Thin-Crust Pizza with Fresh Mozzarella, Veggies & Grilled Chicken

My pizza-making experience is quite limited. My pizza eating experience, however, is rather extensive, and  since I know how good it can be, I figured it was time that I learn to make my own thin, crispy crust. 

There are tons of recipes and tricks for pizza crust floating around the internet, but the technique I used comes from "My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method," by Jim Lahey with Rick Flaste. The book is fabulous, and I highly recommend it for really rich, flavorful bread with practically no effort. I've cut down his narrative a bit to give you the basic instructions, but his description is really helpful for novice bakers and general troubleshooting. This post might look like a lot of reading, but once you get the hang of it, whipping up a pizza crust will be easy peasey and totally worth it.

This crust recipe will make enough for two 13-by-18 inch pies. If you're not cooking for a crowd, store the other half of the dough in a well-oiled sealable plastic bag in the fridge for up to a day, or in the freezer for up to a month.

Extra dough waiting to be frozen. And yes, those are artificial flowers in an upcycled wine bottle!

If you freeze your dough, defrost in the fridge and bring it to room temperature before stretching.

Ingredients
Crust:
3 3/4 cups (500 grams) bread flour
2 1/2 teaspoons (10 grams) instant or other dry active yeast
3/4 teaspoon (5 grams) table salt
3/4 teaspoons plus a pinch (about 3 grams) sugar
1 1/3 cups (300 grams) room-temperature water
Extra virgin olive oil for pans, and sealable plastic bag, if you're storing some

Toppings: (in order of appearance)
About 3/4 cup pizza or pasta sauce (I used Walnut Creek tomato and basil organic pasta sauce, which was great)
8 oz. ball fresh mozzarella, sliced into discs (about 8)
1-2 cooked chicken breasts, coarsely chopped (I used some that I had marinated in basil & balsamic and grilled)
1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 green bell pepper, thinly sliced

Directions
1. In a medium bowl, stor together flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Add the water and using your hand or a wooden spoon, mix until blended, at least 30 seconds.
2. Using a bowl scraper or rubber spatula, remove dough from the bowl onto a floured work surface. Gently form into a round ball, then divide the dough into two halves, spacing them 4 inches apart, and cover both with a moistened kitchen towel for 30 minutes.
3. When you're ready to make your pizza, oil two 13-by-18 inch rimmed baking sheets. Pick up the dough, flip it over  so it is floured side up, moist side down, and stretch the dough the length of the baking sheet. Using your palms, gently pull, press and stretch the dough to fill the entire bottom of the pan. (No need to make a crust or lip around the edge). Spread the dough as evenly as possible across the entire bottom of the pan, pinching together any holes that open up. If the dough sticks to your hands. lightly dust with flour or coat your hands with oil. (I prefer the oil method). Repeat with the other ball of dough, and top as you like.

Position a rack in the center of your oven, and preheat it to 500 degrees. Spread on the sauce a little thicker around the edges, since they will cook and brown more quickly, and thicker sauce will slow that down a bit. Make sure the sauce isn't pooling anywhere, then add the toppings in the order they're listed.  Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden around the edges, and serve!

A Note about Bread Flour
Jim Lahey is the guy who finally convinced me that high-quality bread flour was actually worth buying. I'd had some good results baking with all-purpose, but for a really good chewy bread or pizza crust, the extra protein in bread flour is essential. And I figure, if a bag of King Arthur bread flour is about $5, and with it I can bake four loaves of really excellent, easy-to-make bread, I'm still well below bakery prices for a product that is fresh, fabulous and totally home-made. And now that a simple pizza is part of my bread repertoire, I'm sticking with King Arthur. (And they're definitely not paying me to say that. Not yet, at least!)

Before baking

After, crispy and golden.

You may have noticed that while my recipe says to thinly slice the peppers, my pictures tell a different story. In this case, the story is a lack of foresight that lead to big chunks of peppers that while delicious, cooked a bit too slowly and released a bit too much liquid to call this pizza a true raving success. That said, boy was it yummy - just a teeny bit soft in some places. Even with the slight excess of liquid, the crust was chewy and delicious. I think with thin slices, this pizza would be pretty close to perfect.

Quote of the Day: Pizza is a lot like sex. When it's good, it's really good. When it's bad, it's still pretty good. ~ Anonymous

Crocktober: Mediterranean Chickpeas with Roasted Beets from the Crock Pot

I cooked two different things! At once! In the same crock pot! And since its the start of cold and flu season, one of those things is perfect for your daily dose (overdose?) of antioxidants and other healthy things. Enjoy it with crumbled feta and fresh parsley on top.

Beet juices will stain like no other, so don't make this dish when wearing.. I don't know.. a wedding dress?

Even I am getting a bit tired of stew, which is why I adapted a chickpea stew recipe involving balsamic onions and black olives to cook with as little liquid as possible, so it's more of a bean dish than a soupy one. The beets cooked on top of the chickpeas, just sliced in half and laid on top. This wasn't my original plan. I was going to do little Hersey's-kiss-type packets for the beets, but guess who forgot to get aluminum foil? I still think that the packet plan would work out great - a theory that I will test another day.

Ingredients:

1 bunch beets (usually 4 bulbs), trimmed and thoroughly washed

1 cup dry chickpeas (or about 2 cups canned or prepared chickpeas)

1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

A couple tablespoons coarsely chopped black or kalamata olives

2 tsp dried oregano

Feta cheese and fresh parsley for serving

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Aluminum foil (optional)

Directions:

[PREP: If you're using dry chickpeas, sort and rinse them thoroughly, then soak in plenty of water in the fridge overnight or for up to 24 hours, changing the water at least twice in this time. If you're using canned or prepared beans, just rinse and drain before adding them to the crock.]

1. Heat about 1 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, add onions and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in brown sugar, cover and cook until golden brown, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add oregano and a couple tablespoons of water, and cover again until onions are deep golden brown (about another 15 minutes). Stir in balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, and an additional couple tablespoons water. Cover the pan and cook until the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat. Stir in tomatoes and olives. 

3. Spray your crock insert and pour in chickpeas, adding the onion mixture on top.

4. Thoroughly wash your beets. (You can peel yours if you want to, but I didn't).

Option 1: Cut pieces of aluminum foil that are large enough to completely wrap up each beet without much excess, taking care to be sure that they (probably) won't let any liquid in. Plop the packets on top of the chickpeas. 

Option 2: Slice your beets in half vertically, and rest them cut-side-down on top of the onion mixture.

Cook on high for about 4-6 hours, or until your chickpeas are tender and your beets are done. (Your beets are done when you can insert a knife into the top through the thickest part of the bulb with no resistance).

5. Remove beet packets or halved beets, and stir chickpeas in with onion mixture. Transfer chickpeas to a covered serving dish or individual bowls, (if you did packets, cut beets into wedges and) serve on top or alongside of the chickpeas. Garnish with feta and fresh parsley.

Pretty.

I am sure that my instructions about cooking with dry beans versus canned are probably tiresome for some readers, but every once in a while I get the mental image of somebody soaking canned beans (and ending up with hopeless mush) or trying to cook dry black beans (famous for their slow cooking) and ending up with tiny little rocks even after a full day of cooking. I hope that the dry-to-cooked measuring conversions are workable. Maybe I'm secretly trying to get you all to switch to dry beans. It's a conspiracy to save you money. Spoooky!

This will likely be my last post until next weekend, but I'll be back with a crock pot spiced apple cider recipe before Crocktober is out. This theme thing has been working for me. Hm, what rhymes with November...

Quote of the Day: Beets are the most intense of vegetables. The radish, admittedly, is more feverish, but the fire of the radish is a cold fire, the fire of discontent, not of passion. Tomatoes are lusty enough, yet there runs through tomatoes an undercurrent of frivolity. Beets are deadly serious. ~ Tom Robbins

Crocktober: Idiot-Proof Crock Pot Beef Stew

A hot bowl of stew is one of the things I look forward to the most about cold weather. And I hope I'm not the only one - I've got a post about sweet potato and pinto bean chili coming up at the end of the week, so stay tuned for that.

 I know that this looks like a long list of ingredients, but most of these things are seasonings or staples that you probably have sitting in a cabinet already. Obviously this logic is flawed, but I always consider these things freebies. And anyway, if you asked 50 different people what they put in their beef stew, they would probably all give you a different combination of ingredients, so it's totally up to you.

Ingredients:

3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced

3/4 lb. stew beef, cut into 1-inch-ish cubes

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

1 14.5 oz can beef broth or stock, or water

1/2 onion, diced (I would have used a whole one but realized that it probably wouldn't fit)

1 medium-sized potato, chopped

1 clove garlic, smashed

1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp dry Italian herbs, or dry oregano

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

Pinch ground allspice or ground clove

A couple teaspoons of flour, or 1 tsp of cornstarch

Salt (to your taste)

10 3/4 oz can reduced sodium condensed cream of mushroom soup (optional; you could also use another flavor, like cream of tomato)

Directions:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, paprika, allspice, salt, and pepper. Add beef and toss to coat.

2. In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown beef on the outside and drain off any excess fat.

3. In your sprayed crock pot combine beef, broth, onions, carrots, tomatoes, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, dry herbs and potato. Cook on low for about 8-10 hours, or high for about 4-5, or until your veggies are tender.
Note: If you want to, add a 10 3/4 oz can of condensed cream of mushroom soup about 20 minutes before serving. This is totally optional, but I would recommend it if you like a creamier stew broth. I added half a can that I needed to use up, and I recommend it.

I used "extra lean" stew beef, whatever that means, but you could use any cut of beef that you feel like, cut into pieces. Obviously you wouldn't want to use an expensive cut since it will be cooking all day. And for crock pots, cheap cuts are just fine. It'll still come out juicy and yummy. I used carrot and potato, but you could also use celery.

 Normally I am not a big fan of "fat free" this and that, mainly because I always wonder what they put in there instead of fat, but I'll be real. Fat free broth was on sale this week, so that's what I used, and though I can't really crunch the numbers, between the "extra lean" beef, veggies, and low-sodium-fat-free beef broth, I have to think that there are much less healthy beef stews out there. Most recipes that I've read also call for higher beef-to-veggie ratio.


This stew is incredibly easy, and after 9 hours, it was REALLY yummy. I think that little bit of the cream of mushroom soup went a long way toward giving the broth more body and substance. And now I have beef stew for days. Maybe a lot of days. Fine with me. My only regret is that all of my bread-baking accoutrement are in another state. If you're the baking type, this is a golden opportunity.


Quote of the Day: "Talk of joy: there may be things better than beef stew and baked potatoes and home-made bread --- there may be."  ~ David Grayson, "Adventures in Contentment" (1907)

Crocktober: Crock Pot Tuna Noodle Casserole

To me, the word "casserole" loosely translates to "food you eat after a funeral." I can't fully explain this. I've only been to two funerals ever, and there were no casseroles at either. (Italians prefer Bloody Marys). I think it might have something to do with a rather hilarious book I read sometime in junior high entitled "Being Dead is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies' Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral," by Gayden Metcalfe and Charlotte Hays. (Keep in mind, this book is also full of recipes that perfectly fit the title.) I guess that's quite appropriate, since casseroles are a rather comforting food. But just to be clear, nobody died. I just felt like making casserole.

It seems to me that a lot of tuna noodle casserole recipes call for something crunchy - crumbled chips, or crackers, or crispy fried onions - but I went with melty Swiss cheese instead. But you could always crumble something crunchy on top right before you serve it.

This recipe is perfect for a 2-quart crock, and makes about 3 entree-sized servings. I layered my ingredients in the order below, but I think as long as you've got half of the noodles on top and half on the bottom, it will work out fine. You could also mix everything together, but I think layers are kind of fun. Of course, the layers turned out to be a total bust in the serving process, but anybody who has ever made a casserole in their lives probably could have told me that they would be. Oh well.

Compared to many of the recipes I've shared with you all this Crocktober, this one cooks in no time at all, and would make a yummy lunch on a cold day.

Ingredients:

3 cups egg noodles, uncooked

2 cans tuna, drained

1 10 3/4 oz. can condensed cream of mushroom soup (reduced sodium)

3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed

1/4 large onion, chopped

2 tablespoons milk

Grated Swiss cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. Cook noodles according to package directions and drain, reserving a couple tablespoons of the water. Add the milk and condensed soup and mix in with the noodles.

2. Spray your crock, and spoon in about half of the noodle mixture, covering the bottom of the crock as evenly as possible. Layer in half of the onion, then the tuna, then the other half of the onion and the peas. Add the rest of the noodle mixture on top.

3. Cook on low for about 2-3 hours or high for about 2. (This is really just to heat it through. As soon as it's hot and you're hungry, it's time to eat). If you're using Swiss, add it about 20 minutes before serving.

So, I'm not really sure how I feel about this. Overall it was yummy, and with the peas I at least felt like I was pretending to have a green vegetable with dinner, but the onions were a little "fresh" for my taste. In the future I think I might quickly sautee them for just a couple of minutes before adding them to the crock. I can't complain about the flavor though. That part gets high points. I don't think this is going to go into my menu rotation, really, but I feel it's a classic, and I'm sure I'll be making it again someday. Hopefully not for a funeral.

Quote of the Day: I refuse to believe that trading recipes is silly. Tuna fish casserole is at least as real as corporate stock. ~ Barbara Grizzuti Harrison

Crocktober: Crock Pot Zucchini Boats with White Bean, Swiss, Tomato and Herb Stuffing

I hear tell of fabled round zucchinis that one can buy at certain places, but since I was unable to find the round variety I just hollowed out your average medium-size zucchini and made a stuffing with white beans, tomato, and parsley. The advantage of using your typical zucchini is that if you cut these into smallish pieces, they would made super cute appetizers.

I don't know what my fascination lately is with stuffing food into other food. Maybe it's just that it's fun to do, cute to look at, or simply convenient. Whatever the motivation may be, stuffing food into other food works marvelously well in the crock pot. Also I (obviously) enjoy crocking things that most people might not think were crockable. This dish cooks much faster than your all-day crock-potters - about 3 hours on low - so it might be better suited as a weekend meal. Of course, like most crock pot recipes, you could also make this in the oven, but that would not be in keeping with the Crocktober theme and therefore I could not tell you about it until potentially much, much later. So I made in a crock pot, and so should you.

This recipe will be easier if you are using a larger crock than my 2-quarter, just in terms of surface area. If you have a bigger one, use that. I stacked mine, which was okay too.

 Obviously a can of beans, plus tomato and onion and pine nuts and all of this can't fit in the shell of one zucchini, but the leftover payout of this recipe - or really, the stuffing that doesn't fit - is a yummy bean salad. Things could be worse. But if you're not into that, I'd halve the stuffing recipe. And if you're making these to be cut up as appetizers, I'd cut down the bean-to-other-stuff ratio, upping the veggies and herbs. If you're serving them this way you might skip the cooking altogether, since of course cooking makes the shells softer.

Ingredients:

I zucchini, sliced in half lengthwise, scooped out to leave about a 1/4 inch shell

1 tomato, chopped and seeded

1 15.5 oz. can white beans, thoroughly rinsed and drained (I literally used "white beans," but you could use cannellini beans or chickpeas, roughly chopped since they're big)

2 tablespoons fresh parsley or basil, finely chopped, packed (I used parsley)

2 tablespoons onion, minced

1 (small) clove garlic, minced or pressed

1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese (optional)

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted (about 2 oz.)

Salt and pepper

Nonstick cooking spray

Balsamic vinegar (optional)

Olive oil

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine tomato, beans, onion, pine nuts, parsley, about a tablespoon of olive oil, plenty of salt and pepper, and Swiss cheese, if you're using it.

2. Spray or lightly oil your crock pot insert. Be sure that your zucchini will fit in the crock. If the boats need to be shortened, it is much simpler to do so at this point than to do it after stuffing.
3. Spoon stuffing into the zucchini "boats," packing slightly, and rest them inside the crock. Cook on low for 2-3 hours.

4. Carefully remove from crock and serve. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar if desired.

A note about hollowing out the squash: It may seem like the best way to do this is to just take a spoon and scoop straight down the length of it, but it seems to me that there's a more effective way that is less likely to lead to dreaded Squash Breakage. Take a large spoon - like a soup spoon, not like a "Little Dipper" spoon - and take off just a thin strip from all the way down the pulpy section. Then, using the same spoon or a teaspoon, position the scooper parallel to the edge of the "boat" and scoop starting at the edge and moving toward the center. You can smooth it out afterward, but trying to take it all out at once will probably not work out very well.

Making this stuffing would have been a lot faster if I had my food processor here rather than in Western Massachusetts. If you've got one, mince the garlic and onion with the parsley, salt and pepper and oil, then add the tomato (halved and guts scooped out), and finally the nuts and beans, which you can chop or not chop.

About 2 hours in, I realized that these were not as cheesy as I would have liked, so I sprinkled more on top to melt in the remaining cooking time, which worked out fine. Obviously it didn't take a whole hour for the cheese to melt, so you could do this at the last minute if you wanted to. It's not pictured, but I did end up adding Balsamic, which I think was a good call.

These were tasty! Just the right amount of richness, with the Swiss cheese and pine nuts, and very satisfying. Next spring and summer I think I'll be making the no-cook version on the regular.

Quote of the Day: Vulgarity is the garlic in the salad of life. ~ Cyril Connolly

Crocktober: Marinara Sauce from the Crock Pot

Even though this is only the second recipe of Crocktober, I'm gonna go ahead and declare this the absolute easiest crock pot recipe on the planet. Okay, there is that extra thing where you have to boil pasta, but you can make a very yummy home-made sauce while you're not even at home. I think that's pretty cool.

Sometime last winter, I called my (Italian-American) Dad to brag about having made my very first meat sauce. He was mildly impressed, but I was super impressed, because to me pasta sauce is a basic necessity vital for the survival of the human race. Perhaps this is a slight exaggeration, but I defy you to find a person who does not, or has never enjoyed spaghetti in a red sauce. You can't. They don't exist.

I used fresh parsley and basil with dried oregano, but you could use all dried herbs or all fresh. With the fresh herbs, add them just before serving. Subject them to all-day cooking and they will lose their oomph, and possibly disintegrate. Also, if you're anything like me, it might seem like a good idea to chop the herbs ahead of time so you can just toss them in the crock when you get home, but resist the urge. The flavor will be much more fresh if you wait, and premature chopping generally leads to browned leaves, which is just sad.

This recipe makes about 3-4 servings. (I'm a hungry person, generally, so I never know for sure what other people consider a serving to be).

Ingredients:

1 1-lb., 12 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves (lightly packed), chopped

1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves (lightly packed), chopped

1 tsp dried Italian herbs (using the fresh ones above, this is optional but recommended)

1/2 cup vegetable broth or stock

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

2 cloves garlic, smashed 

1 cup onion, diced

Grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese for serving (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients except for the fresh herbs and cheese in a 2-5 qt crock pot. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours.

2. Add the fresh basil and parsley.

3. Serve (generously) over fresh, hot pasta (avoiding the garlic) and sprinkle with Parmesan or grated Pecorino Romano cheese.

4. Gleefully slurp your spaghetti.

My lens got a little steamy there on the left

This recipe is a good base for an arrabbiata sauce. Just add red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, a whole dried chile, Sriracha or whatever you like to use to heat things up. 

While I don't know the "rules" of marinara, I do know that you could add celery, carrots, or mushrooms to this sauce if you felt compelled. Celery and carrots are hearty enough to withstand all-day cooking, so it's one-step and you'll get lots of delicious flavor mingling. (Mushrooms are a little more delicate and should probably only cook about half that long). The only rule I do know is that since marinara is relatively thin in texture (compared to, say, a lamb ragu) it should be enjoyed with spaghetti, so save the tube-and-trumped-shaped pasta for the trapping of thick sauce, meat and veggies.

 P.s. If you're in a pinch and don't have the time to make your sauce, Bon Appetit recently did a blind taste test of store-bought tomato sauces, and Barilla Traditional Marinara came out on top.

Curried Lentil & Tofu Cakes

Given my love for both lentils and cake-shaped things, I guess it shouldn't be much of a surprise that eventually I would try to make a cake-shaped thing out of lentils. I had also been wanting to make something with soft tofu, which until now I had never tried, so I tried combining the two. These cakes turned out very tasty, and with the addition or substitution of your favorite spices and herbs, the flavor is totally flexible.

By my system, this recipe made seven cakes, or about two dinner servings.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked lentils

1/2 cup soft tofu

1/2 large onion, diced

3ish medium mushrooms, diced

1 small carrot, grated

1 clove garlic, diced

3/4 tsp curry powder

3/4 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt & pepper

Olive oil

Directions:

1. In a medium frying pan, heat about 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat and saute mushrooms for about 5 minutes. Add carrot, onion and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes.

2. Add lentils, tofu, and spices and/or herbs. Season with salt and pepper and cook for another 10 minutes, or until mixture holds together in clumps, stirring regularly smooshing out tofu as needed. Let cool.

3. Once the lentil mixture is cool enough to handle, form into small patties, packing together well.

4. In the frying pan, heat about 2 tbsp of olive oil and cook patties for 5 minutes per side.

In truth, I used 1 cup of tofu, and not the 1/2 cup I've listed in the recipe. The flavor of these was great, but since I had a 50% break-apart rate while frying, the texture of the cakes definitely needed to be improved, which could probably be achieved by cutting the tofu back to 1/2 cup to let the clumpyness (for lack of a better term) of the lentils take hold. Still, they were quite tasty when pan-fried to a golden brown, and the crumbly rejects will be delicious with some scrambled eggs for lunch tomorrow.

Quote of the Day: Have a mouth as sharp as a dagger, but a heart as soft as tofu. ~ Chinese Proverb

3-Step Baked Quinoa "Mac" & Cheese from Vegetarian Times

If there is a person alive who does not like macaroni and cheese, I hope never to meet them, because we would not be friends. I mean real rich-and-slightly-brown-on-top macaroni and cheese, not that weird gloopy chemical soup that tries to pass for macaroni and cheese. In my opinion, this quinoa mac and cheese is much closer to the "real" thing in its relative deliciousness than that runny, goopy, neon-orange tragedy. This baked cheesy quinoa is seriously nutritious besides being delicious, hearty and easy. Obviously cheese is not without it's nutritional downside (fat, duh) but the fiber and protein of the quinoa combined with the fiber and other good stuff in the veggies make up for that. In my imagination. Either way, it is a delicious and fairly balanced meal, and a great gluten-free alternative to mac and cheese. This recipe has the makings of serious comfort food.

The basis for this recipe came from VegetarianTimes.com, and I haven't changed it much, except to pare it down from a 9"x13" dish because 1) I love leftovers, but not that much and 2) My baking dish is 8"x8". If you're cooking for a crowd or only have a 9"x13" on hand, I'd just use the original. This will make about 4 meal-sized servings. If you're in my solo-dwelling position, you might want to cut it down further, but since I am a fan of the leftovers, I didn't.

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa, rinsed thoroughly

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated (or a blend) plus more for sprinkling

1/4 large onion, chopped, or 1 medium leek, white and pale green parts halved and sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper

1 cup milk

2 eggs

Spices for sprinkling - I used about 1/4 tsp paprika and 1/2 tsp cumin

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add onion (or leek) and bell pepper, and saute for about 5 minutes, until tender. Stir in garlic and quinoa and cook for about 3-4 minutes, or until quinoa turns opaque.

2. Add 1 1/2 cups water, and add salt and pepper. Cover, turn heat down to medium-low, and simmer for another 3-4 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat the inside of an 8"x8" baking dish with cooking spray.Whisk together eggs and milk in a large bowl. Add in quinoa mixture and cheese. Transfer to baking dish, sprinkle with spices and cheese and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until edges and top are browned.

It will seem impossibly soupy going into the oven, but it will not come out that way! Mine wasn't getting quite browned enough for my taste so I ran it under the broiler for a couple of minutes at the end. Just be sure to let it sit for a reasonable amount of time before cutting into it. I have a tendency to skip this step and burn my face in my impatience. Don't be like me.

I used a mild white cheddar, but I see no reason why you couldn't use Swiss, or a blend of your favorites, if that's what's hanging around in your refrigerator. I also used soy milk instead of the regular type. I doubt this had much impact on the flavor, but you'll definitely want to check out the ingredients on your soy milk to make sure it's not sweetened, if you decide to go this route. If you are inclined to use an egg substitute and dairy-free cheese, this can definitely be made vegan-friendly.* Vegan or not, I expect that you could add almost any fresh veggies that you wanted. Peas and broccoli would probably be good choices. I had mine with ketchup and hot sauce.

This held together much better than I was expecting, but was also plenty moist.

And, since I can't seem to make a post without sheepishly admitting something weird that I did in the cooking process, this evening my admission is this: I forgot to get myself a cheese grater after the move, so instead of grating the cheese I slivered it into skinny little pieces as best I could. This doesn't much matter except for the fact that if you are measuring your cheese in volume, slivered cheese will take up a lot less space than grated, which is why I included the measurement in ounces for anyone else in my position of graterlessness.

Quote of the Day: How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese? ~ Charles de Gaulle

*Of course, what and how you eat is totally an individual decision, but many vegan cheeses (not so unlike many of the cheapest "regular" cheeses) are made mostly of soybean oil and palm oil combined with thickeners. I'm not hating, just recommending as always that everybody read their labels. Do yourself a favor on all fronts and use all-natural cheese!

Chipotle Tempeh & Black Bean Burritos

In the wonderful world of meatless cooking, tempeh has the firmest, "meatiest" texture of everything I've tried so far. In Indonesia, It's traditionally been made of soy, but these days you can also find a multi grain version, which also sounds interesting and is perhaps a food for another post on another day. But if you're not familiar with it, like I wasn't, soy or grain, it will look pretty weird (brick-like) to you. Tofu and tempeh are both made from soy, but tempeh is far higher in protein (a beefy 22 g per serving!) as well as fiber and other good stuff. I think it would also be delicious when grilled or in a stir fry, so I'm excited to have discovered another do-anything-you-want-with-it ingredient. With more deceptive seasonings, I think you could serve these and nobody would know that there wasn't any meat involved.

 I crumbled my tempeh and marinated it in some spicy chipotle dressing that I had on hand. You could use something similar, like a store-bought dressing or just some oil, vinegar and spices, but I certainly recommend whipping up a batch of your own. If you're anything like me, once you do, you'll be putting it on everything under the sun. With all the toppings, this recipe makes about 4-6 servings:

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked brown rice

1 12 oz. package tempeh, crumbled (I used the brand Lightlife)

1 1/5 cups fully cooked black beans or 1 15 oz. can, rinsed and drained

1 13 1/2 oz. can tomatoes with green chilies or 2-3 plum tomatoes, diced and seeded, tossed with salt and pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder if you want (clearly this is the slapdash version that yours truly used)

If using fresh tomatoes instead of canned: 1/2 cup vegetable stock or broth

about 1/4 cup chipotle dressing

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

3 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped

multi-grain tortillas

Salt and pepper 

Olive oil

Your favorite toppings: Salsa, sour cream, guacamole, shredded lettuce, etc
(I used guacamole, taco cheese, and the tomato salsa mixture above)

Directions:

1. Toss your crumbled tempeh into a ziplock baggie with the chipotle dressing, or your oil-vinegar-spices marinade. Shake it up and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, or as long as all day. (It soaks it all up, it's amazing).

2. In a saucepan, prepare your brown rice according to the package directions.

3. In a large frying pan, heat about 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat, and cook the onion for about 5 minutes, or until transparent. Add garlic and cook for about 1 more minute, then add spices and salt.

4. Add tempeh and cook for about another 5 minutes, until it's lightly browned. Add black beans and canned tomatoes, if using, and let cook together for about 15 minutes. If you are using a fresh tomato mixture like I did, use it like a fresh salsa topping rather than cooking it with the beans, and instead add the vegetable broth at this time.

5. Spoon some brown rice into a tortilla, add the tempeh mixture and your toppings, and enjoy!

Assembly Phase 1

Phase 2: Fully assembled & super messy in the most delicious way

 These were definitely, definitely delicious, and I think that the chipotle marinade made a big impact on the final outcome. I didn't have any fresh cilantro on hand, but the cilantro in that dressing still came through. I was afraid they might be missing something without the canned tomato, but to my taste, I think this is even more tasty (and definitely more fresh-tasting) than the canned-version would have been. And don't get me wrong, I love tofu, but tempeh is much more "absorbent" when it comes to soaking up flavors. Combined with its substantial texture... What more could you want?

[And if you can find a decent quote about tempeh, I shall eat my hat.]

Cheese Ravioli with Fresh Tomato & Artichoke Sauce

You won't hear this on your local news, but the planet is hurdling towards the sun, Philadelphia-first. Or at least it feels that way. It has topped 90 degrees already in the last two days, and we have a hot weekend ahead, which makes me grateful for tasty dinner recipes that require very little actual cooking time. Especially because we haven't installed our air conditioner yet. Gross.

 Ingredients:

about 1 lb Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

about 6 oz of quartered, marinated artichoke hearts

1/2 onion, chopped

1 green onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, thoroughly smashed

9 oz-ish package of cheese ravioli (we used three-cheese agnolotti)

Grated Parmesan cheese

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Cook the ravioli according to package directions, and drain.

2. While the pasta cooks, combine tomatoes, artichoke hearts, onion, green onion, garlic, salt and pepper, and about a pan-turn's worth of olive oil in a medium to large skillet. Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes, or until veggies are heated through.

3. In a large bowl, toss the ravioli or agnolotti with a bit more olive oil. Add half the tomato sauce, and stir CAREFULLY to combine pasta and sauce.

4. Serve pasta and top with remaining sauce. If serving family-style, do the same on a serving platter.

As I was getting ready to serve this, I wished I'd had some fresh basil on hand. Next time I will chop some and sprinkle it over the pasta just before serving. With a little Parmesan instead, it was still very tasty.

The only part of this recipe that takes any time is the peeling, chopping and seeding of tomatoes, and as long as you cook your pasta with the lid on, you won't mind making this light, fresh, yummy dish on a warm evening. This made just the right amount for the two of us.

Quote of the Day: "A world without tomatoes is like a string quartet without violins." ~ Laurie Colwin

Last Night's Dinner: Bean & Veggie Wraps with Guacamole

In some ways, I am super proud of this dish. It's fresh, easy, healthy, and meat-free. In other ways - specifically, the fact that I used canned beans and purchased guacamole - I don't feel it's fit to post. But I made it, and it was good, and I'm going out of town to see Brady's grandparents this weekend, so I'm going to tell you about it.

I'm not sure if this can properly be called a "burrito," or if it more properly a wrap, as I've called it. Since I used "wraps" instead of tortillas it seems more like a wrap to me, but the overall effect is definitely that of a healthied-up burrito. This recipe serves up to 4 people, or 2 if they are very hungry.

Ingredients:

1/2 onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 can black beans, rinsed well

1-2 cups lettuce, cut into strips

2-4 wheat wraps, depending on number of people

1 package guacamole, or home-made, or 1 fresh avocado, chopped

1 tomato, chopped, or 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

Grated cheese (optional) - We used Monterey Jack
Dash of lemon or lime juice (optional)
Few shakes of cumin

Your favorite salsa

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Directions:

1. Saute onion in olive oil. When onion begins to soften, add pepper and garlic, and continue to cook for a couple more minutes. Add a few shakes of cumin.

2. Add salt and pepper to taste, then add the beans and cook until they are heated through. Add lemon or lime juice, if using.

3. Spoon bean mixture onto tortilla, and serve with remaining ingredients as toppings, family-style.

This is one of those add-whatever-you-like things. You can use more and/or different veggies in place of the pepper, queso instead of the grated cheese, and hot sauce, if you want to. If you've got some fresh cilantro around, you can chop it up and serve it with your toppings. Overall it was quick, tasty, healthy, and also kind of fun. Make these! You'll like them!

Quinoa with Sauteed Spinach & A Fried Egg on Top

Tomorrow is a 5:00 alarm day, so tonight's post is kind of a short one, but that's fitting for this recipe. It's simple, easy, and one of the quickest dinners I've come up with so far.

I'm not really sure where the idea for this dish came from, which might be obvious by the seemingly random nature of it. But I promise - it's tasty! And as a bonus, it's vegetarian and super nutritious, with lots of iron, protein, and fiber.

...But photogenic, it is not.

 This recipe serves two:

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed in a mesh strainer

1/2 onion, chopped

1 bunch spinach, washed

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

Grated Parmesan cheese

Pat of butter

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. In a small pan, boil about 2 cups of water, and add quinoa. Bring back to a boil, then simmer until water is gone.

2. In a large skillet, saute onions in olive oil (about 1 1/2 turns of the pan) until they start to become translucent. Add the garlic and saute another two or three minutes.

3. Start heating up a frying pan, melting a small pat of butter.

4. Add spinach to the garlic and onion, add about a tablespoon of water, and cover. Cook until spinach is fully wilted. Add cooked quinoa and salt and pepper, and saute with spinach for one or two minutes, or until combined.

5. In the frying pan, crack and fry an egg - one per serving, up to 3 - and cook them according to your preference. To serve, just plate the quinoa, place an egg on top, and sprinkle it with a little Parmesan.

Since I have half of a bunch of asparagus left from last night's dinner, I was tempted to add that. I didn't but you definitely could add some, chopped up, with your spinach. Sliced yellow squash would also be good, and would add another pop of color to the plate. This dish is tasty with hot sauce on the egg, if you're into that.

7-Ingredient, 3-Step Mushroom Balls with Simple Gravy

In the spirit of full disclosure: These are loaded with butter, they're a little bit fragile, and I made mine much too big. None of these things are bad, per se, but your experience with making these little guys might be kinda different from mine.

They are also delicious. I mean really delicious. We both thought they tasted a bit like Swedish meatballs, which we are a little crazy for.

Ingredients:

8 ounces fresh mushrooms, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup butter, melted

3 eggs, beaten

2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/4 tsp garlic powder, or 2 cloves, minced

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 cups seasoned dry breadcrumbs - I used plain whole wheat breadcrumbs with a 1 tsp dried oregano

Directions:

[Preheat your oven to 350 Farenheit]

1. Mix together the first 6 ingredients. Gradually mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is just stiff enough to shape into balls. (You may not need the full 2 cups).

2. Form the mixture into 2 inch balls, and place on greased cookie sheets.

3. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until bottoms are lightly browned.

Or until they smell so delicious that you have the be held back from sticking your head in the oven.

I think I only ended up using about a cup and a half of breadcrumbs, because I was determined that nothing would overwhelm the mushroomy goodness. They were the slightest bit fragile, and they flattened out the tiniest bit when baking, but I still recommend playing around with what amount of breadcrumbs is right for you. If I wanted to eat bread balls I'd eat bread, but that's me.

Mushroom balls

Yeah, mine were too big. This recipe is supposed to make about 22 mushroom balls, and I made 15. Whoops! They cooked for more like 26 to 28 minutes.

We had them with whole wheat pasta in a quick gravy I made by sauteeing a small handful of chopped mushrooms, and the same amount of chopped onion with 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme in yep, you guessed it, butter - about 1 1/2 tablespoons. I added just under 2 cups of chicken stock, then gradually added about 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, whisking while adding to prevent lumps. If you don't have cornstarch on hand (I can't believe I did), white flour works, too, you'll just have to add it a little bit at a time to see how the gravy responds. Stir the gravy frequently until thickened, then toss with pasta. These would also be great with egg noodles, or alone as an appetizer. These can be made ahead of time and heated up in the oven.

If you know of a suitable substitute for eggs, you could make these vegan, but I don't know what you'd do about the butter. These need butter. I have never tried vegan butter so I can't recommend it.

Quote of the Day: “Love is like a poisonous mushroom - you don't know if it is the real thing until it is too late." ~ Unknown

Clark Park Farmer's Market at 43rd & Baltimore, Philadelphia

One of the best things about where we live is our close proximity to the Clark Park Farmer's Market. Five short blocks away (through a very sweet neighborhood, I might add) is the perfect place to score some local produce, dairy, and yes, Amish baked goods. Vendors accept vouchers from local food assistance programs, and some, like Landisdale Farms from Jonestown PA, travel over 100 miles to be here each week.

Detail of a photo (C) Conrad Erb

This market is year-round, but I have to admit that in this particularly harsh and snowy Philadelphia winter, we haven't made it down since the fall. It takes place on Saturdays throughout the year, and also on Thursday afternoons from May through November. There is also a funky flea market that takes place inside the park itself (the farmer's market is on the edge) on certain Saturdays, but it wasn't in action today.

On this visit, I was hoping to score some local goat cheese for whole-grain pasta shells with goat cheese and walnuts that I will be making this week, but I didn't get lucky with that one. Still, there was plenty of local, organic, "raw" dairy present, among many other treasures. One guy was even selling beautiful hand-thrown ceramics.

I can't be sure, but I get the sense that though it's a year-round market, the true summer produce boom has not yet begun. Greens, asparagus, onions and spring garlic are plentiful though, and I got in on a little bit of the action.

Two yellow onions, one red onion, a fab-looking bean soup mix, hot salsa from Landisdale Farms, and some dried chilies.

There is no doubt that we'll become more frequent customers as the season goes on. I can't wait to get my hands on some fresh summer tomatoes!

Quote of the Day: "It's bizarre that the produce manager is more important to my children's health than the pediatrician." ~ Meryl Streep

Spring Cleaning & A Simple Salad

This city has the craziest weather. I swear that for the last week, it has alternated between high-60s and sunny and barely-above-freezing and rainy on a daily basis. And somehow, it is 83 degrees in Philadelphia today. While it is pleasant in our airy (in the winter, drafty) 9th floor apartment, I'm not much in the mood for real cooking.

Except for oatmeal. I did cook oatmeal. With chopped apple and walnuts, which was pretty tasty.

Anyway, since I was home all day today, I took some time to do a chore I had been putting off: Cleaning the stove. And yikes, I'm glad I did it! It turned into what I have heard referred to as a "rabbit hole" task. That is, I didn't realize how bad it was until I started, and then it took about three times as long and twice as much effort as I was anticipating. 

But now its shiny and clean, and reasonably presentable. In other news, baking soda is my new default cleaning product.

For dinner tonight, I made a super easy warm-weather classic, Chef's Salad. Grape tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, Swiss cheese and turkey ham... Many of my favorite things! We had it with a red wine vinaigrette.

I learned fairly late in my onion-loving career that soaking chopped onion in cold water for ten or fifteen minutes before using helps mellow the flavor out a bit so they're less arresting in salads, salsas, relishes, and the like. Truthfully I do this more for Brady's benefit than my own. (Sometimes I think my register for "too onion-ey" or "too garlicky" is broken, but my grasp with reality is improving.) So the next time you shy away from adding onion to your salad, consider soaking them in cold water for a couple of minutes. With the proven health benefits of onion consumption - cardiovascular health, immune function, and even improvement of asthma symptoms - why wouldn't you?

If you haven't tried turkey ham, I do recommend it. Even though its something that even I would refer to as "processed food" - and therefore highly suspect - I feel better about the fat content than regular ham, and I have to say, it is quite delicious, besides being extremely convenient. I've used it in salads, sandwiches, omelets and frittatas, even soups. It is also gluten free. Just keep in mind that it's still fairly high in sodium, just like ham. For this meal it was the only ingredient that contained salt, besides just a little in the dressing, so I didn't feel bad about it. That counts as balance, right?

Quote of the Day: "Cooking is like love.  It should be entered into with abandon or not at all."

~ Harriet van Horne