Confetti Beans and Rice

Here's a great example of using meat as a spice - just a little bacon (or ham) really adds a depth to the flavor of these beans and rice.  Eat it straight, wrap it up in a sushi roll, or make a soft taco.  These are  a basic ingredient, with legs.
1 cup brown rice (I used brown Basmati)
2 cups water
1/2 tsp salt

1/4 lb bacon, finely diced (or ham)
1 leek, cleaned and diced
2 large carrots, sliced
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup frozen green peas
1 cup frozen corn
1 red chili pepper (or jalapeño), sliced
1 can red beans, rinsed and drained
1 can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained

Sauté the rice in a medium pot, in a tablespoon of canola over medium heat. Cook while stirring almost constantly, until rice turns translucent, but being very careful not to burn the rice. This should take about 10 minutes. Add the water and salt and bring to a boil. Stir, reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for about 30-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet. Add the bacon, leek, carrots, and cumin and fennel seeds, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Add the peas, corn, chili pepper flakes and the beans. Heat through, about 10 minutes. Set on a low simmer and wait for the rice to finish cooking.

When the rice is done, fluff gently and fold into the beans. Serve with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt.

Serves 6.

Cook’sNote: I use rice previously cooked and frozen. This makes a very quick meal. And a great bonus is to use the beans and rice in soft tacos the next day!  Of course, the bacon or ham is optional.

Lamb Chops with Peppers

The last three ingredients in this recipe may be a bit unconventional, but I promise, the umami flavors are deep in this rich stew; perfect for an Easter holiday table.
4-6 lamb chops
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 large onion, diced
6 assorted mini-sweet peppers, sliced
2 Tbsp fresh (2 tsp dried) rosemary
3 cloves garlic
1 cup red wine
28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
2 Tbsp molasses
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp fish sauce

Heat some olive oil in a Dutch oven or large pot.  Brown all sides of the chops well, and work in batches if necessary so you don't crowd the chops as you brown them.  Season chops as they brown with the cumin seeds, and salt and pepper generously.  Remove chops to a bowl.  Add the onion and peppers to the pot and cook them up until the onions are translucent and beginning to soften.  Add the garlic and rosemary and cook another 3-4 minutes. 

Add the wine to the pot and bring to a boil.  Add the tomatoes, molasses, soy sauce and fish sauce, and stir well.  Return the chops to the pot and bring to a boil.  Lower to a simmer and cook 30-45 minutes. Gently fold the chops in the sauce and cook another 30-45 minutes.

Serves 4.

CarolAsian 2-Chili BBQ Pulled Pork

Our son and I often went to northern Vermont to mountain bike with friends.  Just south of Killington is the Back Behind Restaurant and Hickory Smokehouse, with a smoker running out front.  They make the most outstanding pulled pork - our son's favorite.  I personally adore their Dino Ribs - eight-inch smoked beef ribs piled high on a plate and served with the best cole slaw.

Here I make a pulled pork with Mexican red chili sauce mixed with Thai sweet red chili sauce.  No ketchup needed here.  Sweet and rich, and not too hot.  I call this CarolAsian chili sauce because it is a mix of Asian BBQ and Carolina BBQ. Asian BBQ is typically sweet and spicy hot. Carolina BBQ is typically American smokey, but with a strong note of yellow mustard and vinegar.

See Cook's Note - I paired the pulled pork with corned beef for St. Patrick's day, here.
6-7 lb pork shoulder roast
1 large onion, diced

2 Chili BBQ sauce:
2 cups red chili sauce
2 cups Mae Ploy Thai sweet chili sauce
1/4 cup English or prepared yellow mustard
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced

Cut the bone out of the roast, and remove the skin. Set aside for making soup. Cut the boneless meat into four big pieces. Brown the pieces in a large skillet, in two batches, in a bit of canola oil. Salt and,pepper generously.
Meanwhile, whisk together the BBQ sauce ingredients.

When all the pork is browned, set aside in a bowl. Put the onions in the same skillet as used to brown the pork. Sauté the onions for about 5-8 minutes, until the onions soften and begin to brown.

Place 2 pieces of pork in the crock of a slow cooker. Top with half the onions and half the sauce. Deglaze the skillet used for the pork and onions with a bit of water, scraping up all the brown bits. Transfer to crock. Put the remaining pork in the crock along with the remaining onions and chili sauce.

Cook on high for 2 hours and low for about 6 hours. Alternatively, set on low, go to work. Remove crock from slow cooker when you get home. Remove the pork and gently shred with a fork. Serve pork on buns with sauce passed on the side. Goes extremely well with cole slaw.

Serves 6-8.

Cook's Note: Mae Ploy Thai chili sauce is a great balance of sweetness and hot chili and balances the mustard and vinegar very well indeed.

The second chili comes from the red chili sauce made with Mexican Guajillo chilies which are themselves smokey and just a bit hot. No need for ketchup here as the red chili sauce is sweetened just fine by the Thai sweet chili sauce.

Because it was St. Patrick's Day, I just had to add a bit of corned beef to the stew (I know one would normally pair brisket with pulled pork - but it was St. Patrick's Day, after all!).  And I served it with something green - like jalapeño peppers!

I've also used this sauce on ribs beautifully, and I suspect it would be great on chicken.

Red Chili Sauce

When I lived in Colorado, we used to go back across the tracks in Fort Collins to get great Mexican 'red chili'.  This was pork stewed in a red sauce made from Guajillo chills.  What always surprised me was that the red chili was never as spicy hot at their 10-alarm green chili, but just rich and aromatic.  I guess I expected the green chili to be mild and the red, hot.  Not.

This sauce is a basic Mexican sauce that has a million uses - like a tomato sauce in Italy.  It can be used to make pork in red chili, or enchiladas, or carnitas for example.  Make some and have it around, and you'll find uses for it!

1 onion, diced
1 fresh red chili pepper (optional)
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
4 cups chicken broth
8 dried Guajillo chilis, stemmed, seeded and torn in pieces
2 corn tortillas, torn in pieces
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 Tbsp molasses


Heat a bit of canola oil in a 3-4 quart pot. Sauté the onion and chili pepper for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin and coriander and cook another 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken broth, chills, tortillas, cocoa and molasses and bring to a boil. Cover, turn off heat and let sir for 30 minutes.


In batches, carefully blend mixture in a blender and then strain in a fine strainer. Be careful as you blend hot liquid - it can tend to pulse. Return strained sauce to a clean saucepan and simmer sauce for about 20 minutes.


Makes about 4 cups red chili sauce.

Artichoke Pizza Margherita with Fresh Ricotta

In Florence, Italy, you will find Pizza Margherita - tomato, cheese, fresh basil.  But after several trys, you might want a variation.  Here's one with a bit of artichoke and ricotta - both very Italian.  And a crust that is at the same time light and crispy, and nutritious.  Use ground flax seeds so your body can access their omega-3 oils.  Whole flax seeds aren't processed by the body and the omega-3 value is largely lost.
Crust:
3-1/4 cups general purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup ground flax seeds, or ground bran or wheat germ
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp granulated baker's yeast
1 Tbsp olive oil
1-1/2 cup water, warmed to 105F

1 14-oz can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
2 dozen leaves fresh basil
1 lb mozzarella cheese, sliced into matchsticks
1/2 lb Monterrey Pepper Jack cheese, sliced into matchsticks
16 oz fresh ricotta cheese
3-4 cups favorite tomato sauce

About 2-3 hours before you are ready to eat, start the dough by mixing the dry ingredients together in a blender fitted with a dough hook. Turn blender on medium and add the oil then slowly drizzle in the water, adding only just enough to let the dough pull together. Depending on your flour and the weather, you may not need all the water. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, until it is shiny and elastic. Form dough into a ball and roll in a bowl with about a dash of olive oil until completely coated. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit in a relatively warm spot.

When the dough has risen to at least twice it's size, preheat oven to 500F. Remove dough to a well- floured counter. Cut in two and roll each half out to a 12-14 inch disk to fit your pizza pan. (see Cook’s Note if you want to do a pizza roll). Spread sauce evenly about the dough.

Top with cheese, artichoke, ricotta and basil leaves, interlacing everything to form several ‘layers’.

Bake each pizza separately for about 10 minutes, until brown and bubbly.

Makes 2 pizzas.

Cook’s Note: Another way to prepare this dish is to make a pizza roll, which is similar to a Calzone, in that the filling is baked inside the dough, instead of on top. For a pizza roll, roll out the dough to about a 9x13-inch rectangle. Lay out the filling on top of the dough.

Roll up the dough and seal the edges by pinching together, and bake about 15 minutes at 450F, making sure the dough does not burn.

Slice on a bias and serve.

You could of course make this pizza with your favorite crust - there is no magic between the combination of these fillings and the rich whole grain crust. Though if you are going vegetarian, you should look for nutrients in everything, including pizza crust!

Florence, Italy

Yellowtail Snapper Roasted with Heirloom Tomatoes and Capers

Roasting fish on a bed of fresh tomatoes makes for a delicious vegetable side dish, automatically.
1 lb yellow snapper fillets, cut into four portions
1 lb heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
2 Tbsp capers
1/2 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8-10 fresh basil leaves, julienned
1 tsp Pimenton, Spanish smoked paprika

Preheat oven to 400F. Sauté the onions in a bit of canola oil for about 8-10 minutes, until softened and beginning to color. Add the garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes. Set onions and garlic aside in a large bowl.

Heat the same skillet to high and add a bit of olive oil. Toss in the tomatoes and allow them to sizzle for a few minutes to bring out their flavor. Add the basil and transfer the tomato mixture to the onion mixture. Toss together and transfer veggies to a baking dish.

Nestle the fish fillets into the tomato mixture and sprinkle each fillet with some of the pimento. Salt and pepper to taste.

Scatter the capers about the fish and spray lightly with canola oil. Place fish in the oven and bake 18-20 minutes, just until the fish is cooked through.

Serves 4.

Tomatillo & Roasted Yellow Chili Beef Bourguignon

Lending a Southwestern flare to a Boeuf Bourgignon might have sounded anathema to Julia Child, but I suspect her good friend Jacques Pepin would quite like the combination.  A Boeuf Bourgignon is the classic combination of beef, red wine, pearl onions and mushrooms.  Here, I add in flavors of the southwest including fennel and cumin seeds, with a great salsa, and some green chiles.  Finished in the oven, it has the richness of a Bourgignon, but with a sharper edge to freshen it up.  Aw, go ahead and say it, Julia: ¡Que Aproveche!
2 lb chuck beef, cut into 24 1-inch cubes
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/8 lb apple smoked bacon, finely diced
1 onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dried oregano
2 cups beef broth
2 cups red wine
1 jar Trader Joe's Tomatillo & Roasted Yellow Chili Salsa, 10 oz, or other favorite salsa
1 lb pearl onion, peeled (I used Trader Joe’s frozen)
10 oz button mushrooms, thickly sliced
1 4-oz can diced green chiles

Preheat oven to 375F. Brown the beef in a bit of olive oil in two batches in a Dutch Oven.

Set beef aside in a bowl when it is ready. Place fennel seeds, cumin seeds, bacon and onions in same pot and cook until bacon starts to color and firm up a bit, and onions soften and caramelize a bit. This should take about 10 minutes.

Add the wine, broth and salsa to the pot and return the beef to the pot. Bring to boil, stir and cover. Place in oven for an hour.

Meanwhile sauté the mushrooms in a bit of butter and olive oil until they release any liquid and they brown up nicely.

Set aside. In same pan, sauté the pearl onions until they color nicely, about 10-12 minutes. Set aside with the mushrooms.

After the stew had baked an hour, add the onions, mushrooms and green chiles to the Dutch Oven. Stir and cook another hour, until the meat is fork tender. Stir every once in a while to check stew, and remove from oven when done. Serve with cilantro.

Serves 6.

Cook’s note: This stew’s flavor will depend on the beef stock and the salsa you use. I used home-made stock, but there are many good ones out there to buy. Just watch the sodium level. There are hundreds of great salsas out there as well, so you don't have to worry about that!  In this version I used Trader Joe's Tomatillo and Roasted Yellow Chili Salsa, but I am sure many others would work well too.

I am done with spending the time of peeling fresh pearl onions. I know they are better, but honestly, if you brown the frozen ones well, you will do fine. This is your choice.

Quinoa Sweet Potato Pilaf

Want to eat more plant-based protein?  Try quinoa, an ancient grain that is one of the highest in protein content.  It makes a great pilaf, especially when you pair red quinoa with short grain brown rice.  To add interest, color, flavor and even a bit more protein, you could add a can of drained black beans to this already colorful dish.
1 cup short grain brown rice
1 Tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup red quinoa, rinced
2-1/2 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1 large sweet potato, diced, about 2 cups
handful of green beans, diced, about 1 cup
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp sunflower seeds
black toasted sesame seeds

Heat rice in the oil in a medium pot for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Stir almost constantly so that rice changes to a translucent hue and smells toasted. Add the water, salt and the quinoa and bring to a boil. Stur and reduce to a very low simmer. Cover and cook about 20-30 minutes, until all the water is absorbed.

Meanwhile, sauté the sweet potato in a large non-stick skillet in a dash of olive oil. Cook for about 10-12 minutes, until the potato begins to brown and soften. Add the beans and cook another 3-5 minutes, until the beans just get crisp-tender. Add the garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Fluff the rice-quinoa mixture and tip into the pan with the potatoes. Fold the mixture together and tip into a serving bowl. Top with sunflower and sesame seeds.

Serves 4-6.

Cook's Note:  You can add a bit of vinaigrette the next day and serve as a cold salad.

Roasted Chicken Dijon

I love chicken Dijon.  Or any mustard with chicken.  Here we brown the dark meat pieces and roast them first.  Then the breast meat is added under a blanket of dijon mustard sauce.  This method keeps the white meat moist and not overcooked, while still getting that deep flavor developed from dark meat roasted on the bone.
3 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3cup sour cream
1 roaster chicken, cut into 8-10 pieces
1 large onion, sliced
3 carrots, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp Herbes de Provence

Preheat oven to 375F. Heat a large oven-going pan, large enough to hold all the chicken pieces. Add a bit of olive oil and gently brown the chicken pieces with bone - leave the boneless breast pieces aside. After pieces are browned a bit, set aside and add the onion and carrot into pan. Raise heat and sweat the veggies. Allow to cook for about 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Return the browned chicken to the pan, nestling into the veggies. Bake in oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and add the chicken breast pieces to the pan. Whisk together the mustard, sour cream and wine in a small bowl. Pour over chicken and sprinkle with the herbs.

Return to oven and bake another 20-30 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

Remove chicken to serving platter and stir sauce and vegetables together to mix well. Pour a bit of saucy vegetables on top of chicken and serve remaining sauce on the side.

Serves 4-6.

Sushi Rolls

Making sushi rolls is easy once you get the hang of it.  The most important rule is: don't overfill.  Keep a zen minimalistic approach, so everything rolls up and seals nicely.  Less is more with sushi rolls.

2 cups short grain rice
1 tsp salt
4 cups water
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar

3 eggs
1 Tbsp soy sauce
4 oz smoked salmon
6 peeled and cooked shrimp, thinly sliced
1/3 cup julienned carrots
1/2 english cucumber, cut into matchsticks
4 green onions cut in half and thinly sliced, vertically
1 avocado, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced

8 nori seaweed sheets

Dipping Sauce:
3 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
1 tbs sesame oil
1 Tbsp water
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp sugar

Bring the water and salt to a boil in a pot and add the rice. Return to a boil, stir, and lower to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook until all the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Or cook rice in water and salt in an automatic rice cooker. Let rice cool off a bit and fluff it into a large rimmed baking sheet. Allow to cool. When completely cool, sprinkle with the rice vinegar, tossing together well.

Beat the eggs together in a bowl with the soy sauce. Heat a large non-stick skillet and spray with oil. Tip the eggs into the pan and swirl to spread the eggs out in a thin, even layer. Let eggs set a bit for about a minute, until you can flip the whole thin omelet. Cook through on other side just until eggs are cooked.

Remove to a cutting board to cool. When cool, cut into thin strips.

Whisk together the dipping sauce ingredients.

Lay out a nori sheet on a bamboo sushi roll mat. Cover nori with a thin layer of rice, leaving about 1-inch border at the end farthest away from you. I find it best to use my wet hands - the rice is sticky! Lay out a strip of your favorite fillings about one third of the way down, being careful not to pile up too much - or it will be difficult to roll!

Keep everything horizontal across the short dimension.

Using the mat or a piece of wax or parchment paper as a guide, firmly roll up the sushi roll and press the nori together as you roll.  Wet the border at the far end to make it stick and close up as you finish rolling. Carefully slice into five rolls, cutting about every inch, and turn rolls on their side. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and serve with dipping sauce.

Makes 40 sushi rolls, serving about 6.

Cook's Note:  Almost anything can go into a sushi roll - I'm thinking buffalo chicken and blue cheese, or maybe beans, chorizo and fresh salsa, or salami, Monterrey jack and sliced cornichon pickles.  Or tofu, pickled ginger and wasabi paste.

Seriously, you could do almost anything, so long as the ingredients are either cooked, or absolutely, positively sushi-grade - that is, can be eaten raw.  And adjust the dipping sauce accordingly!