Sweet Potato Hash with Black Beans

  
It's been a busy few weeks over here at Burp! And, for the most part, it hasn't been the usual sort of busy.

Peef underwent surgery on October 9th to remove a  benign tumor in his parotid/salivary gland. Although it was a delicate procedure (lots of facial nerves impacted) and long (5 hours!) surgery, I'm more than happy to report that things went well, and he's on his way to a full recovery.

He felt well enough last week after his stitches were removed that we were able to tag along on a series of tours with the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.  We chatted with  cheese makers from Widmer's Cheese Cellars and Crave Brothers Cheese.  And we took lots of photos!  We'll share some on the blog in the next few days.

Needless to say, we haven't been particularly inclined to go all out with our cooking lately.

Fortunately, when life gets a little crazy, we have a nice selection of one dish meals that never fail to save the day. They're generally quick and easy -- and if we're slick, we can squeeze our protein and vegetables in all at the same time.

Traditionally made from a coarse mixture of meat, potatoes and onions, hash is staple comfort food at its best. This vegetarian version makes the most of autumn flavors – butter-roasted sweet potatoes, black beans, onions and red peppers pulled together with a cacophony of Southwestern spices.

It's chock full of protein, fiber, and plenty of vitamins from the sweet potatoes and red peppers. And it's pretty versatile.

Top this hash with sour cream and salsa for a delicious vegetarian dinner. Serve it for breakfast with poached or fried eggs, or enjoy it as a light lunch with a side salad. Leftovers make a great filling for burritos or enchiladas.

Sweet potato hash with black beans

©BURP! Where Food Happens

Creamed Leeks with Gorgonzola

 
The humble leek – often relegated to the back of the produce drawer, upstaged by the potato, or simply forgotten – deserves a bit of time in the spotlight.

But,when this mild-mannered allium is at its best, it’s deliciously sweet and well-behaved.

So, why not take advantage of its seductive charms and make a little bit of side dish magic?

This happens to be one of our favorite ways to use leeks, and it’s as simple as it gets.  First we sauté those tender spring leeks in butter until they’re soft and sweet.  Then we embellish them with a whorl of cream and a crumbling of the best and mildest gorgonzola we can find.

If you follow our lead, you’ll find that the cream complements the leeks’ sweet flavor, while the gorgonzola kicks the dish up a notch with its deliciously funky salty flavor.  And, what’s even better, this simply decadent side goes perfectly with just about everything – seared scallops, baked potatoes, grilled fish, poached chicken breast, or even steak.

According to Paul, the only thing that could have made this dish better would have been the addition of bacon. And he just might be right.

Creamed Leeks with Gorgonzola

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Orecchiette with Mizuna Pesto

Do you ever notice that your cooking habits seem to run in streaks?  I know that ours do.  For the past couple of weeks, we seem to have gotten hooked on pasta dishes.  It probably has something to do with all the fresh greens we were finding at the market, since we've been on a bit of a pesto kick.

Purists we are not, since we seem prone to making pesto out of just about any available greens we have on hand.  We're constantly tossing in variables -- jalapeno peppers, roasted red peppers, sundried tomatoes -- just to keep things interesting.  


This week, the object of our pesto-love was a Japanese green called mizuna.  Sometimes called Japanese mustard, mizuna has a mild, yet tangy flavor, and an almost other-worldly bright green color when chopped.  I normally like to put it in salads or use it as a sandwich topping. But, when Bryan from the Jen Ehr Family Farm booth at the market mentioned that he'd been making his mizuna into pesto, we decided to try our hand at it too.

Into the food processor went our bunch of mizuna (ends trimmed), 5 stalks of green garlic, and a liberal dose of olive oil.  We set the pasta on to boil while we were making the pesto, then tossed the pasta with the pesto and a bit of reserved pasta cooking water.

The best part of all?  Dinner was on the table in less than 20 minutes.

I chose a bag of those lovely, cup-shaped, whole wheat orecchiette pasta for this dish, envisioning that the shape of the pasta would help to scoop up all of that lovely pesto sauce -- and I was right about that. We also used whole toasted pine nuts (instead of grinding them into the pesto) to give the pasta some additional texture.

The pesto was absolutely delicious, if a bit more mild than I expected. And, as you can see, it was a beautifully intense green color (pretty is always a bonus with food). We had a bit of extra sauce leftover, and we used that as the base for a chicken pizza a few days later.

So, next time you get tired of eating mizuna in your salad, think about  making it into a quick summer pesto.

Classic Pesto (with variations)


©BURP! Where Food Happens
Want more? Read Lo's latest ruminations at DEVOUR Milwaukee, her Milwaukee Magazine blog.

Nettle & Garlic Ravioli with Rosemary Browned Butter

A number of people have expressed curiosity about how we plan to use our nettle garlic paste this winter.  Now, it wouldn't be so fun if we spoiled ALL the surprises, but I can definitely tell you that we'll be making this ravioli again.

My memories of homemade pasta go way back to my childhood.  I remember watching my mother and grandmother making egg noodles -- kneading the tender dough, rolling it thinly, and then slicing each piece of pasta by hand.  My mother would often hang the pasta on the backs of cleaned kitchen chairs until it dried slightly, and then she'd use them in soups or served alongside comfort food favorites like homemade Swedish meatballs or ragout.

I didn't try making my own pasta until about 5-6 years ago when we got a KitchenAid pasta roller attachment for Christmas.  But, once I made my first batch, I knew I was hooked.  These days I find myself wondering why I don't do it more often.  Sure, it takes a bit of time.  But, it's totally worth it.  For that reason, I often make a double or triple batch of pasta dough at one time.  Balls of dough can be wrapped in plastic wrap, placed in a freezer bag, and kept in the freezer for up to 6 months.  Just thaw overnight in the fridge and let the dough come to room temperature before using.

 We adapted our recipe for nettle ravioli from a recipe posted by Langdon Cook over at Fat of The Land.  And it's absolutely lovely -- from its use of Marcella Hazen's deliciously tender pasta dough to the flavorful creamy, green and earthy filling.  And don't even get me started on the rosemary browned butter.  *Swoon*

Although ravioli (and other filled pastas) take a bit longer to make than other things, they're perfect company fare, and (even better) they freeze very well. So, you can make up a big batch when you have the time and enjoy them later. Just place the uncooked ravioli onto a large floured baking pan and pop it into the freezer until the ravioli are frozen (1-2 hours).  Then empty the ravioli into serving-sized freezer bags.  Frozen ravioli take a bit longer to cook than fresh, but they  make a perfect weeknight meal for when you don't really feel like cooking.

I really love the flavor in this dish when nettles are used; but you don't need to avoid making it if you don't have any of the delicious weeds on hand.  Simply substitute spinach for the nettles, and add a bit of garlic to the filling.

Nettle & Garlic Ravioli with Rosemary Browned Butter


©BURP! Where Food Happens
Want more? Read Lo's latest ruminations at DEVOUR Milwaukee, her Milwaukee Magazine blog.

Year-old Leeks Make Awesome Breakfast Sandwiches

As I was sitting down this afternoon to contemplate what delicious thing to blog next, it occurred to me that I never told you about a delicious brunch sandwich we threw together almost a month ago.

It was a fairly lovely weekend, weather-wise, so we decided to spend some time prepping the vegetable gardens for summer planting... pulling weeds, working the soil a bit, and spreading out whatever compost our bins had produced over the course of fall/winter.  But, it was also time, I decided, to pull the leeks!

For the second year in a row, I'd overwintered a couple dozen Bandit Leeks -- a cold hardy variety which produces nice thick stalks with a pleasantly sweet, mild flavor.  I love winter-hardy vegetables like the bandit leek for their ability to give me backyard-fresh produce so early in the season -- a true gift, especially after a long, hard Wisconsin winter.  And it seems a bit of a miracle to me, at times, that these lovely tender spring leeks are the product of an entire YEAR of growth.

These pictures are from our crop last year (this year's leeks were eaten down a bit by hungry bunnies, so they weren't quite as photogenic):

You'll note that these 2010 leeks have very long green tops.  Well, I learned my lesson and buried this year's crops of leeks quite a bit deeper this year, so we had longer, more impressive white stalks in our 2011 harvest.  But, even these short, nobby stalks were quite tasty -- and  a welcome spring treat.

After marveling at the way they survived even the brutality of this year's winter (during which we received record amounts of snow, and plenty of cold), I pulled a few of this year's leeks fairly early in the morning. Since it was just before breakfast, I washed them, sliced them into thin strips, and allowed them to sweat slowly in some sweet cream butter with a bit of freshly clipped tarragon (which was just starting to green up out in the herb garden).  When the leeks were meltingly tender, I added a few whipped eggs, cooking them up into a soft scramble.

We had leftover rolls from some Cuban sandwiches we'd made the evening before, as well as some Virginia ham. So, along with a bit of Swiss cheese, everything came together to create a lovely, flavorful spring sandwich.  You can just imagine the sweet, slightly oniony flavor of the leeks pairing just perfectly with the salty ham... and dancing gracefully on your tongue with the subtlest hint of cool, tender, anisey tarragon.

It was the sort of sandwich that would be perfect eaten right out on the patio as the sun was rising on a cool spring morning.  Can't you just feel the dew between your toes as you sip your coffee and take in all the vibrant green hues -- the grass, the budding trees -- along with the scent of the late blooming tulips and early blooming lilacs?

To me, this is the perfect kind of food.  It's the sort of dish that makes the most of that perfect moment in a given season. In this case, it's  lovely convergence of winter greeting spring, dormancy springing to life, and hunger meeting the ultimate in satiation.



©BURP! Where Food Happens
Want more? Read Lo's latest ruminations at DEVOUR Milwaukee, her Milwaukee Magazine blog.

Weeknight Shortcuts: Thai Chicken Pizza

It's difficult to believe that it's been a whole week already since our last post. But, that just goes to show how busy we've been with the planning for the Cookies for Kids' Cancer Bake Sale & Silent Auction here in Milwaukee.  We've met an amazing array of people over the past couple of weeks, whose generosity has been absolutely astounding.

Unfortunately, it also means we haven't been creating a whole lot of original recipes in the Burp! kitchen.  Fortunately, we have a few delicious "secret weapons" under our belt that assist in making sure we're still happy and well fed, even when times get crazy.

One of our favorite quick weeknight meals happens to be this delicious veggie laden Thai chicken pizza, which is a breeze to throw together even when time is tight.  It does make use of a few convenience items, which we don't normally rely upon.  But, its nutritional profile still remains quite solid, which makes it a nice stand-by for nights when we might otherwise order take-out.

One of the items I try to keep on hand are premade corn pizza crusts (we love these rustic crusts from Vicolo, made with non-GMO corn).  These make a great base for a variety of pizzas, and they're absolutely delicious.

In addition to the crusts, a great Thai pizza needs only a few additional ingredients to be absolutely stellar -- some leftover chicken, a few vegetables, cilantro, and some delicious Thai style peanut sauce.

If you've never made peanut sauce before, you'll be delighted by how easy it is to put together. We use a no-cook sauce made with peanut butter and coconut milk. But, you can also use a premade sauce (Trader Joe's satay sauce is quite good) for this application. The peanut sauce recipe will make more than needed for pizza, but you'll have no trouble using up the leftovers. Just throw a bit in with pasta and some shredded vegetables for homemade peanut noodles.  Or use it as a dipping sauce for vegetables or chicken.

Just top pizza with the peanut sauce, add vegetables, cooked chicken, chopped cilantro, and shredded mozzarella cheese.  Bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and beginning to brown.

I don't know if I should admit it, but I feel a little bit like Rachael Ray whenever I make these pizzas... But, the reality is, it's pretty darned good for a meal you can put on the table in less than 30 minutes.

Thai style peanut sauce


©BURP! Where Food Happens

Pasta with Winter Squash Sauce, Chorizo, & Greens

Spring in Wisconsin is a fickle beast.
Just last week, we were enjoying gorgeous sunny days with temperatures close to sixty degrees. The breeze was sweet and light, and I was just beginning to get into the mood for serious spring fare like asparagus, fresh peas. Premature, I know, especially since we won't be seeing local asparagus or peas until May or June (and you really can't beat the flavor of fresh local spring produce). But, a girl can hope.

Unfortunately, that little taste of fine weather ended up to be just that... a taste.  And, as of this week, the weather is dreary and drippy and downright COLD.

Maybe it's God's way of preventing me from being tempted by all that organic California asparagus showing up on the shelves at Outpost Natural Foods.  Or maybe it's the last little boost I need to actually make good use of the last of the delicious food I've got stored up in the freezer.  Either way, I'm making peace with the idea that, despite what the calendar may indicate, spring has not quite arrived.

The fact is, I've got the perfect solution to a wet, cold spring day.  It's called winter squash sauce. And I've got a freezer full of it at my disposal.

The concept for this sauce was born nearly five months ago. On a brisk but sunny Saturday last October, we headed off to the market and stocked up on winter squash. I bought a number of fabulous heirloom varieties -- beautiful creamy yellow & green acorn squash, thin-skinned delicata, pimply Galeux d'Eysines, gorgeously hued Queensland Blue squash, and huge old style butternut squash.

We ate quite a bit of the squash roasted simply.  I made gratins, risottos, and wonderful steamy bowls of squash soup.  And then, after we'd eaten our fill of fresh squash, I started freezing squash puree for use in future recipes.  And I decided to get to work on squash sauce -- something I envisioned as not only a stand-in for the standard tomato based sauce, but also a possible base for squash soup. 

I spent a good portion of the late fall and winter tweaking this recipe to get it just the way I wanted it -- sweet (but not TOO sweet), smooth, and complex.  Although it makes use of plenty of savory flavors including celery, onions, and tomato paste, it turns out that a few roasted red peppers were just the thing that ended up taking the sauce to a whole new level.

You could easily make this sauce any time of the year using storage squash or frozen squash puree. But, since it freezes well, it's a recipe to tuck away for one of those industrious autumn weekends when you feel like making best use of all that squash from the market.

Although the sauce is perfectly delicious on its own (or mixed with cream to make a delicious soup), it makes a delicious pasta --  paired with a bit of browned Mexican chorizo, sauteed greens, and cubes of deliciously salty Monterey Jack cheese -- and then baked in the oven until it's bubbly and browned and crisp around the edges.

Perfect comfort food for a rainy spring evening -- or anytime you have the hankering for something warm and nourishing.

Winter Squash Sauce


©BURP! Where Food Happens
Want more? Read Lo's latest ruminations at FOODCrush, her Milwaukee Magazine blog.

Benedictine Mac & Cheese with Caramelized Onions & Rosemary

If the way to someone's heart is really through his/her stomach, then this post is probably as good as a love potion when it comes to enchanting and delighting your beloved.  Although macaroni & cheese might be a bit heavy to serve as a Valentine's Day dinner, it's the perfect dinner for a chilly winter weekend when you can't think of anything better than snuggling up on the couch with a glass of wine and your lover.

Serve this delicious pasta with a crisp green salad and a glass of a nice full red wine. Either an earthy red Bordeaux or a spicy, fruit-forward Zinfandel would pair very nicely.

This post is featured as part of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board's 2nd Annual 30 Days 30 Ways with Macaroni & Cheese. Be sure to give them a visit and check out all the other scrumptious recipes created by food bloggers around the nation using Wisconsin cheese. 
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If you conjure your fondest childhood memories of macaroni and cheese, what do you envision?

A steaming bowl of creamy stovetop pasta graced with American cheese?

Baked macaroni & cheese with scads of gooey sharp cheddar & a sprinkling of crispy bread crumbs?
Or how about a serving of that ever-popular electric orange macaroni & cheese from a box?

Regardless of your specific orientation to the dish, macaroni and cheese remains one of the most popular—if not the most popular—American comfort foods.

As a result, there are hundreds of recipes for mac and cheese out there.  And you must trust us when I tell you that we’ve tried most of them.  At heart, we’re big fans of simple, old fashioned macaroni and cheese.  However, we also really like venturing out and coming up with great new flavor combinations for this classic dish.  And this version is one of our favorites so far.

Imagine sweet slices of perfectly caramelized onion paired with the earthy and slightly piney flavor of fresh rosemary and the pleasantly toasted notes of whole wheat elbows. 

Now imagine those ingredients cloaked in a fantastically creamy sauce made from Carr Valley Benedictine cheese – a delightful and intensely nutty washed rind cheese made from a combination of sheep, goat, and cow’s milk.

While this somewhat inventive version of the popular dish will probably not take you back to your mom’s kitchen, I promise it will give you that same creamy dreamy comfort food feeling in the depths of your belly.

Benedictine Mac & Cheese with Caramelized Onions & Rosemary

©BURP! Where Food Happens
Want more? Read Lo's latest ruminations at FOODCrush, her Milwaukee Magazine blog.

Sloppy Lentils: Crockpot Staple

Is anyone else struggling to be inspired in the kitchen?

If not -- well, maybe you don't want to waste your time on this time-saving post.

If yes -- then please read on.

Seems to me that all of our energy during the month of December is sucked up by holiday preparations, decorating, and gift shopping.  If I spend any of my creative energies on cooking, it's pointed in the direction of our annual holiday feasting -- not everyday weeknight dinner fare.

But, I'm making peace with that reality.  


This week, life sent us -- not lemons -- but a bag of lentils from the Indian grocer. So with that, my friends, we made.... sloppy lentils.

A vegetarian riff on everyone's favorite comfort food sandwich, the sloppy joe, sloppy lentils is absolutely brimming with deliciously healthy vegetables (just look at all those delicious pieces of carrot and onion poking out from beneath the lentils).

Best of all, you can whip up this dish in the blink of an eyeball. Even on a weeknight.

You will really like this idea if you answer "TRUE" to two or more of the following statements:
1) You are preoccupied with more important activities than cooking (sad but true).
2) You own a crockpot.
3) You are not allergic to legumes.
4) It's cold outside and you're looking for something warm and filling to eat.

Even better than the fact that this can be made in a crockpot, it can also be made ahead.  Because it just so happens that this dish tastes even better the next day.  And even the next.  So, make up a whole vat of it.  You may not need to make dinner again for a whole week ;)

Sloppy Lentils



©BURP! Where Food Happens

Char Crust: Product Review & Giveaway

I'll be frank. I'm a control freak.

This means I'm seldom a fan of things like spice blends. For, although they have the potential to make my life easier, they also require me to confine myself to the nuances of someone else's palate...

Maybe that makes me a food snob.  But, I hope I can redeem myself by admitting that -- although I don't regularly use pre-made spice blends -- I'm always a big fan of supporting local businesses.  And that's why, when one of the owners of Char Crust, a Chicago-based company, wrote to us and asked if we'd like to sample their seasoning blends, we decided to give them a try.

The flavors provided to us included:
All American Barbeque
Ginger Teriyaki
Original Hickory Grilled
Roasted Garlic Peppercorn
Smoky Spicy Southwest

Since 1998 Bernard Silver and his wife Susan Eriksen have marketed the Char Crust line -- a collection of dry spice rubs based on the classic flavors made popular by the legendary Al Farber's Steak Room in Chicago.  Farber's was famous for "Eye of Prime Rib" and unique charcrust steaks. The popular restaurant, which faced Lincoln Park, was the recipient of many top honors including The Perfect Steak Award, the Epicurean Award, and the Gourmet Society Merit Award. Although the restaurant closed in the 1977, the legacy of the famous steaks remained, embodied in Char Crust® and Roto Roast dry rub seasonings, which were marketed and sold to other restaurants in Chicago.  These days, the line has been expanded to include nine rubs which are available to consumers at a variety of small, independently-owned businesses: butcher shops, gourmet stores, grocers, and even hardware stores.   Read more at Charcrust.com

I'll should admit to being quite curious about their products, which are marketed heavily for use with meat and fish -- and which promise to "seal in the juices". That said, I decided that, for the purpose of our review, we'd branch out a bit. So, we decided to try the rubs strictly on vegetables.  We tested out all but one of the seasonings (the Roasted Garlic Peppercorn), which we figured would be easy to pair with just about anything.

Overall, we were quite pleased with what we discovered. The blends, which are some of the few certified kosher spice blends on the market, were unique -- some delicate, some more assertive.  And every single variety surprised us with one stunning feature -- unlike many seasoning blends, they are remarkably low in sodium.  In fact, we found that every one benefited from the addition of a bit of salt to pull out some of the more subtle nuances of flavor.  So, the seasonings would be excellent options for anyone watching his/her sodium intake.

One caveat for our gluten free readers:  all the blends we tried did contain some element of wheat, and so they would not be safe for consumption among consumers suffering from gluten intolerance or Celiac disease.

That said, here's what we found during our weekend of recipe testing!  We tried out four vegetables/legumes: chickpeas, sweet potatoes, blue potatoes, and cauliflower.  And every single one turned out pretty darned good.

First up:  All American Barbeque Roasted Chickpeas

 

Technique:  Rinse & drain chickpeas. Dry them off and spread them on a baking pan.  Bake them at 350 F for 20 minutes, or until quite dry.  Toss hot chickpeas with a bit of olive oil and about a tablespoon of barbeque seasoning. Continue baking for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and browned (watch closely to prevent burning).

Our verdict:  TOTALLY addictive.  These chickpeas would make the perfect snack to serve to company during cocktail hour or at a casual gathering.  The seasoning is pleasantly sweet, with a hint of tomato and lots of great garlic & onion flavor.  In addition to using it for chickpeas, it would be great worked into meat for burgers, or slathered on ribs or barbequed chicken.

Next: Ginger Teriyaki Sweet Potato Fries

Technique:  Slice sweet potatoes lengthwise into 3/4 inch wide strips. Toss with olive oil and 1 T of Ginger Teriyaki seasoning.  Roast at 450 for 15-18 minutes, or until just tender.  Toss with salt, to taste.

Our verdict: These potatoes were genuinely delicious.  The spice blend is a nice balance of soy, ginger, and a hint of orange -- all of which really complement the sweetness of the potatoes. This would make an excellent seasoning for salmon, chicken, or even roasted broccoli.  Flavor might be overpowered if used for grilling.

Then:  Original Hickory Grilled Roasted Potatoes

Technique:  Slice potatoes in half, and then slice each half into three pieces.  Toss with olive oil and approximately 1 T of Hickory seasoning.  Roast at 425 F for 20-25 minutes, or until potatoes are crisp on the outside and fully cooked through.  Remove from oven and immediately toss with salt, to taste.

The verdict:   These potatoes had a delightfully subtle smoke flavor that made them taste as if they'd been grilled.  Great for the middle of winter when the snow is flying and you don't want to haul out the barbeque!  This seasoning would be awesome for making burgers or steak indoors.

And finally:  Smoky Spicy Southwest Roasted Cauliflower

Technique:  Cut small head of cauliflower into florets.  Toss with olive oil and approximately 1 1/2 T Southwest seasoning.  Roast at 425 F for 20-25 minutes or until florets are browned and crisp-tender. Toss with salt, to taste.  (Optional: Serve with chipotle mayo for dipping).

The verdict:  We really liked the smoky flavor of the chipotle in this Southwest inspired seasoning.  Not particularly spicy, this blend would appeal to a broad range of palates, including children.  Would be a nice seasoning for chicken, white fleshed fish, or pork.  I think we'd also like this added to roasted potatoes.

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And now... the best part.

First, ALL of our readers qualify to receive FREE SHIPPING on all products ordered on the Char Crust site between November 19 - December 19, 2010 (savings of $7 or more).  To receive free shipping, simply use the code BURP!121910 at checkout. 

In addition, Char Crust gave us enough seasoning blends to share the wealth!  Enter to win and we'll send one lucky reader a package filled with FIVE full sized packages of Char Crust Seasonings.

For your chance to win, please read the instructions below. Be sure to leave a comment for each entry (and leave your email address if you don't have it listed on your blog/contact info).   Please note that this contest is limited to readers in the United States & Canada. Contest ends 12/1/10 at NOON (CST).

Mandatory entry (must be completed or no other entries will count):   

• Tell me which of the Char Crust rubs you most want to try

Extra entries – please leave a comment for each additional entry, letting us know you completed it

• Give us a "like" on Facebook!
• Follow @Burp_blog on twitter
• Use the following text to tweet about this giveaway (please leave a link to your tweet in the comments for credit):  
• Char Crust Dry Rubs - #win five varieties @Burp_blog:  Ends 12/1 #giveaway

NOTE:  The winner will be chosen randomly and announced on Facebook before the end of the week (12/3).  The winner will be emailed separately to arrange for mailing of the prize pack.

Full Disclosure:  Although we were given Char Crust products free of charge for the purpose of this review and giveaway, all opinions expressed in this review are our own.


©BURP! Where Food Happens

Think Pink: Indian Chickpeas & Greens

Sometimes life throws you a curve ball.  And sometimes that curve ball smacks you right upside the head and gives you one doozer of a bruise.

It's painful. And ugly. And even though you know that the bruise will heal, it can be pretty rough to walk around with a big purple goose egg on the side of your head for weeks on end.  But, you do. Maybe you try to cover it up with make-up. Or a hat. Maybe you decide to make the most of things, and you wear that nasty old bruise like a badge of honor.  It's true, after all, that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Eventually, the bruise heals and your life goes back to normal. But, when you're in the moment... it's pretty difficult not to be at least a little bit angry with the cards you've been dealt.

My point is, sometimes life doesn't go quite as you expect. And often cooking is an adventure that brings unpredictable results. Take for instance, the chickpeas & greens I made a few weeks back.

It started innocently enough.  I spied a gorgeous bunch of Asian Red Spinach at the market. And I decided I needed to take it home. After all, greens are GOOD. They're healthy. And they're versatile. Before whisking the beautiful purple-and-green-tinted leaves into my market bag, I did manage to ask a few basic questions.  Was it bitter? (no)  Stronger flavored than regular spinach? (slightly)  Did it cook down similarly? (yes)  Would it be recommended to eat the stems? (no)

What I failed to ask was -- is it going to turn my dinner pink?

Honestly, I should have suspected it.  But, I didn't.  In fact, I didn't realize the dish was going the way of Candy Land until I started to stir the kefir into the greens... and slowly, fantastically, that gorgeously fuschia color started to seep out of the spinach leaves and into the yogurt.  The chickpeas started to glow like some sort of iridescent pink light bulbs. The pink turned from fuschia. To salmon. To a color which verged upon red. And I began to wonder if I was going to be able to bear the thought of taking the leftovers of this dinner in to work the next day.

Truth is, as disturbing as they looked, the chickpeas and greens tasted positively fabulous.  The garam masala, coriander, and curry powder danced amid minced ginger and garlic. The fresh tomato brought forth a pleasantly sweet acidity, while the tartness of the kefir kept things lively.  The chickpeas & spinach gave the dish substance -- and yes, that sauce (pink and all) was just amazing when soaked into a nice warm piece of flatbread.  If you appreciate the rich, intoxicating flavors of Indian food, you'll love this easy weeknight dish.  And if you don't want that lovely pink hue, my suggestion would be that you stick to using regular old spinach.

Whatever you decide, there's a lesson to be learned here. Whether it's cooking or living, it pays to be flexible. And adventurous. After all, you never know what kind of delicious things are waiting behind that putridly pink facade.

Indian Chickpeas & Greens


©BURP! Where Food Happens

Chakchouka: Vegetable Ragout with Eggs

We're not vegetarians, but (as you've probably already noticed) we're big fans of vegetable-based fare.  Part of the reason is that we simply love veggies of all kinds.  But, we also love the challenge of coming up with recipes for whatever is freshest and best at the farmer's market.

We both came from solidly carnivorous households where meals were comprised of a protein, a vegetable, and some sort of starch. But, in the years since we've been married, our diets have changed considerably.  These days you'd be just as likely to find us mowing down on a plateful of roasted root vegetables, a slice of crusty bread and a glass of wine as you would a medium rare steak with mashed potatoes and creamed spinach.  And, if it weren't for Peef's obsession with all things bacon, some people would probably suggest that we've moved even closer to the vegetarian side of things in the past few years.

I'm always surprised when someone comments that they find vegetarian food to be "boring" or "flavorless". On the contrary, I've discovered that the more vegetarian food I eat and prepare, the more appreciation I develop for the intricacies of flavor that can be created (*gasp*) without the addition of meat.  And this recipe is no exception.

Chakchouka is a Berber word, which means simply "vegetable ragout". The dish, which is also called Ojja in Tunisia, is traditionally made with a combination of paprika, onions, peppers, and tomatoes and seasoned with harissa.  It's usually served topped with eggs that have been poached in the juices from the vegetable mixture.  However, it can also be served with fried eggs -- or without any eggs at all.

This recipe is a version I developed after visiting Tunisia (read more about my love for North Africa here).  It utilizes the traditional harissa paste (which is quite spicy -- so it should be adjusted to your liking) and peppers. However, I've taken the liberty to use fire-roasted tomatoes and smoked paprika -- both items that impart a pleasantly sweet and smoky quality to the dish.

I love making this at the end of our Wisconsin growing season -- when we have plenty of fresh red and green peppers to choose from. It's delicious made with a combination of sweet bell peppers, wax peppers, and poblano peppers. But, any peppers you have on hand will do.  It also works wonderfully with previously frozen peppers or fire-roasted peppers, though you'll want to adjust the cooking time accordingly.

Spicy. Smoky. And infinitely complex, chakchouka makes an incredibly delicious breakfast, served alongside a crusty loaf of French bread. However, it also makes a delightful light lunch scooped into warm pitas.  And, quite frankly, if you're determined to be carnivorous about it, chopped Spanish chorizo makes an excellent addition to the tomato & pepper mixture.


RECIPE: Chackchouka


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Local Joy: Fire Roasted Poblano Peppers

Mole sauce... pumpkin poblano corn pudding... pineapple poblano salsa... polenta with mixed pepper sauce... caramelized onion & poblano enchiladas...

It's not difficult to admit that I'm a huge fan of roasted poblanos. 

However, I'm a little bit hesitant to admit that it's almost therapeutic for me to venture out in the midst of winter to pick up a few imported poblanos from the Mexican grocer & throw them underneath the broiler to give them a good char.  The roasty toasty smell of the peppers, combined (if I'm fortunate) with the refreshing taste of one of Peef's famous margaritas, transports me somewhere far away from the Wisconsin winter snow -- and to a place that's almost, well, tropical.  Best of all, a couple of the sweet roasted peppers pull in an awful lot of flavor into an otherwise bland winter dish -- saving me from the winter cooking doldrums.

But, we've been trying to commit to eating more and more locally as time wears on.  So, a couple of Saturdays ago, I decided to take the bull by the horns and head off those mid-winter temptations.  We headed off to the farmer's market in search of a small goldmine of those lovely green peppers. About fifteen minutes and $10 later, I had myself a half a bushel of them -- and I was pretty excited to get home.

Originally, I planned to roast the peppers in the oven, before peeling off the charred skin, extracting the seeds, and packing the peppers into containers to pop them into the freezer.  But, it occurred to me that there was an even better way to deal with a boatload of peppers.

It might sound silly, but pulling out the charcoal grill was a bit of a revelation.  First of all, I don't think I realized quite how much time we'd save (the direct flame really goes to work on the peppers, and chars them in about half the time).  I also didn't exactly think about all of that sensual, smoky flavor that would be imparted to the peppers from the hardwood charcoal.  But, as the peppers roasted, I found myself feeling a little bit giddy. And, as I stood over the island, scraping charred bits of skin and seeds from the green flesh,  I started to envision the roasted poblano rice... the chiles rellenos... and the southwestern corn chowder made with poblanos & frozen grilled corn... And, by the time we'd packed all of the peppers away, I was seriously stoked.

Even if I'm not particularly looking forward to that first winter snow storm, I'm definitely looking forward to pulling some of these babies out of the freezer in mid-winter.  Talk about therapy...


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