A Cinco de Mayo Salad

Hooray, Hooray it’s the 5th of May - which means it’s Cinco de Mayo! I love Mexican food, I love the spices, the textures and of course the avocado. I have a friend who once said that she would order a dish simply because one of the ingredients was avocado - go figure. 

This weekend there were 2 events - the Kentucky Derby and Cinco de Mayo. I’ve never celebrated the Derby - perhaps next year but I am a fan of Cinco. 

On Saturday we cleaned up the gardens in the front and headed off to Menards to get new pots - because after 14 years, ours were hatched. I’m working on new colors but I needed pots that matched the maroon one we still had so I went with an awesome dark blue and dark teal - the combo looks great on the back deck - next up - flowers to put in them. I also made a delicious guacamole to celebrate the day.

In honor of Cinco de Mayo I made 2 dishes this weekend - first a simple guacamole and tonight we had a vegan taco salad. The “meat” was a combo of onions, spices, lentils and toasted walnuts - delicious. I added to it lettuce, cilantro, olives, corn and cherry tomatoes with a kick ass dressing - there were no leftovers - which isn’t a bad thing. 

Taco "meat"

1/2 cup chopped walnut pieces

3/4 cup uncooked brown lentils 

1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup chopped white onion

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons salsa (or vegetable broth, or water)

Rinse lentils then add to a medium sauce pot and cover with water by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 25 minutes until tender. Drain and set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the walnuts. Toast for ~2 minutes, stirring often until walnuts are lightly browned and fragrant, taking care not to burn. Place the walnuts in a small bowl and set aside.

Add the oil to the same skillet along with the onion and spices. Cook for 5-6 minutes until onions are reduced and translucent but not browned. Add the cooked (or canned) lentils and walnut mixture along with the salsa or broth and cook another 2-3 minutes, gently mashing some of the lentils with the back of your spoon/spatula.

Season to taste, adding more salt/spice as needed.

Salad

1 small head of romaine lettuce - shredded

1 cup cherry tomatoes - quartered

1/4 bunch cilantro - chopped

1/4 - 1/2 cup kalamata olives - chopped (add more or less depending on taste)

1 cup corn - either fresh from cob or frozen - cooked

1 cup cucumber - chopped
1 mango - cubed

Avocado dressing:

1 avocado

1/4 cup olive oil

juice of 1 lime

3T water

cumin

salt and pepper

Place avocado, oil and lime juice in a high-speed blender. Blend until smooth. Add cumin salt and pepper to taste. If needed, add water 1 T at a time until you reach your desired consistency.

Combine all salad ingredients in a medium bowl, add taco meat and avocado dressing - enjoy!

Muffins - Top and Stump

Did you ever watch the Seinfeld episode where Elaine would only eat the muffin tops? Like most episodes it was odd but humorous - but to be honest she does have a point about the tops they are crunchy, explosive and delicious. 

We dodged the snow bullet this weekend - which I am very grateful for because I am so over the snow. I’ve been slowly uncovering some of the perennial gardens - not all of them and definitely have not been raking the yard. It’s too early and the bees and butterflies are not ready to come out yet - so hang in there. I know, I know we only have a short growing season in MN but we need the bees to pollenate our trees and other plants. 

I did make a trip to Menards to get some seeds for the garden, we’ll be planting, spinach, lettuce, kale, cilantro, parsley, and dill. There will of course be beets, beans, peas, squash (acorn, zucchini and patty pan). We’ll do plants - tomatoes, pumpkins, maybe onions, Japanese eggplant, peppers (green, red, ancho and poblano) and of course herbs in pots on the deck. Looking forward to another year of deliciousness. 

We’ve been on an orange kick lately - thanks to my friend Barb Gale who turned us on to Cara Cara oranges a few years ago, we’ve been hooked and last week Dan found a very large bag at Costco - just at the same time I came home with bananas and blueberries - needless to say we had too much. We managed to get through the oranges and most of the blueberries but the bananas started to spot before we could get to all of them. 

You might recall this happened recently and we ended up with banana bread, which is delicious, but I wanted to use up the rest of the blueberries because I bought strawberries yesterday - food around here is a balancing act believe me. 

When I started the baking project this morning I was not totally awake and horrified when I accidentally grabbed the cumin instead of the cinnamon and put it in the muffins - not to worry, I was able to get most of it out and added a bit of additional cinnamon - it was all good. You could also use either all white flour or 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat in the recipe below - I decided to give whole wheat a try. 

Ingredients

2 large eggs

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

2 medium-size, ripe bananas, mashed 

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 cup oats

1 cup + 2 Tbsp whole wheat flour

1 cup blueberries, frozen or fresh

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350. Use cupcake liners or spray a 12 muffin pan with cooking spray - set aside. 

In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs until the yolks break apart.  Add in the yogurt, bananas, sugar, vanilla, baking soda, cinnamon, and oats mixing until smooth.

Spoon in the flour and gently stir it in until just combined. Toss the blueberries in 1 Tbsp of flour to prevent them from bleeding or sinking to the bottom of the muffins, and fold them into the batter.

Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups, filling almost to the top. Add a sprinkle of sugar, if desired.

Bake for 20 - 22 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins begin to turn golden and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for ~5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

A Favorite Banana Bread

Happy Sunday! For some of you it’s Easter, some Passover and for the rest of us it’s Sunday; a good day for baking and blogging. Spring has officially arrived in Minnesota - I know that because the deck furniture has been unearthed, the tulips are coming up and I’ve finally tossed the pine branches I used as holiday decorations in the yard waste container. 

We’ve been busy. First the lower level bathroom is finally done and as far as I’m concerned there isn’t anymore remodeling in my near or far future. We went to the MIA Art in Bloom, tried a new restaurant, and Movie Nights with our friends Gerd and Maria are finally back on the calendar. 

I’ve been told I make an amazing banana bread. I found this recipe decades ago and honestly there isn’t anything unusual with respect to ingredients it’s all in the prep. The key - don’t over mix the bananas - leave them chunky because if you don’t, you end up with banana flavored bread and it’s dry and well not my favorite. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter 

1 cup brown sugar - packed

2 eggs

3 medium bananas

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions:

Cream butter and sugar.  Beat in eggs, 1 at a time until blended.  Break bananas into chunks and add - do not over mix.  Add dry ingredients and stir until just moistened.  Pour into a greased bread pan, bake at 350 for approximately 1 hour. 

Whatever holiday you celebrate - enjoy! Thanks for stopping by.

An Untraditional - Traditional Dish

We’re Irish and a bunch of other stuff but mostly Irish. I spent many a dinner as a kid avoiding corned beef and cabbage - mainly due to the look, smell and taste. There were however, some traditions I could get on board with - Colcannon. 

Colcannon is traditionally made from mashed potatoes and kale (or cabbage), with milk or cream, butter, salt and pepper. Often eaten with ham or Irish bacon, it is a year-round staple food, although today it is usually eaten in Fall or Winter when kale is in season. As an aside, a Irish Halloween tradition is to serve colcannon with a ring and a thimble or small coins hidden in the dish.

We’ve passed St Paddy’s day by about a month but today’s wintery weather made me want comfort food. Generally, you won’t find a potato in our pantry - we don’t need the carbs and honestly they don’t have much taste, unless you top them with all those things one should stay away from. So tonight we tossed tradition out the window, hopped on the Cauliflower bandwagon and steamed, chopped and sautéed our way to a healthier version of Colcannon.

INGREDIENTS

1 medium head cauliflower, separated into florets

1/4 cup almond milk

4 tablespoons vegan buttery spread, divided

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 leek, trimmed, washed, and sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 small bunch kale, cut into small pieces

1/3 cup water

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

salt & pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat broiler.

Beak cauliflower into florets and steam until fork tender - transfer to a food processor. Add almond milk a little at a time and 2 tablespoons buttery spread and pulse to a smooth, creamy puree.

Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add leeks and cook for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Add garlic and cook another minute, or until fragrant. Add kale and toss to coat. Add water, cover and cook for 3-5 minutes. Remove cover and reduce heat to low, stirring occasionally. Cook for another 10-12 minutes, or until kale is tender. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Fold cauliflower puree into the kale mixture until combined. Transfer to a baking dish and make a small well in the center of the dish. Place under broiler for about five minutes, or until lightly browned on top. Place remaining buttery spread into the well. Serve immediately.

We served it with a forest mushroom soup and some fruit. 

Spring Glorious Spring!

I’ve been in a funk lately - not the kind that anyone should be worried about, the kind that has been keeping me from writing and blogging. I’ve been cooking but things get in the way of writing - aborted bathroom remodel, restarted bathroom remodel, work travel, husband travel and well you get the picture. 

This week I spent time with friends - the ones I see often and the ones I’ve known for years but haven’t connected with. In both occasions I loved the food, the conversation, and the laughter - priceless and precious. 

One of my favorite things to do with the veggies in my fridge is stir fry them together with a little garlic, ginger and tamari sauce. The fact that I had a block of tofu in the fridge was a bonus. For this particular dish I tossed whatever we had in the pan and Dan did the tofu honors (because no one does tofu better than he does IMHO).

Ingredients:

1 package extra firm tofu

1 onion - diced

2 carrots - peeled and chopped

2 small crowns broccoli - broken into florets

1 red pepper - sliced 

8 ounces mushrooms - I used 1/2 portabella and 1/2 button

3 cloves garlic

grated ginger

Tamari

Cornstarch

red pepper flakes

Instructions:

Cube tofu and set on paper towels to drain. Add olive oil to a skillet and fry tofu until lightly crisped on all sides. Remove to paper towel and drain. 

In the same skillet, add onions, garlic and ginger stir fry until no longer crunchy, add carrots, mushrooms and broccoli and cook until crisp tender and add red pepper slices. 

Mix tamari and cornstarch in a small bowl and whisk until mixed. Pour mixture into veggies and cook until thickened. Add tofu and sprinkle with pepper flakes. Serve with rice or simply on its own. 

I’ve been pondering my next phase of writing and I’m thinking about taking a year’s worth of recipes from the blog and creating a cookbook so stay tuned. Thanks for stopping by!

Healthcare, Hot Sun and Food

We returned from Mexico last Sunday to a 70+ temperature difference, a pile of snow at the end of the driveway and giant icicles hanging from the roof. There is always an adjustment period when we return from vacation.

The week before vacation I spent a couple days in Urgent Care and the Emergency room with what we thought at the time might be a heart attack - thankfully it was nothing more than severe indigestion and acid. Since my mom died of a heart attack at approximately the same age as I am today, the experience was stressful. At the end of the day I won’t be dying of a heart attack any time soon or in the distant future either,  according to my doctor I have an extremely healthy heart :-). 

After all that stress we flew off to Mexico and spent a wonderful relaxing week - we took a cooking class, read books, sat on the beach, swam in the pool, and spent quality time with friends - it was an amazing week. 

Back to reality where bathrooms need to be cleaned, snow needs to be shoveled and cooking needs to be done. The first two I don’t love, they are a necessary evil - cooking however, relaxes me, the chopping, stirring, sautéing and simmering is the perfect antidote to the winter blues. 

One of our favorite vegetables is eggplant, if you were following my blog last summer you’ll recall  we had an abundance of Japanese eggplant, we grilled it, sautéed it with onions, and roasted it. We made Ratatouille, eggplant parmesan, veggie sandwiches, spicy appetizers, baba ganoush as well as other dishes.  

Eggplant is very versatile and it soaks up spices so easily, it’s an easy addition to many dishes. One cup of eggplant is contains 20 calories, .16grams of fat, 4.6 g carbs, .83g of protein, and no carbs so what have you got to lose right?

I found the base recipe for the Braised Chili and Tomato Eggplant on Pinterest - of course I added my own spin especially with the chills - I have to say it was spicy from a flavorful perspective (not hot or burning) and the zucchini and roasted peppers added a nice depth to the dish. 

Braised Chili and Tomato Eggplant

Ingredients:

1 eggplant - medium slices

2 tsp sea salt flakes 

3 bell peppers - I used 2 orange and 1 red

2 zucchini - sliced 

¼ cup olive oil

2 onions - thinly sliced 

4 cloves of garlic

1 small bunch of thyme

1 red chili de arbor (dried)

salt and pepper to taste

1 small container of cherry tomatoes - leave whole

2 Tbsp tomato paste

2 cups veggie stock

1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes

Instructions:

Slice the eggplant, place in colander and salt. Toss to combine and set aside for 1 hour. Preheat oven/broiler to 485°F. Place the bell peppers on a cookie sheet and cook, turning occasionally, for 12–15 minutes or until blistered and blackened on all sides. Place in a paper bag and set aside for 10 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 475°F. Peel the peppers, remove seeds and discard. Tear into large pieces and set aside. Brush any excess salt from the eggplant and pat dry with a paper towel. Place the eggplant and zucchini on a large oven tray and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the oil. Cook for 18–20 minutes, turning halfway thorough, until golden brown. Set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in a large, shallow saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, thyme, chili, salt and pepper, and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, for 12–15 minutes or until soft. Add the cherry tomatoes and tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. Add the stock and diced tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Cook for 25–30 minutes or until reduced. Add the peppers, eggplant and zucchini. Mix to combine. Sprinkle with pepper and serve with your favorite whole grain bread.  Serves 4–6.

The snow seems to have stopped for a while and the temps are suppose to creep up to something reasonable (for MN of course) toward the end of the week - perhaps Spring is on its way. I’m heading to Texas this week for a work meeting, hoping the sun will shine and I can put my sweater and warm socks in my carry on and leave them there. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Not your mother’s meatloaf

Good grief almost a month has passed and I've not blogged - what’s up with that you ask - a lot but honestly nothing noteworthy. I have been cooking some wonderful new dishes - just not making it to the blogging part. 

For my Minnesota readers, if you are not sick of the daily snow dump by now, you must be vacationing somewhere warm. I finally embraced yesterdays snow (about 4 inches) and went snowshoeing. I haven’t been in a while and I gotta say it was a great workout but my legs were tired afterward. We have a great little trail behind our house that leads to the park it was fun. And I was not the only person embracing the snow, kids and adults alike were sledding down the hill at the park and everyone was laughing and having a great time. 

So to catch you up, we did no alcohol January as a reset. It seems the holidays are filled with parties and celebrations I needed a break form all of that and losing a couple pounds was a nice side benefit. We’re in the middle of a bathroom remodel - it’s a small one and it’s the basement bathroom so I don’t see the mess and the inconvenience isn’t like going through a 15 week kitchen remodel. 

I am also taking a knitting class - it’s the second one and I am almost done with my mittens, which just so happen to match the hat I made in the first class! Dan says it's a good thing since you know winter is almost over - obviously he hasn't looked out the window lately - although I have it on good authority it will get up to 26 today so perhaps some of the white fluffies will melt. 

Lately I’ve been trying to not buy more food than we will actually eat in a week - well fresh food that is - I always have staples in the pantry and the tomato sauce and apple pies we made last fall. My favorite dish lately was a chickpea “meatloaf” that I made at the last movie night. I’ve been shying away from making them because the last few I did make didn’t turn out - they were too mushy and I hate mushy. I got rave reviews from the moviegoers and there was enough left for one night of leftovers :-) 

Ingredients - 

For the meatloaf

3 1/3 cups cooked chickpeas

1 onion, diced

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 carrots, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups panko breadcrumbs

1/2 cup unflavored soy or almond milk

3 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp. soy sauce or tamari

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 egg

2 tbsp. tomato paste

1 tsp. liquid smoke

1/4 tsp ground pepper

For the glaze

1/4 cup tomato paste

2 tbsp. maple syrup

2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp. soy sauce or tamari

1 tsp. paprika

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly oil a 9 inch loaf pan and arrange a 2 strips of parchment paper width and length wise along the center, with just a bit hanging over the sides.

Working in batches if needed, place all meatloaf ingredients into food processor bowl and pulse until chickpeas are broken up and ingredients are well mixed, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Do not overblend. If working in batches, transfer each batch to a large mixing bowl when complete and then mix by hand. This is critical if you over mix it - it will become mushy and there is nothing worse than mushy meatloaf - believe me I know. 

Press mixture into prepared loaf pan and bake 30 minutes. While meatloaf bakes, stir glaze ingredients together in a small bowl. Remove loaf from oven after 30 minutes and spoon glaze overtop of loaf. Bake another 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool at least 10 minutes before cutting.

And just to prove we have been cooking I'll put photos of our Veggie Stir fry , Southwest Sweet Potatoes, and Veggie Taco Salad.