We have a winner.

Want a quick dinner or fairly guilt-free snack? How about a two-bite, crunchy potato pancake that has a taste of the exotic? The you need these Ginger Sweet Potato Latkes.

What I now call the fried kidney bean disaster of 2012 kind of put me off trying to fry things. That is until tonight, when flipping through my favorites on Gojee I realize I have three different recipes for latkes.

I’m a big fan of the potato pancake (Hello, THREE different recipes). Potato and pancake are two very comforting words. And the latkes I want you to try are very comforting, but they’re also not your Bubbie’s latkes.

Good, traditional latkes have a satisfying crunch but a velvety interior and are best with sour cream and applesauce. Then there are latkes that can feel like glue in the mouth.

What I like about latkes is that they are very adaptable and can take on some hearty flavors like blue cheese. And you can swap out your basic Idaho potato for sweet.

There I was, sitting at my computer with three tabs open to my favorite latke recipes and then another came along on Gojee. Reading this spiced latke recipe rocked my world a little bit.

Using the above recipes as guides, I think I’ve come up with my new favorite latke.

Ginger and Sweet Potato Latkes with Sriracha Yogurt Sauce, makes 8 half-dollar or 4 palm size latkes (serves 1)

Latke Ingredients:

1 medium sweet potato, shredded (about 1 1/2 cups)

1/2 cup red onion, small dice

1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced

1 egg

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. all-purpose flour

2 Tbs. grapseed or other neutral oil

Sauce Ingredients:

2 or 3 Tbs. plain greek yogurt

Sriracha sauce to taste

Method:

1. Wrap shredded sweet potato in paper towels and squeeze all the excess moisture out. Repeat squeeze step again with new paper towels, you want to get as much liquid out as you can.

2. Whisk egg in large bowl. Add potato, onion, ginger, cumin, salt and flour. Mix to combine. In 10-inch frying pan or skillet, heat oil over medium heat.

3. Form latkes into half-dollar/palm size patties, again squeezing any liquid out before you fry. Place in hot oil and let fry on each side until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove to plate lined with paper towels to drain and sprinkle with a final dusting of salt if you wish. Repeat until all the latke mixture is gone.

4. While latkes are frying, stir yogurt and sriracha in a bowl. Serve with the latkes and enjoy.

I’m in love with these. This was a totally satisfying dinner, not too heavy but it also didn’t have me pawing for the Oreos later. I paired the latkes with the last bit of my baby greens, so all in all I feel this is a fairly healthy meal.

Great on their own, I imagine these would be amazing in a vegetarian bánh mì on crusty bread with pickled carrots, radishes and cucumbers, topped with lettuce and the sriracha yogurt sauce.

I still have a sweet potato left. I know what’s for dinner tomorrow.

Will travel for gravy.

I’ve been thinking about travel recently. Specifically, how I say I want to but somehow I seem to just stay put. Granted, I’m just a stone’s throw away from being a modern day hermit.

Personally, I love the sound of the word “hermitage,” which is a hermit’s dwelling/residence/hideaway. Some may think creepy, and yet I think, “Hmm, cozy.”

Moving on from hermit talk, lets go back to travel. I’ve been streaming British TV from YouTube for the past few weeks now, and I really want to see Sarah Millican on her tour. Millican is a stand up comic and she’s brilliant. Naturally, most of her upcoming appearances are sold out.

See Sarah in action:

Millican is also a frequent and fun Twitter-er. Follow her at @sarahmillican75.

To get more in the mood for travel, which will happen at some point in 2012, I thought I’d make a very British dish: Bangers and Mash.

I must admit, I do giggle just a little bit at the name, but bangers are traditional British pork sausages and mash refers to mashed potatoes. The glue of this dish, however, comes from onion gravy.

In all seriousness, onions are probably my favorite vegetable. Any recipe that starts with “chop an onion” will, generally, turn out just fine.

I am a big fan of gravy, but as I was making this dish I realized I don’t have gravy all that often. It is featured prominently during holiday dinners, but other than that I don’t make gravy, which is something that must be changed.

Now I’m not going to tell you how to make mashed potatoes or cook sausage. I’m figuring most everyone knows how to mash potatoes. But gravy is a different beast.

To be perfectly honest, this was not my best gravy. I sliced the onions into half-moons instead of dicing them, which made making the roux difficult. The gravy was a tad gluey and hard to whisk due to the stringy onions. Since I was also just making one serving of mash and cooking one sausage, I probably made too much gravy, but it was fine reheated and spread like onion jam on toast the next evening.

The following recipe is an imprecise and likely flawed onion gravy. I’ll have to make this a few more times and update with a better version, but this served me well when I wanted a taste of England without the cost of airfare.

Beer and Onion Gravy, recipe (or rather formula) by EMLundblad

Ingredients, makes about 1 1/2 cups gravy

1/2 large yellow or white onion sliced (probably better to dice it)

2 Tbs. unsalted butter

2 Tbs. AP flour

1/2 to 3/4 cup beer, I used Yuengling (please don’t use a light beer)

water, amount based on desired consistency (I used about 1 cup)

salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

1. In 10-inch skillet melt the butter over medium heat and add onions. Cook and caramelize onions for about 30 minutes, lowering temperature if onions are frying rather than caramelizing. You want color here, but not burning. The more the onions caramelize, the richer the gravy.

2. Once the onions are done add the flour. If you need to add more butter to balance the fat with the flour do so. Cook for about 10 minutes, to get rid of the flour taste and deepen the roux. To make it easier to whisk you may want to remove the onions before adding the flour. Again, I’m still playing around with this.

3. When the roux is ready, like a thick gravy or a loose paste, add the beer and whisk. If you really like a thick gravy you don’t have to add the water, but I think it needs the water to thin it out and to lighten the flavor. I love Yuengling, but has an almost sweet finish – at least in my opinion. It pairs wonderfully with the caramelized onions, but it can be a little sweet as a savory gravy. Without the water I found it a little overpowering.

4. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over the bangers and mash or really anything. Like I said, this made too much for one. But ate the left over gravy at two more meals, reheated and spread like onion jam over toast and as a sauce for green beans.

Enter the fall.

Fall has finally come to the northern hemisphere. From here on out it is mainly about roasting veggies, drinking apple cider and baking cookies – at least for me anyway. To celebrate I decided to make beef stew. I love beef stew; it’s just what a crisp night needs. A thick sauce studded with chunks of beef, potato, carrot, onion and celery – truly a perfect autumnal dish.

Since they married in 1973 – although it predates that by about 20 years – my parents have owned a Better Homes and Garden cookbook. Bound like a three-ring binder, the book was meant for readers of the magazine to cut out recipes they like and attach a new page. Well, growing up none of us was ever patient enough to actually do that, and so there’s about 30 to 50 recipes just stuffed willy nilly into pages. Thus the book must be handled with care. Pick it up too quickly and everything flies out. Trust me, I speak from experience.

Undoubtedly I will inherit this book. That’s one benefit of being an only child, you get all the good loot eventually. When that day comes – in the very very very distant future – I will not change this system. It works, albeit in a completely chaotic way. The book, which sports a red and white checked cover, features most of my favorite recipes. The “Everyday Waffles” are the only ones I make and they always turn out perfectly. I had, and still am having, an affair with the “Chocolate Chipper” cookie. The recipe says it’s a drop cookie, but I prefer to make them bigger and hand-roll them. It makes a terrific homemade ice cream sandwich cookie.

For the fall, the book’s “Old Time Beef Stew” recipe is a classic. It’s a simple mix of beef, potatoes and carrots in a savory gravy made in the pot. Well, as we were a busy family, we never really followed the directions for the gravy part. Instead we did what all busy families do, opened a jar. Purists may scoff, but I like jarred gravy.

As they were raising a child in the 1990s, my parents thought it best that I consume green foods. So in addition to the potatoes and carrots, my mom added a can of green beans, drained and rinsed. Then, probably because my dad loves onions (a trait I share), we tossed in a bag of frozen pearl onions. Total rebels. June Cleaver just rolled in her grave.

For the past two days the weather has begun to shock itself into fall. Nighttime temps are in the mid-40s and early mornings are in the 50s. It was time to bring out that beef stew recipe. But as I was looking at it, I thought it needed more tweaking. I know, I know – hasn’t my family done enough to this poor simple stew? What’s next, leeks?!

I wanted to give the beef a little more flavor, and possibly make the final stew a bit thicker too, although it’s never lacked in that department. In the original recipe you start by patting the meat dry and browning it in oil. Well, instead of just removing all that moisture from the beef I retained it by coating the cubes in a light rub of spiced flour. This not only helps it brown, but it also further thickens the stew. And now, onto the recipe.

Lizzie’s Old Timey-Wimey Beef Stew*, a variation on a variation of Better Homes and Garden’s Old Time Beef Stew (serves 6 to 8 depending on bowl size)

Ingredients:

1 lb. stew beef, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. ground coriander

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

2 Tbs. neutral oil, like grapeseed or canola

2 cups hot water

1 large clove garlic

1 medium onion, sliced in to half moons

2 Bay leaves

1 Tbs. salt

1 tsp. white sugar

1/4 tsp. black pepper

dash cumin

6 carrots, cut into large chunks

6 red potatoes, cut into quarters or eighths depending on size

6 celery stalks, cut into large chunks

1 bag (12 oz) of frozen pearl onions

1 bag (12 oz) of french cut green beans

1 jar (12 oz) of beef gravy

Method (I know the ingredient list seems daunting, but stay with me):

1. Although already cut in to large chunks, I like to make my stew beef into small 1/2 inch size pieces. This allows you to stretch the meat. I hate when you make a beef stew, and there only seems to be 10 chunks of beef. If you’re feeding five people, most likely they’ll want more than two nuggets of beef in a BEEF STEW. In a bowl, combine the flour, coriander, cumin (the 1/2 tsp.), pepper (the first 1/4 tsp.), salt (the 1/2 tsp.) and the beef. Toss the beef cubes in the spiced flour, lighting coating every side. There will be excess flour mixture, just discard it.

2. In a dutch oven or stock pot, heat the oil over medium-high. Brown the beef on all sides. When browned add the 2 cups of hot water, sliced onion, whole garlic clove (peeled of course), Bay leaves, salt (the 1 Tbs.), sugar, pepper (the other 1/4 tsp.) and cumin (the dash). Cover and simmer for 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking.

3. Remove Bay leaves and garlic clove. Add carrots, potatoes, celery and frozen onions. Cover and cook for 30 to 45 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

4. Add the bag of frozen green beans and the jar of gravy. Heat through. Serve in big bowls with large spoons. Although good the day you make it, the stew is even better the next day – if it lasts that long.

*Note: Since I made this on a Saturday during the new “Doctor Who” episode (series 6, episode 12), I thought it only fitting that I call it timey-wimey.

The oven is off limits.

I love cooking for a crowd. I think sharing a meal with others is a truly rewarding experience. This can sometimes be a problem when you live alone. My “cook for five” mentality is awkward at times, and usually results in me eating a single casserole for four consecutive days. It’s a good thing I grew up in a house that used leftovers.

It’s summer and the days of hot and sticky weather are here. Enter the period where I try not to turn on the oven at all. I’m even hesitant to turn on the stove. When I do it’s something that I can make quickly so as not to make my apartment any hotter.

Still, I love my caramelized/charred onions. Toss in a few potatoes and coat in a white wine and herb sauce and I’m sold. This meal took about 45 minutes, which would have been shorter but I didn’t par boil the potatoes beforehand.

Onions and potatoes in a white wine herb sauce by EMLundblad

1 medium onion, any variety but I like yellow or white

3 or 4 small potatoes, I bought a mix bag from my grocer; it had purple, red and golden potatoes

1 Tbs. each of your 2 or 3 favorite fresh herbs, I used thyme and rosemary because they were on hand

1/4 to 1/3 cup white wine, I used a Riesling because I like and it comes in a pretty blue bottle

2 Tbs. unsalted butter or olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

In progress.

Method:

1. Scrub potatoes clean and dry them. Cut them in half, or quarters if they are on the large size. Cut onion. I don’t care if you like rings, a large dice or half-moon slivers, the goal is to make the onion smaller.

2. Heat the fat (read: butter or oil) in a pan over medium-low heat. Add onions and potatoes. Cook until onions are slightly browned and the potatoes are nearly tender. Add the wine, herbs, salt and pepper. Let the onions and potatoes simmer in the sauce for a bit.

3. Cook to the mixture until you’re satisfied with the “doneness” and serve over a bed of good lettuce mix or baby spinach. Serve with a glass of white wine and relax.

Finished product.

Notes:

You really can’t screw this up. And you can use any veggies you like, I just had onions and potatoes in the house. It would be good with mushrooms and onions, or peppers and chickpeas, etc.

As for the sauce, make it how you want it. If you have red wine, use it, but you might want to use meatier veggies, like mushrooms, or throw in some chunks of stew beef.

Nutritionally I don’t know where this stands, but it tastes good. Just go with it.

Owned it.

Of ice storms and split pea soup.

Last Monday, Jan. 31, had me running to Kroger after work to pick up supplies to survive the ice storm that swept through the Midwest last week.

While I was there I remembered this post on the lovely blog Orangette by the equally lovely Molly Wizenberg. Although the deli counter was sold out of pre-sliced turkey, these were still very much in stock.

Yes, split peas. After I picked these up, I stood in the dry legume/rice aisle for a good five minutes trying to remember if I’ve ever actually eaten split pea soup. It’s one of those menu items that’s there but no one really orders because it’s strange, lumpy and a stomach-turning shade of puce. Yeah, I went there: puce. I had the big box of crayons growing up.

I am now a reformed split-pea-soup-hater-who-had-never-eaten-split-pea-soup. I made a big pot of this on Monday, and then proceeded to eat it for the rest of the week. It was warm, comforting and a no effort dinner after driving home, hunched over my steering wheel going 15 mph on the road masquerading as a skating rink.

I used the recipe as guideline and altered it to fit my preferences. I don’t like ham all that much. It always had a mild gelatinous texture to me. Meat shouldn’t resemble Jell-O. Ever.

I omitted the ham. I used onion instead of leek, but since onions are my favorite vegetable I used three. Next time I’ll make sure to buy a leek because I think it would be good in this soup. And I left out the Apple Cider Vinegar because I forgot to add it.

Split pea soup: a variation on Molly Wizenberg’s recipe, which was initially inspired by Winnie Yang.

1 Tbs. olive oil,  you can use more if you want to

3 medium yellow onions, sliced into thin half moons

2 large carrots, small dice

1 bag (about 2 cups) dried split peas

8 cups water

1 Tbs. salt

1 1/2 tsp. black pepper

Method:

1. In a large sauce pan or soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and carrots. Cook until onions are translucent and carrots are just starting to get tender, about 10 minutes.

2. In a mesh strainer, rinse the split peas and make sure to remove any dirt or debris. Add the peas, water, salt and pepper. Cook for 90 minutes to 2 hours. If your dried peas, and this goes for other dried legumes as well, are on the younger side it’ll take less time. Cook until the peas have broken down or when you reach the consistency you prefer.

3. Serve in big bowls with crusty bread for dipping.

The final product.

I challenge anyone to take an appetizing picture of split pea soup. I know this doesn’t look good, but it is. It’s like a blanket for your stomach, which is great when you’re riding out an ice storm praying that the power stays on.

Stay warm. With any luck, the groundhog’s prediction will come true and Spring will come six weeks earlier.

I love Falafel = أنا أحب فلافل

I hope that you are having a good week. Mine seems to be flying by–will it really be Wednesday in a few hours?

Monday I missed two of my classes because I was standing outside a parking garage waiting for it to explode. Luckily it didn’t. Somehow I don’t think the 20 feet between me and the building, that may or may not have been rigged with a bomb, would have spared me. The “suspicious package” (insert hysterical laughter here) turned out to be non-threatening. You can read my story here.

On to the food. I’m going to continue my little trip around the world with Falafel.

Falafel, according to Wikipedia, is a “fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas and/or fava beans.” Read the rest of Wiki’s post here. I’ve never had falafel made with fava beans. Now that I think about I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a fava bean. A little too Hannibal Lecter for me.

The recipe I followed (sort of) is from the blog Dinner with Julie. It is as follows

Ingredients

1, 19 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (I couldn’t find a 19 oz. can so I used a 15 oz. Worked just as well)

1 small onion, chopped (variety doesn’t matter. I used red because I like the color)

2-4 cloves garlic, peeled

2 Tbs. fresh parsley, chopped (Don’t use dried.)

2 Tbs. fresh cilantro, chopped (What did I just say? “Just Say No” to dried herbage!)

1 tsp. cumin (use ground it’s easier; if you use whole seeds toast them first)

1/4 tsp. salt

pinch dried chili flakes

1/4 cup all purpose or whole wheat flour, plus extra if needed (AP works well. I might do a combination of the two if using the WW; it could get a little heavy using only WW.)

1 tsp. baking powder

canola oil, for frying

Directions:

1. Combine chickpeas, onion, garlic, parsley, cilantro, cumin, salt and chili flakes into a food processor. Pulse the mixture until combined but not puréed. Note: I did not have a food processor large enough on hand, so I mashed the mix with a fork and a wooden spoon. My falafel was probably too lumpy, which is why it fell apart later. Moral of the story: use a food processor.

2. Add the flour and backing powder and mix until you have a soft “dough” that you can roll into balls or patties. I made patties because I like to have a maximum surface area for frying. It’s quicker and a lot less awkward than frying balls…speaking of awkward.

3. Fry in the canola oil. Mark Bittman, the walking recipe encyclopedia, says to make sure the oil is 350*F. To those of you who don’t own a kitchen thermometer (wave your cheapskate flags proudly, I do!), the water-drop test will work. To see if your oil is hot enough, wet your fingers and sprinkle the oil with a few drops of water. If the water sizzles right away, you’re ready to cook. Fry until golden on both sides. When finished, remove the patties from the heat and drain the excess oil on paper towels.

You can serve falafel in pita pockets or over a bed of greens. It goes well with a traditional Tzatziki sauce, a cucumber and yogurt sauce. There’s a good recipe for Tzatziki with the falafel recipe at Dinner with Julie (link above).

About the title of the post: Yes,  the Arabic words do translate in to “I love falafel.” Arabic is read from left to right. I thought I should put some of the Arabic I’m learning to good use.

Do you have any tricks like the water-drop test? Please share them, I love learning new techniques that save me from having to buy a fancy piece of equipment that only serves one specific purpose. Example: the pickle grabber.

Not your Momma’s green beans

Hello fellow foodies!

I’m calling myself out on the epic fail that is my adventures in food blogging. It would seem a simple concept: cook, shoot and write. Well, I have been cooking and dutifully taking my photos. I have three great meals saved on my camera, but that last step is just killin’ me Smalls!

However, now I am here and fully prepared to spill one of the recipes. Ladies and ‘gents I proudly present: Spicy Green Beans with Caramelized Onions, a truly delightful side-dish.

Ingredients (serves 1)

1 cup fresh green beans, washed and ends trimmed

1 small white onion, sliced into 1/2 moons about 1/4 inch thick

2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil (or whatever oil you have on hand)

1/4 to 1/2 tsp. dried chili pepper flakes (more or less depending on your heat preference)

salt & black pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese for topping

Tools

10 inch saute pan

spatula

Steps

1. Heat oil over low heat. Add onion. Allow onion to brown and caramelize for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. I know  it takes a some time, but caramelized onions are like the bacon of the vegetarian world — they go with EVERYTHING! Here’s a good video demonstration.

2. Add in green beans. (Note: I did not blanch them first because I like a really crisp green bean. If you want a softer veg then put the beans in boiling water for 2 to 4 minutes. Remove beans and immediately put them into an ice water bath to stop the cooking process. That is blanching or flash-cooking.)

3. Saute the beans and onion together until the beans soften, about 10 minutes.

4. During the last few minutes of cooking, add the chili pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste. Allow the spices to cook with the beans so that the beans and the oil pick up the flavor.

5. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, serve warm and enjoy!

Question: What are some of your favorite side-dishes?