Carrot Fries August 7, 2008

Chris and I went to Chicago’s Green City Market last Saturday morning where I saw these beautiful purple carrots. Purple carrots! I knew immediately what I was going to make. 101cookbooks Baked Carrot Oven Fries.  I changed the aioli dip but other than that followed this easy recipe to make a really tasty side.

A bunch of small fresh farmers market or garden fresh carrots – washed and sliced
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

After slicing the carrots, spray a cookie sheet with oil and spread the carrots in a single layer. Spray liberally with oil and toss on salt and pepper. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until you see the bottom side of the carrots start to brown.  Serve with an aioli dipping sauce. I mixed together 1/4 cup mayo, juice from 1/2 lemon, 1 t. ground cumin, shake of cayenne and turmeric and a little salt.

Notes: A nice roast softened up these carrots and looked really beautiful with the purple skin and the orange on the inside. A really healthy alternative to potato fries as well.

Servings: We ate up all of these carrots! Two side servings.

Rye Crostini with Roast Beef August 5, 2008

This tasty little concoction came from my co-worker’s chef boyfriend. When she told me about it, I knew I would make it because all I’d have to do is spread and layer and cut things. Easy appetizers are my favorites.

Rye bread (I used bread, but rye crisps would be good too)
Apricot jam
Blue cheese
Candied Walnuts (I bought a package because it was hot and I didn’t want to turn on the oven to make candied walnuts, but this can be done.)
Sliced roast beef

Spread apricot jam onto the rye bread. Be generous. Crumble blue cheese all over the jam. Chop up the walnuts into smaller pieces and evenly spread over the bread. Slice the bread into bit sized pieces. Top each piece with a small slice of roast beef.

Notes: Some of these appetizers I made look ‘pretty’, like the one in the picture, by rolling the beef. Others I just laid a slice of beef on top, which didn’t look so great and hid all the yummy cheese and nuts under neither. Do not do this, otherwise your appetizer will look like “meat brownies”. Despite the unfortunate nickname, they were all gone by the end of the night.

Servings: As many as you want.

BBQ Tofu Sandwich August 2, 2008

Tofu! Once again, a recipe that shows tofu can be good if you give it some flavor. This sandwich is a great conveyor of bbq sauce with protein and vegetables. I admit that I was a bit doubtful when I saw the recipe on Enlightened Cooking, but I enjoyed it, as did Chris.

1/4 C. reduced fat mayonnaise
1 T. prepared horseradish
Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
1 14-ounce package extra-firm tofu – drained
olive oil
Salt and pepper
Arugula
Red onion – thinly sliced
French bread – sliced
1/2 C. bottled bbq sauce

Slice tofu and press out excess liquid with paper towel. Heat up the grill pan and brush tofu with oil on each side. Season with salt and pepper. Grill tofu on each side for several minutes.

While grilling, mix together the mayo, horseradish and lemon juice/zest. Brush slices of bread with the horseradish mayo and layer on red onion and arugula. Once tofu is done, place on top and drizzle bbq sauce on top. Serve with sweet corn!

Notes: You really need to use extra-firm tofu for this and use a really good quality bbq sauce.

Servings: 8 sandwiches

Chickpea Curry with Vegetables August 1, 2008

I made this curry last week. I was looking for something fast and easy with lots of vegetables. My version is a little more stew-y than the original recipe on Enlightened Cooking. I also threw in some extra green beans since they were so cheap at the store.

1 T. oil
1 onion – sliced
2 T. mild curry powder (I used my curry paste, which is NOT mild. It’s strong. Wow.)
1 t. ground cumin
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes – undrained
1 15-ounce can chickpeas – drained and rinsed
1 small head of cauliflower – cut into pieces
1 c. green beans – cleaned and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 5-ounce bag pre-washed baby spinach, roughly torn or chopped
4 tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro leaves

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes before adding the curry powder/paste and cumin. Season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir 1 minute longer.

Add the tomatoes with their juices, chickpeas, cauliflower, green beans and 1 cup water. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until cauliflower is tender.

Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper. Add spinach and cilantro. Stir through until spinach is just wilted. Serve with fresh bread or rice.

Notes: While this tasted good, it was far too spicy. I started crying after the first few bites. I just needed to scale back on the curry paste and it would have been perfect.

Servings: 6 + bowls