You guys, I just made a really yummy dinner. I had a bit of a challenge on my hands tonight. It is crazy hot in the bay area right now and I had a huge bunch of beets to cook. I love beets, but I usually roast them and that is totally not an option in our tiny apartment in this heat. I decided to google some instructions for other cooking methods and make a beet salad for dinner tonight. I am thrilled with the results.
6 small beets with attached greens (10 oz without the stems/greens)
3 tangelos
1 green garlic sprig minced
1 TBSP olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Start a pot of boiling water.
Wash the beets and trim the beets about 1 inch above the bulb. Place the beets in a microwave safe container with a small amount of water. Microwave the beets for just under 1 minute per ounce of beets.
Separate the stems from the leaves. Chop both into bit sized pieces. When the water on the stove comes to a boil, add the stems and let them cook for about 2 minutes. Add the leaves and cook them for about 2 minutes (until tender). Drain the stems and greens and submerge them into a large bowl of ice water.
When the beets in the microwave are finished, dunk them into ice water to stop the cooking process. Once the beets are cool, you can remove the skins with your hands or a pairing knife. (I didn't remove the skins because I was a little lazy and I don't mind the skins.) Slice the beets into rounds.
Combine the stems, leaves and beet slices in a large bowl. Peel one of the tangelos and separate it into segments. Roughly chop the segments. Add the tangelo segments and minced green garlic to beets and greens.
Juice the remaining 2 tangelos into a bowl, whisk in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add this mixture to the beets and tangelos. Toss to combine. Let the mixture sit for at least a half an hour to combine flavors and enjoy.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
baked sweet potato fries
I've been on a search for a good technique for making delicious baked sweet potato fries. When I make them they are never crispy enough. I usually cut 2 large sweet potatoes into 1/4/-1/2 inch fries coat them in 2 TBSP olive oil and the desired spices and bake for 30 minutes. They're always fine, but not sufficiently delicious. I'd love to get a better recipe. I often wonder if the problem is our oven.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Date night: T
My husband and I are both kind of work-a-holics. As a result, we don't see much of each other, and we have decided to do a weekly date night for some "us" time. Because we are total nerds, we do an alphabet theme. We alternate weeks, and each week the menu has a specific letter theme. Think Sesame Street. Well, this week it was my turn and dinner was brought to you by the letter 'T'. I made a vegetarian tortilla soup and tofu tostadas. Both were splendid. I served them along side some Tecate beer with lime (my husband's favorite) and we split a fruit tartlette from a local bakery for dessert.
Vegetarian tortilla soup
This is basically just a mexican style vegetable soup with tortilla strips and cheese on top. If you want tomake it healthier (or vegan), omit the tortilla strips and cheese. It's still delicious.
2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 large onion finely chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
2 small carrots thinly sliced
1 poblano pepper chopped
1 14oz can fire roasted tomatoes
2.5 cups veggie broth
juice of 1 lime
1 TBSP fresh cilantro
*1.5 TBSP cumin
*2 TBSP chili powder (more if you want)
*2 tsp cayenne powder (optional - add more if you want)
*1 TBSP chipotle powder (optional)
salt to taste
* I added all of the spices by eye and for my personal taste. Start adding spices slowly and adjust it to your taste. If you don't go for spicy food, focus on the chili powder and cumin. They are smoky, but not spicy. Personally, I like spicy food, so my estimates are going to be on the spicy side.
Saute onions, garlic, carrots and peppers in olive oil until soft.
Add salt and spices and stir for another minute to develop the flavors.
Add the tomatoes and the cilantro and heat through. Add the veggie broth and bring to a boil. Feel free to adjust the amount of broth depending on how soupy you like your soup.
Taste the soup and adjust spices to your taste. Squeeze lime juice into the pot.
Simmer the soup for 15-20 minutes to combine flavors.
Top with grated cheese, crispy tortilla strips* or crumbled tortilla chips and enjoy.
*see recipe below
Tofu tostadas
I know that a lot of people don't like tofu. However, my husband isn't one of them. If it is prepared wel,l he loves the stuff. I think it's a little weird. I don't have any problem with tofu. I'll happily eat it, but it's a strange thing to LOVE. That being said, I made this dinner for him, so I had to include tofu. This recipe was inspired by some tofu fajitas that we had last year during a trip down the California coast. If you really don't do tofu, you can easily replace it in this recipe with more veggies, beans or even meat if that's how you roll. If you're open to tofu, though, give this one a shot. It's pretty yummy.
Tofu
1 container extra-firm tofu
1/2 cup corn starch
2 TBSP cumin
1 tsp cayenne
~4 C vegetable oil
Cut the tofu into three thin slabs across the short side of the tofu.
Place a clean kitchen towel on a large plate and place the slabs of tofu on top of it. Put another clean kitchen towel on top of the tofu and top with a second large plate. Place a few cans on top of the top plate so that you are pressing the water out of the tofu.
Let the tofu sit for at least an hour.
Slice each slab of tofu into 4 equal sized strips.
Combine cornstarch, cumin and cayenne. Toss the tofu strips in the mixture.
Heat the vegetable oil on high in a large pot that is appropriate for deep drying until it is hot enough that when you put in a test piece of tofu is sizzles like crazy. You'll probably need to heat the oil for about 10 minutes to reach this temperature.
Drop the tofu pieces in 2-3 at a time (depending on the size of the pot). Fry the tofu for about 5 minutes or until nice and crispy. Carefully remove the tofu and place on a paper towel to remove excess oil.
Veggies
1 tsp olive oiil
1 onion sliced thin
1 poblano pepper chopped
2 C raw spinach chopped
1 TBSP chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
Saute onions and pepper in olive until onions begin to carmelize (8-10 minutes)
Add spinach and toss until wilted. Toss cilantro in with veggie mixture.
Assembly
Toppings:
chopped cilantro
1 avocado sliced
salsa
shredded cheese
Assemble tofu, veggies and toppings of choice on top of a tostada shell*. Get a napkin because it will be messy and dig in.
* Again, I used a store-bought tostada shell because I was lazy. It's really easy to make them yourself so that they are healthier, though. Just use the recipe I included below for tortilla strip. Just keep the tortillas whole and treat them the same way.
*Tortilla strips
Since I was making these recipes on a Thursday night, I cheated and used broken store-brought tostadas as my tortilla strips. You can actually make these easily, though and I think they are better this way. They are certainly much healthier.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Cut corn tortilla into bit sized strips and spray with cooking spray on both sides.
Lay tortilla strips on a cookie sheet and bake for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, remove from oven and turn the strips. Bake for another 3-5 minutes, or until crispy.
Vegetarian tortilla soup
This is basically just a mexican style vegetable soup with tortilla strips and cheese on top. If you want tomake it healthier (or vegan), omit the tortilla strips and cheese. It's still delicious.
2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 large onion finely chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
2 small carrots thinly sliced
1 poblano pepper chopped
1 14oz can fire roasted tomatoes
2.5 cups veggie broth
juice of 1 lime
1 TBSP fresh cilantro
*1.5 TBSP cumin
*2 TBSP chili powder (more if you want)
*2 tsp cayenne powder (optional - add more if you want)
*1 TBSP chipotle powder (optional)
salt to taste
* I added all of the spices by eye and for my personal taste. Start adding spices slowly and adjust it to your taste. If you don't go for spicy food, focus on the chili powder and cumin. They are smoky, but not spicy. Personally, I like spicy food, so my estimates are going to be on the spicy side.
Saute onions, garlic, carrots and peppers in olive oil until soft.
Add salt and spices and stir for another minute to develop the flavors.
Add the tomatoes and the cilantro and heat through. Add the veggie broth and bring to a boil. Feel free to adjust the amount of broth depending on how soupy you like your soup.
Taste the soup and adjust spices to your taste. Squeeze lime juice into the pot.
Simmer the soup for 15-20 minutes to combine flavors.
Top with grated cheese, crispy tortilla strips* or crumbled tortilla chips and enjoy.
*see recipe below
Tofu tostadas
I know that a lot of people don't like tofu. However, my husband isn't one of them. If it is prepared wel,l he loves the stuff. I think it's a little weird. I don't have any problem with tofu. I'll happily eat it, but it's a strange thing to LOVE. That being said, I made this dinner for him, so I had to include tofu. This recipe was inspired by some tofu fajitas that we had last year during a trip down the California coast. If you really don't do tofu, you can easily replace it in this recipe with more veggies, beans or even meat if that's how you roll. If you're open to tofu, though, give this one a shot. It's pretty yummy.
Tofu
1 container extra-firm tofu
1/2 cup corn starch
2 TBSP cumin
1 tsp cayenne
~4 C vegetable oil
Cut the tofu into three thin slabs across the short side of the tofu.
Place a clean kitchen towel on a large plate and place the slabs of tofu on top of it. Put another clean kitchen towel on top of the tofu and top with a second large plate. Place a few cans on top of the top plate so that you are pressing the water out of the tofu.
Let the tofu sit for at least an hour.
Slice each slab of tofu into 4 equal sized strips.
Combine cornstarch, cumin and cayenne. Toss the tofu strips in the mixture.
Heat the vegetable oil on high in a large pot that is appropriate for deep drying until it is hot enough that when you put in a test piece of tofu is sizzles like crazy. You'll probably need to heat the oil for about 10 minutes to reach this temperature.
Drop the tofu pieces in 2-3 at a time (depending on the size of the pot). Fry the tofu for about 5 minutes or until nice and crispy. Carefully remove the tofu and place on a paper towel to remove excess oil.
Veggies
1 tsp olive oiil
1 onion sliced thin
1 poblano pepper chopped
2 C raw spinach chopped
1 TBSP chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
Saute onions and pepper in olive until onions begin to carmelize (8-10 minutes)
Add spinach and toss until wilted. Toss cilantro in with veggie mixture.
Assembly
Toppings:
chopped cilantro
1 avocado sliced
salsa
shredded cheese
Assemble tofu, veggies and toppings of choice on top of a tostada shell*. Get a napkin because it will be messy and dig in.
* Again, I used a store-bought tostada shell because I was lazy. It's really easy to make them yourself so that they are healthier, though. Just use the recipe I included below for tortilla strip. Just keep the tortillas whole and treat them the same way.
*Tortilla strips
Since I was making these recipes on a Thursday night, I cheated and used broken store-brought tostadas as my tortilla strips. You can actually make these easily, though and I think they are better this way. They are certainly much healthier.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Cut corn tortilla into bit sized strips and spray with cooking spray on both sides.
Lay tortilla strips on a cookie sheet and bake for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, remove from oven and turn the strips. Bake for another 3-5 minutes, or until crispy.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Warm cabbage slaw
Last night my hubby and I had a date night. Since we're both college basketball fans, we ordered veggie sushi and watched the games. He ordered, so we naturally had much more food than we could eat. So today for lunch we had leftovers. Unfortunately, we didn't have quite enough sushi leftover for a full meal so I used the red cabbage from the CSA to make an asian style slaw.
Dressing: Whisk the following ingredients together (measurements are approximate)
~2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
~2 TBSP brown rice vinegar
~2 TBSP reduced sodium soy sauce
2 TBSP sesame oil
1 tsp dry mustard
Slaw
1/2 small red onion sliced thin
1/2 red cabbage sliced thin
1 large green garlic (or scallion) chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1 tsp sesame seeds
salt and pepper to taste
Heat 1/4 of the dressing a large skillet and add onions. Cook until soft (2-3 minutes).
Add cabbage to the skillet and 2/3 of the remaining dressing. Toss the cabbage until it is wilted (4-5 minutes).
Add the rest of the dressing, the peas and scallion and cook for another 1-2 minutes until the peas are defrosted.
Turn off the heat. Season with salt, pepper and sesame seeds. Serve warm, room temperature or cold.
This was a big hit. It smells great while it's cooking. My husband came out from our office just to find out what delicious thing he was smelling. It tasted wonderful too. I've been sneaking tastes of it all day. Not too bad for cabbage.
Dressing: Whisk the following ingredients together (measurements are approximate)
~2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
~2 TBSP brown rice vinegar
~2 TBSP reduced sodium soy sauce
2 TBSP sesame oil
1 tsp dry mustard
Slaw
1/2 small red onion sliced thin
1/2 red cabbage sliced thin
1 large green garlic (or scallion) chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1 tsp sesame seeds
salt and pepper to taste
Heat 1/4 of the dressing a large skillet and add onions. Cook until soft (2-3 minutes).
Add cabbage to the skillet and 2/3 of the remaining dressing. Toss the cabbage until it is wilted (4-5 minutes).
Add the rest of the dressing, the peas and scallion and cook for another 1-2 minutes until the peas are defrosted.
Turn off the heat. Season with salt, pepper and sesame seeds. Serve warm, room temperature or cold.
This was a big hit. It smells great while it's cooking. My husband came out from our office just to find out what delicious thing he was smelling. It tasted wonderful too. I've been sneaking tastes of it all day. Not too bad for cabbage.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
It's official
I've decided to bite the bullet and start publishing my recipes on a blog. I don't know that anyone will actually read this, especially since there are already so many cooking blogs out there. I am having so much fun compiling my vegetarian CSA-inspired recipes, though. I decided that I might as well give it a shot.
Unfortunately, tonight I don't have a good recipe to post since hubby was in charge of tonight's date night meal. He was a little lame and ordered us veggie sushi. It was yummy, but certainly nothing to blog about. I should start posting shortly my next healthy, seasonal and vegetarian recipes. Between now and Wednesday evening I have to go through baby spinach, swiss chard, broccoli, carrots, red cabbage and a large pile of apples and oranges. Wish me luck.
Unfortunately, tonight I don't have a good recipe to post since hubby was in charge of tonight's date night meal. He was a little lame and ordered us veggie sushi. It was yummy, but certainly nothing to blog about. I should start posting shortly my next healthy, seasonal and vegetarian recipes. Between now and Wednesday evening I have to go through baby spinach, swiss chard, broccoli, carrots, red cabbage and a large pile of apples and oranges. Wish me luck.
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