Instant-Pot (or pressure cooker) Italian Chickpea Stew

We don't have an instant pot but I made this with a pressure cooker and it worked great so I am adjusting the recipe for our pressure cooker. The original recipe calls for homemade pesto but that is too much for me to make. I added a scoop from jarred pesto and it was a good addition but no one else even wanted any so I might skip entirely next time.

From epicurious

Ingredients

2. For the chickpeas:
   • 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
   • 1 quart water
   • 12 ounces dried chickpeas
   • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
   • 1 small onion, chopped (about 3/4 cup)
   • 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped (about 3/4 cup)
   • 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
   • 4 cups chicken stock
   • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan or similar cheese
   • Some basil pesto (if desired)
   
   
   

   Preparation

3. Soak the chickpeas:
   1. In a large bowl, dissolve 1 tablespoon of kosher salt in the water. Add the chickpeas and soak at room temperature for 8 to 24 hours. Drain and rinse.
4. Sauté the onions:
   1. Put the pressure cooker pan on a burner over high heat. Add the olive oil and heat until it shimmers. Add the onion and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion pieces separate and soften, 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Pressure cook:
   1. Add the drained chickpeas, carrots, tomatoes with their juice, stock, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Lock the lid into place. Once the pressure cooker whistles, let it cook for 10 minutes. It will whistle occasionally. Then, turn off the heat and let the pressure come down for at least 30 minutes before touching it. Push the weight a little to see if there is still pressure inside, if it is mostly gone you can take off the weight to let the rest out. Unlock and remove the lid. 
6. Serve the chickpeas:
   1. Ladle the chickpeas into bowls and top each with a spoonful of pesto (if desired). Sprinkle with the cheese and serve. 
7. 
   

Vegetarian Calzones

Makes 3 calzones (enough for our family of 2 adults and 2 kids with some leftovers). We always use the same veggie toppings but you can change the toppings to whatever you like.

Ingredients

For dough:

-- 1 1/2 c. warm water
-- 1.5 t. instant yeast
-- 1.5 t. sugar
-- 3 cups all-purpose flour
-- 1.5 t. salt

Toppings:

-- 3/4 large green pepper, diced
-- 3/4 red onion, diced
-- 1 med tomato, diced
-- 1.5 small can pizza sauce
-- 1.5 package pizza cheese from the store (we maybe could get away with 1 package here as we don't use that much cheese)



Preparation:

1. Sometime in the afternoon before you are going to make calzones, make the dough. 
2. In a bowl, combine the water, yeast and sugar. Let stand until the mixture foams on top, about 5 minutes.
3. In another bowl, mix together flour and salt. Add water/yeast mixture to flour and stir into a dough.
4. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead for a few minutes on a floured surface to prevent sticking.
5. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean cloth. Let the dough rise for about 30 minutes in warm and draft-free area. Cut the dough in thirds, each third will make 1 calzone
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
7. Take the dough and roll it out with a rolling pin to be thin and roughly 12 inches to 18 inches in diameter. I try for the biggest circle I can fit in a sheet pan. 
8. Cover sheet pan with silpat (or oil) and transfer dough circle to sheet pan. 
9. Add one large handful of cheese onto half of the dough (or 2/3), leaving a clear edge all around so the dough will stick when you fold it over. 
10. Sprinkle 1/3 of veggies on the cheese
11. Sprinkle 1/3 of sauce on the veggies
12. Add on another 2 large handfuls of cheese on the top. If you cover the veggies so you can't see them it will be a LOT of cheese. 
13. Pull the uncovered dough over the toppings and push to seal all around the edges. Then, fold the edge up all around the seal to make a nice pattern and really seal it in. 
14. Brush top of calzone with milk or egg wash and cut a slit into the top. 
15. Bake in oven 30 - 35 minutes.

Vetta Korrumbuh or vatha kuzhambu

This is a south Indian gravy that is mixed with rice. It is very strong and rich and one of Mahesh's favorites. This is a winter curry and can be made with preserved vegetables or even papadam instead of vegetables. Or, instead of garlic and onion, you can substitute the same amount of eggplant, drumstick, flat bean, or even cooked applam (papadums) instead of onion and garlic.


Garlic and Pearl Onion Vetta Korrumbuh

Ingredients:

-- 1 1/2 cups pearl onions (I will likely sub red onion for this)
-- 2 heads of garlic
-- 2-3 T. Sesame oil (gingerly oil)
-- 1/4 t. mustard seed
-- 2 big shakes asofetida powder
-- 1 1/2 T. chana dal
-- 1/2 t. fenugreek seed (or a little more)
-- 3 t. sambar powder
-- 1 T. tamarind concentrate
-- 2 t. salt
-- little jaggery or sugar if tamarind is too sour

1. Peel the garlic and onions and set aside.

2. Put the oil in the pan with the mustard seed and asofetida powder. Too much asofetida will make it bitter. Turn on the pan. After the mustard pops, add in the chana dal, and then add in the fenugreek.

3. When the dal is a little brown add in the peeled garlic and onions. After a minute add in the sambar powder.

4. After that fries a little add in 2 cups of water and tamarind concentrate and salt. Add a little jaggery or sugar if the tamarind is too sour.

5. Boil until it becomes korrumba consistency (a thickish sauce). If you want to stretch it further you can thicken with a little rice flour mixed with water.

Instead of garlic and onion, you can substitute the same amount of eggplant, drumstick, flat bean, or even cooked applam (papadums) instead of onion and garlic.

Often served with potato curry and raita.

Cornbread with Black Beans and Cheddar Cheese

I have been struggling with things to send Kiran for lunch that are nutritious and that he will eat. This isn't perfect, but he really likes it, it's easy to make, and it will be easy to pack.

from Whole Foods

Cornbread with Black Beans and Cheddar Cheese

Ingredients: 

• 1 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk (I use approx. 1/2 cup plain yogurt and 1/2 cup milk for this)
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 1/2 cup cooked and drained black beans 
•  
• Ingredient Options:
• Cayenne pepper, sliced jalapeño pepper or chili powder. Feel free to substitute whole wheat pastry flour for the all-purpose flour.
   

  Method: 
  Preheat the oven to 450°F. Oil a 9x9-inch baking dish with canola or olive oil spray and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and sea salt. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs with buttermilk, melted butter, cheese, green onions, corn and black beans. Stir in any optional ingredients desired. Add to dry ingredients, blending until just combined.
  
  Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool slightly before slicing.

   

   

   
  Nutritional Info: 

  Per Serving: Serving size: 82g-wt., 180 calories (80 from fat), 9g total fat, 5g saturated fat, 55mg cholesterol, 310mg sodium, 20g carbohydrates, (2 g dietary fiber, 3g sugar), 7g protein.

Eye Tai punch for Halloween

I finally found a good virgin Mai Tai recipe and I want to save it!
This makes 1 gallon + of punch, can halve the recipe.

Eye Tai punch for Halloween

Ingredients:

• 1 liter orange juice
• 3 liters pineapple juice
• 1 cup lime cordial or sweetened lime juice (in the alcohol mixer section of the grocery store)
• 1 cup almond syrup (you can make this with 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, and 1 t. almond extract)
• 1 cup grenadine
• 1 liter sparkling/seltzer water
• ice
•  2 cans lychee fruit
• blueberries
• raspberry jam

 1. The day before, make the almond syrup and let cool. Then make the eyeballs and freeze. You make the eyeballs by filling the inside of each lychee fruit with raspberry jam and a blueberry. Put on a cookie sheet and freeze overnight.
2. The next day, mix the juices, syrups, and bubble water and ice together. Add the frozen eyeballs, they will float in the punch as long as they stay frozen. After that it gets a little gross but in some ways that might be even better for halloween! 

Beefless Stew

You know me, always trying to make a vegetarian version of my favorite meat foods. While this one really doesn't come close to real beef stew, it is a very good vegetarian stew in it's own right. Great for this time of year. Add crusty bread and life is pretty good. My son who is going through a picky phase with vegetables at least ate the carrots and potatoes and peas out of this soup, which I count as a success in my book.

a bit adapted from McDougall's beefless stew
 

Beefless stew

Ingredients

• 1 lb crimini or 2 medium portabella mushrooms, cut into ¾-inch pieces (about 4 cups) 
• 1½ large yellow or white onions, chopped into ¾-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
• 3 medium carrots, sliced lengthwise and cut into ¾-inch pieces (about 2¼ cups)
• 3 ribs celery, cut into ¾-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
• 1½ tablespoon finely chopped garlic (about 6 medium cloves)
• 5 cups water
• 2 pounds white potatoes (2 large), peeled and cut into ¾-inch chunks (about 6 cups)
• ⅓ cup tomato paste (half of a 6-ounce can)
• 1 tablespoon dried Italian herb seasoning (I used Herbs de Provence which is french but was still good)
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary (I didn't have this so left it out, it was fine)
• 1½ cups cooked peas (if frozen, rinse under warm water)
• butter or oil for cooking

Instructions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter or oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat.  Add the mushrooms and fry until browned on the sides, maybe 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes to try and get as many mushroom sides brown as possible. Transfer cooked mushrooms to another bowl.
2. In the same pan add a little more butter or oil, then fry the onions, carrots, and celery for about 8 minutes, or until mostly translucent.
3. Stir in the mushrooms and garlic, and continue to cook while stirring for 5 minutes more, adding butter or oil if needed.
4. Add the 5 cups of water, potatoes, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and paprika, and bring to a boil, uncovered. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the rosemary (if using). Cover and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the carrots and potatoes are very tender.
5. Add the peas and cook for 5 minutes more.
6. Place 2 cups of the stew (broth and vegetables) into a blender, and blend just briefly. Stir the mixture back into the pot to thicken the stew.

egg salad

I tried two egg salad recipes, one had sweet relish, Kiran liked that one but he was the only one. This one we all liked.


EGG SALAD

makes 4 sandwiches

-- 4 eggs, hard boiled, peeled and chopped (boil approx. 10 minutes)
-- 2 T. minced onion
-- 2 T. minced celery
-- 1 heaping T. capers
-- 1/4 c. mayo

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Put on bread. Add lettuce if it doesn't make you cry.