Mexican Rice

Well it's about that time again... it's the end of the month which means it's time to get creative with whatever spare ingredients we have left before our big shopping trip (NOTE: Emily actually wrote this in October, but I have been a slacker in publishing the posts). Tonight the weather was almost-November-gloomy and I wanted to make something a little more colorful and exciting than our usual standby, plain old beans and rice. We were blessed to get a few fresh hot peppers from a friend last week, and so they became the inspiration for the rest of this dish. I hesitate to call it Mexican Rice, since I have no idea if Mexicans would eat it or even like it, but I'm hoping they would because it's awesome.

Ingredients:

• 1 c brown rice
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves minced garlic
• Olive oil
• 2-3 hot peppers, chopped with seeds removed
• 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 c water
• 1 c frozen corn
• 1/2 Tbsp chili powder + another 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 Tbsp cumin + another 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• Black pepper, salt, and ground cayenne to taste

Cook the rice in 2 cups of water (check out this article if you aren't sure how to cook brown rice: http://www.eatingwell.com/blogs/healthy_cooking_blog/how_to_cook_brown_rice_perfectly). It will take about 40 minutes. Take a break and go do something fun, or be responsible and get your veggies chopped up and ready for the next step while the rice is cooking.

When there's about 15-20 minutes left on the rice timer, peel the garlic, press it, and let it sit in the open air for 10 minutes. I just do this because Tim heard on NPR that it's healthier. And NPR wouldn't lie... right?

Saute your well-rested garlic, chopped onion, 1/2 tablespoon of the chili powder and 1/2 tablespoon of the cumin in some olive oil (I didn't measure it, just guess how much you need) in a large frying pan. As the onion is starting to get floppy, mix in the hot peppers, making sure that they get coated in the colorful spices along with the onion and garlic. Saute for a few minutes more and by now the rice should be done.

Add the rice, 1/2 cup water, and the corn. Keep stirring and heating, and mix in the beans.  By now there are so many ingredients in the pan that you need more spices, so add the rest of the chili powder and cumin, as well as the turmeric (this is really great for color!) and however much cayenne you dare. Heat it all through, season with salt and pepper, and enjoy! 

*Note: I think this recipe would be even better with some grated cheese melted on top and maybe some sliced black olives and Rotel tomatoes. But since the point of the recipe was to use only ingredients we already had, I had to forego those luxuries for now. Feel free to add anything you have on hand that would spice it up even more and make it your own!

Cheesy Garlic Alfredo with Kale

Don't let all that green in the picture fool you... this is not a particularly healthy recipe! I've made a lot of experimental alfredo sauces in my day, and whenever I've tried to create a "healthy" version it turns out blah. But a recipe like this, using plenty of cream, butter, and cheesy goodness is worth a few extra calories. Hope you like this one as much as I do! 




Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 c heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 c sour cream
• 3/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1/8 tsp white pepper
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 c coarsely chopped kale
• Pasta of your choice (I used 1/2 a box of Garden Rotini this time because it's what I had on hand)

Begin by mincing the garlic and setting it aside in a large saute pan. I've heard that garlic is better for you if you leave it exposed to the air for 10 minutes before cooking, so do that if you've got the time and patience. Meanwhile, start boiling water for your pasta.

Add the butter to the pan with the garlic and cook over a medium-low heat until butter is melted. Add heavy whipping cream and heat through, stirring constantly, and then add the sour cream and heat through again. Just keep stirring! If your water is boiling, cook your pasta according to package directions. 

Stir in all the spices and keep cooking the sauce over a low heat. It should be thickening slightly but not visibly boiling. Add the cheese and kale, and continue cooking until all the cheese is melted and the sauce is a uniform consistency (not counting the kale). The kale should be bright green. 

By now your pasta should be cooked. Drain pasta, then pour alfredo sauce over top of it and mix well. Enjoy! Serves two hungry people or three sensible eaters. 

Snack of the Night: Deep Fried PBJ

One magical summer, while Dustin Williams and Tim Huguenin were working at Camp Grace and playing in the swamp on their day off,  they came across a muddy, old oil lamp.
     "Hey, g'on an' rub that thang," Tim said.
     "Okay," Dustin said.
     Dustin rubbed the lamp and cleaned the mud off, and out popped a Kitchen Genie.
     "I am David Davison, the Kitchen Genie. What do you want?"
     Dustin and Tim didn't even have to think about it. In unison, they answered:
     "Deep fried peanut butter and jelly."
     And that is how the deep fried peanut butter jellies came into existence. Or something like that. Below I will relate the steps to make this mystic delicacy yourself.

Ingredients:

• Oil for frying (you can either use a deep fryer, if you have one, or just put in enough peanut or canola oil into a saucepan to be able to submerge the PBJs)
• Peanut Butter of your choice (use the stuff without hydrogenated oils--it's better for you!)
• Jelly or Jam of your choice (grape or strawberry is my favorite for this recipe)
• One roll of 8 Jumbo Sized refrigerated biscuit dough sections (I like the flaky kind for this)

Start warming up the oil in preparation for the cooking. I'm not a pro deep-frying-man or anything, and I don't even own a proper deep fryer, so if you've got one, maybe you know how to work it. I just pour enough canola or peanut oil into a saucepan so that I will be able to submerge one or two of these things in the oil, and I think I've had the best results cooking on a medium to low temperature (too high will burn the outside and not cook the inside of the dough).

While the oil is warming, take equal parts peanut butter to jelly and mix them together in a bowl. You'll probably use less than you think--about a spoonful of mixture per biscuit section. If you have the 8-pack of dough, go ahead and put about 5 spoonfuls of peanut butter to 5 spoonfuls of jelly, just to be safe. You can always eat the leftover PBJ mixture by itself when you're done. Or make a PBJ sandwich. Mix it up until it is pretty smooth and has a kind of gross color to it.

Flour a surface so that your biscuit dough will not stick to it, then take one of the biscuit dough sections and flatten it out well with your fist or fingers. Try to keep the circle shape.

Place a spoonful of the PBJ mixture into the middle of your flattened biscuit dough section. Feel free to try to cram as much in there as you can, but keep in mind that too much can cause your dough to not seal fully and cause a big gooey mess.

Fold the dough over the spoonful of PBJ mixture and press down the corners to seal. It is very important that you get it completely sealed off. When it cooks in the oil, the dough will expand and any cracks in it will open up. I pinch and press down with my fingers until the dough becomes almost one with itself, then I fold the edge over and do the same thing again.

Fry in the oil until the outside is a brown color. Remember, if the oil is too hot, it will brown fast but the inside of the dough will still be gross and gooey. If you think it's not cooked all the way through, you can keep going. It just gets browner and browner and eventually super crispy and burnt on the outside. Just use your judgement.

Repeat this process for each delicious PBJ morsel. Careful: the inside will be very hot when it comes out of the fryer. Let it cool for a couple minutes then enjoy. 

A lot of the magic goes away after they get cold, and they're not as good then. So eat them all at once.

Cheesy Spaghetti Squash with Ramps

Spaghetti squash is so much fun to make that you almost forget you're preparing a healthy meal. The squash really does end up looking just like its pasta counterpart, but with about 180 fewer calories and 30 fewer carbs per serving. It doesn't taste like pasta, but it has a mildly nutty and sweet flavor that melds well with all sorts of toppings. In this recipe, ramps are once again the flavor star, in cahoots with our old friend Muenster cheese and some pesto for good measure.



 Ingredients:

• 1 medium spaghetti squash
• 2 tsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning
• 1/4 tsp olive oil
• 2 c shredded Muenster cheese
• 1/3 c prepared pesto
• 1/4 c chopped ramp bulbs

Preheat oven to 375.

Wash squash and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and all the stringy pulp inside the squash, set aside. Rub all the flesh of the squash on both cut halves with 2 tsp olive oil and sprinkle both with plenty of salt and pepper. Place squash halves on a cookie sheet cut side down and roast for 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, separate the seeds from the stringy pulp and rinse them off. Toss seeds with 1/4 tsp olive oil and 1/2 tsp Creole seasoning, then spread in an even layer on another cookie sheet. Roast at 375 for 12 minutes, turning once.  

When the squash is tender on the inside, remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Take a fork and begin running it down the flesh of the squash--you'll see where it got its name when the spaghetti strands magically appear. Scrape all of the flesh in spaghetti strands and place in a large bowl.

Mix shredded Muenster, pesto, and ramp bulbs into the squash while it is still hot. Usually the squash will still be hot enough to melt the cheese but if not, microwave for about 30 seconds or so to melt the cheese. Top with seasoned seeds and enjoy! 

Snack of the Night: Sriracha-infused hummus and crackers

What's a better snack than crackers and hummus? Crackers and hummus mixed with a healthy dose of rooster sauce!

Hearty Barley & Potato Soup with Ramps

I can always tell that spring has sprung when the ramps return, shooting their purple-throated green leaves through the leaf litter like there's no tomorrow. And for some of these beautiful little wild cousins of the onion, there will be no tomorrow, because Tim and I have been eagerly watching for their arrival with foraging stick and collecting bag in hand.

Ramps are excellent in many dishes, but one of my favorite uses for them is in a good soup. This vegan soup was one of my few recipes that turned out perfect (in my opinion) on the first try, but it's super simple so you can add ingredients as you wish. Just don't do anything too crazy that will take the ramps out of the spotlight.

Ingredients:

• 10 c homemade vegetable stock (add link to a recipe for veggie stock)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 lb potatoes (about 4 small-medium)
• 1 c pearl barley
• 1 tsp salt
• 20 fresh ramps
• 3-4 small kale leaves
• Salt and pepper

Wash and dice potatoes, leaving skins on (unless you want to get rid of all the nutritional yummyness by peeling them, but who would do that?). Place in a large pot with veggie stock, bay leaf, barley, and salt.  Bring slowly to a boil, then cover and simmer at least 30 minutes. Clean and chop the ramps and kale and add to the soup. Allow to return to a boil and boil gently for at least 10 minutes. As with most soups, the longer you cook it, the better the flavors will be infused. You know it's ready when the broth has a cloudy, pale appearance and you can taste the ramps in the broth. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve hot, with crusty bread. Serves 6.

Balsamic Veggie Feta Wraps

Emily and I had some amazing veggie wraps at a restaurant on our honeymoon, so we decided we'd try to recreate them ourselves. We didn't really remember what was in them, and we couldn't find a recipe, so we just put in what we thought would be good. Now, it's been long enough that I can't exactly remember what the ones at the restaurant tasted like, but I DO know that our recipe tastes awesome.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb yellow squash
• 2 1/4 c balsamic vinaigrette dressing, separated
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 orange bell pepper
• 1 large kale leaf
• 1 clove garlic
• 8-10 flour tortillas
• 4 oz Athenos Tomato & Basil Feta Cheese

Preheat oven to 425˚ F. 

Cut squash into strips, then toss the strips in 1/4 c balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Place the squash in one layer on a baking sheet lined with foil. Drizzle the squash with another 1/2 c of the vinaigrette, then sprinkle with salt. Put in the oven for 20 minutes.

While the squash is roasting, slice the peppers into strips and tear the kale leaf into pieces. Sautė a clove of garlic in a medium to large frying pan. Add the peppers and kale, then pour in the rest of the vinaigrette (1 1/2 c). Bring to a simmer and then cook for 5 minutes or until the peppers are at a desirable texture. 

Drain the squash, peppers and kale after cooking.

Top warm tortillas with the vegetables and crumbled feta cheese, and roll.

Serves 4.