Egg Pie and Renewed Resolutions

This is the time of year when those bold resolutions we all made start to fade into the past. Regular life takes over and the urge to be better, stronger, healthier slowly recedes. Suddenly, often around the end of January or the beginning of February, we notice that the lists we made have been neglected and we are no closer to where we had been so resolved to reach.

This just happened to me this week, when I went back and looked at my list and realized that I can do better. I think part of doing better can start with this blog.

When I started this blog, over five years ago, I decided that I did not want it to be a diet blog. I had just lost 42 pounds and I was incredibly proud of that accomplishment, but I wanted an outlet where I could write about "regular" food, things that I would not normally have in my recipe rotation. This decision, as good as it was for me at the time, has actually made it very difficult to maintain the blog and also very difficult to maintain my weight loss.

I have no intention of turning this into a diet blog, but I do plan to post a bit more frequently about what my family and I really eat on a regular basis. A lot of this will look much like my recipes and writing in the past. I do not cook with fake ingredients. No sweeteners, fillers, or crap in my food. That is not good nutrition and really not good eating. I make an effort to get as many fruits and veggies in my diet as I can. Not only do I get all the good vitamins, minerals and fiber that come from fresh produce, but I also get to eat a whole lot more, which makes my tummy happy.

I eat better, healthier food when we cook at home. Others may be able to make great decisions at restaurants, but I have difficulty with both choices and portion. Instead, I can cook up great meals (for a whole lot less money) at home and thoroughly enjoy them. Then, when we do go out, I order what I want. And I thoroughly enjoy that too.

I thought I would start with the beginning of my day. Mornings around these parts have become more difficult and fast-paced recently. Trying to get all the people out of the house at the times they need to leave (especially on mornings when Ned wakes up early and takes our eyes off the ball) is nearly impossible. Actually, the problem is mostly me. I will spend as much time as I have plus an additional 15 minutes getting ready every day. I used to be able to get places on time, but not anymore. I often do not have time to make breakfast at home. Egg Pie is a great solution for those days (weeks) that get the better of me. I can bring my slice of Egg Pie to work with me and eat at my desk, it usually keeps me full until lunch, and it starts my day out with vegetables, which does not otherwise happen.

This could be called a quiche or a frittata, but I like to call it Egg Pie. It has no crust (like a frittata) but is cooked completely in the oven (like a quiche) and has so many possible variations that it can be a satisfying breakfast that you will not tire of for a long time. I like to make an egg pie on Sunday night and cut it into six pieces so it lasts me most of the next week.



Egg Pie with Swiss Chard, Zucchini, and Goat Cheese

This is an incredibly versatile recipe. The version that I prefer to make has 3 whole eggs and 3/4 cup of Egg Beaters. You could also use egg whites instead of Egg Beaters if you prefer. It could be made with all real eggs or all substitute also, depending on your calorie needs. Likewise, you can play around with fillings. Spinach, kale, swiss chard, mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, onions, whatever you feel like and have available in your fridge will probably do. Different cheeses can shake things up too. Just be aware that some cheeses have more salt than others (ahem, feta), so you will need to adjust the recipe a bit.


1 large bunch swiss chard, cleaned well
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
olive oil or cooking spray
salt

4 oz soft goat cheese with herbs (one small log)

3 eggs
3/4 cup Egg Beaters
1-1/2 cups milk*
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Prepare a 9 inch pie plate by greasing with butter or spraying with cooking spray. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Remove the large ribs from the chard and cut into about 1 inch ribbons. In a large skillet, add the chard, sprinkle with salt and saute over medium heat in cooking spray or about 1 tsp olive oil until fully wilted and all moisture has evaporated from the pan, about 8 minutes. Spread the chard evenly in the pie plate. Repeat with the onions, salting generously, cooking until they are translucent, but not browned. Repeat with the zucchini, but turn the heat up slightly to brown them. Spread all the vegetables evenly in the pie plate.

Crumble to goat cheese over the vegetables.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, egg beaters, and milk. Whisk well until completely combined. Add the nutmeg, pepper and salt and whisk to incorporate. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables. It should cover the vegetables completely.**

Bake in the middle of the oven until the egg mixture is completely set, about 45 minutes. Shake the pie plate gently to make sure the middle is set. There may be a bit of liquid from the vegetables, but it would be clear; uncooked egg will be cloudy.

Allow to cool a bit before cutting.

Makes 6 servings.


*I have been using 1% milk, but I have had good results with everything from skim to whole.
** If you need more egg mixture, just keep the ratio of egg to milk the same: 1/4 cup egg (one egg) to 1/4 cup milk.

Sausage Spinach Asiago Turnovers

I get tired of the meat-veggie-starch dinner. It is functional but boring. Like a pair of good walking shoes. They get you where you need to go, but you don’t look very good once you get there. (or on the way, actually, continuing this pathetic metaphor). That kind of dinner is boring to make as well as eat. I am a COOK. I like to try new things, use my tools and be inspired by my food. Most weeks, I try to mix in something that is a little more exciting than the classic three part meat dinner and on occasion, I end up with something really terrific. This was one of those weeks. This dinner was the first time in ages that I have sat down at the table and said “I have to take a picture of my food. This is so good.”

This dish is not something that fits into the “healthy eating” category of my recipe book, but it really is worth the splurge. I use homemade pastry here. It is easy and really worth it. Of course you can buy a pastry dough, but why not just try to make it? If it fails, grab your backup out of the fridge, but if it works, you will not regret the (small) effort required.

Mike summed it up perfectly: “I want to go to the city where this is the street food.”

Amen.



Sausage Spinach Asiago Turnovers

Pastry dough
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 stick of butter, frozen or very cold
Ice water

Filling
1 medium sweet onion, chopped (1-1/2 to 2 cups)
1 lb sweet chicken Italian sausage (use patties or remove the casing from links)
1/2 lb frozen cut leaf spinach, thawed
2/3 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated asiago cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

Egg wash
1 egg
2 Tablespoons milk

Make the pastry. Cut the butter into pebble size chunks. In a food processor combine the butter and flour. Pulse until the butter is pea sized or smaller. Very slowly, add ice water with the processor running. As soon as the dough comes together to form a ball, stop processing. (It should happen around 3 Tablespoons of water). Remove the dough, form into a disc, wrap with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Make the filling. While the pastry is resting, in a large fry pan, sauté the onion until tender. Add the sausage and cook through, breaking up with a spoon. Remove to a bowl to cool.

Squeeze the spinach out with your hands to remove as much water as possible. Add to the sausage mixture. Once the mixture is fairly cool, add the cottage cheese, asiago, pepper, nutmeg, and Italian seasoning. Stir well to combine.

Preheat oven to 425F.

Assemble the turnovers. Cut the pastry into five pieces and roll each out into a circle.* Mine ended up being about 8 inches in diameter and less than 1/8 inch thick. Place the pastry on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Position them as you would like them to be for baking. You don’t want to try to move them once they are filled. Pile filling in the middle of the pastry and carefully fold the pastry over to create a turnover. Match the edges up and roll them in to seal. You can crimp these with a fork to ensure that they are sealed. You really don’t want the pastry to break or to seep your yummy filling out onto your cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining 4 pieces of pastry.

Whisk the egg and milk together in a small dish. Brush over the top of the pastry.

Bake for about 40 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

Serves 5 (or 2 if Mike is the other person eating with you)

*It doesn’t need to really be a circle, it just needs to be somewhat symmetrical so that the edges match up when you turn it over. No prizes for perfection here – this is supposed to look like street food.

White bean dip with rosemary and sage

While we're on a roll...

I thought I would give you yet another reason to use the bean cooking recipe I gave you yesterday. This bean dip is such a refreshing departure from hummus, but serves a similar purpose. Great with crackers or veggies, it also is an excellent addition to a wrap or sandwich. The key to this dip, however, is to make your own beans. It is just not as good with the canned beans (oh, and buy good fresh herbs too. Mandatory for this one.)

Like so many of my favorite recipes, this one comes from Cooking Light magazine.


White Bean Dip with Rosemary and Sage
Make a few hours in advance to allow the flavors to meld.

2-1/2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon bean cooking liquid
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1 Tablespoon minced fresh sage
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1-2 garlic cloves, chopped*
2 cups cooked white beans (cannellini or great northern), drained
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through. Add additional salt to taste. Chill before serving.

*Begin with one and add more if you need it. The first time I made this the garlic overwhelmed the recipe. It will also depend on the type of garlic you use.

How to Cook Dried Beans

I tried to cook dried beans several times before I figured out a method that really worked for me. I found so many contradictory instructions involving soaking, not soaking, how long to cook, pressure cookers and other equipment. My head threatened to explode and the beans didn't come out well.

The reality is that there are three distinct methods for cooking beans (as far as I know. Feel free to correct me in the comments.)

1. First is the long soak method. The beans are soaked overnight, then cooked in water until they are tender.
   
2. The second is a quick soak method (spoiler alert: this is my favorite method and the one I will explain here). The beans are put in water, brought to a boil and soaked for only about an hour. Then they are cooked until tender.
   
3. The third method is in the pressure cooker, which I have never done, because I do not have a pressure cooker. I think the pressure cooker method is the fastest.

This is my method. I think it is fool-proof, if you just follow the directions. Another key to cooking perfect beans is to avoid adding anything to the beans that will mess them up until AFTER they are tender. This includes salt, sugar, and acid. Just cook them with aromatics and wait to add the rest of the stuff.

I like to cook a full pound of beans at a time. They fit well in my 6 quart saucepan and make enough for me to freeze and use for the next couple weeks. I make a different type of beans every time to replenish my stash. The method is the same for all the usual beans: kidney, great northern, garbanzo (chick peas), black beans, etc. Only lentils do not require the soaking step.

The length of time to cook a bean depends on a number of factors. Some are obvious like the size of the bean. Bigger or denser beans (kidney, garbanzo) take longer to cook than smaller beans (navy). The part you can't see: beans can be kept on the shelf for YEARS. The older they are, the drier and more brittle the bean, and the longer it takes to cook. There is no way to know how old your beans are unless you are getting them from the farmer. This is why you have to keep testing the beans throughout the cooking process. Figure on the whole process taking about 3 hours, give or take.

Another wonderful thing about making homemade beans is that the starchy cooking liquid is wonderful stuff to add to pasta sauces, soups and stews for thickening and bulk. It is a silky smooth liquid that also adds some flavor. Do not do this with the liquid from canned beans. Yuck.

Here goes.


This is a terrible picture of what my beans look like when they are frozen flat in quart sized bags

Cooking Beans

1 pound beans
plenty of water

Aromatics:*
sprig of thyme
bay leaf
onion
etc.

2 teaspoons salt


Quick soak:
Place beans in a large sauce pan (use one that is at least six times larger than the volume of dry beans you are cooking.) Add water until the water is twice the depth of the beans. Bring to a gentle boil. Time for four minutes. Turn off the burner and cover the pot. Leave for one hour.

Cooking the beans:
After the beans have soaked for an hour, pour off the water or strain them through a colander. You do not need to keep this liquid.

Put the beans back in the pot and cover with water until the water is THREE times the depth of the beans. Add your aromatics.

Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. There should be a bubble coming up every few seconds. This is very gentle, slow cooking so the beans remain intact. Set the timer for 30 minutes. Test a bean. If it is at all tender (you can bite through it) add salt (about 2 teaspoons per pound of beans). If it is not tender yet, set the timer for another 15 minutes and test again.

Once salted, check the beans every 20 minutes or so until they are done. In my experience, there is a moment when I look at them and they are suddenly much more puffed up and the liquid looks lower and the beans are suddenly done. White beans (which I make the most often) usually cook for about 90 minutes after the quick soak.

Allow the beans to cool. DO NOT discard the cooking liquid. I like to pack the beans in freezer bags, remove all the air and freeze them flat in the cooking liquid. They defrost looking just like the freshly cooked beans and they taste far better than the ones from a can. If you are keeping them in the fridge, store them in the cooking liquid. If you do not have enough cooking liquid to cover the beans, just add water.


*Choose your aromatics based on what you are using the beans for. If you are cooking black beans, for example, I might add cilantro and lime (but later, because of the acid issue) and garlic. For white beans, I usually add thyme, bay leaf, and an onion if I have one around.

Adventures in Soup: White Bean and Sausage Ragout with Tomatoes, Kale and Zucchini

Time for another soup recipe, don't you think? This is one that is truly quick to make; weeknight worthy, actually. Or for those Sundays that get away from you. You can start making this soup after five and be eating it for dinner at 6.

In truth, this isn't actually a soup. It is more of a thick vegetable, sausage and bean stew, but it qualifies for our little series, I think. As comfort food goes (and this is very comfortable), this is a very healthy option. A lean sausage, fiber and protein-rich beans and a very hefty dose of leafy greens somehow manage to come together to taste downright indulgent. This is also one of those recipes that keeps pretty well in the fridge. After making this on Sunday, it also has been my warm comforting lunch at work every day this week.

Here's the recipe, adapted from Cooking Light. I found this in my Cooking Light Cooking Through the Seasons cookbook, but it is also available on their website. One important difference is that I use home cooked beans for this recipe. They taste so much better. Really. And they freeze beautifully. Before you write off making your own beans, give it a try, I implore you.

In fact, I am going to put up instructions for cooking beans now. They are the only instructions you will need and it WILL work.

White Bean and Sausage Ragout with Tomatoes, Kale and Zucchini
This is terrific on its own, but is also great with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese on top if you like. This stew also makes great friends with crusty bread.

3 links chicken Italian sausage (hot* or sweet, your choice)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 medium zucchini, halved and then sliced in half-inch pieces
5 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
6 cups kale, cleaned, ribs removed and coarsely chopped**
1/2 cup water or bean cooking liquid if you are using home cooked beans
1 can (14.5 oz) chopped tomatoes with liquid
3 cups cooked white beans

Place the sausages in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook until the sausages are done, about 8 minutes. Remove the sausages to a cutting board, slice them in half lengthwise and then cut into half-inch pieces

In a large saucepan (6 or 8 quart), heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onion. Sprinkle with salt and cook until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage and the zucchini and increase the heat to brown the ingredients. Cook about 4 minutes. Lower the heat again and add the garlic, cook only until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the kale, water, and tomatoes. Bring the mixture to a boil, turn down and simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally to incorporate and wilt the kale. Add the beans and cook until heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve immediately and put the rest in the fridge for excellent leftovers.

Serves 4-6


*If you like spice, this would be wonderful with a good spicy sausage. You can also add about 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes to give it a little oomph if you want.

**I used a whole big bunch of kale, probably closer to 10 cups. It cooks down so much, you can just use a whole big mess and it will probably be fine. Who wants leftover uncooked kale in the fridge? Additionally, Swiss chard or spinach will work if you cannot find or do not like kale.

Adventures in Soup: Avgolemono (Greek Chicken Lemon Rice Soup)

Winter days are officially upon us. Mike is outside shoveling for the second time today and it is only 11 am. The world is white and gray and sounds are muffled. It feels peaceful and quiet both inside and out today. As wonderful as Christmas and New Year's were with our families and friends, it is a relief to settle into the rhythm of winter, with its short days and long dark nights, warm comforting food, and arrays of hats, mittens, coats, scarves, and boots.

Last weekend marked the first time that Ned has EVER enjoyed being outside in the winter. Here is proof:



Love the action pose.

Mike took him sledding and I went along later to take a few pictures. The actual sledding was not his favorite thing, but wandering around dragging the sled was a blast. He was at it for about an hour before we put him in the car and took him out for hot chocolate.

This is the perfect weather for ladling up a big bowl of hearty soup, especially after a morning of romping around in the snow. Today's selection definitely qualifies as hearty. Somehow Avgolemono is incredibly refreshing at the same time because of the lemon flavor. It is actually a sort of custard soup. It does not have any milk in it, but it is thickened slowly with eggs. The citrus of the lemon cuts the richness of the egg in such a wonderful way. This is a favorite that I always order when we go to our neighborhood Greek restaurants, and my version is a pretty good approximation of what we have found around town.

Avgolemono (Greek Chicken Lemon Rice Soup)
The key to this soup is to let it thicken slowly and not allow the eggs to coagulate and curdle. This is done by tempering the eggs slowly with warm soup and then hot soup. You will end up with a perfectly velvety texture if you take your time. This video does a great job of showing the tempering process. Fast forward to about 3:30.

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
8 cups chicken stock
1 cup brown rice
5 eggs
Juice of 2 lemons
2 Tablespoons AP flour
1/2 cup cool chicken stock
1 cooked chicken breast, shredded with two forks (about 1-1/2 cups)

In a large fry pan over medium heat, saute the onion, carrots, and celery until the onion is softened and translucent, but not brown, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large soup pot, combine the 8 cups of chicken stock and brown rice, bring to a boil and simmer. After about 30 minutes, add the onion mixture to the pot and continue cooking until the carrots are tender and the rice is fully cooked, about another 20 minutes.

In a large bowl, vigorously whisk the lemon juice, flour, cool chicken stock, and eggs until fully combined and lightened. Remove about one cup of broth from the soup pot. Allow to cool for a minute, then slowly pour into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Continue pouring hot soup into the egg mixture and whisking until the bowl is full. Then slowly pour the egg mixture back into the soup pot, whisking constantly.

Cook about 5 minutes longer, until the soup is very hot, but do not allow it to boil.

Serve immediately (because it is really good, but don't worry, the extra will keep in the fridge just fine.)

Serves 8-10

Toffee Squares

As promised, here is the other recipe for my great Christmas Cookie Success last weekend. These are from The Pioneer Woman. Her recipes are wonderful and I would love to eat her cooking all the time, but she uses about 20 times more butter in all her food that I use, so in the interest of being able to fit my rear end into my pants, I generally avoid her recipes.

However, if Christmas isn't a time for butter and sugar, then what is it? Tis the season, so grab a couple sticks of butter, a pair of elastic-waist pants, and whip up a batch of these cookie bars. This recipe is so easy, so forgiving, and the results look and taste much more impressive that you would think for the amount of effort that goes into them.



While normally I would write out the whole recipe with instructions and everything else, I didn't adapt this recipe except using toasted almonds instead of pecans on top, so I will just point you to The Pioneer Woman's website and tell you to do what she says.

Cleta Bailey's Toffee Squares