Hearty Pumkin Soup

2 teaspoon olive oil
5 cloves of garlic
1 medium bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
2 cups dutch potatoes
1/3 cup dry white wine
15 ounces pureed pumpkin, canned is fine
1 14 ounce can crushed or diced tomatoes
1/2 cup cilantro
1 tablespoon tamari
About 3 cups vegetable stock (you can add more if you like a thinner soup)

Saute all of the aromatics in olive oil until tender (onion, peppers, garlic), about 2 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the wine and cook down a bit, then add tomatoes, pumpkin puree and stock.

Reduce heat to medium and cook for about half and hour until potatoes are tender. Add chopped cilantro and tamari, along with the salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a nice crusty loaf of french bread...yum!

Butternut Squash Risotto

The crazy Louisiana heat left me very uninspired this past summer. At one point I swore off cooking anything and resorted to gazpacho, salsa and salads every night. Thankfully the weather is cooling down here and I can reacquaint myself with my stove.

For the rest of this season I will post my favorite recipes for Fall! All of my long time standbys and some newly discovered goodies. Here's a good one...

Butternut squash Risotto:

5 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 onion, diced

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 butternut squash

1 1/2 cups Aborio rice

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp. sage

olive oil

First cut the squash open long ways and remove the seeds. Peel the squash and then cut into 1" cubes. Toss onto a cookie sheet with salt, pepper, sage and olive oil until well coated and spread into an even layer. Don't be shy with the olive oil, it will give the squash its golden caramelized color. Roast in a 425 degree oven for 20-30 minutes until golden and tender.

Bring the stock to a boil in a small saucepan. In a separate saucepan saute onion in olive oil until starting to brown slightly. Add the rice, stirring to coat with the oil. Add the wine. Stir until the wine is absorbed. Now start adding the hot stock stock 1/2 cup at a time. You will need to stick around and stir continuously for about 20 minutes. Keep adding stock 1/2 cup at a time.

When you have about 1/2 cup of stock left, add the roasted butternut squash to the rice. Stir well then add the remaining stock to finish cooking. Add the Parmesan cheese at the end. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with a nice green salad!

Enjoy!

Pot stickers

Last night I had two little helpers making pot stickers with me. They were so delicious and so very fun to make with the boys. At one point (when I was about to kick everyone out of the kitchen and blow my cool) Avery took it upon himself to teach Emile the right way to construct and fold a pot sticker. For some reason it hadn't occurred to me that he was actually capable of learning something so precise, but Avery knew better! He stepped it up and showed me how it's done. I'm so proud of him!!! They were a bit messy but absolutely scrumptious!

You need:
1 package of won ton wrappers
1/2 cup terryaki sauce- I use Soy Vay brand
1 chopped onion
1/2 chopped bell pepper
shredded cabbage
1/2 cup of broccoli slaw
shredded zucchini
shredded carrots
baby peas
bean sprouts
green onion, chopped
hand full chopped cilantro

Saute all of your veggies until soft and add the terryaki sauce.
Boil some water in a medium sauce pan, and in a separate frying pan heat three tablespoons of canola oil.
Lay out one won ton at a time (this is best done with other people as an assembly line) place 1 tablespoon of the veggie mixture in the center of won ton, dab a bit of water around the edges and fold into a triangle then match the two bottom corners together and press to seal. Drop won tons into boiling water for about 3 minutes until clear, then place into the frying pan and let cook there until browned and crisp. Make sure not to try and remove it from the pan too soon, otherwise you will end up with lots of burnt won ton wrapper in the pan like we did our first batch. The pot sticker will actually release when it is done. Be patient and make sure your fire isn't too high.

Enjoy!!!

Black Beans and Lemon Cookies

Tonight we had black beans over rice. Nothing too exciting, but the cookies we had for dessert were certainly worth writing about! The recipe was found here on Martha Stewart's Everyday Food. I followed the recipe exactly but didn't bother making the glaze and they were still lemony and delicious. They really were the most perfect cookie, for me anyway. I'm a fruit and nut kinda gal, hold the chocolate and give me some lemon zest any day and I'll be one happy camper.


Here's my recipe for simple black beans and rice:

1 lb. black beans
enough water to cover beans

1 onion
1 red bell pepper
2 stalks celery
2 cloves of garlic
1 shredded zucchini

2 tablespoon each lime and orange juice
handful cilantro
1 tablespoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste

First soak the beans for at least eight hours. I like to use my pressure cooker to cook the beans to save on time but you can do it however you like. While the beans are cooking chop all veggies and shred zucchini. Saute onion and celery in olive oil until onion is translucent. Add pepper, garlic and zucchini and cook for a few more minutes. When beans are done add veggies and lime and orange juice, cilantro, salt, pepper and cumin. Cook altogether for about 15 more minutes or until you feel the flavors have combined enough.

A hearty helping of memories

Tonight we had shrimp stuffed mirliton with yummy crusty french bread and also curry cauliflower soup! I know, it's kind of an odd combination, but it worked. The stuffed squash was taught to me by my grandmother Too-Koo. I would go to visit her after I got married and just marvel at her domescticity. She always had a meal waiting for you when you would arrive, and could whip up a jelly roll too while you were there. I loved our visits together. I watched attentivly as she worked busily all around me. Giving me small jobs to do like chop the parsley or put ice in the glasses. It was an unspoken understanding that she was sharing somthing of infinate value and worth. She was subtly instilling a love of tradition and heritage, of simple details that often get overlooked but it's what makes what we do as mothers and grandmothers (and fathers too:)) so darn special. So here I share what I learned from her on one of my visits, although there was no written recipe to follow. You need your inner grandmother to whisper the exact amounts like I did tonight. Good Luck and enjoy!!!

Shrimp stuffed Mirliton:

1 onion

1/2 red pepper

1/2 bell pepper

1 stalk celery

1 clove of garlic

2 green onions

1/2 lbs. shrimp peeled and devieined

3/4 cup toasted bread crumbs

1 tsp. worceshire sauce

dash of tabasco

tony's or just plain salt and pepper to taste

4 Mirliton or chayote squash

Cut squash in half and place in large pot, cover with water and boil until tender (about 20 minutes) . While that is boiling chop veggies and saute in olive oil and/or butter until soft. Add shrimp and seasonings (tabasco, worc. sauce, tony's or salt and pepper) cook until shrimp turn pink then add 1/2 cup of bread crumbs. When the squash is tender using a soup spoon scoop out just the meat of the squash leaving a nice shell and add the squash meat to the shrimp. Fill the militon skin with the shrimp mixture and top with remaining bread crumbs. Bake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees until bread crumbs are lightly browned on top.

**You could use this same filling to stuff zuchinni or eggplant if the choyote squash is not available.

Mushroom Barley Soup

This soup is one of my winter time staples. It's the time I get to use the turnips Adam grows in our garden, they are so incredibly delicious, they taste like butter. And what really makes this a meal for me is the barley. It's such a hearty grain, so even if you're just eating soup you feel full and satisfied afterwards.

1onion
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 red pepper
2 turnips, diced
1 cup chopped mushrooms (I use baby bellas)
1 clove of garlic
2 carrots, diced
1/2 cup barley
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon sherry or balsamic vinegar
6 cups of water/vegetable broth
teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper to taste

So first start by sauteing the onion, celery, pepper, garlic in a bit of olive oil. Add carrots and mushrooms until mushrooms are cooked through then add the barley, tomato paste and sherry. Stir around so that all the veggies are coated then add the water/broth and spices. Allow to cook on medium heat until all the veggies are soft and the barley is completely cooked (about 1 hour).
Serve with some crusty french bread and enjoy!

Sunday- Rice and Gravy

Sunday dinners are always special, but this past Sunday was one to remember. I had the two best cooks in the world in my kitchen, that would be my mom and my dad! Teaching me how to make steak and rice and gravy -a cajun staple! Meat is not something that makes it's way onto our plate often, especially beef. Adam is a vegetarian and every time I try to cook red meat for me and the kids it turns out to be a pale, tough and chewy mess. So my dad kindly taught me how to brown meat and make a killer gravy. For Adam I pan fried some flounder filets that were pretty yummy as well!

To go along with that we had a delicious salad from our garden topped with golden raisins, toasted walnuts and gargonzola cheese with rasberry lime vinegrette. Yum!!!

Here's to family dinners!

Date Night

This recipe is a bit lengthy, perfect for date nights when the kids are away and you can enjoy the process of putting it all together. Complete with a glass of wine and the Gipsy Kings on Pandora, followed by this heartwrenching romantic movie . So perfect!

Black Bean Empanada's:

Filling:

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 red bell pepper

1/2 red onion

1/2 cup shredded purple cabbage

1 small shredded zuchinni

1 clove crushed garlic

1 can balck beans drained

1/2 cup shredded smoked cheddar cheese

1 tablspoon cumin

salt and pepper to taste

squeeze of lime juice

handfull cilantro, chopped

Dough:

1 1/4 cup flour

6 tblspoon butter or shortening

1/3 cup COLD water

1 teaspoon salt

Egg wash:
1 egg
1/4 cup water

Pinapple green chile chutney:
1 can crushed pinapple
1 small can of green chiles
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 clove chopped garlic

So first start by making the dough. Mix salt into flour and cut in butter (I like to use a food processor for this), then add water little bit at a time until it resembles dry oats. Put into plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Now after you chop veggies heat olive oil in skillet and add the onions and red pepper. Saute until soft and aromatic then add purple cabbage, garlic and shredded zuchinni and coook down a bit. Add cumin and salt and pepper, black beans and cilantro. Squeeze a bit of lime juice and at the last minute add the shredded cheese. Turn off heat and set aside while you make the chutney.

In your food processor put pinapple, garlic, green chiles, dash of salt and cilantro and puree.

To assemble Empanadas:

Take out the dough and divide into about 10 balls, and on a floured surface roll out each ball to about 1/8" thickness to make a disc. Place all discs onto lightly oiled baking sheet and get your egg wash ready.

Place about one rounded tablspoon onto each disc, brush egg wash onto half of the discs edge, fold over then crimp around the sealed edge with a fork. Brush the top with egg wash and make a slit with a knife to create a vent for the steam.

Bake in oven set to 4oo degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with pinapple chutney. We ended up with quite a bit of left over mix that we used it as a dip with corn chips, but would be really good with rice and use it to stuff peppers. Yum!

There has been lots of culinary goodies here lately, with Emile's birthday and Valentines day and also Mardi Gras you would think I'd have been here everyday with somthing yummy to eat, but as always life takes precedents and blogging takes a back seat, as it should. So here I am back and I am hungry and don't feel like being in the kitchen one bit!

Last night Adam made a DELICIOUS stir fry over noodles with fried tofu. I think I had three helpings! Today Avery made breakfast, frozen waffles. He ate five then threw up. Lovely, huh? Lunch came out of a box with a bunny on it, and dinner tonight was a compilation of what I had in the fridge and pantry thown together so that I could leave hubby with the three kids and go tp yoga (not something I do everyday!) Soooo... needless to say dinner tonight was so not blog worthy. I have ideas, oh yes I do. I just need a kitchen muse or something to get me in there.

I would like to leave you with this recipe. A Hummingbird cake that was delicious! I made this cake with lots of love for Emile's big third birthday party last Saturday. I almost had a complete avalanche while icing the darn thing, but it was gooood!

Chicken Chili Quesadilla

My poor picture really does not do this dish justice at all! I do not claim to be a food photographer and I must admit to having terrible lighting in my kitchen, but it's really all about flavor here anyway.

Chicken Green Chili Quesadillas

3 organic chicken breast

1 can green chopped green chili's

1 tbsp cumin

salt and pepper

olive oil

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup cream cheese(optional)

lime juice

1/4 cup cilantro

shredded Mexican blend cheese- (cheddar & monetary jack)

Whole wheat tortillas

Sweet potatoes

Season chicken on both sides and place in oiled skillet. Brown on both sides, when done place on a clean plate and with a fork shred the chicken and place back into skillet with the chicken broth and the green chili's and cumin. Cook down with the lid on until most of the liquid is absorbed. Add cream cheese (if desired), cilantro, and a bit of lime juice- stir well and set aside.

To assemble the quesadilla:

Turn fire to medium/low heat. In a large skillet add 1 pat of butter or olive oil just to coat the skillet , place one flour tortilla down in hot skillet and on one side of the tortilla sprinkle about 1 tbsp of shredded cheese, then 1 heaping spoonful chicken mixture, then another sprinkle of the cheese. Flip one half of the tortilla over so that you've made a half circle. When cheese starts to melt flip the quesadilla and brown on the other side. Feel free to modify the cheese/chicken ratio to your liking of course.

The baked sweet potatoes with lime, which if you've never tried will probably blow your mind, it did for me who was so used to making sweet potatoes with butter and brown sugar or honey. Simply bake sweet potatoes at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, slice open and squeeze the lime juice into the warm sweet potato. Yum!!!

Vegetarian option: You can use black beans or shredded zucchini/squash in the place of chicken. Omit chicken broth altogether, you wouldn't need any extra liquid. Saute veggies until soft add cream cheese (or not) and assemble quesadillas.

Guest Chef in the House

Sunday night we decided to bring back an old tradition with my Dad at the stove. As far back as I can remember my grandparents made coush-coush for us, to me it was a special treat for them it was a staple. Coush-coush is basically water and cornmeal and a bit of salt and pepper steamed in a heavy bottom pot to create a nutty flavored dish that is served over a fried egg and on special occasions shrimp stew. The Coush-Coush itself is dry but with the runny egg underneath creates yummy soft lumps of mealy goodness. Sounds odd? For me it's more than comfort food, it's the epitome of nostalgia. I can remember my grandfather giving me my first lesson in how to eat this stuff- always with a tall glass of milk to wash it down. And the best part has to be the crust that forms on the bottom of the pot. My dad talks about how him and his six siblings would fight over the it!

Coush-Coush:

3 cups white cornmeal

salt and pepper(2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper)

water

vegetable oil

cover bottom of pot with oil, making sure to coat the sides of pot with oil. In separate bowl mix cornmeal with salt and pepper and stir n small amounts of water at a time until cornmeal resembles wet sand. Then place mixture in oiled pot and put on low heat. Cover pot to allow steaming. Check on corn meal every 10 minutes, stirring but careful not to scrape bottom pot. Do this until cornmeal is fluffy and loose (abut 45 minutes), some clumping may occur (the lumps were my grandfathers favorite, putting them into his milk)

Pour cornmeal into a separate bowl and invert crust onto separate plate.

Serve this over fried eggs or Shrimp stew with a tall glass of cold milk.

Rockin Chili Quiche

I'm all about the one pot meals these days, especially with the new baby and two other monkeys running around me all of the time. So I created this Quiche (which on this occasion and with this recipe is just a fancy word for eggy casserole). It goes together rather quickly and again bonus with everything being in one cooking vessel!

Chili Quiche:

Crust:
3 1/2 Cups thawed hash browns
4 tablespoon butter

Filling:
1 large can green chile's, chopped
1 can vegetarian chili (I use Hormel veggie chili or Amy's Organic)
1 cup monetary jack cheese
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
dash of hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste
7 eggs

For the crust press thawed potatoes with paper towels to get some of the excess moisture out. Melt butter then toss with potatoes in 9 by 12" baking dish and press down to form the crust. Bake for 25 minutes at 425 degrees.

When crust is done layer green chile's, veggie chili, then cheese. Beat eggs with dash of hot sauce and salt and pepper then pour evenly over top pressing down with a wooden spoon. Bake for 45 minutes until browned slightly and set in the center. Serve hot with a side salad or by itself!

"The Best Quinoa Ever" part 2

Tonight called for rich and delicious Indian inspired goodness. So easy to whip up (that is if you don't ruin the rice as I did), and oh so yummy!!

Normally we serve this over brown basmati rice, but for some reason my rice cooker pooped out in the middle of cooking and became a soggy mush-so I resorted to the all so dependable quinoa.

You should have on hand:

1 Can Garbanzo beans

1Can coconut milk

1 medium yellow onion, diced

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 carrots, chopped,

2 medium potatoes, cut into cubes

1 small can green chile's

1/4 cup water (or more to thin out the curry)

1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder

salt and pepper to taste

Juice of one lime

handful of chopped cilantro

Saute onion, celery and carrots in 1 tablespoon olive oil until softened. Add green chile's and potatoes and cook for 2 minutes more then add curry powder coconut milk and garbanzos.

Cover and cook down on medium heat until potatoes are done, stirring regularly and adding water until it is desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste, lime juice and chopped cilantro, serve over rice or quinoa and enjoy!

After dinner I thought I'd make rice pudding with the soggy rice. I got out the heavy whipping cream, whole milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar, put it all into a pot set to medium heat and went to change a diaper and when I came back I was met by a very scorched pudding.

Needless to say that rice was just not meant to be eaten tonight.

"The Best Quinoa Ever!"

Quinoa is by far my favorite grain ever and probably the most perfect food I can think of. Dating back more than 5,000 years in South America, cultivated and treasured among the Incan Civilization, this (complete) protein packed grain contains loads of essential amino acids and B vitamins.

We love to use it in place of rice in many dishes, but this is the tastiest recipe I have made so far. And being that it has so many added veggies and even beans it is totally a one pot wonder, a complete meal in and of itself!

Here is my own recipe for " The Best Quinoa Ever!" -as quoted by Avery (6)

1onion Chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 Bunch asparagus, cut into 1" pieces
1 zucchini, grated
1 cup Quinoa
2 cups veggie broth
1 table spoon Curry powder
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

Saute Onion and Bell pepper in a tablespoon of olive oil until softened. Add chopped asparagus and shredded zucchini and cook down a few more minutes. Rinse off quinoa really well and add to the pot off veggies. Add the two cups of liquid, curry powder and garbanzos. Stir well and cover. Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes with the lid on until the outer ring on the quinoa is transparent and starts to separate from the grain.

Lemon-Aid for Haiti

The kids raised over $100 to donate to the Red Cross for relief efforts in Haiti!!! Good job kids (and most of all Amanda for organizing and hosting all these little monkeys)

Little Helper!

Emile assisted me in making our dinner on Wednesday night. We made Lentil Loaf with Steamed broccoli and Whipped Potatoes with lots of butter and cheddar cheese. Yum! It was so hearty and comforting! And best of all I had the sweetest little helper. He did a great job grating the cheese, mixing and pouring.

*Red Lentil Loaf*

Cook 1 1/2 cup dry red lentils in 3 cups of water for about 20 minutes or until water is mostly absorbed and lentils are tender.

While that is cooking, saute 1 onion (chopped fine), 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper and 3/4 cup chopped mushrooms in olive oil or butter until very soft. Add 1 clove of crushed garlic and turn off heat.

Add vegetables to the lentils when done, and add 1 1/2 cups of grated cheddar cheese. Mix well.

Beat one large egg and add to lentil mixture, stir well. Spray a loaf pan with oil and pour mixture into pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until lightly browned at edges and starting to firm up in center.

Fish stick fun!

For lunch we had these crispy breaded fish filets inspired by a chapter out of this book.

It was super easy, I don't know how I could have ever bought fish sticks in a box before.

First I got four talapia filets, cod would be nice aswell, cut them in long strips and set them aside.

Get your breading station ready by first beating 4 eggs together with a splash of milk in a shallow bowl, then in another bowl put 1 cup flour with salt and pepper and any other spices you might like (I like Tony Zacheries) , In another bowl put one cup of whole wheat bread crumbs.

{It is so easy to make your own bread crumbs, simply toast a couple slices of ww bread, then blend them up in the food processor.}

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cover the bottom of your skillet with a thin layer of oil and wait until it is hot, testing with a few bread crumbs, whne it sizzles then it is ready.

In your breading station dredge fish in flour first, then egg mixture, then bread crumbs. Place gently in hot oiled skillet, and cook on each side for 2 or 3 minutes until browned. When both sides are brown place on greased baking pan and place in oven for 10 minutes. Keep watch as some ovens can cook faster than others, you don't want it to over cook so stay close.

We had our fish "sticks" with veggie chips and fresh fruit, and of course ketchup for dipping!

Pizza Night!

Category: Pizza
Cuisine: Italian
Prep Time: Less than 2 hrs
Special Considerations: Vegetarian

Delicious home made pizza is always a hit with my family! Here's my latest creation sure to satisfy the most critical of pizza connoisseurs!

For dough: mix 3/4 cup warm water with 1 packet active dry yeast and 1/2 teaspoon sugar or honey, let sit for 5 minutes until foamy. Add 2 cups flour (I use all purpose, but you could use half whole wheat) 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix in mixer until comes together in a ball. Lightly flour surface and knead dough for a few minutes until smooth. Let rise in oiled bowl for one hour until doubled in size. When ready to make pizza punch down dough and knead again on floured surface. Cut dough ball in half and roll out to make two pizzas.

Sauce: Take one can organic Muir Glenn tomato sauce and cook with 1 teaspoon worceshire sauce, one clove crushed garlic, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, fresh ground black pepper and a dash of kosher sea salt.
While dough is rising- saute red onions and mushrooms in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 bat of butter until caramelized.
Shred 1 cup monetary jack cheese, 1/2 cup pepper jack cheese and 1/4 cup pecorino ramano.
Roll out pizza dough and bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees until starting to brown slightly, take out of the oven and disperse generous amount of tomato sauce, then cheese then mushroom red onion mixture, then top with a little more of the cheese. Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes until cheese is bubbly.
Enjoy!

Who Dat!

Sunday morning coffee and beigneits in honor of the Siants awesome victory against the Cardinals, we couldn't resist a little celebratory brunch. I have to hand it to Cafe Dumonde in New Orleans for this little treat!