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Sweet and Savory Corn Cakes

13 Mar

Who says pancakes have to be for breakfast?IMG_1216

I’m sure you have all been chomping at the bit waiting for me to post my corn cake recipe, right? Well, here it is! (Ok…I get that most of the world doesn’t care about food quite as much as I do, but I like to think that you all love getting Juicy Bites in your in box! :) )

These are the little corn cakes that I made and topped with my Tomatilla and Avocado Relish as an appetizer for a party. I also served them for dinner for my family and topped them with black beans and cheese. Sort of like a tostada but with a corn cake instead of a tortilla.

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They were perfect little party food bites and they were a hit with my family at the dinner table. I think they would also be great served for breakfast or brunch topped with eggs and served with bacon…yum! A little crumbled bacon thrown in the batter wouldn’t hurt at all either.

IMG_1255I used a mix of Masa (a Mexican corn flour found with the other flours), all purpose flour, and corn meal. They had a nice texture with that mix and the scallions and green chilies gave them great flavor. Masa is also a great ingredient to thicken Mexican soups or chilies, or make to your own corn tortillas. But if all you use if for is these pancakes, it’s still worth it!  I added a little honey for a touch of sweetness, but you could increase the honey by another tablespoon or 2 if you were making these for breakfast dish.

IMG_1207Topped with black beans, jack cheese, and the tomatillo and avocado relish, these were a perfect main coarse and my family loved them.

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You could be creative with toppings…if you have any yummy ideas, please send them my way!

Sweet and Savory Corn Cakes

This makes about a dozen dinner sized cakes or about 30 appetizer cakes

Ingredients

  • ½ cup of all purpose flour
  • ½ cup masa harina
  • ½ cup corn meal
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½  teaspoon baking soda
  • ½  teaspoon salt
  • 1 ¼  cups buttermilk
  • ¼  cup melted butter (1/2 stick)
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablspoons honey
  • 8 scallions, trimmed, white and green portions thinly sliced
  • 1 ½ cups sweet corn (frozen is fine, just thaw first)
  • 2 green chilies (like Ortega canned green chilies) seeded and chopped small
  • Vegetable oil for frying

Directions

1. Combine the flour, cornmeal,  masa harina, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl, stirring well. Set aside.

2. Using a food processor, pulse the corn several times until it is coarsely chopped.

3. Combine the buttermilk, butter, egg, and honey in a second, smaller bowl, whisking together. Add the corn, scallions, and chilies and mix well.

 4. Using as few strokes as possible, stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture until the two are barely smoothed out.

5. Heat a non stick pan with about a tablespoon of oil. When it’s hot, ladle on the batter; using a ¼-cup ladle will yield about 12 good-size pancakes.

Optional Serving Idea:

Top warm corn cake with black beans, shredded cheese, and salsa of your choice. Garnish with sour cream and cilantro.

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Delicious and Hearty Lentil “Meatballs”

15 Jan

Lentil Meatballs cover photo

Happy (Belated) New Year to my Juicy Bites readers! Once again, sorry for the long lapse between posts. I know I am starting to sound like a broken record here, so I won’t bore you with all of my excuses for neglecting my little juicy blog. I will get right to talking about these delectable little meatless “meatballs”. 

I, like everyone else, started the new year with resolutions to eat better. For me, a healthier diet means eating less meat and eating more veggies, whole grains, and legumes. So when I came across this recipe on Gwyneth Paltrow’s blog, Goop, I was eager to try it! I’m so glad I did…they were delicious and satisfying! I tried my had at a quinoa burger last week in hopes that it would make a great post. They were really tasty, but didn’t hold together well. I will have to work on the recipe some more before it makes it’s debut on Juicy Bites.

lentil meatballs close up

These meatballs were really simple to make, especially if you have precooked lentils like I did. Trader Joes sells them in their refrigerated produce section and they worked perfect. You do need a food processor (a mini one worked for me) to puree the lentils. The pureed lentils are combined with some sauteed onion and garlic, some herbs, and a little bit of rich ricotta cheese and nutty parmesan. They are a bit messy to form but hold together well and at least you don’t have to scrub any “raw meat residue” off your hands when you are done! I love that they can be made ahead of time and baked later.

lentil meatball cut in half

These little guys are such a versatile protein and can be served in many different ways. We had them with pasta and my home made pesto and some roasted broccoli. I think they would be great with a hearty marinara sauce, or in a pita with a yogurt sauce. My family loved them and they are looking forward to the left overs. They would freeze well after they are cooked if you wanted to make a double batch.

lentil meatballs with pasta and broccoliEven if you are not a vegetarian, don’t be afraid to try these. They are delicious and filling and taste MUCH better than the typical soy-based meatless “meatball” you find in stores (which are usually loaded with ingredients that I can’t even pronounce). They are a great way to add more legumes into your diet which give you a powerful combination of B vitamins, calcium, potassium and folate.

lentil meatballs pan

Lentil “Meatballs”

Adapted from Goop

Ingredients:

  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
  • olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 cups cooked lentils (I used cooked lentils from Trader Joes)
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup ricotta cheese
  • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
  • sea salt
  • freshly ground pepper

Method:

Preheat oven t0 375 degrees

Drizzle a pan with olive oil, place over medium high heat and add the chopped onion. Sauté for a couple of minutes until translucent and softened. Add the garlic, dried thyme, and a pinch of salt and pepper, and sauté for about another minute or two until soft and fragrant. Turn off heat and set aside to cool.

Place lentils in a food processor with tomato paste and a drizzle of olive oil (about a tablespoon) and pulse until smooth.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and ricotta together until mixed well. Add lentils and mix together until smooth. Add the cooked/cooled onion and garlic mixture from the frying pan, the parmesan, the panko breadcrumbs, and the parsley.  Season well with salt and pepper (I used about a teaspoon of kosher salt and several turns on my pepper mill). Mix well until everything is combined. If the mixture is still feeling wet, add a little more breadcrumbs until the mixture is dry enough to stick together and roll into balls.

Coat a baking sheet with non-stick spray or olive oil (I lined mine with foil first to save time on clean up). Form the lentil mixture into balls with your hands (mine made around 18 meatballs). A little olive oil on your hands helps the mixture from sticking while you form them. Drizzle more olive oil over the top of the meatballs and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes. Gently turn half way through so that they brown evenly.

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Creamy Cauliflower and Potato Soup

10 Oct

Creamy, comforting, delicious and healthy!

The temperature is starting to drop…just a little. Ok, so it was 75 degrees today. At least it wasn’t 85, and with the evenings cooling down, I was ready for some soup! I have made this soup many times and my family really likes it. It is one of my kid’s favorites (they call it Snowman Soup) and I love that it is packed with good stuff. This soup tastes rich and indulgent…but it’s healthy!

I know cauliflower is not on very many people’s list of favorite veggies, but it really is delicious when you cook it the right way. I love it roasted with olive oil or in one of my favorite dishes…Linguini and Cauliflower (I will post that one some day!). One of my favorite blogs, In Pursuit of More, has an has an amazing post on Roasted Cauliflower and Kale Pesto  that you MUST check out. Her pictures make cauliflower (and kale) look like a superstar.

In this soup, the cauliflower works so well with the creamy yukon gold potatoes. They are a match maid in heaven.

Make sure you break down your head of cauliflower into small florets that are bite size. It may seem like you have a ton of cauliflower in this recipe, but it cooks down and you puree half of it so it ends up working out just right. I love having creamy texture, but also having nice big bites of cauliflower and potato. There’s something about a totally pureed soup that just doesn’t seem like a meal to me. I like them as a starter,  but if soup is the main dish, I like to have something to chew on. If you have picky eaters, you may want to try to puree the soup completely smooth for them.  Most kids like potato soup and they will never know that there is anything potentially yucky in it.

Beans? In a cauliflower and potato soup? Yes! I puree these cannellini beans in my blender with a little half and half (whole milk would work too, or even soy if you want to go non-dairy). You end up with a smooth and creamy puree that gives the soup really nice texture and body. You would have to add a cup of heavy cream to get the same creamy, thick soup without this trick. Not that I’m against adding a cup of cream to anything, it’s just not something I normally do when I’m cooking my family a weeknight dinner.

Lots of sauteed leek, onion, and celery give this soup great flavor. Make sure your veggies are nice and tender before adding the rest of the goods. Don’t rush this step because it is an important part of building the good flavor of this soup.

This recipe makes a good size pot of soup. If feeds our family of four (with seconds, of course) and makes great leftovers. My boys love to take it to school in a thermos. I think I saw rain in our forecast for Thursday…this is the perfect lunch on a rainy day!

This soup screams for some good crumbled bacon on top. A little dollop of sour cream is nice too! Oh…and you MUST have some good crusty bread or rolls with it. A salad is totally optional and I find that it usually just gets in the way :) .

Even if you don’t like cauliflower…I dare you to try this soup. I bet you will change your mind.

Creamy Cauliflower and Potato Soup

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  • 2 leeks, chopped
  • 1 small to medium brown onion, chopped small
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 1 large head (or 2 small) of cauliflower, cut into small florets
  •  6 cups of chicken stock
  • 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced (if all you can find is baby Yukon Golds, you will need about 2 lbs or just under)
  • 1 can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/3 cup of whole milk or half and half
  • Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Optional Garnishes: Cooked bacon, sour cream, chopped Italian parsley or chives

In a large heavy pot (like Le Cruset), heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the leeks, onion, celery, and a pinch or 2 of kosher salt and cook until they have softened (about 10 minutes). Add all of the cauliflower, the chicken stock, and the potatoes and season with more salt then bring to a simmer. Cover and let cook until the cauliflower and potatoes are very tender (about 15-20 minutes).

Meanwhile, in a food processor or blender, blend the drained cannellini beans and the milk or half and half until very smooth. Pour into a bowl and set aside.

Once your cauliflower and potatoes are very tender, add about half to the blender (let it cool a little before blending).  Blend until smooth and add back to the pot along with the pureed beans. Cook on low for about 5 minutes so that it heats through. Taste for seasoning…you may need to add more salt, it just depends on the saltiness of your chicken stock.

Serve garnished with crumbled bacon, sour cream, fresh chopped Italian parsley or chives.

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Fast…Fresh…And Delicious!

7 Oct

Potato Gnocchi with Farmer’s Market Vegetables

I took a trip to my local San Clemente Farmer’s Market today with my boys. I was hoping to be inspired to make something delicious for dinner. I don’t usually need much help coming up with something to make for a fall Sunday dinner, but it is still a little warm out for a big pot of soup or chili. I am seriously ready for some cool fall weather!

So..after perusing the veggies and fruits and letting my boys have a honey stick, we came home with some fresh gnocchi from a local pasta company and some green beans, zucchini, tomatoes and herbs. Once I got home, my little package of gnocchi actually looked kinda small for our hungry family of four (it was 8 ounces, and we usually eat close to a pound of pasta). Luckily I had a ton of veggies so I ended up with a nice platter of food. I also threw in a can of cannellini beans that I found in the pantry to add a little protein.

This dinner was a hit with the Hubs and the mini food critics. There were a couple of groans about the green beans from my youngest, but overall he liked it.

I blanched the green beans (put them in boiling salted water for just a few minutes, then into an ice bath to stop the cooking). I sauteed some shallots, garlic, and the zucchini in a little butter and olive oil.

One of the benefits of this warm weather that is lingering far too long for my taste is that we still have lovely tomatoes available at the farmer’s market. Our garden tomato plants are done for the season…but I can still enjoy the fruits of somebody else’s  labor!

This really was a simple dinner that was bursting with flavors from the herbs and veggies. Fresh grated pecorino romano on top made the dish. If you can’t find fresh gnocchi, you can get the vacuum packed kind in the pasta section of the grocery store. You could also try to make it from scratch if you happen to have a BUNCH of extra time on your hands :)

Gnocchi with Veggies and Cannellini Beans

Ingredients:

  • 8-12 ounces of Fresh or vacuume packed gnocchi
  • 6 ounces of fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 2 tablspoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoon butter
  • 2 small shallots, thinly sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 small zucchini, quartered and cut into quarter inch pieces
  • 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • salt and pepper…duh
  • 1 teaspoon of fresh thyme
  • 1/4 cup of half and half
  • handful of fresh basil, cut into thin strips (chiffonade)
  • handful of fresh italian parsley, chopped
  • Fresh grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

This meal comes together really quickly once you have done your prep work. Make sure you have all of your veggies and herbs prepped and ready before you start cooking your gnocchi.

First you will need to blanch your green beans in boiling water for just a few minutes or until crisp tender. Put them in an ice bath the stop the cooking and keep their bright green color, then drain and set aside.

Next…heat a large pot of salted water to boiling and cook your gnocchi for about 2-3 minutes or until it floats to the top (you will need to cook longer if it is not fresh). Once the gnocchi is done, remove them from the water with a slotted spoon onto a plate covered with paper towels so they dry a bit.

Meanwhile, heat a large non-stick skillet with the olive oil and butter and add the shallots. Cook them for about 5 minutes then add the garlic and cook for a couple minutes longer. Next add the zucchini, season with salt and pepper, and cook for about 3 minutes. Then add the blanched green beans, tomatoes, cannellini beans, gnocchi and thyme, season again and cook for a couple minutes more so the tomatoes soften a bit and the gnocchi is heated through. Add the half and half and mix well to coat all of the veggies and gnocchi.

Turn off the heat and mix in the fresh parsley and basil. Add more salt and pepper if it needs it (you will need more salt than you think in this dish). Top with plenty of fresh grated cheese and serve.

Lasagna with Heirloom Tomatoes, Spinach and Kale

17 Aug

Lasagna in the summer?

I don’t usually think of making lasagna in the summer, but I’m still trying to find ways to use up our delicious home grown heirloom tomatoes. When you add a couple layers of these juicy slices of heaven, suddenly lasagna is transformed into a summer dish! I love making a dinner that I can do early in the day (before it gets too hot to be cooking!) and pop in the oven when I am ready. That means less racing to get dinner done and more wine sipping and magazine reading during the pre-dinner hour. I also love that lasagna almost always means left overs!

I added a ton of greens (kale and spinach) and some mushrooms to this lasagna. I found baby kale at the market that is already washed and ready to eat…less prep work! I also used fresh lasagna noodles…no boiling first! You can use regular noodles and par-boil them first or use no-boil noodles as well. My other time saver is a store bought marinara. Just look for one that doesn’t have a bunch of junk in it (like Prego & Ragu do).

When it comes to the greens, you can sauté them as is (especially if you can find washed and trimmed kale), or you can chop them like I do. I do them in batches in the food processor (just pulse until roughly chopped). My kids are o.k. with greens if they are chopped really small. It’s an extra step that you don’t need to take if everyone in your house loves the greens. You can also go with all spinach if you aren’t a fan of kale (which would just be crazy :) ).

I could not live without my food processor!

I love the earthy flavor that you get from mushrooms!

The spinach and kale sauteed with onion and garlic. It seems like a lot when you start out, but they cook down quite a bit.

A layer of sauce goes on top of the olive oil in the bottom of your baking dish.

Then a layer of lasagna noodles and a layer of the ricotta cheese mixture.

Next goes the greens and mushrooms mixture topped with sliced tomatoes.

The finished product topped with a final layer of noodles, sauce, and cheese.

This dinner was a really big hit with all of my boys (the little ones and the Hubs!). They were claiming the left overs before the dinner was even finished!

Lasagna with Heirloom Tomatoes, Spinach and Kale

Ingredients:

  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 8 ounce package of mushrooms, roughly chopped
  • 1 small onion, chopped small
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 5 ounce package of baby spinach
  • 5 ounce package of baby kale OR one bunch of kale, stems removed and roughly chopped
  • 4 cups of store bough or home made marinara sauce
  • 3 cups ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  •  1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup of fresh Italian parsley, chopped fine
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped fine
  • 8 ounces of fresh mozzerella cheese, drained, patted dry and thinly sliced
  • 2 cups of grated mozzerella cheese
  • 4-5 (depending on size) assorted heirloom tomatoes, sliced
  • 8 ounces of fresh lasagna noodles (if using dried pasta, par-boil first)
  • Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Optional: Pulse spinach and kale in a food processor until chopped small (not as small as you would do for pesto, more of a rough chop).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Add a couple turns of olive oil to a medium pan and saute mushrooms with a pinch of salt and some pepper over medium/high heat to brown. Once they have released their liquid and browned (best way to do this is not to mess with them too much), remove them from the pan and set aside to cool. Add a little more olive oil and saute the onion for about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a few more minutes. Turn up the heat and add the greens (either as-is or chopped)  and some salt and pepper to the pan and stir to evenly wilt and cook off some of the liquid (about 3-5 minutes). Once the greens are done, add the mushrooms back to the pan and mix to combine. Taste to make sure it is all well seasoned and set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, beaten egg, chopped parsley and basil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and some fresh ground pepper and set aside.

Now you are ready to assemble. In a large baking dish (I use a deep 9×13 lasagna pan), drizzle a little olive oil (about  3 tablespoons) on the bottom. Next add 1/3 of the marinara sauce followed by a layer of noodles. Spread 1/2 of the ricotta mixture on top of the noodles followed by 1/2 of the greens/mushroom mix. Next add a layer of sliced tomatoes, then 1/2 of the fresh mozzarella (you will not have enough to fill the pan, just space it out), and 1/3 of the shredded mozzarella. Top off with another 1/3 of the sauce. Repeat with a layer of noodles, ricotta mixture, greens/mushrooms, sliced tomatoes, fresh and shredded mozzarella, and another 1/3 of the sauce. Finish with the last of the noodles, the last of the sauce, and top with the rest of the shredded mozzarella and the rest of the Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake immediately for about 45 minutes (uncover for the last 10 minutes), or refrigerate until ready to bake.

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Garden Tomatoes & My Heirloom Tomato Pasta

19 Jul

Serious Tomato Heaven!!

After many trials and tribulations, my husband has successfully grown some heirloom tomatoes. It was way more work (blood, sweat, tears and a few choice words), than he thought it would be…but WELL worth it! If you haven’t had a home-grown tomato, whether it be from your garden, a friend’s, or the farmer’s market, you really don’t know what at tomato is supposed to taste like. These little wonders are the JUICIEST of Bites!

We have a nice variety and they are all so delicious. We ordered our plants from Laurel’s Heirloom Tomato Plants in Lomita, CA. She has an amazing selection of organic heirloom tomatoes and they came shipped to us carefully nested in a box in perfect condition at the beginning of Spring. She has also helped my husband with a lot of his questions on what to do about pests and other issues that can be a problem when you grow tomatoes. He found the biggest caterpillar I have ever seen munching on his leaves. We lovingly named him Phatapilla, and found him a home far away from the tomato plants. Here is a run down of what we are growing…

Paul Robeson…Laurel’s favorite (from Laurel’s Heirloom Tomatoes)

Green Zebra…sweet and tangy. My son Max’s favorite.

These little guys are to die for. So sweet!

Our backyard garden. I take NO credit for this…It’s all my hubby. I’m so proud of his first crop!

These tomatoes are so tasty sliced up with a drizzle of olive oil and some salt & pepper. I made a pasta dinner with them last night and they were definitely the star of the dish. Heirlooms aren’t the tomato you would want to make a sauce with. I think their flavor shines the most when they are left uncooked. For this super simple summer dinner all I did was chop up a few of the tomatoes (cut the little cherries in half) and “marinate” them in some really good olive oil with a little minced garlic, chopped basil and Italian parsley, kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. The tomatoes give off some of their juices and create the most delicious sauce to toss your warm pasta in. Top that with some shaved aged Parmigiano-Reggiano…absolute heaven. I seriously could eat that pasta every day. Amazing flavor and so simple.

Heirloom Tomato Spaghetti

Serves 4 (with a little left over if you are lucky)

Ingredients:

  • combination of heirloom tomatoes – about 4 medium-large tomatoes mixed with some cherry tomatoes (I ended up with about 4 cups of chopped tomatoes)
  • 1/2 cup of good olive oil
  • 1/2 cup of chopped basil
  • 1/4 cup of chopped parsley
  • 2-3 minced garlic cloves
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • fresh cracked pepper
  • 1 pound thin spaghetti
  • Parmesan or Romano for serving

Roughly chop the bigger heirlooms and cut small tomatoes in half. Be careful to save any juice that they give off onto the cutting board. Combine the tomatoes, olive oil, basil, parsley, garlic and salt & pepper in a large bowl. Mix well and cover with plastic wrap for at least 30 minutes (mine sat for about 45 min). In a large pot of well salted boiling water, cook your spaghetti until al-dente. Before you drain, reserve a little of the pasta water. Drain and toss with the tomatoes. If it is a little dry, you can add some of your reserved pasta water. Taste for seasoning…you may need more salt and pepper. 

Serve with freshly shaved cheese and extra chopped basil.

Do you have a favorite heirloom tomato? Or how about a recipe that uses them? Would love to hear from you!

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Tostadas de Frijoles Peruanos

1 Jun

Frijoles Peruanos are Peruvian Beans. They are also known as Canary Beans and are actually a product of Mexico. They are lighter in color and a little creamier than Pintos. I have been to a couple Mexican restaurants lately that serve Peruvian beans instead of Pintos and they have become a new favorite of mine. I decided to track them down at the market (it wasn’t too hard…they sell them at my local chain grocery store in the Latin foods department) and make them at home.  They are lighter in color and a little creamier than Pintos. I love all beans, especially when they are made from scratch. They are so easy to make if you have a little patience and taste so much better than canned. I like the to soak them ahead of time to speed up the cooking. Make sure you pick through them to remove any rocks or debris first. When cooking beans, you don’t want to salt them until they are done cooking as the salt can make their skins tough.

After soaking the beans during the day, they cooked up in about 90 minutes. I re-fried them in a little bacon fat…just enough to give them that good re-fried bean taste, not so much that your cholesterol will shoot up. If you are anti-bacon (which would be just plain crazy), you can just re-fry them in a little olive oil. These re-fried beans would be really good in a bean and cheese burrito! After layering the tostada shells with some of the re-fried beans, I topped them with some queso fresco, a little shredded cabbage, a creamy salsa verde (the same one I use on my fish tacos), and some diced avocado. All family members approved and had seconds! The left over re-fried beans even made an appearance in Max’s lunch the next day with some tortilla chips and salsa.

Cooked Peruvian beans (before I re-fried them)

I found these great baked tostada shells from Costco. They tasted great and held up to all of my tostada toppings.

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/mex-grocer_2211_67968229

Tostadas de Frijoles Peruanos

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound of Peruvian Beans (Frijoles Peruanos or Canary Beans), soaked for 4-6 hours or over night
  • 3 galric cloves, smashed
  • 2 bay leaves
  •  4 slices of bacon
  • Tostada Shells

Creamy Salsa Verde (this is the one I make for my Fish Taco recipe):

  • 1/2 cup of sour cream OR Trader Joes Cilantro and Chive Yogurt Dip
  • 1/2 cup of your favorite Salsa Verde – I like Herdez brand, Frontera’s, or Trader Joe’s is good also
  • Juice from half of a lime
  • handful of fresh chopped cilantro

Optional Garnishes:

  • Crumbled Queso Fresco, or shredded jack cheese
  • Thinly sliced cabbage or lettuce
  • Diced avocado (squeeze a little lime juice over it and season with salt and pepper)
  • Sliced black olives
  • Chopped tomatoes
  • Fresh cilantro

For the Beans:

Rinse and drain the beans after soaking. Put in a large pot and cover with an inch or 2 of water. Add the garlic cloves and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stiring every so often and checking the level of the water. If the water drops below the beans, add a little more.  After the beans are tender, season with salt and pepper and turn off the heat.

In a separate pan, fry the bacon until it is crisp then remove it from the pan and drain on a plate with paper towels. Discard all but about a tablespoon of the bacon fat and return the pan to medium heat. Using a slotted spoon, add the beans to the pan. Once all of the beans are in the pan, add about 1/2 cup of the liquid from the beans. Using a potato masher, mash the beans so to a partially creamy consistency. You want to leave some whole for texture, but have some smashed to make it nice and creamy. Add more of the bean liquid if necessary. You don’t want your beans to runny, or they won’t stay on your tostada shell. Crumble up your reserved bacon and stir into the re-fried beans.

For the Creamy Salsa Verde:

Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl until smooth and creamy

To assemble the tostadas:

First put a layer of the beans, then top with some cheese. Add the cabbage and creamy salsa verde next. Top with the optional garnishes.

These are a bit messy, but delicious!

Check out some other recipes for Peruvian beans:

Peruvian Bean Soup by Feral Kitchen

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Mediterranean Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

22 May

This is a family favorite in my house. I use red, yellow, and orange bell peppers and precook them to get them nice and soft. Then I stuff them with a mixture of quinoa, chopped spinach, kalamata olives, and feta cheese. I finish them off with a dollop of home made hummus and my favorite Trader Joe’s Cilantro and Chive Yogurt Dip. The quinoa is a great grain choice in a meatless meal because it gives you some protein. You also get some protein from the hummus. There is so much flavor with the olives and feta…this is really a great combination of ingredients. There are a few steps to this dish, but you can do them all ahead of time and refrigerate them until you are ready to heat them up in the oven.  You can cut a couple of corners by using a store bought hummus or using frozen spinach (I like to use fresh and chop it small  because my kids like it better that way). This recipe makes enough for my family of four with a  little left over. Max has already called dibs on the left overs for his lunch tomorrow.

You can use any color of peppers that you like. These are my fave…I don’t care for green!

I cut them in half and clean out the seeds/veins. They get a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and some salt and pepper before going in the oven.

I saute some chopped onion and garlic in olive oil…

Then add the chopped spinach…

Peppers filled with quinoa/spinach mixture ready to go in the oven…

Mediterranean Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

  • 6 bell peppers
  • Olive Oil
  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 2 cups chicken stock, veggie stock, or water
  • 8 ounces (about 5 packed cups) fresh spinach, chopped in a food processor OR 10 ounce package of frozen spinach, thawed and excess water removed
  • one medium onion, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 cup of roughly chopped kalamata olives
  • 6 ounce package of crumbled feta cheese
  • 1/2 cup of toasted pine nuts
  • juicy from half of a fresh lemon

To top off the peppers:

  • Trader Joe’s Cilantro and Chive Yogurt Dip, Tzatziki sauce, or Greek yogurt
  • Hummus (recipe below)
  • Fresh chopped Italian Parsley

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Cut your bell peppers in half lengthwise and clean out seeds and veins. Put in a baking dish with the cut side facing up (you will need 2) and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with a little kosher salt and freshly ground pepper and bake for about 30 minutes.

While peppers are cooking, cook quinoa in a small sauce pan. Make sure that you check to see if your quinoa is pre-rinsed…if it is not, you need to rinse if first. Combine the quinoa with the stock or water and bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Drain any extra liquid left after it is done cooking.

In a medium pan, saute chopped onion with some olive oil for about 10 minutes. Add garlic and saute for a few more minutes. Add spinach and cook until it has wilted and most of the water has evaporated, just a few minutes. If using frozen spinach, turn off the heat and just mix it in to the onions/garlic. Season with salt and pepper (remember you don’t need too much salt…especially if you cook the quinoa in chicken stock. Also, the olives and feta add a lot of salt). Add the quinoa, olives,  feta and pine nuts to the spinach & onions and mix well. Add the lemon juice and mix well. Taste to see if you need any more salt or pepper.

Remove the peppers from the oven, lower the oven to 350 degrees, and let them cool a bit. Stuff them with the quinoa mixture and return to the oven for about 20 more minutes.  Since everything is cooked, they just need to cook until the peppers are as soft as you like them. Remove them from the oven, let cool for a few minutes, and top with hummus and yogurt dip and garnish with parsley.

This dip is a staple in my fridge. So good on so many things!

Hummus

Ingredients:

  • 1 can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
  • 3 tablespoons of tahini paste
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 2 tablespoons good olive oil
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Put the beans, tahini, garlic, and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until well blended, scraping down the sides as needed. Turn the processor on and add the olive oil slowly and blend until creamy. If it is too thick, add a little water 1 teaspoon at a time until it is at your desired consistency. For a little something to spice it up…add a couple dashes of Tabasco Sauce.

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Super Easy Three Bean and Farro Chili

7 May

This was a really easy week night dinner!  Last week we had a few drizzly and gloomy days so I was craving chili. I figured I better make it one more time before it is too warm and I have to wait for fall.  I wanted to experiment with a meatless chili. I really try to cook meatless  as much as possible during the week. I did use chicken stock in the recipe, but that would be easy to switch to veggie stock if you wanted it to be a true vegetarian meal. I also wanted something quick and easy… this totally fit the bill! AND it gave me another use for my new favorite grain…farro. Farro is a whole grain that looks a little like barley, and retains a soft but chewy texture when cooked.  It is rich in fiber, magnesium and vitamins A, B, C, and E, and is low in gluten. When combined with legumes, it becomes a complete protein…perfect for a meatless dinner! For this recipe I used a semi-pearled farro (a portion of the outer bran has been removed) which cooks more quickly than hulled farro (all of the outer bran is left intact). I love the way that the farro gives the chili a texture that makes me not miss the meat! You can buy Farro at health food stores like Whole Foods or Williams-Sonoma. You can also buy it on line at Amazon -  http://www.amazon.com/Roland-Farro-3-lbs-Bag/dp/B0028VZEJQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336406809&sr=8-1

Food Critics’ Rating: Max (my 8 year old) gave this dinner two very enthusiastic thumbs up and highly enjoyed left-overs the next day. Finn (my picky 5 year old)…not so much. He ate it with complaints and kept saying “were is the meat part?”.  My husband really liked it.

I bought this at Hanson’s market – San Clemente’s local health store

Cooked Farro

I have seen a lot of vegetarian chili recipes with sweet potato so I wanted to try it in mine. I am the only person in my family who likes sweet potato so I decided to do it on the side and add it to my serving to avoid any complaints. I diced up 1 sweet potato and tossed it with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and roasted it in my toaster oven at 45o degrees for about 25 minutes. It came out delicious and added a yummy sweetness to the chili.  I’m sure it would cook fine if you did it with the chili, but this way the non-sweet potato eaters in the family wouldn’t complain. I love the way it tastes roasted so I would probably just do it this way all the time.

Roasted Sweet Potato

So…here is the recipe to this super easy almost vegetarian chili:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup semi-pearled farro

1 quart of organic chicken stock (or vegetable stock to keep this completely vegetarian)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium to large yellow onion, chopped

1 large red pepper, chopped

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

1 seven ounce can of whole Ortega chiles, drained, seeded and chopped

2 teaspoons of cumin (I don’t love cumin, so I only use 1 teaspoon)

1 – 2 tablesppons of chili powder (depending on how hot you like your chili)

1 28 ounce can of petite diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

1 can each of kidney beans, black beans, & garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

a couple shakes of tobasco

Optional garnishes:

crumbled queso fresco, cilantro, chopped scallions, avocado, black olives, sour cream

Method:

In a small saucepan, cook the farro in 2 cups of the chicken stock. You may need to rinse the farro first – check your package directions. Add farro and stock to pan, bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low for about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and fluff with a fork. Set aside while you make the chili. In a large Dutch oven, saute the onion and pepper in olive oil for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for a few more minutes. Add the green chiles, cumin, and chili powder and mix well. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes and tomato paste and bring to a simmer. Cover and let simmer stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes. If you want to serve this with the sweet potato you can prepare it while the chili is cooking. Dice one or two sweet potatoes into cubes and toss with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in a conventional oven or toaster oven at 450 for about 15-20 minutes. After the chili simmers for 20 minutes, add the beans and cooked farro and mix well. Add a few dashes of Tobasco sauce for some extra heat and flavor, taste to see if you need salt or pepper – depending on how salty your chicken stock is you may not need it…I needed about 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Serve with any or all of the optional garnishes.

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Spinach and Broccoli Lasagna

1 May

I LOVE lasagna. I don’t necessarily love making it…but this one was definitely worth the effort. I did a veggie lasagna with a ton of spinach, broccoli, and artichoke hearts. I was a hit with my boys. I guess when you smother your spinach and broccoli in a creamy ricotta cheese that has been blended with basil, parsley, pine nuts and garlic…it tastes pretty darn good. I used regular lasagna noodles (the kind you have to boil) because that’s what I had. In my opinion, they are much tastier then the no-boil kind because they are thicker and have a better “bite” to them. It’s an extra step, so if you want to save time you can go the no-boil route. I also used a jarred sauce…too many other steps going on to make my own. I used the “Rao’s” brand sauce that I like. It’s several steps above something like Prego or Ragu.

Spinach that I chopped in the food processor

Chopped Broccoli

Ricotta Cheese blended with basil, parsley and pine nuts

Spinach and Broccoli Lasagna

Ingredients:

  • 1 package lasagna noodles
  • 1  32 ounce jar of marinara sauce or 4 cups of home-made sauce
  • 12 ounces of washed baby spinach (about 6 cups)
  • 1  12 ounce bag of broccoli florets
  • 3 cups of ricotta cheese
  • 1 cup basil leaves
  • 1/2 cup italian parsley
  • 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  •  2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 can of artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
  • a few shakes of red pepper flakes
  • 3 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
  • kosher salt and pepper

Pre-heat oven to 375

Boil your lasagna noodles in a large pot of well salted water. My box said 12 minutes to “al dente” and I cooked them for about 7 minutes. You want them way under cooked because they will finish in the oven. While you cook your noodles, roughly chop the broccoli and set aside. In a food processor, pulse the spinach (you will need to do this in batches) until it is all chopped. You don’t want it fine like pesto, just a rough chop. Remove from the food processor and set aside.  Add your basil, parsley, toasted pine nuts, 1/2 cup of parmesan and garlic to the bowl of the food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the ricotta, the eggs, and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and some freshly ground pepper and pulse until it is all combined.

In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil and saute the onion for about 5 minutes. Add the broccoli and red pepper flakes (to taste) and saute for another 5 minutes. Add the spinach (in batches if necessary) and saute for another minute until it has wilted. You don’t really want to cook the veggies all the way, they will cook in the oven. Turn off the heat, add the artichoke hearts, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and some fresh ground pepper and mix well.

sauteed onion, broccoli, spinach and artichoke hearts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now you are ready to assemble:

  1. Butter a large, deep baking dish to keep the lasagna from sticking
  2. Add one cup of the sauce to the bottom of the dish
  3. Add your first layer of noodles
  4. Add 1/2 of your veggie mixture on top of the noodles
  5. Drizzle one cup of sauce over the veggies (it will not cover them completely)
  6. Add 1/2 of your ricotta mixture in spoonfuls on top of the veggies/sauce
  7. Sprinkle on one cup of mozzarella cheese on top of the ricotta
  8. Add your next layer of noodles on top of the cheese
  9. Layer on the remaining veggies
  10. Drizzle another cup of sauce on the veggies
  11. Add the remaining ricotta in spoonfuls
  12. Sprinkle another cup of mozarella
  13. Put your last layer of noodles on top of the cheese and gently pat down to compress
  14. Top with the last cup of sauce and spread evenly over the noodles
  15. Sprinkle on the rest of the mozzarella and the remaining 1/2 cup of parmesan on top

Cover in foil and bake in pre-heated oven for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes or until top is lightly browned and bubbly. You can put under the broiler for a minute of you want to brown top a bit. Let sit for a good 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

 

Tips:

  • After I boil and drain my noodles, I lay them out on foil that I have sprayed with non-stick spray so they won’t stick.
  • When you cover your lasagna with foil to bake, spray the side that will be touching the top of the lasagna with non-stick spray so the cheese doesn’t stick to the foil.

 

 

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