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This just became my favorite warm salad.  A bite of this dish sports that earthy flavor of the cooked radish- which is somewhat akin to a roasted Brussels sprout, the saltiness of the bacon, the sweetness of the orange juice, the slight bitterness of the radish greens, and it makes mouths happy.

My favorite new way to cook bacon is in the oven.  If you have a thin cut, you want to use a lower heat, like 250 degrees, and thicker cuts can withstand 350 degrees.  You place a baking rack inside of a jelly roll pan and the fat just drips right down as the bacon cooks, and scrapes out easily once it’s cooled.  In my opinion the bacon still requires a patting down with a paper towel the remove the extra fat, but it’s much less significant than when it’s pan-fried.

And while we’re on the subject of bacon, may I just say that my entire life I have eaten commercial bacon- whatever was available in the standard grocery store.  Recently I bought into a couple of meat CSAs and have received bacon in my shares and Whoa!- what a difference.  Farm bacon is noticeably less salty and even the smoked varieties are much less smoky.  I love it!  You can typically also find farm bacon at farmer’s markets, and even at some farm stores which are set up inside of barns.  You aren’t going to find it on sale for $2.50, but your taste buds will thank you for the upgrade.

For more information on local MA organic farms, check this link out.

Ingredients:

1/4 pound bacon, cut into a 1-inch dice

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 bunch of radishes with their greens—radishes quartered lengthwise and greens chopped into ribbons

Salt and black pepper

3 large shallots, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon sugar or honey

1 cup orange juice

Directions:

• In a 350 degree oven, bake the bacon to perfection on a baking rack in a sheet pan for 15-20 minutes.
• In a cast iron frying pan place 2 tablespoons of butter and melt over a moderately high heat
• Add the radish greens, season with salt and pepper and cook until wilted (about 3 minutes)
• Scrape the greens into a bowl and set aside
• Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the skillet.  While the butter is melting, cut your cooked bacon into a 1-inch dice
• Add the radish quarters and let them start to brown up in the pan, solo, for a few minutes

• Add the shallots and bacon chunks and cook over a moderately high heat, until the radishes are golden brown (5- 6 minutes)

• Add the sugar (or honey) and cook for another 2 minutes, until it’s completely dissolved
  Add the orange juice and bring it to a boil, stirring a few times, until the radishes are just tender and the sauce is slightly thickened (about 2 minutes)
• Stir in the radish greens, season with salt and pepper and serve

We had this warm salad as a side to butternut squash soup and it was lovely.  The soup was very mild so the sweet and salty tones of the salad really stood out.

The inspiration for this dish came from this recipe in Food and Wine.

Tags: bacon, honey, orange, radishes, salad, shallots, side dish

If you’re in the market for a warm vegetable stew with luscious spices which will reheat well, then I’ve got a dish for you. This is a very mild curry (which you could heat up with some cayanne and/or crushed red pepper if that’s your preference) and it has notes of cinnamon from the garam masala. If that’s not your thing, you could use your favorite pre-made curry spice mixture rather than what’s listed here. This dish can easily stand on its own as a vegetarian main, or be served alongside some lovely spiced yogurt chicken (as Neil and I had it).

Ingredients:

1 cup red lentils

1/4 cup tomato puree

1/4 cup Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon ground dried turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ancho chile powder

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

1 cup fresh green beans, cut into 1-inch lengths

1 cup mushrooms, sliced thickly

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 (1 inch) piece fresh ginger root, grated

4 cups loosely packed fresh spinach, coarsely chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

4 sprigs fresh cilantro, chopped

1 (15.5 ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

Directions:

• Rinse the lentils well and place them in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil
• Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 20 minutes
• Drain and set aside
• In a bowl, stir together the tomato puree and yogurt. Season with garam masala, turmeric, cumin, and chile powder
• Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat
• Add the onion, green beans and mushrooms; cooking until the onion begins to brown
• Add in the garlic and ginger and stir for a minute- until you really begin to smell them
• Stir in the spinach; cook until it’s dark green and wilted
• Add the yogurt mixture and stir until incorporated
• Mix in the tomatoes and cilantro
• Stir the lentils and garbanzo beans into mixture until well combined and heated through, about 5 minutes

The inspiration for this dish came from this recipe.

Tags: beans, cilantro, curry, ginger, indian, lentil, low-fat, mushrooms, onions, side dish, spinach, stew, tomato, vegetarian

So this isn’t a recipe, but it is what I ate for lunch today.  It’s low in fat, high in protein and omega 3s, and damned tasty!  I was preparing pureed Lima beans for the work week to have for snacks so I used that as my base.  I dropped on a poached egg, and topped the concoction with a couple spoonfuls of salsa, and dug in.  Wow!  what flavor.

Tags: beans, eggs, low-fat, salsa, tomato, vegetarian

When it comes to rolls, this Honduran staple is a winner.  I initially served these rolls with a dinner of beef tenderloin and roasted garlic mashed potatoes with steamed green beans, and didn’t realize the injustice that I was causing- not allowing my family to really taste the bread which is rich and so very wonderful.  I had this epiphany the next morning when breakfast foods were scarce, there was one roll left over, and I had a steaming cup of coffee looking for an accompaniment.  I’m very honestly considering running out to pick up more coconut milk so that I can make another batch of these tonight to have on Christmas morning.

The original recipe called for a yield of 8 rolls.  I found that this made for far too large a roll and so my version makes 12 smaller ones.

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsweetened, finely grated coconut

2 tablespoons sugar

1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons if you buy the big jar) active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

3 1/2 cups flour, plus more for kneading

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup coconut milk

3 tablespoons butter, melted

 Directions

•  Put the coconut, sugar, yeast and water into a small glass bowl and stir together, then set aside for about 15 minutes (so that the yeast can feast)

• Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Add the yeast mixture, coconut milk and butter and, using your hands or a wooden spoon, stir until well combined
• Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead,  until soft and elastic, for 5 to 6 minutes
• Prep a clean, dry bowl by lightly spraying it with olive oil or butter
• Form the dough into a ball, dust generously all over with flour and transfer to the prepared bowl. Cover bowl with a kitchen towel and set aside in a warm spot to let rise until it’s doubled in size (takes about an hour and a half)
• Divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll each into a ball. Arrange the balls of dough on a large greased baking sheet or an ungreased baking stone, spacing them 3 to 4 inches apart (these suckers swell as they bake)
• Set these aside in a warm spot, uncovered, to let rise until doubled in size again (about 45 minutes)
• Preheat the oven to 350°F
• Bake the rolls until they are a deep golden brown and cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes

Tags: bread, coconut, vegetarian

When I decided that I wanted to make a sinfully chocolate dessert for Christmas dinner with my siblings I went in search of recipes.  There were brownies and cakes, truffles and pots de creme, bread puddings and pies to choose from, but none were quite right to finish off our night of gluttony.  Then I came across this recipe and while it wasn’t perfect, it was workable.

What we have here is a shortbread type of crust which uses pretzels, rather than nuts, for a bit of texture.  The filling is a basic ganache, and it’s topped with simple crème fraiche (but you could also substitute whipped cream, ice cream, or even a yogurt dollop).  It is rich, silky, not too sweet, and absolutely lovely is small servings.  It pairs very nicely with a cup of coffee too

Crust

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 cups coarsely crushed pretzels

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 large egg

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted

Filling

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

3/4 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon sea salt

sea salt, crushed pretzels and crème fraîche, for serving

• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter with 3/4 cup of the pretzels and the confectioners’ sugar at a low speed until creamy
• Beat in the flour and egg
• Add the remaining 1/2 cup of pretzels, being sure to leave some pretzel pieces intact
• Flatten the dough between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and refrigerate for half an hour
• Preheat the oven to 350°
• Roll out the dough between the sheets of plastic wrap to the size of your tart pan
• Press the dough into the tart pan and patch any tears, trim the overhanging dough and refrigerate the shell for another 30 minutes
• Line the shell with parchment paper and fill with pie weights (you can substitute a cake pan for the pie weights)
• Bake the shell for 30 minutes
• Remove the parchment and weights and bake for 10 to 15 minutes longer, until the tart shell is firm and just browned
• Let the shell cool completely, then brush the melted chocolate over the bottom and up the side and refrigerate for 10 minutes
• In a medium saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer, then take it off of the heat and add the chocolate and let it stand for 5 minutes
• Whisk until smooth, then add the vanilla (or you can substitute any liqueur) and sea salt
• Transfer the filling to a bowl and let it cool to room temp for about an hour
• Pour the filling into the shell and refrigerate until set (about 4 hours)
• Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and crushed pretzels. Cut into wedges, top with crème fraîche (or other topping of your choice) and serve

Tags: chocolate, crème fraiche, dessert, pretzels, tart, vegetarian