Holy Mole I'm going to Chicago!

My last and only memory of Chicago is a bit of a blur.  Eighteen years ago, I flew up to interview for a position as a flight attendant with United Airlines.  At that point I had already graduated from college and had landed my first "real" job.  This job came complete with pantyhose, suit, computer,  an incessantly ringing phone, all encased on three sides by a lovely gray cubicle. I was already yearning for something different.  If I was going to be encased by walls, I would prefer that the walls were that of a jet, taking me to a foreign land.  Besides, culinary school was just way to expensive.

I nailed the interview, got the job and then turned it down.  For personal reasons, I just could not commit to moving to Chicago at that point in time.  For me, Chicago evokes a memories of a huge turning point in my life.  I have absolutely no regrets for not taking that job, but have often wondered what my life would have been like had I taken that position with the airline.  Most certainly, I would not have been traveling to Chicago as a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), as I will be next week.

This will be my third year attending the IACP conference and it is always one of the highlights of my year.  Technically it is work, but it feels more like fun.  I kind of equate the whole experience to having a V.I.P backstage pass to your favorite bands concert.  This year, one of the "rock stars" I will be meeting is Rick Bayless.  He is a renowned chef, who specializes in authentic Mexican cuisine. Chef Nancy and I will be spending the day with Chef Bayless, and learning from his incomparable expertise.

In honor of my upcoming session with Chef Bayless, I have decided to share a delicious mole recipe that has been very popular with all of our Taste and Savor students and clients.  Although there are many variations to this complex sauce, the recipe, I am sharing today is simple enough for any home cook while providing an enormous depth of flavor.


Taste and Savor Mole:

2 cups Prepared Salsa
1 cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth
2 Roasted Red Peppers, rough chopped
6 whole Sun Dried Tomatoes
4 TB Golden Raisins
4 TB Natural Almond Butter
1 Corn Tortilla, torn into pieces
1 Tsp Sea Salt, plus more to taste
1 Tsp ground Cumin
1/2 Tsp ground Black Pepper
1/2 Tsp ground Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp ground Cloves

2 oz Bittersweet Chocolate (at least 70%)
3 TB Sesame Seeds, toasted

Step One:
In a blender, puree the first twelve ingredients ( Salsa through Cloves).

Step Two:
Remove sauce from the blender and place in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  When the sauce is warmed through, add the chocolate and cook and stir until chocolate is melted.  Simmer sauce for at least thirty minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

*This sauce is wonderful with chicken, shrimp or for a vegetarian option, try sautéed wild mushroom.  Serve with rice and/or tortillas for sopping up all of the delicious mole

The Bi-Polar Vortex and My Plate

Mother Nature has been going through some severe mood swings over the past several weeks here in Georgia.  Seventy degree and sunny days are interspersed with ice, snow and thick cloud cover. This pendulum of extreme weather leaves me scratching my head each morning as I contemplate my wardrobe for the day.  Boots or flip flops?  An even more pressing decision, is what's for dinner?  One day I am snuggled up by the fire enjoying a hearty beef stew.  The next day, there's the overwhelming urge to sit on the deck and fire up the grill. What's a girl to do when faced with such extremes in wardrobe and dining?  As far as the wardrobe goes, dress in layers and always keep a spare pair of flip flops handy.  As for dressing your plate, perhaps a more subtle approach is necessary.

As a cook, I rely heavily on the seasonality of ingredients.  I would never serve a pot roast with root vegetables in June, just as I would not serve grilled corn on the cob in December.  Cooking during the recent extreme weather has been a bit of a challenge.  This past weekend, the temperature said "spring", but alas, it is still February.  So, as we creep into spring, I thought about food that was still hearty enough for winter, yet hinted at the freshness of spring.  My recipe for this week is a whole wheat orzo dish that can be served warm or cold as a salad.  It keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days, and uses pantry ingredients, along with readily available fresh basil and lemon.

I hope this recipe will help you bridge the gap between winter and spring, as well as putting something on your plate that you can be passionate about.  Enjoy!

Any Weather Orzo:

1 16 oz package whole wheat orzo
1 15.5 oz can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup basil leaves, julienned

Step One:
Cook orzo according to package directions.  Drain and place in a large bowl.  Add garbanzos and peas to the bowl.

Step Two:
In a separate bowl, combine lemon juice, zest, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Whisk to combine and pour over the orzo mixture.  Gently stir orzo mixture to combine and evenly coat the pasta in dressing.

Step Three:
Place orzo onto a large serving platter and sprinkle with feta and basil.  Serve immediately or refrigerate for later use.

Childhood Treat is a Trendsetter for 2014

As the mother of a tween and a teen, I am often reminded about how lame and uncool I am in regards to music, clothing, technology and vernacular.  Fortunately, I have a thick skin and know that despite the good natured jabs I receive from my children, I am fairly adept at staying on top of current trends.  This theory was validated a couple of weekends ago when I attended a session at Food Blog South, on culinary trends for 2014.

Trendologist, Kara Nielson gave a fascinating presentation on where trends start, how they move into the mainstream and what initiates them.  One of her examples was, that as a result of the World Cup being held in Rio de Janeiro later this year, we will see a growing interest in Brazilian food.  She highlighted brigadeiros as a new "it" food to look out for.  I sat silently chuckling to myself, since brigadieros are a ubiquitous part of any Brazilian child's birthday celebration.  This is a treat that enjoyed often as a young girl, living in Brazil and one that I still

Yes! I am ahead of the curve on this one.  So far ahead in fact, that Chef Nancy and I have already done two Brazilian classes at Cook's Warehouse, where we featured brigdeiro inspired desserts.  Traditionally, a mixture of sweetened condensed milk, butter and Nesquick powder are stirred together over medium heat, until thickened.  The mixture is then cooled and rolled into truffle-sized balls and coated with chocolate jimmies.  The warm mixture is also perfect as a topping for  cakes and cupcakes.

This delicious sweet treat has been around for decades and was originally created by the Nestle company as a way to promote their condensed milk and chocolate drink mix products.  Generally speaking, the recipes are all basically the same.  I am providing the recipe that I grew up with, which uses the Nesquick (Nescau, in Brazil) drink mix, but certainly if you wanted to cut down on the sweetness, you could substitute an equal amount of cocoa powder.

I love that an old favorite of mine, has the potential to become the next big thing for 2014, and will gladly do my part to help promote this chocolaty delight that I am still passionate about all these years later.

Brigadeiro used as topping for chocolate cupcakes

Brigadeiros:

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 heaping tablespoons of nesquick or cocoa powder 

1/4 cup butter

Chocolate Jimmies

Non-stick cooking spray

In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk the condensed milk and chocolate drink mix together.  Add the butter.  Stir continuously until the butter is melted and the mixture has thickened, about 10 minutes.  You want the mixture to be caramel-like in texture.

Remove mixture from heat and pour into a pyrex dish.  Once mixture is completely cooled, spray your hands with non-stick spray and roll mixture into balls.  Place jimmies in a shallow bowl and roll the balls in the sprinkles to cover.

Traditional truffle-style Brigadeiros

The Power of Ten

One of my favorite cooking jobs, are the Saturday morning classes at the Cancer Wellness Center.  I never thought that working on a Saturday would be something that I looked forward to.  But these programs where Chef Nancy and I  join with wellness facilitator, Angela Buttimer, are great fun.  Last weekend, the subject of the class was "The Power of Ten", i.e. what you can do in just ten minutes each day to facilitate your life.  Chef Nancy and I took the theme of the number ten and came up with ten pantry and ten refrigerator staples that you could combine in various ways to make quick meals.

Here are the ten fresh and pantry staples we had to work with:
Pantry: Beans, Canned Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, Cornmeal, Pomegranate Molasses, Capers, Quinoa, Brown Rice, Nuts
Fresh: Peppers, Lettuces, Vegetable Stock, Non Fat Greek Yogurt, Onions and Garlic, Cauliflower, Carrots or Parsnips and Parmesan Cheese

I love being given a series of ingredients and playing my own version of Chopped or Iron Chef.  Days like this allow the creativity to flow and most often produce some of our most successful recipes.  I hope  you will enjoy this warming stew, created from our "Power of Ten" pantry.

Moroccan Spiced Stew:
1 head cauliflower, in florets
1 red pepper, rough chop
2 large carrots, rough chop
2 parsnips, rough chop
1 red onion, rough chop
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cups vegetable Stock
1 15oz can fire roasted and diced tomatoes
1 15oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1cup quinoa

Step One:  Place vegetables in a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil and spices.  Toss to combine and spread on a two foil-lined baking sheets and place in a 425 degree oven for 30-35 minutes, until tender and beginning to caramelize.

Step Two: Place roasted vegetables in a large stock pot or dutch oven along with the vegetable stock.  Using and immersion blender, puree the vegetables and stock together to a smooth consistency.  Add the tomatoes and chickpeas and bring to a boil.  Add the quinoa and reduce to a simmer.   Allow quinoa to cook for about ten minutes, until done.

Spoon soup into bowl and garnish with non-fat Greek Yogurt and cilantro if desired.

Taking the "Sweet" Out of the Sweet Potato

Over a long lunch with a good friend recently, I found myself up on my soap box, extolling the virtues of the sweet potato. My friend, who was less than enthusiastic about the tuber's place on her dinner table, did her best to make me acknowledge how hard they were to peel, that they are boring,  and pretty much an all-around annoyance to her.  This annoyance, was rooted in her husband's new found love of sweet potatoes, as he makes efforts to improve his diet.  I asked her if she ever ate sweet potatoes with her husband.  She admitted she did not, and that when she baked a sweet potato for him, she made a white potato for herself.  With this declaration, I was determined to change her opinion of this nutritional powerhouse.

I was not going to win her over with a cinnamon-spiced, marshmallow-topped casserole.  I needed to hit her in her wheel house with a familiar flavor profile.  As we commonly meet for Mexican food, I knew that this was the angle I should take.  I can typically get my children to eat just about anything that is stuffed inside of a tortilla, and figured this tactic would work just as well on a sweet potato loathing adult.

With that, I give you my simple and delicious roasted sweet potato and black bean taco recipe.


Kipley's Tacos:
1 large sweet potato, cubed
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground corriander
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper to taste
8 taco size whole wheat tortillas

Optional Garnishes:
Non-Fat Greek Yogurt
Jalapeños 
Fresh Cilantro
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Chopped Scallions

Beautiful fresh ingredients

Step One:

Place chopped onions and sweet potatoes on a foil-lined sheet pan.  Drizzle with olive oil, spices and salt and pepper. Toss to evenly distribute oil and spices over the vegetables.  Place in a 425 degree oven for 25-30 minutes, until veggies are cooked through and starting to caramelize.

Onion and sweet potato, seasoned and ready for the 425 degree oven

Step Two:

Combine the black beans, onions and sweet potatoes on one sheet pan and place back in to oven for five minutes to warm up the beans.

Roasted veggies tossed with the black beans

Step Three:
Place bean an vegetable mixture into a warm tortilla and garnish as desired.

Tuck the veggies and beans into the warm tortilla and garnish as desired

This is one plate that even a sweet potato hater could be passionate about!  Enjoy!

Getting Back To Your Roots

Last winter and fall, I was heavy into root vegetables.  Parsnips and turnips appeared in many of my dishes, from braises to soups and even raw as crudités.  Somehow, the carrot never quite made it onto a menu.  Perhaps, I have always miss-associated carrots with springtime and bunnies.  In doing this, I had missed a wonderful opportunity to use this sweet and beautifully hued vegetable in the seasons where it truly belongs. 

What better way to warm up your spirits and your belly as the weather starts to cool down, than with a bowl of my Roasted Carrot, Ginger and Cashew Soup.  Roasting the carrots, brings out the vegetable's natural sweetness and the warming spice of the ginger and red chili can be adjusted to your personal taste.  The recipe, as written below, is slightly spicy on the back end, and can be cooled down by using less chili pepper or by reducing the amount of ribs and seeds used. The cashews in this recipe provide a nice nutty undertone, but more importantly, serve as a thickening agent.  By using the nuts as a thickener rather than cream, the soup is completely vegan.

This recipe will serve 8-10 as appetizer portions or 4-6 as a main course.  Leftovers freeze beautifully and can be reheated for a quick meal on a busy weeknight.

I was very pleased with the outcome of this soup and have been enjoying it for lunch all week.  The flavor only intensifies over time, thus making it a great make-ahead dish as well.  I hope you will enjoy this soup as much as I do and remember to make every plate (or bowl), something to be passionate about.



Beautiful Raw Ingredients



Roasted Carrot, Ginger-Cashew Soup:

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs. carrots, cut into one inch pieces
Non-stick cooking spray
1 teaspoon each sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper
1 cup roasted cashews
2 red chilies, stems removed. Ribs and seeds removed from one pepper only
4 cloves garlic
2 inch knob of fresh ginger, peeled
1 cup yellow onion, small dice
2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 quarts vegetable broth
Optional Garnishes:
Chives, Greek Yogurt, Cilantro Leaves, Roasted Carrot "chips"

Step One:
Preheat Oven to 425 degrees.  Place carrots on a foil-lined baking sheet and coat liberally with non-stick spray and salt and pepper.  Bake for 25-30 minutes in preheated oven until carrots are caramelized and softened.

Roasted Carrots

Step Two:
While carrots are roasting, add cashews to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped, but not turned into a butter.  Remove from bowl and set aside.  Next pulse garlic, ginger and chilies in food processor until combined and finely minced.  Remove from bowl and set aside.


Minced Onion- Processed Ginger, Chilies and Garlic-Processed Cashews 



Make sure cashews are finely processed, but still powdery

Step Three:
Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven, over medium-high heat. Add the onion and spices and sauté till onion has softened, about three minutes.  Add the ginger mixture and continue to cook, stirring frequently for another 2-3 minutes.  Next, add cashews and stir to incorporate.

Veggies, Spices and Nuts getting friendly in the Dutch Oven

Step Four:
Add roasted carrots and vegetable stock to pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, then simmer for thirty minutes.


Ready for the vegetable stock

Step Five:
Turn off heat and carefully use an immersion blender to puree the soup. Now you are ready to garnish and serve.


Be patient and work the soup to a smooth consistency



Garnished, plated and ready for a close up!

That Which Cooks:

One of the best parts of my job, is brainstorming with Chef Nancy over a cup of coffee, or better yet a glass of wine. When our creative juices start flowing and our ideas bounce off of one another at a furious pace, I scribble down notes at Nancy's request to "Write that down!". We come up with some of our best ideas for recipes, classes and marketing strategies and often joke that we could "save the world" during one of these sessions.  Last week we enjoyed a long overdue tete a tete at Starbucks while planning the menu for an Ayurvedic class at Cancer Wellness.  While we may not have solved all the world's problems that day, we did come up with some great recipes, based on the ancient Ayurvedic tradition.Although Ayurvedic healing has been around for thousands of years, it was indeed a new concept to me.  According to Wikipedia, Ayurvedic is an ancient Indian theory that asserts that each human possesses a unique combination of doshas (ones unique mind and body type), that define a persons temperament and characteristics. The three main doshas are as follows:

1) Vata: Space and Air, "that which move things"

2) Pitta: Fire and Water, "that which cooks"

3) Kapha: Earth and Water, "that which sticks"

Eat-Taste-Heal, by authors Yarema, Rhoda and Brannigan is a fantastic resource for aiding one in identifying his or her dosha.  Upon studying the definitions of the various doshas in this book, I have concluded that I am without a doubt a pitta.  Thus, the recipe for Cauliflower "Steak" topped with Pitta Pesto is the perfect Ayurvedic style food for my dosha. The pesto contains cooling herbs that will help to keep me balanced and  the cauliflower, as well contains properties that are beneficial to my particular dosha.

The concepts of Ayurvedic healing are indeed much more complex than the brief overview I have provided here. However, the bit of research I have done on the topic has been quite fascinating, and certainly reinforces the ideas of healthy and mindful eating that Chef Nancy and I preach to our clients on a daily basis.  To all of my fellow Pittas out there, enjoy some cooling Pitta Pesto, and remember to make every plate something to be passionate about!

Cauliflower "Steaks" with Pitta Pesto:

Cauliflower Steak Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons ground cardamom

1teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Step one:

Remove outer leaves an tough stems from cauliflower, while leaving the vegetable intact.  Cut the head vertically from top through the stem into 1 1/2" thick "steaks". An average sized head should yield 4-5 pieces.

Step two:

Rub both sides of the cauliflower pieces evenly  with the olive oil and spices.  Place on a sheet pan coated with non-stick spray and bake at 425 degrees for about 25-30 minutes, until the vegetable is tender and nicely browned on the top.

Pitta Pesto Ingredients:

2 cups arugula

1 cup dill

1 cup cilantro

1 clove garlic

1 oz freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup of toasted walnuts

Zest and juice of two lemons

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional Garnish: colorful assortment of sliced grape tomatoes, 2 cups

Step One:

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Scrape down the sides and season to taste with salt and pepper. Pulse once more, then serve on top of warm cauliflower steak. Garnish with an assortment of sliced grape tomatoes if desired.