White Bean, Venison and Spinach Soup February 15, 2008

I made a big pot of this yummy soup this week and enjoyed it for dinner and several lunches.  I followed this recipe but made some changes. The smell was fantastic and the soup was very very filling.

1-2 T. olive oil
1 onion – sliced
1 pound chopped venison – sliced into 1 inch pieces
1 T. ground cumin
1 1/2 T. smoked paprika
3 bay leaves
1/2 cup Shiraz
8-10 cloves garlic – minced
2 cans navy beans – rinsed
6-7 cups chicken broth
3-4 carrots – sliced
1 bag spinach – washed
1 pinch cinnamon
Salt and Pepper

Toss sliced onion into a big pot with a little oil. Saute for a few minutes and then add the venison. Brown on a couple sides before adding the spices, bay leaves and garlic.  Stir a few more minutes. Deglaze the pan with the wine by pouring in and stirring, rubbing along the bottom of the pan to pick up all the flavor from the meat and spices.

After a few more minutes of cooking, add the broth, beans and carrots. Bring to a boil and then turn down to simmer cover and simmer until the flavors combine and the meat is cooked through, about 1 hours with canned beans. After everything is cooked through, bring the heat back up and add in the spinach and cinnamon.  Salt and pepper if needed.

Notes: This was a wonderfully filling and flavorful soup. The cinnamon at the end gave it a great smell. A lot of variations can be made with the base of beans and spinach (or kale if I could ever find it in Harvestime).

Servings: 6-7 servings

GUEST CHEF: Rachel’s Crumiri Cookies February 14, 2008

Rachel found these on Chocolate & Zucchini.  She said “I flavored mine with rosemary and orange zest.  I was attracted to the recipe because I also love cornmeal and had a yummy cornmeal/citrus cookie in NYC in November.”

I have to say, they tasted great.

(Recipe taken directly from Chocolate & Zucchini’s site)

- 180 g (1/2 cup plus 5 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 140 g (1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons) sugar (I use unrefined cane sugar)
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, or 1/8 teaspoon seeds scraped from a real vanilla bean
- 240 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 110 g (2/3 cup) stone-ground cornmeal

Makes about four dozen two-bite cookies.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Add the vanilla and mix again.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, and cornmeal. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until just combined. The dough will be thick.

Plop rounded teaspoons of the dough onto the baking sheet.

Slip into the oven and bake for 12 to 16 minutes (depending on the size and shape of the cookies), until pale golden around the edges. Let stand on the baking sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to a rack to cool completely. The cookies will keep for about a week in an airtight container.

Caramelized Tofu with Brussels Sprouts February 13, 2008

My co-worker saw Heidi from 101cookbooks.com post this recipe and said immediately “A tofu recipe! You’ll love it I bet!” (or something like that) It’s true. I did love it, and so did Chris. I made this dish, along with miso soup with asparagus and mushrooms thrown in, in 30 minutes. So fast! And I was not anywhere as annoying as Rachel Ray.

1 package firm or extra firm tofu – sliced, pressed with paper towels to remove excess water and cut into 1 inch strips.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt
3 cloves – sliced
Hand full of sliced almonds
3 T. brown sugar
Cilantro
Brussels Sprouts – ends cut off and sliced a few times (as many as you want, I used about 20 because I love them)

Cook the tofu strips in oil, flipping to brown each side, for about 5 minutes. Toss in a bit of salt. Add the garlic and almonds and cook for another couple minutes then add the brown sugar. Stir and mix in the pan and let caramelize. Once done, toss in cilantro, mix and put the tofu mixture on a plate and toss in the cut up brussels sprouts (go ahead and use the same pan). Add a little bit of oil and salt. Turn the heat up to medium-high. Cut for 2-3 minutes, allowing sprouts to brown up a bit. Sprouts should still have a little crunch when they are done. Plate the sprouts and top with the caramelized tofu goodness. Eat and make lots of “mmmm!” sounds since it tastes so good.

Notes: I will make this again. I had a little bit of the leftovers for lunch the next day and it tasted great afterwards too.

Servings: 2-3 servings

Black Eyed Peas in Spicy Goan Curry February 11, 2008

A meal of two bean entrees, while tasty, is dangerous. Just ask Marti! This dish wasn’t as good as the dal, but still tasty.

2 cans black eyed peas – drained and rinsed
Oil
1 onion – minced
1 tsp ground coriander
1 inch ginger – grated
2 cloves garlic – minced
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tomato – cut into wedges
1 cup hot water
1 cup coconut milk
2 T. cilantro
1 T. lemon juice

Sautee onion in oil for about 8 minutes, until brown. Add garlic and spices. Heat for a couple minutes. Add tomatoes and cook until over low heat until disintegrated.

Add one cup hot water and black eyed peas and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes and then add the coconut milk. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until flavors come together. Add cilantro and lemon juice and serve hot.

Notes: Beans beans beans!

Servings: 5-6 servins

Everyday Dal February 10, 2008

I made a whole meal of Indian style legumes last night.  I made this Everyday Dal along with Black-eyed Peas in Spicy Goan Curry and a cool and refreshing cabbage slaw. I found all three dishes on Smitten Kitchen’s site. The reviews for these dishes were good but many recommended using more spices, so I doubled the spices and it turned out well. The dal was my favorite dish of the night. I also served naan, which was purchased from Trader Joe’s. I just threw it in the over for a couple minutes right out of the freezer and it was perfect.

1 cup lentils (or yellow split peas, if you can find them)
3 roma tomatoes – cut into wedges
Oil
1 red onion – diced
1 tsp. round cumin
5 large cloves garlic – sliced
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground tumeric
1 tsp. ground cayenne
1/4 cup cilantro (I used cilantro paste)
1 T. butter
salt

In a sauce pan, mix lentils, 2.5 cups water and tomatoes. Bring to a boil and cook until lentils are done, 30-45 minutes. Once finished, take out the tomato skins, which will come right off, and mash up some of the lentils. If there seems to be too much water, drain a little out.

While the lentils are cooking, diced up the onion and saute in oil until soft. Add all the spices and garlic and heat.  After everything is heated, pour into the lentils and mix well. Toss in butter, cilantro and salt, mix and serve.

Notes: While this tasted great, I’d love to try the yellow split peas which would give it a great color.

Servings: 4-5 servings

Sun-Dried Tomato Hummus February 7, 2008

I found the base for this recipe on Mark Bittman’s new blog, Bitten.  I actually watched a video of him making this dip. He was all “oh, you must use dried garbanzo beans and cook for an hour or more, and dried sun-dried tomatoes, not in oil. I don’t have any reason for this beyond being snooty.” Whatever Bittman. My hummus was great with sun-dried tomatoes in oil and canned garbanzo beans!

1 can garbanzo beans – drained and rinsed
1/4 – 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup (less actually) extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp (or more to taste) smoked paprika
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper

Toss all these ingredients into a food processor and process. I added a little water to make the dip more… dippy.

Notes: Serve with vegetables and a healthy, high fiber wrap. I toasted mine in a non-stick skillet with a spray of oil on each side so it was nice and crispy.

Servings: 3-4 servings

Baked Mahi Mahi with Vegetables February 6, 2008

I stopped by Trader Joe’s to see what kind of fish they have and at what price. I’d heard that it was reasonably priced, and it’s true! I got frozen mahi mahi, tuna, some other fish I can’t remember, and organic, free range chicken while I was there. I used the mahi mahi in a dish last night. I found the recipe on this blog I stumbled upon and used mahi mahi instead of tilapia. It turned out great.

3 pieces mahi mahi (or tilapia)
3 leeks - sliced and cleaned very well
1 package sliced shitake mushrooms
3 cloves garlic – diced
2 zucchini
2-3 cups spinach – washed
3 T. white wine
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
thyme
1 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
2-3 T. Parmesan cheese – shredded

Clean all the vegetables very well, especially the leeks which are notorious for dirt in their layers. Heat a skillet to medium with a little oil and saute the leeks, garlic and mushrooms until cooked, a few minutes. In a casserole dish, layer half the leek mix on the bottom of the pan. Next, brown the zucchini slices in the pan on both sides. This doesn’t need more oil and it still browns nicely. Layer half the zucchini on the leeks in the pan. Saute spinach and layer half on the zucchini. Shake on some dried thyme. Next, salt and pepper both sides of the three pieces of fish. Place the fish on the spinach. Drizzle white wine on top of the fish along with a little oil. Layer the ricotta cheese on top of the fish. The layer the leeks, zucchini and spinach, topping off with Parmesan cheese and dried thyme. Make sure to salt and pepper the vegetable layers during this process.

Bake for 40 minutes at 375 degrees until the fish is cooked and vegetables and cheese are nicely brown on top.

Notes: We ate the fish with a hearty piece of nutty bread from Trader Joe’s and finished the meal off with some dark chocolate. This was a very healthy meal that incorporates some vegetables I don’t normally use.

Servings: 6 servings

Steel Cut Oats with Apples February 5, 2008

Oats are very good for you. They really DO help lower cholesterol.  Last year I went through a phase of eating oatmeal every morning. But I ended up getting sick of the packaged, instant oatmeal and switched to peanut butter toast. ANYway, I saw this recipe recently and thought I’d give steel cut oats a try.

1 cup steel cut oats
4 cups water
2 apples – diced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg and cloves

In a pot, mix together oats, water, apples and spices. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 30-45 minutes, until water is cooked into the oats.  Eat or put in the fridge to re-heat for breakfast.

Notes: I had my apple oats this morning for breakfast. I added a little water and heated in the microwave for 2 minutes. I sprinkled some splenda on top and mixed in. It was really really good people! Try it!

Servings: 4 + servings.

White Bean and Artichoke Dip February 4, 2008

I made this white bean dip on Friday and was not impressed. But I’ll share it anyway.

1 can small white beans – drained and rinsed
1 can artichoke hearts – drained and rinsed
1/4 cup olive oil
juice from 1 lemon
3 cloves garlic
3 T. Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper

Combine and mix in a food processor until smooth and dip like. Eat with raw veggies.

Notes: It didn’t taste bad, it was just bland. Maybe it needs tahini or something else.

Servings: 5-6 servings

Almond Mustard Chicken February 1, 2008

Chris loved the mustard flavor of this chicken, and ended up dipping it in mustard too. He likes mustard.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast

Marinade:
2 T. favorite spicy mustard
2 T. mayo (I know, gross, but it worked)
1 T. balsamic vinegar
1 T. water
1/2 t. garlic powder
a pinch or two of chili

Coating:
2 T. Parmesan cheese – grated
3/4 cup almonds
Salt and Pepper

Cut fat off the chicken and slice into pieces. Mix marinade ingredients in a ziploc bag and toss chicken in. Mix well and place in the fridge for 1-2 hours.  In a food processor, mix the cheese and almonds until in a fine almond meal. Place mixture in a bowl and coat each piece of chicken. Place chicken on a well sprayed cookie sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 450 degrees. Carefully flip chicken and cook for 10-15 minutes more, until it starts to brown on the top. Some of the almond coating will stick to the pan, but don’t worry, there should still be plenty left on the chicken. Serve with mustard!

Notes: While it wasn’t perfect and some stuck to the pan, the smell was great and the taste was great.

Servings: 2-3 large servings