Peachy Green

Oops, long time no blog, right? Well, the only thing more boring than a blog without posts is one with posts about not blogging, so I’m not going to carry on and on but I will say this: you haven’t been missing anything. Hand-in-hand with No Time To Blog walks No Time To Cook, and I’ve been plagued with both since school started. It’s been a struggle to stick to my one-take-out-bahn-mi-per-week-is-really-plenty rule and last week I fed us frozen pizza and boxed mac & cheese on consecutive nights. (Both organic, and both with added fresh vegetables, BUT STILL.)

While tonight’s meal is, finally, something of a departure from that, it didn’t take any more time or energy, which made it just about perfect. The recipe is from Smitten Kitchen, who seemed to feel like it should be an appetizer rather than a meal but hey, she wasn’t looking and I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t judge anyway. I served ours with fresh bread and made just a couple of other changes—lots more tomatoes, basil instead of parsley, triple the garlic and no olives.

I can personally vouch for its suitability as a rushed, weeknight meal, but it’s true it would also make a perfect quick starter. I’ll keep it in mind for both—we’ll definitely repeat this one soon.

This idea—to bake an egg in the hollow of an avocado half—was floating around the internet a month or two ago, looking all amazing, but my feelings about avocados are so strong that anytime one was in my fridge I just could never bring myself to subject it to the questionable practice of BAKING it. Cooked avocado? Who wants that? Not anybody, I worried, and so I stuck to my lime and my salt and eating them raw, as nature intended.

The research I did when I finally thought I might give it a shot was, at first, not very reassuring. The first link I clicked took me to a blog post that totally panned it. (LOL, panned, get it?) Reading through, though, I realized that the writer disliked runny egg (WTH?!) and so had baked the poor avocado until the egg yolk was completely solid, which must have taken at least 20 minutes. At 450 degrees. Right. He also made no mention at all of salt. His complaint that it was bland and tasted like “baked clay” suddenly held a lot less weight, and given everyone else’s raves, I decided to go for it anyway.

In a surprise twist, it tasted amazing! The avocado was warm and creamy, the texture not having suffered a bit, and the baked egg was perfect for scooping up with toast soldiers. (I mostly wrote this post just so I could say “toast soldiers”.)

AVOCADO BAKED EGGS

One avocado, halved & pitted

Two small eggs

Salt & pepper to taste

Sriracha wouldn’t be a bad idea

Place a cast iron skillet in the oven and heat to 450 degrees. Scoop out some of the avocado, leaving just about half an inch or so of flesh inside the skin. Sprinkle with salt. Crack an egg in each half (I used the tiniest eggs in the dozen, and still they spilled over a little). Salt some more. Carefully place avocado halves in hot skillet, and bake 10 minutes.

Top with cracked black pepper, and that sriracha, if you like, and serve with toast soldiers (there I go again) and fresh slices of tomato.

So often when I’m at Dekalb Farmer’s Market, I’m powering through with my head down with eyes only for whatever’s on my list. This is because it’s bonkers in there, of course, and most people are wandering pretty aimlessly, abandoning their carts or children or grandparents dead center in the narrow aisles effectively rendering them impassable. So my method makes the shopping trip bearable, but it means sometimes I miss things. Like that they’ve started carrying whole-wheat Israeli couscous.

There are benefits to wandering aimlessly now and again. Combined with crumbled Cojita, ripe tomatoes, and creamy limas, the chewy texture of the couscous was terrific in this summery pasta salad. I served ours with very mustardy deviled eggs, topped with a sprinkle of Aleppo pepper.

TOMATO & LIMA BEAN ISRAELI COUSCOUS SALAD

1 cup dry Israeli couscous

2 cups shelled lima beans

2 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Salt & pepper to taste

3 cups tomato chunks

1/2 cup crumbled Cojita cheese (feta would work too, and would make more sense with the other, vaguely-Mediterranean ingredients)

1/4 cup chopped basil

Bring two pots of salted water to boil. Add couscous to one; cook 10 minutes, or until tender. Add lima beans to the other; cook 15 minutes. When ready, drain both & allow to cool.

Meanwhile, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add tomatoes, Cojita, and basil. Stir in couscous & lima beans. Refrigerate until cold; serve chilled.

My sweet coworkers got together and bought Austin & I a gorgeous tagine as a wedding gift, which was pretty amazingly perfect especially considering I’d only worked with them for a couple of months! We scarcely knew each other, but this handmade tagine couldn’t have been a more apt gift.

In case you’re all what is she talking about, tagine?, a brief explanation: a tagine is a traditional Moroccan ceramic cooking vessel. The conical lid collects steam and promotes circulation of air—and therefore flavor—back into the vegetables or meat simmering below. Moroccan food is richly spiced, featuring a combination of sweet and savory elements, and the tagine prevents that complex flavor from escaping into the air.

Also, it’s really, really pretty.

Most tagines can be used in the oven, or on an open gas flame, but for an electric range a heat diffuser is required. I just used a cast iron skillet (that would be what you see going on above).

Moroccan stews are traditionally served with couscous, which is fun but not terribly good for you (it’s not a grain, but actually tiny pasta. Sneaky, right?). Fortunately, it was not my first time at that particular rodeo. I cooked up half quinoa, half couscous, and it came out perfectly—the couscous texture and flavor (which always reminds me of Play-Doh, somehow, but in a nice way) were there, and so were the nutrients from the quinoa. (One last parenthetical note, and I do realize there are many—unlike the grits, I did cook the quinoa & couscous in separate pots since their cooking times and methods are so different.)

SWEET POTATO & SPINACH TAGINE

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic

3 tbsp minced ginger

2 tsp tagine spice (this was gifted along with the tagine & contained paprika, ginger, turmeric, and black pepper; after it’s gone I’ll just use some combination of those, and you can too)

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp cumin seed

1 very large sweet potato, or two regular ones, cubed

1 cup vegetable broth

1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes

2 cups cooked chickpeas

6 cups spinach, stemmed

Salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil in tagine (or in a dutch oven) and add onions, garlic, and ginger. Saute until onions begin to soften, then add spices. Stir for 30 seconds or so and add sweet potatoes, broth, and tomatoes. Cover & cook until sweet potatoes are soft, lifting the lid to stir once or twice but otherwise leaving it undisturbed. Add spinach in batches to wilt, then stir in chickpeas. Season with salt & pepper and serve with quinoa couscous.

Last night our first wedding guest arrived! Austin’s brother is here and I decided probably it was best to welcome him with an Indian feast. No, really, it was about him. I’m just gracious that way.

We’ve already gone over okra masala and cucumber raita (though this time I added cilantro to the raita which I fully recommend). The dahl is new though! I adapted a recipe I found online to the point where it’s not really terribly recognizable, so I’ll just post my version below. It was so good, warm and filling with just enough spice. These sunny days and cool nights just beg for stewed and roasted everything. I’m not complaining.

INDIAN-SPICED LENTILS (DAHL)

1 cup lentils (I used French green lentils, so, horribly inauthentic but quite convenient as they were already in my pantry.)

1 cup water

1 cup vegetable broth

1 tbsp Earth Balance (or butter, naturally)

1 tsp mustard seed

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp coriander

1/4 tsp cayenne

5 cloves garlic

2 tbsp minced ginger

1 onion, diced

2 cups diced tomatoes

Combine lentils, water, and broth in a pan and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes (this depends on your lentils - red ones take much less time).

Meanwhile, heat the Earth Balance in a skillet until it begins to sizzle. Add the spices and stir for 30 seconds or so, then add garlic, ginger, and onions. Cook until onions are translucent and soft, then add tomatoes. Cook a good while until thickened and darkened. Add lentils, stir to combine, and add more water or broth if necessary. Serve with steamed brown rice.

This week, I did that thing I was telling you about where I steam snap beans and turn them into garbanzo-free, oddly-greenish hummus.

It was tasty. Then last night, we needed a quick dinner, but it was chilly out and hummus sandwiches didn’t sound amazing. Instead I mixed the hummus with a little leftover steamed brown rice and formed patties, which I pan-fried and served on whole-wheat pita bread with veggies tossed in vinaigrette and crumbled Decimal Place goat feta.

That was even tastier.

HUMMUS FRITTER SANDWICHES

1/2 cup prepared hummus

3/4 cup cooked brown rice

1/4 tsp cumin

Salt & pepper to taste

2 tsbp olive oil, divided

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 cup salad greens

1/4 cup sliced cucumber

1/4 cup sliced radishes

2 small whole-wheat pitas, warmed & halved

4 slices tomato

1/2 cup crumbled feta

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet. Combine hummus, rice, cumin, salt, and pepper. Using a 1/4 cup measure, form 4 patties with the hummus mixture and plop into the pan, flattening slightly with the back of a spatula. Brown each patty well on both sides.

Meanwhile, whisk together remaining oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Combine salad greens, cucumber, and radish in a bowl and toss with dressing to taste.

Put one fritter in each pita half and top with dressed vegetables, tomato, and feta.

I debated lengthily (you know…with myself) over what to call this meal. It’s a vegan adaptation of saag paneer, using tofu to replace the paneer - but the trouble is, I also replaced the spinach with a mixture of greens, mostly swiss chard, so it doesn’t really have any business calling itself “saag” anything. It’s not-hummus all over again, basically.

I’ve decided instead to focus not on semantics, but on how saag paneer is delicious. It’s probably my favorite food. The version I make here is significantly lighter than what you’d find in an Indian restaurant - both calorie- and flavor-wise. It has plenty of spice, but rather than being stewed and pureed, the greens are chopped roughly and wilted, yielding a fresher, lighter flavor (and preserving more nutrients). Meanwhile, the paneer is easily replaced with tofu. Both have a fairly neutral flavor and mostly make it their business to absorb whatever they’re soaking in, and tofu is much less expensive and skips the saturated fat. (In the past I’ve made paneer, which is a good adventure but a little time-consuming for your average Monday night.) I also replaced the usual cream with almond milk.

SAAG-OR-WHATEVER TOFU

1 tbsp olive oil

1 package soft tofu, drained, pressed, and cubed

1 tbsp Earth Balance

1 cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cumin seed

1 tbsp coriander

1 tbsp ground cumin

Salt to taste

1 cup diced tomatoes, with liquid

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp minced ginger

1 pound chopped greens

1/4 cup almond milk

Heat oil in pan & add tofu. Salt, and brown all sides. Set aside.

Melt butter in a large skillet. Add cinnamon stick & bay leaf, and stir for 30 seconds. Add other spices and stir an additional 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook until darkened & thickened.

Add greens in batches & cook until just tender. Stir in reserved tofu & almond milk. Serve with naan or over brown rice.

Wednesday night I had my crafty friends/unpaid laborers over for Wedding Sweatshop Part II. I’m told even in actual sweatshops they make sure craft services feeds the workers well (that’s true, right? Okay, whew, thought so). Sadly my present life affords me little time for homemade hors d’ouevre making, so Trader Joe’s freezer section featured prominently, but I did manage to whip up a little hummus. Sort of. My understanding is that hummus is actually the Arabic word for chickpea, so a dip like this that involves not the first garbanzo can’t really go around calling itself hummus, except maybe for clarity in a blog post.

I used cooked field peas as a base, and at the last minute tossed in some ripe sungold tomatoes, which added a welcome sweetness and a really nice tomatoey tang, and also loosened the mixture a bit without having to add more oil. I’m not sure I’ll be able to make not-hummus* any other way.

SUNGOLD AND FIELD PEA HUMMUS

2 cups cooked field peas

1/2 cup sungold tomatoes

3 cloves garlic, peeled

1/2 cup tahini

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar (or lemon juice, which is traditional, I just often lack lemons)

Salt & pepper to taste

Dump/pour/otherwise transfer everything into a food processor, and let her rip. For a long time. I like my hummus nice and creamy, so I let it carry on for a good few minutes, stopping to scrape the sides every so often. Serve with pita, crackers, pita crackers (at Trader Joe’s - they were perfect), veggies, even tortilla chips.

*Speaking of not-hummus: I will turn basically anything into (not-)hummus. Most often it’s those snap beans that are just a little too big and a little too tough to really enjoy broiled. Oh, there are other ways to cook them? I didn’t know. Instead I steam them until tender and whiz in the food processor with tahini, olive oil, garlic, and vinegar. This works with zucchini too, or whatever else you have too much of.

For having been thrown together last minute with the odds & ends from the last of the week’s veggies, this meal was delicious. Actually, it was delicious even without the caveat, full stop. Especially the salad, the resemblance of which to any authentic Mediterranean dish is purely coincidental. I dressed it with red wine vinaigrette, added oregano and feta, decided that would do it and served it alongside the baba ghanoush that I ALSO made up.

This may not be the way people actually eat over there, but it was super tasty. We’ll just call it Mediterranean, Peachy Green style.

BABA GHANOUSH

1 pound eggplant

2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for coating eggplant

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1/4 cup tahini

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt & pepper to taste

2 tbsp minced scallions

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Coat eggplant with oil, poke a few holes in the skin, and roast, turning occasionally, until very soft with blistered skin. Mine were a variety of sizes so the time varied from 10 minutes to 30.

Meanwhile, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, tahini, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. When the eggplant is done & cooled enough to handle, peel away skin and add the flesh to the tahini mixture. Puree to desired consistency with immersion blender*, stir in scallions, and serve with warmed pita.

*Speaking of the immersion blender - I had a fresh jar of tahini that was very separated and really difficult to stir together, so I plopped it all in a bowl and ran the immersion blender through it, then poured it back into the jar. It was amazing.

SORTA-MEDITERRANEAN SALAD

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp dried oregano

Salt & pepper to taste

1 cup cooked lima beans

1 cup corn kernels

1/2 cup sliced cherry tomatoes

2 tbsp finely minced red onion

1/4 cup crumbled feta

Whisk together oil, vinegar, oregano, salt, and pepper. Stir in lima beans, corn, tomatoes, onion, and feta. Better the longer it sits!

I am in love with aged goat cheese. (Austin knows & he understands.) It’s dry and sliceable and a little crumbly, with the most amazing concentration of flavor. Last night I sliced it thinly onto buttered whole wheat bread, topped it with wilted greens & tomatoes, and broiled the whole thing until it was bubbly and melty and really, really delicious.

I served it with, oh, I don’t know, field peas and roasted okra. Mondays make me tired.

BROILED GOAT CHEESE TOASTS

2 cups greens (ours were arugula and swiss chard)

A little olive oil

3 little tomatoes (about the size of apricots), sliced

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

2 slices whole-wheat bread

Earth Balance

2 oz. thinly sliced aged goat cheese

Salt & pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a pan & wilt greens. Toss the tomatoes with vinegar. Butter the bread and top with cheese, greens, and tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and stick under the broiler for 3-5 minutes.