Savory Herb Bread

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! We hosted a couple friends again this year, though it was a lot tighter fit then in our previous apartment in Bushwick! I made a pretty good spread, including turkey and gravy, garlic mashed potatoes, corn bread stuffing, some other assorted veggies and a salad, and a pumpkin pie. I think this may be the first year I've managed everything without stressing out and getting everything done at the same time on schedule! So for that, I was proud. 4 times is the charm apparently. And considering the size of my tiny Brooklyn kitchen now, that is no small feat! :-)

In any case, the new thing I added to the menu this year was bread from scratch! I've been wanting to make homemade yeasted bread for awhile now, but have never gotten around to it. I've done pita bread and pizza dough, but not actual loaves of bread. I spotted this recipe in my Cafe Brenda cookbook and it sounded lovely for a Thanksgiving meal, so I went for it. This was probably the last time of the season to get fresh herbs at the farmers market, so it was especially great for that!

Though bread making takes awhile, it's not active cooking for the whole time, mostly you just have to wait for things to rise. So, for a Thanksgiving cooking day, this was perfect to throw together, leave it alone for a few hours, and then pop in the oven.

And, it was DELICIOUS!



Savory Herb Bread
Cafe Brenda Cookbook

Makes two loaves

1.5 Cups warm water
1.5 TBS active dry yeast (about 1.5 packets)
1/4 cup honey
4 - 4.5 cups flour
2 tsp chopped fresh chives
2 tsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
up to 2 TBS other chopped herbs such as marjoram, basil, or oregano (or slightly less dried)
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS oil

Add the warm water and yeast to a large bowl and mix together until the yeast dissolves. Add in the honey and stir well. Add in 2 cups of flour and mix together. Set aside the mixture while you chop all the herbs. Then add in herbs, salt and oil and stir. Then add the remaining flour 1 cup at a time. Once the dough has come together, turn onto a floured work surface and knead well for a few minutes. Place in an oiled bowl and cover. Let rise in a warm place for an hour. Punch the dough down and knead a couple times for air bubbles, then separate into two loaves. I did one circle flat loaf and one regular bread loaf, as we only have one rather decrepit loaf pan. (Santa! Hint: we could use a new loaf pan! :-) ) Place the loaves either on a buttered cookie sheet or in a loaf pan. Cover and let rise for another 45 minutes to an hour.

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes. (Note: Our oven runs quite hot, and I peeked in at about 20 minutes and the dough was already starting to brown. I turned the heat down to about 325-300 and it turned out well. So be sure to keep an eye on things once you start to bake.)

Curried Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup

So the past two days were pretty grey and drizzly here in the city so I figured it'd be the perfect excuse to make some warm, delicious soup. I positively love soup on a cold day, and this hit the spot. This soup also makes a TON! So, lots of leftovers for lunch! Alex said this is one of his new favorite soups ever. (And since we now both work right next to the most awesome soup place ever, that's a mighty big compliment!)

Curried Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup
Cafe Brenda Cookbook

1 large onion, diced
6-7 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup peeled and finely minced ginger root
olive oil
1.5 TBS curry powder
1 chile pepper (or jalapeno) minced
1 cup diced carrots (which I think I forgot, opps!)
1 bell pepper, diced
5 cups (about 3-4) sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 14oz can coconut milk
2 cup dried lentils
8 cups veggie stock
juice of 1 lime
1 bunch cilantro, minced

Add onion, garlic and ginger to a large pot with a bit of oil. Saute until softened. Add the sweet potato, peppers, carrots, and curry powder. Saute about 5-10 minutes. Add lentils, coconut milk, and stock. Simmer covered about 30-40 minutes until lentils and potatoes are cooked. Add lime juice and cilantro just before serving.

Enjoy!

Pasta with Broccoli, Walnuts and Edamame!

In need of an easy, healthy, tasty dinner? This totally hit the spot and was great to throw together for a weeknight meal!

Hurray for Moosewood Cookbooks from the library!

Also, I promise hopefully soon once I finally finish plowing through my mountain of photo editing I will have more exciting posts for you besides just recipes!

Pasta with Broccoli and Edamame
Adapted from Moosewood Simple Suppers: Easy Meals for the Weeknight Table

3/4 bag of whole wheat rotini pasta
3 cups-ish broccoli chopped into smaller pieces
1 cup frozen shelled edamame
1 shallot, finely chopped
4-5 cloves, minced
2 tsp mix of dried herbs (basil, oregano, thyme)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
olive oil
sea salt
parm or romano cheese for serving

Cook pasta to al dente per package instructions. While the pasta is cooking, add the garlic and shallot to a deep skillet and sautee with olive oil. Add the brocolli and a half cup of water. Cook over high heat for about 2 minutes, then add edamame and herbs and salt to taste. Stir to combine, add a bit more water as needed. Cook about 5-7 minutes until the brocolli is bright green and steamed crisp.

Combine pasta in a serving bowl with veggies, nuts and a few tsp of olive oil. Toss to combine. Serve topped with shredded cheese is desired.

YUM!


(Hopefully my flash will be out of the shop soon and I can take more normal photos again!)

30.

On this today.

may my mind come alive today
to the invisible geography
that invites me to new frontiers
to break the dead shell of yesterdays
to risk being disturbed and changed

may I have the courage today
to live the life that I would love
to postpone my dream no longer
but do at last what I came here for
and waste my heart on fear no more.

-John O’Donohue


Halong Bay, Vietnam.

Sweet Potato Crockpot Chili!

It's starting to get a little cooler in the city these days and apparently we're expecting SNOW tomorrow! It's not even November yet! Anyhow, one of the best parts of a cool evening is a piping hot bowl of soup, better yet when it's been cooking all day in the crockpot! I love coming home to house smelling wonderful and just having to dish it up and enjoy!

I first saw this recipe over on Erin and Ben's cooking blog, We Got Fed. I had been debating between this chili and the veggie chili over on Ezra Pound Cake, but because of the ingredients we had and the appeal of using the crock, this won out!
If you chop all the ingredients the night before and just dump them in in the morning, it's super easy!

Sweet Potato Crockpot Chili
Based on the recipe from We Got Fed

1 onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
1 medium-large sweet potato, peeled and diced
2 bell peppers, 1 red. 1 green. Finely chopped
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2-3/4 cup frozen corn kernals
2 tomatoes, diced
1 15oz can of diced tomatoes
3 cups water (We cooked our chili for like 11 hours, so I added more water, if you're only cooking it for 6-8 you can probably add less)
1 - 1.5 tsp chili powder
1 -1.5 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 heaping tsp oregano
dash of parsley
dash of salt
Optional for garnish: Avocado, sour cream, grated cheese, cilantro

Add all the ingredients to the crockpot, cook on low until you return! (At least 6-8 hours, up to however long you'll be gone!)

We served this over rice with some cornbread muffins, avocado and sour cream. YUM!

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos!

So we've been experimenting with various taco recipes lately, most notably the delicious Lentil Tacos over at A Couple Cooks.

In search of something veggie to make for dinner last night, I came across this recipe for Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos on Joy the Baker and was intrigued. It looked pretty simple and we had all the ingredients on hand, so I decided to give it a go.

YUM! I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out, but they were awesome! And insanely healthy to boot. Excellent. The lime flavor really made the dish, and I didn't realize how many limes were required, it cleaned out my drawer! So make sure you have lots on hand!

I altered the recipe slightly from the original as I can't eat raw onions without getting a stomach ache, but otherwise, followed it for the most part.



Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos
Adapted from Joy the Baker

Ingredients:
2 normal size sweet potatoes (or one ginormous one like we had), chopped into small cubes
olive oil
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
1 carrot
1 small head of red cabbage
a few TBS of chopped cilantro
4 limes
salt and crushed red pepper flakes
ground cumin
small flour tortillas

Preheat your oven to about 400 degrees. Start with the potatoes, diced into small cubes. Toss in a small bowl with a few tablespoons of olive oil, a bit of salt, and a few good shakes of crushed red pepper flakes (probably about 1/2 - 1 tsp?), and the juice of one lime. Once coated, turn the potatoes onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 30-40 minutes until fork tender and slightly browned. Take out and toss about half way through.

Once you get the potatoes started, chop up the cabbage and add to a bowl (the same one you mixed the potatoes in is great). Grate the carrot and add to bowl along with a few TBS of chopped fresh cilantro and salt/red pepper flakes to taste. Toss with the juice of 2 limes and set aside.

Finally, add your chopped onion and garlic to a skillet with a bit of olive oil. Saute until the onions have softened. Add the beans, juice of half or a whole lime (we had half, so that's all I added), and 1 tsp of ground cumin and a bit of salt. Cook another couple minutes over medium heat until warmed through.

Once your potatoes are done, top up your taco with beans, sweet potatoes, and the cabbage slaw with a bit more cilantro and you're good to go!

YUM!

Hot & Sour Stir Fry with Baked Tofu

So I'm about half-way through reading the book that started this vegetarian kick, The China Study. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend giving it a shot. He has some pretty convincing arguments backed up by a crap-ton of actual scientific research. I'm still a fan of all good things in moderation, and will probably always eat some animal protein, so long as I know where it came from. I mean, I had some pretty awesome bacon chocolate chip (yes, seriously) pancakes this weekend. However, if I can make our kitchen mostly meatless during the week, I'm keen on that idea.

In any case, this stir fry is super delicious, and super quick to whip up. We used fresh green beans from the farmers market which were awesome. I also used to not be much for tofu, however, baking it with the marinade makes it mighty tasty.

Hot & Sour Stir Fry with Baked Tofu
Adapted fromMoosewood Restaurant, Simple Suppers for the Weeknight Table

For the Tofu:
1 package firm tofu (about 16 oz)
1 TBS canola oil
1 TBS sesame oil
3 TBS soy sauce
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grate
1 garlic clove, finely minced

Slice the tofu into thin rectangles and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Whisk the other ingredients together and then brush over the tofu. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

Stir Fry:
1/2 pound green beans (use fresh green beans!)
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes (I used cherry tomatoes as that's what I had)
4 cups grated cabbage
1 grated carrot
1/2 bell pepper sliced thinly
1 TBS grated ginger root
1.5 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp Chinese chile paste
1/2 tsp spicy chile sauce
2 TBS soy sauce
1 TBS white vinegar
1 tsp corn starch
canola oil for frying

Have everything prepped and ready to go before you start to stir fry. In a small bowl combine the ginger, sugar, chile sauce and paste, soy sauce and vinegar, then stir in the corn starch and a 1 TBS of water.

Heat a TBS or 2 of oil in a wok over high heat. Through in the cabbage, carrots and green beans. Fry for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and pepper, stir fry a few more minutes. Pour in the sauce and stir fry another minute or so to coat the veggies.

Serve over rice or noodles. Top with baked tofu.

Enjoy!