Vegetables with Coriander, Cumin, and Tumeric

January 26, 2013 / Juliana Lightle / 2 Comments

Vegetables are my favorite food. Interspersed with the poems and essays I publish, I try to post unique recipes. My recipes come from years of interaction and relationships with people from all over the world, husbands, exchange students who enhance my extended family, travels to Asia and Latin America, my international friends near where I live. Recently, after a dinner party, I had left over vegetables that needed cooking so one evening home from work, I created this recipe. It is vegan by accident not intention. One could add fish, chicken, turkey leftovers (see recent post for turkey curry), shrimp…you get the idea. The options are endless. I used the vegetables I needed to use up, but take a look in your refrigerator and try what you have on hand. Experiment.

1 medium sized beet, peeled and cut into half coins

1 poblano pepper seeded and chopped

1/2 purple onion, chopped

Several pieces of Swiss chard, stems removed and chopped, leaves cut into large, bite sized pieces

Garlic cloves, peeled and chopped–amount to your own taste

Olive oil

1 teaspoon coriander seeds, ground

1/2 teaspoon cumin–or extra to taste

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

Saute the beets, chopped Swiss chard stems, garlic, and onions in olive oil until beets are cooked through. Add spices and poblano pepper. When the pepper is nearly done, add the Swiss chard leaves and cook only until wilted.

Serve over rice. I used equal amounts of black, red, and Jasmine rice.

How to cook rice:

1/3 cup black rice

1/3 cup red rice

1/3 cup brown or Jasmine rice–your preference

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 teaspoon concentrated broth/bouillon–I use Better Than Bouillon brand which is available Vegetarian as well as Chicken, etc.

Pour enough olive oil into a saucepan to cover the bottom. Add the rice and chopped garlic. Saute at high heat until rice starts to stick, stirring constantly. Add two cups water and the bouillon. Stir rapidly until bouillon dissolves. Turn down heat to low, cover the top of the saucepan with four paper towels or a tea towel folded to make several layers. Put sauce pan lid on the top and cook for approximately one hour. Red, brown, and black rice take twice as long to cook as white rice. Do not peek while rice is cooking. Lifting the lid to check causes the rice to be mushy.

Barbara Lightle’s Potato Soup

December 17, 2012 / Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

Recent cold nights brought childhood memories of Mom’s cooking, particularly the one and only soup I recall her ever making, potato soup. Then memories of Dad and how much he loved Mom and her cooking rushed in. Long after Mom’s death on one of my visits home, Dad asked me to cook all the ingredients for Mom’s potato soup except for the milk. He wanted enough to last a while so he could add the milk bit by bit on occasions when he wanted soup. On a cold night this past week, I duplicated Mom’s soup like on that visit home long ago. I even made extra.

Barbara Lightle’s Potato Soup

1 onion, chopped finely

Several stalks celery, chopped finely

Potatoes, chopped finely–enough so that the ratio of potatoes to onion and celery is 2:1

Enough melted butter to saute all the above until done

Finally, add milk and salt to taste, depending on how salty and thick you like your soup.

Mom made it plain like this. I used olive oil instead of butter and also added a few chopped portabella mushrooms. It later occurred to me that adding green chilies or poblano peppers with some cumin would make a nice soup. Or use coconut milk and curry for Asia style.

Vegetarian Chorizo with Potatoes and Black Beans

August 1, 2012August 1, 2012 / Juliana Lightle / 2 Comments

This is a quick, simple recipe. I served it with a very basic green salad of red lettuce, orange and red bell peppers, and a goat feta cheese. Rice would make a nice addition as would fried ripe plantains.

6 small (petite) potatoes, diced

6 oz. (1 large link) soy chorizo (I used Soyrizo which is also vegan)

1/2 medium red onion, chopped

1 can black beans

Olive oil

Saute the onion and potatoes in the olive oil until tender. Remove the chorizo from the package and crumble into the skillet with the onion and potatoes. Stir into the onion and potato mixture. Rinse the canned black beans and drain. Add to the mixture and stir. When black beans are heated, serve.

The portions in this recipe are easy to multiply to serve more people.

Teriyaki Salmon with Red Chard and Cassia Cinnamon (for two)

July 18, 2012 / Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

The red chard leaves, chopped.

Just after adding the salmon.

The finished product.

2 6 oz. servings of wild salmon

1/2 medium red (purple) onion, chopped

1/2 large poblano pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped

2 large red chard leaves and stems

1/2 to 1 tsp. cassia cinnamon

1/8 cup teriyaki sauce mixed with 1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce

Olive oil

Marinate the salmon in the teriyaki/Worcestershire sauce while you prepare the rest. Using a sharp knife, destem and devein the red chard. Coarsely chop the stems and veins. Chop the leaves into pieces as indicated in the photo above. Cover the bottom of a medium sized skillet with olive oil. I love extra virgin olive oil and use a lot of it, but not absolutely necessary. Saute chopped onions in the olive oil until translucent. Add the poblano pepper and red stems of the chard. When the peppers and chard stems are slightly cooked, add the salmon and marinade and sauté for about 2 minutes. Turn the salmon and place the chard leaves on top. Scatter the cinnamon on top of the chard leaves. Saute until the chard leaves are wilted.

Serve with mixed grain rice (khao-pa-som in Thai) which can be found at Asian markets. It is a mixture of brown, black, and red rice with various grains including what appears to be barley. I cook it exactly like rice: sauté in olive oil with finely chopped garlic for a minute or so, add water, and stir in 1 tsp. concentrated bouillon. Turn heat to low, cover pan with several layers of paper towels, and put on lid. This, like red and brown rice, takes about twice as long to cook as white rice. It is more nutritious than white rice. If you want the health benefits of cinnamon, it is necessary to use cassia cinnamon, not Ceylon cinnamon.

Spicy Brisket for a Crowd

July 8, 2012November 24, 2012 / Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

Originally, I had no intention of posting this. I was simply making an easy dinner for ten guests on a hot summer day. However, I received so many compliments that I decided to post it even though I took no pictures. The only time I ever cook brisket occurs when quite a few people are coming over and I do not want much to do just before the food is served. There is another rather odd reason I like to cook brisket in the summer: I can use my electric roaster and plug it into the outlet on the patio and not heat up the house. Since I do not particularly like barbecue, I try to do something different.

1 4-5 lb. brisket, trimmed of fat

1 large purple onion, coarsely chopped

Cumin, enough to completely cover the top of the brisket when sprinkled over it

2-3 Tbls. mild Mexican chili seasoning

1-2 tsp. coriander, ground (optional)

Brown sugar

1 bottle cheap, dry, red wine

1 15 0z. can chopped, salt free tomatoes

4-5 jalapeño peppers (optional)

Place the brisket in a roaster fat side down and pour in the red wine to a depth of 1 1/2 inches. Cover the top with the cumin and chili seasoning. Evenly scatter the chopped onions over the top. Bake at 325 for 2 hours. Turn the brisket over so that the fat side is up. Bake another 1-2 hours. Turn the temperature down to 275 and turn over again so the the fat side is down. Cover the top of the brisket with the tomatoes. Sprinkle two small handfuls of brown sugar evenly over the top of the tomatoes. If using the coriander, sprinkle it over the brown sugar. Check to make sure the broth is not becoming too dry and add extra wine as needed. Bake another 1-2 hours. If using the jalapeños, cut into halves and deseed. Add them about one hour before serving. Usually, I cook brisket 6-7 hours. I do not want it to become too dry, but I do want the broth to cook down so that it creates a natural sauce for the meat without using any thickening. Just before serving, slice the brisket into pieces and stir around so the sauce covers all the pieces of meat. I like to use the jalapeños this way because it does not increase the “heat” for those who do not like hot food, but there are tasty tidbit of hot for those who do. Enjoy!

Chicken with poblano peppers, sun dried tomatoes and pasta

June 2, 2012June 3, 2012 / Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

This recipe is posted as a tribute to Klara Kamper, from Austria. Klara is an exchange student and nearly every week she has come over to ride my horse, Rosie. After riding, I fix dinner. Of all the different dinners I have fixed, this is Klara’s favorite.

4 pieces boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

2 large poblano peppers, deseeded and diced into bite sized pieces

1 large purple onion, chopped

5-6 pieces sun dried tomatoes, chopped into a large dice

Olive oil

Herbs de provence

Cover the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil. Saute the onions until done. Add chicken and more olive oil if necessary. With your fingers sprinkle herbs de provence over the onion/chicken mixture. When the chicken is nearly done, add the poblano peppers and sun dried tomatoes. Saute until the poblano peppers are cooked but still a nice bright green. You may also add mushrooms if you like. Serve over your favorite pasta. My daughter does not like herbs de provence so when I cook this for her, I use a mixture of oregano, basil, and marjoram.

I am very, very picky about pasta. My favorite is organic Montebello pasta produced by Monastero Di Montebello, Isola del Piano, Italy. I especially like the conchiglie. However, I use their spaghetti and other shapes as well.

This is Rosie. She will really miss Klara who leaves for home on June 25.

A friend joined us to see the horses and for dinner. Apparently, she took this photo just before I served dinner.

Flame Kissed Chicken and Lentil Salad

May 20, 2012May 20, 2012 / Juliana Lightle / 5 Comments

This week what I thought was going to be a culinary disaster resulted in the best chicken I have ever eaten. Twelve people were coming for dinner–a teachers’ sorority. One of the women gave me the chicken half frozen in marinade to take to my house–we work together. She planned to come to my house early and grill the chicken. Because she was unexpectedly late, I had to grill the chicken myself. Now, to tell the truth, even though I cook a lot and blog about food, I had never grilled chicken before. My daughter had grilled steaks several days earlier, but it never occurred to me to clean the drippings pan under the grill. Here is what happened:

I heated the grill to about 450 degrees, took the still slightly frozen chicken out of the marinade and placed it on the grill. It took only about 30 seconds and flames were shooting up about 6-8 inches and the chicken was turning a grayish color. I was concerned about two things: the flames getting totally out of control and starting a real fire (my grill is propane) and the chicken being totally inedible. I turned the heat down, pulled the grill farther away from the wall, turned the chicken over, and hoped it would be ok in the end. After all this commotion, a half hour or so later, and after cooking the hamburgers as well, we tried the chicken. It was the best chicken I have ever eaten. It was even good left over cold out of the refrigerator–I normally refuse to eat leftover, cold chicken, reheated or otherwise, because I think it tastes dreadful. People also told me the hamburgers were cook perfectly.

If anyone can tell me how to duplicate this delicious chicken result without all the flames and fire dangers, please comment on this post.

Several weeks ago a fellow food blogger, The Hungry Irishman, posted a lentil salad. Here is my promise to him to post the lentil salad I make. The original recipe is from one of my oldest and most favorite cookbooks, The Silver Palate. However, like most everything I cook, I modify to suit myself and never really follow the recipe, except maybe for cake, but I rarely bake cake so…

LENTIL SALAD

Cook two cups dried lentils in water with several carrots, 1 medium onion, chicken or vegetable stock, cloves, and 1 bay leaf. Be sure not to over cook.

While the lentils are cooking, combine 3-4 garlic cloves, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup white vinegar, 2 teaspoons dried thyme (you can use fresh also, but will require more thyme), and black pepper to taste in a blender and blend until creamy. You may also add 2 teaspoons ground cumin for a slightly more Middle Eastern taste.

When lentils are done, drain, and remove the carrots, etc. Place in a serving bowl and stir in the blended mixture. Refrigerate overnight. Just before serving add 1 cup scallions, chopped, and 1 cup chopped walnuts. You may adjust vinegar and olive oil to suit your taste.

If you use regular onions chopped rather than scallions, this salad will keep well in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.

Teriyaki Salmon with Crystallized Ginger

May 4, 2012 / Juliana Lightle / 2 Comments

4 4-6 oz. salmon filets

Enough teriyaki sauce to cover the salmon in a shallow dish

1 medium sized onion, chopped

1/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger

Olive oil

Marinate the salmon in the teriyaki sauce while you prepare the remainder of the ingredients. You may marinate the salmon longer if you wish it to taste less fishy. Saute the onions in enough olive oil to cover the bottom of your skillet. Place the salmon and the teriyaki sauce in the skillet with the onions and sauté until the salmon is nearly done. Add the crystallized ginger and cook until salmon is done. Optional additions: 1 large poblano pepper chopped, chopped mushrooms, chopped garlic. The photo below includes poblano peppers which I use in many dishes. They have a unique flavor and little heat. Serve with Jasmine rice with golden raisins and a green salad.

My son is the originator of the basic recipe. I modified it to suit my own taste. He wraps all the ingredients in foil and cooks it on a cookie sheet on the grill. Sometimes I put it all together and bake it in the oven. These latter methods are the easiest with company because it cooks while you entertain.