Honey Poached Pears

So much like the debate of what is the difference between a muffin and a cupcake, the debate of whether fruit is dessert or not can stir up quite a bit of controversy. I would like to use this post as my way of taking an official position in this long and drawn-out conflict. 

Fruit is dessert. Yes, I said it. Fairly healthy and very yummy. Winter is the perfect time for warm fruit desserts like crisps and hot pies, but poached fruit is one of my favorites. As you may have figured out by now, I love soft, almost mushy, foods. Poached pears mean taking a delicious, soft fruit and infusing it with even more sweet, syrupy flavors and making it just the tiniest bit softer. With the addition of the cool and creamy mascarpone, this is perfect on a cold evening. Feel free to save the sauce to put in hot apple juice or cider, or to mix into warm milk. Honestly, I had the leftover pears and mascarpone for breakfast with a bowl of oatmeal (I mixed the sauce into the oatmeal to sweeten it). I love finding good uses for leftovers.

Also, this would be delicious sprinkled with almond slivers or some granola.

Honey Poached Pears
From Epicurious 

Serves 4 (one pear half each)

2 firm but ripe large Bosc pears, peeled, halved, cored

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 cup water

1/2 cup dry white wine

6 tablespoons honey

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise; or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons brandy or dark rum

Toss pears with lemon juice in large bowl. Set aside. Combine 1 cup water, wine and honey in medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Stir over medium heat until honey dissolves. Add pears. Cover mixture with round piece of parchment paper. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until pears are just tender when pierced, turning when half-way through cooking, about 15 minutes.

Using slotted spoon, transfer pears to large bowl. Boil poaching liquid until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 2 minutes. Cool syrup. Pour syrup over pears. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 8 hours or overnight. Remove vanilla bean.

Whisk mascarpone cheese, sugar and brandy in large bowl until smooth. Add 1/4 cup chilled poaching syrup and whisk until soft peaks form.

Thinly slice each pear half lengthwise, leaving slices attached at stem end. Using metal spatula, transfer pears to plates. Gently press on pears to fan slightly. Spoon some syrup over pears. Spoon mascarpone cream alongside each pear half and serve.

Navy Bean and Ham Hock Soup

The beautiful fall leaves have gone away and the naked trees make the weather feel colder, so a hot soup sounded perfect. I even got to learn about ham hocks to make this. Ok, so I did not learn much, but apparently the ham hocks I found were cured and sealed so that they could sit out for weeks at room temperature... kinda scary. Despite the slightly disturbing, long-lasting meat, this soup did not last long at all. I did not even feel the need to add salt to it because of the saltiness of the ham.

Navy Bean and Ham Hock Soup

• Serves 8. Adapted from Food Network
• 1 pound navy beans, picked over, rinsed and drained
• 10 sprigs parsley
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme or rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 large smoked ham hocks, about 1 1/2 pounds
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1 quart of cold water
• 1 quart chicken broth
• 4 medium carrots, chopped
• 4 celery stalks, chopped
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 
  

Place the beans in a large saucepan and cover with cold water by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes; remove from the heat, cover, and let sit for one hour. Drain and reserve. Tie the parsley, thyme, and bay leaf together with kitchen twine.

In a large soup pot or Dutch oven combine the beans, herb bundle, hocks, onions, celery, carrots, and garlic with the water and broth. Bring to a boil, cover, and adjust the heat so the soup cooks at a gentle simmer. Cook until the beans and hock are completely tender, about 1-1/2 hours.

Turn off the heat and remove the hocks. Cool slightly. Remove the meat from the hocks, discarding the bones, fat, and skin. Cut the meat into small cubes. Remove the herb bundle and discard. Heat the soup and adjust the seasoning as needed with salt and pepper.

Pour into heated bowls and serve.

Apple Raisin Salad

Not sure what to eat for lunch today? Well, have I got a suggestion for you. Grab a whole wheat pita and fill it to the brim with this delicious salad. I love this salad because there is no added sugar, but it is so sweet! I made this for a dinner at church to rave reviews. It's simple and I almost always have all of the ingredients on-hand.

Apple Raisin Salad
Serves 8

4 chopped apples, skins on, cored
1 1/2 cups raisins
4 celery stalks, sliced
1 cup plain greek yogurt
1 cup roughly chopped walnuts
Cinnamon to taste, optional

Mix all ingredients together, serve =)

Note: mixing a bit of lemon juice over the apples helps to keep them from browning

Simple Pumpkin Soup

• It's Fall! The colors are gorgeous, the air is crisp, and the days are perfect for enjoying a game of catch or a nice run at the arboretum. In fact, I actually tried honing my baseball throwing skills while babysitting the other day. It was a wonderful! I forgot how much fun hanging out with kids is and how it reminds me to slow down and not take life for granted. 
• The perfect way to not take life for granted is a bowl of soup with a slice of homemade bread. When I was trying to think of an easy and affordable meal to serve at church last week, I was reminded of pumpkin soup. I had never heard of such a thing as pumpkin soup until this year, but I love pumpkin and had to try it. This recipe is so easy! If you are looking for a good soup appetizer for this Thanksgiving, I highly recommend this one. Next time I make it, I am going to try it with a rind of Parmesan cheese cooking in the pot (I will remove it before I serve the soup).  Feel free to let me know if you get a chance to throw a cheese rind into the mix before I do!
• Pumpkin Soup
  Adapted from All*You
  Makes 4-5 servings
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 (15 oz.) cans solid packed pumpkin
• 1 quart chicken broth
• 1 cup milk 
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste

• Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat; add onion and cook, stirring often until very soft, about 8 minutes. Add pumpkin, water, milk, syrup, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, whisking often. (Soup can be made 1 day ahead. Let cool and then cover and chill. Bring to a simmer before serving.)

Gluten-Free Dinner for a Crowd II

If any of you have gluten-free friends and don't know what to serve them for dinner, I've got you covered. This menu has vegetables, protein, and fun dessert that is perfect for fall. If you want another side, I highly suggest mashed potatoes to mix the chicken into. These dishes will serve roughly 20 people. Also, vanilla ice cream is great with the apple crisp, but I had to keep my meal under $50, so that's the  primary reason why there are no mashed potatoes or ice cream.

If you want to make this for a "normal" gathering, say 4-6 people and not 20, halve the roasted vegetables recipe and quarter the chicken recipe. As for the apple crisp, an 8x4 pan will require 4 apples, 6 tablespoons of margarine and brown sugar, 1/4 cup flour of choice, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of oats.

Roasted Vegetables
 ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil

12 medium carrots 1 ½-inch thick circles 

1 ½ cups brussel sprouts (about ½ pound), halved 

6-8 cups red bliss potatoes (about 2 pounds), cut into bite-size cubes

6 medium parsnips (about 2 pounds), cut into 1 ½-inch thick slices 

1 cup sweet potatoes (about 1 pound), cut into 1 ½-inch thick slices 

1 1/2 lbs of green beans, snapped/cut

3-4 tablespoons herbs de provence

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

Grease 2 large baking sheets. Place vegetables in a bowl and add the oil, herbs, salt and pepper. Toss well, evenly coating all the vegetables with the seasonings and oil. Add more oil if the vegetables seem dry 

Spread the vegetables evenly on the large baking sheet. Place on middle rack in oven and bake for 35 to 45 minutes. 

Mom's Rosemary Chicken
2 (40oz) bags of chicken tenders (not breaded, just plain, frozen, raw)
4 large onions, cut into eights
Enough apple juice to cover the chicken or so (1/2 a bottle?)
4 tablespoons of dried rosemary

Divide chicken evenly among two medium crockpots, or place into one extra large crockpot.
Pour apple juice in just enough to leave only a centimeter of chicken showing in each crockpot.
Place onion slices on/around chicken and sprinkle the rosemary on top in each crockpot.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Mom's (Gluten-Free) Apple Crisp
*you can make this regular, non-GF crisp by swapping out GF flour for all purpose flour and the GF oats for regular oats

14 medium apples. I suggest a mixture of gala, golden delicious, and/or granny smith.

3 sticks+3/4 stick margarine, room temperature

2 cups brown sugar

1¼ cup all purpose gluten free flour, or any

2 tablespoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons nutmeg*optional

2 1/2 cups gluten free oats (old fashioned, plain)

Peel and core apples, slice into eighths or however small you like. Divide evenly among two lightly greased 9x13 metal plans.

Mix remaining ingredients together so they are crumbly. Sprinkle on top of apples.

Bake at 350F for about 40 minutes.

Yellow Dal

It's another chilly Friday filled with reading for school, but I don't mind because I started my day off with a free yoga class from the Lexington Healing Arts Academy. Now that I have read some scripture, focused my mind and body, and made some simple dal, I can sit down with my tea and read about American diplomacy/negotiating strategy.

If you are like me and have been neglecting the "third pillar" of physical fitness (cardiovascular/aerobic, muscular strength/endurance, and flexibility), yoga is a great way to relieve stress and work on flexibility at the same time. I also find that, when I include it as part of my morning routine, it helps me to be more in touch with my body throughout the day. What does being "in touch with my body" mean? When I use that phrase, I mean being able to hear and identify what my body is asking for, whether it be more or less of a specific type of food/nutrition or a kind of movement (running, dancing, strength training, or a walk at the arboretum).

Believe it or not, now that I have been trying to listen to what my body wants and have given myself permission to follow those requests for over a year, I actually find that I crave things like carrots much more than ice cream. I always thought that if I ate what I truly wanted, I would eat nothing but cookies and cake, but it has been the the opposite. Of course, I still love a good dessert and eat them at least once a day, but I find I am satisfied with smaller amounts and do not "crave" them in a frightening way like I used to.

Preparing the onions, garlic, and masala.

Cooking the yellow split peas.

Time to mix the onion mixture and yellow split peas together. It smells so good!

Simplest Yellow DalFrom Whole Foods

1 cup yellow split peas
3 cups water
½ teaspoon sea salt, more to taste
2 cups chopped yellow onion, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons garam masala
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Whole wheat naan, for serving (no longer gluten free if you serve with naan, btw)

Rinse peas and soak in water for 10 minutes. Drain, rinse and place in a medium saucepan with water, salt and ½ cup of the onion. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the peas are tender, 45 to 50 minutes.

While the split peas are cooking, heat oil in a skillet and sauté the remaining onion with garlic and garam masala over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they are golden, soft, and just beginning to brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

Add the onion mixture to the cooked peas, stirring to combine. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes to blend flavors. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Serves 4 to 6.

Roasted Red Pepper Bisque

• Rainy, slightly chilly days just say "it's time for fall foods!" and I definitely listen to those voices when they tell me to make such things as pumpkin mousse with candied pecans (someday I will put that recipe up) and roasted red pepper soup.
• It was the perfect day for such fall treats because I was having a Reading Party. What is a Reading Party? Well, it's when someone like me needs accountability and motivation to read 400 pages about the Cold War, so I invite friends over to sit with me and read while I read. It's really fantastic.
• One of my friends brought over some red peppers that were begging to be used and also mentioned he likes cream scones, so after the soup was done, we put together some scones real quick. Mousse, soup, scones, yay.
• Honestly, the food was the best 3 hour break in a 12 hour day of reading that I could have asked for. It was delicious and I got to be in the kitchen with friends! Perfection =).
• 
  
• Roasted Red Pepper Bisque
  Adapted from Cooking Light
• 1 1/2 pounds red bell peppers (3 large), roasted and peeled
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped carrot
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• Dash of ground red pepper
• Pepper to taste
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup cooked long-grain rice
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup cream or milk
• 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

• Chop bell peppers; set aside. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and carrot; sauté 8 minutes or until vegetables are lightly browned. Stir in bell peppers, tomato paste, and next 5 ingredients (tomato paste through garlic); cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in rice, water, and broth, scraping skillet to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil; partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Place broth mixture in a food processor or blender (you may have to do this in batches); process until smooth. Return puree to pan, and stir in 1/2 cup. Cook over medium heat until thoroughly heated (do not boil). Ladle bisque into bowls; top with cilantro.

Gluten-Free Dinner for 20+ Made Easy

This weekend I was given the opportunity to make dinner for a wonderful group of people with whom I attend church (sorry if that's incorrect grammar). Because so many people are trying to be healthy or have dietary restrictions, I tried to think of something yummy, nutritious, gluten-free, and cheap, so of course Black Bean Soup came to mind.

Being that this soup is primarily compromised of my favorite combo, onions+green peppers, this is one of my favorite meals. I like to make it a few days ahead of time to give the flavors time to really come out and to allow it to thicken up. Actually, if you allow it to thicken up over 2 or 3 days, it will become very thick and remind you of your grandma's authentic Cuban black beans and rice (or maybe that's just me). Serve it over brown rice and top with plain yogurt (or sour cream) and shredded cheese. Magnificent.

A double batch of this soup, along with rice, cheese, and sour cream, ran me less than $1.50 per person, when feeding 20 people. Seriously though, it was probably cheaper per person because I probably have enough for leftovers to feed at least 6 people soup with the rice, cheese, and sour cream.

Honestly, if you are looking to cut down on fat, you can halve the bacon in this recipe and still have it turn out well (I did that when I served it for my family's Christmas Eve dinner in 2010). There is a ton of protein from the black beans, then lots of carrots, tomatoes, and green peppers boost your veggie intake. I put plain yogurt and cheese on top for deliciousness and calcium. The brown rice makes for a great, gluten-free complex carbohydrate. All in all, this is one yummy and good-for-you meal, so be sure to finish it off with a big chocolate chip cookie or something, k?

Black Bean Soup

adapted from Food Network

Note: to serve 20+, double the soup recipe and make sure you have a 9 quart stock pot.

5 slices bacon, finely chopped (cut fat: 3 will work too, or just bacon grease)

2 medium onions, chopped (about 2 1/2 cups)

1 to 2 large diced green peppers (I use two because I love green peppers)

5 diced carrots

4 garlic cloves, minced very finely (no one wants a huge bite of garlic)

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 1/2 cups canned diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons ketchup

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon chili powder

4 (15 1/2-ounce) cans black beans, drained but not rinsed

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 bunch cilantro

Juice of 1 lime

Thinly sliced scallions, for garnish

Plain yogurt or sour cream, for garnish

Grated cheddar, for garnish

Brown rice, to serve with

Put the bacon into a large heavy pot and place it over medium heat. Cook until it starts to give up its fat, about 4 minutes. Stir in the onions, green pepper, carrots and cook, stirring, until the onions start to turn translucent and carrots soften, about 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until you can smell it, about 1 minute.

Add the broth, tomatoes, ketchup, Worcestershire, and chili powder. Stir in the beans, turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat so the soup is bubbling gently and cook 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, pick off all the thick stems from the cilantro. Wash it and shake dry. Chop the cilantro coarsely and stir it into the soup when it has been simmering 10 minutes. cook until the soup is thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the lime juice. Serve with the garnishes.

Seriously guys, don't skip the yogurt/sour cream and the cheese, they make the dish!

Oh, and if you happen to have a ham bone and some ham around, feel free to throw that in too.

The same goes for a bay leaf.

After a few days, everything mushes together and becomes less vibrant, but -in my opinion- more flavorful.