Spinach Polenta Topped with Tomatoes

I'm totally digging trying new recipes. I used to have about four main dishes that I just cycled through, its a whole new world.

Last night I tried this Spinach Polenta from Moosewood's Simple Suppers. Delicious.

Spinach Polenta
2 cups water
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup polenta cornmeal
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces fresh baby spinach

Fresh Tomato Topping
4 large tomatoes or 8 to 10 plum tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 Tablespoons oliver oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

In a saucepan, bring the water, milk, and salt to a boil. Add the cornmeal in a slow, steady stream while whisking. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until polenta is thick. (mine took about 20 minutes.)

Meanwhile, prepare the topping: Cut the tomatoes into wedges. In a saucepan on medium-low heat, cook the garlic in the oil for a minute. Add the tomatoes, salt, oregano, and vinegar and simmer for about 5 minutes, just until hot.

When the poletna is thick, reduce the heat to low and stir in the cheese (I only used about 1/2 a cup of Parmesan cheese) until melted and smooth. Fold in the spinach, a couple of handfuls at a time, until just wilted.

Serve the polenta hot, topped with the tomatoes and more cheese if you wish.

I thought this was a great meal. I would serve it in a bowl next time as the tomatoes were a bit runny. Otherwise - perfect!

Sausage, Mushroom & Pesto Polenta Lasagna

Lasagna is definitely a comfort food, but this one has a little twist. Polenta replaces the lasagna noodles, making it that much creamier and comforting.

It's was hard to get a good photo of this "lasagna", but it tastes better than it looks....Just look how much Rick loves it!

Here's the recipe.

We used the last variation with some of our own homemade pesto. Rick also made the polenta himself. Here's how:


Bring 2.75 cups water to boiling. In a bowl combine 1 cup cornmeal, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1 cup cold water. Slowly add cornmeal mixture to boiling water, stirring constantly. Cook and stir till mixture returns to boiling. Reduce heat, cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes or till mixture is very thick, stirring occasionally.

Mixture will have a consistency like a thick bread pudding. Spoon polenta onto sheets of wax paper and roll to make a tube that is 2-3 inches in diameter. Chill overnight.


OR make your life easier and buy the prepared polenta the recipe calls for.

Either way, enjoy it with a class of wine and a fresh green salad!

Green Curry - Part Two

Green Chicken Curry.

After making the curry paste - I marinated about a pound of chicken breast strips in a couple Tablespoons of the paste.

Then I sauted one yellow onion with a bit of garlic and oil until the onion was clear. I added 3 Tablespoons of the curry paste and cooked that for about 2 minutes. Then I added the chicken and cooked that until it was about 80% cooked. Then I added 1 can of Coconut Milk and 3/4 cup of chicken broth and cooked the whole thing for about 10 more minutes. Finally I added some fresh Spinach and frozen peas. And served it on top of steamed rice.

The coconut milk I'd never used before and when I opened the can it was solid - which I hadn't expected. I chunked it out and found liquid at the bottom. (yes - I made a phone call to Mary to see if this was normal.)

This was actually a really delicious meal! Again, I would have added just a little more kick to the curry paste and If I did it again I'd make some broccoli or some other veggie to go with it.

Green Curry - Part One

Ever since my return to the restaurant scene after Easter, and my subsequent trip to The Blue Orchid, and getting to sample Mary's delicious green curry dish - I've been on a mission to make my own green curry. Saturday was my first attempt.

Part One - Green Curry Paste. After a trip to our new HyVee store, which conveniently hosts Lincoln's only Caribou coffee shop - I had most of the ingredients I needed. I was still missing lemon grass and fresh coriander. The lemon grass I got in a tube - not sure if that was a good decision or not - I'm going to have to try to find the real thing. The fresh coriander was a learning experience for me.

I found an Asian grocery store and asked for the fresh coriander and was told they had nothing like this. I found a second store - called "Homeland Food Market" - and again asked for fresh coriander. The clerk seemed to know nothing of this product. A customer leaving the store over heard my question and enlightened me - "you need cilantro," he said. I promptly began to think of him as an idiot, like I don't know what cilantro is. Turns out Cilantro and Fresh Coriander are the same thing! Learn more here. I left that store with a jar of Coriander Chutney. Not sure if I'll ever use it - but I felt stupid so I bought something. (Turns out most people already know this - thanks for telling me!)

Here's my green curry paste: (I just found this recipe on the internet - there are tons!)
2 Fresh Green Chillies
1 Small Onion
1 Tsp Ground Coriander
1 Lime, juice and rind
1 Stalk Lemon Grass
1 Clove Garlic
1 Tsp Soy Sauce
1 Tsp Ground Cumin
1/4 cup Fresh Coriander, stalks and leaves
1 Tblsp grated fresh ginger
2 Tbls oil

Place all in blender/food processor and blend until paste.
(When I make this again I'll use more chillies and more lime.) I had plenty left over so its in a jar in my fridge - perhaps I'll freeze it.

Lentil-Walnut Burgers

If you have a food processor, these burgers are EASY! And they are so tasty. My notes:





-I made them according to the recipe, but you could reduce the cumin/coriander. I may do that next time for a more subtle flavor.
-I used less oil then listed for the cooking and they were fine, probably just not aS crispy as intended.
-I doubled the recipe and it still fit in my food processor.
-We topped our burgers with tomato, red onion and yogurt.

(From Everyday Food - Great Food Fast page 153)

3/4 c lentils
3/4 c walnuts
1/3 c plain dried breadcrumbs
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground corander
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 Tbls olive oil
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350. Place lentils in a small saucepan and cover with water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook until the lentils are tender but still holding their shape, 15-20 minutes. Drain well and cool.

Meanwhile, spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until fragrant and darkened, about 10 minutes. Let cool.

In a food processor, combine the walnuts, breadcrumbs, garlic, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Process until finely ground. Add the lentils and 1 Tbls of the oil. Pulse until coarsely chopped (some lentils will remain whole).

In a large bowl, whisk the egg. Add the lentil mixture; mix well. Dived into 4 balls and flatten into 3/4 inch thick patties. (Use wet hands to reduce the stickiness.)

Heat the remaining 3 Tbls oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add the burgers; cook over medium-low heat until crisp and browned, about 8-10 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate to drain.

Green Pie

Sara's heard tell of the euphemistically named "Green Pie," but she's never had a chance to eat it at my house. The problem is that my family of 5 eats the whole thing. Which is pretty cool since the original name was "Italian Spinach Pie." Yep. Spinach is the main ingredient. And my 3 kids (11, 9 & 6) count it as one of their favorite meals.

Use your favorite pizza dough, just be sure the dough isn't too moist...you want a stiff, dry dough because the filling has a lot of moisture. Here's one we tried recently and liked. Rick doubled it (you need a top & bottom crust), and he had to add more flour than it called for to get the right consistency, but it was a really good crust!

For the filling:

2-10 oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach
2 eggs
2 tsp. chicken bouillon
2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 stick of butter
1 c. soft bread crumbs ( make with 2-3 slices of bread chopped in food processor or blender)
1 c. parmesan cheese (we use the stuff out of the plastic jar)

Saute the onions in butter until clear. While onions are cooking, squeeze most of the water out of the spinach in a colander. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and combine all filling ingredients, mixing well.

Divide dough in half and roll out as you would for 2 pizzas. Put one dough round onto a round baking stone. Spread spinach mixture evenly on the dough. Cover the filling with the 2nd dough round. Seal the edges by pressing together. Brush the top with olive oil.

Bake at 400 for 30-40 minutes. Check at about 20 minutes. You may need to brush the top with olive oil again to keep it from overbaking.

Top with your favorite marinara sauce, if you like that sort of thing.

An Old Favorite

Maybe Rice Hotdish wasn't the original comfort food . . . maybe it was Cream Peas on Toast. Some of my favorites from childhood will never go away. Yum!

Chicken and Sweet Potato Curry in a Hurry

Sweet Potatoes are becoming a new favorite! Here's the recipe as Rachael Ray (#266) wrote it. I did everything as written except I used milk instead of heavy cream.

Mary says we're not very good at photographing food. I thought this picture turned out okay. I like the color scheme in this dish - orange, red, and green. Mary - any tips or ideas for better pics?

Chicken and Sweet Potato Curry in a Hurry:

1 cup white rice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium-sized sweet potato, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, then thinly sliced into half-moons
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 rounded tablespoon mild curry paste or 2 rablespoons curry powder (a generous palmful)
2 pounds chicken tenders, bite-size chunks
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (1 palmful)
2 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth
1/2 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
1/4 cup prepared mango chutney (a couple of heaping tablespoons)
1 10-ounce box frozen peas
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves (a generous handful), chopped

Prepare rice as directions on package.

Preheat a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat with the vegetable oil. Add the sweet potatoes to the skillet, season with salt, pepper, and curry paste or powder, and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Scoot the potatoes over to one side of the pan and add the chunks of chicken, season with salt and pepper, and cook, browning slightly, for 3 minutes. Add the onions and bell peppers and toss to combine. Add the flour and continue to cook for 1 minute.

Add the chicken stock, cream, and mango chutney, bring to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes, or until the chicken and potatoes are cooked through and the sauce has thickened.

Add the peas and cilantro and simmer for 1 minute to heat the peas through, Serve over the rice.

Let me know if you try it!

Sara

In About 60 Days

In about 60 days this is going to be supper! Mary and Mom worked hard in my garden today preparing the soil and sowing the seeds.

We planted:
Spinach
Onions (red and yellow)
Parsnips
Carrots
Sugar Peas
Beets

Yum, Yum, Yum . . . I can't wait to come up with some sweet recipes to use all this food.

You can see the two Basset Hounds keeping watch over the garden. They are annoying as can be when they bark non-stop, but they do seem to keep the rabbits out of the garden.

Sara

Scones!

alright. for some reason my camera won't upload my photos from this morning. so, I'll post the scone recipe now, and try to add a picture later.

This is a dee-lish and easy recipe (so easy, in fact, that a caveman could do it)...

1 3/4 cup flour (I usually use about half whole wheat and half all-purpose)
3 T sugar (or less if your kid is around and wants to eat!)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 (or about that) of something delicious like mini-chocolate chips, or raisins, or craisins, maybe some nuts, etc.
4 to 6 T. of milk

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees
2. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is fine little crumbs. Stir in egg, chocolate chips (or whatever you like) and just enough of the milk so dough leaves the side of bowl.
3. place dough on lightly floured surface; gently roll in flour to coat. Knead lightly 10 times. drop about 9 lumps of the dough on a cookie sheet (sprinkle sugar on the top if you want)
4. bake about 15 minutes or until golden. Immediately remove from the cookie sheet to a cooling rack.

Ray and Pizza!

Ray and Pizza - these are a few of my favorite things!

Happy Easter

My first meal in a restaurants since February 6th - Howard's Pantry. I had chicken strips and fries. Pretty much my "go to" meal as a kid!!

I guess I'm still eating like a child. Tonight or maybe tomorrow I think we'll go out for Thai food.

Sara

Culinary Visit to Afghanistan

For our book discussion of A Thousand Splendid Suns, I searched for some Afghan recipes to make. From www.afghan-network.com I picked the three that looked the easiest and called for ingredients that I had on hand. I was happy with the results! Ed, Benjamin and I had this for dinner, and then I served the book club group. It was unanimous - YUM! (Even Benjamin loved the rice and meatballs.)

It is hard to tell in the picture - I took it with my phone. The meatballs are about 1 1/2" diameter. The squash is coated with the yogurt sauce, which is great when mixed with the rice.

Kofta Nakhod
(Meatballs & Chick-Pea)

* 1 cup of Dried chick-peas, covered with hot water & soaked overnight, or at least 8-10 hrs
* 1 1/2 lb Ground beef
* 1 large Onion, grated
* 1/4 tablespoons of Pepper
* 1 tablespoons of Salt, or to taste
* 1/4 tablespoons of Ground cinnamon
* 1 tablespoons of Dried mint, crushed
* 1 tablespoons of Bread crumbs, matzoh meal or plain flour
* 4 cup of Water, boiling

Chick-peas provide bulk in well-seasoned kofta, name for various types of meatballs in Afghanistan, Pakistan, & India. Unlike custom in other countries, they are boiled in soup or water & served separately from soup.

1. Drain chick-peas in a colander, then grind them rather fine in a processor. Mix everything together except water.

2. To prepare meatballs: Moisten hands w/cold water and prepare meat & chick-peas balls 1-1/2 inches in diameter. Put the meatballs into boiling water, one at a time, & simmer over moderate heat for 45 mins. Remember that chick-peas are ground but not cooked. The meatballs may also be cooked in a light chicken broth. Serve meatballs & soup separately with bread, rice, & pickles. Serve 8. Makes about 18 meatballs.

Afghan Spice Rub
(I used this spice in the Basmati rice.)

* 3 tablespoons Black peppercorns
* 1 tablespoons Ground cardamom
* 3 tablespoons Cumin seed
* 1 tablespoons Ground coriander
* 2 tablespoons Tumeric

Grind all ingredients together with a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Store in an airtight container. Make 1/3 cup.

Can be rubbed into beef, pork or chicken two hours before grilling. It also adds a pungent note to tuna, swordfish, blue fish or bass if rubbed onto both sides of the steaks or fillets about an hour before grilling. In either case, the rub can be left on the meat or fish while grilling to make a blackened, seasoned crust. Used as a spice, it can be stirred into boiled rice or summer soups to taste.

Sweet Pumpkin
(I used Butternut Squash. I will definitely make this again!)

* 2 lb Fresh pumpkin or squash
* 1/4 cup of Corn oil
Sweet Tomato Sauce:
* 1 tablespoon Crushed garlic
* 1 cup of Water
* 1/2 tablespoon Salt
* 1/2 cup of Sugar
* 4 oz Tomato sauce
* 1/2 ts Ginger root, chopped fine
* 1 tablespoon Freshly ground coriander Seeds
* 1/4 ts Black pepper
Yogurt Sauce: 1/4 ts Crushed garlic, 1/4 tablespoon Salt, 3/4 cup Plain yogurt
Garnish: Dry mint leaves, crushed

Peel the pumpkin and cut into 2-3" cubes; set aside. Heat oil in a large frying pan that has a lid. Fry the pumpkins on both sides fora couple of minutes until lightly browned.

Mix together ingredients for Sweet Tomato Sauce in a bowl then add to pumpkin mixture in fry pan. Cover and cook 20-25 minutes over low heat until the pumpkin is cooked and most of the liquid has evaporated. (I don't know how it's going to evaporate if the pan is covered....-B.) Mix together the ingredients for the yogurt sauce.

To serve: Spread half the yogurt sauce on a plate and lay the pumpkin on top. Top with remaining yogurt and any cooking juices left over. Sprinkle with dry mint. May be served with chalow (basmati rice) and naan or pita bread.

Three Variations

Yesterday, I had very few items with which to make a meal.
I did happen to have tomatoes, goat cheese (don't you always keep this on hand?), and spinach.
Here's what I came up with:

Variation #1
A Grilled Goat Cheese and Tomato Sandwich
(for lunch...after the photo opt I did put another piece of bread on top)


Variation #2
Goat Cheese, Tomato, and Spinach Pizza on a whole wheat crust
(for supper...normally I would try and add a little meat, but we didn't have any on hand)
This pizza was awesome!...even my meat eating spouse agreed!


Variation #3 (made with the intent of having it as leftovers the next day)
Same as Variation #2, except no sauce
(I usually make a smaller 2nd pizza to use up the dough...this was good too--a thinner, crispy crust is the key)

Rice Hotdish: The Remix

This is my first attempt at a more ... shall we say interesting version of the old Spohr Family favorite: Rice Hotdish.

I have to admit, this picture still doesn't make it look very interesting at all. It basically looks like mush. Ah well - it tastes better than it looks.

Tonight I omitted the cream of mushroom soup and added a little chicken broth and whole mushrooms. Then for a little color I added some Red Bell Peppers.

Another factor in the taste of this one is that the little plastic cap with the slit in it that covers my soy sauce jar seems to have gone missing. So I opened up the bottle to shake a little soy sauce in and I'm pretty sure this dish got a 1/2 a cup. It doesn't seem to have done much damage. I'm enjoying this as I type.

Let me know if you get any more ideas for an update. This one's not quite perfected yet.

Sara

Sweet! Mashed Potatoes.

For lunch today I'm basically having leftovers. The chicken and spinach are left from the Ginger Chicken recipe from Friday. Then, I had two potatoes and one sweet potato leftover - so I combined them to make some nicely colored mashed potatoes.
So, not only a nice lunch, but a sweet color palate as well.

And yes, its butter atop the "Sweet Mashed Potatoes." I'm half Norwegian, butter should be its own category. Am I right Mom?

Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

This is one I made a few weeks ago - but it is delicious! This is another Rachael Ray recipe.

Here's the recipe. I pretty much did it just as it says. I used those button mushrooms instead of what they say. I used milk with a Tblsp of butter instead of cream (just cause I didn't have any) and I omitted the chives. I'm not opposed to chives, again - I just didn't have any.

Pumpkin Pasta with Sausage and Wild Mushrooms

2 Tblsp extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
1/4 pound shiitake mushroom caps
2 portobello mushroom caps, halved and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine (eyeball it)
1 cup chicken stock or broth
1 14-ounce can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup cream (2 healthy turns of the pan)
2 to 3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh sage leaves
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
a pinch of ground cinnamon
1 pound penne or cellantani pasta
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano to taste
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives (12 chives)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Meanwhile, heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the EVOO (twice around the pan) and sausage. Brown the sausage and crumble it with a wooden spoon. Move the sausage to one side of the pan and add the mushrooms, garlic, and onions to the other side of the pan. Cook until the mushrooms brown, then season with salt and pepper. Combine the sausage and vegetables and deglaze the pan with the wine. Add the chicken stock and heat for 1 minute. Stir in the pumpkin and incorporate; it'll be thick. Stir in the cream, sage, nutmeg, and cinnamon and adjust the salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low.

Add salt and the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta and add it to the pumpkin mixture. Top with the cheese and chives.

OR try, Pasta with Spinach, Mushrooms, Pumpkin, and Hazelnuts

OMIT the Sausage
ADD 2 10 ounce boxes frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and 1 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts.

Wring out the spinach in a kitchen towel until dry. Start the pan with EVOO as in the master recipe, and add the mushrooms, garlic, and onions. Cook until brown, then add the spinach, separating it with your fingertips as you add it to the pan. Combine and heat the mixture for 2 minutes, then add the wine and proceed as above. Top the pasta with cheese, chives, and the tasted hazelnuts.

Oh, The Possibilities!

I chose "The New Comfort Food" for the title of this blog for a couple of reasons:

1. Its way to easy for me to cook about 4-6 standard dishes, a list from which I never deviate. That's not very exciting.
   
2. For a picky eater its good to try a few new things. (In other words, get out of my comfort zone.) Who knows maybe I'll even like them?
3. Maybe we can spice up a few of the old comforts and something like Rice Hotdish could make a comeback. Any ideas for that one?

Ed had a bunch of great ideas for blog names. The first was "kitchen adventures" but that was already taken. So here were some of the other ideas. All of which were good, a few of which made me gut laugh!

1. "MicrowaveBlues"
2. "StovetopHappenings"
3. "TheBackBurner"
4. "Icancookthat"
5. "MyDogThinksI'mAGoodCook"
6. "OnceUponAKitchen"
7. "GetOverItEasy"
8. "StuffYourMomNeverMade"
9. "RecipeRants"
10. "CanIGetThatRecipeFromYou"
11. "HowtoBurnToast"
12. "CookUpSomeTrouble"
13. "TheLegendofRiceHotdish"
14. "CannedFoodsSuck"
15. "MinnesotaSpice"
16. "CookingBecauseYouCan"
17. "TheOven:NotJustAnotherShelfInYourKitchen"
18. "HowToMessUpYourKitchen"
19. "ICookThereforeIAm"
20. "CookEatClean"
21. "CookingbyBruceLansky"
22. "FeedYourSoulByCooking"

Its a great list. What's your favorite?

Ginger-Stuffed Chicken with Sesame Spinach

Last night's supper was Ginger-Stuffed Chicken with Sesame Spinach. I got the recipe from someone at church, she got it from Real Simple. I love ginger - and this dish gives you just a little hint in every bite.

You can click here to get the recipe. Then I don't have to re-type it. I strive for efficiency.

This was a really good recipe for me. I usually only buy boneless skinless chicken breasts - last night I got a whole cut up chicken for $4. I thought that seemed like a pretty good deal. I used the two chicken breasts for this recipe. And I saved the legs, thighs, and wings for Monday night's dinner which will be - "Big, Thick, Hearty Thighs" (and legs and wings.)

I added toasted sliced almonds to my rice, a little something I stole from a different recipe. Overall a delicious dinner!

What's for dinner at your house?

Sara

Sweet Potatoes and Black Beans

First of all these are two ingredients that were on my "do not eat" list less than one year ago. See how I'm growing up?

Tonight for dinner I'm having Sweet Potato and Black Beans on Rice. The recipe is for making burritos, but I'm improvising just a bit.

This is Mary's recipe. But its pretty simple. Saute one onion and two small sweet potatoes until the sweet potatoes are cooked. Add cinnamon and ground cumin and one can of black beans. I sprinkled some cheese on top. Mary said cheddar cheese but all I had was white.

This was one of the entrees at the family Christmas. I've been meaning to make it again ever since. Mine isn't as good as Mary's, but I'm still eating comfortably tonight!

Sara