Butternut and Chickpea Burritos

9 11 2009

A part of me just wants to give the Omnivore a break with the butternut squash.  He claims he doesn’t like it.  And I keep serving it to him.  Who exactly is in the wrong here?

I justify the Omnivore’s hesitance about the squash with the hazmat orange appearance of the vegetable.  I mean, we have been coached from childhood to avoid this color.  Barriers on the interstate? Hazmat orange Poisonous under-the-kitchen-sink cleaners?  Hazmat orange.

That must be why someone put the word BUTTER in this squash.  To make up for the offensive color.  Yep.  And that’s why I keep giving the Omnivore this vegetable.  I mean, anything starting with Butter and ending with Nut must.be.delicious.  At least I think so.

squash burritos

I loved this recipe because of the cinnamon addition to the spice mix.  The flavor is unique and very different from what is usually inside burritos.  Delicious, healthy, and satisfying!

1/2 medium butternut squash, 1/2″ dice (inspired by this blog)
1 onion, halved lengthwise, then sliced crosswise
1 medium zucchini, cut into 2×1/2 inch x 1/2 inch sticks
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tsp lime juice
1 cup chick peas
6 flour tortillas (10-inch)
1 cup shredded monterey-jack cheese (optional)

Roast butternut squash at 400* for 20 minutes.  Or boil/steam for 3-4 minutes.  Whichever you have time for :) .  Roasting is tastier.  Sautee onion in a pan over medium heat for 3-4 minutes.  Add zucchini as well as cumin, salt, chili powder, and cinnamon.  Cook until tender.  Add  squash and chickpeas.  Cook until flavors combine, 3-4 minutes.  Sprinkle lime juice over mixture.

Microwave tortillas 15 seconds to make them pliable.  If desired, add cheese to tortilla before filling with squash stuffing.


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Categories : Omnivores add: Chicken, Zucchini, beans, main dish, vegan(izable), vegetables

Sweet Potato Ginger Spoon Bread

4 11 2009

Different people have different barometers when it comes to what constitutes a good recipe.

Some people look for a thumbs-up from their significant others.  Some people grade a recipe based on their picky-8-year-old’s response.  I happen to judge a recipe by how many times I care to eat it in a single day without becoming bored with it.

spoonbread

I made this recipe one night as a side dish for dinner.  The next morning, while running behind, I decided to microwave a portion of this spoon bread for breakfast instead of cooking my usual poached eggs and oatmeal.

And whilst enjoying this unique breakfast, I decided that I might like it for lunch, too, so I packed it up in my lunch box.  It was delicious at lunch, too, by the way.

And when I got home after work, I quickly sought out the remaining portion of the spoon bread for dinner.  And that was that.  In 24 hours all of it was consumed by me.  And only me.  Poor Omnivore misses out again (although he probably wouldn’t agree, being that he thinks he does not like sweet potatoes).

Sweet Potato Ginger Spoon Bread (adapted from WholeLiving Magazine)
1/2 cup cornmeal
12 oz sweet potato
1.5 c 1% milk
2 large eggs, separated
2 extra large egg whites
2 T maple syrup
1 T grated fresh ginger or 1/2 t ginger paste
1 t salt

Bake or steam or boil whole sweet potato until cooked through (use leftover sweet potatoes!).  Remove skin and  mash.  Let cool slightly.  Meanwhile, bring milk to a simmer stove-top.  Whisk in cornmeal and continue whisking as the cornmeal cooks, approximately 2 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 350*.  Spray an 8×8″ glass baking pan with nonstick spray (I halved the recipe and used a 9×5″ loaf pan).

Stir together mashed potatoes, cornmeal mixture, egg yolks, ginger, salt, and maple syrup in a large bowl.  Using an electric mixer, whip together all egg whites until very stiff peaks are formed.  Stir 1/2 the stiff whites into the mashed potato mixture.  Gently fold in the remaining half.  Spread into casserole dish and bake for 35 minutes, or until set.

spoonbread1


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Categories : potatoes, side dish

Sweet Potato Curry

3 11 2009

BAM! November 1st and the grocery store is slammed packed with Thanksgiving suggestions.  You round aisle 11 and there is a mountain of sweet potatoes.  And because you have no idea what to do with yams the grocery store helps you out.

Tangent to the mount o’ orange spuds is a pile of pecans.  Bags of brown sugar.  Itty bitty marshmallows.  And now you’re craving sweet potato casserole.

And you don’t even like sweet potato casserole.

For one, marshmallows only belong toasted between two graham crackers with a slab of chocolate.  And for two, we’re weeks away from Thanksgiving.  Weeks, people!  So ignore those grocery store suggestions, grab the sweet potatoes, and head home to make this super-savory Indian inspired dish.

sweet potato curry

Sweet Potato Curry (adapted from here)
2  teaspoons  curry powder
1  teaspoon  ground coriander
1  teaspoon  ground turmeric
1/2  teaspoon  salt
1/2  teaspoon  black pepper
1/4  teaspoon  ground red pepper
1  bay leaf
1 1/2  cups  vertically sliced onion
1 1/2  teaspoons  minced peeled fresh ginger
2  garlic cloves, minced
1  (14-ounce) can water
1  (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2  cups  (1/2-inch) cubed peeled sweet potato
1 3/4  cup chickpeas (drained if using cans)
1 diced bell pepper
1  tablespoon  fresh lemon juice

Combine curry powder, coriander, turmeric, salt, black pepper, red pepper, and bay leaf in a small bowl.

Heat nonstick spray over medium.  Add onion and bell pepper to pan; cook 10 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.  Stir in ginger and garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add curry powder mixture; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add tomatoes and can of water bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour.

I REALLY don’t think 1 hour simmer time is necessary.

Stir in potato and chickpeas. Cook, uncovered, 30 minutes.  Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice. Discard bay leaf.


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Categories : Indian, Omnivores add: Chicken, Omnivores add: ground meat, beans, main dish, potatoes, vegan(izable), vegetables

Jeweled Spaghetti Squash

1 11 2009

Whenever I’m asked for a recipe idea for spaghetti squash, I always recommend this recipe.

Most people are looking for a pasta substitute, though, when cooking with this squash.  I urge you to look beyond that meal as a dish for spaghetti squash.  Besides, if you’re craving pasta, unfortunately a plate of stringy gourd flesh will resemble a pile of overcooked mush noodles more closely than the carby-starchy-goodness you were in the mood for.

spagsquash

In addition to screaming Fall!, with its flavors and ingredients, this recipe also screams Don’t Feed me to the Omnivore! So I made it first for myself only, about 6-7 times.  Finally, his interest was piqued enough to want to try this side dish and he surprisingly enjoyed it.  His initial hesitation was due to his first experience with spaghetti squash as some lame angel-hair pasta impostor.  So, like I said, let this squash be it’s own woman.  Let her do her own thang.  And you will not be disappointed.

Jeweled Spaghetti Squash (adapted from here)
1 3- to 3-1/2-lb spaghetti squash
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup fruit juice (I use orange juice or cherry juice)
1/2 cup dried raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup snipped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

Jab squash with a good knife 4-5 times and place, whole, in a 375* preheated oven.  Cook 10 minutes until skin begins to give.  Slice in half, lengthwise, and place cut side down on a baking sheet and cook 30 minutes longer, until flesh is deep yellow.  Scoop out seeds and using a fork, scrape the pulp into a serving bowl.

While the squash is cooking, microwave bring juice to boiling.  Add raisins; let stand 10 minutes. In nonstick skillet toast nuts in over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes or until toasted, stirring occasionally.

Add raisins and juice, toasted walnuts, parsley, salt, and pepper to squash pulp. Toss to coat. Serve warm.


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Categories : side dish, vegan(izable), vegetables

Pinto Bean Soup

29 10 2009

If you don’t consider water as an ingredient, this recipe could be in one of those 5-ingredient-or-less cookbooks.

Well, actually, that’s not exactly true.  And it is not even close to true if you don’t have garlic salt in your pantry (and you are forced to use salt + garlic powder) and you’re counting the parsley garnish as an ingredient.

Aw, shucks.  Let me just tell you the point I’m trying to make.  This soup is ridiculously good.  And has ridiculously few ingredients.  Yeah, it’s more or less a bowl of beans with an occasional onion (and if you are the Omnivore, bacon, too), but for some reason, it is tasty.pinto bean sou

I know what you’re thinking.  Can I sub canned beans?  I’m going to go with NO on that one.  There’s just something synergistic about eating the beans in the broth that cooks them that you gotta have.  It’s the bean juice.  Magical bean juice.

But I promise.  It is not hard to make beans from scratch.  I know you screwed it up last time.  I know you tried really, really hard and cooked that blasted Mexican Chili forever, only to bite into a starch black bean.  It won’t be like that this time.  Trust me on this.  Just follow the recipe.  Don’t get fancy on me.

Pinto Bean Soup (4 servings, adapted from here)
2/3 bag dried pintos
4 cups water
pot o’ water
1 onion, sliced
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp garlic salt

parsley
bacon for the Omnivore (added at end)

Bring beans to a boil, stove top, in the pot o’ water (enough water to cover beans by about 1 inch).  Boil hard for 5 minutes, then remove the pot from heat and cover.  Let stand 10 minutes.  Go pet your dogs.  Drain water.

Combine the remaining ingredients listed above in a crockpot.  Cook on low for 8-9 hours or high for 4-5 hours.

Make some cornbread to go along with this meal.


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Categories : Cheap & Easy, Omnivores add: Bacon, beans, main dish

Just like Jiffy cornbread

28 10 2009

The Omnivore’s eyes widened and brightened with a twinkle when I mentioned we were having cornbread for dinner while driving to the grocery store to pick up some remaining ingredients. 

But then, you could sort of see the gears turning in his head as he reviewed his recent experiences with stuff I call cornbread.

He thought about the Lemon Thyme Cornbread (recipe posted below) that I had recently made (and he had recently poo-pooed).

He thought about the Mini-Cornbread Puddings I had recently presented to him, and remarked on the overwhelming gumminess.

And because I let the lemon-thyme cornbread remarks slide, I defended the cornbread puddings immensly.  They are supposed to be moist!  It is PUDDING!

And finally, in the sweetest of all voice, the Omnivore asked, “Can’t we just have Jiffy?”

And, much to his surprise, I answered in a meek, “Yes.”  And he was thrilled.  He bolted into the grocery store and grabbed a box o’ Jiffy and was ready for the cornbread he’s been waiting for all his life.

And then I crushed his dreams by informing him that I’d be making a knockoff Jiffy cornbread recipe from scratch at home.

cornbread

And it was true.  This recipe tasted JUST LIKE JIFFY.  So, if that’s what you’re after, you can just stop here.

But there is a funny addendum to this story.  I only had white cornmeal at home.  And as you know, Jiffy cornbread has that bright yellow appearance that we all know and love (?).  And, knowing my sweet Omnivore, how his eyes can sometimes sway his tastebuds, I knew that if the cornbread didn’t appear bright yellow, it may not taste just life Jiffy.

So I *may* have added 2 drops of yellow food dye to the batter to enhance the color.

Jiffy Clone Recipe (6 muffins, adapted from here)
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow corn meal
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 egg
1/3 cup milk

Combine flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix well with whisk. Whisk in vegetable oil and mix until dry mixture is smooth and lumps are gone.

Preheat oven to 400F. Combine above mixture with beaten egg and milk.  Fill muffin tins 1/2 full. Bake 15-20 minutes Makes 6 muffins.

Lemon-Thyme Cornbread (adapted from Cooking Light)
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1  cup  fine yellow cornmeal
1  teaspoon  baking powder
3/4  teaspoon  kosher salt
3/4  cup  eggwhites
2/3  cup  sugar
1/3  cup  plus 2 tablespoons canola oil
1  tablespoon  chopped fresh thyme
1  tablespoon  grated lemon rind
2  tablespoons  fresh lemon juice
Cooking spray
1  tablespoon  butter, melted

Combine dry ingredients and sift.  Beat together eggs, sugar, and oil.  Add thyme, rind, lemon juice and beat.  Combine with dry ingredients until just moistened.  Pour batter into a 9 x 5–inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray.  Drizzle butter evenly over batter. Bake an additional 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.


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Categories : Cheap & Easy, bread

100% Whole Wheat Bread

27 10 2009

Our family now has a favorite 100% whole wheat bread recipe.  And when I say “family,” I mean the cat, too.

biteoutYes.  He showed his love for this bread by gouging out a meal about the size of a naval orange while the Omnivore and I were sleeping.  He is a mischievous fellow and apparently a carb-lover like his mama.

bite2

I’d been contemplating making this bread for awhile now and have been gradually acquiring the ingredients to do so.

Yeah.  There are some weird ingredients in this bread recipe: orange juice, instant mashed potatoes, dry milk.  Certainly not normal pantry-fellows around here.  But now that I know how much the cat loves we love this bread, I know that these oddball ingredients will not go to waste.

sliced

King Arthur Flour’s website describes this loaf as follows:
Moist, easy to slice, and 100% whole wheat?  No, these are NOT contradictory phrases! This whole-wheat loaf is the ideal everyday bread, perfect for sandwiches, toast, and French toast or grilled cheese sandwiches.

This bread truly is soft and pliable.  It has great “lift” and will rival any storebought loaf of whole wheat bread.

100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Loaf
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast or 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
1/2 cup orange juice
5 tablespoons melted butter (I used smartbutter)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
3/4 cup instant mashed potato flakes
3 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

Use 2 tablespoons less water in summer (or in a humid environment), 2 tablespoons more in winter (or in a dry climate).

Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water with a pinch of sugar. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes, till it becomes puffy. If you’re using instant yeast, you can skip this step.

Combine the yeast/water with the remaining ingredients, and mix and knead—by hand, mixer, or bread machine—until you’ve made a cohesive dough. If you’re using a stand mixer, knead at low speed for about 7 minutes. Note that 100% whole wheat dough will never become smooth and supple like dough made with all-purpose flour; it’ll feel more like clay under your hands, and may appear a bit rough.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow it to rise till it’s expanded and looks somewhat puffy, about 60 to 90 minutes. Dough kneaded in a bread machine will rise faster and higher than bread kneaded in a mixer, which in turn will rise faster and higher than one kneaded by hand. So if you’re kneading by hand, you may want to let the dough rise longer than 90 minutes.

Lightly grease a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan. Gently shape the dough into a smooth log, and settle it into the pan, smooth side up.

Tent the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the loaf to rise till it’s crowned over the rim of the pan by about 3/4″, about 75 minutes. Don’t let it rise too high; it’ll continue to rise as it bakes. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

Bake the bread for 10 minutes. Lightly tent it with aluminum foil, and bake for an additional 30 to 35 minutes, or until the center registers 190°F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove it from the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack.

Run a stick of butter over the top of the hot loaf, if desired, for a softer crust. Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing.

stack


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Carrot Cumin Chickpea Burgers

26 10 2009

Sometimes when I want a veggie burger, I want a vegetable burger. Not some “looks like meat – feels like meat” substitute.  Not some “14grams of protein, just like chicken!” manufactured patty.

Nope.  I just want vegetables.  Slapped between to pieces of bread.  With pickles on the side.

carrot burger(Okay, I know those are roasted potato fries in the background, but pickles would have been tasty, too!)

These veggie burgers were quite filling.  The flavor was great – a splash of soy saue and seasame oil adorned my burger and a dollop of mayo accompanied the Omnivore’s.  They were also great simply served as a veggie-patty without the bread.

shreddedcarrots

The main ingredient is shredded carrots.  Finely, shredded carrots.  If you don’t have a food processor, don’t bother.  Well, if you don’t have a food processor AND you’re short for time AND you mind grating your nails on a handheld box-grater, don’t bother.  After shredding the carrots, they must be wrapped tightly in a cheesecloth to remove excess moisture.  I squoze about 1/4 cup carrot juice out of my batch.

carrotsscallions

The original recipe called for onions, but I subbed scallions.  Why?  They look pretty next to the carrots and taste great raw.  At the end of the recipe, the patties are smothered in sesame seeds, which made the burger itself seem distinclty asianesque to me.

Carrot, Cumin and Chickpea Burgers (4, adapted from here)

2 scallions, sliced
1 3/4 cup chickpeas
3 carrots, finely shredded and drained
2 T tahini
2 t cumin
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup bread crumbs
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp salt
sesame seeds

In a food processor, combine chickpeas, carrots, tahini, salt, and scallions to form a paste.  Add breadcrumbs, egg, and lemon zest, and combine using your hands.  Shape into patties and coat with sesame seeds.  Refrigerate for 1 hour.  Spray a nonstick pan with olive oil and cook 3-4 minutes each side, turning carefully.

carrotburger


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Categories : main dish, vegan(izable), vegetables

Apple Crisps

24 10 2009

So I was at the grocery store the other day, minding my own business, sticking to my list, and on target to break the world record my personal record of buying a week’s worth of groceries by spending only $17.

I so had my A-game.  I was rockin’ out on my iPod, passing Sunday-shoppers on the left side of the aisle, leaving grocery-cart skid marks in the dust.  I rounded the canned good aisle and BAM! ran into a darn good deal on apples.

Usually, I buy 3 pounds of apples for $2.49.  Well, actually, I buy 6 pounds for almost $5.  But this day, the apples were staring me in the face at a whopping $1.10 for 3 pounds.  And they were good lookin’ apples.

So I armed myself with nearly 10 pounds of fruit and rushed the check-out line before my guilt of spending $19 instead of $17 on groceries overwhelmed me.

And then I came home and was faced with the fact that I already had about 7 apples in my refrigerator crisper.  The Omnivore promised he’d eat those blasted things.  Clearly, the autumn-fruit season has gotten out of control in the house of Branny.  So, per my usual response to insanity in my life, I began to cook.

I made pumpkin apple bread, pumpkin apple chili, and diced, blanched, and froze apples for future baking extravaganzas.

And believe it or not, that was not the end of the apples.  So I made apple chips:

apple chip

They were great for chili-dipping!  They were low maintenance.  And healthy.  I added no sugars because these red delicious apples were amazingly good and sweet already (a attribute I find rare in that variety of apple).

Method:
Combine 2 T lemon juice with 5 cups water in a large bowl.
Preheat oven to lowest temperature setting.

Clean and slice apples as thinly as possible.  Mine were 1/8″, maybe thinner.  Thicknesses may vary and that’s okay.
Place sliced apples in bowl of lemon juice and water.  Dab dry with a dish cloth and place on a cookie sheet, lightly sprayed with nonstick spray, in a single layer.

Bake in oven for 3-4 hours, turning them over occasionally, until crisp and delicious.

This recipe is very forgiving.  I baked for about 2 hours one night, turned the oven off, leaving the crisps inside, reheated the oven the next day and continued the process with no negative results.


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Turkish Carrots and Lentils

22 10 2009

When I was a kid reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, I was beyond confused when it got to the part about the Turkish Delights.  Remember?  That Narnian witch wooing over Edmund with this foreign concoction?  I don’t know about where you came from, but around my neck of the woods there were no turkish delights.
Bit o’ Honey? Yes. MaryJanes? Indeed. But no turkish delights.

turkishlentils

And although I’m quite sure CS Lewis was not referring to any dish such as this in his description of the food that kept Edmund coming back for more, this meal certainly fits the bill of a “Turkish Delight.”  This hearty main course warms you through and through and unique spices and deep flavor.

Turkish Carrots and Lentils (4 svgs, adapted from CookingLight)
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 large carrots, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T tomato paste
1/2 t cumin
1/4 t coriander
1/4 t chili powder
1/8 t cayenne pepper
1/2 t salt
1 c green lentils
3 cups water
parsley and yogurt for garnish

Saute onion in a large sauce pan with nonstick spray for 7-9 minutes until the onions brown.  Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute.  Stir in tomato paste and spices.  Add carrots and cook 1 more minute.

Combine water and lentils in a saucepan, bring to boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.  Add carrots and onions and increase heat to high, boiling 2 minutes.  Reduce heat and simmer until most of the liquid evaporates, about 5 minutes.  Serve with yogurt and parsley garnishes.

(Alternative: Reduce water to 2.5 cups and combine all ingredients in a crockpot on HIGH for 4 hours.)


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Categories : Cheap & Easy, lentils, main dish, vegan(izable)

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