guess I should update my profile...

I finally overcame my distaste for dissertating, finished my dissertation, and successfully defended it in late January. Crazy. Anyway, between the exciting (by which I mean "terrifying") run-up to the defense and Victor's long hours at work, there hasn't been much cooking around here. I'm slowly getting my cooking mojo back, though, and planning to post a bit more regularly. Of course, I'm heading off to Mexico in a little more than a week, so don't get your hopes up quite yet (and, to any potential internet baddies - Victor and our ferocious attack-cats will both be staying here in Seattle).

I had some folks over for a soup swap last night, so it feels fitting that I'd start posting again with that recipe. It's one I've made many times and keep returning to, because it is tasty, healthy, and easy.

Chipotle-Kissed Red Bean and Sweet Potato Chili
(adapted from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow-Cooker)

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 ½ lb sweet potatoes, cut into ½” chunks
• 1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 15.5 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed (or 1 ½ C cooked beans)
• 1 ½ C water
• salt, to taste
• 1 Tbsp minced chipotle chiles in adobo

Heat the oil in a large skillet (if you’ll be using a slow-cooker) or in a heavy soup pot (if you’ll be cooking the chili on the stove). Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chili powder and a little salt, and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat, add the sweet potatoes, and stir to coat with spices.

If using a slow-cooker, transfer the mixture to a large slow-cooker crock and add the tomatoes, beans, and water; otherwise, just add them to the pot you used to sweat the onions and garlic. Season with a bit more salt.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours in a slow-cooker or simmer for an hour (or so) on the stovetop, until potatoes are soft. Stir in the minced chiles (NOT the whole can) and salt to taste.

serves 4-6

not-at-all vegetarian roast veggie dinner

Monday: Roasted Cauliflower with Bacon & Garlic; roasted spicy sweet potatoes

This cauliflower recipe would be equally good with broccoli, I think, and with double the garlic. I cooked it at 425F instead of 375F because I wanted a hotter oven for the sweet potatoes.

I mixed a bunch of small sweet potatoes (quartered lengthwise) with 2 tsp of Penzey's Chili9000 and 2 tsp kosher salt, plus enough oil to moisten everything. I roasted them in a single layer for 15 minutes (if they were larger, I would do 20 minutes instead) and then flipped them and sprinkled them with a bit of brown sugar and a little more salt. (This is the point where I put the baking sheet with the cauliflower into the oven.) Then I roasted for an additional 20 minutes.

more laziness (now in dinner form)

Victor's been working through dinner a lot these days. (One day, his game will ship, and possibly I'll get to see my husband again. Oh happy day!) Usually I just make dinner and he takes leftovers to work for lunch the next day (his company generally provides them with dinner if there are many people around late enough for it).

It's not terribly fun, though, so sometimes I just have a snack-ish thing for dinner instead. Tonight it was crackers, cheese, and branston pickle. And since I'm making a renewed effort to keep track, last night I revisited the Sichuan Green Beans I made a while back. I did add more pepper, and it was good.

Wednesday: Sichuan Green Beans; brown rice
Thursday: snacks-for-dinner (cheddar, pickles, and crackers)

I have a strong suspicion that this whole "blog" thing would be more useful if I were less lazy. Oh well.

Monday: Sweet-and-Sour Lentils; whole-wheat couscous

Sometimes when I revisit an old recipe, one I used to make frequently, it's great and I wonder why I ever stopped making it. And then there are recipes that I wonder how the hell I ever thought it was worth my time to either make or eat. This one falls somewhere in between, although as I was reading it over to type up for this post*, I noticed that the header says "if you would like the dish sweeter, add a small amount of brown sugar or honey." Why, yes, I would like it sweeter. D'oh. So maybe I'll make it again, add some sweetener, and see if I can move the recipe firmly into the first camp.

Sweet-and-Sour Lentils
adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites

• 1 1/2 C brown lentils, rinsed
• 2 C apple juice
• 1" piece ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 C water
• 1 C chopped onions
• 3 garlic cloves, grated or minced
  
• 1 C diced carrots
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 medium yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 small zucchini, diced
• 1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes
• 1/2 can crushed pineapple
• 1/8 C brown sugar
  
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
• chopped scallions (garnish)

Combine lentils, juice, ginger, and water in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer (uncovered) 30-40 minutes. Keep an eye on them near the end, and add some of the excess pineapple juice if they seem to be getting too dry.

Meanwhile, saute onions, garlic, and carrots in oil over medium-high heat until onions begin to soften (~5 minutes). Add pepper, squash, tomatoes, pineapple, and brown sugar. Cover and cook on low for another 10 minutes until just tender. Stir in soy sauce and vinegar. Garnish with scallions and serve.

serves 4-6

*I have a small, highly curmudgeonly pet-peeve about the word "blog." Seasonal Menus is my blog, the individual entries are "posts" or "blog posts," not "blogs." I know it's standard usage at this point, but I feel strongly on this issue. At least, strongly enough that I had to get it off my chest here, in this tiny footnote.

putting the "Sichuan" in the green beans

We made a Cook's Illustrated version of Sichuan green beans this evening; for some reason, their Asian recipes always eliminate what they call the "foreign ingredients." (I suspect that anyone who's interested enough in cooking to attempt their recipes is more than capable of going to Penzey's and the asian section of the grocery store.) Anyway, I didn't change much in the recipe other than to replace the things that they used to replace Asian ingredients.

One of the substitutions I made was to use szechuan peppercorns instead of the called-for ground white pepper; I wasn't sure how much to use, however, and I think I didn't add enough. Next time - more pepper! The other substitution was that I used mirin instead of sherry, but I just did a straight-forward replacement there. It was great, and we're both looking forward to tweak it a bit in the future.

Sichuan Green Beans with Pork
adapted from Cook's Illustrated

• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp mirin
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp (or so) szechuan peppercorns, freshly ground
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (either use very spicy ones next time, or increase the amount to 1/2 tsp)
• 1/4 tsp dry mustard
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 lb green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1/4 lb ground pork (they suggest substituting 4 oz shiitake mushrooms to make it vegetarian; I think this would be a great addition in general)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tbsp ginger, minced or grated
• 3 scallions, sliced thinly
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil

To make the sauce, whisk together the soy sauce through dry mustard.

Heat the oil in a large skilled over high heat. Add the beans and cook until tender with slightly shriveled and blackened skins (6-9 minutes). Transfer to a large bowl.

Reduce heat to medium-high and add the pork. Cook, breaking up the pork, until no pink remains. Add the garlic and ginger and continue stirring for another 30 seconds or so. Add the beans and the sauce (stirring if it looks like it started to separate) and cook until the sauce looks thickened a bit (just another few seconds). Remove from heat; add the scallions and sesame oil. Give it a final stir, and serve.

serves 2 as an entree

Early Fall Menu (week of Sept 12)

Sunday: roast salmon with fennel & tomatoes
Monday: chicken puttanesca
Tuesday: cook's holiday
Wednesday: pork with pan-roasted tomatoes
Thursday: espinacas con garbanzosFriday: peanut-butter and banana smoothies
Saturday: Tolkien feast dinner (bread; cold meats; cheese; chanterelles with bacon; blackberry tart)

Late Summer Menu (Week of Aug 29)

I've gotten so terrible about updating these! Here's one from a few weeks back that I apparently forgot to publish... oops!

Sunday: Salmon Roasted in Butter; Tomato, Basil, and Fresh Mozzarella Salad; Blueberries
Monday: slow-cooked ginger salmon; broccoli with crispy garlic & ginger; brown rice
Tuesday: cook's holiday
Wednesday: roasted chicken; oven-roasted carrots & potatoes
Thursday: Savory Bread Pudding with Tomatoes and HerbsFriday: out
Saturday: leftovers