For years I've been making a great, easy hot choclate mix, using a recipe I found on the internet ~ actually, I've been using a combination of two recipes I found on the internet, with my own adjustments, because I liked elements of both of them, and then I just sort of fgured out how I preferred to make it my own (and, of course, how my family liked it). The recipe included powdered milk, and every time I made it, I told myself I should make some without the powdered milk, so I could just heat up whatever type of nondairy milk substitute I preferred, and have a cup of hot chocolate, too. I never did. That is, I never did, until today.
And so, today, I give you what I think is the perfect homemade dairy-free hot choclate mix. It's rich, chocolately, and delicious. I enjoyed mine mixed with with hot oatmilk and cinnamon vanilla coffee, which, I have to say, was divine. I haven't yet tried it with almond milk, my other go-to dairy substitute, but I have to assume it would be fairly delicious, 'though perhaps a bit less rich and creamy (because oatmilk does have a rich creaminess about it). On the other hand, there is a LOT of chocolate in the recipe, so, it might still be fairly rich.
On Christmas mornings, Kaia likes to make beautiful mugs of hot chocolate for the family (I usually get coffee, instead, but this year, i can have hot chocolate, or a mocha ~ oh, boy!). She tops them with whipped cream (mine gets a dairy-free version) and colourful sprinkles, and tucks in a candy cane, which not only looks cute, but also gives the drink a nice minty-chocolate flavour (can be left out, of course, or subbed for another flavour of candy cane, because they come in all sorts of flavours now).
Well, I guess that's probably mre than enough talk. ou're probably starting to wonder if I will ever actually get to the recipe. Okay. Here it is. It's really simple:
Whisk together in a large bowl:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
stir in:
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels (see note)
or
1 cup chocolate (semisweet or dark) cut in small pieces
Transfer mixture to the bowl of a food processer and pulse 10-15 seconds at a time, until everything is well combined, and chocolate pieces have been broken down into much smaller bits and incorporated into the mix. (You might need to process this in batches, and pause occasionally, so your machine does not heat up and melt the chocolate. It depends on your food processor.) Store in a jar that seals tightly. To serve, heat milk of your choice (dairy, soy, oatmilk, almondmilk, etc.), Stir in desired ammount of powder. Tastes vary, so try it and see what you like. In about 6 oz. of oatmilk + 8oz of coffee, I think I used roughly 2 TBS of mix, but that's just a guess (sorry, I just used a couple of heaping spoonsful, tbh).
NOTE: While many semisweet morsels (or dark chocolates, for that matter) are dairy-free, not all are allergen-free. If you or the friends/family members for whom you are making this recipe have allergies (dairy or other) be sure to purchase chocolate that is free of allergens. If you have allergies, you already know this, I'm sure, but for those who might be making this for friends/family, maybe we can provide some links (you can add yours in comments). I like these: https://enjoylifefoods.com/products/semi-sweet-chocolate-mini-chips-1?variant=20209502879855
Also, I'm sorry I don't have any photos of the actual hot chocolate (or the mix), but I might try to come back and add one soon. I promise, it's good stuff (hence the lack of photo ~ I drank mine before I finished writing this!
Saturday, December 4, 2021
Wednesday, December 2, 2020
Pasta e fagioli ~ the way I do it
Last night, after many Thanksgiving leftovers, and feeling a need for some comfort food, I decided what we all needed was a pot of pasta e fagioli and loaf of garlic herb bread (in the bread machine, so that part was easy). Pasta e fagioli (or, yes, pastafazoo, or pastafazool, as some might say here in the U.S.) is fairly simple, too. the words simply mean "pasta and beans," and that makes it, in my opinion, the ultimate comfort food. It's made in basically the same way, as far as I can tell, with slight variations, but it seems like everyone has opinions about what's right and what's wrong. I won't claim my version is "authentic." Am I Italian? Well, sure. I mean, my mom's a Gambino ~ the family on her father's side came from Fontanarosa, in Campagnia. So, I'm Italian-American (and Irish-American, and English, etc...) This recipe? Eh...I've picked up bits of it here and there. It's probably not exactly the way my mom makes it. It's not exactly like what I've had elsewhere. I've learned some things about how pasta e fagioli is made, and I've taken what I like, and worked out what we like best. This is a variation we like. Read it through, give it a shot, and see what you think.
Pasta e fagioli
Warm soup pot over med-low heat for a couple of minutes.
Add 1-2 TBS. olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan, reduce heat to low, and warm for another minute or two.
Add : 2 stalks celery, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
Cook, stirring often, for just 5-6 minutes. Try not to let the garlic brown.
Add ½ lb cannelini (white kidney beans), well rinsed and sorted. 8 cups water or broth
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes, then turn off and cover for 1 hour*
Turn on heat again, bring to a boil, and add: 1 14-15 oz can diced tomatoes (or you can use fresh tomatoes here, but peel, core & seed them).
Add your herbs ~ I usually add about: ½- 1 tsp total of dried oregano, thyme and/or rosemary (not each, total).
I do this by feel, so the measurement is kind of a guess. You can always add a little more at the end, when you taste it.
Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered, stirring often ~ you might have to reduce heat to low, depending on your stove. You want to cook gently, so your beans don’t break up too much ~ until beans are almost done. If it starts to get too thick at this point, you can add a little more water, but it shouldn’t be too watery at the end (mine was a little bit in the picture here). You want enough water to cook your pasta, but, by the very end, you want it to have thickened up a bit.
When the beans are almost done (this should take 1-1.5 hours), add your pasta. I usually add about: 4-6 big handfuls of small pasta ~ ditalini is traditional, but small seashells or elbows are good, too, and I will often use whatever we have on hand.
Bring back up to a boil, stir, and reduce to a low boil. Cook, stirring often, until pasta is just al dente.
At the very end, stir in as much chopped, fresh escarole (or other dark green ~ chard, kale, or spinach all work well, too) as you like. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Taste, and adjust seasonings.
Serve with Romano or Parmesan (or other good, grated cheese), and crushed red pepper for topping, and good, crusty bread.
*This is the “quick soak method for preparing beans. Alternately, if you are better at planning ahead than I am, you can soak your beans over night in cold water in a pan on your counter (or for at least 5-6 hours during the day, I hear). When you are ready to cook, drain, replace the soaking water w/ fresh water, and proceed as above.
This is often made w/ pancetta diced & cooked w/ the garlic, but, since we are vegetarian, I don’t use it. I don’t remember having it with meat growing up, either. Some people skip the greens ~ and the carrot & celery ~ altogether. I like them. It’s up to you to decide how you like it best. (If mine comes out a bit thin, I like to break up my bread into little bits and stir it in, or, put it in my bowl first, and pour my pasta e fagioli on top ~ problem solved.)
Sunday, September 15, 2019
Gluten-Free Dutch Apple Pie
It's September, the kids (who aren't all "kids" at all) are all in back in school ~ high school and college, now, but school, nonetheless ~ and so, it is staring to feel like Fall...in my mind. But only in my mind. In the rest of SoCal it feels like the inside of an oven. Nevertheless, the stores are hawking Halloween decorations, and pumpkin-spice-flavoured everything, and I am buying it all ~ hook, line and sinker. I mean, not LITERALLY buying it. Just, like, I'm buying it...ya know? At any rate, I was feeling like baking pies, and so I settled on one pumpkin and one apple. It occurred to me that Justice is not eating gluten, but she does love pie, so if I was going to make two pies, I was going to have to make some adjustments. The pumpkin was easy enough, as the only gluten occurred in the crust; but since my favourite apple pie recipe not only has a filling thickened with flour, but is topped with a crumb topping, making it gluten-free was going to be a bit of a challenge. I decided to give it a shot. We all thought it was quite good ~ Shane didn't even know it was gluten-free when he commented on how much he liked it ~ so I thought I would share the recipe.
Gluten-Free Dutch Apple Pie
Ingredients:
1 gluten-free pie crust*
FILLING:
6 large, firm apples, peeled, cored & sliced (see notes)
½ cup granulated sugar
3 TBS cornstarch
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 TBS lemon juice
dash of salt
TOPPING:
½ cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
½ cup Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1to1 Baking Flour
½ cup almond flour (see notes)
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon (optional)
dash of salt
1 TBS granulated sugar
*If you have a recipe you love for gluten-free piecrust, and
you want to make it, that’s fantastic.
Mine have been tragic failures, so I bought a package of two at Whole
foods. They contain butter, which
isn’t my best friend (dairy allergy), but I can tolerate a little bit, and I am
putting it in this pie, anyway, so, what the heck. Everyone else will definitely appreciate a piecrust that is
not a tragic failure. (Also, if
you could share that piecrust recipe, I would be much obliged.)
NOTES:
1) Historically, Granny Smith have been the preferred “baking
apple,” because of their tartness, and texture. However, I have cooked all kinds of apples, and the results
have usually been fine. Arguably,
some apples might be better for cooking than others, but, if I have apples
lying around that are going to be baked, or thrown in the garbage (because we
can’t eat that many in a day, not because they’re rotten or anything), I’ll
probably bake them.
2) I used a mixture of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1to1 Baking Flour and almond flour in my pie, because we all like the flavour of almond meal, we happened to have these ingredients on hand, and no one here is allergic to them. If you are baking for someone with a nut allergy, a simple fix would be to sub gluten-free flour for the almond flour. Alternately, you could try subbing gluten-free oats. I haven’t tried that, and you might have to add a little bit of flour (or more oats, I’m not sure), but I think it should work, and would taste good.
2) I used a mixture of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1to1 Baking Flour and almond flour in my pie, because we all like the flavour of almond meal, we happened to have these ingredients on hand, and no one here is allergic to them. If you are baking for someone with a nut allergy, a simple fix would be to sub gluten-free flour for the almond flour. Alternately, you could try subbing gluten-free oats. I haven’t tried that, and you might have to add a little bit of flour (or more oats, I’m not sure), but I think it should work, and would taste good.
3) On the optional cinnamon in the topping: Some people
prefer to put cinnamon only in the filling, and leave the topping more of plain
sugar crumb. I love cinnamon, so
maybe I overdo it. You do what you
prefer (of course).
4) It is very common for the filling to bubble over the
edges of the pan, so it is highly recommended that you place your pie on a
cookie sheet for baking, in order to catch the dripping sugar. This will save you a lot of trouble
later, when it’s time to clean.
~ lastly, I will drop a note here that, if you cannot use
cornstarch, your could sub any gluten-free thickener that works similarly, as
the cornstarch was originally a sub for flour. I’ve heard rice flour might work in instances like this
(?). If others have
suggestions/experience with recipes like this, I’d love to hear from you.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F.
If piecrust is frozen, remove it from freezer, and allow to
thaw while you work.
In a large bowl, lightly toss apple slices, sugar,
cornstarch, cinnamon, lemon juice & salt, until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed ~ the slices should be evenly coated with sugary-cinnamony
goodness. Pour apple mixture
into piecrust, pouring any extra “syrup” from the bottom of the bowl evenly
over the apples.
In a medium bowl, mix flour, almond flour, brown sugar,
cinnamon (if using) and salt. Add
the pieces of cold butter, and cut in using two knives or a pastry cutter ~ or
just mix it all together with very clean fingers ~ until the mixture forms a
nice medium-large crumb. Sprinkle
the crumb mixture over the apples in your piecrust, mounding a little higher
toward the center. Sprinkle the
1TBS granulated sugar evenly over the crumb mixture.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Roasted Rutabaga & Carrots
Today, I tried another new vegetable, courtesy of Imperfect Produce: The rutabaga.
Surprisingly, given that the rutabaga is, apparently, a cross between cabbage and a turnip, and I avoid turnips as 'though they are THE PLAGUE, I rather liked the rutabagas I cooked tonight, so I thought I would share the recipe here. Because I had only two rutabagas, and 5 ~ or, let's be honest, 4 ~ people to feed ~ I cubed and roasted them with some organic rainbow carrots (which are really cool, and will make your dinner beautiful). I got mine at Trader Joe's.
This is a very simple dish, and you could probably make it with any root vegetable. I am sure parsnips, which we also recently discovered, would work well here, and potatoes would have been a nice addition, too. Play around with it, and see what you think.
You will need: 2 rutabagas 6-8 carrots any other root vegetables you want to add salt & pepper to taste
1-2 TBS olive oil 1/2-1 TBS dried parsley flakes (more if using fresh (always better) 1/2-1tsp balsamic or apple cider vinegar
Here's what you do:
Preheat oven to 425℉
Peel and cube your rutabaga. I cut mine about 3/4", I think. Here is one method I find it easy to do a kind of variation of this, in which I slice off the root end first, instead of slicing through it.
Scrub your carrots. I used 3 of the red/purplish ones, 2 yellow and 2 orange carrots. You can peel them if you prefer. I did not. Cut each carrot in to about 3-4 pieces, then cut each of those pieces lengthwise. You can cut them any way you like, really. I just thought they looked nice this way. You want them to be fairly substantial in size, so they don't cook too quickly. Toss all vegetables with the olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt & pepper, then transfer to a shallow baking dish and cover with foil. Cook for 30-40 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Remove from oven, remove foil and let stand for a minute or two, then sprinkle with parsley, drizzle with vinegar, toss lightly and serve immediately. Yum.
Surprisingly, given that the rutabaga is, apparently, a cross between cabbage and a turnip, and I avoid turnips as 'though they are THE PLAGUE, I rather liked the rutabagas I cooked tonight, so I thought I would share the recipe here. Because I had only two rutabagas, and 5 ~ or, let's be honest, 4 ~ people to feed ~ I cubed and roasted them with some organic rainbow carrots (which are really cool, and will make your dinner beautiful). I got mine at Trader Joe's.
This is a very simple dish, and you could probably make it with any root vegetable. I am sure parsnips, which we also recently discovered, would work well here, and potatoes would have been a nice addition, too. Play around with it, and see what you think.
You will need: 2 rutabagas 6-8 carrots any other root vegetables you want to add salt & pepper to taste
1-2 TBS olive oil 1/2-1 TBS dried parsley flakes (more if using fresh (always better) 1/2-1tsp balsamic or apple cider vinegar
Here's what you do:
Preheat oven to 425℉
Peel and cube your rutabaga. I cut mine about 3/4", I think. Here is one method I find it easy to do a kind of variation of this, in which I slice off the root end first, instead of slicing through it.
Scrub your carrots. I used 3 of the red/purplish ones, 2 yellow and 2 orange carrots. You can peel them if you prefer. I did not. Cut each carrot in to about 3-4 pieces, then cut each of those pieces lengthwise. You can cut them any way you like, really. I just thought they looked nice this way. You want them to be fairly substantial in size, so they don't cook too quickly. Toss all vegetables with the olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt & pepper, then transfer to a shallow baking dish and cover with foil. Cook for 30-40 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Remove from oven, remove foil and let stand for a minute or two, then sprinkle with parsley, drizzle with vinegar, toss lightly and serve immediately. Yum.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Stuffed Mushrooms
Today, Kaia had her physical, with our very favourite pediatrician ever. So happy to have health insurance again. She did need to have a blood test, which was not fun, so we stopped for a treat on the way home, and then I made sure to make something she would especially enjoy for dinner: baked ziti, made the way my mom taught me ~ Nana's is STILL the best, but mine's really good :)
Well, that was great for the kids, but it is really full of cheese (to which I am allergic), and it is definitely not a low-fat, low-carb, healthy option for Shane, who is sort of watching what he eats these days; so I decided to make something to go along with that would take the emphasis off the pasta for him, and actually provide me something I could eat for dinner. First, I decided to add salad to the menu. We happened to have a bag of salad greens and a container "Healthy 8" from Trader Joe's (it's basically a chopped salad), so that was simple enough. I wanted something a little more exciting than salad, however, and I didn't have a lot of stuff to make a really great, interesting salad, so I decided to add one more dish to the menu. I had picked up some small portobello mushrooms last time I was at the grocery store, with intentions of stuffing them. Tonight seemed like as good a time as any.
Now, I have made variations of stuffed mushrooms before, and most of them have contained eggs, cheese and/or sausage. They're really good, but I can't have cheese, and I wanted to avoid soy, since I just had a veggie burger yesterday, so I decided to try something a little different. I figured, if I was going to leave out the cheese, I might as well try to make them vegan. The recipe I use for sliders, which is a favourite around here, relies on walnuts for it's hearty, "meaty" texture, and I thought they might work here, too. I decided to give it a shot, and I am so glad I did. They are positively delicious, so I thought I would write down the recipe while I am thinking about it, so I don;t forget.
Stuffed Mushrooms
1 TBS olive oil
6 small portobello mushrooms
1/3 cup walnut pieces, finely chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
1-2 TBS parsley
1/2 tsp oregano
2 TBS white wine
salt & pepper to taste
1/4-1/3 cup panko, or other dry breadcrumbs
about 1/2 cup water
Clean mushrooms and remove stems. Place 5 caps top side down in a baking dish. Dice stems and 1 remaining cap. In a medium-sized skillet, heat olive oil over low-medium heat. Add mushrooms, garlic and finely chopped walnuts (use food processor if you don't want any larger chunks). Sauté for a few moments, until mushrooms begin to soften. Add parsley, oregano and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Continue to cook, tossing gently to evenly cook. Stir in white wine, reduce heat and cook until wine evaporates. Add about 1/4 cup water, and continue cooking until water evaporates. Remove from heat, and gently stir in breadcrumbs. The mixture should sort of hold together and be moist, but not soupy. (If it is too wet, cook longer, or add a few more breadcrumbs. If it is too dry, add a little more water.) Taste, and adjust seasonings. Carefully spoon mixture into mushroom caps, pressing the mixture firmly in to the caps. They should be slightly overfull. pour about 1/4 cup of water in to the bottom of the baking dish, cover the dish with foil and bake for 30-40 minutes in a 350ºF oven. If desired, remove foil and increase heat to 425ºF for the last 5-10 minutes of cooking, to lightly brown the tops of the mushrooms. Let stand 2 minutes before serving.
These were delicious. I will definitely make them again. I think they could easily be made using smaller mushrooms to serve as a nice appetizer or party fare. I thought they were simple and delicious, but you might play around with the seasonings a bit to see what suits your taste. I think they would be great with the addition of a little finely diced scallion or onion, and served with brown gravy. Thyme might be a nice touch, too, but I didn't happen to have any this evening.
Unfortunately, I was so excited about eating them that I forgot to take a picture of them when they came out of the oven, but I did take this picture, right before they went in:
Well, that was great for the kids, but it is really full of cheese (to which I am allergic), and it is definitely not a low-fat, low-carb, healthy option for Shane, who is sort of watching what he eats these days; so I decided to make something to go along with that would take the emphasis off the pasta for him, and actually provide me something I could eat for dinner. First, I decided to add salad to the menu. We happened to have a bag of salad greens and a container "Healthy 8" from Trader Joe's (it's basically a chopped salad), so that was simple enough. I wanted something a little more exciting than salad, however, and I didn't have a lot of stuff to make a really great, interesting salad, so I decided to add one more dish to the menu. I had picked up some small portobello mushrooms last time I was at the grocery store, with intentions of stuffing them. Tonight seemed like as good a time as any.
Now, I have made variations of stuffed mushrooms before, and most of them have contained eggs, cheese and/or sausage. They're really good, but I can't have cheese, and I wanted to avoid soy, since I just had a veggie burger yesterday, so I decided to try something a little different. I figured, if I was going to leave out the cheese, I might as well try to make them vegan. The recipe I use for sliders, which is a favourite around here, relies on walnuts for it's hearty, "meaty" texture, and I thought they might work here, too. I decided to give it a shot, and I am so glad I did. They are positively delicious, so I thought I would write down the recipe while I am thinking about it, so I don;t forget.
Stuffed Mushrooms
1 TBS olive oil
6 small portobello mushrooms
1/3 cup walnut pieces, finely chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
1-2 TBS parsley
1/2 tsp oregano
2 TBS white wine
salt & pepper to taste
1/4-1/3 cup panko, or other dry breadcrumbs
about 1/2 cup water
Clean mushrooms and remove stems. Place 5 caps top side down in a baking dish. Dice stems and 1 remaining cap. In a medium-sized skillet, heat olive oil over low-medium heat. Add mushrooms, garlic and finely chopped walnuts (use food processor if you don't want any larger chunks). Sauté for a few moments, until mushrooms begin to soften. Add parsley, oregano and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Continue to cook, tossing gently to evenly cook. Stir in white wine, reduce heat and cook until wine evaporates. Add about 1/4 cup water, and continue cooking until water evaporates. Remove from heat, and gently stir in breadcrumbs. The mixture should sort of hold together and be moist, but not soupy. (If it is too wet, cook longer, or add a few more breadcrumbs. If it is too dry, add a little more water.) Taste, and adjust seasonings. Carefully spoon mixture into mushroom caps, pressing the mixture firmly in to the caps. They should be slightly overfull. pour about 1/4 cup of water in to the bottom of the baking dish, cover the dish with foil and bake for 30-40 minutes in a 350ºF oven. If desired, remove foil and increase heat to 425ºF for the last 5-10 minutes of cooking, to lightly brown the tops of the mushrooms. Let stand 2 minutes before serving.
These were delicious. I will definitely make them again. I think they could easily be made using smaller mushrooms to serve as a nice appetizer or party fare. I thought they were simple and delicious, but you might play around with the seasonings a bit to see what suits your taste. I think they would be great with the addition of a little finely diced scallion or onion, and served with brown gravy. Thyme might be a nice touch, too, but I didn't happen to have any this evening.
Unfortunately, I was so excited about eating them that I forgot to take a picture of them when they came out of the oven, but I did take this picture, right before they went in:
I hope, if you give these a shot, you enjoy them as much as we did.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Vegetable Skillet
I am sure I published something like this long ago, but tonight I had one of my very favourite dishes in the whole wide world, and I happened to comment, while eating it, that I could eat some variation of this every single day and be happy. It's true. The trick here is that there are infinite variations on this dish, so it would never have to be the same. I would never ever get bored. Really.
So, what is this wonderful dish?
I have no idea. Seriously, no clue what to call this, because it is not really one thing, so much as just an idea, a way of cooking. I have decided to call it a "Vegetable Skillet," because it is made of vegetables, and cooked in a skillet. To work this out perfectly, in my opinion, you will need a large cast iron skillet. If you don't have one, another type of skillet (or maybe a wok) should work, but I highly recommend cast iron. I like the way it heats up, and it brown the veggies nicely.
Here's what you do:
First, assemble your vegetables.
It's a good idea to chop everything into roughly the same size chunks, then group them according to how dense they are (or how quickly they will cook).
So, what do you put in this thing? That's up to you. I know, I know, it's not really a recipe! But I will give you an example or two to get you started.
Tonight, I used: 1 large green pepper, 4 carrots (one orange, one yellow and two purple, believe it or not), 2 zucchini, about 1 1/2 cups of broccoli florets, 1/2 head cauliflower, 3 cloves of garlic and 1 can of chick peas.
One of my favourites has: onions, red peppers, garlic, potatoes, broccoli, corn and canned black beans.
Another great combo is: onions, garlic, peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes and white beans.
Or how about: cabbage, potatoes, carrots, peas & scallions?
Don't limit yourself. Include lots of yummy veggies ~ halved brussels sprouts, asparagus, lima beans, artichoke hearts, sweet potatoes, squash, celery, green beans...the possibilities are endless.
Here's what you do with all this good stuff:
Heat your skillet over medium heat.
Add 1-2 TBS olive oil, coconut oil, or whatever other oil you prefer.
Now, start adding your veggies. If I am using onions, peppers and/or mushrooms, I like to start them first (sprinkled with just a tiny bit of salt), so they get nice and brown, and the onions caramelize. After that (or, in lieu of that, as the case may be), I add the veggies that take the longest to cook first, cook and stir/toss for a few minutes, then add the ones that take a little less time, etc, until I get to the ones that take very little time to cook (like canned beans, that just need to heat, really).
As you add veggies, you'll want to add in some seasonings. You can tailor the seasonings to suit your taste, whim, or the other ingredients you are using. If you are using stuff like onions, garlic & peppers, you might just need a little salt and pepper. Sometimes I add classic Italian seasonings, like basil, oregano, crushed red pepper, thyme and parsley. Another great combo is cumin, smoked paprika, chili powder and cilantro. Steak seasoning is a nice quick flavourful choice, as is curry powder, or, another favourite Old Bay Seasoning. (Tonight, I used freshly ground mixed peppercorns, a touch of seasoning salt, Old Bay Seasoning, dill weed and a touch of mustard.)
So, you just keep cooking and stirring until the vegetables are all evenly seasoned, and then, if you want them to brown a bit, turn up the heat and let them cook without stirring for a few minutes. then, gently stir (or toss, or use a cake turner, whatever works, and let the veggies brown a little bit more. Just keep doing this until it is the way your like it. If adding canned beans, I toss them in for just the last couple of minutes. If adding nuts or seeds, I just toss them in after I turn off the skillet.
When it is cooked to your liking, turn off the skillet, remove from heat, and serve.
To make this simple meal complete, I usually include beans and/or nuts (or sometimes I toss in cooked vegetarian sausage, chicken strips, beef strips or something like that), and serve with rice, bread, quinoa or pasta.
So, that's my favourite food. And, see, I could eat it every single day, and it would never have to be the same. Sorry I don't have a picture this time; I was too busy eating. In fact, I might be going back for seconds.
So, what is this wonderful dish?
I have no idea. Seriously, no clue what to call this, because it is not really one thing, so much as just an idea, a way of cooking. I have decided to call it a "Vegetable Skillet," because it is made of vegetables, and cooked in a skillet. To work this out perfectly, in my opinion, you will need a large cast iron skillet. If you don't have one, another type of skillet (or maybe a wok) should work, but I highly recommend cast iron. I like the way it heats up, and it brown the veggies nicely.
Here's what you do:
First, assemble your vegetables.
It's a good idea to chop everything into roughly the same size chunks, then group them according to how dense they are (or how quickly they will cook).
So, what do you put in this thing? That's up to you. I know, I know, it's not really a recipe! But I will give you an example or two to get you started.
Tonight, I used: 1 large green pepper, 4 carrots (one orange, one yellow and two purple, believe it or not), 2 zucchini, about 1 1/2 cups of broccoli florets, 1/2 head cauliflower, 3 cloves of garlic and 1 can of chick peas.
One of my favourites has: onions, red peppers, garlic, potatoes, broccoli, corn and canned black beans.
Another great combo is: onions, garlic, peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes and white beans.
Or how about: cabbage, potatoes, carrots, peas & scallions?
Don't limit yourself. Include lots of yummy veggies ~ halved brussels sprouts, asparagus, lima beans, artichoke hearts, sweet potatoes, squash, celery, green beans...the possibilities are endless.
Here's what you do with all this good stuff:
Heat your skillet over medium heat.
Add 1-2 TBS olive oil, coconut oil, or whatever other oil you prefer.
Now, start adding your veggies. If I am using onions, peppers and/or mushrooms, I like to start them first (sprinkled with just a tiny bit of salt), so they get nice and brown, and the onions caramelize. After that (or, in lieu of that, as the case may be), I add the veggies that take the longest to cook first, cook and stir/toss for a few minutes, then add the ones that take a little less time, etc, until I get to the ones that take very little time to cook (like canned beans, that just need to heat, really).
As you add veggies, you'll want to add in some seasonings. You can tailor the seasonings to suit your taste, whim, or the other ingredients you are using. If you are using stuff like onions, garlic & peppers, you might just need a little salt and pepper. Sometimes I add classic Italian seasonings, like basil, oregano, crushed red pepper, thyme and parsley. Another great combo is cumin, smoked paprika, chili powder and cilantro. Steak seasoning is a nice quick flavourful choice, as is curry powder, or, another favourite Old Bay Seasoning. (Tonight, I used freshly ground mixed peppercorns, a touch of seasoning salt, Old Bay Seasoning, dill weed and a touch of mustard.)
So, you just keep cooking and stirring until the vegetables are all evenly seasoned, and then, if you want them to brown a bit, turn up the heat and let them cook without stirring for a few minutes. then, gently stir (or toss, or use a cake turner, whatever works, and let the veggies brown a little bit more. Just keep doing this until it is the way your like it. If adding canned beans, I toss them in for just the last couple of minutes. If adding nuts or seeds, I just toss them in after I turn off the skillet.
When it is cooked to your liking, turn off the skillet, remove from heat, and serve.
To make this simple meal complete, I usually include beans and/or nuts (or sometimes I toss in cooked vegetarian sausage, chicken strips, beef strips or something like that), and serve with rice, bread, quinoa or pasta.
So, that's my favourite food. And, see, I could eat it every single day, and it would never have to be the same. Sorry I don't have a picture this time; I was too busy eating. In fact, I might be going back for seconds.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Simple Jelly from Bottled Juice
I keep forgetting to share recipes here, then link to them on The Low Life!
So, I failed on that one. Instead, this one time, I will redirect you to our family blog, The Low Life, for a truly simple apple jelly recipe that is just divine.
This evening, I am making some beer bread (one loaf for us, and one for our friends, and I plan to enjoy mine with a big glob of apple jelly. I might even make some honey butter, too, but I am still too in love with jelly to eat anything else.
Yum, yum!
Jammin ~ by Sam, at The Low Life
So, I failed on that one. Instead, this one time, I will redirect you to our family blog, The Low Life, for a truly simple apple jelly recipe that is just divine.
This evening, I am making some beer bread (one loaf for us, and one for our friends, and I plan to enjoy mine with a big glob of apple jelly. I might even make some honey butter, too, but I am still too in love with jelly to eat anything else.
Yum, yum!
Jammin ~ by Sam, at The Low Life
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
New Year's Blackeyed Peas
Nationwide, many, many people observe the tradition of eating blackeyed peas and greens on New Year's Day. This practice, rooted in the South is said to bring good luck in the coming year. The peas, which are not peas at all, but, rather beans related to the cowpea, can be prepared in a variety of ways ~ from Hoppin' John and Texas caviar to more modern salads. Often, they are served with greens and cornbread to round out the meal. The peas are said to represent coins, the greens, bills, and the cornbread, gold. Some people say that each bean consumed ensures one day of good luck in the new year. According to that logic, to ensure good luck every single day, one should eat 365 blackeyed peas on New Year's Day. Ha. Well, I can't manage that, but I'll take all the luck I can get. Besides which, I like blackeyed peas. They're yummy.
I have to admit, they are especially yummy when cooked with bacon, and, try as I might, I have never managed to make them taste quite as delicious without all that fatty, flavourful meat. Of course, I don't want to eat that, so I have just muddled through with my "eh...okay" blackeyed peas. This year, however, I decided to step it up. I really wanted to get it right, and, this year, I think I finally did. Shane and the kids agree. Since it turned out so well, I decided to jot down what I did, so I will remember how to do it again. and, I figured, as long as I am writing it down, I might as well post it here. So, here goes.
You will need:
1/2 lb dry blackeyed peas
water
1-2 TBS safflower oil
4 strips vegetarian bacon, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBS dried parsley
salt, pepper & crushed red pepper to taste
1/2 TBS. red wine vinegar
2 cups greens*, cleaned & sliced into thin ribbons
Onions powder, or a couple of thinly sliced green onions
1 cup vegetable broth (I used chicken-style)
Rinse and sort 1/2 lb. dry blackeyed peas and place them in a medium sized pot. Add cold water to about 2 inches above the top of the peas. Bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes, then turn off and let stand for 1 hour. Drain, return peas to pot and add cold water again to about 2-3 inches above peas. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally for about 1/2 hour, or until tender, but not mushy. Drain peas and set aside.
In the same pot in which you cooked your beans, heat oil (use the higher amount if you like the mouthfeel that you get with bacon, less if you want to watch your fat intake) over low-medium heat heat. Add bacon and cook until it starts to crisp up. Reduce heat to low. Add garlic, parsley, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, until the garlic is soft, but not browned. Be careful to keep the heat low and stir constantly, to prevent browning, which will make the dish bitter. Add red wine vinegar, and cook until the liquid evaporates.
Return peas to pot. Top with greens, then sprinkle with onion powder or green onions. Pour broth overall. Cover and cook over low-medium heat until greens and peas are done and most liquid is gone. Stir very gently, to avoid breaking up the peas. Taste, and adjust seasonings.
That's it. It was so good. What I especially love about this dish is that it looks as good as it tastes.
* The greens I used were from our garden, a variety or early-harvest broccoli that claims to combine qualities of broccoli and turnip greens, as I recall. I wish I could remember the name of the plant. It has grown quite vigorously, but produces far more leaves that florets. Good thing we can eat them all :)
I have to admit, they are especially yummy when cooked with bacon, and, try as I might, I have never managed to make them taste quite as delicious without all that fatty, flavourful meat. Of course, I don't want to eat that, so I have just muddled through with my "eh...okay" blackeyed peas. This year, however, I decided to step it up. I really wanted to get it right, and, this year, I think I finally did. Shane and the kids agree. Since it turned out so well, I decided to jot down what I did, so I will remember how to do it again. and, I figured, as long as I am writing it down, I might as well post it here. So, here goes.
You will need:
1/2 lb dry blackeyed peas
water
1-2 TBS safflower oil
4 strips vegetarian bacon, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBS dried parsley
salt, pepper & crushed red pepper to taste
1/2 TBS. red wine vinegar
2 cups greens*, cleaned & sliced into thin ribbons
Onions powder, or a couple of thinly sliced green onions
1 cup vegetable broth (I used chicken-style)
Rinse and sort 1/2 lb. dry blackeyed peas and place them in a medium sized pot. Add cold water to about 2 inches above the top of the peas. Bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes, then turn off and let stand for 1 hour. Drain, return peas to pot and add cold water again to about 2-3 inches above peas. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally for about 1/2 hour, or until tender, but not mushy. Drain peas and set aside.
In the same pot in which you cooked your beans, heat oil (use the higher amount if you like the mouthfeel that you get with bacon, less if you want to watch your fat intake) over low-medium heat heat. Add bacon and cook until it starts to crisp up. Reduce heat to low. Add garlic, parsley, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, until the garlic is soft, but not browned. Be careful to keep the heat low and stir constantly, to prevent browning, which will make the dish bitter. Add red wine vinegar, and cook until the liquid evaporates.
Return peas to pot. Top with greens, then sprinkle with onion powder or green onions. Pour broth overall. Cover and cook over low-medium heat until greens and peas are done and most liquid is gone. Stir very gently, to avoid breaking up the peas. Taste, and adjust seasonings.
* The greens I used were from our garden, a variety or early-harvest broccoli that claims to combine qualities of broccoli and turnip greens, as I recall. I wish I could remember the name of the plant. It has grown quite vigorously, but produces far more leaves that florets. Good thing we can eat them all :)
Friday, September 6, 2013
Super Soft Wheat Bread
Since I got my bread machine, I have been on a quest for the perfect bread. I LOVE the wheat bread I posted here before, but the kids have been wanting some bread that is softer, fluffier, more like the packaged bread from the store to which they had become accustomed. Don't get me wrong, they like the other bread, but, for sandwiches, they wanted a bread that was lighter in texture. I can understand why. That other bread is delicious, but it is dense, moist, rich ~ almost a meal on its own. That's why it makes great breakfast toast.
Well, not long ago, I found a recipe for a soft white bread made in the bread machine. You can find it here: Extremely Soft White Bread It is a wonderfully simple recipe, and yields a delightful result. I have made two loaves, and both have been gobbled up "like candy," as one of my daughters said. I was pleased with the result, but I really prefer wheat bread. As a parent, I would rather give my kids wheat bread. It just seems more like real, healthy food. I also happen to prefer the flavour and texture of wheat bread. So, I decided to tweak this recipe just a tiny bit, to see if I could make a soft wheat bread that would satisfy the kids and me. I decided to use half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose flour, and I decided to sub honey for the sugar in the original recipe, because I like a good honey wheat bread best of all.
Here's what I came up with:
1 cup hot water
2 teaspoons yeast
3 generous tablespoons honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Place hot water, yeast and honey in bread machine. Close the lid, and let stand for 12 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, set your bread machine to the white bread setting (I used the light crust setting) and press start. That's it. Your work here is done. Come back later to remove the finished loaf, slice, make sandwiches, amaze your friends and family with your soft, fluffy homemade wheat bread.
As you can see, I really didn't make many changes. Kudos to the originator of the recipe. It is really a great one.
While my bread machine was doing its thing, I made a batch of raspberry jam to go with our lovely wheat bread. Please refer to your canning book (I use Ball's Blue Book) for complete instructions. I'm just goign to give a quick rundown. I put 9 cups of crushed raspberries and 6 cups of organic sugar into a saucepot, and heated slowly until the sugar dissolved. Then, I cooked it quickly to the gelling point (this took a few tries, but I eventually got it there), stirring to prevent sticking. I ladled the hot jam into clean, hot jars, leaving 1/4" headspace, wiped the rims, screwed the two-piece lids in place, lifted the jars carefully into my prepared water-bath canner and processed for 15 minutes. Again, if you are going to do any canning, please refer to a reliable resource. The only reason I brought it up here is that I wanted everyone to see just how relatively simple it is to make and can your own jam. I'd say it's easy as pie, but I think it's even easier.
Well, not long ago, I found a recipe for a soft white bread made in the bread machine. You can find it here: Extremely Soft White Bread It is a wonderfully simple recipe, and yields a delightful result. I have made two loaves, and both have been gobbled up "like candy," as one of my daughters said. I was pleased with the result, but I really prefer wheat bread. As a parent, I would rather give my kids wheat bread. It just seems more like real, healthy food. I also happen to prefer the flavour and texture of wheat bread. So, I decided to tweak this recipe just a tiny bit, to see if I could make a soft wheat bread that would satisfy the kids and me. I decided to use half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose flour, and I decided to sub honey for the sugar in the original recipe, because I like a good honey wheat bread best of all.
Here's what I came up with:
1 cup hot water
2 teaspoons yeast
3 generous tablespoons honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Place hot water, yeast and honey in bread machine. Close the lid, and let stand for 12 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, set your bread machine to the white bread setting (I used the light crust setting) and press start. That's it. Your work here is done. Come back later to remove the finished loaf, slice, make sandwiches, amaze your friends and family with your soft, fluffy homemade wheat bread.
Doesn't that look yummy? It is!
As you can see, I really didn't make many changes. Kudos to the originator of the recipe. It is really a great one.
While my bread machine was doing its thing, I made a batch of raspberry jam to go with our lovely wheat bread. Please refer to your canning book (I use Ball's Blue Book) for complete instructions. I'm just goign to give a quick rundown. I put 9 cups of crushed raspberries and 6 cups of organic sugar into a saucepot, and heated slowly until the sugar dissolved. Then, I cooked it quickly to the gelling point (this took a few tries, but I eventually got it there), stirring to prevent sticking. I ladled the hot jam into clean, hot jars, leaving 1/4" headspace, wiped the rims, screwed the two-piece lids in place, lifted the jars carefully into my prepared water-bath canner and processed for 15 minutes. Again, if you are going to do any canning, please refer to a reliable resource. The only reason I brought it up here is that I wanted everyone to see just how relatively simple it is to make and can your own jam. I'd say it's easy as pie, but I think it's even easier.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Zucchini "Crab" Cakes
Tonight, I made a triple batch of these (using one green zucchini and about 1/3 of a golden zucchini ~ yeah, they're that big). We ended up with one dozen for tonight's dinner, and about 3 dozen to put in the freezer, for a future dinner. For the record: I fried the ones we were eating tonight in hot oil in a cast iron skillet, but the ones I plan to freeze, I baked. I figure, that way, once they are frozen, we can heat them in an oiled skillet when we are ready to serve, and they (hopefully) won't be completely drowning in oil. I will give directions for both cooking methods. I hear you can just bake instead of fry, to save on fat and calories, but, to be perfectly honest, I like my crab cakes fried.
Anyway, in case there is anyone reading who doesn't know this, I grew up in Maryland. Maryland, in case you haven't heard, "is for crabs." (A weird but true travel and tourism slogan I recall from my childhood.) In short, we know crab cakes. Now, I can't eat them. I am allergic to shellfish (idoine, actually, I am now told), besides which, I am vegetarian, so I wouldn't eat them, anyway. Crabs are not vegetables. I know, because I have looked one in the eye. Nevertheless, I do not want anyone reading this to let that fact make them think these "crab cakes" will be anything but delicious. I am not the originator of this idea.
What readers may not know about Maryland, is that it was not only home to crabs, it was home to one of the best zucchini growers and cooks I have ever known. I mean, this guy was famous for his zuchhini. And if he wasn't, he should have been. He was, I am very lucky to say, my godfather, my mom's twin, Jim Gambino. I don't know how my zucchini crab cake recipe compares to Uncle Jim's, but I hope it's maybe half as good. That would make it pretty awesome, I think. I hear tell that people have been served zucchini "crab" cakes without knowing they contained no actual crab, and never been the wiser. I do not know about that, but I know that, a few years ago, when I was home for a visit, I made some at a friend's crab feast, so the kids and I could have some "crab cakes," and they flew off the table. No, they were not enchanted. Harry Potter and his cohorts were nowhere nearby. I just mean to say that people liked them. People who were eating actual crab. So, I think that's a good review. I decided to post these today, in honour of Uncle Jim's (and my mom's) birthday. Happy Birthday, Mom! I hope you have a beautiful day. And Happy Birthday, Uncle Jim. We sure do miss you. But...have you seen my zucchini? They're HUGE!!! I think you'd appreciate them.
Now, I posted a recipe from which I work in the comments in my previous post, but I decided they needed a post of their own. I also decided I should probably try to post exactly what I do, instead of the recipe on which I based what I do. So, here ya go:
Anyway, in case there is anyone reading who doesn't know this, I grew up in Maryland. Maryland, in case you haven't heard, "is for crabs." (A weird but true travel and tourism slogan I recall from my childhood.) In short, we know crab cakes. Now, I can't eat them. I am allergic to shellfish (idoine, actually, I am now told), besides which, I am vegetarian, so I wouldn't eat them, anyway. Crabs are not vegetables. I know, because I have looked one in the eye. Nevertheless, I do not want anyone reading this to let that fact make them think these "crab cakes" will be anything but delicious. I am not the originator of this idea.
What readers may not know about Maryland, is that it was not only home to crabs, it was home to one of the best zucchini growers and cooks I have ever known. I mean, this guy was famous for his zuchhini. And if he wasn't, he should have been. He was, I am very lucky to say, my godfather, my mom's twin, Jim Gambino. I don't know how my zucchini crab cake recipe compares to Uncle Jim's, but I hope it's maybe half as good. That would make it pretty awesome, I think. I hear tell that people have been served zucchini "crab" cakes without knowing they contained no actual crab, and never been the wiser. I do not know about that, but I know that, a few years ago, when I was home for a visit, I made some at a friend's crab feast, so the kids and I could have some "crab cakes," and they flew off the table. No, they were not enchanted. Harry Potter and his cohorts were nowhere nearby. I just mean to say that people liked them. People who were eating actual crab. So, I think that's a good review. I decided to post these today, in honour of Uncle Jim's (and my mom's) birthday. Happy Birthday, Mom! I hope you have a beautiful day. And Happy Birthday, Uncle Jim. We sure do miss you. But...have you seen my zucchini? They're HUGE!!! I think you'd appreciate them.
Now, I posted a recipe from which I work in the comments in my previous post, but I decided they needed a post of their own. I also decided I should probably try to post exactly what I do, instead of the recipe on which I based what I do. So, here ya go:
2 1/2
c. grated zucchini (I do not peel it)
1 egg,
beaten
1 tbsp.
melted butter (I use Earth Balance)
1 tsp.
Old Bay seasoning (or to taste ~ I add a little more)
1/2
tsp. prepared mustard
1 1/2
c. fine dry bread crumbs, seasoned with oregano, thyme, garlic powder, Old Bay seasoning, salt & pepper (sorry, I wish I knew how much of these to tell you to use. You can use Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, if you prefer, but I cannot, unless I can find dairy-free ones)
1 sm.
onion, chopped fine, or about 1 tsp. onion powder
Salt
and pepper to taste
1 tbsp. sweet red pepper, chopped very fine
1 tbsp.
mayonnaise
2 TBS chopped fresh parsley (optional)
Mix all ingredients well. If mixture seems too wet, add a few more breadcrumbs, but it should be a loose mixture (not too dense).
Place more breadcrumbs on a plate, and season as above. If desired, add a little nutritional yeast. Again, if you prefer, use Italian seasoned breadcrumbs.
With damp hands, gather lumps of dough into roughly golf-ball-sized...well...balls. Sorta. Like I said, it's a loose mixture. Gently dredge each ball in the breadcrumbs, then fry* in hot oil for a few minutes on each side, until golden brown and crispy on the outside. Drain on paper towels. Serve as you would crabcakes ~ with tartar sauce or cocktail sauce. You can make crabcake sandwiches with them (they're about the right size to fit on one of those little Hawaiian rolls, or a soft dinner roll).
Part of that seems unclear, so let me walk you through it:
1. Pick up a lump of the mixture and kinda form it into a ball.
2. Dredge the ball in breadcrumbs; flatten slightly.
3. Place on a plate or tray.
4. When you have all of your little patties formed, fry them in batches in hot oil.
5. Drain on a plate or tray lined with paper towels.
6. Eat.
Part of that seems unclear, so let me walk you through it:
1. Pick up a lump of the mixture and kinda form it into a ball.
2. Dredge the ball in breadcrumbs; flatten slightly.
3. Place on a plate or tray.
4. When you have all of your little patties formed, fry them in batches in hot oil.
5. Drain on a plate or tray lined with paper towels.
6. Eat.
* If you prefer to bake them (for whatever reason), form your cakes as above, then place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake in a very hot (500 degrees fahrenheit) oven for 5-7 minutes on each side (until lightly browned).
Now, unfortunately, we gobbled up the fried ones before I managed to take a picture. I say, "unfortunately," not because I regret eating them, but because I think they look more appetizing than the baked ones. I took a picture of the baked ones, so I will post that.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Zucchini "Crab"-Stuffed Zucchini
Yes, I realize the title of this recipe is quite awkward. You can come up with a better name, if you prefer. No matter what you decide to call this, you should eat it. Super yummy, and a nice presentation, too.
As you may have heard, my garden is completely out of control this year. I don't know what I did (just my usual organic vegetable food), but I cannot keep my zucchini plants from prolifically producing the largest zucchini I have ever seen. We have eaten several, traded others for other yummy things (oranges, lemons, and I hear there are some apples coming our way), made one into brownies (yes, brownies), canned 7 quarts of zucchini & tomatoes...and they still just keep coming.
At this time, after using 1 1/2 large zucchini for tonight's dinner, I still have 4 sitting around waiting to be used, and more growing in the garden. Sometimes, if I listen carefully, I think I hear a faint, "Feed me, Seymour!" from the general direction of the garden.
Because we are eating TONS of zucchini, I am looking for new and interesting ways to prepare it. I know we like zucchini "crab cakes" (just replace the crab in your favourite recipe with shredded zucchini ~ yum!), and I plan to make and freeze a bunch of those, but I had one giant zucchini just begging to be stuffed. Usually, I would do an Italian-inspired stuffed zucchini, but, tonight, I wanted to try something different.
After zipping around on the internet, I decided to combine what I knew from making zucchini crab cakes, inspiration from Crab Imperial recipes I had perused, and my previous zucchini-stuffing experience. Here's what I did:
As you may have heard, my garden is completely out of control this year. I don't know what I did (just my usual organic vegetable food), but I cannot keep my zucchini plants from prolifically producing the largest zucchini I have ever seen. We have eaten several, traded others for other yummy things (oranges, lemons, and I hear there are some apples coming our way), made one into brownies (yes, brownies), canned 7 quarts of zucchini & tomatoes...and they still just keep coming.
At this time, after using 1 1/2 large zucchini for tonight's dinner, I still have 4 sitting around waiting to be used, and more growing in the garden. Sometimes, if I listen carefully, I think I hear a faint, "Feed me, Seymour!" from the general direction of the garden.
Because we are eating TONS of zucchini, I am looking for new and interesting ways to prepare it. I know we like zucchini "crab cakes" (just replace the crab in your favourite recipe with shredded zucchini ~ yum!), and I plan to make and freeze a bunch of those, but I had one giant zucchini just begging to be stuffed. Usually, I would do an Italian-inspired stuffed zucchini, but, tonight, I wanted to try something different.
After zipping around on the internet, I decided to combine what I knew from making zucchini crab cakes, inspiration from Crab Imperial recipes I had perused, and my previous zucchini-stuffing experience. Here's what I did:
1 very large zucchini, halved lengthwise, seeds scooped out and discarded
Old Bay Seasoning
Smoked paprika
2 cups shredded zucchini, firmly packed
1/2 c. mayonnaise (or vegennaise)
1 TBS lemon juice
1 tsp. Bragg's Liquid Aminos
1 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
1/8 tsp. cayennne pepper
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2-1 tsp. wet mustard
1/2 c. panko (or other breadcrumbs)
1-2 TBS melted margarine
2 eggs, beaten (or equivalent egg-replacer)
Heat oven to 400℉. Grease a 9x13" pan with olive oil. Place halved zucchini, cut side up, in prepared pan. Sprinkle lightly with Old Bay Seasoning and smoked paprika.
In a bowl, mix all other ingredients, except eggs. Taste, and adjust seasonings. Gently fold in eggs.
Spoon mixture into prepared zucchini "shells," cover pan with foil and bake for about 30-40 minutes, until shell is looking kind of cooked, and filling is set. Remove foil and bake for 10 minutes more, or until lightly golden brown.
Let stand at least 5 minutes before serving.
And here's how beautifully it turned out:
For the record, it tastes even better than it looks. Oh, my goodness. So, so good. I could eat this all night!
Made some homemade mac & cheese on the side for the cheese-eaters, and some broccoli slaw for the slaw-eaters.
Made some homemade mac & cheese on the side for the cheese-eaters, and some broccoli slaw for the slaw-eaters.
Holy cow. I am still wallowing in zucchini-eating bliss.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Red Beet Eggs
I love beets. I love pickled beets. In fact, I love just about any pickled vegetable. The one non-vegetable thing I can think of that I like, however, are Red Beet Eggs.
"What ARE red beet eggs?" you might be asking yourself right now.
I'll tell you. They are delicious.
Oh, but that's not a very clear answer, is it.
Well, I believe they are a Pennsylvania Dutch recipe (My dad's from McSherrystown, PA, which is near Hanover, PA); and, basically, they are hardboiled eggs that have been soaked in a jar of pickled beets for a few days. Somebody can correct me if I am wrong about their origin. I know my mom's family called the "Pickled Eggs," and my dad's called them "Red Beet Eggs."
Do they sound delicious? Doesn't matter. They are. They are also beautiful, and quite a conversation piece when brought to gatherings not frequented by those who grew up eating them. But, mostly, they are delicious.
Did I mention how delicious they are?
They are also super-easy to make.
Now, if you want, you can cook your own beets, but I am a busy L.A. mom, so I usually don't. Here's what I do.
Empty 2 cans of beets into a large, clean jar.
Add:
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
about 8 whole cloves
3-4 thick slices of onion (or some onion powder)
a good sprinkle of allspice
1-2 bay leaves
salt & pepper, if desired
Mix it up until the sugar dissolves.
Add:
1 dozen hardboiled eggs (peeled and cooled)
Gently mix it, using your spoon to make sure all of the eggs are dunked down in to the liquid.
Cover your jar tightly and put it in the fridge. Leave for at least 48 hours. During that time, you can take out the jar and make sure the eggs are still down under the liquid, so they are getting nice and pickled.
I am not sure how long these keep in the fridge, because Hallie and I tend to eat them up pretty quickly.
I found my latest batch was PERFECT on day 4.
There you have it! Red beet eggs.
Yum!
"What ARE red beet eggs?" you might be asking yourself right now.
I'll tell you. They are delicious.
Oh, but that's not a very clear answer, is it.
Well, I believe they are a Pennsylvania Dutch recipe (My dad's from McSherrystown, PA, which is near Hanover, PA); and, basically, they are hardboiled eggs that have been soaked in a jar of pickled beets for a few days. Somebody can correct me if I am wrong about their origin. I know my mom's family called the "Pickled Eggs," and my dad's called them "Red Beet Eggs."
Do they sound delicious? Doesn't matter. They are. They are also beautiful, and quite a conversation piece when brought to gatherings not frequented by those who grew up eating them. But, mostly, they are delicious.
Did I mention how delicious they are?
They are also super-easy to make.
Now, if you want, you can cook your own beets, but I am a busy L.A. mom, so I usually don't. Here's what I do.
Empty 2 cans of beets into a large, clean jar.
Add:
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
about 8 whole cloves
3-4 thick slices of onion (or some onion powder)
a good sprinkle of allspice
1-2 bay leaves
salt & pepper, if desired
Mix it up until the sugar dissolves.
Add:
1 dozen hardboiled eggs (peeled and cooled)
Gently mix it, using your spoon to make sure all of the eggs are dunked down in to the liquid.
Cover your jar tightly and put it in the fridge. Leave for at least 48 hours. During that time, you can take out the jar and make sure the eggs are still down under the liquid, so they are getting nice and pickled.
I am not sure how long these keep in the fridge, because Hallie and I tend to eat them up pretty quickly.
I found my latest batch was PERFECT on day 4.
There you have it! Red beet eggs.
Yum!
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Way Better Pumpkin Muffins
How are they way better? Um...they have more good-for-you stuff in them. That means they have less bad-for-you stuff in them. Oh, yeah, and they taste WAY. BETTER.
I decided today to venture into the realm of one-armed baking. Kaia has not been eating much, so I wanted to make pumpkin muffins (one of her favourites), so she would, you know, eat. I also wanted to pack in as much nutritional value as possible, since she isn't eating as much as she should.
So, I pulled out my old standby pumpkin muffin recipe, and looked over adjustments I had made in the past. I decided I could do even better. Use organic flours, sub almond meal for more of the flour than I had before, further reduce the sugar, use almond milk instead of water, use organic, unrefined coconut oil and organic applesauce in place of the whopping 1 cup of vegetable oil called for in the original recipe...
Here's what I came up with. (Oh, and BTW, I just took the first batch out of the oven and ate one. They are so tender, sweet, moist and delicious that I had to post this right away.)
I decided today to venture into the realm of one-armed baking. Kaia has not been eating much, so I wanted to make pumpkin muffins (one of her favourites), so she would, you know, eat. I also wanted to pack in as much nutritional value as possible, since she isn't eating as much as she should.
So, I pulled out my old standby pumpkin muffin recipe, and looked over adjustments I had made in the past. I decided I could do even better. Use organic flours, sub almond meal for more of the flour than I had before, further reduce the sugar, use almond milk instead of water, use organic, unrefined coconut oil and organic applesauce in place of the whopping 1 cup of vegetable oil called for in the original recipe...
Here's what I came up with. (Oh, and BTW, I just took the first batch out of the oven and ate one. They are so tender, sweet, moist and delicious that I had to post this right away.)
INGREDIENTS
* 1 (15
ounce) can organic pumpkin puree
* 4 eggs
* 1/2 cup organic, unrefined coconut oil
* 1/2 cup organic, unsweetened applesauce
* 2/3
cup plain almond milk
* 2 cups
organic sugar
* 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
* 1 1/4 cups organic whole wheat flour
* 1 cup organic all-purpose flour
* 1 cup almond meal
* 2
teaspoons baking soda
* 1 1/2
teaspoons salt
* 1
teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1
teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/2
teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/4
teaspoon ground ginger
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat
oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line muffin tin with paper liners, or grease and flour them.
2. In a large
bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, applesauce, almond milk, vanilla and sugar until well
blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, almond meal, baking soda, salt,
cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin
mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
3. Bake for
about 30 minutes in the preheated oven.
Now, eat them. Give them to your loved ones and let them eat them. Just do it. Trust me. (And I don't even usually like muffins.)
BTW: This makes 24 muffins. Just for the heck of it, I went and calculated the nutritional information, just FYI.
BTW: This makes 24 muffins. Just for the heck of it, I went and calculated the nutritional information, just FYI.
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Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Chocolate Chip Cookie Muffins
Apparently, I think everything should taste like chocolate chip cookies. I mean, the world would be a better place, wouldn't it, if more things tasted like chocolate chip cookies?
The thing is, as a mom, I feel sort of obligated to try to make sure that the things my children eat have some nutritional value. So, I can't just feed them chocolate chip cookies all the time. (It's true. I think it's in my contract. What? You didn't get a contract? hmmm....)
Anyway...
Kaia loves to take muffins in her lunchbox. Since Kaia doesn't love to take many things in her lunchbox, I try to vary the muffins, and to make them somewhat nutritious. I like to use whole grain flours and include things like pumpkin, banana, zucchini... Of course, they still have to taste good. I've found I have to be careful not to go so far over the nutritious line that she won't eat it. Because food can't be nutritious if they don't eat it.
Well, I have been sick for weeks. I don't want to waste a lot of time talking about that, but I mention it because it relates directly to my decision to bake muffins today. I've been sick. The kids have been getting a lot of their own meals, because the sight of food has kind of pushed me over the edge most days. Shane has been helping, and they have gotten by all right, on things like veggie burgers and jarred sauce that I prepared when I was well, and an occasional carry-out meal. Everybody has been pitching in to help with the housework, and they have managed to keep the mess somewhat at bay...somewhat. I happened to notice last night that there was a fine layer of dust over most of the furniture, and, while the floors were all swept, they could use a good, thorough mopping. The refrigerator needs to be cleaned. We're almost out of laundry detergent. It's time for Mama to try to reemerge from her sickly cocoon.
Now, I won't say I am feeling better yet. Just...hmmm...well, to be honest, I think I just got tired of sitting around watching the household fall apart around me. So, last night, I prepared some eggs with potatoes, cheese, crumbled veggie bacon and kale in a muffin tin, so Hallie and Justice can heat them and pop them inside English muffins on busy school mornings for a quick breakfast. Then, this morning, I got up, had Shane help me rearrange a little furniture to open up the room, swept, dusted, wiped up and cleared away as much of the mess as I could manage, and started a pot of bean soup, because I think I might be able to keep down a spoonful or two.
Since I made the eggs, I had been thinking that I really ought to make something quick and easy for Kaia to grab, too. She has been doing well getting her own breakfast (usually oatmeal or dry cereal ~ sometimes with a banana, yogurt or milk), so I decided to make some muffins. They'd make a nice afterschool snack today, and then the kids could put them in their lunches, if they wanted.
We had already designated the one can of organic pumpkin we have to be used in the making of tiny pies, and the bananas aren't quite ripe enough, so I decided to try something new. I had been thinking for some time that "Chocolate Chip Cookie" would be a great muffin variety. I looked around on the internet a bit, but none fo the recipes were exactly what I was going for.
I thought, if I just started with a basic muffin recipe, used some brown sugar instead of all regular sugar, replaced some of the flour with almond meal (both for nutrition and for taste), and added chocolate chips, it should taste a lot like chocolate chip cookies.
I decided to fall back on my favourite "Basic Muffins with Milk or Cream" recipe from the Joy of Cooking, and make adjustments. I knew I wanted to sue whole grain flour, in addition to the other adjustments I was making. Then, when I was reading over the recipe (which is a wonderful basic muffin recipe, BTW), I noticed that if offers a variation in which yogurt can be substituted for the milk or cream called for in the original recipe. I wondered if I might be able to use fat free Greek yogurt, thus amping up the nutrition even more than I anticipated.
The muffins mixed up and baked beautifully. The younger girls just got home from school and gave them an enthusiastic thumbs up, and I anxiously await Justice's review. I have to admit, due to the dairy, I have not tried them, but I trust my girls.If anyone wants to figure out how to make these dairy free, that would be awesome. In the meantime, I will make them for the kids.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Muffins
Preheat oven to 400℉ and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners (or grease them)
In a large bowl, whisk together:
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1 TBS baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
In a separate bowl, whisk together:
2 large eggs
1 cup fat-free Greek yogurt
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
4-8 TBS melted butter or vegetable oil
2 tsps. vanilla extract
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients with a few quick strokes. Do not overmix. Batter should not be smooth (and it won't be, with all those chocolate chips, but you know what I mean). Divide batter between muffin cups and bake for 12-15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in 1 or 2 of the muffins comes out clean. Let cool for 2-3 minutes in the pan before removing muffins to a wire rack. Muffins are best right away, but they keep for a few days, and can even be frozen.
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