Southern cookin' ain't the healthiest.  If it can be fried, it will be.  If it can be cooked for hours, it shall be.  And if you can put butter in it, on it, or near it, it will be smothered.

That's why I like cornbread.

Had a hankerin' for some, so I whipped this up...

Chipotle Thyme Cornbread

Perfect side for chili or hearty soups.  Let the leftovers (if there are any) hang out in the fridge for a couple of days, dice into cubes, drizzle with olive oil, and pop 'em in the oven for a bit.  Blammo!  Cornbread Croutons!

1 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus 2 Tbl
2 tsp chipotle powder
1 Tbl fresh thyme, minced

Preheat oven to 425.  Coat a cast iron skillet with 2 Tbl vegetable oil and place in oven while heating.

In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients.  In a separate bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk and oil.  Pour the wet into the dry and stir to combine.  Pour batter into preheated skillet (I love that sizzle) and bake until top is golden and crispy, about 20-25 minutes.

Allow to cool.

Umami Love

Salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and...umami?

Yep.  There's a fifth taste out there.  Umami is that deliciously savory taste usually found in meat and seafood.  However, many vegetables are filled with umami.  Tomatoes, celery, cabbages, mushrooms, and spinach are rich in umami flavor, as are soy sauce and green tea.  So if you are looking for something that satisfies your savory urges without eating anything with a face, try incorporating these flavors into your food. (My favorite new trick:  grating dried porcini mushrooms into vegetable soups and stews before adding the liquid and using soy sauce instead of salt.)

So try this quick umami-licious recipe!

Mushrooms and Wilted Spinach with Barley

I felt like a rock star when I discovered Trader Joe's has a quick-cooking barely!  Ten(-ish) minutes and you have something satisfying on a cold Chicago night.  It's been raining all day, so I needed the savory comfort of umami.

8 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
8 oz oyster mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
8 oz button mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
16 oz. baby spinach
2 tsp olive oil
2 Tbl balsamic vinegar
pinch of crushed red pepper
1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
2 Tbl fresh parsley, chopped
3 cups cooked barley, divided.

In a large skillet, heat oil until it shimmers.  Add onions, season with salt and crushed red pepper, and saute until tender (about five to seven minutes).  Add mushrooms and saute until browned, roughly 10 minutes.  Stir in garlic, rosemary, and thyme, and cook for two minutes.  Deglaze pan with the vinegar, and add spinach, parsley, and 1 1/2 cups of barley.  Remove from heat and toss to wilt the spinach.  Divide remaining barley onto four plates, and spoon mixture on top.  Serve immediately.

Note:  You can use only one kind of mushroom.  I just like the subtleties the variety provides.  This also turns into one heck of a soup.  Just add all of the barley with 4 cups vegetable stock or water, bring to a boil and simmer for ten minutes.  Add spinach at the very end.

Tip:  Dried rosemary and thyme are great in this dish, if you don't have fresh herbs on hand.  General rule of thumb, use half the amount of dried herbs as fresh.  But never use dried parsley.  It's gross and flavorless and annoying.

Cold Weather Comfort

Yep.

It's snowing.

And whenever the weather turns nasty, I become incredibly lazy.  And hungry.  I don't want to leave the house, so it's time for a good old pantry raid to see what I can cook up for dinner.  Black beans, quinoa, canned tomatoes. A jalapeño dying in the fridge and an avocado ripening on the counter.

Sounds like soup to me!

Tomato and Black Bean Soup with Quinoa

Warm and satisfying, this protein packed soup is great for those cold nights in front of the tube.  And all you really need is a can opener!  Try serving it with cornbread, baked polenta cakes, or a simple green salad.

4 cups black beans (2 16oz cans)
canned whole tomatoes (28 oz)
2 Tbl olive oil
1 large red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 jalapeño, minced
1 1/2 Tbl cumin
1 tsp chipotle powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 cups water
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 cups cooked quinoa
salt n' pepper

In a large stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat and saute onions, jalapeño, and garlic until softened, about five minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add cumin, chipotle, and cinnamon and cook for two minutes or so allowing the spices to bloom.

Using your hands, squish the tomatoes to break them into more palatable chunks. (This is great for the kids to do!)  Add tomatoes and their liquid to the pot along with the black beans.  Give a good stir to combine.  Add water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for ten minutes.  Add cilantro.  Transfer 1/3 of the soup to a food processor or blender and puree.  Or, give a couple of pulses with an immersion blender.  Return to pot.  This helps give the soup some body.  Stir in quinoa and serve.

Garnish with avocado slices and cilantro.

TIP:  Make a double batch of quinoa so you have some for later in the week.  Store in an air-tight container in the fridge.

TIP:  This soup freezes beautifully! 

Some Mediterranean Lentil Love

I love rapini.

It's kind of like if spinach and broccoli had a baby and the baby was bitter about it. Also known as broccoli rabe, it's (oddly enough) a member of the turnip family and has a nutty, slightly bitter taste.  Super nutritious and easy to prepare, this super green veggie is perfect for a side dish or as a component in a larger dish.

Like this...

Rapini with Red Lentils

The slightly bitter notes of the rapini play beautifully against the sweetness of the carrots and onions as well as the briney hues of the capers.

1 cup red lentils
1 bunch rapini
2 carrots, diced into 1/2" cubes
1 rib celery, diced
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbl capers, drained
2 Tbl red wine vinegar
2 Tbl olive oil
1 Tbl fresh rosemary
1/4 cup fresh parsley

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil.  Add lentils, reduce heat, and cover.  Cook for about 15 minutes (but you may want to check them after ten as red lentils cook pretty quickly). Drain and set aside.

While the lentils cook, fill a large, deep skillet about 2/3 of the way with water.  Salt liberally and bring to a boil.  Trim the ends of the rapini and plunge into the water.  Cook for about 2-3 minutes until bright green and tender.  Drain rapini and set aside.

Return pan to heat.  Drizzle in oil and saute onions for five minutes.  Add carrots, celery, garlic, and rosemary.  Cook until carrots begin to soften, about five to seven minutes.  Add rapini, lentils, capers, vinegar, and parsley.  Stir to combine and cook until heated through.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve immediately.

NYE Detox

The holidays are coming to a close...finally.  I have had my fill of cheese trays, cookies, roasted whatevers, and booze.

There was lots and lots of booze.

So as we head into the last night of decadence for the year, I thought I might do something for my liver, and beets fit the bill nicely.  A fabulous source of iron and antioxidants, beets help your liver function at its fullest capacity.

I love borscht, a soup popular in eastern Europe, but it's usually made with beef stock and sour cream.  I thought I might play around with this soup and see if I could make it more veggie friendly.  Here is what I can up with.

Roasted Borscht-ish

This bowl of purpley love is bright and satisfying.

This hearty soup is a smoother version than traditional borscht.  Try adding wilted beet greens or cabbage to the soup to increase its nutritional punch!

3 large beets
4 leeks
2 parsnips
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, whole
6 cups water
6 sprigs thyme
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
1 lemon, zest and juice
2 Tbl. olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400.  Peel beets and cut into 3/4" chunks.  Remove dark green leaves of the leeks and slice in half lengthwise.  Rinse leeks under cool water to remove any grit and pat dry.  Transfer beets and leeks to a parchment lined baking sheet along with the garlic.  Drizzle with 1 Tbl olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.  Add thyme sprigs and roast in the oven until caramelized, about 40-45 minutes. Remove from oven and discard thyme.

In a large stock pot, saute onions and parsnips in the remaining 1 Tbl olive oil until softened.  Add beets, leeks, and garlic.  Add water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Puree soup using an immersion blender or food processor.  Add lemon zest, juice, and dill.  Adjust seasoning. Garnish with dill (and, if'n you have a mind, a dollop of Greek yogurt).

Comfort and Joy

 I love a good hash.

It's quick, cheap, and comforting.  And, it's one of the ultimate improvisational foods as you can mix and match your favorite ingredients (or simply use up what is in your refrigerator).  Traditionally, it's a combination of meat, potatoes, and spices, but I find it's just as delicious without the meat.  Play around with different combinations of root vegetables like sweet potatoes, rutabagas, parsnips, turnips, and leeks.  Add hearty greens like collards or kale. Try different fresh herbs or spices.

Here's a spicy little dish that is a go to of mine.  I hope it brings you comfort and joy!


Chipotle and Rosemary Root Veggie Hash

Warm and incredibly hearty, this dish is perfect for brunch or as a satisfying night curled up in front of a movie.  I highly recommend drizzling a little bit of fruit preserves over it right before you serve it as the sweetness balances out the heat perfectly! (I like fig or blackberry)

1 sweet potato, cut into 3/4" cubes (about 2 cups)
3 carrots, peeled and cut into 3/4" chunks
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into 3/4" chunks
8 oz crimini mushrooms, sliced
8 oz Brussels sprouts, shaved
1 cup black beans
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbl olive oil
2 tsp chipotle powder
2 Tbl fresh rosemary, minced
2 Tbl balsamic vinegar
salt 'n pepper

In a large saute pan over medium heat, bloom chipotle powder in the olive oil for one minute.  Add onions and saute until tender, about five minutes. Add garlic and cook for one minute.  Add mushrooms and cook until nicely caramelized. Add the sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, sprouts, and rosemary.  Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the veggies are tender but still have a little bite, about 10 minutes.  Add beans and deglaze the pan with the balsamic vinegar.

Gettin' Spicy

One of the things I love most about urban living is the bodega, that little corner store that has a just a little bit of everything in it.

There are about four within walking distance of my apartment, and each one has it's own distinct character.  There's the Italian grocery with oodles of pastas, grains, and pickled salads; the predominantly Eastern European store offering up strange cuts of meats and curious packages with lots of "K"s and "W"s on the labels.  And two Mexican bodegas with a host of fresh produce and spices galore.

Feeling adventurous, I trotted on over to the rack filled with dried chiles in cellophane bags with red, white, and green labels, and I grabbed two: chiles de árbol and cascabel chiles.  Chiles de árbol are basically a substitute for cayenne, small and spicy.  Cascabels are gorgeous, chocolate brown little bundles of smoky, lightly spicy love.  I figured the combination of the two would make for an amazing backbone for some hearty, winter dishes.

Here's what I came up with.

*You can find these chiles in most grocery stores.  Look for them in the produce section (on that strange rotating rack of bagged spices that you never look at) or near the end of the Mexican aisle!


Cascabel Spiced Eggplant and Zucchini with Wilted Kale

The warm, earthy notes of the cascabel chiles mixed with the slight heat of the chiles de árbol are perfect on a cold winter's night!

1 medium eggplant, diced into 3/4" cubes
2 zucchini, diced into 3/4" cubes
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
3 cups kale, stemmed
1 15oz can fire roasted tomatoes, coarsely chopped
5 dried cascabel chiles
3 dried chiles de árbol
1 cup boiling water
1/4 cup Roasted Veggie Stock
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cumin
2 Tbl olive oil

Place cascabel and chiles de árbol in a bowl and cover with boiling water.  Set aside for 10 minutes.

While the chiles steep, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic, cumin, and cinnamon, stir to coat onions, and cook for 1 minute.  Add eggplant and zucchini, and saute until veggies begin to brown but still have some bite to them, about 7-10 minutes.

While veggies cook, drain the softened chiles reserving the liquid.  Place chiles in a food processor or blender with one half of the liquid.  Puree until smooth.

Once the veggies have browned a bit, stir in tomatoes, the chile puree, and the remainder of the steeping liquid.  Simmer for about 10-12 minutes, reducing the liquid.  Add kale and veggie stock, stirring until just wilted.

Serve over rice, grains, pasta, or large pieces of grilled bread rubbed with garlic.