Thai Pumpkin Laksa with Roasted Chickpeas

And the pumpkin craze continues. (On a related note, if you haven't seen Alton Brown's Good Eat's pumpkin episode it is definitely worth watching)

This soup really brings out the pumpkin flavor in a unique way. (And let's be honest, I'm a sucker for broccoli and soy sauce in any form)

"Young Blood" The Naked and Famous

Taken from Half-Baked Harvest

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
• 1 red fresno pepper, seeds removed + chopped (may use a jalapeno if needed)
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 small pumpkin, peeled + cut into cubes (about 3 cups)
• 1 rounded tablespoon creamy peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 (13 ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 large bunch broccolini, stems trimmed
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
• 8 ounces rice noodles
• arils from 1 pomegranate
• For the Roasted Chickpeas
• 2 (15 ounce) cans chickpeas, drained + rinsed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• salt + pepper, to taste

Directions

Heat a large soup pot over medium heat and add the sesame oil. Once hot, add the garlic, ginger, fresno pepper and green onions. Cook 30 seconds to 1 minute or until soft + fragrant.

Slowly stir in the chicken or vegetable both and then add the cubed pumpkin. Bring the soup to a boil and simmer 15-20 minutes or until the pumpkin is fork tender. Add around half to 3/4 of the soup to a blender or food processor and blend until completely smooth. Return the soup to the pot.

Add the peanut butter, soy sauce, fish sauce and coconut milk, stirring to combine. Add the broccoli and cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the rice noodles according to package directions.

Once the broccoli is tender, remove it from the heat and stir in the cilantro + mint. Ladle the soup into bowls and add a big handful of rice noodles. Top with crunchy chickpeas (recipe below) and pomegranate arils. 

For the Roasted Chickpeas

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Spread the chickpeas out on a towel and dry them completely. Add the chickpeas to a baking sheet and toss with the olive oil, cinnamon, brown sugar, salt + pepper. Toss well to evenly coat. Roast for 20 minutes and then stir the chickpeas around and roast another 20 minutes or until the chickpeas are browned and crunchy. Remove from the oven and serve warm atop the soup. 

Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry

As you can probably tell from the complete scarcity of posts, this winter has been completely crazy! Between school, work, college applications, and scholarship applications, cooking and blogging have fallen to the wayside. 

Snow days have come to my rescue! We've gotten about 6 inches of snow the past couple days, and that combined with plunging temperatures, well-timed wind, and President's Day has caused this to be most likely a one day school week. Hooray!

"Opus 28: Opus 28" Dustin Ohalloran

Ingredients

• beef, chopped into one-inch pieces
• broccoli, cut into florets
• peppers, julienned
• zucchini, julienned 
• onion, diced
• soy sauce
• vegetable oil
• red pepper flakes, optional
• garlic
• ginger

Directions

Heat oil and soy sauce in saute pan and add garlic, ginger, red pepper and onion. Cook until onion is translucent. Add zucchini and broccoli. Cook until broccoli florets have turned bright green. Add peppers. Cook until soft. Remove pan from heat and put vegetables in a bowl.

Add beef to saute pan and cook until desired doneness. Combine vegetables and beef. Serve with rice. 

Broccoli-Cheddar Mini-Quiches

I have a confession: I hate eggs. They smell gross. The textures weird. They're just yucky okay!

Mini-quiches. Now those I can eat. Something about the cheese-to-egg ratio just works for me. 

or the pie crust. I do have a serious infatuation with broccoli and cheese, so it could be that. 

Either way these are just too good!

The Script - "Millionaires"

 From Joanne-Eats-Well-With-Others

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp coarse salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 tbsp to 1/4 cup ice water
For the mini quiches
• 1 small head broccoli florets, chopped into small pieces
• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 3-4 oz shredded cheddar (or really any cheese)

Directions

To make the pie crust, in the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the flour, salt, and sugar. Add in the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. With the processor running, add in the cold water tablespoon by tablespoon until the mixture starts to come together.
Take the dough and pat it into a thin disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.

In the meantime, heat a splash of water in a medium pan. Add in the broccoli florets and steam until tender, about a minute. Drain and set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together the milk, heavy cream, eggs, and egg yolk. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

When the dough is done chilling, roll it out on a lightly floured surface until it is 1/8-inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter to cut out circles of dough that are about 2 1/2-inch round. Fit the rounds into a 24-cup nonstick mini muffin pan. Repeat with remaining dough until it is all used up.

Sprinkle half of the cheese into the bottoms of the pie-lined muffin cups. Top with the egg filling, distributing it evenly among the cups. Top with broccoli florets and remaining cheese.

Bake at 375 until puffed and golden, about 30 minutes. There will probably be a lot of cheese spillover depending on just how much you fill the muffin cups, but that is normal. Remove mini quiches from tin almost immediately when they come out of the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Serve warm.

Carrot and Broccoli Lo Mein

 I made this for lunch and to use my super cool plates.

"Lollipop"

Ingredients:

• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 head of broccoli, chopped
•  1 cup pasta
• 3 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. hosin sauce 

Directions:

Heat pan on high heat with soy sauce and hosin sauce. Add carrots and broccoli and cook until tender. Add pasta and cook until crisp. Serve immediately.

Lettece Wrap Filling/ Stir Fry

Got peppers? 

Got carrots? 

Got broccoli?

Got mushrooms?

Get stirfrying!

It's been a rough two weeks, so I'm only now getting to posting this. I first heard of lettuce wraps in January. We buy those huge four heads of lettuce pack from Costco, so it seemed like an ideal way to get rid of the stuff. It's a bit like a taco- if you can imagine lettuce as the shell. It's a little strange, but really good. I've been meaning to try it with re-fried beans, olives and salsa, but for now it's stir fry.

 Alice's Restaurant by Arlo Guthrie

 

I was driving, and my dad was in charge of the radio. I'm not sure if this is truly a song, but it is hilarious. 

 

Chop carrots, peppers, celery, broccoli, and mushrooms. In a medium frying pan (or a wok),

 heat oil and soy sauce. Add chopped carrots, broccoli, and celery to pan. When broccoli florets are bright green, add mushrooms and peppers

 

Add chopped carrots, broccoli, and celery to pan. When broccoli florets are bright green, add mushrooms and peppers

 

When the veggies are done, you can take whole lettuce leaves with a little bit of rice in them and add the veggies. You eat it like a taco.

Ingredients:

• 4 portabella mushrooms
• 1 head of broccoli
• 1 whole carrot or 8-10 baby carrots
• 2 bell peppers
• 1 head of lettuce  

Directions:

1.  Chop carrots, peppers, celery, broccoli, and mushrooms.
2.  In a medium frying pan (or a wok), heat oil and soy sauce. 
3. Add chopped carrots, broccoli, and celery to pan. When broccoli florets are bright green, add mushrooms and peppers.
4. When the veggies are done, you can take whole lettuce leaves with a little bit of rice in them and add the veggies. You eat it like a taco.

Asparagus Linguine with Almond Crisp and Broccoli

As an asparagus, broccoli, and pasta lover, I must say this recipe makes the three taste better together than they ever have alone (though I will always have a soft spot for asparagus with butter and broccoli with cheese). It is so simple and so good!

 I've adapted it slightly from Girl in the Kitchen by Stephanie Izard; I took out the mint, lemon and arugula because I didn't have it on hand the first time I made this and didn't feel the need to get it this time. You can access the original at Huffington Post. 

Sorry for the rushed post; I have four essays due next week on top of my work for other classes. (Teachers these days!)

• To make the crisp: In a small bowl, mix together the garlic, butter, bread crumbs, Parmesan, salt, and pepper flakes. Carefully fold in the nuts, trying not to crush them. Cover and refrigerate until hardened.

   

• 1tsp. garlic powder
• 3 ounces butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 cup toasted sliced almonds
• 1 batch Basic Pasta, cut into linguine noodles, or 1 pound dried linguine
• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed, cut on bias into 1-inch pieces
• 1 head of broccoli
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

•  To make the pasta: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop the linguine in the boiling water and cook until al dente, 7 to 9 minutes, or according to the package directions. Reserve 1/3 cup of the cooking water before draining the pasta. Drain and rinse the pasta and reserve.

•  Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil, then the asparagus and broccoli and sauté until the asparagus is bright green and the broccoli florets are dark green, 3 to 4 minutes.

•  Season with salt and pepper, then add the broth, soy sauce, and the 1/3 cup reserved pasta water. Simmer to reduce the liquid by half. Add the pasta, tossing to coat with the sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

•  Heat a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the almond crisp and cook until it has started to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. 

•  Transfer the pasta to a serving platter or plates, then garnish with the remaining almond crisp before serving.

 

Ingredients

• ALMOND BUTTER CRISP
• 1tsp. garlic powder
• 3 ounces butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 cup toasted sliced almonds
• PASTA
• 1 batch Basic Pasta, cut into linguine noodles, or 1 pound dried linguine
• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed, cut on bias into 1-inch pieces
• 1 head of broccoli
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions

• To make the crisp: In a small bowl, mix together the garlic, butter, bread crumbs, Parmesan, salt, and pepper flakes. Carefully fold in the nuts, trying not to crush them. Cover and refrigerate until hardened.
• To make the pasta: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop the linguine in the boiling water and cook until al dente, 7 to 9 minutes, or according to the package directions. Reserve 1/3 cup of the cooking water before draining the pasta. Drain and rinse the pasta and reserve.
• Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil, then the asparagus and broccoli and sauté until the asparagus is bright green and the broccoli florets are dark green, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then add the broth, soy sauce, and the 1/3 cup reserved pasta water. Simmer to reduce the liquid by half. Add the pasta, tossing to coat with the sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the almond crisp and cook until it has started to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour half of the butter into the pasta, tossing to coat. Transfer the pasta to a serving platter or plates, then garnish with the remaining almond crisp before serving.