EDAMAME CAKES WITH ASIAN SLAW

This weeks Food Matters Project hosts are Kathleen + Tom of Life with the Lushers. They chose Mark Bittman's recipe for Edamame Cakes with Soy Drizzling Sauce. What a great pick this week. I made the edamame cake batter following Mark's recipe...almost...until my husband hijacked my project. He decided that each pancake should have a different herb flavor!???!! He went out to the garden and started chopping herbs. Marjoram, Tarragon, Sage, Chives, and Scallions. I left the pancakes to him while I made the salad. I used a purchased package of Asian Slaw and  made an amazing ginger-peanut dressing that we also drizzled over our pancakes.

Meanwhile Mr. Perfection made his pancakes.

Nice and round but how will he remember what is in each one?

Of course......

And he scored them!

My score? A ten, I loved these pancakes especially when drizzled with the dressing and served with the slaw.

For Mark Bittman's recipe click here. For the other FMP members take on the recipe click here. 

 EDAMAME CAKES

2 cups fresh or frozen edamame beans

1 egg

1/2 cup sliced scallions

Flour for thickening if needed

Salt and pepper

Vegetable oil for frying

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the edamame to the boiling water and cook until tender, 5-10 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Transfer the beans to a food processor and pulse a couple of times to break them down, then add the remaining 1 tbsp. sesame oil, egg, and scallions. Process until combined but not finely pureed; you want a thick batter with some texture that drops from a spoon. If the mixture is too stiff, stir in a little of the reserved cooking liquid; if too wet, add a little flour. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and stir until the mixture is thoroughly combined.

Put a large skillet or griddle over medium heat. When a few drops of water dance on its surface, add a thin film of oil. Working in batches, spoon on the batter, making any size pancakes you like. Cook until the top sets and the bottom is browned, about 4 minutes. Turn and cook the other side for a couple minutes more. Keep the finished griddle cakes in the warm oven while you finish the others. Serve hot or at room temperature along side Asian slaw and drizzled with the dressing.

Recipe by Mark Bittman

ASIAN SLAW         

Dressing

• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 5 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 6 tablespoons rice vinegar

Slaw

• 2 carrots, peeled,cut into matchsticks
• 1 red bell peppers, seeded,cut into matchsticks
• 1 yellow bell peppers, seeded,cut into matchsticks
• 2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
• 5 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 8 green onions, cut into matchsticks

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients.
2. This can be made ahead and refrigerated for several days.
3. Let stand 30 minutes at room temperature before tossing the slaw.
4. In a large bowl, combine the slaw ingredients.
5. Add dressing and toss to coat.
6. Season and serve.

Recipe from Food.com          

Our Summer Garden

In celebration of a fabulous summer I would like to share our September Harvest. It was amazing. 

Thank you Ron for the countless hours you spent caring for our bounty.

MOROCCAN CHICKPEA AND QUINOA SALAD

This weeks Food Matter's Project was hosted by Sara of Simply Whole Kitchen. Sara chose Mark Bittman's recipe for Quinoa Tabbouleh. Mark's recipe inspired me to make this Moroccan Chickpea and Quinoa Salad.

  I used Rainbow Quinoa. You can find it in the bulk bins at Whole Foods. It is actually just a mix of white, red, and black quinoa. Equal parts. I like to mix the quinoa, each type has a slightly different texture so it makes the dish more interesting. The white is the fluffiest and the red and black are more dense. 

The quinoa is cooked and mixed with dried cherries, bell peppers, onions, chickpeas, and cilantro, seasoned with spices of Morocco....ginger, cinnamon, and cumin. The dressing adds another combination of flavors when you whisk together olive oil, rice vinegar, and orange juice.

I served this as a side dish to accompany a Roast Pork Tenderloin with Apricot-Miso Glaze. They were perfect together. This salad is hearty enough for a main course and great as a stuffing for Patty Pan squash.

 For all the Food Project Members creative takes on the recipe click here.
For the original recipe go to Simply Whole Kitchen.

MOROCCAN CHICKPEA AND QUINOA SALAD

 1 C. dried quinoa (I used rainbow quinoa)
1/2 C. dried cherries
1 C. boiling water
5 TBSP. olive oil, divided
1 med. red bell pepper, sliced thinly
1 med. orange bell pepper, sliced thinly
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1 can chickpeas drained

1/2 C. chopped fresh cilantro
3 TBSP. rice vinegar, unseasoned
3 TBSP. orange juice

Prepare dried quinoa according to package directions. This is usually 1 cup of quinoa to 1 1/2 C. water. Bring to a boil and cover. Reduce heat to low flame and simmer for approximately 15 minutes until all the water is absorbed. Pour cooked quinoa into a large serving bowl and set aside.

While quinoa is simmering, place dried cherries in a small bowl. Add boiling water to just cover cherries and set aside.

While cherries soak heat 2 TBSP. olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add peppers and onions along with the cumin, ginger, cinnamon, salt and pepper; sautéing until tender crisp (about 5 minutes). Add to quinoa along with the chickpeas, cherries and cilantro. At this point I added an additional 1/4 tsp. or so of cumin, ginger, and cinnamon to the quinoa mixture.

Whisk remaining 3 TBSP. of olive oil with vinegar and orange juice. Pour over salad, toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate.

6-8 servings

Recipe from theglutenfreekitchen

ARTICHOKE RICE CAKES WITH MANCHEGO CHEESE

This week our Food Matters Project host is Jen from Small Kitchen College. Jen chose Mark Bittman's recipe for Crisp Rice Cakes with Stir Fried Vegetables and Chicken. Using rice cakes as  my inspiration I went on a web search. When I stumbled on a recipe for rice cakes and artichoke hearts I thought how good would that be? Then I read the recipe and found out that these rice cakes were stuffed with Manchego cheese, one of my favorite cheeses from Spain! Perfect.

My husband and I got hooked on Tapas during our time in Spain last year. I thought this might be a nice addition to our Tapas menu. While this sounded delicious, I have to say that this might be the BEST. BITE. EVER.

Artichoke hearts are sauteed with onion and garlic. Rice is added to the mixture along with hot chicken broth. It was like making a risotto. The recipe didn't say what kind of rice to use and I thought about aborio (as in risotto) but decided it might be too creamy so I used jasmine rice. After it was cooked you add Parmesan cheese and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. The rice mixture was firm and sticky enough to form a nice round rice patty. Now the fun part, form a golf ball size patty and fill it with manchego cheese. Flatten it slightly and roll it in corn meal. Be sure to use a fine corn meal, I used Masa Harina. The corn meal gives the outside a nice texture and extra flavor and crunch when fried to a golden brown.

Serve these hot. There are so many layers of flavors in each bite topped off by the melted Manchego. I post many recipe that I think are really good but these are at the very top.

Thanks for a great pick Jen. I don't think I would have ever made rice cakes and this combination will be on my tapas menu forever.

For the other members creative takes on the recipe click here.

Artichoke Rice Cakes with Manchego

1 jar artichoke hearts packed in water (not oil)
2 oz butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
4 oz rice (I use jasmine)
2 cups HOT chicken stock
2 oz grated fresh Parmesan cheese
5 oz Manchego cheese, very finely diced
3-4 tablespoon fine corn meal (Masa Harina)
olive oil, for frying
salt and ground black pepper
fresh flat leaf parsley, to garnish


Rinse and drain artichoke hearts. Finely chop.

Melt the butter in a pan and sauté artichoke, onion, and garlic for 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the rice and cook for about 1 minute.

Keeping the heat fairly high, gradually add the stock, stirring occasionally until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is cooked - this should take about 20 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper, then stir in the Parmesan cheese. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Leave to cool, then cover and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the mixture into the palm of one hand, flatten slightly, and place a few pieces of diced cheese in the center. Shape the rice around the cheese to make a small ball. Flatten slightly, then roll in the corn meal, shaking off any excess. Repeat with the remaining mixture to make about 12 cakes.

Shallow fry the rice cakes in hot olive oil for 4-5 minutes until they are crisp and golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot, garnished with flat leaf parsley.

Serves 6

Recipe adapted from InternationalRecipes.net

FRESH HERB RANCH DRESSING

Ranch dressing made with fresh herbs, so good I could drink this. It's light and herby with a hint of smokiness from the smoked paprika. I made this to serve over a salad with blue cheese and blueberries, but today I'm just pouring this over warm (just picked) vine ripened tomatoes.  Pure heaven.

FRESH HERB RANCH DRESSING

1 cup reduced fat buttermilk

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/8 tsp. smoked paprika

1/4 tsp. dry mustard

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 TBSP. chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp. chopped fresh chives

1 tsp. chopped fresh dill (or 1/4 tsp. dry)

In a medium bowl combine the buttermilk and mayonnaise until smooth. Add in the rest of the ingredients and stir.

Will keep for 1 week covered in the fridge.

Recipe slightly adapted from Simply Recipes.

TOMATO BREAD SALAD WITH CHORIZO AND HERBS

It's our annual summer race. No, I don't mean a 5K or 10K. Our marathon starts in July and runs through October. It's our race to consume (or give away) our tomatoes as they ripen, and to beat the birds who are also waiting for the perfectly ripe tomato on the vine.. This summer it was hotter than usual and the heat wave gave our tomatoes an amazing growth spurt and they are sweeter because of it.

To add some variety to our tomato meals I made this twist on a classic Italian bread and tomato salad called panzanella. Bread and tomatoes are tossed with cooked (cured) chorizo, onions, and fresh herbs. Dressed with Spanish sherry vinegar and oil makes this a perfect summer meal.

TOMATO BREAD SALAD WITH CHORIZO AND HERBS

3 oz. day-old country bread, torn into bite-size pieces, about 3 cups

5 TBSP. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 pound dried (cured) chorizo, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup Spanish onion, finely chopped

1/2 tsp. chopped fresh oregano leaves

1 TBSP. sherry vinegar

3/4 tsp. fine sea salt, more to taste

Black pepper, as needed

2 ripe, juicy tomatoes, about 1 pound, cut into 1 inch chunks, about 3 cups

1/3 cup basil leaves, torn into pieces

1/3 cup packed cilantro leaves

Heat broiler. Spread bread on large baking sheet and toast until just golden, about 1 minute.

In a large skillet, heat 1 TBSP. oil over medium-high heat. Add chorizo and onion; cook until sausage is golden and onion soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in oregano and remove from heat.

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, salt and pepper. Whisk in remaining oil. In a large bowl, combine bread, tomato and chorizo mixture. Toss in dressing, basil and cilantro. Let stand at least 15 minutes before serving.

Serves 4-6

Recipe from the New York Times

MEDITERRANEAN LAYERED DIP

It's another week of cooking from Mark Bittmans's The Food Matters Cookbook. This week Megan from Art by Megan chose the recipe Greek "Nachos" with Feta Drizzle. This recipe inspired me to make a Mediterranean layered dip. I made this dip for a party a few weeks ago and it was a big hit. Today I made this dip for two and thought a small glass bowl would be the perfect size and show off the layers. Well, you can see the layers but it was hard to dip into and get a little bite of everything. This dip is perfect the way I made it the first time in a low, shallow dish.

I roasted some tomatoes with garlic and olive oil. Taking the time to roast the tomatoes put this dip over the top. Roasting intensifies the sweetness of the tomatoes. 

This is such a fun recipe. You can use anything Mediterranean that you like. I started with hummus, a layer of pesto followed with chopped olives, chopped cucumbers, chopped tomatoes, and topped with crumbled feta.

Served with pita chips.

For all our members take on this recipe here.

LAYERED MEDITERRANEAN DIP

15 oz. hummus 

7 oz. pesto (any kind)

chopped kalamata olives (or any kind)

seeded and diced cucumber

oven roasted tomatoes, chopped

Feta cheese, crumbled

In a 12" round plate spread a layer of hummus, layer of pesto, olives, chopped cucumber, roasted tomatoes, and crumbled feta cheese. Serve with pita chips.