Sweet Potato Nachos

 Sometimes a dinner is a BIG hit. This dinner was a big hit.

Ingredients

• 4-5 sweet potatoes; washed; cut lengthwise into wedges (I keep the skins on)
• 2 T EVOO
• 2 t onion powder
• 2 t paprika
• 1 t chili powder
• 1 t ground cumin
• 1 t garlic powder
• 1/2 t oregano
• 1 can (15 oz.) of black beans, drained and rinsed.
• 3/4 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 c shredded pepper jack cheese
• 1 large avocado
• Juice of 1 lime
• cilantro (2 T, chopped)
• scallions, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425
2. In a large bowl, toss the sweet potatoes, 1 T EVOO, salt and pepper.
3. On a large, rimmed baking sheet, arrange the sweet potatoes in a single layer. Bake 15-20 min.
4. In a small bowl, stir together 1 T EVOO, onion powder, paprika, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, cumin, and oregano. Drizzle over the potatoes. Bake the potatoes another 15-20 minutes. 
5. Scatter the black beans over the sweet potatoes and cover with the cheeses. Bake 5-10 minutes.
6. In a small bowl, combine the avocado, lime juice and cilantro. Mix well. Add salt if needed.
7. Top nachos with avocado. Add scallions.

Cauliflower Kasha Varnishkes

 Sometimes I stumble on a great recipe. Take a chance. 

Ingredients

• 1 large cauliflower (or two small ones), cut into bit size pieces
• 5 T extra virgin olive oil
• 2 t kosher salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced into half moons
• 1 cup Kasha
• 1 large egg
• 2 cups vegetable stock

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425. 
• Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Spread the cauliflower bits on the baking sheet with 2 T of the olive oil, 1 teaspoon of the salt and some freshly ground pepper. Roast for 25 minutes. Check on it half way and flip the cauliflower.
• While the cauliflower is roasting, heat 2 T of the oil in a sauté pan. Add the onions and a bit of salt. Sauté for 25 minutes until the onions are caramelized. Stirring occasionally.
• Remove the onions and place them in a bowl. 
• In a bowl, place the kasha and beaten egg and stir. All the grains should be coated. Heat the sauté pan up with 1 T of oil. When hot add the kasha and eggs and cook over medium high heat for 2-4 minutes until the grains are dried. Stir to keep kasha from lumping. Add stock, salt and pepper and bring to boil. Cover and reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes until liquid is mostly gone. 
• Then turn off heat, keep cover on for 10 minutes and steam.
• In a large serving bowl, put the kasha, roasted cauliflower and onions together and stir.
• Serve

Vegetable Corn Cakes with Black Bean Salsa

 

Corn Cakes

1 cup yellow corn meal

2 1/2 t baking powder

1 cup almond milk

1 T light miso

1 t canola oil

6 oz firm tofu, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

1/2 c corn kernels

1/2 c diced peppers (yellow, red, orange - your choice)

1 scallion finely chopped

Directions:

Mix cornmeal, baking powder, milk, miso and oil together. Then add tofu, corn, pepper, scallion. Stir. On a heated nonstick sauté pan, pour 1/4 cup of batter into the pan. Cook 3-4 minutes on each side. Continue until batter is all cooked.

Black Bean Salsa

2 cans black beans, rinsed

1/4 c diced red onion

1/2 c diced red pepper

1 small tomato seeded and diced

1 clove of garlic minced

1 t cumin

3 T lime juice

Mix all of the salsa ingredients together.

Serve by placing two corn cakes onto a plate and spoon salsa on top.

Grandma’s Pumpkin Bread

 

Grandma’s Pumpkin Bread

 

(makes 3 loaves)

 

Ingredients:

 

3 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 can pumpkin puree

2/3 cups water

4 eggs

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp baking soda

3 1/3 cups flour

 

Instructions:

 

preheat the oven to 350 F

 

in a stand mixer, combine: sugar, oil, pumpkin, water, and eggs

 

in a separate mixing bowl, combine: salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and flour

 

slowly add the dry ingredients (flour mixture) into the stand mixer. stir just until combined

 

Spray 3 loaf pans. divide batter evenly between both pans.

 

bake for approximately 45-1 hour. i usually set the time for 35 minutes and if the edges are browning too quickly, i cover the loaves with foil and reduce the heat to 325 F for the remaining time.

Red Pepper Dip

 This is such an easy recipe if you have a food processor.

Persian Roasted Pepper Dip (Modern Persian Bride)

1 cup unflavored bread crumbs

1 15 oz jar of fire roasted peppers, drained

1 cup of walnuts

6 garlic cloves

2 T Balsamic vinegar (I use Saba)

1 T lime juice

2 teaspoons cumin

2 T Olive Oil

Put everything into the food processor and blend until smooth.

Serve with challah.

Saffron Risotto

 I seem to remember making risotto as difficult. This recipe was easy and delicious.

Saffron Risotto

• 4-6 cups of vegetable stock - warm
• 1 T Olive Oil
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• kosher salt
• 1 cup of dry white wine
• 1 T saffron threads
• 1 T unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

• Bring the stock to a low simmer.
• Heat oil in a large pot, and add onion and cook for 3 minutes.
• Add the rice and a bit of salt. Sautee for 2 minutes. Add the wine and saffron, and bring to a simmer, stirring, until the rice has absorbed most of the wine.
• Add a ladle or two of stock; bring to a simmer while stirring. The rice should absorb most of the stock. Continue to add a ladle of stock to the rice and having it be absorbed before adding a new one. This process should take 18 minutes or so. You do not need to add all of the stock. 
• Add the butter and stir. Turn off heat and stir in cheese. Cover. Let sit for 2 minutes.

Serves four.

Maine

 Happy anniversary to me and Adam. Married for 27 years. We decided to take a three day vacation to Portland, Maine.

We stayed at the Percy Inn, which provided us a quaint place to stay in the West End.

We did some shopping in the Old Port.

We ate some great food at EVO, Honey Paw and had Gelato Fiasco. I had lobster!

We saw lighthouses. We went on a van tour of the Real Portland Tour.

Years ago I saw the Holy Donut on the Food Network. I finally got to try one!

Learned about Liberty Ships

Stopped at the Observatory:

Caught a game at the Seadogs and saw a helicopter land on a hospital

We took a trip to LL Bean and stopped here at Garmin. Yes, that is a model earth.

We did a day trip to Brunswick, Maine (ran into a friend who had moved out of Newton).