A Moveable Feast of One Foodie's (mostly) Vegetarian Adventures
This was so good-looking, I just had to take a photo. I’m a weirdo. I know this.
Scrambled eggs with Monterey Jack, black beans, avocado and Cholula (if you don’t know about Cholula, you are either a) living under a rock or b) don’t like hot sauce (in which case you should just pack it in and move to a).
Christmas cookie recipe #1 coming up…
I make a variation of this dish quite often and especially now that we are looking at a very loooong and cold winter coming our way, it will probably go into heavy rotation around here. The constants are the lentils and some type of green; what varies are the other veggies and spices.
This time I went the Indian route, which gives a nice spicy kick to the hearty and basic veggies. If that’s not your style, you can go more Provençal with thyme, bay leaves and rosemary. And now that I think about it, this stew is also pretty similar to the yummy hambone lentil soup my mom always had waiting for us after skiing (minus the hambone, mind you). No wonder I like it so much. I’m a sucker for a Proustian food memory…
Lentil & Swiss Chard Stew
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
2 carrots, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1 large potato (I used an Idaho), peel and diced
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon garam masala*
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
1 cup lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 quart vegetable stock
3-4 cups Swiss chard, stems and big ribs removed, coarsely sliced into ribbons
Salt
Black pepper
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a heavy stockpot. Sauté the onion for a few minutes until translucent. Add the carrots and cook for another 2-3 minutes and then repeat with the celery. Add the potatoes and then the spices, including salt, cook for another 5 minutes or so. Add the lentils and then the stock. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat. Cover partially and simmer until the lentils are soft but not mushy, about 25 minutes. Stir in the chard and cook just until wilted, but still bright green. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper if necessary.
* Garam masala is a traditional Indian spice mixture consisting of some or all of the following: black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, cloves, ginger, star anise and nutmeg. The mix I used contained the first 6 spices.
This is a recipe of my darling dad’s, who is sadly, heartbreakingly, no longer with us. My dad was a late bloomer in the cooking department, but once he got going, there was no stopping him! He was the mad scientist to my mom’s Betty Crocker, doctoring a recipe or just making it up as he went along. He never met a spice or condiment that he didn’t like – and I definitely take after him in that regard. I’m not exactly sure where this pasta salad recipe came from, but it’s right up my alley with lots of spices and goodies in every bite. My dad had such a zest for life and that always came across in his cooking – full of flavor, fun and gusto.
This is a great summer picnic salad; it just feels beachy and fun to me. Never mind it’s November. I’m just going to pretend I’m still in Buenos Aires, where it’s Spring, so there. And yes, you can eat it right away, but it gets better if it sits in the fridge for a few hours so the flavors get incorporated into the pasta and everything gets nice and cold.
Tex-Mex Pasta Salad
Pasta:
1 pound penne (or other pasta with nooks and crannies, e.g., fusilli, farfalle)
1 15-ounce/210 g can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup corn (about 2 ears worth of fresh)
1 cup celery, diced (about 2-3 stalks)
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup pickled pepperoncini, chopped (optional, but this is what gives it some heat)
Tabasco or other hot sauce (optional)
Dressing:
2/3 cup Italian salad dressing (bottled or homemade)
1/2 cup mayonnaise or Veganaise
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1//4 teaspoon cayenne
Salt to taste
Boil the pasta in salted water according to directions. While the pasta is cooking, chop and prep all your veggies. Make the dressing in the bowl you’re going to serve the salad in and dump the veggies in. Drain the cooked pasta and add to the bowl, mixing well. Taste for seasoning; add salt if necessary.
Fall is officially here. It’s blustery (especially if you live right by the Hudson River like we do), the leaves are crunching underfoot and the farmer’s market is chock full of butternut squash. So yes, friends, it is time for this stew. It’s not just any stew though; it’s sweet and spicy, earthy and hearty, and it brings me back.
Back to Morocco and the incredible flavors, beautiful things and warm people we found. It was a long time ago (so long that these photos are pre-digital (!) and yes, I unearthed them from the box on the very bottom of the as-yet-unpacked pile wedged in the back of the closet), but I still remember the crazy intensity of the souks, the twisting and narrow paths lined with stalls selling everything from nail files to exotic birds. People haggling, eating, living in their small corner of the market. I couldn’t get enough of the spice stalls. Barrel upon barrel of heady spices piled like pyramids: cinnamon, cumin, ginger, cardamom, saffron (those lovely orangey threads weren’t piled in barrels, but were ridiculously abundant compared to the typical miniature pillbox you get in the US). I just wanted to plunge my hands into the piles and roll around in them. I’m weird like that.
This stew has a few of those spices and some other flavors as well. I love the clean barley bite of the Israeli couscous combined with the rich smoky sweetness of the squash. The almonds add a nice crunch, while the parsley does its fresh little grassy dance on top.
It’s a stew that should be eaten hot on a cold night while dreaming of camel rides in the desert.
If you’re stopping by for the first time via Pretty Mommy, welcome. Come on in and poke around. I hope you find other fun stuff that gets your mouth watering and your stomach growling.
Butternut Squash Stew with Couscous
Adapted from Real Simple
Note: The original recipe has you cook the squash on the stove, but I think the sweetness of the roasted butternut squash brings a lot more flavor to the dish. It is an extra step and requires another pan (and the oven), so if you’re in a rush, feel free to go the stovetop route. You’ll need to cook the squash for about 10-15 minutes longer.
2 pounds/just under a kilo (4 cups) of butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1-1/2 teaspoons cumin
1-15 oz/210 g can diced or crushed tomatoes
1/3 cup dried cranberries
32 oz/~1 liter vegetable broth
1-15 oz/210 g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/3 cups Israeli couscous (the big pearly kind)
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup almonds, roughly chopped
Preheat the oven to 425ºF/218ºC. Combine the squash, garlic, olive and oil and half of each of the spices on a sheet pan and mix with your hands to completely coat the squash. Roast, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender and caramelized (about 30 minutes).
In a large pot or Dutch oven (I like to use my Le Creuset), heat a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Mince the roasted garlic and add that along with the other half of the spices and cook for a minute or two. Stir in the squash, tomatoes, cranberries, broth, chickpeas, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.
While that’s simmering away, bring 1-3/4 cups water (or stock) and the remaining salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in the couscous. Cover and simmer on low heat for about 12 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed.
Serve with a sprinkle of parsley and almonds.
I make hummus a lot. This is another recipe that reminds me of my dad. He used to make hummus a lot too, except he went CA-RAZY with the garlic. Like, I mean, cuckoo-for-Cocoa-Puffs crazy. But as long as everyone was eating it, then it wasn’t too bad. Otherwise, watch out! I’ve toned mine down a bit. Plus, I’ve noticed that the garlic in Argentina is a lot stronger than the garlic in NY. Isn’t that weird? I can’t figure out why, but I seem to use one clove when a recipe calls for two down here. Maybe it has something to do with the latitude? Or is it longitude? Perhaps I’ll never know. I also add a lot of lemon because I like the bright, acidy contrast to the creamy nuttiness of the tahini. I’ve also given a range on the amount of olive oil because some people may want to go easy on it and that’s fine. Also keep in mind that if you use beans that you soaked and cooked (and you remembered to save some of the cooking liquid), you can use more of that and less oil. You just need enough to blend everything together and hold it there. Hummus does not have to be oozing olive oil…not that there’s anything wrong with that.
This is another of those recipes (this seems to be a theme!) where you can use any old bean you have lying about and it will be great. Try cannellini or even black beans. Also, if you don’t have tahini, then just leave it out. It’s okay. We won’t tell anyone.* Just make sure you have good dipping items about — bread, crackers, tortilla chips, carrot sticks, I could go on…you get the idea. Wing it!
Lemon Hummus
1 14-15 ounce/210g can chickpeas, rinsed
1/4 cup of the liquid reserved from the can (or cooking liquid from beans that have been soaked and cooked)
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tahini
Zest and juice of one lemon
1/3-1/2 cup olive oil
Salt to taste
Put the first five ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse a bit. While the machine is running, slowly pour the olive oil in through the feed tube (weird that it’s called that). Add salt to taste and blend until you have the consistency you like (some like it chunky; others go for super-smooth — your call).
You can serve it with a little pool of olive oil and a few bright flecks of lemon zest on top. Other fun toppings: a smattering of Tabasco or some other hot sauce, like hot chili oil (yum), a dash of dried oregano, fresh chives, a few whole chickpeas, olives, roasted red peppers…okay, I’ll stop now.
* But you should know that the combination of the tahini with the chickpeas makes hummus a complete protein. So if you are a vegetarian and are looking for those pesky complete proteins, then use the tahini…in good health!