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. 

Quesadilla Packs

Sometimes I make Kiran a quesadilla in the morning to put in his lunch, to speed things up I started making these "quesadilla packs" and keeping them in the freezer so all I have to add is tortilla and cheese in the morning.

Each one has:

-- 1.5 T. corn (I use frozen)
-- 1.5 T. black beans from a can, drained
-- 2 T. red bell pepper, diced smallish

Vegetarian hand pies

I had the idea to make a savory hand pie for Kiran's lunches, I wanted to make one as close to classic chicken pot pie as I could, but without the chicken. This came out so good, both Kiran and Mahesh loved it. You can also use the same filling and crusts to make a full-size veggie pot pie. This would be great for a really nice vegetarian main dish at a celebration like Thanksgiving as well. I love chicken pot pie and I'd bet most meat eaters wouldn't even notice no meat chunks, especially if you make a really good crust.

Vegetarian Hand Pies

makes 22 hand pies

For crust:

-- 1 cup butter (2 sticks) plus more for pie plate
-- 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough (I usually use 1 1/2 cups white and 1 cup whole wheat flour)
-- 1/2 t. salt

For filling:

-- 1/2 potato, peeled and cubed (maybe 1/2 cup)
-- 1/2 cup peas, frozen
-- 2 T. butter
-- 1 cup carrots, chopped (1 medium)
-- 1 onion, chopped
-- 1/2 cup celery, chopped (1 rib)
-- 2 T. flour
-- 1/2 tsp. salt
-- 1/4 tsp. pepper
-- 1/4 tsp. celery seed
-- 2 cups milk
-- 1 heaping T veggie bullion

-- 3 T. milk or 1 egg, beaten with 1 t. water (to seal and wash pies)

Instructions

First, make your pie crust.

1.   The trick with pie crusts is 1) keep everything cold and 2) try not to work the dough any more than you absolutely need to. Cut each stick of butter into 8 pieces, refrigerate until needed

2.   Place the flour, and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix to combine

3.   Add the chilled butter. Using a pastry blender, chop the butter into the flour mix - the mixture should resemble coarse meal with small pieces of butter, the size of peas, visible.

4.   Drizzle 1/4 cup ice water over flour-butter mix, blend, repeat with another 1/4 cup of ice water. Keep adding 1/4 cup of ice water until the dough mostly sticks together. Squeeze a little bit if you must but don't touch it too much with your hands at this point. The dough will get a bit stickier as it rests.

5.   Divide dough into 2 pieces, flatten into disks, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.

Make the filling

6.   Prep all your ingredients for the filling.

7.   Preheat your oven to 425 F (220 C).

8.   Boil a pot of water and add chopped potato and boil gently for about 15 minutes. When there are 2 minutes left on the timer, add frozen peas to the mix. Drain and set aside.

9.   In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter and cook onions, celery, and carrots for about 15 minutes or until onion is translucent.

10. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper and celery seed and cook for at least 60 seconds to cook out the raw taste of the flour. 

11. Slowly whisk in milk and veggie bulllion. Whisk for about 5 minutes until thickened.

12. Stir in the potatoes and peas. Boil until it reaches the right consistency, you want it saucy but not to run all over the place. Some runniness is OK because it gets thicker as it cools. 

13. Remove from heat and set aside.

Make the pies

14. Take one pie crust out of fridge and roll out a bit thinner than regular pie crust. 

15. Cut 4.5 inch circles (I used a blue plastic bowl) and move the circles to a greased baking sheet (or one covered with a silpat).

16. Refrigerate circles until fully chilled. (the crust is easier to work with when cold)

17. To make a pie, wet the entire edge of the circle with milk or egg wash. Add about 2 heaping Tablespoons of filling, then fold dough in half, press around the edge, and crimp with a fork. Wash top with egg wash or milk, then poke with fork on top to let vent.

18. Bake the pies 17 minutes, or until brownish on top and the crust is baked through. 

19.  Remove your pie from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes before serving. 

Maple Pudding

Kiran wanted to invent a new dessert dish (he really wanted to sift some flour!) but we didn't really have time for a huge production in the kitchen. SO I found this recipe for Vanilla Pudding and we switched it to Maple! Kiran sifted the cornstarch instead. It was easy and excellent, a little on the sweet side, would have been better with whip cream on top. We gobbled up the whole thing for dessert.

Ingredients

• ¹⁄2 cup maple syrup
• ¹⁄₄ cup sugar
• ¹⁄₄ cup cornstarch
• 2 ¹⁄₂ cups milk
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
• 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. In medium double boiler, cook maple syrup, sugar, cornstarch, milk and salt. When mixture begins to thicken, add part of mixture to egg yolks; mix well, then pour egg mixture back into mixture in double boiler.
2. Cook until thick; take off stove, then add butter and vanilla.

Javanese Roasted Tofu with Pepper Rainbow

I inherited the Whole Foods Market Cookbook from my cousin Debbie after she passed away 2 years ago. I think of her every time we open this book. We have made quite a few recipes from this cookbook but this one is our favorite. The sauce tastes a little bit like satay sauce. Even Kiran loves it. "I will eat brocolli with this sauce!" He once proclaimed. That is quite an endorsement. Here it is, with our changes.

Javanese Roasted Tofu with Pepper Rainbow

Ingredients

1 pound extra-firm tofu (or firm, or med firm) -- if you want lots of tofu, can use 2 pounds in this recipe, it will just be a little less saucy

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup tamari or soy sauce
3 T. honey
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 cup canola oil
1 cup thinly sliced green pepper
1 cup thinly sliced red pepper
1 cup thinly sliced yellow pepper
1.5 cups thinly sliced additional vegetables, can be more peppers, or carrots, or brocolli

Instructions: 

-- Preheat oven to 350 F
-- Cut the tofu into 1 inch thick slices across the short side of the tofu block. You will have 6 slices. Place the slices in a baking dish (I use a 9x13 pan) and bake in the oven for 25 minutes. The tofu should not be crispy - you want it to simply dry up.
-- While the tofu is baking, in a medium bowl blend the peanut butter, tamari, honey, water, lemon juice, garlic, and salt.
-- Pour the peanut butter sauce over the cooked tofu, cover the pan with aluminum foil, and continue to bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the tofu from the oven, and place on a serving dish.
-- Just before the tofu is done, heat the canola oil in a large saute pan, and saute the red, green, and yellow peppers and additional vegetables for 5 minutes or until softened.
-- Top the tofu with the vegetable mixture and serve on rice.

Classic Chickpea Noodle Casserole

I saw this recipe for a chickpea casserole, and I immediately bookmarked it to try out. But then I started thinking about tuna noodle casserole, which I love, and wondering if I could make something more like that, but with chickpeas (garbanzo beans). So I made half Chickpea Casserole with Lemon, Herbs, and Shallots, and half classic Tuna Noodle Casserole (the kind with the cream of mushroom soup) with chickpeas substituted for the tuna in one 9x13 dish. I asked Mahesh and Kiran which casserole they preferred, and both preferred the classic casserole over the new version, which is good  So I will make it again, it was good but a little bland and needed a little salt, and might be good to try adding in some canned artichoke hearts for a little extra flavor next time. It's quite filling due to the high chickpea content, which is nice. Here is the recipe:

Classic Chickpea Noodle Casserole

Makes one 13x9 pan, can halve the recipe (with one can chickpeas) for an 8x8 pan.

Ingredients:

• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (I might try cream of celery soup next time)
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups frozen peas
• 2 (15 ounce) cans garbanzo beans, drained
• 4 cups hot cooked medium egg noodles (8 ounces dry)
• Salt
• (might be good to try adding in canned artichokes next time)
• 3/4 cup dry bread crumbs 
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions

1. Stir soup, milk, peas, garbanzo beans, noodles, and artichoke hearts, if using, in 3-quart casserole (I used a 9x13 pan).
2. Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes or until hot. Stir.
3. Mix bread crumbs with butter in bowl and sprinkle over garbanzo bean mixture. Bake for 5 minutes more.

Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes

I love using the oven in winter. You heat it up, chop up a bunch of veggies, and throw them in there to roast away while you make the main dish. Today we made this sweet potato dish and it was good. The original recipe says to add balsamic vinegar, which I did not do as some members of my family don't like it.

Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes

From Allrecipes

Ingredients:

-- 4 cups chopped and peeled sweet potato (3/4 inch chunks)
-- 1 sweet onion, cut into wedges
-- oil, salt, and pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Mix sweet potatoes and sweet onion in a bowl. Drizzle olive oil over the mixture and toss to coat; pour into a shallow roasting pan.
3. Roast sweet potato mixture in preheated oven, turning frequently, until the vegetables are soft and golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. season with salt and pepper.

Roasted Cabbage

This is so good! A quick and easy vegetable side. Anyone who thinks they don't like cabbage should try this first.

From eatingwell

Ingredients:

• ½ medium green cabbage (1-1½ pounds), outer leaves removed
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

 Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. To prepare cabbage: Cut cabbage half into four wedges and cut out any thick core, leaving the wedges as intact as possible. Drizzle the cut sides with 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Place the wedges flat-side down on the prepared baking sheet.
3. Roast the cabbage for 12 minutes. Carefully flip over (it's OK if it falls apart a little) and roast until browned on both sides, about 8 minutes more.

Pouding Chomeur (Poor Man's Pudding)

This is a French-Canadian treat I remember having on rare occasion as a child. My mom made this recipe the other day, it was so delicious I couldn't stop eating it and I had to have the recipe. 

Ingredients 

⦁ 1/2 cup softened butter or 1/2 cup margarine

⦁ 1 cup sugar

⦁ 2 eggs

⦁ 1 teaspoon vanilla

⦁ 2 cups flour

⦁ 1 teaspoon baking powder

⦁ 1 1/3 cups milk

⦁ 1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup

⦁ 1 1/2 cups brown sugar

⦁ 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

⦁ 1/3 cup butter

Directions

CAKE.

1. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugar till the mix is light.

2. Add eggs and vanilla and mix.

3. In another bowl, mix flour and baking powder.

4. Alternate flour mix and milk to the butter mix.

5. Pour into a 13 inch by 9 inch greased pan.

MAPLE SAUCE.

1. In a large casserole, bring to boil the syrup, brown sugar, cream and butter and constantly stir.

2. Reduce heat and gently cook 2 minutes or till sauce has reduced a little bit.

3. Pour sauce gently over cake.

4. Bake at 325°F about 40 - 45 minutes or till cake is light brown and when toothpick inserted comes ou