Monthly Archives: August 2012

Got Vegetables? Make Soup

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It can be a challenge cooking for two. When I made a big batch of Baked Garden Vegetable Stack the other day, I had a lot of tender vegetables left over. I turned them into creamy soup in 30 minutes.

The thin slices of potatoes and tender ribbons of cabbage seemed to demand caraway, that distinctly flavored seed typically found in rye bread. I used to love ladling my mom’s sauerkraut dotted with caraway seeds over creamy chunks of boiled potatoes.

I started the soup by sauteing chopped onions and caraway seeds in hot oil. I tried a bit of the Butter Olive Oil I bought at Oh! Olive, a cute little shop in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. The oil is organic with natural butter flavor, but is dairy-free and contains no animal products. I’ve discovered it’s perfect for popping corn, or drizzling over a bowl of hot popped corn. Anyway, when the onions began to turn golden brown, I dumped in all my leftover vegetables (I had quite a bit — only two of us ate a meal from that big pan of veggies), poured in a few cups of vegetable broth and let it all simmer together for about 20 minutes.

The potato slices were falling apart at that point and the green beans and carrots were very tender.

I used my immersion blender to puree the soup right in the pot. Of course you could use your blender or food processor for the job. I wanted to have control over how chunky the final product would be. And then, I just stirred in about a cup of milk and seasoned to taste. A sprinkle of minced fresh parsley over the top gave it the final touch.

The soup was so satisfying. The dark caraway seeds softened during the saute and simmer and added that German-style flavor I remember from years of eating the sauerkraut and dumplings my mom used to make whenever she wanted to make my dad’s day.

Either use up some vegetables you’ve already cooked or follow the recipe below.

Turn leftover Baked Garden Vegetable Stack into Creamy Caraway Vegetable Soup.

I plan to bake another big batch of Baked Garden Vegetable Stack, just so I can have more of those vegetables to turn into soup.

Creamy Caraway Vegetable Soup

First, cook the vegetables. Serve some up as part of a meal, then use the rest for soup. Here’s how to bake the vegetables:

  • Olive oil, for preparing pans
  • Yukon Gold potatoes, about 2 to 2½ pounds, peeled
  • Carrots, about 1 pound, peeled
  • Onion, 1 medium, sliced thin
  • Green Beans, 5 to 6 ounces, topped and tailed (trimmed), cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
  • Cabbage, about 4 ounces, sliced thin

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare 2 shallow baking pans or baking dishes that are the same size. Two jelly roll pans (11- x 15-inch) if you are feeding a family or 2 to 4 gratin dishes if you are cooking for one or two. Lightly coat the inside of each baking pan or dish with olive oil. Set aside.

Use a sharp knife or a mandolin to slice Yukon Gold potatoes and carrots 1/8-inch thick, keeping them in separate piles.

Salt and pepper the inside bottom of one pan. Arrange about half of the Yukon Gold potato slices, shingle style, in the prepared pan, covering the bottom completely. Make another layer with all of the carrots, arranging them the same way. Sprinkle the onion slices, green beans and cabbage over the potatoes. End the stack with a layer of the remaining Yukon Golds, arranging them shingle style. Push the mixture down with your hands to pack it in to the pan tightly.

Brush olive oil over the top layer and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Set the other prepared pan upside down over the pan of vegetables. Wrap the pans up tight with heavy-duty aluminum foil to hold them securely together.

Bake in 400-degree preheated oven for 30 minutes. Carefully flip the pans over (be sure to use oven mitts) and bake for another 30 minutes.

Remove from oven. Allow the baked stack to rest for 5 minutes, then very carefully remove aluminum foil.

Lift off the top baking pan. Lay a large cutting board over the top of the baked stack and flip the stack over onto the cutting board. Carefully remove the baking pan. Slice the hot stack into squares or rectangles and serve. Refrigerate leftovers to save for soup.

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 cup chopped onions
  • 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
  • 3 (approximately) cups vegetable broth
  • 1 cup dairy or non-dairy milk
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Minced fresh parsley, for serving

In a large soup pot, heat the oil. Add the chopped onion and caraway seeds. Saute until onions just begin to turn golden brown. Add all of the leftover vegetables to the pot. Add enough broth to just cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil. Turn down heat, cover pot and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes are falling apart and cabbage and green beans are tender.

Add milk.

Puree to desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle some fresh parsley on each serving. Makes about 6 servings, depending on how many vegetables you started with.

 

 

What would Julia do with a load of fresh vegetables?

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I think Julia Child would love Bemidji, the community in northern Minnesota I’ve called home for 11 years. I never had the opportunity to meet the woman who brought French cooking into American home kitchens, but I’ve read a lot about her and I’ve visited with people who knew the wonder woman who suggested good fun, good food and good flavor go hand-in-hand in the kitchen.

I know Julia Child demanded fresh ingredients. She would be thrilled with the two farmers markets we have in our community, offering shoppers appreciative of good food prime pickings from local gardens.

She might like to teach some cooking classes in the community kitchen at Harmony Co-op, centrally located downtown just a few blocks from the farmers markets. She’d love to visit some of the community gardens where families have an opportunity to grow some of their own food.

I’m sure she’d be amazed at all of the sharing, caring and friendly people who live in Bemidji. One of those people is Doris Swedmark, who spends 8 hours a day working in her vegetable garden that measures 30 feet x 60 feet. All of her hard work pays off — her cabbage won a blue ribbon at the county fair this year. She keeps plenty of plastic bags on hand, ready to share the bounty of her garden with others.

Swedmark shows off red cabbage in her garden.

I am one of the lucky people to come home from Doris Swedmark’s garden with a load of

Swedmark with mangle beets.

vegetables. She yanked some enormous orange mangle beets from the soil, picked some beans, carved out a chubby red cabbage with her very sharp knife, pulled some carrots, cut some kale and gathered some tomatoes. She invited me to grab some fennel and dill on my way out of the garden.

I’m not sure what Julia Child would do with all of these fresh vegetables — ratatouille, maybe? I did know what to do with my treasured loot.

I pulled out my Clay Coyote cazuela and started in on a Greek-style vegetable dish.

I weighed out a pound of beans from one of the bags, chopped an onion, minced some garlic, squeezed the seeds from some tomatoes and chopped them up, and diced a small zucchini. I sauteed the vegetables in olive oil in the cazuela, then added some water, tomato paste and a bundle of mixed fresh herbs that are commonly found in Greek cooking.

I do have luck growing herbs when I tuck them in around my flowering perennials. It took a quick trip around my gardens to collect Italian parsley, oregano, Greek basil, rosemary, thyme and marjoram. I tied the sprigs together with kitchen twine, feeling very Julia Child-like, and tucked it into the mixture in the cazuela. And then, into the oven it went for about 40 minutes. As it bubbled in the heat, a wonderful aroma wafted through my kitchen.

I planned to serve the Greek-Style Vegetables with orzo. None in the pantry. I chose some brown rice Caserecce instead. It was a good pick.

You could top the baked dish with crumbled feta cheese before serving. I didn’t. The meal was aromatic, satisfying and delicious. It’s not French, but I’ll bet Julia would approve.

Today is Julia Child’s birthday. If she was living, she’d be 100 years old. Celebrate with good fun, good food and good flavor in the kitchen — French or not. Bon Appetit!

One pound of beans from Swedmark’s garden ready to go into Greek-Style Vegetables.

Greek-Style Vegetables

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 medium-sized onion, finely chopped
  • 3 chubby cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 pound of green beans, topped and tailed (trimmed) and cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 2 cups seeded and chopped tomatoes
  • 1 small zucchini, chopped
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon vegetable or beef soup base
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • 1 sprig each of: Italian parsley, oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, marjoram
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2 tablespoons minced parsley, for serving
  • 1 cup crumbled Greek feta cheese, optional

In a large skillet or cazuela, heat olive oil. Add onions and saute until tender. Add garlic and beans and saute. Add tomatoes, zucchini, water, soup base, tomato paste and lemon zest. Stir to mix. Bring mixture to a boil. Tie sprigs of fresh herbs together with kitchen twine. Tuck them into the bubbling mixture. Cover the skillet or cazuela with aluminum foil and bake in preheated 375-degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with minced parsley. Serve with cooked orzo or pasta of choice. Offer feta cheese at the table. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

P.S. Greek-Style Vegetables is one of the dishes I’ll be preparing on Saturday, August 18th during my cooking demonstration at 11:00 at the Lakes Area Farmers Market in Detroit Lakes.

 

 

No-Bake State Fair Honey Date Bars

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When I created an ice cream cake for my husband’s birthday a couple of weeks ago, I thought the no-bake granola crust would be a good make-over option for my old tried and true date bars — a recipe from my grandmother’s ledger.

I’ve dubbed the new no-bake dessert State Fair Honey Date Bars. They’ve not pulled a blue ribbon from the Minnesota State Fair, but I will be preparing the sweet new-fashioned, better-than-grandmother’s bars during a cooking demonstration I’ll be doing there on August 30th.

The crust of ground granola is held together with honey. A small amount of unsweetened cocoa in the crust offers an unidentifiable depth of flavor. Half of the crust gets patted into a 9-inch square pan. I used a square tart pan with a removable bottom. It makes cutting and serving the bars so much easier. A round springform pan would also work. The round shape is conducive to cutting small wedges to serve like pie with a scoop of premium vanilla ice cream.

I made the crust and patted it into my tart pan just before heading for a vacation in Chicago with our younger son and his family. Once we got to the flat we rented in Chicago, I stuck it in the refrigerator until I had time to make the date filling. A small bowl of the granola mixture to sprinkle over the top of the bars went into the refrigerator, too.

Pretty doors on the flat we rented on North Halsted in Lincoln Park in Chicago.

After days packed with trips to the Chicago Children’s Museum, the Lincoln Park Zoo, the Green City Market in Lincoln Park, train rides and bus rides, exploring the neighborhood by foot, trying new restaurants, playing at neighborhood playgrounds and even some shopping, I finally got around to preparing the date bars.

It didn’t take long to cook chopped dates with water. I flavored them with a little orange juice. If I’d been making this batch of bars at home, I would have added a sprig of fresh lemon thyme or a few lemon verbena leaves to the simmering dates. They can easily be pulled out of the cooked mixture before spreading it over the granola crust.

The date filling makes a thick layer in the pan. For my preferences, that’s a good thing. If you want less filling, just freeze half of the cooked mixture for another time. You’ll be surprised at how good it is served as an appetizer dolloped over goat cheese on crostini, garnished with a sprinkle of fresh herbs from your garden.

With my secret mixture of fresh herbs added to the simmering dates, I think these no-bake bars just might be worthy of a blue ribbon. Try them and see what you think. You’ll have to come to the Fair to learn about the secret herbal blend in the bars:)

If you plan to be at the Minnesota State Fair this year, I’d love to see you. Come say hi.

What: I’ll be doing cooking demos, preparing State Fair Honey (and herb) Date Bars

Where: Saint Agnes Demo Kitchen in the Creative Activities Building at the Minnesota State Fair

When: Thursday, August 30th at 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM.

You’ll find another version of my Grandmother’s Date Bars at this earlier post. Click here.

State Fair Honey Date Bars

  • 3 cups granola
  • 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons milk
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 pound pitted dates, chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons orange juice
  • 1/2 cup chopped, toasted almonds

In two batches, grind granola in bowl of food processor to fine crumbs. This can also be done by putting granola in a large zip-top plastic bag. Roll over the bag with a rolling pin or a can from your pantry until the granola becomes crumbs.

Place granola crumbs in a large bowl. Add cocoa powder, milk and honey. Mix with a wooden spoon or your clean hands until all ingredients are thoroughly blended. Press 2 cups of the mixture into the bottom of 9-inch square glass baking dish, a tart pan or springform pan. Set aside.

Add about 1/2 cup of chopped, toasted almonds to the remaining granola mixture for the topping. Set aside.

Put dates and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is the consistency of marmalade, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Allow to cool. Stir in orange juice.

Spread date mixture over crust in the pan. Sprinkle reserved granola mixture over the top.

Cut and serve. Makes 12 to 16 bars.

 

Eat Indian tonight — start with Pakora

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My favorite guy had a birthday last week. We decided to make Mango Rice Pilaf and Pakora for the evening birthday meal. We had never even heard of Pakora until we ate at an Indian Restaurant in Fridley, Minnesota a month or so ago.

When I asked the server how the crunchy dumpling that tasted like well-seasoned onion rings was prepared, he mentioned chickpea flour and water, onions and I think he said chili powder.

When I got home, I checked my copy of “Sherbanoo’s Indian Cuisine: Tantalizing Tastes of the Indian Subcontinent,” by Sherbanoo Aziz. I found her recipe for Pakora. I knew it would be good. Several years ago, Sherbanoo came to Bemidji from her home in Moorhead to do an Indian cooking class for a small group of people. The food was amazing.

Sherbanoo told me when she moved to the Fargo-Moorhead area from Arlington, Virginia in 1996, not many people in the area were familiar with Indian food. She had a hard time finding the ingredients she needed for her recipes. Now many of those ingredients, such as chickpea flour, often referred to as garbanzo bean flour, are available in mainstream grocery stores. Sherbanoo reminded me that garbanzo bean flour has a low glycemic index making it a good choice for those who must watch their blood sugar levels, it’s a good source of protein and it’s gluten-free.

Pakora is similar to a fritter that’s fried until golden and crispy on the outside. Sherbanoo told me it is a generic food enjoyed as an appetizer or snack in India. Pakora can be made with a variety of vegetables and seasonings depending on where in India you are eating. In some parts of India the crunchy dumplings are called wada.

My favorite guy and I have been experimenting on our own with pakora. Sherbanoo’s

My favorite guy frying up pakora made with recipe from “Sherbanoo’s Indian Cuisine: Tantalizing Tastes of the Indian Subcontinent.”

recipe is one of our favorites. You can find our own blend of ingredients in the pakora recipe I share in my column this week. It’s a little different than Sherbanoo’s recipe, but we find it to be perfect for our tastes, with bits of minced jalapeno and cilantro mixed in with sliced onions. Click here for that recipe.

You will find more information about Sherbanoo as well as some of her Indian recipes on her website. Click here.

 

Pakora

  • 2 cups gram flour (most commonly called garbanzo bean flour when you see it in the grocery store)
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 medium onions, finely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground red hot chili pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups cooking oil for frying

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour and water until all the lumps are dissolved. Add the spices and the onions. Mix well. The batter will be of banana fritter consistency.

Pour the oil in a medium frying pan and place on high heat. When heated to 350 to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, lower to medium heat. Gently lower one teaspoon of batter at a time into the oil. Continue until the surface is covered. Fry for about 1/2 minute on each side. Remove and drain excess oil on side of the pan. Place on a plate with a paper towel to drain more oil. Pakora may be made ahead of time and served at room temperature or warmed up in a microwave oven prior to serving. Serve with hot chutney.

Makes 10 3-piece servings. Per serving: (with 1/2 cup oil absorbed) 164 calories, 12 g fat, 9 g carbohydrates, 9 g protein, 2.3 g fiber, 259 mg sodium.

Recipe from Sherbanoo’s Indian Cuisine: Tantalizing Tastes of the Indian Subcontinent, by Sherbanoo Aziz. 2001.