Mid-East Feast

I honestly can't remember when I started falling for mid-east cuisine, but I've fallen hard. Its still a treat for me too, since Steve isn't a huge fan of Middle Eastern and Greek foods. Is this a guy thing? I've heard of many other guys who, as one put it, "have never found (him)self craving something with chickpeas." But hummus, tahini, falafel, dolmades, spanikopita, I'll take it all.

This is a pretty good introduction to this part of the world's food - nothing too drastic but still a few new flavor combos (Apricots in a meatball? Say what?!?) None of these ingredients are too difficult to find either - the ground coriander could be tough, but you can always take coriander seeds and grind them in a peppermill if you like. 

One thing I would change is to use my handy-dandy food chopper to chop the red onion - they didn't hold together very well with all the chunks of onion and apricot floating around in there. Smaller pieces would fix that, I believe.

And don't miss out on the dressing - its a refreshing bit that will totally transform the meal!


Meatballs with Couscous and Feta
Adapted from Real Simple, October 2010

Ingredients
Salad
1/2 English cucumber, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup vinegar (white is just fine, but rice vinegar is pretty tasty)

Meatballs
1 pound ground lamb, beef, or a mixture of the two
1/4 cup dried apricots, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 small red onion, finely chopped
salt and pepper
1/3 cup breadcrumbs

1 box couscous such as this
4 ounces Feta, crumbled

Dressing
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice


Directions
1. (Can be done ahead of time) Combine the cucumbers, sliced onion, and vinegar in a medium bowl. Toss well, season with salt and pepper, and set aside (refrigerate if making this ahead of time).

2. Heat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, combine the lamb, apricots, coriander, chopped onion, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Form into 1 ½-inch balls (about 20) and place on a baking sheet lined with foil. Bake until cooked through, 18-22 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, prepare the couscous according to the box's directions.

4. In a small bowl, mix together the oil, lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Set aside.

5. Serve the couscous with the meatballs and cucumber salad - sprinkle feta over the top. Drizzle with the dressing.
 
Serves 4

Kitchen Lessons, Part I

No recipe this time - just a few tips, tricks, observations, and lessons from along the way. These are all directly related to something I have recently made or something that will be popping up later this week. That'll keep you guessing, eh?

Observations

1. Fresh garlic is super cheap and it keeps for a loooooong time.
2. Fresh garlic can be a pain to peel and chop.

Tips & Tricks

1. To peel fresh garlic, you have two options:
• Leave a bit of the bottom part on the garlic clove (don't know the real term for it). Cut into that until you're almost through, then use that to help start the peel for the rest of the clove.
• If you have a pot of hot or boiling water already, dunk the cloves into the water for about 10 seconds and the peel will slide right off. Genius. (And I can say that because it wasn't my idea.)
2. To avoid chopping garlic with an actual knife, use a food chopper. I have one right now that I use for both garlic and nuts. I plan to buy a second one just for garlic as soon as I get another 20% off BB&B coupon. Although the garlicy nuts aren't too bad, unless they're in cookies.

Lessons

1. If the recipe doesn't look appetizing when you read it, it probably won't be appetizing once you've put in the time and effort to cook it.
2. If a recipe looks like goulash, smells like goulash, and quacks like goulash, its probably goulash. Even if its called "stroganoff." We wouldn't have eaten it twice this week if I had paid attention.
3. When you're making a recipe by The BC, heed her directions. They will not fail.

Its Just Plain Tasty

Tomorrow begins my favorite season, hands-down - Fall. Fall and I get along famously. Apples, cider, pumpkin bread, stew, squash, leaves, and weather that's still warm enough to grill, but its okay if you're drinking hot chocolate at the same time that you're flipping burgers. But if you are in the mood for something a little more "stick-to-your-ribs" this is a good one. We got a wok for a wedding present and while the wok is great, another fantastic part of present for me was a batch of new recipes to go with it.

And I'll just say that there isn't a lot I would change about it! You can play with it a little bit to fit whatever you have in the house (green bell pepper, chicken stock, pasta, you get the idea). This is exactly how I made it with the exception of partially freezin the beef. I was so proud of myself for remembering to take the meat out of the freezer to thaw that I didn't have the heart to break it to myself that I hadn't followed the recipe correctly. So I just cut it raw and everyone lived happily ever after!

If you want a little more heat, or if your paprika is a little old and lacking in zip, a few drops of hot sauce are a welcome addition. (But still put the paprika in because it makes the sauce pretty.)


Hungarian Goulash
From Aunt Arlene Dyk

Ingredients
1 1/4 pound round steak
1/4 cup margarine
2 large onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper,chopped
1-7oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
3/4 cup beef broth
3 Tbsp. paprika
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup sour cream
3 Tbsp. flour
Cooked egg noodles

Directions
Partially freeze beef, then slice across the grain into bite-sized strips. In a wok or large sauté pan, melt butter, and half of the beef, and cook until brown. Remove and repeat with the other half of the beef.

Sauté onions and peppers until tender; return beef back into pan. Stir in tomatoes, broth, paprika, and salt.

Cover and simmer 15 minutes until beef is tender.

In a bowl, blend together sour cream and flour. Add 1 cup of sauce from the pan to sour cream mixture. Blend sour cream mixture to the pan; cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Serve over noodles.

Serves 4

Vegging Out

This week, Steve and I are vegetarians!  While we have a stash of good ol' beef dogs and turkey burgers for Henry, the two of us are trying out going meatless to see if we eat better, feel healthier, etc... Its not going to be a complete lifestyle change or anything like that, but if nothing else it's a fun challenge for meal planning! (Yes, I think meal planning is fun...)

Monday kicked things off well with a Caprese sandwich, or at least what was supposed to be. I toasted the sourdough and roasted the tomato slices which made them really sweet and concentrated, but because we didn't have mozzarella, I used goat cheese instead, and then topped it off with basil. So good...

We didn't actually get to eat together tonight, but I spent part of the afternoon making a pretty healthy risotto with the thought that we could re-heat the leftovers as needed to keep up with the vegetarian theme of the week. Yes, I realize that this recipe does use chicken stock so its not truly vegetarian, but its the thought that counts, right?!

I find I always let my risotto go a little bit to long. I used 5 cups of chicken stock when I should have stopped myself at 4.  Test your rice as you cook - it should be cooked through but still have a little bite to it. It will keep cooking as you add the rest of the ingredients, and if you cook it to perfection before that point, it will end up a bit mushy. The flavor will still be great, but it won't be creamy and luscious like it should be.

Summertime Risotto
Adapted from Self.com

Ingredients
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced
2 cups diced zucchini
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 pound (about 2 1/2 cups) arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
4 cups nonfat chicken broth
2 tablespoons unsalted butter butter
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Salt & Pepper

Directions
Heat oven to 250°. Gently toss tomatoes in 2 tsp oil with a pinch of salt and pepper. Spread tomatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with tin foil. Bake for 1 hour.

Heat 1 tsp oil on medium heat in a medium pan. Cook garlic and half the onion until translucent; add zucchini and cook 5 minutes. Puree zucchini mixture in a blender with lemon juice and 1 tbsp oil. Add 2/3-3/4 cup of the roasted tomatoes and puree until completely incorporated.  Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a medium pot on medium heat and sauté remaining onion until translucent. Add rice and cook 2 minutes. Gradually pour in wine, stirring until rice absorbs wine. Add broth 1 cup at a time until absorbed, stirring continually for 20 minutes or until rice is tender (add more broth if necessary). Once rice is cooked, stir in zucchini puree, butter and cheese.

Top risotto with remaining roasted tomatoes and enjoy!

Serves 6

Fancy & Simple

Because we have a few herb plants on our deck this summer, I've been looking for ways to use them (for more than just decoration anyway). This is a super-simple way to make your bread a bit more "fancy." Its so good that I may or may not have had a cold piece of this bread for lunch the next day. If you really want to be really fancy, you can call it "French Bread with Chive Garlic Compound Butter." Or to be really really fancy you can call it "Pain français avec du beurre de composé d'ail et ciboulette." But I'll just call it...

Chive Garlic Bread
From "Taste of Home"

Ingredients
1 loaf french bread
6 Tbsp. butter, softened
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. chives, finely chopped/snipped
1 garlic clove, minced

Directions
Preheat oven to 350.

Cut the loaf of bread into 1 1/2 inch slices, not cutting all the way through the bottom of the loaf. Place on a sheet of tin foil long and wide enough to wrap around the bread.

In a bowl, combine butter, cheese, chives, and garlic. Spread on each side of each slice of bread. Wrap in the tin foil and tightly seal the edges.

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes or until heated through.

Serves 6-8

Image from http://www.cookinglight.com/

What We (Will Be) Eating

It all started about 2 years ago. I was wandering through Cost Plus World Market on a Friday evening when I came across the clearance food rack. This was a favorite in the store because it was a nice way to try food I wouldn't otherwise have given a second glance. And on that clearance food rack was a packet of dill pickle mix for canning. Now, I've never canned before, but I remember having lots of mason jars of pickles, tomatoes, and peaches in our basement growing up. So I decide to give it a try myself!

It took about a week to get all of the supplies together (jar lifter, jars, lids, bands, cucumbers, etc...) but the next Friday night I gave it a shot. To be honest, they weren't my favorite; they were a little on the sweet side.  But that got me to try freezer jam, canning cranberry sauce, strawberry rhubarb jelly, and a few others, mostly in the freezer-preserving category.

I found myself running out of freezer space and also in posession of a Barnes & Noble gift card. I was wandering around trying to think about what I could buy, when I saw this:

I have about 20 "to try" recipes dog-eared right now, but I started simple with the basic pickled vegetable recipe. Its about two pages long and really detailed, which makes it perfect for a beginner like me. If you find yourself in a bookstore, check it out. Its pretty fun. And in about 5 weeks, I'll let you know how the pickled cucumbers and carrots taste!

Good & Simple

It used to be that whenever I bought bananas, at least one, usually more, would go brown on our counter. Then into the freezer they'd go until I had enough to make a batch of banana bread. These days, we're going through literally three bunches of bananas a week since they're Henry's favorite food, so we don't get to have brown bananas anymore. So Wednesday, I took matters into my own hands - I put three perfectly yellow bananas into the freezer because I wanted banana bread.

I've tried lots of recipes for banana bread. Some are sweet or exotic (and these were both tasty), but this one is just banana bread - plain and simple. Or good and simple. Or delicious and simple. Because you don't need to mess with the flavor to make it delicious. If you have a good texture and good bananas, that's really all you need.

I'm going to share with you the key to making banana bread, and its something I stumbled upon by necessity. Storing bananas in the freezer (see above) makes them very mushy inside. All you have to do is let them thaw at room temp for about 30 minutes (or if you're like me and don't have the patience, thaw them in the microwave), cut off one end of the banana in its peel, and squeeze the banana into the bowl like you'd squeeze frosting out of a bag.  This isn't a pretty sight - Steve was at first grossed out and then fascinated by this. But you hardly have to mash the banana after that, and I like the texture it gives the bread. So there you have it. Freezer bananas are the way to go.

Note: In order to make sure I was spelling "bananas" correctly, I sang the one line from "Hollaback Girl" in my head a number of times while writing this post (B-A-N-A-N-A-S!) But it was the one from "The Office" when Kelly sang it. Not the Gwen Stefani one. Too much language. :)

Banana Bread
From Lois Smits

Ingredients
2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup mashed banana (about 3)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9x5x3 inch bread pan.

Sift flour, soda, powder, and salt together and set aside.

Cream together butter and sugar, then add eggs until well-combined. Add flour mixture and bananas alternating between the two. Beat well after each addition. Fold in nuts if using. Pour into the prepared pan and let sit for 15 minutes.

Bake 45-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean (it will look golden brown before it is actually done - test it to be sure).

Makes 1 loaf. Will last maybe 2 days, not because it goes bad, it just won't last.