Baba Ganoush

Baba Ganoush:                                               

The Story:

I can't say that there is much of a background for this dish. My wife and I just love it and its not so easy to find around us. Back in our earlier days we would get falafel out once a week or so (pita inn for those interested in cheap delicious food in the NW Chicago suburbs) and if we were feeling like splurging we'd get the baba ganoush too. Some times one must recapture one's youth, or some such nonsense. Honestly its just delicious stuff, especially on freshly made pita. This is a pretty simple recipe, though roasting the eggplant can take a while.

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant (roasted)
2-3 cloves of fresh garlic
1/3 large onion diced
1 lemon or juice equivalent
4-5 TBS of tahini
3 TBS of olive oil
1-2 tsp of za'ahtar
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup of feta cheese (optional)
1/4 tsp cane sugar (optional)

This dish is incredibly simple to make. First take a fork and poke a great many holes in the eggplant. Then take the eggplant, skin and all, and put it in the oven for 40-50 minutes at 400 degrees. After the eggplant is done, it will be extremely soft and noticeably smaller. Cut the stem area off of the eggplant. Place all the ingredients in a food processor. Blend all the ingredients until it has a uniform texture. If you didn't let the eggplant cool, it would best to let it come down to room temp or a little cooler prior to serving. You can garnish the baba ganoush with some more feta and za'ahtar.

herbaceous eggplant pizza

Herbaceous Eggplant Pizza

There comes a time when food from the garden finally comes in and you feel the need to get creative with your harvest. This recipe stems from that. I needed to use eggplant and tomatoes before they went bad, so I naturally did what any red-blooded American living in the south would do. I made a fancy vegetarian pizza. This, like any recipe that involves fresh dough, can take a while. I tend to do these types of recipes when I plan ahead of time. That way I have some dough prepped ahead of time for a variety of applications.
( I don't have a picture for this one, but trust me, its good)

Ingredients:
Dough:
see basic pizza dough recipe.
1/2 tsp. of garlic powder
2 tsp. of dried basil or Italian herbs mix

Toppings:
1 small to medium eggplant
1 -2 large tomatoes
1 large onion
2/3 cup of shredded cheese
3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
2 TBS. of olive oil
1/2 tsp. of basil
salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/8 cup of water
1/3 tsp. of white vinegar
3-4 TBS of za'ahtar
1/2 cup of finely chopped basil or 1 package or McCormick's bruschetta spice mix
1/2 tsp of cane sugar
1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes

Following the previously stated dough instructions, prepare the dough. Place the dough in the fridge or freezer for 20-30 minutes to rest. While its cooling start on the veggies. Grilling the eggplant brings out the best flavor but its messier and can be time consuming. A good alternative is to sauté it on the stovetop. Slice the eggplant, skin on, in thin slices. Dice the onion as well. Warm up the pan to medium high heat, and place the eggplant and onion in it. Allow the onion and eggplant soften up for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Next add the olive oil, stirring so that the oil evenly coats the veggies. After another 5-8 minutes, add 1/4 cup of water to the pan, and check the veggies. Once the water is absorbed or evaporated add the garlic, basil, salt, and pepper. Let it continue to cook for a few more minutes, then shut off the heat.

Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out as thin as possible without tearing it or making it unsuitable for transfer to the oven.

Mix all of the sauce ingredients in a separate bowl and pour 3/4 of the contents onto the pizza, spreading it out evenly. Add the veggies from the pan and diced tomatoes to the pizza. Sprinkle the cheese on top and then gently sprinkle the remaining sauce on top.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and if the pizza was rolled thin it should be done in 15-18 minutes with a crispy texture.

Eat and enjoy!!

Saffron Rice Pilaf

Saffron Rice Pilaf

The Story:
The story behind this dish is a simple one, I needed to bring a dish to a coworker's retirement party and since my daughter has allergies I needed to figure out something different. Since my son loves my rice dishes, I played around with this and that and here is the result. Please note that this dish is intended to be use with a rice cooker.

Ingredients:
3 cups of jasmine or basmati rice (or any rice with a low starch or gluten level)
~5 cups of water (or if you're using a rice cooker, fill it up untill the water is up to the first knuckle on your pointer finger while touching the top of the rice)
3/4 of a TBS of saffron (frankly saffron is so expensive that I just use the cheap philapino stuff and it works just fine. If you can't get a hold of saffron substitute tumeric and sage instead)
1 clove of finely minced garlic
1 large onion diced
2 stalks of fresh scallions
1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
1/2 cup of dried cranberries or currants
1 large carrot diced
1/2 cup of slivered  almonds
1/2 stick of butter
3 TBS of olive oil

Instructions:

Place the rice, water, ground black pepper, garlic, and saffron or saffron substitute in the rice cooker. Stir till the mixture is well mixed. Set the rice cooker, and let it be. Next heat a large frying pan to a medium high heat, with half of the butter. Once the butter is melted pour in the almonds and stir till they are lightly browned. Take the almonds out of the pan and place to the side. Put the remaining butter in the pan and add the diced onion and carrot. Stir occationally, letting the onions cook until they become translucent. Add the cranberries/currants to the mix, stir well and then turn off the heat. Add the almond to the pan. Once the rice is done, add it to your pan with the olive oil on top. Stir until it is well coated and mixed. Place in serving bowl and then sprinkle the diced scallion on top before serving.

eat and enjoy!

Hoisin garlic seitan with garden scallions and broccoli crowns

The story:

The story behind this one is that I love my seitan recipe adaptation and I am big fan of Chinese. Combine that with the first veg from the garden coming in and you have a terrific meal. This dish pairs especially with sesame and chili pepper jasmine rice.

Seitan:

1 box of vital wheat gluten
1 cup of well cooked lentils
2/3 cup of water
1/3 tsp cumin
1/3 curry powder
3-4 cloves of fresh minced garlic
1/3 tsp papprika
1/3 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
2 tsp of low sodium soy sauce

Sauce:
1/2 cup of hoisin sauce
3 TBS of sweet chili sauce
2 tsp of sirracha
1 packet of concentrated veg stock
1/2 cup of water
2 TBS of olive oil

Veg:
4-5 scallion stalks
1-2 large brocoli crowns
1/3 cup of shredded carrot
1/3 cup of snow pea pods

If you are using dried lentils, you will need to boil them for at least 45 minutes to have the correct texture for this recipe. You can also buy precooked lentils which will also work well. As this will take the most time, make sure your lentils are ready before you start making the seitan. Take the wheat gluten and place in a large mixing bowl. Add all of the dry ingredients to the flour. Lightly stir the dry ingredients while mixing in the lentils. Add the water and the soy sauce to the bowl. Now comes the somewhat icky part. You need to hand mash all of it together. You need to squish up the lentils until they completely mix with the wheat gluten. The more you squish it up with your hands the better mixed it will be. After about 2-3 minutes of really working at it, it should be ready. It might be necessary to add a little extra wheat gluten to get rid of some excess moisture. Once done, roll out the dough on a nonstick cooking pan. Try to roll it out as thin as you can, it'll fight you to ball back up, but just keep working at it. Now is the best time to choose the shape of your finished product and score the dough for that shape. This will make it much easier to cut up before you fry or grill it. Bake in a 375 degree oven for roughly 20 minutes. You don't want to cook it to much or it gets very tough. When you take it out it should be a little crispy on the bottom and slightly pliant on the top. Cut the seitan into the desired shape.

The sauce is easy to put together. Just add all ingredients in a small mixing bowl and stir well. Put the sauce aside and get a fairly deep frying pan on medium high heat with 1 TBS of olive oil. Spread the oil in the pan and place all of the seitan in the pan. Let it fry for a few minutes and then add the sauce. The seitan will absorb just about all of the sauce so toss the seitan till its evenly coated and let it sit, stirring only occationally. When the seitan is both sticky and crispy and the sauce is nearly all absorbed it should be done.

The vegetables can be fried in a wok lightly or simply steamed, either way works just fine. Just serve on a bed of rice and vegetables, and you have a delicious meal!

All hail Seitan; or the story of the little gleuten that could

Homemade BBQ Seitan

The story:
This particular recipe is originally a creation of Kourtney's though I have made alterations to the flavor profile and texture. The original seitan recipe was a tad tough and chewy for our tastes until we discovered that lentils are a terrific filler and they also change the texture in a very pleasant way. This particular version of the recipe is a moist chewy seitan with a spicy and slightly tangy BBQ sauce. The cut of the seitan, combined with sauce is a bit reminiscent of boneless ribs, and as such corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, and fresh sauteed green beans are recommended to go with this dish.
* please note that as the lighting did not want to cooperate when I tried to photograph this I had to use a stock photo.
Ingredients

Seitan:
3/4 of a small box of vital wheat gluten
1 cup of cooked lentils (a slightly overcooked lentils works even better)
1/8 TSP of onion powder
1/8 TSP of garlic powder
1/4 TSP of veggie stock powder
1/8 TSP of poultry seasoning
1/4 TSP of soy sauce
1 cup warm water

BBQ sauce
1/4 cup of Sweet baby ray's BBQ sauce
3 TBS of ketchup
1/2 TSP of Chinese hot mustard
1/4 TSP of chili paste
1/4 cup of sherry
3 finely minced cloves of garlic
1 TSP of sugar
1/4 cup of olive oil

If you are using dried lentils, you will need to boil them for at least 45 minutes to have the correct texture for this recipe. You can also buy precooked lentils which will also work well. As this will take the most time, make sure your lentils are ready before you start making the seitan. Take the wheat gluten and place in a large mixing bowl. Add all of the dry ingredients to the flour. Lightly stir the dry ingredients while mixing in the lentils. Add the water and the soy sauce to the bowl. Now comes the somewhat icky part. You need to hand mash all of it together. You need to squish up the lentils until they completely mix with the wheat gluten. The more you squish it up with your hands the better mixed it will be. After about 2-3 minutes of really working at it, it should be ready. It might be necessary to add a little extra wheat gluten to get rid of some excess moisture. Once done, roll out the dough on a nonstick cooking pan. DO NOT USE OIL!! Try to roll it out as thin as you can, it'll fight you to ball back up, but just keep working at it. Now is the best time to choose the shape of your finished product and score the dough for that shape. This will make it much easier to cut up before you fry or grill it. Bake in a 375 degree oven for roughly 15 minutes. You don't want to cook it to much or it gets very tough. When you take it out it should be a little crispy on the bottom and slightly pliant on the top. Cut the seitan into the desired shape.

To make the sauce simply mix all of the ingredients in a bowl, whisking it till it is finely blended. For a smokier flavor brush with the BBQ lightly and cook on a grill. For a moister and chewier texture take a large frying pan and heat to med high temperature. Lightly oil the pan and place the seitan in it. After a minute add the BBQ sauce to the pan. Stir frequently. The seitan will be done when it has absorbed all of the sauce.

Eat and enjoy!

Fresh garlic flat bread with basil butter and parmesan cheese

The Story:

The story on this particular recipe is not terribly complicated or even that thought out. It was more of an innovation of neccesity than of creativity. I really wanted Indian originally but we didn't have the proper ingredients so I thought that maybe Mexican would be an acceptable substitute, only we didn't have any tortillas. The result was the need to create a extremely simple flour tortilla recipe which then lead to this recipe. We were doing an Italian themed family dinner with Kourtney's veggie Italian sausage lasagna and what goes better with carbs than carbs!! Thus the illustrious birth of the garlic flat bread with basil butter and parmesan cheese recipe!!

*note: If you bake these, they essentially turn into super awesome pita chips that are great with hummus

The Ingredients:
Flat bread
4 cups of all purpose flour
2 TSP of baking powder
1 TSP of salt
4-5 cloves of finely minced garlic
3-4 TSP of olive oil
~1.5 cups of warm water

Basil butter
1/2 stick of unsalted butter
3 TBS of FINELY minced basil
1 TBS of olive oil
Flat bread:
This recipe, like pretty much all bread recipes, is alot easier to do if you have a stand mixer with a bread hook. As that's what I did this with, thats how I'm going to write the recipe. Toss all of the dry ingredients for the flat bread in the mixing bowl. Start on a low power and slowly add the water. As it's mixing add the minced garlic into the dough. Let the dough to continue to mix untill it becomes smooth and does not stick to your fingers when you touch it. If it does, and the dough is already well mixed, add small amounts of flour until it is no longer tacky. Once the dough is done it needs to be rolled out into indivigual flatbreads. Take a round piece of dough roughly the size of a plum. For this dough to work properly you need to roll it out extremely thing, to the point when when you hold it you can see your fingers through it. Once it rolled out, add a small amount of oil to a large pan heated to a medieum high heat. Place the rolled out dough into the pan only one at a time. The flat bread cooks best if the bottom is evenly coated with oil. Flip the bread after a minute or two, depending on how quickly it is browning. Make sure there is enough oil in the pan to coat the second side as well.

Basil butter:
This part is extremely simple. All you need to do is cut the butter into small cubes and then whip it with the oil and the basil. Once its all the same smooth consistancey all you need to do it brush it on the flat bread when it comes out of the pan. Slice the flat bread into eighth's and dust with paremsan cheese to taste.

Serve hot

Khao Phat or Thai Fried Rice

The Story:   

My wife Kourtney is a huge Thai fan, as am I, and when we lived back in Chicago she went nuts over two versions of this dish at different restaurants. There are variations of this dish for all tastes and preferences but this recipe is a fairly simple easy to make one. The largest difference between Thai fried rice and fried rice you get at a Chinese place is that it is both sweeter and spicier than the soy heavy version of buffet fame. My recipe utilizes a rice cooker to do most of trickier part of the dish. By cooking the rice in a spiced broth the flavor penetrates deeper and creates a more powerful taste in the final dish.

Ingredients:
Rice Cooker:

1.5-2 cups of uncooked rice
3 cups of vegetable broth
1/2 Tsp of red curry paste
1/2 tsp of ginger
1/2 tsp of basil
1/2 tsp of lemon grass
1/3 tsp of tamarind paste
1/2 tsp of fresh garlic
Wok:
3 TBS of a flavorless frying oil
2/3 cup of shredded carrot
5-6 scallion stalks diced
1/2 cup of shredded red cabbage
1/2 package of cubed extra firm tofu
1/3 cup of sugar
3 TBS of soy sauce
Sirriacha to taste

Place all ingredients listed under the rice cooker in the rice cooker. The liquid amount might differ from rice cooker to rice cooker but a good rule of thumb is that the water should reach up to your first knuckle on your pointer finger while the tip is touching the top of the rice. Add all the ingredients in the cooker, stir thoroughly and then leave alone to cook properly. It should take about 15 minutes or so to cook but once its done fluff it and let it sit a bit longer. After the rice has finished heat the wok up to a med to high temperature and place 2 TBS of the oil in the pan. The carrot and tofu go in first. Before the tofu goes in try to make sure that as much moisture is pressed from it as possible. Stir often and let the tofu cook up to a golden brown. Add the rice to the wok and add the remainder of the oil. Stir the rice till it is well coated in oil, and then add the sugar, soy sauce, and half of cabbage. Continue to stir the rice for another 3-5 minutes letting it fry in oil. To finish the dish add the diced scallion and the remainder cabbage. Serve immediately.