Yam Can Cook

A rainbow chard day's night

2011-12-05T10:45:00.000-08:00

I saw some rainbow chard at the farmer's market this weekend and thought I'd give it a go, acknowledging that, as an adult, I have to be the person who will make myself eat my leafy greens. And acknowledging that, as a childish adult, I'd be greatly encouraged to do so if my leafy greens are also hot pink, red, orange and yellow.

[image by Cpt. Obvious on flickr]

This recipe for sautéed rainbow chard is adapted from some flavors my mother uses in a lentil & swiss chard soup, which is banging, FYI.

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

One bunch rainbow chard

Handful of spinach

3 cloves garlic (I used heirloom which is awesome)

2-3 tbsp pine nuts, toasted

Dried basil

Salt & pepper

1/2 a lemon

Directions:

Cut the leaves off the stems of the chard. Cut up stems into ~1" long pieces (on the diagonal is nice) and cut the leaves into ribbons ~ 2" long and 1/2" thick. Cut up the spinach in the same manner as the chard leaves. Cut up garlic cloves into chunks.

Heat olive oil in non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chunks of garlic and sauté until very lightly browned. Add the chard stems and sauté until tender-crisp, ~4 mins. As you sauté, add dried basil, salt and pepper to taste. I was liberal with the dried basil because I think ours is old and thus not very flavorful.

Add the chard leaves and spinach to the pan and cover with a lid. Reduce the heat slightly to medium so nothing burns. Leave the lid on to wilt the leaves for ~2 mins.

Remove the lid and continue to cook the greens if they are not yet soft. Add the toasted pine nuts. Also add more basil, salt & pepper if you like.

Remove from heat. Squeeze lemon over the mixture and stir. Serve warm over brown rice!

Stuffed and Fried Zucchini Flowers

2011-08-03T23:23:00.000-07:00

Don't judge me.

I bought zucchini flowers at the farmers market a few weeks back, but all I could manage to do

with them was to cut them up, sautee with onions, serrano peppers, and corn, and eat them on a blue corn tortilla with some mozzarella cheese. [You should do this. It is good.] I felt like something as outlandish as zucchini flowers deserved a more elaborate treatment. So I got another batch last week and thought, how better to treat an elegant vegetable than to stuff it with cheese, dredge it in batter, and fry it?

So that's what I did.

Prep time: 25 mins

Cook time: 20 mins (because I fried in batches)

Ingredients:

8-12 zucchini flowers (attached to little zucchinis is fine)

1 c flour (I used whole wheat because that's all I had on hand, and it worked fine)

1 c sparkling water

1/3 c ricotta cheese

2 tbsp cream cheese

1 shallot, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

~6 fresh basil leaves, chopped

zest of 1/2 lemon

1tsp dried oregano

1tsp dried thyme

Salt & pepper

Vegetable oil (I used olive which worked fine, too)

Directions:

Remove flowers from zucchinis carefully. Cut slits in the sides of the flowers, and remove the stamens (those apparently taste awful).

Mix flour and water in a bowl big enough to dredge in. Whisk if needed to blend well. Adjust measurements if the batter is too runny or too thick. Let stand.

Mix ricotta, cream cheese, shallots, garlic, basil, herbs, and generous pinches of salt and pepper. Using a dessert spoon, carefully place small mounds of mixture through the slits into the center of the flowers. Do your best to close flowers around the mixture.

Heat vegetable or olive oil in a pan ove

r medium-high heat. (You will need to watch the heat and reduce it after a while so neither the oil nor the flowers burn). Dredge stuffed flowers in the batter and immediately place in the pan to fry. Turn after 1-2 minutes so all sides cook. Alternatively, you can deep fry them. I had neither the resources nor the desire to do that, and pan frying worked fine.

If the flowers come attached to baby zucchinis, you can dredge and fry these, too! But did you really need my permission?

Verdict:

At the end of the day, I actually still prefer the flowers sauteed. But it was fun messing around.

P.S. I realize how unappetizing these pictures are. Trying to take pretty pictures of fried food is too much of a challenge for my limited iphone photog skills.

Simple Turkey Meatballs with Edamame

2011-08-01T20:16:00.000-07:00

Rachel Ray, eat your heart out: my attempt at a 30-minute meal.

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

1.5lb ground turkey (or chicken)

2-3 scallions, minced

2 tbsp ginger powder (use fresh ginger if you like; I do not)

Olive oil

1.5 c frozen edamame, thawed

1.5 c fresh snap peas (measurement of veggies is approximate)

1/2 c low sodium soy sauce

2 tbsp agave syrup

1 tsp corn starch (optional)

Directions:

Combine ground turkey, scallions, and ginger powder in a bowl. Form into balls (~16).

Fry meatballs in a little bit of olive oil (spray would work well) in a non-stick pan, rotating to get all sides, until cooked through (about 10 mins). Remove from the pan.

Combine soy sauce, agave syrup, and corn starch.

With a bit more oil, add snap peas and edamame to the pan and cook on medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Return meatballs to the pan with veggies. Add soy sauce mixture and simmer until sauce slightly thickens.

Serve over rice.

Watermelon Salad

2011-08-01T16:20:00.000-07:00

A fresh summer recipe that can be called a salad or a salsa - it's salivating either way. Womp womp.

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: none

Ingredients:

~1 c cubed cucumber

~1.5 c cubed watermelon

Handful of heirloom cherry tomatoes, also cubed to the best of your abilities

12-15 mint leaves, coarsely chopped

Juice of 1/2 lemon

3-4 oz crumbled queso fresco (palm-sized hunk) (optional)

Directions:

Mix cucumber, watermelon, tomatoes, and mint leaves. Toss with lemon juice. Crumble queso fresco on top and serve with tortilla chips. Or serve chilled without cheese as a super refreshing side salad.

There are a couple of keys to this extremely easy and tasty recipe. The first is that all the ingredients should be as fresh and crisp as possible, especially the tomatoes, which I always prefer to be hard/crisp. The second is that cutting cubes of each ingredient (except the mint and cheese) that are roughly uniform in size greatly enhances the eating experience.

Basil-Lemon Zest Ice Cream

2011-08-01T14:57:00.000-07:00

Yeah I did.

NB: You will need an ice cream maker for this. Unless you're fancy and know how to do without.

Prep time: ~4.5 hours

Ingredients:

1.5 c whole milk

1 c basil leaves

2 c half and half

1 c heavy cream

1 c sugar (separated into 3/4c and 1/4 c parts)

dash of sea salt

3 egg yolks

Zest of 1 lemon

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Puree basil leaves and whole milk in a food processor or blender.

Combine milk/basil puree with half & half, heavy cream, 3/4 c of sugar, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat, whisking to dissolve the sugar.

Whisk together the egg yolks with the remaining 1/4c of sugar in a pyrex bowl.

When the milk mixture begins to simmer, slowly pour 1 c of the milk mix into the egg/sugar mix, whisking constantly to "temper" the eggs (i.e. cook the eggs without turning them into scrambled eggs). Then add egg mix into pan with milk mix. Continue heating, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Add vanilla extract and lemon zest.

Pour mixture into a large bowl and refrigerate for about 3 hours until cool. To speed up the cooling process, you can place the bowl in an ice bath in the fridge or place bowl directly into the freezer (no ice bath). I did the latter, and it worked just fine.

Once mixture is cold, make ice cream according to your machine's directions.

Serve on a warm summer day, garnished with whole mint or basil leaves or candied lemon peels if you have any on hand!

Adapted from this recipe at Baking with Basil.

Cashew sauce, Green beans, and Plantains - oh my.

2011-06-21T14:43:00.000-07:00

I just made this strange lunch for myself post-workout from ingredients I've been needing to get rid of in my fridge. I had some cashew butter I made myself in the food processor that had become too hard to spread, a browning plantain, and some green beans on the verge. I generated the following situation that, despite appearance and my worries otherwise, turned out pretty tasty.

I should also say that my measurements below are nowhere near exact. I was just grabbing handfuls of things and dumping in others. So don't get hung up on my measurements; do what feels right.

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Ingredients

About a cup of fresh green beans, chopped into ~1.5" pieces

One plantain, dark yellow and beginning to brown

A cube of tofu (I use the high protein stuff from Trader Joe's)

3/4 cup cashew butter

~2 cups water

1/2 lemon

3 tbsp olive oil

~1 tsp Ras el-Hanout*

Sea salt

Black pepper

Serve over a brown/wild rice blend.

*This is a spice blend used in North Africa. It has things like cardamom, nutmeg, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, pepper, and more. If you don't have it, I encourage you to get it. Or make it by following, for example, this recipe. Or use some other complex spice mix, like curry powder (which does not taste the same, but would give the dish a similar depth).

Directions

Steam the green beans until cooked al dente.

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan over low-medium heat and add cashew butter. My cashew butter was particularly hard and dry, so the next step took me quite some time. Slowly add about 1/4 cup of water to the cashew butter and stir gently until blended. Continue doing this over low-medium heat with the rest of the water until the sauce is almost runny but still thick. Mix in about 1 tsp of ras el-hanout and another tsp of sea salt. Set aside.

Cube tofu and mix with juice from half a lemon and generous sprinklings of sea salt and black pepper. Stir fry in another 1 tbsp of olive oil over med-high heat until it begins to brown on most sides. Add the tofu to the cashew sauce (re-warmed if need be) and mix to coat.

Peel the plantain and cube by cutting lengthwise twice and then cutting crosswise into 1/2" pieces. Stir fry in the remaining tbsp of olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.

On a plate, put down a thin layer of rice (as mentioned, I recommend a brown and wild rice blend, but plain brown rice would work, too). Then, cover with a layer of green beans, add tofu in cashew sauce, and, finally, sprinkle with fried plantains on top.

I can think of only one person other than myself who would be enthusiastic about eating something like this. In truth, I wasn't so enthusiastic. But it turned out nice - the bright, almost sour, flavor of the plantains compliments the mildly sweet cashew sauce, and the green beans (my favorite vegetable) add crispness and freshness. Or else I was just really hungry.

Eggs Mimosa (deviled eggs)

2011-04-25T00:00:00.001-07:00

"Eggs Mimosa" (or oeuf mimosa) is the French name for deviled eggs. But it has a second meaning for me: Mimosa is one of my mother's nicknames for me. The following, then, is Mimosa's Eggs Mimosa recipe.

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Ingredients

1 dozen hardboiled eggs (see directions below for cooking hardboiled eggs)

1 large avocado or 2 small avocados (increase for more creaminess)

1 tbsp mayonnaise

1 1/2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 tbsp chopped chives

1 scallion, finely minced

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp cayenne

1 1/2 tsp sumac

Directions

First, hard boil eggs: Place eggs in a pot, cover with cold water about 1" above the eggs, and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Let cook for one minute, cover pot, remove from heat, and let stand for 20 minutes. Then remove eggs from hot water and place immediately into ice bath.

After eggs are cool, peel and slice each one in half. Remove yolks and save in a large mixing bowl. Mash yolks with all the other ingredients. Refill egg white cups with yolk mixture. Serve immediately or refrigerate for later!

Asparagus Risotto

2011-02-21T17:42:00.001-08:00

This is a cheap shot; a repost of a recipe for asparagus risotto I found that I highly recommend. The original recipe can be found here and is reproduced below (with a picture of my iteration).

INGREDIENTS

1 pound asparagus
3 Tbsp plus 1 teaspoon butter
1/2 cup chopped shallots
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine (or 1 Tbsp lemon juice and 1/4 cup water)
About 3 1/2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock for vegetarian option), can substitute some of the asparagus cooking water for stock*
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

If cooking gluten-free, use gluten-free stock.

METHOD
1 Prepare the asparagus by breaking off discarding the tough ends (about the last inch of the spear). Cut into 1 to 1 1/2-inch pieces (tips longer, base shorter). If your asparagus are especially large, cut into even smaller (bite-size) pieces. Bring a saucepan with a quart of water to a boil. Blanch the asparagus pieces for 2 minutes. At the end of two minutes, use a slotted spoon to remove the asparagus pieces to an ice water bath to shock the asparagus into a vibrant green color and to stop the cooking. Drain from the ice water bath and set aside.
2 In a 3 or 4 quart saucepan, heat 3 Tbsp butter on medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for a few minutes until translucent. Add the rice and cook for 2 minutes more, stirring until nicely coated.
3 While the shallots are cooking, bring the stock to a simmer in a saucepan.
4 Add the wine. Slowly stir, allowing the rice to absorb the wine. Once the wine is almost completely absorbed, add 1/2 cup of stock to the rice. Continue to stir until the liquid is almost completely absorbed, adding more stock in 1/2 cup increments. Stir often to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Continue cooking and stirring rice, adding a little bit of broth at a time, cooking and stirring until it is absorbed, until the rice is tender, but still firm to the bite, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat.
Note the stock amount given is approximate. You may need a little more or less. If you end up needing more stock and you find yourself without, just use water or the cooking water from the asparagus.
5 Gently stir in the Parmesan cheese, the remaining 1 teaspoon butter, and the asparagus. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
Serves 4.

Pea Stew with Ground Turkey

2010-08-15T20:58:00.000-07:00

The following is modified from a family recipe typically made with ground beef or steak meat (yakhnet bazella). I substituted in ground turkey meat because...I felt like it, and it turned out pretty good!

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients

3 tbsp earth balance (non-hydrogenated margarine; butter would taste better but is slightly less healthy)

1 big yellow onion

1lb lean ground turkey

1 tsp allspice

Salt & pepper

2 tbsp tomato paste (heaping - more is fine) mixed with 2 cups of warm water

1 cup fresh tomatoes, diced

3 cups frozen peas (fresh is fine)

1 1/2 cups frozen carrots (fresh is fine, but dice them)

Directions

Sauté onions in margarine until light yellow. Add the turkey meat, allspice, salt and pepper (to taste, but be generous), and brown the meat. Add tomato paste + water and fresh tomatoes. Bring to a boil, and then cook on low heat for 20 minutes. Add the peas and carrots and mix well. (At this point, if it looks like it could use more veggies, perhaps because you had more than a lb of meat, add liberally - it won't hurt). Leave to cook for another 15-20 minutes. Serve over rice, or eat as is!

Loubieh B'zeit (Green Beans in Oil)

2009-10-15T11:51:00.000-07:00

Here is one of my favorite, simple Lebanese dishes. A friend called it a green bean "ragout," which sounds accurate, but it's eaten as a side dish. It can be served warm or cold (my preference is room temperature) and can be eaten by itself or, more authentically, with Arabic bread.

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 1 hr 10 mins

Ingredients

2 or 3 lbs of green beans (I like to make a big batch with 3 lbs), cut in half to make big bite-sized pieces

1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped

6 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped

1/3 c. tasty olive oil

1 tsp agave nectar (or sugar)

salt

1 can tomato paste

2 big tomatoes (or 3 small ones)

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large pot over low-med fire and cook the chopped onion until soft and yellow. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for another 2 minutes. Add the green beans, agave nectar, salt liberally, reduce fire to low, cover, and let sit for ~30 minutes. Return to the pot periodically and shake it to make sure nothing is sticking.

In the meantime, coarsely chop tomatoes and mix with tomato paste. I also like to add about half a tomato paste-sized can of water (~2 tbsp?) just to loosen the paste up a bit. Add the tomato mixture to green beans. Mix and let simmer over low fire for another 30-40 minutes. The sauce should thicken up a bit, but return to stir periodically to check on the consistency. At this point, I also check a green bean to determine whether more salt should be added. It is important that the dish cook slowly for a long time to get the rich flavors.

Whether you leave the loubieh sitting in the pot or transfer it to a pyrex and stored in the fridge until it's served, the dish will be full of flavor and very comforting. Sahtein!

The Best Turkey Burgers Ever

2009-10-12T00:50:00.000-07:00

I can only call them that because I didn't invent the recipe; I merely adapted the one found here.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4 plus leftovers (usually yields 6 or 7 small burgers)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs lean ground turkey (usual package size from the grocery store)

1/2 c. old fashioned rolled oats [I recently discovered matzo meal works as a GREAT substitute for oats - makes the burgers even moister]

3 tbsp mayonnaise (smart balance makes a great one)

1 egg

3 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives

6 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1-1.5 tbsp Tapatío hot sauce (Tabasco is for babies)

2 green onions, finely chopped

1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder

Salt and pepper

Preparation:

Combine all the ingredients together, mixing the components well without overworking the meat. Make into 6 patties, lay them on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate to firm them up.

It can be difficult to grill these burgers because they are a bit fragile. It will work, but they can also be successfully cooked on a griddle on the stove. Cook for 7 minutes on each side.

These burgers are fabulous on a piece of toasted wheat bread, with a slice of melted mozzarella, fresh tomato slices, and avocado on top. But they're also good as leftovers, crumbled up in an omelette with some cheese, onion, and spinach! I also suspect that this concoction can be easily baked into a meatloaf with a fresh tomato sauce. I'll post again when I try this innovation.

Vegan Coconut Key Lime Cake

2009-10-12T00:28:00.001-07:00

I know, this blog is quickly turning into a vegan baking recipe site, but I still have some other non-vegan things up my sleeve, too, so keep a lookout.

This is a recipe I pulled together from a variety of vegan and non-vegan recipes I found online. It was for a 28th birthday (hence the 28 lime slices + a curly one for good luck) - my vegan friend Liz's (the inspiration for all my vegan baking).

Prep time: 30-45 minutes (depending on your garnish strategy)

Cook time: 40-45 minutes

Serves: 8 slices from a one layer cake

Coconut Lime Cake

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. flour

1 c. sugar

1 tsp baking soda

6 tbsp canola oil

1 tsp vinegar

1 tsp vanilla

1 c. coconut milk

1/2 c. shredded coconut

1 tsp coconut extract

Zest and juice from 3 small key limes

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flour, sugar, and baking soda in a large bowl and set aside. Combine the remaining ingredients, but be sure to add the vinegar LAST. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry, stirring to get any dry lumps out. Pour into a greased 9" cake pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Key Lime Frosting

Ingredients:

1/4 c. vegetable shortening (cristco will do, but there are now versions that do not use partially hydrogenated oils which are preferable, health-wise)

4 tsp margarine (Earth balance spread)

1 tbsp (or more) key lime juice (including pulp is even better)

Zest from 3 (or more) key limes

1 tsp vanilla

1 c. powdered sugar

Preparation:

Blend shortening, margarine, lime juice & rind, and vanilla. Slowly add the sugar, blending to work through sugar chunks. The mixing of this frosting is most easily accomplished with an electric mixer, but since I don't have one, I did it with a fork. It took much longer and more work, but it still turned out smooth.

Lather frosting onto cake and decorate with toasted coconut, lime slices, or a more creative garnish!

A Versatile Salad Dressing

2009-06-12T09:08:00.000-07:00

Growing up, we rarely had any of the typical dressings on salads. The salads we usually had were tabbouleh or fattoush (common Lebanese salads), green bean salad (my dad's delicious and simple recipe that I'll have to recreate here), or cabbage salad. All of these had dressings that were basically lemon juice and olive oil. As a result, I tend to prefer this clean and simple dressing base over the creamy varieties. It occurred to me, however, that the herbs used in the fattoush dressing can be applied to most any green salad and taste great.

The basic salad I usually make for dinners involves romaine lettuce, scallions, tomatoes, and avocado. Other ingredients that make the occasional cameo are: red cabbage, cucumbers, radishes, and cilantro. You can add sprouts, beans, bell peppers, etc, and the flavor of the dressing will still work. Or anything!

The quantities here are just suggestions. I love sumac and tend to apply it liberally, but it is a bold flavor for those who are not used to it. If you can't find sumac, you can also use dried thyme. It is in no way a substitute for sumac, but it also complements the mint.

So, without further ado, here it is:

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (use one that tastes good if you can)

1.5-2 tbsp lemon juice (whatever you do, don't use "real lemon," it's disgusting. if you can't fresh squeeze, choose the lemon juice that comes in the lemon-shaped bottle over real lemon)

1 tsp of ground sumac (can be found in most middle eastern and some mediterranean markets)

1 tsp of dried mint (if you're a baller, use fresh)

Dash of salt

Whisk and apply!

Vegan Chocolate Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

2009-03-01T21:29:00.000-08:00

No, I have not gone vegan. A new friend and classmate of mine is vegan, however, and so I've been experimenting with how to veganize tasty dishes. Since I tend to produce communal desserts (for birthdays in particular), my experiments mostly involve vegan baking. Here are the guidelines to a successful project. I adapted the following recipe from several different ones I found online. The banana in the cupcakes gives them the lifespan of banana bread such that, in the first few days after baking, the cupcakes are particularly moist and banana-y; after a while, the banana starts to turn. As a result, it's best to eat them within the week, but, from experience, I don't think that will be a problem.

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Serves: More than you need.

Cupcake Ingredients
1 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 c. boiling water
2 3/4 c. flour (all white or half-white, half-whole wheat)
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 c. smart balance (or other non-hydrogenated margarine)
2 1/4 c. sugar (that's how vegan baking gets ya!)
1 c. mashed banana (about 2 - the riper the better, and it's okay if you have a little more)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Icing Ingredients
3/4 c. of natural peanut butter (no added sugar is best)
1/2 c. non-hydrogenated margarine
2 c. powdered sugar
2 tbsp unsweetened soy milk

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners. I filled three muffin trays: one with regular sized muffin cups, one mini, and one even smaller.

Put cocoa powder in a medium bowl, boil water, and add water to cocoa. Whisk until smooth. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and baking powder.

In a large bowl, cream margarine and sugar. A hand mixer is ideal for this step, but I used a fork and tried to get it as fluffy as possible. It was fine in the end. Whisk in bananas and vanilla. Then add the flour mixture and the cocoa mixture, alternating between the two. Make sure to blend the mixture well so there are no chunks of flour, but don't over mix. Fill muffin cups with the mixture.

Bake about 20 minutes (if you're using mini muffin tins, they may be done after 15 mins). Check to make sure the insides are cooked by sliding a toothpick into the center; if it comes out clean, the cupcakes are ready.

Let the cupcakes cool. In the meantime, make the icing by combining all of the ingredients together until smooth. It's easiest to apply the icing with a piping bag since it's rather liquidy. In a ziploc bag, place 1/4 c. of chocolate chips, and hammer the outside of the bag until chips are crushed. Decorate the tops of each iced cupcake with a sprinkling of crushed chocolate chips.

An Easy Meal Renovation: Fragrant Slop

2008-12-08T10:35:00.000-08:00

Nick and I went through a phase where we frequently ate whole wheat ravioli or tortellini from the grocery store. It's fast, easy, and filling even if not quite the healthiest dinner in the world. Neither is it the most exciting dinner, so I came up with the following recipe for a "fragrant slop" to jazz up the tortellini. This dish, if you can even call it that, works well added to any pasta with any sauce but particularly well when pesto is involved. It can also be enjoyed over brown rice or on its own as a hearty side dish. Note that the quantity listed for each ingredient is a suggestion - increase or decrease any or all according to your preference. For example, my slop tends to be heavy on the onions. I'm really worried about scurvy.

Ingredients
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion
1 can of cannellini beans
3/4 or 1 cup of frozen spinach (fresh would be better, but i can never seem to keep it around long enough for use in this recipe)
1-2 garlic cloves (recommended 1 if you'll be using slop on a pasta with garlicky pesto)

Directions
Dice onion and sauté in 1 tbsp evoo over medium heat until just a little bit soft. Add mashed garlic glove and sauté for another minute or two. Then add frozen spinach, and mix thoroughly. Cook for a few minutes until the spinach thaws. Rinse cannellini beans and add to the mixture. Turn up the heat to med-high. If there isn't enough juice in the pan, and things are starting to look dry, add a few splashes of water. It's important to keep the mixture moist while you cook it down in order to achieve a truly sloppy consistency. Leave the mixture at a low boil for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly.

Slop on immediately!

Non-nasty Three Bean Salad

2008-10-11T16:45:00.001-07:00

Although I love the three beans that go into traditional Three Bean Salad, I am routinely repulsed by the sweet, vinegary mess with which they are often dressed. So, below, please find my simple alternative dressing for Non-nasty Three Bean Salad.

Kidney beans (< 1 can)
Green beans
Wax beans (they look like yellow green beans)
2-4 scallion stalks, finely chopped (white and light green part only)
Lemon juice
Good olive oil
Salt & Pepper

I buy a mix of green & wax beans from trader joe's - they come in a microwavable bag. Whether you go this easy route, or buy fresh beans and steam them, make sure you barely steam the beans so that they retain their snappiness. Yes, a word. Once beans are just cooked, submerge them in icy water to stop the cooking process. Chop them into 1-1.5 inch pieces. Mix with as many kidney beans as you like (I go easy on the kidney beans so their flavor doesn't dominate). Add finely chopped scallions. (If you love scallions or you're making a big salad, 3 or 4 scallions will be great. If you're using the TJ's bag, 1-2 scallions will do. Remember only to use the white and light green parts). Then dress the mixture with lemon juice and your finest olive oil (er whatever you have in the pantry). Add salt & pepper to taste.

A Pasta Primavera (of sorts)

2008-04-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

Prep time: 10-15 mins to chop
Cook time: 20 mins
Serves: 2-4, depending on how much pasta you cook and how hungry guests are.

Ingredients:
3-5 zucchini (green and/or yellow)
1 bunch of asparagus
1 box of sliced baby bella mushrooms
Olive oil
Dried oregano (if you have fresh, even better)
Garlic salt
Red pepper flakes

Pesto (homemade or store-bought)
Whole wheat linguini

Preparation:
Slice asparagus and zucchini on the diagonal, cutting each asparagus stalk into 3-4 pieces and making ~1/2" slices of the zucchini. Cover bottom of sauté pan in olive oil and heat over med-high heat. Add pinches of oregano, garlic salt, and red pepper flakes to the hot oil (as much or as little as you'd like). Then add the vegetables. Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to cook the veggies in batches. You want to make sure not to overcrowd the pan - put enough veggies to cover the bottom of the pan (maybe a little bit more) but not so many that some veggies don't have room to touch the pan at all. Stir occasionally but not constantly or else you won't achieve the nice brown color that comes from sautéeing. Cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the asparagus "gives" when pushed with the edge of the stirring spoon. Remove from pan and lay out on several sheets of paper towels to sop up the grease.

In the meantime, start boiling water (plus a tbsp of olive oil) to cook the pasta. (Follow directions on the package). Once pasta is cooked, drain, and toss with pesto. Only after pasta is tossed with pesto, mix in veggies.

Dakadeek: Lebanese spice cookies

2008-01-04T10:30:00.000-08:00

Prep time: 1 hr, 15 mins
Bake time: ~10 mins
Makes 18 cookies

The following is a special family recipe for savory cookies from the South of Lebanon. Dakadeek are a favorite of natives of my grandmother's village but are largely unheard of by other Lebanese. The recipe represents an interesting blend of Eastern and Western ingredients, combining cornmeal from the West with anis seed - a popular spice in Middle Eastern cooking. These cookies last longer than most because they are made with olive oil which keeps them from drying out.

Ingredients:
1 c. corn meal
1 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. olive oil
1/2 c. yogurt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp anis seed (or, less preferably, 1 tbsp ground anis seed)

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, anis, sugar, and corn meal in a large mixing bowl. Add olive oil, and mix well. In a small bowl or measuring pyrex, dissolve baking soda in yogurt. Leave the yogurt mixture to rise for a few seconds. Add yogurt mixture to dry ingredients, cover bowl, and leave it to rest for 1 hour. During this time, the dough will begin to rise a bit. After the hour has passed, take a spoon and make the dough into small balls, and place into madeleine tins, gently pressing dough into the molds so that dough almost reaches top of mold. If you don't have madeleine tins, you can also put chestnut-sized balls onto a cookie sheet or into muffin cups. In any case, you do not need to grease any of these pans - the dakadeek have plenty of grease in them!

Bake dakadeek in oven 9-12 minutes, depending on size of balls, until very lightly golden. Set out to cool before removing from molds. Serve them warm and fresh for breakfast or dessert, or wrap batches as gifts to be toasted and enjoyed by friends.

White bean whole wheat couscous

2007-12-06T10:10:00.000-08:00

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 5 mins for plain couscous, 0 mins for composed dish
Serves 4 generous side dish portions

Ingredients:
1 c. whole wheat couscous, dry (I use Trader Joe's brand)
2 tbsp. Smart/Earth balance (or any trans fat free margarine)
1 c. water
Pinch of salt
1/4 c. raw pine nuts
Scallions (1-2 stalks)
1-15oz. can of white beans ("navy" or "cannellini" beans are fine)
[note: while I prefer to use the whole can of beans, doing so yields a bean-heavy dish. Feel free to reduce the amount of beans to suit your taste.]

Preparation:
First, cook the couscous according to the package directions. Trader Joe's ww couscous directions are quite simple: bring water, margarine, and salt to a boil. Remove from fire, add couscous, cover, and let stand 5 minutes.

While water is boiling, toast pine nuts. Spread the nuts evenly on a metal toasting pan and toast until light-medium brown. Make sure to stir them around right when they begin to brown to ensure even toasting. [Note: it is very easy to burn pine nuts, so keep a careful watch on them. You may want to toast them on light over and over to make sure they don't burn while you aren't looking. In the alternative, you can toast pine nuts in a pan on the stove over low heat. This option reduces the chance that you will burn the nuts because you are constantly stirring and watching them, but it is more work-intensive.]

Then, while nuts are toasting and couscous is cooking, chop the scallions on the diagonal into very thin rounds. Start at white end and cut up the stalk just through the light green part. Discard dark green end or use it as a garnish. Next, pour the beans out of the can and rinse them in hot water.

Finally, once the couscous is cooked (all the water is absorbed), mix in the chopped scallions, toasted pine nuts, and rinsed beans. Serve warm!

This side dish goes well with tofu or chicken as the main course and any steamed, green vegetable (my favorite with the couscous is zucchini).

Innoveating

2007-12-06T10:01:00.000-08:00

Hello friends:

I've created this blog as a tribute to the many cooking/recipe blogs on which I've come to rely as a beginning, quasi-chef. My cooking ambition is the direct consequence of my devotion to food and, more specifically, to eating. The creation of this blog, however, is a direct consequence of my desire to procrastinate during finals. I am a third-year law student presently rounding out my second to last semester. But now is as good a time as any to invest in a craft that will undoubtedly serve me longer than anything I learned in the last 2.5 years.

My intention for this blog is to post recipes for low-fat, low-sugar, whole food recipes that I've concocted either from scratch or (more likely) from innovating with existing recipes. I may also post some traditional (or altered-traditional) Lebanese recipes passed down to me from my teta (grandmother) and my mom. Please feel free to post any suggestions to make these recipes more user-friendly!

Love,
Maryam