Asian String Beans

String beans are one of my go-to vegetables. I serve them at least once, usually twice, a week, and I never seem to get tired of them. I try to get the haricot-verts when I can, but any string beans will do for this recipe. I usually serve them roasted in the winter, but yesterday I needed to get dinner on the table quickly so this quick stove-top recipe was just the thing.

Asian Inspired String Beans
Use haricots verts if you can get them, but don't sweat it if you can't. Any string beans will do. 


1 tablespoon canola oil
1 bunch of scallions, white and light green parts only, sliced thin
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
About one pound of string beans
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons sake (rice wine)
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Black or white sesame seeds, as a garnish (optional) 

Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed, preferably cast iron, frying pan or wok. Saute the scallions on medium heat for just a couple of minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and saute for just another minute or so before adding the string beans. Saute for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, till the beans are warmed through and beginning to brighten in color.

Meanwhile, mix the soy sauce, sake, honey, and sesame oil in a small bowl. Add the mixture to the string beans and cook for 2-3 minutes till the sauce is warmed through.

Garnish with sesame seeds if desired and serve.

Griddle Bread

This is one of my long standing favorites from a Paula Wolfert cookbook: The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean. I use a bit more whole wheat flour than the original calls for and I adapted it for the stand mixer. (The original recipe calls for using a food processor.) It uses a combination of yeast and baking powder as leaveners, and it has a long rising time since there's so little yeast. The result is a beautiful slightly puffy bread that's more like a pita than a flatbread. I serve it either simply with some honey, next to soup, or along with Mediterranean salads, beans, roasted chickpeas, or falafel balls. (Yogurt is always a good accompaniment too. Click here if you want to read about my obsession with yogurt.)

Paula Wolfert's Griddle Bread
Be sure to sift the whole wheat flour. I tried skipping that once and it really affected the texture. 

1 teaspoon dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons warm water
2 cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour, sifted
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup water (you can also use half milk and half water for a slightly richer dough)
4 tablespoons olive oil

In a stand mixer, combine the yeast, sugar and warm water. Let it proof for a few minutes.

Add the flours, salt, and baking powder. Mix briefly. With the machine running, add the water and oil.  Mix for 2-3 minutes till smooth. Cover and let stand for about 2 hours.

Punch the dough down and divide it into four equal parts. Use your hands to shape each part roughly into a round flat loaf. Leave the loaves on a lightly floured surface (I use a cutting board) and cover with a clean dishcloth. Let rise for another 3 hours or so.

Heat up a large cast iron pan over a medium flame. Roll each piece of dough into a 10-12 inch round. Put the first round into the heated pan and cook it until it's spotted and swollen (about 2 minutes). Use a spatula to flip the loaf and cook for another 2 minutes or so. Serve the bread warm. (You can keep it warm for about 20 minutes in a barely-warm 170* oven.)

See my post on Yeast Spotting.
I shared this post on Countdown to 2011!

Yogurt, Plain and Simple

Yogurt is one of my very favorite foods in the world. My passion for yogurt borders on obsessive. If it wasn't such a healthy food, you might consider it an unhealthy obsession. I eat it for breakfast with fruit, for lunch with granola and honey, and for dinner next to rice, beans, vegetables.

This post is not really a recipe, it's more of a lesson on the technique for enjoying yogurt, in its plainest, simplest form. If you try it and like it, please let me know. I know it isn't revolutionary, but it'll give me such joy to know that I've made a yogurt fan of you.

Here goes:

• Step 1. Buy some plain yogurt. (I like Stonyfield Farm brand.) Do not, under any circumstances, buy sweetened yogurt, especially not artificially sweetened stuff. Do not buy the fat free stuff. A little bit of fat won't kill you.
• Step 2.  Drain your yogurt so it gets really thick and creamy. This requires a bit of advance planning but is well worth it. Line a colander or strainer with a piece of cheesecloth or a paper towel. Put the colander over a large bowl. Put the yogurt into the prepared colander and cover it with plastic wrap or foil. Leave the yogurt in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. The liquid will drip into the bowl and your yogurt will become thick and lovely. Discard the liquid.
• Step 3.  Add a little drizzle of honey or maple syrup. Don't overdo it. You want the tartness of the yogurt to come through.
• Step 4. Sprinkle with some granola, or surround with fruit.

That's it! Sit back and enjoy one of the world's tastiest foods. It doesn't get much simpler.

Baked Apples

Apples stuffed with dried fruit, ready to go into the oven

Baked apples are one of my ultimate comfort foods. They are sweet, nourishing, and warm me to the core. It's cold and rainy in New Jersey today, and I saw a few Rome apples calling my name at the grocery this morning. So, baked apples it is! I have two basic formulas, depending how much time I have. Today, I had a couple of extra minutes, so I made the slightly-more-effort version where I stuff the apples with some chopped dried fruit. It takes all of 5 minutes to prepare, but if you only have 4 minutes to spare, just leave out the dried fruit.

The worst part of preparing baked apples is coring them. I don't own an apple corer, mostly because I don't believe in gadgets, but I have a wonderful trick that makes quick work of the coring: a grapefruit knife!

Baked Apples with Dried Fruit
If you're short on time, just leave out the dried fruit. But I love the extra interest it adds, so I make an effort to leave it in. You can also vary the fruit depending on your tastes and what you happen to have.

4 large Rome apples 
4 dried apricots
4 dried dates or prunes
a handful of raisins, dried cranberries, or dried cherries
4 small pats of butter or margarine (optional)
some honey
some cinnamon
1/2 cup apple juice


Preheat the oven to 350*.

Slice a thin piece off the bottom of each apple so they stand nicely. Core the apples and put them in a 9x13 glass or aluminum pan.

If you're using dried fruit, chop each of the apricots, dates/prunes into about six pieces. Stuff each apple with about a quarter of the dried fruit. Put a tiny little pat of margarine on top of the fruit, in the center of the apple. Drizzle some honey and cinnamon over all.

Pour the apple juice around the apples (not in them) and bake for 1-2 hours, depending how soft you like them. Serve warm with ice cream if you like. Note that these refrigerate beautifully. You can serve them cold, either plain or with some yogurt and granola for a nutritious breakfast. You can also rewarm them for 15 minutes in the oven and no one will know you're serving leftovers!

Granola

 

I just love making granola because it is so easy, creates a wonderful aroma that lasts for hours, and feels SOOOO good when I go to the supermarket and see how much they are charging for an itty-bitty bag that doesn't taste nearly as good as my homemade stuff. 


Maple Pecan (Coconut) Granola  
Feel free to add dried fruit or other nuts or seeds of your choice, like sunflower seeds, slivered almonds or walnuts. I personally prefer to put fruit in fresh, when I serve it. I find that the dried fruit gets kind of hard. Also, if you're not a fan of coconut, replace the coconut oil with canola and leave out the shredded coconut. (But if you do like coconut, you absolutely MUST try it with coconut oil. It transforms the granola - infusing it with an amazing coconut flavor.) The granola will keep for about three weeks stored in an air tight container or bag.
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
a dash of salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cups raw oats
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350*.

Melt the oil. In a small bowl,combine the oil with the maple syrup, salt and cinnamon. Put the oats, coconut and pecans into a large bowl. Pour the oil mixture over the oat mixture. Stir well to combine.

Pour the granola onto a large baking sheet and spread it out evenly. Bake for about 35 minutes until golden brown, stirring occasionally so all the granola bakes evenly. Remove from the oven and let the granola cool thoroughly before transferring to an airtight container or ziploc bag. Enjoy plain, with milk or on ice cream or yogurt.

I shared this post on Countdown to 2011!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

 What is it about the cold rainy weather that puts me in the mood for pecans and butternut squash? Is it conditioning - a habit learned over the years? Or is there really something bone-warming about these winter foods? All I know is that I had a craving for some butternut squash soup last night.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
I still have a pot of sage growing happily on my deck, through the cold, sleet and frost. If you have some handy, go ahead and use it, but don't worry if you don't have any. The soup is amazing even without it. I also must confess that I buy the squash peeled and cubed (my local Costco carries it). Butternut squash is not one of my favorite foods to prepare, so it's one of the few things I allow myself to buy ready-prepped.

1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2 yellow onions, coarsely chopped (reserve the peel for the stock)
1 apple, preferably Granny Smith, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
2 or 3 carrots
a few stalks of celery
a sweet potato
4 cups water
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425*. Spread the squash, chopped onions, and apple on a large baking sheet. Be sure they are not overlapping so they don't steam. Toss with the oil. Roast the vegetables for about 1/2 hour, stirring occasionally, till beginning to brown.

While the vegetables roast, rinse the carrots, celery and sweet potato. Put them in a stock pot along with the reserved onion peels and cover with water. Add bay leaves, salt, and black pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer while the vegetables roast.

Strain the stock and discard the cooked vegetables. Pour the stock back into the stock pot, and add the roasted vegetables. (Be sure to scrape the pan really clean so you get all the flavorful glazed bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan.) Bring the soup to a boil and then lower the heat and simmer on low for about 1/2 hour. Puree in a food processor or with an immersion blender.

Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve later. (This soup also freezes really well.)

I shared this post on Countdown to 2011!

Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas

I make this protein-rich dish as a snack for my kids. Fresh from the oven, cooled for just a few minutes, they are crunchy, savory, and really delicious. The kids actually cheered today when they came home and found them waiting on the kitchen table. If you use canned beans (rinsed well to remove some sodium), it's super quick. 

Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas
Be sure to dry the chickpeas well so they roast, without steaming. Feel free to vary the spices to create a dish with your own personality. I like to use paprika because of the wonderful rosy color it adds. If you prefer, you can cook up dried chickpeas. Soak them overnight and cook for about 45 minutes until cooked through but not mushy.

2 cans chickpeas, preferably organic
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
salt to taste
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon paprika

Preheat the oven to 400*.

Rinse and drain the chickpeas. Spread them out on a dishtowel and allow them to dry for at least 15 minutes, moving them around on the towel from time to time to be sure they are thoroughly dry.

Pour the oil onto a large cookie sheet. Spread the chickpeas over the oil, sprinkle with the salt and seasonings and toss well. Spread them in a single layer so they don't steam.

Bake for about 1/2 hour or until the beans look nice and browned, stirring or shaking the pan a few times in middle to help them bake evenly.