Spicy Superbowl

Football is great, but who are we kidding? Superbowl is about the snacks! Chili, nachos, and dips galore are standard fare for any Superbowl get-together, so my goal was to make something that complemented those items but still had a little bit of its own personality. 

In an homage to North Carolina where I was first introduced to hush puppies, this spicier version adds a little bit of interest.  I have to admit that I have never fried anything before, and I quickly learned that oil heats up quickly and can get TOO hot to cook in. It's ok-I also learned that overcooked hush puppies are still yummy. 

Another lesson learned: If you put a kernel of unpopped corn in the oil, the kernel will pop when the oil reaches ~350F. Eat the kernel and get to popping!  I don't know how much deep frying I'll be doing in my life, but this seems much more fun than using a thermometer!

Spicy, savory, and easy to grab and go as the big play is coming on the screen...these little guys are winners.

Jalapeno-Cheddar Hush Puppies

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
2 chopped, seeded jalapeño chile
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Canola oil or vegetable oil (for deep-frying)

Photo from Food Network

Whisk the dry in medium bowl to blend. Mix buttermilk, egg, and chile in small bowl to blend. Stir buttermilk mixture and cheese into dry ingredients.

Add enough oil to deep medium saucepan to reach 1 1/2 inches. Attach deep-fry thermometer to pan; heat oil to 320°F to 330°F over medium heat. Working in batches of 4 or 5, drop batter by tablespoonfuls into oil. Cook until golden, turning occasionally, about 3-4 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer hush puppies to paper towels. 

Sticky, Gooey, Good

It is now firmly established that my cousin and I share a passion for baking and cooking. OK fine. For food. Details. But in a mushy gushy way, I have to admit that I’m cherishing these experiences that we’re having together in the kitchen. I’ve grown up associating the kitchen and the dinner table as places where people come together, be it in laughter, in tears, or in blissful ignorance of happenings away from the people in front of them. As we become more and more attached to technology, this little bubble seems even more precious. The fact that my cousin and I get to spend this time together, and perhaps that she will even associate me and our relationship with the kitchen and the joy it brings, is something that warms my heart.

OK, cornball moment is over. Jeez. Back to the good stuff. And I do mean goooood stuff. This was our last baking hoorah before I return to the land of coffee and hipsters. The other land of coffee and hipsters...

These are ooey-gooey, melt your mouth scrumptious. And with an Indian potluck and a Superbowl party on tap for this weekend, more cooking adventures are in the pipeline.

Heath Bar Blondies
Adapted from Eat, Live, Run

1 stick butter 1 cup packed dark brown sugar 1 egg 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla extract (or the seeds of one vanilla bean) 1 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup heath bar crumbles 1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts Preheat your oven to 350 and butter an 8-inch square pan. Brown your butter by melting it over medium heat on the stove until it becomes a golden caramel color (see here for more tips). Be careful not to burn the butter---you only want to brown it. This will take several minutes and it's easiest to keep swirling the pan with your hand while it browns. Pour the browned butter into the bowl of a kitchen aid and add the brown sugar. Beat for about four minutes, until creamy. Add the egg and beat again. Then, add the flour, salt and vanilla extract (or seeds). Beat until combined. Fold in the heath bar bits and chopped walnuts. Spread out mixture in your buttered pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Let cool before slicing into squares.

Cousin Cook-a-Thon

Once again, I turn to the kitchen as my trusted accomplice in entertaining (and wooing) my teenaged cousin.  Luckily, she has decided that cooking is "cool", so she has been a willing victim.  It doesn't hurt that she loves food as much as I do!

After an inital batch of chocolate-mint cookies that were gobbled up by a hungry high school cross-country ski team, we decided to set our sights higher. Being the good Jewish girls that we are, we turned to the foods of our heritage--bagels!  The recipe is simple and straightforward, and you can add in whatever mix-ins, toppings, etc. that you think might be tasty. I'm excited to make these again with even crazier additions.

Mmm...I wonder if there are any left?

Homemade Bagels

Recipe from Hub Pages

4 cups bread flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp instant yeast
1-1/4- 1-1/2 cups of warm water

*Our additions:

1/3 cup garden pesto

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Sea salt to sprinkle

-Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. The dough should feel stiff, but add the extra water if it's really stiff, or you can't get all the dry flour incorporated.
-Plop the dough down onto the counter, and knead for about ten minutes, or until the dough is uniform and smooth.
-Cut the dough into 8 equal sized balls, and let rest for 10-20 minutes.

-Pre heat your oven to 425.
-Now, take each of the dough balls and using two hands, roll it into a little snake on the counter. When the snake is longer than the width of your two hands, wrap it around your dominant rolling hand. The
dough rope should be wrapped so the overlapping ends are together at your palm, near the start of your fingers. Now take the two overlapping ends, and use your palm to squish/roll these two ends
together. Let your bagels rest on the counter for about 20 minutes, and meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil, and grease a large baking tray lightly.

-After the 20 minute wait, your bagels will start to look puffy, and it's time to get them boiling! Add them as many at a time as you can to your boiling water without crowding them. Boil for about a minute,
turn them over, and boil for another minute. Take them out a let dry for a minute and then place them on your oiled baking tray. Add any toppings that you desire. Repeat until all the bagels are boiled.
-Add the tray to the oven, and after 10 minutes, flip the bagels over, bake for another ten minutes; and they're done!
-Let cool for at least 20 minutes.

Not your average veggie chili

I'm currently in Portland, OR, flexing my childcare and petsitting muscles as I spend the week watching my teenage cousin and her family's menagerie of pets.  Portland is everything that people make it out to be, and more. Bikes are everywhere, probably gettting people from one mobile food cart/coffee shop/brewery to another. Well, that's what I would be doing, in any case.

Right before I left, I saw this recipe for a vegetarian chili with a twist. In a moment of impulse, I pulled out as many items from my pantry as I could find to see whether or not I could whip up a batch before I left. Lo and behold, I had most everything that the recipe called for, so naturally, it was "game on".

What has the recipe inspired? Another vote for the life motto of, "Everything tastes better with peanut butter."

Vegetarian Chili with Peanut ButterAdapted from Serious Eats

Photo Source: Serious Eats

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Two (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tsp chili powder
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
One (12-ounce) can tomato paste
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (preferably unsweetened)
One (15-ounce) cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (originally
called for 2 cans of kidney)
One (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
One (15-ounce) can white beans, rinsed and drained
One (15-ounce) can whole sweet corn, rinsed and drained (used frozen)
4 cups cooked white or brown rice (for serving)
1 cup coarsely grated sharp cheddar cheese (for serving)
1 cup chopped scallions (for serving)

Directions:

In large stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat until shimmering.

Add onion and garlic and sauté until the onions are translucent, about 4 minutes.
Add diced tomatoes and their liquid, black pepper, salt, cayenne pepper, paprika, and red pepper flakes to pot. Let simmer for 5 minutes and then add tomato paste, vegetable stock, and peanut butter.
Stir until tomato paste and peanut butter are well incorporated. Let simmer for 10 minutes.
Reduce heat to low and add all beans and corn. Let simmer for 20 minutes.
To serve, place a half cup of rice in large bowl and add two ladles of chili. Top with cheddar cheese and chopped scallions.

Experiment Time

"Put your money where your mouth is" is beginning to ring loud and clear in this head of mine.  As an advocate of and someone who raves about my CSA box from New Roots Organics, we have now moved into that time of year where root vegetables and greens are in abundance, and that's about it.

Since I am heading to Portland for a week, I wanted to make sure to put all of my veggies to use, knowing full well that I can always freeze portions of whatever I make for a later time. What did we ever do before freezers? Nope, I don't want to know the answer to that.

Inventory of my veggie supplies, as well as the exciting realization that, not only is it a soup swap week for Amy and I, but it is officially "Soup Swap Day"(OK, fine, it was yesterday, according to our friends at soupswap.com. But time is relative, right?)!  This meant that at least one creation had to be soup.  Amy made the calculation that this swap is already going to be our three month anniversary.  My, how time flies.  Amy will be moving back to San Francisco in the spring, and I'm crossing my fingers that UPS has a soup-shipping option!

So what to make?  A vegetable "gratin" of sorts, and of course, a soup!  The gratin title is questionable, given that there are no eggs in this recipe.  It's more of a layered casserole.  I took a few liberties with the casserole, and if you choose to make it, I recommend taking a few more, namely in the spice department. The texture is great, the casserole is filling, and you couldn't ask for a more delicious way to get a hearty serving of vitamins, protein, and fiber.

The soup was going to be hit or miss, but I'm thrilled with how it turned out.  If you don't like spice, dial down the cayenne and the chili pepper.  This is truly a unique soup, but it's a winner.

Swiss Chard, Sweet Potato, and Quinoa “Gratin”
Adapted from Epicurious.com

Photo from: myvegblog

1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3), sliced thinly or mandolined
3 parsnips, sliced thinly or mandolined
1 cup quinoa
3 tablespoons olive oil
1.5 cups coarse fresh breadcrumbs
10 leaves fresh sage
2 1/2 pounds Swiss chard, washed well and stems trimmed, removed, and reserved
4 cups of fresh spinach, washed well and trimmed
3 tablespoons minced garlic (about 6 cloves), or to taste
.5 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. and grease a two shallow baking dishes. Slice potatoes and parsnips thinly (the food processor is a great tool here), and roast for about half an hour, or until very tender.
2. While potatoes and parsnips are baking, combine quinoa with 2 cups salted water or broth in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer quinoa, covered, until all liquid is absorbed, about 15
minutes, and remove lid.
3. Chop sage and mix with bread crumbs.  In a skillet heat 1 tablespoon oil over moderate heat and cook bread crumbs until golden brown. Season crumbs with salt and pepper, if needed.
4. While quinoa is cooking, finely chop swiss chard and spinach. In a deep heavy 12-inch
kettle heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil over moderate heat and cook stems until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in leaves, a handful at a time, and stir in garlic, tossing. Cook leaves until just wilted, about 4 minutes. Remove kettle from heat and stir in quinoa until combined well. Season mixture with salt and pepper, if desired.
5. Reduce temperature to 350°.F.
6. Spread potatoes and parsnips on the bottom of baking dish, layering the quinoa mixture on top.  Sprinkle breadcrumbs and parmesan over the whole casserole.
6. Bake gratin in middle of oven about 30 minutes, or until hot. Cool gratin 5 minutes before serving.

Cabbage, Sweet Potato and Black Bean Soup

Adapted from Cinnamon, Spice, and Everything Nice

Photo from: CinnamonSpice&EverythingNice

1 onion, diced

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups cabbage, shredded or finely chopped

1/3 cup greek yogurt

1/3 cup skim milk

1 tablespoon Chile powder

1 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon sea or kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 lb sweet potato (about 2), diced

1 apple, miced

5 cups Vegetable or chicken broth

14 oz black beans

1 teaspoon white vinegar

3 tbsp parsley

Cheddar cheese to sprinkle on top

1. In a large soup pot ,saute onion in olive oil over medium-low heat until tender. Add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add cabbage, greek yogurt, milk, chile powder, thyme, paprika, salt, pepper, cinnamon and cayenne. Simmer slowly for 5-7 minutes.

2. Add sweet potatoes, apple, broth, black beans and vinegar. Bring to a simmer and cook 25-30 minutes. Taste halfway through and re-season if needed.  Take off heat and add parsley.

3. Serve with a sprinkle of cheese.

Dinner guests

My friends are really fun. And funny. And interesting. So whenever there's an opportunity to bring people together, feed them, and let them entertain me, I am happy to oblige.

This past week, some of my climbing friends and a neighbor of mine came over for dinner. The group was largely vegetarian, but that didn't stop us from a little bit of experimentation. The menu consisted of two kinds of hummus (plain and sweet potato; sweet potato recipe below), barley and butternut squash risotto, salad (with Noa's perfectly made "in the bowl" dressing...this is a true art form), peanut butter-oatmeal-chocolate chip cookie cake, and Erica's homemade coffee ice cream. Drool.

The cookie cake used the 'how to impress my teenage cousin' recipe, but instead of cooking as individual cookies, I just put the dough into my cast iron skillet and baked at 350F for ~25 minutes. Since one of my new year's resolutions was to cook in the cast iron skillet more (I WILL get mine seasoned well!), I get the satisfaction of accomplishing a goal, while really, I get to enjoy an easier and more impressive way of serving cookies!

Barley and Butternut Squash Risotto
Recipe from Gastronomy Blog

Photo from: Ileana's Kitchen

1 medium butternut squash (about 2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (about  3 1/2 cups)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt
Pepper
4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

4 cups water
1 onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups pearled barley
1 cup dry white wine
3/4 cups grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon minced fresh sage
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
For fried sage
10 sage leaves
1 tablespoon butter
Coarse salt


Adjust an oven rack to the upper middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the squash with 2 teaspoons of the oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper and spread out over the prepared baking sheet. Roast the squash until tender and golden brown, about 30 minutes; set aside until needed.

Meanwhile, bring the broth and water to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting and cover to keep warm.


Combine the onion and 1 teaspoon of the oil in a large saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.


Stir in the barley, increase the heat to medium, and cook, stirring often, until lightly toasted and aromatic, about 4 minutes. Stir in the wine and continue to cook, stirring often, until the wine has been completely absorbed, about 2 minutes.


Stir in 3 cups of the warm broth and half of the roasted squash. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is absorbed and the bottom of the pan is dry, 22 to 25 minutes. Stir in 2 more cups of the warm broth and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is absorbed and the bottom of the pan is dry, 15 to 18 minutes longer.


Continue to cook the risotto, stirring often and adding 1/2 cup of the remaining broth at a time as needed to keep the pan bottom from becoming dry (about every 4 minutes), until the grains of barley are cooked through but still somewhat firm in the center, 15 to 20 minutes longer.


Off the heat, stir in the remaining roasted squash, cheese, butter, sage, and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper to taste.


For the fried sage
While the risotto is cooking, make the fried sage. Gently melt the butter in a frying pan. Once the butter begins to bubble, add the sage leaves. Fry the leaves on both sides until crispy, approximately 5 minutes. Drain the leaves on paper towels, sprinkle lightly with salt, and set aside.

Before serving, garnish the risotto with grated Parmesan and fried sage leaves.

Sweet Potato Hummus
Recipe from http://www.acozykitchen.com/sweet-potato-hummus/

Photo from A Cozy Kitchen

1 sweet potato

1 can of cannellini beans
1 clove of garlic
1 teaspoon of tahini
2 tablespoons of olive oil (might have to play with this amount for your liking)
2 tablespoons of lemon juice (from one 1/2 lemon)
1 teaspoon of salt (or to taste)

Pre-heat oven to 350F.

On a baking sheet, place sweet potato in the oven to roast for 30 minutes, or until tender.  Allow it to come to room temperature and then peel and mash.
In a food processor, add your can of cannellini beans, garlic, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice and salt.  Pulse for 30 seconds or until creamy. You might have to add more olive oil or lemon juice to get it to the consistency of your liking.
Then add the mashed sweet potato and pulse for 15 more seconds until combined.
Serve with pita chips, regular chips, or whatever you like!

New Year

Oh boy. The new year has started off with a vengeance. The weather gods have been on our side, giving us damp, holed-up Seattlites a little bit of room to explore these great outdoors around us. Snowshoeing, hiking, and climbing have been amazing (minus a minor touch of frostbite on the toe...but at least it makes for a good story!).

With all of the adventures we've been on and fun that's been had, I am (obviously) very behind on posting recipes!  Rather than play catch up, I'm just going to put up some of the more successful creations that have been making their way out of the kitchen recently.

This stew could not be easier to make, and it satisfies the dietary requirements of our vegan friendfolk.  This takes advantage of mostly pantry items, but don't skimp on the fresh rosemary.  If you don't have any, I'm sure your neighbors won't mind if you grab a sprig or two.  Shhh.....

Mediterranean Barley Vegetable Stew

Adapted from http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2013855009_web12veganstew.html?syndication=rss 

Photo source:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2011/01/11/2013907638.jpg

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 medium yellow onions, diced
1 can (28-ounce) chopped tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
4 cups (1 quart) vegetable broth
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, minced1 1/2 cups pearl barley
1 jar (12-ounce) roasted red peppers, drained and cut into strips
5 ounces fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
1 cup water
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

1. In a large saucepan over medium, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, shallots and onions and saute until soft and translucent, about 6 to 7 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes, broth, rosemary and barley, then bring to a simmer. Cover and continue to cook until the barley is tender, about 50 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Stir in the roasted red peppers, baby spinach, olives and water. Cook until the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.