I can't believe I forgot to put this concoction up when I first started making it - heaven knows I broadcast its delicious + virtuous qualities to everyone who would listen. So anyway, the best smoothie I personally have ever made:
2 frozen bananas, several scoops mint chocolate chip ice cream, half a package of spinach and a splash of soy milk.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Summer Ratatouille, with Harissa
[..... is really hard to spell.]
I guess oven dishes are not ideal for summer, but the result was light and fresh, with that sweet-savory vibe I can't get enough of. Woulda been great with a glass of chilled white wine.
Chop up the following into bite-sized chunks and put them in a small casserole dish:
Half a large eggplant / 1 small eggplant, peeled
1 small zucchini
2 large tomatoes
2 large peaches
Top with a can of harissa, bake for 25 mins at 400, serve over fusilli.
I realize it's not likely that any of us has home-canned harissa hanging around the shelves at a given moment, but harissa recipes and commercial pastes (or spice blends) are pretty easy to find. The rich tomato-and-chile flavor was amazing on all these veggies, and especially with the peaches.
I guess oven dishes are not ideal for summer, but the result was light and fresh, with that sweet-savory vibe I can't get enough of. Woulda been great with a glass of chilled white wine.
Chop up the following into bite-sized chunks and put them in a small casserole dish:
Half a large eggplant / 1 small eggplant, peeled
1 small zucchini
2 large tomatoes
2 large peaches
Top with a can of harissa, bake for 25 mins at 400, serve over fusilli.
I realize it's not likely that any of us has home-canned harissa hanging around the shelves at a given moment, but harissa recipes and commercial pastes (or spice blends) are pretty easy to find. The rich tomato-and-chile flavor was amazing on all these veggies, and especially with the peaches.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Pulled Pork Green Chile Stew
After a trip to New Mexico, a trip to a local butcher and a trip to Safeway where New Mexican green chiles were on sale, pork green chili stew seemed inevitable even in the dead heat of a Phoenix summer. There is likely nothing authentic about this recipe, but it was delicious and gave us about 12 big servings (!!).
Cook a 3 lb bone-in shoulder blade of pork with several tomatoes, 3 chopped Anaheim chiles, and 2 cups of water for 8-10 hours in a slow cooker. Season well with salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon. After cooking remove fat and pull pork apart with a fork.
Chop several potatoes and a large onion. Brown with garlic, cumin, olive oil, cilantro, and chili powder. Add 2 cans pinto beans and 2 cans stewed tomatoes (we only added stewed tomatoes because we didn't use enough tomatoes with the pork).
Combine the contents of the slow cooker with the potatoes and beans. Add more spices to taste, let simmer for a few hours and enjoy. It was quite tasty with a bit of sharp white cheddar cheese.
**I use Black Canyon Chile Powder (linked to above) from the Savory Spice Shop in Denver, Colorado. You can order their spices online for a reasonable price. If you are ambitious and like to mix your own, this particular chile powder is made using "chile peppers, cocoa powder, garlic, toasted onion, Saigon cinnamon and Mexican oregano" and is salt-free.
Cook a 3 lb bone-in shoulder blade of pork with several tomatoes, 3 chopped Anaheim chiles, and 2 cups of water for 8-10 hours in a slow cooker. Season well with salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon. After cooking remove fat and pull pork apart with a fork.
Chop several potatoes and a large onion. Brown with garlic, cumin, olive oil, cilantro, and chili powder. Add 2 cans pinto beans and 2 cans stewed tomatoes (we only added stewed tomatoes because we didn't use enough tomatoes with the pork).
Combine the contents of the slow cooker with the potatoes and beans. Add more spices to taste, let simmer for a few hours and enjoy. It was quite tasty with a bit of sharp white cheddar cheese.
**I use Black Canyon Chile Powder (linked to above) from the Savory Spice Shop in Denver, Colorado. You can order their spices online for a reasonable price. If you are ambitious and like to mix your own, this particular chile powder is made using "chile peppers, cocoa powder, garlic, toasted onion, Saigon cinnamon and Mexican oregano" and is salt-free.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Really Good Classic Cookies (gluten free!)
Since returning from Guatemala, I see to have lost all of my desire to make exciting foods and all of my ability to come up with clever blog posts. Now that I'm home, I just want to eat my favorite foods and then tell you about it. That's it. Soon enough I'm sure this will wear off and I'll get around to those Italian doughnuts with cherry sauce that I've been thinking of, or to that buttermilk granita, but for now, you are getting some Really Good Cookies. According to P, they are my number one or number two best cookies, ever. And, they taste more like cookies with gluten than any others I've ever made.
This is because I'm using oat bran flour, and oats, which we are used to eating in baked goods with gluten. I of course used gluten free oat bran flour and gluten free oats. You could try these using brown rice flour if you can't find gfree oat bran flour, but they won't be quite as good.
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup oat bran flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1 1/4 cup oats
1 Tbs almond butter (a generous tablespoon...)
3/4 cup chocolate chips
Melt the butter and mix with the egg and sugar. Add the dry ingredients and let chill in the refrigerator for awhile. Bake at 375 F for 12 minutes. Enjoy!
This is because I'm using oat bran flour, and oats, which we are used to eating in baked goods with gluten. I of course used gluten free oat bran flour and gluten free oats. You could try these using brown rice flour if you can't find gfree oat bran flour, but they won't be quite as good.
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup oat bran flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1 1/4 cup oats
1 Tbs almond butter (a generous tablespoon...)
3/4 cup chocolate chips
Melt the butter and mix with the egg and sugar. Add the dry ingredients and let chill in the refrigerator for awhile. Bake at 375 F for 12 minutes. Enjoy!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Cold Tomato-Melon Soup
OK, wowzers!
You go, Militant Carnivore.
(I used apple cider vinegar, and ate with fresh dill and goat cheese on top. I'm sooo glad I still have a few bowlsfull b/c that is some tasty semi-liquid eating!)
***Ed. 8/24/13 - This blog post was taken down at some point, to my great dismay. Here's the recipe in full!***
This makes a bright, velvety gazpacho with intense flavor - perfect for the part of summer when tomatoes are plentiful and amazing.
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Ingredients:
Olive oil
1/2 cantaloupe
10-12 tomatoes
3 TB apple cider vinegar
Salt
Fresh herbs (I like chives & dill)
Goat cheese
This makes a BIG batch, but you'll want it!
Supplies:
Largest frying pan
Tongs
Blender
Fine seive
Large Bowl
1. Slice the cantaloupe and halve the tomatoes. Heat some olive oil in the largest pan you have. Then place as many cantaloupe slices and tomato halves as can fit facedown in the pan. (In my largest pan, I end up having to do this in 2-3 batches). Brown on one side for 3-5 minutes, until the cantaloupe gets a little brown and starts releasing a LOT of juice into the pan. Flip and do the other side.
2. Blend in blender (the tongs will help get all the hot pieces in there) with 1 TB vinegar until liquefied. Place seive on bowl and dump blender contents into it. Repeat for rest of the cantaloupe and tomatoes, reusing the same oil each time, but dumping the entire contents of the pan into the blender with the last batch.
3. Once everything has strained into the bowl, add salt to taste (remember as this gets cold it may need more salt - you may want to retest once chilled), and apple cider vinegar to taste - I find about 3 TB total including however much you used during blending is about right.
4. Serve chilled, garnished with chopped herbs and goat cheese. (That crappy picture is my tupperware of work lunch from yesterday; it's much prettier before the cheese starts to sink and whatnot!)
You go, Militant Carnivore.
(I used apple cider vinegar, and ate with fresh dill and goat cheese on top. I'm sooo glad I still have a few bowlsfull b/c that is some tasty semi-liquid eating!)
***Ed. 8/24/13 - This blog post was taken down at some point, to my great dismay. Here's the recipe in full!***
This makes a bright, velvety gazpacho with intense flavor - perfect for the part of summer when tomatoes are plentiful and amazing.
.JPG)
Ingredients:
Olive oil
1/2 cantaloupe
10-12 tomatoes
3 TB apple cider vinegar
Salt
Fresh herbs (I like chives & dill)
Goat cheese
This makes a BIG batch, but you'll want it!
Supplies:
Largest frying pan
Tongs
Blender
Fine seive
Large Bowl
1. Slice the cantaloupe and halve the tomatoes. Heat some olive oil in the largest pan you have. Then place as many cantaloupe slices and tomato halves as can fit facedown in the pan. (In my largest pan, I end up having to do this in 2-3 batches). Brown on one side for 3-5 minutes, until the cantaloupe gets a little brown and starts releasing a LOT of juice into the pan. Flip and do the other side.
2. Blend in blender (the tongs will help get all the hot pieces in there) with 1 TB vinegar until liquefied. Place seive on bowl and dump blender contents into it. Repeat for rest of the cantaloupe and tomatoes, reusing the same oil each time, but dumping the entire contents of the pan into the blender with the last batch.
3. Once everything has strained into the bowl, add salt to taste (remember as this gets cold it may need more salt - you may want to retest once chilled), and apple cider vinegar to taste - I find about 3 TB total including however much you used during blending is about right.
4. Serve chilled, garnished with chopped herbs and goat cheese. (That crappy picture is my tupperware of work lunch from yesterday; it's much prettier before the cheese starts to sink and whatnot!)
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Summer Cookies
Chop and haphazardly mash a peach with a bit of brown sugar. Let it sit a few moments while you flip through classic cookie recipes. Select one with chocolate or notes of brown sugar or caramel, then replace a bit of the butter with the syrupy peach bites. The peach flavor will break through the cookie's prominent flavors subtly, but deliciously.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Bright Lemony Curry
The Veg, all thinly sliced:
Carrot
Daikon Radish
Broccolini
Apple
Mushroom*
The Sauce:
1 6 oz can coconut milk
Juice of one lemon
3 TB brown sugar
2 TB veggie fish sauce
2 TB tamarind paste
2 TB of this blend
The Rest:
Diced extra-firm tofu
Shredded fried egg
Pepitas
Stirfry veggies in very hot sesame oil till just cooked but still crispy. Toss in sauce and serve over rice noodles. Sweet, tangy, yellow and cheery.
*(I included some kale but with the radish and broccolini that made the veggie mix too skewed toward bitter. If I did it again I'd add some canned corn, I think, and maybe some golden raisins.)
Carrot
Daikon Radish
Broccolini
Apple
Mushroom*
The Sauce:
1 6 oz can coconut milk
Juice of one lemon
3 TB brown sugar
2 TB veggie fish sauce
2 TB tamarind paste
2 TB of this blend
The Rest:
Diced extra-firm tofu
Shredded fried egg
Pepitas
Stirfry veggies in very hot sesame oil till just cooked but still crispy. Toss in sauce and serve over rice noodles. Sweet, tangy, yellow and cheery.
*(I included some kale but with the radish and broccolini that made the veggie mix too skewed toward bitter. If I did it again I'd add some canned corn, I think, and maybe some golden raisins.)
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