1 Comment May 8, 2014 Lauren

Well, hello! It’s time for a curry. This dish is a great way to either add veggies to your diet, celebrate a meatless Monday, or use up the sad veggies withering away accusingly in your fridge. Grab the veggies! It’s not too late!

PRODUCE BASKET WEEKNIGHT CURRY

Ingredients:

brown rice, cooked according to package directions (or a microwaveable package of brown rice)
2 tbsp coconut oil
you saved us!
6-8 cups of any combination of vegetables you may have, or:
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1-inch piece of ginger, grated
1/2 eggplant, chopped
1 cup green beans, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 cups broccoli florets
1/2 cup green peas
1/2 cup mushrooms

And:

1 can coconut milk
2 tbsp red or green curry paste, your choice (or 1+ tbsp curry powder and 1 tsp kosher salt)
1 tbsp fish sauce or 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp brown sugar
extra credit: 1 kaffir lime leaf and 1 tsp grated lemongrass
cilantro, for serving
bean sprouts, for serving
sriracha or other chili paste for serving

Directions:

Heat the coconut oil in a large, deep skillet or wok over medium high heat. When the oil has melted and is hot- you can test this by tossing in an onion- add the onion and saute for about 2 minutes, until they start to become translucent. Add the garlic, ginger, and lemongrass, if using, and saute for another minute. Add the rest of your spectacular veggie combo (excluding cilantro and bean sprouts) and saute, stirring often, for 2-3 minutes more. Leave the stove on and skillet hot.

Remove the veggies to a large bowl and add the coconut milk to the skillet and bring to a simmer. When the coconut milk is simmering, add the curry paste or powder, the brown sugar, and the fish sauce or salt. Stir to dissolve and combine, then add the veggies back and the kaffir lime leaf to the pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer 3-5 more minutes.

That’s it! Taste a bit of the sauce and adjust seasonings as necessary. You may like it a bit more salty. Serve over brown rice and pass sriracha. How good of you to eat so many veggies at once. Yum.

Quickie: Peanut Butter & Cinnamon Greek Yogurt Dip (veg, gf)

Healthified Caramelized Onion Dip (veg, gf)

Baguettes! (v)

2 Comments April 24, 2014 Lauren

At the top of the rustic, earthy, lovely food to eat and make list- baguettes!

On the yeasty, satisfying, work with your hands list- baguettes!

Put on your berets and Breton striped shirts– let’s make baguettes!

THREE BEAUTIFUL BAGUETTES

Adapated from Food52

Ingredients:

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups hot water
1 tsp active dry yeast
2 tsp kosher salt
1 /2 tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup ice cubes
You will also need parchment paper, two kitchen towels, a rimmed baking sheet, a pair of scissors, and a cast iron or other oven-safe skillet

Directions:

This recipe is very simple. If you can knead dough (you can, the ability is buried in your genetic code) or have a stand mixer to knead dough for you, you can make these beautiful baguettes. There’s a lot of waiting involved as the dough rises; hands-on time is minimal. Baking these lovely parcels of dough is a rewarding, foolproof venture. Let’s get to it.

Faisons baguettes!

In a large bowl or your stand mixer’s bowl, whisk the hot water into the yeast. Let it sit for ten minutes, until foamy.

When ten minutes has passed, mix the flour into the yeast and water with a fork, until a shaggy dough forms. I did this in four pour of flour for even mixing. Let this sit for 20 to allow the flour to hydrate. You’re getting the hang of this waiting stuff by now, aren’t you? Good. There’s more to come.

After 20 minutes, add the kosher salt. Attach the bowl to the stand mixer and knead with the hook attachment for 4-5 minutes on speed 2, until the dough has climbed up the hook and is smooth and elastic. Alternatively, knead the old-fashioned way: turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes with the heels of your hands. “A good knead is better than an hour of psychotherapy, and it’s free.” There’s your motivation. Exorcise the demons.

When your dough is smooth and shiny and elastic, oil a large glass bowl with the half tablespoon of canola. Pat the dough into a ball and place it in the bowl; cover with plastic wrap and let rise in an oven or microwave until doubled in size, about 45 minutes to an hour.

smooooth.

Once doubled, remove the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Shape it into a 6×8 inch rectangle, then fold the long sides into the middle, followed by the short sides. Basically, double fold it into a little bundle. Pop the bundle back into the oiled bowl and let double again, another 45 minutes or so. I hope you have a good book to read, what with all of this sitting around, sheesh. Consider this AbeBooks list of food memoirs if you don’t. Just looking at the covers makes me hunger for a memoir marathon… I’ll need a rainy Sunday, a cozy blanket, and a LOT of supplemental food.

Now we get to play with the dough! Turn the lovely bundle onto a very lightly floured surface and pinch off into three equally sized sections of dough. Roll and pinch the rounds into 14-inch logs; these will be the base shapes for your loaves.

Grab your rimmed baking sheet and flip it over. Arrange a piece of parchment paper 3 inches wider than the sheet and fold two pleats into it. Lightly flour the pleated parchment paper.

Put the loaves in the spaces you’ve created on the parchment paper and pull them close together- we’re using the pleated paper to allow the loaves to rise up, not out. Roll the two kitchen towels up and place them on either side of the three loaves. Let the loaves rise until doubled. LAST TIME, I promise.

Place the cast iron skillet on the very bottom rack of your oven. Arrange a rack right above that and preheat the oven to a blazing hot 475. To make the baguettes look like baguettes, cut slices into the tops of the dough at 30 degree angles with your scissors (add that to your baking bag of tricks!). Very pretty. Flatten out the parchment paper and pop the baking sheet, still inverted, into the oven. Immediately add the 1/2 cup of ice cubes to the cast iron skillet and close the oven door. The ice cubes will sizzle away and release steam, producing a crisp crust. Bake for 20 minutes, until a deep brown. Let cool and serve! They will be crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Slather with butter and kick back. Bon appétit.

Brian’s Sunday Soup (v, gf)

4 Comments April 17, 2014 Lauren

The introduction to this glorious soup should start with an introduction to my uncle Brian and aunt Liz. They are runners, scientists, urban farmers, yogis, cat whisperers, and cooks. They’ve been known to move to China and Korea to teach English. They work tirelessly to restore the creek by their home* to health. They’ve collected water in rain barrels decades longer than your ironically bearded neighbor has, and they do things like compost and march for clean energy because everyone should do those things. On top of all this, they find time to fearlessly reinvent their careers and go see St. Vincent at the 9:30 Club. They’re that cool.

So now you know a bit about the brilliantly kaleidoscopic lives that inhabit the sunny kitchen full of great conversation where my uncle Brian threw together this soup the last time we visited. The soup is as healthy and vibrant as Liz and he. “Oh, it’s just got a little of everything in it,” Brian humbly explained as Dave and I poured bowls of the stuff into our gaping faces. If we could have done keg stands over the stockpot, we would have. My sweet mama had come up that weekend to visit and she loved the soup- so did my 20-month-old curly-topped nephew! It’s a crowd-pleaser.

deftly showcasing his spoon-handling skills and Mardi Gras beads

the neph’ showcasing wicked awesome curls, spoon-handling skills, and Mardi Gras beads

I emailed Brian asking how to make the soup soon after and he gave me a true cook’s recipe- ingredients, ideas, tips, no measurements. The mark of a cook at home in his kitchen. I’ve included some of these notes. Behold, Brian’s Sunday Soup.

BRIAN’S SUNDAY SOUP

Adapted from Brian Parr

Ingredients:

1 bag of mixed beans, soaked overnight
eeoo (extra virgin olive oil)
1 onion, diced
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
Spice mix (edit according to your tastes): 1/2- 1 tsp coriander, 1/2-1 tsp curry powder, 1/2 tsp-1 tsp red pepper flakes, 1/2- 1 tsp turmeric, rosemary is nice if you have a bush, cumin (but only a little as you know how it overpowers everything else)
1 sweet potato, diced
1 russet potato, diced
sweet corn (sometimes)
5-6 carrots, peeled and chopped into coins
5-6 stalks celery, chopped, greens chopped and reserved
1/3 cup brown lentils
1/3 cup medium pearl barley (leave out if you’re avoiding gluten)
2-3 quarts low sodium vegetable stock, or 2-3 quarts water and 1 1/2 tbsp low sodium vegetable base
1 can of diced tomatoes, optional
freshly ground black pepper
a little bit of the vinegary juice form a jar of hot pepper rings adds a nice little bite!
red cabbage, sliced into confetti for garnish
mustard greens, sliced into confetti for garnish (super important and make all the difference. Plus, they are easy to grow and have a long season)
your favorite hot sauce for serving

Directions:

One day ahead, or before you leave for work: SOAK YOUR BEANS. Place them in a bowl or pot, cover with water to a depth of 2 inches above the beans, and let soak for 8 hours or overnight. I put my bowl of beans and water in the microwave to cat-proof while I was at work. Okay, now fast-forward, cooking show-style to: perfectly soaked beans! Rinse and drain them twice. Chop your veggies on your pretty wooden cutting board, which you should care for with food-grade mineral oil, did you know?

This soup is a very manly soup (if soups can be manly), as the recipe came from Brian and Dave made it at our house. Man Soup: for men, by men. In a large stockpot, have yo’ man heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Saute onion in eeoo in the pot, Get them to the browning stage on medium to low heat and then throw in the garlic at the end. Move the onion to the sides of the pot, create a space in the middle, and add spices to ‘dry cook.’ This gets really aromatic, sometimes to the point of burning eyes and coughing, achh, ohh, ahh, hack, hack…. As they cook on medium heat, be careful not to burn- they are quite potent!!

When your spice blend is fragrant and toasty, add the beans, russet potato, sweet potato, corn, carrots, lentils, tomatoes, and barley (you read that right- don’t add the celery!). Cover with enough water or stock to come a few inches above the veggies and beans and add vegetable base, if using. Stir the soup, raise the heat to medium-high and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2- 2 hours on low, until the beans are tender.

When the beans are tender, stir in the chopped celery. Give it a taste and add black pepper. Salt, if needed. Dip up a few bowls and top with the gorgeous, ribbony mix of red cabbage, celery greens, and mustard greens, the last of which give the soup a leafy, horseradish-like bite. You’ll be glad you did! Pass some hot sauce around. And go thank you uncle and aunt for being your uncle and aunt. It’s probably long overdue.

lovely greens and purples

Thank you, Brian and Liz, for the hospitality and the memorable meal.

Heidi Swanson’s Broccoli Gribiche and My Coconut Kitchen Giveaway Winner! (veg, gf)

1 Comment April 10, 2014 Lauren

First things first: thank you to everyone who entered last week’s giveaway. I really enjoyed your responses- what healthy, creative people you are! To impartially choose a winner, I used the super-technical method of writing names on slips of paper and having a coworker choose one before lunch. All documented on high-quality iPhone video.

Rrrrrrroll ’em!

Congratulations Diana, winner of the My Coconut Kitchen coconut butter sampler pack! I hope you enjoy the sumptuous spreads as much as I do- let us all know how you use them. Thank you to My Coconut Kitchen for the prize- be sure to check out Angie’s delicious inventory!

This week, I was looking for a meatless recipe with simple, clean flavors that would fill me up, create leftovers, and be relatively simple to prepare. I was short on time and motivation and long on hunger, so who did I turn to? Heidi Swanson, author of Super Natural Every Day, a wonderful cookbook given to me by a wonderful aunt. My last Heidi Swanson post brought us another delicious meatless dinner- white beans with cabbage. Heidi’s broccoli gribiche recipe is listed in Super Natural Every Day under “lunch” and would be a showstopper at a picnic or potluck. I know it was a big hit at my one-woman potluck. Here it is! Broccoli gribiche.

BROCCOLI GRIBICHE

Adapted from Heidi Swanson

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs fingerling potatoes
1 large head broccoli, florets chopped into bite-sized pieces and some stem chopped
2 tbsp + 1/4 cup olive oil (healthy fat!)
kosher salt
4 hardboiled eggs, 1 cooked yolk set aside
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 shallots, finely diced
1 tbsp capers, chopped
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 tbsp fresh or 1 tsp dried tarragon
1 tbsp fresh or 1 tsp dried chives

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and arrange two racks in the middle and top of the oven. Wash the potatoes and chop any potatoes larger than your thumb in half. Do not chop your thumb in half, only thumb-sized potatoes. Toss the potatoes and any thumb bits with one tablespoon of the olive oil and a large pinch of kosher salt in a large bowl; turn the potatoes out into a single layer on a baking sheet and roast on the middle oven rack for the first 15 of 30 minutes. Set the bowl aside.

While the potatoes cook, hard boil your eggs. You can find a foolproof allez! gourmet hard-boiling method here if you need it- super, super easy. While the eggs cook, wash and chop your broccoli and toss with another tablespoon of olive oil and another pinch of salt in the large bowl. Once the potatoes have cooked 15 minutes, stir the potatoes, turn the broccoli out onto a separate baking sheet and place the broccoli on the top rack of the oven, roasting the potatoes and broccoli another 15 minutes. You can set both baking sheets aside when the roasted veggies are done.

Back to the eggs: let your hardboiled eggs cool in ice water for speedy cooling and to prevent rings around the yolks. Peel one, remove its yolk, and mash that yolk in the trusty, large bowl you used for the potatoes and broccoli. I’m saving you dirty dishes here. My husband would be proud. Verrry sloooowly whisk the 1/4 cup olive oil into the mashed egg yolk, emulsifying the mixture. It will be a lovely, velvety, glossy yellow.

a!g action shot! bam! pow!

Whisk in the mustard and then the vinegar. Add the shallots, capers, and herbs, mixing the gribiche well. Chop the remaining 3 1/2 eggs and gently fold them into the mixture.

Now for the fun part- combine the potatoes and broccoli in an an even larger bowl and add the dressing, gently tossing everything to coat. Serve. This stuff is seriously delicious, reheats very well, and can be served cold or at room temp. The flavors of the dressing were even better the next day, having had some time to mix and mingle overnight. Cheeky devils. I paired mine with Trader Joe’s new cruciferous crunch mix, braised in olive oil with a bit of red wine vinegar. Enjoy!