Sweet Potato, Mushroom & Black Bean Chili

Makes 8 servings

Beans

• 1/2 pound dried black beans, rinsed and soaked 4-6 hours or overnight
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 bay leaves

Chili

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 jalapeno peppers, minced
• 2 red bell peppers, cut into medium dice
• 1 pound mixed chopped mushrooms (oyster, crimini, portobello)
• 1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 1 can (28-ounce) whole tomatoes, chopped, with half of the can's liquid
• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice
• Cooked black beans (from above)
• 1 can (14.5-ounce) pinto beans
• Chopped green onions, for garnish
• Chopped red onions, for garnish
• Sour cream, for garnish
• Shredded cheddar cheese, for garnish
• 2 cups of vegetable broth, if using canned black beans instead of dried black beans

1. For the beans: Pour the beans plus their soaking liquid into a stockpot, and add additional water to cover by 1-2 inches. Add the smashed garlic and bay leaves, and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for about 1 hour, until the beans have softened but aren't fully cooked through (they'll continue to cook in the chili). Remove the garlic and bay leaves and discard.

2. For the chili: Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes, until onions have softened slightly. Add jalapeno and red peppers, and continue to cook for another 3-5 minutes.

3. Add mushrooms, and sauté until mushrooms have softened and released some of their juices, another 5 minutes.

4. Add the chili powder, paprika, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, salt and black pepper, and stir until the seasonings are incorporated into the mixture. Add the tomatoes and liquid, sweet potatoes and cooked black beans plus 3 cups of bean-cooking liquid (add vegetable broth or water if you don't have enough). Stir well to combine and simmer over medium-low heat for about 1-1 ½ hours, until sweet potatoes have softened but still retain their shape, liquid has thickened, and beans are fully cooked through. If you are using canned black beans, cooking time will be a bit shorter.

5. Add pinto beans plus their liquid in the last 30 minutes of cooking. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

6. Serve with chopped red and green onions, sour cream, and shredded cheese, for garnish.

Notes: If you want to use canned black beans instead of dried black beans for this recipe, that's fine, and it will cut down significantly on the cooking time. Use about three 14.5-ounce cans, saving one can's worth of the bean liquid, and draining and rinsing the other two. When you add the beans and bean liquid, also add about 2 cups of vegetable broth.

Broccoli Soup

 
Amanda and I were just discussing that as most of our friends have started complaining about the rain we have been secretly celebrating it and this is one of the reasons why... soup. There are few other ways for me to feel both so virtuous and so satisfied after a meal as I do when I've made some soup. A fabulous way to pack in a ton of vegetables and it just makes you feel all cozy and hunkered down. This soup is amazing and incredibly simple (you don't even have to chop the broccoli... what could be easier! I find it a little bland so I used a fair amount of salt and added some white pepper (another ingredient that makes me think of Lauren every time I use it). Next time I will definitely make a double batch as it freezes well for lunches.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 2 (10 ounce) packages chopped frozen broccoli, thawed
• 1 potato, peeled and chopped
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan, and saute onion and garlic until tender. Mix in broccoli, potato, and chicken broth. 
2. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes, until vegetables are tender. 
3. With a hand mixer or in a blender, puree the mixture until smooth. 
4. Return to the saucepan, and reheat. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

Ethiopian Stew

The fall is my favorite time for the market.  It can be a dangerous trip, especially if your car is parked so close that you can easily throw your purchases in and go back for more.  I came home with so many vegetables yesterday, I wondered how I could use them all.  Then I remembered this.  I used chopped up green beans because that was one of the things I brought home yesterday.  The comments in original post say that it freezes well, which is good because I'm going to have to freeze this and make some other stuff this week if I'm going to win the produce game.  The only heads up I would give on this is that everything comes together pretty fast so pretend you're on a cooking show and cut everything up and get it measured before you get going.  Also, as I've said before, cardamon and fenugreek are crazy expensive.  So find someone to share it with you.  You'll never use it all anyway.  Thanks, Emili!

Ingredients
1 cup brown lentils
1 large yellow onion, diced small
2 carrots, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, miced
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
1/4 cup peanut oil (vegetable oil will do)
10 plum tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 cup vegetable stock or 1 cup water + 2 veg boullion cubes
1 cup frozen green peas
Spice Blend
2 tsp ground cumin
2 teaspoons hungarian paprika
1 teaspoon ground fenugreek
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground cardomom
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
Directions
Boil the lentils for about 45 minutes or until tender.
In a large pot, over med heat saute the onions and carrots for 10 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and spice blend. Saute 5 more minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, cook 5 more minutes. Add tomato paste and mix, then add the water. Simmer Until bubbling. Add the cooked lentils and green peas, simmer 15 more minutes.

Barley and Beet Salad

Farro Salad With Beets, Beet Greens and Feta

I could have also called this The Virtuous Salad, as it calls for fresh beets and their greens.  I didn't call it Farro Salad on purpose because I've never seen farro, but I learned a long time ago that barley is a good substitute.  I left out the walnuts because I don't like them.  And I used some kale because the greens were kind of limp.  Also, didn't use all of the dressing.  But I did save it for something else later this week.  It's very tasty.  Anytime I cook with beets, I always think of Lauren.  The girl loved her beets.

2 medium or 3 small beets (any color) with greens, the beets roasted, the greens stemmed and washed in two changes of water
1 cup farro, soaked for one hour in water to cover and drained
Salt, preferably kosher salt, to taste
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 small garlic clove, minced or pureed
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (may substitute 1 to 2 tablespoons walnut oil for 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil)
1/2 cup broken walnut pieces
2 ounces feta or goat cheese, crumbled (more if desired for garnish)
1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, tarragon, marjoram, chives, mint

1. Bring 2 quarts water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, add salt to taste and the greens. Blanch for two minutes, and transfer to the ice water. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then drain and squeeze out excess water. Chop coarsely and set aside.
2. Bring the water back to a boil, and add the farro. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes, stirring from time to time, or until the farro is tender. Remove from the heat and allow the grains to swell in the cooking water for 10 minutes, then drain.
3. While the farro is cooking, make the vinaigrette. Whisk together the vinegars, salt, garlic and mustard. Whisk in the oil(s). Add to the farro. Peel and dice the beets and add, along with the beet greens, feta or goat cheese, herbs and walnuts. Toss together, and serve warm or room temperature with a little more cheese sprinkled over the top if you wish.
Yield: Serves eight or four if it's your entree'.
Advance preparation: The roasted beets and cooked beet greens will keep for three or four days in the refrigerator, and the cooked farro for five days. You can assemble this salad hours or even a day ahead; it will redden with time.
 

Coucous Paella

 

Meredith is my hero.  She's a lot of people's heroes.  I love how when she sets a goal for herself, nothing gets in her way.  I'm going to follow her lead and lose some weight.  Now!  She told me that being mindful of your caloric intake is very effective.  You don't realize until you start counting, just how many calories you're throwing in your mouth with "just a handful of that" or "just a slice of that."

So you might think it's a bit funny that I'm starting with a recipe that has chorizo in it.  It's a Spanish sausage, for anyone who might not know.  The first time I ate it, it was inside a pastry with cheese.  Now I can hardly say the word chorizo without drooling.  Somehow I managed to find healthy(?) chorizo recipes that are low in calories, but delightfully delicious.  I made this today and was very pleased.  Though, I have to say, sticking to one serving is a bit of a challenge.  It calls for serving it with couscous.  Due to an ingredient snafu, I ended up using quinoa instead.  In fact, a few weeks ago I had bought single serving quinoa already cooked and packaged.  Genius for packing a lunch or for cooking for one.

I followed the recipe pretty closely.  Didn't use saffron because I don't have any.  I cooked the chicken a bit before putting the broth in.  It was very simple and the tiny bits of chorizo add just the right zing.

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/couscous_paella_soup.html

Labor Day Dinner

My new roommate and I decided to celebrate this lazy holiday by being productive. We put together a a watermelon basil salad, mashed some cauliflower, and grilled up some portabella mushrooms on the roof. It was easy to make and to clean up. Nutritionists say that a good way to tell if your meal is healthy or not, is if there's a lot of color on your plate. Look at how colorful that thing is!

For the cauliflower, we used the recipe on the NCC site, but substituted non-fat Greek yogurt for the cream cheese. The yogurt gave it a bit of a sour taste, but in a good way. It kind of reminded me of the mashed potatoes that Lizzy makes, which I love!

We used balsamic vinegar and olive oil on the mushrooms, grilled them for about fifteen minutes, and seasoned with salt and pepper.

For the salad, we tossed some basil and watermelon with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then put in some fresh mozzarella.

We didn't really measure anything. It was pretty easy to eye-ball it. I was surprisingly comfortable without the measurements. Growth mindset! Very successful dinner. Good teamwork. This definitely won't be our last post.

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs (about 4) boneless,skinless chicken breasts 
• 1 large (48 1/2 oz.) can chicken broth 
• 1 large (48 oz.) Northern white beans, drained 
• 2 cups chopped onion 
• 1-2 cups frozen corn, thawed 
• Garlic to taste 
• 2 heaping tsp. ground cumin 
• 2 tsp. ground oregano 
• 1/4 tsp pepper 
• Olive oil for sautéing 

Directions

1. Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil. 
2. Microwave or oven bake chicken until cooked then dice or shred. 
3. Then add all ingredients and slow cook for 2-3 hours on stove.

Green Beans in Warm Bacon Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 2 pounds haricots verts, trimmed
• 3 slices bacon, chopped
• 3/4 cup thinly sliced shallots (about 2 medium)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons toasted walnut oil
• 2 teaspoons champagne vinegar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons chopped walnuts, toasted
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1. Cook beans in boiling water for 7 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and plunge beans into ice water; drain.
2. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp; remove with a slotted spoon. 
3. Add shallots to drippings in pan; cook 5 minutes or until tender. Combine shallots and bacon in a large bowl. 
4. Add beans to pan; cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. 
5. Add beans, oil, vinegar, and salt to bacon mixture; toss to combine. Sprinkle with walnuts and parsley.

Photo and recipe from Cooking Light