigrette. We made the rice by preparing it in a rice cooker with only about 2/3 of the usual water, then adding a can of diced tomatoes with juice, a chopped hot pepper, chili powder, cumin, coriander, and salt. This meal definitely left me satisfied.


Poblanos Rellenos (Vegetarian Planet, Didi Emmons)

I would lean on the side of cooking these peppers for a longer time period. We ate ours after 30 minutes in the oven and they were a bit crunchy. We put the rest back in the oven, and I suspect that the leftovers will have a better texture.

15 sundried or other dried tomato slices
1 1/2 Tbs. canola or corn oil
20 pecans or walnuts, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
kernels from 3 ears corn (about 1 2/3 cups)
1/2 tsp. salt
fresh-ground black pepper to taste
6 oz. soft, mild chevre (goat cheese)
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
8 small poblano pepper (or 4 green bell pepper, or 8 Anaheim peppers)

1. Bring 2 cups water to a boil, and pour the water over the dried tomatoes in a small bowl. Let the tomatoes sit in the hot water for 10 minutes. Then drain the tomatoes, and chop them fine.
2. While the dried tomatoes are soaking, heat 1 Tbs. of the oil in a skillet, and add the pecans or walnuts. Cook them over low heat for 3 minutes, shaking the pan from time to time, until the nuts taste toasted; be careful not to burn them. Add the garlic, chopped dried tomatoes, and corn to the mixture. Cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat, stirring. Remove the pan from the heat, and add the salt and pepper. Crumble the goat cheese into the mixture, and fold in the cottage cheese and Jack or cheddar cheese.
3. Preheat the oven to 350. Stuff the peppers: Remove the stem, core, and seeds of each pepper without puncturing the sides. Stuff the peppers loosely with the filling, distributing it equally among the peppers.
4. Coat a casserole dish with the remaining 1/2 Tbs. of oil, and lay the stuffed peppers in the dish. Add a scant 1/4 cup water, and cover the dish with a lid or foil. Bake the peppers for 30 to 45 minutes (bell peppers take longer than poblanos), until they are tender. Serve the peppers right away.