kimchi burrito

 I've had some kimchi burritos that I quite liked though I always wanted more kimchi in them, so time to make my own.  Wildbrine kimchi was on sale so I got it, and ... I'll try the other jars there next time.  Or start making my own. I put cheese in it because that sounded good, and it is.  When isn't cheese good?  But it's not really necessary.  I tossed in some leftover black barley and that gives nice texture.  When I made the first burritos yesterday, I put in too much beans so there wasn't enough left really for today when I made up all the rest to eat this week and to freeze, but that's ok.  Also, I keep thinking that I need two burritos to not be hungry anymore, but one is fine.  Live and learn.  This is less a recipe than just reminding myself what I did the next time I get a kimchi craving.  

Ingredients

• whole wheat tortillas, burrito size
• 1 cup adzuki beans (dry)
• gochujang paste (or sriracha or whatever other flavoring seems good) 
• 1 jar of kimchi, chopped 
• accoutrements as found in fridge: leftover grains and/or vegetables, cheese, eggs etc. 

Soak adzuki beans overnight in plenty of water, then cook for about an hour until preferred texture. Eyeball or weigh and divide to match the amount to number of burritos.  

Heat the tortillas one by one in a pan.  As they start to puff, remove and fill with beans, kimchi, and whatever else is going in.   Roll and set aside.  If freezing, once fully cool, lay out on a cookie sheet in the freezer until frozen, then put into container.  I usually defrost in microwave for a couple of minutes and then heat to cook for a minute or so, but they could be thawed and baked or reheated on the stovetop.  

 

 

chickpea coconut curry

 Taken from a popular NY Times recipe.  It's very tasty and quite decadent with all that coconut milk.  I couldn't get the chickpeas to crispen up and that would have been good, will try again.  I used kale and while it took longer to cook, it was nice to have that texture.  I forgot the mint, that would have been good.  It says 4-6 servings but it cooks down to maybe three; I'll try freezing it to see how well that works.  

Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

• ¼ cup olive oil, plus more for serving
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 (2-inch) piece ginger, finely chopped
• salt and black pepper
• 1½ teaspoons ground turmeric, plus more for serving
• 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more for serving
• 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 (15-ounce) cans coconut milk (recipe says needs to be full fat but I don't know about that).  
• 2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 bunch Swiss chard, kale or collard greens, stems removed, torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 cup mint leaves, for serving
• Yogurt, for serving (optional)
• Toasted pita, lavash or other flatbread, for serving (optional)

 

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Heat ¼ cup oil in a large pot over medium. Add garlic, onion and ginger. Season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally until onion is translucent and starts to brown a little at the edges, 3 to 5 minutes.

2. Step 2

   Add 1½ teaspoons turmeric, 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, and the chickpeas, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, so the chickpeas sizzle and fry a bit in the spices and oil, until they’ve started to break down and get a little browned and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove about a cup of chickpeas and set aside for garnish.

3. Step 3

   Using a wooden spoon or spatula, further crush the remaining chickpeas slightly to release their starchy insides. (This will help thicken the stew.) Add coconut milk and stock, and season with salt and pepper.

4. Step 4

   Bring to a simmer, scraping up any bits that have formed on the bottom of the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until stew has thickened, 30 to 35 minutes. (Taste a chickpea or two, not just the liquid, to make sure they have simmered long enough to be as delicious as possible.) If after 30 to 35 minutes, you want the stew a bit thicker, keep simmering until you've reached your desired consistency. Determining perfect stew thickness is a personal journey!

5. Step 5

   Add greens and stir, making sure they’re submerged in the liquid. Cook until they wilt and soften, 3 to 7 minutes, depending on what you’re using. (Swiss chard and spinach will wilt and soften much faster than kale or collard greens.) Season again with salt and pepper.

6. Step 6

   Divide among bowls and top with mint, reserved chickpeas, a sprinkle of red-pepper flakes and a good drizzle of olive oil. Serve alongside yogurt and toasted pita if using; dust the yogurt with turmeric if you'd like.

 

tofu broccoli

 This tofu broccoli was good but also too much.  I don't usually fry things in my kitchen because I don't like the mess or the smell, but I tried this and it wasn't bad.  The tofu cooking technique was nice - I made the blocks a bit larger than 1" and I liked the texture - a little crispy on the outside, soft inside.  It wasn't too burdensome to flip each block every couple of minutes with tongs.  The broccoli was good and crunchy - I went the full six minutes or more.  My beef is how salty it is.  I used low sodium soy sauce but it is still just too much.  One issue is that I ate it without rice, so that might be the problem.  It's good without it.  But next time I'll maybe cut the soy sauce in half and maybe use amino acids instead.  Oh, I see water is in the procedure below but i missed that - ok, maybe that would make a difference.  I will definitely make it again.  

Ingredients

Yield:2 to 4 servings

• ¼ cup light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar (I mostly omitted, just added a dash of sugar and it wasn't necessary at all)
• 1/2 cup water  
• 1 teaspoon plus ¼ cup cornstarch, divided
• 1 (14-ounce) block firm tofu, drained
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• Kosher salt 
• 2 medium broccoli crowns, cut into florets  
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 (½-inch) piece fresh ginger, finely chopped (about 2 teaspoons)
• 3 scallions, finely chopped
• Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
• Rice, for serving

 

Preparation

Step 1

In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cornstarch and ½ cup water. Set aside.

Step 2

Cut the tofu into 1-inch cubes, spread the cubes onto a few layers of paper towels and pat them dry. In a medium bowl, toss the cubes with the remaining ¼ cup of cornstarch and fully coat the tofu.

Step 3

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot and shimmery, add the tofu and cook until all sides are golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the tofu onto a plate and season with salt. 

Step 4

In the same skillet, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over medium heat, add the broccoli and cook, undisturbed, until broccoli is lightly charred on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes. (Do not be tempted to move them!) Toss and cook until the other sides of the broccoli are darkened in spots, another 2 to 3 minutes.

Step 5

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, the garlic, ginger and scallions to the same skillet and stir until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Adjust the heat to low, add the tofu back to the skillet, and stir in the reserved soy sauce mixture. Bring to a simmer, tossing frequently, until the broccoli and tofu are evenly glazed, 30 seconds to 1 minute. 

Step 6

Serve the tofu and broccoli topped with toasted sesame seeds, with rice alongside.

fava bean pesto

 Fava bean pesto, from here.  This worked well with favas I'd frozen after shelling and peeling. 

Ingredients

• 2 lb fava beans with pods , (900 grams) or 250 grams shelled with skin on or 180 grams skin peeled (1 cup)
• ½ cup Pecorino cheese , 50 grams
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil , 110 grams
• 5-8 mint leaves
• 1 garlic clove

Instructions

• Remove beans from the pod. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Drop fava beans in a pot with boiling water and boil for 1 minute.

  Transfer immediately to a bowl with ice water.
• Remove the skin from each bean. Help yourself with the tip of a small knife, squeeze, and the bean will pop out.
• In a food processor blend mint leaves, pecorino cheese, and garlic clove cut into small pieces.

  Add fava beans and oil. Blend until combined.

 

 

saucy lentils

 I had this at a potluck last week, and one would think I"d be lentiled out but I am not.  It was really good!  the maker just pointed me to the Washington POst recipe for saucy lentils, which fortunately has been repeated on other sites. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup lentils, cleaned
• 1 small onion, chopped
• (2 carrots: not in recipe but would be good!) 
• 1 T oil 
• 3 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 1 T of ginger, finely grated or minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp salt (though check sodium level of broth) 
• 1 tsp-ish pepper  
• (1 T tomato paste - I skipped this)
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cinnamon stick 

Clean lentils. 

Heat oil, when shimmering add onion, saute a few minutes until beginning to soften.   Add garlic and ginger for about 30 seconds, add spices, mix up.  Add lentils and mix up, then add broth and cinnamon.  

Heat up then simmer for about 35 minutes.  Remove cinnamon stick and smash garlic cloves into lentils.  

I served this over roasted sweet potatoes: cut in half, smear oil on cut side, rub together, place face down and cook at 375 for 25-35 minutes depending on size of sweet potato.  

Cook with yogurt, fresh cilantro.  Would also be good over rice, potatoes, dumplings, etc.  

tempeh chili

 This was tasty and smooth (none of the high acid heavy seasoning that gets me sometimes).  It's also easy to mix up so here's where I got the idea and below is what I did.

Ingredients

• 8 oz tempeh, grated
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• pickled jalapenos + marinated red pepper, chopped (or 1 chopped bell pepper)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pint jar passata (they used 3/4 cup tomato sauce + 1 cup water)
• quart jar black beans (they used 1 can each black & kidney and drained and rinsed but i didn't because I'd cooked them myself)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp chili powder

Heat about 2 Tbsp oil and add the tempeh and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. 

Add onion, celery, pepper and cook another 5-10 minutes.  Add garlic, cook another few minutes

Add tomato sauce + water combination, beans, spices.  Bring back to a simmer, and simmer for about 30 minutes.  

It's great topped with sour cream, green onions, cheese, etc. and served with cornbread  

black bean and sweet potato chili

For some reason, Jennifer Garner's videos show up on my FB reels.  I wouldn't say I'm a fan of her acting, or choice in husbands, but it is kind of fun to see her being silly in her kitchen.  I would totally hang out with her.  She was making this chili that I decided to copy and post here because I've been wanting to make something like this for awhile. 

 

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili by Foster's Market Durham 

 

Ingredients: 

1 Tbsp olive oil 

1 onion, chopped 

2 medium sweet potatoes, diced 

1 red bell pepper 

1 green bell pepper (poblano is always preferred for me)

2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced (I may try pickled because I have those on hand)

3 garlic cloves, minced 

3 Tbsp chili powder 

2 tsp ground cumin 

2 tsp dried basil 

1 tsp dried marjoram 

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes 

3 bay leaves 

1 tsp kosher salt 

½ tsp ground pepper 

6 cups low-sodium veg broth 

1 (28oz) can chopped tomatoes  

1 (12oz) beer (I'd probably skip this as I never have beer in my house)

½ cup bulgur or barley 

2 (15oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained 

Garnish: cilantro, scallions, avocado, sour cream, cheese, lime wedges

 

Directions: 

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over med heat until sizzling hot and add onion. Reduce to low and cook, stirring often, ~10 mins. Add sweet potatoes, bell peppers and jalapeños, stirring occasionally, 5 mins more. Stir in garlic and cook, stirring, 1 min longer. 

 

2. Add chili powder, cumin, basil, marjoram, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, salt & pepper and cook, stirring, ~2 mins. Add broth, tomatoes, beer and bulgur (I used farro!) and stir to combine, bringing to a low boil. Reduce to simmer and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, ~40 mins. 

 

3. Remove bay leaves from chili and discard. Add beans, stir to mix and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until beans are heated through, ~15 mins. Garnish with cilantro and scallions (avocado, sour cream, and cheese, if you have them! Maybe blue corn chips, yum) and serve warm with wedges of lime to squeeze into chili.