Spinach Gomae

I always order these at sushi restaurants, and then think to myself why am I ordering this when it has to be so easy to make! Well, it is. Almost too easy - especially if you take a couple of shortcuts like frozen spinach and tahini.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 bunches of fresh spinach or 1 large bag of frozen whole leaf spinach
  
• 3 tablespoons tahini
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1.5 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• water
• sesame seeds
  

How to:

1. Either blanch the fresh spinach and immediately cool in an ice bath or defrost the frozen spinach. In both cases, the spinach should be cold.
   
2. Press all of the water out of the spinach. Using a ring mold (or biscuit cutter) form the spinach.
   
3. Mix the tahini, soy sauce, sugar, and rice vinegar in a bowl. If the mixture is still too thick and not sauce like, slowly add water until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.
4. Pour the sauce over the spinach and garnish with sesame seeds.

Notes: I think the sushi restaurant I order these at the most uses brown rice syrup instead of sugar because the sauce has a more syrupy consistency. The taste was definitely right on, but I might swap out the sugar next time and use brown rice syrup to see if that makes a difference in terms of texture.

Chocolate Dipped Candied Orange Slices

I ate these every time I visited Bern, Switzerland last summer. There was a darling chocolate shop in the Old Town of Bern that had the most delectable chocolate dipped candied orange slices - among other treats. I have been meaning to try my hand at making these since I got back to the States. I finally got around to it. I did a little researching for recipes, and they all seemed to vary quite a bit in the sugar to water ratio. Rather than following any particular recipe, I decided to go with using a basic simple syrup -- equal portions water and sugar -- and it turned out great.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups water
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 2 oranges
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

How to:

1. Using a very sharp knife, slice the oranges into wedges about a quarter inch thick. I was able to cut 16 slices per orange, but this will depend on the size of the oranges you're using.
2. In a large skillet (at least 12 inch) bring sugar and water to a boil.
3. Place the orange slices into the skillet. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Let the orange slices simmer for about 30 minutes, until the pith becomes translucent. Flip the oranges once or twice and occasionally press the oranges down into the syrup.
4. Remove the orange slices from the syrup and cool on parchment paper.
5. When the orange slices are cool, melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Dip half of the candied orange into the chocolate and let set on a sheet of parchment paper.
   
6. The orange slices are ready too eat once the chocolate is cool and hard -- you can store the orange slices in the refrigerator.

Notes: Don't forget to save the syrup from the skillet! It's great over pancakes, ice cream or in other baked goods. I am trying to think of what to use mine in. Also, the bigger the skillet the better - you do not want to over crowd the pan. I was barely able to get 2 full oranges in a 12 inch skillet.

Moroccan Chickpea Stew

Are you looking for a dish where the leftovers are not only as good as the day you made it, but maybe even better? Moroccan chickpea stew is one of those dishes for me - it's a hearty meal and somehow keeps tasting better every day.

Ingredients:

For the stew

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 2 large carrots
• 1/2 head of cauliflower
• 1 medium size eggplant
• 3 small Yukon gold potatoes
• 1 medium size yellow onion
• 28 oz can of tomato puree
• Apx. 14 oz of water
  
• 15 oz. can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup of golden raisins
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon turmeric
  
• 1.5 teaspoon ground coriander
  
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2-4 dried whole chilies
  
• salt to taste
  
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt or kefir
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• slivered almonds

For the couscous:

• 1.5 cups of water
• 1 teaspoon bouillon
  
• 1 cup couscous

How to:

1. Chop the onion, eggplant, carrot, cauliflower, and potatoes in to larger than bit size pieces
2. In a large heavy bottom skillet, or a dutch oven, heat the olive oil. Saute the onion until translucent, then add the carrot, cauliflower, potatoes. Add a little salt to taste and cook the veggies for another 5 minutes.
3. Add in the tomato puree, water, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, cinnamon and chilies. Cover and continue to cook until the carrot and potato are soft enough for a fork to pierce through easily.
4. Add the raisins and chickpeas and cook for another 5 minutes. Salt to taste.
   
5. In a medium size pot bring the water for the couscous and bouillon to a boil. Once the water reaches a boil, turn off the heat and add the couscous. Cover and let rest for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
   
6. In a small bowl mix the cilantro and yogurt/kefir.
7. Serve the stew over the couscous, and garnish with the yogurt/kefir mixture, and slivered almonds

Cupboard Clearing Granola

Do you have a bunch of mason jars with only 1/4 cup of contents and little baggies floating about your cupboard with only a handful of ingredients from the bulk section? Well, I do. I am never going to make 1/4 cup of quinoa. I usually let it sit in the cupboard until one day when I decide its too old, toss it and restart my collection. Not this time - I decided to make some granola. Tim and I are leaving for Mexico today and granola is the perfect airplane snack.



Ingredients:

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup almond slices
• 1/4 cup dried blueberries
• 1/4 cup dried currants
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1/4 cup quinoa
• 1/4 cup buckwheat groats
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 honey
• 1/4 cup canola oil

How to:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Mix all of the ingredients into a bowl - be sure that the oil and honey are well distributed
3. Spread mixture on to a parchment lined baking sheet
4. Bake for about 25 minutes - half way through the baking, stir around a bit to get even browning
5. Let cool completely before putting into an air tight container -- as it cools the chunks of granola form

Notes:
You don't have to follow this recipe exactly. Honestly, I emptied 2 mason jars, 2 baggies, and a box of currants left over from the holidays.

Pistachio Vinaigrette

This recipe comes from Bon Apetit magazine. I saved the recipe from an issue earlier this fall. It's definitely a keeper. The vinaigrette is a little on the sweet side, so pairing it with salads containing fruit or goat cheese would be nice.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup ground, roasted, unsalted pistachios

How to:

1. Whisk together oil, maple syrup, vinegar, and dijon mustard
2. Slowly add the ground pistachios

Note: I used this vinaigrette on a arugula, fennel, and endive salad with chopped dried figs.

Shitake and Cabbage Dumplings

In celebration of Chinese New Year, I made some dumplings. It's been a long time since I have made dumplings from scratch, and they definitely reminded me of how delicious homemade dumplings are. I didn't follow a recipe for this and tried to pay attention to the quantities I used, but just play around. The recipe below made enough for about 25-30 dumplings. These turned out really good!

Ingredients

Dumplings:

• Half a head of cabbage
• 10 - 15 shitake mushrooms
• 3 chopped scallions
  
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 2 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/2 cup of water
  
• Wonton or dumpling wrappers
  

Dipping Sauce:

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
  
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger
• 1 chopped scallion

How to:

1. Shred the cabbage using the shredding attachment of a food processor.
   
2. Grate the ginger and garlic (see note) and finely dice the scallions and mushrooms.
   
3. Heat one tablespoon of sesame oil in a skillet and add the cabbage, ginger, garlic, mushrooms, and scallions. Saute for about 10 minutes, until the cabbage and mushrooms are soft. Set aside.
4. While the filling is cooling, mix all of the dipping sauce ingredients together.
   
5. Place 1-2 teaspoons of filling into a wonton wrapper - the amount will depend on the size of wrappers you use. Using your finger, wet half of the wonton edges with water - then fold over to seal.
   
6. Heat the two tablespoons of canola and remaining sesame oil in a skillet. Make sure to use a skillet that has a lid. Add the dumplings (do not cover). Pan fry until golden brown. When the dumplings are brown, add the water and cover the skillet with the lid very quickly. Let steam for about 2 minutes.
   

Note: The key to making good dumplings at home is make sure the filling isn't too wet. You don't want it to cause the wrappers to break. Also, be conservative when you wet the edges of the dumplings. One other tip, using a microplane to finely grate the ginger and garlic is a good way to pack in the flavor.

Cherry Sauce

My parents went on a trip to Door County, Wisconsin a few months ago. Door County is famous for its cherries. My parents gave me two quarts of cherries canned in their own juice. Not only did I have some cherries in my cabinet, I was trying to think of how to use the giant bottle of kirschwasser I had in my liquor cabinet from making fondue a couple of weeks ago. A minor dent was made in both the cherries and kirschwasser - I used about one pint of the cherries and 3 tablespoons of the brandy.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of cherry juice (liquid in the jar)
• 1 pint of jarred cherries
• 1 tablespoon rice starch (see note)
  
• 3 tablespoons kirschwasser

How to:

1. Heat the cherry juice in a skillet, reserve 1 tablespoon of juice and reduce about half
2. In a small cup, make a slurry with the remaining tablespoon of cherry juice and rice starch
3. Mix the slurry into the skillet
   
4. Once the starch is well incorporated, add the kirschwasser, slowly stir with metal spoon
   
5. Continue heating the juice until the desired consistency is reached
   
6. Add the cherries to the skillet, and remove from the heat

Notes: I poured the sauce over angel food cake. The sauce would be terrific over ice cream or crepes. I used rice starch, but corn starch would work just as well.