Black Bean & Edamame Salad

Food is my friend and enemy at the same time.  I love food with bold flavors.  My biggest downfall is baked goods and sweets.  I love to bake and I love to eat it.  Oh and let's not forget the processed foods that most of us eat out of laziness or convenience. Face it fast food in all forms is bad for us and easiest to prepare or just simply pick up at the drive-thru, not to mention how cheap it is.  Eating healthy is expensive!

This little meal is not only tasty and healthy but it won't break the bank to prepare!  It's packed with protein and flavor!

Black Bean & Edamame Salad

Adapted from Clean Eating March 2012 

1 15oz can black beans

1 cup grape tomatoes cut in half

1 cup fresh or frozen shelled edamame thawed

1/2 cup red onion

2oz fresh mozzarella cut into 1/4 inch cubes (note fresh mozzarella is sold in the deli section in tubs)

1/2 cup fresh cilantro or 1 teaspoon dried

I am not a big fan of cilantro so I picked up some dried at Penzeys. I was very excited to find this because a bunch of cilantro always goes bad.  I use much less then what the recipe calls for because I just don't like it!!

Dressing

1 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

*1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder (I got mine at Penzeys Spices, I have one down the street)

In a medium bowl, combine beans, tomatoes, edamame, cilantro, mozzarella, and onion.

In a small bowl whisk together the dressing. Drizzle over the bean mixture and toss. Serve immediately.

  This salad is light and tastes amazing.  You could easily use the dressing for other salads as well!

Get your yum on!

Just a note

* The recipe called for an Anaheim chili pepper to be added to the salad I did not have one so I used the Ancho Chili Powder in the dressing it was wonderful. If you want to add the chili pepper feel free. Just cut, seed and dice!  If you don't want something so hot try a green, red or yellow bell pepper.  You may want to throw in a bell pepper anyway.  Sounds good to me!

A Tagine of My Own Making

I love my Tagine.  It is an amazing cooking vessel.  Meats come out incredibly moist and tender and vegetables are cooked to perfection.  Because of this clay pot I have become fascinated with Moroccan Cooking.  I have been reading much and looking at Moroccan Food Blogs.  I like most things.  There are, however, a few things that I do not like.  I am not a big fan of cloves or cinnamon in my savory foods.  Save them for my pie, thanks.  I also am not a big fan of fruit in my savory food.  Many recipes call for grapes or apricots.  These are just not flavors that I enjoy together.  I am sure many people love this flavor combination but  it's just not for me. 

I was looking in some cookbooks and I came across a Tagine recipe that called for most of the ingredients that I do not care for.  I gave up and decided to go out on a limb and create a recipe that I knew that I would love.  I hope you enjoy it as well.

Chicken and Quinoa Tagine

2 large chicken breast cut into pieces

1 onion cut in half then sliced thin

2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 cup Quinoa rinsed

1 can garbanzo beans drained, rinsed and peeled

1 1/2 cups water

3 large carrots cut into pennies

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1 generous pinch of saffron

salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Heat Tagine or Dutch Oven over medium heat.

 

Add Olive Oil and Chicken.  Cook until chicken starts to brown on both sides.

 

When chicken is brown add onion and cook until translucent

When onions are done remove them along with the chicken and set aside.

Add Quinoa, water and spices.

Return chicken to the tagine, add garbanzo beans and carrots and cover.  Cook for 20 minutes or until quinoa is translucent and has little tiny strings attached to each.

Add one of your favorite flat breads (I made pita's)

and...

Get your yum on!

PS Don't miss my special Yeast Spoon give-a-way just click to join in.

there's a fungus among us

Dinner is something that I struggle with.  I find it hard to come up with amazing meals for one.  Well, the February issue of Clean Eating did not leave me hanging!  There are lots of amazing healthy choices in this one issue.  Today's choice, Grilled Portobello & Onion Burgers.

Burger:

4 large portobello mushroom caps, wiped clean

4 slices red onion each round about 1/4 inch

1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

4 whole wheat hamburger buns (I used sandwich thins)

2 oz blue cheese crumbles (I forgot them for the photo)

4 romaine lettuce leaves (this did not sound good so I left it out)

Heat grill pan on med-high. Lightly brush the mushrooms and onions with oil. (I used my olive oil sprayer and sprayed them) Grill mushrooms and onions for about 4 to 5 minutes per side until mushrooms are tender.  Mushrooms will begin to release their juices when they are tender.  Set aside on a plate and grill buns for 1 to 2 minutes per side.

Sauce

2 tbsp nonfat plain Greek style yogurt

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp dejon mustard

2 cloves garlic minced

2 tsp dired basil

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Spread evenly on each half of bun. Top with cheese and lettuce (if you use it) 

Get your YUM on! 

note: this is super easy and impressive for guests! Or at least I think so.  It tastes amazing! 

Join me in Morocco?

So I will be upfront with you.  I have never been to Morocco!  I just happen to fall in love with a simple clay cooking vessel called a  Tagine.  To learn more see my first post about the tagine Maiden Voyage: Tagine 

There are many unique parts to this tagine dish.  The first is Preserved lemon.  You can purchase them online here preserved lemons it is just as easy to make them.  All you need is lemons, a jar and some kosher salt.  I will post how to do this soon.  The next unique ingredent is harissa.  A fiery past made from dried acho chillies.  Don't worry folks I have this recipe for you along with some fun photos too!

Harissa

8 dried red chillies (ancho or New Mexico)

2 to 3 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (or kosher salt)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 cup olive oil

Put the chilies in a bowl and pour over enough water to cover them. Let them set for at least an hour.

Drain and squeeze out any excess water.

Using a motar and pestle, pound the chilies into a paste. Now I gotta be honest with y'all, this did not happen. I used a food processor for the chilies and the motar and pestle for the coriander.

  add the garlic and salt to this before placing into the food processor 

Beat in the cumin and coriander and bind with the olive oil

Store paste in a sealed jar in the fridge with a think layer of olive oil floating on top. It will keep for a month.  And let me tell you not a day longer!  

Okay so now what?  You have a jar of harissa what the heck do you do with it????

I chose an easy recipe from Tagine: Spicy stews from Morocco

Chicken tagine with harissa, artichokes and green grapes

4 chicken breasts cut into thick strips

2 table spoons olive oil

2 onions halved lengthwise and sliced with the grain 

1/2 preserved lemon cut into thin slices

1 teaspoon sugar

1-3 teaspoons of harissa paste (to your taste)

2 teaspoons tomato paste

1 1/4 cups chicken stock or water

1 13 oz jar of artichoke hearts

rinsed and halved

about 16 green grapes halved

one bunch cilantro leaves chopped

(this is the part that I wish I would not have listened to the recipe, way, way too much cilantro for me)

sea salt and ground pepper

for the marinade

2 garlic cloves crushed

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon of olive oil

First make the marinade, in a small bowl mix the garlic, turmeric, lemon juice and olive oil

cover and refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours or overnight

Heat the oil in the tagine.  Add the onions, preserved lemon and sugar

I cut up the lemon very small

saute for 2-3 minutes until slightly caramelized.  Toss in the marinated chicken, then add the harissa and tomato pastes. 

Next add the chicken stock and bring to a boil

Reduce heat and let cook gently for 15 minutes

 toss in the artichoke hearts and cover for for another 5 minutes

Add the grapes and some of the cilantro and season to taste with the salt and pepper

Sprinkle with some cilantro to serve.  

Add your favorite couscous and enjoy!

Me & My Big Ideas: A Dinner Dilemma

I live in Phoenix, Arizona.  Sounds nice right?  Sun, cactus, cowboys, palm trees and the Kokopelli... um and 115 degree temps in the shade! This can make dinner a dilemma especially if it's pizza or anything else the requires an oven or stove.  'Round these parts we keep the curtains shut and the lights off, let alone even thinking 'bout turning on the oven. What to make, what to make?  So as I was driving home I got the bright idea to pull out my pizza stone, walk down the grill, turn it on, wait a bit and grill some pizza.  Great idea.  And it worked... well, sort of.

I would normally make my own crust, however, with as hot as it is I don't even want to turn on my KitchenAid.  I made a trip to Fresh & Easy and picked up a whole wheat crust.

Hint: Do you see the charred cornmeal on the pizza stone? This should have been my first clue that something was wrong.

Next, make some pesto or do what I did and pick up a jar.  Unless pine nuts are on sale I will almost always pick some up rather than make it fresh.  Don't get me wrong I love fresh pesto and it is easy to make, I just don't want to shell out the cash for the nuts!

Throw on some nitrate free peperoni, sliced mushrooms, cheese, bell pepper and tomato and close the grill.  and...

You will have perfect, black bottom pizza.  Yup you heard right, black bottom pizza.  This pie looks amazing from this photo.  It just has one major issue.  I burnt the crust on the bottom.  I think I may have resolved this issue, at least in theory.  Two things, one assemble the pizza then place it on the stone.  I did it on the hot stone... bad idea? not sure. This leads me to the second part of my theory, don't make the grill so flippin' hot! Turn the damn thing down. Oh and remember, even if you turn it down, them pizza stone things stay HOT for a long, long, long, long time! 

Even with the black bottom, I ate this pizza and it was good.  I just could not serve it to anyone.

If you have any tips for grilling pizza on a stone feel free to comment!  I am student foodie!!

What's for Dinner: Mozzarella & Ham Stromboli

So have you ever stumbled upon a recipe so simple and yet so amazingly yum that you feel like you can make it for dinner every night and be happy for the rest of your life.  (okay maybe that is just a slight overstatement)  Oh and before I forget it not only tastes amazing, it also looks amazing.  It is as if you suddenly became a gourmet!  Yessiree bobbie, you can wow your friends with this one folks. (again, just a slight overstatement)

Okay enough babble, you say.  Share this culinary wonder already! Okay, Okay, hold ur horses. (btw I told one of the kids in my class to hold their horses and they walked over to the bucket of animals, grabbed the horse and said: okay Ms. Becky I'm holding the horse.)  

The Crust:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (don't skimp folks get the King Arther Flour) (you can also substitute half with whole wheat flour)
1 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
1 1/2 table spoon extra-virgin olive 0il

Combine 2 cups of the flour with the sugar, yest and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer.
Combine EVOO and water in a measuring cup
Slowly stir the water/oil mixture into the flour mixture using the paddle attachment to combine
Mix in the last cup of flour.

Hint: I used all of the bread flour and a half cup of the ap flour first.

Change to your dough hook and kneed on low for 4 to 5 minutes until dough comes together as a ball and is smooth and elastic. (you can do this all by hand too, Just knead for 10 minutes)

Let rest for 10 minutes

Next punch down the dough. (not much to punch)  Using a bench knife or a sharp knife, divide the dough in two.  Shape each into a ball and roll out into two 14 inch x 12 inch rectangles.

Spread 2 Cups of shredded mozzarella over one rectangle and then the same for the second.  Top them both with 1/4 lb sliced ham (each) Starting from the long edge, roll up tightly to form a long cylinder.  Pinch seam to seal and fold ends under.

Brush with some EVOO and sprinkle your favorite Italian spices and some Parmesan cheese.  Sprinkle some corn meal on your cookie sheet and bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the crust is golden brown.  Slice and eat right away.

Oh I almost forgot, I added some tomatoes and fresh spinach to the roll too be sure to seed your tomatoes or you will end up with soggy stromboli (I did)

I know this picture has nothing to do with this recipe, but, is this cool or what?  I just got my new vanity plate! :)  Had to stick it into my blog someplace right?

Camp Kitchen @ Happy Jack

115 degrees that's a typical day in Phoenix, AZ anytime after Memorial Day.  Sounds like the best time to get out of the valley and hit the north country.  This past weekend was my first camping trip of the year and WOW was it amazing!  I joined a wonderful camping club via Meetup called Arizona Camping Club . What an amazing & wonderful group of people!  Friendly and very welcoming but most of all fun!

So what does this novice baker/foodie take to eat?  The plan Shrimp, couscous and veggies for dinner, sandwiches for lunch and eggs, turkey bacon for breakfast.  Little did I know that this group has an amazing community kitchen that made for a much more elaborate spread. Steak, chicken, mashed potatoes (yes real mashed potatoes camping)  mushrooms and fresh coffee.  Eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes... Whatever your little foodie heart desires was or could be created by this amazing group of campers!

I made scrambled eggs.  Not sure if that was my original intention... let's just say that on the way to the community kitchen my foot found a rock and the eggs went flying and I now have a big @$$ bruise!  Only about 5 eggs did not quite make it.  The rest became breakfast!  Made for a fun morning!

Marsha, our Chef for the weekend

The grill spread

mmmmm chicken

yeah, okay we did not have Elk, but some four-legged friend did

The meadow behind our camp

We took LOTS of photos on this road!

We found a ranch with some horses in  a public land pasture.  This was the icing on the cake for an amazing weekend!

I am looking forward to the next trip!  Now that I know how the whole thing works I will be cooking much more!  Stay tuned to future camping foodie blog posts! 

Oh btw, at night the temp reached 39 degrees. Much better than 115 no?