Ve(getari)an Moroccan Inspired Couscous

For years, I always bought the couscous that came in a box with a little flavor packet. Yes, it was convenient with it's just-add-water-let-stand-5-minutes cooking instructions, but I quickly learned that making your own couscous dishes from scratch is just as easy. You have the added bonus of being able to play with the flavorings you use... for me, that's a no-brainer. AND, there's many different varieties of couscous available on the market, so I like to play with the different types and use them in different applications. I find that I prefer the heartier texture of Israeli couscous so it's kind of become my go-to variety, but I recently found this brown rice couscous which is marketed as a great gluten-free alternative. Now, I have no issues with gluten in my diet, but I'm always willing to try different products, and this one is a winner.

Ve(getari)an Moroccan Inspired Couscous

Ingredients:
1 tsp. olive oil
1 shallot, minced
1 bay leaf
1/2 - 1 tsp. curry powder (depends on your taste)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
pinch of cinnamon
1 1/4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup couscous (I used 1/4 cup each of Israeli couscous + brown rice couscous just because that's what I had on hand)
3 or 4 dried apricots, diced
3 or 4 dried figs, diced
1/4 shelled pistachios, roughly chopped

Directions:
Over medium heat, saute the shallot and all spices in olive oil until the spices become really fragrant and the shallot is slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add the veggie stock and bring to a boil before adding the couscous. Cover the pot and reduce heat to low, simmering the couscous until the liquid has been absorbed, about 10 minutes (cooking times will vary depending on the type of couscous you use). Remove from the heat and toss in the dried fruits and pistachios, cover the pot once more and let stand for another 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

Enjoy!

Hurricane Preparedness

With Hurricane Sandy approaching, we had quite a bit of work to do to get the house ready to weather the storm; my roommate handled the outside work and I was in charge of the inside work. At the top of MY list of preparations was to make sure we had water and non-perishable food items for a 3-5 day power outage (my neighborhood is notorious for losing power during major storms). While I stocked up on the standards like bread, crackers, peanut butter, canned soup (canned?! desperate times... *shudder*), fruit cups and the like, I also wanted to do some baking. So, what did I make? Well, in the sweets department there's the French apple pie with crumb topping, loaded oatmeal cookies, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, and I still had a loaf of vegan banana chocolate-walnut bread in the freezer.

In addition to the sweets, we made a last-minute run to the grocery store to stock up on junk food like tortilla chips with salsa and queso dip, pretzels, and popcorn. Because I had several whole wheat pita pockets stashed in the freezer, I made pita chips (easy enough to slice and bake, spiced however you want) and my roommate requested spinach dip. For dinner last night, I made a rather simple (but delicious none the less) baked pasta with zucchini, mushrooms, marinara, and the last of the chicken breasts from the freezer.

Loaded Oatmeal Cookies

(based on the basic Oatmeal Cookie recipe from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book)

loaded oatmeal cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup AP flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups old fashion rolled oats (not the quick cooking kind)
1 Tbs. ground flaxseed
3/4 cup butter (that's 1 1/2 sticks, and make sure to bring it to room temperature- it makes mixing easier)
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 eggs (room temperature)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup dried apricots, diced
1/2 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flours, oats, and flaxseeds.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and sugars before adding in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is well combined before mixing in the dry ingredients. Fold in the dried fruits, nuts, and chocolate chips. Drop cookies by the tablespoonful on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 11-13 minutes until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks before storing in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

peanut butter oatmeal cookies

*Even though these weren't the only cookies I made, as the day went on, snapping photos kind of fell by the wayside. Also, I'd like to point out that between the oats and dried fruits, these cookies are practically a breakfast food (I saw that eye roll!) and as such, a definite necessity for any power outage.

Puff Pastry Pockets

Given that I’m not much of a baker, I must say that I've been slowly making my peace with puff pastry and phyllo dough, learning just how versatile they can be. Starting out slow, I’ve been experimenting with simple pockets, stuffing them with both savory and sweet fillings. I’m learning that they’re a great way to use up leftovers in the fridge or pull together a few pantry basics. Here’s an example of each… my favorites so far:


Ingredients:

1 sheet of puff pastry, defrosted (I buy the frozen kind that comes 2 sheets to a box)
chicken breast, cooked and shredded (those handy dandy prepackage chicken strips are great as well if you don’t have leftover chicken already in the fridge)
fresh spinach (or the good old standby of frozen chopped spinach that’s been thawed and drained)
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 small shallot, diced finely
3-4 dried figs, diced (or you can substitute 2 tsp. of fig preserves if you have it)
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar (omit if you’re using fig preserves)
1 oz. fontina cheese, diced or shredded (provolone is really good here as well)
pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg + a splash of water, beaten (this is an egg wash in case you didn’t know)

*For the sweet version, all you need is 2 squares of dark chocolate (I always have Ghiradelli dark chocolate squares in the house) and 3-4 dried apricots, diced.
Before starting on the filling, I take one sheet of the puff pastry out of the freezer and loosely wrap it in plastic wrap before sticking it in the fridge to defrost for at least 30-45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with foil or parchment paper for easy clean up.

If you’re using fig preserves, go ahead and skip to the next step. If not, what you want to do first is to combine the diced figs and balsamic vinegar in a small microwave safe bowl and heat on high for 45 seconds. Set aside and allow the figs to plump up in the vinegar while cooling.

In the meantime, in a small sauté pan over medium-low heat, cook the shallot in olive oil for 2-3 minutes, until softened. Add in the spinach, nutmeg, salt, and pepper, and cook for another 2-3 minutes until wilted. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.

Now, once you remove the puff pastry from the fridge, you need to work fairly quickly to prevent it from drying out and cracking so I like to make sure I have everything set up and ready to roll. I know this sounds like a lot of steps for something that I said was easy, and really, it is… I promise. So here’s what you need to do next: Lightly flour your work surface (I just use the bare counter since I don’t have a board big enough to work on) and lightly pat out the dough into a rough square. I suppose you could use a rolling pin, but hello?!, remember me?, the non-baker? Anyway, once the dough is to the desired shape, I use a pizza wheel to evenly cut it into 4 squares. Keeping in mind that each square will be folded diagonally to form a triangle, put a small amount of the drained figs and shredded chicken in the center of 2 of the squares, followed by the spinach mixture, and a sprinkle of fontina cheese. Make sure to leave a ¼ inch border and go easy on the total amount of filling so it doesn’t explode out of the pastry. Brush 2 of the 4 edges with the egg wash and then gently fold the dough in half, over the filling, to form a triangle. The dough should be pliable enough to kind of squish the filling into one evenly distributed layer. Crimp the sealed edges with your fingers or the tines of a fork to ensure it sticks together.

On the remaining 2 squares of dough, break up 1 square of the chocolate (I have to resist the urge to be decadent and use 2 squares of chocolate per pastry instead of just 1) on each and sprinkle with the diced apricots. Again, brush 2 sides with the egg wash and fold in half, diagonally, to form 2 more triangles.

Transfer all 4 puff pastry pockets to the prepared baking sheet, brush the tops with egg wash, and sprinkle a pinch of coarse sea salt on each one. To differentiate the 2 savory pockets from the sweet, you may also want to sprinkle on some black pepper or dried basil. A sprinkle of cinnamon on the sweet pockets would be pretty tasty as well. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the pastry has puffed up and is golden brown and delicious. These are excellent straight from the oven and I’ve discovered that they are just as good when reheated in the toaster oven at work the next day.

Enjoy!