Kudos

Recently I've spent a lot of time perusing menus as I look for the perfect location for a Valentine's dinner. Sacramento has a number of new restaurants, but unfortunately I'm seeing a lot of the same meat-and-potato-style fare. Of course many restaurants will have ~a single~ vegetarian option on their dinner menu. Sorry chefs - it just doesn't make sense for my hubby and I to shell out big bucks for us both to order the same dish. Isn't it so much more fun when you can order a selection of starters and entrées and munch off each other's plates?

Despite my complaints, some kudos are in order. One of Old Sacramento's longtime restaurants The Firehouse is the clear winner when it comes to accommodating the vegetarian gourmet this year on Valentine's Day. They have a dedicated vegan/vegetarian menu.

We're looking to celebrate on Saturday, so I'm sad to report that my hubby and I won't get to enjoy this lovely menu. Nevertheless, here's what I would order:

First Course

Vegan Asparagus Bundle
pistachio-arugula pesto, baby red oak lettuce and savory celeriac purée


Second Course

Brie en Croustade
mission figs and port red onions baked in puff pastry with pistachios and pepper-honey drizzle


Third Course

Vegan Beet Carpaccio Salad
watercress and crystalized ginger, spiced almonds and pear vinaigrette


Intermezzo

White Peach Champagne Sorbet


Fourth Course

Winter Greens Risotto Verde
braised radicchio, endive, arugula and Parmigiano-Reggiano


Fifth Course

Chocolate Devotion
milk and dark chocolate mousse, devil's food cake, raspberry, coulis and chocolate-caramel crème

Sounds pretty fantastic, doesn't it?

Oh, and by the way, hello Internet. It's so nice to be back!

So Saucy

{Green Bean Casserole}

I have a new secret sauce. I think it's pretty great, but my hubby absolutely loves it. He's always had a taste for creamy sauces ~ alfredo, bechamel, creamy pesto. Basically, if there's cream in it he loves it. Of course this hasn't always worked out so well for him. I mean, a busy dad can only squeeze in so many runs to stay ahead of the cream sauces. You know what I mean!

This creamy sauce isn't actually creamy ~ its texture comes from someplace other than cream. It has very little fat and lots of flavor, not to mention a dose of protein and fiber. So far I've used it with veggies and as a pasta sauce. Success, success, success! I plan to continue adapting this recipe for as many uses as I can. Tonight I'll share my basic recipe, and I'll share a few of my variations soon.

Consider trying it out. I think you'll be surprised how flavorful and satisfying it is ~ especially when you don't feel like running off a real cream sauce!

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Garlic and Herb "Cream" Sauce

• 1 15 oz. can canellini or white kidney beans, undrained
• Up to 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• Up to 2 tsp. of dried herbs (try thyme, rosemary, oregano, parsley, or a combination)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  

Place all ingredients in a blender (or use a hand blender) and blend until the sauce is smooth and creamy. It's that simple!

Game Prizes sans Perfume

At the baby shower I helped plan a few weeks ago I was in charge of buying or making prizes for the shower games. Since we had just as many men as women coming, my big dilemma was what exactly a "game prize" should be. My online search told me that the most appropriate shower prizes include: lotions, scented candles, sachets, and lip gloss. These options clearly wouldn't do ~ I didn't want the guys to bolt, afterall! Then I thought about chocolate, but we were already having chocolate cake and chocolate favors.

In the end I made up a double batch of my homemade salsa (recipe here), which these friends have always enjoyed.






After adding a little cuteness, I felt like I had some very respectable game prizes to offer. No makeup or girlie scents in sight!


I'm happy to report that the guys did not bolt from the party. We had an all-around great time!

Meatless Mondays: It's Time

You'll have to excuse my sparse posting recently. Instead of talking about food (and life!) I've been enjoying it. So now it's time to start catching up. In fact, I'm blogging with today's Meatless Mondays post just in the nick of time. In most parts of the U.S. it's not even Monday anymore. But who's counting anyway!

In recent weeks I have finally realized that summer is almost over. School has started for all the children here in Davis, and we've even seen a few cooler nights. Clearly it's time to prepare for Fall, but I'm not quite ready. I have yet to really enjoy the best of summer produce ~ the garden-fresh tomatoes, the locally grown sweet corn, the eggplants and bell peppers. I'm hoping to make time for all of these summer treats...and fast.

For today's Meatless Mondays post I'd like to share this luscious tomato salad. It's perfect for this time of year because it features tomatoes straight from the farmstand.


It requires zero cooking.


And, it is light enough for even the hottest of days.


I hope you enjoy it as much as we did ~ even my daughter dove headfirst into this, herbs and all!

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Marinated Tomato Salad

• 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 pints of the freshest mini tomatoes you can find (using a mixture of heirloom cherry tomatoes might make for the prettiest result)
• 2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh mint leaves
• 2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/8 tsp. each of sea salt and freshly ground pepper (or more to taste)
  

Whisk together the vinegar and oil in the serving dish. Add the tomatoes to the dish, top with the herbs, salt, and pepper, and then toss well to coat the tomatoes. Adjust the seasonings if necessary, then chill for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours before serving.

Fun With Ola

Last weekend I was looking for a fun cooking project to do with my daughter. We were in the mood for something sweet, but I was hoping to avoid heating up the house with the oven. I showed my daughter a picture of homemade granola bars. Then she launched into this extended story about how her preschool friend Emily likes ola bars with chocolate chips and how her other friend Maria likes ola bars only sometimes.

Since we almost never eat granola bars around our house, this was the first time I had heard my daughter call them "ola bars." She was dumbfounded when I explained that they are actually called "granola bar." So cute!

In the end we did make a batch of granola bars. Truthfully these are somewhat of a cross between granola bars and Rice Krispie treats. They don't have granola in them, and they aren't baked like homemade granola. But they do have the flavor of granola bars with some of the same treats you would expect mixed in ~ dried fruit and chocolate chips. The cereal is more like over-sized Rice Krispies, similar to what rice cakes are made of, and I found it in bags with all the other cereals.



It was a super fun project ~ easy, very child-friendly, and SO tasty. The first time I made these I followed my penpal Emily's recipe, then last weekend I used another variation. My version is a little less sweet than the two recipes I looked at.

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Peanut Butter "Ola" Bars

• 3 cups crispy rice cereal
• 3 cups crispy kamut cereal or toasted oat cereal
• 1 cup dried cranberries (or other small dried fruit)
• 1/2 regular raisins
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 cup honey
• 1 16 oz jar natural peanut butter (creamy or chunky)

Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan. Combine the cereals, raisins, and sunflower seeds in a large bowl. Place the peanut butter and honey in a microwave safe bowl and microwave briefly to soften the mixture, then stir well to combine. Pour over the cereal mixture, then mix well. Press the combined mixture into the prepared pan. Cool, cut into squares or bars, and serve.

Keepin' It Fresh

When I think of summer I think of backyard parties. In the last few weeks I was lucky enough to be part of two backyard parties, and each time my contribution was a batch of guacamole (along with my favorite homemade salsa).

Nobody batted an eye when I showed up with this:


Are you wondering what the brown things are? Let me explain. . .

I've long loved avocados, and especially guacamole, but keepin' it fresh is a real PROBLEM. There are all kinds of tips out there for keeping avocados from turning brown. One of the most popular methods involves squeezing lots of citrus juice on the avocado (which works great since I love the flavor of lime juice with avocado anyway). I find the citrus is just enough to keep the avocado fresh until it's devoured (not long in my house!).

When I'm saving part of an avocado until the next day, or when I prep guacamole in advance, I definitely need something more powerful. The best trick I've tried is to put the seed(s) back in the avocado. If I'm saving half an avocado in the fridge, I just leave the seed in. If I'm saving guacamole for later I save the seeds while I prep, and then I submerge the seeds back in the dip when it's finished. It looks a little weird, but for whatever reason the avocado stays super fresh this way. Then I remove the seeds at the very last minute.


Here's my latest guacamole recipe. It's smoky, full of flavor, and has a subtle spice from the Tabasco. Enjoy!

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Party Guacamole
Serves 6-8 as a small appetizer

• 3 avocados
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 clove of garlic, finely grated on a microplace or minced
• 3/4 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced
• 4 green onions, white parts only, minced
• 1/3 cup Rotel canned tomatoes with green chiles (about 1/3 of a 10 oz can)
  
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• Several dashes of Tabasco (3 or more shakes of the wrist)
• Ground pepper

Cut open the avocados, remove the seeds, score them, and then spoon the flesh into a medium bowl. Add the lime juice immediately, then add all of the other ingredients. Stir until the ingredients are well mixed and the avocado has mashed a bit. Adjust seasonings, and serve.

Mini Fiesta

Yay, Emily! My penpal had her quesadilla party this weekend. Back when we did our food exchange my challenge to her was to host a quesadilla party. I gave her my favorite salsa recipe to try, and she ended up using my spinach quesadilla recipe and pumpkin quesadilla recipe too. See her site with all the details, plus her strawberry salsa and chicken veggie quesadillas. Looks like a fun time!


I figured it was time for me to share my salsa recipe. It's the red salsa in the middle of the picture above. (Thanks for the picture, Emily!) It's super easy to make since you can throw everything into a food processor mostly unchopped. The one thing I would be sure to chop is the jalapeño so that you don't end up with large pieces in your salsa. I also think it tastes better the next day once the flavors have had a chance to blend.

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Homemade Salsa

• 1 1/2 medium jalapeños (or more to taste), chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro, washed well (some stems are OK ~ they have flavor too!)
• 1/2 small onion (red onion looks the best!)
• 1 can Mexican recipe stewed tomatoes
• 1 can regular stewed or diced tomatoes
• 1/4 tsp. salt
  

Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the salsa reaches your desired chunkiness.

Par-tay!

I just finished ALL of my last law school projects last night. I honestly don't know what to do with myself. Oh wait. . .maybe I'll plan a party! For 30 people! And host it in two days! Can it be done? We'll see.


In the meantime, here's a super easy party recipe for you. It was part of our WILD party a couple of weekends ago. For best results, make this topping in advance and keep in the fridge so the flavors can blend together. The batch I made was garlicky and yummy!

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Easy Tomato Bruschetta

• 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. fresh oregano, minced (or any other herb you prefer ~improvise!)

Mix together all the ingredients. Cover and let the flavors blend in the fridge for an hour or more. Use on toasts or as a sauce or garnish for pasta or veggies. Top with Parmesan or other cheese.

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Now a question for you: what's your favorite party food?

Tea Inpired

After all the tea parties I've been to recently, both big and small, I've decided to become re-acquainted with the sandwich. I've never loved sandwiches. At least, not as a daily thing. But I definitely recognize that there are some darn good sandwiches out there. Tea sandwiches are some of the cutest, so I decided to start my sandwich kick with a tea-inspired sandwich spread.

This spread turned out great. I would recommend it for a party dip served with veggies or pita chips for dipping. It's good on focaccia bread with fixins, as pictured here.


It's also good as a wrap or as a simple but elegant tea sandwich. I know all of these statements are true because this recipe makes A LOT! Beware...


I should also mention that I've made a lot of roasted veggies in my day.


I find that the quickest and neatest way to toss them with olive oil is to use your {superbly clean} hands. Really ~ just get down and dirty. It works especially well if you have cute little hands like these:


I love having a little helper in the kitchen!

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Roasted Eggplant Spread
Inspired by Ina Garten

• 1 medium eggplant
• 2 red bell peppers, seeded
• 1 red onion, peeled
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 can canellini or white kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the eggplant, bell pepper, and onion into 1-inch cubes. Place them on a baking sheet, then toss by hand with the garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for 45 minutes, until the vegetables are lightly browned and soft, turning once during cooking.

Cool slightly.

Place the vegetables in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, add the drained beans, and pulse to blend. Taste for salt and pepper.

Dark and Mysterious

I could be referring to the gloomy sky outside. Or I could be referring to something dark, mysterious, and handsome. But I'm actually referring to one of my chile pepper success stories ~ Black Bean Soup. (You knew all along, right?) For years I have tried to master slow cooked black beans. The recipes I've tried have always been bland, and then at the last minute I haphazardly throw in a bunch of seasonings. The result has consistently been. . . well, good. But not great.

Recently, armed with my new chile pepper know-how, I set out to tackle this problem. Here's what I came up with ~ a recipe that I am very pleased with. I started with a handful of Anaheim chile peppers for some very subtle heat. (Add more or different peppers to taste.)


I used both a food processor and a slow-cooker to minimize the hands-on time. In the end I preferred using the processed veggies over hand-cutting them because they were small enough to melt into the soup base. It made for a smoother, creamier soup.


Here was the result ~ dark and mysterious, as promised!


Black Bean Soup

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  
• 1 onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
  
• 3 Anaheim chile peppers
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 4 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. thyme
  
• 1 pound black beans, sorted and rinsed
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 15 oz. can Mexican recipe tomatoes, undrained
• 1 tsp. salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
  
• 5 cups hot water
• Half a lime, juiced

Use the food processor to chop the onion, bell peppers, and chile peppers into a fine dice. Do this in two or more batches to avoid overfilling your processor. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Briefly saute the veggies until starting to soften, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, and thyme, then saute one minute more. Transfer the veggies to a 6-quart slow cooker. Add beans, bay leaves, tomatoes, salt, black pepper, and hot water.

Cook on high for approximately 5 hours. Stir in the lime juice and add additional salt to taste. (I added another 1/2 tsp.) Using an immersion blender, blend the soup slightly to add creaminess, but leave some whole beans intact.

Serve with toppings such as: sour cream, diced onions, cheese, tomatoes, diced jalapenos, or hard-boiled egg.

The Future of Fajitas

The future of fajitas has changed dramatically at my house. It's actually been years since I made fajitas. The reason is silly ~ my marinade calls for pepper jelly. I rarely have it on hand since I have no other reason to buy it. When I finished the last jar I had, several years ago mind you, I stopped making fajitas. I just happened to acquire more recently, and now I've decided that pepper jelly may advance to a kitchen staple for the sole purpose of making fajitas.

Why the advancement? Because last week I made a fajita discovery. I had the bright idea not to fuss with a grill of any kind. Instead I marinated veggies and tofu as I normally would, put it on a pan, and roasted them in the oven.


I put the tofu in a little early, then added the veggies to the same pan.



I also roasted a separate tray of broccoli with the leftover marinade drizzled over it. And I'm happy to report it all worked! There wasn't the same smoky flavor you would get on an outdoor grill, but otherwise the result seemed identical. It's so much easier for me to throw it in the oven and forget about it than to dutifully turn things on the grill or grill pan. So yes, there's a new future for fajitas at my house.



In case you'd like to open your own jar of pepper jelly, here's my recipe:

Tofu and Veggie "Oven Fajitas"

• 1 Tbsp. water
• 1 Tbsp. vinegar (I used apple cider)
  
• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. pepper jelly
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne (less for a toddler's palette!)
  
• 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
• 12 oz. extra firm tofu, sliced
  
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 2 bell peppers, sliced
• Tortillas
• Fajita fixins
  

Mix all the ingredients, then pour over your tofu and veggies in an airtight container. Coat well, but be gentle with the tofu so it doesn't break. Marinade in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Put the tofu on a sheet pan and bake for 10 minutes. Add the veggies for another 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on everything to be sure nothing gets too brown. Serve on tortillas with fajita fixins as you please.

NOTE: Have fun experimenting with different veggie combinations. I think portabellas would be great!

A Different Take on Pumpkin

You can put your pumpkin pie spice away for this recipe!

At my house this soup is one of our longtime fall favorites. I love the fact that there's very little prep required since most of the ingredients come from a can. Add some hearty multigrain bread and maybe a salad and you've got a healthy, warming meal. But beware, your house will really smell like curry!


Curried Pumpkin and Chickpea Soup
Serves 6 to 8

• 2 T. olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 T. curry powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
• 2 large red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 1 quart vegetable stock
• 1 cup water
• 1 can pumpkin
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
  

In a large saucepan, saute garlic and onion in oil 4 minutes. Add seasons, then stir to coat. Add chickpeas, stir to coat, and saute 2 minutes more. Then add potatoes, stock, water, and pumpkin. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and keep at a lively simmer for about 12 minutes. When the broth has thickened slightly and the potatoes are tender, the soup is done. Season with salt and pepper, garnish with cilantro, and enjoy!

Smokin' Hot

It's about time for me to share my Halloween chili recipe. This recipe features another chile pepper - the chipotle chile.

The chipotle is actually a pepper that I'm pretty familiar with, although it's always fun to learn more. Believe it or not, it's really just a dried and smoked jalapeno pepper. What I've read is that dried peppers tend to be hotter, and chipotles DO seem slightly hotter than jalapenos.

So where do you find a chipotle? Not in the produce section but in the Mexican food section of the store. It will be in a can labelled "chipotle in adobo." Adobo is a Mexican sauce or condiment that is very smoky and barbecue-like, and for whatever reason chipotle peppers are most often sold submerged in adobo. I have read that you can also buy chipotles in both dried and pickled forms, but I have never seen it.

Here are a few more tidbits to peek your interest in chile peppers: There are over 200 different varieties. Most of their heat sits in the seeds and the white membranes, so to reduce the heat you can remove those parts of the pepper. And finally, a chile pepper contains more vitamin C than an orange. Wow!


Black & Orange Chili (slow cooker or stovetop)

• 2 T olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 large red bell pepper, diced
  
• 1 Poblano/Pasilla green chile, diced
• 3 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 1/2 T chili powder
• 1 1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 4 15 oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 cups water
• Salt and pepper
• 1-2 T minced chipotle, or to taste

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, bell pepper, chile pepper, and carrots, and cooked until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chili powder and cook for 30 seconds. Add the sweet potatoes and stir to coat with the spices.

Transfer the mixture to a slow cooker. (Or stockpot, if cooking on the stove.) Add the tomatoes, beans, and water; season with salt, cover, and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours. (It will take approximately 1 hour on the stovetop.)

When ready to serve, stir the chipotles into the chili. Taste to adjust the seasonings.