Warm Winter Salad with Brussels Sprouts

A lot of my cooking these days is being influenced by Heidi Swanson’s cookbook, Super Natural Every Day, which I happily added to my bulging cookbook shelf this past Christmas.

She frequently mixes whole grains into her cooking, so I’ve added a few more to my pantry and am trying to add them in here and there.

My friend, Micaiah, told me to roast grapes with my brussels sprouts along with a little olive oil, thyme and balsamic vinegar.

We loved the results!  I made a TON of them one night for dinner so I made this salad up that I ate for lunch the next two days.

I used winter wheat berries, arugula and a citrus vinaigrette to turn all these ingredients into a meal (or at least a satisfying lunch!) for Taido and me.

I loved how it turned out and I am certain I’ll be repeating this combination soon.

Warm Winter Salad with Brussels Sprouts

1 pound brussels sprouts

1 cup grapes

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon dried thyme (or a couple of tablespoons fresh)

dash of balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup dried winter wheat berries, boiled in 2 quarts water for 20 minutes or until soft, then drained

6-12 ounces arugula

Toss brussel sprouts and grapes with oil, vinegar, thyme, salt and pepper.  Roast on parchment lined baking sheet at 425 degrees F for 20 minutes.  Stir once or twice while cooking.

Toss the warm brussel sprouts with the wheat berries, arugula and citris vinaigrette.  Serve immediately.

Citrus Vinaigrette

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon or lime juice

1 tablespoon red or white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

1 shallot, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh tarragon (optional)

1/2 teaspoon dried basil (optional)

1 teaspoon salt

pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and use a blender or immersion blender to emulsify.

Note, I added the herbes because I had them handy and thought they would be yummy.  I loved the taste of the tarragon, but you could use any almost any avaialable herbes or omit them entirely.

Enjoy!

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I’m going to interrupt the Christmas baking posts with a salad.

Taido and I have been eating many variations of this salad over the years, ever since we first had Chinese Chicken Salad at the Cheesecake Factory in Chicago, many, many years ago.

I used to deep fry rice noodles to get that crunch on the top like you get in a restaurant, but this healthier version has evolved in which the crunchy element is sliced almonds.  It’s also a lot simpler.

I also love and frequently make The Barefoot Contessa’s Chinese Chicken Salad, but again, this version is easy.

It is quick to throw together and always gathers compliments.  In fact, I’m posting it today per request of a sweet friend.

Chinese Chicken Salad

Ingredients

6-8 cups spinach

2 avocados, cut into 1/2 inch chunks

1/4 – 1/2 cup sliced almonds

2 cups green beans, lightly blanched (still crunchy) then rinsed in cold water

6 clementines, peeled and sectioned

2 grilled chicken breasts

Dressing

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons sunflower oil

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon salt

Mix dressing with an immersion blender.  Combine salad ingredients.  Toss with dressing just before serving.

Enjoy!

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Chilaquiles are the Mexican equivalent of lasagna, according to Crescent Dragonwagon.

This casserole is similar to making a pan of enchiladas, only easier since you just layer the tortillas like pasta. Since this version is vegetarian, if you can open cans, you can make it.  Easy peasy.

I served with it chips and extra salsa.

Vegetarian Chilaquiles

from The Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon

Ingredients:

2 cans chickpeas, drained

1 can black beans, drained

1 can red kidney beans

1 large can (28oz) diced tomatoes

1/2 cup salsa (homemade or your favorite jar)

4-8 tablespoons chili powder

1 10 oz package corn tortillas

8-16 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:

Combine beans, tomatoes, olives, salsa and chili powder in a large nonstick skillet or heavy bottomed pan.  Bring to a boil then lower heat to a simmer.  Stir well and cook on low heat for 20 minutes allowing sauce to cook down and flavors to blend.  Add salt to taste.

Cover the bottom of a greased casserole dish with tortillas.  Break some into pieces in order to cover whole bottom of dish.  Ladle not quite half of the bean mixture over the tortillas.  Then top with almost half the cheese.  Repeat the layering and finish with a scant layer of the bean tomato mixture.

Bake, uncovered, until it is heated through and cheese is melted.  About 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Serve hot with any of your favorite Mexican food toppings.

Suggestions: sour cream, tortilla chips, salsa, guacamole and cilantro.

Enjoy!

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Conversation overheard at this week’s football game:

My mom: What did y’all eat for dinner tonight?

Ben: Lentil Pot Pie

My mom: Hmmm, how was that?

Ben: no answer

Mary Polly: Interesting.

Translation: I am a filo dough amateur.  My filo crust top on this dish never crisped.

I went with it because it seemed easy, but I wish I had just made a regular pie crust.  The result was that everyone decided they loved the filling to this dish, but would rather have had it served over rice instead of baked in a crust.

However, the dish was scraped bare even though the response was mediocre.  I think that is because the filling in this nontraditional pot pie is so rich with flavor.  It manages to cram hints of the Subcontinent (turmeric, cumin and coriander), flavors of autumn (pumpkin) and the comfort of Southern cooking (any casserole dish with a can of Rotel and a crust on top) all into one recipe.

And therein lies the brilliance of Crescent Dragonwagon’s recipes.  You can tell that she has experimented for years and years with the combining of flavors.

And while I am always a curious and even a little wary about how they will taste together, I keep coming back to her cookbooks because I can trust that the end result will be both interesting and delicious.

Curried Lentil Potato Pot Pie with Pumpkin and Tomatoes

adapted from Crescent Dragonwagon’s Passionate Vegetarian

Ingredients

2 cups lentils

6 cups water

2 teaspoons butter or sunflower oil

1 onion, chopped

2 inch piece of ginger root, peeled and minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon black mustard seeds

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric

pinch of cayenne

dash of cinnamon

salt and pepper to taste

4 fist sized potatoes, scrubbed and cut into half inch cubes

1 14 ounce can tomatoes and green chilies (Rotel)

1 can pumpkin puree

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 1/2 cups vegetable stock

4 sheets filo dough, thawed

2-3 tablespoons melted butter

Bring lentils to boil in water.  Turn heat to low and cook 40 minutes, covered.

Heat butter in large dutch oven or heavy bottomed stock pot.  Add onion and saute about 3 minutes.  Add ginger, garlic and all spices.  Cook stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes more or until mustard seeds begin to pop.

When lentils are done, add them to the dutch oven, along with the potatoes.  Cook at a low simmer for 20-30 minutes until potatoes are barely tender.

Combine Rotel, pumpkin and maple syrup in a food processor or blender until smooth.  Add to Dutch oven when potatoes are done.

Add the vegetable broth.  Heat the entire mixture through.  Then pour into a greased casserole dish. (Recipe suggests a 15 x 10 x 2.5.  I doubled the recipe and filled three 9 x 13’s.)

Lay 1 sheet of filo dough over the filling, brush with one third of the melted butter.  Fold in any overhanging edges.  Repeat with the remaining filo and butter.

Bake at 400 degrees F until filo is crisp and brown.  35-45 minutes.  Serve hot.

Enjoy!

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Chop Chop Salad. Perfect for Summer.

The temperatures in Arkansas are staggeringly high.  The heat index and humidity are out of control.

We have basically moved in at the pool and when we wander home in the afternoon all sun-dazed and lightheaded, I simply cannot  be bothered to cook.

We have reached the season where I only want to put things in my mouth that are cold.

Fruit smoothies for breakfast.

Fruit, sandwiches and ice cream for lunch.

Salad for dinner.

This particular salad has been a summer staple at our house for a very long time.  I mentioned it briefly a while back in a post I did on meal planning.

It is a great recipe in that it is highly adjustable.  You can change up the cheeses and vegetables.

Add some cucumbers.

A little red pepper, maybe.

You can use whatever is in your fridge when you happen to wander in from the pool.

Chop Chop Salad

1 can garbonzo beans (chickpeas)

1 head chopped romaine lettuce

1 lb chopped tomatoes

1 oz chopped basil

8 oz grated mozzarella cheese, 8 oz cubed fresh mozzarella cheese or a mixture of shredded mozzarella and provolone

1/2 lb blanched green vegetable (both asparagus and sugar snap peas work great)

1/2 lb cubed salami

1/2 bottle Newman’s Own Family Recipe Italian dressing

I love the fresh mozzarella in this but I find that not everyone cares for it, so I sent one with shredded mozzarella to a potluck this week.

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How do you turn two bags of frozen black eyed peas into dinner in an hour?

Start with a big vidalia onion.  Chop it up small and saute it in the bottom of a heavy pan in a tablespoon of oil.

Get a thick slice of Petit Jean peppered ham at the deli.  You can also purchase it pre-packaged.

Chop it up into small cubes.

Add it to the onions.

Dump in your peas.

Add 8-10 cups of water or broth.  Bring to a boil.

Turn down heat and simmer for about 45 minutes.

Add a teaspoon of kosher salt and several grinds from the pepper mill.

Serve with your favorite Southern sides.

I served leftover basmati rice with ours, but I also love to make cornbread in a cast iron skillet with black eyed peas.

We added fresh corn and wilted some collard greens in a skillet (both on sale this week).

This is such an easy peasy dinner, and it cost less than $10.  I buy several bags of frozen peas when they are on sale for a dollar so I always know I can grab a couple bags out of the freezer for dinner.

My kids love this meal too.  It is one of our favorite easy dinners!

Enjoy!

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It’s necessary to my sanity.

I got to escape to the woods on Saturday for some quiet time.

A silent prayer retreat with friends from church.

My favorite part of the camp was a prayer garden that was a path deep into the woods with lots of little spots along the way inviting you to stop and be still.

Even with 40 women, there was plenty of space to get off and be alone.

And quiet.

We went to bed giggling Friday night and got up hushed in the morning.

We ate breakfast without speaking, passing each other with nods and shy smiles.

Then we all went our own ways to be alone until the sun was high and the our tummies were growling.

What a gift on Mother’s Day weekend to get to soak up the presence of God outside.

We were given lists of Scriptures to go through if we chose.  After studying Isaiah at BSF this year, I loved reading back through Isaiah 55.

Such tender, healing words.

We read so many more phrases just bursting with God’s love.

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3

And from Jeremiah 31, bits of promises and hope

shout for joy

rejoice

well-watered garden

dance

be glad

mourning to gladness

joy instead of sorrow

abundance

After lunch, several people shared the different ways God spoke to their hearts during the silence.

It was precious to hear.

And to see the light of God on the faces of other women.

So many had not had the space to be quiet for a long, long time.

It’s amazing what just a few hours will do for your soul.

Here’s my list of all the ways I’m grateful for silence:

For a long extended time alone at a picnic table in the woods.

For time to lie on my back in the dirt and look up at the trees, leaves sparkling.

For electric green moss.

For still waters.

For God’s precious words, newly jumping from the onion skin pages as though they were just for me.

For sunshine on my face.

For other women, so many beautiful women.

For remembering my camera.

For laughter.

For poetry.

For how really bad coffee makes me so grateful for the coffee I get to drink at home.

For Sandy’s sharing from her heart, reminding us that it’s so much harder to hold on to Jesus with all the distraction we have in our first world culture.

For laughter.

For milkshakes from a country road dairy.

For coming home.

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Fresh Peach Cake

I’ve had my eye on this fresh peach cake for a while.  I really like my cake with fruit.

And Ina Garten is the queen of cake with fruit.  Her lemon pound cake is my favorite.  Her flag cake is always a big hit at a party.

So I knew when I saw this fresh peach cake topped with pecans in her newest cookbook that it would not disappoint.

And it did not.  It is just one step away from a cobbler to a cake.  Crusty, yummy edges with enough bites of fruit to justify eating the rest for breakfast.

Which of course we did.

Demolished it.

Fresh Peach Cake

from Ina Garten’s How Easy Is That?

Ingredients:

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup sour cream, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 large, ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar for 3 to 5 minutes on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, then the sour cream and vanilla, and mix until the batter is smooth. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix just until combined. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon.

Spread half of the batter evenly in the pan. Top with half of the peaches, then sprinkle with two-thirds of the sugar mixture. Spread the remaining batter on top, arrange the remaining peaches on top, and sprinkle with the remaining sugar mixture and the pecans.

Bake the cake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature

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Rainy Monday Morning Grateful.

Cultivating Gratitude in the Morning.

My kids go to school in this beautiful building.

This morning it was dark and rainy when I dropped them off.  Everyone was so sleepy.  The clock in the car said 6:30 because I hadn’t changed it yet for daylight savings.

It was kind of brutal, but Mary Polly said at least it would still be light enough to play when she gets home from school.

That’s something to be thankful for.

Here’s a few more.

Taido not being out of town this weekend

sunny soccer fields

an adoption celebration for a precious family

walking to church

faith, love and hope

my Grandmother catching me after church, praising God with teary eyes for the service

boys playing outside all day, even after dinner

neighbors who feed my kids

hot bread and butter

sprawling on the floor talking to Mary Polly about movies

sleepy Simon with a cup full of Cheerios

garage that provides shelter from the rain

fresh fruit at Sam’s for early customers

rained out soccer = everyone home for dinner

cream for my coffee

Mary Polly sectioning a grapefruit for herself, and the other half for her brother

rain on the flowers

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A few weeks ago my husband had a great idea for a fundraiser for his youth group kids to raise money for Snowcamp.

They should sell cookie dough, homemade frozen cookie dough, like you have in the freezer, he says to me.

I try to keep homemade frozen cookies in my freezer, ready to bake when I need them.

So he enlisted three women to mix up three different kinds of cookie dough.

I would take dark chocolate peanut butter, Whitney would take snickerdoodles and a gal at church we affectionately call Mama Flu took chocolate chip.

He told the kids to sell it.  $12 a bag for 2 dozen cookies, ready to bake from your freezer.

$10 a bag would go to their camp fund.

A lot of the fundraisers we do at church end up making one amount that all the kids have to split, so the beauty of this fundraiser was that the sky was the limit as far as how much cookie dough a kid wanted to sell.

I have to say that I was a little skeptical about this whole plan from the beginning.

First of all, Snowcamp is not cheap.

A kid would have to sell 60 bags of cookie dough to pay for camp.  More if you’re a snowboarder.

Secondly, who on earth is going to pay $12 for cookies that you could bake for yourself?

Apparently, a lot of people.

A lot more than three of us bakers anticipated when Taido told us we’d have one Saturday morning with the kids to make them all.

Nearly 300 bags of 2 dozen cookies.  Over 6000 cookies, people.

That’s a lot of dough.

I was in shock when Taido gave me the total last Wednesday night.

I figured I had better get up and knock mine out on Thursday because I had soccer games on Saturday.

Three days later, I was still mixing dough.

I kept closely in touch with the other two gals who were mixing, scooping, freezing and bagging their hearts out.

A few others did runs to the store and to the freezer at church to keep our freezers free for the next batch.

It was all kinds of crazy.

We talked about moving the deadline to give ourselves a few more days,

but Taido was out of town.

Conveniently.

With the help of a few seriously precious kiddos (four to be exact), we made our deadline by the hairs of our chinny chin chins.

And all the dough got distributed to kids on Sunday morning for delivery.

Now that it’s all over, I have a recipe for you.

Now, sometimes, when I give people a recipe they make it and it doesn’t taste like mine.

I don’t know why that is exactly.  They must be changing out ingredients, not using real butter, not mixing their dry ingredients separately, over mixing the dough, or using substandard chocolate.

But I need a few of you to pay close attention.  It’s not hard.  But I need you to master this recipe sometime in the next 12 months.

Because next year, I’ll be looking for some help.

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Makes 4 dozen cookies.

Ingredients

2 ½ cups flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)

1 15 oz jar Skippy Natural Peanut Butter (no measuring peanut butter if you buy the right jar!)

1 ½ cups sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups Ghirardelli bittersweet baking chips

2 tablespoons raw sugar (for sprinkling)

Mix butter and peanut butter in the bowl of a stand up mixer.

Add both sugars and mix until creamed.

Add eggs, milk and vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients (mixed together first in a separate bowl OR just lightly mixed together on top of the wet ingredients is the cheater route)

Beat thoroughly.

Add chocolate chips.

Scoop onto parchment sheets in 1 ounce balls and lightly press with a flat spatula.

Sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes.

OR

Flash freeze flat dough rounds.  (Put the cookie sheets in the freezer for about 20 minutes, or 40 if you’re opening and closing your freezer a whole lot)

Bag them up and pull them out to bake later at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes.  So handy!

Each of those cookies sheets has two dozen cookies on it.

Does it make you just a tiny bit sleepy to think about filling those cookie sheets 65 times?

Yeah, me too.

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