Lemon Ginger Hummus

Did I mention that I love hummus? Not only is it easy to make, but it's generally a pretty healthy snack as well. It's good with pita chips, polenta crackers, or on a wrap with fresh veggies and sprouts. You can dip fresh veggies in it, or dip into it with tortilla chips. It's pretty versatile.
This recipe was based on a lemon hummus recipe that I got from my good friend E. I added the ginger and a few more things to spice it up a bit, and I think it works well.



Lemon Ginger Hummus
30 oz chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp tahini
2 T olive oil
2 medium lemons, juiced and zested (or 7 Tbsp lemon juice)
1/2 tsp salt
1" piece of ginger, peeled and minced finely
pepper to taste

Blend chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, and lemon juice until well-combined. (I normally just place these ingredients in a flat bowl and use my potato masher on them. Works really well, and still retains a nice texture.) Stir in salt, ginger, and pepper. Chill in the refrigerator for an hour or so for the flavors to make friends.
Serve and enjoy!

Ginger-Shiitake Pot Stickers with Dipping Sauce
(recipe courtesy of Vegetarian Times 2/06)



I gotta tell ya - the recipe is labor-intensive, but it is amazingly tasty and definitely well worth the effort. The best part? It makes about 36 or so, and they freeze well, so you can have them on hand.

I made a batch for a good friend of mine, and didn't tell her what was in them until after she had eaten them. Despite the fact that she hates mushrooms with a passion, and doesn't really care for tofu, she said neither item was discernable and that they were absolutely fantastic. I can't recommend this recipe enough.

Potstickers
1 (10 oz) pkg firm tofu
0.5 oz dried shiitake mushrooms (I used porcini)
6 Tbsp pine nuts
1/2 c fresh cilantro leaves
1 inch ginger root, peeled and sliced (2 Tbsp)
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp orange zest
1/2 tsp salt
Potsticker wrappers (or wonton skins)
1 egg, or egg substitute
2 Tbsp canola oil

Red Crystal Dipping Sauce
1/2 c red wine vinegar
1/2 c sugar
2 Tbsp finely diced carrot
1 Tbsp crushed red pepper (use less if you don't like a lot of heat)
1/2 tsp salt

Wrap tofu in paper towels; place on a plate, cover with cutting board with canned goods on top. Let drain about an hour. Meanwhile, submerge mushrooms in 3/4 c boiling water. Let soften about 30 minutes. When soft, squeeze out water, and mince well. Save the soaking water.

Crumble tofu in large bowl. Put 1/4 c pine nuts, cilantro, ginger, and garlic in food processor. Mince well. Add soy sauce, sugar, and 1 tsp cornstarch. Process until smooth. Scrape mixture into tofu. Add orange zes, salt, mushrooms, and remaining pine nuts. Stir well until mixture holds together if pressed.

Dust baking sheet with cornstarch. Arrange several wrappers on workspace. Place about a tablespoon of the tofu mixture in the center. Brush edge of wrapper with egg or egg substitute. Bring edges together to seal. Place on baking sheet. Keep them covered loosely with plastic until rest are assembled. At this point, they can be frozen. Place sheet in freezer. Once potstickers are frozen, pack into ziploc bags.

To make dipping sauce, place all ingredients in saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 minute, stirring. Cool.

To cook potstickers - heat 1 tbsp oil over medium high heat in each of 2 large nonstick skillets (or make in 2 batches, using 1 tbsp oil for each) Drop potstickers into pan, and cook until bottoms are browned, about 3 minutes. Hold lid over most of pan, and carefully pour in 1/2 of shiitake water. It will start to sizzle and steam. Cover with lid, and reduce heat to medium. Cook about 8 minutes, shaking pan occasionally to loosen pot stickers. If they get dry, add a little water. Remove with spatula, and serve hot with dipping sauce.

2004 Italian Barolo
As you can see by the little blurb at the top, I am also an amateur winemaker. I was introduced to winemaking by a friend of mine, and was immediately hooked on it. Not only is it extremely fun and interesting, it can also be fairly inexpensive. After very reasonable set-up costs, you can make a batch of decent to great wine for under $100 per batch. (A batch yields about 27-30 bottles for me.)



This is one of my favorites. It's an Italian Barolo, and we bottled it in mid-2004.
If you've never tried an Italian Barolo, I highly recommend it. I first discovered Barolo on a trip to see a very good friend of mine in Italy. The picture that graces the front of my handmade label is actually a picture I took on that trip in one of the many piazzas in Rome

This Barolo is wonderfully tasty, with a lovely dense black cherry flavor. It's fairly medium-bodied, however, it's packing a pretty full structure. The fresh acidity of the wine is accompanied by a lovely good fruit taste. Overall, on the official Monkeybrew rating system, it gets an 8.5 out of 10.

It also proved to be a worthy companion to my dinner this evening. After watching the Food Network Pizza Cooking Challenge, I was struck with the urge for a white pizza.



Simply take your favorite pizza crust recipe, spread out a nice layer of good olive oil, a few minced cloves of garlic, sprinkle with some herbs, and top with a nice layer of cheese. I used a blend of romano, asiago, and mozzarella, and topped it off with some sliced scallions.

Hope your Saturday has been as fabulous as mine!

Hot Pepper and Garlic Jelly

I recently catered the pre-wedding ceremony cocktail party for one of my very good friends down in the Outer Banks, NC. One of the favorite things was the cheese platter the bride's father had put together of all sorts of gourmet cheeses from his deli. I had brought along a few jars of this, and we set it out with the cheeses. Paired with an extra sharp cheddar, this jelly practically sings. It's actually fabulous with almost any kind of cheese, or by itself on a cracker. It can also be mixed into cream cheese for a super-fast dip, or melted down and used as a glaze.

I've also included some super-easy canning tips that won't require any special equipment.

*This recipe is also an entry into Kalyn's Kitchen Weekend Herb Blogging Round-up. Stop by Kalyn's site on Sunday to discover some other great food bloggers!



Hot Pepper and Garlic Jelly
yield 6 1/2pt jars

1 red bell pepper, minced
1 c fresh hot peppers, chopped
(I use any combination I happen to have on hand - banana, jalapenos, habaneros, etc)
1/2 c minced garlic
1 1/2 c vinegar
6 c sugar
2 tsp cracked black pepper
1 pkt liquid Certo

Place all ingredients in large saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Boil for 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat and add Certo. Stir well. Pour into 1/2 pint jars and seal.

*The easiest way to can is this - wash and dry canning jars thoroughly. Place lids and rings in a pot of barely simmering water. Once jelly is ready, fill a jar, leaving about a 1/4" headspace. With tongs, remove lid and ring from water, place on jar, and tighten, although not all the way. Turn jar upside down on a dishtowel. Repeat with remaining jars. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. Turn upright and allow to seal. Tighten rings on all jars. If any of the jars don't seal, simply store in the refrigerator once cool. The other jars can be stored in a pantry for 8 months to a year, if it lasts that long.

Asiago Sage Potato Gratin

This must be the week for comfort food. And this is definitely the food for comfort. I wanted to use up the rest of the fresh asiago cheese I used for the pasta, and this was a great dish. The nutmeg is a lovely addition, and the sage and asiago make a perfect complement to each other.



Asiago Sage Potato Gratin
2 tbsp butter
1/2 c onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp flour
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp white pepper
2 c soymilk
1 c asiago cheese, freshly grated
1 c breadcrumbs
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/4 tsp rubbed sage
2 1/2 lbs idaho potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8" thick

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a saucepan, melt butter. Add onions, and saute until golden. Add garlic, flour, bay leaves, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cook for 1 minute, stirring continuously. Slowly add soymilk, and bring to boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine, cheese, breadcrumbs, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and oil.
Remove bay leaves from milk mixture, and add sage, stirring well.
Layer 1/2 of the potatoes in the bottom of a well-oiled baking dish. Pour half of milk mixture over potatoes, and sprinkle half of the breadcrumb mixture on top. Repeat layers. Cover with foil.
Place into oven, and bake for an hour, or until potatoes are cooked. Allow to rest a few minutes after removing from the oven.
Serve and enjoy!

Oatmeal Cookie Granola
To me, this tastes exactly like an oatmeal cookie. It's got the oats, the vanilla, and the spices. Unlike my Gingersnap Granola, this one is definitely a sweeter granola. When you get that craving for something sweet, this is a perfect stand-in for a fat-loaded cookie.
This is also one of those blog posts when you wish you could attach a "scratch and sniff" section to it, because this smells simply divine while cooking.




Oatmeal Cookie Granola
4 c oats (or any combination of grains to equal 4 cups)
1/3 c flax seed (optional)
1/2 c brown sugar, packed
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
4 T butter
1/3 c honey
4 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine oats, flax, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. In a small saucepan, melt butter and add honey. Once it starts to simmer, remove from heat and quickly stir in extract. Mix well, and pour over dry mixture. Mix to coat thoroughly, and place on a greased cookie sheet. Place into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until done. Allow to cool, and store in an airtight container.
*Note - granola nuggets form better if you stir the granola as little as possible while baking, and don't stir it at all while it's cooling.

Creamy Asiago, Artichoke, and Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
Some days you just need a comfort food. The sun isn't out, there's a chill in the air, and all you want to do is eat something warm and creamy. That's where this guy comes in:



Creamy Asiago, Artichoke, and Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
1/2 lb farfalle pasta, prepared*
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c onion, diced
1/2 c red pepper, diced
3/4 c sundried tomatoes, packed in oil, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or more if desired)
1 (14oz) can artichoke hearts, diced
1 tsp flour
1 c Soymilk
1/2 c asiago cheese, shredded
1/2 c basil, chopped
3 green onions, sliced

Prepare pasta according to directions. In large pot, heat olive oil. Add garlic, onion, and red pepper, and saute until onions are translucent. Add sundried tomatoes, and saute an additional 3 minutes. Add pepper flakes, artichoke hearts, and flour, and saute 3 more minutes. Add Soymilk and cheese, and simmer until thicker. Remove from heat, add basil and green onions. Stir well, toss with pasta and serve.
Enjoy!

*if desired, 1/2 c from pasta cooking water can be used to thin sauce down once finished.

Polenta CrackersI love these crackers. They're nutty, flavorful, and are a perfect accompaniment to dips and spreads. Also, by simply changing the spices, you can make these to suit your tastes.


Polenta Crackers
1 1/2 c boiling water
3/4 c polenta meal or cornmeal
1 tsp mixed herbs (for these, I used an onion and garlic seasoning blend)
1/2 tsp salt
2 T soy margarine

Bring water to a boil. Add polenta and herbs, and cook until creamy. Remove from heat, and add salt and margarine. On a well-oiled cookie sheet, spread out batter until thin. Score into pieces with a sharp knife. Bake in a 350 degree oven 20-25 minutes, until crispy and brown. Cool and serve.

Greek Potatoes

I'm not really a sweets* person. I'm not crazy about cake or cookies or pie. But dangle something salty or carb-y in front of me, and you've got yourself a deal. These potatoes are the quintessential comfort food. They are baked to perfection, and the lemon mixture thickens up to a lovely coating for the potatoes. Of course the aroma while these are cooking is amazing.



Greek Potatoes
This recipe is courtesy of Moosewood Cookbooks

6 medium-size potatoes, cut into large cubes (about 3lb)
1/2 c fresh lemon juice
1/3 c vegetable oil
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 c hot water

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Combine potatoes - garlic in a baking dish, lightly sprayed with cooking oil. Pour hot water over and place into an oven. Bake an hour and a half, stirring every 20 minutes to prevent sticking. Add water if necessary. During the last 30 minutes of baking, allow water to evaporate. If desired, place under a broiler when finished baking to crisp up the potatoes. Serve and enjoy.

*Unless it's dark chocolate. If so, all bets are off.

Cranberry Upside-Down Gingerbread Cake

To celebrate "Monkey Love Day" today, I thought I'd take things to a sweeter side. It's also part of the "ARF/5-A-Day Round-up." (ARF stands for Antioxidant Rich Food)

This cake has just the right amount of sweetness, and not an overwhelming amount of spice. It's perfect if you don't want to do the normal decadence that's associated with this day.



Cranberry Upside-Down Gingerbread Cake
Topping
1/2 c brown sugar, packed
1/4 c butter, melted
8 oz whole cranberry sauce
1 (8 oz) can pineapple chunks, drained

Cake
1 1/3 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 c brown sugar, packed
1/2 c butter, softened
1/2 c dark molasses
1/2 c boiling water
1 egg, slightly beaten

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9" pie pan or square pan with cooking spray. Melt butter, and combine with brown sugar. Spread on bottom of pan. Arrange pineapple slices on top of sugar mixture. In small saucepan, warm cranberry sauce until . Drizzle sauce over pineapples.
In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients and stir well. Add remaining cake ingredients and blend well. Pour batter on top of fruit mixture, and place into oven. Bake 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Serve warm and enjoy.

Lentils with Bulgur Wheat and Carmelized Onions

This is one of the very few recipes that I haven't altered in some way. In this recipe, it's really the carmelized onions that do it for me. The overall spices of the lentils and bulgur are very mellow, and you almost just catch a taste of them, which allows the deep flavor of the carmelized onions to round out the flavor. I can't say this is a recipe that will be made on a weekly or biweekly basis, but the flavors are interesting enough to make it again.



Lentils with Bulgur Wheat and Carmelized Onions
1 cup dry green lentils, rinsed
3 cups water
1 cup bulgur wheat
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onions, finely chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch grated nutmeg
Pinch allspice
3 large onions, thinly sliced
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped parsley

In a medium pot, combine the lentils and water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover, and simmer until still firm and almost done, 15 to 18 minutes. Add the bulgur wheat and 1/2 teaspoon salt, cover, and remove from the heat. Let sit until the bulgur is tender and the water is absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes, adding more water is the wheat seems dry.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onions and cook, stirring, until very soft, 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, cumin, cinnamon, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, black pepper, nutmeg, and allspice, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the lentil and bulgur wheat mixture and stir well to combine. Remove from the heat.

In a large skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized to a very dark brown color, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Transfer the lentil and bulgur wheat mixture to a platter and top with the caramelized onions. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, to taste. Serve either hot or at room temperature.

Cilantro Jalapeno Hummus

I'm a huge hummus fan. Not only is it a fairly healthy snack, but it's also something that can be whipped up in no time. If you're still buying hummus, I beg you to try and make your own, and I promise you won't be disappointed.
This, is by far, one of my most favorite hummus recipes, and probably one of my most favorite recipes to make, period. I've converted many a non-hummus eater with this recipe.



Cilantro Jalapeno Hummus
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 (15oz) cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp lime juice
1/2 c good light olive oil
1-2 jalapenos, seeded and finely minced
3/4 c fresh cilantro, chopped

In a food processor or blender, puree garlic, beans, salt, and lime juice. Slowly stream in olive oil until well blended. Stir in jalapenos and cilantro. Allow a hour or so in the refrigerator for the flavors to meld. Serve with pita chips*, fresh veggies, tortilla chips, etc.

*Pita chips are another thing that are extremely easy to make. Spicewise, they can be taken in literally any direction. Usually, I cut mine in half, brush them with a good salad dressing (such as Ken's Northern Italian), place in a 350 degree oven, and bake about 10-15 minutes, flipping once or twice until crispy. Or you can spray them with a little olive oil cooking spray, and hit them with whatever spices you'd like.

Caramelized Butternut Squash

This was my first attempt at making butternut squash, and I was rather impressed with it. It's definitely a dish that speaks of cold weather and curling up next to a fire, and this should definitely be filed under the category "Comfort Food."



Caramelized Butternut Squash
1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2" pieces
4 tbsp honey
4 tbsp brown sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp rubbed sage
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c olive oil
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

In large bowl, combine all ingredients. Place into oiled baking dish, and place on lowest rack in a 350 degree oven. Roast 1/2-1 hour, until tender, stirring often. I then took mine out of the oven and placed under the broiler for a few minutes, to lend a crisper finish to the squash.
Serve and enjoy.

*I also had a smaller squash, and the cooking juices were a bit too thin for my liking. I strained my squash out of the juices, put them in a new baking dish. While they were under the broiler, I took the remaining marinade and boiled it in a small sauce pan until it was reduced to a lovely syrupy consistency. I then poured a bit over each serving, and was quite pleased with the results.

Toasted Rice with Spinach and Parmesan
This is a recipe that, depending on your menu needs, can be either a soup or a rice dish. I prefer mine right in the middle, still soupy enough it's not just rice, yet not enough broth to make it an outright soup. The flavors fit together very nicely, and toasting the rice gives it a great, nutty flavor.


1 c long-grain white rice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/4 c onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cayenne
6 c vegetable stock
2 c fresh spinach leaves, chopped
1/3 c freshly-grated Parmesan
1 tsp lemon zest

In a skillet, toast rice 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Be careful not to burn, and stir often. In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until golden, 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, salt, nutmeg, cayenne, stock, and rice and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer until rice is tender, about 12 minutes. Stir in spinach, parmesan, and lemon zest, simmer until spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes.
Serve and enjoy!

Gingersnap Granola


This recipe was based on this one. For the oats part, I'm sure you could substitute 4 cups of any grains, flax seed, nuts, etc, and it would still be good. I also upped the amount of the spices since the first batch lacked a bit in flavor. Also, if you like things sweet, you might want to consider adding more honey, as this was just perfect for me, and I prefer things less sweet.

4 cups Bob's Red Mill Cereal 5 Grain Cereal
2 Tbsp melted butter
1/2 c honey
1 Tbsp dark molasses
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Melt butter and mix with honey - nutmeg. Pour over cereal mixture and spread out on a oiled baking sheet. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, until toasty brown.
Cool and store in an airtight container.

Gratin of Squash, Peppers, and Corn with a Fontina Crust



I've had notes to make this recipe for quite awhile, but haven't done it, until today. And after tasting it, you can bet this will be made more frequently. This has plenty of great vegetables in it, and the cheese sauce and fontina crust round it out to a perfect vegetarian meal. Although the recipe looks a bit fiddly, I can assure you it's well worth it, and only took about 25 minutes from start to oven.

Sauce
2 1/2 tbsp butter
2 1/2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 c soymilk (room temp)
2/4 c cheese (I used a fontina and asiago mix, but I'm sure a lovely sharp chedder would hit it off as well)
1 tsp thyme
scant 1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Vegetables
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 pound yellow squash, cut into 1/2" rounds
1 pound green squash, cut into 1/2" rounds
1 c diced onion
1 c diced bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 c frozen corn, thawed (I used a white shoepeg)
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tbsp butter, cut into pieces

Topping
1 1/2 c breadcrumbs
1/2 c grated cheese
1 1/2 tbsp butter, melted



Sauce - melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk well, 1 minute. Whisk in milk, and whisk until boils, thickens, and is smooth, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and add remaining ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Vegetables - Heat 1 tbsp oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add half of the squash, and saute 4 minutes, until tender, yet still crisp. Transfer to large bowl and repeat with remaining squash. Heat 1 tbsp oil in pan and saute onion, peppers, and garlic. Saute 7 minutes, until tender. Stir in corn and rosemary. Transfer to bowl with squash. Mix in cheese sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread out in large baking dish. Dot with butter.
Topping - melt butter. Add cheese and breadcrumbs and mix well. Spread out on top of gratin.
Bake in 400 degree oven 20-25 minutes, until top is golden and bubbly.
Serve and enjoy!

Monday Mornings

I finally got off my arse and subbed to Bloglines for this blog. If you don't have a Bloglines subscription yet, and read more than 3 blogs on a regular basis, how are you living right now?? Seriously, check it out. It lets you know when your favorite blogs have new posts, so it eliminates the constant stalking, waiting, and wasting time.



Also, this is an excellent article on the benefits of increasing your vegetable intake, and on eating more of a vegetarian menu.

Later today, there should be a nice food-laden post for ya'll.

Curried Lo Mein
This is, by far, one of my favorite dishes to make. I found the recipe years ago in a magazine, and have changed and tweaked it according to my mood and what is available in my kitchen. This would also be fabulous with chicken for those meat eaters. Also, if you're low-carb and lovin' it, you can definitely leave out the linguine. Anyway you make it, I'm sure you'll love it.



Curried Lo Mein
8 oz cooked linguine
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp ginger, julienned
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp brown sugar
3/4 c vegetable broth
1 c carrots, matchsticks
1 1/2 c bell pepper, julienned
1 c mushrooms, sliced
1 c bean sprouts, fresh or canned*
1/2 c scallions, sliced
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, minced

Toss cooked noodles with sesame oil and set aside. Heat canola oil over medium high heat. Saute ginger and garlice for 30 seconds. Add curry and sugar, saute 15 seconds. Stir in broth and bring to a boil. Add carrots, peppers, and mushrooms. Cook for 1 minute, then cover and cook an additional minute. Add sprouts and scallions, cook 1 minute uncovered. Add noodles and soy sauce, cook 2 minutes. Add cilantro, mix well, and remove from heat. Serve hot and enjoy.

*if using canned bean sprouts, rinse well.