I am back!  I have lots of recipe ideas to share, but I thought I would start with two of my current favorite main dish salads that show off two different sides of the delicious, versatile, sesame seed.  I love roasted sesame seeds and put them in everything—you can find them pre-roasted and very cheap in Asian markets or in the Asian foods section of normal grocery stores.

Up first, we have a tofu and tomato salad—I know it sounds weird, but it is DELICIOUS.  Think of it as an Asian-fusion take on a caprese salad.  I got the idea from an Alice Waters cookbook that I was browsing through at the bookstore.  I didn’t buy the cookbook, but I couldn’t stop thinking about this recipe, so I did my best to recreate it at home.  It was different, but really good.

Ingredients for the dressing:

• olive oil
• sherry vinegar
• soy sauce
• sesame oil
• agave nectar or honey
• siracha hot sauce (optional)

I always eyeball these ingredients, but I start by combining olive oil and sherry vinegar to make a basic vinaigrette, then add just enough of the other ingredients to add flavor. 

Ingredients for the salad: 

• A block of extra firm tofu, drained
• Roasted sesame seeds
• Cut up tomato (I like halved cherry or grape tomatoes best)
• Some combination of basil, scallions, and cilantro

I usually use one half block of tofu per person for this salad.  First, slice the block in half so that you have two squares that are half as tall as the original.  Then, cut each square into four smaller squares and arrange them on the plate.  Sprinkle the tomato, sesame seeds, and herbs decoratively across the top, the add the dressing.  Enjoy!

Up next, we have a classic spinach and apple salad with sweet and spicy sesame dressing.  This salad has a very pleasing array of tastes and textures:  you get sweet, salty, spicy, creamy and crunchy all in one bite.  And because I always have these ingredients in my house, it’s a great fallback meal.

Ingredients for the dressing:

• tahini (sesame paste)
• honey or agave nectar
• warm water
• salt
• cayenne pepper

First, combine the tahini and honey to taste—the ratio will depend on how sweet you like your salad.  Next, gradually mix in a little bit of warm water until the dressing is a pourable consistency.   Season with salt and add a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Ingredients for the salad:

• Baby spinach
• Any crisp, sweet apple, cut up into bite-sized pieces
• Roasted sesame seeds

Combine ingredients, pour dressing on top, and enjoy!

I love fish, and Dover Sole is one of the few varieties that I can afford to eat on anything approaching a regular basis.   I’ve experimented quite a bit with the best way to prepare it.   Many of my experiments were less than successful–sole is a pretty bland fish and the thin pieces I can buy at Costco had a tendency to fall apart when I tried to cook them.  I finally happened on this version which is simple, flavorful, and reliably delicious.  I always have the ingredients on hand, but the result is much more than the sum of its parts.

First, season the pieces of fish with salt and dredge them in flour seasoned with granulated garlic.  (I don’t usually dredge things, but after some experimentation, I have found that this is the best way to create browning without making the fish stick and tear.)  Cook over medium high heat in olive oil spiked with butter.

When they are browned on one side, flip them over and top with the tiniest dabs of butter, which well melt over the top and be delicious.  Squeeze some lemon over the top.  A pinch of fresh or dried herbs is also delicious.  Cook until the other side is nicely browned.

Serve with spinach sauteed in the remaining lemon juice.  Enjoy!

I have blogged this recipe before, but I love this so much that I thought it deserved a repeat mention in a post of its own.   I love panna cotta–it’s  so tangy and creamy and cold.  It is also extremely easy to make and keeps nicely in the fridge if you want to have dessert on hand for the rest of the week.   Just make sure that you have plenty of time to let the panna cotta set.  I often make this for special occasions, but it’s also a very nice every day dessert.  I especially love eating it to round out a light soup and salad lunch.

And when you don’t have time to make the full blown dessert, do try spiking yogurt with cream and a touch of sugar and serving it with fresh berries.  (Thank you to Blueberry Mom for reminding me how good this is!)

Panna Cotta

Serves 4

Adapted from a recipe by Ina Garten

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup yogurt
• 3/4 cup cream
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• heaping 1/2 tsp gelatin
• a couple tablespoons of cold water

Instructions:

Sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let sit for about five minutes.  Heat the cream, sugar and vanilla in a small saucepan.  Bring to a simmer.  Turn off heat and stir in gelatin mixture until it dissolves.  Mix hot cream mixture with yogurt and stir to combine.  Pour mixture into four small ramekins or custard cups.  Place cups in refrigerator for several hours until the mixture sets.  Eat straight out of the cup, or invert onto a plate and serve with fresh berries.  Enjoy!

Yesterday I ran across someone who linked to my blog awhile back in the comments section of another blog.  The aforementioned commenter described my blog as notable for my thrown together soups and salads and for my love of spinach.  I laughed when I read that.  It’s not a bad description actually.  My food is almost always thrown together on the spur of the moment.  And I do love spinach!   For today’s lunch, I threw together a clean-out-my-fridge dish of whole wheat penne in tomato sauce, jazzed up with extra herbs, garlic, leftover shredded chicken, bell pepper, and, of course, spinach.  I topped it with a bit of parmesan and a few pine nuts for crunch.  The thing I love most about pasta is that the time it takes the water to boil and the pasta to cook provides just enough time for me to rummage in my fridge and chop up whatever vegetables I have on hand.  I can have a pretty pasta meal on the table just as fast as a boring one, so why not do something fun?

Dinner was also a thrown together affair.  The husband was going to cook, but after a day full of studying, I needed to take a break and do something with my hands.  I  sauteed tofu, cabbage, carrot, bell pepper and garlic in a mixture of oil, soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar.  To finish it off, I added some sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds.  There is something very calming and focusing about chopping up a pile of vegetables, and I felt much better by the time food was on the table.

I am such a fan of tofu and need to figure out more ways to prepare it.  I’m eating somewhat less meat these days for budget reasons, but sometimes my body just needs a good hit of protein and a break from starch.  Tofu and eggs to the rescue!  I know lots of things to do with eggs, but my tofu preparation skills are pretty basic.  Any ideas?

I got this recipe from Barefoot Contessa and I have been completely obsessed with it the last few weeks.  You can serve them as a side dish or appetizer, but I like to eat them as a light lunch.  They are vegetarian and very inexpensive to make when zucchini is in season.  The insides of the pancakes  are softer and more egg-y than a traditional pancake, and the outside gets beautifully golden brown and crisp.

To make them, you need two medium zucchini, about 3/4 of a pound.  I have experimented, and the recipe is pretty forgiving of minor variations in the amount of zucchini you put in.  You also need a bit of onion.  I never measure–I just cut off a chunk of the half onion I invariably have sitting around the fridge.  You can also add a clove of garlic if you feel so inclined.

Next, you want to pulse the veggies in a food processor or grate them by hand.

This next step is important and must not be skipped:  you put the vegetable puree into a kitchen towel and very firmly squeeze out as much moisture as you can.  This ensures that the pancakes do not get soggy and maintain their shape during cooking.  I have found that paper towels break during this operation, so I put up with the mess of using a cloth towel.

Next, add the vegetable mixture to a bowl and mix in two eggs.  In a separate bowl, combine your dry ingredients:  6 tablespoons whole wheat flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and a generous amount of freshly grated black pepper.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.  I sometimes add a bit of lemon zest to the batter at this stage if I am feeling fancy.  Assess your batter and add a couple more tablespoons of flour if it seems too loose.  The consistency below is a little bit on the wet side–in retrospect, it probably could have done with a touch more flour.

Next, heat a pan over medium heat and add a mixture of olive oil and butter to the bottom.  Using a 1/4 cup measure, spoon the batter into the pan.  After a minute, lower the heat to medium low.  (You want the bottoms crispy, but you want to make sure that the pancakes have time to cook through.)  When one side is golden brown, flip the pancakes and cook the other side.  You should get just about six pancakes of this size out of a batch.

Serve hot with a pinch of grated parmesan on each and a side of hot tomato sauce for dipping.  Enjoy!

The Lemonator and I have picked up some type of bug–mild but annoying–and have been feeling under the weather, so I decided that some soup was in order when I got back from class.  I am always looking for variants on normal chicken noodle soup, which I often find overly bland or salty.  This was completely improvised based on what I needed up use up from my fridge, but I was very happy with the end result.  It had all of the warm comfort of chicken soup with a bit more color and character and texture. 

I started by sauteing a bell pepper, a zucchini and an onion in a little olive oil.  I seasoned the veggies, covered them equal parts chicken broth and water, added several sprigs of fresh thyme, and brought the mixture to a boil.  When the broth was boiling, I added a cup or so of whole wheat rotini.  When the rotini were nicely al dente, I lowered the heat, and added the juice of two lemons.  If you like your noodles soft, you can cook them longer, but the chew of the rotini really takes the soup to another level for me.  Last, I chopped up four leftover cooked chicken tenders and added them to the soup, cooking them just long enough to heat them through before serving.  (Cooking the chicken for too long makes it very tough and dry.)

The finished soup tastes very clean, but is also very satisfying.  The lemon and thyme are really refreshing and bright, and the vegetables and al dente rotini give the bowl just enough chew.

I am off to the library to get some more studying done.  Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

First, a brief update.  I am officially done with law school (hurray!) and have moved on to the task of studying for the bar exam.  I have missed blogging, but taking a break was definitely the right thing to do.  Pretty much everything in my life that wasn’t absolutely essential went on the back burner for the last month or so of school.  Studying for the bar is keeping me extremely busy, but I’m enjoying a second wind prompted by a new schedule and the beautiful spring weather. 

Bar study involves a lot of intense rote memorization, so I’ve had more creative energy to burn in the kitchen than I did last semester when I had a bunch of papers to write.  I’ve had a lot of fun pulling out my old cookbooks and browsing online to find new recipes to play with. This dish is a slight variant on one of Mireille Guiliano’s recipes from French Women Don’t Get Fat.  It’s really good–you get the winter comfort-food flavors of hot tomato sauce and ham and cheese in a lighter, more spring-appropriate package. 

You will need  asparagus, tomato sauce, sliced ham and some type of flavorful cheese.  You could probably substitute other veggies for the asparagus depending on what is in season where you live.

First, parcook the asparagus.  You can blanch it if you feel fancy, but I just pop it in the microwave until they are bright green and crisp tender.   Next, take four or five asparagus spears and wrap them in some sliced ham.  One slice may be enough for each bundle if your ham is cut thick enough, but if you use very thin sliced deli ham, you may need a couple of slices to get the bundles to hold together.   Place the completed bundles side by side in a baking dish.  Cover with tomato sauce and top with grated cheese.  (The recipe suggests using equal parts parmesan and Swiss.  I had no Swiss cheese in the house, so I substituted parrano for the Swiss and the dish came out great.)  Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes.  Serve with crusty bread.  Enjoy!

In other news, I have had excellent fortune on the snack front recently.  I adore Sahale snacks, which are healthy and amazingly flavorful, but they are normally out of my price range except as an occasional treat.  But my Costco has just started carrying Sahale glazed cashews with vanilla and pomegranate (my favorite glazed nut flavor) for a much more affordable price.  I bought big bag and apportioned out little snack sized portions to take with me to bar review class.  I did some number crunching, and at Costco prices, it’s more cost effective (and tasty) to pack a small bag of Sahale cashews for a snack than it would be to bring a protein bar or a yogurt.  I am a very happy camper!

These basic vegetable soups are wonderful things to have on hand–you make a batch on the weekend and then you have an easy heat-and-serve vegetable dish for the rest of the week. 

Creamy Vegetable Soup

The formula

Cooked vegetable + cooked onion + broth + seasonings

What you need

• A vegetable–almost anything will work.  I love spinach, peas, cauliflower, squash, sweet potato, bell peppers, and carrots.
• onion
• stock or broth
• garlic (optional)
• splash of cream or dollop of yogurt (optional)
• flavorings of your choosing.  Suggestions:
  •  
    • nutmeg
    • curry powder
    • chili powder
    • lemon juice
    • fresh or dried herbs

What to do

Step 1:  Cook your veggies, onion and garlic.   Roasting is my favorite method–it’s easy, doesn’t require much oil, and really brings out the flavors.  If you don’t feel like roasting the veggies, or if your vegetables are very delicate, you can also chop and saute them, or just boil them in the broth.  You want the vegetables to be soft so they are easy to blend.  Onion may take longer than other vegetables to cook–make sure that the onion is tender and sweet before you proceed to the next step.  Hints:

•  
  • I like to roast an entire head of garlic along with my veggies.  You don’t have to peel or anything–just roast until the garlic is soft and mushy inside, then cut off the tips and squeeze out as many cloves as you like for your soup.  The remainder is great spread on toast.
  • If you’re in a rush, try using pre-cooked vegetables like roasted peppers from a jar or frozen pureed winter squash.

Step 2:   Puree.   Add your vegetables to a pot and cover with broth or stock.  Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat.  Puree the mixture, either using an immersion blender or in batches in a normal blender.   (If it resists blending, add a bit more stock or water to the blender.) 

Step 3:  Fine tune texture and flavor.   If you are feeling ambitious, you can run your puree through a strainer or food mill to make it extra smooth.   Add the puree back to the soup pot and continue thinning with water and broth until it reaches your desired consistency.   Add whatever flavorings you feel like using.   Let the soup simmer for a bit to let the flavors meld. 

These soups keep well in the refrigerator.  They tend to thicken up a bit when cold, so you may want to add a touch of water to your soup when you reheat it.   Have fun with garnishes–they take this type of soup to the next level.

Possible end results

Clockwise from top left:  carrot orange, spiced butternut squash, spinach with lemon, and cauliflower curry.

Hello, all.  Happy spring and happy Easter!  I know I’ve been absent for awhile and I wanted to creep out of my hole to check in.  Everything is fine.  I am exactly one month, two papers, three finals and one presentation away from finishing law school, and this last semester has basically been an all out sprint to the finish line.  I am exhausted, and I have no idea how I am going to finish everything, but every time I think I can’t do any more, I find enough grace and strength to get through the moment in front of me.   And at this point, I have faith that I will continue to find the strength I need to finish what I’ve started.

Everything in my life that is remotely expendable has been put temporarily on hold, and for the time being, that includes blogging.  Fun as it is, blogging requires creative energy that I do not have at the moment.  Y’all can expect to see me back in about a month, though it’s possible I might pop back in from time to time before that.

Since I last posted regularly, I have:

• Significantly cut back on my grocery spending
• Figured out about 500 ways to prepare legumes and rice
• Perfected my recipes for spaghetti carbonara and turkey burgers–these will definitely be shared at some point.
• Eaten too many of the Lemonator’s amazing peanut butter cookies
• Started to put shredded carrots into everything–perfect thing to transition from winter into spring
• Gone on an asparagus bender
• Discovered a deep love for spicy (not sweet) rice bowls with vegetables and shrimp.

Blueberry Mom is visiting this weekend, and we have every intention of eating, drinking and making merry.  I will be happy to have a brief respite from my work.  I hope you are all happy, well-fed and enjoying your spring weather.

Lent began last Wednesday.  Lent is a forty day period of reflection and repentance leading up to Easter.  In my church, we are expected to abstain from red meat and poultry on Fridays during Lent and to observe a couple of additional fast days.  I observe the days of fast and abstinence, but I have always had trouble relating restricting my food intake to drawing closer to God.  For me, the notion of restriction of food has many distracting associations with dieting and health.  I do not give up food for Lent, but I have been looking for a way to reclaim the required days of fast and abstinence.

Operation Rice Bowl to the rescue.  Operation Rice Bowl is a project run by one of my favorite charities:  Catholic Relief Services (CRS).  The goal of Operation Rice Bowl is to encourage Catholics to spend Lent educating themselves about, praying for, and raising money for countries that are in dire need of aid.  Operation Rice Bowl encourages people to think of the fasts as acts of solidarity with those who do not have enough food to eat.   They suggest using the meatless Fridays as an opportunity to prepare a simple, inexpensive, vegetarian meal from one of the targeted countries.  I like this idea a lot and will be preparing their recipes on Fridays for the rest of Lent.  In the spirit of the project, I will also provide a bit of information about the targeted country.

Last week’s targeted country was Lesotho, a small nation surrounded entirely by South Africa.  Lesotho has the fourth highest rate of HIV infection in the world:  between 1/4 and 1/3 of of the population is infected.  HIV disproportionately strikes young adults in Lesotho (18-35), which means that Lesotho is losing its work force (including teachers) at a rapid rate. 

The meal was was papa with chakalaka, which is basically polenta with a spicy baked beans and vegetables.

I changed the recipe slightly based on what I had in the house.  I halved the recipe and still had lots of leftovers, especially of the papa.  Papa keeps well–the leftovers are excellent heated and mashed with a bit of cheddar and scallions for a delicious lunch–so don’t worry if you have extra.

For the papa:  they advise a 2-1 ratio of water to cornmeal.  I have always used a lot more water than that when I make polenta, so I compromised and used a 3-1 ratio, which seemed to work fine.  Salt the water, bring it to a boil, then add the cornmeal and lower the heat.  Stir frequently while it cooks.  I didn’t have any problems with the cornmeal burning or sticking, but it did tend to bubble up and spatter things if I didn’t stir it every now and then.  Gradually, the mixture will become thicker and start to stick together.  When it can support a standing spoon and it pulls away easily from the side of the pot, turn off the heat.  It will thicken a bit more as it cools.  The recipe advises making balls, which I had difficulty with, but a mound worked fine for me.

For the chakalaka: 

First, cook some onion and green peppers in oil until soft.  If you want to use frozen peppers (which I did), wait until the next step to add them.

Next, add one chopped fresh tomato (or half of a can), 1/2 can baked beans, and a grated carrot to the mix.  I like using British style baked beans, which come in a tomato based sauce.  (The leftovers are excellent on toast.)  Now add flavorings:  garlic, ginger, chili (fresh or in paste), and garam masala and/or curry powder.  Mix thoroughly and let simmer for about 15 minutes.  Serve warm with the papa.