Guest Chef Recipe: Ginger Pear Tart

So my housemate Rachel is quite talented with the entire genre of pies. She can whip up the most incredible assortment of savory and sweet pies with ease. Somehow they are always incredible and sugar (but not fructose, honey or agave) free. Needless to say, I have started looking forward to Rachel uttering the phrase: "I feel like making pie"

This one was perfect on a rainy Seattle day with a nice cup of tea.

Ingredients:
1 9" square of puff pastry
3 D'Anjou pears-sliced
4 tablespoons of butter
1 grated stick of ginger
1/4 cup of agave
1 tbsp of fructose
1/8 tsp of salt

In a cast iron pan melt the butter then add the fructose and agave. Cook on medium heat until golden brown and bubbly. Add the minced ginger and salt, then bring to a boil again. Add the pears and cook on low heat for 15 minutes. Top with the pastry dough then put it in the oven for 15 minutes at 400 F. Enjoy!

One of the top five most amazing things I've ever made.

I don't really know what to call these... vegetable tortes? Caramelized onion and mushroom pockets? Vegetarian amazingness? Best alternative to turkey at Thanksgiving? Who knows. Either way I managed to impress some people with this one.

I ended up doing this in two steps. The night before I threw the filling together while I was making something else for dinner and then stored it in the fridge to save time the next day... I attribute some of the amazingness the fact that the filling sat in the fridge for almost 24 hours before meeting the rest of the dish.

Ingredients:
3 onions (1.5 for caramelizing and 1.5 for filling)
2 tablespoons of agave
2 tablespoons of butter (one for each like the onions)
2 portobella mushrooms
3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
1 container of crimini mushrooms chopped
3 cloves of garlic
1 whole Trader Joe's size package of tempeh
1 cup of a dry white wine
1 cup of vegetable broth
3/4 cup of bread crumbs
1 package of puff pastry dough
Fresh rosemary, sage, oregano and thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste
Gruyere and Swiss cheese (1/2 cup grated)

The night before I caramelized half the onions in one pan with some butter, a few teaspoons of white wine and a splash of agave. In another pan I sautee the rest of the butter with the onions, garlic and mushrooms. Once the onions are soft, add the vegetable broth, white wine, apply cider vinegar, a tsp of agave and herbs...simmer for about ten minutes. Add the cut up tempeh and cook everything on low-med for about half an hour. Let cool and store both the caramelized onions and vegetable mix in the refrigerator overnight.

The following day mix the heated vegetable mixture with the breadcrumbs and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the puff pastry into squares that fit into a muffin tin and up the sides. Place a circular piece of foil into the bottom and "blind bake" the pasty sheets for 6 minutes. Fill the pastries with the vegetable breadcrumb mix, spoon a bit of caramelized onions onto the mixture and then top with the cheese mixture. Bake at 375 degrees F until the cheese is melted. You can easily do a cheese free version... I even did a few without puff pastry and they were also pretty tasty...

Pumpkin Spice Greek Frozen Yogurt

Going along with the fall pumpkin flavored things theme... I accidentally bought normal greek yogurt at the store instead of the non-fat kind I usually get. I decided to try out the ice-cream maker that was sitting in our freezer and it was surprisingly much easier to make ice cream than I previously imagined...

1/2 can of pumpkin
1 container of greek yogurt (Trader Joe's Size)
1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp of ginger
1/2 tsp of nutmeg
Agave to taste... I probably used 1/4 cup but you can add more or less depending on your sweet tooth.

Mix all ingredients together and then place in the ice cream maker. Stir until desired consistency is achieved. This stores pretty well in the freezer just make sure to transfer to a container first... I ended up having an hour long defrosting encounter in order to eat another serving of this...

Crispy Collard Greens with White Cheddar, Leek and Herb Mashed Potatoes

Wednesdays around our condo are pretty great. Mixed in with the morning routine is the ritualistic unpacking of the vegetable delivery. Today some collard greens showed up. I have never see a "collard green" before so I spent the spare moments of my day thinking about what on earth I was to do with this interesting vegetable.



You can't tell from the photo but the diameter of a collard green can be a little intimidating... the ones we received were about a foot in diameter... talk about some hefty greens!

I decided to go for a crispy approach:
I took about 4 large leaves, washed them and chopped them up into bite sized pieces. I tossed the greens with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 cloves of chopped garlic, freshly ground pepper and a tablespoon of lemon juice. Then I placed the greens on a baking sheet and baked at 450 degrees F for 10 minutes. The result is crispy amazingneess-think crisp dry seaweed but way better.

Then I decided to make mashed potatoes... not the unhealthy buttery kind but something that I wouldn't feel yucky after eating. I boiled 2 medium sized potatoes until soft. Then in a medium sized cast iron pan I added:
1/4 cup of chopped leeks
2 tablespoons of fresh herbs: rosemary, oregano and sage
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 clove of chopped garlic

Once those ingredients were light brown I added about two cups of fresh spinach. After the spinach wilted I added the peeled potatoes, 1/4 cup of freshly grated white cheddar cheese and a few tablespoons of soy milk. I mixed it all together and voila... amazing mashed potatoes.

Muy rica.

I freaking love breakfast.

My obsession with breakfast has reached a new level. The mere thought of french press Pete's coffee in the morning before work is the only reason I jump out of my bed without hitting the snooze button. I usually spend about thirty minutes in the mornings listening to NPR while making an egg over medium and something else to go on the side. The "side" breakfast item is my favorite 7 am debate as I am usually deciding between my go to greek yogurt, granola and frozen mango combination or my new favorite waffle greek yogurt, agave and blueberry combination. I find for the first time in my life that I'm not sluggish in the morning, I actually remember to take my vitamins, and I'm not starting my day frazzled by the thought of being late.

Given my appreciation of the morning meal I just had to pay tribute to this photo of the brunch I had with my roommates a couple weekends ago. Whole wheat vanilla bean scones were the main attraction with a lemon zest fruit salad on the side. YUM.

Green curry inspired soup

I had the pleasure of cooking for two of my best friends this last weekend. I had been craving green curry and tom ka gai soup all week so I decided to create a soup inspired by both.



Green curry thai inspired soup

Half a jar of Thai Kitchen Green Curry Paste
1 can of low fat coconut milk
1 box of vegetable broth
Half an eggplant
1 cup of mushrooms chopped
1 tablespoon of fresh ginger
Half a block of tofu chopped and pan fried
rice noodles (about 1 handful)
Fresh basil for garnish.

In a saute pan fry up the tofu and then add the chopped up vegetables. In a soup pot add the curry paste and ginger. Slowly add the coconut milk, mixing it slowly into the other ingredients. Add broth and heat until simmering. Add the rice noodles. Once they are almost soft add the vegetables. Serve with fresh basil on top! (Obviously I forgot that step).



I paired the curry with this reisling that my friend who is a wine connoisseur of sorts picked out. The tasting notes describe it better than I could (trust me this is a good one):
"Fresh, clean and crisp, the 2009 Poet’s Leap offers generous aromas of fresh citrus, star fruit, kumquat and flint with flavors of ripe melon and white peach that dance on the palate. This is a lively Riesling with just a hint of sweetness, wonderfully balanced by its natural acidity and a clean, racy finish."

Pumpkin banana cupcakes

After making the butternut squash soup I decided that I needed something to satisfy my sweet tooth. My love of sweet things and baked goods are probably my biggest vice. Since I wanted to make something quickly I reached for the Trader Joe's box of pumpkin pancake mix and decided to roll with it. The result was too good to be true.

Pumpkin Banana Pancakes

2 tbs of butter
3 tbs of maple syrup/agave
1 mushed up old banana
1/4 tsp of lemon extract
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup of pumpkin pancake mix
1 tsp of baking powder
Soy milk?? to make a cupcake like consistency I would guess about 3/4 a cup

Mix wet ingredients minus soy milk then dry ingredients. Combine the two and then add soymilk. Bake at 360 degrees F for 18 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream. These are ridiculously good... and they are almost vegan ;)

Fall is for eating soup and pumpkin flavored things.

Seriously, sometimes life is just too good to be true. The picture above is the view from the condo as I was cooking tonight. Sometimes I just have to wonder: How old am I again?

Pumpkin flavored things are kind of an obsession of mine. I love everything from pumpkin spice Starbucks lattes to pumpkin pancakes from Clarette's in Walla Walla... there is something about the pumpkin squashy goodness with the spices that is absolutely irresistible. While I absolutely love pumpkin flavored things... I have not quite mastered the art of a pumpkin soup like this one I hope to make soon: Thai Spiced Pumpkin Soup

Until I decide to tackle that one... this is my baby step:

Caramelized Onion Butternut Squash Soup

I started by baking a butternut squash yesterday. I cut it in halves, drizzled with olive oil, nutmeg and a pinch of salt and baked it at 375 for an hour. I let it cool then scooped out the squashy goodness and put it in the fridge.

You'll need:
One butternut squash baked and contents scooped
1/2 a container of vegetable broth- I really like Pacific Natural Foods Organic Vegetable broth but any broth will suffice
2 cups of water
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
1/2 tsp of nutmeg
1/2 tsp of curry powder
1 tsp of fresh ginger
2 sprigs of thyme
salt and pepper to taste

I started by sauteing half of the onion in my soup pot. I then added the garlic and spices. I added a little bit of broth (.5 cups) to get the flavors stirring for a few minutes before I added my squash. I eventually added my squash and broth. I let that simmer for about 5 minutes until everything was simmering. I then busted out our handy old food processor (a blender works perfectly well here) and put everything in the blender until smooth. I put everything back in the pan and added water to achieve a soup like consistency I was happy with. While the soup was simmering, I caramelized onions by chopping them up finely, adding a little bit of butter in a pan and cooking them on low heat until they turned golden brown like this:



Once the onions are caramelized and your soup has simmered... add the onions to the soup and serve. I decided to garnish with some fresh sage and thyme from my little urban garden outside on our porch.





This soup is fairly mild with a couple subtle flavors that are not too overpowering.

Lemon and Corriander Hummus

Hummus in grocery stores in unnecessarily high in fat and filled with preservatives... I prefer to make my own. The basic hummus recipe is garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon and garlic; however, I added a few things that make it a bit more creative.

1 can of garbanzo beans
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs tahini
About 1 tsp of lemon zest
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
2 tbs sunflower seeds
1 tsp of corriander
2 cloves of garlic (optional)
red pepper flakes (optional)
salt to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste


The trick is to drain half the fluid from the garbanzo beans before you put them in the blender or food processor. This way you are using natural juices from the garbanzo beans instead of a bunch of olive oil and tahini. I also randomly decided that sunflower seeds would be good in my hummus... I think they make a nice addition; however, if you want you can omit them.

Add all ingredients to a food processor. Blend until creamy.

Who needs takeout when you can make this...

I recently discovered that cooking Asian inspired foods without ready made sauces is actually a lot simpler than I imagined. The trick is to have a couple of ingredients sitting around the kitchen. I recommend always having the following items handy for moments of Asian inspired creativity: rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, fresh ginger (whole or minced), soy sauce, rice noodles.

My coworker Angelica handed me a recipe earlier this week which was the inspiration for this dish. Unfortunately, I lost it and the following is a tasty attempt to recreate it...

You'll need:
1 bunch of green onions
1 tsp of ginger
3 cloves of garlic
Red pepper flakes to taste (I probably used 1/2 a teaspoon)
2 tablespoons of toasted sesame oil
1 orange zested and juiced
2 tablespoons of agave
1/4 cup of soy sauce
Tofu
Broccoli (1 cup blanched- boiled really quickly and then set aside)
Rice Noodles (2 cups cooked)

First, get a pot of water boiling.
Next, finely chop the green onions and sautee them in a sauce pan with the sesame oil. After a minute or so add the garlic, ginger, orange zest, red pepper flakes. Let this for a few minutes to get the flavors working, stir frequently.

Meanwhile, blanch the broccoli and then add your rice noodles to the boiling water.

Add the orange juice, agave and soy sauce and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the tofu and then broccoli. Finally add the rice noodles and stir everything together until everything is looking delectable.


On another note: an amazing salad dressing is 1 part rice wine vinegar, 1 part soy sauce and 1 part sesame oil. This noodle dish would be great served with chopped up kale topped with the soy/vinegar/sesame oil dressing.



I've really been enjoying Reisling lately. Usually, I find the excessive residual sugar is too much for my taste but I found this amazing one while I was wine tasting in Walla Walla a few weeks ago. Charles Smith Kung Fu Girl 2009 Riesling... This dry (barely any residual sugar) wine has perfect balance citrus and apple flavor. The citrus in this noodle dish brings out the citrus in the wine...

Pita Pizzas

This is one meal that I find myself making often because it is simple, easy and delicious.

1 or 2 Pita breads- toasted and separated into halves
4 tablespoons of pizza sauce- I like Trader Joe's Marinara
1 cup of chopped vegetables- today I had mushrooms, fresh basil, roasted red peppers, roasted potatoes, and spinach.
1 oz of tofu cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon of goat cheese
1/4 cup of grated cheddar cheese
Sprinkle of fresh ground pepper, basil and thyme.

Place the pitas open faced on a baking sheet. Top with pizza sauce, vegetables, tofu and cheese. Sprinkle with herbs. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes. Enjoy!

A play on the ol' caprese salad--beet style

I adore the combination of heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil. This year the gloomier than usual Seattle weather has left our poor tomatoes in the green. This is a nice alternative with vegetables that seem to be thriving in this weather.

Digging around my refrigerator this evening I found some beets which I boiled for 20 minutes and then peeled. I put them in the refrigerator while I worked through yet another essay about why I want to study medicine...

3 tablespoons of Goat cheese
2 beets-boiled, peeled and cooled
fresh mint
olive oil
1/4 tsp cardamom
fresh pepper

Layer the beets with goat cheese and mint. Top with olive oil, cardamom and fresh pepper.

Fruit/Vegetable Cake with a Caramelized Pumpkin Seed Crust

So I created this thinking it was going to be a huge failure. For one, I ran out of baking powder and I also was doing this without a recipe. While the one I provide here is not very accurate, the beauty of this recipe is that it somehow will work out and taste yummy.

This recipe also made me respect our ancient food processor. I also discovered that some leftover vegetables are best used in desserts. The result is a thick, gooey almost pie like texture, with a crust that is crispy, nutty and sweet.

2 large carrots
1/2 zucchini
1 peach
1 apple
1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp fresh ginger
1/2 tsp of cardamom
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1 cup of spelt flour
1 cup of whole wheat flour
1/2 cup of garbanzo bean flour
2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt
1 stick of butter
1/4 cup of agave
1/2 cup of brown sugar
rice milk (whatever amount you need to make cakelike batter consistency)
1/2 cup of sunflower seeds

Place all fruits and vegetables in the food processor. Place in a bowl and add agave and spices. Set aside.

In another bowl cream butter and half the sugar together.

In yet another bowl add the dry ingredients.

Mix it all together and add rice milk(about 1/2 a cup) until a thick, cake-like batter is achieved. Place it all into a circular pan. Layer the sunflower seeds on top of top and add the rest of the brown sugar.

Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes and then another 30 at 375 degrees.

Broil for 2-3 minutes if the sunflower seeds are not light brown.

Serve with coffee flavored frozen custard.

Moroccan quinoa with curried tofu and fresh mint

I initially had a really hard time figuring out how to cook quinoa correctly. Turns out the trick is rinsing the grain really well before you cook it.
My housemates and I get a weekly vegetable delivery from Full Circle Farms here in Seattle. Usually by Monday or Tuesday it takes a bit of creativity to incorporate the last bits of fruits and veggies into a meal. This recipe is the result of random questing in the refrigerator...

This recipe is perfect for a cold fall day, slightly spicy and slightly sweet it is the perfect item to pack for a lunch.

Moroccan Quinoa

1/2 sweet white onion
1 carrot graded
3 stalks of celery diced into small pieces
2 cloves of garlic
handful of craisins and raisins
1 tsp of curry powder
1/4 tsp of cardamom powder
3 stems of saffron
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
4 oz of quinoa
1 3/4 cups of water
5 sprigs of fresh mint

First saute onions, celery and carrot. Add the spices and saute for another minute or so. Add the rinsed quinoa and stir frequently for another minute or so. Add the water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20-25 minutes.

If you like you can also fry up some curry flavored tofu as a protein. I cut up extra firm tofu into small pieces and pan fried the tofu in olive oil and seasoned with 1/2 tsp of curry powder until a crisp consistency was achieved.

Top with the fresh mint.
Enjoy!