WORLD: Chicken Stir-Fry

I tried this recipe for stir-fry, and it has become my favorite. I’m going to make it tonight, in fact, and add a bunch of vegetables that are presently hanging out in my fridge. I eat it with rice.

MEXICAN: Pico de Gallo

I learned yesterday at church that my current favorite fresh salsa recipe was, in fact, pico de gallo. I took about 6 quarts to potluck, and it was a hit. It’s based on the recipe for Fresh Summer Salsa in Simply in Season.

• 6 medium fresh tomatoes, diced
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 1 large green pepper, diced
• 2 hot chili peppers, diced
• ¼ bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 TBSP fresh basil, chopped
• 1 TBSP lime juice
• 1 TBSP lemon juice
• ½ tsp salt

Combine in a bowl. Let it stand 30 minutes and serve.

AMERICAN INDIAN: Pumpkin Bread

I tried all winter to find the perfect pumpkin bread recipe. Finally, with my last tray of frozen pumpkin from the fall, I found it. This recipe is adapted from RootStock, the twice-a-year flyer for Organic Valley.

1/2 cup Earth Balance margarine, softened
1 cup maple syrup
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups white spelt flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a loaf pan.
2. Cream the margarine, maple syrup, eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla in a large bowl. Use a separate, large bowl and a wire whisk to mix the flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the pecans.
3. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry until barely incorporated–do not over mix. Spoon batter into loaf pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool the bread for 15-20 minutes on wire rack, then remove the loaf from the pan to cool the rest of the way.

FUSION: Savory Beans

An adapted recipe from The Allergy Self-Help Cookbook. Serve these beans over rice, and you will be happy.

4 TBSP olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
2 large ribs celery, thinly sliced
4 carrots, thinly sliced
2 TBSP Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
4 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
4 cloves garlic, crushed
dash of ground red pepper
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
4 cups (or two 15-oz cans) cooked kidney beans (or pinto beans)
4 TBSP water
2 cups chopped tomatoes

1. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, and carrots and cook for 12 minutes or until tender.
2. Stir in the Bragg’s, basil, oregano, garlic, red pepper, and 1/2 cup of the parsley.
3. Add the beans, water, and tomatoes. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until heated through. Top with remaining parsley and cook for 2 more minutes. Serve!

EUROPEAN: Waffles

I made this recipe from Simply in Season using whole spelt flour, and we loved them. Check it out: Apple Spice Waffles.

DESSERT: Chocolate Frosting, perfect with that Emergency Chocolate Cake

I don’t remember which cookbook I copied this from in the grocery store, but this recipe is our official favorite.

8 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup sweetener of choice
1 12.5-ounce package firm silken tofu
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

1. Melt chocolate in a bowl over a steaming pot of water (or in the microwave, if you’d like). Let it cool a bit.
2. Combine chocolate, sweetener, tofu, and vanilla in a food processor and blend until smooth. Sweeten to taste.
3. Spread on cooled cake immediately.

NEW COOKBOOK: Adventures

I finally got my own copy of the America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook–my favorite Christmas present this year. We have loved eating their Classic Egg Salad, Aglio e Olio, and Baked Ziti.

And when our housemate turned 30 this year, and the cake I baked for her birthday turned out to be a total disaster, the cookbook saved that day with this recipe: Emergency Chocolate Cake.

I want to carry this book with me everywhere.

FUSION: Spicy Pearsauce

Applesauce has been made for centuries in the countries of Europe. This fall, while we were putting up jars of applesauce for the winter, we also experimented with pearsauce. This ended up being my favorite recipe.

4 quarts of boiled and sauced pears (we used a machine, but once the pears are boiled until soft, you should be able to squish them with a potato masher)
1/2 container of apple juice concentrate
1 TBSP lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves

There are three jars of pearsauce left in our cupboard. I plan to eat one per month, and that is how I will survive until spring’s fresh fruit arrives.

AMERICAN MIDWEST: Deviled Eggs

I didn’t know that deviled eggs originated in the Midwest, just like me! We ate a dozen of these eggs during one of our Friday night get-togethers this last fall. This variation adds a surprising ingredient to the mix.

1. Boil and cool 6-7 eggs. Cut them in half and place the cooked yolks in a mixing bowl.

2. Create filling by combining the eggs yolks with:

3 TSBP mayonnaise
1/4 cup carrot puree
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 tsp mustard
dash of black pepper
dash of cayenne pepper

3. Squeeze the filling back into the patiently waiting egg whites. Set them on the table and try not to eat all of them at once.

SAUDI ARABIAN: Sambousek

Out of all the recipes I tried in the month of September, the only new recipe I saved for my collection was Sambousek (my pitas were delicious but incredibly pocket-less). Here’s my recipe for Saudi Arabian turnovers.

Filling:
1 pound ground beef
2 grated onions
salt and pepper
1 tsp cumin

Dough:
3 cups flour
2 tsp dried yeast
1 tsp fennel
1 tsp poppy seeds
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
3.4 oz oil
up to 8 oz water

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, fennel, poppy seeds, salt and pepper.
2. Add oil to the flour mixture and mix until crumbly.
3. Add just enough of the water to the flour mixture to create a dough. Knead until smooth. Set aside, covered and warm, for 1 hour.
4. Cook beef, onions, cumin, salt and pepper in a frying pan over low heat until beef is browned.
5. When the dough is ready, roll it out and cut it into circles with an 8- to 10-cm diameter. Place 1 TBSP of beef filling in the center of each circle. Fold in half. Seal by pressing the edges, then rolling them upward in a clever pattern.
6. Heat more oil in a large frying pan and fry the sambousek on each side until lightly browned.