Michelle's yummy tacos and creamy cilantro dip

I told Michelle I'd post a photo of her meal from last week as a little push to try to get her to post her recipes on our blog. The creamy cilantro dip was good. Spicy. Made you eat a lot till your mouth was burning, and then inexplicably eat more.

Sunflower seed pasta sauce and Summer fruits with ginger syrup

I'm way behind - that's what happens when school is back in session. I'm determined to catch up though - two weeks of meals to write up.

My Austinmamas group has a wonderful side group called the Austin Red Tent, that runs foodtrees, does laundry, runs errands, and whatever else might be useful for any of our members in need of help. After my last birth, this group did such wonders helping me out, while I was stuck on a couch with extreme anemia for a few months. So, I am paying back. I track all pregnant ladies in AM and coordinate the arrangements for a redtent for them once they've given birth, and then I often provide one of the meals for these mamas.

Last week was the first week of classes, plus the kid's dad was out of town, so things were really busy and I needed a quick and easy meal for food coop. I cooked my standby fast redtent dish - Spaghetti with Roasted Capsicums, Sunflower Seeds and Sundried Tomatoes - from Cooking with Kurma. I've been asked for the recipe for this pasta sauce many times, having made it for many families. I've never got around to typing it out until now. By the way, capsicum = australian for bell pepper. Kurma Dasa, a Hari Krishna, is a cooking celebrity back home in Australia, with a popular cooking show and a number of recipe books. His recipes introduced me to asafoetida - a really interesting spice used in indian and persian cooking with a number of names, most notably "hing". Hare Krishnas do not eat garlic or onion, but use asefetida as a substitute. My two standard tomato based pasta dishes are from his cookbooks and use this spice. They are, obviously, delicious.  Asafoetida is ground up resin-like gum that comes from the sap from the stem and roots of Ferula Assafoetida. It is no coincidence that its name makes you think of the word fetid. This stuff really stinks, but with magic similar to Thai fish sauce, something stinky added to a dish makes it taste all kinds of wonderful. It's hard to find in Austin. Neither Central Market, nor HEB carries it. I haven't tried Whole Foods. Wheatsville sometimes carries it. I ended up ordering online a stash from Frontier Spices, because I didn't find it though Penzeys, my usual favourite online spice supplier.

In the middle of summer, the easiest dessert to make is fruit salad. We'd already had a few fruit salads, but I wanted to keep things easy, so I looked for an easy fruit salad that was a little different than usual, and emphasized some of the fruits more specific to this time of the year. I found a recipe in an old Bon Appetit magazine that fitted the bill, and am glad to report that it was very fast, easy, tasty, and different from the normal - Fresh Summer Fruit in Ginger-Wine Syrup, using nectarines, peaches, raspberries, and figs. I made a double batch, and it was a good amount of fruit. I still have half the syrup left over, so I think you could safely halve that part of the recipe.

Spaghetti with Roasted Capsicums, Sunflower Seeds and Sundried Tomatoes
from Cooking with Kurma, by Kurma Dasa.
Feeds 4 (I doubled the recipe)

1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup raw hulled sunflower seeds
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder
2 red capsicums, roasted, seeds and membranes removed, cut into thin strips and then chopped.
   (To save time, I buy a jar of roasted red peppers and use 1/3 - 1/2 jar.)
1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained, chopped
2 Tbsp oil from sundried tomatoes
3 cups tomato puree
   (I use one large can of Muir farms diced tomatoes pureed with my stick blender)
1.5 tsp salt
   (I halve this)
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1-2 tsp sugar
   (I use 2 tsp)
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped.
1 packet linguine
parmesan (optional - I don't use it)

Chop the capsicums, sun-dried tomatoes, basil. Puree the tomato. In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over moderate heat. Add the sunflower seeds and saute until they start to brown. Sprinkle in the asafoetida powder and swirl to mix. Add the red peppers and stir briefly. Add the rest of the ingredients, saving a little basil to add at the end. Bring to the boil, and simmer, while stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes. While the sauce is simmering, cook the pasta. Serve garnished with basil and topped with parmesan if you like.

Quinoa greek salad with hummus and chocolate banana bread

This week I made one of my standby summer meals - Quinoa Tabbouleh - from an old Food and Wine magazine. Looks like it is too old to be included in their online recipes, but luckily I wrote it up a few years ago in the mamawiki. Rinsing and then toasting the quinoa before cooking it really improves the flavour and texture of this grain. I use this technique whenever I cook quinoa. I like serving this salad inside a pita bread pocket that I've spread with a dollup of hummus. Earlier this summer I tried a cooks illustrated recipe for hummus, which is the best recipe I've found. There are no surprises in the ingredients, it's all about the technique. This hummus is really silky and creamy, which comes from making an emulsion, like when you make mayo. I finished the meal off with another cooks illustrated recipe for banana chocolate bread. Must remember to take photos of my meals so this blog is more interesting. (Added photo!)

Restaurant-style hummus
From Cooks Illustrated, May 2008.
Makes 2 cups

3 Tbsp juice from 1 to 2 lemons
1/4 cup water
6 Tbsp tahini, stirred well
   (I use Krinos brand)
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 14 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 small garlic clove, minced (~ 1/2 tsp)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
Pinch cayenne

Combine lemon juice with water in one bowl. Whisk together tahini with extra virgin olive oil. In food processor, process the chickpeas, garlic, salt, cumin, and cayenne, until almost fully ground, about 15 secs. Scrape down the bowl. With processor running, slowly pour in the lemon/water mix and process for 1 minute. Scrape down sides. With processor running, slowly pour in the tahini/oil mix amd process till smooth and creamy, about 15 secs. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 mins for flavours to meld. Keeps in airtight container in fridge for 5 days but I bet it won't last that long.

Banana-Chocolate Bread
From Cooks Illustrated, March 1998.
Makes one 9-inch loaf. 
2 cups all-purpose flour
10 Tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups toasted walnuts, chopped
2 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate, grated
3 bananas, very ripe, mashed well
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla

Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom only of regular loaf pan, or grease and flour bottom and sides of nonstick 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. Combine first five ingredients and chocolate together in large bowl; set aside.

Mix mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla with wooden spoon in medium bowl. Lightly fold banana mixture into dry ingredients with rubber spatula until just combined and batter looks thick and chunky. Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan; bake until loaf is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Watermelon salad with citrusy crab quesadillas

The meal I made for this week's food co-op consisted of citrusy crab quesadillas, with a watermelon salad, and a raspberry chocolate mousse. I threw in a strip of watermelon fruit leather that I had made last week that worked really well. I'll write up how to make that and post it soon. Similarly the chocolate mousse was one I learned at a chemistry education conference last week! The recipe was invented by a chemist and is so easy. That is a separate post in itself, probably on my blog. I'll link to it when it's done.

The crab quesadillas are from a Bon Appetit magazine. I've been making this recipe every summer for years. If the crab is fresh and I feel like splurging, I'll use crab, otherwise it is fast and tasty just using fake krab too. When I make this recipe, I use sliced grape or cherry tomatoes - I prefer their taste and the recipe isn't too juicy, which happens with larger tomatoes. I used to make these using serranos so they were a bit hotter, but now I make them with no chilies so my kids will eat them too. When they are not in a crab mood, just the cheese mixture on it's own is pretty tasty. I love the citrusy flavour that comes from the orange and lemon juice and zest.

Now in general, I'm totally a recipe-based cook. I own brazillions of recipe books. I pore over them and love coming up with new things to try. Even when its a recipe I make many many times, I still tend to check with what's written down, though I'll start straying a little from what's written now and then. This next recipe is a big departure from my normal comfort zone. I wanted to copy the watermelon salad I had at La Condesa at my birthday dinner earlier this year. It was such a great mixture of tastes and textures - sweet crispy watermelon chunks, sweet crunchy caramelized pepitas, creamy salty goat feta cheese, shredded herbs, and some sort of vinaigrette containing at least agave nectar and hoja santo. I found a video online showing the La Condesa people making a salad that was similar, but not exactly the same. The accompanying text was not entirely clear, but was a good starting point. When I started writing this up I found another link with the same video with an actual recipe written out. Never mind, I read a number of other similar recipes too, and then came up with my own version. I hope I can remember what I did, because I'll want to make it again. It was delicious. This making up my own recipe thing is a big deal for me. I hardly ever do it, but like many other things lately, I think I'm changing!

Watermelon salad
Serves about 8

arugula (I prefer baby arugula to grown up arugula)
1 small seedless watermelon, rind removed, chopped into chunks.
1 wedge ricotta salata (or goat cheese feta), diced small

3/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp brown sugar

Melt butter in a heavy nonstick skillet over medium. Add sugar and a good pinch of kosher salt and stir to blend. Add seeds and stir to coat. Cook for a while till seeds pop. (When I made this, I toasted the seeds first till they popped, then added the butter and sugar. This was a bad move because I couldn't cook them long enough to fully melt the sugar before the seeds started to overcook.)

Scatter the arugula, place watermelon pieces on top. Sprinkle some cheese and caramelized pumpkin seeds on top. Add dressing.

(Keep the components separate if you are not going to eat it all at once. In particular, the pumpkin seeds will lose their crunch. Still taste good, but not the same effect.)

Dressing
Makes about 1.5 cups

1 Tbsp fresh mint, shredded
1 Tbsp fresh basil, shredded
1 Tbsp fresh cilantro, shredded
1 tsp fresh epazote, shredded
4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Juice of 1 lemon
1 lime, juice and zest
2 Tbsp agave nectar
3/4 cup olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth. With machine running, gradually add the oil until well incorporated. Season if needed.

Cauliflower & Potato Curry

Well, this is going to be a real stretch for me. I suck at writing and I make up most of my recipes as I go along. I'm going to try my best to make some sense of how I cook. I'll probably end up writing about techniques more than measuring out amounts. I once had to write out some precise recipes for a cookbook and it was SO hard for me.

Cauliflower & Potato Curry

1/2 part ghee

1/2 part grapeseed oil

I use enough to fully cover the bottom of the pan.

1 large red onion cut in large slices, however you like (I cut them big to show up in the curry)

Ginger, as much ginger as you are willing to put in the pot, diced.

Your favorite curry blend (I use what I have on hand, usually my own mixture0

1 or 2 cinnamon sticks

5 medium russet potatoes cut into large chunks (I do my best to use organic potatoes)

*** a note about organic, please see Environmental Working Group

2 medium sweet potatoes cut into large chunks

3 small heads of cauliflower

13.5 oz of coconut milk

28 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes (I crush them myself) & add the juice

Cilantro, if you like it.

On low heat, add oils, spices and ginger. Cook for just a few minutes and then add onions. Cook for just another few minutes. I try to get a little color on the onions. Add potatoes, stir to coat well in spices. Add coconut milk and tomatoes. Cook for a few minutes, probably until they are half way done. Then add the cauliflower and cover. Simmer until the cauliflower is just tender. If you cook it too long the cauliflower will become mushy. Add chopped cilantro if you like it. I do.

I'll add a few other recipes tomorrow.

Ratatouille and Key Lime Bars

Hurray for our new food co-op. After two months of being part of Sunni and Claire's vegan food co-op, I couldn't wait to get ours going. As daunting as a food co-op sounds going into it, once you are doing it, you wonder why you haven't ever done it before. For now, there are three of us in the co-op - Melissa, Michelle and me, Ruth - the idea of living close enough to deliver each other meals is very nice. We'll keep our eyes open for someone else with similar food philosophy who lives close, but three is a nice number to start off with.

My first meal was driven by the numbers of eggplant, squash, bell peppers and tomatoes I was accumulating, mostly from Greenling's local box deliveries. And by my love of eggplant dishes. I used a recipe from one of Annie Sommerville's recipe books Fields of Greens from her Greens restaurant in the Bay Area. I'll be using this book often. I had intended to serve it over polenta, but ended up not getting around to making the polenta, sorry.

Ratatouille
Serves Four (I made double this for the three families)

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion, quartered and sliced
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 medium size Japanese eggplants, halved lengthwise and sliced 3/4" thick, ~ 3 cups
  (I used regular globe eggplants)
2 medium bell peppers, cut into thick strips and then triangles, ~ 2 cups
1 lb summer squash cut into thick slices or wedges
2 lb tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped, ~ 3 cups
  (I didn't peel or seed them)
1 bay leaf
3 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tbsp fresh marjoram or Greek oregano, chopped
  (I used oregano out of my garden)

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, 1/2 tsp salt, few pinches of pepper. Saute over medium heat until soft (5 mins). Add garlic, eggplant, peppers, 1/4 tsp salt, pepper. Saute for 8-10 mins till the eggplant and peppers are just tender. Add summer squash, tomatoes, bay leaf, 1/2 tsp salt, pepper. Stew over low heat for ~20 mins, until everything is tender. Add basil and marjoram just before serving.

Prompted by the key limes in my Greenling's box, I made Sweet and Tart Lime Bars, from a recipe compilation book Food & Wine Annual cookbook 2007. I was glad to find a copy of the recipe online so I don't have to type it out. The nuttiness was nice in the crust, and they were nice and tart, unlike a keylime pie I saw made at the chemistry conference which was made with lime juice and condensed milk. Cool chemical engineering talk on key lime pie. But not my favourite way to make it.

Ruth

New blog! Yay!

Ok - brand new blog. Must dig up my recipes and post what I made two weeks ago. I'm back from my conference. Melissa will be back Monday. Let the cooking commence!