Watermelon Gazpacho

It's been forever since we've had time or inclination to put up any new recipes. But this isn't the first time we've made watermelon gazpacho, so I thought it was high time I blog this sucker. Maybe we'll get back into posting our recipes here.

Ingredients for the Soup

• 2 lbs of seedless watermelon, roughly chopped.
• Three medium tomatoes, stem bits removed, roughly chopped.
• 3c of crusty bread, crusts removed, rough chop
• A cucumber, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/2c water
• 1/4c basil
• 1/4c mint
• 1/4c cilantro
• 1/4c olive oil
• 1 shallot, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1.5 tsp salt
• Somewhere between 1/2 and 1 tsp of adobo seasoning (or just 1/2 tsp of cumin)

Ingredients for the Basil Oil

• Didn't realize we were going to get fancy, did you?
• 1/4c basil
• 1/4 olive oil
• Salt  & pepper to taste

Garnish

• Some little bits of cubed tomato, watermelon, avocado, and/or feta.

This is a pretty easy recipe, and the results are fantastic. So basically, blend together the basil oil ingredients in a blender, then set aside and rinse out the blender (doesn't need to be totally clean). Toss all of the soup ingredients into a bowl and let them sit for a little while (5, 10 minutes) and then blend those, too (in batches if you have to). Set in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes, then adjust seasonings.

To serve, pour some soup in a bowl and top with the garnishes and drizzle with basil oil. If you want to be really fancy, you could serve this as a shooter, actually, or you could put a pile of the garnishes in the center of a plate and pour some soup around it. But we weren't as concerned about that.

Thoughts: This is remarkably easy. It's good for summer, since it's like 97 degrees out and who wants to cook? And it's refreshing. I guess it took a little while to put together, bit if you make a smaller portion it wouldn't have to take very long. Honestly, you could skip the basil oil and just use some basil in the garnish. That would also mean you can dirty fewer dishes, and you can just toss ingredients into the blender as you go.

Disaster Index: 1/10

Ratatouille

Why did it take us so long into our cooking careers to make this? Well, because Claire doesn't really like vegetables. Or ratatouille. So we got a bunch of eggplants in our farm share and I was sick of making baba ganoush, so I made something more substantial. To be fair, though, eggplants are kind of a waste of a vegetable. The big Western eggplants aren't nearly as flavorful as Asian varieties, and I gather that they're nutritionally nil. Maybe the skins are healthy. They're purple. That's something, right? This recipe makes enough for about 8-10 servings. But we had to use the eggplants.

Ingredients

• One yellow onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium eggplants, cut into 1/2" dice, skins on
• About 2-3 zucchinis (depending on size), 1/3" half-moons
• about 1.5 lbs of cherry tomatoes or similar, cut in half
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried basil
• olive oil, salt, pepper
• goat cheese and couscous, to serve

To a pan, add the yellow onion and a lot of oil. Saute over medium heat while you cut up the eggplants, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic. Add the eggplants, basil, adn thyme after 5-10 minutes and stir around (while you do the zucchinis). You may want to sprinkle a little salt to help encourage the eggplants to give up their water a bit. After 3-5 min, add the zucchinis. Cook another 10 minutes or so, adding oil if necessary. When the zucchinis are starting to get cooked, add the tomatoes. At this point, my ratatouille was getting a little dry, so I added about 1/2c of stock, turned heat to low, and covered. I left that for about 10-20 minutes, checking on it occasionally. When everything looked like it was starting to meld, I uncovered and turned the heat up to evaporate a little of the stock. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over couscous with a dollop of goat cheese.

Thoughts: This was really easy, relatively healthy, filling, and vegetarian? What the hell? I would make this again. Maybe Claire not so much. Maybe next time I'd try Japanese eggplants. That would also allow me to make a much smaller (single) serving if I used one Japanese eggplant, one zucchini, etc. Anyway, if you let this stuff cook down long enough, it's great. Actually, it might be possible to make this in a slow-cooker. Or maybe it would turn to mush. I'm not really sure. Hm. Something to ponder.

Disaster Index: 1/10

Peach Salsa

Ingredients

• 3 ripe peaches (1 lb)
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1/4 cup red onion, diced
• 1/4 cup bell pepper, diced, seeded
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• 1 tbsp mint, chopped
• 1 tbsp basil, chopped
• juice of 1/2 lime
• salt and pepper

Peel the peaches by cutting an x into the bottom of them and dropping them in boiling water for 1 minute. Remove them and put them in an ice bath. Peel them when they're cool enough. If they're ripe, the skins should come off super easily. Dice them.

Combine the peaches with everything else. If you'd like, you can pulse them in a food processor for a sec or two. Chill for an hour to let the flavors come together. Eat it.

Thoughts: Super easy, super delicious. What else is there? OM NA NOM NOM NOM.

Disaster Index: 1/10

Bandh Gobhi Ki Sabzi (Buttered Smothered Cabbage)

After we made corned beef and cabbage, we had half a head of Savoy left over and couldn't figure out what to do with it until I was awesome and found this recipe.

Ingredients

• half a large head of savoy cabbage (or whatever cabbage you have)
• 1.5 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp butter, oil, or ghee (we used plain butter)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric 
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 1 tsp hot curry powder
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1/2 chicken stock, hot
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 handful of cilantro, chopped

Core the cabbage and shred it. Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until melted. Add the cumin and stir until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add cabbage and turmeric and stir to coat. The cabbage doesn't have much internal water, so you might have to add a splash of water to keep everything from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Cover and steam until cabbage is wilted (about five minutes).

Add ginger, curry powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and tomato. Stir to coat/combine. When things start to stick, add the chicken stock. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and let cook for another 10 minutes.

When cabbage is tender and all the liquid is absorbed, remove from heat and stir in the heavy cream. Add chopped cilantro. Eat.


Thoughts: Pretty damn good. I was worried this recipe would be totally lame and I'd be like "why am I eating a bowlful of lame cabbage?" But it was awesome instead. You could serve this with rice, but why? Just eat it.


Disaster Index: 1/10

Kedgeree

A Victorian era Anglo-Indian colonial breakfast dish (possibly invented in a Scottish regiment?). History is interesting.

Ingredients

• 8-12oz haddock, cod, or similar fillet
• 2 eggs
• 2 bay leaves
• 1c basmati rice
• 2tbsp butter
• 2 small onions, chopped
• 2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp ground mustard
• 2 tbsp madras curry powder
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2c cilantro, chopped
• 2 lemons, juiced
• salt
• plain yogurt

Place the fish in a pan and add a little water - not enough to cover, I think. Add the bay leaves, bring to a boil and cook about 5 minutes. Remove the fish and set to cool, at which time you can flake it apart. I think smoked fish might be a good alternative here (and more flavorful) so if you can get smoked cod, I'd say go for it.

Set up the rice cooking. If you use a rice cooker, do that. I use 1c rice and 1.25c water. If you use a pot, use those ratios, bring to a boil, simmer covered on low for 10 minutes, then set aside covered for 10 minutes. Done.

Meanwhile, set a small saucepan of water to boil. When it's boiling, add the eggs. Boil for 10 minutes, then remove and run under icy cold water to stop the cooking.

OK. Now, in a large-ish saute or similar, add the butter and onions. Cook until softened, then add the garlic and ginger. Cook another minute or two, then add the mustard and curry. Cook another couple minutes, then add the tomato and lemon juice.

When that's done, remove from heat. Add the rice to the onion / tomato mixture, along with the cilantro and the flaked fish, and toss to coat. Peel the hard-boiled eggs and cut into quarters. Top the dish with the hard-boiled eggs, then serve with a little yogurt.

Thoughts: This dish was a little too lemon-y for our taste, and it needed a bit more salt. The fish lost some flavor to the weird boiling process (leave it to the Brits, amirite?) but if we had smoked fish, that might have worked well. I think next time we go with one lemon, smoked fish, and more salt. That would make this a pretty damn good dish.

Disaster Index: 3/10

Lamb Meatball Curry

It was an experiment, anyway.

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground lamb
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 egg
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• water
• about 1/4c (?) cream
• salt to taste

Mix the meat, garlic, pepper, garam masala, and egg into a meatball mixture, then form into 1.5" diameter meatballs. Pop them in a 375 degree oven on a cookie sheet covered in foil for about 20-30 minutes, or until they're about done. I think at the end we broiled 'em to get a little char.

Meanwhile, cook the onion in a pan with a little neutral oil. When that's done, toss in the remaining spices (cumin, ginger, turmeric) and cook for a little bit. Then add the tomatoes and the tomato paste. Cook until thickened.

When the meatballs are done, add them to the onion / tomato / spices mixture. Add just enough water so that nothing burns and cook for another 10-20 minutes. When you're getting to the end, let most of the water evaporate off and replace it with some heavy cream. Serve over rice.

Thoughts: The meatballs were really the highlight of this dish. I'm not sure the sauce did too much for it. So I think we're going to have to tweak this idea a little bit. I think in the future I would use crushed tomatoes, or else possibly blend the whole sauce before adding the meatballs. Also might use some madras curry powder? Not sure about that. There was something missing here.

Disaster Index: 4/10

Watermelon Salad

For when you've moved recently and you don't have any of your cooking equipment because the stupid movers haven't arrived yet so you just have to make do with what you have.

Ingredients

• about 1/4 of a small seedless watermelon, cubed (about 4c, at a wild guess)
• 1 avocado, cubed
• 1/2 a cucumber, cubed
• 2-3 Roma tomatoes, cubed
• 3-4tbsp fresh mint, chopped
• 2-3tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• 2oz goat cheese, crumbled
• Optional balsamic vinaigrette, though we didn't have our balsamic.
• sea salt, for sprinkling on individual servings

So, you know, toss those ingredients together and serve.

Thoughts: Our first impression was that this was going to be basically a deconstructed watermelon gazpacho. And I think that this description isn't far off. Somehow watermelons go very well with tomatoes and avocado. I don't know how much the cucumber adds, but it gives some color so why not? Claire says peel the cucumbers in the future.

This was delicious, though it would probably be even better with a vinaigrette. Claire said maybe a little more goat cheese and a little more avocado? It was just really nice and summery. I'm confident we will make this again. It's a great way to serve watermelon.

Disaster Index: 1/10

Not Quite Pasta Carbonara

Perhaps more accurately called "Pasta Not Quite Carbonara." This was actually an attempt to use up stuff in the fridge / pantry before we go out of town (and eventually move), but it was the perfect thing after a hard day of painting. OH GOD THE PAINT FUMES.

Ingredients

• 4oz bacon, cubed
• garlic. Like, a lot. Maybe 2tbsp.
• Olive oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2c of that sandy parmesan stuff
• black pepper
• 14oz canned diced tomatoes
• 1lb pasta

Make the pasta. While that's cooking, cook the bacon and garlic in a pan of olive oil. When the bacon is cooked, add the tomatoes and simmer for a while until it thickens a bit. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, mix the egg, parmesan, and pepper and whisk thoroughly.

When the pasta is done, mix it with the tomato / bacon mixture until thoroughly coated. Do this over a low flame so that it's REALLY hot. Take the pasta off the heat completely, stir a couple more times, then pour in the egg and cheese mixture and stir constantly. The heat from the pasta cooks the eggs without curdling them (ideally - worked for us, but we've curdled them in the past). Then serve.

Thoughts: This was really good. The tomato really added, actually, although I know we're heathens for doing it this way. It could be the paint fumes talking, but I would definitely do it this way in the future.

Disaster Index: 1/10

Turkey Gumbo

After Thanksgiving, we went to Jeff's house and had amazing leftover turkey gumbo. Pat & Eleanor had given us the turkey carcass from our own feast, so Claire and I were inspired to try it. The recipe we made was ENORMOUS but good. You will almost CERTAINLY want to alter the amount of stuff in this.

Ingredients

• 1/2c oil or leftover bacon grease or something similar
• 1/2c all purpose flour
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 2 red bell peppers, seeded, chopped
• 4 celery ribs, chopped
• 8 cloves worth of garlic
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 1/4c white vermouth
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 4 bay leaves
• 1 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes with juice
• 4-6ish cups turkey stock with turkey
• 1 package (?) andouille sausage (I think about 1 lb), cut into 1/2" slices
• 1 16-ounce packages sliced frozen okra
• 1 lb peeled (tail off) de-veined shrimp.
• Salt to taste
• Gumbo filé to taste

So, it's important to note before you start that we made the turkey stock as follows: chop up the turkey carcass and place in a slow-cooker. Cover with water, and leave for about 24 hours. Fish out any bones. DONE.

In a huge pot, add the grease / oil. Heat until quite hot, then add the flour. Stir around this paste, cooking over medium heat, for about 5 minutes. If you use oil, at least, it's supposed to turn reddish-brown through this process. Ours started out that color, so who knows. Anyway, add the onions, peppers, and celery. Cook until everything is quite soft - about 20 minutes. Then add the garlic and cayenne and cook another couple minutes. Then add the vermouth, thyme, and bay leaves. Turn to high heat and cook for a minute, before you add the tomato, stock, and sausage. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes, then add the okra and simmer for another 10 minutes. Finally add the shrimp and cook until just fully opaque (3-5 minutes). Salt to taste (ours needed quite a lot).

Serve.

Thoughts: Great flavor. Claire and I agree that we could have used more turkey - we could have had more, but we ate a lot of the turkey before we tried this. I think the amount of shrimp and sausage was good, though. We agree that the flavor was great.

Disaster Index: 1/10, but it made so much we'll be eating it for like 2 weeks.

Split Pea and Red Lentil Soup

This one was a little odd as recipes go. We borrowed some concepts from a couple recipes. But this turned out awesome.
Ingredients

• 1c split peas
• 1c red lentils
• 3 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 6c chicken stock
• 1c water
• 2tsp smoked spanish paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 1.5-2tbsp tomato paste
• 1/3c raisins
• yogurt / blue cheese (optional)

Cook the bacon in the bottom of a heavy soup pan. When it's crispy, remove the bacon and set aside to drain. Pour off the grease if there's too much and add the onions and the bay leaf. Cook until the onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Then add the split peas and lentils, chicken stock, water, and paprika. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce to simmer for 30 minutes. Around 25 minutes, check on it that it isn't sticking (it will tend to do this). When you're done, stir it really well (our stuck a little bit, but some stirring loosed the soup stuck to the bottom of the pot). Add the tomato paste and the raisins, and cook at low heat for another minute or so. Serve with crumbled bacon and yogurt / blue cheese.

Thoughts: We eyeballed the raisin amount, but I think that it could have used more raisins. Start with 1/3 cup and add more as necessary. This was an awesome recipe, if somewhat unusual. Would definitely make again.

Disaster Index: 1/10

Pumpkin Soup with Mole Sauce

This was kind of made up, but it worked.

Ingredients

• Soup
• 1 small pumpkin, peeled, insides scooped, chopped
• 1 apple, peeled and chopped
• 4c chicken stock
• pepper
• a couple of small, hot peppers, chopped
• Mole Sauce 
• pumpkin seeds from the pumpkin
• one onion, chopped
• garlic
• about 1tbsp dutch processed cocoa
• 1/4c raisins
• 1/4tsp cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne, ancho chili powder, oregano, anise seed
• 2 dried chilies, seeds included
• 1-2 tomatoes (in our case, actually, about 3tbsp tomato paste)
• 1c chicken stock
• salt to taste
• water as necessary
• Some honey (optional - I like my mole a little sweeter)
• olive oil

First, scoop the seeds out of the pumpkin. Peel and chop the pumpkin. Toss with olive oil and some pepper and roast for about 30 minutes at 350, until soft.

Meanwhile, toast the pumpkin seeds in a pan with some olive oil until lightly toasted. Add onions and saute until translucent. Throw in the garlic and cook until fragrant. Put the onion, garlic, and pumpkin seeds in a blender with all the other ingredients, and blend until mostly smooth. At this point, I put the sauce on the stove and boiled for 15 minutes or so with some extra water, but I don't know if this is necessary? Anyway, press through a sieve into a bowl. Season to taste. DONE WITH MOLE.

The soup is so easy, it hardly counts as cooking. Add the pumpkin, apples, stock, and peppers to a pot. Cook until the apples are soft (about 20 minutes?) and blend (we used an immersion blender). Season to taste.

Serve soup with mole drizzled on top.

Thoughts: The soup was easy, but the mole took a while. Next time I would use almonds instead of pumpkin seeds, since I failed to hull the pumpkin seeds, I guess, and they were very tough. Anyway, the flavor combination worked, which I think we were all a little surprised about, since this was completely made up. But awesome! Claire says "interesting texture on the soup" - it's true, it was pretty thick, but velvety.

Disaster Index: 1/10

Black Bean and Espresso Chili

Ingredients

• olive oil
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 1 large, dried, hot pepper (we don't know what kind. It was in a bag of miscellaneous dried hot peppers)
  
• 1/8 cup instant espresso powder
• 1 tbsp cayenne powder
• 1 tbsp ancho chili powder
• 1/8 cup ground cumin
• 1/8 cup dried oregano leaves
• 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1/6 cup honey
• lots of garlic
• 1lb dried black beans
  
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1/4 lb ground beef
  
• salt
• 1 tbsp cinnamon

Do a quick soak on the black beans, and then also let them sit for several hours. You'll see why.
Heat oil in large, thick-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until onions are tender.
Mix in espresso powder, chili powders, cumin, and oregano. Cook 1 minute.
Add tomatoes, honey, and the dried pepper.
Bring to a simmer, and let cook for 10 minutes.
Add beans, stock, beef, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil over high heat.
Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered until the mixture thickens. Sorry, you'll have to stir constantly. Theoretically, this should take 30 minutes.
Before you eat this, you'll probably need to remove the dried pepper skins. You don't want to eat that.
Eat the rest.

Thoughts: this didn't really go well at all. The worst part was that I guess we didn't soak the black beans ahead of time enough. Like, we soaked them for 8 hours, which is the recommended time, but even after three hours of cooking the chili, they weren't soft. I'm not sure how to prevent this in the future. I guess what we recommended above (a quick soak followed by a normal soak) would be a good place to start. Also, it was just a pain in the ass to cook. If you don't stir it 24/7, it sticks to the bottom of your pan. But you can't really stir it 24/7 because the tomato sauce spits all over you. Seriously, our stove looked like a war zone. Dan thought the flavor was good, but I was just so disappointed by the texture of the beans that I don't even care. Next time, I think we'll try doing it in the slow cooker or something. AND I couldn't really taste the espresso powder, which was supposed to be the most exciting thing about this recipe. Dan says he would make it again with a slow-cooker. I would rather just find a new recipe. I don't know. It's pretty good with cornbread though.

Disaster Index: 4.5/10

Couscous with Fennel

and other vegetables?

Ingredients

• 1 large fennel bulb, cubed
• 2c chicken broth
• 1c water
• 2c couscous
• 2x zucchini, chopped
• 1c grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/2c raisins
• carrots?

In a pan, add oil and the fennel, zucchini, and any other vegetables that you want to have in your couscous.  I can't remember what we put in.  Once the fennel is tender (about 8 minutes), add the broth, water, and raisins.  Bring to a boil, then  stir in the couscous.  Remove from heat and cover for 10 minutes until the couscous has absorbed the water.  Add grape tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste.

Thoughts: We first made this with just the fennel and found it lacking, so we added all the other vegetables and the raisins.  I think it turned out really well, though I believe Claire wasn't as fond of it.  This has less to do with the quality of the recipe and more to do with her distrust of couscous.  This was incredibly easy and really good.

Disaster Index: 1/10

Palak Paneer II

After last time you'd think we'd have given up.


Ingredients

• 14oz block of paneer
  
• 2 10oz packages chopped frozen spinach
  
• 1 large onion, diced
  
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1 lobe ginger, minced
  
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
  
• 2tsp garam masala
  
• 1.5tsp cumin
  
• 2tsp coriander (we didn't actually have this)
  
• some water (maybe next time use chicken stock)
  
• yogurt to taste
  
• 3tbsp butter
  
• about 1/2oz goat cheese? Though some recipes use sour cream or just cream. Something thick and dairy, though.
  

Reheat spinach in a microwave, then put in a blender and chop to desired consistency. Set aside.

To a saute pan, add the onion with the garlic and ginger and the butter. Cook until onions are translucent and soft. Then add the tomatoes and cook over low heat until the tomatoes are pretty completely disintegrated. Then add the spinach and the spices / salt to taste. Add water (about 1/2c?) and cook for a while - until the spinach is heated through and cooked pretty well. Add milk, yogurt, sour cream, cream, buttermilk, and/or goat cheese. We had all of these on hand, but we wound up trying milk, yogurt, buttermilk, and goat cheese before we were satisfied. I think next time just a lot of yogurt? Anyway, take it off the heat and correct seasoning to taste.

In the mean time, fry the paneer on a frying pan. It's really pretty easy - just use a non-stick griddle or griddle pan. We didn't even use oil. Aim to brown it on all sides. We turned the individual bits with chop sticks. Pretty cool. Last time it just melted. But maybe that's because the oil wasn't hot enough or something. This time, no oil = better? Anyway, add the paneer to the palak (spinach). Serve (over rice?).

Thoughts:This was actually pretty great. I was surprised. The palak took a LOT of correction to get the seasoning right, though. But it was good. I think next time I'd use more yogurt (or perhaps just heavy cream) and a little more tomato. Also, chicken stock instead of water. I've seen recipes using some tomato paste? Also, we didn't have coriander. Could have been a nice flavor. But overall, I was pleased with this. It's definitely the first time we got the general idea right. We're getting closer.

Disaster Index: 2/10

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped (or two small carrots)
• 4 garlic cloves (but really as much as you want)
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped and divided into two equal portions
  
• 8 oz dried black beans (or 30 oz canned, undrained)
• 1 15-oz can of diced tomatoes (with juice)
  
• 1.5 cups chicken broth (or vegetable, I guess)
  
• fresh cilantro, for garnish
• crumbled feta, for garnish

If you're using canned beans, you can skip this first step, which is:
wash the dried beans thoroughly. Rehydrate them based on the instructions likely to be found on the package. You don't have to spend hours soaking these things. Just add the water and boil for a few minutes, then remove from heat and let them sit for an hour. That should do it. Drain when done.
Heat oil in heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, and garlic. Saute until vegetables begin to soften, about 6 minutes.
Mix in cumin and one pile of jalapeno (should be able 1 tsp or so).
Add beans, tomatoes (do not drain tomato juice), and chicken stock.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until carrots are tender, about 15 minutes.
Blend about 1/2 of the soup in a blender. Or, if you want to make things a little easier, just use a stick blender through the whole soup and stop when it looks to be about the right consistency.
When desired consistency is reached, return the soup to the heat and simmer for another 15 minutes, until thickened.
Season with salt, pepper, and the rest of the jalapeno.
Garnish with cilantro and feta.

Thoughts: Pretty delicious, and pretty easy to make. Dan says the soup had good flavor, but he wouldn't use feta in the future -- we'd probably use something like queso fresco or a variation thereon. Also he thought the beans were a little toothsome, which means next time we would either use canned (we ordinarily would have, but we had these beans sitting around in our cabinet forever and I was like "good god, I will make something with these beans") or actually soak them overnight the way everyone recommends. I would also top this with some sort of sour cream too.

Disaster Index: 2/10

Gazpacho Andaluz

Ingredients

• 2 thick slices of day-old bread, preferably French of some sort, crusts removed and cubed
  
• 1.5-2 lbs tomatoes (you can do all fresh or all canned -- it doesn't really matter)
• 2 tbsp sherry vinegar (we used red wine vinegar because that's all we had)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp ancho chili powder
• sea salt
• 1 medium-sized cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
• 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 small green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1/2 small red onion, peeled and chopped

Put the bread in a bowl and drizzle some olive oil over it. If you're using fresh tomatoes, squeeze some tomato juice over the bread. If you're using the canned stuff, just pour some of the juice over it. Add 1 tsp of whatever vinegar you're using and set aside for 10 minutes.
Transfer the bread to a food processor and add garlic, cumin, cayenne, ancho powder, and salt. Process until smooth.
Put all the raw vegetables, the olive oil, and the salt in a large bowl. Process them (with the bread mixture) in batches until smooth.
Add any extra vinegar or water or salt to taste.
Chill for at least 3 hours before serving.

Thoughts: Sort of a complicated recipe, and that first step is just stupid. We would skip it in the future. Also it just didn't taste right. I mean, maybe I'm not the one who should be writing this post, since I don't like any type of gazpacho. Dan says "enh" about it. I don't know what makes this gazpacho "Andaluz" but so be it. It wasn't that bad, but we probably wouldn't bother to make it again. It was good as gazpacho goes, maybe, but we would try to incorporate more textural elements. Maybe we would blend the whole thing until really smooth, and then garnish with fresh tomato? I think this was a little one-note. Maybe also garnish with the cilantro oil we blogged.

Disaster Index: 5/10

Wheat Berry Salad with Tomato, Feta, Zucchini, and Olives

Based on a dish we had in Italy that originally uses farro instead of wheat berries. We couldn't find farro in our local Giant. Wheat berries worked just fine.

Ingredients

kalamata olives, as many as you'd like

chopped tomatoes, as many as you'd like

1/2 cup dried wheat berries

1.75 cups water

crumbled feta cheese, as much as you'd like

salt

pepper

basil (though mint would be even better)

olive oil, to drizzle on top

grilled zucchini, if you like that sort of thing.

The trickiest part of this recipe is making the wheat berries (i.e making sure you have the ratio of berries:water correct). We tried doing it on the stove, but you know what happens when you turn your back on stovetop wheat berries? They totally burn and ruin your new cookware (we actually salvaged the pot but we did start a fire and now our apartment is filled with the lingering scent of burned wheat berries. What does this smell like? PRAY YOU NEVER FIND OUT). We also tried cooking them in our new slow-cooker, which worked much better but which left a lot of water. If you do it on the stove, you will need to stir constantly. CONSTANTLY. SERIOUSLY. I would recommend using a slow-cooker, if you have one.
Once you have your wheat berries made, refrigerate them until they're cool (several hours).
Mix in your tomatoes, zucchini, feta, olives, basil/mint, salt/pepper, and olive oil. Toss. Eat.

Thoughts: Oh my goodness this is so good. It's like, taking all of the most savory things from the Mediterranean and putting them together and then eating them. It's exactly like that. The only thing we're missing is anchovies...we'll have to experiment with this. The first time we made this (on the stove) the wheat berries were not quite soft enough, but the second time we made them (in the slow-cooker) they were perfect. Seriously, I could eat this all day and it's hella easy. It's a really nice summer dish.

Disaster Index: 1/10

Pasta with Butternut Squash

Few recipes that are this easy taste this good.



Ingredients

• 1/2lb cooked spaghetti
  
• 1lb butternut squash (a small butternut squash), peeled and cubed, (seeds removed)
  
• 1 medium yellow onions, peeled and bisected orthogonally. Or whatever.
  
• ~4oz ripe tomatoes, washed
  
• 3 stalks celery, washed
  
• olive oil
  
• water
  
• salt
  
• 1.5tsp dry rubbed sage
  
• black pepper
  
• parmesan cheese
  
• 5 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped (or else pancetta)
  

Place the squash, onion, tomatoes (whole, if you please), and celery in a casserole dish. Toss with olive oil, and place in a 350-400 degree oven until the squash is just tender, about 45 minutes at 350 or 30 minutes at 400 (maybe - check with a fork). While they're going, start water boiling for the pasta. When the vegetables are done, puree them in a food processor and taste, adding salt as needed. This recipe takes a lot of salt. Add the sage and about 1/2c water and continue to puree until mostly smooth. Meanwhile, make sure that the pasta is cooking. Pour the squash sauce into a pan and add some water until it's just a little liquidy. Set to high heat and cover, letting cook for 5 minutes or so while you drain the pasta. Then take the sauce off the heat (provided it's thick enough - otherwise just uncover and cook until it's done) and pour the pasta in, tossing to coat. Grate a lot of black pepper into it and sprinkle with parmesan (maybe as much as 1/2c?) and bacon / pancetta. Serve. Thoughts: WHY have we never done this before? This will probably become a go-to recipe. It's fairly healthy (lots of vegetables, not too much fat - I used "center cut" low fat bacon) and it's really good. Disaster Index: 1/10

Moroccan Beef Stew

From a recipe on Epicurious from Bon Apetit magazine.

• 2.5lbs boneless chuck roast, cut into bite-sized pieces
  
• 2 small onions
  
• 3 cloves garlic
  
• 1tbsp paprika
  
• 1tbsp garam masala
  
• 1tsp cumin
  
• 1/2tsp turmeric
  
• 1/2tsp cayenne
  
• 1c red wine
  
• 1/2c vermouth
  
• 2c beef stock (we used bouillon)
  
• 1 14.5oz can of diced tomatoes
  
• 1.5c raisins (original calls for golden, we used normal raisins)
  

In a pot, add some olive oil and saute the chuck roast until it's no longer pink - about 8 minutes. It's a lot of meat. I kind of felt like I was butchering a whole side of beef. Anyway, when it's done, put it in a separate bowl (aside). Then add to the pot the onions and garlic and a little more oil. Saute until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Then add all the spices and the wine + vermouth. Stir well until combined, then bring to a boil and reduce to a glaze. In the mean time, you can add the other ingredients to the bowl with the beef. When the wine is reduced to a glaze, just add the beef and all the other ingredients. Stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let it simmer until the sauce is thickened and beef tender, about an hour to 1.25 hours. Ours was reducing very quickly, so I covered it so the beef could tenderize a little longer. I think this was a wise decision.

Thoughts: We served this over rice, though the original recipe recommends serving it over couscous. It was DELICIOUS. Really amazing. It took a little extra salt at the end to make it perfect, but I would be careful to add this at the END because your stock may be saltier or less salty than ours was at the time. Also, we thought maybe another 1/2c raisins wouldn't be out of the question, though the recipe scarcely needed it. In the future, this could be a perfect recipe for a slow cooker... but we don't have such a thing right now, so. One other thing - apparently our entire floor of the building was permeated with the delicious smells of spices and so forth last night, and this morning our apartment still kind of smells really good.

Disaster Index: 1/10

Pasta al Cavolfiore

This is a favorite from Claire's childhood. She felt that this was almost as good as what her father makes. This was our take on someone else's take of a Moosewood Cookbook recipe. Anyway.

Ingredients

• 1 cauliflower, cut into florets
  
• olive oil
  
• 1tsp dry basil
  
• 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped or crushed (we got chopped from a jar)
  
• 1 bay leaf
  
• red pepper flakes
  
• optional ~3 hot italian sausages
  
• 1c cheddar plus 1c parmesan cheese
  
• 1 28oz can tomato sauce/puree
  
• vermouth or dry cooking wine
  
• 1lb pasta (we used rotini)
  

If you're using them, chop the sausage and cook in a pan over medium heat until caramelized and cooked through, then set aside. In the same pot, add the cauliflower, olive oil, basil, garlic, bay leaf (or leaves), and red pepper flakes. Add some dry cooking wine and a little water and cover to cook until tender. When it's tender, add the tomato sauce. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes (while you cook the pasta). After about 10 minutes, re-add the sausages. When it's done, drain the pasta. When the sauce is finished, take it off the heat and stir in the cheese and the pasta.

Thoughts: This is almost absurdly good. The sausage was a good addition, but unnecessary, but no, good... The cauliflower was perfectly tender. Red pepper flakes are good in just about anything, so it worked well here.

Disaster Index: 1/10