Our Favorite Vegetarian or Low-Meat Meals

I know that some of you are here because of the title of the post, so feel free to skip all this jibber jabber at the top, and go right down to the list below. But for those of you who want a little background into why we eat so many legumes, read on.

A few years ago Eric heard a snippet of a Diane Rehm show with guests talking about the areas of the world where people live the longest. In the few minutes he heard, the guests discussed that in all of the "blue zones," as they're called, the people eat a lot of legumes. (I went back and listened to the whole show later, and it really is interesting. I am not 100% sure, but I think this is the same show.) This diagram from Wikipedia is also a good summary of what the different blue zones have in common.

Not too much later we were shopping at WinCo and came upon a section of bulk foods. We bought some 25-pound bags of beans and rice. Then some friends moved and gave us some of their food storage, and we had even more beans and rice. As we gradually used up these products, we continued to buy more from WinCo.

Eric served an LDS mission in Brazil, where he ate rice and beans every day. He has said ever since then that it didn't get old, and he wouldn't mind continuing to eat rice and beans every day. Since he became a teacher, we've tried to make a lot of rice and beans at one time, package them into containers and freeze them so he has easy meals he can grab each day for work. Because I dread the idea of him eating the exact same meal every day, I've tried to have a few varieties of rice and beans or lentils and beans at the ready.

So when I say, "These are some of our favorite vegetarian or low-meat meals," I'm not saying these are things we've tried once or twice. These are actually meals that are tried-and-true for us. We eat them regularly.

Black Beans

• Citrus Black Beans from Annie's Eats - Serve this with rice, or eat it as a taco filling. I especially love it with avocados and tomatoes.
• Janssen's similar version, adapted for a slow cooker. I don't love this one quite as much (sorry, friend), but the method is sometimes more appealing.
• Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos from The Novice Chef - Okay, this is one that is more of "pretty good" than amazing. These freeze well.
• Crockpot Sweet Potato and Black Bean Soup from Everyday Reading - Okay, confession: I haven't made this one in a few years. I was attacked by a stomach bug the last time I made it (pure coincidence), and it has turned me off to this soup. But one day I might be willing to give it a try again. You should not let my stomach bug turn you off!

Red Beans (or Kidney Beans)

• Red Beans and Rice from Our Best Bites- So simple and tasty.
• Kidney Bean Curry - It calls for Indian curry paste, but I've made it with Thai since it's harder to find Indian curry paste in my neck of the woods.

Pinto Beans

• Crockpot "Refried" Beans from Pennies and Pancakes - We use this as an alternative to canned refried beans. It's cheaper and definitely healthier.
• Southwest Sweet and Spicy Salad from Mel's Kitchen Cafe - This is my go-to when I'm asked to bring dinner to somebody. I use way more green onions than the recipe calls for. I also add chopped bell pepper and cilantro. It's great served cold, too.

White Beans (navy, great northern, cannellini, etc.)

• Tuscan Sausage and White Bean Soup from Mel's Kitchen Cafe - You can easily decrease the meat and increase the beans for this one.
• Creamy White Chili from Mel's Kitchen Cafe - I will never get over how much I love this chili/soup. We have it every Halloween (and at other times too!).
• Jalapeno Popper Chili from Everyday Reading - You can rarely go wrong if cream cheese is involved.

Lentils - (I've used green lentils for all these recipes. Occasionally I splurge and buy red lentils, though.)

• Red Lentil Curry - You need Indian curry paste for this, but I've subbed Thai curry paste many times, and that's good too, although rather inauthentic.
• Coconut Curried Lentils from Foodess - 
• Dhal Nirvana from Budget Bytes - Just another version of Indian curried lentils. Those Indians know how to make lentils not taste like dirt.
• Carrot Soup
• Tarka Dhal - Mine is from a book,but this is basically the same.

Chickpeas

• Chickpea Salad with Roasted Carrots and Feta from Everyday Reading - I was skeptical of this one, but it's probably my favorite of all these.
• Chickpea and Tomato Basil Salad from Green Lite Bites - This one is exclusively a summer meal for us, when we have cherry or grape tomatoes coming out our ears. Bonus if the basil I've grown hasn't died yet. Otherwise, it's worth it to splurge and buy some fresh basil.
• Poached Eggs and Chickpeas from Everyday Reading - I have a cast-iron skillet, so I can do this in one pan, which makes it all the more appealing to me.
• Chana Masala from Sweet Peas &Pumpkins - This is a great basis for any red curry you want to try, actually.
• Chana Saag (chickpeas and spinach) from Budget Bytes - I love just about any Saag recipe. 

So there you have it. Feel free to suggest your own faves. I'm always looking for new ways to eat legumes.

Impromptu Garden

We have this little garden box right up against a section of the west side of the house. Last year it grew tomatoes. When it wasn't growing tomatoes, we used it as a sort of quasi-compost dump. Except we never actually turned the compost over or anything. We just chucked orange rinds and grape stems and such things back there periodically. And also rotting pumpkins and pumpkin innards.

This year we planted peas in the garden box, but they didn't do that great. The ones on the south side did much better. We decided to do tomatoes this year, but we only did tomatoes in pots. We pretty much just decided to ignore the garden box. It had other ideas:

In case you can't tell, the garden box is packed full of volunteer tomatoes. There is also a pumpkin (or possibly some other large squash?) that is taking over and growing everywhere. I don't think the volunteer tomatoes are actually going to produce much (if any) fruit, but the pumpkin (or whatever) is getting going pretty well. If only the tomatoes in the pots were actually doing as well as the volunteers. They might do better if I didn't let a pumpkin grow all over them. And if I remembered to water them ever. And maybe if I fed them.

It's okay, though. Because I have been getting tons of tomatoes from my neighbors across the street. Here is a photo of their incredible tomato plants the day after a terrible wind storm that blew them over.

What have I been doing with all these cherry tomatoes? Eating them plain, of course. Also, tomato cobbler, corn and tomato chowder, and creamy lemon pasta. Seriously, these plants are incredibly productive, and my neighbors are not that crazy about cherry tomatoes. (Actually, the wife is, but she is pregnant and hasn't been feeling well.) I'm doing them a favor by taking them off their hands.

Domesticity

Here are some very domestic things I've been doing lately.

• Regularly making my own whole wheat bread. Although, I could sure use some suggestions on a good recipe that works well in Utah. The one I'm using is only so-so, and I haven't figured out how to modify it for our climate and altitude.
• Keeping my vegetable tidbits in a gallon-size bag in the freezer, and then using it to make vegetable broth. In the most recent time I even had Eric add the boiled vegetable bits to the compost after the broth was made.
• I washed my pillows. They took ages and ages and ages to dry. But they sure smell nice now.
• On occasion I manage to put away my boys' laundry on the same day it gets washed. (Okay, that's pretty much a lie. I don't think that that's happened since January. We regularly have conversations like this: "Where are Felix's burp cloths?" "In his drawer." "There are none there." "Oh, check the dryer." Sometimes these conversations are repeated for about three days.
• Sweeping. Always sweeping.
• I made a giant container of "refried" beans to use instead of the canned kind we usually use for burritos (one of our go-to meals). We have several freezer bags of beans at the ready.

Wow, that's only six bullet points. I feel like I'm more domestic than that.

My Favorite Recipes with Red Beans or Lentils

Sorry for the hiatus. I don't know what I've been busy doing, but clearly blogging has not been a top priority.

One thing I have been doing for the last few months is trying new lentil and bean recipes. As I mentioned once before, we bought 25 pounds of red beans and 25 pounds of lentils in December. I've been working on finding and trying recipes that use beans and lentils.

I'm not going to lie. I regret that we purchased red beans instead of black beans. At that time I thought this was a good idea because we had so many cans of black beans. But upon reflection, I realize that we had so many cans of black beans because that is what we like best. Nonetheless, I have a few ways to prepare red beans that I've found to be yummy:

• Kidney Bean Curry - In actuality, I haven't made this one in a while, but by golly I ought to. (Obviously, I sub red beans for kidney.)
• Red Beans and Rice from Our Best Bites - Jenn recommended this, and as soon as Eric tasted it he was in love. He said it was the closest to Brazilian rice and beans that he's had since living in Brazil. We've made it several times. The recipe doesn't call for soaking the beans overnight, but I do it anyway because it helps get rid of some of the toxins that cause digestive issues. (Ahem.)
• Southwest Rice and Bean Salad from Mel's Kitchen Cafe - We've made this time and time again, and it's always a hit. It's easy to toy with the ingredients to suit your own needs.
• Red Lentil Curry - This calls for split red lentils, but I use plain green lentils, and it works just fine.
• Carrot Soup - So delicious. So easy. So freezable. So healthy.

There are a few other Indian lentil dishes that I like to make. Their recipes are found in The Best Ever Curry Cookbook, and it's possible that one of these days I will blog about them.

And of those recipes, I hope you'll note that only one of them does not involve cilantro. That's pretty much par for the course around this house.

Freezer Meals

I wasn't smart enough to make food in advance of Ike's birth. I gained some IQ points in between his and Felix's births, though. This time I did a bit of food prep, and it made my post-baby life much easier.

For the most part, I didn't cook many meals that went straight into the freezer for later use. Instead, I froze leftovers. This did mean that in the few weeks leading up to Felix's birth I was more likely to have peanut butter sandwiches for lunch instead of leftovers, but it was well worth it when all I had to do was thaw and warm up food for dinner while holding a newborn in my arms and trying to negotiate with a hungry and cranky toddler. (Why is dinner time so difficult?)

Here are a few meals that I made and froze the leftovers:

• Ultimate Beef Stroganoff from Mel's Kitchen Cafe - This is a hit every time we have it, and having the leftovers frozen and warmed up didn't change things for us.
• Crockpot Sweet Potato and Blackbean Soup from Everyday Reading - We didn't lovelovelove this when we had it the first time, but we did like it. I liked the leftovers a little better, and I do think this soup will be added to my list of go-to crockpot meals. It's really nutritious and cheap.
• Roasted Sweet Corn and Tomato Soup from Our Best Bites - Good golly I loved this so much both times. I really need to take better care of my cherry tomatoes next summer so I can make a bunch of this and freeze it.
• Vietnamese Pork Meatballs  from Girl Cooks World - We didn't really care for these the first time, and we weren't crazy about the leftovers either. I made them because I was looking for a way to use some ground pork I had, and I love Vietnamese meatballs. They weren't bad, but they also didn't make the make-again cut.
• Tortilla soup from Zupas - Okay, I didn't make this. Eric brought home a fairly large container from a work meeting, and it went straight into the freezer. We had this the other night, and I added a little bit to it from things I already had at home. Honestly, we both prefer my tortilla soup, but this was free and easy.

And here were the few that I made for the purpose of going into the freezer. (All of these came from Mel's Kitchen Cafe because she has a link with a whole bunch of her make-ahead meals. I'd made a few of her things before, so I felt like I could trust these recipes. Most of them are not strictly make-and-freeze meals, so I had to make a few adjustments here and there.)

• Delicious Greek Pastitsio {Casserole Style} from Mel's Kitchen Cafe - This was good, but not something I'd necessarily make again. I think we both prefer something with more veggies.
• Baked Penne with Chicken, Broccoli and Smoked Mozzarella from Mel's Kitchen Cafe - Holy cow, so good. Will definitely make again, freezer or not.
• Creamy White Chili  from Mel's Kitchen Cafe - I actually went with the crock pot version of this recipe, but I froze the ingredients first. I wanted something where I wouldn't have to shop for ingredients or anything. I just wanted to dump the already mixed ingredients in and forget about it. It was really good, and will definitely make the winter dinner rotation.

Plus, we had meals brought in from neighbors, Eric's mom and Eric's grandma. We haven't starved, and it's been lovely.

Salads

One of the things you learn very quickly if you live in Utah is that folks here like Jello. It is frequently referred to as "salad."

I've recently been given a stack of recipe cards that belonged to Eric's maternal grandmother. She died when Eric's mom was just a baby, so whether these were her favorite, tried and true recipes, or simply a stack of cards that were given and exchanged at a women's group and then stored in a kitchen drawer indefinitely, we may never know. (Actually, this is now on my list of questions to ask as soon as I die.)

At any rate, they certainly provide a humorous glimpse at the culinary styles of Utah women in the 1950s. The stack is large and comprised primarily of casseroles (with nearly every casserole being held together with cream of something soup), desserts, and "salads."

I am not a fan of Jello. The texture is totally weird to me, and I avoid eating it when I can. (Twice since my moving to Utah in 2003 I have been served Jello directly on my plate and have been obligated to eat it. Once was on Easter at Janssen's grandparents' house, and the other time was on Thanksgiving at Eric's aunt and uncle's house. I survived both times.)

I couldn't resist perusing the Jello recipes and seeing what kind of cooky concoctions these women liked.

This one caught my eye because it is called Waldorf Salad. Only, it has Jello and bananas in it in addition to the traditional celery, apple, whipped cream and nuts. I suppose it is reasonable as a fruit salad recipe, but it certainly is not a traditional Waldorf salad.

The most classic crazy Jello recipe stories usually involve carrots. This one has shredded carrots and pineapple. This is of course not something that really appeals to me, but I suppose I can see how some might find it appealing.

This next one is a strange mixture of sweet and savory. Who wouldn't want to eat finely chopped cucumber and celery mixed with lime Jello prepared with pineapple juice?

But of course, things are getting weirder. Make lemon Jello with hot chicken soup or chicken gumbo soup. Then add diced celery, chopped nuts and flaked tuna. Yum!

If tuna isn't your protein of choice, you can always try a variation that uses lemon Jello, made with (I assume beef) broth, celery, bell pepper, onion and corned beef. I do not make this up, folks. It is for real.

 

Next time I'm asked to bring a salad to a pot-luck sort of function, it will be hard to know which one to choose. I can assure you that whichever one I do choose, I'll take a picture so you can pin it on Pinterest and add it to your "Looks SOOOOOO YuMmY!!!111!!!" board.

Potpourri

I haven't written in ten days, so we'll do what I always do when I get behind - write a hodgepodge post.

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I am working on one of those "my ancestor is a Native American" cases. The client's grandfather always said that his grandmother was a Cherokee. In researching both his maternal and paternal grandmothers I've found that both had sons given the first and middle name of Andrew Jackson. Dear client, your Cherokee ancestors were not very good Cherokees. (I'm not making that up.)

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I just finished another case wherein I was pleased to solve a problem and finish the case in time for the Jewish client to receive the package by Christmas. (I'm not making that up either.)

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I'm still on Pinterest, but I'm not pinning as prodigiously as I once was. I like to think that I've toned things down and am a more conscientious pinner. (Seriously, all you pinners need to go read RA's post about her own pinning. Don't let Pinterest take over your lives.)

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Of the recipes I mentioned in the prodigious pinning post, I really think that only the citrus black beans were a huge hit. I've made them several times since that initial time, and they are always tasty, simple and healthy. The carrot ginger soup was pretty blah in my book, though Eric and Ike seemed to like it. The sweet potato quesadillas were fine, but nothing to write home about. (I'm not even going to bother linking to those others again because I just can't go to the trouble of linking to something that isn't awesome. You can go to my prodigious pinning post (linked above) if you want the links.)

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I worked hard on a few of the Christmas gifts I'm giving this year. Then I heard a bit on NPR about how expensive gifts and time-intensive gifts usually mean more to the giver than the receiver. I fear I have fallen into that category. But what can be done? They are already wrapped and shipped (where applicable).

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Ike and I got colds. Then we got better. Then Eric got a cold which he gave to Ike and me. Then we got better except for Ike's lingering cough. Then I took Ike to his 12-month appointment, at which the doctor informed me that Ike had an ear infection. He said not to worry about the cough and that it would probably clear up with the antibiotics, but if it weren't for the antibiotics (which were prescribed solely for the ear infection) then Ike might just have a cough all winter long. It's in the genes. Then Ike got some nasty stomach bug, possibly from the babysitter and her boy who had a stomach bug recently. She and her boy seemed to have had a much worse case than what Ike has. He doesn't seem to mind being ill, but I don't like changing a billion diapers a day. When will the 48 hours end? Also, his bug prevented me from going to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Christmas concert tonight. (I obviously wasn't going to have our friends watch Ike and subject them to his germs. I'm very thoughtful in that way.)

The point is, we seem to get sick a lot around here.

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I sweep my kitchen floor every day. When people talk about the lifestyle changes that come with having a baby they fail to mention the sweeping.

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In Utah it is common for people to take small gifts to their neighbors. So far we have gotten homemade potpourri, and it is awesome. Also some homemade gift tags that are also awesome. The bar is high. We will just duck under it, I think. Thankfully, Pinterest has given me some good gift ideas.

On Pinterest

I know I'm a little late on the Pinterest bandwagon. I resisted for a while. Then I realized that my goals to be a better meal-planner and a more frequent cook would be aided if I just sucked it up and joined Pinterest.

You can follow me, if you like:

The great thing is that I've already found so many great meals I want to try! I'm really excited. I'll be heading to yonder grocery store tomorrow, and I've got a great week of meals on the docket:
Avocado sandwiches
Citrus black beans with rice
Carrot ginger coconut soup
Sweet potato quesadillas

Feel free to stop by any time you'd like. I can't guarantee any of this will be good - besides the avocado sandwiches, which are tried and true for us - but I can at least guarantee . . . Okay, there's nothing I can guarantee that is really appealing. Free food. That's about all I've got. Anyone coming?

(To those who have already checked out my boards. Yes, I realize they are mostly blank. I'm working on it. And yes, I realize that almost all of my re-pins, particularly for recipes, have come from Janssen. I haven't had time to peruse other recipe boards yet. If you think your recipe boards are totally amazing, let me know, and I'll mosey on over.)

Banana Boats

The last two Fridays Eric and I have spent the evenings up Millcreek Canyon hanging out by a fire and roasting hot dogs and other food stuffs. This is a ridiculously cheap activity for us, and we love it. The weather is perfect for it right now, and we are enjoying watching the leaves change each time we go up the canyon.

A few years ago we took a camping class together (Does that sound like a blow-off class? It totally was.) where we learned about a really great campfire treat that we call banana boats. Maybe the original people called them banana boats as well, but I can't remember.

I haven't offered a recipe in a very, very, very long time, so this post is devoted to the makings of banana boats. While these are traditionally baked over a campfire, you can do them just as easily in your oven.

First, lay the bananas on their sides and take off a portion of the peel, but still leave it attached at the stem. (Technically you do not have to leave it attached, but it is easier if you do.)






Then cut out a portion of the banana to fill with whatever fillings you are using. (I have suggested fillings at the bottom of the instructions.)

(You should note that the purple blob in the corner of this photo is my belly.)




When you've hollowed out your bananas, they should look like this. Of course, you can hollow out your bananas more or less based on your preferences. It will be easier to hollow out your bananas if they are fairly ripe. But really, they are bananas. We're not talking about carving pumpkins, here. Just use a decent knife, and you are fine.



Once you've hollowed out your bananas the way you want them, fill them with the various fillings. In this case, we used peanut butter, fudge topping, marshmallows and graham cracker crumbs.








Place the peel over the filled in portion of the banana. This is fairly important because it will keep your filling where it belongs instead of getting all over the tin foil.

Then wrap your bananas in foil. Each banana should be wrapped separately.

Bake your bananas at 400 degrees (Fahrenheit, obviously) for about 15-20 minutes. You want the banana to be cooked enough that it becomes fairly caramelized. If you are doing this on an outside fire, you will want to put your bananas on hot coals and leave them there only about 5-8 minutes. Even if you don't cook them all the way through, everything will still taste really good, but the caramelized bananas are pretty much to die for.

When all is said and done, your banana will look kind of gross. But it will taste oh so yummy. (Eating it in the dark will help you not notice that it doesn't actually look particularly appetizing. I believe that is partly why it is usually a camping favorite.)







Filling suggestions:

• Any sort of ice cream topping like caramel, fudge, marshmallow cream.
• Marshmallows
  
• Chocolate chips
• Peanut butter
• Various types of jam

Anybody else is welcome to offer suggestions of fillers. Eric and I typically do marshmallows and chocolate chips.

My thanks to Priscilla for taking the photos during the making of said banana boats.

Cafe Rio-ish

Eric and I love Cafe Rio. It's a Mexican-ish restaurant in Utah, and it's very popular and always crowded. We both always get the exact same thing: Cafe Rio chicken salad, on wheat tortilla with black beans. The only difference is that Eric gets the tomatillo ranch dressing, and I get the cilantro lime vinaigrette.

We love this salad so much that a few years ago we started to make our own version. We do not claim that the rice, the beans or the chicken taste like those in the Cafe Rio recipe. Nor do we claim that our version is as good. But, it's a great meal to make for a lot of people, and we love it. The last time we made was when Eric's brother and his family were in town, and Brianne enjoyed it so much that she wanted the recipe for everything. So, here it is:

Spanish rice
Ingredients:
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup tomato sauce (Kiwis, this is not what you call tomato sauce. This is more like tomato puree, but not exactly.)

Directions:

1. Saute bell pepper and onion in oil in a skillet until the onions are clear.
2. Put the bell pepper, onion, rice, chicken broth and tomato sauce in a rice cooker and cook it all. (If you don't have a rice cooker, just do whatever you usually do with rice.)

Beans:
Use a can of black beans and warm them up.

Chicken:
This varies each time. Usually I marinade it in oil, lime juice, garlic and black pepper and then saute it and shred it. You can also use this mole recipe.

Salad:
Romaine lettuce
Red onion
Avocado(s)
Cilantro
Tomatoes
Bell pepper (any color)
Olives, sliced
Limes, quartered
Shredded cheese, if you are so inclined

Dressing:
(This is more like the Cafe Rio ranch dressing. If anybody has a recipe for the vinaigrette, I would be much obliged if you could send it my way.)
Ingredients:
Mayonnaise
Salsa verde (jarred green salsa)
Lime juice
Chili powder

Directions:
I don't know quantities. Sorry. Just start with about 3/4 cup of mayonnaise. Then add some green salsa to taste. Then add a little lime juice, and just keep going until it suits you. The chili powder is mostly for a little color, the taste will be subtle.

Serve all this on a tortilla. We prefer whole wheat because we like our hearts. You can also serve it on tortilla chips, if that floats your boat.

Avocado Sandwiches

I mentioned in Friday's post that Eric likes to make avocado sandwiches. They are too yummy not to share the recipe (I hesitate to call it a recipe, because, come on, it's just a sandwich!).

My sister-in-law introduced these to my family when I was roughly 11. She called them veggie burgers. Eric and I have adapted that recipe, so I will share both with you.

Nicole's Avacado Veggie Burgers
Ingredients:
Hamburger buns
Sliced cheese
Onions, sliced
Avocados, sliced
Tomatoes, sliced
Alfalfa sprouts
Ranch dressing

Directions:

1. Sautee the onions in some oil until they are clear.
2. Toast the hamburger buns, with the cheese on the bun, so the cheese will melt.
3. Spread some ranch dressing on a bun (or both buns, if you like).
4. Build your sandwich on the toasted buns with the sliced avocados, tomatoes, onions, and alfalfa sprouts.
5. Consume ravenously.

Eric and Sherry Variation

• Use regular bread, toasted.
• Don't bother sauteing the onions.
• Use Italian dressing instead of ranch.
• Use lettuce instead of alfalfa sprouts. (We love alfalfa sprouts, but we rarely have them on hand and pretty much always have lettuce on hand.)

I feel kind of lame posting about how to make sandwiches, but my, oh my, how we love avocado sandwiches. They are so healthy and tasty and filling. And you could have about a gazillion different variations, based on what you have available and what you like. Let me know if you try them and like them.

A Culinary Cabaret

One of the smartest things I have done in the last five years is teach Eric to cook. He's learned to enjoy cooking on his own. The interesting thing is that we've never had an official cooking lesson. We've just cooked together often enough that Eric has picked up some of the tricks of cooking, like which seasonings go with which foods, how to time things so the different dishes all finish at cooking at the same time, and when it is okay to guestimate amounts or skip ingredients.

It's been especially nice this last year that I've been commuting that we haven't had to eat frozen and otherwise pre-prepared "food" every day. Now, I will admit that I enjoy cooking more than Eric does, but he's gotten to really like preparing a handful of things:

• borscht
• tortilla soup
• tomato soup
• various curry dishes
• pancakes
• avocado sandwiches
• deluxe bean burritos (I know this doesn't really count as cooking, but it is one of our favorite meals. And it's super fast, super cheap, and pretty healthy because we use non-fat sour cream, low-fat beans, lots of veggies, and whole-wheat tortillas.)

When we were first married I would joke with Eric that my good cooking was wasted on him because he'd eat anything. He insists, now, that it is not wasted on him, and I agree. My good cooking has encouraged him to learn a new skill, and one that he basically enjoys, especially when we are doing it together.

Texas Caviar

I am not posting about Valentine's Day. Because I do not believe in it. I mean, I believe that it exists, but I do not believe in the over commercialized annual celebration of love. So I'm sharing a recipe today.

In Texas it is tradition to eat black eyed peas on New Year's Day. I don't know where this originated, but it's something my family always did. I am not a huge fan of black eyed peas, but I do love Texas caviar, which is a spicy black eyed pea salad. After realizing in early January that I hadn't had Texas caviar in years, I called my mom and asked her what it entailed. I then sought frozen black eyed peas, but I didn't find any, so I had to settle for a bag of dried black eyed peas. Anyway, here is the recipe:

Texas Caviar
Ingredients:
1 bag of black eyed peas, cooked and chilled (frozen are best)
1 green bell pepper
1 red onion
1 jalapeno
1 jar of pimientos
1 package of zesty Italian salad dressing mix

Directions:
Chop the onion, bell pepper and jalapeno very finely. Mix all ingredients together.

That's it. It's really simple and really flavorful. After making it today, I've decided that making the black eyed peas from scratch is maybe not worth my time nor worth the earthy smell the legumes produce in kitchen. I think in future I will just use canned black beans. It won't be exactly the same, but the nutritional value will be comparable, and the ease will be even better.

Australian Brownies

The other day I commented on Jenny's post about Christmas cookies and whatnot. Then we had a little exchange about Christmas cookies, wherein I mentioned that I do not have a favorite Christmas cookie, but I do have this one very important Christmas recipe. This recipe screams Christmas to me, because we always made these at Christmas time. They are Australian Brownies. They're probably not really Australian, but that's what we called them. I've had them served a handful of times, always called by different names than Australian Brownies, but never by the same name. Anyway, here's the recipe. They are best served with milk. Let me know if you like them:

Australian Brownies
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 egg
1 can sweetened, condensed milk
1 cup chocolate chips

Method:
1. Mix all ingredients together.
2. Liberally grease a square pan. (8 in. x 8 in.)
3. Pour the ingredients into the pan.
4. Bake for 30 minutes at 350. (If you are using a glass pan, turn the temperature down to 325.)

Utah Food Co-Op Strikes Again!

This is what I brought home this week from the Utah Food Co-op. It cost $23. Yep, that's an eggplant. I've already turned it into baba ghanoush. (Yes, I actually cooked!)
Food included:

• 2 lb. boneless, center-cut pork loin roast
• 2 lb. split chicken breast (boneless, skinless)
• 1 lb. lean ground beef (85/15)
• 4 4oz. cubed steaks (1 lb. total)

• 1 loaf Stoneground artisan wheat bread
• 16 oz. lentils

• 2 avocados
• 6 Golden Delicious apples (Utah-grown)
• 6 pears
• 5 bananas
• 1 head cabbage
• 2 lbs. carrots
• 1 eggplant
• 3 lbs. yellow onions (Utah-grown)

I will say that I wasn't uber-thrilled with the meat selection this month, but I went ahead and got a standard share instead of a harvest share, which only includes fruits and vegetables.

If you live in Utah, you should really do the food co-op. There are pick-up locations all over the state. It gives you great food that is often grown locally. (Hooray for sustainability!) There may be stuff that you don't want, but you can always (a) try something new or (b) give it away. Plus, the things that are included are, as a rule, really great quality and really good for you.

Revew: Pull Aparts

This week we had the annual L. Family reunion in Park City. It was a blast. Part of the tradition is a baked food called Pull Aparts. I mentioned that I still hadn't made them, and Eric said I needed to learn how, since I got a bundt pan a few weeks ago. Since I want to be just like Grandma when I grow up (including taking on the Alpine Slide at age 80), the Pull Aparts were an obvious choice for my the last week of Whip it Up.

Yesterday I whipped out the L. Family cookbook and found Grandma's recipe:

Ingredients:
24 frozen Rhodes rolls
1 3-oz. pkg. Butterscotch pudding (not instant)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Place frozen rolls in a greased bundt pan, sprinkle with the dry pudding.
2. Combine melted butter, sugar and cinnamon. Pour over the rolls.
3. Cover and let rise at room temperature overnight.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Leave in pan for five minutes and invert over a large plate. Serve immediately.

My results were... less than stellar. The main problem being that I prepared the rolls at 10 last night. But I didn't bake them until I woke up at 11:30 this morning. Clearly Grandma's "overnight" is shorter than mine. (In my defense, I was completely wiped out yesterday after three days of reunioning, commuting to Salt Lake while reunioning, spending an afternoon at the lake, and going shopping at the mall. Add to that the fact that Eric didn't get home from work until about 12:15, and we didn't go to bed until after 1, and you can understand a little bit better why I slept so late.)

Because they rose for so long, they were literally spilling out of the bundt pan and onto the counter. Then, I baked them for the prescribed amount of time, but because they had risen so tall, the ones at the top got fairly badly burned. However, the ones at the bottom were great!

So, the questions:

• Was the recipe easy to follow? - Yes. It's about as simple as baking recipe can be considering you use already prepared rolls that are frozen. No complaints here, only next time I might try them with wheat rolls.
  
• Did the dish taste good? - The ones that were not burnt were lovely. I can understand why this is a family favorite.
  
• Would you make it again? - Definitely. But I will set an alarm to wake up so they don't rise for so long.
  

Review: Chinese Dumplings

Today we made Abe and Erin's recipe for dumplings. (Is it mostly Erin's recipe? This I do not know, but Erin is welcome to pipe in!)

We'd eaten this recipe a couple of times with Abe and Erin, and I'd always wanted to try it. I'm glad I finally did.

• Was the recipe easy to follow? - Yes. We made the pork dumplings, although we originally planned to make the vegetarian ones. When I called Abe to ask what kind of bean paste he counseled me to forget the vegetarian ones and just do the pork. He said it would be worth the extra cost.
  
• Did the dish taste good? - Yes, yes, yes.
  
• Would you make it again? - I will make it. However, as you can tell from the recipe it is a fair amount of work, especially if you are doing all the dumpling folding yourself, which we did. Also, I would not even attempt this recipe without a food processor.

Maybe one day we will totally rip off Abe and Erin and have these dumplings be a reason to host a party. That would require some planning though. And lately our Saturdays involve zero planning.

Review: Mole

This week for Whip it Up, I did the same recipe as my friend, Trish. I hope she doesn't mind that I completely copied her. The thing is, fairly recently my carpool buddy and I were discussing mole (pronounced moh-lay), which is sort of like Mexican curry. Essentially, mole is a sauce/seasoning that usually involves cocoa powder or chocolate of some variety, but, like curry, there are a gazillion different varieties. Incidentally, Trish blogged about making mole for WIU this week, and I knew it was a recipe I would like to try.

The recipe can be found here. I subbed two cans of tomato sauce for the tomato soup because, really, I have very strong opinions against canned tomato soup.

• Was the recipe easy to follow? - It was very simple.
  
• Did the dish taste good? - We both liked the sauce quite a lot. We served it with chicken tacos, and I want to make it again some time with enchiladas.
  
• Would you make it again? - Definitely.
  

And there you have it. Only a few more weeks to go.

Review: Butter Pecan Apple Pie

My brother, John, sent me this recipe. He made it for Thanksgiving in 2003. I had some of the pie way back then, and when he suggested I make it, I don't think I really realized how much work it would take.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
Filling:
6 cups thinly sliced apples
2 tablespoons lime juice
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pastry for 9” double crust pie
2 tablespoons butter

Topping
8 large marshmallows
¼ cup evaporated milk
1-1/2 cup chopped pecans
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
½ Cup brown sugar

Directions:
Filling:

1. In a large bowl, toss apples with lime juice. Combine dry ingredients. Add to apples. Toss lightly.
2. Place bottom pastry in pie pan. Fill with apple mixture. Dot with butter. Cover with top crust. Flute edges high.
3. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven.

Topping:

1. Cook sugar, ½ stick of butter, marshmallows and ¼ cup evaporated milk over medium heat until butter is melted. Add 1 cup pecans. Cook until softball stage or 236 degrees. Remove from heat.
2. Add vanilla and beat until mixture is thickened. Drop onto greased wax paper or non-stick cookie sheet spayed with vegetable spray. Let cool completely. Crumble and set aside.
   
3. In medium saucepan, sauté remaining pecans in ¼ cup butter. Butter should be rich and golden color. Add pecan crumbles from above. Remove pieces from butter.
   
4. Add ½ cup brown sugar and cream. Cook until boiling. Add sautéed pecans to boiling mixture. Pour over pie. Bake 3-4 minutes until bubbly. Cool 30 minutes.

My review/comments:

This recipe was intense. It was very time-consuming and quite laborious. I found myself really stressing out over the definition of "softball stage," and I don't think I ended up cooking the praline long enough. After it cooled it was very hard but also extremely chewy. To answer the questions:

• Was the recipe easy to follow? Not really. I definitely could have used some pictures. Or else a candy thermometer would have been nice. I think the ingredients didn't list the right amount for certain things like butter.
  
• Did the dish taste good? Oh yes, very good.
  
• Will you make it again? Despite the laborious nature of this recipe, I will probably make it again, especially if I have a pastry knife, a candy thermometer and a load of time on my hands.

When it all boils down to it, this pie was so yummy it almost negates all the labor involved.

Review: Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream

My brother got me an ice cream maker for Christmas 2007. We finally got around to using it, and I fully anticipate using it many more times in the future.

1. Was the recipe easy to follow? It was very easy to follow, but it definitely requires some special equipment and some expensive ingredients.
   
2. Did the dish taste good? Yes, but it was a little rich. I'll cut the chocolate a little bit next time.
   
3. Would you make it again? Definitely. I'm really eager to get a lot of use out of my ice cream maker.
   

Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
8 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, broken into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped day-old brownies

Directions:

1. Heat the whole milk until it is just bubbling around the edges (this may be done on the stovetop or in a microwave).
2. In a blender or food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse to process the sugar with the chocolate until the chocolate is very finely chopped. Add the hot milk, process until well blended and smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl and let the chocolate mixture cool completely. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla to taste.
3. Chill for 30 minutes or longer.
4. Put the mixture in the ice cream machine and turn it on. Add the chopped brownies during the last five minutes of mixing.