Roasting Ain't Just for Winter Anymore

Last week I went to the Eagle Rock Farmer's Market (Friday nights between 5-9 p.m.) and discovered that it has a lot to offer. Not only does it offer a decent variety of street food (roasted chicken, tacos, kebabs, roasted corn) and a petting zoo with the cutest little pig I've ever seen in my life, it has an impressive array of vegetables and fruits - both standard and exotic.

I'm not usually impressed by the standard veg, but for some reason, the gigantic carrots being sold at one stand stood out. I hardly ever eat carrots outside of a salad, but seeing these reminded me of a fabulous batch of roasted carrots I made a long time ago for a family dinner. Without any hesitation, I decided to grab a few and get roastin'.

Like the age rings of a tree, so are the innards of our carrots

I had purchased some leeks from another stand, and decided that it would be a nice mix with the carrots. I simply washed and cut the veg and spread them out on a roasting pan. I then hit it with some olive oil, cracked pepper and sea salt then used my hands to make sure each nugget was touched by the oil. Sounds like a twisted version of that religious TV show..."Touched By The Oil."

Carrot and leek oil wrestling match - round one!

I then put the pan in a preheated 500 degree oven for 20 minutes. The result? Caramelized, tender, flavorful vegetables perfect alone or as a side dish - all for about $1.50. Why would anyone boil carrots when roasting creates this beautiful array of loveliness? WHY? WHYYYYYYYY????

Ahem...my point is this: Roast, don't toast. I mean, roast, don't boil. Too bad that doesn't rhyme.

Chili My Soul

I love chili. Always have. My dad used to make a great turkey chili when we were growing up, full of hearty kidney beans and exuberant spices. And every year, my friend Tawny and I create a new chili for our friend Rob's annual Chili Cook-off (Rob just happens to be an award-winning BBQ-er and makes the best BBQ sauce EVER). Last year, we made the Nothing Butt Pork chili, which was basically shredded slow-roasted pork butt in a sauce consisting of pureed onions and a ton of spices.

However delicious the butt chili was, it's not something you want to eat every day, and I needed something I could eat every day-ish for lunch this week. I decided to use some leftovers and make a light vegetarian chili; light as in more like 20% beans and 80% veg. I love beans, but you know what they say about those little critters.

The start of any good chili: onions & celery

I had some somewhat wrinkly cherry tomatoes leftover from the tabbouleh I made, so I cut those up and mixed with a can of diced tomatoes for moisture. I also threw in some leftover bell peppers to the onions, spices and beans I already had in the pot. Oh, and I used up most of the celery that had been sitting in the produce drawer for over a week now.

Pretty leftover bell peppers and tomatoes.

The result was a thick and hearty but very healthy veggie chili. If you use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock like I do, it's perfectly and happily vegan as well.

Oh, I almost forgot about The Secret Ingredient that really rounds out this chili. My friend Stacy mentioned the other day that she made a chili that contained a couple of teaspoons of unsweetened cocoa powder. Good tip. The addition added a nice, mole quality to the chili (I also added in a touch of cinnamon for a greater mole effect).

Secret ingredient

Chili at the office never tasted so good!

Vegetarian Chili

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 stalks celery, diced
1 large white onion, chopped
2 bell peppers, whatever color you'd like, chopped
2 cups cherry tomatoes cut in halves
1 8-oz can of diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons mild chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 8-oz can of black beans (or pinto or kidney)
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large pot on medium heat and add celery and onions. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add bell peppers and cook for about 8 minutes, or until vegetables start to soften. Add in the cherry and canned tomatoes, and cook for about 4 minutes or until the mixture starts to simmer slightly. Add the chili powder, cumin, cinnamon and cocoa powder and stir until dissolved. Add stock and black beans. Cover and turn heat to low; cook for 30-40 minutes. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Sunday Cooking: Spicy Pan O' Goodness

I have always had a thing for spicy food. Not the burns-so-much-you-can't-taste-anything-except-hellfire-hot, but the kind that makes the skin under your eyes and above your cheeks get moist with tiny beads of sweat. I love me my curries, and I have the tendency to put Tapatio, Tabasco or Sriracha on just about anything (FYI, Sriracha on Trader Joe's Veggie Enchiladas is heeeeeeeeeavnly).

So, for my lunch "main" course this week, I decided to make a hearty Mexican grain dish of some sort - vague, I realize. I can't really have couscous anymore, since I'm trying to do that whole anti-inflammatory thing. And rice, well, that's not the best choice for every-day eating. After rummaging through my pantry and realizing I had three unopened boxes of quinoa (sometimes one can become forgetful during a list-less TJs shopping excursion), I settled on this sprouty grain.

Washing quinoa has always been a daunting task. First, it's hard to find a strainer that has small enough holes to keep the quinoa from escaping. Second, the quinoa becomes like little balls of Styrofoam, sticking to your fingers, palms, sink - whatever gets in its way. But after some trial and error, I have found these Japanese woven strainers work the best at both keeping the quinoa inside and keeping it somewhat in one place:

Tightly woven = good at keeping little quinoas from jumping ship

I started with some onions and celery, then added some chili powder, oregano, salt and pepper. Next I threw in some pinto beans, water, a small can of diced jalapenos and some canned tomatoes. Now technically tomatoes aren't the best for anti-inflammatory diets, but it was a small enough amount so I'm going to overlook it. Besides, they certainly got their fair share of abuse before going into the pot: I didn't notice that I bought canned, whole tomatoes instead of diced, so I just poured them into my hand over the pan and started squishing. Squish, squish, squish. I was definitely having a Nigella Lawson moment. [In thick, English accent]: "I have no time for messing with a knife - fussiness equals musiness, I say! Just yank those hearty, fleshy tomatoes out of their can and let their fabulous, luscious skin ooooooooze through your fingers as you joyfully squish and squosh and griiiiiind them like so."

Is it just me or do you feel like having a cigarette after watching an episode?

"Scrumdeliumptious" - a la Nigella - veggies in a pan

After dumping all those liquidy ingredients into the pan, I feared I put too much liquid and not enough quinoa (there was more liquid in those squishy tomatoes than I had planned for).

C'mon little quinoa, you can do it! Soak up all those delicious juices!

Luckily after a good 25-minutes, all those spicy jalapeno juices and tomato liquid were nicely sopped up by the quinoa. This'll make a great main dish with a lovely salad for my lunch this week...oh, except I totally spaced that I have to take a new employee out to lunch today. Dang it! Isn't it nice when you actually find yourself wanting the food you make over a meal out? Bonus too when it's healthy like this dish.

A spicy pan o' goodness

With a few slices of avocado and a sprinkling of cilantro (in my haste to try this I forgot to add the cilantro), this one-pan meal is pretty near perfection. Oh, and not that I was trying but this dish happens to be vegan.



Spicy Mexican One-Skillet Quinoa

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery or green or red bell peppers, depending on your taste
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup quinoa, washed thoroughly
1, 14-16 oz. can of pinto beans
1, 4-oz can of diced jalapenos (or if you prefer less spicy, use mild green chilies)
1, 14-16 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 cup water or chicken or vegetable stock
Sliced avocado and chopped cilantro for garnish

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and celery (or peppers) and cook for about 8 minutes or until onions start becoming translucent. Add garlic, chili powder, oregano, salt and pepper, and cook for another 3 minutes. Add in quinoa, pinto beans, jalapenos (or chilies), tomatoes and water (or stock). Stir all ingredients together, lower heat to medium low, cover pot and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed by the quinoa. Serve with sliced avocado and chopped cilantro.