Pickle Sandwich

I just ate a pickle sandwich. I know it's kind of gross and I shouldn't be bragging about it, but MAN!

I bought pickles and mayo on an 'I wish I was at a barbecue' whim last night. When I got home there was actually a moment at the kitchen counter where I stopped and asked myself if I was going to eat the entire jar right then or not. And not in a judging 'entire jar??' way. In an actual 'do I feel like eating all of them' way. But then I remembered the pickle barfing incident back when I was seven. Since I'd already been down that road, I decided to stop and save some of them for another day.

And that day was today. Mayo, pickles, and mustard. Does it get any more delicious? Ok, with cheese it probably could. Next time!

Red Kidney Bean Curry

Mother Nature is such a freaking tease. And I fall for it every year.

Me on Monday: 'Oh hey! It's all sunny out! I'm going to be super happy and eat a bunch of cereal!'.

Me on Wednesday: 'I don't even remember what the sun is. Give me the warmest, most hearty comfort food you got so that I may cry into it.'

And that's what this is. It's easy, cheap, and will do its damnedest to warm your soul.

Red Kidney Bean Curry [Rajmah]
Via Smitten Kitchen/Adapted from an Arora spice blend

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh ginger
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 plum tomato, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large green chili, chopped (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
8 ounce can of tomato sauce
3 cups boiled red kidney beans or 30 ounces canned red kidney beans, undrained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro 

Heat oil in a deep sauce pan over medium heat for one minute. Add ginger, garlic, onion, green chili, and let sizzle for one minute. Add the tomato sauce, salt and remaining spices and cook for an additional five minutes, stirring frequently. Add the kidney beans with water or canned red kidney beans (undrained) plus one additional cup of water, and tomatoes. Bring it to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and let cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Garnish with cilantro.

44-clove garlic soup

This is one of those recipes I don't think I would ever have tried if someone didn't recommend it first. I mean, I love garlic. LOVE it.  But 44 cloves? That just sounded excessive. However, after receiving a voicemail from my sister Sarah last week saying I needed to make this, I decided to give it a shot. Sarah is not one to let you down, and this was no exception. This soup is delicious. Not overwhelming at all, just a wonderful, smooth, flavor. I made it on Saturday night with Matt, and it was so good I had to make it again so I could take pictures of it and post. Because, you know, Captain Eater does not believe in leftovers.

I ended up only needing about two and a half bulbs of garlic for the 44 cloves.

44-Clove Garlic Soup with Parmesan Cheese
From Smitten Kitchen/Adapted from Bon Appetit, February 1999
 Serves 4


26 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
2 1/4 cups sliced onions
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
18 garlic cloves, peeled
3 1/2 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)
4 lemon wedges 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place 26 garlic cloves in small glass baking dish. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake until garlic is golden brown and tender, about 45 minutes. Cool. Squeeze garlic between fingertips to release cloves. Transfer cloves to small bowl.

Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and thyme and cook until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes. Add roasted garlic and 18 raw garlic cloves and cook 3 minutes. Add chicken stock; cover and simmer until garlic is very tender, about 20 minutes. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return soup to saucepan; add cream and bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. 

Divide grated cheese among 4 bowls and ladle soup over. Squeeze juice of 1 lemon wedge into each bowl and serve.

spring intestinal cleaning

For a blog that has maybe one avid reader and a couple other family members stopping by every once in a while, I get a lot of slack when I'm not posting. So here you go, Sarah. This is what my meals have been for the past few weeks. Lots and lots of cereal. Because the seasons are changing. Either that or I've been making dinner when Matt is around and that boy does not leave any left-overs to photograph the next day.

black bean burrito bake

I was making this for lunch today and realized I have never posted about it. This is weird, because I eat it a lot. Mostly because I can make it two times with the groceries from it, making it a major budget plus. Also it's just really yummy.

I seem to make things every couple of weeks that require one chipotle chili in adobo sauce and the cans include about five or six. It feels wasteful to throw the rest out and buy more each time, so instead I do this- line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, then spoon out each chili with about a teaspoon of sauce a couple inches away from each other. Then put it in the freezer to harden, and ultimately put them in a baggie in the freezer to use whenever you need. This is probably just common sense to most people, but it was pretty huge for me.

Black Bean Burrito Bake
from Cooking Light
  
1 (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed, drained, and divided
1 cup frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
4 (8-inch) flour tortillas
Cooking spray
1 cup bottled salsa
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350°.
Remove one chile from can. Chop chile. Reserve remaining adobo sauce and chiles for another use. Combine sour cream and chile in a medium bowl; let stand 10 minutes.
Place half of beans in a food processor; process until finely chopped. Add chopped beans, remaining beans, and corn to sour cream mixture.
Spoon 1/2 cup bean mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas; place, seam side down, in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spread salsa over tortillas; sprinkle with cheese. Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated.