Thanks Mum and Moosewood, bean and tofu casserole

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Growing up in the seventies, our Mum was part of a health-food co-operative. She purchased natural food in bulk that wasn’t your average store bought fare. Standout memories from those days include bags of wholemeal flour, copious legumes, lecithin (crazy stuff that), tins of molasses and brown sugar. (To emphasise this was the seventies, I remember Mum wearing a much coveted white peasant blouse embellished with red embroidery.) An orchardist’s daughter, she always stocked a cornucopia of fresh fruit and vegetables in the house.

Mum baked her own bread, made her own tomato sauce, bottled delicious preserves and for a time, a yoghurt maker graced the benches. Out of her kitchen rolled wonderful soups and heartily savoury casseroles. There was always a container holding tempting baked slices and biscuits made using recipes she had memorised from her own Mums wonderful baking. Our mum is not one to toot her own horn but we all feel lucky to have had such a solid grounding in eating and cooking good food.

One of the cookbooks that graced Mums shelves was The Moosewood Cookbook, one of the most iconic and revolutionary cookbooks of that time. This vegetarian recipe book was written by Mollie Katzen, who at the time was a member of The Moosewood Collective. (A natural foods restaurant founded in 1973 in Ithaca, New York.) My copy seems to have gone missing but recent reviews of updated editions state that many recipes are now ‘lighter’ than in the past. I imagine the author cut back on some of the larger quantities of cheese and sour cream. (Ingredients which were possibly the reason why the Moosewood food was so darned delicious!)

I took the inspiration for this dish from memories of the Moosewood Cookbook and the fact that I was housebound and needed to use whatever my pantry and refrigerator had to offer. It is great to soak your own beans but if you can’t, tinned beans are fine. These sort of casseroles are forgiving, so use what you have and experiment to your hearts content. The Yak and I happily scoffed our portions whilst the sproglets did a double take at the tofu. Kid 2 asked ‘what was that white spongy stuff?’ I said tofu. He said he thought it was chicken. (See, everything really does taste like chicken!) There is a good contrast between the crunchy munchy topping and the piquant, Mexican style sauce underneath. If you like your food really spicy, just bump up the chilli.

Peace out and enjoy.

Thanks Mum and Moosewood, bean and tofu casserole

WHAT YOU DO
3 tbl Olive oil
1 onion, diced
1/2 large yellow or red capsicum, diced (or 1 small)
2 carrots, diced
3 small zucchini, diced
200g Mushrooms, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tbl ground cumin
1 tbl ground paprika
2 tsps salt
Black pepper to taste
2 tins chopped tomatoes
1 tin red kidney beans, drained
1 tin cannelinni beans, drained
1 tbl molasses
250 hard block tofu cut into 2cm cubes (don’t like the curd of beans? Don’t put it in!)
50g Parmesan, grated
1 cup gluten free breadcrumbs (or regular, try and use wholemeal or wholegrain)
Extra olive oil

HOW YOU DO IT
Preheat oven to 180C.
Oil a casserole dish or if you have an ovenproof casserole dish that you can cook everything in and then transfer directly to the oven, use that. I used my sturdy Le Crueset cast iron pot.
In a large saucepan saute the onions and carrots in the olive oil for a few minutes until they start to soften.
Add the capsicum and zucchini and cook for another few minutes, stirring regularly.
Add the mushrooms and sauté for a few more minutes.
Add garlic cook and for 30 seconds or so then add chilli flakes, cumin, paprika, salt and black pepper. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the tomato and molasses and stir to combine.
Add the beans and tofu. Bring to the boil.
Adjust the seasoning. If using another baking dish, pour the mixture into it. If you are using the same casserole dish, make sure you wipe the rim so it doesn’t look too messy.
Combine the breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan and a few glugs of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Place the breadcrumb mixture over the bean mixture.
Bake in the oven for 45 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the mixture beneath is bubbling. (Turn the dish half way through cooking to ensure even browning of the crust.)
Serve with a green salad or steamed veggies.

A Cheergerm creation

http://www.moosewoodcooks.com/about/cookbooks/

http://www.molliekatzen.com

http://www.moosewoodcooks.com/about/cookbooks/

http://www.molliekatzen.com

This makes me happy

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In the words of Pharrell William’s awesome song….’clap along if you know what happiness is to you.’

The amazing produce that I procured from our local Hornsby Growers Market today, makes me want to totally clap along. Perhaps even bust a few moves as well.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hornsby-Market/151427154911192

You say frittata I say…

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You say tomato I say tomato
I eat potato you eat potato
Tomato tomato potato potato
Let’s call the whole thing off

Never could resist a Gershwin tune. There ain’t no denying that sometimes, differences in relationships, can leave you feeling a little bit like ‘let’s call the whole thing off’.

Particularly when you are married to (and cooking for) a coeliac vegetarian.

Some nights, dinner feels, a little, well…….difficult. So, a fridge scrounge is in order.

Some say frittata, some say Spanish omelette, some say …..chuck whatever bloody vegetables you can find into a frypan and turn them into a delicious dinner for for a Silly Yak and tired Cheergerm.

All you gotta do is let your fridge, imagination and taste buds dictate what you pop into your fritatta. (Within reason of course.) Try red onion, zuchinni and asparagus. Sometimes, I will throw in a tablespoon of either smoked or sweet paprika into the veggies and cook the mixture out for a minute before I add the eggs.

Delectable herb combinations include mint with peas and zuchinni, coriander and chilli for a slight Asian twist and if you are feeling extravagant (and are not a vegetarian) throw in a wee bit of smoked salmon and finely chopped fresh dill in with the beaten egg mixture.

ZUCHINNI, POTATO AND BASIL FRITTATA

1 onion, sliced
1 small red capsicum, diced into 1 cm dice
2 small Desiree potatoes. (Or 1 large), cubed and par cooked until just tender.
2 small zuchinini cubed
1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
Salt , pepper
Garlic oil and olive oil, 2 tbls each
1/2 cup frozen peas
6 eggs
3 tbls milk
3 tbl grated Parmesan
3 tbls basil, chopped

Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius.
Using an ovenproof frypan, sauté onion and red capsicum in the oils for a few minutes. Add chilli flakes and cook for 1 minute.
Add zuchinini, sauté on medium heat for 5 mins.
Add potato and cook for a further few minutes until they start to turn golden.
Beat eggs and milk until combined.
Add Parmesan, black pepper, a pinch of sea salt and basil. Stir gently.
Add peas to the vegetable mixture. Stir to combine.
Add the egg mixture and quickly stir.
Cook the frittata for a few minutes without further stirring then transfer to the oven for 30 mins until golden and puffy.
Serve with a slice of your favourite buttered toast or crackers.

Depending on your appetite, this feeds two hungry people for dinner or if you ain’t so peckish there may be some leftovers for the next day. (Awesome!)

This little figgy went to market

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Oh summer, summer. How do I love thee? Let me count the fruits….nectarines, peaches, mangoes, strawberries and more rarely, fresh figs.

These figs were procured from our local Growers Market. (Hard to reign yourself in whilst perusing all the fantastic produce that abounds). They sat in the fridge, shouting things like ‘eat us now’, and ‘stuff us with Gorgonzola, wrap in prosciutto and bake us!’ Little did they know, I had other plans for those plump little purple beauties.

One of my fave lazy dinner party desserts perchances to be baked figs. Peaches and nectarines are also delicious when given this same treatment.

It’s a lovely light ending to a dinner party and one that can be prepared earlier in the day. Just refrigerate until you are ready to bake.

When it comes to the liqueur, go wild. My usual choice is a liqueur muscat or tokay. In lieu of that tonight, I chose a cheeky Smoked Malt Whisky Tawny. An amazing port made in the same barrel that once housed a famous malt whiskey. If you choose to go alcohol free, you can drizzle some freshly squeezed orange juice over the figs.

No dinner party guests in the Cheergerm and Yak household tonight, just a greedy mama and papa chowing down on a Saturday night dessert that feels slightly decadent. There was a slight ‘peatyness’ from the port which went beautifully with the natural woody sweetness of the figs.

Now, if I was a food stylist or something more than a very amateur photographer, I am sure I could have made the final baked fig dish look gorgeous. All I can say is, they taste bloody beautiful. In real life they look earthy and delicious, despite the average photo below that scarily resembles something from John Wyndham’s The Triffids.

BAKED FIGGY FIGS

8 – 10 fresh figs (usually 4 – 5 figs per person)
50g butter
1-2 tsps coconut sugar or brown sugar
A dram of your fave liqueur

Place enough foil on a tray to hold and enclose the figs.
Slice a cross vertically into each fig without cutting through the whole fig.
Divide the butter into small pieces, pop a piece into the cut in each fig.
Sprinkle the sugar on top of each fig.
Pour a wee bit of liqueur over each fig, not too much, just a dribble.
Close the foil into a parcel around the figs.
Bake at 180C for 20 minutes until the figs are soft and starting to collapse.
Serve the figs, sharing out any leftover juices over the figs.
I served this with Greek breakfast yoghurt, it’s equally delish with honeyed marscarpone or double cream.

Note: don’t ever leave foil parcels on an induction cooking top when you are using it. Just saying is all…..