Hummousesque

I had a freezer bag full of chipotle chiles in adobo leftover from another recipe; I had two cans of chickpeas and a languishing lime. From these meager beginnings, I made perhaps one of the most addictive snacks ever to find its way out of my Cuisinart. This isn't really a hummous, more of a chickpea spread that doubles easily as a dip.

I have a sick love for both chickpeas and spice, which could be easily construed as an addiction, and this stuff really feeds my need.

Of late, I've been struggling with a herniated disc in my lower back, and have recently made a decision to try cutting sugar from my diet, which is an inflammatory and may be making my pain worse. As much as I am not a sweet-craver (I prefer salty on about a four-to-one ratio), having yummy snacks like this around make it a little easier to pass on a bit of frozen yogurt or honey-drizzled banana. I don't know how this whole no-sugar thing will work out, but if I keep getting to eat this stuff, I think I'll be able to cope.

Chipotle-Chickpea Spread
2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2-4 canned chipotle peppers (depending on your preferred level of spice)
1 T. adobo sauce
Juice from 1/2 lime
Salt
3 T. olive oil
Low-fat yogurt, as needed

Combine chickpeas, chipotle, adobo, lime juice, and olive oil in a food processor. Process until pureed. Season with salt to taste, add yogurt or olive oil as needed to reach desired consistency. Allow flavors to meld in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Fried Green Tomatoes

It almost seems silly to post a recipe for fried green tomatoes - they are so simple to make, anyone could probably come up with a reasonable version toying around in the kitchen for a short while. I will, however, post this recipe as a nudge to those who have not yet attempted this delicious snack (and perfect weekend lunch). Additionally, here in MyTown, green tomatoes seem more plentiful than locally-grown red ones (though I did manage to find some beauties) at our farmer's markets, so it's a practical recipe as well.

I have fond memories of my own fried green tomato discovery.

In college, I lived downstairs from a friend who, each Sunday, cooked up a mess of Soul Food. W would make chicken, greens, macaroni and cheese, cornbread, and potatoes as a matter of course each week. I was lucky enough to hang around and peek at the food all day long, before eating at dinnertime.

Having picked up a bunch of green tomatoes at the farmers' market, I decided to try my hand at the Southern treat. I brought the tomatoes up to W's apartment, and she passed along her recipe. Usually, W fried her tomatoes in bacon fat, and though mine are a little lighter, they make me smile and think of her.

Fried Green Tomatoes
2 medium green tomatoes, sliced (about 1/2-inch slices)
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup medium-to-fine grind cornmeal
Salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Red pepper flakes
Cooking spray or olive oil

Mix cornmeal and seasonings to taste in a large shallow bowl or plate. Heat a skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Spray with cooking spray or coat with olive oil. Dip each tomato slice in beaten egg on both sides. Dredge in cornmeal mixture, and place in skillet. Flip tomatoes when cornmeal is slightly browned and crisped.

A plateful of these beauties makes a perfect lunch, with a handful of seasonal fruit and a dollop of yogurt or sour cream.

I am a European Peasant

Um, obviously not really. It's just what I imagined as I cooked up this dinner. This is basic, country food at its best. Last Sunday I bought a whole mess of mushrooms to make quesadillas during the week, however I forgot to buy tortillas. Oops. Wanting to capitalize as much as possible on what was already in my refrigerator, I picked up a loaf of "French-Italian" bread at the Italian bakery a couple of blocks from my gym and decided to serve sauteed mushrooms on cheese toasts.

I cut up the mushrooms I'd bought, about two pounds' worth of shiitake, baby bella, and portobella, tossing them in a hot skillet with garlic and olive oil until their juices released and then mostly evaporated. I debated between using rosemary and thyme, choosing the latter for its less strident flavor, and added salt and freshly ground pepper for good measure.

After a taste, I knew something was missing. I dug in the pantry, brushing past balsamic (the old standby) to my rarely-used bottle of sherry vinegar. This did the trick, though of course any vinegar would work.

This is a nice casual supper with the addition of sliced fruit and a green salad, but would also work as an appetizer.

Wild Mushroom Toasts
1 loaf Italian or French bread (long and thin is best)
Extra-virgin olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
About 2 lbs. mixed wild mushrooms
3/4 t. dried thyme, crushed between fingers
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1-2 T. sherry vinegar
1 cup grated fontina cheese

Cut bread into 1/2-inch thick rounds. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Top rounds with grated fontina. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add mushrooms to the pan, cook until they release their liquid, then let liquid mostly evaporate. Add thyme and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat. Stir in sherry vinegar to taste.

Meanwhile, toast bread rounds in the oven until crisp and cheese has melted, 8-10 minutes. Serve cheese rounds with a bowl of mushrooms and spoon.

Go-to Recipes, Part II (plus a bonus recipe!)

Here’s another of our favorite dinners, out of the first adult cookbook I ever owned (the title is very 1999): 1,001 Low-Fat Vegetarian Recipes. This is a snap to put together, and good enough to make as an appetizer for company. (Actually, I think I recall having one of my favorite blondes over for dinner with this dish as the main course. Hi, duffpower!) Add a salad and some fresh fruit, and dinner is served. Whenever Our Hero finds out we’re having this for dinner, it’s sure to elicit an “Oh Boy!”

The fava spread is delicious on a sandwich or as a veggie dip, possibly with some lowfat yogurt stirred in to make a more dip-like consistency. This is great in the summer when light suppers that barely heat up the kitchen are ideal. I’m guiltily using these awful off-season plum tomatoes (still much better than other off-season fresh varieties). When incorporated as a part of a much bigger whole, it ends up working out quite well.

Fava Bean Bruschetta
One bakery loaf crusty whole-grain bread
Cooking spray or olive oil
1 clove garlic, halved
1/2 red onion, sliced into thin half-moons
2 plum tomatoes, sliced
1/4-1/3 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1/2-1 cup part-skim shredded mozzerella

2 T. grated parmigiano

Fava Spread:

One can fava beans, rinsed and drained
Generous handful parsley, cilantro, or basil (or a combo thereof - I've used all with success)
1-2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1-2 T. lemon juice

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cut bread in half lengthwise, spray with cooking spray or brush with olive oil, then rub with cut sides of the garlic clove. Toast bread in hot oven until crusty, about 8 minutes. Make fava spread by combining all ingredints in a food processor or mashing by hand. Divide fava mixture evenly between toasted bread halves, spreading into an even layer. Top with tomatoes, onion, cheeses, and olives. Bake another 10-15 minutes, until melty and delicious.

Good friend and good cook J sent me this recipe in response to my last post, and I thought it sounded tasty enough to share - enjoy!

Hi [Wellunderstood},
Since you are on the topic of easy regular dishes, here is a super easy soup that you can make for these last remaining days of damp cold winter weather that we can't seem to shake. This is one of those recipes for when you're feeling lazy or where you'll have all the ingredients around even if you are out of everything. It is quite delicious for how simple the ingredients are. (Although it could be easily jazzed up.) Don't feel obligated to make this - just keep it up your sleeve! I was looking for a soup recipe to make and realized I had neglected this one all winter when it used to be a cold-weather staple.

Creamy Dilled Potato Soup
1 diced onion
1 T butter
1 lb potatoes, peeled and diced
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp dill weed
Fresh ground pepper to taste
1.5 cups milk

Saute onion in butter (or oil) until golden. Add 2 cups water, potatoes, salt, dill weed, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender. Puree, return to saucepan, add milk and heat until hot.
*Forgot to mention - go ahead and double this to get a worthwhile amount!
Enjoy!!!!

J

Thanks, J . . . Keep the recipes coming!

Quite a Spread

Saturday night I went to JoMo's for snackies and wine. Her sister EMo joined us, as did new friend A2 (I have to distinguish from A somehow, perhaps I will come up with something better as I write). We share a love for all things edible, and really, I must say, outdid ourselves. JoMo's contribution (along with the vino) was an amazing bruschetta creation which I unfortunately did not capture on film. It was beautiful italian bread topped with pesto, roasted mushrooms and peppers, and cheese.

A2 brought impressive shrimp rolls stuffed with all kinds of good things and dipped in a spicy soy sauce. She also brought some delicious chicken-cucumber-mint skewers with dill dipping sauce. I love to dip. I was in heaven.

My contribution was the oft-requested Fig-Rosemary Spread (seen with both A2's finger and the very seasonal candy-cane spreader) and a bit of tapenade (see Tannenbaum at left), along with some crusty bread.

I love all things olive, and tapenade is definitely included. It was very easy to make. I used Alice Waters' recipe but made a significant change by adding parsley.

Tapenade
1 cup nicoise olives
1/3 cup loosely packed parsley
Fresh ground black pepper
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Splash of extra-virgin olive oil

Blitz all in a food processor or blender. Enjoy.

We called in Our Hero (or the Leftover Eliminator) to perform clean-up. He did good work.

Kitchen Sunday

In like a lion is right . . . after venturing out into the whipping wind and cold twice today, once to go to the gym and again to hit the drugstore for a few essentials, I knew today would be lovely for puttering around the kitchen while the snow flew.

I accomplished a lot: I roasted some garlic and shallots for a dish later this week (see left), baked some Irish brown bread for breakfasts, roasted and pureed a squash (for later use) that was about to go south, started a recipe for preserved lemons, and fixed a tagine dinner. Whew. It sounds like a lot, but it was a relaxing, wonderful Sunday.

I also made refrigerator pickles. I got the idea from this post on Everybody Likes Sandwiches (an exciting new discovery), and took it from there. I'm not a bread-and-butter pickle person, so I made mine the sour, salty dill variety.

I highly recommend these, as they offer both crunchy goodness and same-day gratification. The picture shows the pickle jars sandwiching my soon-to-be preserved lemons. I'll offer the recipe after I can gauge the success of the results. The summery colors and flavors are a welcome diversion from the endless gray days.

Refrigerator Pickles
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
2-3 T. kosher salt
1 T. dried dill (or a bunch fresh)
1 t. crushed red pepper
1 t. black peppercorns
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Pickling vegetables (I used the traditional cucumbers, but possibilities are endless)

Heat vinegar and water in a medium saucepan. When it comes to a boil, add salt and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat. Add dill, pepper, and peppercorns to liquid. Pour liquid into two jars already filled with sliced vegetables and one clove crushed garlic each. Add vinegar as needed to top off jars (I had plenty of liquid). Let cool to room temperature; refrigerate. Apparently, these should last about a month. I doubt they'll be around that long.

best snack ever

after a hectic schedule and a 48-hour bug, i didn't have much time to post lately. fear not! i'll provide a few recipes to hang onto . . .

a favorite recipe of mine, sent to me by mc (thanks!) shared with friends (ahem, duffpower), and now on to you all . . . i've made this as a side dish, as an appetizer, and as movie-watching "junk" food! even if you think you don't like cauliflower, give it a spin. the high heat carmelizes the sugars in the florets and makes them nutty and tasty.

Roasted Cauliflower

1 large head cauliflower
1-2 T. olive oil (depending on the size of the head)
Coarse salt
Red pepper flakes (i'll say optional, but you're crazy to omit these)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut the cauliflower into bite-sized florets. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Brush or toss cauliflower on sheet with olive oil to lightly coat. Season generously with salt and red pepper flakes. Roast for one hour, stirring florets every 15 minutes. Serve immediately. Leftovers are good tossed with a peanut sauce over couscous for lunch or pureed into a "mash" side dish.

granola morning

didn't feel like i had the time for muffins this morning (and as i am leaving town for work on monday i won't be around to eat them), so i whipped up some maple-pecan granola, courtesy of Cooking Light.

Maple-Pecan Granola
2 cups oats (i used scottish because they are what i like for breakfast)
1/2 cup pecan pieces
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 T. canola oil
1/8 t. salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine all ingredients on a large jellyroll pan lined in foil. Bake for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool completely. Makes 4 cups, serving size 1/4 cup. Keeps for a week. For those of you freaked out by granola, this has 129 calories per serving and 5.2 grams of fat. Not too shabby for a bit of crunch over yogurt. I will probably stir in some craisins and chopped dried apricots.

munchies

for those of you who know me, you know i've been a busy bee this past week, leaving me little enough time to cook, let alone post. tonight is the "bachlorette" party for a good friend getting married next weekend. we're beginning the evening with cocktails and potluck snacks at her sister's apartment.

i have an unabashed love for dips and spreads of all kinds, so naturally i pulled out a couple of favorite recipes as my contribution to the evening's nosh.

Southwestern Red Pepper Dip
(adapted from The New American Plate Cookbook)
1 3-oz. package of sun-dried tomato halves (not in oil)
2 12-oz. jars roasted red peppers
2 chopped garlic cloves
1 1/2 t. ground cumin
cayenne pepper to taste
1 T. lime juice
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped scallion
4 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese
salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste

Soak tomatoes in a bowl of very hot water to cover about 5 minutes. Blitz first eight ingredients in a food processor or blender. Add cream cheese and puree. Adjust seasonings to taste. Let sit for 6-24 hours for flavors to meld. Serve at room temperature. (I like it with baked tortilla chips).

Fig-Rosemary Spread
10 oz. log of soft goat cheese
1/4 cup milk
2 T. minced fresh rosemary
2 t. white wine vinegar
1/2 cup finely chopped black mission figs
Black pepper

Combine goat cheese, milk, rosemary, and vinegar in a food processor or blender. Process until smooth. Add figs and stir to combine. Season with black pepper to taste. Best served with toasted baguette slices.