Comfort Food in Trying Times!

Black Beans with Eggs
Serves 2

Who isn't looking for comfort food in these days of COVID-19 quarantine?  I could eat this dish every other day!  

Cooking is one way to fill the day even though this dish is very fast.  Before starting the beans, you can spend some time on making a great salad to go with it.  Hit all the food groups!

2 T. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1 small carrot, sliced
1/4 c. celery, thinly sliced
1/4 c. tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (or more if you like hot)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 14-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained, or 2 cups home cooked beans
1/2 c. hot water
Salt & pepper to taste
4 eggs
1/4 c. cheddar cheese, grated

In a smallish (10" cast iron works great) skillet on medium low heat, saute' onions, carrot, celery and garlic until vegetables are soft.  Add tomato paste, paprika, red pepper, cumin and fry for 30 seconds.

Add the beans, water and salt and pepper.  Stir to combine all ingredients.  Let simmer five to 10 minutes.  Make four indentations in the beans and crack an egg into each.  Cover and cook for four to eight minutes, depending on how done you like your eggs.  When ready to serve, sprinkle the cheese over the top and serve in the skillet.

Based on a recipe from NYT Cooking 

A Great Picnic Salad!

Cherry Tomato and White Bean Salad


Makes 4 to 6 servings.

This recipe is very tasty and right out of NYT Cooking. I served it at a family picnic and got rave reviews.  The original recipe included shaved Parmesan cheese (2 oz) but I thought it was over the top.  I like the fresh taste of the vegetables and adding cheese seemed to make the dressing thick.  I like the crunch of the onions and celery.

¼ c olive oil

3 T red wine vinegar

½ tsp Dijon mustard

¾ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 small or ½ large red onion, sliced vertically in narrow pieces

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved

4 c cooked cannellini or Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained

2 ribs celery, sliced thinly

¼ c chopped fresh parsley

In a large bowl, whisk the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper.  Stir in the onion and garlic.  Set aside to marinate for 15 to 30 minutes.

Once the tomatoes, celery and beans have been prepared, add to the dressing in the large bowl.  Gently toss together.  Just prior to serving fold in the parsley.

I’ve made this in advance and combined the dressing with the other ingredients right before serving.

Adding more and different fresh herbs would also go well.

Curry Garbanzo Beans with Chicken

I've got a new cookbook!  "Feed Zone Table: Family-Style Meals to Nourish Life and Sport".  There are two authors, Biju Thomas and Allen Lim.  They both consult with professional sports teams.  One is a professional chef and the other a PhD exercise physiologist.  In the book, they both focus on pro cycling teams and how to improve performance through nutrition.  While doing research they found that cyclists perform better when their training is more socially connected to each other.  So they now train and eat in groups.  The authors then focused on family-style meals that are nutritious, made from fresh ingredients, quick to prepare and tasty.  The following recipe is one that I adapted from one of theirs.

Curry Garbanzo Beans with Chicken

One pound zucchini cut into ½” matchsticks

1 small clove garlic, minced

½ red onion, sliced vertically

¼ tsp cinnamon

1 T. Madras curry powder

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

¼ tsp Ufra chili or red pepper flakes

1 15 ½ oz can garbanzo beans, rinsed

6 – 8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1”x2” pieces

2 T. olive oil

½ c. chopped fresh herbs such as parsley, dill, mint, cilantro and/or basil.

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees regular bake or 400 degrees convection roast.

Place all ingredients, except the herbs, into a large bowl and mix until the spices are well distributed.  Spread on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and distribute to one layer.  Place in the oven.  After 10 minutes check for doneness of the chicken.  It should be just cooked through.  Continue to roast for a few more minutes if the chicken is not quite cooked.

Place on a serving platter and distribute herbs over the top.  Serve with yogurt on the side.  Serves two as an entree.

I found this to be very tasty and very fast.  In a convection oven on roast (vs. bake) this cooked up in 10 minutes.  You could make this vegan by eliminating the chicken and adding 1/4 c. pine nuts or chopped walnuts.

For those who count carbs, the number of carbs per serving (approx. 1 cup) is 44 grms.  Subtract the dietary fiber of 12 grms. and the number of carbs that count is 32 grms. You can reduce the quantity of carbs to 1 cup/recipe.  An individual serving of countable carbs will drop to 16 grms.  One serving or one exchange for my diabetic friends.

Wintertime is Squash Time!

It's the middle of winter and comfort food gets my tastebuds working! I love winter squash--all the varieties, but I find my favorite to be butternut.  It roasts easily in the oven and can be used for any recipe calling for squash or pumpkin. We have started receiving produce shipment bi-weekly delivered to our door from Imperfect Product.  www.imperfectproduce.com   or Ugly Produce as most people describe their fresh products.  Our last box contained a butternut squash.  In a effort to make the roasted squash more interesting, I came up with the following recipe: Roasted Butternut Squash with Pears 1 – 1 ½ pounds butternut squash 2 T olive oil 1 small onion, diced 1 small fresh pear, diced, peeled or not 2 tsp fresh chopped rosemary 1 – 2 tsp curry powder 2 T heavy cream Salt & pepper to taste Cut the squash in half lengthwise.  Remove seeds.  Brush cut edge with oil.  Line a sheet pan with foil or parchment paper.  Places squash cut side down on the sheet.  Roast at 425 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes, or until soft when pierced with a knife.  Remove from the oven and let cool enough to handle.  Scoop out cooked squash and set aside. In a large saute pan, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onion, pear, rosemary and saute until the onion is soft.  Add curry powder and stir to coat the onions and pears. Add the roasted butternut squash and cream.  Stir until completely mixed.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Continue to heat on low until serving temperature is reached.  Makes 4 servings plus or minus depending on the size of the squash. Nutritional Information per serving: Calories 143 CHO 12 grms Protein 0 grms Fat 11 grms Fiber grms My husband, who I experiment on all the time, said this recipe was worth writing down.  I thought it was a keeper too.  The flavor of the roasted squash comes through but the seasonings give it a bit more interest, the pears a bit of sweetness and the cream--that comfort food touch. Imperfect Produce is a great idea and service.  Their mission is to divert produce that doesn't make it to store shelves to people who will eat i, resulting in less food waste.  Their products either don't pass the "appearance" test or are surplus.  Either way, their produce is fresh and tasty and is delivered to your door (in certain cities.)

Zucchini with Herbs Salad

I came across this recipe from a flyer from my supermarket, Fred Meyer, during the height of zucchini growing season this past summer.  I found it very tasty with the fresh herbs adding greatly to the dish.  It is a great way to use the medium to large sized zucchini.  It can be served hot, cold or at room temperature.  And it travels well if you leave the final assembly to just before serving.

Zucchini with Herbs Salad

Serves 4

Vinaigrette

2 tsp grainy Dijon mustard
1 T. minced shallot or one garlic clove minced
3 T. red wine vinegar
4 T. EV olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Salad

2 or 3 zucchini, depending on size, cut on the diagonal into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 cup lightly packed parsley, either curly or Italian, chopped
1/4 cup lightly packed basil or fresh dill, chopped
1/4 cup lightly packed chives, chopped
1 T. toasted pine nuts
1/4 c. grated Parmesan
Olive oil, salt and pepper

Make the vinaigrette by adding all ingredients in a jar or small bowl.  Shake or whisk to combine.  Set aside.

Preheat your grill or oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly brush both side of the zucchini with olive oil.  Place directly on the grill on indirect heat.  Or place on a parchment paper lined sheet pan one layer deep for your oven.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook turning once until the edges are charred and the zucchini is tender-crisp.  

Arrange zucchini on a serving platter, drizzle the vinaigrette over, top with the herbs and pine nuts.  Scatter the Parmesan over all.  

The herbs and pine nuts really upped the flavor of the zucchini!  Feel free to use any combination of fresh herbs available.

Dinner in a Box?

I've been curious about these meals in a box.  I've talked to several people who think they are great.  I'm a "from scratch" cook and like to select my own produce and meats to get the best available.  I'm pretty good at looking in the fridge at 4:00 pm to see what I can make a dinner out of.  

I tried a meal in a box from our Fred Meyer (Kroger) store packaged by www.preppared.com.  I selected the Japanese Beef Bowl with Pickled Carrots at $18 for two servings.  It contained ground beef (15% fat), cooked jasmine white rice, shredded carrots, chopped bok choy, sliced mushrooms, minced garlic, chopped ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey and Asian hot sauce.  The preparation time was 20 minutes.  The directions were very easy to follow and took the time estimated.  And it tasted good.  Certainly as good as if I had prepared it from scratch.  The quality and freshness of the ingredients appeared high.  The box is labeled with a "use by" date which was three days away.  I thought the entree was as advertised.

But I was curious:  how much time did I save?  How much would it cost if I'd purchased the ingredients myself?  I estimated the two servings would have cost $8.  Time savings?  The rice would take 25 minutes for water to boil and then cook the rice on the stove.  You could buy the mushrooms and carrots already sliced.  The bok choy would need to be washed and chopped as would the garlic and ginger.  But that could go on while the meat cooks.  The rice was microwaved.  And I had selected an easy recipe.  For this dish, preparing from scratch would take 30 minutes if you are good at multitasking while cooking.  

Pros and Cons?

Pro:

• All the ingredients are ready and waiting
• The ingredients were fresh
• Easy to follow directions/steps
• No "mystery" ingredients added--the list of ingredients on the package was very short unlike frozen entrees'
• Minimal packaging--recyclable paper box and directions, minimal amount of plastic wrapping of ingredients
• Easy decision on menu for dinner for those times when you can't think of what to fix

Con:

• Cost twice as much
• Not sure of the meat's origin--I like to know that my meat is from the same animal
• Limited ability to change portion size.  I was good with the controlled portion size, but my husband could have eaten more.

All in all, I think there is a place for dinner in a box.  For me the benefit over frozen entrees' was no additives, portion control and no planning needed.  And it sure beats ordering pizza for nutritional content!

Eat It Like Popcorn!

I had a chunk of eggplant in the fridge earlier this week.  Since it doesn't have a long shelf life, I started looking for a recipe.  I didn't plan on eating it right after I cooked it, but decided the eggplant needed to be cooked now.

I consulted Molly Stevens, "All About Roasting" cookbook.  I found a very simple recipe that the author raved about.  And I had on hand the other ingredients.

Roasted Eggplant with Cumin and Pimenton

1 1/2 pounds eggplant
1/2 c extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds,  toasted and ground
1/8 tsp pimentos (smoked Spanish paprika)
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 450 degrees (425 if convection oven).  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

To toast the cumin seeds, I put them in a small salute pan on medium-low heat.  Shake the pan a time or two and watch carefully as the seeds can burn quickly.  This should take less than 10 minutes.  I put the cooled seeds into a "repurposed" pepper grinder to grind them up.

Cut the eggplant including the skin into one-inch cubes.  Put the eggplant in a large bowl.  Drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle the cumin and pimenton, add a generous amount of salt and pepper to taste.  Toss well to coat all the pieces.  Don't worry if some pieces are not thoroughly coated.  Spread the eggplant out in a single layer on the lined baking sheet.  The cubes will shrink as they cook.

Roast for 10 minutes then, using a turner, turn the eggplant over.  Thereafter, do this every five minutes until the eggplant cubes are brown on the edges and soft in the middle.  Mine were in the oven about 20 minutes.  It will depend on the size of the cubes.

When done to your liking, remove from the oven and slide the eggplant into a serving bowl.  I found these tasty hot, room temperature and cold.  It was better than eating popcorn!  The outsides were crispy and well browned and the inside was nice and soft.  The author suggested making this into a salad by adding a small amount of balsamic vinegar (1 to 2 tsp) and 1/4 c. fresh basil leaves cut into ribbons.  I ate half the batch when it came out of the oven.  Then next day I put the remainder into a pasta with sausage and roasted red pepper and parmesan cheese.  Delish!