Announcing Cook.Eat.Delicious-Desserts for February 2012

Life without Desserts is no life at all! Desserts create smiles, laughter, and sweet aromas that fill the house with deliciousness. This month I am hosting the Monthly Food Blog Event & Giveaway, “Cook.Eat.Delicious-Desserts!”

This month’s theme is Herbs & Spices. You probably have more recipes in your repertoire  for desserts with spices and herbs in them than you realize. Pumpkin pie is a perfect example, with its cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger. So is a chocolate cookie recipe with a bit of cinnamon. Mint, rosemary, lavender and basil can be found in desserts sometimes. Get creative and add an herb or spice to your favorite sweet for a new taste sensation!

The event runs from February 1st – 29th.

A random recipe will be chosen to win the Giveaway. Round-up & Winner announcement will be posted on March 5th. Raven from CookEatDelicious.com is the founder of this event.

Here are the RULES:

1. Cook up any dessert your heart desires, as long as Herbs & Spices are the star!

2. Link back to this announcement and to Raven’s Blog: CookEatDelicious.com in your blog post  (Use of logo is optional but appreciated)

3. New entries are preferred. If you want to use an archived recipe, please repost this month.

4. Multiple entries accepted with only one going towards the Giveaway.

5. Non-bloggers are welcome to send in their entry. Please attach a photo & full recipe.

6. Post a comment in this post after emailing me!

Please email your submission by February 29th , 2012 to cdmcculloch7 (at) gmail (dot) com with “CEDD 7″ in the subject line and the following information:

Your Name:

Your Location:

Blog Name:

Recipe Name:

Recipe URL:

1 Dessert Photo

Now the GIVEAWAY:

 

The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs

By Karen Page & Andrew Dornenburg

The only book you need for cooking food with flavor!

Masala Fried Rice-Tofu Scramble

This recipe was a complete impulse. 

Despite the fact that I've been cooking tofu for years, I've only recently discovered tofu scrambles. I've been wanting to try different versions of tofu scramble and when I ended up with a lot of leftover basmati rice after dinner a couple of nights ago, I had the idea to combine a scramble with fried rice.

My tofu had been frozen previously. Frozen, thawed tofu allows you to squeeze almost all of the water out resulting in 'fu that's dry and chewy. While perfect for dishes with gravy, as the spongy tofu soaks up flavors better, it doesn't make the best scramble usually. But blended in with the rice, the texture was perfect.

Since I had spiced the rice with Indian spices (saffron, cardamom, bayleaf, fennel, and cumin) I spiced the tofu accordingly and added cashew nuts and green onions. This made the most perfect brunch. The spices were warming and eye-opening, but the dish was rich and mellow, not hot. I was so hungry by the time I was through photographing the dish, I almost ate the whole bowl. 

This is another recipe for My Legume Love Affair, which I am hosting this month. 

Masala Fried Rice-Tofu Scramble

Use fresh tofu or some that's been previously frozen, thawed and squeezed dry. If using fresh, omit the tablespoon of water.

2 teaspoons canola oil

1 clove garlic, minced

8 ounces firm tofu or medium-firm tofu

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon mild chili powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder (optional)

1 tablespoon water (optional, see note above)

1-1/2 to 2 cups cooked basmati rice, plain or spiced

1 tablespoon soy sauce or two taste

1 green onion, green part, sliced

2 tablespoons chopped cashews

1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (optional)

Heat canola oil in a large skillet. Add garlic and sauté for a minute. Add tofu and use the edge of a spatula to crumble into pea-sized pieces. Sprinkle nutritional yeast, garam masala, cumin, chili powder and onion powder over the tofu. Sprinkle the water over the tofu, if using. Flip over the tofu with the spatula repeatedly until the spices are mixed in. Add the rice and continue flipping the scramble until the rice is mixed into the tofu and heated through.   Stir in the soy sauce, green onion and cashews. Sprinkle the sesame oil over the top.

Serves 2-3.

Lentil-Wild Rice Pilaf

 

I feel a little bit guilty for posting this. You see, it's been on the blog twice before in other guises. It's a riff on this veggie loaf, and I also used the veggie loaf recipe as a guide for these lentil mushroom sliders. But it's such a good recipe, it deserves to be recycled. And it fits perfectly with the recent theme I've been working on.  So I only feel a tiny bit guilty.

French green lentils hold their shape and firmness after cooking, resulting in a fluffy pilaf in which every element is separate from its neighbors. The flavor is rounded out with warming sage, thyme, onions and celery. It's quite filling, so it's a good dish with a light vegetable soup or a salad.

This is my entry for My Legume Love Affair this month, the popular blog event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook. I am hosting this month, so please take a look at the event announcement and keep your entries coming my way!

 

Lentil-Wild Rice Pilaf

Instead of individual spices, I used poultry seasoning, a commercial blend of sage, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, black pepper and nutmeg available at most supermarkets here. I made my own following these two recipes. You can also substitute a 1:1 blend of sage and thyme.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 yellow onion, finely diced, about 1 cup

2 stalks celery, finely diced, about 2/3 cup

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup long grain brown rice

3 cups vegetable broth, divided

1-1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning, divided

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided

2/3 cup French green lentils

1/3 cup wild rice

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

2 green onions, sliced, tops only

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Sauté onion and celery until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté another minute or two. Stir in brown rice. Add 2 cups vegetable broth, 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring the rice to a boil, reduce to a low simmer and cover. Simmer for 40-50 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed. (If some liquid remains after 50 minutes, cook uncovered on low until it's gone, for up to 5 minutes. Don't stir the rice or it will get sticky.)

In another saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, stir together the lentils, wild rice, remaining 1 cup vegetable broth, 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Just as you started the brown rice above, bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to a low simmer and cover. Simmer for 30-40 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed.

Fluff up rice and lentil mixture with a fork. Carefully mix together. Top with walnuts and sliced green onions.

Serves 6.

Butternut Quinoa Casserole

So, I am working on a series of recipes for Thanksgiving…

Yeah, I know. And I'm not even going to pretend to be posting Thanksgiving recipes ten months early; I admit that I'm months late. I didn't actually get the idea for the series until the week before the holiday, and while at first I thought of postponing the series until next year, I decided to go ahead and work on the recipes now. For one thing, I'm motivated now. Also, the weather stays hot here right up until about the week before Thanksgiving and I still want to make food that most of you would consider summery then - dishes with vegetables like eggplant and fresh tomatoes and lots of spice. The desire for fall comfort food comes late for me, so I'm afraid I might never test my ideas out next fall in time for Thanksgiving.

This series is to solve a couple of conflicts I have with vegetarian main dishes on the holiday table. Conflict one  happens when visiting extended family. No matter how much we protest that we're fine with all the side dishes, the hostesses in my family always try to graciously provide a vegetarian main dish for the three of us. However, I don't want them to have the extra work, and usually no one else will eat what they made for us because it's "special." In addition to extra work for the hostess, this means we feel obligated to eat more than we really want to. I don't want to bring my own vegetarian main dish either if no one else will eat it.

The solution is to make something that can be a main dish for us vegetarians, but can be served as a side dish to everyone else. Also it needs to be something that can be prepared in advance and will travel well. A casserole fills the bill, and not just any casserole, but one that's filling and has a protein component and some healthy fat.

A dish like this is also a great solution for conflict two, which happens when we eat our holiday meal at home, just me and my guys. You see, they just want two things: pie, and before that, mashed potatoes. Lots and lots of mashed potatoes. Acres of them. If I make lots of other dishes to round out the meal, they go uneaten, no matter how welcome they'd be at other times. So I usually just go to the Asian market and get some veggie chicken to slice and heat up. This makes me unhappy, because I want foodie food - something with lots of vegetables and great warm flavors and spices. Once again, a casserole comes to the rescue. 

Over the next few weeks expect to see lots of casseroles like this one. Next year, I'll do a round up of them, along with a new one or two. I imagine that I can't be the only one who could use a few dishes like these to solve holiday meal problems.  In the meantime, these make for great weekend suppers along with soup or a salad. (This one, for example, was accompanied by Leek and Potato Soup.)

This is a deconstructed stuffed acorn squash recipe and at the end, I've included instructions to make it in its original form. I wish I could take credit for this one, as I think it's absolutely brilliant, but alas, it's not original to me. I found this in the early 00's in the Village Voice. The recipe was from Moby, which he offered to show that you don't need to eat turkey at Thanksgiving.

This version calls for roasted butternut squash. Usually, recipes with roasted butternut squash call for peeling and cubing it raw, but that can be time consuming. However, it's possible to roast it with the peel on and remove the peel after it's cooked, which is much easier. The trick is to cut the squash into pieces of the same thickness so that they all cook at the same rate.

First, preheat the oven to 400 F and oil a baking pan. Cut across the middle of the butternut squash where the neck meets the rounder bottom section. Then cut the bottom section in half to expose the cavity with the seeds. Scoop out the seeds and surrounding stringy portion. Now cut the stem off the neck and cut the neck lengthwise into two pieces. Cut each of these pieces lengthwise into 2 or 3 wedges.  Your squash will look something like the one below. 

Brush the cut or scooped sides of the squash with olive oil. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until you can insert a fork easily through the squash. Let cool enough to handle and then trim the peel off with a paring knife. Cube.

Butternut Quinoa Casserole

1 butternut squash, about 2-1/2 pounds

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium red onion, minced, about 1 cup

1 fennel bulb, trimmed and finely diced, about 1 cup

1 stick celery, minced, about 1/3 cup

1 large Granny Smith apple, cored, peeled and chopped

1/4 cup golden raisins

1-1/2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 cup vegetable broth

1/4 cup uncooked quinoa

2 teaspoons cumin

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup chopped pecans

Roast squash according to the directions above. Turn oven temperature down to 375 F. Oil a casserole.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Sauté onion, fennel, and celery until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in apple, raisins and maple syrup. Add the vegetable broth, quinoa, cumin, cinnamon and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Stir in the butternut squash cubes and transfer the mixture to the casserole. Top with the pecans and bake, uncovered for 15 minutes.

Serves 6 as a main dish or 12 as a side.

Stuffed acorn squash version (original version):  Replace the butternut squash with three acorn squashes. Cut them open lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and stringy bits. Brush with olive oil and roast in a 400 F oven for 30-35 minutes until fork-tender. Turn the heat down to 375 F.

Before adding oil to the skillet and sautéing the vegetables, toast the pecans for about 3 minutes until fragrant and set aside.

Cook the onion, fennel, celery, apple, raisins, maple syrup, vegetable broth, quinoa, cumin, cinnamon and salt as above. Stir in the pecans and mound the filling into the acorn squash halves. Bake for 15 minutes for 6 servings.

Top 10 from 2011

I thought I'd get in on the fun and post my top 10 favorites from this blog over the last year. I chose them not because I managed to get a pretty picture, or because they were easy. Rather they were chosen on originality and primarily, deliciousness. These are all dishes my family loved and that I am very likely to make again. I hope you enjoy revisiting them too. 

10. Green and White Bean Dip

 

9. Lemon Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

8. Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

7. Soy Sesame Roasted Broccoli

6. Tofu Po'boys

5. Curried Roasted Potato Salad

4. Vegan Spanakopita

3. Lentil Mushroom Sliders

2. King Ranch Casserole

1. Triple Chocolate Carrot Brownies

 

Creamy Baked Spinach and Mushroom Rotini

Cold weather makes me crave baked casseroles like this one.  Spinach, mushrooms and fusilli are enhanced with an herb and vegetable flavored white sauce and topped with crisp bread crumbs.

This makes enough for eight servings, so if you like you can divide this between two pans and freeze one for later. 

I'm sending this to Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by the event's creator, Haalo of Cook Almost Anything.

Creamy Baked Spinach and Mushroom Rotini

6 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine, divided

1-1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced (I used 1 pound cremini, 1/4 pound shiitake, and 1/4 pound oyster)

1 tablespoon dry vermouth or white wine (optional)

1 cup finely diced onion

1/2 cup minced celery, about 1 stalk

1/2 cup minced carrot, about 1 carrot

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

2-1/2 cups non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1-1/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon basil

8 ounces fusilli or other small pasta shape

1 pound frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

2/3 cup bread crumbs, preferably panko crumbs

Melt 2 tablespoons margarine in a large skillet or a pot. Sauté mushrooms over medium heat until tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in vermouth or wine, if using, and cook until the liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.

Add another tablespoon of margarine and saute the onion, celery and carrot until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute. Turn heat down to low and add the remaining 3 tablespoons margarine. When the margarine has melted, stir in the flour with a wire whisk.  Cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly to remove lumps. Turn the heat back up to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in nutritional yeast, salt, and oregano and remove the sauce from the heat.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Oil a 9 x 13-inch pan or two 8 x 8-inch ones. Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain and add to the mushrooms. Stir in the sauce and spinach. Spread the pasta in the pan(s) and top with bread crumbs. Bake for 20-25 minutes until hot in the center.

Serves 8.