'Tis the Season for Gingerbread

Even if you don't celebrate Christmas, don't care for all the sale-shopping, tree-lighting, and sleigh-bells-ringing bunga-bunga, you're still going to want to make this gingerbread and intoxicate your anti-consumerist sensibilities with the heady aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, clove and ginger.

DISCLAIMER: Preparing this recipe will put you in the holiday spirit.


Spiced Ginger Cakes (adapted from this post on Roost)
Makes 2 tea loaves or 1 standard loaf


1-1/2 cup oat flour (simply grind rolled oats finely in the food processor)
1 cup brown rice flour (or use wheat flour if you aren't worried about gluten)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1-1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1-1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
4 teaspoons ground ginger
3 eggs
1/2 cup molasses (I highly recommend the Wholesome Sweeteners brand)
1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
1/2 cup melted butter (or your preferred baking oil, ie. coconut)

Preheat oven to 350F degrees and lightly grease your baking pans.

Combine dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in another.  (Note: wait until melted butter cools to room temp before mixing with eggs.  You don't want scrambled eggs!)  Add wet ingredients to the dry and combine with a few swift strokes.  Immediately pour into loaf pan(s) and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Remove from oven and allow gingerbread to cool at least an hour before attempting to remove from pan(s).  Can be refrigerated up to 4 days, or frozen up to 3 months.

Good Ol' Fashioned Tuna Noodle Casserole

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  This recipe I'm about to post is about as far from turkey as you can get.  But we're all pretty sick of that stuff by now, right?  Hope you all got your fill of the good stuff this weekend.  Here's a good make-more-to-store weeknight dish, inspired by my cousin Kate's recent blog post which covered the tuna-noodle situation.  Can't go wrong!  I added leeks, mushrooms and nutmeg to give it a nice wintery feel.  And although you don't necessarily need to be as careful as I'm being, I cut back on fat by using skim milk and low-fat cream cheese.  Enjoy!

Tuna Noodle Casserole
Makes 8 servings (6 points each)

8 oz. whole wheat wide noodles
2 tsp. butter
2 leeks, halved lengthwise, cleaned, and sliced thin
1 lb. cremini mushrooms, cleaned, destemmed and chopped
2 medium carrots, diced
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 3/4 cups fat free milk
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 cup lowfat cream cheese
zest from one lemon
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
2 5-oz. cans albacore tuna in water, drained and flaked
salt and white pepper to taste
1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add salt and noodles and continue cooking, covered, according to package instructions.  Drain, toss with a bit of pasta water to prevent sticking, and set aside in a large bowl.

Preheat oven to 375F degrees and lightly grease a 2 quart baking dish.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the leeks, mushrooms, and carrots and cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the flour and cook another 1 minute.  Stir in the milk, mustard, cream cheese, lemon zest, and nutmeg.  Stir and simmer 10-15 minutes, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.

Add the sauce and the tuna to the pasta and combine.  Taste and season to your liking with salt and white pepper.  Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the top with the bread crumbs.  Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the contents are bubbling and the top is golden.  Remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes before serving.  Will keep up to 5 days covered in the refrigerator.

Chicken Tortilla Stew

Before I jump into how to make this delicious stew, I wanted to share a new feature of my blog with you: I'll be including Weight Watchers Points values with each recipe.  Why?  Well, because I'm on Weight Watchers (wasn't that obvious?)  And maybe if I proclaim it to the world, I'll feel accountable to more than just myself for sticking to it.  I tried the diet once before, in high school, and it worked out pretty well, so when my dad decided to give it a shot a few weeks ago, I thought I might revisit the regime and shed some extra pounds I've been carrying around for too long.

Confession concluded, now on with the food!

Chicken Tortilla Stew
makes 8 servings (6 points each)


For steamed chicken:
1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 4)
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 dried red chilis (optional)
1 star anise (optional)
Salt
2 tablespoons water

For tortilla strips:
8 corn tortillas (preferably whole grain)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt

For stew:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced thin
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large carrot, chopped
2 fresh jalapeño peppers, minced
1/4 cup Chili Powder Blend (see recipe or use store-bought brand of choice)
One 26-ounce box Pomi chopped tomatoes (or a 28-ounce of canned tomatoes)
2 cups water
8 ounces frozen corn kernels, thawed
1.5 cups chopped fresh cilantro
juice from 2 limes
Salt to taste

Cook the chicken: Preheat oven to 350F degrees.  Combine the chicken and spices in a medium baking dish.  Sprinkle with salt, pour water around the chicken (not on top of it) and cover tightly.  Steam in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the chicken temperature registers 160F degrees with instant-read thermometer.  Remove to a plate, allow to cool, and shred by hand, discarding spices and any gristle.  Strain cooking juices from baking dish into a small bowl and set aside.

Make the tortilla strips: Slice the tortillas across into thin strips, about 1/4 inch thick.  Slice strips in half lengthwise, so they're about 2 inches long.  Toss with olive oil and salt and spread out on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake until crispy and slightly golden, about 12 minutes.  Baking time will depend greatly on your oven - a good practice is to check after first 5 minutes, then after every couple of minutes, tossing each time to ensure even cooking.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil and add onions.  Cook over medium-high heat until lightly caramelized, about 15 minutes.  Add garlic, carrot, jalapeños, and chili powder and cook another 5 minutes, until vegetables have softened a bit.  Stir in the tomatoes, the reserved chicken cooking juices, and water.  Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer.  Cook with cover another 20 minutes or so.  Stir in the corn, cilantro, and lime juice and season to taste with salt.  Simmer another 5 minutes and serve with tortilla strips on top.

Adzuki Bean + Winter Squash Stew

Yesterday I visited the Cayuga Organics stand at the Union Square Farmer's Market.  You know, the one that sells beautifully crusted beer bread and has bins and bins of dried heritage beans and grains.  I am always tempted to run my hands through the beans, right up to my elbows.  But I practiced restraint.  It's so hard not to play with your food, isn't it?

I bought a bag of pretty little adzuki beans and cooked up a riff on this recipe, shared on Heidi Swanson's blog 101Cookbooks.com, created by chef Rebecca Stevens - who, it turns out, is a fellow Natural Gourmet Institute grad!  Small world.  It's a great stew, on its own, or served over brown rice.  Pretty economical, too!

Anyway, here's how it goes:

Adzuki Bean + Winter Squash Stew
serves 6 to 8


1 winter squash (i.e. kabocha, acorn, butternut) - about 1-1/2 lbs.
1/2 cup water

1 cup dried adzuki beans, rinsed and picked over for pebbles
5 coins ginger, 1/8-inch thick
1 whole star anise
8 cups cold water

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 fennel bulb, diced

salt
red pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 425F.  Cut squash in half, oil and salt it, and place cut side down in a baking dish with the 1/2 cup water.  Roast until tender, about 45 minutes.  When cool enough to handle, scoop out the cooked squash and set aside.

Meanwhile, place the beans, ginger, star anise, and water in a large soup pot.  Cover, bring to a boil, and simmer until tender, about 1 hour.  Add 1 teaspoon salt.

In a small saucepan, heat the 1 tablespoon olive oil and add the onion, shallot, and fennel, and more salt. Cook covered over low heat until softened, about 10 minutes.

Remove the star anise and ginger from the beans once tender, stir in the vegetables and squash flesh, and continue cooking for another 15 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt to taste.   At this point I also added some red Aleppo pepper (red pepper flakes, or even cayenne, would work here - just be careful!)

Today's Lunch: Steak Salad

Black-pepper crusted 4 oz. sirloin, roasted beets, avocado, mixed greens, pico de gallo, and white wine vinegar.  Delicioso!

It's chilly, so...chili!

Here in NY we've suddenly fallen out of fall and smack into winter.  I'm glad I enjoyed the crisp air and colorful leaves while they lasted.  Today I think Dan and I will have to take the A/C unit out of the window.  We've stubbornly resisted long enough, but summer is officially over.  And denial is not just a river in Egypt.

Just a quick post to share my favorite chili spice blend with you.  Although it may seem like a lot, I typically use the whole recipe amount when I'm preparing a big pot.  The resulting chili, whether it's chili con carne, chili non carne, or whatever form of chili in between, is sure to stand out in flavor.  Just be sure to supplement with enough salt so that all this rich spice really shines!

Chili Powder Blend (adapted from The Joy of Cooking)
makes 1/2 cup

5 tablespoons ground mild chile pepper (such as ancho, pasilla, new mexico, etc.)
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground red pepper (Aleppo is best, cayenne is also good)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.  Use immediately, or store in an airtight container.

The Art of Zoz

A quick non-culinary plug to my dear friend, artist Zoe Long.  Check out these incredible shoes she designed for me!  Waterproof permanent ink on white canvas shoes.  So brilliant.  Thank you, Zoe!

Check out Zoe's blog and like the Art of Zoz on Facebook.  This talented lady's going places - check her out!

Fall pasta

In my continuing obsession with all things autumn-related, today I took a walk over to the farmer's market in my neighborhood of Astoria to gather seasonal goodies for lunch.  There I found some gorgeous Tuscan kale, and all sorts of squash and apples.  Naturally, I bought more than I could reasonably carry and awkwardly shuffle-shuffled home, cursing myself because I just had to have that huge, round kabocha squash.  Ah well!  Cooking is nothing if not a labor of love.

This is a simple recipe inspired by this recent post from one of the food blogs I follow, Dinner: A Love Story.

Pasta with Kale and Pancetta
6 to 8 servings

1 lb. (whole wheat) pasta (I like fusilli for the way the diced pancetta gets stuck in the curls)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 lb. pancetta, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 bunch Tuscan kale, stem ends removed and roughly chopped
good red pepper flakes to taste (I'm obsessed with the Calabrese kind from Buon Italia in Chelsea Market!)
salt to taste

3 oz. crumbled goat cheese

Put up a large pot of water on high heat.  Once it comes to a boil, salt generously and add the pasta.  Cook according to the package instructions.  Drain, reserving at least 2 cups of pasta water.

In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and add the pancetta.  Cook until browned, then add the garlic and cook another minute or so.  Carefully add the kale on top (it will sputter and hiss when the oil meets the water) and let it wilt into the pan.  After the racket dies down, add salt and red pepper flakes, stir, and cook another 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl or tray, mix the pasta, kale/pancetta mixture, and the goat cheese.  Toss to allow the heat to melt the goat cheese, if it seems too dry, slowly pour in pasta water to your liking.  Serve hot, with extra red pepper flakes on the side.

Buon Appetito!

J'adore Le Creuset

What can't this baby do?

My Le Creuset pot is amazing.  Especially when winter rolls in and I suddenly feel the urge to braise, stew, and make soup.  Those are the definitive modi operandi of good ol' blue here.  So, in the spirit of Le Creuset appreciation, and because delicious autumn weather is now upon us, here's a warm and cozy recipe, introduced to me by my childhood babysitter, Célia, who has returned to her homeland, where she and this soup were born: Portugal.

Caldo Verde 
Makes about 10 cups

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 cups water
4 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
salt and black pepper
1 lb. Portuguese linguiça
2 cans kidney beans
4 cups shredded kale, chard, or collard leaves, washed and dried
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook, stirring, until tender but not browned, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook another minute or so.  Stir in the water, potatoes, and some salt and black pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes.  Remove the pot from heat and either use an immersion blender to puree the potatoes into the soup, or transfer carefully, working in batches, to a blender to puree.  Return the soup to the pot.

In a skillet heat the remaining tablespoon of oil and brown the sausage.  Once fully cooked, remove to a board, cool, and thinly slice.  Pour 1 cup of the soup into the skillet and scrape up the browned bits, then return the liquid and browned bits to the soup.  Add the sliced sausage to the soup.

Simmer 5 minutes.  Stir in the kale or other greens and cook another 5 minutes.  Stir in the lemon juice and serve.

Breakfast: Cornbread

Some weekend mornings, when I have nothing in particular to do, I like to wake and bake.  No, not that kind of baking!  I mean the cannabis-free sort.  This morning I was feeling the cornbread, baked in a piping hot, butter basted cast-iron skillet, served with warm maple syrup and two eggs over easy.  

I used my ol' standby from the Joy of Cooking, because their cornbread recipe is incredibly simple - like, pre-coffee brain-dead simple.  The only change is I like to use honey instead of white sugar.  Maple syrup or molasses would work too, but would yield a different flavor, obviously.

Cornbread 

Makes one 10-inch skillet bread, one 8-inch square bread, or about 15 muffins

DRY:

1-1/4 cups yellow or white cornmeal, stone-ground

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

WET:

2 large eggs, beaten

1 cup milk

3 tablespoons melted butter

3 tablespoons honey

Have all the ingredients at room temperature before you start.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and grease the pan with butter, oil, or bacon drippings.  Place it in the oven until sizzling hot.

In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients.  In a separate bowl, whisk the wet ingredients.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry in a few quick strokes (you want to be extra careful not to overmix; only mix until the dry ingredients are wet.  No need to worry about lumps in the batter).  Pour the batter into the hot pan and bake 15 to 18 minutes, until nicely browned.  Serve immediately and store any leftovers in a tightly sealed container.