Black Bean and Rice Cakes

From Everyday Food Magazine

Ingredients

• 2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 large scallions, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3/4 cup cooked brown rice
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro, plus leaves for serving
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a food processor, pulse half the beans with scallions  and cumin until a chunky paste forms. In a large bowl, combine bean puree with rice and remaining beans; season with salt and pepper. Divide mixture into eight 3-inch-wide patties. (To freeze, wrap individually in plastic and freeze up to 2 weeks; thaw before cooking.)
2. Brush a rimmed baking sheet with oil; place in oven to heat, 5 minutes. Carefully place patties on hot sheet; bake until bottoms are golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through. Let rest on sheet 5 minutes before removing.
3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine yogurt, cilantro, and lime juice; season with salt and pepper. Serve patties topped with yogurt sauce and cilantro leaves.

** Delicious served with pineapple salsa on a bed of greens or over multigrain chips.

Orange and Yogurt Tart

from Everyday Food Magazine

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup raw almonds
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• Coarse salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons powdered gelatin (from a 1/4-ounce packet)
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt (2 percent)
• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 3 medium navel oranges

Directions

1. In a food processor, pulse almonds, granulated sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt until finely ground. Add flour; pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture is crumbly and holds together when squeezed. Press crumbs in bottom and up side of an 8-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Freeze 15 minutes. (To store, cover and freeze, up to 1 month.)
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust is golden brown and set, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack 10 minutes, then remove tart ring and let cool completely.
3. In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 2 tablespoons cold water and let stand 5 minutes. In a small saucepan, warm half-and-half over medium. When it begins to steam, add gelatin mixture and stir until dissolved, about 1 minute. In a medium bowl, whisk together yogurt, brown sugar, and pinch of salt. Stir warm half-and-half mixture into yogurt mixture. Pour filling into cooled tart shell and refrigerate until set, 2 hours (or up to 1 day).
4. With a sharp paring knife, slice off ends of oranges. Following curve of fruit, cut away peel, removing as much white pith as possible. Slice oranges into 1/4-inch-thick rounds and remove any seeds. Just before serving, arrange orange slices on top of tart.

** I did not like the gelatin texture of the filling. It freaked me out- much like jello does. I will try again with a cream/custard filling because the crust is awesome and the flavors are all really good together. Plus, it's beautiful. Here's a custard filling I found that I will try next time in place of the gelatin yogurt filling.

• • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/4 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into pieces

  1. Make the pastry cream: Combine milk, vanilla bean pod and seeds, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
     
  2. Whisk together egg yolks, cornstarch, and remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar in a separate bowl. Slowly add 1/3 cup milk mixture to the egg mixture, whisking to combine. Add egg-milk mixture back to the pot, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a mixing bowl, and beat in butter with paddle attachment until combined and cream has cooled, about 5 minutes. Strain into a bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cream, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
     3.  Beat chilled pastry cream with paddle attachment until smooth, about 30 seconds. Set aside. Whip heavy cream using the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form. Carefully fold whipped cream into pastry cream.
     4.  Spread cream into cooled tart shell using a small offset spatula. Arrange citrus segments in a circular pattern around the tart. Serve cold.

Chocolate Chip Muesli Cookies

 Adapted from Bob's Red Mill Muesli Bag. 

Whisk the following in a bowl:
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3 TBSP flax seed
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Mix the following in a separate bowl:
2/3 cup pearsauce (homemade is ideal- it takes about 2 pears warmed up with a bit of water and mashed)
1 TBSP butter
a good long squirt of honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg

Stir the dry into the wet. Then mix in 1 heaping cup of muesli (I prefer Bob's Red Mill) and chocolate chips. Drop on a silpat in heaping tablespoons. Bake ay 375 degrees for 10-12  minutes. Makes 20-24 cookies depending on how big the heaps are.

Sauteed chicken with herbed soba

from Everyday Food

• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish
• 1 cup fresh parsley
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 teaspoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 12 ounces chicken cutlets
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 package (8.8 ounces) soba (Japanese buckwheat noodles)

Directions

1. In a food processor, finely chop scallions, cilantro, parsley, garlic, and ginger with vinegar and 1 tablespoon oil. Transfer to a bowl.
2. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Season chicken with cayenne, salt, and pepper. Working in batches, cook, turning once, until opaque throughout, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a cutting board; let cool 5 minutes, and thinly slice. (OR-- just boil the chicken and shred)
3. Cook soba according to package instructions. Drain; toss with herb mixture. Serve chicken with soba; garnish with cilantro.

Curried Lentils

from my sister (I don't know where she got it)

2 C. dry lentils, picked over and rinsed
28-30 oz. chicken or vegetable broth
1 1/2 C. water
1 1/2 C chopped carrots
1 1/2 C chopped onion
1 C sliced celery (I use 2 cups because I like celery)
3 tsp. curry powder
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tsp freshly grated ginger or 1/4 tsp. dried ground ginger
1/8 fresh pepper
1 8 oz. carton plain yogurt
1 medium tomato, diced
1 TBSP snipped fresh parsley or cilantro
pita wedges or naan to serve

1. In a large saucepan combine everything except the yogurt, tomato and parsley/cilantro. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 30 minutes or until tender.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl stil together the yogurt, tomato and parsley or cilantro. Serve over lentil mixture.
3. Dip pita or naan into it. Devour.

Stuffed Squash

 This was actually made up by me, but I'm sure there's a bunch of recipes like this out there.

2 squash
1 cup quinoa
a few strips of turkey bacon
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup grated parmesan
drizzle of olive oil
dollap of balsamic vinegar
coarse salt and ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375. Take any kind of squash- smallish in size. Acorn or those cute little pumpkiny ones. Cut in half, seed, drizzle olive oil on a cookie sheet and lay the squash cut side down. Roast for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size.

2. While it's roasting throw a cup of rinsed quinoa and two cups of water in a saucepan and cook. Fry up some bacon and toast some walnuts.

3. When the quinoa's done fluff it and then add the olive oil, vinegar, chopped up bacon, walnuts, and parmesan. Scoop into the little squash bowls and feed it to your three year old and then to yourself. YUM.

Pumpkin Pie Waffles

from Waffles from Morning to Midnight

5 TBSP butter
1 cup pumpkin puree (ha! I read this 1 CAN and put the whole can in-- no wonder the batter was so thin and they were totally floppy- but very tasty anyway)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp peeled grated fresh ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg
(***OR you can replace all those individual spices with 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice and 1 tsp cinnamon)
pinch of salt
1 1/3 cups flour (I use whole wheat)
1 TBSP baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs
2 TBSP orange juice
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Melt the butter. Reserve. In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, sugars, spices, and salt. Mix together well.

2. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. The mixture will be thick and a little lumpy. don't try to smooth it out; just mix until the ingredients are incorporated.

3. In another bowl, beat together the milk, yogurt, eggs, juice, and vanilla. Add the liquid ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir until combined. Fold in the melted butter and start cookin'. (Spray the waffle iron well, this is sticky batter.)