Savory Tomato Crisp – The Food Matters Project

In the midst of doing report cards means cooking with one hand holding a pen and the other a spatula.  That is an exaggeration since report cards are done on the computer.  The time it steals from life, to accomplish decent cards, can be tremendous.  Although, it is done in a week’s time, I find that anything I cook or bake is not done with full concentration so it is a minor miracle when something comes out right.

I baked a cake and almost left out the sugar.  In the oven went a baked dish and guess who walked away and forgot to put on the timer.  This is what it is like, for the week.  A bunch of minor incidents.  All the food has been saved.

My point is that since I am talking about too much topping, perhaps, I didn’t follow the directions.  I am looking forward to checking out other foodies, found here.

This recipe had lots of appeal.  I made a tomato crisp, years ago and it was a huge success.  I was ready to try another one, particularly one from Food Matters by our guy, Mark Bittman.  The topping on mine was quite heavy with good “stuff” but it seemed like too much and when I cut the first piece, crumbs flew all over.

I didn’t think it was possible but this topping was too crisp for me even though the combination that made it up had only the best, oatmeal and nuts, as starters.

We did like it and I would make it again but I would cut the topping.

Savory Tomato Crisp was chosen by Nicole from the Giving Table and despite my battle with the topping, I think, it is a great choice.  I am wondering how it would be with cauliflower or broccoli.

This is linked to Gallery of Favorites        Mop it Up Mondays        Breakfast Ideas Monday       Gluten-Free Weekly Meal Plan Linky         Made From Scratch Monday

Salsa Bittman Style – The Food Matters Project

Mark Bittman

This week for the Food Matter Project, we had fun, experimenting with salsa.  The Five Quick Salsas for Chips, Dips, and Other Stuff can be found on  page 46 and was chosen by Alissa from Big Eats Little Kitchen.  Thanks to Alissa for a tasty treat.

I planned to use this on chicken, rather than as a dip or appetizer but made in the morning and tasted it and demolished it.  I also, rather than make it as pico de gallo, wanted a thick saucy salsa so I used the handy mini food processor to give it body.

I admit, it was so good, I dipped in corn cakes and loved every minute of cheesy goodness.  I actually, did not share.

Basic Salsa

• 2 large ripe organic tomatoes, seeds removed and chopped
• 1/2 large white onion, chopped
• 1  teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon hot chili powder
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 31 tablespoon lime juice
• salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Taste and adjust seasoning.

Place in food processor and blend until smooth.

Serve as dip or with cheese.   I added a large blob of mozzarella and zapped it, in the microwave.  Delicious.

Mark Bittman gave alternative recipes which make up the 5 quick dips, Peach Salsa,  Green Apple-Cucumber, Tomatillo-Black Bean Salsa and Corn Salsa.

White Bean and (Asparagus) Avocado Soup

When no one in the family likes asparagus, what does a girl do,with all those wonderful recipes featuring asparagus?  I think, this may be the in-season for asparagus since it appears each time, I click on a recipe.

Here it is again,in our weekly recipe for The Food Matters Project, selected by Adrienne of Adrienne Eats, where you will find the recipe for White Bean and Asparagus Soup.  I may not love asparagus but I do admire this blog, which has its stress on healthy eating with delectable recipes.    Check out her Friday Favorites, bloggers of note.

Usually, I select some green vegetable replace the asparagus such as broccoli or spinach.  My darling husband had just brought me a box of avocados and a few of them were ripe and that is the moment, I knew this was going to be a White Bean and Avocado Soup and it did work well.  I did use regular sized tomatoes, rather than small ones.  We like the flavor it brings to soups.  Instead of chicken soup as a base, I used an organic vegetable broth.

With the cooler weather returning, I have been making soups, on a regular basis.  This fit right in. 

Thanks to Adrienne for a good pick.  Go on over to the Food Matters Project and see who else has participated and what they have come up with.   If you are a Mark Bittman fan, you just might want to join us in cooking his yummy recipes.

This is linked to Homemaker Monday    Real Food Wednesday      Tuesday Talent Show        Allergy Free Wednesday      Hearth and Soul

Soy Broth with Noodles

Mark Bittman has become my secret friend or at least, his books and recipes have done that. I have not been disappointed with any recipe, I have made because, he allows so much freedom to make each recipe your own.

Soy Broth with Noodles

The Minimalist: From a Simple Base, Endless Possibilities (March 25, 2009)   adapted

1/3 cup soy sauce, more to taste

1/3 cup ketchup or 3 tablespoons tomato paste and a pinch of sugar

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar, more to taste

A few drops dark sesame oil (optional) (I used.)

A squirt of sriracha or other sauce, or a dried red chili to taste (optional)

1 scallion, chopped

1 pound egg noodles

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it.

In a smaller pot, bring 6 cups of water to a boil.  Reduce heat so that it simmers, steadily.

Add to the smaller pot, soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, sesame oil if using and sriracha or chili, along with a pinch of salt. Stir and let simmer.

Add egg noodles to large pot.  Cook according to package directions.

Taste broth and add more soy, salt, vinegar or heat as you like.

In the last three minutes, add scallions to broth.

Divide noodles into bowls and pour hot broth over all.

Yield: 4 servings.

Food Matters Project – Cassoulet with Lots of Vegetables

The name of this recipe appealed to me, immediately, because I thought, it had no meat in it.  I was wrong.  It calls for a choice Italian sausage, bone-in pork chops, comfit duck legs or duck breasts.  No, no, Mr. Bittman – not for me and I don’t believe we missed anything without the meat. I like what Mark put into it – that is Mark Bittman, the author of Food Matters. I left out the meat and will ask, “Who needed it?”  This totally vegetable dish was filled with flavor and we cleaned our dishes.

We like this cassoulet and I would be happy to make this again.  It was filled with veggies, which we love and the combination was one, both hubby and I enjoy. I pretty much followed the recipe but I turned it, into a  soup by adding some organic vegetable broth and water.  It was rich and delicious.

 The Food Matters Project can be found here and we hope any Bittman fans  will join right in.  Cooking Bittman is interesting and tasty.  You can also find the cooks and where to find their latest creations on The Food Matters site.

In the future we will be cooking up the following recipes as follows:

April 9, 2012: Fish Nuggets Braised in Rhubarb Sauce (page 454),

April 16, 2012: No-Work Mostly Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (page 533) and Topping Pizza, the Food Matters Way (p

April 23, 2012: Real Whole Wheat Bread (page 539) or Mostly Whole Wheat Baguettes (page age 535),

542) April 30, 2012: Roasted Asparagus and White Bean Soup (page 110) May 7, 2012: 

Five Quick Salsas for Chips, Dips, and Other Stuff (page 46 May 14, 2012: Bruschetta, Rethought (page 51),

Don’t theysound good?

This is linked to Savory Sunday       What Makes you Say Mmmm?     Hearth and Soul    Savory Sunday

Curried Tomato Soup with Hard Boiled Eggs

I love my new group, the FOOD  MATTERS Project.  Bittman has always been an open door to walk through and the room, you walk into is filled with deliciousness such as this soup.

Curried Tomato Soup with Hard-Boiled Eggs (page 107), chosen by Joanne is a delicious soup that we devoured.  I have always known Joanne has good taste and she certainly proved it this week.  This is one of those dishes that caused my husband to sigh almost immediately and to claim its greatness.  The seasoning blended perfectly to make a full bodied soup.

I chose not to hard boil the egg (or so I thought) and dropped into the soup to soft boil but I had made this in a slow cooker and I judged incorrectly so the egg hard-boiled without the shell.  It was the best hard-boiled egg, I have ever eaten.  It absorbed the flavors of the soup.

The soup did well in a slow cooker.  I put it up, before going to work, and left it on low.  I came home to a cooked soup, to which I added the cauliflower and eggs.  Potatoes, carrots and tomatoes all make this a success.

To see what other members of the group did with this soup, stop over at the Food Matters Project, and enjoy.

This is linked to   $5 Dinner Challenge       Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays      Tuesday’s Tasty Tidbits     Trick or Treat Tuesday!

Gluten Free Wednesdays      Real Food Wednesdays         Foodie Friday    Tuesday To Do       This Week’s Cravings

Seared Bean Sprouts with Beef and Sesame Orange Sauce – The Food Matters Project

Cover via Amazon

This is my second recipe as a member of the The Food Matters Project.  Last week, I just did not have enough time to track down my ingredients but this week, normalcy returns and I managed to get everything although, I was one orange short.  I had no vision what this would like or taste like and I admit, I was happily surprised.  I am not sure why I am surprised since Marc Bittman has not steered me wrong and I trust in his recipes, especially with the choices he suggests.

Dominica of Wine Food Love chose Mark Bittman’s Seared Bean Sprouts with Beef and Sesame Orange Sauce. You can find the recipe at  Wine Food Love.

I made this dish and served it on soba noodles which was a good mix.  Alternatives are rice or quinoa and I think all three would be yummy.  I followed this recipe almost exactly.  I was short that orange so I did not have as much zest and I added some juice from the container to the fresh orange juice to make enough for cooking.  The citrus flavor turned out to come through clearly and we like that.  The honey gave it very slight sweet taste and all the flavors blended beautifully.  This is a winning recipe.

To see what others did with this recipe, check out the Food Matters Project.

• Baked Rigatoni with Brussels Sprouts, Figs and Blue Cheese – The Food Matters Project

This is linked to Cast Party Wednesday   

Baked Rigatoni with Brussels Sprouts, Figs and Blue Cheese – The Food Matters Project

I have been a big fan of Mark Bittman for a number of years.  I particularly like his ability to convey to the cook many ways to make the same recipe.  This attitude was great for me tonight when I thought I was baking the above recipe, only to find that I could not get most of the ingredients.

I have not seen gluten-free rigatoni so I subbed in penne.  Although, I am sure, kosher blue cheese is available, I have not seen it locally.  We are not fans of figs so I subbed apples which were great.  Finally and unbelievably, the local stores were out of brussels sprouts.  I called my daughter and asked her to look around and she also could not locate any.

I guess, I proved that you can  change the ingredients and come out with a facsimile of the original.

I feel particularly bad because this is the first time, I cooked with the foodies of The Food Matters Project.  This group is cooking their way through Mark Bittman’s, The Food Matters.   If you are interested, get the book and join us.

Marcia from Twenty by Sixty chose the  Baked Rigatoni with Brussels Sprouts, Figs, and Blue Cheese (page 221), in The Food Matters.   You will find the recipe on her blog.

Marcia shares her hesitation selecting this recipe which about describes my initial reaction.  Figs? Blue Cheese? Pasta? and Brussels Sprouts?  They just shouldn’t go together but I gather they did and did so beautifully.

My combination of broccoli, Monterey Jack, Apples and Penne also worked although I didn’t believe it.  The almonds seemed to disappear into the dish and it was not until the end that I found one. This is unique but trusting Mark Bittman helps.  I had to believe the recipe was good.

Check out the other cooks at The Food Matters Project.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Apples

We play around with ingredients, as foodies, and sometimes the results are just fine or could have been better and then there are times, when flavors blend and one could finish a pot of soup, in one sitting.  I think, this is the soup.  This is a Mark Bittman recipe and if you have read his recipes, you know, he leaves a lot to the cook to decide.  He gives options and the person, at the stove, decides which option is for him/her.  I added mango as an afterthought and it was just right.  Since, I added it, after the soup was blended, I don’t thing the mango flavor was as strong as it could have been

Roasted Butternut Soup with Apples 

Makes 4 servings

1 butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into cubes  (Acorn, pumpkin or sweet potato would work as well.  Substitute or add them to the recipe.)

1 large onion, chopped

2 large apples, peeled, cored, and chopped

1/2 teaspoon curry seasoning

salt and black pepper

1/2 cup dry white wine

5  cups vegetable broth

Procedure

1. Peel squash and cut into one inch pieces.   Place pieces in a bowl and cover with water.  Cook on high, checking every five minutes.  When the squash is tender but not mushy, remove it.

2.  In a large pot, place vegetable broth and add squash, onion, seasoning and apples and cook until the vegetables and fruit are cooked through, about 25 minutes.

3. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

4. Use immersion blender to liquefy 3/4 of the soup mixture.  Add the chunky part back and then serve.  I also added a few slices of mango, I had in the refrigerator.

For more recipes from Mark Bittman’s Food Matters, check out the feature “Family Food Matters: 3 healthy dinner recipes from Mark Bittman.”

Needless to say, this was a success.  It was smooth and warming, just right for a cool evening.    A possible addition is pumpkin pie spice.  I am on a kick to add pumpkin pie spice to half of my recipes.

If I could keep only 5 cook books in my kitchen, I would put this one, on the top of my list.  I think, you really can make anything from it.   

Related articles

• Savory Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup (veganpotato.com)
• Caramelized Squash (bookcasefoodie.wordpress.com)
• Butternut Squash Soup (bookcasefoodie.wordpress.com)
• Roasted Butternut Squash Soup (frenchleave.wordpress.com)
• Roasted Butternut Squash Soup (emily-eats.com)
• A Reader Recipe: Buttercup Squash and Apple Soup (fitsugar.com)

This is linked to  These Chicks Cook         Real Food Wednesday   Simple Lives Thursdays   Soup Night Saturday Night