Garlic and Rosemary Focaccia Bread

AMAZING, easy bread adapted from Epicurious.com. This took about 3 1/2 hours from start to finish, though it was delayed thanks to our carbon monoxide alarm going off in the middle of the rising process, which resulted in a visit from some very friendly Cambridge firefighters who brought a little gadget that looked kind of like the one from Ghostbusters . . . except it tested for carbon monoxide, not ghosts. Luckily, our apartment has neither.

9 large garlic cloves, sliced thinly
1/2 cup olive oil
3 (1/4-oz) packages active dry yeast
2 1/4 cups warm water (95°F-105°F)
7 cups all-purpose or bread flour
1 tablespoon table salt
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
Coarse salt for sprinkling
Freshly ground black pepper for sprinkling


Combine 6 of the sliced garlic cloves and oil in a pan and cook on VERY low heat for about 10 minutes, until garlic is softened and becomes sweet and fragrant. (You could also roast the garlic whole in the same amount of oil if you have time). Remove the garlic slices from the oil and use them for something else (we ate them by themselves -- yum!).

In a large bowl, whisk together yeast and warm water and let stand about 5 minutes, until it looks slightly creamy. Stir 1/3 cup garlic oil into yeast mixture.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour and table salt. Stir half of flour into yeast mixture, until combined. Add the rest of the flour, mixing with hands when necessary. Knead the dough in the bowl for 5 minutes, or until it's soft and slightly sticky. (Note: I needed to add a little bit more warm water in order to get the right consistency, but none of the other reviewers on epicurious seemed to have this problem). Transfer dough to a large oiled bowl, turning with floured hands to coat with oil. Cover bowl with a wet towel and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. I usually turn on the oven, let it heat for a minute or two, then turn in off and place the bowl in there so it has a nice warm place to rise.

Oil a 17- by 11-inch baking pan with some of the garlic oil. Gently press dough into pan, allowing dough to rest 5 minutes if difficult to work with. Cover the pan with the cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Make indentations in dough at 1-inch intervals with oiled fingertips. Drizzle with remaining garlic oil, and press the remaining thinly sliced garlic in the indentations (make sure each slice has some oil on it, so the slices will roast while the bread is baking). Sprinkle the bread with rosemary, coarse salt, and pepper. Bake in lower third of oven until deep golden on top and pale golden on bottom, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer bread to a rack and serve warm or at room temperature.

We used the bread to make sandwiches with goat cheese, broiled tomatoes, and sauteed portobellas -- yum!!

Spicy Jamaican Jerk Tempeh

This was adapted from the International Vegetarian Union (ivu.org), which adapted it from Vegetarian Times . . . yes, a long list of adaptations, from which has come a sweet, spicy, and delicious dish. Matt describes it as "Christmas-y" thanks to the lovely combination of allspice, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon :). The list of ingredients is long, but it comes together very quickly with the help of a blender!

3 large cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup minced fresh ginger
1/3 cup sliced scallions (I used both white and green parts)
1/2 tsp cayenne (less if you don't want it to be quite so spicy)
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp allspice
2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbs lemon juice
3/4 cup fruit juice - I used a juice that was a combination of apple, orange, and pineapple. You could also use apricot, peach, or mango juice.
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 8 oz packages tempeh, cut into triangles

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare marinade by dumping all ingredients (except tempeh) into a blender. Press "on." Now you're done! (Alternately, if you don't have a blender, you could just whisk all the ingredients together).

Brush a pan with olive oil; place the tempeh inside (it doesn't necessarily have to be in one layer). Pour the marinade over the tempeh and turn to coat. Bake for about 30 minutes, until browned and bubbly. Yum!

Blackout Tempeh

. . . so named because we managed to blow a fuse as this was cooking, and had to finish glazing the tempeh by a combination of candle and flashlight. This yummy sweet-and-savory dish is adapted from 101cookbooks.com.

for marinade:
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed and chopped
1/2 teaspoon cayenne

8 ounces tempeh
2 portobello mushrooms, sliced and sauteed in a little olive oil until soft
2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa or brown rice
a handful of blanched green beans

Combine ingredients for marinade in a small bowl.

Slice tempeh into small triangles. Lay the pieces flat in a dish and pour the marinade over it; let it sit for at least half an hour. Heat a small amount of canola oil in a pan; add the tempeh and saute for a few minutes on each side until browned. Then, pour the remaining marinade in the pan and cook for a few minutes, shaking the pan so the tempeh gets a lovely glaze.

Serve the tempeh over the rice/quinoa, mushrooms, and green beans.

Spinach and soba noodles with lemon-ginger dressing

Tangy and ginger-y and oh so yummy. This is adapted from Steamy Kitchen (steamykitchen.com), which was discovered by the lovely Lupe and is now one of my new favorite sources of inspiration!

For the dressing:
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 inch section of ginger, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon honey
3/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons grapeseed oil (or olive oil)
1 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

12 ounces dried soba noodles
1 bunch spinach
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

Whisk all of the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the soba noodles until just tender. Toss in the spinach for the last 10 seconds or so, just until it wilts.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the soba and spinach with the dressing and the sesame seeds. Toss until well combined.

Tofu-Stuffed Portabellos

Moosewood calls this a "showstopper" -- and it SO is. This is totally our new favorite recipe! We made it with the lemon-ginger noodle recipe that I'm about to post and the combination was fan-tabulous.

for stuffed mushrooms:
1 cake of firm tofu, 16 oz
1/2 cup diced red bell peppers
1/2 cup diced canned water chestnuts
1/3 cup minced scallions
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1/4 cup peanut butter
3-4 tbs light miso (or to taste)
2 tsp minced fresh ginger
4 tsp dark sesame oil
1/2 tsp cayenne
4 portabello mushrooms, about 5 inches in diameter
2 tbs soy sauce

for sweet and sour sauce:
1 cup unsweetened apple juice
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs rice vinegar
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp sugar
1 tbs cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbs cold water

preheat oven to 350. Oil a baking pan. In a bowl, crumble tofu with your fingers. Add the peppers, water chesnuts, scallions, rice, peanut butter, miso, ginger, 1 tsp sesame oil, cayenne, and 1 tbs soy sauce. Stick your hands in it and mush it all together. set aside.

Twist off mushroom stems and gently rinse caps to remove dirt. place the caps gill-side up on the oiled pan. In a small cup, stir together remaining 3 tsp sesame oil and soy sauce. Brush the mushrooms with the mixture, then mound one-quarter of the filling on each mushrooms. Bake for 35 minutes until mushrooms release juice and filling is firm. While the mushrooms bake, prepare the sweet and sour sauce.

sweet and sour sauce:
In a small saucepan, combine apple juice, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, sugar, and bring to a boil. stir the dissolved corn starch into the boiling sauce; reduce heat and stir for one minute, until sauce thickens. serve hot over mushrooms.

Poached eggs with roasted portabellas and tomatoes

My new favorite Sunday brunch recipe, swiped from epicurious.com :). If you're looking for a total egg-poaching adventure, google Julia Child's instructions for how to poach the "proper" way. It's fun, I promise!

4 (3-inch-wide) portabella mushroom caps, stems discarded
2 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives

Preheat broiler.

Brush mushrooms and tomatoes with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange mushrooms, stemmed sides down, and tomato halves, cut sides up, on a broiler pan. Broil 6 inches from heat, turning over mushrooms halfway through cooking, until tender and tomatoes are slightly charred, about 7 minutes total.

While vegetables are broiling, fill a deep 10-inch skillet with 1 1/4 inches cold water. Add white vinegar and bring to a simmer.

Break 1 egg into a cup, then slide egg into simmering water. Repeat with remaining eggs, spacing them in skillet, and poach at a bare simmer until whites are firm but yolks are still runny, 2 to 3 minutes. Gently transfer eggs with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain and season with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle stemmed sides of mushrooms with balsamic vinegar, then put 1 tomato half, cut side up, on each mushroom and top with an egg. Grate cheddar cheese on top and sprinkle with chives.

Mediterranean Orzo

This is based off a recipe from Food & Wine . . . my dad served it with grilled swordfish, which was really yummy, but you could totally whip up some chickpeas or tofu to go along with it to make it completely vegetarian :)

3/4 cup whole-wheat orzo
1/2 cup pitted mixed olives (2 ounces), coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup almonds, coarsely chopped and toasted in a pan or in the oven

Cook orzo according to package directions; drain and combine with next 5 ingredients. Stir in almonds directly before serving.

Spiced-Up Hot Chocolate

This recipe is from Craigie on Main, a fancy-schmancy restaurant in Cambridge . . . the spices are a little Indian, a little Mexican, a lotta yummy.

about 1/2 cup dark (70%) chocolate
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup butter
4 teaspoons white sugar

Grind the following and add to taste:
approximately 3 green cardamom pods - toast the cardamom, crush and discard the green shell, and grind the black seeds inside the pod
1/2 stick cinnamon (Mexican if possible)
1/2 tsp chili flakes (preferably ancho)

Put all ingredients in a pot, stir and simmer constantly until it reaches the consistency you desire. The final yield will depend on how much you reduce the cocoa while cooking but the above recipe should make approx 10 espresso cup portions.

This cocoa is super-rich and smaller servings are usually enough.

Potato Leek Soup

. . . the vegetarian version!

I haven't loved most veggie versions of this soup I've tried, since I think it's often the chicken broth that gives it the most flavor. But this one has lots of onion, shallot, garlic, and spices that make it extra yummy. It's swiped from Epicurious.com -- with revisions.

3 tablespoons butter
3 large leeks (white and light green parts only), sliced (about 4 1/2 cups)
1 medium shallot, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 large russet potatoes, diced
4 1/2 cups veggie broth
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
milk or cream
garnish: yogurt, grated cheddar, or chives (chopped)

Heat butter (or a mixture of butter and olive oil, if you're feeling healthy) in a large saucepan. Add leeks, shallot, garlic, and onion, and saute for about 10 minutes, until soft. Add potatoes. Cover and cook until they begin to soften, but not brown, about another 10 minutes. Add broth, bay lead, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until potatoes are soft -- about 30 minutes. Let it cool for a few minutes, then stir in the lemon juice. Transfer to a blender (or use one of those nifty immersion blenders, if you've got one!) and puree in batches until it's smooth. Return to saucepan and heat, adding milk or cream until it's reached the desired consistency. Garnish with yogurt, chives, or grated cheddar cheese. Delicious served with some crusty bread :)

Grown-Up Mac-and-Cheese-and-Greens Casserole

Welllll, we're not really casserole folks. But we have been on a comfort food kick and a use-up-the-leftovers-before-they-go-bad kick...and I think perhaps we struck genius with this one. So yummy!

1/2 pound noodles, cooked (we used whole wheat spaghetti!)
3 TBSP olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 large head broccoli, chopped
1/2 head escarole, chopped roughly
3 eggs
2 C low fat cottage cheese
1 C low fat sour cream
4-6 oz grated cheese (we used cheddar and parmesan)
1 1/2 C bread crumbs
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9 x 13" pan. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onions, garlic, and mushrooms until soft and fragrant. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Toss in broccoli and escarole and saute another couple of minutes until broccoli is bright green and escarole has wilted.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, 1 C of the bread crumbs, about 2/3 of your grated cheese, and some salt and pepper. Add in the sauteed vegetables and the cooked noodles and toss everything together. Slide everything into your buttered pan and distribute noodles and vegetables evenly, pressing everything down into the pan. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 C bread crumbs and reserved grated cheese across the top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until the casserole has set and the top is nice and browned.

Enjoy with a nice simple green salad!

Cranberried Kale

Over the past two days, I've consumed two entire bunches of kale all on my own, because this recipe is so darned unexpectedly good. Also, it takes about 7 minutes to prepare, from start to finish. Thanks to Minda for creating this . . .

3 cloves garlic, chopped
olive oil
1 bunch kale leaves, washed and cut into bite-sized pieces
handful of sunflower seeds, toasted
handful of dried cranberries
salt

Saute the garlic in a little bit of olive oil; add the kale and cook for a few minutes, until it's no longer raw but still bright green. Add salt to taste, then throw in the sunflower seeds and cranberries; toss to combine.

Cheesy Mashed Potato-Stuffed Acorn Squash

Deeee-licious fall comfort food. Seriously. If I could eat this everyday, I would!

1 medium-sized acorn squash
5 medium-sized potatoes of your favorite variety
extra virgin olive oil
6 crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 shallot, sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
2 TBSP butter
1/4 C milk
3 scallions, sliced
4 oz goat cheese
1/2 C chopped walnuts, toasted
parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper, to taste

Start by halving and deseeding the squash. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast at 400 degrees until tender, about 40 minutes. Wash potatoes well and chop roughly. Add to boiling water and boil until very soft, about fifteen minutes. Meanwhile, get some olive oil heated in a skillet and saute the mushrooms, shallot, and garlic over medium heat until soft and fragrant, about ten minutes. Add balsamic vinegar and saute for another minute or two. Strain potatoes and return to pot. Add butter and milk and mash well. Add sauteed mushrooms, scallions, goat cheese, toasted walnuts, salt, and pepper, and stir until everything is combined.

When squash is tender, remove from oven. Fill cavities with mashed potatoes until overflowing. Smother with grated parmesan cheese. Return to oven for about ten minutes until cheese is melty and browned. Serve hot!

Yummmmm!

Squash and Lentil Soup

Mmmmmmmmm, this soup smells like fall. And tastes like fall. And will make you feel all warm and toasty on a chilly day.

olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch chunk ginger root, minced
1/2 tsp cumin
about 3 C veggie broth
about 2 C water
1 1/4 C red lentils, rinsed
1 medium sized squash (I used a kabocha!)
salt and pepper, to taste
handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

Quarter and deseed your squash. Arrange squash on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake at 400 degrees for about 40-45 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, heat several TBSP olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat, add onion and garlic and saute until softened and fragrant. Add ginger and cumin and saute for another minute or two. Add veggie broth, water, and lentils - I wasn't precise with my fluid measurements so play it by ear. You might start with a bit less and then add some more later in the cooking process as the liquid evaporates. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for twenty minutes partially covered.

When squash is tender, carefully slice off and discard skins. Cube squash and add to soup. Cook over low heat for another twenty minutes. Using a potato masher, gently mash squash until you reach desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste and fresh chopped cilantro.

Serve hot, topped with a dollop of sour cream and garnished with more cilantro and toasted whole wheat bread.

Spinach-Corn-Feta Salad

If you're like me and want to hang on to those last few bits of summer, this salad's for you!

1 small bunch of spinach, chopped
1 ear of corn, boiled
3 scallions, sliced thinly
4 ounces feta, crumbled
2 eggs

Dressing:
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper, to taste

Place eggs in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring water to a boil. Cover and remove from heat, allowing eggs to sit in hot water for 15 minutes. Cut the kernels off the ear of corn. In a large bowl toss together spinach, corn, scallions, and feta. In a small jar, whisk together all dressing ingredients and drizzle over salad. Cool cooked eggs in ice water. Peel, quarter lengthwise, and arrange on top of individually plated salads. Grind some fresh black pepper over eggs and serve!

ps - I just ate the leftover salad on a bed of leftover quinoa and topped it all off with some avocado slices...couldn't have been MORE delicious!

Cheesy Summer Squash Pancakes

Here is a kid and boyfriend-friendly recipe to help you use up your summer squash surplus. Just like potato pancakes...crispy and fried and oh-so-yummy!

3 good sized summer squash, grated
coarse sea salt
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 small onion, grated
1 egg
3/4 C cottage cheese
1/2 C cream cheese
1/2 C flour (I used whole wheat)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 C corn meal (I used a mixture of coarse and fine ground)
1 TBSP fresh dill, or 1 tsp dried
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
plenty fresh black pepper
vegetable oil for frying

Mix grated squash and sea salt and place in a colander for an hour or so - leave the colander either in the sink or over another bowl because the salt will pull water out of the squash. Squeeze the squash to get any extra water out.

Mix squash with remaining ingredients, using your fingers to squish everything together and disperse the cream cheese evenly through the batter. If your batter feels too wet feel free to add a little more flour or cornmeal to get a drier consistency.

Heat a frying pan with about 1/2 an inch of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, form squash batter into patties and carefully drop into hot oil. Fry for about three minutes on each side, or until pancakes are golden brown!

We served ours hot, topped with sauteed garlic scapes. Yummy! I bet they would also be delicious topped with sour cream or yogurt...

PS - We used cream cheese and cottage cheese because that's what we had in the house, but I imagine ANY cheese could be used for a variety of delicious flavors! Go get creative!