The Last Supper

In a mad rush to clean out my fridge last night before going home (!) for ten days I threw together an interesting meal...

Course 1: carrots, tomatoes, kalamata olives, and cilantro jalepeno hummus

Course 2: leftover roasted potatoes and brussels sprouts with garlic and nutritional yeast

Course 3: TJ's fro-yo with plain greek yogurt, pumpkin butter, almond butter, and granola 

(Please note that I ate it straight out of the yogurt container)

Course 4 isn't pictured, but it consisted of frozen cookie dough, which was classy. 

Gumbo so good you'll cry.

I know, this picture is kinda lame. But really, this gumbo is sooo good! Make-it-for-dinner-guests good. I was a little nervous about tackling this recipe since my previous attempt to make New Orleans style shrimp ended in tears (I'm not even joking about that, it's one of Nate's favorite stories to tell). After successfully making this gumbo, though, I realized my aforementioned catastrophe was due to the roux, which I did not take seriously the first time. For this go-round I stood at the stove for 40 minutes stirring the damn flour/oil mixture until it was the loveliest chocolate brown color... my hand hurt from the constant whisking, and I contemplated abandoning it. I was deathly afraid that this would result in kitchen failure, but surprisingly the amount of work that went into the soup was well worth it. Here's the recipe, which I revised slightly:

Ingredients

3/4 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails removed
32 oz. chicken stock
1/2 pound andouille sausage, cut into 1/4 inch slices (I used chicken andouille sausage from TJ's)
canola oil
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 of an onion, chopped
1/2 of a green pepper, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 cup frozen okra 
2 minced garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. creole seasoning (I made my own by combining 1/4 tsp. each of paprika and salt, then a pinch each of onion powder, basil, oregano, thyme, and black pepper)
1/4 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. cayenne pepper (more or less to taste) 
1/2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Method

Cook sausage in a fry pan with a little bit of oil until browned. Set aside, and pour drippings into a measuring cup. Add extra oil to measure 1/2 cup, and then pour into a large pot over medium-low heat and stir in flour. Continue stirring mixture for 35 to 40 minutes; you'll be tempted to add more oil in the beginning stages to thin it out, but try not to! Just keep stirring, and eventually it will turn into a sauce. Once it's the color of melted chocolate, stir in onion, green pepper, celery, and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes or so, and then add the broth, bay leaf, seasonings, and okra. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes (if you want you can skim off the fat while the gumbo cooks, which I did, somewhat half-heartedly). Finish by adding the shrimp and sausage--when the shrimp is pink, it's ready to serve over rice or cornbread. This gumbo is riiichhh, so a little goes a long way!

Oat bran, My love

Newest oat bran combo: 

bananas, dried cranberries, 

cinnamon raisin peanut butter, pumpkin pie spice mix, 

maple/agave syrup blend

Ah. Make it.

Holler, Moosewood

After a hard day of work on Friday filled with departmental events and a GRE practice test during my lunch break, I was in the mood for some serious comfort food by the time I got home. Despite the fact that I still needed to study and learn at least half of the 300 vocabulary words I'd made flash cards for, I allowed myself the luxury of making one of my favorite soups. This is a Moosewood recipe that combines two of my favorite ingredients: olives and beans. The mixture sounds bizarre, it's true, but this recipe is one of those rare soups that is both light and filling, with the perfect ratio of chunkiness to broth. After the initial chopping frenzy it's ready within 40 minutes, leaving the vegetables somewhat crunchy (waayyyy better than soft, in my opinion). Disclaimer: I'm pretty liberal when it comes to measurements. I probably used more of each vegetable than what the recipe calls for.

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrot
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1 1/2 tsp. basil
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
3 cups water
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 small can tomato paste
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 tbsp. lemon juice
2 cups cooked white beans (I used 1 cup dry Great Northern beans that I pre-soaked all day and then cooked for about 30 minutes)
1 cup chopped black olives
1/3 cup chopped kalamata olives

Saute vegetables and spices in olive oil (about 2 tbsp.) for 5 - 10 minutes. Add remainder of ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes. This would be great with crusty bread, but I ate it solo!