Vegetarian | I Can Cook That

Hummus Vegetable Pizza

It’s no secret that I love hummus. I’ve made quite a few different versions on this blog. So I was really excited when I was given the chance to sample some hummus through the Foodbuzz Tastemakers program. I was allowed to choose any hummus my little hummus-loving heart desired. But, I’ve actually tried them all before. And I’ve loved them all (some more than others, obviously). I decided instead to incorporate the classic hummus into a meal. A coworker gave me an awesome idea: hummus pizza. Brilliant!

Ingredients:

Pizza dough (I used Trader Joes)
Classic Hummus
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 package of sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 small onion, chopped (I used red because that’s what I had)
Roasted red peppers, chopped
Marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
1 goat cheese log
Cherry tomatoes, halved
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
cooking spray

Continue reading Hummus Vegetable Pizza

Pumpkin Ravioli with Gorgonzola Sauce

Are you getting sick of my pumpkin recipes? I think this recipe for Pumpkin Ravioli with Gorgonzola Sauce actually brings me to over a dozen posts on pumpkin-flavored desserts/meals. I wasn’t lying when I said I was pumpkin obsessed! Anyways, I’ve been trying to make this recipe for Pumpkin Ravioli with Gorgonzola Sauce from Cooking Light for almost 2 weeks, but for the life of me could not find wonton wrappers. I finally just adapted the recipe to use fresh pasta sheets from By George in Reading Terminal.

Ingredients (makes 3 servings):
1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon minced fresh sage
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, divided
6 pieces of fresh pasta lasagna sheets, rolled thinner if desired (I used pumpkin pasta, no surprise there!) – about 1 lb.
1 cup fat-free milk
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
1 tablespoon egg substitute or one egg, mixed
3 tablespoons hazelnuts, chopped
Fresh sage leaves for garnish

Note: It would be super helpful to have a ravioli stamp, (or ideally, to have a ravioli maker!) but you can get the same results by pressing firmly and separating using a knife.

To make the Pumpkin Ravioli with Gorgonzola Sauce, add a salted pot of water to your stove over high heat. Bring to a boil.

Begin by making the ravioli stuffing. Add the pumpkin, panko, Parmesan, minced sage, salt, pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg to a bowl. Mix to combine.

If you’d prefer to make the pasta as thin as possible, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough even more. Place a generous teaspoon of the pumpkin mixture on one sheet of pasta, evenly spaced (I used my stamp as a guide). My sheets were able to hold about 6 teaspoons of the pumpkin mixture.

Using a brush, surround the pumpkin mixture with a thin layer of eggwash. This will help hold the pasta pieces together.

Place another lasagna sheet on top of the original sheet, covering the pumpkin mixture.

Using the ravioli stamp, press firmly around each pocket of pumpkin mixture. If you do not have a ravioli stamp, just use your hands.

Using a knife or a pizza cutter, cut the ravioli into individual pieces. Repeat with remaining pumpkin mixture and lasagna sheets.

Your pot should now be boiling. Add half of the ravioli to the pot. Cook for about six minutes or until the ravioli begins to rise to the top.

While waiting for the past to cook, make your sauce. Add the milk and flour to a saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil and cook for one minute until it thinks slightly.

Remove from heat. Add the butter, stirring until it fully melts. Stir in the crumbled Gorgonzola. Add more minced sage leaves if you’d like.

Add 6 ravioli each to three plates. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons of the Gorgonzola sauce. Add a teaspoon of chopped hazelnuts, a few sage leaves, and a sprinkle of nutmeg.

This Pumpkin Ravioli with Gorgonzola Saucewas pretty darn good. I think it could handle a boost in nutmeg though; there was something missing from the overall flavor of the dish.

I strongly suggest adding a lot of sage leaves to the plate, a bite of fresh sage with every forkful was delicious!

I liked using fresh pasta instead of wontons; wontons tend to break apart in the cooking process, especially with a heavier filling like pumpkin.

I wish I knew what ingredient would really kick this recipe up from good to great; please feel free to leave suggestions in the comments!

Wilted Tatsoi with Sauteed Tofu

One of my friends asked me if I’d be willing to add some tofu recipes to my repertoire. I was pretty wary to try it. I don’t mind tofu, but I can’t say I’ve ever had a hankering for it. Well, for some reason, I picked up some tofu this week so I decided to finally make a recipe including it for my friend. I also received tatsoi in my CSA share, which is the perfect opportunity to use the tofu in this recipe for Wilted Tatsoi with Sauteed Tofu.

Ingredients:
2 bunches of tatsoi
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce (or coconut aminos to make gluten free)
A dash of rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
4-6 oz tofu, cut into cubes

Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, ground ginger and brown sugar to a bowl and mix to combine and reserve.

Add 1 teaspoon of the toasted sesame oil to a saute pan over medium heat. Cube the tofu.

Add the tofu to the pan.

Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side, or until browned.

Remove the tofu from heat. Cut the stems off of the tatsoi.

Add 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil to the saute pan and turn down the heat to medium low. Add the tatsoi.

Cook for 1 minute, stirring to coat. Add the reserved sauce to the pan.

Stir to combine. Mix in the tofu and serve.

This was so quick and easy! I actually ate this as a meal, but if you cut the tofu pieces smaller, this could also work as a yummy side.

I loved the subtle sweetness of the sauce. Tatsoi tastes very similar to bok choi, so the flavors worked really well.

I was really pleasantly surprised by the result. You might just catch me making another tofu recipe in the future!

Roasted Eggplant & Feta Dip

I am at a bit of a loss for what to do with eggplant. Eggplant Parmesan and Baba Ghannouj are the only two recipes I really know that use eggplant. However, I found a tasty sounding recipe from Eating Well that includes a bunch of other ingredients from this week’s CSA.

Ingredients:

1 medium eggplant

The juice and zest of 1 lemon

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

1 small green bell pepper, finely chopped

1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and mince

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat your broiler. Line a pan with foil and place the eggplant on it. Poke a few holes within the eggplant so that it can let out steam while broiling. Broil for 14 to 18 minutes, turning the eggplant every 5 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the skin is charred a little and a knife goes easily into the part right near the stem. Transfer to a cutting board until it’s cool enough to handle.

Prepare your onion, pepper, jalapeño, basil and parsley.

Add lemon juice to a medium sized bowl. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise.

Scoop out the inside of the eggplant into the bowl and toss with the lemon juice.

Add olive oil and stir with a fork until the oil is absorbed.

Add feta, onion, pepper, jalapeño, basil, parsley, cayenne and salt.

Taste and adjust as needed.

If covered, this recipe can be made up to two days ahead of time. The original recipe included a red bell pepper instead of a green one (I only had a green pepper), and that color would have really popped in this dish.

Serve with toasted pita. This would be a great addition to any mezze platter: tomatoes, hummus, grape leaves, etc.

Jalapeno Ginger Butternut Squash Soup

When I first came across this recipe for Jalapeno Ginger Butternut Squash Soup, I was intrigued by the ingredients. Never would I have thought to add jalapenos and ginger to a butternut squash dish. It seemed so odd, and yet so delicious as well. This weekend, the weather began feeling a bit more… autumnal. So I used this wonderful weather as an excuse to try out this recipe. I altered the original recipe a bit, but you can find the original here.

Ingredients (makes about 8 servings):

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons grated ginger

1 jalapeño chile, seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

4 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2-in. cubes

3 cups water

3 cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

1/4 cup coconut milk, plus more for serving

I’ve attempted to peel and cube butternut squash in the past. And it is absolutely not worth it. It takes forever and never seems to yield as much as you think it will. So I wimped out at bought the pre-packaged pre-chopped stuff. And I am so happy I did. I ended up using 3 20 oz containers of the butternut squash.

Begin by chopping your garlic and jalapeno and grating your ginger.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over high heat. Add the garlic, ginger and jalapeno and cook stirring constantly for 1 or 2 minutes.

Add the cayenne pepper and cook for another 30 seconds, stirring.

Add the squash, chicken broth, brown sugar, and 3 cups water.

Bring to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes or until the squash is fork tender.

Add about 1/3 of the soup to a blender. Remove the top middle piece of the blender top to allow hot air to escape. Place a paper towel over the opening and puree until smooth. Add to a large bowl. Repeat with remaining soup.

Be very very careful doing this! I managed to burn my hand pretty badly when removing the top off the blender. Ouch!

Stir in the coconut milk and serve. I added a tiny bit more of the coconut milk on top of a poured serving and swirled it.

This was a surprisingly tasty soup. The smooth texture is really nice and the butternut squash taste shines through, with a hint of coconut milk. There is a very slight heat at the end from the jalapeno and cayenne, but is definitely not spicy. I honestly couldn’t taste much of the ginger, so next time I might add a bit more. This soup can also be frozen so I look forward to enjoying it in the colder months, but it only took maybe 40 minutes from start to finish so this can easily be made on a weeknight.

Mushroom Risotto

This past weekend, Kennett Square held it’s annual Mushroom Festival. I unfortunately didn’t get to go this year, but my parents dropped off a variety of mushrooms for me. When I have a lot of different types of mushrooms, my go to recipe is a mushroom risotto.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
2 cups assorted mushrooms, sliced (I used oyster, shiitake, portobello & trumpet)
1/2 a small onion, chopped
1 cup arborio rice
1/3 cup white wine
4 cups chicken stock
4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste
Parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Continue reading Mushroom Risotto

Eggplant Parmesan Stacks

I received another eggplant in my CSA share this week so I thought I’d attempt Eggplant Parmesan. I saw this slightly different version of the recipe on MyRecipes.com, originally from Sunset Magazine and thought I’d give it a try.

Ingredients: (makes 2 servings)
1 eggplant
1/2 tube cooked polenta
Olive oil cooking spray
1 onion, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves or 2 teaspoons dried basil
1 can (14 oz.) tomato purée
1/4 cup water
Salt and pepper, to taste
3/4 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (6 oz.)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Begin by preparing your eggplant. Rinse the eggplant and cut off both ends. Cut the eggplant crosswise into 4 equally thick slices.

Using only half of the tube of polenta, cut the polenta crosswise into 4 equal slices.

Lightly spray a cookie sheet with the cooking spray and add the polenta and eggplant to the sheet. Spray another layer of the cooking spray on the slices.

Cook for 20 minutes, or until the eggplant is soft and the polenta is heated through.

While the eggplant and polenta are cooking, prepare your onion, basil and garlic.

Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat and add the onion, garlic and basil.

Cook until the onion is lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

Add the tomato puree and 1/4 cup water.

Stir to combine. Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat and cover to keep warm until the eggplant and polenta are finished cooking.

When the rounds are heated, sprinkle mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses over the slices. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted, about 2 minutes.

To assemble, add one of the larger slices of eggplant to a plate.

Top with 1 tablespoon tomato sauce.

Add one polenta slice.

Top with another tablespoon of sauce.

Repeat with another eggplant slice, tomato sauce, polenta slice & more tomato sauce. Top with 1 tablespoon panko. Repeat this process to plate the other eggplant Parmesan stack.

If desired, spoon the remaining tomato sauce around the stacks.

What an inventive “eggplant Parmesan” dish! It was really simple too, the whole meal was ready in just over 30 minutes.

I think I honestly prefer this version to the traditional eggplant Parmesan. I always find the breading to be a bit too heavy for the eggplant so the polenta was a happy alternative. Not to mention, I was able to make only two servings so nothing went to waste! Now to find a recipe to use the rest of my polenta…

Corn, Tomato & Basil Risotto

After a weekend of brownie and brie baking, I’m back on track making normal meals. Keeping with my tomato-corn themes, I was happy to find a recipe from Fine Cooking that included both of these ingredients. Even better, it is also a risotto!

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken broth
2 cups of frozen corn kernels
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 shallot, minced
1 cup arborio rice
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbs. torn fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

So I chickened out this time on the corn. Out of my last batch of a half dozen corn cobs, 5 (FIVE!) of them had worms. Goo. I understand it is very difficult to grown corn organically, but I needed to just take a step back from the whole surprise-in-my-corn.If you are using fresh corn, click on the link above to see the original recipe, I used frozen kernels for mine so I had to adapt the recipe accordingly. You will need three corn cobs.

Add the chicken broth to a pot and heat over medium-low heat. In another saute pan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the rice and stir to coat.

Add the wine and cook until absorbed, about 1 minute.

Ladle in 1 1/2 cups of the warm broth into the saute pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the broth is absorbed (about 3 to 5 minutes). Add a 1/2 cup of broth at a time, waiting until the broth is absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup.

Combine the tomatoes,olive oil, and 2 tablespoons of the basil in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

I’d be happy just eating this!

About 16 minutes into the cooking of the rice (you’ll still have broth left), stir in the corn. Continue to add the broth in 1/2 cup increments until the rice is creamy, about 20 to 25 minutes in total.

Remove from heat and add the Parmigiano cheese and tomato-basil mixture. Top with the remaining basil and serve.

Somehow, this risotto was light and refreshing. I loved the sweetness from both the tomatoes and corn, it tasted like summer! I ate the leftovers from this the next day for lunch and it held up really well, which is always a plus.

Vegan Chilled Corn Soup

I had a realization a few days ago that summer is almost over. And the end of summer means the winding down of fresh ingredients. So for the next few weeks, I am going to try to make meals that really highlight all of those in season vegetables (like my post about Fettuccine with Fresh Tomato Sauce). For seasonal recipes, Cooking Light continues to be my go-to magazine. Because it comes monthly, the recipes change with the seasons and freshness of produce. In the September issue, Cooking Light featured seven “Trailblazing Chefs” including recipes from some of the chefs. Chef Brandon Sharp, the executive chef of Solar located at the Solage Calistoga spa resort in the Napa Valley, has a recipe for Chilled Corn Soup that will make the most of summer corn. Plus, its also vegan and mostly fat free, win!

Ingredients (makes 6 servings):

4 large ears shucked corn

4 tablespoons canola oil

3/4 cup chopped onion

6 sprigs fresh thyme, tied in a bundle

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

1 garlic clove, minced

3 cups water

1/2 cups diced peeled avocado

1/2 cup diced radish

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

Begin by shucking your corn. You can buy already shucked corn in the supermarket which will work just fine, just don’t use frozen corn kernels for this recipe. Prepare some of your ingredients: chop the onion, mince the garlic and bundle the thyme.

Using a knife, cut the kernels from the ears of corn. Using the dull side of the knife blade, run the knife back over the cobs to remove the remaining pulp and corn starch from the cobs into a separate bowl.

Heat oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onions, tied thyme, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. It’s best to tie the thyme for easy removal later.

Reduce the heat to medium low and cover. Cook for 8 minutes or until the onions have softened, stirring occasionally. Add the corn kernels and minced garlic, cover, and cook for 4 minutes.

Add the corn starch/pulp, water and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and discard the thyme. Pour half of the corn mixture into a blender.

Remove the center piece of the blender lid so that the steam can escape. Place a clean towel or paper towel over the hole in the blender lid to avoid splatters, and blend until smooth. Strain the mixture through a sieve into a large bowl.

Using a spoon, push the liquid through the sieve and discard the solids.

Repeat with the remaining half of the corn mixture. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

When you are ready to serve the corn soup, dice the avocado and radishes, and chop the cilantro. Add to a bowl. Squeeze the lime juice over the avocado and radishes. Be sure to get it on all pieces so that they don’t oxidize and turn colors. Add the ground red pepper and mix to combine.

To serve, ladle 1 cup soup into each of 6 bowls, top with 2 tablespoons of the avocado mixture.

The soup was so creamy and smooth, it tasted like it was made with heavy cream. The corn starch/pulp thickens the broth which gives it that creamy quality. The radishes added a nice crunch to the dish, and the avocados add a bit more creaminess and a little bit of good fats to make the dish more filling. I loved the cilantro, it enhances the other flavors. What a delicious soup!

Fettuccine with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Ever since the first week of my CSA share, I have anxiously awaited the arrival of fresh tomatoes. This week, I received my first batch! The share came with a bag of Roma tomatoes, a bag of Red tomatoes, and a pint of Sungold cherry tomatoes so expect quite a few tomato recipes to be posted in the coming days. Because this is my first real batch of in season tomatoes, I wanted to begin with a meal that would highlight how fresh these little guys are. Food & Wine’s Fusilli with Summer Tomato Sauce seemed like the perfect choice.

Ingredients:

2 pounds ripe tomatoes (about 4), chopped

1 large clove garlic, minced

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

2/3 cup lightly packed fresh basil

1 pound fresh fettuccine pasta

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Heat a pasta pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil.

Roughly chop your tomatoes and mince the garlic.

Add the tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt & pepper to a food processor and puree.

Add the basil and pulse to mix.

Add salt to the pasta pot so that the pasta doesn’t stick together while cooking. Add the pasta. The original recipe used fusilli. If you use this, cook according to the directions on the box. I used a fresh fettuccine pasta I picked up at By George! in Reading Terminal because I thought it might soak up the sauce better.

Drain the pasta and toss with the tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese.

Set aside for one minute so the pasta can absorb the liquid.

Top with additional Parmesan and serve.

Wow. I wish a quick batch of pasta always tasted this good. I was stunned with how delicious this was for so little work. (Honestly, the longest part of the process was waiting for the water to come to a boil). I really do believe that the fresh pasta is a way to go for this dish.

The tomato sauce is super thin, so if you prefer a chunky sauce, you might want to finely chop another tomato and put it to the side. Add the chopped tomato to the puree when you are mixing it with the pasta.

Zucchini Fusilli

Zucchini is another one of my favorite summer vegetables. It always taste so fresh and light, and really brightens up a meal. I usually just saute zucchini and summer squash or grill it, so I was in search of a recipe that actually incorporated zucchini into the main meal versus it just being a side. Sunset magazine had this delicious sounding recipe for Zucchini Fusilli.

Ingredients:

4 medium sized zucchini
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup pesto
1/3 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon plus 1 tbsp. salt, divided
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 box fusilli
1 cup fresh finely shredded Parmesan cheese (about 2 oz.), divided

Corn Chowder

I have so much corn, it’s getting ridiculous. For the past three weeks my CSA share has come with 6 ears of corn and well, I’m corn-ed out. So I decided to make a corn chowder that I plan on freezing to enjoy when I’m craving corn in non-summer months. I’m hoping the texture of the chowder doesn’t change after freezing. I found this recipe on Simply Recipes, and chose to make it without the bacon. I also had green bell peppers from my CSA share, so I used that instead of buying a red pepper.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 large yellow onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 large carrot, chopped (about 1/3 cup)

1/2 celery stalk, chopped (about 1/3 cup)

3 ears of sweet corn, kernels removed from the cobs (about 2 cups), cobs reserved

1 bay leaf

3 1/2 cups milk, whole or low fat

1 medium Yukon Gold potato, or Russet, peeled and diced

1/4 green bell pepper, chopped (about 1/4 cup)

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Prepare all your vegetables.

In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until soft.

Add the carrot and celery and cook for another 4 or 5 minutes.

Cut the corn cobs in half and add them to the saute pan.

Add the milk and bay leaf.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a light simmer (low heat, maybe even the “warm” setting).

Cover and cook for 30 minutes. Do not boil; make sure it is just at a light simmer. This is to prevent the milk from burning.

Remove the cobs and the bay leaf. Turn the heat up to medium. Add the potatoes, green pepper, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper, to taste.

Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.

Increase the heat again and add the corn kernels and thyme. Bring to a boil. (Last time) reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

I had a bit of this just to make sure it turned out alright, and it was really good! I wish I had cut the vegetables much much smaller, I found it to be a bit too chunky. This is a hearty colder weather dish, so I can’t wait to break this out when the leaves begin to change.

Cheesy Corn and Black Bean Quesadillas

I love corn, but after three weeks of having 6 ears of corn in my CSA share, I’m running out of ways to use all of it. I adapted this recipe from All You to use fresh corn kernels.

Ingredients:
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 ears of corn
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 ounces pepper Jack, shredded
3 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 10-inch flour tortillas

Begin by cutting the kernels from the cob.

Prepare your garlic, onion, and jalapeño pepper.

Rinse and drain the black beans and add to a bowl.

Using a potato masher (or a fork), coarsely mash the beans.

Heat the corn over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes stirring occasionally until the corn begins to brown.

Add corn to the bowl with the black beans. Heat the oil in a saute pan. Add the onion and jalapeño and cook for 2 minutes.

Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

Add to the beans and corn. Allow to cool, about 10 minutes.

While the mixture is cooling, shred your cheese. If you can find it, grab pre-shredded cheese from the supermarket to speed up the process.

Add the cheese to the mixture and season with salt and pepper.

Heat up a griddle or a saute pan if you don’t have a griddle. Place a 1/2-cup portion of the bean mixture on half of a side of a tortilla.

Fold the tortilla in half and place on the griddle or in the saute pan over medium-high heat.

Cook for 6 minutes (3 minutes on each side if using a saute pan) or until golden brown and crispy. Cut into wedges and serve. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Despite the jalapeno and the pepper Jack cheese, there really wasn’t much heat at all. If you want to turn it up a notch, either use another chopped jalapeno or use 1 serrano pepper instead.

This would be quite good with some fresh salsa if you have time, but this dish works well on its own as well.

Quinoa Salad with Parsley. Or…. Tabbouleh.

Have you ever started creating a recipe, and thought to yourself “Wow! This is going to be awesome! Why hasn’t anyone thought of this before?” Well, probably because they have. And you just didn’t know it. That is what happened to me this weekend. I was so proud of how my “Quinoa Salad” turned out, but then my boyfriend kindly pointed out that is was a take on Tabbouleh, without the mint. Whoops. Anyways, here is my mint-less Tabbouleh.

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked quinoa

2 cups chicken broth

1 large cucumber, or 3 small cucumbers, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 sweet onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, smashed
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped

Most quinoa you’ll find in the supermarket has already been soaked and rinsed. But another rise won’t hurt it if you prefer to do so. Measure out 1 cup quinoa and put it in a mesh strainer. Rinse under cool water allowing to drain out the bottom. This helps to remove the coating on quinoa, called saponin, that can taste soapy. Again, most quinoa is already pre-rinsed.

Begin by cooking the quinoa. Add the quinoa and chicken broth to a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat or until the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let cool.

While the quinoa is cooking and cooling, chop your cucumber and tomatoes.

Prepare your onion and garlic.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes.

Remove the garlic cloves. Allow the onions to cool. Combine the quinoa, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, and the chopped parsley. Zest the lemon over the mixture and squeeze lemon juice over the dish.

Serve cold. Garnish with additional parsley, optional.

This was a light-tasting but filling dish, perfect for a hot summer lunch or dinner. I feel kind of silly for essentially making a pretty common dish, but at least I’m beginning to understand which ingredients work well together!

Fried Rice with Sweet Soy Sauce

I really try to make an effort to bring my lunch to work each day. My office is absolutely freezing, so I tend to gravitate towards warm lunches. Because of this, I am always looking for new pasta and rice recipes that sound like they would reheat well and still taste good. As usual, Cooking Light came to the rescue with the August issue’s Fried Rice with Sweet Soy Saucerecipe. I made all four servings so that I could have a batch for dinner, and get a few lunches out of it.

Ingredients for Fried Rice:

3 tablespoons peanut oil, divided

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

3 finely chopped shallots

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 serrano chile, seeded and chopped

4 cups cooked rice

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 thinly sliced daikon radish

1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

1/3 cup fresh mint leaves

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

4 lime wedges

Ingredients for sweet soy sauce:

1/4 cup lower-sodium soy sauce (or coconut aminos to make gluten free)

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar (The original recipe used dark brown sugar. I didn’t have any. Oh well)

Begin by cooking your rice. You can just cook the rice in water because the soy sauce will add plenty of taste, no need to waste your chicken broth.

While your rice is cooking. prepare your shallots, garlic and chile. I am a wimp about heat and serraro chile can really be hot, so I removed all seeds before chopping. If you like spicy food, keep the seeds in.

Slice your daikon radish. I used a mandoline slicer.

Prepare your herbs.

To make the sweet soy sauce, combine the soy sauce and brown sugar in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat. Simmer for 2 minutes or until the brown sugar is incorporated into the soy sauce. Set aside.

Add 4 eggs to a bowl and lightly beat.

Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil to a large saute pan over medium-high heat, swirling to coat the bottom of the pan. Pour eggs into the pan and cook for 2 minutes or until they set. Remove and set aside.

Increase the heat to high and add 2 tablespoons peanut oil to the pan. Add your shallots, garlic and chile and saute for 1 minute.

Add the cooked rice and cook for 3 minutes or until lightly browned.

Add cooked eggs and soy sauce mixture.

Season with salt and pepper and mix to coat. Add to bowls and top with radish and herbs. Serve with a lime wedge.

This meal was really tasty, not only the first time around but also when reheated. The serrano pepper gave a subtle heat to the whole dish which counteracted the sweetness of the soy sauce, great combination! When I packed it for lunch, I kept the rice mixture in one container and a few radish slices,herbs , and a lime wedge in another container. I heated the rice in the microwave and topped them with the radish slices and herbs, then squeezed the lime juice over the whole dish. Perfect!