Monthly Archive for February, 2011

Broccoli Cheddar Quiche

Published on February 28, 2011 in eggs and Main Courses. 2 Comments

So, did you watch the Oscars? Did you win your office pool? Can you believe she wore that? Inquiring minds want to know.

Every year, I am enthralled by the high drama of Hollywood award season. And the pièce de resistance is, of course, the Oscars. Never mind that I’ve seen only a handful of this year’s nominees; it’s the spectacle that I enjoy more than anything…the red carpet arrivals, rewinding and watching the reactions of the nominees who *don’t* win (how good of an actor are they at that moment?), and the fashion dos and don’ts. I love it all.

Naturally, we have a special day of eating for the Oscars. It’s never the same thing, but you must have champagne and you must also have assorted hors d’oeuvres (pronounced “horz doo-vores”) to recreate that cocktail party atmosphere. So we had these and this and to counteract the massive intake of ice cream (also required), broccoli cheddar quiche (you know, because there’s a green vegetable in there amongst all that cheese). It would be cute and cocktaily to do little individual ones, but um, well, I didn’t (I did mention that Oscar viewing starts pretty early in this house, yes? One doesn’t want to be too encumbered with cooking on Oscar day.).

So, I enjoyed the telecast overall, despite the fact that James Franco completely checked out about 15 minutes in and Anne Hathaway was forced to literally sing and dance to make up for it (and that became rather tiring after awhile). And while there weren’t too many fashion missteps (unfortunately), there wasn’t anything really mindblowing. My favorite comment of the night from Ryan was in response to the commentators referring to nominee Michelle Williams as the “perfect pixie”: “Too much pixie. Not enough dust.” Which is what you could say about the whole telecast. Too much pixie. Not enough dust. Good thing we ate well.

Broccoli Cheddar Quiche

1 9-inch pie shell
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme (fresh basil would be nice too)
1 1/2 cups broccoli florets and sliced stalks
4 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
Black pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sauté the onion and thyme in a 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat (if you’re really pressed for time, you can just put the onions into the egg mixture). Steam the broccoli for 2 minutes. Whisk the eggs with the milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Press about half of the cheese into the crust of the pie shell. Add the steamed broccoli, then pour the egg mixture over the top. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake at 375° for 35 to 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Recipe hunting made easier

Published on February 25, 2011 in Inspiration. 0 Comments

My techie husband alerted me to this cool new feature from Google:

You can now do a Google search and specify only recipes in the results. You can search for a specific recipe or by ingredient, cuisine, whatever. Pretty cool, huh?

Tempeh-Stuffed Peppers

Published on February 23, 2011 in Grains + Rice, Main Courses, Side Dishes and Tofu + Tempeh. 2 Comments Tags: , , , .

As I’ve mentioned many times before, my mother is an excellent cook. So much so that it is possible for me to name the exactly three times Mom made something that was just not up to snuff. I’d say that’s a pretty good record for any cook, let alone one who had four kids in five years and cooked pretty much every meal we ate.

Two of the recipes were admittedly experiments — recipes pulled from magazines with the promise of a catchy name or an exotic list of ingredients. The first one, “chicken in a biscuit” was a misguided attempt at creating a casserole out of bone-in chicken pieces and biscuits. Soggy, unattractive and just not right. The second, cheese blintzes, had too much going on. I seem to recall some kind of sweet sauce that perhaps would’ve been better served with a dessert blintz rather than a savory one.

The third — and my siblings may disagree with me on this one — was stuffed peppers. I think part of the problem was that I really hated green peppers — this is back when a mellower-flavored yellow or red pepper was not an option. They were just so strong, as was the filling, and my youthful taste buds just couldn’t take it. To be honest, I’m still not crazy about green peppers, but am working on learning to like them (cooked, not raw).

All of which is to say, I’m not sure what possessed me to make stuffed peppers. I suppose it was the lovely peppers I found at the market, combined with a surplus of tempeh, along with some leftover brown rice that needed to be put to use. Stat.

And I must say, they turned out rather well. I would even venture to say this would make a nice side or main dish at a dinner party. I mean, come on — things in edible packages are cute and festive (with lids to boot!). I stuffed the peppers with a Spanish style filling, but you could go in lots of different directions here: Mexican (cumin/chili powder/chipotle), Indian (curry/cumin/turmeric), Italian (basil/lemon/oregano), Asian (sesame/soy/satay)…you get the idea.

So maybe it was just me. Maybe Mom’s stuffed peppers were actually really good, and I just was too young to appreciate them. But I’m still not going to attempt chicken in a biscuit. Not a chance.

Tempeh-Stuffed Peppers

4 peppers (in the color of your choosing)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion (~1 cup), finely chopped
16 ounces tempeh
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup of veggies (corn, carrots, edamame, peas all work well), fresh or frozen
1 cup crushed tomatoes (or pasta sauce in a pinch)
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1/2 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
Salt
Red pepper flakes (optional)
3/4 cup cheese, shredded (provolone, mozzarella, fontina, cheddar all work)

Preheat oven to 375ºF/190ºC.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cut the tops off the peppers and remove stem, seeds and white ribs. Cook the peppers (and tops) in the boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove with a strainer or tongs and drain in a colander.

While the peppers are cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes). Crumble the tempeh into the pan, and cook until tempeh browns, 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add veggies, rice, spices and tomatoes and stir to coat. Add the stock a bit at a time if the mixture is dry. Add salt and red pepper flakes to taste. Remove from heat.

Arrange the peppers cut side up in an 8″ square pan coated or sprayed with olive oil. Fill the peppers with the tempeh mixture, then place the tops back on each pepper. Cover with foil and bake 15 minutes. Remove foil and tuck the pepper tops along the sides of the pan. Sprinkle each pepper with a couple tablespoons of cheese. Bake uncovered another 15 minutes, or until tops are browned.

Culinary Tools Poster

Published on February 22, 2011 in Design. 0 Comments

This poster from Pop Chart Lab is pretty groovy, particularly the use of the word “splendiferous.” One just doesn’t get very many opportunities to use that word. Splendiferous. Say it with me.

via Door Sixteen

Banana Bread and…my 100th Post!

Published on February 21, 2011 in Breads + Muffins, Desserts and fruit. 7 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .


Yeah, I kinda can’t believe it myself. 100 posts. That’s a lot of talkin’ ’bout food. And other things too, of course. I’m rather proud of myself, I must say. And to celebrate, let’s make something sweet and yummy and happy. I need that. Because after an amazingly beautiful 60ºF day on Friday, we woke up this morning to snow. More snow. And it’s still falling, folks.


So if we’re going to make it through this winter, we’re going to need sustenance. And I mean the kind of sustenance one can only receive from butter. But before you start feeling guilty, take note that there’s no refined sugar in this banana bread. And there’s yogurt and bananas and nuts too, which means it’s also quite healthy. Really.

So if you’re in this east coast blizzard (or even if you’re not), hunker down and make some of this banana bread with your loved one(s)*. And while it’s baking and filling your kitchen with warm happy smells, raise a glass (or a mug of coffee, if it’s before noon) with me and toast to the big 100. Thanks, readers (all five of you), who support this little endeavor of mine. To the next 100 posts…!

Banana Bread

Adapted liberally from Martha Stewart’s Entertaining

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup brown rice syrup
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups flour (I used 1/2 whole-wheat and 1/2 all-purpose flours)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (about 2) ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Toast the nuts in the oven for 7 minutes, then chop. Cream the butter and sugar. Mix in the eggs. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together, then gradually add to the wet ingredients. Add the bananas, yogurt and vanilla. Stir in the flax seeds and nuts and pour into a greased 9″ x 5″ x 3″ loaf pan [or muffin tin].

Bake for about one hour or until a toothpick comes out clean (start checking around 50 minutes). Cool for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack for additional cooling (and cutting and eating).

* A special congratulations to Nadia and the birth of her latest loved one, beautiful boy Miles!