WhirlwinDISH 27

Hope you’re having a fab day! The mini sweet pepper WhirlwinDISH was inspired by a couple of things: fried, cream & cheddar cheese-filled jalapeño poppers and a church cafe chicken salad. I know that sounds funny, haha! As you can see, the sun was starting its descent when I snapped the pic. I did the best I could 🙂 . I’ve been thinking about poppers for several weeks. I am limiting my cheese portions, though, and I rarely fry anything at home. I saw these sweet mini peppers, and dreams of those spicy, rich, poppers came back. I thought, why not stuff these with what I have on hand, and leave them raw? What did I have on hand to fill them with?…well, my first thought was that hummus would be an easy, inexpensive, & delish option. Then, I remembered a simple chicken salad from a church cafe in Phoenix (it came with a side of sliced bell peppers). I don’t know how many times I ordered that, but it always hit the spot! No chicken in sight, though. I did have salmon, so I decided to sub it. The jalapeño was the stuffer instead of the stuffee for these 2 fillings: Raw Sweet Pepper Poppers Filled w/ Edamame-Jalapeño Hummus & Salmon Salad w/ Jalapeño Mayo.

The Hummus Filling– Standard hummus w/ these changes: I made a roasted pistachio butter vs. tahini for the 1/2 garbanzo, 1/2 edamame hummus. And, I added a little parsley for a bit of green, jalapeño for a little kick. Totally simple.

The Salmon Salad Filling — Salmon with mayo & relish. Homemade extra-virgin olive oil mayo with egg, extra-virgin, chia seed powder, garlic powder, pinch of mustard, vinegar, s & p, jalapeño. When I started to drizzle in the oil, I thought I could use chia seed powder to thicken up the mixture. This allowed me to cut down the amount of oil used. The church cafe chicken salad didn’t have relish in it, but I decided to add some at the last minute. I diced up a few homemade sweet pickles.

I can’t believe how much I loved the mini peppers! They have a milder, sweeter flavor than when they are full grown. It’s hard to believe growing up I detested raw peppers and onion, lol! If you see any of these peppers when you are out and about, I encourage you to try filling them with whatever sounds good to you (if you are a pepper person, that is 😉 ).

Raw Tri-Color Cauliflower-Spinach Salad with Honey-Lemon Vinaigrette. Colorful cauliflower was calling for me to make a salad. I was just missing the purple variety! I had a little more light with these pics. I poured the dressing on after I took the pic and let it sit for a bit (while I checked off a few things on my “to-do” list.). This allowed the flavors to mingle for a while. Salad: tri-colored cauliflower (white, orange, and green), baby spinach, pistachios, red onion, dried cranberries, raisins, and mini red sweet peppers. Easy vin: lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, honey, shallots, garlic, s&p.

This simple, but super colorful dish made me so happy! Sometimes, you just need a bit of color to perk you up and brighten your day. Both dishes were very satisfying, without being overly heavy. I may consider them for the next potluck I’m invited to!

Have a great weekend!

WhirlwinDISH 26

Still preparing for Turkey Day sans turkey. I think I am favoring this dish for Christmas instead, though: Delicata Squash and Fall Fruits in a Dessert Wine Sauce.

Delicata squash from my local food Co-op inspired this dessert. I have never used it in a sweet preparation before. What started me on the path was having purchased thick and regular rolled oats. I began thinking about a fruit crumble, afterwards thinking about a savory crumble with the squash. Then, I thought about a sweet crumble with the squash. Ultimately, I didn’t use the oatmeal at all and went for this easy stove-top dessert. Many times, dessert wins out in my life!

I must say, this was one of my favorite dessert experiments. I might change the presentation somewhat (a little more refined, perhaps?), but the flavors came together beautifully.

The Prep: I sprinkled a little salt and brown sugar (coconut palm sugar) on the squash and seared them on both sides. Diced apples were also caramelized with a little brown sugar. I made a sauce from water, brown sugar, raw sugar & stevia, homemade dessert wine (as it’s on the sweeter side), lemon zest, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. I generally just use whatever sweeteners I have at the time for my dishes (like agave, raw sugar, etc.). For some preps, though, I choose to either purposefully use or avoid sweeteners with flavors that are more pronounced (maple, honey, or molasses, etc.). I thought about maple for this prep, but I decided to go with the more subtle brown palm sugar. I used my homemade wine, as it was handy…but, I can think of several wine shop purchases that would be suitable. So, I will change the title to reflect the appropriate wine when I’ve tested it out.

The Stew: I added the squash, apples, dried figs, and raisins to the sauce and let them stew. The squash and fruit were plated, and I drizzled a little bit more of the reduced sauce over the top. As I’ve previously written, I am fasting from butter right now…otherwise, I would have finished with a little at the end. If I wanted to make it more fancy, I would have spiked it and flambéed. Remember I said I love food and drinks on fire!

The Finish: A sprinkling of roasted nuts and pom seeds and a whip of homemade non-fat yogurt with raw coconut butter, vanilla, and raw sugar & stevia.
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Also, just a quick update on veg tamales. Last ‘My Way’ post, I linked to a recipe for vegan tamales, so check it out. I made a couple of batches testing the steam and slow cooker methods from the link. I just switched up my fillings and added a little cumin to the dough (vs. faux beef broth). I probably used less than a quarter of the oil the recipe called for (just regular veg oil), and they turned out fab (in my opinion). Less calories means we can eat more, right 😉 . I was also inspired by another recipe using a black bean chili filling. I used a veggie curry filling for one batch:

and, I used a “breakfast burrito” filling for the other (I told you I was stuck on breakfast burritos 😉 ):

The Veggie Curry: Delicata Squash, Tomato, and Black Bean. Sauce was made from sautéed onion, garlic, and chile, my own curry blend, cinnamon, brown sugar (palm sugar), and apple cider vin. I used the same sauce to top it off with, but added a bit of tomato paste & made it a little sweeter than normal (because I love sweet, as you know).

The “Breakfast Burrito”: Scrambled Eggs, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Black Beans, Green Bells, and Asparagus. I’m also fasting from cheese, otherwise cheese most assuredly would have been included. Eggs were initially cooked very soft, as to not overcook while the tamale was steaming. Topped with my lacto-fermented salsa.

So many different ingredients and dough combos you can use for tamales. I would like to try some Asian flavors next. I used corn husks to wrap most of the tamales, but decided to test out another method, too. I figured some people reading may not have easy access to corn husks. They are readily available here in the Southwest, but I’m not so sure about other places in the country (or world). I thought making tamales is similar to making sushi, so I used parchment paper and a sushi roll mat to roll a few. I just secured the parchment with a little tape (yes, tape! Like a wrapped package or present). You will not get the texture that the corn husks give the dough, but they cooked up fine. They are also very easy to remove from the paper. If you use the slow cooker method, though, you may want to find a way to put a little water into the pot. The corn husks are soaked in water, so that is enough to provide the steam. Perhaps some slow cookers come with steamer racks like larger electrical roasters? Anyway, I think this is a good makeshift method, and you can probably come up with even more ways. The sushi roll mat may not be absolutely necessary, but it made the rolling very easy. Tamales freeze very well, so it’s nice to make a big batch for when the mood strikes.

WhirlwinDISH 25

A few WhirlwinDISHes inspired by a trip to a local Asian market. So many choices at this market! Taro, ginger, green tomatoes, lemon grass, tomatillos, and chiles were some of my finds. Looking at the multitude of greens, I became a bit overwhelmed. No kale in sight, though, haha. It’s fab that kale has become so popular of late. I often find it much less expensive than other greens now. It used to be comparable in price (or even more expensive). I finally was advised by another shopper to try the Taiwan spinach. She said she preferred it to American. She picked a winner for me — love it!

1) Coconut Moscow Mule Frozen Yogurt w/ Candied Lime Peel. I made some dark chocolate chip frozen yogurt for my mom, so that got me craving some for myself. I used homemade yogurt for both, but I made hers with whole and mine with non-fat milk. I added raw coconut butter to mine for a richer mouth feel. I had some ginger beer concentrate, so this was the base flavor. I adapted it from this recipe: Ginger Beer. I used ginger, lemon grass, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, cloves, chile, lemon, brown sugar, agave, cream of tartar, and a tiny bit of vanilla. I reduced the concentrate until it was a thick syrup, and then added it to the yogurt. I mixed in some lime juice, but no vodka :(. This went into my ice cream machine, and I let it ripen in the freezer a few hours. Topped with candied lime peel. It was super yummy and started to melt quickly as I was trying to take a pic. Will be making this combo again for sure.

2) After I made the ginger beer concentrate, I figured it would be great hot. So, I used the same combo to make a tea (without the cream of tartar and less sweetener). Ah, I couldn’t stop drinking it!

3) Sprouted Flour Baby Potstickers w/ Homemade Peach Horseradish Sauce. I used a blend of sprouted heirloom wheat and sprouted teff, oil, salt, and water for the dough. Filling was Taiwan spinach, taro, chile, scallions, and tofu seasoned with vinegar, garlic, and herbs (same method as this post). The lighting for the pic wasn’t very good. Some are shown from the top, and some are flipped over (where they were browned). I usually brown them on the bottom, then put a bit of water in the pan, cover & steam. I was going to make a warm soy-based sauce for this, but I decided on peach-horseradish (previously made). I think it was the right decision because I really enjoyed all of the flavors from this dish.

4) Taiwan Spinach Salad w/ Rice Noodles & Soy-Ginger Dressing. Spinach as the base with shredded red cabbage, mung bean sprouts, cold rice noodles, and baked taro chips. Dressing was simply soy sauce, ginger, white wine vin, balsamic vin, olive oil, shallots, and agave. Very simple, but you can’t go wrong with noodles :).

5) Potato Soup w/ Warm Salsa Verde. Potatoes, shallots, & fresh coconut milk. Verde: charred tomatillos, garlic, olive oil, lime zest, balsamic, agave, and a pre-blended spicy seasoning mix. My favorite part of this soup was the dried green tomato garnish. So tangy and delish!

WhirlwinDISH 24

I didn’t go too wild with my WhirlwinDISHes this time — just a few updates to some of my fave comfort foods. As I said in my last post, I have not been feeling my best this week. So, I thought a bit of rice pudding for Rosh HaShanah would cheer me up! I made it with cow’s milk sweetened with honey and traditional flavors like nutmeg and vanilla. I decided to use forbidden rice instead of my usual white or brown, then topped it with unsweetened whipped cream, fresh pom syrup, and pom seeds. The finished pudding was actually a little more purplish than the black that the pic shows (and sorry, I didn’t realize the pudding smudged a bit of the glass, making it harder to see). It was SO good and just the thing I needed. A perfect Rosh HaShanah treat!

I figured I would include a couple more fairly simple dishes (nothing fancy!) with forbidden rice this posting. I made a baked soup/casserole, as the weather has finally cooled off here in Tucson (80s & 90s vs. 100+ degrees 😀 ) — yellow split pea and forbidden rice flavored with garlic, onion, smoked paprika, s&p, and lots of cilantro. Cilantro is one of my favorite things, so I find ways to (over)use it for tons of different meals. I actually hated it when I first tried it, but it grew on me. Good thing, too — living in the Southwest, it’s in many a dish. I haven’t made a baked soup with split peas before, but I kind of think of it as a version of my typical beans and rice. The pic doesn’t look all that great, but it was pretty tasty and satisfied my need for comfort cooking (and cilantro). More cilantro: other pic is a tortilla made from whole and heirloom wheat flour with beetroot powder & juice, forbidden rice, and a fried egg. Super easy!

WhirlwinDISH 23

I needed to eat healthier-type foods after the long holiday weekend, so that’s how I ended up making this veggie “sushi.” I was going to post a different dish, but I thought some might still be trying to “cleanse and detox” after holiday treat meals, lol.

I have never had any formal training in sushi making, so don’t laugh at my pic. Culinary training, for me, didn’t include it. I saw a cooking show years ago with a sushi prep, so that’s the extent of my expertise. I spotted a sushi roll mat at a yard sale several years back, and that’s when I started making sushi. I tried my best to remember what I had seen on the show. One day, I will take the time to actually look up proper techniques and whatnot. In the meantime, I made this for a lightened post-Holiday meal. I was craving raw beets like never before (my body must have known I needed them, haha), so I pureed some, strained out the juice, and mixed it with short-grain brown rice. I only added salt to season it, but I think next time I might add a little allspice or something to boost the beet flavor. I filled it with raw golden beets, carrots, cukes, steamed asparagus, and sprouts. (Have you started your homegrown sprouts yet? If not, read this post: Sprouting 101 & Homemade Sprouting Jars 🙂 ).

As far as the rest of my post-Holiday day went, I kept hydrated by sipping on fruit and veggie water with just cukes, lemons, and raspberries. I learned a tip from one of my co-workers: in the morning, make a big batch of your water in a clear container (so you can see all the colorful fruits and veggies) and set it somewhere you will see it pretty frequently (like in your office, or on your kitchen counter). I need reminders to drink water, so having it right in front of me helps. I used to get stuck drinking coffee or something, then get busy with the day and forget to drink enough water. Arizona is a HOT state, so we have to keep extra hydrated. I also had some delish cantaloupe from the farmers’ market for breakfast, and I added the leftover beet juice to my fave mix of carrot and ginger root juice (see pic). I started drinking this at a vegan cafe called Urban Fresh here in Tucson, and it’s my fave combo. It’s called a ‘Ginger Bunny.’ I also added sprouts this time, and it gave it a fresh, green taste. Later, I wanted a chilled soup, so I started to make one from the cantaloupe. I decided on a pineapple gazpacho, though: pineapple, chile, garlic, shallot, lemon, raw honey, and salt. The red chile gave it that peachy color. So, so, SO good! I could eat that everyday.

Have a great day, and I hope to post some more cooking adventures soon!

WhirlwinDISH 22

On my recent trip to Heirloom Farmers’s Market, I picked up Japanese komatsuna greens. I had never tried them before, so I thought I would give them a shot (on the farmer’s rec). Greens (of different varieties) have always been a family staple. Many people only see them as a side dish, though, but I often prepare them as a main (cooked or raw).

This WhirlwinDISH inspiration came to me from a meal I used to enjoy with a couple originally from Liberia. Many Sunday afternoons, my friend and her husband would invite me over for good conversation and good food. One of my favorite preparations was cassava leaves stewed with dried salty fish and palm kernel oil over a bed of steamed white rice. Last year, this dish came back to my mind when I was invited to dinner by fellow yoga teacher-training students. A dinner of vegetable stew, white rice, and ghee was prepared by a very nice gentleman from Liberia (who also happened to be a monk). I made mention of my Liberian friends and the stewed cassava leaves. He said it was a very common dish in Liberia, and his mother would spend hours smoking and drying fish. I mentioned I had not seen cassava locally, and he replied a local Asian market had just recently started to carry it (frozen).

Anyway, as I had never used komatsuna greens before, I thought perhaps I might experiment with a version of the stewed cassava. In addition to the komatsuna, I added bok choy and cauliflower leaves. I often save leaves from cauliflower and broccoli stems for dishes like this, or they can be enjoyed raw. I went with one of my fave flavor combinations for greens which involves: smokiness, garlic, chiles (also for heat), and vinegar. Dried fish is available at my local Asian market, but I took a short-cut and used kippers. No need to re-hydrate them, and they are wonderfully smoky and salty. If you’ve never tried them, they are sort of like smoky sardines. I know many people who do not care for tinned fish of any sort, but I love them. They are one of my favorite snacks! I also subbed brown rice for white.

I sautéed a small bit of garlic and the chopped bok choy stems in smoked paprika oil first, then added the greens, kippers, and s&p just until the greens wilted. Just a pinch of salt, though, as the kippers added most of the saltiness. I moistened the greens with a bit of the kipper juice/oil at the end. As I said in earlier posts, I have been canning and pickling a lot, so some of the pink pomegranate seeds from the farmers’ market got pickled (with a slightly sweet pickling juice). On a hesitant whim, these went on the greens at the end, along with a sauce from some of the red chiles they had. Many times, I will use Buffalo wing sauce for greens in a pinch. But, this day, I roasted the chiles and blended them with some of the pom pickling juice, garlic, and shallots.

I was super super pleased with this meal. Now I know what my greens have been missing: pickled pom seeds! They just explode in your mouth with the vinegary-sweetness…SO good alongside the bitter greens, smoky fish, and chiles. I will probably use different varieties of greens as I have them available, but I see myself having this meal over and over.

WhirlwinDISH 21

Corn salad inspired by my recent trip to Heirloom Farmer’s Market. I was in kind of a rush making this, though, so it’s not as cute as it could be. I was hungry!

This corn was some of the best I’ve had in a LONG time! Like I said, I was in a hurry, so I didn’t even bother to shuck it. I just plopped it in the oven on a very high heat setting, then quickly shucked after it finished cooking. It can be easier to remove the silk, though, this way. Some people put their corn in the micro for a minute or so, but I don’t have one. You just have to watch your fingers because it gets hot.

While the corn was cooking, I prepped the rest of the ingredients and a quick aioli. They had some beautiful yellow and purplish-black tomatoes, so I chose the yellow for this dish. I saw a label for lemongrass, but it was all gone…garlic chives were in its place. I tossed in the chives, a bit of shallots, and some fabulous pink pomegranate seeds.

I let the corn cool to room temp (which didn’t take very long) before combining it with the other ingredients. The dressing was just a light, creamy aioli (more garlicky-ness!) with lime juice. I gave the salad another quick hit of lime juice at the end.

This turned out pretty well! I think it would have been even better if I had let it sit for awhile to meld the flavors, but I wanted to eat already, lol! I’ve never used this combination before for a corn salad. I’m sure I would have never thought about the pom seeds if they were not at the market that day. You never know what creations the market might inspire!

 

WhirlwinDISH 20

I really wanted a big dish of greasy hash browns, but I settled for this potato pancake instead.

I prepared it the way I usually do by par boiling the potatoes, letting them completely cool in the fridge, then shredding them. This day, I used yukon and red. I always keep the skins on. I prefer this par boiling method because once cooled, the pancakes come together very easily. No need to deal with removing liquid from raw potatoes, using binders, etc. Because I eat very little meat-based protein at home, I am always looking for ways to get extra protein in my diet. So, I thought maybe I would try to combine the potato with edamame. Loved it, and it was a great way to sneak in extra protein! Other than that, I just seasoned it simply with s&p and onion. I Misto‘ed the pan (vs. using a ton of oil), let it brown a few minutes without a lid & a few minutes with, then flipped & browned again.

It’s always hard for me to decide whether I want ketchup with my potato pancake (like French fries), sour cream (like a baked potato), or to just have it plain. Finally, I went with versions of both the sour cream and ketchup. I’ve been on a canning kick with pickled this and that, plum-ginger jam, the orange-chamomile marmalade, etc….and made a spicy curry yellow tomato jam. I warmed it through (thinned out with a little water) to make a sauce and added a dollop of preserved lemon yogurt.

I have a few more jams and jellies I want to make soon…perhaps a wine or grape jelly for cluster biscuits, pear preserves…and the summer is not complete without a strawberry freezer jam. I do not recall much from my early childhood, but I do remember coming back from the strawberry fields in New York State (my home state) with baskets of fresh, sweet strawberries. The freezer jam seemed like it would take all day to prep and process. But, ah, how nice is it to have that fragrant, sticky jam on warm biscuits during the coldest of winter days? This is where my love of canning and preserving began.

Was my edamame potato pancake as terrific as greasy, fried hash browns? Heck, no! But, it was still pretty tasty nonetheless!