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.