One-Pot Chicken & Rice

I cooked this for a band meal last night and apparently knocked it out of the park, so I'm posting by request! No photo as it was all devoured. I posted another one-pot chicken & rice a few years ago: with lemon & broccoli; this is similar but I went for a middle eastern vibe with the spices. And I used chicken thighs instead of breast, which I think are better - not as easy to overcook.

I honestly could not tell you the spice quantities - I went a little nuts just putting a bunch of spices into the chicken marinade (I have a Penzey's problem...), but apparently the combination was a winner. If I had to guess, it might be around 1/2 tsp each, then smaller quantities of cayenne & cinnamon (just a dash each).

I cooked this on the stovetop in a Dutch oven. A large skillet should also work. I served this with a simple cucumber/tomato/green onion salad (just dressed lightly with olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper), and store-bought tzatziki.

You could absolutely change up the spices (Italian, Cajun, etc), add extra veggies (carrots, peppers, peas, anything really. I had some "Jimmy Nardello" peppers which are long/sweet; I sliced two of those up and added them at the end of cooking), add cooked lentils or chickpeas for extra protein (or use those instead of chicken for a vegan version)...sky's the limit! 

This served 4 hungry musicians before & after a performance, but it's probably around 6 normal servings!

- 4-5 boneless chicken thighs. You could absolutely leave them whole, but I cut each one into 4 pieces to allow for more flexible servings.
- spice mix: around 1/2 tsp each turmeric, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, garlic powder, oregano, za'atar - and just a dash each of cayenne & cinnamon
- olive oil
- juice of 1 1/2 - 2 lemons
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups white rice (I used jasmine; regular long-grain or basmati should work)
- 3 cups chicken stock

Combine all the spices with a little salt (if your chicken broth is salted, be judicious and you can always add more), juice of 1 lemon, and a small drizzle of olive oil. It will be a thick paste.

Coat the chicken thighs thoroughly with the mixture, and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour - longer if you can.

Heat a Dutch oven or large skillet over medium heat, and cook the chicken in a little olive oil until browned on both sides, around 10 minutes. Doesn't have to cook all the way through. Remove to a plate.

Leave all the brown stuff in the pot and saute the onion in it. If there's some stuck bits, loosen with a splash of chicken stock. Add garlic briefly, and then the rice. Stir for a minute or so to coat the rice in all the good stuff and toast it lightly.

Add chicken stock, scrape the bottom of the pan and give it a good stir, and put the chicken pieces on top along with any accumulated juices. Cover, turn the heat to low, and cook at a gentle simmer for about 15 minutes.

If you are adding any quick-cooking vegetables like peppers or peas, add them now and give everything a stir. Taste the rice and see how close it is to done. If it's pretty close, turn the heat off and leave it covered for about 10 minutes. Add lemon juice (another half to whole lemon) & serve.

If the rice still seems hard, cook on low for another few minutes, adding a little more water if necessary. It will continue to absorb liquid as it sits.

Savory Baked Oatmeal

Recently I went in for a physical. Last year's was the first one I'd had in awhile, and at that blood test my cholesterol was "elevated." I was not expecting it to improve, because this has NOT been the year to focus on diet/exercise (I made an effort after last year's results for a few weeks, but then fell off). Now my cholesterol is officially high, so yeah...I guess I should work on that.

Generally I feel like I eat pretty well; I KNOW I need to exercise more. But I can probably do better on fiber intake, so that's the main thing I'll work on with diet. I bought some Metamucil and officially feel like an old person! Also picked up some ground flaxseeds which I've been adding to cereal/yogurt, and are supposed to help in the same way. 

And I know oatmeal is great for fiber and helps with cholesterol. I tried doing steel-cut oatmeal a few days a week on the last effort - but even with adding fruit, nuts & peanut butter it just didn't keep me as satisfied as my usual egg breakfast. I'm also not really a sweet breakfast person; I much prefer savory stuff. 

A friend of mine I stay with sometimes while traveling makes baked oatmeal (usually with blueberries) that I've enjoyed for breakfast. That's also nice when you don't really want the porridge-y texture of regular oatmeal. I know that "savory oatmeal" is a thing but have never tried it. So I thought "hmm, savory baked oatmeal?" Yes, people are doing this! Oats, whatever veggies you want, a couple of eggs & cottage cheese for protein & binding, and a bit of cheese. I found a few recipes online and as per usual, cobbled together my own.

This is great for meal prep as it makes about 8 servings, and you can just pop a slice in the microwave for 90 seconds. It probably freezes well (haven't tried it yet). I had my first piece this morning and it was pretty satisfying! And because everything is better with a sauce (or "goo" as my husband likes to say) - I drizzled it with a little Cholula Cremosa (cilantro lime).

This is super adaptable; you can use whatever veggies you want and I'm sure I'll change it up the next time I make this. This is a good dish to use up veggies that need to be used. I did an onion, a red bell pepper, a grated yellow squash, a jalapeno and some baby spinach - but you could truly put anything in here. Mushrooms, tomato, sweet potato, broccoli, leftover veggies. If you want to make it even more substantial you could throw in cooked sausage or plant-based sausage. 

I did not actually measure anything except for the oats when I was scooping them out, and it turned out fine - so I think this is pretty forgiving!

Savory Baked Oatmeal

- Veggies (you probably want about 2 cups once cooked cooked): I used 1 onion, 1 bell pepper, 1 grated yellow squash, 1 jalapeno, a couple handfuls of baby spinach
- Seasoning for the veggies (I used a garlic-onion blend; use whatever you like!)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 2 cups milk (I used almond milk)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 cups rolled (quick) oats
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 Tbl ground flaxseeds (optional but adds more fiber)
- grated cheese (I used about 1/2 cup but you can do more)

Preheat oven to 375 and grease a 13 x 9 baking dish.

Saute your choice of veggies in a pan with a little oil until cooked, and season how you like. 

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs. Add cottage cheese, milk & salt and mix well. Add oats, baking powder, flaxseeds and the cooked veggies and mix until combined. Spread in greased pan.

Bake for 30 minutes - a knife inserted in the center should come out relatively clean. Top with grated cheese and bake for another 10 minutes.

If you're serving right away, let cool slightly before cutting. Makes about 8 servings. 

To reheat from the fridge, microwave a piece for 90 seconds. If you like, drizzle with your favorite hot sauce, salsa, or whatever sounds good!  

Shredded Tofu Tacos

Ha - it's been over a year since I posted here. Not surprising - life has continued to be Life-ing, and food has been more "fuel" than something I want to spend time and creativity on. When I'm cooking these days it's usually the same handful of dishes - BBQ tofu is frequent, shrimp with veggies & boxed rice pilaf, pasta with whatever's on hand, occasionally shepherd's pie, soup or chili. 

My BBQ tofu is one of my spouse's favorite meals (though that might due to the mashed potatoes I serve it with), and tofu continues to be a super affordable protein source. Also I'm still trying to reduce my meat consumption. The BBQ recipe is a little more involved with the tofu prep, although it's largely hands-off in the oven. I decided to switch it up and try something I've been seeing recipes for: shredded/grated tofu. Indeed, this is a really easy and fast method that you could go any number of ways with - probably anything you'd use ground meat for. I made tacos, but I think I'll do Asian-style next time (maybe in these Korean-style rice bowls). I think it would also work with just BBQ sauce if you want to do meatless BBQ sandwiches. Or Italian seasonings, and add the crumbles to pasta sauce.

Street-style tofu tacos with onion, cilantro & avocado

Basically I'll just lay out the cooking method:

- Start with a block of extra firm tofu. Some recipes say you don't have to press it. I did since I had time, but the water cooks out in the pan - might just take a little longer to cook if you don't press it. Grate it on the large holes of a box grater (I cut the block in half crosswise first).

- Heat a pan (non-stick is probably best) on medium-high heat and add some oil. Cook the tofu, stirring occasionally, until it gets brown and starts to crisp. Mine took about 10-12 minutes total.

- I added some chopped onion & green pepper after it was mostly browned. You could also add minced garlic here.

- Add salt and whatever spices you like. For taco flavor I used chili powder, smoked paprika and garlic powder. Also add a splash of soy sauce. I think this works for any flavor and it also adds color. Keep cooking until it's the texture you want. I thought mine was a bit dry so I added some salsa.

- Taste and see what it needs for seasoning!

I already have a recipe for vegan shepherd's pie using lentils, but maybe these tofu crumbles are worth trying too...hmmm!

Butternut Squash, Arugula, Pomegranate & Pecan Salad

Hello intermittent food blog! It's been over a year - yeah, I haven't been that inspired about cooking for awhile. I was tasked with bringing a vegetable dish to Thanksgiving this year, and when I posted about this, the recipe was requested - so here you go!

I thought it would be good to bring something that could be served at room temperature and wouldn't interfere with any hot dish prep. I often do roasted brussels sprouts, but I've been kind of disappointed with those lately? They can easily get a bit too mushy if you're not serving them right away. So I thought a salad with some bright & contrasty flavors would be nice.

Quantities are extremely flexible here, and you know me - I don't measure anything! 

While I was making this, I thought about everything it took to get these ingredients to me. I'm very worried about what mass deportations might look like if they actually happen with the next administration, so these were my thoughts that went along with this post:

I’m thankful for the people who grow, pick, process, inspect and transport our food - many of whom are immigrants. May their work which keeps us fed & nourished continue - or start - to be valued, and may we protect their humanity and safety.

- 1 butternut squash (peeled, de-seeded & cut into bite size pieces. You could use any type of winter squash, or sweet potatoes)
- spices to roast the squash (I used chili powder, coriander & cinnamon). Curry spices/cumin would also be good)
- red onion, finely sliced (I used about 1/4 of a regular size onion)
- 1 clamshell package baby arugula
- pomegranate seeds
- 1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped
- feta cheese (optional)

Dressing (whisk these all together)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 Tbl apple cider vinegar
- 1-2 Tbl pomegranate molasses (you can easily leave this out if you don't have it, but it provides a wonderful sour and fruity flavor. Or, apple butter could be an interesting substitute)
- 1 Tbl dijon mustard
- 1 Tbl maple syrup
- salt & pepper

Roast the squash: preheat oven along with a sheet pan to 425. Toss the squash pieces with a little olive oil and spices of choice. Check after 15 minutes - mine only took about 20. Will depend on how big your pieces are and the type of squash. Cool to room temp.

Optional upgrades - quick pickle your red onion: Mix with a little bit of vinegar, water, salt & sugar. Toast pecans in a skillet if desired.

Make the salad with arugula, the roasted squash, red onion, pomegranate seeds & pecans. Add dressing, and feta cheese if desired.

For a main dish salad with more protein, roasted chickpeas would be a great addition.

Panzanella

It’s been close to 100° all week, so I’ve been leaning on no-cook dinners. Earlier this week I went to the farmers market and picked up watermelon and feta for a salad - served that with deviled eggs and sourdough bread. 

I bought 2 small sourdough boules and the second one got stale pretty quickly…I had some tomatoes and leftover feta, so I thought…panzanella for the next meal!

While looking at recipes online, I saw comments lambasting certain recipes for not being “traditional” (apparently bread, tomatoes and oil/vinegar is supposed to be it). And there are Opinions about how you deal with the bread (oven-dried vs just left out to be stale vs water-moistened…). 

Well y’all…panzanella is what peasants made to use up stale bread and whatever other bits needed eating. I don’t think our Tuscan ancestors will be angered if we improvise a bit.

 

This is merely a guideline with no set quantities and whatever else you want to throw in…you do you! I added some chickpeas that were sautéed til crispy to make this more substantial. I also followed the Serious Eats technique to salt the tomatoes and let them drain over a bowl to save the juice, which is added to the dressing (I just mixed the dressing in the same bowl). I don’t think you have to do this, but it doesn’t add more time if you’re waiting for the bread to toast. 

So, use what you’ve got on hand and make a bread salad with some or all of these things, or more!

The bread:
- crusty bread, preferably day-old, cubed into bite sized pieces
- Olive oil

Fresh ripe tomatoes, wedged/halved

Other veggies: cucumber, peppers, corn

Onion: sliced raw red onion or green onion would be good. I used some thinly sliced yellow onion briefly sautéed with the chickpeas. 

Optional: 1 can chickpeas, rinsed, drained & dried

Cheese: fresh mozzarella or feta

Fresh basil

Dressing: olive oil, vinegar (I used balsamic but I think red/white wine is more traditional), dab of Dijon mustard 

——-

Drizzle the bread with a couple tablespoons of olive oil, a pinch of salt & pepper, garlic powder if you like. Spread on a sheet pan and bake for about 15 minutes - I did 300 in a convection toaster oven, probably 350 in a regular oven. Cubes should be just starting to brown. 

Meanwhile, put the cut tomatoes in a colander set over a large bowl, sprinkle with salt and leave for about 15 minutes to drain. 

Slice up the rest of your veggies.

Sauté chickpeas in olive oil until browned & crispy. If using yellow onion, add when chickpeas are almost done and cook briefly. Season with salt, pepper and anything else you like (garlic powder, Italian seasoning, smoked paprika). Let cool slightly. 

Mix dressing in bowl with tomato “drippings.” Whisk a dab of Dijon mustard and a couple tbl each vinegar & oil. Season with salt & pepper. 

Toss tomatoes & vegetables in dressing, then add bread, chickpeas & cheese. Let sit for 15-30 mins. If it seems dry, drizzle in more olive oil. Add fresh basil (torn or shredded) before serving. 

Curried Orange Vegetable Soup

Whoops, haven't posted here for 8 months! Well...my last Hungry Harvest delivery gave me the largest sweet potato I've ever seen, and the smallest butternut squash I've ever seen...to add to a second small butternut squash I hadn't used from a previous week. So I figured some kind of sweet potato-butternut squash soup was in order. A bowl of beta-carotene! I made such a big pot of this that I'm going to freeze some to add to the Thanksgiving spread next week. 

I don't tend to do pureed soups that often because 1) they're a bit more fussy and 2) they don't seem as filling as chunky soups. But those orange vegetables make for good creamy soups, so I decided I'd go for it. I also added a can of chickpeas for some protein.

I was totally going to add a can of coconut milk to this at the end, but after I pureed it I was very happy with the texture and flavor, so I decided to leave it out. I also totally meant to add an apple for some sweetness, but forgot - so I added a splash of apple cider.

Like most good soups, this can be completely improvised for what you have on hand and/or prefer. You can use all or just one of sweet potato, butternut squash and/or carrots. I am not even suggesting quantities because it's that flexible! I would say at least 4 cups of veggies is good - I might have had more like 8; it almost filled my Dutch oven. This is also vegan if you use veggie broth.

If you're inspired you can also have fun with garnishes like pumpkin seeds, bacon bits, kale chips, croutons, flavored oils or maybe a drizzle of heavy cream or sour cream. Or just eat it with a nice grilled cheese!

- Sweet potato, peeled & chopped roughly
- Butternut squash, peeled/seeded & chopped roughly (you can prick & microwave for a few minutes to soften it up first)
- Carrots, scrubbed & chopped roughly (no need to peel)
- optional: 1 apple, peeled & chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2+ cloves garlic, minced
- fresh ginger, grated or minced
- curry powder (at least a couple of teaspoons, maybe more especially if it's a large pot)
- turmeric (1/4-1/2 tsp)
- cinnamon (a few shakes)
- 1 box stock/broth + water
- 1 can chickpeas, rinsed & drained
- lime or lemon juice
- optional: can of coconut milk, or some heavy cream

Saute the onion in some olive oil in a large pot until translucent. Season with salt. Add garlic and ginger & stir briefly. Add spices & stir briefly.

Add a little bit of the stock and mix everything together. Then add the chopped veggies. Add the rest of the stock, plus enough water to not-quite-cover the veggies, and a healthy pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover & simmer for 15 minutes.

Add chickpeas, cover & simmer for another 15 minutes or until vegetables are soft.

Puree the soup either with an immersion blender, or carefully in a regular blender (do it in batches and maybe let it cool a bit).

Return the soup to the pot over low heat. Add the coconut milk if you like, and some lime or lemon juice. Taste and see what it needs! I also added freshly ground pepper and some Penzey's Black & Red.

BBQ Tofu

My grocery store has apparently stopped stocking tofu...but luckily Hungry Harvest started carrying it, so I can usually get it delivered every week! Which is great, 'cause I have new favorite ways to cook it:

I think I've converted to the camp of tearing tofu into pieces rather than cubing or slicing it. Tearing it into rough pieces creates more surface area for crispy goodness. And when you're stir-frying or baking it, the cubes will sometimes tear anyway. So you don't have to be as gentle with it. And while I'm not one of those people who needs a meat substitute to actually look like meat, if that's your thing, it does look more meat-like this way.

This recipe is roasted in the oven, and uses both a spice rub and store-bought BBQ sauce. The flavor is pretty intense! If you want to simplify things I think you could get away with just the BBQ sauce. Also you could cook this in a pan on the stove if you don't want to turn on the oven. Just saute the pieces on medium high until they get crispy, and then add the sauce.

- 1 pkg extra firm tofu
- spice rub: smoked paprika, chili powder & garlic powder, and a pinch of salt. I did not measure, but I'm gonna guess it's a couple teaspoons of spices.
- olive oil
- BBQ sauce - I also did not measure, but am guessing 1/4-1/3 cup.

1. Press the tofu under a weighed plate with paper towels for 30 minutes, or however long you have. Slice the block in half lengthwise, and then tear into rough pieces.

2. Combine the spices with a little olive oil in a large bowl, and toss the tofu pieces until they're well-coated. Preheat oven to 425, and prepare whatever else you're serving. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil, and spread the tofu pieces out on it.

3. Bake for 15 minutes, stir and bake for 5-10 minutes more until getting browned & crispy.

4. Dump the tofu back into the bowl, add BBQ sauce and toss to coat. Return to the baking sheet and bake another 5 minutes or so. Then turn the broiler on for a couple minutes to make it extra crispy.