Christmas Dinner Contribution

Well, don't i have egg on my face? I thought for sure that i had posted my favorite side dish recipe for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner in the past, but i was wrong. No old post to re-post for me! This is the basic jist, however:

Patti's Sweet Potatoes (or squash)

This dish is best prepared the day ahead.

• 1 squash or sweet pie pumpkin OR
• 6 or so yams/ sweet potatoes
• Half gallon of apple cider
• Whole cloves/ cinnamon/ salt/ pepper/ paprika/ cayenne
• Splash cream sherry
• Olive oil or butter

Cut squash or yams into evenish sized cubes. Toss in melted butter or olive oil with savory seasonings. Roast at 400 until cooked through, at least 30 minutes- stirring occasionally. In the meantime, pour cider into a medium sized pot with the cloves and Cinnamon. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and continue to cook down until it has reduced to at least 1/3 of its original volume. 
Once squash/yams are cooked to your liking, place into an appropriately sized baking dish and cover with the cider. Toss a few times, cover and put in the bottom of the fridge (or the really cold garage). 
To serve:
Toss potatoes/squash a few times to work the cider juice around all the veg and add a drizzle of cream sherry. Place in the oven at 350 to reheat. Serve hot!

This dish is my stand by side dish to bring to any large meal. You can top it with some spiced pecans if you want to get fancier, but this is very tasty just by itself. I love this dish because you can cook it ahead of time and slowly reheat it in between other dishes being baked. Much better than canned sweet potatoes with marshmallows, don't you think??

What's your favorite side dish to bring to a family meal?

Pasta Salad - with Kaffir Lime and Tangy Spice

I headed up to Lake Buchanan this past weekend to spend some time with my second cousins at their lake house and share a picnic lunch. One of my cousins is vegan, so i thought it would be fun to pick some garden goodies and blend them up for a nice pasta salad seasoning and add some grilled tofu and seeds. I ripped off my own trout marinade from a week or so ago, skipped the tequila (i'm out) and added some fresh jalapenos. Yum!

For the tofu:

Freeze the tofu before hand to get a better texture.
Cut into chunks and scatter in a pan with some olive oil (spray) on med/high: tofu takes much longer to brown than meat, so leave it a while.
Sprinkle with salt, smoked paprika, cumin.
Cook until all sides are good and browned. Turn off the heat and add some:

• hemp seeds
• sunflower seeds
• flax seeds
• pecans

Plus a little sesame oil and more salt and turn turn turn until the pan cools. Don't let those little seeds burn!

In the meantime, boil some water and cook your pasta. While you're waiting for the water to boil, assemble your sauce:

• White wine vinegar
• Olive oil (maybe a half cup each? i just poured the amount i wanted - more vinegar than oil)
• Splash mirin
• 3 large kaffir lime leaves
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 2 large multiplying onions with greens, or scallions, or bulb onions
• Tablespoon or so of peaches, diced
• Splash worchestershire sauce
• 3 large jalapenos, ripe, de-seeded (i de-seeded one and left the rest with seeds)
• salt, pepper, cumin, sweet smoked paprika

Blend all up, taste, add more vinegar or hot peppers as needed to balance the sweetness. Shouldn't be sweet, but shouldn't be puckery tangy either.

Cook and drain the pasta, add the sauce, add the tofu - voila! Into the fridge to be enjoyed tomorrow, or serve right away. If waiting, the pasta will absorb the sauce - which is either good or bad depending on how you look at it.

Pasta salad is one of my favorite things to make for going camping, as long as i have a well fitted lid to go on this here Pyrex dish (cooler water likes to invade my camping food). It's an easy 'pick as you go' snack to have around, and also a filling and satisfying sit down picnic lunch. If you can't get kaffir lime leaves, you could use the juice of a key lime or some lemongrass - but get the kaffir leaves, they're so awesome!

What's your favorite potluck/picnic dish?

Recipe: Black Beans and Corn

I've posted recipes similar to this a few times, but wanted to reitorate how TASTY AND EASY this is to make. Great to have on hand for vegetarian snacks or lunches - or to serve plated up as a main course for dinner.  I always get very excited when my garden is producing enough to fill otu a nearly complete meal. If i'd grown more black eyed peas last year i might have been able to do it - but this batch uses soaked and homecooked store bought black beans. I grew the rest of the ingredients, though! I think that makes it taste better, personally.

Zesty Black Beans with Fresh Corn

• Dried black beans, probably about 2 cups. Soaked over night and cooked for about 3-4 hours with kaffir lime leaves and a diced garlic clove
• Lightly boiled corn on the cob, cut off the cob. Equal amount to the beans.
• 3 finely diced garlic cloves
• 1 finely diced red onion
• Finely diced jalapeno
• Dashes cumin, chilli powder, cayenne powder, pepper
• Liberal salt
• Splashes of white vinegar, lime juice, and a light drizzle olive oil
• Teaspoon or so of habanero sauce
• Some cilantro (cut off a block of frozen cilantro)

Mix it all together and refrigerate. I served mine with some chopped black olives and a side of cabbage i experimented with. Was attempting to make kale chips with cabbage - it almost worked! I'll keep you posted if i succeed.

Could also be great as a condiment to a meat dish, tacos, or atop a green salad.  Make a big batch and feed a big family on the cheap, or have some stocked in the fridge for easy, healthy snacks. I personally have a hard time keeping my hubby from eating it all in one sitting.
Enjoy!

Wholesome Wednesdays: Green Beans

I looooooove me some green beans. I occasionally save up enough to make a delicious green bean casserole (no cream of mushroom soup allowed in my house, though - i use chicken or turkey stock and delicious herbs and veggies) but usually eat them fresh or marinated in tangy salads.
Last year i grew tri colored beans: quite prolific and delicious. This year i planted some unknown variety passed on to me from my step mama. They seem to be doing well climbing the corn, but are putting on fewer beans than i'm used to. Not sure if it is lack of sunshine from the corn leaves, or too much energy going in to climbing above the corn instead of making beans. What beans there have been have been munched directly in the garden.

Let's see the health attributes of the delicious green  (or purple or yellow) bean.

Well that looks pretty darn good! A whole cup of beans is only 34 calories and pretty high in fiber and protein. I love it when veggies i love so much are so good for you!

According to the World's Healthiest Foods (which is a great website that you should visit and bookmark right now!):

Green beans are an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin K and manganese. Plus green beans are very good source of vitamin A (notably through their concentration of carotenoids including beta-carotene), dietary fiber, potassium, folate, and iron. And, green beans are a good source of magnesium, thiamin, riboflavin, copper, calcium, phosphorus, protein, omega-3 fatty acids and niacin. 

The vitamin K provided by green beans-25% of the daily value in one cup-is important for maintaining strong bones. Vitamin K1 helps prevent excessive activation of osteoclasts, the cells responsible for breaking down bone. In addition, friendly bacteria in our intestines convert some K1 into K2, which activates osteocalcin, the major non-collagen protein in bone. Osteocalcin anchors calcium molecules inside of the bone. 

For atherosclerosis and diabetic heart disease, few foods compare to green beans in their number of helpful nutrients. Green beans are a very good source of vitamin A, notably through their concentration of beta-carotene, and an excellent source of vitamin C. These two nutrients are important antioxidants that work to reduce the amounts of free radicals in the body, vitamin C as a water-soluble antioxidant and beta-carotene as a fat-soluble one. This water-and-fat-soluble antioxidant team helps to prevent cholesterol from becoming oxidized. Oxidized cholesterol is able to stick to and build up in blood vessel walls, where it can cause blocked arteries, heart attack or stroke. Getting plenty of beta-carotene and vitamin C can help prevent these complications, and a cup of green beans will provide you with 16.6% of the daily value for vitamin A along with 20.2% of the daily value for vitamin C.    (Green beans are good for the heart!!!)    -WHFoods

Not only that - green beans give you energy (full of iron), have healthful antioxidants, boost the immune system and are anti-immflamatory, something i need to think of more often with my aging joints.

So, go eat some fresh beans! 
Serving ideas:

• Right off the vine
• Steamed ever so briefly and served with homemade butter and a pinch of salt
• As an alternative to carrots or celery to dip in hummus (or ranch if you want to negate the healthfulness)
• Wrap in a foil packet with a little sesame or olive oil, salt or soy, and diced garlic and throw on the grill

Recipe: Miranda-Fried Rice

Normally i would make this with brown rice to make it have actual health content - but i figure heck: it's FRIED rice after all. And i still have this white rice in the house leftover from when our doggy, Tela was sick.

Pretty simple and with lots of room for variations - this is my basic fried rice. It's not overly oily, but there is some sesame oil in it to make it feel at least a little fried. Saute the veg, add the cooked rice, add the eggs and frozen peace - stir stir stir. Voila.

• Rice, cooked. I like to muddle some kaffir lime leaves in with my rice and water
• Onions
• Garlic
• Carrot
• Hot peppers
• Green onions for garnish
• Sesame oil
• Fresh eggs
• Frozen peas
• Soy sauce

This was a whole lotta rice: hard to stir about! But it turned out pretty durn tasty, and i think my friends enjoyed it.

Coleslaw

My mother has coined this "southwestern coleslaw" but i'm not sure why. (she is a yankee. she has very sensitive  mouthbuds to heat. i'm talking regular pepper, here)

I just whipped this together with ideas in my head of what i thought would make coleslaw that i would like, as i don't like coleslaw.
This is what i ended up with.

• about a half a head of Napa Cabbage, shredded very thinly and chopped
• about 2 heaping tablespoons each of low fat mayo and miracle whip
• one thawed ice cube of meyer lemon juice
• several dashes crushed red pepper
• about 5 small leaves lime basil, a front fresh dill and parsely, all chopped finely - total about 1 tablespoon fresh herbs
• salt and pepper
• a quarter sweet onion, chopped finely
• a quarter apple, shredded

Toss all veg and herb ingredients together then add wet ingredients and stir thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers with Turmeric, Raisons and Tofu

Wow.
Making this dish, though relatively easy, made me feel like one of those circus performers who balances the spinning plates on long sticks... But really it was pretty easy and forgiving as all get out. We both loved this dish, and were happily surprised and pleased with my experimental venturing into flavors/ingredients that don't normally find their way into Miranda's kitchen.
This recipe uses a pan, a small pot, and a baking tray - but the extra dishes are worth the result.

Ingredients:

• 7 Golden Bell Peppers (mine are homegrown and rather small- you could probably serve 2 regular sized bell peppers a person instead)
• 1 Habanero, roasted with the bells
• 1/4 cup Golden Raisins, chopped
• 2-3 Cloves Garlic
• Half a block of Tofu, diced into small cubes
• 1/4 medium sweet onion, finely diced
  
• 1 cup Quinoa cooked in 2 cups Veg Broth
• Pinches: Cumin, Curry, Cardamom, Pepper
• 1/8 - 1/4 Tsp Turmeric
• Generous Salt
• 1 Tsp freshly chopped Cilantro
• Splash Mirin (rice wine, or sweet white wine)
  

Chop all ingredients first to be ready to toss in here and there as needed.

Prepare the Bells by removing the tops (set aside for serving) and seeds. Place upside down on a baking pan, drizzle with olive oil and bake in toaster oven on the convection setting at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes, turning the pan halfway through. When softened and browned to your satisfaction turn off oven and allow Bells to cool slightly, in oven or on counter. Roast the habanero with the Bells for a while, then chop up and add to the sauteing onions etc.

While you are preparing the bells set 2 cups veg stock and cup quinoa to boil. Cover and turn down to simmer for about 15, 20 minutes. When done, simply stir up a bit, recover and turn off heat. Add the raisins at this point. The quinoa is perfectly happy to wait for you to finish everything else.

While the quinoa is simmering and Bells are roasting - Saute Garlic, Onions, and Tofu (and habanero) in a pan over medium/high heat. Add all spices except the cilantro. Saute uncovered, stirring often until onions get soft. Once onions are completely softened, add a splash of mirin and cover and turn heat to low. This mixture will wait until you are ready for it.

When all the members of this ensemble are ready to your satisfaction, preheat the oven back to 375. Stir the Quinoa into the tofu/onion mixture and add the cilantro. Taste and add generous amount of salt as needed.

Position the peppers hollow side up, you may have to trim the bottom a bit, or squish down to create a flatter bottom. Stuff the peppers with the Quinoa mixture, sprinkle a little salt on top and place the pepper tops to create little lidded pepper receptacles.
Place peppers back in oven - be sure the rack is low enough to facilitate the taller peppers with their tops, and heat up until sizzling and lids have softened, about 3 minutes.

Carefully remove from oven and place the peppers on plates. You can also serve the extra filling, if any to the side. These could also be a side dish to a meat entree, perhaps a nice glazed chicken breast - but the Quinoa is super high in protein and perfectly acceptable for a light, vegetarian main course.

Quite pretty, if i do say so myself. The garlicy salty tastes combined and accented the sweetness of the peppers and the raisins in a really nicely balanced way. The habanero adds a nice bite of heat here and there, but also its unique flavor goes along super well with the turmeric. Don't be put off by the complicated sounding nature of juggling those 3 components - they really all are happy to wait until you're ready to put them all back together and reheat.

Might be pretty to serve with some sauteed or fresh cherry tomatoes to add a little red to the otherwise yellowy hue.

Stuffed Jalapenos!

Woo hoo! My jalapeno plant is giving forth an abundance of fruit in a delicious and very spicy sort of way. This is a great surprise, as most my hot peppers of the past have been small and not so spicy. These guys are big, big enough to stuff, and very flavorful as well as hot.

I've been making a lot of salads these days. I eat them as a main course rather than a meager side dish, but it's fun to spruce them up with their own side of something exotic. Last night i made a mexican themed salad with a side of stuffed jalapenos wrapped in turkey bacon. It was too delicious, so i'm making it again tonight.

The salad could be any combo of lettuces and veggies you like - i used:

• half large head Romaine
• half cucumber diced
• 3 small yellow bells from the garden, diced
• about 1/2 cup frozen corn
• about 1/2 cup canned black beans
• one carrot, chopped
• handful black olives, chopped
• few leaves of cilantro, chopped
• green onions, chopped
• 1/2 or a whole avocado, diced (avocado dicing tutorial to follow)
  
• didn't use, but would be great with: jicama, black eyed peas, shredded cheddar cheese, etc
  

Toss with some cumin, salt, pepper, and lime juice. Serve with some fresh salsa spooned on top. Perfectly delicious, with a complete protein and low cal. Serves two as a main course, 4 as a side salad. The avocados add a really nice feeling of oily satisfaction, but are better for you than most salad dressing oils.

The Jalapenos:

To be fair, I usually stuff my jalapenos with things like refried beans, fat free cheese, healthier stuff. But i sent the husband to the store and ended up with cream cheese - which is delicious, just a bit more decadent.

(this stuffed last night: 4 decent sized jalapenos, plus one large Giant Marconi bell/ tonight: 2 jalapenos, 3 small poblanos, and 1 small marconi - would probably be enough to stuff about 6 regular sized jalapenos (about 3 inches long or so)

• Jalapenos (also works with small poblanos, or just about any thick walled bell pepper, preferable slender in shape)
  
• about 4 oz. light cream cheese (half a small tub)
• half can of black beans, drained
• 4-5 cloves garlic, finely minced
• several dashes cumin
• salt
• finely chopped cilantro - about 1/2 tablespoon
• Turkey bacon
  

Mush filling ingredients together until well blended. This filling is great when it's super garlicy, so don't skimp on the garlic! Put on some thin rubber gloves (trust me) and carefully cut the top end off of each jalapeno, cutting out the seeds and membrane and knocking out any remaining seeds. Do this carefully so that you don't pierce the walls of the pepper - you can leave some membrane/seeds in, but watch out: if you're peppers are as hot as mine, you'll want to be conservative. The heat is in those seeds and membrane - so use your judgement and leave as little or as much in as you want to risk. Stuff each pepper with the filling with a skinny spoon, filling the cavity.



Now that your peppers are filled, preheat your oven (i again used the toaster oven on the convection setting) to 375 (convection) or 400 (regular). Now take a strip of turkey bacon per pepper, sometimes you can use only a half strip depending on the girth of your peppers. Wrap the bacon around the pepper and secure the ends by piercing a toothpick through.
Note: you can also prepare these on a grill, it's super delicious - just keep an eye on them and turn as needed.

Alternative wrapping - holds the filling in better.

Set your peppers out on a cookie sheet and heat til bacon is cooked to your liking and peppers are softening. It's okay if the peppers blister in places. I also flipped the peppers once every 5 or so minutes to get good crispness on all sides, about 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy! And keep a glass of water (or some dairy product) handy!