black bean soup with avocado lime cream

I've been sick. Nasty flu morphed into head cold, which left me with little energy or desire to cook (or, rather, my "cooking" lately has consisted of heating cans of soup). Though my cold drags on, earlier this week I decided to get over my cooking hiatus and get back in the kitch. On that particular day, we were in the middle of the first (maybe only?) fall storm in Northern California: winds up to 60mph in our area and a day and a half straight of rain (being from Seattle originally, I realize this is not actually a lot of rain, but I've quickly become used to the California sunshine, so even a brief amount of moisture from the sky seems unusual!). The storm made the house feel cold and made me want something hot to simmer on the stove. So, even though it's pretty much all I'd been eating for the past couple of weeks, I decided to make soup.

This recipe is from The New California Cook, a gift from my friend Dave. I have a number of the recipes in the book flagged to make, but this is the first one I've tried so far (I'm not sure what took me so long!). It turned out really tasty, so I'll definitely be consulting this cookbook more often for ideas in the near future.

I made a few slight moderations to the original recipe - (1) I substituted veggie stock for half of the water called for, (2) I omitted the ham hock, (3) the original topping recipe was lime cream; I added half an avocado to make it an avocado lime cream. The following reflects these modifications.

Black Bean Soup with Avocado Lime Cream

Serves 6 to 8

1 pound dried black beans, picked over and rinsed

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped

2 medium jalapeno chiles, seeded and finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 quart vegetable stock

1 quart water

2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Avocado Lime Cream:

1/2 ripe avocado

1/2 c. sour cream (I used a vegan version)

2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

1/4 tsp. salt

pinch of freshly ground white pepper

Soak beans overnight in enough cold water to cover generously (or, if you're like me and don't think this far ahead, you can do a quick soak: bring the beans to a boil in just enough water to cover, boil for 2 minutes, then cover, turn off heat, and let stand for 1 hour). Drain and set aside.

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onions and saute until softened (about 3 minutes). Add jalapeno, garlic, bell pepper, cumin, coriander, and oregano and saute for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add drained beans, stock, and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover partially, and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until beans are tender.

Use an immersion blender to puree the soup in the pot, leaving a bit of texture (if you don't have an immersion blender, you can puree half of the soup in a standing blender, then return to pot). Reheat gently. Add lime juice, cilantro, and salt and black pepper to taste. If the soup is too thick, you can thin it with water.

To make the avocado lime cream, mash the avocado then combine with other ingredients. Whisk or use immersion blender to create a smooth consistency.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with avocado lime cream, avocado slices, and a dallop of salsa, if desired. Let it warm you up on a cold day!

black bean vegetable chili

While in my cooking frenzy after having returned from vacation last weekend, I decided I needed to have a pot of something cooking on Sunday. After a scan through the pantry, I chose black beans. There were also some random vegetables leftover from the prior week's CSA delivery that were still good, but a little past their prime. What better way to mask that than in chili? Here's what I did:

Black Bean Vegetable Chili

Serves 4-6

16 oz. bag black beans

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 pattypan squash (or 2 normal squash), chopped

2 bell or 4 gypsy peppers, deseeded and chopped

1 Tbsp. cumin

3 Tbsp. chili powder (I used chili pasilla)

14.5 oz. canned diced tomatoes

1-1/2 c. corn kernels, cooked*

*I used 3 fresh ears of corn from the CSA box. To cook, husk then place in microwave safe dish with 2 Tbsp. water. Cover with lid and microwave 5 minutes. Wait until cooled, then slice kernels from cobb.

Soak beans overnight. Rinse well. Add beans and 6 cups water to a large pot, cover, and simmer 1-2 hours, until beans are tender. Cook onions and garlic in olive oil until translucent. Add squash and pepper. Cook until crisp tender. Add spices and mix well. Remove from heat.

Once beans are tender, add squash mixture, tomatoes, and corn. Continue to cook for 30 minutes uncovered, stirring occasionally, and adding more spices to taste.

Serve with warm cornbread topped with grated cheese and chopped tomatoes, if desired.

cole's first miso

I was reminded of how great miso is while dining out in Seattle last week. I decided that I needed to learn how to make it. In doing so, I learned that by a measure of tastiness to difficulty of preparation, miso scores very high. In other words, once you have the right ingredients on hand, it's super simple (and fast!) to make. Since most of the ingredients are dried, it's easy to keep everything you need to make it on hand.

My first miso was our main course a couple of nights ago for dinner. I made it for the second time for lunch today. Start to finish can literally be less than 10 minutes (including clean up!) depending on what you decide to include in your version. Here's what I did in mine:

Cole's First Miso

Serves 2

3 oz. soba noodles

1 tsp. dasha powder

3 Tbsp. miso paste (I used white miso)

3 oz. firm tofu, cut into small cubes

a handful of mushrooms, stems removed and sliced

2 Tbsp. dried wakame

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

Cook soba noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside. Saute mushrooms in olive oil and set aside.

Bring 4 cups of water to boil in a soup pot. Add dashi. Reduce heat to simmer. Ladle about a cup of the hot water out into a bowl. Whisk miso paste into water and return to pot. Taste broth and repeat with more miso if a stronger flavor is desired. Add wakame and mushrooms and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes, until wakame is fully reconstituted.

Divide the soba noodles and tofu into two large bowls. Ladle soup over noodles and tofu. Top with green onions and a drizzling of sesame oil. 

My lunchtime version today omitted the soba noodles and I added in a handful of spinach at the same time as the wakame. I think I could eat this every single day!

seaweed salad

I am obsessed with seaweed salad at the moment. I've been reading books about food and health (specifically, how they relate to one another). One locale in particular has been featured in several of the books I've read lately - Okinawa. Those eating the traditional Okinawan diet are some of the longest lived and healthiest people on the planet.

Reading about the Okinawan diet is what originally caused my seaweed salad craving (it was covered in brief in one of my readings). I pretty much haven't been able to stop thinking about it since! I had some last week with Dave at Umi Sake House. Then more a couple of days ago with Jill (bought at the grocery store; not the best I've had, but it worked). Tonight I've decided to give a go at making it myself.

I was very disappointed with Draegers' Japanese food selection (the aisle label of "ethnic foods" should have tipped me off, but I was still hopeful that I would find the ingredients I was seeking). No such luck. 5 minutes and a quick search on my iphone later, we were on our way to Suruki Japanese Supermarket (only 2 blocks from Draegers!). I was thrilled when I walked in at all there was to look at. JR, however, became frustrated that he couldn't read the labels and sought a clerk to help us track down the needed ingredients - wakame seaweed, dashi, and miso (the latter two for the miso soup that would accompany our seaweed salad).

For the salad, I located a recipe online and made a number of substitutions - tamari instead of soy sauce, agave in place of sugar, and I played with the quantities a bit to suit my taste. Here's what I did:

Seaweed Salad

Serves 2

4 Tbsp. dried wakame

3 Tbsp. tamari

3 Tbsp. rice vinegar

1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil

1 tsp. agave nectar

1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced

2 scallions, thinly sliced (including greens)

1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Soak wakame in warm water for about 8 minutes to reconstitute. Meanwhile, mix dressing ingredients (tamari through ginger) and set aside. Drain wakame and rinse with cold water. Combine wakame, dressing, scallions, and sesame seeds in a medium bowl, mixing to combine. Allow to sit in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving.

This salad looked a little different from the seaweed salad I've been consuming lately (this seaweed was more "seaweedy" vs. thin strips more like vermicelli noodles that I've been having at restaurants - perhaps a different kind of seaweed?). But the taste was fantastic.

I'm definitely a novice when it comes to Japanese cooking, but want to continue to explore it. Let me know if you have any tips or favorite recipes!

veggie veggie enchiladas

I made these enchiladas last week. Seeing the picture makes me wish that I had a serving right now! (It must be time to make dinner...) They are so tasty, you won't even notice that they are vegan. That's right - an enchilada without cheese. Or sour cream. I honestly didn't miss the dairy one bit. Here's what I did:

Veggie Veggie Enchiladas

Serves 4

olive oil

1 red onion

1 red bell pepper

1 medium yellow squash

1 medium zucchini

1 Tbsp. lime juice

2 tsp. cumin

15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

20 oz. of your favorite homemade or prepared enchilada sauce

10-12 small corn tortillas

1/4 c. cilantro, chopped

1/2 avocado, sliced

Dice onion, squash, zucchini, and pepper into smallish pieces. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook and stir until translucent. Add the pepper and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Add the squash and zucchini. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies are tender. Add beans, lime juice, and cumin. Stir until well mixed. Turn off heat.

Spread a couple of spoonfuls of sauce in the bottom of a glass baking pan. One at a time, fill each corn tortilla with the veggie/bean mixture, wrap into an enchilada, and place into pan. When pan is full, cover with sauce. 

Cover with foil and bake in 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 10 minutes longer for crispy edges. Top individual portions with chopped cilantro and avocado slices.

gluten-free vegan date newtons

No wheat and no dairy? Then what's in these? you might ask. Magic. Delight. The best newton I've ever had. I'm not kidding - though I was very skeptical my science experiment in the kitchen would turn out well, it totally did.

The thought process went into motion when I realized that I had a lot of dates in the fridge (some leftover from the grocery, which needed to be consumed so I could justify buying the fresh, beautiful ones from the date guy at the local farmers' market). Then a couple of days later, I was walking down the cookie aisle at the grocery (probably a bad idea, I admit, given that I'm in the middle of a cleanse and allowed no refined sugar). I saw Newman's Organic Newtons and had a brief moment of excitement when I thought I might be able to eat them. But alas, the crust was made with flour. That wouldn't do.

I think probably a few more days passed. I still had newtons on the brain. And dates in the fridge. Suddenly, I realized that I could make my own date newtons, which would allow me to sweeten with whatever I wanted and omit the wheat and dairy. Perfect!

To come up with this recipe, I looked up several fig newton recipes online and then started thinking about substitutions... molasses and agave in place of the sugar... oat flour* instead of wheat... dates instead of some of the figs (though I had dried figs on hand, so I threw some of them in, too).

*Besides the actual cookies, oat flour was my favorite new discovery in this recipe. As you would probably expect, it's made from ground oats and tastes like it in a really good way. It's gluten free. I thought the flavor combination of the oat flour and the molasses was amazing and is one I'll definitely try again. Also the texture of the resulting cookie turned out just as you would expect with wheat flour.

Gluten-Free Vegan Date Newtons

Makes about 30 newtons

filling:

1 c. dates, pitted

1 c. dried figs

2 Tbsp. almonds

1/4 c. lemon juice

1/4 c. pomegranate juice

crust:

2 1/2 c. oat flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/2 c. agave nectar

1/4 c. molasses

1/4 c. coconut oil, melted

1 Tbsp. vanilla

2 Tbsp. rolled oats

To make filling: Process dates, figs, and almonds in a food processor until they begin to form a paste. Add lemon juice and pomegranate juice and continue to process until you have a smooth paste.

To make the outside of the newton: Combine dry (except rolled oats) and wet ingredients in separate bowls. Mix wet into dry. Press half of crust mixture into bottom of an oiled 8-inch square pan. Spread the date mixture evenly over the crust. Smooth remaining crust over the filling. Sprinkle rolled oats over the top.

Bake 25-30 minutes in a 375 degree oven, until lightly browned.

Once cool, cut into squares. Enjoy!

walnut spinach basil pesto

What happens when you don't have all of the "normal" ingredients for something on hand? Magic.

Walnut Spinach Basil Pesto

Makes about 3/4 cups

1/3 cup walnuts

2 garlic cloves

1 cup spinach

1 cup fresh basil

1/3-1/2 cup olive oil

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

Toast walnuts in a 350 degree oven until golden, about 8 minutes. Process walnuts, garlic, spinach, and basil in a food processor until well mixed, scraping down the side of the bowl as necessary. Continue to process while pouring the olive oil slowly through the top of the processor, until desired consistency is reached. Enjoy over your favorite pasta or as a fresh veggie dip!