elleCUISINIERS

I've been trying out new vegan recipes lately. I spent two years with no meat, and I think I can do it again! Pregnancy has ruined my eating habits... but this recipe is really good. Packed with protein and fiber from the quinoa, and all those delicious phytonutrients in the broccoli! (From vegcooking.com)

1 medium onion, diced
3 Tbsp. crushed or minced garlic
2 lbs. broccoli florets
1 lb. extra-firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 & 1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (I omitted this, personal preference)
3 Tbsp. corn starch (I omitted this too, because I forgot to buy it; I did
use a little flour for thickening)
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 cup water

• Place the onion and garlic in a wok or large sauté pan and cook until the onion just begins to turn translucent. Add a little water, as needed, during cooking to prevent sticking.
• Wash and separate the broccoli florets and thinly slice the stems. Add the broccoli, tofu, ginger and cayenne pepper to the pan and cook until the broccoli starts to become tender.
• Mix together the corn starch, soy sauce and about 1 cup of water. Add the soy sauce mixture to the vegetables and continue cooking, stirring continuously. When the sauce thickens and thoroughly coats the vegetables, remove from the heat. (Stir in additional water, if needed, to adjust the thickness of the sauce.)



• Serve over brown rice (or quinoa for protein boost).

Use the leftover ingredients from the black bean burgers to make some homemade salsa. This is my own recipe, and it beats any canned salsa out there.

Homemade Black Bean Corn Salsa with a Cilantro-Lime Kick

1 can diced, fire-roasted tomatoes with green chiles (I used Trader Joe's brand)
Half a red onion, diced
1 cup corn
1.5 cups black beans (use dried beans, let soak overnight, bring to a boil and simmer for about an hour or so)
Handful cilantro, chopped
Juice of two limes
Couple shakes of garlic powder
1 tsp. cumin

The fire-roasted tomatoes add quite a bit of spice and the lime really brings out the flavor.

These are SO. GOOD. I've dabbled in making my own veggie burgers, and I think I found the best recipe around. It's from Veg Cooking

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, minced (I left this out. We're not big on spicy hot)
2 cups black beans
1/2 cup corn
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. cumin
2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup flour

•In a saucepan over medium heat, in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, sauté the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and jalapeño for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

•In a mixing bowl, mash the black beans, then add the sautéed vegetables, corn, and bread crumbs and mix well. Season with cumin, cilantro, and salt and mix again.

•Shape into 6 patties, then coat each in flour.



•Place a pan over medium-high heat and add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Cook each patty for about 5 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned.



Makes 6 small patties

These delicious burgers were loved by all (two of us). They are really flavorful and substantial, I think even the heartiest meat-eater will like them! Top the burgers with cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and lime mayo (we just squeezed lime juice and mixed it in with the mayo, or you could just squeeze a little lime juice on top). We served them with corn on the cob. Yum!


(and yes, our kitchen is also our bedroom. Ignore unmade bed in background.)

Really simple, really tasty, really good for you.

1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 T. olive oil
4 C. chicken stock
4 C. water
2 t. dried rosemary or 1 T. fresh rosemary
4 roma tomatoes, sliced into 1/4" rounds
1 lb. fresh spinach
salt and pepper to taste

In a soup pot and over medium-high heat brown the onion in olive oil. Add chicken stock and stir to loosen any bits left on the bottom of the pot. Add the water and the rosemary, salt and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes, add the tomatoes. Cook an additional 5 minutes, add the spinach and cook another 5 minutes. Serve with oven roasted potatoes or hearty slices of pumpernickel toast topped with melted muenster cheese!

I had a craving for carbs and blue cheese and this was the result.

6 small red potatoes, sliced in 1/4" rounds
2 large sweet potatoes, chopped into thick sticks

Sauté the potatoes in 2 T. of butter over medium heat. Season to taste with salt, pepper and rosemary. Cover with lid and cook until fork-tender.

Serve with crumbled blue cheese. I prefer any sort of Danish blue cheese. YUMMY!

Ever thought Indian rice, Moroccan Chicken, and homemade carrots with an American twist would taste great together? Well they do! Here's the three recipes that will change your life if you love ethnic food.

Apple-Ginger Carrots
4 cups chopped carrots, uncooked
1 red apple, cored and sliced THIN

SAUCE:
1/2 tsp chopped (TINY) fresh ginger
1/4 TBS butter
2 TBS honey
3 TBS brown sugar
1 TBS granulated sugar
4 cups water

Preheat oven to 375*

In a pyrex casserole pan sprayed with PAM lay out chopped carrots and thinly sliced red apple slices.

In a saucepan boil sauce ingredients. Pour over copped carrots and apples. Bake at 375* for 1 hour or until apple slices have dried out and carrots are cooked. DO NOT BURN.

Saffron Rice

1/2 tsp saffron threads (try to find fake saffron as real saffron is one of the most expensive spices around!)
3 cups boiling water
3/4 cup ghee or vegetable oil
1 large onion chopped
1 1/2 Basmati rice
1 tsp cloves
4 tsp cardamom
1 tsp salt

Place oil, rice and spices in a sauce pan and coat. Then put the mixture and the water into a rice cooker and start on the chicken...

Moroccan Chicken

1lb chicken breast
4 tsp Ras el Hanout
1 TBS olive oil
1 yellow onion chopped
2 beef bouillon cubes
3 cups water
2 TBS honey

-Mint leaves for garnish... actually an important ingredient!

Ras el Hanout
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves

Combine ingredients in a saucepan and boil. Remove chicken from pan, drizzle with sauce from pan and garnish with mint.

When including asparagus in pasta or other dishes, cook the spears first. If you like to serve asparagus tips as a side dish, this recipe is a tasty way to use the leftover stalks. Source: RealSimple.com DELICIOUS!!!!
1 pound asparagus
1/2 pound thin spaghetti
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 14 1/2-ounce can chicken broth
4 ounces goat cheese
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat a large pan of lightly salted water to boiling over high heat. Peel the asparagus stalks and trim the ends. Cut the stalks into 2-inch pieces. Blanch in boiling water 3 minutes or until bright green and crisp-tender when tested with a small knife. With a slotted spoon, remove the asparagus and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook according to the label directions until al dente. Drain.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Blend in the flour with a whisk. add the broth and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens. Blend in the goat cheese and the lemon peel.
Toss the spaghetti with the asparagus, sauce and half the Parmesan. Serve with the remaining Parmesan and freshly ground black pepper.
Yield: Makes 4 first-course or 2 main-dish servings
NUTRITION PER SERVING: CALORIES 388(0% from fat); FAT 13g (sat 8g); CHOLESTEROL 29mg; CALCIUM 182mg; CARBOHYDRATE 49g; SODIUM 432mg; PROTEIN 19mg; FIBER 3g; IRON 4mg

You may never go to Krispy Kreme again...these are that good. The recipe hails from The Fanny Farmer Cookbook which describes these doughnuts as having a "fine, creamy crumb".

**NOTE** The temperature of the oil is critical for the right flavor, texture and just so you don't BURN them!....make sure to keep a cooking thermometer at hand.

0.5 C. Milk
0.5 C. Sugar
2 t. Baking Powder
0.25 t. Nutmeg (special, secret ingredient)
0.5 t. Salt
1 Egg, beaten
1 T. Butter, melted
Mix the above together in a large bowl and gradually add 1.75 C. white flour until dough is firm enough to handle yet as soft as possible. Cover the dough and chill 1 hour.

Turn out on lightly floured board, knead a few minutes. Roll out to 0.5" thick. Use a doughnut cutter (or cookie cutter and the end of a turkey baster for the middles) to cut out the doughnuts. Let the cut doughnuts rest for a few five minutes while you begin to heat the oil.

Using a heavy bottomed saucepan and a thermometer, heat a few inches of Canola Oil to 360*F and make sure the temperature does not go above this while cooking (if it does lower the heat for a minute or so). Fry a few doughnuts at a time for just over a minute on each side or until golden brown. Let cool on paper towels. Sprinkle with sugar or dip in ganache like I did (pictured).

This recipe is easily personalized, but amazing as it is. Play with the flavors all you like!

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds fresh broccoli, cut into bite size pieces and cooked to taste
1/3 cup butter
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup salted cashews

Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat, mix in the brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, pepper and garlic. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat. Mix in the cashews, and pour the sauce over the broccoli. Serve immediately.

This seems like a lot of work, but it's not so bad and totally worth it in the end. Promise.

Ingredients:

3/4 pound shallots, halved lengthwise and peeled
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste
2 pounds beef tenderloin roast, trimmed
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 slices bacon, diced
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
In a 9 inch pie pan, toss shallots with oil to coat and season with salt and pepper. Roast until shallots are deep brown and very tender, stirring occasionally. (About 30 minutes)
In a large roasting pan, set over medium heat on the stove top, sautee bacon until golden. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels.
Pat beef dry; sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper. Add beef to roasting pan; brown on all sides over medium high heat.
Transfer pan to oven. Roast beef until meat thermometer inserted in the center reaches the right temperature (about 125 F for medium rare- about 25 minutes)
Transfer beef to platter and place roasting pan over high heat on the stove top. Add broth mixed with tomato paste and bring to boil.
Transfer to a saucepan, and bring to simmer. Mix 1 1/2 tablespoon butter and flour in small bowl to form smooth paste and whisk into broth mixture, simmer until sauce thickens. Add the remaining butter, shallots and bacon. Season with salt and pepper.
Cut the beef into 1/2 inch slices and spoon sauce over each slice as you serve.

Originally Posted on Design*Sponge Online
Recipe and Photography by Tracy Bull of Happy Owl Glassworks

Tracy is the owner of Happy Owl Glassworks and has a studio outside Boston, MA. In addition to glass and illustration, she dabbles with many different fine crafts. When she’s not working with her business, her other part-time job is being a mother. She loves to work with food and looks forward to the day she can share that skill with her daughter.

Chocolate Bread Pudding with Cardamom Whipped Cream

A few notes, first off: This recipe can be changed on a whim to suit your fancy! Add nuts, citrus zest, berries or anything, really (just add these at the end step with the chocolate chips). You could also do sourdough for a completely different flavor. For a truly decadent version, use chocolate cake in place of the bread—it is delicious!

Bread Pudding:

3 c. Milk (I use 2%)
4 oz. Unsweetened Chocolate, chopped into chunks
2 T Butter
1 c. Sugar
2 tsp Vanilla
1 c. Cream
4 Eggs
1 Loaf Challah or other sweet bread*, crusts removed and the rest ripped into chunks
1 c. Chocolate Chips

Preheat your oven to 350°. Butter a 9” x 11” pan and set aside.

In a saucepan, heat the milk, unsweetened chocolate and butter. Stir occasionally over medium-high heat. Once it gets near melting, whisk it so that it mixes well (but don’t whisk it to frothing). Stir in the sugar and set aside. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, cream and vanilla. Whisk in the milk mixture and crumble in the bread. Now stir in the chocolate chips. Pour this into your pan. I do a ‘water bath’ for the pan: put a small layer of water in an 11” x 14” (or so) baking sheet, and put the bread pudding pan in the baking sheet (like it’s swimming!). Now bake for about an hour or until it’s set in the center. Cool for about another hour before cutting. Refrigerate. You can eat it cold as I like to, or it can be re-heated for a chilly winter night. Whatever your preference, it goes great with…

Cardamom Whipped Cream:

1 c. Heavy Cream
1-2 T Sugar (or to taste)
1/4 tsp Ground Cardamom (or to taste)

Mix the sugar and cardamom in a small dish. Put the cream in a bowl and, with the whisk attachment of Kitchenaid or mixer, whip. Add the sugar mixture while it’s whipping and continue whipping at a high speed until peaks form (you can “under-whisk” them so that it is more of a sauce, if preferred). Now garnish your delicious bread pudding with a dollop or two of the cream. Enjoy!

--
I plan on trying this out, TONIGHT!

Originally published by the Food Network Kitchens

4 sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 red onion, minced
1 (12 oz.) can of solid white albacore tuna in water, drained
1 rib celery, chopped
1/4 C. pitted niçoise olives (kalamata are a great substitute)
1 T. capers
2 T. EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1 t. finely grated lemon peel
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 T. chopped fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
**Serve with fresh greens and a crusty, whole-grain bread


Cover the sun-dried tomatoes with hot water in a bowl to soften for at least 15 minutes before chopping. In the mean time, mix together the onion, tuna, celery, olives, capers and toss to combine. Add the tomatoes, olive oil, lemon zest and juice, and basil and toss again. Season, to taste with salt and pepper. Serve cold with the greens and bread, if desired.
--
"A" and I practically licked our plates clean!! So fresh, yet satisfying and filling. YUMMY!

2 sticks butter
1 C. brown sugar
enough saltine or club crackers to line a standard cookie sheet with a lip/edge
12 oz. chocolate chips

**Note** With any type of candy making, be sure to be exact with your times and temperatures.

Preheat oven to 400*F. Melt the butter in saucepan over medium heat. Line cookie pan with crackers. Add sugar to butter and bring to bubble. Stir for 3 minutes exactly; remove from heat. Pour mixture (SLOWLY) over crackers and spread carefully to coat all the crackers. Pop into oven for 7 minutes exactly. Turn off oven, pull pan out, sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the baked cracker/toffee combo, then slide back into oven.

After another 7 minutes or so, pull pan out and use spatula to spread out the now softened chocolate chips over the baked toffee/crackers. Allow to cool to room temperature, refrigerate until hardened and break like peanut brittle. Wrap up cute with a bow for a tasty gift!

Recipe submitted by AJ Hunter of Lexington, VA

1 2lb. pork tenderloin
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 cup water
3/4 cup red wine
3 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons soy sauce
pepper to taste

Place the tenderloin in a slow cooker with the soup packet. Pour water, wine and soy sauce over the top, turning the pork to coat. Carefully spread garlic over the pork, leaving as much on top of the roast during cooking as possible. Sprinkle with pepper, cover and cook on high for 4 hours. Serve with cooking liquid on side if you want.

I left this in for an extra 30 minutes on low and then let sit on a plate for about 15 minutes before slicing.

Recipe and photograph by M. Masanga-Thakur of Lexington, VA.
6 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil --OR--sundried tomato pesto
2 tbs of chopped sun-dried tomatoes
3 cloves grated garlic
1 tbs red onion
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 French baguette
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

A tuscan variation on focaccia.
Pronounced "ski-ah-CHA-ta," this dish is a Tuscan variation on focaccia. Try it with pecorino cheese and a glass of Valpolicella.

Ingredients

Sauce:

• 2-4 red chilies (or substitute green), depending on desired spice level (you can also leave out the chili for an extra mild curry)
• 4 shallots (or 2 small cooking onion)
• 2 thumb-size piece ginger, sliced
• 6 large cloves garlic
• 2 tsp. ground coriander
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. fresh nutmeg (or substitute cinnamon)
• 6 Tbsp. fish sauce (available at Asian/Chinese food stores)
• 2 tsp. turmeric
  
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 8 fresh or frozen kaffir lime leaves, snipped into small pieces with scissors (discard central stem)
• 2 cans coconut milk
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice (or juice from 1/2 lime)
• 2 Tbsp. ketchup OR 1 Tbsp. tomato paste + 1 tsp. sugar

Soup:

• 1 Smallish size pumpkin (smaller than your head but larger than your hands put together)
• 1 lb. Chicken breast
• 1/3 cup jasmine rice
• 3 small yellow potatoes
• 2 carrots
  

PREPARATION:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.

2. Using a sharp knife, cut a lid off the pumpkin. Scrape out the seeds and threads inside and discard.

3. Rub the butter around the inside of the pumpkin or spray PAM and season generously with salt and pepper.

4. Simmer sauce ingredients until warm.

5. Dice chicken, potatoes and carrots, pour all ingredients including sauce and 1/3 c rice into pumpkin.

6. Cover with its lid, then wrap foil loosely around it, taking care not to spill the contents. Stand it in a roasting tin and bake for 1¾-2½ hours until the inside is tender.

Serve as a soup or over cooked jasmine rice.

Submitted by J. Howe, Irmo, South Carolina

Eggplant
1 medium eggplant peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch slices
1 tablespoon corn oil
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
Filling
2 teaspoons corn oil
1 small spanish onion
2 serrano peppers, chopped
1 small green bell pepper
1 tomato, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
Fixings
6 flour tortillas
1/4 cup salsa verde or salsa

The Eggplant:
Brush the eggplant with oil, sprinkle with oregano and salt. Let sit 20 minutes at room temperature. Either grill or broil a couple of inches from element for 5-7 minutes on both sides. This can be done ahead.

To make Filling: Heat oil over medium heat. Add the onion, chilies, bell pepper and sauté for 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and sauté for another minute. Chop the eggplant and fold into the vegetable mixture. Wrap in tortilla and top with salsa.