Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

All I could think while I was eating these stuff sweet potatoes was "holy cow, I just made my own chili beans - they actually taste good".  Since I'm just cooking for two, I decreased some of the ingredients so we wouldn't have a ton of left overs.

Ingredients

• 3 Small Yams/Sweet Potatoes
• 1 1/2 cup Pinto-type Beans
• 2 tsp. Olive Oil
• 1 Yellow Onion
• 2 Cloves Garlic, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. Chili Powder (I only used a tsp)
• 1 Tsp. Cumin
• 1/2 Tsp. Paprika
• 1 Tsp. Smoked Salt
• 20 oz. Crushed Tomatoes

Garnish

• Cilantro
• Chopped Red Onion
• Avocado
• Sour Cream or Yogurt

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 400. Pierce holes in the sweet potatoes/yams, lightly wrap them in foil, and bake on the middle rack for about 45-55 minutes.
• Put the beans in a pot and completely cover with water, plus 2 extra inches. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for 45-60 minutes until the beans are cooked through.
• While the beans cook, thinly slice the onion. Over medium heat, warm the olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot and cook the onions and garlic until softened. Add the spices and the jar of tomatoes. If the tomatoes are whole, just smash them to a puree. Bring to a simmer and reduce for about 20 minutes while the beans finish cooking.
• When the beans are cooked, drain and add them to the tomato mix, cook another 10 minutes for all the flavors to marry. Taste for salt and spices, add more if desired.
• Split open the baked sweet potato/yams and create a little cavern down the middle by removing some of the filling. Fill the cavern with the chili beans and add toppings as desired. I like a bit of avocado, sour cream and cilantro. You could go with a bit of shredded cheese and minced red onion... something tells me you've had chili before and know the drill

 

adapted from sprouted kitchen

Family Secret - Spinach Pie

So the story goes when my mom was younger, she did a favor for a neighbor and as a thank you, they made her this Spinach Pie with the recipe as a thank you.  I've been making and eating this dish since I was kid so it always brings up good memories.

This is every one's favorite - its hearty, filling, cheesy, with a golden flaky crust. Its more than just a simple quiche - its more shiny and special than that. Its amazing as a winter dish to warm you up inside and tastes just as good as left overs.  We always serve it with a Hollandaise sauce, whether its from scratch or just from a sauce packet.

Ingredients

• 1 pound Italian Sausage
• 6 Eggs (Reserve the yolk from one of the eggs)
• 2 10 ounces Chopped Spinach - you can use frozen as well, make sure it is thoroughly thawed and drained
• 16 ounces of Mozzarella Cheese Grated
• 8 ounces of Ricotta Cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt, 1/8 teaspoon Pepper, 1 teaspoon Garlic Power
• **Pastry for bottom and top of pie--I get Pillsbury Pie Crust

Directions

• Cook Sausage, allow to cool and cut into bite size pieces
• Combine the Sausage and all the other ingredients in a bowl and mix 
• Place a pie crust at the bottom of a 10 inch pie plate
• Place all mixed ingredients in the pie plate and put on top pie crust 
• Mix a teaspoon of water with the reserved egg yolk and spread on the top crust (this gives it that beautiful golden brown color
• Make several slits on top with a knife.

Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes at 375 degree oven

Chicken Mango Lettuce Wraps and Thai Peanut Noodles

This was an easy fun recipe.  It does take some prep time chopping and shaving all the veggies and chicken but well worth it. The peanut noodles was another story. I will never....ever...never not ever cook with rice noodles again.  Its a hard noodle to master.  I've tried doing several things but they always come out sticky and mushy.

Ingredients - Mango Chicken Wraps

1 pound ground chicken (I couldn't find any ground chicken so I chopped chicken breasts in small cubes and I think it tasted better)

4-5 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon corn starch (or potato or rice starch)

1 teaspoon cooking oil (a high smoke point oil would be best such as rice bran oil, grape seed oil or canola oil)

4 green onions, chopped

4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced

1-2 teaspoons seasoned rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 large mango, diced

1 head of butter lettuce, rinsed, leaves separated

 

**Why the corn starch? It's a cooking trick that you often find in Chinese recipes. The corn starch helps the chicken hold in its moisture and keep it from drying out in the high heat of the stir frying**

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients - Thai Peanut Noodles

 

1-2 carrots, sliced thinly or shaved

1 cucumber, sliced thinly or shaved

1 package of rice noodles (but try soba, egg noodles, or whole wheat noodles)

1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup Light Coconut Milk (regular milk will make it too thick)
1/2 Cup Water
1 tbsp. Tamari/Soy Sauce
1 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
2 tsp. Lime Juice
2 tbsp. Agave
1 Shallot, finely chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp. Canola/Peanut Oil

 

Saute the the garlic and shallot in the oil to soften, whisk in the peanut butter, coconut milk, water, agave and soy sauce and mix to combine. Sprinkle in the red pepper flakes. When all ingredients are warmed through, add the lime juice. Add spices as you wish here

 

Toss peanut sauce with noodles, carrots, and cucumbers. Garnish with cilantro.

Living butter lettuce

Santa Cruz Clam Chowder Cook-Off!

We did it! We competed in our first cooking competition! 

The Santa Cruz clam chowder is quite an event. Over 70 teams competed trying to dish out either the best Boston or Manhattan clam chowder. Teams go way out decorating booths, making costumes, ringing cow bells - the works.  We probably put off planning a costume and booth theme a little too long.  We had a ton of great suggestions but late Thursday night we decided on (based on easiness and expense factors) "Clam Heaven", making us clam angels.  We perfected our chowder recipe after consulting with several chefs and cooks, cooking up almost 4 gallons of Boston clam chowder.  It tasted amazing!  In just under an hour we ran out of chowder! Several people even came back for 2nd and in a couple cases 3rd tastes.  We didn't win but we had a blast.  We also got 23 votes for best chowder - not bad for our first time. 

Someone wrote "The Best 2013" on one of their votes!

What we learned:  In order to really compete, you probably need to cook at least 7-10 gallons of chowder.  The public gets only 5 tastes out of 75, so the more people you can get to try your chowder, the more likely you are to get votes.  We'll definitely do this again.


Prepping the clam shell

The Clam Heaven Booth

Free Fresh Cream!

Chopping the Ingredients

Chef Lucas

Chef Elanita



Feeding the Crowds

Can you see the clam angel wings?

Breaking down the booth at the end of the day

Dishes!

 



Best Clam Chowder Recipe

Makes about 3.5ish gallons

·         1 bunch celery, chopped

·         1 lbs onions, chopped

·         5 stalks  of leeks

·         1 ½ lb bacon

·         4 lbs Gold Yukon, diced

·         40oz clam juice

·         1.5 lb clams

·         3 Tbsp fresh thyme

·         1.5 Tbsp dried oregano

·         3 Tbsp dill 

·         1 package seafood bouillon (about 3oz)

·         2 lbs butter

·         4 cups flour

·         6 cloves garlic

·         ½  gallon milk

·         1  gallon Cream

·         2 cups dry sherry

·         2 Tbsp pepper and 2-3 Tbsp salt

·         2-5tbsp of lemon juice and zest of 3 lemons (add to taste)

·         Salt and pepper to taste at the end

Directions

Boil potatoes separately. Allow to cool, cut into small cubes and set aside (can be done the night before).

Cook the bacon slowly, in a soup pot over low-medium heat until lightly crisp, about 8 minutes.

Melt the butter

Add the onion, garlic, and leeks stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 8 minutes.

Combine celery, carrot, thyme, oregano, dill, and bouillon; cook for ~10 mins

Add Sherry and cook down about 10-15 min

Add flour to make a roux, mix throughly for about 5 mins. Do not allow to burn, stir frequently

Whisk in the clam juice and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add dairy, mix well - simmer for 10mins

 

Add salt and pepper

Add cooked potatoes and clams and simmer for 30-40mins

15mins before serving, add lemon juice, zest, and extra salt and pepper to taste

Stir frequently (we never stopped stirring) – never let the chowder boil - remove from heat for a few mins if the chowder is getting too hot at any time.

 

 

 

Veggie Bento Bowl

 

After a week of eating out and eating lots of meat - this meal totally hit the spot. The peanut sauce is to die for! I used the left over sauce as a dip and dipped what ever I could find in it.

 

Ingredients

• 12 oz. Extra Firm Tofu
• 1/2 lb. Soba or Rice Noodles
• 1 Bell Pepper, thinly sliced
• 4 Baby Bok Choy
• 2 Carrots, Shaved with a Vegetable Peeler
• Half a Cucumber, Sliced on a Bias
• 4 Scallions, Halved Length Wise
• Sesame Oil
• Cilantro for Garnish
• 1/3 Cup Pickled Ginger ( I skipped this)

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the noodles. Drain and press the tofu. Cut it into cubes and saute on medium heat with 1 tsp. sesame oil until lightly browned. Be gentle so the tofu stays in cube form.
2. Start the sauce. Saute the the garlic and shallot in the oil to soften, whisk in the peanut butter, coconut milk, water, agave and soy sauce and mix to combine. Sprinkle in the red pepper flakes. When all ingredients are warmed through, add the lime juice. Add spices as you wish here.
3. In a steamer basket, or pan filled 1'' with water. Steam the bok choy, scallions and bell peppers for 6 minutes with the lid on (time may vary). Remove.
4. Cook the noodles according to instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water, drizzle a little sesame oil to prevent them from sticking. Mix the tofu with desired amount of sauce so it looks like a creamy mess. Lay the tofu on top of the noodles and arrange the bok choy, peppers, cucumber, pickled ginger and shaved carrots along side. Sprinkle everything with sesame seeds and fresh chopped cilantro.

adapted from sprouted kitchen

Edamame Dumplings Soup

 

Making dumplings is easy - finding wonton wrappers in Santa Cruz, now thats a challenge.  I searched high and low for wonton wrappers and found them in the most run down Safeway in town.  Now that I know how easy it is, I can't help but think of all the other recipes I can use wonton wrappers with.  A word of caution - it's time consuming.  Invite some friends over to help and zen out to the delicate and thoughtful process of making dumplings.

Ingredients

Dumplings

• 4 green onions - coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
• 1/4 cup fresh basil - coarsely chopped
• 2 cups shelled edamame, cooked and drained
• 2-4 tbsp sour cream (based on preference)
• dash of hot sauce or red pepper flakes
• 40 wonton wrappers

Broth

• 4 cups mushroom or vegetable broth
• 1 stalk lemon grass
• 2 tbsp mirin (japanese wine - I couldn't find it and left it out)
• 2-3 tbsp of soy suace
• handful of snow peas
• 4-6 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
• microgreens and toasted sesame seeds for garnish

Directions

1. Combine the green onions, sesame oil, basil, edamame, sour cream, and hot sauce/red pepper flakes into a food processor.  Process into a puree
2. On a lightly floured work surface, place a tablespoon of the filling in the center of a wonton wrapper.  Place another wonton wrapper on top of the filling and press down along the edges. Repeat with remaining wrappers.
3. Add about 1 cup of water or veggie broth to a saucepan to cover the bottom.  Place the wontons on a steamer in the saucepan and steam over medium heat until the wontons are warmed (about to mins). You will probably have to do this in batches.
4. To make the broth combine mushroom or veggie broth in  a pot over medium heat for 10mins.
5. Add lemon grass, mirin, soy sauce, mushrooms, and snow peas. Simmer on low heat
6. To serve, divide wontons among bowls and pour on broth and veggies.
7. garnish with sesame seeds and microgreens.

*The recipe called for just steaming the wontons but I gave them a quick sear on each side to add some texture to the wontons.

adapted from sprouted kitchen