Mujaddarah When You Can't Even

Almost a year since my last post? Really? Wow. Time flies when you're.. well, when shit happens. Can we agree 2014 never happened? Cooking-wise, the last fiscal quarter sure didn't happen; from Thanksgiving till New Year's I pretty much lived on cereal and pumpkin pie. My New Year's pseudo-resolution is to get an effing grip and get back to making Food-with-a-capital-F.

But, as my Inner Brat constantly reminds me, it's JANUARY. Getting Inner Brat to agree to expend any mental or physical energy before the Spring Equinox is a lot like dragging a screaming toddler through a grocery store. (That's not even really hyperbole. It really is that exhausting.)

How to break the deadlock of me vs. me? I discovered a great way to force the issue: Hit myself square in the checkbook, because I am cheap. I stopped by Trader Joe's this morning and forced myself to pay money for stuff I swore I'd never buy prepared because it's so easy and inexpensive to make. Yikes, it really stung! But if Inner Brat balks at cooking staples that usually cost me pennies, then I am going to buy them cooked until she recants. Trader Joe's frozen brown rice and ready-to-eat lentils to the rescue.

I took this in 2012, no lie.
I did the onions separately that time.

So, mujarddarah? WTF is that? It's a potential comfort food for us rice 'n' bean lovers; just lentils, brown rice, and a whole mess of super-caramelized onions. Super simple, way greater than the sum of its parts. Sure, it's carb-rich, but it's a better choice than, say, cereal and/or pumpkin pie.

The shopping list is ridiculously short: Onions (I buy frozen chopped now. Yes, I am that lazy), lentils (the little green ones, aka French green lentils, work best), and brown rice. If you're feeling the veggie love, add a couple of carrots and a handful of chopped spinach. Spices are your call, but I like cumin and smoked paprika. If you buy the three main ingredients frozen/pre-cooked, you can have this put together before Inner Brat realizes she ain't gettin' Lucky Charms OR Costco pumpkin pie tonight.

Google mujaddarah (or m'jaddarah) and you'll find a butt-ton of recipes with innumerable variations, but the one point of agreement is the heavily-caramelized onions. The lentils and rice, no matter how exquisitely spiced, ain't nothing without those onions.

Mujaddarah (for When You Can't Even)
Adapted from: everyone, mainly this one
Makes: 2-4 servings
Takes: < 30 mins with precooked rice and lentils

Ingredients
1 to 2 cups sliced or chopped onion (frozen is fine)
2 cups cooked brown rice
2 cups cooked lentils (preferably French green)
1 Tblsp ground cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
Olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper
Water
1 cup chopped carrot (optional)
A handful or two of chopped fresh spinach, or even an equivalent amount of frozen chopped spinach (optional)

Method
Heat a non-stick skillet (large enough to hold 4+ cups with room to spare) over med. heat. When hot, add a tablespoon or two of olive oil and the onions, sprinkle with a little salt. Spread them out in a uniform layer and turn the heat down a bit so they can cook slowly without constant attention.  Stir occasionally while you do other things.

Chop the carrots and spinach, if using. If the lentils and/or rice are chilled or frozen, nuke them in the microwave to get them to at least room temperature. If using carrots, add them and a little more salt when the onions are mostly cooked through, stir to combine, then spread out in a uniform layer. Let the onions (and carrots) cook slowly as long as you can. At a minimum, the carrots should be cooked through and the onions should have some good brown edges. If you have the time and patience, let them go until the onions are really soft and caramelized.

When you can no longer stand the suspense, bump the heat back to med., add the spices to the onions (and carrots), and stir to combine. Clear a spot in the center of the pan and add another tablespoon or two of olive oil, add the lentils, rice, 1/2 cup water, some more salt, and spinach (if using). Stir to combine. If the mixture doesn't seem to have enough liquid to allow it to heat through without scorching, add another 1/4-1/2 cup water. If you added spinach, remember that it will release some liquid. Partially cover the skillet, lower the heat to med. low, and heat the mixture through as long as you can, stirring occasionally, for at least 10 minutes. Add ground black pepper and more salt, if needed.

If it's dinner for one, good luck trying to eat no more than half of it in one sitting.

Is it authentic? No. Is it satisfying? Oh hell yes. Most importantly, Inner Brat is eating real food, although she may get Lucky Charms for dessert. Just a little. Small steps.

Müceddere: Rice Pilaf with Onions and Stuff

Can't believe February is halfway over already. I'd best get something posted! I hope two posts per month doesn't turn out to be an overly optimistic goal. That would be embarrassing.

Mmmmm... Müceddere!

This recipe is a newcomer to my bean-and-rice repertoire. I've not cooked much Middle Eastern cuisine, and I've been pleased to discover some very tasty offerings, especially lentil dishes. Lentils are lovely because they (usually) take way less than half an hour to cook.

And that brings up a point I am learning (the hard way, as usual) about beans. If you are cooking dried beans/legumes/whatever, the stated cooking time is a suggestion, a rough guess at best. I think Those Who Write Recipes put a number down because it would be silly to say the cooking time is anywhere from an hour to a day, which, in some cases, isn't far from the truth.

You may be thinking, "But why so variable? It's just a bean. How hard can it be?" Ha! That is exactly the point: How hard (read: old) is your bean?

I am not a bean scholar, but the age of a bean can affect its cooking time, even with as tiny a morsel as a lentil. Unfortunately, there might be no way to know how old that bag of lentils in the store is. Older beans are drier and they take longer to cook. That's one of the reasons bean recipes usually direct you to soak beans overnight, to level the playing field.

Long story short, Know Your Lentils. When uncorking a new bag of lentils, allow plenty of time to cook that first batch. Let them simmer 15 mins. then start checking. Make sure there is no crunchy stuff left in the middle before calling them done. Store the rest of the bag in a sealed container. Lentils are usually exempted from the pre-soaking requirement, but if you find your lentils take much longer to cook than advertised, pre-soak those bad boys next time.

Coincidentally, last night on America's Test Kitchen I happened to catch the last few minutes of some bean-cooking tips, just in time for this post! Brining beans (soaking in salt water) is supposed to be even better than soaking in plain water. I must try that.

Recipe? Oh yes, the recipe. There is a recipe, I promise. Couple of notes: This is relatively simple, seasoning-wise, so the caramelized onions, cumin, and smoked paprika are key. You can't go wrong with more onions or cumin. Be sure to see the note at the end about slicing onions.

Müceddere: Rice Pilaf with Onions, Lentils, Chickpeas, and Orzo
Adapted from this recipe
Makes: 2-4 servings
Takes: 45 mins., depending on how cooperative the lentils and onions are.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked brown rice, warmed

1/4 cup lentils (preferably green)
1/4 cup orzo pasta

2-4 Tblsp oil
1.5 cups sliced onion* (1 med. lrg.)
2 tsp sugar
1 Tblsp lemon juice
Salt & black pepper, to taste

1 - 15 oz can chickpeas, drained
1 - 15 oz can's worth of tomato products (diced, crushed, sauce, or a combo)
1 Tblsp ground cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley (opt.)

Method

Add the lentils to 2 cups water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer until they are just about done, 15 mins. in a perfect world. Add the orzo and some salt, bring to a boil, and cook for about 8 more mins., or until the orzo is just done. Drain and set aside.

Heat the oil in a med. saucepan (I use a deep 12" skillet) over med. heat. Add the onions, sugar, a 1/4 tsp of salt, and black pepper to taste. Cover the pan and sweat the onions over med. low heat until they're tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the lid, turn the heat to med., and stir in the lemon juice. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden brown. Moderate heat for a longer time produces better results. If you need to raise the heat to get them done NOW, just don't let them dry out, scorch, or burn.

When everything is ready, stir the rice, lentils, orzo and chickpeas into the onions. Add the tomatoes, cumin, smoked paprika, and salt to taste. Mix well. Add a couple Tblsp of water, cover the pan, and let warm through over med. low heat for at least 15 mins. Stir occasionally, don't let it scorch.

Top with chopped cilantro or parsley if desired.

Copyright 2012 America's Test Kitchen

* Random Food Tip 

This is another trick I just learned from America's Test Kitchen. If you're cutting onions to caramelize for onion soup or a dish such as this, slice them pole-to-pole (end to end) instead of crosswise (around the equator). They will be shorter and prevent the sensation of trying to eat really long, stringy noodles.

It amazes me that after cooking for decades, I can still see or read a tip that is so obvious it really makes me wonder why the hell I didn't already know that. This onion tip was one. At some point I'll show you what I just learned about vegetable peelers. That was a real "D'oh!" moment.

Oh, I almost forgot...
Enjoy!

Project Weeknight: Kinda-Brazilianish Beans & Rice

Since I stopped posting regularly I've had a devil of a time keeping up with new recipes I've tried, what I've liked, changes I made, and so on. I tried a new dish tonight that worked out so well that my son declared that it's going into the regular dinner rotation. I can't let this one get away!

It came to me via my friend Matt's blog* (where he linked to this recipe.) It's one of those dishes that is many times greater than the sum of its parts. Simple, fast, and delicious, just the way I like it.

Pinto beans, which we know and love, and bacon combine to almost remind one of the classic canned bean & bacon soup, always a favorite. The rice, cooked pilaf-style with onion, is a nice surprise.

I can rarely make a recipe as written, and this was no exception. Since this was our main dish, I used more bacon than called for but drained off half the fat before adding the garlic. You could omit the oil altogether and just rely on the bacon grease. I doubled the beans and added some refried beans (hey, they're pintos too!) instead of the traditional spoon-mashing step. I also used pre-cooked brown rice* I had in the freezer instead of cooking white rice from scratch, and it worked out great.

But be sure to read through the original recipe so you get the idea of how it should be done, ok? Check out Matt's blog, too, because he and his wife Holli are hilarious, adorable, and amazing. And I'm not even related to them, so you know it's true.

Geez, it's already taken me almost as long to write this as it did to make it, so let's get to it already!

Kinda-Brazilianish Beans & Rice, aka Matt Beans
via The {UN}eventful Life, adapted from Authentic Brazilian Cuisine

Serves 2, with some beans leftover.

Brazilianish Rice

1 Tablespoon oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups pre-cooked brown rice, thawed if frozen
1/4 - 1/2 cup water
Salt to taste

Heat oil in non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until it just starts to brown. Add rice, stir until heated through. Add water, bring to simmer. Reduce heat, partially cover, and cook (stirring occasionally) until water is absorbed. Remove from heat, cover, and set aside.

Brazilianish Beans

1 Tablespoon oil (opt.)
2 teaspoons (1-2 cloves) minced garlic
2 (thick) or 3 (thin) slices (uncooked) bacon, diced (or even more if you're so inclined)
2 cans pinto beans, rinsed well and drained
1/4 - 1/3 can refried (pinto) beans (opt.)
1/2 - 1 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat, add bacon, and cook until almost done. Add garlic, cook another minute, then add pinto beans. You can mash some -- maybe 1/4? -- of the pintos with a spoon to thicken the dish, or you can add the refried beans. Add water, bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, for at least 15 minutes, longer if you have time, to let the bacon-y essence permeate those beans. Add more water if necessary to keep it from scorching. The "gravy" should be at least as thick as heavy cream. Salt and pepper to taste.

I served it with completely un-traditional grated Monterey jack cheese and diced tomato. I'd have added avocado if I'd had one. We eat a lot of faux-Mexican so I knew these familiar touches would bring the dish squarely into my son's comfort zone. And it did!

* Oh yeah, about the rice: The amount of water you'll need depends on how 'cooked' your rice is. I make large batches of brown rice, portion it in two-cup bags, and stash them in the freezer. I use a straight 2:1 water:rice (brown rice usually calls for more water) so the rice grains are intact and are not clumpy at all, just barely done, I suppose. I used 1/2 cup of water in my pilaf and probably could have used more. If your rice is fully done and the grains are "blown-out" you may have to modify the pilaf-ing of it. Or just follow the original recipe. It's all good. Oh, so good.

GRAVY!

I don't go to IKEA very often (it's over an hour away, and somehow it costs me $500 each time) but I freaking love the meatballs, so I've taken to buying a couple bags of them when I visit. First time I did I also picked up a pouch of their gravy mix... and lost it. So I have these meatballs cooking away, AND NO GRAVY! What to do?

Why, search the interwebs, of course.

It's taken a few iterations, but here's what I have settled on as my favorite version:

Close-enough Swedish Meatball Gravy
(cobbled together from various recipes)

NOTE: Technically you're supposed to de-glaze the pan the (from scratch) meatballs were cooked in with the stock but that hasn't happened yet at my house.

1/2 cup dairy*
(*half&half, cream, or most of a 5 oz can of evap. milk <-- what I use)
2 Tblsp flour
1 cup beef stock*
(*I use a cup of water with good-quality beef soup base, aka bouillon)
1 Tblsp soy sauce
 Salt & Pepper


(opt. step 0.) De-glaze the meatball pan with the stock. Ha.

Heat the stock to boiling, Add flour to dairy, whisk till blended. Add slurry and and soy sauce to stock, return to boil, and simmer till thickened. Add s&p to taste.

Soy sauce? Yes, soy sauce.  Believe it or not, it shows up in multiple "authentic" recipes I found. I have also discovered that I like the evaporated milk version the best. Besides, evaporated milk is the perfect emergency coffee creamer, so go get some right now. Some recipes add a little nutmeg. Seems like a good idea, but I haven't tried it yet.

Make up some boiled or mashed potatoes, crack open the jar of lingonberry jam,and you're good to go. If I'm feeling generous, I'll saute up some cabbage to stand in for a vegetable.

Enjoy!

Bestest Leftover Soup

I keep forgetting to tell y'all about this: I discovered some while back that if you have, say, two cups of leftover Riso alla Pitoca and a quart or so of chicken stock, you can have a pretty damned amazing chicken and rice soup in a matter of moments. Who knew?

I'm sure it would work just as well with the Risotto di Zucca, or with any risotto, I suppose.

So there's your first tip of the year, and it's still January! Hope I can get some more out for you soon. It's been way too long, hasn't it?

Quick draw

Traffic on the way home. Walk in the door twenty minutes late.

Drop the purse on the counter, turn the oven on to 400 degrees. Hack a head of cauliflower into submission, drop on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, slide in the almost-preheated oven. Set timer for 15 minutes.

Open a caffeine-free diet soda and check email.

Wander back into the kitchen. Fill a saucepan with water and a generous pinch of salt. Cover, set on stove. Turn burner on high. Count out two servings on Costco frozen ravioli, chip a chunk of frozen pesto out of the container in the freezer and plop it in a small bowl.

Timer goes off. Stir cauliflower. Set timer for ten more minutes.

Stare off into space for a few minutes.

Water boils, ravioli goes in, pesto goes in microwave for ten seconds. Timer goes off, cauliflower comes out. Stir ravioli. It only takes about four minutes. Yell at the boy to wash his hands.

Dinner's only ten minutes late, hooray! And no drive-thrus involved. I call that a win.

Where is that saddle, anyway?

Is it still blogging if I only post every five months?

Not even going to bore you with what's been going on around here, but overall it has been OK. Not easy, but OK. And I am thrilled with OK.

I did drop a few pounds (depending on what day it is) and I manage to put something resembling food on the table most days. I've succeeded in cutting my fast food consumption way down (except for the Diet Coke) but the green smoothies fell off the list pretty quick. These days I'm using the Costco canned weight loss shakes for lunch. Perfect nutrition it's not, but if it keeps me out of the Burger King drive-through, I'm all for it.

The newest issue is that my son started ADD meds about month ago. It had made his school life SO much easier, however... it has cut his appetite. This is a problem because at 11 years old, he was 5'1" and 90 lbs when he started and he hasn't even begun having the massive growth spurts I know are coming.

So I'm trying to lose weight while trying to get him to gain. I'm cooking more meat (not a lot, but more than I was) and am sticking to things I know he likes, since without the driving force of hunger, he will simply not eat something if he's not attracted to it. Plus, he does leave more food on his plate, which means my bad habit of eating what he leaves behind has become an even worse habit.

And desserts. Did I mention desserts? Let's not go there right now, OK?

Anyway, I have a couple of new Project Weeknight recipes that I can count on him eating most of, most of the time. This one came about because I bought a box of 24 packages of ramen noodles at Costco. No, I don't know why.

Quasi-nutritious Ramen Soup

Per serving:
1 package of ramen noodles, flavor packed discarded
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 Tblsp. veg oil (or olive oil, or butter)
1/2 small onion, thinly sliced or julienned
1/4 cup julienned bell pepper strips (color of your choice)
1 cup (handful) thinly-sliced cabbage
1 sm.-med. carrot, thinly sliced or julienned
splash of sherry or white wine (or water)
salt & pepper to taste
soy sauce, chili garlic paste to taste (opt.)

Bring chicken stock to boil, add noodles and cook per package directions.

Heat oil/butter in a skillet on med-high. Saute the onions and bell pepper until slightly caramelized. Add carrots and cabbage, salt, pepper, and a splash of sherry/wine/water. Cover and let vegs steam for 3-4 minutes or until desired texture. Check seasoning of vegs and adjust.

To serve: Pour noodles and stock in bowl, top with vegs and desired condiments.

Notes:

• I am just guessing at the amount of vegs. Use whatever amount/proportions look right to you.


• Sometimes if I'm in a hurry I will nuke the carrot slices for a minute to get them started.


• Red pepper flakes would be nice. Maybe add those with the onions and bell pepper.


• I keep meaning to get some edamame to put in there.


• Instead of cabbage, you could throw a handful of fresh baby spinach in the bowl on top of the noodles.


• Hey, how about tofu cubes, or cooked chicken?

Not going to win any awards, but I figure it's a half-step up from Blue Box and frozen peas.
 

Why I >heart< the interwebs

(Like the new banner? That's what happens when I'm stuck at my desk with a paint program on my computer and no real work to do.)

How did I ever manage to cook before the interwebs were invented? I constantly scour my favorite food blogs and websites for recipes. I keep track of them in a blog that I use as a virtual shoebox. I write them up here so I can find them when I lose the scribbled-up printout in the pile that is my hard-copy recipe collection.

BTW, do people even say 'printout' any more?

The interwebs came to my rescue again, when I was trying to figure out what to cook for my first dinner post-freakout, I went into an absolute search frenzy and ended staring at a wonderfully simple veggie chili recipe on Chow.com. Even though I already have many vegetarian recipes, I felt the need for something new, and it fit the bill perfectly.

Of course I had to fuss with it so it's not quite so basic any more. Here's what I got.

Post-Freakout Bean & Veggie Chili
Adapted from The Basics: Veggie Chili on Chow.com

1 Tablespoon oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled & diced
1 stalk celery, chopped
6-8 oz mushrooms, finely diced (opt.)
1 bell pepper, seeded & diced (I prefer non-green)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1-2 Tablespoons ground cumin (to taste)
1-3 teaspoons chili powder (commercial mix or otherwise, to taste)
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder (opt.)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika (opt.)
1 med. zucchini, diced
1 - 16 ounce jar salsa, you choice of heat
3/4 cup water (more if needed)
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
2 - 15 ounce cans of any kind of beans, drained & rinsed
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a pot over med. high heat. Add onions, celery, and carrot, season with a little salt & pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions start to brown.

Add garlic, mushrooms, corn, and bell pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms start to brown. If the corn starts to brown, that's even better.

Add spices, stir until spices are warmed and fragrant.

Add the zucchini, salsa, water, tomato paste, and beans. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer, and simmer for 10-15 minutes (minimum) until veggies are all cooked and chili reaches desired consistency. Adjust seasonings.

Serve with avocado, grated cheese, sour cream/yogurt, whatever floats your boat. I often serve chili over rice.

Notes:

• The longer you simmer, it the better it will be.


• I used a can of pintos and a can of black beans, but just about anything will work. Well, I'm not so sure I'd use chickpeas, but that's just me.


• The original recipe calls for canned tomatoes but they are usually too tart for my guys. My new trick is to use salsa + water + tomato paste and seems to do the trick.


• I added diced mushrooms for a fake ground beef feel. You can leave them out if your audience objects.


• I like to add smoked paprika for that smoky flavor without the heat of chipotle, but YMMV.


• I have been known to thicken chili with a little masa harina/water slurry right at the end. Didn't do it this time, but I might next time.

So there. It's a fair amount of chopping, but it did get done in time to qualify as Project Weeknight.

Everyone ate it. And that's why I >heart< the interwebs.

Killer 'quiles

I often go on these random blogwalks that land me in the most unexpected places. A most recent one landed me on this recipe for Chilaquiles, which I learned is a Mexican comfort food, a way to use up stale tortillas, and often eaten for breakfast. Kind of like French toast (aka pain perdu) without the syrup.

I am always looking for an excuse to eat corn tortillas so I had to give it a try. I knew frying the tortilla chunks and making homemade salsa would not be Project Weeknight-friendly, so I opted for a bag of tortilla chips and a jar of a nice-looking salsa verde (green salsa).

Assembly was ridiculously simple. I dumped the salsa (16 oz jar) into a skillet and heated it to simmering, then added chips until it seemed like it wouldn't take any more, about probably five ounces by weight. I started to worry it would be too dry so I added about a 1/3 cup or so of chicken stock. I turned the chips over to be sure they were coated, then let them soak and heat through for a few minutes.

I had sold it to my son as a way to eat nachos for dinner, so I carefully moved the mass into a small casserole dish, added a layer of dry chips, and grated a half cup or so of Monterey jack cheese on top. I slid that into the toaster oven until the cheese melted. I served it with our favorite black bean and corn dish, avocado, and chopped tomato.

I'm sure it was not the most health-conscious dinner I've served (carb, much??) but it was pretty darned good. I could probably bake some plain tortillas next time, but the lure of opening a bag of tortilla chips and a jar of salsa and calling it dinner is pretty irresistible.

Hey, I haven't posted our now-standard black bean and corn concoction. I'm sure I learned it as a component of other recipes (like maybe this or this?) but it has kind of morphed into its own thing. We now serve it any time we make Mexican food. It pretty much takes the place of ground beef for us.

Black Beans and Corn
1 cup frozen corn
1 Tablespoon oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 bell pepper (red, yellow, orange), chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1-15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

Heat a skillet really hot, then add the frozen corn and bell pepper and toast until, uh, it starts getting brown and toasty. Set aside.

Heat the oil in the skillet. Saute the onion and garlic, add the corn and bell pepper, then add the spices and cook until fragrant. Add the beans and heat through.

Anyway, Husband and son both loved the chilaquiles. I thought my son might balk at the green salsa but he didn't even seem to notice. I may try my trusty Pace Picante next time.

Next time you're tempted to toss a bag of chips and a jar of salsa on the table for dinner, try chilaquiles instead. It's much more civilized.
 

Project Weeknight Update: Faster Santa Fe Rice & Beans

OK, I haven't been real fired up in the cooking department, but I did figure out a way to make a fast, easy dinner even faster. You know the saying about if you want some thing done efficiently you should find a lazy person to do it? Well, that would be me.

Last night I wanted to make my Fast Santa Fe Rice & Beans but I didn't have a can of tomatillos, and I didn't feel like chopping an onion, but I did have a jar of mild salsa in the pantry. I knew from my experience with this quinoa soup recipe that salsa is simply tomatoes, onions, garlic, peppers, and herbs already chopped up for you. Score!

Even Faster Santa Fe Rice & Beans
(Based on this and this)

Serves 4

3 cups cooked brown rice, reheated
1 bell pepper, red, orange, or yellow, diced (Opt., but I had it on hand)
3/4 cup frozen corn kernels
1-2 teaspoons chili powder
2-3 teaspoons ground cumin
1 - 16 oz jar salsa (I use Pace Mild because it's what we like. Shut up.)
1 - 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1-2 teaspoons lime juice (opt.)

Heat a dry skillet on medium high heat until fairly hot (no oil), then toss in the corn and bell peppers. Toast them, stirring and shaking the pan, until you start to see scorched bits.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the dry spices, stirring to coat. Then add the jar of salsa and the beans. Bring to simmer, reduce heat, and let simmer for a few minutes. Add a little water as needed.

Add the preheated rice, stirring to combine, and heat through. Again, add water as needed, just enough it keep the rice from drying out. Taste, add salt and lime juice as needed.

Serve with some grated cheese and diced avocado if you have it.

Have I told you my favorite way to reheat rice? Stop me if you've heard this one: Place rice in a microwave-safe dish. Add a splash (no more than a tablespoon or so) of water per cup of rice. Cover (but not so tight that the lid will pop off) and nuke on high in two minute increments until the rice is nice and steamy throughout.

I wonder how many nights a week I can get away with making this dish?

Canning the cans

Back when I revamped my eating style, I stopped buying canned soup. It was a pretty easy step actually; I can't remember the last time I cooked with canned soup, and I quickly found suitable replacements for my old standby lunches: tomato soup (Note: do NOT add the cloves!) and bean & bacon soup.

But every once in awhile, there is a dish that screams for canned cream of mushroom soup. I grew up in the Midwest -- canned cream soups are part of my heritage. So what to do? It took a little research to realize that a well-flavored white sauce like you use for a pot pie fills the bill nicely.

Husband made the recipe below for us the other night and it took all of my willpower to not scarf up the remaining three servings (of 6) all by myself. What can I say? Sometimes a gal just needs her a big mess of some tuna hot dish.

No-cream-soup Tuna Noodle Casserole
(Adapted from The Complete Book of Pasta and Noodles by the Editors of 'Cook's Illustrated'.)

For topping:
1 cup bread crumbs, crushed potato chips, saltines, grated cheese, or whatever your native culture requires. If you're using bread crumbs or saltines, combine crumbs with 1.5 Tablespoons of melted butter (in addition to the butter below)

3/4 lb noodles (uncooked weight)
2 Tablespoons olive oil (or your cooking oil of choice)
1/2 pound button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thin
2 medium onions, finely diced
1 non-green bell pepper (or 1 cup frozen pepper strips,) diced.
4 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup AP flour
3 cups chicken stock
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, minced (opt.)
12-14 ounces canned solid white tuna, drained (oil or water packed, or pouches)
2 cups frozen peas

Heat over to 350 degrees. If using bread crumbs or saltines for topping, you can bake the butter-crumb mixture in oven 15 mins. or so if desired.

Cook noodles per package directions in salted water. Dump the peas into the pot for the last minute or so, then drain and pour noodles and peas into a 13" x 9" baking dish.

While noodles are cooking, saute the vegs: Melt 2T oil in skillet (med. heat) and saute onions, peppers, and mushrooms until onions are soft and mushroom liquid evaporates (~10 mins.?) Add salt and pepper to taste, add to noodles and peas in baking dish.

Melt remaining 4T butter in skillet (med. heat) and cook until foaming stops. Whisk in flour and stir constantly fir 1 to 2 minutes until flour starts to turn golden. Still whisking, slowly add chicken stock. Raise heat to med. high, bring to simmer, and cook until sauce thickens, 3-4 minutes.

Remove sauce from heat and add the tuna, lemon juice, parsley, and salt & pepper to taste. Pour over contents of baking dish and stir gently to combine. Sprinkle with desired topping and bake for ~15 minutes until heated through and the topping is golden.

TIP: To meet Project Weeknight guidelines, you can skip the baking dish and the oven. Just dump the drained peas and noodles back into their pot and add the other ingredients as you go. If desired, sprinkle with some grated cheese or crumbled potato chips when you serve.

No, it's not as quick as the canned soup version, but even with all of the butter, it's a heluva lot better for you and it tastes pretty damned good. Burp!
 

Project Weeknight: Riso alla Pitoca (rice with chicken)

I never watch Lidia's Italy on PBS but I just happened to catch an episode this weekend. She was doing rice dishes with risotto-type rice (arborio or whatever) that didn't require the traditional risotto cooking technique. The last dish she showed was 'a traditional chicken and rice'. It looked so simple yet so amazing. It made me salivate.

So I did what I always do: I headed to the intertubes to find the recipe. Oh, imagine my frustration when I discovered that not only was it not to be found, but it didn't even seem to be listed in the table of contents of the companion book to the series!

Luckily the episode aired again later that day and I managed to record it. I pored over it, trying to recreate the recipe. The big sticking point was how much rice and stock she used. She didn't say and I haven't made enough risotto to know.

Well, now it became a point of honor. I would figure out that recipe! It took several more intertube searches and a lot of guessing, but I made my interpretation of it last night and it was fab-ulous.

It could be considered flexitarian because I used so little meat but it's neither whole grain nor high in vegetables. Oh, and it's fairly butter-intensive. I figure it's a once-in-a-while treat.

Riso alla Pitoca (Pitocca?) (Beggar's Rice)
(adapted from Lidia's Italy TV show, ep. Notto Risotto)

Serves 3

Pestata
1/2 lrg or 1 small onion, roughly chopped
1-2 carrots, peeled & roughly chopped
1-2 stalks celery, cleaned & roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
Aim for approximately equal amounts of onion, carrots, and celery. Toss all in food processor and chop until fine but not completely pulverized.

Main Ingredients
2 Tblsp butter
2 chicken thighs, boned and cubed (See note)
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup white wine
4 cups chicken stock, hot
1.5 cups rice (arborio, other short grain?)

To Finish
2 Tblsp butter, room temp.
grated parmesan cheese to taste
chopped parsley
salt & pepper to taste (See note)

Heat 2 Tblsp butter (or swap out some for olive oil) in a heavy-bottomed pot. The heavy bottom is important as it will keep the rice from scorching during cooking.
Add pestata, (salt,) cook for a few minutes.
Move vegs to side, add chicken, (salt,) cook until starts to brown.
Add bay leaf, wine, bring to boil, simmer until alcohol smell is gone.
Add 3.5 cups of the hot stock, bring to boil, add rice, (salt.)
Cover, reduce heat, simmer for 15 minutes. If you're worried about scorching, stir every 5 minutes or so. Check rice for doneness after 15 minutes. Cook 5-10 minutes more if needed.

When rice is just done:
- If it's too wet, remove lid and simmer until it reaches desired consistency.
- If it's too dry, add some of the reserved hot stock. It will continue to thicken as it sits after adding the cheese and butter.

Remove from heat and add 2 T butter, stir in vigorously. Lidia called this step 'mantecare'
Add parmesan cheese, chopped parsley, stir.

Serve immediately, as this does not improve over time.

NOTES
For 4 servings, use 2 cups rice, an extra bit of wine, and 5+ cups hot stock, reserving 1/2 cup for adjustments at the end.

I used only maybe 4-6 ounces of meat, max. You could use up to 1 pound, depending on how meaty you want it.

I salted as I added each step to the pot and didn't need to add any salt at the end.

As for Project Weeknight status, it ended up on the table half an hour late. Mostly it was because I decided to use chicken thighs from a whole chicken I had broken down for stock, and getting rid of all the little gross tendony bits was a huge time sink. Next time I'll just buy boned skinned thighs. Otherwise I think I could have had it on the table in 45 minutes.

As for acceptability, both my guys loved it, which is always good. There were two other recipes in the episode, rice with sage (riso alla salvia) and rice with squash (risotto di zucca). Yes, they're on my list.

Enjoy!
 

Unventing Faux Mexican Rice

Admin note: Since I'm only posting sporadically, it doesn't make sense to stick to the 'day of the week' titles, so I hereby decree that I will, from this day forth, use descriptive titles on all my posts. Yippee! Release the pigeons!

Yeah, I'm still here, and yeah, I'm still struggling. I'm still eating flexitarian, mostly ovo-lacto-vegetarian (not much lacto, tho) with occasional meat. And I have gained back just about all the weight I lost last year.

All together now: Heavy sigh.

A big component of my problem is my activity level. There are a few quasi-valid reasons (read: lame excuses) that I won't bore you with, but overall, even though I am eating pretty well, I am simply taking more in than I'm expending. Yeah, I could stand to tweak a few things, food-wise, and from time to time I actually try to do so, but until I increase my activity level I'm pretty much screwed.

One major disappointment: I still can't break my romaine aversion. I don't seem to be able to eat it more than once a week. I am pretty upset about that. It seemed such an elegant solution!

But enough about my most recent failures, let's talk about food.

I have a new recipe for you! To be precise, the dish is not new but I have found a quick and easy way to approximate it. And I can't even say for sure I'm the first person to think of this, although I haven't seen it anywhere else (that I remember). Let's borrow a term from the online knitting community and just say I 'unvented' it. That's shorthand for 'I discovered this recipe/pattern/technique but can't say definitively that no one else has ever come up with it before, so I'll claim credit only for my incarnation of it.'

Recently I fell in love with that pink rice stuff you often see in Mexican restaurants. I think it's technically called Spanish Rice. I learned Spanish Rice recipes call for white rice to be cooked in broth and stock, which -- white rice issue aside -- just wouldn't to work for me on a weeknight. I usually keep pre-cooked brown rice frozen in 2 cup portions since brown rice takes approximately forever to cook. So what could I do?

In reviewing the ingredients list, I realized I had a lot of the things pre-mixed at my fingertips. Cooked tomatoes, onions, spices... sounds like jarred salsa to me! It only took a few trials to get it just the way I like it. It ain't perfect, but it sure is quick.

Faux Mexican Rice

2 cups pre-cooked brown rice, at room temperature
1/2 cup jarred salsa, your preferred level of spice*
Splash of water

Place rice in a microwave-safe container. Add a splash of water if the rice is a little dry. Add salsa, combine. Add more salsa until it's the color you want. It should be a little saucy; remember the juice will get absorbed by the rice.

Cover and microwave for two minutes. Stir. If it's not piping hot throughout, nuke for another minute or so. Stir and check for piping hot-ness. When it's steaming hot, remove from microwave and let sit, covered, for a few minutes.

The goal is to heat the rice to steaming to, uh, loosen up the starch in the rice, then let it cool down to give the rice a chance to absorb the liquid.

* I like the jarred Pace Picante because, well, I'm a Northerner. Also, it has a nice sauciness to it that works well in this application. And it comes in mild, which my son will eat.

Serve and enjoy!

Now that hot weather is a distant memory (heavy sigh again) I'll probably be posting more often, so come back and see me soon, OK?

Project Weeknight: Black-Bean Burgers

My SO found this recipe one evening when we were completely clueless as to what to make for dinner. They were so quick to put together, and you know what? They weren't bad.

We made it as written (except subbing parsley for the - ptui! - cilantro).We had some problems keeping them from falling apart, and they were a little bland, but acceptable for something that had a prep time of less than ten minutes.

I went back and read the reviews after. Subbing an egg for the mayo as many reviewers mentioned would probably solve the integrity problem. Sauteed garlic and onion would help. One reviewed mentioned adding some corn. I liked that idea a lot, especially some corn that's been pre-roasted in a skillet... maybe with some red peppers... and avocado on top... mmmm!

Didn't get to try these on my son, but I think they will pass that test, especially with the mods. This one is definitely worth a do-over

Wednesday

Discovery of the day: Tamale pie

Finally got around to trying the Polenta Tamale Pie I mentioned a few months back and it was a grand success, even if it wasn't quite Project Weeknight-worthy as written. I made a few mods and was very pleased with the results.

Polenta Tamale Pie
Adapted from Epicurious.com

Filling:
2 15-oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1½ Tablespoons chili powder
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1 16-oz bottle salsa (I used mild)
1 15-oz can refried beans
1 to 2 cups* liquid (water, veggie stock, chicken stock)
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley (optional)

2 pounds fresh-cooked polenta or 2 one-pound rolls prepared polenta, sliced into 1/3"-thick rounds (I used quick-cooking polenta)
2 cups shredded cheese (I used monterey jack)

* The more liquid you add, the longer it will take to simmer to the desired thickness. More simmering = deeper flavor. You need at least enough to keep it from scorching.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine first six ingredients (beans, spices, salsa, liquid) in a saucepan over medium-high heat, mix well. Simmer until mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Add cilantro/parsley, season with salt and pepper.

Oil 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Spread (or place) half of polenta (slices) in dish. Top with filling and half of the cheese, then spread (place) remaining polenta (slices) and cheese.

Bake, uncovered, until heated through and sauce bubbles, about 35 minutes.

Since there are just three of us, I made a whole batch of filling and used half of it in a 9"x9" pan. I froze the rest of the filling. Next time I'll just make a batch of polenta to use with the thawed filling.

Since the oven time is what knocks it out of Project Weeknight contention, next time I'll try this: Make the polenta, press it into a hot oiled skillet and fry it a little to get some crunch. Plate individual servings of the polenta and top with a scoop of hot filling and cheese.

Acceptability was high -- it got thumbs up from my guys. If you love cornmeal and beans -- and who doesn't? -- I predict it'll be thumbs up for you too.

Project Weeknight: Pasta e Fagioli

Ha! Project Weeknight is back, in a big way. I tackled Pasta e Fagioli last night. I combined elements of two recipes and came up with something I was pretty happy with.

The dish came together very quickly, but I sabotaged myself by pretending I could make yeast buns from scratch in time. I couldn't, and dinner was a good half-hour late because of it. Not that it wasn't worth it, though.

But first, the recipe!

Pasta e Fagioli
Adapted from The Innocent Primate Vegan Blog and Rachael Ray

2 Tablespoons oil/butter (your choice)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
6 cups total stock/water
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
2 cans (15 oz) cannellini or kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 tsp fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 small zucchini, cut in quarters lengthwise then sliced 1/4"
1/2-3/4 cup small pasta (I used small shells)
1/2 cup frozen peas
Salt and black pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese, grated

Heat oil and/or butter in soup pot, then add onions and a dash of salt. Saute until soft, then add garlic, carrots, celery, and red pepper (if using). Saute for another few minutes until celery starts to look translucent.

Add stock/water, tomato paste, beans, herbs, and a few grinds of black pepper. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for five minutes. Add pasta and zucchini, simmer another five minutes. Add peas and simmer until pasta is done. Adjust salt & pepper.

Serve with grated parmesan.

Sara at The Innocent Primate recommends cooking the pasta separately and adding it to each bowl if you're going to store leftover soup, because the pasta will continue to soak up liquid and grow if left in the soup. I leave the pasta in, but only because I take the leftovers for lunch and I appreciate the more stew-like consistency the next day.

I used all chicken stock, a quart of Evil Corporate stock and two cups of homemade. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it was almost too chicken-y. Next time I'll use a cup or two of water.

As I mentioned above, the 'fazool' cooked up very quickly but we had to wait for the bread. I'll be writing about that next, because it came out pretty well despite the rush job.

How good was it? My son gave it an 'all thumbs up'. I'll take that, even if he did eat around every single piece of zucchini in his bowl. Oh well.
:)

Project Weeknight: St. Paddy's Day Feast

I read somewhere along the way that corned beef isn't a traditional Irish dish. I was a little disappointed, but not enough to stop me from making it yesterday to acknowledge my teensy-tiny bit of Irish heritage. I haven't cooked any corned beefs for many, many years, but I remembered it would take several hours. I couldn't leave it on the stove or in the oven all day, so the crockpot seemed to be the way to go.

I chopped up an onion and a few garlic cloves the night before and stashed them in the fridge. Tuesday morn, I dumped those in the pot, added the corned beast (trimmed of some of the fat), the little seasoning packet that came with it (allspice? peppercorns?) and a couple of bay leaves. Finished it off with a cup of Guinness and some water, and let 'er rip. I kept in on high for the hour or so that I was home, turning it to low before I left.

I returned ten hours later, sniffing nervously for the scent of charred flesh, only to be greeted by the lovely aroma of a slow-cooked brisket. I was afraid that it might not have cooked long enough to fall apart but my SO discovered that wasn't a problem when he went to pull it out of the put and it broke in two. So I didn't screw it up after all!

Instead of the usual accompaniments, I got a wild notion to serve Colcannon, where the cabbage and potatoes and carrots are combined into one dish. We have it occasionally and I can't believe I haven't written it up for Project Weeknight, although I did mention it here and here. Go figure.

So here's my latest version of an old Irish dish.

St. Paddy's Day Colcannon
inspired by several recipes

Serves 3-4

4 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, diced
1/4-1/2 cabbage, thinly sliced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1/4 tsp mace
butter, milk, salt, and pepper as needed

Put the potatoes on to cook in the usual manner for mashing.

Meanwhile, heat 2 Tblsp oil or butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and a dash of salt and saute until onions are translucent. Add cabbage, carrots, mace, and another dash of salt. Stir until everything is coated with fat, then lower heat and cover, steaming for 5-10 minutes until carrots are cooked through, stirring occasionally.

Mash potatoes in the usual manner, stir in veggies. Check seasoning.

Serve, and be disappointed when there aren't enough leftovers to fry up in patties; only just enough for one lunch the next day.

The amount of cabbage is dependent on how much you like cabbage. I had a large cabbage and used only 1/4. But I was only serving three. I think we've decided we like the cabbage better than the kale. If I wasn't serving it with corned beef, I would have used a slice of bacon for flavor.

Dinner was on the table on time, and there was enough Guinness left for us each to have a small glass. And it was good.

I also made Irish soda bread but there was no way we'd have room to eat it with dinner so we had it for dessert, spread with butter and honey. It was just as good as it sounded.

A Project Weeknight-compliant St. Pat's Day feast! Who'd'a thunk it?
 

Project Weeknight: Quinoa Soup w/Avocado & Corn

Oops! Almost forgot this one. I moved in with the SO this last weekend. Friday night, the night before we got the U-Haul, we wanted something quick, easy, and decent for dinner. We knew we'd be eating out a lot over the weekend and wanted something we could make with mostly stuff on hand and little fuss.

Enter Quinoa Soup with Avocado and Corn. I spied it on the Cheap Healthy Good blog, which adapted it from this Seattle Times article.

You gotta love a recipe with a mere handful of ingredients. Broth, check. Quinoa, check. Corn, check. Salsa, check. Cilantro, blech! no way. All we lacked was an avocado, which was easily obtained, and we were golden. (What? You don't have quinoa on hand at all times? Shame!)

It cooked up in maybe 20 minutes total, almost no time at all, as advertised. We even had a little left which we put away for Saturday's lunch.

And Saturday is when we learned the secret, alternate, unspoken name of this soup: The Soup That Never Ends. The quinoa had soaked up the remaining broth overnight, requiring another couple cups of stock to return it to soup status. At that point, what had been maybe enough for one serving grew into enough for another two full servings. In fact, there was a little left but I insisted we finish it so we wouldn't have to repeat the process on Sunday.

Tasty, quick, and cheap, if you can find avocados at a reasonable price. I didn't get to serve it to my son, but I'm still going to give it a Project Weeknight full thumb's up.

Project Weeknight: Veggiecakes

I did this one over a week ago, and darnit if I can't remember now how the final recipe evolved. The original inspiration came from Karina's Kitchen, (don't they look fabulous?) but I ended up using techniques and proportions I gathered from other sources, most likely one of Mark Bittman's books.

I *love* potato pancakes, hash browns, and all sorts of those fried-potato-y kinds of things. When I saw Karina's recipe, I knew it would be a great excuse to make potato pancakes and serve them as the main dish. Score!

Here's what I ended up doing:

Veggiecakes
Inspired by Karina's Savory Vegetable Pancakes and probably a Mark Bittman recipe

2 med. potatoes, grated (I used yukon gold, scrubbed, unpeeled)
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 med. zucchini, grated
1/2 onion, grated
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 eggs,lightly beaten
1/3 cup AP flour
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
salt & pepper to taste

Combine grated veggies in a colander and let drain, squeezing out as much liquid as you can. In a mixing bowl, combine veggies with remaining ingredients. Mix well, adding salt & pepper to taste.

In a heavy frying pan (cast iron works well), heat about 1/4" of oil until a small bit of batter dropped in immediately starts to fry. Scoop batter into pan in golfball-sized scoops, just a few at a time. Leave lots of room between them. Flatten them to about 1/2" thick.

Cook several minutes. Don't turn them until they are very nicely browned, like in Karina's picture. Peek if you have to. Flip, then cook on the other side for a comparable amount of time.

Repeat with remaining batter.

Serve with eggs, or with a little sour cream, or some drained yogurt or other soft cheese.

Next time I might try the sweet potato and maybe the cabbage as Karina mentioned.

The verdict? It got a huge thumbs up all the way around the table. This definitely is on the repeat list!

Project Weeknight: Pumpkin & Black Bean Soup

Wow, I have been slack this week, haven't I?

This Pumpkin & Black Bean Soup from Epicurious definitely meets the criteria for a Project Weeknight dish, with a few caveats. Earlier this week we made it pretty much as written, sans cilantro (bleck!), and we had to use full-fat coconut milk instead of light. The result was w-a-a-y too thick, under-beaned, and under-seasoned, but it had potential. I do blame the wrong coconut milk for some of the problems, but not all.

Also, we ended up having to make a double batch (long story involving a gigantic can of pumpkin) so we had tons of it left over. Last night I took a couple of cups of it and modified it into something that got big thumbs up.

Taking hints from the comments on the original recipe, I sauteed half an onion and a clove of crushed garlic until mostly done. I added another can of black beans (drained), a good tablespoon of cumin, a few teaspoons of a mild chile powder, and a splash of stock and simmered for a few minutes. Since I was adding it to an already-cooked soup, I wanted it to be mostly done.

Then I added a couple of cups of the leftover soup and enough stock to thin it to where I wanted it. Simmered that for awhile and added some salt, and that was that.

It came out pretty darned good, even more so with chopped avocado on top. Got a thumbs up from the kid and the SO, too.

It'll be awhile before I can recreate this version from scratch and write up the recipe - I still have two more 'soup base' portions in the freezer to use up. Hope we don't get sick of it!