Roasted and pickled pepper dip, preserved lemon hummus

Sometimes life gives you lemons and you make preserved lemons. And then eventually you have just one left. Sometimes at the farmers market you succumb to the charm of cute little hot cherry peppers and make pickled peppers. And then eventually you have just one left.

It's this sort of thing that Marisa McClellan's book, "The Food in Jars Kitchen," addresses admirably. She's written previously about putting up food in jars. This book addresses what to do with that abundance. Sure, you can always put your jam on toast, your pickles on sandwiches and other obvious usages. But sometimes you've got so much on hand that you're looking for alternative uses. And sometimes you've got just one left.

Roasted red pepper, pepperoncini  and feta dip

Adapted from “The Food in Jars Kitchen” by Marisa McClellan.

Ingredients

1¼ cup drained roasted red peppers

1 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (reserve oil)

½ cup drained pepperoncini rings or other pickled hot peppers

2 garlic cloves, chopped

8 ounces crumbled feta

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

¾ cup olive oil, or a combo pack of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes

1 cup fresh basil leaves

1 cup fresh parsley leaves

Method

In a food processor, combine red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, pickled peppers and garlic. Process until well chopped. Add feta and cream cheese and process until smooth. With motor running, add oil in a stream. Add herbs and pulse until chopped.

Rating: Pretty tasty. Works as a dip for veggies or naan, or as a spread on hamburgers and such. I'd make it again when I've got those ingredients to use. (I used that one remaining pickled cherry tomato and part of a jar of pickled jalapenos I'd already opened.) Obviously the hotter the peppers you use, the hotter the dip. This combo was more like a pleasant background heat.

Makes a party-size amount, so if you’re just preparing it for the household, you might consider chopping the recipe in half. But it does keep fairly well.

Preserved lemon hummus

Adapted from “The Food in Jars Kitchen” by Marisa McClellan. If you don't have a preserved lemon, the author suggests substituting the zest and juice from 1 lemon and an additional ½ teaspoon of salt.

Ingredients

2 garlic cloves (or more)

¾ cup water

¾ cup tahini

1 preserved lemon, chopped

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin, or more to taste

2 cans chickpeas (or 4 cups fresh cooked), drained, with some liquid reserved

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (optional)

Olive oil for drizzling

Method

Warm chickpeas in a pan or in a microwave safe dish until they’re heated through.

In a food processor, mince the garlic. Add water, tahini, preserved lemon, salt and cumin and process until smooth.

Add warmed chickpeas and process for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with lemon juice, more cumin and more salt as needed. Process until smooth. Serve drizzled with olive oil.

Rating: Possibly the creamiest hummus I’ve ever made. Warming the beans is a genius tip when you’re using canned chickpeas, which generally aren’t very tender. Flavorwise, even though I wound up doubling the amount of preserved lemon and cumin called for (and the recipe listed above reflects that doubling) and added more lemon juice, it was pretty subtle. Tasty, and very creamy, but if I make it again I’d opt to boost the flavor quotient even more. 

There are a lot more fun things to do with a preserved lemon, but at least now I don't have the monstrously big jar of brine with one remaining lemon clogging up precious frig space that could be taken up by quickles if I get around to it.

Spiralized beet salad with balsamic honey dressing

 

For a time it looked like my spiralizer was doomed to be one of those appliances that enjoys the same half-life as a one-hit wonder, and then lurks in the back of valuable kitchen cupboard space unnoticed and unloved. I tried enough variations on zucchini noodle recipes to decide they are OK-ish for salads, but a lousy substitute for noodles, especially compared with roasted spaghetti squash. And really, I'd just rather give up on any pasta recipe if zoodles are my only carbless choice.

But then I ran across this recipe and my spiralizer is enjoying a comeback. 

You don't have to have a spiralizer to enjoy this recipe; spiralized beets are available in some grocery stores, or you can simply grate or julienne the beets. Or maybe haul out that Salad Shooter ... Yes, of course I still have mine. It's next to the grinder attachment for my grandmother's 1951 Kitchen Aid mixer I still use. Marie Kondo has never been near my kitchen.

Spiralized beet salad with balsamic honey dressing

From Inspiralized.com

Ingredients

2 large beets (a mix of colors is pretty, but not necessary)

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons honey

2 tablespoons minced chives

Method

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Wash beets. Trim off ends and peel. Spiralize, or grate with a large-hole grater.

Spread beet noodles on parchment. Drizzle with some olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes or until just tender. Let cool to room temperature.

Mix 2 tablespoons olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard and honey. Mix in most of chives. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss with roasted beets. Sprinkle with remaining chives and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Rating: Really pretty nice flavor-wise, and very colorful. This works well either as a side salad or as a component of a salad/brain bowl.  

Mind you, one hit is better than none. Just ask any surviving member of Shocking Blue.

Sunday breakfast in Red Wing

We had a very nice Sunday breakfast this morning, and for once I didn't have to make it or do the dishes. We took a very brief getaway to Red Wing, where we took in the Jeremy Messersmith concert at the recently restored Sheldon Theatre, dinner at Oliver's Wine Bar, and capped it with a refreshing stay at the Golden Lantern Inn. The latter was the home to three generations of the Red Wing Shoe exec's family before it was converted into a B&B. It makes a lovely one. And it was a lovely break from reality.

Pink mushroom pasta with pancetta and thyme

Pink oyster mushrooms! Ramps! Radish sprouts! The Midtown Farmers Market opened for the season this weekend, thus flipping the switch from the time of year when I plan menus and then go to the store to when I go to the market and then plan menus. If you see pink mushrooms, you just have to let them drive the bus.

The market is in a new, temporary location this year next to Moon Palace Books. It's kind of elbows-in compared with its former roomy quarters, but everyone was in a good mood, and just glad it wasn't snowing like it has been for some market openers. 

 

Pasta with mushrooms and pancetta

Adapted from Bon Appetit, October 2016. The original recipe called for sliced proscuitto, but I didn't have any on hand, so pancetta it was, which is what happens when you shop first and plan later.

Ingredients

1 pound penne pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 ounces diced pancetta

1 pound mixed mushrooms (oysters, chanterelles, cremini, shiitake), torn into bite-size pieces

2 medium shallots, finely chopped

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1 cup broth

⅓ cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons butter

Method

Bring a large pot of boiling water to a boil. Salt liberally and cook pasta to al dente, reserving some cooking liquid for possible use in the sauce.

Meanwhile in a large deep skillet, cook pancetta until crisp. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to pan and saute mushrooms until browned and tender, tossing often. Stir in shallots, thyme and salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until shallots are tender. Add stock and simmer for about 10 minutes until sauce has reduced. Stir in cream and butter and heat through. Add pancetta. Add pasta and stir to coat, adding reserved pasta liquid as needed to make desired sauce consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Rating: Quite nice. Saucy without being cloying. The pink mushrooms don't stay pink, but they stay tasty.

Orecchiette with arugula tomato ricotta sauce

I was a little skeptical of a double-starch dish involving both pasta and potatoes, but this works.

Orecchiette with arugula

Adapted from “Cook’s Encyclopedia of Pasta”

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 small red onion, finely chopped, divided

1 (14.5-ounce) can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes

½ teaspoon dried oregano

Pinch of cayenne

2 tablespoons wine (white or red both work)

2 potatoes, peeled and diced, about 7 ounces

2¾ cups orecchiette

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

5 ounces  arugula leaves

½ cup ricotta

Grated Parmesan for garnish

Method

While bringing pasta water to a boil, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet. Add half of the onion to the pan and cook over medium low heat until softened. Add tomatoes, oregano, cayenne and wine. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.

When pasta water comes to a boil, salt generously and add orecchiette and potatoes. Cook until potatoes are tender and pasta is al dente.

Meanwhile, heat remaining olive oil in another skillet. Cook garlic and remaining onion in the oil for 2 minutes. Add arugula in batches, stirring until wilted and adding more as you go.

Toss drained pasta and potatoes with tomato mixture. Add arugula mixture, ricotta and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with grated Parmesan. Serves 4-6, depending on whether it’s a main course or side dish.

Rating: Nice. The ricotta makes it a vaguely creamy tomato sauce. Very filling, but not leaden, despite the double dose of starch. I'd make it again.

Peanut butter oatmeal no-bake cookies

Yes. These are no-bake cookies. Yes, I'm slumming. What's my excuse? All those leftover little bits of things from holiday baking that are languishing in the cupboard taking up precious space. This recipe used up a couple of those.

Peanut butter oatmeal bites

Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens

Ingredients

½ cup peanut butter

⅓ cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

1¼ cups shredded coconut, divided

1 cup rolled oats

¼ cup semisweet chocolate pieces (or bittersweet if you prefer)

¼ cup snipped dried cherries (or other dried fruit)

Method

Mix peanut butter, honey and vanilla in a bowl until well combined. Stir in ½ cup coconut, oats, chocolate and fruit. Cover and chill 30 minutes.

Roll mixture into 30 balls, each about 1-inch around. Roll in remaining coconut to coat. Store in refrigerator.  You can store the unrolled dough for a week, rolling them into balls as you need them and have time. The original recipe called for pulsing the coconut you use for coating into smaller pieces, which I imagine gives it a slightly different look as a finished cookie, but I didn’t bother and it still stuck fairly well.

Rating: Let's face it. No-bake cookies are really pretty tasty, one of those things that fall into the guilty pleasure category. Unlike the no-bake cookies that were the stuff of school cafeteria legend growing up, these at least sneak some fruit into the mix. But at 111 calories for a tiny cookie, who are we kidding? 

They do have the advantage that they're pretty easy to make gluten free, providing you buy gluten free oats and vanilla, so if you've got some GFreers on the horizon, there's that. They make a perfectly dandy thing to stick in a picnic basket as a small finishing treat.

If this has you nostalgic for those school cookies, here's the recipe I copied years ago from Marguerite Bauer of Manning, Iowa, as submitted for the Carroll Times Herald's annual "What's Cookin' for the Holidays" special section published Nov. 9, 1983. I still have that reader-submitted issue grown yellow with age, although it hasn't seen much use. One only needs so many recipes for Seafoam Salad.

No bake cookies

Ingredients

2 cups sugar

¼ pound of butter

½ cup peanut butter

3 cups oatmeal

½ cup cocoa

1 teaspoon vanilla

Method

Combine sugar, butter and milk in a medium-size saucepan. Bring to a hard boil for 1 minute. Stir in peanut butter, oatmeal, cocoa and vanilla. Drop by spoonfuls on foil. Store refrigerated.

Rating: If you liked the no-bake cookies they gave you in junior high, you'll like these. If you didn't, you still won't.