Black Bean Sweet Potato Stew with tortilla crispies and avo chunks

19 Feb

Every Thursday I volunteer with a dietitian and listen to people talk about what they eat on a daily basis.

I gather that many people living in New York City go out to eat…a lot. And who is to blame? There are so many available and easy restaurants to eat at here.

Dietitians talk about making small dietary and lifestyle changes. Small changes may add up to big results later.

Even myself, working 5 nights a week as a pastry cook (nevermind that I am a dietitian-in-training and a pastry cook all at the same time…trust me, I am in a constant state of confusion…), I live for my one night a week that I actually get to cook dinner.

Cooking at home can cut your sodium/saturated fat intake by a great deal. And hopefully you will have leftovers to eat for lunch the next day or so. Oh, and it’s probably a lot cheaper.

Stews and “everything salads” are my go-to’s. I’m all over the tofu curries, the peanut stews, the grainy green soups, the classic bean and pasta minestrones.

This stew that I made from Sprouted Kitchen’s blog really hit the spot for me this week. I rarely cook with cabbage, and I enjoyed it very much in this stew. And I think that pureeing a bit of the soup just to thicken the broth a bit is key here. Plus the avocado + tortilla crispies are divine.

February is national Healthy Heart month. Do something good for your heart and make this stew. Your heart will thank you later.

Black Bean Sweet Potato Stew with tortilla crispies and avo chunks 

from Sprouted Kitchen, serves 4-6

1 T. coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 a small head of cabbage, chopped

2 medium sweet potatoes (about 3 cups), peeled and cubed (you could also use a winter squash)

3 cups veggie broth

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. cocoa powder

pinch of chipotle powder, cayenne pepper, or chili flakes

2 cups cooked black beans (about 1 can drained and rinsed)

salt to taste

avocado cubes

cilantro

Tortilla Crispies

3 corn tortillas

scant 1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

salt

In a heavy bottomed pot, warm the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and saute until just beginning to brown, about 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic, cabbage, squash and broth. Turn the heat down to a gentle simmer, cover the pot and cook for about 15-20 minutes for the vegetables to cook.

Add the spices and the beans and stir. Let everything continue to cook another ten minutes for the flavors to blend. Salt to taste. Pulse the soup a few times with an immersion blender to thicken up the broth a bit. This is optional, but makes it seem a bit thicker. You could alternatively, run just a bit of the soup through a blender or food processor, and add it back in to the pot. OR a sprinkle of cornmeal will help thicken it as well. (I put a bit of my soup in the blender and added it back to the pot)

For the tortilla crispies, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Stack them and slice into thin matchsticks. Spread on a baking sheet, drizzle with the oil, sprinkle the salt and toss gently to coat. Spread them in a single layer on the baking sheet and bake for about 10-15 minutes until they are light brown and crispy, giving the pan a shake halfway through.

Garnish each both with some diced avocado, a handful of chopped cilantro and some of the tortilla crispies!

La Colombe, NYC

5 Feb

Strong coffee. Pretty dishes, people-watching, chit-chats. Start your day. Take a break. Treat yourself.

http://lacolombe.com/

Wild Rice and Mushroom Casserole

30 Jan

Gruyere cheese and mushrooms were made to go together. With onions and garlic and a small dash of whole grain mustard, your nose would have flipped out last night as I was making this casserole. You’ve got your grain, protein, and vegetable all in one with this dish.

Browsing through Heidi’s book, I saw a photo of this casserole and my mouth immediately started watering. Her photo is to die for and the chopped fresh tarragon makes all the difference. I was too cheap to go buy tarragon, one day I will have a giant herb garden and I can just tear off a tiny sprig to garnish my dishes. Until then, I’m ok neglecting the herb.

Also, my casserole turned purple from the wild rice. No big deal, it still tasted fantastic. I have not had that much experience cooking wild rice, and I can’t wait to experiment more.

Two of us ate half of the casserole in one sitting, it was that good. Tonight’s dinner will be leftovers with some oven roasted broccoli. Cheers to healthy comfort foods!

Wild Rice and Mushroom Casserole

adapted from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Everyday 

Heidi says that you can prepare the casserole a day or two ahead and bake off when needed…

2 large eggs

1 cup/ 8oz/ 225g cottage cheese (I used 1%)

1/2 cup/ 4oz/ 115g sour cream (I used regular)

1 teaspoon Dijon-style or whole grain mustard

Kosher salt or sea salt

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (or unsalted butter)

8 ounces/ 225g cremini mushrooms, chopped

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 cups cooked wild and/or brown rice, at room temperature **see note

1/3 cup/ .5 oz/ 15g freshly grated Gruyere cheese

optional: 1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon or thyme

**NOTE: First, make sure that you have your rice cooked and ready before starting on the casserole. I used a combo of brown and wild rice, as Heidi recommends, to get “the creaminess of the brown rice playing off the individual wild rice grains.” Out of laziness efficiency, I threw 1/2 cup dry brown rice and 1/2 cup wild rice with roughly 2 1/2 cups water into my rice cooker. After an hour, both rices were ready. Granted my brown rice turned purple because of the wild rice bleeding its color, but it all got cooked and I was ready to begin the casserole. Make sure to take the top off of your rice cooker so that the rice has time to come to room temperature. Also, just for reference, brown rice is typically 1 part dry rice to just shy of 2 parts water. Wild rice is typically 1 part dry rice to 3 parts water. 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Rub a medium-large baking dish with a bit of butter or olive oil. I used a 9-inch pie pan and it worked great.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, mustard, and a scant 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Set aside.

3. In a large skillet over high heat, combine the olive oil with a couple pinches of salt. Stir in the mushrooms. After the initial stirring, leave the mushrooms alone until they release their water and the water evaporates, about 5 minutes. Continue to cook and stir every couple minutes until the mushrooms are browned. Add the onion and cook until the onion is translucent, another 2 or 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic, cook for another minute, and remove from the heat. Add the rice to the skillet and stir until combined.

4. Add the rice mixture to the cottage cheese mixture, stir until well combined, and turn into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with two-thirds of the grated cheese and cover with aluminum foil, or in my case if you do not have aluminum foil, just place a baking sheet on top of your casserole dish.

5. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil/baking sheet and bake for another 20-30 minutes, until the casserole takes on a lot of color. The finished casserole should be hot throughout and golden along the edges. Let it stand for a few minutes and then serve sprinkled with the chopped tarragon (if using) and the remaining grated cheese.

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Guest Post: Natasha’s Nutty Pumpkin Granola

25 Jan

Today’s guest post is by my witty friend, Natasha. Natasha is a baked goods fanatic! From muffins and scones to a big, chewy cookie or a dense chocolate brownie, this girl knows what’s up. About 3 years ago, Natasha and I lived together in a big house with 60 people (we called it a “co-op,” short for cooperative living). We would cook together once a week for the whole house. What an chaotic, challenging, but most of all tasty experience it was to cook for a large group of college students. Aside from our dinners, Natasha was known for making amazing late-night snacks for everyone. I will forever remember her popping corn kernels on the stove top so that we could all feast on a giant bowl of popcorn. Below Natasha shares with us a recipe for Pumpkin Granola. Mmm, I can smell the warm wintry pumpkin spices already!

If I were a food, I think I would be a pumpkin. Although it’s not the most glamorous of foods, pumpkin is hearty, delicious, and orange (like me! sort of.) It’s also a wonderful fall food which is my very favorite season.

I always have a can of pumpkin on hand, usually for pumpkin bread, but when my work was having a holiday breakfast party, I decided granola would be a great addition. But what’s a holiday breakfast with out some pumpkin? So I frantically googled pumpkin granola and found this delicious recipe, which I adapted with my own flair.

Granola is a creative food. This means, throw in whatever speaks to your mood/ inner subconscious. If you’re feeling nutty, walnuts, pecans, and almonds will add crunch and nutrition. Add some dried fruit if you’re feeling like something sweet, and coconut flakes for those really rebellious days. It’s fun to experiment, but don’t forget to add that pumpkin!

Side note: add the dried fruit when you think there’s 10 minutes left in the oven. This gives a nice toasted flavor without that burnt taste (unless you’re into that).

Also, don’t forget to stir! My batch came out a little bit crunchier than normal, although still totally delicious.

Nutty Pumpkin Granola

adadpted from Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients

1 can Pumpkin Puree
6 Tablespoons Virgin Coconut Oil (or Canola Oil)
¾ cups Brown Sugar (lightly packed)
1-¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
½ teaspoons Nutmeg
¼ teaspoons Ginger
⅛ teaspoons Cloves
¼ teaspoons Salt (slightly heaping)
2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
5 cups Rolled Oats
Almonds and Sunflower Seeds (or any raw, unsalted seeds or nuts)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F.
Combine pumpkin, coconut oil, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat; bring to a simmer, whisking occasionally to break up any clumps of brown sugar, then turn off heat and add vanilla. Stir together the pumpkin mixture with the oats and sunflower seeds in a large bowl.
Spread the mixture in an even layer on a large baking sheet and bake for about 40 to 50 minutes or until the moisture is gone and the granola is golden, toasted, and slightly crunchy, stirring every 10 minutes. Cool completely, and then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 months.

Easy Peasy Pasta + A Glimpse At My Life In A Restaurant

17 Jan

Easy Peasy. Dinner in a pinch.

Drop your pasta into salted boiling water. Add a few handfuls of frozen peas in the last 3 minutes of boiling. Saute a few minced garlic cloves in a skillet and add fresh spinach with a tiny splash of water. Cook down and add a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas. Season with salt, pepper, lemon zest, lemon juice, and chili flakes. Dump the pasta and peas into the skillet, mix everything together and top with grated Parmesan cheese.

For when you want a healthy, no fuss meal thrown together quickly by taste.

After spending most of my nights making the desserts at Print restaurant, on my days off, all I want is a quick home-cooked meal. I crave salt, I crave savory, but below I want to show you a tiny glimpse of some of the sweet things I do at work.

Every night before the restaurant opens, the staff has the opportunity to eat a meal together. We call it “family meal.” Usually the meal is something super simple that can be thrown together quickly: think chicken and rice or pasta. There is always a salad. The pastry team tries to offer something sweet for family meal, too, sometimes. Lately we have been making Horchata. Mexican Rice Milk with cinnamon. We based our recipe off of David Lebovitz. Just a yummy drink to start the night off.

One of the first things I tackle when I arrive at work is preparing for the next morning’s breakfast service. We (in pastry) make muffins and scones and coffeecakes, yogurt (from Argyle farms in NY) and fruit parfaits (topped with homemade granola), and fresh fruit plates. We offer two flavors each of muffins and scones every morning. The scone pictured above contains walnuts, Asian pears, and flaxseeds. Check out that seductive sugar sprinkle on top. Hellooooo coffee and a pastry!

After I finish preparing for the next morning’s breakfast, I begin to set up for dinner service. We currently have 6 desserts on the menu. Above you see our most recent addition to the dessert menu: Hazelnut Parfait, Maple Yogurt Mousse, Grappa Candied Chestnuts, Espresso Syrup. There’s all sorts of warm and cool, soft, creamy, and crunchy to this dessert. Mmm mmm winter wonderland.

And when you get your coffee or when you order some house made ice cream, you get to try our rotation of biscotti. We are currently serving pistachio polenta biscotti with dried cherries. Dip and go.

Sometimes there are large parties eating at the restaurant. We offer a special dessert menu for these parties. One of the desserts consists of chocolate hazelnut mousse, fleur de sal, hazelnut streusal, poached pear halves, brown butter ice cream, and chocolate decor. I would describe chocolate decor as tempered chocolate cut into shapes. There’s all sorts of heating and agitating and spreading and cooling. It’s a science that I have yet to perfect. But it sure tastes good along the way.


I feel like I have to leave you with a savory item from the restaurant. The burger is on our lunch menu and sometimes pops up on the dinner menu. This gargantuan meat stack has cornichons, pickled red onion, gooey cheddar, bacon, tomatoes, lettuce, and a toasted bun. Ah, swoon.

So now you have seen a tiny glimpse into restaurant dessert/food. Tiny.

And people always ask me how I don’t gain a zillion pounds working in pastry. I answer with: the stairs, the heavy lifting, the stirring, the rolling…I get quite the workout. So a few nibbles and tastes won’t spiral me out of control. I am constantly moving. And we work with so many fresh, local ingredients that I feel pretty darn good eating what I want.

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