recipes i've used

Almond Bars

2012-02-06T14:17:00.001-08:00

(from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/almond-bars/)
This is the weirdest recipe I've made in a while. I thought it would be more like a brownie minus the chocolate flavor/color, but they're cakey and sort of spongy. (My guess is this is due to beating the eggs and sugar, and also due to the two cups of flour; brownie recipes would have less flour for this size pan.) They seem better after a few hours/the next day when they're a little more dense.

Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 9x13 pan (I used flour+grease Pam spray.)

4 eggs
2 cups sugar (I used less, between 1.5 and 1.75 cups, which is plenty)
1 cup butter, melted (I used salted butter)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons almond extract (I used a little more, almost a tablespoon)

Beat the sugar and eggs with mixer. Add in butter, flour, almond extract. Mix well. Spread into pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of pan comes out clean. (I was worried they'd be underbaked at that point, but they were fine. They seemed weird until they cooled and sat for a while.)

sugar cookies

2011-12-26T20:03:00.001-08:00

I've never made a great sugar cookie, but it's been years since I tried. New project: find a recipe and method that works.

Tonight I made the dough for Alton Brown's recipe:

3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk

and I added 2 tsp vanilla.
I creamed the butter by itself first, then added the sugar. I never really get my sugar totally dissolved in my butter so it's not gritty, and this time was no exception. My arm just gets too tired. Someday with a better-sized bowl, or a stand mixer, I'll try that. (Or maybe a food processor. Hmm.) By the time I was done adding all of the flour, the dough was in small clumps and didn't/wouldn't really cohere. I'm not sure if that was because my mixer bowl is gigantic, but I think it's happened before. At any rate - you're supposed to chill the dough for two hours, so I divided it in half, scooped up half and molded it into a lump with my hands (and I think the heat and pressure from my hands helped it cohere quite a bit) and wrapped it in plastic wrap, and then added a little more milk to the second half, mixed it more, and wrapped it up. We'll see which (if any) comes out better. Next time, (if I'm not happy with these results) I'll try a recipe that uses two eggs.

Verdict: I am giving up on making sugar cookies.

Dutch Babies

2011-12-26T13:04:00.000-08:00

I made a Dutch Baby (man, the name is silly) pancake for brunch today using this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/dutch-babies-ii/

I don't have a 10" skilet so I made it in a 9.5" Pyrex pie pan. I used an electric hand mixer instead of a whisk, and I didn't sift the flour because I have no sifter (or even strainer, sigh. This is not a well-equipped kitchen.) I added a splash of vanilla extract and some sugar to the batter.
It came out looking like this:

chicken and sage and onions and stuff

2011-12-19T20:15:00.000-08:00

This was really tasty:

3 frozen chicken tenders, mostly defrosted, sliced into small pieces
marinated in:
juice of half a lemon
soy sauce
ground sage

then,
most of an onion, sliced
one carrot, sliced
maybe 5 mushrooms (which had been frozen, just thrown loosely into a plastic container and left for 3-4 months!), sliced
one small potato, microwaved to pre-cook it, sliced
and the chicken,
sauteed in some oil with some added paprika, with a lid on the pan

I added a bit of water at one point after the natural juices seemed to be drying up.
At the end I added this roux-ish thing I made out of a TBS of butter and some flour, which was a bit...odd, since I don't really know my way around roux.

But damn, the whole thing was super tasty. I think sage is my new favorite herb. And next time I'd like to try it without the roux. I'm curious how much the butter added. I hope it'd be tasty without it.
ETA: I made it again and it was fine without the butter mixture. I added an extra potato, also pre-cooked, which broke apart a bit and added some thickness. It doesn't look glamorous, but it's gooooood.

kale/chickpea soup

2011-12-16T21:06:00.000-08:00

I tried this recipe tonight, slightly modified.

Original said:
You could also switch out the beans for chickpeas and use cumin and smoked paprika and crushed red pepper and I think also get a very nice soup with a different flavor.

Bean Soup with Kale

Olive Oil
8 large garlic cloves, crushed or minced
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
4 cups chopped raw kale
4 cups vegetable broth (I add more if needed)
2 15-oz cans of white beans such as cannellini or navy, undrained
4 plum tomatoes chopped (I used 2 cans of diced tomatoes)
(optional) 1/2 butternut squash, cubed or a couple of sweet potatoes
2 tsps. dried italian herb seasoning (or 1 tsp each dried thyme and rosemary)
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, heat olive oil. Add garlic and onion; saute unitl soft. Add kale and saute, stirring until wilted. Add potatoes or squash and saute, stirring until soft. Add broth, bean and all of tomatoes, herbs and salt and pepper.

Sometimes I put 1/2 can of the beans in a blender with some broth and blend until smooth and I stir that in the soup to thicken or use a hand blender in the pot at the end of cooking.

Simmer on low for a couple of hours.
---
I used canola oil (olive oil isn't good for high heat), slightly more kale, vegetable bouillon instead of broth, a little less than half a (large) butternut squash, only one can of chickpeas, a large onion (plus a little more I had in the fridge added later), a little more than half a 26-oz package of chopped Pomi tomatoes, added a single stalk of celery, and used the red pepper flakes/paprika, and cumin as seasoning.

pasta + vegetables

2011-12-16T16:29:00.000-08:00

I watched a friend make this last night and would like to replicate it some time. It was richer than I'd expect.

chopped onion + garlic
sliced vegetables: bell pepper, broccoli, snow peas, grape tomatoes
pasta
milk
breadcrumbs
cheese

Saute onion and garlic with some Italian seasonings, then add other veggies. Toward the end--some grape tomatoes.
Then, add milk(mixed with buttermilk, this time) (and I think also some vegennaise?)and cook for a bit. Then add "Italian" breadcrumbs. And add some cheese (he used grated Havarti.) Serve over pasta and with some chicken or other meat for protein.

Kale/cheese/quinoa

2011-12-16T16:28:00.001-08:00

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1/2 of a large bunch of kale, shredded into thin ribbons (I include the stems, especially if they're not too tough.)
grated cheese (maybe 3 oz?) I used Havarti but anything would probably be tasty

Put quinoa and water in a pot; bring to a boil. Cover and lower the heat. After 15 minutes, turn off the heat. Dump in the shredded cheese and stir a little bit with a fork. Add the shredded kale and stir a bit too. Put the lid back on and let sit for about 5 more minutes to lightly cook the kale and melt the cheese. Stir again and eat/serve.

Chocolate chip cookies (without a mixer!)

2011-12-16T16:19:00.001-08:00

Recipe modified from http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/i-want-to-marry-you-cookies-recipe/index.html

1 cup butter
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 cup uncooked rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1.5-2 cups chocolate chips

Melt the butter over the stove in a large pot. Turn off the heat. Stir in the sugars until well mixed, then place in fridge for 10 minutes to cool. Meanwhile - combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
Remove mixture from fridge. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Stir in flour mixture and oats, then chocolate chips.

Form into 1" (or slightly less) balls on parchment paper on cookie sheet. Chill in fridge for 30 minutes or more. Preheat oven to 325, bake for 12-14 (or more)
minutes. Remove parchment paper from cookie sheet and let cookies cool.

These are nice and chewy, not too thin...but I think I might omit the cinnamon next time. It's distracting. I can also see using a little bit less sugar and slightly fewer chocolate chips.
--
Next attempt, 1/24: 1 cup packed dark brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar, no cinnamon, 1 1/4 cups of chocolate chips. The amount of chocolate chips was good, but there was something off about the taste and texture. More sugar next time, I suppose.

poppyseed muffins

2011-12-10T18:01:00.000-08:00

1.75 ? cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2.5 tsp baking powder
dash of salt
1+ cups milk
1/2 cup poppyseeds
1/4 cup melted butter
1 egg
good bit of vanilla

Soak poppyseeds in milk. Combine ingredients like you would for other muffin recipes...

These were very poppyseed-y, but tastey. A little bitter in spurts, which might have been bites of poppyseeds that didn't get submerged fully while being soaked -- not sure.

whole wheat muffins

2011-12-08T19:12:00.001-08:00

2 cups white whole wheat flour
3 tsp (1 TBS) baking powder
a few dashes of salt
a few dashes of cinnamon
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed (because my house has an insane glut of brown sugar right now)

1/4 cup melted butter
a little bit of oil (to make fat = 1/3 cup approx.)
2/3 c milk
1 egg
2/3 ? cup chocolate chips

(Standard mix dry + wet, put in chips, greased pan at 400 degrees, yada yada yada.)

These came out pretty well...

cranberry muffins

2011-11-20T11:08:00.000-08:00

Modified from http://www.meatlessmonday.com/fresh-cranberry-muffins/

1 cup white flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/3 cup brown sugar (dark)
a bit less than 1/3 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
cinnamon to taste
1 cup fresh cranberries, chopped
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup (unsalted) butter or stick margarine, melted
1 teaspoon orange rind, grated
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400. Mix flours, sugars, salt, and cinnamon. Mix milk, melted butter, orange rind, vanilla, and egg. Add chopped cranberries to dry ingredients, stir. Grease muffin tin (12-cup). Stir wet ingredients into dry until just combined. Spoon into muffin tins, bake for 18 minutes or until muffins spring back lightly when touched in the center. Remove immediately and cool on wire racks.

VERDICT: The texture was OK, but too tart. They also have a strange almost fake-sugar taste (not that I've really consumed enough fake sugar to know.) Maybe I needed to cut the cranberries into smaller pieces, or use the full 1/3 cup of sugar. Or stir some sugar into the cranberry mixture first. Dunno. Also, let the melted butter cool before stirring it into the milk mixture. I was impatient and mine re-solidified when it hit cold milk.

chocolate chip cookies w/ oat flour

2011-10-13T17:55:00.000-07:00

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/3? cup white sugar

^cream

1 1/4 cups white flour
1 cup oat flour
3/4 tsp (?) baking soda
too much salt (next time: 1/2 tsp? or get a goddamn measuring spoon.)
^mix really well

add 2 eggs and 2ish tsp of vanilla to butter mixture. beat til creamy. stir in flour mixture. add about 3/4 of a package of chocolate chips. Chill, perhaps. Bake at 350 degrees for some amount of time more than 10 minutes, on parchment paper. Perhaps add slightly more flour next time. Or chill longer. Or just stop spazzing out about the quality of homemade baked goods because any cookie is a good cookie.

peach cobbler

2011-09-04T13:56:00.000-07:00

Used these two (very similar) recipes
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/easy-peach-cobbler-10000000257827/
http://southernfood.about.com/od/peachcobblers/r/r70913a.htm

which both do the odd thing where you melt butter in a pan in the oven and then pour a batter directly over it and then dump fruit over it and supposedly the batter/topping magically rises to the top. We'll see. I'm doubtful but I figure nothing with this mix of ingredients could taste bad, so who cares?

Modifications/notes:

Used extra lemon juice (2TBS?) because I like that slight citric acid counterbalance in my fruit
Used (I think) 5 very large peaches, sliced in cubes, which filled up (brimming) a 2-qt pyrex casserole
1/4-1/2 cup of sugar in the peaches - a cup seems like too much
2ish tsp of baking soda (oh shit I just realized it says baking powder...hmm. gah. it's been a long time since I made that mistake.)
used the 1 tsp vanilla
didn't boil anything
didn't peel anything
1/2 cup of sugar in the crust/dough

notes on how it turned out to come.

ETA: brought this to a party and everyone seemed to like it--it had a good amount of sugar. It was more liquidy than would be ideal, probably because I used extra peaches. Next time I won't pour in the extra liquid left sitting at the bottom of the bowl after I made the fruit mixture, and perhaps add some tapioca or cornstarch. The unpeeled peaches were fine. I baked it for 45 minutes (or more) but part of that was because I could see it was so liquidy. Some of the batter did rise to the top, but not all of it. Again, probably because I used extra peaches (or maybe because of the baking soda mixup--which didn't seem noticeable as far as flavor, fortunately.)

Almond Bundt Cake

2011-07-04T23:48:00.001-07:00

Quick and dirty notes:
Used this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Glazed-Almond-Bundt-Cake/Detail.aspx

Put in closer to 3 tsp of almond extract and 1.5 tsp of vanilla extract.
As per usual, used salted butter and omitted the added salt.
The batter didn't seem to have as much volume as I remembered bundt cakes having, but it's been a while and it expanded enough to fill the pan to a decent extent.
Baked for 60 minutes (on a low rack of the oven.) My oven miraculously stayed very close to 350 the entire time! It could have taken a tad less time but definitely not more, and it wasn't burned.

It was good but I feel like it could use more almond flavor somehow, maybe with a little less sweetness.

almond brownies

2011-05-31T15:56:00.000-07:00

Adapted from http://www.carascravings.com/2010/03/pps-best-brownies-ever.html

1 cup butter (salted)
8 oz unsweetened chocolate
~2 cups sugar
2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
scant 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
1.5 cups almond meal

Melt butter and chocolate on stove. Stir in extracts and sugar. Let cool slightly. Add egg and baking powder. Stir well. Stir in almond meal. Spread into greased square (8x8?) pan and bake at 325.

We'll see what happens...

amaranth greens and quinoa

2011-05-25T19:49:00.000-07:00

Today I discovered amaranth leaves at the farmers market! Apparently they're also called "Chinese spinach." They're pretty mild (unlike dandelion greens, which were inedibly bitter no matter how long I cooked them or what I added to them), tastier than spinach (I.M.H.O.), and aesthetically interesting. I found a recipe for pasta with amaranth leaves and kinda changed it a bit. The leaves make reddish juice when you cook them, and it kind of turns the quinoa fuchsia. It's purdy.

*chopped amaranth leaves (3qt bowl filled to the top)
*5 cloves of garlic, pressed
*1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
*~tablespoon canola oil
*cooked quinoa
*grated cheese (I think this was manchego, not sure.)

Cook garlic and red pepper in canola oil for a few minutes over high-ish heat. Add leaves, stir for a bit, cover the pot and turn down the flame to let the leaves soften a bit but not too much. Add a few cups of cooked quinoa, stir, put into a bowl, and stir in the shredded cheese.

(white) whole wheat brownies

2011-05-16T19:30:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try these: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/tasting-is-believing-whole-grain-brownies-recipe

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter
2 cups light brown sugar
several (6?) Trader Joes unsweetened chocolate baking disks, broken into pieces
3/4 cup ~~Dutch-process~~ cocoa
~~1 teaspoon salt~~
1 teaspoon baking powder
~~1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional but recommended~~
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups White Whole Wheat Flour

It promises the shiny top crust, which I'm a big fan of.

Notes:
-omitted salt because I used salted butter
-used 1.5 c light brown sugar + 0.5c white sugar
-threw some trade joes unsweetened baking chocolate disks in with the melting butter because I wanted to use 'em up and because I wasn't sure how potent/fresh my cocoa powder was.
-sprayed the hell out of the pan with baking spray because I'm tired of having to chisel brownies out
-oven stayed at a pretty consistent 350 this time, miracle of miracles
-they rose a good bit, seem to have baked pretty evenly, and the toothpick came out clean after just 25 minutes, so I pulled them out of the oven.
-they're kind of cakey, and came out of the pan very easily - but maybe because of all the baking spray

Next on the roster is almond-meal-based brownies. My housemate brought one home from Whole Foods and it was pretty tasty. If I had a food processor I'd do this: http://www.hanneblank.com/blog/2011/04/22/elemental-chocolate-almond-cake/

placemarker

2011-05-16T19:27:00.000-07:00

I made these a while ago:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Best-Cocoa-Brownies-108346

They were tasty and very rich and fudgy but hard to get out of the pan. I put them in a 9x13 instead of an 8x8.

Spicy Red Lentil and Chickpea Stew

2011-05-02T12:37:00.000-07:00

adapted slightly from http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2009/10/recipe-for-spicy-red-lentil-and.html

1 large onion, finely chopped (I think I used slightly less with no problem)
1 T canola oil
1 T finely grated fresh ginger
1 T finely minced garlic
1 tsp. ground turmeric
3/4 cup celery, finely diced (I used half of this because I didn't have enough around)
1 tsp. Garam Masala
1 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/4 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
6 cups chicken, beef, or vegetable stock (I used 6 c water + bulk vegetarian bouillon powder)
1 1/2 cups red lentils
~2 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 can, rinsed
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained

Heat oil in a heavy, big pot with a tight-fitting lid. Add onions, ginger, garlic, and turmeric and gently saute, stirring often, for about 7 minutes, or until onions are quite soft but not browned. Add diced celery, garam masala, ground cardamom, cayenne pepper, and ground cumin and saute 3-4 minutes more, until celery barely starts to soften.

Add the stock, red lentils, canned tomatoes, and chickpeas and bring mixture to a gentle boil. When it starts to bubble, reduce heat to the barest simmer and cover pan with lid. Let mixture simmer, stirring a few times, until lentils are dissolved enough that mixture has thickened into a chunky stew (about an hour.)

oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

2011-04-20T09:29:00.000-07:00

I made these yesterday - recipe from the Nestle site, although I didn't use their chocolate chips.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) chocolate chips
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (optional)

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat brown sugar, butter and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats, morsels and nuts; mix well. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 10 minutes for chewy cookies or 12 to 13 minutes for crispy cookies. Cool on baking sheets for 1 minute; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Notes:
-I'd use slightly fewer chocolate chips, I think. I always feel like there's a few too many.
-It's sufficiently molasses-y with light brown sugar
-I used salted butter and added a pinch of salt
-I used old-fashioned oats, which was fine, and really I can't imagine using quick-cooking. As it is the oats seem (to me) to melt into the cookies quite a bit.
-they are kinda sweet. I might dial back the sugar a little.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

2011-04-01T09:26:00.000-07:00

I used to make chocolate crinkle cookies when I was in high school, using a modification of a recipe I'd found in a cookbook from the library. I *think* it was Better Homes and Gardens' Cookies, Cookies, Cookies.

The recipe I used is still somewhere in my mom's kitchen, written out in purple pen on a 4x6 index card, but she hasn't had time to look for it. I remember it had 4 eggs, oil rather than butter or shortening, and that it called for squares of unsweetened chocolate, which I replaced with cocoa powder and oil because melting chocolate and then letting it cool to the right temperature for $recipe is a pain.

At any rate, I just googled a bit and there's a recipe floating around on the 'net that's probably the same one, so I'm putting it here for safekeeping 'til I try it out. It's not a hot weather recipe because if it's hot the powdered sugar will dissolve into the dough and you won't get the gorgeous contrast between clean white powdery powdered sugar and the deep brown cracks of chocolate cookie.

1/2 cup vegetable oil
~~4 squares of unsweetened chocolate, melted~~ sub 3 TBS cocoa powder + 1 TBS oil for each, so 12TBS (3/4 c) cocoa & 1/4 c oil
2 cups granulated sugar (some places on the net say 1 3/4)
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

~~1 cup~~ a lot of powdered sugar

In a large bowl, combine eggs, granulated sugar, cocoa, oil, baking powder, salt, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. [I actually do this with a fork instead.] Gradually beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer [or stir with a fork.] Using a wooden spoon [or a fork], stir in any remaining flour. Divide dough in half [or don't...this just makes it easier to keep one half chilled while you're assembling the rest into cookies later.] Cover and chill for 2 to 24 hours or until dough is easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a large cookie sheet; set aside. Set up a bowl with lots of powdered sugar.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls and drop them into the powdered sugar, rolling around to coat. I try to touch them as little as possible (try shaking the bowl) so that the heat from my hands doesn't work the powdered sugar into the dough. Place balls 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheet. You will probably need to put the dough back into the fridge in between assembling each sheet's worth of cookies. The should look like this.

Bake in the preheated oven about 8 minutes or until edges are set and tops are dry. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool. (Cookies will deflate slightly upon cooling.) These are definitely something you're "underbaking," or so it feels.

NOTES:
1) you will probably need to put the dough in the freezer, not just the fridge, for a bit
2) don't assemble the cookies in the kitchen, it'll be too hot. Dining room table is good.
3) parchment paper is awesome for these.

yet another brownie recipe

2011-03-22T13:50:00.000-07:00

I still don't have a hand mixer. Until I do...brownies!

I found the recipe in Bon Appetit (February 2011 issue). They were pretty good, very dense and chocolately, but I kind of messed up in following the recipe exactly.
-------------------

Ingredients

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder (spooned into cup to measure, then leveled)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, chilled
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup walnut pieces

Preparation

Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 325°F. Line 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan with foil, pressing foil firmly against pan sides and leaving 2-inch overhang. Coat foil with nonstick spray. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking until butter stops foaming and browned bits form at bottom of pan, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; immediately add sugar, cocoa, 2 teaspoons water, vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt. Stir to blend. Let cool 5 minutes (mixture will still be hot). Add eggs to hot mixture 1 at a time, beating vigorously to blend after each addition. When mixture looks thick and shiny, add flour and stir until blended. Beat vigorously 60 strokes. Stir in nuts. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
Bake brownies until toothpick inserted into center comes out almost clean (with a few moist crumbs attached), about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. Using foil overhang, lift brownies from pan. Cut into 4 strips. Cut each strip crosswise into 4 brownies. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

aaand a post-mortem:
1. In a sudden fit of laziness, I measured the cocoa powder the wrong way - put the 3/4 c scoop (yes, we have one for that specific amount) into the jar of cocoa and leveled it off and dumped it in, without thinking. I was pretty sure this made it too bitter, so I added more sugar (maybe 1/4 or 1/3 cup.)
2. I used salted butter and did not add any extra salt
3. Melting the butter was weird. I got to the 5-minute mark and there were all sorts of different stages and kinds of foam, but it never *stopped* foaming, and I never saw brown bits on the bottom. Eventually, somewhere around 6-7 minutes, I felt it stick to the bottom a tad, and it started to smell different (maybe like browned butter), so I pulled it off the stove.
4. I didn't do the aluminum foil business; that seems wasteful. I just greased the pan with a mixture of butter and canola oil.
5. My fucked-up oven wasn't quite at 325 when I put them in (it had been, and then it randomly cooled itself off). It was at 325 about 10 minutes later. So I left them in the oven for between 30 and 35 minutes.

2nd post-mortem, 6/19/2011:
1. Browning butter is definitely weird and tricky. I think I let it go too long and noticed brown particles - wasn't sure if it was *burnt* or just browned, so I started over with new butter. Next time: read better instructions for browning butter.
2. I gave in and lined the pan. Definitely easier to get them out of the pan this way.
3. There was that nice flaky crust on part of the tray, not all of it.
4. They're not as thick/high as last time, oddly, especially since last time they seemed pretty solid.
5. Still needed 30-35 minutes and they don't seem dried out, but my oven was on crack again and the temp was inconsistent. Are all ovens so all-over-the-place or do I only notice it now that I have a good thermometer? It is a mystery.
6. Tasty. Oh yes.

Challah - white whole wheat

2011-03-13T19:55:00.000-07:00

This is a significantly modified version of this recipe: http://www.leahcookskosher.com/show_recipe.php?id_recipe=90 which probably came from Spice and Spirit.

2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp + a pinch salt
1/3 cup oil
1 1/6 cup warm water
1 TBS yeast
White whole wheat flour as needed (~4-5 cups)

Combine eggs, sugar, and oil in large bowl. Combine salt with flour in separate bowl. (This is probably unnecessary...hmm.) Proof yeast in warm water with a pinch of sugar for a few minutes. Dump yeast mixture into egg mixture, stir to combine. Add flour slowly, stirring and then kneading until it's...dough. Knead until it's...the consistency that kneaded bread dough should have. (Hey, these are my notes for myself!) Place in oiled bowl. Turn dough over to coat top with oil. Cover with damp cloth, put it in a warm spot, let rise for ~1 hr or til doubled. Punch down the dough well, shape into some shape(s) that make(s) you happy, let rise again. Bake at 350 degrees, on a greased cookie sheet. My two loaves baked for somewhere between 20 and 25 minutes.

Spiced Lentils

2011-02-21T02:15:00.000-08:00

This is from the original (not new) edition of The Enchanted Broccoli Forest. (The new edition has a lower-fat version called Spiced Lentils with Spinach and Apples, which omits the coconut.) I haven't made it in ages because I didn't have the recipe around, but I finally found it after figuring out I needed to google "spiced lentils" rather than "lentil curry." I'm pretty sure I usually increase the amounts of spices, and I've always used sweetened coconut 'cause that's what's been available. It's good with yogurt raita, served over brown rice.

Spiced Lentils

11/2 cups raw lentils
2 Tbs. butter
2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
1 cup minced onion
1 large stalk celery – chopped
1 tsp. salt
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 tsp. powdered ginger
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
a few Tbs. of water, as needed
freshly-grated black pepper to taste
juice from 1 large lemon
2 cups chopped tart apple (approx. 2 large ones)
cayenne pepper, to taste

Cook the lentils in 2 1/4 cups water. Bring to boil, then cover and lower heat to simmer 30-40 minutes, or until tender.

While the lentils are cooking, cook everything else (except the apples) until tender (use a deep, heavy skillet), adding water, if necessary, to avoid sticking.

Add the chopped apples to the saute, cook 10 minutes more (covered), and then combine this mixture with the lentils in a casserole.

Nissua (Finnish Cardamom bread)

2011-02-20T17:12:00.000-08:00

From here, with some changes. It was better after it sat for a day or so. I think somehow it took time for the cardamom flavor to really sink into the bread. I tried making it in two gigantic loaf pans instead of three freeform loaves, and it made the bread slightly too dense.

Ingredients

2 cups milk
1/2 cup ~~margarine~~ BUTTER
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 eggs
1 teaspoon ground cardamom (MORE - 1 TBS?)
7 1/2 cups bread flour (OR REGULAR)
1 egg, beaten, for glaze

Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Stir in the butter, sugar and salt until melted. Let cool until lukewarm. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
Pour milk mixture into a large bowl. Beat in eggs, 1 1/2 cup flour, cardamom and yeast mixture. Cover and let stand for 20 to 30 minutes, or until bubbly.
Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into three equal pieces and then divide each piece into thirds. Roll out with your hands until the pieces are long enough to braid. Braid three pieces together to form a loaf; repeat twice to make three loaves. Place on lightly greased baking sheets and let rise for 40 minutes, until nearly doubled. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Beat an egg and brush the surface of the bread with the beaten egg.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until golden brown. Move to a wire rack to cool completely.

focaccia

2011-02-20T16:59:00.000-08:00

From Fields of Greens, which I don't have with me in hard-copy anymore, so I stole it from the kind person who reprinted it here.

4½ tsp. yeast (2 packages)
2 cups warm water at 110 degrees (to proof the yeast)
1 T. sugar
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
5½ cups white flour
2 tsp. salt
Dried rosemary, ground in spice grinder or with mortar & pestle. I don't measure it and I don't think I've ever added too much by accident. Fresh chopped rosemary never seems to add any discernible flavor.

Oil for brushing the focaccia

Coarse sea salt (or kosher salt)

Combine the yeast, ½ cup of warm water and the sugar in a large bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes, until foamy. Add the olive oil and remaining 1½ cups of warm water. In another bowl, combine the flour, rosemary, and salt. Add it to the wet mixture 1 cup at a time. You may have to knead the last cup of flour into the dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead vigorously for 5-10 minutes, adding more flour as necessary to keep dough from sticking. It will start out very sticky but should get smoother and more cohesive as you go. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turn to coat the surface, cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel, and allow it to rise in a warm place for 90 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and lightly oil 2 9x13-inch baking dishes. Turn the dough out onto the counter, divide in half and press each piece into the oiled dish. Cover and let rise for another 30 minutes. Dimple the dough with your fingertips, brush with oil and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Place in the over, reduce temperature to 375 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes, until light golden. Transfer to a rack and cool.

another brownie recipe

2011-02-20T15:43:00.000-08:00

I just made these using "pastry flour" (white, not whole wheat) from the bulk bins at Whole Foods (instead of cake flour) and the discs of unsweetened chocolate from Trader Joe (I used 38 of the discs.) I used salted butter and didn't add any additional salt, and I'm trying to keep the oven temp pretty exact, courtesy of my new thermometer. I didn't do the aluminum foil deal, I just greased a regular 9x13 with a mixture of butter and oil (because the only pan spray around here is faux-butter-flavored, ugh) and put the batter directly into it. To be updated when I see how they turn out...which is certainly not going to be after the two-hour waiting period suggested by the recipe.

Aaand they're done. Notes:
1) my oven's temperature fluctuates like crazy in a way that can't really be explained by heat loss from opening the door
2) these took 35ish minutes before I felt they wouldn't be too gooey in the center. But given (1), who knows how this would be in another oven.
3) I need to buy wooden toothpicks.
4) Butter + canola oil is fine for greasing a pan, at least for brownies and blondies. I think butter was fine when I made banana bread, too. Supposedly the water content is a problem, but in practice it's been fine. Project "I am too cheap and lazy to buy regular non-stick spray" is a continued success.

Colcannon

2011-02-07T20:35:00.000-08:00

Traditionally this is made with milk or cream, but I make it with yogurt because it tastes better.

Potatoes (maybe 6 small and one larger Russet)
1 small head of cabbage
1 onion
~2 cups of yogurt
salt
pepper

Cut potatoes into pieces and drop into boiling, salted water. Boil until soft.
Meanwhile, slice up cabbage and onions. With cabbage I go for pieces about the size of a finger. Onions too, I guess. Heat some oil in a second large pot on medium. Saute the onions for a while, until almost soft, and then dump in the cabbage and stir around a bit. After you get tired of that, add some water (maybe 1/2 cup?) (use reserved water from the potatoes if you have it) and a few sprinkles of salt. Cover the pot and let the cabbage steam/braise until soft but not mushy.

Drain the potatoes, mash them up with the yogurt, then add that to the pot of cabbage. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Lentil soup w/ tomato & cumin

2011-02-04T18:45:00.000-08:00

EDIT: I finished cooking this, and ate it, and it wasn't bad but it wasn't that great. It's possible the frozen spinach was off in some way, but it might just not be a flavor combo that I like.
----
Usually I make very plain lentil soup - celery, onions, carrots, lentils, maybe spinach or parsley. So this is newish.

And as a side note, lately I have been better with doing mise en place - the deal where you take out all your ingredients at the beginning and measure, peel, and chop whatever needs measuring, peeling, and chopping before you start combining anything - and it really makes cooking feel more enjoyable. It feels more orderly and less chaotic, which makes it more relaxing and lets me enjoy the process rather than just the results.

Adapted from http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/02/vegetarian-lentil-soup-recipe-with.html

1 T oil
1 T ground cumin
2 small/medium onions, chopped small
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground coriander
fresh ground black pepper to taste
2 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 cups brown lentils
5ish cups of water
1 TBS-ish of bouillon powder
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes with juice
2 cups frozen chopped spinach
salt to taste

Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed pot. Stir in onion, minced garlic, cumin, ground coriander, and black pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are softened, about 4 minutes. Stir in the paprika and cook about 1 minute more.

Add lentils, water, and bouillon powder (or maybe add that in after lentils are done cooking, since the salt in it might make them not get tender so easily), reduce heat, and simmer uncovered about 30-40 minutes, or until lentils are quite tender.

Add diced tomatoes and juice and chopped spinach and simmer uncovered 20-30 more minutes, until soup ingredients are well blended and lentils are starting to break apart. Season to taste with salt and serve hot.

stew

2011-01-29T18:10:00.000-08:00

Nothing fancy here, but I had never made stew with meat in it before so I want to keep track of what I used. (Almost twenty years of almost-vegetarianism will do that to you.) I think this has a lower meat:vegetable ratio than most, but I figure that if I can make stew with no meat, I can make stew with less meat than you're supposed to...whatever "supposed to" means, anyway.

5 stalks of celery (I think)
5 carrots
4 onions
1 turnip
8oz mushrooms
3 cloves of garlic
1 lb stew beef
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
4 smallish potatoes

maybe 2 TBS thyme (dried)
maybe 2 TBS paprika
salt
pepper
1 bay leaf
some dried rosemary (less than 1 TBS)

I used an 11-quart stockpot, which had lots of extra space in it. Cut up and sauteed everything except tomato stuff, beef, garlic and potatoes for a bit, then added those and sauteed a bit more, then water. Cooked slowly for a long time...at least an hour, maybe more like two? The meat seems tender enough.

Poppyseed Bundt Cake

2011-01-29T16:11:00.001-08:00

I haven't made this in years, but I have a photocopy of the recipe that I keep losing track of, so I'm putting it here. It is tasty and moist and makes me wish I had a bundt pan around. It's from The Pleasures of Your Food Processor by Norene Gilletz. You could probably make it with a mixer instead (mixers are better than food processors for making cake anyhow). I could probably make it with a mixer instead, too. Hmm, I should get a bundt pan.

1/2 c. poppyseeds
1 c. buttermilk or sour milk (I've used 1 c. soy milk + 1 TBS vinegar or lemon juice)
1 c. butter or margarine, cut in chunks (I've only used margarine because I've always made it dairy-free in the past)
1.5 c. sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2.5 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Soak poppyseeds in milk for at least 1/2 an hour.

Using the food processor's steel knife, process butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla for 2 minutes. Remove cover and add poppyseed/milk mixture to batter. Process for 3-4 seconds to blend. Add dry ingredients and process with 5-6 on/off turns. Mix through with a rubber spatula if batter is not completely blended.

Pour into a greased and floured 12-cup Bundt pan (Bakers Joy flour spray is awesome for this). Bake @ 325 degrees for 50-60 minutes, until cake tests done. Cool 15 minutes before removing from pan.

NOTE 1 - baked this in an oven at almost exactly 325 (thanks to my oven thermometer--a new thing for me) and it seemed done-but-moist at 45 minutes--toothpick was clean.) It was fine, and probably wouldn't have seemed unpleasantly underdone if I'd pulled it out at 40 or 42 minutes.

kale-cranberry barley salad

2011-01-29T15:50:00.000-08:00

This is a copy of something I've seen (but not eaten) in the Whole Foods salad bar. I went for a higher ratio of kale to barley, and I made sure not to overcook my kale (theirs looks pale sometimes.)

1-1.5 c pearled barley
1 bunch kale (lacinato)
1-2 onions
balsamic vinegar
4 oz dried cranberries
olive oil
lemon
salt
pepper

Cook some pearled barley: I used between 1 and 1.5 cups of dry barley. Cook in 3x as much water: boil water in pot, add in barley, return to boil, cover and turn down to simmer. Official instructions I've read said 45 minutes' cooking time, but I let it go only about 30ish, and then turned off the flame and let it absorb some more water. There was still water left in the pot, but I figure that helped keep the grains separate and non-mushy.

Saute/almost-sort-of begin to caramelize an onion (I used 1 medium, I'd use two if I'd had more) that's been sliced thin - I did thing onion rings and then sliced into 2-3 cm long pieces. Remove onion to bowl.

Add slight bit oil in pot, add 1 bunch lacinato/dinosaur kale which has been washed, stems removed, and chopped into bite-sized pieces. Cook lightly, possibly add a bit of water and cover it. Really just go slightly beyond wilting it.

Add to that bowl with the sauteed onions: about 2 TBS balsamic vinegar, 1 TBS olive oil, some salt, some pepper, some lemon juice (1/4 of a lemon?) Now add in kale, warm barley, and about 4 oz of dried sweetened cranberries. Stir, adjust spices. Good cold.

African Chickpea Stew

2011-01-08T18:32:00.000-08:00

I made this recently with my aunt. Recipe archived from here. We used just a fork to mix it, added some tapatio for a kick, and served it over quinoa. It's amazing how sweet it is. It almost tastes like it has added sugar.

Ingredients
1 can chick peas
1 1/2 lbs uncooked sweet potato diced
1 can diced tomatoes (low sodium or no salt added)
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup carrots, sliced
Spice paste (recipe below)

Spice Paste Ingredients
4 8 cloves garlic (always increase teh garlic!)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Spice Paste Directions
Blend all spice paste ingredients in a blender or mini food processor until a thick paste forms.
Add water one teaspoon at a time if necessary.

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a large skillet and simmer until vegetables are tender.
Serve with brown rice or quinoa.

*Looking for something different? Add 2-3 tablespoons of raw peanut butter.

this was edible*

2011-01-02T21:34:00.000-08:00

[*oh how the standards for this blog have fallen!]

Cook about 3 cups red lentils until soft.

In separate pot, saute 1.5 onions, chopped, maybe until they start to get brownish, then add a bunch of curry powder, some cumin, some chili powder, some berbere (I think it actually needs the berbere, even though I only used it the first time because I ran out of curry powder), some garam masala, some salt. If you have not randomly begun cooking at 8:30 pm with whatever you have in the house, you might wish to buy some fresh ginger and mince it and throw that in. Cook some more. Dump in 28 oz pureed tomatoes (or a can of whole peeled tomatoes with basil, whirred in the blender. See above re randomly cooking with what's on hand) and 3 cloves of garlic, chopped. Cook for a bit.

Dump lentils into the curry mixture. Add a can of coconut milk. (Coconut milk covers a multitude of sins.) Adjust seasonings. Heat through and eat. Becomes more awesome if you put a few spoonfuls of yogurt into it.

moderately healthy food for lazy people

2010-10-24T18:23:00.000-07:00

This is for lazy people because it doesn't involve sauteeing anything first, or cutting up many vegetables, or actually mincing the garlic.

rinse and put in a gigantic pot (because it will foam and boil up a lot):

- red lentils (maybe two cups)
- barley (maybe half a cup)

add:
1 onion, chopped
a few cloves of garlic, chopped
1 yam, peeled and cubed
a tablespoon or so of curry powder
lots of water
a splash of oil (to help prevent boiling over)

cook on high until the lentils fall apart. then add a can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed, and cook until the barley is tender.

add: a tablespoon or more of vegetable bouillon powder, salt to taste.

brownies, take II for this blog

2010-05-15T23:01:00.000-07:00

Today I made this recipe:
http://www.scharffenberger.com/re0103.asp
with some modifications. They were good (with those ingredients, it would be hard not to be) but still don't have the elusive flakey top that I like on brownies. They were pretty cakey, not fudgey.

4 ounces SCHARFFEN BERGER 99% Cacao unsweetened Chocolate (2 scored sections)
2/3 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cups unsifted flour (less flour for moister brownie) *I used about 1 1/2 c.
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Melt chocolate and butter over low heat in a large heavy dutch oven. Remove from heat and mix in sugar with wooden spoon. Crack eggs into pot, add vanilla, and mix (dirtying a whisk is optional).

~~Gently lay the flour, salt, and baking powder on top of the gooey chocolate mixture. Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder with a fork without digging into the chocolate.~~ Mix flour, salt and banking powder in separate bowl. Pour into chocolate mixture.

Grab your wooden spoon and stir everything together just until all flour is incorporated. Do not overbeat.

Pour into greased 9" x 12" (or 8" x 12") pan. Bake for 25 minutes (check at 20). Brownies are done when toothpick comes out pretty clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pan, then cut into 2 " squares. Makes 24 brownies.

I baked almost exactly 25 minutes.

yellow split pea soup

2009-11-29T18:29:00.000-08:00

Like most things here - nothing special, but I like to remember the amounts I used.

1 lb of yellow split peas, soaked (for about 24 hours because I kept forgetting to deal with them)
handful of pearled barley
1 large onion
2 carrots
3 stalks of celery
4 cloves of garlic
~1 tbs of thyme
salt
chardonnay (to deglaze pan)

I sauteed the onions, carrots and celery with thyme and liberal sprinkles of salt for maybe 10-15 minutes. Dumped them into the crockpot, which had been slowly heating up (on high) with the split peas and the water they'd soaked in. Dumped in the handful of barley and the chopped garlic. Deglazed the frying pan with chardonnay, dumped that in the crockpot, left it on high for about 4 hours. It could go longer, probably.

Has a reasonable amount of flavor.

lentil/pea/potato curry

2009-10-25T22:12:00.000-07:00

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 onions—finely chopped

2 cloves garlic—minced (crushed)

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon chili powder

1 large potato—peeled and cut into bite-size cubes

½ cup red lentils

14 oz (420g) canned tomatoes—chopped

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup vegetable or chicken stock

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 cup basmati rice

1 cup green peas

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (coriander)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

HEAT the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and cook the onions for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. ADD the garlic, ginger, ground coriander, cumin, turmeric and chili and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. ADD the potato and lentils and stir to coat with the spice mixture. ADD the tomatoes, coconut milk, stock, garam masala, salt and sugar, bring to the boil and cover with a lid. REDUCE the heat to medium and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. WHILE the curry simmers, cook the rice. ADD the peas to the curry and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. REMOVE from the heat and stir in the cilantro and lemon juice. SERVE on a bed of rice.
I made this tonight, but
a) omitted cilantro because it's icky
b) definitely started the rice before I made everything else (because brown is the way to go)
c) used extra ginger and garlic
d) accidentally spilled a bit of the canned coconut milk I was using

http://www.mediterrasian.com/delicious_recipes_lentil_curry.htm

lentil spaghetti sauce

2009-07-05T16:58:00.001-07:00

I found it here but it's a recipe I'd used before and lost.

oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups water
1 1/2 cups dried lentils, uncooked
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can chopped tomatoes
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 beef bouillon cubes
1/2 teaspoon dried whole basil
1/2 teaspoon dried whole oregano

Put a few tsp of oil in a heavy pot, turn on heat to medium. Add onion and garlic; saute until tender. Add water and next 4 ingredients. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.

Add tomatoes and next 5 ingredients. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour or to desired thickness, stirring often.

I serve it over brown rice instead of spaghetti most of the time. I also use somewhat less red pepper and pepper. Don't omit the vinegar - it's really essential to the flavor, for some reason. I usually use (fake) chicken bouillon instead of beef and slightly more oregano and basil.

variation on lentil-rice casserole

2008-11-12T01:09:00.000-08:00

I made a modified version of "Herbed Lentils and Rice" yesterday that turned out OK. I made it on the stovetop, in a probably 6-quart pot, using close to two cups of brown rice, two cups of lentils, and one large onion (which I did not sautee first.) I'm not sure how much water I used--probably close to 8 cups. I cooked it on the stove with the cover on until the rice was done - probably at least 45 minutes - and I didn't put the cheese in at all. Instead, I've been microwaving individual bowls of it with slices of cheese on top, and mixing the melted cheese into the rice and lentils before eating. And I subbed Mozzarella for Swiss because that's what I had. It's not great without cheese, but with the cheese, it's pretty tasty. And the whole thing made about 12 cups' worth.

Middle Eastern Chickpeas with Spinach

2008-10-16T23:23:00.000-07:00

from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites

Sauce:
2/3 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1 small garlic clove, minced or pressed
1 tsp chopped fresh mint (I omitted)
dash of salt

Beans:
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tsp olive oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cubed
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin (I used 2 tsp)
pinch of saffron (I omitted)
1 1/2 cups canned chickpeas, with liquid reserved (16 oz can) (I used close to two cups that I cooked myself)
10 oz fresh spinach, rinsed, stemmed, coarsely chopped (I used prewashed baby spinach, which should still be chopped)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Combine the yogurt, garlic, mint and salt in a bowl and set aside to blend the flavors.

In a large skillet [or heavy-bottomed pot], saute the onions in the oil on medium heat until softened, about 6-8 minutes. Add the bell pepper, coriander, cumin, and saffrom, and continue to saute for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the chickpeas and 1/4 cup of their liquid and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the peppers are just tender, adding more of the reserved liquid if necessary. Add the spinach and cook, stirring often, for 2-3 minutes, until the spinach is bright and wilted. Stir in the lemon juice and add salt and pepper.

Serve immediately over orzo, topped with the yogurt sauce.

notes:
I omitted the saffron (expensive) and mint(didn't have any) and basically doubled the cumin. It's not very flavorful, it seems. Maybe omitting a few threads of saffron and some mint was a big deal. Maybe it needed more salt, since I used dried beans cooked from scratch instead of canned (which have added salt). More yogurt sauce (and less liquid) might help; the tanginess of the yogurt was a high point. Baby spinach should still be chopped. I didn't eat it over a grain as they suggest. I don't think it has enough flavor to carry bland rice or orzo anyway. Maybe pita on the side would work, though.

Pinto Beans

2008-08-26T05:27:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been eating a lot of pinto beans. They're cheap and I've realized they're a lot tastier than I thought, even with relatively little added to them. They also tend to make this nice goopy "gravy" which is pretty tasty and makes a bowl of pinto beans into a more cohesive dish (as opposed to just a bowl of beans.)

I usually cook one 1-pound bag of dried pintos at a time:

Sort and rinse 1 pound of dried pinto beans. Dump them in a large pot. (6 quarts?) Cover generously with water. Put the lid on and bring to a boil, watching carefully to make sure it doesn't overflow. Let it boil with the lid on for a minute or two, then turn off the heat. Let sit for at least an hour. I've been letting it sit for much longer than that.

When you come back and are ready to give the beans your attention again, peel and quarter a medium-large onion and stick that in the pot. Peel and slice 2-3 cloves of garlic and add it in as well. Splash a few drops of oil in the pot to prevent things from boiling up and getting too foamy. (This may or may not help, but I like to think it does.) Turn on the heat again and let it cook on as high a flame as possible without boiling over. I keep the lid on if I can find that magic temperature that's low enough that it won't boil over. Cook forever and ever (probably a bit over an hour?) until the beans are soft, adding a little water from time to time if necessary.

When they're done, add in salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder to taste. I eat them plain, sprinkled with cheese, or in a burrito. Originally I cooked them to mix with salsa, but I discovered they're nice without the salsa too.

whole wheat bread

2008-08-08T22:25:00.000-07:00

Recipe from CDKitchen.com with slight modifications

100% Whole Wheat Bread

1 scant TBS yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
3 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (I used stone-ground because it's what I had)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
2 tablespoons oil
2 eggs

Sprinkle yeast over warm water; stir slightly and allow to proof for 8-10 minutes.
In large bowl, mix 3 cups flour, salt, and sugar. Combine milk, oil, and eggs in measuring cup, mixing them together well. Pour proofed yeast mixture into flour mixture and stir to combine. Pour milk mixture into flour mixture and stir. Mix with fork/spoon until you have to start kneading. Knead with well-floured hands, adding in reserved 1/4 cup flour as needed. Knead for about 2 minutes.

Place in a greased bowl and turn dough over so that all surfaces are greased. Cover and let rise until double in bulk. Punch down. Roll dough on a lightly floured board into a 9x12 inch rectangle. Roll up, jelly-roll style, from the shorter side. Tuck ends under and place in greased loaf pan. Cover and let rise until double. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool.

This came out fine. It didn't have a particularly fine crumb--either because of the stone-ground flour or because I didn't knead it long enough (it was tough to knead) or both. It sliced okay, though, and tastes good toasted.

100% whole wheat muffins

2008-07-16T22:57:00.001-07:00

from allrecipes, with modifications.

2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg

Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a muffin pan (for 12 medium size muffins.)

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in one bowl. Combine milk, oil, and egg (beaten) in another. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir to combine - don't overmix.

Spoon/ladle into prepared pan, bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick is clean.

*I added 1/3 c. chocolate chips and a few dashes of cinnamon. I also used stone ground whole wheat flour because that's what I had around. Worked fine. Tasted good. Texture was good, though not overly moist.

Lentil Feta Salad

2008-07-03T14:03:00.001-07:00

(from the LJ vegrecipes community, with no modifications - though it's okay with regular onion instead of red)

1 cup uncooked lentils
1/2 red pepper (about 1/2 cup)
2 celery stalks
1/2 medium red onion (about 1/3 cup)
1/3 cup flat leaf parsley
4oz feta, crumbled
2 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP lemon juice
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

Place lentils in a large pot with enough water to cover plus a few inches. Bring to a boil, and cook until lentils are tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water in a colander to cool. Let stand for a few minutes to drain well.

Finely chop all veggies & feta, put in bowl. In a separate container mix olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt & pepper. Once lentils are cooled add them to the bowl with the veggies. Pour the olive oil/lemon juice mxture, mix well. Allow to sit in fridge a few hours at least before eating. If you made it the night before that would be ideal.

Moros y Cristianos - Black Beans & White Rice

2008-06-15T21:06:00.000-07:00

From the Goya website, with modifications

2 tsp. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp. salt
pinch of black pepper
1 tsp. sugar
pinch of oregano
1 bay leaf
1 can (15.5 oz.) Goya Black Beans, undrained
2-1/2 cups of water
1 cup long grain white rice

Saute onion, garlic, and green pepper in oil over medium heat until tender.
Add salt, pepper, sugar, oregano, bay leaf, beans, and water. Bring to a boil. Stir in rice. Cover, turn heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes.

The original recipe says to add vinegar and wine after cooking. I didn't.
The second time I made this I doubled the recipe and used dried beans--I cooked about 1/2 pound of dried black beans first. I also added the rice to the sauteed ingredients and stirred them around over low heat for awhile and then added the beans, water, and spices. It came out fine, and took slightly less time to cook (because the rice was in the pot as the water was coming to a boil.)

I guess they call this tofu scramble

2008-06-02T02:19:00.000-07:00

3 grated carrots + 1 chopped scallion, sauteed in oil with liberal amounts of soy sauce. 1 lb firm-not-extra-firm tofu, pressed and crumbled, added in later.

Very tasty.

Quiche!

2008-03-19T17:18:00.000-07:00

This is what I did for tonight's quiches. (Borrowing from these recipes: 1 2 3) It could stand some modification, though.

3 medium-small onions, chopped
1 lb mushrooms, chopped
2 10oz pkgs frozen leaf spinach, defrosted

Sauteed onions a bit in a butter-canola oil mixture, then added mushrooms. Added salt, pepper, a bit of thyme and a bit of nutmeg. Continued sauteeing for undefined period of time, then turned the heat off and added spinach. Stirred.

Grated 8 oz of swiss cheese. Put about 3 oz each in the bottom of 2 premade, defrosted frozen pie shells.

Made a mixture of 6 eggs, 2 cups of milk, 2 TBS flour, 1/2 tsp powdered mustard, 1/2 tsp salt, a good shake of paprika and a good shake of nutmeg.

Divided most of veggie mixture between the two pie shells. There was still a lot left. Sprinkled remaining 2 oz of cheeze on top of veggies. Poured egg-milk mixture into each pie shell. There was a lot left.

Baked @ 375° for about 40 minutes. Dumped remaining veggies and egg mixture into a greased 8x8 pyrex, sprinkled cheddar cheese on top, baked at temps varying from 375° to 400° for an undetermined amount of time.

To change:
*use chopped spinach. whole spinach doesn't mix well and is kind of clunky.
*possibly chop mushrooms and onions in smaller pieces.
*mix everything together before dumping into pie shells, since the veggies and the milk-egg-cheese didn't get entirely evenly dispersed.
*scale down the amount of veggies and egg mixture, or use more cheese and make three quiches instead of two
*do not sprinkle cheese on top. cheese puffs up and browns, making it hard to see if the egg mixture is set/cooked.

chili!

2008-03-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

From Sunset's Vegetarian Cooking, with modifications. They call it "Layered Chili" and suggest you serve it in layers with onions and cheese and some other stuff. It's vegetarian but doesn't have rice or other starch fillers, which is nice. And the mustard seeds are a really neat addition. It's strange using the liquid from the cans of beans, but this came out well, so I'm not gonna mess with it.

4 large onions, chopped
1 large green pepper, seeded and chopped
3 TBS oil
1 TBS each mustard seeds and chili powder (I used extra chili)
1 tsp each ground cumin (I used extra) and unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 14 oz cans chopped tomatoes with jalepenos
2 28 oz cans of kidney beans, liquid included, plus some water (~1 cup)
1 6 oz can tomato paste

In large pot: Cook onions & green pepper in oil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until onions are golden and pepper is soft. Add mustard seeds, cook 1 minute while stirring. Add chili, cumin seeds, cocoa, cinnamon, tomatoes, beans, and tomato paste. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes or until most liquid has cooked away; stir frequently to prevent scorching.

Sunset suggests serving with pink onions, which is red onions cooked briefly in water and vinegar, then mixed with more vinegar, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and salt. I'm too lazy to type out the whole recipe + directions for that.

because I can never remember which pancake recipes I've used...

2008-03-15T14:35:00.000-07:00

I don't believe in using pancake mix. I'm stubborn and it seems like such a waste.

Every recipe has slightly different proportions, it seems...today's was:

dry:
2 c flour
3 TBS sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

wet:
2 eggs
1.5 c milk
1/2 c melted shortening (I used half butter, half oil)
splash of vanilla

They came out decent, though some were overly puffy. I used a teflon pan, though, which I'm not used to, and the only pan-grease I used was some butter--I ran out of oil.

Spinach and Black-Eyed Peas

2008-03-09T17:09:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure how authentically Persian this is, but it was pretty fast and tasty. It has a nice, interesting combination of flavors.

Persian Spinach and Black-Eyed Peas

2 TBS olive oil
3 leeks, chopped (white parts only) (make sure to rinse well)
24 oz baby spinach
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
8 scallions (white & light green parts, sliced)
4 cans of black-eyed peas (~64 oz altogether), drained and rinsed
6 TBS fresh lemon juice (I used the juice of one lemon plus some of the pre-squeezed kind)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt

In a large heavy pot: Heat oil over medium heat; add leeks and cook for 5-8 minutes (until wilted and tender), stirring often.Add spinach, parsley, scallions, and 1/4 cup water. Cover and cook until spinach has wilted (about 8 minutes.) Stir in black-eyed peas, lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cook until warmed through (~5 minutes). Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with couscous and perhaps yogurt.

Serves 12.

Quesadillas

2008-01-01T21:48:00.000-08:00

Healthy or unhealthy, depending on what sort of ingredients you use. I don't think these are anything special, but they're a lot better than what I had at a local kosher restaurant. When I order a quesadilla (entree) for $6, I don't want to get a plain white tortilla with some greasy cheese melted on top, thanks.

Anyway, I used:
"whole wheat" (though I doubt they were 100% whole wheat) tortillas about the size of my hand (from tip of my pinkie to the tip of my thumb)
canned black beans
jarred salsa
mozzarella cheese

Mash the beans, adding enough salsa to make the mixture clump together a bit. Don't entirely smoosh the beans, just mush them a little to make a coherent glop of stuff.
Heat up an ungreased frying pan. I've had success with Teflon and aluminum, and will try it in a cast iron skillet when I have a big enough one handy.

Lay a tortilla on the hot frying pan. Spread a layer of bean stuff on it--maybe 1 cm thick? Leave a little room around the edges so the filling doesn't spill out.
Spread a thin layer of salsa over the beans.
Sprinkle cheese over the salsa.
Lay a second tortilla over the whole thing, press slightly with a spatula, and wait for the bottom to get crispy. Flip, cook on other side until the cheese is melted and the tortilla is crispy. If the tortilla isn't crisp, it won't taste very good.

Put on plate, cut in quarters or smaller wedges, and serve with sour cream.

*Whole wheat really doesn't seem to make a difference in terms of taste or function, here, so it seems like a good choice. Usually I don't use whole wheat tortillas since they don't seem as pliable.

brownies

2007-12-27T04:34:00.000-08:00

Last time I made brownies, I used the Brownies Cockaigne recipe from the old Joy of Cooking, and they didn't come out--in a big way. The ingredients separated out while they were baking, yielding a tray of...something...with a yellowish bottom and a dark chocolate colored top. I think the sugar was all in one of the layers as well. I'm not sure why that happened, but it could have been a few things--I substituted cocoa powder + oil for unsweetened chocolate squares (which I'd done with success before, but who knows). I used butter that was a bit old. I may have let the butter-chocolate mixture cool for too long. (In fact, I think that itself separated a bit before I mixed it with everything else.) I may have overbeaten the eggs.

That was my first brownie failure, but I figured I'd chronicle my brownie-making for a bit to avoid future failures. I make brownies because I want to be happy and have brownies to eat, not because I want to experiment. Failure doesn't mesh well with this.

Anyhoo, this time I followed a combination of the Joy of Cooking recipe and the classic one-bowl recipe from Baker's chocolate, which I've made with success before. Basically, I used the Joy of Cooking ingredient proportions and the Baker's instructions. Joy of Cooking wants you to beat the eggs with an electric mixer until they're fluffy. Baker's doesn't. I figured I'd try the easier, simpler directions first. If these don't come out the way I'd like, I'll move on.

What I did this time:

Preheated the oven to 350 °
Cracked 4 extra-large eggs into a bowl and let them warm up to probably less than room temperature
Melted 4 oz Ghirardelli 100% Cacao unsweetened baking bar + 1/2 cup of unsalted butter (which was kind of old and had been in the freezer) over the stove on very low heat (no double boiler) until just melted. I used a 3 qt pot.
Stirred in 2 cups of sugar and 1 tsp (real) vanilla and 1/4 tsp salt. I just put them directly into the pot I'd melted the chocolate and butter in.
Added the 4 eggs and stirred really really well with a fork. Used a spatula to make sure nothing was sticking to the bottom or sides of the pot, natch.
Stirred in 1 cup of unbleached white flour. Mixed a bit.
Poured the whole shebang into a 9x13 greased Pyrex and threw it into the oven. Which is where it is now. We'll see how it turns out.

And after ~32 minutes in the oven:

Respectable brownies, though nothing to write home about. Next time I'd like to get more of that flaky stuff that happens on top sometimes. Mmm.

"Black and White Salad"

2007-10-29T20:45:00.000-07:00

Taken/modified from a post in the LJ community VegRecipes.
I'm not giving any proportions because I think it's the sort of thing you can eyeball or do to taste. To me, the main new/exciting thing about this dish is the amazingly delicious and complex flavor these four ingredients create.

Kale (I used curly kale but would use un-curly kale in a heartbeat if it weren't so %$#@ hard to find around here.)
Cooked white cannellini or navy beans (I used a can of cannellini, drained and rinsed)
cloves of garlic
fresh tomatoes

Wash the kale. Chop into small pieces. Cook in oil in heavy-bottomed pot or big frying pan until slightly limp or however you'd like to eat it. Dump in beans. Crush garlic in garlic press and dump into pot. Stir. Mush the beans a little, add a little water if desired, heat through. Chop tomato into bite-sized pieces. Add to kale/bean mixture. Stir. Eat.

Chocolate Dump Cake/Wacky Cake

2007-10-07T11:56:00.000-07:00

Some people mix this in the (ungreased) baking pan. I think it's a pretty fast, easy recipe even if you use a separate bowl, and I think the tiny additional effort is worthwhile.

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup cocoa

3/4 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 TBS vinegar
2 cups water

Combine dry ingredients. Add in wet ingredients, mix well, dump into greased 9x13 pan and bake for 40-50 minutes (or until done) at 350°F.

Black-eyed beans with mushrooms

2007-09-06T18:26:00.000-07:00

From Madhur Jaffrey's terrific book Indian Cooking, with very very slight changes

8 oz dried black-eyed beans, washed and drained
2 pints water
8 oz fresh mushrooms, chopped through the stems (1/8" thick)
6 TBS veg oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 inch cinnamon stick
1 med-to-large onion peeled and chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
14 oz tomatoes peeled and chopped (I didn't peel them because I'm a lazy bastard)
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp salt
ground black pepper
3 TBS chopped fresh parsley

Place beans and water in pot. Bring to boil, cover, turn down heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off heat, let sit for 1 hour. (I did this last night so I could prepare everything else while the beans were actually cooking the next day)

Bring beans to a boil again, cover and turn down heat, simmer for 20-30 minutes or til tender.

[meanwhile] Put oil in frying pan over med-high heat (I used a heavy-bottomed pot that can serve as one.) When hot, put in the cumin seeds and cinnamon stick. Let sizzle for 5-6 seconds, then add onions and garlic. Stir & fry until the onions turn brown at the edges. Add mushrooms, stir/fry til they wilt. Add tomatoes, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne pepper. Stir/cook for a minute, then cover and turn heat to low. Allow mixture to cook in its own juices for 10 minutes. Turn off frying pan.

Add mushroom mixture to bean mixture (or as I did, add the beans to the mushroom mixture - that's where the heavy-bottomed pot used in place of a frying pan comes in handy - so that you can sort of deglaze the pan and get any of the nice oils from the cooked onions/mushrooms/spices.) Add salt, black pepper, and parsley. Stir, bring to a simmer, and cook uncovered on med-low heat for 30 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick before serving.

I felt like it could use something sharp/sour (like lemon juice) as a counterpoint, but haven't tried it.

Black Bean Wraps

2007-06-09T10:30:00.000-07:00

Recipe from Giant Food's website/weekly circular, with modifications

They say to microwave each wrap on high for 1 minute, but we ate them cold. It's a nice -cold- summer dish that doesn't involve heating up an oven or standing over a stovetop.

9 oz. fresh baby spinach
8 (8-inch) tortillas
1 (19 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 avocados, pitted and sliced
1/2 cup salsa
Sour cream, grated cheddar cheese (optional)

Divide and layer spinach among tortillas. Combine black beans, tomatoes, avocados and salsa in a bowl. Divide the bean mixture among the tortillas. Fold in the ends and then roll to close. Serve with sour cream and cheddar cheese if desired.

They say to microwave each wrap on high for 1 minute, but we ate them cold.

Lentil Soup

2007-04-19T18:32:00.000-07:00

My own variation of it. Nothing spectacular.

saute with salt:

3 carrots, sliced
4 stalks of celery, chopped
2 onions, chopped

add
1 cup frozen spinach
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lb lentils (I use pardina/Spanish lentils when I can find them)
water
chopped parsley to taste

Cook gently for 40 minutes to an hour.

Red lentil, mushroom and spinach curry

2007-02-15T13:52:00.000-08:00

From MSN's online edition of the Australian Women's Weekly (thanks, Google!) Modified slightly.

They say it's best made just before serving and not good for microwaving, but I disagree. It's better the second day.

1 cup dried red lentils
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 small onion, sliced thinly
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 small green chili pepper, sliced thinly
½ lb mushrooms, halved
1½ cups vegetable stock
½ cup water
½ teaspoon garam masala
1 10-oz or 1-lb package of frozen spinach, defrosted

YOGURT SAUCE
1 cup yogurt
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ teaspoon salt

Heat oil in wok or large frying pan. Add seeds, stir-fry until fragrant. Add onion, garlic, ginger and chili; stir-fry until onion is soft. Add mushrooms; stir-fry until browned lightly.

Add drained lentils, stock and water; bring to the boil. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered, for about 5 minutes or until lentils are tender.

YOGURT SAUCE: Meanwhile, combine all ingredients in a small bowl.

Add garam masala and spinach to curry, stir until spinach is wilted; transfer to a serving dish.

Vegetarian "Meatloaf"

2007-02-15T13:42:00.000-08:00

I won't lie to you--it looks kind of like dung. It's cheap, though. (Shockingly, I "invented" this in college.)

Vaguely based a recipe for lentil-carrot burgers from a PETA cookbook, which I modified because they didn't stay together very well and I'm too lazy to form a bunch of burgers and fry them a few at a time.

1 pound lentils
1 onion
2-3 carrots
1 can tomato paste
1 egg (optional)
onion powder
garlic powder
salt
pepper
paprika
dried parsley (optional)
bread crumbs (so far I've always used seasoned bread crumbs just 'cause someone gave me a can of that kind)

Cook the lentils until they're fairly soft. While they're cooking, chop the onion and grate the carrots. Sauté the onion and grated carrots in some oil until they begin to get slightly brown. [I'm not sure that grated carrots are usually easy to saute; they don't quite come out like carrot chunks would, but it does something to them, and since I use a teflon pan, they don't stick or burn].

Mash the lentils with a fork or potato masher. If you need to use a fork, make sure to cook them really well as it will make the mashing eaier. Add in the cooked onions and carrots, the tomato paste, the egg (if using) and the spices (to taste - I use at least a tablespoon of paprika, usually a lot more). Then add the bread crumbs - add enough to make it bind the mixture together. It's really pretty flexible. If you're the only one who's gonna eat it, it's easier (and kinda fun) to mix the bread crumbs in with your hands.

Pat the whole mixture into a greased 2-quart glass pyrex dish and bake at 350 for awhile (usually at least 30 minutes). Sometimes I cover it if the top begins to look really dry.

It doesn't hold together that well immediately after it comes out of the oven, but if you let it cool, you can slice it and microwave individual servings.

The original recipe was as follows:

Lentil-Carrot Burgers

¼ c chopped onion

¼ c grated carrot

¼ c water

3 c cooked lentils, mashed

2 TBS chopped fresh parsley

3 TBS tomato paste

¾ c bread crumbs

salt to taste

Cook the onion & carrot in the water until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain off excess water, then combine onions and carrots with remaining ingredients. Add a little water if needed. Form into patties & fry in a lightly oiled frying pan until browned on both sides & heated through –about 10 minutes.

Makes about 10 patties

Takes about 25 minutes.

Rice-bean chili

2007-02-15T13:36:00.000-08:00

Adapted from a booklet of recipes from the US Rice Board (or something like that)

Saute for 5 minutes in the bottom of a large pot:

1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbs. oil

add:
1 28-oz can of tomatoes (chopped or whole--chop them up yourself if they're whole)
1 15 oz can garbanzo beans
1 15 oz can kidney beans
1 can of corn, drained
2.5 cups water
1 cup brown rice (partly cooked)
Chili powder and cumin to taste

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer ~30 minutes. Watch it carefully and make the flame really low, because sometimes it starts to burn/stick. I don't always pre-cook the rice, but sometimes when I don't the rice doesn't seem to cook all the way.

Sesame Chicken Salad

2007-02-14T15:55:00.000-08:00

Yes, I eat chicken on the odd occasion. No, I couldn't tell you what defines those occasions, because I don't know.

Adapted from a very old edition of Sunset Publishing's Fresh Ways With Salads

Sesame Chicken Salad

2 TBS sesame seeds
1/4 cup canola oil
3 TBS lemon juice
1.5 TBS soy sauce
1.5 TBS rice vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tsp finely minced fresh ginger
1/2 pound snow peas
1/2 pound bean sprouts
3 to 3.5 c. shredded cooked chicken

Toast sesame seeds in a small frying pan over medium heat, shaking pan often, until seeds are golden (about 5 minutes). In a large bowl, mix seeds, oil, lemon juice, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and ginger until blended. I usually double the amount of lemon juice, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and ginger--basically, everything in the sauce except the oil.

Fill a large pan halfway with water; bring to a boil. Add pea pods and bean sprouts; cook just until water boils. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again. Combine vegetables, chicken, and oil mixture and stir.

It's better after it's had a chance to sit for awhile.

Cauliflower Cheese Soup

2007-02-14T15:47:00.000-08:00

From the Moosewood Cookbook, but found here.

Cauliflower Cheese Soup (Serves 8-10)

3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 large cauliflowers, one chopped, one cut into neat and uniform little florets
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. salt
6 cups water
3 cups grated cheddar cheese
2 cups milk
2 tsp dill
1 tsp caraway seeds next time I think I'll grind them first--they're kinda strange floating around in soup
black pepper to taste.

1.) Place the potatoes, garlic, onion, salt and water into a large pot. Add the chopped cauliflower chunks (reserve the tidy florets!). Bring to a boil and simmer until the vegetables are very soft (~30 minutes).
2.) While the veggies are cooking, steam the reserved cauliflower florets until tender.
3.) Puree the stewed veggies in batches in a blender. Or use an immersion blender, which would probably reduce your chances of spilling hot soup everywhere like I did. Return the puree to the original pot, stir in the steamed cauliflower florets and the remaining ingredients. Heat gently until the cheese is completely melted. Serve topped with extra cheese and fresh pepper.

Lentil-Rice Casserole, aka "Herbed Lentils and Rice"

2007-02-14T15:31:00.000-08:00

Edit: I haven't made this in a while, but I was cleaning through some papers and found an index card which lists the amount of liquid as 3.5 cups. Not sure which is correct - I think I copied this directly from the book, but I can't remember for sure.
From Better Homes and Gardens' Meatless Main Dishes, which is © 1981 by Meredith Corporation. Better Homes and Gardens would like you to know that a serving of this dish provides 32% of the RDA of protein. Whoo hoo! I would like Better Homes and Gardens (and you, I guess) to know that most people don't consider chicken broth meatless.

2 2/3 cups ~~chicken broth~~ bouillon powder + water
3/4 cup dry lentils
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
*I usually double or triple the amount of each herb (not salt & pepper)*
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 oz Swiss cheese, divided in half

Combine broth, lentils, onion, rice, wine, and seasonings in an ungreased 1.5-quart casserole. Shred half the cheese; stir into lentil mixture. Bake, covered at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or til lentils and rice are done, stirring twice. Uncover casserole; top with cheese strips. Bake an additional 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese melts.

Serves 4

General Tso's Tofu

2007-02-14T15:17:00.000-08:00

Found lots of places including vegweb.com, which mysteriously dubs it "General Tao's Tofu."

1 pound firm tofu
1 egg
3/4 cup cornstarch
vegetable oil for frying
3 chopped scallions
1 Tablespoon minced ginger
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
2/3 cup vegetable stock I used water + bouillon powder
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
4 Tablespoons sugar
red pepper to taste I used dried red pepper flakes. they definitely don't mean red bell peppers, which some people seem to use in this recipe.
1 Tablespoon sherry (optional) it was better when I omitted it
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
steamed broccoli just let some frozen broccoli defrost. it gets soft enough when you coat it with the sauce and heat everything through.

I double the amount of all the sauce ingredients so as to make double as much sauce.

Drain, dry and cut tofu into 1 inch chunks. You can freeze tofu the night before to get a more chicken-like consistency, but it isn't necessary. Beat the egg and add 3 tablespoons water. I found that it's hard to beat the egg if you add the water first, for some reason. Dip tofu in egg mixture and coat completely. Sprinkle 3/4 cup cornstarch over tofu and coat completely. Watch out that the cornstarch doesn't clump up at the bottom of the bowl. If the cornstarch is clumpy, sift it or push it through a strainer. After three tries, the least frustrating way I've found to execute this is to coat a large surface with cornstarch, dip each piece of tofu into egg (making sure not too much egg is on the tofu) and then set it down onto the cornstarch-covered surface. Sprinkle cornstarch over the tofu through a strainer, and then kind of roll each piece around on the surface (which should still have a good layer of cornstarch on it) before putting it into the oil. Or, y'know, just don't use the cornstarch at all. I tried that once, and it wasn't awful. I need to experiment with non-cornstarch coatings, which I suspect will be much easier.

Heat oil in pan and fry tofu pieces until golden. Drain oil.

Heat 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil in pan on medium heat. Add green onions, ginger and garlic, cook for about 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn garlic. Add vegetable stock, soy sauce, sugar, red pepper and vinegar. Mix 2 Tablespoons water with 1 Tablespoon cornstarch and pour into mixture stirring well. Add fried tofu and coat evenly.

Serve immediately with broccoli over ~~your choice of~~ brown rice.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 30 Minutes (wishful thinking; it takes much longer)

Vegan Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

2007-02-14T15:02:00.000-08:00

Found here. Originally from Post-Punk Kitchen.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

2 cups flour
1 1/3 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons molasses
1 cup canned pumpkin, or cooked pureed pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla
optional: 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds

1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350. Have ready 2 greased baking sheets.

Mix together flour, oats, baking soda, salt and spices.

In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, oil, molasses, pumpkin and vanilla (and flax seeds if using) until very well combined. Add dry ingredients to wet in 3 batches, folding to combine. Fold in walnuts and raisins.

Drop by tablespoons onto greased cookie sheets. They don't spread very much so they can be placed only an inch apart. Flatten the tops of the cookies with a fork or with your fingers, to press into cookie shape. Bake for 16 minutes at 350. If you are using two sheets of cookies on 2 levels of your oven, rotate the sheets halfway through for even baking. You'll have enough batter for 4 trays.

Remove from oven and get cookies onto a wire rack to cool. These taste best when they've had some time to cool and set.

I omitted the raisins and did use the ground flax seeds. I baked most of them on parchment paper, which was fine, but all of them needed slightly more than 16 minutes to bake.
They were a bit too sweet; if I make them again, I'll use closer to 1 cup of sugar and have them be more like muffins than dessert-y cookies.