super fast arrabiata

i bit the bullet and started cooking real meals in austria. why? because the weather has been so cold and rainy this summer that the very idea of another salad or sandwich for dinner was unbearable. lunch is usually the warm meal in the summer, but i've started preparing warm dinners to counter the weather. i had been eating a lot of veggie stirfry with lentils, but today i realized that i needed some major protein if i was going to be able to get more work done this evening.

i went into the store with the intention of just whipping up one of my chickpea dishes (see the winter chickpea soup post for the basic gist), but couldn't find any chickpeas. (where am i that they don't have chickpeas? geez.) i spotted some ready-to-boil ravioli and remembered that i had chiles, tomatoes and onion at home. i grabbed some baby spinach and a package of salami and ran home to my kitchen.

here's the arrabiata (spicy tomato) sauce i made for my ravioli:

ingredients:

1/2 small/medium red chile, finely chopped (adjust to taste)

1/2 small onion (add some garlic if you want, too, i just didn't have any on hand)

2 generous handfuls of baby spinach

12-15 cherry tomatoes, chopped in half or quarters (use your judgement)

6 slices of salami, folded and chopped

olive oil

black pepper to taste

instructions:

boil water for the ravioli

heat olive oil in a separate pan

chop all veggies and salami

when the oil is hot, toss in onions, garlic, chile and salami

sautee until the onions are soft and the salami is getting kind of crispy looking

(by now you should be boiling the ravioli as well, so time it right)

add the tomatoes and turn down the heat on the sautee pan

as the tomatoes begin to soften, push down on them with a fork to squish them

crack some black pepper over the top and let it simmer for about 3 minutes

rinse and add the spinach, and let it sautee, too.

by now your ravioli should be done. scoop them out of the cooking water with a slotted spoon and dump them into the sautee pan. let them sautee with everything for up to 5 minutes. keep the temperature low.

my amount of pasta only made for 2 adult-sized portions, so just use your judgement and scale up the recipe when cooking for more people.

enjoy!

spicy sweet potatoes are where it's at

well, i needed something i could whip up for a dinner party. i thought spicy sweet potatoes sounded like a fun idea, so i asked the internet for some ideas. here's what ended up happening. (sorry in advance for the cursory review, but do try these for yourself -- they're really quite easy and well worth the effort!)

i made a modified version of this recipe: (scroll past the flautas for the sweet potato recipe http://www.wellsphere.com/green-living-article/spicy-chile-glazed-sweet-potato-flautas/414863 )

ingredients:

2 chipotle peppers in adobo, minced

3 cloves garlic

1-2 tbsp adobo sauce (from the can with the chipotles)

3 tbsp agave paste (add more if the sauce has too much of a kick)

1/4 cup water

salt

pepper

(the recipe also calls for cinnamon and allspice, which i unfortunately didn't have)

to make:

sauce:

combine minced chipotles, minced garlic, agave, adobo, water, salt, pepper and other spices in a small bowl

taste for spiciness and add more agave if necessary

potatoes:

take 3 large sweet potatoes

wash, peel and cube them (bite-sized pieces work best)

preheat the oven to 425

toss them in half of the sauce

bake covered for 20 minutes

toss them with the other half of the sauce

bake uncovered for another 20-25 minutes (until soft)

i served them with wild rice and veggies, but, although tasty, the rice was just kind of an afterthought. i bet these would be really good with pulled chicken or pork. if you're not a meat eater, they would likely make wonderful enchiladas. we had asparagus and salad, and just adding more and more veggies to these makes a fantastic meal. these will be the dominant flavor, though, so don't plan any other particularly seasoned foods for the same meal.

enjoy!

corn-free diet thwarted by cheetos

...but 2011 is a new year.

i was reading back over my new year's resolutions for 2010 and assessing what had changed. i did manage to drop a lot of corn, but i also developed a strange love for cheetos (the trader joe's kind) during exam week.

but 2010 was also the year of the delicious salad, some forays into austrian cooking, a fall of gluten-free culinary exploration, and some delicious stews at home over christmas. here at the apartment we've added several new kinds of bread to our repertoire, as well. conclusion: i'm keeping all of it (even the cheetos) in my rotation for 2011.

here's to more posts in the new year.

cheers,

-a.

mock risotto!

today was a crazy rain day - the perfect day to try my hand at making risotto from scratch. unfortunately, i'm up to my ears in grading, lesson planning and schoolwork. the solution: mock risotto. it was ready in about 15 minutes (including prep time) and just the kind of warm, stick-to-your-ribs meal for such a rainy day.

preliminary notes for grocery shopping: i used up some leftover habaneros, but i'll leave the seasoning up to you. likewise, you could substitute another dark, leafy green for the spinach. tomatoes would be a perfect addition, but i didn't have any on hand. (you may have noticed that this recipe is strikingly similar to the winter chickpea recipe i posted last week. it doesn't have to be, i just happened to need to use up the rest of the stuff i cut into for that recipe.) this was a "what do i already have in the fridge" kind of meal, so you should feel free to be creative. the only obstacle is making sure that the dish is flavorful enough -- extra points if you do this with as little salt as possible!

ingredients:

3 cups cooked brown rice

1 can (approx 2 cups) veggie stock - you may not use it all, but you need it in case the rice starts sticking

1 medium onion

2 small cloves of garlic

2 large handfuls of spinach leaves, rinsed (add more if desired)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes (optional)

dash of salt (to taste)

juice of 1/2 lime

ground black pepper, sliced fresh peppers, sriracha - pick your seasoning

to make:

(cook the brown rice)

mince garlic, dice onion, mince peppers (if using)

heat olive oil in a shallow, wide saucepan/pot

sautee garlic, onions, peppers on medium heat until tender, stirring often

add rice, stir constantly to combine

when rice begins to stick, add about 1 cup of veggie stock

the stock should moisten the rice mixture, but it should not be too runny

stir frequently to make sure rice does not stick

allow mixture to come to a gentle boil

add the spinach (and diced tomatoes, if using)

stir - add more veggie stock if needed

cover and let the spinach wilt

taste, adjust salt/pepper

serve immediately

serves 2 adults as generous side or small entree

winter chickpea soup

hi all,

we're a few days into the lenten season, so it's back to exclusively veggie recipes until easter. here's one i came up with on a walk today and decided to fix up for supper. i'm really happy with the way it turned out - it's very tangy, and the sour cream really helps to temper the spice. it's also very, very easy to make.

winter chickpea soup

ingredients:

2 cans chickpeas (or 4 cups cooked, if you make your own)

1 can veggie stock (or 2 cups)

1 medium onion

2 cloves garlic

1/4 tsp white pepper

1 small habanero pepper

juice of 1 1/2 limes

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil

1 handful small tomatoes (cherry or grape)

2 handfuls uncooked spinach leaves (no need to chop or de-stem)

sour cream to garnish

to make:

coarsely chop the onion

mince the garlic

de-seed and mince the habanero (careful!)

heat a small soup pot and add the olive oil

sautee onion, garlic and habanero on medium-low heat until tender

drain & rinse the chickpeas in a colander

add to the onions and stir

add the veggie stock and bring everything to a boil

add the salt, white pepper and lime juice

cover and reduce heat, simmer for 5 minutes

slice the tomatoes lengthwise and add them to the pot

cover and simmer for 5 more minutes

add the spinach leaves - let them steam on top of the mix for about 3 minutes

stir in the spinach leaves and leave on low heat until you're ready to serve

garnish with sour cream and serve with a bit of broth

tips:

this should be thick like a stew. make sure to taste the chickpeas to make sure they're tender enough before you serve.

serves two adults as a main course. this will almost certainly make fantastic leftovers.

soup for folks with little time to cook

i have some kind of cold or allergy, apparently. when i went to the store to pick up some antihistamine, i thought i'd pick up a can of soup, too - you know, just for good measure. all of the soups looked pretty dismal and i didn't want to sacrifice my sodium intake for the next few days, so i decided to whip one up on my own. it was met with rave roommate reviews and only took about 20 minutes to have on the table.

ingredients:

2 cans of stock (chicken or veggie, your choice)

1 can chickpeas, rinsed well (2 cups, if you make from scratch)

2 cans black beans, rinsed well (or 4 cups)

2 cups frozen corn

1 habanero pepper, de-stemmed, de-seeded and minced (be careful!)

1 tsp white pepper

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

3 cloves garlic

juice of one lime

sour cream to garnish, optional

salt to taste (about 1/2 tsp)

equipment:

for best results, you'll need an immersion blender

to make:

bring stock, chickpeas, onions, garlic and white pepper to a boil

add habanero

blend with an immersion blender

add black beans, corn, lime juice

salt to taste

serve with sour cream

stir to reincorporate ingredients (particularly the pureed chickpeas) before serving and periodically throughout the meal.

enjoy. there are no tricks to this one. but do be careful with that habanero.

new year's revolution

well, i haven't posted for over two months, but that doesn't mean i haven't been cooking. i've been cooking up a storm, but more importantly, i've been restructuring my daily routine and learning how to subvert the big food industry.

perhaps you're thinking, "wow - that really came out of left field!" from my perspective, though, it's been more of a gradual progression; i couldn't have done this without the increasing familiarity with researching, buying, cooking and serving food that i've gained over the last year. in fact, this undertaking was the subject of my new year's resolution last year.

as i come up on one year of creative and highly rewarding cooking, i'm ready to officially up the ante for 2010. i've already dropped milk from my diet and am trying to reduce my intake of other dairy. i've also mostly dropped meat. but this fall i made a huge leap: i began baking my own bread and making my own butter. i keep butter on hand just in case, but now i just buy heavy whipping cream and shake it until i have butter and buttermilk. i haven't bought bread from the store for several months now and my roommate and i have gotten into a great baking rotation which includes our standby white bread, as well as challah, beer bread, soda bread and biscuits. life is good in our apartment.

today, i made another step forward - incorporating dry beans into my cooking routine. (you know how i love my beans.) i have a pot of black beans on the stove and am excited to eat them, freeze them, make chili out of them, feed them to my friends, and have none left so that i can make some more. it's just so great.

so, i'm in the final throes of the academic quarter right now, but as soon as i'm off for break, i'll post some of the great recipes from this fall: sweet potato salad, apple & goat cheese potato salad, beer bread, challah, turkey soup, black beans, roasted beets, etc.

as always, i'll post my adventures in cooking -and i'll continue to cook fun things and write about them in a way that assures that anyone can successfully make the dish- but i will also begin to chronicle my 2010 new year's 'revolution': subverting big agra and gradually moving towards a corn-free diet.

happy eating!

-a.