lentil wraps with tahini sauce in homemade pitas

I am a little disappointed in myself for completely ignoring the holiday last weekend which would have given me every excuse to get my Latina blood flowing and create some sort of Central American themed delights. Instead, we spent the weekend running around like chickens with our heads cut off.

First of all, I worked two shifts at my favorite coffee shop. After the shift Saturday (which began at 5:30, mind you) we headed over to my cousins for a Cinco de Mayo/ birthday/ house warming. On Sunday we were supposed to attend another house warming after I was off work, but found out that a potential renter was going to come see our house, so we frantically scrubbed, then ran to the park right in time for them to show up. (Luckily, they liked the place, so our landlords will not have a house sitting vacant for long. On the other hand, maybe this means we should start packing?)

On our way to the multi-themed party we swung by Trader Joe's to buy some flowers, and a snack. The snack was a wrap similar to this one, but I was sure I could make it better at home. Not to brag, but I was right.

Lentil Wraps with Tahini Sauce in Homemade Pitas

for the lentil mixture:
1 1/2 cup cooked lentils
1/2 cup chopped white onion
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp water
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp lemon zest
1/2 cup parsley

for the tahini sauce:
1/4 c sesame seeds
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp water
large garlic clove, chopped
1/4 c parsley
1 tbsp lemon juice
large sprinkle salt
pinch red pepper flakes
sprinkle cumin

Combine all the lentil mixture ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Do the same with the tahini sauce ingredients. I was not able to make the tahini sauce a smooth mixture; adding liquid seemed to help, I would like to know the secret to this if anyone has better luck.

for the homemade pitas:
adapted from Bread Machine Magic
1 1/8 cups water
2 c all-purpose flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
1  1/2 tsp sugar
1  1/2 tsp Red Star active dry yeast for bread machines

Combine ingredients in bread machine*, and select "dough" setting. (Or if you have a machine like mine, set it so that only the first two cycles, knead and first rise, are accomplished.).

Once it is done, turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it into a thick log. Cut the log into two even pieces, and continue to divide pieces until you have eight similar sized pieces. Using your hands, roll these into balls. Then, using a rolling pin, roll into discs about 6 inches in diameter. Cover them with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise while you preheat the oven to 500 degrees (about 20 minutes).

When the oven is ready, bake the pitas on a non-stick or slightly floured baking sheet, four at a time, for about 5 minutes. When you remove them from the oven, place them on a plate and cover with a damp towel so that they soften, about ten minutes.

*If you don't have a bread machine, these look pretty darn good also.

Toppings for the wraps:
shredded cabbage
thinly sliced bell pepper
thinly sliced red onion
spinach (I didn't try this, but I think it would also be good)
lemon wedges

Assemble your wraps: Cut open each pita half way and layer lentil mixture, tahini sauce, cabbage, bell peppers, red onion, any leftover parsley, or whatever else sounds good. Serve with lemon wedges on the side. Enjoy.

lentil, quinoa, cauliflower garden burgers

The search for a good garden burger is not an easy one. There are the weird ones that are made to taste like meat, completely abolishing the point of eating a vegetarian hamburger. Then there are the ones that seem to be made of all sorts of grains: oats, bread crumbs, barley, etc. While I am certainly not opposed to carbs, it seems to be overkill to place a patty of oats on a bun made of grains. 

I wanted to come up with a recipe that contained protein and vegetables. So I grabbed a bunch of odds and ends from the pantry...

...added some sauteed veggies...

...mixed them all together...

 ...formed them into patties, cooked them up...

 ... added all sorts of toppings, and ate them.

Lentil, Quinoa, Cauliflower Garden Burgers

2 tbsp olive oil
1 heaping cup of chopped leeks
3 c cauliflower florets
sprinkle of salt and pepper
1 1/2 c lentils, cooked (about 3/4 cook lentils uncooked)
1 c quinoa
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
4 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp Worcestershire
sprinkle hot sauce
1 humongous clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 egg + 1 egg white

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Add leeks. As they begin to brown, add cauliflower. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Cook until cauliflower is slightly browned and tender. Put into a blender or food processor and pule until chopped finely (or chop finely).

Bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil, add quinoa. Reduce to simmer and cover. Allow quinoa to absorb water and fluff with a fork.

In a large bowl combine 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, and next six ingredients (through olive oil). Whisk well. Add in cooked lentils, quinoa, sunflower seeds, and chopped cauliflower/leek mixture. Beat in egg and egg white with a fork.

Heat a large pan over medium heat and brush lightly with olive oil. Form the mixture into patties a few inches across and about 1/2 inch thick. Allow patties to cook well (the patties should no longer stick to the pan when cooked), then flip and allow to brown on the other side. Serve on a good bun with all the fixin's. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I can't lead you to believe that these patties stuck together well. You really have to pack them together tightly, and be extremely careful when flipping. Also, do not use too much oil when cooking and do not let the heat get too high or low. Aside from all that, they are easy to make, really!

pesto, provolone, and sun dried tomato paninis

Yum.

I don't really feel like this need a recipe. You basically put pesto, provolone cheese, and sun dried tomatoes in between two thick slices of artisan bread, and then cook them by smooshing the bread in between two hot, flat surfaces swiped with a little olive oil. If you would like more precise panini making directions, you can look here and here. After which you will realize that I apparently cannot make a panini that doesn't include provolone. Enjoy.

Cranberry, provolone, basil, turkey paninis

Last night James and I received the sad news that our play date for today was not going to work out on account of pink eye (yes, please stay home, we will catch up with you once the antibiotics have kicked in) and we realized we were facing a whole day with no plans at all. Worse than that, a rainy, cold, windy day with no plans at all. So, we deemed today would be an eating-cooking-baking day. Those are the best kinds of days anyway.

We changed out of our pjs and into our comfy pants (cute little Addidas warm-ups and yoga pants, respectively), and we vowed to leave the house only once to go to the store and collect more eating-cooking-baking supplies.

All I had to show for myself at the end of what was going to be a super-productive-in-the-kitchen day is one loaf of whole-wheat chocolate chip walnut pumpkin bread for moms group tomorrow (already wrapped and out of sight on top of the fridge, don't tell my husband) and dinner, which was paninis made on homemade whole wheat foccacia bread.... Oh wait, scratch that, the foccacia bread stuck to the baking sheet. (Am I repeating myself? Has this happened once before? Maybe twice? Perhaps it is time to invest in better bake ware?)

So we used store-bought ciabatta. Oh well. 

I really love paninis. Like a lot. I mean cheese melted on bread with other good stuff in the middle and then brushed with olive oil and grilled, how could you go wrong? 

This particular combination comes from a cafe I worked at in college. I love basil a lot too, and it is perfect during the holidays when paired with the sweet-tart of the cranberry sauce. I am already planning to stock up on basil so that I can make the ultimate after-Thanksgiving panini with left over turkey, my husbands amazing cranberry sauce, and plenty of cheese. Maybe a little garlic mashed potato pile on the side for dipping? After all, tis the season.

Cranberry, provolone, basil, turkey paninis
(Does this really need a recipe? I am copy-and-pasting from the last panini recipe I posted.)
loaf of good, fresh, artisan bread (I used ciabatta), cut into thin slices
olive oil
turkey lunch meat (I used peppered turkey)
provolone
basil leaves
cranberry sauce (I used the canned kind, what a cheater)
Turn a pan or stove-top grill to medium heat. Lightly brush one side of a slice of bread with olive oil, then set it down, oiled side down. Layer meat, then basil, then cheese on top. Slather another slice of bread with cranberry sauce, then place it over the cheese, and lightly brush the side facing up with oil. Place on grill, then press down with another pan on the top of the sandwich. Grill about three minutes, or until grill marks are present and cheese is melting. Flip and grill, pressing down, on the other side about three minutes. Enjoy.

Poultry Patties with Poblano Peppers and Polenta

Happy three day weekend everyone! (As for those who don't have a three day weekend, well, sorry I rubbed it in...)

The sun is out in the Northwest! Which is rare and exciting. Everyone seems to be walking with a bounce in their step and a voluntary smile on their face. The mood is more relaxed and carefree. The smell of freshly cut grass and barbecue is in the air, and all the wonderful sounds of summer can be heard: people laughing as they relax in their yards, kids playing out doors, lawn mowers, birds chirping... and, of course, kids lighting off fireworks at all hours of the night and early morning, starting June 27th. (That one I could do without.)
This is the perfect weekend to avoid making big messes in the kitchen, or even spending much time in the kitchen at all. So, here is a recipe that is twist on the classic burger, and is cooked completely outdoors. Unfortunately, the day I decided to make it was overcast, so I ended up cooking on my stove-top grill. But today (and supposedly the next few) will provide the perfect weather to whip this one up on your outdoor grill. Now, who's excited to grab a spatula and start flippin' some burgers?

Poultry Patties with Poblano Peppers and Polenta
serves 4
1 1/2 cups polenta, or yellow corn meal
4 cups water
1 tsp salt
a good amount of freshly ground pepper
cooking spray
olive oil
To make polenta (from Williams-Sonoma "Essentials of Grilling"): Combine polenta, water and salt in a deep sauce pan, whisk together. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, stirring often until polenta thickens and pulls away from sides of pan. (This was about 20 min for me.) Remove from heat and season with good amount of pepper. Then pour into an 8 or 9 inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. The recipe says to refrigerate 24 hours, I did about 8 and it was fine.
To grill polenta: Turn polenta out of pan onto a flat surface and cut into 4 squares. Brush both sides of each square lightly with olive oil and grill about 5 minutes each side on medium-high heat

For burgers:
about 3/4 lb ground turkey
1/2 white or red onion, chopped (use about 1/4 cup if you don't love onions as much as I do)
1 slice bread, finely crumbled or pulsed to small crumbs in food processor
1/2 tsp cumin
pinch red pepper flakes
about 10 drops Tabasco
1 egg, lightly beaten
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well and use your hands to form 4 patties. Grill on the stove-top or barbecue for about 8 minutes each side over medium-high heat, or until a meat thermometer registers 165 degrees.

Toppings:
2 poblano pepper

4 slices cheddar cheese (optional)
1 tomato, cut into thick slices
1/2 red onion, cut into thin slices
salsa, for serving
Cut peppers in half and remove seeds. Place peppers on a sheet o foil over medium-high heat, and grill about 20 minutes, or until the skin becomes black and blistery. At this point, wrap the foil around the peppers and let them sit about 20 more minutes, off the grill. Unwrap and remove skins from peppers. Discard the skins.

To assemble burgers: place one half pepper on each polenta square. Top with burger, cheese (if desired), tomato, onions, and salsa. Enjoy.

Vietnamese Baguettes

I'm going to make this quick because, well, I haven't slept more than four hours straight in about a week (the child), and I've been busy writing restaurant reviews (which cost more to "research" than I get for writing them), and it's late... and I want to go to bed.

I guess I've been under the Asian influence lately, but I haven't been able to get Vietnamese baguettes out of my head. I've had them a few times from various places and have some valuable advise for you from these experiences: 1. if unidentifiable meat grosses you out, go for the vegetarian option and 2. the weird mayonnaise sauce is always sitting out on the counter and then is spread in a thick, warm layer onto your sandwich. So, you might want to go sauce-less and meat-less. Or, just make them at home.

Vietnamese baguettes
makes about 4 baguettes
1 long baguette, cut into 4 sandwich-size slices
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup white wine vinegar (rice vinegar would work also)
2 radishes, thinly sliced
1/2 carrot, cut into matchsticks
1/4 jalepeno, thinly sliced
1/2 of a small pickling cucumber, thinly sliced
1/4 bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 cup soy sauce*
1 tbsp garlic chili sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp honey
1 or 2 cups shredded pre-grilled chicken or pork, or fried or grilled tofu
1 cup cilantro
Combine lime juice and vinegar in a bowl or pyrex. Add veggies (radishes through bell pepper). Let sit for at least an hour (I did four hours). Drain before assembling sandwiches.
For the sauce, combine the soy sauce through honey, stirring well to mix.
To assemble baguette: pour about 1 tbsp of the sauce onto the bread, then layer meat or tofu, pickled veggies, and cilantro. Enjoy.
*a note on 10/21/13- I must have used low sodium soy sauce for the sauce, because I made it again, and holy moley was it salty! Perhaps reduce the soy sauce or use a low sodium version

Turkey, basil, and nectarine paninis with balsamic vinegar

My dear readers, it has been far too long. You are most likely carrying on, as if nothing is missing in your lives, but I am having withdrawals. I cannot believe it has been four days since I have posted anything. There are many things I could hold responsible for this long lapse of time between blogs, namely a certain little guy who is in a stage that I will call really-fussy-and-cranky-unless-I-am-destroying-Mommy's-Calaphon-pans.

However, I cannot entirely blame my lack of time in the kitchen on the munchkin.
There was also, to put it bluntly, a failure. It was my first real failure at a dish that I thought would be blog-worthy. It just didn't make the cut. I really wanted it to, mainly because I took some pretty pictures of the ingredients.

My last reason for not blogging that I will bore you with is this: we are house hunting. Ugh.
I am learning quickly that this is not as glamorous as one would think. I originally thought that poking around in a bunch of old houses in Northeast Portland would be enjoyable. And it was, until we put an offer on one and we didn't get it. And then we looked at a bunch more that apparently already had offers on them. And then we realized that no matter what we buy, it will probably need work. Maybe a lot of work.
The process is chaotic and makes us both tense and exhausted. We usually arrive home late from house hunting and, because of the first mentioned reason, I have nothing ready for dinner. So, I make paninis.
They are so easy and, like pasta, you can pretty much throw anything into them and they taste amazing.
I really like the following combination, but some people- ahem, my husband- are not quite daring enough to try it with the nectarine, but he insists they are still good without.

Turkey, provolone, basil, and nectarine paninis with balsamic vinegar
(please excuse the lack of measurements, but really, they are just sandwiches.) 
loaf of good, fresh, artisan bread (I used ciabatta), cut into thin slices
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
turkey lunch meat (I used peppered turkey)
provolone
basil leaves
nectarines, sliced
Turn a pan or stove-top grill to medium heat. Lightly brush one side of a slice of bread with olive oil, then set it down, oiled side down. Pour a small amount of vinegar over the other side of the bread (about 1 tbsp). Layer meat, then nectarines, then basil, then cheese on top. Place another slice of bread over the cheese, and lightly brush with oil. Place on grill, then press down with another pan on the top of the sandwich. Grill about three minutes, or until grill marks are present and cheese is melting. Flip and grill, pressing down, on the other side about three minutes. Serve with a large side salad (and by that I mean Kettle pepper and salt crinkle chips, yum). Enjoy.

PS I promise something better is coming, because Friday is my birthday, and I must make something fabulous of course. Here are some hints for you:
1. I am collecting egg whites
2. I bought heavy whipping cream, bittersweet chocolate, and vanilla extract at the store today.
3. I am praying for fresh berries (so optimistic) to be available at the Farmers Market tomorrow.
If you guess correctly and post your guess in the comment section before Friday, you will win a free copy of my cookbook*

*minor stipulation- you must first get me a book deal, and your book will be scheduled to arrive sometime late 2015