Egg Roll Bowl with Dandelion Greens

It is Ramadan and I am fasting, which means I pretty much just make one bigger meal at sundown, called Iftar. It is funny that the recipe I am posting at Ramadan is a pork recipe, something no Muslim would be eating! (This would be good with beef too.) I was especially happy to toss in a bunch of dandelion greens and some green onions from the garden. I wish I had collected more greens because the subtle bitterness was really nice in here - a good match to the sweetness of the green onions and sauteed cabbage/carrots. I'll have to pick some dandelion greens to eat as a salad to do them proper justice.

I stumbled across the notion of egg rolls sans wrapper sometime back - apparently it is a keto and paleo super recipe, which I wasn't necessarily going for, but I do like to go high veggie content. Really it is a very easy stir-fry that is slightly bland but is reminiscent of egg rolls, which I enjoyed. Also I was working pretty late, so an easy meal prep was handy. I liked it best with the inclusion of fancy hot sauce.

Egg Roll Bowl
1 lb ground pork (or beef)
2 T sesame oil/coconut oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1" ginger, grated
half medium green cabbage, sliced thinly/shredded
1 small carrot, grated/julienned
1 small jalapeno, minced
3 tsp apple cider vinegar
3 T tamari
1 T dijon mustard
salt/pepper
(opt) dandelion greens - as many as you want
2 green onions, chopped for garnish

1. Cook pork in a medium skillet over medium heat. Break up pices with a spoon as it cooks. When done, set aside to add to veggies.
2. While it is cooking, heat oil in a large cast iron pan on medium heat. Add onions, garlic, and ginger and saute until onions soften, about 5 minutes.
3. Add cabbage, carrots, vinegar, tamari, mustard. Cook and stir for 5-10 more minutes until cabbage and carrots soften. Add dandelion greens, cooked pork, and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Serve with green onions and your favorite hot sauce.

Fried Green Tomatoes

I made fried green tomatoes! I don't think I've ever made them before, and these are a direct Top Chef inspiration. Well, that and I went grocery shopping and the Seward had green tomatoes and I bought one on impulse. Local green tomatoes in April! That is some early greenhouse action.

I have eaten fried green tomatoes once or twice before, and I found these exceptionally tasty. Other Top Chef dishes I may yet try: grits, which I've never made, and fufu (a west african pounded cassave/yam dumpling of sorts), which I would prefer to try eating out before attempting at home. There are a couple of Nigerian places in Brooklyn Park that sell fufu, along with Egusi stew and pepper soup and plantains and goat and jollof rice, all of which sound amazing and make me think of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's books.

These fried green tomatoes turned out pretty perfectly, I was quite satisfied with myself. I used tapioca flour in lieu of cornstarch, cream instead of buttermilk, and bacon fat (because I had some, coconut oil is my next choice) instead of vegetable oil. Since I just had 1 tomato I used less of everything, but below is the full recipe from Food & Wine magazine.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Oil/Fat of choice, for frying
4 medium-size green tomatoes (about 7 ounces each)
1 cup (about 4 1/2 ounces) cornstarch
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk (or cream with a squeeze of lemon)
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
2 cups stone-ground fine yellow cornmeal (about 11 1/2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Sea salt 

1. Pour oil to a depth of 1/2 inch into a large cast-iron skillet. Heat oil over medium-high to 325°F. (Closely watch the temperature, adjusting heat as necessary to maintain 325°F.) *I did not do this b/c I do not have a thermometer that measures that high. It still worked.

2. Slice tomatoes into 1/4- to 1/2-inch-thick slices. (You should get 4 to 5 slices per tomato.) Place cornstarch in a wide, shallow dish. In a second wide, shallow dish, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. In a third wide, shallow dish, stir together cornmeal, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt. Working in batches, dredge tomato slices in cornstarch, shaking off excess; dip in egg mixture, and dredge in cornmeal mixture, patting cornmeal coating onto slices. Place breaded slices on a parchment paper–lined baking sheet.

3. Working in batches, fry tomato slices (about 3 to 5 slices at a time) until golden brown and crispy, 3 to 4 minutes, flipping halfway through frying. Place on a baking sheet lined with paper towels, and sprinkle with sea salt.

Pan Sauteed Jerusalem Artichokes with Balsamic and Butter

I dug up all of my jerusalem artichokes this weekend and was very happy to be digging in the dirt. Yay for garden produce! Since they are the first harvest of the year (excluding thyme and rosemary), I decided to make a "fancy recipe" to eat them for breakfast. This quickly became my fave way to eat jerusalem artichokes. They are crispy and browned on the outside and soft in the middle, and the tang of the balsamic is sweet with all the butter. And then some crispy rosemary?! Yum.

The recipe is from Bon Appetit, which was for double the amount that I list below. I ate about half of my recipe, which would be a larger portion for 2, or would serve 4 as a smaller side dish. *Note that jerusalem artichokes have a lot of inulin, which while highly sought after for microbial gut health, can cause some gastrointestinal discomfort (all your gut bacteria eating up the inulin) for some people. If you have never had them, it is a good idea to start with a smaller amount to see how you do. I ate all of these up with minor discomfort. I always wonder how different cooking methods affect the inulin; some places say that boiling for 15 mins removes much of it, which could be true because last spring I pureed some after boiling them, and noticed no affects at all?!

Other than amounts, I didn't change anything about the recipe. The balsamic I used was from a small jar of stuff I was gifted that was a lemon balsamic, so it was not dark like a usual balsamic vinegar.

 

Jerusalem Artichokes with Balsamic and Butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound small Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes), scrubbed, quartered

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 sprigs rosemary

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar

1. Heat oil in a large skillet, preferably cast iron (you’ll need a lid), over medium-high heat. Add Jerusalem artichokes and ¼ cup water and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until Jerusalem artichokes are fork-tender, 8–10 minutes.

2. Uncover skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until water is evaporated and Jerusalem artichokes begin to brown and crisp, 8–10 minutes longer; transfer to a platter.

3. Add rosemary and butter to skillet and cook, stirring often, until butter foams, then browns, about 4 minutes.

4. Remove skillet from heat and stir in vinegar, scraping up any browned bits. Spoon brown butter sauce and rosemary over Jerusalem artichokes.

Melting the butter with the rosemary

Ethiopian Beef Tibs

Well, this is a dish I've been meaning to post for awhile, though I did not have injera to eat with it. Next time I make these I might take myself on the adventure to procure some all-teff injera from Shega Foods.

I went to a new Ethiopian place that opened near my house several months ago intending to order kitfo and kocho, neglecting to notice they only serve that on weekends. So, without injera (they had only the glutinous kind), I opted to get their beef tibs, assuming they would certainly be good, using salad as the injera-vessel. Friends, they were not good. They were swimming in oil and were bland and not caramelized and it was disappointing. I am spoiled by Bolé. I guess I thought all tibs were crispy and chewy and delicious. Not so. (Incidentally, Bolé's link has a youtube video where they are making their Derek Tibs. You can see the goodness! They also show their signature dish Majet, which is a beautiful tower of Derek Tibs, Kitfo, and Quanta Firfir that I highly recommend with the all teff injera.)

Previously made tibs with shiro and avocado salad atop injera

I learned to make these tibs from my friend who grew up in Ethiopia. It took about 6 times for me to finally get it, thanks to her standing by and saying, well, are you going to make the tibs or what? So I would quit waiting for her to tell me what to do. 😂  (I am still in that phase with the creamy chickpea dish shiro, which means I have to make it another time or two with her nearby before I post that one, which is nice to eat alongside.) She and I have used various cuts of meat for this dish, and the favorite is a thinly sliced top round steak. The meat is diced into pretty small pieces, so you can also use skirt steak, flank steak, a flat iron, etc and just trim any fat.

Beef Tibs serves 2-4

1+ lb lean steak, cut into 1/2" square pieces

1/2 large onion, sliced thin

3 T Niter Kibbeh

2 T Ethiopian cardamom*

1/4 tsp mitmita (or more, it's spicy)

1 jalapeno, diced

2 cloves garlic

sprigs of rosemary (opt)

*Ethiopian cardamom is more coarsely ground, and is also called "false cardamom" or "Korarima." It is a black cardamom from the ginger family, not the smaller green pods of Indian cardamom. You can buy it at Shega Foods, along with mitmita spice mix, and Niter Kibbeh (if you don't want to make it). (If you do not have Ethiopian false cardamom, use regular cardamom and add a touch of nutmeg, cloves, and black pepper.)

1. Heat a large cast iron skillet on high heat. Add your meat to the skillet (no oil/fat is added yet, so you are cooking the meat dry). Cook off all of the meat juices until the meat starts to brown, 6-12 minutes depending on your meat.

2. Add your onion slices, also dry, to the meat. Cook until the onions release their juices and also begin to brown, several minutes.

3. Lower the heat and add the niter kibbeh, cardamom and mitmita, being sure to coat all of the meat pieces with the butter and spices. Add the garlic, jalapeno, and rosemary. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Salt to taste. Serve!

The bite size pieces are perfect for eating with injera and with your hands. This time I ate them (non-traditionally) with some roasted beets, cabbage, and some left over rice.

Ginger turmeric golden milk

I've been making this tea often over the past week. It feels soothing and comforting amidst these times of uncertainty and loneliness and confusion, especially during the cold spell and snow of late. Turmeric and ginger reduce inflammation, ease depressive symptoms, and boost immunity - this tea is just the thing right now!

This is how I make mine - adjust anything to suit your tastes. I don't strain this tea because I like having the chewy ginger bits as I finish my cup. It's a bit thicker this way, so you could also pour your tea through a tea strainer or mesh sieve. I've been sweetening mine with honey under the auspices that it helps my allergy symptoms! Which while technically true, I also like having some sweet in there.

Ginger Turmeric Golden Milk, makes 2 cups
3/4 c coconut milk (half a can)
1 1/4 c water
1-2" knob of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 tsp turmeric
pinch of salt
pinch of black pepper
1/4 tsp cardamom or cinnamon
1-2 tsp honey

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer on low heat. The longer you simmer the more gingery the tea.

Basmati, Wild Rice, Chickpeas & Herbs

My dinner tonight was definitely inspired by my current Top Chef obsession/distraction/enjoyment. I cooked three different recipes for dinner - including one that involved lightly (GF) flouring some thinly sliced onions and frying them. Omg. They were amazing. Three dishes for one meal is very fancy, especially when cooking just for me. But totally worth it - I will make this meal, or something similar, when I am able to eat with other people again.

So - the three dishes are all sort of middle eastern themed, and two are from the Ottolenghi cookbook Jerusalem, which I have on loan. Thanks, mom. And thanks auntie Mary for buying my mom this cookbook (which I have previously pined after, along with their first cookbook, Plenty.) I made a schwarma style burger (which I actually made last night), roasted sweet potatoes with tahini sauce, and a basmati and wild rice dish with chickpeas. Yum. The rice dish was the star of the show and I kind of couldn't stop eating it. It is worth frying those onions and I made my basmati exactly as specified. (I only had parsley, and used dried dill and no cilantro. I also didn't have currants, so used raisins instead. Am including the original recipe below.)

Basmati & Wild Rice with Chickpeas, Currents & Herbs Serves 6
1/3 c wild rice
2 1/2 T olive oil
rounded 1 c basmati rice
scant 1 1/2 c boiling water
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1 1/2 c cooked chickpeas (I used canned)
3/4 c sunflower oil (I used coconut oil with no discernible taste issues)
1 med onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 tsp flour (I used an all purpose GF flour mix)
2/3 c currants
2 T chopped flat leaf parsley
1 T chopped cilantro
1 T chopped dill
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Start by putting the wild rice in a small saucepan, cover with plenty of water, bring to a boil, and leave to simmer about 40 minutes until the rice is cooked but still quite firm. Drain and set aside.
2. To cook the basmati rice, pour 1 T of olive oil into a med saucepan with a tightly fitting lid and place over high heat. Add the rice and 1/4 tsp salt and stir as you warm up the rice. Carefully add the boiling water, decrease the heat to very low, cover the pan with the lid, and leave to cook for 15 minutes.
3. Remove the pan from the heat, cover with a clean tea towel and then the lid, and leave off the heat for 10 minutes.
4. While the rice is cooking, prepare the chickpeas. Heat the remaining 1 1/2 T olive oil in a small saucepan over high heat. Add the cumin seeds and curry powder, wait for a few seconds, and then add the chickpeas and 1/4 tsp salt; make sure you do this quickly or the spices may burn in the oil. Stir over the heat for a minute or two, just to heat the chickpeas, then transfer to a large mixing bowl.
5. Wipe the saucepan clean, pour in the sunflower or coconut oil, and place over high heat. Make sure the oil is hot (a small piece of onion thrown in should sizzle vigorously). Use your hands to mix the onion with the flour to coat it slightly. Take some of the onion and carefully place it in the oil. Fry for 2-3 minites, until golden brown, then transfer to paper towels or a paper bag to drain, and sprinkle with salt. Repeat in batches until all of the onion is fried.
6. Finally, ass both types of rice to the chickpeas and then add the currants, herbs, and fried onion. Stir, taste, and add salt and pepper as you like. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Schwarma burger with Tahini-"yogurt" sauce (my "yogurt" was lemon juice & coconut milk)

Cabbage Saute with Onions and Apples

I made this cabbage dish last night and it was nice and tangy, and good on this windy day. I put some bacon in mine because I had some and it seemed a fine idea. I think I made three different cabbage dishes this week - a beet soup with cabbage and some kraut, an asian style slaw, and now this. Cabbage and onions (and the root veggies) are a steady item if you have not been to a grocery store in awhile!

This recipe is from the Mill City Farmer's Market site, which has several good seasonal recipes that they post regularly from their vendors. I wonder if Farmer's Markets will be happening this summer? Maybe just the produce stands and not the ready-to-eat food cart type ones? Who knows.

I added a jalapeno to this recipe, and forgot to put in my dried tarragon from the garden (they suggest 3 T of fresh tarragon if you have it). They also suggest additions of grated beets or fennel bulb for some variation.

Cabbage Saute with Onions and Apples serves 2-3
1/2 small head cabbage, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 apple, peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
2 T apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon honey
salt to taste
Fresh cracked black pepper
1 jalapeno, diced
*Top with crispy bacon (optional)

1. Place cabbage in a large bowl and add ½ tsp salt and toss to combine. Set aside while you prep the other ingredients.
2. In a large sauce pan, add the butter or olive oil and the onions. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the apples, caraway seeds and cook until apples wilt a bit. Then add the cabbage, the apple cider vinegar, honey and salt, and cook on medium high, stirring often.
3. Taste as you go to find your texture preference. This is especially good the next day when cooked down quite a bit. Add water, stock, white wine, or cider if you find it needs more moisture.
4. If adding bacon: I cooked mine on the side to get nice and crispy and topped the cabbage at the end. You could also cook your bacon at the start, alongside the onions and integrate it into the dish.

Sweet Potatoes with Tahini Butter

I started watching some Top Chef in these quarantine times, which I have not done in at least 5 years, and am finding it delightful. It's a nice switch from such copious quantities of news. Maybe it will help me transition to reading some more, which eludes me thus far in pandemic land. Though I have a nice stack of Sun magazines accumulating for when the inspiration hits. Anyway - Top Chef is calling my attention to ingredients and sauces, and some creative food wonderings. I've been on a bit of a tahini kick lately - spreading it on my sourdough teff toast with butter and jam, and yesterday when I was heating up previously frozen pancakes I made a topping of tahini/syrup/coconut milk that turned out really good. I always want a syrup-like topping that is not so sweet, that helps moisten the pancakes, and this was perfect.

The tahini-love lead to these sweet potatoes from a Bon Appetit recipe I flagged sometime in the last few weeks, and wow. I already knew tahini WITH butter was delicious from aforementioned toast, but this kicks it up another level (more butter than tahini). The recipe makers assure us that the tahini butter will all mix together, despite what seems incredibly too many liquids. I stirred for many minutes, and didn't get all the way there. Maybe my butter wasn't quite soft enough, or because my lime juice was too cold from being in the fridge? Or maybe I added a little too much lime, because I just squeezed in all of one? Anyway, I used my somewhat lumpy tahini butter and it was still delicious. The creaminess of the butter and the sweet potato, with a little crunch of seeds and the tang of the lime = Amazing.

I followed the recipe, except I baked my potatoes rather than steamed them, and I put some parsley on top. Link to the original recipe if you want their steaming method; I also reduced their recipe to 4 from 6.

Sweet Potatoes with Tahini Butter (serves 4)

2 lb. sweet potatoes, any color (4 small to medium)

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature

2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp tahini

2 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

Flaky sea salt

Toasted sesame seeds and lime wedges (for serving)

Chopped fresh parsley (opt, also for serving)

 

With chicken and a beet salad

1. Roast sweet potatoes in the oven at 375 degrees for 30-45 minutes depending on their size.

2. Meanwhile, smash together butter, lime juice, tahini, soy sauce, and sesame oil in a small bowl with a fork until smooth, about 3 minutes. Season tahini butter with kosher salt and lots of pepper.

3. Arrange sweet potatoes on a platter or a large plate. Let cool until you can just handle them, then split open and generously spread tahini butter over. Season with sea salt; top liberally with sesame seeds. Serve with lime wedges.