Vegetarian Crock-pot Irish Colcannon

This may be a good idea, I thought a while ago. And it was. This actually turned out pretty great and I’ll be making it again the next time I have a head of cabbage laying around without a plan for its life. It’s a good time for crock-pot recipes here in Fresno California. The weather is hot and I swear the air conditioning can barely keep up. It’s really nice to have a crock-pot option rather than adding more heat to the house by running the oven. This recipe would go really well with some sausages…vegetarian or otherwise.

Crock-pot Irish Colcannon
6 medium potatoes, chopped
1 small cabbage, chopped
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon Earth Balance butter or margarine
salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup soy milk
4 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup white cheddar cheese

1. Combine everything except the milk, eggs, and cheese into a crock-pot. Set on medium for 6 hours.
2. Turn off the heat on the crock-pot, add in the soy milk, and mash the contents using a potato masher.
3. Pour the eggs on top of mixture in the crock-pot and turn to high for 2 hours till the eggs are set.
4. Very quickly, so as not to lose too much of the captured heat, sprinkle the white cheddar on top and replace the lid.
5. Continue to let it cook on high 2 hours, or till cheese is melted and eggs are cooked through. To make sure the eggs are cooked, merely tilt the crock-pot slightly and see if the mixture on top wiggles.

Carrot-Cheddar Casserole

I really love my More-With-Less Cookbook. The recipe below is from it, though I have altered it slightly to make it one little bit easier (it was already a pretty simple recipe). As for crackers, I recommend Ritz. I’m particularly found of their buttery garlicky ones for this. Just a little extra decadence. This was really yummy. It tasted just a little bit like a quiche, but not quite. Because of that, it would be great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Perfect for a brunch, actually.

Carrot-Cheddar Casserole
3 cups cooked, mashed carrots
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/3 cup crushed crackers
2-3 tablespoons butter, softened
salt and pepper, to taste
parsley, chopped
topping:
more crushed crackers

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. In a greased baking dish, combine the ingredients and mix well.
3. Top the casserole with more crushed crackers.
4. Bake 30 minutes, or till top is nicely browned and a knife in the center comes out clean.

 

 

Carrot-Cheddar Casserole

Gratin of White Turnips, Carrots, and Rice

Gratin of White Turnips, Carrots, and Rice

I got my copy of “Superfoods: 300 Recipes for Foods that Heal Body and Mind” by Dolores Riccio at a really awesome sale at one of my local used bookstores. I have always liked turnips, but I’m sick of doing the two things I do most often with them: mash them with my potatoes or slip them into a stew. I wanted something different. This recipe might be my new favorite way to eat turnips. It’s really delicious. Of course, with all that butter and cheese and milk in it it’s not really a super healthy recipe, but I figure I can have it here and there in my life. If you want some meat with this, then I will tell you that I split the recipe in half into two baking dishes and made the one pictured here for me and made one for Jake with chicken in it. I made it super easy on myself and just fried and then shredded a couple of chicken breasts and mixed them into the rice and turnip mixture. If I’d thought ahead a little more I might make a chicken gravy instead of the mornay sauce for his dish of turnip and rice. He really loved it so I say go ahead and try this at home if you’d like. One thing that is missing here is seasoning. We found we had to add salt and pepper to our plates since there was none included in the cooking, but that’s a small price to pay for using up all the turnips I got from the CSA this week. The biggest problem with this recipe is that it takes a long to grate all the turnips and carrots. It’s super annoying. Now if you have a food processor it only takes a minute….I do not own a food processor, so I grated them all by hand and it took FOREVER. Ugh! This would also go a bit faster if you used leftover rice rather than making some fresh for this recipe. It’s easy enough to make a bit of extra rice for your stir fry one night and then save the rest for this the next night. Even with the difficulties I had with this recipe, I have to say, it was totally worth it and this one comes highly recommended.

Gratin of White Turnips, Carrots, and Rice
4 purple-topped turnips, peeled and grated
3 carrots, scraped and grated
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons dry white wine
2 cups cooked brown or white rice
2 cups mornay sauce
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
paprika, to taste

for the mornay sauce:
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Heat the butter in a large skillet and fry the turnips and carrots for a couple of minutes, turning once.
3. Add the wine, cover, and steam till the veggies are reduced by half, about 5 minutes, making sure that the skillet doesn’t dry out.
4. While the turnips and carrots are cooking, start the mornay sauce by melting the butter in a medium saucepan and adding the flour, stirring well to combine. Cook it for 3 minutes, then add the milk (you can make it easier by warming the milk a bit in the microwave ahead of time) and keep stirring constantly till the sauce is bubbling. Add the white pepper and the cheese and whisk till smooth.
5. Combine the veggies and rice in a buttered glass baking pan with about a 1 1/2 quart capacity.
6. Pour the sauce evenly over top and sprinkle the breadcrumbs, paprika, and parmesan over all.
7. Bake till bubbly and brown, about 35 minutes.

Broccoli and Spaghetti Squash Gratin

Broccoli and Spaghetti Squash Gratin

I really loved this recipe for Broccoli and Spaghetti Squash Gratin from the Vegetarian Times website. Spaghetti squash is one of Jake’s least favorite squashes. He’s not a big squash guy. So if I find a good way to cook one up that he’ll eat I take it and run with it. Unfortunately he caught me cooking the squash so he was tipped off as to its inclusion in this particular casserole. But I like to think that if he hadn’t realized it he would’ve liked this a lot more. I certainly loved it. The original recipe called for way more spaghetti squash and less broccoli, but I adjusted the quantities since I know Jake isn’t a fan. I also used cottage cheese rather than ricotta, a trick I learned from my mother. This would be a great brunch dish as well as a dinner one. The picture I managed to get doesn’t do this particular dish justice. I loved how all the flavors melted together in this one. It was rich without being overpowering.

Broccoli and Spaghetti Squash Gratin
1 medium spaghetti squash (1 ½–2 lb.)
4 cups small broccoli florets
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup grated Cheddar cheese, divided
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup low-fat milk
2 tablespoons low-fat cottage cheese
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Coat a 2-qt. baking dish with oil.
2. Pierce the spaghetti squash in several places with knife. Microwave it for 3 minutes on high power to soften. Slice off the ends, and cut straight down the length of the squash. Remove the seeds with spoon. Place halves cut side down on rimmed baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes, or until the squash yields when pressed.
3. Cool the squash cut side up 10 minutes. Scrape the squash halves with a fork to release the strands. Transfer the strands to large bowl.
4. Toss broccoli with oil in bowl, then add to squash along with 1/4 cup Cheddar.
5. Whisk together eggs, milk, cottage cheese, green onion, and mustard in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper, if desired, then stir into the squash mixture.
6. Spread the mixture in the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup Cheddar. Drizzle with olive oil.
7. Increase the oven temperature to 425°F. Bake on the top oven rack for 25 minutes, or until center is set and top begins to brown.

White Chocolate Strawberry Blondies

White Chocolate Strawberry Blondies

I found this recipe for White Chocolate Strawberry Blondies from Inspired Craft Ideas on Pinterest. And frankly, it’s totally brilliant. Jake’s niece loves pink. She also has a rather short attention span inspired by a million four-year-old girl interests. She’s a blur of activity and energy and exhausts the heck out of me most days. She’s also terribly hilarious and fun to have around. She will help me make cookies and cakes and things, but I have to choose my moments and my recipes wisely to keep her interested. The recipes have to be things that she can definitely do. She doesn’t want to sit around and watch. I’m guessing this is a trend with four-year-olds. This was the most perfect recipe for a four-year-old to help with. The use of boxed cake mix means it was fast and simple…just the thing for Jake’s niece. She was actually able to do every single step on her own (with a little help from me). She even got to proudly show off her egg cracking skills that she said her daddy taught her. I love this brilliant little kiddo.

Anyway, the real point is that this is a great recipe to do alongside kids. I’ve got an ingredient list for you below, but you’re going to have to go to the recipe on Inspired Craft Ideas to get the instructions. They’ve got a great set of step-by-step photos to illustrate the recipe. Amazing! A few tips from my own try at this recipe: know you oven and watch it. I had to leave my blondies in the oven an extra ten minutes to get them to cook through. I was using Jake’s mother’s oven, which I don’t know as well as my own and I had to improvise. I also changed the amounts of white chocolate, particularly to spread over the top. A half cup of white chocolate was way too much for me. You’ll also notice that the blondies on Inspired Craft Ideas are decorated with sweet little candy hearts. We didn’t decorate ours, but kids do love to decorate cookie-type things and I think it’s a brilliant idea. Give this recipe a try yourself. I’m sure you and your kiddies will love it.

White Chocolate Strawberry Blondies
1 box strawberry cake mix
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup white chocolate chips (for the blondie mixture)
1/4 cup for drizzling

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

I combined bits of a few different recipes to make this strawberry rhubarb cobbler. Here’s the real kicker though: I haven’t eaten rhubarb since I was a very little girl. Rhubarb pie was one of my dad’s favorites. He’d always try to get us to eat it and we always hated it…probably because it was tart. Dad never minded because that meant more pie for him. Our father was pretty clever. So when Jake’s mom wanted me to use up some of the rhubarb from the garden I was not enthused. Then she told me that using strawberries alongside sweetens up the rhubarb. I don’t remember if dad’s pies had strawberries or not, but I was willing to give it a try. We came up with the recipe below and upon taking my first bite I decided that I DID like rhubarb now. I immediately called my dad. At first he thought it was a joke, but once it became clear that I was serious I could almost hear the dots connecting in his head: So much for having his pie all to himself. Poor Dad! This recipe is great with ice cream. This recipe also left behind a lot of liquid in the baking dish. If you’re not a fan of this you can drain the leftover liquid into a small saucepan and reduce it into a sauce for ice cream. We just poured it over our mounds of vanilla.

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler
for the filling:
4 cups fresh rhubarb, diced
4 cups strawberries, hulled, the bigger ones halved
3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup orange juice

for the cobbler topping:
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1 egg

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. In a large bowl, mix the rhubarb, strawberries, orange zest and sugar.
3. Dissolve the cornstarch in the orange juice and mix into the rhubarb and strawberry mixture.
4. Place the mixture in a 9×13-inch baking dish and set aside.
5. Meanwhile combine the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.
6. Add the olive oil and butter and mix till combined.
7. Add in the milk and egg and stir till all ingredients are just incorporated.
8. Place a 1-2 tablespoon bit of dough into your palm, flatten it and place it on top of the filling. Keep making these small dough scales and laying them down like you’re putting on a roof or crafting a flat dinosaur with scales. (Haha!)
9. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes, or till topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbly and hot.

We cut a few roosters out of the dough for Jake’s niece.

Two Good Recipes

Happy March everyone! This week I’m leaving you with two great recipe recommendations while I’m fixin’ up a new recipe of my own mad design. The first comes from a great authoress, Amy Sedaris. Her book “I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence” is hilarious and helpful for all you little entertainers out there. I made her recipe for a smokey cheese ball when some friends came to visit. It was really delicious, particularly since it involves gouda. I recommend adding bacon or chipped ham if you’re a meat eater. If you’re not you can make it just fine without meat. Also remember that many brands of bacon bits are actually made from soy, not bacon (just a cheating tip). I’m recommending you pick up this book at your local library to snag the recipe. Actually, I would REALLY recommend that you listen to this as an audiobook because the Sedaris family (Amy’s brother is David Sedaris of “Santaland Diaries” fame) has a particular talent for being the most entertaining family ever.

Smokey Cheese Ball…mid mix.

The second recipe I’m recommending to you comes from Greg and Katherine, reigning monarchs of the alcoholic beverage. Their recipe for Pomegranate Rosewater Cocktails is really unique and delicious. We made this when another friend came to visit us from the icy lands of Alaska. Hanging out in our backyard in the late afternoon with one of these in hand made for a pretty relaxing visit. This is probably my favorite cocktail that I’ve tried (thus far) from Greg and Katherine’s repertoire. They’re always the ones to watch for this kind of thing.

Pomegranate and Rosewater Cocktail

Anyway, a lot of changes are coming in the next year. Your 20s and 30s seem to be a really changeful time in life. This has held true for me, at least. And our biggest change will be a change of scenery. Hopefully I’ll have more news sooner rather than later.

Thai Rice Cake

Rice cake, flipped onto its serving plate.

I’d been waiting for a good occasion with gluten-free folks to make this cake from my “Encyclopedia of Vegetables and Vegetarian Cooking Cookbook”. My chance finally came last year at Thanksgiving 2013. This is the latest recipe ever, I know, but for some reason I just kept putting off putting it up. Which is really bad of me since the holidays came and went and this would’ve been the perfect gluten-free dessert recipe. I figured this was my moment to post it, since I’ve been bad about posting anything lately. I had a lot of decisions to make in my life. I’m going to be 31 this year and though that isn’t old it’s time for me to be honest with myself about what I want out of my own life, particularly since I’ve got multiple degrees and some experience in the job world. This soul-searching led me to take a hiatus and make changes. That’s not what’s important though. This recipe is important. Why? Because I love it. It’s different and it’s fun and it’s unexpected. You think of gluten-free recipes as using different expensive flours. Would you expect them to use rice? Give this a shot. I think you’ll have fun with it.

A cut slice. So you can see the inside-y parts.

This is a 2 day recipe. I made the actual cake part the night before and made the topping the day of Thanksgiving. The recipe in the book uses raspberries, kiwi fruit and star fruit to decorate. As you can see by my cake, I went all out with berries. I used blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. I decorated the top of the cake and then kept the rest on the side for people to choose how much of each they wanted. This recipe also made me realize that I don’t own a cake pan. At all. So what did I use? A pyrex mixing bowl that was oven safe. Don’t say it can’t be done. Some of the best ideas come from not having the things you “need.” This meant my final cake was a lovely domed shape. I was amazed at how this cake came together in the end. It was almost custardy tasting to me and the rice cake actually cut like a dream. Seriously, it was way easier to slice than a normal cake. Two thumbs up for your next gluten-free gathering!

Thai Rice Cake
1 1/4 cups Jasmine rice
4 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup superfine sugar
6 teaspoons ground cardamom
2 bay leaves
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
6 eggs, separated

for the topping:
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
grated rind of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons superfine sugar
fresh berries and fruit to decorate

1. Grease and line a deep 10-inch round cake pan.
2. Boil the rice in unsalted water for 3 minutes. Drain.
3. Return the rice to the saucepan, adding in the milk, sugar, cardamom and bay leaves. Bring to a boil then simmer the mixture 20 minutes, stirring periodically.
4. Let the mixture cool and remove the bay leaves. Turn the rice mixture into a mixing bowl.
5. Beat in the heavy cream and then the egg yolks.
6. Preheat the oven to 350F.
7. Whisk the egg whites till they are softly stiff and fold them into the rice mixture.
8. Spoon the mixture into your prepared cake pan and bake 45-50 minutes, until the cake is risen and golden brown. The center of this cake will be a bit wobbly and will firm as the cake cools.
9. Chill overnight in the pan.
10. Turn out onto a large serving plate.
11. Whip the heavy cream till stiff. Then stir in the plain yogurt, vanilla extract, lemon rind, and sugar.
12. Cover the top and the sides of the cake with the whipped cream. You can swirl it all fancy if you want. Decorate it with your fruits and berries. Share it with everyone!

Thai Rice Cake

Macaroni Soufflé

Macaroni Soufflé

I’ve been meaning to try this recipe from the “Encyclopedia of Vegetables and Vegetarian Cooking” for two years now and just never got around to it. For one, I don’t actually keep macaroni on hand at the house. Which means I have to remember to put it on the list so I buy it at the store. I’m terrible at these things. I should be more used to looking at my cookbooks to see what I’d like to make for the week and then writing down a list of all the things I need for each recipe. But my life being one of necessary frugality I usually shop by buying what’s on sale–not always what I would like to get. And so this recipe has lived in its cookbook alone, waiting patiently till my cookbook flipping coincided with a sale on macaroni at the grocery store

Macaroni Soufflé
3 oz. elbow macaroni
melted butter, to coat
3 tablespoons dried bread crumbs
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon ground paprika
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups milk
6 tablespoons grated Cheddar or Gruyere cheese
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
salt and black pepper, to taste
3 eggs, separated

1. Cook the macaroni according to the package directions. Drain well and set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 300F.
3. Brush the insides of a soufflé dish with melted butter and then coat evenly with the bread crumbs. Shake out any excess crumbs.
4. In a saucepan, bring the butter, paprika, flour and milk to a boil slowly, whisking constantly till the mixture has thickened.
5. Simmer the sauce for a minute and then remove it from the heat and stir in the cheeses till they’re thoroughly melted.
6. Season well with the salt and pepper and mix in the macaroni, making sure to coat all of the macaroni with the sauce.
7. Beat in the egg yolks.
8. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites till they form soft white peaks. Spoon a quarter of the egg whites into the macaroni mixture, beating it gently to loosen it up.
9. Using a large metal spoon, carefully fold in the rest of the egg whites and transfer to the prepared baking dish.
10. Bake in the center of the oven for about 40-45 minutes, until the soufflé has risen and is golden brown. The middle should be just slightly wobbly and the soufflé should be lightly creamy inside.

Mushroom Gougere

Mushroom Gouger

Yum yum yum! I love mushrooms. This recipe from the “Encyclopedia of Vegetables and Vegetarian Cooking” and I’d been wanting to make it for quite a while. I finally had my chance when Jake left for Alaska back in August. Sadly I hadn’t gotten around to posting it till now. I thought this was really delicious, but I think I can do better next time. The flavors are really mild, making this a great choice for folks who may not like things that are super herby or spicy (I know a few of those people). But if you’re not scared of a little bit of oomph you may want to try adding in some extra herbs and spices to give this a bit more of a punch. I think next time I’ll be adding some sage to the recipe, or maybe more of the curry paste or some curry powder. Sadly, I’ll have to wait for Jake to leave before I can make it again. Drat!

Mushroom Gougere
for the crusty bits:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup cold water
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup diced Gruyere or Gouda

for the filling:
1 small onion, sliced
1 carrot, coarsely grated
1 cup sliced white mushrooms
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon mild curry paste
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups milk
2 tablespoons parsley
salt and black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons flaked almonds

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Grease a 9-inch shallow ovenproof dish, or use a pie pan.
3. To make the pastry, sift the flour and salt into a small bowl.
4. In a large saucepan, heat the butter and water on low till the butter has melted, not letting the water boil.
5. Dump the flour into the saucepan all at once.
6. Beat the mixture quickly with a wooden spoon till the lumps smooth out and the mixture begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. Turn off the heat and let it cool for 10 minutes.
7. Beat the eggs into the mixture gradually till a soft, but structured dough forms.
8. Stir in the cheese and then use the dough to line the sides of the pie pan.
9. To make the filling, sauté the onion, carrot and mushroom in butter over medium heat for 5 minutes.
10. Stir in the curry paste and then the flour till well incorporated.
11. Gradually add in the milk, stirring constantly till thickened.
12. Add in the parsley and season with salt and pepper.
13. Pour the mixture into the center of the pastry in the pie pan.
14. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the dough is risen and golden brown.