cook the book: ottolenghi's soba noodles with eggplant & mango

Hi there.  It’s been a while!  Life has been busy and interesting lately, and it hasn’t left much time or capacity for blogging.  When I last updated you, I was gearing up a fun Spring weekend.  My sister was going to be making a brief stop in DC en route to Charlottesville for Foxfield, and I was Spotifying my face off in preparation for Sweetlife.  But as we know, sometimes life makes other plans.  Bollie’s eight-hour stopover turned into a forty-eight hour one.  This was no choice of hers (or mine) – but 103.7 degrees, two doctors, three prescriptions, and one emergency room trip later, it was clear the only place she was going was my bed.  Mercifully, she is fine now, and even though we both missed out on our other plans, we enjoyed spending some lazy, uninterrupted time together - a rare treat these days.  (Okay, so I think I liked it more than she did.  And I also secretly loved getting to nurse her back to health.)

After my weekend nursing shift was done, I had a particularly hellacious week of work.  And on Friday, just when I thought I was in the clear, I was on the brink of a (literal) technical disaster.  That morning, my trusty seven-year-old Dell Laptop finally died.  Not a surprise, but frustrating nonetheless.  I thought I had lost a lot of music and pictures from the last time I backed it up, but with some tech savvy, a lot of finagling, and a little bit of luck, I was able to get what I needed, so no love lost.

All of six hours after The Fossil went to Tech Heaven, my iPad fell off the couch, hit my hardwood floor on its funny bone, and shattered.  In utter disbelief, I headed to Apple, where I shared my Genius bar appointment with a sockless, 70-year-old Georgetowner with iPhone issues, and who was also quite taken with our Genius.  His blue-blazer’ed elbow repeatedly nudged my bare forearm, and with a grin and a wink, would ask me, “Isn’t it just so nice to deal with somebody who knows what they’re talking about?”  (Note:  I hate being touched.  Get out of my personal space.)  But I smiled and nodded as I waited for the Genius to finish formatting my replacement, only to charge me some ridiculous sum of money for an outdated model and twenty minutes worth of labor, the latter of which was actually shared with Grandpa Wink-Nudge.  As I was leaving, the Genius said, “May the Fourth be with you.”  Icing on the cake.  

Leaving the store, I did what any other mature adult does when she feels defeated.  I called my mother.  And what did she say?  “You better be careful driving home.”

When it rains, it pours.  (And five minutes later, it did.)

I arrived home feeling tired, clumsy, and a little bit broken.  As I changed out of my wet clothes and collapsed onto the sofa, my apartment’s sweet office manager called to let me know they were about to close, and would I like for him to drop off my present?

Why yes, I would, thank you.  This “present” was a cookbook that I ordered from Amazon.  After months of reading about Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty, I finally bought myself a copy.  I instantly fell in love with the vibrant recipes and stunning photography.  Ottolenghi owns and operates the eponymous London gourmet deli, similar to Balducci’s or Dean and Deluca.  His business model, centered around grab-and-go fare that is casual, healthy, and interesting, lends itself well to an at-home cookbook.  The food is delicious, but simple at that - you won’t find too many long, involved, technically-difficult items.  Plenty is a collection of impeccably-curated recipes centered around real foods like fruits, vegetables, grains, and dairy.  It is a vegetarian cookbook written by a carnivore – meant for those who love veggies, but perhaps are a little weirded out by tofu and seitan, and are not willing to forgo meat and fish entirely.  (It is probably not the best choice for vegans - Ottolenghi loves dairy products.)  Interesting ingredient combinations, heavy-handed helpings of fresh herbs, and a Mediterranean/Middle-Eastern focus make Plenty a must-have for anyone who digs unique flavor combinations and isn’t afraid to push the envelope a little.  And, the clearly obsessive-compulsive methodology makes this perfectionist very happy.

In the five days I’ve had Plenty, I’ve made three recipes from it, including this one for soba noodles with eggplant and mango.  Randomly enough, I had all of the ingredients for this recipe on hand on the Day of Disaster, which was the only reason why I chose to make it for dinner that night.  However, it was so good I ended up making it again on Monday.  I know it seems like nothing really goes together, but it really does work!  And it will pick you up from a bad day - guaranteed.

A couple of notes:

• This recipe is vegan, vegetarian, and if made with 100% soba noodles, gluten-free.
• The recipe is very good if eaten immediately, excellent if mixed together and allowed to chill for about an hour, and pretty great still the next day.  However, the mango and eggplant in the "next-day" batch do lose some of their vibrancy, so it may be even better to add those ingredients to the mix right before serving, if you plan on eating it over a couple of days. 
• I fried the eggplant as directed (in a lot of oil) the first time I made it.  The second time, for a healthier version, I tried roasting it in the oven at 450, using only a couple of tablespoons of oil.  To be frank, it's not nearly as good, so I'd recommend frying it.  There's virtually no fat elsewhere in the recipe, so don't sweat it too much.
• The original recipe calls for sunflower oil, but that's a fancy ingredient I don't have, so I used good old canola.  Don't use olive oil - it would probably impart too much flavor on the eggplant.  And what a shame to waste olive oil on something like this, anyway.
• The second time I made it, I used all cilantro instead of cilantro and basil.  All cilantro worked just great; I didn't miss the basil too much.
• I often find that the flavor of raw onions is too potent for me, but these onions are bearable since they get tossed in the dressing.  If yours are particularly strong, you can soak them in water.

Soba noodles with eggplant and mango
Adapted, just barely, from Ottolenghi's Plenty
Serves 6

1/2 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 fresh red chile, finely chopped
1-2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
grated zest and juice of 1 lime
1 cup canola oil
2 eggplants, cut into 3/4-inch dice
9 ounces soba noodles
2 large ripe mangoes, diced
1 1/2 cups basil leaves, chopped (or Thai basil, but use less)
2 1/2 cups cilantro leaves, chopped
1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced

1.  In a small saucepan gently warm the vinegar, sugar and salt for up to 1 minute, just until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and add the garlic, chile and sesame oil.  Allow to cool, then add the lime zest and juice.
2.  Heat up the sunflower oil in a large pan and shallow-fry the eggplant in three or four batches. Once golden brown remove to a colander, sprinkle liberally with salt and leave there to drain.
3.  Cook the noodles in boiling salted water, stirring occasionally. They should take 5 to 8 minutes to become tender but still al dente.  Drain and rinse well under running cold water.  Leave to drain again.
4.  In a mixing bowl toss the noodles with the dressing, mango, eggplant, onion, and herbs.  Serve immediately or allow the flavors to mingle for an hour or so.
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beet & beet green chopped salad

You must think I am on some kind of "you will eat your beets and you will like them" war path.  I just browsed through my labels and I noticed there is a pretty high ratio of beet recipes to everything else.  Almost as high as butternut squash or brussels sprouts.  The thing is, I kinda love the beet.  I mean, it's a hot pink vegetable, so that should come as no surprise.

To see my original love story to the beet, read this entry from last year.  If you're new to beets, just try roasting them and topping with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper or eating them on a simple salad of watercress or arugula and goat cheese.  A few months ago, I volunteered at a dinner fundraiser in which the uber-talented Barton Seaver cooked up six delicious courses for the benefit of two laudable DC charities, DC Central Kitchen and Martha's Table.  One course was a deconstructed roasted vegetable salad, with a beet perched atop a goat cheese puree, which was emulsified with olive oil, and ostensibly, crack cocaine.  Seriously, I could barely prevent myself from spooning the puree into my mouth directly from the container.  He gave me the leftover beets and goat cheese, and I ate them together for a solid week.  It has now become my favorite combination.

But since I've OD'ed on cheese, I decided to eat my beets in a vegan salad.  But really though, before you womp-womp me, this is a great salad.  Doesn't it look like something you would get at Sweetgreen?  It serves up to six as a side, or three as a lunch salad or even a light dinner.  In fact, I ate it last night for dinner and was really surprised at how satisfying and filling it was.  And it is absolutely gorgeous - the pictures don't do it justice.  It looks like someone splattered pink paint across a lush spring meadow.  If I ever open up a sandwich and salad joint, this is definitely going on the menu.  I'd call it "The Beetnik".

I adapted the original recipe as follows -

• I added spinach to mellow the flavor of straight beet greens.  Beet greens are not for everyone....they are a little bitter and need a sweeter, more delicate green to balance out the flavor.  They are also slightly coarse, so it helps to toss the greens in a little bit of the dressing before mixing the salad.  The extra time "marinating"  allows the greens to soften.
• I added golden beets to the mix for the slight flavor contrast and to add more pretty color.  I am still fighting my addiction to orange things.
• I used pistachios instead of sunflower seeds because it was what I had.  I liked it a lot.
• I omitted the agave from the dressing.  Honestly, it could have used a bit of sweetness, so don't omit it if you aren't insane like me.  Sacrifices.

Finally, an important PSA!  I've planned out the posts for tomorrow and Thursday already (duh), but I am accepting suggestions for my last 4-5 recipes!  Bollie already requested some sort of steak that can be cooked in a grill pan or in the oven, so that's on my radar.  If any of you have any other ideas, please e-mail me!  (I've long since stopped begging for comments since Blogger won't let anyone do so without blowing up their computer or sacrificing their first born.)  Otherwise you will continue to get weird stuff that I like to eat, like beets.

Beet & Beet Green Chopped Salad
Adapted from The Sprouted Kitchen
Serves 3-6

for the salad
1 bunch of red beets, including fresh looking greens
1 bunch of golden beets
2 handfuls baby spinach
2 scallions, white and light green parts
1 1/2 cups cooked and cooled quinoa
1 small avocado, diced
1/3 cup pistachios

for the tahini dressing
1/4 cup tahini
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water, more as needed
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives

1.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Cut the greens from the beets at their stem and individually wrap the beets in aluminum foil.  Place on a baking sheet in the middle oven rack and cook for 45 minutes to an hour.  Set them aside to cool.
2.  While the beets roast, rinse and dry the beet greens. Discard the long red stems and any parts of the leaf that look bad.  Chop the greens and put them in a large mixing bowl with rinsed and chopped baby spinach.
3.  To prepare the dressing, whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, vinegar, and water. Mix in the garlic, hearty pinch of salt and pepper and drizzle in the olive oil while whisking. Add more water if you prefer it thinner. Mix in the chives. Adjust to your taste and set aside.  (The dressing will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple weeks.)
4.  Coat the greens in a little bit of the dressing and let sit for 10 minutes.
5.  Once the beets are cool enough to touch, you should be able to just push the skin off with your fingers. Dice the peeled beets. Thinly slice the scallions. Add the beets, scallions, quinoa and avocado to the mixing bowl with the dressed greens and add more dressing.  (note: the salad will turn pink from the beets. If this bothers you, you can toss everything without the diced beets, and sprinkle them on top). Sprinkle in the pistachios and give it one more toss. Pin It Now!

bok choy stirfry

This is the kind of meal you make when you're on autopilot.  It's the kind of thing that comes together with minimal work and maximum ease, in a situation where reading directions and following a recipe would be asking far too much.  After an overzealous Saturday, I woke up Sunday and faced a daunting list of to-dos, but only half the capacity to complete them.   I had to venture down to Eastern Market (which is inconvenient in the first place, much less under the circumstances) to get a necklace restrung.  My jewelry man told me he could fix it in 15 minutes.  Awesome.  I'd be back home on my sofa in no time.  To kill time, I ducked into a coffee shop and ordered a cup of iced coffee.  I paid for it, and then walked out of the coffee shop – sans coffee.  I didn’t realize it until I was milling through the stalls.  Seriously, I don’t know who does this.

After I went back to reclaim my coffee (you should have seen the look from the barista), I came across a stall with beautiful, hand-embroidered girls’ dresses.  The thin, gauze-like fabric and bright, intricate embroidery was oddly familiar, but unplaceable.  Then, I looked at the woman sitting in the corner.  Back to the dresses.  To the woman.  Ah hah! - she was definitely Ecuadorian.  The dresses looked familiar because I had a steady rotation of dresses exactly like them every summer until I was in middle school, at least. 

Overestimating my ability to hold a casual conversation in Spanish while operating at 50%, (well, let's be real, the caffeine hadn't kicked in yet, so 30%) I started chatting with her.  Her skin turned from a rusty copper to a pale white.  Normal reaction from whenever I speak Spanish to an unsuspecting stranger.  I complimented her handiwork and made small talk for a bit, the autopilot guiding me through a conversation I've had a hundred times before.  (Where did you learn to speak Spanish like that?  What is your connection to Ecuador? etc.)  Within a couple minutes, my autopilot failed and I was forced to awkwardly duck out politely excuse myself.  I went to pick up some produce before I reclaimed my necklace and went home.  Then I realized I didn’t have cash, so I went back to wandering aimlessly until my necklace was finished.  I would just have to stop at the grocery store on the way home.

Later, I walked in the door and Whitney told me I looked confused.  I told her that I thought I blacked out in Safeway because I wasn't sure exactly what I bought.

“You probably just got a shit ton of vegetables.”

Oh, she knows me far too well.  Sometimes I fall prey to the beautiful colors of fresh vegetables at the market or grocery store (again, I don't know who does this) and come home with a plethora of produce, but nothing quite goes together, and I have absolutely no plan to execute.  I unloaded the contents of my bag and took a look. Bok choy.  Mushrooms.  Frozen edamame.  Some other random things.  So I decided on stirfry.  I wish I could say that I picked up these ingredients with this end goal in mind....but I didn't.  That's the beauty of stirfry - it works when you have no idea what else to do.  This happens to me more often than I would like.

Luckily, stirfry is impossible to mess up, and not only did this recipe not suck, it was actually really good.  But then again, I think anything with massive quantities of ginger and garlic is failsafe.  So next time you're on autopilot, just throw a bunch of stuff in a skillet and let it wok and roll. 

Bok in the wok
A caramelized memoir original
Serves 2 

2 baby bok choy, sliced in half, vertically
6 ounces mushrooms, chopped
3/4 cup frozen edamame
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1-2 tablespoons minced freshly minced ginger (to taste.  I like a lot, so I use closer to 2 tablespoons.)
1-2 tablespoons garlic (to taste.  I like a lot, so I use closer to 2 tablespoons.)
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
2 cups cooked rice


1.  Cook rice according to package directions.  You will want enough rice for two people.  I made about two cups cooked.
2.  Heat sesame oil in wok over medium heat.  Add minced ginger and garlic and stir frequently for about 2 minutes, or until fragrant.  Do not let burn.
3.  Add bok choy and fry for about 5 minutes.  After 5 minutes, add frozen edamame and mushrooms.  Stirfry another 5 minutes.  
4.  Turn off heat and stir in sesame seeds.  Serve vegetables over rice and season with crushed red pepper flakes, if desired. (I also drizzled with a little bit of gluten-free soy sauce, as well.)



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eggplant & lentil stew with pomegranate

The instructor at my crunchy hot yoga studio (not to be confused with the hot yoga studio that feels like a Lululemon advertisement or the torture chamber Bikram yoga studio) said something very interesting the other day.  We were in a difficult pose, and she asked us to try to smile.  With all my weight in my non-dominant leg, the rest of my body contorted all pretzel-like, and my eyes blinking to deflect the salty sweat dripping from my brow, smiling was not on my to-do list.  In fact, it almost seemed unnatural to signal pleasure when I was really in pain.  But, because I am a good student and I try to follow directions, I obliged.  Once I turned my lips up, I sunk deeper into the posture and it almost became easier.  Everyone else must have seen similar results, because the instructor said, "See?  Go through life smiling, and life will smile back." 

But you know, yogis are happy people, all Zen-like and peaceful, so this incident, in and of itself, isn't all that earth-shattering.  But a few days later, I found myself struck with the same message....at church, of all places.  The message of the homily was something along the lines of "Catholics just love suffering.  And we're really good at it.  In fact, we think we're doing something wrong if we're not suffering.  But why do we suffer?  What does it prove?  I challenge you to be bad at suffering."

Interesting, right?  The yogis and the Jesuits are on the same page about something.  Who would have thought?

Honestly, that doesn't have anything to do with this soup, but I've been thinking about that message a lot this week, so I thought I'd share it with you all.  The past few days, I've encountered a slew of first-world problems - all petty things, but things that frustrate me nonetheless.  A parking ticket, stemming from my own inability to properly key a meter code into the pay-by-phone app.  Missing the train and having to wait eight minutes for the next because it's tourist season and they block the Metro escalators.  The water pressure completely failing during my shower, leaving me shivering under a slow stream of water.  Every CVS in town being out of Allegra-D.  In every circumstance, instead of a letting out a long string of profanity, I've tried to remember the whole "smile through your day" thing, and it might actually be starting to work.  Or maybe I've just given myself extra time on my commute, double-checked my typing on my iPhone, remembered not to shower while running the dishwasher, and finally gotten my hands on allergy medicine.

So, if you need something to make you smile, make this stew.  It is a delicious, satisfying soup that will make your insides happy!  Tomatoes and eggplant contain staggering amounts of lycopene, which aid in fighting depression.  And lentils (my favorite legume, obviously) are so, so incredibly good for you.  Seriously.  I can't even begin to tell you.  Just google it.  This stew is a great meatless dish for anyone who observes meatless Fridays of Lent (or, for your next "Meatless Monday").  I am not even sure I'd call it a "stew" - it is light and it can be eaten warm or cold.  So make it. 

A couple quick notes - I think this is a summertime dish because the recipe calls for fresh tomatoes, but I used a large can of diced tomatoes instead.  It also calls for pomegranate molasses, a common ingredient in Mediterranean, Turkish, and Middle Eastern cuisine.  Obviously, the main ingredients in pomegranate molasses are pomegranates and sugar - off-limits for this girl.  Instead, I just used a cup of 100% pure pomegranate juice, with no sugar added.  It still gives the soup a tart, sweet flavor that goes well with the acidity of the vegetables and the earthiness of the lentils.  I ate this for lunch for a straight week - it's that good.  (People often ask me what I have been eating for lunch - it's either a soup, dinner leftovers, or salad these days.)

Eggplant and lentil stew with pomegranate
Adapted from Food & Wine
Serves 4

1 medium eggplant (about 1 1/2 pounds)
Salt
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup dry lentils
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 Anaheim chiles, stemmed, seeded, and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves
1 cup water
1 cup pomegranate juice (look for 100% pomegranate, no sugar added)
fresh parsley, to garnish

1. Peel the eggplant and slice lengthwise into thirds, then crosswise in one inch segments.  Sprinkle with salt and let sit 20 minutes.  
2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, cover the lentils with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to moderate and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain the lentils.
3. In a bowl, toss the onion with the garlic, diced tomatoes and juices, green chiles, mint, tomato paste, crushed red pepper and 2 teaspoons of salt.
4. Rinse eggplant and pat dry.  Coat the bottom of a ceramic dutch oven or stew pot with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.  Spread your ingredients in the dish in layers:  vegetable mixture-eggplant-lentils-vegetable mixture-eggplant-lentils.  Pour the water, pomegranate juice, and remaining olive oil around the side and over the vegetables.
5. Bring the stew to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and cook at a low simmer until the eggplant is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.



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japanese rice noodles with eggplant and edamame

Happy Pi Day!  Since I can't actually eat pie, or at least I have zero interest in trying a gluten-free, sugar-free pie, there is no pie here today.  Instead, we have Asian noodles.  Shocker, I know.  Y'all know how I love my Asian cuisine.

I'm now three weeks through my Lenten sacrifice, or just about halfway through my journey.  All in all, things are going well.  I feel great.  I don't necessarily notice a big difference from three weeks ago, but I do feel a little less "bogged down" and a little bit lighter and stronger.  (It could also just be my return to my yoga mat after a few weeks away.)  Either way, I have plenty of energy and feel happy and healthy.

Sure, I crave sweets and get FOMO over my friends eating Baked and Wired in front of me, but the things I've been craving most recently are foods I don't even eat that often.  Pancakes.  (Honestly, I don't even like pancakes that much.)  Cereal.  (Do you know how hard it is to find a gluten-free cereal that also does not contain some sort of sugar, including honey or evaporated cane juice?  Kelly did send me a recipe for a gluten-free/sugar-free breakfast granola.  I'll have to try that ASAP.)  French toast with powdered sugar and maple syrup.  You get the idea.

Then there are the things that I miss that aren't necessarily cravings, but rather, necessary food groups.  Part of the issue with my no-gluten thing is that I am not eating bread and pasta, which is not ideal for someone who runs several times a week.  I didn't think it was going to be a problem, but it has been evident on some of my long runs that I have not found a way to properly supply my body with the carbohydrates it needs.  (Pretty sure the carbs in vodka are not what my body is looking for while running.)  Around mile four or five, my body just shuts down and I need fuel.

So, to rectify the situation, I figured I needed to make some Asian noodles before my long run last weekend.  My original intention was to make something with soba (buckwheat) noodles, which, despite their name, are naturally gluten-free.  However, the 100% soba noodles were $6.39 for eight ounces, which is obscene.  That comes to almost $13/pound.  Um, sorry.  No thank you.  We're talking about noodles here, not halibut.  (Note:  if you need a lesson in food math, check out this post.)

Instead of soba, I settled on some thin, flat rice noodles, made from 100% brown rice, and therefore, gluten-free.  Because I've consumed an offensive amount of peanut butter recently, I decided to forgo the traditional pad thai route and try a sesame-mirin sauce instead.  Also, because I tend to favor vegetarian meals, I stirfried some eggplant, edamame, and red peppers in with the noodles.  You could easily do the same with chicken, beef, or tofu.

This is a great example of a dish where I had to be really careful about reading the labels.  I originally picked up some cheaper soba noodles and decided to double-check the label to make sure they were 100% buckwheat.  Of course, they were not - only 30% soba.  If you like the taste of soba but are not gluten-free, this would be a great option.  I also had to buy the Eden Foods mirin, which doesn't have sugar or corn syrup added.  (The common Kikkoman brand does).

Anyway, this dish is great.  Salty (from the soy sauce) and sweet (from the mirin), with a variety of textures and flavors to keep your mouth guessing.  It also happens to contain the perfect mixture of carbohydrates and proteins for a 9-mile run.  This time, I didn't get tired.*

*Fine print:  I didn't get tired until mile 8.5 when we were running up the steps in Meridian Hill Park just after a steep climb up 16th Street.  At that point, I almost keeled over. #humblebrag

Japanese rice noodles with eggplant and edamame
A caramelized memoir original
Serves 4

1 medium eggplant (about 1 ½ pounds)
2 cups edamame beans (frozen is fine)
6 green onions
½ red bell pepper
1/2 cup gluten-free soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin (Japanese sweet wine)
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
Pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, for frying

1. Peel eggplant and chop into small dice (less than an inch). Chop red pepper and green onions, both white and green parts. Put all vegetables in large bowl with edamame.
2. In smaller bowl, mix next seven ingredients. Adjust according to taste. Pour over vegetables and cover. Let marinate 30 minutes.
3. Over medium-high heat, stirfry the vegetables in oil in a large wok, in batches, if necessary, until vegetables are soft and nicely browned. (I had to do mine in two batches, about 7 minutes per batch.) Once both batches are done, add all vegetables back to wok.
4. While cooking your last batch of veggies, bring a pot of boiling salted water to a boil and add rice noodles. Cook according to package directions but stop a couple of minutes short. Drain.
5.  Add noodles to the wok with all the vegetables, cooking an additional minute or two and adding any leftover marinade, if necessary, while tossing to coat in sauce.  Serve warm or at room temperature. Pin It Now!

what do soup, black pumps, and men have in common?

Cold Ginger Carrot and Coconut Soup

I love soup!  (And no, that's not the answer to the question.) I like hearty chilis in the winter and light gazpacho in the summer.  I like creamy butternut squash soup, white bean and kale soup, lentil stew, tuscan vegetable soup, you name it, I'll eat it.  Well, I should take that back.  Soup can be a very quotidian thing, but sometimes it's delicious, and this is when it's at its best.  I feel the same way about soups as I do about a pair of black pumps, or even a man.  They're everywhere, and they run the gamut from cheap and tasteless to fancy-schmanzy, too fussy, and too much work (to make, walk in, or date).  Great soup recipes, like men and shoes, take a while to find and a lot of dabbling, but they're out there!  And once you find one you like, why waste time on the other ones you aren't wild about?  Some call it "pickiness"; I prefer "selectivity".  And I'm not sorry about it one bit.

Pureed soup is something that is ridiculously easy to make, but can also be ridiculously unpleasant if you don't do it right.  Kind of like a pair of hooker heels or the complete idiot you went out with once.  I've tried pureed soups with all different kinds of flavors and vegetable combinations, but nothing is like this one.  It's silky and smooth, with just the right amount of kick from the curry, flavor from the ginger, creaminess from the coconut milk, and sweetness from the carrots.  It is supposed to be a cold soup, like a summer gazpacho, but can also be served hot (I ate it both ways).  The final result is a relatively painless recipe yielding immense happiness - everything you should get out of a relationship (with soup, shoes, or men).      

Cold Ginger Carrot and Coconut Soup, adapted from Gourmet 

3/4 cup finely chopped scallion (about 1 bunch)

1 small onion, chopped (about 2/3 cup)

1 tablespoon peeled, finely grated fresh ginger

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 1/2 pounds baby carrots (about 4 cups)

2 1/2 cups low-salt vegetable broth

1 cup canned lowfat coconut milk

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1.  In a large heavy saucepan cook chopped scallion, onion, and ginger in butter with curry powder and salt and pepper to taste over medium-low heat, until softened.  Add carrots and vegetable broth and simmer covered, 20 minutes, or until carrots are very soft.

2.  When carrots are soft, cut heat.  Using an immersion blender, purée mixture in batches, adding coconut milk little by little until very smooth.  Stir in 1 tablespoon lime juice and chill soup at least 6 hour or overnight.

3.  Thin soup with ice water, as needed, and season with additional lime juice and salt and pepper.

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just beet it

lentil salad with beets, green beans, and goat cheese

 
To me, beets are the perfect example of two things - a) don't knock it till ya try it (twice), and b) there are some things that absolutely cannot, and should not, ever be eaten out of a can.

There are a lot of people out there who can't fathom the idea of beets.  And I get it; I honestly do.  I used to be right there with y'all.  I didn't eat beets until about a year ago.  In fact, the only time I ever even saw beets prior to that was at my grandparents' house. Every few Sundays, we'd get in the car and drive a half hour to their house, and Dad and/or Uncle Jim would take my grandfather to the Methodist church.  While the men were at church, my mom and grandmother would cook the sides for lunch later that day, while Bollie, Jamie, and I would "play" the piano (I had no formal training, but I thought that four years of violin gave me a solid foundation) or run around in the back yard.  My grandparents had a sprawling lawn with tons of tall pine trees, and Paw-Paw would give us a dollar for every trash bag of pine cones we collected.  When I look back at this, I realize how much of a steal he was getting, and all I can do is laugh...he really was so cheap.

Church was at 11am, but if it lasted more than an hour, Paw-Paw would walk out.  I wish I were kidding. He once told the minister that the church didn't pay overtime, a story fondly retold during his eulogy.  Just after noon, the men would come through the back door with Hardees boxes of fried chicken and buttermilk biscuits.  And we'd feast.  Heaping platters of succotash, green beans, and sauteed spinach, all things my Dad loves, littered the table.  We'd help ourselves to chicken, biscuits, and the sides, passing the plates around for seconds and thirds until we were fully sated.  At the end of the meal, there was no chicken, no biscuits, no succotash, no green beans, and no spinach.  But there generally was a little plate of canned beets left over.  Slimy, icky canned beets, (too) perfectly trimmed (manufactured?) into circular disks.  The plate looked as if one or two beets had been picked off, but they mostly looked lonely sitting there, like the last kid picked in PE class awkwardly looking down at his Chucks until the last team captain called his name.  It was a shame, really.  The little congealed beets got no love.  My grandfather made me try one once; I think I took one bite and didn't eat a beet again until last summer, a good fifteen years later. 

I ended up with a bunch of dirty purple beets before my cousin/aunt/relative Angelita was going out of town.  (I don't know what it is with people always dumping their unused produce on me, but I'm not complaining!)  I searched for the perfect beet recipe for a few days - I was determined to find the proper vehicle to reintroduce the villain into my diet.  Every recipe said that roasting the beets was the failsafe way to bring out the flavor, preserve the texture (no slime!) and make them look pretty, too.  So I gave it a shot.  And I forgot to set the timer, and they cooked an extra twenty minutes longer than they should have.  Despite this slip-up, the final result was a caramelized, candy-like bulb, sweet and savory all at once.

So then I bought beets for the first time.  And then bought them again.  I tried boiling them once, but they're just not the same as when they're roasted.  Roasted beets are a versatile addition to several dishes.  I like them in salads with goat cheese, avocado, and citrus, or simply tossed in a bit of balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.  I recently put some roasted beets into a warm salad with lentils and green beans and topped with creamy goat cheese (when the opportunity presents itself, I top everything with goat cheese).  It does take a while, but it's not a lot of hands-on time.  It's also great kitchen practice, as it utilizes a few different cooking methods. 

The pink tinge of the beets actually makes the lentils kinda pretty, which, as we have discussed before, is hard to do.  It's like putting lipstick on a pig.  A tasty pig.  If the pig were a vegetarian.

Alright, so maybe that metaphor doesn't hold.  But just give beets a chance.  Please and thanks.

Warm Lentil Salad with Roasted Beets and Green Beans
Serves 3

1/2 pound uncooked brown lentils (or 1 heaping cup)
6 baby carrots or 1 regular carrot
2 sticks of celery
1/2 medium yellow onion
1 bay leaf
4 sprigs thyme
3 cups vegetable stock
3 beets
1/2 pound green beans
3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (omit if you want a vegan version)
salt and pepper
balsamic vinegar or maple dijon viniagrette (recipe found here)

1.  Preheat oven to 425.  Rinse and scrub the beets with a brush, if you have one, and chop off greens about 1/2 inch from the top of the beet bulb.  Do not remove the root of the beet.  Wrap each beet in tin foil and place in a roasting dish.  Let roast in the oven for about an hour, or until the beets can easily be pierced with a fork. 
2.  While the beets are roasting, heat olive oil and garlic in a pan and saute chopped onion, garlic, and carrot on medium-low heat, about five minutes (this is called mirepoix, and is the base for much of French cooking).  Add lentils, herbs, and vegetable stock.  Bring to a boil and cover.  Reduce heat and let simmer 20 minutes, or until lentils are soft.  The dried lentils should make about 3 cups of cooked beans.  Drain.
3.  Remove ends of green beans.  Place green beans in steamer dish in one inch of water.  Cover and let steam five minutes. 
4. When beets are ready, remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes.  Remove the foil from the beets and peel skin.  The skin should easily peel off, no knife is required.  You may want to wear gloves if you don't want pink fingers.  Be warned that the beet juice can stain, so if you get some on the counter or clothes, wash immediately.
5. Chop beets and green beans, and toss with lentils.  Top with salt and pepper and coat with balsamic vinegar or maple dijon viniagrette.  Top with goat cheese and serve. Pin It Now!

lean & green quinoa with maple dijon vinaigrette

Lean & Green Quinoa with Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

Last week, my sister Bollie left a comment on the blog asking me to do something with brussels sprouts.  This may not seem like a big deal, but I almost picked up the phone to make sure her Google account hadn't been hijacked.  You see, Bollie used to the pickiest eater on the face of the planet.  She was the kind of kid who ate waffles drowned in syrup as often as my mother would let her.  Her ideal dinner was three dinner rolls and half a stick of butter.  Okay, so maybe that is a slight exaggeration, but she really did make other “picky eaters” look like Anthony Bourdain.  Her diet included a steady rotation of peanut butter and cheetos sandwiches (yes, together), unseasoned chicken breast, Easy Mac, American cheese & butter sandwiches (not to be confused with "grilled cheese"), and very little else.  Luckily, she always had a clean bill of health, so we never worried too much about her.

Somewhere between 1994 and today, Bollie's tastebuds have matured.  She now eats "lots of vegetables", though she's "still not ready for tomatoes."  This in particular is amusing to me because Bollie is an aficionado on all things Italian and spent an entire summer studying, cooking, and eating in Rome.  I also don't understand how someone who eats eggplant and zucchini would find the little tomato offensive, but whatever.  So when she asked for something featuring brussels sprouts, the quintessential villain of the vegetable world, I was confused....but happy to oblige.

This dish is kinda an ode to my lil' sis - it includes green vegetables she likes (asparagus, green onions, and apparently, brussels sprouts) and is topped with a sweet maple and dijon dressing.  The maple pays homage to her favorite breakfast and the sharp zing of the vinegar and dijon combination reflects the one-two punch of her personality.     

The brussels in this recipe are roasted.  In my humble opinion, the only way to cook brussels is to pan-sear them or roast them.  Boiling or steaming them renders the poor brussels sprouts completely deserving of their reputation as a pile of sour mush.  However, the carmelization that results from roasting or sauteeing them gives the humble brussels an extreme makeover, elevating them from ugly duckling to belle of the ball.

Enjoy!

Lean & Green Quinoa with Maple Dijon Vinaigrette
Serves 2 as side dish, 1 as main

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa + 3/4 cup vegetable stock (yields about 1 1/3 cup cooked quinoa)
1/4 cup green onions, chopped (green and white parts)
1/4 pound skinny asparagus
handful spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
1/3 pound brussels sprouts, halved

for the Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons grainy dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons maple syrup
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2.  Chop asparagus into bite-sized pieces.  Additionally, prepare brussels sprouts by removing outer leaves, if necessary, and cutting the sprouts in half (perpindicular to the base).  Toss sprouts in 1 - 1 1/2 tablespoons of the maple dijon vinaigrette.
3.  Roast the asparagus and brussels (cut side up) 20 minutes, or until golden.  If your asparagus are very skinny, they will roast in less time, and you may want to remove them halfway through.
4.  Meanwhile, prepare the quinoa according to package directions or read my method for preparing quinoa here.
 5.  Mix roasted brussels sprouts and asparagus with the quinoa.  Top with green onions and drizzle vinaigrette overtop the salad (you may have some left over).  Toss to combine. Pin It Now!

vegetable & edamame stirfry with thai peanut sauce

Vegetable & edamame stirfry with Thai peanut sauce

Did y'all hear me shout from the rooftops last week?  I have a big, huge announcement.

I'm. In. LOVE.

Love, I tell you!  I didn't see it coming either, but they always say it comes when you least expect it.  I kind of forgot what it felt like.  But it's back, and it's the real thing.  You know how I know?  This is what people do when they fall in love:

• Dance around the room like that fool Nellie Forbush singing "I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love with a wonderful guyyyyyyyy!!!"
• Channel Tom Cruise on Oprah and jump up and down on the couch 
• Babble incoherently and giggle when speaking of their love
• Try to lead normal, functional lives but inevitably become utterly incapable of thinking of anything else other than their love
• Write about their love to be published for the whole world to see, even if they have a million and ten things to do so there was already a post pre-prepared

And y'all, I did all of those things last week.  Why wouldn't I?  Sleek body, sizzlin' hot, works quickly, and gives me exactly what I want.  And you had better believe that if this relationship ever ends, I am going to go BSC like Taylor Swift and write a song about it.  Another thing people do when they're in love.

Last week I fell in love with my wok.

One night, (can't remember which - must be love brain!), I came home from work and was really irritated about something that had happened that day.  In fact, I was so annoyed that I hadn't even thought about what I wanted for dinner that evening.  When I got to my apartment, I had a package from UPS!   I thought it was a pair of pants I had ordered until I saw the size of the box.  Then I remembered what it was!  I had ordered this wok a couple days before with my temporary Amazon Prime membership, which gives me free two-day shipping on most items sold by Amazon.com.  So, I opened the box and decided on a big vegetable stir-fry.  (Side note:  I am just now realizing how much Asian cuisine I've eaten lately.  I love Asian food - Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Korean, it doesn't matter!  Sorry if you don't like Asian food because I know there's a lot of it on this blog!)

For the stirfry, I took a shortcut and used a bag of frozen veggies - a Safeway mixture with sugar snap peas, water chestnuts, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots.  I threw in some frozen edamame for protein and fresh skinny asparagus and let it sizzle in the wok with a tiny bit of canola oil and soy sauce.  I wanted to serve it over white rice, but I was out of it.  What a shame!

While the veggies were a wok-in' and a rollin', I prepared a very quick, very easy Thai peanut sauce to drizzle over the finished product.  More protein!


Thai Peanut Sauce, a 40-day Vegetarian original
Serves one

1 tablespoon all-natural peanut butter
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon plus 1 to 2 tablespoons water
minced garlic, minced ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

1.  Heat one tablespoon of peanut butter, one teaspoon of soy sauce, one teaspoon of water, and 1/4 teaspoon brown sugar over medium-low heat.  (If you use traditional peanut butter, you do not need to add sugar).
2.  Using a fork, mash the peanut butter into the liquid and allow it to start melting.  Add garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes, stirring to combine all ingredients.  Do not burn the sauce.  Add up to 2 tablespoons of water, little by little, if you find the sauce is too thick or is sticking to the bottom of the pan.   
3.  Drizzle over stirfry and enjoy!


I've made this same dish probably a dozen times before because it's easy, cheap, and Whitney and I love it.  But I don't know HOW I did it without a wok!  I used to fry the veggies using a huge nonstick pan, but the wok makes all the difference.  The vegetables get a deep brown char on the outside, retaining their crunchiness and flavor.  This is a stark contrast to the limpness that can afflict vegetables that have been cooking on a pan too long.  And bonus!  Just like any good man, this thing is fast - dinner went from my freezer to my plate in under ten minutes.  Since I am an economist, after all, I'm a real sucker for rationality and efficiency.  Most importantly, the meal was so delicious that I wasn't even angry anymore.  Boyfriend picks me up when I am down.

So yeah, I am in love with my wok.  I kept it under wraps for a week because I didn't want to jump the gun, but we're still goin' strong, so I am ready to announce it to the world. Also, I just read this entry and I realized that there is an unnecessary number of exclamation points and I am literally babbling in parts of it.  But ya know what?  I'm going to keep both the enthusiasm and stream of consciousness in for added effect.  I told y'all I'm in love.

Have y'all ever fallen in love with an inanimate object?  (KHelm, I'm looking at you and your iPhone.)  Do y'all have any kitchen appliances you can't live without, or any items on your culinary lust list? Pin It Now!

israeli couscous with basil, portobellos, and sundried tomatoes

Israeli couscous with basil, portobellos, and sundried tomatoes

Paging the fail whale. I made a mistake in Blogger last night and accidentally published the post that was meant for this morning.  It can be found here.  Therefore, this post is sub-par - a straightforward recipe with no anecdotal backstory.  Sorry to let you down, but it's better than a no-post Monday. 

Lots of people try to eat lighter in January after enjoying the holidays.  My eating habits don't run on a yearly cycle, but rather a weekly one.  My Friday through Sunday is analogous to Thanskgiving through New Years, and come Monday my body actually craves simple, healthful food.  This very easy and healthy couscous salad does just the trick.  The secret to the recipe is a bag of Trader Joe's Harvest Grains Blend Couscous - a one-pound bag of Israeli-style couscous, red and green orzo, baby garbanzo beans, and red quinoa.  Like so many other 40-day Vegetarian recipes, it can (and should) be easily adapted to whatever you have on hand, and whatever you feel like eating.  I'm thinking maybe I'll make it later this spring with peas, artichokes, asparagus, and green onions.  It's the perfect side dish or main course.

Israeli Couscous with Chopped Vegetables, a 40-day Vegetarian original
Serves two

One handful spinach, chopped
One handful sundried tomatoes, chopped
Two portobello mushroom caps, chopped
Three artichoke hearts, chopped
fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 cup Trader Joe's harvest grains blend Israeli couscous
3/4 cup vegetable or chicken stock
1/4 onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste

1.  Heat half of the olive oil and all of the garlic in a pan, add the onion to saute a few minutes.
2.  Add 3/4 cup of stock and 1/2 cup Israeli couscous blend.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until water is absorbed, about 12 minutes.
3. Saute the spinach and mushrooms in the other half of the olive oil to wilt the leaves and soften the caps, 3-5 minutes.  Remove from heat and add sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts, stirring to combine.
4. Toss chopped vegetables with cooked couscous and season with olive oil, salt, pepper, and balsamic or red wine vinegar.  Top with fresh basil.

That's it - sorry this post is so lame.  I will make it up to you tomorrow! Pin It Now!

french lentils: this must be what people call "inner beauty"

French lentil soup stew stoup bowl

First, let me get something out of the way.  I know this picture is terrible.  Disgusting, really.  I don't blame you if you don't want to make this dish from the looks of this particular picture.  But throw me a bone, because I am not a real blogger with a real camera.  I have a pink point-and-shoot that is more often on the floor of wherever I am than in my own hands.  Additionally, the blogosphere has this set of rules that you can't take other blogger's pictures.  Something about being "under copywrite".  So, I have to take photos with the aforementioned point-and-shoot instead of just doing a google image search for "french lentil soup."

Sunday afternoon I came down with a bad case of Monday anxiety.  A common 24-hour bug that afflicts millions, Monday anxiety sets in late in the weekend and is most often caused by an overindulgent, overzealous few days, changes in weather, and a daunting to-do list for the week ahead.  When all of these causes coincide with daylight savings time, it is a recipe for disaster, and the only prescription is simple, healthful comfort food.  Since DC is stuck in this "let's-have-the-temperature-hover-at-52-degrees-with-obnoxious-wind-gusts-and-no-sunshine-at-all-and-call-it-springtime" mood, a vegetarian french lentil soup fit the bill.  I have gotten really into making soups this fall and winter.  I love french lentil soup, but I've never made it without a ham hock or some kind bacon fat for flavor.  Wanting to stick to my resolution, I figured I'd try to do without it, but I made a half portion in case the stew was a flavorless fail. 

Well, the dish did end up as a quasi-fail, but not for lack of flavor.  It was just the "soup" part that failed.  I make this soup all the time, normally with great success, but something happened here.  Somewhere along the way, the vegetable stock was completely absorbed and I ended up with just lentils.  Maybe I mismeasured something, or maybe I let it all simmer too long - I am not really sure.  It was surely an operator error, as I was barely functional after returning from New York.  When I realized I had not a thin soup but a thick pot of cooked lentils, I stored the beans in tupperware, covered with an extra cup of vegetable broth, and went to bed.

On Monday morning, I opened the tupperware and, to my amazement, the beans had continued soaking up the extra liquid I put in, even though they were already cooked.  My poor lentils were ugly.  "Well," I thought. "If this tastes bad I am totally going to Taqueria Nacional."  (I obviously was still FOMO over the missed opportunity for La Esquina.)  I shoveled some of the ugly stuff into a smaller container to take for lunch, mixing it with a bit of leftover quinoa from last week's stuffed eggplant.  When 1pm rolled around, I begrudgingly heated it in the office microwave and wow - I was blown away!  Though I wanted it to be a soup, it turned out to be delicious, hearty, fork-based lunch that stuck to my ribs all day long - I didn't even have dinner until 8:30pm! Since it is so thick, the lentils would also be nice as a side dish or wrapped in a tortilla.  The nice thing about green lentils is that they weren't too mushy, because even when overcooked they still maintain their shape better than other lentils.

This recipe for lentils is for green lentils, French-style, though lentils make a terrific canvas for any flavoring you'd like.  I also love robust Moroccan flavors for regular brown lentils.  (Stay tuned for a Moroccan recipe next week!)


French lentils
Serves six

olive oil and/or butter
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 carrots, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped (or about 3 teaspoons minced garlic)
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 pound dry green lentils (about 2 cups)
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons fresh or dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon pepper
6-8 cups of stock, varying the amount of stock depending on desired thickness
Note:  I like a lot of "stuff" in my lentils.  If you don't want the extra veggies and potatoes, just cut it down or out entirely.  Most recipes only call for one stalk of celery and one carrot, for example.

Rinse the lentils and quickly sort through them to make sure there are no small pebbles in there.   Finely chop the onion, carrots, and celery.  In a large pot, saute the onions, carrots, and celery in olive oil and a pinch of salt.  Let them all mix and cook for 5-7 minutes until they start to sweat.  Make sure they don't brown.  Then, add the sweet potato, lentils, stock, and spices.  Bring to a boil.  When it comes to a rapid boil, cut the heat down to low, cover, and simmer for about 40-45 minutes.  Make sure to keep checking on the soup to ensure the desired liquid content is maintained and lentils remain al dente.  I think that's where I went wrong!

That's it!  Hard to believe that I neglected the pot and ended up with a thick lentil dish instead of a thinner soup.  Either way, they are both tasty dishes!  This soup/stoup/hot mess also freezes very well.

P.S. On a completely unrelated note, what did y'all think of The Bachelor?  I must admit, NOT the outcome I expected, and, after watching the after-show, I can't say I'm pleased with the result.  (Not that I saw a great future with the other one, but I wasn't as happy as I thought I'd be when I learned who he chose.)  Yep, I said it....sorry, y'all, but I do not see a rosy future for those two.  I hope they prove me wrong.

ALSO, I get the stats for this blog and I know how many of you peeps are reading it.  It's a lot more than just the five of you who have commented.  Stealth readers, reveal yourselves!  Leave your feedback in the comments or shoot me an email.  Thanks!! Pin It Now!