Tried and True

Long-awaited Borscht

2010-01-03T14:10:00.005-05:00

After my recent realization that I had never made borscht, I wondered if maybe my whole life had been leading up to the moment when I would develop "my" borscht recipe, without which I had never been a complete person, never genuinely Polish or Hungarian, never able to claim any connection to the Carpathian Mountain, and moreover could never really represent my family's history in any sense, let alone at the kitchen table. Which is to say that I was overreacting.

But so it begins--and until I retrieve my own grandmother's recipe, I'm going to begin with this one, which I adapted only slightly from the "in the spirit of more-with-less," Simply in Season.

Winter Borscht
8 cups water
2 tbsp oil (I used vegetable oil but sunflower oil might be nice)
1 big onion, chopped
2 cups potatoes, chopped
2 cups beets, chopped
1/2 head cabbage, shredded (I used green, but I suppose red would work too?)
1/2 cup carrots, sliced
1/2 cup pearl barley
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped (or 2 tbsp dried)
1/2 cup fresh chives, chopped
salt + pepper (about a tsp of each)*
possible sour cream/plain yogurt for serving

1. Heat oil in a large soup pot (seriously, very large) and add the onion. Saute till it starts to brown, about 10 minutes.
2. Add everything else--except for the fresh dill, if you're using fresh--and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.
3. Add fresh dill and simmer for maybe another few-10 minutes, or until the barley is cooked.
4. Serve hot (of course: it's winter) and possibly top it with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt. Some dark bread would be good too.

*This amount of salt yields a soup that's mildly sweet, which I think I like. But add more salt if that's what you're into.

New Recipe in Town!

2010-01-03T13:04:00.003-05:00

I'm shamelessly into anything orange in autumn (outfits, places, vibes), and I look forward to the return of sweet potatoes and butternut squash as though they were the closest of friends; a two-way embrace sort of situation. You understand. So in November I revisited one of my favorite spots for uncomplicated and in-season recipes--that table at the farmers market--in hopes of finding an appropriately simple yet ceremonious way to welcome these dear vegetables back into my life. And behold:

Butternut Squash with Leeks, Sage & Fusilli Pasta
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
4 leeks, tender white part chopped
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into small chunks about the size of dice (aim for about 2 cups)
1/4 cup dry Marsala
fusilli pasta*
lemon zest
1/4 tsp dried sage (or you could take it another direction and instead use a pinch of nutmeg)
salt + pepper
grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese

1. Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and let them soften for a minutes or two. Add the butternut squash, salt, pepper and nutmeg (if you're using it). Saute until lightly golden, or for about 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, start boiling some salted water for your pasta. Add the fusilli when it boils.
3. Add Marsala to the skillet and let it boil away. Add a splash of the pasta cooking water and continue cooking until the butternut squash is tender when pierced with a fork but still holds its shape (about another 5 minutes).
4. Drain the fusilli when it's done but save about 1/2 cup of its cooking water.
5. Add the fusilli to the skillet. Add the lemon zest and sage (if you're using it). Add a bit more olive oil and salt and pepper, and toss everything together until it's blended. You can add the pasta water to make a more saucy texture if you like (the starchy water is good for this).
6. Serve with grated cheese.

This is the tastiest thing in the world! I've also replaced some of the squash with sweet potatoes (I was a little short on squash one time) and that was tasty as well.

*The original recipes implies that this can be mixed with a ton of pasta; I'm more interested in the veggies than the pasta, so I made 1-2 servings of pasta (rather than 4-6 servings) and that gave me a more Sarah-appropriate ratio of delicious squash to pasta. Although it is still tasty thinned by more pasta: Karen QB's rendition was yummy without a doubt.

Summer Pizza Adventure

2009-05-20T15:20:00.005-04:00

The return of warm days are always a subtle reminder that I've spent another winter season doing something that approximates hibernation, but with a lot more eating. And I guess a lot of reading. Sometimes knitting. So maybe it's not like hibernation at all except for the fact that my house starts to feel like a safety cave and I sometimes fail to visit friends and places I love as frequently as I'd like. So this May, I took a much-needed trip to Philadelphia to the home of my friend, Andy, with the company of Caroline, where we all ate a completely silly amount of wonderfully prepared and beautifully colored food--on a backyard patio too (the novelty!).

Perhaps the most satisfying of the foodmaking was the two pizzas,* which, while they looked totally normal, were filled with a variety of experimental surprises; I think the general idea was how can we put this food on a pizza rather than should we.

One of the pizzas is pretty traditional, except for the fact that it was SO DELICIOUS. Let me share the simple magic: chunks of fresh tomatoes + slices of leeks (I think the goal was to use all the leek we had leftover, so it was a lot of leeks: do not be shy about the leeks) + mozzarella cheese. The other pizza was, I think, sauteed potatoes, squash and garlic with CUMIN (can't live without cumin, though, no, I did not travel with my own spice jar) + feta + mozzarella.

So, ok, maybe you had to be there. And maybe this post is more about friends and the outdoors than it is about recipes. But I promise that there was something revelatory about this pizza party and at least part of it had to do with eating pizza.

*This is not to disparage Caroline's delicious breakfast pie, which contained eggs, cream, leeks, and...hash browns!

lunch sandwich of the month

2009-02-26T14:08:00.003-05:00

trouncing even the portabello-swiss-sprout-l-t i invented at the sandwich store earlier this month, i present to you a sandwich that so delights me that i took a picture of it on my work computer, risking some measure of embarrassment.
whole wheat bread
white bean spread (mashed up beans/lil bits of miso paste+tahini/lemon/pepper/thyme)
avocado (to relieve crushingness of winter)
cucumber
spinach

yes!! what is your lunch of the month?

Holiday Feasting: Granny Recipe #2-ish

2008-12-01T21:21:00.002-05:00

This year I got SO EXCITED for Thanksgiving. It was a little unreasonable--my Mom and I were swapping recipe ideas a month in advance. But the idea of The Harvest is almost my ultimate fantasy, and I like to think of the Thanksgiving meal as the forum for making these fantasies manifest. In my most elaborate day dream, I raise traditional North American crops--this means corn, beans, squashes--using traditional methods. Realistically, there've been homegrown onions, potatoes and squash raised in my parents' backyard. And I'm aware that until I start eating deer meat (and/or meat of any kind), my obsession with historically accurate meals and food-raising is a little bit of a joke. I mean, it's already a little bit funny. But now I've shared my secret, so when I post some recipes from my new favorite book, Log Cabin Cooking: Pioneer Recipes & Food Lore by Barbara Swell don't be surprised. I love everything about it.

But back to Thanksgiving dishes! I thought I'd shake up my family's traditional meal with the wildness of a cornbread stuffing. My family rarely uses recipes, so please excuse all the estimations. And it was modeled after my grandmother's stuffing, which features grated carrot and sausage.

I used equal amounts of cornbread from a mix (sweet, textured) and anadama bread (more savory, refined), and set those out to get good and stale. Use whatever combo you like, but it probably equaled about 1 loaf of bread in total. Dump all that into a big bowl and add 2 stalks of celery and half an onion that have been sauted in butter. Add to that mixture a grated carrot, 1 cup of sliced sausage (I used a vegetarian "sausage"--you know it) and about 1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds. Also add some dried herbs, such as oregano, basil and thyme (oh, those were homegrown too!). To this add broth little by little until the stuffing starts to stick together when squeezed. It just needs to be damp enough to handle getting baked in the oven for about an hour. I baked it covered for about 45 min and then uncovered it for the last 15 min to achieve the wonderful tender/crispy texture.

Now desert! I was intrigued by this story of banana pudding from my friend Andrea's blog, Caketime. My Mom had recently introduced the family to the "bottomless apple pie" (read: pie without a bottom crust) after realizing that what was most beloved was warm sweet fruit and not soggy crust bottoms. And so the thought of a banana cream pie without the pie crust seemed completely appropriate. I can agree that after all the banana + wafer + whipped cream layering it was a lot pudding! But it was also super delicious. Thanks, Caketime!

And, sidenote: these wafers are worthy of the adjective "ultimate."

2008-05-07T01:21:00.001-04:00

Update on the Feta-Stuffed Zucchini: Gorgonzola is also excellent when no feta is available.

Bowties

2008-03-26T15:14:00.002-04:00

When I made Talya's recipe for Kasha Varnishkes, I remembered the ridiculous joy of the Bowtie pasta, also known as Farfalle in Italian for their butterfly shape. So I decided to embark on a "Excuses to Eat Bowtie Pasta" mission, which brought forth the following recipes.

Roasted Corn and Tomatoes w. Bowties

2 c. corn (frozen or the soon-to-be-plentiful FRESH)

1 or 2 tomatoes, chopped

2 cloves garlic, diced
some fresh basil or cilantro

salt and lots of black pepper
olive oil

appx. 2 c. dry farfalle (or 1/3 of the box)

I didn't actually roast the corn, but I did sort of blacken it in a cast iron skillet. So get your corn cooking in some oil and then get the pasta started. Add the salt and pepper right away (because it smells so good). Add the garlic when the corn is nearly done (after 10 min. or so at medium high) so it can get heated but not burned. Drain the pasta when it's done and mix in the corn, chopped tomatoes, herbs, and any more salt, pepper or oil you think it needs after a little taste-testing.

Pasta Salad w. Pesto and Bowties

1 zucchini, sliced thickly on the diagonal
2 portobella mushrooms, chopped
1 c. grape tomatoes, halved
1 can chickpeas (or you might choose to use a 1/2 can IFF you don't love chickpeas)
2 cloves garlic, diced
3 tbsp pesto

salt and pepper
olive oil
appx. 2 c. dry farfalle (or 1/3 of the box)

Start the pasta and heat some oil in a large pan. Add the garlic, then the zucchini and chickpeas, then the mushrooms, salt and pepper. Cook covered on medium heat so everything gets good and juicy, appx. 8-10 min. Turn off the heat when the veggies are cooked (but not mushy). Mix in the drained pasta and the pesto. When the mixture is no longer hot (appx. 10 min.) mix in the tomatoes. Enjoy at room temperature! (But more like summertime room temperature than wintertime room temperature.)

Summery Pasta Salad w. Bowties & The Spices

1 c. corn

1 c. black beans

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 scallion, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

1 clove garlic, diced

1/4 c. chopped cilantro

1/4 c. lime juice

appx. 2 c. dry farfalle (or 1/3 of the box)

some shakes of the following spices, depending on your preferences:

coriander, cumin, cayenne, chili powder, black pepper, salt

Cook the pasta and let it cool while you chop (you can mix a little oil into it so it doesn't stick together). Then mix everything in a large bowl with the pasta and let sit (or refrigerate) to let the flavors "develop."

Granny Recipes #1: Kasha varnishkes

2008-03-11T23:29:00.002-04:00

Basically no Jew foods (besides roshinkes mit mandlen, that means raisins and almonds like you can get in the Bazzini Nut packages in the subway station and charoset, a condiment(?) of spiced shredded apple, dates and raisins, walnuts, and sweet wine you eat atop matzah at Passover) are vegan, so I spent the last four or so years denying the cholosterol-heavy foods of my kin. Now I am back in the biz; I ate about half a loaf of challah the last time I went to my parent's house, and a trip to my grandmother's brought me back, with a delicious grain dish I spent a lot of my youth abhorring, KASHA VARNISHKAS.
"Kasha" is buckwheat groats, although I have never heard anyone actually refer to "buckwheat groats." It has a kind of toasty flavor. You can get Wolff's brand or in the bulk aisle at Whole Foods, and here's what you do!

1. Place 1 cup of kasha in a bowl; beat an egg and mix it in with the kasha. You CAN make kasha without the egg, but my grandmother says that if you're going to leave the egg out, you just shouldn't bother with kasha.
2. Heat olive oil in a pot, and toss in the kasha-egg mixture; cook until the kasha looks brown.
3. Add 2 cups of broth or water, bring to a boil, and cook 15 or so minutes.

ALSO
1. Cook about 1/4 a box of bowtie noodles. Set aside.

ALSO
1. Chop a very large onion and a lot of mushrooms. Technically, these are the only vegetables you should have (know that it is feasible to attend a traditional Sabbath dinner at which everything you encounter is brown or gray), but my grandmother used half a green pepper and a zucchini this last time, some people like celery and/or carrot and my mom puts in chickpeas sometimes. Heat oil in a pan and saute the living daylights out of whatever vegetables you got--the onions should caramelize and the other veggies should be really mushy. You can add some parsley if you want, and a ton of salt and pepper, but no other seasonings. The mindset here is: old country.

FINALLY mix all this stuff up and eat it.

Inspiration from West Coast Agriculture, East Coast Woodland Foraging

2008-02-11T21:56:00.014-05:00

This evening celebrated new guests to the Land of the Tried and True! Welcome Logan and Mike, visiting from CA, a state that is vast and wacky enough to support all sorts of crops including both mangos and avocados, featured in the following dish:

Coconut Black Beans
3 cans black beans, drained
1 can coconut milk
2 tsp cumin
3 cloves garlic
2 to 3 whole dried chilies (I used canned chipotle peppers)
1/2 c chopped white onion
salt and pepper
1 mango
1 avocado

1. Add oil, garlic and onions to sauce pan. Simmer those.
2. Toss peppers and cumin into the mixture with the flair they deserve.
3. Add coconut milk and mix ingredients.
4. Add beans, salt, and pepper and let simmer for 10-15 min.
5. Meanwhile, slice avocado and mango. These are to be eaten alongside the beans!

Coconut to chipotle to avocado to mango.
Imagine it! It was delicious.

Talya, through her generous gift of dried mushrooms, brought the flavor of the Eastern woodlands to the evening. This recipe comes from a cookbook called, fittingly, Risotto.

Mushroom Risotto
1 c dried mushrooms (apprx)
2 c fresh mushrooms (apprx)
5 c vegetable stock
4 tbsp olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp butter (or substitute)
1 onion
generous 1 5/8 c risotto rice
1/2 c dry white vermouth
salt and pepper

1. To rehydrate dried mushrooms cover with boiling water and let absorb for 30 min. Set mushroomy water aside to use later!
2. Bring stock to boil then reduce heat and keep simmering while cooking rice.
3. Chop fresh mushrooms. Heat 3 tbsp oil in large skillet. Add fresh mushrooms and stir-fry for a 2-3 min. Add garlic and soaked mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 min. Transfer to a plate.
4. Heat remaining oil and half the butter in large pan. Add onion and cook until softened.
5. Reduce heat, add rice and mix to coat in oil and butter. Cook, stirring constantly for 2-3 min or until the grains are translucent.
6. Add wine and cook, stirring constantly for 1 min until reduced.
7. Gradually add hot stock one ladelful at a time. Stir constantly and add more liquid as the rice absorbs each addition. Increase heat to medium so that the liquid bubbles. Cook for 20 min or until all liquid is absorbed and rice is creamy.
8. Add half mushroomy liquid and stir in the mushrooms. Season to taste and add more mushroomy liquid if necessary. Remove from heat and stir in remaining butter (and possibly some Parmesan cheese or parsley).

I think this was a hearty and fancy-seeming dish, and Talya had no complaints about the incessant commands to "stir constantly." Risotto--worth the effort? I say yes!

Lauren made the tastiest Brussel sprouts I have ever had, and I think the recipe was something like this:

Lemony Brussel Sprouts (pictured below w/new guest Catherine!)

fresh Brussel sprouts, quartered
zest of one lemon
butter
2 cloves garlic
salt and pepper

1. Melt butter in pan. Add crushed garlic.
2. Add sprouts, lemon zest, salt and pepper.
3. Cook 10-15 or until sprouts soften.
4. Roast in toaster oven (surprise!) for 5 min or until beginning to brown.

Oh, I should not forget that Talya whipped up an amazing appetizer of Magical Bean Dip to go with the Magical Seed Baguette she brought along. (Apparently the Magical Seed Bread is featured in a store window Talya passes each weekday and it beckons to her with its Magical Seedy Splendor. After tasting it I can say with confidence that is it truly splendorous: sweet, salty, soft, crispy, pretty to look at...a huge YES.) The magic of the bean dip is that it is different every time, but I believe the key players are:

beans (this time, white)
garlic
salt and pepper
possibles: lemon juice?, herbs?, the spices?

Talya will have to reveal the rest of the Magic (or not, depending).

Also I made an attempt at sweet potato fries. They were oh so sad. However, they were certainly orange and that's always a festive color for a meal!

Lo, The Glory of Simple Foods

2008-01-10T11:49:00.000-05:00

After a few weeks' hiatus, TaT regulars convened last Sunday. Maybe it was just my own particular take on the evening, but it seemed as though what unified the dishes that we prepared was not their level of complexity or our curiosity regarding their far-out origins or flavor combos--something that has motivated some dishes in the past--but rather their familiarity and simplicity. Perhaps after so many episodes of epic experimentation and assembly-line style slicing and dicing--which I'm not saying isn't truly delightful--it's nice to just prepare a few things and then eat them. It sort of plays up two things: the reliability of certain foods and the greatness of the friends in whose company they're prepared.
So along those lines, here's our basic menu. My apologies for ultra-simplifying some recipes that were a bit more elaborate--Merran and Talya did work some magic on the lentils and chickpea stew, respectively.

beets + yogurt + mint
green beans + sesame oil + soy sauce + ginger + garlic
tortillas + veg. oil + salt (crisply baked)*
radishes + butter**
red lentils + garlic + ginger
couscous + golden raisins + onions
chickpeas + carrots + potatoes + veg. broth + the spices***
apples + ginger + lemon juice
avocado + onion + salt (guacamole, familiarly)
rice + milk + sugar + cinnamon (pudding form)

* Joe was phoned for consultation
** First dish made by Lauren; used in the making of "radish butter sandwiches"
*** You know, cumin et al... Coriander, turmeric, cayenne, cinnamon, whatever else is brownish and within reach.

Squash and chickpea soup

2008-01-05T12:15:00.000-05:00

This recipe is an amalgamation of 2 recipes from the cookbook I am most excited about presently, a book of vegetarian North African food by Kitty Morse. When I made it, I messed it up by not roasting the squash for long enough, imbuing it with a slighty lumpier-than-I'd-like texture. Don't make that mistake!!

1. Roast a pound-size butternut or acorn squash til it's squishy. Don't be impatient!
2. While that's going on, slice up and fry a medium-size onion in some olive oil in a saucepan til it's soft.
3. Drain a can of chickpeas and keep the liquid
4. When the squash is squish, scoop it out and blend together the squash, 3c vegetable stock, the chickpea liquid+half the can of chickpeas, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1/4tsp cinnamon, and a little cumin. I recommend not using a mini-cuisinart for this, like I did. The legendary immersion blender might serve you well, or a grownup-scale cuis.
5. Return to pot (or turn the heat back on, if you immersion-blent), and add the rest of the chickpeas, 2 tbsp tomato paste, some cayenne pepper and a decent amount of chopped cilantro, plus the usual salt and black pepper.

Then eat it!

Impetus #1: Cornbread Tamale Pie

2007-12-10T22:00:00.000-05:00

A few times last fall, merran and I made cornbread tamale pie from a recipe included in an article on the anniversary of The Joy of Cooking. CTP is yummy, like two meals in one! The lower half is this chili-esque mixture in a casserole dish, and then the top half is cornbread that bakes atop the mush.

When I wanted to make this again after merran had moved out, I realized that the print-out was no longer in the kitchen. I asked her to send the article electronically, but because it was in the New York Times, she had to pull it up through ProQuest. ProQuest! For a recipe! I mean, it was probably available on a billion other blogs and recipe sites, but then we would have had to google search and who knows what those google ads would have tried to sell us.

So we will not be chained to ProQuest PDFs, here is the recipe. Long live the Internet.

1 pound ground beef (on one occasion, I substituted Smart Ground and kidney beans)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup corn, drained, canned or frozen (thawed if frozen)
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup beef or chicken broth (I used vegetable broth, fine)
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper, optional (usually there is more than 1/2 a cup when I chop up green pepper, so I just use the whole thing)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste (I usually put in a lot more than called for in any recipe)
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a 3-quart high-sided casserole dish.

1. In a large skillet, saute the beef and onion over medium-high heat until the meat is brown and the onion translucent, about 10 minutes.
2. Then add the beans, corn, tomato sauce, broth, bell pepper (if using), chili powder, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and teaspoon salt.
4. In a small bowl whisk together the egg, milk and oil until combined.
5. Whisk the milk mixture into the flour mixture until combined.
6. Spread the meat mixture into the casserole dish and cover with the corn bread topping. The topping will disappear into the meat mixture but will rise during baking and form a layer of corn bread.
7. Bake until the corn bread is brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

I made this once for a friend from Arizona, and he said this was amateur CTP. East Coast Lite? Do what you will with this information.

post-Pearl Harbor Day

2007-12-08T11:45:00.001-05:00

Happy birthday, talya!

Feta-stuffed Zucchini

2007-12-06T03:09:00.000-05:00

The version I made for both Stewsday III and for the 1988 5th Anniversary Dinner is from this blog, which lightens the original Moosewood Cookbook recipe. While this version is certainly tasty, I think I like the original version best, since it contains more eggs and cheese, but the Moosewood moved out of the apartment along with a roommate. Perhaps TaTers with the Moosewood at home can post the original recipe for me?

Anyway, slight variations:
*One time I made this, I only could get feta with stuff in it, was it dill? I don't remember what bits of stuff were in it, but it made the whole thing really fucking good.
*Also, before we replenished our stock of paprika in the kitchen, I used cayenne pepper and a little bit of curry powder to top the zucchini boats at the end, and that was an interesting kind of yummy.
*You can also use yellow squash.

Stewsday III

2007-12-06T01:48:00.001-05:00

Top row: Lev, Alex, Joe, Ben, Yosi
Middle row: Merran, Talya
Front row: Vern, Sarah, Abby
Not pictured: Ned, Mike

Stewsday III, on the evening of November 17th, featured conspicuously few* dishes involving "stew," but was remarkable in that it accidentally fulfilled J.M.'s dream of enticing many who have moved to Brooklyn back to the uptown for dinner. The group gathered at the grocery-shopping stage, rather than at the kitchen, with a good six to seven of us navigating the Saturday crowds at the 12th Ave. Fairway beforehand.

When we got home, there were so many dishes to make and relatively little surface area on which to chop, so we set up an ironing board in another room to serve as the baking prep area.

We didn't have a rolling pin, but luckily we had lots of beer.

When we ran out of room in the kitchen and on the ironing board, we found flat surfaces atop the air conditioners.

Everyone helped chop and drink.

We snacked on fondue to tide us over till dinner was ready.

We carefully choreographed our use of the stove.

And when the food was ready . . .

we ate . . .

and conversed with friends.

The menu, with recipes to come in later posts:
1. Sauteed kale and red cabbage
2. Feta-stuffed zucchini
3. Homemade veggie burgers
4. Acorn squash stuffed with brown rice
5. Chick pea, carrot, and spinach mush
6. Sweet potato mash
7. Pumpkin bread
8. Apple pie

*or, zero

stewsday vol. II

2007-11-19T11:01:00.000-05:00

In attendance at the 11 November 2007 Stewsday were Sarah D., Merran S., Joe M., Veronica L., Brian H., Madeleine S., and Talya C. The menu consisted entirely of foods edible in bowls with spoons:
*Pear-parsnip soup (immersion-blended)
*Lentil curry (slightly burnt due to a miscommunication twixt chef+burner)
*Mashed sweet potatoes/yams/kale (recipe improvised by Merran S.!)
*Broccoli and cauliflower in ginger-peanut sauce
*Zucchini bread

Ginger was nominated as Ingredient of November. Success all around!

Brazilian Black Bean Soup

2007-11-17T13:04:00.000-05:00

This soup has proven a superstar in at least two states, and among vegetarians and meat eaters alike. It is a Moosewood original. Buy their books!

2 cups dry black beans
3 1/2 cups water or stock
2 tsp salt

Group A:
1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves crushed garlic
1 large chopped carrot
1 stalk chopped celery
1 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp oil, approximately

Group B:
2 oranges or tangerines, peeled, sectioned, seeded
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tbsp dry sherry
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper
1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1. Rinse the beans. Cover them with water and soak for several hours or overnight. Pour off the excess water and put the beans in a large saucepan with 3 1/2 cups of water or stock and salt. Bring to a boil, cover, simmer 1 1/2 hours over very low heat.

2. Saute Group A, beginning with the onions and garlic. If necessary, add a little water to the vegetables to steam them. When the vegetables are cooked to your liking, add the saute to the beans. Let the soup continue to simmer over lowest possible heat.

3. Add Group B to the soup. Stir, cover, and let simmer for 10 more minutes. At this point I usually pronounce the soup finished, but you could thin it out with water or thicken it by pureeing some and returning it to the pot.

Serve topped with sour cream or yogurt.

Stewsdays

2007-11-11T00:53:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday began what I hope will be a weekly tradition throughout the winter months: Stewsdays*. While some may favor recipes with short ingredient lists and quick prep times, I think we at TaT realize that an entire day employed by chopping, simmering and savoring is a day well spent.

The menu of 11/4 featured some seriously hearty dishes:

vegetable barley soup
curried winter squash & parsnips
lentil soup
pasta w/fennel & goat cheese
mashed potatoes w/rosemary
black bean soup

Merran's famous renditions of the Brazilian Black Bean Soup have traveled far and wide and are most certainly deserving of the Tried and True title. Recipe soon to come!

*termed coined by talya!

Hello! Other TaTers!

2007-10-28T21:08:00.001-04:00

Here is when merran, Sarah, talya! and I made/ate vegetable lasagna and booze pie, with kale on the side. So happy.

Someone else should post the recipes, as I don't have them here, which is part of why this is handy, haha.

Taking It to the Granola Place

2007-10-28T17:56:00.000-04:00

That's right. I make my own granola. My version is pretty hearty; it's like the vegetarian version of beef jerky. I promise it will keep your spirits high on cold days and nights and provide you with the necessary wherewithal to emerge from your den and fight off a badger (or other demanding tasks should they arise).

3 c mixed nuts
1 1/2 c oats
1 c pumpkin seeds
3/4 c sunflower seeds
1/2 c flax seeds
1/4 c sesame seeds
1 c dried cranberries
1/2 c dried apricots
1/2 c maple syrup

Chop the nuts and berries to smallish pieces and mix them and everything else together in a bowl. Spread somewhat thickly on two baking sheets and cook at 350F for 20-25 minutes, turning once. Let cool and break off in chunks!

Favorite serving suggestion: add to a steamy bowl of cream of wheat.

Squash/kale/bean stew

2007-10-25T14:03:00.000-04:00

I am repping squash hard this autumn, inspired in no small part by the generally weak but brilliantly titled "Adventures in Squash" booklet available from your local Whole Foods, whence I stole this recipe, which I made last night after a dreary day followed by a quick yet productive turn through the Farmer's Market.

Chop up 1 medium onion and cook till tender over medium heat; add 6 cloves chopped garlic avec 2 bay leaves, some thyme and some parsley (fresh pref. but I just had dried). Cook this the garlic is translucent/not burnt.

Add 1c apple cider and 4c vegetable stock; bring to a boil.

Add 1 bunch chopped, de-ribbed kale, 1 can cannelinni or red kidney beans, and salt n pepper to taste. Simmer uncovered for 15 min. or so.

Add 1 butternut squash, which you have diced into 1/2" chunks. Simmer for 10 more minutes or until the squash is squishy--or for longer, depending on how much liquid you want.

I had no cider, so I used 1cup Woodchuck (you know it) and then added a chopped apple with the squash, which worked ok. A topping of some kind of nut or seed (almond or pumpkinseed, I think, maybe even walnut). My roommate recommends eating this with sourdough toast, but I imagine any other kind of hearty crusty bread would be a good accompaniment, too.

Again, this is totally tasty and will definitely increase in tastiness as the flavors settle the next few days, but I imagine that a little dash of somethingorother might improve it. Ideas?

Sauce of the Month: Yogurt

2007-10-15T20:16:00.000-04:00

Never have I been so impressed with the power of a side sauce to turn something already delicious into a crazy joyous eating experience. And it's not just me; house guests ate it on everything from cucumbers (normal) to popcorn (wacky) to spicy dried mango (out of control).

On a more legitimizing note, it was first whipped up to accompany an okra, green bean, carrot and couscous dish. But for real, its possibilities seem endless. Here's the basic recipe--the joy is in the tweaking.

Spicy Yogurt Sauce
1 c plain yogurt
1 clove garlic
1/4 c cilantro
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp salt

Toss everything together/blend*. It gets more pungent the next day.

*This also brings me to a potential TaT regular category, Appliance of the Month. This month's winner is clearly the Immersion Blender. It's small, manageable, blends finely and was a total trooper during Aztec soup and Carrot Ginger soup. It's getting us psyched about blending.

Squash and eggplant mush

2007-10-10T23:20:00.000-04:00

A terribly overenthusiastic farmer's market excursion led me to whip up this seasonal dish at this hour of the evening (similarly, the interest level I have in the work I'm doing leads me to post it). I can't tell for sure if this is a high-quality recipe due to excessive squash-tasting while in the works, but I know I regularly need to get rid of a squash and an eggplant. Borrowed, kind of, from Mark Bittman's book.

1 medium-to-small winter squash or pumpkin, chopped into 1-inch chunks
1 m-to-s eggplant, chopped likewise
1 small onion, sliced

1/4c water
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
splash of sake or wine
salt+pepper to taste

Toss chopped veg with sauce in a medium-shallow baking dish, cover with foil, then put into 350 degree oven for about 30 min. Investigate/stir, and then return to oven uncovered for another 30ish minutes. If it gets too dry, put in a little bit more water and re-cover.

I would probably eat this with some garlicky+gingery tofu (baked would be nice but stir-fried seems more probable) and/or some simple dark green veg. The recipe itself might benefit from the inclusion of grated ginger. Thoughts?

Aztec Soup

2007-10-10T19:58:00.000-04:00

Three TaT correspondents tested this Aztec Soup just last night. Our take:

2 quarts vegetable or chicken broth
4 large tomatoes, roasted and peeled
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 large white onion, chopped
4 jalapeño slices (from a jar)
1/2 chipotle pepper, seeded (from a can)
corn tortillas
avocado
queso blanco (Mexican white cheese)
1 or 2 Tbsp. oil

Put the roasted tomatoes, garlic, onion, and peppers in a mixing bowl or pot with just enough broth to allow the blades of your immersion blender to move. Blend the ingredients into a smooth puree. Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the puree for about 15 minutes. Add the rest of the broth and simmer for another 15 minutes.

While the soup simmers, cut the tortillas into Frito-size strips and fry them in oil until they are crispy. You can drain them on paper towels, but we didn't. Cut the avocado and cheese into bite-sized cubes. By the way, you should be the judge of how much avocado, cheese, and tortilla you'd like to add to your soup.

Serve the soup garnished with avocado, cheese, and tortilla. Other potential garnishes include: cilantro, shredded chicken, sour cream, etc.

Serves 4–6.

Tried and True

2007-10-10T19:22:00.001-04:00

The very first thing that's Tried and True is Veronica Liu, who came up with this idea to have a shared recipe box, cookbook shelf and general pantry of delicious ideas. So here it begins, on the day we celebrate Vern's birth! Happy Birthday, Vern. Let's get cookin'.