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 ....

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.

Saag Paneer

This recipe is from my friend Ixchel, cook and roommate extraordinaire. Sadly, she no longer lives in Minneapolis so Mary and I were on our own this time. Thanks to Angelica for organic spinach fresh off the farm and to my mom for a never-ending supply of tomatoes. Delicious and nutritious. Especially good if you listen to Erasure while you make it.

Paneer:

1/2 gallon whole milk

2-3 tbsp white vinegar

Saag:

2 pounds fresh spinach, trimmed, washed and coarsely chopped

1 1/2 tsp ground fenugreek

1 jalapeno, minced

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 inch piece of fresh ginger, finely grated

1 cup finely chopped tomatoes

1 1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cornmeal

2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/4 tsp cinnamon

-To make the paneer, heat the milk in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat.

-Meanwhile, place a colander in the sink and line it with 3-4 layers of cheesecloth.

-When the milk begins to boil, turn the heat to low. Quickly add the vinegar and stir. The mixture will curdle at this point, the whey separating from the curds.

-Empty the mixture into the colander and drain out the whey (which you can save for other uses). Twist the cheesecloth tightly to form a ball. Squeeze out as much liquid as you can.

-Place the ball, still in the cloth, on a cookie sheet, top it with another cookie sheet and put some giant books on top of it. Let sit for about 45 minutes.

-Meanwhile, make the saag.

-Bring one cup of water to a boil in a large pan. Add the spinach, fenugreek, and jalapeno and cook covered for 15-20 minutes.

-In a separate pan, saute the onion, ginger, tomatoes and remaining ingredients until thickened.

-Blend or mash the spinach, depending on what consistency you like.

-Combine the onion/tomato/spice mixture with the spinach.

-Slice the paneer into rectangular chunks and add to the saag.

-Heat and serve with rice or naan.

Quinoa bowl

I recently got an email suggesting all sorts of new cookbooks, most of which were vegan and gluten-free. I used to buy cookbooks on a whim, but now I'm more selective (due to financial and spatial constraints), so I checked out most of the list from the library. Can we talk for a minute about the Hennepin County Public Library? I cannot say enough good about this library system. It is AMAZING! Thank you, wonderful HCPL! They have an amazing selection, a fantastic Interlibrary Loan system (way better than the one at the U, FYI), and FREE use of incredible databases. Unbelievable! I.love.this.library.

Anyway, OK, I altered a recipe from The Conscious Cook, which is a very pretty cookbook (tons of photos) but slightly more "chef-y" than I like (e.g., he uses ring molds and things for plating. Plating!). Still, there are many delicious-looking recipes in the book and I'm excited to make a few.

This was supposed to be a quinoa, avocado, and sweet potato timbale with roasted tomatillo dressing, but turned into a bowl of quinoa + yam + the dressing.


1) Make some quinoa.

2) Cut up a sweet potato (I used a yam) into small cubes and saute in a little coconut oil until crispy.

3) Roast 2 tomatillos (10 minutes or so in a 375 oven). Combine tomatillos, 3 T. olive oil, 1 T. rice vinegar, 1/4 c. chopped cilantro, and 1 t. light agave nectar (and salt and pepper) in a blender. Process until smooth.

4) Combine everything in a bowl! Add fried tortilla strips, avocado, etc., if you want.

(Apologies for the terrible photo. I am keeping true to my bad photography on both blogs!)

Barley risotto

My favorite aisle in the Lund's across the street from me is the frozen food one, due solely to the fact that the frozen food aisle is where they stash their cart of "sale" items. What a bounty I've found in this ever-changing cart: organic apple juice-sweetened dried cherries (I bought 15 packs for $1 each!), sunflower butter, fancy pasta sauce, and on and on. It seems like many of their more obscure items (often organic/"natural") end up in this cart, making it the first place I go when I'm at the store. Anyway, about 9 months ago, I bought cartons of this broth, never having used mushroom broth before and not really knowing what I'd do with it...but it seemed like such a good deal (I think they were $1 each) that I put them in my basket and figured I'd come up with something later.

Well, the other day I decided to clean out the cupboard and realized that they were set to expire on July 27, so I made two batches of this vegan risotto (from Robin Robertson's Vegan Planet cookbook)--it's simple and delicious.

1/4 c. dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 1 cup very hot water for 20 minutes
4 c. mushroom stock
1/2 c. white wine
2 T. olive oil
1/4 c. minced shallots
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 c. pearl barley
2 c. chopped cremini mushrooms
2 t. minced fresh marjoram leaves (first time using these--such an amazing scent!)
2 t. minced fresh parsley leaves
2 t. minced fresh chive
Salt and black pepper

1) Drain the porcinis, reserving the soaking liquid. Chop the mushrooms and set aside.

2) Combine the stock, reserved mushroom liquid, and wine in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer.

3) In a large skillet or saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant and slightly softened. Add the barley and both kinds of mushrooms, and stir until covered with oil.

4) Add 1/2 c. of the hot liquid and simmer, uncovered and stirring frequently, until the liquid is almost absorbed. Continue adding the stock mixture 1/2 c. at a time, until the barley is tender, about 30 minutes.

5) About 5 minutes before the risotto is finished, stir in the herbs and salt and pepper.

Serve hot!

Southwest Black Bean and Roasted Sweet Potato Burgers

Like the chia seed pudding, I delayed posting this recipe because I feel sheepish about its source. But, these are so delicious that I figured I'd swallow my pride and post. Don't judge me, WFDM!

Southwest Black Bean and Roasted Sweet Potato Burgers
2 c. cooked black beans, mashed (I don't go overboard with the mashing because I like some texture.)
Sweet potatoes to equal 2 cups when peeled and cut into small cubes (I used yams the first time and liked the appearance better.)
2 t. olive oil
Salt
3 oz. yellow onion, diced finely
2 teaspoons garlic
3 T. tamari
2 t. ground cumin
pepper
7 oz. cooked rice (I used brown)
1.5 t. vegetarian Worcestershire sauce (I used a bit more because I love this stuff!)
1 ounce cornmeal, plus 1 ounce from dredging.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the mashed black beans in a bowl. Peel and cut the sweet potatoes, dropping them in cold water as you cut them. Drain well and toss with olive oil and salt. Spread them out in an even layer on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until tender. Toss occasionally.

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add the garlic and onion, and cook until lightly browned. Add the onions to the bowl of beans. Stir in the tamari, cumin, and salt & pepper to taste. Add the cooked rice, sweet potatoes, W. sauce, and 1 oz. of cornmeal. Mix well and adjust the seasonings. Form into patties and dredge lightly in the remaining 1 oz. of cornmeal. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat and add more olive oil. Add the burgers and brown lightly on each side. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.

Delicious with Veganise and avocado (or guac!). I make a bunch of patties and put the extras in the freezer (on a cutting board) to solidify their shape. Then I wrap them individually in plastic and freeze in a tupperware. (I do biscuits like this too and it's great--pre-formed!)

Rice and bean bowl

This very easy dish was inspired by a delicious meal that I had at Jaime's a few months ago. (Jaime, post on the blog!!) We had intended to make burritos but realized too late that we didn't have any tortillas, so we combined everything in a bowl and voila, had a quick and healthy dinner!

This the version I made for lunch today:

Brown rice
Pinto beans
Yam
Chipotle veganaise
Cilantro and avocado
Salt and pepper

Cube a sweet potato or yam into small chunks and saute in coconut oil for 10-12 minutes. (You could also roast it.) In a saucepan, heat a little olive oil and fry some onion and garlic until slightly browned; add pinto or black beans, a little cumin, and cook until heated. Add the rice into the pot to heat. Make a chipotle-mayo by adding a little adobo sauce (or a chopped chipotle) to some veganaise (or regs mayo). Combine it all in a bowl! Top with avocado, sprouts, cilantro, other veggies, etc.

Soba and Fried Tofu Salad

I've been feeling really uninspired to cook lately, and whenever that happens, I buy a new cookbook. So, I picked up Jeanne Lemlin's Simple Vegetarian Pleasures at Magers and Quinn the other day (with credit I'd forgotten I had!)--I'm pretty excited about these truly simple recipes!

She recommends serving this one cold, but since I was hungry and couldn't wait (plus have a thing about temperature), I ate it hot. Probably delicious either way!

1 pound extra-firm tofu
1 T. canola oil
1 T. tamari or shoyu
1 pound soba noodles

Dressing:
3 T. tamari or shoyu
3 T. sesame oil
2 T. brown sugar
1 t. hot chili oil
1 T. rice vinegar or red wine vinegar
2 t. grated ginger

1 T. sesame seeds
2 large scallions, thinly sliced
4 cups spinach leaves, washed, then stacked and julienned

1. Fry up the tofu however you like. (I cubed mine and cooked it in a bit of oil and the 1 T. shoyu until it was fairly crispy.)
2. In the meantime, cook the soba noodles.
3. Make the dressing!
4. In a large bowl, combine tofu, soba noodles, and the dressing. Top each serving with a big handful of spinach, some sesame seeds, and a few scallions.

So. easy.

(The photo is heavy on the sesame seeds!)

Bryant Terry's Jamaican Veggie Patties

I am a huge fan of Bryant Terry and have been trying to work my way through his Vegan Soul Kitchen for the past year or so. He's an amazing chef and badass food justice activist; as with Heidi Swanson's stuff, I don't think you can go wrong with a BT recipe!

This one, however, was a bit of a stretch for me since I am really inexperienced with making pastry dough and definitely "froze" (instead of "chilled") the coconut oil, resulting in an overworked dough. (I really tried to incorporate that very cold coconut oil!)

Anyway, they still turned out pretty well, and as Jaime noted, it would be really easy to fill them with lots of other options.

Pastry:
1 1/2 c. unbleached white flour, chilled
1 c. whole wheat pastry flour, chilled
2 t. turmeric
1/2 t. fine sea salt
3/4 c. chilled coconut butter
2 t. apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. plus 2 T. ice water

Filling:
1 T. coconut oil
1/2 c. 1/4-in. diced yellow onion
1/8 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ground allspice
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/4 t. red pepper flakes
1/8 t. cayenne
Coarse sea salt
2 large cloves garlic, minced
3/4 c. coconut milk
1/4 c. 1/4-in. diced carrots
1/4 c. 1/4-in. diced yellow potatoes
1/2 c. fresh green peas (or frozen)--I don't like cooked peas, so omitted this
1/2 c. fresh sweet corn (or frozen)
1/2 c. shredded cabbage
1 T. minced fresh thyme
1 T. fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/2 t. freshly ground white pepper

To make the pastry, mix the flours, turmeric, and salt in a chilled bowl. Add the coconut butter to the mixture and rub with your fingertips until it resembles fine sand (approx. 10 minutes). I used a pastry cutter because the feel of dry flour on my fingers reminded me of dried clay. UGH. Combine the vinegar and water, and add 1 T. at a time to the dough mix. Do not overwork. (But ack! How do you know if you're overworking the dough!? Thoughts?) Squeeze the dough into a tight ball, flatten, cover in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

To make the filling, heat the coconut oil in a saute-pan and add everything up to the salt. Saute for 8-10 minutes until the onion is caramelized, stirring occasionally. (This smelled absolutely amazing, by the way. Such good spices!) Add the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the coconut milk, carrots, and potatoes, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until the veggies are tender (10-12 minutes). Add in everything else and cook for a few more minutes. Season well and set aside until your pastry is ready.

Preheat oven to 350F and roll out dough. Since my dough was impossible to roll, Jaime and I warmed it in our hands and just made individual patties. Bryant Terry recommends cutting out six rounds, filling 'em with 2 tablespoons, and then folding them over into half-moons. (We just laid a round on top of a filled one, and pinched to seal.)

Coconut butter a baking sheet (or use parchment paper) and bake for 35 minutes. Serve with hot sauce!

Variation on a Heidi

Steve and I really like Heidi Swanson's TLTs and have recently been changing it up slightly.

Spread veganaise on a slice of bread (we like Ezekiel's sesame one), add three slices of the tempeh, some avocado, salad mix with herbs (dill, cilantro, etc.), sprouts, and salt & pepper. So delicious and so easy!

slow cooker buffalo chicken

Ok bloggies, this one showcases my trashy side. But with my crock pot only recently returned from a two-year hiatus at a friend's house, I had to do something. And nothing says trashy like a crock pot and buffalo chicken. The sandwiches were pretty tasty and, for you meat eaters, made largely from stuff you probably have in the pantry.

1 T olive oil
1lb chicken thighs, cut into 1/1/2" pieces
1lb chicken breasts, cut into 1/1/2" pieces
1 onion, diced small
3 garlic cloves
1 red bell pepper
1 can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup hot sauce
3 T Worcestershire sauce
3 T yellow mustard
1 T molasses

1.) Brown the chicken thighs, then breasts (5 min). Transfer to crock pot.
2.) In the skillet, add onion, garlic, bell pepper and cook until soft. Add 1/4 c water and scrape up all the yummy brown stuff. Put it in the crock pot.
3.) Add tomatoes, hot sauce, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and molasses to the crock pot. Cover and cook on high until chicken is tender (about 4 hrs). Shred chicken (Martha suggests using a potato masher. Absent one of these fine tools, I used two forks) and slop it on a bun.
4.) Eat it with a salad if you're feeling fancy.

Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes

OK, so I've never actually had a crab cake (and neither has Isa Chandra Moskowitz), so I can't tell how much these are like their inspiration. Regardless, they are delicious! This recipe is from Moskowitz's wonderful cookbook Vegan Brunch that I bought a year ago in San Francisco. I liked these so much that I'm thinking about making them again for dinner tonight!

Cakes:
8 oz. tempeh
1 c. water
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. olive oil
1 bay leaf
3 T. Vegenaise
1 T. whole-grain mustard (she says stone-ground Dijon is fine, which is what I used)
1 T. hot sauce
1 T. red wine vinegar
1/4 c. very finely chopped red bell pepper (not at all local right now, I know!)
3/4 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. salt
Black pepper
1.5 cups panko breadcrumbs, plus more for dredging
1 finely chopped nori sheet or 1 T. kelp granules for fishiness (this is optional and I skipped it)

Remoulade:
(Mix everything together.)
2 T. Vegenaise
1 T. whole-grain or Dijon mustard
1 T. hot sauce
2 t. capers (try not to get too much brine)

Serve with lemon wedges--this is key!

1. Crumble tempeh into a sauce pan in little bits, and add water, soy sauce (I used shoyu), oil, and bay leaf. (She notes that the tempeh won't be fully submerged, and that's fine.) Cover and bring to a boil. Let boil for 12-15 minutes, until most of the water has evaporated. Stir once during boiling.
2. Transfer tempeh to a mixing bowl, remove the bay leaf, and mash with a fork. Cool for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. She notes: "Make sure the tempeh is barely warm before you proceed, or the cakes may fall apart when you cook them." Add everything except the bread crumbs and mix well. Add the breadcrumbs (and nori, if using) and use your hands to mix.
3. Heat a thin layer of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Scoop a little less than 1/4 c. batter into your hands and form a ball. (We used a lot of pressure to make the balls so that they wouldn't fall apart.) Flatten into a patty, dredge in the extra panko, and fry for about 4-5 minutes on a side. Done! Drizzle with remoulade. Delish!

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.

village style potatoes and carrots

This recipe is from Ixchel and making it always reminds me of cooking on 10th Ave. It's easy and hearty and absolutely delicious.

Village Style Potatoes and Carrots

3-4 carrots, peeled and diced

4-5 potatoes, peeled and diced

1 cup frozen peas

1 Tbsp fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic

2 tomatoes, finely minced or grated

1 1/2 tsp garam masala

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp cayenne

1 1/2 tsp salt

saute onion, garlic, and ginger in oil until just beginning to brown at the edges. put in the spices, salt, and tomatoes and stir fry on medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes, the tomatoes will break down and the sauce will thicken. add the potatoes and carros, stir, add about 1/2 cup of water and cover the pan. let cook on low, covered, until vegetables are tender. add peas and cook until heated through. serve over rice with plenty of the Super Fantastic Yogurt Sauce.

Super Fantastic Yogurt Sauce

1 1/2 cup plain full fat yogurt

1 clove garlic, very finely minced

pinch paprika

1/2-1 tsp salt

Ginger-miso soup with noodles

I really like soup, and I really like Jeanne Lemlin's cookbook (see gingerbread post below), but I've never been a big fan of miso soup, despite its amazing nutritional qualities. (I guess I don't like plenty of nutritious foods, like eggs. But anyway.) Enter JL's ginger-miso soup: this is a delicious soup! The key, I think, is to use sweet white miso, which has a milder flavor than some other types of miso.

From Vegetarian Classics:
8 oz. udon or linguine (I use udon, but want to experiment next time with soba)
1/4 c. tamari
1/2 c. roughly sliced gingerroot (with skin on)
4 oz. firm tofu, cut into 1/2-in. cubes
2 scallions, thinly sliced (I use more)
1/4 c. white (sweet) miso
1 T. sesame oil

1. Boil water for the udon and cook until tender but not mushy--approx. 6 minutes. Drain in a colander, rinse under cold running water, drain again, and then set aside.
2. In the same pot (make sure it's fairly large), bring 6 cups of water plus the tamari and ginger to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the ginger with a slotted spoon and compost.
3. Stir in the tofu and half the scallions. Lower the heat to very low. NOTE: I'm not a fan of raw tofu, so I fry mine up in some sesame oil and tamari until they are crisp little cubes, and then I add to the soup. But if you like raw tofu, all the better since it saves a step.
4. Place the miso in a small bowl. Remove about 1/2 c. broth and stir it into the miso to dilute it and prevent lumping. Pour the mixture into the broth. Stir in the sesame oil and udon. Let the udon heat through, but do NOT let the soup boil after the miso is added. (To do so would destroy some of its aforementioned nutritive value!)
5. Garnish with remaining scallions and serve!

Chili!

Although I wouldn't really consider myself a chili fan, I was really craving some the other day, so turned to Heidi Swanson (of course!). This recipe is a beast! It's actually quite easy, but she isn't kidding when she says to use your largest pot--it makes so.much.food. Which is great. Anyway, I'm excited about adding this to my rotation. Enjoy!

Roasted Root Veggies with Garlic-Lime Sauce, and Double Quinoa Cornbread

Megan's latest entry inspired me to (finally) add these two dishes that I've been meaning to post for a few weeks. Both are from Vegan Soul Kitchen (yay, Bryant Terry!)--I think this might be my favorite cookbook. Yum!

OK, roasted root veggies:
Pick a bunch of your favorites and cut 'em up. (I use approx. 1/2 pound each of carrots, parsnips, turnips, sweet potatoes, two kinds of yams, and sometimes celery root or rutabaga.) Toss them with olive oil and sea salt, and roast in a preheated 450 degree oven for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes for even cooking.

Garlic-lime dipping sauce:
Roast garlic per Megan's instructions and then enjoy squeezing it out of the peel. (This is so incredibly gratifying to me.) Add 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 T. minced cilantro, 1/4 c. freshly squeezed lime juice, 1/4 c. water, and 1/4 t. coarse ground sea salt. Combine in a blender and add to the veggies. Done!

Quinoa-quinoa cornbread:
5 T. corn oil
1/4 c. quinoa
3/4 c. cornmeal
1/2 c. quinoa flour (kind of pricey but worth it!)
1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 c. unflavored rice milk
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. agave nectar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and grease an 8-inch square bread pan. Toast the quinoa over medium heat until the grains start to pop (about 3 minutes); transfer to a large bowl. Add the rest of the dry stuff and whisk to combine. In another bowl, whisk together the liquids and the 5 T. of corn oil. Transfer the bread pan to the oven to preheat until sizzling (about 5 minutes). While the pan is heating up, combine the wet mixture with the dry with a large spoon, and quickly mix just until the dry ingredients are moist. (BT's warning: Do NOT overmix!) Remove the pan from the oven and add the batter. Bake until set in the middle, approx. 15-18 minutes.

pierogis

these are based on the roasted yam pierogi recipe in the rebar cookbook, i made some minor changes and improvised on a second filling. we ate them with pickled beets, horseradish and sour cream and they were amazing.

filling #1 (roasted yam+gouda):

2lbs yams

2 tbsp butter

3 leeks, mostly whites, chopped

1 tsp salt

1/2lb smoked gouda, grated

1/2 tsp black pepper

-preheat oven to 400. scrub yams and poke with a fork. place on an oiled baking pan, add 1 cup of water to the pan and roast in the oven until very soft and puffy. cool, then peel or mash until smooth.

-while yams are roasting, saute leeks and salt in butter until lightly golden.

-combine leeks, mashed yams, grated cheese and chives. season with salt and pepper. refrigerate until ready to use. can be made ahead of time.

filling #2 (potato+swiss):

2lbs potatoes

1/2 tsp salt

1/2lb swiss cheese, grated

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup minced chives

-boil potatoes until soft, then mash. combine all ingredients. refrigerate until ready to use. can be made ahead of time.

dough:

4 cups flour

3/4 tsp salt

4 egg yolks

1 cup boiling water

2 tbsp vegetable oil

-mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. add remaining ingredients and mix until a smooth dough forms. cover and let rest at room temperature for 30 min.

-divide into quarters and roll out until about 1/8" thick or less. use a glass with a 3" diameter to cut dough into rounds. fill with a good teaspoonful of filling and press edges firmly to seal.

-boil pierogis until they begin to rise to the surface of the water, about 5 minutes. remove with a slotted spoon, drain, and toss with melted butter.

-this recipe makes lots and lots of pierogis, our freezer is filled with pierogis so i can look forward to a winter full of pierogis which makes it worth all the hand rolling and filling and folding that this recipe entails. to freeze, line uncooked pierogi on parchment paper on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. then store in an airtight container.

Hell's Kitchen Spicy Black Beans

I'm finally getting back to cooking after a two-week adjustment period to being back in school. I still don't have my schedule down and have been eating a lot of Punch and PB&J. (Although let's be honest: I ate Punch 3 times a week in the summer.) But I digress.

Whenever a visitor is in town, we usually end up at Hell's Kitchen, which is generally pretty delicious but sometimes a bit too buttery/egg-y/creamy for me. (Your jam, Megan!) Anyway, I love their black beans and so borrowed the Hell's Kitchen cookbook from Steve's sister to make up a batch. My favorite food blogger, Heidi Swanson, once wrote that she typically makes a pot of beans every Sunday to eat throughout the week. Pretty sure I'm going to be doing the same thing with these black beans...so. delicious. Good job, Hell's Kitchen!

Spicy Black Beans
Note: I halved the recipe, and in so doing, went out on a limb and experimented with quantities of ingredients! (I never deter from exact measures usually, but was feeling adventurous.) Also, I replaced the butter and chicken broth (noted in recipe); as I was doing this, it reminded me of a time at the Chicago Diner when a friend asked for "real" cheese, to which the waiter replied (huffily), "Everything we serve here is real." Not so for buttery sticks and no chicken base--fake fake fake! But I'm okay with that in this case. Again with the digression.

1 pound dried black beans (2 cups)
6 cups rich chicken broth or water (I used Better Than Bouillon's "No Chicken" base.)
3/4 c. (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces (I used 1 teaspoon of "Buttery Sticks" vegan butter. I actually think the butter could be omitted entirely.)
3/4 c. minced white onion (I used a bit more)
4 tablespoons Honey-Chipotle BBQ Sauce (recipe below)
2 T. dark chili powder
2 T. ground cumin
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 t. crushed red pepper flakes
2 t. sea salt

Soak the beans for 4 hours or overnight. Place soaked beans into a large pot and add the broth/water, making sure the beans are covered by at least two inches. Add everything except the salt. (I didn't read the recipe carefully enough and salted the hell out of 'em in the beginning. The result = SALTY beans. Too salty. Salt afterward!) Heat to a boil over medium heat (STIR so the beans don't get stuck to the bottom of the pan), and then simmer uncovered (stirring a lot) for 1 to 1.5 hours, checking frequently to see if they need additional water. Beans should be firm but chewable.

Honey-Chipotle BBQ Sauce
(Note: I did this to taste with the measurements--it seems flexible enough. Also, I didn't have Rose's lime juice, so just used a lemon. Totally fine.)
2 T. peanut oil
1/3 c. honey
1 (7-ounce) can chipotle peppers, with adobo sauce
3 T. balsamic vinegar
1/3 c. Rose's lime juice (any citrus/acid is probably fine)
1/4 c. coarsely chopped cilantro
3 T. coarse-ground mustard (I used straight-up Dijon)
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 T. black pepper
1 T. ground cumin
1 T. sea salt

Put everything into a food processor or blender and combine. (I actually shook everything together in a jar, but that only worked because I'd processed the chipotle peppers a few days before.)

Put sauce in a container with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate.

more fun with eggplant!

What's that? The last eggplant dish I posted sucked, and you're still swimming in eggplant?
Try this- it's really tasty.
http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/01/rigatoni-with-eggplant-puree/