Chickpea and Tofu Mild Curry

Chickpea and Tofu Mild Curry

 

I have never made curry from scratch, so I was excited to try this mild curry from the You Are What You Eat cookbook that I've used so much.

 

There are a lot of ingredients to this dish, but most of them I already had in the fridge, pantry, or cabinet.

 

I started by cooking onions in olive oil for 10 minutes until they were very tender.

(there's a theme, I'm venturing out and cooking with onions more and more these days)

 

Then I added in drained/cubed tofu, chickpeas, fresh cilantro, diced carrots, spices, and water. 

I brought it to a boil, then covered it and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

While it was simmering I boiled a large pot of salted water and cooked a pound of shredded kale for about 4 minutes until it was good and tender.

 

I added in dissolved cornstarch and miso that I had dissolved with a little bit of the curry liquid, and let the curry cook another few minutes.



 

I drained the kale and placed it on a platter, topping it with the curry and some fresh cilantro.

 

 

I served the curry with rice and warmed naan.

 

The flavors are very mild and might need a little more salt during the cooking process.

But everyone liked it and it made for a nice change of pace!

 

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आप का खाना स्वादिष्ट हो

(Hindi for "Bon Appetit!")



Watermelon Salad with Jalapeño and Lime

Watermelon Salad with Jalapeño and Lime

 

I saw this salad in the Vegetarian Times Farmer's Market Cookbook and I've been meaning to try it all summer.

We love sweet watermelon and I almost always have some cut up in the fridge that we eat at most meals.

 

This recipe can be made ahead of time or right before serving.

 

You whisk together lime juice, lime zest, and olive oil and pour it over 3 cups of cubed watermelon.

Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

 

When you're ready to serve, place some jalapeño rings in each serving dish and mound watermelon on top.

The original recipe calls for garnishing with sea salt, black sesame seeds, and thinly sliced basil.

We served ours without the garnish, but I think the black seeds and basil would make it extra pretty.

 

It's a zesty, only hint of hot at the very end, version of plain watermelon.

I like it, but don't think the oil was necessary at all.

I think watermelon by itself, or with a little lime and lime zest, works just fine!

 



 

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Enjoy!

 

Barley Casserole

Barley Casserole

Straight away I have to tell you that this was not my favorite dish.  It wasn't the barley, I like barley dishes.  I think it was the tahini dressing.  Tahini (a critical ingredient in hummus) has a distinctive flavor that I don't even notice in hummus, but I did notice it in this dish.  I will certainly try it again, maybe reducing the tahini just a little.

This recipe comes from The Kind Diet, and Alicia Silverstone starts the recipe with this introduction:  "Get out your Birkenstocks!  This casserole is hearty, tasty, and deeply groovy.  Perfect for a family meal or to bring to a hippie potluck..."

So, you've been warned. 

Just kidding - actually, it's a simple dish and one that should really have more vegetables in it, in my opinion.  The little bit of celery and carrot (and onion if you are an onion-lover, we are not) are hardly noticeable in this dish.  I'd recommend adding more vegetables.

When I cook barley, I get the Pearl Barley variety.  I find it at Kroger in the healthy foods section.
This form of barley (also known as Whole Barley) has the three parts of the grain still in tact, and it's got more texture than processed barley.

I soak my barley in water for a few hours, then rinse and drain it well before cooking it.
If you don't have time, just rinse and drain it and get started.

I cooked the barley in boiling water that I then lowered to a simmer.  It was good and tender after about 45 minutes.

While it was finishing up, I heated olive oil in a large skillet and cooked the garlic, then the vegetables, soy sauce,  and dried herbs.  I transferred the drained barley to the vegetables and heated it through.  I added a little sea salt and then placed it in a baking dish.

I mixed up the tahini dressing, which is made up of tahini (found at Kroger), soy sauce, and a little garlic powder, paprika, dried basil, and dried oregano.  I combined it in with the grains and vegetables and baked it at 350* for 35 minutes. 

 

I liked the dried texture and the rest of the family liked it pretty well too.

Again, I think I'll add more vegetables and maybe reduced the tahini and see if I like it even more!

Double click to print as a 5x7 recipe card.
 

Enjoy!

Red Lentil Sauce

Red Lentil Sauce

Here is a recipe that is just crying out to be modified and used in a different way.

This dish comes from the book Eat to Live and the sauce is intended to be drizzled onto vegetables.

We made the dish according to the book, and liked the flavor, but really think it should be made in a different way.

Maybe thicker - more like hummus that you can eat with pita bread.

Maybe much, much thicker - more like a dip for veggies and crackers.

Maybe on top of fish or chicken instead of on vegetables.

Again - the flavor is great, but you might want to consider different ways to use the sauce.

This dish is simple to make.

You boil red lentils, chopped onion, garlic, and carrot juice, then cover and simmer the lentils for 20 minutes until they are tender.

Then you blend the lentils with a vegetable broth bouillon cube, cumin, and a little bit of Balsamic vinegar.

Transfer to a dish and serve!

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Enjoy!

Brown Rice with Creole Sauce

Brown Rice with Creole Sauce

Don't let the long list of ingredients (mostly seasonings) discourage you from trying this recipe.  It's an easy, quick, versatile dish that is great for rice, and I think would work really well over fish, chicken, or other grains.

I found this recipe in the Fire & Spice cookbook that I reference so often.  I like many of the recipes, organized by region of the world.

David especially liked this creole sauce.

Thomas did as well.

There was a strong flavor that I wasn't terribly fond of - but I liked the idea of this dish.

I think I'll play with the ingredients and try it again.

While your rice is cooking, you saute green bell pepper, onion, celery, a seeded jalapeno pepper, and garlic in some olive oil.  I covered it and let the vegetables soften for about 10 minutes.

Then you add an undrained can of diced tomatoes, tomato paste, file powder, brown sugar, lemon juice, cider vinegar, mustard, cayenne, and salt & pepper to the sauteed vegetables. I stirred it, and let it simmer for another 10 minutes.

At this point the kitchen smelled fantastic, but I knew that my kids wouldn't be thrilled with the chunks of tomatoes and peppers, so I decided to use the blender and turn it into a thicker sauce.

We served it over the rice, which was a great complement and helped cut the heat in the sauce.



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Enjoy!

Lemon Mousse

Lemon Mousse

Let me start by saying this is the strangest recipe I've made in awhile.

Wait until you see the ingredients.

I am always on the lookout for a delicious dessert recipe that also uses fresh produce.

And Lemon Mousse?  Sounded great!

I found this recipe in Gillian McKeith's You Are What You Eat cookbook - one that I reference a lot!  She encourages her clients to try this recipe because so many are lacking in essential fatty acids, which can lead to a number of health issues.

A healthy lemon dessert?  I was certainly willing to give it a try.

You start by zesting one lemon, then peeling four, cutting them in half and removing the seeds.

You place the lemons in the food processor along with 4 peeled avocados, fresh lemon juice, fresh orange juice, pitted dates, and maple syrup.

With all those yummy avocados, there's no way this Lemon Mousse was going to be yellow.

And shouldn't Lemon Mousse be yellow??

Once it's super smooth, you spoon the mousse into individual dishes and chill for 2 hours before serving.

Looks like guacamole, doesn't it?

Top with lemon zest, and serve.

The Results:

David and Thomas thought it was waaaay too tart, and they'd cut the lemons in half.

I liked the flavor - it's really tart from all those fresh lemons, and I liked the texture.

 I'd eat this dish again, but....

It was almost heart breaking to me to use up those delicious avocados and dates in this way.

I love each and every one of the ingredients that are combined in this (rather strange) dish.

I think I'd just rather eat them individually.

Note:  cover with Saran Wrap if you don't eat them all that day or they won't look awesome the next day.

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Bon Appetit!

Baked Zucchini Chips

Baked Zucchini Chips

I have seen this recipe in a number of places on Pinterest, in magazines, and on Facebook.

I thought I'd try it out and see how we liked it.

I think it's a great veggie side.  We all liked it and it took very little prep - perfect for the summer!

In addition to the zucchini, I tried this recipe with a squash that I had on hand.

Worked great for both.

I sliced up both vegetables rather thinly and laid them on a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Then I sprinkled them with Kosher salt and Italian seasonings.

You don't want to overseason because the vegetables shrink so you'd be biting into a lot of seasoning.

Then I baked them at 225* for 30 minutes, turned the sheet and baked another 30 minutes.

The longer you bake them, the crispier they get.  Some recipes call for 45 minutes, turn, then another 45 minutes.

And serve!

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Enjoy!

Good, but probably won't make it that often

Wild Rice Salad with Beets

Gillian McKeith's

Wild Rice Salad with Beets

I'm perfectly willing to share this recipe with you, even though it is certainly not one of my favorites.

Maybe it's the beets.

Or maybe it's the beets/rice combo.

My 3 men seemed to like it just fine, but after one helping, I was not interested in putting it up for leftovers, against protests from my family.

Hey - if they're willing to eat wild rice salad with beets the next day, who am I to toss this dish out and mark it down as a fail?

I'm new to beets. 

We saw them at the Farmers' Market Saturday and Brennan had to have them (this is a theme, isn't it?)  He went through 3 cookbooks and chose this recipe, which we modified.  I had my doubts going in, but I figured we'd give it a try.

I'm not giving up on beets though. 

I'm going to try them again in a different way and see if I can become a beet fan like so many people I know are. 

I used 1 cup of Lundberg Wild Rice Blend that I had on hand (found at Kroger).

I really like the Lundberg brand in general.

The recipe called for 4 cooked beets, diced.  I wasn't sure where to start, so I looked online.

I removed the leaves and then scrubbed the beets well.

Then I cut off the two ends and peeled the beets. 
Then I cut them into large chunks and boiled them for about 5 minutes.

It turns out, I could have trimmed them but peeled them after boiling them.

And, I think next time I'll roast them instead of boiling them, but they were fine, regardless.

I cooked the rice according to the package directions, then let in cool while I diced the beets.

I tossed the cooled rice with the diced beets and added the juice of 1 lemon, chopped fresh mint, parsley, chives. 

 

Everyone ate the salad again tonight at dinner, and I certainly didn't require anyone to, since I wasn't going to.  When I asked if I should keep the remaining salad - they all 3 said yes.  Well, OK.


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Enjoy!



Pineapple Casserole

Pineapple Casserole

Last month when our moms came up to visit, my mother-in-law gave us a new cookbook called Mississippi Hometown Cookbook. 

The boys and I read through it and drooled over the delicious sounding recipes.  Of course, a lot of the ingredients are not "figure friendly" (as is the case with most of my Southern cookbooks!), but it's fun to try out new recipes any time!

Brennan spotted a Pineapple Casserole recipe in the "vegetables and other side dishes" chapter and was intrigued why it would be considered a vegetable or side dish instead of a dessert.  I had to agree.  But I like pineapple casserole and hadn't had it in years so we made it last night.  And yes.  It truly is more of a dessert.

I've modified it quite a bit to make it a touch healthier less decadent  :)

I only took the "after" shots.  We had friends in and out and a lot of activity while I was cooking dinner and trying out this new dish.  I'm just glad I remembered these photos!

We drained a can of pineapple (you can use chopped or crushed), and reserved 2 Tbsp of the juice.

We sprayed our casserole dish with Pam and placed the pineapple in the dish.

Then we combined sugar, flour, and cheese and sprinkled it on top.

Finally we mixed the pineapple juice in with melted butter and crushed Ritz crackers (I used whole wheat), and sprinkled it on top.

Baked at 350* for 30 minutes, it was a delicious sweet treat after dinner.

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Enjoy!



Roasted Cauliflower with Ras el Hanout Tahini Sauce

Roasted Cauliflower with Ras el Hanout Tahini Sauce

This recipe in Vegetarian Times (June 2012) caught my eye because I have a jar of Tahini that I keep on hand for hummus, but would like to use it more often. 

I purchase this brand at Kroger.

As is often the case with my recipe choice for the evening, I had cauliflower that I needed to use up, so this recipe was perfect!

The only issue was I had no idea what Ras el Hanout was, so I googled it.

It's a Moroccan spice blend, and that intrigued Brennan.  I took a chance that our Spice/Vinegar/Olive Oil specialty shop might have it, but she did not.

So we found the recipe online here, and I put Brennan in charge of making the spice blend.

Ras el hanout means "top of the shop" in Arabic, meaning that the vendor's top spices would go into this mixture.  According to research online, every chef has his/her own ras el hanout recipe with 10-100 spices in the mix. 

I then cleaned and chopped the cauliflower into florets and coated it with olive oil, tahini, and ras el hanout.  Then I roasted the coated cauliflower at 400* for 20 minutes.

While the cauliflower was cooking I made the Tahini Sauce from tahini, lemon juice, and more ras el hanout. 

Just before serving, you drizzle the sauce over the cauliflower and garnish with lemon wedges.

We liked this dish, except for Brennan.

He likes cauliflower a lot and I think the flavors took away the cauliflower flavor (which is OK for some!)

This is a dish the rest of the family would like to have again though.

One note - the Tahini Sauce that you drizzle on top as you're plating is not necessary, but it's good.

If you just coated the cauliflower in the olive oil, tahini, and ras el hanout before roasting it, I think that would be enough flavor.  Maybe a little sprinkle of lemon juice. 

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بالهنا والشفا

(Arabic for Bon Appetit!)



Peeps Cake

Peeps Cake from Cake Central

I saw this Easter cake on Pinterest and decided to make it for Easter!

The cake comes from Kayleesgrammy on Cake Central.

I made a Duncan Hines Orange Supreme cake and frosted it with Classic White frosting.

Decorated with Bunny Peeps, and topped with Easter M-n-M's.

I made the mistake of frosting and covering my cake the night before I decorated. 

Then the Bunnies wouldn't adhere. 

I recommend decorating with the Bunnies immediately after frosting. 

I ended up purchasing another tub of frosting to stick the Bunnies on.

It worked fine!

Waaaay too sweet for me, but the kids at our Easter dinner liked it!

I had never tried the Orange Supreme cake mix before - it was good. 

I think it would be good with crushed pineapple.

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Happy Easter!