Smoky Vegetarian Crock Pot Baked Beans

After a trip to the southern BBQ joint Blue Smoke, I was craving some more warm, tangy baked beans. I figured it would be easy enough to make in my crock pot. I was also lucky enough to receive a jar of Catskills homemade maple syrup as a gift from Jesse's coworker - I don't know how he made it, but his syrup has a crazy smoky flavor! So it was perfect for whipping up a smoky barbecue sauce to coat the beans. Thanks to the special syrup, this recipe tasted great without any bacon or pork (as baked beans traditionally include), but I think I'd be happy making these vegetarian again even without the benefit of the smoke.

Smoky Vegetarian Crock Pot Baked Beans

2 cups dried beans
1 onion, diced
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp smoky maple syrup
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp mustard
2 tbsp molasses
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp salt
several grinds of pepper

The night before, place dried beans in bowl to soak, filled with water about two inches above the beans.
Whisk together remaining ingredients and reserve in an airtight container in the fridge overnight.
The next morning, drain and rinse beans. Combine beans, barbecue sauce, and 1 1/2 cup of water in crock pot and stir until beans are coated in sauce. Let cook on low approximately 4 hours, turn to high for 2-3 hours, and then turn to low until ready to serve.

White Bean Dip

I haven't felt very inspired when it comes to cooking lately. My life is still all out of sorts, and I've moved but not really, so half of my cooking supplies are in one apartment, and half of them are in another. I made a couple of meals this week, but neither is worth dishing out to the blogosphere (pasta with roasted tomatoes and chicken; attempted indian spiced crock pot vegetables).

There's just one thing I've made recently that was a huge hit, unexpectedly. I had a "housewarming" party (for an apartment I haven't really been living in) last weekend, so I whipped up a white bean dip on the fly, not sure what to expect having never tried making a spread with white beans before, but everyone loved it. White bean dip is so flexible. I thought it would taste great with sundried tomatoes or roasted red peppers, but I didn't have time to procure those, while fresh herbs beckoned from my deck.

This week, as cool fall air begins to set in, I've really been itching to bake up a storm of sweet treats to satisfy my daily afternoon chocolate cravings, so hopefully you'll see some delectable baked goodies on here soon.

Roasted Garlic and Herb White Bean Dip

1 can white beans

2 cloves garlic, whole, unpeeled

1/4 cup olive oil

small handful fresh rosemary

small handful fresh thyme

zest and juice of 1/4 lemon

salt

pepper

Through the garlic onto the baking sheet while making crackers. After about ten minutes, when the crackers are done, squeeze the garlic out of its peels. Throw all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Add additional seasoning as needed. Spoon into a serving dish. Reserve a few of the fresh herbs to sprinkle over top. Serve alongside crackers.

Changing?

Things are changing in the world of the Wounded Chef.

But despite this, I still managed to get some fresh local foods in me. Last weekend, I grilled a chicken breast from Quattro and a red pepper, and so my lunch for the week was sandwiches of homemade whole wheat bread, garlic marinated grilled red peppers, and grilled chicken.

Just now for dinner, I made myself another peanut sauce stirfry with broccoli, pepper, onion, and the rest of the grilled chicken.

And yesterday I helped prepare food for a very vegetarian friendly barbecue. Earlier in the day I went to the farmers market to pick out goods for vegetable kebobs - peppers of varying colors, deliciously sweet cherry tomatoes, onion, zucchini, and mushrooms (from the supermarket because there were no mushroom vendors at the market yesterday). I chopped everything into 2-inch pices and then marinated them for an hour in a marinade using what my friend Cassie had in her pantry - soy sauce, water, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, and garlic powder. Then we painstakingly skewered all of the kebobs,and thankfully someone else did the grilling work. They were a big hit. Thanks to Cassie for hosting an amazing party - the high point might have been when a room full of singers belted out old-school angsty Alanis Morisette songs.

For the party I also made tabbouleh, a Mediterranean dish that is best eaten scooped up with pita chips, crackers, or flatbread. Last night we ate it with pita chips, but I saved some tabbouleh to bring to another bbq tomorrow, so to accompany that, I just made the rosemary flatbread from July Gourmet that Deb recently spoke so highly of. The recipe is similar to that of homemade crackers I've made before, but the addition of baking powder really lightens things up into a beautifully crisp and tasty flatbread, perfect for snacking. My past cracker were heavy and not crisp, no matter how thin I rolled the dough. Although, actually, I almost think this flatbread is too light - I would sub in half whole wheat flour next time to give it a little more flavor and heft.It's is going to be my new base recipe that I use whenever I want to make some kind of cracker.

Tabbouleh

1 cup bulgur
1 1/2 cup boiling water
2 tomatoes
1 cucumber
handful of fresh herbs such as mint, parsley, basil
1/2 red onion
3 cloves garlic
1/2 lemon
2 tsp red wine vinegar
salt
pepper

Pour boiling water over bulgur in a bowl, stir, and let sit for 20-30 minutes until water is mostly absorbed and bulgur has softened. It will still be a little crunchy. Drain any extra water.

Meanwhile, chop vegetables and herbs into a fine dice and combine in a large bowl. Add the zest and juice of half a lemon, along with the red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper. When the bulgur is ready, add to the large bowl and stir to combine. It is best if made ahead of time and kept in the fridge for at least a few hours to allow the flavors to mingle.

Moroccan Carrot Dip and Hummus

This Saturday I held my annual holiday party, and for some reason decided to be ambitious and spend all day in the kitchen for it. It was nice to spend the day by myself cooking in a peaceful apartment. My roommates were both out all day so no one was in my way, and I just had my cute dog hanging out on the couch to keep me company.

When party time came, and people didn't eagerly gobble my food, I decided that I won't go to so much effort next time. No one cares that it was homemade. They would have been perfectly happy with storebought hummus and chips and chocolate and so on.

Early in the day, I made chips and dips. I used my old standby recipe for pita chips, which is always a crowd pleaser. Next it was time to tackle the food processor. Jesse got the food processor for Christmas. For some strange reason, he decided that we needed it. I was, and still am, skeptical about this, as I always got along fine in my life without one. Up until Saturday I had never used a food processor before. If I wanted to puree something, such as soup or pesto, I have always just done it in my blender.

I watched the 45 minute instruction video to see if I could get some idea of whether this device is actually useful. Interestingly, on the video they often put prepeeled and sliced vegetables into the processor to chop them up more finely and mix them. Now I think this is kind of silly. If you've already gone to the trouble of getting out a cutting board and a knife to chop a pepper into large pieces, why not just go all the way and knife it up into fine little pieces rather than having to use electricity and getting a whole other object in the kitchen dirty to chop it up more finely. Same goes for mixing cookie batter in a food processor. Are people too lazy to use their arm muscles anymore?

But I figured I should give the food processor a try, since it is ideal for making dips and spreads. After completing the recipes below for hummus and Moroccan carrot dip, I will agree that it is a lot easier to use the food processor than the blender for dips. I think I might also try using the food processor when I want to tackle pastry dough someday. But other than that, I think it will stay hidden in our makeshift kitchen storage, aka the underneath of a table in my living room (our kitchen is impossibly small).

Some Moroccan carrot dip recipes call for cinnamon and honey, so I included them. However, carrots are already sweet and this made the dip a little too sweet for what should be a savory snack, so I omitted them from my recipe below. The hummus came out great. In the next month I really want to try cooking Mediterranean food more often - hummus, falafel, tabouleh, tajine, and so on. Mmmm.



Moroccan Carrot Dip

4 medium sized carrots
1 large garlic clove
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ginger
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
juice of 1/2 lemon squeezed
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Chop carrots in large pieces and unwrap garlic clove, leaving it whole. Place carrots and garlic in a pot of salted water, bring to a boil, and then let simmer, partially covered, about 20 minutes until carrots are tender. Drain in a colander, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water. Let carrots cool for a few minutes.

Place carrots and garlic in food processer and process until smooth. Add cooking water and process again until smooth. Add spices, honey, and lemon juice, and process again. Add olive oil slowly while the machine is running. Taste and add more spices to your liking. Spoon into a serving bowl, drizzle with a little olive oil, and serve with pita chips.



Hummus

1 cup dried chickpeas
1/3 cup tahini
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 garlic cloves
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
dash of paprika

Put the raw chickpeas in a pot with cold water to cover and soak overnight.

The next day, drain and rinse the chickpeas, then place them in the pot and cover with about an inch of water. Add one whole clove of garlic to the pot. Bring to a boil, and then simmer, partially covered, for about an hour or until the chickpeas are tender.

Drain the chickpeas and garlic, reserving the cooking liquid. In a food processor, process the chickpeas and garlic until finely ground. Add tahini, lemon juice, remaining garlic clove, and 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and process until smooth. Add cumin, salt and pepper and process again, adding more of these spices to taste. While food processor is running, add 2 tsbp olive oil. If consistency is too thick, add more of the cooking liquid a little at a time until hummus is smooth and paste-like. Spoon hummus into a serving bowl, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle paprika over the top. Serve with pita chips.

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.

Potato Salad with Basil Oil, Tomato, and Onion

This dish is inspired by the August 2007 Bon Appetit - potato salad with basil oil. Because I had potatoes and basil and wanted to use them up. However, I also wanted to use my bounty of tomatoes and onions, so I decided to add them into the mix. Also, the Bon Appetit recipe called for me to make a basil oil and a dijon vinagraitte but 1- i didn't think they would taste great together and 2-why complicate things? so i stuck with just the basil. it didn't get the best rating from my boyfriend, but it will do. i just had this for dinner because i didn't feel like making a main meat dish, but it would be good as a side too, with pesto or balsamic chicken.

1 large potato

1 tomato

1/4 onion

1/2 cup basil

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 tbsp hot water

salt

pepper

In large saucepan, bring enough water to boil to cover potatoes with 1 inch water. Meanwhile, chop potato into 1 inch cubes. When water boils, add potatoes, lower heat to medium, and simmer until potatoes are tender, approx. 10 minutes. Meanwhile, blend basil with 3 tsp olive oil, 3 tbsp hot water, salt, and pepper. Dice onions and tomatoes and combine in a bowl. Add basil mixture to bowl. When potatoes are tender, drain in collander and add to bowl. Serve as warm summer side dish for two.

Bruschetta

Fresh loaf of bread - baguette, or in my case, whole wheat Italian
2 tomatos or 1 large tomato, diced
1/4 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
handful of basil, torn into small pieces
1/4 cup grated parmesan
olive oil

Preheat oven to 375. Slice bread and place on baking sheet(s). Rub bread with garlic and brush with olive oil. Bake in oven for approximately 5 minutes, until bread is golden brown and crunchy. Meanwhile, combine tomato, onion, garlic, basil, parmesan and a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a bowl. When bread is done, let cool for a few minutes before arranging on a plate. Spoon bruschetta mixture over bread. Makes a great August appetizer with ingredients fresh from the farmers market. Make it vegan by leaving off the parmesan.

Whole Wheat Rosemary Crackers

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup dried rosemary
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup warm water

Preheat the oven to 350F. Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, rosemary, and garlic powder in a large bowl. Add the oil and water, and mix well. Mix with hands if necessary. The dough will be a little sticky, but it shouldn’t be hard to handle. If it feels too sticky, add a little more flour. Flour a work surface, and a rolling pin, and roll the dough out as thin as possible, approximately 1/16 inch.
Use a knife to cut the dough into rough squares. Lightly oil a baking sheet and place crackers about 1/2 inch apart on the sheet. Bake for approximately 15 minutes.

(From Kitchen Illiterate)

Corn and Black Bean Salad

3 small ears of sweet corn, shucked
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tomato, diced
1/2 a red onion, diced
juice from 2 limes
1-2 tsbp olive oil
1 tsbp white wine vinegar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp fresh cilantro
salt and pepper
spinach

Place corn cobs in large pot and just barely cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove corn and let cool completely. Cut kernels from the cob into a bowl. Add beans, tomato, and onions. In separate bowl, stir lime juice, olive oil, vinegar, cilantro, and spices. Pour vinagrette over vegetables, toss, and serve over baby spinach.

Adapted from Kitchen Illiterate

Potato and Leek Soup

white and pale green part of two large leeks, split lengthwise, washed well, and chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup chicken broth
2 large potatoes, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
1 tbsp fresh parsley, minced

In large saucepan, cook the leeks in olive oil with salt and pepper to taste, covered, over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are softened but not browned. Add the water, the broth, and the potatoes, and simmer the mixture, covered, for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. In a blender, puree half the soup, stir the pure into the remaining soup with the parsley, and season the soup with salt and pepper. Serves 2 generously.

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.