Mexican Salad

Vegan en Mexico shared this Avocado and Black Bean salad recipe a while back, and I’ve been waiting for some avocados to make it.  Finally, the time came.

1 tomate picado
1/2 pimiento morron picado
1/2 lata de frijoles negros enteros
1/4 de cebolla morada picada
1/2 cucharadita de cascara de limón.
El jugo de 1 limón
1/8 taza de aceite
1 cucharadita de sal
1/2 cucharadita de pimienta
1/2 cucharadita de ajo picado
1/4 cucharadita de cayenne, o 1/2 cucharadita de paprika
1 aguacate picado

Combina el tomate, pimiento morrón, frijoles y la cebolla en el traste en el que vas a servir la ensalada.

En otro plato combina los ingredientes para la vinagreta. Algo importante de cuando ralles cascara es que no quieres rallar la parte blanca del limón, solo lo que aun tiene el color verde.

Cuando estés listo para servir corta tu aguacate, agregalo al plato con el tomate, pimiento, frijoles y cebolla, y agrega la vinagreta. Mezcla con cuidado para no romper el aguacate.
¡Listo!

Comments: One whole lemon was WAY too much.  I only used half, and still had to add a lot more oil to tame down the lemon-ness.  I also didn’t  find it too satisfying on its own, so I added tabasco and served it in tortillas, which worked great—slightly warmed.

Fennel & Orange Salad with Black Olive Vinaigrette

I was inspired to make this by VeganEpicurean, but as she mentioned it’s a healthified version of a classic, I decided to find a more authentic version—and healthify it myself, if necessary. I didn’t find it necessary. This take on the salad, from Eating Well actually popped up in my inbox within hours of my decision to make the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/8 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

3 medium navel or Valencia oranges

10 cups mixed lettuces, (3 small heads), such as chicory, radicchio and leaf lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces

2 heads Belgian endive, sliced

2 bulbs fennel, trimmed and sliced

DIRECTIONS

1. To prepare vinaigrette: Whisk vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in oil. Stir in olives and parsley.

2. To prepare salad: Using a sharp knife, remove peel and white pith from oranges. Quarter the oranges; slice pieces crosswise.

3. Just before serving, combine lettuces, endive, fennel and the orange slices in a large bowl. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad and toss to coat well.

MAKE AHEAD TIP: Cover and refrigerate the vinaigrette (Step 1) for up to 2 days. Washed, dried lettuce will keep in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours. Keep prepared oranges and fennel in separate containers in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours.

Comments: This was definitely tasty, and it was easy enough to throw together, I repeated it several days. Sorry for the lack of photos, I’m not sure what happened to them!

African Pineapple Peanut Stew

This is a recipe from Bridget at The Way the Cookie Crumbles adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home.

4 servings

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced
1 bunch kale or Swiss chard, large stems discarded, leaves chopped coarse
1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
½ cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup peanuts, chopped
1 scallion, sliced

4 servings cooked grain, potato

1. Heat the oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sauté, stirring occasionally, until just browned at the edges, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

2. Add pineapple to the pot and bring to a simmer; add the greens, cover, and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until just tender. Stir in the peanut butter and hot sauce and simmer for another 5 minutes, until the flavors are blended. Stir in the cilantro just before serving and add salt if necessary. Serve over rice or couscous, garnishing each serving with the peanuts and scallions.

Comments: Definitely needs the recommended cayenne. I used the full T. of Tabasco, and was underwhelmed. Otherwise, it’s a decent dish, but not something I went crazy for. I probably won’t return to it. On the other hand, it was great for getting ideas on how to shoot an otherwise un-photogenic dish.

Cauliflower Cheese Pie

INGREDIENTS

Butter (for greasing pan)

2 c. raw potato, grated

¼ c. grated onion

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 T olive oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

½ t. dried basil

½ t. dried thyme

1 t. salt

1 T. flour

Olive oil (for brushing)

1 med. Cauliflower, coarsely chopped

1 c. grated cheddar cheese

2 eggs

¼ cup milk

Paprika (for sprinkling)

POTATO CRUST:

1. Set the oven at 400F. Use butter to grease a shallow 9 inch baking dish.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the grated potato, onion, egg, salt, and flour. Transfer the mixture to the buttered pan and pat it down with a rubber spatula.

3. Set the pan in the hot oven and bake for 30 minutes. Brust the crust lightly with olive oil, return the pan to the oven, and bake for 10 minutes more. Set the pan aside.

4. Turn the oven temperature down to 350F.

FILLING:

1. In a saute pan, heat the olive oil until it is hot. Add the onion, garlic, salt pepper, basil and thyme. Saute over medium heat for 8 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Stir in the cauliflower and cook for 5 minutes more.

2. Spread half of the cheese on the potato crust. Spoon the sauteed vegetables on top, then sprinkle thos e with the remaining cheese.

3. In a small bowl beat together the eggs and milk, and pour this over the vegetables. Sprinkle with paprika and transfer to the oven.

4. Bake the cauliflower for 35 minutes or until the custard is set and the top is browned. Serve at once with a salad and crusty

4 servings.

Comments: I used nutmeg and sage instead of thyme and basil. This was another just-okay recipe. No zip, no zing (I added Tabasco)…but nothing wrong with it. It wasn’t as cheesy as I’d hoped for. I made the potato crust the night before, and it was soggy, although this may have been my own fault.

Quick Pickle Cucumbers

After falling in love with the quickie pickle carrots, Alicia at VeganEpicurean posted about her Quick Cucumber Pickles, and that became next up on my list.

Ingredients:
4 small cucumbers, cut in half and thinly sliced
½ cup vinegar (any type of light colored vinegar, I used champagne)
½ cup water
Stevia, to taste (I used 6-1gram scoops)
Fresh cilantro, minced, to taste (I used about ¼ cup)
Directions:
Heat the water, vinegar and stevia until about body temperature. Place the cucumbers and pickling solution in a jar. You are heating the vinegar so the flavor will penetrate the vegetable more quickly. Refrigerate until needed. If the liquid doesn’t cover all the cucumbers turn the jar over periodically so all the cucumbers are submerged for part of the time. I made these about 30 minutes before dinner but sooner would not be a bad thing. When you are ready to serve drain the pickles and toss with cilantro.

Comments: Despite looking beautiful, these just didn’t do it for me. I replaced the stevia with sugar and used apple cider vinegar. I also had a giant cucumber which I know was part of the problem (too juicy!)…and no cilantro, although I don’t think that would have saved this in my books. I’m not sure if her tastes are just so different from mine, or my changes added up…but I’ll keep looking!

Cauliflower Cheese

Craving Mac-N-Cheese once too often, I decided to make a cheesy cauliflower dish to keep my refined wheat intake in check. Little did I know, it’s a traditional British dish.

1 large Cauliflower
300ml (½ pint) nonfat milk
110g (4oz) gouda cheese
3 tbsp Plain Flour
50g (2oz) oil
25g (1oz) Fresh Breadcrumbs
1½ tsp Mustard
Nutmeg
Salt & Black Pepper

1. Trim the cauliflower boil in salted water for 5 minutes or until just tender.
2. Drain and place in a flameproof dish.
3. Add the milk, flour and butter to a saucepan.
4. Heat, stirring continuously until the sauce thickens, boils and is smooth.
5. Allow to simmer for a further 2 minutes.
6. Add three-quarters of the grated cheese, mustard, a pinch of nutmeg and seasoning.
7. Cook for further minute stirring well.
8. Pour the sauce over the cauliflower.
9. Mix the remaining cheese and breadcrumbs together, sprinkle over the top.
10. Place under a hot grill until golden brown.
    Serve immediately.

Comments: This is no mac-and-cheese, but it’s not a bad healthier fix. I actually felt full after a bowl, rather than ready for more like I usually feel after pasta dishes. I added hot pepper to it, as I usually do in homemade mac-and-cheese and I added spinach, since I had it and it seemed like a good add. I also made some tweaks to the original recipe from the start. Next time, I’d chop the cauliflower smaller, as the bigger pieces were distracting. Otherwise, it was a success!

Vegan Almond Feta

Ah, but for valiant efforts! Alicia at Vegan Epicurean has raved about this vegan cheese forever. We have very little (very expensive) feta, so I was eager to find a replacement. Unfortunately, I also lack a blender and reliable oven in Argentina.

Ingredients:
1 cup of blanched almonds
Juice and zest of one lemon (approximately ¼ cup of juice)
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 clove of raw garlic (if small clove use it all)
1 ¼ - 1 ½ teaspoons salt
¼ cup water, or more if necessary

Directions:
In a jar with a lid, cover the blanched almonds with water and refrigerate 24 to 48 hours hours. Then drain the nuts rinse them thoroughly and drain again. The longer soak seems to make the nuts process more completely.
Move the drained nuts and the remaining ingredients to a food processor and puree until the mixture is very smooth but has a very slightly crumbly texture. This took 8 minutes during which time I periodically stopped the processor and scraped the side of the container and restarted the machine. If after 10 minutes the consistency is not smooth you can add up to another ¼ cup of water to help the mixture to process.
If you used the extra water to process the nuts, then take the nut mixture and move it to a strainer lined with three layers of cheesecloth.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees when you are ready to proceed.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Put the cheese onto the baking sheet and form it into a flat disk that is about ¾ of an inch thick. Bake the cheese until it begins to become slightly firm on the top. (About an hour)

Remove the cheese from the oven and allow it to cool to about room temperature before you move it to a serving platter. If you have a wide spatula and have cooked it long enough it will move in one piece. Be careful it is delicate.
To serve: Drizzle the nut cheese with the extra virgin olive oil and salt, freshly cracked pepper and thyme leaves.

Comments: While the recipe wasn't so terrible I had to toss it, from the perspective of cheese, it was a definite FAIL. I found it very lemony—not in a bad way, but too strong to resemble the acid of feta. And of course, my texture was WAY off (I may attempt it again, and steal my roommate's blender for the project)...and it was clearly cooked. Browned on the bottom. I ended up tossing it in various dishes throughout the weak, giving them a lemony, savory twist.

Cupboard Oatmeal Cookies

Another night of cookie searching lead me to Heidi's recipe on 101 Cookbooks. I had enough of the ingredients, I decided to give it a go. However, I made quite a few substitutions. One day I’ll have to try her recipe.

1 cup white flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 c. chopped prunes (or raisins, if you have them)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (not sure if I had this to use, maybe I used powder?)

Preheat oven to 375F degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and oats. Add the sugar, oil, and ginger and stir until just combined. Carefully mix in the nuts and prunes.

Drop onto prepared baking sheets, one level tablespoonful at a time, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Bake in the top 1/3 of the oven for 10 - 12 minutes or until the cookies are golden on top and bottom.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Comments; These are great cookies. They're not grandma's, but I probably shouldn't expect them to be, given the healthy twists.

Carrot and Ginger Quickie Pickle

Pickles grab my attention at times, and then leave for long periods...but suddenly they were popping up all over my blogosphere, and I knew I had to give them a shot. I chose Clotilde's recipe to start, as, conveniently, I had all the ingredients on hand.

- 2 medium-small carrots, about 200 grams (7 ounces)
- a 40-gram (1 1/2-ounce) knob of fresh ginger, scrubbed but unpeeled, sliced thinly
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

Makes about 1 2/3 cups; the recipe can be doubled.

Peel the carrots and, using the vegetable peeler, cut them into thin ribbons. Place the ribbons in a heatproof bowl, and set a fine-mesh sieve over the bowl.

Combine the ginger, vinegar, salt, sugar, and 240 ml (1 cup) water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When the mixture boils, stir with a wooden spoon to make sure the sugar and salt are dissolved, and remove from the heat.

Pour the ginger brine through the sieve and into the bowl of carrots. Make sure the carrots are completely immersed, cover with a plate, and let cool to room temperature. Transfer to a clean jar, close tightly with the lid and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Comments: I had no sea salt in my kitchen, so I used regular. The first time I doubled the recipe (a single recipe just seems so small), and had TONS of extra brine, so the next time I doubled everything except the water. I also left the ginger in the mix, which I enjoyed, although I'd probably decrease the ginger a bit next time. These are a bit addictive, but a great healthy snack!

Regina (Pinto) Bean Balls 6/2

I've been on the quest for the perfect vegan bean balls for a while, but it only became a priority when I moved away from Trader Joe's, to a land nearly absent of meat analogs. So, I bookmarked this recipe from Matt, but was again delayed by a search for pinto beans. Alas, they're called regina beans in Argentina!

Ingredients (for 4 servings):

• 30-0z cooked pinto beans,

• 1 carrot, minced (or processed)

• A big handful of fresh parsley, minced (or processed)

• 1 clove garlic, minced (or processed)

• 1/2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs

• 1 Tbsp olive oil or canola oil

• 1-2 Tbsp your favorite Italian seasoning (basil, oregano, garlic, salt, etc)

• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, combine carrot, parsley, garlic, Italian seasoning, bread crumbs, oil, and beans. Mash with a potato masher (or use a food processor) until the mixture is sticky and relatively homogeneous. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Form the bean mixture into 1-inch balls and align on a cookie sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes, turning once midway through, until the bean balls are nicely browned all over. Serve over pasta or on sub rolls.

Comments: Pasta or sub rolls are my dream! I tried these plain, and with a bit of tomato sauce. The mix came together a bit moist, so I needed extra bread crumbs, otherwise they were good, though fragile.

Texas TVP Chili

I had a ton of chipotles in adobo left after my Adzuki Butternut Squash soup, so I was in search of more chipotle-friendly recipes, and found Captious' Texas Tofu Chili. Here's what I did:

For the TVP:

• 2 cups TVP, either in granules or larger chunks

• 2 Tbs. peanut butter

• 3 Tbs. soy sauce

• 1/4 cup tomato sauce (from a 14 ounce can)

• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

• 1 ¾ c. liquid (I used flat stout beer I had laying around)

For the chili:

• 1 Tbs. olive oil

• 2 onions (diced)

• 6 cloves garlic (diced)

• 1 bell pepper

• 1 jalepeno pepper

• 5 Tbs. chili powder

• 1 T. chipotle chiles (in adobo)

• 1 Tbs. cumin

• 1.5 cups pinto beans, soaked, cooked, and lightly salted

• 1.5 cups tomato sauce (rest of 14 ounce can)

• 4.5 cups bean cooking/TVP soaking liquid (supplement with vegetable broth, water liquid)

• 3 cups whole tomatoes or diced with juice

• 1-1.5 tsp. salt

• 1 tsp. oregano

• 1 cup corn

Mix together peanut butter, garlic powder, soy sauce, and tomato sauce and TVP hydrating liquid. Heat to a boil, and add TVP, taking off heat. Heat 1 Tbs. of oil in a large stockpot. Sauté peppers, onions, jalepeno, and garlic together, chili powder, and cumin. If using large chunks of TVP, cut. Next add the TVP, pinto beans, the tomatoes, the rest of the tomato sauce, and the bean cooking liquid. Season with salt and oregano. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add the corn. For the best flavor let sit overnight.

Comments: This was good, I actually don't notice a huge difference in most chili recipes. I think I'd leave out the TVP next time, as I didn't find it necessary, and probably go with a simpler recipe, as I'm not sure the peanut butter and soy sauce added much. I ended up adding a lot more chili powder (3 T?) to get the flavor I was after.

About.com Peanut Butter Cookies 5/29

Late-night cravings are often the result of my dessert experiments. And peanut butter is something I usually have on hand. A bit of googling lead me to this promising recipe, and I set to work.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups flour, sift or stir before measuring
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 T. chia seeds, hydrated in water or one egg

Preparation:

Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder; set aside. Cream shortening, peanut butter, and sugars; beat in vanilla and egg. Stir in flour mixture, blending well. Shape mixture into 3/4-inch balls; place on greased baking sheets. Flatten each cookie with the tines of a fork; dip fork in flour periodically to keep it from sticking to the peanut butter cookie dough.

Bake peanut butter cookies at 375° for about 10 to 12 minutes.

Comments: These were good cookies, but not the best I've ever had. They just didn't do it for me—and it might be because I had to sub out the brown sugar, but...I'm not sure.

Fennel and Orange Salad

I’ve been eyeing the giant, beautiful fennel at the verduleria lately, but I wasn’t sure what to do with it. Finally, I went tonight, with nothing in mind, and walked out with some fennel.

I decided to try a version of this salad, from VeganEpicurean, since I also had some beautiful oranges. However, I had no red onion and wanted to try a more authentic version before trying her cleaned up version. So, I chose this recipe, swapping out the arugula for spinach, which I had on hand.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 bunch arugula
• 2 orange, peeled and segmented
• 1 bulb fennel bulb, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons sliced black olives

Directions

1. Whisk together the honey, lemon juice, salt, and pepper; slowly add the olive oil while continuing to whisk.
2. Place the arugula in the bottom of a salad bowl; scatter the orange segments, fennel slices, and olives over the arugula; drizzle the dressing over the salad to serve.

Comments: Overall, this was good. I shy away from making salads at home because they always seem to have a zillion ingredients which are leftover, when making a single portion. I halved the recipe, and had no problem eating it as one (large) serving.

However, I found it a bit sweet and simple. I think I’ll swap the lemon juice for red wine vinegar next time, and leave out the honey.

Curry Apple Fried Rice

Rachel is quickly winning my props for her ability to choose recipes! This was easy and a delicious variation of my typical fried rice. Here's my version:

Ingredients (Makes 3 Servings)

1 cup uncooked brown rice

3 eggs, scrambled

3 cups small diced vegetables

1 small onion, chopped

1 apple, chopped with skin on

1 glove garlic, minced

1 T. finely chopped ginger

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp curry powder

1/2 tbsp ground cumin

2 tbsp chopped peanuts or cashews

Sriracha to taste

This Is How We Do It

1. Cook rice according to package directions with a bit of salt. Parboil the vegetables (just a couple minutes should do it).

2. Meanwhile, preheat a pan over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, then add onions, curry powder, and cumin and cook about 5 minutes.

3. Add apples and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until garlic begins to color.

4. Remove everything, fry a scrambled egg in the pan. Chop.

5. Add rice, veggies and onion mix. Cook for 2 more minutes.

6. Top with nuts and soy sauce and sriracha to taste.

Comments: Loved it. I mixed the fruit and veggies together, and simple fried the egg, then added rice and veggies to the fry pan for subsequent servings. Only complaint is that I used a ton of oil, so I'll have to work on that.

Gratuitous Pizza

Just because there haven't been any photos in a while, I whipped this up the other day...

Eggplant Caviar

Well, the name alone has kept me away from many similar sounding recipes, but when it comes from Smitten Kitchen, I just can’t help myself!

And good thing, this was fabulous! (Although the garlic was a bit offensive to my dinner partner later that evening.)

Makes about 2 cups

1 eggplant, about 1 pound

Half a large tomato or one Roma

2 to 3 small garlic cloves

3/4 teaspoon salt

Few grinds of black pepper

3 tablespoons vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prick the eggplant all over with a fork, and roast on a foil-lined baking sheet for 30 to 45 minutes, until soft. Make a few slashes in the bottom of the eggplant, and drain it in a colander for about 20 minutes. Cool completely.

Cut eggplant open and scrape out flesh and seeds with a fork onto a cutting board, discarding the skin. With a large knife, chop the eggplant flesh into very small bits. (Unfortunately, the food processor, although speedier, only purees the eggplant, leaving little texture.) Scrape into a medium bowl.

In a food processor, puree the tomato with garlic. Pour puree into bowl with chopped eggplant, add the salt, black pepper, vinegar and vegetable oil. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Adzuki Butternut Squash Soup

This recipe happened from a perfect pairing of ingredients. I found chipotles in adobo about a month ago, and quickly swiped them. Then, I bought Adzuki beans on a whim, to try something new. Butternut squash is always plentiful, and then the weather turned cold.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cumin
3 teaspoons finely chopped chipotle pepper
2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
2 medium-large onions
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
5 - 6 cups water
1-2 red bellpeppers OR 5 tomatoes, chopped
4 cups cooked or canned adzuki beans

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the cinnamon, coriander, chipotle and salt and saute for a minute or two - until aromatic. Add the onions and saute another 5 minutes or so, until they start to go translucent. Add the garlic and bell pepper, if using stir well, and then add 5 cups of water. Increase the heat to bring to a boil, and once boiling, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for a few minutes, until the pepper begins to soften—no more than 5 minutes.

Once the pepper has softened, add the squash and use a potato masher and break up the pieces a bit. Add the tomatoes (if not using bell pepper), and cook a couple more minutes before adding the beans. Serve drizzled with the cilantro.

Comments: What can I say? It's healthy and delicious, and freezes well, so I have leftovers for rainy days. I love it.

Clotilde’s Rice and Beans

I honestly can't say what it is, I have other recipes quite similar to this, but something about this is just oh-so good, I can't get enough! (Although it’s not photogenic for anything!)

-240 ml (1 cup) mixed dried beans and legumes
- 240 ml (1 cup) brown rice
- a 3-cm (1-inch) piece of dehydrated kombu seaweed (see note below)
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 rounded teaspoon strong mustard
- Tabasco sauce
- 2 tablespoons good oil, such as olive or sesame
- a small bunch chervil or flat-leaf parsley or cilantro, roughly chopped
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- mixed greens for serving

Makes 4 to 5 servings.

Soak the beans in a large bowl of cold water for 12 hours, or up to a day.

A little while before cooking, soak the rice: rinse in fresh water, drain well, and put in a medium saucepan. Add the volume of water recommended on the package -- mine says to use double the volume of water, but I use a little less (1 4/5 cups rather than 2 cups) because I like the texture better that way -- and let the rice soak in the water for 20 minutes to 1 hour.

Rinse the soaked beans in fresh water and put them in another medium saucepan with the kombu. Cover with cold water (no salt) by about 2 cm (1 inch), cover, and bring to a simmer. As the water comes to a simmer, a white foam will collect at the surface; skim and discard it.

Cook the beans at a low simmer for 1 hour, or until the beans are just cooked through: you want them to retain their shape, and not turn to mush. Drain, remove the seaweed, and let cool slightly.

While the beans are cooking, get the rice started. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt to the pan, cover, bring to a simmer, then lower the heat and cook at a low simmer, without disturbing, until all the water is absorbed -- this will take anywhere from 12 to 40 minutes, depending on your particular type of rice. Remove from the heat and let rest for 10 minutes, then uncover and let cool slightly.

In a large salad bowl, combine the vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and Tabasco sauce and pepper to taste. Add the oil slowly, stirring to blend and form an emulsion.

Add the beans and fold them in gently with a spatula; you want to coat them with the dressing without mushing. Fluff the rice with a fork (to separate the grains) and add it in along with the herbs -- again, using a gentle hand. Taste, correct the seasoning and (probably more important) the acidity of the dressing, and serve in shallow bowls, on a bed of mixed greens.

Pasta with Leeks, Spinach, and Sundried Tomatoes

Captious vegetarian posted about this recipe recently, and it just sounded like a great combination of flavors and perfect for the veggies I was seeing at the verduleria. Here's the version I made:

• 2 T. olive oil
• 2 large leeks, total weight about 450g/1lb, thinly sliced
• 500g pasta
• 200ml tub Casan Crem*
• 1 T. mustard
• 125g Roquefort cheese
• 8 sundried tomatoes
• 225g bag spinach leaves

1. Soak the sun dried tomatoes in 1/2 cup boiling water. Put a large pot of water on to boil.
2. Heat the oil in another large pot (do this part first if you only have one pot). Add the leeks and a pinch of salt, and splash in a little hot water. Cover and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.
3. When the leeks are done, add the mustard and mix. Add in the spinach leaves, cover, and turn off the heat.
4. Cook the pasta in salted water. Drain the pasta.
5. At this point the tomatoes should be soft. Remove from the water, reserving the soaking liquid. Slice the tomatoes and add them to the vegetables with the Casan Crem. When the pasta is done add it to the sauce as well, adding enough of the tomato soaking liquid to make the sauce coat the pasta. Heat gently and serve immediately.

*Casan Crem is often thought of as the Argentine equivalent of sour cream. It has the texture of cream cheese, but that sour twang you find in…sour cream! The original recipe calls for crème fraîche

Comments: This was delicious, but unnecessarily heavy. I think the Casan crem was a bit much, and would like to try it again without, and maybe a touch more olive oil, if necessary.

Tomato Tart (Best of Craigslist)

I've had this Craigslist recipe forever, but kept passing it up for the fabulous Tarte a la Moutarde. However, the time came when I was in the mood for something new—and possibly facing an olive craving? And it was time to try a new tomato tart.

1 Pre-baked pie crust (I used this recipe from Smitten Kitchen)
4 onions, sliced in rounds, then sliced in half
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup of Dijon mustard
2 medium-large sized tomatoes, sliced
6 canned Kalamata olives, thinly sliced
6 regular Spanish olives with pimentos, thinly sliced
1/2 to 3/4 cup or of fresh finely grated parmesan cheese
good drizzle of olive oil
1 heaping tablespoon of snipped chives

1. Caramelize onions in olive oil as long as it takes to get them that lovely brown color on low heat. During the last 10-15 minutes toss in the garlic and cook.
2. When tart crust is done and cool, slather the bottom with mustard. Spoon in the onions and spread evenly. Slice the tomatoes and cover the onions with them, overlapping them.
3. Toss on the sliced olives. Sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Bake in pre-heated 375 degree oven until the top is brown, 10 to 15 minutes. I used the broiler briefly to get it brown on top.
4. Snip chives on top. Serve.

Comments: I followed the recipe up until the chives, as I just didn't have them. Well, and I made the pie crust in a cake pan, which wasn't exactly a successful substitution. The tart was yummy, I think I have an unhealthy addiction to tomato tarts, but the Tarte a la Moutarde is still my favorite.