uphill bean battle

Lately, I feel like Sisyphus; at least when it comes to beans. I may not be facing a constant uphill battle with a boulder, but I am combatting the seemingly endless supply of canned beans in my pantry. Seriously, it seems as though canned beans are reproducing in the cool, quiet darkness of my storeroom. And I haven't even begun to tackle the dried beans! But all of these legumes and such have been coming in handy since I've been making a concerted effort to cut back on our meat consumption, especially on Meatless Mondays. Fortunately, I'm pretty familiar with all of the beans I've got on the shelf - black beans, pink beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, beans, beans, beans, yadayadayada. There was however, one can that I remember buying on a whim without knowing how I'd use it. As of this morning, I still had no clue how to use butter beans. I didn't even know what kind of bean they were (it's pretty much just a lima bean.) So, I turned to Google.

butter beans + kale. Kale. This bunch of leafy superfood seems to be taking over my refrigerator just like beans have laid claim to the pantry. After a quick browse through the results I stumbled upon a guest post from Kelli of The Corner Kitchen on Say Yes to Hoboken for a butter bean and kale tomato sauce with mushrooms served over polenta. It was fate! I already had all of those ingredients in my fridge, it was so perfect.

Since I like to really own my recipes, I tend to use other recipes more for ideas than anything else so I put Kelli's wonderfully inspiring creation aside until later on. In my mind, the sauce wasn't the hard part even though I did decide to make it more of a hearty stew or ragu. The hard part was going to be the polenta. I cook with polenta quite frequently because unlike most corn products, I actually love polenta. But I've always bought the pre-made stuff in the tube, never made it from scratch. I usually end up slicing it and pan frying it or just heating it up and piling delicious things on top of it. But every time I've ordered polenta at a restaurant I get something reminiscent of Cream O' Wheat which then makes me wonder if I'm eating breakfast or supper (more on that at the end,) and I've still loved it. So now the challenge of turning pre-made tube polenta into creamy, parmesan-y porridge. It wasn't a challenge. The side of the package told me exactly how to do it and I improvised with a potato masher.

creamy parmesan polenta
ingredients
1 tube pre-made polenta
1/2 c milk
1/2 c water or stock
splash of cream
1/4 c seasoned parmesan
salt, pepper & olive oil to taste
directions
1. Slice polenta into 1/4" pieces and crumble into a heavy bottom sauce pan with milk, cream and water. Heat on a med-high flame and mash until you've achieved desired consistency. Stir in cheese, salt, pepper and oil and heat until hot but not bubbling, stirring often to avoid sticking.

Had I known it was that easy, I would have made creamy polenta long ago. And now for the meatless main event!

kale and butter bean ragu (inspired by Kelli's tomato braised butter beans with kale & mushrooms)
ingredients
4 medium tomatoes, chopped (I used a variety of campari, heirloom, and kumato)
1 can butter beans, rinsed
5-7 c kale, rinsed and torn
1 c sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1 small onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh basil, torn
1 tbsp fresh oregano leaves
salt, pepper, crushed red pepper to taste
directions
1. In a large pan, heat garlic and onion in olive oil until the onion starts to get soft. Add 1-2 c water and heat to a simmer on a medium flame while tossing in kale 2 cups at a time, allowing to reduce. Season with salt and peppers. Add herbs.
2. When kale has wilted down and become soft add in the mushrooms, cooking about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and beans. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook for about 3-5 more minutes, covered. Season as desired. Serve on top of creamy polenta with a dollop of fresh ricotta if desired.

Dinner was almost too easy tonight. And it was so delicious and flavorful and hearty and belly-filling good! It's getting a little warm out now, but this is a perfect late winter meal if you ask me. I mention breakfast earlier because I think if you toned down the spices of the veggies and put a poached egg on top, you'd have an unbelievably beautiful brunch dish. Or you could put it all in a skillet with a few eggs and bake it - gosh that would look so nice on a morning table! After we ate, I checked out Kelli's original recipe and it wasn't much different than my interpretation. She used canned diced tomatoes with the juices and shredded her kale so it looks like it was more along the lines of a sauce than a stew. She also used thyme which I lovelovelove! Maybe next time (because I'll for sure be making this again,) I'll try out the original. And maybe I'll even try making the polenta from scratch (did someone say Sunday?) Another Meatless Monday success! Thanks Kelli and your itty bitty kitchen for the inspiration!

sunday from scratch - pizza pizza

Welcome to a brand new slice of the delirious kitchen pie - Sundays from Scratch! A new, weekly installment that will feature a supper meal including at least one brand new ingredient that I've made from scratch. This isn't to say that all the recipes featured here aren't from scratch, because they all are (or at least semi-homemade.) No, these recipes will be brand new to my repertoire; recipes that I've always considered making but never actually gotten down to business with, ingredients that I've always purchased from the grocery store rather than made myself.

For our inaugural post, I've decided to tackle a treat I've been dying to try to make on my own for quite some time now. I wanted to make ricotta cheese... from scratch. I've been reading about it for a couple of years now and it just seemed so simple and easy to make that it doesn't make sense to buy it. But I've never had all of the ingredients on hand (not that there are many,) and I've never created anything that required ricotta to be such an integral ingredient that it needed to be deliciously fresh. But tonight, I decided that I wanted to make a meal around the ricotta, where the ricotta was not only a feature player, but the star. What better way to highlight the creamy sweetness of ricotta than by tossing together a pizza?

This wasn't just any pizza, mind you. The pizza I created for our very first SFS had to be almost entirely made from scratch, each element being of the homemade variety, not just one of the ingredients. So, over the course of the past few days I started prepping everything - ricotta cheese, whole wheat pizza dough, another variety of pesto, plus I took a trip to the grocery store for some fancy tomatoes and dug around the fridge for a few extra toppings including fresh basil, seasoned parmesan from DiPasquales, sliced baby bella mushrooms, and thinly sliced prosciutto. Just looking at the counter full of fresh and colorful ingredients was making my mouth water, there was no way the finished pie wouldn't be scrumptious. Now, let's get down to the business of making all of these ingredients:

The other day when I was going nuts with my food processor, I decided to make a non-traditional traditional pesto. Why not traditional? I didn't have nearly enough basil in the fridge and pine nuts are crazy expensive. Being the frugal gal that I am, I just decided to use any green stuff I had in the fridge and whatever bag of nuts I could grab out of the pantry. On this occasion, the green stuff happened to be kale and the nuts, chopped walnuts. The result was a garlicky and clean pesto with a peppery flavor rather than the usual sweetness from basil. Pestos will last for awhile in the fridge so I made this earlier in the week and let it settle allowing all of the flavors to marinate together in preparation for their grand pizza debut.


kale and walnut pesto
ingredients
3 c kale, rinsed and torn
1/2 c walnuts, finely chopped
1/4 c olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp parmesan
salt and pepper to taste
directions
1. Blanch kale in salted hot water to soften the leaves. Drain.
2. Blend all ingredients in food processor until desired consistency is reached. Refrigerate in an airtight container.

Next came the super simple pizza dough. Back in the day, when I was taking HomeEc classes in Middle and High School, I used to make pizza pretty frequently because we seemed to make dough every time there was a sub. But let's just say that it's been quite some time since I participated in a class like that and therefore, awhile since I've made my own pie. But it really is the easiest thing in the world to make, plus once it's kneaded and risen and kneaded again, it can be frozen for a few weeks until you're ready to toss it in the oven. I've almost completely stopped keeping white flour in my house and have substituted whole wheat flour for any recipes that call for it so I ended up making whole wheat pizza crust, not that I'm one to complain about making something just a little extra healthy.

whole wheat pizza dough (via Crossroads Middle School HomeEc class)
yields two small pizzas
ingredients
2 1/4 oz packets yeast
4 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp course salt
1/4 c olive oil
1 1/2 c warm water (not hot)
directions
1. In a large bowl, pour warm water over yeast and let sit until foamy, about five minutes. Whisk in remaining ingredients until a sticky dough forms. Knead together in a clean, oiled bowl. Cover with a towel and let sit in a dry place to rise for about one hour.
2. After an hour, dough should be doubled in size. Knead a second time. Separate into two balls and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Can be refrigerated up to three days or frozen 3-4 weeks.

Finally, just a couple of days before our pizza supper, I spent a very brief amount of time preparing ricotta cheese. It's amazing how simple and easy it is to make ricotta and how little active time it takes to prep. All of the accounts I read regarding homemade cheese clearly stated that fresh, unpasteurised milk and cream make the best tasting cheeses, but since there are no midweek farmers markets in Baltimore (that I know of, at least,) I had to deal with regular old milk and cream from the grocery store. Despite the shelf life of these dairy products, I think homemade ricotta should probably be used within five days of making it for ultimate tastiness. It really is so much creamier and richer and smoother than anything you'd find at the supermarket so, if you have the time and the ingredients, I say try it out. Especially if you don't use it very often - wouldn't you rather those few occasions have the freshest and most delicious ingredients available.

ricotta cheese (via smitten kitchen)
ingredients
3 1/2 c whole milk
1/2 c heavy cream
1/2 tsp course salt
3 tbsp lemon
directions
1. In a small, heavy bottom sauce pan, heat milk, cream and salt to 190 stirring constantly. When it's reached 190, remove from heat, add lemon juice gently stirring one or two times. Let sit five minutes.
2. Line a colander with cheese cloth and place over a large bowl. After five minutes, pour the curdled mix through the colander separating the curds and whey. Let drain for at least one hour. Remove cheese from colander and store, refrigerated in an airtight container for up to five days.



Mmmm, with all the ingredients ready, Honey and I were set to have a super delicious supper. After a leisurely breakfast with Sunday Morning and The Sun, a long bike ride up to Druid Hill Park to catch a few glimpses of the quickly fading cherry blossoms, a few hours of backyard urban gardening, and some major preheating, we prepped our fabulously tasty pizza. On thinly rolled out dough we smeared about three heaping teaspoons of kale and walnut pesto, then some healthy dollops of ricotta, thick slices of kumato tomatoes, strips of prosciutto, sliced baby bella mushrooms, fresh basil leaves and a sprinkling of seasoned parmesan. A bit of research informed us that it's better to put your pizza on a super hot pizza stone and then in the broiler because the higher the cooking heat and the quicker the cook time, the better off your pizza will be. So we cranked up the heat and preheated the pizza stone to such a high temperature, requiring a very brief 5-7 cook time for the whole pie. I'd say it was a pretty amazing pie and when I asked Honey what he thought of it, he responded with a full mouth mumble which I can usually translate to mean delicious. Sometimes he speaks languages that I can't quite understand. :)

I hope you all enjoyed the first installment of Sunday from Scratch and that you'll try out one or two of the recipes I shared. Make sure you come back next week for another tasty new kitchen adventure! Have a great week! xoxo, me

what a pest(o)!

Ugh! My favorite gal, Miss Martha, has stolen my idea! I just logged on to blog about my pesto party and I saw her post regarding leftover herbs in my feed. Hey Martha, that's what I wanted to write about! What a pain in the butt. No worries, I've decided to write my post before I read Martha's so that she has no influence on what I am about to say -

Last night while I was whipping up another batch of black bean guacamole and a boatload of hummus, I noticed that the beautiful bunch of cilantro I had bought last week was getting wilty and spotted; yuck! But I only use a small bunch in the guacamole and I wasn't in the mood for anything cilantro-centric for supper so what was I supposed to do?! The answer was right there in front of me. The food processor, of course. I could make a non-traditional pesto! So I racked my brain and came up with a spicy cilantro almond pesto and it turned out to be amazing. And amazingly simple.


spicy cilantro almond pesto
ingredients
1 c cilantro, rinsed and pulled from stems
1/4 c almonds, peeled
1/8 c red onion, diced
1/8 c plus 1 tbsp avocado oil
2 tsp favorite hot sauce
pinch course Kosher salt
dash ground pepper (chipotle & black)
directions
Blend together in a food processor until the desired consistency is reached. Top with a tablespoon of oil and store in an airtight container in the fridge up to one week.


Holy cannoli, it was delicious. Though I wasn't very hungry, I couldn't help but rattle off a list of all the ways I could use it - as a sandwich spread, for dipping grilled chicken or steak, to top fish tacos, stirred into gazpacho, the possibilities are endless. But like I said, i wasn't very hungry, so I just topped it off with a splash of oil and threw it in the fridge. However, after a sweltering day wandering around Gettysburg with a gaggle of seventh grade boys, my sunburnt self wanted something quick and delicious for supper. I had some leftover egg whites in the fridge after making ice cream so I decided to do a little breakfast for dinner. I love breakfast for dinner! Some kale sauteed with salt and pepper, slices of warm polenta, scrambled egg whites, topped with a spoonful of pesto and a dash of hot sauce. It was so perfect that I'll be enjoying it again tomorrow night.

so much green!

So, Martha, what do you think of that? I came up with something tasty and delicious using almost old cilantro and I didn't even need your help. Now that I'm stuffed with healthy, tasty homemade goodness, I'll go on to read that post. Maybe I'll even update my darling readers about what it told me!

Update: Ok ok ok, so pesto wasn't the main focus of the Everyday Food blog from Martha Stewart's team. It really was a collection of suggestions for how to use leftover herbs that are at risk of getting icky. There are actually some great ideas including herbed cornbread and green goddess dressing. The pesto suggested and used as the cover picture was made with cilantro, just like mine, but uses peanuts instead of almonds. Honey hates peanuts so that recipe would not be used in my house and, to tell you the truth, I like what I came up with better. But head over to Martha for a few great tips and recipes for nearly gnarly herbs!

the musical fruit

Ever since I was a little kid, I've been called Bean. It's been a pretty natural evolution - Jillian to Jilly to Jillybean to Bean. It makes sense. Does it make sense that I love to cook with my namesake beans? Of course it does! Does it make me a cannibal? Yikes, that's a scary thought. When I unpacked my kitchen after the big move, I unpacked what seemed like fifty cans of beans! Seriously, I must have bought out all the cans from my Brooklyn grocery store just so that I could make the move as clunky and heavy as possible. But it worked out for the best. Lately, with my attempts to cut a significant amount of meat out of my diet, I've been cooking with a lot of beans... and because of my abundance, A LOT of beans.

The other day I had the food processor out to make some hummus, one of my all time favorite foods that I've recently started preparing myself (more on that another time,) when I decided that I should try putting some of those other canned beans to work. Chick peas are not the end all be all, no matter how delicious they are. Naturally the second most common canned bean in my pantry was the versatile black bean. Opening the fridge and cupboard I realized that I had all the ingredients necessary to prepare a sort of guacamole - avocado, red onion, salsa,tomato, cilantro, even crunchy tortilla chips from the tortilleria down the street. I thought to myself 'what if I just mixed in some black beans?' So I did. And you know what? Amazing! It turned into a slightly chunky dip filled with the flavors of a traditional guacamole but with an extra oomph from the black beans. Not only did they add flavor, one $.89 can doubled the quantity while cutting the calories and fat (since there wasn't as much so good but so bad avocado,) and pumping up the protein! Between my kid sister and Honey I'm lucky I was able to taste any; and that I was able to get that taste and keep all my fingers in tact! It's a perfect dip for snacking or spreading and will most likely, based on it's popularity, become a staple condiment in our fridge.

black bean guacamole
ingredients
1 can black beans
1 whole ripe avocado
1 tbsp diced red onions
2 tbsp fresh salsa
1 tsp dried cilantro
dash of cumin
pinch of salt
sprinkling of fresh ground black pepper
splash of favorite hot sauce
directions
1. Blend all ingredients together in a food processor. Add extra salt, pepper and spices to taste. Yup, it's that easy. Garnish with fresh salsa and serve with chips, crudite, or your favorite crunchy dip-able food.

Ok, so that's two cans of beans put to good use with hummus and black bean guacamole. But two wasn't enough, not for this inspired gal! Meatless Monday came around, the first in our new home, and I wanted to make something special and delicious for me and Honey. I didn't want to spend a ton of money but I also wanted the meal to be fresh and tasty. Upon opening the fridge and cupboards I was greeted by beans. Everywhere, beans! It's like they're reproducing in there! I also came across a tube of firm polenta. Immediately, my brain combined the two and added red onion. I started a mental shopping list adding salad stuff to the red onion I needed to get from the grocery store (mixed greens, tomatoes, fresh cilantro, fresh salsa, tortilla chips) and a kitchen list of everything I could use that we already had (avocado, chipotle, cumin, cayenne, avocado oil, pepper jack cheese, black bean guacamole, sour cream, hot sauce, and of course, polenta and beans.) I started mixing and melding in the kitchen. Before I knew it, Southwestern scents wafted upstairs from the sizzling pan drawing both Honey and the cat down ready to dig in. The balance of heat and creamy favors from the peppers and beans and avocado and crisp salad all melded together deliciously making for another vegetarian success!

spicy, cheesy chipotle pink bean polenta (aka honey's melty bean stuff)
ingredients
firm polenta, sliced
2 tbsp avocado oil
2 tbsp diced red onion
1 can pink beans
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salted chipotle seasoning
dash of black pepper
2 tsp chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 c shredded pepperjack cheese
directions
1. In a heavy bottom skillet heat avocado oil over a medium heat and add onion, cooking until it starts to brown and soften. While the onions are cooking, season the polenta with peppers, cumin and chipotle seasoning. Being careful not to overcrowd the slices, add polenta to pan.
2. Flip the polenta slices to crisp and heat through. Add beans, stirring gently so as not to break polenta slices and cook until heated through. Turn off flame, sprinkle cheese evenly over beans and polenta. Top with cilantro and cover about 3 minutes or until melty. Serve with a dollop of sour cream alongside a green salad.

avocado-yeah!

Ever since I won(!) my KitchenAid I've been blabbering on about how I wanted to get the ice cream maker attachment and make homemade ice cream all the time. And there was one ice cream flavor that I was particularly fascinated with whipping up - avocado. Before you say gross, hear me out. Avocados are a fruit, pretty much my favorite fruit because they are creamy, sweet, full of nutrients and good for you stuff, and the color is gorgeous. Sounds like I'm describing ice cream, doesn't it? (Yes ice cream is good for you! Remember? It healed my broken leg.) They're perfect year round and can be used for every meal, in an omelette or spread on toast for breakfast, adorning a turkey club for lunch, blended into guacamole for a mid-afternoon snack, mixed into a soup, topping a salad or sliced on grilled chicken breast with tomatoes for supper. Why not take advantage of their versatility and flavor by creating something sweet with them? What's sweeter, creamier, and more adaptable than ice cream? I'm sure you're in agreement with me by now because plenty of other people have had the same idea. Seriously, just start typing in 'avocado ice cream' into a search bar and you'll see dozens of delicious results!

you've got to be crazy if you think that doesn't look delicious!

The first recipe to be listed was from Alton Brown. I've never prepared any of his recipes before, but I like him. He's kind of goofy, a bit loud, finds the science of food fascinating, and he was a Boy Scout, so he's a decent guy in my book. He's also friendly with my boy, Bourdain and let's face it, that doesn't hurt his cause. I followed his recipe exactly and it turned out to be delicious and the lovely pale green was very appropriate for St Patrick's Day (I made this a couple weeks ago.) The only problem I had? this recipe makes a banana boatload of ice cream! So much ice cream, I had to put it in two jumbo containers in my freezer AND eat a big bowl as soon as it was finished and still had some left in the mixer bowl. This is not a complaint, but I would have thrown a sundae party had I known I would have this much frozen goodness to consume. Thankfully I had Honey to help me out with quite a bit of it through the weekends but I'm still chipping away at my avocado iceberg!

The other day I was inspired, yet again, by my avocado ice cream dream. Honey and I were on our way home from running errands (we're such grownups now,) and we drove past a Stewart's. Apparently they don't have Stewart's in Connecticut because Honey had no idea what it was. No clue that the delicious root beer was served on draft over vanilla ice cream alongside all-American classics like burgers and fries and hotdogs and gyros! And that you can have it all served on a tray that attaches to your car door! And that back in the day it may or may not have been served by girls on skates! We didn't stop because I insist on only partaking in a place like that in the summertime, but the simple thought of a warm day's tasty treats left me craving a float! But checking off all the tasks on our honey-do list left me lazy, so much so that I didn't want to take a stroll to my favorite place, Safeway, for vanilla ice cream and root beer. So I was stuck with a craving all weekend long... until Honey gave me the idea of using what I had in the house: avocado ice cream and ginger beer. The crisp, spicy fizz from the ginger beer paired perfectly with the cool, fresh flavor of the avocado ice cream. Mmm a pair made in paradise! Trust me, if you have an ice cream maker, get it out, buy some avocados, freeze dessert, and pour some crisp, cold ginger beer over it in a frosty glass! Enjoy and keep preparing yourself for the warmer weather... this snow will be gone before we know it!

ready for a twister of goodness

maybe the wicked witch had such great, green skin
from all the avocados she ate!

Alton Brown's avocado ice cream (adapted courtesy Alton Brown, 2005 via foodnetwork.com)

ingredients

12 oz avocado meat, approx 3 medium to large avocados

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 1/2 c whole milk

1/2 c sugar

1 c heavy cream

directions

1. Put the avocado meat (peeled and pitted, of course) into a blender or food processor with lemon juice, milk and sugar; puree. Transfer to a mixing bowl and whisk in heavy cream. Chill in the fridge 4-6 hours or until it reaches 40 degrees or chillier.

2. Move mixture to your ice cream maker and mix according to directions, but take into consideration the mix may ice-cream-up quicker than other ice creams. Serve immediately if you like a soft ice cream, freeze for firmer ice cream and longevity.

3. To enjoy a super tasty float, pour spicy ginger beer (like Cock 'n Bull brand) over scoops of avocado ice cream in a tall, chilled glass with a straw and a spoon! Enjoy like it's summertime, whether or not it actually is!

snow day, matzo balls

patterson park pagoda

I woke up extra crazypants early this morning to drive honey to the bus station so that he could go back to Brooklyn (womp womp.) I showered and got ready for work expecting to have to go straight there after leaving the man on the MegaBus but then I turned on the news and looked out the window to see - Winter Weather Advisory! By the time I dragged honey out of bed the local news was calling for a 2 hour delay. Ugh, those are the worst! Once I'm awake, I'm wide awake so there's no going back to bed, I usually just end up futzing around with nothing to do but watch the news, read the paper and be lazy - ugh, that's Sunday stuff! Since I knew it would take me forever to get to work because of the crummy road cleanup, I figured that I could just go hang out at a coffee shop and do the crossword puzzle until I had to be at work. So I kissed my sleepy honey goodbye, watched the bus pull away, and headed back towards the city - only to be greeted by the news that the inclement weather had changed our 2 hour delay to a snow day! Now that's something I can get down with.

I very slowly drove home, put on some warm and cozy non-work clothes, cuddled with the cat a bit, and then decided to get outside and enjoy the snow before it turned to the expected sleet/rain/wintry-mix that is so common in Baltimore. So I strapped on furry winter boots and wandered out into the weather. Patterson Park looked so beautiful and calm and all the little kids sledding with their moms and dads made me wish honey had missed his bus so that we could have picked up a sled and enjoyed a little springtime winter fun. It makes me so happy that we're fortunate enough to live next to a really beautiful park! After my stroll I decided that this kind of weather called for my favorite chilly weather food, soup. And 'tis the season for one of my all-time favorite soups - matzo ball! Off to the grocery store for matzo meal and an onion then back home to make a delicious pot for the first night of Passover.

these are not snowballs... though they might make for a fun fight!

sundown supper

Like a lot of my cozy, comfort recipes, I don't have a proper recipe for my matzo ball soup. It's usually a basic chicken stock, some veggies and matzo balls, salted and peppered to taste and with the standard matzo ball mix - 2 eggs, 1/2 c matzo meal, 2 tbsp veggie oil, 2 tbsp broth, mixed, cooled, balled, boiled. Since we ate chicken all weekend and today is Meatless Monday, I wanted to make a totally veggie version of my traditional broth. I started with a little Rapunzel vegetable bouillon, diced onions, peppercorns, olive oil and thyme in about 8 cups of water and brought it to a boil before adding sliced carrots and celery, handfuls of torn kale, and baby bella mushrooms. I found whole wheat matzo meal at the store, so I picked that up to use in place of standard white flour matzo. The whole wheat matzo doesn't fluff up the way the normal matzo meal does, it kind of falls a little flat after awhile, but it's still sturdy and makes a good solid matzo ball for a heartier soup. I'm not sure what time sundown is supposed to happen tonight, it's been so grey out all day I haven't seen the sun to even make a guess for the time. But I would imagine that it's around now-ish, especially since I just ladled out a big bowl of veggie matzo ball soup for myself. I'll sip on some wine (not Manischewitz,) and celebrate a holiday that isn't my own with a bowl of soup that is probably not Kosher for Passover. But it's definitely delicious. Happy Passover, friends!

tofu tuesday

I like to think that I am a healthy eater. True, I eat a lot of ice cream, indulge in cheese plates pretty regularly, and sample everything I bake, but in general, I'm pretty healthy. I'm a bit of a grazer these days, especially since living on my own. I go through bags of carrots and tubs of mixed greens like crazy and I'm constantly having to run out to the store to pick up more hummus and salsa and avocados. Lately, I've jumped on the Meatless Monday bandwagon. Actually, I've cut quite a bit of meat out of my diet - rarely for lunch since I usually stick to soup and salad in the cafeteria, almost never at home since I'm cooking for one, and since I haven't gone out much lately, when I almost always order meat (especially if a pork chop is on the menu) I haven't had much. The first meat I cooked in what feels like forever was this Sunday's corned beef in honor of St Patrick. Unfortunately, because of that incredibly delicious, boiled Irish feast, I couldn't stick to my meat-free menu last night because the leftovers were just too tempting to resist. How could you say no to day old corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots dripping with butter, salt and pepper?

In spite of my carnivorous setback, I decided that I wanted to stick to my strict meatless day and whip up a little something for what I decided to dub Tofu Tuesday. So, a day late and zero dollars short since all of the ingredients were already in my fridge and pantry, I created a super yummy veggie meal for myself and even had enough left over that my Wednesday night supper is ready to go! What did I do exactly? Let me tell you -

In a super hot skillet I sauteed some fresh garlic and onions in sweet virgin coconut oil tossing in a spoon full of peanut butter once the onions started getting soft. Then I added some sliced carrots and water chestnuts along with heaps of Madras curry, some Sriracha, cumin, ginger, tumeric and a splash of coconut milk and let the flavors simmer into saucy goodness. Then I tossed in some shredded cabbage (leftover from St Patty's) and a handful of edamame. Finally, I added sliced mushrooms and cubed tofu until everything was simmered to spicy, curried perfection and served it over jasmine rice cooked with coconut oil, saffron and pink Himalayan salt. It was so wonderful that I almost couldn't wait to finish the rest but I want to make sure I have supper ready for tomorrow rather than get stuffed tonight. I'm so happy to be back in the kitchen, getting creative with what I've got and mastering new recipes of my very own making. Even if they are meatless!

questia-tarian

So, remember a few weeks back when I discussed my desire to start Meatless Mondays?  Well, I finally got around to taking notice of my carnivorous consumption today.  And then I realized that I totally put tuna on my ginormous salad this afternoon.  Beans, beets, onions, tofu, radishes and, yup, tuna steak.  But  after the fact, I started to wonder, does fish count as meat?  Pescatarians are considered to be in the family of vegetarians, but who made up that rule?  Was it other vegetarians that wanted to broaden their community or was it snooty meat eaters who wanted to exclude those among them who won't bite into a bloody steak smothered in garlic with a side of creamed spinach?  Or was it the fish eaters themselves who felt they didn't quite belong anywhere and wanted to confuse the heck out of all of us regular or irregular eaters?

With these thoughts in mind, I'd like to propose a question to all my folks out there, both veggie and meat-eatin' - is fish a meat?  Seriously, are pescatarians considered to be in the same family as vegetarians or not?  Because as I was preparing my salad this afternoon, I thought I was being all veggie friendly.  It wasn't until halfway through devouring it in the park that this question was brought to my mind.  So let me know what you think because I'm at a complete loss with this one.  Was I able to stick to my Meatless Monday goal, or did I fall flat on my face with failure?  Help this carnivorous gal figure it all out!!!

squash the casbah

I love squashes.  Really really love squashes.  And not just Summer squashes, but their warmer sweeter Autumn relatives too.  I'm pretty sure my love of the many colorful, tasty varieties led to a few squash overdoses last fall.  But these year I'm determined to mix it up a little and not just load them up with butter and brown sugar (although that's extremely delicious and I'll be eating a lot of that as well.)  In order to help my brain get crackin on some new squash recipes, I turned to the one lady I knew would be able to help out - Martha Stewart.  My gal Martha has an entire slideshow on her website all about squashes and pumpkins!

While perusing her simple and inventive recipes, I came across these Moroccan style stuffed acorn squashes and decided that they were right up my alley.  But since I haven't been cooking lately I wanted to make it easy on myself by cheating and using the jar of already prepared Moroccan spices that I have at home.  Unfortunately, when my mom and I swung by my apartment to pick up some things before heading off to New Jersey we grabbed everything but the spices.  And since the internet back in KP is extraordinarily slow, I had to utilize my creative genius to create my own version of the recipe.  No worries though because it was a complete success!  I originally planned on serving it up as a vegetarian meal but since my dad would be dining with us, I had to make it a little meaty if I wanted to convince him to taste it (he's a little hesitant about foreign spices.)  Once he saw it though, he decided to try it and guess what... he totally loved it!  I'm determined to take him out to try Indian food next.  Oh yeah, Aunt Donna really enjoyed it, too!  It's healthy, hearty and wonderfully seasonal; a perfect main course or feast-worthy side dish.

moroccan stuffed squash
ingredients
2 acorn squash
1 box couscous
1 tbsp olive oil
pinch of saffron threads
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp coriander
fresh ground salt & pepper to taste
1/4 tsp fresh ground cinnamon
fresh ground nutmeg to taste
1 lb ground lamb
directions
1. Preheat oven to 350.  Halve squash and scoop out all the innards.  Bake squash for about 45 minutes or until nearly tender, flipping them halfway through.  When ready, cut out the majority of the squash out of the shell but leaving some for looks and setting the shells aside.  From what's been removed, cut into small chunks and toss into a bowl.
2. Prepare couscous according to box directions with saffron and olive oil.  Toss spices together in a small dish.  In a hot skillet, brown the lamb with half of the spice mixture.  When lamb and couscous are ready, toss with squash pieces and remaining spices and some of the lamb drippings.
3. Spoon the mix into the squash halves and bake for about 15 minutes on a baking sheet with a shallow amount of water.  Serve and enjoy.

You'll probably have a good amount of stuffing leftover, we did at least.  So what to do with all that leftover goodness?  We put it into portabella mushroom caps and enjoyed another stuffed veggie but it would also be tasty on a bed of fresh spinach or just on it's own.  Have any other ideas?  I'd love to hear what everyone else would do with seasonally spiced stuffing so share your ideas gang!

calling all vegetarians!

As I'm sure you're all well aware at this point, I am not a vegetarian.  Come on, I want to put bacon in my apple pie - do you get much more carnivorous than that?  I haven't always been such a meat eater though.  Once, during my experimental college years, my roomie and I dabbled with vegetarianism.  She's still pretty close to being a vegetarian (I think she eats meat, but not too frequently... she does live in Texas after all,) while I lasted maybe 7 hours before withdrawal set in and I had to haul ass to Frisco Burritos for an overstuffed chicken with trinity - if you're ever in Towson, Maryland you should swing by and get one; they're delicious.  But all of that meat doesn't interfere with my love of vegetables or decrease my admiration for those of you out there who manage to resist the greasy goodness of hamburgers, whatever your reasons for such resistance may be.

I'm not really sure how this happened, but I've somehow ended up with quite a few vegetarian friends.  These relationships have thrown a few hiccups into delirious kitchen prep since my supper clubs and dinner parties are usually centered around a main course of meat or fish, menus where the veggies are merely backup dancers.  But as I perused my wacky new Facebook feed this morning I saw that two of my friends were promoting or liking Vegetarian Awareness Month.  October is known for a lot of things, but vegetarians?!  And today, October 1st, is World Vegetarian Day... who knew?  Apparently, I am unaware.

I kind of already planned on whipping up some brussel sprouts with pork belly for supper tonight, but technically the 'day' will be over by the time I enjoy such a meaty meal, one that doesn't quite fit into the veggie theme of the day.  But until the 6:38 sunset that concludes today, I plan on existing as a vegetarian.  But my venture into vegetarianism doesn't end there.  I've been thinking about it for awhile now and have finally decided to embrace the trend of Meatless Mondays.  I've been attempting to stockpile recipes as I come across them or as they pop into my brain, but I need your help friends!  Though the beautiful pictures and creative cuisines presented at Green Kitchen Stories are inspiring and deliciously tempting, they aren't real to me because I don't have the veggie know-how to decide which ones to try and which ones to leave in the garden.  That's where all you vegetarians come in to play - I need your recommendations for blogs, recipes & restaurants.  I need you to volunteer to be my guinea pigs and guests for Meatless Mondays.  I want you to guest post!  Come on down gang and help this meat-lovin' gal embrace your meatless ways.  Seriously, I need your help so that I can become more aware.  Here's to a fun journey through greener pastures!

Green Kitchen Stories' self-proclaimed World's Greatest Vegetable Lasagna