Sweet Potato, Black Bean and Corn Salad

A while ago, I was trying to figure out what new side dish I could make to go with tacos.  Somehow I came up with this.  I love sweet potatoes, and I think they go well with black beans.  The hardest part of this recipe is chopping up the sweet potatoes.  I usually do it early in the day and toss them with a little olive oil.  Then I store them in the fridge until shortly before dinner.

A couple of sweet potatoes  (seriously, it doesn't matter how many)
A bag of frozen corn (yes, foodies, frozen corn.  get over it)
1-2 cans of black beans
1 bunch of cilantro

Chop up the sweet potatoes into small chunks.  This takes some time and is kind of a pain, but it is worth it.  Toss them with some olive oil.

Roast the sweet potatoes in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes.  They should be easy to pierce with a fork and some should be turning brown.

Allow the sweet potatoes to cool for as long as you've got.

Put the sweet potatoes in a big bowl.  Defrost the corn.  Drain the black beans and rinse thoroughly.   Add the corn and black beans.  I go for a ratio of one part sweet potatoes to one part corn to one part black beans, but it should be about what you like.

Toss the whole thing with olive oil.  Add a little apple cider vinegar (maybe a teaspoon) and then garnish generously with chopped cilantro.

Ta da!  Hardly a recipe, but it is good and good for you.

Broccoli Slaw

Big news this week:  I finally got around to putting a list of recipes on the blog.  This way you don't have to comb through all the previous posts to find what you're looking for.

Does your grocery store have bags of broccoli slaw?  Trader Joe's does, and I always wanted to eat it, but it isn't any good all by itself.  Most broccoli salad recipes (and slaw recipes, too) have mayonnaise, which I am afraid of.  It isn't that I don't like it -- I am actually afraid of it.  So, what to do with the broccoli slaw?  After getting some good advice from friends, I found this recipe on Food52.   I have tried grating my own slaw in the food processor (using all the parts of the broccoli that nature gives me!  So perfect!) but it doesn't actually work.  Honestly, if your grocery store doesn't sell the bags, I'd say skip this recipe.  Unless, of course, you have nothing to do but stand in front of a professional mandoline and make slaw.  Ha!

Now that I've got this recipe, I make it regularly.  People like it.  I've substituted pears for apples, and that is good, too.  It definitely increases the amount of broccoli I eat, and that has to be a good thing!


Broccoli Slaw

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 bag broccoli slaw
- 2 appples cored and sliced thinly
- 1/2 c. raisins
- 3/4 c. almonds, slivered
- 1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
- 2 t. soy sauce
- 2 t. lime juice from 2 limes
- 1 T. maple syrup
- 2 T. flavorless or canola oil
- black pepper
- 1 T. sesame oil


METHOD:

Pour bag of broccoli slaw into a bowl, along with apples, raisins and almonds.  Combine remaining ingredients in a jar and shake to combine.  Pour the dressing over the slaw and toss.  Don't let it sit too long -- after a while it gets soggy and unappealing.  

Pasta e Ceci

Looking for a good vegetarian recipe?  This one is fabulous.  I made this after reading a recipe on Williams-Sonoma's website.  I mostly followed their recipe, but they have a few steps where they really maximize the number of dishes you're going to have to do later, and I don't know why.  (Except that they make money on bowls and pots and things...wait a minute.)  Anyway, I streamlined the steps a little bit, and modified some of the fussier instructions.  (Can you finely dice?  I sure can't.)  They also call it a soup, which doesn't seem quite right to me.  Soupy pasta, maybe, but not pasta soup.

Note that you need to start the night before by putting the dried chickpeas in a bowl with plenty of cool water to soak.


INGREDIENTS:

- 3 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1/3 cup diced tomato (last time I used fresh, this time I'm using canned, I'll let you know if I can tell the difference)
- 1 1/4 cups dried chickpeas, soaked in water overnight, drained and rinsed
- 6 cups water
- 2 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 fresh rosemary sprigs, cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths
- Kosher salt, to taste
- 1/2 lb. tubetti pasta, cooked until al dente and drained.  I used orecchetti, because that's what they have at Trader Joe's.
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
- Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for serving


METHOD:

In a 3 1/2-quart Dutch oven over medium heat,  3 Tbs. olive oil. Add the carrots and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato and cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute. Add the chickpeas, water and thyme sprigs, increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until the chickpeas are tender, about 1.5 hours. Remove and discard the thyme sprigs.

In a small sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm the 1/4 c. olive oil. Add the rosemary and fry, 
stirring occasionally, until crisp, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and season lightly with salt.

Remove 2 cups of chickpea mixture and blend with a stick blender until it is almost smooth.  Return to the pot with the rest of the chickpea mixture.  Add the pasta and the 1/2 cup olive oil and stir until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.

Ladle the soup into warmed bowls, and garnish with the fried rosemary and cheese shavings.
SERVINGS: 6

Easiest Impressive Dinner ever

If you don't make roast chicken regularly, you really should.  Unless you're a vegetarian (you know who you are, blondie.)  It is delicious, and the leftovers are great tossed in salad or enchiladas or on sandwiches.

Many of you are squeamish about dead animals, and so maybe you're concerned about touching this thing that can look a little creepy.  I know that raw chicken isn't appetizing, but get over it.  You didn't have to kill it yourself, did you?  No plucking?  So count yourself lucky and get to work.  I promise your contact with raw chicken will be less than 5 minutes long.

I haven't posted this recipe (although it seems like an exaggeration to call it that) because it is so ridiculously easy, but every time I make roast chicken, I get compliments and people act impressed.  This is the perfect thing to make when people are coming over for dinner because you spend 15 minutes on it, throw it in the oven and then forget about it for an hour while you get ready for your guests and toss a salad together.

Step 1 is to buy a halfway decent chicken.  Money you spend on the chicken will pay off in terms of flavor and appearance.  As luck would have it, higher quality chicken scores lower on the creepy scale, too.  Really great chicken has no smell, did you know that?

Step 2 is to get a nice big pot (the one you cook pasta in will work well) and fill it with 4 quarts of water and 1 c. of kosher salt.  Yes, I said 1 cup of kosher salt.  Do not substitute table salt if you plan to eat the chicken -- it would be so salty you'd keel over.  And don't chicken out (sorry) and go with less salt.  The salt is absolutely the magic ingredient here.  Stir the water and salt together.  This is the brine, and it is what will distinguish your fabulous roast chicken from all the pale imitations out there.

Step 3 is to unwrap the chicken (or chickens, you can double and triple this with no trouble.)  If you're squeamish about chicken, this is where you move fast.  Grab the little bag of organs from the cavity and throw it away.  (No bag?  See step 1.)  Now throw the chicken in the pot, put the lid on, and put the whole pot in the fridge.  See?  That wasn't too hard, was it?

Step 4 is to go about your business for about 24 hours.

Step 5 is to preheat the oven to 400.  Get out two lengths of kitchen twine (available at Ace Hardware, among other places), a chopped up lemon or two, salt, pepper, and your handy dandy half sheet.  I know, you thought I'd suggest a roasting pan, right?  If you've got one, by all means, go ahead.  I had one once and I hated it, so I use a half sheet with a cooling rack on top.  It works great, and the grease drips down and stays away from the chicken, which is nice.

Now you're all ready to face that raw chicken again.  Set your watches, this will take about 2 minutes.  Take the pot out of the fridge.  Remove the chicken, let the water drip off for a second into the pot, then put the chicken on the cooling rack that is on top of the half sheet.  Stuff the lemon wedges into the cavity, tie the legs together with twine, and sprinkle on some salt and pepper.  The chicken should be positioned so that those tied-together legs are pointing up in the air.  DONE.  Yeah, seriously, that's all it takes.  Wash your hands really well.  Now put the whole thing in the oven and take the next hour off.  You just roasted a chicken.

After an hour, when the skin is nice and brown, take the chicken out.  If you're concerned that it might not be done, go ahead and either cut into the breast or use an instant-read thermometer.  The breast meat should be 160 degrees.  You can definitely give it a little longer if you want, though.  You brined the chicken with all that salt, and so it can take it.

Let the chicken rest for about 10 minutes while you toss together a salad or set the table.  Then carve it up and enjoy.

Curried Butternut Squash Dip

I got a book called Skinny Dips for Christmas, and I'm hoping to try one new dip each week in January.  This week I ostensibly tried a recipe called Butternut Squash Bharit, but since I didn't follow the recipe, I'll share with you what I did make.

Afternoon tends to be a tough time for healthy eating.  We're usually in a rush, and I struggle to find something for myself that follows my eating principles.  (I don't want to call them rules, because they aren't rules.  Guides, maybe?)  They are (in order):

1.  As little processed food as possible
2.  More fruits and vegetables
3.  More whole grains
4.  Kick in a little extra protein whenever you can

This dip fits in nicely.  I hope you enjoy it, too!  This doesn't make very much dip, so I may double the recipe next time I make it.



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Curried Butternut Squash Dip

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 12 oz bag butternut squash (thanks, Trader Joe's)
- 1 T. olive oil
- 1 T. unsalted butter
- 1 T. curry powder
- 1/2 jalapeño chile
- 3/4 c plain yogurt
- 1 t sea salt


METHOD:

First, toss the butternut squash pieces with the olive oil and roast in a 400 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes, until it is tender.  Let it sit until it is cool enough to handle.

Cut the jalapeño chile in half and remove the seeds.  Heat a small skilled and cook the jalapeño pepper for a few minutes, until some black spots appear on the skin.  with 1 T. of butter.  Add 1 T. of curry powder and cook for about a minute.  Turn off the heat and let it cool for a few minutes.

Put the butternut squash and the jalapeño and the butter curry mixture into the food processor and blend.  Add salt and yogurt, and blend some more.  If you like it spicier, you can certainly use the whole chile.




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My Grandmother's Chex Mix

My Grandmother is awesome.   Among other things, she taught me The Look -- the one that will make anyone from annoying salesgirl to creepy dude on the subway go away.  Every time.   Quickly.  It is possible that it was dangerous for someone who had mastered this look at 5 feet to teach it to someone who ended up a lot closer to 6 feet, but the damage is done and for some reason people just don't bother me.

Now that I've described her that way, you might not have the right idea.  She is definitely a Grandmother with a capital G.  Every year for Christmas we'd arrive at her house and she'd have an entire table covered with treats she'd been making. The world's best fudge, peppermint bark, cookies, forgotten cookies, and the all-important Chex Mix.  She'd make two batches:  one without peanuts for my cousin who didn't like peanuts and one with peanuts for the rest of us.  I scooped it up in a white teacup, curled up in an armchair, and settled in for another fantastic Christmas.

Shortly after we got married, we made Chex Mix, foolishly using the recipe on the box.  We took one bite and realized that my Grandmother had spoiled us with something completely different.  The stuff on the back of the box tastes like Chex.  Which is fine if you want to munch on Chex.

I called her and asked her how to make Chex Mix the way she made it.   "I just use the recipe on the box."  Yep, she's one of those women.  She also claimed the fudge recipe is on the back of the powdered sugar box.  So not true.  My sister is hard at work trying to reverse engineer the fudge, but I'm happy to tell you that after many batches, my husband and I got the Chex Mix right, and I'll even tell you the recipe.

By the way, this recipe has a lot of Worstershire sauce.  If your eyes never water a little from it all, you haven't put enough in.  When I opened the oven while I was making it, I teared up.   I'll bet you anything my Grandmother never teared up making this.  She just isn't the type.


Chex Mix

INGREDIENTS:

- 3 c. each corn, rice & wheat chex
- 1 c. pretzels
- 1 c. peanuts
- 6 T. butter, melted
- 4-5 T. Worstershire
- 1 t. garlic salt
- 1/4 t. cayenne
- 1/4 t. salt


METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 250 with the pan in the oven.  Use a half sheet.  No need to grease it or use a silpat or anything  -- didn't you notice the 6 T. of butter?

Combine butter, Worstershire, garlic salt, cayenne, and salt.  Pour over dry ingredients and mix well.  Spread on the half sheet and bake 30 minutes.  Take out, put in bowl, add more Worstershire.  Return it to the half sheet.  Bake an additional 30 minutes, cool on paper towels.

As a side note, if you buy one box each of Rice Chex and Corn Chex and two of wheat chex, you'll have just the right amount to make 4 batches. (Actually, you'll have some wheat chex left over, but not much.)   With two half sheets and an absolutely gigantic mixing bowl, I can make two batches of chex mix at a time.

The same setup allows me to make two batches of granola at once, which is a huge time saver.  I actually did not get my mixing bowl from Amazon.  I got it from a restaurant supply store, and it isn't stainless steel.  When it wears out I'll upgrade to stainless steel.  I think mine cost $7, and makes a great salad bowl if you're having a party for 20 people.

Kale Chips

These are so good that when I served them the other night, we didn't have enough of them.  That's right, an entire bunch of kale (admittedly, a small bunch) wasn't enough.  If you have some reason to believe that the health benefits of kale are drastically reduced by time in the oven, please don't tell me.  I can assure you that cooked kale is better than no kale, and those are the options at my house.  Maybe someday we'll expand our horizons, but for now we're eating kale chips until we turn green.

There's talk on the internet that kale chips taste just like potato chips.  If you think that, I strongly recommend that you never eat a potato chip again.  You've clearly forgotten what they taste like, and that must work wonders for your self-control.  If, like most people in this country, you remember very clearly what a potato chip tastes like, don't listen to these people.  Kale chips taste salty and crunchy, which is awesome.  They do not taste like potato chips.

I like the curly kale best, although all the kinds I've tried work.  Trader Joe's is selling bags of washed and cut up kale to make this extra-easy, although I haven't actually tried it.   Mark Bittman recently broke my heart by making a convincing argument against bagged salad.  My convenience foods seem to get chipped away one by one.  I make so many things from scratch...can't I just have a factory somewhere get my salad ready for me?

Speaking of buying kale, it seems to last a really long time in the fridge if you put it in a glass of water like a bunch of flowers.  My mother says it looks like I've decorated the inside of my fridge.

But I digress.  It seems like an exaggeration to call this a recipe, but here's how to make kale chips.

Take a bunch of kale and cut the leaves off of the big thick stems.  You can cut them into big pieces of small pieces, it doesn't really matter.  Wash them and dry them in your handy-dandy salad spinner.  You want the leaves really dry, so I try to do this ahead of time and then leave them out to dry more before the next step.  I've heard rumors that there are climates where leaving kale out on the counter doesn't actually dry it out, but it works very nicely here.

Then put the kale in a big bowl and toss with about a tablespoon of olive oil.  It doesn't seem like much for all that kale, but trust me, it is enough.  Then sprinkle on plenty of salt and pepper and put it on a sheet pan with a silpat on it.  Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.  When they're crispy all over, take them out and serve.  Sit down in front of the TV and mindlessly eat an entire bunch of kale.  Not bad, eh?

Vietnamese Beef & Noodle Soup

Now, I am so white that I can get a sunburn inside, so when I say "Vietnamese", I hope you understand that the recipe that follows is like Vietnamese food in the same way that Connect 4 is like chess.  But it still tastes good, and best of all it is easy and can be ready when you walk in the door in the evening.

This is adapted from a recipe in Slow Cooker Revolution, which you should totally buy.  I make a new thing from it every 2-3 weeks, and I've loved everything so far.

When you buy the beef, get something with a nice bone in the middle with tons of marrow.  It makes the soup taste super beefy.

You could use some of those tiny bird peppers that are way more authentic, but you could also just put some lighter fluid in your mouth and light a match.  I have no idea how people eat them, so I use jalapenos.  If you like them, by all means use them as garnish.

One really nice thing about this is that the heat comes from the garnish, so the whole family can enjoy this.


Vietnamese-Style Beef and Noodle Soup

INGREDIENTS:

- 2 onions, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 T. vegetable oil
- 4 c. low sodium chicken broth
- 4 c beef broth
- 2 c water
- 1/4 c fish sauce
- 2 T. soy sauce
- 2 T. sugar
- 1 stalk lemon grass
- 4 star anise pods
- 4 whole cloves
- 3-4 lbs. beef shank or beef soup meat with bone
- 8 oz. thick rice noodles (see picture below.  I bought mine at 99 Ranch. If you can't find these noodles, I'd suggest using ramen noodles instead.  Throw out the flavor packet and cook them in the slow cooker for about 5 minutes instead of the 20 needed for the rice noodles.)
- 2 c bean sprouts
- 1 c fresh thai basil or regular basil leaves
- 1 c fresh cilantro
- 2 scallions, sliced thin
- 1 fresh jalapeno chili, sliced thin
- lime wedges


Serves 8

Take the lemon grass and cut off just the bottom 5 inches.  Then smush it a little with the flat side of your knife.

Saute onions, garlic, and oil in a skillet for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until onions are softened. Transfer to slow cooker.

Stir chicken broth, beef broth, water, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and lemon grass into slow cooker.  Put the  star anise and cloves in a small cheesecloth pouch or tea bag and add to slow cooker.   If you have a tea ball, you can use that instead of cheesecloth.

Season the beef with salt and pepper and nestle into slow cooker.  Cover and cook until beef is tender, 9-11 hours on low or 5-7 hours on high.

Transfer beef to cutting board, let cool slightly, then shred into bite-size pieces.  Throw away the bone.  Discard lemon grass and spice pouch.

Stir in the noodles, cover and cook on high until noodles are tender, 10-20 mins.  Stir in shredded beef and let sit until heated through, about 5 minutes.

Serve with bean sprouts, basil, cilantro, scallions, and jalapenos for garnish.

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