Oatmeal

This was blatantly copied from a Whole Food recipe, but resized and adjusted a bit for my preferences.

A perfect way to start a day of healthy eating! And who would have thought that a bowl of oatmeal could provide over half of the daily value for those hard-to-find omega-3 fatty acids as well as 109% of the daily value for manganese. Enjoy!

Prep and Cook Time: 30 minutes Ingredients: 1-1/2 cups water dash salt 1/2 cup thick rolled oats 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/4 cup dried cranberries 1/4 cup chopped walnuts 1 TBS ground flaxseeds 2 tsp blackstrap molasses or dark brown sugar milk or yogurt

Directions:

1. Combine the oatmeal, water and salt in a small saucepan and turn the heat to high, stirring, until the water is just absorbed, about 10 minutes. 
2. Add cinnamon, cranberries, walnuts, and flaxseeds. Stir, cover the pan, and turn off heat. Let set for 5 minutes. Serve with milk and molasses.
3. Serves 2
   
   
   

Peanut Brittle

This is a recipe that has been a holiday tradition for many years. It has evolved over time and this latest version has been modified to accommodate our new elevation and propane gas stove.

You will need a candy thermometer or know how to tell the temp of your candy the old-fashioned way.

• 3 c shelled roasted peanuts
• 2 c sugar
• 3/4 c Karo syrup
• 1 c water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 rounded tsp baking soda

1. Place the nuts in a shallow baking dish and place them in a 300 F oven, stirring every 10 min or so.
2. While the nuts are warming, combine the sugar, Karo syrup, water and salt in a heavy-bottom 3 or 4 qt pan, cooking at medium high heat.  No stirring is required.
3. While the sugar mixture cooks, place two 18" pieces of aluminum foil on a heat-resistant surface (I use the bottom of two overturned cookie sheets).
4. Measure the baking soda into a small dish so you can add it quickly.
5. When the candy reaches 260 degrees, turn the heat to medium.
6. When the candy reaches 300 degrees, it should have a golden color.  Remove it from the heat, add in the hot nuts and stir a bit to coat them.  Add the baking soda and stir.  The mixture will foam vigorously - keep stirring to keep the foam down until the baking soda is well mixed.
   
   
   
7. Pour the candy mixture onto the aluminum foil - each piece should hold about half the mixture.  Rake down the mixture once.


8. Let the brittle cool completely, then peel the foil from the back, break the candy into pieces and place in an air-tight container.

NOTES  - The just-poured candy is extremely hot and sticky - it will give you a bad burn if it touches your skin.  - The cooking candy will sit at 220 degrees or so for quite awhile, but going from 260 to 300 degrees happens pretty quickly.  If you stop shy of 300 degrees, the brittle will be so sticky you can't eat it.  Much above 300 and it tastes "burned".  - Once the candy has cooled, it will become sticky to the touch after a short time.  Package it quickly - you can't let it sit around for long.  - In general, cooking candy works best on a day with lower humidity.  - For raw peanuts, roast them first by placing them in a baking sheet and cook in a 275 degree for an hour or so.  They are done when they smell nice and have a slight change in color.

Indian-Spiced Sauerkraut

This is our first attempt at making sauerkraut since taking the fermentation class over a year ago. In the interim,  friend gave us some wonderful homemade sauerkraut that had Indian style spicing, but we were not successful at getting to recipe. Thanks to the power of Google, we found a recipe to use as a base for experimentation.

Credits: this is from a recipe by Alex Hozven

We bought  3 cabbages from the farmer's market that weighed in at about 6.25 lbs. The original recipe was for 4 lbs so we modified accordingly. I'm listing the original amounts this time since I'm too lazy to change them.

Ingredients:

• 4 lbs green cabbage, sliced coarsely on a mandoline
• 1 Tbs cumin seeds
• 1 Tbs coriander seeds
• 1/2 Tbs fennel seeds
• 1/2 Tbs black peppercorns
• 1 tsp brown mustard seeds
• 1 tsp fenugreek
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 Tbs plus 2 tsp coarse sea salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a very large bowl. Squeeze the cabbage to release some liquid. Press a heavy plate on the cabbage to weigh it down and let stand at room temperature, tossing and squeezing the cabbage 4 or 5 more times, until it has released enough liquid to cover, about 4 hours.
2. Pour the cabbage and its liquid into a clean ceramic crock or tall glass container. Top the cabbage with a clean plate that just fits inside the crock. Place a glass or ceramic bowl on the plate and put a heavy can in the bowl; the cabbage should be completely submerged in its brine by at least a 1/2 inch. Cover the crock with a clean kitchen towel and set it in a cool, dark place to ferment for about 6 weeks.
3. Every 3 days, clean and replace the plate that sits on the cabbage, carefully skimming any foam or mold that forms on the surface of the liquid. Discard the cabbage and its liquid if it's foul-smelling, or if anything brown, moldy or slimy has penetrated below what can easily be scraped off the surface. If too much liquid evaporates before the sauerkraut is sufficiently fermented, dissolve 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt in 1 cup of spring water and add it to the crock. When the sauerkraut is ready, it should have a light crunch and a bright, pleasantly tangy taste, with an acidity similar to that of a lemon.

The sauerkraut can be refrigerated in its brine in a glass or ceramic jar for up to 6 months. Drain before serving.

Baba Ghanoush

This recipe is from "The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook" in my Kindle library. 

2 eggplants (1 pound each), pricked all over with fork 

2 tablespoons tahini 

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving 

4 teaspoons lemon juice 

1 small garlic clove, minced 

Salt and pepper 

2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley 

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees. Place eggplants on aluminum foil–lined rimmed baking sheet and roast, turning eggplants every 15 minutes, until uniformly soft when pressed with tongs, 40 to 60 minutes. Let eggplants cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet. 

2. Set colander over bowl. Trim top and bottom off each eggplant and slit eggplants lengthwise. Using spoon, scoop hot pulp into colander (you should have about 2 cups pulp); discard skins. Let pulp drain for 3 minutes.

3. Transfer drained eggplant to food processor. Add tahini, oil, lemon juice, garlic, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Pulse mixture to coarse puree, about 8 pulses. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

4. Transfer to serving bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour. (Dip can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours; bring to room temperature before serving.) Season with salt and pepper to taste, drizzle with extra oil to taste, and sprinkle with parsley before serving.

Fennel and Kohlrabi Salad

The Boone farmer's market had some lovely kohlrabi roots this weekend, but unfortunately they did not come with the leaves. I normally buy kohlrabi with leaves and make a tasty salad with lemons, sea salt & olive oil based on a recipe from Sheila Neal which I also modified very slightly and will also have to post someday.

Today's salad used the following ingredients which just happened to be in the fridg:

2 kohlrabi roots
1 fennel, bulb + leaves
1/2 large red onion
2 champagne mangos
1 medium jicama
3 celery stalks
cilantro, cut finely
2 limes, juice + zest
4 Tbs olive oil
sea salt

All the veggies were quickly sliced with a mandoline. The mango was diced. Combine all in a bowl and toss. This was served with crackers & goat cheese.

Mujaddara

 We discovered Mjadarah when living close to Neomonde, a Lebanese deli on the short list of what I miss most about Raleigh, NC. I lived there for over 20 years, lots of memories, but I miss Neomonde. Sigh.

So I tried to recreate this most wonderful of their dishes ... and it turns out that it isn't that hard. Lentils, rice, caramelized onions. My version is different, probably not traditional (typical recipes call for more rice than lentils) but often, it is every bit as good, maybe better. This tastes like I always wished home would taste.  Comfort food.

Ingredients:
4-6 large white onions (or yellow)
no garlic, that's right no garlic
1 cup brown rice (I use especially like the asian mixed rice shown below
1 cup green lentils (or brown, if you can't find green)
1 cinnamon stick
roasted cumin seeds
veggie bouillon (optional)
black pepper

First quarter the onions and slice crosswise into thin strips. Saute in a generous amount of olive oil unless you are on a diet. Stir cook for at least 30 minutes until the onion is caramelized to a nice dark brown.  The  olive oil is very tasty is I think more is better than less. If you are on a diet, this will be so delicious that you will not need the extra oil.

Feel free to stir the onions as often as you like. Sometimes I cover them, sometimes not.  They smell wonderful.

While the onions are cooking, rinse the rice. I always rinse rice 3 times so the grains separate nicely when cooked. Add water to cover and simmer. Unfortunately, I never measure the water. I cover the rice in enough water to have a little over 0.5 inches above the rice. I measure against a known point on my finger from the bottom of the pot I cook the rice in. Not helpful, I know. Cover the pot and turn the rice on high until it starts boiling, then lower to a simmer.

Stir the onions.

While the rice and onions are cooking, pick through the lentils, discarding the bad ones, keeping our eye peeled for the occasional pebble. I've only seen a couple over several years, but you don't want anyone to accidentally crunch down on one. Wash the lentils, cover and simmer in 2.5 cups of water with the cinnamon stick.

Stir the onions.

Occasionally test the lentils and turn off when the lentils are soft enough to eat, but before they get mushy (about 30 minutes). Some lentils get mushy quickly, but the green ones are not so delicate. Towards the end of cooking, optionally add bouillon. Bouillon is suggested, but totally optional.This dish has plenty of flavor without.

Stir the onions and add generous grind of roasted cumin seeds.

The mixed brown rice I use takes about 30 min to cook, but most brown rice takes 45 minutes. When the rice is tender and has absorbed most of the water turn it off.

Stir the onions.

When everything is done, mix together in the cast iron pan with the onions. Add a generous grind of black pepper. If you didn't use bouillon,  add salt to taste. Let it rest for a while if you aren't hungry. I'm usually hungry, or I wouldn't have started cooking. It will be even better tomorrow.

Feel free to improvise. I've added mushrooms & ginger,  fire roasted tomatoes, more or less rice & lentils, different spices. I've cooked it all in one dish when feeling lazy (caramelize onions then add rice, lentils & water & cook). It is always tasty.

If this is for company, make LOTS of onions and only mix in half. Use the rest as a decorative topping. This is traditional, but it seems to miss the point of distribution the wonderful onions through out the dish.

Kale and Potato Soup with Red Chili

This recipe came from The Greens Cookbook by Deborah Madison. A wonderful book that all veggie lovers should own. The recipes in this book are from the Greens Restaurant when it was in it's hey-day. We usually make a double recipe.

The Stock
The ingredients of this soup supply plenty of flavor, so use water to prepare a simple stock using the stems of the kale.

The Soup
1 bunch kale
3 Tablespoons virgin olive oil
1 medium red or yellow onion, diced into ½ inch squares
6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 small dried red chili, seeded and chopped, or ½ teaspoon chili flakes
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
4 medium red potatoes (about 1 pound), scrubbed and diced into ½ inch cubes
2 teaspoons nutritional yeast (optional)
7 cups water or stock
Pepper
Creme fraiche or sour cream (optional)

Update: Replaced onion with 2 thinly sliced leeks, sweated down in 2Tbs butter - reduced olive oil to 2 Tbs; replaced kale with collards. added 1/2 cube bouillon. Oh my, this was the BEST!

Using a sharp knife or kitchen shears cut the ruffled kale leaves off their stems, which are very tough and take a long time to cook. Cut the leaves into pieces roughly 2 inches square, wash them well, and set them aside.

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot, add the onion, garlic, chili, bay leaf, and salt, and cook over medium-high heat for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the potatoes and the yeast, if using, plus a cup of the water or stock. Stir together, cover, and cook slowly for 5 minutes.

Add the kale, cover, and steam until it is wilted, stirring occasionally. Pour in the rest of the water or stock, bring to a boil, and then simmer slowly, covered, until the potatoes are quite soft, 30 to 40 minutes.

Use the back of a wooden spoon to break up the potatoes by pressing them against the sides of the pot, or puree a cup or two of the soup in a blender and return it to the pot. This will make a unifying background for the other elements.

Taste the soup for salt and add a generous grinding of black pepper. If possible, let the soup sit for an hour or so before serving to allow the flavors to further develop. If desired add a spoonful of creme fraiche or sour cream. Serves 4 - 6.