Escarole and Beans

Beans and greens. Another Italian favorite. The greens can be something other than escarole and the beans can be any kind you like But escarole and cannellini are a classic combination. Also, our New Roots Organics delivery supplied us with a giant head of escarole. The second I saw it I knew what we'd be eating this weekend.

This is a dish for any season and any time of day. Yes, I will eat beans and greens for breakfast. Why not?
This is a simple dish and it comes together quickly. And I love when I can cook a meal in one pan. Here are the simple ingredients.

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3- 4 garlic cloves, chopped or smashed
red pepper flakes, to taste
1 head escarole, washed and chopped
2 15 oz. cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (or the equivalent amount of dried beans you've cooked)
coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
pat or two of butter or favorite butter substitute
parmesan, to taste

I use a large skillet, about 3 inches deep with a lid. Heat over medium-high heat and add oil. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for about a minute. You don't want the garlic to burn. Toss in the escarole. Using tongs, toss all the greens to coat them in the olive oil. Cook until the escarole starts to wilt.

Add the beans and combine. Add about a half cup of water, lower the heat and cover. Simmer this for no more than 10 minutes. Then uncover and let some of the fluid simmer away. Add the butter, if using. Season with salt and pepper. Escarole can be bitter. Some times, it can be really bitter. Add a pinch or two of sugar to the dish if bitter is not your thing.

Serve it up and garnish with the parmesan.

Homemade croutons would be really good on top. And a hunk of crusty bread couldn't hurt. And there's nothing stopping you from making this a soup. In the beginning, while cooking the garlic, add chopped onion too, even a diced carrot and some chopped tomato.

Or make it a seafood soup and throw in some mussels to steam.

How about some diced sausage? It's endless. Beans and greens is the base for so many wonderful meals. What are some of your favorite beans and greens dishes?

Beat The Heat - Gazpacho

Summer took its time to arrive but now it's hot in Seattle. Today we are under a heat advisory. Unusually high heat and humidity. We're not alone. Much of the country is suffering from the heat this week. 91 degrees might not be hot for the East Coast but it is for Seattle where most people and many businesses do not have air conditioning. We do, however, have a nice basement and we'll be down there as soon as we get home from work.

Time to break out the chilled soups. A simple gazpacho is quick to make. Always light and refreshing. There are countless variations on the theme of blended raw vegetables so feel free to experiment. The basic idea remains the same - blend raw veggies and serve chilled.

Here is a simple version you can prepare in minutes. Alter the quantities to your liking.

3 cups vegetable juice or tomato juice
2-3 seeded and chopped fresh tomatoes (peel them too if you prefer)
2-3 tbsp vinegar (I've used balsamic, white wine, red wine)
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1-2 celery stalks, chopped
1 cup red bell pepper, chopped (roasted pepper would be really yummy)
1 cup peeled, seeded, chopped cucumber
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Blend it all to the consistency you prefer. Or hold some of the chopped veggies back and add them to the blended soup for added texture. Hey, don't blend any of it. Summer is not the season to constrain yourself. Experiment. Wing it. A squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice would brighten it. A few dashes of hot sauce would kick it up a notch. A garnish of freshly chopped cilantro, chives, parsley would be nice.

It will taste better the next day.

Note: store in a non-reactive, non-metal container.

Bread Sticks with Sage

After the Sweet Potato Gnocchi, I had a fair amount of leftover fried sage and a tiny bit of the fried chestnuts. What to do? Sage and chestnuts are perfect in stuffing. Stuffing's main ingredient is bread. I like making bread so I made bread but not stuffing. Bread but not for slicing. The result was a combination of bread sticks, rolls and pretzels (pretzels in shape only). The dough is simple. The recipe is from the Sunset Cook Book of Breads. The book belongs to S who bought it new for $2.45 in 1977. It's really a nice book. It's not a giant tome on the art of bread. It's perfect for the kitchen, for carrying around the house in case you want to read it while on the couch, lying in bed, sitting on the deck, wherever you might be planning a bread in your head.

The only changes I made to the recipe are the addition of sage and chestnuts and I might have used bread flour for half the flour. I honestly can't remember. That's sad considering I made these just a week ago. Here are the ingredients.

4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (don't see why you couldn't combine flours)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 packets active dry yeast
1/4 olive oil
1 1/4 warm water
3 tablespoons chopped fried sage leaves
1 egg white beaten with 1 tablespoon water (optional)
Coarse salt

The book assumes you're using a standing mixer. I don't own one and don't need one. Besides, I like to make bread with my hands.

In a bowl, combine 1 cup of flour, the sugar, the salt and the yeast. Add the oil and combine. Gradually add the warm water until it's gone. Then add enough of the remaining flour, a half cup at a time, until the dough has come together enough to work with your hands.

Turn out the dough onto a well-floured surface or continue to work in your large mixing bowl. Using well-floured hands, bring the dough together and work into a nice smooth ball. It was at this point that I kneaded into the dough my chopped fried sage and chestnuts.

This recipe doesn't call for kneading or a long rise time. Once the extra ingredients were incorporated into the dough, I divided the dough into about 15 or 16 equal pieces. Using the same basic coil-rope-snake shape, I created bread sticks, pretzel shapes and coiled bun shapes.
I set these aside oiled baking sheet to rest for 15-20 minutes. In the meantime, pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
If you like, before you bake, give these an egg white wash and sprinkle with coarse salt and/or your favorite combination of seeds. Then just bake until they are as brown as you like. Misu has to investigate everything. And when I have my face to the camera and the camera pointed at the product, I can't see or hear her approach. Suddenly, her nose is in the frame as I'm clicking. Savory bits of fried sage and crunchy morsels of salt. These are great just as a snack or with soup or stew or a salad.

Roasted Red Pepper Paella

This dish, rather this method for making rice, is based on Mark Bittman's Tomato Paella. I have made the original recipe with the tomato wedges and it's great. But now I just use this method whenever I want a one pan rice dish, especially when I want to incorporate other cooked ingredients rather than having just plain rice on the side. It's just a great method that lends itself to whatever ingredients you have on hand. And the next day the flavors are even deeper.

For this version I used red peppers that I had roasted on the grill earlier in the week and homemade chicken stock. In the past I've used vegetable stock, homemade chicken stock, homemade shrimp stock (the shrimp went into the dish), and plain water. I've added a splash of white wine. And I've added so many different seasonings and vegetable combinations I can't recall them all.

Here is what you need:

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3-5 cloves garlic, chopped (hey, we love garlic)
1 heavy tbsp tomato paste
2 heavy tbsp canned, diced, green chili
1 heavy tsp freshly ground cumin
1/2 tsp freshly ground allspice
salt & pepper to taste
2 cups short grain rice, like Spanish bomba or Italian arborio
3 1/2 -4 cups broth/stock/water, heated to almost simmering

Make sure you have an oven-proof pan with straight sides large enough to hold all of these ingredients. Begin by preheating your oven to 450 degrees. Heat the oil on medium-high. Have your hot stock close at hand. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and cook about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute. Stir in tomato paste, green chili, salt, pepper, cumin, and allspice and combine.

Add rice and stir to coat all the grains. Cook for just another minute or so. Next add the hot stock and stir to combine. At this point you can taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. This is when you add your starring veggies or shrimp or chicken or anything else.* Bring it all back up to a boil.

Once the liquid is boiling, put the pan in the oven and cook for a total of 15 minutes. At 15 minutes I check for doneness by tasting a couple grains. If more time or liquid is needed, I make the adjustments and continue cooking a few minutes at a time until the rice is tender. Take the pan out of the oven and let it sit for a few minutes. Do not, I repeat, do not grab that pan handle without an oven mit. I did it once. Once. That was a long night and the blisters lasted a few weeks.

A nice suggestion in Bittman's original recipe is to "put the pan over high heat for a few minutes to develop a bit of a bottom crust before serving." I've not tried this yet because we always eat before I can think to do it. But it sounds good.Once you dig in the design is ruined so I photographed the dish in its pre-chow form, still in the pan.

*I have found that arranging veggies and things in decorative patterns is for naught if you do it right after you've added the liquid. Everything ends up floating all over the place and whatever design you've created is lost. If presentation is important, I cook the dish for at least five minutes and then add my decorative ingredients. That's what I did with the peppers in the photo. I rarely do this but I wanted you to see that it's a nice touch.

Tofu Tacos

Soft tacos make a great meal that come together quickly. Make the marinade in the morning and let the tofu marinate all day in the refrigerator while you do other things. These taste great, are a great meat alternative that will fill you up, and this kind of dish is easy to tailor to the tastes of anyone in the house.

What you will need:

• 12 oz. firm or extra firm tofu, drained and cubed, sliced, grated, julienned, etc. (my preferred brand in Wild Wood Organic's Super Firm Tofu)
• Juice of 1 1/2 small limes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 2 tbsp mild red chili flakes
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 1 tsp hot red chili flakes
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 garlic clove, minced

Combine all ingredients then add the tofu and toss to coat. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to cook. All day is fine. Once in a while I'll go in the refrigerator and give the mix a toss (and sneak a piece of tofu).

To heat up the tofu I thinly slice a half an onion and saute this in a tablespoon of olive oil until it begins to brown. I then add all of the tofu but not any extra liquid from the marinade. Let this fry until some color comes to the tofu and you're done. Serve it hot. Sometimes I saute the onions separately. Sometimes I add red peppers too. Whatever I have on hand.

As for toppings, that's entirely up to you and also depends on what is on hand. We dressed our tacos with cheese, shredded cabbage, cilantro and plain yogurt. I prefer a low carb, whole wheat tortilla. S likes the standard flour ones. I like hot sauce. S doesn't. Building the soft taco is creative venture. Listen to your tummy.

By the way, the leftovers are great straight from the refrigerator or eaten with rice or stuffed back into a tortilla again.

Bok Choi with Black Bean Sauce and Chili Paste for Grow Your Own #11

This is my entry into June's Grow Your Own monthly blog event started by Andrea at Andrea's Recipes.I harvested quite a bit of baby bok choi today. I washed it right in the yard and the washing water went right back into the garden. I then gave it a spin in the salad spinner, let it dry a bit, then enjoyed it.

Into a large skillet I heated 2 tbsp olive oil on medium-high heat. I added two garlic cloves, minced, one teaspoon of chopped ginger and let this cook for just a moment. I then added all of the bok choi and gave it a good toss with a pair of tongs. Let this cook a few minutes then dribble in about a 1/4 cup of water. Add a heaping half teaspoon of black bean sauce and a teaspoon of your favorite chili paste. Toss the pastes to incorporate them into the mix. Cover and cook about five more minutes. I like a bit of crunch to the bok choi stalks. Serve it right away.

You can remove all of the bok choi from the pan then reduce the sauce to thicken it. I was too hungry and impatient tonight. I barely allowed myself to snap a photo.

Tofu Salad with Asian Dressing

This was a quick lunch to prepare and made enough for four. Served cold it was a healthy and refreshing part of a filling lunch. You could also serve it warm by tossing it in a saute pan for a few minutes. Serve it over a bed of fresh salad greens or stuffed into a pita or rolled into a tortilla, perhaps with crackers or even crusty bread. Just combine all the ingredients and you're ready.

• 1 lb. extra firm tofu, pressed a bit, then diced
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 1-2 tbsp Spicy Cilantro Garlic Paste
• 1 tsp fish sauce (optional)
• 3-4 shakes toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp back bean paste
• 1 tsp rice vinegar
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 scallions (green onions) thinly sliced
• 1/2 red bell pepper diced
• 1 carrot, grated
• sesame seeds as garnish

Redskin Potato & Greens Salad

This dish is so simple yet so flavorful. It's a great way to use up salad greens that are past their prime.

I like to leave some of the skin on the potato because of the high flavor and nutrient factor. Simply cut into pieces slightly larger than bite-sized and steam until just tender. While the potatoes are steaming, put your greens in a very large bowl. Once the potatoes are done, toss them right on top of the greens. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste then toss together gently, else you'll have mashed potatoes and greens. It's a very fresh flavor but with the warmth of comfort food. Really fresh potatoes will give this a sweet and buttery flavor.

You could use any greens you like that will wilt. If using heartier green, first saute a bit to remove some of the potential bitterness and to tenderize. Experiment with different potatoes too. You can dress this like any other salad with a full vinaigrette of your making. Point is, hot potatoes added to a salad are delicious.

Leftover Somethings

I hate wasting food. I believe there is an obligation to plan well and use the food I buy and grow. So I don't at all mind leftovers. I love them and I love finding ways to refreshen the ingredients to create a whole new dish.

What to do with left over canned garbanzo beans and left over cooked oatmeal? Experiment, of course.

I opened the can of garbanzo beans for a salad. They keep well enough in the fridge for a while. I made oatmeal for breakfast a few days ago. I don't mean instant, I mean real oatmeal that you buy in bulk and cook on the stove. Nope, not quick cook either. It took a whole 5 minutes, this did. Whew! Saved myself alot of time on that choice. Anyway, what would I do with these two items that were taunting me every time I opened the fridge? Well, I knew it would be something savory and I knew it would be a patty or a ball or something along those lines. I took the basic idea from the Lentil Patties and went from there.

While a cup of red lentils were cooking, I blended the leftover oatmeal and garbanzo beans in the food processor.

I diced a large onion and a large carrot and sauteed in olive oil. To this I added the rest of the toasted and ground panch phoron from the dal and a healthy dose of ground cumin, some garlic powder and salt. Into this I added some roughly chopped almonds. Once the veggies were cooked to my liking, I added the blended oatmeal-garbanzo mixture to the pan and mashed it up to combine. Then it all went into the food processor until blended. I could have blended slightly less. Next time. I put the mixture into the fridge for a while to firm up so it would be easier to handle.

I cooked this lentil-bean-oatmeal mix in two different ways. First, I sprayed a muffin tin with cooking spray and filled each space with lentil-bean-oatmeal mix. Then I baked it until the tops were a nice shade of brown. I've had success with this method when cooking falafel, a mixture of similar texture. Much lighter and healthier than deep frying. The lentil-bean-oatmeal mix didn't get terribly firm but after a night in the fridge they did. Still not firm like a burger but they held the muffin shape nicely. I wrapped these and froze them for the future. Upon thawing a batch, I noticed that they retained their shape but as soon as you touched them with a fork they were soft. Still, they tasted great. A great fiber and protein source for a vegetarian wrap. Slather a couple of these "muffins" on a tortilla and dress like you would a burrito. Really tasty.

The other method of cooking was to lightly oil my hands, form patties, lightly dust with breadcrumbs then pan fry in just enough olive oil to moisten the pan. This worked just fine. Again, not as firm as the lentil patties. But so delicious. Hell, you don't have to form shapes or patties at all. You could use it as tortilla filler form the get-go or use like hummus. Get creative. Waste less.

Miso Sake Tofu

Tofu is really easy to prepare and is perfect for experimenting with different flavors. Unlike alot of folks, I DO think tofu has a flavor. To me, each brand tastes different. I'm not too focussed on covering up the tofu-ness of my tofu. But marinading it is a good way to infuse added flavor to the tofu, especially a blander one. The brand I used for this recipe was on mega-buy-one-get-one-sale so I thought I'd try it. I used one package for this recipe and I froze the other. Freezing, thawing, draining, pressing gives tofu a denseness that I really like. But I prefer Wild Wood Extra Firm Organic Tofu above all others. I also never buy the pre-baked and pre-flavored tofu. Tofu doesn't naturally come with that much fat but those pre-made things seem to pack a good deal. I'll make my own tofu, thank you. Then I can control the fat, the sugar (plenty of it in Asian food, especially processed Asian food) and salt (again, Asian food is full of sodium). Once you have drained and pressed the tofu (if necessary), cut it up however you like - cubes, slabs, sticks, etc. Blend the ingredients and pour over the tofu then gently fold to cover all the pieces. You can marinate the tofu overnight (like I did simply because I was doing other things) or for just an hour. You can bake it, broil it, grill it, fry it. In fact, you need not "cook" it at all. It isn't raw. Tofu is perfectly edible right out of the package. Marinate it, drain off the marinade and make a salad with it. Stick toothpicks in it and serve it as an appetizer. And the great thing about a non-meat marinade is that it can be used as additional sauce for dipping. So go try some tofu, already. 14 oz. extra firm tofu, drained, pressed, cut into slabs 1 tsp black bean, garlic sauce 1 tsp fish sauce 1 tsp toasted sesame oil juice of half a lime 1 tsp mirin 1 tbsp sake 1 tbsp Chinese black vinegar 1 heavy tbsp aka miso* 1 large garlic clove, minced 1 heavy tbsp minced ginger *A note about miso. I don't claim to know much at all about miso. I do know that there are several varieties of miso, each with a distinct flavor and used for different purposes. I have aka miso in my fridge so this is what I use for all dishes that call for miso. I'm sure it's not appropriate for all dishes in the traditional sense but I really like the taste of everything I've made with it so far.

Sauteed Greens

We have greens coming from every direction in the garden. We can't eat them fast enough. Lettuces everywhere and various other forms of leafy things that we saute. It's a very quick and easy process once the greens are thouroughly cleaned.

Here I've got some endive and a variety of saute greens, a red bell pepper, some onion scapes, and some garlic. Everything but the red pepper was grown here at home.

In a couple tablespoons of olice oil I saute the garlic, the scapes, and the pepper which I've cut into strips and then halved. After a couple minutes I stuff the pan with greens that I've usually ripped in half for a more manageable bite. I start turning bunches of greens with my tongs as I try to coat it all with the sauteed veggies and olive oil. About a minute later I splash in some soy sauce and some vinegar (either Chinese black vinegar or balsamic), grind some coarse salt over the whole thing, sometimes some garlic powder too, then I sprinkle a tablespoon of brown sugar over it all. This isn't always needed. But the endive is pretty bitter. And there you have it. In minutes you have delicious sauteed greens. I can easily eat the whole batch!