Indonesian Sweet Potato and Cabbage Soup

I made "Indonesian Sweet Potato and Cabbage Soup," from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers, for our supper tonight:

Even though I know very little about Indonesian food, (except that it is definitely fusion cooking, with all of the different ethnic groups that live there,) I took one look at this recipe and knew that I was going to have to make it pretty soon. At first glance, it looked, well, "weird." Tomatoes? Sweet Potatoes? Peanut Butter? Cabbage? That last one was the one that really got me . . . but the more I thought about it, the more it all sounded . . . really, really good. And let me tell you, it surpassed all of my expectations! This soup is rich, spicy, slightly sweet, salty, containing soft and crunchy and creamy textures, simple to prepare, and on the table in about 40 minutes. This is going on the list of "Asian staples" at our house, along with Thai coconut soup, tofu curry, rice and dal, pad Thai, pho, hot pot, and a few other items. Hm. Come to think of it, maybe I just really like Asian soups!?!? (And pad Thai.) Yum.

Off to enjoy a slice of raspberry pie for dessert! Mmmmmmmmm!

I needed this.

As you can see from my previous post, I had a VERY busy day today -- so busy, in fact, I never really ate a full meal until dinnertime. I ate plenty of snacks, but by about 6:00 or so, I could really feel a dip in my energy level, and I had a headache brewing. It was about time for a meal, and boy did I need it!

"Black Bean Chili with Cilantro Pesto" from Vegan Planet:

This is one of my all-time favorite chili recipes -- the chili itself is pretty basic, (onions, celery, garlic, tomatoes and tomato paste, beans, spices, and some water,) but add a dollop of the cilantro pesto, (which itself is also pretty basic, for pesto,) and ka-pow! This chili turns into something downright special. I mowwed this bowlful, and my cornbread muffin on the side -- I needed some nutrition!

Pie for dessert:

OH YES.

apples, and raspberries, and pumpkins . . .

OH MY.

I met up with several friends early this morning to caravan out to Apple Jack Orchards in Delano, MN, with the intention of picking apples and raspberries! We spent most of our time in the raspberry fields, due to the frost in May that killed off a ton of apple blossoms. (We were still able to buy apples in their store, that were from fields that were not damaged, but their u-pick fields were pretty slim pickings.)

A few shots from the morning:



Look! It's Liz! In real life! It's so great when blog friends become real, in-person friends!




After everybody had their fill of raspberry-picking, (I had the largest haul, at 6.25 pounds -- and a lot of help!), we wandered through the orchards and found a few apples for Courtney. The rest of us picked out apples from the apple barn. I also grabbed a half-dozen apple spice donuts, a caramel apple, (which I think I'll take to work tomorrow and share with the kids,) and some gorgeous pumpkins!



After a pleasant drive home and a quick stop at the Wedge, Dan and I immediately set to work. Dan was on apple duty:

Using the peeler-corer-slicer, he filled our 5-quart crock pot with apples for apple butter, (it's still cooking away, otherwise I'd show you a picture,) and then peeled an additional 8 apples, tossed them in a ziploc with flour, sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt, to become apple pie filling in the future. Destined for the freezer for now.

While Dan focused on apples, I made raspberry magic . . .

First, a pie . . .

(Thankfully, I had a set of crusts in the freezer!)

Then, jam . . .


And last, some raspberry-ginger muffins . . .


I'm beat! But it was a very fun, very productive day. (And somewhere in there we managed to do four loads of laundry, too!) I still have one more job to do . . . I need to whip up a big pot of chili for dinner. So tired! It's going to be an early night tonight, I can tell already. :)

Hope you had a great weekend, too!

last hurrah

I knew we had a busy morning planned today, so I decided to whip up a couple of breakfast burritos to keep us fueled for a long time!

Mmmmmmmmmmm . . . I SO want another burrito RIGHT NOW! Whole wheat tortilla, refried beans, hashbrowns, eggs, salsa, queso fresco, and sour cream. Yummers! I ate this at about 9:30 this morning, and wasn't hungry for lunch until 2:30! Whoa!

Dan and I hit up the Farmer's Market right after breakfast, just in time to catch Liz before she started her canning demo! Yay Liz! It was great to finally meet in person, and I enjoyed her presentation.

We quickly completed our shopping after meeting Liz, which meant we missed the first bit of her presentation. After we sat down to listen for a while, Dan leaned over to me and said, "what is she making?" I replied, "dilly beans!" Dan then said, "oh! I kind of like those . . . " He's as subtle as a fire truck, eh? :) I sent him off with five bucks, and he came back with grean beans, dill, and two bucks change. :)

Even though I don't can, I CAN make a decent refrigerator dilly bean:

We'll have to give these at least a week before digging in -- I bet they'll taste that much better due to anticipation, right?

I named tonight's dinner "Last Hurrah Curry" --

I sense that the Farmer's Market is winding down -- the tomatoes that were available were mostly pretty underripe, the summer squash and zucchini were tiny, almost no cucumbers left, meager lettuce and spinach, etc. The end of the summer is indeed bittersweet -- I look forward immensely to the cooler temperatures of fall, but will miss the beautiful produce I've been able to collect every week! Tonight's curry contained a little of everything -- a "last hurrah" to summer! Summer squash, zucchini, red bell pepper, grean beans, butternut squash, kohlrabi, eggplant, ginger, garlic, tofu, coconut milk, soy sauce, curry paste, and a squirt of agave combined to make one glorious, end-of-summer meal.

To welcome fall, I'm headed to the apple orchard tomorrow! Wahoo!

in season

It's eggplant season! Woo! Since we both love eggplant, I've been trying to cook with it once or twice a week, until we're no longer able to get local eggplants at the market. It's one of those veggies I just haven't figured out how to preserve yet, (given my limited space and ability with preservation,) so I figure, I better get my fill while the gettin' is good!

Tonight's dinner featured half of an enormous eggplant, in Eating Well's Eggplant Pomodoro Pasta:

This was wonderful! I appreciated a quick and easy recipe on a dreary Friday night after a long and exhausting week, and the creaminess of the eggplant paired beautifully with the tangy tomatoes and hearty whole-wheat pasta. I pretty much followed the recipe as written, except for doubling the amount of chili flakes called for. (What can I say . . . we like spicy food!) I also put out the parm at the last second, since in Dan's world, it's not pasta without cheese. :)

What seasonal produce have you been gorging yourself on lately?

Any awesome eggplant recipes you care to share? I think we still have a few weeks left!?!?!

yet another "Simple Supper" success!

I made "Red Lentil Soup with Greens" for dinner tonight -- another recipe from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers. It was FANTASTIC!

I, of course, made a few teensie changes to the original recipe, (like using a whole can of coconut milk instead of 3/4 cup, adding a ton more spinach, adding onions and potatoes, and doubling the amount of chili flakes called for,) and the end result was amazing! Delicious and rich without being heavy, and chock-full of nutrients (and plenty of garlic and ginger, which will help Dan -- he seems to have a small cold.) Yum!

On the side, we enjoyed a few Artisan Bread rolls:

There were twice as many . . . but we had already eaten two by the time I decided to snap a photo! Mmmmmmm fresh bread!

seaweed? yes!

I was never a picky child -- I loved lima beans and broccoli, enjoyed homemade guacamole when my dad made it on taco night, and ate just about everything my mother served.

But, for as long as I can remember, there have been two foods that I really can't stand -- cooked carrots, and fish of any kind (except tuna.)

Now, I know the cooked carrots thing seems strange, and to this day, I still really don't care for them, but I will eat them. But fish? Good thing I'm a vegetarian! I can't STAND the smell of fish, look of fish, and I can't remember the last time I've actually eaten even a bite of fish! Sorry to all of you fish-lovers out there, and yes, it is a good source of Omega-3s, but I can't do it! UUUUUUUUUUGH!

Consequently, I've had a really hard time getting behind eating seaweed/sea vegetables, because of their "fishy" smell. It took me years to convince myself to eat a piece of vegetarian sushi, because the smell of the nori was enough to put me off. However, I persisted, and I do now love sushi!

Color me brave -- I picked out a new recipe from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers to try this week -- "Tofu Hijiki Saute." Ok, first off . . . I was SHOCKED by how expensive hijiki is! Whoa! I did check the Asian grocery store, but my closest and largest one didn't stock it . . . drat. (There are better Asian markets in St. Paul -- I'll look over there next time!) The Wedge carried a few different sized packets, but all were well over ten bucks! I thought this was a "weed," people! Second . . . as I poured the hot water over the hijiki to soak, I was overcome by a FISHY SMELL. Oh, lord, did I start to worry!

I moved the fishy weed out of the kitchen so I didn't have to smell it, and continued cooking, all the while, worried as heck I wasn't going to be able to EAT this meal I was working so hard to prepare! Bravely, I drained the hijiki, added it to the wok, folded everything together, and spooned a serving over my brown rice:

And . . . I was pleasantly surprised! Most of the "fishy" smell seemed to have dissipated by the time the hijiki made it into the wok, and the soy sauce and toasted sesame oil flavors soaked into the rehydrated dark shreds nicely. I'm hooked!

Hijiki will have to be a treat at our house, unfortunately, since it is a little cost-prohibitive. I've used plenty of nori over the years for sushi, and have used kombu for making vegetarian dashi. What other kinds of sea vegetables have you tried? Any recommendations for us?

take THAT, locavores!

I had no idea how local this evening's dinner was until after the fact -- I started ticking off the local ingredients, and realized the only NON local ones were salt and pepper!

Baked mac and cheese, made with local butter, local/organic flour, local/organic milk, local sharp cheddar cheese, local pasta (is South Dakota considered local?), and salt and pepper. Side of local broccoli! Woo!

In other news, this was a silly, mind-reading kind of meal. I was sitting in bed on Friday night, working on the week's meal plan, and thought, "man, I'm really craving mac and cheese . . . with broccoli!" When I asked Dan what he thought he'd like to eat this week, his reply? "Um . . . baked mac and cheese with broccoli!"

Great minds think alike. :)

personal slow-motion

I'm having a weird twist of time this weekend -- I feel like time is flying by, while I can't seem to get myself motivated to do much of anything! I'm experiencing personal slow-motion, I guess. :)

Even though my brain feels like mush and my feet feel like concrete, I have managed the usual errands and a few projects in my kitchen, like making granola, drying roma tomatoes in the oven, and roasting, pureeing, straining, and freezing butternut squash for future use.

I also cooked! A humble loaf of 100% whole-wheat Artisan Bread:

To go with soup!

I used 12 ounces of the mixed beans/peas/lentils that I bought up north this summer, and made a soup based largely on Moosewood's "Black Bean and Chipotle Soup." (You can find the recipe here, just scroll down.) Yum! A cheap, nutritious, uncomplicated dinner last night.

Even though I didn't make this, I have to tell you about my dessert, too!

I had a coupon for a 4-pack from Natural Brew, and I had never seen this "Chai Cola" until today -- and woo-ee, is it tasty! Imagine all of your favorite chai spices in soda form -- mmmmmmmmmm!!!!!

I may have discovered my new favorite Sunday brunch:

Oh Breakfast Burrito, how I love thee! We filled whole-wheat tortillas from the farmer's market with refried black beans (from a can! Gasp!), hash browns, scrambled eggs, queso fresco, salsa, and sour cream. Expect a repeat next week. :)

I did a little baking this weekend, too:

"Orange-Almond Polenta Cake," from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers. Technically, I made "Lemon-Almond Polenta Cake," since I only bought one orange and I burned my first stab at the cake. (Note to self, if you smell caramelizing sugar, the cake's probably done, regardless of how many minutes are left on the timer or how important your phone conversation with your friend is! Sheesh. I hate wasting food.) Anyhow, I caught cake #2 just in time, (and let me tell you, this cake was done TEN MINUTES earlier than the suggested baking time in the book,) and it is fantastic! Lemony, sweet, with little crunchies throughout from the cornmeal and almonds. Mmmmmmmmm!

Laundry's calling . . .

"Simple Supper" second success!

I made another dish from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers last night -- "Saucy Hungarian Eggplant!"

The recipe called to serve the eggplant over bulgur, (and suggested toasting the bulgur in olive oil first -- heavenly!) and then to top with plain yogurt. This was so fantastically delicious! Yum! Truthfully, I don't think I'd change a thing about this recipe -- it was quick, hearty, healthy, and delicious!

My first priority last night, however, was making another batch of zucchini cookies:

Last weekend's batch is already gone! The horror! The children had been asking me to bring some in, so I had to whip up another batch ASAP. Unfortunately, baking took up my yoga time last night -- I think the moral of the story is, I'm not very good at doing something EVERY DAY, besides, well, you know, sleeping, showering, and brushing my teeth. I'm too busy!

I'll keep trying with the yoga, though -- we'll see how the rest of the month goes.

Happy Friday, all! Woo weekend!

Yoga Month, Day 6

Since I completely spaced days 4 and 5 of yoga month, (well, I knew I wanted to do yoga, there just wasn't time,) I spent a little extra time on my mat today. I did 20 minutes of "Gentle Hatha 1" this afternoon, and 25 minutes of "Gentle Hatha 2" just now, both from Yoga Download. I enjoy both of these practices, but there are elements of each that I find REALLY challenging -- especially holding downward dog for more than a few breaths. I think I have weak arms! Wah! Hopefully I'll be much stronger by the end of the month, and won't feel like I want to wimp out!

Anyone else have trouble with downward dog? What are your favorite poses? What are your least favorite poses?

MUST BUY: "Simple Suppers"

I had planned pizza for dinner last night, before I knew we were going to a party instead. Soooooo . . . pizza's just as good for lunch!

Lately, I've been making two pizzas instead of one, and this seems to work well -- Dan doesn't feel like he has to "ration" the pizza while it's hot and fresh, and we still have plenty of leftovers cold for lunches. I experimented with using crusts made from all whole-wheat flour this time, and it worked well! (Victoria gave me her Artisan Bread 100% whole wheat version a while ago, and I'm just now getting around to trying it out!) The front slice features olive oil, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, heirloom tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper. The rear slice is smothered with organic pizza sauce, mozzarella and feta cheeses, red onions, artichokes, mushrooms, roasted red peppers, kalamata olives, chili flakes, and dried oregano. Both were deeeeeelicious, but Dan and I agreed that we both liked the heirloom tomato pie better. Why? Who knows! We usually prefer the stronger-tasting pizzas, but not today, I guess!

Here are a few pizza-making tips . . .

~ Use a baking stone. You will achieve a FAR superior crust quality!
~ Allow your pizzas to cool on a wire rack before slicing. You'll keep that crispy bottom crust!
~ If you are using really moist ingredients, (like fresh tomatoes or fresh mozzarella,) I've found placing them on a clean dish towel for fifteen minutes sucks enough moisture out of them that your finished pizza isn't all soggy.
~ No matter how many toppings I use, I find about a half-cup of each seems to be the right amount.
~ If you're going to use Parmesan and mozzarella on your pizza, put a layer of parm on top of your sauce, add your toppings, and top with the mozzarella. Parm has a tendency to burn and get dried out in the oven. If you bury it, it will be fantastic!

Anybody else have tips to share? I'm always looking to improve my pies!

Here is something fantastic that I have been meaning to make ALL SUMMER LONG, and never got around to making until today!

WATERMELON AGUA FRESCA!!!! Yum yum yum yum, this is like dessert in a glass. What did I do? I juiced one lime, added a pinch of salt, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 cup of water, and half a seedless watermelon, diced, and pureed the heck out of it. Strain your "juice" using a mesh strainer, and chill. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm! I would use even more lime juice next time, but alas, I only found one lime in my fridge today.

Dinner tonight was exceptional, if I do say so myself!

I made "Roasted Ratatouille," from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers. I MUST BUY THIS COOKBOOK! If the other recipes, (and I have at least 20 marked) are anything like this, we will eat well into eternity! Unfortunately, someone has requested this cookbook from the library, so I won't be able to renew it three times. :( Wah. Ok, back to dinner -- I did add a couple of things to the ratatouille, (chickpeas and some chopped carrot, since I have so many on hand,) and served it over polenta, as the cookbook suggested. Oven-roasted sweet corn made a lovely accompaniment! Dan and I both exclaimed continuously during dinner about how fantastic this dish is! We also both agreed that we don't eat enough polenta.

I think I'll have to head over to the used bookstore next weekend and see if they can find me a copy.

What cookbooks are on your "to buy" list?

two Saturdays

Aren't 3-day weekends the BEST? I said to Dan last night that it's like "we get two Saturdays!"

How have your Saturdays been, if you've had the weekend off? We've been BUSY, but mostly with fun stuff, which unfortunately, has left no time for yoga. (I'll double-up on practices today to try and make up for it!) What have we been up to?

Saturday #1:
~ ERRANDS -- farmer's market, regular grocery store, bank, Penzey's, vet, co-op, Middle Eastern market (for groceries AND lunch,) cell phone store, Batteries Plus
~ baking extravaganza! (see yesterday's post)
~ movie at the cheap theatre in Hopkins (we saw "Dinner for Schmucks," which I actually found really funny! I had seen the French film that it was based on several years ago, and I was curious to see the adaptation.)

Saturday #2:
~ met Courtney for breakfast at Common Roots -- I had the "Breakfast Nachos" -- YUM!
~ cell phone store and Batteries Plus AGAIN (but Dan now has a working cell phone!)
~ picnic lunch and hiking with Dan at Wild River and Interstate State Parks:













~ party at friends' of Dan's house (Dan mentioned that it's amazing how mellow parties have become "in our old age" -- we agreed this is a good thing!) where an entire plate of my zucchini cookies were devoured by many friends!

Today, we have NO plans, which is a good thing! I plan to cook, clean and work on the laundry. Doesn't sound terribly exciting, but it all needs to get done, and I'm looking forward to a day at home in yoga pants! Woo!

Hope you have been enjoying your weekend, too!

baking with vegetables

True to tradition, we have gone from summer, (90 and humid) to fall (65 and windy) in one week! Oh, Minnesota.

Since baking weather has returned, and the farmer's market is still full of gorgeous produce, I decided to incorporate some of my haul this week into a couple of baking projects!

First, Carrot Muffins:

I loosely based my recipe on one I found while internet searching, but I have to say, my version is so fabulous, I may never try the "real" version! Recipe:

Combine dry ingredients:
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 cup chickpea flour
1 1/4 cups sugar (I was afraid this was going to be too sweet, but it's quite nice, actually -- you could cut down to a cup safely, though.)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp Penzey's Baking Spice
1 cup unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped finely

Combine wet ingredients:
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups grated carrot
1 large apple, grated (you can peel this if you like; I didn't)

Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined. Bake in lined muffin tins at 350 for about 24 minutes. Cool in the pans 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Makes about 20 muffins.

These are FANTASTIC! They are sweet, but not overly so, and chock-full of tasty ingredients. I especially love the nuttiness from the finely-chopped, toasted walnuts. Yum! The chickpea flour will help pack a protein punch, too, so these guys will have some staying power for breakfasts this week. P.S. I love coconut!

Project #2 -- Zucchini Cookies!

My version is also loosely based on an internet recipe, but I HAD to add a little whole-wheat flour, a little more zucchini than originally called for, and of course, chocolate chips. :) Here's my recipe:

Combine:
1/2 cup raisins
enough hot water to cover

Combine dry ingredients:
3/4 cup AP flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Penzey's Baking Spice
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 cups regular rolled oats
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Cream together:
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup natural granulated sugar

Stir into butter mixture:
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 medium zucchini, grated and obvious water squeezed out (1 1/2 to 2 cups)
drained raisins

Stir dry ingredients into wet until combined. Drop by 2-tablespoon fulls onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Makes about four-dozen cookies, give or take.

These cookies are glorious! They have a lot going on, but I love cookies like this. You can't really taste the zucchini, (but you can see beautiful flecks of green -- you'll want to peel your zucchini before grating if you're trying to sneak veg into green-phobic people,) which is fine, because the warm spices, nuts, chocolate, raisins, and oats combine to make a great, loaded cookie! Mmmmm! The zucchini will keep these babies nice and soft, too, which will please soft-cookie lovers (like Dan.)

We are SET for treats! Yum.

Yoga Month, Day 3

Wow. Today was a VERY long day, at the end of a VERY long week! I had a hard night's sleep last night, and I felt the lack of rest big time today. I was glad I had made tonight's dinner last night, and left baking instructions for Dan -- dinner was ready when I walked in the door!



Spinach and Artichoke Lasagna, made with whole-wheat noodles, and my homemade 5-minute marinara -- using fire-roasted tomatoes! This lasagna was so full of flavor, one square was plenty satisfying for me, with a huge green salad on the side. (Dan went back for seconds . . . and thirds! He likes cheese.) :)

I ended my evening with 25 minutes of "Moon Salutations," from Yoga Download. I've really enjoyed all of the classes I've purchased from these folks, and love that I'm able to load up my iPod with yoga for days that I know I won't have time to fit in a practice at home. (Those breaks at work have to be good for something, right?) Plus, we've recently re-arranged our apartment, and our TV is now in our bedroom -- where there's NO room to do yoga DVDs! I have found I only have to glance at the pictures of the poses the first few times I do a new practice, and then I have them practically memorized. Tonight's practice was slightly rigorous, almost, (the salutations were somewhat quickly flowing for a night-time practice,) but left me feeling relaxed and almost spent -- ready for bed!

Off to crawl into bed with Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers -- I spent a long time browsing the cookbook stacks at the library on Friday night, and discovered this gem. I NEED THIS COOKBOOK!

Do you check cookbooks out from your library? I love being able to preview a cookbook, use a few recipes, and browse liberally before deciding to actually buy something!

Yoga Month, Day 2

I managed to make myself do 20 minutes of "Stress Relief Yoga for Beginners" again tonight. Considering I was CONVINCED it was Saturday when I woke up this morning, I think I needed all the stress relief I could get!

Hopefully I'll be able to amp things up this weekend!

~~~~~~~~~~

Only one more day until a three-day weekend! Woo! Dan and I will probably do a couple of day trips, (hiking and/or biking,) and I also checked out a free pass to the Walker at the library tonight. Plus, there will be plenty of time to hit up the farmer's market, cook, bake, and relax! What are you looking forward to?

Yoga Month, Day 1

Hey hey, it's yoga month! For those of you who didn't read my post last weekend, I discovered September is officially "Yoga Month," and I decided to get my butt back on the yoga train by pledging to do yoga EVERY DAY for the month of September! Woo!

After my 10-mile bike ride home from work tonight, I took it easy with twenty minutes of "Stress Relief Yoga for Beginners," an old yoga DVD favorite of mine. It was really nice to stretch out, (especially my legs, upper back, and shoulders,) following my long ride!

I ended my evening with a deeeeeeelicious bowl of soup:

This Thai soup is one of Dan's favorites, and a frequent request when I ask him, "any ideas for what you'd like to eat next week?" I based my version on a recipe for "Thai-Style Chicken Soup" from Cook's Illustrated. I can't seem to find the recipe online anywhere, (except on their website, which you have to subscribe to in order to see recipes,) but know that this soup is pretty easy! You make a base of shallots, lemongrass, and cilantro, add vegetable broth and coconut milk, and after simmering, the solids are strained out. Cubed extra-firm tofu and sliced mushrooms float in the broth, which is then seasoned with fish sauce (or soy sauce,) curry paste, and lime juice. Garnish with green onions, cilantro, and sriracha!

What recipe does your spouse/significant other/children/friends ask you to make again and again?