A day late and a dollar short, but the shrimp was delicious!

Okay, let me first begin with an apology.  I’ve been meaning to share this recipe for a couple of days and obviously, that didn’t happen.  The days just got away from me.  This recipe is just too good to keep to myself and it’s about time I sat down and shared it! 

We’ve had a couple of really hot days the past few days – fairly certain that’s why all those storms ripped through the country during the same time – and I have not really been interested in doing cooking that requires a lot of my time.  So, I was looking for easy and quick recipes that would definitely be delicious.  I found this one – Black Bean, Corn and Shrimp Salad - in my homemade cookbook.  It’s from a Cooking Light magazine, July 2005.  Seriously, this is a 5-minute dinner.  That’s a win in my book!  And, it was delicious!  Double WIN!

The hardest part of making this dinner is probably opening the can of black beans and getting them rinsed.  Ha!  The salad calls for bottled salsa; but of course, if you’re feeling like you want to put more into it, you can always substitute homemade salsa for bottled – I don’t usually buy bottled salsa myself as hubby is particular about salsa.  I have found some really delicious salsa in the produce section of our grocery store – that’s the closest to homemade and you don’t have to worry about random strange ingredients you can’t identify.  I opted for medium heat because we like spicy foods but if that’s not for you, definitely use mild.  You could probably even use a more exotic salsa that just tomato too – I bet a mango salsa would be fabulous with this!  Just pick your favorite and go with it. 

The recipe says to serve the salad with toasted pita wedges.  I opted for a baguette, warmed in the oven for 5 minutes, and brie.  Let me tell you how much I love brie.  LOVE!  And, the bread can be used to mop up the juices left on your plate – YUM!  Rave reviews from both Things 1 and 2 – it’s so easy, maybe I’ll have THEM make it next time. J

Quick, easy, inexpensive and delicious – that’s what dinner should be.  This salad fits that bill.  Make it, enjoy it and savor your extra time doing something else like walking your dog, helping your kid study for a math test, reading a book or just plain sitting down on the couch.  Here’s the recipe.  Now go relax!

Happy cooking, eating and drinking! 

Black Bean, Corn, and Shrimp Salad

1 tablespoon chili powder

½ teaspoon garlic salt

½ teaspoon ground cumin

1 ½ pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

Cooking spray

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided

1 ½ cups frozen whole kernel corn, thawed

¾ cup bottled salsa

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1.  Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

2.  Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl.  Add shrimp; toss to coat.

prepped and ready to go!

3.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Add shrimp; sauté 3 minutes or until done.  Add 1 tablespoon lime juice.  Remove shrimp from pan.  Add corn to pan; sauté 1 minute.  Stir in salsa, cilantro, and beans; cook 30 seconds or until thoroughly heated.  Stir in 1 tablespoon 1 lime juice.  Serve shrimp over bean mixture.

hey, where's the salad?

Yum!

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1/3 cup shrimp and about 2/3 cup bean mixture)

Calories 354 (12% from fat); Fat 4.8g (sat 0.7g, mono 0.7g, poly 2.4g); Protein 43.3g; Carb 34.9g; Fiber 9.1g; Cholesterol 259mg; Iron 7.6mg; Sodium 827mg; Calcium 148mg

Happiness on a plate....

Well, we finished our 5 days of vegetarian dinners and Thing 2 has been begging for Bulgogi for the past couple of months so it seemed right to make it.  Seriously, she’s been begging – on her knees and everything!  She’s such a drama queen.  Anyway, if you don’t know what Bulgogi is, it simply is seriously awesome Korean barbecue.  I have had the pleasure of eating authentic, homemade Bulgogi and this recipe is the real deal.  I found the recipe in, of all places, The Barbecue Bible which, by the way, is one of the best places to find awesome grilling recipes. 

I have made this a few times so it doesn’t fit the “new recipe” requirement but it is quite fabulous and well worth the time and effort and definitely worth sharing.  The time and effort isn’t great – there is some chopping – but there is a small marinating time requirement (1 to 2 hours) so be prepared for that.  Grilling takes such little time you’ll wonder if you were actually standing in front of your grill!  Seriously, this is when a gas grill is perfect because you heat it up, cook, and turn the grill off.  I love charcoal grilling but measuring coals, lighting, waiting for the coals to ash over all for 5 minutes of grilling time seems a little over the top and slightly wasteful to me.  If you have no choice but charcoal, I suggest you find additional things to grill – like pineapple for dessert or something.  Make use of all those coals!

The best part about Bulgogi is the eating part.  You wrap up the meat in lettuce, dip in sauce and nosh away.  So simple, so sweet, so freakin’ GOOD!  As I said before, I have made it a few times and not just for us – I’ve made it for company (read: parents and really excellent friends) and have had RAVE reviews.  It really is that delicious.  I hope you take the time to try it out.  Enough of my typing, I’m drooling and need to get some Bulgogi into my tummy. 

Annyŏngki kaseyo!  That means goodbye in Korean.  It’s pronounced (roughly) ahn-nyong-key  kah-say-yo (kah as if you were from Boston and you needed to pahk the cah in the garahge).

Here are the recipes.  Happy cooking, eating and drinking!

Korean Sesame-Grilled Beef (aka Bulgogi)

Serves 6

For the beef and marinade:

2 pounds beef tenderloin tips, or boneless sirloin

½ cup soy sauce

1/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons sake, rice wine, or dry sherry

2 tablespoons Asian (dark) sesame oil

8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

4 scallions, both white and green parts, trimmed and minced

2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For serving:

Garlic Kebabs, optional but I highly recommend them (recipe follows)

Asian pear dipping sauce (recipe follows)

1 head romaine lettuce, separated into leaves, rinsed, and spun dry

1.  If using tenderloin tips, butterfly them to obtain broad flat pieces of meat; each should be about 4 inches long and wide and ¼ inch thick.  If using the sirloin, cut it across the grain into ¼-inch slices.  Whichever cut you use, pound the slices between two sheets of plastic wrap with the side of a cleaver or with a rolling pin to flatten them to a thickness of 1/8 inch.  Place the meat in a large nonreactive baking dish and set aside while you prepare the marinade.

2.  Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a small bowl and whisk until the sugar is dissolved.  Pour the mixture over the meat in the baking dish and toss thoroughly to coat.  Cover and let marinate, in the refrigerator, for 1 to 2 hours.

3.  Preheat the grill to high.

4.  When ready to cook, oil the grill grate.  Add the garlic kebabs (if using) to the hot grate and grill for 4 to 5 minutes.  Then, arrange the pieces of meat on the grate and grill, turning with tongs, until nicely browned on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes per side.  Turn the garlic kebabs as the meat cooks.  Transfer the meat to a platter when it is done and unwrap the garlic.

5.  Pour the dipping sauce into 6 small bowls, one for each diner.  To eat, take a piece of meat and a grilled garlic clove and wrap them in a lettuce leaf.  Dip the leaf in the dipping sauce and eat at once.

happiness on a plate

Garlic Kebabs

2 to 3 heads garlic (for 24 large cloves)

1 tablespoon Asian (dark) sesame oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1.  Preheat the grill to high.

2.  Break the heads of garlic into cloves.  Peel each clove.  Skewer the garlic cloves crosswise on toothpicks, 3 cloves to a toothpick.  Brush the cloves with sesame oil and season with salt and pepper.  Loosely wrap each kebab in aluminum foil.

mmm...garlic....

3.  When ready to cook, arrange the packets on the hot grate and grill the garlic until tender, about 5 minutes per side, turning with tongs to ensure even cooking.  Remove the foil the last few minutes to allow the garlic to brown lightly.

Serves 4 to 8

Asian pear Dipping Sauce

½ cup soy sauce

½ cup sake or dry sherry

¼ cup sugar

1 small Asian pear, peeled, cored and finely chopped

4 scallions, both white and green parts, trimmed and finely chopped

¼ cup finely chopped onion

2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

Combine all ingredients in a medium-size bowl and stir until thoroughly mixed and the sugar is dissolved.  Divide the sauce among as many small bowls as there are people, so each person has his own for dipping, and serve immediately.

Makes about 2 ½ cups

No tomatoes were harmed in the making of this recipe

Okay, it’s our final night of vegetarian dinners and after last night’s slightly cheating recipe that was YUMMY and DELICIOUS, I decided I better get back to the original plan and make something new.  I had originally planned to do a different recipe tonight with brown rice and chickpeas but then, I got to thinking that I haven’t done pasta yet and tonight seemed like a good one for it.  No, I didn’t just buy a new shape and dump pasta sauce on it and call it dinner.  I really did decide to do something new and different.  And, I decided that the tomato content should be exceptionally low since I’ve been torturing Thing 2 with tomatoes in every dish since I started cooking vegetarian.  She deserves a break and I don’t mean I’m going to go buy her a Kit-Kat® bar.  Although, that would be nice of me, wouldn’t it? 

So, I perused my newly created cookbook and found a pasta recipe that does not use tomatoes at all (no, tomato paste does not count because it’s such a small amount anyway).  The recipe comes from a Cooking Light magazine, probably 1999 (For some reason, Cooking Light doesn’t print the issue year on each page and this recipe happened to be over multiple pages separated by an advertisement; thus, no year but the contributor of the recipe received an award in 1998 so it seems fair to assume that this issue would have been not long after that.).  The sauce, if you will, is made up of bell peppers, some onion and garlic and various seasonings.  Add to it some olives, capers and lemon rind, and you’ve got a positively interesting pasta.  The idea of the dish struck me as Puttanesca style with use of the olives and capers and, I thought it would pair nicely with a Sauvignon Blanc we had in the wine cellar. (I also thought that I wanted to have a glass of wine with dinner instead of tea – perhaps that thought prejudiced my search?  Who cares?  Wine is delicious.  Moving on.)

The longest part of putting this recipe together is the bell peppers themselves.  You need to allot yourself at least an hour for the entire process - chopping the peppers, slicing the onion and mincing the garlic and then the braising of the vegetables.  Of course, you cook the pasta while the peppers are braising and you can do the rest of the prep work at the same time – then, you just throw everything together in a bowl and Voila!  Dinner! 

And, it was quite delicious!  The final touch is a dash of crushed red pepper and it is entirely possible that I dashed a little too much because there were some tears at the dinner table.  Hey, it’s not my fault – it’s a family trait.  I can’t help it.  Just ask my mom about the Thanksgiving with the super spicy green beans.  That’s a story I will pass down to my grandchildren.  The best thing about this dish is that you can do all the chopping and prep work while the peppers are braising and then it’s all just tossing it together.  Make sure you select a large enough bowl so you can toss without spilling – unless, of course, part of your cooking charm is the mess you make in the kitchen then go right ahead and spill.  And, if you’re like me, you have teenagers to clean it all up!  Chores are great!  Wait, don’t take that to mean I’m messy.  I’m not, really.  I’m not!

Our final night of vegetarian dinners was definitely a success, although husband was a little worried about the cheese being an animal product.  Then we had the discussion about the differences between vegetarian and vegan.  All good learning!  And the wine?  The sauvignon blanc complimented the flavors in the pasta perfectly – especially since I overdashed the red pepper. J  Tomorrow, we’re back to eating meat (bulgogi – don’t worry, I’ll share the recipe!) but now I know that I don’t always have to rely on meat to feed the crew.  Gotta change it up and do different stuff and keep it interesting at the dinner table.  And, I will still try new vegetarian recipes and let you know about it.  I promise.

Here are the recipes.  Enjoy them!  Happy cooking, eating and drinking!

Pasta with Braised Bell Peppers, Capers, and Olives

4 cups Braised Bell Peppers, undrained (recipe follows)

4 cups hot cooked penne (about 8 ounces uncooked)

¾ cup (3 ounces) grated aged Asiago or Parmesan cheese

¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

¼ cup chopped pitted kalamata olives

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons capers

1 tablespoon grated lemon rind

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

¼ teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

Dash of crushed red pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl; toss well to coat.

From bowl to plate - YUM!

Yield: 5 servings (serving size: 2 cups)

Calories 340 (26% from fat); Fat 9.8g (sat 3.7g, mono 4.1g, poly 1.2g); Protein 14g; Carbohydrates 51.1g; Fiber 5.4g; Cholesterol 18mg; Iron 4.7mg; Sodium 840mg; Calcium 232mg

Braised Bell Peppers

Olive oil-flavored cooking spray

4 cups red bell pepper strips (about 1 ¼ pounds)

4 cups yellow bell pepper strips (about 1 ¼ pounds)

2 ½ cups vertically sliced onion

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon aniseed, crushed (optional)

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups water

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

¼ teaspoon black pepper

Place a large non-stick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat.  Add the bell peppers, onion, salt, aniseed, and garlic; sauté 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in the water and tomato paste.  Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until bell peppers are soft.  Stir in basil, vinegar, and black pepper.

lovely peppers and onions hanging out with the garlic

simmering and simmering and simmering

Note: Leftover bell peppers can be stored for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.

Yield: 4 cups (serving size: ½ cup)

Calories 45 (12% from fat); Fat 0.6g (sat 0.1g, mono 0.1g, poly 0.3g); protein 1.5g; Carbohydrate 9.6g; fiber 2.5g, Cholesterol 0mg; iron 1.5mg; sodium 153mg, Calcium 17mg

A short-cut to satisfying a craving....

Alright, so tonight’s recipe isn’t new.  I know I’m supposed to make new recipes but, well, I just wasn’t feeling like it tonight.  So I opted for a delicious recipe that I’ve made a few times before because it was easy and guaranteed to be good.  Also, husband wasn’t eating with us tonight so I didn’t want to make something that would leave large amounts of leftovers.  I mean, really, when AM I going to make a recipe that ACTUALLY serves 4?  My fridge is pretty full with leftovers from the past two nights – I’m eating them as fast as I can but still, can’t a girl have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch and not feel guilty about it?  By the way, Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter is the BEST. PEANUT BUTTER. EVER.  Just thought I would share that little tidbit.  It’s worth knowing.

Anyway, tonight’s dinner was pizza – yes, pizza and no, not DiGiorno.  I made this pizza.  On the grill.  Yep, on the GRILL!  And, it was perfectly wonderful and light and tasty.  I also made a lovely salad to go along with my delightful grilled pizza.  It’s a two-fer!  You get both recipes!  The salad is also not new but is so easy and, whenever I take it anywhere (barbecues, office luncheons, etc), I never bring home leftovers.  THAT’S a sure sign of a yummy salad!  Okay, back to the pizza.  Grilled pizza.  It’s actually much easier than you think.  AND, it hardly takes any time at all.  AND, you can add additional toppings to suit your taste and the pizza will only be even more delicious!  That is why the Boboli pizza crust was invented.  Whomever invented that pizza crust clearly had grilled pizza in mind.  Brilliant!

Both recipes came from the Pampered Chef® Casual Cooking cookbook.  Lovely little cookbook, that one.  Loads of fabulous recipes in there.  If you can get one, I recommend it.  Page 13 is where you’ll find the Italian-Style Grilled Pizza.  YUM!  (no, no, don’t worry a thing about the number 13 – it happens to be my lucky number and if you make this pizza, it will become yours too.  Yes, it really is my lucky number.  Lots of home runs in softball the year I had that number.  But I digress.)  Giada would be proud.

From the same cookbook, I made the Strawberry Spinach Salad.  O. M. G.  Such a delicious salad!  Seriously, strawberries and spinach are perfect companions!  Throw in some cucumber, some red onion and a quick little vinaigrette and tada!  Amazeballs!  Okay, okay, I’ll stop with all the weird words and get to the recipes.  With the pizza, I left off the olives – Things 1 and 2 aren’t huge fans and I’m ambivalent so seemed better to just leave them out.  I also didn’t have fresh basil.  Well, I did have it but it wasn’t fresh anymore so it went in the trash and I substituted a couple of shakes of dried basil.  No, I didn’t measure.  I eyeballed it.  I made it look like the amount that I wanted.  It was easy.  And it tasted delicious.  Well, I thought it did.  Thing 2 stripped the pizza down and essentially ate grilled pizza crust.  It’s that whole tomato business again.  Whatever.  She needs to get over that.  Tomatoes are FAB!  

So, day 4 of vegetarian dinners and we’re doing pretty well with it all.  And the pizza tonight totally hit the spot and didn’t come with all that grease and extra fat that DiGiorno or delivery would have landed you.  You should definitely make this your go-to pizza when you’ve got that craving.  Remember, you can add/change the toppings to your liking – just remember that if you add additional veggies (like bell peppers, etc), you may want to do a quick cooking of them before they go on the pizza.  Otherwise, you’ll be eating crunchy, mostly raw peppers.  Which are definitely good but probably not what you’ve imagined for a pizza topping.  I bet even artichoke hearts would be good on this.  Oh.  Now I wish I had artichoke hearts and another boboli crust.  Oh well, here are the recipes.  Happy cooking, eating and drinking!

Italian-Style Grilled Pizza

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese (I used part-skim to cut down on fat)

¼ cup (1 ounce) grated fresh parmesan cheese

4 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced (1 ½ cups)

¼ cups fresh basil leaves, sliced into fine ribbons

1 can (2.25 ounces) sliced pitted ripe olives, drained

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

2 garlic cloves, pressed

½ teaspoon each salt and coarsely ground black pepper

1 package (16 ounces) prebaked pizza crust

1.  Prepare grill for direct cooking over medium heat/coals.  Place mozzarella cheese in large bowl; add grated parmesan.  Slice, seed and dice tomatoes; slice basil into fine ribbons and add to bowl along with olives.  Mix gently.

2.  In small bowl, combine oil, vinegar, pressed garlic, salt and black pepper.  Lightly brush top of pizza crust with 1 tablespoon oil mixture.  Reserve remaining oil mixture.

3.  Place pizza crust in center of grill grid, top side down.  Grill crust, uncovered, 4-5 minutes or until deep golden brown.  Using a large turner, turn crust over and remove to a large cutting board. 

4.  Add remaining oil mixture to cheese mixture; mix well.  Spoon cheese mixture evenly over top of crust; return pizza to grill.  Cover and grill 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bottom of crust is deep golden brown.

5.  Remove pizza to cutting board; slice into wedges and enjoy!

Serves 4

Calories 500, Total Fat 21g, Saturated fat 6g, Cholesterol 30mg, Carbohydrate 55g, Protein 26g, Sodium 1290mg, Fiber 3g

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Dressing

1 lemon

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vegetable oil (or olive, canola, or other light oil of your choice)

1 teaspoon poppy seed

Salad

¼ cup sliced natural almonds, toasted

8 ounces (1 ½ cups) strawberries, hulled and quartered

½ medium cucumber, sliced and cut in half

¼ small red onion, sliced into thin wedges (1/4 cup)

1 package (6 ounces) baby spinach

1.  For dressing, zest lemon to measure ½ teaspoon zest.  Juice lemon to measure 2 tablespoons juice.  Combine zest, juice, vinegar, sugar, oil and poppy seeds.  Whisk until well blended.  Cover; refrigerate until ready to use.

2.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  For salad, spread almonds in a single layer on a small baking pan.  Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly toasted.  Remove from oven and cool on pan.

3.  Meanwhile, hull strawberries and cut into quarters.

4.  Score cucumber lengthwise; remove seeds and slice cucumber.  Cut slices in half.  Slice onion into thin wedges.

5.  Place spinach in a large serving bowl; add strawberries, cucumber, and onion.  Whisk dressing; pour over salad, gently tossing to coat.  Sprinkle with almonds.  Serve immediately.

Serves 10

(serving size 1 cup)

Calories 70, Total fat 3g, saturated fat 0g, cholesterol 0mg, carbohydrate 10mg, Protein 1g, Sodium 15mg, Fiber 1g.

Black-eyed peas in the house!

Day three.  It’s not difficult to cook vegetarian meals at all – it’s just cooking, after all – but it is difficult to decide on recipes that sound good and will be pleasing to my picky family.  I do love my vegetables but this experiment has shown me how much I rely on animal protein.  Although, THAT can get boring too.  I mean, really, it can be very hard to make chicken or pork interesting.  You wouldn’t think so but how many times have you opened your fridge or freezer and said to yourself, “oh great, chicken again”?  If anything, I’ve at least expanded my culinary skills and my family has expanded their taste horizons.  I hope.  Well, I know I’ve expanded my culinary skills but the family is on their own.  I can say with certainty that we’re having Bulgogi on Friday.  That involves meat (grilled, of course).

So, tonight I decided on a legume I’ve never made before.  Ever.  Pretty brave, don’t you think?  I’ve hardly even got any eating experience where this legume is concerned – they’re a little daunting.  Black-eyed peas.  All you southerners are probably rolling around on the floor laughing right now at my inexperience.  FINE!  Done yet?  Do you need a tissue to wipe your eyes?  Sheesh.  Anyway, I’ve only had them a couple of times – honestly, I really think it’s two times – and the first time was really, really good!  Now, there WAS bacon in there and that may (probably) have had something to do with why they were so good.  Of course, we’re doing the meat-free thing so no bacon in this recipe tonight.  But it is chock full of other yummy vegetables and, interestingly enough, seasonings like steak sauce.  That doesn’t count against me, does it?  I mean, is it against some sort of rule to even HAVE it in my house?  Thing 2 even wondered if it was “non-vegetarian” to use steak sauce.  Like it’s made out of steak or something.  Now that’s funny.

I found the recipe for the black-eyed pea and vegetable stew in my trusty New Vegetarian Cuisine cookbook – boy does that book seem like it’s full of good recipes!  AND, it has lots of full-color pictures to show you what your recipe could look like if you had a professional chef and food stylist/photographer at your disposal.  Oh, and the pictures actually make everything look really good (even Brussels sprouts) and worth eating.  The cooking time is a bit extensive – about 3 hours – BUT, you can pre-cook the black-eyed peas and save them for later.  That would cut the cooking time down to just over an hour which makes it interesting but doable after work provided you don’t get off work really late or have a massive commute.  BUT, (yes, another one – just go with it) this recipe is PERFECT for making ahead on a weekend and reheating – that definitely makes it qualify for a good weeknight meal. 

The black-eyed peas need to be soaked overnight – I guess this drowns the little suckers so they put up less of a fight when you cook them.  Seriously, I don’t even know the purpose behind soaking beans overnight when it takes multiple hours to cook them anyway BEFORE they go into the recipe and get cooked some more.  Does it REALLY take that long for them to soften?  Are they really rocks disguised as legumes?  Anyway, that’s for another day – no time for that discussion now.  So, again, soak them overnight and then they get drained and cooked for 1 ½ to 2 hours.  Please be aware that when you are cooking them, you should definitely pay attention to them and make sure the water isn’t boiling all away leaving a slightly ridiculous stuck-on mess in your pan.  Don’t ask me how I know – just trust me.  It’s depressing when the recipe says “drain” and there’s nothing left to drain. 

Everything else came together pretty well and produced a very delicious stew!  I’m actually pretty proud of my first attempt at making black-eyed peas.  And, I can’t wait to have this for lunch tomorrow.  And probably the day after that – um, we kinda have a lot of leftovers.  4 servings, my eye.  Husband really liked the stew and rated it over the Tagine from last night but below the chilaquiles from Sunday night. (oh yes, those chilaquiles WERE delicious!)  Things 1 and 2 both liked the stew too.  I don’t think they were crazy about it but they ate it and didn’t complain.  Too much.  They ARE teenagers, after all.  Of course they have to complain.   Thing 2 said she thought sausage would go really well in the stew (sorry vegetarians, what can I say? You don’t have to add sausage if you don’t want to.  I may the next time I make it.)

So, day 3 of vegetarian dinners was a success.  Make this.  It’s good.  And warm.  Here’s the recipe.

Happy cooking, eating, and drinking!

Black-eyed pea and vegetable stew

8 ounces dried black-eyed peas, soaked overnight

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 ½ cups chopped onions

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 potato, peeled and cubed

1 cup chopped turnips

1 cup sliced carrots

1 can (28 oz) low-sodium crushed tomatoes

1 can (15 oz) corn, drained

2 tablespoons steak sauce

2 tablespoons chili sauce

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar or molasses

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 tablespoon corn starch

3-4 drops hot-pepper sauce

1.  Drain the black-eyed peas and place in a 2-quart saucepan.  Add cold water to cover.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to low, partially cover the pan, and simmer for 1 ½ to 2 hours, or until tender.  Drain and set aside.

2.  In a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat, warm the oil.  Add the onions and garlic; cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.  Stir in the potatoes, turnips, and carrots; cook for 2 minutes.  Stir in the tomatoes; bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. 

lotsa good stuff happening in there

mmm...welcome to the pot, tomatoes

3.  Stir in the black-eyed peas, corn, steak sauce, chili sauce, sugar or molasses, vinegar, corn starch and hot-pepper sauce.  Cover and simmer for 45 to 50 minutes, or until thick and the vegetables are tender.

well, hello there

yummy stew!

Makes 4 servings

Per serving: 280 calories, 5.1g fat (15% of calories), 9.2g dietary fiber, 0 mg cholesterol, 674mg sodium

Vegetarian dinner, day 2, and the saga of couscous.....

Okay, day two of vegetarian meals and, I’ll admit it, I pulled a fast one on the family.  Well, I tried – I didn’t really get away with it.  Couscous.  I made something with couscous.  This tiny little pasta is not really well received by anyone in this family except for me.  I’ve made it before – you know those Near East boxed couscous and rice pilaf thingies?  Well, couscous is about as well liked by my family as Brussels sprouts are liked by me.  BUT, in all fairness, I felt it was better to stay with the original ingredient in the recipe rather than substitute in quinoa which has produced some radical reactions by the family and all they did was LOOK at the box!  I thought about brown rice but we’re having that with a different dish later this week and I didn’t want to overdo that grain (Thing 2 was born in Hawaii and is most definitely Polynesian – she LOVES her sticky white rice and groans out loud whenever brown rice hits the table as a side.  It’s just not good enough.  Thing 1 is okay with the brown rice but only if she can top it with something that has a ton of flavor, like chili or something.)

I decided that tonight’s meal would be a tagine.  What’s a tagine?  More importantly, how exactly do you pronounce it?  A tagine (tay-gin) is essentially a stew that is named after the pot it gets cooked in.  The dish was originally found in North Africa and is primarily made out of clay and has a very interesting shape.  Of course, I don’t have one of those pots so I had to use my skillet but I don’t think it affected my dish any.  Besides, tagines are often used to slow-simmer less expensive cuts of meat into delicious submission and, as you know, this week is meat free for us.  So, clearly I couldn’t use a real tagine!  It might actually be disrespectful to the pot! Ha!

Anyway, I found this recipe – Mediterranean Grilled Vegetable Tagine – in a Cooking Light magazine (don’t have the year, sorry) and it sounded pretty delicious.  I mean, really, it involves grilling and vegetables and Mediterranean spices – how can you go wrong with that and you KNOW how we feel about grilling!  (Note to self: it may be time to exchange the empty propane tank that’s in the garage so when the current one runs out, dinner isn’t shot to pieces.)  I had everything, except the couscous of course, and no, I didn’t feel bad going to the store to buy it either.  I happen to like it.  I will find a way to incorporate it into more meals, even if it is just something I whip up for my own personal enjoyment.  

You would think, now that you know a tagine is usually a slow-simmered stew, that this meal required a long time to prepare.  Au contraire!  Because there isn’t any meat, the cooking time significantly decreases!  25 minutes on the stove!  The grilled vegetables take about 10 minutes and the couscous takes the blink of an eye.  Seriously.  So quick.  And, you only really need to chop the onions and garlic so prep work is cut down to a minimum as well.  That makes this a perfect weeknight dish!  And, it was delicious!  Well, I thought so anyway.

The husband and Thing 1 did think it was pretty good and I should add, husband said, “This will work.  Couscous actually does taste pretty good when you put really yummy stuff on top of it.  Kinda drowns it out.”   Well, I’ll take that as a good thing!  Thing 2?  Well, her opinion differed.  She was pretty peeved when she discovered couscous under the tagine (yes, I did hide it under there!) and she was already unsure when she saw the tomato-ey tagine.  Oh, did I mention she’s not so much a tomato person?  No?  Oh.  Well, consider yourself told.  Thing 2 and tomatoes are not friendly unless there’s pasta and meatballs involved.  She basically ate some grilled vegetables and took the power-washer to the potatoes in the dish to remove any and all traces of couscous.  She’s weird.  Whatever.  I think it was a great meal and I can’t wait to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.  There’s enough left for 2 people, or even 3, to have and yes, the recipe DOES say it serves 4.  Again, not sure where that number came from but I think we finished about half of the dish and we ARE 4 people.  One day I’m going to have to ask somebody who knows how the serving size of a dish is determined.

Anyway, here’s the recipe.  Don’t forget – another vegetarian meal tomorrow!  Happy cooking, eating and drinking!

Mediterranean Grilled Vegetable Tagine

1 small red onion

2 red bell peppers, quartered

1 green bell pepper, quartered

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

½ teaspoon kosher salt, divided

1 teaspoon olive oil, divided

1 ¾ cups chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 ¼ cups water, divided

¼ cup sliced, pitted green olives

¼ cup golden raisins

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 (28-oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

6 small red potatoes, quartered

Cooking spray

2/3 cup uncooked couscous

¼ cup pine nuts, toasted

1.  Cut red onion into 4 wedges, leaving root end intact.  Place red onion, bell peppers, vinegar, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon oil in a zip-top plastic bag. Seal bag; toss well to coat.

2.  Prepare grill. (I had the gas grill at about 400 degrees)

3.  Heat ½ teaspoon oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat.  Add chopped onion and garlic; sauté 3 minutes.  Add cumin, fennel, and cinnamon, sauté 1 minute.  Add ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ cup water, olives, raisins, black pepper, tomatoes, and potatoes; bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes or until potatoes are just tender.

mmmm....

4.  Remove bell peppers and red onion from bag, discarding marinade; place on grill rack coated with cooking spray.  Grill 10 minutes, turning frequently.

grill, baby, grill!

5.  Bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a medium saucepan; gradually stir in couscous.  Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork.  Serve tomato mixture over couscous.  Top with grilled bell peppers and red onions, sprinkle with pine nuts.

toasted pine nuts - 400 degrees, 7-10 minutes

Hey, where's the couscous?

Yield: 4 servings (serving size 1 ¼ cups tomato mixture, ½ cup couscous, ½ cup grilled vegetables, and 1 tablespoon pine nuts)

Calories: 462 (14% from fat): Fat 7.1gsat 1g, mono 3.2g, poly 2.2g); Protein 15.8g; Carb 95.5g; Fiber 13.9g; Cholesterol 0mg; Iron 4.7mg; Sodium 574mg; Calcium 123mg

A tale of two veggies....

Okay, so more than two veggies but it sounded too good to let it slip by unused. J  Anyway, we’re trying something new (wait, when DON’T we try something new?) and it’s veggie week in our house.  Our dinners are going to be only vegetarian – no meat – for the next 5 evenings.  Why, you ask?  Why not, I respond?  Veggies are good and tasty and good for you.  And besides, protein and other nutrients can be found in so many more sources than beef, poultry or fish.  Why not give it a shot?  Actually, it was pretty funny when this was first discussed – Thing 2 had quite the negative reaction to the possibility of no meat for a week!  Why is that funny?  Well, a couple of years ago, Thing 2 wanted desperately to be a vegetarian.  I mean, she was DESPERATE – she refused to eat any of the meat I cooked and seriously only ate the vegetables and the bread.  I had to come up with good ways for her to get protein besides her glass of milk!  She was a tough nut to feed, too!  And now, she wants to throw a fit because I’m doing what she once wanted?  Sheesh!  Teenagers!  

I do happen to own a couple of vegetarian cookbooks and I’ve been scouring them the past couple of days.  I think I’ve found some good recipes – some that are quick and easy and use what I already have in my pantry and some that do take some time to cook but still are really only using what I already have.  The bonus about veggie week?  I’ll be blogging about each recipe!  For a week!  Five dinners.  Oh my, I’m starting to get nervous.  That’s so much to live up to.  I’m not sure I can do it.  But, you know what?  I’ll do it no matter how hard it is – for you.  I’m a giver like that.

For tonight’s dinner, I just had to go and buy some canned chopped green chilies (obviously, this is for a “quick” dinner because in reality, jalapenos don’t really take that much time to chop) and a can of dark red kidney beans.  Hm…are those ingredients hint enough for you to determine the flavor of our meal?  Well, if you guessed Mexican – ding, ding, we have a winner!

Chilaquiles, pronounced chee-lah-KEE-lehs (how fun is THAT to say?!) – are a traditional Mexican dish.  The version I’m making, found in New Vegetarian Cuisine by Linda Rosensweig, refers to chilaquiles as sort of a Mexican lasagna with the tortillas acting as the “noodles”.  Well, we love lasagna and it sounded really easy to make – bonus!  (Oh, by the way, what did you think about that comment in the link about chilaquiles being good hangover remedies? Hm. Whodathunkit? Wonder if it works?  If it does, let me know – I’m not going to make myself the guinea pig to find out.) ;D

The chilaquiles (okay, I’m having WAY too much fun saying this word!) did end up being VERY easy to make and came together very quickly – a perfect weeknight meal!  And, it was actually delicious!  Everyone liked it even though Thing 2 referred to it as looking disgusting.  Don’t mind her opinion – sometimes she’s a little kooky – she’s a teenager, remember?  Very little chopping and canned ingredients make preparation simple and it will be even more simple if you buy pre-shredded carrots!  Oh, and if you’ve never noticed, your grocery store likely carries containers of pre-chopped onions which would make pulling this together a complete breeze! And then, you don’t have to cry either!  THAT’S worth celebrating, in my opinion.  Make this – it’s awesome.  And, if you are a fan of guacamole and salsa, either or both would be absolutely fabulous with the chilaquiles.  I’m definitely having guacamole with mine the next time I make it.  Here’s the recipe and don’t forget to stay tuned to see what ends up on our dinner plates tomorrow!

Happy cooking, eating and drinking!

Chilaquiles

Serves 4

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 cup chopped onions

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups shredded carrots

1 can (16 oz) red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 large tomato, chopped

½ cup tomato sauce

2 tablespoons chopped canned green chili peppers

½ teaspoon chili powder

3 large flour tortillas (I selected carb-balance)

1 cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons minced scallions

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Coat an 8” soufflé dish or a 2-quart casserole with no-stick spray; set aside.

2.  In a large no-stick frying pan over medium-high heat, warn the oil.  Add the onions and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until tender.  Add the carrots; cook for 2 minutes.

3.  Stir in the beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, peppers and chili powder; bring to a boil.  Cook for 5 minutes, or until slightly thick.  Scoop out ¼ cup and set aside.

4.  Place 1 tortilla in the bottom of the prepared dish.  Top with half of the vegetable mixture and 1/3 cup of the cheddar.

5.  Add another tortilla, the remaining vegetables and 1/3 cup cheddar.  Top with the final tortilla and the reserved vegetables.  Sprinkle with the scallions and the remaining 1/3 cup cheddar.

6.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through.  Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into wedges.

Per serving:  322 calories, 10.4g fat (28% of calories), 8.1g dietary fiber, 14mg cholesterol, 443mg sodium

What the heck is a Charbono anyway?

Today was a day of ups and downs.  Thing 1 had to head back to the doctor – turns out she was having an allergic reaction to the antibiotics she was on for strep throat.  Seriously, can either of my kids catch a break these days?  We have been to the doctor more in the past month than we have in the past couple of years!  Anyway, she’s got the goods now and should be mending soon.  *Fingers crossed!!*

We live in a small town (okay, it’s not really small per se, but it is spread out so the concentrated areas are small and it definitely has the small town feel) and this weekend’s event was an Arts Festival celebrating local artists, big and small.  There was even a youth art competition featuring outstanding artists from all grade levels!  Some of the art we saw – from many different genres: photography, mixed media, tapestry, sculpture, etc – would rival professional artists.  There are some seriously excellent artists out here in small town Florida.  Thing 2 is the artist in the family and she accompanied me to the festivities.  In addition to all the fabulous art, cultural presentations and music, of course there was festival food.  We noshed on meat on a stick – seriously, you CANNOT go wrong with meat on a stick – lumpia, and soft-serve ice cream.  Um, the lumpia….totally going back for more tomorrow.  Best. Lumpia. Ever. 

So, how do you top an awesome Arts Festival, lumpia and meat on a stick?  Well, with really good wine and some steak, of course!  The wine we tried tonight was a wine I picked up on that trip to the Aragon Wine Market I made last month.  I wouldn’t call it an “easily accessible” wine but if you do come across it, I would recommend picking it up.  It’s a 2008 Robert Foley Charbono. 

Now, there are some things you should know.  First, Robert Foley is a superb winemaker in Napa Valley.  I have NEVER had a Robert Foley that I didn’t like.  If you’re learning about wine, keep him on your list of winemakers to try – you will not be disappointed.  Second, Charbono is a grape that is not widely produced as its own wine.  No, it is NOT a combination of Sonny and Cher - sheesh people!  Charbono is a grape found in both California and Argentina, produces dark, tannic wines and  is usually blended with other grapes to create lovely wines.  Only a few wineries in California actually make a pure Charbono and one of them happens to be Robert Foley.  Yay for us!  And, as expected, Mr. Foley did not disappoint.  His 2008 Charbono had a beautiful, almost opaque purpliness (yes, that is a word widely used in the wine world. I promise) and had a lovely spice and smokiness on the nose.  In case you didn’t know, the nose is what you smell in the glass – yes, that should be obvious, but if you’re new to wine, it may not be something you would automatically get.  The best way to get the full effect is to pour a small amount in a glass, swirl it up pretty well (this brings out the aromas much like grinding fresh spices) and then shove your nose in the glass as far as you can and take a good whiff.  Ahhh….a precursor of fabulousness to come!

Once you get a taste of this Charbono, you’ll get flavors of fruit, some soil (trust me, not a bad thing – it’s called “earthiness”) and some pepper.  The alcohol content is 14.1% so you’ll get some heat on the finish.  How do you taste heat, you ask?  Well, here’s how.  Once you’ve swallowed, purse your lips a little and breathe in (through your mouth, silly!).  You’ll feel the wine sort of evaporate, if you will, and your mouth will warm up and you’ll taste/feel the alcohol in the back of your mouth.  Really!  It works!  Try it for yourself and then try it with other wines and you’ll see the difference in wines with both high and low alcohol content.  See, learning IS fun!

If you get the chance, try the Foley Charbono and let me know how you like it.  You can pair it with steak – which we did and it was YUMMY! – or other hearty meats or stews.  I can see this going really well with braised short ribs or even beef burgundy.  Oh shoot, now I’m hungry again.

Happy cooking, eating and drinking!