Summer Breakfast - Squash with blossoms and eggs

Music: After breakfast, BJ got called for an impromtu show, so while we didn't technically listen to this while cooking, I dedicate this meal to the awesome show he and friends played and that night's killer rendition of "Whipping Post" by the one and only Allman Brothers. 
Menu: Baked eggs with squash and toasted bread rubbed with garlic

I realize this post is a bit out of date as far as in season goes, but we just loved this quick, simple,  summer breakfast. Since our garden was OVERRUN with yellow squash, we ate it at almost every meal.  And anyone who came over, left our house with a big yellow crookneck squash.  Funny? Yes. Helpful? Absolutely. 

 The original recipe called for zucchini, which would add a lot of color and visual variety, but for the above mentioned reasons, I used yellow squash.  I piled matchstick squash and chopped blossoms in these cute little ramekins we got a Pier 1 (thanks M/L!)

 I wish I could say these are eggs from our backyard too, but maybe next year :) 

After squash came a few shreds of Swiss cheese. 

 And then the cracking of eggs, sprinkle of chives and breadcrumbs, and a splash of milk.  I might crack two eggs if you have a larger ramekin. 

I threw into into the oven with the bread that was toasting for about 10 minutes.

Then we dunked the bread in the yolk and ate it all!  There may have been licking involved, but I guess you'll never know.



Yummy food in belly = Excellent impromtu show with friends.  Enjoy the pics from the last minute get together with BJ and friends at the Monkey Bar!

 Squash Blossoms and Baked Eggs

Recipe adapted from http://www.bitchincamero.com/2010/06/zucchini-blossom-mozzarella-baked-eggs/ via The Kitchn  

Ingredients:

• 2 - 4 large eggs*
• 1 small yellow crookneck squash, cut into matchsticks
• 2 - 4 squash blossoms, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup milk
• Large handful of shredded cheese
• Breadcrumbs (I toasted a small slice along with what I served alongside dish)
• Chives, minced
• Parmesan cheese, grated
• Bread slices, toasted
• 1 small whole garlic clove, peeled

Directions:  

1. Preheat the oven to 375° and grease ramekins. 
2. Fill each ramekin with equal amounts of squash, blossoms, milk, and cheese. 
3. Carefully crack an egg over each one, making sure the yolk remains intact. (It’s not the end of the world if it doesn’t – it will still taste great!).
4. Sprinkle the top of each egg with breadcrumbs, chives and Parmesan cheese.
5. Transfer to the oven (easiest by placing on baking sheet) and bake for 10 - 12 minutes, or until the whites are just set. 
6. Remove and promptly duck toast directly into runny yolk.  Enjoy :)

* Depends on hunger and size of ramekins.

Serves 2 healthy portions

The best veggie burgers

I'm just going to pretend like it hasn't been a really long time since I posted...

So, we are obsessed with these burgers.  Like in a big way.  I have been playing around with different variations and ingredients to try and nail down the perfect combination that will keep the burgers together when cooked.  Let's just say that one time we made these...well...it was a nice beet and black bean saute over greens for dinner.  Not too shabby, but when I want a burger, I want a burger.

Yummy beets!  My preferred method of cooking beets is to peel them whole first, chop into pieces, and then roast. You can read more about that here and here.

This way you only have minimal red stains. The pic shown here is a bit bigger than I would have liked.  I had to end up mashing the roasted beets after they cooked quite a bit.  So, if you remember, chop small and this reduces the cooking time too!

Salt, pepper, EVOO, maybe some garlic powder or herbs like thyme or basil.

While they are cooking mash up some black beans.  Normally, I don't like to use canned beans, but for these burgers, their extreme mushy consistency can be helpful when mashing and even a helpful aid to binding the burgers. 

Beautiful, roasted, red beauties.  Combine with the other ingredients and MASH!  You still want some good chunks, but remember this is a burger people!

Since all the ingredients are cooked, taste and adjust seasonings.  I really like parsley or cilantro and a lot of it.  Coriander is also a great spice in these burgers. 

I find chilling the mixture helps keep the burgers together in the pan.  I also think coconut oil adds some another layer of yumminess to these amazing burgers. 

Add some cheese, if you would like.  I really liked the blue cheese, but have done it with cheddar, Monterrey jack, and feta in the past with great results. 

Best-Ever Beet and Bean Burgers

Inspired by the veggie burgers at Northstar Cafe in Columbus, Ohio via thekitchn.com

makes about 4-6 burgers

• 1/2 cup brown rice (doubled if you like more rice), cooked
• 3 large red beets (about 1 pound), diced small 
• EVOO, S & P, other aromatic spices
• 1 onion, diced small
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 TB cider vinegar
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• 2 TB coconut oil
• 2 TB parsley/cilantro, minced
• 1 tspn coriander
• 1/2 tspn thyme
• 2 TB all-purpose flour
•  S & P
• cheese (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Toss beets with EVOO, S & P, and other spices. Cook in oven for 10 - 20 minutes, depending on how big pieces are.  They are done with fork tender. 
2. Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the onions are translucent and softened. Add the garlic and cook until it is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Deglaze the pan using the cider vinegar.
3. Empty the black beans into a large bowl and use a fork to mash them up a bit. Add the cooked rice, the beet, onion mixture, the lemon juice, coconut oil, and all the spices. Stir to combine (you might need to do a bit of mashing too) and then taste for seasonings. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once it tastes the way you like it, add the flour and stir until you see no more dry flour.
4. Refrigerate.  You can skip this step, but it seems to work best if you are able to chill for about an hour.
5. Heat a cast-iron skillet over the highest heat. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil (or coconut) - the oil should completely coat the bottom of the pan. When you see the oil shimmer and it flows easily, the pan is ready.
6. Using your hands, scoop up about a cup of the burger mixture and shape it into a patty between your palms. Set it in the pan, where it should begin to sizzle immediately. (If it doesn't sizzle, wait a minute or two before cooking the rest of the burgers.) Shape and add as many more patties as will fit in your pan. Once all the patties are in the pan, reduce the heat to medium-high.
7. Cook the patties for 2 minutes, then flip them to the other side. You should see a nice crust on the cooked side. If they break apart a little when you flipped them, just reshape them with the spatula - they'll hold together once the second side is cooked. If you're adding cheese, lay a slice over the burgers now. Cook the second side for another 2 minutes.
8. Serve the veggie burgers on soft burger buns or lightly toasted sandwich bread along with some fresh greens.
9.  Cooked burgers should be eaten that same day. You can also save leftover mix in the fridge for up to a week and cook just one or two burgers as you want them.

Saag Chole & Nina

Music: Nina Simone, Anthology
Menu: Saag Chole, yogurt, tortillas (I had some that needed eating, but splurge on naan or chapati if you can!)

I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!!!!  I've have been MIA, I know.  I have no good excuse, really.  So, I'll just leave it at that.

One of our recent culinary goals is to start cooking more Indian.  We LOVE Indian food.  And I have gotten the hang of making beginner style Indian meals.  In other words, I can make a mean curry, I have a basic stocked pantry, and an understanding of the flavors.  I have now entered phase two.  Phase two means advancing my pantry with whole spices, attempting ghee, and attempting to make homemade naan!  So, here is the first step to the addition of some yummy cumin seeds in this beautiful Saag Chole!

 

As you can see I have a bottle of cumin seeds.  I need to get whole coriander seeds, but the cumin seeds have made a HUGE difference already in flavor compared to using ground cumin!

 

This dish was quick, easy, and full of flavor and nutrition.   I used two packs of frozen spinach and two cans of chickpeas, too!  Next time I make it I will make a few changes...the first being coconut milk.  After I got everything in the pot, I added about 1/2 cup of water, I suggest replacing that with lite coconut milk.  The dish is pretty rich as is, so lite would be just fine.  I remember having Saag Chole at my fave Indian restaurant here in Denver and the dish being creamy and almost the consistency of a dip.  So, I did a bit of mashing towards the end to try to get this consistency, but I think coconut milk would go a long way.

A little bit about the music choice...in addition to loving Indian food, we also dig Nina Simone in a big way.  If you haven't listened to her, do it.  Seriously, do it.   Now.   She's known as a jazz standards singer, but she goes far, far, far beyond that (see Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter).  Her take on the standards are different (Feeling Good); her deep, melodic voice gives these songs an emotive quality unattainable by other singers (Black is the Color).  Beyond the familiar, the "High Priestess of Soul" was also an accomplished pianist, composer, and civil rights activist - a truly musical chameleon who embraced all styles and never shied from expressing her womanhood (I Put a Spell on You),  her beliefs (Let it All Out), and the undeniably passionate and soulful instrument which was her voice.

The Anthology album is a great compilation of both standards and originals and a perfect way to dip your toes into the wonderful world of Ms. Simone.  The only song that is missing, which I highly suggest you check out, is Baltimore.

Our wonderful friend Jillian is letting us hold her beautiful orchid hostage for a while and couldn't resist this photo showing it off :)

Saag Chole

Ingredients:

• 1 large (or 2 medium/small) baking potato
• EVOO or vegetable oil or ghee!
• 1/2 tspn. (heaping) of cumin seeds
• 2 inch piece of ginger, peeled
• 1 small serrano chile
• 5 - 6 garlic cloves
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 tspn. coriander, tumeric, cinnamon, garam masala
• 1/4 tspn. cayenne pepper
• S & P
• 2 (10 ounce) packages of frozen spinach
• 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• Cilantro, optional

Directions:

1. Cut potato into small pieces resembling size of chickpeas.  Boil potatoes until almost tender.  Turn heat off and let stand in water for 5 minutes, drain.  
2. Heat oil/ghee in large skillet.  Add cumin seeds and toast until fragrant and beginning to pop over medium-high heat.  
3. While cumin seeds toast, place ginger, chile, and garlic in a small food processor and blend until a paste is formed.  Alternatively, you can mince these ingredients.  Add to skillet with cumin and saute for a minute until fragrant.
4. Add onions.  Saute until deeply browned.  The browner, the more flavor!  Don't let them burn, but a nice deep brown will intensify the flavor and allow for a deep color for the dish.  Stir frequently.  
5. Add tomatoes and stir to incorporate. 
6. Add all spices and stir to evenly distribute.  
7. Add spinach and then chickpeas.  Drizzle with lemon juice.  Stir.
8. Let simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes allowing the flavors to combine and stirring every few minutes.  
9. Adjust seasonings as needed!  I needed a bit more lemon, cayenne and garam masala.
10. Add some chopped cilantro, turn off heat.
11. Serve with additional cilantro, yogurt, and a slice of lemon/lime.  Enjoy :)