I made chana masala

I'd been meaning to make this since I saw it on Smitten Kitchen months ago. I finally got around to it on a recent chilly Sunday, and it was perfect: pretty easy to make, hearty, and very spicy. This dish, like most Indian food, requires a well-stocked spice cabinet. Other than that the ingredients are pretty inexpensive and easy to find. EXCEPT amchoor powder, which I couldn't find anywhere. But good old Deb says lemon juice is an acceptable replacement.

Chana Masala

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 medium onions, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 fresh, hot green chili pepper, minced
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (I used a quarter of this because my cayenne is extremely hot)
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 tablespoon amchoor powder
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 cups tomatoes, chopped small or 1 15-ounce can of whole tomatoes with their juices, chopped small
2/3 cup water
4 cups cooked chickpeas or 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 lemon (juiced) (see note; I used a whole lemon to swap for the amchoor powder)

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion, garlic, ginger and pepper and sauté over medium heat until browned, about 5 minutes. Turn heat down to medium-low and add the coriander, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, cumin seeds, amchoor (if using it), paprika and garam masala. Cook onion mixture with spiced for a minute or two, then add the tomatoes and any accumulated juices, scraping up any bits that have stuck to the pan. Add the water and chickpeas. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, then stir in salt and lemon juice.

Serve over rice. We drizzled the finished product with some raita that Natalie whipped up. It was a nice way to counter the spiciness.

Don't be afraid of collard greens

Hello.

This is just a short post with a simple recipe for collard greens. They are one of those vegetables that I mistakenly thought could only be prepared with hours of slow cooking. Although this is true for the traditional southern style preparation, I recently found out that there is another, quick and easy way to cook them. I've made them this way a few times now, and I think I will keep on doing it!

Ingredients:

* 2 1/2 pounds collard greens (I think that is one large bunch)
* 2 garlic cloves
* 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste

Remove and discard stems and center ribs of collard greens. Cut leaves into 1-inch pieces. In a kettle of boiling water cook collards 15 minutes and drain in a colander, pressing out excess liquid with back of a wooden spoon.

Mince garlic. In a 12-inch heavy skillet heat butter and oil over moderately high heat until foam subsides and stir in garlic, collards, and salt and pepper to taste. Sauté collard mixture, stirring, until heated through, about 5 minutes.

Drizzle collards with lemon juice and toss well.

In the photo, I just accompanied my collards with some arborio rice cooked in vegetable broth and sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese. I also made them with Sarah one night and we had them with some black eyed peas ("hopping john" style). They really go with anything. If you want to eat greens but are sick of spinach or kale or chard etc, give these a shot.

I made Kale and Ricotta Salata Salad (with Meyer Lemon dressing)

I recently made this salad and brought it to Laura's house to enjoy while celebrating her birthday! I had noticed it on the NY Times writer Kim Severson's website while perusing blogs a few days earlier and it sounded easy to make, healthy, and tasty.

And it was!


Kale and Ricotta Salata Salad

(Kim Severson said: I think I first saw a version of this in Gourmet magazine)

1 bunch of Tuscan (lacinato) kale
1 big shallot, chopped fine (I actually used 1 large clove of garlic, which was good too.)
Juice of a good-sized lemon (preferably Meyer), about 2 tablespoons
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup of olive oil, or more
1 cup ricotta salata, coarsely shredded (might be good with feta cheese too)
(Also: If your dressing tastes too lemony/acidic, like mine did at first, a drop or two of honey will balance it out really well.)

Directions:

1. Trim the leaves of the kale above where the stems become thick. Stack the leaves in a pile, roll them like a cigar, and slice it thin crosswise.






2. Whisk together the shallot, lemon juice, salt, and oil. Go light on salt until you taste the salad. The ricotta can be salty. Taste and add more oil if you like.



3. Toss the dressing with the kale and ricotta salata, taste and adjust seasoning, and serve.

Kim's Note: This is one of the few green salads I know that holds up well in the fridge. It’s great the next day, too.

Serves 4.

I made quinoa with black beans and cilantro

This is a quick, easy one-pot recipe. Great for a healthy weeknight meal that will leave you enough to bring leftovers to work.

Quinoa with Black Beans and Cilantro

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 cups chopped white onions

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 cup quinoa,* rinsed, drained

2 teaspoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

11/2 cups water (used no-chicken broth instead)

1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed, drained

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided

Crumbled Cotija cheese or feta cheese (optional)

* A grain with a delicate flavor and a texture similar to that of couscous; available at natural foods stores

I added garlic and cayenne

Heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and red pepper (and garlic); sauté until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in next 4 ingredients (plus cayenne). Add water; bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until quinoa is almost tender, about 14 minutes. Add beans and 1/4 cup cilantro; cook uncovered until heated through and liquid is fully absorbed, about 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl; sprinkle with 1/4 cup cilantro and cheese, if desired

I served it with some guacamole I whipped up. You can also just throw some avocado chunks into your bowl for garnish.
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I made (controversial?) Lasagna

Hi! I have not posted in a while! But I do have some catch up posts to share with everyone soon....

To start off, I thought I would just do a real quick post about something I made this past Sunday.

Lasagna is something that I am positive everyone on this blog has made a billion times, so maybe it is silly to even post a recipe? I am sure everyone has their own favorite recipes and techniques. BUT I added one possibly controversial ingredient to the mix. TOFU. Instead of Ricotta cheese. Lots of folks (vegans) have done this before, but if you read on you will see that my version is NOT vegan! (There is mozzarella cheese.) So don't panic.

My logic was simply:

I love lasagna, but I wanted to make something I could bring to work for lunch that wouldn't be too rich. The tofu makes the dish lighter, and the added protein ensures that I will not fall asleep at my desk after I eat it.

OK here is the recipe.

Veggie Lasagna with Tofu

What you need:

TOMATO SAUCE - Obv. I endorse the recipe Joey posted here. I made a shorthand sauce this time though, with the following:

1 can whole peeled tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste (add to your liking)
garlic, onion, basil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes (add to your liking)
Let that simmer as long as you can. (If you want to use pre-made sauce, totally do it. I am not hating on pre-made sauce, it is awesome.)

Lasagna noodles: Of course fresh pasta is the most delicious. I didn't go that route though, and I used the "De Boles" brand, which you boil first before using. I am not a fan of the 'no bake' noodles.

For the filling:
Fresh Mozzarella cheese
Basil
1 package firm tofu
Veggies - I used cremini mushrooms and spinach, two of my faves. Any type of vegetable you want to throw into the mix is fine....peppers, zucchini, carrots, kale.....??

WHAT TO DO:
Get the sauce going first, so it has time to simmer.

Then take your tofu out of the package, and put in on a large plate. Place a layer of plastic wrap on top, and then balance something heavy on top (a heavy book or large bag of flour, etc.) so that you can drain out all the moisture (a la this Tofu Scramble I made). Do this for a few minutes, draining the excess water from the plate periodically, until most of the water seems to be drained from the tofu.

Chop/saute all your veggies with salt+pepper (and more garlic/onion if you like) and set aside.

Crumble the tofu until it is in small "cheese-like" crumbles. In a large bowl, combine with the sauteed vegetables.

Chop up your mozzarella cheese in thin slices.

Then, in a casserole dish, layer some sauce, some noodles, some veggie/tofu mixture, some cheese + basil leaves, more sauce, more noodles, etc. Be liberal with the salt + paper in between layers too- tofu doesn't have salt like ricotta cheese does, so it needs a bit.

Bake, covered in foil, at 375 for about 30 minutes, and then another 10 minutes at 350 degrees, uncovered. (Or a bit more/less - depending on your oven!)


So...there you have it. I hope I have not offended any lasagna purists out there!

The next photo shows how Jed enjoyed a slice for an early dinner the next day:

I made spaghetti with swiss chard and garlic chips

Found this recipe on smittenkitchen. It came out great. The garlic chips really did look as golden and pretty as in Deb's arsty photo! But it was NOT as easy as she made it out to be. It takes a lot of work to slice all those cloves super thinly. And the recipe calls for two pounds of chard! That's a lotta chard! Three bunches worth at the grocery store. By the time I de-stemmed and de-ribbed every leaf, there was a mountain of shrubbery on my kitchen counter.

BUT, the result was delicious. I recommend this dish if you have a couple sous-chefs to help deal with all that chard and garlic.

Spaghetti with Swiss Chard and Garlic Chips
Gourmet, November 2008

Makes 4 to 6 servings

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 head garlic, cloves peeled and thinly sliced lengthwise though I am sure crosswise would work as well
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup dried currants (we skipped this) (so did I--currants just seem weird with the other ingredients)
2 pounds green Swiss chard, stems and center ribs finely chopped and leaves coarsely chopped separately
1/2 cup water
1 pound spaghetti
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, cut into slivers
6 ounces feta, crumbled (1 1/2 cups)

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers, then cook garlic, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes. Transfer garlic with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.

Cook onion in oil remaining in skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add currants and cook, stirring, until plumped, about 1 minute.

Stir chard stems into onion mixture with water and 3/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Cook, covered, over medium-high heat until almost tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in chard leaves and cook, covered, until stems and leaves are tender, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook spaghetti in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (2 tablespoons salt for 5 quarts water) until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta-cooking water and drain spaghetti.

Toss spaghetti with chard, olives, and 1/2 cup cooking water, adding more cooking water if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Serve sprinkled with feta and garlic chips.

I made asparagus cashew stirfry

This is a really delicious stirfry with an interesting mix of flavors: basil, mint, hoisin sauce, lime. And it's very healthy. It's in Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking and on her blog. I've made it a few times, but I like this adaptation the best.

Asparagus Cashew Stirfry

toasted sesame oil
8 ounces extra-firm tofu, cut into slices thick as a pencil
4 green onions, thinly sliced
scant 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (peeled)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 a bunch of asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
a couple big pinches of fine-grain sea salt
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 big handful of toasted cashews, chopped up a bit
a few handfuls of spinach, or chopped kale, or chopped chard (I left this out. In the past, with all the mint and basil AND kale, it was just too many leaves, youknow?)
zest and juice of one lime
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 small handful fresh mint, slivered
1 small handful fresh basil, slivered

Have all your ingredients prepped and within arms reach of the stove. Heat a splash of sesame oil in a large pan, or well-seasoned wok over medium high heat. Alternately, you can do this in a dry non-stick pan - one of the few occasions I still use non-stick. When it is hot, add the tofu, and cook until golden - a few minutes. Remove the tofu from the pan and set aside. (I cooked the tofu with garlic, a sprinkle of nutritional yeast, and some soy sauce.)

Add another (generous) splash of oil to the pan and, as soon as it is hot, add the onions, ginger, red pepper flakes, asparagus, and salt. Stir fry for about a minute, then add the garlic, cashews, and spinach and stir-fry for another minute, or until the spinach wilts. Return the tofu to the pan. Stir in the lime zest and juice and the hoisin sauce. Cook for another 10-20 seconds, stirring all the while.

Remove from heat and stir in the mint and basil. Taste and add a bit more salt if needed.

I served it over whole wheat lo mein noodles, which was delish. Brown rice udon would also be good. I think soba would get too mushy. I also topped it with some chopped scallions.

Serves 2-4 (main/side)

I made some Qrazy Quinoa!!!

This is a dish I made up. I was in the mood for something hearty and healthy, so I conceived of the most hearty and healthy and delicious dish ever made: a cornucopia or roasted veggies, superfoods, carmelized onions and leafy greens coated in delicious pesto.

Qrazy Quinoa, an SG orig

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash
2 cups quinoa
1 bunch kale
1 red onion
1 can corn
1 cup pesto (click the link to see how I make it. You can always buy some, but it's so easy to make yourself and tastes much better when it's fresh.)
1 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
2 large cloves garlic
salt & pep
some olive oil
grated parm
crushed red pep

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and then sit down, put on some jams, and deal with your squash. Skin and chop that sucker into 1-inch cubes. This will take about 30 min of good hard physical labor. Then spread out the cubes on a baking sheet, sprinkle them with olive oil, s 'n' p, and pop it in the oven. I didn't pay close attention to time, but I think they roasted for about 30-40 min. You know they're done when they start browning and you can pierce them easily with a fork. About 20 minutes into this time, you will want to start roasting your cherry tomatoes. Same thing: toss 'em on a baking sheet with oil, s, p. They take about 15-20. They'll brown a little and start to pop and shrivel when they're done. Don't overcook--you want them to still be juicy.

While all that roasting is happening, make your pesto and cook your quinoa. Depending on the brand you buy, you may have to rinse it first. Then, just follow the instructions on the box: twice the liquid to quinoa, bring it all to boil, then cover and simmer. I like to cook my quinoa in broth, or maybe half broth half water for a little more flavor.

Now you've got some veggies roasting AND some quinoa simmering. Time for the kale and onion. Heat up some olive oil in a pan. Coarsely chop the onion, and throw it on, letting it carmelize. Mince the garlic and throw that on too. When that stuff is almost done, rinse and chop the kale, and add it to the pan. It will cook down pretty quickly--you don't want it to get too wilted. 5 min should do it.

Ok, now ALL THE COMPONENTS are ready. Dump them all into a huge bowl or pot, PLUS THE CORN!!! and mix it all together. Serve with the parmesan and red pepper for garnish.

The end.

We made a Middle Eastern feast!

YO! SG here. It's been a while, but I'm back on the Who Cooked What scene to tell you about this Middle Eastern feast in which M, Hill, Lanez, Nat and I participated a couple weekends ago. As you can see, we enjoyed it picnic-style on a blanket on the floor. Because sometimes it's more fun to eat that way.

I made some baba ganoush:


Followed the recipe pretty exactly. I tried roasting the eggplant over an open flame on the stove, which is pretty simple. You just need some tongs to keep turning them. But I got scared and took them off too early because this skin was so charred--but I guess that's what is supposed to happen. I roasted them a little longer in the oven after that to get them soft enough.

Natalie made some delish hummus:


M was in charge of falafel (I believe we used the Moosewood recipe, right M?):


I wanted to make avgolemono, which is really Greek and not Middle Eastern, but I was getting over a cold and was really in the mood for this comforting, nourishing lemony rice soup I used to get from a local Greek restaurant back in Jersey. I found this recipe in a comment on epicurious. There were a million comments after it, all saying how much better the recipe posted by "A Cook from Boston" was than the actual epicurious recipe! We followed it pretty exactly. Thank goodness I had Martha to help me "temper" the eggs, which I had never done before.

Here it is copied and pasted:

I'm 34 and have been making this since I could stand up on the stool in my Yia Yia's kitchen (my grandmother who is now 80 yrs. old). Soupa Avgolemono: 8 c. homemade chix stock, 1 c. orzo, 4 eggs/ separated, juice of 3 lemons, fresh ground black pepper. This recipe will make a perfectly balanced salty, rich, filling, comforting soup. Boil broth, add orzo and simmer until tender 20 min. Whip whites until medium peaks, add yolks beating continuously, add juice, beating. Temper eggs with 2 c. broth, adding in constant slow stream while continuing to beat furiously so you do not curdle the eggs. Add egg mixture back to remaining broth and serve. When reheating, do not re-boil - heat slowly until very warm or you may curdle the eggs. Garnish with thinly sliced lemon. I sometimes add more than juice of 3 lemons, as the sourness is the best part of the taste! You should taste lemon, richness of eggs, salt of chicken, and starch of rice, in that order and you've made it perfectly. You can also add thin pieces of shredded chicken meat (pull off bone in strips), although classic recipes don't include chicken, vegetables, garlic or any of the ingredients many reviewers added to "fix" this recipe. Try mine and you'll be hooked for life!

And here is what the finished product looked like:

Here is us enjoying the meal by candlelight:


And this is how full we were after:


Here are two vids. The first is of us all putting Hill's pitas in the oven, and the second of us dining to some jams.

I made a rice bowl!

This recipe is based on the rice bowls at Community Food and Juice on the Upper West Side. It is a bowl of rice with lots of julienned veggies, a protein, and a cilantro-lime dressing topped with peanuts! I was there recently and greatly enjoyed my tofu rice bowl and thought it would be easy to recreate at home and it was. One caveat: we have a mandoline, which makes all the slicing superfast and easy. If you don't have one, it will take a little longer, but will still be good!

The components:

Brown Rice (I recently discovered that I really like medium grain brown rice and that is what I used)

Protein:
The restaurant offers salmon, tofu, and grilled chicken. I've used both cubes of tofu sauteed with a bit of sesame oil, and also used edamame. Baked tofu would probably be really good also. Or hard boiled eggs!

Veggies: (This is very flexible - these are some things I've used)
cucumber
red cabbage
bean sprouts
jalapeno
carrots
daikon
avocado

Dressing:
cilantro, finely chopped (a few TBS)
lime juice (I usually use two limes)
sesame oil (enough dashes to make it sesame-y)
mirin (about a half TBS)
mint (I didn't have this, but I'm sure it would be good)

Garnish:
chopped peanuts
scallions
sesame seeds

close up!

Assembly: Cook the rice and your protein. Start prepping vegetables. If any need to be cooked, do it! You can either mix all the veggies in a mixing bowl (the slightly easier way), or wait until you're plateing, then create individual vegetable piles in your bowl and mix it in the bowl as you eat (this is how the restaurant does it). Mix the dressing and chop the peanuts and scallions. When the rice is done, put it in your bowl, and either top with vegetable mix, or assemble your chosen vegetables. Top with dressing and garnish. Enjoy!