Kitchen Kismet

Every once in while I'll experience a bit of serendipitous activity in the kitchen.  You know the drill.  You went shopping, only to find certain items not in the store, or you forgot to pick them up, or the freaking foodie store you planned to go to is CLOSED ON TUESDAYS.  Ahem.

So I had this recipe for Greek-style vegetarian stuffed peppers, and ended up with the following recipe, instead, having substituted what was on hand, which turned out to be absolute delight for the taste buds.  I'm having the leftovers (what little bit there was) for lunch tomorrow, and no one else had better steal them (the warning is meant for DH, who is working from home tomorrow.  Are you reading this, dear?).

From-the-Fridge-and-Pantry Greek-style Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

EVOO
1 medium sweet onion, diced
3 oz. or half a bag of baby (or other) spinach (washed if not already cleaned), sliced into ribbons
salt and pepper
2 cups cooked Israeli couscous, prepared according to package directions
grated zest from about a half a shrunken lemon
juice from same
5 oz. feta cheese (if you actually shop for this item and don't go with what's in the fridge, get good, imported Greek sheep's milk feta in brine), (drained if need be and) crumbled
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. dried thyme
1 t. dried Italian parsley
16 green olives (I happened to have some French-style green olives without pimentos on hand)
4 medium bell peppers (I had 1 HUGE and 2 medium tri-colored peppers from Trader Joe's--the red pepper tasted best)
1 cup water

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 or so.  Higher if you're in a hurry (but not much higher or you'll have crispy-on-the-outside-raw-on-the-inside food), or about 350 if you've got an hour or so until everyone is ravenous.
2. Cook onion in about a tablespoon of EVOO on medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes.  Add spinach and cook until greens are wilted, about 2-3 minutes.  Season with a bit of salt and pepper (remember the feta and olives you'll be adding later), and set aside.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the cooked couscous, lemon zest, lemon juice, feta cheese, herbs, olives, and onion/spinach mixture.  Taste to correct seasonings.
4. Cut off the top 1/2 inch or so of your peppers.  Save them to use as a lid once your peppers are stuffed.  Using a paring knife, trim away all the ribs and seeds from the peppers.  If necessary, trim away a small slice on the bottom of any peppers that will not stay upright in your baking dish.  Try not to make a hole to the inside, or at least not a very big one (she says with the authority of experience).
5. In a smallish baking dish, place peppers and fill with couscous-spinach mixture.  Put the caps back on the peppers.  (Save leftover filling, if any, to heat in the microwave for lunch the next day or the day after that.  If you can resist eating it up with a spoon immediately, that is.)  Pour the water into the bottom of the pan.
6. Bake for 45 minutes at 375, or until peppers are soft and slightly browned, and filling is hot.

Next time I'm going to double the recipe so that there are leftovers for several lunches instead of just one.  Maybe I'll feel like sharing then.

Vegan Spinach Pesto

I know it's not summer yet, but the local Whole Foods had some gorgeous basil when I was there earlier this week, and I made pesto tonight.  Here is a cheese-less, nut-less recipe I've finally tweaked to my satisfaction that actually tastes good, is allergy- and kid-friendly (because my kids are among the pickiest in the 'Verse), and sneaks a little nutrition in there.  It's vegan not because I am one but because I avoid cheese most of the time.  Sigh.  I love cheese.

Vegan Spinach Pesto

5 oz. baby spinach, washed (I ♥ Olivia's Organics Baby Spinach), or use frozen spinach that has been thawed
3 cloves garlic (you can use less if you or your kids aren't used to raw garlic, but 3 is just right in our house)
1 bunch fresh basil, leaves picked off, soaked (if sandy), rinsed, and dried
3/4 t. salt
freshly-cracked pepper to taste
2 T. EVOO
1/2 c. brewer's yeast

Combine the spinach and a splash of water in a microwave safe container.  Cover and nuke for two minutes or until spinach is soft.  (If using frozen spinach you really only need to defrost it.)  Drain.

With the motor running on its highest speed, drop garlic cloves, one at a time, into the chute of your food processor (keep those fingers OUT!).  If you can do it without making too much of a mess, I'd carefully add (I use tongs) the nuked spinach through the chute, as well (blade still a-whirring), but you can stop the machine, take off the cover, and add the spinach if you'd rather.

Add the mostly dried-off basil leaves through the chute with the motor running, though, and then add the remaining ingredients and process until to desired consistency.  Add more olive oil if you want a thinner pesto.  Serve with whatever kind of noodles you like, or use as a sauce for chicken or other meats.

Good find of the week

We had Chicken with Saffron Rice last night. I tell you this not to toot my own horn (it feels like I've been making the same seven recipes for ten years), but to urge you to check out the recipe. I made it almost exactly as the Williams-Sonoma website told me to, though I did substitute a dry Marsala wine for the sherry, as I forgot to put that on last weekend's shopping list. The medium grain (Arborio) rice made the dish, and there wasn't much clean-up, as this is a one-pot meal. Delicious!

Music post coming soon!

Good finds of the week

1. Kundalini Yoga: the yoga that's currently (well, at least as far as I, in suburban MA, know) in favor with Hollywood types. I really like the way I feel after doing yoga in this style. It's not (that) difficult, even for someone who hadn't done yoga in a year; it's rhythmic--and the music has a beat, so it's fun to keep in time with it; and I feel very energized afterwards. I feel a little silly chanting, but that's just more incentive to get up and exercise before anyone else is awake. Ana Brett and Ravi Singh have many yoga cds in this style, but the Maya Fiennes (concert pianist and composer as well as yoga practicioner) dvd pictured left, is the one I found first at a local library.

2. Cherry-Vanilla Oatmeal: from The Food You Crave, by Ellie Krieger. To old-fashioned oats, add dried cherries and the appropriate amount of water (for two servings, or one cup of dried oats, I would use 1/3 c. dried cherries), plus a little salt. Cook the oatmeal like you normally would, then add a little cherry fruit spread (low sugar option) or some cherry preserves and about 1/2 t. vanilla per serving, top with your choice of milk (I used rice milk--DH used half and half!), and enjoy.