A Storm of Swords: Crustless Sauerkraut Quiche

I'll take you out for a meal with Mr and Mrs. Pain. Order up some violent quiche.

Howard, The Mighty Boosh

Although we used our sauerkraut on Ruebens all last week, we still had some left.  Stoney whipped up an omelet with sauerkraut that was outstanding, so that gave me the idea to put together a quiche with it.  We also had some horseradish cheese in the fridge from the Farmer's Market which is outstandingly delicious, so that really sealed the deal for me.

What you need:

• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cup egg whites
• 1/2 cup 1% Milk
• 1/2 cup wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 small red potato, cooked and mashed
• 6 oz. horseradish cheese, shredded
• 6 oz. white cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup sauerkraut
• 4-5 white button mushrooms, chopped
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 8.5oz jar Sun Dried Tomatoes, patted dry

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and sauté onions, sauerkraut, and mushrooms until onions are translucent, 3-5 minutes.

Whisk together eggs, egg whites, milk, flour, baking powder, mashed potato, and horseradish cheese.

Cheese and eggs... yum!

Stir the sautéed mixture into the egg mixture and pour into a greased 8" pie dish.

Sprinkle white cheddar cheese on top, and then place the sundries tomatoes on top of the cheese.

Bake for 40 minutes or until the top of the quiche has browned slightly and a knife comes out clean.  Let it sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

This recipe serves 6-8, and it goes wonderfully with a simple salad.  

Lannister Reuben Sandwich

'You alarm me!' said the King. 'I feel faint—Give me a ham sandwich!'

-Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There

Now, I'm not going to sit here and tell you this is a low-calorie rueben sandwich, but we at least played around with the thousand island recipe to cut down a few calories.  We were so excited to try out the sauerkraut we made back in october, and it didn't disappoint!  All in all, this ended up being a delicious sandwich (despite not being able to find rye bread... stupid snow!)

What you need for the Thousand Island Dressing:

• 3/4 cup Plain, nonfat greek yogurt
• 3 tbsp Ketchup (we used some great gourmet ketchup we purchased at the farmer's market from Further Farms of Nashville)
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp minced onion
• 1 hard boiled egg
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 tsp sweet relish
• 1/4 tsp salt

What you need for the Reuben:

• Rye bread (preferably)
• Corned Beef (we cooked this in the slow-cooker)
• Swiss Cheese
• Sauerkraut
• Thousand Island

To make the thousand island dressing, just mix everything together really well.  To get the hard-boiled egg to the right consistency, I would recommend pressing it through a strainer.

The sandwich is just as easy.  Take two slices of bread.  Place corned beef on one slice, and top the corned beef with sauerkraut.  Spread the dressing on the other slice of bread, and then place a piece of swiss cheese over the sauce.  

Toast the sandwich in a sandwich press (or on the stove) and voila!  Delicious sandwich!  One of these days, Stoney and I will make a post on making sauerkraut.  We jarred over a gallon of it 2 weeks ago, documenting our methods.  This kraut was just a spur-of-the-moment decision and we didn't even measure how much salt or pickling spice we used.  Verdict?  Tasty.  

Mushroom's Sweet and Savory Spaghetti Squash

Tony: Aha, okay. Hey, Joe! Butch-a he say he wants-a two spaghetti speciale, 

heavy on the meats-a ball.

Joe: Tony, dogs-a don't a-talk!

Tony: He's a-talkin' to me!

Joe: Okay, he's a-talkin' to you! You the boss! 

-Lady and the Tramp

Stoney and I survived Snowmagedden here in Nashville.  It was a good thing we had plenty of leftovers, though, because when we finally emerged from the apartment on Sunday to take our weekly grocery shopping trip, we were amazed at what we saw when we arrived at Kroger (the farmer's market was, predictably, closed).  Most of the produce was gone -- vast, empty shelves stood before us.  At this point we were starting to get nervous.  Nearly everything we needed to make dinner, which was to consist of spaghetti squash, mushrooms, and brussels sprouts, was missing.  We were able to find a small spaghetti squash on the shelf, but the other items were conspicuously absent.  Eventually, we stumbled on a restocking cart with a few containers of white mushrooms.  While not ideal for our sauce, we grabbed them.  We also struck out on one of the key ingredients for another recipe we will be making this week - homemade ruebans using sauerkraut that we made back in October!  The missing ingredient?  Rye Bread.  Le sigh.  After checking out at Kroger, we made our way over to the small, very nice (but also expensive) grocery store near our apartment.  Luckily, they had some beautiful brussels sprouts, so I was able to make dinner as planned.  

We even grabbed a handful of shiitake mushrooms to add to the white mushrooms.  However, we ended up having to settle on the bread for the ruebans, buying a multigrain bread instead.  Oh well.

Our "spaghetti" dinner was perfect for a cold winter's night.  Slightly sweet thanks to a little maple syrup on the brussels sprouts, and earthy and savory, thanks to the mushroom sauce.  The only issue we ran into was that we ended up with a very small spaghetti squash, and I had planned for a bigger squash, so my sauce to squash ratio was a little off.

What you need:

• 1 large spaghetti squash, halved, with seeds scraped out
• 1 lb Brussels Sprouts, quartered
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 4 cups mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 1 large shallot, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1.5 cup raw cashews
• 1 tsp nutritional yeast
• 1.5 cup water

Although this recipe has a lot of moving parts, it's actually pretty simple.  Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F.  Rub the inside of the spaghetti squash with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, and place face down on a greased baking sheet, cooking for 45 minutes.  

While the spaghetti squash is cooking, melt 1 tbsp of coconut oil in a bowl large enough to hold your brussels sprouts.  Stir in the maple syrup, and then toss in the brussels sprouts and 1 tsp sea salt, making sure the sprouts are thoroughly coated.  Set the bowl aside.

When there is 20 minutes remaining on the spaghetti squash, place the brussels sprouts on a greased baking sheet (one layer) and place in oven, cooking for 20 minutes.

When everything is done, let the squash cool (or don't, we usually just use heat gloves for this part) and scrape the spaghetti-ness out into a serving bowl.

Next, heat 1 tbsp of coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add garlic and shallot, cooking until the garlic is fragrant.  Add in the mushrooms and cook until they have browned slightly.  

After the mushrooms have cooked, add mushrooms, water, nutritional yeast, and cashews to the vitamix and blend well.  Pour your sauce over the spaghetti squash, and garnish with brussels sprouts.

Jade Sea: Chile Lime Coconut Curry Soup

This soup is mainly a slow-cooker meal, but the tofu takes a little extra work so that it becomes tiny little flavor-bombs instead of tasteless mush in some soup.  I will admit that some of these ingredients won't be able to be exactly replicated, but I'm sure you can come close.   For example, we were given some lovely homemade curry spice for christmas.  We also have some dried red chile peppers that we found at a flea market awhile back.  No idea what they are, but they are slightly spicy and slightly sweet and lend a really nice flavor to dishes.  The weather has taken a cold turn lately, so this soup was nice to cozy up with on a chilly night!

What you need:

• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups unsweetened coconut milk (I generally use Silk brand)
• 1 tbsp coconut mana
• 1 bunch of green onions, finely chopped
•  3 tbsp lemongrass paste
• 1 dried red chile pepper, finely chopped
• 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 head bok choy, chopped lengthwise
• 14oz. Extra Firm tofu, drained and pressed
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 2 limes, juiced, with the juice of 1/2 lime separated
• 1 1/2 tbsp chile powder
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

This recipe really couldn't be any easier.  To start, mix together the juice of 1/2 lime, lemon juice, and chile powder, then cut your tofu into small squares.   

Our curry spices!  Curry and ginger is a wonderful combination.

Place the tofu and the chile-lime mixture in a plastic bag and really shake it up to make sure each piece of tofu gets coated.  Place in the refrigerator.

Mystery Chile

Put all of your other ingredients in the crock pot and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 6.  In the last hour of cooking, pull the tofu out of the fridge and place in the freezer, and preheat the oven to 400 Fahrenheit.  Once the oven is ready to go, pour the tofu onto a greased baking sheet, and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Put the tofu squares into the crock pot and serve.  We ate it with some delicious sourdough bread from the farmer's market, and it was a great combination!  

Viper Tomato "Bisque"

For christmas, I received an immersion blender, which is something I have been desperately wanting.  Although the vitamix is a miracle machine and I am still smitten with it after a year, it was always a hassle to ladle hot soup into it whenever I wanted a smoothly pureed, thick, creamy soup.  For my first recipe with the immersion blender, I decided to play around with tomato soup.  I love tomato soup, but my favorite type of tomato soup is generally filled with cream, which isn't really diet-friendly.  To revamp the recipe, I decided to veganize it and create a tomato "bisque" using tofu, a few cashews, and nutritional yeast (we call this stuff magical vegan fairy dust in my house - it's so good!).  Now, I am not sure that our recipe was 100% vegan, as I added in some white wine and I have no idea whether the brand I used was vegan friendly, but if you are interested in making the recipe and being 100% sure it is vegan, you can go to this website, which provides a handy guide to vegan wine (and other alcohol).

What you need:

• 3.5 lbs fresh tomatoes, cored and halved
• 1 14oz. container of tofu, drained (I used firm because that was all that was available, but I think silken would be prefereable)
• 1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup raw, unsalted cashews 
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup dried basil
• 1 tbsp Emeril Essence Seasoning (or Old Bay)
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 dried red chile pepper, de-seeded

Turn the oven broiler to high.  Place your tomatoes on an oiled baking sheet and place them in the oven to broil.  Let them broil until they have blackened slightly (around 5-10 minutes) and then put them in the crock pot.

In a blender, add cashews, 1 cup vegetable broth, and the red pepper, and blend until you have a nice puree.  Add that mixture to the crock pot.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet on medium-high heat and then saute the onions.  Add the cooked onions to the crock pot, as well.

Dump the rest of your ingredients into the crock pot and cook on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.  When you are ready to serve, use an immersion blender to make the soup into a beautifully creamy consistency.  Enjoy!  We served it with some hot, crusty bread, and it was a great way to stay warm and cozy on a cold evening!

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Tower of Joy: Black-eyed Pea Masala and Curry Cornbread

The New Year is upon us!  And what better way to celebrate than with black-eyed peas and cornbread, in traditional southern style (minus collards)?  To put a fun spin on both, we opted to flavor them with curry.  I mostly got the idea for that because we rang in the new year eating at a wonderful restaurant (Chauhan Ale & Masala) that specializes in blending together Indian cuisine and traditional southern fare.

What you need for the Black-eyed Peas:

• 2 1/2 cups dried black-eyed peas (be sure to soak them and then retain the water)
• 2 tbsp curry powder 
• 3 tbsp garam masala
• 3 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 3 serrano chiles, deseeded and diced
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1/3 cup ghee
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 fat free plain greek yogurt
• 2/3 cup cilantro, finely chopped
• 4 1/2 cups water

 What you need for the Cornbread:

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup corn (I heated up frozen corn for this)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 1 tbsp yogurt
• 1 dried red chile pepper, deseeded and diced
• 1 tsp ground corriander
• 2 tsp garam masala

Black-eyed Pea Masala

Heat the ghee in a skillet over medium heat, and then add the serranos, onion, and garlic.  Sauté the mixture for approximately 5 minutes.  

Transfer the mixture to a large pot, and then stir in the curry powder, garam masala, turmeric, and cumin.  Once the spices are thoroughly mixed in, add the tomatoes.  Let cook for 2-3 minutes, and then pour in 4 cups of water.  Use the retained water (we only had 3 cups of saved water, so we added in 1 cup of tap water, as well.  Stir in the black-eyed peas.  

Bring everything to a boil, so that it looks like a bubbling cauldron of deliciousness.

Bubble, bubble, toil & trouble!

Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the yogurt and cilantro.  Serve garnished with yogurt and cilantro.

Curry Cornbread

Blend the corn, chile, sugar and salt in a food processor (or the vitamix!).  Next, mix together the flour and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.  Add in the ghee and the yogurt and knead the mixture until it is blended.  Mix in the corn mixture, and then add water until you have a soft, sticky dough.  We used approximately 1/2 cup.

Grease a 6-cup muffin tin, make the cornbread into balls, and put a ball in each cup.  

Bake at 375 degrees fahrenheit for 20 minutes.