Vegetarian Cooking For Carnivores

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TOMATOES & BASIL & PASTA – Oh, My!

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TOMATO & CAMEMBERT TOPPED SPAGHETTI

 

It’s all happening in the garden! Tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, basil, and, of course, the ever-present zucchini. Nature is in full bounty!

Whether you grow your own veggies or buy from a farmer’s market, there’s a world of difference between farm fresh and the flavorless produce at the grocery store. So let’s enjoy these garden glories while we can.

I’ve been making Tomato & Camembert Topped Spaghetti for years and have always used dried basil in the dish. It’s so much easier and I figured dried is the same thing as fresh minus the water, right? Well, as it turns out, while that may be technically true,  where taste is concerned, fresh is absolutely superior. I recently made this dish using some leftover fresh basil I had (you know me – waste not, want not!) – my mouth was aglow with flavor.

Nothing but fresh from now on in this recipe!

Tomato & Camembert Topped Spaghetti obviously calls for spaghetti (or linguine) noodles. I make my own pasta (no surprise to those of you loyal followers of my blog). I’ve included the recipe for the brave souls out there willing to give it a go.

TIP:  An easy way to chop basil is to put the leaves in a cup and snip away with kitchen shears.            This photo shows me chopping parsley, but it’s the same principle.

parsley snipping

TOMATO & CAMEMBERT TOPPED SPAGHETTI – makes enough for 3

  • 10½ oz spaghetti or linguine pasta (recipe follows – or buy pre-made)
  • 3 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 lb Camembert cheese, torn into bite sized pieces
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil (chopped)
  • 3 cloves garlic, pressed
  • 1½ tsp salt
  • ground pepper to taste
  • about 1/3 cup Romano or Parmesan cheese, shredded

Boil pasta until done. Drain.

As pasta is cooking, put the tomatoes, Camembert, olive oil, basil, garlic, and salt into a large serving bowl and blend. Mix in cooked pasta. Can be served immediately as a warmish dish, or refrigerated and served cold.

To each serving sprinkle on Romano (or Parmesan) and ground pepper.

HOMEMADE PASTA – makes 10.5 oz (approximately 3 servings)

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 T extra virgin olive oil
  • 1½ cups all purpose flour
  • additional water, if needed

Into the workbowl of your food processor, put the eggs, olive oil and flour. Whirl, stopping now and then to scrape the loose flour into dough. The goal is for the dough to be able to form a ball when dough is squeezed. Add a teaspoon of water at a time, if needed. However, you don’t want it too wet.  If it’s sticky, add a tablespoon at a time of flour and mix.

I use the Atlas hand crank pasta machine. For my pasta maker, I start with a setting of ‘1’ and work my way to ‘5’. Then I run the dough through the spaghetti cutter.

There are a number of youtube videos about making homemade pasta that would be a good idea to watch.

 

 

 

 

 

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TOASTY TOMATO & PESTO SANDWICHES

TOASTY TOMATO PESTO SANDWICH

TOASTY TOMATO PESTO SANDWICH

After picking my first tomato of the season, I wanted to make the most of this tempting treat. So I came up with an amazing sandwich:  a toasted focaccia bun topped with melted provolone cheese, slathered with pesto, and a fat slice of my precious tomato.

I’m a firm believer in cooking from scratch – it not only saves big bucks, but it empowers you to choose what goes in your body. So, of course, I made the pesto and focaccia myself.

However, I understand not everyone shares my passion as a diehard DIY-er. So you can simply purchase the pesto and focaccia and STILL have a great tasting sandwich.

As a glass half full kind of gal, I’ve included recipes for the pesto and focaccia, along with the sandwich directions, in my optimism that some of you will give them a try.

TOASTY TOMATO PESTO SANDWICH – makes 1 sandwich

Ingredients:

  • thick tomato slice (preferably home grown or from a farmer’s market)
  • 2 or 3 Tbsp. pesto (recipe follows below)
  • 2 slices provolone (or whatever cheese you prefer)
  • focaccia bun (recipe follows below)

Directions:

  1. Slice the focaccia in half horizontally and toast it.
  2. Lay the cheese on bottom half and zap in the microwave for 15 seconds or so to melt the cheese.
  3. Slather on pesto.
  4. Add the tomato.
  5. Place the top half of the roll.

Now open wide and enjoy the feast!!!

PESTO – makes 1 cup

  • 2½ cups (4 oz) basil, packed
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2½ T lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup Romano cheese, shredded
  • 1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Put all ingredients in a blender and puree. You’re going to need to start and stop the blender a lot in the beginning in order to mix things around by hand.  WARNING:  Do NOT push down with any utensil while machine is running. Been there, done that. Turn machine off before mixing things up! Pretty soon everything will blend on its own.

FOCACCIA BREAD – makes 5 buns

  • 1 cup water, 100º-104º Fahrenheit
  • 1¼ tsp yeast
  • 1½ (7 oz) cups white bread flour
  • 1½ (7¼ oz) cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
  • coarse salt in grinder for top of bun
  • extra olive oil for soufflé dishes

Proof yeast in water.

Into the work bowl of food processor put all of the white flour, 1 cup of the whole wheat flour, the olive oil, salt, and rosemary. Turn on machine and slowly stream in the yeast water through the pour spout. Add the remaining wheat flour one tablespoon at a time until the dough forms a firm ball. Let the machine run 45 seconds more to knead the dough. (If you don’t own a food processor, you’ll have to do this by hand. As you undertake this task, think about buying a food processor!)

Plop dough into an oiled bowl, then flip dough and place back in bowl. Now both sides are oiled. Cover with tea towel and let rise 1 hour.

Cut dough into 5 pieces. If you have 4¼” individual soufflé dishes (see photo) use them – you’ll need 5.

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The buns will turn out nice and rounded. If you don’t have soufflé dishes, just use a well oiled cookie sheet. As you can see from the photos, the soufflé dishes turn out prettier focaccia buns – but they taste the same!

BAKED IN SOUFFLE DISH VS FREE FORM

BAKED IN SOUFFLE DISH VS FREE FORM

Pour about 1½ tsp olive oil into each soufflé dish. One by one, take a piece of the dough and work it into a 4″ disk, smooth on one side. Place the smooth side down into the oiled dish, and press. Flip dough and press down again, so the dough fills the dish bottom – try not to mar the smooth surface. Cover and let rise 1/2 hour.

Using a finger with a short fingernail (or the stick end of a wooden spoon), make several deep indentations in dough. Brush with a little olive oil (not absolutely necessary to do this), and grind sea salt over top.

Bake in preheated 400º Fahrenheit oven for 20 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before removing from soufflé dishes to a wire rack to cool.

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GOLDEN GAZPACHO – Soup With The Midas Touch!

Refreshing GOLDEN GAZPACHO

Refreshing GOLDEN GAZPACHO

In my part of the world, summers are brutal. It’s not unusual for temperatures to rise above 100º F (for you celsius folks, that’s over 38º)! So, what am I making for dinner? Soup!

No, the heat hasn’t addled my brain – I’m talking chilled soup, specifically GOLDEN GAZPACHO. The key is to make it early in the day. This serves two functions: 1) the kitchen hasn’t heated up yet so I can comfortably do my chopping, and 2) for Golden Gazpacho to be at its peak of flavor, it needs to be ice cold.

There’s a lot of wiggle room in this recipe. You can adapt it to suit you preferences. In fact, I once mistakenly bought a papaya instead of the called-for mango. (As I sliced through it, I kept waiting for the giant seed – it never came.) Papaya was wonderful, and a lot easier to cut up.

NOTE: Cilantro is one of the ingredients. A lot of people (including myself) think it tastes like soap. So before adding it to your whole batch, do a taste test with a small portion. I have to divide the soup and add cilantro to half since my husband prefers it, and I hate it. But – I love my husband.

GOLDEN GAZPACHO – makes about 5 cups

  • 3 tomatoes (any color), chopped – you can leave the skin on
  • 1/2 cup vegetable stock (purchased or homemade – VEGETABLE STOCK)
  • 1 T chili pepper (any kind), seeded & chopped finely
  • 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 1 mango, chopped
  • 1 cup melon (cantaloupe, honeydew), chopped
  • 1 small yellow pepper (or orange or red), chopped
  • 1/2 cucumber, skinned, seeded, & chopped
  • 1 T extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup scallions, sliced
  • optional: 1/2 T cilantro

In a blender or food processor, purée 1 tomato, vegetable stock, chili, lime juice, turmeric, salt, orange juice, 1/3 cup mango, and 1/3 cup cantaloupe. Pour into large serving bowl and add remaining ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper, if desired. Refrigerate at least 4 hours – the longer, the better.

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NUTTY FRUIT PILAF – All Dressed Up & Ready To Party!

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NUTTY FRUIT PILAF

In Armenian homes, pilaf (rice) is one of those side dishes that’s always present but rarely noticed. It’s good, it’s filling, it’s cheap, it rounds out the meal – but it’s nothing to write home about.

However, on special occasions we take the time to brown the rice before boiling, and add in some almonds, raisins, meat (NOT vegetarians, of course), noodles, etc. – making it a memorable side dish.

For pilaf to be at it’s best, it really needs to be completed just before serving. While it’s still tasty heated up as a leftover the next day or two, it lacks the freshness it once had. (I know the feeling. Sigh!)

To help reduce the stress of one-more-thing-to-do during the last half hour before meal time, measure out the ingredients ahead and have them at the ready. The most time consuming part of Nutty Fruit Pilaf is sautéing the rice in butter. This takes about 8 minutes and needs almost constant stirring. I suggest you delegate this mindless task – guests, older kids, spouse. You just need someone to keep the rice moving so it doesn’t burn.

NUTTY FRUIT PILAF – makes about 2½ half cups pilaf

  • 2 T butter
  • 1 cup white rice
  • 1/4 tsp allspice
  • 1/8 tsp white pepper
  • 2 cups vegetable stock (purchased or homemade – recipe at Vegetable Stock)
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup peas, cooked
  • 1 T fresh parsley, finely chopped (I use scissors)
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Melt butter in a saucepan over a medium/low flame and add rice. Stirring frequently, cook rice until browned – about 8 minutes. Turn off flame.

Add in allspice and pepper, stirring another minute to enhance the herb’s flavor.

Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to boil over medium flame. Lower heat to retain a simmer, cover with lid slightly askew to release steam, and let cook 10 minutes. Add in raisins and peas, cover, and continue cooking until liquid is absorbed – probably another 10 minutes.

Stir in parsley, lemon juice, salt, and almonds. Adjust seasoning, as needed.

 

 

 

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MUSHROOM & SPINACH TOPPED POLENTA – Easy Peazy!!!

 

Polenta topped with mushrooms and spinach

Polenta topped with mushrooms and spinach

I realize there are people that have neither the time nor the inclination to do a lot of cooking from scratch. But there are certain costly foods that are so easy to make, I feel it my duty to encourage (some might say “nag”) you to give it a try.

One such food is polenta. With such an exotic name, you might assume it’s a time-consuming process made from a variety of expensive ingredients. Uh, no. It’s merely cornmeal mush. If you want to be fancy, you can add some spices and maybe throw in a few dried tomatoes. But, basically, it’s boiled cornmeal and salted water. So, before you fork out big money for a tube of polenta (which you’re going to have to heat up) you may as well buy some cornmeal and try cooking it yourself.

I topped my polenta with a quick stir-fry of mushrooms, scallions, and spinach, then spooned on some brown sauce for a delicious, easy meal.

TIME SAVING TIP:  As the Queen of Freeze, I suggest you double or even triple the brown sauce recipe and freeze the extra in portion sized containers. One less thing to do in future! (Make sure you like the recipe before you load up your freezer with brown sauce, though.)

POLENTA TOPPED WITH MUSHROOMS & SPINACH

Polenta – serves 2 or 3

  • 2/3 cup cornmeal
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • optional: 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (for a little kick!)

In a saucepan, bring the cornmeal, water, salt, and cayenne to a boil – stirring often. Reduce heat slightly to keep the water at a simmer. Continue stirring until the mixture thickens (about 10 minutes). Add in any extras, such as dried tomatoes, herbs, cheese, etc.

If you want the polenta mushy, serve immediately. But if you want it firm, pour the hot mixture in a container such as a loaf pan lined with waxed paper, smooth top, and refrigerate for several hours. To serve, remove from pan and cut into serving sizes. To heat, you can either fry or broil polenta in butter or oil.

Mushrooms & Spinach Stir-fry – serves 2 or 3

  • 9 oz mushrooms, chopped
  • 1½ cups spinach, chopped & packed
  • 1/2 T butter
  • 1/3 cup scallions, sliced

In a skillet, melt butter and add in mushrooms, spinach, and scallions. Sauté for several minutes – until spinach is just wilted.

Brown Sauce – makes 1 cup

  • 1 T cornstarch
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 2 tsp rice vinegar
  • 5 T soy sauce
  • 1 cup water

In a small saucepan, combine cornstarch, sugar, vinegar, and soy sauce. Smash any lumps. Turn on heat to medium and add the water. It will be the color of coffee with cream. Stir often (constant is best) and bring to a boil. The color will now be coffee WITHOUT cream, and the sauce will be thickened slightly. Remove from heat.

To Assemble:

Place Polenta on plate. Top with Mushrooms & Spinach and ladle on Brown Sauce.

 

 

 

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ALMOND COOKIES: Chocoholics Approved!

 

almond cookie2

I generally live by the rule, “If it isn’t chocolate, it isn’t dessert.” However, sometimes rules are meant to be broken. There are actually times when I crave a little something to go with my morning tea or after a filling meal that ISN’T chocolate. Honestly!

When I was a child, my favorite thing about eating at a Chinese restaurant was the almond cookie for dessert. For a girl who, even as a child, lived by the chocolate credo, that’s saying a lot!

Because Almond Cookies are rolled into a ball, then brushed with an egg yolk wash, they’re a little more work than an average drop cookie. But after one bite, you’ll know they are worth the effort. An extra bonus is these Almond Cookies come out looking very professional – pop them in a pink box and people will think you spent a fortune at top bakery.

Note: Bigger is not always better.  If these cookies are too large, they become a bit chewy. Stick with the recommended 1″ size dough ball.

Additional Note: You may notice there’s no salt in this recipe. It’s not an oversight.

ALMOND COOKIES – makes 45 cookies

  • 45 whole almonds
  • 1/2 cup butter, soft
  • 1/2 cup shortening (I use Crisco)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1/2 tsp water

Lightly toast the almonds. Let cool.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter, shortening, and egg. Beat in the sugars and almond extract.

Gently add in flour, soda, and powder in 3 increments.  You can use the mixer on low speed – just don’t over mix.

Roll dough into 45  1″ balls, placing them on an ungreased cookie sheets – a dozen per sheet works well. Flatten slightly with fingers.

Preheat oven to 350º Fahrenheit.

Beat egg yolk and water together, then lightly brush on cookies. Press an almond in center of each. Dip your finger in egg yolk wash and run it over almonds. (If you use the pastry brush, cookie dough gets on it and almonds don’t look as nice.)

Bake at 350ºF for 15 minutes if using a dark nonstick cookie sheet, and 19 minutes if using a silver one. (I prefer the dark sheet.) Cookies should be lightly browned. Let rest 2 minutes on sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool.

 

 

 

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VEGGIE-CHEESE WAFFLE: It’s What’s For Dinner!

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I’m a gal who’s cooool (notice the extra “o’s”? – oh, yeah!). So when there’s a new food trend, I’m right there with fork in hand.

The pop-food that caught my eye recently was waffles. No longer just for breakfast, dripping in maple syrup, today’s waffles are topped with ice cream for a hot fudge sundae, made into a Monte Cristo sandwich, baked into a 7-layer cookie bar, ice cream wedged between 2 waffles for an ice cream sandwich. I’ve gained 5 pounds just thinking about those luscious delights.

Since I like to think outside the box, I wondered what if I added veggies to the batter and topped it with caramelized onions, thus creating a dinner (or lunch) waffle? Epic win! (See – I’m SOOOO with it!) They were delicious, filling, and the calories were quite reasonable since I left out the oil in the batter and the syrup on top.

So grab that waffle maker you have hidden in the back of the cupboard and go make dinner!

DINNER WAFFLES – makes 2½ large waffles

  • 2 T cider vinegar plus enough milk (I use nonfat) to equal 1 cup
  • 2 onions, sliced
  • 2 T butter
  • 1/8 tsp salt (this is separate from salt below)
  • 1 zucchini, shredded, chopped, or cut into half moons
  • 4 mushrooms, chopped
  • 2/3 cup fresh spinach, chopped & packed
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 T Dijon mustard
  • 1/8 tsp dried dill
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup Swiss cheese, shredded
  • optional: 3 strips imitation bacon (I use Morningstar), cooked crispy, then crumbled
  • oil to grease waffle iron, if needed

Combine cider vinegar and milk – we’re making buttermilk. Let sit as you prepare the rest of the recipe. If you already have buttermilk, then just use 1 cup of it instead.

Caramelize onions by melting butter in a skillet at medium heat and frying onions for about 20 minutes – until they’re golden brown. (Don’t worry about the skillet – an SOS pan takes care of that in no time) Stir often. Sprinkle in 1/8 tsp salt.

In a saucepan, sauté the zucchini, mushrooms, and spinach in a drop of oil until cooked.

In a mixing bowl (preferably one with a spout for easy pouring), beat egg and Dijon. Beat in buttermilk. Gently stir in by hand the dill, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and 1/4 tsp salt. Don’t over mix – there can still be streaks of flour. Add in cooked veggies and cheese, and stir just enough to mix everything.

Preheat waffle iron. Brush with oil, if needed. Pour on batter. If using “bacon”, sprinkle on. Close lid and cook.

NOTE: The secret to prevent waffles from sticking to the iron is not to lift up the lid too early.  If you do that, you’ll have a big mess on your hands. I set my timer for 4 minutes before I check – by then, the waffle has baked enough to hold together. I usually have to cook it another couple of minutes.

Top with onions and serve hot.

 

 

 

 

 

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Wow! I’m Gonna Have A TOMATO-VEG COCKTAIL!

TOMATO VEG COCKTAIL

TOMATO VEG COCKTAIL

Late afternoon is a dangerous time. It’s been hours since lunch and stomachs start getting a little rumbly.

It’s tempting to just grab a cookie or donut (my personal favorite!) to tide us over until dinner. We even rationalize that the sugar boost will cure the lagging energy. If only!

Then I saw the commercial where the guy gets slapped in the head and says, “Wow, I coulda had a V8!”

Extra veggies (and, yes, I’m aware tomatoes are a fruit). Low cal. Delicious pick-me-up with a kick. WOW! I’m gonna have a V8…homemade, of course.

I came up with a recipe that I love, but tweak it to suit yourself. I suggest you peel the tomatoes, then shake out the seeds. These don’t purée well and you’ll get bits on your tongue. However, they are extra fibre, so if you don’t mind them, save yourself a little work.

Note: This makes a good Bloody Mary mix. Just sayin’.

TOMATO-VEG COCKTAIL – makes about 3¾ cups

  • 1½ lbs tomatoes (2 large), skinned, seeded, and chopped in large chunks
  • 1 carrot, sliced
  • 2 T red beet, skinned
  • 1/2 cup spinach, sliced
  • 2 T parsley, chopped
  • 1/2 cup red pepper, peeled & chopped
  • 3 stalks chopped celery, center strings removed
  • 1/2 cup onion, chopped
  • 1½ cups water
  • juice from 1 lime
  • 1 tsp Tabasco sauce
  • 1½ T vegetarian Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt

Put the tomato, carrot, beet, spinach, parsley, red pepper, celery, onion, and water into a large saucepan. Bring to boil, cover, reduce heat to simmer, and let cook for 20 minutes. Stir now and then. Turn off burner and let mixture cool with cover on.

Pour into a blender or food processor and purée. Add in lime juice, Tabasco, Worcestershire, and sea salt. Blend on low speed. Adjust seasonings, if needed.

Refrigerate until it’s super cold.

 

 

 

 

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Twist & Shout With HOMEMADE PRETZELS!

Homemade pretzels

Homemade pretzels

Who doesn’t love the aroma of freshly baked bread? Even a full stomach will start growling at that intoxicating smell.

So when we’re at the mall it’s hard to resist those soft hot pretzels. If you’re only buying 1 or 2, it’s not such a big deal. But if you’ve got your whole family – look out! You’re talking real money! And if teenaged boys are involved is this group…holy moly! My sons can down a pretzel before I’ve had my first bite, and are ready for more.

I decided to try my hand at making them. All the recipes I found were pretty much the same. Most used all-purpose flour, but one called for bread flour. I wanted a pretzel that had some stretch when I broke it apart. Since bread flour has more protein which causes the stretch (please, don’t ask me the science behind this), it surprised me all-purpose flour was used so often.

I donned my lab coat (complete with goggles – just for the effect) to make a batch with all-purpose and a batch with bread flour.

I also noticed that nearly every recipe had you boiling the formed dough in baking soda and water for 1 minute before baking them. Was this really necessary, I wondered? (I’m not averse to cutting corners when I can!) So while I was in my experimental mode with the flour, I decided to test boiling versus non-boiling.

As a good scientist, I did my tests twice. The results were conclusive – bread flour was best as far as taste and stretch, while the all-purpose pretzels looked prettier and rose a bit more. But I’m a person who cares about the beer, not the bottle, so I’ll be using bread flour.

I’m sorry to report to you lazy cooks, there was actually a big difference with the water bath – whether they were made with bread flour or all-purpose, the unboiled were dryer, had no stretch, and weren’t as pretty, as you can see in the photo below:

 

pretzel-baked vs boiled

pret text

 

SOFT PRETZELS – makes 12

  • 1 cup water
  • 2¼ tsp dry active yeast (or 1 packet)
  • about 3 cups bread flour
  • 2 T butter, soft
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 4 tsp sugar
  • 1/3 cup baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp cornstarch

Heat the water to 100º-104º Fahrenheit. Stir in yeast and let proof for 5 minutes.

Put 2 cups of the flour, the butter, salt, and sugar into the work bowl of your food processor. When yeast is proofed, turn on machine and slowly add the water through the pour spout. Keep adding flour a few tablespoons at a time until the dough forms a ball. I use nearly all of the 3 cups of flour. If you don’t own a food processor, you’ll have to do this step by hand, kneading about 10 minutes.

Empty dough onto a floured board. Pick up from the bottom and fold in on itself, so the floured side surrounds the ball. Plop into an oiled bowl, then flip the ball and plop back upside down – now the ball is oiled on both sides. Cover with a tea towel and let rise for 1 hour.

Punch down risen dough and place it on a floured board. Cut into 12 equal pieces. Roll and stretch each piece to a length of 18″ or more. Dough is very elastic, so I’ve found it best to stretch each piece about 12″, then start again and stretch to 15″ or so, and finally do a final round to get each piece to 18″. As each piece reaches its final length, form it into pretzel shape (See photo below).

pret shape

 

Cover with towel and let rise 30 minutes.

In a large NON-ALUMINUM skillet, bring the baking soda and 10 cups of water to a full boil. If you don’t own a large skillet, use a smaller one and cut back on the water and baking soda.

Prepare wash by mixing cornstarch with 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Stir constantly while bringing to boil. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 450º Fahrenheit.

Carefully drop as many pretzels in boiling water as will fit. Boil 1 minute, flipping after 30 seconds. Remove to well oiled cookie sheet.

When they’re all boiled, brush on cornstarch wash. Sprinkle with coarse pretzel or sea salt. Bake at 450º Fahrenheit for 12 minutes. They’ll brown much earlier than the 12 minutes, but don’t remove from oven – they’re still not done. Transfer to wire rack.

Eat immediately for optimum taste. FYI – these pretzels are only 60 calories each! So live a little – have 2….homemade pretzels are cheap!!!

 

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NAVAJO TACOS – Worth The Effort!

IMG_0218Navajo Tacos are one of those dishes I tend to forget about until I flip through my recipe box. (This is the device we used before the days of computers to store our recipes.) When I do make them, I chide myself for not doing so more often – they’re uber yummy…and not as time consuming as I think it will be.

If you’re unfamiliar with this dish, Navajo Tacos are fry bread topped with chili. Really, what’s not to like?!

In order for the chili and fry bread to be done at the same time, start the chili first. Then, as it’s simmering prepare the fry bread.

NOTE:  You can shorten the chili cooking time by using pre-cooked beans. Reduce the vegetable stock to 1 cup since you won’t need the extra 1/2 cup to be absorbed into the raw beans.

ADDITIONAL NOTE:  The fry bread is cooked in oil – not just a tablespoon or two, at least 2 inches. I’m all about saving money. Make sure you strain and save the oil after you use it in a plastic container you designate specifically for used cooking oil – don’t mix it back with the clean oil. Then, you can use the same oil over and over until it’s too grungy to use again. You can actually freeze it, if you like. When it’s time to dispose of it, check online for places to donate used cooking oil (they actually exist!)

NAVAJO TACOS – makes 6 servings

     Chili

  • 1/2 cup raw Great Northern beans
  • 1/2 cup onions, chopped
  • 1 tsp garlic, pressed (1 clove)
  • 1/2 T vegetable oil
  • 1 lb fake ground beef (I use Worthington Redi-Burger – see photo below)
  • IMG_02121½ cups vegetable stock – or 1 cup if using pre-cooked beans
  • 1 T chili powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp basil
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Put beans in a saucepan and cover with an inch of water. Bring to boil, lower flame to simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off stove, cover pot, and let sit for 1 hour. Drain. You can do this step ahead of time.

Sauté onions and garlic in oil for 5 minutes. Add in fake meat, breaking it up with a flat headed stirrer, if necessary, depending on the brand (I have to do this with Redi-Burger). Add in the stock, beans, chili powder, cumin, oregano, basil, and salt.

Bring to boil, lower flame to simmer mixture, cover, and let cook for 1½ hours, until beans are done.

Chili can easily be frozen so if you like this recipe, next time double or triple the recipe and then freeze for future use. No point in cooking and cleaning more than you need to.

     Fry Bread – makes 6

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup instant nonfat dry milk
  • 1 T baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 T shortening (I use Crisco)
  • 3/4 cup water
  • vegetable oil for deep frying

Put flour, dry milk, baking powder, salt, and shortening into the work bowl of your food processor. If you don’t own a food processor you’ll have to do this all by hand. (During the next 15 minutes of tedious work, think about how you really need a food processor.)

Turn on machine, then slowly add in the water through the pour spout. Allow machine to run 30 seconds after dough has formed a ball. (This is how fast and easy it is to knead with a food processor!) Divide dough into 6 equal balls, then flatten with your hands as much as possible. Cover with a tea towel and let rest while oil is heating.

Heat 2 inches of oil in a wok or deep pan to 375º Fahrenheit.

On a floured board, roll out a dough piece with a rolling pin to make a 5″-6″ circle. (See photo below)

IMG_0184

Carefully pick up dough and gently pat excess flour from bottom. Drop into hot oil. Let cook for 3 minutes, then flip and fry 2 more minutes. Both sides should be golden brown. (See photos below)

fry bread frying

Remove to a large cookie sheet lined with paper towels. Keep warm by storing in an oven heated to 200º Fahrenheit.

While one dough is frying, roll out the next so it’s ready to go. Keep the uncooked dough covered with a tea towel so they don’t dry out.

Assembly

Ladle chili over fry bread. Top with tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, olives, guacamole, or whatever you like.