French Barley Salad

After a recent trip to Europe (Brussels and Paris), it got me thinking about Parisian way of life and their lifestyle vs. the average American's. It's not that I haven't thought about this before, but as I am in the process of exploring different ways of eating (i.e. Ayurvedic, macrobiotic, etc), I am considering different elements of all these different approaches that I may want to incorporate into my own. Of course there have been all kinds of things written about why French women are so thin when there are so many rich foods in their diet, and while I haven't read any of them fully, a few of the more obvious points are:
1. Portion control- you can eat rich foods when you're just eating tasting portions of them and not super-sizing everything.
2. Sit down to eat and enjoy your food (sitting in the car doesn't count).
3. Use your feet as your main mode of transportation.

One observation I made was I didn't see a single person walking around drinking coffee out of a to-go cup. In Europe, they sit down and drink their coffee. In addition to taking time to eat/ drink their food, they are also much more "green" there than we are here, so that probably contributes to this factor as well. But, the next time you walk down a busy city street here in the U.S., take note as to how many people are eating or drinking something while they're walking. The same goes for the car. There is quite a bit of mindless consumption that takes place.

I had two of the best salads I've ever eaten while in Belgium, one in Brussels and one in Bruge. The one in Bruge had mozzarella that was so light and delicious it melted in my mouth. In Brussels, Wendy and I were hoping to eat some form of protein that was not cheese. In my experience, this is very difficult to do in Europe. There doesn't appear to be a big vegetarian crowd as far as I can tell. It's not that I didn't adore the toasted goat cheese I had on a couple of occasions, or the aforementioned mozzarella, but I'd prefer to not eat that much dairy. So, when we sat down at Birdie Nam Nam, the cafe in Brussels (can you even stand how cute the name is?) and started to decipher the French menu, I nearly shrieked with delight when I saw "lentils" as part of the ingredients. As it turned out, this was not the best part of the salad. The highlight was these little tomatoes that were either partly dried or partly roasted that were so delicious, I had to ask Wendy to be quiet every time I ate one, so I could have a "moment". Luckily she totally understood, and I did the same for her. I wish I could take some home with me (see the picture at the top if you want to know what they look like). I would take these any day over the many pieces of Belgian chocolate we sampled (I know, this is blasphemy to some.) It makes me sad that I may never eat one of those amazing little bundles of goodness again unless I can figure out how they were cooked.

The consistent element to most of the salads I ate was the simple vinaigrette they were dressed in. You could probably feed me sawdust, but if it was covered in a tangy vinaigrette I'd be happy. As a tribute to the salads I had while abroad, I made this barley salad from the Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special Cookbook. I used cucumber instead of green beans since I didn't have any on hand and I toasted the walnuts instead of cooking them in butter, though I'm sure that would add some nice flavor. Barley is a great base for a cold salad because its consistency holds up very well. I like the chewy texture a lot.

French Barley Salad
1/2 cup raw pearled barley
6 cups water
1/2 tspn salt

Dressing
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1/2 tspn Dijon mustard
1 tblspn chopped fresh dill (1 1/2 tspn dried)
1 tspn salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 cup halved or quartered mushrooms
1 cup peeled diced carrots
1 cup cut green beans, trimmed and halved
1 cup thinly sliced red or yellow bell peppers
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tspns butter
2/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1. Bring the water to a boil, adding the 1/2 tspn of salt. Rinse the barley in a sieve or strainer. Add it to the boiling water, and cook for about 30 minutes. Drain, rinse in cold water to arrest the cooking and put aside to cool.
2. While the barley cooks, whisk together the dressing ingredients and in a small bowl, pour half over the mushrooms and let marinate.
3. Blanch the carrots in boiling water for about a minute. Remove with a slotted spoon,
drain and set aside to cool in a large serving bowl. In the same water, blanch the green beans for 3 to 4 minutes. Rinse in cold water and set them aside (do not add to serving bowl).
4. Stir the peppers and the mushrooms in with the carrots and green beans.
5. In a skillet, heat the butter, when it sizzles, stir in the walnuts so they are coated in butter and begin to brown, then immediately remove from heat.
6. Add the drained barley and remaining dressing to bowl and mix well. Let marinate for 30 minutes. Just before serving add the green beans and walnuts (it's best to add these in just before serving, otherwise the acidity from the dressing will start to soften them).

Carrot Sauce

What's the opposite of a Domestic Goddess? A "Domestic Delinquent perhaps? Whatever it is, that's me. I suppose I could be worse. There are certain things I get done regularly, like grocery shopping, cooking, and doing the dishes. I could be feeding Todd and I dinners of Ritz crackers and Cheese Whiz from the corner store and letting dirty takeout containers pile up in the sink. But, I could never admit to you the number of times in my life that I've, for instance, thoroughly cleaned a refrigerator , or how regularly I mop my floors or dust. I'm sure there's things I'm should do that I don't even have any idea I should be doing. And, when I do these sorts of things, I'm really not efficient at it due to my lack of practice.
I want to turn over a new leaf, however. Well, sort of. I know I enjoy the house being clean, I just don't enjoy the process or want to take the time to do it. I can ALWAYS find something else to be doing. So, I hired someone to clean the apartment every other week. It took Todd and I a bit to wrap our head around the idea that this was a justifiable thing to do. It is, after all, only the two of us, and our place is small. But, reality is we both work a lot of hours and don't want to spend our weekends taking care of that stuff, so it just doesn't get done at the frequency it should. We've had our apartment cleaned three times now and so far it's great. I know it's a luxury that I won't always be able to have, but I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts. And with the dusting and floor washing done, it leaves me time to be scouring the fridge and all those other things I'll have to figure out. Feel free to advise (Mom). I should also mention here, for the record,that my mother keeps her house very clean, and this is not something I've inherited from her.
But, back to one of my more redeeming household qualities- cooking. I made this sauce specifically to go over some five grain croquettes I made a couple of months ago, but the sauce is versatile and would work well over most grains and some veggies as well. The recipe calls for carrot juice which I had to buy at the store because I don't have a juicer, but prefer to be able to make my own.

Carrot Sauce
2 tspns olive oil
2 scallions, trimmed, white parts thinly sliced
1 tspn finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
sea salt
2 cups fresh carrot juice
2 tspns freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 2-inch strip lemon zest
2 tblspns arrowroot powder
2 tblspns cold water
2 tspns finely chopped fresh parsley

1. In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the scallions, thyme, and a pinch of salt. Saute for 1 minute, cover and cook over the lowest possible heat for 5 minutes. Do not let the scallions brown.
2. Add the carrot juice, lemon juice and lemon zest. Raise the heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 2 minutes.
3. In a small bowl, dissolve the arrowroot in water. Add it to the pan and stir continuously until the sauce thickens. Remove and discard the lemon zest. Add the parsley and simmer for 1 minute. (If you want something with a little more kick, you could add a pinch of cayenne here as well.)
4. Serve immediately or cool to room temperature and refrigerate. The sauce will keep for up to 2 days.

Sweet Potato Walnut Salad

Today was a gorgeous day. I started it with a trip to a farmers market, my first this season. I went with two missions: 1) get some veggies 2)take some portrait shots for this week's photography class assignments. I did just a little of both. I walked away with bok choy, swiss chard, red leaf lettuce, strawberries, a greenhouse tomato, and maybe one portrait shot that I can turn in for this week. Later I was regretting not getting some arugula because it would be so good with some strawberries and shaved Parmesan. Well, maybe next week.
Mike gave me a lesson on shutter speed and aperture amidst the hanging tomato plants and lettuces. It helped a lot, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all. I think it's going to take a while.
Speaking of strawberries, I cannot stand putting them in the fridge, but I also can't stand having them go moldy after a day. Any ideas on this? I came home from the market and had to spend time throwing away some old produce that had gone bad before I got a chance to use it, including some lettuce. Mike also gave me a good suggestion regarding keeping lettuce fresh: put a paper towel in with your lettuce. It will help absorb the moisture and increase the life of the lettuce pretty dramatically. I will try it this week.
Of f to see my parents tomorrow to celebrate Fathers' Day. We will be making this salad as part of our meal. I made it a couple of weeks ago and it was better than I had anticipated. This also came from Moosewood Cooking for Health.

Sweet Potato Walnut Salad
Dressing
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
2 tblspns white vinegar
2 tblspns chopped sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil (I did not use these)
1 tspn dijon mustard
1/2 tspn salt
1/4 tspn ground blk pepper

3 large sweet potatoes (I used 2)
2 cups trimmed and halved green beans
1 cup coarsely chopped toasted walnuts
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
salt and black pepper

1. Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
2. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 3/4 inch cubes. Steam until just tender.
3. Steam the green beans until just tender.
4. In a bowl, toss the sweet potatoes, green beans, walnuts, parsley and dressing.
5. This can be served, warm, at room temperature or chilled. Serve it as a side or over arugula.

Granola

Ooooooooooooooooommmmmmmm. I repeated that many times this week, along with lots of downward facing dogs, deep breaths and goddess poses (Kathy M, if you read this, please do not critique the pose I am portraying in the picture. I know it needs work!). For my time off this month, I decided on a practice that's become popular in the sluggish economy - a "staycation". I didn't stay home all week, but I did stay local. I had originally considered going to Boulder to visit my friend Lauri and spend a night at a yoga retreat center outside of Fort Collins, but I traveled a couple of times for work in May and I just didn't feel like getting on a plane again. So, I looked into Kripalu, a yoga center out in the Berkshires, less than a 3 hour drive from Boston. I had heard lots about it over the years and thought it was time I check it out. They offer lots of topical programs that focus mostly on yoga and health, but I decided to just go for the program-free Retreat and Renewal where you can attend yoga classes and other talks and workshops throughout the day.
When I first made my reservations, I booked a three night stay, but then I was hearing mixed reviews about the place, and realized I was going to miss Bike Night at Redbones, so I cut it back to two. I went in with very low expectations, and I think this tactic worked because I ended up having a very nice time. I enjoyed the yoga classes I took, had a couple of healing arts treatments, learned about Ayurvedic practices, sampled lots of the healthy food options, and met a new friend, Jennifer, from Maine.
The first thing I noticed when I got there is that everyone was walking around and looking up, totally aware of their surroundings, meaning they weren't texting or talking on the phone while going from one place to the next. There are very strict rules about where one can talk on a cell phone. Even as a self-proclaimed text addict, I found this to be very pleasant. In many ways they try to draw you into the moment, to be mindful of what you're doing. Even breakfast is totally silent. Imagine being in a large dining hall, with hundreds of people in it, and they are all just eating - not even reading or playing games on their phone. I'm all for technology, but it was nice to have a break. Of course, I'll admit I was playing Scrabble and texting the second I got into my room, but I put my phone away the rest of the time.
I'm not sure if I'll text less now that I'm home, but I am looking to work meditation into my daily routine. I also bought a cookbook to continue my exploration on the topic. You may see some recipes in the near future. Again, I was reminded to eat fresh food as much as possible. While I do a decent job with this, I think I can do a bit better.
Since I had some free time upon my return, I decided to make my own granola. I've been meaning to do this for a while and thought it a perfect task during a staycation. It came out pretty tasty, so here it is. I took it from one of my Moosewood cookbooks (Cooking for Health). I hope you enjoy it. Namaste.

Granola
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup honey or pure maple syrup ( I used agave nectar)
1 tspn salt
1 tblsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups coarsely chopped nuts
6 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds
2 tbslpn brown sesame seeds (I didn't have any, so didn't use)
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (optional, but I did use)

1. Preheat the oven to 325.
2. In a small saucepan on low heat, warm the oil and sweetener of choice. Stir in the vanilla.
3. Place the oats nuts and seeds in a large bowl. While stirring, gradually pour in the warm oil mixture until everything is coated.
4. Spread the granola on an un-oiled baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring after 20 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and stir every 10 minutes or so, until cool to prevent clumping.

Crunchy Quinoa Salad

I'm in the midst of Birthday Week. So far, I have to say, I'm having a lot more fun celebrating 41 than I did 40. It's not that I had a bad time for my 40th. I think I just felt compelled to do something really memorable and I couldn't decide what that should be so I just became paralyzed with indecision and didn't plan much of anything. This turned out to be the year of the Ipad. I bought Todd one for his birthday a couple of weeks ago, not knowing he had already ordered one for me. It's probably a good thing, because I don't think either of us would be into sharing. And besides receiving that and other great gifts, I'm really enjoying myself. Thursday, my actual birthday, was Mission: Ice-cream. Imagine my delight when I realized one of the flavors for the month at J.P. Licks was fresh banana oreo, just like last year. Todd, Steve and I went for a casual dinner in Davis Square, followed by a calcium fix. To my relief, fresh banana oreo was just as good as I remembered it and I'm going to have to get over there at least once more before the end of the month. Friday was my real birthday dinner. Todd, Sallie, Mike, Catherine and I met at Oleana. I've heard many times how fantastic this place was and made the reservations 2 months ago. I ordered the vegetarian tasting menu and everything was great. I think the table favorite was the falafel appetizer Sallie ordered. Each falafel ball was laid out in it's own adorable little wrap. It's perfect for a special occasion and we will be going back. Hopefully next time we will get patio seating. Tomorrow, I go see Patty Griffin with Susan. We haven't had a music date in a while so I'm looking forward to it. Then, next week, I'm on vacation.
I found this recipe in a newer cookbook of mine, The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen. I needed something to bring to a Memorial Day cookout. In the midst of making it I suddenly panicked as I realized, "Oh no, I've done it again. I've made some weird thing that no one will want to eat." As it turned out, my worries were unfounded because most of it was not only consumed, but enjoyed. Sarahjoy, the host, was particularly fond of it. I mentioned her in my last post as I had volunteered to bring a veggie dish to her wedding weekend party. It looks like I will now be bringing quinoa salad instead! It's great for a picnic or outdoor setting because it stays pretty crunchy. Be warned, there are quite a few ingredients, so it requires a bit of time to make, but it's worth the effort.

Crunchy Quinoa Salad
Salad:
1/3 cup hulled sesame seeds
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup hulled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1/2 cups water
1/2 tspn sea salt
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
Kernels from 2 ears of corn, or 1 cup frozed corn kernels defrosted
1 red onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
4-6 radishes, trimmed and cut into matchsticks
1 large carrot, grated

Marinade:
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small bunch cilantro (about 1 cup), trimmed, leaves and tender stems chopped
2 scallions, white and green parts, trimmed and sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 garlic clove, minced
sea salt
fresh milled pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 375.
2. Spread the seeds on baking sheet and toast in the oven for 12 minutes or until golden brown (Not too much though! There is a fine line between toasted and burned.) Pour them in a bowl and set aside to cool.
3. In a small saucepan over high heat, bring the 1 1/2 cups of water and salt to a boil. Add the quinoa. When the water returns to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until all of the water has been absorbed. Spread on a baking sheet to cool.
4. In a pot with a fitted steamer, combine the corn kernels with the red onion. Steam for 3 to 5 minutes until tender crisp. Remove to a colander and chill under cold running water. Drain thoroughly.
5. Make marinade. In a large mixing bowl, combine the vinegar, oil, cilantro, scallions, jalapeno pepper, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt, and black pepper to taste. Whisk well.
6. Add seeds, quinoa, steamed vegetable, red pepper, radishes, and carrot to the marinade. Mix well. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to blend flavors.

Brown Rice Curry Salad

Welcome to our new home! I am writing this from my adorable new-used writing desk in our dining room that is actually going to be used to eat in, rather than ride bikes in, set in our cozy little apartment. For all of this, I am very happy. It's a smaller place than our last and we've still got a lot of unpacking and organizing to do, yet already I can feel the "qi" washing over me as we exhibit better Feng Shui. Our new place will be less cluttered and more inviting than Melrose Street. Most of the walls are a pale steel gray vs. the stark white that surrounded us in every room of the old place. This provides a warmer feel. I don't think I realized just how much I didn't like that apartment until now.
We have the best of both worlds with the neighborhood. We are still close in proximity to our neighborhood friends and the fun stuff we could walk to. But the new neighborhood is slightly cuter and so far seems more friendly. It's almost got a Portland, OR feel to it. And, of course, there's my favorite part: a Corgi lives right across the street. I think I scared my new neighbor a bit when I overenthusiastically expressed my joy at the realization that Noodle the Corgi lived that close by, but all seems well now since they've invited us for a barbecue once we get settled. If I can't have my own dog, I'll adopt the ones in the neighborhood for now.
I am giddy with excitement as I anticipate future dinner parties, game nights and conversations that will be had at our new-used dining table. (I've been spending a lot of time on craigslist these days in the furniture section. I'm trying to both be green and save money. I'm trying to be in the moment and enjoy the process of setting up our new place, but I am eager to get back to our regularly scheduled programming. Neither Todd nor I have ridden our bikes in quite a while. The routine I get back to, however, will be a bit different than my old. The injury I've been dealing with has slowed me down quite a bit, but forced me to get yoga in my life and in general I'm re-thinking how to spend my time. My change of scenery is going to bring about some positive changes, of this I am sure.
Over all the move went smoothly and I am thankful for many factors: going from one first floor to another first floor; the rain holding off on the big move day, and mostly, the friends and family who eagerly jumped in to help us. Gary, Juan and our parents all lent a helping hand. The Superstar Moving Help award goes to Nate Gallagher, our neighbor, friend and former co-worker of Todd's. Without his packing and moving skills and his many days of help, I'm not sure where we'd be right now. I only hope we can return the favor as he and Sarah Joy prepare for their upcoming wedding. They are prepping the grounds and doing much of the cooking themselves. I have offered to make some food for them as they have a few other vegetarians attending, and this rice dish is one of the things I plan to make. (Photo added later when I lived up to my word and made this salad from said kitchen!)

Brown Rice Salad
3 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup chopped green onions
1 cup chopped bell pepper diced (I used a mix of yellow and red)
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 carrot, grated
1 green apple, cored and diced
1 cup finely shredded red cabbage
1/2 cup golden raisins

Dressing:
1/2 cup of mayo (can use vegan)
3 tblspns rice vinegar
2 tspns Dijon mustard
2 tspns curry powder

1. Once rice is cooled, mix all salad ingredients, then toss with dressing!

Veggie BBQ Bowl

For the last few months, I've been looking forward to Mondays. No, I haven't been totally brainwashed by the corporate powers so that I'm eager to get back to the office on Mondays. Rather, I was taking a class about writing and publishing children's books at Cambridge Center for Adult Education in Harvard Square. Oh, how I loved my Monday evenings! The class started at 5:30 so in order to make it on time, I had to leave work before 5:00 which is a rarity for me. The class was made up of a dozen or so people of different ages and backgrounds, all possessing a love of children's picture books. I was so inspired by all their creativity. We each had to write at least one manuscript, read it to the class and get feedback from our peers. Our "guests" included otters, spotted pigs, a fallen baby star, and Little Red Book. Some revealed themselves through poems and others prose, and each was a joy to listen to. We would also bring in and share some of our own favorite picture books. This was how I discovered the fun of Stinky Cheese Man, and other tales by Jon Sciezska.
And the fun didn't end in the classroom. Afterwards, I would head to Le's, my favorite Vietnamese cafe, get a bowl of Pho or a noodle, veggie and tofu plate, and read or write over dinner. Next, I would poke around Harvard Square, hitting a book store or other shops.
I plan to keep working on my manuscripts and hopefully keep in touch with my classmates, a couple of whom I am quite sure will get published. I would like to take another class too, but now that the weather is warming up and it's time to get outside, I may be distracted by other things. I'm also trying to get yoga back into my schedule regularly, so that may be my new Monday night routine.
Between that and the class I was supposedly going to on Tuesdays, Winter Cycling Training Intensive (I wasn't as diligent about making it to this class), I found my weeks busy and I had less time for cooking and menu planning, so I relied on things that I know how to make and/or came together quickly. I think I must've made tomato soup at least 10 times this winter. In my last entry, I mentioned being inspired by The Friendly Toast's BBQ Veggie Bowl. I have made it a couple of times and I still have some tweaking to do to it. For the sauce, I've just been using some Whole Foods brand Steak sauce and a little hot sauce, but I want to find something better. I also think there's potential with what to add to the bean mixture. But, in it's most basic form, it's still a good alternative when you want some comfort food, but don't have the time to bake a Shepherd's Pie.

Veggie BBQ Bowl

4 large potatoes, russet or yukon gold
3 cloves of minced garlic, sauteed briefly in a bit of olive oil
milk, butter or whatever you typically put in your mashed potatoes
salt and pepper
1 14 oz can black beans
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 carrot grated
some kind of steak or bbq sauce
1 cooked veggie burger, per person

1. Peel and cut potatoes and put them on to boil in salted water. Reduce heat once they come to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a sautee pan, heat up beans, corn and carrots in whatever sauce you are using. You will probably need about a half cup. You don't want in swimming in it, but enough to flavor the bean mixture and maybe to wet the mashed potatoes in the bowl.
3. Cook the veggie burgers according to package directions.
4. Mash the potatoes however you like.
5. In a bowl, scoop in a layer of mashed potatoes, topped by a layer of bean mixture and crumble a veggie burger on top.

White Bean Sautee with Roasted Veggies

We don't eat out all that much, maybe because I don't mind cooking, but I do find eating in restaurants to be a good source of inspiration for recipe ideas. I was reminded of this over the past couple of weeks. First, when we stopped at The Friendly Toast in Portsmouth en route to Maine and I ate a veggie barbecue bowl. If you haven't been to The Friendly Toast, it's fun and funky, and they often add creative twists to casual type food. The barbecue veggie bowl was a perfect example of this. It was basically an unbaked, updated vegetarian version of Shepherds Pie. Our other recent meal out was at Flora, our neighborhood fine dining venue, where we visited for a belated Valentine's Day meal. It's only our third visit there, but we've had an excellent experience each time. There I had a white bean cassoulet with roasted root veggies, wild mushrooms and greens. I have since made versions of both of these.
At the risk of being boring, I will post the white bean dish even though my last post featured the same main ingredient. But, I am loving cannelini beans these days and I want everyone else to feel the love! Perhaps it's because I eat so many black beans and chickpeas (of course), that they are a nice change. But they really do have a nice texture and lend themselves well to fragrant herbs. When I researched cassoulet recipes I found they were more like soups and included sausage as well as beans. The dish at Flora was definitely not soupy. I also wanted to include some Israeli couscous since I thought that would add some nice texture and make a heartier meal. I'm not totally sure what they had for roasted veggies, but I'm pretty sure they had some butternut squash and turnip in there. I used white and sweet potato and a delicata squash. If you've never had this kind of squash, you MUST try it. It's nutty and light, not as sweet as butternut, and you don't have to peel it. (And you may already know how I feel about peeling butternut squash. Just for the record, I would still adore delicata squash, even if it needed to be peeled.)
I originally thought I would assemble all the three pieces after each had been cooked, then bake it for a bit. But in the end, I decided not to. Instead I just layered them in a bowl and served. It's still not quite what I want, but it was tasty enough that I would make it again. I will still go back to the drawing board though and see what I can come up with.

White Bean Sautee with Roasted Veggies

Bean sautee:
1 tblsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 large or 3 small ribs celery, diced
4 cloves garlic
2 14 oz cans cannelini/ white kidney beans
1/2 can diced tomatoes
1 cup veggie broth
a few leaves of kale, de-stemmed and chopped
2 tblspns dried herb de provencal or a mixture of thyme, sage, oregano and a bay leaf

Israeli couscous:
1 cup Israeli couscous
1 1/4 cup veggie broth

Roasted Veggies:
2 tblspns oil
4ish cups of a mixture of good roasting veggies diced (I used white potato, sweet potato delicata squash and crimini mushrooms
1 tspn sage
salt and pepper

1. Toss the veggies to be roasted with the oil, sage, salt and pepper to taste. Place in a baking pan and roast at 425 for 40 minutes or more til tender, tossing every 10 minutes or so.

2. Heat oil for bean sautee in a large sautee pan over medium heat. Add onion, celery and garic. Cook five minutes until soft. Add beans and herbs, toss for a couple of minutes then add broth and tomatoes and simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes. At the end, you just want a little liquid left in the pan, so you may find you'll need to add more broth. You all may want it more tomatoey, but I wanted the tomato to be subtle.

3. Bring the couscous and broth to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer covered for 10-12 minutes, until broth is absorbed.

4. After the bean sautee has been simmering for about 15 minutes, add the kale and put the lid on the pan.

5. On serving dishes, ladel a layer of beans, then a layer of couscous. Top with roasted veggies.

Pasta with Cannelini Beans and Spinach

While my lack of blogging might indicate a lack of cooking, that's not necessarily so. I have recently purchased a couple of new cookbooks after not having bought any for quite some time. I am finding them inspirational. It's time to take my cooking up a notch and I'm confident these books can help me. I got another Moosewood: Cooking for Health. I've made several dishes from that so far. I also just received Modern Vegetarian Kitchen. I spent some time reading it yesterday, but haven't cooked anything from it yet. The author gives a lot of great tips and explanations and so far, I like what I see.
I've also had a fairly busy schedule. On Mondays I am taking a class in Harvard Square on writing and publishing childrens' books. On Tuesdays I do a cycling/ core strengthening class at the Training Room in Somerville. Wednesday nights is group trainer workout in Cathy and Mike's basement with potluck dinner after. Thursdays I usually work late and do a run. Then, we're back to the weekend. There hasn't been much time for experimenting in the kitchen, so I've been falling back on many of the usual suspects.
I'm pretty sure this dish could become a regular. It's one of those things you can make even if you haven't made it to the grocery store in a bit, because you'll have everything on hand in the pantry or freezer. You'll note that the recipe calls for a 1/4 tspn of salt. Due to a little mishap, I put about 6,ooo times that amount into the pan. As I was shaking a "bit" of salt in right at the end of cooking, the lid came flying off, dumping the entire contents of the container onto the pasta. After hearing some expletives emerge from the kitchen, Todd came running in thinking I had perhaps caught my hair on fire. When he saw what actually happened, he said, "I know you're upset, but you have to admit, it's pretty funny. We should take a picture of it." So we did and then we salvaged a portion of it. I guess if you spend enough time in the kitchen, you're going to have days like these. And, I now understand why on cooking shows the chefs pick the salt from a little bowl and sprinkle it on with their fingers. Lesson learned.

Pasta with Cannelini Beans and Spinach
10 oz frozen chopped spinach
8 oz of fusilli or rotini pasta
1 tblsp olive oil
1 small onion chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
pinch red chile pepper flakes
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can cannelini beans
1 tspn dried oregano
1 tspn dried basil
1/4 tspn salt
1/4 tspn ground pepper
a few tblspns feta, parmesan or asiago cheese

1. Cook the spinach. Heat it according to package directions, drain it and press out the excess water. (If using fresh, wilt in some boiling water, drain press excess water from it and chop it coarsely.)
2. Cook pasta according to package directions.
3. Heat oil in a sautee pan over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and chili pepper flakes. Cook for a few minutes until the onions are soft. Add tomatoes, beans, and spices. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, uncovered, until liquid is reduced. Add spinach and pasta. Let simmer for a couple more minutes. Serve in bowls and top with cheese.

Cheesy Penguins

My effort to incorporate pictures on my blog isn't going very well. It's not just food I'm neglecting to photograph, but pretty much everything else too. Todd and I got this great new camera, a Canon PowerShot SD970 IS Elph which makes picture taking a much better experience than with our old cameras. I think I just got so out of the habit of taking pictures that I'm having a hard time getting back into it. Also, when I look at other cooking blogs, they seem to have really nice kitchens and cookware which makes a pleasant backdrop for the food. Our ghetto kitchen and boring dish set, not so much. However, I am inspired by some of the fantastic photography on these blogs and that of some of my photographer friends, so I will continue to make an effort. This website was the inspiration for the cocktail penguins we brought to a Three Kings party last night.
http://arecipeforaperture.blogspot.com/
These little penguin guys were kind of fun to make. It was like being veterinary chef, operating on these little food animals. They rated pretty high on the cute factor, and in that sense were a hit at the party. They taste o.k., but were mostly just a fun food item.
Earlier in the day we had some fun photographing our city pet filling himself up on the various snacks we left out for him. I think his favorite were the almond crescent cookies I put out, but he had eaten the whole thing before I could get it on film. I was hoping he'd have some confectionery sugar dotting his face for a photo.
If anyone has anymore ideas for animal foods, pass them along. I'm thinking there's got to be something you could do with cherry tomatoes.

Cheesy Penguins
Cream cheese
Goat cheese (one with garlic and herbs is good)
1 can of black olives (I think canned works best since they are firmer)
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
cocktail toothpicks

1. Mix up some cream cheese and goat cheese to taste. You don't have to use goat cheese, but it gives a better flavor.
2. Slice the carrots, not to thin and not too fat. Cut a triangle out of each one. The triangle will be used for the beak.
3. Slice open an olive and stuff it with the cheese mixture. This is the hardest part. It's difficult to do without getting the cheese everywhere. I tried several different gadgets to perform this surgical procedure.
4. Assemble the head, body and feet with a toothpick and insert the beak.

Applesauce

In Led Zeppelin's song Over the Hills and Far Away, Robert Plant muses, "Many times I've wondered how much there is to know." I can relate to this. Sometimes I get overwhelmed by how much there is to know, and just how little of it I do know. Further, I get frustrated by my limited capacity, time-wise, resource-wise and ability-wise to learn (and do) more. For instance, tonight on Fresh Air, George Lucas was being interviewed and he was asked about the mythology behind his films. He explained how he was an anthropology major in college and became interested in the psychology supporting the myths and when creating films he was exploring whether that psychology still resonates in current culture. He was also discussing that mythology is really storytelling. I'm probably misrepresenting precisely what he was saying, but the point is that while listening, what was going through my head was: I would love to be able to study anthropology and know more about various cultures; I would like to read mythology and be familiar with more of the classic myths. I remember being really interested in the little mythology I studied in grade school; I would like to pursue storytelling as an art form. I took a workshop a few years ago, but never did anything with it. Then, in this typical line of my thinking comes the part where I get frustrated thinking that at my job, while I learn knew information, it's nothing terribly interesting and I feel like I'm getting dumber by the day, rather than smarter and wiser.
The next step in this thought progression is usually my getting down on myself for not being disciplined in using my free time more productively - studying and researching (formally or informally) the litany of topics I'd like to explore. On the contrary, I end up being less scheduled than I could be and just falling back on the usual suspects to fill my time: biking, running, cooking and reading fiction (with the smattering of non-fiction mixed in). It's not like I'm spending hours wasting time in front of the t.v. or anything, so I suppose I could be far less productive,but I have do my time wasters: flitting about the Internet and playing my favorite iPhone app of the day (i.e. Boggle). I guess I long to possess a little more Type A personality, and be a morning person, as I've mentioned before (I think they probably go hand in hand), but I'll have to work with what I've got and make the best of it.
When I do make a meal that is spontaneous, creative, tasty and efficient all at the same time, I must admit, I do feel a good sense of accomplishment. This very thing happened the other day when I made potato pancakes from leftover mashed potatoes, applesauce from the softening apples that were no longer good to eat on their own, and a tasty side salad to use up the greens in the fridge. I was just about to throw away half a bag of McIntosh apples when it dawned on me that applesauce would be a good accompaniment to the pancakes. It cooked so quickly and did work well with the meal.

Applesauce
3 to 4 lbs peeled, cored and quartered apples (not all apples are good for cooking, but McIntosh, Fuji, Granny Smith and some others work well.)
4 strips of lemon peel
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tspn cinnamon
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
up to 1/4 cup white sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
1 cup of water
1/2 tspn salt

1. Put all ingredients into a large pot. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
2. Remove from heat, take out lemon peel, and mash with a potato masher or a couple of whirls of an immersion blender.

Would be good warm over vanilla ice cream or put it in fridge for a snack all on its own!

Winter Squash Soup

Butter totally rocks.

I'm finally figuring out that this is one of the reasons why everything in nice restaurants taste so much better than my own cooking. They put butter and cream in pretty much everything. While I don't choose to cook like this all the time, it's a nice treat once in a while. On Christmas day, we chose to stay home and have a quiet day by ourselves. We also defied tradition in a few other ways. I didn't put up a single Christmas decoration (cutting back from the few I scattered about last year), and we didn't partake in much gift giving. I exchanged gifts with a few friends and Todd's parents gave us gifts, but other than that, we abstained. I must admit, I really enjoyed it. I had more appreciation for the few gifts I did get and it made the holidays a little less frenetic. I plan to do the same next year. We also went to the movies on Christmas evening at the Boston Common theatre to see Sherlock Holmes with my friend, Sallie, and her three boys. It was a nice way to end our non-traditional Christmas.
For our quiet dinner at home I had planned to have a romantic candlelit atmosphere, and make something decadent, outside of my usual simple repertoire. I searched around trying to find something French and vegetarian, but couldn't find anything to get terribly excited about. As the day drew closer, I had settled on a menu that was far less intriguing than I had intended and then the day of, that got scaled back even more since we ended up in a bit of a time crunch due to unexpected activity. So, no candlelight, and we rushed through our rather standard type meal.
The only thing I did do a bit differently was to use butter and cream in both the mashed potatoes and the soup I made. The soup was from the Pickety Place cookbook, a cute, homey type restaurant in NH with lots of savory dishes that Todd took me to when we were first dating.
Normally, I would make the same type of recipe without the butter and cream, but I went for it and the results were good. It reminds me, I would like to go visit Pickity Place again (hint, hint Todd).

Winter Squash Soup
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 large Spanish onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups veggie broth (non-tomato based)
3 cups butternut squash, peeled and diced
3 cups acorn squash, peeled and diced
1 tspn fresh thyme (remove leaves from stem and mince)
1 tspn fresh sage, minced
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tspns brown sugar
Salt and white pepper to taste

1. Melt butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until tender, about 10 minutes.
2. Add broth, herbs and squash. Cook on medium heat until squash is tender, about 20-30 minutes.
3. Remove from heat. Let cool a bit and puree until smooth. Whisk in cream and brown sugar. Reheat on low, being careful not to scorch cream.

Black Bean Butternut Squash Chili

Happy twenty ten! I am writing this entry as a means of avoiding the cleanup from yesterday's Chili New Years Day Ride/Party. Our day started with about 30 more degrees than it did last year. Despite that, we actually had fewer people join us for the ride. There were 10 serious competitive cyclists and me, for a total of 11. Last year we had at least 13. While last year's ride was frigid and in the snow, it sort of evened out the playing field a little better. Yesterday's ride was mostly spent with me falling off the back and the rest of the group waiting up for me at the tops of hills. After about 90 minutes of this, I begged the group to go on without me while I toodled back on my own. Pathetically, I was actually lost for a while in the sense that I had no idea where I was even though I was about 5 miles from my house. In the end, it was good because I found a new way home from Lexington and I realized I get stuck in the same routes and need to venture out. I will look forward to some new roads in 2010.

Another 20 or so people eventually joined us back at the house for some food, hot cider, conversation and Rock Band. Typically, Todd has made two versions of the same chili (see last year's post), one with meat and one without. This year I decided to venture out and make a vegetarian chili that was distinct from the other. I chose this recipe because it was a bit sweeter, and doesn't have as much heat, to have an offering for people who want something a bit more mild. Apparently it was good. I never actually got around to trying it, but several people commented on it. The basic recipe has very few ingredients and you can use this as a base to play around with. I added corn, carrots and some cider vinegar. You could sub sweet potatoes for the sqaush and kale or spinach for the chard. Add more spices if you like. Topping this with fresh cilantro would probably taste great.

Black Bean Butternut Squash Chili
2 tblspns olive oil
2 1/2 cups chopped onion
3 cloves garlic
2 1/2 cups butternut squash, peeled and chopped into half inch pieces
2 tblspns chili powder
2 tspns ground cumin
1/8 tspn cayenne (more if you want heat)
3 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 1/2 cups veggie broth
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
3 cups packed of roughly chopped swiss chard

Other stuff I added:
1/2 cup corn kernels
1 carrot, sliced
1 tblspn cider vinegar

1. Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic (and carrot if using). Saute until tender and golden, but be careful not to burn - about 7-9 minutes.
2. Add squash, stir. Cook about 2 more minutes.
3. Add chili powder, cayenne and cumin, and mix.
4. Add tomatoes, broth and beans. Bring to a boil. Turn down heat, and simmer until squash is tender about 15 minutes.
5. Add chard or kale and corn (if using). Cook about 5 more minutes until greens are tender.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste and cider vinegar. Blend and serve.