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G-nut Stew, Re-Done for the New Year

4 Jan

Happy New Year, everyone.

I thought I would bring you my updated version of this g-nut aka peanut stew. I have been making this stew for over 2 years now and it never fails to satisfy me and leave me with leftovers for the week.

I usually make this stew with garbanzo beans, but this time around I decided to use black-eyed peas. It is thought that on New Years Day if you eat black-eyed peas and greens then you will have prosperity and luck in the coming year. And who doesn’t want a little good fortune?

I am applying for an internship to eventually become a registered dietitian, and I need and want all the luck and prosperity I can get this year! Black eyed peas are just like most other beans and legumes, packed with protein, fiber, and iron and are great for reducing cholesterol.

With orange sweet potatoes and carrots, green peppers and chard, anti-inflammatory alliums onion/garlic, and our spicy friend ginger, this stew is packed with good-for-you veggies. The sauce for the stew is peanut butter and broth. Easy and simple.

I ran out of brown rice, so I made the stew and put it over white rice. Fine. Delish. Thank goodness for rice cookers. I have also made this stew with quinoa, or you could even pair it with cornbread.

I like to chop all of my ingredients up first before cooking, so that I can just dump the bowl into the pan quickly and have the stew ready in minutes. Because when I’m hungry, I want dinner FAST.

Let’s bring in this new year with lots of prosperity, luck, health, and delicious food!

African G-nut (aka Peanut) Stew

see my original post here

serves 4-6

2 Tablespoons vegetable or canola oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon of fresh ginger, grated (NOTE: I like to keep extra ginger in the freezer so I have it on-hand at a moments notice)

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 medium sweet potatoes, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 cups veggie broth

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 15-oz can of black-eyed peas

1/2 bunch of swiss chard, stems removed and roughly chopped or torn

1/2 cup peanut butter

optional: cilantro or parsley, for garnish

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the ground cumin and ground coriander and cook for 1 minute. Add the sweet potatoes and carrot and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes.
2. Add the salt, vegetable broth, green pepper and garbanzo beans. Bring the stew to a boil, add the swiss chard, then cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the sweet potato and carrot are soft and the chard has wilted slightly. Mix in the peanut butter and cook for a final 5 minutes. If you want a thinner or thicker stew, you can add more peanut butter or, alternatively, more broth.
3. Serve the stew hot, over rice/quinoa/couscous, with toasted peanuts and cilantro or parsley as a garnish.

Warm Winter Meals…my go-to’s

11 Dec

I AM FREEZING!

Let’s you and me warm up with some cozy winter meals. I am rounding up a few of my go-to warm recipes that I find myself craving again and again.

Chicken Marbella: This chicken never fails to please…makes the house smell so cozy!

African G-Nut Stew: Savory recipes that call for peanut butter make me swoon.

Green n’ Yellow Risotto: Nothing screams warmth like a piping hot bowl of creamy risotto.

Mushroom Etc. and Sausage Ragu over Polenta: Cheesy polenta + Savory Sausage + Quickly Sauteed Veg

Lasagna! Layered pasta filled with veggies, basil, and ricotta. With a touch of fresh nutmeg for good measure.

Minestrone Soup. Warm broth, hearty beans, crusty bread.

Quiche. The savory pie that can be eaten morning, noon, or night.

Get your ovens preheating and your stove-tops flaming because it is time to warm things up for the cold winter ahead of us.

Baked Oatmeal, With Apples and Bananas

26 Oct

I like to ate ate ate apples and bananas
I like eat eat eat epples and benenes 
I like to ite ite ite ipples and bininis

I like to ote ote ote oplles and bononos
I like to ute ute ute upples and bununus

Mornin’ ladies and gents. I have oatmeal for you today. Baked oatmeal. Baked oatmeal that is so good I want to eat it for my breakfast, my mid-afternoon snack, and my dessert.

I recently purchased Heidi Swanson’s cookbook Super Natural Everyday. She has beautiful photos and healthy recipes using all of the ingredients that I want in my food. I want to be her. I want to make every recipe in the book. I am inspired.

This baked oatmeal has bananas, apples, and dried apricots. Baking everything together with milk and maple syrup gives the oats a sweet hearty taste. I like eating  mine with vanilla soy milk poured over the top and a little nob of peanut butter. What a cozy way to start the morning now that the weather has started cooling off here in New York.

As per usual, you can use any seasonal fruit and nut that you prefer in here, you can add extra spices like nutmeg and ginger, and feel free to throw in a few flaxseeds and some wheat germ for more oomph. You can even make it vegan by using non-dairy milk and adding ground flaxseeds instead of an egg. I only used about half of the amount of butter that the recipe calls for; you can omit it altogether or use Earth Balance buttery sticks.

Throughout her book, Heidi provides measurements in grams and ounces. After purchasing a food scale a few months ago, I am obsessed with measuring my flour, sugar, etc. in grams (155 g=1 cup of flour; 200 g=1 cup sugar…). Especially if you are an avid baker, I highly recommend you invest in a nice scale. You will use it all the time and it is less messy than using cup measures.

Happy Breakfast, Happy Fall, Happy Eating.

Baked Oatmeal

from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Everyday

serves 6 generously or 12 as part of a larger brunch spread

Ingredients:

2 cups/ 7 oz/ 200 g rolled oats

1/2 cup/ 2 oz/ 60 g walnut pieces, chopped

1/3 cup/ 2 oz/ 60 g maple syrup (or natural cane sugar)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

2 cups/ 475 ml milk

1 large egg

1-2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 ripe bananas, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 1/2 cups/ 6.5 oz/ 185 g berries or chopped apples or dried fruit such as golden raisins or apricots

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Generously butter the inside of an 8-inch/ 20 cm square baking dish.

In a bowl, mix together the oats, half the walnuts, the baking powder, cinnamon, and salt (NOTE: if you are using sugar instead of maple syrup, add it here).

In another bowl, whisk together the maple syrup (if using), the milk, egg, half of the butter, and the vanilla.

Arrange the bananas in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle 2/3 of the berries/apples/dried fruit over the top. Cover the fruit with the dry oat mixture. Slowly drizzle the milk mixture over the oats. Gently give the baking dish a couple of thwacks on the counter-top to make sure the milk moves through the oats. Scatter the remaining berries and remaining walnuts across the top.

Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the top is nicely golden and the oat mixture has set. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. Drizzle the remaining melted butter on top and serve. Sprinkle with a bit more sugar or drizzle with maple syrup if you want it a bit sweeter. Or, pour some more milk (I like vanilla soy milk) over an individual portion and enjoy with a spoonful of peanut butter.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Ice Cream

21 Sep

Living in New York City.

In the past 2 weeks a bird pooped on me exactly 2 times, once on my arm, the other time on…my EYE LID. GROSS. I was extremely mortified and disgusted. If you don’t see me in the next few weeks, it is probably because I contracted some awful disease carried by a New York pigeon.

When all of the uptown subways stop running except for the “1″ train, beware. Moms holding their babies will start yelling at old men with talk of “snuffing” them. Young folk will start harassing other young folk about who needs to give up their seat on the train. People will push and shove you and yell and push you. You might not make it on your first train, so you wait 6 minutes for the next train, only to be pushed and shoved again.

Living in New York City.

Now I would like to introduce you to this Peanut Butter Pretzel Ice Cream. I made it using Skippy Crunchy Peanut Butter. The crunch of the peanuts are divine in the ice cream. I put pretzels into a ziplock bag and smashed the heck out of them and then folded them into the ice cream. So with every bite of peanut butter ice cream, you get that salty crunch of peanut and pretzel. Gotta love some texture in all that silky smoothness.

P.S. Have you ever had those chocolate covered peanut butter pretzels from Trader Joe’s? They are so good I refuse to buy them because I can’t contain myself when they are around.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Ice Cream

adapted from alanabread; Check out her homemade chocolate covered pretzels, too!

1 cup of milk (I used nonfat milk)

100 g of sugar (about 1/2 cup?)

2 egg yolks

3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter (I used Skippy)

1 1/2 cups half and half

3/4 cup crushed salted pretzels (I put my pretzels in a ziplock bag and then smashed them with the bottom of my balsamic vinegar bottle)

1. Have your half and half sitting in a bowl over an ice bath.

2. Heat the milk with half of the sugar until it starts to steam a little. Once steaming, whisk your egg yolks with the other half of the sugar in a bowl. Once warmed, slowly pour some of the hot milk over the yolk/sugar mixture whilst stirring constantly. This is to temper your eggs. Then pour everything back into the pot and continue stirring. Immediately put your peanut butter in and whisk until smooth. Continue to heat and whisk until the mixture becomes thick like custard.

3. Remove from heat and pour into the cold cream and stir. Once everything is cool, place in refrigerator to cool overnight, or at least for 6 hours.

4. Churn in the ice cream maker as per the manufacturer’s instructions. The last 30 seconds of  churning, add your crushed pretzels.

 

***WANT MORE PEANUT BUTTER ICE CREAM RECIPES? Check out this HONEY SEA SALT PEANUT BUTTER ICE CREAM WITH CARAMEL SAUCE!!

Obsessed with “Grilled” Corn + Peanut Sesame Noodles

4 Aug

See that piece of corn? That is the beginnings of pretty much every meal that I have made in the last week.

Step 1: Husk your corn.

Step 2: Turn on the stove top. Place corn directly over the flame. Let is sit for a few minutes until it pops and hisses. Flip and repeat.

Step 3: Shave corn off cobb.

Step 4: Add this corn to whatever dish you are making. Or, just slather it with butter and chili and maybe some salty cheese and it is right off the cobb.

The other day I made some charred corn tacos.

Today I made some saucy peanut noodles.

These noodles are seriously dripping with peanut sauce and are a peanut butter-lover’s savory dream come true. The sauce gets spun in the blender. Couldn’t be easier. Oh, and I think the ginger is a key ingredient, so don’t leave it out. Go get the fresh stuff. And peel it with a spoon (the best trick I know!). And if you don’t use all of it, freeze it. It keeps well in the freezer. Ginger. Miracle ingredient.

I make these noodles all the time, adding different veggies etc. depending on the season and what I have on-hand.

I have a very hard time knowing when to stop eating these noodles. I always want just one more bite. They are quite heavy though, so only use half the amount of sauce to start and add more if you dare.

Peanut Sesame Noodles

adapted from Epicurious

This makes A LOT of sauce…you should make lots of pasta (like, an entire package/pound at least) or just use half of the sauce and save the other half in a jar for another time…

*Try not to let the noodles sit in the sauce very long — toss them together a few seconds before serving. If you are eating leftovers the next day, sprinkle with a tablespoon or so of water before heating to freshen up the dish.

**This is perfect for your vegan/veggie friends and meat eaters alike. Feel free to add tofu/tempeh, or some kind of chicken or meat if you wish.

For the peanut dressing:

  • 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/3 cup warm water
  • 2 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
  • 1 medium garlic clove, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil (sometimes I like to use a spicy sesame oil)
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes

For the noodle salad:

  • 1 lb dried linguine fini or spaghetti (or soba noodles…)
  • 1 ear of corn
  • 3 hefty handfuls of fresh spinach leaves
  • 4 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips
  • 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Prepare your dressing by placing everything in the blender and pureeing it for 1-2 minutes or until smooth. Transfer the sauce to a large bowl.

Boil some water, then heavily salt it, then add your pasta and cook until al dente. The last 3 minutes of cooking, add your fresh spinach. Drain.
While the pasta is cooking, take your ear of corn and set it over the gas stove burner and char it on all sides. Cut it off the cobb and set aside. Have your scallions, bell pepper chopped and ready.
Assemble the noodles: Add your hot noodles to the peanut sauce along with the veggies, sesame seeds, and whatever accoutrement you like.
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