I don%u2019t think I can ever eat potatoes any other way ever again.
It started with me, doing my weekly pantry cleaning, you know, when I wipe down ever surface, count all the beans and lentils in the jars to make sure I am not running low, and inspect every squash for soft spots. I was just going about my thing when I looked over at my waffle iron. Poor, sad, underused. And it hit me. When was the last time I waffled anything? I remember how excited I was when I found it a few years back at a thrift store. Such a cutie little iron. When I brought it home, I used it a bunch of times for maybe a week or two. And then it was put away and I think I have busted it out like 3 times in the past 2 years. So not cool.
I also noticed I had a shit load of potatoes left from thanksgiving.
And there I had it, a reason to use the waffle iron and a way to use up the potatoes. And now, now I am a potato on the waffle iron addict, which is weird because I am not a overly potatoy person in general. But now with this new waffled hash brown thing, well I might just be eating potatoes all day, every day. (At least until I get sick of them or I run out of potatoes.) They come out soft and fluffy inside, super crispy in ever little nook and cranny, outside. Evenly, perfectly cooked. It%u2019s hard to explain, but they are just, ugh, so good, especially dipped in mustard for a fantastic hash brown snack. (Yes mustard, no not ketchup. Let me do me, you do you.) Or smothered in refried black beans topped with salsa and avocado (that was the dinner version). These hash browns. Just make some and you will see.
And no matter what happens with my hash brown phase, I will be damned if I ever let the waffle iron go so long without use. It deserves better then that.
To the best hash browns EVER!
The stuff. Potatoes, salt and pepper, and a little oil.
Shred potatoes. Simple, easy.
Place the shredded potatoes into a clean dish towel (avoid paper towels because paper towels are the devil) and squeeze as much of the liquid out as you can.
Dump the squeezed out shredded taters back into the bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix it around.
Oil your hot iron and pile on the potatoes. Then close it and press it down. It%u2019s a bit dependent on your iron how long they will need to cook fully, mine took about 9 minutes on high. But maybe just stand close by and check yours after 7ish minutes but expect maybe 10 or so.
Deep golden brown and crispy all over.
I mean, really look. Every surface browned and crispy. It is freaking perfection!
And then like any good waffled food, you plate it, and eat it. Me, with horseradish mustard and a big stupid smile.
Thank you waffle iron. You done good.
-C
makes 2-3 servings
2-3 small to medium sized starchy potatoes (Russet or Yukon Gold)
couple teaspoons olive oil
teaspoon each of salt and pepper
Preheat your waffle iron to high
Shred potatoes on a box grater. Once shredded, gather in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze as much of the liquid as you can from the potatoes. Place potatoes back into bowl and add in about a teaspoon of each salt and pepper and mix around.
Open iron and brush with oil. Place shredded potatoes on the iron, kind of pack together, and close. If it locks, lock it shut, if it doesn%u2019t push it down. And let cook, for about 10 minutes, checking after 7ish (you iron might have more power the mine does). Once the potatoes are a deep golden crispy brown, remove from iron.
Then eat. Any way you want. Plain, with mustard or ketchup. Next to some scramble something or another. Piled high with some black beans and salsa. Whatever. Just eat them and be happy for the waffle iron.
I eat so much hummus. Everyday, all day. Homemade, store bought. If there is hummus, I will be consuming it. But the thing is, I usually don%u2019t eat more then a little at a time. (A little being like 1/2 a cup). And sure, sometimes that is just fine and enough, but other times, what I really want to do is garb a spoon and a bag of carrots and eat it all. And then I do.
But there is that little voice in the back of my head telling me that if someone where to catch me eating mounds of hummus, they would liken my eating behavior to that of someone eating a jar of mustard (Not going to lie, it happens sometimes) or of a bottle of ketchup (but I don%u2019t eat ketchup) and that have a problem and shouldn%u2019t being eating it like that. Because hummus, for some reason, has been put into the condiment category. It%u2019s treated like a dip or a spread and that is fine and dandy to eat it as such, but hummus is so much more. It can, and should be treated more like a main component to a dish. So let us step outside of that box and eat it how we really want to eat it.
Hummus by the bowlful. I know right! It just makes so much sense to me. And now to you too. We need to stop stopping ourselves from just a scoop or two because really, that is just not enough. Nope, this is for real. A bowl, full of hummus, topped with roasted veggies because that is just more deliciousness. And we get to eat it all.
Life can be pretty great sometime, you know. HA
Now to the bowl of hummus!
The stuff. We got chickpeas, tahini, a lemon, red wine vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. And Veggies. Brussel Sprouts, broccoli, onion, Swiss chard, and kale.
Chop up the broccoli, the onion and half or quarter the Brussel sprouts. And separately, chop up the kale and chard.
Toss the chopped Brussels, broccoli and onion into a baking sheet or oven safe skillet and season with salt and pepper. IF you want to toss in a little oil, go for it. Then pop the veggies into a hot oven to roast away.
Once the veggies are just about done to your liking, grab the chopped kale and chard and off to the veggies. Toss and roast for a few more minutes.
Hummus. Chickpeas with liquid, garlic, tahini, juice of lemon, and blend. Creamy smooth and delicious.
Dump that hummus into bowls.
And top with roasted veggies.
Would you look at that. Now all you need to to is dig in. Serve with extra lemon and black pepper. Grab your utensil of choice and eat.
-C
makes 2 servings if eating as a meal
3 cups cooked chickpeas in liquid
A lemon
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2-3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup tahini
salt and pepper
10 or so Brussel sprouts
A small head of broccoli
A small onion
5-6 kale and or Swiss chard leaves
Note. Use whatever veggies you want. Fresh or already prepared. All and any leftovers would be great.
Preheat oven to 450.
Cut Brussel sprouts in half, chop the onion into small pieces, and cut up the broccoli and toss onto a baking sheet or an oven safe skillet. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and stick into the oven to roast for about 20 ish minutes or until nice and roasted. Feel free to toss the veggies in a little oil if you want. Chop up the kale and chard into smaller pieces. Once veggies are just a few minutes from being cooked to you liking, remove from oven, and toss in the greens. Cook for another 5 or so minutes until those are nice and wilted. Remove veggies from oven.
While veggies are roasting, make hummus. Place chick peas with liquid, the juice of the lemon, vinegar, garlic, and tahini into a food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy. Taste and season with salt and pepper to your liking. Dump into a bowls.
And when you have hummus make and veggies roasted, its time to compile. Dump the hummus into 2 bowls. Dump half of the roasted veggies into each bowl.. Squeeze more lemon juice onto both then grab a fork.
Eat. And yes, lick bowl clean. No shame.
Are you aware that it is the last week of November? I know right. Every year this happens but seriously, it%u2019s just flying by so fast.
The mr and I did the norms for the week. Went for a amazing hike in nice snow. We worked on work, the mr made paper, I cut up the paper. I spent some time with clay, works the studio, organized some stuff and watched it snow and loved every bit of it. Then it rained and got kind of sad that all the snow melted.%u2639%ufe0f We picked up farm share, had dinner with my mom and Paul, hung out with the littles for a bit, and fed Barb some soup. Nothing terribly exciting, besides feeding Barb. She makes every exciting.
And then we get to Saturday. Family thanksgiving plus is was Erin%u2019s birthday. (Happy Birthday Beotch!) Always crazy, what with every one of my family members together in my house, eating food, and hopped up on booze and sugar. The day started early with me running away to the gym to get in some sane time, then one last stop at the grocery store before heading home to finish baking and getting all the food ready. Barb came over early to help cut up veggies but really, for her and the mr to make fun of me and gossip like little old ladies. So food got prepare, then I cooked it all. (Minus the main which mom made. She made a crazy chicken thing, cooked in her oven, and brought it over. No meat gets cooked in my house.) And then the family descended on the house, hungry and crazy. Food got served/ thrown all over and for a few short minutes, everyone was sitting down all at once together. But that lasted 2 seconds, and the kids went off and I ran back to the kitchen while everyone was eating to straighten up a bit and because I don%u2019t need to see people dropping chicken bits all over. I just let them eat in peace while I hid for a few minutes in the pantry and snacked on roast Brussel sprouts, carrots and mustard.
After everyone ate, we all ran around the house, picked secret Santa names, had a massive dance party in the kitchen and did dessert and birthday cake. Erins birthday yes, but Coco got to blow out the candles. So cute, that little loving the candles and all but I am going to be watching out for him. I think he might turn into a little pyromaniac. HAHAHA. But for real. Dinner ended with everyone leaving except Barb, Megan,and So. We picked up a little but basically just sat in the pantry eating raw Brussel sprouts from the stock, with mustard of course, and talking about boys. Then they left too and the mr and I were left alone to assess the damages.
The house. Oh my, oh my. It is a FUCKING DISATSER! I know I tell you all that I spend a good chunk of time every weekend cleaning%u2026Well this time, today, all Sunday, I%u2019m a be cleaning. Cleaning the cake and ice cream and cookies crumbles all over. Cleaning up the dinner rolls behind the couch, all the ripped paper, smashed potates, food and drinks particles. Chicken bits, which everyone was super awesome about and tried not to get anywhere, are everywhere. All. Over. The house. Then the kitchen. Every single piece of silverware and then some plus at least 40 plates and bowls are waiting for cleaning. Not to mention the the pots and pans. The compost is overflowing. The recycling is a mess, and I have at least 2 laundry loads of rags and napkins and dirty towels to do. The fridge looks like a freaking bomb blew up in it with tons of half lidded containers precariously stacked on top of each other, waiting for just the right movement of the neighboring jar or the movement of the hot sauce to have it all come crashing down. Aye ya ya. But all worth it because I love my family and we had a blast. I just need to remember next time I am at one of their houses to like pee on their toilet seat or mash some frosting into their couch cushions, you know, to be fair and all.
Anyway, so today I clean and maybe try to hang up some Christmas decorations? The mr is off to do very nice things for people that might not appreciate it, but do it he is going to do (he is too good a person). Hopefully by the time he comes home later tonight, I will be done cleaning, he will be done helping for a good long while, and we can eat soup and maybe watch a movie together. Or more realistically, he watches a movie while I read and probably fall asleep on the couch. Real life.
Reads I read from the internet this week.
-A long but good read. RuPaul: The Philosopher Queen. who doesn%u2019t love RuPsul?
-I just pulled out a nice tablecloth, covered in stains mind you, but maybe i%u2019ll be able to get some of them out now. A Cheat Sheet to Get Rid of Every Type of Holiday%u00a0Stain. Or not. I don%u2019t think I care enough. HA
-This is so appealing to me especially since the mr loves his heavy comforter and I just want a light blanket with the window thrown open in 20 degree weather. The Scandinavian Sleep Secret: Mine and Yours Duvets. HE is always covering me up at night.
–The best health foods? Soup, garlic and cake. Food is healing, and if cake makes you feel better, well then cake it be.
-These cakes remind me of my 5ht grade volcano science project. I made it out of cake and whipped cream. It was awesome. Antarctic Research Takes The Cake In These Science-Inspired Confections
–Vegan man sues Burger King claiming meatless burger is cooked on same grill as meat. This is one reason I do not eat out. Oe of the last times I did eat out, there were egg shells in my scamp bled vegan tofu dish%u2026.. So yeah.
-Who doesn%u2019t love a good TV tray? A Brief History of the TV Tray
-HAve you ever raised a adolescent dog%u2026 It is crazy to say the least. Animal adolescence is filled with teen drama and peer pressure
-So there is this ti look forward to. Cockroaches Are Evolving And in the Future They can Become Impossible To Kill
–A Brief and Buttery History of Libby%u2019s Pumpkin Pie Recipe. The pie of my childhood.
And pictures from the week.
Let us talk about how winter squash is like one of the best foods ever. Seriously. Hardy, creamy, rich, and full of the nutty, sweet flavors of all the good things. How anyone says they don%u2019t like winter squash is beyond me. I sometimes even feel like I put myself in danger of exploding when I am around enough cooked squash. I can eat and eat it until it%u2019s gone, which is fine if it%u2019s a serving or two, but when you roast up a 10 pound butternut, well, that is when the danger is real. I am getting better at holding back, but man, sometimes I just can’t (or don%u2019t want to?) help myself. ( You might also wonder why I cook 10 pounds of squash at a time. It%u2019s because I will eat it all in a few days and I might as well cook a bunch at once, for efficiency sake.)
Now the delicata squah. If you haven%u2019t had it before, stop what you are doing and go get one. You need to try it because it is amazing. Sweet, nutty, creamy. So good! And another good thing is that they are not giant, so you can buy one and eat the whole thing and not worry about overeating until you can%u2019t move, unless that is the goal. In that case, just buy a bunch. HA.
Anyway, it%u2019s getting to that time of year where salad is still great, it is just great warm. And with winter squash. Don%u2019t you agree? So we cook up the squash, grab the kale and make one heck of a salad to eat all to your face. Because that is what will happen. You will make it , taste it, and not want to share it. It is too good to share. (Yes salads can be too good to share, so if you are planning on feeding others, plan accordingly)
To the salad!
The stuff. Kale, a delicata squash, red onion, some balsamic vinegar, a touch of maple, spicy brown mustard, a handful of toasted seeds, and salt and pepper.
Start with the squash. Cut it in half and scoop seeds from booth sides (these seeds are great roasted). After deseeded, cut both pieces into 1/4-1/2 inch thick rounds. And NO!!!!, do not peel the skin.
Grab the onion and cut into 1/4 inch rounds too.
Place the squash on a very lightly oiled baking sheet so the pieces are not overlapping each other. Then toss on the onion which is fine if it overlaps. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and lots of cracked pepper and pop into a hot oven.
In the meantime, mix the dressing situation together. Mustard, maple, and balsamic in a jar, mix and done.
Chop the kale too. Into mouth sized pieces.
Once squash is cooked all nice and tender, remove pan from oven. Take all the kale and toss on top then take the dressing and drizzle it all over the kale. Pop the pan back into the oven for a minutes or two, just until the kale starts to ever so slightly wilt.
Pull the pan back out and give it a good toss.
Dump it all into a big bowl, toss in the toasted seeds, and call it. Now grab a fork and start eating.
-C
Can be a main dish for 1 or a side for a few
1 delicata squash
1 bunch of kale (around 3/4 pound)
1 smallish red onion
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 -2 teaspoons maple syrup (more for a slightly sweeter, maple-y flavor)
2 tablespoons brown or dijon mustard
1/4 cup toasted seeds of choice (I used pumpkin and sunflower)
Preheat oven to 400
Cut delicata squash in half and scoop out all the seeds (you can save seeds to toast up later if you want), then slice the squash into 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick rounds. Grab onion and cut into thin slices. Take onion and squash and place them onto a very lightly oiled baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Don%u2019t let the squash overlap, but it is fine for the onion to overlap the squash and itself. Pop the pan into the oven and bake until the squash starts to brown and is fork tender, which should take about 10-15 minutes.
In the meantime, chop kale into small mouth sized pieces and set aside. And mix the balsamic, mustard, and maple together to create the dressing.
Once the squash and onions are cooked, toss the kale onto the pan and drizzle the whole thing with the balsamic mixture. Toss it all around and pop pan back into oven for another minute or two, just to let kale get a touch wilted.
Remove pan from oven, dump everything from pan onto a plate, and toss in the toasted seeds.
Grab a fork. Eat.
Every now and then I make something for me. All for me. This is one of those dishes that was not destined to be shared with anyone. That I had no one else in mind to eat besides me. No worring about what anyone else with think. Just a simple little dish that I was craving and wanting.
So I made it and man, was it so freaking satisfying. Cooking for oneself is very much a gratifying experience.
Celeriac, or also know as celery root. Have you ever had it? If not, well duder, you need to. It is in my top 3 favorite vegetables and that is saying a lot. So anyway, celeriac, has a slight celery taste, but also kind of earthy and nutty. It pairs well with anything that a potato might, but also is amazing on it%u2019s own. Roasted, steamed, raw. Just really fantastic. And it is in season so get on it and go find yourself some.
And lentils. In my top 3 favorite foods. Made them crispy because pureed celeriac and crispy lentils just sounded right and I love me crispy things. Again, I was making this dish fo me so crispy was happening.
Together, the creamy, delicious pureed celeriac covered with a bunch of spiced, crispy lentil%u2026.Amazing. Eating it, I couldn%u2019t have been happier. I did myself one good with this one.
I might even have to make it to share someday.
Now to the celeriac and lentils!
The stuff. A bulb of celeriac, some cooked lentils, salt and pepper, chili powder, garlic powder. mustard powder, and oil. (oil is optional)
The celeriac. Ok, so most people peel it. I actually get weird looks from people when I tell them I don’t , but let me do me, you know. So anyway. Peel it if you want, or not, just cut it up into chunks.
Place cut up celeriac into a pot and cover with water. Place on stove on medium heat and cook until fork tender.
Lentils meet spices and get mix all together. Add a pinch of salt and lots of cracked pepper too.
Spread now spiced lentils onto a baking sheet, pop into oven, and bake until crispy. Easy peasy.
And to puree the celeriac. Strain any extra water into a cup. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and grab the hand blender (or regular blender) and blend it, adding back in some of the strained water as needed, to get to a consistency that you like. Me, I liked it pretty smooth, but also with a little chunk. Heck, you could leave it really chunky or go all out completely smooth. Up to you. Also if you want a creamier texture, add in a teaspoon or so of the olive oil. That is a taste preference. I didn’t add oil this time, but I have before. It%u2019s good both ways.
And there you have it. Add the celeriac puree to a bowl, top with crispy lentils, and garnish with something green if you want.
Then eat it.
Not going to lie. After this picture was taken, I busted out the spicy mustard and covered everything with it. And it was amazing.
-C
serves 1 as a meal, or a few as a side dish
1 1/2 cups cooked green lentils
1 large celeriac bulb (soft ball sized)
1 teaspoon chili power
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper
olive oil (optional)
Grab celeriac and peel if you want, or just give it a really good wash. Cut into chunks and place into pot. Add enough water to just cover the celeriac and place on medium heat on the stove. Cook until fork tender.
In the mean time, mix all the spices and a good pinch of salt and lots of pepper together with the lentils. Dump them and spread them out onto a lightly oiled baking sheet. Place in oven and turn to 400 degrees (you can start cooking the lentils while the oven is preheating). Bake for about 20 minutes or until lentils are crispy.
Once the celeriac is tender, strain water into a cup and either with a hand blender or a regular blender, blend until smooth, adding in some of the poured off water as needed. You can puree as smoothly as you like or leave a few chunks.. Also, you might want to add in a teaspoon or so of olive oil for a slightly richer and creamier taste. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Ehen the lentils are done, take them from oven. Place large amount (or all) of the celeriac puree to a bowl, cover with some (or all) of the crispy lentils and that is that. Eat away.
Serving suggestion%u2026. Mustard. Any kind. So good.
Soup. No joke (although people make jokes about me), is eaten in my house, at lunch and sometime even at dinner. Every. Single. Day. There is just no going wrong with a big pot or veggies, spices, sometimes beans, sometime not. I make it in big batches, in small batches. Sometimes it%u2019s more a bisque, or a chili or a stew, or just a really really spicy broth. Whatever I have in the fridge or freezer, the stuff that might not be great eaten fresh, sad spinach%u2026. It all turns in soup.
Does that make me some kind of weird soup freak? Maybe, but I am ok with that. And to those who see me walking down the street and yell silly things about me having to get home to eat my soup (it happens more then you know) well, you know you are just jealous and secretly wish you were eating soup with my too. So %ud83d%ude1d.
Are you a soup person too? I mean, who isn%u2019t, especially right now that is is fall time and it%u2019s getting chilly and darker out and all we want to do is hibernate. Definitely a soup time if there was ever a specific time for soup. And this soup, made even more hardy and comforting with the addition on dumplings. I actually made it specifically for the mr because, well just because I love him and thought he would enjoy it. And well, he loved it because dumplings of course. Light and slightly chewy, soup thickening dumplings with hot and comforting soup. A perfect end to a day of him working outside in the cold.
So soup. Make it. Dumplings. Add those too. You will be a winner with food, and in life.
To the soup and dumplings!
The stuff. A few stalks of Swiss chard, a couple carrots and a few potatoes. An onion, dried navy beans, some cherry tomatoes. Then there is flour, with salt and baking powder, a little oil, plant based milk, and salt and pepper.
Veggie chopping time. Dice the potatoes, the onion, the carrots, and the stalks of the chard into small mouth sized pieces. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and the chard leaves into small ribbons. Set the tomatoes and greens aside.
Dump the carrots, onion, chard stalks, and potatoes into a very large pot, add all the spices, a good pinch of salt, lots of black pepper, and a few splashed of water. Cook on medium high heat for 5-7 minutes to just kind of sweat the veggies a bit.
Add in beans and water. Bring pot to a boil then reduce heat to medium and let cook for about an hour. Just give it a stir once in a while.
After an hour check the beans. If they seem close to being done (almost squish in between fingers), then add in the tomatoes, the chard greens, and a few more cup of water. Keep on heat and start the dumpling batter.
Dumpling batter. Mix together the dry ingredients then add in the wet. Mix until combined.
Soup. All nice and looking just about done. The vegges are soft and tender, the beans are cooked. Check and season for salt now then get ready to drop dumplings.
Drop the dumplings. Tablespoons of batter go right into the soup. Thencook, with a lid slightly covering pot, for about 15 minutes.
Look at that. Soup with soft, fluffy, dumpling ready for consumption.
Now all you have to do it serve it up and eat it up.
Soup all day. Every day. Dumplings too!
-C
makes 4-6 servings
For the soup
1/2 cup dried small white beans
1 large onion
2 carrots
2 small red potatoes
3 Swiss chard leaves and stalks
handful of cherry tomatoes (about a cup or so)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dill
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon marjoram
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon sage
1/2 red pepper flakes
12 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
For dumplings
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup warm water or plant based milk
Couple quick notes. I use water but if you really want, use veggie stalk. I find stalk overpowers soup and makes it taste salty, even when it is low sodium. Plus water is there and free but again, use stalk if you want. Also, you can use just about any veggie that you like so if you want to replace chard with celery and spinach or throw some red peppers into the soup, go for it.
Start by small dicing the potatoes, the onion, the carrots, and the stalks of the chard. Dump it all into a large pot, along with all the spices and a good pinch of salt and pepper, and place on the stove on medium high heat with about 1/2 cup water and cook for a few minutes. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and cut the chard leaves into small ribbons. Set aside.
Once the veggies and spices have had a few minutes on the stove, add in the dried beans and 10 cups of water. Bring the pot to a boil then reduce to a medium heat. Cook for about an hour, giving it a stir once in a while. After an hour, check beans for doneness but removing one or two and pinching between fingers. . They should be close to done by now. If they are still really heard, cook for another 20 minutes, if almost cooked through, toss in the tomatoes, the chard greens and the other 2 cups of water. Keep cooking.
In the meantime, make dumpling dough. Mix the dry together then add in the oil and milk. Mix until just combined. Set aside.
Once the soup is done (the veggies are all soft and tender, the beans are cooked through which should take a total of 1 1/2 hours), it%u2019s time to dumpling. Turn the soup up to a medium high heat and carefully drop tablespoons of the dumpling batter right into the soup. The batter will float. Once all the dumplings are in, half cover the pot and let the dumpling cook for 15 minutes or until the dumplings are big, light. and fluffy.
Remove pot from heat and serve and eat right away. Big bowls, Big spoons. Pinch more of salt if needed. Lots of pepper.
I love me some falafel. I love me some peppers. So I guess it is natural that I would want to stuff falafel inside of peppers and eat them all to my face right? I think so.
As we all already know, most of what I cook is depicted by whatever I get at farm share. And the past few weeks we have been getting a lot of peppers. I have been happily eating one or two a day, just as they are, but I figured it was time that I did something else with them. Now what is the first thing that comes to mind with peppers? Stuffed peppers of course. And there you have it, falafel stuffed peppers.
So I am not going to lie and say the mr ate them and swooned. He is not the biggest fan of peppers (I am starting to realize that he doesn%u2019t have all the right taste buds in his mouth. So sad for him.) so he dumped the falafel out of the pepper and ate it with most of the pickled onions, the tahini, and rice. That he really liked. Lucky me, I wanted his pepper anyway because roasted peppers are freaking fantastic amazing and whatever him. Me, as a pepper and falafel lover, I found these stuffed peppers to be everything that I wanted and needed and then some. Eaten pretty much right away warm, with pickled onion and covered in all the tahini, it was a very very satisfying meal. But also a left over stuffed pepper that was stuck in the fridge, eaten cold standing in front of said fridge, right before bed. That was something great as well. I might have even gone in for a second one%u2026%u2026
Anyway, a pepper stuffed with falafel is a good idea if you want food, like peppers, like falafel, and are cool. Just saying.
To the falafel stuffed peppers!
The stuff. A few sweet peppers, some cooked chickpeas, chickpea flour, an onion, a bunch of fresh cilantro and parsley, a few cloves of garlic, red wine vinegar, a little water, tahini, cumin, chili pepper flakes, and salt and pepper.
First, take the onion and cut in half. Take one half and cut into very thin slices, place in a bowl, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and toss with the vinegar and a few tablespoons of water. Set that bowl aside. The other half of onion just cut into a few smaller chunks.
To make falafel. Add the chunks of onion and garlic to food processor and pules a few times to start chopping it up. Add in the cilantro and parsley, the chickpeas and chickpea flour, the cumin and chili pepper flakes, and a good few pinches of salt and lots of pepper. Pulse until completely combined but still a bit chunky. OR pulse until smooth if you would rather it like that. It%u2019s up to you.
Grab peppers and cut each in half. Remove the ribs ad the seeds.
Take falafel mix and stuff it into peppers.
Place peppers onto a baking sheet and into the oven they go.
In the meantime while the peppers are cooking, toss the onions around in the brine a few times. Then right before you take the peppers from the oven, drain the brine from the onions into a jar with the tahini and mix until smooth. Add a splash of water to the mix if you need to loosen it up a bit more to make the consistency of the tahini drizzle-able.
And out they come when all roasted and crispy and my oh my, so good!
Now you eat. Garb a bowl, maybe a grain of some sort if you like (I made the mr rice), plop a pepper down, add some pickled onions and drizzle that tahini all over.
Eat.
-C
Makes 6 half peppers stuffed
3 medium sized sweet peppers
2 cups cooked and drained chickpeas (or one can)
1 large onion
1 bunch (about 1/2 cup packed) cilantro
1 bunch (about 1/2 cup packed parley
2-3 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon chili peper flakes
1/3 cup chickpea flour or oat flour if you don%u2019t have chickpea
salt and pepper
1/4 cup tahini
a few tablespoons water
3 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Preheat oven to 425
Grab the onion and cut in half. Take one half and cut into very thin slices and place in a bowl. Spinkle with a pinch of salt and dump in the vinegar along with about 2 tablespoon water. Toss around until all the onion is coated and set aside.
Take remaining half onion and cut into big chunks. Toss into a food processor along with the garlic and pulse a few times until the onion is chopped up. Add in the cilantro, parsley, chickpeas, chickpea flour, cumin, chili pepper flakes, and a good pinch of salt and lots of pepper. Pulse the hole shebang until the mixture is combined, the herbs are incropeted, but there is a little chunk left. Or you could make it smooth if you wanted too. It%u2019s up to you.
Grab the peppers and cut them in half. Remove the ribs and seeds then take the falafel mixture and evenly distribute it between the peppers halves.
Place stuffed peppers on a baking sheet, falafel side up, and place into oven to bake for about 45 minutes. You want the falafel mix to have a chance to cook inside and out and to get nice and golden brown and crispy on top.
Right before the peppers are done, grab the onions and the tahini. Toss the onions one last time in the briny mix it%u2019s been sitting in, then drain that brine into the tahini. Mix around until smooth. The tahini should be at the consistency to drizzle so if it is still to thick, add in a splash of hot water to loosen it up.
Once peppers are cooked, remove fro oven. Place on a plate with or without some grain, toss on some pickled onion and drizzle tahini all over.
Eat.
Store left over peppers in a the fridge. To eat, just reheat or eat cold. I really enjoyed eating one cold.
Corn is the name of the game, and this game I won!
The mr doesn%u2019t much like to eat corn. But I do. And this time of year I get like 10 ears of corn every week from farm share, which is a lot of corn for one person to have to eat every week and sometimes I just can%u2019t do it. So every now and then I make something that I think the mr will tolerate, if not like, to get him to help me eat the stash of a hundred ears or corn that I have going on in the fridge.
These fritters helped me with that and I think with all the future corn that I will get from the farm. They are soooo good! The mr liked them! As for me, I couldn’t stop eating them and almost didn’t want to share because they we just so dang good. Sweet fresh corn, nutty and slightly chewy oats. Scallions. And that%u2019s pretty much it. So fresh and clean and yummy tasting. A summertime fritter situation that takes corn to a place where even the corn hater likes it.
Although who the hell hates corn? I know one person. One. And I live with him. Weirdo.
Anyway, to the fritters!
The stuff. Fresh sweet corn, old fashion rolled oats, and a few scallion. Also some ground flax seed, water, baking powder, salt and pepper, and a little oil.
Start with oats. Add most of what we need to a blender and blend until it becomes oat flour.
Then the corn. Remove the kernels from the cobs. Best way is to hold corn in a large bowl and cut downward. Don%u2019t want corn flying all over the place!
Add most of the corn you just cut off the cob to the blender with the oat flour, along with with flax and water. Blend until smooth.
Chop the scallions into thin and tiny pieces.
Now dump the contents of the blender into a bowl, add in the scallions, the baking powder, and the extra oats and corn. Mix it all up and then let the batter rest for a few minutes (like 10) so the oats have a chance to really absorb all the liquid.
And then to cook them. Heat a lightly oiled skillet to medium high heat. Once skillet is hot, drop scoops of batter into it. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the bottom is a nice deep golden brown. Flip and cook the other side the same.
When fritters are done cooking, place them on a wire rack. So they don%u2019t get soggy.
And then serve them right away. I ate mine with fresh salsa. Definitely the way to go. So GOOD!
Now eat your corn.
-C
makes about 12 fritters
3 ears fresh corn ( about 1 1/2 cups of kernels)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats (gluten free if needed)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2-3 scallions
1 tablespoon flax meal
3 tablespoons water
salt and pepper
a little oil for skillet
Combine water and flax meal, mix and set aside.
Place 1 cup of oats into blender or food processor and blend for about a minutes or until the oats are a fine flour.
Grab corn and remove from cob. Best way to do this is to place corn vertically in a big bowl and cut downwards so the bowl catches all the kernels. Cut enough corn until you have about 1 1/2 cups of kernels. Also, garb scallions and chop into very small, thin pieces.
Add in a cup of the corn, the flax and water mixture, baking powder, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Pulse or blend until completely combined and the mixture is mostly smooth.. Dump mixture into a bowl and add in the remaining corn, chopped scallions, and oats and mix together. The mixture should not be runny, but also should not be dry enough to pack together. If the mixture seems too dry and tight, add in a tablespoon or two more or water. To wet, add in a small handful of oats.
Once batter is mixed, set aside for about 10 minutes to rest.
Grab skillet and place on medium high heat. Add a touch of oil to pan and make sure it evenly coats the bottom. Once pan is preheated, add scoops batter into pan (about 2 tablespoons each). Cook first side for about 3-4 minutes or until dark golden brown, then flip and cook the other sides for another 2-3 minutes until a dark golden brown. Remove from pan and either place on a wire rack or a plate. ( I recommend a wire rack just to keep them from getting soggy.)
Serve right away. Fresh salsa goes amazingly with them!
Any left overs can be stored in fridge and reheated in the oven.
THE LOVELY CRAZY
December 30, 2019 by maximios • Blog
I don%u2019t think I can ever eat potatoes any other way ever again.
It started with me, doing my weekly pantry cleaning, you know, when I wipe down ever surface, count all the beans and lentils in the jars to make sure I am not running low, and inspect every squash for soft spots. I was just going about my thing when I looked over at my waffle iron. Poor, sad, underused. And it hit me. When was the last time I waffled anything? I remember how excited I was when I found it a few years back at a thrift store. Such a cutie little iron. When I brought it home, I used it a bunch of times for maybe a week or two. And then it was put away and I think I have busted it out like 3 times in the past 2 years. So not cool.
I also noticed I had a shit load of potatoes left from thanksgiving.
And there I had it, a reason to use the waffle iron and a way to use up the potatoes. And now, now I am a potato on the waffle iron addict, which is weird because I am not a overly potatoy person in general. But now with this new waffled hash brown thing, well I might just be eating potatoes all day, every day. (At least until I get sick of them or I run out of potatoes.) They come out soft and fluffy inside, super crispy in ever little nook and cranny, outside. Evenly, perfectly cooked. It%u2019s hard to explain, but they are just, ugh, so good, especially dipped in mustard for a fantastic hash brown snack. (Yes mustard, no not ketchup. Let me do me, you do you.) Or smothered in refried black beans topped with salsa and avocado (that was the dinner version). These hash browns. Just make some and you will see.
And no matter what happens with my hash brown phase, I will be damned if I ever let the waffle iron go so long without use. It deserves better then that.
To the best hash browns EVER!
The stuff. Potatoes, salt and pepper, and a little oil.
Shred potatoes. Simple, easy.
Place the shredded potatoes into a clean dish towel (avoid paper towels because paper towels are the devil) and squeeze as much of the liquid out as you can.
Dump the squeezed out shredded taters back into the bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix it around.
Oil your hot iron and pile on the potatoes. Then close it and press it down. It%u2019s a bit dependent on your iron how long they will need to cook fully, mine took about 9 minutes on high. But maybe just stand close by and check yours after 7ish minutes but expect maybe 10 or so.
Deep golden brown and crispy all over.
I mean, really look. Every surface browned and crispy. It is freaking perfection!
And then like any good waffled food, you plate it, and eat it. Me, with horseradish mustard and a big stupid smile.
Thank you waffle iron. You done good.
-C
makes 2-3 servings
2-3 small to medium sized starchy potatoes (Russet or Yukon Gold)
couple teaspoons olive oil
teaspoon each of salt and pepper
Preheat your waffle iron to high
Shred potatoes on a box grater. Once shredded, gather in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze as much of the liquid as you can from the potatoes. Place potatoes back into bowl and add in about a teaspoon of each salt and pepper and mix around.
Open iron and brush with oil. Place shredded potatoes on the iron, kind of pack together, and close. If it locks, lock it shut, if it doesn%u2019t push it down. And let cook, for about 10 minutes, checking after 7ish (you iron might have more power the mine does). Once the potatoes are a deep golden crispy brown, remove from iron.
Then eat. Any way you want. Plain, with mustard or ketchup. Next to some scramble something or another. Piled high with some black beans and salsa. Whatever. Just eat them and be happy for the waffle iron.
I eat so much hummus. Everyday, all day. Homemade, store bought. If there is hummus, I will be consuming it. But the thing is, I usually don%u2019t eat more then a little at a time. (A little being like 1/2 a cup). And sure, sometimes that is just fine and enough, but other times, what I really want to do is garb a spoon and a bag of carrots and eat it all. And then I do.
But there is that little voice in the back of my head telling me that if someone where to catch me eating mounds of hummus, they would liken my eating behavior to that of someone eating a jar of mustard (Not going to lie, it happens sometimes) or of a bottle of ketchup (but I don%u2019t eat ketchup) and that have a problem and shouldn%u2019t being eating it like that. Because hummus, for some reason, has been put into the condiment category. It%u2019s treated like a dip or a spread and that is fine and dandy to eat it as such, but hummus is so much more. It can, and should be treated more like a main component to a dish. So let us step outside of that box and eat it how we really want to eat it.
Hummus by the bowlful. I know right! It just makes so much sense to me. And now to you too. We need to stop stopping ourselves from just a scoop or two because really, that is just not enough. Nope, this is for real. A bowl, full of hummus, topped with roasted veggies because that is just more deliciousness. And we get to eat it all.
Life can be pretty great sometime, you know. HA
Now to the bowl of hummus!
The stuff. We got chickpeas, tahini, a lemon, red wine vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. And Veggies. Brussel Sprouts, broccoli, onion, Swiss chard, and kale.
Chop up the broccoli, the onion and half or quarter the Brussel sprouts. And separately, chop up the kale and chard.
Toss the chopped Brussels, broccoli and onion into a baking sheet or oven safe skillet and season with salt and pepper. IF you want to toss in a little oil, go for it. Then pop the veggies into a hot oven to roast away.
Once the veggies are just about done to your liking, grab the chopped kale and chard and off to the veggies. Toss and roast for a few more minutes.
Hummus. Chickpeas with liquid, garlic, tahini, juice of lemon, and blend. Creamy smooth and delicious.
Dump that hummus into bowls.
And top with roasted veggies.
Would you look at that. Now all you need to to is dig in. Serve with extra lemon and black pepper. Grab your utensil of choice and eat.
-C
makes 2 servings if eating as a meal
3 cups cooked chickpeas in liquid
A lemon
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2-3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup tahini
salt and pepper
10 or so Brussel sprouts
A small head of broccoli
A small onion
5-6 kale and or Swiss chard leaves
Note. Use whatever veggies you want. Fresh or already prepared. All and any leftovers would be great.
Preheat oven to 450.
Cut Brussel sprouts in half, chop the onion into small pieces, and cut up the broccoli and toss onto a baking sheet or an oven safe skillet. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and stick into the oven to roast for about 20 ish minutes or until nice and roasted. Feel free to toss the veggies in a little oil if you want. Chop up the kale and chard into smaller pieces. Once veggies are just a few minutes from being cooked to you liking, remove from oven, and toss in the greens. Cook for another 5 or so minutes until those are nice and wilted. Remove veggies from oven.
While veggies are roasting, make hummus. Place chick peas with liquid, the juice of the lemon, vinegar, garlic, and tahini into a food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy. Taste and season with salt and pepper to your liking. Dump into a bowls.
And when you have hummus make and veggies roasted, its time to compile. Dump the hummus into 2 bowls. Dump half of the roasted veggies into each bowl.. Squeeze more lemon juice onto both then grab a fork.
Eat. And yes, lick bowl clean. No shame.
Are you aware that it is the last week of November? I know right. Every year this happens but seriously, it%u2019s just flying by so fast.
The mr and I did the norms for the week. Went for a amazing hike in nice snow. We worked on work, the mr made paper, I cut up the paper. I spent some time with clay, works the studio, organized some stuff and watched it snow and loved every bit of it. Then it rained and got kind of sad that all the snow melted.%u2639%ufe0f We picked up farm share, had dinner with my mom and Paul, hung out with the littles for a bit, and fed Barb some soup. Nothing terribly exciting, besides feeding Barb. She makes every exciting.
And then we get to Saturday. Family thanksgiving plus is was Erin%u2019s birthday. (Happy Birthday Beotch!) Always crazy, what with every one of my family members together in my house, eating food, and hopped up on booze and sugar. The day started early with me running away to the gym to get in some sane time, then one last stop at the grocery store before heading home to finish baking and getting all the food ready. Barb came over early to help cut up veggies but really, for her and the mr to make fun of me and gossip like little old ladies. So food got prepare, then I cooked it all. (Minus the main which mom made. She made a crazy chicken thing, cooked in her oven, and brought it over. No meat gets cooked in my house.) And then the family descended on the house, hungry and crazy. Food got served/ thrown all over and for a few short minutes, everyone was sitting down all at once together. But that lasted 2 seconds, and the kids went off and I ran back to the kitchen while everyone was eating to straighten up a bit and because I don%u2019t need to see people dropping chicken bits all over. I just let them eat in peace while I hid for a few minutes in the pantry and snacked on roast Brussel sprouts, carrots and mustard.
After everyone ate, we all ran around the house, picked secret Santa names, had a massive dance party in the kitchen and did dessert and birthday cake. Erins birthday yes, but Coco got to blow out the candles. So cute, that little loving the candles and all but I am going to be watching out for him. I think he might turn into a little pyromaniac. HAHAHA. But for real. Dinner ended with everyone leaving except Barb, Megan,and So. We picked up a little but basically just sat in the pantry eating raw Brussel sprouts from the stock, with mustard of course, and talking about boys. Then they left too and the mr and I were left alone to assess the damages.
The house. Oh my, oh my. It is a FUCKING DISATSER! I know I tell you all that I spend a good chunk of time every weekend cleaning%u2026Well this time, today, all Sunday, I%u2019m a be cleaning. Cleaning the cake and ice cream and cookies crumbles all over. Cleaning up the dinner rolls behind the couch, all the ripped paper, smashed potates, food and drinks particles. Chicken bits, which everyone was super awesome about and tried not to get anywhere, are everywhere. All. Over. The house. Then the kitchen. Every single piece of silverware and then some plus at least 40 plates and bowls are waiting for cleaning. Not to mention the the pots and pans. The compost is overflowing. The recycling is a mess, and I have at least 2 laundry loads of rags and napkins and dirty towels to do. The fridge looks like a freaking bomb blew up in it with tons of half lidded containers precariously stacked on top of each other, waiting for just the right movement of the neighboring jar or the movement of the hot sauce to have it all come crashing down. Aye ya ya. But all worth it because I love my family and we had a blast. I just need to remember next time I am at one of their houses to like pee on their toilet seat or mash some frosting into their couch cushions, you know, to be fair and all.
Anyway, so today I clean and maybe try to hang up some Christmas decorations? The mr is off to do very nice things for people that might not appreciate it, but do it he is going to do (he is too good a person). Hopefully by the time he comes home later tonight, I will be done cleaning, he will be done helping for a good long while, and we can eat soup and maybe watch a movie together. Or more realistically, he watches a movie while I read and probably fall asleep on the couch. Real life.
Reads I read from the internet this week.
-A long but good read. RuPaul: The Philosopher Queen. who doesn%u2019t love RuPsul?
-I just pulled out a nice tablecloth, covered in stains mind you, but maybe i%u2019ll be able to get some of them out now. A Cheat Sheet to Get Rid of Every Type of Holiday%u00a0Stain. Or not. I don%u2019t think I care enough. HA
-This is so appealing to me especially since the mr loves his heavy comforter and I just want a light blanket with the window thrown open in 20 degree weather. The Scandinavian Sleep Secret: Mine and Yours Duvets. HE is always covering me up at night.
–The best health foods? Soup, garlic and cake. Food is healing, and if cake makes you feel better, well then cake it be.
-These cakes remind me of my 5ht grade volcano science project. I made it out of cake and whipped cream. It was awesome. Antarctic Research Takes The Cake In These Science-Inspired Confections
–Vegan man sues Burger King claiming meatless burger is cooked on same grill as meat. This is one reason I do not eat out. Oe of the last times I did eat out, there were egg shells in my scamp bled vegan tofu dish%u2026.. So yeah.
-Who doesn%u2019t love a good TV tray? A Brief History of the TV Tray
-HAve you ever raised a adolescent dog%u2026 It is crazy to say the least. Animal adolescence is filled with teen drama and peer pressure
-So there is this ti look forward to. Cockroaches Are Evolving And in the Future They can Become Impossible To Kill
–A Brief and Buttery History of Libby%u2019s Pumpkin Pie Recipe. The pie of my childhood.
And pictures from the week.
Let us talk about how winter squash is like one of the best foods ever. Seriously. Hardy, creamy, rich, and full of the nutty, sweet flavors of all the good things. How anyone says they don%u2019t like winter squash is beyond me. I sometimes even feel like I put myself in danger of exploding when I am around enough cooked squash. I can eat and eat it until it%u2019s gone, which is fine if it%u2019s a serving or two, but when you roast up a 10 pound butternut, well, that is when the danger is real. I am getting better at holding back, but man, sometimes I just can’t (or don%u2019t want to?) help myself. ( You might also wonder why I cook 10 pounds of squash at a time. It%u2019s because I will eat it all in a few days and I might as well cook a bunch at once, for efficiency sake.)
Now the delicata squah. If you haven%u2019t had it before, stop what you are doing and go get one. You need to try it because it is amazing. Sweet, nutty, creamy. So good! And another good thing is that they are not giant, so you can buy one and eat the whole thing and not worry about overeating until you can%u2019t move, unless that is the goal. In that case, just buy a bunch. HA.
Anyway, it%u2019s getting to that time of year where salad is still great, it is just great warm. And with winter squash. Don%u2019t you agree? So we cook up the squash, grab the kale and make one heck of a salad to eat all to your face. Because that is what will happen. You will make it , taste it, and not want to share it. It is too good to share. (Yes salads can be too good to share, so if you are planning on feeding others, plan accordingly)
To the salad!
The stuff. Kale, a delicata squash, red onion, some balsamic vinegar, a touch of maple, spicy brown mustard, a handful of toasted seeds, and salt and pepper.
Start with the squash. Cut it in half and scoop seeds from booth sides (these seeds are great roasted). After deseeded, cut both pieces into 1/4-1/2 inch thick rounds. And NO!!!!, do not peel the skin.
Grab the onion and cut into 1/4 inch rounds too.
Place the squash on a very lightly oiled baking sheet so the pieces are not overlapping each other. Then toss on the onion which is fine if it overlaps. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and lots of cracked pepper and pop into a hot oven.
In the meantime, mix the dressing situation together. Mustard, maple, and balsamic in a jar, mix and done.
Chop the kale too. Into mouth sized pieces.
Once squash is cooked all nice and tender, remove pan from oven. Take all the kale and toss on top then take the dressing and drizzle it all over the kale. Pop the pan back into the oven for a minutes or two, just until the kale starts to ever so slightly wilt.
Pull the pan back out and give it a good toss.
Dump it all into a big bowl, toss in the toasted seeds, and call it. Now grab a fork and start eating.
-C
Can be a main dish for 1 or a side for a few
1 delicata squash
1 bunch of kale (around 3/4 pound)
1 smallish red onion
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 -2 teaspoons maple syrup (more for a slightly sweeter, maple-y flavor)
2 tablespoons brown or dijon mustard
1/4 cup toasted seeds of choice (I used pumpkin and sunflower)
Preheat oven to 400
Cut delicata squash in half and scoop out all the seeds (you can save seeds to toast up later if you want), then slice the squash into 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick rounds. Grab onion and cut into thin slices. Take onion and squash and place them onto a very lightly oiled baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Don%u2019t let the squash overlap, but it is fine for the onion to overlap the squash and itself. Pop the pan into the oven and bake until the squash starts to brown and is fork tender, which should take about 10-15 minutes.
In the meantime, chop kale into small mouth sized pieces and set aside. And mix the balsamic, mustard, and maple together to create the dressing.
Once the squash and onions are cooked, toss the kale onto the pan and drizzle the whole thing with the balsamic mixture. Toss it all around and pop pan back into oven for another minute or two, just to let kale get a touch wilted.
Remove pan from oven, dump everything from pan onto a plate, and toss in the toasted seeds.
Grab a fork. Eat.
Every now and then I make something for me. All for me. This is one of those dishes that was not destined to be shared with anyone. That I had no one else in mind to eat besides me. No worring about what anyone else with think. Just a simple little dish that I was craving and wanting.
So I made it and man, was it so freaking satisfying. Cooking for oneself is very much a gratifying experience.
Celeriac, or also know as celery root. Have you ever had it? If not, well duder, you need to. It is in my top 3 favorite vegetables and that is saying a lot. So anyway, celeriac, has a slight celery taste, but also kind of earthy and nutty. It pairs well with anything that a potato might, but also is amazing on it%u2019s own. Roasted, steamed, raw. Just really fantastic. And it is in season so get on it and go find yourself some.
And lentils. In my top 3 favorite foods. Made them crispy because pureed celeriac and crispy lentils just sounded right and I love me crispy things. Again, I was making this dish fo me so crispy was happening.
Together, the creamy, delicious pureed celeriac covered with a bunch of spiced, crispy lentil%u2026.Amazing. Eating it, I couldn%u2019t have been happier. I did myself one good with this one.
I might even have to make it to share someday.
Now to the celeriac and lentils!
The stuff. A bulb of celeriac, some cooked lentils, salt and pepper, chili powder, garlic powder. mustard powder, and oil. (oil is optional)
The celeriac. Ok, so most people peel it. I actually get weird looks from people when I tell them I don’t , but let me do me, you know. So anyway. Peel it if you want, or not, just cut it up into chunks.
Place cut up celeriac into a pot and cover with water. Place on stove on medium heat and cook until fork tender.
Lentils meet spices and get mix all together. Add a pinch of salt and lots of cracked pepper too.
Spread now spiced lentils onto a baking sheet, pop into oven, and bake until crispy. Easy peasy.
And to puree the celeriac. Strain any extra water into a cup. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and grab the hand blender (or regular blender) and blend it, adding back in some of the strained water as needed, to get to a consistency that you like. Me, I liked it pretty smooth, but also with a little chunk. Heck, you could leave it really chunky or go all out completely smooth. Up to you. Also if you want a creamier texture, add in a teaspoon or so of the olive oil. That is a taste preference. I didn’t add oil this time, but I have before. It%u2019s good both ways.
And there you have it. Add the celeriac puree to a bowl, top with crispy lentils, and garnish with something green if you want.
Then eat it.
Not going to lie. After this picture was taken, I busted out the spicy mustard and covered everything with it. And it was amazing.
-C
serves 1 as a meal, or a few as a side dish
1 1/2 cups cooked green lentils
1 large celeriac bulb (soft ball sized)
1 teaspoon chili power
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper
olive oil (optional)
Grab celeriac and peel if you want, or just give it a really good wash. Cut into chunks and place into pot. Add enough water to just cover the celeriac and place on medium heat on the stove. Cook until fork tender.
In the mean time, mix all the spices and a good pinch of salt and lots of pepper together with the lentils. Dump them and spread them out onto a lightly oiled baking sheet. Place in oven and turn to 400 degrees (you can start cooking the lentils while the oven is preheating). Bake for about 20 minutes or until lentils are crispy.
Once the celeriac is tender, strain water into a cup and either with a hand blender or a regular blender, blend until smooth, adding in some of the poured off water as needed. You can puree as smoothly as you like or leave a few chunks.. Also, you might want to add in a teaspoon or so of olive oil for a slightly richer and creamier taste. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Ehen the lentils are done, take them from oven. Place large amount (or all) of the celeriac puree to a bowl, cover with some (or all) of the crispy lentils and that is that. Eat away.
Serving suggestion%u2026. Mustard. Any kind. So good.
Soup. No joke (although people make jokes about me), is eaten in my house, at lunch and sometime even at dinner. Every. Single. Day. There is just no going wrong with a big pot or veggies, spices, sometimes beans, sometime not. I make it in big batches, in small batches. Sometimes it%u2019s more a bisque, or a chili or a stew, or just a really really spicy broth. Whatever I have in the fridge or freezer, the stuff that might not be great eaten fresh, sad spinach%u2026. It all turns in soup.
Does that make me some kind of weird soup freak? Maybe, but I am ok with that. And to those who see me walking down the street and yell silly things about me having to get home to eat my soup (it happens more then you know) well, you know you are just jealous and secretly wish you were eating soup with my too. So %ud83d%ude1d.
Are you a soup person too? I mean, who isn%u2019t, especially right now that is is fall time and it%u2019s getting chilly and darker out and all we want to do is hibernate. Definitely a soup time if there was ever a specific time for soup. And this soup, made even more hardy and comforting with the addition on dumplings. I actually made it specifically for the mr because, well just because I love him and thought he would enjoy it. And well, he loved it because dumplings of course. Light and slightly chewy, soup thickening dumplings with hot and comforting soup. A perfect end to a day of him working outside in the cold.
So soup. Make it. Dumplings. Add those too. You will be a winner with food, and in life.
To the soup and dumplings!
The stuff. A few stalks of Swiss chard, a couple carrots and a few potatoes. An onion, dried navy beans, some cherry tomatoes. Then there is flour, with salt and baking powder, a little oil, plant based milk, and salt and pepper.
Veggie chopping time. Dice the potatoes, the onion, the carrots, and the stalks of the chard into small mouth sized pieces. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and the chard leaves into small ribbons. Set the tomatoes and greens aside.
Dump the carrots, onion, chard stalks, and potatoes into a very large pot, add all the spices, a good pinch of salt, lots of black pepper, and a few splashed of water. Cook on medium high heat for 5-7 minutes to just kind of sweat the veggies a bit.
Add in beans and water. Bring pot to a boil then reduce heat to medium and let cook for about an hour. Just give it a stir once in a while.
After an hour check the beans. If they seem close to being done (almost squish in between fingers), then add in the tomatoes, the chard greens, and a few more cup of water. Keep on heat and start the dumpling batter.
Dumpling batter. Mix together the dry ingredients then add in the wet. Mix until combined.
Soup. All nice and looking just about done. The vegges are soft and tender, the beans are cooked. Check and season for salt now then get ready to drop dumplings.
Drop the dumplings. Tablespoons of batter go right into the soup. Thencook, with a lid slightly covering pot, for about 15 minutes.
Look at that. Soup with soft, fluffy, dumpling ready for consumption.
Now all you have to do it serve it up and eat it up.
Soup all day. Every day. Dumplings too!
-C
makes 4-6 servings
For the soup
1/2 cup dried small white beans
1 large onion
2 carrots
2 small red potatoes
3 Swiss chard leaves and stalks
handful of cherry tomatoes (about a cup or so)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dill
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon marjoram
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon sage
1/2 red pepper flakes
12 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
For dumplings
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup warm water or plant based milk
Couple quick notes. I use water but if you really want, use veggie stalk. I find stalk overpowers soup and makes it taste salty, even when it is low sodium. Plus water is there and free but again, use stalk if you want. Also, you can use just about any veggie that you like so if you want to replace chard with celery and spinach or throw some red peppers into the soup, go for it.
Start by small dicing the potatoes, the onion, the carrots, and the stalks of the chard. Dump it all into a large pot, along with all the spices and a good pinch of salt and pepper, and place on the stove on medium high heat with about 1/2 cup water and cook for a few minutes. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and cut the chard leaves into small ribbons. Set aside.
Once the veggies and spices have had a few minutes on the stove, add in the dried beans and 10 cups of water. Bring the pot to a boil then reduce to a medium heat. Cook for about an hour, giving it a stir once in a while. After an hour, check beans for doneness but removing one or two and pinching between fingers. . They should be close to done by now. If they are still really heard, cook for another 20 minutes, if almost cooked through, toss in the tomatoes, the chard greens and the other 2 cups of water. Keep cooking.
In the meantime, make dumpling dough. Mix the dry together then add in the oil and milk. Mix until just combined. Set aside.
Once the soup is done (the veggies are all soft and tender, the beans are cooked through which should take a total of 1 1/2 hours), it%u2019s time to dumpling. Turn the soup up to a medium high heat and carefully drop tablespoons of the dumpling batter right into the soup. The batter will float. Once all the dumplings are in, half cover the pot and let the dumpling cook for 15 minutes or until the dumplings are big, light. and fluffy.
Remove pot from heat and serve and eat right away. Big bowls, Big spoons. Pinch more of salt if needed. Lots of pepper.
I love me some falafel. I love me some peppers. So I guess it is natural that I would want to stuff falafel inside of peppers and eat them all to my face right? I think so.
As we all already know, most of what I cook is depicted by whatever I get at farm share. And the past few weeks we have been getting a lot of peppers. I have been happily eating one or two a day, just as they are, but I figured it was time that I did something else with them. Now what is the first thing that comes to mind with peppers? Stuffed peppers of course. And there you have it, falafel stuffed peppers.
So I am not going to lie and say the mr ate them and swooned. He is not the biggest fan of peppers (I am starting to realize that he doesn%u2019t have all the right taste buds in his mouth. So sad for him.) so he dumped the falafel out of the pepper and ate it with most of the pickled onions, the tahini, and rice. That he really liked. Lucky me, I wanted his pepper anyway because roasted peppers are freaking fantastic amazing and whatever him. Me, as a pepper and falafel lover, I found these stuffed peppers to be everything that I wanted and needed and then some. Eaten pretty much right away warm, with pickled onion and covered in all the tahini, it was a very very satisfying meal. But also a left over stuffed pepper that was stuck in the fridge, eaten cold standing in front of said fridge, right before bed. That was something great as well. I might have even gone in for a second one%u2026%u2026
Anyway, a pepper stuffed with falafel is a good idea if you want food, like peppers, like falafel, and are cool. Just saying.
To the falafel stuffed peppers!
The stuff. A few sweet peppers, some cooked chickpeas, chickpea flour, an onion, a bunch of fresh cilantro and parsley, a few cloves of garlic, red wine vinegar, a little water, tahini, cumin, chili pepper flakes, and salt and pepper.
First, take the onion and cut in half. Take one half and cut into very thin slices, place in a bowl, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and toss with the vinegar and a few tablespoons of water. Set that bowl aside. The other half of onion just cut into a few smaller chunks.
To make falafel. Add the chunks of onion and garlic to food processor and pules a few times to start chopping it up. Add in the cilantro and parsley, the chickpeas and chickpea flour, the cumin and chili pepper flakes, and a good few pinches of salt and lots of pepper. Pulse until completely combined but still a bit chunky. OR pulse until smooth if you would rather it like that. It%u2019s up to you.
Grab peppers and cut each in half. Remove the ribs ad the seeds.
Take falafel mix and stuff it into peppers.
Place peppers onto a baking sheet and into the oven they go.
In the meantime while the peppers are cooking, toss the onions around in the brine a few times. Then right before you take the peppers from the oven, drain the brine from the onions into a jar with the tahini and mix until smooth. Add a splash of water to the mix if you need to loosen it up a bit more to make the consistency of the tahini drizzle-able.
And out they come when all roasted and crispy and my oh my, so good!
Now you eat. Garb a bowl, maybe a grain of some sort if you like (I made the mr rice), plop a pepper down, add some pickled onions and drizzle that tahini all over.
Eat.
-C
Makes 6 half peppers stuffed
3 medium sized sweet peppers
2 cups cooked and drained chickpeas (or one can)
1 large onion
1 bunch (about 1/2 cup packed) cilantro
1 bunch (about 1/2 cup packed parley
2-3 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon chili peper flakes
1/3 cup chickpea flour or oat flour if you don%u2019t have chickpea
salt and pepper
1/4 cup tahini
a few tablespoons water
3 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Preheat oven to 425
Grab the onion and cut in half. Take one half and cut into very thin slices and place in a bowl. Spinkle with a pinch of salt and dump in the vinegar along with about 2 tablespoon water. Toss around until all the onion is coated and set aside.
Take remaining half onion and cut into big chunks. Toss into a food processor along with the garlic and pulse a few times until the onion is chopped up. Add in the cilantro, parsley, chickpeas, chickpea flour, cumin, chili pepper flakes, and a good pinch of salt and lots of pepper. Pulse the hole shebang until the mixture is combined, the herbs are incropeted, but there is a little chunk left. Or you could make it smooth if you wanted too. It%u2019s up to you.
Grab the peppers and cut them in half. Remove the ribs and seeds then take the falafel mixture and evenly distribute it between the peppers halves.
Place stuffed peppers on a baking sheet, falafel side up, and place into oven to bake for about 45 minutes. You want the falafel mix to have a chance to cook inside and out and to get nice and golden brown and crispy on top.
Right before the peppers are done, grab the onions and the tahini. Toss the onions one last time in the briny mix it%u2019s been sitting in, then drain that brine into the tahini. Mix around until smooth. The tahini should be at the consistency to drizzle so if it is still to thick, add in a splash of hot water to loosen it up.
Once peppers are cooked, remove fro oven. Place on a plate with or without some grain, toss on some pickled onion and drizzle tahini all over.
Eat.
Store left over peppers in a the fridge. To eat, just reheat or eat cold. I really enjoyed eating one cold.
Corn is the name of the game, and this game I won!
The mr doesn%u2019t much like to eat corn. But I do. And this time of year I get like 10 ears of corn every week from farm share, which is a lot of corn for one person to have to eat every week and sometimes I just can%u2019t do it. So every now and then I make something that I think the mr will tolerate, if not like, to get him to help me eat the stash of a hundred ears or corn that I have going on in the fridge.
These fritters helped me with that and I think with all the future corn that I will get from the farm. They are soooo good! The mr liked them! As for me, I couldn’t stop eating them and almost didn’t want to share because they we just so dang good. Sweet fresh corn, nutty and slightly chewy oats. Scallions. And that%u2019s pretty much it. So fresh and clean and yummy tasting. A summertime fritter situation that takes corn to a place where even the corn hater likes it.
Although who the hell hates corn? I know one person. One. And I live with him. Weirdo.
Anyway, to the fritters!
The stuff. Fresh sweet corn, old fashion rolled oats, and a few scallion. Also some ground flax seed, water, baking powder, salt and pepper, and a little oil.
Start with oats. Add most of what we need to a blender and blend until it becomes oat flour.
Then the corn. Remove the kernels from the cobs. Best way is to hold corn in a large bowl and cut downward. Don%u2019t want corn flying all over the place!
Add most of the corn you just cut off the cob to the blender with the oat flour, along with with flax and water. Blend until smooth.
Chop the scallions into thin and tiny pieces.
Now dump the contents of the blender into a bowl, add in the scallions, the baking powder, and the extra oats and corn. Mix it all up and then let the batter rest for a few minutes (like 10) so the oats have a chance to really absorb all the liquid.
And then to cook them. Heat a lightly oiled skillet to medium high heat. Once skillet is hot, drop scoops of batter into it. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the bottom is a nice deep golden brown. Flip and cook the other side the same.
When fritters are done cooking, place them on a wire rack. So they don%u2019t get soggy.
And then serve them right away. I ate mine with fresh salsa. Definitely the way to go. So GOOD!
Now eat your corn.
-C
makes about 12 fritters
3 ears fresh corn ( about 1 1/2 cups of kernels)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats (gluten free if needed)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2-3 scallions
1 tablespoon flax meal
3 tablespoons water
salt and pepper
a little oil for skillet
Combine water and flax meal, mix and set aside.
Place 1 cup of oats into blender or food processor and blend for about a minutes or until the oats are a fine flour.
Grab corn and remove from cob. Best way to do this is to place corn vertically in a big bowl and cut downwards so the bowl catches all the kernels. Cut enough corn until you have about 1 1/2 cups of kernels. Also, garb scallions and chop into very small, thin pieces.
Add in a cup of the corn, the flax and water mixture, baking powder, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Pulse or blend until completely combined and the mixture is mostly smooth.. Dump mixture into a bowl and add in the remaining corn, chopped scallions, and oats and mix together. The mixture should not be runny, but also should not be dry enough to pack together. If the mixture seems too dry and tight, add in a tablespoon or two more or water. To wet, add in a small handful of oats.
Once batter is mixed, set aside for about 10 minutes to rest.
Grab skillet and place on medium high heat. Add a touch of oil to pan and make sure it evenly coats the bottom. Once pan is preheated, add scoops batter into pan (about 2 tablespoons each). Cook first side for about 3-4 minutes or until dark golden brown, then flip and cook the other sides for another 2-3 minutes until a dark golden brown. Remove from pan and either place on a wire rack or a plate. ( I recommend a wire rack just to keep them from getting soggy.)
Serve right away. Fresh salsa goes amazingly with them!
Any left overs can be stored in fridge and reheated in the oven.