Agave Limeade

I feel I must post a link to the Whole Life Nutrition website, as I have adopted and adapted so many of their recipes for my kitchen. Here is yet another, for limeade using agave (or honey). We had a bag of limes from Trader Joe's lying around and Elspeth was a bit peeved that Evan and I were having a couple of Pimm's No. 1 Cups (well, peeved that we wouldn't share with her, that is), so I decided to make her her own special drink. She was unsure at first, but seemed to warm up to it. She skipped the limeade part and just referred to it as 'gaveh nekar'. Both Evan and I liked it a lot. I didn't make any adaptations except for making a larger batch. I also skipped making the raspberry ice cubes because I'm lazy that way.

INGREDIENTS
3/4 c. freshly-squeezed lime juice
3/8 c. agave nectar (or honey)
6 c. water

DIRECTIONS
Mix all ingredients in a pitcher and stir. Taste and adjust sweetness, if needed.

Simple Blueberry Muffins

We've just started blueberry season here and scored ourselves half a flat of organic beauties at the farmers' market. Though in some ways it seems a shame to cook such wonderful gems, it's hard to beat a good blueberry muffin. There are tons of good recipes out there and this one is not going to set the world on fire with its innovation. But if you're looking for a good-tasting, easy recipe (that would be fun to make with kids, if you're so inclined), this one works for us. I got the original recipe out of or that infamous Betty Crocker (or was it Better Homes and Gardens) cookbook whence came the Snickerdoodles and Russian Teacakes recipes, but I've made a few modifications over the years, mainly because I increased the batch due to the fact that my muffins must be bigger than the recipe-writer's.

I don't health-food these up too much. If you want to throw in flaxseed or wheat germ or cornmeal, go ahead.

INGREDIENTS
2 eggs
1 3/4 c. milk
5 TBSP vegetable oil
2 1/4 c. whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 c. organic evaporated cane juice sugar
1 TBSP baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries (I never bother to thaw first if using frozen)

DIRECTIONS

1. Make sure oven rack is in the center and preheat oven to 400 degrees; prepare a muffin tray
2. Stir together the flour, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside
   
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs lightly
4. Add the milk and the vegetable oil, mixing well after each addition
5. Stir in the sugar and beat until well mixed
6. Add the dry ingredients you'd set aside and stir until the batter is just moistened
7. Fold in the blueberries
8. Distribute the batter evenly into the muffin cups and place in the oven
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the muffins are well-risen with a nicely golden cap
10. Serve warm (we like to reheat leftovers in the toaster oven--they also freeze well)
    

Warm Almond Drink with Spices

This tasty treat really hit the spot for me when I first brought Elspeth home. It's yet another recipe from Whole Life Nutrition. The authors call it Warming Raspberry Leaf Almond Drink. If it's hot where you are, I bet it would also be nice iced, kind of like iced chai or horchata.

The original intention behind the recipe is to 'nourish breastfeeding mothers, especially in the early postpartum stage'. Our dear friend made this for me in my 'third day crazies' stage of motherhood and it may well have saved my sanity even if it had an unquantifiable effect on my milk production.

You essentially make your own almond milk first and then make the spiced tea part of it. Thus, you could streamline by using prepared almond milk. If it is sweetened, simply omit the honey in the recipe. And if you're not a nursing new mom, it would still be delicious without the raspberry leaves, so you could further decrease the amount of time to prepare this soothing beverage.

INGREDIENTS
4 c. water
1 c. raw almonds, ground to a fine powder

2 c. water
2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
3 sticks cinnamon
4 whole cloves
2 tsp fennel seeds
3 tbsp dried raspberry leaves

1/3 c honey or to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Place four cups of the water in a pot with the ground almonds and cover. Bring to a boil and simmer on low for 30 minutes (still covered)
2. In a smaller pot, combine remaining 2 cups of water with the ginger, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and fennel seeds and simmer for 30 minutes, covered
   
3. Remove the pot from the heat and add the raspberry leaves
4. Let steep, covered, for 10-20 minutes
   
5. Strain the herb mixture into a blender (discard the herbs)
6. Add the almond milk mixture to the blender and blend on high until very smooth
7. Add the honey and blend an additional minute
   
8. Strain drink through fine mesh strainer if desired (I don't bother)
   

Pasta with Spiced Onion-Nut-Cream Sauce

What is a gal to do when she is overrun with CSA greens? Well, I had thought that a variation of saag paneer would be nice (notwithstanding the fact that I don't eat paneer). However, none of the recipes I had looked that great and my plea on Facebook went unanswered. Using a bit of lateral thinking, I decided to adapt a favorite recipe that I got from a friend years ago from the Back to Square One cookbook by Joyce Goldstein. I thought of it because saag paneer mixes spinach and cream. This recipe (originally called, I think, Circassian Chicken Fettucine with Spiced Onions and Nuts) uses cream, so I figured, what the hell, I'll see if I can add a ton of pre-steamed and finely ground greens to it and have it be tasty.

Of course, adding the greens is not the only adaptation I've made. First off, I'm not using fettucine. I think it's delicious with fresh fettucine and I recommend others try it if it sounds good. However, long noodles are really tough for Elspeth to eat, so I opted for our standby of whole wheat penne. In addition, I decided not to use chicken breasts. Again, the recipe is quite tasty this way, but we've discovered that Elspeth isn't particularly fond of chicken. (To adapt my version back to the chicken version, you'll want to pan sear your chicken breasts, remove them from the pan, make the sauce and then re-add). It's also easier to use fake meat--Quorn tenders to be precise. If you're squeamish about fake meat and have no interest in chicken, my guess is that the dish would also be fine without a central protein.

It turns out that Elspeth was less fond of this dish than I expected, largely, I think, due to the nuts. I think the texture threw her off. When I make it again, I think I'll whiz the nuts and the cream in the blender to make a very smooth nutty cream.

INGREDIENTS
2 TBSP olive oil
2 c. diced onion
1/4 tsp ground cayenne (optional or to taste)
2 tsp ground coriander
3/4 c toasted walnuts
1/2 c toasted almonds
1 1/2 c cream
1 1/2 c chicken or veggie stock
1 bunch greens, finely chopped and steamed
1 package Quorn tenders (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare whatever pasta you're using according to the directions; if you're using dried pasta, you can make the sauce in the time it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta
   
2. If you want a really smooth sauce, combine the nuts, cream and stock in the blender and process until it's a nice consistency. Set aside
   
3. Place olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent
4. Stir in the coriander and cayenne and cook another 3 minutes
5. Add the nut/stock/cream mixture and cook for a few minutes
6. Now add the previously steamed greens and the package of Quorn
7. Continue cooked until the Quorn is all the way cooked and the sauce has reduced and thickened
8. Serve over pasta
   

Potato Heaven

I mentioned this one last night over cocktails with some moms from preschool and was requested to post it. Patricia Wells has a recipe in her Bistro cookbook that I think is called Lyonnaise Potatoes or Galette Lyonnaise but that we call Potato Heaven. Not revolutionary but awfully tasty. I need to make it again, soon. In my lean and hungry days post-college, I think when I made this it became my entire meal. These days, I'd be more apt to use it as a side dish. It also occurred to me as I was falling asleep last night that it could make a super-tasty topping for Shepherd's Pie.

INGREDIENTS
2 lb. baking potatoes
2 medium onions, cut in half and then sliced into half moons
6 TBSP unsalted butter
Lots of freshly-grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Boil your potatoes as if you're going to mash them and set aside
2. Cook sliced onions in 2 TBSP (1 ounce) melted butter until soft but not brown
3. Grate in tons of nutmeg and season with salt and pepper
4. Gently smash your potatoes (you don't want them to be too smooth) and add to onions
5. Add 2 TBSP more butter; always grate in more nutmeg at this point, too
6. Put in a baking dish (9x13 glass one is great, or a large oval ceramic dish) and dot the top with yet again 2 TBSP butter
7. Put under the broiler until butter is melted and top is lightly browned

Southwest Quinoa Salad or Soup

This is a great hot weather recipe that we learned at our Organically Grown Babies class at the local co-op. It's very adaptable to any changes you want to make in the type or nature of the veggies. For example, Elspeth loves peppers, but only when they're cooked. So instead of adding raw red pepper, I added a roasted one. The original recipe calls for jicama, which we don't love and never have around, so last summer when we were overrun with CSA radishes, I substituted those. (They do turn bitter after a day, so you'll want to add a fresh batch at each meal). Another of Elspeth's favorite veggies is corn, so I cooked from organic frozen corn kernels and threw those in. The possible combinations are legion. (A side note here. This is how far overboard I go sometimes in my locavore and parenting perfectionism: we're considering getting an Oxo implement that takes corn off a cob. This made me think that I was now obligated to cook and strip enough corn kernels to keep Elspeth in local corn for an entire year. Evan talked me down from that ledge by looking at me as if I were completely insane, which I was, for a moment).

Well, as it turned out, Elspeth just wasn't fond of the texture of the room temperature cooked quinoa. I know she likes quinoa, so I searched my brain for alternatives. I was quite proud of myself for coming up with the idea of turning it into soup! I took some of the quinoa, black beans, carrots, and roasted red pepper and warmed them in some chicken stock. I pureed this blend until smooth. To add texture, I then added some additional beans whole and some frozen corn and let it cook in the soup. I am pleased to say that Elspeth seemed to like it quite a bit, though she also demanded that I add cooked peas, mainly because she adores peas and prefers to eat them with every meal.

I adapted the technique of this recipe further by keeping everything separate until eating time. This allows all eaters to choose exactly the ingredients and proportions to put in their bowls. It also makes the salad taste nicer if you're going to have leftovers. I dressed the quinoa, the beans and the roasted pepper/ corn, so each had some of the lime flavor.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 c. uncooked quinoa, well rinsed
2 c. water
pinch of salt

1 1/2 c. cooked black beans
1 red bell pepper, roasted or raw, in bite-sized pieces
1/4 c. chopped cilantro or parsley (optional)
1 c. chopped jicama or radishes (optional)
2 c. chopped carrots (I steamed some lightly for Elspeth's portion and used these cooked carrots in the soup version)
1 c. cooked corn kernels

Dressing
1/4 c. canola oil
2-4 TBSP freshly-squeezed lime juice
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne (optional)
Pinch salt

Garnishes
1/2 c. toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 avocado, in chunks

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the rinsed quinoa in a large saucepan, cover with the water and add a pinch of salt
2. Cover the pot, bring to a boil over medium heat and then reduce heat to a simmer
3. Cook approximately 20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed and there are holes in the grain (do not stir)
4. Remove quinoa from heat and set aside to cool slightly
5. Whisk up the dressing
6. When the quinoa is no longer steaming, mix half of the dressing into it
7. In a separate bowl, coat the black beans with about 3/4 of the remaining dressing
8. Finally, coat the remaining vegetables with the rest of the dressing (you can mix or keep separate these veggies at your discretion, but as I mentioned, if using radish, it should be kept separate and chopped up fresh at each meal)
9. Give each eater a bowl and assemble as desired, using pepitas and avocado for garnish
   

Savory Custards with Asparagus

A dear friend of ours needs to eat very soft foods at the moment. Most of her diet has been liquefied for a few days now. I was trying to come up something savory that isn't soup and suddenly it occurred to me that custard would be a good possibility. I was prepared to make up my own recipe, but Deborah Madison and Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone came to my aid yet again. I took her savory custard recipe, made it slightly larger (added 4 eggs instead of 3 because we had medium ones), and incorporated both garlic and asparagus.

Instead of leaving bits of garlic in the custard, I infused the garlic in the milk and eggs for an hour or so in the fridge and then strained the mixture. Madison wants you to strain it anyway, so I figured this would work well. My tasters tell me that the garlic came through nicely. (Indeed, I made a dish that I would never consider eating myself, as I dislike both cheese and asparagus. I do this with Elspeth all the time and am thrilled that so far her palate is more like her father's.)

Asparagus does seem awfully stringy for someone who needs liquid or super-soft food, I know. However, I put it through a food mill. Of course, that meant that the 6-8 lovely thin stalks ended up being only a few tablespoons worth. Thus, the custards were more asparagus-scented than anything. Even if you are unrestricted in your ability to eat textures, you may still wish to put the asparagus through a mill in order to keep the custardy goodness intact. If that is the case, you'll also want to double the amount of asparagus.

Our weekly trip to the farmers' market scored us the eggs and the organic asparagus, but we got the cheese from our co-op because I didn't want to risk a less-than-luscious texture for our friend by buying some locally-produced Fontina equivalent (and, as I don't eat cheese, I would have no idea what would make a good substitute).

Eaters looking for a bit more texture could try not only using minced or diced up bits of asparagus instead of milled, but also a bread crumb topping. I would recommend in that case omitting the garlic from the custards and instead using this garlic bread crumb recipe. I'll bet that cheese lovers could improve on the bread crumbs further by adding a little bit of Parmesan.

This would make a nice light supper accompanied by a salad. I'm delighted to report that our friend was able to eat and enjoy the custard, testament both to her recovery and to the softness of the meal.

Note that I made a second variation of this dish a few weeks later. Instead of scenting it with asparagus, I used caramelized onions (about 1/2 a very large onion), cooked spinach (1/2 c. total after cooking and milling) and lots of grated nutmeg. Very Frenchy, as a friend said. I love the combination of onions and nutmeg and it's so great with spinach, too.

INGREDIENTS
3-4 eggs (use more eggs if using medium eggs)
1 2/3 c. milk (I use whole these days and suspect it will work best, but feel free to experiment)
3/4 tsp salt
Pepper to taste
1 clove garlic put through a garlic press or finely minced (optional)
1/2 c. grated Fontina cheese
1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. cooked asparagus diced or put through a food mill (you'll want 1/2 cup volume regardless, so if you are going to put it through a food mill, you'll need quite a lot of asparagus to start out with)

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix together the eggs, milk, salt, pepper and garlic in a bowl and set aside to infuse. If you're going to leave it for over 20 minutes, place in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly butter six 1-cup ramekins or custard cups
   
3. Prepare to make a water bath by bringing a few cups of water to a boil and then taking it off the heat and setting it aside
   
4. Prepare your asparagus and grate your cheeses (this lets the egg/milk/garlic mixture infuse as long as possible)
5. Once all of your ingredients are prepared, strain the milk/egg mixture into a medium-sized bowl
6. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well
7. Pour the custard mixture into the six ramekins, distributing evenly. Sprinkle on the bread crumbs, if using
   
8. Place ramekins in a 9 x 13 dish (mine is Pyrex), then place this on the oven shelf and pour the hot water into the dish (but not, of course, into the ramekins). You want the water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Close up the oven
9. Bake until the tops are starting to turn golden and the custards are set, about 20 minutes. Note that you still want a jiggly spot about the size of a dime in the center of each one
10. Remove custards from the oven and water bath and let cool 5 minutes before serving
11. Madison states that custards can be reheated by brushing the tops with milk or cream, covering with foil, and baking at 375 degrees for 15-25 minutes. This sounds a bit dubious to me since you're cooking it at higher heat for longer than you did originally, but this is what she says about reheating custards and timbales generally (not this recipe specifically)