October 22nd, 2013
Finally, the weather broke and the steaming Florida September heat began to give up. I can’t wait for the day when we will turn the AC down for the winter. The only downside of this cooler weather is the lack of an everyday swim for Paloma, as our pool is not heated and she is spoiled by very warm water. The gulf temperature though is still beautiful to swim in for a couple more weeks. I can’t believe that we were ever worried about Paloma’s ability to swim – it’s as if she all of a sudden became a little fish and grew gills and fins. Now to these cookies, or brownies, however you want to call them. I make them two ways – with shredded beets and without, and we love both variations. The cookies are definitely more moist and resemble brownies with the addition of beets, while drier and more like cookies when the beet is left out. I tend to include beets more often than not – my attempts of packing more nutrients into sweets and snacks are never ending. The cookies are simple and a great treat to include in Paloma’s lunchbox. I’ve also tried making them with all kinds of dried fruits – apricots, prunes, dates, raisins. I’m partial to the prune and chocolate combo, while always trying to keep the figs in as well, as they give the cookies a nice texture.
Black Bean Chocolate and Fig Cookies
(makes 18 small cookies)
1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds or any nuts like almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc.
1/4 cup dark chopped chocolate – chilled
1 cup dried figs – stems removed and soaked for an hour
2 soft dates – pitted and chopped
one 15 oz can black beans, about 1 3/4 cups – rinsed and drained well, or the same amount of cooked black beans
1 small beet – peeled and finely shredded – optional
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons coconut oil – melted
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1. Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C). Grind the pumpkin seeds or nuts into a coarse meal in a food processor. Transfer to a large bowl. Grind the chocolate into tiny pieces, add it to the pumpkin seeds.
2. Drain the figs, reserve about 1/3 of them, chop and combine the rest with the beans, dates, cocoa powder, coconut oil, chia seeds, vanilla extract and salt in a food processor. Pulse several times to turn into a chunky puree. If you decide to use beets, add it at this time as well.
3. Add the ground pumpkin seeds and ground chocolate into the food processor. Process everything to combine well and transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Chop reserved figs, add them to the chocolate mixture and mix to combine.
4. With a small ice-cream scoop, scoop about 18 cookies on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet. Dip the scoop in water in between each cookie. Slightly flatten each cookie with a wet spoon. Bake for 15 minutes and let cool. The cookies are going to be very soft while still hot.
5. Keep refrigerated in an air-tight container after the first day. They keep well for about a week.
Note: I’ve also tried making these cookies with different types of beans – red, white and even chickpeas, and all work equally great.
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October 22nd, 2013
Last week, I received all the fully designed pages of our cookbook for proof reading. What an exciting feeling to see all our hard work so nicely framed and organized into a book format! While proofreading all of the 300+ pages, I thought it’s finally a good time to share this tasty recipe. The photos of this risotto were taken in the spring, but this post kept being pushed back by a seemingly more important and seasonal recipe every week. Thankfully this dish is so delicious and versatile, that I’ve probably made the risotto at least once every couple of weeks since then.
I’ve always loved broccoli stems (snacking on them raw while cutting broccoli), and I try to utilize them in vegetable broths, soups and green juices instead of just throwing the stems away. One day, when thinking of experimenting with riceless risotto, this underrated part of the broccoli came to mind. The great thing about this risotto is that you can use practically any vegetable along with the broccoli stems or stay with just the broccoli on its own. Back in the spring and summer, I enjoyed adding tender asparagus tops, fava beans, fresh peas and fiddleheads to the risotto, while now it’s broccoli with winter squash, beets, or sweet potato – and I can’t get enough!
Broccoli Stem Risotto
Note: When shopping for broccoli, choose broccoli stalks with thick, long stems if possible. The thicker they are, the less peeling you’ll have to do.
stems of 4-6 broccoli heads, depending on their thickness (about 580 g or 20 oz) – I usually reserve the stems from one bunch in the fridge, until I’m ready to buy and cook the next one (usually soon after)
florets from 1 large broccoli head – cut into bite-sized pieces
a couple handfuls of other vegetables, such as chopped asparagus, peas, edamame, etc. (optional)
a large handful of green leafy vegetables – spinach, kale, etc.
1 lemon – zest and juice
salt and pepper to taste
3 1/2 tablespoons ghee or grapeseed oil – divided
1 shallot – chopped
Pecorino Romano or Parmesan to taste – finely grated (I used unpasteurized sheep’s milk Pecorino Romano)
baby greens or microgreens for garnish (optional)
1. Trim the tough, woodsy ends of each broccoli stem. Peel off the thick outer skin of each stem. You can skip the places where the stem begins to branch into thinner stalks – the skin there is usually is tender enough (although I peel it all off, being a crazy perfectionist).
2. Chop the peeled stems into medium-sized cubes and place them in the food processor. Pulse into rice-sized pieces – you should end up with about 3 cups of broccoli stem “rice.” You can also do this with a good knife if you prefer.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Blanch the broccoli florets for 3 minutes, then immediately transfer them to an ice-water bath to stop the cooking.
4. If using other vegetables, continue to cook or blanch them according to their type. I like to blanch asparagus, fava and edamame for just a couple of minutes, and peas – for just 30 seconds.
5. Blanch the leafy greens for 30 seconds, drain and transfer to an ice water bath, reserving the cooking liquid.
6. Once the vegetables are cool, drain them thoroughly and squeeze the water excess out of leafy greens. Add about half of the broccoli (and a few pieces of other vegetables, if using) to a blender, along with the leafy greens, 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil, juice of 1/2 lemon, freshly ground black pepper and cheese. Add about 1/3 cup of the cooking liquid and start blending, adding more of the liquid if needed, a little bit at a time, to achieve a thin, creamy consistency. Make sure not to make it too runny.
7. Heat the remaining ghee or oil in a large saute pan or saucepan, add in the shallot and sweat it for 3-4 minutes at medium heat. Add the broccoli stems and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring often.
8. Add the sauce, stirring well to combine and adding more of the cooking liquid if necessary. Add blanched broccoli and other vegetables (if using) to the pan and warm everything through. Remove from the heat, add more cheese, salt and pepper to taste and lemon juice, if desired. Serve garnished with lemon zest, another sprinkle of cheese, baby leaves or microgreens.
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September 21st, 2013
I grew up in a society that considered corn an unhealthy vegetable. This may have been more of an opinion of my entire extended family, and although I now realize how silly it is, this strong influence still prevents me from including much corn in the meals I cook. I recently realized no recipe calls for corn in my cookbook, although it is a very produce-heavy book. To be fair, the corn that I grew up with in Russia was somewhat different from what is available in the U.S. – it was tougher and not as sweet, but still tasty in its own way. Buttered corn on the cob was mostly a street food, sold by village women along the side of the road or at train and bus stations. For us kids, it represented the excitement and romanticism of traveling, but for the adults it was more about anti-sanitary food practices and future stomach viruses.
My mother, grandmother and aunts believe that corn is hard to digest and nutritionally empty. Or maybe they just predicted the GMO boom around corn, who knows.
True to my upbringing, I only cook with corn when my corn-loving American husband buys it. I love it raw in salads and salsa, boiled on the cob, or combined with bell peppers and scallions in various dishes.
Spring rolls are a great, quick way of serving all kinds of vegetables – who doesn’t love spring rolls? I originally made them with store bought egg roll wrappers, but since then came up with the very simple whole spelt dough that works beautifully as any kind of wrapper. I’ve also tried wrapping this filling into a double layer of rice paper and baking it the same way, which is also very good, although a little chewy. Another lighter alternative is wrapping the veggies into a single layer of rice paper like this.
Baked Veggie Spring Rolls
(makes 20 rolls)
for the wrappers
3 cups whole spelt flour or half light, half whole spelt flour (I used sprouted spelt flour)
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons coconut oil or other vegetable oil
about 1 1/4 cups boiling water
to make the wrappers
1. Combine flour with salt in a large bowl. Mix in the oil.
2. Add in the boiling water gradually, while mixing with a wooden spoon. Then knead with your hands until you end up with a soft, non-sticky dough.
3. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
4. Divide into 2 even portions. Roll each into a rope and cut into 10 pieces each. Form 20 balls and keep them covered.
5. Flour your working surface and rolling pin. Take one ball at a time and roll in into a thin wrapper. If using a mixture of flours, it will be easier to roll. Store the wrappers on top of each other, lightly floured in between, and covered. Alternatively, use store bought wrappers.
for the filling
2 tablespoons ghee, coconut oil or grapeseed oil, plus more for brushing the rolls
1 shallot – minced
1 inch piece of ginger – peeled and minced
5 green onions – sliced
1/2 red bell pepper – cubed
1-2 ear of corn – kernels sliced off
1/2 small green cabbage – finely shredded
1/2 lime – juiced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons sesame seeds – optional
to prepare the filling
1. Heat the ghee/oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add shallot, ginger and the white parts of green onions. Saute for 2 minutes.
2. Add in the bell pepper and corn and saute for 4 more minutes.
3. Add the cabbage, saute for about 3 more minutes, until wilted. Remove from heat, add the green onion, lime juice, salt, pepper and sesame seeds if using. Let cool.
to make the spring rolls
1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Working with one wrapper at a time, place about 2 tablespoons of filling in the center. Fold the lower end over the filling, followed by the sides. Lightly brush the remaining end with water and roll it tightly. You can also make them in a shape of empanadas (see photos), I like to play with different shapes sometimes.
2. Place on a parchment paper-covered baking tray and brush with melted coconut oil or ghee.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip and bake for 10 minutes more. If using homemade wrappers, it may take a couple minutes longer for the rolls to become slightly golden.
4. Serve with Laura’s awesome spicy tamari sauce
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