Warm Quinoa Salad

I'm really enjoying black quinoa. I don't notice a difference in its flavor, but I love the color on a plate. Unfortunately, it is not photogenic, at least not for someone with my limited skills. Don't let this picture turn you off - this is a delicious dish.

It has Asian flavors of tamari (soy sauce), rice vinegar and roasted sesame oil. They completely mask the flavor of the quinoa, and make a yummy dish. I served it with fried tofu and sautéed Red Russian kale for a delicious high-protein dinner.

Larry says this was the best quinoa dish I've ever made. High recommendation - try it soon!

Warm Quinoa Salad
1/2 cup pinto beans
3/4 cup black quinoa
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp tamari
3 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp Asian (roasted) sesame oil
1/2 tsp grated ginger root
1 scallion, sliced thinly on the diagonal
2 tbsp almonds, toaste and chopped

Cook pinto beans in plenty of simmering water until tender, about one hour. Drain and set aside. (Can be made a day ahead and refrigerated.)

Rinse quinoa twice in hot water and once in cold to thoroughly remove the bitter saponins. Toast in a skillet over medium heat about 5 minutes until fragrant, stirring frequently.

Stir in water and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, cover and simmer over low heat until all the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, ginger root and scallion.

Put quinoa in a serving bowl. Pour the dressing over and toss well. Sprinkle with almonds, and serve.

Serves 2-3

Choosing Citrus

Every week for almost a decade I've been buying citrus from Jorge at the Hollywood Farmers Market. With his tutoring I'm getting pretty good at picking out the best fruit.

Today he had the first pomelos of the season. The first pick is always a little tart, but I dug in his crate and found one which looked a little brown and battered - these tend to be the sweetest.

Then I moved on to his crates of grapefruit. The fruit was firm and boldly colored. I asked if he had any old grapefruits left - the heavy wrinkled ones which are so sweet and full of flavor. He said another customer had got there before me and hunted out the old ones. I was lucky to find a few he'd missed. I bought some of the newer ones as well, but they will be a little tart.

Tangelos

This is one of the things I've learned about citrus - older is better. Not older as in sitting on a shelf for a few weeks, but older as in left on the tree longer to get sweeter and riper. Dry weather during the final ripening is good too, because it intensifies the sweetness. The more patient the farmer, the better the citrus. At home, the oranges on our tree look beautiful, but I don't think they'll be really sweet until March. We also have 11 precious tangelos on an ultra-dwarf tree and I'm reluctant to sacrifice one to see if they're ripe. Jorge suggested I wait until March, which I will unless the squirrel makes off with one, like he did our tangerines.

I had been leaving the tangerines on our little tree to ripen further, but the squirrel started eating them. We do not have enough to share! So I picked the lot and found they were fabulous - sweet and juicy, best tangerines ever. Next year I'll know to sample the first one at Christmas - hopefully before the squirrel thinks of it.

So the moral is, with citrus fruits look for heavy fruit that is slightly battered, maybe even wrinkled. And don't buy them the first week they show up at the market. Tangerines from one stall were tart in mid-December, but this week they were sweet and juicy. Extra time on the trees made all the difference.

Roasted Winter Vegetables

There is nothing like roasting to bring out the inherent sweet goodness of winter vegetables.

The other night I served winter squash slices baked with cumin and chiles (you can see my recipe here), alongside roasted carrots and turnips. Yum.

Roasted Carrots and Turnips
3 turnips
3 carrots
1 tbsp olive oil
salt

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Peel the turnips if necessary and cut into 1/2 inch thick circles.

Peel the carrots and cut off the stem end. Cut them in half lengthwise and then into 2-inch lengths.

Put the vegetables in a roasting pan and toss with the olive oil and a sprinkling of salt.

Roast in the oven, turning occasionally, until the vegetables are lightly browned and tender, about 30-40 minutes.

Serves 2-3

Garlicky Rutabaga Greens and Roots

 This week I ate rutabaga greens for the first time. And they were pretty darned good - slightly sweet, thickish texture similar to collard greens, with a little mustardy kick like a turnip green.

The greens came attached to tiny little rutabaga roots which I peeled and boiled, then tossed in garlic butter. I served them over the greens for a yummy little vegetable dish.

If you are lucky enough to find small rutabagas with greens attached (Flora Bella at the Hollywood Farmers Market has been selling them), give this a try. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Garlicky Rutabaga Greens and Roots

2 bunches rutabagas with small roots and big greens

1 tbsp oil

2 cloves garlic, divided use

1 tbsp butter

Rutabaga greens at the start of cooking.

Cut the greens from the roots. Peel the roots and cut into pieces about 1 1/2 inches in size. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to the boil, add the roots and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Cut the stems from the bottom of the rutabaga leaves and discard. Wash the leaves and chop coarsely. Warm the oil in a large skillet. Stir in 1 clove chopped garlic. Add the greens, stir to coat, and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Cover and let cook down until tender, about 5 minutes.

Melt the butter in a small pan, and cook 1 clove chopped garlic until fragrant. Add the cooked rutabaga roots and toss to coat in the garlic butter.

Put the greens on a serving dish and place the roots on top, scraping all the garlic butter from the pan onto the roots and greens.

Serves 2-3

Spritely Winter Salad

Winter is the season for the more vigorous salad greens - watercress, radicchio, curly endive, cabbages, kale, nasturtium leaves - all of these are great additions to the salad bowl, and are more often found at the farmers markets in winter than summer when the heat causes them to wilt and become bitter (or dead).

I picked some watercress from a pot on the patio and some marjoram from the garden to decorate this salad we ate last night. The dressing is a vigorous combination of citrus juice, capers and oregano, so the greens need to be perky to stand up to it. I used radicchio and frisée on a bed of butter lettuce. Olives and pomegranates are an unusual combination, but added to the fun.

We enjoyed this colorful and zesty salad with a main course of leftover lentil stew and brown rice. It really perked up the meal.

Spritely Winter Salad
2 tbsp orange juice (from 1/2 an orange)
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tsp olive oil
1 tsp chopped drained capers
1/4 tsp chopped fresh oregano (or a sprinkle of dried)
2-3 cups mixed greens
2 tbsp pomegranate seeds
4 cured black olives, pitted and sliced

Whisk together the orange juice, lemon juice, olive oil, capers and oregano. Season with salt and pepper to taste, but remember the olives will add salt to the salad.

Toss together (or decoratively plate) the greens, pomegranate and olives. Toss with the vinaigrette and serve.

Serves 2

Garlicky Chickpeas and Spinach

I took this picture before the spinach had fully
cooked down.

This is one of those recipes that is too easy to write down, but too good not to try.

The longest step is cooking the chickpeas, and I supposed you could skip that part and just use the canned variety.

But really, this recipe is as good as the sum of its parts. So it's worth taking the time to buy really good dried organic chickpeas and then simmer them until they are cooked but still have a little bite. Then sauté them with garlic and excellent spinach, and you have a feast.

Garlicky Chickpeas and Spinach
2/3 cup chickpeas
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
1/4 tsp crushed red chiles
14 oz spinach
1/2 tsp salt

Pick over the chickpeas, removing any stones or broken beans. Rinse them well, then put them in a large pot and add water to cover by at least two inches. Bring them to a boil, cover, and simmer gently until they are tender. This can take 90 minutes to 2 1/2 hours, depending on the age of your beans. Remember to check them regularly during cooking, and add boiling water from the kettle as needed to make sure they always have at least an inch of water covering them. When they are tender but not mushy, drain them and set aside.

Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and let it warm until fragrant. Add the chile flakes and cook 15 seconds. Stir in the chickpeas and coat them with the fragrant oil. Let them get hot, stirring for about 2 minutes, then increase the heat to high and add the spinach and salt. Stir until the spinach wilts, 2-3 minutes.

Serve immediately as a main course or as a vegetable side.

Serves 4. Makes great leftovers.

Curried Lentil Stew

Lentils make quick and easy highly nutritious dinners. The other night I cooked up some green lentils and sweet potatoes with a little curry powder, and then stirred in some spinach at the end.

I served the resulting stew with brown rice for a meal full of protein, fiber and minerals. Plus it tasted really good.

Curried Lentil Stew
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion
1 heaping tablespoon grated fresh ginger root
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
2 cups green lentils
28-oz can whole tomatoes
1 1/4 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1/2 inch chunks
1/2 tsp salt
12 oz spinach, washed, large stems removed

Warm the oil in a large pot. Peel and chop the onion and add it to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to brown, about 10 minutes.

Add the ginger root, garlic and curry powder. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add 2 cups water, the lentils, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and salt. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, covered until the lentils and sweet potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes. Stir occasionally and break down the tomatoes.

Stir in the spinach and cook until it's heated through and wilted.

Serve over brown rice.

Serves 6-8

Rutabagas!

I have been bemoaning the lack of organic rutabagas and parsnips at the Hollywood Farmers Market this winter, so imagine my excitement when I saw a large pile of rutabagas nestled next to the turnips at the Flora Bella stand this morning.

The roots were young and tender, and the greens were attached. I enthusiastically bought three bunches.

The larger roots will be mashed with potatoes for Bashed Neeps, medium-sized ones will go into a dish of Roasted Root Vegetables, and the smallest will be steamed, tossed in garlic butter, and served on their own wilted greens (in the same way I serve baby kohlrabi).

This will be a good week of rutabaga eating. Now if only someone would sell organic parsnips.

Yummy Spaghetti Squash

I have finally found the absolutely most delicious way to eat spaghetti squash. It's probably not the healthiest, because it contains butter and cheese, but there's also garlic to boost the immune system.

I guess it's like eating cheese-y garlic bread, but with a base of low-calorie spaghetti squash instead of bread.

Even Larry, not a big spaghetti squash fan, enjoyed this side dish. Next time I see a small spaghetti squash at the market, he probably won't mind that I have to bring it home.

Yummy Spaghetti Squash

1 lb spaghetti squash

1 tbsp butter

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup grated parmesan

Wash the spaghetti squash with a little dish soap then rinse well and dry. Put on a baking dish and pierce a few times with a sharp knife. Bake in a 325°F oven for 30 minutes or so until it is cooked. (Larger spaghetti squashes will take 60-90 minutes or longer.)

Let the squash cool a little, then cut a small slice off each end (the stem end and opposite end). Then cut the squash in half lengthwise, separate the halves and scoop out the darker goopier guts and the seeds. Discard. Scoop the paler, slightly crisp strands of spaghetti squash into a bowl. Discard the peel.

Melt the butter in a small skillet. Add the minced garlic and warm until fragrant but not brown. Pour the garlic butter over the squash, sprinkle in the parmesan, and toss well. 

Serve immediately.

Serves 2

Lentil Salad with Apples

Lentils are a great way to quickly add protein to a meal. They cook in about 20 minutes, much faster than other dried legumes, but still have a great nutrition profile. They help lower cholesterol, balance blood sugar and strengthen the heart. They also contain lots of fiber which promotes digestive health.

The other day I turned some green lentils into this simple salad that I took to work along with some lettuce and an apple for an easy lunchbag meal.

Cooking the lentils with the carrots and apples made them a little sweet, which the lemon balanced out nicely. All together a good winter lunch.

Lentil Salad with Apples

1 1/2 cups green lentils

2 carrots, cut in 1/4 inch dice

2 fuji apples, cored and cut in 1/4 inch dice

zest of 1 lemon

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp pepper

Sort the lentils, wash them, and add them to a medium pot with 6 cups of boiling water. Add the carrots and apples and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Add the cooked, drained lentils and stir well. Let cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

Serve on a bed of lettuce.

Farmers Market Shopping

It was a festive time at the Hollywood Farmers Market this morning. Well, I felt festive as I wished a happy 2015 to the farmers from whom we buy this beautiful organic produce.

This is what we brought home with us: 7 potatoes, heirloom spinach, 2 bunches of carrots, 10 oz cremini mushrooms, 2 heads of lettuce, snap peas, 2 radicchio, 2 dozen eggs, 2 fuji apples, 4 pears, 1 bunch turnips with greens, 1 bunch beets with greens, 2 garlic, 4 limes, 16 oranges for juice, 6 grapefruit, ciabbata rolls from HomeBoy Industries, 1 quart plain St. Benoit yogurt, 4 cups plain St. Benoit yogurt, 1 lb coffee from Cafecito Organico.

Persimmon and Pomegranate Salad

Most of the food on our Christmas dinner table was brown - turkey, mushroom pie, stuffing, all three gravies - so I served this colorful salad to perk things up a little.

A little watercress and a serrano pepper from our garden added heat to the sweet fuyu persimmon and pomegranate. Walnuts added crunch and a sprinkle of cilantro added extra color. I served the salad on a bed of butter lettuce, but it would also have been pretty in a glass bowl.

Persimmon and Pomegranate Salad

2 lbs fuyu persimmons

juice of 1 lime

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 serrano pepper, minced

1 tbsp walnut oil

scant 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds

2 tbsp toasted walnuts

2 tbsp chopped cilantro

Slice persimmon in half, then crosswise in half-moons. Remove any seeds as you go.

Whisk together the lime juice, cumin, serrano and walnut oil. Add a dash of salt. Taste on a piece of persimmon and add more chile if desired. Stir in persimmons and let sit until ready to serve.

Layer plate with lettuce (or put persimmons in glass bowl). Put persimmons on lettuce, then sprinkle with pomegranate seeds, walnuts and cilantro.

Serves 4

Mushroom Pie

I had a picture in my mind of what I wanted the vegetarian Christmas entrée to be. I did not want to cook another squash or pumpkin - I did that at Thanksgiving - I wanted something warm and winter-y.

I wanted a non-meat meat pie.

So I created it with mushrooms and pastry, and I served it with mushroom gravy. To my surprise, it turned out just like I had imagined.

I started by baking a mushroom pâté in a seven-inch round cake tin. Then I lined an eight-inch springform pan with pastry and dropped in the cooked pâté. I covered it with a crust, which Mum helped me decorate with holly leaves and berries made from scraps of dough. I brushed it with egg and baked it, and it came out looking spectacular.

It was very moist so it didn't need the mushroom gravy I made, and it reheated well as leftovers.

The mushrooms were delicious, but I think I could have used any bean or lentil loaf as the filling. Non-meat meat pie will show up again on our winter table, I am sure.

Mushroom Pâté
1 lb cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp white wine
2/3 cup pinquitos (or other small beans) cooked
1 egg, beaten
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and line a 7" diameter cake pan.

Cook the mushrooms, onion, garlic, red pepper, water and wine in a saucepan over medium heat about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool slightly.

Put the mushroom mixture in a food processor along with the cooked beans and process until smooth.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Add the egg, bread crumbs, thyme and rosemary. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake pan. Level the surface. Bake about 1 hour until set and browned on top. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Once cool, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Serve as pâté with crackers, or use in a pie as described above.

Spaghetti Squash Chutney

First I peeled the spaghetti squash, then I
seeded it, then I cut it lengthwise into strips
before slicing it crosswise.

Regular readers know of my obsession with spaghetti squash. I don't know why I love it but I do.

So when I read a recipe for spaghetti squash chutney, I knew we had to eat it with our Christmas turkey and Mushroom Pie.

I've never been much of a chutney fan - I like my food relatively plain and unadorned - but I have to say that the tangy sweet and sour flavor of this chutney goes well with mushroom pie and makes a great addition to a vege-pâté sandwich. Plus it looks great in a glass bowl. What more could you want from a holiday relish?

The recipe is from a book called The Vegetarian Kitchen Table Cookbook - written by two Montrealers, Igor Brotto and Olivier Guiried (formerly from other countries) - that Larry borrowed from the Alhambra library for me. He then braved Whole Foods to get me the organic currants required in the recipe. So really it's his fault he had to eat spaghetti squash on Christmas Day.

Spaghetti Squash Chutney

2 lb spaghetti squash

1/2 cup currants

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

2 cups white wine vinegar
1 lime

Peel the spaghetti squash, cut it in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and guts. Slice it in roughly 1/2 inch strips. Cut the strips crosswise in 1 - 1 1/2 inch pieces.

Put the squash in a large pan with the currants, sugar, water and vinegar. Bring it to a boil and simmer, uncovered, until the squash is tender, about 90 minutes. Grate in the zest of the lime and cook another 10 minutes.

Remove from the heat and let cool. Can be stored for 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Spiced Nuts

I experimented with Spiced Nuts this holiday season. I found that cooking them in the toaster oven is not a good idea (my squirrel friends are enjoying the burnt nuts), but that cooking them in a skillet with seasonings is easy and very flexible.

I was over-enthusiastic so I made both appetizer nuts and dessert nuts. (No one complained.) Both contain sugar, which as regular readers know is a no-no on this blog, but I used organic cane sugar and figured the holidays only come once a year so what the heck.

I used regular unblanched almonds for the Spicy Almonds and they held the spices well. For the Sugared Hazelnuts, I toasted them and rubbed off the skins in the time-honored manner, but I feel they would have held the seasonings just as well if I had left the skins on. I'll try that next year.

These nuts would be an excellent nibble at a New Year's celebration. Expect everyone to eat more of them than you could imagine.

Spicy Almonds

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp coarse salt

1 1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds

1 tsp red pepper flakes

grated zest of 1 orange

1 tsp vegetable oil

2 cups almonds

Stir together the sugar, salt, cumin, pepper flakes and orange zest. Mash together with the back of a spoon.

In a large skillet, warm the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the almonds and cook, stirring frequently, until sizzling - 1-2 minutes.

Stir in a tablespoon of the sugar mixture. Toss and stir the almonds until the sugar melts and starts to glaze the nuts. Add more sugar and repeat the process until you've used all the sugar, and it is all melted and coating the nuts.

Tip the nuts out onto a cookie sheet, spread them apart, and let them cool. When the almonds are cool to the touch, break them apart as needed and store in an airtight container. In theory they will last a couple of weeks at room temperature.

Sugared Hazelnuts

1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup shelled hazelnuts

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves

1/4 cup sugar

Warm the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the hazelnuts and cook until sizzling.

Stir together the cinnamon, cloves and sugar. Add to the skillet a tablespoon at a time, stirring to melt the sugar. Continue with all but a couple of teaspoons of the spice mixture. When the nuts are well glazed turn them onto a cookie sheet to cool.

When cool, break the nuts into a bowl. Stir in the remaining sugar mixture.

Christmas Dinner

Festive Persimmon & Pomegranate Salad

I understand that professional food bloggers prepare a Christmas dinner in early December so they can post pictures and recipes ahead of time for their followers to use in their own holiday meals.

More proof that I am not a professional food blogger.

I have been cooking and taking photos these past couple of weeks, but I've been spending more time online researching the next step of my rain farm than I have writing this food blog. Our Christmas dinner was delicious nonetheless, and I'll tell you about it over the next few days. All of the recipes would be good any time of year.

Tracie had last-minute car trouble so was unable to join us Christmas Day. We served the leftovers on the 27th when she came up for lunch - it was a good meal to eat twice.

I hope you are having a delicious holiday season. And once again I say thank you to the farmers whose hard work makes my meals so good.

Christmas Dinner Menu
Before-Dinner Nibbles:
Trader Joe's organic Corn Chips and Homemade Salsa
Spicy Almonds
Dinner:
Mushroom Pie
Turkey
Spaghetti Squash Chutney
Chestnut Stuffing
Persimmon and Pomegranate Salad
Roast Fingerling Potatoes
Brussels Sprouts with Brown Buttered Almonds
Au Jus Gravy
Trader Joe's Gravy
Mushroom Gravy
Dessert:
Meyer Lemon Cornmeal Cake
After-Dinner Nibbles:
Mum's Fudge
Spiced Hazelnuts

I ordered the fresh organic 11-lb turkey from Grassroots in South Pasadena. We picked it up on the 23rd and left it refrigerated in its wrappings until the 25th. Mum, Larry and Tracie found it excellent.

Mum made the stuffing with chestnuts from Ha's Apple Farm that we had roasted in the fire at the solstice. She added sausage and other things. Apparently it was delicious.

I realize it's weird to have three gravies for four people, but I needed a vegetarian gravy to go with my Mushroom Pie so I made mushroom gravy. Mum made an au jus gravy from the pan drippings. And because I wasn't sure if Larry and Trace would like the au jus gravy, I bought a box of turkey gravy at Trader Joe's.

The Meyer Lemon Cornmeal Cake was a recipe from the Jan. 2015 issue of Sunset - I picked the Meyer lemons from our tree on Christmas Eve. It was a moist cornmeal upside-down cake with the floral tang of the Meyer lemons - yummy.

Mum's fudge is an awesome recipe that does not belong on this healthy-eating blog, but we are still enjoying it.

And isn't that the key to good eating - mostly delicious healthy food and the occasional incredible indulgence to boost the spirits.

I hope your spirits are boosted as we head into 2015.

Sunday Shopping

It was chilly at the Hollywood Farmers Market this morning, and there were fewer people than usual. Our list was short, but we managed to get weighted down none the less. Four pounds of beans and a spaghetti squash will do that.

Here's what we bought:

olive oil, eggs, coffee, 9 grapefruit, 2 lb white lima beans, 1 spaghetti squash, 1 sweet potato, 4 small red peppers, 4 delicata squash, cilantro, parsley, 12 oranges, 4 limes, celeriac, 2 pippin apples, 3 arkansas black apples, 3 sundowner apples, 4 cameo apples, 2 red delicious apples, 4 bartlett pears, 4 poblanos, blueberries, 2 lb pinto beans, romaine lettuce, celery, red butter lettuce, green olives, black olives

Simple Salad

We have some blue cheese crumbles in the fridge (from Organic Valley) so I've been sprinkling them on our dinner salads. The muskiness of the blue cheese complements the crunch of the vegetables and the sweet tanginess of the dressing.

Here's a salad I made the other night. It added a nice crunch to a meal of spicy rice casserole.

Simple Salad
1 shallot minced (about 2 tbsp)
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp dijon
1 tbsp chopped chives
1 tsp honey
juice of 1/2 lemon
6 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
3/4 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
3/4 cup red pepper, sliced
3/4 cup radishes, halved and sliced
1/3 cup blue cheese crumbles

Whisk together shallot, vinegar, oil, mustard, chives, honey and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Toss lettuce with a little dressing. Put on a plate. Layer cucumber, red pepper and radishes on top. Pour a little dressing over all. Sprinkle crumbles on top.

Serve with remaining dressing on the side.

Serves 2-3

Rice and Poblano Casserole

Poblanos and rice - one of the best combinations ever. When I have leftover rice, I always throw it in the freezer to be able to make a simple casserole like this.

Unfortunately, we had eaten all the freezer rice, so I had to cook rice from scratch. That's okay. This casserole was worth it.

Rice and Poblano Casserole
2 poblano peppers
1 tbsp oil
1/4 cup diced onion plus 2 tbsp onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 cups cooked brown rice
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (opt)
5 oz cheddar, grated
3/4 cup frozen corn, defrosted

Toast the poblanos over a gas burner or under the broiler until their skins are charred and blackened. Put in a covered pot until cool, then remove the stems and seeds. Scrape off the blackened skin (if you leave a little on the pepper, that's okay). Dice the flesh and set aside.

Warm the 1/4 cup diced onion over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add poblanos and cook another minute.

Crumble the rice into a large bowl. Add the onion mixture and stir well.

Whisk together the yogurt, cilantro and remaining raw onion. Stir into rice along with cheddar and corn.

Grease a 2-quart casserole. Spoon in the rice mixture. Cover and cook at 325°F for 25 minutes until heated through.

Serves 6

(This casserole can be made ahead and refrigerated. Bring it to room temperature before baking.)

White Beans with Fennel and Chard

Just after adding the chard

There are so many varieties of greens and colors of beans that I'm sure I could eat them every day for a month and never have the same combination twice.

The other night, I combined white beans, fennel and red-stemmed chard into this simple yet satisfying stew. The fennel adds crunch and a little anise flavor, the beans add texture, and the chard reminds me I'm eating healthy food. Plus it all looks very pretty together.

I could have served this over rice or with bread on the side, but we enjoyed it as is in shallow bowls, using a fork not a spoon.

Fennel bulbs, also known as anise, arrive at the farmers market with long fronds attached. The fronds can be used as garnish, but otherwise end up in the compost. The bulb is the part that goes into this dish.

I've also made this stew with black-eyed peas. Chickpeas would be good. Use whatever bean you like. If you want you can use a 14-oz can of beans instead of cooking your own. Be sure to rinse them really well to get rid of any metal flavor.

The chard cooks down to nothing

White Beans with Fennel and Chard
1/3 cup white beans
2 fennel bulbs
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 bunch (about 3/4 lb) Swiss chard
2 medium tomatoes, cored and diced
1 1/2 cups water

Pick over beans and remove any stones. Rinse them off, then cook in plenty of simmering water until tender, about 90 minutes depending on the age of the bean. Drain and set aside.

Prepare the fennel by removing the fronds. Cut off the thick bottom, and discard any discolored or dried-out layers of the bulb. Cut the bulb in half from top to bottom, and cut out the tough triangular core at the bottom. Slice the remaining pieces of the bulb thinly crosswise. Set aside.

Cut the stems off the chard leaves - save for another use or compost them. Wash the leaves well, shake off the excess water, then stack them and cut them in 1/2 inch ribbons. Set aside.

Warm the olive oil over moderate heat, and sauté the fennel and onion, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Add the cooked beans, chard, tomatoes and water. Season with salt and pepper. Partially cover the pan and let it simmer over moderately-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the fennel is tender and the greens have shrunk to almost nothing, about 25 minutes.

Serve in shallow bowls with salt and pepper on the side. Olive oil can be drizzled over or parmesan sprinkled if desired, but we enjoyed it straight.

Serves 4