Studio Night Broccoli Cheese Soup

Ok, ok...so we haven't created any new entries for MONTHS. But we've been crazy busy with a major move this last summer and you probably know just how exhausting that can be! But hopefully, this recipe will make up for it! School is in full force and I have a new bunch of kiddos taking part in the Art after school program we call "Studio Night." Anyone who has had a hoard of teens to contend with, when they're ravenously hungry, will appreciate this wholesome and filling soup. Not that they care, but this is good for you and vegetarian! 

Start with veggies, loads of them. I use one medium onion, a good handful of carrots, one medium zucchini, 2 or 3 small potatoes, one rib of celery and 3 or 4 stalks of broccoli.

Chop up the clean veggies, except the broccoli, and saute in a small amount of vegetable oil on medium high heat in the following order: first throw in the potatoes and carrots; they take longer to cook than the rest. After about 3 minutes, add the celery and onions. At this point, you're basically stir-frying. Another 3 minutes or so and you're ready for the zucchini.

Add 2 tablespoons of real butter and 1/4 cup flour. Toss the veg quickly to coat with flour and turn down the heat to medium. Cook for 5 more minutes to get rid of that raw flour taste. 

Add  5 cups of whole milk and scrape the bottom of the pot to get all of the caramelized goodness into that creamy base. 

Now add your chopped broccoli. When I clean my broccoli, I always peel the stems before chopping. This assures tender, non-stringy chunks of broccoli. Next, mix up the cheesy, saucy addition that goes so well with broccoli.

I like to use Rico's Condensed Aged Cheddar sauce, a whole 15 oz. can. But you can use whatever is your family's favorite.
Into the cheese goo and your favorite spices/ flavorings, whisk one 12 oz. can of evaporated milk--NOT sweetened condensed milk! It should be thick but pourable. I add about 1/4 cup of pickled jalapeno brine, 1 teaspoon granulated garlic and a splash of liquid smoke. We like it a bit Texanized :) 

I take the soup to school so into the slow-cooker crock it goes. If that isn't a part of your plan, keep it all in the soup pot and simmer until the broccoli is tender. You can add a bit more milk or water if it's thicker than you like.

When I get to school, I'll put the soup on low and add water (how much depends on if there will be 12 or 20 attendees). I'll adjust the salt level to the added water amount.

For super Cheesy-ness, bring chunked melty-style cheese to throw in the mix. I provide whole grain crackers to complete the after school meal for my fabulous student artists. It'll be gone within the first 15 minutes of the event!

ENJOY!

Grilled Stuffed Peppers

Aaaah, if not for the 50- and 60-degree days in January, no on would live in Texas.

Feeling an urge to soak up some midwinter sun, yet still craving the comforts of an open fire? How about some tiny, sweet peppers in all the colors of sunshine, wrapped in bacon, and grilled to tasty perfection?

Sunshine? Check.

Fire? Check.

Tasty? Check, check, check!

Courtney's Grilled Stuffed Peppers

Assume 4-5 per person

This recipe stuffed about 30

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs (I used French bread)

1 cup shredded cheese (I used a colby/jack mix)

4 oz cream cheese, at room temp (1/2 package)

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

2 large eggs

Dulcetta (small sweet) peppers, split from top to tail and any present seeds removed

Thick-cut bacon, one slice for every three peppers

Wash, split, and de-seed peppers (it is not necessary to remove the stem- in fact, leaving it on will enable
you to more completely close in the stuffing and prevent leaks while grilling).

In a medium-sized bowl, combine cream cheese, eggs, shredded cheese, garlic powder, and onion powder.

In a food processor, pulse 3-4 slices of fresh bread until a coarse
crumb is achieved (you are looking for about 1 cup crumbs). Add
crumbs to egg/cheese mixture.

Mixture should have a thick and relatively dry texture.

Carefully scoop filling into cleaned, split peppers, being careful not to break peppers apart.
My peppers held an average of 2 tsp of filling per pepper.

Once peppers are filled and squished closed, cut bacon
slices into thirds and wrap 1/3 piece of bacon around each pepper.
Slide on to skewer*, making sure skewer pierces overlapping
bacon ends to ensure a good wrap.

Place skewers of peppers over heated coals (avoiding open flames like in photo, unless super-charred is your style).
Peppers are ready when bacon is crisp, pepper skin is slightly charred, and filling is hot and gooey.

These peppers are a crowd pleaser, and a for-sure hit for any Super Bowl party that may be coming up, so put a pin in this and enjoy!

*If no grill there be, you can use toothpicks and your broiler!

Avocado Pasta

This weekend we got 3 perfectly ripe avocados in our co-op share, and we had no chips... what to do, what to do? No guacamole, that's getting a bit tired anyway. How about... a bright green, creamy, rich, healthful, and crazy-easy pasta? Perfect.

Courtney's Creamy Avocado Pasta

Makes enough for 4-5 

3 medium-sized ripe avocados

olive oil

lemon thyme

1/2 lemon

garlic powder

salt

1 lb pasta (we used bowtie)

water and salt 

In a large pot, fill with enough water as to give your pasta room to move without overflowing the pot itself once the pasta starts a-cookin'. Toss in a few tablespoons of salt and bring water to boil. Toss in pasta and cook to your texture preference.

In a food processor or blender, puree 2 of the ripe avocados with a pinch of thyme, a pinch of garlic powder, the juice from 1/2 a lemon, and salt to taste. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil (while processor or blender is going) until sauce becomes the thickness of a really good alfredo. 

Pour avocado sauce into a heat-safe bowl, and then scoop cooked pasta directly from hot pasta water and into avocado sauce (don't worry about excess pasta water, you actually want some of it in the avocado sauce). Toss pasta in avocado puree, and then cube the third avocado and gently fold into pasta. Serve with fresh tomatoes, an extra squeeze of lemon, or some freshly grated Parmesan, and enjoy!

(Try not to lick the plate)

Cashew Sauce

Cashew Pepper Gravy on brown and white rice

VEGAN. The word strikes fear into the heart of every host. Cooks break into a cold sweat asking themselves, "OMG, can I find anything to make without meat, dairy, eggs, honey...?" You know if you were on the vegan's side of the table, you would want more than just a side dish or two. And what about the non-vegans who accidentally get a helping of this stuff? Relax. Cashews to the rescue! Everyone is happy with this versatile, user-friendly base sauce. Here is the recipe, and alterations, for your eclectic table. (And kudos to you on the diversity of your guests!) 

Jan's Raw Cashew Sauce Base

About 3 C. raw cashews

5-6 C. water

salt to taste

A really good blender and spatula

Purchase raw cashews in the bulk area of a whole foods type market. Cashews will be fresher if there is a demand and decent turnover of product. When you get them to your kitchen, rinse cashews several times under the tap. Raw cashews can be a bit dirty. Add the clean nuts to your blender and pulse. Add water slowly, A LITTLE AT A TIME until the cashews are the consistency of creamy peanut butter. Scrape down the sides of your blender, making sure all wee chunks are pulverized. Add the rest of the water and blend; you now have cashew milk. So maybe you don't have a really good blender and you still have a substantially grainy texture, pour the milk through a fine mesh strainer into the saucepan before cooking and it'll work.

This cashew milk is the only thing you'll need for sauce--just add heat. In a large, deep sauce pan, cook over medium to medium high heat stirring constantly with a wire whisk. Soon the milk will start to thicken. Add salt and pepper to taste. You'll be surprised at the delicate, rich flavor. I'll go out on a limb here and assure you, you won't miss the dairy! Serve over potatoes, rice or pasta. OR...

Blend in a small jar of pimento peppers, garlic powder and lemon juice to make a sauce for mac'n'cheese

Add caramelized onions and vege-sausage

Saute mushrooms and onions in olive oil, add water and sauce base to make a cream of mushroom soup

Ok, add some leftover chicken if you must! Throw in some English peas and carrots, top with pie crust and you've got a potpie ready to bake.

Get creative and use this as you would any white sauce...manga!        

(Thanks for the pics, Court!)

Kale Chips

August starts the second month of participation in a local co-op for my family. It's been a little bit of an adventure, really, in that we never know what we're going to get, and whatever it ends up being each week, we get a lot of it.

It is because of this little variable we most willingly subject ourselves to that I've been experimenting with some veggies and fruits that I would have otherwise never worked with on my own (outside of a one-time conventional try here and there).

In our very first co-op share, we received two very large bunches of kale. I had heard of them being turned into tasty, healthy, crispy chips, and decided that I would try my hand at a batch... winging it completely.

How hard could it be? Oil? Salt? Spices? Hmmmm.

So investing both bunches of kale, I gave it a good shot, and alas, though they did turn out crisp with good flavor, they were also way, way too salty (and coming from me, as family would tell you, that says a lot), and I didn't know how to store or reheat them, so they fell short, to say the least.

This week, we got another big bunch of deep green leafy kale. I decided it was time for redemption.

I think I got it right this time.

Courtney's Kale Chips

Makes enough for a few good snacks, but this is totally a 

'use what you have and eye it' kind of recipe

1 big bunch of fresh kale, either curly or Tuscan (aka dinosaur kale)

2 TBS olive oil

pinch of salt

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

squeeze of lemon juice, or about 1/2 tsp vinegar 

pinch of sugar, if desired

Start with your kale, washed and shaken of any extra water

Fold leaves in half, so that the large rib of the stalk is exposed (keep your fingers out of the way!)

Trim stalks from leaves (save the stalks for the next time you make stock!)

Your leaves should look something like this... now cut leaves into chip-sized pieces

Mix oil, salt, spices, and lemon juice or vinegar. Toss
cut leaves to thoroughly coat

Place in one layer on parchment paper-covered cookie sheets, and bake at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes
(start checking them after about 15 minutes to make sure they don't overly-brown or burn)

Finished chips should be crisp all the way through,
with no soft or chewy spots.

These kale chips will be a surprising crowd pleaser, be it at a girls' night with wine and cheese, or next to a grilled PB&J for the kiddos. Enjoy!

Note: to re-crisp the next day, microwave in a single layer on a paper towel in 15-second increments until crispness comes back. Be careful, they can burn up if you don't pay attention!

Falafel

Ever since hearing stories of the fresh, amazing food my sister-in-law experienced on her trip through the Middle East, I have been dying to try and make some falafel. Granted, I have no point of reference, but listening to her descriptions of the crispy, healthful, flavorful (and vegetarian!) "crunch patties" (Simpsons shout-out!) made me feel like I had a realistic expectation for what falafel should be.

I did a little research.

I did a little web surfing.

I consulted with my Mama.

We came up with this recipe... and I'd like to think we came pretty darn close to the real thing.

Falafel

Makes about 20 small, 1 1/4" thick patties

3/4 C dried chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), soaked 10-12 hours and drained*

2 TBS fresh lemon juice

1/2 large onion, diced

2 large cloves garlic, diced (or 2 tsp minced garlic from a jar)

1 egg white

2 tsp ground coriander 

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 C tightly packed chopped fresh parsley

salt and pepper

neutral-tasting oil for frying

pita bread, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, avocado, and spreads for serving

Place drained chickpeas in a food processor and pulse until a coarse meal forms. Add lemon juice and blend until a finely-ground meal is achieved (stop before it becomes a paste!).

In the meantime, saute onion, garlic, coriander, and cumin in some olive oil with a pinch of salt until onions are tender.

In a large bowl (or pot, ahem), combine chickpeas with onion mixture, baking soda, chopped parsley, and a pinch or two of pepper (you could also add hot sauce here, if you'd like a little extra kick- we chose to leave it out).

Add egg white.

Form into small disc-like patties around 1" thick (or you could flatten
for an even thinner, crispier patty... more surface area = more
crispness, though the thinner you go, the more likely they are
to fall apart in the pan!)
*Note: the most authentic shape is actually a ball, however we
found that patties 'fit' the pita bread best, in our humble opinion

Carefully drop into hot oil (med-hi or around 350 degrees) and fry until golden brown. Patties should sizzle and brown quickly- if patties fall apart, the oil isn't hot enough... or they're too thin!

Remove from oil with slotted spoon or spider and place on a tray lined with paper towels. Serve hot with warm pita bread, chopped lettuce, sliced tomatoes, avocados, cucumbers, and sauces.

Mom's Favorite Falafel Sauce: 1/2 C sour cream, 1/4 tsp ground coriander, 1/4 tsp ground cumin, 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp chili powder, few squirts of red Tobasco, pinch or two of salt (to taste)

Dad's Favorite Falafel Sauce: 1/2 large cucumber, grated and squeezed of extra moisture, 1/4 C Greek yogurt, 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice, 1/4 tsp chopped chives, 1 TBS finely chopped sweet onion, 

1/2 tsp dry dill weed, salt to taste

*If you don't have time to start with dried chickpeas and go through the soaking process, you can sub one can of garbanzo beans that you've drained and rinsed.