Elizabeth's Massaged Kale Salad with Pomagranate Seeds

Years ago, maybe 20 or more, I met a woman in an online Orthodox women's group.  She was very warm, bright and funny and I simply got a major kick out of her. As we got to know each other, we found that our lives were eerily parallel.  We chatted on the phone and we found we were sympatico.  I love that word, "sympatico", and wish that there was an English equivalent.

Anyway, the years have passed, and from time to time we get to meet in person for a few hours, or a day.  This past weekend, I hit the jackpot - we hung out at my house for the entire weekend!  On Saturday, we did a little food shopping, and I bought the world's greatest steak and some gorgeous organic kale. I cooked the steak and some sauteed zucchini with yellow squash, and Elizabeth made this gorgeous salad with the world's most perfect pomagranate that she had brought along.  It was fantastic!  You will love it, too - I guarantee it!

Elizabeth's Massaged Kale Salad with Pomegranate Seeds

Kale Salad:
1 Bunch Fresh Kale
¼ - ½ Sweet Onion, Thinly Slivered
1 – 2 Oranges, Sectioned
1 or ½ Seeded Pomegranate (Depending Upon Size)
Pepitas (Green Pumpkin Seeds) and/or Sunflower Seeds, For Topping

Citrus Vinaigrette Dressing:
1 Orange, Both Zest & Juice
2 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard
1 Tbsp. Honey
Sea Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper, To Taste

Zest the orange peel from about ½ of the orange. Add the zest, juice and all other dressing ingredients to a jar. Shake well and set aside.

For the Salad: Remove the stems from the kale, preferably by hand. Take remaining kale leaves and tear into small, bite-sized pieces. Then (this is the key to the recipe!), massage the torn up kale leaves. Yes, give it a good work over until the leaves turn a slightly darker color. When well massaged, add thinly sliced sweet onion, orange sections and pomegranate seeds. Shake the dressing again to make sure it is well mixed. Pour over the salad and toss well. Top with pepita (pumpkin) seeds and/or sunflower seeds. Serve. This salad will hold up better than most, even after it is dressed.

Vegetables in Chickpea Flour Gravy, Indian Style

My Indian cooking guru, Manjula, made an interesting dish this week called Sindhi Kadhi, or vegetables in gram flour gravy.  It looked interesting, and I thought I had all the ingredients, except the curry leaves, in my massive spice collection.  Manjula is the goddess of Indian cooking, and her recipes have never let me down, so I thought I'd give it a try today, and then eat it for lunches next week.

First up was measuring the spices.  Whoops, no fenugreek. How about some black mustard seeds instead?  I was so SURE that I had fenugreek.  Whoops, no tamarind paste, but I do have a bottle of Maggi's Tamarina sauce, so that will do.  She says to use oil to saute, but I don't want to open a new bottle of peanut oil just yet... how about some coconut oil?  What to do about the missing 10 curry leaves.... well, maybe 3 bay leaves will suffice?  Hey, is this even Sindhi Kadhi anymore?

I kept tasting as I added spices...  Near the end of the cooking time, it was delicious and mild and smooth, but I wanted to eat it over rice for lunches.  I thought it needed a little more punch, so I added the tamarind the recipe called for which didn't do much of anything, and then it came to me - garam masala!  1 tsp of garam masala did the trick!  Aromatic, spicy and slightly hot.  Delicious!

This entire recipe made about 9 cups at 1043 calories.  If I dropped the Tamarina, you could subtract 132 calories.

The basic method is to make a brown roux with some fat and the chickpea flour, add in the liquid, spices and veggies of choice and let it simmer for a bit before finishing off with the addition of some more flavorings.

What I would do differently next time (and there will be a next time): Cut the salt down to 1 tsp.  Cut out the tamarind completely, or add some sour mango powder, which I happen to have, for the hint of sourness the tamarind is supposed to bring to the dish, but lemon or lime juice would suffice as well.   Add a teaspoon or so of Panch Phoran whole spices instead of the fenugreek Manjula calls to replace the black mustard seed I used this time This would be good made with 4 C water and stir in 1 C half and half at the end, but I don't want the added fat or calories right now.  I'm filing that idea away for the future, though.

This puts me in mind of Issa's Chickpea Gravy, though, and you could spice this up to mimic her recipe which is SUPERB. Think how yummy this gravy would be with some breakfast sausage over biscuits, or with Italian sausage over pasta.  Or rice.  Or in a bowl, with a spoon.  Make it with white wine, garlic and shrimp over grits.  I am reeling with all the possibilities. Nom.

Indian Style Vegetables in Chickpea Flour Gravy

3 Tbs coconut oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp panch phoran (opt)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 fenugreek seeds (opt)
10 fresh curry leaves (replace with 3 dried bay leaves)
3 dried whole red peppers (I used dried arbol peppers)
1/4 tsp asafetida or 1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 Tbs chili powder
1 Tbs freshly grated ginger
1 tsp salt
1/2 C besan (chickpea flour)
5 C water
1 lb mixed vegetables
1 small potato, cubed
1 tsp garam masala
3 Tbs tamarind (opt, or 1 Tbs lemon juice)

Heat oil over high heat, and add cumin, panch phoran, mustard and fenugreek seeds, stirring until they start popping.  Reduce heat to medium and stir in leaves, peppers, asafetida or garlic, turmeric, chili powder, ginger and salt, and stir for another minute, then stir in the chickpea flour to make a roux.  Keep stirring so that it doesn't stick or burn, until it is lightly toasted and golden brown.  Gradually stir in the water, making sure that there are no lumps. Bring to a boil, add the vegetables, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until vegetables are tender.  Stir in tamarind (if using) and garam masala, and  simmer another five minutes.  Light mash the vegetables, taste for salt and pepper, and stir well.

Serve as a soup, or over rice.  Makes about 9 cups, each cup is 116 calories (with tamarind, less without)

Herbes de Provence

Years ago, I got turned on to a magical little mixture of herbs from sunny Provence, France called, herbes de Provence.  This stuff is fantastic on pretty much everything, but for starters, try it as a rub for a roast chicken, and on the potatoes that go with it.  It is wonderful on every meat, poultry and fish that I've tried.  It's also wonderful on roasted vegetables of every kind, and in soups and stews.  Try mixing it with some salt and putting it in a salt grinder to sprinkle on eggs and popcorn and such. You can even use it every where that other herbal mixtures are called for, in place of Italian herbs, for example.

I used to buy it from a neat little spice shop in Santa Clara, CA, and from World Market or Fresh Market here in Savannah, but it's cheaper and so much tastier if you mix it up yourself, so now, that's what I do!

The key ingredient is the lavender - without lavender, you have a very delicious herbal blend, but it simply is not Herbes de Provence!  Last year, a church friend gave me about a quart of dried lavender from her own lavender plants, and WOW!  FABULOUS!

Here is my recipe.  It makes about a half cup.

Denise's Herbes de Provence

1 1/2 tsp each of crumbled bay leaves, tarragon, oregano, rosemary and fennel seed*

1 Tbs each of thyme, basil, summer savory*, lavender, marjoram and parsley

1/2 tsp sage

Mix it all together and it is ready to use on virtually everything.  Other than onions, garlic and basil, Herbes de Provence is what I reach for most when I cook.

For some suggestions about how I use Herbes de Provence, type in "herbes de provence" into the search this blog block on the right side of this blog.  There are about eight pages of recipes that use this mixture.

My personal favorites are:
http://whatimcookingnow.blogspot.com/2006/04/roasted-veggies-on-side.html

http://whatimcookingnow.blogspot.com/2007/06/edamame-succotash-salad.html

and Dear Daughter's favorite soup:
http://whatimcookingnow.blogspot.com/2007/03/roasted-red-pepper-mushroom-and-barley.html

Mujaddarah

This morning, an old family friend surprised me when she said that her father's family was Syrian, and she missed the Syrian foods from her childhood, especially a lentil dish that sounded like "shudthra."  Carol said that she remembers eating it on meatless Fridays, by scooping it up with pita bread. There is no mistaking that she meant Mujaddarah.

Mujaddarah has always been a huge favorite in our house.  Jerry loved it, of course, since he grew up eating it, but so did I, and curiously, so did my Acadian French father and my Italian Auntie Anna.  As a little tiny girl, my daughter used to beg for it, and she still does!  I never dreamed that such a simple, homestyle dish would have such universal appeal!

Mujaddarah is a very ancient dish in the middle east.  In fact, it is the pottage for which Esau traded his birthright in Genesis 25.  Esau lived in Canaan, which corresponds to the area known as the Levant, a geographic and cultural term referring to the eastern Mediterranean region, between Anatolia and Egypt, including most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Cyprus, and parts of Turkey and Iraq.

Mujaddarah can be made with rice or bulgar wheat, soupy or fluffy, with or without cumin (Lebanese don't use cumin, but Jordanians do), but it always consists of lentils flavored with lots and lots of carmelized onions.  In fact, over the years, I have found that the more onions I carmelize, the more my family clamors for more more more!

Mujaddarah

4 C water
1 C brown lentils
4 large onions (about 1 - 1 1/2 lbs), peeled, cut in half length-wise and sliced thinly, lengthwise
1/2 C olive oil
1 C white rice
1 Tbs salt
1/8 tsp pepper

In a large, deep-sided, heavy fry pan, over med-low heat, carmelize onions in oil until they are dark brown, sweet, and almost sticky, but not burned.  This is going to take a while, maybe half an hour or more, and will need constant attention.  When carmelized, drain the onions on paper towels, and try to keep yourself from eating them.  Save the oil.

Pick over lentils, discarding deformed lentils and any rocks or other detritus, and rinse well.   In a large pot, bring 4 C water to a boil, and add the lentils, bring back to a simmer and simmer for 12 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Add the rice, salt, pepper, 2 Tbs of the reserved oil, and half the carmelized onions to the pot.  Stir well, return to heat, and bring the water back to a boil.  Give one last stir, lower the heat to a gentle simmer, cover tightly and steam rice mixture for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and let stand for ten minutes, then fluff gently, adjusting for salt and pepper.

Serve this the traditional way, on a platter, with the last bit of the oil drizzled over, and the rest of the carmelized onion on top.  It's delicious hot or cold, with yogurt, green salad and olives on the side.  First, you rip a pita in half, separate the two layers, and use some of the bread to scoop up the yummy goodness.

Sahtein!

Limoncello and Cranberria

Years ago, my father's baby sister gave my parents a bottle of a cranberry liqueur made near where they lived close to the base of Cape Cod, just outside the whaling town of New Bedford, Massachusetts.  It was a beautiful ruby red color, and thick and sweet, but tart, too.  Very yummy.  So yummy that a new bottle appeared from time to time to replace the empty one.  Eventually, the bad news came - Cranberria was no longer being made.   This was a terrible blow to my parents and me, because we loved the stuff.  We still had a half bottle, and we kept it for years, for that "special" occasion.  We moved that bottle to California and again to Georgia.  Some of it evaporated over time.   Eventually, about seven years ago, while I was carefully packing the precious bottle for another move, I realized that it was a dull brown color, with sediment on the bottom.  I opened it and got a faint whiff of cranberry.  I was brave and I tasted it, but it had no flavor at all.  And that was the end of the last known bottle of cranberria.

Around the same time, I watched an Italian movie on Netflix and was intrigued by the limoncello that everyone was drinking in the Italian sunshine.  It brought back all sorts of memories, and I decided that I would see if I could make it.  My first attempt required a lot of doctoring - I had left a tiny bit of the white pith on the lemon peels and that made it bitter.  I added more and more sugar until it was a thick syrup, but I could still taste a bit of bitterness, so reluctant to throw it away, I put it in a big glass bottle an shoved it in the back of the fridge where I promptly forgot about it.   After it had rested for three months as it was supposed to, I tasted it, and it was still a harsh flavor, partly from the bitterness and partly from the alcohol flavor of the vodka that I had used.

Fast forward two whole years, and I pulled it out of the fridge to taste.  Oh my!  How smooth and delicious it was!  It didn't last long, and I needed to make more - fast!  Or at least, faster than 2 1/2 years!  I tried Giada's recipe and several others, but I finally found one that is no-fail, quick and delicious.

After my limoncello success, my thoughts returned to my beloved Cranberria, and I tried the limoncello recipe, but substituting cranberries for the lemon peel.  I had to double the sugar since they were so tart, and found that it has to sit for 6 - 12 months to ensure a really smooth product.  I tried some tonight and it is so very delicious!

Limoncello

750 ml vodka or Everclear
10 organic lemons, unwaxed
750 ml water
1 1/2 - 2 lbs sugar


Wash the lemons with a brush under hot running water, but do not use soap.  Dry well.  Use a sharp knife or vegetable peeler to remove only the lemon rind, and meticulously scrape all trace of the white pith off.  Put the lemon rinds in one or two large glass (not metal) bottles that can be tightly sealed, such as quart canning jars, and cover with the alcohol.  Shake well, seal well, and put in a dark place for two weeks, shaking and checking the seal every day.

After two weeks, make a simple syrup with 750 ml of water and 1 1/2 lbs of sugar.  Stir and boil it on the stove until all the sugar is dissolved.  You can use up to 2 lbs of sugar, but I don't care for it that sweet, so I use 1 1/2 lbs.

While the syrup is cooling, remove the lemon rinds from the alcohol and stir the alcohol into the syrup.  Taste for sweetness and adjust according to your preference.  Pour into decorative bottles, seal well, and store in the fridge, or you can even freeze it.  I usually put a couple of rinds back into the bottles as a decoration.  Let sit in the fridge for at least two more weeks for the flavor to smooth out.  Delicious!

Cranberria

To make Cranberria, you do the same thing, substituting 1 1/2 lbs fresh, organic cranberries, chopped coarsely and crushed, instead of the lemon rinds.   You will need to use more sugar - start with 2 lbs and work up from there.  2 lbs is good for me, but I like things a little tart.  When it is time to mix the cranberry alcohol with the syrup, I have blended the cranberries in the blender and left the pulp in the finished product to enhance the cranberry flavor.  However, if you want a clear liqueur, I think you could add a defrosted can of cranberry juice concentrate, too.

In fact... I wonder if that would be the easiest way to make a fruit flavored liqueur - mix frozen concentrate with some vodka....   I think I have some experimenting to do!!!!

Savory Vegan Pancakes - Pudla

I 'm a pretty adventurous eater - I love exploring new cuisines.  A new flavor?  A new texture?  Bring it on!  I'm no picky wimp!

I've spent two weekends with Dear Daughter recently, and being the superlatively thoughtful human being that she is, we gorged ourselves several times on excellent Indian food, a particular favorite of ours.  I just wish that we had such diverse restaurant options here in Savannah.  Since coming home, I have been thinking and thinking about Indian food, so today, I made some!

I have a very well stocked pantry, and money is pretty tight for me right now, so I'm trying to eat from my pantry to minimize trips to the grocery store.  I wonder how long I can go without food shopping???   I saw that bag of besan (Indian chickpea flour) in the freezer, and decided on the savory Indian pancakes called pudla.  It's a simple recipe, one that can be flavored many different ways, with tiny bits of veggies and savory bits stirred into the batter.  Yum.  In my fridge, I had a half sweet onion, half a tomato, and some cilantro.  That sealed the deal.  It took about 15 minutes to cook the pancakes, about 5 minutes to make the batter, and a half hour to let the batter rest, so the whole thing is ready in less than an hour.  

PUDLA

2 cups chickpea flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 cups water

1 cup minced savory bits - I used fresh tomato, cilantro and onion

Make the batter by stirring the flour, salt, garlic, cumin, pepper flakes and turmeric together, then slowly stir in the water, breaking up any lumps.  I used a stick blender, but you can use a  whisk or a wooden spoon.  Once it is lump-free, let it sit for 30 minutes.  This is a very important step - don't ignore it!  While the batter is resting, mince the additions - I minced up about 1/3 C each of tomato, cilantro and onion because that's what I had in my fridge.  This is a great way to use up little bits of this and that.

Lightly oil a nonstick pan, and cook the pancakes over medium heat for a couple of minutes, until the edges are dry and bubbles are forming all over the top.  Don't let the bottom get too brown.  Flip and cook for another minute or two.

Keep warm while you cook up the rest of the batter.   These are YUMMY!  The recipe made 26 silver dollar sized pancakes, but you can make any size pancake you want.  16 WW pts+ for the entire recipe.

 No besan?  Don't worry!  Put some dry chickpeas in your blender until they are pulverized.  Sift the bits out and you have flour!   I have used my Vitamix to make flour, including chickpea flour, many times, with great success.

Roasted Figs

I have the very best friends in the world - not only are Billy and Melvin loving and fun to hang with, but they keep my yard looking nice and gift me with all sorts of produce!  This week alone, they have given me about 5 lbs of fresh, ripe tomatoes, sweet Vidalia onions, green basil, purple basil, fresh dill (OMG it smells SO GOOD!) and about 3/4 of a pound of perfectly ripe, small black figs.  What could  I do with such bounty?  I live alone and I didn't want anything to go to waste.

Figs have to be eaten or preserved immediately - they last just a day or two - so I had to figure something out quickly.  I thought about it overnight, and this morning, it hit me: ROAST them!  Roasting makes everything more deeply flavored and sweeter.  So that's what I did.  It took about 15 minutes, all told.  Once they were roasted, I made the most delicious quesadilla you have ever had with one portion of the figs with their winey juice, 2 oz melty cheese (meunster is what I had in the fridge), about a handful of baby arugula, a sprinkle of salt and freshly ground pepper.  Oh my goodness!  So delicious!  I am so happy that I have three more portions of figs left so I can make some more quesadillas over the next couple of days, long after the fresh figs would have spoiled.

ROASTED FIGS WITH THYME

10 oz fresh ripe figs, cut in half
1 Tbs merlot
1 Tbs honey
Thyme

Preheat oven to 450F.  Whisk honey and wine together till honey is dissolved completely.  Spray a pan with olive oil spray and arrange the figs so they are not touching each other.  Spoon the wine and honey mixture evenly over all, then sprinkle with thyme - fresh, minced leaves, or dried is fine.  Roast for 15 minutes, checking half-way through to be sure there is no burning.  The figs should show just a little bit of carmelization on the edges.  Remove from oven and let stand for a few minutes before eating.

Makes 4 servings, 2 WW pts+ per serving

These would be wonderful on rich vanilla ice cream, ricotta, goat cheese or yogurt, or eat them as is.  Try the quesadilla, though - your mouth will thank you for it!

One last thing about figs - in the Boston area where I grew up, there were no fig trees.  My Italian grandmother adored figs, though, and I remember my grandfather trudging home from the fruit vendors in the North End of Boston with a flat of figs, just for her, as a present.  He wasn't an easy man to live with (few Italian men of his generation were), but he did occasionally make little gestures that told her (and us) how much he loved us.  These gestures pretty much always centered around food - we were Italian after all!  I remember how Grammie loved figs, how her eyes closed in delight as she popped them into her mouth, one by one, and how excited and honored I was if she shared one or two with me from her special gift.  What a woman.  I miss her so much.

When we first moved to California, years later, we were invited for dinner at Marge and Taft's house, and as we ate under a giant tree in their back yard, laughing and joking around, Taft reached up and picked - you guessed it - a FIG!  With so many figs next door at Taft's house, I really became a glutton for them.  I ate and ate until I couldn't eat another one, and Taft used to laugh at me.

Now I live in Georgia, and one variety of figs do grow here, but figs are still such a treat for me, not only because they are so yummy, but because each time I put one to my lips, I remember my wonderful grandmother and Grampie's yearly gift of figs.  Memory Eternal, Vincenzo and Josephine Cieri.  Memory Eternal!

Mason Jar Oatmeal - It's What's For Breakfast! 6 pts+

Ever been on Pinterest?  I think I'm addicted.  It's full of all sorts of diverse things, including recipes.  I keep seeing pictures of pack and go meals in all sizes and shapes of mason jars, and since I have a fair number of jars, I am intrigued.  I know that storing my food in glass is better for me than storing it in plastic, but I don't see much value in putting all my ziplock and rubbermaid containers into the local landfill, either.  So, I'm using the plastic stuff for non-food items and for things that don't get microwaved.  I'm  gradually thinning the plastic stash out.

If you're like me, you instinctively grab every last second of sleep that you can in the morning, so packing a big breakfast, snack and lunch every day is simply not going to happen unless it is prepared ahead of time, and all you have to do is to pop the containers into your lunch bag with a refreezable cold pack and GO!  I never have breakfast at home on work day mornings, not only because I don't really have enough time to eat leisurely, but also because if I wolf something down that early, I feel kind of sick until the afternoon.  I really need a few hours of being awake before eating breakfast, though coffee is a MUST, but by 10 am, I'm starving, so if I don't pack my breakfast, I hit that darn vending machine with disastrous results.  It's way too expensive in every possible way to do that often.

I've been on Weight Watchers for about six or seven months and have lost 33 lbs.  It used to be 35 lbs, but I've been on a plateau for about seven weeks, and the last few weeks, my weight has crept up a pound or two.  I am determined to plan ahead this week so that I won't hit the dastardly vending machine in the break room, so I put together a breakfast for every day this week - my favorite - OATMEAL!


MASON JAR BERRY OATMEAL - 6 points+

for each 2 cup mason jar:
1/2 cup regular, uncooked, plain oatmeal
1 cup plain unsweetened almond milk
1/8 tsp powdered stevia
1/2 cup berries

Put the dry oatmeal into the jar, sprinkle the sweetener over, add the fruit on top, pour milk over all.  Screw on the top and refrigerate till you are ready to eat.   It will last for a week in the fridge, easily. It's good cold, room temperature, or heated up in the microwave at work for a couple of minutes.   Easy Peasy.

I used up some frozen blueberries that I had, and filled the rest of the jars with a mix of fresh and frozen strawberries, but you can vary it up anyway that you want: add cinnamon or other spices, change up the fruit, the liquid, the sweetener.  The possibilities are ENDLESS!

Making five cheap and healthy breakfasts took me about five minutes.  No joke.

Happy breakfasting!

Dilly Cabbage Soup 6 pts+ per quart

It's raining hard here today, in the way that it rains only in Savannah.  The sky is gray with that eerie light that is seen when storms let up, yet are not quite done.  It's lunchtime, and I am hungry.  Very hungry.  It's too bad outside to do my grocery shopping as I had planned for today, so while rummaging around, I saw a slightly tired, small head of cabbage and some slightly sprouting potatoes.  Cabbage soup, it is!

DILLY CABBAGE SOUP
makes about 4 quarts

1 lb potatoes, diced
1 lb onion, diced
1 small cabbage, shredded finely with a knife (about 2 lbs)
1 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs dried dill
3 Tbs veggie bouillion granules (I like Vogue)
1 -2 tsp salt to taste
1 tsp black pepper
10 cups water

Coat the bottom of a heavy 6 qt soup pot with the olive oil, and heat over medium high heat.  Add the potatoes and onion, stirring constantly, till the onion is translucent.  Add in the salt, pepper, then the dill, water and bouillion granules.  Bring to a boil and add in the cabbage.  You will have to press it down to get it all in.  Bring back to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium low, making sure to keep it simmering.  Let it simmer for half an hour to wilt the cabbage and meld the flavors.

As made above, this is 6 WW points plus per quart.  Yes, you heard me, per quart! That's about 1 point per cup.  You can't get better than that for something so yummy and filling.

This is a very simple, but delicious soup.  You could flavor it many different ways - imagine it with curry and peas for an Indian flavor!  How about some Italian sausage (real or soy) and basil?  Lots of paprika (smoked paprika is my favorite), caraway seeds, white wine and sour cream for a Hungarian twist?  Really, the possibilities are endless.

Christmas Kutia

Many Slovak Orthodox Christians prepare a traditional dinner on Christmas Eve called the Holy Supper which consists of 12 dishes for the 12 apostles. Included in the tradition is Kutia. Kutia is the Slavic version of Koliva, a sweetened boiled wheat and fruit dish which is served at services for the dead. Here is some information and a recipe for the Lebanese version from a prior post about that.

For the past six or seven years, my parish has come to together for the Holy Supper just prior to Christmas Eve Great Compline and Matins, and each year, our celebration seems to become a little more traditional. I usually am the one to make the wheat for the Holy Supper, since I'm the only one who makes this traditional food in my parish. This year was no different, but I decided to make it Russian style instead of Lebanese style. It was a big, big hit! Maybe even a bigger hit than my Lebanese style - and let me tell you, that is VERY popular! I did receive the highest of praise when my dear Russian friend told me that my kutia was just like her mother's, only better, because I put more fruit in it. High praise, indeed.

I do have a photo, but no way to get it off my camera right now. I'll post it as soon as I can.

Christmas Kutia
2 1/4 C soft wheat berries, soaked for 24 hours and strained
6 3/4 C water
1 C poppy seed
1 C sliced almonds or chopped walnuts, toasted till fragrant
1 lb honey
1 C white raisins
1 C chopped dried fruit, such as apricots, craisins, berries or cherries
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs cinnamon (heaping)

Drain the wheat berries well and put them in a dutch oven type pan with a lid. Stir in the water and loosely cover the pot. Crack the cover open so the steam can escape a little bit and it won't boil over. Simmer the wheat for 2 - 3 hours until very tender.

After the wheat has simmered for about an hour, you should prepare the poppy seeds by scalding them. Put them in a heat-proof dish, cover them with boiling water and let them soak for half an hour. Drain them well, then grind them in a blender or food processor. Continue your preparations by toasting the nuts and chopping the fruit.

Once the wheat is tender, drain the kernals, reserving about a cup of the water, and put them in a very large bowl together with the ground up poppy seeds. Add the honey and mix well. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, adding a little bit of the reserved water if it seems too thick and the honey won't mix well.

You can eat it just like this, which is what we did this year, but there is an additional step to this which makes it even more yummy. Once everything is mixed together, bake it in a 3 qt casserole, uncovered, at 325F for 20 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Kutia is best if you put everything together 2 or 3 days in advance and bake it right before serving. This is yummy hot or cold or room temperature. This recipe makes a lot, but that's ok because it freezes extremely well too!, and will last about two weeks in the fridge.

UPDATED ON FEBRUARY 7, 2016:  
It has become increasingly difficult to find soft wheat berries in Savannah, and I'm simply not organized enough to order them online in advance.  I've begun using pearled barley (in equal amounts to the wheat) which is barley with the fibrous outer hull and bran removed, and cooks on top of the stove in one hour, without soaking. It's very similar to the Romanian arpacas which is traditionally used for coliva in Romania. Arpacas is not necessarily wheat berries with the hull removed - it can also be spelt or barley. My use of barley is not noticeable in this dish, and as it is a seed, it retains the significance of a seed dying to give new life inherent in this dish.  An excellent recipe for Romanian style coliva is in the works for this blog, once I perfect it.  Soon....

Here is a link to my tried and true .Lebanese style koliva

Lebanese Spinach and Lentil Soup - Rishta

I think I've blogged before about my love affair with lentils. If not, well, suffice it to say that I adore lentils! I always have, even as a child. Don't ask me why, I just do. As with all great love affairs in history, I spend as much time as possible with my beloved. On Thursday night, I made rishta, a wonderful, homey, Lebanese lentil and spinach soup.

My Lebanese mother-in-law was an outstanding cook, and while we often had different opinions, she always loved that I appreciated her cooking. She made the first rishta I ever had, and I was smitten, so I went home and tried to duplicate it. No luck - mine was just not as good as hers, and she NEVER gave recipes out. She did this because it meant that she would have lots of people visiting and she could cook for them. Old-time Lebanese women never wonder why they were created, or what their role in life is - they already know that it's to feed hungry people! Then we visited her sister Rose one day, and as we were visiting, she decided to cook something for us. That something was rishta. The best rishta in the entire world. Aunt Rose laughed at me because I was nearly swooning with bliss, and Uncle George said to my husband, "That's an odd one you got there, Jerry." Of course, I asked for the recipe, and Aunt Rose told me the secret to good rishta. It was like hitting the motherlode! When we got home that day, I immediately made a pot. In fact, I made so much rishta over the next month or two that Jerry finally asked me to stop!

The other night, I needed to use about a half pound of fresh, organic baby spinach, and rishta floated into my mind. I haven't made it in a long time and decided to whip up a pot. I also had a pound of frozen spinach and I always have lots of lentils on hand, so I was in business. Hunger dictated that I use store-bought noodles instead of making my own, but if you just happen to baking some pita bread, use one ball of dough for the noodles. Just roll it out very thinly, maybe 1/8 inch, cut into 1/4 inch strips, then slice diagonally so they are about 1 inch in length. Here is my recipe:

Rishta

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped
1-1/2 tsp dried basil
1 Tbs ground coriander seed
1 cup brown or green lentils, picked over and washed
1 Tbs bouillion powder (I like Vogue Veggie Base)
1 bay leaf
8 cups water
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 lb baby spinach or chopped spinach, fresh or frozen, or other greens such as chard
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup broken vermicelli or other soup noodles

Pick over and wash the lentils. Place in a soup pot with the bay leaf, bouillion powder and water, and simmer until the lentils are almost tender - about 35 minutes or so. While the lentils are simmering, prepare the onions. Heat the oil in a skillet and saute the onion till beginning to carmelize. Add basil, coriander, garlic to the onions. Season with salt and pepper and continue to saute until the edges of the onion are carmelized and the spices are very fragrant. Add the sauteed onions to the pot, scraping every last bit of goodness out of the frying pan and into the soup pot and bring back to a simmer. Add in the pasta and simmer for a couple of minutes while you wash and chop the spinach. Add the spinach and taste for salt and pepper. When the pasta is done, the soup is ready to eat. This is traditionally served with a squeeze of lemon juice in each individual bowl. This made 4 hearty servings.

Aunt Rose told me that Syrians sometimes put tomatoes in as well, but she would never do such a thing! I never do either, but its a thought...

Beet This!

I have restarted my CSA - every two weeks I receive the "petite" box for $18. The last box contained a beautiful bunch of baby beets which I peeled and roasted together with carrots, a rutabaga, potatoes, a sweet potato and brussels sprouts. Oh yes.... very yummy, and very pretty too. I've blogged about roasted veggies before, so you know what to do. However, this left me with a bunch of gorgeous beet greens. Last night, I finally decided to saute them and eat them with a pita. Man oh man, how delish! I didn't take a photo, mostly because I couldn't wait to eat! The little pop of sweet date is delicious when matched with the slight tartness of the lemon juice. Use bread to sop up all the juices!

Sauteed Greens
1/2 large onion, sliced into julienne type strips
2 garlic cloves
1 bunch greens (beet greens this time), carefully washed, but not dried - you want the water clinging to the leaves
1 tsp Herbes de Provence
salt and pepper to taste
2 dates, minced
Olive oil for sauteeing
juice of half a lemon
Pita

Sautee the onion and garlic in the olive oil for a few minutes, till wilted. Season with salt, pepper and herbes. Chop the greens into strips and add to the pan, stirring while sauteeing - they will wilt quickly. Once wilted, add the minced dates and continue to saute until the greens are cooked to your liking. Drizzle juice of half a lemon over all and use pieces of pita bread as a scoop to eat.

After I had eaten it all, I thought how delicious this would have been with the baby beets roasted and cubed, and dressed with lots of fresh dill. Maybe I'll buy a bunch of turnips to cook this way with the turnip greens and try it out...

This is a very southern Italian way of eating greens. Sicily, in particular, has a number of greens dishes which include raisins and pine nuts.

Tomorrow - bubble and squeak, I think!

Black Bean Patties

Dear Daughter is coming home over Thanksgiving weekend (with a "friend" no less), and Philip's Fast (Advent for you non-Orthodox) begins today, so I wanted to start laying in a supply of yummy vegan foods in my freezer. The first thing I made were these yummy, south of the border flavored black bean patties. They are individually wrapped in my freezer, and just need a little bake in the toaster oven, or in a frypan, or even just a quick thaw! I think that next time, I'll add a half cup of corn kernals - if I do that, I think I'll get 9 or 10 out of this recipe. You can flavor these any way that you like - I made mine kind of Mexican.

South of the Border Black Bean Patties

3 C well-cooked black beans
1/2 - 1 tsp salt (I used Adobo seasoning)
1 heaping tsp ground cumin
1 heaping tsp Italian seasoning (need that bite of oregano here)
1 C dry bread crumbs (I used Italian)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 - 3 Tbs finely minced onion
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 C water
1/4 C flour (for dredging)
Olive oil for frying

Mash first nine ingredients together, but leave some of the beans chunky for a nice texture. The breadcrumbs will make it very dry, so add up to 1 C water to make it a stiff, but still moist, consistency - a consistency that can easily be formed into balls or patties. Taste for salt and heat. Form into eight patties - I made slightly oval ones that will fit nicely into half a pita. On a nonstick grill, I sprayed a little pure olive oil and browned them well on both sides.

Once they cooled off, I wrapped them individually and froze them. I plan on serving these with lettuce, onion, olives, peppers and salsa, and maybe a dollop of vegan sour cream substitute in half a pita. I think my college-age daughter and her guest will enjoy these as lunch or a snack.

If I can, I'll take a photo when they eat them.

Quick Vegan Corn Chowder

I'm from New England, the land of chowders, which is fortunate, because I absolutely love chowder. Basically, a chowder is a soup which always contains milk, onions and potatoes, and is usually thickened with flour. You can add seafood, like clams or crab or fish, or ham, or my personal favorite: corn! Yes, corn chowder is my most favorite chowder. With all of the nondairy cream and milk available, its easy to make a vegan chowder, and that is what I did. You can substitute dairy products if you want. I usually don't thicken my chowders with flour; instead, I mash up some of the potato until it is the consistency that I want. If you want potato soup, add another potato at the beginning and leave out the corn. Simple as that!

Quick Vegan Corn Chowder
4 large potatoes (about 2 lbs), peeled and diced in 1/2 inch cubes
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
olive oil for sauteeing
1 Tbs veggie broth powder
1/8 tsp cayenne
1 heaping Tbs salt (I use Adobo Seasoning Salt which adds a slight yellow color and garlic flavor)
generous pinch each of: rosemary, sage and marjoram
2 generous pinches thyme
4 C water
2 C corn kernals
2 C nondairy creamer
1 Tbs non-dairy margerine like Earth Balance

Saute the onions, carrots, celery and potatoes in olive oil until onions are transparent and veggies are starting to soften. Add cayenne, salt, rosemary, sage, marjoram and thyme and saute for another minute. Add the broth powder, then pour in the water and stir well. Simmer for 15 minutes until all the veggies are very tender. Use a potato masher or a hand-held immersion blender to puree the veggies, giving the soup more body. I prefer to use the potato masher because it leaves a white colored soup with little orange and pale green flecks which is so pretty! Pour in the creamer and the corn, and heat until the corn and soup are piping hot. Adjust seasonings. Serve with a little shaving of margerine on top for added richness.

Yum!

Chowders lend themselves to endless variations in spicing and ingredients, but sometimes its nice to chow down on a plain old New England classic like corn chowder.

Kale Braised with Carmelized Onions and Rutabagas

One thing I've learned about cooking is that you can never have too many carmelized onions! They are so very delicious that sometimes I eat them as a vegetable. I should have gone food shopping yesterday, but didn't want to brave the Saturday crowds, so I had a look in the fridge to see what I could put together. I had a lovely bunch of curly kale and a medium-sized rutabaga as well as a few onions, so this dish was born. Its really a riff on Italian minestra, which is garlicky greens and beans, and southern-style turnip greens with turnips. Whatever it is, it certainly is delicious - so delicious that I ate half of it in one sitting. Luckily, its pretty healthy, so no problem. The rest was packaged up for work lunches this coming week.

Kale Braised with Carmelized Onions and Rutabagas
2 Tbs butter or margerine
4 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 onions halved and sliced very thin
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium rutabaga, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/2 Tbs smoked paprika
1 Tbs garlic salt/Adobo seasoning
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 bunch curly kale
2 Tbs water

In a large pot with a tight fitting lid, melt half the butter and 1 Tbs of oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute, stirring often, for about 10 minutes until starting to carmelize and brown. Add the remaining oil, minced garlic, rutabaga, paprika, salt and pepper, stir well so that everything is coated with oil and spices. Turn heat down to medium, cover tightly, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring twice, until rutabagas are just barely tender. Add water to keep from sticking if necessary - this should not be necessary if your pot is nonstick. Uncover, add the kale and stir well. Cover again and let steam for about 4 - 5 minutes, until kale is wilted. Stir well and adjust for salt and pepper.

The onions continued to carmelize as the other veggies were cooking and ended up sweet and almost sticky, as did the rutabagas, which also were beginning to carmelize. This would be yummy with a spritz of lemon juice, or even balsamic vinegar to cut the buttery richness of the oil. I used Earth Balance spread rather than butter, since that's what I had in the house (Lent is upon us, you know), and it was yummy. I think this would be a fabulous base for a pasta salad - just stir in about a half pound of pasta, cooked al dente.

Again, I have no photo, and I apologize. I've unpacked the camera, but haven't found the charger yet, so photos will have to wait. Suffice it to say that this was a very pretty dish, with the small orange cubes peeking out from the dark green of the kale.

In the Orthodox Church, the Rite of Forgiveness at vespers this Sunday afternoon is the official beginning of the fast, of Great Lent. Every person in the parish, from the youngest to the oldest, will line up and ask forgiveness of each other for what they have done and what they have failed to do during the past year. There is always much hugging and many tears as hurts are forgiven. It never fails to move me, and humble me as well. So, in the spirit of Forgiveness Sunday, dear brothers and sisters, I ask you to forgive me for my sins and offenses, for what I have done and what I have failed to do, for how I have consistently missed the mark and fallen short of Christ's example.

Ratatouille (not the mouse!)

Dear Daughter and I watched the movie, Ratatouille, last month and absolutely loved it! So, that got me thinking about how long it had been since I made this delicious vegetable stew from the south of France. When I first became Orthodox, it was one of my main go-to lenten recipes - a real staple. I made it probably once a week or so for years, but when we moved here 11 years ago, Mom took over the kitchen and I think I've only made it two or three times since then.

Last week there were beautiful eggplants at the new Kroger where I shop, the first eggplants of the season, so I splurged and bought one. (HOW I LOVE THAT NEW KROGER!) I admired its perfection for a day, that's how beautiful it was! Then I decided to make ratatouille.

Here is my tried and true, favorite recipe:

Ratatouille
2 medium eggplants cut in 1" cubes
8 tomatoes cut into eighths
4 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2" cubes
4 green peppers, cored, seeded, and cut into 1" squares
2 onions roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced finely
2 tsp dry thyme
2 bay leaves
1 - 2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 C dry white wine
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil

Over medium heat, put the olive oil into a heavy bottomed dutch oven. When the oil is hot, saute the onions, garlic, zucchini and peppers for a about 5 minutes, adding more oil if necessary. Add in the eggplant, tomatoes, thyme, bay leaves, salt, pepper and wine. Stir well, then bring to a slow simmer, cover and cook for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and buttery, and the flavors are well melded.

I have often made this in the crockpot. Simply place the ingredients into the crockpot in this order: eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini and peppers. Lightly salt and pepper each layer, and sprinkle a little bit of onion, garlic and thyme on each layer as well. Bury the bay leaves and pour the wine over all. Cover tightly, set heat to med and let it cook all day, at least eight hours.

I have often made this in the 8 qt. pressure cooker as well. Layer the ingredients as for the crockpot. Lock the lid into place and bring to 15 lbs pressure. Cook for exactly 10 minutes and reduce the heat quickly according the manufacturer's directions.

This smelled so yummy as it was cooking, that it woke DD up from her apres-school nap! She wanted potatoes, so I made some garlic mashed potatoes and served the ratatouille on top, a la Vegan with a Vengance Punk Rock Chickpea Gravy which we dearly love and eat often.

There are a million variations on this theme. You might notice from the photo above that there are no visible peppers. Well, I didn't have any peppers, and it was still yummy! Sometimes I put in mushrooms, or during Lent, I might put in a can of drained chickpeas for the protein. Add some potatoes, change the thyme to oregano, drizzle olive oil over the finished dish and you have Greek briami. Add the potatoes, omit the oregano and the thyme and replace it with a handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped, and you have ciambotta from southern Italy, where my people are from.

I've served this over noodles and in bowls with crusty bread for dipping. I've simmered most of the liquid off, lightly mashed the veggies, and used it as dip and as a topping for crostini. It makes a wonderful filling for a quiche. There is no end to what you can do with the leftovers, if you're lucky enough to actually have leftovers!

No matter where in the world you are from, or where in the world you are, you will enjoy Ratatouille, and all its variations!

Slow Cooker Sun Dried Tomato Pate

I'm always on the lookout for something that will make a yummy sandwich for dear daughter to take to school. Even though she is off this week, this no-fuss but still delicious recipe caught my eye. She'll be eating this with crackers and crudites rather than in a sandwich this week! With my apologies to Robin Robertson:

Slow Cooker Sun Dried Tomato Pate
1/2 C sun dried tomatoes
boiling water as needed
1 Tbs olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 C blanched whole almonds
2 15-oz cans white beans (or 3 C cooked from dried beans)
2 Tbs minced fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Place the tomatoes in a heatproof bowl with enough boiling water to cover. Let stand for 30 minutes to soften well. Drain, reserving 1/2 C of the soaking liquid. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat, add onion and garlic, and sweat until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. In a food processor, pulse the almonds until coarsely chopped. Add the beans, the drained tomatoes, the reserved soaking liquid, the onion mixture and parsley and process until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spray an oven-proof 4 cup mold that fits inside your crock pot. Pack well with the bean mixture, smoothing top flat. Cover tightly with aluminum foil, poking several holes to let steam escape. Place the mold on a trivet in the crockpot, pour an inch of hot water in. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. Let cool completely before inverting and removing from the mold. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight before serving. Serve cool or at room temperature.

Lightened Up Baked Pakistani Rice

Yesterday at my church's pot luck, there was the yummiest curried lentils over rice! It got me thinking about making something curried today. I had also read somewhere online about baking rice and I wanted to try it. That's how this dish was born.

The original recipe for Mattar Palao called for an entire pound of rice, which is a little too much for just the two of us, as well as half a pound of butter! Yikes! So, I lightened it up and tried to keep the same flavors.

It was very delicious, though I'm a little disappointed in the texture of the rice. It really wasn't light and fluffy. I think I'll need to experiment with baking rice some more and report back. Since I was going to have the oven on, I decided to roast eight large portobella mushroom caps, and serve the rice in those. With a nice salad, it was a quick, tasty and filling meal for two!

For the mushrooms:
Preheat oven to 375F.

Clean mushrooms, remove stems and place cap side up on a baking dish.

Give a quick spray of olive oil onto each mushroom, sprinkle with some seasoned salt (I used Soul Seasoning) and place, uncovered, in the bottom rack of the oven while it is preheating. Then start making the rice.

Pakistani Flavored Rice for 2:
1/2 diced onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin seed
pinch powdered cloves
1/8 tsp powdered cinnamon
1/2 tsp chili powder
dash of cayenne
1/2 tsp garam masala (hot or mild)
1 C white long grain rice (Basmati would be best)

2 C water
1 small tomato, seeded and diced
1 C frozen peas or lima beans
2 tsp veggie broth powder
salt and pepper to taste

Pumpkin seeds (pepitos)

Saute the onion and garlic in the oil until translucent. Add the spices and saute, stirring all the time to prevent sticking, until very fragrant. Add in the rice and saute, stirring, until the rice is coated with all the spices and mixed well with the onions. Stir in the water, then add the tomato, peas and broth powder. Stir till well blended together. Bring to a boil on top of the stove. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust. Cover and bake in a 375F oven for 20 minutes. Fluff and serve mounded in the mushroom caps. Sprinkle pumpkin seeds for additional crunch, color and nutrition.

Although this was very delicious in flavor, I think that it could have cooked another five minutes or so. You should also probably let this sit for five minutes before fluffing. All in all, there is no time saving to baking rice, and after one experiment, I prefer the texture of rice steamed on top of the stove. I'll make this recipe again, and I will certainly try baking rice again!

Quick Vegan Borscht with Dilled Tofu Whip

I've been thinking about borscht a lot lately - I haven't made it in a while. I really love it when its made with fresh beef stock made in my pressure cooker, with the chunks of beef stirred back into the soup, but with DD being a vegan and with her graciously eating meat on Christmas Day but just that once, I figured I'd have to make vegetarian borscht. Vegetarian borscht is not my favorite, so I've been delaying.

Yesterday I received another box of vegetables from my CSA, so I really needed to clear out a couple of veggies that were hanging around from the last box. Vegetable soup seemed to be the most practical thing to make this morning, but as I was sauteeing the veggies in the pot, intending to make something else, on a whim, I decided to make a version of borscht. Its still simmering, so I'll let you know how it tastes after lunch.

What happened was that as I was sauteeing the onions, garlic, carrots and celery in the pot, I glugged in about 4 oz of cabernet sauvignon, and the deep purple color reminded me of beets, and that was enough to make me decide to make borscht! After I put the beets in, though, I searched my fridge for that wedge of cabbage that I was SURE was there, and alas, it was nowhere to be found, so I used two medium zucchini instead. I'm not sure if I can truly call it borscht if there is no cabbage, so with apologies to my dear Russian friends, here is what I did this morning:

Quick Vegan Almost-Borscht
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
A good glug of whatever wine you happen to have, maybe 3-4 oz
4 medium tomatoes, chunked
1/4 C chopped fresh parsley
1 15 oz can of chunked beets, cut in half if they are too large
3 smallish potatoes, peeled and chunked
1/4 of a small cabbage, sliced thin
1 quart water
2 tsps vegetable bouillion granules (I used not-beef flavored)
1 tsp herbes de Provence
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp dried dill weed
pinch of sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1 - 2 Tbs red wine vinegar or to taste after the soup is cooked

In a 5 quart dutch oven, saute the onions, carrots, celery and garlic in a Tbs or so of oil. When fragrant and translucent, about 3 or 4 minutes, pour in the wine and continuing sauteing. Quickly prep the other vegetables and add them in, as well as the bay leaves, herbes de Provence, bouillion granules, parsley, dill, pinch of sugar, salt and pepper. Stir all around quickly, making sure that nothing sticks to the pan, and then add in the water. Stir well and taste for salt and pepper. Let simmer slowly until everything is tender and the flavors are well melded, at least a half hour, but at this point it could really simmer for quite a while. Mine simmered for about an hour. Taste again for salt and pepper, and even adjust the dill flavor. Stir in the vinegar and serve.

This is traditionally topped with sour cream, but we will serve it with the last small rustic loaf of rosemary bread and Earth Balance.

I would normally use or 1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes with their juice, but I had a few tomatoes that were crying to be eaten soon, so I used them without peeling them. If I let the soup simmer long enough for the tomatoes to break down, maybe an hour, it should be fine. I will update you after lunch!

Apres Lunch: It was delicious, and the tomato skins were not a problem as I had feared. I was really missing the sour cream, though, but then I remembered that in a corner of the fridge was the failed experiment in trying to replicate ranch dip using tofu as a base. When I made it, I thought that the dill was too strong a flavor and it didn't resemble ranch dip at all. It was very disappointing in that regard, and I never did do anthing with it at all, but it was delicious on top of the nearly borscht. I'll try to remember how I made it - I think I wrote it down somewhere - and will post it soon.

PS: If anyone has a homemade (no expensive packets of seasonings) tofu-based recipe for REAL ranch dressing - PLEASE share it!

Lebanese Cauliflower Rice (Yakhnit al-Qarnabit)

Years ago, back in San Jose, I was friends with a young Palestinian couple, Bill and Renda. I drove Renda home one night and was invited in. Arabic hospitality is legendary, and of course, Renda would not let me leave until I had eaten something. Since we had been talking about food, she gave me a taste of her dinner from the night before: cauliflower rice. Oh my.... I really loved it! Since it was Lent, it was vegan, but it often includes meat, and sometimes is made with wheat instead of rice.

On Sundays, I don't usually cook a large meal, but we pick at leftovers, or sometimes we go out to eat. I was watching figure skating yesterday afternoon, and DD was online chatting with her cousin, but The Ex was getting a little agitated. Turns out he was hungry! When I looked in the fridge, I saw a beautiful head of cauliflower and decided to make cauliflower rice. Here is what I did:

Lenten Cauliflower Rice

1 medium head cauliflower, broken into florets
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt or to taste (I used Adobo seasoning salt)
1/8 tsp red pepper
2 C long grain white rice
4 C water
1 15 oz can chickpeas
olive oil

In a 5 quart dutch oven, saute the cauliflower over high heat in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil until it is golden. Add in the onion and garlic and saute until translucent. Add in the salt, pepper and rice and stir until all the grains of rice are coated with the oil. Continue sauteing the rice for 30 or 40 seconds. Stir in the water and chickpeas, bring to a full simmer, lower heat to just barely simmering, cover and let cook for 20 minutes.

Served with a salad and a piece of fruit, like we did, and you have a complete meal! I just love this rice - I haven't made it in a long, long time but I have a feeling I'll be making it often again! No photo for this one because we were too hungry! Once I started cooking, the delicious aromas made DD and me very, very hungry!

If you want to use meat in this, its traditional to saute about 1 lb of cubed lamb first, then add the cauliflower. I've also used cubes chicken which is really yummy in this. You can use chickpeas with the meat, but most people that I know don't - at least not in this dish. Also if using meat, add in 1/2 - 1 tsp of allspice.

Note: I never use just plain allspice, though many, many excellent Arabic cooks do. I use a mixture of cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. In a pinch, go ahead and use commercial apple pie spice as a substitute.