Brussels Sprouts Salad with Tomato, Avocado, Almonds, Raisins and Mustard Vinagrette

Get ready, everyone! It's my first post with the new camera!

It never even occurred to me to eat Brussels Sprouts raw; I like them roasted so much that's it's hard to imagine them any other way, but leave it to my mom to plant this idea in my head.

It's best to use a mandolin to slice the sprouts. Careful not to cut your little fingers!

Serves 6 or 7.

You will need:

-1 stalk Brussels Sprouts
-2 Roma tomatoes, cut into wedges
-1 avocado, cubed
-1/3 cup raw unsalted almonds, chopped coarsely
-1/3 cup raisins
-1/4 cup Dijon mustard
-3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
-1 1/2 Tbsp. Balsamic vinegar
-Salt & Black pepper.

Pull sprouts off the stalk, shred them thinly with the mandolin.

In a large salad bowl, toss together shredded sprouts, tomatoes, avocado, almonds and raisins.

Whisk remaining dressing ingredients in a small bowl, add a little water if your dressing is too thick. Pour over salad and toss.

Polenta with Swiss Chard and Dinosaur Kale

If you get in your time machine and go back a couple years to some of my old posts (not something I recommend) you'll probably find some ever-so-witty musings over dinosaur kale and its silly name and how it looks like something from prehistoric times or how I wish to gobble it up like a ravenous Triceratops. Well, years later I'm much more familiar with the stuff so don't worry, I'll spare you the cheesy dino jokes.

Speaking of cheesy (sorry, I just can't help myself), what dish tastes even better with a big ol' smattering of parmesan cheese on top? Umm, duh! Every single one, especially polenta.

I recently started getting a bi-weekly CSA and it's been forcing me to cook again, and so I was like, okay, why not start blogging again? Because I'm lazy and useless? I guess that wasn't a good enough reason because here I am blogging again. *blogblogblog*

The chard, kale and green onions came in my first CSA pickup, and the tomato sauce is, oh my gosh, out of a jar because I have a life. So there.

You can't really see it in the picture because it's all covered by beautiful green veggies and tomato sauce but there's polenta under there, I promise.

Here's what you'll need:

Serves 2 people

-1 cup cooked soft polenta, still hot
-1/2 bunch Swiss chard
-1/2 bunch dinosaur kale
-2 green onions, chopped
-1/2 cup your favorite tomato pasta sauce
-Parmesan cheese
-olive oil for drizzling

Chop the kale and chard, steam them together for about 3 minutes.

Divide the polenta into two bowls, top with tomato sauce, then mixed kale and chard, then green onions, then parmesan. Drizzle with olive oil and that's it.

Savory Bread Pudding

These were my first successful new invention at work. I wanted to post a picture because I'm so freakin' proud of them, but I'm still not sure if I want to post a recipe or not, because they're my babies. Weird I know, I've obviously never had a problem wanting to share recipes in the past. See: the entire concept and reason I started this blog.

Maybe later.

Pictured clockwise from top right: bacon, bacon mushroom, and vegetarian potato. All have gouda cheese, kale, purple onions and a hint of jalapeño heat.

Spicy Slaw with Peanut Sauce and Apples

Mmmmm...curry, peanut butter, and apples?! Yes please!

-2 cups shredded cabbage
-1 cup shredded carrots
-4 sliced green onions
-2 apples, thinly sliced
-1/2 cup salted peanuts
-chopped cilantro to taste

Sauce:
-1/3 cup peanut butter
-1/2 Tbsp. curry powder
-1/2 Tbsp. Asian chili oil
-1 tsp. rice vinegar

Combine the slaw ingredients in a bowl. Mix the sauce ingredients together, pour over slaw and toss.

Lemon & Raspberry Mini-Tarts

I am a dirty rotten cheater for posting this. Lemon curd from a jar? Pssshaw, clearly I am a terrible mad scientist. Go ahead and tell me how bad I am for posting this. What's that you say? Sorry, I can't understand you, because you just stuffed five of these delicious little tarts I made into your mouth. Why don't I get you a coffee to wash those down with, and then we can sit down and I'll tell you how to make them.

Preheat oven to 425.

You will need a mini muffin tin, as well as:

-1 ready-made pie crust (box usually contains 2 crusts for the top & bottom of the pie)
-1 jar lemon curd
-24 delicious raspberries.

Using a cookie cutter slightly bigger than the muffin holes in your mini muffin tin, cut out 24 circles.  Press pie crust circles into muffin tin, and bake for 10 minutes or until done (golden).

When cool, spoon in lemon curd, and top each mini-tart with a raspberry.

See what I mean? Too easy to post. But aren't they pretty?

Egg(plant) Sandwich with Tahini & Ali-oli Sauce

Egg in an eggplant...duh DUN!

I guess I can't really call this a sandwich, since sandwiches normally involve bread, but eggplant is better than bread, so there!

(Let's see how long it takes me to apologize to my beloved friend, Bread, and take back that statement)

For one sandwich, you will need:

-1 small eggplant
-1 egg
-2 Tbsp Ali-oli.....possible future post ;)
-1 Tbsp. Tahini
-2 tsp. vinegar
-cracked peppercorns
-salt
-smoked paprika
-1 Tbsp. olive oil
Prick the eggplant and bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes, or until soft all the way through.

Heat the oil and fry the egg for about 4 minutes, covered, without flipping, over medium high heat (number 7 on my crappy electric stove...HA). Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper while cooking.

Mix together the Tahini, Ali-oli and vinegar with a pinch each of salt and pepper.

Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, sprinkle with salt and place the egg in the middle. Pour the sauce over the top and give it a little shake of smoked paprika. I'm thinking of re-naming this blog "Toni's love affair with smoked paprika".

Mad Spatch's first birthday celebration: acorn squash stuffed with yellow split peas and oyster mushrooms!

I forgot to mention this in my last post but I've now officially been recipe blogging for a year! I've made a wishy-washy new years resolution to post something at least once a week, but we'll see how that goes now won't we?
On tap for this week is something STUFFED! And not only is it stuffed, it serves as a bowl, a bowl you can eat! I love things like bread bowls where you can enjoy the contents without being sad when you get to the bottom, because then you can just eat the bowl, and I think it's generally accepted that if you're not full by then you must have some sort of problem. With my stuffed acorn squash you can eat everything but the skin! (note: please don't try to eat the plate). This dish can take over an hour to prepare, so I like to make the split pea filling the day before to save some time.

1 acorn squash, halved lengthwise with seeds removed
1 1/2 cups dried yellow split peas
2 cups oyster mushrooms cut into bite-size pieces
1 Tbsp. curry powder
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup white wine (optional)
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Cover split peas with water (at least 2 inches above peas). Bring to a boil and simmer for at least an hour, then add curry powder and salt. Continue to cook until peas are soft.
Meanwhile, place squash halves cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until they can be pierced easily with a knife. Meanwhile again, melt butter in a frying pan and add mushrooms. Sautee until they start to wilt, then add the wine and cook until just a small amount of "juice" remains in the pan. Stir mushrooms into cooked split peas. Stuff the mixture into cooked squash halves and serve with a side of your favorite greens.

note: I'm sure it would be delicious if you timed it right and stuffed the squashes midway through the baking process, but it's good just like this as well.

Carrot Ginger Soup

A recipe from my mom! The best thing about this creamy, delicious soup is its deliciousness. The second best thing about it is a secret: sssshhhhh! The problem with most cream soups is that they call for cream, and cream=tunz of fatz. I hate writing stuff like this because I don't want my blog to turn from curious girl screwing around in the kitchen to crazy calorie-counting monster woman, but this really is an amazing thing so I'm going to go ahead and flaunt it: my mom's secret is to use cauliflower instead of heavy cream. Sounds weird but I give you my word and my photo of said soup, and we all know how many words a picture is worth. Go ahead and call me a liar.

3 cups broth
2 pounds carrots, chopped up small
1 head cauliflower cut into florets
2 sticks celery, chopped
1 onion, diced
2-3 cloves chopped garlic, depending on how garlicky you like things to be
2 Tbsp. fresh grated ginger
1 Tbsp. curry powder
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
nutmeg, olive oil or creme fraiche to go on top

In a large pot, combine broth, carrots, and cauliflower. Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oil and sautee the onions and celery until translucent, add garlic during last minute of cooking. Add to the pot along with the grated ginger. Remove pot from heat and puree with a handheld blender. If you don't have one, wait for the soup to cool a bit and use a regular blender. Stir in the curry power, add the salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a float of olive oil or creme fraiche and a dash of nutmeg.

how to make infused olive oils

I read something about spruce tip-infused olive oil and thought I would try it since there are a lot of evergreens in santa cruz. I found a "christmas" tree on my bike ride home one day and harvested a couple handfulls of the bright green new baby tips. The oil turned out amazing! you can make this with just about anything fragrant that you want your oil to smell/taste like. I've been going through a homemade pizza phase lately and I must say this spruce-flavored olive oil tastes just right sprinkled on top of a pizza! I'm also excited to try it on salmon some day.

You will need:
1 bottle extra virgin olive oil
enough spruce/evergreen tips (or whatever herb you want your oil to taste like) to fill the bottle about 1/3 full. if the spruce tips have any papery brown skin stuck to them, remove it.

pour all the olive oil into a pot and heat slowly.
meanwhile, rinse pine tips/herbs and dry thoroughly. stuff it down the neck of the bottle.
Once the oil reaches about 130-140 degrees, pour it into a glass/pyrex measuring cup with a pouring tip.
Pour the oil into the bottle until it's full again. Screw the cap on and refrigerate for 2 weeks, shaking the bottle gently every couple days or whenever you think of it. Use it in salad dressings, marinades, or whatever you feel like using it in because it's YOUR CREATION!

Fried Plantains with Cinnamon-Sugar Cream Cheese Topping

So this morning I was frying up some plantains for a snack and watching Paula's Home Cooking on the Food Network, mostly just for background noise. I was just going to eat them with some cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top, but then my selective hearing caught Paula saying two words: "cream cheese". After switching off the light bulb that had just appeared over my head, I went to the fridge for the cream cheese I knew was lurking somewhere near the back of the cluttered college house black hole of food storage. I had never tried mixing cream cheese with anything before today, but it turned out quite well which is why I'm choosing to share it!

1 Plantain (aka "cooking banana"). Let plantains get a little riper than you would bananas, about half brown and half yellow.
3 Tbsp. olive oil for frying
1/8 Cup Cream Cheese
Cinnamon/Sugar mixture. Buy it in a pre-mixed shaker or make your own!

Peel the plantain and slice it at an angle so the slices are longer. Heat the oil and fry the plantain pieces on medium-high heat, about 4-5 minutes per side or until golden brown. Meanwhile, heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 6 seconds. No really, only 6 seconds. We want it soft but not melted, so the cinnamon and sugar will mix in evenly. Add a tablespoon to the softened cream cheese and blend with a spoon, then taste it to decide whether or not to add more. Spoon the topping over fried plantains and sprinkle more cinnamon and sugar on top. IT'S SO GOOD!

Baked Oatmeal

Anthony loves baked oatmeal! Do you?

No, not oatmeal cookies, but just as good! This is my friend Jeanne's recipe that I enjoyed for the first time a couple weeks ago. I modified it for the sake of using stuff I already had around the house (Apples and dates instead of pears and apricots). And really, what kind of culinary mad scientist would I be without a little experimentation here and there? My version is also vegan, if that means anything to anyone reading this =P. It was absolutely amazing and would be perfect for a sunday brunch or potluck, because it's good any time of day. I should know since I made mine around ten at night. For comparisons' sake and since I didn't even use eggs in mine, I'll put Jeanne's recipe first, followed by the one I used:

JEANNE'S
2 cups regular rolled oats
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1/3 cup chopped apricots
1 ½ cups milk
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped almonds
1 firm-ripe pear, stemmed, cored and chopped into 1/4"
2 large eggs
3 Tbsp. oil


MINE:
2 Cups Rolled oats
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup chopped pitted dates
1 1/2 cups almond milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/ 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1 apple, cored and chopped into 1/4"
2 flax seed "eggs" (2 Tbsp. flax seeds, crushed in a blender and mixed with 6 Tbsp. water)
3 Tbsp Oil

"Preheat oven to 325. In large bowl, mix oats, baking powder and salt. Stir in almonds, apricots and pears (macadamias, dates, and apples).
In another bowl, whisk together (almond) milk, (flax seed) eggs, brown sugar, oil and cinnamon. Pour over the oat mixture and stir to combine.
Pour mixture into a Pam-ed 8” or 9” square baking pan. Bake until liquid is absorbed and top is light golden, about 45 minutes. Spoon into bowls and serve warm. Serve with the usual choices of sugar, brown sugar, raisins, milk…whatever."

"To prep the night before, mix the oats, baking powder, salt, almonds and apricots in a bowl; cover and let stand at room temperature. In another bowl, combine the milk, eggs, brown sugar, oil and cinnamon; cover and chill. Next morning, mix the two together and stir in pear and bake."

Spanish Tortilla

Repeat after me: eggs and potatoes! eggs and potatoes! eggs and potatoes are all I need, ever!
Well, almost. You will also need olive oil and onions. If you don't know what a Spanish Tortilla is, I'll tell you it has nothing to do with mexican food, nothing to do with bread (except for being really good on sandwiches), and you most definitely can't wrap a burrito in it.
I guess the best way to describe a tortilla is to call it a flat-ish, mixed potato and onion omelet. Be prepared to use lots of eggs!

YOU WILL NEED:
1 medium-sized non-stick frying pan
2 large dinner plates
1 large mixing bowl
5 large eggs
3 russet potatoes, rinsed and diced small
1 onion, diced
4 Tbsp. Olive oil

Heat the olive oil and fry the potato cubes, adding the onion for the last five minutes of cooking.
Meanwhile, scramble the eggs in the mixing bowl. When the potatoes and onions are done, add to the mixing bowl and stir, then let it sit for about ten minutes.
Heat one more tbsp. oil in the pan, then pour in the egg mixture.
After about two minutes, turn the heat down to low and cover for ten minutes, occasionally un-sticking the bottom with a spatula (do NOT try to flip it yet).
When you are able to free the entire bottom and the top looks almost set, place the dinner plate on top of the tortilla and flip the pan upside down.
Lift the pan off, then sandwich the tortilla between the two dinner plates and flip again. Lift off the top plate to expose the uncooked side, then flip back into the pan.
cook for another five minutes, then flip onto a plate, then cut into pie-shaped pieces and serve.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS:
good on top of small pieces of crusty bread with or without ketchup, or on sandwiches (tortilla and bacon on a sandwich is heavenly). But this is not to say that tortilla is no good by itself!
Other good things to add to your tortilla mixture (to be cooked inside): bell peppers, ham, sausage, or cheese!

Salmorejo Cordobés

Salmorejo is a cold, tomato-based dip/soup from the Córdoba region of Spain where I lived for 4 months last year. It's easy to make and tastes really healthy and refreshing. I guess it's more of a "summery" food, but I hope that you all, like me, think the idea of seasonal food is outrageously stupid. Does anyone know what I mean? Sometimes it's scorching outside, and all I want is a fat bowl of chili or a chicken pot pie. Or sometimes it's freezing and stormy, like now, and all I want is a milkshake. Seasonal fruit is different, though. Well, before I get started rambling again, I'll promise you that Salmorejo is delicious year round. I made it last week for a potluck and it got rave reviews!

You will need:
3-5 large, ripe Beefsteak tomatoes
1/8 C olive oil (maybe a little more if you're using 5 tomatoes)
1 1/2 Tbsp. White Wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic
1 egg (optional)
Salt & Pepper to taste
1-2 slices toasted sandwich bread
Baguette Bread

Cut 2 of the tomatoes into quarters, then move into a blender with the olive oil, vinegar, and garlic. Blend, gradually adding the rest of the tomatoes, until smooth. Tear a piece of toast into smaller pieces and blend with the tomato mixture until smooth. If it still looks like a melted fruit smoothie, blend in more pieces of toast until it starts looking "creamy". In the meantime, hard-boil the egg if you're using one (10 minutes on a full boil), and toast the baguette in the oven at about 300 for about 5 minutes.
Pour the salmorejo into a bowl and sprinkle with the sliced hard-boiled egg. Diced, pan-fried ham is also good to sprinkle on top if you're a fan of ham. This is best eaten out of a small bowl, using your bread more than your spoon. This recipe makes a lot, but trust me It'll be gone before you can say "Ciencias Locas" (Mad Sciences, if I'm not mistaken).

Veggie-friendly chili with blueberry cornbread!

Good for those cold winter nights or anytime you need to get your chili on, which for me is all the time, year round! The blueberry cornbread idea comes from a restaurant I go to back home in Orange County called the Beach Pit BBQ. If you've never had blueberry cornbread, you're seriously missing out and need to make this right now! I don't actually know how to make cornbread, so I use the boxed kind and just add blueberries. I know, I know, not very mad science-ey of me, but now at least I feel like I HAVE to learn how to make it from scratch (future post!??!?!)
Also, I have never measured the spices I use to make this, so keep taste-testing it along the way to see if it needs more of anything)

CHILI
-1/2 of a large onion or 1 smaller onion, diced.
-3 cloves garlic, diced.
-1 large can tomatoes, or 4-5 itty bitty cans tomato sauce (run the tomatoes through the blender if you want it smooth)
-1 15 oz. can Kidney Beans
-1 1/2 cups water
-1/2 tube Soyrizo (fake chorizo available in the produce section of supermarkets or the fake meat section of trader joe's)
-2 Tbsp. Cumin
-3 Tbsp. Chili Powder
-1 Tbsp. Cayenne Pepper
-1 tsp. Red "hot" pepper
-1 Tbsp. Black Pepper
-1 tsp. Cinnamon
-1/2 tsp. Liquid Smoke (optional)
-1 block Mexican chocolate or 1 Hershey bar
-Salt to taste
-Oil for frying

Heat oil and fry onions for 3-4 minutes. Add garlic until brown. Pour in tomatoes/sauce and beans with juice and stir. Add Soyrizo and stir.
Bring mixture to a boil. Add spices and chocolate. Turn down heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to dissolve the chocolate. If it's too thick, add the water gradually until it's just right. If it's too soupy and you want it thicker, mix some corn starch or Masa flour with 1/2 cup water and stir into the chili.
Remove from heat and serve with shredded cheese, chives, sour cream, or anything that tastes good with chili. I've also tried this on top of baked potatoes and it's wonderful!



BLUEBERRY CORNBREAD
1 box cornbread mix (I use Jiffy, which asks for 1 egg and 1/3 cup milk They don't call it Jiffy for nothing!)
about 1 cup blueberries.

Prepare cornbread according to directions. Once batter is ready, stir in blueberries. Put into greased baking dish or muffin tin and bake. Voila!

Breakfast Potatoes!

After hours and hours of trial and error in the lab, I think it's safe to say that my breakfast potatoes are worthy of your stomach lining. These are the only breakfast potatoes you will ever need, I promise. So if your mom or boyfriend or girlfriend has their own special potato recipe, you might want to skip this one, because it just wouldn't be fair to them.

-3 medium-sized russet potatoes; rinsed, rubbed, and cubed (but not peeled).
-pinch salt
-1/2 tsp. black or mixed pepper, preferably fresh from the grinder.
-1 tsp. paprika
-1/2 tsp. dried dill, or a couple pinches of torn-up fresh dill
-dash of lemon juice
-olive oil for frying

heat oil until bubbles gather around a small piece of potato dropped into the pan. fry potatoes until they start to brown, then add the spices. turn heat down to medium and continue to cook until golden brown (and of course a little red from the paprika). add the lemon juice and cook for another minute, then remove from heat. I prefer to eat these with ketchup and over-easy eggs.