Burnt Leeks and Beans

I was reading about butter beans (yes I know they're blowing up right now) and saw an Instagram recipe that I thought would be really good. I could not make it as written but wanted to put my own spin on it.

Notes:

• I was concerned about having dirt in my leeks if prepared the way the author shows in their video, so I sliced my leeks in half lengthwise before cooking them, rubbed a bit of olive oil on them, then baked them in the air fryer for about 20 minutes to get some charred bits.
  
• The recipe is designed to be vegan but since I'm not vegan and didn't want to go to the store specifically for vegan ingredients I used standard dairy butter and milk.
• I scaled it down to fit the amount of ingredients I had, especially since it made a lot and I knew I'd be the only one eating it.
• I didn't bake it after mixing everything together because I was short on time.
  
• I ate it on top of toasted bread.
  

Verdict: It was fairly easy to make which was nice. I burned my mouth trying to eat it before it was cool enough to eat it and it still tasted good. White wine adds such a nice flavor. I would love to have it again.

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RECIPE:

Burnt Leeks and Beans
adapted from Burnt Leeks and Beans (Georgie Eats)
Serves 2-3

2 large leeks or 3-4 small (about 500 g)
2 tsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp (30 g) butter
1 tbsp (8 g) all purpose flour
2 large garlic cloves, minced (if using prepared garlic, about 2 tsp)
2/3 cup (150 ml) half and half or milk of your choice
Scant 1/4 cup (50 ml) dry white wine (I like chardonnay)
1 whole sprig fresh rosemary, or 1/2 tsp dried and crumbled
1/2 tbsp (about 4 g) nutritional yeast
16 oz can (about 450 g) butter beans or white cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Crusty bread, for serving

Preheat the oven to 425 F (or 400 F for air fryer/convection oven). Trim the root ends and tops from the leeks at the point they start to flare (where it starts to turn a darker green). Reserve tops for another use or discard. Cut in half lengthwise, rinse thoroughly (separate the layers a little while rinsing to get between them). Dry thoroughly. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and black pepper. Place on an aluminum foil lined baking tray and roast for 30 minutes, or until significantly browned/charred on the outside.

While the leeks are roasting, melt butter in a saute pan over medium heat. When fully melted and foaming, whisk in flour and garlic vigorously to form a paste (roux). Cook while whisking for several more minutes to fully cook the flour. Gradually add milk a little at a time, whisking continuously, to make a smooth sauce. Add the white wine and rosemary, then heat the sauce to a gentle simmer and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently, until thickened and glossy and alcohol has been evaporated. Remove the rosemary sprig from the sauce (if using fresh; if using dried omit this step), then add nutritional yeast and stir to combine. Add salt and black pepper to taste.

Transfer roasted leeks to a cutting board and chop roughly (into about 2 in/5 cm length pieces). Add these to the pan with the sauce. Add beans to the pan. Stir to coat the leeks and beans thoroughly with the sauce. If you like, you can transfer this to an oven-proof dish and bake at 400 F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top, but can also be eaten as is at this point. Top with freshly ground black pepper to taste, and serve with crusty bread.

Roasted Cabbage with Walnuts and Parmesan

I *finally* located some Savoy cabbage to be able to make this and I was very excited to try it.

Verdict: It was all right, but I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to make it again, especially because my partner wasn't a big fan of it.

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RECIPE: Roasted Cabbage with Walnuts and Parmesan (Deb Perelman, Smitten Kitchen)

Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce

This is the easiest way I've found so far to make this dish and had to note it here. The Chinese name for it is 蚝蠔芥蘭.

Notes:

• I had less vegetable to start with so I scaled down the recipe to fit what I had.

Verdict: This was really tasty! I knew before making it that I like this dish, and thought this version was really nice and easy to make. I would definitely make it again and this particular person really makes me want to learn more about Chinese cooking techniques. His father apparently worked in the restaurant business for most of his life as a cook/chef, and a big part of this person's reason for making a blog and videos is to document and share his father's extensive knowledge.

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RECIPE: Perfect Chinese Broccoli w/Oyster Sauce (Made with Lau)

(Video version)

Potato Kugel

This is another recipe I had on the "try" list for quite some time, and I thought it would go well with Christmas dinner (salmon and vegetables).

Notes:

• I learned to use the slicer disks on my food processor for this and there was a bit of a learning curve so the potatoes ended up different sizes.
• I served it with sour cream and fresh dill.
• I sliced leftover pieces of this lengthwise and pan fried it to go with breakfast eggs (and it was tasty).
  

Verdict: I would like to try making this again with a bigger grate on the potatoes (use the larger holes on the food processor, or maybe a box grater) and in a shallower pan. I think mine may have been too thick because it didn't get very crispy, and it also turned a little gray/brown so it didn't look as nice as the recipe author's.

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RECIPE: Potato Kugel (Deb Perelman, Smitten Kitchen)

Unstuffed Mushroom Casserole

I saw this pop up in the Smitten Kitchen newsletter and it sounded good and nice for cooler fall weather.

Verdict: Partner loved it. I thought it was good even though I am not a mushroom lover. If someone I know loved mushrooms and asked me to make them something I would definitely make it again.

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RECIPE: Unstuffed Mushroom Casserole (Smitten Kitchen)

Roasted Potatoes with Dill

I went looking for a recipe for dill potatoes and tried this one because it sounded good, and because we had fresh homegrown garlic to put with them.

Notes:

• There's a lot of butter mixture to cover the potatoes and I used even more potatoes than the recipe called for. The extra just sat in a puddle in the middle of the pan so you could likely use up to 3 lb potatoes if you wanted.
  
• I used regular butter rather than vegan butter because it's what I had on hand.
  
• I did not cook the dill with the potatoes because in my experience fresh herbs taste better and more noticeable on roasted veggies when they're not cooked with the vegetables, and despite the instructions, the author's recipe photos clearly show uncooked dill on the potatoes. I instead sprinkled it over them while they were done cooking but still hot.

Verdict: Pretty good! I liked the addition of lemon juice (I don't normally put it on my roasted veggies because I thought it might taste weird but I liked it here). The garlic got very dark brown and I liked the flavor that added. If I had all the ingredients on hand I'd make it again.

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RECIPE: Roasted Dill Potatoes (Holly Gray, This Wife Cooks)

Fresh Tomato Salad

Verdict: It was all right. I think maybe some sweetness would have made it even better, or some cheese. I'm not sure I will go out of my way to make this again but it's a nice way to use up lots of tomatoes that are best eaten fresh.

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RECIPE: Tomato Salad (The Kitchn)

Bean Sprout Stir Fry

I tried this because I had part of a bag of bean sprouts left from making laksa, and I didn't know that they'd be good to eat fresh anymore so I wanted to try cooking them.

Verdict: I liked it quite a bit and my partner REALLY loved it (he is a bean sprout fiend). It was easy and tasty and healthy. I would gladly make it again.

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RECIPE: Bean Sprout Stir Fry (Maggie Zhu, Omnivore's Cookbook)

Easy Aloo Gobi

Notes:

• The potatoes and cauliflower took a LOT longer to cook than the recipe says and needed more water than it shows.

Verdict: It was all right and decently easy, but didn't have the richness of flavor I really like from Indian restaurant food. It was mostly just spicy. I wouldn't go out of my way to make it again but if I had all the ingredients on hand I would possibly try it again.

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RECIPE: Easy Aloo Gobi (Veena Azmanov)

Mushroom, Caramelized Onion, and Spinach Pizza with Blue Cheese

Inspired by a pair of new friends that made and served us delicious vegan pizza for dinner when we went to visit them a couple of weeks ago. They made a mushroom and caramelized onion pizza and I kept thinking about it. I also had a big tub of spinach in my fridge that needed consuming, and some blue cheese crumbles I also needed to use up, and all of these things sounded good together so I got to work.

I tried a new from-scratch pizza dough recipe for this that was both quicker than my bread machine can make and tasted a lot better too, so I am likely to use it from now on when I make pizza.

Notes:

Dough

• I used all purpose flour.
• I only had active dry yeast so I did let it proof for 10 minutes in warm water mixed with the sugar before adding it to the rest of the dough ingredients and it worked great.
• I added dashes of garlic powder and thyme with the dry ingredients.
  
• Since it's winter and it's cold where I live, I proofed the dough in a very slightly warmed oven. I let my oven preheat to its lowest temperature (170 F), then turned it off as soon as it reached temperature, and let the dough proof in there.

Toppings

• For sauce I used about 1/2 cup jarred alfredo sauce because I had it and it sounded good, but you could also just drizzle/spread the top of the rolled out crust with some olive oil.
  
• I chopped 8 oz crimini/baby portabella mushrooms into bite sized pieces and sauteed them in olive oil with some salt, pepper, and garlic powder until soft but not until all their liquid had been released.
• I caramelized 2 small-medium sweet onions in a couple tablespoons of butter with a pinch of salt for ~20 minutes.
• I wilted about 6 oz spinach in a saucepan with a tiny bit of water, sprinkled some garlic powder and salt on after cooking, waited until it was cool, then squeezed out most of the water. I then chopped it roughly.
• I used about 3-4 oz blue cheese crumbles. These went on last.

Verdict: I was really impressed with the pizza dough! It was pretty straightforward to make, easy to work with and shape, and tasted great (significantly better than my previous go-to recipe). I was especially happy with the texture. The combination of toppings was also better than expected, really wonderful for a clean-out-the-fridge creation. I would gladly make this dough again and even this exact pizza.

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RECIPE: Pizza Dough (Sugar Spun Run)

Cucumber Salad with Red Wine Vinegar

I wanted to make a cucumber salad that didn't involve having to salt and wait and squeeze out the water from the cucumbers, and decided to give this one a try.

Notes:

• I didn't read the directions and just mixed everything together right away and it tasted fine.
• Served with Stuck Pot Rice and Lentils, Spiced Beef Meatballs, and garlic-lemon yogurt and it was fantastic.
  

Verdict: Simple and clean flavors, and I think it would go well with lots of things. Definitely keeping it around for another time.

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RECIPE: Cucumber Salad (Marcia Kiesel/Food & Wine Magazine)

Corn Salad with Chile and Lime

This was one of those recipes that caught me in the right place at the right time. I saw it and immediately went out to buy the ingredients to make it.

Notes:

• I used my broiler to char the corn and it took maybe 7-10 minutes.
• I used feta cheese since I couldn't find cotija.
  
• I served it with marinated grilled/pan fried chicken.
  

Verdict: This was INCREDIBLY GOOD and I will absolutely be making it again, especially in August when the corn here is at its best.

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RECIPE: Corn Salad with Chile and Lime (Smitten Kitchen)

Squash Toasts with Ricotta and Apple Cider Vinegar

I wanted to try a new way of preparing winter squash and I also had a lot of ricotta cheese on hand, so I decided to make this, even despite my misgivings about cooking vinegar into it.

Notes:

• I used buttercup/kabocha squash.
• I only used 3 tablespoons of maple syrup because I greatly prefer savory preparations of winter squash to sweet ones.
  
• I didn't have any fresh mint so I skipped it.

Verdict: I did enjoy it (yes, even with the vinegar cooked in!) but I will make less next time if I'm the only one eating it. I was getting sick of it by the 4th round.

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RECIPE: Squash Toasts with Ricotta and Cider Vinegar (Smitten Kitchen)

Parsley Leaf Potatoes

My partner doesn't like mashed potatoes so I am always looking for other ways to prepare potatoes, especially for holidays. This recipe appealed to me because it looked really easy but still fancy.

Notes:

• If I have it, I use duck fat.
• I make as many potatoes as will fit on the pan (so there isn't an empty spot just spitting grease in the oven). I have used gold potatoes and Russets and both work nicely.
  
• One time I made it without the parsley leaves because I didn't want to go to the store. They tasted great anyway.
  

Verdict: Absolutely wonderful and not fussy in the least. These are probably going to be my go-to special occasion potato.

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RECIPE: Parsley Leaf Potatoes (Smitten Kitchen)

Spinach with Sesame Dressing

I have a similar experience to this recipe's author in that this is one of the first vegetable dishes I discovered in Japan that I went wild over. I always got excited when I saw this on the dinner table. It took me several different recipes for it and attempts to make it at home before I got it to taste good, but this particular recipe has worked well for me. I strongly recommend this for children or people who might be unsure whether they like spinach -- I refused to eat spinach any way my mom prepared it, but I loved this immediately.

Notes:

• Please please please do not skip toasting the sesame seeds. It makes a big difference.
  
• The biggest key to this recipe working correctly is making sure that you thoroughly squeeze out the water from the spinach after it is cooked. Any excess water will dilute the dressing and it will not taste as good.
• I saw my host mother make the dressing entirely in the mortar bowl (adding the soy sauce and sake to the ground sesame and sugar, mixing it, and then pouring over the spinach) but I have a feeling that the soy sauce could stain the inside of the mortar and it can be harder to scoop out of the grooves when it's wet because it's fairly thick.
  

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RECIPE: Horenso no goma-ae (from Let's Eat Japanese Food, by Amy Kaneko)

Chinese Greens with Mushroom Sauce

I bought yu choy and shimeji mushrooms and needed to use them up, and I wanted to give it this kind of treatment so I was happy to find this recipe.

Notes:

• The batch pictured above used only half the amount of sauce in the recipe because I didn't have very many mushrooms.
  
• I didn't use the dark soy sauce.
• I did mix in some oyster sauce as the sauce was cooking and thickening in the pan.
  

Verdict: True to its title, this recipe was easy, as well as quick and delicious, and also looks attractive. I'd love to make it again.

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RECIPE: Easy Chinese Broccoli (Omnivores Cookbook)

Corn and Cherry Tomato Salad with Basil

Every year I buy corn when it's fresh (in August where I live) and then am not quite sure what to do with it besides boil it and eat it off the cob. This year I tried to find something a little different and settled on this. I love that you don't even have to cook the corn. It's good without the feta cheese but I think I prefer it with (it's a little more salty and I like the extra texture).

Notes:

• I made this more by feel with the amounts of ingredients I had than anything else.
• I used Tropea onion instead of red onion (the farmer I bought them from described them as "like red onion but sweeter and sharper", and they're delightful here).
  
• Used lime juice instead of cider vinegar.
  
• Added some ground chipotle powder for some heat (but you don't have to).
• You can make it vegan if you leave out the feta cheese.
  

Verdict: The first time I made it, it was so good I made it again right away after it was gone. It has a lovely mix of flavors, textures, and colors. Definitely keeping this one to make again.

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RECIPE: Fresh Corn Tomato Salad (Basil and Bubbly)

Eggplant Parmesan Melts

Our neighbors invited us to come pick their vegetables while they were away last week, and the eggplants were in full swing. I am still learning how to cook eggplant in ways that I like it, and I thought this would be a sure bet. I cooked it exactly as written.

Verdict: Breading and frying things is a lot of work, but 100% worth how it tastes. Absolutely delicious. Would definitely make it again if I felt up to the task.

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RECIPE: Eggplant Parmesan Melts (Smitten Kitchen)

Thai Style Red Curry

This is the one Thai recipe I've cooked at home that I like enough to put on repeat. It's especially good with summer vegetables. There are a lot of notes because I have strayed significantly from the original recipe to make it fit my tastes better and cook it in one pan.

Notes:

• I serve this with jasmine rice.
• I like to use full fat coconut milk because "light" coconut milk is just full fat coconut milk diluted with water (and light vs. regular usually cost the same). If you want to lighten it up, you can add some extra water or stock to the broth when you add the coconut milk -- and then make a larger portion! I tend to add too many vegetables anyway so it's a good failsafe to not dilute it too much.
• You can make it vegetarian if you use tofu (or another vegetarian protein) and vegetable broth, though I usually make it with chicken. If you do use tofu, I highly recommend dry frying it first.
  
• You can use a total of 2.5 cups of whatever vegetables you like. In the batch pictured I used carrot, bell peppers, and broccoli. Additional suggestions: zucchini, eggplant, pea pods, winter squash (already cooked), white/button mushrooms (or any other mild flavored mushroom), tomato, canned bamboo shoots or baby corn. Start by adding the vegetables that will take the longest to cook first (like carrots) then after a few minutes add the softer ones. For delicate vegetables like pea pods that you *could* eat fresh, you can add them while it simmers, or to each portion immediately before serving.
  
• I use regular fresh basil or regular dried basil (about 1 tbsp) when I can't find fresh Thai basil.
  
• I use less curry paste than it calls for because I like mildly spicy food (1 tbsp instead of 2 tbsp). I use Maesri brand curry paste that you can buy in a 4 oz can; you may need to adjust the amount based on the brand of curry paste you use and how spicy you like your food.
• Leftover curry paste can be stored in a glass jar in the refrigerator. Because of all the capsaicin in it, it will keep for a long time (though over time it will become less spicy).
  
• I like to squeeze lime juice in just before serving.
  
• The leftovers seem significantly less spicy the next day/after being allowed to stand overnight in the fridge.

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RECIPE:

Thai Style Red Curry
adapted from Food.com
Serves 3-4

1 1/2 cups (dry) jasmine rice
2 tbsp neutral oil, such as canola
1/4 cup fresh Thai basil or regular basil leaves, torn
1/2 large (about 4-5 oz/175 g) yellow or white onion
2.5 cups vegetables of your choice (suggestions: carrot, bell pepper, broccoli, zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, baby corn)
1-2 tbsp red curry paste, such as Maesri
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 can (15 oz) coconut milk, shaken well
2-3 tbsp fish sauce (I recommend Squid brand)
1/3 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 large (about 9 oz) chicken breast, raw, sliced thinly (or another protein of your choice)
Lime wedges, for garnish (optional)

Cook rice according to package directions on the stove or in a rice cooker.

While rice is cooking, prepare curry. Chop vegetables into bite size pieces. Heat oil in a large skillet until hot. Add onion and vegetables and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent and vegetables are softened and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Push vegetables to one side so there's an area of bare pan, and add the curry paste and brown sugar, and stir them together to combine. Add a little bit of the coconut milk, just enough to break up and dissolve the curry paste and sugar. Add the rest of the coconut milk, the fish sauce, and then chicken stock, then add basil and stir everything (including the vegetables) to combine.

Cover the pan, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to combine and let the vegetables finish cooking. Uncover the pan and add the raw slices of chicken one at a time so that they do not stick together. Raise heat to medium and allow to cook for several minutes, stirring once or twice. Once the chicken is cooked through and the curry begins to simmer again, it's ready. Remove from heat. Divide rice among serving dishes, then ladle curry onto the side or over the top. Serve with wedges of fresh lime, if desired.

Pasta with Ricotta and Vegetables

What do you do with a large surplus of ricotta? Make this! It's a super quick pasta dish and really versatile. 

Notes:

• Spinach is one of my favorite vegetables to put in this instead of snap peas. Even better with some cherry tomatoes or sun-dried tomatoes in there too if you have them.
  
• I've used other pasta shapes with success (penne, campanelle, fusilli).
  

Verdict: I think I made this 3 or 4 times within 2 weeks. It is a good, quick, reasonably healthy meal to keep in the regular rotation.

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RECIPE: Bowties with Sugar Snaps, Lemon, and Ricotta (Smitten Kitchen)