avocadelicious

Happy Polar Vortex #2, everyone! Or is it 3? I've lost count. Anyway, this Deep Freeze has really settled in here at Sewanee, and this school never has "snow days," so everyone is begrudgingly walking around to class (or work), while everyone else in the South sits at home watching Netflix. I'm wrapped up in just about every layer of Patagonia I own, wishing I was in my bed in my pj's with a book and a mug of hot chocolate.

Instead, I'm using the cold as a reason to "never get comfortable," and be super productive at work and go to the gym. Yeehaw! Polar vortex!

This week for lunch, I've fallen back in love with avocado toasts. Maybe because my face is so dry from the cold, and there's only so much Olay you can stand to put on in the morning. Seriously, while I was making the toast, I just wanted to mash the avocado into guacamole and put it on my face. Is that weird? Avocados are magic for your skin. And they remind me of warmer climates. Like a beach. With the sound of the ocean. And a margarita or two. Or four. But who's counting. ME, because I just got lost in a daydream to distract myself from the Snowpocalypse. Anyway, tell me this doesn't look delicious:

Get in my belly.

For these toasts I used multigrain bread from Niedlov's, an artisanal bakery in Chattanooga, skim ricotta cheese, one ripe avocado, salt and pepper, and a few dashes of red pepper flakes to give the toast some heat.

It's such an easy base recipe to add whatever other things you want. Blueberries would be delicious when they're in season, or sliced cherry tomatoes to brighten the color. The toast is your oyster!

Anyway, so next time you want something refreshing, simple, and healthy for lunch, whip up a couple of these guys. They're avocadelicious...(so punny).

Anyway, so next time you want something refreshing, simple, and healthy for lunch, whip up a couple of these guys. They're avocadelicious...(so punny).

Avocado & Ricotta Toast

Ingredients:

• a couple of slices of bread
• Ricotta cheese (skim)
• 1 ripe avocado
• salt and pepper, to taste
• red pepper flakes to taste

Instructions:

1. Toast your toast
2. Peel and slice your avocado
3. Spread your toast with ricotta cheese
4. Layer the avocado on top of the cheese
5. Sprinkle with salt and pepper
6. Add red pepper flakes for zing!

feeling lucky?

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Now, let's talk black-eyed peas. They're not just for New Years anymore!

Every year for New Years day my mother makes "Hoppin' John," a traditional southern dish of rice, black-eyed peas (or cow peas), and ham. It's good, though very heavy and, well, "pork-y" tasting. This year I wanted to fix something a little more healthy, while maintaining the hearty spirit of the meal. 

For Christmas I received a wonderful cookbook, The Essentials of Southern Cooking, by Damon Lee Fowler. Mr. Fowler is an avid cook, food-writer, and goes to my home church. When my mother bought the cookbook from him he inscribed on the title page: "For Rhett-- A little taste of home no matter where life may take you! Eat well and live your dreams!" The perfect little message in a cookbook that feels like a direct flight home to Savannah. After flipping through plenty of mouth-watering seafood recipes (much to my chagrin, living landlocked in Tennessee), I came upon a recipe for "Black-Eyed Pea Ragout." I dog-eared it, took it to the grocery store, and came back home to fix it for my mom. 

That night, the only change I made from Damon's recipe was to cook the vegetables in bacon drippings and to chop the cooked bacon and add it later on, which to me added the perfect smokey touch. This time, however, I'm still trying to detox a little bit, so I kept it healthy with olive oil. I'll include directions for the bacon as well though!

A complete recipe in text follows all the pictures! 

Here we go!

If you are not using bacon skip ahead. Cook 6 strips of bacon in a skillet over medium high heat. When it is done, move strips to drain on a paper towel. Reserve the bacon to be chopped.

First, make sure your onions and peppers are chopped! That's 1 onion, 1 green bell pepper, and 1 yellow bell pepper. 

This onion made me cry. What a bully.

What constitutes a peck of peppers? 

Isn't this a pretty sight?

Then, heat 1 tbsp of bacon drippings or olive oil in a large pot.

I love EVOO!

Add the onion and the yellow and green bell pepper to the pot with the fat. Sauté, stirring consistently, until the onion is translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the minced garlic and toss till it smells amazing, about another 30 seconds.

Peel that garlic and mince it!

Unless you have a fancy garlic press to do the job for you...muahaha.

Add the black-eyed peas and tomatoes and stir till they are hot hot hot. 

Fiesta colors!

Now add the broth...

What's cookin' good lookin'?

...and the thyme and bay leaves...

So much flavor!

...and the whole hot pepper pod....

So much heat!

Go ahead and season this goodness liberally with some salt and pepper. If you are using bacon, it's now cool enough to chop and toss and stir into the pot. Bring the ragout to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer. Stir occasionally until the peas are tender, about 20-30 minutes. If you're using frozen peas, pay attention, they tend to take less time than fresh peas.

Bubble, bubble...

Taste your ragout and fix the seasonings to your liking. I like to add a few dashes of Cholula here. Simmer for a minute longer before you turn off the heat. Remove the bay leaves, fresh thyme (if you used it), and the hot pepper pod-- you can discard these now.

The peas can be made up until this point up to 2 days in advance.  Reheat them gently over medium heat. Add half the green onions just before serving, then transfer the peas to a warm serving bowl and sprinkle the remainder of the green onions on top! 

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I have; and if you ever stumble upon Damon's cookbook, don't hesitate to get it. It's truly wonderful and I can't wait to continue learning recipes from it! You can also find a bio and many recipes at his website and blog, here.

Black-eyed Pea Ragout with 4-seed bread from Niedlov's Bakery in Chattanooga, TN.

Black-Eyed Pea Ragout (from Damon Lee Fowler's Essentials of Southern Cooking) 

Serves 6

Notes: 

• If fresh black-eyed peas are unavailable, use frozen. Damon notes that dried black-eyed peas make this recipe a little too starchy. Black-eyed peas handle freezing well, and they keep this ragout light.
• The ingredients call for 1 cup of canned diced tomatoes; I use a whole 14.5 oz can, slightly drained. I enjoy a little more liquid in this recipe so it's like a hearty stew.
• Damon suggests that if you prefer a spicy-hot ragout, chop the hot pepper and add it to the ragout with the other peppers at the start of the recipe.

Ingredients: 

• 1 tbsp of olive oil or bacon drippings (use 6 strips of bacon if you plan to add it into the ragout later)
• 1 medium yellow onion, trimmed, peeled, and chopped
• 1 medium green bell pepper, seeds and membranes removed, chopped
• 1 medium yellow bell pepper, seeds and membranes removed, chopped
• 2 large or 3 medium cloves of garlic, minced
• 22 oz of fresh or thawed frozen black-eyed peas
• 5 medium fresh tomatoes, peeled with a vegetable peeler, seeded and diced, or 1 cup drained, seeded, and diced canned tomatoes 
• 2 cups of meat or chicken broth
• 2 large sprigs of thyme, or a couple dashes of dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 whole hot pepper pod such as cayenne, serrano, or jalapeño
• salt and whole black pepper in a mill
• 4 small or 2 medium green onions, trimmed and thinly sliced

Instructions:

1. If you're using bacon, cook 6 strips in a skillet till done; rest them on paper towels to cool and drain.
2. Warm the 1 tbsp of fat, onion, and bell peppers in a large pot over medium-high heat. Sauté, stirring consistently, until the onion is translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the minced garlic and toss till it smells amazing, about another 30 seconds. Add the peas and tomatoes and stir till they are hot.
3. Add the broth, thyme, bay leaves, and whole hot pepper pod; season well with salt and pepper. If you're planning to add the reserved bacon, chop it up and stir it into the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the peas are tender, about 20-30 minutes (frozen peas take less time than fresh ones!). 
4. Taste the ragout and fix the seasonings to your liking. I like to add a little Cholula (or the hot sauce of your choice) here. Let it simmer another minute before cutting off the heat. Remove the bay leaves, sprigs of thyme (if you used them), and the hot pepper pod-- these can be discarded. 
5. The peas can be prepared up to 2 days in advance. Just before serving stir in half the green onions; once in their serving bowl, sprinkle the remainder of the green onions on top.

Enjoy!

sprouts!

January is the month to put my ducks in a row, as mothers might say. My desk is clean (who knows how long that will last), my calendar updated (online and in my ever-present Filofax), and I ate my first genuinely healthy meal since Thanksgiving....hehehe.

Like most Americans, most of my meals in November and December have either been holiday feasts, or leftovers from holiday feasts. Olive oil was replaced by butter, and, as you may tell from my previous New Years Eve post, I have more than a mild love of cheese.

So, tonight I took an opportunity to prepare an easy meal that is my go-to dinner after a long, busy day at work. It's the easiest thing ever. Baked chicken, marinated in olive oil, lemon, garlic, and mustard, accompanied by brussels sprouts.

This post concentrates on the brussels sprouts, because my they are the recipients of my late-blooming love. My mother was never a fan of brussels sprouts; whenever she doesn't like a vegetable, it's typically because a boarding school cafeteria abused it. So we can single-handedly blame Kent School for my lack of experience with brussels sprouts, collard greens, and cabbage. Unfortunately, my mother graduated still liking cauliflower, as I've had to push the sadly bland albino broccoli around my plate on more than one occasion.

Anyway, back to those sprouts.

It took me a few tries to cook them so that I'd like them: soft, but with enough of a nutty crunch, and the perfect blend of spices to make them more addicting than popcorn.

It turns out, as with many things in life, the simplest recipe proved to be the most delicious. I found a recipe from Martha Stewart, added one twist, and now it's a foolproof recipe that I use "on the reg."

sprouts before....

sprouts after!

Brussels sprouts are one of the prettiest veggies. They have such lovely little blonde ruffles covered in bonnets of deep green. Look at those colors pop even more after spending a little time in the sauté pan!

Ok, here's how you fix 'em!

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts (from Martha Stewart)

Ingredients: 

• 1/4 cup of EVOO
• 2 lbs of brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
• Coarse salt and ground black pepper
• Red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice

If you're new to prepping brussels sprouts, just chop off the bottom and slice them in half. Let the larger, outer leaves fall off naturally. Tear off any pesky outer leaves that stick to the sprout. Don't overdo it though; sometimes the yummiest parts are the outer leaves that brown while cooking. 

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Enjoy the scent of olive oil heating up (it's one of my favorite smells!). Add the sprouts, salt and black pepper. Go ahead and toss in some red pepper flakes. Use your judgment here, you know how much your palate likes spiciness. As for me, I love red pepper flakes in my vegetables to give them a kick, but too much heat gives me the hiccups...is that weird?

Sauté these babies, stirring frequently, until they caramelize, about 8-10 minutes.

Now here's the crucial part that softens the sprouts: add 1/3 cup of water and cook until evaporated, about 2 minutes. Now pour two tablespoons of lemon juice (or the juice of a half a lemon if you like a little more tang) over the sprouts and stir to coat. 

And you're done! Serve these suckers immediately out of the pan. They are delightful. Enjoy, and don't let the boarding school veggies keep you down!

Cheers!