A Minty Green Gazpacho

Minty green gazpacho.

Happy Summer, everyone. Having at least a little fun? Eaten anything amazing lately? Hope so.

Honestly, my eating habits have been a real snoozefest these days, and all of these heat waves have done a number on my appetite and motivation to create new recipes. Do we really need another quinoa salad blueprint? It’s just a hunch, but I’m pretty sure you can rig up your own romaine salad with sliced strawberries and toasted pine nuts. Right? Right.

Spotted so many varieties of mint at the NYC Union Square Greenmarket the other day.

However, a flash of inspiration and a tad of laziness actually inspired a recipe worth sharing:  Minty Green Gazpacho. This all happened because my Ayurvedic doc, Pratima, recommended that I limit my consumption of tomatoes. This is the amazing woman whose regimen and advice got my skin from painfully and constantly breaking out to totally clear, calm,  and makeup-free. So when she gives me dietary advice, I tend to follow it (for the most part; I’m not perfect).

Another farmer’s market shot.

I do LOVE a good gazpacho, but she’s right…it’s a bit heating for me, especially in the summer. Plus, I was looking for something soupy, cooling and velvety to enjoy for lunch one day. Something green that would nourish but not weigh me down or sap my energy. Fresh mint, zucchini, and cucumbers at the farmers inspired me.

This soup comes together quickly in a blender or food processor, and can be served hot, cold, or at room temp.

Minty Green Summer Gazpacho

Yield: 8 cups (64 ounces). Recipe can easily be halved.

• 3 large zucchini, or 6 medium
• 4 kirby cucumbers (kirbies are best because they are crisp, but use what you can easily get. Peel if you wish.)
• 4-6 cups Water (amount can vary a lot due to how watery your zucchini and cucumbers are)
• Seasoning packet or bouillon cube of choice (I used this stuff by Goya. So sue me).
• 1 avocado
• 1 small onion
• Fresh mint: start with 2 Tablespoons, add up to a cup (but add in stages, as it can be strong. If you don’t have fresh mint, use another herb you like, such as basil, or a tiny amount of mint extract. Like not even 1/8 of a teaspoon of extract to start. Whether using extract or herbs, start with a small amount, blend, taste, and adjust)

1. Chop half of the zucchini and half of the cucumbers into chunks your blender can handle. Add chunks to your blender, along with liquid, seasoning packet, and garlic.  Add more liquid as needed. Blend until smooth. I used my Vitamix, and with the lid securely attached, was able to let the soup lightly cook/blend as I worked on step 2. . . .

2. As the soup blends, dice your remaining zucchini and cucumbers. Dice the onion as well. Prepare the avocado (removing pit and scooping out flesh).

3.  Now blend in the mint (or extract) and avocado. In the Vita-mix, I added these final 2 ingredients in after blending for 5-6 minutes. I blended for one more minute.

4. Test for seasoning and adjust and re-blend as needed. Pour soup into a serving bowl, and gently mix in diced zucchini, onions, and cucumbers. Garnish with fresh mint and serve, or allow to cool in fridge and serve cold.

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Citrus Chicken With Green Olives and Saffron

A totally easy chicken dish uses ingredients I had on hand...orange juice, green olives, saffron, lemon juice.

This is one of those throw together recipes that turned out surprisingly well. I had a few things on hand: orange juice, lemons, green olives, chicken legs, saffron. The resulting dish wasn’t sweet, despite the orangey base. It was more of a sweet and sour balance.  Served atop fluffy quinoa, and perhaps with a side salad or veg,  this meal satisfies without weighing you down.  In other words, a perfect dish to welcome spring.

This entire meal can make it to the table in about half an hour, not counting the time it takes to marinate. Which, in a pinch, you can skip.

Yield: About 4 servings. Recipe can easily be halved or doubled.

• 1 pound chicken legs or thighs, skin removed
• Neutral cooking fat of choice (butter, neutral oil, etc)
• 4 cups orange juice (2 for the marinade, 2 for the sauce)
• Juice of two lemons lemon (juice of one for the marinade, one for the sauce)
• 1/2 cup of pitted green olives, cut into chunks and rinsed to remove excess salt
• 4 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 2 generous pinches of saffron
• Salt and pepper
• Parsley or chives (for garnish, optional)
• 2 cups of quinoa, and 4 cups of water

1. Marinate chicken in 2 cups of orange juice, the lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and 2 of the garlic cloves. Cover, and refrigerate for at least half an hour, or even up to two days.

2. Remove chicken from marinade. Discard marinade. Heat neutral cooking fat of choice over medium in a large skillet or Dutch oven. Salt and pepper the chicken on both sides. Add to cooking fat (carefully), once cooking fat is hot.

3. Allow chicken to cook about three minutes on each side, enough to get a nice brown color.

4. Add 2 cups of orange juice, garlic, olives, juice of the second lemon, and saffron to the pan. Bring to a boil, then lower and cook over a low heat for 20 minutes. (Can cover pan if you wish; the recipe works with pan either covered or uncovered, so don’t stress about that detail).

5. As the chicken cooks, cook quinoa according the package directions. (Usually takes about 25 minutes total).

6. Taste chicken sauce for seasoning. Adjust if needed. If sauce seems too dry, add a bit more water or orange juice to liquify.  Remember, the olives are salty, so you MUST taste the sauce first before adding any salt. My guess is that you won’t need to add any salt.

7. Serve over quinoa, and garnish with green herbs or chives if desired.

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Holiday Dessert Spotlight: Nutella Cakes (Gluten Free)

Nutella cakes are easy to throw together.

My first memories of Nutella are from way back when, during my first semester at Columbia. That’s when I first tasted this hazelnut and chocolate blend of European origin. I’ve loved it ever since. Somehow, it brings back memories of my time at alma mater. For a lot of people, Nutella is the taste of childhood memories. For me, the taste reminds me of truly feeling like adult. On my own, in a strange city, thousands of miles from family, and being fine. Happy even.

Alma mater.

It also reminds me of one the only phases in my life during which my fridge wasn’t packed. A bit of context: I’ve never truly been That Girl with a sparsely packed fridge. (What a blessing, to have this problem). Anyways, if anything, I’m That Other Girl with both a fridge and freezer that are packed. Packed, I say. To the point that my current freezer appeared to not be working some months back. So I called my super. And he called a repairman. My landlord paid the guy to come out and tell me (wait for it). . .

. . .that my freezer was too packed, and it’d start working again swimmingly if I just got rid of some stuff, already.

Oh dear.  I’m sure my psychologist friend and I could have a field day with analyzing why I do this to my appliances.

Turns out the repairman was right. But I consoled myself by telling myself that my lack of common sense had kept this guy working, at least for part of one day. My own personal contribution to the economy, and during a recession, no less!

Nutella! One person’s taste of childhood is another’s taste of emerging adulthood.

Anyways, the point here being that my time at Columbia was about the only time that I had a fridge that wasn’t jammed to the max. I’m not sure exactly why (again, my shrink friend could probably be of help here. . .)

The edibles I did have on hand,  were of the highest quality (for a student).  In no particular order, most all of it purchased from Westside Supermarket:

• Nutella (yes, I kept it in the fridge. No I am not THAT dumb. I just wanted to prevent myself from gobbling tons of it at room temp, because, admit it, it tastes better at room temp).
• Smoked gouda cheese (HAD to be smoked!)
• Almonds (usually smoked)
• Bagged spinach
• Alcohol (wine and vodka, mostly)
• Lindor truffles by Lindt (this was back before they were available at a Wal-Mart near you)
• A roasted chicken (sometimes)
• Bread (kept in the fridge to prevent it from molding)
• Apples
• And yes, I had a tendency to “fridge” things that really shouldn’t be “fridged.” I’ve learned. I think.

My friend dubbed these PMS cakes.

But mostly I lived off of cheese, almonds, and spoonfuls of Nutella. And I drank quite a few meals, I must say. Ahem.

I certainly wasn’t ambitious enough to throw together mini-nutella cakes back during my Columbia Daze, which is too bad, because they’re so simple. The cakes, not the Columbia Daze. Gluten-free wasn’t a buzzword back in those days, either, but hey, we’ve all moved on, haven’t we? I know I have…I’ve evolved enough that the meal I drink most nowadays is a green smoothie for breakfast. And I now realize one can eat Nutella in ways that don’t involve licking it off the spoon. At least sometimes. Ahem…

No ramekins? No problem. Use small, oven-safe coffee cups or bowls.

Nutella Cakes (Gluten Free, Kinda High in Protein)

Yield: 3 to 4 small cakes. Depends on the size of your ramekins or whatever small, oven-safe bowl you bake them in. Recipe can easily be doubled, tripled, etc.

• 1/2 cup coconut flour (could use gluten free flour of choice, or if GF isn’t a concern, regular flour should work here, too. I like coconut flour because it’s rich, and has a lot of protein and fiber)
• 1/2 cup Nutella (Thank you Costco, for keeping my Nutella costs in line; if vegan is a concern, find a vegan chocolate hazelnut or almond butter)
• Splash of milk of choice (amount can vary…start out with a Tablespoon)
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips plus a Tablespoon or two extra

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.  As oven heats, in a mixing bowl, combine the flour and milk. Mix lightly until pasty, but still pliable. If too dry, add in a bit more milk.

2. Add in Nutella and stir until combined.

3. Fold in chocolate chips.

4. Spoon mixture into small ramekins (fill them 2/3 to 3/4 full). Top each cake with a few reserved chocolate chips. Bake for 15 minutes. (Check for doneness after 10-12 minutes, by poking a knife or a fork into center of cakes). Personally, I like my cakes a bit undercooked and gooey, and hey, it’s safe to do that here, because there are no eggs in this recipe.

BRIA’S NOTE: If vegan and/or gluten free are of concern, be sure to double check all your ingredients’ labels. Can bake one at a time. Keep the remaining dough, covered, in the fridge. Load up a ramekin and bake when desired/as needed. Because we all need chocolate sometimes, yes? Plus, the one little dessert at time is a very college-like thing, isn’t it?

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Date Night – An Easy Date Syrup

Buckets and buckets of dates. Date syrup is an easy way to use up dates so you can enjoy snacking on premium dates like the ones in the pic. Photo courtesy of stock.xchng

I’m loathe to waste anything. Perhaps this is a Persian thing. Or perhaps not. It’s definitely a “me” thing.

Recently, I lucked into a big, fresh batch of medjool dates. They’re creamy, caramel-y, and just perfect. But wouldn’t you know it? I had some other dates lying around that were looking pretty sad.

You know I was not going to let those sad, dried out little dates go to waste. I’d feel too guilty enjoying the plump, sassy ones I’d just been given knowing that the dry, pathetic ones were just sitting there, dessicating even more. Ha!

So date syrup to the rescue.

Me, my student Mythili, and Meera, at the Wanderlust Festival in Vermont earlier this summer. It was one interesting and fun June weekend!

Now I have a sweetener for my tea, baked goods, no-bake sweets, and whatever else I can think of. Best of all, it’s natural and makes good use of mineral-packed dates. And I get to snack on those other awesome dates guilt free. Well, not completely guilt-free. I don’t fast for Ramadan. Mad props to those who do, but I don’t. So in an act of restraint, I’ll try not to eat too many dates during the day as the fasting month kicks off in a few days. (Dates are a popular food to break the daylong fast with).

As to the recipe, it’s so simple, I’m not typing out a formal recipe. Because it’s summer and I roll super simple in the summer. Ha!  In my Vita-mix, I blended:

• 20 dates, pits removed
• 1 and a half cups of water
• 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

This yielded a good two cups of syrup. I just blended until it was smooth, which made the syrup liquidy and pourable. If you’re looking for a thicker texture, use less liquid.

I’ll be back at some point with a re-cap of some of my summer travel adventures, including my taking to the streets of NY on my bike. But for now, I’m off to enjoy more watermelon, which I’ve been eating tons of lately, and a chill evening. You all take care and stay cool.

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Happy Fourth of July! Fluffy Summer Quinoa Salad

At my recent Yoga retreat, quinoa was on the menu, but we ended up not making it. We had so many other delicious things, so it fell out of the rotation. I didn’t miss it, because I thought I didn’t really like it. Until now. You will, too, I bet. You could even take this to any Fourth of July festivities you might be celebrating this weekend. It’s easy to make and travels well.

I used white, also known as yellow, quinoa in my recipe. Look for it in the rice/grain section part of your store. Technically, it's not a grain. It's a seed. And it's gluten-free and very high in protein as well. Photo via wikipedia.

Back to my quinoa breakthrough. Imagine, cooking quinoa according the package directions, and it turning out awesome? Who’d have known? Certainly not me, as I’m not always one for following directions. I can barely make my own recipe the same way twice, much less another person’s. Ha!

I stumbled upon this recipe the other night when “shopping in my cabinets.” I decided to do something novel for me and made the quinoa according to the package directions (fry a cup of quinoa for 20 seconds in butter or oil, add two cups of boiling water, cover, simmer for 20 minutes, covered, over a low heat).

Happy Birthday, America. You're 235, you say? Well, you're forever 21 to me.

As it cooked, I chopped up a bunch of veggies that were hanging around unused: some roasted red peppers, celery, a couple of artichoke hearts. I added a can of (drained) white beans. Then I mixed this all into the fluffy quinoa, along with a couple of drizzles of olive oil, some ground cumin, and some Trader Joe’s 21 Salute seasoning (salt-free and very versatile!) I threw in some nutritional yeast, too.

It was a hit, and a new summer staple was born. It tastes lovely hot, cold, or at room temp. It travels well, and it’s light yet filling. It’s a flexible recipe: vary the veggies and spices and come up with  your own combos. Plus, quinoa is high in protein; along with the beans and veggies, you have a balanced one-dish meal or side.

Quinoa, I’m sorry for my past indifference and for leaving you out of the retreat festivities. I promise I’ll make it up to you somehow, someday!

Fluffy Summer Quinoa Salad

Ingredients to serve 4 as a side, 2 as a main dish:

• 1 cup quinoa
• oil or butter of choice
• water
• veggies of choice (such as peas, peppers, onions, artichoke hearts, asparagus, olive chunks, scallions, whatever you desire/have on hand)
• 1 can of bean of choice, drained (I used white beans)
• salt and pepper to taste
• spice blend of choice (I used Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute)
• ground cumin (couple of pinches)
• nutritional yeast or parmesean cheese, grated (optional)

1. Cook quinoa according to package directions.

2. As quinoa cooks, chops up veggies, drain beans, and gather spices.

3. Once quinoa is done (takes about 20 minutes), remove from heat.  Fluff with a fork, add spices. Lightly stir. Add oil. Fluff a bit again. Add veggies and beans and stir again. Taste and adjust seasoning, oil, and veggies amounts if   needed. That’s IT!

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Even My Cat Likes This Kale

A kale stalk grows in Brooklyn. No, seriously. I snapped this pic at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden recently.

Some people have a way with words. I, apparently, have a way with kale.

Three very unexpected individuals went slightly crazy over this kale recipe:

• A friend who isn’t much of a veggie eater at all. To the point that I always bring a green salad or a side to contribute to dinner at her place, because otherwise, we’re green-free; to her credit, she’s gracious about this habit of mine, and she loves this kale).
• Another friend who isn’t a big food person at all, much less a fan of greens. The friend who says, “I don’t eat sides.”  Ha!
• And my cat.

Yes, you read right. My cat loves this kale. At first I thought he was simply licking the chicken sausage juice off of the plate. But no, the little boy started eating the tiny leftover pieces of greens. With gusto. We’re talking purring and coming back to look for seconds gusto. I trust my cat’s taste in food. He’s quite the foodie, actually. He enjoys hanging out in the kitchen with me, likes chicken only when it’s prepped a certain way, and loves coconut yogurt by So Delicious. He’s got great taste, that one.

Grainy Blackberry picture of my cat :-), whose name is Bise. (Rhymes with the last syllable of resume).

The recipe is so simple. And good!

Simple Skillet Kale Saute with Chicken Sausage

Note: Feel free to leave out the chicken. The kale still tastes fabulous without it.

Ingredients to serve 2:

• 2 or 3 links chicken sausage, cut into ovals
• 1 bunch of kale
• cooking oil of choice, up to 2 tablespoons
• Seasoning blend of your choice (I’ve been using Trader Joe’s “Everyday Seasoning” for my kale lately)
• Salt (ONLY if seasoning blend is unsalted)
• Nutritional yeast or grated cheese of choice (optiona)
• 2 Tablespoons sundried tomatoes, slivered (optional)
• Splash of pomegranate molasses (optional)
• Splash of water or broth of choice (might not need)

1. In a roomy skillet or Dutch oven, heat the oil over low heat. Once the oil is warm, add chicken sausage and allow to brown on one side (check after about a minute).

2. Meanwhile, prep kale (rinse, cut or tear into pieces)

3. Flip chicken sausage. Now add kale to skillet and on one side for a minute or two. Then turn it to coat with oil and sausage juices, then add spices, plus sundried tomato slivers. Turn and cook the kale on for another minute or so. Taste kale for texture (I like mine tender-crisp), and adjust spices, including salt, if desired. Add a drizzle of pomegranate molasses, if using. (If at any point the kale becomes too dry in the pan, add a bit or water or broth of choice)

4. Remove from skillet, sprinkle with nutritional yeast or grated cheese (if using), and serve warm. It can also travel well and makes a tasty cold salad or side dish.

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Baked Nut Butter Chicken Nuggets

Oven fried chicken nuggets stay moist thanks to a coating of nut butter, and crunchy courtesy of panko crumbs. Early-season broccoli rabe is my veggie side, and Trader Joe's Mango Ginger Chutney serves as the dipping sauce du jour.

I love chicken nuggets. I know, really sophisticated of me? Ha!

Edited to Add: I was born and (mostly) grew up in Texas, where fried chicken was on the weekly menu rotation, at least in my earliest years. I’ve always loved it. Just the smell of it makes me nostalgic. But I can’t always eat it, for obvious reasons. These flavorful nuggets satisfy the crunchy, chicken-y craving, and aren’t as messy and hot as frying up a batch of chicken. Plus, my fried chicken never seems to taste quite as good as my mom’s.

Luckily, I’ve figured out how to give chicken nugget morsels a healthy, grown-up, and tasty upgrade.

The key ingredients? Nut butter plus panko bread crumbs (that stuff that makes tempura so crunchy and awesome at your favorite Japanese spot. Panko bread crumbs have become increasingly common in regular grocery stores in recent years. Progresso brand makes them, as does Roland. Roland is the brand I used in this recipe. I paid about $1.25 on sale for my 7 ounce bag, which will last awhile).

Yum!

Coating chicken chunks with the nut butter of your choice is a great way to get crunchy panko crumbs to stick, and stick well, to the chicken pieces. Then just pop them in the oven for 15-20 minutes, and you have an irresistible nugget delight. The nut butter gives them another boost of flavor, and keeps the breast meat, which often tends to dry out, nice and juicy.

No panko crumbs? Try regular breadcrumbs from the store. Gluten free needed? Then coat the nuggets in nut butter, followed by a dusting of the ground nuts of your choice.

You can use the nut butter of your choice. I’ve tried this with almond butter, peanut butter, and sunflower seed butter. All work equally well, as does pistachio nut butter, which I made a batch of recently. Here’s the recipe link to Pistachio Honey Nut Butter:

Pistachio nut butter. Easy to make at home and a worthwhile option to coat your chicken nuggets in before dredging them in panko bread crumb awesomeness.

Bonus Tip: Prep extra nuggets and freeze them in a single layer, covered well. When it’s time to eat, just remove them from the freezer and bake them according to the directions below. No thawing necessary.

Ingredients to make 2-4 servings (2 as entree, 4 as an appetizer):

• 1 pound of chicken breast, cut into chunks
• Seasoning blend of your choice
• Salt (ONLY if seasoning blend is unsalted)
• 1/2 cup nut butter of choice, more if necessary
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs (or alternatively,bread crumbs from a can, or ground nuts)
• Splash of water (might not need)

1. Preheat oven to 450 F.

2. Season the chicken with the seasoning blend, adding salt if necessary.

3. Spoon nut butter into a mixing bowl.  Mix well. If it seems a bit dry, put in a tiny bit of water to loosen it up (it should be a texture that is slightly thinner than honey).

4. Place chicken chunks in nut butter and toss to coat, using your hands or a spoon to coat all sides.

5. Throw panko crumbs on top of chicken and mix well. If necessary, press crumbs into the chicken so they adhere. Make sure all sides of the chicken are coated with crumbs. Shake off excess crumbs.

6. On a baking sheet, in a single layer, bake the nuggets for 15 to 20 minutes.You don’t even need to turn them!

7. Serve with the side/s and or dipping sauce of your choice.

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Homemade Pistachio Nut Butter

Pistachio Nut Butter with a touch of honey. It's actually very easy to make your own pistachio butter.

Lately I’ve been “shopping” in my own pantry and fridge to use up goodies already on hand and keep some money in my pocket. There is so much upheaval and need in the world on any given day, but lately it seems like so much is going on. It gets a bit overwhelming sometimes. So I’m focusing on having an attitude of gratitude and creating more with less.

It just so happens that I am lucky enough to have a surplus of pistachios at the moment, so I decided to make a nut butter with them. It took all of five minutes, turned out great, and I already have some easy recipes ideas in mind to use it in. Anything that’s good, I’ll share with you.

Of course, it’s quite delicious on its own. Or melted a bit on top of ice cream, in a sandwich, or mixed into oatmeal. Those are just a few ideas; as you can see, there are tons of uses for this stuff, as with any nut butter. Leave your ideas in the comments.

Stay tuned for some upgrades to West of Persia. I’m working on an Amazon store for the site, and also have a cool giveaway coming up.  Have a great day!

NOTE: Take a look at your blender or food processor’s instructions for making nut butters, and adjust your use of your machine as needed when making this, or any,  nut butter. I made mine with my Vita-Mix, and just used the wet blade (I don’t own the dry blade).

Homemade Pistachio-Honey Nut Butter

For approx 2/3 cup of nut butter:

• 1 cup pistachios, shells removed
• 2-3 Tablespoons oil (I used grapeseed oil)
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 1-2 Tablespoons water

1. Grind the nuts in your machine until they’re broken down into chunks, but NOT pulverized.

2. Now add in oil, a Tablespoon at a time. Also add in honey and about half a tablespoon of water. Grind on low as a paste begins to form.

3. Stop blender, scrape down sides, and re-blend, adding water IF NEEDED little by little to get (or keep) things moving. Repeat this step as needed. Stop blending when the desired consistency is reached. I like my nut butters chunky sometimes, so I left this pistachio butter on the chunky side this time.

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Breathe Easy Healing Soup With Ginger, Garlic, Chili

Ginger, garlic, and chile are the foundations of this simple soup. I used chipotles that were pre-cooked in adobo sauce, but you could use other peppers if that's easier for your. Photo courtesy of stock.xchng.

What’s that old saying?  “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.”

That’s what this week feels like. Here I was with big plans to do the following:

• A thorough, if late, deep housecleaning to prep for Persian New Year (Nowruz).
• Batches and batches of cookies baked (and photographed and blogged about!)
• To send out some of said treats as gifts.
• A delicious Persian New Year feast over the weekend.
• Oh, and to teach just shy of 20 classes. . .
• . . . AND to serve as a bridesmaid in my friend’s wedding this weekend.

Yeah, right. That sound you hear? That’s the Universe laughing at my plans.  Loudly. I’m laughing now, too, at myself for thinking I could get all of that stuff done, even under the best of circumstances. You see,  I started feeling not so great late last week, and haven’t been quite able to shake the feeling since. So I scaled back on my ambitions, focusing on resting and working and, quite frankly, just getting through the week. (Don’t worry, I don’t teach with a fever and I’m not doing adjustments this week just to be on the ultra-safe side).

I have so much garlic around my place. It's slightly ridiculous, and no, I don't fear vampires 😉 Photo courtesy of stock.xchng.

I also threw everything but the kitchen sink (and the doctor) at this annoying bug. You name it: Vitamin C, immune supplements, kombucha, juices, garlic, ginger, spices, cake, sleep, TV, movies, tea, menthol, baths, books, carbs, probiotics, Swedish bitters, and probably at least a half-dozen more things.

It’s been quite stubborn. Very strange, considering I’m rarely sick.

On the positive side, I did make a soup that truly helps me feel better. I breathe deeper and feel less achey when I eat this. It’s super simple to make, otherwise I never would have made it. Ha! It’s not Persian, not even Middle Eastern. It IS good, though, and I’m so grateful for the simple healing powers of ginger, garlic, and chili. When tossed in my slow cooker, they created some kind of magic:

Spicy Soup with Ginger, Garlic, and Chili Pepper

Ingredients

• 1 chunk of ginger, peeled (about 2 Tablespoons)
• As many garlic cloves as you want, peeled (I did about 5)
• 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (can sub other chiles if that’s easier for you)
• 1/2 medium onion, in chunks
• 32 ounces chicken or veggie broth
• 2 potatoes, cubed
• 1 cup of baby carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 can chickpeas, drained (14-16 ounces)
• Slivered scallions for garnish (optional)
• Avocado as a topper (optional)
• 1 Teaspoon cumin (optional; if you don’t use chipotles in adobo, use some cumin to pick up that smoky flavor)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a blender, combine ginger, garlic, chili, onion, and broth. Blend until smooth.

2. Pour mixture in a slow cooker. Add potatoes and carrots, and cumin, if using. Stir. Cook for 4 hours.

3.  Stir in chickpeas. Taste and adjust seasoning (the broth can be salty, so make sure to taste first before adding salt)

4. Ladle into bowls and serve topped with scallions and/or avocado chunks.

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Hooray for Harissa

Harissa sauce, or paste, can range in color from relatively light, like my orangey spread, to a much deeper red.

My homemade harissa is a fast, simple, saucy paste of red peppers, walnuts, garlic, and any number of optional spices. It can be as fiery or as mild as you wish, but it tastes fantastic pretty much any way you put it together. It’s a super flexible recipe, so ingredient amounts don’t have to be exact.

So where exactly does this stuff come from? Well, according to Wikipedia:

Harissa is a Tunisian hot chilli sauce commonly eaten in North Africa whose main ingredients are Piri piri chili peppers, serrano pepper or other hot chillis and olive oil. It is a standard ingredient of North African cuisine,^[1] most closely associated with Tunisia and Algeria^[2] but recently also making inroads in Morocco according to food expert Paula Wolfert.^[3]

Recipes for harissa vary according to the household and region. Variations can include the addition of cumin, red peppers, garlic, coriander, and lemon juice. In Saharan regions, harissa can have a smoky flavor. Prepared harissa is also sold in tubes, jars, and cans.

I have a feeling this versatile sauce, which can be used as a dip, condiment, pasta sauce, soup topper, meat marinade, and more, will make an appearance at my upcoming Upstate New York Yoga retreat. I’m so excited about the retreat. I’m planning all sorts of fun activities, like a meal made on the grill, a farm tour, and lots of great Yoga classes and downtime.

Looking for a more immediate use of harissa? It’s a key part of another my North African-influenced sweet potato stew.

Harissa Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 jar roasted red bell peppers
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 3-5 garlic cloves, peeled and quartered
• Pinch of cayenne pepper (you decide how big or small)
• 1/2 teaspoon each (or more) of any or all of the following: cumin, coriander, caraway seeds, cardamom, allspice
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Rinse and drain jarred bell peppers.

2. Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, adding a bit of water if needed to get/keep things moving.

3. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste, if desired. Add more of the other spices if you wish. Re-blend. Taste, and serve immediately, or jar it in an airtight container and put it in the fridge.

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