Mujaddara (Rice & Lentils with Onions)

I've been meaning to try this Middle Eastern dish for awhile. Very easy, cheap and makes a big pot. There are apparently a ton of variations (one of those dishes where every family has their own version) - as usual I looked at several recipes and cobbled together my own. Spice-wise I think you're at least supposed to use cumin - ground is also fine. But you should head on over to Penzey's and stock up on lots of spices! It looks like the more traditional versions also call for truly frying at least half of the onions until they're brown/crispy and topping the dish with them. That sounds delicious...but I kept it simple and cooked all the onions into the dish.

I served this with a cucumber & cherry tomato salad and plain Greek yogurt.

1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
3 onions, halved, peeled & sliced
olive oil
1/2 Tbl cumin seeds
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups rice (I used jasmine)
3 cups broth or water
1 tsp Zartar
handful of chopped cilantro (parsley and/or mint would be good too)
squeeze of lemon juice

- Cover lentils with water by a couple inches, bring to a boil and simmer (covered) for about 15-20 minutes, until slightly soft but not completely done. Drain.
- Meanwhile, put a large pot over medium heat and add a good amount of olive oil. Saute onions with a pinch of salt until the lentils are done - they should reduce a good bit and get browned.
- Add the cumin, mustard seeds & cinnamon. Let the seeds get a bit toasted and then add the rice. Cook and stir for a couple minutes, then add the lentils and broth. Cover and cook on low heat until rice is tender (about 15 minutes for white jasmine rice).
- Add the Zartar, herbs and lemon juice. Taste for salt & pepper. Turn off heat, cover and let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.

Mexican Chocolate Shortbread

I don't really have the patience for baking, unless I make plans for it. Sometimes you just want Christmas cookies and don't want to put in much effort. This is why shortbread exists! I recently received a free jar of cocoa from my last Penzey's order, and got an idea...

This spicy chocolate shortbread is a conglomeration of various recipes I found online (as is my style). You could add more ancho powder to make the heat more pronounced (or use chipotle, or add some cayenne), but this is a pretty subtle warmth. Not too sweet and makes a smallish recipe (perfect for NOT sharing, if that's how you roll).

- Cream 2 sticks of butter and 1/2 cup powdered sugar (I used salted butter, if you use unsalted add maybe 1/4 tsp of salt to the recipe).
- Whisk together 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, 1/2 tsp cinnamon (or more) and about 3/4 tsp ancho chile powder. Add to the butter/sugar and mix until combined.
- Line an 8" square pan with plastic wrap (wax or parchment paper might be better, but I didn't have any, and plastic wrap worked). Dump the dough in the pan and press in until flattened.
- Chill dough until firm but not totally hard (I did 20 mins in fridge and 10 in freezer 'cause I was getting impatient).
- Lift dough out by the wrap and cut the square in half. Then cut each half into 8 rectangles. [ If I made this again, I would cut those further in half for smaller pieces (easier to transport without breaking, and these are pretty rich) ]. Prick dough all over with a fork and sprinkle with sugar. Transfer pieces to a cookie sheet.
- Bake at 325 for about 25 minutes.

Roasted Root Salad

This salad is a great example of why I love the CSA. I would never go out and buy all these ingredients to make this - but since they happened to be here, it came together. Planning and shopping continues to be the biggest "roadblock" to eating healthy for me...if the ingredients are in the house, I will make something!

We had several "baby roots" from the last couple of weeks: striped beets, purple-skinned radishes and turnips (I think). I halved or quartered these, tossed with olive oil, salt & pepper and garlic powder, and roasted at 425 for 15 minutes. The greens are all from the CSA: two types of lettuce and arugula. I added some cherry tomatoes, fresh cherries, feta cheese and pistachios. The dressing I've been making lately is just good olive oil, lemon juice, a little bit of dijon mustard & maple syrup, and salt & pepper.

Spring Salad with Roasted Chickpeas

Our CSA started today! No surprise, we got pretty much all leafy green things: two types of kale, collards, spinach, two types of lettuce that looked like roses (there was a fancy name on the checkoff sheet I didn't remember), baby turnips (or are these white radishes...I never remember!), and garlic scapes. I was hoping we'd get strawberries, but nope. We've had a lot of rain and I wonder if that affected the strawberry crop.

  

I figured a salad would be in order for dinner tonight. I've been wanting to make roasted chickpeas as they seem pretty easy, and I had some commercial packaged ones that were delish a little while ago. The method is pretty easy: rinse and drain a can (or two) of chickpeas and dry well on towels. Coat with olive oil & season with salt and whatever other spices you like. I used smoked paprika and a little cayenne; I will probably try something more exciting next time. Roast at 425-450 for 15-20 minutes or until browned and crisp.

For the salad I used the two lettuces, some spinach and some sliced garlic scapes (they are like potent green onions), cucumbers and tomatoes from the store, and I topped with the chickpeas and some goat cheese.

Dressing: a small dab each of dijon mustard and pomegranate molasses, balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper and olive oil.

Vegan Black Bean & Rice Bowls

This has been my go-to easy/cheap dinner recently. You can add other vegetables, change up the spices, etc. Vegans look away - I've also been known to add cooked bacon to the beans if I have some around. Cilantro is also your friend, if you have some. This makes about 3 generous servings.

- Start a pot of jasmine rice - I use 1.5 cups of rice and 2.5 cups water. Cook for 15 minutes and let it steam off-heat while you finish the beans.

- Saute a small chopped onion in olive oil until translucent. Add some chopped garlic and half a diced bell pepper.

- Rinse and drain a can of black beans and add to the pan. Season generously with chili powder, cumin, salt & pepper. If I'm drinking a beer I'll add a splash of it at this point, or even some red wine to make it a little saucier. Also a blob of salsa.

- Add some frozen corn, cover and simmer on low heat for a few minutes.

- Serve over rice and top with chopped avocado & diced pineapple. Douse liberally with Cholula or your favorite hot sauce (but you should use Cholula!).

Also I serve this "bowl" on a plate because I don't have any bowls big enough to spread out the deliciousness!

Spicy Pineapple Chicken

I've been on a fresh pineapple kick lately. I never used to buy them - I think because I was intimidated about cutting them (it's not that hard!), and I thought they were expensive (not really...$3-4, and you get a lot of fruit). Mostly I've just been eating it as a snack, but I thought I'd make a chicken stir-fry with the remaining bits of last week's fruit. You could certainly used canned pineapple too. I don't really go for the super-sweet gloppy sauce, but this one has a nice balance of savory/hot/sweet. You could add cornstarch to the sauce if you want it thicker, but I didn't bother.

- Cut chicken breasts or boneless thighs into bite-size pieces and marinate in a little soy sauce (and any spice you like...I used some Penzey's Bangkok Blend) while you prepare the rest:

- Cut a sweet onion, red bell pepper and a small zucchini into medium-size pieces. Grate a bunch of fresh ginger and mince a couple garlic cloves.

- For the sauce, stir together a generous tablespoon each of hoisin sauce and orange marmalade (or honey/maple syrup/brown sugar), a bit of rice wine vinegar, toasted sesame oil & Sriracha. If using canned pineapple, you can add the juice. Stir in about 3/4 cup of chicken broth. 

- Stir-fry the chicken in a bit of oil until just cooked, and remove to a bowl.

- Add a little more oil and stir-fry the vegetables for a couple minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, and about a cup of pineapple chunks; cook for a couple more minutes.

- Add the chicken back in and pour in the sauce. Heat through, add more soy sauce and/or Sriracha if you like, and serve over jasmine rice.

I added some chives (green onion would be good) and garnished with black sesame seeds.

Spanish Chorizo, Chickpea & Potato Stew

I visited a Spanish market in Williamsburg this weekend and picked up some real chorizo (also got some good olive oil, smoked paprika and some Tempranillo wine). Decided to make this when I got home. I added some asparagus and zucchini - probably not very Spanish, but they needed to be used. You could certainly add whatever veggies you like - spinach or other leafy greens would be good. Serve with some good bread for dippin'!

- Halve and peel an onion, and cut into slices. In a large pot, saute onion in olive oil until soft.

- Slice some chorizo and add to the onions. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add some minced garlic.

- Add a good amount of smoked paprika and some cumin. Stir and cook for about a minute. Optional: add about half a cup of red wine and cook for another minute.

- Cube 3 medium potatoes and add to pot along with a can of diced tomatoes. Add one can of water which should just about cover everything; cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.

- Add 1 can of chickpeas (drained & rinsed) and any additional vegetables. Cover & simmer for about 10 minutes, until everything is cooked. Add a splash of lemon juice, some freshly ground pepper, and taste for salt.