I knew it would work it's way into my writing at some point, but I have yet to mention here that I spend some of my days working at Trader Joes. While the blog and cookbook are my love and dream, I really enjoy being around people, having that routine and the great healthcare benefits :) This is relevent because I spend a majority of those days at the demo station. If you shop at a Trader Joes market you know the sample booth in the back. Everyone loves a free snack, it's a popular corner. I waver between loving and hating it, for reasons that those who have worked in the service industry can likely relate to. As you may assume, I meet a lot of people in the work of giving away free food. I've explained food allergies and a number of diets, I've walked aisles helping an older fellow just learning to cook for himself, whose wife had passed days earlier and I've planned a romatic dinner menu for a man surprising his wife. But I also meet people who solely have mac n' cheese and frozen orange chicken in their carts, some who refuse to cook with anything but microwave, or those enraged that in mid-December, our strawberries are white (the NERVE!). I have seen and heard the gamut of relationships that people have with their food. I love ice cream and dark chocolate peanut butter cups as much as the next guy, but eating well is your responsibility. Sometimes I want to scream from behind that corner, it is not always easy or quick or cheap or tidy but you taking care of your insides is important. Period.
The more I hear, the more I am thankful for good food. I'm thankful that I have been inspired to learn to cook, that I enjoy the process, that we can afford good quality ingredients, and the knowledge to know the difference. I have a community, you people, who engage me in this passion and send me emails and leave comments that you care about good food too and that makes me want to share it. Thank you for nurturing this in me. Yes, we offer you recipes and photos, but you give me so much.
Wishing you a Christmas filled with wonderful food, even better company and time to soak it all in.
sprouted kitchen
CHOPPED SALAD WITH QUINOA, SWEET POTATOES + APPLES // Serve 6
Barely adapted from Food + Wine November 2012
I am bringing this salad to two Christmas meals as I imagine it will hold well. Everything can be prepped in advance, kept in bags and then tossed all together when it's time for dinner. It's a simple salad, so take the liberty to add some toasted nuts, shaved asiago or chopped hard boiled eggs if you want to make it even more filling. As with most things around here, alter to your taste.
Put a drizzle of olive oil in a pot and add the quinoa to toast over moderate heat for two minutes. Add 1 1/3 cups water and bring it to a boil. Turn it down to a simmer, cover and cook for about 15-18 minutes until the liquid is absorbed. Fluff the quinoa and set aside to cool.
On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the sweet potatoes with the olive oil and hearty pinches of salt and pepper. Bake in the upper third of the oven for about 25 minutes until golden. Let them cool.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cider vinegar, mustard, olive oil and pinch of salt and pepper. Add the cooled quinoa, potatoes, apple, greens, parsley and onionand toss everything to coat. Serve immediately.
My parents are hosting Christmas dinner for the extended family this year, which gives me some say in what happens with the food. I think about food, I read the magazines, I like organizing and making lists...it's only fair. I prefer the non-traditional - trying new dishes, keeping things fresh, maybe even leave cheese off a few dishes (!), NOT having turkey and stuffing. My dad is requesting the later and I quote him, "I don't want any of that esoteric shit." This is a man who would qualify roasted squash or some sort of kale salad as esoteric. Oy. Whatever the food, I am really looking forward to it. My mom sets a beautiful table, my grandma will make a few innocent while still slightly offensive comments and my sister and I will be silly at our corner of the table.
It got me thinking of dishes that are exceptional in their own right, for their simplicity or purity, before getting creative with them. I can't say there is much of that on this site, besides Hugh's coffee posts. I could even argue this topic is subjective between those preferring the traditional versus the modified, but a classic brownie recipe is something I need to have in my back pocket. If I am going to identify myself as a food blogger, there needs to be a brownie recipe on this site. It's an unspoken expectation. Not one with black beans or applesauce or mashed banana but let's start with straight up buttery, rich brownies. The kind I would eat warm with a scoop of ice cream and feel guilty about.
I flipped through David Lebovitz' Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes because with a title like that and a reputation like his, I knew there would be a brownie recipe and it'd be exceptional. Holy moly was my gut correct on this one. These brownies are decadent, very rich, and deeply chocolatey, so much so that even one with a fierce sweet tooth can have one small square and be satisfied. These are fudgy brownies but not so fudgy that you feel like you're eating underdone batter. This is chocolate in all its glory. Excellent on their own, and still a perfect canvas for adding in what you please. THAT is the brownie recipe I want. A la mode of course.
sprouted kitchen
sprouted kitchen
BROWNIES
Makes 12 small
Adapted from David Lebovitz Ready for Dessert
David notes that the minute long stir to incorporate the flour is crucial for everything staying together. I used oat flour, which gave reason for a slightly crumbly brownie but they stayed together just fine. I grind my oat flour from old fashioned oats, so it's coarse as you'll notice in the photos. Once the brownies are baked, I don't believe it compromises the texture at all.
directions
Preheat the oven to 350'. Line the inside of a 8'' square pan with parchment or foil allowing the excess edges to extend beyond the edges of the pan. Lightly grease with butter or cooking spray.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate and stir over low heat until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the cocoa powder, coffee, sugars and vanilla until combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time, and the oil. Fold in the flour, pinch of salt and stir to combine. Stir in the chopped nuts of preferred add ins.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, sprinkle the remaining chocolate on top and bake until the center is almost set, about 25 minutes. Don't overbake! Let them cool completely before lifting out the parchment to remove brownies.
These brownies will keep well for 4 days and can be frozen for one month. For a clean cut, chill the brownies to get even edges and clean the knife between slices.
ingredients
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter
7 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped, some reserved for topping
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. finely ground coffee or espresso powder
1/2 cup cane sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 Tbsp. neutral oil (grapeseed or avocado)
1/2 cup oat flour or unbleached all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
Add-in options
1 cup toasted and chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts)
1/3 each cup chopped dried cherries and cocoa nibs
1 tsp. mint extract and crushed candy canes for topping
sprouted kitchen
sprouted kitchen
sprouted kitchen
Sara Forte
2019-04-17
Brownies
12
This is chocolate in all its glory. Decadent, very rich, and deeply chocolatey brownies from David Lebovitz.
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter
7 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped, some reserved for topping
3/4 cup natural cane sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 Tbsp. neutral oil (grapeseed or avocado)
1/2 cup oat flour or unbleached all purpose flour
pinch of salt
Add-in options (from both David and myself):
1 cup toasted and chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts)
1/3 each cup chopped dried cherries and cocoa nibs
1 tsp. mint extract and crushed candy canes for topping
Preheat the oven to 350'. Line the inside of a 8'' square pan with parchment or foil allowing the excess edges to extend beyond the edges of the pan. Lightly grease with butter or cooking spray.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, then add the chocolate and stir over low heat until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and vanilla until combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time, and the oil. Add the flour, pinch of salt and stir energetically for 1 full minute, until the batter looses its graininess, becomes smooth, and begins to pul away from the sides. Stir in the chopped nuts of preferred add ins.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, sprinkle the remaining chocolate on top and bake until the center is almost set, about 25-30 minutes. Don't overbake. Let them cool completely before lifting out the parchment to remove brownies.
These brownies will keep well for 4 days and can be frozen for one month. For a clean cut, chill the brownies to get even edges and clean the knife between slices.
I have fallen into the black hole that is Instagram. While this space is pretty intentional, I like being able to share snapshots of everyday food and life. The people on there, they are hungry. Hungry for recipes. And while I just want that to be for fun, not for recipe sharing, a few eager voices requesting the recipe from the day I was experimenting with black beans and pumpkin in vegetarian burger form, seemed desperate. I didn't need too hard of a push to make them again. So here we are with a gluten free, dairy free, fiber packed, super easy meal idea.
A veggie burger salad is my go-to lunch, so it seemed appropriate to share a version here. I love food in bowls - my entire meal made easy to eat in one vessel with one utensil. Primarily greens, something crunchy, avocado if there is a ripe one or a bit of cheese if not (both if I can't help myself), with hints of a dried or fresh fruit, a protein and maybe a bit of a grain if both aren't going to be present in veggie burger form. There is a science to this bowl-food habit. While against all things theme-y to post a recipe with pumpkin AFTER Thanksgiving, as we usher in December, I figured now is as good a time as any to give you a fiber packed meal idea. Treats will follow either way, no? Yes.
If you want to peek over to our Facebook page, we are giving away a holiday box from Crustic Bread! Madelaine is a super sweet, hard working, small business owner and she is offering one of her holiday gift boxes (which you can order until Dec. 10th!) to a lucky reader on our Facebook page!
PUMPKIN BLACK BEAN PATTIES // Makes 4
I use canned pumpkin here because it has less water content then when you make it fresh, and I needed that for these to stay together. If you prefer to use fresh, you may need to add another tablespoon of oat flour or breadcrumbs to compensate. The salad is not a "recipe". I just chop the greens pretty small and add oil and vinegar to lighty dress. Nothing fussy, but I listed the components below in case you were interested.
2 cloves garlic
3 scallions, white and green parts, chopped
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. chili powder
3/4 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. cumin
1 cup cooked and cooled brown rice
15 oz. can (about 2 cups) black beans
2 Tbsp. flaxmeal
scant 1/3 cup panko or coarse oat flour (can be made by blending whole oats)
coconut oil for cooking
// salad //
lacinato kale, stemmed and well chopped
romaine
bit of grated parmesan
extra virgin olive oil (I used the lemon one from Nudo;- very subtle)
rice vinegar
pinch of salt + pepper
In a food processor, combine the garlic, scallions, pumpkin, olive oil, chili powder, salt and cumin. Run to combine. Add the rice and half of the beans and pulse ONLY a few times to just mix (we want minimal mixing here so it doesn't become a paste). Add the flaxmeal, oat flour and pulse them in. Add the rest of the beans and give it one or two more pulses (I add the beans in parts because I like the flecks of them in the patties). The mixture should be pretty tacky with texture to it. Not smooth. The mixture can be made in advance and kept covered in the fridge until ready to use.
Form the dough into four patties, about 1/2'' thick. Heat a thin layer of coconut oil over medium high heat in a large (non stick preferable) pan, working in batches if you need to. Once the oil is hot, gently add the patties to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes until you get a golden crust, flip and cook another 2 minutes.
Prepare your salad or bun, top with you patty and garnish with cilantro and avocado if you wish.
