Vegetable Bibimbap

I'm always on the lookout for a great vegetarian dish, especially one that is both filling and enjoyed by all at the table. Tonight's dish comes from the September 2011 edition of Every Day Food: A Martha Stewart Magazine.

(Side note: I love Every Day Food magazine because its subscription is inexpensive (or often free), they cover 10 months a year (doubling up January/February and July/August), and the recipes are not only simple to make, but they generally follow what's in season, include fresh fruits and vegetables, and ingredients that are almost always readily accessible and generally inexpensive. To add to this, the magazine has little to no advertisements, which is unlike so many of the other so-called food magazines (i.e. Every Day with Rachel Ray or The Food Network Magazine, etc.) which tend to be filled with 90% ads and 10% recipes.)

Now, back to the recipe. Tonight we tried a Korean-style rice dish: Vegetable Bibimbap.

I was thrilled to discover this recipe because it turned out to not only be a filling vegetarian dish, but it was stocked full of fresh veggies that were readily accessible and ones my 4 year-old daughter loves to eat! (No bamboo shoots or cooked pineapple thank you very much!)

Because this is a recipe that I did not create I won't post it here, but instead direct you to the official magazine website where you can print the recipe for your own collection: Vegetable Bibimbap. I definitely encourage you to try it, it is delicious and simple to make.

Note: The only changes I made to the recipe were:

• I used Jasmine rice instead of white rice.
• I skipped the Sriracha sauce for serving and we used what we had on hand: Texas Pete hot sauce. It was fine by me.

Special Food Needs:

• For a vegan version of this dish omit egg.
• For a gluten-free recipe look for soy sauce that doesn't contain gluten.

Curry Pumpkin Soup

I'm always on the lookout for some new recipe to try. You just never know where you're going to find the next family favorite. I especially love soup and stew recipes when the weather turns cold. This is the perfect recipe for a chilly autumn evening.

I found this Curry Pumpkin Soup recipe while flipping through the October 2008 issue of Better Homes And Gardens Magazine at a friend's house. Luckily BH&G keeps a catalog of their recipes online so it was each to track it down. To print your own copy click on the picture below and follow the link to the BH&G website.


Overall I was pleased with how simple a recipe and how tasty the soup was. My three year-old wasn't a fan, but my husband and I really enjoyed it.

With the exception of orange zest and onions (which we never have in our house, my husband hates them) we had all the ingredients in stock. Right there that is a plus for this recipe. I hate it when you have to go hunting for rare ingredients. The recipe was easy to follow and made enough leftovers we easily got two meals from one batch. Of course if I had doubled we could have had leftovers to freeze, but I'm short on freezer space and with such a fast and simple recipe it won't be a big deal to make it again anytime we are looking for something like this.

I should note that I don't have a food processor, so I used my blender and that worked just fine.

Another great thing about this recipe is that it can be done as time allows. It's a quick recipe, but I started it earlier in the day as that is what my schedule allowed. I completed all of step 2 and left the soup to cool. Later I came back and finished step 3 and just before step 4 I completed the Orange-Cranberry Topper (Step 1). This worked well and dinner was ready when my husband walked in the door.

One other slight change, I only had 1 can of chicken broth, so I substituted 1 can of vegetable broth for the missing can. Which got me thinking.... taking out the other can this could easily become a vegetarian soup. If you substituted the butter and milk with something else it could even be vegan. Pretty versatile if you ask me!

Definitely a great dish, would make again. Great if served with fresh bread or rolls or cranberry orange muffins.

Fajitas! I Just Made Some Easy Fa-jiiiiiiiiiii-tas!

You know you want to belt that out to the tune of "Maria" from West Side Story.

In the summer, I put all my baking recipes away and start using my giant 12" high sides nonstick pan. You can make a lot of things in a pan like this and it's easy to clean up!

Fajitas are great because you can use up veggies that have been hanging around in your fridge, or just buy whatever is on sale. I usually use some combination of onions and bell peppers, and you can also throw in mushrooms, zucchini, summer squash, or whatever other vegetables you need to sneak in and use up. I used up a leftover steak and some purple cabbage with my onions and peppers in the above-pictured meal.

Easy Leftover-User-Upper Fajitas
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 Tablespoon oil
1 onion, chopped in half and then into eighths.
2 bell peppers (of whatever color), again, halved lengthwise and chopped into fat strips.
You can stop there. Or you can add another cup of chopped veggies.

2 pieces of leftover grilled chicken or steak, sliced. Or two steaks or boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into pieces. Or skip it altogether.

Seasoning:
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspooons cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt (I use less)
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or more...)
If you have cilantro lying around, chopped up (because you're making guacamole or something), you can toss some in as well.

Directions

1. Mix together seasoning ingredients in a small bowl.

2. Heat oil in large pan. Add vegetables and stir fry to nearly desired doneness over medium-high heat.

3. If you're making this meatless or using raw meat, skip this step. If you're using leftover meat, add it to the pan now - you're just warming it up.

4. Sprinkle about 2/3rds of the seasoning over the vegetables (and meat), and add about a 1/4 cup of water. Stir to evenly coat and let the water evaporate. Taste it and see if you want to add more seasoning. If you do, repeat step three with the rest of the seasoning!

5. If you're carnivorous, and using raw meat, take the veggies out of the pan, stir fry the meat, and repeat step three with the remaining 1/3 of seasoning. You can serve the meat separately or combine it with the vegetables.

Serve with shredded cheddar cheese (I know, it technically isn't done - but it's GOOD!), sour cream, and guacamole in burrito shells. And lime slices, if you're fancy!

For Jack (my 18 month old), I skip the burrito shell, cut everything up a little more, mix it together, and feed it to him like a casserole. When my husband saw that, he decided to eat his in a bowl without the shell too. So, gluten free option!

EASY "CHIPOTLE" GUACAMOLE (from the "Chipotle Fan" website)
2 Avocados
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (REALLY minced, if you're not into spicy)
1/4 red onion, minced
2 heaping tablespoons finely chopped cilantro (confession: I just chop it, stems and all, until there are no more leaves. And no one has died or gagged)
1/4 of a lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mash until smooth. Add additional lime juice or salt to taste.

Disclaimer: I'm originally from Minnesota. And Minnesotans voted Taco Bell their third favorite Mexican restaurant (I can't find the link, but it was in City Pages in 2007 or so). So that may explain some things.

Gazpacho

This gazpacho recipe is from Jaleo, a Spanish tapas restaurant in DC. I've had it in the restaurant and it is sublime! The chef gave out the recipe to the Washington Post several years ago, and I make it without fail every summer as soon as the real tomatoes are available. Last week I was seduced into buying a 20-lb flat of damaged/spotted tomatoes at the farmers market (only 69 cents/pound! and just as good as the regular ones once you cut out the bad spots!). Fortunately that impulse purchase coincided with record high heats, so I made two pitchers full of gazpacho in a short space of time.

I don't usually mess about with all the garnishes. Also I don't strain it, so it is literally something you can toss in the blender, blend, chill, and eat. Although last time I did make the croutons and they were great.

For the gazpacho:
10 (2 pounds) plum tomatoes, quartered
1 medium cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, or more to taste (THIS IS THE SECRET!! Rush out and buy some immediately!)
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, preferably Spanish (NOTE: I usually only use 1/4 cup or so. It's fabulously rich with the whole amount. Sublime, but not everyday fare.)
1 to 2 teaspoon salt

For the garnish:
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, preferably Spanish
1 slice rustic white bread
12 cherry tomatoes, halved (or quartered if large)
1 medium cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 pearl onions, quartered and separated into segments
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
Sea salt
4 chives, cut into 1-inch pieces

For the gazpacho: In a blender or food processor, add the tomatoes, cucumber, green bell pepper, garlic, sherry vinegar and water and blend until the mixture becomes a thick liquid. Taste for acidity (this will vary with the sweetness of the tomatoes) and add more vinegar if necessary. Add the oil and salt. Blend again briefly to thoroughly incorporate the oil. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a pitcher or large bowl. [I usually skip this step. Too much hassle.] Cover and refrigerate until cool, at least 30 minutes.

For the garnish: Meanwhile, in a small saute pan over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of the oil. When it is shimmering, add the bread and cook until golden on both sides, about 2 minutes. Break the bread into small pieces to form about 16 croutons and set aside.

To assemble the soup, distribute the croutons, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and onions evenly among the bowls and drizzle with sherry vinegar and the remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and chives. At the table, pour the chilled gazpacho over the garnish. Serve immediately.

Recipe Source:
Adapted from “Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America,” by Jose Andres (Clarkson Potter, 2005, $35).

Did I say "sublime" twice in the same post? Try it and see if I'm not justified in a little hyperbole.

Spinach, Chickpea and Potato Soup

First of all, I'm happy to be on board with the revived Marthas. I know most of you even if I haven't seen you in years... so hello!

In my mind (and probably in most of yours) there are three important meal elements often in tension with each other: good taste, reasonable cost, and ease/speed of preparation. I find that most meals succeed at two, but it's hard to manage all three. In my case, throw in multiple food allergies (gluten, eggs, dairy) and the third almost always gets sacrificed to the other two. Most of the time I don't mind because I like cooking, but sometimes I still want or need to make something quick.

This soup is one of my favorites, and counts as quick in my kitchen. It is also cheap, especially if you get your spinach in giant bags at Costco (and incorporate it into every dinner for a week. I didn't call myself the Spinach Monster as a child for nothing!) I clipped it out of the Washington Post 5 or 6 years ago and neglected to keep the original publication information, which pains my academic citation-obsessed soul. I did replace the original chicken broth with vegetable, so can I call it mine now?

Spinach, Chickpea and Potato Soup

1 T olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, chopped (about 3 T)
1/2 tsp ground allspice, or more to taste
6 cups vegetable broth (I like the Rapunzel bouillon cubes)
1 pound red or white new potatoes (or any kind except baking), cut into 3/4" cubes
1 15.5 oz. can chickpeas, drained, or 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
6 oz fresh baby spinach
Juice of one lemon
Salt and pepper to taste (The Rapunzel broth is quite salty.)

Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir just until it releases its aroma, about one minute. Add the allspice and cook for one minute; then add the broth. Heat until bubbles start to appear around the edges. Add potatoes and chickpeas. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium low. Cook at a gentle boil until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the cubes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Turn off the heat and add the spinach, which will wilt in the heat of the broth. Add the lemon juice and stir. Serve immediately.