Vegetarian chili

I made this vegetarian chili for a client earlier this week and it was possibly the best one I've ever made.

Here's the recipe:

It makes a lot, about 10 C.

1 large diced onion
2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 C. diced button mushrooms
1 can black beans
2 cans pinto/red beans
3 cans diced tomatoes with Italian herbs
2 C. frozen roasted corn (from Trader Joe's, if you can't find it, regular frozen is fine)
4 Tbs. chili powder (or 1 packet chili seasoning)
1 diced zucchini
1 large peeled and diced sweet potato
kosher salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbs. cornmeal

Saute onion for 2-3 minutes in olive oil in a large pot. Add mushrooms and continue cooking for another minute. Add drained beans and tomatoes. Stir to combine and add frozen corn and chili powder. Finally, add zucchini and sweet potato, and a good pinch of kosher salt and pepper. Cover and let simmer on medium low for 25 minutes. Season to taste, add cornmeal and continue cooking until ready to serve.

I served this with a side of jalapeno corn bread and homemade guacamole. If you like it spicy, add a little Tobasco sauce before serving.

Fusilli with sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, lemon zest and asparagus

I am doing a corporate function tomorrow and prepared this dish for one of their meals. I wanted to share this delicious pasta recipe with you.

1 box fusilli
2 bunches fresh thin asparagus
1 C. thinly sliced sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
1 C. toasted pine nuts (Trader Joe's sells them pre-toasted)
zest from 1 lemon
2 cubes frozen garlic
kosher salt and pepper
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 bunch fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
pinch of red pepper flakes
grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Boil pasta in salted water. While pasta cooks, lay a steamer over the pot and steam asparagus until just bright green, 2 minutes max. Plunge asparagus in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Remove from the bowl and slice into 2" pieces. Toss in a large bowl with sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, lemon zest, frozen garlic, olive oil, and a big pinch of salt and pepper.

Cook pasta until al dente 10-12 minutes. Drain and add to bowl, and toss to combine. Finally, add a handful of parsley and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese if desired. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Serve warm.

Other add-in's that would be delicious:
pitted kalamata olives
fresh baby spinach
grilled shrimp

Pork medallions with lemon & peas, and zucchini coins.

I have a pork tenderloin and was looking for a new way to prepare it. Here's my recipe for pork medallions and zucchini coins, they're both easy to make and really delicious.

Pork Medallions:
1 (1 lb) pork tenderloin
1/4 C. olive oil
seasoned flour (1/2 C. flour mixed with 1 Tbs. Lawry's season salt and 1 tsp. black pepper)
1/2 C. white wine or chicken stock
juice from 1 lemon
1 Tbs. capers
1 C. frozen peas
1 C. sliced mushrooms (optional)

Cut the tenderloin into 1/2" thick slices. Heat oil on a large nonstick pan on medium heat. Dredge pork in seasoned flour. When the oil is hot, cook dredged pork for 1-2 minutes per side. When the pork is cooked, remove from the pan, and keep warm in a covered plate. Add white wine or chicken stock, lemon juice, capers, (mushrooms-optional) and peas to the pan, cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 1 minute. Pour sauce over pork and serve with warm crusty bread and broiled zucchini coins.

Zucchini coins:

Preheat oven to broil.

Thinly slice a zucchini, lay pieces on a foil lined cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, cracked pepper, kosher salt and a pinch of grated Parmesan cheese.

Cook for 3 minutes or until cheese has just melted. Turn oven off and keep in oven until ready to eat.

Baked pasta with spinach, fennel and truffled pecorino

We had some friends over for dinner tonight and as it was last minute, I had to find something to make from the pantry. Here's what I threw together from my pantry.

ingredients:
1 box pasta ( I used elbow macaroni)
1 head fennel
1 box creamed spinach
1 C. fresh mushrooms
2 cubes frozen garlic
olive oil
truffled pecorino cheese
1/4 C. cream cheese
Panko breadcrumbs


Preheat oven to 450. Line a cookie sheet with either a Silpat mat or aluminum foil. Remove the top from 1 head of fennel. Quarter and thinly slice the fennel. Add it to the cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and add a pinch of kosher salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes.

While the fennel roasts, boil 1 box of pasta.
While the pasta boils, microwave 1 box of creamed spinach.

Heat a large nonstick pan on medium high heat. Add 1 Tbs. olive oil and while the oil heats, rinse and thinly slice a handful of mushrooms. Saute the mushrooms in the pan, add a pinch of kosher salt and pepper and 2 cubes of froze garlic. Cook for 2 minutes. Turn off heat, and add roasted fennel, creamed spinach and 1/4 c. grated truffled pecorino cheese. If you don't have this on hand, you could use a drizzle of truffle oil and a handful of grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese instead. Add 1/4 C. cream cheese (the chive cream cheese would be good in here too) and stir until melted.

Drain pasta and add to pan, stir to combine and place pasta and vegetables in an oven proof casserole dish. Sprinkle top with bread crumbs, a drizzle of olive oil and a small handful of the grated truffled pecorino cheese.

Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden brown.

We enjoyed this with a salad that our friends brought over.

This dish was surprisingly delicious and I was glad to use up some of the foods from my pantry and freezer.

Enjoy!

Roasted curried cauliflower and grilled shrimp

When I'm organized I like to do a lot of prep cooking on Sunday. Today was one of those days. While my girls sit happily on the couch, I made 2 C. servings of the following:

lentils
quinoa
Trader Joe's mixed grains (Israeli couscous, quinoa, orzo, etc...)

They are all basically the same to cook. Boil water and "Better than bouillon", a little olive oil and cook respective grains. The lentils take the longest, the quinoa the shortest and the TJ's mixed are somewhere in between.

While those cook, I made a roasted curried cauliflower which could not be any easier.

Preheat oven to 425. Line a cookie sheet with a Silpat mat or aluminum foil. Wash cauliflower and bread into florets. Place cauliflower on cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, a few pinches of kosher salt and a teaspoon of curry powder.

Bake for 15 minutes, turning the cauliflower once so it browns evenly.

I didn't know if my kids would eat this, but they LOVE it! It's not overly curried and has a nice rich flavor.

We are also having grilled shrimp.

Here's my recipe for shrimp:

Defrost peeled and cleaned uncooked shrimp in a bowl of warm water. Pinch tails off of shrimp. Add 2 tsp. of olive oil and the juice from 1 lemon and 1 cube of frozen garlic or 1 cube of fresh minced garlic. Toss to coat and grill on a HOT grill for 2 minutes per side.

YUMMY!