As promised, I’ll share my method (not recipe, because a lot of the time, I’m winging it and not following a recipe) for one of my freezer fillers.  At least once a week for the past several weeks, I’ve been buying a bucket of “seconds” tomatoes–for a dollar a bucket.  Since we use a lot of canned fire roasted tomatoes in various recipes all year, I thought I’d just make my own and freeze them to use this winter.

In their raw form, tomatoes are a great source of vitamin C, but since it is heat sensitive, cooked tomatoes don’t contain much vitamin C to speak of.  The cooked form, especially when there is a little oil present (olive oil is a favorite choice around here), the antioxidant Lycopene is readily available–it is protective of men’s prostate health, which is something we can all appreciate:  the men for obvious reasons, and the women who love them…Here is what I do:

1 bucket of seconds tomatoes, cored and cut in half along the stem side (not equator)

splash of olive oil (maybe 1/4 or 1/2 cup)

Stir/toss the tomato halves gently with a spatula or spoon so that they are all evenly coated with the olive oil.  Fire up the grill (I use gas, and set the burners to medium high) and let it heat up.  Using tongs, I place each tomato half, cut side down on the grill, and close the lid.  After a few minutes, or when I start to see smoke, I turn the halves over so that the skin is on the grill.  You may have to arrange and rearrange the tomatoes based on how fast they are cooking due to size or hot spots on the grill.  Let them grill for a few more minutes.  Start turning them over to see how charred the skins are.  I let a few of them get quite charred, while others not as much.  They are done when quite mushy and you are slightly afraid they might slip through the grill bars.  Some can be more mushy than others.  Put them in the bowl you tossed them around in originally and let cool a bit.  Then you puree them in the food processor of your choice and store in a quart sized freezer safe container.  I usually add a little smoked salt when I puree them, but you don’t have to salt at all–taste and decide for yourself!

Enjoy!

Below is a recipe for one of my summertime favorites, beet and rice salad.  It is a colorful side dish (we just had it with cajun whitefish and sauteed summer veggies), or if you mix in chickpeas or cooked chicken and serve over a bed of greens, this can be a balanced meal.  I usually make a batch of brown basmati rice (2 cups cooked) and it might last us a week.

I also tweaked the recipe from the original, which had you cook the beets ahead in boiling water.  I read recently that the nutrients remain intact and are more bioavailable from raw beets (which is why I’ve been adding them to the smoothie recipe too!).  Also, we are in the thick of summer and Kurt gets a little testy when I crank up the stove and oven in hot weather–(he’s got a point)…AND, I always like to find ways to simplify recipes and eliminate steps…so here it is–these amounts almost filled a quart sized container:

• 2-3 golf ball sized beets, peeled and minced in the food processor (they are available now at the farmer’s market–PS:  save the greens, wash them and use in tossed salads!)
• 2 medium sized carrots, peeled and processed like the beets (also available at the Farmer’s Market now)
• 1 clove garlic (add to beets and carrots in food processor)
• 2 cups cooked rice, rinsed in cold water (I like brown basmati for this recipe)
• 1/4 cup each olive oil and champagne vinegar (use less vinegar if you are not a fan of it)
• 1 Tbs honey dijon mustard
• 1 Tbs dried tarragon (or fresh if you have it!) and or any other herbs you like and have on hand

I usually make the vinaigrette in a mixing bowl large enough to hold the rest of the ingredients and tweak it for taste before I add the veggies and rice.  Then I add the minced beets, carrots and garlic.  Then I add the rice.  Everything gets VERY hot pink, which I love, but may be scary for some…The taste of beets is not strong in this recipe and has passed taste tests with people who don’t like beets.  Mostly you taste the basmati rice and vinaigrette, with the carrots and beets providing a fresh and pleasant CRUNCH.  Sunflower seeds would be great sprinkled over at the last minute (so they don’t turn pink).  Enjoy!

]]> http://foodieforthought.wordpress.com/2008/07/02/beet-and-rice-salad/feed/ 0 karinelling http://foodieforthought.wordpress.com/2008/06/28/oatmeal-cookie-recipe/ http://foodieforthought.wordpress.com/2008/06/28/oatmeal-cookie-recipe/#comments Sat, 28 Jun 2008 00:10:56 +0000 karinelling http://foodieforthought.wordpress.com/?p=20 ]]>

Here is my favorite recipe for oatmeal cookies.  Usually these have raisins in them, but I prefer to use dried cherries and chocolate chips.  I also use 1/2 butter and 1/2 coconut oil.  The recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies, and I use my small OXO cookie scoop to portion out the dough into “heaping tablespoon-fulls” according to The (New) Joy of Cooking…

Pre-heat oven to 350* F and whisk together thoroughly:

1 3/4 cups All purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg (I usually grate mine fresh with a microplane)

Beat on medium speed until well blended:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup coconut oil (in the solid, room temperature state)

1 1/2 cups light or dark brown sugar (I use dark for deeper flavor)

1/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 1/2 tsp vanilla

Stir flour mixture into the butter mixture until well blended and smooth.  Stir in:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup dried cherries (you will have to chop them into smaller pieces if you want each cookie to have some)

3 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

I use my small cookie scoop to form the dough balls, gently squashing them down so that they are fat little discs.  Bake until “lightly browned all over and almost firm when lightly pressed in the center of the top, 6-9 minutes:  rotate pan half way through for even browning.”  Cool on a cookie rack and enjoy!

These would be great probably if you played around with substituting some of the butter for flaxseed meal, but I haven’t tried that.  These are tasty little treats!  The coconut flavor is very subtle…

Now that it is warmer and approaching summer temperatures, I’ve been diving back into one of my favorite warm weather cooking/eating habits:  The Dinner Salad.  We just finished tonight’s version, and I was thinking to myself that this was “blog-worthy”, when Kurt said “This should go on your blog!!”.

So, here is what I did:  I took the 1# fillet of Alaskan wild caught salmon I bought today, and put it on a foil lined sheet pan.  Then I carefully smeared about 3 Tbs of “Ginger Spread” made by Ginger People (ingredients:  Ginger, Sugar) all over the slab of fish–I say carefully because the sticky spread didn’t want to stick to the fish.  Next time I might thin out the paste with a LITTLE soy sauce until I get a thick glaze consistency…water would probably work too.  Then I put it in the oven at *400.

Next, I took out the container of washed mixed greens from the fridge, along with a cucumber, half of an avocado, and the roasted red potatoes and sweet potatoes I prepared on Monday.  I grabbed the container of sunflower seeds from the cupboard and the bottle of Annie’s Goddess dressing (a favorite dressing that has a nutty asian flavor).  I set to work building our salads by laying down a green foundation of mixed greens (about 2 cups per plate–which equals 1 “cup” of veggies).  Then I cut up and sprinkled the other ingredients (for a total of another 1 or so “cups” of veggies) over the bed of greens.  Then, I drizzled the Annie’s dressing over that.  I checked on the salmon, and when I could flake the thickest part of the fillet easily with a fork, it was done (about 10 minutes or so in my oven, but I checked on it after 5…).

I served up about 3 ounces for me and 4 for Kurt (because he is bigger and went for a long run today) and placed it on top of the salad.  SO good.  The flavors and textures reminded me of sushi (crunchy cucumber, velvety avocado, zingy ginger…) and one I’ll make again for sure.  I’ll also share more of the versions I come up with that are equally delicious!

This past week at the farmer’s market, Asparagus made its debut appearance for 2008.  How exciting!!!  I excitedly bought twice as much as I thought I’d need, promising myself that we would eat it.  It is thursday, and the last of the roasted asparagus disappeared yesterday.  In fact, I roasted it Monday night and then climbed into the shower.  As I was toweling off, Kurt appeared with the container of roasted asparagus in his hand, munching happily on this green snack…note to self: “buy even MORE asparagus this week!”

Here is what I did (and I have to say, this basic method applies to every vegetable I roast–potatoes, sweet potatoes, cauliflower florets, fennel bulb, brussels sprouts, winter squashes…):

Make sure that the bottom end of each spear is tender by finding the natural “snapping point”.  If you buy the bouquets of asparagus in the grocery store, you can just cut off the bottom third–composting the scraps, of course …I’m a little particular, so I like for the tips to all line up–it makes for easier plating and prettier presentation.

Lay the asparagus spears on a lined sheet pan, drizzle a little olive oil over all and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Put everyone into a 400* oven, and check on the party in about 5 minutes.  Using tongs (for the asparagus–a spatula works best for the other stuff I roast), redistribute/gently toss the spears so that they get even roasting.  For the other stuff I roast, the reason for this step is to ensure even browning.  Another few minutes and the asparagus is done.  “Done” means that the spears are a pretty bright green and slightly “bendy” and the tips are starting to brown.  It took 8 minutes or less in my oven.

This is a recipe/method I use all year.  In the colder months, roasted veggies are wonderful warmed up and served with the rest of the meal, in the warmer months, they make an interesting addition to dinner salads, a staple at our table and in our lunch boxes.  In any season, roasted veggies provide a deeper more complex flavor, and since you are not boiling them, any heat resistant nutrients are not going down the drain with the cooking water.  This is probably a more “green” cooking method, because it takes less energy and time to roast vs boil water to cook with…

Let me explain how I came up with this one.  One of my clients was looking for ways to include more veggies in his diet throughout the day, not just at dinner or lunch.  I started with the idea that smoothies are a convenient, portable way to accomplish this, so we brainstormed about what veggies might work in a smoothie.  Obviously, a strong tasting veggie like onions or broccoli would taste wierd, so we turned to veggies that are neutral or slightly sweet.  Here is what we started with:

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup pomegranate juice

1 cup milk or yogurt

1 cup frozen dark berries

1 cup baby spinach

1/2 cup shredded carrots (or orange-vanilla-sweet potatoes, recipe below)

Blend and enjoy.  This recipe fills my 20 ounce water bottle and is perfect for my mid-morning snack, or late afternoon if I have evening clients or am planning to run in the evening before dinner.

So what do you get with this concoction?  Well, the cup of juice = 1 cup of fruit; the cup of milk or yogurt = 1 cup of dairy; the cup of dark berries = 1 cup of fruit (which takes care of my fruit needs for the day); the cup of baby spinach = 1/2 cup of veggies AND I’m making progress in the quest for 3 cups of green veggies each week; the 1/2 cup of shredded carrot = 1/2 cup of veggies, which brings the total for veggies in this recipe to 1 cup out of the 3 that I need each day, AND I’m also getting in some of the 2 cups of orange veggies I need per week.  You are also getting the colors red, blue/purple, orange and green.  Go you!

I’ve made this a few times, but always think it is funny that I end up chewing the carrot bits after each sip.  So then I asked myself “I wonder what would happen if I used mashed sweet potatoes instead of shredded carrots?”  I figured the smoothie would be thicker and I wouldn’t have to chew anything.  This is what I did:  peeled and large diced 1 sweet potato, a little smaller than a softball.  I cooked it in a small covered sauce pan with about 1 cup of orange juice and checked after about 10 minutes–it depends on how big or small the pieces of sweet potato are, mine were about 2 inch cubes.  They are done when you can mash them up and whip into a smooth puree.  I added about 1 teaspoon of vanilla and put it in the fridge for later in the week when I’d need to make a smoothie.  I ended up with a little over a cup of puree.

The smoothie ROCKED using this latest version.  You could also substitute canned, unflavored pumpkin and adding about 1/2 tsp to your blender when you make the smoothie–I haven’t tried this yet, but I bet the outcome would be similar.  Another sweet vegetable that might work is beets–the color alone would be worth trying it!  Enjoy!

I thought I’d share the recipe Kurt uses each week to make the pizza dough (I checked with him first, he said it was OK).  Last week, he let the dough rise again in a warm oven after he’d rolled it out and put it on the pizza pan.  The result was a more “bready” pizza, less “thin crusty” but still delicious!  Enjoy…

First you make happy little yeasts:

1 - package yeast (I use standard rise)

1 cup nice hot water (but not too hot, it kills the

little yeasts)

3/4 teaspoon sugar

Stir together and let it rise for 10 minutes, I

normally cover it with the bowl for the flour.

 

Turn oven on to “warm”

2-1/2 cups of flour into a medium heat resistant

mixing bowl.  We use a mix of 1-3/4 whole wheat and

3/4 white flour

Take the cup of happy yeast and add:

3/4 teaspoon salt, this slows the yeast down

2-1/4 teaspoons olive oil, this is to help their tan

Blend and knead the liquid into the flour

Coat the dough ball in olive oil

Cover the ball in the mixing bowl with aluminum foil

and place in warm oven to rise (30min to 1 hour)

 

Take dough out, turn oven to 425

Work the dough as little as possible (the more you

work it, the more it is like cardboard)

Roll it out into and place on pizza pan

Coat with olive oil

Put in oven for ~10 minutes or until it smells great

and has browned nicely.

 

Things I've learned:

1. Coat counter well with flour

2. Don't overwork dough

3. Add water if dough is too dry

4. Some days the little yeasts just die, try again and

mourn them later...

Black Bean Brownies

½ cup Cocoa Powder

½ cup Butter or Margarine

2 cups White sugar

1 cup Black beans, cooked and pureed

4 ea Eggs

2/3 cup All purpose flour

¼ Tbs Salt

½ tsp Baking powder

Mix first 5 ingredients until well blended. Sift together the next three ingredients and stir into mixture. Grease a 9×13 inch sized sheet pan and pour the batter into the pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (320 if using a convection oven) for 25 minutes or until done (toothpick inserted into the middle should come out clean).

If you divide the baked brownies into 12 equal pieces, the nutrition per serving is:

274 calories, 10 g Fat; 6 g saturated fat; 91 mg cholesterol; 244 mg sodium; 44g carbohydrates; 3 g fiber; 5 g Protein.

Notes from Karin’s kitchen:

These are really good. The texture is somewhere between cakey and fudgey, and they are about 1-2 inches thick, but nice and chocolatey and moist. I pureed the heck out of the black beans to make sure I didn’t have any whole beans left, and it was very smooth, like the consistency of hummous. To help make a smooth puree, I added two of the four eggs to the food processor. I also tried this recipe using coconut oil in place of the butter to reduce the cholesterol amount, and it had a slight coconut flavor but not overwhelmingly so.