Friday, October 15, 2010

Bulgur Salad with Chickpeas, Roasted Peppers, and Spiced Cumin

I used Jack Bishop's A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen again to find this recipe (pg. 268). I discovered bulgur in a Peter Berley Recipe and love its chewy texture! It reminds me of quinoa, but seems to be more fail-proof and has a more consistent texture. Again I made the whole recipe to yield leftovers, which seems it will work much better than the pasta from earlier this week.

Bulgur Salad with Chickpeas, Roasted Peppers, and Spiced Cumin Dressing
serves 4 as a main course

Fine-grain bulgur, sometimes labeled "good for tabbouleh," is essential to this recipe, because coarsely ground bulgur will not soften when soaked in boiling water. A late season tomato salad or Sauteed Cherry Tomatoes with Indian Flavors (page 212) complete this meal.

1 1/2 cups bulgur
3 cups boiling water
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
6 ounces drained jarred roasted red peppers, diced (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
1 medium head Bibb lettuce, leaves separated
4 pita breads, warmed and cut into wedges

1. Place the bulgur in a large bowl. Add the boiling water and set aside, stirring occasionally, until the bulgur has softened, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain the bulgur, shaking the strainer and gently pressing out excess moisture. Return the bulgur to the bowl.

2. Meanwhile, whisk the lemon, honey, cumin, cayenne, and 1/2 teaspoon salt together in a small bowl. Whisk in the oil until the dressing is smooth.

3. Add the chickpeas, roasted peppers, and parsley to the bow with the drained bulgur and stir to combine. Drizzle the dressing over the bulgur mixture and toss to combine.

4. Line each individual plate with several lettuce leaves. Mound some bulgur salad over the lettuce and tuck some pita wedges into the salad at several laces around the plate. Serve.


We found this recipe to have plenty of spice! I would make extra dressing next time, maybe increase it by 50%. The ratio of beans and peppers to bulgur seemed satisfactory. Instead of serving atop cold lettuce, I would stir spinach in while the mixture is hot to wilt the spinach. A few substitutions I made was I used two peppers I roasted myself, 1 1/2 cups of beans I cooked myself, spinach instead of the Bibb lettuce, and I negated the pita. A tomato salad or the addition of oven dried tomatoes to the bulgur mixture would definitely complete this meal!


Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Penne with Broccoli and Pumpkin Seed-Parsley Pesto

I have neglected to update this blog and have left out many delicious recipes i have made over the passed months. now that alex is in flight training, my goal is to have an organized weekly meal planner and to record the final products in this blog, critique the outcome, and include any modifications i think are necessary.

The first meal i planned for this week came out of my cookbook, A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen by Jack Bishop. I made "Penne with Broccoli and Pumpkin Seed-Parsley Pesto" (page 246). I was craving a pasta dish and this one looked simple, yet flavorful, and incorporated unconventional ingredients (the pumpkins seeds, which are one of Alex's favorites). I made the full recipe which is supposed to yield 4 servings so we could have leftovers later in the week.

Penne with Broccoli and Pumpkin Seed-Parsley Pesto
serves 4 as a main course

The nutty taste of green pumpkin seeds works well with the mild
parsley in this pesto sauce. Broccoli and pumpkin seeds marry
fall flavors.

1/2 cup hulled green pumpkin seeds
1 1/2 cups packed fresh parsley leaves
1 small garlic clove, peeled
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for the table
salt
1 pound penne
1 pound broccoli, stalks discarded and florets cut into bite-sized pieces
1. Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot for the cooking of the pasta
2. Move an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Spread the pumpkin seeds out on a rimmed baking sheet and toast them in the oven, shaking the pan once or twice to turn the seeds, until lightly browned and fragrant, about 6 minutes. Cool the pumpkin seeds.
3. Process the cooled pumpkin seeds, parsley, garlic, and pepper flakes in a food processor, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, until the ingredients are finely ground. With the motor running, add the oil in a steady stream through the feed tube and process until thick and fairly smooth. Scrape the mixture into a bowl large enough to hold the cooked pasta. (the Pesto will be very thick.) Stir in the cheese and salt to taste. (Salt the pesto generously; it has to season a pound of pasta and the broccoli.)
4. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Scoop out 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, add the broccoli, and continue to cook until the broccoli is crisp-tender, 1 1/2 minutes. Meanwhile, stir 1/2 cup of the cooking water into the pesto to achieve a saucier consistency. Drain the pasta and broccoli. Add the pasta and broccoli to the bowl with the pesto and toss, adding more water as necessary to moisten the pasta and help spread the pesto. Serve immediately, passing the grated cheese at the table.


I thought this dish was fairly flavorful for how simple it was to prep and make. I added more garlic and red pepper flakes to the pesto. I also think the pasta became slightly overcooked. Next time I would remove the pasta once it reaches al dente and then quick-boil the broccoli for 1 minute then combine together in a bowl. Also the amount of pesto was not sufficient for the full pound of pasta. I would also recommend making just enough for one meal. I found the pasta and broccoli became more mushy as it was reheated for lunch today. It also needs just one more component to balance the dish. something with acid or sweetness. I am not sure what, as I do not want to clash with the broccoli and pesto flavors. Also this component could add more color to the dish, as it was very green. Perhaps bruschetta topped with either tomatoes or peppers would compliment the pasta.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Boxty Party! - Roasted Succotash and Caprese Salad

Gruber and his roommate, Mark were making boxties and chicken wings last night. I wanted to bring some veggies to the table, so I made Caprese Salad, featured in a previous blog post, and Roasted Vegetable Succotash. I melded a few different recipes I found together to create the succotash I envisioned. Here is the recipe I came up with:

Roasted Vegetable Succotash
2 small/medium or 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
1 medium red onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 thyme sprigs
1 oregano sprig
scant 1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
4 ears corn, kernels removed from cob
1 cup shelled edamame
3 tbsp basil
3 tbsp parsley
1 lemon, juiced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix sweet potato, onion, pepper, garlic, thyme, and oregano on rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil until coated and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Roast in oven for 45 minutes until sweet potato is tender; stir every 10 minutes.

Add corn and edamame to baking sheet and roast for another 5-10 minutes, until corn is roasted and sweet.

Remove from oven. Transfer ingredients to serving bowl. Mix in lemon juice, parsley, and basil. Taste and add seasoning if needed.

This smelled delicious while cooking! It tasted delicious too! The garlic added a lot of flavor to the sweet potato. I would consider added some red pepper flakes at the beginning of the roasting step, and adding spinach at the end and roast/stir until wilted. Alex thought it was fine how it was and said I would ruin it with those additions. I didn't think it was a big hit at the party, but when it came time to leave, the bowl was empty! Gruber was able to taste the caprese salad and loved it. I left the remainder for him and he enjoyed it for breakfast the next day.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Vegetarian Black Bean Chili with Orange, Crock Pot Black Bean Soup, and Maple Cornbread Muffins

We needed to use up the Cornbread Muffins I made for a different Black bean soup, Vegetarian Black Bean Chili with Orange and Cumin. I followed both recipes for the most part. In the cornbread muffins, since we didn't make the maple butter, we put some maple syrup in the batter to add sweetness. Also, fresh corn is available at the market, so we added the kernels from an ear to the batter too. The recommended cooking time is not quite long enough. The edges browned and got crispier the second time I reheated in the oven. I would recommend making muffins ahead of time, then crisping up right before dinner. For the black bean chili, I substituted chipotle powder for the chili powder and added 1 tbsp cocoa powder with the other spices, for more of a deeper, mole flavor. I substituted 1 1/2 lbs diced plum tomatoes for the canned tomatoes. the soup didn't need the hot sauce because the chipotle powder added enough spice. This was super delicious, but only fed 3 of us perfectly, not exactly 4 servings plus leftovers! I did misread how many cans of black beans and only put the equivalent of 2 cans, not 3. This could potentially make up for the missing servings.

The second black bean recipe, Crock Pot Black Bean Soup with Chipotle was really easy and really good. Alex thought it was more of a chili, but i thought it was more of a traditional black bean soup. We followed the recipe exactly but halved it because we didn't have a 6-quart slow cooker. That must have been a typo, because there was plenty of room for more than double the half recipe we used. Next time I will make the entire recipe, as the two of us easily finished the half. I followed every direction except we used 1 whole chipotle and the juice of one lime. I also added 2 sprigs of oregano and a bay leaf to the mixture. After 7 hours it wasn't quite as thick as I expected, so we put it on a bit longer since we weren't overly hungry yet. We topped it with shredded white cheddar and sour cream. I forgot the cilantro and do not care for raw tomato. This was sooo easy and we will make the other half sometime this weekend! I will use veggie stock instead of water next time since i will have it on hand. A great easy recipe for when I don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, just need to plan ahead. The beans were perfect too, easy way to cook beans from dried, and only need to plan ahead the morning of, not the night before! I will definitely try more bean recipes this way!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Linguine with Zucchini, Caprese Salad, and Garlic Bread

I decided to try one of my cookbooks I hadn't tried before. It's called Student's Vegetarian Cookbook: Quick, Easy, Cheap, and Tasty Vegetarian Recipes. It has recipes for 1-2 servings that are easy and low budget. I selected Pasta with Zucchini and Basil because we had an extra zucchini in the fridge. I also added a few other items we had in the fridge and doubled it to serve 2. Below is the recipe with my modifications.

Linguine with Zucchini, Peppers, Red Onion, and Basil
1/3 lb uncooked linguine
2 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 large zucchini sliced 1/2" and quartered
3 mini sweet peppers, diced into 1/2" squares
1/4 red onion, largely diced
1 1/2 tbsp basil
salt and pepper
1 lemon juiced
grated parmesan cheese

1. Bring a covered pot of water to a rapid boil. Stir in the pasta and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat to medium but maintain a simmer. Cook until pasta is al dente, start checking about 4 minutes before cook time on the box.

2. While the pasta cooks, heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, zucchini, peppers, onion, and basil. Quickly fry until the zucchini begins to brown, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the lemon juice and stir, remove from heat.

3. When the pasta is al dente, drain it (reserve some cooking liquid). Place the hot pasta in a warm bowl, top with zucchini veggie mixture, and grated parmesan. Add a few tbsp reserved water to pasta. Toss lightly. Salt and pepper to taste.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to add the correct amount of basil to the dish. The basil brought back from the grocery store was only half usable, and I put it all in the Caprese Salad. I remembered at the end the pasta needed basil too, so I spooned some from the caprese dressing onto the zucchini mixture. I think if I had put the correct amount of basil into the dish, it would have been more flavorful. Also it needed more of a sauce. Next time I would reduce 1 cup of white wine in the zucchini mixture after it was browned. This should add a lot more flavor and liquid. All in all, the dish was mediocre, even with the addition of the peppers and onions (which were delicious!). This is ok because the Caprese Salad turned out amazing!

I did not have access to good heirloom tomatoes, so I substituted the most flavorful tomatoes the grocery carries, campari. Fortunately for us, they were on sale! I have been waiting months to see them 2(1 lb packages) for $4 rather than $4-$5 each! I used 1 lb tomatoes and 6 oz of mozzarella for the 2 of us but pretty much used the entire vinaigrette recipe. I didn't measure the oil and vinegar exactly, just kind of poured and stirred until it looked right. I substituted white balsamic vinegar for the red wine and it was a perfect substitution. Alex and I were discussing whether I should follow the recipe, use balsamic, or white balsamic. Alex thought I should use balsamic because of it's sweetness, but I thought it would be too strong and compete with the other flavors. We both thought red wine vinegar is just too boring. I decided to use white balsamic because it is light, but very bright. It worked perfectly and I would use it again and again. I quartered each tomato (it is about the size of a pingpong ball) and cubed the mozzarella into 1/2" cubes. Alex and I almost ate the whole thing! I loved it on garlic bread and by itself. This is definitely a repeat, especially while the campari tomatoes are on sale. If i was still in Orlando, I would definitely go to the Winter Park farmer's market every Saturday to buy the heirloom tomatoes to make this salad every week. They are also wonderful and come in MANY different colors, purple, yellow, orange, green.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Scarborough Fair Stew - AKA White Bean and Escarole Soup With Herb Swirl

For dinner last night I combined the recipes Kale and White Bean Stew with Chicken and White Bean Soup with Herb Swirl. I would call the soup Scarborough Fair Stew as it includes the herbs parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.

I made the herb oil per the recipe but used less herbs only because I harvested what I could from my herbs and bought the sage. I didn't want to spend $10 on just herbs at the grocery, and the grocery was out of parsley. Next time I won't skimp on the herbs because I think it would have added more flavor to the recipe.

I blended the recipes by using 1 small onion, 1 shallot, 3 carrots, 3 celery stalks, 3 garlic cloves, 1 cup pureed roasted tomatoes (3 big plum tomatoes), 2 bags of frozen white beans, 1 cup wine, veggie broth, cup of jasmine rice, handful of spinach, and half a bunch of escarole, and sherry vinegar, and LOTs of salt and pepper.

I would add the entire bunch of escarole next time. It seemed like a ton at first, but then wilted way down. Also the soup seemed very thick so I added 2 more cups of veggie broth, and it still thickened a lot when it cooled down! 1 cup of rice seemed adaquate, but maybe I would cut it down to save on broth next time. 2 bags of frozen beans was a lot, next time I might just add 1 bag.

The soup didn't have as much flavor as I had hoped, but it was really good. We garnished with leftover garlic croutons (from the caesar salad sunday) and several dashes of hot sauce (cholula).

*addendum
The soup became a lot more flavorful (and thick) from sitting overnight.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Easter Dinner

Taren made lamb and Ann and Buzz brought scalloped potatoes and greens. Greens turned out to be asparagus with sesame oil and broccoli with almonds. I brought the following

Mac and Two Cheeses with Caramelized Onions

My favorite mac and cheese recipe (probably the goat cheese). I doubled the recipe. I substituted onions for the shallots($$) and added oven dried tomatoes before baking in the oven. It turned out a bit dry, I would add more cheese sauce or less pasta next time.

The Oven-Dried Tomato recipe I got from Jack Bishop's book, The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook. It is probably the recipe I use most often from this book. They may be time consuming, and one needs to plan ahead, but they are super delicious and packed with flavor! I never use sun-dried tomatoes anymore! The recipe and intro are as follows:

Oven-Dried Tomatoes
Makes 1 1/2 cups
Oven-dried tomatoes are quite different from sun-dried ones. Sun-dried tomatoes, even those packed in olive oil, tend to be a bit leathery and have a strong, sometimes harsh flavor. Oven-drying removes much but not all of the moisture, so the tomato halves become very wrinkled but still have some juice in them. The tomatoes can be marinated in olive oil, herbs and/or hot red pepper flakes. If packed in olive oil and refrigerated, they will last about a week.

10 medium plum tomatoes (about 2 lbs)
1/2 tsp of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Set a large cross-woven wire rack over a large baking sheet. trim a thin slice from the stem end of each tomato to remove the core. Slice the tomatoes in half lengthwise. Place them cut side up on the rack and sprinkle with salt.

2. Place the baking sheet in the oven. Oven-dry the tomatoes until they are wrinkled and greatly reduced in size, 6 to 7 hours. Do not dry them completely; some moisture should remain.

3. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and cool the tomatoes completely. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate. (Dried tomatoes can be refrigerated for several days. Bring the tomatoes to room temperature before using.)

I used 3 lbs of tomatoes and then quartered them once dried and cooled for the mac and cheese. I also use them in my dijon alfredo pasta and any other recipe i might use sun-dried tomatoes.



Eggplant Salad with Basil Dressing
This turned out delicious! I layered some roasted peppers with the eggplant when I plated. This added nice color contrast and sweet flavor. Next time I might take a reviewer's advice and add some crumbled goat cheese on top and serve with a crusty bread for a main course.
Here is the recipe with all my modifications:

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped and mashed to a paste with 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves, washed well and spun dry
  • 2 large eggplants (about 1 1/2 pounds each), cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
  • 3 bell peppers (i used one red, one yellow, and one orange), cut in half through core, cored and seeded (can substitute jarred roasted peppers)
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Preparation:


Preheat broiler.


In a blender, blend oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic paste, and half of basil until smooth.


Arrange bell pepper halves on cookie sheet and place under broiler until skin is charred, about 15 minutes. Place in covered bowl or paper bag and allow to steam and cool. Peel skin from peppers and cut into strips.


Arrange eggplant slices in a single layer on cookie sheets. Reserve 1/4 cup dressing. Brush eggplant slices with remaining dressing on both sides. Broil about 4 inches from heat until golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Turn slices and broil until golden, 5 to 7 minutes more. Transfer eggplant slices to a plate to cool and broil remaining eggplant slices in same manner.


Arrange eggplant, bell pepper strips, and remaining basil on a platter. Drizzle salad with reserved dressing and sprinkle with pine nuts.


Orange Molasses Sweet Potatoes
For these I used only 2 lbs of sweet potatoes but made the normal amount of orange molasses sauce. They turned out pretty mushy but when i reheated in Taren's oven at 350 for about 30 minutes, they got nice and chewy and caramelized.

Chocolate Strawberry Tart with Walnut Crust
This turned out very rich and delicious! It definitely didn't need 2 pints of strawberries to top tart with! Only about a cup or 2. I would use more jam next time and would like to add a peanut butter layer.

and I made Strawberry Jam from scratch.

Alex brought Deviled Eggs
The recipe is from my mom, who I think got it from my aunt. Per my request, Alex doubled the mustard and used the low end of the horseradish. I am not a huge horseradish fan but these are ok with the extra mustard.