Breakfast potatoes

Word on the street is that a certain Californian has more taters than you can shake a stick at. I had a similar problem last week. Well, more like I had used most my taters in interesting and delicious ways, and then when I was looking for things to put in my Sunday omlette, I found two very small and questionable looking potatoes at the bottom of my vegetable drawer. Here's a quick and tasty version of breakfast potatoes that doesn't have a ton of oil:
Microwave potatoes in their skins until they're hot but not cooked all the way through (about 1 minute per serving).
Heat oil (~1 capful per serving) in a skillet on medium heat.
Add sliced onions and, if you have them, bell peppers.
Cut potatoes into large dice and add them to the onions (right away--you don't wait until the onions are cooked).
Cook for ~10 minutes, or until the potatoes get crispy. Add more oil if they start to stick to the pan. Toss them every now and then (while you make your omlette).
Season with salt, pepper, cilantro, hot sauce, and whatever else suits your fancy.

Not even in the oven yet!

I'm having a bowl of Chickpea Burger Batter. With luck, a few patties will actually make it to the oven. From WaPo, http://voices.washingtonpost.com/all-we-can-eat/i-spice/i-spice-turmeric.html. The article also urges tumeric's healing power (Alzheimer's, cancer, arthritis, job losses, broken hearts, etc.)

Middle Eastern Chickpea Burgers
Makes 17 small patties

These chickpea burgers are similar to a Middle Eastern falafel. But the Americanized version of falafel usually resembles carnival food: they’re often deep-fried.

Here the secret ingredient is basmati rice b.s. I used a Lundgren wild rice & whole grain mix. I'm sure any of the fat rices would be fine. Can't imagine what is so great about basmati in this usage, which holds the chickpea mixture together and helps create a complete protein. Gently pan-seared or baked, these burgers are bountiful, healthful bites, especially good when topped with a dollop of tomato-mint chutney.

MAKE AHEAD: The baked burgers can be refrigerated for 3 to 5 days. To freeze these burgers, either cooked or uncooked, stack them with parchment paper between each one, then wrap in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Once defrosted, cooked burgers can be reheated at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, and uncooked burgers can be baked at 375 degrees for 22 to 25 minutes.

Adapted from “The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen: Nourishing, Big-Flavor Recipes for Cancer Treatment and Recovery,” by Rebecca Katz with Mat Edelson (Celestial Arts, 2009).

2 cups cooked chickpeas (may substitute a 15-ounce can of chickpeas, drained, rinsed and mixed with a spritz of freshly squeezed lemon juice and a pinch of sea salt)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 or 2 small cloves garlic, minced (2 teaspoons)
1/2-inch piece piece peeled ginger root, minced (1 teaspoon)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 1/2 cups cooked brown basmati rice
3 tablespoons finely diced red bell pepper
Leaves from 1/3 bunch flat-leaf parsley, minced (1/4 cup loosely packed)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine the chickpeas, salt, turmeric, paprika, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, garlic, ginger, oil and lemon juice in a food processor; process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and fold in the rice, bell pepper and parsley.

Moisten your hands to keep the mixture from sticking to them, nonsense!! treat them like cookies; plop them onto the sheet then flatten somewhat with a spatula (indeed some of the batter made it to this point) then shape the mixture into seventeen 1/4-inch-thick patties about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Place them on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 22 to 25 minutes, until the patties start to look crisp on the outside. They will firm up as they cool.

VARIATION: For a crispy burger, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the patties for about 3 minutes on each side, until golden brown.

Per patty: 102 calories, 3 g protein, 16 g carbohydrates, 3 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 65 mg sodium, 2 g dietary fiber, 1 g sugar

Farm Day!

Oliver, Amy and I went to the annual farm day at the farm (Terra Firma) who runs our CSA. It is located about an hour away in Winters California, which is the next valley in from Napa. It was a really fun day! We brought a picnic which we ate in their walnut orchard, while listening to blue grass. The picnic featured farmbox food, which had made the journey from Winters to Oakland and then back to Winters again (and then technically back to Oakland one more time, in my belly). They farm was lovely. Its all organic, and it smelled like freshness and clean dirt. There was such an abundance of food! Row after row of chard, turnips, beets ... an onion patch ... multiple orchards. We got a pumpkin and even bought more produce. I thus freaked out a little tonight when I realized how much produce was in the fridge and I cooked enough food for a small army. Seriously, I spent like three hours cooking tonight and I am happily stuffed!

Dear dog,

Thank you for being such a wonderful part of our family. You brought us together, you made us laugh together, you helped us stay connected.
You cheered me up when I was sad and made me even happier when I was already happy. I will always have a special place in my heart for you and you will always be with me in my memories. I know your spirit will never leave our home, and this will always be Chez Toby.
Love,
Jody

Potatoes

Sorry its been a while since I've posted! I am getting back on the food blogging wagon. I recently made a resolution to eat more delicious things.
Anyways, here's a good way to start! And a good way to use up all the potatoes appearing in my CSA.

Oven Roasted Potato Wedges.
Ingredients:
small head of garlic
1 Ib Small, high quality organic potatos, cut into small wedges
a few rosemary sprigs
1/4 cup live oil
sea salt and pepper
dijon mustard

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Take 3 T of olive oil and whisk in the mustard. Pour into your biggest glass casserole dish (might need to use two if you don't have a very big one.) Place in oven and heat until it shimmers, a few minutes. Meanwhile, toss the potatoes with the remaining T of oil and season with salt and pepper. Smash up the garlic cloves a little and throw them in along with the rosemary sprigs. Remove the casserole pan from the oven. Add the potatoes and toss well in the hot oil (be careful!). Replace in oven and cook for about 20 mins. Toss the potatoes a few times while they are cooking so they don't burn on one side. The potatoes should be golden and browning on the edges - I like mine crisp! I like eating this with bean soup or sausages. Suzanne would probably want to go with the bean soup :)

Arugula Pesto

Finally, something that makes arugula taste good! As a main ingredient, that is: arugula pesto.
I used sunflower seeds instead of walnuts and it tasted loverly.
I made this tonight with a salmon recipe modified from the back of my "Whole Catch" Salmon package:
Preheat oven to 275. Sprinkle 6oz salmon fillet with salt & pepper. Cook on broiling pan or lightly oiled baking sheet for 12 min. Brush with a mixture of 1T melted butter, 1t lemon juice, 1t chopt cilantro (or other fresh herb). Broil for 3 min or until cooked through.
I do believe cooking is my new favorite study break/procrastination technique.

Baba Ghanoush: A Work In Progress

Found this recipe for "The Best in the World" Baba Ghanoush:
http://www.recipezaar.com/Baba-Ghanoush-the-Best-in-the-World-67570
It's pretty good, but I'd like to try it with less lemon juice. This version is really punchy. Will post updates as I experiment.