Fried Rice with Asparagus and Chicken

I found some leftover brown rice in my fridge and decided to put together a spring inspired fried rice for dinner last night. I diced asparagus to use in place of peas, which are not yet in season, and Jesse grilled up chicken breast because we try to use the grill as much as possible in warm weather. Jesse actually hates Chinese food, so he was a little worried at first, but in the end he declared it was leagues better than takeout fried rice.

Fried Rice with Asparagus and Chicken
1-2 cups leftover brown rice
1 large onion
1/2 lb asparagus
1/2 lb grilled breast
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
salt
pepper

Heat wok or pan to medium high and coat with olive oil. Chop onion into large pieces and sautee until translucent and browned. Rinse and dice asparagus and add to the pan. Sautee approximately 5 minutes, until asparagus is slightly softened. Add rice and continue to cook over medium high heat for another 5 minutes to flavor the rice. Meanwhile, shred grilled chicken into small pieces and add to pan. Finally, add soy suace, vinegar, tumeric, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper, and toss to coat.

The Weekend

It was finally warm enough this weekend to walk outside bare legged (!). Makes SUCH a difference.






After a pre-dinner trip to the Split They Skull festival at Mug's for some strong beers, we were drunk and I was feeling lazy, so I convinced Jesse to cook dinner.

He knows how to cook, he just doesn't do it very often. Risotto was one of the first meals we made together. Sausage and carrot is my favorite. If you don't have wine on hand, you can use Budweiser or another light beer, which is what we often do. Jesse done good.


After a bottle of wine, we got even drunker. And then he danced to funk with the dog.

Healthy Beans and Rice

It's a typical story but true - after gorging on food of all sorts over the holidays, I actually couldn't stand the thought of any more sugar and started craving whole grains and greens. So I devised this healthy version of rice and beans, with spinach, brown rice, and quinoa for added nutrition. For flavor, I tossed in salsa and cheddar cheese, but plenty of other cheeses would work well with this. Likewise, feel free to swap in an onion for the leek depending on what you have on hand.

Jesse called it his "favorite thing you've ever made." Of course - this is exactly the kind of one pot dish he loves - a creamy bowl of hearty grains, protein and greens. I only wish I had made more because he ate about 3 straight servings, leaving me without leftovers, so next time I might double the recipe.

Healthy Beans and Rice

1 cup dried black beans (or 2 cans black beans)
1/2 cup brown rice
1/2 cup quinoa
1 leek
1 bunch spinach
1/4 cup grated cheese
1 cup salsa
salt
pepper
crushed hot pepper
cumin

Soak dried beans overnight (or bring to a boil and then let soak for one hour). Rinse beans and then return to pot covered with two inches of water. Bring to a boil and simmer until tender, about 60-90 minutes.

Combine rice, quinoa, and 2 1/2 cups water in a small pot, and simmer for about 40 minutes until rice is tender.

After about 30 minutes, rinse and chop the leek into half moons. In a large pan, sautee leeks over low heat. Then rinse the spinach, chop into small pieces, and sautee until wilted. Add salsa to pan to warm.

When rice and beans are done, combine in pan with spinach, grated cheese, salsa, and spices. Makes about 4 servings.

The Usual

This is how most weeknight dinners in my home end up. I cook a big one-pot dish that includes some form of protein, vegetable, and grain, and then we each eat a bowl or two of it for dinner, and the rest goes into tupperware stored in the fridge and freezer for future lunches/dinners/Jesse's midnight drunk ransacking of the kitchen.

Pictured above is my naive attempt at making Indian food at home: a variation on aloo gobi, with the addition of chickpeas for protein. I simmered dried chickpeas until soft, while cooking brown rice, and while boiling cauliflower and potatoes until tender and while defrosting blanched summer tomatoes from the freezer. Then I sauteed onions in a big pot until translucent, added in the potatoes, cauliflower, chickpeas, and rice with a whole heck of curry powder (probably 2 tbps), tumeric, cumin, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper and simmered it all together a few more minutes. Not as good as what you'd get at an Indian restaurant. But good enough for a healthy, everyday kind of meal.

Adventures in Freeganism

I was happy to join fellow blogger, Megan of Fix, at a freegan dinner this week. Called Grub, the dinner is hosted biweekly (or maybe monthly?) by In Our Hearts and is open to anyone who chooses to wander into this out-of-the-way space in Brooklyn. Jesse was a confused by my interest in freeganism, and he envisioned lots of stale donuts and bagels and rotting food that would make me sick. Moreover, he argued, the quality of this food goes against your interest in eating fresh, locally grown food. Which is a good point, but I also believe in the value of keeping food out of the trash and finding ways to stem the tides of waste of our throwaway society. Adam on Wild Green Yonder has an excellent discussion of the extent of food waste in New York City, and the New York Times also recently reported on freeganism as a growing trend.

Neither I nor Megan were sure what to expect, but I was certainly pleasantly surprised by the delicious array of vegetables on the menu. It felt like one of the healthiest meals I'd eaten in a while. Not all of the food was freegan, some of it coming from someone's garden and from a CSA, in addition to grocery store dumpsters. Amazingly in all, this multicourse meal for forty people cost the hosts only $36, for which they accepted donations. We ate dinner on the roof, where there was a garden and a "lovely" view of the BQE (unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera up there). I brought along couple beers because the post said BYOB, but no one was drinking so the beers came back home with me. Proof that the world does not revolve around alcohol (ahem Jesse).

This is not to say I am about to become a freegan, although I am curious to go on a dumpster diving run and see how it goes down, how people even know where to look for the food. It was a refreshing change of pace to go out, do something on my own, meet new people - things I wish I could push myself to do more often. I enjoyed chatting and biking with Megan, and perhaps not surprisingly, I ran into a few people I know peripherally. I really liked Grub's message about "looking for practical ways to build community" because a sense of community is something that I've found lacking in New York City. I miss the time spent with friends at the cooperative dorm on my alma mater, where the residents shared the responsibilities of cooking and cleaning and ate communal dinners. After two years of post-graduate life in New York City, I still have no semblance of a community, with everyone scattered throughout the city, plans too hard to make. I didn't find a new community on Sunday night, but maybe this will motivate me to seek out more new experiences that interest me.

After dinner, many bags of lettuce and greens (from the CSA I think) and bread were leftover, and I was happy to take some away at their urging. But once home, I realized that this left me with the question of how to use up all the extra food I myself now possessed. A condundrum made worse by the fact that I'm leaving for a long vacation on Friday.

So I decided to pass on the goodwill by using all these veggies to cook dinner for a friend. Tonight, another Meagan came over, and I made a vegetarian peanut sauce stir fry. I sauteed an onion, carrot, and half a zucchini from the greenmarket in olive oil, then added baby bok choy from Grub until wilted, while lentils and rice from my pantry simmered away in separate pots. I whisked together a peanut sauce from a couple tablespoons of peanut butter, a teaspoon of tahini, a tablespoon of soy sauce, about a cup of warrm water, along with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper for a spicy kick. Once plated, I draped it in the peanut sauce and garnished the meal with sunflower sprouts from Grub. Peanut sauce stir fry was one of my favorite go-to meals in college, which I haven't made much since then because Jesse is not a fan, so it was nice to return to this simple (cheap!) and delicious dish.

Continuing to work through the perishables in my fridge, I also prepared myself a healthy grilled zucchini sandwich for lunch tomorrow. I sliced the other half of the zucchini, loaded it up with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and then grilled until charred and tender. I don't like zucchini much, but grilling somehow transforms it into tastiness. The zucchini strips went on a sandwich with homemade tofu cream cheese, a few basil leaves from my deck, and the rest of the sunflower sprouts.

I made the tofu cream cheese last week with my sister's guidance and wanted to use it up, since I figured it probably won't last as long as store-bought tofu cream cheese. It was easy to make by throwing half a package of tofu (pressed for an hour first) into the food processor with a couple garlic scapes, salt, pepper, a handful of almonds, a handful of parsley, several shakes of nutritional yeast, a dash of cayenne pepper, a few teaspoons of vinegar, and a few teaspoons of water too. Similar to the tofu garlic scape pesto salad, but in spreadable form. Really whatever spices you have on hand will work, and cashews can be used in place of almonds. My sister also recommends making tofu cream cheese with sundried tomatoes and herbs.

This picture is a good literal representation of where my mind frequently wanders: into the kitchen wondering what to cook next. I've now successfully eaten or cooked for later all my produce for the week, with the exception of kale from Grub, which my roommate promises me she will eat while I'm gone. I'm thinking of transforming some of it into a kale basil pesto first to take along my camping trip, but I'm not sure how long that will stay good in the cooler. So although i was unable to make any completely local meals this week for One Local Summer, Greenmarket and CSA ingredients found their way into every meal, and by participating in Grub, I helped to divert food waste from the landfill, so I'd say that balances it out.

PS. If I don't post again for a couple weeks, it's because I'm on a camping vacation in Maine, enjoying the woods, ocean, lobster, blueberries, and beer!

Rice Pilaf with Chickpeas and Spring Vegetables

My dear fun sister Lisa is graduating from college next week, and what would graduation be without a party to celebrate? My mother has relinquished cooking responsibilities for her graduation party to Lisa and I, our family's resident foodies. I love planning and cooking for parties so it wasn't long before we started brainstorming ideas, some of which will surely appear here after the fact. Among those ideas was a light pasta with spring vegetables, which transformed into a rice pilaf instead, because I have a hard time warming up to tomato-sauce-less pasta. I made a test run tonight, and the healthful combination of rice, chickpeas, and tender green vegetables was so wonderful that this one is being added to my rotation.

Spring garlic, also known as green garlic, has just come into season and is making the rounds on the blogosphere. I was eager to try it when I saw it at Union Square today, especially because I figured it would go perfectly in the rice pilaf I had planned for dinner. Spring garlic looks, slices, and cooks like the texture of a small leek, but with a sharper garlic taste and smell. I wasn't sure if I could cook the whole plant, since google resulted in conflicting advice. In his artful New York Times article, Daniel Patterson seems to be telling us only to use the white and light green parts. Meanwhile, Farmgirl Fare encourages us to go ahead and use the whole thing. So I did what seemed right, which was to use the whole stalk, minus the tough outer dark green leaves. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.


This dish is brilliant and warm and very green, like early spring. The creamy chickpeas, heightened by an hour of simmering and a bright tinge of lemon, contrasted perfectly with crunches of asparagus and mouthfuls of soft rice. It would have been more perfect if I were capable of cooking fluffy rice instead of the gummy wet rice that always comes out of my saucepans, but that's a challege for another day. I used a mixture of brown short grain rice and black himalayan rice, lending it a colorfully dark hue, but any rice that pleases you would suit this, as would bulgur or orzo I think.


Likewise, other spring vegetables such as peas or fava beans (which are not yet in season here in New York) would also do well in this dish. I couldn't much discern the green garlic, but I'm sure it helped things along. The parsley came from my herb garden, where it is flourishing over all the other herbs, straight on its way to becoming a veritable bush of parsley. And the cheese is optional, but cheese makes everything better, don't you think? I was out of parmesan, so I used a sharp Edam-like cheese, or a swiss cheese would work.


Rice Pilaf with Chickpeas and Spring Vegetables

3/4 cup dried chickpeas
1 cup rice
2 stalks spring garlic
1 bunch asparagus
couple handfuls baby bok choy
1 tsp lemon juice

The day before or that morning, place chickpeas in a pot covered with a couple inches of water to let soak.

After 6-24 hours, drain chickpeas, rinse, and return to pot. Refill with water, again covering chickpeas by a couple inches, and add a pinch of salt to water. Bring to a boil and then let simmer 45-90 minutes until chickpeas are tender. Drain and set aside.

Just after starting chickpeas, combine rice with 2 cups water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and let simmer until rice is tender.

While chickpeas and rice simmer away, clean spring garlic as you would leeks and dice its stalks, discarding tough dark green leaves. Sautee spring garlic in olive oil over medium low heat.

Rinse asparagus and break off woody ends where the asparagus naturally breaks in your hand. (Reserve ends for future use, such as soup or dip.) Chop asparagus into one-inch pieces and sautee with garlic for a couple minutes.

Rinse and roughly chop baby bok choy and add to sautee pan. Continue to sautee another few minutes until wilted.

Combine chickpeas and rice in pan with vegetables. Stir in lemon juice and salt pepper and pepper to taste. Add grated cheese, if desired, and garnish with parsley.

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Perfect Spring Dinner

Now that it's spring, what better way to celebrate than to head to Brooklyn Botanic Garden to see the cherry trees in bloom. Admission is free on Saturdays if you can manage to get there before noon. So last weekend after our hearty breakfast of eggs and ramps, we biked down to the BBG. Well I thought it would be mostly downhill. I'm not sure why, except that going south always seems like it should correspond with going downhill. Little did I know that it would actually be uphill most of the way on Washington Ave to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. I guess that would be why they call it Prospect Heights. I was huffing and puffing, and the hill seemed to have no end, with just ten minutes to go before noon. But we managed to make it with minutes to spare. And it was worth it to see tons of pink cherry trees in full bloom.


I particularly liked the culinary beds, to indulge in fantasies of my own vegetable garden. I think swiss chard is such a pretty plant, with its bright colors and shiny leaves.


I also liked the garden paths winding around a pond with Japanese sculptures, lined with elegant weeping cherry trees, willows, and Japanese maples, complete with cute turtles sunbathing on rocks!



There weren't a lot of flowers out this early in the spring, but there were pretty tulips.


I'd like to go back later in the summer to see how the garden changes with the seasons, to enjoy more colorful flowers, and to see how the vegetables and herbs in the culinary beds have grown.


Later that night we enjoyed a great dinner that felt so wonderfully springy because I was lucky enough to find the first asparagus of the season at the Greenmarket the day before. I snapped the tough ends off the asparagus, rolled them in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and then roasted them for 10 minutes at 400. Meanwhile, I let some quinoa simmer away while Jesse pan-fried thin flounder filets in olive oil and seasoned them with salt pepper.


To top it off, I mixed up an herb mayonnaise using garlic, lemon juice, and some parsley from my urban garfunkel garden. I'm not a big fan of quinoa. Although Jesse loves it for its high protein content, and we often substitute it for pasta or rice for that reason, I think it has a dull soft taste that can sometimes ruin a dish. But with a dollop of lemony fresh mayonnaise, the quinoa was transformed into something I could enjoy. And that is something to cheer about.


We enjoyed dinner with cold mugs of Wiesen Edel-weisse beer. It cloudy wheaty bright taste, great for warm spring or summer days, was the perfect complement to our meal.

Dark Days Challenge Final Week: Kale and Chicken with Bacon and Currants over Rice

In thinking of a way to use up the bacon I bought last weekend, I thought back to the kale salad with bacon vinaigrette that I had at Diner not so long ago. I loved that salad, with its delicate chiffonades of kale and crunch of bacon and breadcrumbs.


But I didn't think that the tight little leaves of kale I get from Garden of Eve farm would suit a salad. So I decided to cook the kale on the stovetop and make use of the bacon fat. For Jesse's benefit, I added in chicken (big strong man needs protein) and served it over rice (a complete meal must include a starch).


I also added currants, which was a nice touch. I think currants may be my new favorite pantry item. I bought them on my last stock-up trip to Fairway because they were the cheapest dried fruit by far (about $2/box compared to $8/box for blueberries etc, thinking I would use them to make homemade granola. Well, I haven't gotten around to making granola yet, but the currants were perfect in with kale and bacon - providing a nice salty-sweet complexity to the dish.


And while I was initially opposed to adding carbs to my green leafy-heavy meal, I think the rice also really benefited the meal, since bites of sweet black rice tasted wonderful with crunchy bacon. (Thanks again to Jesse's mom for the colorful rice!) The chicken breast, a lucky find at the farmers market a few weeks ago, was not the star of the show, and I would only include it if you have a craving for meat, or, like me, have a big strong man around who requires meat. And as for the shallots, you could subsitite onions as I normally would have, but I was lucky enough to get free shallots at the farmers market for having exact change :-)


Kale and Chicken with Bacon and Currants over Rice
3/4 cup rice
1 1/2 cup water
4 strips bacon
2 shallots
1/2 lb chicken breast
1 large or 2 small bunches kale
heaping handful of dried currants
salt
pepper

Combine rice, water, and a pinch of salt to a small pot. Bring to a boil and then let simmer for about 40 minutes until rice is tender.

Meanwhile, lay bacon in a large pan and cook over medium heat, turning every few minutes, until crispy. Remove and let drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

Mince shallots and cook in bacon fat over low heat until softened. Meanwhile, slice chicken into fairly small pieces. Add to the pan and turn heat up to medium to allow the chicken to brown. Turn chicken pieces over after a few minutes to brown the other side.

Meanwhile, rinse kale and chop into very small pieces. Add to pan and lower heat to low. Let wilt a little. Then add 1/4 cup water and cook, covered, for about 10 minutes. Tear bacon into bits and scatter bacon and currants over pan. Add salt and pepper and combine. Serve kale mixture over rice.

Paella

Jesse's mom was nice enough to gift me saffron rice, which is cool because saffron itself is so expensive I would never be motivated to buy it. So of course the first thing I thought to do with the fabulous yellow rice was to make paella. I have to be honest and say the only local ingredients in the paella were the seafood, onions and
garlic. I splurged and bought frozen peas for the occasion, because I felt like the dish really needed that green pep. Or maybe I'm just longing for spring...

Now I have no idea if I made paella authentically, but it definitely tasted great. First Jesse steamed a half dozen clams until the opened. Meanwhile, I sauteed some sausage and scallops together until they browned slightly. Next, I sauteed onions and garlic in olive oil until softened, then added rice, peas, the water reserved from the clams, a splash of wine, and some vegetable stock and let it simmer until
almost cooked. Then I added back in the clams, scallops, and sausage, and we feasted. I can't wait to do it again, next time maybe with more clams and calamari.

Dark Days Challenge Week 7: Braised Lamb Shanks and Cabbage over Rice

I know I said weeks ago that I would be making braised lamb shanks soon, but life got in the way. It was hard to find time to go to Union Square to procure the shanks from 3-Corner Field Farm, and then to find at least three hours to hang out in the house while the shanks cooked away in the oven. This weekend, I worked out a plan - Saturday I would stay home, bake bread, and cook lamb for diner, and then Sunday we could go out and play, somewhere upstate to indulge fantasies of wanting to move out of the city.


So while Jesse went out drinking in the afternoon (his typical weekend activity), I baked a loaf of bread, made crackers inspired by Straight by the Farm (that turned out too thick and tough because I didn't roll them thin enough and I skimped on the oil, so be careful about that), made a hummus with kale that turned out fab, made braised lamb, and and braised cabbage. I was going to make them in the same pan, until I realized that lamb is meant to braised in red wine and green cabbage is not. So two separate pans it was. And then Jesse made the rice. We used Red Himalayan Rice that was a gift from Jesse's mom, but you could also serve this over brown rice, polenta, or mashed potatoes. And then after we ate I did all the dishes while he watched TV. Housewife much??


After all that we were too full on crackers and hummus to really enjoy the meal. But at least we will have lots of tasty leftovers. I was a little disappointed by how fatty the lamb tasted, but maybe I should have expected that. Or maybe I should have done a better job cutting off the fat (I am horrible at cutting off fat, it's so hard to maneuver a slippery piece of meat and a knife.) But still overall a good dinner - tender meat falling off the bone, with soft warm wedges of cabbage and sweet red rice.


Braised Lamb Shanks
butter
olive oil
2 lamb shanks
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 cup red wine
2 cups chicken stock
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 325.
Trim fat off the lamb shanks.
Brown shanks in butter and olive oil over medium high heat, about 3 minutes on each side. Remove lamb and drain off most of the fat.
Add a little more olive oil to the pan and return lamb to pan. Sautee diced garlic and onion over medium heat with the lamb.
Once onion has softened, add red wine, salt and pepper. Bring to boil and then let simmer a few minutes until wine has reduced by half.
Add chicken stock, bring to boil, and let simmer a few minutes. Transfer everything to a casserole pan and add additional stock if needed, until shanks are covered halfway. Cover pan and place in oven.
Let braise in oven for 2 1/2 hours until tender, turning shanks over halfway.
Serve each lamb shank over rice and cabbage, with spoonfuls of the sauce the lamb was cooked in.


Braised Green Cabbage
1 medium head green cabbage
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup chicken stock
olive oil
salt
pepper

Once lamb shanks are in oven, prepare cabbage. Discard outer layer of green cabbage. Chop off bottom core. Cut into approximately eight wedges. Lay cabbage in a large baking dish. Dice onion and garlic and scatter over pan. Pour in chicken stock. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and olive oil. Cover and let braise in oven for 1 1/2 hour until tender.

Lentil, Sausage, Kale, and Rice Stew

Usually I'm not bothered by dishes that take their time to cook (see risotto, chili, dishes involving dried beans, etc), but today I kept looking at this pot, tasting the crunchy lentils, and thinking Why isn't this done yet? Finally, Jesse distracted me by taking our dog fora walk, whilethe stew lightly bubbled away. When we returned, it was done, finally, kind of like how a watched pot never boils. I was afraid it would be bland, but it's not at all. Instead it's surpsingly yummy - a sweet and tangy way to scarf down the healthfulness of lentils, kale, and brown rice (that sausage is just in there for fun).

I would make this again, but do one of two things to ease the long cooking time:
1. Soak the lentils for an hour beforehand so that they cook faster than the rice, instead of more slowly than the rice. It's been so long since I've made lentils that I forgot that's what the box recommends.

2. Throw all the ingredients in my crock pot in the morning and let the crock pot do its magic at low heat all day while I'm at work. Had I done that today, we could have eaten this when we were hungry, instead of filling ourselves beforehand on a bag of chips as a snack.

Lentil, Sausage, Kale, and Rice Stew
1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic
1/2 bunch kale
2/3 lb sausage
1 cup lentils
3/4 cup brown rice
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 1/2 cups water
2 cups chicken stock
salt
pepper
crushed red pepper

Dice onion and mince garlic. In a large pot, sautee onion and garlic in olive oil over medium low heat until they begin to soften.

Add sausage (broken into small pieces) and sautee over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sausage begins to brown. If you want, you could drain the pot at this point to remove sausage fat that has accumulated in the pot.

Meanwhile rinse kale and chop into small pieces. Add kale and 2 tbsp water, scrape bits off bottom of pot. Cover and let steam for a few minutes until kale begins to wilt.

Add lentils, rice, mustard, and balsamic vinegar, and stir to combine.

Then add water, chicken stock, and spices. Bring to a boil and let simmer about an hour until rice and lentils are tender, stirring occasionally. Add additional water if you like a soupier consistency. Serve with hunks of crusty bread or toasted pita.

Stuffed Kabocha Squash with White Beans, Kale, and Rice

We've been trying out new squashes from the Greenmarket, and this week we selected Kabocha, a Japanese winter squash. According to Wikipedia, it has a strong, sweet, moist, fluffy texture, but I didn't find that to be particularly true. It tasted a little more bland and bitter than butternut squash, and the texture was flat - but I think this is because of how we cooked it. First, we roasted it the first time with the insides up, and next time I would try with the insides down because in past squash-roasting experience that allows sweeter carmelization. Second, we didn't continue to cook the squash long enough once we added the stuffing. Jesse took it out too early, when we really should have left it in until it was mushier, or fluffier.

This is a labor intensive dish, because all of the components have to be cooked separately before being combined, stuffed, and cooked all together in the oven. After all that work, it turned out to be fairly bland. Next time, in addition to cooking the squash longer, I would add a lot more cheese, more salt, more pepper, maybe some crushed red pepper, and more spices in general. At least by the time I was eating the stuffed squash, I had drank enough wine to feel relaxed and able to enjoy eating this food that Jesse and I had prepared together for our friend. (Even though we had started the cooking process by fighting over cooking space and know-how in our tiny kitchen.)

I've been trying to cook with dried beans more often than canned beans, but it's hard because it involves knowing ahead of time when you will be cooking the beans, so that they can soak long enough. This time, I started the beans soaking in the early afternoon, and 5 hours turned out to be enough - the beans still cooked in an hour - so that's good to know.

To make this vegan, I would recommend adding soy cheese, since this dish really needs some kind of cheese to turn it from bland health food to a delicious dish.

Stuffed Kabocha Squash with White Beans, Kale, and Rice

2 medium sized kabocha squash

3/4 cup dry white beans, soaked in water for at least six hours or the night before (or 1 can beans)

2 2/3 cup water

1/2 cup short grain brown rice

1 cup water

1 bunch kale

1 small onion

3 cloves garlic

rosemary

sage

salt

pepper

olive oil

1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese

Drain beans that were soaking in a colander and then return to their pot. Add 2 2/3 cup water, 1 tsp olive oil, rosemary, sage, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil and then let simmer for approximately one hour, until beans are tender and a small amount of liquid is left.

Meanwhile, add rice and water to small pot, bring to a boil, and then let simmer for approximately 50 minutes, until rice is fluffy and all water has been absorbed.

Preheat oven to 400. Slice squash in half and scoop out seeds. Drizzle with olive oil. Place squash insides down on baking pan and bake for 20-30 minutes until slightly tender.

In a large pan coated with olive oil, sautee garlic and onion over medium low heat until softened. Rinse kale, tear into small pieces, and add to pan with a tbsp water. Place cover over pan to allow kale to steam, uncovering occasionally to stir so that garlic and onion don't stick to the bottom.

When all above ingredients are done, combine kale mixture and rice with the beans and bean liquid in the bean pot. Stir in cheese, rosemary, sage, salt, and pepper. Scoop mixture into squash halves. Roast stuffed squash in oven for additional 20-40 minutes, until squash is totally tender. Serves 4.

Moroccan Lamb Meatballs with Chikpeas and Tomatoes Over Pita

This recipe is based on one for lamb meatballs from the Amateur Gourmet. His recipe called for simple meatballs served with yogurt, but I thought I would prefer something more substantial. I decided go on a play of the Italian meatball hero - lamb meatballs instead of pork/sirloin/turkey mix; tomatoes and chickpeas with Moroccan spices instead of traditional tomato sauce; and warmed pita bread instead of toasted hero bread. I also cooked it all in the oven instead of frying to cut down on oil. It bubbled up nicely and tasted sweeter than I expected, maybe because my cilantro was wilting and lacking in flavor to cut through the other spices.
1 can chickpeas
1/2 can crushed tomatoes
1/2 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp coriander
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp sweet paprika
salt
pepper

Combine above ingredients in a baking dish. Preheat oven to 375.

1 lb ground lamb
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 onion, minced
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp coriander
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp sweet paprika
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves finely chopped
salt
pepper

Combine above ingredients in a bowl. Form into approximately 12 small meatballs and place in chickpe-tomato mixture in baking dish. Bake for approximately 35 minutes. Check to see if meatballs are done and add 1/4 cup fresh chopped mint and 1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro. Cook for another few minutes. Remove from heat and let cool a couple minutes. Serve over warm pita (or rice).

Grilled Chicken Saag, and Fried Calamari

Welcome to Part 2 of Welcome Back Jesse: Dinner - this one's a doozy. I decided to grill the chicken rather than brown it in the saucepan as recipes called for to make it a little healthier. That worked fine, but as you can see below, this meal requires many pots, dishes, and steps. It came out good on the end, spicy but not quite like Indian from a restaurant because I was lacking in spices such as coriander, cloves, garam masala, which I didn't feel like going out to get for this. But the best part - this dish is chuck full of spinach, so it's good for you!

1 1/2 cup rice
3 cups water
pinch of salt

1 1/2 lb chicken breast, sliced into 4 pieces
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp curry
salt and pepper
non-stick cooking spray

2 bunches spinach, washed thoroughly and chopped
1/4 cup water

four pitas
olive oil
salt and pepper

olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, minced
1 inch piece ginger, minced
1/2 green chili pepper, diced
1 tomato, diced
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp curry
salt and pepper

Step 1: Combine water, rice, and salt in a pot, bring to boil, and then lightly simmer until all water is absorbed, approximately 50 minutes.

Step 2: Rub chicken with spices. Grill on high five minutes, flip over and grill another five minutes, then grill on low for another five minutes till done. Remove from heat. Don't forget to turn off the grill!

Step 3: Put spinach in a pot with 1/4 cup water. Cover, bring to a boil, and remove from heat. When cool, grind in blender and set aside.

Step 4: Brush pita bread on both sides lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and lightly toast at 400 degrees for 5 minutes until warm and slightly toasty.

Step 5: Sautee garlic, onion, and ginger until lightly browned. Add tomato and other spices and simmer for 10 minutes. Add spinach puree and simmer about 5 minutes. Add chicken and simmer another 10 mintes until sauce has thickened. Remove from heat. Serve over brown rice with pita bread.

Fried Calamari



Also, the next night, Jesse fried up some calamari that was yummy. It was already washed by the fisherman - I think he just chopped it up and sauteed it on low with olive oil and minced garlic for about 45 minutes until it was tender. And tender it was - I like it much better this way than breaded and chewy like restaurants usually serve it.

Speaking of garlic, we went to the garlic festival in Saugerties today and it was somewhat disappointing. First of all, it was overwhelming - so crowded and so many vendors I didn't know where to start where to go and it was way too easy to keep losing my friends. Half the time was spent losing and meeting back up. Anyway, there were many stands selling what looked and tasted like high-quality garlic as well as garlic spreads and sauces etc. But the actual food to eat there was almost like any county fair - fried dough, tacos, and taco and pork all in pieces dripping with gross oil or whatever stand after stand so that was disappointing. For all the hype, I thought there would be intelligent dishes. Oh well, I'm so tired from being in the car so long I can't even think.

Rice and Beans

1/2 cup rice
1 cup water
extra virgin olive oil
1/2 green pepper
1 tomato
1/2 small onion
3 cloves garlic
2 cups or 1 can pinto or black beans
3/4 cup water or chicken stock
salt
pepper
crushed red chilli pepper
cumin
hot sauce
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

Combine rice and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, dice pepper, tomato, onion, and garlic and sautee in pan coated with olive oil for five to ten minutes until tender. When rice is 3/4 done, add rice, beans, and water or chicken stock to sautee pan. Simmer for about 15 minutes until water is absorbed and rice and beans are tender. Add spices and cheese (or no cheese to keep it vegan). Serves 3-4. Leftovers make great burrito filling.

Peanut Sauce Stirfry

1/2 cup brown rice
1 cup water

1 green bell pepper
2 carrots
1 small onion or 1/2 large onion
1 head of broccoli
1/3 package extra firm tofu

Peanut sauce:
3 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsbp sesame oil
1/2 cup hot water
1 clove garlic, minced
crushed red pepper
salt
pepper

In a small pot, combine rice and water. Bring to boil, and then lower to simmer. Let simmer for approximately 50 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all water has been absorbed.

Coursely chop all vegetables. Cut tofu into 1-inch cubes. Coat the bottom of a pan with non-stick cooking spray and sautee vegetables and tofu at low heat for 10 minutes.

Combine all ingredients for the sauce in a blender and blend until the sauce has the consistency of a thick liquid.

When the rice and vegetables are done, plate rice and vegetables, and pour sauce as desired over the dish. Serves 2.

Risotto

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes

1 lb chicken sausage
2 carrots
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup risotto rice
1 cup white wine
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
crushed red pepper
salt
pepper
1/4 cup grated parmesan

De-case the chicken sausage and cut into small pieces. Chop the carrots into small pieces.
Dice the garlic. Coat the bottom of a large pot with olive oil, throw in the sausage, carrots, and garlic. Cook at medium heat for 8-10 minutes until the sausage is no longer pink and the carrots are just starting to soften. Add the rice and then the wine. Turn the heat to low. Stir occasionally as the mixture simmers and the rice absorbs the liquid. When the liquid is mostly absorbed, add 1 cup of chicken broth. Again, stir occasionally as the mixture simmers and the broth is absorbed. Repeat this process, adding 1 cup of broth each time, and continuing to stir, until the rice and carrots are soft. Add the red pepper, salt, pepper, and parmesan. Serves 4.

NOTE: You can make risotto with any combination of ingredients. I prefer chicken sausage, but you might also try chicken breast or regular sausage. I like to get sweet sausage and add crushed red pepper to make it the level of spiciness I like, but if you like it spicier, buy spicy sausage. Make seafood risotto with shrimp and peas, for example. Make it vegetarian by using vegetarian broth instead of chicken broth and carrots, butternut squash, peas, mushrooms, onions, peppers, etc. Make it vegan by leaving out the parmesan.