we may have set fire to the wagon with this one...

mexican spiced chocolate "homo" cakes
chili spiced chocolate enrobed chocolate layer cake, with an orange cinnamon crunch buttercream in the middle. this is my tribute to a mash up of a whoopie pie and a hoho, with some extra spiciness thrown in... thus the "homo" was born. and now for your bingeing pleasure, the recipes involved in this crazy crackfection.


wacky cake
a war time chocolate cake recipe, perfect for when eggs were scarce
1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. yields two shallow 9 in rounds, or one 9 in cake. can be doubled to make a 13x9.
2. in a large mixing bowl sift the following dry ingredients together. (if you don't want to do layers, then you can mix this decadent cake right in the pan!)



Ingredients

1 & 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3 Tbsp cocoa (i use black cocoa or special dark, for an extra deep rich cake)


3. make three wells in the dry ingredients and add the following:


1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp vinegar

5 Tbsp melted butter or oil (if you want to keep it vegan. i like sunflower, safflower or canola)

1 cup cold water over all, and stir well - but careful not to over mix. just do it until all dry is incorporated. batter should be fairly thick.



4. if doing two layers, grease and flour the bottoms of the pans for easy removal.
5. bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes (or 35 minutes for single cake). cake should spring back when you touch the top, and fork should come out clean from the center. place cakes on wire rack to cool, before placing bottom layer on serving plate or cake stand.



orange cinnamon filling
Ingredients
1/4 lb unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar (2/3 fine, 1/3 coarse demerara or raw)

1-2 tsp fresh cara cara orange zest

1 Tbsp fresh cara cara orange juice

1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt

Method:
cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. add zest, juice, salt & cinnamon. beat well.
leave out at room temp until cakes have cooled fully. smear generously to cover bottom layer and set top layer on to this.

enrobing chocolate 
bring all ingredients together in double boiler, to melt chocolate. i use a pyrex mixing bowl over a saucepan filled with water just to touch the bottom of the bowl. heat over low heat, whisking as it melts. set aside until cakes are cooled fully & filled (if you're doing layers).
9-10 oz bittersweet chocolate chips

2 pinches chipotle

pinch salt



pour pool of chocolate onto center of cakes and tilt plate to have it drip over edges. pop the whole delicious mess into the fridge or leave out at room temp to let chocolate set up. 
cut with sharp knife (you can heat it first to help get through the shell), and serve it up.
 serves 8-10 happy homos (or allies)

Back on the wagon-ish

Quinoa, Black Beans and Garden Salsa with Avocado
The following yields two adult dinner servings and a hearty lunch for one.

quinoa - 1 cup, rinsed well
2 cups water
1 vegan bouillon cube
put everything in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
reduce heat and cover, simmering until all liquid is absorbed - 15-20 minutes.

black beans - 1 15oz can
1/2 tsp cumin
dash salt
dash chipotle
1/4 tsp chili powder
put everything in small saucepan and heat over low, until bubbling

garden salsa
1 cup mixed tomatoes, small dice (we used little yellow pear/cherry guys quartered and an amish paste with its guts removed)
1/2 jalapeno, minced
2 tsp red onion, minced
1 tbsp lemon juice
dash salt
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 avocado, diced
1 tsp oil, like sunflower or safflower
mix everything together and let it marinate together while beans and grains are cooking.

plate and devour, giving thanks for the last remnants of the summer bounty on a cold autumn night. mmm, stick it in my yum!

I also made a side of roasted butternut squash which I'm enjoying as a dessert.
Peel (carefully) and cube a butternut squash, discarding the seeds. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place squash in glass 13x9 baking dish and toss with some oil and a bit of sea salt. Roast for 30-45 minutes, turning once or twice, until squash starts to caramelize a bit. Serve with a sprinkling of coarse demerara sugar or maple syrup. Looks like sunshine, and tastes like pie. YAY!

Beet Carrot Apple Slaw

This is one of Mary's favorites dishes to make. She is in fact responsible for teaching me to prepare it - something she may be loathe to acknowledge since it runs counter to her steadfast belief that she doesn't know how to cook... This simple salad is a great accompaniment to all kinds of dishes, like our Wild Rice Pilaf with Cherries and Grapes, and you can vary the flavor depending on which beets or apples you choose, and what citrus you prefer.

Ingredients:
1 medium sized beet, peeled & grated
1 medium sized apple, peeled, cored & grated
2 carrots, peeled & grated
1-2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
1-2 Tbsp safflower oil (or sunflower, or olive)
pinch salt

Grate roots and apple into a mixing bowl (discarding peels and seeds). Drizzle the lot with citrus juice and oil, and toss in pinch of salt. Toss everything and serve. Easy peasy and delicious!!!

back on the wagon

okay okay. we confess to a moment of weakness. but, after a day of hard labor, that burger was calling our names. i should also add: we had already tagged on an extra week of full elimination to wait out erika's sinus infection. when saturday night rolled around she was still having symptoms, we were both famished, erika was feeling bitter that we hadn't started reintroducing any foods yet, and i'd been craving a burger since we started this endeavor.

we discussed the pros and cons and decided if we were going to do it it had to be while erika was having symptoms anyway. why not? we could fall off the wagon then jump right back on again.

so, we went to Screen Door and split the best tasting burger we've ever had in our lives along with a side of fries and tomato soup. the owner comped us the whole meal, which i think qualifies it as the best dinner experience we've ever had in our lives.

i felt languid during the car ride home (erika had a few reactions as well) but didn't regret it in the least.

Approximation

I'm not much one for following recipes, except when I bake. I have also been pretty lax at writing out recipes for the meals I cook since I often do things pretty fluidly and intuitively. So when I was browsing NPR the other day, I was relieved to learn about a new cookbook for cooks like me. You can read the story here - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=107019060 , but the premise is you don't need recipes if you understand ratios... This sounds easy to tackle, and some are already stuck in my noodle, as with most grains the ratio is one measure grain to two measures liquid. In spite of this discovery, and impending trip to the library to search out the book and expand my ratio repertoire, I'm endeavouring to follow through on a promise to post recipes for all the dishes we've already made.

Let's begin with the beginning - Quinoa Salad. This dish has innumerable possibilities. Choose your favorite style of cuisine and use the flavors to gussy up this delicious tender grain. We've been stuck on Mexican, but I've also made Greek style, and imagine versions for Thai and Italian and so much more. But here's a basic recipe for the Mexican style, with a disclaimer that I made this recipe up on the spot, and measurements (for the spices) are approximate. Try it out and tweak to taste. And Buen Provecho!

Quinoa Salad
1 cup quinoa
2 cups veggie stock

1 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 Tbsp diced red onion or shallot
2 cups assorted chopped veggies - recommend cabbage, carrots, radish, avocado
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1-2 limes, juiced
1/4 cup safflower or sunflower oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp chipotle
salt to taste

Rinse quinoa well and add to pot with stock. Bring to boil, then cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Sweat onions (cook lightly until translucent over medium low heat) in a pan with a tiny bit of oil and salt, and add drained beans. Cook gently to warm mixture and remove from heat.

Place chopped veggies in large mixing bowl with cilantro. Add beans, and cooked quinoa. In small lidded container shake oil, lime juice and spices vigorously (should yield about 1/3 cup). Add salt to taste, and pour dressing over all contents in bowl. Warm grains and beans will absorb dressing and flavor permeates the entire salad.

Serve with plantain chips and grilled chicken, or just a spoon. Mary and I have a hard time quitting once we start eating this salad, but under normal circumstances this would serve four generous entrée portions. It makes it perfect for dinner for two and lunch for both the following day! It's also great as a side for 6-8.

not currently a spectator in our own kitchen

Mary read this excellent article by Michael Pollan to me this morning as we enjoyed a late brunch. We were so moved by it that we'd like to share it with you, and hope you'll take some time to read it and share your thoughts. Thanks!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/magazine/02cooking-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine

This weekend we almost succumbed to lack of planning and laziness. We'd failed to finish off the week's menu, but managed to cobble together things to get us through "safely". Saturday we passed that mark of stable blood sugar, into the territory where decision making falls apart. When we rallied, we ended up with an odd but tasty meal, thanks to a convenience food, the allure of fresh avocado and some leftover gruel. I realize gruel is a particularly unappetizing word, but I haven't found a better one for what I did to the amaranth yet, so for now it will be called that.

Turkey Sausage Patty, Amaranth Gruel and Avocado

Tonight's meal was a success, though almost completely unplanned. We're working hard to use staples at hand rather than looking into an overflowing pantry and whining "There's nothing to eat"... Last trip to the grocer M picked out some pasta that was gluten free. Normally I think the prospect is sure to disappoint, and pass on it, but I relented. It saved the day tonight, when we thought to make a vegan pesto (with some garden herbs, pignolas and nutritional yeast) and whip up a light supper.

"Pesto" Penne with Carrots

I actually found the gluten free pasta palatable, and was happy with such a quick and creative solution to our unplanned dinner dilemma.

Mary relished the dish with particular gusto, as evidenced here.

Recipes for all the dishes featured thus far will follow soon.

food, inc

i've been thinking a lot about food in these few weeks. something, for various reasons, i rarely have ever done in the past. i don't have solid articulation about these thoughts, but it seems the universe is doing it's damnedest to make sure i get it.

the other nite we went to see "food, inc," a documentary film tackling the vast elements involved in the evolution of the American diet. then today, the NY Times Magazine arrived; in it an article on the diminishing role of home-cooked meals in America. add in the debate on national health care reform -- none of which addresses the issue of WHY so many people have the health problems they do -- and my brain is churning.

all in all, i'm relieved that e agreed to go along with this diet since she could have just left me to my own devices -- after all it was my doctor who suggested i do it. i asked e in part because i knew i wouldn't stick it out on my own.

if nothing else, we are establishing healthier eating habits (home-cooked, organic and local when possible, seasonal & more variety) which i trust we will continue long after all the eliminated food groups are reintroduced and this diet ends.

At last, my breeze has come along

Climate comfort is always relative, and I feel like today's 88 degrees offers incredible relief after this past week. The house stays cool when outside keeps under 90, and after a busy run of days - escaping triple digit temperatures in the dark of the theater two evenings, seeing live music and burlesque for my birthday, and working on a Saturday - I finally have some time and bearable conditions in which to write.

So, we left off with last weekend's beautiful beet slaw and wild rice dish. We've got a lot to cover, so here goes... We started the week with the easiest no cook dish we could muster.

Spinach Arugula Salad with Roasted Chicken, Apples and Cashews

I give mighty thanks to the good folks at New Seasons grocery for making delicious roasted chickens for me. We took our salad bowl to a friend's house for movie night, and it was the perfect precursor to a cooling and thoughtful dessert of whipped frozen pineapple with lime that she presented us with (Love you, Noodle, and your mad skills in the kitchen).

Tuesday night was one of my favorite dishes, beluga lentil salad, and my only lament for this preparation was not being able to pair it with some creamy goat cheese. It's so simple to prepare, and so soul satisfying. You start with a basic mirepoix (carrots, celery and onions which form the base of many soups and more), finely diced, and saute it lightly in oil. We used shallots in place of onion.

Soak beluga lentils overnight to speed up cook time. I love lentils, and this dish is my homage to Neil in the Young Ones and Audrey Tatou in Amelie.

Combine these ingredients with a little liquid (water or stock) and simmer until the lentils are tender. While the lentil mixture is still warm dress with good balsamic vinegar & olive oil, salt, pepper, fresh thyme and a little chopped parsley. After the salad cools and soaks up the dressing you can serve it in a bed of arugula or butter lettuce, with crostini and goat cheese (I wish).

The next night we made a meal and took it to the movies with us. Unfortunately, because it had tuna in it, I was too nervous to open the container and offend the surrounding patrons. So we ate a late bite on the porch after we got home and enjoyed the rest for lunch and dinner the following day.

Soba Noodle Salad with Tuna, Broccoli, Peas, Carrots and Cashews

Mary cooked the soba noodles, and I blanched the broccoli under the hot water tap. Everything got tossed with lemon juice, olive oil and salt. It's a simple dish and some adjustments to the seasonings (extra lemon, a splash of toasted sesame oil) made the next few rounds more enjoyable.

That brings us to the birthday dinner.

French Chicken Salad with Avocado and Amaranth "Grits"

I love this style of chicken salad, since it's not reliant on mayo and welcomes all manor of vegetable additions (asparagus and peas are some favorites).

Amaranth looks like caviar and quinoa had a micro baby, and takes surprisingly longer to cook given the minuscule size of the grains. Our first attempt using this little seed was to simmer it in stock, and make a savory gruel which I promptly burned my tongue on several times. (I know... quit after the first, but then the damage is already done.)

It was a quick meal and a mad dash to meet friends and celebrate my 33rd by watching dancing ladies!!! Our friend Noodle has lamented the fact that we're doing this diet now, since it really throws a wrench in celebrating the way foodies like to - with terrific meals together. That said I was happy to postpone that indulgence, and managed to find a raw food diet compliant chocolate "caramel" bar at the coop to share as a treat. It relied on dates and Himalayan pink salt as the caramel filling, and agave for sweetening, and it was a good deal better than I expected. That was a relief given the price tag.

All in all our night out more than made up for the lack of booze and cake. I feel very blessed to share my life with the people I am lucky to have around me. I feel so happy, and couldn't stop smiling last night as we watched swing dancers and burlesque performers and two live bands accompanying it all! I am proud to say I've made it through 33 years now and I'm doing things to help me have the life and health that I want, which can be a tough commitment. And, we've made it through week two of the elimination with no significant infractions or slip ups. Hozah! Admittedly vanity is a great motivator, and I found I could fit into a favorite summer dress once more. That is not a reason to do this diet, by any stretch, but today it certainly is some icing on the cake.

106 degrees & counting

The heat has sent everything haywire. By everything, I mean: the electronic thermometer* that's reading the the air temp instead of waiting until it's under the tongue to beep; the meals themselves which have been altered because it's too damn hot to eat let alone cook (mmm mmm smoothies); the pulse checking* (because we're grazing instead of eating full meals); the computers laboring under the effort to keep recording our efforts (please please please don't crash).

*One purpose of the elimination diet is to determine what foods e and i may have sensitivities to. Temperature and pulse rate are two indicators.

The elimination diet guidelines are hardcore -- pulse rate, for instance, should be taken prior to and 30 minutes after eating each meal, and temperature is supposed to be taken at least 3x per week, 3x each day. [Now ask me if we're doing that.]

It's getting hot in here

The local forecast is already making me anxious about the next few days meals, and as a result I spent the morning being a "crabby patty".

I realized that dish is most certainly not on the menu, so I managed to shake it off and plan the next week with Mary's pragmatic and attentive help. We set out to the grocery to stock up on fresh goodness for the next few, and managed to get out again alive, and with some bank account still intact. We did some quick math though, and figured that we're still saving money over our previous dining habits. Given the recent investments in staple items, which we're actually using over time (I used to let things disappear into the backs of cabinets, long forgotten), it was a tough first hit last week. We both acknowledged feeling better and agreed to stick to this. M is already sleeping better and feeling more energetic. I think a boost in exercise will offer me the same, and I got my bike back from the shop - whisper quiet now, with it's new bottom bracket - so I'll soon follow suit.

Before we started she was vexed about meal planning and I sat her down with a stack of back issues of Martha Stewart FOOD and told her to rip out whatever looked appetizing. Perhaps that was kind of mean, given all the delicious prospects generally contained therein, many of which centered on things we're no longer consuming for the next several weeks. I put my eyebrows up on a few suggestions - combinations of ingredients I'd never considered - but we stashed the recipes she chose, and today was the day to give them all a second look. One of our personal goals during this diet has been to promote as much variety as possible, especially given the bounty of local produce, in our garden and at market. To that end we're trying not to rely too heavily on any particular ingredients, and not to repeat meals, other than as lunch the next day. It's tough, and I feel I'm lacking in ideas and skills. Sometimes it helps me to go back for try two on an experiment. Here's Saturday's very late lunch, which doubled as a stealth dinner at the movies.

Quinoa Chick Pea Fritter Scramble, with Broccoli and Tahini dressing

So after yesterday - where I "corrected" Thursday's mistake - we worked from one of the recipes M culled. This was the one dish I really tried to discourage, since I still have some mental blocks against fruit with other foods. I learned early on to eat fruit on its own and I have a hard time turning that edict off. Thankfully I did and Mary's Fruited Pilaf wishes came true. We paired it with a house favorite and this is the resulting meal... with extra love, for my lady.

Wild Rice Pilaf with Grapes and Cherries, and Beet Apple Carrot Slaw

For those of you wiping drool off your keyboards, or savoring the memory of the nibble at lunchtime show-and-tell, I promise to start including recipes. At the moment though, it's too bleeding hot. So you'll have to wait, I hope with smoothie in hand, until the next installment. I will try to get us all caught up from beginning to end, and if anyone's interested in suggesting recipes, or swapping, we'd love to hear from you. Email us at crouchinglentil@me.com.

First minor loss

Some meals just don't turn out the way you hope, and yet I find myself with a partner willing not only to eat the less satisfactory experiments, but also to savor and enjoy them. Last night's meal was the first of those, at least since we've started this. I guess statistically I'll see more of these since we're cooking every day, but they're always a surprise and leave me festering with some deep seated disappointment in my efforts.

I guess one of the best skills Mary brings to this venture is her ability to remind me to be gentle in my self-reproach. And she appreciates what we cook. She's always been better at shaking off the little bumps life hands us, and it holds true in the kitchen. The meal was haphazard - my "plan" being some configuration of quinoa, chick peas, kale, carrots and taratour sauce (a tahini lemon dressing)... I came home later than I'd hoped, after a terrific massage, and M had started the meal in the best way she could figure - cooking the quinoa and heating up the chick peas. After M gave me a worried look in reference to eating chick peas whole, I shifted gears and mashed them up with quinoa as a makeshift binding agent. My attempt to fry patties yielded some hot oil burns to my bare stomach and arms, and a sort of crispy (and tasty if strange looking) mass of fritter-like scramble. The results can be seen here, and M quickly scarfed it down and pronounced it "Yummy".

Honestly it was better than simply edible, but just not what I'd intended. The other side of this equation was that I'd failed to prepare enough for the next meal, Friday's lunch... which meant we were both left to our own devices. It's not a situation I want to put either of us in. My work is like being in the middle of the ocean sometimes - water everywhere, and none to drink - with food being prepared and delivered all day all around me, but little of it suitable for this diet. M has the choice of the salad bar at the college cafe', which apparently means she comes home cranky because she didn't get enough for lunch, or there weren't many suitable choices. I lucked out, running to the grocery on the way back from an appointment and grabbing half a roasted chicken and fresh sugar snap peas. Together they were fairly inexpensive and both delicious.

Dinner tonight turned out much better, and we had a dinner guest! Our friend Molly, soon to be our landmate, joined us for a meal of sauteed catfish, kale, more quinoa and taratour (easy to use leftovers), and some tasty olives. We all realized too late that we forgot to photograph the meal. We'd been hungry and enjoying talking together and just dove in. So this is tonight's dinner picture, courtesy of Mary. She was wearing a wonderfully impish smile when she took it, and it meets our commitment to photograph each dinner, even if only the final morsels.

chicn's view of things

virtually inept in all things kitchen-related [i do make damn fine smoothies], mostly i do my fair share of "moral support", ie. stand around talking and watching e create our meals...

...looking at the food she's making...

...as well as the aftermath.

Respite

The last few nights have cooled considerably, and this morning it seems like I have a respite from the days long caffeine withdrawal headache... finally sweet relief? I can't count on it, but I'm hopeful.

The body reacts when foods are removed from daily habits, and sometimes it feels like an ornery relative asked to kindly take leave after a long visit. The hissy fits ensue, but eventually you're left with the quiet thrum of the house - all to yourself again. In celebration of the calm, I'm enjoying the songs of Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, and Billie Holiday. Right now it's Nina singing one of my favorites:

"In the dark
It's just you and I
Not a sound
There's not one sigh
Just the beat of my poor heart
In the dark..."

This has gotta be one of the sexiest songs ever sung... but that's a related tangent. I think one of the best possible outcomes of this diet will be renewed energy, and feeling well, and those things naturally spur and support confidence. Confidence is very sexy. And when you pair that with way fewer headaches... Mmmm hmmm.

"In the dark
Now we will find
What the rest
Have left behind
Just let them dance
We're gonna find romance
Lord, in the dark"

Third Night - like eating sunshine

Today as we prepped the third night of dinners on the elimination diet*, I decided we ought to write about this experience together. We'd already had the forethought to begin photographing each night's meal, and here's a quick recap.
Monday night we made one of Mary's favorites - to ease us into the new life of not being lazy eaters...
Quinoa salad with black beans, veggies and lime cilantro dressing.

It's been a staple in our house for some time, so it was a logical first choice when menu planning.
And now to explain the diet*... For over a year Mary and I have been talking about cleaning up our act, so to speak.
We've wanted to do something that would help us understand our bodies' interactions with particular foods more, and to be healthier generally. After a long time of saying we should do something about the current state of affairs - overspending at restaurants, eating the same five things over and over, suffering from varying ailments related to bad food choices and inactivity - we took the plunge and started with menu planning. This elimination diet is designed to help reduce inflammation in the body, and to help pinpoint foods that are regressive for you (i.e. you would do very well to just not eat them). For two weeks we get to cut out all of the following -
All sources of Gluten (Barley, Rye, Oats, Wheat, Spelt, Kamut, Bulgur, Malt)
Dairy
Soy
Eggs
Beef, Pork and Lamb
Sugar and Honey
Corn
Caffeine (oh, sweet coffee, I will return to thee)
Alcohol
the entire family of Nightshade - Potatoes, Tomatoes, Peppers, Yams, Eggplant
We personally added to the list
Garlic
Onions
fermented foods
Grapefruit and Orange

"Well shit, with all that off limits what the hell are we going to eat?" you might ask...
That's what this blog is for. To show off our creations that help us stretch in the kitchen, let us eat from our garden, and make us think about and work together to put the food in our bellies at every meal. Since both of us work, and cooking at home takes up a lot of our time we're just gonna document dinner (which we eat for lunch the next day anyway)...
So here's the second and third dinners from the beginning of this effort:
Tuesday
Curried Lentil Soup with Millet

and Wednesday - today!
Tuna Salad with Beets, Carrots, and Chives over garden greens

and our home grown Maxibel Green Beans with Almonds