It's a Pasty Night

Early Season means bountiful herbs. While herbs are a wonderful addition to any meal, few recipes call for more than a tablespoon or so. But not pastes. Oh no, when your fridge is overflowing with parsley, basil, kale (granted not an herb) and cilantro, its hard to resist the temptation of pastes.

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On the menu tonight:

1) Spicy Peanut-Cilantro Spread.  

2 C chopped cilantro

2 cloves garlic 

1 t lime zest and juice of 2 limes

1 chile peppers: remove seeds to reduce spiciness. 

2 tablespoons peanuts

salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Add to magic bullet and blend!! mmm.

2) Kale and Walnut Pesto.

1/4 C chopped walnuts. Toasted to perfection.

1/2 t salt

1/2 lb of kale

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 C olive oil

1/2 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese 

salt and pepper to taste

Directions: boil kale in water with 1/2 t salt. Cook until tender. Add all ingredients to 

food processor and blend, slowly adding olive oil (not possible in magic bullet).

3) A Parsley-Basil Blended Pesto. 

2C basil and parsley. Any ratio works. 

1/3-1/2 C olive oil

2 cloves of garlic 

1/4-1/2 C pine nuts toasted (walnuts work too)

1/2 C Parmesan cheese

lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Blend!!

Top: Basil/Parsley Pesto.  Left: Kale-Walnut Pesto. Right: Spicy Cilantro-Peanut Spread

We're Jamming.

Strawberry season is upon us and we, the canning connoisseurs that we are, took no haste in making a heavenly jam.

Step one: Acquire your fruits: Carandale Farm, located in Oregon Wi was where we ventured for some U-pick strawberries. Highly recommend it. Our rhubarb, we bought at the farmer's market. 

Here is the recipe: 

4 C mashed fruit (e.g. 3C Strawberries, 1C rhubarb)

1/2-1C Honey or 3/4-2C Sugar (we aim for the low end, strawberries are pretty sweet)

2t Pectin Powder

2t Calcium Water (comes in pectin package)

Yields 4-5 Cups. We tripled the recipe to adjust for the 8 1/2 lb

s of berries we picked

Step 2: Wash and prepare fruit: Remove hulls from strawberries and thinly slice rhubarb 

Step 3: In a large bowl mash strawberries using whatever mashing materials are available.  Mix in rhubarb slices and add calcium water to fruit mixture 

Step 4: Mix together sugar/honey and pectin powder.

Step 5: Bring Fruit to a boil. Add pectin-honey/sugar mixture and stir vigorously for 1-2 min to dissolve all the pectin. Return the mixture to a boil and remove from heat. 

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And now, a short lecture on proper canning procedure.

to avoid death or other serious injury, it is recommended you follow USDA approved canning procedures. However, I have not read said recommendations but feel comfortable with what i will now selfishly term the "KB Canning Process"

1) Clean and sanitize all surfaces you will be using throughout your canning experience. 

2) When Canning, use mason jars with a 2-part lid/screw top. 

3) Wash and rinse jars with hot soapy water.

4) Sanitize jars and lids in boiling water for oooooh 5-10 mins. Let stand in hot water until needed. 

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Step 6: Fill jars to 1/4" to the top. Wipe rims clean and screw on tops. Place jars in boiling water for 10 min. Remove from water and place up-side-down on dish towel. Allow to cool. Check seals. Place in fridge when done. 

~~~

Best of luck in your jamming endeavors. It's a very simple process, but if you find yourself in a pickle don't hesitate to call the Jamline @ (413) 772-6816. Really, it exists. 

CousCous TuesTues: Vol. 1 - Stuffed Poblano Peppers

It's a long standing tradition in our apartment that Tuesday is the night Lena and I experiment with cous cous. CousCousTuesTues (or CousTues for short) in the past has been everything from deliciously ethnic (Moroccan, Greek, etc) to unconventional (couscous pudding anyone?) to straight up weird (pizza?) but without fail it's always different and mostly a product of whatever we can find buried in the fridge. This week, CousTues took the form of Poblano Peppers stuffed with Black Beans, Adobo, Tofu and Whole Grain Couscous sprinkled with Monterey Jack. ENJOY.

INGREDIENTS:

3 Poblano Peppers, sliced in half with seeds removed.

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 an onion, diced

garlic (either powder or cloves, take yr pick)

Firm Tofu (I'd say we used about 3/4 cup crumbled, but can be modified to taste)

1 15oz can black beans (drained and rinsed)

2 tbsp adobo peppers

chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper to taste.

1 cup uncooked couscous

1 tomato, pureed (we used the magic bullet)

1/2 cup grated cheese

WHATCHA DO:

For the Cous:

1. Heat 1 cup water and 1 tsp salt til boiling.

2. Stir in couscous, cover, and remove from heat. Let sit 5 minutes.

3. Fluff with fork.

For the filling:

1. Preheat the oven to 375.

2. Heat the olive oil and saute the onion til soft. Add garlic powder/cloves to taste.

3. Add the tofu, beans and adobo and begin to season with chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper.

4. Remove from heat and add couscous and tomato puree. Continue to season.

5. Stuff peppers and top with cheese. Arrange on baking sheet and stick in the oven for 10 minutes or so, making sure peppers start to sizzle but cheese doesn't burn.

VOILA.

horchata

i used to be addicted to this stuff from the SevenEleven across the street from jake's and my (grammar?) high school... but naturally it's more authentic from the giant carafes at the little Mexican joints that speckle LA, and more original if you make yer own. i kind of just throw things together and keep adding stuff by feel and taste, but i looked up the proportions so as not to get yall making sick ass cinamon water; however, add or subtract anything so that it pleases your pallate.

foodstuff: (4 servings)
- 4 c. H20
- 1/2 c. rice (i used jasmine brown, but any will do)
- 1/2 - 1 t. cinnamon or 1/2 - 1 cinnamon stick if you have one
- 1/2 t. vanilla
- 1/4 c. sweetner (*piloncillo, white/brown sugar or honey, agave, maple syrup, etc. to impart a more nuanced flavor)

*piloncillo: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/piloncillomexicansugar.htm

how:
1. let rice soak overnight in the water
2. cook rice as you normally would and slowly integrate the cinnamon, vanilla, and sweetner
3. once the rice is kinda soupy let it cool for 5-10 mins
4. liquidify the rice in a blender and semi-finely strain the mixture
5. refridgerate the drainage (in a jug) and the mess you strained (in a bowl/tupperware) for:
- a cool cinnamony rice drink (best served with blended ice) &
- rice pudding (maybe add some soaked raisins/craisins/cranberries)

Double Chocolate Bourbon Cake

An overcast Tuesday in Madison Wisconsin; each person has their own way of dealing with the weather. Given up to my own particular vices, it would be easy to spend the day with a bottle of cheap bourbon and a fat pot of coffee. However, in the spirit of living up to my parents' expectations, I whipped out this old family recipe.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BOURBON CAKE

It goes like this, friends:
1 3/4 cups strong coffee
1/4 cup bourbon
5 squares (5oz.) unsweetened chocolate
2 sticks (1/2 lb.) butter, cut up
2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

preheat to 275. butter two 9 inch cake pans. Lay a 12 by 4 in. strip of waxed paper down in the center of each pan and up the sides, butter the waxed paper. Dust pans with unsweetened cocoa of flour, shake out excess. place coffee, bourbon, chocolate, and butter in a 2 1/2 quart saucepan. stir or whisk occasionally over med. heat until chocolate and butter are melted. add sugar. turn off heat and let cool for 10-15 min. stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar. sift flour, baking soda, and salt. add flour gradually to the chocolate mixture, beating with whisk or electric hand mixer on medium speed. beat in eggs, then vanilla. pour batter into prepared pans and rap the pans gently on the counter to break air bubbles. bake for 45-50 min. let cool completely before removing. easiest to frost when chilled. pull wax paper to loosen the cake and refrigerate until firm. transfer to a cake form or dish and fill and frost with cream cheese frosting.

I used a simple cream cheese frosting:
4oz cream cheese (softened)
4oz butter (not salted, softened)
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer, add the sugar slowly, beat until smooth, add vanilla.
I threw in another tsp. of bourbon just for flavor.

It will brighten your day, really.

Cooks Gone Wild

Aaah the canadian wilderness...

After a week in Quetico Provincial Park I managed to whip out a few great meals on the campfire in an attempt to tame the rugged terrain. Here are three easy and delicious meals. 

1) Fajitas:                                    

Easy: Onions, green peppers, jalepeños simmered in  diced tomatoes and cumin. Black beans, hobo cooked. Rice, with 

dried cilantro. And we managed to get some dehydrated chicken, seasoned with fajita seasoning. Don't ask how. 

2) Trail Falafel: 

Falafel mix, onions, with a dill/refried bean sauce spiced however you wish. 

3) Pizza!

Dough: 3 cups of flour, 1 pkg of yeast, garlic, olive oil, sun and time to rise. Follow basic  dough recipe. Knead and let rise. 

Topping: Tomato sauce and spices. Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, onions, summer sausage, and sun-dried tomatoes. 

SATAN. . . err SEITAN

I decided to make seitan for the following reasons, in no particular order:

1. It's my favorite meat substitute

2. I hadn't a clue what it was made of

3. It sounds like Satan; Hail Satan!

Seitan, sometimes referred to only as gluten, has it's roots in Japanese and Chinese culture, where it was first developed. Western cultures adapted seitan as a meat substitute mid-twentieth century, so it is relatively new to American culture.

I decided to go with a rather simple recipe; no spices added in. I'd like to try that eventually, but it's pretty easy to season after it's made so I decided to keep it simple, and it will be more versatile this way.

It turns out that it is much easier to make than it is to procure the necessary ingredients. Poor planning on my part led me to both the Willie Street Co-Op and Whole Foods in one day - a yuppie grocery shoppers dream!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten flour

1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes

1 cup very cold water or vegetable broth

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cloves garlic, pressed or grated on a micro-plane grater

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Simmering Broth

10 cups water or vegetable broth

1/2 cup soy sauce

You'll likely need to buy extra soy sauce; it ends up being quite a bit. Also, make sure you actually have vital wheat gluten flour; it's not the same as whole-wheat flour. Vital wheat gluten flour is essentially just the gluten part of wheat flour. It can be made with only whole-wheat flour, washing the flour dough until all of the starch dissolves. Vegan Internet blogs made this sound risky, so I decided to just buy the vital wheat gluten flour. Whole Foods had it, Bob's Red Mill brand. Nutritional Yeast Flakes were found at Willy Street Co-Op in bulk, which was nice and cheap. I used water, not vegetable broth. If you decided to use it let me know how it turns out! I decided all the soy sauce would be salty enough.

Directions:

To start, make sure you have the 1-cup water/10 cup water chilling. I mixed all two dry ingredients in one large bowl, and the moist to wet ones in another medium sized one. Mix the wet and dry ingredients and knead with a spatula. It's something like dough, but unlike any one I've dealt with in the past, very moist and rubbery.

Knead dough for three minutes, and then let it sit while you prepare the broth in a large pot (preparation involves mixing soy sauce and water). I hadn't let the 10 cup water chill long enough so I just but a bunch of ice cubes in. The cold water is important because it keeps the moist dough from falling apart.

Next, take your dough and roll it into a log, about 8 in long. Cut it into three pieces and set them in the pot. Bring water to a boil, and then let simmer for an hour. Cover the pot throughout the process, leaving it a crack open for steam. While simmering, turn the peaces with every 15 min or so.

Let the seitan cool for 30-45 min, or completely.

Finished! To store, keep in sealed container covered in simmering broth. Cut and fry, bake, or broil as you would normally.

Stay tuned for a recipe to use the seitan, I'm excited to use it!