Lemony Chickpea Goodness

Once again I was looking on 101cookbooks and found a recipe that contained only the ingredients I had on hand. Naturally, it had to be made, especially since it looked so wonderful. And it was! The Lemony Chickpea Stir-Fry recipe is incredibly quick and easy, yet healthy and delicious. I highly recommend making this stir-fry, but feel free to substitute any vegetables for the kale and zucchini. We actually omitted the zucchini and used chard instead of kale (although we had that too). The key to the recipe is the golden crusted chickpeas and lemon combination. As long as that is kept, you can't go wrong. Once again, a fantastic picture can be found on the 101cookbook website.


Lemony Chickpea Stir-Fry (www.101cookbooks.com, Heidi Swanson)

2 tablespoon ghee or extra-virgin olive oil
fine grain sea salt
1 small onion or a couple shallots, sliced
1 cup cooked chickpeas (canned is fine, if you don't want to cook up a pot of dried chickpeas)
8 ounces extra-firm tofu
1 cup of chopped kale
2 small zucchini, chopped
zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the ghee/olive oil In a large skillet over medium-high heat and stir in a big pinch of salt, the onion, and chickpeas. Saute until the chickpeas are deeply golden and crusty. Stir in the tofu and cook just until the tofu is heated through, just a minute or so. Stir in the kale and cook for one minute more. Remove everything from the skillet onto a large plate and set aside. In the same skillet heat the remaining tablespoon of ghee/olive oil, add the zucchini and saute until it starts to take on a bit of color, two or three minutes. Add the chickpea mixture back to the skillet, and remove from heat. Stir in the lemon juice and zest, taste, and season with a bit more salt if needed. Turn out onto a platter and serve family style.

Spicy Slaw

Here's a great way to use red cabbage in a not-so-ordinary slaw. We quartered and grilled the cabbage, then mixed it with a grilled jalapeno and some light mayo. Voila! A spicy, unique slaw that will have everyone asking for more. We made this the other night with grilled chicken/veggie burger and a simple tomato salad. We bought the most fantastic tomatoes at the Farmers' Market on Saturday. They were picked-from-the-garden fresh. We just quartered them and drizzled them with olive oil and salt. Absolutely delicious! The grilled jalapeno and cabbage slaw goes well with any grilled meal--burgers, chicken, tofu, whatever you want.


Grilled Jalapeno and Cabbage Slaw

1/4 head of cabbage, sliced in two
olive oil
1 jalapeno
1/4 cup mayonnaise, or to taste
freshly ground black pepper

1. Spread the a light layer of olive oil onto the cabbage sections. Grill the cabbage and jalapeno over medium heat. When the jalapeno has blackened and the cabbage has grill-marks, chop both into small pieces. Add the mayonnaise and black pepper and stir until well combined.

Fall is in the Air

Adam and I went to the Farmers' Market Saturday and were surrounded by an abundance of fall harvest vegetables. The warming, comforting qualities of autumn's squash and greens make this time of year one of my favorites for food. (Although, I don't like to discriminate.) While I was searching 101cookbooks.com, I found a recipe that would be perfect for my farmers' market stash of butternut squash: Roasted Pumpkin Salad. The squash and onions are roasted to a perfect sweetness; the rice is nutty and adds texture; and the dressing is tart and creamy. It's a wonderfully healthy and complete meal. The only problem is that it's difficult to stop eating! (Sorry, once again, I don't have a picture. I still have to buy batteries. I'll get on it soon! But, you can go to 101cookbooks.com for a gorgeous picture of the salad.)



Roasted Pumpkin Salad (www.101cookbooks.com, Heidi Swanson)

We used brown rice instead of wild rice. I'm sure wild rice would be just as delicious as the brown was.

3 cups of pumpkin (or other winter squash), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
extra-virgin olive oil
fine grain sea salt
12 tiny red onions or shallots, peeled (OR 3 medium red onions peeled and quartered)
2 cups cooked wild rice
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup olive oil
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. honey
2 Tbs. warm water
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Toss the pumpkin in a generous splash of olive oil along with a couple pinches of salt, and turn out onto a baking sheet. At the same time, toss the onions with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and turn out onto a separate baking sheet. Roast both for about 45 minutes, or until squash is brown and caramelized. The same goes for the onions, they should be deeply colored, caramelized, and soft throughout by the time they are done roasting. You'll need to flip both the squash and onion pieces once or twice along the way - so it's not just one side that is browning.
3. In the meantime, make the dressing. With a hand blender or food processor puree the sunflower seeds, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and honey until creamy. You may need to add a few tablespoons of warm water to thin the dressing a bit. Stir in the cilantro, saving just a bit to garnish the final plate later. Taste and adjust seasonings (or flavors) to your liking - I usually need to add a touch more salt with this dressing.
4. In a large bowl, toss the wild rice with a large dollop of the dressing. Add the onions, gently toss just once or twice. Turn the rice and onions out onto a platter and top with the roasted squash (I'll very gently toss with my hands here to disperse the pumpkin a bit). Finish with another drizzle of dressing and any remaining chopped cilantro.

Pepper and Pasta Perfection

The other night we literally only had leeks and red peppers for fresh vegetables in our house--and I had to make dinner! Being the crafty person that I am, I created a masterpiece of a meal that could actually be served to guests. I roasted the red peppers under the broiler, sauteed the leeks with sage and cannellini beans, and put that all over whole wheat pasta. Not bad for a last minute meal with very limited ingredient choices, if I may say so myself. Sorry, I don't have a picture for this one. My camera ran out of batteries, and we didn't have any replacements. I will try to get some more as soon as possible though!


Roasted Red Pepper and Leek Pasta with Cannellini Beans

2 red peppers
1 medium leek, thinly sliced
1 (15-oz.) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 tsp. fresh sage, thinly sliced
3 tsp. milk or cream
1 tsp. flour
1/3 lbs. whole wheat pasta

1. Place the red peppers until the broiler, rotating as each side darkens. Carefully watch this process as the peppers can easily burn too much.
2. Remove the peppers and place them in a plastic bag, tying off the open end. Allow to cool. Then, peel and slice the peppers into strips.
3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add leek; saute until slightly browned. Add red peppers, cannellini beans, and sage. Once the beans have heated through, mix in the milk and flour. Stir flour in thoroughly, ensuring that there are no lumps.
4. Meanwhile, prepare pasta according to package directions.
5. Top the pasta with the red pepper and bean sauce.

Variation on a Theme

I know I have already posted a meal very similar to this before, but this variation on a theme is just so perfect for a night when you don't have a ton of energy yet still want a decent meal. We were also a little short on food supplies, so we had to use what we had. We had purple potatoes that we steamed and then smashed and browned with leeks. We also had eggs, three whole and two whites, which we cooked into an omelet with a diced jalapeno and cheddar cheese, then topped with diced tomatoes. The jalapenos had quite a kick that made the meal spicy hot!


Smashed Purple Potatoes

I've found that steaming potatoes in the microwave is quite efficient, and, according to Cooking Light, healthier than boiling them. Supposedly, the vegetables retain more of their nutrients with the steaming process than by boiling. A faster, healthier method? Sign me up!

1 lbs. purple potatoes (or other type of potato), cubed
olive oil
2 leeks, sliced thinly
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder

1. Steam potatoes in a microwave-safe bowl for 4-7 minutes, or until tender.
2. Drain. Smash with a fork, leaving some pieces of potato in chunks.
3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet (does not have be to non-stick) on medium heat. Add leeks and potatoes. Cook until slightly browned. Mix in cumin and chili powder.
4. Serve with Mole sauce and/or ketchup.


Spicy Hot Eggs

3 eggs, beaten
2 egg whites, beaten
splash of milk
1 jalapeno, sliced (you can seed and rib it if you aren't into spicy)
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
1 tomato, diced

1. Heat olive oil or butter in a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat.
2. Beat eggs, egg whites, and milk together. Then, add egg mixture and jalapenos to skillet. Cook until eggs are no longer runny. Add cheese and finish cooking.
3. Plate the eggs; top with diced tomato.

A Tex-Mex Sensation

Our friend Vijay from Rochester was visiting for a few days, and I wanted to make him something with California flare for dinner. Luckily, I also had an intense craving for avocados. Once before Adam and I had made this Crunchy Avocado Salad recipe, and I decided that it would be the perfect thing to serve. I rounded out the meal by filling quesadillas with grilled jalapenos and cilantro chicken sausage. I made the quesadillas in a non-stick skillet by topping a tortilla with a blend of Mexican cheeses, sliced grilled jalapenos, and sliced grilled cilantro chicken sausage (bought from Trader Joe's). It may not have been the most elegant meal in the world, but it was a fast, non-labor intensive meal to make while guests are waiting, not to mention delicious! (Sorry the picture is so dark, I am having issues with Adobe.)


Crunchy Avocado Salad (Grill It! with Bobby Flay, www.foodnetwork.com)

This salad really couldn't be any easier or more delectable. The only things that I changed around were frozen cilantro cubes for the parsley and white wine vinegar for the champagne vinegar.

2 ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
2 ripe beefsteak tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup pitted nicoise olives, roughly chopped
1 cup canned chickpeas, drained, rinsed and drained again
2 tablespoons roughly torn flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces blue corn tortilla chips

1. Gently toss the avocados, tomatoes, olives, chickpeas, parsley, vinegar, olive oil, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Crumble the chips over the top and serve.

Farmers' Market Perfection

This past Saturday Adam and I went to the Oakland Farmers' Market on Grand and Lakeshore Avenues. I've been inspired by the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle to eat more locally produced foods. Going to the Farmers' Market was the first step. At the market, we found a bunch of beautiful leeks and a sack of potatoes. Instantly, we decided to make Potato Leek Soup--and tonight was the night. To accompany our soup, I strayed from our usual bread recipe to cookbook No Need to Knead's Kalamata Olive Filoncino. Each component of the meal was spectacular, as was the pairing. The meal takes a bit of time to prepare, but it's absolutely worth it.


Kalamata Olive Filoncino (No Need to Knead)

There is no need to have a bread maker to prepare this wonderfully delicious bread. And, best of all, it's pretty easy. I used a combination of all-purpose and whole wheat flour, but you could certainly use your preference of whole wheat and white flours.

1 1/4 cups lukewarm water (85 to 95 F)
2 tsp. active dry yeast
4 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup chopped Kalamata olives (or leave some whole, if you like)
2 Tbs. olive paste (olives pureed in a blender until mostly smooth)
3/4 cup Kalamata olive brine (if there is not enough brine in the bottle add water to the full 3/4 cup measure and add 1/4 tsp. salt)
2 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. kosher or sea salt

1. Measure the water into a large bowl. Sprinkle with yeast over the water and stir to dissolve. Stir in 2 1/4 cups of the flour, salt, olives, and paste, and stire until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining 2 1/4 cups flour and the brine and stir. The dough will be fairly wet, the consistency of a very thick batter. If the dough seems too wet, add an additional 1/4 to 1/2 cup of flour.
2. Same day method (what I used): Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, 30 to 45 minutes. With a scraper or spatula, fold the dough by gently lifting it up from underneath and turning or folding it over on itself three or four times. Let the dough rise a second time in a warm place until doubled in volume, 30 to 45 minutes. Proceed with shaping instructions.
or
Overnight Method: Cover the dough and refrigerate overnight. The dough will rise in the refrigerator and acquire flavor from the slower yeast action. Remove the dough from the refrigerator 2 hours before shaping and let stand, covered, in a warm place. The dough will rise for the second time. Proceed with the shaping instructions.
3. To shape into loaves: Preheat the oven to 500. Spray a three-loaf baguette pan with nonstick spray or rub with olive oil. [I just heated the pizza stone in the oven and baked the bread on that.] With your left hand (or right hand if you are left-handed), hold the bowl and tip it over the opening of a groove and pour the dough along and into the groove by loosening the dough with a spatula. Carefully move along the groove as the dough pours, keeping it as inflated as possible. With the spatula, cut the dough off at the rim of the bowl as it falls into the groove. The dough should form a nice, rounded cylinder that fills the groove and stands about 1/2 inch above the rim of the pan. Fill the other two grooves. Brush the tops of loaves with the olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.
4. To bake loaves: Place the pan in the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 400. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is browned and the loaves sound hollow when tapped. Remove baguettes from the pan and cool on wire racks.


Golden Potato-Leek Soup with Cheddar Toasts (Cooking Light, October 2006)

This recipe calls for topping the soup with broiled cheddar toasts. We left this part of the recipe out to accommodate for the olive bread. I'm sure it would be delicious with the toasts, but the soup is flavorful enough to be eaten on its own. It's so easy and takes so few ingredients yet tastes absolutely amazing. Literally, Adam is commenting on how wonderful it was as I am typing this.

Cheddar Toasts
8 (1/4-inch-thick) slices diagonally cut sourdough French bread baguette
cooking spray
1/2 cup (2-oz.) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp. ground red pepper

Soup:
1 Tbs. butter
3 cups thinly sliced leek (about 3 medium)
6 cups cubed peeled Yukon gold potato (about 2 1/4 lbs.)
2 cups water
1/2 tsp. salt
2 (14-oz.) cans organic vegetable broth (such as Swanson Certified Organic)
2 thyme sprigs

Remaining Ingredients:
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
thyme sprigs (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. To prepare Cheddar toasts, place baguette slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 7 minutes or until toasted. Turn slices over; coat with cooking spray, and sprinkle 1 Tbs. cheese over each slice. Bake 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Sprinkle evenly with red pepper.
3. To prepare soup, melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add leek; cook 10 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally (do not brown).
4. Add potatoes and next 4 ingredients. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes or until potatoes are very tender.
5. Remove pan from heat; discard thyme sprigs. Partially mash potatoes with a potato masher (or beaters, if you don't have one, like us); stir in cream. Sprinkle with black pepper. Serve with Cheddar toasts. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.