The Count of Brunchy Goodness

Have you ever had a Monte Cristo sandwich?

I haven’t.  In fact, I still can’t think of it without Alexandre Dumas coming to mind. . . I’d never even heard of such a dish  until just a few years ago – I was cooking in a restaurant, and occasionally, “Monte Cristos” were on the menu as a lunch special.  Since I didn’t start until dinner, well, I was kind of out of luck for the lunch specials.  So, if you’re as uninitiated as I am, Peeps tells me that a “Monte Cristo” is ham, turkey and Swiss cheese on white bread, dipped in egg batter and griddled like French toast, then served with maple syrup.

Sounds kinda weird, doesn’t it?  At least I know it does to me, so I’ve always kind of taken a pass whenever I’ve seen it on the menu at a random diner or “family restaurant.”

Then things changed.  As you know, Peeps and I ran a meal-prep business a few years ago, and, though we lost an awful lot, one thing we gained was an understanding of how to put together a meal that can be made ahead, frozen, then enjoyed later.  .  . granted, this is something we’d already been doing for years, but this experience brought it to a whole new level.

What if, instead of frying each sandwich individually, we incorporated the ingredients into a casserole?  A brunchy-type strata sort of thing?

You know, that could work.  And, as it turns out, it does.

Our “Monte Cristo Casserole” is a favorite among all who try it – and with good reason!

We start with about half a loaf of French bread (what else?), cut into 1-inch cubes – you’re going to want 4 cups of bread cubes.

To that, add 2/3 cups each of diced ham an turkey.  Honestly?  We went to the deli and asked them for a half-inch slice of each – that was just about right.  Why make it complicated?

Stir the bread cubes and the meat cubes together with a cup each of shredded mozzarella and Swiss cheeses – the Swiss for the flavor and the mozzarella for the cheesiness!

Then you’ll need your liquid mixture.

Beat together about a dozen eggs (more or less), two cups of milk and some parsley – a teaspoon of dried (if it’s winter) or a Tablespoon of fresh (if it’s available).

Pour the egg mixture over the bread mixture and stir well, being sure to moisten all the bread.

Doesn’t that look . . . moist?

Yeah.  At this point, you can either shove it in the fridge for a day or so, or you could dump it into a gallon-size zip-top bag and freeze, to thaw later.

Or if, say, there were only two or three of you, you could divide it in half and put it in two bags to freeze and enjoy later.  Twice.

We actually made this during the holidays when Surly Boy and my brother were both here, so we opted for the whole-pan scenario.  After all, three guys can get mighty hungry. . .

Pour the whole mess into a 9×13 pan.  Bake, covered, in a preheated 400° oven for 20 minutes, uncover, and continue baking another 20 minutes, until the cheese is all melty and bubbly and the top starts to brown.

Cut into about 6 chunks and serve with warmed maple syrup and maybe some fresh fruit . . . mmmmm. . . .

Printable version is here.

[Via http://darksideofthefridge.wordpress.com]

I ♥ Squash Soup

Last Saturday was National Soup Swap Day. I intend to swap some soup myself, though scheduling did not permit that on Soup Swap Day. I will be showing up at a friend’s house next weekend with four quarts of frozen soup (a lot of people do six, but this seemed excessive given the prevalence of small kitchens here in NYC), prepared to snack and chat and bring home four quarts of soups made by friends. I haven’t swapped soup in this fashion before, but it seems like a nice way to add variety to holed up winter nights, to extend the tradition of sharing food beyond the one-night potluck.

I have been mulling over what soup to make. I’ve been eating lots of bean soups lately, hearty and full of protein and fiber. I made a big pot of tomato leek soup earlier this week that would probably freeze just fine. Lentils are great, and split peas, too, but my mind keeps coming back to squash soup. My decade(-plus)-long obsession with this soup has led some friends to think of me at the sight of butternut squash in the past, a fact that warms my heart more than the most heartfelt and deliberate compliments.

As with most obsessions, there is a story behind this soup. It is this: I took a year off between high school and college, and I spent a little bit of time in England. While there, I volunteered for a short time at a community arts center called the Great George’s Project in Liverpool, also known as the Blackie (so called because the building in which it was housed was once covered by decades of soot and city grime — it was cleaned up by the time I arrived, but the name had stuck). At that time, life at the Blackie was very communal. Staff and volunteers lived in one of two old houses up the road, chipped in for groceries and took turns shopping, and we shared dinners in the old chapel building in which we all worked. We also took turns cooking.

For someone who has always taken pride in her food, cooking duty was far more anxiety-producing than you would think. For starters, I was not accustomed to cooking for large groups of people. In addition, we received weekly produce deliveries, and we had to work with what was on hand. While this type of challenge now thrills me to no end, I found it a bit off-putting when fresh out of high school, thousands of miles from home, cooking in a drafty old building on a stove that needed to be lit in the most dangerous-seeming way I could fathom. Peering into the vegetable box toward the end of the food-delivery week and finding a handful of parsnips and two sad eggplants and knowing they had to feed twenty people or so was not at all inspiring.

In addition, and in keeping with the community-minded approach at the Blackie, meals were to be designed with everyone’s dietary requirements in mind. Again, I love this kind of challenge in this day and age, and I appreciate the goal of inclusiveness, but it was difficult for many of us at that time to create large meals that were free of all yeasted products, mushrooms, dairy, eggs, any and all animal products, etc. Surely I am forgetting some additional allergy. Wheat? Some other grain? We weren’t really supposed to use tomatoes, but that was more a strong preference of one of the founders than a strict allergy. Add in the facts that we had an extremely limited spice cabinet, that we all took turns cooking, and that some staffers had little to no interest in food, and we wound up with many uninspired and far from delicious meals.

The dinners that were truly good shone like little diamonds in the rough. One time, Kelly cobbled together a vegan, allergen-free toad in the hole that excited one and all. Occasionally, someone would roast parsnips to sweet, spicy perfection. And a couple of times, Jennifer poured coconut milk and ground black pepper into a pot with onions and tomato. A separate pot alongside for those who did not eat tomatoes contained onions and coconut and squash. It was simple, delicious despite its lack of fancy spices, and I loved pouring the two soupy stews together over rice, savoring the richness of the coconut milk, brightness of tomatoes, creamy sweetness of chunks of squash. An obsession was born.

I know now that the combination of coconut milk and winter squash is not particularly rare, but, when worked into night after night of drab and burned-around-the-edges meals, each of those nights following a morning of tea and toast with jam and cheese (one slice of toast with cheese, the other with jam, still one of my favorite breakfasts), a day of cup after cup of sweet, milky tea, the squash and tomato stew stood out as rich and decadent while still altogether nourishing, and I loved it.

Jennifer’s simple, separate stews have evolved over the years, in various kitchens that I have inhabited, into one big pot of gingery, squashy, tomato-y, coconutty goodness. Sometimes there are other spices. Sometimes it is smooth, other times chunky, most frequently somewhere in between. I have cooked this soup since I was eighteen, for college friends in my momma’s house, for a whole floor of girls in the dorm when I was back in England, for boyfriends, family, childhood friends. I think this is the soup to make this week, four quarts to freeze and some extra to savor on cold winter days, rich and wholesome all at once.

Awesome Squash Soup: Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1-2 Tbsp. vegetable oil (I usually use olive oil, but I suspect toasted sesame would be even better)
• 1 large butternut squash (or equivalent quantity of your favorite winter squash), peeled, seeded, cut into cubes
• 1 big can diced tomatoes (or crushed or whole – whatever)
• 1-2 cans coconut milk
• an inch or so of fresh ginger, finely grated
• garlic (I use lots – probably 4 or 5 cloves, but you could do less or omit if desired)
• vegetable broth
• salt and pepper to taste
• extra spices as desired (a simple dash of curry powder is nice and warming, a sprinkle of cayenne brings some heat)
• fresh limes

Please note that these quantities are approximate. If you’re not typically a big experimenter, make it without the addition of other spices and then taste it, see if you feel like stirring more in.

How to Make Awesome Squash Soup:

1. Saute onions in vegetable oil over medium-low heat until translucent. Stir them so they don’t brown.
2. Add garlic and ginger and cook for a couple minutes more.
3. Add squash, tomatoes, coconut milk, and enough vegetable broth to cover the cubes of squash by an inch or two, and bring to a simmer. If you know that you want to add a dash of cayenne or curry powder, now is a good time.  Simmer until squash cubes are tender. You should be able to easily smash them against the side of the pot with a spoon.
4. Mash to desired consistency. I used to use a potato masher to crush the cubes up a bit. I have also used an immersion blender, beating half the soup to smoothness and leaving some chunks. If you want a totally smooth soup, you can just throw it in the blender, but I think it’s best to leave a little texture in this soup.
5. Taste it, add salt and pepper and any other spices you desire, and serve with a squeeze of fresh lime juice. A sprinkle of fresh cilantro would probably be good here, too.

This soup tends to thicken up if put in the fridge. I love leftovers spooned over brown rice and reheated just as much as I love this soup on its own, preferably ladled into a nice, deep bowl. Make some, eat some, be warm this winter.

[Via http://countrygirlbrooklyn.wordpress.com]

Cashew Curry with Veggies and Tofu!

I found this cashew curry recipe on 101cookbooks and tried it a few weeks ago. It made a GREAT yellow curry – with a few modifications and additions on my end The recipe is below, with my modifications in purple. Hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole coconut milk (I used light coconut milk – it gives the same flavor with way less calories! And I probably used about 12 oz instead of 8 oz)
• 1 – 2 tablespoons curry powder (I actually ended up using 3-4 Tbsp curry powder, and added more to taste as needed)
• 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 1/2 large red onion, chopped
• 1 medium garlic clove, chopped (I like garlic so I used about 3 cloves)
• 1/3 cup water
• 4 ounces firm tofu, cut into small cubes (optional) (I used 8 oz)
• Veggies: 1 cup green beans, cut into 1-inch segments & 1 1/2 cups cauliflower, cut into tiny florets (this is from the 101cookbooks recipe. I used 1 head of broccoli, 1 pound asparagus chopped, and 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced)
• 1/3 cup cashews, toasted
• a handful of cilantro, loosely chopped
• 1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (if you like things spicy)
• You can add cumin, cardamom and pepper (to taste)
• salt (to taste)
• Brown rice (to serve the curry with – I use minute brown rice)

Directions

I cooked this recipe slightly differently than the 101cookbooks recipe. My directions are in purple below

1. Saute the onion and 2 cloves chopped garlic in 1/2 tsp olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add 2 Tbsp curry powder and salt and stir until combined.
2. Add the coconut milk to the onion mixture, bring to simmer and work out any clumps
3. Stir in the tofu and cook for a few minutes until the tofu has absorbed most of the flavors
4. Add remaining curry powder and water to the coconut milk/tofu mixture and cook down the liquid for a few minutes.
5. In a large pan, saute the broccoli, asparagus, and red pepper (or whatever veggies you use) with 1 clove chopped garlic over medium heat. Add salt, cayenne, and curry power to taste. Cook until veggies are crisp
6. Pour tofu/coconut milk mixture over veggies (in the pan) and stir to combine. Add additional spices as needed. Cook through for a few minutes.
7. Remove from heat and stir in cashews. Serve over brown rice with a bit of cilantro topping each bowl.

[Via http://pickyeaterblog.wordpress.com]

The Colors of Health: Red, Gold, and Green

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, going raw has really opened up the world of vegetables to me – well, that and joining a local organic CSA.

Over the last three weeks, we’ve probably gone through four (if not six!) heads of cabbage – some of them green, some of them red (or, technically, purple).

Anyway, I started off using the larger, outer leafs as wraps for burritos and using the smaller, inner leaves for making small batches of slaw.

That was until I made a batch of raw hummus out of tahini and zucchini that was just begging for some chips – hence the habit of tearing red (or purple) cabbage leaves into chip sized chunks was born. Trust me, no one was more surprised than me about how good raw cabbage leaves tastes when combined with a little hummus! Let’s just say that life was good.

But then the CSA cabbage started.

I had one head left over from the week before, had just bought a red one, and got two more!

At this point in my life I am committed to two things when it comes to food: don’t waste it and (obviously) don’t cook it!

So, racking my brain for an answer, I hit on a solution: slaw. And lots of it!

Now, if you’re like me and grew up anywhere remotely resembling the south, your idea of slaw probably involves a lot of mayonnaise and other sundry items – none of which resemble anything close to being raw (let alone good for you). But I was determined, and here’s what I came up with:

1 head of cabbage (green), shredded

3-4 carrots, finely grated

1/2 cup of parsley, finely minced (I’ve also used cilantro)

Braggs Liquid Aminos, to taste (at least 3 tablespoons, for those of you who aren’t familiar with Braggs)

2 limes, juiced

1/2 – 1 lemon, juiced

1 teaspoon of cinnamon (or more, to taste)

1 teaspoon of turmeric (or more, to taste)

1 teaspoon of cumin (or more, to taste)

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Himalayan sea salt (pink), to taste

This stuff is seriously delicious. I’ve been eating it by the plate – sometimes alone, sometimes mixed with Shirataki noodles, which aren’t technically raw, but aren’t technically food, since they’re all fiber and are, by design, indigestible.

Since I was eating so much cabbage – as wraps, as chips, and as slaw, I found myself wondering what nutrients cabbage actually contained. I mean, it wasn’t like I didn’t know what cabbage was prior to my latest pro-cabbage phase, but I certainly hadn’t ever given it much thought. I mean, it’s cabbage. Not that interesting. Right?

Well, not really.

Cabbage, as it turns out, is a cruciferous vegetable – as is other well known superstar vegetables (a/k/a super food veggies) such as broccoli, kale, brussels, and bok choy. According to the Whole Foods website:

The phytonutrients in cruciferous vegetables initiate an intricate dance inside our cells in which gene response elements direct and balance the steps among dozens of detoxification enzyme partners, each performing its own protective role in perfect balance with the other dancers. The natural synergy that results optimizes our cells’ ability to disarm and clear free radicals and toxins, including potential carcinogens, which may be why cruciferous vegetables appear to lower our risk of cancer more effectively than any other vegetables or fruits.

For more information about cabbage, go here. And to learn more about the health benefits of cruciferous veggies and how to get more of the into your diet, go here.

Now, some of you might be thinking: Well, that’s all well and good, but I thought cabbage gave people gas.

Well, yes and no.

Personally it doesn’t bother me, but I know it does some people. That’s where the turmeric comes in. And besides it’s wonderful flatulance reducing properties, turmeric is a superfood in it’s own right.

Trust me, if your not getting enough cruciferous vegetables or turmeric in your diet, you might want to consider adding more. Men in particular, should seriously consider increasing their intake of turmeric – especially to any recipe including cauliflower (which is, you guessed it, another cruciferous veggie)!

So, if you’re stuck in a rut on your vegetable consumption, branch out. And whatever else you do, eat your turmeric!

[Via http://kjlivinglively.com]

grilled vegetable pasta

Photo Credit

A couple days ago I had an adventure in the kitchen making a pasta dinner!  I love pastas that are mostly dry, with a touch of olive oil and amazing vegetables and spices…  So here’s a quick pasta recipe for you!

grilled vegetable pasta – serves 2, prep and cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

180g Whole Wheat pasta of choice

Water to cover pasta

1 T. Mixed herbs – Italian

Half large green and red bell peppers, sliced to 1/4″ pieces

Courgette (zucchini) sliced to 1/4″ pieces (and bite sized length)

3 T. Olive Oil

1 T. Garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 C. Cooked tuna or 1/2 tin of tuna or cooked salmon, optional

1/4 C. Grated cheddar cheese, optional

In a saucepan, bring pasta and mixed herbs to a boil and cook until al dente.

Meanwhile, put oil, garlic, salt and pepper into a medium mixing bowl and toss in vegetables until well covered.  Place the vegetables on your grill on foil evenly and not overlapping under a medium-high heat for roughly 15 minutes (keep an eye on these and turn foil to prevent over-browning if necessary).  Toss your tuna in the bowl previously used for tossing the vegetables and pop that in the microwave for about 30-60 seconds just prior to serving your dinner.  Serve hot and top with grated cheese for extra goodness!  Enjoy!

[Via http://littlewoodbird.wordpress.com]

With these mortal hands, I will bake you a loaf....

I’ve been baking bread, oh yes I have. Satisfying as it is to chomp on anything half decent that you’ve made yourself, I’ve got to say that producing a simple loaf of fresh, warm bread from the oven has given me a genuine sense of pride. It’s something so incredibly basic but such a staple - partly because it’s so basic. And delicious too, of course.

Okay, so I haven’t invented the wheel or discovered fire. All I’ve proved is that I too can do something that millions of people have been doing for thousands of years in hundreds of countries and cultures around the globe. But my point is that I’ve done something that not many of us – in this country at least – get the time to do any more.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe there to be plenty of great things about the times we live in. I don’t yearn for the days when we had to rub a couple of sticks together all day just to stay warm at night (although ‘making fire with two sticks’ is next on my ‘To do’ list.) But to lose touch with the food we eat, where it comes from and what goes in to it does seem to be something worth considering for a moment. Food is important isn’t it? (If only you could have seen what I ate as a student. I ate a Smash sandwich once. That wasn’t on homemade bread, I might add…)

Up until I started baking bread, 100% of the loaves that I bought came from supermarket shelves, well, maybe the odd one from a bakery. Occasionally a market. Okay, so probably more like 99.99% but that doesn’t have the same impact. Anyway; moving on…

Loaves sell at around a pound a go, readily sliced and convenient as you like. They last for days too. But when you taste your own fresh loaf there’s no comparison. Once you’ve started to hone your kneading techniques and produced the perfect dough – the kind of dough you don’t want to stop battering – you may decide to make a regular thing of baking your own.

But like many, I have a job to go to and soon enough Leanne and I will have a wee bairn to rear. That uncharismatic, but readily-sliced and oh so convenient, loaf of Kingsmill may just prove to be all too easy to grab from the shelves in the near future. No doubt it will remind us of how convenient modern life sometimes needs to be.

In the meantime, I encourage you, dear reader, to go forth and bake your own loaf when you get the chance – especially if you’ve never done it before. And lo and behold, here’s one of mine!

A fresh loaf of bread from the oven, courtesy of Jimblytheblindman

[Via http://jimblytheblindman.wordpress.com]

Crazy Summer Weather

Spent the last couple of days catching up on jobs.  There is loads of lawnmowing to do here and since I am the only person who is able to do it, it sometimes gets a bit away on me.  Still have not finished due to untimely showers.  Which will only make the grass grow back faster.  Oh dear. 

We’ve been cooking up large recently, using all the lovely fresh summer fruits available to make jam and chutney to see us through the winter months.  So far we have got Tomato Chutney, Peach Chutney and Apricot Chutney, plus we had enough leftover fruit to make Apricot Jam and Peach Jam.  We grow the fruit ourselves, although we had to buy the apricots.  We got a good deal, getting 10 kilos for $20.  I noticed the other day once of our neighbours has a large, heavily laden plum tree so I should give her a call and see whether she could spare any for a good cause!

[Via http://treesfortomorrow.wordpress.com]