Blackberry Ginger Cobbler, Perfected

I posted awhile ago that I had made a so-so cobbler, and have since experimented my way to the top. This one is the winner. Even Jon McPhie, who unbeknownst to me does not like berries, ate it and said, "this is actually good!" So ladies, make this with confidence.

I actually made this to take to someone's house for Thanksgiving, but, knowing that we would have to leave early - likely before dessert was served - I left it in the car, and Alan and I ate it ourselves later on that night... I'm embarrassed, but don't regret it.

Filling
~6 cups of blackberries (fresh or frozen - we used frozen and it was great)
1 T vanilla
1 t cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 T corn starch (or tapioca, if you prefer)
juice & zest of half a lemon
about 1 inch of ginger root, minced/grated/shredded

Topping
1 cup flour (I did half unbleached white flour and half whole wheat pastry flour)
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
3 T brown sugar
4 T unsalted butter, cut into small chunks (I used salted butter and it was fine)
2/3 cup buttermilk

First mix up the filling and let it sit while you put the topping together. Preheat your oven to 425F.

For the topping, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Then cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or just use your hands to smash it into the dry ingredients until you form more of a crumble. It's okay if there are little bits of butter in there, but try to get all the big chunks mixed in. Then add the buttermilk and stir it into a dough.

Pour the filling into a buttered 9x9 baking dish and spoon the topping over it. Use a spatula to spread it out and cover most or all of the topping. I like to sprinkle it all with a little turbinado sugar afterwards. Then pop it in the over for about 25 minutes.

I like to bake it at a higher temperature for a shorter amount of time so the top part of the topping gets crispy but the bottom part stays kind of gooey. If you like it all cooked the same, decrease the temperature and bake for longer.

Best. Fish. Tacos.

You might know that I'm a sucker for fish tacos. In my heaven, every day will be Taco Tuesday. But for some reason I usually leave the cooking to someone else. Until now. And my world changed.

There are some issues with these that make them less than all natural, and some I'm willing to deal with and others I'm not. Specifically:
a) the tortilla. There are lots of good options for less processed, healthier tortillas. But let's get real - if it's a fish taco, it has to be on a corn tortilla. End of story. No compromises from me.
b) the sauce. This is where my beef lies (only metaphorically, of course) because the white sauce on fish tacos is usually mayonnaise-based, and I just can't bring myself to eat that. You can get olive oil mayonnaise now which is better, but still not my favorite option. So, the only real "recipe" here is the sour cream-based sauce I came up with. The rest of it is pretty intuitive. And so is the sauce, for that matter - really this whole entry is just a nudge to go eat a delicious taco.

Cilantro-Lime Dressing:
1/2 cup sour cream (can be light if you want)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 bunch cilantro (about a handful of leaves, you can include the stems too)
juice from 1 lime
1/4 of a ripe avocado
splash of vinegar (if you want a bit more bite to it)
1 jalepeño (optional)

Put the sour cream, garlic, and cilantro in a blender and blend until there aren't any big chunks of cilantro left. Add the lime and avocado, and then taste to see if it's tangy enough. If not, add a little vinegar, or leave it out if you like it more creamy.

Accompaniments:
-shredded cabbage
-salsa and/or hot sauce (my favorite with this is Trader Joe's salsa especial - fabulous)
-slices of avocado (if you're like me and can't quite get enough - though there's some in the sauce already)
-corn tortillas
-grilled mahi, ono, or whatever fish you prefer

The best option I've found for getting fish for the tacos is in the Trader Joe's frozen section. They have Mahi Pieces, which are about half the price of regular mahi and already the perfect size for tacos. It's not a great season for mahi so they've been a little scarce lately, but keep an eye out. I season mine a little with some salt before I throw it in the grill pan, but you don't need much more than that if you're going to put sauces on it.

TACO LOVE!!

The Great Gnocchi & Pesto Project

Last Sunday was mine and Alan's first anniversary. We went out to dinner and did our celebrating on Saturday night, and decided to have friends over for dinner on Sunday. We decided to try making gnocchi, since we'd never made it before and had wanted to try it. But do you do regular or sweet potato? Well, if you're us making it for the first time with people coming over, you decide to try both. Then you discuss sauces, and decide you can't have the same sauce for both - no, you have to make two different sauces from scratch as well. It was mayhem, especially with our little kitchen and lack of dishwasher.

I will say this - gnocchi making is an art. You wouldn't think it would be, since they're just little dumplings, you don't have to sculpt anything and there are only 3 ingredients. The art form comes in getting the right amount of flour. A recipe will tell you to add as little as possible in order to keep them light and fluffy. I'll tell you you need to make sure to add enough flour, or your gnocchi will fall apart when you cook it. It just turns into potato water. So, let as much water drain from the potatoes as possible after you cook them, and then add enough flour - but not too much - to make your dumplings.

So, the menu: regular gnocchi and sweet potato gnocchi (with and without nutmeg), and basil walnut pesto and roasted red pepper cream sauce.

Gnocchi:

2 large russet potatoes (or sweet potatoes)

1 egg

1-ish cup of unbleached flour and/or wheat flour

1 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)

1. cut the potatoes in half and place them in a large pot of salted water. Bring the water to a boil, and let them cook through (this will take awhile)

2. after the potatoes are cooked, take them out and peel them quickly. Put them on some paper towels and let some water drain out of them. Then, either put them through a potato ricer if you have one, otherwise you can use a fork to scrape them into tiny pieces. Just make sure there aren't any big chunks of potato.

3. Beat the egg a little and pour it over the potato mixture, then use a spatula to mix it all together. Add the flour 1/4 cup at a time, kneading it together until it forms a dough. You want it to be moist, but not too sticky. A light dough, not a wet paste. I know - there's a lot of room in between. (If you're making sweet potato gnocchi, add the nutmeg now.)

4. Next, take a chunk of the dough (a big handful's worth) and place it on a floured surface, then roll it into a long snake about the thickness of your thumb. Cut 3/4-inch pieces, or however thick you want your gnocchi to be.

5. Boil water (you can reheat the water you cooked the potatoes in) and drop the gnocchi in in batches. They'll float to the top when they're about done; let them cook for about a minute longer after they rise to the top, then take them out with a slotted spoon and put in the next batch.

Basil Walnut Pesto

Okay, this is the easiest part of the meal, and probably the best. Honestly I'm not usually a big pesto fan, but this stuff is un-be-lievable. I may have licked the spatula a few times.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup walnuts

2 cups basil

1/3 cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1/2 tablespoon butter (optional)

salt

Place the walnuts, basil, olive oil, and garlic in a food processor or blender (Vitamix whaaat!) and blend until it's thoroughly combined, but not liquified - you want it to have some texture (see picture). Add the parmesan and butter (if you want to, Alan is just telling me now that he added it) and blend again. Add salt to taste. Add a little more olive oil if it's too thick.

And that's it. Mix with pasta, put it on a baguette, do whatever with it, just know it will steal the show. It's worth the carnage it inflicted on my poor basil plant.

Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce

This is a cream sauce, but it's not too rich or too bad for you. I used half & half instead of cream, and it was really thick. This sauce was really good with the nutmeg sweet potato gnocchi because it's not overpowering.

Ingredients:

3 red bell peppers

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1 cup half & half

salt & pepper

1. put the red peppers over a burner if you have a gas stove, or under a broiler if not, and turn them so they're black on all sides. Place them in a paper bag and close it for about 15 minutes, then take them out and peel them. The black parts should all come off easily. Slice up the peppers into chunks.

2. heat the olive oil in a pan, then add the peppers, garlic, and pine nuts and saute them all together for a few minutes just to bring out the flavors.

3. pour everything in a blender or food processor and blend it until everything is completely mixed (unless you like some pepper chunks in your sauce).

4. Return it to the saute pan, and add the half & half and parmesan, and simmer until everything is uniform. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Blackberry Goodness

This is the first of my blackberry baking attempts. I wasn't sure if I should post it because I would call it only a minor success - I took it to a dessert potluck and the whole thing got eaten, but when there is warm homemade cobbler at a potluck, it gets eaten regardless. It definitely needed more butter (sometimes you just have to go for it) and my multiplying the recipe didn't allow for even egg multiplication. I made it with whole wheat pastry flour and white flour, but strangely enough the end product tasted a lot like corn meal. So, this was yummy, but not good enough for me to post the recipe and tell others to make it.

Instead... who out there has a good cobbler recipe?

Spice Up Your Salads - literally

Just a simple little something from the kitchen of a couch surfer. Every night for the past week I've had this salad along with whatever else I've thrown together, and I'm not sick of it. Not even a little. It comes down to this principle: herbs in salads. I don't know why people don't do it more. It adds a lot of flavor and texture and you don't have to do much else to it. I throw in some tomatoes and balsamic, and that's it.

So yes, I'm cheating - this is just a Trader Joe's salad mix, so this is the simplest thing ever. Even if you don't have access to TJ's, it's easy to throw together:
-red & green lettuce
-arugula
-frisee
-parsley
-dill
-cilantro
-cherry tomatoes
-balsamic vinaigrette

Obviously you can throw in whatever you want - I'm not a huge fan of parsley. You might want to include some feta or something if you have it - keep it simple and try some new herbs. Rosemary? Sage? I don't know, it's pretty bold.

Pita Chips

We did a salad bar night again for supper today. At the store, picking up a few items, I saw a bag of delicious but rather pricey pita chips that would go splendidly with the roasted pine nut hummus I had in my grocery cart. Hmm...next to the pita chips were bags of pita bread for a mere $1.50.  So, I decided to make pita chips at home.

Google churned out a number of options. I looked at the top two, and picked one that had more ratings than the first in the list of choices.

I skipped the chervil (didn't have it) and used garlic powder and salt.  For the first batch I peeled the layers of the pita pockets apart, so they were thinner and crunchier. The second batch I left the layers intact, so they were both crunchy and a bit chewy. Both were tasty.

Pita Chips from www.allrecipes.com

Pita Chips

Rated: Submitted By: Dawn Photo By: hmstarr Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 7 Minutes Ready In: 17 Minutes Servings: 24

"These fresh-from-the-oven triangles--pre-brushed with olive oil and herbs--have a warm and crunchy warm snap that you just can't get from a store bought bag."

INGREDIENTS:

12 pita bread pockets 1/2 cup olive oil 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic salt 1/2 teaspoon dried basil 1 teaspoon dried chervil

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2.	Cut each pita bread into 8 triangles. Place triangles on lined cookie sheet.
3.	In a small bowl, combine the oil, pepper, salt, basil and chervil. Brush each triangle with oil mixture.
4.	Bake in the preheated oven for about 7 minutes, or until lightly browned and crispy. Watch carefully, as they tend to burn easily!

Returning

I've had an interesting summer, most of which was spent at my in-laws' house in Nevada City, which for you Utah-ites is basically the Park City of the Sierras. It was a great summer, but as much of it was spent in someone else's kitchen, I didn't do that much experimenting with food. I did, however, use some classics on the family - the southwest quinoa went off like a rocket (that's not a saying, but I think it could be), and my coconut curry was devoured quickly (though, to be fair, the DeMartini eating habits are pretty piranha-like in general).

I also did a bit of traveling at the end of August/beginning of September: Turkey, Portugal, Croatia, and Italy. Many people find that their travels inspire their cooking - Heidi on 101cookbooks looooooves to talk about Japan, and can't seem to make anything without adding tempeh or soba. Here is how my travels influenced my cooking: if I never see another piece of pizza, I'll still live a contented life. I was on a beggar's budget, not a culinary tour, which in the Adriatic means lots and lots of slices of mediocre pizza. In Turkey, it means kebabs and turkish bagels. In Portugal, pastries. None of it was very inspiring.

I do, however, see the summer influencing my upcoming culinary efforts because of one sumptuous, beautiful, plentiful item: the blackberry. They grow wild all around northern California, and Alan has become borderline obsessive about picking them - it's like an ongoing treasure hunt. He currently has 11 ziplock gallon freezer bags full of them which he is preparing to transport to San Diego in the coming weeks, and I will have to find yummy things to do with them. My grandma told me about jam she buys that is nothing but blackberry and pectin. I love that idea - a lot of fruit jam is mostly sugar, and it seems such a waste to ruin good fruit that way. I am, however, up for any suggestions. Anything you love doing with blackberries, or have wanted to try? The main thing I miss from Europe, not surprisingly, is gelato, so maybe I'll give blackberry gelato a go. Has anyone made their own gelato before?

Salad Bar At Home

 I did a little meal planning this week (it's been a while!) with my sister-in-law who is visiting from Iowa. We have actually already made some of our planned meals! A success, no?  One of the meals was a salad bar at home. I love salad bars, and wanted to try it out. We all loved it. (Our 2.5 y/o was already in bed.  Peter was late getting home from work so we ate late with him).

Our salad bar fixings wouldn't all qualify as natural cooking, but since our blog is inclusive, I won't black out the items which seem less "natural." :)

Romaine

Diced beets (just sliced canned, chopped up)

Canned chickpeas (rinsed)

Boiled eggs

Green olives w/pimentos

Red peppers

Cottage cheese

Dill pickles

Cucumbers

Balsamic vinaigrette

We purchased some of this for the salad bar meal, but some of it was just what we had hanging about the kitchen.  And, we each used our own preferred combo of toppings for our meal.

What would you add to the salad bar? 

Introducing...

....my brother!

A couple weeks ago my wonderful brother Jon visited us in Washington Heights, NYC, from Waterbury, VT. He's "Uncle Guy" to the boys (who adore him), Guy to me and other family members, and Jon Conti to the rest of the world.

One of his many fabulous traits is that he cooks, meal plans, etc, and has great ideas on how to streamline lunch prep, and more. He is also a cyclist, skier, and more, and has fun ideas for packing good food to go.

Since I've only posted on the blog once so far, before I try to arm-wrestle him into posting a ton, I better step up. :)

Happy posting, cooking, and eating to all!

Black Bean Soup with Chipotle Chiles - no soak - in the crockpot!

The day Britta invited me to post on this blog (with a few other friends) I started a post on lentils...and then got strep throat, and insomnia, and then moved to NYC, etc. You get the picture!  For some reason my very simple lentil recipe has languished as a "draft."  So, I'm finally back on the wagon, and excited to post!

This is one of my favorite recipes. I found it on Epicurious when I bought a crockpot a year or so ago.  It's wonderful because you don't have to soak the dried beans or prepare them in any way (other than sorting and rinsing) before adding them to the crockpot.  Now, to be up front, if you aren't accustomed to eating beans fairly frequently, this lack of soaking could prove to be a bit, er, of a surprise to your system.  Many people agree that soaking, then draining the soaking water, prior to cooking with dried legumes helps to make the legumes easier to digest. So, it's your call!


Hopefully said introduction doesn't spoil the amazingly appetizing nature of this soup. 

Black Bean Soup with Chipotle Chiles 

Bon Appétit | March 2004

A dollop of yogurt adds a creamy richness and cuts the heat of the chiles. Yield: Makes 6 main-course servings 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 medium-size red onions, chopped 1 medium-size red bell pepper, chopped 1 medium-size green bell pepper, chopped 4 garlic cloves, minced 4 teaspoons ground cumin 1 16-ounce package dried black beans 1 tablespoon chopped canned chipotle chiles* 7 cups hot water 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 cup plain nonfat yogurt 1/2 cup chopped seeded plum tomatoes 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro Heat olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and both bell peppers and sauté until beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cumin; stir 1 minute. Transfer mixture to 6-quart slow cooker. Add beans and chipotles, then 7 cups hot water. Cover and cook on high until beans are very tender, about 6 hours. Transfer 2 cups bean mixture to blender; puree until smooth. Return puree to remaining soup in slow cooker. Stir in lime juice, salt, and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Spoon dollop of yogurt into each bowl. Sprinkle with tomatoes and cilantro and serve. *Chipotle chiles canned in a spicy tomato sauce, sometimes called adobo, are available at Latin American markets and many supermarkets. Test-kitchen tip: Add richness to slow-cooker soups by using a mixture of half broth and half water instead of only water. Per serving: calories, 314; total fat, 4 g; saturated fat, 1 g; cholesterol, 1 mg; fiber, 18 g Nutritional analysis provided by Bon Appétit

Nikki's notes: 


You can skip the blending if you prefer a chunkier bean soup with a thin broth.
Also, I love the adobo style canned chipotle chiles that I've used for this. But, I rarely use them for anything other than this recipe. So, after I use one or two for this soup I lay them flat in a gallon-sized ziploc bag in the freezer (so they won't all freeze into one lump). Then, each time I cook with them I just pull however many I want out of the bag and chop them (while they are still frozen) on a cutting board. They chop extremely easily, and then I don't have to worry about them getting old-tasting in the fridge.

As you can imagine, this soup lends itself well to many different side dishes and toppings. Corn bread, salad, sour cream or yogurt, cilantro, tomatoes (as noted above), grated cheese, etc. It's also wonderful as is - with no extra add-ins. (And it's vegan that way!)

Buttermilk Lemon Plum Cake

I just bought both of Heidi Swanson's cookbooks: Super Natural Cooking, and Super Natural Every Day. I appreciate that they have a good dessert section. Plums are in season right now and bursting off of tables at farmer's markets near me, so I decided to get some and try this plum cake from Super Natural Every Day. It was well received in the DeMartini home - though consumers said (positively) that it was more like a cobbler than a cake because of the large chunks of fruit in it. If I made it again (which I probably will... within the week) I'd put more fruit in it to up the cobbler factor.

A testament to how quick and easy this is - I made one and decided it wouldn't be enough for everyone, so I made a second one and threw them both in the oven by the time it was hot. (Granted, I had helpers for zesting and slicing.) For the second one I didn't have any lemon zest left, so I just used the juice from the zested lemons. Texture was different but the taste was still great.

Ingredients:
2.5 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup of fine grain raw cane sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 t sea salt

2 eggs
1.5 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
zest of 3 lemons

5-6 plums cut into thin wedges

3 T large grain raw cane sugar or turbinado

Preheat the oven to 400 and grease and flour an 11" cake pan. Mix the 4 dry ingredients in a bowl. In another small bowl, mix the eggs and buttermilk together, then add the butter (make sure it's not too hot) and the lemon zest. Fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture and blend just until it's all blended together. You can either pour all the batter into the cake pan and then add the plums on top, or (my recommendation) pour in half the batter, put in a layer of plumbs, then the rest of the batter and more plums on top. Sprinkle the large grain sugar over the top of the cake. Bake for 25-30 minutes (mine took more like 35) - put in a toothpick or a skewer and make sure it comes out clean.

People will ooh and aaah at the beauty of your cake, then gobble it up.

Summer Pasta

Unfortunately I'm going to continue my streak of posting the most unhealthy recipes (relatively speaking) available on this healthy eating blog. But looking on the bright side this recipe does contain whole foods, veggies, can be prepared in 30mins and was devoured by the two little people in the family who rarely want to deviate from eating hot dogs (I buy the kosher one's so that makes it ok right?) so I figure it deserves a mention.
So without further ado, here's the tasty dinner from Martha's kitchen to yours!

Long Fusilli with Potatoes and Haricots Verts in Lemon Sauce
Active Time 20 MIN.
Total Time 45 MIN. SERVES 8

*1 pound mixed baby fingerling potatoes, such as red, gold and purple, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
*10 ounces haricots verts, trimmed
*2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
*3 garlic cloves, thinly slices
*1 pound long fusilli, cooked until al dente (1 1/2 cups cooking water reserved)
*2 cups finely grated Pecorino Romano Cheese (4 ounces)
*1 lemon, zested into strips and sliced into matchsticks (2 tablespoons), and juiced
*1 cup torn fresh basil
*1/4 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes

1. Prepare an ice-water bath. Cook potatoes in a large pot of boiling water until tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer potatoes to a bowl using a slotted spoon; pat dry. Add haricots verts to boiling water. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain, and transfer to ice-water bath. Drain. (be sure to save some pasta water for the sauce)

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook garlic until golden, about 3 minutes. Add potatoes and haricots verts; toss to coat. Add reserved cooking water, the cheese and the lemon zest and juice. Simmer until cheese melts. Toss in pasta, basil, and red-pepper flakes.

Amazingly Quick, Healthy and Yummy (& vegan) Vegetable Coconut Curry

I'm not necessarily trying to be vegan. I don't have any strong moral sentiments regarding using animal products in general. But I do like when I come across good vegan recipes, or, more often, make something and then realize it's actually vegan. So was this case with this little number. I'm happy when I realize something is vegan just because I like realizing we don't need to rely SO MUCH on animal products - just because they're usually the most processed and most removed from their natural form (necessarily), and they're the most expensive part of the meal, and they often contain unhealthy fats. That said, you can maybe pry cheese from my hands once I'm dead, but not before then. And of course, you don't have to make this vegan - it would be yummy with shrimp or chicken. There are lots of possible add-ins - cashews or tofu would also be great.

Anyway, back to the yumminess that is this curry. I have to admit two things: a) it was inspired by something I picked up for dinner at Noodles & Company, and b) I didn't have any curry paste or powder, just a Thai seasoning that came with my Vitamix that's mostly salt and curry seasonings. It was still delicious, but maybe not all that authentic. Go with whatever level of convenience or authenticity works for you. A final note about the noodles I use: I am in LOVE with buckwheat/soba noodles (pictured). It's what's used in a good deal of japanese cooking, and they're super healthy. They're lighter than whole wheat noodles, but have just as much nutritional value. Any Asian market should have them.

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil
1 red bell pepper, cut into small strips
half a red onion, cut into small strips
1.5 cups of broccoli florets
1.5 cups of shredded cabbage

1 can light coconut milk
2 tsp thai seasoning, curry powder, etc. (or however much you want, I do it to taste)
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
1 handful chopped mint

buckwheat soba noodles (or rice noodles, if you prefer)

First get the noodles cooking. Heat the oil in a pan and throw in the onions, bell pepper, and broccoli. Make sure the broccoli florets are small enough or they won't cook. Once the onions are beginning to get translucent, throw in the cabbage, coconut milk, seasoning, red pepper, and ginger, and let everything simmer for about 5-10 minutes. Taste it to see if there's enough curry flavor, it may also want a little salt. Drain the noodles, and mix everything together. Add the mint, stir it up, and serve. Serves 3-4.

Hot Pink Breakfast Smoothie

It's not hot, it's hot pink. That's right, ladies, feel the girly-ness as you chug this surprisingly delicious drink. It's best if made in a high-power blender, like a Vitamix or a Blendtec, but it could be good with others (I've never tried).

Hot-Pink Breakfast Smoothie

1 ½ cups coconut juice (or water)

1 large carrot, cleaned and cut in 3 pieces (or 5-6 baby carrots)
½ medium beet, peeled
¼ cup cashews
¼ cup chopped dates

2 tsp. vanilla
12 frozen strawberries

Puree all ingredients except strawberries at a high speed for 90 seconds. Add strawberries and puree on high until smooth.

More smoothie recipes to come....

PS. The vitamix is worth every penny. I can expound on this too.

New Favorite Salad

We house sat for someone with a nice BBQ last week, so I got excited about a) being able to grill things, and b) making side dishes to go with grilled things. We're moving soon so I'm trying to use whatever food I already have in my fridge and pantry, which can lead to some of the best food.

I have to say, I think I struck gold with this one. It has a lot of flavors playing off of each other, and they seemed to work well - I made a big bowl of this, and despite the excessiveness of the food we cooked, there was none of this left at the end of the night. Of course you can vary it however you like, but I think the toasted almonds are key (and so much better than raw). I just toasted mine myself in my toaster oven, and it made my whole apartment smell heavenly.

Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
juice and zest from half an orange (or as much as you want, depending on how orange-y you want it to taste)

1.5 cups dry quinoa
several handfuls of arugula, chopped a bit
1 cup dry toasted almonds, either whole or cut in half
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled (or more if you love feta)
bunch of mint, finely chopped
salt, to taste

First cook the quinoa - as I mentioned before, I like to do mine in my rice cooker (follow the instructions for white rice, but use a little bit more water). You can do this earlier in the day and put it in the fridge for awhile - the salad is better when the quinoa is cold.

Mix the olive oil, garlic, and orange juice in a small bowl and whisk it well. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the quinoa, arugula, almonds, cheese, and mint. Then pour on the dressing and mix it up. It will probably want some salt - I tend to comply, generously.

let's talk about SOURDOUGH

Bread has taken on a villainous reputation lately, and it's only slightly deserved. The carb police tell everyone that bread is evil and you should stay away, and we've all been told that if we ever do eat bread we should eat wheat bread, right? Well, the great hero of the bread world turns out to be good old sourdough.

The whole idea behind sourdough - real sourdough bread, at least - is that you use a starter that not only gives the bread its flavor but acts as the yeast as well. Starters gather natural yeast and bacteria from the air, so you don't actually add ANY yeast to the dough (or sugar, since you don't have to feed your artificial yeast). This is what people did for centuries before baker's yeast was invented. The downside to this system is it takes time - time to get your starter going, and then when you use it in dough, you have to let it sit for at least 12 hours to rise (THAT'S why the Jews didn't have time to let it rise before they left Egypt...). The upside, however, is that this allows the wheat to ferment properly, rather than in a fast forwarded system. The result? Sourdough is the easiest bread to digest, and results in the smallest increase in glycemic index. Much smaller than wheat bread, actually. And it has a much smaller chance of eliciting allergic reactions. People with food allergies - even gluten allergies - tend to be fine with sourdough. It turns out the "processing" in our bread comes not just from the flours, but from the high speed yeast.

Not that I'll never eat that bread again. I just try to have sourdough on hand as my go-to bread.

So I've been baking a lot lately. The trouble, however, is you need a good, living, active starter, which I don't have, because I've been lazy. If you don't get a good starter, then your bread will never rise. I've made a lot of flat bread lately. This website has a thorough explanation of how to make a starter - it's a multi-day process, and I'd like to believe once I'm settled in a new apartment I'll give it a try. You can also buy starters, which seems much more reasonable. Like borrowing someone's pet instead of creating and nurturing your own. I guess in that case you could just go buy some sourdough - but a lot of commercial bakeries don't have 12 hours for their bread to rise, so they just add baker's yeast. Everyone should try baking their own - if for no other reason, there's really nothing like homemade bread right out of the oven.

Here's a recipe I like. He mixes the flour manually; I sure like the dough hook on my kitchenaid.

Ingredients for two loaves:
1/4 cup starter
1 cup Whole wheat flour
5 1/2 cups White bread flour
2 1/2 cups water
2 tsp Salt

Start by measuring the starter you'll need. Whisk the starter before measuring it, so you'll be measuring starter, not bubbles. Then whisk in the water, the whole wheat flour, and then the salt. Set aside the whisk, and get a wooden spoon. Add the white bread flour a cup at a time, stirring as you go. After a while, the dough will become too stiff to stir. At that point, pour it out onto your kneading surface. Make sure you have floured your work surface before you turn the bread out, and flour your hands before you start kneading. Knead the dough 15 to 20 minutes, or until it is resilient, springy, and passes the windowpane test.

Once the bread is kneaded, let it rest for 30 minutes. Then form the bread into baguettes, boules, or pan loaves. Cover the loaves and let them rise at room temperature until doubled in size, probably about 12 to 15 hours.

Once the loaves have doubled in size, it's time to preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the oven is at the right temperature - I use a thermometer to be SURE the oven is at the right temperature - slash the loaves with a razor blade, slide them into the oven, and put some water into a pan at the bottom of the oven. Allow to bake 45 minutes, or until the inside of the bread reaches 190 F. (Note - my kitchen is at 7,703 feet above sea level, which changes how bread bakes. At sea level, you may want to shoot for 205 F or so.)

Remove from oven, and let cool on wire racks before slicing - if your family will let you.

Tassajara Warm Red Cabbage Salad

A friend of mine was planning a picnic with a vegetarian she just started dating. As I was helping her brainstorm ideas, I came across this recipe that I had bookmarked. I only made it once, but I don't know how I forgot about it. It was delicious! Thought I'd share.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 teaspoon natural cane sugar (or brown sugar)
fine grain sea salt

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 red onion, diced
3 medium cloves garlic, minced

1 pound head of red cabbage or radicchio, quartered and cut into thin ribbons

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
2 ounces golden raisins (or other plump, chopped dried fruit)
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

a bit of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to garnish

Directions:

Roast the sunflower seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat until golden brown. Sprinkle on the sugar, and a couple pinches of salt. Stir until the sugar melts and coats the seeds (you pan will need to be hot enough). Transfer the seeds immediately to a plate so they don't stick to the pan. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and saute the onion for a minutes or two with a couple pinches of salt. Stir in the garlic, and the cabbage, and a few more pinches of salt. Stir and cook for just a minute or so, or until the cabbage softens up just a touch. Then stir in the rosemary, most of the raisins, and the vinegar. The cabbage will continue to get more and more tender even after you remove it from the heat, so keep that in mind, and do your best to avoid overcooking it - where it collapses entirely. Fold in half of the feta cheese, most of the sunflower seeds, then taste. Season with more salt if needed. Serve garnished with the remaining raisins, feta, sunflower seeds and Parmesan cheese.

Serves 4 to 6.

This recipe was adapted from The Complete Tassajara Cookbook by Edward Espe Brown. Published by Shambhala (September 8, 2009)

Prep time: 10 min - Cook time: 10 min

Where to buy...

Sarah and I were talking about buying different cooking products, and I thought I'd get some suggestions from people (and offer a few of my own).

Quinoa and faro, I've found Costco is actually the best place. You can get a 4 lb bag of quinoa for $10, which is cheaper than I've seen anywhere else. The faro is a little more expensive per pound, but still relatively a good deal. Costco also has a pretty good deal on strawberries ($5 for a 4 lb flat).

For those of you in the bay area, do you go to Milk Pail Market in Mountainview? It's my go-to place for produce now - tons of variety, lots of fresh herbs, lots of it local, and very inexpensive. They also have things like flour, grains, and legumes that you can scoop out and buy by the pound. Lots of international foods too.

I think Trader Joe's is good for things like sweeteners (agave, raw sugar, honey, etc.), oils and butter, wild & brown rice, sauces, salsa, etc. Their frozen foods are amazing, but not quite as "natural" as I would like.

I've found, however, that when I go to make a recipe, the thing I most often don't have is nuts. Because I intend to buy them, but then I see how much they cost, and I figure it can't be worth it. But then I don't make the recipe... Sarah suggested Costco for raw almonds, which she keeps in her fridge and last a long time. They have a 3 lb bag for $9, which is pretty decent. They also have walnuts and cashews and pecans in large quantities, but then I wonder, do I really want to spend $50 on a large nut pantry? There must be another way... Suggestions?

The main dilemma we both had was where to buy pine nuts, which seem to be worth their weight in gold. The 1.5 lb bag at Costco is $22. Is there something I don't know about the process of harvesting pine nuts? Do they have to compensate the families of the workers who died falling out of pine trees? Does anyone know a good place to buy them?

Lastly, I hear lots of people saying you should use coconut oil. Does anyone know a good place to buy it?

Easy Minestrone

I got this recipe from a cooking class I took in college and have been making this soup ever since. It is so easy and cheap. It's very lowfat and could be made even healthier by using all organic broth and canned goods, and even fresh veggies. It's nice because you can keep the ingredients on hand all the time.

2 (14.5 oz) cans chicken broth (or I'm sure veggie would be fine)
1 med onion, chopped
1 can kidney beans
1 cup frozen mixed veggies
1/2 cup mini shell pasta (any relatively small pasta works)
1 tsp dried basil
1 can Italian stewed tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients, except tomatoes, and bring to boil. Let simmer for 10 min. Blend tomatoes, and then add to soup. Bring back to boil, then simmer for 5 more min. And that's it!

As with many soups, I think this one gets better by the next day as the flavors blend. It sounds really basic, but tastes really good. Sometimes I add cheese or sour cream, or even chips like with tortilla soup. But they are not necessary.

A word to the wise. I made this soup just a few days ago, and read the label on my tomato can. To my chagrin, these tomatoes had high fructose corn syrup. So check that out before you buy. It made me angry.

And sorry, once again I have no picture. Maybe I will add pictures next time I make these recipes.

Enchiladas with Green Sauce

This is a great epicurious.com recipe I found a few years ago. I usually double the sauce and freeze half of it for later. This is my go to recipe for delivering dinner to someone. I make a non vegetarian version with shredded chicken and caramelized onions inside whole wheat tortillas and then I just pour the sauce over and add some jack cheese, cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes at 350.

Sauce
1/2 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup milk
6 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
3 green onions, minced
1/2 4-ounce can diced green chilies, drained
1 3/4 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

For sauce:
Cook spinach according to package instructions. Drain well. Set aside. Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add flour and stir mixture 2 minutes; do not brown. Gradually whisk in whipping cream and milk. Simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in spinach, cilantro, green onion, chilies, cumin, coriander and red pepper. Puree in batches in processor until almost smooth. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before using.)

NYTimes Recipes for Health and Chicken Salad

One of my favorite places to look for new, simple, healthful and often vegetarian recipes is the New York Times Recipes for Health section. Martha Rose Shulman takes an ingredient or theme and writes 5 recipes each week; they used to be published each day, Monday through Friday, but now they release all 5 at once. My favorite is the sweet potato section. I've posted several of these recipes on facebook, so you may have seen those.

This is the description of the recipe series from the website: "Each week this series will present recipes around a particular type of produce or a pantry item. This is food that is vibrant and light, full of nutrients but by no means ascetic, fun to cook and a pleasure to eat."

I have made this recipe a couple times, and I discovered that that it is actually necessary to use all the ingredients called for in the recipe, which is hard for me because I'm into omitting and substituting items all over the place.

Indonesian-Style Chicken Salad

This spicy, refreshing chicken salad makes a great summer meal. I love the flavor of the peanut butter in the dressing.

For the salad:

1 whole chicken breast or 2 boneless skinless breasts, poached and shredded (about 4 cups shredded chicken)

Salt and freshly ground pepper (optional)

1 bunch scallions, white part and green, thinly sliced

1/4 cup slivered fresh mint leaves

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 small red bell pepper, cut in thin strips

1 serrano pepper, finely chopped (seeded if desired)

2 cups mung bean sprouts or sunflower sprouts

1 romaine lettuce heart, leaves separated, washed and dried

1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts

For the dressing:

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon Southeast Asian fish sauce

Pinch of cayenne

2 tablespoons crunchy or smooth natural peanut butter (more to taste)

1/3 cup buttermilk

1. Place the chicken in a large bowl, and season with salt and pepper. Add the white part of the scallions, the mint, cilantro, red pepper, minced chile pepper and sprouts. Toss together.

2. Combine the lime juice, ginger, garlic, fish sauce and cayenne. Stir together. Add the peanut butter, and combine well. Whisk in the buttermilk. Taste and adjust seasonings.

3. Line a platter with the lettuce leaves. Toss the chicken mixture with the dressing, and arrange over the lettuce. Sprinkle the peanuts and the scallion greens over the top, and serve.

Yield: Serves four to six.

Advance preparation: The poached chicken breasts will keep for three days in the refrigerator. The dressing can be made several hours ahead.

Black Bean Agave Brownies

That's right, black beans and brownies, together. Alan approached me making these with firm skepticism; I approached it with curiosity. I wasn't so sure about it, until I was reminded that bean pastes are used quite regularly in Chinese desserts - and the Chinese seem to be doing okay. And I have to say, they turned out pretty well. I even noticed a large slice missing from the pan this morning after Alan packed his lunch.

To be honest, I've been trying to figure out exactly what the black beans are replacing in this recipe. You could say they replace the flour, but brownies don't usually use too much flour, and these ones do NOT have the texture of flour brownies - they're much more of a rich fudgy flourless cake type brownie. So I guess it's a flourless brownie with some of the butter and chocolate being replaced with black beans? They're not exactly "health food" as there's still a hefty amount of butter and sweetener, but at least they're fudge with fiber and protein.

And the question everyone is asking: do they taste like black beans with chocolate? No, not really. The recipe calls for some imitation coffee, which I didn't include, and there is a touch of bean flavor to mine (but I don't mind it). I think if you included the coffee or something like it, it would wipe out any of the bean taste.

Last note: I don't have a food processor, and I think it would have really helped. I used my vitamix instead, but the stuff you're blending is so thick, the wheels were spinning, and it ended up being more difficult than I imagined. So, you can get it done with a good blender, but a food processor would be ideal.

Okay, the recipe already:

Ingredients:
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter (I used 3/4 cup and it was fine)
2 cups soft-cooked black beans, drained well (canned is fine)
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (granulated) natural coffee substitute (or instant coffee, for gluten-sensitive)
¼ teaspoon sea salt
4 large eggs
1½ cups light agave nectar (the whole 12 oz bottle)

Preheat the oven to 325°F. The recipe tells you to use an 11x18 pan; I used a 9x13 and 9x9 (ends up being the same square inches) and it was really thin, so you should be fine with just a 9x13. Spray the pan.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a glass bowl in the microwave for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on high. Stir with a spoon to melt the chocolate completely. Place the beans, 1/2 cup of the walnuts, the vanilla extract, and a couple of spoonfuls of the melted chocolate mixture into the bowl of a food processor. Blend about 2 minutes, or until smooth. The batter should be thick and the beans smooth. Set aside. (If you use a blender, you'll have to keep stirring it; keep it on a relatively low speed so it will churn a little instead of spinning in place.)

In a large bowl, mix together the remaining 1/2 cup walnuts, remaining melted chocolate mixture, coffee substitute, and salt. Mix well and set aside.

In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer beat the eggs until light and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the agave nectar and beat well. Set aside.

Add the bean/chocolate mixture to the coffee/chocolate mixture. Stir until blended well.

Add the egg mixture, reserving about 1/2 cup. Mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Using an electric mixer, beat the remaining 1/2 cup egg mixture until light and fluffy. Drizzle over the brownie batter. Use a wooden toothpick to pull the egg mixture through the batter, creating a marbled effect. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the brownies are set. Cook it relatively quickly after pouring it into the pan, since the agave can separate from the batter. The recipe recommends putting it in the fridge and cutting it up when it's cold; I don't know if you have that kind of willpower, but I didn't. Eat some while they're hot, and put the rest in the fridge.