morel asparagus gnocchi

chris and i splurged on morel mushrooms the other nite since we spotted them on super sale. they normally sell for $40 + a pound, but we nabbed 'em for $14.99/lb.  back in the day, we would go hunting for morels all the time when we were in school at SIUE.  the woods were right across from the art department so we would just zip across the road and go foraging and see if we could find these discreet woodland treasures. we bought less then a pound and it was still enough to make this tasty dish. i saw this recipe about a year ago and then promptly forgot it until we saw 'em at wholeee the other nite.

MOREL ASPARAGUS GNOCCHI

2 T olive oil 2-9oz packages fresh gnocchi 3-5 fresh morels, halved (sub any wild mushroom) 1-bundle of asparagus washed and dried-cut into 1" sections...removing about 2" at the bottom and discard the tough ends. 1 roasted red pepper or about a 1/4 cup 1 can water packed artichoke hearts, sliced 1/8 tsp salt, plus more for seasoning black pepper

slice morels into manageable pieces. heat pan and saute morels with a couple teaspoons of olive oil. set aside. add asparagus, roasted pepper, and artichoke hearts to the pan, add another small splash of olive oil if you wish. Add 1/8 tsp salt to season. saute for 2-3 minutes until tender, remove from pan and set aside. while the pan is still hot, add the raw gnocchi and enough oil to coat well. cook for 3 or 4 minutes until golden on all sides and a bit puffy. once cooked through, add the asparagus, artichokes, and peppers back to the pan and toss together. add salt and pepper to taste. add the cooked morel mushrooms to the top before serving.

after making this recipe i would really love to learn how to make homemade gnocchi....especially sweet potato gnocchi. i'll share the recipe if it turns out yummy!!

i adapted this recipe from veganyumyum's site.

P.S.--i have been known to trade jewelry for freshly picked morels if anyone out there might be so inclined come spring =) contact me if your interested

info (at) jaimejofisher (dot) com

chana masala

chana masala

2 T olive oil 1 medium onion 1 clove garlic 1 T curry 1 T tomato paste 1 can of chick peas 1/2 T lemon juice 1/2 t salt black pepper red pepper flakes

brown onions. reduce heat and add garlic, curry and tomato paste, stir and simmer a couple minutes. at this point,  add a 1/4 cup of water just to get everything mixed in well. add the rest of the ingredients. simmer for 5 or so minutes and add chick peas. serve over rice.  chris and i love to make rice in our rice maker with a can of coconut milk and the rest water to add really subtle and sweet coconut flavor to the rice. yum!!

this recipe was a adapted from a recipe from a friend of a friend, thanks claudia.

pie pops

i just discovered a peculiar and interesting food blog...luxirare, well it's actually a food and clothing blog...i love the photography and who could beat these pie pops in banana, pumpkin, blackberry, & apple, how sweet..yum!!

found via cup of jo

peanut butter cookies..

my best friend trish brought over these sweet and tastey little cookies today...they were so good i almost ate the whole containers worth in one sitting :O)

here's the recipe......

1 cup of peanut butter

1 cup brown sugar..my friend used 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup of raw cane sugar

1 tsp. of baking powder

egg replacer equivalent for one egg

large sugar crystals

prepare egg replacer according to directions on the box...add to the already mixed peanut butter, brown sugar and baking powder and mix thoroughly....roll dough into balls and then roll into sugar crystals.  these cookies have a nice crumbly texture and are gluten free.  bake for 10 minutes or til golden in a 350 degree oven.  yummy!!

jalapeno cilantro hummus

2 cans of chickpeas 1 can of cannellini beans a splash of olive oil 2 jalapenos….i only use 1 and a half 1/2-3/4 cup lemon juice, depending on how zesty you like it! 1/2 -3/4 cup of water to get the right consistency and help with blending 1 T paprika 1 tsp.cumin salt & pepper to taste 1/8 tsp cayenne

put all ingredients in a food processor or high power blender.  i made this for a christmas party that chris and i went to and everyone loved it.  we served it up with celery sticks and a hearty wheat/grain bread. enjoy!!

i'm sick everything soup

i'm sick everything soup

splash of olive oil 6-8 garlic 1 T of mustard seeds 4 cups of water 2 vegetable bullion cubes 1 cup of red lentils 1 cup of quinoa 4 good size new potatoes-washed and cubed 2 cups of peas 1 can of coconut milk 1 inch piece of ginger-grated 4-5 large leaves of swiss chard- chopped 1/2 cup of lemon juice...or more to taste 2 T paprika 1/8 t of cayenne 2 T cumin 2 T curry salt & pepper to taste

i made this soup last nite for chris since he was was terribly blah with the cold....this was last weekend.  it was pretty tastey and i was looking forward to having it tonight after tearing down the display at the cherrywood art fair.  that was the most charming little show and i met so many great local artists whose work i see regularly all over town...the show was so well run with a nice variety of work.  a great way to end the show season.

add olive and garlic to large pot til golden. when the garlic starts turning add the mustard seeds til they pop. let seeds pop about a minute and then add the water and veggie stock cubes...bring stock to boil and add quinoa, lentils, peas and potatoes. let boil til tender and quinoa is transparent.  add the coconut milk, ginger, swiss chard and remaining spices.  then add a smidge of any of the spices or lemon juice to pump up the flavor....as this recipe is  guesstimate of what i used... :O)

p is for pesto

with the weather turning cold here it was time to pull our basil bushes and make pesto. i made about 5 huge bowls/about 20 liters of pesto...hahah, that is a quite a freezer full.  i improvised from a recipe i used last year...meaning, i never pulled it out of the pantry i just would add a bit of this and a little more of that. but, here's the main ingredients...

basil 6-8 cups

pecans - 2 cups...since we had a ton from my folks pecan trees up in illinois. some batches i used almonds or pumpkin seeds.

salt, pepper, cayenne to taste

lemon juice - 1/2 cup to cup

 olive oil - 1/2 cup

vinegar: either a splash of balsamic or red wine, sherry wine...whatever you have is fine - a few glugs

nutritional yeast....this is what i use instead of parmesian...about a cup - cup and a half

you can also use a bit of miso or high quality olives with the nutrional yeast to tang it up if you don't want to use parmesian either.

*this makes a fairly zesty/tangy pesto*

you can hold off a bit on the salt/lemon juice if you want a more mild version

tofu rice pockets..

these little pockets were so delicious and easy to make. chris whipped these together by throwing some rice in the rice maker.  i purchased a package of these tofu pockets at the asian grocery awhile back and enclosed in the package is a little seasoning to mix in with the rice when it's done.  easy, quick, tangy and delicious...yum!! i almost forgot to snap a picture before we ate them all!!

pumpkin & black bean soup

speaking of pumpkins...granted i used the canned variety, but it's pumpkin, nonetheless, that makes this soup so delicious and quite tastey for the fall, cool crispy weather.

this pumpkin soup is really really easy and just as tastey.

ingredients:

2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoon of paprika

2-15 ounce can pure pumpkin puree

2-15 ounce can black beans, drained

2-14 ounce can light unsweetened coconut milk

2 cups vegetable broth

1/8 teaspoon of cayenne, omit or use less if you don't like spicy

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro...i used basil

4 teaspoons fresh lime juice...more to taste, i threw in an extra splash or two....i used lemon juice

1-1/2 teaspoon grated lime peel...i used lemon peel

stir cumin and paprika in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat 30 seconds. add pumpkin, beans, coconut milk, broth, cayenne and 3 tablespoons basil. bring soup to boil, stirring constantly. reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 3 minutes to blend flavors. mix in lime juice and lime peel. Season soup with salt and pepper.

ladle soup into bowls. sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon basil.  serve up with some crusty bread...delish.

this makes quite a bit of soup....so freeze some if you wish.  we ate ours til it was all gone.  i might have to make another round of this tomorrow....SUPER SUPPER!

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i adapted this recipe from here, it has a 3 spoon rating here, that's a lie!!

better than starbs...

  speaking of vices......

i go in waves of drinking way to many "starbs" (starbucks mocha) while i am working to much in the studio, sleeping less than i should, and not catching enough yoga (aka-now)....so, this post is a reminder to myself to make this as my hardcore caffeine alternative, then, i wouldn't need to race out to the nearest starbs just before my head spanks the loose stones and sharp metal scraps on my jewelry bench.  and funny enough this fruity concoction warms your body to the core....sound crazy!  give it a try. it's made with a bag of pureed frozen sweet cherries with a really large piece of ginger. i use a piece of ginger that is about 1" by 4" or 5", remove skin and chop into chunks and put in a high power blender.  WARNING: this will knock your socks of!!! it will be very very very spicy in a ginger-sort-of-way. SO, IF YOU DON'T LIKE SPICY USE JUST A SMALL PIECE OF GINGER.  i'm not looking to hurt anyone here, but i honestly love this stuff.  i can't wait to make some this weekend....yummy!!

maybe i need a good reward system like jen's (see previous listing) for giving up starbs.

...........lovely ceramic cup by alison kuo............

blueberry scones

vegan blueberry scones

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup quick oats 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 dash salt 3/4 cup vegan sugar 1/2 cup vegan butter 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1/2 cup rice milk 1 cup frozen blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 400. Grease cookie sheet lightly with butter or oil.

2. In large bowl, add flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder and dash of salt, stir. then add sugar, butter (softened), lemon juice, and rice milk and mix until just combined.

3. Stir in blueberries LAST and gently mix. Do not over mix or you'll end up with gray/purple scones rather then golden ones.

4. Drop dough into 6-7 circular clumps on cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly brown on top.

potatoes with mustard seeds and onions

chris and i made this dish last nite...it's one of our faves and we haven't had it in awhile. yum!!  it's from a really great cookbook we have from madhur jaffrey called "flavors of india"

potatoes with mustard seeds and onions:

a few T of olive oil

1 tsp brown mustard seeds

2 T *urad dal

2-3 dried hot red chilies, broken into pieces

2 medium onions, chopped

1-1 1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground turmeric

1/4 - 1/2 cayenne pepper

1lb of potatoes, peeled and chopped....we have used a mix of regular and sweet potatoes and that's tastey too.

1 medium sized tomato, chopped

a pinch of *asafetida

.......we always make this recipe with a pot of coconut rice in the rice maker.......

* from any indian grocery store

heat oil in large pan on medium high heat.  when hot, put in mustard seeds, urad dal and chilies.  stir until mustard seeds pop and the dal turns red..this will only take a minute or so.  add onions, cook til onions begin to brown on edge. add salt, turmeric, and cayenne and stir.  add potatoes, tomatoes and asafetida stir and fry for a couple minutes.  then add a cup of water and bring to a boil.  cover, turn the heat to medium and cook vigorously for 10 minutes and the water is absorbed.  you may have to adjust the heat.  remove the cover.  stir and fry the potatoes on medium-low heat for 4-5 minutes to get a rich reddish-yellow color.

this recipe is really good with salad and crusty bread too.

sprouted kitchen..

i just stumbled upon this really cool food blog called sprouted kitchen.  it's a husband a wife team, she does the cooking and kitchen experimenting and he is a self taught photographer.  the images are really beautiful and the food looks healthy yet delicious. yum.

happy green

enjoy a bit of green. happy st. patty's day....

some spinach and swiss chard from our garden.  either or both are great wilted, drained and splashed with balsamic vinegar and braggs amino acid.  :O)