Bounty...

While winter lingers, long and cold, it is hard to remember how bountiful the earth is. Last night I had a sweet reminder of last year's garden harvest, as I took the last of the grape tomatoes from the freezer to add to my pasta sauce.

Artichoke & Spinach Sauté

Sauté in 2 TBSP olive or canola oil:
1 medium red onion, halfed and sliced thin
4 or 5 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

Spash in 1/4 cup wine (red or white) or flavorful vinegar

Add the following:
1 14oz can artichoke hearts
1 1/2 cups frozen (or fresh) chopped spinach
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas or white beans
1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes quartered or halved

Season with black pepper, herbs, and a seasoned salt mix to taste. (I used black pepper and Jane's Mixed Up Salt.)

Drizzle with a bit more oil or with vegetable broth. Serve over whole wheat pasta, couscous, or just eat it in a big bowl with some bread and a salad on the side.

Notes: To make this *really* low fat, skip the oil in the first step and use only fat free veggie broth. Also, next time I hope I have mushrooms on hand. They would be amazing in this!

The amazing photo of a Jelly Bean Grape Tomato was taken by Haiku last summer!

Photo 2 by Aisling, February 27, 2007

Ginger Chickpea Stew...

My favorite dinner this week was inspired by a recipe in one of my "heart smart" cookbooks. The original had chickpeas and tomatoes, broth and spices. I thought there wasn't enough going on for a filling meal, so I revamped the recipe based on my tastes and what I had on hand at the moment. The result was delicious, filling and very nutritious:

Ginger Chickpea Stew

Put all of this in a big pot:

1 quart vegetable broth
2 cups cooked chickpeas (or 1 sixteen ounce can)
1 small red onion chopped
4 cloves garlic minced or chopped
1 16 oz can diced tomatoes
1 potato grated
1 potato cut in small cubes
1 sweet potato cut in small cubes
1 cup chopped spinach

Season with:

1 Tablespoon grated fresh ginger root
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon coriander
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Put the lid on and cook over medium heat until potato and sweet potato cubes are falling apart and shredded potato has thickened the broth; 30 to 40 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Note: You could sauté the onion and garlic in extra virgin olive oil before adding the broth and other ingredients. It’s so good without that though, that I prefer to skip the oil and keep things lower in fat. Also, this is a slightly sweet stew. For a change of pace Southwestern or Indian Spices would also be delicious. I'm going to try one of those options the next time I make this stew.

My omnivore husband loved this in his thermos for lunch the next day. He told a co-worker that he liked it even better than the beef stew I sent with him the day before.

photo by Haiku, February 2007

Banana Oat Scones...

My original recipe for scones came from a book called The Joy of Snacks. I don't remember the book and may have to track it down sometime to refresh my memory. I think it was borrowed from the library. I have modified the recipe so much over time, that it is quite different than the original (which contains egg and raisins, and does not use bananas.)

Ingredients:

(scant) 2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup non-hydrogenated (no trans-fats) margarine, melted
1/3 cup soy milk (plain or vanilla)

1 ripe mashed banana

Directions:

Combine dry ingredients; set aside. Blend mashed banana, melted margarine, and soy milk until fairly smooth. Add in dry ingredients and mix just until moistened. Shape dough to form ball; pat out on lightly flours surface to form 8 inch circle. Cut into 12 wedges (scones); bake on oiled baking sheet at 425 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Serve warm.

Note: I go "skimpy" on the flour at the start and reserve some to add at the end if needed. Not all banana's are created equal! I will (carefully) add more if the dough is too sticky to shape and cut.

photo by Aisling, February 19, 2007

Baby Bella & White Bean Stew...

Four days into a winter storm, the school is actually closed for a "snow day." This rarely happens here. Mostly, we just take winter weather in stride; we're used to it. However continuous snowing and blowing ultimately will slow those of us who live on the back roads down a bit more than usual. Sub-zero temps (taking wind chill into consideration) just adds to the equation.

For lunch, I just ate a big bowl of yesterday's Baby Bella & White Bean Stew. This is a recipe that I came up with after hunting for one online, but not finding what I was looking for. I thought I would share, in case anyone else looks for excuses to buy Baby Bella (little portebello's, a.k.a. crimini) mushrooms. This warm, filling stew is a really good excuse!

Baby Bella and White Bean Stew

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

3/4 cups chopped onions (a combination of red and green, or just whatever you have on hand)

6 cloves garlic, (4 chopped roughly and 2 crushed)

2 cups sliced Baby Bella mushrooms

2 (16 oz) cans veggie broth

2 (16 oz) cans white beans

1 cup frozen chopped spinach

1/2 cup plain or whole wheat couscous

1/4 cup red white or balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon oregano

1/4 to 1/2 crushed red pepper

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat olive oil. Saute onions, garlic, mushrooms and spices until mushrooms are golden. Deglaze the pan by stirring in wine or vinegar. Add broth, white beans, and spinach. Cook on medium high until the broth comes to a soft boil. Add in couscous and turn off heat. Cover and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

This will really thicken up, so add more veggie broth if you want it more soupy. If you like things spicy, this is good garnished with crushed red pepper and/or a little shot of hot sauce.

This will make 4 to 6 generous servings.

photo by Aisling, February 5, 2007