Whipped Ricotta

 We had this for dinner tonight and it was so very good! It would be excellent as a hearty appetizer also. Make sure you have the very best garlic toast, cut in big pieces, salty and garlicky, and crunchy. 

The garlic toast is key! 

• Ricotta
• Lemon zest
• Lemon juice
• Salt and pepper
• 1 T olive oil
• A shake or two of dried thyme
• Whip the above in your Cuisinart for a few minutes adjusting ingredients to taste 
• Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, honey (don’t skimp) , pistachios, and some pretty green herbs…. I used parsley

Best Baked Tofu

 

 

This is the absolute best way to use tofu! It’s chewy and flavorful, cheap and easy, versatile and healthy. 

• Use Nasoya brand organic super firm tofu if possible
• Grate it with a box grater- your Cuisinart grater blade will create too much mush
• Add 1C walnuts ground medium fine in the Cuisinart 
• Add 1-2 T tomato paste and about 1/2 cup water
• Add other spices if you want (garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, taco seasonings, etc)  Remember- tofu can handle lots of seasoning 
• Bake on parchment in 375 degrees for 20 minutes
• Stir and flip around and continue this process until it’s browned and crispy. 

Here you see a most delicious pita stuffed with baked grated tofu and a fake tzatziki sauce of ranch, dill and minced cukes. 

Aunt Tracy’s Bean Bowl

 A revamped version of my favorite bean salad, Aunt Bebe’s Bean Bowl.  Of course my Walmart had no wax beans (too fancy for Walmart?) which the original recipe calls for. I substituted canned beets and was pleasantly surprised! I could eat this stuff by the bowlful. 

• 1 can green beans
• 1 can kidney beans
• I can lima beans
• 1 can chick peas
• 1 can sliced beets
• 1 sweet onion sliced very thin
• 1/3 C sugar
• 1/3 C red wine vinegar
• 1/3 C vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper to taste 

Dissolve sugar in vinegar over low heat. Add oil, salt and pepper. Pour warm dressing over onions and bring to room temp. Add drained and rinsed beans. Salad is better the next day when it has had some time to marinate. 

Stuffed Dates

My wonderful neighbor gave me a huge amount of fresh dates.  What a treasure! This is a recipe from an old Forks Over Knives magazine. If you tackle this recipe, I suggest working in small batches. Enjoy! 

 

Chickpea, Lentil, and Roasted Veg Salad

Simple, simple, simple. And nutritious! Serve room temp- no need to cool veg before tossing. 

• 2 small yellow squash- cut in chick pea size
• 1/2 red onion, cut the same
• Olive oil, garlic salt, pepper- broil the above till charred
• 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed
• 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in quarters
• 1/4 cup black lentils, cooked
• Handful pumpkin seeds (a favorite ingredient of mine) 
• Dressing: 1/4 olive oil (best quality), 1/2 fresh lemon,  2T Parmesan, 1 t Dijon, 2 garlic cloves,     1 t apple cider vinegar

Isolation Bread Baking - Part 9

Stay-at-Home # 12     Mustard and corn rolls from "The Handmade Loaf" 

Into this little crack you drizzle a mustard glaze. 

Very chewy and lots of flavor from the sour dough starter and the corn.

Isolation Bread Baking - Part 8

 Stay-at-home #11  Sour Dough

Oh, how I tried to create a sour dough by myself, but I got pretty discouraged and I hated using so much valuable flour to feed it every day. I don't know about your grocery, but we have literally NO flour anywhere in town. No frozen vegetables, no canned vegetables, no pasta, no rice, no paper products, no broth, no tomato soup, no yeast, no non-dairy milk.... I could go on. 

 After a week of trying to get a bubbly starter, I begged a cup off my neighbor and voila! You can see how healthy it is. Notice my scale? If you are going to bake bread, you should weigh everything in grams.

I won't bore you with the  story about why one is perfect and one is burned. 

We are lucky to have purchased a 50 pound bag of flour a few months ago when my guys started baking bagels and french bread. At the time, I thought they were crazy, but now I am so thankful to have it! We store the huge bag in a big air tight cooler, right in the middle of our kitchen!

This recipe is from Dan Lepard's "The Handmade Loaf." There was no kneading, just folding, turning, and lots and lots of resting and waiting. Literally, this bread took all day to make. 

This sourdough loaf is from the King Arthur site. It's my new favorite bread. Slices well, and only took a few hours to make. I kneaded it in my stand mixer. 

Food Photos - Part 2

Potato Curry, Chana Masala, Mango salad

Stay-at-home # 10 Food Photos - Just photos, no comments. Delicious meals everywhere.

Stuffed potato skins 

Baked tofu and pineapple rice

Grilled mushroom sandwich - my favorite way to eat a portobella

Isolation Bread Baking - Part 7

Stay-at-Home #9 Challah Bread 

I am getting lots of inspiration from King Arthur during these quarantine days. They are hosting great classes every Friday at 2:00 (eastern time zone) and watching them knead, shape, discuss, explain, teach, and coach the home baker has been so supportive! Plus, their recipes are 100% the best. No fuss, no fancy measurements, etc. 

A few things I've learned from King Arthur: home bakers often don't let their dough fully ferment and rise completely....relax and allow the magic to happen! Don't rush! 

I've also been convinced that using a scale to measure the dry and liquid ingredients is essential. I now weigh everything in grams. 

Also - home bakers usually remove their bread too soon from the oven because they are afraid of an overly brown crust. And I think I was guilty of that on these challah loaves. Although they were absolutely delicious and perfect, they were a tiny, tiny bit weak in the middle..... I bet 5 more minutes in the oven would have solved that. 

This was one serious dough - 6 eggs and 7 1/2 C flour. Lots of kneading and waiting. I'm proud of my kneading  - not too bad considering it was my first time. 

Food Photos - Part 1

Indian

Stay-at-Home #8 

.... cleaning out old photos from the computer ....just wanted to save these meals and share. No recipes, just pretty plates. 

home made tamales

Asian tofu 

black rice stuffed mushrooms

lentil shepherd's pie

gluten free canillini  bean sausage, lemony polenta and lemony chick peas