brown pasta

pasta is my ultimate comfort, happy mood food. i love the texture, versatility, and ease with which dry noodles, water, and a few ingredients can produce delicious, mouth watering delights. while it's true that i could subsist for days and months on end on nothing but pasta + marinara, i also like to play with tasty combos. this pasta may have a boring name - one that my brother made ample fun of - but its simplicity belies the complexity of flavors that burst in every mouthful. plus, i like the mystery that 'brown pasta' implies...

so, the other day, inspired by an appetizer i shared with a friend at pipa, i picked up some figs at the grocery store to marry with the portobello mushrooms and red onions i already had at home. figs and mushrooms - why had i never thought of that before?!

so, to start things off, i boiled some water for my brown rice penne - from trader joe's. if you've never tried brown rice pasta, whether or not you have gluten issues, i highly recommend the trader joe's brand. it keeps its shape for a perfect al dente consistency and absorbs the flavors of the sauce with enthusiasm!

next i let a couple of tablespoons of olive oil heat up in my large saute pan while i sliced up half a medium sized red onion into thin, half moon slices. once the oil was hot, i threw in the onions and let them cook over medium heat.

water boiling, so in goes the pasta - about 1/2 of the bag (approx 8 oz). since i use the pasta water to finish off the sauce, it was important that the pasta cook alongside the sauce so the water would be ready in time.

to the onions i added two medium sized portobello mushroom caps, thinly sliced, and then cut into thirds - so that every piece was approximately 1" long and 1/2" wide. i sauteed them together with the onions for another few minutes until the mushrooms began to develop that gorgeous goldeny carmelization - so good! while they goldened themselves up, i quarted about a dozen fresh figs (approx 1.5" in diameter) - and yes, i stole a couple of pieces to 'test' them. yum!

i tossed the fig pieces into the saute pan and let them brown for just a minute or two, and then to the pan i added some balsamic vinegar - roughly one turn of the pan, so i'm guessing maybe an 1/8 cup? at the same time the pasta was boiling and some of the starches had risen to the top, so i skimmed water off the top and added it to my sautee pan - around a ladle full.

i wanted the fig & portobello mixture to reduce down and thicken up, so i turned the burner down to simmer while i drained the pasta. i reserved the liquid in case i needed more to finish off the dish (i did).

to the simmering 'brown' sauce i added about 3 or 4 leaves of finely chopped basil (clipped from the basil plant i've been growing this summer!), a few turns of my pepper mill, and a small pinch of salt. less than i normally add to pasta b/c of the strong flavors in the balsamic vinegar and the salted pasta water. when the sauce was a nice consistency - not to thick, not watery - i added in the pasta directly to the pan and let the sauce coat and penetrate the pasta for a few minutes while i continued to turn the pasta with tongs. i added another ladle of the pasta water to pan for more moisture.

i served it warm and could imagine that goat cheese crumbled on top would have been fantastic. next time...

ingredients:
olive oil
1/2 medium red onion
2 medium portobello caps
~dozen fresh figs
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 pound brown rice pasta (i like trader joe's brand, but i'm sure it'll work with non-gluten free pasta, too)
fresh basil
pinch of salt
pepper

start to finish, about 15 minutes. made 2 healthy servings, or 3-4 small servings, with a nice bit left over for the next day :)

happy eating!

channa masala with a twist

one of my goto dishes, when i'm feeling peckish for something with an indian flair, is rajmah - what my dad calls his kidney bean, chick pea curry prepared with tomatoes, spices, and results in a gorgeous gravy that you can sop up with naan or toast. given the ease of the dish, and the likelihood that i'll have all ingredients handy, it's no wonder that i like to make it.

last night, however, i wasn't feeling very kidney bean-ish, but i was craving the same flavor and had on hand the staples for what was to become channa masala, with a twist. (channa referring to chick peas):
- chick peas (aka garbanzo beans)
- garam masala
- 1/2 can fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 small red onion

my twist involved the inclusion of something sweet - a nectarine. that's right, a nectarine :) - and a little basil, instead of cilantro that usually accompanies this dish.

i started by heating some olive oil in a pan and threw in some red pepper flakes and garam masala to heat and infuse the oil as the pan heated up. next, i threw in the diced red onion. as the onions approached their translucent state, i added 1 diced nectarine. then, i opened and rinsed two cans of chick peas while the onion cooked. i added the chick peas and a sprinkling of salt and let the flavors mix for a few minutes before adding the fire roasted tomatoes and a cup of water.

traditionally, indian recipes use fresh tomatoes, but because i had some diced, fire roasted ones in my fridge, i decided to give it a try.

the chick peas will absorb this first round of water in about 7-10 minutes. you could probably eat it at this stage, but i like a thicker gravy, and b/c i had the time, i decided to allow the flavor to penetrate the little round legumes. so i address about another 1 1/2 cups of water, put the flame on low, and walked away for about 20 minutes. when the water had been almost all absorbed, i added several large basil leaves that i had rinsed and dried. i didn't bother chopping them b/c the heat would wither the leaves. and this way, if someone doesn't want to eat the basil, the leaves are easily taken out.

i ate the channa masala with quinoa that i prepared by cooking it with about a tablespoon of the famous knorr vegetable dip mix and a bit of salt. after it was finished cooking, i mixed in a handful of sliced mushrooms - that were broiled for 10 minutes - that i had leftover from the night before (when i made an awesome brown rice pasta provence - recipe to be added soon, b/c it was sooo good!).

the nectarines added just the slightest hint of sweet in the background, and according to my very picky audience, the chick peas were the right firmness - not mushy, but also well cooked through.

my dad may be the king of rajmah, but i think i can win a channa masala throwdown any day!

salad season!!

after a long hiatus (winter, dreary rain, deadlines, etc.), i feel the urge to food blog again. and this time, it's all about the salad!

i love the look of leaves - on the trees, and also neatly washed and packaged on my grocer's shelf. yes, i admit it, i buy greens in a bag. occasionally i'll buy romaine hearts, but that's as au naturel as i go these days. i love to cook, but my time in the kitchen is limited by persistent deadlines (coupled by my unbelievably sloooow writing process, something that is vital to my day job), ergo i take all the help i can get.

so, now, back to leaves, leaves, leaves! spinach, arugula, red lettuce, romaine, butter lettuce, the boston bibb - i love most all leafy greens, with the exception of frisee, which i find to be unnecessary and a waste of salad space.

i came home yesterday and had in my fridge the following:
- arugula mix in a bag (which comes with some mesclun-y additions)
- newman's own lite balsamic dressing (a big ol' bottle that has lasted me lovely long time)
- brown rice tortillas (gluten free, b/c i'm trying yet another digestive experiment)
- 1/2 a red onion

in the pantry:
- roasted pepitas

after an intense 35 minutes on an elliptical-looking machine, i stopped by a couple of grocery stores and picked up the following:
- rice shreds (cheddar flavored)
- a green apple
- ricotta salada (the real kind, b/c it's sheep's milk and does not wreak havoc on my insides!)

i was inspired by the green apple, and by the fact that the tartness of the green apple is simultaneously enhanced and harnessed by the warmth of the flavor of cheddar. i was also inspired conceptually by this hungrygirl recipe: Quesadilla Yee-Haa! i'll call mine: green apple quesadilla 'n greens

first, i made a quesadilla by lightly grilling one of the brown rice tortillas on a skillet on both sides. then i added some of the rice shreds on the bottom, and as the cheese began to warm and melt, i sliced up a quarter of the green apple as thin as i could. i placed the apple slices on top of the cheese, added a bit more cheese on top and then closed up the quesadilla and let it cook through while i prepared the salad.

i thinly sliced up half of the red onion, again into half moons. in a large mixing bowl, i added half of my bag o' greens, the rest of the green apple (roughly chopped), a small handful of pepitas, the onion slices, the ricotta salada (diced), and a capful of dressing. i tossed everything together and plated it in the middle of my dinner plate. i cut the quesadilla into four pieces and arranged them in the center with the tips pointing up.

simply satisfying and DEEElicious!

prelude to a recipe - nytimes vegetarian frustrations

i read the following post today in the "diner's journal" - called to my attention by my recently internet-omniscient brother: vegetarian frustrations, vegetarian solutions

to the observations made by the author, i offer the following thought... why is vegetarian/vegan food considered an afterthought or a substitution? true, i have never known a life where meat, seafood and poultry were central, nor do i question their centrality in the culinary lives of others. my frustration stems from being viewed and misperceived as a nuisance to the true gustatory possibilities to be found at most eating establishments - you mean you just want plain pasta? i've even given up on the fantasy of being able to pick anything on a given menu because allergies keep it from ever becoming a reality. and certainly no eatery can appeal to everyone. but might not there be more than a hidden few that offer a range of choices without the shaming of the veggie/vegans?

the ny times post is really a call to arms for some of the many wonderful vegan/veggie bloggers, whose recipes and descriptions read like culinary poetry, to open up eating establishments - whatever the format. one of my consistent favorites for several years now is a food truck - two food trucks in two campus locations, to be exact - on the upenn campus: magic carpet. the food is just good. and fast. and healthy. and it's not 'vegetarian food' - although the menu is completely vegetarian - but rather good food that all can enjoy. and really, what could be better than eating from a truck, especially when you know what you're putting in your mouth isn't going to wreak havoc in your stomach just a few hours later...!

hello udon!

last month i made a glorious discovery: whole wheat udon noodles at zabar's! the precooked kind in vacuum sealed packets that can be found in the refrigerated section. i scooped up 4 packets and went to town on them over the next week.

my first culinary experiment continued the soup tradition that i'd been exploring during the fall - vegetable and udon noodle soup. this is something that i love to order as take-out or while dining at chinese restaurants, but when the last bit of broth has been slurped, i'm left feeling like there was more potential to the soup than was realized in the dish that i just consumed. just like salads are always better when you can tailor them to your liking, so, too, with soups does tailoring matter. and, as i've mentioned before, i like hearty soups that give me the benefit of protein and veggies without weighing me down (like the baked potato soup i used to order in my youth at houlihan's - before i knew that it was made with chicken stock, and once even after i knew b/c it was really so yum!)

ok, so on to the soup. i had in my freezer a veggie mix that included baby corn, water chestnuts, mushrooms, seaweed, and edamame; on my hanging basket thingy a couple of small red onions; in my fridge a half a red pepper, some broccoli florets, and the noodles; and in my pantry, a box of vegetable broth (i usually buy the low sodium kind so that i can flavor soups like i want to and not have to worry about over salting them, but still get broth goodness).

i like to start with a nice base, so in a medium saucepan, where i build the soup, i put about a teaspoon of olive oil and some (a non-wussy pinch-full) red pepper flakes and let both heat up while i thinly sliced up the red onions. texture is key here b/c i wanted the onion to have a presence but not overpower the soup.

once the onions wilted and gained that coveted translucence, i added in some thinly sliced red pepper strips - i kept them all around the 1" long and about an 1/8" thick. while they softened and sweated, i rinsed the broccoli florets and put them in a small dish, covered them with a set paper towel, and nuked them for 60 seconds. this brought out their brightness and once done, i let them hang out for a few minutes until they were ready to be added.

next i threw the 1/2 bag i had left of the frozen veggies - it looked to be a little more than 1 cup - into the onion and pepper sautee. after a couple of minutes the veggies started to soften. i added in the broccoli and then poured in the broth - about 4 cups - and then added about half as much water (2 cups) and 2 packets of soy sauce that i had leftover from the last time i ordered this soup.

just before the whole concoction came to a boil - 7 or 8 minutes - i added the noodles. they came to life in the hot broth and began dancing among the emerging bubbles. i let everything hang out for another 5 minutes - that was how long i could resist having a taste. and it did not disappoint! i went the route of putting some of the soup 'innards' into a bowl and then ladeling in some of the broth over top. the noodles had the chewy texture i was looking for, with all the wholesome goodness of whole wheat. one that was missing was the protein, so what i might do next time is drop in some quickly scrambled egg whites or grill up a naked quorn cutlet and shred it into the bottom of my bowl before pouring on the soup.

more udon fun (with pictures!) to come...

soup's on!

the weather, after some false starts, seems to have turned chilly for good. i love the fact that i can't leave my house without a scarf, without which i couldn't achieve that perfect balance of remaining warm while enjoying the crisp, cool autumn weather. these are also the perfect conditions for homemade soup! now, im a sucker for noodle soup from the local chinese restaurant, especially when i have a cold like the one that i've doing battle with over the last few weeks. but sometimes, i need something more hearty, with some texture, something that require me to chew as well as slurp.

one day, when i was in such a mood, i searched my cupboards and found a couple of soup basics:
vegetable broth in a box (what did we do before broth-in-a-box?!)
a half a red onion

some more rummaging produced the following:
frozen spinach
1 can cannellini beans (the white ones, but not the navy beans of which i am none too fond)

so the next twenty minutes went something like this:
heat 1 tbs olive oil
to hot oil, add some red pepper flakes and approx half a teaspoon herbes de provence
cut red onion into slivers - as fine as possible. (they should be ready to melt)
add onion slivers to the hot (temperature), hot (spicy) oil

while the onion is on its way to the much coveted translucent stage, open and drain the cannellini beans and open the spinach. add a pinch of salt to the onions, but not too much b/c the broth comes already flavored - hello time saver!

after translucency has been achieved, add the beans and let them sweat for a couple of minutes. then add a whole box of broth - usually come in 32 oz. containers. that's usually enough for me, but for a decent amount for two and with some leftovers, add another cup and half of water or broth. a good rule of thumb for me: if i'm using low sodium broth as i usually do, then i use all broth. if using regular broth, then i cut it with water.

let the whole concoction come to a simmer - about 5 or 6 minutes. add the frozen spinach and let simmer for another 10 minutes. i like the flavor to really soak into the beans. if using fresh spinach, add it closer to the end so that it has time to just wilt.

this soup is great the next day, too. when using fresh spinach - which looks prettier than frozen - i don't add all of it the first day. after reheating spinach-less soup, i drop in a handful of fresh baby spinach leaves and they wilt instantly and bring a just-made freshness to the dish.

next time: tomato-garbanzo soup...

enjoy!

totally ripping off the sandwich from spanglish... with a twist

let me confess: i enjoyed the movie spanglish. yes, the one starring adam sandler in a non-sandlerian role and featuring that woman who looks like, but is not, penelope cruz (yet is friends with cruz, is therefore photographed with cruz, thereby making things very difficult for the rest of us!) the woman's name is paz vega, and she is lovely actress in her own right.

what i really love about the movie, aside from the young girl who plays vega's daughter, is sandwich that sandler's character makes as a midnight snack. the exact recipe, also featured on the movie's dvd, can be found here.

my version differs significantly - i don't use bacon or mayo or butter or jack cheese - but there is an important similarity - i love the drippy egg factor (see below for more on my love of the egg; and read the original sandwich description for more on what i mean by the drippy egg factor)

in a nutshell, this sandwich is a real crowd pleaser if your crowd consists of lactose intolerant vegetarians who like protein. i am all of those things and hence, i was quite pleased with myself. i've made a few different versions of this sandwich, but the meat (pun intended) is always the same.

i start off by heating up a naked quorn cutlet in a saute pan or on the grill. i season it with just a little salt and pepper and olive oil. while that's cooking, i toast up a couple of slices of alvarado st. bakery wheat bread. last time, i used the kind they make for diabetics - it's the only kind of diabetic bread that actually tastes like bread, in my opinion. it doesn't have the sticky consistency that some other 'low carb' breads tend to have.

when the cutlet is finished, i let it rest and cool a bit on the cutting board. after it cools, i slice it on an angle to create thin, wide slices.

next, i spray some olive into the saute pan and crack open an egg - one of the few times i'll use the whole egg. i let the white set and then flip it over and turn the heat off. the pan is hot and will keep cooking the other side, but not too much, which is just right.

onto the toasted slices of bread, i added a thin layer of olive spread - not quite a tapenade, more like crushed green olives. i placed a layer of quorn slices, topped with the tiniest sprinkling of sheep's milk feta, topped with a small handful of arugula, topped with the rest of the quorn slices, and finally topped with the cooked egg.

top with the second slice of bread. press gently and cut. done right, some of the yolk will run down the sandwich and flavor everything in its path. a cooked yolk - or no yolk - could work, too, but then you'd miss the drippy egg factor.

the original sandwich recipe boasts a cholesterol-rich calorie count of 1200 calories! this version doesn't come close - i haven't done the numbers, but can safely claim this version to be "death's door"-free.

also works on a long multigrain roll; with large romaine leaves instead of arugula; with a less pungent spread; a different cheese.

if you try it and hate it, let me know. i'll come over and make you one myself! that's how much i love this sucker.