Quesadilla Omelet

Before I get caught up in this week's post, let me explain why I haven't been around since November.  Right after my last posting, I went on vacation and came back to find out my dad had a heart attack and was in Cardiac ICU.  Two weeks later, he died while ungoing cardiac surgery.  I was Daddy's girl.  Well, I was born Daddy's girl, went to middle school as Mom's Girl, went to high school convincing myself I was no one's girl.  It took my dad's being in a major accident my sophomore year of college for me to realize what I was missing and I was Daddy's girl every since.  When he died in December, it was like I was a boat without oars - just drifting.  Over the last year, other family members have passed on or have had major medical crises as well.  Two new babies have been added to my extended family and two new babies have been born to teammates at work causing the only thing that kept me going - I haven't had time to think!

I haven't been very creative in the kitchen, and that has meant a lot of quick and comforting foods. 

Quesadillas became one of those cheap, easy and comforting way to have dinner on the table.  On the fly at a local natural foods market, I picked up cilantro, poblano peppers, and bell peppers and added some frozen black beans and corn kernels and sauteed it all together to make an easy dinner.  Well, I made quesadillas a few more times, but then just couldn't muster up the will to make it again so it all just sat around in the fridge waiting for either the garbage disposal or for me to get it together. 

Welcome the quesadilla omelet!  I diced up one large garlic clove, a handful of cilantro, one poblano pepper, and a yellow bell pepper.  I grated some sharp cheddar cheese.  I cracked a few farm fresh eggs.  About ten minutes later at the stove and a dash of hot sauce, I had dinner! 

It was so great, it was requested again!  When my husband said it was blog worthy, I realized how long it has been since I heard that and it was the motivation I needed to get back to being Seduced by Produce. Having problems posting pictures, so this is going up sans-photographs.  

Three Sisters Tamale Casserole

Bubble, bubble, toil and casserole?

In my continuing quest for comforting vegetarian main dishes, I happened upon a casserole cookbook at my local library.  A casserole that peaked my interest was a tamale casserole, but there was a big problem inherent in the recipe in that it had cheese and ground beef in the same recipe.  Keeping a kosher-style home means that is against the rules, but it sounded so good I had to try and make it work.  Exchanging beef for zucchini and adding a few spices to enhance the flavor of the veggies made the recipe something I could enjoy at home.

Enter what I like to call Three Sisters Casserole.

Nom nom nom

Tabbouleh

Every year around this time, my stomach decides it no longer wants hot foods like braises and curries for lunch. Even better if the food requires no cooking during preparation! It's all about salads and sandwiches. When my stomach goes on hot food strike, this salad becomes an obsession of mine!  Even better, most of it is in season and came from Hydro Harvest Farms.

Somehow, my Mom and Dad developed a love of Middle Eastern food while living in Philadelphia and introduced me at a young age.  I can remember being about eight or nine years old and going with my mom on an hour long drive to source out great pita and sumac since we couldn't get it in the Central Florida suburb where I grew up. I was the only middle schooler I knew that knew the difference between fattoush and tabbouleh and the only high schooler waiting in line at the Hovan stand in the local mall for a mixed salad plate of the two along with a side of pita and hummus.   

From that, I went on to college and spent many weekends sourcing out the many great Middle Eastern restaurants and bakeries in the neighborhoods near my school.  In my brief tenure as a teacher, my students knew my love of this delicious salad and even attempted to bribe me into giving less homework by bringing in large amounts of this. I still gave homework, but I'm sure I graded a bit easier while chowing down on this salad.

Now that I have figured out just how easy it is to make, it's made with regularity at home for as long as tomatoes are in season locally. Luckily, I'm in Florida so that season has already started and will last well into summer.  I'm fortunate that my local farm also has beautiful mint, parsley and onions growing.  The onions are on their way out, so I will have to start supplementing soon, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts. 

Directions:

First, set up soak the bulgur wheat to soak. I soaked 1/4 cup of the grain in 1 cup of water for 20 minutes, or until al dente, and then drained it very well (squeezing works well here).

For those of you who haven't yet branched out to enjoy the wonder that is bulgur wheat, here is the box I bought for reference.

 

Set this aside, and begin mincing your herbs and onion. I do this while the bulgur wheat is soaking to save a bit of time.  Core and de-seed your tomatoes, and then dice your tomato.  Combine your minced herbs, onion and tomato in a non-reactive bowl (preferably glass.) 

Add to the bowl the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add the bulgur wheat to the bowl and mix to combine.  Adjust this recipe to your taste preference.  Best eaten the same day, but will keep up to three without problems.  It's never lasted any longer around here ... no matter how much I make.


Since posting, I attempted to substitute quinoa for the bulgur wheat and have found that I like it even better.  Substitute a cup of cooked quinoa for a great alternative tabbouleh.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup bulgur wheat or 1 cup quinoa
2 cups minced fresh parsley leaves
1 cup minced fresh mint leaves
2 cups cored, seeded, and chopped tomatoes
1 small white onion, minced
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste


This salad is best at room temperature - the flavor of the tomatoes dims when refrigerated - but if you must do so, make sure you bring it back to room temperature prior to serving.

Cabbage Salad

Chag Pesach Sameach/Happy Passover!   After two Sederim, plural for Seder (the ordered meal where we retell the story of the Exodus), I was craving something light and crunchy.  I can only eat so much matzo, meat and starch!  We just got home from celebrating the beginning of this beautiful holiday with relatives in South Florida, and the first thing I did after unpacking was crack open my Nanny's cookbooks for ideas on what to make for the rest of the holiday.   This recipe, with a bit of tweaking, was something I could make easily out of things I already had in the house.  During the seder, "we ask why do we eat bitter herbs?"  Well, after eight days your body will begin screaming "enough matzo already" and will be craving an abundance of herbs to help the matzo along and out!  Why wait?  This recipe reminds me of something I used to have when I was a kid and my family went out for "deli"and is a perfect accompaniment to a meat or dairy meal. 

 This salad, with the assistance of the food processor passed down to me by my wonderful mother-in-law, only took ten minutes from start to finish and made enough that I will have enough for every day left of this wonderful holiday.

Using the grater blade of the food processor, or on the coarse side of a box grater, grate one cored head of green cabbage, three medium sized carrots, one medium onion and two cucumbers.  Put all of these grated vegetables into a large non-reactive bowl - preferably glass if you have it. Then, blend the ginger, sugar, salt, white vinegar and and cold water until the ginger and sugar disappears into the liquid. 

Add this salad dressing to the bowl and mix well.  Let stand for one hour for optimum deliciousness! 

Ingredients:

Salad -
1 head green cabbage, cored
3 medium sized carrots
1 medium sized white onion
2 cucumbers

Dressing -
1 cup cold water
1 cup white vinegar
3 tablespoons vegan cane sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 inch piece of peeled ginger

This makes a party sized amount!  

Meatless Monday: Stir Fried Bok Choy and Lettuce with Shiitake Mushrooms

It's just another Manic Monday right?  Not when dinner is a quick and easy stir fry!  I don't know about you, but my job sure isn't getting any less busy, and recently, I'm never sure what time I'll be home.  This recipe, from start to finish, took less than an hour and was filling without being heavy.  

 

Knowing that my local farm, Hydro Harvest Farms, has an abundance of bok choy and lettuce, I scoured the internet in search of inspiration and happened upon this recipe from Cooking Light magazine.  I tweaked it a bit to my tastes by adjusting the sauce and using fresh mushrooms and ended up with this stir fry.  I was intrigued, and I am kinda getting tired of salads. You may say that stir frying lettuce sounds crazy, but apparently there are other ways to eat lettuce!

 

Combine soy sauce, wine, and sugar in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Heat your wok over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil and ginger to pan; saute 30 seconds. Quickly add your sliced mushrooms and saute for 1 minute. Add one cup of broth and bring it to a boil. Cook until your mushrooms reduce in size and take on a shine. 

Combine the oyster sauce and cornstarch in a small bowl and stir the mixture until the corn starch is mixed in well.  Stir your oyster sauce mixture into the mushrooms in the wok and bring it all to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook it all for about a minute or until thickened and then remove the mushrooms from the heat.

To your wok, add the remaining oil and heat until shimmering.  Then, add your garlic and stir fry it for 10 seconds. Add your bok choy to the wok and the rest of the broth. You may have to add the bok choy in batches but stir fry it all for about 2 minutes or until the bok choy begins to soften.

Add the lettuce, again potentially in batches, and stir fry for about 2 minutes or until lettuce wilts. Add the mushroom mixture and the soy sauce mixture to the wok and continue cooking 3 minutes or until bok choy is tender.

To serve, I used our rice cooker to make some brown rice and just spooned the stir fry over top.

Ingredients:

2 cups sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms (about 20 total)
2  tablespoons  low-sodium soy sauce
1  tablespoon  Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine) or dry sherry
1/2  teaspoon  sugar
4  teaspoons  canola oil, divided
1  teaspoon  minced peeled ginger
2  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth, divided
4  tablespoons  vegetarian oyster sauce, or regular if you have it
2  teaspoons  cornstarch
3  large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
8  heads baby bok choy, halved lengthwise (about 6 cups of greens)
1  medium head romaine lettuce, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces (about 8 cups)

Verdict:  I am so looking forward to lunch tomorrow.  I was hesitant about stir frying lettuce, and was pleasantly surprised. 

Penne with Arugula, Grape Tomatoes and Cannelini Beans

Last month's Pasta with-Sauteed Tomatoes and Arugula still fresh in my mind, and tomatoes still in season in Florida, means that this is a recipe that was begging for updates and remakes all season long.  This week, I used grape tomatoes left over from an impulse buy at Worden Farm stand at the St. Petersburg Morning Market last weekend and arugula from one of my favorite places, Hydro Harvest Farms.  This is a great Meatless Monday dish, but works for any night of the week. 

I did things just a little bit differently this time around.

Ingredients:

Water for Pasta
4 ounces of penne pasta

1/4 cup olive oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups arugula, stemmed and cleaned
Pint of grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 can cannellini beans, drained with 1/2 cup water
1/4 cup white wine
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Grated Pecorino Romano

Recipe:

Prep all ingredients according to the above specifications to have by the stove ready to go.  Put salted water on the stove set on high to boil for pasta.  Set a large pan on the stove as well.  In the large pan, heat the oil on medium high heat.  When shimmering, add the garlic until lightly tan. It's just not cooking in my house until you can see this:

Add the tomatoes and cook until tomatoes begin to soften and blister.

By this time, the water should be boiling so add the pasta to the water and turn down the heat to medium high.  Add salt, pepper, beans and white wine to the pan.  When the liquid reaches a boil, add the greens to the pan and cook until the greens wilt and the liquids reduce by half.

Drain your al dente pasta and add it with a 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water to the pan.  Cook the pasta with the mixture for about 5 minutes, or until the liquid has thickened.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Grate some pecorino romano cheese on top and serve.  

Yeah, I love living in Florida this time of year.  Tomatoes and 70 degree days in February is not a bad way to live.