Hearty Yam and White Bean Hash

Hi friends,

I have a special treat for you today! I am off traveling in Washington DC for a conference this week and can't wait to share my food journey with you! Until then, I guess you'll just have to do with this hearty yam and white bean hash I cooked up over the weekend.

You can find this recipe over on Richa's blog, Vegan Richa. I'm a big fan of hers and I love the way she combines simple, plant-based ingredients into amazing dishes with a focus on Indian cuisine. (Plus, if you haven't checked out her Roasted Butternut Squash Sliders with Balsamic Caramelized Onions you definitely should!)

Hope you have a wonderful week!

Continue to the recipe...

Corn and Potato Soup

They say that life is what happens when you are busy making other plans. So true.

Life is what happens when you are busy loving and worrying about those around you - your family, your friends, your cats, your neighbor's cats. Life is what happens when you are busy worrying about worrying.

Life is what happens when you are busy making corn and potato soup. Standing in your kitchen, recovering from a long day, and watching the last few bits of daylight fade away.

Life is what happens when you have to take photographs in the middle of your driveway because that is the best spot for natural light this time of year.  Life is what happens when you almost get run over by your neighbor because they don't expect you to be standing in the driveway at twilight. 

Life is also what happens when you can't eat the bread featured in your own photograph because you're embracing gluten-free-dom.  Such is life, but it's a pretty good one.

Corn and Potato Soup
Serves 4

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 medium red potatoes, chopped
1 Tbs tsp cumin
1/4 tsp ground red chili pepper
7 cups broth
2 lbs frozen corn kernels
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Add olive oil and onion to a pot over medium heat.  Saute for 5 minutes, until translucent.  Add the potatoes, cumin, red chili pepper, and broth and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, lower heat and let simmer for 15 minutes, until potatoes are just tender.  Add the frozen corn and cilantro.  Simmer for an additional five minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Truffled Mashed Potatoes

What I really want to be telling you about right now is pear crisp. Yes, pear crisp. I assisted for a cooking class the other evening that served the most simple and incredible pear crisp. It has been in my dreams ever since.

However, I have yet to make this most-amazing pear crisp because I know the minute that I do, I will do nothing but eat it. Nonstop until the entire pan is gone. And I will skip going to the gym, forget to feed my cats, and probably take an afternoon nap instead. That crisp is dangerous business.

But mashed potatoes?  I can handle mashed potatoes.  I trust myself to make mashed potatoes and still go on with the rest of my life.  

Can I be honest with you for a moment?  Prior to today, I've never made mashed potatoes before.  Why? Well, the last time I had mashed potatoes was about six years ago at Thanksgiving and I remember thinking there was nothing to it but butter.  I'm not a fan of starchy, super buttery foods so once going vegan I didn't even try to recreate this with margarine.

But, mashed potatoes with truffle oil?  Hmm, I was intrigued.

These are exactly what mashed potatoes should taste like if you ask me:  rich and flavorful, with a hint of buttery-taste and salt.  Absolute perfection.  I know that truffle oil can be a bit pricy, so feel free to use olive oil instead.  Olive oil gives the recipe a slightly different flavor, but you still get delicious results.

Truffled Mashed Potatoes
From Vegetarian Times
Serves 6

2 lb fingerling or Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
4 large cloves garlic, peeled and halved
2 Tbs truffle oil
1 Tbs finely chopped parsley

Bring potatoes, garlic, and enough water to cover all by 1 inch to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Reduce heat to medium, and simmer 20 minutes, or until potatoes are soft when pricked with a fork.  Drain, and reserve 1 cup cooking liquid.

Return potatoes and garlic to saucepan; mash with reserved cooking water until smooth.  Stir in truffle oil and parsley.  Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Green Bean and Potato Salad with Miso Dressing

I had one goal for myself in 2011:  to go the entire year without any new injuries or physical ailments.  I figured that after last year my injury karma had to get better, right?  My 2010 was consumed by a gall stone diagnosis, shin splints from a running injury in 2008, a sprained ankle, and then a shoulder injury in August that I'm still healing from.  I thought things were looking up.

Then a couple of weeks ago I went to spinning class and strapped my shoe too tight on the bike.  I didin't even know that you could do that, but apparently if you do it bruises your foot pretty bad.  It also doesn't help when you continue to work out on it.  Duh.  Injury #1.

And then four days ago I started having a splitting headache on one side of my head.  Physical issue #2.  The not-so-fun part of this one is that my doctors still have no clue what's going on.

This caused me to take a long, good look at my life recently and figure it out myself.  It's not a pretty picture:  creating too many commitments for myself, getting less than 8 hours of sleep per night, staring at the computer for very long periods of time without taking a break, starting to drink caffeinated tea again, and choosing to ignore my body when it's trying to tell me something.  My self-care report card is definitely a D right now.  No wonder I have a weird headache that my doctor's never heard of. 

What I love about life is that the lessons that we need to learn always arise right in front of us.  I needed a good reminder about taking care of my body and sometimes it takes a swift kick in the behind (or a splitting headache) to make one pay attention.  I'm listening now.

Maybe you're working on taking care of your own body or you're just looking for a tasty meal option.  This salad is it.  This recipe came from  The Conscious Cook: Delicious Meatless Recipes That Will Change The Way You Eat by Tal Ronnen.  I love this cookbook because it has beautiful photographs, loads of great information, and very inspiring recipes. (Including how to make your own vegan cheese.  Amazing!)

At first I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy the miso-potato-green bean combination, but I was definitely impressed.  I'm also not usually a big fan of arugula and I actually thought about substituting spinach instead, but the slight bitterness of the arugula really complements the flavors well.  This is a perfect side salad with dinner and it makes a wonderful light lunch on a rainy spring afternoon.   In the spirit of self-care and listening to my body, I didn't even think twice about having seconds. 

Yields: 4 servings (enough for about 2 people)
From The Conscious Cook: Delicious Meatless Recipes That Will Change The Way You Eat by Tal Ronnen

2 tablespoons yellow miso paste
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
1 1/2 cups baby arugula
8 ounces fingerling potatoes, boiled for 15 minutes, then sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
8 ounces of green beans, blanched in boiling water for 1 minute

Place the miso paste, vinegar, agave, salt, pepper, shalot, garlic, mustard, lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon water in a food processor and pulse to combine.  With the motor running, slowly add the oil in a thin stream until the vinaigrette is emulsified.  Fold in the chives.

Place the arugula, potatoes, and beans in a large bowl, drizzle with the vinaigrette and toss to coat.

Fingerling Potatoes with Red Onion and Sage

I'm really looking forward to spring this year.  I've negotiated with my landlord to use a small area of the front yard for a vegetable garden.  The only problem?  I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing.  I guess we all have to start somewhere.

I did some container gardening a couple of years ago, but it didn't turn out very well.  It was that crazy hot summer in 2009 when Seattle reached 103 degrees.  Remember that?

One of my worst memories that summer was driving to volunteer at a youth center and almost passing out in the car because of the heat.  Let's just say that my tomatoes and strawberries didn't make it through either.   

I've been reading a bunch of books about organic gardening -- everything from prepping the soil, to picking which varieties of vegetables to use, to planting the seeds.  I'm sure that I'll make some mistakes along the way and lose a few plants, but I'm also sure that whatever survives will be delicious.  I can't wait to share it with you.

Speaking of sharing things with you, would you like to try some of these fingerling potatoes?  They're very yummy.

I really love using fingerling potatoes in recipes not only because they are delicious, but because they are super cute.  Fingerling potatoes often get confused with new potatoes, which are simply young potatoes that are harvested before maturity.  Unlike young potatoes fingerling potatoes are fully mature, and therefore, have a much more complex flavor.

This recipe called for fresh sage, but I substituted dried sage and used fresh parsley as a garnish instead.  I also topped my potatoes with a course Hawaiian sea salt (thank you, Elise!) and coarsely ground black pepper.  This recipe is enough to serve 6 as a side dish, but I personally love to make a big batch all for myself and munch on the leftovers. That is, if I can fight off Ashley long enough to have any.

Fingerling Potatoes with Red Onion and Sage

Slightly adapted from Clean Start by Terry Walters
Serves 6

2 pounds fingerling potatoes
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 small red onion, chopped
1 tsp dried sage
1 Tbs fresh Italian parsley, chopped
Coarse sea salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Wash potatoes and place in casserole.  Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and roast for 35 minutes or until soft (time will depend on the size of the potatoes).

In a medium skillet over medium heat, saute garlic and onion in remaining tablespoon of olive oil until soft (about 3 minutes).  Add sage and saute 2 minutes longer.  Remove from heat and set aside.

When soft, remove potatoes from oven and toss with onion-herb mixture.  Season with salt and pepper, garnish with fresh parsley and serve.

Chunky Potato Chowder

Well we've certainly entered Soup Season, haven't we? It's been so long since we last talked.  My apologies...  Why don't you pull up a chair?  I plan to stay awhile.

This last week has been one of those weeks where life just comes at you and you have to take it on.  And so I did.  I promise I didn't forget about you in the process.  You were always on my mind as I made it through the ever-increasing inbox of emails, to-do's, can't-wait's, and can't-someone-else-do-it's? Sitting here with you is definitely where I need to be right now.

I didn't make it into the kitchen much this week.  Instead, I discovered something amazing. It's called takeout.  I don't know if you have heard of it, but it's worth trying.  Should a week like this one hit again anytime soon, I might even have to indulge in takeout's good friend called delivery.

 The most amazing part of my week was bringing home this little guy.  Meet Bilbo.  We found him at the Seattle Animal Shelter and completely fell in love with him.  If you look at that picture long enough, you will too.

The only thing better than cuddling with this cat is cuddling while eating this potato chowder.  Blending some of the potatoes creates a wonderful creaminess and the carrots add just the right touch of sweetness.  I used yellow carrots in this batch and I tend to like the fact that they blend in with everything else.  If you're in the mood to be bold, then mix it up with different colors.  If not, that's just fine too. 

Serves 4 - 6

3 onions, diced
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 carrots, diced
1.5 pounds of potatoes (I used Austrian Crescent fingerling potatoes), diced*
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp fresh dill
1 Tbsp fresh parsley 
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups of vegetable broth

Add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a medium pot and saute the onions over medium-low heat for about ten minutes. Then add the carrots and potatoes, adding more olive oil as necessary to keep everything from sticking. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring as necessary. Add the garlic and saute for an additional two minutes. 

Add about 3 cups of stock (it should just barely cover everything). Add the dill and parsley then cook for about 15 minutes, until potatoes are soft but not mushy.

Put about 1/2 of the soup in a blender and process until smooth. It might be necessary to add a bit of water to help it blend. Finish by adding this mixture back to the pot and stirring everything together. Let simmer for 5 - 10 more minutes.  Garnish with some more fresh dill, salt, and pepper. Serve with some warm bread.

*Note: I did not remove the skins on my potatoes because they were very delicate, but depending on the type of potatoes you use and your personal preference, you might want to peel the skin.