Poco-Cocoa

Lindsay has been joining us for dinner while her husband is out of town, and it has been so much fun! It’s nice to have someone around while I’m preparing dinner. She looked through some of my recipes, and thought this one looked interesting. I hadn’t made it in a long time, so I was happy to revisit it.

I love how the chickpeas become soft and creamy, and the touch of cinnamon adds a bit more depth to the flavor.

Mediterranean Chickpea and Pasta Soup

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can vegetable broth
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2 cup uncooked ditalini (very small pasta)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and saute 3 minutes or until tender. Add water and next 6 ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add pasta, and cook 9 minutes or until pasta is tender. Stir in parsley.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: Cooking Light magazine, I think.

I love this dish for several reasons. First of all, it’s so colorful, and it’s chock-full of veggies. Second, it’s got a peanut sauce. You can’t beat that! And third, it’s just dang good.

Tofu, Broccoli, and Tomatoes with Curried Peanut Sauce

• 1 (16-ounce) carton firm tofu
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• Kosher salt to taste
• 1 bunch broccoli, cut into florets with 3-inch stems
• 2 cups whole cherry tomatoes or 4 plum tomatoes, quartered
• Jasmine rice or brown rice
• Curried Peanut Sauce (recipe follows)

Wrap the block of tofu in a clean dishtowel and press it firmly with your hands until you feel the towel become damp. Unwrap the tofu and cut it into 1/2-inch cubes. In a large, well-seasoned skillet, heat the canola oil over medium-high heat. Add the tofu and salt it liberally. Fry the tofu undisturbed until a dark golden crust forms on the bottom, then use a spatula to turn it and brown it well on at least one more side, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.

Add the broccoli, tomatoes, and 1/2 cup water to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are cooked through and the water has nearly evaporated, about 5 minutes. Return the tofu to the skillet and heat through. Serve the tofu mixture over the rice, with the Curried Peanut Sauce spooned over the top.

Makes 4 servings.

Curried Peanut Sauce

1 tablespoon canola oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 garilc cloves, minced
2 teaspoons peeled and minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/3 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (1 juicy lime)
Kosher salt to taste

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the shallots, garlic, and ginger and saute for 2 minutes. Add the curry powder and cook for 1 minute more. Remove from heat and whisk in peanut butter, gradually adding 1/4 cup warm water to smooth the sauce as you go. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice. Season with salt.

Makes 1 1/3 cups.

Source: I don’t remember!

This was the first dessert I ever made in our first apartment. I remember making it often, always served with a berry coulis. I made it again recently, and I was surprised that it wasn’t easier to do! I don’t remember all the long mixing and the heating, and I think I underbaked it a bit…even though my toothpick came out clean, the middle seemed gummy. But the edges were crisp and the texture was great for soaking up all that wonderful berry juice.

Sponge Cake

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9x9x2-inch pan with cooking spray; set aside. Stir together flour and baking powder; set aside.

In a mixing bowl beat eggs with an electric mixer on high speed about 4 minutes or till thick. Gradually add sugar, beating on medium speed for 4 to 5 minutes or till light and fluffy. Add the dry mixture; beat on low to medium speed just till combined.

In a small saucepan heat and stir milk and butter till butter melts; add to batter, beating till combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or till a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack. Serve with Berry Sauce.

Makes 9 servings.

Source: Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook

Berry Sauce

1 (16-ounce) bag frozen mixed berries
1/4 cup powdered sugar
Juice of 1 lemon

Thaw berries in refrigerator or at room temperature. Add sugar and lemon juice, and toss until combined. You can also puree the berries in a food processor at this point for a smoother sauce. For an even smoother sauce, push the pureed berries through a sieve.

Source: poco-cocoa

This is another of my favorite recipes. I found it a couple of years ago in an issue of Bon Appetit, and it has graced our table periodically ever since. I love the depth of flavors. I love that I get to use ingredients from my childhood…dried red chiles and Big Jims (also called Anaheim chiles). I love that I get to use my mortar and pestle to grind the toasted cumin seeds and crush the tortilla chips. I love that I get to add hominy and fresh lime juice. I love that once you get it in the pot, you just let it simmer and become beautiful. I love the flavor. It’s a great soup.

Notes: I use 2 Anaheim (Big Jim) chiles, and use my mortar and pestle to grind the cumin seeds. Any plain tortilla chip will do; I use El Milagro, but have gotten away with some crushed chalupa shells before.

Hominy, Tomato, and Chile Soup

• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped white onion
• 1 large fresh Anaheim chile, stemmed, seeded, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 dreid New Mexico chile, stemmed, seeded, torn into small pieces
• 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 (15- to 16-ounce) can golden hominy, drained
• 1 (14- to 15-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
• 1/3 cup finely crushed tostadas caseras (tortilla chips) or corn chips
• 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Toast cumin seeds in a heavy small saucepan over medium heat until beginning to darken in color, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Enclose in plastic bag and crush with hammer or mallet.

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, Anaheim chile, and garlic. Saute until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add New Mexico chile, oregano, and cumin seeds. Stir 2 minutes longer. Add broth, hominy, tomatoes with juices, and tostadas caseras. Bring soup to boil; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until dried chile is very soft and flavors blend, about 45 minutes. Season soup with salt and pepper, then lime juice to taste. Ladle soup into bowls.

Makes 6 servings.

Source: Bon Appetit magazine.

While we were in college, Justin worked at a nearby inn as an innkeeper’s assistant. He served breakfast and dinner, cleaned rooms and made reservations. He enjoyed it, although the owner of the inn was not the greatest person to work for. He met Peggy there; she was the chef.

Some nights when there were leftovers, he’d bring me little containers of Peggy’s signature dish, Penne with Primavera Sauce. If I was lucky, I also got a piece of grilled baguette. I loved that sauce. I asked him to get the recipe from her, and he tried. He brought me a yellow piece of paper with his crazy handwriting all over it, notes that didn’t make much sense. I asked him for more information. He had none. The primavera sauce remained a dream.

Then one day, in my political science class, I noticed a woman sitting up front, and people were calling her “Peggy.” I mustered up my courage and walked up to her and asked, “Are you the Peggy that works with my husband at the inn?” Amazingly, she was. We talked and quickly became friends. She explained to me one day before class, scribbling notes over the same yellow piece of paper, how to make her primavera sauce. I was thrilled.

It turns out that Peggy was also a nutrition major. She had been a chef at various restaurants before, and had decided to come back to school and become a dietitian. I admired her for that. School was hard for her; she struggled through classes and studied endlessly, with her messy notes and loaded backpack. We ended up taking organic chemistry together, and once she spied my pristine, color-coded, perfectly illustrated notes, she asked if I would tutor her. So I did. I helped her understand why hydrogenation makes fats solid, how double bonds worked, and how the Krebs cycle produced energy. We spent hours in the library, poring over notes and discussing lectures, and eventually, we became close friends.

After graduation, we ended up in the same dietetic internship class, and helped each other through the tough, tiring rotations. When the internship was over, she moved to St. Louis, and we said our goodbyes. I lost her address. I lost her.

Peggy inspired me. She was full of energy, eager to learn, and amazing in the kitchen. I miss her. This one’s for Peggy, wherever she may be.

Notes: Peggy says you can use fresh or dried herbs. I usually serve some up for dinner, then freeze the rest in plastic bags for easy reheating later.

Peggy’s Primavera Sauce

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 bulb garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 4 stalks celery, sliced
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 1/2 cup dried basil
• 1/2 cup dried oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 pound white mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup sweet vermouth or red wine
• 2 zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
• 2 yellow squash, halved lengthwise and sliced

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, celery, and carrot, and saute briefly until onions are transparent. Add basil, oregano, and bay leaves, and saute 1 minute. Add tomatoes and their juices, crushing them with your hands as you add them to the pot. Add mushrooms and vermouth or red wine, and stir. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for one hour. Add zucchini and squash, and simmer for 30 minutes more. Serve over pasta with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Makes a lot.

Source: Peggy Guarino.