Greens and Chickpeas with Couscous (Vegan)

Well, it's CSA season again, and we just got our first share this week. Since we got a lovely bunch of chard and one of curly kale, I decided to make an old favorite. This recipe can be made with just about any kind of greens you have on hand--spinach, chard, kale, collards, mustard greens, beet greens, etc. It's quick, easy, and very satisfying. I served it with whole wheat couscous, prepared with vegetable broth and olive oil.

Greens & Chickpeas
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Pinch Cumin Seeds
Pinch Coriander Seeds (optional)
Pinch Red Pepper Flakes (more if you like it spicy)
1 Onion, (red ones look nice in this dish) cut in half and sliced
2 Cloves Garlic, cut into matchsticks

1 Bunch Chard, stalks and leaves separated and chopped. (Stalks cut into 1" pieces, leaves into bigger chunks)

1 Bunch Kale, stalks and leaves separated and chopped. (Stalks cut into 1" pieces, leaves into bigger chunks)
1 Can Chickpeas, drained and thoroughly rinsed (15 or 19 oz, whatever you have on hand is fine) (or 2 cups cooked chickpeas)
Salt and Pepper, to taste

In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil and spices over medium heat. Once the spices start to smell really good ( a minute or two), add the onion slices and garlic. Stir, and cook until the onion starts to soften and separate. Add the chard and kale stem pieces only, stir and cook for a few minutes, until they brighten up. Add the leaves, stir and cook until they start to look tender. Add the chickpeas, and cook until they are heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over couscous, rice, or another cooked grain.
Enjoy!

Peppers Stuffed with Wild Rice (Vegan)

Now, these peppers were initially going to be stuffed with hulled barley. Unfortunately, I left the pressure cooker at too high heat, and I was greeted with the smell of freshly scorched barley, and a pan that required 8 hours of soaking to clean.

So, I decided it was better for everyone if I left the grain cooking to my rice cooker, and started again, this time with brown and wild rice. I was pretty pleased with the results! This also a great recipe for whatever leftover rice you may happen to have on hand. Just make sure it totals 4 cups, or so.

Peppers Stuffed with Wild Rice
Serves 4

4 Large Bell Peppers
1/2 large red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 TB olive oil
1 1/3 cups cooked wild rice
2 2/3 cups cooked short grain brown rice
1 cup cooked or canned, drained chickpeas.
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
Handful fresh parsley, chopped
2 TB balsamic vinegar
Salt
Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice the tops off the peppers. Put the tops aside, and remove the seeds and stuff from the inside of the peppers. Rinse out the peppers, and set aside.

Chop up the pepper tops, onion, and garlic. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion, garlic, and peppers, just until the onions are soft. Remove from heat.

In a big bowl. mix up the rices, sauteed vegetables, chick peas, parsley, sunflower seeds, and vinegar. Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper and salt.

Stuffing, all mixed up!

Put 1/2" of water at the bottom of an 8" square baking dish (I used my brownie dish).

Fill the peppers to overflowing with the stuffing, and shape the excess into a mound on top.

Stuffed and ready for the oven

Place peppers in the baking dish, and bake, uncovered for 30-40 minutes, 'till the top looks a little crispy, and they're hot all the way through. (Obviously, if you're using leftover refrigerated rice, it'll take longer)

Serve!

Lemon Asparagus Brown Rice Risotto in the Pressure Cooker!

Inspired by a Martha Stewart recipe I saw on Pinterest, I decided to make a whole-grain vegan version, in my trusty pressure cooker. The thing about making risotto with brown rice is, it just isn't as starchy as white arborio rice, so the result can be more soupy than creamy. To combat this, I added brown rice flour, to create a roux, and make the finished texture more like traditional risotto.

Pressure Cooker Lemon Asparagus Brown Rice Risotto (serves 4)

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

1 Shallot, chopped (a small onion also works)

1 1/2 Cups Short Grain Brown Rice

1 1/2 TB Brown Rice Flour (all-purpose flour also works in a pinch)

1 Cup White Wine (or broth)

4 Cups Vegetable Broth

1 Pound Asparagus, cut into 2" pieces

1 Cup Chickpeas, drained (canned or cooked)

1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast (or Parmesan Cheese)

Juice of half a lemon

Zest of half a lemon

Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a 4 quart or larger pressure cooker over medium-high heat. 

Add shallot, and cook until soft. Add brown rice, and stir until each grain is fully coated in oil. 

Add brown rice flour, and mix thoroughly, to create a roux.

Add wine and stir, letting the alcohol cook off.

Add Broth, stir thoroughly, and lock lid in place.

Bring to high pressure, reduce heat, and cook at high pressure for 15-18 minutes.

Quick-release pressure and remove lid.

Stir thoroughly, and make sure to keep rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Stir in asparagus and chickpeas.

Cook for 3-5 minutes more, until the rice is cooked, the sauce is thick and creamy, and the asparagus is cooked to your liking.

Remove from heat, stir in nutritional yeast (or parmesan cheese), lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

Maple Fig Granola

Here's a recipe for yummy fig granola, inspired by Mark Bittman's granola recipe. I served it this morning as a crunchy topping on steel-cut oatmeal and bananas.

Maple Fig Granola (makes about 5 cups)

3 Cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
1/2 Cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
1/3 Cup Cashews, Chopped
1/3 Cup Sunflower Seeds
1/3 Cup Flax Seeds
1/2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
Pinch Sea Salt
1/4 Cup Pure Maple Syrup

4 dried figs, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all ingredients (except figs) in a large bowl, until thoroughly mixed.
Spread mixture in a large baking pan with sides.
Bake 30-35 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from oven and place pan on a cooling rack.
Mix in chopped dried figs.
Let cool, and then store in an airtight container (a mason jar is perfect) in the fridge.

Delicious as a topping for oatmeal, yogurt, or as breakfast cereal. Yum!

Pressure Cooker Vegan Mushroom Risotto

Since I'm lactose-intolerant, I've been trying to reduce the amount of dairy in my diet. After reading a few articles about nutritional yeast, I decided to take the plunge and buy a bag from the grocery store. It lends a savory, umami flavor, so I thought mushroom risotto would be a good place to try it.

The result was a savory, yummy risotto, which was a perfect weeknight dinner on a cold winter's night.

Mushroom Risotto

4 TB olive oil

1 small shallot, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

10 oz package mushrooms, sliced (I used Baby Bella)

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

1/2 cup white wine

3 to 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 1/2 TB Nutritional Yeast (Or 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, if you want to do a vegetarian version)

1 TB truffle oil

Sea Salt (to taste)

In a 4 qt or larger pressure cooker, heat the olive oil over high heat.

Saute the onion and garlic until soft.
Add the mushroom slices, saute.
Add the rice, and mix until the oil coats each grain.
Add wine and mix until the alcohol cooks off.

Add three cups of the vegetable broth.

Lock lid in place and bring to high pressure.

Cook at high pressure for 4 minutes.

Release pressure, remove lid.

Stir in nutritional yeast, truffle oil, and salt.

Cook over medium-low heat for another 3-4 minutes, until the rice is firm, but cooked. If the risotto gets too dry, add more broth.

Yum!

Sautéed Kale with Garlic & Onions

Tonight, Sean made his delicious pasta carbonara with the rest of the batch of homemade fettuccine. We were craving greens, so I made sautéed kale to go with!

Sautéed Kale

1 bunch kale leaves, coarsely chopped

1 red onion, halved and cut into 1/8" thick slices

2 cloves garlic, slivered  

2 TB olive oil
Salt & freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Heat oil in a 3 qt sauté pan over medium heat.

Add garlic and onion slices. Stir and cook until they have softened somewhat and the onion has separated.

Add salt and pepper.

Add chopped kale. Using tongs (or two wooden spoons) flip and stir the kale and onions, making sure to coat all the kale in the oil.

Reduce heat and cover the pan.

Cook for a few minutes more, stirring occasionally, until the kale has softened but is still a nice bright green color.

This recipe also works well with Swiss chard, spinach, beet greens, etc.

Whole Wheat Fettuccine & Marinara

So, I was reading The New York Times the other day, and came across this easy-sounding recipe for marinara sauce. Since the recipe only contains a few ingredients and takes 15 minutes to cook, I simply had to try it!

The result was a bright and tomato-y sauce. It was super tasty, and despite it containing seven (!) cloves of garlic,  the flavors were very well-balanced. The recipe was also a lot of fun to do, thanks to the step of hand-crushing the whole tomatoes. I was able to find D.O.P. certified San Marzano tomatoes at my local grocery store. I imagine getting the right tomatoes makes a very big difference in the finished product.

I paired my sauce with homemade fettuccine, made with my trusty pink KitchenAid stand mixer. Here's the pasta recipe, adapted from the KitchenAid instruction book that came with my pasta roller set.

2 Cups whole wheat all-purpose flour
1 1/2 Cups semolina flour
4-5 eggs (depending on size), beaten
2 TB water
1 TB olive oil
1/2 Tsp. Salt
Extra semolina flour for dusting.

Mix all ingredients in mixer, speed 2, with flat beater for 30 seconds, 'til combined.

Switch to dough hook and knead at speed 2 for 2 minutes.

Knead dough by hand for 1-2 minutes more.

Cut dough into 8 pieces, and form each into a flattened ball.

Cover, or wrap in plastic, and let dough rest for 20 minutes.

Roll out pasta dough and cut to desired shape. (I rolled to thickness 4 and used the fettuccine cutter)

Boil in salted water for 3-5 minutes, drain, and serve.

Williams-Sonoma has a great video on how to use the rollers to make fettuccine:

New Home, New Name, New Posts!

Greetings, readers!

I've decided to re-launch my blog with the name Larissa Makes Stuff, because frankly, my interests do go well beyond the creation of edible things.

I haven't posted to this little blog in over two years. Much has changed. My husband and I sold our teeny tiny place in Brooklyn, and bought a spacious apartment in upper, upper, upper Manhattan. Yes, we moved from Brooklyn to Manhattan to save money and get more space. Go figure.

It's positively thrilling to have a kitchen with full-size appliances and plenty of room for two adults and a cat. (Though Miss Pixie is still very good at taking up half the sofa.)

Here are some photos of the new apartment, all painted and furnished.

Sunken Living/Dining Room

Sunken Living/Dining Room

Midcentury Credenza as TV Stand

Living/Dining Room

Foyer, Vertical Bike Stand

Foyer,  Kilim, Cat

Pull-out Sofa in Office

Office with Corner Window, overlooking the Hudson

Hall of Closets

Master Bedroom

View from Roof Deck

Apple-Pear sauce!

Our farm share has been inundating us with apples & pears over the last few weeks. Unfortunately, with the wedding and all, several bags of fruit ended up going bad before we got a chance to do anything with them. This afternoon, we decided to change that trend and make and can some applesauce. Since we had mostly apples and only a few pears, and most of the recipes I had for pear sauce had the same needs as apple sauce, we decided to mix the fruit together.

I like to leave the skins on when I make applesauce. It adds fiber, and you puree the fruit regardless, so why not?

Apple-Pear Sauce
6 lb Apples & Pears, cored & coarsely chopped
3 TB Lemon Juice
Water
1 Stick Cinnamon
Sugar, if desired.

Combine ingredients in a big stockpot. Cook on medium heat, stirring & mashing occasionally for about 20 minutes or until fruit is soft and saucy.

Remove and discard cinnamon stick. Put hot applesauce in a food processor or use an immersion blender to puree the apples to a nice, even consistency.

Return to stockpot and cook a little longer.


Can or freeze according to the Ball Blue Book recommendations.

New Addition to our staff of Domestic Robots!

I HATE cleaning floors. Because of this, I have bought into just about every floor cleaning gimmick out there (up to and including microfiber dust mop slippers). Several years ago, I got an iRobot Scooba, which has been great for mopping, but since there's water involved, it tends to get done far less often than I would hope. It also will only do one room at a time, as I have somewhat tall trim pieces on the floor of my doorways.

So, thanks to several Macy's gift cards and a 20% off coupon, Sean and I bought the Neato Robotics XV-11 vacuum off our wedding registry. Its design is slightly more sinister looking than the Roomba, but it boasts a beater brush, impressive amount of suction, the ability to climb over floor trim pieces, and an eye (Robot Positioning System).

After charging it overnight, we gave it a test run this morning. The first thing I noticed was how it saw obstacles coming its way and smartly avoided them. It did get caught on a few power cords behind the sofa that I had missed in my attempt to clear the floor for the robot, and I had stupidly forgotten to put down the black perimeter marker around the cat's bowls, so there was a minor emergency when the neato knocked over Pixie's water bowl. Luckily, I witnessed it happen and rushed over with towels and dried the neato (and the floor).

I was very impressed at its ability to clean a room, and then proceed on to the next room. I was less impressed with it insisting on getting stuck under my dresser multiple times, and it insisting that it needed its path cleared when it was in the middle of our bedroom floor. However, I told it to go to bed, and it wheeled its way back into the living room and to its charger without incident.

Watching this robot find its charging base is pure joy. It just backs right up into it and there you go.

I was amazed and somewhat horrified at the amount of cat hair in its bin after the cleaning cycle. I've scheduled it to vacuum just about every other morning, so hopefully the amounts of cat hair will decrease as the apartment becomes cleaner.

Neato's first scheduled cleaning is tomorrow morning. I'm curious to see how that works out.

Arugula Pear Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette

My good friend Adam of the Coozer Files served this unbelievably delicious salad the other night. It was so yummy, I demanded he give me the recipe to share here.

Pear & Arugula Salad (from the kitchen of Adam Coozer)

Vinaigrette:
1 tbsp champagne vinegar (apple cider vinegar should also work)
1 tbsp honey (I use clover honey)
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt & 1/2 tsp coarse ground pepper

Combine the above together, then slowly mix in 2 tbsp of olive oil. Mix well.

Salad:

Arugula
2 bartlett pears, halved, cored, then thinly sliced
Shavings of ricotta salata (salted & dried ricotta). Other cheeses could work too for a slightly different taste - goat cheese, bleu cheese, etc.

Toss everything together and make sure the vinaigrette coats everything! Don't worry if there doesn't seem to be that much vinaigrette - a little goes a long way!

New Year's Resolution: Eat Tasty, yet Healthy Food!

Hello dear readers, happy New Year! Here's a favorite of mine, Curried Pumpkin Soup. My mother found the original recipe somewhere, but I've lightened it up quite a bit, with no loss of yum. It's delicious, healthy and very comforting in the cold winter months. :)

Curried Pumpkin Soup (Serves 6)

1 cup skim milk (you can use other kinds of milk, if you want it creamier. Coconut Milk is a great option)
2 tsp curry powder (I prefer the Jamaican kind)
3 cups broth, any type (vegetable bouillon works well)
1 medium apple, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cup canned pumpkin (1 15 oz can works fine)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp olive oil (coconut oil also works)

Put the olive oil in the bottom of a Dutch oven. Saute the onion and apple in the olive oil until tender (5-7 minutes.)
Stir in the canned pumpkin and remove from heat. Blend in food processor until smooth. Return puree to Dutch oven. Add broth and milk. Whisk in seasonings. Heat gently and serve.

This is really nice paired with whole wheat biscuits.

Enjoy!

Garlic & Spinach Chicken Sauté

This is a quick, easy and healthy summer supper with minimal prep and cooking time.
Ingredients:

1/2 lb. Boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced thin and cut into 1/2" strips.

2 TB Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped or crushed

dash black pepper

dash sea salt

1 (10 oz) package spinach, washed

1/4 cup Low Fat, regular, or fat-free feta cheese, crumbled.

Directions:

Sauté the garlic & olive oil in a large skillet for a minute or so .

Add the salt and pepper.

Add the chicken strips, and sauté until no longer pink.

Add the spinach, a handful at a time, stir and cook until the spinach is wilted and bright green.

Remove from heat. Mix in crumbled feta cheese

Serve over whole wheat couscous or brown rice.

Serves 4

Valentine Cupcakes!

Well, it's a few weeks later, but these are the cupcakes I made for Valentine's Day. I used a yellow cake recipe, added a little bit of red food coloring to tint them pink, and then frosted them with chocolate icing. I then put a sweetheart candy in the center of each, and surrounded it with a circle of Valentine M & M's.

Bananas And Cream Oatmeal

This is a super healthy, warm, tasty and filling breakfast, that's super easy to do in the morning before work.
(serves 1)

1/3 cup instant oats

1/3 cup skim milk

1/3 cup water

1 tsp milled flax seed

1 banana, sliced

Sprinkling of ground cinnamon

Mix together the oats, milk, water and flax seed in a microwavable bowl. Slice in the banana, stir again, sprinkle with cinnamon, and microwave for 1-2 minutes, depending on your microwave oven. Stir again, and serve! Yum!

Cinnamon Espresso Ice Cream

Well, now that Winter is fast approaching, why not post an ice cream recipe? I assure you, if you make this for your friends, they will brag about you to strangers.

Cinnamon Espresso Ice Cream (makes 1 1/2 quarts)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 1/2 TB Instant Espresso Powder

1/2 Tsp. Ground Cinnamon (get the good stuff)

1 Cup Milk (I use lactose free milk, and then I have lactose-free ice cream! Woo!)

2 Cups Cream (again if you use heavy whipping cream= no lactose and you get lactose-free ice cream)

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract (again- live it up and get the good stuff. ALSO- you can sub with pure almond extract, and it's super extra wonderful tasty)

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the sugar, espresso powder, and cinnamon. I like to mix it up with a whisk, because I like to say "whisk." Sounds exciting, no?

Then add the 1 cup milk, and whisk together the ingredients until the sugar is completely dissolved. It'll take a little while.

After the sugar is completely dissolved, add the 2 cups cream and the vanilla extract.

Freeze in your ice cream maker for about 30 minutes. (It will be about the consistency of soft-serve at this point)

Transfer to an airtight freezer container and allow to "ripen" overnight. (AKA harden to regular ice cream consistency)

Enjoy! And don't forget that it does contain espresso, so if you eat a whole bunch of it, and then try to go to bed, there may be some difficulty...

Halloween Brain and Eyeball Cupcakes!

Hurrah for confections shaped like body parts!

I made these pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting using the recipes from Krystina Castella's EXCELLENT book, Crazy About Cupcakes, the best cupcake book I've found. The idea for the brains came from Martha Stewart Living, but the blood was all my friend Jason's idea.

The brains were pretty easy to do- I just divided the cupcake into two halves, and piped a big pile of squiggles of frosting onto each half, using a round pastry tip, until the heaps looked suitably brainy. Then I just drizzled a little red frosting on top for blood, as red cake decorating gel is rarer than hen's teeth in Brooklyn grocery stores.

The eyeballs were super easy, as well. I just frosted the cupcakes as smoothly as possible with the plain cream cheese icing. Then I piped a big dollop of blue frosting in the center of each cupcake, and inverted a dark chocolate chip into the center of the "eye" for the pupil. Then I piped red blood vessels out in squiggly lines from the center, and voila! Bloodshot eyeballs!

Super Tasty Baked Macaroni and Cheese

I love this recipe, as do all of my friends. Definitely a rich and tasty treat.

Macaroni and Cheese

1/2 Pound whole wheat pasta, cooked al dente ( macaroni elbows and fusilli seem to work best, but other smallish pastas are fine, shells, bowties, etc.)

1/2 pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated

2 cups milk

3 TB Butter

3 TB Flour

1/2 Tsp. sea salt (more or less to taste)

a generous amount of fresh ground pepper

1/2 TB Coleman's mustard powder mixed with 1/2 TB water

1/2 Cup Breadcrumbs

2 TB butter, melted.


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare the pasta according to its package directions, drain and put aside.

In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, melt the 3 TB butter, and mix in the 3 TB flour. Cook and mix until the flour is all bubbly and a beige-y color. Congratulations, you've just made a roux!
OK, now mix in the milk, a bit at a time, whisking and letting the sauce thicken as you add it. Now stir in the salt, pepper, and prepared mustard. Once the white sauce is lovely and thick and hot, add 2/3 of the shedded cheddar cheese to the sauce, and cook on a low flame until the cheese is completely melted and the sauce is well mixed.

Now, dump the pasta and the cheese sauce into an appropriately sized casserole dish.

In a small bowl, mix the 2 TB melted butter, 1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs, and the remainder of the shredded cheddar cheese.

Spread the breadcrumb mixture over the macaroni and cheese in the casserole dish, and bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 30 minutes, or until browned and bubbly.

Enjoy! :)


Variation-- Jalapeno Macaroni & Cheese-- Substitute the cheddar cheese with pepper jack cheese and leave out the mustard. Spicy!

Pasta Salad- perfect to bring to BBQs!

La's famous pasta salad

Dressing (OK I have NO measurements for this, I just sort of eyeball it)

equal parts Balsalmic vinegar & Olive oil, maybe like 3/4 cup each??

a few shakes mixed Mediterranean herbs ( I use the stuff from whole foods that's meant for fish)

lots of black pepper

a few shakes sea salt

a whole bunch of shakes of crushed red pepper

maybe about 1/2 teaspoon chopped basil (fresh, dried, from a jar, whatevs)

In a little bowl, mix the above ingredients together, let the dressing sit while you prep the salad ingredients below


Salad Ingredients

1 pound whole wheat fusilli, cooked and cooled

1 package grape tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes, halved)

1/2 pound fresh mozzarella (I like to use the marinaded braid one, if the store has it) cut into 1/2" cubes

1 little can sliced black olives, drained

1 can artichoke hearts, drained and cut into little pieces

Sliced sauteed zucchini is good to put in there, too.

In a big bowl, mix together the salad ingredients and toss with the dressing. This tends to taste better the longer the pasta and stuff have to absorb the flavors from the dressing, so you might want to make it the night before, or earlier in the day. Do taste it, though, and make sure it doesn't need more salt or vinegar. I'm always adding more of those two things...

Lazy Girl Lo Mein

This is a healthy, yet quick and easy weeknight supper for 1. It's easily doubled for 2. :)

1 serving (2 oz) whole wheat spaghetti, cooked al dente
1 1/2 cups frozen stir fry vegetables
3 oz. soy stir fry faux meat strips
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce (Thai peanut sauce is very good, too)
Spray canola oil

Prepare the spaghetti.

Lightly coat a medium fry pan with spray oil. Stir fry the frozen vegetables and faux meat strips until the vegetables are nearly cooked. Add the teriyaki sauce and heat through. Add spaghetti, mix thoroughly, and serve.