Sweet Potato, Carrot, Fruit Casserole

I finally got around to making this casserole recipe that is similar to my fave camping breakfast (dried sweet potato and carrots with cream and cinnamon). It tasted so good and oatmeal like! It does not seem to have been originally conceived as a breakfast dish, I just highly recommend it that way.

I edited the original recipe a bit, primarily to include less sugar/fruit, and it still was plenty sweet and delicious. You could still remove the prunes and it would be good too. I ate it this morning with some cream and coconut flakes on top. Mmm. Though the original recipe calls for peeling everything and cutting it small, I went the less fussy way and just cut everything up. Still good! I could see the high maintenance way being nice if you were hosting a fancy party or something. I mean, the photo is quite lovely with hose perfectly diced and peeled things. This makes a lot - I halved it and had enough for several meals. The recipe here serves 8.

2+ tablespoon butter 
6 medium carrots (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut in 3/4-inch dice
3 medium sweet potatoes (about 2 1/4 pounds), cut in 3/4-inch dice
2 Granny Smith (or other tart) apples, cored and cut in medium dice
1/4 cup pitted prunes, quartered
2 tablespoons mild honey
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Salt to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon)
2/3 cup water
lemon (or orange) zest (of half a fruit or so)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter in a 3-quart baking dish in the oven while it preheats.
2. Place the carrots and sweet potatoes in a steamer set above 1 inch of boiling water, and steam for five to 10 minutes, until just tender. Drain and toss with the remaining ingredients in the buttery baking dish. Place in the oven, and bake 40 to 50 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until the sweet potatoes and carrots are thoroughly tender. Dot the top with a little more butter, and bake another 10 minutes until the top is lightly browned. Remove from the heat, and serve hot or warm.
Advance preparation: You can assemble this dish several hours before baking. You can bake it a day or two ahead of serving; reheat it in a medium oven.

Coban Salad

I recently checked out a really lovely cookbook from the library: Bought, Borrowed, Stolen. The British author has re-created recipes from 20 different countries, with stunning photos and really aesthetically nice layout. The recipes I found myself most drawn to were ones from Turkey, Burma, and Morocco. I copied a few of them out, so they will find their way to the blogosphere once I get to making them. The one I've made a couple of times already is Turkish: Coban Salad. It uses veggies and herbs that are all plentiful right now, plus some olives and a light lemon juice and olive oil dressing. I substituted some things because of what I had in the garden or fridge (cherry tomatoes, italian parsely, banana peppers, etc) and it all tasted amazing.

Coban Salad
1 lb. 2 oz. good quality, ripe tomatoes, quartered, seeded, diced small
1 lg. green pepper, diced small
1 red onion, diced small
big handful flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
medium handful mint, finely chopped
2 1/2 oz. stoned olives, roughly chopped
juice of 1 lemon
3 oz. extra virgin olive oil
salt/pepper
(feta cheeze is optional to add here too, I left it out)

Mix all of the veggies, herbs and olives in a large bowl. Squeeze lemon juice over everything and drizzle the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Asparagus Soup

Asparagus Soup

I know this sounds more like a cozy winter recipe, but this creamy soup makes a tasty dish any time of year.  I have been eating a lot of soups lately and this is one of my favorites.  I make my own stock, which increases the flavor and over-all health benefits of the soup, but stock from the store will work just fine.

This recipe is from Recipes for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet by Raman Prasad.   SCD is a diet that restricts carbohydrates, obviously.  However, this soup doesn't have any odd substitutions that are common on the diet, such as almond flour or fermented yogurt.

I usually pair it with a grilled chicken breast or baked salmon.  However, on a hot summer day, sometimes all I am hungry for is a bowl of soup.

Ingredients

- 2 pounds asparagus

- 1 Tbsp olive oil

- 8 spring onions, finely chopped

- 5 cloves garlic

- 1 3/4 pints vegetable stock

- 1 Tbsp butter

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1/4 tsp pepper

Clean and prepare asparagus by cutting and discarding the woody stems.  Chop the rest of the asparagus into 1 1/2 inch lengths.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and cook the spring onions and garlic until soft but not browned.  Stir in the asparagus, cover the pot, and let it sweat for 10 minutes.  

Add the stock, butter, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil.  Stir occasionally.  Reduce the heat and let the soup simmer for 25-30 minutes, partially uncovered.

In a blender, food processor, or using a hand-held immersion blender, blend the soup in batches until smooth.

Enjoy!

Jane

Roasted eggplant and tomato curry

There is this dish they put in the hot bar at the Seward that I really like: roasted eggplant, tomatoes, cauliflower, and peppers in a not so-saucy sauce. Feeling inspired, I bought these main ingredients, only to come home and realize I was sorta clueless about the spices. So I did some online research, coming up with not too much, and settled on re-working a Baigan Bharta (Indian dish of roasted eggplant curry) recipe. And the dish turned out great - though not really much like the one at the Seward. Oh Well. AND, I really want to try the straight up Baigan Bharta too. Have you had ROASTED eggplant?! It becomes this creamy substance that is really delicious.

My recipe is below, with these side notes: the amount of tomatoes made it distinctly saucy - you could use a small can of tomatoes if you want that to be different; garlic would be tasty in there if you can eat it; and, I did this food prep in two parts - I made the eggplant (and cauliflower) one night, and finished the dish the next. You don't need to do that, but it makes dinner on night two take only 20 minutes.

1 large eggplant
1 small head cauliflower
1 green pepper, diced large
2 T ghee
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 medium onion - minced fine
1 in ginger root - minced fine
1 medium green chili - minced
1 large can chopped tomatoes
1 c. coconut milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wash eggplant and dry it. Make incision with a sharp knife all over the whole eggplant. Rub some oil over it . Place on a baking sheet and in a preheated oven. Bake for 40 minutes. While the eggplant is roasting, chop the cauliflower into pieces and toss it with coconut oil or olive oil. Put it on a flat baking dish and roast it in the oven with the eggplant - it will be done after 20 minutes. (Photo is cooled eggplant before I scooped out all the insides.)

Allow the eggplant to cool. Once it has cooled cut it in the middle, scoop out the soft flesh and place it in a bowl. Mash finely with a fork or chop. Discard skin.

Heat ghee over medium heat. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once the spices start to pop, add the onion, ginger, garlic (if using) and green chili. When they are soft, add in the rest of the spices and saute for another minute or two. Add tomatoes, eggplant, chopped/roasted cauliflower, green pepper and coconut milk. Stir occasionally and let simmer until all ingredients are hot and softened to your liking. Because I roasted the cauliflower and like crunchy peppers, this only needed to sit for 10 minutes for me.

Mole Bean Stew

I found this recipe on Heidi Swanson's website when I was searching for a way to use some dried adzuki beans that I had in the cupboard. Amazingly enough, I also had most of the other ingredients, with a few modifications. I don't have a picture but you should really just follow the link above to go look at the pictures on Heidi's website because they're much more gorgeous than any picture I would have taken. And there are pictures of the beautiful Irish countryside.

I made the following substitutions:

adzuki beans instead of borlotti beans

walnuts instead of almonds

roasted garden tomatoes from the freezer

I also doubled the recipe and did the simmering on the stovetop instead of in the oven because I didn't have an oven-proof pot that was big enough.

The end result was spicy, rich, and very satisfying. I served it with rice, it also would be good with polenta cake or quinoa or ....

Creamy Tomato Soup

This recipe is the creamiest, sweetest tomato soup I have ever had. It is also super easy. The sweet taste might be due in part to my primary use of cherry tomatoes, which have been ripening on the counter for the past month. Do you have any left? I can't believe how late I am still eating fresh tomatoes. As winter sets in, I am guessing canned tomatoes will work just as well, though the seeds might be bigger.

*Based on the recipe from Fanny Farmer. The original uses 4 cups milk instead of stock and cream, 1/2 a bay leaf and a cup less tomatoes.

5 T butter
1/2 c. chopped onion
4 T. flour (GF works fine)
2 c. stock (homemade?!)
1 c. heavy cream
1 1/2 t. salt
1/2 t baking soda
4 c. tomatoes - blended

Melt butter in pot and add onions - cook until soft (not browned).
Sprinkle flour over butter mix, stir and cook 1-2 minutes.
Add stock and salt and continue to cook and stir until slightly thickened.
Add blended tomatoes and baking soda. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Blend it all one more time to make smooth.
Add the cream to the whole batch, or pour it in each bowl for some pretty plating.

Roasted Carrot Ginger Soup

Carrots, carrots, and more carrots. I have this tendency to hoard my garden carrots over the summer, only to then not eat them at all because it snows and I never pull them up. Determined to actually consume their tastiness, I tried this recipe from the Seward Co-op. It involves roasting the carrots for a couple of hours, which made the kitchen smell amazing. The soup did not disappoint - I give it a 10!

2 lbs carrots, peeled and halved lengthwise (I only peeled some)
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
6 T olive oil
6 cups veggie broth, preferably homemade (I used chicken broth)
1 c. cream
salt to taste
1 t ground coriander
1/2 t ground cumin
pinch of cayenne (adjust to taste)
To garnish: creme fraiche, handful chopped cilantro, 2 T toasted caraway seeds.

Preheat oven to 350. Combine the carrots, garlic and ginger in a shallow roasting pan. Drizzle with 4 T olive oil. Pour 2 c. broth into pan, cover tightly with foil and bake until the vegetables are very tender (about 2 hours).

When veggies are about done, heat the last 2 T oil in a large soup pot and add onions. Cook until translucent, then add the coriander and cumin. Cook over low heat for about 6 minutes to allow slices to bloom (I have no idea what this means). Add the roasted veggies with broth to the onion and spices along with last 4 c. broth. Season to taste with salt and cayenne and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes (oops, i didn't simmer long enough).

Allow soup to cool, then puree until smooth, in blender or food processor or if you have one of those fancy burr whip hand blender things. Return soup to pot, adjust seasonings if needed, and add the cream. Serve each portion with creme fraiche (i didn't have any), sprinkled with cilantro and toasted caraway.

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.

Cheesy grits with hominy

I have a habit of tasting something from the hot bar every time I go to the Seward for groceries...it's like the treat before I check out. A few weeks ago they had some cheesy grits with hominy that was SO good, I have been thinking about making it ever since. I have never made grits before, and it turns out there are quite a few different methods.

I primarily was in search of something that would satisfy my yearning for mac and cheese but without gluten, and I also really liked the hominy in the grits I had from the seward, so I wanted that too. I created a recipe based on a few different searches - and ended up cooking my own hominy too. The grits turned out really good independently, and stuffed in green peppers.

2 c. milk
2 c. water
1 c. grits/polenta
1 T. butter
2 c. cooked or canned hominy*
1 1/2 c. cheese (I used a raw cheddar)
salt and pepper

*The only raw hominy I found was actually from Native Harvest and the White Earth land Recovery Project, which is not cheap. It feels really good to support that project and the work there though, and I was excited to cook my own hominy. I did mine just like I would cook beans - in the slow cooker, after soaking overnight, with lots of water. I am hoping to make posole ometime soon with the rest because this hominy is totally gorgeous and huge. Yum.

Put the water, milk, and grits in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Stir frequently as it comes to a boil and starts to thicken. Once it starts boiling, let simmer (while stirring) for another 5-10 minutes until thick but still mildly soupy. Add sat and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat and stir in the hominy and the shredded cheese. I also stirred in two red banana peppers because they were fresh out of the garden.

From here you can fill bell pepper halves if you want to go that route, or pour the grits into a buttered casserole dish. Put either/both in the oven for about 40 minutes (until browned) at 350.

Warm summer salad

This salad recipe (like Andrea's recent post!) features some of the best summer veggies: zucchini, tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, and corn. This salad was inspired by a similar dish my friend Kate made for me many years ago. I was impressed by how simple and flavorful it was - the fresh veggies just showcase themselves! The amount of each ingredient is not as important as the way it is prepared - I gave an estimate, but consider it very flexible.


Summer Salad, serves 4-6
One ball fresh mozzarella (optional, mild feta might also be nice)
1-2 c. cooked wild rice
2 med. zucchini
2 med. cucumbers (or 4 pickling ones, in my case)
2 ears of corn
1+ c. tomatoes, diced
2 big handfuls of green beans
fresh herb (basil or rosemary)

First dice the mozzarella, tomatoes and cucumbers and put in a large bowl with the wild rice. Add any chopped herbs.

Prep the rest of the veggies: shuck corn; trim the green beans and cut into 1-2" pieces; quarter zucchini the long way (making 4 spears), cut each spear at an angle - turning the spear 1/4 turn at each cut (this will give each piece multiple flat edges that will sear in the pan).


Using whatever steam method you use, put water on to boil for corn and green beans. When it is boiling, put corn in the steamer basket for 4 minutes, and remove. Put green beans in the basket and steam for 5 minutes, then remove. Cut corn off of cob and mix both corn and beans into the salad.


While water is heating in steamer, heat a dry cast iron pan on med-high for zucchini. In a small bowl, drizzle zucchini with olive oil and salt; toss well to coat. Once cast iron is hot, put zucchini on pan to sear in a single layer (let it sit a minute, it won't sear if you move the pieces around too fast), then toss or flip pieces to sear other edges. Add zucchini to salad and toss all ingredients well. Pour dressing over the top, and serve immediately to get a nice blend of cool and warm ingredients.

dressing:
1 part honey
1 part olive oil
1 part balsamic
stone ground mustard
salt

Raw Kale Salad

I know I am not the only one with lots of dark greens growing in abundance. I notice that mine tend to sit there for a long while - which is fine, they will last long into the fall - but I think it is because I keep thinking I need to eat them cooked. And as it turns out, this summer is not my summer for cooked greens. I try to eat them along with breakfast or dinner and I am not into it. I'm done after a few bites, and even those seem a bit forceful. But raw greens - that is a different story!


I looked up some basic raw kale recipes, and settled on Kale Salad with Pecorino and Lemon. The basic difference to eating raw kale versus cooked seems to be it needs to marinate for an hour or more to soften it up a bit. It actually felt like I was making a version of pesto when I made this salad, but without the food processor...similar smells. Which is maybe why I ended up adding in some roasted pistachios too. It was the only nut I had, though had I seen this before sticking them in the oven, I would have brined them first. Yum!


In the end, I also decided to use a different green than kale (my kale is way small, not enough sun)...I used Mustard Spinach Komatsuma - a new green I planted this year (which is delicious btw). It is not as tough as kale - more spinach-y. (That link has some recipe suggestions, including a kimchi that I am intrigued by.) Anyhow - the salad turned out amazing! The flavor is really nice - the lemon somehow compliments the slight bitter taste of the greens. I think the nuts add a really nice crunch to the salad too. These greens really sucked up the lemon and olive oil, and I wonder if kale would be a little less absorbent. I actually ended up using the juice of just one lemon and only 1/4 c. olive oil - and that was plenty for the komatsuna. Raw greens!

Cool Beet and Cucumber Soup

I love this soup recipe in the heat of summer - especially Polish style, ladled over a hard-boiled egg. It is fetching with its pink color, and surprising in its not-really-borscht-but-still-a-cold-beet-soup. It's also perfect for the early summer produce: beets and their greens, green onions, cucumbers, and dill.


This recipe is from ReBar, a veggie restaurant/bistro in Victoria, Canada that has a great cookbook. I made the broth on day one so that it would better chill in my fridge, and then finished it off to eat for dinner day two. I sort of wonder if bunches of veggies are a little smaller in Canada than they are here - I inevitably need to add more buttermilk, lemon and pickle juice, and I still end up with a pretty chunky final product. So, when they say adjust the seasoning, I guess they mean ADJUST. you know?!

Serves 4-6 (or closer to 8 if you add in the extra like I do)
2 small beet bunches, with greens
water to cover
1 T salt
2 T sugar
3 c. buttermilk
1 c. yogurt, kefir, or sour cream
2-3 lemons, juiced
1/4 c. pickle juice
lots of cracked pepper
1/2 long English cucumber, 1/4" dice
1 bunch scallions, minced
1/4 c. fresh minced dill

1. Cut greens from the beetroot and and wash both well to remove any clinging dirt. Peel beets, quarter, and thinly slice. Place in a pot and cover with water by 1-inch. Bring to a boil. Add salt, partially cover, and reduce heat. Simmer until beets are just tender.


2. While the beets are simmering, finely shred the greens and stems. When beets are tender, stir the greens and sugar into the pot. Cover and turn off the heat. Let stand 10 minutes. Uncover and cool to room temp; then chill thoroughly before proceeding. (This step can be prepared up to days in advance or frozen up to 1 month!)

3. In a large bowl, combine the beets/greens/cooking water with buttermilk, yogurt, lemon & pickle juice. Season with salt, cracked pepper, sugar, or more lemon to get the right balance for your taste. Chill the soup for at least one hour before serving.


4. To serve: stir in the cucumbers, scallions, and dill and taste one more time to adjust the seasoning. Serve in chilled bowls. (Or in my case, jars!)

Polenta stuffed peppers

How did today get to be over 80 degrees? I don't know. I do know that I had some peppers that were not going to last too long, and a recipe for stuffing them. So I opened the windows for the as-yet-to-arrive hail storm, and turned on the oven. This recipe would be perfect in the late summer when peppers are ready to pick and the corn is winding down. It is an easier stuffed pepper, is pretty fast, and the green olives in the polenta are amazing.

I found the recipe last weekend while in Iowa City perusing through Eren's cookbooks. This one is from Moosewood's Simple Suppers, which Eren reports is a top fave for easier weeknight recipes. Serves 4-6.

5 large peppers (green, red, orange, yellow)
1 1/2 T olive oil
salt
Polenta:
4 c. water
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. red pepper flakes (I used chopped frozen jalepenos from last summer)
1 c. polenta cornmeal
1 1/2 c. corn kernels
1 T. butter or olive oil
1 1/2 grated sharp cheddar
1/2 c. chopped Spanish olives

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Cut peppers in half length-wise, remove seeds but keep stems. Brush with oil inside and out. Sprinkle with salt. Plave cut side up on an oiled sheet and roast 15 minutes.

In heavy pan, bring water, salt, and pepper to a boil. Add polenta in slow, steady stream while whisking. Cook on medium, stirring often, until thickened. Stir in butter, 1 c. of cheese, corn, and olives. Remove from heat.

Fill peppers with mix, sprinkle with remaining cheese. Put in oven 5-10 minutes. Moosewood recommends that you serve the peppers with black beans (1 16 oz. can) mixed with salsa (1 15 oz. jar) and cilantro (1/4 c).

Wild rice, zucchini, leek and chevre tart

I recently came across a new food blog via The Heavy Table. It's called All About Food, and I was hooked after seeing many wild rice recipes and reading about her Hungarian and German/Czech ancestry. And she talks about the Mississippi River, and I just appreciate midwestern pride, so there we go.

Anyway - I tried her wild rice pie crust this week, and OMG. It's a whole new kind of savory tart crust: chewy, super flavorful, and not so rich as pastry. I also find an appeal to having a whole-food sort of crust - which could be entirely locally sourced except for the lemon. I can't wait to try this crust with a variety of fillings.

The recipe is definitely on the rich side - she recommends that you stick with the heavy cream for the filling, and I would argue that half and half would be a bit lighter and nice too. I really like the zucchini/leek combo, and chevre always reminds me of the year I worked at a small farm making goat cheese in Iowa. The little cheese kitchen was next to the milking room in the barn and always smelled like tart goat milk; there were flies stuck to fly paper all over the ceiling and the farm kittens would wait by the door to drink up the whey. I often went to help pick and package veggies for the CSA shares while the milk pasteurized. Fresh goat cheese with just picked spinach = total bliss as far as I am concerned!

This tart is tasty - though beware of that 10" pie pan. Who has a 10? pie pan?? I happened to have a 10" cast iron, but kind of rare size. I ate the tart with my last jar of pickled beets on some salad greens from WI. And I was able to plant my own lettuce, arugula, beets, and radish before the big rains - so soon I'll be eating out of my own garden. Yay!

green bean and potato salad.

My mom's husband has to have a potato at every meal. And, let's admit it, I love a potato as much as the next person. So, when I was charged with making a side dish for dinner at my mom's house, I searched the well-loved Smitten Kitchen for something fun and fresh and delicious; to liven up the potato as side dish. I settled on the Arugula, Potato, and Green Bean Salad with Creamy Walnut Dressing, with a few modifications based on what we had on hand. You can link to Smitten Kitchen's post in the title.

Here are the modifications I made:

-I used romaine and baby greens in place of arugula, but next time I will make the effort to get arugula because I think the peppery flavor would be really delicious with the rest of the ingredients.

-I used olive oil and a little bit of truffle oil in place of walnut oil because we didn't have any. someday, I will plan ahead and get all the ingredients for a recipe, but usually I end up having to substitute at least one thing and I've averted disaster so far.

So, that's how I made it. It was easy and delicious and it pleased everyone, including the potato purist who used to hate eating anything green until he started growing his own vegetables. So, I'll call it a success. Smitten Kitchen comes through once again.

vermicelli salad.

just so you all don't think that all i do is bake and never eat actual food...here's a recipe from the rebar cookbook. i was craving something fresh and summery and this really hit the spot.

dressing:

1 cup hot water

4 tbsp brown sugar

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 jalapeno, seeded and minced

1 tsp sriracha sauce

4 tbsp fish sauce (or substitute soy sauce)

2 tbsp soy sauce

6 tbsp lime juice

salad:

2 cups shredded lettuce

1/2 package rice noodles

4 scallions, minced

1/2 cucumber, sliced

2 carrots, grated

2 tomatoes, chopped (i left these out because i didn't have any)

4 tbsp chopped cilantro and mint

2 tbsp cashews

1. dissolve sugar in hot water and let cool. stir in garlic, jalapeno, soy and/or fish sauce and lime juice. whisk thouroughly to combine.

2. follow instructions on package to cook noodles. strain and rinse with cold water. shake excess water from the noodles and gently toss with sesame oil.

3. to assemble salads, place shredded lettuce in the bottom of each serving bowl, add fresh herbs, then noodles, then veggies, then dressing, sprinkle with cashews and more fresh herbs.

eat!

Chard and White Bean Stew

Lately I just want to eat greens non-stop. It is the getting-on-in-winter-need-for-dark-greens I guess. In this recipe I used collards and chard, though I have also been eating a lot of mustard greens. Yum. This stew recipe is a smitten kitchen concoction. It is really delicious with the poached egg on top and with a drizzle of good vinegar. I also added some lemon juice to the recipe, and more salt than she called for.

Incidentally...I started thinking about seed-orders and gardening this week! I am getting excited for a future of fresh herbs and veggies. In my recent interest in not consuming caffeine, I am looking at some herbs for sun-tea making! So we'll see what ends up in the garden...

Pupusas

I came across corn flour in the cupboard this week and was inspired to try making pupusas - Salvadorian masa cakes traditionally filled with refried beans, pork and/or cheese. I have only had them a couple of times before: in Mercado Central and at the Pupuseria on Lake Street closer to 14th (I think). I came across this article from The Heavy Table that outlines a few different places in the twin cities with good pupusas and some nice photos.

The recipe for the masa dough is super simple(for 4-6 pupusas):
2 cups masa harina
1 c. warm water
Mix the masa harina and water and knead together (adding in a bit more water if needed) until the texture is smooth and does not crack. Cover and let sit 10 minutes.
While the dough is sitting, prepare the filling:
1 cup refried beans
cheese

It was difficult for me to get the right texture with the masa. I'll keep testing that, but this video about how to prepare the pupusa shows the texture you are looking for, and also the technique of making them. I found it KEY to use some oil on my hands so the masa would not stick while I was shaping the cakes. After making the cakes, fry on a dry cast iron pan for many minutes on each side. The goal is to heat the filling inside as well as brown the outside.

Next time I want to try making the traditional topping - curtido - which is a fermented carrot and cabbage mix. I ended up putting some left over mesa red sauce on mine, which was tasty, but missing the tang.

green chile sauce.

this was an attempt to recreate the chile cheese fries that m and i had when we went to santa fe a few years ago. i have to say that they turned out quite well. especially when paired with margaritas.

green chile sauce:
-4 peppers, i used a combination of anaheim and poblanos

-1 onion, diced

-1 clove garlic, minced

- 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

-2 cups vegetable broth

roast the peppers whole over the flame of a gas stove until the skins are charred and blistered. put whole peppers in bowl and cover with plastic wrap. let sit for 10-15 minutes.

saute onion, garlic and jalapeno in a saucepan with olive oil.

peel skins off peppers and rinse. then, seed and dice the peppers and add to the onion/garlic/jalapeno mixture. add broth and let simmer for 20ish minutes. then blend until pureed but still chunky.

this is really good over homemade cheese fries (as pictured in that gloppy mess above) or on pretty much anything else...

Penne alla vodka and stuffed mushrooms

This pasta dish is from a cookbook I've mentioned before--Vegetarian Classics--that I really love but sometimes forget about among my zillion or so cookbooks. I'm now inspired to make her other pasta recipes, because this one is both easy and delicious.

I had the stuffed mushrooms at a party a few years ago, and they've since become my go-to dish for a fall or winter potluck. Read Giada's recipe here.

Penne alla vodka:

2 T. olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1/4 t. red pepper flakes (I used quite a bit more)
1 1/2 c. canned crushed tomatoes or tomato puree
1/4 c. vodka (I used more but then fretted that it tasted too vodka-y)
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. heavy cream
1 pound penne
2 T. minced fresh parsley
Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Make pasta.
In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the oil; add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, salt, and vodka, and gently simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in cream and keep warm until the pasta is ready. Drain pasta, return to pot, and mix in sauce. Sprinkle with parsley and cheese.