Peanut Noodles

Now, in my days of eating in a vegan/vegetarian coop in college, I've had some pretty horrible peanut sauce. An almost impossible to swallow mixture of what seemed to be crunchy peanut butter with a dash of water and Braggs. This, my friends, is an entirely different beast. I found this recipe by Bogart Loves, local blogger and baker of delicious donuts. It's spicy and comforting and all-around delicious.

for the sauce:1 Tbsp canola oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
2 Tbsp Thai red curry paste
1/3 cup natural creamy peanut butter
1 Tbsp agave syrup
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp sriracha chili sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp dark sesame oil
juice of one lime

In a large saute pan, heat 1 Tbsp of canola oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the chopped shallot and garlic. Meanwhile, combine the rest of the sauce ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk together until smooth. Allow shallot and garlic to cook until they turn slightly golden and then add the sauce. Bring sauce to a simmer and allow to cook for no more than 3-5 minutes, stirring often. If the sauce becomes thick, add a bit of water to thin it out.

I used coconut oil instead of canola oil and onion instead of shallot. You could also omit the fish sauce to make it vegetarian. I steamed what veggies I had (cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage), boiled up some udon noodles and smothered the whole thing with the peanut sauce and topped it with fresh tomatoes and green onions.

Curried Squash Soup

2 medium acorn or butternut squash

(or others of your choice: sugarloaf/dumpling etc to make that amount)

Cut in half, spray/coat lightly with oil and roast in oven for about an hour or until nice and soft. Scoop out and remove seeds. Set aside.

Next :

chop one medium onion

2 cloves garlic

peel and chop one apple

sauté the above in olive oil in a large pot (which will allow you to later add the squash and water) with the following spices:

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger (fresh or jar)

1/4 tsp dry mustard

a few dashes cayenne

about 10 mins on medium heat.

Finally, scoop out the squash insides and add to the mixture in the large pot, along with:

1 cup orange juice, (fresh squeezed or not)

2 1/2 cups water

Cook until heated through, let cool before placing in food processor or blender for nice smooth texture.

These things can be added to taste:

Salt

Lemon juice or apple cider vinegar if soup is too sweet for you.

I enjoy serving it with bread.

apple carrot kraut

Nothing revolutionary here. Just follow the basic steps in Megan's earlier post about sauerkraut and add whatever other tasty (or colorful) things you want. I chose apples and carrots for their hint of sweetness and for the colors they add, but you could try just about anything.

Being as it's a bit colder these days, this batch will probably take a few weeks to ferment to my liking ... just in time for Thanksgiving, come to think of it.

frozen herbs

So the frost probably already got your basil, but there's still time to save your thyme and rosemary for the long winter ahead. I know, it's hard to think about how soon your garden will be buried under a mound of dirty, crusty snow, but IT WILL HAPPEN. And if you don't get those little herbs out of there soon, your soups and stews and pizza crusts will suffer a terrible blandness all winter long. Don't let that happen! Do this instead! And listen to some good (albeit slightly depressing) music while you're doing it, dangit.

Chop up your herbs as fine as you like them. Put the choplets in ice cube trays and fill until the water is just barely covering them. Freeze for a few hours and then top them off with enough water so that none of the herbs are exposed. Take a deep breath and tell yourself everything will be ok.

Abgusht

I found this recipe in a novel I read a few years ago called Pomegrante Soup. I modified this recipe from one with Lamb in it that they made in the book.

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1-2 onions, chopped

boneless chicken of your choice ( I like to use some breast meat and some thighs)

1tsp Tumeric

sauté the above, then add:

1 tsp Paprika

1 c. yellow split peas, rinsed well

8c water (about)

chopped carrots

3-6 average size potatoes chopped, Yukon gold is nice

2tsp salt (I am not usually a salt person, but this recipe really benefits from it)

1tsp black pepper

1-2 tomatoes chopped or some tomato paste/sauce

1-2 dried limes (you can get them at Bill’s on West Lake Street)

a pinch of saffron threads dissolved in a few TBLSP hot water

1tsp ground cardamom

1tsp ground cinnamon

1tsp ground cumin

Then cook in a big pot for 1-2hours.

Squeeze and remove dried limes, then mash or food process the stew when cooled for best texture and flavor dispersal.

Gluten Free and Vegan Fruit Crisp

I made this Gluten Free and Vegan Crisp recently and I really enjoyed it!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In mixing bowl, toss together:

5-6 cups your favorite fruit

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup granulated sugar

in another bowl:

1 cup masa harina corn flour

1 cup gluten free oats

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

optional: 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1/3 cup margarine

2 level teaspoons of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Pour fruit mixture into prepared pan then spread/sprinkle on the topping. Cook for 30 minutes or until topping is lightly browned, and fruit filling is bubbling around edges and slightly thickened.

Coconut Kale

This recipe comes courtesy of Jamie, who created these totally amazing greens to share at a Shabbat gathering at Occupy MN last week. A handful of us stayed to talk in the plaza and eat kale with our fingers while the general assembly got going on the other side of the government center.

I sort of marvel at this complex movement that is Occupy Wall Street. One of my conversation highlights that night was to note that those of us at Occupy (wherever) are representative of people (wherever), only rather than existing in a smaller sphere within our houses or communities, we are interacting with one another: sharing ideas, having conflicts, and trying to find consensus on all sorts of massive topics. Something about it makes me feel quite in love with us all.

So. These greens. I have made them twice since eating them less than a week ago - not only because they remind me of feeling love-full, but also because they are damn good.

Serves 4-ish
2 T coconut oil
2 banana peppers (or sweet peppers), diced
2 jalepeno, diced very small
1/2 onion, diced
2 small tomatoes, diced
large bunch kale, chopped
1 T tamari
splash sriracha or hot sauce* (*optional!)
1/3 c. dried coconut

Heat coconut oil in a large saucepan. Add onions and peppers and saute 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and saute 2 more minutes. Add kale in small handfuls; stir to coat with oil. Add tamari and cover pan with lid to steam for 5-6 minutes, stirring once or twice, until greens are dark green and tender. Stir in coconut and hot sauce. Taste...add salt or more hot sauce if needed.

Breakfast Smoothie

I was leary of using raw eggs in drinks...I remember seeing movies where health-nutty people would drink raw eggs before going for their run or something, and it always seemed weird.

But, eggnog is made with raw eggs, and I love that - and yesterday when I was not in the mood for any breakfast prep, but needed something substantial, I took the dive and blended up some raw eggs. My Charming Companion blends up eggs for smoothies all the time, so I think that helped ease any nerves I had about salmonella. And now I am sort of hooked - the addition of eggs makes this drink more filling and super creamy. Well, that and the heavy cream. I have officially switched over to the full fat side of life (more so when I am eating not a lot of carb stuff, which I sometimes do). This drink turns out to be a cross between eggnog, orange julius, and mango lassi.

Breakfast Smoothie
1/2 c. frozen mango (banana or any other frozen fruit)
2 eggs
3 T. apple cider (or juice, OJ would work too)
splash of vanilla
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 c. cream or coconut milk

Blend up the frozen fruit in the blender first, then add everything else but the cream (just to make sure the cream doesn't whip into a frenzy) and blend some more. Add cream and blend for 10 seconds. Drink!

Roasted fall veggies

I went to the farmer's market tonight (only 5 markets left at Midtown!) to bulk up on some squash and try out the brussel sprouts. Things are quieting down at the market - they did have tomatillos at one stand, lots of peppers and tomatoes, some cabbage, onions, broccoli, potatoes...but it is definitely a smaller crowd. Oh winter, here you come.


I got home late and was tired - and opted to go for simple. I made a rice pilaf - which I am calling pilaf only because I used chicken broth instead of water. This made the rice seem much more exciting and flavorful with no extra work on my part.

And then I made a pan of roasted veggies: aforementioned brussel sprouts, sweet potato and onion. The final result was filling (pilaf is more filling than rice) and delicious. The sprouts were thumbs up, btw. Get your stalk and cook some up soon! (I hear the stalk is good roasted whole in a grill - have not tried that yet, but it sounds enticing, if also higher maintenance.)

Roasted fall veggies (not really modified from this blog post)
1 sweet potato, diced in large bites
1 stalk brussel sprouts
2 small onions, quartered
2 T balsamic
1 T olive oil
honey
salt and pepper

Remove sprouts from the stalk, wash to get any loose dirt off.
Make sure veggies are all dry before putting them in a roasting pan.
Mix up the balsamic, oil, and honey (1-2 tsps) and pour over the top.
Cook on 425 for 30-40 minutes, stirring a couple of times in the middle.
Generously salt and pepper (extra salt was really good).
Serve!

Almond Butter Flourless Cookies

These tasty gems are a mystery to me - mostly just almond butter, an egg, and honey. They aren't very sweet, which makes them a good snack mid-day. I added both chopped almonds and chocolate to mine (I didn't have choc. chips, so I chopped up part of a dark chocolate bar). I baked mine just until brown, and they turned out really soft. Next time I'll keep them in a bit longer to get a little crispy. But really - these are super good and nutritious.


Almond Butter Flourless Cookies (she says it makes 21, but I had 15) *Thanks to Shawn for posting the original recipe!

Deconstructed sweet potato hash with fried eggs

I have a cookbook from the library right now called "Five Ingredient Fix: Easy, Elegant, and Irresistable Recipes" and I had a little extra morning time this week, so I tried this breakfast. It is really simple - sorta seems like you don't need a recipe...but I don't tend to make caramelized onions for breakfast and I never use sage, even though it is growing in my garden. So, I found it inspiring and tasty enough to share. Note, there is a lot of butter in this recipe! I modified this for just me, but here is a recipe for 4:

1/4 pound butter
12 fresh sage leaves
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes (I did not peel!)
1 c. water plus more as needed
2 vidalia or sweet onions, sliced
8 large eggs

Melt 4 T butter in a large skillet on med-high heat. Add 4 sage leafs and fry until crisp (about 30 seconds). Transfer to a plate for later.

Add the sweet potatoes to the skillet and toss until coated in butter, then add remaining sage leaves and water. Simmer and cook the potatoes uncovered, until water is evaporated and potatoes are fork tender (about 10 min). If any excess water, spoon/pour off and reserve. Continue cooking potatoes another 10 minutes or so, scraping frequently until crusty brown. Add 1 T or so of reserved liquid if potatoes stick or scorch.

Meanwhile melt 2 T butter in a med skillet on med heat. Add onions and cook until deep golden brown, about 20 min. Transfer to a serving bowl. Wipe out the pan, add the last 2 T butter and fry the eggs, 2 at a time to your preference.

Plate the potatoes with the caramelized onions beside them, and top with 2 fried eggs and a fried sage leaf.