Tasty Eight Balls

This used to mean something else at a different time in my life, but tonite, it meant delicious 8-ball zucchini stuffed with quinoa, onions, garlic, toasted walnuts and herbs and spices. It seems labor intensive, but it's not. You'll have some of the quinoa mixture leftover, which is good all on its own. You can mix some seasoned tofu into this, which is how I had meant to make it but forgot. It was fine on it's own. The spices you use will really make this dish special.

Toasted Walnut & Quinoa Stuffed Eight Ball Zucchini

4 Eight Ball Zucchinis
1 cup quinoa
1 cup vegetable broth
olive oil
1/4 cup toasted walnuts
1/4 cup currants
3 tbsp chopped parsley
3 tbsp chopped basil
1 medium onion
4 garlic cloves, chopped
spice mix (I used a Yucatan Spice mix described here; but you can use cumin, paprika, cinnamon . . .)

Cut the zucchini heads off like you were cutting out a pumpkin for Halloween. Scrape out the insides, chop them up into little pieces, and set them aside. Set the empty zucchinis into a baking dish with a bit of broth on the bottom.

Toast the quinoa in a cast iron pan and then cook with one cup of water and one cup of broth. Season with salt and pepper.

Sautee the onion and garlic in a cast iron pan. Once the onion starts to brown, add the zucchini and sautee until tender. Add half of the chopped herbs, the currants, and the walnuts. Once everything is mixed and heated through, add to the quinoa with the rest of the fresh herbs. Mix thoroughly. Spoon into each of the eight ball zucchinis and bake at 400 F for about 30-45 minutes.

We served this with a dollop of lebne and a bit of sriracha sauce on the side (you could substitute plain yogurt or sour cream and hot sauce), and a Middle Eastern Beet Salad with parsley, toasted walnuts, and rosewater.

Not-so-Seder

My favorite local meat vendor at the green market in Prospect Park, the Flying Pig farm (http://www.flyingpigsfarm.com/) handed out a recipe for Cumin-Citrus Pork Cutlets a few weeks ago. I've made the dish twice and it was delicious, even better for leftovers the second day. The citrus part certainly isn't localvore, unfortunately, but I think exceptions always need to be made for lemon.

Yesterday when I defrosted the cutlets, I didn't realize until later that day that it was the beginning of Passover. I have to admit, it felt a bit like a heresy to have pork on the first evening of Passover, despite the fact that I'm not Jewish. Next year, I promise something more seder-like.

Here's the recipe, which the farm found in an August 2001 issue of Bon Appetit. I adapted it only slightly.

Cumin Dusted Pork Cutlets with Citrus Pan Sauce

4 tbsp flour
4 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne or hot paprika
1 tsp salt

1 lb pork cutlets or pork strips
olive oil
4 minced garlic cloves
1/2 cup orange juice
6 tbsp fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons)

Orange wedges

Combine on a plate: 4 tablespoons flour, 4 teaspoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper. Dredge each piece of 1 pound of pork cutlets in the flour mixture. Heat olive oil in large cast iron pan over high heat. Add pork and sauté for about 3 minutes per side, until just barely cooked through. Don’t overcook! Transfer pork to serving plate, cover with foil to keep warm. Add a bit more olive oil to the pan. Add 3 or 4 minced garlic cloves and sauté until golden brown. Add ½ cup good quality orange juice, 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 2 or 3 lemons), some citrus flesh (chopped up oranges or lemons from the lemon you squeezed), and a pinch of salt. Boil until slightly thickened. Pour sauce over pork and serve.

I've served this dish with any combination of daal, black beans, quinoa, rice, and quinoa, but always garnished with the orange wedges. Dumping all of the leftovers on some greens makes an amazing lunch the next day.

Post-election detox

If you celebrated as much as I did on election night, or worked as hard as so many to make Obama's victory happen in the past few weeks/months/years, then there has never been a better time for a delicious, healthy, home-cooked meal to nourish your junk-food- and alcohol-sodden body.

We danced and drank and shot off bottle rockets on the streets of Brooklyn when Obama won. Last night, although I was still hung over and exhausted, I pulled together a tempeh stir-fry with quinoa that did me a world of good. I chose the flax tempeh because flax is super good for you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flax#Possible_medical_benefits

Tempeh Stir Fry with Quinoa
1 package of flax tempeh
1 medium onion
1 small head of cabbage
2 carrots
2 cloves garlic
salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, paprika, red pepper flakes, tamari, water
olive oil

Carmelize the onion and garlic in a cast-iron pan. Add the tempeh and brown. Add the carrots, cabbage, and spices, along with tamari and some splashes of water to keep it all moist. The tempeh may break up a bit, but unless you're concerned with aesthetics, no need to worry. Prepare the quinoa simply: 1 cup quinoa (rinsed and toasted), 2 cups vegetable broth, sprinke of salt. Cook until there are tiny white tendril surrounding the quinoa. Serve with a fresh green salad and a very big glass of water. And then go to bed early. Don't even think about washing the dishes.

Other ideas for healthy detox foods: raw vegetables, especially celery; hot water with ground flax seeds and lemon juice; food without sauces; baked fish; steamed vegetables; soup with clear broth (wonton, vegetable, miso).

Critical Primary Night Sustenance

In order to stomach the punditry this evening, we needed sustenance. Not very economical in terms of time, but this meal is a nice and tasty no-meat dish. Check it out.

Tempeh and Broccoli over Quinoa with a Tamari-Ginger Sauce
(Serves 2, with enough for lunch-leftovers)

1 12 oz-package of tempeh (I like veggie or mutigrain)
2 cups raw broccoli
1 cup quinoa
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 veggie boullion cube
1 medium onion
salt and pepper to taste

Sauce
3 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp minced ginger
1/4 cup tamari
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp sherry
1 Tbsp oil

Start with the sauce. Dice the garlic and ginger and mix together the rest of the ingredients. Let sit. I thought about adding a thickener but didn't. I might the next time. D suggested maybe pureed chick pea--just enough to thicken it up a bit.

I haven't yet perfected the quinoa formula, I have to admit, but I start out with 2 cups of water, add the quinoa, and dump the 1/2 boullion cube in there and bring to a boil. I usually have to add water, which is why I said 2 1/2 cups of water.

Steam broccoli florets (kind of small) in some water with a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and then cover for about 5 minutes until the florets are tender. Drain and set aside.

Slice up the onion, set aside. Take the tempeh and cut it into 1/2 inch cubes. Place about 2 Tbsp oil in a cast iron pan or wok and heat until its smokin'. Dump those onions in there and watch them sizzle. When they get soft, throw in the tempeh cubes and saute until both the onions and the tempeh are nice and browned. Add the steamed broccoli florets to the pan, and pour about 1/3 of the sauce over the whole mix.

Spoon about 3 heaping Tbsp on a plate, place an attractive amount of the tempeh, broccoli, onion mix on top, and then drizzle with some of the sauce (easier if it's thicker, that's for sure). Serve with a side of beautiful salad, and you're set. I can't guarantee that you'll be able to fully enjoy the meal while watching Brit Hume, though. He's horrible. I would have chosen another network if I had it to do over again.