Becky's Black Bean and Corn Salsa

This is a famous recipe from my sister Becky, healthy and delicious! It also appeared in the Memare cookbook, a collection of family recipes.

Becky's Black Bean and Corn Salsa

-- 2 cans diced tomatoes, drained (or 4 cups chopped fresh tomatoes)
-- 2 cans black beans, drained
-- 1 can corn, drained
-- 1 large purple onion, chopped small
-- 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
-- juice of 1 lime
-- 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped small

Combine everything together and let set for at least 1 hour before serving, if possible.

Thai Basil Noodles

I saw some thai basil in the chinese market the other day and bought it. Today was the day to cook it up, so I found this recipe. The original recipe involves dirtying a lot of pots and pans which isn't really necessary so I tried to consolidate the steps here so I will only dirty 1 big pot and 1 skillet next time I make it. I really liked the asian spin on pesto. I cut down the oil and butter a lot from the original recipe and it was still very excellent. Here are some modifications I would make next time:

Thai Basil Noodles

-- serves 2

• 5 tablespoons cooking oil
• 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 3/8 cup (6 tablespoons) fresh lime juice
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, preferably Thai
• 3/4 cup fresh mint leaves
• 4 tablespoons white sesame seeds, plus more for garnish
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more as needed
• 1/2 block tofu, cut up into 1/2 inch squares
• About 1/2 pound assorted vegetables: carrots, broccoli (stems are fine), bell peppers, etc., peeled and sliced thinly. (this time I used 1 carrot, 1/2 red bell pepper, 1 portabella mushroom, and 3 big stalks chinese brocolli, and I thought it could have used double the veggies)
• 1/2 pound 1/4-inch-wide dried rice noodles, soaked in hot water until softened and drained
• 1 tablespoon butter
• rooster sauce or other spicy asian sauce you like

1. Put 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally,until the garlic turns golden, about 10 minutes; set aside.

2. Meanwhile, combine the lime juice and sugar in a cup and microwave about a minute and stir until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the basil and mint leaves in a metal strainer for easy removal. As soon as the leaves turn a dark green, pull the leaves out of the water. Drain and purée in a blender with the sesame seeds, cooked garlic, salt, and 1-2 Tablespoons oil (or more to get the consistency you want). (This herb paste will keep, refrigerated, for 2 days.) (ALT: can just make the herb paste like pesto using uncooked garlic and unblanched herbs, it is a little better if you cook it beforehand but not hugely)

4. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the skillet, add tofu cubes and fry until brown on all sides. Salt and set aside. 

5. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a skillet over high heat (can use same one in step 1). Add the vegetables and some salt and cook, tossing, just until brightly colored. Keep warm.

6. Cook the noodles in large pot of water (same one as step 3) until tender, 30 seconds. Drain and transfer to a large skillet set over high heat with the butter and lime syrup; add salt to taste and cook, tossing, until well mixed and creamy. Add in vegetables, tofu, and basil-mint sauce to taste and toss. Garnish with the sesame seeds and some rooster sauce, and serve.

Apple Pie

OK so I make like one apple pie a year. That means half the time, LIKE TODAY, I forget what the heck I did last time and where I got the recipe and how long to cook the crust so I end up with undercooked crust and it's just the saddest thing ever. So here is the recipe so I will get it right next time:

PIE CRUST (from Martha Stewart)
makes 2 8-10 inch pie crusts

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.

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
1 t. sugar (leave out sugar if making a savory pie)

-- cut each stick of butter into 8 pieces, refrigerate until needed
-- Place the flour, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl and mix to combine
-- 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.
-- Drizzle 2 T. ice water over flour-butter mix, blend, repeat with 2 more T. of ice water. Keep adding T. of ice water until the dough looks like it will barely stick 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.
-- divide dough into 2 pieces, flatten into disks, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
-- dust a work surface with flour. Roll out, each disk makes 1 crust.

APPLE PIE FILLING
adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie (above)
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 6 tart apples - peeled, cored and sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon whiskey (can substitute 1 t. vanilla extract)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (225 degrees C). Fit bottom crust into a 9 inch pie plate.
2. In a small bowl, mix together sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Place sliced apples in a large bowl and sprinkle with sugar mixture. Toss until apples are thoroughly coated. Spoon apples into pan.
3. Dot apples with butter or margarine, then sprinkle with whiskey. Cover with top crust. Seal edges and cut steam vents in top.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Lower temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake an additional 40 minutes. Serve warm.

Mai Tai

This is our favorite Hawaii beverage!! For Halloween it became "eye tai" for obvious reasons:

I liked the taste of this recipe quite a bit and felt it was pretty close to the good ones we had in Hawaii, here it is:

The Perfect Mai Tai
adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 2 cups light rum
• 2 cups dark rum
• 1 cup orange curacao (orange flavored liqueur) or triple sec
• 1 cup almond flavored syrup or almond liqueur like amaretto
• 1 cup simple syrup (2 cups of sugar and one cup of water, boiled until dissolved)
• 10 limes, juiced
• 1/2 gallon fresh orange juice or other juice (I found a mixed tropical juice for this!)

Mix all ingredients together and serve with LOTS of ice. Beware this drink is delicious and strong!! Enjoy.

party food

We always go overboard on the food whenever we have people over for a party, so here is a list of what we SHOULD make/get for next time:

FOR "AFTER DINNER" PARTY OF 20-25 people:

-- 3 bottles red wine
-- 1 bottle white wine
-- 12-18 beers
-- 1/2 batch mai tais
-- 1 batch veggie chili
-- 3 nice cheeses, 1 or 1.5 inch wedge of each one
-- the hummus hardly got eaten at all, don't need need to make that next time
-- 30 samosas
-- 2 loaves baguette, OR 1 loaf and raincoast crisps
-- assorted candies and chocolates, good to have but not necessary

Just making notes for next time. We had a jack o lantern out, the neighborhood kids stole it :(

Mona

Our vegetarian chili

We make this chili every Halloween, and it just gets better and better every year. Based on the moosewood recipe, but altered quite a bit:

INGREDIENTS

6 cups mixed cooked beans (we usually use equal parts black beans, garbanzo beans, and kidney beans)
4 cloves crushed garlic
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 cups diced celery
1 1/2 cups diced carrots
1 1/2 cups diced squash (I usually use butternut squash because it is easiest to peel and cut up)
1 cup diced green pepper
2 1/2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
1 cup tomato juice or tomato sauce (optional)
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tablespoon cumin ground
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon Chile powder-you choose the heat level
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons tomato paste (optional)
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a sauté pan heat the olive oil and add half the cumin to the olive oil, toast a little bit until fragrant.
2. add the onion and garlic, sauté till soft.
3. Add the carrots, celery and squash and sauté 7 minutes till vegetables are tender.
4. Add the peppers and tomatoes and sauté 5 minutes more.
5. Now add the beans and the rest of the spices. Taste and adjust for heat. Add water if you need it to be more saucy. 
6. Serve hot topped with some chopped red onion and chopped raw tomato and some shredded cheddar cheese.
7. This recipe serves 8-10 people.

Greek Salad Rolls

This is one of our favorite vegetarian wrap sandwiches!

GREEK SALAD ROLLS

for 4 rolls (dinner for 2)

Ingredients:

-- 1 cup cooked garbanzo beans
-- 4 tortillas
-- 2 tomatoes, chopped
-- 4 small cucumbers or one large cucumber, chopped
-- 15 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
-- a 1x2 inch chunk of feta cheese, crumbled
-- 2 Tablespoons of red onion, sliced thin
-- 1 large handful curly parsley, minced
-- Chopped lettuce (optional)
-- salt and pepper (go easy on the salt because the olives and feta are salty!)
-- Little Creek salad dressing, Original (or just some lemon juice)
-- Red Hot sauce!!!

1. Toast the tortillas on a frying pan until warmed through but still flexible
2. Mix everything else together except red hot sauce.
3. Put about 1 1/2 cups filling on each tortilla
4. Add red hot sauce on top
5. Fold the bottom up, and roll each tortilla tightly into a wrap. Previous experience making breakfast burritos at McDonalds helps with this step greatly.
6. Enjoy!!