White Bean Dip

White bean dip is all the rage right now, and can have infinite mix in possibilities.  Some that I have found seem to have quite a bit of oil in it to  make it smoother, but I want to avoid that as much as possible.  I have found that this dip is getting me to eat more of my veggies and since I am avoiding my kryptonite of crackers (drool) this is a good thing (my work pants are getting just a little too snug).

So, yes, you may notice that some of those beans don't look like they're all white, and nope, they are not, it's a mix of small white beans and black eyed peas (which always gets My Humps stuck in my head, and now hopefully you share my pain).  This is another case of cleaning out the cupboard and using what I have and being less wasteful.  I have a bad habit of buying things on sale and putting them in the cupboard or fridge and forgetting about them until I wonder where the heck they all came from and why I cant stuff anything else in there (like when I am putting on those pants . . . ).

 

So true to form, I decided to make some modifications and they turned out delicious!  beans are so easy and can easily be neglected and still be fine.  I love food that I can say, "meh, I'll get to it in a day or so . . ."   

 

Yes, my "breakfast" nook is messy. No, I didn't get a picture of it all made up, it made a lot and I pigged out on it!

 

As I often do, I have hints and tips: 

1. Do not neglect soaking the beans . . . this is the DE-GASSING and I do it for about 24 hours before I get back to it. I'm sure that there is a ton of info about this.  You're on the internet, look it up, but me, I'm lazy right now . . . 
2. Drain the soaking liquid and use new water to cook in.
3. Instructions vary, saying cook for 1 to 2 hours depending on desired softness.  Simmer them beans for 2 hours to get them nice and soft for this dip.

I know, it's like geeze, these look like they are going to take FOREVER!  But look, pour the beans in a pot and pour water over them and walk away for 8 to 24 hours.  Do nothing else to them . . .  FOR UP TO A DAY!  Then cook for 2 hours with little to no attention needed.  See how easy!

 

PS you need a food processor for this.

White Bean Dip

1 c white beans

2 large cloves garlic

1 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 c plain Greek yogurt

1/2 tsp hot smoked paprika

1 tbsp. fresh cilantro, finely chopped

2 tsp fresh dill, finely chopped

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp salt

 

Soak and cook your beans as directed, drain and set aside to cool.

 

With the chopping blade running, drop in 2 cloves of garlic until they are splattered around the edges and not being chopped anymore.  Scrape down the sides and add in the beans and olive oil and puree until well blended and the beans are paste like. 

 

Add in the yogurt and all of the herbs and spices, blend until smooth, this takes a bit and because of the skins on the beans it will not ever be FULLY smooth.  

 

Dip stuff in it, or eat it by the spoonful, you wont regret it!

 

 

 

 

 

Lychee Jam -aka- Crack

I was enjoying sharing my love of lychee anything with a good friend who also loves them the other day.  Rare, as so many people I know turn up their noses at anything different.  They aren't beautiful but, man, are they scrumptious!  So yesterday when I was at the new Asian grocery store in town and ran across fresh lychees I did not hesitate to grab them up.  As a matter of fact, I had to stop myself from buying all that they had left!

 

Now, I will admit that this is my first time buying FRESH lychees (I usually guzzle them in juice form in seconds flat, so I keep it for a treat and rarely buy it) and I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to do with them, but after peeling and shoving a few in my mouth an idea struck.  LYCHEE JAM!  I mean look at those little buggers, don't their juicy sweetness just beg to scarfed down?  No?  Well, don't let looks deceive you, them little fleshy eyeball thingies are delicious, I encourage you to try, whole heartedly.

I am extremely disappointed to have found only a (literally) couple of lychee jam recipes online.  I did have a hard time figuring out what I should do to make them into jam, and since it was really late at night I didn't feel like going through the whole process of sterilizing jars, plus I only have pint pickling jars in the house right now.  I have made freezer jam a few times and opted to go that direction, but with so few recipes I decided to go with a mixed berry version that I have made before.  The one frustrating thing about freezer jam is that it is always runnier than I would like, but still so very tasty!

 

Of course, there are tips (surprise, surprise).  Pre-open the liquid pectin and prop it up in a cup so when you need it you don't have to find that the darned package is impossible to open and where the heck did I last see my scissors?  I used my immersion blender to break down the fruit a bit.  Not a full-on puree because there should be some chunks, but to help break down the fruit which is a bit though to do with the usual masher.  A knife might work, but since lychees are very juicy, you may lose a lot of the juice stuffs you need for the jam.  Also, unlike some freezer jams, this should be cooked to help soften the lychees.  I will warn you that this is SWEET, but not so over the top.  A little goes a long way!

 

 

 Lychee Jam

1 3/4 to 2 lbs fresh lychees (measure out 2 c of fruit and juice of this, I used 1 3/4 lbs and it was 2 c exactly)
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
4 c sugar
1/2 tbsp. butter
1 packet liquid pectin, I use Certo (along with their recipes)

Peel and pit the fruit.  Using either a blender (immersion or stand) or a food processor, break down the lychees into small chunks. 

In a large (6 to 8 quart) stockpot dump in the lychees, lemon, sugar, and butter.  Bring to a full boil on high heat, stirring constantly.   Seriously, you do not want this to burn to the bottom of the pot.

Add in the pectin, and keep at a full boil for 1 minute.  DONT STOP STIRRING!  Remove from heat.

Ladle into your freezer containers and allow to sit for 30 to 60 minutes before putting on the lids.  After you seal them, leave them on the counter for 24 hours before putting them in the freezer.  These will last up to 1 year in the freezer and 3 weeks in the fridge.

Fabulous Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love chocolate chip cookies (really, I love food in general.  Too bad most of it makes me a bit curvier than I should be!). 

I have labored for the last few years to find a recipe that had a good balance of dough to chip ratio (bad, Good Housekeeping), and wasn't too dry (ahem, Betty C.), or too sweet (you too, Mrs. Fields), or made you think, "did I miss something?" (Martha S.), and funny how I'm not partial to the one on the back of the Tollhouse bag . . . 

You wouldn't think that this would be difficult for PROFESSIONALS!  Out of the ton of cookbooks that I have gone through and out right rejected, some even before I baked, knowing the dough was not working well, a couple were okay, but most were not for me.  Now, I'm not knocking others tastes or saying that mine are so much better, but this is just the recipe for me.

I needed to bake for a "thank you" for a friend of mine, and in asking him his favorite cookies, he responded - Chocolate Chip.  Dammit.  So off I go to find one thinking that if I couldn't, I would fall back on banana bread, which I know he likes.  Off I went to my favorite blog that rarely steers me wrong (http://smittenkitchen.com/). I stumbled across one of hers that she touts is her favorite and thought, "why the hell not?"

I now have a recipe that I love.  I do go with a higher amount of sea salt (not regular salt!) and a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg.  I also add just a bit more chocolate chips and make them half dark and half light chips, I feel this adds more depth and richness to these fabulous cookies.


Fabulous Chocolate Chip Cookies
makes about 2 dozen cookies, give or take a couple for your own amount of dough eating . . .

1/2 c sugar
1/2 c packed light brown sugar
1/2 c butter, softened (use REAL butter, people)
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 c semisweet milk chocolate chips
1 c dark chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 300F, and put the rack in the top 1/3 of the oven, this keeps the bottoms from browning too quickly.  Line your baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl beat together both of the sugars with the butter until smooth (I do about 5 minutes with a hand mixer).  Add the egg, vanilla, spices and soda, beat well (again, about 5 minutes).

In a separate mixing bowl, sift together the flour and salt.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.  Mix in the yummy chocolate chips.

I use an ice cream scoop about half full to create about 1 inch (~2tbsp) balls  a couple of inches apart.

Bake for 18 minutes just until pale golden brown.  Allow to cool on a wire rack.  try not to burn off your mouth if you cant wait to whoarf them down!

Mango Pickles

Oh, yes!  Mango pickles!  Sweet and spicy deliciousness.  I actually bought these mangoes for my morning smoothies, but since I bought very under ripe ones I was anxious to try pickling them.  I think I might try to pickle anything.  I may need help…

Mango Pickles

2 very under ripe mangoes

4 chilies (Thai would be best, but I used Serrano because I had them!)

¾ c white vinegar

¾ c seju or sake (rice wine of some sort)

¼ c cider vinegar

½ tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

Juice of 1 lime

Peel and slice the mangoes in to whatever size you want them, but not too thick so they will have a uniform taste.  Slice the chilies.  Place them in your container; I used 2 one pint jars. 

On the stove, put in the remaining ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat.  Bring to just a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt.  Pull the pan off the heat and set aside for 5 minutes to cool.

Pour the brine over the mangoes and chilies, leaving headroom.  Allow to cool completely on the counter before putting the lids on and storing them in the refrigerator.  Let them sit for 1 day to develop flavors and should keep for a couple of weeks.

YUM!

PS: these turned out pretty darned warm, but oh so delicious! If you are only a moderate weenie like me, cut back by a pepper or two.  I find that a good ratio is one and a half Serrano peppers per pint.  If you don't like heat, these aren't for you!

Garden Veggies and Quinoa - Meal for 1 idea

As a student, employee, and *sigh* single lady, I often find myself cooking for just me.  Hey, it happens.  Most of my meals are extremely simple and not quite "recipe" necessary, but I thoroughly enjoy much of what I cook and need to remember my winning combinations.  This one made the cut and is so much better, in both taste and nutrition, and only a tiny bit of effort than that frozen junk . . .

Being that I am so rushed through out the week, running here and there, I usually take the time one day that I cook what ever grain that I will be using for several days and just add different toppings.  This time I opted for quinoa because when I was procrastinating on the studying I decided to clean out my cupboards.  My house is never so cleans as when I need to buckle down and study. I couldn't remember when I bought the quinoa and figured that I should use it up.  Besides, quinoa can go either savory or sweet if just toasted then cooked in water. 

There are so many great toppings for quinoa, veggies that need to be eaten soon, leftovers that I really didn't need to bring home but did anyway, cinnamon, sugar and butter.  I roast my quinoa on the stove top to add a nutty depth to it before cooking it and trust me it is worth the extra few minutes.  And I always have a block of hard cheese like Romano or Parmesan in the fridge because it lasts forever.

This time of year is fantastic for pulling my ripe stuffs out of my garden and chowing down on it.  Those Bloody Butcher tomatoes are AWESOME.  You should see my giant broccoli harvest.  Much of which will be steamed then frozen for later use, but I'm sure I'll get through most of it soon, plus there are several broccoli dishes and dips that I want to try.

Garden Veggies and Quinoa

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 small red onion thinly sliced, I used 2 because mine are extra small (see above)
5 medium coarsely chopped kale leaves, center vein removed
2 cloves crushed garlic
3/4 c cooked quinoa
3/4 c coarsely chopped broccoli, stems are where the fiber is . . . include them for crunch
salt and pepper to taste
1 medium tomato
1/4 grated FRESH Romano

Preheat a pan with the olive oil on medium heat.   Toss the onion into the oil and let it sauté until softened, and on the edge of browning, about 5 or so minutes.  Add the kale and garlic, coat evenly and sauté for a minute or two longer.  Add the quinoa and broccoli, then salt and pepper to taste.  allow this so cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  While that is all cooking slice the tomato and set aside.

Dump that yumminess in a bowl. Garnish with the tomato and Romano.







No, my dinner isn't always so nicely presented.  And, yes, maybe I did add a bit more cheese after I took the picture. 

The Garden . . .

 

Is coming along nicely!

 

I've planted seven (7!) different tomato plants, because I cannot get enough of them.  I'll eat them morning, noon, and night.  In eggs, in pasta, in quiche, grilled with olive oil and salt, or just a plain old tomato salad with some herb and vinaigrette.  These I picked because of the name, "Bloody Butcher," and are the first to get ripe, even before the "Early Girl" (which are taking their own sweet time).

 

Cauliflower is just starting to come out and the broccoli has been being harvested for the last couple of weeks thanks to the early warm weather we had this year.  12 plants total, six were given to me, with a chuckle, by my (fantastic) mother when her boss said that someone had given him a bunch of cucumber plant.  Um, yeah, does that look like a cuke to you?  I hear that the only thing he grows in the way of edibles is mint for mojitos. 

 

I think I might put in mint next year. . .

 

I put in two types of onions, Walla Walla Sweets and Red Torpedo  My first time for growing onions ever, but I heard they were easy and they definitely are shaping up to be.  Thing is that I should have just stuck with the one pack, not realizing that each pack contained about 100 onion starts.  Nope, not kidding, so I planted half and gave the other half away to a fellow gardening friend.  The red ones are already saying that they are done, but they are MUCH tinier than they should be.  The Sweet are going strong.

Tomatillos have taken over!  This plant is over 5 feet high and about that big around.  It lifted its cage right out of the ground so it is now tied up to the fence. And a rhododendron. And the cage. Ridiculousness!

 

For herbs, I have my faves in.  Cilantro, dill, chives, basil, sage (goes well with the onions!).  DROOL!

 

Of the five different peppers, this one is Czech Black, but there is Thai, Hungarian, Jalapeno and something else that will be a surprise because the tag has gone missing!  Possibly a banana pepper?

 

Just starting to get big are the eggplants, butternut squash, and pole beans.  Soon, I'll seed more peas for late summer and the next round of herbs. Can't wait!

I would say that was it but the peas dies very early after yielding a whole five pods (too little water?), the zucchini seems to be rotting on the ground (too much water maybe?), and the squirrels ate the strawberries.  Who knew?  I now try to glare them down, but I have stuff to do and can't just sit there and protect the garden . . . but that would beat working!

Carrot Stick Pickles

Let the pickling continue!

I made and served these at Christmas a few years ago and they were an amazing success.  I don't think the olives or jarred pickles were touched at all, no one could get enough of the carrots.  I was happy that I had made a large recipe of them as I had to refill their spot on the relish tray twice.

Since then I have made a few additions to the recipe to give it a bit of a kick, but the original recipe is fantastic and I still make it often.  In my toiling, I have made them killer hot, which had to be given away, made them too sweet, and too bland, but this is the version I like best!

I stumbled across the recipe on Smitten Kitchen’s blog, which I am addicted to and make her recipes quite often.  That Christmas was full of her recipes, and everything was great!

Carrot Pickles

Original: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/01/pickled-carrot-sticks/

3 large carrots (I use Italian, which are HUGE)

5 cloves garlic

1 ¼ c water

1 ½ c white vinegar

¼ c sugar

2 tsp salt

1 tbsp dill seed

1 tbsp dill weed

½ tsp red pepper flakes

 

Peel and cut the carrots into sticks, not too thick!  Place them in the heat proof container that you are storing them in, and again even though I used 3 pint canning jars, don’t be fooled in to thinking that I truly canned these, they are refrigerator pickles!  

Peel and slightly crush the garlic cloves.

In a small sauce pan, add the garlic and the rest of the ingredients, heat to a boil, stirring to ensure the sugar and salt dissolve.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 3 minutes.  If using multiple containers, spoon out and divide the garlic between them.  Pour the brine over the carrots, leaving headroom, and allow to cool completely before keeping them in the refrigerator.  Hands off for at least 3 days. 

Try not to eat them all in one sitting!