Bulgur and Bean Salad

It's finally nice weather here, and so I decided to make this spring recipe.

1 cup bulgur

15 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained

15 oz can of kidney beans, rinsed and drained

15 oz can of whole corn kernels, rinsed and drained

3 long scallions (green onions) finely chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped

1/2 orange bell pepper, finely chopped

1 medium cucumber, finely chopped

2 plum tomatoes, finely chopped

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup of EVOO

1. Cook bulgur according to package - 1 cup of bulgur in a sauce pan with 2 cups of cold water. Medium heat until it boils, then simmer for 12 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes in sauce pan and then move into a very large bowl to separate bulgur and let cool well. (Refrigerator works, too)

2. In a small bowl, mix red wine vinegar, garlic, chili powder, red pepper flakes, black pepper, salt, and EVOO.

3. In large bulgur bowl, place all vegetable ingredients and mix well.

4. Pour dressing over bulgur and mix well.

In the future, I would add 1/2 - 1 cup of finely chopped parsley to this spring mix.

The original recipe calls for the ingredients to sit for a while, but I tasted it right away and it was delicious!

Caraway Cookies

Caraway seeds are suppose to be good anti-nausea remedies. These cookies may help with that, but they are also a good not-too-sweet cookie. The seed makes them tasty like delicious whole grain bread almost. They were a very pleasant surprise.

1/2 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

1 egg, well beaten

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup milk

1.5 tbsp caraway seeds

1. In a large bowl, let butter hit room temperature and mix it well with the sugar.

2. Add egg to large bowl

3. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. (original recipe calls for sifting, but we didn't and they cookies were still pretty fluffy)

4. Add dry ingredients to large bowl of butter mixture with milk.

5. Then mix caraway seeds in.

6. If the batter is particularly liquidy, place it in the fridge for a few minutes (5-10) to solidify.

7. Preheat oven to 380-390 degrees. Grease 2 baking sheets with butter

8. Drop spoonfuls (1 tbsp) of batter onto baking sheets.

9. Bake 12-15 minutes until the edges are a little brown and top is golden.

The original recipe has no author, but these unique cookies were outstanding.

Triple Ginger Cookies

Made these as part of a care package for someone who isn't feeling well. They tasted freaking incredible - the fresh ingredients really packed a punch. I strongly recommend these.

2 cups of white flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground anise

4 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp Himalayan sea salt

1 stick unsalted stick butter

1/4 cup mild molasses (unsulphured)

2/3 cup white sugar

2 tbsp fresh grated ginger (or even more!)

1 cup finely minced ginger

2 lemons, zest only

1 large egg, well beaten

1/2 cup of sugar (for coating outside of cookie - could be fancier sugar if you want)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 3 baking sheets with wax paper.

2. In large bowl, mix flour, baking soda, anise, ground ginger, and salt.

3. In medium bowl, put molasses, sugar, and fresh ginger

4. In a small bowl put crystallized ginger (finely chopped) and lemon zest

5. In a cup, beat one large egg.

6. Over low heat, in a skillet melt one stick of butter. Make sure the mixture stays barely warm. Then add medium bowl of molasses, sugar, and fresh ginger. Stir.

7. Add beaten egg. mix well

8. Pour skillet mixture into large bowl with flour. Pour small bowl of ginger and lemon zest over - stir.

9. Now, the assembly process. Set up your three cookie sheets with wax paper, the batter, a 1/2 tbsp spoon, the bowl of reserved sugar, and a little flour. Lightly flour the spoon and your finger tips. Then roll 1/2 tbsp of batter into a ball, coat in sugar well, and then place on wax paper. The cookies don't spread very much, so leave only about 3/4 inch around them.

10. Bake for 7-10 minutes until the cookies crack a little. I baked for 4 minutes and then switch the very bottom and top cookie sheets, then cooked for 5 more minutes for even cooking. They'll be a little squishy when they first come out, but they'll harden up as they cool.

The original recipe says it makes 4 dozen, but really it just makes a ton. Enjoy!

Chick pea/ Garbanzo Taco

Ingredients:

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 15 oz. cans of garbanzos, drained & rinsed

1 tbsp chili powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp paprika

1.5 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp tamari

2 tsp lemon juice

1. In heated skillet, put 1 tbsp vegetable oil and garbazos.

2. Add seasoning. Cook for 10 minutes in medium heat, stirring continuously. Be careful they don't burn!

3. Add tamari and lemon juice. Cook for 1 minute.

I found this online but now the URL doesn't work. I made this recipe in advance and it was delicious luke warm. The original recipe called for mashing the garbanzo beans, but the texture of the whole ones was pretty nice.

Fish Tacos

Ingredients:

1 tbsp of virgin coconut oil

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

6 small pieces of tilapia

juice from 6 limes

1/4 cup of chopped cilantro

1. Heat coconut oil in a skillet

2. put all ingredients in skillet and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, turning frequently and breaking up fish as it cooks

Chicken Taco Fixing

The first in a series of taco fillings that I'll blog about now. I hosted taco-fiesta tonight - everything was delicious!

1 lb of chopped chicken breast. 1/2 inch cubes work well

1 cup of lemonade

2 tbsp of EVOO

juice from 1 lime

lime zest from that lime

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 bay leaf

1. put all the ingredients in your wok. medium high heat. 15-20 minutes until the chicken is done.

Pretty simple. The lime zest is my addition, but otherwise its basically this delicious recipe!

Spinach Lasagna

So, again, this recipe comes from reading a variety of recipes and then compromising on my own version given time and ingredients in my possession.

preheat oven to 350 degrees

Prepare yourself with the following bowls of ingredients.

Bowl A: 1 can or bottle of marinara sauce (I used a mushroom base) ;

Bowl B: mix together

1 package of frozen spinach cooked.

1 14-16 ounce tub of ricotta cheese

1 14-16 ounce tub of fat free cottage cheese

2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese

Bowl C: 15 cooked lasagna noodles

Bowl D: 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese mixed with 1 tbsp of italian spices (I have a grinder called that - if not, basil, oregano, garlic powder,thyme, some pepper, etc). Put this bowl in the fridge until much later.

Using Bowl A, B, & C, begin the assembly process.

In a regular lasagna/baking dish, I sprayed non-stick cooking oil first. Then a spoonful of marinara sauce. then 3 lasagna noodles.

Then I put in about half of the spinach mixture over the noodles, spread out evenly

then 3 lasagna noodles

Then several spoonfuls of marinara sauce evenly spread out

then 3 lasagna noodles

then the other half of the spinach mixture, spread out evenly.

then 3 lasagna noodles.

then the rest of the marinara sauce

then 3 lasagna noodles.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes. Then remove aluminum foil and top with 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella with 1 tbsp of italian spices. Bake (uncovered) for 10 minutes.

Few things to consider.

Why cottage cheese?

Well, to be honest it was because I didn't buy enough ricotta. But, on the plus size, it lightened the flavor a little - and the calorie count. I think I could probably cut the ricotta in half and not notice the difference with this substitution.

What if I want it with meat?

If you wanted to make this meaty, cook some ground beef with marinara sauce. I think the multitude of layers in this pasta would make that combination very nice.

What if I don't have spinach?

I would substitute in any other complementary vegetable - grilled onions, or lightly cooked mushrooms could work nicely. There is a lot of room for variation with the vegetables! It seemed important that the vegetables be cooked, however, before the lasagna construction, to prevent weird texture issues. Next time I'm going to try layering some grilled eggplant in there, as well.

What if I want to make it vegan?

Well, there are some vegan cottage cheeses. I think replace all of the ricotta with that; replace all of the cheese with soy alternative. For nutrient and texture value, it may also be best to blend in some soft tofu with the spinach/"cheese" mixture. Someone let me know how that works out if you do it!

What else can I serve with lasagna?

This recipe produces a hearty meal. We ate it with a green salad and a french baguette - plus some dessert!