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KitchenKatalog: Blog 274
Saturday, November 09, 2013, 12:12 PM
This was a big and complicated meal. I will try to remember all of the different things. We made food for us and Meredith's room mate. We wanted to make something fancy but we didn't want seafood and we were avoiding dairy. We also had a pumpkin with no plans. So, we made the following: Baby Kale Salad with Pomegranate, African Peanut Soup and Pumpkin Croquettes.
The recipe it is based on is below. The salad was AMAZING. It was my favorite part of the meal. We used a "baby power green" mix that was baby kale, baby chard and baby spinach. It was well chopped. We used a full pomegranate's arils and finally, wild black rice. We also made the dressing. We sautéd the shallots with a lot of added minced garlic in a good bit of olive oil (and then went much lighter on it in the mixing it all). I used the immersion blender to emulsify everything and that worked really well. The dressing had a huge amount of flavor and the garlic was prominent (which was a good thing). We used about the amount of walnuts that it called for but it needed more. Finally, the feta cheese was served on the side.
The texture of the salad along with the pomegranate was perfect. Everything melded nicely and all of the flavors really came together. We will certainly do this again!
We did something likethis before and we followed the general idea but totally different seasonings. Since we were trying to avoid cheese, we went heavy with fresh herbs (sage, rosemary and thyme). We again used bacon (6 thick slices, about 2/5 lbs, half Maple and half Dry rubbed. Cooked in the oven) and used some bacon grease in place of the olive oil. We used about 1/2 cup chickpea flour instead of what it called for since we made extra pumpkin.
To soften the pumpkin, we deseeded it and sliced it into 8 slices. We microwaved them for about 20-25 minutes instead of roasting since we didn't want to take too long. The slices were the right size that between a fork to hold and a spoon to scrape, it was pretty easy to get the meat off. It was a pie pumpkin so it wasn't huge but did have a lot more flavor.
We mixed everything together and formed croquettes. We pressed them into Panko and baked them around 425 for 45 minutes, flipped them and baked for 10 more.
Meredith and her room mate thought they were good. I thought they were a bit too rich and maybe even a bit smokey. They browned nicely enough. I would do them again but I'd first look into alternative flavors than we used.
This recipe is one of Meredith's favorites and she did most of the construction. The soup was very good. You could really taste the different flavors meld. I got hints of carrot soup and tomato soup with a bit of a peanut flavor and a bit of spice.
Her recipe/instructions are as follows: Note that this is just a rough guide. It is pretty forgiving and you can adjust to taste
Sweat the onions with the jalapeno over low heat in a little olive oil until translucent. Add in the carrots and peppers and crank the heat up to medium. Stir in cumin, tumeric, cayenne and powdered ginger. Toss in peanuts and brown a little and add the fresh grated ginger and garlic. Stir until fragrant. Add the broth and tomato paste
Bring to a simmer
Ladle out a cup or so of the warmed broth and stir it into the peanut butter/combine until smooth and creamy, then transfer this back into the soup.Add apple cider vinegar
Use immersion blender to thicken the soup, but you want to keep a chunky texture
To serve:
Place chopped kale in bowls for serving and ladle the hot soup on top to wilt slightly.
scatter some roughly chopped peanuts over the top and serve with sriracha
Pomegranate, Kale and Wild Rice Salad with Walnuts and Feta (from Pinch of Yum)
Local Copy -- password is the name of my dog, all lower case
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6870, 2013-11-09_121243
Friday, November 08, 2013, 12:09 PM
I made Pozole at Meredith's for lunch. I had bought most of the stuff but didn't get to make it so I brought it with me and made it there. I use the standard recipe but I again broiled the tomatillos. I also sliced the poblanos (I did 3 small ones) and broiled them so that I didn't have to deal with flipping them or deal with the seeds.
I also used two jalapeños instead of serrano since it's what I had. I actually used the spinach which I think is the first time. Usually, I skip it.
The flavor was interesting. It had a good aroma and the initial bite was flavorful but then it fell kind of flat. Maybe it needed to cook down and concentrate more.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6867, 2013-11-08_120947
Wednesday, November 06, 2013, 10:19 PM
I had about 2.5 lbs of broccoli I was going to use for something else but I didn't have the time. So, I decided to make broccoli fritters. But, since I had so much broccoli, I decided to experiment. The idea was to make half using a method similar to the cauliflower fritters. I actually found a Smitten Kitchen Post(they also did the cauliflower ones) and I used that for inspiration.
The other idea was to finely chop broccoli and make it in the food processor. This idea was more a la falafel. I went as far as to also add half an onion for extra flavor.
Anyway, my recipe and procedures are below. I really had to bake them for a long time. It took 40 minutes on the one side for them to get brown and then 12 on the other. I wonder if the silpat made them brown less. Next time, I'll go back to non-stick aluminum foil or parchment.
The mashed version was better. The flavors were more what I liked which is probably from the broccoli being more cooked. And, maybe the onion was a bit too overpowering in the food-processor one. In both photos, the ones on the left are food processor and the ones on the right are mashed.
Broccoli Fritters 1 (Food Processor)
Combine in food processor
Pulse to chop and combine. You may need to use a spatula to help mix.
Form into patties on pammed tray with something to prevent sticking (silpat, non-stick aluminum foil, parchment). Pam other side of patties.
Bake at 425 for 35-45 minutes or until bottom is browned. Flip to cook other side (about 10-15 min)
Broccoli Fritters 2 (Mashed)
Chop broccoli and steam until tender (about 5-8 minutes). Drain and let cool slightly and mash with a potato masher.
Add the rest of the ingredients and combine. Adjust flour to desired consistency.
Form into patties on pammed tray with something to prevent sticking (silpat, non-stick aluminum foil, parchment). Pam other side of patties.
Bake at 425 for 35-45 minutes or until bottom is browned. Flip to cook other side (about 10-15 min)
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6862, 2013-11-06_221958
Tuesday, November 05, 2013, 10:19 PM
So this really should be called "nabo sueco bravas" since "nabo sueco" is spanish for rutabaga. Anyway, I made the patatas bravas sauce inspired by what we have done in the past. I used a 14oz can of tomatoes and I just added the spices to taste. I also added some sriracha. I lightly used the immersion blender on the tomatoes in the can. I roasted the rutabaga for about 45 minutes at 425°F.
The dish was very good. Maybe a bit too spicy but still, lots of flavor from the onion and the paprika. Rutabaga is slightly sweeter and less starchy than potato but it wasn't too noticeable
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6858, 2013-11-05_221902
Monday, November 04, 2013, 09:16 AM
I made corned beef hash using the basic idea of last time. I didn't really measure the ingredients but I added some ketchup and sriracha while cooking it. I microwaved the potatoes for 5 minutes and then added them to the onions and (3 small) poblano peppers being sautéd. Towards the last 10 minutes I added about 1/2 pound of corned beef cubes (asked for two 1/4 in. slices). After adding seasonings and then ketchup and sriracha, I pressed into the pan to let it crisp.
I also fried 4 eggs (two meals worth) to top on them. Finally, I roasted asparagus in the oven at 425 for 15 minutes. I think next time I do asparagus in the oven, I will cut it into smaller pieces first since it is so hard to cut once cooked.
Anyway, the hash was extremely flavorful. Lots of heat from the poblanos (and maybe Sriracha) but an incredible amount of flavor. Maybe a bit too much salt but not by much.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6849, 2013-11-04_091613
Saturday, November 02, 2013, 09:15 AM
Meredith and I were starving and wanted something fast. I defrosted wholewheat english muffins in the microwave and opened a can of pizza sauce. I also had pepperoni in the fridge. We made simple english muffin pizzas using the toaster oven on bake
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6846, 2013-11-02_091500
Thursday, October 31, 2013, 09:14 AM
This was a quickly thrown together breakfast. I baked the bacon so I could cook it all at once. I fried real eggs and then I made cheesy egg-beaters. Finally, we had the rest of the toast and some feta cheese. We were largely trying to use up ingredients.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6843, 2013-10-31_091433
Tuesday, October 29, 2013, 09:14 AM
Meredith and I made Shakshuka. Pretty standard. It was too long ago for me to remember any specific details.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6840, 2013-10-29_091407