holiday cooking 2012 [two recipes and some photos]

One of the really nice things about an extended at-home vacation is that Hanna and I can eat on our own schedule, which for both of us is more along the brunch-at-ten-late-lunch-at-four-cocoa-before-bed than breakfast at seven, lunch at noon, and dinner at six.

Hanna's parents gave us Rose Elliot's New Complete Vegetarian for Christmas and we've made some lovely and simple recipes from it, like the oatcakes and most recently vegetarian toad-in-a-hole. Toad-in-a-Hole is basically a baked pancake with sausage in, and very simple to make! Elliot's version is as follows:

1. Heat oven to 450 Fahrenheit.

2. Brown vegetarian sausages (we used the Field Roast apple & sage, but any kind would work!) in 1/4 cup of oil (we used olive, but any nut or vegetable oil would work) in a cast iron skillet, remove from the pan and set aside. Leave the remaining oil in the pan for later use.

3. In a mixing bowl or blender, combine:

1 cup white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
150ml milk
150ml water

Beat until smooth and put in a pitcher (I used a Pyrex measure) or leave in blender for easy pouring.

4. Put skillet with oil into heated oven and let warm until the oil is very hot and just starting to smoke.

5. Pull out the oven rack and pour the batter directly into the pre-heated skillet. Drop the sausages into the pan, distributed as evenly as possible, and close the oven door as quick as you can.

6. Bake for approximately 25 minutes (don't open the door to peek!). Check after 25 minutes and once the top of the pancake is golden brown remove from the oven and serve immediately.

It was just the sort of meal we needed prior to going out on a brisk walk yesterday afternoon to the Chestnut Hill Reservoir and back.

This morning, Christmas Eve, we're having coffee and cinnamon buns while listening to the MPBN broadcast of the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from King's College, Cambridge. The buns are inspired by our favorite recipe of Joy the Baker's, her sugar and spice yeast rolls. But this time I did make a few changes that Hanna and I agreed were

• I substituted half whole wheat flour for the 2 1/2 cups white flour in the recipe
• I swapped the amounts of cinnamon and cardamom in the dough, since Hanna and I love cardamom
• Instead of the citrus zest I put in a tablespoon of cocoa powder
• I also added two teaspoons of cocoa powder to the filling
• And instead of butter I used coconut oil in both the dough and filling

In other news, we're forecast to have a couple of inches of snow overnight and into the morning hours of Christmas Day, so hopefully Hanna will have the white Christmas she's yearning for!

Happy Holidays!

Cross-posted at the feminist librarian.

Eggplant Almond Gouda Meatloaf

from back in August, but still more or less accurate

On Sunday our CSA allotment contained two eggplant with which we decided to make dinner. I started with this eggplant meatball recipe from our CSA farm blog, added a few elements from the Moosewood cookbook's eggplant almond enchiladas and improvised liberally with what we had in the kitchen. If I might be allowed to brag a bit, the result was edible and in fact may be replicated in the near future!

INGREDIENTS:

2 small-to-medium eggplant, roasted and mashed (see below)

1 small onion, minced

1 green chile, minced

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 can tomato paste (4 oz.)

3/4 cup red wine of your choice

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs

1/2 cup almond meal

1 cup grated smoked gouda cheese

3 Tbl olive oil

1 tsp basil

1 tsp fennel seed

1/2 tsp sage

1/2 tsp thyme

salt and pepper to taste

eggplant are essentially rude vegetables

DIRECTIONS:

1. Turn oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Stab eggplant with a knife (as you would a potato) and place on a baking tin. Set to bake for 30 minutes.

2. While the eggplant is roasting, mince the onion, garlic and chile and saute in olive oil. Once onions are translucent add spices, 1/4 cup red wine, and approximately 1/3 of the can of tomato paste. let simmer for about 5 minutes and then turn off the heat. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine bread crumbs, almond meal, and grated cheese. Toss with fingers until mixed.

4. Remove the eggplant from the oven, skin and chop (you may need to let them eggplant cool a bit so you don't burn your fingers!). Put through a blender or food processor with remaining 1/2 cup of red wine to turn the eggplant to mush.

5. Add eggplant mixture and onion mixture to the bread crumbs, almonds, and cheese. Mix with hands to thoroughly combine.

6. Press meatloaf into a buttered glass loaf pan. Use the remaining tomato paste to cover the top of the loaf.

7. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. 

8. Slice and enjoy! Also works well as leftovers.

Corn-Cucumber Tabouli

Here's a recipe I made up last week when we were having some friends over for a Doctor Who night and needed something to go with the crackers and cheese. It turned out so well that we made it again last night.

CORN-CUCUMBER TABOULI

4 ears of corn, steamed and cut from the cob
2 small cucumbers, diced
1 small red onion, diced
1 large tomato, diced
1/4 cup fresh mint, minced
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 Tbl sugar
1/2 tsp tabasco sauce
salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Basically, once you've cooked the corn and diced everything, the assembly of this salad involves throwing everything in a bowl and mixing well. If you want the flavors to meld a bit, assembling it earlier in the day helps, and also allows time for the corn to cool. Otherwise, it is also tasty at room temperature!

Maple-Mustard Dressing

Our friend Minerva recently suggested we check out The Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero (2007). It bills itself as the "ultimate vegan cookbook," and although we aren't vegan (honey! cheese! ice cream!) we had such good luck with the vegan cookie book offered by this same pair that our brains just went "what the hell!" and we checked it out of the library. 

So far, one of the winner recipes has been this tasty maple-mustard dressing (p. 93):

3 Tbl maple syrup (maple-agave, agave or honey also works ... but maple syrup!!)

2 Tbl apple cider vinegar

2 Tbl mustard (Dijon is tasty, but choose your favorite)

3 Tbl olive oil (or oil of choice ... you getting the idea?)

salt and pepper to taste

Mix ingredients together and combine well (we've had good luck putting them in a jam jar and shaking with the lid firmly sealed). Store in the fridge; this will keep well for several weeks.  

"Veg Mix": A Recipe from Kevin

Hanna and I just got back from Hanna's parents' home in Maine, where they preside over an abundant vegetable garden and three chickens who provide lovely, lovely eggs (especially, says Hanna, if you feed them comfrey from the plants in front of the house).

Future summer squash.

We eat well and plentifully when we are in Maine, thanks to Hanna's father Kevin who does most of the cooking. And we always come home with bags and boxes filled with vegetables picked straight from the garden and canned goods -- hot pepper jelly, strawberry jam, pickled beets, and more.

A happy hen
(a Buff Orpington, Hanna says).

We have more than one recipe on file from Kevin (the "file" being a blue folder stuffed with bits of paper -- something that deserves a post of its own one of these days!), but I thought I'd share this one with you because it's so good for using up summer veggies. We find that the amounts listed here are roughly good for a two-person meal, with some possibly left over for lunch the next day. Expand as necessary and improvise with the veggies you happen to have around. The scrap of yellow notepaper just describes this as "Veg Mix" though I think technically it did come from a recipe book at one point. We have also been known to call it "that tasty veggie squodge" around here.

Lunch at the Clutterbucks

VEG MIX (BY KEVIN)


2 large carrots, grated
1 large zucchini, grated
1 large onion, diced
2-3 oz feta cheese
1/4 cup white flour
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp curry powder
1 Tbl parsley
Salt and pepper as desired
1 large egg

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit and use olive oil to grease a 9" glass pie plate or equivalent baking dish.

2. Mix grated carrots, zucchini, onion, and feta in a medium bowl.

3. Mix flour and spices together, then toss with veggies until coated.

4. Whisk egg and then add to veggie mix using hands to thoroughly combine.

5. Press into baking pan and cook for 20-30 minutes until the top begins to look slightly golden and crusty.

6. Serve hot, cut into wedges, as a main or side dish. Reheats beautifully and is also tasty cold.

nuts + chocolate = need I say more?

every well-stocked kitchen
should have some...

Yesterday, my boss was out sick and Hanna suggested that we make her cookies as a get well treat. We adapted a thumbprint cookie recipe from our favorite vegan cookie book, Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, by using Nutella instead of jam. When I took them in to work this afternoon, Elaine declared the experiment a success and suggested that perhaps she should call in sick more often if this would be the result! Since Hanna and I more or less agreed with her, I figured we should share our recipe with the rest of you good folks.

Chocolate-Almond-Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies
adapted from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup almond butter*
1/3 cup chocolate almond milk*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup hazelnuts, ground or finely chopped*
About 1/3 cup Nutella (for filling)

*we've made these cookies with a variety of ground nuts, nut butters, and types of milk (dairy and non-dairy), so feel free to experiment! basically, this is a totally forgiving recipe. what I listed here is what we used last night.

1) Preheat oven to 350 fahrenheit

2) In a medium mixing bowl, mix oil, brown sugar, nut butter, milk and vanilla extract until smooth.

3) Add dry ingredients: flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, and ground nuts. Mix until thoroughly incorporated. The dough will be pliable, kind of like homemade playdough.

4) Roll about a tablespoon of dough in your hands to form each cookie. Place on a cookie sheet roughly an inch and a half apart (the cookies won't spread, but you need room to press them down into rounds).

5) Press your thumb into each cookie to create the thumbprint dimple.

6) Bake 15-18 minutes and remove from cookie sheet to a cooling rack.

7) Once the cookies have cooled slightly from just-out-of-the-oven hot (but not cooled entirely), spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of Nutella into the center of each cookie. The Nutella should melt down just enough to fill each center.

8) Eat now or later. Do remember to share.

NOTE: If storing, cookies should not be stacked on top of one another since the Nutella will generally stay soft enough to glue the cookies together. We haven't tried putting them in the fridge, but this might make the centers hard enough for more compact storage.

simple lentil & matzo ball soup

Photograph by Anna, May 2011

Last week, when Hanna was recovering from a nasty spring cold and Anna was in the final throes of her thesis presentation preparations, we were looking for bland comfort food that we could make without going to the grocery store. What we came up with was a surprisingly tasty variation of lentil soup spruced up with matzo balls. You could probably make your own, but we just put ours together from a mix picked up at the local kosher grocery.

Beyond Basic Lentil Soup: 


1 cup dried lentils

3 cups of vegetable broth (can substitute water + vegetarian bouillon)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 bay leaf

Salt & pepper to taste

You can obviously use this as a base to improvise upon. Like garlic? Onion? Fancy curry spice and some raisins? Have at it!

1. Heat broth in soup pan and add lentils and bay leaf. Cook until soft (usually 20-30 minutes). You can work on the matzo balls while the lentils cook.

2. While lentils are cooking, prepare matzo ball dough.

3. Set water to boil for matzo balls. This should be in a pan deep enough to boil the matzo balls and it should have a cover, preferably with some sort of vent for steam.

4. Add tomatoes and salt and pepper to the lentil mixture. Leave to simmer, stirring occasionally to make sure the lentils still have enough liquid.

5. When the water for the matzo balls boils, wet your hands and roll the matzo dough into walnut-sized balls. Drop them into the boiling water. They will sink to the bottom and then fairly quickly rise to the top in the boiling water. Turn the heat down to a gentle boil and leave for half an hour to cook.

6. Drain the matzo balls. Dish up the soup and spoon desired number of matzo balls into each bowl (I recommend more rather than less).

7. Top with cheese as desired (yum!). Serve hot.

This also makes excellent leftovers, reheating in the microwave beautifully in about 2 minutes. We recommend storing the cooked matzo balls separately from the soup, so that they don't just turn to mush.

Thanks to all who contributed to my birthday blog!

For my first post, I thought I should share the recipe with which I spent most of Saturday - the Cook's Illustrated "Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes." The recipe spanned three pages, three different mixtures, 12 ozs bittersweet chocolate ( actually, only 10 but I taste tested...) and 12 tablespoons of butter among other typical cupcake ingredients. It is simply too long to post here (though maybe later in three parts) so I thought I would instead share the NYT recipe for Slow-Baked Beans with Kale.

February 1, 2011

Slow-Baked Beans With Kale

By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN

Beans baked very slowly for several hours develop a creamy texture, while the liquid they cook in, which thickens to a syrup, acquires a caramelized flavor. The kale practically melts in this casserole, going from bitter to sweet. I love using lima beans in this dish because they’re so big and their texture is so luxurious.

1 bunch kale, stemmed and washed in two changes of water

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 rib celery, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 2/3 cups white beans (3/4 pound) or dried lima beans, picked over and soaked for at least four hours and drained

1 6-ounce can tomato paste, dissolved in 1 cup water

3 cups additional water

A bouquet garni consisting of 4 parsley sprigs, 2 thyme sprigs and a bay leaf

1 teaspoon herbes de Provence

Salt and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously and add the kale. Blanch for two minutes, then transfer to a bowl of ice water. Drain, squeeze out water and cut into ribbons. Set aside. (I blanch the kale to extract some of the bitterness, but you can skip this step if you wish).

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat in a large ovenproof casserole. Add the onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender, about five minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Add the dissolved tomato paste, and bring to a simmer.

3. Add the drained beans, the remaining water, the bouquet garni, herbes de Provence and salt and pepper.. Stir in the kale, bring to a simmer, cover and place in the oven. Bake three hours until the beans are tender and creamy. Taste and adjust salt.

4. Mix together the remaining olive oil and the bread crumbs. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the beans, and continue to bake another 30 minutes to an hour until the bread crumbs are lightly browned. Remove from the heat and serve; or allow to cool slightly and serve.

Note: Make sure that the beans come to a simmer on top of the stove before placing them in the oven. Do not use old beans, which will not soften no matter how long you simmer them. If the beans do not soften in the oven after a couple of hours, raise the heat to 300 degrees. If you live at a high altitude, raise the oven temperature and let the the beans bake for longer.

Yield: Serves six.

Advance preparation: You can make this recipe through Step 3 and store it in the refrigerator up to four days ahead of serving. Top with the bread crumbs, and reheat in a 350-degree oven for 15 minutes until the beans are bubbling and the bread crumbs lightly browned.

Nutritional information per serving (six servings): 370 calories; 8 grams fat (1 gram saturated fat); 0 milligrams cholesterol; 58 grams carbohydrates; 12 grams dietary fiber; 191 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 19 grams protein

Martha Rose Shulman is the author of "The Very Best of Recipes for Health."