Direction Connection

I set out to find a quinoa pudding recipe this April because I recalled my friend Trystyn, who died around a year ago,  mentioning not long before she died that a volunteer hospice (or similar) worker had made some especially for her, and Trystyn really enjoyed it. In the time I knew Trystyn, she was a very health-conscious person, so I thought this recipe was most likely to suit her tastes (others called for heavy cream or eggs). I found the recipe here; the one I’ve reproduced below has some notes based on my experience making it two or three times now.

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 2-1/2 cups soy milk
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup, or agave syrup
• 2 Tbsp. kudzu, dissolved (a thickening agent; see notes below)
• 2 Tbsp cold water
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg or ground cinnamon

Put quinoa, soy milk, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add sweetener. Mix well. Add Kudzu, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Add vanilla and spices. Top with your choice of topping or fruit. Delicious warm or chilled.

My notes:

• The soy milk works really well; I’ve also experimented with adding half-and-half and whole milk (because we had them around the house) instead of a portion of the soy milk.
• I used maple syrup, mostly because that’s what I had and I didn’t exactly know what agave syrup was.
• Instead of kudzu, I used corn starch, which you’re supposed to mix in with the water before adding to the pudding (the recipe isn’t clear, but I’m sure this is right).
• I may experiment with adding no thickener, as the pudding seemed pretty thick to me even before I added the corn starch.  And when we get it ready to eat after storing it in the refrigerator, we add a little bit of soy milk to thin it out a bit. So the thickener may be completely unnecessary.
• We didn’t top it with any fruit or other topping, although some recipes I consulted suggested raisins or currants.

• 1/2 c. butter (softened)
• 1/2 c. shortening (I always have used vegetable oil)
• 1 c. confectioner’s sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 1/2 c. flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. almond extract (I haven’t always had that so I consider it optional)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. red food coloring (or more, depending how dark you want it)

Mix thoroughly the butter, oil, sugar, egg and flavorings. Blend in flour and salt. Divide dough in half. Blend color into one half. Shape 1 T. dough from each half into 4-inch ropes. Place side by side and roll lightly together and then curve into a cane. (The dough needs to be just slightly tacky - too wet, and it’s a disaster, and too dry and the two pieces won’t adhere) Bake about 9 mins. on ungreased cookie sheet, or till set and very light brown. Remove from baking sheet. Makes about 4 dozen.

From Simply Recipes

• olive oil
• lots o’ garlic
• rosemary
• thyme
• salt
• pepper
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1/4-1/2 c sugar (Melissa’s very wise suggestion; I think especially because I used unsalted tomato sauce, the tomatoes were rather bitter, and so the sugar helped a lot)

Saute the garlic, herbs, salt and pepper; add the sauce, tomatoes and sugar; simmer til it’s reduced by 25%-30%.

I started with this recipe, which I found while searching for a recipe for apple soup — I remember that once my dad made soup that had apples in it, and I thought that was pretty cool. The recipe worked well as a starting point, but the soup still seemed bland when I got to the end of the recipe, so I made some additions. Below is what I wish I had done, and will do next time — this time around, I ended up adding a lot of the spices at the end.

Note: peeling and cutting the squash takes a while! Don’t think that you can do it while the pancetta is frying, because the pancetta requires a bit of attention. For this recipe, I think it’s best to prep everything before you start cooking any of it. Roasting or par boiling the squash first makes it easier to peel.

• olive oil
• 8 oz. pancetta (substitute smoked bacon if you can’t get pancetta)
• 6 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into chunks
• 3 medium onions, thinly sliced
• garlic chopped, to taste
• fresh thyme (lots — at least 4 T; use half as much dried thyme if you can’t get it fresh)
• freshly ground black pepper
• 3 to 4 T coriander
• 1/2 t nutmeg
• 1/4 t ground cloves
• 1/2 t turmeric
• lots of salt (3-4 tablespoons to start, more later probably)
• 4 apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
• 4 cup water
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

Directions:

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil (about 1/4 cup) over moderate heat. Add the pancetta and cook about 4 minutes per side until golden brown. Remove and drain on a paper towel.
2. Add a little more oil to the oil still in the pot. Add the onions, garlic, salt and other spices, and cook 8 to 10 minutes over moderate heat until the onions are translucent, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the squash and a little more salt. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes.
4. Add the apples, broth, bouillon, water, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, 20 to 30 minutes at least, until squash and apples are tender. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
5. Working in batches, puree the soup until smooth in a blender or food processor (it’s good to have a helper for this). Alternatively, use a handheld immersion blender to puree. Add the mixture back to the pot and bring to a simmer over moderate heat. Add the pancetta to the soup.
6. Serve hot with pancetta garnish.

• 2 lb. boneless pork roast
• cooking oil
• 3 T. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 T. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. oregano
• 2 tsp. thyme
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. white pepper
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Rub surface of roast lightly with oil. Combine seasoning mixture and rub well over all surfaces of roast. Place roast in shallow pan and roast at 350 for about 1 and 1/2 hours, until internal temp is 155 degrees. Remove from oven, let rest 5-10 minutes before slicing.

This is sort of an unusual dish that I must have found in some cookbook while in graduate school. I once prepared it really badly for a potluck because I started with dried fava beans and missed some critical step in the bean-preparation process. I’ve gotten much better at it since then, although I haven’t made it in a while.

• 4 cups black beans
• 1/4-1/2 cup olive oil
• 2-3 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1-1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup chopped parsley (I’m pretty sure I skip this)
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• several hard boiled eggs, sliced or wedged (optional, but I always include them)
• salt and pepper to taste

Drain the cooked beans while they’re still hot and toss with olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice. The warm beans will readily absorb the flavors. Add plenty of salt and pepper to taste. Stir in half the tomatoes and parsley.

Turn the ful into a warm serving bowl and top it with the rest of the tomatoes and parsley and garnish it with lemon wedges and hard-boiled eggs if you like.

Serve as a main meal over brown rice (serves 2), or as a side dish (serves 6).

My friend Trystyn once told me that this dish is sort of over-the-top nutritionally in some way, but I don’t know enough about nutritional stuff to understand why. I stole the concept from a place I used to frequent in Raleigh in the late 90s called the Rathskellar, which is no longer open. They used to have pretty unusual dishes, but the service was fairly mediocre. A former coworker of mine (who I think once worked there) used to tell me it was because ”the waitstaff are one step above street urchins,” which I thought was sort of amusing.

• 1 lb chicken breast tenders
• 2 16-oz cans of black beans, drained
• 2 large or 4 roma tomatoes
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 8-oz container of sour cream
• 1 avocado (optional)

Drain the black beans cook in medium-sized saucepan on medium. Season chicken and cook in medium sized nonstick frying pan. Wash and cut tomatoes and avocado. Set aside. When chicken is done and beans are hot, spoon beans onto dinner plates, and top with the chicken, cheese, tomatoes, and avocado. Serve with sour cream on the side.

I absolutely have never actually used parchment to prepare this meal. Foil works just fine in my experience. I recall really liking this when I was single, but I haven’t been able to get Rebecca to try it yet.

• 2 cups frozen baby peas, thawed
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced (I leave this out)
• 1/4 cups chopped fresh mint (yep, I leave this out too)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 4 salmon fillets, skinned (6 oz each)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium bowl, toss together peas, scallions, mint, lemon juice, oil, and 1/4 tsp salt. Spray four 15-inch lengths of parchment paper (or foil) with nonstick cooking spray. Place the salmon fillets, rounded side up, on one half of each piece of parchment paper (or foil). Sprinkle the salmon with the remaining 1/2 tsp salt and top with the pea mixture. Fold and seal packets. Place the packets on a baking sheet and bake for about 12-15 minutes. Serves four.

This is from my friend Kelly and her late stepmom Barbara. It’s great if you’re trying to get breakfast ready early for a large-ish group of people. You can prepare it the night before and just put it in the oven in the morning.

• 1 lb. hot bulk sausage or soy/veggie sausage (I’ve done it both ways)
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
• 4 slices white bread, cubed
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tsp ground mustard

Crumble and cook sausage until brown. Drain on paper towels. Beat eggs thoroughly; add cheese and balance of ingredients. Add sausage and stir until well-mixed. Pour into an ungreased 3-quart casserole (I’ve used a 9X12 glass pan and it works just fine) and refrigerate overnight. Remove from refrigerator 1 hour before baking. Bake 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until top is golden brown. You can also sprinkle some additional cheddar cheese on top and put it back in the oven for just a few minutes to melt it prior to serving.