Remember the recipe for beet and onion pizza that I submitted to the Somerville Winter Market recipe contest? Well, it WON! I was so shocked, but very honored. Really, this isn’t about winning a contest, it’s about a great local organization that supports a way for city dwellers to access fresh local produce, even in the winter. And it’s about us, the consumers, supporting the farmers who grow the produce and getting our servings of fruit and vegetables at the same time. I have so much more to say on the topic, but this week has been pretty crazy so I’ll leave it at that. What are you looking forward to when the spring farmer’s markets get going?
Month: March 2011
Ethiopian Chickpea Stew
It’s still very much winter-like outside, and therefore still the season for soups and stews. This week I made Ethiopian Chickpea Stew, which happens to be both vegan and gluten-free, originally posted by Gluten Free Gina. But what drew me to this recipe was the promise of a rich and spicy tomato base, filled with roasted chickpeas, carrots, and potatoes.
And this dish truly delivered on that promise, emphasis on the spicy! Yes, I used the entire 1/4 t of cayenne pepper in the original recipe, and didn’t cut it back. The stew just about reached my spice limit, but was so good that I kept going back for more. I brought a dish to my friend Karla, who also really enjoyed it and said the spiciness cleared her head. With (snow? rain? sleet?) on the way, maybe you should pick up the ingredients for this stew now!
Tostitos Artisan Chips
As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, I was sent two complimentary bags of Tostitos Artisan chips. As luck would have it, I was hosting my book club the following night, and they were happy to help me give these a try. To accompany the chips, I threw together a quick dip of black beans, avocado, lemon juice, cumin, and chili powder. 
Let’s talk about taste first. The first thing that came to mind was “Doritos for Grownups”. (To be fair, a book club member pointed out that we are not too old to eat actual Doritos. I just hate having orange fingers.) But I think the black bean and garlic seasoning powder made the chips seem more artificial. The texture though was good and crunchy, and the leftover chips held up well for a few days.
The artisan chips boast natural ingredients and nine whole grains. While there are several different whole grains in these chips, they are still not a health food. I appreciate the fact that Tostidos is trying to improve the quality of the ingredients used and the overall nutritional value, but these are still a snack type food, not something you’d eat on a daily basis to get your whole grains. The group overall liked the chips, but weren’t ready to run out and buy a bag, unless there was an occasion or they were on sale. Oh, and by the way, we discussed ‘For the Thrill of It’ by Simon Baatz, an interesting book. Thanks to Tostidos for letting us try these out!
Hot Cross Buns
Exactly 32 years ago today, a recipe for Hot Cross Buns was printed in an undetermined newspaper (but my guess is The New Britain Herald) and my grandmother cut it out. She made some notes on it, and the version I have is a photocopy of the original article, dated March 28, 1979. Hot Cross Buns are a Lenten tradition, although there are a lot of different stories about their origin. 
Working with dough requires you to go with the flow, because you can never tell exactly what’s going to happen. This dough took much more flour than I expected, probably almost 6 cups by the end. It was still sticky although very elastic, so I set it to rise. And then it didn’t rise very quickly, or as much as I expected. But I kept moving forward, and in the end the texture of the bread was fine. What I like most about these buns is the hint of spice from the cinnamon, and of course, the trademark white cross frosting which I drizzled on with a spoon. Oh yes, these are definitely homemade hot cross buns, but my grandmother wouldn’t have wanted me to eat these any other way.
1 package dry yeast
1/4 c. warm water
3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/3 c. sugar
1 t salt
1 t cinnamon
3 eggs
2/3 c. raisins
4-5 c. flour
1/4 c. light corn syrup
1 T light corn syrup
1 T hot water
Confectioner’s sugar
Dissolve yeast in water in a large bowl. Heat milk and butter until warm; add to yeast mixture with sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk in eggs. Stir in raisins. Gradually stir in enough flour (4 1/2 c.) to make a manageable dough. Knead dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, adding more flour as needed. Let rise in a greased bowl for at least 1 hour, or until doubled. Punch dough down, and let rest for 10 minutes. Divide dough into 24 equal balls. Place them in a 13×9″ pan coated with cooking spray. Let rise in a warm place until doubled. Bake at 375F for 15 minutes, brush with 1/4 c. corn syrup, and then cook for 5 more minutes until golden brown. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Mix 1 T corn syrup, 1 T water, and gradually stir in enough powdered sugar to form a thick frosting. Drizzle on buns with a spoon to form a cross on each bun.
Strawberry Surprise Smoothie
Oh, how things change. Last week I was enjoying this smoothie after a dip in the pool, and this week I was back to work and school and snow! So much for March going out like a lamb….
The smoothie was made at my Mom’s request, but then I suggested we thrown in the surprise ingredient – spinach. With the strawberries and banana, it was still plenty sweet, and you couldn’t taste the spinach at all. It just added a little bit of extra nutrition, and well, I do love spinach. The mix below made 3 small smoothies, just enough to tide us over to one of my favorite dinners, homemade manicotti. This is my last post from this year’s trip – next week we’ll be back to the regular programming.
5-6 strawberries, cleaned and hulled
1 ripe banana
1 c. raw spinach leaves
6 oz. nonfat vanilla yogurt
1/2 c. ice
Splash milk
Blend until smooth.
Onion Tart
While I was on Spring Break, I decided to do a dry run of my Food Science final project, which includes making this Onion Tart. The tricky part is the pastry dough, of course. It needs to be tender, flaky, and golden brown. I honestly can’t remember the last time I baked with so much butter! I won’t bore you with all the details, but it’s important that the butter is cold. It needs to be cold when you mix the dough, cold when you roll it out, and cold before you bake it.
The pastry crust is topped with caramelized onions, which are cooked on the stove and seasoned with salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar. The original recipe calls for adding mixed salad greens and goat cheese as well, but for this experiment we ate the salad on the side. I think this came out looking pretty well for the first try. (My Mom’s kitchen didn’t look quite as good, it was covered in flour.) The tart tasted good as well, but you really can’t go wrong with pastry and caramelized onions, and the salad provided some balance.
But the best part was that while the tart was baking, we went out to the beach to catch the sunset. The sunsets are gorgeous here, and a cowbell rings every night when the sun goes down.
Strawberry Shortcake
One of the best things about going south for Spring Break is the fresh local fruit. The strawberry season in New England is short, and feels far away right now. But in Florida, there is a crop picked in early winter. So armed with a pile of local strawberries, we got to enjoy strawberry shortcake in March. First, we cleaned and sliced the strawberries, and placed them in a bowl with just a pinch of sugar.
We debated making the shortcakes with Bisquick, but with the pantry items on hand, it was just as easy to make these Buttermilk Biscuits. They came together in less than a half an hour.
After dinner, we sliced the biscuits and added the strawberries and some whipped cream. OK, here we used Cool Whip, but for a more authentic version, you could whip up some heavy cream. This dish was great, and almost tricked me into thinking it was the 4th of July.
Hungarian Chicken Goulash
As I tweeted last week, it’s a lot different to cook for 5 adults and a toddler than it is for yourself! You’re taking into account a lot more preferences, and need to time everything to be on the table at once. But it was a lot of fun, and this is one of the meals I put together last week for my family. I made Hungarian Chicken Goulash and served it over barley with a side of steamed green beans.
The chicken recipe itself was fairly simple, and although it called for plenty of paprika, it didn’t really have a lot of flavor in the end. It needed a little more spice and perhaps a dash of cayenne pepper. Everyone liked the barley (a whole grain!) and green beans, and it was certainly a colorful meal so I am calling it a success.
Buttermilk Pancakes
I think my family’s favorite pancake recipe might be these Banana Sour Cream pancakes, but we had buttermilk in the house, and decided to try these Buttermilk Pancakes. We added blueberries to some, and chocolate chips to others. Because really, there’s nothing wrong with a little chocolate at breakfast! The key to these pancakes was beating the egg whites separately, and then folding them gently into the batter at the end. This made the pancakes really light and fluffy.
We enjoyed our pancakes with a side of fresh fruit. The little person’s plate started with a blueberry pancake and fresh strawberries, and the rest of us enjoyed pancakes with strawberries, bananas and sliced apples. Everyone had a great breakfast, and was ready to start the day!
Veg, Sarasota, FL
My inspiration to blog while on vacation stemmed from a visit to a fantastic restaurant! I often cook when I am visiting with my family, and I do have new recipes and photos to share next week. But it’s also a pleasure to eat at new restaurants when I travel, and my parents and I like to try at least one new place each year in the greater Sarasota area.
This year, we ventured over to Veg, a casual restaurant which serves both vegetarian and seafood fare. As frequent readers know, I am not strictly vegetarian, but appreciate simple vegetarian meals. When we took a quick look at the lunch menu before heading in, I was immediately impressed with the selection of sandwiches and salads. The menu items combined mostly plant based ingredients, and many options were either vegan or could be easily made vegan.
My Dad started with the potato leek soup, which had a rich flavor and plenty of potatoes and mushrooms. I had the Portobello sandwich with caramelized onions, my Mom chose the Farmer’s Market Panini with spinach and goat cheese, and my Dad got the Portobello Muffaletta with an olive tapenade and Gouda cheese. The sandwiches came with a choice of cole slaw or fresh fruit, and we all chose the fruit. All of the sandwiches were made to order, and served nice and hot. We each liked our choice and would order it again, except for wanting to try other menu items.
Since it was St. Patrick’s Day, our server told us her mother had made fresh Irish bread. We’re no strangers to Irish bread, and decided that it would make a perfect dessert to end the meal. This was a good version of Irish bread which was a bit more like a scone, just lightly sweet and very moist.
Our server was very friendly, and the place had a nice feel as a family owned business. This visit to Veg was a success, and I am looking forward to a return trip when I am back in the area. Plus, I really need to try their fish tacos which have gotten rave reviews. If you live in the area, or travel there, I recommend that you give this place a try!
Recipes that Fit 