New Orlexeek Red Beans and Rice With Oikos and Chives

Inspired by The Ungourmet's recent Enchilada Casserole, I thought something similar might soothe my sick throat. However, I didn't have any tortillas or meat in the house.

Okay, I thought. No big deal. I'll use red beans and rice. New Orleans is the first culture that jumps to mind, but this combo appears plenty in Mexican cooking as well.

Then I thought, I really like those vinegar-based hot sauces. Do they use those a whole lot in Mexico?

Then I thought, aw man, I don't have any sour cream for garnish. Better use Oikos.

Thus New Orlexeek Red Beans and Rice was born.

New Orlexeek Red Beans and Rice

Casserole Ingredients

1 1/2 c. cooked rice

1 1/2 c. cooked red beans

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1 batch Spicy Garlic Tomato Puree (see below)

1/4 c. orange juice

1/4 c. water

1 tsp. hot sauce

1 Tbsp. butter

Generous pinch salt

A few Tbsp. Oikos and a couple tsp. chopped fresh chives to garnish

Spicy Garlic Tomato Puree Ingredients

1 1/2 c. diced tomatoes, canned/packaged (if you don't can your own or buy local, Pomi is the next best thing)

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 Tbsp. vinegar

1/2 tsp. dried cumin

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Generous pinch cayenne

Directions

Combine all the Spicy Garlic Tomato Puree ingredients in a small saucepan and let simmer over medium-low heat for 40 minutes. If you want it broken down further, place it in a food processor and pulse a few times after cooking. Reserve the used pan. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375.

Grease or spray a shallow 9" X 6" gratin dish (or any similarly-sized ovenproof vessel). Spread about half the rice in a thin layer over the bottom:

Next, layer over half the red beans:

Follow with half the Tomato Puree:

Then half the cheese (note that I didn't have quite a full cup of cheddar on hand, so the picture looks a little more sparse in the cheese department than I would have preferred):

Continue in this fashion, creating another layer of each type. Make sure you end with a cheese layer.

Combine the orange juice, water, hot sauce, butter, and pinch salt in the pan you used to make the tomato puree. Heat through, stirring, until the butter has melted. Pour this carefully into a measuring cup or something else with a spout (I used a tea kettle... Hello? Martini glasses for cookie cutters?) Tilt the spout so that liquid runs gently down the sides of the dish, adding a little every couple inches, without disturbing the cheese on top. When you see liquid about to consume your cheese, quit pouring.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Wait ten minutes for it to cool after removing it from the oven. Divide the casserole into four sections, turn out onto plates, and garnish each with a dollop of Oikos and a sprinkle of chives. Serves 4 as a main course.

Tomorrow is the deadline for my Wheat Germ project, so watch this space and prepare to be blown away by the wheat germy goodness of it all... in more ways than one, considering the current state of my throat, stomach, and sinuses.

A very happy Monday to all. Hope you're not spending it in Dayquil-induced zombification like I am. Or if you are- which is likely this time of year- that you've managed to score some delicious comfort food!

Beat the eggs. Whip the cream. Show no mercy.

Kicking Off a Compulsory Vegetarian Week: Lentil and Broccoli Rabe Salad with Honey-Orange Vinaigrette

All right, so it's not compulsory in the literal sense. No one is holding a gun to my head making me go vegetarian this week. But my husband and I agree that if we can't afford that "fancy" free-range, grain-fed meat, we don't want meat at all. It disturbs us to think of the cruelty that goes on in those factory situations.

In any case, there are plenty of fantastic dishes out there centered on eggs (yes, I still bought cage-free eggs... I'm hopeless! We're going to be kicked out and living under the 408 overpass in no time), cheese, beans, and/or legumes. Publix had one lonely bundle of broccoli rabe that needed a home, and since I'd never tried broccoli rabe, I snapped it up, thinking it would go great in a lentil salad I had planned.

Hooray! Success!

For those of you who have never tried it, broccoli rabe is like regular broccoli with a kick. Raw, it tastes bitter. But lightly steamed and then chilled in a sweet garlicky marinade, it adds a mild spice and enhanced green flavor that both my husband and I loved. Liz and Mary at Green Flamingo Organics are growing some as we speak, which is another reason I was curious to try it. Can't wait to get it from them and other local sources later this fall.

Lentil and Broccoli Rabe Salad with Honey-Orange Vinaigrette

Ingredients

Lentil and Broccoli Rabe Salad

1 c. steamed lentils

1 c. cooked brown rice (great use for leftover rice)

1 thick slice red onion, finely chopped or minced

2 carrots, finely chopped or minced

3 c. broccoli rabe, chopped

Honey-Orange Vinaigrette

1/3 c. olive oil

1 1/2 Tbsp. Balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp. orange juice

2 tsp. holly honey

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 large or 2 small cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions

Steam the broccoli rabe until just tender (about three minutes in the microwave). Drain, allow to cool, then combine with the rest of the salad ingredients.

In a cup or bowl, add the salt to the vinegar and whisk until well-dissolved. Add the rest of the vinaigrette ingredients and whisk together.

Pour the vinaigrette over the salad ingredients and combine. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours to suck the bitterness out of the broccoli rabe and let the garlic do its thang. Serves 4 as a light main dish; not recommended as a an appetizer due to its strong palette-numbing flavor, but use your discretion.

This would also have been super-good with feta cheese and dried cranberries. As far as serving suggestions, my two cents' worth of advice is to pair it with something simple. My husband and I preceded it with hot chicken broth and fresh bread for a well-rounded, seasonally-appropriate meal.

As usual, if you try any variations at home, let me know how it turns out!

Beat the eggs. Whip the cream. Show no mercy.

Rainbow Plate Part 1

I've viewed a lot of food blog posts lately that use hefty doses of color to mouth-watering effect. Since reprioritizing the geographic origins of my ingredients, presentation has taken a backseat. And that sucks. Particularly on this blog.

So this evening I chose to serve a dish incorporating every color of the rainbow.

I won't waste your time with the recipe- really, it's just a few separate very conventional recipes thrown together. The components are as follows: first I laid a bed of raw spinach (green) on the serving platter (blue). Next came the breaded and baked sweet potato wedges (orange). Then, in the center of the fanned-out sweet potatoes, a couple servings' worth of curried lentils and rice (supposed to be yellow, but turned out more brown). Then the chopped sauteed bell peppers (red) and onions (violet). And finally, because my curry didn't turn out as yellow as I wanted it, that lonely bite of pineapple as a garnish. (Okay, I cheated a little bit, but who cares about indigo anyway?)

Ta-da! The Chickenless Kitchen's very first rainbow plate. I'll probably do more of them, since this exercise is simple enough and produces automatically attractive food. It would be nice to present at a party; but as we had no guests, hubby and I just dug in.

Quick critical note to self: no more red bell peppers with curry. I don't know why. After all, plenty of other sweet veggies tend to work out great. Does anyone have a scientific explanation (one involving the layout of the taste buds, perhaps)? I dunno, maybe I just ruined it by drinking Newcastle with it. In any case, tomatoes would have made a fine substitute.

Should you decide to make a rainbow plate of your own, feel free to email me pics and recipes. I would love to see what you come up with!

Beat the eggs. Whip the cream. Show no mercy.

Down-Home-Style Thai Chicken Soup

Some of you on Doveland Farm may remember this picture:

It's called Down-Home-Style Thai Chicken Soup. I invented it after the lovely Elizabeth and Mary of Green Flamingo Organics gave me an SUVload of okra that I had no idea what to do with. Of course, since this blog is all about inspiration, I won't be offended if you don't follow the recipe verbatim. I encourage you to play around with the concept and email me with pics of your results!

Down-Home-Style Thai Chicken Soup

Ingredients

3 Tbsp. butter, divided

1 white or yellow onion, diced large

2 c. sliced okra

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 celery rib, sliced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

Generous handful Thai basil leaves, shredded

10 ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded, and diced; or 1 24-oz. box No Salt Added diced tomatoes (I prefer Pomi)

2 c. chicken stock

Juice of 1 lime

2 chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces

1 c. pre-cooked rice

1 12-oz. can coconut milk

Salt-n-pepper

Hot sauce to taste (check out www.aefoods.com for some excellent all-natural varieties)

Directions

Melt 2 tbsp. of the butter in a stew pot over medium heat. Add the onions, okra, carrots, and celery. Sauté until the onions are translucent. Salt and pepper.

Add the garlic and basil to the pot and saute 2-3 minutes more. Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, and lime juice. Raise the heat and bring to a vigorous boil, then reduce heat to medium low. Let simmer 35-45 minutes. (Add more broth or water a couple tbsp. at a time if it starts to get low.)

Meanwhile, melt the remaining tbsp. of butter in a separate pan. Season the chicken pieces generously with salt and pepper, then brown them in the pan over medium heat.

Add chicken and rice to the pot. Cook 10 minutes more.

Add the coconut milk, and salt to taste. Cook until heated through and serve. Remember to pass hot sauce around at the table. Serves 6 as an entree.

Beat the eggs. Whip the cream. Show no mercy.