sausage-sage cassoulet

for the stew:
2 tbs olive oil
1 lb sausage (we used sage turkey sausage)
3 leeks, chopped in small pieces
4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 granny smith apple, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 tbs rosemary
4 tbs sage

1 can lima beans, drained
1 can great northern beans, drained
1 can butter beans, drained
(save one cup of liquid from the beans for chicken bouillon)
1 can diced tomatoes
3 tbs tomato paste
dash of ground cloves

for the crust:
2 demi-baguettes of day-old french bread
1/8 cup olive oil
8 roma tomatoes, halved and seeded, then chopped
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Use an oven/stovetop pan. We used Ben's new 2-quart oval Le Creusset dutch oven, and there was just enough room for the dish (barely!) when all the ingredients were added.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
1. Cook sausages in 2 tbs olive oil until cooked almost through.
2. Put sausages on a plate and cut into bite-sized rounds.
3. Use liquid from cooking sausages to sautee leeks and garlic until soft.
4. Add chopped apple, rosemary, sage, and wine, and cook until reduced, about 5 minutes.
5. Add beans, tomatoes and tomato paste, chicken stock, cloves, and mix in the sausage.
6. Stir well, cover, and bake for 30-40 minutes.

While the stew is cooking,

1. Cut french bread into pieces about the size of strawberries.
2. Heat 1/8 cup olive oil in a frying pan and sautee bread for about 20 minutes, until golden brown.
3. When the bread is cool(ish), mix into the parsley and tomato mixture, season with salt and pepper, and save for the topping.

Take the cassoulet out of the oven.

1. Add toast topping, spreading evenly over the surface.
2. Return to oven and bake, uncovered, for about 10-20 minutes.


Serve with a Corsendonk or a Gouden Carolus (as cold as possible).

vegetarian lasagna

2 zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 red onion, chopped
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup feta cheese
2 portobello mushrooms, sliced
3 cups fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tbs chopped fresh oregano
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Ground cayenne pepper or red pepper.
12-14 lasagna noodles, or 8 lasagna noodles and a 1/2 cup of rigatoni
9 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Bring a large pot of water to boil. While it is heating:
3. Mix zucchini, mushrooms, spinach, garlic, onion, 1/2 of the mozzarella, and the feta cheese.
4. Add olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
5. Add basil, oregano, sugar, salt and pepper(s).
6. Boil lasagna noodles for 3-4 minutes, then put four on the bottom layer of a 8x10 glass baking pan.
7. Layer tomatoes on top of the noodles, and spinach/vegetable mixture on top of that.
8. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top, and then place noodles on top of the cheese.
9. Create another layer of tomatoes, vegetable mixture, and noodles.
10. Add the remainder of the veggies and cover with mozzarella cheese.
11. Bake for about 45 minutes, or a little longer if the noodles/vegetables don't seem done.

Serve with olive tapenade and spelt toast :), and best when enjoyed with an episode of Battlestar Galactica.

toffee bars

for the toffee part:
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup butter
2 cups flour
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1-2 tsp vanilla
1-2 tsp almond

Preheat oven to 350° degrees.
1. Cream butter and sugar.
2. Add egg, vanilla, and almond; continue beating.
3. Add flour and salt, and mix thoroughly.
4. Pour/press the mixture into an 11x9 or 15x11 pan (depending on how thick you want the bars).
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until it looks like it's set.

for the top:
1/2-1 cup chocolate chips or chocolate bits
1/4-1 cup of either pecans or almonds--both work great with this recipe (and I imagine pistachios and walnuts would, too)

1. While toffee bars are still warm, sprinkle chocolate on top, and let the chocolate melt.
2. Spread chocolate with a spatula or spoon until even over the surface of the bars.
3. Add nuts on top, let the chocolate set, and then cut into squares!

faux crab sushi

Ingredients:
2 sheets of nori
100g faux crab
1 cucumber
1 avocado
100g sushi rice
2 tbsp rice vinegar
hot chili powder
soy sauce
pickled ginger

moroccan stew

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
450g beef
2 small onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 carrot, cut into pieces
2 celery sticks, diced
1 heaping tbsp harissa paste
2 tsp plain flour
2 tsp cumin
1.2 L vegetable stock
400g can chopped tomatoes
75g dried apricots
900g butternut squash, deseeded, peeled and cut into cubes

For the jewelled couscous:
175g couscous
300 ml vegetable stock, hot
2 tomatoes, deseeded and diced
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint

1. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based pan over a medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook for 5 minutes or until browned all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and place it in the pot with the vegetable broth almost at a boil.
2. Add the onions and garlic to the pan, reduce the heat slightly and cook for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the carrot and celery, cover and cook for 5 minutes, until the vegetables have softened slightly. Stir in the harissa paste and flour and cook for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the hot vegetable stock.
3. Stir in the tomatoes and apricots, then bring to the boil. Cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper. Add cumin.
4. Add the butternut squash and return the beef to the soup (use a slotted spoon to remove it from the stock). Cover and cook for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until both the squash and beef are tender.
5. Meanwhile, make the jewelled couscous. Put the couscous into a large bowl. Pour over the hot stock, cover and leave to stand for 5 minutes to absorb the liquid. Fluff up the grains with a fork, then stir in the tomatoes and mint. Season.
6. To serve, ladle the soup into warmed bowls. Pile a spoonful of couscous in the centre and serve with extra harissa on the side.

vegetable thai curry

While this dish would taste absolutely wonderful made with chicken or shrimp, I had bought some tofu at the store earlier in the day and wanted to try cooking with it. I've never attempted tofu and thought a curry, with its complex spices and sauce, would be the perfect flavoring for the blank canvas that is tofu.

I also realize that the picture looks a sort of sickly-green, but the dish actually is a kind of sickly green color... partly due to the fact that I accidentally overcooked the broccoli. How sad!

for the green chili sauce:
2 Tbs coriander seed
1 medium or large onion
2-3 cloves of garlic
2-3 jalapeno or other hot peppers
1 cup cilantro, washed and de-stemmed
3 lime leaves
2 Tbs fish sauce
1 thumb-size piece of ginger

1. Grind the coriander seed with a mortar and pestle or in a coffee grinder.
2. Add the coriander seed, onion, garlic, peppers, cilantro, lime leaves, ginger, and fish sauce to a food processor and process until the consistency of a chili sauce. (of course!)

for the rest of the ingredients:
I added vegetables I had on hand (and needed to use before they went bad). I think this recipe can handle most vegetables, but some should be pre-cooked and tossed in only a bit before serving. Sure, they might not soak up as much of the flavoring, but nothing is worse than limp broccoli!

1 can of coconut milk
2 tbs sesame or other seed/nut oil
1 package of extra-firm tofu
1 medium head of broccoli, chopped
3 bell peppers, chopped
1 can of bamboo shoots
1 package of mushrooms

1. Cut the tofu into bite-sized squares and sautee in oil briefly, until semi-firm on the outside. This will help the pieces hold their shape in the curry.
2. Mix green chili sauce and the can of coconut milk in a wok or large stir-fry pan; let it simmer (you might want to cover the pan or the mix will spit everywhere).
3. Add the tofu and bamboo shoots to the curry mixture.
4. Start cooking the mushrooms in a separate pan; let some of their water boil off, and place in the curry.
5. Add broccoli to the curry and let cook for about ten minutes.
6. Add the green peppers and cook for another ten minutes.

Serve with jasmine rice and add fish or soy sauce at the table if necessary.