Sweet Potato Collard Soup and a Rainy Day Playlist

Today is a cozy day at the RIC; people doing work and Perspectives homework in the dining room on a rainy, grey day.  I started some soup from a bunch of ingredients that needed to be used and listened to my current favorite playlist of songs by my "friends" while it cooked.

Sweet Potato Collard Soup

2 tsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 Tbsp. ginger, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
8 c. peeled, cubed sweet potatoes
12 c. water
1/2 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. oil
1 lb. fresh collards, chopped (or  frozen, thawed and drained)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 Tbsp. ground fennel
1 1/4 c. brown rice, cooked
3 bratwurst, raw

Heat butter and oil in bottom of medium soup pot.  Add onion, ginger, and garlic.  Cook, stirring frequently, until golden-brown.  You may need to add a little water to keep them from sticking.  Add cumin, cinnamon, pepper, and paprika and sauté for 2 minutes, again adding water if needed.  Add sweet potatoes, water, and salt.  Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, until potatoes are soft, about 25-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining Tbsp. oil in a large skillet; add collards.  Saute until they start to soften.  Add salt and fennel, and water, if needed, so that there is a thin layer (1/4 inch) on bottom of skillet.  Add bratwurst to pan; cover and cook five minutes.  Flip bratwurst and cook another five minutes.

Mash sweet potatoes slightly using a masher, whisk (what I used), or immersion blender.  Set bratwurst aside and add collard mixture and brown rice to sweet potatoes.  Rinse the frying pan, then use it to brown the bratwurst on two sides.  Remove from heat and allow bratwurst to set for five minutes before cutting into small pieces.  Add to soup.

Makes twelve 1 1/3 c. servings.  One serving contains 227 Calories, 1 c. vegetables, 1/2 oz. protein, 1 tsp. oils, 37 empty Calories, 3 g. saturated fat, and 680 mg. sodium, according to Supertracker.


If I hadn't had the bratwurst and cooked brown rice on hand, I would have added 3/4 c. red lentils, 1/2 c. uncooked brown rice and an extra cup or two of water to the sweet potatoes at the beginning, cooking until rice is soft before mashing the potatoes and adding the collards.

Granola Recipe

This is the lower-fat granola recipe that I use.  The higher-fat granolas made with lots of oil and sugar have a more tender crunch to them; this one is a little crisper.  It is still not low fat, but at least it has a much more reasonable amount of calories than a lot of homemade granolas do.

A serving is 1/2 cup and is 241 Calories*.  If you keep track of the balance of your diet (I use https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/) it provides 1 oz. of whole grains, 1/4 c. fruit, 1/2 oz. protein, and 1 tsp. oils (from the nuts).  It actually provides those things even if you don't keep track of what you eat.


Granola

8 c. Old Fashioned Oats
2 c. Raw Nuts/Seeds (for this batch, I used 1/2 c. slivered almonds, 1 c. (minus 1 Tbsp) sunflower seeds, 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds, and 1/2 c. pumpkin seeds)
1 1/2 Tbsp. Cinnamon
1 Tbsp. Ground Ginger
1 1/2 c. Brown Sugar
1/2 c. Water
1 Tbsp. Vanilla
2 c. Dried Fruit (I used 1/2 c. golden raisins, 1/2 c. dried cherries, and 1 c. chopped dates)

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
Mix together the oats, nuts/seeds, and spices.

Heat together brown sugar and water in small saucepan over medium-high until sugar dissolves.  Cool slightly, stir in vanilla, then pour over oat mixture.  Mix well until the sugar mixture evenly coats everything.
Spread onto sheet pans (it will probably take 2-3 cookie sheets) in a thin layer.

Put in oven and bake for 15 minutes.  Stir well.  Bake another 15 minutes.  Stir well again.  Repeat until granola has been baked for 1 hour and is slightly browned and crunchy.

It's hard to tell from these pictures, but the uncooked granola looks darker brown and wet.  Finished granola is golden and evenly dry/crispy/crumbly.  If in doubt over whether it is done, remove a small amount from the pan and allow it to cool, then taste it.  If it's still too chewy, put it in the oven a little longer.

 Add dried fruits; stir.

Allow granola to cool completely, then put in an airtight container for storage.  Some people like to put it in the refrigerator, but mine has never gone bad on me yet.

Now, eat! 

I don't particularly like cereal, but I'm trying to get more dairy into my life.  Here is how I like cereal when I do eat it: pour a few shredded wheat biscuits into a bowl, then a little granola, then a little raisin bran, and then top it off with some cheerios and milk.


*The recipe I used to use was the Crunchy Granola recipe in the More with Less cookbook.  Per half-cup serving, that granola had 333 Calories, 1 oz. whole grains, 1 1/2 oz. protein, and a whopping 3 tsp. oils.

Thai Meal!

We had a neighbor over for dinner mid-January, and made a Thai meal:

Chicken legs with a garlic-fish sauce glaze.

Som Thaam (green papaya salad), one of my favorites. 
A slaw with a spicy sweet-sour-fish saucey dressing and little nuggets of roasted peanuts.

Laap.  A salad made from ground meat (pork loin in this case), green onions,
cilantro, and fresh mint, seasoned with lime juice, fish sauce, and brown rice powder.

Cucumbers, mint, and basil



Sticky Rice Bundles wrapped in bamboo leaves.

Mushroom Sticky Rice Bundles in Bamboo Leaves
Makes 10

10 Dried Bamboo Leaves
1/4 c. Oil
6 Green onions, chopped
6 oz. Mushrooms, diced
1/4 c. Water Chestnuts, chopped
1/2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
2 Small Chillies, seeded and finely chopped
1 tsp. Sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. Cilantro, chopped
2 c. White Glutinous (Sweet) Rice, washed and well drained
1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper

Soak the bamboo leaves, either overnight in cold water or in for 10 minutes in boiling water, until soft.  Drain.

Heat 2 Tbsp of the oil in a frying pan or wok; cook green onions and mushrooms over high heat for 2-3 minutes.  Stir in water chestnuts, soy sauce, chilli, sugar, and cilantro.  Allow to cool.

Bring 1 1/2 c. water to a simmer.  Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a saucepan, add the rice, and stir for two minutes, or until coated.  Stir in 1/4 c. of the hot water over low heat until it is all absorbed.  Repeat until all the water has been added; this should take 10-20 minutes.  Add the soy sauce and season with pepper.

Fold one end of a bamboo leaf on the diagonal to form a cone.  Hold securely in one hand and spoon in 2 Tbsp. of rice.  Make an indent in the rice, add 1 Tbsp. of mushroom filling, then top with another tablespoon of rice.  Fold the other end of the bamboo leaf over to enclose the filling, then secure with a toothpick.  Tight tightly with kitchen string.  Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

Put the rice parcels in a single layer inside a bamboo steamer (or other steamer, or a colander suspended over a pot of simmering water and covered tightly).  Cover with lid and sit over a wok/pot half filled with simmering water.  Steam for 1 1/2 hours, or until the rice is tender, adding more boiling water to the wok as needed.  Serve hot.


Then you peel off the bamboo and eat glorious, mushroom-y, soy-y sticky rice!  Here is a link to a recipe for other kinds of sticky rice pockets, with a video showing how to fill them, which may be helpful.

I adapted this recipe from The Essential Rice Cookbook.




Two Salads and a Sandwich

I either need to stop cooking so often or start making blog posts more often.  I think the second one sounds better.  SOOOOOO far behind in my blurry phone food pictures.


I recently made a trip to the fruit and nut store and got a bunch of ingredients for granola (post/recipe coming soon) so that Zach can have granola and yogurt for breakfast again after a long, long drought.  I remembered my long-unvisited love for walnuts, bought some, and have been putting them in various salads, etc. lately.

The salad in this picture looks pretty much like just spinach; thankfully I remembered to write down what was in it so I wouldn't just be guessing.

 

 

Spinach salad with gala apple (a REALLY good one that I got from Sanfillipo Produce), chopped Calamata olives and capers, manager's special "Spicy Asian" chicken breast, diced avocado, raw walnuts, lemon juice, and kosher salt.

 

 

Another recent trip to Sanfillipo's got me 10 lbs. mushrooms, 8 lbs. strawberries, 5 avocados, 2 bunches green onions, 1.75 lbs. arugula, and 2 red bell peppers for $15.  And it just so happens that I had bought 2 lbs. mushrooms on manager's special at Kroger not twenty minutes before going to Sanfillipo's.  12 lbs. of mushrooms is a lot.

 

(This is only about 5-6 lbs of mushrooms)

 I had sautéed mushrooms and zucchini for lunch that day, sautéed, garlicky green beans and mushrooms in whole-wheat tortillas with hoisin sauce and Sriracha for dinner that night, sautéed mushrooms, green beans, asparagus, and yellow bell peppers (which I think might be the ultimate combo of sautéed vegetables) with dinner last night, and the following salad for lunch today:

 

 

 

I started by roasting some cauliflower (a manager's special, of course, from like two months ago...I'm glad cauliflower keeps so well!): two heads cut into flowerets, tossed in 1 tsp. canola oil, curry powder, smoked paprika, and 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, roasted on parchment paper at 400 degrees until they were browned as much as I wanted them to be (10-15 minutes?).

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, I assembled the rest of the salad and medium-boiled an egg.

 

 

Arugula, spinach, corn (thawed), mushrooms, cucumber, onion.

 

I added the cauliflower and egg, dressed it with lemon juice and kosher salt, and ate it.....gooooooooooooooooood.

 

 

Last night for dinner, along with the brilliant sautéed vegetable medley, we had pork bocadillos (I say "bocadillo" instead of "sandwich," because they were inspired by the sandwiches made for us by last year's Spain team, and I say "pork" instead of whatever pork is in Spanish, because I don't know what pork is in Spanish off the top of my head).

 

 

 

A whole wheat bun, buttered and toasted.  On the bottom bun: mayonnaise, leaf lettuce, sweet pickled jalapenos, sliced tomatoes, and thinly sliced pork loin marinated in garlic, oregano, coriander, salt, red wine vinegar, and olive oil (then pan-fried).  Sometimes I add a fried egg.

 

 

 

On the top bun was more mayonnaise, sliced cucumber, mustard, and Sriracha.

 

 

 

Mmmmmmmm.



 

 

Avocado Chapati

Back in arugula season (late spring/early summer) 2013, I made some chapati:

CHAPATI

2 c. whole wheat flour (or 1 c. whole wheat, 1 c. white)

2 Tbsp. oil or melted unsalted butter

1 tsp. salt

2/3-3/4 c. warm water

Stir together the flour(s), oil, and salt.  Add enough water to make the dough soft, but not sticky.  Knead for about five minutes, adding more flour or water if necessary.  Let dough rest for five minutes.  Divide dough into ten balls; let those rest another five minutes.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat until very hot.  Meanwhile, roll out each ball until it is thin like a tortilla.  Grease skillet.  Fry each chapati about 30 seconds on each side, or until little dark brown spots appear.  Use immediately, or reheat leftovers gently in skillet.

For breakfast one morning, we reheated the chapati, mashed an avocado on top, and added arugula, soft boiled eggs, and fresh black pepper.

Okay, so these eggs are more like medium-hard.

Later on in the summer, when we still had arugula but also had cherry tomatoes, we made these again and added smashed tomatoes and extra pepper.

These will definitely be happening again next year.

A Few Good Salads

When you are no longer able to take pictures of your cute niece and nephew because your phone is already full of photos, you know it's time for a blog post.  I dug deep into the recesses of my phone's memory and found a few salads.

 

 

 

Salad #1: Boring Salad with Eggs and Asparagus

 

 

Mixed greens with sliced onion and sections of clementine, tossed in my usual go-to dressing: fig balsamic, olive or canola oil, salt, and pepper.  On the side is green and white asparagus with crispy garlic.  Also soft boiled eggs and whole wheat toast. 

 

This was a good manager special day at Meijer.  The asparagus, the greens, AND the clementines.  Probably other things as well, but I don't remember.

 

 

As usual, we mash the egg and some of the greens onto the toast.  Zach was particularly impressed with these eggs.

 

 

 

Salad #2: Fried Cheese Salad

 

Once upon a time, I found some goat cheese on manager's special, and remembering a salad I had had many years before, I fried it and put it on a salad.  Zach loved it.  Since then, whenever I find a good deal on goat cheese, I pick some up and make a salad or two.  For this particular salad, I had also found some fresh mozzarella on M.S. and had some Cheddar on hand, so I decided to fry those up as well.

Since there are more components to this salad than just cheese, here are some other ingredients:

Red and Green Leaf Lettuce

Roma Tomatoes
Frozen Sweet Corn (thawed)

Grapes

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Avocado
Toasted English Muffin with Butter

 

 

To make fried goat cheese:
cut well-chilled cheese into rounds about 1/2-3/4" thick.  Dip into flour seasoned with salt and pepper (taste a bit of the flour to make sure it tastes lightly salted), then into beaten egg mixed with a little milk.  Finally, dip them into bread crumbs, then either fry right away or, for best results, put them untouching on a plate and chill them for 15-30 minutes.  To fry, cover the bottom of a skillet with about half an inch of oil, heat to medium-high and fry until toasted on each side, flipping after about two minutes.



Salad #3: Steak and Asparagus Salad

 



 I don't actually remember this salad.  It happened around the same time as the first asparagus salad, because I have only had white asparagus once.  I don't remember why I got steak.

Greens, arugula, onion, fig balsamic vinaigrette, sautéed asparagus and zucchini, steak, avocado, whole wheat toast.

 

 

 

Salad #4:  Asparagus, Avocado, Summer Squash, and Mushroom Salad with Egg

 

 

 Yet another salad during the White Asparagus Days.  The White Asparagus Days coincided with the opening of  Lucky's Market in Clintonville.  There was a good sale on red and green leaf lettuces there, along with avocados and many other things.  It's the kind of market where you can't actually afford anything unless it's part of a fantastic sale, but at least some of the sales are indeed fantastic.  The steak in salad #3 may have been from a good Lucky's sale.

 

This salad was made from the said leaf lettuces with raw onion and red wine vinegar.  On top of the greens were sautéed summer squash, white asparagus, and mushrooms, along with diced avocado, a fried egg, and whole wheat toast.  The oil from sautéing the vegetables made up the oil part of the vinaigrette when everything was mixed together.

 

 

Salad #5: Amazing Salad

 

(Not pictured)

 

Had I known I was going to do a post on salads, I would have taken pictures of some of the AMAZING salads I had for lunch recently.  Once again, steak was involved, leftover from the Russian dinner.  Most of the salads were exactly the same, and basically great, thanks to really good manager's specials.

 

 

Amazing Salad Recipe (serves 1)

2 oz. steak

1 Lime

Kosher Salt

1 oz. Whole Wheat Linguini

2 c. Mixed Greens

1 c. Arugula

5 Mushrooms, sliced

1 Radish, sliced

Onion, 4-5 thin slices

8 Sugar Snap Peas

1/4 Green Bell Pepper, sliced

1/2 Avocado, diced

 

 

Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice from one half onto both sides of the steak.  Sprinkle it lightly with kosher salt on both sides, set aside.  Cook pasta.  Meanwhile, assemble the salad ingredients.  Once pasta is done, drain it and add it to the salad.  Cook the steak on both sides to desired doneness.  Let rest for 5 minutes, then slice.  Squeeze remaining lime half over salad, sprinkle with about 1/4 tsp kosher salt (or to taste), mix well, top with lime.

 

I had this salad once, and thought it was fantastic, but that it had to be a fluke.  So I tried it again the next day, and the next, and the next, and the next, and IT WAS STILL GOOD!

 

(I ran out of steak after day 2 and started using ground turkey, and I started running out of other ingredients and doing lots of supplementing, and eventually the salads weren't as good anymore)

 

 



Sibling Christmas

Faths and former Faths gathered at the Yoders' the day after Christmas for our annual sibling gathering.  Instead of our usual frantsuskiy salad and pogaca menu, we had fancy meats and cheeses inspired by the Mulladys visit to the Moerlein Lager House. 

 

Gherkins, both sweet and dill.  Crackers. Candied bacon. Pomegranates.  Homemade apple kraut.  Beer bread (in basket).  Assorted charcuterie.  Assorted cheeses.  Baked brie.  Assorted mustards.  Pickled beets (barely in picture).  Peppers and carrots.

Upper left was a fontina; upper right was something with a balsamic rind;
lower left was a bleu cheese; lower right was a vintage gouda.

Romano Black Pepper Salami.  Pinot Noir Salami (was sadly fairly flavorless).
Calabrese Salami, that gradually got spicier and spicier.

Maple-/Cider-/Chipotle-Glazed Bacon

Cute Nephew, looking oddly lumpy.


We ate, we drank cider, the non-Fath boys played Settlers of Catan, we refilled the bowl of dill gherkins numerous times because a certain niece kept eating them, we Skyped with Mom and Dad while opening presents, we appeased children, etc., etc., etc.