Inarizushi (Seasoned Sushi Pockets)

Inarizushi are at the tip of the boat

We like to include these in our sushi parties - a nice variation that's sweet and usually a good way to get your kids to decide they like sushi, since it doesn't include anything fishy.  You can also just stuff the pockets with sushi rice or add some other toppings, but I like it this way.

ingredients:
1 1/2 cups rice prepared for sushi*
1-2 Tbs. minced pickled ginger
2 Tbs. chopped peanuts
1 Tbs. sesame seeds
2 dates, chopped
2 Tbs. fresh cilantro, chopped
tofu pockets

Mix flavorings into rice. Squeeze most of the liquid out of the pockets.  Press into egg shape, then stuff into pocket.  Fold top over and press the whole thing together.

*For sushi rice instructions, see Sushi Bowls Recipe

Sweet Potato Burrito Bowls with Lime Chipotle Dressing

One of our favorite meals has always been beans and rice, and last year I started making a more complicated version with lots of delicious toppings like sauteed peppers and onions, shredded chicken in green sauce, roasted corn, cheese, salsa, and sour cream.   I was looking for variations that would work for Zoe's mostly vegetarian and tightly budgeted house, and came across a lot of recipes that included sweet potatoes.  This is the version I came up with after looking at several.  I think it turned out great!

Sweet Potato Burrito Bowls with Lime Chipotle Dressing

For about 4 servings:

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked black beans*
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 onion, thinly sliced lengthwise
1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper, in strips
4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in cubes.
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 sliced avocado (opt)
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro (opt)

for the dressing:
2 Tbs. sour cream
2 Tbs. mayonnaise
2 Tbs. lime juice
1/4 tsp. paprika (smoked if you have it)
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. ground chipotle powder (or some finely chopped canned chipotle)
1/8 tsp. cumin
salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  If you have one (or two), preheat a pizza stone or roasting pan. Drizzle the bell pepper and onion with about 1 Tbs. olive oil, sprinkle on a few pinches of salt and toss to coat.  Spread out on pizza stone or roasting pan or large cookie sheet and bake, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes or until they've developed some spots of brown roasted color.

Peppers and onions as they start roasting

Peppers and onions after they're roasted 

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Toss the sweet potatoes in another Tbs. of olive oil and sprinkle with salt, and roast those the same way as the peppers and onions.










Mix together the dressing ingredients.

Chipotle Lime Dressing

To serve, put a scoop of rice, beans, and each of the kinds of veggies in a bowl, top with the optional avocado and cilantro, and drizzle with the dressing.

Cooked black beans

*For black beans, I cooked these in my instant pot.  3 cups of black beans, 9 cups of water, 1 Tbs. salt, 2 Tbs. dried minced onions, 2 cloves garlic, 2 dried chiles (I used Oaxacan pasilla, but the chiles are optional and you can use whatever type you prefer) and 2 dried avocado leaves (totally optional).  Pressed "beans" and did a quick release when they were done cooking.  This time I had presoaked them a few hours before cooking, and forgot to reduce the 30 minute automatic cooking time, so they're a little softer than I might prefer.

Mujaddarah

 This is a delicious, healthy, budget recipe that I've adapted from several sources.  

MUJADDARAH

INGREDIENTS
Serves: 8

• rice and lentil base:
• 2 Tbsp olive oil 
• 2 yellow onions
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted 
• 1 tsp allspice 
• ¼ tsp ground cloves 
• 1 cup brown rice
• 2 cup brown lentils
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• salad:
• 1 head lettuce
• 1 bunch radishes
• 1 cucumber
• dressing:
• 3 lemons, juiced
• 1/8 tsp. paprika
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 Tbs. olive oil

saute the onions until carmelized

INSTRUCTIONS

carmelized onions

1. Thinly slice the onions and add them to a large pot with the olive oil. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently until they are deeply golden brown, sticky, and caramelized. 
2. Add the cumin, allspice, cloves and rice to the pot.  Toast the rice in the onion mixture, then add 4 1/2 cups water, and the lentils.  Stir the pot well to dissolve any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot.
3. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, until done, about 30 minutes.  
4. While it's cooking, make a salad with the radishes, cucumber and lettuce.  Mix together the dressing ingredients. 
5. Serve warm, topped with salad and lemon garlic dressing.

Microwave Oatmeal

There's no need to spend money on instant oatmeal, when this takes only a few seconds longer and tastes SO MUCH BETTER!  If measuring 1/2 cup of oats in the morning is too much, then measure them out and put in baggies the day before - do enough for a couple of weeks at a time.  You could even add dried fruit, nuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon to your mixes.  Then just add water and microwave.  Lately I've been using some freeze-dried diced apples with a hint of cinnamon and brown sugar.

Microwave Oatmeal - Basic Recipe for 1

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs. water

Put in a large cereal bowl (it needs room to boil) and microwave 2 minutes on high.  I've found that sometimes I need to adjust the time when I have different brands of oats - one needed 3 minutes to get soft enough and another only needed 1 1/2 minutes, so cook until it's the texture you like.  You also might prefer to add more water, but I like mine fairly dry since I top it with milk or almond milk.

I like to add toppings like 1/2 cup of frozen berries or chopped apples and cinnamon (microwave 30 seconds longer) or 1/4 cup pumpkin puree, chopped bananas, and pumpkin pie spice.  Also fresh fruit like berries or peaches are great, or some dried blueberries and walnuts.

Refrigerator Oats

I got this Refrigerator Oats recipe from someone on Pinterest.  It was a bit difficult to find the chia seeds (let me tell you I got some funny looks from Pittsburghers when I was asking in the different grocery stores).  I found some in bulk at Whole Foods for a good price, but when I went back, they only had packaged seeds.  I got the lb. bag of Bob's Red Mill because it was the best price.  I've since found them at Costco and the East End Food Coop.  Before I found the chia seeds, I just made it without, and I actually prefer it without, but the chia is a very healthful addition (high in fiber, protein, and omega-3), so I've gotten used to it.  If you make it without, you'll need to reduce the amount of milk to about 1/2 cup.


Refrigerator Oats - Basic Recipe for 1
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2/3 cup milk
1 Tbs. chia seeds


I like to put it in pint jars, and each one holds 1 serving.  It will need to sit overnight, or at least for an hour so the oats and chia can absorb the liquid.  I make about 4-6 at a time, and we eat them over the course of a few days.  You could do all kinds of different flavors.  I just add flavors when it's time to eat so that the fruit stays fresh.  My favorite right now is fresh cubed mango, a dash of almond extract, and slivered almonds.  We've also liked any combination of fresh strawberries, blueberries or peaches, bananas and maple syrup.  Flavors that haven't been requested for a repeat include peanut butter & chocolate and applesauce cinnamon.  I think cooked apple chunks would be better texture-wise.  I've been meaning to try pumpkin spice.

Gulf Coast-Style White Rice Pilaf

This rice recipe from Rick Bayless's Mexican Everyday has become a standby for me.  I make it all the time (along with black beans) as an accompaniment to his meat dishes like Chicken Veracruzana and Yucatecan Pork.  In fact, I'm often happy just eating the beans and rice for a meal with just a little good salsa on top.  I don't think I've ever eaten anything like what we call Mexican Rice (you, know, the red rice cooked with tomato & some chiles) in Mexico, though I know there are areas where they do eat that.  So this is the rice side dish I choose.  I got a rice cooker only about a month ago, and I found that it worked just fine on the stove before that, but the benefit of the rice cooker is that it requires a little less checking, doesn't take up a burner on the stove, and keeps at a good temperature and consistency for a longer period of time so it's ready to eat whenever the rest of the food is, which is great for parties.  The original recipe actually calls for baking it in a 350 degree oven for 25 min, but I just cooked it in a covered pot on the stove like I would any rice, so I'll give those directions here. 

Gulf Coast-Style White Rice Pilaf 

Arroz Blanco

1 1/2 Tbs. vegetable or olive oil (I use canola)
1 1/2 cups white rice
1 small white onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 3/4 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth, for vegetarians)
1 tsp. salt
3 Tbs. coarsely chopped flat-leafed parsley, for garnish

Set a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add the oil, rice and onion.  Stir frequently until the grains of rice turn from translucent to milky-white, about 5 minutes.  They shouldn't brown.  Add the garlic and stir a few seconds, until fragrant, then add the broth and 1 tsp salt.  Stir a couple of times, the let the mixture come to a full boil.  Reduce the heat to the lowest setting, cover tightly and allow it to simmer for about 20 minutes.  Don't lift the lid until near the very end of the cooking time, when you just lift it enough to test a bit of the rice from the top and middle of the pan (which is the last spot to finish cooking in a pot of rice).  If it isn't done yet, tilt the pan and lift the edge of the rice to make sure there is still enough liquid in the bottom to cook a little longer, add another 1-2 Tbs. of water if it's dry, and put it back on.  You shouldn't ever stir the rice while it's cooking. When it's done, take it off the heat and let it stand about 5 minutes before serving.  Then you can fluff it with a fork and sprinkle it with the parsley for garnish.

For a rice cooker, saute the rice in the saucepan, then scrape it into the rice cooker, add the broth and salt, and let the rice cooker do the rest.

Sushi Bowls

Clay measured with a yardstick - we got 20 inches of snow last night and it's still coming down. I've never seen so much snow. Apparently our back alley is impassable because one of the trees has so much snow on it that the branches are hanging down and touching the ground where the road is.

Last night, after a dinner of Sushi Bowls, we built a big fire and sat around it. Clay had to finish up (FINALLY) reviewing 286 applications. Zoe played her violin for us and I read a bit. What a cozy, lovely evening!

This recipe is a recent discovery - sushi that's so quick and easy you can make it on a weeknight. The rice requires a little advance preparation, but the actual assembly takes about 10-15 minutes. We love sushi, and this is basically sushi taste without the time-consuming rolling. It's nothing like as fancy as real sushi, but it has it's own beauty (and, look, I have my first food pictures!). Family style sushi.

Sushi Bowls
(makes enough for 3 very generous servings)

2 cups sushi rice
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar (scant)

optional toppings: veggie options:
1 avocado, sliced lengthwise
1/2 cucumber, sliced
1 carrot, peeled and julienned (or thinly sliced at an angle)
green onion, sliced thinly at an angle
tiny strips of nori (the stuff you usually make sushi rolls with)

protein options (choose 1-3):
2-3 eggs (mixed with about 1 tsp. soy sauce and 1/2 tsp. sugar - just eyeball it)
tofu - cut in strips and fried if desired
sushi quality raw fish, in strips
cooked shrimp
imitation crab
fish roe
other toppings/condiments:
furikake seasoning (comes in a shaker at the japanese store - I got one with sesame seeds, dried egg and seaweed bits)
soy sauce
wasabi paste
pickled ginger
sesame seeds

Rinse the rice thoroughly until the water runs clear. Let it drain for at least 15 minutes. Put it in a pot with 2 1/2 cups of water and bring it to a boil. As soon as it comes to a boil, turn it down to the lowest heat setting you've got, cover and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it steam for about another 15 minutes. Resist the temptation to stir it at any point. If you have a rice cooker - lucky you! Turn it out into a large bowl , pour the vinegar over the top and stir it gently, fanning to cool it quickly, until it is room temperature. Fanning helps bring out the gloss and the right texture in the rice. Warm rice is ok for this dish (and actually was quite satisfying last night in the snowstorm), but you NEVER want warm rice when you're making sushi rolls because it makes the nori chewy.

While the rice is cooking, cook the eggs and/or tofu if using and assemble the toppings. It doesn't really matter how you cook the eggs, but I sprayed a little oil spray in my nonstick pan and cooked them in a solid, thin layer, turning once, and then I cut it into strips.

Divide the rice into 3 bowls and arrange the toppings on top. Serve with the condiments.

A note about doubling the recipe: I haven't had luck with cooking more than 3 cups of rice at a time - it always ends up undercooked in the middle and overcooked around the edges. For 3 cups rice, use 3 1/2 cups water and a little more than 1/4 c. of seasoned vinegar. I would recommend cooking the rice in 2 batches if you need more than that.

Update: larger amounts work fine in a rice cooker or instant pot.

Quinoa with Butternut

My husband teases me that I remember my life through food. And he's right. "Remember when we were in that little town in Mexico and we ate the fish almondine in the palapa on the beach," I'll say. Or, "was that the time that we ate the tacos de mariscos with the baby octopi? All of my memories seem to be centered around food.

I've been considering starting a blog for a while now, but I haven't known which aspect of my life to focus it on, and I think that the best blogs often have some kind of recurrent theme or focus (not to mention good writing, the development of which is part of my motivation here). I've thought about writing about my pottery, but it doesn't seem like enough of a constant. Given the fact that I structure my memories around food, it makes sense to do the same with my blog. And I'll always have something to write about. After all, I'll always be eating, if not cooking.

I thought dinner last night was going to be fairly simple to make. Tilapia and a side dish of quinoa and butternut squash. It ended up being more complicated than I'd anticipated, though that was surely compounded by the fact that I also grilled chicken (that wasn't going to keep much longer) for a chinese chicken salad today. Oh, and I made a big batch of Oven Caramel Corn, which I avoid making more than once a year because I have absolutely no restraint when it comes time to eat it. As we were eating our dinner, I mentioned that it took a bit more time than I had thought, and Clay said, incredulously, "You read 'Coconut-crusted tilapia with apricot dipping sauce' and thought 'easy'??"

The fish was not as good as I'd hoped, but we all loved the side dish, which was quinoa with roasted butternut squash, parsley, and walnuts. I adapted it from a recipe for butternut squash in Fine Cooking Magazine which I have in the past mixed with pasta for an awesome main dish. This version is delicious and so healthy that in spite of all the caramel corn I ate yesterday, I still managed to score an "A" on my nutritional intake on Calorie Count.

Quinoa with Butternut Squash, Parsley and Walnuts

1 cup quinoa
1 butternut squash
1/3 c. chopped parsley
1/3 c. toasted coarsely chopped walnuts
2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper
zest from one lemon

Preheat the oven to 450. Peel, seed, and cube the butternut. Toss it with the olive oil, sugar, salt and pepper. Put it on a rimmed baking sheet or pizza stone. Roast for 20 min., stir, then continue roasting about 10-15 min. more, until tender and lightly browned. Meanwhile, rinse and drain the quinoa, put it in a pot with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer, cover, and cook about 15 minutes more, until tender and the germ that curls around the edge starts to spring out. Gently toss together the quinoa, the parsley, walnuts, lemon peel, and squash, adding more salt and pepper to taste. Last night I didn't have a lemon, so I used orange peel, which was also delicious.