Today we set out for some Christmas cheer. I am a real Christmas tree kind of girl. I can never use a fake one, unless I really have to one day for whatever reason. At first, I wanted to wait until next weekend but having a tree in the house just makes me feel better and for the final stretch of my internship(one more week!) I needed all the cheer I could get. I remember coming home from school and plugging the tree right in and doing my homework by it just to smell the pine tree gloriousness! Onto the rest of my day..

First, a daily pic of Leo.

Looking like Eeyore.

(Disney Clip Art)

Oh, bother.

We headed out to run errands which included stops at Ross, Michael’s, and Target to get some Christmas decorations. Then we headed to good ol’ Home Depot for our tree. You northerners get to chop yours down, we pick ours up at home improvement stores. It didn’t take long to find the right one.

We paid, and got it tied to our roof.

I had a little fun with my camera, I am sure the car behind us thought I was crazy. Or a spy..

Our tree couldn’t escape if he tried..

When we got home, I gave Leo a bath. Then put out some of our new decorations.

It’s fun to start building our holiday collections. I can’t wait to have a bigger home(note: not an apartment) to decorate. One day! For now our one bedroom apartment will have to make do.

Skinny tree, but perfect for it’s narrow spot.

For dinner, I picked up some kale and brussel sprouts and used some chickpeas from earlier and stuck all three in the oven to roast. Mmmmmm…I used my LARGE plate for this and it was filled up with goodies.

The brussel sprouts were drizzled with EVOO, S&P and paprika.

Same with the kale along with some garlic powder as well.

A little EVOO, S&P for the chickpeas.

All three went in the oven at 375. The kale took about 12 minutes, the brussels and chickpeas took about 25 minutes.

Together they made a super filling and satisfying meal!

I had done good sticking with mostly veggies today! I feel so much better already and know I am back on a healthy track. But I did share this giant bottle of beer with Adam, per his brother Nate’s recommendation.

“9″ beer! We picked it up a local gourmet market we love,

In a chilled mug. It was refreshing! It definitely had an apricot taste in the finish and was smooth, not bitter at all. I enjoyed it.

For dessert, some Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Along with a bowl of raspberry sherbet. It was about 150 calories worth. Yum!

I’m getting hungry again, but it’s bed time. Hopefully a mug of tea will help fill me up and doze me to sleep! I’m off to finish my last week in my internship. PTL!!!!! I cannot wait for Friday afternoon to come. Luckily, I have Wednesday off(sort of). I am on campus for a seminar until noon and then have the rest of the day to myself!!! Aka to clean.

Oh, pictures of the tree to come when we finish decorating!

Also, don’t forget to subscribe if you like what you’re reading! The new button is the right!

Katy

I have to admit to a love of chickpeas and, through that, excitement at the various ways that the flour made from chickpeas is used.

Chickpea flour is also called gram flour or besan. It is a wonderful thing, stabilising yoghurt for curries, coating vegetables for frying, making lovely flatbreads. Its use is endless.

It is also used by cuisines from France through to India, and probably beyond that as well. In India its use is ubiquitous, and Italy seems to have a wonderful understanding of its properties too. It was a surprise to me to find the extent of the use of chickpea flour in Italy. Lucullian is one of my favourite sources for the ways in which Italians use it.

One of the things that she has posted is Farinata. It is made with a simple dough of chickpea flour and water, topped with tomatoes, onions and olives, and baked. Some people like it cooked until it is crisp. I like to make it a little thicker and leave the centre a little soft. It is delicious.

Lucullian also has a mean pizza recipe, which uses a home made pomarolo, or tomato sauce. The sauce is simple, but awesome. I make it in bulk and freeze it.

In a fit of inspiration, I combined the farinata concept with the pomarolo and made a wonderful chickpea flour based “pizza”. I hope you like it.

Chickpea Flour Farinata “Pizza”

Source : inspired by Lucullian
Cuisine: Italian
Prep time: 35 mins including resting time for batter
Cooking time: 25 mins
Serves: 4 – 6 people, depending how you use it

ingredients
1 cup chickpea flour / gram flour / besan
1.25 cups water
0.5 tspn salt
large pinch black pepper
3 Tblspn virgin olive oil
3 – 4 Tblspns pomarolo – Italian tomato pizza sauce
3 tomatoes, diced
1 small onion, chopped finely
dried mixed herbs

method
Beat the flour, water, pepper and salt together until they are well mixed and there are no lumps in the batter. Cover, and leave to rest for at least 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 225C.

Mix the diced tomatoes and onions.

Choose an oven-proof pan with sides at least several cm tall. For example, a glass pie dish is perfect. Add the olive oil, and then pour in the batter.

Drizzle the pomarolo lightly over the batter and then top lightly with the mixed tomatoes and onions. Sprinkle with the mixed herbs, place in the oven and cook for 20 -25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little before slicing.

Enjoy!

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More Cooking, Food and Recipes:

Quagmire likes them, too. I don’t practice his third strategy of carrot consumption, though. Extremely inappropriate and immature, I know.

I am more than thrilled today, for I do not have school tomorrow, Thursday, nor Friday! Joy! In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I’d like to share one thing I am thankful for.

My family- They are and will always be my life. It’s really too hard to try and word how much they mean to me… how much they have shaped my life… how much I love them. My 14 year brother, Nick, is my best friend. He’s wise beyond his years. He is an incredibly intelligent and artistic person whom I admire. I know I’m older, but he often helps me through situations with such insight and strength. When we’re together, people even think he’s older than me. We tell each other everything with the comfort of knowing neither one of us will be judgmental. The term ‘unconditional love’ is more than appropriate for our relationship. No matter what he does, he will always and forever be the PB to my PB&J. The crunch to my carrot. The bees to the knees. He’s my rock!

Is your sibling your best friend?

Anywho, here’s what I made La Familia for supper tonight:

Couscous with black beans, zucchini, yellow squash, corn, and my lovely green sauce creation.

The main ingredients of my special sauce were 1 container of 0% greek yogurt, 1/2 can of garbanzo beans, and a few handfuls of spinach.

I sauteed the chickpeas and spinach in some olive oil. I sprinkled them with S&P, garlic salt, chili flakes, and some chopped garlic.

I added the spinach and beans to the blender. I blended them together (not completely smooth) and proceeded to add the greek yogurt. I also added some more olive oil and then let them blend into a bright green goo.

Beautiful. I’m pretty proud of this concoction… my momma loved it! as did I. The amount of protein I managed to get into a simple sauce/dressing makes me a very happy veg-head!

I finished off the meal with far too many 365 animal cookies… and some Dreyer’s Cookies&Cream no sugar added icecream, eaten straight from the carton with my brother

And without further ado, I present to you my vintage Winter Formal Dress:

Front

Back

I love the detail. So wintery, no?

You likey? I can’t wait to get all dressed up, 60’s style cat eyes and all…

What’s your best memory from a High School Dance?

Have a marvelous evening.

A weekend that starts off with New Moon is bound to be a great weekend. Did you see it? Carter and I loved it! When a movie can live up to a book, I think that’s quite impressive! Though the movie left out and changed some parts of the book (as is to be expected), it also added an additional layer of emotion that was missing from the book. I thought that Jacob’s character was much more likable in the movie than in the book, partly because Taylor Lautner did such a fantastic job of expressing Jacob’s emotions through his eyes, his body language and his tone of voice. New Moon was beautifully done!

And here are some beautifully done meal highlights from our weekend:

Peanut Butter Pancakes With Caramelized Bananas

To serve 2:

1. Mix 1/4 cup peanut butter into your favorite prepared pancake mix. We used Fiber 1 buttermilk pancake mix.
2. Cook pancakes in skillet over medium to medium-high heat.
3. When pancakes are done, put them on a plate and cover them with foil to keep them warm.
4. Slice 2 bananas.
5. Melt 1/2 T Promise light spread in saute pan. Immediately put the banana slices in the pan for 30 seconds. Don’t stir them or move them.
6. Flip over the bananas and add another 1/2 T Promise light spread. Sprinkle banans with 1 T brown sugar and as much cinnamon as you’d like. You can push the bananas around the pan with a spatula at this point to evenly coat them. After 30 seconds to 1 minute, take the bananas off the heat.
7. Top the pancakes with the bananas and maple syrup and enjoy!

Lemony Garbanzo Veggie Crunch Salad

To serve 2 big salads:

1. Chop up 2 stalks celery, 1/2 cucumber, and about 1/4 cup red onion. Toss together with shredded carrots and about 10 halved red seedless grapes..
2. Chop up 1 small crown broccoli and blanch the broccoli. To blanch, boil water in a saucepan. When the water is boiling, add the broccoli. Let the water return to a boil, and cook the broccoli, uncovered, for about 1 minute. Immediately dump the broccoli in a colander and run it under cold water for a few minutes.
3. Chop the broccoli into bite-sized pieces and toss with the rest of the veggie mixture.
4. Add 1 can of drained garbanzo beans to the veggie mixture.
5. In a small bowl, combine 2 T canola oil, the juice of 1/2 lemon, and a generous sprinkling of basil and oregano.
6. Pour the dressing over the salad, add sea salt and pepper, and mix well.
7. Spoon the salad onto 2 plates, top each plate with 2 T goat cheese, and enjoy!

In addition to watching entertaining movies and enjoying delicious eats, we bought most of our Christmas lights and decorations this weekend. We’re putting them up this weekend — photos to come, of course!

Yesterday, I had my grad school interview! This was the last step in my application process to the M.A. in Counseling Psychology with School Counselor Certification program. The professor who interviewed me said that he had “absolutely no reservations” about recommending that I be admitted to the program. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but that sounds like an unofficial acceptance to me!!

Now I’m just waiting to hear back about the Director of Community Prevention job I applied for and the potential part-time opportunity with my Registered Dietitian. I also just got an interview for a Member Services position at my gym next week! I am trying to apply to as many jobs as I can so that hopefully I’ll have some options to choose from. I’ll keep you posted!

Can you believe Thanksgiving is only two days away??

It has been a little overcast outside today so I wanted to put together a bright looking salad.  While I love to bake (probably because I would eat cookies and cake all day if I could) there is a downside to baking. 

When you bake it is really a chemistry experiment.  If you make small changes in some of the basic baking ingredients ie. baking soda, baking powder, salt, the acid content of a liquid …, then the entire batch can fail.  How the various ingredients interact on a molecular level means that small changes can have dramatic effects on the end product. 

On the other hand, a salad is a jazz freestyle (the Dave Brubeck of food?) event where you can improvise any way that you want.  If you like more tomato then go ahead and add them.  You don’t like Feta cheese, leave it out all together or substitute something else, like goat cheese.  The recipe for a salad is designed to be a general road map of the terrain not a GPS type of (turn left in exactly 50 yards type) directions. 

So go have fun, experiment, make changes and turn this recipe into something unique that expresses your taste.

Printable recipe

Salad ingredients

1 can garbanzo (aka chickpeas), drained and rinsed

1 orange pepper, seeded and diced

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced

12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 small Bermuda onion (aka red onion, why is it called red when it is purple?), diced

1 cup Feta cheese

2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, chopped

Orange Vinaigrette

¼ cup orange juice

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

Pepper to taste

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

 Method

1. In a large bowl toss together all the salad ingredients
2. Combine all the vinaigrette ingredients in a mason jar with a tight fitting lid.  Shake till well combined.
3. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and mix till the salad is coated with dressing.

That Pain in the Ass Vegan

…’cos they look like little miniature butts. We’re gonna call ‘em garbuttzo beans.

AHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!! Looks like we’re not alone!!!! ROTFLOFAO!!!!! See, e.g., among many bloggers, Jen at That Pain in the Ass*Vegan:

*Ass it were

maybe it’s just me, but do any of you out there think chickpeas look like little butts? point in case is the one sitting over yonder on the left hand side of the photo. i think butts are adorable. anyway, here’s the unmeasured recipe…

so fresh…

I won’t even begin to pretend that this is comparable to that lovely substance we get at our favorite Middle Eastern joint.  This is a different, tahiniless beast–but still so very good:

• 1 can garbanzo beans (drain and save 1/2 of the liquid to include in the hummus)
• 1 hefty clove of garlic
• some lemon (say, whatever you have left in your fridge at the end of the week?… in my case, a less-than-inspired elderly half)
• salt to taste

Toss it all together in your food processor and pulse until smooth.  That’s it!  (Unless you’re me and can’t resist adding cilantro and paprika.)

Then, when your husband comes home and wants to know why you smell like garlic, you can send him straight to the hummus bowl to have some ASAP; that way, neither of you will notice the intense garlickiness of the other.  And may I also recommend some merlot, and the new Paul Auster, and a movie on the sofa with two purring kittens in this mild early November darkness?  Because that’s where we’re headed, and it is good.

Quinoa Beet Salad with Miso-Tahini Dressing

If you prepare the quinoa (or have leftover quinoa) and the beets the day before, this salad is super quick to put together. Quinoa is a seed (not a grain) that is extremely high in protein, making it a very good choice for vegans and vegetarians. Beets are surprisingly soft and almost buttery when cooked. I love their sweet taste and I was once known for my beet addiction. Thankfully, they promote optimum health and are very low in calories. Their deep colored flesh make them a nice (visual) addition to many meals. Plus, beets help fight cancer!

Quinoa Beet Salad with Miso-Tahini Dressing

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

1 can chick peas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained

5 or 6 cooked beets, sliced

2 green onions, minced

Fresh parsley, cilantro or mint, chopped

Sesame seeds for garnish

Miso-Tahini dressing :

¼ tahini

1 tablespoon miso

Juice of about half a lemon (about ¼ cup)

Lemon zest

2 tablespoons hot water

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Place unpeeled beets in medium saucepan, cover with water and add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until beets are tender, about 30 minutes depending on the size of your beets. Allow the beets to cool, rinse and peel.

While the beets are cooking, rinse the quinoa and cook according to package directions (1 cup quinoa for 2 cups water, simmer for about 15-20 minutes).

To make the dressing : mix all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until the consistency resembles a liquid paste.

Toss the cooked quinoa, beets, garbanzo beans and green onions in a large bowl, drizzle with half the dressing, top with fresh parsley and sesame seeds. Serve remaining dressing on the side.

Serves 4

Hello garlic breath!

1 19-oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed, or
1/2 pound dried chick-peas, washed and picked over
1 quart water (4 cups)
1 tsp. salt
2 large garlic cloves
4 to 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (to taste)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 Tbsp. tahini (more or less to taste)
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt (or more to taste)
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Soak the chickpeas overnight in 4 cups of water (use bottled water if your tap water is hard). The next day, drain the soaked beans and combine in a large pot with a fresh quart of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer 2 hours, until the beans are tender. Add 1 teaspoon salt.

Drain the beans and puree along with the garlic in a food processor.

Add the lemon juice, olive oil, tahini, cumin, salt and yogurt and blend until thoroughly smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding more salt, garlic, or lemon juice as needed.

Transfer to a serving bowl and cover. Refrigerate until ready to serve. This dish will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

(Make a double batch and freeze half. Defrosted hummus should be eaten the same day).

Heute habe ich mit den Kichererbsen aus dem DELITRADE Shop einen Kichererbsensalat zubereitet.

Zuerst einmal werden die Kichererbsen (500g reichen als Vorspeise für acht Personen) über Nacht in reichlich Wasser eingeweicht. Wasser abgießen und die Kichererbsen ca. 20 – 30 Minuten gar kochen. In der Zwischenzeit Tomaten und Gurken würfeln, rote Zwiebeln in Ringe schneiden und halbieren. Glatte Petersilie mit frischer Minze, Olivenöl und weißem Balsamessig, grünem Estragonsenf (1TL von Fallot) und Pfeffer und Salz im Häcksler zu einer Marinade fertigstellen. Alles vermengen. Wer möchte gibt noch etwas Schafs- oder Ziegenkäse und einige schwarze Sesamsamen dazu.

Wer es exotisch mag kann auch die SCHWARZEN Kichererbsen (Garbanzo Beans) verwenden.

HIER können die Kichererbsen bestellt werden.

Sadly the snow reduced to normal amounts overnight, not the blizzard from before so school was open. I started the day with my traditional cereal bowl. Not tired of it yet!

I actually didn’t mind being on campus today. A lot of people gave themselves the day off so campus was deserted and very quite. It was really beautiful.

After classes I went to the gym!!! Finally! It felt so good. Even after just two days of  extra rest by body felt so much tighter when I was stretching. Hopefully I’ll limber up again.

I decided to do something different today and try having what I was going to make for dinner for lunch around 1. I had heated up 1/4 cup of garbanzo beans, a 1/4 cup frozen chicken and 1/2 cup chopped green peppers in a little olive oil on the stove.

I tossed it with 1/4 cup of whole wheat penne and 1/2 tsp of olive oil with a dash of salt. I’ve never bulked up pasta this way before and I loved it. All the extra protein kept me full longer and gave me the visual like I was eating more of the pasta which curbed my carb craving. I’ve heard its also better for your body to eat your biggest meal earlier on in the day. I think this maybe works for me and I’m going to keep experimenting with it.

I rounded off the meal with some water, some Stephen King and an apple about half an hour after the pasta.

After getting dressed, I had to dash across campus again for my office hours/news section meeting. The meeting was short and sweet but I did a little extra studying after and got famished around 6. So I ate the only thing in the newsroom- two little chewy candies.

I made a quick sandwich for dinner so I could get right to studying (Issue in American Thought this time). A few slices of chicken breast, Romaine hearts, sliced apple, Jack Daniel’s mustard and brie on a sandwich thin was the perfect combo with a little skim milk on the side.

I was completely satisfied with this meal and had two dried apricots and a cup of green tea for dessert, mostly just to feed my sweet tooth. Alright, back to studying!

Serves 12-14

4-5 large potatoes (or equivalent volume), halved and quartered

2 .5 quarts of water

1 package of skinless chicken and apple sausage, applegate farms, 4 sausages per package, frozen

1 TBS Olive Oil

1 bunch of Kale (Spinach or Swiss Chard would also work)

1 TBS Garlic, heaping

1-1.5 C green beans (or wax beans), lightly steamed

1 C Corn

30 oz can Garbanzo Beans, drained

1 quart broth, chicken or vegetable

4 TSP Better Than Bouillon, Vegetable (I prefer this to bouillon cubes)

1/4 C Pickapeppa Sauce (or other pepper sauce of your choice)

Place the potatoes in a large stew pot and cover with 2.5 quarts of water. bring to boil over high heat, then reduce to medium-low, cover and simmer until tender, about 20-25 minutes.

Slice the sausage into pieces (preferably while frozen to make it easier). Saute them until the slices are evenly browned. Set off to the side.

Saute the kale in 1 TBS olive oil until cooked through. During the last few minutes of sauteing, add 1 heaping TBS of garlic and mix/saute throughly.

Lightly steam the green beans.

To the pot of potato water and cooked potatoes, add the quart of stock, the pepper sauce and the boullion. Stir well and bring up to a low boil again.

Add the green beans, garbanzo beans, kale, corn and sausage.

Serve with bread.

Link to Pickapeppa Sauce: http://www.pickapeppa.com/

Link to AppleGate Farms Chicken & Apple Sausage: http://www.applegatefarms.com/Products/ProductDetail.aspx?id=2942

Kat here. Seriously -are you even surprised anymore? Emma’s making cookies right now, and she’s also making vanilla buns, and she totally let me eat the rest of that extremely scrumptious onion soup (thanks Emma), so I should probably just shut up. A couple days ago Emma and Co. (me, Kerstin, Erin and Megan) hung out in Seattle, Washington, for a bit. Emma was craving ethnic food like none other, and we found ourselves at the extremely tasty Taste of India. We ended up scoring a free batch of appetizers, which included falafel. Emma wasn’t able to join in on the falafel party, so we decided to make some when we got back. So. Here it is. Try it. Like it. Tells us of your experience.

Ingredients:

15 oz. can chickpeas (in some places us cool kids call these “garbanzos”)

1 white onion (chopped)

3 cloves of garlic (chopped)

1/2 tsp. baking soda

2+ Tbs. flour (add flour as you need it)

A heck of a lot of parsley

Cayenne (you can subsitute red pepper flakes for cayenne if you wish)

Salt and pepper to taste

Cumin

Coriander

Curry

Directions:

1. Put everything in a food processor and proccess until thick. You should be able to pat into a little ball without having it fall apart. You may have to add more flour.

2. Heat your Fry Daddy. If you don’t have a Fry Daddy (Mama), heat a couple of inches of oil in a pot.

3. Scoop out a ball of falafel using a teaspoon or another small spoon. If your falafel ball is too big the inside won’t cook.

4. Using a spatula, carefully drop a falafel ball into the hot oil.

5. Once the falafel has formed a crispy, dark brown shell, scoop it out with a slotted spoon or spatula. You may want to cut it open and make sure the inside is cooked as well. It should be soft, but not doughy.

6. Dip into tahini or a cucumber sauce and enjoy!! We were lame and used Annie’s Goddess Dressing because we had neither.

buy buckets full of dry, organic garbanzo beans

soak 3 cups of filtered water per 1 cup of beans in a sauce pan overnight

in the morning rinse and put fresh water in the pan (about 2 or 3 inches above top of the beans)

simmer for what will seem like forever

rinse and gently stir them by hand and remove the floating skins

Though all the recipes are similar, and I always tweak it until I like it, I’m going to try this new recipe from marthastewart.com. Obviously, I use my own instead of canned beans and I will either double or triple the recipe.

Updated to add … g said he can see the Virgin Mary in the middle of the hummus:

1-3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white sesame seeds, toasted
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 can (15-ounce) garbanzo beans, drained, liquid reserved
1 tablespoon orange peel, minced
Salt and white pepper, to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon peel, minced

In a blender or food processor, combine garlic, olive oil, sesame seeds, tahini, lemon juice, and garbanzo beans (reserve about a tablespoon of beans for garnish). Blend, adding reserved garbanzo-bean liquid if needed until hummus reaches desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer the mixture to a medium serving bowl. Garnish in the middle with reserved garbanzo beans. Sprinkle orange and lemon peel around the beans. Chill in the refrigerator, tightly covered, until ready to serve.

So my Chicago sorella has been telling me I must try Pioneer Woman’s artichoke pasta, as well as her new potatoes and garlic heads in olive oil and wine. The potatoes are in the oven as we speak, but the artichoke pasta we made last week…

This is us getting ready to cook.

The pasta we used for the dinner.

Delicious garlic.

The onion.

These are the two cans of artichokes, tomatoes, and the garbanzo beans that we added for some protein.

We also added mushrooms because we love them, and because the boys weren’t eating with us, and because we could.

All sauteed together. Yum!

Adding the cream. Corelyn said, “Do you want to capture this moment?” And yes, I did, very much so.

We also had to add chicken broth. This lead to a soul searching dicussion about when we opened the said chicken broth. It took us nearly five minutes to recollect when it was opened.

We had opened it for the Crock Pot unveiling, Tuesday night, and this was Friday of the next week. This was 10 days since the open date.

As you can see, it needs to be used within 10 days. What ensued?

“Do you think that we can use it?” Jennie

“Umm…I think so. I don’t know. What do you think? I am sure it’s fine. It’s been 10 days.” Corelyn

“Ok. Well ok.” Jennie

10 minutes later…

“Hey, so did you decide to use the chicken broth?” Corelyn

“Oh, yea, it’s in there already.” Jennie

“Oh…ok.” Corelyn

Needless to say, we didn’t die.

Finished product.

This lasted us days, TWO days as leftovers. So good.

]]> http://cookingveg.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/day-five-potatochickpea-stew-and-baby-zuchini/ Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:00:08 +0000 Mary Kay Seckinger http://cookingveg.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/day-five-potatochickpea-stew-and-baby-zuchini/

Jon says I’m slacking because I only made two recipes on Wednesday… But really, I made three, and the big news is: Romesco Sauce ROCKS.

Have you ever had this stuff? It’s delicious– you must make it. In the interest of introducing Romesco sauce to all my readers (both of you), I’m going to vary from my usual format and reproduce it here for you. I hope Deborah Madison does not mind this; the idea is that you will love it so much that you will rush to buy the entire book (link in sidebar–I get a commission) and cook like a madman/woman.

Romesco Sauce, from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, p. 70

• 1 slice country-style white bread (I used sourdough)
• Olive oil for frying
• 1/4 cup almonds, roasted
• 1/4 cup hazelnuts, roasted and peeled
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 to 2 teaspoons ground red chile or red pepper flakes to taste
• 4 Roma tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp parsley leaves
• Salt and freshly milled pepper
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 red bell pepper, roasted
• 1/4 c. sherry vinegar
• 1/2 c. plus 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, preferably Spanish

Fry the bread in a little olive oil until golden and crisp. When cool, grind the bread, nuts, garlic and chile in a food processor. Add everything but the vinegar and oil and process until smooth.  With the machine running, gradually pour in the vinegar, then the oil. Taste and make sure the sauce had plenty of piquancy and enough salt.

I made it to top my Potato and Chickpea Stew (made with delicious mixed fingerling potatoes, which Jon says are more valuable than gold, due to their cost). You can also “spread it on garlic rubbed croutons and cover with sliced green olives and parsley for a delicious appetizer,” top chickpeas or large white beans with it, or there’s a recipe (p. 165) for Composed Winter Vegetable Salad that uses it, too. Yum.

So we loved the stew. Well, Jon and I did, and the kids ate it but Baxter and Sophie complained it was too “spicy.” They meant it was too seasoned, though, because it wasn’t spicy-hot at all. I also made a Warm Green Bean Salad, but I ended up substituting Baby Zuchini (or Petite Courgettes, as the package charmingly put it) because Whole Foods didn’t have green beans and I’d walked right by them at King Soopers, hoping for higher-quality beans. The Zuchini was not great, and, in fact, has been bitter every time I’ve tried to cook it. Which is weird, because it seems like baby vegetables should be delicious. Alas.

The stew was delicious-- the zuchini not so much.

Tomorrow, an ambitious menu: Simmered Tempeh, Buttered Spinach, Roasted Fingerlings with Garlic, and Beet Salad with Ricotta Salata.

Before I start with the cookery today, I’d like to warn you all that my hard drive crashed this week. I have nearly everything backed up on my external drive, sans some pictures of the fall foliage (which makes me really sad) and some pictures of persimmons that I intended for the blog. I have more persimmons! Never fear! However, because my computer is out of commission, I can’t really get the saved pictures off the external hard drive as I have nowhere to put them. This week’s edition of the Gaijin Chef is brought to you by the sheer power of my online photo albums.

Tahini Battle! Hummus and Curry-Tahini Pasta

Homemade Hummus
Serves 6-8
Adapted from “Hummus” from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything.

Hummus with pine nuts.

Tahini is the delicious sesame-seed paste found in hummus. Hummus is not very popular in rural Japan, but you can make this at home. You can find canned and/or dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans) in bigger grocery stores and on the FBC. Tahini is readily available even in my town, but it has a different name, so it took me a while to find it. I’ve been told that Japanese 練りゴマ nerigoma has a more toasted flavor than regular tahini, but it makes great hummus. Cumin is available on the spice racks of grocery stores.

Ideally, you’ll use a food processor for this, but you can do it in the blender. It’s best if you have a larger blender with power settings, but even my “little blender that couldn’t” managed without catching fire. My first attempt with canned beans yielded a thick hummus, which made a great dip for crunchy vegetables. My second attempt, in which I used home-cooked beans and more liquid (reserved from the boiling) resulted in a thinner hummus, which was suitable for crunchy breads and vegetables.

Ingredients
Well-cooked* or canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans) ヒヨコ豆　hiyokomame: 425 g (15 oz/2 US cups/ 1 standard-sized can)
Tahini or sesame paste (練りごま　nerigoma**), with some of its oil if you like: 160-180 grams (1/2 US cup)
Extra virgin olive oil: 60 ml (1/4 cup) plus oil for garnish
Garlic, peeled: 2 cloves, or to taste. If you are going to use a weak blender, you should dice the garlic first.
Lemon juice: 2 lemons’ worth or about 90 ml, plus more as needed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Ground cumin　(クミン kumin) or paprika (パプリカ papurika): 1 Tablespoon or to taste, plus a sprinkling for garnish
Parsley: fresh chopped or dried parsley for garnish
Pine nuts (松の実 matsu no mi): 50 g (1/4 US cup) (optional)***
Water: about 1 cup (200 ml); use as necessary

Instructions
1. Toast the pine nuts in a frying pan over low heat until slightly brown and fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Drain the liquid from the chickpeas and save it for later. The more liquid you use, the thinner the tahini will be.
3. Put the chickpeas, tahini, oil, garlic, and lemon juice in a food processor or a blender, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and begin to process.
4. Add chickpea-cooking liquid or water as needed to produce a smooth purée. If your blender is as tiny as mine, you’ll need a lot of water and patience, but you can do it!
5. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more seasoning or lemon juice as needed.
6. Serve drizzled with some olive oil and sprinkled with a bit of cumin or paprika and some parsley. Sprinkle pine nuts on top.

Serving suggestions
In the States, I like to pair store-bought hummus with pita, but pita is not very popular in rural Japan. My hummus was pretty thick, so I dipped carrot- and cucumber slices and baby tomatoes in it. It also goes well with Ritz crackers or naan, which you can find in the frozen section of the grocery store if you don’t want to make your own. Be creative!

Can’t eat all that hummus at once? Freeze it in freezer-safe plastic containers; let thaw on the counter overnight before serving.

*To cook raw chickpeas, soak 1 cup of raw chickpeas in 3-4 cups of cold water overnight in a covered pot. This will expand to 2 cups cooked. When the chickpeas are done soaking, boil from 2-3 hours until tender. The longer you soak and the longer you boil, the softer the chickpeas will be and the easier they will be to blend. In my experience, boiling my own chickpeas and using the liquid left over from boiling resulted in a thinner hummus that was more like what is sold commercially in the US.
**練りゴマ(nerigoma) means silken sesame. You can find it in the grocery store with the other sesame goods.　Be sure to get the “white” kind, or you’ll have black hummus.
***Usually located with the dried nuts and fruits or with the baking supplies.

Curry-Tahini Pasta
Translated and adapted from 毎日パスタ’s “Original Curry Pasta”****
Serves 2-3

Curry-Tahini Pasta

I love making new and exciting fusion pasta dishes. This pasta dish blends Japanese eggplant and daikon with curry-and-tahini-based “sauce.”

Ingredients
Pasta – 80 g of thick spaghetti or linguine
Onion – 1/4 of a large onion
Tomato – 1/2 of a large tomato
Eggplant (なす nasu) – 1/2 of a medium eggplant
Daikon (Japanese “radish”) – 3 cm
Salad oil – 2 Tablespoons
Garlic – 1 clove, diced, or 1 teaspoon grated
Ginger – 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger (しょうが shouga)
Curry powder (カレー粉 karee kona) or curry flakes （カレーフレーク karee fureeku）-2 Tablespoons*****
Water – 650 ml (2 3/4 US cups)
Tahini （練りごま nerigoma）(white): 1 teaspoon
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
1. Dice the tomato and onion.
2. Peel the daikon. Chop the eggplant and daikon into large-bite-sized pieces. Leave the skin on the eggplant.
3. In a large pan, heat the salad oil and the garlic over low heat until fragrant.
4. Turn up heat to high, then add, in order, the onion, curry powder/flakes, ginger, and tomato. Stir-fry.
5. Mix the tahini and water together in a bowl. Add this mixture to the pan, then add the eggplant and daikon. This will boil the vegetables and cook them.
6. Add the uncooked pasta and cook over medium heat.
7. When the pasta is done and the liquid is reduced, add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

****The original recipe can be found in 赤坂ビバレッジクッキングスクール[Akasaka Cooking School] (2009). 「本格カレーパスタ」“Original Curry Pasta.”『毎日パスタ: 自炊生活を応援する』 [Everyday Pasta: 145 Easy Recipes for Cooking at Home**]. 廣済堂あかつき株式会社[Kosaido Akatsuki Corp., Ltd.] P. 160.
**** *Look in the curry section at the grocery store; curry powder and flakes should be next to the curry roux.

My good friend, Lela, told me to make her chick pea burgers to add to my food blog and I was happy to oblige. However, being the type of person that I am, I couldn’t just make it exactly the same way that she instructed. I had to add a couple things, change the sauce and make it more of a cake (like crab cakes) than a burger. These would make a great main course, or could be made into a sandwich. If you made the cakes small, you could also do them as a party appetizer with the sauce on the side.

Lela suggests a yogurt sauce with dill, onion, garlic, salt & pepper, and hot sauce but that would kill me (yogurt) so I made
a Spicy Mayo:
1/2 c mayo
1 TBSP crushed garlic
1-2 TBSP sriracha asian hot sauce or other hot sauce
Stir well and set aside for serving.

Bean Cakes:
2 cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed well
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed well
2 c bread crumbs (I made my own from oyster crackers, italian seasoning and salt & pepper)
1 egg
1/4 c mayo
1 chopped onion
1/2 c chopped cilantro
1/4 c chopped oregano
1 TBSP chopped or minced garlic
celery salt & pepper
vegetable oil for frying

Using a food processor, puree garbanzo beans into a paste and scrape into the large bowl of a stand mixer (you can also do this by hand but it is much harder). Add chopped onion, spices & herbs, black beans (these are to remain whole) egg, mayo and bread crumbs (a little at a time) until everything is blended well.

Scoop out a little at a time and form into balls. Flatten into cakes and set aside.
Heat vegetable oil in a skillet until very hot (you will need to have about a half-inch of oil and in between batches you should add more until it reaches this level, then allow the oil to get very hot again).
Cook several at a time until the bottom is medium brown. Flip once and allow the other side to get brown. This will ensure they stay together. Drain on paper towels and serve.

and we will be anchoring our next email marketing campaign from this web site.

We are working with a significant Chinese processor of edible legumes, mostly hand picked in Northern China. Our host organization in British Columbia is Maple Harvest International Group Ltd, which is based in Coquitlam.

At this time we are actively looking for suppliers of strategically priced chickpeas, industrial quality flax seeds and whole yellow peas. We want to place initial orders for 5 containers of about 130 metric tonnes of each commodity.

 In my previous posts, I wrote about  Navarathri and Saraswathi poojai-Vijayadashami and mentioned about sundals, but didn’t have a chance to write how each variety is made. When I came across the event  “My Legume Love Affair”- 15th helping in  Sia’s Monsoon spice, couldn’t resist a post dedicated to sundals. So, here it is…………

During Navrathri we make sundals with legumes every day for 10 days and offer it to Goddess Devi and partake. Also, this can be a great protein packed evening-after school snack/tiffin for kids. It’s great for pregnant women. Also great for weight watchers diet, as it is low or no fat and high in protein content. Almost 15 types of sundals can be made with different legumes using different methods.

Method: 1 ( This method can be used for Green chana, White chana and Black chana-Garbanzo beans. It is called Podi thoovina sundal)

Chana Sundal

Ingredients:

• Black or Green or White chana (Garbanzo)- 1cup.
• Salt-to taste.
• Turmeric powder- a pinch.
• Lemon juice- few drops.

For Seasoning:

• Oil- 1tsp.
• Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp.
• Urad dhal- 1/2 tsp.
• Curry leaves- 1 arc.
• Green chilly-1(optional)
• Asafoetida- a pinch.

For Masala powder: Dry roast the below and powder them.

• Dhania or coriander seeds- 1tsp.
• Dry Red chillies- 2.
• Channa Dhal-1tsp.
• Urad dhal-1tsp.
• Coconut scrapes- 2tsp.

Method:

1. Soak the chana in water for 10-12 hours.
2. Add salt and pressure cook till 1 whistle, so that it doesn’t over cook.
3. Keep oil in a pan and add the above mentioned seasoning one by one, in the order mentioned above and turmeric.
4. Add the cooked chana to the pan, after draining excess water.
5. Add the masala powder and give it a toss.
6. Squeeze lemon juice.

Method 2 ( This method can be used for Chana dhal(Kadala parupu- split chickpeas), Split Moong Dhal (Payatham parupu) and Kidney beans( Rajma) and Black eye peas(karamani)

 Ingredients:

• Legume of interest- 1cup.
• Salt-to taste.
• Turmeric powder- a pinch.
• Coconut scrapes- 2tsp.

For Seasoning:

• Oil- 1tsp.
• Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp.
• Urad dhal- 1/2 tsp.
• Curry leaves- 1 arc.
• Red chillies-3.
• Asafoetida- a pinch.

Method:

Method 3 ( Green patani-vatana, White patani, Groundnut-peanuts, Chora can be done in this method)

  Ingredients and Seasoning and Preparation method:

• Same as mentioned in Method 2.
• Instead of red chillies, green chillies are used here.
• Lemon juice can be used in this variety.
• Groundnuts need not be soaked, directly cooked.
• Chora and vatana can be soaked, but cooked carefully, as they become soft easily.
• In green vatana sundal, cut mango pieces can be added to make Thengai-maangai-patani sundal.

Method 4: (Sweet version can be made with green gram(Paasi payaru) and Red Karamani (which is hard to find in the US)

The idea is pretty much the same except that Jaggery(vellam), coconut, cardamom and ghee are used. Avoid seasonings mentioned above.

Method 5: ( Green gram Masala Sundal with onions)

If it is not used as neivedhyam, just prepared as a snack, green gram can be soaked, and allowed to sprout and method 3 can be used. But can saute chopped onions, tomatoes and a pinch of garam masala can be added.

Tip:

Asafoetida or Hing can be added to all the sundals, as legumes may cause gas to form in the stomach. Gas formation can be further avoided by letting the legumes sit in hot water for few minutes and draining the water. Then they can be soaked and cooked.

 Revealing my Legume love affair to the world by sending this to Sia’s Monsoon Spice , who is hosting the event for Susan of  The Well Seasoned Cook.

He: “Hey, this is good stuff. What is it?”

She: “It’s hummus.”

He: “No, love, speak boldly. I can’t understand you when you hum. What is this stuff?”

She: “I told you. Hummus!“

He: “Sweetheart, I’m overjoyed that you want to join me in the choir. But the rehearsal’s not ’til Saturday, and none of the music calls for humming. Which will disappoint you, on present evidence. And in the meantime, I’d really like to know what I’m eating here. Or are you trying to not tell me something?”

She: “I’m trying not to tell you that you’re eating mashed garbanzo beans!“

He: “Oh. A purée of the legume Cicer arietinum. Why didn’t you say so in the first place?”

She: “Why did I have to take up with a botanist?“

He: “To inspire you to write about strawberries, of course. But I gotta ask you.”

She: “What?”

He: “How come we’ve only ever heard of chickpeas? Aren’t there any dude peas?”

“Peace, dude. You called me?”

He [whispers]: “Pipe down, dude!”

“Gnarly, dude. Got a light?”

She: “La-la-la-la, I can’t hear you …!”

  - O Ceallaigh
Copyright © 2009 Felloffatruck Publications. All wrongs deplored.
All opinions are mine as a private citizen.