great grains

I love big filling salads on a summer night, based around some good old starch. Pasta or grains, please. And with grains, there are endless choices. I do lots of salads with quinoa, wheat berries, different rices, freekeh, farro, bulgur, spelt; the list goes on and on. This week, it was barley, a grain I usually only use in soups, but has a wonderfully nutty flavor and satisfying bite when cooked and cooled.

The great thing about having a variety of grains in your pantry is how easy it makes improvising a meal after you've raided the farmer's market for the freshest veg you can find. There's always a base to work off of, they keep for ages, and they keep things interesting. Recipe for my barley, heirloom tomato, arugula, zucchini, mozzarella salad after the jump:



SUMMER BARLEY SALAD

1 cup whole grain barley
1 lb heirloom cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 medium zuchinni, quartered lengthwise and sliced thinly
3 or 4 big handfuls of baby arugula
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 lb fresh salted mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes
salt and pepper, to taste

For the dressing:
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepot. Add the barley, bring down heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 35-40 minutes until tender. (You can also soak your barley overnight, which cuts the cooking time down to about 15 minutes. You need less water to cook if you soaked it). Fluff the barley with a fork and set aside to cool well. You can cook the barley well ahead of time and cool it in the fridge so that it's ready for the salad any time.

In a large bowl, toss the cooled barley with all of the vegetables. Whisk together the dressing ingredients and dress to taste, adding more salt and pepper if needed. Top with the cubed mozzarella.

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it's bananas. b.a.n.a.n.a.s

The last few times we've bought bananas they have ripened so quickly we couldn't keep up with them. At one point we actually talked about buying one of those super dorky banana hangers. I don't know if I could do it, it seems so lame.

Worse things can happen than ending up with a bunch of overripe bananas and being forced to throw together an impromptu banana nut bread. With this bread, which I baked late last night after a day of more meals than were truly necessary, I felt the need to be a little healthier. I decided to try out that applesauce trick to cut down on the butter in the recipe. After all, I have a ton of homemade applesauce that I keep making whenever we have a big snowstorm and I'm bored at home, which lately has been every 4 days or something. I also used only egg whites, and a mixture of whole wheat and white flours. Now I've never done this "low-fat" baking thing and I was expecting a result like those weird chewy almost plastic feeling fat free bran muffins I've had in the past, but to my surprise, I couldn't tell at all. AT ALL! It tasted exactly the same as any other banana bread I've ever made. Of course, I did still use some butter, I'm not insane, so this is by no means fat free (there's also those walnuts), but I figure a couple of small concessions is good in the long run and even better is not even noticing those concessions at all. Recipe after the jump:



LOWISH-FAT BANANA NUT BREAD

6 ripe medium bananas, mashed
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup raw cane sugar, or light brown sugar
4 large egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts
baking spray

Preheat oven to 325°. Grease 9x5 inch loaf pans with baking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add egg whites, bananas, apple sauce and vanilla, and beat at medium speed until thick. Scrape down sides of the bowl.

Add flour mixture and then blend at low speed until combined. Do not over mix. Gently fold in the chopped walnuts.

Pour batter into loaf pan and bake on the center rack for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let bread cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then invert and remove bread to finish cooling on a wire rack. Allow the bread to cool at least 20 minutes before slicing.

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where have i been?

It was like a perfect storm of circumstances preventing me from cooking this week. One reason was the endless delicious, filling, utterly unhealthy foods that I was constantly surrounded by on the set of a brand new show, which I will be telling you all about shortly. I was coming home every evening too overindulged to cook actual meals. Then a weekend trip up to Flushing Chinatown to binge at the Roosevelt Mall Food Court ended up backfiring when I woke up Sunday morning - my cooking day - sick as a dog. There really is nothing more cruel for an obsessive foodie to cope with than food poisoning. Back to set on Monday for more food food food, and a magical Fette Sau BBQ feast for last night's wrap party. Today, it's back to the regular routine, and day one of my attempt to at least somewhat cleanse myself from a week of constant gluttony and/or illness.



So my first cleansing meal was found in last week's NY Times dining section, part of Martha Rose Shulman's Recipes for Health series. This Buckwheat Pasta with Kale was sort of a head scratcher when I first read it. Soba noodles, kale, leeks...and cheese? It didn't seem to make complete sense to me, unless you tell yourself to think of the soba as pasta, and not as an Asian noodle. What's the difference, after all? And I was pleasantly surprised by this dish. The real star for me was actually the leeks, sauteed until buttery and sweet, and a lovely pair to the fresh, mild kale. The parmesan cheese complemented the sweet leeks wonderfully. I would say, however, that the choice of fontina cheese threw me off a bit. I think that a cheese as strong as fontina didn't quite work for this dish, overpowering the sweetness of the leeks and the nuttiness of the soba. For my - ahem - second bowlful, I left out the fontina and went with a touch more parmesan, and found that balance much more suitable. Recipe after the jump:



BUCKWHEAT PASTA WITH KALE
From Martha Rose Shulman's Recipes for Health series

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (or omit butter and use 2 tablespoons olive oil)
2 large leeks, white and light green parts only, cut in half lengthwise, then sliced and cleaned
4 fresh sage leaves, cut in thin slivers
Salt, preferably kosher salt, to taste
3/4 pound kale, stemmed, washed thoroughly, and cut crosswise in strips
Freshly ground pepper
2 ounces Parmesan, grated (1/2 cup)
2 ounces fontina or Gruyère cheese, cut in 1/4 inch dice
3/4 pound buckwheat pasta (pizzoccheri or soba) or whole wheat fettuccine

1. Begin heating a large pot of water. Meanwhile, heat the butter and oil in a large, heavy nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add the leeks and sage, and cook, stirring often, until the leeks begin to soften, about three minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and fresh pepper, and continue to cook, stirring often, until the leeks are tender, about five minutes. Remove from the heat.

2. When the water comes to a boil, add a generous spoonful of salt and the kale. Boil for four minutes, until tender but still bright. Using a slotted spoon or a skimmer, transfer to the pan with the leeks and stir together. Keep warm over low heat.

3. Bring the water back to a boil, and add the pasta. Cook al dente (soba will cook quickly, usually in under five minutes, while pizzoccheri and whole wheat fettuccine will take longer). When the pasta is al dente, add 1/2 cup of the cooking water to the pan with the kale and leeks, then drain the pasta and toss in the pan or in a warm pasta bowl with the leeks, kale and the cheeses. Serve at once.

Yield: Serves four to six

Advance preparation: You can make the dish through step 2 several hours ahead. Remove from the heat, then reheat when you cook the pasta.

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easy weeknight dinner: lemon chicken with artichokes

This one literally takes 20 minutes, it's fantastically tasty, and it's quite healthy. I think that's all that needs to be said about it. Recipe after the jump:



SAUTEED LEMON CHICKEN WITH ARTICHOKES

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
3 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken meat (I prefer thighs for flavor, but anything will do) large dice
1 1/2 cups quartered artichoke hearts (canned or jarred – not frozen)
2/3 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, or more to taste (I used half a lemon)
1/2 cup lightly packed basil leaves, chiffonaded
1 teaspoon lemon zest

1. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add onion and garlic, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and cook until softened, about 2 minutes.
2. Add chicken and cook, stirring rarely, until well browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add artichoke hearts and cook until slightly broken down, about 3 minutes.
3. Add wine, water, and juice and scrape the bottom of the pan to incorporate any browned bits. Cook until alcohol smell is cooked off and sauce is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in basil and lemon, and serve over rice or pasta.

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maple nut & pear scones

The aroma of these hearty scones baking on Sunday morning was intoxicating. My attempt at a healthy weekend breakfast was thwarted, however, by my inability to stop myself from eating FOUR of them. Then another for dessert. And another the next day. If you are craving the flavor of fall in an addictive, filling, not-too-sweet bread item, this is the scone for you. Recipe after the jump:



MAPLE NUT & PEAR SCONES
Adapted from Eating Well

1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
¼ cup plus 1 ½ teaspoons sugar, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons chilled reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchâtel), cut into small pieces (2 ounces)
2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
¼ cup canola oil
1 cup diced peeled pears, preferably Bartlett (about 1 large)
½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts, divided
¾ cup low-fat buttermilk
1 teaspoon maple extract or vanilla extract
1 egg lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water for glaze

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or coat with cooking spray.

2. Combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, oats, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl; whisk to blend. Using a pastry blender or your fingertips, cut or rub cream cheese and butter into the dry ingredients. Add oil and toss with a fork to coat. Add pear and 1/4 cup nuts; toss to coat. Mix buttermilk and maple (or vanilla) extract in a measuring cup and add just enough to the dry ingredients, stirring with a fork, until the dough clumps together. (It will be sticky.)

3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead several times; do not overwork it. Divide the dough in half and pat each piece into a 7 1/2-inch circle. Cut each circle into 6 wedges and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with the egg glaze and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup nuts, pressing lightly. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar.

4. Bake the scones until golden and firm to the touch, 20 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

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i hope you like yammin too

It's actually sweet potato, not yam, but I am endlessly confused by the distinction. I generally call the orange ones yams and the yellow ones sweet potatoes. I'm pretty sure I'm wrong.

What's not wrong is this salad of wild and brown rices, oven roasted sweet potatoes/yams, oven-roasted red onion, black-eyed peas, and goat cheese. It's a super hearty and balanced combination that makes a perfect dinner on a chilly autumn evening. The idea came about from a combination of occurrences - 1. I had leftover goat cheese from the fig sandwiches, 2. I found huge yams on sale, and 3. I was browsing a new casserole cookbook by Emily Farris called Casserole Crazy, which included a recipe for Sweet Potato Not-Pie, which combines sweet potatoes and goat cheese. Obviously, as we learned with the fig sandwiches, sweet + goat cheese = awesome. So I used that flavor combination as my inspiration. As I am a fan of meals where everything is all mixed up in a vat, the result was this warm salad-like dish. Nutty brown and wild rice, sweet yam, sweet caramelized onions, meaty black-eyed peas, tangy goat cheese, dressed with lemon juice for an acidic bite. All your bases are covered. Recipe after the jump.

WILD RICE, SWEET POTATO, & BLACK-EYED PEA SALAD

1/2 cup long grain brown rice
1/2 cup wild rice
1 large sweet potato or yam, approx 1 lb, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 medium red onion, sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds, rings intact
1 15-ounce can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped finely
3 ounces semisoft goat cheese

Cook the brown and wild rice in 2 cups salted water. Fluff cooked grains with a fork to separate, then set aside to cool slightly. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the sweet potato cubes with 1 tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme leaves. Lay in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast in the oven until browned and tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. About halfway through roasting, toss the potatoes with a spatula, then make room on the pan for the onion rounds. Lay the onions flat, brush with a bit of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Return to the oven and continue to roast until cooked through. When onions are cooked, chop the rings into small pieces and combine with the potatoes.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the rice, potatoes, onions, peas, and parsley and toss to mix well. Drizzle over remaining olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and toss. Serve warm dotted with goat cheese.

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first soup of the fall

Chilly weather, my favorite. It's the season for soup! I broke in soup season with an appropriately hearty soup full of beans, greens, and winter squash.



I balanced the sweetness of delicata squash with the bitterness of broccoli rabe, and contrasted texture with cannellini beans. Sweet onions were the finishing touch, with fresh sage and a touch of nutmeg. And of course I threw in a rind from a wedge of parmiggiano-reggiano.



The flavors of fall, utterly healthy and hearty. Recipe after the jump:

PUMPKIN WHITE BEAN SOUP WITH BROCCOLI RABE
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, medium dice
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 cups water
1 pound delicata or butternut squash, cut into 1-inch chunks (no need to remove peel)
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 bunch broccoli rabe, chopped
6 fresh sage leaves, minced
1 chunk peeled ginger
1 tbsp dried marjorm
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground nutmeg
rind from a wedge of good parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

In a large heavy stockpot, heat the oil on medium heat. Add the onions and a sprinkling of kosher salt and saute until just beginning to turn translucent. Add the squash and stir to coat with the oil. Add the stock and water, bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Add the ginger, herbs, spices, and wedge of cheese and continue to simmer until the squash is tender, about 10 minutes. Add the beans and broccoli rabe. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve topped with grated parmesan cheese and a chunk of crusty wholegrain bread.

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i am still here

I've just been taking a little break from serious cooking. J-Cat is away this week, I'm still recovering from the sensory assault of Monday night's My Bloody Valentine concert, and the constant blowing of cold air onto the back of my head at work has made me so congested that I can't taste much of anything. So I'm taking the opportunity to eat something healthy, since my taste buds can't really tell the difference anyway. I'm kidding, what I can taste of this dish is pretty darn good, so I'd be more than happy to eat it even on a good day. I found this recipe on yet another fantastic cooking blog that makes this one look like ass - 101 Cookbooks.



Reasons I like this recipe:
1. It has chickpeas. I will eat anything with chickpeas.
2. Lemony.
3. Rice and stuff, perfect together.
4. Best made with ghee, and I'm looking for any excuse to cook with ghee lately.
5. Quick, easy, satisfying.

Recipe after the jump:

LEMONY CHICKPEA STIR-FRY
From 101 Cookbooks

2 tablespoon ghee or extra-virgin olive oil
fine grain sea salt
1 small onion or a couple shallots, sliced
1 cup cooked chickpeas (canned is fine, if you don't want to cook up a pot of dried chickpeas)
8 ounces extra-firm tofu
1 cup of chopped kale
2 small zucchini, chopped
zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon

Heat 1 tablespoon of the ghee/olive oil In a large skillet over medium-high heat and stir in a big pinch of salt, the onion, and chickpeas. Saute until the chickpeas are deeply golden and crusty. Stir in the tofu and cook just until the tofu is heated through, just a minute or so. Stir in the kale and cook for one minute more. Remove everything from the skillet onto a large plate and set aside. In the same skillet heat the remaining tablespoon of ghee/olive oil, add the zucchini and saute until it starts to take on a bit of color, two or three minutes. Add the chickpea mixture back to the skillet, and remove from heat. Stir in the lemon juice and zest, taste, and season with a bit more salt if needed. Turn out onto a platter and serve family style. I loved it served over brown rice.

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sunday supper: the perfect summer soup

It's hot out, folks. So, in part one of my Hot Summer Sunday Supper from Spain, that classic Andalusian cold soup: Gazpacho. Throwing all caution to the wind, we ate us lots of raw tomatoes. This also served as a detoxifier of sorts, after a long weekend of gluttony that included fantastic BBQ and ginormous donuts. By the time that 3rd day of the weekend rolled around, we were juicing veggies and bemoaning our gustatory abandon.



Luckily, gazpacho is low on effort and high on flavor. I've spent some time in Spain, tasted dozens of gazpachos, and it varied so much from place to place that in all honesty I'm not sure what the absolute classic should really be like. But I tend to like a little bit of chunkiness, the bite from garlic and onion, the freshness of lots of cucumber. So here's my take. Recipe after the jump:

GAZPACHO ANDALUZ

2 pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
1 1/2 cups cucumber, peeled and diced
1 cup red onion, diced
1 red pepper, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic
kosher salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 pound country style bread, crusts removed
1 cup water
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, preferably a fruity Spanish oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp ground cumin

Garnishes:
Chopped cucumber, tomatoes, red onions, parsley, bell pepper, or hard boiled egg.
Drizzle with olive oil.

1. Soak bread in 1 cup water for about 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in food processor or blender, process tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper and garlic until no large pieces remain.

3. Squeeze bread dry; crumble. Mix bread with oil, vinegar, salt and cumin. Add to vegetable mixture; blend. If gazpacho is too thick, add a little water. Taste for seasoning; if desired, add more salt and cumin.

4. Force gazpacho through strainer or food mill if desired. Refrigerate 2 to 4 hours or until very well chilled before serving.

5. Serve in glasses as a beverage or in bowls as a soup with desired garnishes.

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fighting against the food

This weekend was a concert weekend, so I wasn't able to cook. Sunday supper was at the Polish place on Bedford Ave. with Mom, Gene, Olivia, and J-Cat. I spent most of the meal really jealous of what Gene and Mom ordered - Hungarian Goulash with Potato Pancakes. So freaking good. But J-Cat made me really happy when he ordered cheese blintzes with plum butter. I could not stop eating them. And, unfortunately, that's the way I've been with a lot of food lately - I CAN'T. STOP. EATING. I could blame it on the cold weather, I suppose. In any case, I am trying to eat much healthier, at least on the weekdays. I'm basically giving myself a pass on Sunday Suppers, though. I can't enforce any restrictions on those.

In an effort to counteract some of the eating, I have started a new strength workout that I'm really enjoying. They are called "Kettlebells", and are a traditional Russian cast iron ball weight with a handle. Here's a picture of kettlebells very similar to the one I got:



It has - dare I say - some personality, no? Or am I just a sucker for exercise equipment? Kettlebells seem to have a long tradition of being a macho guy sort of exercise, but I guess they're becoming more and more popular with the ladies. What I love about them is that they're simple, functional exercises that require little space and little time. Plus, although they are mostly a strength exercise, your heartrate shoots up and you get your cardio without feeling like you're doing cardio. That's great for me because I hate cardio. And my absolute favorite thing about them - you do the workout barefoot, my much preferred way. I've only done 3 workouts so far, with my 20-lb Kettlebell, and already I feel like I could bump up several pounds on a couple of the moves. Maybe one of these days I'll actually get buff. But I'd settle for simply not jiggly...

If you're curious about what Kettlebell moves look like, take a look at this video of the foundation move, two-arm swings.

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