Dipity Dopity Do

In honor of my good friend’s visit, I threw together a little gathering to welcome her home. Having excess time is not something I am familiar with anymore, as the demands of school and my dietetic internship have taken priority of my life. Luckily, I was able to throw together two very simple and nutritious dips to accompany my cheese platter, crudités, and home made pita chips. At the end of the day, all you need is some wine and good company.

Vegetarian Chopped Liver adapted from the Moosewood Cookbook

Who doesn’t love the real thing…well maybe a few people, but as we know it is definitely not the most healthful food to eat despite its deliciousness. This recipe does a decent job at emulating the texture and appearance of chopped liver and, although the taste does not really resemble the creamy indulgence, it  stands its ground as a delicious dip for any occasion.

6 servings

1 Tbs. Vegetable oil

1/2 cup minced onion

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 1/2 cups chopped fresh green beans

2 hardboiled eggs (yokes removed)

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1 1/2 Tbs. White wine

1 1/2 Tbs vegan mayo

black pepper to taste

Handful of parsley

Sauté onion and salt in oil until onion browns, about 10 minutes. Add chopped green beans and sauté until tender, about another 10 minutes.

Combine all the ingredients, including the onion and beans, in a food processor until well blended.

Top with some chopped walnuts

Oil-Free Hummus

Hummus is always a party pleaser, especially when you make your own. This recipe, which was modified from my buddy Barefoot Contessa, uses no oil, resulting in a lower fat version of everyone’s favorite dip.

Makes 2 cups

2 cups canned chickpeas, drained and liquid reserved

1 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1/3 cup tahini

6 Tbs lemon juice from 2 lemons

2 Tbs water or reserved chickpea liquid

8 dashes Melinda’s hot sauce

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth

I garnished my hummus with some whole chickpeas for added texture and a few sprinkles of cayenne pepper.

Hummus is a great snack option or sandwich topper, especially this one, that includes minimal excess fat, which usually comes from olive oil. It was creamy, flavorful,  and extremely simple to make. Chickpeas are a legume and are an excellent source of lean protein, iron, calcium, and fiber! The tahini, which is roasted pureed sesame seeds, also has calcium, and mono and polyunsaturated fats (the good fats).

I served both dips with home made whole-wheat pita chips. To make the chips, simply separate the pita into two and cut into triangles. Toss the pita in olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, rosemary, and pepper. Bake at 350 until crisp, tossing as they cook, about 15-20 minutes. Finish with sea salt.

D, it was so nice seeing you, looking forward to your next trip home!

Not Your Muddah's Casserole

On my most recent venture to the Union Square Farmer’s Market, I found myself constantly fighting to focus on procuring useful ingredients. I get so distracted by the beauty and bounty of fresh produce, that I loose track of what I need to aquire for my next meal. That day was definitely one of those occasions. I arrived home with a plethora of gorgeous fresh and somewhat unique produce and I wanted to delineate a little from my normal grilled corn or zucchini and tomato salad. To step out of my comfort zone, I flipped through my handy Moosewood cookbook and found an intriguing recipe for carrot and mushroom "loaf", which was perfect since I had snagged a bunch of carrots and a bag of cremini mushrooms. I also gathered some sweet potato greens, pimento padrao peppers, and what is a trip to the summer green market without corn, tomatoes and fuzy peaches.

Moosewood calls this dish a loaf, but it is more along the lines of a casserole. The recipe called for superior breadcrumbs and for that I made my own with sprouted grain bread that I toasted and then pulsed in the food processor.

Recipe (with my augmentations): Serves 6 (freezes well and also reheats great! Who doesn’t like leftovers?)

2 cups minced onion

1 tbs. Earth Balance Spread

1 lb mushrooms, chopped

1 1/2 tsp. Salt

1 tsp basil

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp dill

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 carrots, grated (6 cups)

2 cups superb bread crumbs (made from sprouted grain bread)

1 cup grated cheddar (low fat cheese)

2 eggs, beaten

Black pepper

Black sesame seeds and chopped chives for garnish (up for interpretation)

Preheat oven to 350°

1)    Lightly spray a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with canola oil cooking spray

2)    Sauté onions in melted Earth Balance in a heated pan for about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, salt, herbs, and garlic and sauté for 10 more minutes.

3)    In a bowl, combine carrots, breadcrumbs, cheese, eggs, and pepper. Add the sautéed mixture and combine well. Spread into the prepared pan and top with sesame seeds (or your desired choice of topping). Cover with foil.

4)    Bake for 30 minutes covered and 15 minutes uncovered.

5)    Finish with chopped chives.

This dish was very filling and tasty…it even looked a lot better than I thought it would. This could easily be a main dish or a side and keeps well. The casserole was a complete meal. It had protein from the cheese, sprouted bread, and eggs, complex carbohydrates from the bread and vegetables from the carrots and mushrooms.

Mushroom are versatile meaty little morsels and are one of the lone plant sources of Vitamin D. They also contain selenium and potassium.

I had never heard of or tried sweet potato greens and was quite intrigued when I came across them. I removed most of the stem and simply sautéed them with garlic and olive oil in order to properly taste the dark greens. They turned out to be pretty "meaty" for greens and were a heavier denser more fragrant version of kale. For the peppers, I simply seared them in a very hot pan with garlic and olive oil until they blackened slightly. Finally, since I couldn't leave the market without corn and tomatoes, I made a simple composed salad with blanched corn, heirloom tomatoes, burpless cucumber, red onion, purple peppers, radishes, basil and a spicy garlic lime dressing (garlic, lime juice, olive oil, Melinda’s hot sauce, cilantro, salt and pepper).  

Au Revior summer…you will be missed! I am hesitantly looking forward to an intense semester and the start of my Dietetic Internship at NYU…. wish me luck!

As a side note…LOOK! I found a guinea pig in Henry’s crate. 

Easy Peasy Pesto

Buckwheat pasta with spinach basil pesto, oven roasted tomatoes, broccoli and peas

Gazpacho

After consulting with the family chef about proper tomato usage for this summery soup, San Marzano puree was used over fresh tomatoes or tomato juice. Unless the tomatoes are extremely ripe, high quality canned is recommended. At first, I felt like I was cheating, since this soup was intended to encapsulate summer, but once chilled, the gazpacho was the pure essence of tomatoey, cucumbery, and garlicky peppery goodness.

Besides swapping the tomato juice for canned, I relied on my trusty Moosewood Cookbook for guidance for the Gazpacho. A cucumber, red bell pepper, small yellow onion, garlic, parsley, scallions, lemon and lime juice, basil, cumin, and cayenne pepper were gently pureed with the tomatoes, white vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper and chilled.

For a spin on another summery favorite, I pulverized a box of organic spinach, basil, parsley, four garlic cloves, two tablespoons toasted walnuts and a little drizzling of olive oil to create a pesto. I found that spinach has a high level of water content, so you really only need a little olive oil to meld the sauce together. I mixed in parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to finish. To bolster up the buckwheat pasta, I added roasted cherry tomatoes and organic broccoli and peas (both frozen). The cherry tomatoes were oven roasted with oregano, basil, canola oil, garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper. This created a nice slightly charred and sweet tomato that burst with flavor.

The buckwheat pasta not only had a lovely hue, but also added a nutty quality and provided added fiber. The pasta was also loaded with vegetables from the spinach; which is packed with folate, beta-carotene, vitamin K, fiber, magnesium and calcium, the broccoli; which also has beta-carotene, fiber and calcium, along with iron and vitamins A, C and D, and peas, which are a good source of protein. Walnuts provided omega-3 and antioxidants.

This was a lovely summery meal that left plenty of leftovers…. too bad my fridge is broken.