Archive | 2008

Lemongrass Tea

31 Dec

One of my favorite teas is lemongrass tea… it’s calming, soothing and great as an after dinner tea.  I love it seasoned with brown sugar. And now that the weather is a bit chillier, it’s great to have a nice cup before going to bed.

The lemongrass plant is very easy to grow.  It looks like those grasses that grow next to the road…  Even though I’ve seen the hard part of the grass used in Thai cooking, I use the grass blades to make the tea.  Here’s a picture to familiarize you with the plant.

lemongrass-plantJust find yourself some lemongrass blades and it’s super easy to make the tea…

 

 lemongrass-tea

LEMONGRASS TEA

A small handful of lemongrass blades
2 cups of water
Brown sugar or honey to taste

 

  1. In a medium pot, add water and lemongrass blades.  Cover the pot and bring to a boil.
  2. After the water and lemongrass have boiled for about 5 minutes, turn off the heat and allow the tea to cool enough to drink.
  3. Season with brown sugar or honey to taste

 lemongrass-tea-2

 

If you find lemongrass blades, you can easily freeze them to use whenever you want to make some tea.  I place them in freezer ziplock bags and keep them in the freezer and just take a few blades when you’re ready to boil them.

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Pasta Romesco

29 Dec

 The other day I was overzealous making a party dip made from red bell peppers, Muhamara, and I ended up with so much that I used one part for the party I was making it originally and another part I used it to make this pasta dish.

I decided to call it Pasta Romesco instead of Pasta Muhamara, in honor of the dip, because I noticed the ingredients in the dip were almost the same as a romesco sauce I had learned a few years back from a recipe book for IBS patients.  Red bell peppers, bread, walnuts, balsamic vinegar, etc.  I have seen other romesco sauces that use tomatoes as a base, but the one I learned first used red bell peppers, so we’re sticking to that version.

This pasta is evidence this dip is very versatile as it is delicious.

 romesco-pasta

PASTA ROMESCO

½ packet of whole-wheat pasta
¾ cup of the Muhamara dip
¼ cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated

 

  1. Boil the pasta according to the package directions.  Remember to salt the water well.
  2. When the pasta is done, drain the pasta saving about 1 cup of the pasta water.
  3. Return the pasta to the pot where you boiled it and add the Muhamara dip.  If you feel the sauce is too thick, add some of the pasta water to thin it out.  Add the grated cheese and mix well to combine.
  4. Add more grated cheese on top to serve.

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Toasted Chickpeas and Pistachios

28 Dec

For a while now, I’ve been intrigued by these toasted chickpeas recipes I’ve seen Giada, Rachael and Martha make in their TV shows.  I’ve never been too much of a fan of beans, but for some reason I was always intrigued to know how this tasted.  Giada and Rachael described them as popcorn.  Some were baked and some recipes are fried.  I decided to go the healthier route and make it baked in the oven.

 toasted-chickpeas

TOASTED CHICKPEAS AND PISTACHIOS

1 10 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons
1/2 cup shelled pistachios
1 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs butter
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 tsp Kosher salt
½ tsp Pepper
1/2 cup peeled almonds (optional)

 

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Place the garbanzo beans on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and spread the beans in a single layer. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper.  Place in the oven and bake until golden, about 30 – 40 minutes.
  3. Remove the beans from the oven. Add the remaining ingredients to the garbanzo beans and carefully stir to coat all the beans and pistachios. Spread the mixture out to a single layer. Bake for 10 more minutes.
  4. Mix the butter and the sugar and toss together with the toasted nuts.  Let cool slightly and place in serving bowls.

 

I liked the mixture, but just when it’s out of the oven.  I was not too thrilled with them after they cooled off.  The chickpeas turn soft again.  I liked the flavor and the texture when they’re still warm out of the oven.

But I find this is a very innovative (at least for my crowd here in Puerto Rico) nibble to have at the beginning of a party.  It’s a nice complement to other dips and appetizers.  It’s nice to have something that is not wheat based…

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Beet and Lime Juice

26 Dec

I remember the first time I tasted this beet and lime juice.  To me, it was the closest thing possible to what I remembered how Kool-aid tasted.  And it’s super easy and economical to make…  It also helps when you need to strengthen your levels of hemoglobin.

Try it…

 beet-juice

BEET AND LIME JUICE

1 beet, chopped in small pieces
½ cup of freshly squeezed lime juice
¾ cup of brown sugar
Enough water to reach 1 gallon

 

  1. You take the beet pieces and mix them with enough water to blend in a blender.  Blend as fast as your blender will go.  Pass the blended mixture thru a sieve.
  2. Take the remainder beet from the sieve and blend again with more water.  Pass thru the sieve again and try to get as much liquid as possible.  Add the lime juice.
  3. Blend the sugar with more water and pass thru the sieve also.  This will ensure there will not be any hard pieces of sugar in your juice.
  4. Mix the remainder water and mix well.

Serve well chilled.

 

This juice is super easy to make, but it’s just a bit messy.  Look at my hands how they ended up.  But don’t worry, with a few hand washings, they’ll come back to normal.  This is also a great way to introduce kids to beets. 

 

                                  p1050369                       p1050376

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Muhamara

24 Dec

Now that the holidays are here, I am the designated dip maker for all the parties I’ve been invited to.  I had found red bell peppers on sale and wanted to make something special with them.

A few months back, a KarmaFree Cooking reader mentioned me about Muhamara – a red pepper dip made with pomegranates.  I started looking for recipes on the internet and learning more about it.  Funny, but I found a recipe for Muhamara in my recipe book (the one I have built from magazine clippings that interest me) this version did not include the pomegranates, yet it is very tasty.

 muhamara-dip

MUHAMARA DIP

2 red bell peppers
½ a 6-inch pita bread  
½ cup water
1 small garlic clove
½ cup of toasted walnuts, plus more for garnish
1 tsp paprika
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tbs freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
½ tsp Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

 

  1. Roast peppers until blackened all over under the broiler, turning with tongs as each side is blistered.   I did it in a toaster oven at the highest temperature.  Transfer the peppers to a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap; let stand about 15 minutes. Peel, and discard skins, stems, and seeds. Set peppers aside.
  2. Toast pita bread until crisp and golden. Break into pieces; place in a bowl, and cover with the water. Soak until soft, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a sieve, and drain well, pressing out excess water. Set aside.
  3. Combine garlic and walnut pieces in the bowl of a food processor; process until fine crumbs form, about 10 seconds. Add paprika, roasted peppers and pita bread; process until smooth, about 10 seconds. Add vinegar, lemon juice, oil, and salt, and season with black pepper. Pulse until combined.
  4. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. Before serving, bring to room temperature. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with walnuts.

 

I served this dip with Wheat Thins.  It was delicious.  It definitely tastes better the next day when at room temperature.  So plan ahead and make it the day before you’ll be serving it to guests.

This dip was also delicious served inside a sandwich, with tomatoes, lettuce and any other of your favorite fixings.  Or also, you could repurpose it as a pasta sauce…

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