What Did You Eat?

PPN: Angel Hair Pasta With Sweet Red Pepper Pesto

It's been several weeks since I participated in Presto Pasta Night.  My cooking hasn't been interesting lately, to tell the truth.  But, when I saw this recipe, it seemed promising.  It's very quick and the dish can be served at room temperature.  And angel hair pasta cooks so quickly, it doesn't heat up the kitchen.  I wish I could have used red bell peppers from my garden, but they're the size of cherry tomatoes right now.   Instead of roasting some peppers from the store, I used very good bottled roasted peppers that I like to keep on hand for quick meals.

This pesto recipe is full of flavor and would be good on sandwiches and in soup.  It doesn't have a large amount of oil or cheese in it, so the calories aren't nearly as high as some pestos I've made in the past

Southern Baked Beans

This is a family recipe.  I grew up eating these beans, several times a month, so much so they're almost part of my DNA.  My mother always used canned pork and beans, which makes the dish very soft, and to me, comforting.  But, I also like it made with dried white beans, which is what I used here.  My mother never measured the ingredients, just added the "correct" amount by eyeballing it, adjusting the taste until it was just right.  And that's exactly what I do.  The taste of the beans is sweet, spicy, and garlicky, with a slight smokey taste.  We always ate them with hot dogs.  In the winter, the dogs were cooked submerged in the beans, which is my favorite way of preparing them.  But, in the summer they were grilled.  I love eating these beans, because they always remind me of my mother. And, of course, they get better over a period of days, sitting in the fridge.

Bread Baking Babes: Dark Onion Rye

I thought I would have to pass on this month's recipe, which was created by our very own Breadchick, who is the host for this month's challenge.  But, decided that it wouldn't be too hard, because I already had starter in the fridge, and my Mixmaster would do all the hard work.  Plus, several of the Babes had baked test runs, and I could take advantage of their tips.  And, how could I skip making rye bread?  At one time, I made it several times a month, so it was too tempting to pass this up.  Mary's recipe contains a small amount of onions in the starter, which I've never used before when I made rye bread.  I would have used fresh onions, but decided it would be easier to use some Penzeys dried onions lurking in my pantry.  I liked this bread very much, it makes great sandwiches.  Next time, I'll use fresh onions, as my dried onions were a bit old, so the flavor was muted.

The title of the bread is Dark Onion RYe.  However, the molasses I used wasn't the darkest variety, and the color of the bread was a tad light--but the great taste trumped that problem.

WHB: The Return Of The Chickpea Patty

Yes, it's obvious that I have a fixation on certain types of food.  I can't resist most meatballs, or get enough chickpea patties.  The last one was not so long ago, and it was rather simple, but delicious. The chickpeas were ground fine, and combined with tomato sauce and a little cream, to make a patty crisp on the outside, but creamy on the inside. This time, I wanted to make them more rustic, rough textured and filled with vegetables.  And I would season them with the dynamic duo--cilantro and cumin.  I also made a "jam" made of chopped tomatoes, lemon juice, dried cherries, and honey.  It turned out just the way I wanted, delicious and filling.

Nigella's Liptauer Cheese

As I was eating slices of the Poilane-Style Miche, it occurred to me that liptauer cheese might taste pretty good slathered on it.  Liptauer is a rich, creamy concoction, spiked with chopped cornichons, caraway seeds, and paprika.  It really comes to life eaten along with a good bottle of cold beer.   I've wanted to try Nigella Lawson's version for some time, so I whipped up a batch from Nigella Cooks.  It was very tasty, although I might add just a smidge more sweet pickles to the mix the next time I make it.

Bread Baking Babes: Poilane-Style Miche

Several months ago I finally bought the Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart.  To my delight, every recipe begs to be made, but none more than the enormous loaf that graces the cover of the book, a Poilane-Style Miche.  When my turn came to host a bread for the Bread Baking Babes, I immediately chose it. Then, as I read the recipe, I wondered what I had gotten myself into?  The recipe is huge and detailed. As well, it requires making your own wild starter.  No convenient packages of yeast from the grocery store need apply. This is the way people made bread through out history, by capturing wild yeast, indigenous to their own area, into their own unique self-made starter.  Nursed along, fed, and cherished, many of those starters became family heirlooms and were passed down through generations of bakers who created bread for their families. So, here's your chance to gift your son or daughter with the family sourdough starter at their high school graduation, rather than some mundane choice like a new car.

I was faced with creating my own wild yeast starter.  I would need to make something called a seed culture to go into something else called a barm.  And there was that recipe to wade through!  I was a bit overwhelmed.  I'd never made my own wild yeast starter.  To my relief, it was all quite simple and easy to make. It's broken down into steps, that are done over time.  You make the seed culture, which takes minimal effort over 4 days. Then the seed culture goes into the barm, which again requires little effort. (OK, there's also a thing called a firm starter, but I don't want to scare people off.) Finally, you use the barm to make the bread, which is a standard, flour, water, knead, proof, and bake kind of affair.  The result is a magnificent loaf of whole wheat bread, with a thick, chewy crust and mild sourdough tang.  The bread was not only delicious, it was very filling. While I can inhale a whole loaf of ciabatta, this bread is so substantial, it satisfied me readily.  And it was easy to make, (but I think I said that already). 

WHB: Chickpea Pancakes

I didn't know what I wanted for dinner tonight. I just knew that I was hungry, but didn't want to eat anything with meat, or flesh of any kind.  So, completely perplexed about what to fix, I turned to my old friend, the chickpea.  As long as I have cans of them in my pantry, I know some sort of quick, satisfying meal is possible.  Then it dawned on me that chickpea pancakes would probably taste pretty good, and allow me to use up some odds and ends in my fridge.  I pureed the chickpeas with a dab of leftover tomato-chipotle sauce, garlic, and cumin, shaped them into rough patties and cooked them in a little oil.  And they were very good.  But, I'm biased in favor of bean patties, so others might not like these as much as I did. 

WHB: Mushroom Balls (Look Ma, No Meat!)

It's no secret that I love meatballs.  Barely a month goes by without a new recipe.  But, I'm aware that many of my blogging friends are vegetarians and can't experience the joy of popping a savory orb into their mouths.   Monday, I saw a large bag of mushrooms in my fridge that needed rescue before they became slime.  Then it hit me, mushroom balls.   So, I made duxelles (thank God for food processors) with the mushrooms, added feta cheese, parsley, onion, and an egg.  I intended to add bread crumbs, but discovered there was nary a crumb to be found in my pantry or freezer.  How did that happen?  Nevermind, they weren't necessary, as it turned out. The meatless balls were delicious, if I do say so myself. And I do.  They looked meaty, but tasted like concentrated mushrooms.  The only drawback is that without bread crumbs, the mushrooms mixture didn't go very far. I only wound up with six medium sized balls. So, I think a person would need a lot of funghi to make enough for a crowd.  Adding bread does seem like a good idea next time.

These lovely balls ( I keep thinking of Alec Baldwin in the classic Shweaty Balls skit on Saturday Night Live) are meant for all vegetarians, but especially Shannon and Anne .  But, you don't have to be a vegetarian to love these things.
 

PPN: Straw And Hay Pasta

Well.  Never count your chickens before they hatch.  Picture me at the knee surgeon's office today, learning that I don't qualify for a knee replacement. And picture the look on my face when he discounted the pain I feel in my knee everyday, telling me to learn to live with it.  Instead, he's sending me off to physical therapy.  I may try acupuncture on my own too. 

The Straw and Hay Pasta I made didn't help the pain in my knee in any way. But, it was quick to fix and soothing. It must have been all those carbs.  Straw and Hay recipes usually call for shredded prosciutto, but I used thinly sliced mushrooms instead.  They weren't as rich as prosciutto, but they gave the pasta a slightly meaty taste.  I love the look of the green and white pasta mixed together.  They almost made me feel cheerful.

Best Hummus?

I'm not sure this is the best hummus I've ever eaten, but it was very good.  I've eaten a lot of hummus over the years and found a lot of variation in the quality of the stuff sold in grocery stores.  It's easy to make your own, plus less expensive, and the quality is usually better.  This recipe comes from Cook's Illustrated, and aimed to reproduce a creamy, restaurant-style hummus, without any grainy texture.  I followed the instructions and produced yummy hummus in about five minutes.  The recipe said to wait 30 minutes, to let the flavors meld.  I stared at the bowl, tried hard to obey, but ate half of it immediately. 

Besides being creamy, the flavors were nicely balanced, with no one element overwhelming the others.  The lemon juice, garlic, and cumin were just right, in my opinion.