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.

Maple-Mustard Salmon with Quinoa & Roasted Broccoli

I gotta remember this one, 'cause it was super easy and the ingredients are all frozen/pantry items. Good healthy dinner even when you don't have fresh fish/produce. I was a little skeptical about roasting broccoli from frozen, but The Internet Said It Was OK - and it was. I still prefer fresh broccoli for roasting but this was decent.

I picked up cheap frozen salmon at Aldi, which I always forget to go to and have to be reminded that they have awesome cheap things. Their quinoa was only $3/bag, too.

About the air-dried shallots - this was a freebie from Penzey's in my last order and I love them! You could leave them out, or probably used minced dried onion, or not. Just plain cooked quinoa is fine.

I totally did not measure the sauce ingredients - this is a guesstimate and I also had extra sauce.

I cooked the broccoli in the regular oven, and the salmon in my toaster/convection oven (easy to see when it's done) - but you could do both in the regular oven. Also, if you foil-line the pans, easy cleanup!

Serves two, with leftover quinoa.

For the broccoli:

- Preheat oven to 425. Line a sheet pan with foil.

- Dump out 1 package of frozen broccoli. Drizzle with a couple tablespoons olive oil and some salt, pepper & garlic powder.

- Roast for about 20 minutes, until browned (broil for a couple minutes at the end if it's not browned).

For the quinoa:

- Rinse 1 cup quinoa & add to a pot with 1 1/2 cups water.

- Bring to a boil, add some salt and a handful of air-dried shallots (optional).

- Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

For the salmon:

- Thaw two frozen salmon filets (you can probably cook from frozen too, just takes a little longer) & place on a foil-lined sheet pan greased with a little olive oil.

- Mix sauce in a small bowl: 1 Tbl dijon mustard, 1 Tbl maple syrup, a dab of mayonnaise (I'll probably try this without the mayo next time; not sure if it made a difference), a dash of salt & pepper, and some smoked paprika.

- Spoon a thin coating of sauce onto each filet.

- Bake at 425 til just done (my filets were thin and only took about 7 minutes).

Serve the salmon over the quinoa and drizzle with more sauce.