Apricot Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

It was a hot day and I knew, I was going to be in the kitchen for several  hours, preparing for the Sabbath.  It meant making fish, chicken, side dishes and salads.  Dessert was going to be cold or from the freezer.  I did not plan on baking.  I got around using the oven except for one item.  Cholent is made in a crock pot.  The chicken was cooked on the barbecue.  Most foods were made in the microwave or did not cooking.  I did pull out the frying pan and a sauce pan for short periods of time.  The bottom line was that I did not heat up the kitchen very much.

I was stymied with what to do with a sweet potato.  Of course, the beauty of the sweet potato, is you can bake it, put on a pat of butter and enjoy it. Simple and delicious is the way to go.  Of course, it can be candied but I find, it is usually sweet enough by itself.  I do love mashed sweet potato and started off on that path.

It was over 90 degrees in the sun and my kitchen didn’t feel much cooler and I didn’t want to use my oven.  I microwaved the sweet potatoes whole, for 8 minutes.  I would have baked them after I finished shaping them but again, it was not worth using the oven so I fried them in a smidge of margarine.   What is a smidge?  Just a little bit…..

Apricot Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

4 sweet potatoes

1 pat or margarine

1 tablespoon honey

8 dried apricots

1 tablespoon olive oil

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Microwave whole sweet potatoes for about 8 minutes until completely cooked.  Since each microwave is different, the timing may be different.  Stick a fork in the potato at about 5 minutes and see how it is.  I would check it every minute, after that, until the fork goes in easily.

Peel the sweet potatoes and mash them with the margarine and honey. Mash well.

Make a two-inch ball out of some of the sweet potato and while you are rolling it, push a dried apricot inside.  Place in a frying pan with hot olive oil.  Do the same with the remaining sweet potato.  Brown lightly on each side.  If you are not dealing with hot weather, I suggest baking this in the oven.

Serve plain or with a little maple syrup.  I was thinking of adding chopped scallions and I will try that, next time, I make these.

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The softer, orange-fleshed variety of sweet potato, commonly referred to as a yam in the United States (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Asian Cabbage Salad with Sesame Seeds

There are certain blogs, I go back to time and again, knowing I will find a recipe that appears as perfect for what I am looking for. Kalyn’s Kitchen is one of these.  Kalyn’s recipes are clear and she includes those little tips that make all the difference.  When I was looking up cabbage recipes and saw that Kalyn had some, I clicked over and found this delicious recipe.
Asian Cabbage Salad with Sesame Seeds  Adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen -  a place to find terrific recipes

Asian Cabbage Salad with Sesame Seeds
(Makes about 4 servings, recipe adapted from the original South Beach Diet Book.)

Ingredients:
1 bag shredded cabbage (16 ounces)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
2 tablespoons peanuts (or more)

Dressing Ingredients:
2 T rice vinegar (don’t use seasoned vinegar, which contains sugar)
1 T sesame oil
1 T honey
1/8 tsp. hot sauce
1/8 tsp. grated ginger

Instructions:
 Mix rice vinegar, sesame oil, honey, hot sauce and ginger in a small jar and shake to combine. (Can also whisk together in a bowl.)

Toast sesame seeds about 1 minute in a small dry pan, until they start to be fragrant and slightly browned.

Put cabbage  into mixing bowl, toss well with dressing, arrange on individual serving plates and sprinkle with sesame seeds and peanuts.

This is linked  to Whole Food Wednesdays    

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Spiced Indian Cabbage

I know that some people don’t like cabbage and it is hard for me to understand.  I love cabbage and use it in many ways and each recipe seems better than the last one.  I am sharing this one, in the hopes, it might appeal to you.  I modified some of the ingredients.  Indian cooking, can be a challenge, when I don’t have everything in the cupboard or I can’t locate it, in the stores with kosher certification.

The Constitution gives us many freedoms such as freedom of the Press, Religion, Petition, etc.  I have my “Cooking Bill of Rights” freedom which is Freedom of Ingredients.  My guess is that many cooks use this freedom and sometimes it ends with a Mexican recipe instead of a Polish one or something as American as can be although it was meant to be Japanese.  That is part of the fun of cooking.  It also makes the recipe our own.  Saying that, this recipe comes from Food.com

Spiced Indian Cabbage  (adapted)

Ingredients

• 2 cups chopped cabbage
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
  
• 1/4 teaspoon dried mustard
  
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
  
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Indian curry
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger, grated
  
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1 tablespoon oil
  

Directions

1. Heat the oil.
2. Add the cumin, mustard ,ginger, garlic, chili powder  and onions.
3. Cook till the onions are a little soft.
4. Add the cabbage.
5. Add turmeric powder.
6. Cook till the consistency which you like your cabbage to be cooked.

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Five Dollar Dinner Challenge

Herbed Spaghetti Squash – Emeril Lagasse

 I am not sure why I don’t cook more of Emeril’s recipes because each time, I do, we like them.  I really must change this and add some of his other dishes.

I did make his simple herbed spaghetti squash which proves fancy does not win.  Simple dishes, appropriately spiced are the real champions.  This was also easy to do although it takes time for the baking.  You could microwave it for part of the time is you are running late.  Otherwise, it is in the oven and you are free to wash the floor, read a book, blog or play with your kids, whichever fits.

Herbed Spaghetti Squash      adapted  from Emeril Lagasse 

Ingredients

1 small spaghetti squash, about 2 1/4 pounds

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon margarine

2 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped mixed soft herbs, such as basil, chives,  parsley and sage, 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F

Cut squash in half, lengthwise, and place in a baking dish, cut side down.   Add enough water to come 1/2-inch up the sides of the baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes, until the squash is easily pierced with a paring knife.

Turn squash over and cover with foil again and continue to cook another 15 minutes, until the squash is very tender. Remove from the oven, uncover, and allow to cool slightly.

Remove the seeds and discard. Using a fork, gently pull the strands of squash away from the peel and place the squash strands into a mixing bowl.

Heat a skillet. Add the margarine, olive oil, spaghetti squash, herbs, salt and pepper and toss thoroughly but gently to heat and combine.

Serve immediately or cover and keep warm until ready to serve.

SERVES 4

This is linked to Show Your Stuff    

Southwestern Hash – Ellie Krieger

I love Ellie Krieger and have made numerous dishes from her cookbooks.  I should make a lot  more.

  This is one, I made a long time ago and hope to make again soon.  Another meatless wonder…..  This is a hearty recipe and nice and warming in cold weather which is now.  Ellie is known for her healthy cooking and it is healthy but healthy is proven not to mean boring in these dishes.  She simply cooks well so we can also do a good job in our kitchens.

Tonight, we had Ellie’s hash which fortunately for me, had lots of potatoes and I love potatoes.

It called for black beans but I only had Aduki beans.  It called for green pepper; I only had red.  It called for fresh cilantro; I had parsley.  Yep, I substituted.

It called for 1 tablespoon oil in the entire recipe plus a spray of the pan.  I used one pan, as suggested for three different acts, just wiping it down, before changing.  It went well.  It tasted better.  I thought the beans would take away from the whole but they didn’t.  Every ingredient blended with the others.  The egg on top was the right finishing touch.

This was an Ellie success.

Southwestern Hash    2007, Ellie Krieger, 

Ingredients

• 1 pound small red potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 red pepper, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon  chili powder 
• 3 medium tomatoes, diced (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 1 can no-salt-added adzuki beans, drained and rinsed
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 4 eggs
• Hot pepper sauce, for serving

Directions

Place the potatoes in a large non-stick skillet. Cover with water, bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 8 minutes. Drain and set potatoes aside.

Dry the skillet with a paper towel. Add the oil and heat over a medium-high heat. Add the onions and peppers and cook until vegetables have softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in the potatoes,  cumin, oregano, and chili powder. Add the tomatoes and beans and simmer for 5 minutes or until heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in parsley.

Transfer the hash onto serving plates. With the heat off, wipe out the pan again. Spray it withcooking spray, turn heat on to medium-low and cook the eggs, sunny-side up, or over-easy. Put an egg on top of each mound of hash. Serve with hot sauce.

Ingredients

Chop onions

Chop red pepper.

Potatoes cooking in boiling water in electric Skillet.

This is linked to Recipe of the Week      Five Dollar Dinners       This week’s Cravings

Spaghetti Squash with Vegetable Sauce

Spaghetti Squash is a gift to the world.  We can do much with it besides fooling our husbands into thinking it is pasta.  That is fun, though.

Whenever, I pick up a spaghetti squash, I end up doing something different with it.  It is open to dairy sauces or being mixed with meat – those being my favorites.  This time, I stuck with the vegetables and made a zucchini squash for the stringy stuff.

Spaghetti Squash with Zucchini Sauce  

Ingredients:

1 medium spaghetti squash

1 large zucchini or 2 small, sliced  thin (then slice each thin slice into 3′s)

5 scallions, chopped

1 large carrot, peeled and shredded

1/2 yellow pepper, sliced thin

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons basil pesto (I bought ready-made for this)

1 teaspoon rice vinegar, seasoned with oregano and basil

1 teaspoon brown sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Bake squash in 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes.  (I microwaved mine and I am not sure of the timing.)

Heat oil in medium-large skillet.

Add zucchini, scallions and carrots. (I shredded carrots into the pan.)

Cook until curls up and blends together (about 5 minutes)  Mix, every minute or two.

I added the yellow bell pepper as an afterthought but it did cook up, fine.

Add pesto, rice vinegar, brown sugar, salt and pepper.  Mix into vegetables.

Remove seeds from squash.  With a fork, pluck thin slivers out and pile up, in a bowl.

Place in a  serving bowl and top with vegetables and mix together.

Serve with meat, fish, cheese, or whatever is to your liking.   We had big bowls and filled up, on that.

  Plain Spaghetti Squash Above

Below is the finished dish.

 

 This is linked to Five Flue Fighting Foods

Butternut Squash Soup

I have made butternut squash soup, a few times, but never with cream cheese.  For a secret ingredient, cream cheese is a delightful one.  It serves little purpose in making soup creamy because the immersion blender makes that happen.

Speaking of the immersion blender, that has proven to be one of the handiest tools, I have.  When, I first got this, it was like a new toy, and I used it for everything, I could find.  I chopped with it and it is great for that, although, you have to watch the consistency.  I made pesto with it and what a blessing not to take out my big food processor.  I use it for dressings, puree, nuts, chocolate and you name it.

All that is done without the piece that makes it an immersion blender.  Attach that piece and soup becomes as smooth or as chunky as you would have it.  We like chunks in our soup and it is a pleasure to get both the smooth and chunky with one tool and one brief time.

Butternut Squash Soup  (adapted from Country Living)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 very large butternut squash, peeled and seeded and cut into chunks

2-3 cups vegetable broth

1 cup apple juice

1 cup apple sauce

1 cup whipped cream cheese (Yogurt to save on calories.)

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon majoram

Directions:

Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat.

Add onions and sautee for 5 minutes, until softened.

Add squash and continue to saute for another 5 minutes.

Add broth, juice, apple sauce, cream cheese and seasoning.  Bring liquids to a boil.

Reduce heat to a simmer.  Cover saucepan and cook until the squash is soft.  (20 minutes)  Remove from heat.

Using immersion blender, mix to the consistency, you want.  I stop mine when, there are still chunks floating around but not that

many chunks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is linked to Fat Tuesdays

 

Cabbage Kugel

A kugel is like a pudding but is made savory as well as sweet.  Examples of savory kugels are potato kugel, onion kugel, broccoli kugel and similar.  Sweet kugels are apple, noodle and rice kugels.   I think that most of them are drier than a pudding is but it is similar.  This cabbage kugel is almost like a custard and it is really great.  I took a taste and loved it.  I had to control my hand from putting the spoon back into the kugel.

Cabbage Kugel

Total Time: 1 hr

Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium-size  head green cabbage (about 2 -/2 pounds), cored and thinly sliced

1 large  onion, finely chopped

1-1/2 cups  Rice milk

4   eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup potato chip crumbs (through a food processor) and 1/4 cup for topping

salt to taste

1/4 teaspoon  black pepper

Directions

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray with cooking oil – 10-cup casserole dish.

Place oil in large pot. Add cabbage and onion; cook over medium heat until softened, about 20 minutes. Stir in Rice milk; bring to boiling. Lower heat to medium-low; simmer for 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat. Let cool slightly.

Gently stir in eggs. Add 1/2 cup potato chip crumbs with salt and pepper. Pour into prepared casserole dish. Dust top evenly with remaining crushed crackers.  Sprinkle a little sweet paprika on top for color.

Bake in 325 degrees F oven for 30 minutes or until heated through and top is golden brown.

Holiday link Party    

Chopped Salad

This week, I made a number of simple salads.  One of our favorite is some greens, grape tomatoes and feta and I made that twice with dinner.  I also like that one for lunch on weekdays.

On Friday, I decided to take vegetables and chop them up with a simple dressing. Eating small pieces is a novelty in a salad, for us.  If you don’t like it this way, throw in some arugula, spinach or lettuce.

Ingredients -

1 English cucumber, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

1 small red onion, chopped

1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped

Dressing -2 tablespoons seasoned (basil and oregano) Rice Vinegar, 1 tablespoon olive oil and black pepper, to taste

Procedure -

Chop and mix all vegetables.

Mix dressing ingredients.

Pour dressing on  chopped vegetables and let marinate for at least one hour.

Easy Eggplant Parmesan

Image via Wikipedia

I hate to admit that I have had this eggplant for almost two weeks and it looks a little worse for its rest.  I planned to make it two weeks ago and it didn’t happen.  This week, I took it seriously and made sure, it happened, but I wanted to put it off.  I took out all the other ingredients before I brought forth the eggplant.  I was fighting hard.  I looked at everything and thought, I could make lasagna or stuffed shells.  I could make a spaghetti pie. Finally, I straightened my back and greeted my eggplant.

The question is why did I procrastinate making it.  I think it is a subliminal thing.  I think eggplant, and my inner being says, “Ugh.”  It is true, I don’t like gushy eggplant but I really do like it breaded and baked or in this case, fried and baked.  So, why do I still push away the eggplant and choose something else to make?  If I had an answer, I would share it with you.

I must also share, this was one of the best dishes, we have had recently and we have been eating very well.  It was a good week, perhaps because, all meals were dairy and if I put a little effort into a dairy meal, it is usually delicious.  These were.  If I made dairy meals, all the time, we would be happy foodies and a lot heavier in weight.

This recipe was really easy unless you don’t like the breading and frying.  I don’t like it for health reasons but I don’t mind doing it.  This went quickly.  It is a straight forward recipe and I was done before I knew it.

Easy Eggplant Parmesan

(Kosher Food @ About.com)  (I made some changes to the recipe.)

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup crumbs, I made from Rice Chex  (use Panko crumbs – that would work beautifully)

• 1/2 cup oil  (add if you need more…..I started with less and added a tablespoon when it was getting dry)

• 12 ounces  spaghetti sauce

• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

• 1/3 pound  Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Procedure

1. Peel eggplant. Cut eggplant into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices.

2. Dip each slice of eggplant into eggs and then crumbs.

3. Saute breaded eggplant slices until brown on both sides.

4. Preheat oven to 350° F .

5. In a baking dish, spread spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with the cheeses.

6. Bake, uncovered, at 350° F  for 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted.Next time, I think, I will skip the frying and go right to the baking.  We don’t need all that fat.  I have made other recipes without the frying and they were fine.

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