Curry, Carrot Salad & Some Disappointing Naan

Last week was Zack's "birthday week."  You may be unfamiliar with this particular holiday - essentially it is the week surrounding his birthday (a hubby declared holiday) during which he spends a lot of time saying things like "It's my birthday week!  I can eat this meat-stuffed-with-cheese-wrapped-in-carbs-and-deep-fried if I want!" Which is all well and good, but after a week of eating heavy foods, I was looking forward to something a bit lighter.  When Z suggested curry, I was all about it.

We used the recipe from Jamie Oliver's Meals in Minutes.  The summary of this book says that it is about putting "delicious plates of food on the table in no time."  Maybe we're just not as fast as a professional chef, because the minutes ended up exceeding an hour and the kitchen pretty much looked like it had exploded by the time we were done.  That aside, the curry was delicious!

It started neatly enough

Sauteing veggies for the curry

Ingredients for carrot salad

The finished salad

Time to eat!

The curry was delicious - the butternut squash made it slightly sweet and creamy.  Neither of us like cauliflower, but you couldn't really taste it in this dish.  It was a little spicy from the red chile, but not overwhelmingly so.  The carrot salad on the other hand was super spicy!  It had both red chile and freshly grated ginger.  The greek yogurt helped to cut the fire.  We tried INDIANLife naan bread as a side, but it wasn't very good.  

We will definitely make this curry and salad again, but probably on a weekend when we have a little more time to cook and clean up.

Gratuitous close up, just 'cause 

Shrimp and Okra Gumbo

This week I broke out the always reliable Homesick Texan cookbook to try my hand at some gumbo. Growing up my grandparents lived outside of New Orleans so I've often had a touch of Louisiana in my family dinners, but other than previously posted Shrimp Étouffée I haven't really tried much of it on my own. All in all, it was really time consuming but, in my opinion worth it.

Chopped bell pepper and celery. Frozen okra.

Fresh garlic and thyme, with bay leaves.

30ish minutes for the roux, constant stirring.

Veggies cooked in the completed roux.

Everything in the pot to simmer.

For about two hours we grew hungry over the smell coming from the simmering pot before I added the shrimp. In that two hours the okra pretty much dissolved in a way that you would never know that it was there in the first place. I would have rather had some say intact, maybe I need to use fresh next time.

The end result is not the prettiest of our meals, but I thought it was quite delicious. Laura, on the other hand, didn't quite agree since the shrimp texture and cooked down veggies aren't so much her thing. I might have to save this for bachelor weekends (when I would add some andouille).

Tastier than it looks.

We're back! Now with 100% more salad.

Oh my gosh ya'll - we're no longer living in an internet black hole and once again have high speed internet! So after a 2+ year hiatus Moore Food Please is back.  We're easing back into food blogging (as to not sprain anything), so tonight's recipe is a simple one that mostly consists of chopping and mixing. No hardcore cooking required.  

Chickpea Salad with Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette

Chickpea Salad:
15 oz can of chickpeas, rinsed & drained
1 cup corn
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 organic cucumber, peeled & diced
1 organic green bell pepper, diced
1/2 small red onion, finely diced 

Dressing:
3 T organic lime juice
zest of 2 organic limes
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp honey
1/8 tsp ground coriander
2 T fresh cilantro
Dressing recipe adapted from:  http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cilantro-Lime-Vinaigrette-103849


Instructions:

Wash and chop your veggies.  Put them in a big mixing bowl, like so.

Gather your dressing ingredients and put them in the blender.  Blend for about a minute or until the cilantro is minced.

Pour the dressing over the salad and mix.

Serve and enjoy!

Sour Cream Cheesecake

My mom and aunt have had a bet on the University of Texas vs. Texas A&M football game for as long as I can remember. Most likely longer than I could remember since I am pretty sure the bet is older than I am. Well my cousin and I picked up that bet when we both ended up attending these two fine institutions of higher learning. Okay one fine institution and tamu, but that isn't why I'm here today. Today I'm here to talk about the practice cheesecake I made before I see my cousin over Christmas and have to make her one for real.

This year the Aggies ended a losing streak and won, so I have to produce a cheesecake for my cousin. Now, I have very little baking experience so I decided to go with what seemed to be a pretty straight forward Alton Brown recipe. And while it is pretty easy to follow, some of the hardware needed proved difficult to get my hands on.

The biggest difference in this recipe than what I'm used to is that it called for using a solid 9 by 3 inch cake pan rather than a springform pan. We don't have this size pan, and several stores I checked did not either. So I just followed the recipe but baked it in a springform pan and cut out the water bath.

I do want to try using the water bath cooking method. While the final flavor of the cheesecake was excellent, the texture was a bit soft for my taste. It didn't run all over the plates or anything, but it could have been firmer, and I think cooking it to the recipe should achieve that.

But enough words, have some pictures.

butter for the crust

the crust is ridiculously easy and I will never do store bought again

why yes, that is 2.5 bricks of cream cheese. mmmmm fat

nobody tell Laura I used her mixer

pre-bake

no crack! #happydance

the left over crust bits really add a lot to the final product

Tahini Lemon Rice & Beans

Okay, I admit it.  I've been a total slacker.  Lately, I've been letting my house hubby make the dinners.  But as he is now (semi)gainfully employed, I figure it is time for me to start pulling my weight around the house.  Plus the college foozball season is upon us, so if I want to eat in the next 12 weeks, I had better get cooking.

Tonight I made Tahini Lemon Rice & Beans from Lauren Ulm's Vegan Yum Yum (pg 81).  Zack bought the cookbook as an "us" present in celebration of our one year anniversary.  If the other recipes are as good as this one, I'm looking forward to trying the rest.  This dish was quick, healthy and delicious.

I used a short-grain brown rice and a rice cooker.  I'd like to take a moment to express how much I adore my rice cooker.  It is the only way I have ever, EVER, been able to make decent rice.  Without the cooker, the water inevitably evaporates before the rice is cooked or the rice turns to a sticky mush.  This way is pretty much idiot proof.  Just put in the rice and water and flip a switch and you can concentrate on the rest of dinner.  Awesome.   

Sooo while the rice was cooking I whipped up the dressing which was mostly lemon juice, soy sauce, tahini and olive oil.  With that done I sauteed some kale and warmed black beans and shredded carrots.  Then I added the cooked rice to the sauteed veggies and mixed in the dressing.  Viola!

I really enjoyed this dish!  It would make a great dinner for a week night when you're tired and don't feel like anything labor intensive.  As a bonus, we finally discovered a way that Zack enjoys greens.  Now if I can only figure out sweet potatoes...

the sauce prior to whisking

pre-washed/chopped kale cuts down on prep time

sauteed veggies and rice

the final yummy product

Cajun-Creole-Spiced Tempeh Pieces with Creamy Grits

Last night at the Temporary Moore Home I cooked up some grits. Now growing up in Texas we didn't see a lot of grits about. We all heard of them, but very few people I knew had actually eaten any. When I moved to SC and fell in love with a Carolina girl, I was introduced to the southern staple. Most of the time that I have had them I don't really care for them, but I have found that when they are cooked right they make an outstanding compliment to a variety of dishes.

The recipe came out of Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry and is a vegan reinterpretation of the southern classic, shrimp and grits. The shrimp is replaced with tempeh and the creamy part of the grits is from almond milk and creamed cashews rather than heavy cream. Both the tempeh and the grits required a good deal of time, start to finish took me about 2 hours, but the payoff in flavor was well worth it.

First I sliced the tempeh into bite size pieces and simmered them in a vegetable stock for 30 minutes. While it was simmering, I sautéed leeks with some minced garlic, made the cashew paste and measured out the spice mixture. I also quartered a pint of cherry tomatoes, mixed them with a bit of lemon juice and salt Once the tempeh was done simmering, I drained it and let the pieces dry for half an hour while I got the grits underway. The extra flavor in the grits came from using some vegetable stock in place of some of the cooking water. Once the grits had absorbed the liquids I added almond milk and let that get absorbed. Finally I added a little more water with the cashew paste and let the grits simmer for about 40 minutes until soft but not runny. I asked my beautiful southern bride be the expert on final grit constency.

Finally, while the grits were finishing up, I fried up the drained tempeh in a small amount of extra virgin olive oil for about 6-7 minutes. The frying gave the tempeh a nice crunch on the outside while the simmer gave it a great deal of flavor from the broth. Once fried, the tempeh was combined with the sautéed leeks and the cherry tomatoes.

The dish was one of the better dishes I have made yet, and we will definitely revisit it in the future, but will be saved for days when we have the time to put into it. The leftovers made a great lunch the next day as well, always a bonus.

tempeh before the simmer

the cashews await the blender blade

nine, yes NINE spices awaiting the fried tempeh

I think we're gonna need a bigger pan

creamy grits

fried tempeh given a good shake with the spices then tomatoes and leeks stirred in

serve tempeh over grits with some scallion for garnish and nom away

more pictures here

Shrimp Étouffée

I assure you that we are still alive and well(ish), life has just kept us from the blog lately. We recently moved cities and are sorta settled in a family house while I look for work and Laura gets settled in her new job. For a bit of comfort recently, I decided to try my hand at a dish that my family has been cooking for years now, Shrimp Étouffée. Wikipedia has a good article on Étouffée if you want to bone up.

This dish is rather simple, but easy to mess up if you aren't paying attention. It starts with a full stick of butter, mmmmmm. Sorry, just the thought of all that buttery goodness made me zone out there for a moment. Once the butter is melted sauté 1 cup chopped onions, 1 cup chopped celery 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper and 2 cloves crushed garlic. Once the onions become limp add 1.5 cups of water and let simmer for about 20 minutes.

Next, add 1.5lbs of shrimp and cayenne to taste (we like it hot and went with 1/2 teaspoon). Let this simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the shrimp is cooked. Dissolve 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in 3 tablespoons of water and add to the skillet. Serve over cooked rice.

For some added taste of home for me, we paired it with a simple cucumber salad that my family likes to make. The salad combines sliced cucumber (thin is good for this, but it is up to you), mayonnaise (we went with Vegenaise and I swear you can't tell the difference), green onion and ground black pepper (or cracked pepper is nice as well). The salad is best if you can soak the sliced cucumbers in water with some salt for a few hours before mixing the rest of the ingredients.

Finally we added some Hawaiian Sweet Rolls, because who in their right mind doesn't like them? All in all this was just what this homesick boy needed.

mmmmmmmmm butter

sauté goodness

still needs pepper

really, don't fear it!

a taste of home

Avocado & Smoked Gouda Sandwiches

This avocado and smoked Gouda sandwich is one of my favorites.  It's a perfect simple meal for a hot day!
Ingredients:
sourdough bread
sliced tomato(es)
sliced avocado
sliced red onion
romaine lettuce
smoked Gouda
spicy mustard
vegenaise or mayo


Lightly toast the sourdough bread under a broiler.  Add the gouda, broil for a few more minutes until the cheese is slightly melted.    

Top one side with tomatoes, vegenaise, salt & pepper.

Top the other half with spicy mustard, onion, avocado slices and lettuce.

Smoosh the sides together and enjoy! 

Chickpea Fattet Tostadas

After last night's flavor debacle, we decided to try something else from The Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker and this time it worked out great. Tonight's dish was very simple and actually didn't need the slow cooker at all. The only part of the recipe that called for the cooker was to cook the dried chickpeas. I didn't want to let them go all day, so I just did the quick cook method that took about an hour. Rather than sitting in the slow cooker all day, I just boiled the dried chickpeas for a couple of minutes and let them sit in the hot water until they were ready.

I had never made hummus before, so we just followed the recipe from the book. In the future I'll cut back on the amount of garlic, but otherwise it was tasty. One downside to making our own hummus is that our little food processor is loud and makes our dog cower under our feet.

The dish was very good and much more filling than we had expected. We will definitely do this one again.

just before the poor dog was under foot

pita is hard to slice

hummus all done

pita toasted under the broiler, hummus, romaine lettuce, roasted pine nuts, a touch of fresh mint and Greek-style yogurt: easy peasy