I know this seems like a hellish list of ingredients and steps. It is rather intuitive. Before you do anything, boil water for the pasta, and while that is heating, cut up veggies and prepare the dressing. If roasting peanuts and sesame seeds sounds stupid to you, just omit the step or toss in some canned peanuts. Serve right away or chill for some cold noodles. If you don't have everything here just use what you have around. I'm sure just the noodles and dressing would be good enough.
Serve 6-8
1 pound thin spaghetti, cooked according to package directions and set aside
1 squash, julienned
2 carrots, peeled and julienned
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 jalapeno, seeded and deveined, and minced
1 T ginger, peeled and minced
1 T canola or vegetable oil
For the dressing:
1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
2 T brown sugar
1 T hot sauce
3 T apple cider vinegar OR 2 T rice wine vinegar
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder
1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
1 c reserved cooking liquid
For garnish:
1/2-3/4 c cilantro, chopped
1/4 c roasted peanuts
1 T roasted sesame seeds
Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Set aside and reserve 1 cup of cooking liquid.
2. Heat oil in a saute pan over medium heat. When oil is hot, add jalapeno and ginger and cook 2 minutes. Do not let brown.
3. Add in squash through peppers and continue to cook until tender to the bite.
4. Meanwhile combine the dressing ingredients and add in a little bit (1-2 T) of the reserved cooking liquid to help the sugar dissolve. Adjust seasonings if needed. You may need to add a little more of the seasonings depending on your taste. The vinegar was deemed too vinegary so feel free to omit this ingredient.
5. If using raw peanuts and sesame seeds set a small saute pan over medium-low heat. Spray with cooking spray and slow roast the peanuts (about 8 minutes) until done. Set aside to cool and chop when cool enough to handle.
6. If using sesame seeds, add to pan and roast. These will burn quickly so watch them closely. When golden set aside.
7. Finally, add a little bit (1/4 cup) of the reserved cooking liquid to the drained pasta noodles to help them not stick. Toss slightly until they come apart. Add in vegetables and dressing and toss well. Garnish with cilantro, peanuts and sesame seeds and toss well to combine everything.
August 26, 2009
Rose Lassi
Rose LassiThe essence of rose water brings this lassi to life. I stumbled upon this recipe from the book The Higher Taste: A Guide to Gourmet Vegetarian Cooking and a Karma-Free Diet. Regardless of your dietary choices, the recipes featured in this book are creative and international.
I bought the rose water from a Mediterranean Cafe called Neomonde's in Raleigh. Other ethnic grocery stores such as Arabic or South Asian markets should carry as well.
Serves 2
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup water, chilled
1/2 cup ice cubes
2 teaspoons rose water
1/4 cup or less sugar
1. Place yogurt, water, sugar and rose water in blender.
2. Top with ice cubes and blend on low setting. My blender as 2 settings, low and high, so if yours has many settings, blend on the lower settings, and as the ice gets crushed increase speed.
3. Adjust taste and add more sugar or rose water if necessary.
August 19, 2009
omg mushrooms
Seriously, sit down, read this post then go and make these mushrooms. They are so simple, and so amazingly good. Would make a great appetizer or small tapas plate. Seriously omg.
1 T butter
1-2 cups small to medium cremini mushrooms sliced in half
1 T white wine vinegar
1 tsp parsley
shredded parmesan-reggiano to taste
1. Mm Mmm Mm. Heat butter in a medium skillet and add mushrooms once the butter is melted and looks bubbly.
2. Cook over medium-high heat for a few minutes, just until the mushroom start releasing water, then turn to medium-low heat and continue to cook until mushrooms shrink slightly and begin to brown. They will smell almost done, but they may take 10-12 minutes depending on the heat.
3. Add in white wine vinegar and toss around just like they do on cooking shows. As soon as the vinegar hits the pan it will begin to evaporate, leaving behind a slight sweetness.
4. Turn off heat and let rest 1 minute.
Turn mushrooms out on a plate or serving bowl and sprinkle parsley and parmesan on top. Salt and pepper are optional, but the vinegar, butter, mushroom, parsley and parmesan create an amazing taste that should be left alone to be celebrated in your mouth.
August 14, 2009
Fall plantings & summer ramblings
In my 3rd season of gardening, I've just given in to drawing out what will be planted where. I also had no idea that planning fall vegetables takes place in mid-summer. Jebus! I'm late! I think the single best thing to do is draw and write out everything. Farmer's at the farmer's markets are always helpful. I also checked out a dozen gardening books, and made sure to properly bookmark useful web sites. I could list out the many amazing books I found, but honestly just head to your library and see what you have available. I was mostly interested in when to plan what. The NC Piedmont falls in Zone 7; NC Cooperative Extension was useful in it's fall planning guide.
Since I have space for containers, I checked out some container gardening books. Needless to say, they were more creative and logical than I had intended they would be. I wrote down everything that I could glean from the pages in pursuit of better fruit next time, and hopefully a better and more abundant yield. I didn't have a gardening notebook/journal, but
I sure do now.
I think the raised bed did well enough after most of the plants matured. Things grew slowly and it was difficult in comparison to last year where things took off. The biggest differences were that I used the same potting soil but mixed in home compost and commerical compost and fertilizer that I had from the previous year. Last year I had bought those amazing 9 dollar bags of miracle soil and I think that probably had something to do with the speed and growth. In my feedings, I used compost and some plant foods, but next year I will test the soil, and adjust as needed with other organic soil amendments. We had a mild and rainy June-July with a much hotter and drier mid-July through August.
These things survived and did well enough:
Tomatoes: the bush variety in the raised bed, did well. I planted yellow pear tomatoes in the wooden barrel (without drainage holes) and they grew poorly. I had some roma grapes(?) in the raised bed, and they wouldn't grow at all. Finally, I had planted a tomato plant in early July and it was attacked by deer and has suffered from either shock or something else. When I dumped out everything from the compost bin, miraculously (to a new gardener) a grape tomato or some other cherry varietal survived and was growing outside of the raised bed. I mostly ignored it because I thought it would produce weird fruit or no fruit, until one day I realized the vines were collapsing under the weight of MANY little grape tomatoes. This plant is doing the best.
Basil: so much basil. I planted it 2 weeks apart over 6 weeks, and it has been the gift that keeps giving.
Mint: Cut from my friend Courtney, it was a straggler and has grown into a wonderful plant.
Flower pots: all have done wonderful (zinnias, marigolds, dwarf zinnias, purple lantana, medusa pepper and nasturtiums (with few flowers) nasturtiums did best in the raised bed, and worst in containers.
Carrots: the deer spared them, and they have grown in their pot almost all summer.
Swiss Chard: the deer wolfed them down. The bright lights did well in June-July if kept watered. I had some heirloom variety of swiss chard (given from me from a girl at Heifer Int.) that was heat tolerant, that survived the winter last year and is doing lovely in the raised bed.
Peas: Courtney shared some pea seeds with me, and these did awesome. They gave up in the heat, but my did they look lovely in June.
Cucumbers: Planted in early July and is a constant deer target. Grows almost 1/2 foot a day. Lots of flowers, 2 fruits. I look at it longingly day after day to will the plant to produce more fruit.
Canteloupe: Planted in early July and has survived the deer and borers. No fruit, tons of blooms. The plant is in a pot that is low to the ground so I stuck some old badminton rackets to support the weight of the vines. COME ON MELONS!
Here's what didn't grow well:
Eggplant: Deer took bites out of this plant, the marigolds took over because they were planted in the same pot. So it's either the deer, or too much in the pot. Last year, the eggplants did the best. Next year, I will plant 4 or more just in case. Every garden should have eggplant.
Jalapenos: Did poorly. They are in the wood barrel and this may be due to the soil being too wet. I have gotten a few jalapenos.
Peppers: All have done remarkably poorly. I planted 3 in hopes that one would survive, and they are now flowering. It may have been too hot for them earlier, but they have a dozen buds, so I'm hopeful they will get some catch-up growth.
Squash: both the crookneck and the zucchini got knocked out by borers. Next year I will cover with foil or cloth until large enough to fight them off.
For fall, I set out many seeds from spring. I tried to plant them according to my local area's suggested time frames.
Here's what I set out:
Carrots and radishes
Arugula
Spring bunching onions
Lettuce
Beets
Swiss chard
Since I have space for containers, I checked out some container gardening books. Needless to say, they were more creative and logical than I had intended they would be. I wrote down everything that I could glean from the pages in pursuit of better fruit next time, and hopefully a better and more abundant yield. I didn't have a gardening notebook/journal, but
I sure do now.
I think the raised bed did well enough after most of the plants matured. Things grew slowly and it was difficult in comparison to last year where things took off. The biggest differences were that I used the same potting soil but mixed in home compost and commerical compost and fertilizer that I had from the previous year. Last year I had bought those amazing 9 dollar bags of miracle soil and I think that probably had something to do with the speed and growth. In my feedings, I used compost and some plant foods, but next year I will test the soil, and adjust as needed with other organic soil amendments. We had a mild and rainy June-July with a much hotter and drier mid-July through August.
These things survived and did well enough:
Tomatoes: the bush variety in the raised bed, did well. I planted yellow pear tomatoes in the wooden barrel (without drainage holes) and they grew poorly. I had some roma grapes(?) in the raised bed, and they wouldn't grow at all. Finally, I had planted a tomato plant in early July and it was attacked by deer and has suffered from either shock or something else. When I dumped out everything from the compost bin, miraculously (to a new gardener) a grape tomato or some other cherry varietal survived and was growing outside of the raised bed. I mostly ignored it because I thought it would produce weird fruit or no fruit, until one day I realized the vines were collapsing under the weight of MANY little grape tomatoes. This plant is doing the best.
Basil: so much basil. I planted it 2 weeks apart over 6 weeks, and it has been the gift that keeps giving.
Mint: Cut from my friend Courtney, it was a straggler and has grown into a wonderful plant.
Flower pots: all have done wonderful (zinnias, marigolds, dwarf zinnias, purple lantana, medusa pepper and nasturtiums (with few flowers) nasturtiums did best in the raised bed, and worst in containers.
Carrots: the deer spared them, and they have grown in their pot almost all summer.
Swiss Chard: the deer wolfed them down. The bright lights did well in June-July if kept watered. I had some heirloom variety of swiss chard (given from me from a girl at Heifer Int.) that was heat tolerant, that survived the winter last year and is doing lovely in the raised bed.
Peas: Courtney shared some pea seeds with me, and these did awesome. They gave up in the heat, but my did they look lovely in June.
Cucumbers: Planted in early July and is a constant deer target. Grows almost 1/2 foot a day. Lots of flowers, 2 fruits. I look at it longingly day after day to will the plant to produce more fruit.
Canteloupe: Planted in early July and has survived the deer and borers. No fruit, tons of blooms. The plant is in a pot that is low to the ground so I stuck some old badminton rackets to support the weight of the vines. COME ON MELONS!
Here's what didn't grow well:
Eggplant: Deer took bites out of this plant, the marigolds took over because they were planted in the same pot. So it's either the deer, or too much in the pot. Last year, the eggplants did the best. Next year, I will plant 4 or more just in case. Every garden should have eggplant.
Jalapenos: Did poorly. They are in the wood barrel and this may be due to the soil being too wet. I have gotten a few jalapenos.
Peppers: All have done remarkably poorly. I planted 3 in hopes that one would survive, and they are now flowering. It may have been too hot for them earlier, but they have a dozen buds, so I'm hopeful they will get some catch-up growth.
Squash: both the crookneck and the zucchini got knocked out by borers. Next year I will cover with foil or cloth until large enough to fight them off.
For fall, I set out many seeds from spring. I tried to plant them according to my local area's suggested time frames.
Here's what I set out:
Carrots and radishes
Arugula
Spring bunching onions
Lettuce
Beets
Swiss chard
August 11, 2009
An August Caprese Salad
There are few flavors more divine than mozzarella, basil and fresh tomatoes. Mix in a little olive oil and salt and pepper and you have a wonderful late summer dish. Add in a few more items and you can get a super meal. Inspiration for this came from my super friend Sars, who has been talking about Caprese salads for a while now, and the hubby and I just went to Carolina Brewery where they had a Caprese sandwich and a local tomato and cucumber salad. It was magnificent. Summer is magnificent.
Serves 4
August Caprese-style Salad:
1/2 pound cavatappi pasta, or some other large shape, cooked and drained
1 pound mixed tomatoes (cherries, grapes, sun-golds, yellow-pear)
large handful basil (I had green and opal basil), chiffoned.
half a cucumber, quartered
1 cup fresh mozzarella, cut however you think best
2-3 T. Olive oil, a fruity kind
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Cook pasta according to package directions. While water is boiling, prepare other ingredients.
2. Slice tomatoes into halves, and place in a large mixing bowl. Add basil, cucumber slices, and mozzarella to bowl.
3. Drizzle olive oil on top and season with salt and pepper.
4. Add in cooked pasta, toss, taste, and adjust seasonings if necessary. You may want to add a little more olive oil after adding the pasta in.
Serves 4
August Caprese-style Salad:
1/2 pound cavatappi pasta, or some other large shape, cooked and drained
1 pound mixed tomatoes (cherries, grapes, sun-golds, yellow-pear)
large handful basil (I had green and opal basil), chiffoned.
half a cucumber, quartered
1 cup fresh mozzarella, cut however you think best
2-3 T. Olive oil, a fruity kind
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Cook pasta according to package directions. While water is boiling, prepare other ingredients.
2. Slice tomatoes into halves, and place in a large mixing bowl. Add basil, cucumber slices, and mozzarella to bowl.
3. Drizzle olive oil on top and season with salt and pepper.
4. Add in cooked pasta, toss, taste, and adjust seasonings if necessary. You may want to add a little more olive oil after adding the pasta in.
August 10, 2009
Smoothies
Smoothies.
I was at a health food store recently and noted how marvelously expensive the smoothie-drinks were: $4.95-$6.95 for a smoothie? The cost for one of their smoothies could fuel a week's worth of morning breakfast smoothies. If you have a good blender the household smoothie idea should be revisited. I mix yogurt with soymilk, and toss in about a cup of mixed fruits, and some cinnamon. Fruit juice could be added, but it really oversweetens things and is unnecessary if using real fruits. I opt out of adding protein powders because there is plenty of protein from the soymilk and yogurt. You can add peanut butter to increase the protein if you are in to that kind of thing, a banana-peanut butter chocolate smoothie is a divine breakfast food. Best of all homemade smoothies let you control what goes in them so you can experiment to come up with something you love. This is one of my favorite breakfasts. It is simply perfect. Plenty of fruit, some protein and calcium, and enough to carry you into mid-morning without feeling hungry.
One note about blenders. I truly believe they can make all the difference in the world. I have found the carafe style, 2-3 speed setting, counter-top blender to be excellent. Screw-off bottoms can make a mess if turned the other way. I've found that you don't need multiple speed settings. You need the appropriate liquid ratios in a blender to keep things moving around. When done using your blender, rinse with water, add a little dish soap and put back on the blender on the lowest setting. Rinse the carafe and cap off and set aside to dry. Never keep the blades immersed in water or extra smoothie to store because it will dull the blades. I have a Waring Pro throwback-style blender. My sister, Chokri, swears by them and has had hers for over 8 years and loves it.
I usually have yogurt, peanut butter, and soymilk in my house at all times so purchasing a few frozen fruit bags along with any other fruits should give you some fairly easy mixins without adding too much on your grocery bill. In late summer there are so many good fruits available you can buy in bulk and freeze for later use.
Serves 2 huge smoothies, or 4 for more moderate smoothies
The base:
1/2 c plain yogurt or more. Sweetened flavored yogurts make it too sweet.
OR
1/4 c peanut butter or more
The liquid:
1 cup soy milk or regular milk
The fruit:
1 cup any fresh or frozen mixed variety. Choose plain frozen fruits instead of sweetened frozen fruits (avoid in syrup, in lite syrup). Frozen fruits keep the smoothie cold. A few mixed frozen fruit bags will run you the cost of one smoothie.
Essentially mix in 1/2 cup of the base with 1 cup liquid and place frozen fruits on top. If adding cinnamon or cocoa powders place on top and set on low-speed. Adjust liquid as needed.
Here are my favorites, just add these to the yogurt/milk base:
Banana-berry smoothie
1 banana
1/4 cup mixed berries
dash cinnamon
Peach-blueberry banana smoothie
1 peach
1/2 banana
1/4 cup blueberries
dash cinnamon
Strawberry, pineapple, mango smoothie
1 cup mixed tropical fruit blend
dash cinnamon
sprinkle of shredded coconut
Banana-Peanut Butter Chocolate
1 banana
1 T cocoa powder (or more)
dash cinnamon
(I've also mixed in frozen pineapple, yum!)
August 8, 2009
Rice Noodle Soup
This is clear soup that is meant to resemble a vegetarian pho Vietnamese-style rice noodle soup. Topped with mint, basil, tomatoes and chives. The broth has been flavored with crushed anise seeds and ginger.
Serves 4 to 6
Broth:
1-2 qts water
4-5 anise pods, crushed in a mortar and pestle
2 T ginger, minced fine
juice of 2 medium limes or lemons
1/4 cup Bragg's liquid aminos or soy sauce
1 larch bunch scallions, white parts only, reserve green parts, chop and set aside.
2 carrots, sliced into coins
1. Boil water and add in anise seeds, ginger, lime juice, and Bragg's simmer for 10-12 minutes.
2. Add scallions and carrots, cook 10 minutes longer. Adjust for salt.
3. Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Alternatively place anise seeds and ginger in a tea bag and remove once done. Omit straining step.
4. Return broth, carrots and scallion to pot and keep hot.
Soup:
1 package rice noodles or other pasta noodle, cooked according to directions and set aside
1-2 cups black beans, if by can, drained and rinsed
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup each, basil, mint, bean sprouts
1/4 cup chives
Toasted sesame seed oil, set aside
Soy sauce, set aside
Sriracha sauce, set aside
Lime wedges, quartered, set aside
1. Place 1/2 cup noodles and 1/3 cup black beans in large soup bowl. Pour 2 large ladlefuls of broth over noodles.
2. Top with fresh herbs, tomatoes, 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil, Sriracha, and soy sauce. If serving family-style place herbs, tomatoes, bean sprouts, oils and sauces in a large platter and allow folks to serve themselves.
Serves 4 to 6
Broth:
1-2 qts water
4-5 anise pods, crushed in a mortar and pestle
2 T ginger, minced fine
juice of 2 medium limes or lemons
1/4 cup Bragg's liquid aminos or soy sauce
1 larch bunch scallions, white parts only, reserve green parts, chop and set aside.
2 carrots, sliced into coins
1. Boil water and add in anise seeds, ginger, lime juice, and Bragg's simmer for 10-12 minutes.
2. Add scallions and carrots, cook 10 minutes longer. Adjust for salt.
3. Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Alternatively place anise seeds and ginger in a tea bag and remove once done. Omit straining step.
4. Return broth, carrots and scallion to pot and keep hot.
Soup:
1 package rice noodles or other pasta noodle, cooked according to directions and set aside
1-2 cups black beans, if by can, drained and rinsed
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup each, basil, mint, bean sprouts
1/4 cup chives
Toasted sesame seed oil, set aside
Soy sauce, set aside
Sriracha sauce, set aside
Lime wedges, quartered, set aside
1. Place 1/2 cup noodles and 1/3 cup black beans in large soup bowl. Pour 2 large ladlefuls of broth over noodles.
2. Top with fresh herbs, tomatoes, 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil, Sriracha, and soy sauce. If serving family-style place herbs, tomatoes, bean sprouts, oils and sauces in a large platter and allow folks to serve themselves.
August 7, 2009
Naan
Recipe from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone
Naan or Yogurt Flatbread
This was much harder than it seemed. Everything went according to plan except the final product was much more bread-like than naan flatbread like. It still tasted excellent in channa masala with some Indian-style salad. It was a visual treat to make.
Below: kneaded and ready for the rise.
Below: dough is patted out and slighly rolled out in a large circle. I attempted to make five or more short knife cuts resembling a sand dollar. I don't think I did very well.
Naan or Yogurt Flatbread
This was much harder than it seemed. Everything went according to plan except the final product was much more bread-like than naan flatbread like. It still tasted excellent in channa masala with some Indian-style salad. It was a visual treat to make.
Below: After the yeast has been proofed it is mixed in with yogurt, ghee and salt.
Below: Mixing in with flour. Trying to get it smooth, yet slightly tacky.
Below: pre-knead
Below: kneaded and ready for the rise.
Below: dough is patted out and slighly rolled out in a large circle. I attempted to make five or more short knife cuts resembling a sand dollar. I don't think I did very well.
Below: on a baking stone, and rising A LOT.
Below: Brushed with some butter and salt below.
When life gives you basil, make pesto
Genovese and Red Rubin Basil aboveSo as "when life gives you lemon, you make lemonade" - when life gives you basil, you make pesto. Costco-sized batches of it. Pesto stores well in the freezer and pretty much goes with anything.
Favorite uses:
Pasta sauce - base
Roasted pesto potatoes or roasted pesto veggies
pizza sauce - base
throw some in a soup for pesto-y soupy
pesto-bread both in baked bread, or as dipping sauce.
Risotto with pesto
I have a 14 cup food processor so I process everything once, and end up with around 3 cups of pesto. In past attempts, and mostly because I didn't have parmesan when I had everything else to make pesto, leaving out the parmesan will reduce your yield. This may seem obvious. I bring this up because it was a useful mistake. Adding the parmesan when ready to use the pesto is amazing. If it has been sitting in your freezer for 3-4 months and it's the middle of winter, you can add back in some extra olive oil - the freezer may dry it out. I've found this happens when you pull it in and out of the freezer. Below I have used less olive oil precisely because of this. You can do what you want. Pesto always tastes good. Once done and processed I put in ice-cube trays, freeze, and transfer to a ziplock or other airtight container. You have individual portions of pesto at the ready.
If using a smaller food processor, just do it in batches. If by hand, again in batches, and give it a whole morning, afternoon and maybe evening (probably around 3 hours). The aromas will be totally worth every second. I guess you could also do it by blender as well although you may have to be creative with the liquid ratio.
Yield - 2-4 cups (around 4 cups if you use parmesan & more olive oil than is here)
1-1/2 cups OR 12 ounces parmesan (any fine parmesan you can afford), cut into inches and at room temperature. You may also choose to omit the parmesan if freezing, and just add it to your food later. Please, whatever you do, don't use the "parmesan" processed food science in the green cans. Avoid. Your whole batch will be ruined.
6-9 cloves garlic, peeled. Use more or less if you like.
3/4 - 1 cup olive oil (use less if you think you'll add back in at a later date)
1 cup pine nuts
1 teaspoon salt (add more if you feel it needs it - I undersalt things)
8 cups basil, washed and dried, loosely packed in measuring cups (if you have around 4 cups of basil just halve everything above, and if you have more than 8 cups, good for you, and adjust as necessary. Conversion is new yield/old yield = conversion factor. Then multiply everything in the original recipe by the conversion factor. Totally nerdy, yet incredibly useful.
1. Put the metal chopping blades in the food processor and place the parmesan and garlic in the mixing bowl. Process until a fine paste is formed (10 seconds).
2. Add in pine nuts and salt and process, scraping down the sides until nice and pasty.
3. Add in basil and replace lid. Through the feed tube, begin pouring olive oil. Wait 2 seconds then begin processing, replacing olive oil as needed and stopping to scrape down sides as needed.
4. Store a small amount in fridge, to use this week. Freeze the rest for later use.
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