Tag: Fun!

Beans and Greens Burgers

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Not gonna lie.  Not a lot of cooking has been happening over here the past few days for a few reason:

1. No one will eat my baked goods. Boo.
2. I’ve been eating salads like it’s nobody’s business.  Fresh things are just fun in the summer.
3.  I’ve been spending the better parts of my day watching soccer.

Basically I made one big pot of lentil/rice/greens and ate that for about 4 days.

I also ended most meals with strawberries that were in my CSA bag this week.  Pretty tasty.  Sad they’re gone.

Finally, today I decided it was time to make something.  Why not a burger?

Beans and Greens Burgers

1-2 big handfuls of greens (I used turnip greens and kale)
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 an onion, roughly chopped
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 handful of fresh basil (I bet mint or cilantro would work great too)
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (rehydrated or packed in oil)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups cooked garbanzo beans
1 tsp salt
2 “flax” eggs (2 tbsp milled flax + 6 tbsp water)
2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp paprika

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Put greens,  garlic, onion, basil, sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil, lemon juice and zest in the processor and pulse until it resembles a coarse pesto. Add remaining ingredients and continue to pulse until you get a consistency you like (I left mine kind of chunky).

Form into patties and place on a greased baking sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes, turn and bake for 15 more minutes.  Serve as patties or on a bun.

In other news, I’ve been watching Glee. While a lot of the times I get embarrassed for the characters who are singing and have to fast forward (does this happen to anyone else!??!),  I’m enjoying it.  But let’s be realistic, it’s no secret I watch TV shows/movies for the eye candy…

Anyone else love Puck?

Quinoa and Mango with Curried Yogurt

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Apparently Ithaca (or this coast?) is all about barbecues!  I’ve never been to this many in my life!  Oh my goodness I need to stop going to barbecues and eating a ton.

Who am I kidding? It’s delicious!

Last night, I received a menu for today’s barbecue from a friend:

Beverages
Ginger sweet tea punch.
Bombay tea-government punch.

Starters
Feta-stuffed nectarines marinated in a balsamic, sunflower red pepper dressing.
Molasses-guava skewers, both shrimp and vegetable.
Chili-lime Asian noodles in a peanut carrot chutney.

Main
Goat cheese-stuffed local bison sliders; naked, blacked or coffee-rubbed. Topped with fresh greens.
Braised local pork shoulder (Boston butt), served with a Carolina-style coleslaw on wheat buns.

Doesn’t that sound intense?  I’m kicking myself for remembering to take my camera and FORGETTING to take pictures!  I didn’t try the meat things but let me tell you, the grilled feta-stuffed nectarines marinated in a balsamic, sunflower red pepper dressing, were simply amazing! I’m making those the next time I acquire a grill.

Here was my contribution to the barbecue:

Quinoa with Mango and Curried Yogurt

adapted from Epicurious

1/3 cup yogurt
juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
1 1/3 cup quinoa (uncooked)
3 cups mango chunks (I thawed the frozen kind)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1/3 cup fresh mint
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
1/2 cup peanuts

Combine the yogurt, curry, ginger, salt and pepper for the dressing, set aside.

Boil the quinoa in water for 10 minutes, then place in a sieve and cover with a towel then lid (make sure your towel doesn’t catch on fire, mine did a bit so I repositioned it) and steam over 2 inches of boiling water (make sure sieve doesn’t touch water) for another 10 minutes.

Once quinoa is steamed, in a large bowl, add mango, jalapeno, cilantro, mint, peanuts and dressing.  Gently toss to combine.  That’s it!  You’re ready to enjoy!

I think it turned out well.  It was gone pretty quickly.

Oh boy, I’m exhausted! I need to wake up bright and early to hit them gym tomorrow morning.  I also think I need to do a sugar detox.  I’m starting to feel a little sugared out. I’m not sure how many more barbecues I can take…

Have you been to a lot of barbecues this summer?

Apple-Rhubarb Crisp

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This morning I woke up to a cute e-mail from my friend and future apartment mate, Anna.  She read yesterday’s post on rhubarb and gave me some cooking tips.  The end of her e-mail made me laugh:

It’s high in fiber, and is a good GI tract cleanser – I forget what its’ called but it is good for your colon etc. 🙂

Okay enough / TMI on rhubarb, hope you’re doing well!

Good to know since we’re all into health! Too cute Anna!

Anyway, little did she know I had made my first rhubarb creation ever the night before!

Apple-Rhubarb Crisp

adapted from Epicurious Apple-Rhubarb Crisp

For Filling:
3 cups peeled and chopped apples (about 3 or 4 apples)
3 cups chopped rhubarb (4 stalks)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp flour

For Topping:

3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oats
6 tablespoons of butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (open doors and windows if it’s summer or (if you’re lucky unlike me) turn on the AC).  Combine all ingredients for filling and place in a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Next make the topping.  Get your fingers nice and dirty by breaking up the butter with your fingers.

Top apple rhubarb mixture with sugar/oat/flour topping.

Bake for 45 minutes.  Once it’s golden and delicious, let it sit for about half an hour.

While you wait for it to bake and cool, hang out with a friend/fellow cook and paint your toes (or something).

Then serve and enjoy the tart, sweet treat!

I’m going to go ahead and say I’m a rhubarb fan!  I love the tartness!  I can’t wait to make new things with the rest of my rhubarb!

Hope you’re enjoying your weekend!!

CSA

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Hi Friends!

The past few days I’ve been enjoying summer in Ithaca with some friends.  It really is quite lovely here in summer (at some point I’ll take pictures and share).

This morning I woke up and walked with my friend, Sara, to the farmer’s market.

The exciting thing for the day was that today was the first pick up day for my CSA!

CSA stands for community support agriculture.  They’re an easy way to eat locally and often organically. Basically you buy a “share” which allows you to get a “box” (in my case a bag)

of vegetables (and sometimes fruit) each week.  If you’re curious about getting a CSA share in your area click here.

The farm I chose, Early Morning Farm, allows you to “shop” so you basically take as much as you need.  I got 2 bunches of lettuce, some turnips and a bunch of rhubarb (I skipped the radishes since I’m not a fan).

I’ve never tried rhubarb before!  I’m excited to give it a whirl.  You’ll probably see it here for the next few days.  But before that I had to use my lettuce to make lunch

Went well with some multigrain sourdough I got at the farmer’s market too!

Well I’m off to read for fun!  I’m reading The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, loving it so far.

Recommend any summer reading books?

Sooo Tired

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After a birthday party last night…

that ended up being for both Dad and Mom

(Laura, I didn’t crop you out this time)

and an impromptu trip to Disneyland/California Adventure today…

I’m pooped.

Didn’t even get to watch the final episode of Lost.  Don’t you dare tell me about it!

Be back tomorrow with a fun (and fishy) recipe!

Guatemalan Rellenitos

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One of the best parts of being home is the food. I’ll be honest, my mom is a lovely woman, but she’s not much of a cooker. She most definitely can; she simply chooses not to. My aunt on the other hand loves to cook. Lucky me, she’s visiting!

So I’ve been following her around the kitchen the past few days trying to get some Guatemalan recipes to share with you all.

I guess the first warning is that a lot of these things are cooked to taste, so the measurements may vary but I’ll give estimates of what she used.

The first thing we made was rellenitos.

rellenitosedited

Rellenitos are mashed plantains stuffed with sweet black beans then fried to create tasty little dumpling type things.  They’re usually eaten as an afternoon snack or dessert.  They’re a little labor intensive but totally worth it.

Rellenitos

1/2 lb cooked black beans (cooked like the Guatemalan Black Bean recipe I posted before)
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
10 ripe plantains
1 cinnamon stick
oil for trying

This recipe will make a few dozen rellenitos, so adjust accordingly.  I know it sounds sort of weird but you start with salty beans cooked in garlic and onion.  Put them in the blender with cinnamon and sugar (you might have to do it in batches). Taste to make sure they’re sweet and not too cinnamony.

Then put the blended beans in a deep skillet with oil and bring to a boil.  Simmer for a few minutes then transfer to another container to cool (they’ll thicken as they cool).

You want your plantains to be ripe.  The riper they are, the sweeter they are but also harder to work with.

Cut your plantains into 2 inch pieces, leaving the skin on.  Put them in a large pot with cinnamon stick and fill about half way with water (plantains won’t be completely submerged).  Bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes until plantains are starting to soften but not so soft that they fall apart.

Peel and put in a container to mash.  If you have a potato ricer or food mill this will be a whole lot easier, we had neither so we used a mug, some forks and a masher to get out all the clumps.

Now comes the shaping part.  Once the plantains have cooled.  Take a palm sized amount and shape it into a thick pancake/tortilla shape.

Place about a 1/2 tbsp to 1 tbsp sized amount of beans in the middle and close the pancake/tortilla shape.

Pinch the edges together and smooth with your fingers into a roundish egg shape.  Repeat until you run out of beans or plantains.

Heat oil in a skillet.  Place rellenitos in hot oil and fry all around.

Once they are golden brown all around (okay if a little burnt), place them on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

Serve with sour cream and sprinkle with sugar.

Delish!  Definitely not the healthiest way to eat a plantain but probably one of the best.

If you made a ton don’t worry about finishing them all at once.  While chances are they will get eaten, if not you can wrap them in aluminum foil and freeze them and when you’re ready for a treat just unwrap them and microwave for a minute or two and ta-da! Ready to go!  My family actually brings them frozen from Guatemala since my mom isn’t big on cooking 🙂

Anyway, tonight we’re having a birthday party for my dad since he was in Guatemala on his actual birthday!  More fun recipes and hopefully pictures to come!

Hope you’re having a great weekend!

Double Chocolate Coconut Cookies

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Summer is slowly starting to creep its way out into Ithaca, which means a variety of things:
1.  My apartment turns into an oven.
2. It’s humid outside.
3. I can wear dresses again.

Let’s talk about #3.  Before moving to Ithaca, I basically wore dresses all the time (as in I probably only owned 2 pairs of pants). Then winter in Ithaca happened and my body was confused so I broke down and bought some pants and snow boots.  Not a happy camper.

I was born to wear dresses.

Some women look amazing in short skirts, others in long straight legs jeans.

Me? I can rock a dress like no other.

So naturally when it was 80 degrees out for our department barbecue, I decided a dress was in order.  Silly me, I forgot about the fact that the barbecue was on the lake, meaning it would be colder and windier than around my house.  Despite being bummed that I was cold and worrying my dress would fly up at any moment pretty much the whole time, I had a fun time.

At the very least, I looked cute and brought tasty cookies to share.

Double Chocolate Coconut Cookies

adapted from Foodess Double Chocolate Coconut Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup (ish)chocolate chips
1 cup dried coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Pre-heat oven to 350.  Cream together butter, sugar, egg and vanilla.  Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Mix until combined.  Fold in chocolate chips, coconut and walnuts.  Drop tablespoon sized balls of dough onto a greased cookie sheet, bake for about 12 minutes.

Cool and serve with a (martini) glass of milk.

What were you born to wear?

Baking Break

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It feels like Saturday in November.

It’s 43 degrees out, and I went to a bar last night.  That does not scream May in the middle of study week.  But don’t go thinking I’m some sort of hoodlum.  I managed to write a full draft of a 15 page paper on urban gardens and get through a poster session.  A gin and tonic or two was earned.

This morning, while I edited my paper and waited for the gym to open (1pm, seriously?), I decided baking was in order.  After all, what makes a cold study day better than a warm muffin?

Apple Muffins

1/2 cup almond butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sour milk (or probably regular milk, juice, water, etc)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (unless your AB is salted)
3 small apples, peeled, cored and diced

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine wet ingredients, add dry ingredients (minus apples) and combine.  Fold in apples.  Fill lined or greased muffin tin (almost full) and bake 20-22 minutes. Allow to cool and then give them away to all your studying (or hung over) friends!

Anyhoo… hope you’re all having a fantastic week.  Back to paper editing and studying!

Spicy Chocolate Cupcakes and Fried Plantains

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It’s the last day of class!

I woke up this morning pretty excited about the last day of class.  I threw on my gym clothes, walked to the gym only to find that it was closed because of Slope Day!  So apparently Slope Day is a big deal.  Essentially, people get drunk in the morning then go to “the slope” (large hill on campus) where there is a concert.

I was pretty bummed about the gym situation, but figured it’s okay.  Instead of trying to find alternative means of exercise (i.e. go for a run) I decided going home and having breakfast was a better idea, so here I am.

But let’s backtrack to yesterday…

I had a potluck for my Urban Transformations in the Global South class.  You can probably guess that I brought dessert.  I tried to keep with the “Global South” theme. Inspired by Guatemalan Platanos en Mole, I made Spicy Chocolate Cupcakes topped with a fried plantain.

Spicy Chocolate Cupcakes

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cayenne
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable/canola oil
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and stir together. Add all the wet ingredients minus the boiling water and mix together.  As you mix the batter, add the boiling water.  Pour into lined cupcake pan (fill half way).  This batter is really watery/runny so be careful!

Bake for 18-20 minutes.  Makes about 30 cupcakes

Frost with Spicy Chocolate Frosting and top with a fried plantain.

Spicy Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2/3 cup cocoa powder
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
few shakes of cinnamon
few shakes of cayenne

Combine all ingredients and mix with a hand mixer until it reaches the right consistency, add more powdered sugar if too runny.

I was talking to a friend a few days ago, and he said he really wasn’t sure what to do with a plantain since he didn’t really see it as a child.  In light of that I thought I’d do a little plantain tutorial.

If you’re going to make fried, sweet plantains you want a really ripe plantain.  Basically you want it to look like it’s going bad:

If you’re making a South Asian dish or something like tostones, you want a green plantain.  But for now, I’m working with the super ripe!

Cut off the ends

Cut skin off lengthwise and peel.

Slice as desired.  Since I was using this as cupcake toppers I cut them in circles (ish), but for fried plantains like you would get at a Cuban restaurants cut them thicker and slightly diagonal.

Put some oil in a pan (enough to coat the bottom) and heat.  Once the oil is hot (but not too hot).  Add plantains.

Keep the flame on low and cook until golden brown on one side. Then flip over and continue to cook.

They will probably take about 10 minutes to cook through.  Then transfer them to a papertowel lined dish to soak up some of the excess oil.

Enjoy!

I loved when I walked into my apartment later in the day and it smelled like fried plantains.  Reminds me of home!  (Can’t wait to go home in 11 days!)

I should probably get ready for class!  Have a wonderful day!

Hot in Hurrrrr

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I’m not entirely sure why but despite the fact that it was in the 80s today and I live on the third floor of a building that does not have air conditioning, I turned the oven on twice.  It’s so hot in hurrr my coconut oil is entirely liquid:

I keep it on my dresser and put it on my face before going to bed.  I have some SERIOUS dry skin! Hopefully sweaty summer will make that all better and I can keep this coconut oil for cooking!

But I digress…I cooking was my way of dealing with Sunday?

Or something…

Tomorrow is the last day of the Spanish discussion section I TA.  Naturally, we’re having a party.  Naturally, that also means I made a sweet treat.

Vegan Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

adapted from Mama Pea’s White Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 cup almond butter
1/4 cup vegan butter (I used EarthBalance)
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup soymilk
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cane sugar
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup oats
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt (omit salt if you used salted almond butter)
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 and turn on some Beyonce/Shakira.

In a bowl combine  the wet ingredients and the sugars, once those are combined, add the dry ingredients except the cherries and chocolate.  Shake your booty a little bit (especially if Shakira’s Did It Again comes on) then fold in the cherries and chocolate.

Plop golf ball sized lumps of dough onto a greased cookie sheet.  Bake 10-15 minutes depending on the size of your cookies.

To counteract the vegan-ness, enjoy with a glass of milk (or if you’re like me… lactaid)!

After cleaning up and attempting to get some reading done for a few hours, I decided I should probably have dinner.  For some reason, I decided to get creative and for some reason that had to involve the oven again, again Beyonce and Shakira kept me company, this time Rihanna joined in on the fun.

Polenta Pizza

1 cup cornmeal
3 cups water
1 tsp salt
1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
~1 cup pasta sauce
1-2 huge handfuls of spinach, chopped
4 oz mozzarella cheese
3 artichoke hearts, chopped

Step 1: Make Polenta
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.  In a pot combine the cornmeal, water and salt.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Keep cooking, stirring constantly for another 5 minutes at least (at this point your should pretty much just be swinging your hips to the beat).  Then transfer and spread polenta on a greased baking sheet (totally forgot to grease mine). Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Step 2: Prepare toppings
Heat olive oil in a pan, add onions, garlic and red peppers.  Cook on med/low heat for about 10 minutes until tender and tasty! Mini dance party for 10 minutes while it all cooks… or you could wash some dishes… then add spinach, stir around til spinach is wilted (about 2 minutes).

Step 3: Prep Pizza
Spread pasta sauce on polenta, top with veggies, cheese and artichokes, bake for another 5-10 minutes.

Pretty tasty!  I was pleased! My friend, Liz, came over and enjoyed with me.  She liked it too!

I should probably stop dancing around the house and read, or at least go to bed so I can make the most of tomorrow.

Have a great night!