Posted: May 30, 2011 | Author: onewomaninaricefield | Filed under: Uncategorized |
Coffee Granita
Hmmm…have I mentioned that it’s hot here? I think I may spend a fortune on Otter pops and ice cream and iced coffee before I leave Tucson. Luckily as I was flipping through the “1000 Vegetarian Recipes from around the World” cookbook this afternoon I came across this really easy recipe for coffee granita. It was only 3:30pm and I figured that by 9:30pm (after the 6 hour freeze and stir period) I’d be just about ready for bed but so hot that I don’t have quite the energy to get there yet. This would be ready at my deepest hour of need. Plus it’s made with coffee. How could I resist? I made the recipe exactly as it was in the book, though I can imagine that subbing in actual brewed coffee wouldn’t be too difficult. In fact, a few pages before this recipe there is a recipe for espresso granita that uses actual strong-brewed espresso rather than instant stuff. Perhaps I’ll try that next. I looked at it for a bit and then decided on this recipe because I didn’t have any actual espresso beans in the house. Anyway, this Coffee Granita recipe struck me as a really great recipe to remember if I ever go back and live in China where instant coffee is the more common thing. It’s important to collect these useful recipes whenever you can. Anyway, after careful scrutiny of the coffee mixture in my freezer over 6 hours it was finally ready. The recipe suggests serving this with cream. I don’t have any cream in the house so I tried some on its own and then with a bite of vanilla ice cream. Either way works very well if you ask me, you can try the cream on your own if you feel the urge. The picture you see here is from the bit that I tried just plain, but I think I prefer it with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream to make it a bit sweeter. Try it yourself and see!
Coffee Granita
2 tablespoons instant coffee
2 tablespoons raw sugar
2 tablespoons hot water
2 1/2 cups cold water
2 tablespoons rum or brandy
1. Place the coffee and sugar into a freezer container with a lid.
2. Pour over the hot water, stirring until dissolved.
3. Stir in the cold water together with the rum or brandy.
4. Freeze for at least 6 hours, stirring every 1-2 hours in order to create a grainy texture.
Coffee
Posted: May 29, 2011 | Author: onewomaninaricefield | Filed under: Uncategorized |
Brandy Preserving Sauce
Found this recipe in a cooking magazine while I was visiting Karen in Alaska this summer. Sadly I cannot remember which magazine I got it from. Later in the fall when berries started to go on sale I bought a ton and put away two jars of brandied berries waiting for the right time. This morning around 10:30am I decided that it wasn’t too early to get out the vanilla ice cream so I decided to make some of this sauce up to pour over top. I also had some little dessert kind of sponge cakes that I cheated by buying at the local grocery store. You can see that this particular mix included both red raspberries and black raspberries. I have another jar with red raspberries and blueberries. I will let that last jar wait till I have a special something to celebrate. It certainly is a fiesty little sauce and easy to make if you can stand the wait.
Brandy Preserving Sauce
2 cups fresh berries
1 cup brandy
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1. Place berries into a 24 oz. jar. Add brandy until fruit is covered. Seal jar. Hold at room temperature for up to 3 months.
2. Drain berries into a sieve into a bowl, reserving brandy and fruit.
3. Boil brandy, sugar and water in a saucepan. Off heat, stir in berries.
4. Serve sauce with cheesecake or ice cream, etc.
Posted: May 27, 2011 | Author: onewomaninaricefield | Filed under: Uncategorized |
A perfect summer afternoon snack!
So it’s HOT in Tucson and I don’t wanna do stuff. This doesn’t actually make a difference; I still have a ton of stuff that I NEED to do and am not allowed to put off. However, that doesn’t mean I’m happy about it. Safeway was having a sale on avocadoes so there are 4 of them sitting on my shelf winking their avocado winks at me. It was also 88 degrees INSIDE the house on Wednesday late afternoon (I’m trying to be a badass and not turn on the central a/c until I can’t bear it). This means guacamole for lunch on Thursday! Whooo hoo! Since I’m feeling lazy I looked to my copy of “PETA’s Vegan College Cookbook” for a shortcut kind of recipe. I do not often use this cookbook because I’m a real person now with more than a tiny fridge and a microwave to cook with, but it’s great for shortcuts and honestly absolutely fabulous for college kid vegans who don’t have a lot of resources or time but still want to eat healthy. I recommend it for both of those reasons and you can buy it via the link on my Cookbooks page. As you can see it definitely comes in handy for me in situations like this. I did change something about this recipe…I skipped the onion powder and put a real white onion in there. I have a ton of them around and so I didn’t think I had a good excuse for not using them. Plus they’re tasty. I also added 2 cloves of garlic to the recipe. Again, I had them around and they’re awesome and really healthy for you.
Crazy Guac-odile Dip
3 large avocadoes, peeled, pitted and mashed
1 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
2 tablespoons dried cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped jalapenos
1 teaspoon onion powder, or 1 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons lime juice
salt, to taste
1. Mix everything together and serve. Tastes better when it’s been chilled for 40 minutes to an hour.
Doesn’t get much easier than that eh?
Posted: May 26, 2011 | Author: onewomaninaricefield | Filed under: Uncategorized |
First recipe in the new kitchen: Red Kidney Bean Stew!
For those of you who don’t know, I graduated from NAU on May 14th and moved to Tucson Arizona on May 20th. I’m starting ANOTHER Masters degree here, this time in Library Science and Information Resources, specializing in Special Collections and Archives Management. I may also do a Museum Studies certificate, but I’m not sure yet. Anyway, packing and moving was terrible as it always is, but setting up the new house has been fun. We’re all moved into the new house and my kitchen looks FABULOUS thanks to my Jake and his amazing shelf-building skills. I wanted to make sure that Jake was here for the first new recipe in the new kitchen, so around lunchtime on Tuesday I whipped this up. This recipe is from my “Vegetarian Times cookbook” and it’s one I’ve been meaning to try for a while now as it sounded delicious on the page. This recipe didn’t disappoint. I added in salt and black pepper (which were not originally in the recipe) because that is how we do things at this house and I can see playing around with this recipe and making some pretty rad stuff depending on what veggies are around and what spices I pair with it. I also altered the recipe a bit because they wanted you to blend it and I don’t really like my soups pureed. At the most I will smash them a bit with a potato masher, but I usually try not to blend all my soups. This was a great one to keep chunky, as it fit the hearty nature of the soup itself. It was pretty fast and pretty filling so I recommend it if you’re super hungry and just don’t have as much time as you’d like to cook that day.
Red Kidney Bean Stew
2 16oz. cans red kidney beans
1 cup bean liquid reserved from cans
1 teaspoon vegetable oil, plus 1/4 cup water
2 small onions, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 tomato, chopped
2 medium potatoes, cubed
2 carrots, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tablespoon parsley (fresh or dried)
salt and pepper to taste
1. Heat the oil and water in a large saucepan.
2. Cook the onions and garlic, stirring, until the onions are translucent.
3. Add the curry powder, potatoes and carrots. Stir and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add the tomato, reserved bean liquid, and beans.
5. Simmer, covered, till carrots and potatoes are almost tender.
6. Add in the parsley, salt and pepper. Stir.
7. Continue simmering until carrots and potatoes are tender.
Posted: May 21, 2011 | Author: onewomaninaricefield | Filed under: Uncategorized |
Pinto Bean Tacos
Was attempting to use up ingredients in the fridge before the move. This allowed us to use up the rest of the red onion, a lime and some tortilla shells. Found this recipe on the Vegetarian Times website
here. I felt like I put too much hot spice in this. I think it was because I used jalapenos instead of chilies. Next time I’ll play around with some different spices and toppings. It was good for a first try though and leaves lots of room for experimentation in the future.
I think this is also a good time to share with you my great tortilla secret. This was first taught to me by a gal I met in grad school, Valerie, and it was such a great idea that I’ve been using it ever since. If you want your tortillas warm and slightly charred or toasted, it’s as simple as turning on a stove burner. By laying the tortilla directly on the hot burner you will not only heat it up but also char or toast it slightly. Be warned though, it only takes a few seconds on each side to brown the tortilla so make sure you flip it quickly to avoid burning.
Pinto Bean Tacos
12 6-inch corn tortillas
1 Tbs. canola oil
1 small red onion, divided: half of onion diced, half sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
4 oz. soy chorizo sausage, such as Soyrizo
1 10-oz. can diced tomatoes with chiles
2 15-oz. cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 small avocado, sliced
1/3 cup grated Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1. Heat oil in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add diced onion, and sauté 3 minutes.
2. Add garlic, and cook 1 minute more.
3. Crumble soy sausage into pan, and sauté 1 minute.
4. Stir in diced tomatoes, and bring mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 4 to 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened.
5. Stir in beans, and cook 2 minutes more, or until beans are warmed through.
6. To assemble tacos: Fill tortillas with 3 Tbs. bean mixture. Top with sliced onions, avocado, cheese, and cilantro. Serve with salsa and hot sauce, if desired.
Posted: May 20, 2011 | Author: onewomaninaricefield | Filed under: Uncategorized |
Picnic Caviar close up
I was looking for something fun and easy and new to take to Michael Bacon’s bbq last week where there would be me (a vegetarian) and also a staunch vegan and ALSO many meat eaters. Whew! The last time I was invited to a shindig that required some food-makin’ was Matt and Jette’s “Amazing Race” finale party a few Sundays ago. I made the
Warm Mediterranean Lentil Salad for that engagement, but let’s face it…Jake and I had had that salad TWICE in that past week and we really needed something different this time. So I was perusing the Vegetarian Times website for recipes involving pinto beans and found
this lovely little dish. “BINGO!” I said, and it was decided. We happen to have a large amount of pinto beans in the house at the moment so I figured this would be the perfect way to use some of them up before moving next week. Plus…I mean…LOOK at this recipe. It is SO EASY! I have a feeling I am going to use this a lot when I move to Tucson and need something chilled and protein-filled to get me through the week. No idea why they call it “picnic caviar”…I guess whoever invented the recipe just decided it was THAT GOOD.
Oh yes…I graduated with my Masters degree last Saturday morning. The parents arrived from their cross-country roadtrip of epic proportions around noon on Friday. They were here till Tuesday afternoon and then Jake and I started packing IMMEDIATELY and QUICKLY because we’re moving on the 20th (which is tomorrow)…a mere 2 days after my folks leave. YIKES! Busy busy here in Arizona! We are moving down to Tucson where I’ll be starting a new Masters program, this time in Library Science. Actually I start the program on the 16th of May, but it’s a reading period before a required on-site week long session. So I can move and read at the same time. No worries.
Anyway, make this recipe. It was a huge hit and I didn’t have a single bit left over to take home by the end of the night.
Picnic Caviar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced (2 teaspoons)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 15-oz. can pinto beans or black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups fresh (or canned, drained and rinsed) corn kernels
1 red, yellow, or orange bell pepper, finely chopped (1 cup)
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1 2-oz. can diced green chiles with liquid
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1. Whisk together vinegar, oil, sugar, garlic, oregano, and basil in large bowl.
2. Stir in black and pinto beans, corn, bell pepper, onion, chiles, and cilantro.
3. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving.
Michael Baconator chows down some Picnic Caviar
Posted: May 8, 2011 | Author: onewomaninaricefield | Filed under: Uncategorized |
Jake's yummy salmon
About a week ago I purchased a big old frozen salmon fillet at Safeway (it was on sale…how could I resist?). We decided to make it for lunch today and pair it with a bunch of carrots and these biscuits from my “1000 Vegetarian Recipes” cookbook. These are really easy to make and a great excuse to get out your nice rolling pin. I used a bit less cayenne pepper (just shy of the 1/2 teaspoon in the recipe) because I wanted to make sure the biscuits weren’t too spicy. I also used many more chives than they required (I’d say I used about 1/4 a cup) because I really wanted the chive flavor to be the focus in the biscuits since it’s such a delicious flavor. These were super easy to mix up and I felt pretty good about sneaking a few bites of the dough because there was no raw egg in the mixture to make me nervous. One thing I will caution you on is to make sure you use the self-rising flour the recipe calls for. I do not think mine was actually self-rising (I had removed the flour from the sack and put it in my flour container, not thinking that I need to label it appropriately…mistake!). It isn’t going to hurt the taste if you do not use self-rising flour. However, the biscuits will look more like crackers than fluffy white biscuits. In fact, if you want a smaller, flatter biscuit then by all means use regular flour. Mine turned out thinner and they were just fine and kind of nice and crunchy like crackers. I cooked them in 2 batches and the second time they came out a little better because I made sure to cut them a bit thicker. I bring you 2 pictures for this blog entry. One of the delicious salmon and carrots that Jake made and the other of a plate full of biscuits.
Cheese and Chive Biscuits
generous 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 teaspoon powdered mustard
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (less if you don’t want them as spicy)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup low-fat soft cheese with added herbs
2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives
scant 1/2 cup milk, plus 2 tablespoons for brushing
generous 1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese
low-fat soft cheese or butter, to serve
1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Strain the flour, mustard, cayenne pepper, and salt into a mixing bowl.
2. Add the soft cheese to the mixture and mix until well incorporated.
3. Stir in the snipped chives.
4. Make a well in the center of the ingredients adn gradually pour in the 1/2 cup milk, stirring as you pour, until the mixture forms a soft dough.
5. Turn the dough onto a floured counter and knead lightly. Roll out until 3/4 inch thick.
6. Use a 2 inch circular cookie cutter (or a water glass) to stamp out as many circles as you can.
7. Transfer the circles to a cookie sheet.
8. Reknead the dough trimmings together and roll out again. Stamp out more circles–you should be able to make 10 biscuits in total.
9. Brush the biscuits with the remaining milk and sprinkle with the grated cheese.
10. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until risen and golden.
11. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm with soft cheese or butter.
Cheese and Chive Biscuits
Posted: May 4, 2011 | Author: onewomaninaricefield | Filed under: Uncategorized |
Warm Mediterranean Lentil Salad
Once again, a super easy recipe to make. The only thing that is difficult is that you have to wait 40 minutes for the tomatoes and the lentils to cook. Waiting is so hard! The recipe calls for 2 red onions and that is what I used this first time. However next time I make it I will only use one. This was a really spectacular recipe except for the too intense flavor of red onion. One, MAYBE one and a half, will do just fine for Jake and I. You should also note that this is a recipe that definitely tastes better warm than cold. Plan your time accordingly, and prepare this so that your ingredients are ready almost simultaneously rather than with big periods of time between things. Serve this immediately after you finish making it and reheat any leftovers.
Warm Mediterranean Lentil Salad
10 cherry tomatoes, about 1 cup
1 1/2 cups brown lentils
grated zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon
1 fresh bay leaf
2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
2 red onions, chopped
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and black pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese, to serve
1. Preheat the oven to 250 F. (Or use a toaster oven like we did and cook it for an extra 10 minutes).
2. Put the cherry tomatoes on the prepared baking tray and cook in the oven for 40 minutes.
3. Put the lentils in a saucepan. Add the lemon zest and juice, bay leaf, garlic, and enough water to cover.
4. Stir, bring to a boil, then simmer for 40 minutes or till lentils are soft.
5. Drain the lentils thoroughly and transfer to a large bowl.
6. Add the cherry tomatoes, red onions, olives, parsley, olive oil, salt and pepper.
7. Toss gently then serve topped with Parmesan (or mozzarella).
Posted: May 3, 2011 | Author: onewomaninaricefield | Filed under: Uncategorized |
Pasta e Fagioli
As you can see, I’ve broken out the “Easy Vegetarian” cookbook for some simple quick recipes for this last week of classes. I’ve got a lot of work to do in the next 2 weeks and it’s going to be nice to have fast recipes to put together in the evenings so my focus can be elsewhere. This recipe is special because I decided to use dry navy beans to make this. I tried cooking with dry beans when I lived in China and could never quite get it right. This time everything worked out great, which renews a bit of the shattered cooking confidence that my previous experience with dry beans in China busted apart. According to Wikipedia (I know, I know…), “pasta e fagioli” actually means “pasta and beans” which definitely outlines the basics of this dish. I’m about to put it in bowls and I’m pretty excited because it looks thick and filling and nice. After tasting some of it I would add in a couple more tomatoes and a bit more broth. I had about 1/2 a cup more beans than the recipe called for and I think I should have balanced that with a bit more tomato and broth. All in all, it is a really lovely and filling soup. Go ahead and try it for yourself!
Oh and P.S. don’t forget to dump a teaspoon of baking soda into the cooking beans to reduce flatulence! Don’t say I don’t help posterity! 
Pasta e Fagioli
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 potato, chopped
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
5 cups veggie broth
a sprig of thyme, sage or rosemary
2 lb. canned navy beans, about 4 cups drained and rinsed
8 oz. small dried pasta shapes, about 2 cups
a pinch of hot red pepper flakes
sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to serve
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan.
2. Add the onion, garlic and potato and cook 3-4 minutes till golden.
3. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes till softened.
4. Add the broth, herbs, beans, pasta, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then simmer 10 minutes until the pasta and potatoes are cooked.
5. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with parmesan.
Posted: May 2, 2011 | Author: onewomaninaricefield | Filed under: Uncategorized |
Zucchini and Cheese on Toast
This is the last week of classes at Northern Arizona University…whoooo hoooo! To celebrate, I decided to wake up this morning and make a fun new breakfast for Jake and I. I pulled out my rad “Easy Vegetarian” cookbook and found a fun recipe for a breakfast toast involving zucchini. This was a great recipe. As the title of the cookbook suggests this recipe was super easy. I threw it together in less than 10 minutes. I even altered the recipe a bit because the zucchini we had in our fridge were so huge that I only used one, not the 2 that the recipe called for. I’ve put my version below. I suggest using a toaster oven for this recipe rather than heating your big old regular oven. Uses less energy and makes the environment really happy.
Zucchini and Cheese on Toast
1 zucchini, grated
1 2/3 cups freshly grated mature Cheddar cheese
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
a dash of Worcestershire sauce
4 slices bread, toasted
salt and black pepper, to taste
1. Put the grated zucchini in a clean, dry dishtowel and twist tightly to squeeze out excess liquid.
2. Transfer zucchini to a mixing bowl and add cheese, shallot, egg, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Stir thoroughly.
3. Put the toasted bread on a baking tray. Pile the zucchini mixture on top.
4. Cook in a preheated broiler until golden brown.
5. Serve hot.
