cauliflower pizza crust

Last week, I had a big, beautiful cauliflower sitting in my fridge, who just know she was destined for greatness. And as it turns out, she wasn't just an empty dreamer. Greatness, indeed.

The concept of the cauliflower pizza crust was spreading like wildfire throughout Pinterest a couple of weeks ago, which proved to be excellent timing for the beauty in the crisper drawer.

Pinterest is now home to several links to different versions of this veggie pizza crust, and with good reason. It happens to be an amazingly good-tasting, solid solution for people who are vegetarian, gluten-free, low-carb, or just trying to eat more veggies.

All of the reviews I read for all of the different versions of the recipe said more or less the same thing: It's delicious! It doesn't taste exactly like a pizza crust, but it doesn't taste like cauliflower, either. And it needs to be eaten with a fork.

Although I agree with all of these opinions, my kids took umbrage with the last one. It can't be pizza if you need a fork. And so, they went ahead and picked it up and ate from the tip to the crust. Then, they licked their fingers and asked for more. (I'm with my kids on this one... it isn't a dry crust, but it is perfectly lift-able, and I see no reason why those inclined to lift shouldn't).

success!

It's really quite easy to make. Some of the recipes I saw said to steam the cauliflower first, then rice it. I found it easier to run it through my food processor first, and then cook it. The cauliflower doesn't need any additional water to cook, so just put it all in a glass bowl and microwave it. After that, stir it with some "glue" ingredients, bake it, top it, and melt the cheese.  Then sit back and enjoy perfectly guilt-free pizza. (Well, guilt-free until you add pepperoni. I would have preferred some veggies, but I was determined to get the kids to eat it this first time. We can always go up from here).

Most recipes I saw, on various blogs, traced back to Your Lighter Side as the originator of the concept.

cauliflower pizza crust
(makes enough for two 14-inch pizzas)

one medium-large cauliflower
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 450.

In a food processor, finely chop the cauliflower. (Use the shredding blade). You can also hand-shred this, if you want to be industrious and work out your forearms.

In a large bowl, cook in the microwave on high for 8-9 minutes. It should be soft, not mushy. Stir together the cooked cauliflower, cheese, egg, and seasonings. Shape it into a disk on an oiled (or non-stick) pizza pan.

Bake it for about 15 minutes, until golden brown.

After the crust is done, go ahead and top it any way you like. I did traditional sauce, mozzarella, and pepperoni.

Pop it back in the oven for another few minutes, to melt the cheese.

Enjoy!

Irish Nachos

What with St. Paddy's Day right around the corner, I decided to combine two of my favorite things: My wee bit of Irish heritage and guacamole.


I have had Irish nachos in pubs and restaurants, and I've made them at home many times. The concept (if you've never been so lucky as to enjoy the experience) is simple... Take all that is amazing about a plate of fully loaded nachos (sour cream, guacamole, cheese, onions, meat) and put it on potatoes instead of tortilla chips. The potatoes aren't as conveniently scoop able and finger-food-ish as the chips are, but on the other hand they are quite a bit more filling and help to justify using this appetizer-y, snack-y food as a meal.

Ha! As if I felt a need to justify eating this for dinner! It's damn delicious and much preferable to may other things I've eaten for dinner. That's good enough for me.

I have seen many recipes and suggestions for how to build your Irish Nachos. I think the best I have seen is Gaby's at What's Gaby Cooking. I used her recipe, with a few additions (sour cream!), and a couple substitutions (beef instead of turkey... I mean, Irish is Irish!). Really, Gaby is adorable and her recipes are delicious, and her photography is amazing. You should check out her original post and everything else she is cooking. But be prepared to find yourself suddenly starving.

Here is my version of Gaby's Irish Nachos:

2 russet potatoes, skin on
1 red bell pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 smallish onion, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 pound ground beef
salt and pepper
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 cup salsa (I used the salsa I canned last summer, you can use the kind you love best)
1/2 cup sour cream
guacamole (the more, the better, in my book)

Preheat the oven to 350. Slice the potatoes and layer them in a pie plate or similar-sized baking dish. Sprinkle them with one teaspoon of the paprika, salt and pepper. Then drizzle it all with olive oil and bake it for 35 minutes.

While the potatoes are in the oven, slice the bell peppers and onion. Sauté them in a pan over medium heat for about 10 minutes. You want them to be softened a bit, but still something to bite into. Turn them out onto a plate and then brown the beef in the same pan, with the remaining teaspoon of paprika and some more salt and pepper.

When the potatoes are done, layer them with the vegetables.

And then the beef.

Spread the cheese over all of this, and pop it back in the oven for a few minutes, until the cheese melts.

Top it with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.

And enjoy the best thing that ever came out of the old world's invasion discovery of the new world. So good, in fact, my husband said "Would you stop taking pictures of that and please let me eat it? I can't wait any longer!" So, I never got the shot I was looking for, but my belly never complained.

This post is linked to the Improv Challenge hosted by Kristen at Frugal Antics of  Harried Homemaker. Check out what everyone else did with potatoes and cheese!

chicken, spinach and noodle casserole

One of my readers told me that she was getting a little tired of looking at my recipe for vegetable scraps pasta sauce for 8 days straight.

Since I didn't feel it was polite to say "What, are you new? Read my blog in a reader, and you won't have to check the website 8 times to find out if there is anything new," instead I said, "Sorry Mom. I just haven't made anything interesting lately."

And that is how I am justifying giving you this recipe, straight out of Real Simple magazine, for a very plain, very ordinary chicken and spinach casserole.

Don't get me wrong. It's good. It's hearty and filling and easy and can be made ahead, and it is a lovely, comforting, crowd-pleasing, kid-friendly, casserole. I plan to make it again, and I know the family will appreciate it.

I had chicken an spinach salad for dinner on Tuesday evening, so I went ahead and cooked extra chicken and washed extra spinach while I was at it. That made everything very easy Wednesday evening, when I made this casserole.

The coarse bred crumbs are made by pulsing a few slices of bread in a food processor a few times I used a combination... the heels of one loaf of white bread, one heel of a loaf of wheat bread, and one whole-wheat pita that was on the verge of heading south.

The rest of it is very simple... make a white sauce, add sour cream, and stir that with the cooked chicken and chopped spinach. Add some cooked noodles, put it in a casserole pan and top with the bread crumbs and melted butter, and bake.

Voila! Meat and grains and dairy and veggies, all in one dish. I served it with (another) spinach salad, and called it a weeknight.

Here is the recipe, straight out of Real Simple Magazine:

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups whole milk
• 1 cup sour cream
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 12 ounces egg noodles
• 4 slices sandwich bread
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken
• 5 ounces baby spinach, chopped
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400° F. Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until foamy, 1 to 2 minutes (do not let the mixture darken). Slowly whisk in the milk. Bring to a simmer and cook, whisking often, until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the sour cream, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
2. Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to the package directions; drain and return them to the pot. Pulse the bread in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a microwave-safe bowl.
3. Add the milk mixture, chicken, spinach, and thyme to the noodles and toss to combine. Transfer to a 9-by-13-inch or some other 3-quart baking dish, sprinkle with the bread crumbs, and drizzle with the melted butter.
4. Bake until the bread crumbs are golden and the filling is bubbling, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

roasted vegetable sandwich

This week, I am enjoying my big batch of roasted vegetables, and I am trying to share with you the many ways I have served them. I hope you aren't getting bored of me! I also hope that maybe you will be inspired after you see the seven or so meals I got out of one big day of cooking!

These sandwiches were, once again, simple to put together after the vegetables had been done a few days prior.

I took some carrots, turnips, and potatoes out of the fridge and chopped them up pretty fine. Then I mashed them a bit, and stirred in a good squeeze of lemon juice, a healthy pour of olive oil, and some chopped fresh parsley. That's it!

Just layer that in a pita with some salad greens, and enjoy a super quick, super healthy lunch!

Sandwiches made with sautéed greens, mozzarella,and garlic

This was the second meal I made out of the pile of veggies I roasted and sautéed earlier this week.

I am telling you, I love each meal more than the last one!

These sandwiches took only minutes to prepare, but they were so very flavorful and scrumptious, that I am already wishing I could have another one tonight!

First, make some more vinegared onions (thinly slice some red onion or shallot, sprinkle vinegar over them, and let them sit for 10 minutes or so to soften). When the onions are ready, take some good crusty bread (I bought a fresh baguette), and slice thickly. Take out 2-3 cloves of the garlic you roasted with the vegetables, and squeeze the mushy garlic out of its skin. Spread this over one side of the bread. Then spread a thick layer of the sautéed greens (mine were chard, green garlic, and beet greens). Finally, top each with a slice of mozzarella cheese and close the sandwich.

Place the sandwiches on a baking sheet, and place another baking sheet on top. If your baking sheets are not heavy, you may want to put another pan on top of that, to weigh it down.

Place the smooched sandwiches in the broiler for just a few minutes... until the sandwich is a bit warm and toasty and the cheese just on the verge of melting.

Enjoy one of the tastiest, easiest meals ever!

Thai Chicken Pizza

Once upon a time, when I was a starving college student, and my cousin was a starving graduate student, we found ourselves making dinner together one night. This memory almost feels like a dream, because my cousin lived on the opposite coast of the United States from me, and I am pretty sure that only once in our lives did we make dinner together.

Anyway, she had a new cookbook she was trying out, and we leafed through it together, to choose a recipe to cook for dinner that night. We chose the Pacific Rim Chicken Pizza, which was a sort of Thai-inspired chicken and veggie pizza with peanut sauce. Being as we were starving college students, we couldn't afford to buy all of the 13 ingredients it required, so we made some cuts and some substitutions and came up with a poor man's version of the dish. But as I recall, it came out great and we were quite proud of our culinary achievement.

I decided right then and there that I needed the cookbook. I am not sure why, as a student who couldn't afford to buy any of the ingredients to follow the recipes, I felt that I had to have this cookbook. But I did. My mother got it for me as a Christmas gift that year, and I have to admit that I haven't used it too much since then. When I do use it, though, I really like it.

Anyway, when I saw that the Improv Cooking Challenge this month was to use carrots and ginger together in a recipe, I immediately remembered this pizza, that I haven't made since that night 17 years ago  long ago  when I was in college.

This time, rather than substituting things that are cheaper, I made different substitutions. I made my own pizza crust instead of buying one (I find it easier to turn on my mixer than to run to the market). I also used orange marmalade since I like the tang of it better than mango chutney. Finally, I substituted a half of a leek for the green onions, since I got one in my Abundant Harvest CSA box this week.

Here is the Thai Chicken Pizza that I largely based on the Pacific Rim Pizza recipe from Eating Well is the Best Revenge.

Thai Chicken Pizza


1 pizza crust (I used my recipe, which you can find here)
3 carrots, cut into matchsticks (about 1 cup)
1 green bell pepper, cut into matchsticks (about 1 cup)
1/2 leek, diced
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (if you have leftover cooked chicken, that's great. If not, you can bake a breast while you work on the pizza)
1 tablespoon coarsely grated ginger
2 tablespoons orange marmalade (I make that too, which you can see here... or just buy it)
3 tablespoons unsalted peanut butter
2 tablespoons Asian cooking wine (or use some dry white wine or cooking sherry)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro


Start by making your pizza crust. Or if you are using pre-made pizza dough, roll it out. Trader Joe's has a great pizza dough in the dairy case. Heat the oven to about 450 degrees, and bake the pizza crust until it is about half-way done. (about 6-7 minutes). This will keep it from getting soggy when we load it up with the other yummy stuff.

If you are cooking your chicken, pop it in the oven once the crust is done, and take it out as soon as it is cooked through (about 10-15 minutes).

Meanwhile, start chopping the carrots, bell pepper, and leeks.  Set them aside, and in a small bowl, whisk together the ginger, marmalade, peanut butter, cooking wine, and vinegar.

Once the chicken is done, cut it into matchsticks also. Keeping all the toppings the same size and shape makes sure that each bite of pizza has a great balance of all the yummy flavors!

Toss together the chopped vegetables, the chicken, and the peanut/ginger sauce.

Spread it out evenly on the pizza crust, making sure to get it close to the edges all around.

Bake it for another 6-7 minutes, until the edges of the pizza begin to brown.

Sprinkle the chopped cilantro on top, slice, and serve.

This recipe is linked to the Improv Cooking Challenge.

homemade butternut squash ravioli

I made a few New Year's resolutions this year...

I thought about things like never eating meat, or always riding my bike to work. I thought about promising myself that I would give up sugar or exercise three times a week.

I know, though, that those things would last for maybe a month or two.

Instead, I set a couple of goals for things I would like to do before 2012 is over.

One is to try to establish a vacation fund. One of me kids has never even been on an airplane, and the other two were babies the last time it happened. We go camping a couple times a year, but I would like to take them somewhere a bit farther afield. The kids and I are thinking of Washington DC.

Another is to try making yogurt and cheese. I keep reading that it really is the simplest thing ever, and that if I try it once I will never buy yogurt again. We'll see if that pans out! I have nearly a year to work up the courage.

One goal I can already cross off the list was to try making my own pasta. It was awesome! I'm not saying that I am going to quit buying pasta (because at a couple of dollars for a pound, there is just no reason not to go ahead and buy it instead of making it). But I am saying that once in a while, for something fun to do, I am going to make my own. It isn't difficult, it didn't require any ingredients I didn't already have, and I thought the results were delicious.

I LOVE ravioli stuffed with butternut squash, and I happened to have a large butternut squash from my AHO box this week, so I went for it.

I started with this recipe from Family Fun Magazine.

All told, it took about two hours from start to finish, although not all of that was active time. I wouldn't do this on an ordinary weeknight, that's for sure! But I had a lazy, relaxed morning at home, and my daughter helped me with cutting and folding the pasta. We had a good time working together; I guess the process was just as important as the product!

Here is how to make the filling:

2 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tablespoon milk
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup ricotta cheese

Preheat the oven to 350.

Peel a butternut squash, remove the stringy, seed-y stuff, and cut into 1-inch cubes. You will need about 2 cups of these cubes for the ravioli... I went ahead and roasted it all. I put two cups on one baking sheet,  and left them plain for pureeing into ravioli filling. I put the other half on another baking sheet, tossed them with some olive oil, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese. Those, I snacked on all morning while I made the ravioli! Just be sure to line both sheets with foil, or you will have really stuck squash and a really tough pan to clean.

Place the squash in a single layer, spaced out a bit, on the baking sheet. Roast for about half an hour, or until a fork can easily pierce the squash pieces.

In a food processor or blender, puree the squash with all of the other ingredients. You want a nice, smooth, even consistency.

While the squash is roasting in the oven, you can start making the pasta.

Ravioli Pasta:

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs

Making sure you have a nice clean counter, mound the flour directly on your work surface, and make a well in the middle of it. Lightly beat the eggs and salt together, and then pour into the middle of the flour.  Using a fork, sonly and carefully incorporate the flour into the egg, until there is no dry flour left. You can then get your hands (and a dough scraper) in there, and knead and mix it, until it is all mixed into one smooth, round, ball.

Divide the dough into halves, and form each half into a disk that is 1/2 inch thick. Wrap each of these in plastic wrap and let them rest for 30 minutes.

After the dough had rested, take one disk, halve it again, and roll it out. It is very easy dough to work with... it doesn't tear or stick. Just make sure to lightly flour your work surface and the rolling pin. Keep rolling and rolling it, until is is only as thick as a dime.

Once it is rolled out, you can cut it. I used a cookie cutter that is about 2 inches across. It occurred to me later that it would be just as nice, and perhaps easier (with less waste) to cut it into squares, using a knife. Either way is pretty simple and effective. If you like circles, use a cookie or biscuit cutter, or even the top of a drinking glass. If you like squares, then by golly, cut squares.

Do this again with the remaining dough. In all, you should roll and cut four sections of dough. I got 14 circles cut out of each piece of dough, which will make 7 ravioli. So, all in all, I got 28 ravioli.

Once your pasta is rolled and cut, and your squash roasted and pureed, let's put them together!

Pick up a pasta circle, and using your fingers, pinch it all over a bit, to make it just a teeny bit thinner and bigger. By all means, though, do not try to stretch it. Your dough will break in half, and you will go lay down and cry.

Once it is a bit larger and flatter, you are ready to fill. Dip a finger in some water, and wet the dough all around the edges, in order to form a sort of glue for holding the two halves together. Place about a 1/2 teaspoon of filling onto the dough, in the middle of the wet edges. Pinch one more circle, and put it on top. Using a fork, crimp the pasta all around the edges. This will seal it all up nicely!

These ravioli can now be refrigerated for a day or two, if you want. Or you can just boil them now.

Put them into a few quarts of boiling water. They will sink at first, then slowly rise to the top. Give them about 5 minutes after they float, to make sure the pasta is cooked through.

While they are boiling, melt a stick of butter over low to medium heat. Add some sage (either slivers of fresh sage, or a half-teaspoon or so of dried sage powder). Let it all cook until it is browned and smells delicious.

Lift the pasta out of the water with a slotted spoon, and serve with a bit of the browned butter drizzled over it.

winter stew

My vegetables are telling me it's winter. They are coming up from underground, where the cold temperatures are helping them produce sugars, which make them nice and sweet and tasty.

The carrots I got this week were, by far, the very best carrots I have ever eaten in my life.

This week I got potatoes, rutabagas, beets, and carrots from under the ground. I also got a lot of other stuff, but for now let's talk about these bottom dwellers.

These root veggies just beg to be cooked slowly for a long time. They want to be roasted or stewed, releasing heat and aroma into the house for hours. It is just the thing you want for a long, cold, winter day,

Despite the fact that it has been rather warm and sunny here in southern Cali, I went ahead and made a stew.

It seems like the new trend (and by "new trend" I mean "back to the good old days") is to not use a recipe.

I have been reading quite a few cookbooks lately that actually provide very few recipes. They are centered on teaching the reader how to cook, rather than just giving measurements and instructions for one particular dish.

So, I decided to go ahead and give it a shot. After reading the chapter called "Stewing, Braising and Steaming" in the book Kitchen on Fire, I felt equipped curious to test their instructions, and to take my winter veggies and turn them into a stew. 

Plus, I have a whole bunch of chicken stock just begging to be used.

First, I went to the store to buy some stew meat. Although stew meat is usually the toughest (which is fine if you are going to stew it for a long time), and therefore the cheapest meat, I found that my market had tri-tip on sale for even cheaper than the stew meat, so I bought that.

I cut my pound of beef up into bite-sized chunks and browned it in a little bit of olive oil.

Once it was browned, I cut up my veggies and added them. I used, from this week's Abundant Harvest Box, three potatoes (peeled), two rutabagas (peeled), four carrots, one large leek, and one onion, all cut into bite-sized chunks.

I cooked this all on high for about 10 minutes, so everything could get a teeny bit browned and tasty. Then I added 3 cups of chicken stock and a small handful of fresh rosemary. Just before it started to boil, I reduced the heat and covered it, and let it simmer for about and hour and a half.

It turned out nice and sweet and delicious!

broccoli and pepper stir-fry and broccoli, orange and olive salad

This week is "Broccoli Ten Ways in Five Days" where I am trying out all 10 recipe suggestions Real Simple Magazine highlighted for broccoli in their September 2011 issue. Today is day four. You can browse day one, two and three if you'd like.

Today, I have a main-ish dish, and a salad for you. I can't say that today is going to be our best broccoli day this week, sadly. Neither one of these was horrible, but neither one was super duper, either.

The first is Broccoli and Pepper Stir-Fry. It is actually pretty good. It's just not exciting. I do stir-frys a lot, and this one doesn't stand out. If you are not a stir-fryer, this is a good starter lesson. With just a couple of common vegetables and a fail-proof sauce (from a jar), you really can't go wrong. If you are desperate to get rid of some broccoli, this is a quick and serviceable way to do so. Just don't plan to be blown away.

Broccoli and Pepper Stir-Fry

Cook 1 chopped bell pepper, 1 bunch broccoli (cut into florets, 6 cups), 1 bunch scallions (sliced), and 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger in canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, tossing often, until the broccoli is tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup each water and hoisin sauce and cook, tossing, until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

 Broccoli, Orange, and Olive Salad

This recipe is probably the one I was least interested in trying. As a matter of fact, if I hadn't had the hair brained idea (and an overabundance of bunches of broccoli), I never would have bothered with it. Somehow, reading the recipe didn't excite me too much. There are more ingredients than some of the others, but somehow they didn't seem like enough. The recipe uses all things that I love (broccoli, olives, oranges), but somehow the combination didn't feel like it was going to be so fabulous. And guess what? It may be that I set myself up to dislike it, but whether it was a self-fulfilling prophecy or not, I didn't love it. The flavors weren't strong enough, so I went back and added a bit more salt and pepper. All that gave me was a case of sneezing. Oy vey. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't... much.

Steam 1 bunch broccoli (cut into florets, 6 cups) until tender, 5 to 7 minutes; rinse with cold water to cool. In a large bowl, toss with 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives (chopped), 2 tablespoons olive oil, and the grated zest and cut-out segments from 1 orange (squeeze in any juice remaining in the membranes); season with salt and pepper.

Veggie and Sausage Roast

This meal was actually billed as "Lazy Sunday Casserole." Well, as a rule I don't do casseroles. I make exceptions from time to time, of course. Like when my husband mentions two or a hundred times that he would just die for some Green Bean Casserole. Or once in a  great while when I'm going out and I feel guilty about giving the kids a frozen pizza, I might make a casserole I remember from my childhood. 

But typically? This is a no-casserole zone. Purposely.

However, if you look at this beautiful dish, you will have to agree that this simply got misnamed. I mean no offense to Kay at Kayotic Kitchen which is where I got the recipe. I love this dish, I do. Which is exactly why it can't possibly be a casserole.

Anyway, the lazy part of the name, on the other hand, is correct. There is little to do except allow for plenty of time resting while the oven does the work, and some time chopping beforehand. 

The great thing about this casserole is that is calls for exactly what you happen to have on hand.  Really. The vegetables are completely interchangeable. I would be sure to always include the sausage, as well as carrots and potatoes the way Kay suggests, but beyond that... you choose!

I happened to have celery and onions on hand in addition to the carrots and potatoes, so that is what went into mine. Kay had a fennel bulb and bell pepper. I could also see using parsnips, turnips, corn, broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower... I could go on forever. Use what you have. Or buy what looks good. It's completely up to you!

At any rate, here is how it all comes together:

4 Italian sausages
1 pound potatoes, cut into wedges
3-4 carrots, cut into 2-3 inch pieces
3-4 stalks of celery, cut into 2-3 inch pieces
1 large onion, cut into wedges
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons oil
salt and black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian herbs
1/2 cup chicken broth

Preheat the oven to 450.

Wash and cut the vegetables. Place them all in a large roasting pan. In a small bowl, combine the garlic, oil,  salt, pepper, herbs, and broth. Pour it all over the vegetables and toss. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes, until the veggies are just becoming tender.

Cut the sausages in half. Add them to the baking pan, and put it all back in the oven (uncovered) for about 30 more minutes, turning the sausages over about halfway through. When the sausages are cooked through, take it out and enjoy a very easy meal!

roast eggplant sandwiches

I think I mentioned before that I am not the world's biggest eggplant fan. I don't have anything against the suckers, but they aren't something I ever find myself craving. But see, that's the thing with getting a CSA box. You don't get to just eat the stuff you are craving, or the stuff that's your favorite. You eat the stuff that gets harvested each week, whether you wanted it or not. The amazing thing about Abundant Harvest Organics is that, due to it being a cooperative of sorts between many farms, there is much more variety than any one single farm could provide on its own. As a matter of fact, years ago we tried a CSA share from a small farm located practically in our neighborhood. They were swell folks, but there was only so much kale that my newlywed self and my young groom could eat in a week. On the other hand, Abundant Harvest makes sure that my box has a whole bunch of variety not just within each box, but also between weeks.

Part of what I love about this whole veggie box experience is the creativity and the new experiences it provides for myself and my family. It has certainly made us all try lots of new things we hadn't before... and likely never would have! And even things that aren't necessarily new are sure making their way into our diets far more that they used to.

For example, the eggplant. Whether I was looking for it or not, there it was.

I though about a few different ways I could prepare it, and as I considered and tossed out such ideas as eggplant parmesan and eggplant lasagna, I finally settled on eggplant sandwiches.

I followed the recipe that I found on allrecipes.com, and LOVED it! My husband said, "If we were in a restaurant right now, I would already be planning to return... and place the same order." I take that as a compliment in highest form.

Anyway, the sandwich is very simple... it's just eggplant and some other very delicious ingredients stacked up. Somehow they turn out to be an amazing combination that tastes amazing and is very simple to prepare. Other than mixing up the garlic mayonnaise (which I recommend doing in advance to let the flavors meld) and quickly roasting the eggplant, all you need to do is build the sandwich. I served these with some slaw I made out of bok choy and carrots... and I will give you that recipe tomorrow.

For now, enjoy this one!

Eggplant sandwiches
enough for 2 tall sandwiches

1 medium eggplant, sliced 1/2 inch thick
some olive oil (enough to brush the eggplant slices)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic
2 (6-inch) sandwich rolls
1 medium tomato, sliced
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

If you can, prepare the mayonnaise ahead of time and refrigerate. Simply mince the garlic cloves and stir into the mayonnaise. If it is going to sit for any length of time, be sure to refrigerate.

Turn on the broiler element in your oven.

Slice the eggplant and lay out on a baking sheet. Brush both sides with oil. Place the baking sheet in the oven, about 6 inches from the broiling element. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until nicely toasted.

Split the rolls in half and toast. (I do mine by simply placing them, cut side up, directly on the oven rack and leaving for about 3-4 minutes to toast under the broiler). You can use your toaster or toaster oven if you prefer. It's less risky, since they go from toasted to black pretty quickly.

Spread the mayonnaise on the roll. Stack up the roasted eggplant, tomato slices, feta, and basil leaves.

Enjoy!

bell peppers stuffed with quinoa, tomatoes, beans and cheese

Woo hoo! I got meatless Monday back on track. I got lost for a couple weeks there, but now I am back. One in a row.

For our Monday dinner, I wanted to find a way to use up some green bell peppers from the AHO box, but most recipes for stuffed peppers that I could find are made with rice and ground beef or turkey. After thinking a while about this, I decided to use one of the oldest vegetarian tricks in the book... substitute beans for meat, and therefore lose the animal, but retain the protein.

Instead of rice, I went for my new favorite grain, quinoa. (Okay, technicality police, I know it's not a grain. It's the seed from a plant related to the tumbleweed. But really? Tumbleweed? Let's just think of it as a grain. It goes down a little easier that way.)  Ever since my fist quinoa experiment, I have been using it instead of rice just about everywhere. I like it better, and supposedly it is nature's miracle. So I feel better about eating it.

Anyway, I took the quinoa and I took the beans and I saved some tomatoes from death on their vine, and I added some cheese and I stuffed the peppers. Oh my oh my. What a delicious dinner. Lucky for me, there was enough for two days of leftovers! (You may not end up with so much to eat tomorrow. I have kids who won't tough most of what I make, and that leaves more for me. This recipe should serve 4-8, depending on whether you are using it as a main dish or a side.)

This recipe is loosely based on one I found at Vegetarian Times.  I have to warn you, it takes about 2 hours from start to finish!

Stuffed Bell Peppers

4-5 tomatoes, chopped (about 2 cups)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

3 carrots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
3/4 cup quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth
pinto beans (again, I used some that my husband cooked, but you could use a can. I used about the equivalent of one can of beans)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
bell peppers (I used 9 very small peppers, because that is what I had. I imagine that 4-5 average peppers would use up this amount of stuffing. But if you have some extra stuffing leftover, lucky you! It makes a great burrito for lunch!)

First, chop the tomatoes. Reserve as much liquid as you can from the cutting board. Place a small colander into a baking dish on your counter.  Put the tomatoes into the colander and let the juice drain into the baking dish. This will help steam the peppers when you bake them, as well as keep them from sticking to the dish). Set this aside to drain while you prepare the rest of the dish.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil, and then the carrots, onion, garlic, and cumin. Saute for about 5 minutes, until the carrots and onions are soft. 

Add the quinoa and vegetable broth and bring it all to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Let it simmer for 20 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy. At this point, start heating the oven to 350.

When the quinoa is done cooking, stir in the drained tomatoes, beans, and about half of the cheese.

Cut each pepper in half, and remove the ribs and seeds. Stuff each pepper with a mound of the filling, and place them in the baking dish with the tomato juice.

Cover the pan with tin foil, and bake for an hour. After the hour, remove the foil, sprinkle the rest of the cheese evenly on the peppers, and bake for another 15 minutes, until the cheese is lightly browned.

Enjoy with some crusty bread and a big green salad!

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Soup

If you don't live in Southern California, you may want to just skip down to the next paragraph. It feels so wrong to say it, but I am getting so weary of warm sunny days! I am not in the mood for Halloween (which may explain the lack of work on the costumes that need to be done in time for a party in 10 days). I put out some decorations, but only because the kids asked me to. I wasn't feeling it. My friends and acquaintances are full of stories of apple and pumpkin and baking and roasting, and I am just not feeling it. I need to at least put on a sweater before I feel like having pumpkin pie. I know this is a silly complaint. I know I would be lamenting the rain or the wind or the snow if I lived anywhere else. But I don't. I live in Los Angeles and I am tired of sunshine. I want fall to feel like fall so I can feel like doing fall things.

One day last week it actually did rain. For one day it felt a little more like we were getting to a new season... time for roasting squash and baking apple pie. However, the vegetables are still coming off of summer. Which makes sense, because right after that rainy day we shot back up to sunny days in the 80s and 90s. I'm no farmer, but I imagine we have to have a few cool days in a row before the fall and winter veggies can ripen.

For one day, though, it was cool. For one day, I felt a desire to make a crock-pot dinner. It seemed like a good day for some comfort food, and we had a busy schedule, so coming home to a ready meal worked out great.  Instead of a stew with carrots and potatoes, though, it was going to have to straddle seasons... a slow-cooked, warm, comforting meal made all out of summer veggies like tomatoes and corn.

I have to stop and wonder, though... why does "Crock Pot" cooking need to be "Canned Food" cooking? Just because I want something to be cooked slowly and to be conveniently ready for me when I get home, doesn't mean I want to just open a few cans of food and stir them together.

All of the recipes I found for taco soup asked for canned corn, canned tomatoes, canned beans, and a packet of taco seasoning. Instead, I went for the fresh(er) equivalents of those ingredients. It worked out great, and I am sure we saved at least a heart attack's worth of sodium by not getting all that stuff out of a can! (I did, however, include the bottle of beer that was in most recipes. I'm glad I did! It gave the soup a sort of yeasty, malty flavor.) I'm almost embarrassed to still call it Taco Soup. Somehow I feel this revamped, fresh-ingredient meal deserves a loftier name than "soup that is named after quasi-Mexican, Americanized food."

At any rate, here is Taco Soup that doesn't require a can opener whatsoever. Unless you buy canned beans. I am lucky that my husband likes to cook beans and freeze them, so that is what I use. If it were up to me, I would open a can of beans. So I am certainly not going to judge you canned-bean eaters.

Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 onion, chopped finely
1-2 cups (or 1 can) beans of your choice (I used pinto beans, but black or kidney would be good too)
4 cobs of corn, kernels removed from the cob
6 tomatoes, diced (and try to retain as much juice as you can)
1 bottle or can of pale beer
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons dried cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 chicken breasts
shredded cheddar cheese


In your Crock Pot, combine the onion, beans, corn, tomatoes (and as much of the juice as you can keep), and beer. Add the garlic, chili powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Place the chicken breasts on top of it all, and push them down until they are just covered in liquid. Cook on low for five hours. Take the chicken breasts out, shred them with a couple of forks, and stir the shredded chicken back in. Let it cook for a couple more hours.

Top each serving with a bit of cheddar cheese. Serve it with a big green salad and some quesadilla wedges.

zucchini and herbed ricotta torte

A few weeks ago I made a hummus and roasted vegetable torte that just rocked my world.  Actually, it was the simple, four-ingredient, flaky delicious crust from Soma at ecurry that was the world-rocking part.

And so, on meatless Monday yesterday, at about 4:45, when I had no idea what to make for dinner, I remembered Soma's awesome torte crust. Luckily I had all the ingredients on hand, and away I went!

After making the crust (this time with rosemary), I went about loading it up with the vegetables that are still lingering from last week's box. Ahem. That is to say that this week I am somehow faced with catching up on all the stuff we somehow didn't get around to eating last week, and at the same time tackling this week's bounty. I am not sure how this is all going to work out, but I guess there are worse problems in the world than having too much delicious, fresh, organic produce on hand.

Back to 4:45 yesterday. With my crust safely baking in the oven, I had 12 minutes of free time to figure out how to top it. We have no hummus on hand right now, but while rooting around in the fridge I found some ricotta. Perfect! Mixing the ricotta with some fresh herbs gave it plenty of zip, and topping it with a couple of the veggies I needed to attend to made it perfectly tasty. Again, I think it would make a perfect appetizer, cut into  small squares. However, though, this time it was the main course here, served alongside a big salad.

And so, I give to you, my zucchini, tomato, and herbed ricotta cheese torte!

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary (or any other herbs you have on hand)

1/3 cup + 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup + 1 1/2 tablespoons very cold club soda

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup basil leaves, cut into thin slivers

2 tablespoons chives, chopped finely

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium zucchini

about 12-14 cherry tomatoes

crushed red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Mix the flour, salt, pepper and herbs together. In a separate small bowl, whisk the club soda and olive oil for a couple minutes, until they become creamy and well incorporated.

Pour water-oil mixture into the flour mixture, and combine with a fork just until there is no dry flour left. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball.

Divide the dough into two pieces and roll each one separately. Place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper, and roll in only one direction (not back and forth). Last time I did it, I went for a rectangle. This time, I let it take on the shape it wanted... a sort of loose oval.

Bake it for 12 minutes, until the crust is starting to become golden.

While it is baking, prepare the toppings:

First, mix the ricotta with the garlic, chives, and basil, and set aside.

Using a vegetable peeler (I used my new y-shaped peeler. For $4.99, it is giving me a whole new happy life in the kitchen! Why didn't I invest in this baby sooner?), cut the zucchini into thin ribbons. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half.

When the crusts are done, remove it from the oven and let it sit for a few minutes to cool a little bit.

Spread the ricotta mixture evenly over both crusts.

Spread the zucchini strips in an overlapping layer over the torts, and sprinkle with the crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. Place it back in the oven for about 10 minutes, until the zucchini starts to soften.

When it comes out of the oven, top it with the tomatoes, and cut into pieces.