Beans Redux

Seems to take forever to actually get a post up these days. This bean dish was enjoyed last Thursday for my dinner before my InDesign class. It's starting to get exciting as I see new ways to do the book I'm working on, especially now that I have colors picked out and have collected a lot of the photos I'll be using. I tried out at least 6 cover ideas and I'm still not sure I have the right one, but at least I'm in the neighborhood, so to speak.

Anyhoo, the beans used in this recipe are the rest of the beans I cooked up for the Baked Beans. There is something very satisfying about a combination of beans and greens. It was a time saver that I could walk out the door and harvest four varieties of Swiss chard for the greens part and you can't get much fresher than that. I used the stems, too, which is what look a bit like red pepper in the photos. I would usually add garlic to this dish, cooking some minced garlic with the onions after the onions had cooked about half way, but since I was going to class I decided to just go with the onions. I still used some breath mints right before class. Onions are a bit smelly, too!

Feel free to add additional herbs, sausage or seitan, a can or helping of another kind of bean to make these even more interesting. Then dig in and have a nice, filling meal. Some whole grain bread would be great with this dish, too.

Beans and Greens

2 cups cooked beans...I used the Vallarta beans from the recipe in THIS post
1-2 tablespoons olive or grapeseed oil
1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1 large bunch greens, rinsed, large ribs removed, and washed well (I used chard but you could use kale, spinach, young collards, etc. instead)
1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Salt & pepper to taste
Balsamic vinegar to taste

Reheat the beans in the microwave or in a pot on the stove.

While beans are reheating heat the oil in a medium sized pot, then sautee' the onion, stirring often, until the onion is transluscent are lightly brown, about 5-8 minutes. Add the prepared greens and stir to coat with the onions. Cover, reduce the heat to medium, and let cook for 2 minutes. Uncover, stir, and continue stirring until greens are limp. Add the heated beans and any bean liquid, parsley, salt and pepper. I also like a splash of balsamic vinegar with these.

Serve at once. If desired, sprinkle with more chopped parsley.
Serves 1-2

Ways with Chard

The chard I planted earlier in the spring is already producing, so I've made a couple of dishes that benefit from chard's wonderful green, slightly bitter taste. Both use a variety of other veggies, too.

The soup has an Asian flair to it with the use of green onions, soy sauce, ginger and toasted sesame oil. I bought ready-made soba noodles and a slice of already roasted turkey to speed up the preparations. This soup is so colorful and perfect for spring when the evenings are still sometimes chilly.

The quiche is a variation of a crust less one I did about a year ago. It's not much to look at but Sweetie, my meat and potatoes guy, took two helpings.The first little summer squash of the season went into the soup but by the time I was making the veggie pie I had both dark green and yellow zucchini, so they both went into the mix along with the chard, red pepper, garlic, yellow onion, white corn, and mushrooms. Seasonings here included thyme, nutmeg (because it goes so well with mushrooms), dried orange peel to brighten the flavors a bit, and paprika. With and egg-rich custard batter and Parmesan cheese on top it's hard to beat this quiche for a meat-less meal. Guess I'll need to keep going to Cool Fitness to work off some of the calories. I've just reached my one year anniversary of going there and am really glad that I finally have an exercise plan I can live with and, mostly, enjoy.

The garden continues to delight me. I have three colors of California poppies blooming, yellow and white marguerites, blue love-in-a-mist (nigella) in three shades, some sweet wild flowers that I don't know the name of, roses and more roses, johnny-jump-ups, lavendar and geraniums. The veggie plants and herbs are thriving, too. Gardens take some time, but I think it's well worth the trouble and work. When I have fresh from the garden tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, squash and more later in the year I'll have forgotten all the work it took to make it happen. For now, more chard is coming.

Asian Soup with Soba Noodles and Chard
1 tablespoon olive or grapeseed oil
1 green onion, thinly sliced, both white and green parts
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup diced red pepper
1/3 cup chopped mushrooms
1 small zucchini, sliced or julienned
1 speak asparagus, washed and cut on diagonal
1 cup fresh chard, washed and sliced in strips about 1/2 inch wide
1 can chicken broth (1 3/4 cups) or same amount of fresh chicken stock
(to make this vegetarian or vegan, use veggie stock and leave out the turkey)
1/2 cup water
6 oz. soba noodles
3 oz. roasted turkey, thinly sliced into julienne
1/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon finely chopped cilantro

In a large saucepan, heat the oil and sautee' the green onions for 3 minutes, then add the garlic, red pepper and mushrooms and sautee', stirring often, for 2 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook another 2 minutes, add the asparagus and chard and stir to combine it with the other veggies and to wilt it, about 2 minutes.

Add the chicken broth, water, noodles, turkey, ginger, soy sauce and sesame oil to the pot, stir and heat through. Ladle into bowls to serve and garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve at once. Serves 2-3.

Chard Veggie Quiche

1 recipe pie crust for one crust - I use Pillsbury ReadyCrust
1 tablespoon olive or grapeseed oil
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper (a mix of colors if possible)
1 bunch fresh chard, washed and tough stems removed, then sliced into 1/2 inch slices
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme OR 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
1 cup cooked AND COOLED brown rice (you can use cooked white but you lose that wonderful nutty flavor) - I used brown basmati rice
1 3/4 cups milk
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup sour cream or yogurt
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Line a 10 inch pie plate with the pie pastry, rolled so that there is some overlapping the sides of the pan. Fold under the edges and crimp. Set aside.

In a skillet, over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil, then add the chopped onions and bell peppers and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, to lightly brown the vegetables. Turn down the heat if they start to blacken. To the browned onions and peppers, add the chard and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the mixture is heated through. Stir in the corn, nutmeg and thyme. Set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix together the cooled rice and the cooled veggie mixture. Spread in the prepared pie plate. Set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together the milk, eggs, sour cream or yogurt, salt and pepper to taste. Pour this milk mixture over the veggie-rice mixture in the pie plate. Sprinkle paprika and Parmesan cheese over the top.

When oven is at 350 degrees F, bake the pie for about 35 - 45 minutes, or until top is lightly browned and the middle is almost set. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes on a cooling rack. Serve warm or cooled. Serves 8-10.

Chicken and Chard Bundles for a Chilly Sunday

One of the delightful thing about going through old papers as I did recently while cleaning out and moving my office is that you discover buried treasure.

I think that a fine recipe I had clipped out of a magazine in 2005 counts as treasure, and it was absolutely buried in reams of paper and way too many envelopes and address labels. I think that I saved it because I adore chard and it used fresh chard to wrap cheese enhanced chicken breasts. I also love roasted onions and they are part of the base for this dish.

As it turns out the onions are fantastic, but the chard acts in much the same way parchment does when you have parchment wrapped packets; they become browned leaves but the chicken and cheese underneath are moist and yummy. I just pushed the leaves aside and ate the chicken/cheese parts. Next time I'll add more leaves under the chicken packets and a bit of chicken broth, too.

The fragrance of the onions, carrots, garlic and herbs is wonderful when this is baking. I served it with some green beans because the recent freezes had significantly reduced the available Swiss chard in the garden. There was enough for the parcels but not a lot more. Will make these again when there is a lot more chard so I have some for below the chicken. I also cooked some rice in chicken broth since rice could easily soak up the juices I thought would be a lovely part of this dish. As it turned out there was very little liquid under the chicken, so broth will be added next time.

We ate these during the final quarter of the regular playing time of the 49er - Giants game, which was exciting enough, but the overtime was nail bitingly tense so I'm glad we'd finished dinner by then. Great game and disappointing loss for 'our' team but well played and a surprise for those who remember the 49ers from recent years past.

Chard Wrapped Chicken with Roasted Onions and Carrots
adapted from a recipe in Better Homes & Gardens May 2005
Serves 4

1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges
1 cup baby carrots
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground preferred
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons snipped fresh herbs (dill, oregano, sage, thyme)
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
4 medium boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
4 Swiss chard leaves, washed and stems trimmed off
Snipped herbs for garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a large baking dish combine the onions, carrots, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Toss to coat the vegetables in the oil and seasonings. Place the baking dish in the oven, uncovered, and roast 10 minutes.

While the vegetables are roasting, combine the 2 tablespoons olive oil, herbs, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper with the feta cheese. Mash mixture together with the back of a spoon to form a paste.

Top each chicken breast with 1/4 of the mixture, pressing firmly. Wrap center portion of the chicken breasts with the chard leaves, leaving ends exposed.


Once the vegetables have roasted 10 minutes remove the baking dish from the oven. Top the veggies with the prepared chicken parcels. Bake, uncovered, for 25 - 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink (170 degrees F).

Serve the baked chicken and roasted vegetables together. If desired, sprinkle with some extra snipped herbs.

Ideas for YOUR Feast

The most common complaint, or at least comment, that I hear after Thanksgiving or other food related family gatherings is "I'm so full I can't eat another thing", and then we bring out the dessert and everyone finds rooms for just a little more. Why do we do this? Well the essence of hospitality in many cultures is to provide far more than enough food when you entertain.

Now that we have clearly entered the time of year when the groaning board is expected, anticipated with delight, and set up proudly by hosts and hostesses, here are some ideas from past posts to help you exceed expectations and create an even more festive holiday meal.

Some of these are simple but satisfying, like the pear-cranberry crisp. Some are quite traditional, like the Stuffing recipe from my Family Food cookbook. Some are over the top like the Pumpkin Pie Spectacular...your family and friends will be very impressed...and grateful...if you make it.

No matter what you serve, here's wishing you and yours very happy holidays!
XO Elle

Holiday Recipes from Soup to Nuts:

Soups -Butternut Squash Soup http://feedingmyenthusiasms.blogspot.com/2006/11/soup-shared-with-friends.html - Very seasonal, smooth and delicious!- Pumpkin Spinach and Rice Soup http://feedingmyenthusiasms.blogspot.com/2010/10/frost-is-on-pumpkin.html - Simple to make and very warming, plus the flavor combination is great!

Salad - This one is perfect for this time of year - Paula's Winter Salad has greens and oranges and raisins and it's a composed salad so you can make it ahead.

http://feedingmyenthusiasms.blogspot.com/2008/01/orange-you-glad-you-heard-about-this.html

I'm not going to do a roast turkey recipe because Butter Ball does such a great job with that. I will, however, give you my favorite STUFFING recipe! Click HERE.

Side Dishes - The all time favorite, and one which is requested often, is a savory combination of wild and brown rice with the tang of cranberries. It goes REALLY well with roast turkey, but is great with pork roast, roasted chicken and roasted duck. Click HERE for a great seasonal side dish.

Still in the cranberry frame of mind? Try Cranberry Pear Sauce with your meal. It uses fresh cranberries which are plentiful most places this time of year. It's a bit like a chutney since it has some vinegar to offset the brown sugar.

It makes a great condiment with left over turkey, too. Click HERE for the recipe.

Looking for a healthy veggie side dish? Try Chard and Spinach with Onions, Currants and Lemon Zest. The flavors are clean and lively which is a nice counterpoint to the richness of other dishes on the groaning board. Find the recipe by clicking HERE.

Now it's time for my favorite part of the meal...dessert!

Desserts:

If you really want to WOW everyone, make Pumpkin Pie Spectacular with Gingersnap Crust. It takes pumpkin pie to the next level and really isn't too much more difficult than regular pumpkin pie. Click HERE to find the recipe.

Maybe you want to go with something seasonal but a little less rich? Try Pear Cranberry Crisp, maybe with a scoop of frozen yogurt added to each bowl when served. The crisp recipe is HERE.

With pomegranates all the rage, you might want to try a tart that uses pomegranate juice to make a fruit curd for the filling and is also used to poach pears for the topping. It's unusual and delicious. Click HERE for the Pomegranate Lemon Tart with Poached Pears.


Last, but not least, HERE is a recipe for a Mosaic Nut Tart (see, nuts came at the end as promised and the photo is at the top of the post) that is similar to pecan pie, but just a little different. Dollop on some whipped cream and enjoy a sweet slice...maybe as you watch the last Bowl game of the day?

If you enjoy any of these recipes and have the time, come back and let me know, OK? Always fun to share and rewarding to know that others liked 'em.

Sneaking in the Chard

Hope y'all had great holidays in December like I did. Now it seems like a few healthy foods would be welcome in our house. Right now I have some chard, also known as Swiss Chard, growing in the garden. It is related to beets, but is grown for the leaves, not a root.


Sweetie claims he doesn't like chard. For a long time we never had chard, but then I discovered Rainbow Chard, with those bright red and yellow and orange stems, along with the white and pale yellow ones. The leaves also have some of the brighter colors to match. They just look like a party when those colors and the deep, deep green are all together when the chard is in a bunch.

So I made Rainbow Chard and Spinach as a side dish for a recent party I cooked for a friend (for pay), accenting the chard and spinach flavors with onion, currant and lemon zest. But Sweetie wasn't there to taste it. He did sound interested when I described it later. Unfortunately, no photos.

Then a couple of weeks ago I decided to use the chard in the garden in a quiche for dinner. The sauteed chard was hidden on the bottom of the blind baked pie shell, along with caramelized onions and mushroom slices and some diced Swiss cheese. On top I put broccoli florets . A savory egg custard was poured over all of it. Once baked up nice and golden, it was lovely and smelled wonderful. Sweetie really enjoyed that quiche, even after I admitted that I had sneaked in some chard, too. You really can't tell from looking at the baked quiche that there is chard in there.

It really is a delicious vegetable, especially if you don't over-cook it. Fresh tasting, good for you, only a touch of bitterness to pique your taste buds. Chard.

Can you spot the chard hiding out with the other vegetables?

Swiss Chard and Spinach with Onions, Currants and Lemon Zest

1 large bunch chard, well rinsed...regular or Rainbow. If you can, buy organic for this recipe.
10 oz fresh baby spinach, well rinsed
1 small to medium onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon garlic flavored olive oil
1/4 cup dried currants
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest

Chop the chard across the leaves in one to two inch strips, removing most of the chard stems if they are tough. If they aren't tough, chop a few into a small dice and include them. Leave the rinse water on the leaves. If any of the baby spinach leaves have very long stems, remove the stems. Leave the rinse water on them.
In a large saute' pan with a lid, heat the garlic flavored olive oil and saute' the onions until translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the chard strips, stems, and the spinach leaves. Using tongs, stir and turn the leaves to coat them with the oil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and let steam for a few minutes until just wilted. Add the currants and lemon zest, cover, and cook one more minute. Serve at once. Serves 4-6.

Chard and Other Vegetables Quiche

One pie crust, blind baked for 10 minutes at 400 degrees F., then cooled. (Line the pastry-lined pie pan with parchment, fill with pie weights, dried beans, or rice, then bake and cool. Remove the pie weights, beans or rice and store for another blind baking experience). I use a ready made pastry round available in most grocery stores in the refrigerator case.

1/2 bunch fresh chard, well rinsed
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
6-8 oz. sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons grape seed oil (or olive oil)
4 oz. Swiss cheese, in 1/2 inch dice
1 head of broccoli, in small florets
2 large eggs
1 cup whole or low fat milk
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
pepper

Slice the chard leaves in 1-2 inch strips, discarding the stems. Set aside Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a saute' pan, cook the onion, garlic, and mushrooms in the grape seed oil over medium-low heat until caramelized, stirring often, 10-15 minutes. Add the chard, turn the leaves with tongs to coat them with the oil, cover, and steam for 5 minutes. Set aside.

Sprinkle the Swiss cheese dice over the bottom of the partially baked pie shell. Over the cheese, spread the chard mixture. Over that evenly sprinkle the broccoli florets. Beat together the eggs and the low fat milk. Stir in thyme. Pour the mixture over the vegetables and cheese in the pie shell. Grind a few grinds of fresh pepper over all (or shake a bit of pepper from a shaker).

Place pie in the oven and bake for 50-55 minutes, or until center just barely moves when pie is shaken. Cool for 5- 10 minutes, then serve warm. Serves 6-8.

Walking Through the Garden Pie

As I've mentioned before, summer is not my favorite season. This summer of 2007 has been such a lovely summer that I might have to change my tune. With the exception of the occasional heat spell, we have had beautiful days and cool nights, fog to clean and cool the air, and some of the best stone fruits and berries that I can remember. To top it off, my garden is one of the best in 20 years. The squash plants have been giving a steady harvest of tender green and yellow zucchini and rounded beige butternut squash, with one hardy crookneck producing a squash a week. I never grew cucumbers before, but will next year. It has been a joy to pick a nice green regualr cucumber for a mixed green salad, or to combine that with some round, prickly yellowish lemon cucumbers for a relish style salad with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and some chunks of tomato.

Best of all, the heirloom tomatoes that I started from seed are finally ripening. Red, deeply lobed Costellutos came first. They were not very large in size, but had a sweet tomato flavor.

Next I served our first Black Krim tomato sliced with a drizzle of olive oil and a dash of garlic salt, then scattered some chopped opal basil over the plate. Black Krim originate in the Black Sea reagion of Europe and have a dark, almost brown red flesh, shot through with bright red and spring leaf green. They have a very deep, delightful tomato flavor and are firm, but juicy. The little yellow pear tomatoes ripened just as the first Green Zebra tomato began to grow golden under the green stripes. I served chunks of marinated mozarella cheese on top of chunks of Black Krim and Green Zebra for a delicious taste of summer.

But what about the pie? It was a spur of the moment idea to make for dinner last weekend. Don't be too envious of my garden. This is the first time in almost 15 years that I've had more than about 6 food plants total in the garden. Finally this winter and spring I had the time to sow seeds for tomatoes, squash, and chard and, late, for cucumber. What really takes time is finding enough places to plant those seedlings that are not vulnerable to gophers and then finding the time to water every day. So these summer jewels are rare for me and very appreciated.

Imagine walking through the garden and picking some fresh chard, some of that dark opal basil, a few zucchini, a few tomatoes, and then heading for the kitchen to make a pie that tastes just like high summer. I blind baked a pie shell (using a round of parchment paper and my much-used and saved for pie baking kidney beans to keep the pastry from rising or forming big bubbles in the crust. Then I put chopped onions and mushrooms into a skillet with olive oil to saute'. While that was cooking, I made half moons of zucchini and cut tomatoes into chunks. I chopped basil and sliced well-washed chard into ribbons about 1 inch wide, after removing the stems. Once the onions and mushrooms were tender, I added the squash and tomatoes, let them cook until the squash were tender, then placed the chard on top, added a couple tablespoons water, and covered the pan to steam the chard.



While the chard steamed, I mixed 1/2 cup milk, egg substitute workth three eggs, 1/4 cup pesto, and a few grinds of pepper in a bowl. When the chard was tender, I mixed the vegetable mixture into the egg mixture and poured it all into the pie shell. After baking at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes until the pie filling was set and browned lightly, I let it cool just enough that it could be cut, then served it at our little eating place on the porch to Sweetie with those sliced tomatoes and some lemonade. Wish you could have joined us.