Thanksgiving wild rice salad

Cook 1 cup of wild rice. Dice a medium butternut squash, and bake it with 12 oz of cranberries and a chopped purple onion. Meanwhile, chop some pecans and fresh parseley. Stir the baked squash mixture into the rice, along with the pecans. Serve topped with crumbled goat cheese and the chopped parseley. If you'd rather not experience tartness in your cranberries, you can sweeten the baked mixture with some maple syrup.

Wild rice salads

I've been exploring wild rice salads recently. For Easter, I really wanted to do something savory and springy, but it seemed like every recipe I could find on the internets had a sweet component, often dried cranberries. Now that strawberries are in season, I'm willing to give in for a while. I found this recipe, and mostly followed it:

I made about twice as much salad as I wanted by cooking 1 1/2 dry cups of wild rice, and mixing in about a 1 1/2 quarts of strawberries, 2 containers of goat cheese feta, and a bunch of chopped scallions (keeping the whitest parts for something else). We dressed it with a simple combination of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

We've also tried turning it into a whole meal by adding some vegetables (in the form of chopped peppers) and some protein (in the form of fake chicken).

It seems to be popular (and tasty) to include some zest and juice from an organic orange in the dressing.

In anticipation of CSA cauliflower

The Amateur Gourmet has pointed out this recipe for creamy cauliflower soup.

Hopefully posting the recipe here will help me remember it when the time comes, and I have no other ideas for how to cope with a lot of cauliflower.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced thin
• 1 head cauliflower (1 1/2 pounds) cut into florets (you don’t have to be fanatical about size since it all blends up later)
• Salt, to taste
• 5 1/2 cups water, divided
• Finishing olive oil (if you have a nicer one to drizzle on top)
• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a pot on medium heat. Add the onions, a pinch of salt, and lower the heat to the lowest setting you can. Cook slowly, stirring the onions every so often, making sure they don’t turn brown. If you’re worried about that, you could add a tiny splash of water. They should cook for 15 minutes (or until translucent).
2. Add the cauliflower, salt again, and 1/2 cup water. Raise the heat slightly, cover the pot and stew the cauliflower for 15 to 18 minutes, stirring every so often. This step is done when you can pierce the cauliflower easily with a knife.
3. At that point, add 4 1/2 cups hot water (make sure it’s hot so you don’t stop the cooking process; consider warming it in a tea kettle), another pinch of salt, and bring to a low simmer, cooking for 20 more minutes.
4. Pour the mixture in batches into a blender and blend. When the soup is fully blended, return it to the pot.
5. Taste, adjust for salt, then let stand for 20 minutes. It will thicken. At that point, you can thin it out with 1/2 cup of hot water. You can either serve it now, drizzled with good olive oil and sprinkled with black pepper, or chill it and serve it cold. It’s great either way.

Preparation time: 20 minute(s)
Cooking time: 1 hour(s) 10 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 6

Multigrain Banana Muffins

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup teff flour
• 1/2 cup ground almond meal/flour (packed)
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 4 medium overripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400F. 
2. Oil a standard 12-place muffin tin.
3. Thoroughly mix together flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, pecans, and chocolate chips. 
4. In a separate bowl, blend eggs and bananas. 
5. Fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture, and distribute into the muffin tin. 
6. Bake 20 minutes at 400F, rotating the pan 180 degrees halfway through.

Rice Cooker Polenta

Ingredients

• 1 cup cornmeal ( polenta)
• 3 cups water
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese ( grated)
• 3 green onions, finely chopped (optional)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon basil
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon marjoram
• 1/4 teaspoon sage

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in rice cooker.
2. Start cooking cycle.
3. After cycle is complete, wait an additional 10 minutes to allow the polenta to absorb all the liquid.
4. Stir well before serving.
5. If you like firmer polenta, let it stand for 5 minutes prior to serving.

Camilla's Larabar recipe

Camilla at Power Hungry has a lot of suggestions for homemade variants of Larabars.

She starts with this basic formula for two bars:

1/4 cup roughly chopped whole fresh dates
1/4 cup dried cherries or dried cranberries
1/3 cup whole pecans, almonds or walnuts
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Depending on the variant, she recommends altering the kinds and ratio of fruits and nuts.

She first combines the dates and dried fruit in the food processor to form a paste, then chops the nuts, and smooshes all the ingredients together. I think someone else recommended to do the smooshing in a ziplock bag. 

I tried this with dried cranberries and almonds, then mixed and flattened the whole thing (3-recipes worth) in a quart-sized freezer bag, before cutting it into bars. Delicious. 

a few links

• NPR on porridge
• Super spackle!
• A muffin-in-a-mug recipe to try
• Quinoa spinach bake 
• Quick-Pickled Winter Tomato Salad

Quinoa Mac & Cheese

I've recently seen a bunch of recipes on the internet for Quinoa Mac & Cheese. It seems like such a good idea. I love quinoa, and have no particular interest in elbow macaroni. 

The basic idea is given here, but it may be worth adapting a different style of mac & cheese to a quinoa version. The New York Times published a few fantastic mac and cheese recipes several years ago. These recipes are the inspiration, and we'll see what I can come up with in the end. I like the idea of adding vegetables, but I really like the idea of adding butternut squash.

---

January 4, 2006

Recipe: Crusty Macaroni and Cheese

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
3 tablespoons butter
12 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
12 ounces American cheese or cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
1 pound elbow pasta, boiled in salted water until just tender, drained, and rinsed under cold water
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
Salt
2/3 cup whole milk.

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Use one tablespoon butter to thickly grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Combine grated cheeses and set aside two heaping cups for topping.
2. In a large bowl, toss together the pasta, cheeses, cayenne (if using) and salt to taste. Place in prepared pan and evenly pour milk over surface. Sprinkle reserved cheese on top, dot with remaining butter and bake, uncovered, 45 minutes. Raise heat to 400 degrees and bake 15 to 20 minutes more, until crusty on top and bottom.

Yield: 8 to 12 servings.

---

January 4, 2006

Recipe: Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup cottage cheese (not lowfat)
2 cups milk (not skim)
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Pinch cayenne
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated
½ pound elbow pasta, uncooked.

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees and position an oven rack in upper third of oven. Use 1 tablespoon butter to butter a 9-inch round or square baking pan.
2. In a blender, purée cottage cheese, milk, mustard, cayenne, nutmeg and salt and pepper together. Reserve ¼ cup grated cheese for topping. In a large bowl, combine remaining grated cheese, milk mixture and uncooked pasta. Pour into prepared pan, cover tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes.
3. Uncover pan, stir gently, sprinkle with reserved cheese and dot with remaining tablespoon butter. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes more, until browned. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

---

Comfort Food’s

Butternut Mac-n-Cheese

Adding pureed butternut squash to this dish cuts the cheese in half but adds more flavor. Ms. Quay said it’s one of her most popular fall dishes. “We sell so much of that, and you don’t have to feel as bad eating it,’’ she said. “You might not want to eat it every single day, but you’re still lowering the guilt factor.’’

1 pound elbow macaroni, cooked according to package directions
1 large butternut squash
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
7 cups milk
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Salt
Pepper

1. Roast the butternut squash. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut squash in half lengthwise; remove seeds. Place in roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil. Place in oven and cook until soft all the way through, about 1 hour. Set aside until cool. When cooled, remove skin and place in food processor. Purée until smooth.
2. Make cheese sauce. Melt butter in saucepan. Add flour. Stir to make a roux and cook 3 minutes, stirring the entire time. Add 3 cups milk and stir until thickened. Add the rest of the milk and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add shredded cheese and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper.
3. To assemble the dish: Place cooked elbow macaroni in bowl. Pour half of the cheese sauce over and add puréed, roasted butternut squash. Fold together. If it seems too dry, add the rest of the cheese sauce. Place in an ovenproof dish and heat for 15 minutes at 325 degrees.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

---

Comfort Food’s

Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onion and Spinach Lasagna

This rich fall lasagna would make an excellent main course for the non-turkey eaters at your holiday table, and your meat-eating guests will definitely want to try it. “It’s a really nice seasonal update of traditional lasagna,’’ said Ms. Quay.
1 large butternut squash
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 red onions, medium, julienned
1 pound part-skim ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons rosemary, chopped
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese, divided
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Scant 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups whole milk
Pinch nutmeg
1 bag chopped frozen spinach (1-pound), defrosted and drained
6 sheets fresh pasta, or no-boil lasagna noodles
Salt
Pepper

1. Roast the butternut squash. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut squash in half lengthwise; remove seeds. Place in roasting pan and drizzle with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Place in oven and cook until soft all the way through, about 1 hour. Set aside until cool. When cooled, remove skin and place in food processor. Purée until smooth, season with salt and pepper to taste, and set aside.
2. To caramelize the onions: Place 3 tablespoons of olive oil in sauté pan. Heat until hot but not smoking; add onions. Toss to coat with oil. Turn heat down to medium and cook until onions are soft and browned, about 25 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
3. Prepare a ricotta cheese mixture. Mix ricotta cheese, chopped rosemary, eggs, half the grated Parmesan and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
4. Make a spinach Mornay sauce. Melt butter in a saucepan, add flour and stir. Cook 2 minutes. Add milk and stir until it comes to a boil. Add the rest of the grated Parmesan, the nutmeg and the defrosted spinach. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
5. Assemble the dish. Spray a 9” x 13” pan with cooking spray. Spread 1 cup of the spinach sauce on the bottom of the pan. Cover with a layer of fresh pasta sheets. Spread half of the roasted butternut squash on top of the pasta sheets. Top with another layer of pasta sheets. Spread ricotta cheese mixture on top of pasta sheets, and spread caramelized onion on top of ricotta mixture. Cover with an additional layer of pasta sheets. Top with the other half of the butternut purée and then another layer of pasta. Finish by using the rest of the spinach Mornay sauce for the top layer. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Uncover and cook for 15 minutes more.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

---

Recipe: Quinoa Macaroni and Cheese

1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained
Veggies of your choice (optional)
good pinch of salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large eggs
1 cup soy milk or non-fat milk
1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese, more for sprinkling
Optional- Crushed Red Pepper

1. Lightly saute any veggies you would like in this dish. 
2. Cook quinoa to packaged instructions until fully cooked. (About 15 minutes)
3. Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat 13x9 inch dish( or 8 individual ramekins) with cooking spray.Whisk together eggs and milk in large bowl. Fold in quinoa mixture and cheese. Stir very well and let some of the cheese melt.  Transfer to prepared baking dish and if using Panko Crumbs or Bread crumbs add now and bake 30-35 mins, until bread crumbs are browned.

Pea Soup

The latest issue of the Vegetarian Times has a beautiful picture of chilled fresh pea soup. The photograph was inspiring, but something about the recipe itself was less appealing. Maybe it was too much work, I don't recall. So I turned to the internet, and found a simpler one, and ended up changing it a bit. Here's what turned out:

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (used dried instead)
• 6 cups peas, fresh or frozen
• 3 cups “no-chicken” broth
• 1 can cannelini beans, rinsed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• Grated parmesan for garnish

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add onion and celery; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 6 minutes. Add garlic and thyme (or parsley); cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 10 seconds.
2. Stir in peas. Add broth; bring to a lively simmer over high heat. 
3. Reduce heat to maintain a lively simmer and cook until very tender, about 1 minute.
4. Stir in cannelini beans, salt, and pepper.
5. Puree the soup with an immersion blender.
6. Garnish with grated parmesan.

Cookies!

Cookies!

• Raw pecan sandies from Urban Vegan
• Chocolate macaroons from Against All Grain
• Breakfast cookies from Against All Grain
• Linzer cookies from Healthful Pursuit
• Chocolate coconut cookies from The Mommy Bowl

Also:

• Crepes, also working as tortillas for things like enchiladas, from Against All Grain
• Another Crepe recipe, from Chocolate & Zucchini
• Granola from Simply Sugar and Gluten Free
• Protein bars from Power Hungry 

---

I've had a bunch of interesting looking recipes kicking around. I finally got around to making the "Cookfins", aka breakfast cookies, today.

I made them with dried blueberries and cherries because I have and like those things, unlike the dried currants and cherries in the recipe. Next time, I would probably double the dried fruit. Maybe 1/4 cup each of dried cranberries and dried blueberries.

I happened to get sweetened applesauce, because I wasn't paying attention, and it certainly didn't make these cookfins too sweet.

I didn't see any need to soak the dates in warm water because they looked pretty moist already. I think some dates might need the soak.

Here's a reprint of the recipe, from Against All Grain:

Ingredients (makes 1 dozen)

• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 6 pitted dried dates, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes
• 3/4 cups shredded coconut (I used Let’s Do Organic Reduced Fat Shredded Coconut)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 medium eggs (or 2 tablespoons finely ground flaxseed + 5 tablespoons warm water)
• 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons dried unsweetened dark cherries
• 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
• 3 tablespoons currants

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• If you’re doing the vegan version, whisk your ground flax and warm water in a bowl and let it sit for 5-10 minutes until it has thickened.
• Combine the coconut flour, almond butter, and dates in a food processor.  Process until well combined and the dates have broken up into really small pieces, about a minute.
  
• Add the shredded coconut, applesauce, eggs or flax “eggs”, cinnamon, vanilla, salt and baking soda and process for 30 seconds until a wet dough forms.
  
• Add in the remaining ingredients, and pulse once or twice until the fruit is incorporated into the dough but chopped up.
  
• Using an ice cream scoop or large tablespoon, drop the dough in heaping spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet lined with a SilPat or parchment paper.
• Dip a metal spatula in water, and use the bottom to lightly press down each ball of dough. These cookies will not spread or rise so make sure to make them the shape you want them prior to baking.
• Bake for 12-15 minutes, until they are golden on top and slightly brown along the edges.
• I store mine in the freezer and just remove the amount of cookies I want to eat 15-20 minutes prior to eating. They’re also really good warm, so you can pop them in the microwave frozen for 20 seconds as well.

Spinach Soup?

The recent NYT post about puréed broccoli and celery soup reminds me to think more about green soups. She mentions adding spinach at the end of cooking, to restore the green color that is lost when broccoli is cooked for a long time. I think replacing all of the broccoli with spinach might be the better choice. Since it can be really hard to find good, tasty, colorful celery at this time of year, I'm quite tempted to replace it and some of the potato with celery root.

Certainly, we should start by sautéeing onions, garlic, and maybe some celery in a little olive oil and salt (apparently adding salt at this stage prevents browning by drawing water out of the vegetables!).

Next, we should add the stock, and any slow-cooking vegetables like kale stems, celeriac, and potatoes. If I use rice, I would use already cooked leftover brown rice, rather than uncooked white rice, so that could go in now or later. She also recommends adding a bouquet garni made with a bay leaf, a Parmesan rind, and a couple of sprigs each thyme and parsley at this stage.

After adding spinach, and allowing it to wilt, I would add a can of cannelini beans just before processing with the immersion blender, both for added protein and for texture.

Vegan Creamed Kale

I just saw this recipe blog post for Creamed Kale, from a now-defunct cooking blog. Now that we have a shockingly kale-based diet, I think it would be nice to try it out. Alternatively, we could expand on the earlier spinach theme, and try making it with spinach instead.


INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 bunch of kale, stems removed, chopped (around 4 cups)
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 1 1/4 cups cashew cream (more if needed)
• salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Heat oil in a large pot over med heat.  Saute onion and garlic for a few mins, until translucent, being careful not to burn.
2. Add kale and a bit of salt and sauté for a few mins, until vibrant green and slightly wilted.
3. Add wine and cook, uncovered, for about 5-7 mins, until liquid is reduced and kale is tender.
4. Add cashew cream and mix well.  Cook for 2-3 mins until cream is thickened.Add more if you want creamier kale.  
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Carrot Soup

Smitten Kitchen has an intriguing carrot soup recipe today. The coriander, cumin, and tahini flavors all seem like a good idea, and they have inspired my desire to make a blended carrot soup soon. However, especially after our recent experience eating awful crisped chickpeas, her carrot soup recipe from last year looks even more appealing to me, flavored by miso, scallions, and ginger.

She lists the following ingredients, to which I would probably add a can of cannelini beans, for texture and protein:

Soup
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds carrots, peeled, thinly sliced
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 regular or 6 small garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 tablespoon finely chopped or grated ginger, or more to taste (it could easily be doubled)
4 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup white miso paste, or more to taste


To finish
Drizzle of toasted sesame oil
2 scallions, very thinly sliced

Multigrain Cranberry Muffins

Apparently I missed the end of cranberry season. Now we have to resort to frozen cranberries. Thankfully, the muffins don't seem to mind much. Here is today's recipe:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup teff flour
• 1/2 cup ground almond meal/flour (packed)
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1 Tbs grated orange peel or all the grated orange peel from one organic orange
• 1 10 oz bag of frozen cranberries

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400F. 
2. Oil a standard 12-place muffin tin.
3. Thoroughly mix together flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and pecans. 
4. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, orange juice, orange peel, and cranberries. 
5. Fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture, and distribute into the muffin tin. 
6. Bake 20 minutes at 400F, rotating the pan 180 degrees halfway through.