beans and rice

The New York Times had an article Sunday in which Mark Bittman wrote about three recipes that had numerous virtues, one of which he touted was that "almost without exception your ancestors relied on one of these three recipes." Well, I don't know about all your ancestors, but I can tell you I never had brown rice and lentils at either of my grandmother's houses. Nevertheless, if you can call me an ancestor, then you can feel like this is a traditional family recipe.

Just as Mark says, it is easy, nutritious and it works. He says to use water, but I splurge and use Chicken Broth. It is worth it.

2 Tbls olive oil

1 box of Trader Joe's Chicken Broth(4 cups)

2 cups lentils

1 cup brown rice

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped carrots

1 onion

fresh garlic to taste

salt and pepper(plus cumin or any other spice you like)

4 bay leaves

cook the vegetables in the oil. Add the broth, lentils,rice and spices, bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 20 minutes or until all liquid is gone.

Fluff with a fork.

Add chopped parsley(as much as you want), sprinkle with chopped scallions and crumbled feta cheese. (can add fresh tomatoes here). Correct seasonings. Serve!

Alternative: Substitute a red bell pepper for the celery and carrot and canned chopped tomatoes for 1 cup of liquid.

Swiss Oatmeal

Thanks to my friend Rosalie for this one:

1 cup uncooked regular oats

1 cup plain yogurt

1 ½ cups frozen berries, any kind (I prefer wild blueberries)

cinnamon, lemon juice to taste.

Cook berries about 90 seconds in microwave.

Add cinnamon, lemon juice

Mix fruit with oats and yoghurt. Add walnuts or almonds.

Let it rest overnight. (you can also let it rest for less time... anything over 15 minutes will do.)

Morrocan Couscous

I was bored with making tabouli and quinoa, and was looking for something a little different, so I decided to try "Israeli couscous." In an Israeli cookbook, I discovered a recipe that intrigued me. It involved preparing the couscous by simply soaking 2 cups of couscous in 3 cups of water for half an hour, then adding some oil and separating the grains with your fingers, waiting 15 more minutes, and then adding some more water(about half a cup) and microwaving briefly.(about 5 minutes). I know it sounds vague, but you use your judgment and the couscous comes out really well.

The Morrocan part involves creating a sauce that you serve alongside the couscous, so people can use whatever amount they like. You saute onions, pistachio nuts and dried fruits of your choice with some water and lots of cinnamin. It was fun to make and the people I made it for said it tasted good.

Quinoa Salad

L bar-b-qued chicken on the outdoor grill. It was the first time L ever used a grill, and the chicken was a huge hit. I contributed this "Mexican" salad offering. The recipe originated on Trader Joe's website, and I adapted as I saw fit.

A classic American summer meal!

... Photo shows L and S imbibing more of what is best about the American side of their heritage at Hyde Park.

1/2 cup TJ Red Quinoa cooked in 1 cup TJ vegetable broth
1 large bunch cilantro, chopped fine
3 whole scallions, chopped
1 fresh ear of sweet corn, kernels cut off and added raw
1 box TJ's little fresh tomatoe's, halved
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 ripe avocado, chopped

dressing: juice of 1 fresh lime, olive oil, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

I originally coookd 2 cups of quinoa because the vegetable broth came in a 4 cup box and I did not want any leftover broth. When I went to assemble the ingredients, it seemed like the salad would be better with a higher ratio of vegetables to grain . So we ended up with a pot of leftover cooked quinoa instead. The recipe also called for some TJ salsa out of a jar, an ingredient we actually had. But I thought the salad looked and tasted perfect without it.

P's Birthday Tart with adaptations by R

It was P's birthday while we were away in Woodstock , so R whipped up a wonderful tart with ingredients on hand at the rental house. Her notes are in bold italics.

Plum-Almond Tart

Adapted from Bon Appetit, October 1998

Makes 1 9-inch tart

For crust
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons ice water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (We didn't have vanilla extract
so I put a little more sugar and lemon juice into the crust)

For filling
1/3 cup whole almonds (about 2 ounces)
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
4 teaspoons framboise raspberry liqueur (I used cranberry juice instead)

12 ounces ripe red-skinned plums, pitted, cut into 3/4-inch-thick wedges (I substituted cherries and peaches for some of the plums)

1/4 cup red currant jelly (I used 4-berry jam instead and added lemon and a little balsamic vinegar )

Whipped cream (optional)

Make crust:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine first 3 ingredients in processor. Using on/off turns, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix 2 tablespoons ice water and vanilla in small bowl. Pour water mixture over dough. Process until moist clumps form.

Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Roll out on floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Fold overhang in and press, forming double-thick sides. Using fork, pierce dough all over. Freeze 15 minutes.

Bake crust until pale golden, about 30 minutes (crust may shrink slightly). Cool on rack. Maintain oven temperature.

Make filling:
Finely grind almonds with sugar in processor. Add egg, butter and 2 teaspoons framboise. Process until batter forms. Pour filling into crust. Arrange plums atop filling. Bake until plums are tender and filling is golden and set, about 50 minutes.

Melt jelly with remaining 2 teaspoons framboise in heavy small saucepan over medium-low heat. Brush jelly mixture over plums.

Cool tart. Serve at room temperature with whipped cream, if desired.

Woodstock Shabbat--lemon ricotta pancakes

Shabbat morning breakfast in Woodstock with 4 Kreimers, 2 Kreimer-Komoravs, 1 Fuchs and 1 Fuchs-Kreimer.

R made a wonderful breakfast of lemon ricotta pancakes, making due without benefit of all the prescribed ingredients and equipment. And they were still excellent. Now that takes talent!



eggs, separated
ricotta(she used cottage cheese)
sugar
lemon zest
flour
fresh blueberries

The recipe said to beat the egg whites separately. Lacking a beater, R whisked them by hand and L helped with an electric immersion blender.

What a great way to start the day!

Spinach Ricotta: Two Ways

R requested that I post the "spinach ricotta" dish I used to make so often. I can think of two different ones, a pie and a stuffed mushroom dish. Both make excellent entrees, so I am posting both.

Spinach Ricotta Pie
by Mollie Katzen http://www.molliekatzen.com/recipes/recipe.php?recipe=ricotta

Spinach Ricotta Mushrooms

preheat oven to 350

Take some large portobella mushrooms, rinsed and patted dry --cut off stems and chop them up for the filling
Brush mushroom caps very lightly with oil. Arrange on a baking sheet, cup side down. Bake for 12 minutes. Pour off any liquid.

saute a bunch of fresh spinach, washed, stems removed, finely chopped,
a few cloves garlic, minced, the mushroom stems and fresh basil in good olive oil

Combine with ricotta cheese along with crumbled feta, salt and pepper to taste.

Turn mushrooms over and pat dry.
Stuff each drained cap with ricotta filling mixture.
Sprinkle freshly grated parmesean cheese over top of filled caps.

Bake 10 to 15 minutes more, or long enough to heat filling through, then place under broiler until lightly browned.

The key is to keep the mushrooms from being soggy. Also, FRESH basil(a lot of it) helps.

Special optional extra: one can mix toasted pine nuts into the ricotta filling. I usually do.