organic reed avocados

organic reed avocados
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

compared to other fruits, avocados aren't cheap, especially if you're buying organic. on a good day, they're $1.50 a piece at the local whole foods. for the past few weeks, i've been eying these large reed avocados that are about 4-5 in on the long side. they run $3.99 each. that's a lot to spend on one piece of fruit, but i guess it's up there with their neighbors in the produce department, the california grown heirloom tomatoes.

something about their bounty was calling me today at the supermarket, so i splurged & picked one up to make a lovely arugula salad with cherry tomatoes and a light vinaigrette. i could only do it justice by using the olivier's lemon infused olive oil and a white wine vinegar.

i opened up the avocado i selected to discover a perfectly ripe fruit that came right off the peel without much effort, but was still firm to the touch, and wow was it creamy. all this for a healthy accompaniment to my lunch of leftover scrambled eggs.

polenta gratin w/ mushrooms & tomato

polenta gratin w/ mushrooms & tomato
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

inspired by how well the lentil minestrone i made last week turned out, i decided to try another recipe from deborah madison's vegetarian cooking for everyone last night. not only is this cookbook akin to a bible for vegetarians, it exemplifies what cooking vegetables should be--flavorful, healthy and not difficult to achieve both with quality ingredients.

so maybe all the cheese that went into this dish isn't the healthiest thing, it's got to be healthier than a meat-filled pie or an organic processed tv dinner, which apparently, isn't all that great according to the chapter on organic industrial farming that i've been reading about in omnivore's dilemma.

i did intend to make an arugula salad to balance out our dinner, but after the time that went into the preparation of this dish and the heat generated in the kitchen (we have no ac) from a 400 degree oven, i was ready to get out of there. the dish was delicious, but next time, i will make more mushroom & tomato filling as i thought it was a little heavy on the polenta side.

lentil minestrone

lentil minestrone
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

not being a huge fan of kidney beans, i had to try out this recipe from deborah madison's vegetarian cooking for everyone when i came upon it, looking for a lentil soup recipe. a hearty soup made with green lentils, leafy greens (your choice of chard, mustard or spinach), and shell pasta, it fills you up with goodness and warmth. now if only the weather would stay cool!

caramels, marshmallows & funnel cake

caramels
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i took an awesome candy-making class taught by clemence gosset of gourmandise desserts this past weekend. initially, i wasn't planning on taking it since i had already signed up to take a tamale making class the same weekend, but there was a last minute cancellation in the dessert class, and with there being no refunds, i was offered a free class. i find it hard to say no to free. besides, i had thought about taking the class as it sounded fun, and i'm glad i was lucky enough to have the opportunity in the end!

clemence is fabulous. i think i have a mush on her now and want to take all her classes and become a baker! ha! my db rolled his eyes when i made that pronouncement. as an instructor, clemence is very knowledgeable, personable and passionate about her craft, and so open with all of her baking info, even unrelated to the things we were making.

we made three different kinds of marshmallows-vanilla, chocolate & passionfruit. i'm not a huge marshmallow person--never was, but these were tasty. i really liked the passionfruit ones. i'm also not that into caramel, but this was so buttery and delicious. the funnel cake was good, but i don't think i'll be making any at home until i have a larger kitchen, and it involves a party. it's easy, but uses a lot of oil which splashes. seems more conducive to a group effort. except for the funnel cake which we ate there, we brought home a small box of our creations. yum!

summer stew with herb butter

summer stew with herb butter
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i made this simple stew using a recipe from vegetarian cooking for everyone last night. the herbs make for some fragrant vegetables which are the stars of the dish. it's more soupy stir fry than stew to me. great with some braised fingerling potatoes or toasted baguette and cheese.

simple summer stew
serves 4
1.5 tbs ea. of marjoram, basil & parsley
4 tbs soft butter
0.5 tbs lemon zest
0.5 tsp salt

1 tbs olive oil
1 small onion diced
2 cloves of garlic sliced
8 oz squash, sliced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
8 oz green beans, 3-in cut thin beans
1 large tomato, peeled, de-seeded, chopped
3 cups corn kernels (shucked from 3 ears of corn)

1. mix butter together with herbs, salt & lemon zest, then set aside.
2. heat the olive oil on high, then add the onion & garlic. saute for 1 min. add 1 cup of water, cover and lower heat to simmer for 5 min. add vegetables, cover and cook for 5 min or until tender. stir regularly. add herb butter mix and saute for a few mins. add cracked pepper and salt to taste.

stuffed red peppers

stuffed red peppers
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

the last time i made stuffed bell peppers, it was with couscous. friday, i found a recipe from vegetarian cooking for everyone and stuffed them with fresh corn, tomatoes, mozzarella and bread crumbs. i ended up with 4x the amount of stuffing than needed to fill the four pepper halves.

using fresh corn makes a huge difference in flavor. it was so sweet and crunchy. the mozzarella is great for holding everything together. i didn't have any breadcrumbs, so i used matzo, which came out a bit fine.

mushroom enchiladas

mushroom enchiladas
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i adapted a recipe from deborah madison's vegetarian cooking for everyone. there are a large number of good recipes in this tome worth trying out. the original recipe does not include cheese. i like cheese in my enchiladas. here are my notes.

makes about 10 enchiladas from 6 in. tortillas
oven-roasted tomato sauce
31/2 lbs roma tomatoes halved
1-2 small onions, sliced
6-8 sprigs of thyme
salt & fresh pepper
preheat oven to 375. put a single layer of the tomatoes in a baking pan (i like to use a big pyrex. they're cheap, and fairly easy to clean.) then spread the onion and thyme on top, drizzling oil all over. season with salt and pepper. roast for 45min to 1 hr, then puree in a food processor.

enchilada filling
11/2 tbs peanut oil (or other nut oil)
1 small onion diced
1 tsp chopped garlic
1/4 tsp dried oregano
3/4 lbs chopped mushrooms
2 roma tomatoes, peeledd, seeded & diced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 serrano chili, minced (add more if you like it hot)
1 12 oz bag or mexican blend cheese (or more if you're into cheese)
heat the oil in a large pan on high. add and saute the onion for a min, then add garlic, oregano and cook for 2 min. add the mushrooms, tomatoes and 1/4 tsp salt. saute until mushrooms have cooked. add chilis and cilantro and cook for a min. add salt to taste.

tortillas
heat oil in a separate pan (~1 tsp for each tortilla). when hot, fry the tortilla for a few seconds on each side until softened but not crispy. blot excess oil on a towel.

when the tortillas are done, add the filling, a handful of cheese and roll with the seam facing down and place in a large baking pan (again, a pyrex baking pan works great). pour the roasted tomato sauce on top and sides., then add a layer of mexican cheese (chedder, colby, jack blend). bake in preheated oven at 375 for 20 min or until cheese has melted and formed an oozing blanket of cheesy goodness on top.

*note: don't use your finger to bore out the seeds from the chili, as you'll discover, it burns, especially if you have any open wounds.

marinated tofu, roasted kale & coconut rice

dinner 4/17
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i used the ginger orange marmalade we picked up from ward ranch to make a marinade for tofu, which i then baked. the original recipe came from vegan yum yum. instead of sautee-ing kale, i roasted it to intensify the flavors. to go with the tofu, i made coconut rice from a recipe in deborah madison's vegetarian cooking for everyone. it all turned out quite tasty and assuaged my feelings of frustration from earlier. next step: try galvanized steel.

april 11 dinner

dinner
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i made tomato saffron risotto with roasted red bell peppers and asparagus and asiago cheese. it turned out quite good.

gnocchi pesto

dinner
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

ever since buying fresh pesto from olives gourmet grocer i have been spoiled into not wanting to use canned pesto. the other night, i made fresh pan-seared gnocchi with pesto, balsamic mushrooms, bell peppers & toasted pine nuts.

for pesto, puree in a food processor the following. i try not to do it for too long so the individual ingredients are somewhat distinct.
5-8 cloves of garlic
3 cups basil
1/3 cup olive oil

i sauteed some sliced red onions until tender, then added mushrooms and cooked for about 5-10 mins. i added balsamic vinegar and a dash of tamari and cooked for 15 min. in a separate pan, i pan-seared the gnocchi, which came from trader joe's for 10-15 min until lightly browned. i added chopped red bell peppers to the gnocchi and cooked for 5 min. then i added pesto and salt to taste and cooked while stirring for 10 min. lastly, i add cooked mushrooms, toasted pine nuts and parmesan cheese before serving.

the vibrancy of the green pesto is amazing and reminded me of astroturf, except much better for you.

gold coast french toast

gold coast french toast
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

of course i had to follow up last night's eggplant parmesan with french toast (recipe from 101cookbooks). i made them using thick slices of challah (from trader joe's). my only modification was the addition of a tsp of vanilla.

interestingly, the last time i made this was with whole foods' challah bread, which i found to be rather bland compared to trader joe's. you would think with it being fresher it would be better. i guess they don't have a great recipe. i'll have to try making some myself. i'm not a big syrup fan, so i eat mine with a little bit of butter and dusted with powdered sugar. we also had fresh mango and veggie sausage. a very filling brunch.

cheeeese!

eggplant parmesan
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i do feel i am partly responsible for fattening mike (and myself) up. i mean look at this thing. it's a big vat of mozarella & parmesan cheese! ok, there are two big eggplants, some tomatoes & bell peppers in there somewhere. at least the eggplant was baked and not fried prior to assembling, and there is little starch. there's an option in the recipe to substitute wheat germ for the bread crumbs. the ones we used were so minor, i don't think there are much carbs there. i suppose next time, i could find skim or "lite" cheese.

tomato sauce for eggplant parmesan

eggplant parmesan
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

whilst at the grocery store, i debated whether or not to pick up a can of premade sauce or make the one from scratch in the recipe (i wish i had thought to check the recipe beforehand, as i once again had to run to the store mid-cooking for tomato paste). i opted for making it from recipe, which was much more flavorful and fresh. the only issue was that it was super thick, which is usually nice for pasta, but did not go very far in the eggplant parmesan recipe. i ended up having to use a box of some starter sauce i had in addition to the homemade sauce. i think next time i will add more diced tomatoes to thin out the sauce a little.

hungarian mushroom soup

hungarian mushroom soup
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

my friend nif gave me an extra copy of the moosewood cookbook which she received for xmas. since then, i have tried out several of the simple but delicious recipes. the other night, i made this hungarian mushroom soup, which came out quite tasty. i wanted to make eggplant parmesan, but after i read through the recipe and realized it would take an hour alone to make the tomato sauce, i decided to save that for the weekend and made this and a salad instead. i bought the hugest bunch of fresh dill which i have used for two different soups, but have not even used half of.

seared sea scallops

in the kitchen
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i love scallops, and they are a premium at nice restaurants. after a couple unsuccessful attempts at searing them at home, i was determined this time to get it right. the problem is that i start sauteeing them in the pan, and they either are too wet and don't really sear, or the oil/butter keeps them from really sticking to the pan and searing, and by the time that evaporates, they are cooked. they're best crunchy on the outside and soft, slightly raw on the inside, like a burger (which for me is best rare).

i realized after previous attempts that i didn't need a lot of oil/butter, and need to really towel them so there's no extra liquid steaming or braising them. in the past, i've also cooked them with a saffron cream sauce, but decided to keep the scallops seared and separate. i made the saffron cream sauce with some mushrooms & red bell peppers. typical of me, i thought i had picked up some half & half, but discovered that the thought never went into action, so had to improvise. not sure it it was weird, but i used a combination of evaporated milk, milk & cheese to make the sauce, which turned out quite rich due to the cheese. mike quite enjoyed it.