Black Beans & Rice

So good I can't believe I didn't make them before today. This is our new favorite....

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup uncooked white rice
• 1 - 1.5 cups vegetable broth (or chicken if you're not worried about keeping it veg)
• 1 tsp ground cumin (or more if you like spicy)
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or more)
• 1.5 cups canned black beans, drained

In a stockpot over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the onion & garlic & saute for 3-4 minutes. Add the rice and saute another couple minutes.

Add the broth, bring to a boil, cover and lower the heat. Cook for 20 minutes.

Add spices and beans. Stir.

Cover and keep over low heat until ready to serve.

Gia-Ninh's Clear Cooked Napa w/ Sesame Oil

As I've said before, Gia-Ninh knows his stuff. Here's a delicious side to go with any asian-style meal you're working on:

• 1 medium sized head of napa cabbage, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 tbsp corn oil
• 2 tbsp kosher salt
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp sesame oil

Heat wok until SCREAMING HOT - Gia-Ninh says, "when you can flick water at it and it skittles across the surface of the pan, you're ready". Add the corn oil & then 1 tbsp of the salt & swirl to coat.

Add napa to the pan & toss to coat the cabbage with the oil (you're not going to get everything coated right away so just toss it a few times). As the napa cooks down, add sugar to taste. Stir fry on super high heat, stirring vigorously as it cooks down. Once close to doneness, taste & adjust for salt, add sesame oil, take off the heat (always take off heat after sesame oil is added because it has such a low smoke point, to avoid scorching the oil).

Eat it while it's hot.

Potato & Fennel Soup w/ Garlic

Made this up today based on what was in the fridge. I'm stoked because it comes out to about $1 a serving and money is tight these days. You could vary it any way you want to incorporate leftover produce (spinach, carrots, etc.). Here's what I did:

• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 leek, chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 bulb fennel, chopped
• 1 tbsp marjoram
• 4 cups potatoes, peeled & cubed

Heat oil and 2 tbsp of the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until hot.

Add onion and celery and saute until onion is translucent.

Add garlic & saute about 2 minutes longer.

Add fennel & leek and saute for another 4-5 minutes.

Add potatoes along with marjoram and enough water to cover potatoes (about 3 cups). Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until potatoes are fully cooked (took about 20-25 minutes). Stir occasionally.

Once potatoes are cooked, turn heat off, mash potatoes up a bit with a potato masher and stir in milk & remaining butter.

Salt & pepper to taste.

Slammin' Spaghetti Sauce

I didn't realize a little lemon zest makes such a difference but it really adds something!

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 10 garlic cloves, minced
• two 14oz cans of tomatoes, w/ juices
• pinch or two of red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp grated lemon peel
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (or basil, I've done both) + more for garnish
• coarse salt
• freshly grated black pepper

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat.

Add the onion & cook until soft & light golden brown, about 7 minutes.

Add the garlic & cook another minute.

Add the tomatoes & juices & bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

Add the red pepper flakes & lemon peel, then lower the heat & simmer for about 20 minutes, taking time to smash the tomato pieces so the sauce is more pulpy than chunky.

Stir in the chopped parsley.

Check for flavor and salt & pepper to taste.

Sauce will keep one week in a tightly sealed container in the fridge. Just heat it when you want it and pour it over pasta.

*you can also add about 1/2 lb of ground beef to make a meat sauce

Roast Yourself Some Garlic

Roasted garlic goes great in so many pasta recipes and is awesome just spread on a piece of crusty bread. Maybe mash it in with some potatoes? The sky is the limit. It smells wonderful too (if you like the smell of garlic as much as I). Here's all there is to it:

• 1 full head of garlic
• olive oil
• aluminum foil (thorough, aren't I?)

Cut 1/4 inch off the top of the garlic head and remove any extra skin (still leave some on, though).

Drizzle the olive oil over the garlic.

Wrap garlic in a bit of foil and bake at 350 for about 40 minutes.

James' Baked Yuca

Yuca is the root of the cassava plant and starts out looking like the above. It's a tuber (just like the sweet potato) and has a really addictively good flavor when done right. It's really popular with our friends in South America, Africa, Central America and the Carribbean. And man, do they know what they're talking about. James made this for us last night and we went crazy for it.

• 1 yuca root
• non-stick cooking spray

Peel the yuca with any regular vegetable peeler.

Slice the peeled yuca into 1/2-inch discs.

Put the yuca slices in already boiling water and par boil them for exactly 5 minutes. Then strain and let them cool completely.

When the yuca has cooled enough that you can pick it up and hold it in your hand, stack them in a glass pyrex type baking dish that has been coated with non-stick cooking spray.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes and you should have lovely lovely baked yuca. Very similar to the potato but much more flavorful.

Mango Salsa

Made this tonight to go with some lovely jerk chicken. I think the lime is what really gives it it's punch. You could vary this by adding red onion instead of green, or throwing in lots of avocado, pineapple or papaya, but it's great just like this, too!

• 1 mango, peeled, seeded & chopped
• 1 red bell pepper (I used a bit of red, a bit of yellow and a bit of orange)
• 1/4 cup green onion, sliced thin (I think it may have been better with a little less)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lime juice, with pulp (dig the pulp out with a fork or just use your hands)
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar (other vinegars would do as well)
• 1/2 tsp lime zest
• salt & pepper to taste

Mix it all up and you've got salsa. :)

Miso Soup

If you've ever been to a Japanese restaurant (sushi, or maybe teppanyaki where they cook the food in front of you) you are almost always given miso soup at the start. It's simple, quick and really good for you. The traditional version contains seaweed. I'm not big on seaweed, so I left that out.

• miso paste (you can get this at any asian grocer, or maybe even the ethnic section of a regular grocery store). Here's what it looks like:
  

• 1/2 block Tofu, cut into 1/2-inch squares. Tofu is often in the refrigerated part of your produce section with the salad dressings. You can get firm or soft or many variations in between usually, though, the soft kind is used for miso soup.
• 2 spring onions cut as thinly as possible.
• water.

Put a pot of water on to boil and add the miso paste first. I didn't put an amount there because it's really up to you. I used about 4 heaping spoonfuls, kind of a lot. I liked it but you may want to start with 2 and taste it before you add more.

Chop up your tofu in small squares (try getting some of the liquid out of it first by rolling it up in paper towels for a bit) and add. Add scallion/green onion before you serve.

Ginger Scones w/ Lemon Curd

I have never made a scone. I don't really think I even know what a curd is. But today, we're making both. The ginger scone recipe is from a user on recipezaar.com. The Lemon Curd is pure Alton Brown (with a couple of my changes). They turned out LOVELY! This has tea party written all over it. Fancypants, indeed!

Ginger Scones

• 2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, cold
• 1/4 cup crystallized ginger
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup half & half (or cream)

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder & salt.

Cut in butter with a mixer (recipe called for a pastry mixer but once again, WHAT is a pastry mixer?). My handheld mixer worked fine. You want to mix it until the largest pieces of butter are about the size of a pea. Be careful not to let the butter get too warm or it will make a paste & ruin your scones!

Chop ginger finely & stir in. Honestly, you could use more than 1/4 cup. They don't come on too strong at all.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and the half & half.

Add to dry mix & stir just to moisten.

Gather the dough & knead it against the side of the bowl, collecting loose pieces into the dough.

Continue just until the dough comes together into a ball & cleans the sides of the bowl. Mine were quite sticky but still came out fine.

Transfer to a lightly floured board (I just used my cutting board) & pat or roll into a circle about 1-inch thick. cut into 8 wedges (pizza style cuts).

Place wedges on a parchment covered baking sheet at least 1-inch apart.

Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes until the tops are just golden.

Lemon Curd

• 4 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 lemons, both juice and zest
• 1 stick butter, cold

Add enough water to a medium saucepan to come about 1/2 inch up the side. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.

Meanwhile, combine egg yolks & sugar in a medium sized metal bowl and whisk until smooth, about 1 minute.

Add lemon juice to the egg mixture along with the zest. Whisk till smooth.

Once water reaches a near-boil, reduce heat to low & place bowl in top of saucepan (bowl should be large enough to fit on top of the saucepan without touching the water).

Whisk until thickened, approx. 8 minutes, or until mixture is light yellow & coats the back of a spoon.

Remove from head & stir in butter one slice at a time (maybe a tbsp at a time), allowing each addition to melt before adding the next.

Remove to a clean container & cover by laying plastic wrap directly to the surface of the curd.

Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks (don't worry, it'll never last that long).

Now, clearly these two would be great on their own, but together - they knock it out of the park I think!

FYI: S: (n) curd (a coagulated liquid resembling milk curd)

Micro Green Salad w/ Fig Vinaigrette

I wanted to make use of the Microgreens I had leftover from last weekend but I wanted to do something simple that wouldn't overwhelm their flavor. Micro greens are lovely but can be a little on the bitter side, so my goal was to create a salad with a sweet vinaigrette. I LOVE fig and it's natural sweetness. Hence, my salad:

• fresh micro greens (or any salad, really)
• red wine vinegar
• olive oil
• fig spread (any kind works, I used the kind that you typically find in the cheese section of the grocery store)

I'm not including any amounts here - it's up to you. Just add a bit of each and keep wisking until you get the flavor and consistency you like.

If the fig spread is thick, microwave it for about 30 seconds before adding the oil and vinegar.

Then just pour it over your greens and mix with your hands (that was the fun part).

This turned out absolutely lovely. The sweetness of the fig really complimented the bitterness of the greens. And micro greens always just look so gorgeous!

Vegetarian Minestrone

Made this tonight for family potluck. Healthy, easy and inexpensive. Vegetarian (as long as you use water instead of stock) and actually vegan if you leave out the cheese.

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 3 cups water (or chicken broth if you're not trying to keep it veg)
• 2 cups diced zucchini
• 1.5 cups cannellini beans (canned works fine)
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 3/4 cup diced celery
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes (with juice)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup of the smallest pasta you can find
• 1/2 cup frozen white corn
• 2 bay leaves
• grated parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.

Add chopped onion & saute for 4 minutes or until just lightly browned.

Add water(or stock), zucchini, carrots, beans, celery, basil, bay leaf, oregano, salt, pepper, tomatoes, garlic & corn.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover & simmer on med-low for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add macaroni, cover & cook 10 more minutes.

Serve hot, topped with grated parmesan. Look how great it turned out!

Fennel Grapefruit Salad with Shaved Parmesan & Micro Greens

I am on a real fennel kick lately. I know it goes well with grapefruit. That's all I know. But I made this salad tonight and it was a real hit with my best friend. But then, it's a best friends job to say they like your food. Well, let me know.

• 1 bulb fennel
• 2 grapefruits
• micro greens (they have these at Trader Joes and most other places. Or just use arugula)
• olive oil
• red wine vinegar
• raw sugar
• fresh shaved parmesan cheese
• fresh ground black pepper

There's no amounts on here - it's up to you. Basically shave the fennel (if you have a mandoline that will be perfect, otherwise just cut it as thin as possible). Then cut the grapefuit into slices (with the rind and white stuff gone).

Whisk the oil, vinegar and a teaspoon or so of the sugar in a bowl.

Place the fennel and grapefruit on the plate, micro greens in the middle. Sprinkle the parmesan on top. Drizzle viaigrette on top and grind pepper over the salad before serving.

Look, I actually took a picture for once:

Granola Bars

Like granola bars? Hate corn syrup? I'm here for you. These are really really good - and I'm honestly not the trail mix type. They're great and you can change the fruit & nuts to whatever suits you. Great to make before a camping trip. No one will want to eat that crap in the prepackaged individual wrappers when they see you have this action.

• 8oz old-fashioned rolled oats (about 2 cups)
• 1 1/2 oz raw sunflower seeds (about 1/2 cup)
• 3oz sliced almonds (about 1 cup)
• 1 1/2 oz wheat germ (about 1 cup)
• 6oz honey (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 3/4 oz dark brown sugar (about 1/4 cup packed)
• 1oz unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
• 2 tbsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 6 1/2 oz chopped dried fruit (I used a mix of gold raisins, blueberries & cranberries)

Butter a 9x9 glass baking dish & set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Spread the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds and wheat germ onto a half-sheet pan.

Place in the oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, vanilla & salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved.

Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300. Immediately add the oat mixture to the liquid mixture, add the dried fruit, and stir to combine.

Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

...so I stole the picture. Can you really say you're surprised?

Roasted Vegetable & Tofu Napoleon

Tofu gets a bad rap. Seriously. It's inexpensive, it keeps forever, and it goes with everything. It's also high in protein, low in fat, and I think it tastes really good too. Give it a chance. This is the first tofu dish I am posting but there are more to come. Tofu got me through college. Hey, (wo)man cannot live on Ramen alone. I believe I got this from Weight Watchers several years ago. It's healthy, flavorful and sure to please your inner vegan:

• 1 large red onion
• 1 medium eggplant, peeled
• cooking spray
• 1-2 medium zucchini
• 1 medium yellow pepper
• 1 medium sweet red pepper
• 1 pound extra-firm tofu
• 3 tbsp fresh rosemary
• 9 tbsp fresh parsley
• 9 large garlic cloves
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3/8 cup lemon juice

Preheat oven to 425.

Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.

Slice onion in half and then cut each half into quarters, or smaller. Slice eggplant, zucchini (diagonally), and peppers into 1/4 inch slices. Slice tofu across into 8 slices, about 1/4 inch thick.

Place onions on one half of a baking sheet and peppers on the other half. Place eggplant & zucchini separately on second baking sheet (I actually needed 3). Coat tops of vegetables with cooking spray.

Roast 15 minutes and then rotate baking sheets, roast 15 minutes more. Turn off oven and leave vegetables in oven to keep warm.

Place rosemary, parsley and garlic in a food processor; add oil & lemon juice & blend until smooth - about 3-4 minutes. Set aside.

Spread about one heaping tablespoon of herb mixture onto both sides of each tofu slice. coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Place tofu in heated pan and brown both sides of tofu, about 2-4 minutes per side.

To serve, place once slice of tofu on a plate. One top of tofu, stack one slice of eggplant, one slice of red pepper & one wedge of red onion; top with another slice of tofu & then top what with more yellow pepper & zucchini & another piece of red onion.

Drizzle with remaining herb mixture. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Stovetop Mac & Cheese w/ Roasted Tomatoes

I'm not on a diet, but this is surprisingly not too terrible for you considering the fact that it's mac & cheese. It's about 35o calories a serving. I don't remember where I got it, but it's not hard as long as you're willing to roast the tomatoes.

• 3 cups halved cherry tomatoes
• cooking spray
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 3oz sourdough bread, torn into pieces
• 1tsp butter, melted
• 12oz large elbow macaroni
• 2 cups shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese (more! more!)
• 1/4 cup egg substitude (like Eggbeaters)
• 1.5 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
• one 12oz can of evaporated, low fat milk

Preheat oven to 375.

Place tomatoes in a 13x9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with black pepper. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally.

While tomatoes cook, place bread in a food processor, pulse 2 times or till crumbly. Toss crumbs with melted butter. Sprinkle the crumbs on a baking sheet & bake at 375 for 12 minutes or until golden, stirring frequently.

Cook macaroni in boiling water 7 minutes; drain. Return macaroni to pan; place over medium-low heat.

Add cheese & remaining ingredients; cook 4 minutes or until cheese melts, stirring constantly.

Stir in tomatoes. Sprinkle each serving with about 3 tablespoons of the breadcrumbs.

Roasted Asparagus w/ Balsamic Vinegar

I'm not huge on asparagus. I don't like the bitter taste. But the vinegar cuts the bitter taste and makes it pretty good. Also, the larger the asparagus, the sweeter it is so look for bigger asparagus if you don't like the bitter dark greenness of it. I know I'm supposed to like green vegetables, but I don't have kids so I don't have to eat them. Anyway, this ain't bad.

• 1 lb fresh asparagus
• 2-3 tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• fresh ground salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 475.

Wash, trim & peel asparagus.

In a single roasting pan, toss the asparagus with the olive oil & vinegar until coated well.

Spread asparagus out in a single layer & roast for 10 minutes until tender.

Season with salt & pepper.

Gia-Ninh's Soy Lime Dipping Sauce

Gia-Ninh and I have been friends for over 10 years and he really REALLY knows his way around a kitchen. When he talks, I listen. He came over a couple of weeks ago to make us dinner and taught us how to make this sauce/marinade. We haven't looked back since. Wayne has seriously made it at least 3 times already. It's delicious. And it goes with everything chicken, shrimp, tofu, etc). Gia-Ninh tossed it with lo mein noodles and veggies when he was here but we've since combined it with beef and marinated chicken in it - all equally good things. Make it. Slather it on everything. Smile.

• 1 clove garlic
• approx. 1/2-1 inch of grated ginger
• juice of 1/2 a lime (with pulp)
• 1-2 tbsp raw sugar
• 1/2 to 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/8 tsp Siracha hot sauce (or any other chili garlic puree) to start, taste before you add more
• up to 1/4 cup water

Crush the garlic & sugar with a mortar & pestle (see? I told you this would be fun).

Add ginger. Add lime juice & pulp (get the pulp out with a fork).

Add soy sauce & Siracha. Blend.

Taste as you go & add the water to balance it out.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Siracha, it's asian chili garlic burning fire sauce. It's hot as hell and goes great in everything. You can usually find it in the ethnic aisle of a regular ole grocery store:

Look familiar?

Acorn Squash with Brown Sugar Glaze

This is so so soooo good! And easy! We have a winner!

• 2 acorn squash (halved pole to pole & seeded, this is arguably the hard part)
• salt
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp dark brown sugar

Sprinkle squash halves with salt & place halves cut-side down in 13x9 inch microwave-safe baking dish or arrange halves in large (about 4 quart) microwave-safe bowl so that cut sides face out. If using Pyrex, add 1/4 cup water to dish or bowl. Got all that? Ok. Moving on.

Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Poke about 4 vents in wrap. Microwave on high until squash is very tender & offers no resistance when pierced with a paring knife. About 15-20 minutes. Using potholders, remove baking dish from oven & set on clean dry surface.

While squash is cooking, adjust oven rack to upper-most position (about 6 inches from heating element); heat broiler. Melt butter, brown sugar, and 1/8 tsp salt in sall saucepan over low heat, whisking occasionally, until combined.

When squash is cooked, carefully pull back plastic wrap from farthest side (and don't burn yourself! Steam is evil!) Using tongs, transfer cooked squash cut-side up to rimmed baking sheet. Spoon portion of butter/sugar mixture onto each squash half.

Broil until brown & carmelized (5-8 minutes) rotating sheet at least once.