Boston Baked Beans

I don't do enough with dried beans.  Why don't I?  It's cheaper, and frankly I'll do anything to avoid using our can opener (do you hate your can opener? Is it just me?  If so, please tell me what can opener I should buy).  Yes it does take a bit more pre-planning, since they do need to be soaked overnight, but rumor has it that the soaking breaks down the sugars in beans that make them... well, gaseous.  So you can digest them a bit easier.  Plus, soaked beans are just creamier and far more amazing than beans from a can.  I've heard myself sound like this before... I dare say I am becoming a  bean snob, kind of like what happened to me about pre-grated cheese, canned pumpkin, and box mix!

Anyway, my mom has been truly begging for baked beans for months.  I bought all the ingredients before Christmas, and for some reason, never could get my act together to make them.  I acted like the overnight soaking was too much to plan, or something ridiculous like that.  Tuesday night, my mom was feeling a little down in the dumps (mostly because all her daughters were being cranky and having bad days themselves!) and so to cheer her up, I told her to get the beans soaking, and I'd make them the next day.  That worked quite well, and Wednesday morning (I love February vacation!) I got up early and got to work.  And really there isn't that much work - although I will not say that I liked cooking (or cutting) the salt pork!  But then all you do is literally throw everything together into a pot and bake.  Then add more water, and bake.  And add more water, and bake.  Sounds difficult, right?  It was time consuming - they bake for over 3 hours - so you have to be home, but you don't have to do all that much work.  And frankly, I wasn't even home: I had Susie bean-sit while we took Alex to the airport.

By the time we got home, the kitchen smelled like Boston baked beans: a thick, rich sauce flavored with everything from mustard to brown sugar to maple syrup to apple cider vinegar - lots of flavor going on.  The beans are smooth and creamy, and the salt pork... well obviously I have no idea what that's like, because I studiously picked around it, but I hear it's great :)  My beans were very popular, and Susie even took some home.  My family is still eating it today.  I will caution you to make sure you don't take them out of the oven before they are ready; I made two pots of beans, and one cooked perfectly but the other one has beans that are a bit harder than I'd like.  Just take your time, be patient, and enjoy some good old fashioned New England-style baked beans :)

Recipe:

Boston baked beans]
from A Family Feast
yield 6-8 servings

Ingredients:
1 pound dry navy beans
1/2 pound salt pork, rind left on and cut into 1 inch chunks
2 cups onion, sliced thick
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons dijon mustard
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
6 cups of water, divided

Instructions:


1) Soak beans overnight in 2 quarts of water.

2) Drain and rinse beans.  

3) In a large Dutch oven over medium high heat, cook salt pork, turning occasionally, for about 15 minutes or until golden brown on all sides.

4) Add all other ingredients except the water.  Stir, and add 2 cups of water.

5) Place in the oven, covered, and cook for 90 minutes.  Stir, and add 2 more cups of water.

6) Bake for 90 more minutes.  Stir, and add the last cup of water.  Continue cooking until they are tender - just make sure they don't burn if the sauce is very thick.

Life-Changing Loaf of Bread

Okay so the title of this post is quite intense, I realize.  How can a loaf of bread change your life?  Just know that I did not name this bread myself: this was actually the recipe's title!  I stumbled across it on Pinterest and clicked on it because it looked like a lovely multi-grain bread.  It ended up being not your average multi-grain bread, but a gluten-free loaf made of mostly nuts, seeds and oats, sweetened with maple syrup.  The "secret ingredient," however, is psyllium husk powder.  Yes, the same ingredient in Metamucil and other laxatives.  I know that doesn't sound very tasty to add to a bread, but it's just that psyllium husks are full of fiber.  They also happen to be one of the most absorbent fibers in nature (they can suck up to 10 times their weight in water!), so they make a really good addition to gluten-free breads because they bind everything together.

I sent the pin to Maggie, who is newly gluten-free and missing good bread.  I figured this was worth a try!  I started up the BYOI rule - Bring Your Own Ingredients - and soon Maggie was sitting in the kitchen with a bag full of life-changing bread ingredients!  I got to work on the bread, and she got to work opening each pysllium husk powder capsule; apparently you can buy the husks, the husk powder, or capsules of them, and the capsules were all she could find.  It took her quite a while to cut open the pills and pour out the powder, but she was diligent!

As for me, the job was much easier.  Here is something cool about the bread: you mix it all up right there in the bread pan.  That's just unheard of!  To be honest it was slightly hard to mix it all well in the pan, but just the fact that you can do it is cool.  Then you let it sit for at least 2 hours while it all melds together (and the psyllium, oats, and chia suck up all the water and get everything all stuck together).  Then you just bake it.  That's it.  As far as breads go, this thing was easy.

Mixing it all up in the bread pan!

Now, a word to the wise for anyone feeling brave enough to try this recipe: the original post recommends using a silicone bread pan.  I wasn't sure why, and I didn't have one, so I used a glass pan and a metal pan (I made 2 loaves).  And: now I understand it.  This thing sticks... badly.  After it has baked for 20 minutes, you have to take the bread out of the pan and put it right on the rack to finish baking.  This was not a pretty experience.  I had to hack at them with a bread knife to get them out, and they were in pieces.  Luckily I could mold them back together, but they didn't end up being the pretty little loaves from the pictures.  I read all the comments when I was finished, and noticed other people saying the same thing: these breads stick!  They recommend lining the pans with parchment paper, or oiling the pans really well with coconut oil (one of the ingredients in the bread).  If I make this again, that is a lesson that I learned the hard way.  One other weird thing about using metal: it made the bottom of the bread turn grayish.  Other commenters noted the same thing.  Weird.

See the slight gray from the metal pan? It didn't change the flavor, though.

But, the finally result!  It is bizarrely bread-like even without any flour whatsoever.  It is also (obviously) very nutty and seedy and someone who tried it here that night (we had a house full) said it was more like a granola bar than a bread.  We tried it with butter, cream cheese, jelly, and honey (not all together!)  Maggie preferred it with cream cheese, I liked it with honey, and Mark liked it with butter.  We all agreed that it was not the life-changing loaf of bread that the recipe suggested, but it was a very good sign that psyllium husks can be used successfully to make breads for my GF friends.   We think that next time, we want to try one that is more bread-like, with less nuts and seeds.  After a little Googling, I have found several recipes that I think need exploring!  But maybe Mags should buy the psyllium husks themselves rather than those capsules ;)

Recipe:

life-changing loaf of bread
from My New Roots

Ingredients:
1 cup sunflower seeds
½ cup  flax seeds
½ cup hazelnuts or almonds
1 ½ cups  rolled oats
2 tablespoons chia seeds
4 tablespoons psyllium seed husks (3 tablespoons if using psyllium husk powder)
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt (add ½ tsp. if using coarse salt)
1 tablespoon maple syrup 
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil 
1 ½ cups water

Instructions:

1) In a flexible, silicon loaf pan (or an oiled or parchment-lined regular pan), combine all dry ingredients, stirring well. Whisk maple syrup, oil and water together in a measuring cup. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix very well until everything is completely soaked and dough becomes very thick (if the dough is too thick to stir, add one or two teaspoons of water until the dough is manageable). Smooth out the top with the back of a spoon. Let sit out on the counter for at least 2 hours, or all day or overnight. To ensure the dough is ready, it should retain its shape even when you pull the sides of the loaf pan away from it it.

2) Preheat oven to 350°F.

3) Place loaf pan in the oven on the middle rack, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove bread from loaf pan, place it upside down directly on the rack and bake for another 30-40 minutes. Bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool completely before slicing (difficult, but important).

4) Store bread in a tightly sealed container for up to five days. Freezes well too – slice before freezing for quick and easy toast!

Roasted Veggie Quinoa Bowls with Peanut Sauce

I stand by my statement that every recipe that Annie's Eats posts in her Let's Do Lunch series is amazing.  Every time she posts one, I get excited, because they are always healthy, filling, and delicious.  This recipe is no exception!  Onions, peppers, eggplant, and snow peas get roasted to bring out their natural sweetness, and then they are mixed with nutty quinoa and the most delicious peanut sauce.  You end up with a huge (6 - 8 serving!) bowl of exquisite, protein-packed lunch!

I actually made it for dinner, rather than lunch - since it's vacation week and I don't have to pack lunches! But this is definitely the perfect make-ahead lunch.  It reheats really well in the microwave, and it's also just fine served as a cold salad (although personally I prefer it hot).

I got my mom to eat it (albeit on top of white rice), and even though she isn't a quinoa fan, she said it was very good, and especially loved the peanut sauce.  I agree that you could just make the sauce and throw it on anything and call it dinner.  Kenzie really liked it too, and so did Maggie, who was happy to see that it's a gluten free option for her!  Personally, I thought the eggplant was the best part (not surprising since I am newly obsessed with it).  It gets so juicy and sweet and... I think I need to go have another serving for lunch!  This will definitely be a recipe that I make again when I get back to needing to pack lunches for work... but let's not think about that  yet!

Recipe:

roasted veggie quinoa bowls with peanut sauce
from Annie's Eats
yield 6 - 8 servings

Ingredients:
1 medium eggplant (about 12 ounces), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
1 small onion, chopped
2 bell peppers, seeded and chopped
6 ounces snow peas
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 cup uncooked quinoa

for the peanut sauce:
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1) In a medium bowl, combine the cubed eggplant and the salt; toss well to combine .  Transfer to a colander in the sink and let sit 30 minutes to draw water out of the eggplant.  Transfer to a plate lined with clean kitchen towels or paper towels and press out as much excess water as you can.

2) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil.  On the baking sheet, combine the drained eggplant, onion, bell peppers, and snow peas.  Drizzle lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Bake for 20 minutes, stirring once or twice during baking.  Remove from the oven and let cool.

3) While the vegetables are roasting, rinse the quinoa well and drain in a fine mesh sieve.  Cook according to package directions.  When the quinoa is cooked and has cooled slightly, combine in a large mixing bowl with the vegetables.

4) To make the peanut sauce, combine the olive oil, soy sauce, and peanut butter in a bowl or measuring cup.  Whisk to blend until smooth.  Add in the garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes and whisk once more until smooth.  Add the peanut sauce to the bowl with the quinoa and veggies.  Gently fold together until everything is evenly combined.  Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Sugar Cookies

After the Christmas time cookie baking extravaganza, we got obsessed with royal icing - particularly my mom, who was really good at it and thus enjoyed herself immensely when we used it to decorate. As you might have guessed, I was rather terrible so I am mostly in charge of making the cookies and the frosting.  Last week, Mom asked me to bake up some heart-shaped cookies so that we could decorate them for Valentine's Day.  We did have plenty of different heart cookie cutters, so I agreed (plus we were having tons of snow days!).  However, I did decide to try a different recipe than the two that I used at Christmas time.  While those gingerbread and sugar cookie recipes make delicious cookies, they spread and rose while they were baking, which made for some cookies that were rather ambiguous in shape.  This recipe is the one that Annie's Eats posts with her recipe for royal icing, and says they are both delicious and they hold their shape while baking.  Count me in.

I think what makes them stay the shape they're cut into is the lack of a rising agent - there is no baking power or soda.  For some reason, powdered sugar is used in place of regular; maybe that has something to do with it too?  The flavor comes from a teaspoon and a half of almond extract, and another teaspoon of vanilla, so these cookies are not short on taste.

The dough was not that fun to work with, I will admit; it was crumbly and stayed hard as a rock no matter how long I left it out of the fridge!  I finally took to cutting slices off the big rock and rolling that out, so it took a bit longer, but it was okay.

The cookies really do hold their shape!  Look at all these perfect hearts - you can even tell which ones were cut with the fluted cookie cutter heart!  That made me happy.  And they really are tasty.  Of course, my mother still insists that my dad's recipe is better, which they may be, but if you want a cookie to look like its cutter, then this is what you want!

Sorry, no pictures of the decorated ones... because there aren't any.  We Tucker ladies have been busy here on our vacation week!

Recipe:

sugar cookies
from Annie's Eats

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups sifted flour

Instructions:

1) Cream butter.  Add powdered sugar.  Blend in egg, almond extract, vanilla salt, and flour.

2) Chill dough until firm.

3) Roll to 1/4"-thickness on well-floured surface.  Cut with cookie cutters.  Place on greased cookie sheets.  Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  Cookies should not brown.  Frost and decorate when cool.

Eggplant Parmesan Burgers

I recently discovered that I love eggplant parmesan.  I have actually become a little bit obsessed with it and order it at every single Italian restaurant that offers it (with that said, please note that Il Camino in Leominster by far is the winner of the best eggplant parm!).  Interestingly enough, I haven't actually tried to make it myself.  Being an eggplant park connoisseur these days, I think I am afraid to make one that doesn't rival Il Camino's.  Do you have an excellent go-to recipe for me?

Meanwhile, I came across this recipe on Annie's Eats.  She says she loves eggplant parm but not all the work and labor that goes into making it, so she streamlined the process and came up with these sandwiches, which she says replicates the taste perfectly but in a more portable, less labor-intensive way!  I was intrigued by the idea of a veggie burger based on eggplant, since my eggplant balls back in the fall were so good.  Plus with my new obsession for eggplant parm, what more could I ask for?  They became my lunch plan for yesterday - a second-in-a-row snow day that kicked off February vacation!

The burgers are made from boiled eggplant, chopped up and mixed with panko bread crumbs, fresh parsley and basil, grated Parmesan, garlic, and eggs.  Unfortunately my basil rotted in the fridge so I had to used dried, and I realized that I only had pecorino romano, but hey, no panicking on my part.  The burgers came together pretty easily, and they get seared in the pan quickly and then baked just for a few minutes to heat up the sauce and cheese that you dollop on top.  I will say that I probably could have seared them a little bit longer, to keep them extra crispy, but I am notoriously awful at pan-frying burgers of any sort so I was a little sear-shy!  Then into the oven they went.

I ended up adding a little more warmed sauce to each roll, and a little more mozzarella, and then... boom.  Lunch time.  I was happy with them, and so were Mom and Kenzie.  Surprisingly, Rachael was especially thrilled with them and just asked me to heat her up another for lunch today!  I didn't think they had that "eggplant parm" taste, but then again it's probably due to the lack of basil and parmesan (duh).  Either way, they were tasty, hearty, and filling.  We aren't quite sure why - I even Googled whether or not eggplant has some bizarre amount of protein or something - but after eating them, none of us were ready for dinner until well after 9:00 that night.  Weird, I know, but something in these babies really fills you up!

They're definitely a good shortcut whiny you're craving eggplant parmesan and you just don't have the time for the real deal!  But the real deal is one of my goals :)

Recipe:

eggplant parmesan burgers
from Annie's Eats
yield 6-8 burgers

Ingredients:
2 large eggplants (about 2 pounds), peeled and cut ino 1-inch cubes
kosher salt
2 cups panko
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
3 cloves garlic, minced
freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 - 3 tablespoons olive oil
marinara sauce, about 3/4 cup
sliced mozzarella cheese
burger buns, sliced and toasted

Instructions:

1) Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  Add the eggplant to the pot and cook, stirring frequently to make sure the eggplant cubes all get submerged. Cook until the cubes are softened, about 8-10 minutes.  Drain in a colander and let cool.  Once cool enough to handle, spread between layers of clean kitchen towels or multiple layers of paper towels and press out as much excess liquid as possible.  Once the eggplant is drained, transfer to a cutting board and chop finely.

2) Transfer the chopped eggplant to a large bowl.  Add the panko, Parmesan, parsley, basil and garlic to the bowl.  Stir in the eggs.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Form the mixture into six to eight patties.

3) Preheat the oven to 450˚ F and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.  Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the patties to the skillet and cook, turning once, until the burgers are browned on both sides.  (Add the additional 1 tablespoon of oil when you flip the burgers, if necessary.)  Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the patties to the baking sheet.  Top each patty with a few tablespoons of marinara sauce and a layer of sliced mozzarella.  Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake about 3 minutes or until the cheese is melted.  Assemble with burger buns and any other desired toppings.

Bacon, Leek and Roasted Tomato Quiche with Polenta Crust

I am unable to say enough good things about this quiche.  Just trust me that you have to drop whatever it is that you are doing (well, just finish reading my blog first) and make it.  Make it right now, for dinner (what I did) or for breakfast (I've been bringing a slice to work!)

Maybe you think you aren't a quiche person (for example, like most of my family including Mark and both sisters).  Maybe you aren't totally sure what polenta is and don't want a crust made out of it.  Maybe you aren't amused by leeks.  I have no idea what your excuse is.  But you need to just believe that this will be the best quiche you've ever made.  In fact, this quiche is so good that I accidentally left it out on the counter overnight and I refused to throw it out.  I have since eaten it twice and lived to tell the tale.  That's how good it is.

So, what's so good about it?  I am not sure, to be honest.  Part of the amazing-ness is the crust.  Polenta is a mixture of cornmeal cooked in chicken broth, with a little butter added in to made it creamy.  You pack it into the pie plate and bake that, and let me tell you, I don't think I ever want to eat a regular pie crust again.  Okay, maybe in a regular pie, but this is definitely a great alternative for quiches or savory pies.  Plus it's definitely more healthy, and gluten free, and easier than pie crust.  Win.

Then there's the filling.  You roast some bacon and tomatoes together in the oven and chop them up, and toss them into the egg and milk filling, along with some sautéed leeks.  Top with a cheese of your choice (I used gouda because we had it), and bake.  Are you drooling yet?

I'm not joking that I risked my life and my gastrointestinal tract eating this even after it sat on the counter overnight, because it is just so delicious that I could not bare to throw it out.  I have now proven that overnight quiche is edible.  And thank god, because I will continue to eat this every morning until it's gone.

Recipe:

bacon, leek and roasted tomato quiche with polenta crust
from Daring Gourmet
serves 4-6

Ingredients:
for the polenta crust:
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup medium- or coarsely-ground cornmeal
1 tablespoon butter

for the quiche filling:
2 - 3 slices thickly cut bacon
3 large Roma tomatoes, cut in half
1 large leek, sliced, washed and drained
1 tablespoon butter
3 eggs
1 cup half and half or milk (or a combination of the 2)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flavorful cheese, such as Swiss or gouda, grated

Instructions:

1) To roast the tomatoes: preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Place the tomatoes cut side down on a foil-lined cookie sheet.  Pay the bacon next to the tomatoes.  Roast the tomatoes and bacon for 17 - 20 minutes, or until the skins of the tomatoes have collapsed and are just barely starting to brown and the bacon is crispy.  Let sit until cool enough to handle, and then chop the onions and break the bacon up into small pieces.  Set aside.

2) In the meantime, to make the polenta crust: in a medium saucepan, bring the chicken broth to a boil.  Add the cornmeal in a  gradual stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps.  Add the butter. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook, whisking frequently, for about 15 - 20 minutes until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan into a firm, sticky mass (it took me far less than 15 minutes for this!)

3) Grease a quiche pan and press the polenta mixture into it and up the sides.  In a preheated oven at 400 degrees, bake the polenta crust for 15 - 20 minutes until slightly crispy on the edges. Allow the crust to cool.

4) For the quiche filling: melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat, add the leek and sauté until tender, about 5 - 7 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

5) Combine the half and half or milk, eggs, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth.

6) Place the leek, chopped roasted tomatoes, and bacon over the polenta crust.  Pour the half and half/egg mixture over it and sprinkle the cheese over it.

7) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until golden brown on top and the middle of the quiche is firm.

Vegetable Soup with Garlicky Croutons

A warming, hearty vegetable soup with all the colors of the rainbow: orange carrots, green baby spinach, red tomatoes, white fingerling potatoes.  Top it off with some brown cubes of multigrain bread. Sometimes the best part of a meal is how beautiful it is. But that's not the best part of this soup. The best part is how good it is!

The flavor of this soup is excellent.  Besides all the vegetables, I love the use of fresh thyme sprigs (one of which I lost until I found it in my lunch at work... and I never found the bay leaf... oops!  Don't tell Mark or Alex who think you can die form eating those).  And then there's the croutons.

Oh, the croutons. Do not skip the croutons.  They are mandatory.  They are just average cubes of multigrain bread, but when you stir fry them in butter and garlic, they turn into something magical.  I will confess that I had trouble getting them crusty and started to get scared that I was going to burn them, but once I took them off the heat, they crisped up nicely.  They aren't so crispy the next day, but I soak them in the soup anyway so it doesn't really matter.

I ate this soup for dinner, and so did my enthusiastic family.  My mom kept saying how much she loved it. I was more than happy to eat it for lunch all week long at work.  I will say that next time I will probably add some beans for protein - I'm thinking white beans will work well. But other than that, this soup recipe is a keeper.

Recipe:

vegetable soup with garlicky croutons

from Annie's Eats 

yield 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

for the soup:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 medium onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

28 ounce canned tomatoes

4 cups vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

3 sprigs fresh thyme

parmesan rind (optional but recommended)

12 ounces fingerling potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch thick pieces

4 cups baby spinach leaves

salt and pepper, to taste

for the croutons:

3 cups multigrain bread cubes

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper

Instructions:

1)  In a Dutch oven or large stockpot, melt the butter over medium high heat.  Add the onion, carrot, and celery to the pot and cook until mostly softened, 6 - 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and sauté about 1 minute, just until fragrant.  Stir in the diced tomatoes, vegetable stock, bay leaf, thyme and the parmesan rind.  Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and let cook 20 minutes.

2) Add the chopped fingerling potatoes to the pot and simmer just until the potatoes are fork tender.  Stir in the spinach and cook until fully wilted.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Remove the bay leaf.

3) While the soup is simmering, make the croutons.  Heat a large skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium heat.  Melt the butter over medium to medium-low heat. Stir in the garlic and cook about 1 minute.  Stir in the bread cubes, stirring occasionally, until they are golden brown and crisp on all sides (adjusting the heat if necessary).  Serve the soup warm with the croutons on top.