Food goodness

Recipe By: Mary McDougall, "McDougall Health Supporting Cookbook Volume 1" Serving Size : 2 1/2 cups 1 cup tomato sauce 1 1/2 cups water 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon onion powder 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder 2 tablespoons cornstarch -- or arrowroot Place all ingredients in a saucepan and mix well. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens, about 10 minutes.

Adapted from Fat Free Vegan Note: I layered this into a casserole dish instead of rolling up enchiladas. I used an 8" square baking dish, and 4 large whole wheat tortillas (which are bigger than the standard corn tortillas used for enchiladas). I used the same amount of filling listed below, and it still made 4 large servings. I also added a small amount of shredded cheddar cheese in 2 of the layers. 1 medium onion, chopped fine 3 cloves garlic cloves, minced 1/4 cup green or red bell pepper, chopped (I omitted) 12 ounces patty pan, zucchini, or yellow summer squash, diced 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon Ancho chile powder (or mild chili powder) 1/8 -1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile powder (or to taste) 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans, well rinsed and drained 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste) Juice from half a lime 1 can enchilada sauce (or 10 ounces homemade sauce) 8 corn tortillas (I used whole wheat tortillas) chopped green onions, for serving Saute the onion in a medium-sized ...

So... I have been happily eating my pearled barley, feeling all righteous for eating healthy grains, yada yada. And then I learned that pearled barley is the white rice of the barley family. It has had all the good stuff stripped away. That's no good! So, tonight I made a big batch of hulled barley, which is the only kind of barley that is a whole grain. I used Alton Brown's method , which is just like his method for baking brown rice, but adapted for barley. I made a double batch, used a 9x13 pan, and froze the leftovers to use later. 1 cup hulled barley 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1 teaspoon kosher salt 2 cups boiling water Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the barley into a 1 1/2-quart ceramic or glass baking dish (with a lid, or just use aluminum foil to cover) and add the butter, salt and boiling water. Stir to combine. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and place the lid on top of the foil. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 1 hour. After 1 hour,...

Adapted heavily from Simply Recipes' grilled corn salad , partly because we don't have a grill. If you do, maybe check her original recipe, which has lots of different instructions and ingredients... I'm just going to write what I did below. 8 ears of shucked raw corn, sliced off the cob 1 gigantic zucchini, sliced relatively thin and cut into half moons half an onion, chopped very fine 4 scallions, chopped 1/2 cup chopped cilantro about 2 t cumin 2 T olive oil 2 T apple cider vinegar crumbly salty cheese salt and pepper Heat the olive oil and cumin and add the zucchini. Saute until it's soft, but not falling apart. Remove and set aside. Don't add more oil to the pan, but do add the corn and onion. Saute until the corn begins to brown but is still pretty hard. Mine sort of popped a little. Add to the zucchini. Add all the rest of the ingredients except the cheese and mix well. Then let the whole thing cool. Do not skip this step or your cheese will melt and you migh...

We eat a lot of pasta. Probably more than should be allowed, actually. This is really good. And super simple. Ernie said he whipped it up in not much time at all. from Pioneer Woman 12 ounces, weight Pasta, Cooked Al Dente Reserved Pasta Water, If Needed 3 ounces, weight Chopped Pancetta 3 whole Leeks, Sliced Thin 1 Tablespoon Butter ½ cups Dry White Wine ½ cups Heavy Cream Salt And Freshly Ground Pepper, To Taste Parmesan Cheese, Shaved Cook pasta and set aside. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water. Saute chopped pancetta until fat is rendered and it starts to brown. Add sliced leeks and cook for 8 minutes. When you add the leeks, you can also throw in a pat or two of butter if you want to. This’ll give the dish some scrumptious flavor. I add it after the bacon is browned because I don’t want the butter to brown. After 8 to 10 minutes, pour in wine, then cook an additional 1-2 minutes, until reduced. Reduce heat to low, then pour in cream. Add salt and pepper to tast...

From: The Wednesday Chef 1 pound eggplant, cut into ½ inch slices 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 3 cloves garlic, lightly smashed 2 springs thyme or oregano, chopped 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock or water 2 tablespoons sun-dried or oven-dried tomatoes, minced 6 leaves basil, sliced thinly Salt and pepper 1 pound spaghetti 1. Lightly salt the slices of eggplant, stack them back together and let sit for 20 minutes. 2. Put the olive oil in a wide, heavy saucepan, add the garlic cloves, and set over low heat. 3. Dry off the eggplant, cut it into chunks. When you start hearing the garlic sizzle a little and can smell it, drop in your eggplant and stir to coat it all with oil. Turn up the heat a little bit to medium high and add the thyme or oregano and stir. When the eggplant is turning translucent and softening, add the liquid, let it come to a boil, and turn it back down to medium-low. Let it bubble for a bit and cover it, leaving a crack for steam to escape. Stir once in a while so th...

I doubled this recipe, because 2 pounds of mussels did not look like enough for two people. It was. So now we have a bunch of extra mussels. Which isn't a bad thing, necessarily, because we pulled them all out of the shells and Ernie is going to eat them for lunch this week. What I would do differently next time (and there will be a next time): I omitted the heat, and I would add it back. I think it really needs a little heat. Also, I eat this dish at our favorite Thai restaurant that is similar to this, and it's got egg in the curry sauce. Next time I'll add an egg to the sauce, before I add the mussels. We ate this with rice, to soak up all the tasty sauce. Adapted slightly from Simply Recipes 2 lbs of mussels, cleaned and debearded 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil 1 yellow onion, chopped (I used red, it's all I had in the house) 1 thai chili, finely chopped (can substitute good pinch of chili flakes) 3 teaspoons of ginger, minced 1 1/2 tablespoons of c...

My sister in law Dana sent me this recipe, which is perfect if you've got not much time and want something sweet. I made them in an 8x8 pan, because I wanted thicker brownies, and just increased the baking time. 1 (21.5-23.7 oz) package fudge brownie mix 3/4 cup chopped walnuts 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened 2 tbsp margarine or butter, softened 1 tbsp cornstarch 1 (14 oz) can Sweetened Condensed Milk 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla extract Preheat oven to 350 degF. Prepare brownie mix as package directs, stir in nuts. Spread into a well greased 13x9 inch baking pan. In mixer bowl, beat cheese, margarine, and cornstarch until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk, then egg and vanilla until smooth. Pour evenly over brownie batter. Bake 35-40 minutes or until top is slightly browned. Cool; chill. Garnish as desired. Cut into bars. Store covered in refrigerator.

Yum! Nom nom nom. Uh, from: Smitten Kitchen Mmm... you should go make this right now. I'd let you try some of mine, except that a) it's almost gone already, and b) I don't want to share this one. I want it all to myself. Because it's.... nom nom nom... so...nom nom...delicious. Yum. Oh, sorry... the recipe: 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 cups bread from a French boule, in a 1/2-inch dice, crusts removed (I used baguette and left the crust on and it was totally fine) 2 1/2 pounds whatever good tomatoes you’ve got, cut into 1/2-inch dice (I used a combination of heirloom, regular old CSA toms, and a few plum toms from my garden) 3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon) 2 tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons Kosher salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup thinly slivered basil leaves, lightly packed 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese Preheat the oven to 350°F. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high. Add the bread cubes and stir so that they are even...

From: The Wednesday Chef The fried sage totally makes this dish. I wanted a piece of sage with every bite. Yum. 3 pounds baking potatoes, scrubbed, skin on, cut into 1-inch chunks 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter 24 fresh sage leaves 1 cup whole milk 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1. Put the potatoes in a large pot or Dutch oven and cover with cold water by at least half an inch. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. 2. While the potatoes are cooking, heat the butter over medium-high heat in a medium skillet. When it begins to foam, add the sage leaves and gently fry until crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, place on a paper towel and reserve. Continue to cook the butter until it's golden brown and nutty, watching so that it doesn't burn, an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and reserve. 3. In a small saucepan, heat the milk ov...

From: Simply Recipes I made this tonight with chickpeas because that is what I had in the pantry. I used mint in it, but I think this would be a fun dish to play around with in terms of different beans and different greens. Good for lunches during the week, too. 1 cup of chopped red onions or shallots (I just used 2 shallots) The zest and juice of 1 lemon or 2 limes (can sub a tbsp or two of cider vinegar) 2 five to six ounce cans of tuna packed in olive oil* 2 15-ounce cans of cannellini or Great Northern white beans, rinsed and drained 1/2 cup of chopped mint, parsley, or arugula A few splashes of Tabasco sauce, or 1 minced Serrano chile or 1 teaspoon red chile flakes 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Salt and olive oil to taste 1 Sprinkle some of the lemon juice over the chopped onions while you prepare the other ingredients. This will take some of the oniony edge off the onions. 2 Drain the oil from the tuna and put the tuna into a large bowl. Add the beans to the tuna an...

Adapted from: Everybody Likes Sandwiches This recipe is similar to the other broccoli slaw recipe I posted here in the past, but it uses Greek yogurt in place of some of the mayo, and has little bit of heat from hot sauce. 1 large head of broccoli, or one bag of broccoli slaw 1/4 red onion, diced 1/4 c roasted almonds or peanuts, coarsely chopped 1/4 c dried cranberries (soak in hot water first for a few minutes to plump, drain) 2 T Greek yogurt 2 T mayo juice of 1/2 lemon, or more to taste (I used sour cherry vinegar) couple of dashes of hot sauce (I used sriracha) a small squirt of honey salt & pepper to taste Use a large knife to thinly chop up the broccoli into a rough slaw. Dump into a medium sized bowl along with the red onion, almonds* , and cranberries. Put the remaining ingredients into a small bowl and whisk together. Taste & adjust seasoning if necessary. Pour onto broccoli slaw and toss until everything is coated. * Note: I think that broccoli slaw tastes best afte...

This is from my new favorite gorgeous cooking blog, Rachel Eats . I only made a third of the recipe because 65 apricots just seemed a little much, but I already ate half the jar and I wish I had more, especially if the fruit really is semi-preserved and keeps for weeks. I also think this would work with other stone fruits... poached peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries... mm. Fills 2 1.5 litre or preserving jars. 6 cups /1.5 litres filtered water (filtered? I used tap water) 2 generous cups /450g caster sugar (I used regular... I am not even sure what caster sugar is; possibly something that only exists if you are awesome and live in Rome) 2 sticks of cinnamon 12 black peppercorns 15 thick strips of unwaxed lemon rind (you will need 2 or 3 lemons) (I actually thought this was a bit overpowering and will probably reduce it next time) 8 cloves vanilla pod 65 ripe but firm apricots Wash and then cut the apricots in two and remove the stone. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean with tip of a sha...

If you read my blog, you know that my friend Grace's mother is in the final stages of her fight against cancer. I went out last weekend to visit them, and Grace sent me home with a bunch of the beets her mother planted this spring, before the cancer began growing aggressively again. I came home, and pickled them using Grace's mother's recipe. She's the one who taught me to pickle beets, and it's the only recipe I will ever use. Here it is, as Grace sent it to me four years ago. Again, this recipe doesn't call for processing the jars. I always process the beets in jars, and put them on the shelf to eat all winter long. Cook beets and peel off skins (Mom said she just boils them until they stick with a fork well). It's important to cook them long enough but not too long b/c if you cook them too short, the skins are a BEAR!! She said you should be able to find how to cook beets in the Joy of Cooking if you have one. The syrup recipe is: 2C sugar 2C water 2C V...

The directions below are for refrigerator pickles. If, like me, you're obsessed with canning, just go ahead and process the jars when you're done with the brine and it'll make lovely pickles you can put on your shelf. And then your husband can think you are as crazy as me, because it looks like I'm stocking up for the Apocalypse. (or possibly a world-changing event like in "The Road.") Adapted from Cheap Healthy Good ½ lb string beans, trimmed (or as much will fit in a medium-sized jar) 1 c white vinegar (I used cider vinegar, it's my go-to pickling medium) 1 c water 2 garlic cloves, smashed 1 t yellow mustard seeds ½ t whole peppercorns 2 t sugar ½ t salt 1 bay leaf dash red pepper flakes 3 sprigs fresh dill Place string beans upright in a 32-ounce glass jar. Trim any ends that reach the top of the jar. Add in dill sprigs. Combine all other ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl (or large measuring cup). Microwave for 90 seconds. Stir. Microwave for another...

I've been doing a lot of canning lately. A lot. These preserves turned out more like peach sauce for me, but I may not have let them boil long enough. Still, all these lovely jars of peach preserves/sauce will be good in greek yogurt. Or on top of homemade waffles. Or eaten out of the jar with a spoon. From Apple a Day 6 c. ripe fresh peaches, peeled and pitted 1 1/3 c. sugar 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice 3/4 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. freshly-grated nutmeg 1/8 tsp. ground cloves 4 oz. liquid fruit pectin In large pot, combine peaches, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Over medium high heat, bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Let boil for 15 minutes, or until peaches have been crushed into smaller pieces. Turn heat up to high and bring to rolling boil. Add fruit pectin, stirring constantly, and bring back to a rolling boil. Let boil for one full minute, stirring constantly, until starting to thicken. Remove from heat, skim foam from top, and ladle into prepared jars...

I'm just going to refer to Joy the Baker for this recipe , because I followed it exactly and her photos are really helpful. I can say, with full humility, that I have never cooked anything in my life that was received as enthusiastically as these were. They are delicious and playful, and people will be happy when they see them.

Cold food means no cooking! Hulk no like cooking in summer! Hulk like mango slaw from smitten kitchen ! Smash! 2 mangoes, peeled, pitted and julienned (Hulk no have food processor this summer, so Hulk dice mango by hand. Work fine.) 1 to 1 1/4 pounds Napa cabbage, halved and sliced very thinly (Hulk buy bag of shredded cabbage! Again, work fine.) 1 red pepper, julienned 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced 6 tablespoons of fresh lime juice, from about two limes 1/4 cup rice vinegar (Hulk think this very important; Hulk accept no substitutes.) 2 tablespoons oil of your choice (Hulk always choose olive, oil of champions.) 1/2 teaspoon salt (Hulk omit this.) 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste (or omit this and whisk in a chile paste to taste) 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh mint leaves 1/4 cup toasted cashews, coarsely chopped (Hulk no toast his cashews, just used regular salted ones out of bag from store. No add extra salt to recipe because cashews already salted.) Toss mangoes, cabbage, pe...

This is similar to Hefk's cucumber mint soup from last summer, plus dill and minus pistachios. Originally from Gluten-Free Girl , who made me wish I had popsicle molds for the first time in my life. 3 large cucumbers, peeled 1 tablespoon fine-chopped fresh dill 1 tablespoon fine-chopped fresh mint 2 teaspoons champagne vinegar (I didn't have this and used some kind of cabernet savignon vinegar that mysteriously appeared in our cabinet) 24 ounces plain full-fat yogurt (I used fat-free Greek yogurt) 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil (I used olive) 1/4 cup soda water Kosher salt and cracked black pepper Chop 2 of the cucumbers and throw them into the blender. Remove the seeds from the third cucumber. Throw the seeds into the blender, then fine dice and set aside the rest of the cucumber for garnishing later. Put the rest of the ingredients into the blender and mix it all up. Season to taste. Refrigerate the soup for at least 1 hour before eating, and preferably overnight. Top each bowl...