Japanese kale salad wrap

Hello! Happy days to everyone, I hope you've been well since the last time we spoke. Or the last time I spoke at you, rather. It seems that summer has arrived early in Louisville (again?!), which means I've been doing my reading on the porch these days. One author who can get me hungry in a pinch is Haruki Murakami, and I just happen to be reading his take on Orwell's 1984, aptly named 1Q84 since "Kyu" in Japanese is the word for 9.

To make a long story short: Murakami starts describing a scrumptious dinner, and I suddenly find myself famished! I held off hunger pangs long enough to enjoy the rest of the chapter, then raced inside to start dinner. As any reader of Murakami is well aware, classical music is a natural part of life, so my first stop was at my computer to switch on my Mozart internet radio station. With Piano Concerto no. 27 filling the air with crescendos, I took quick mental stock of my fridge and set to work on a tasty Murakami-inspired dinner. What I wound up with was a light, incredibly tasty kale salad that I tossed on some locally made organic wheat wraps and devoured along with fingerling potatoes. Here's how you can enjoy the same!

Ingredients
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 large leek, thinly sliced
1 medium cucumber, thinly sliced
1 bunch of kale (any variety), chopped
2 medium carrots, shredded
2 cloves garlic, diced
1" x 1" piece of ginger root, diced
2 tsp brown mustard seeds
2-3 tsp Bragg's liquid amino (or similar)
1-2 tsp red wine vinegar
1-2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1-2 tsp vegetable oil
 wrap of your choice

Directions
1. In a medium saucepan, heat all liquids and brown mustard seeds on medium heat. Use your own judgment on quantity of oils; I just used as much as looked right.
2. As mustard seeds begin to pop, add onions, leek, cucumber, ginger, and garlic
3. Mix ingredients well for 5 minutes, remove from heat
4. Place small handfuls of kale and carrot along the middle of your wraps
5. Dish onion/leek/cucumber mixture on top of kale
6. Fold wrap and eat!

Spring's raw soft tacos

This year, it seems that Louisville transitioned straight from fall into summer, skipping winter and spring entirely. Incredibly, we've had days over 80 degrees since the beginning of March. While this makes for an unusually sweaty and humid spring, it also brings with it the wonderful feelings of summer. The latter has been inspiring my meals for the past week or two, and this week it had me craving fresh cilantro. What better way to satisfy that craving than with fresh, raw tacos? (Disclaimer: the tortilla in this incarnation is not raw, just the filling. I'll try my hand at a raw wrap next time!)

Ingredients
corn tortillas (substitute raw wraps if you'd prefer)
2 red bell peppers, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
1 large tomato, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1cup black beans, soaked and rinsed
1 avocado, diced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 tbs chile powder
2 tsp ancho chile powder
1 tsp coriander

Directions
1. In a small bowl, mix spices
2. In a large bowl, mix remaining ingredients
3. Combine and mix well
4. Spoon mixture onto tortilla
5. Top with salsa verde or condiment of your choice
6. Serve!

Spicy Black Bean Calzones

A few months ago I attempted to make some black bean empanadas. The key word here being "attempted." Now, they didn't come out completely terrible: the black bean filling was delicious and had just the right kick. Unfortunately the dough was a disaster. It fell apart at the seams, was entirely too dry, and generally didn't taste like empanada dough. The one saving grace of the experience, though, was that it DID taste like calzone dough.

Building on that past experience, I decided to take the two positives and put them together (purposefully this time) into a batch of black bean calzones. I modified my filling to add more of an Italian taste (basil, cilantro, and oregano), and made sure to knead enough bread to prevent any tearing. Here's what I ended up with!

Ingredients:
Filling:
2 cans (24 oz.) black beans
2 medium carrots, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 large garlic cloves, diced
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ginger

Dough:
3 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1 package yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tbsp raw sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2-3/4 cup water (or more as needed)
1 tbsp rosemary
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped


Directions:
1. In large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand 5 minutes.
2. Add the oil and sugar, mix.
3. Add 3 cups of flour, water, rosemary and basil, mix until you form a dough ball.
4. Lightly oil a large bowl, place dough in bowl and cover. Set aside for at least 1 hour.
5. In a medium bowl, mash the black beans together with a potato masher or the back of a fork.
6. Add the rest of the ingredients to beans and mix together.
7. Sprinkle some of the remaining flour on counter top.
8. After dough has risen, remove from bowl and knead on the floured counter top.
9. Cut dough into 6 even portions.
10. Roll out each portion, sprinkling flour on dough to keep it from sticking.
11. Spoon out filling into the center of each piece.
12. Fold dough over filling, seal the edges by pressing with the back of a fork.
13. Brush lightly with olive oil .
14. Place on cooking sheet and cook for 35-40 minutes.
15. Remove from oven, let cool 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Couscous Salad

This is an extremely quick and simple recipe, it takes about 10 minutes from start to finish. It's also light, delicious, and good for you. What's not to love?

Ingredients:
2 cups of instant couscous
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cucumber, quartered and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 bunch broccoli, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 1/2 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp crushed black pepper


Directions:
1) Boil 2 cups of water
2) In a large salad bowl, combine couscous and water
3) In a medium bowl, mix together garlic, lemon juice, pepper, and 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
4) Add broccoli, stirring to evenly coat broccoli in mixture
5)  Combine broccoli mixture, tomatoes, and cucumber with couscous
6) Add remaining 1 tbsp of oil if desired
7) Serve warm, or let cool in the fridge, covered, and serve chilled.

Garlic & basil bread

I wish I had known how entertaining it is to make bread from scratch years ago; I'd have been doing it all this time! Like a potter at his wheel, I love to mix, shape, and form the dough into a delicious piece of edible artistry. Now, I'm not saying my bread is pretty... but it is pretty damn tasty! So here's a simple recipe for some extremely aromatic garlic & basil bread that is sure to compliment anything from garlic hummus to sweet red pepper relish.

Ingredients:
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups unbleached white flour
1 packet active dry yeast
1 tbsp raw sugar
2 cups warm water
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh garlic
1 tbsp chopped fresh chives
2 tsp crushed dried rosemary


Directions:
1) In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in the warm water
2) Stir in yeast, let sit for 10 minutes until foamy
3) In a separate bowl, combine flours (set 1/2 cup aside for rolling)
4) After 10 minutes, add 1 1/2 tbsp oil to water/sugar/yeast
5) Slowly add flour combination, stirring as you add roughly 1 cup at a time
6) Once mixture has turned into dough, spread the 1/2 cup flour on a flat, hard surface
7) Lay the dough out on this surface, sprinkle on the basil, garlic and chives as you begin to knead the dough. Knead until bread is smooth
8) Use remaining 1/2 tbsp oil to coat a large bowl
9) Put dough in oiled bowl, sprinkle on rosemary and turn to coat dough in oil/rosemary
10) Cover bowl, let dough rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size
11) Remove dough from bowl, knead and cut in half
12) Shape halves into loaves, place in oiled 9x5 bread pans and let rise to the top of the pan (30 min)
13) Cut 3 diagonal slits roughly 1/4 inch deep across the top of each loaf
14) Bake loaves for 45 minutes at 350 degrees F

After the bread is done baking, allow to cool a few minutes before slicing. Put on your favorite toppings, and enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Tempeh

First of all, I've got to thank Mum for gifting me the Real Food Daily cookbook on my birthday this year. It is where I picked up this amazing dish, and has been an inspiration for more than a few of my experiments. I've added a few ingredients to this dish, and also tweaked the ratios to get what tastes best to me. To find the original recipe, check out the Real Food Daily website.  This tempeh concoction may very well be the best tempeh dish I've ever had at home... and the trick is in the marinade. Let's get to it.

Ingredients
1 1/2 lb tempeh
1 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
3 tbsp sesame oil
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp ginger
1 1/2 cups maple syrup
1 1/2 cups brown rice vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp crushed red pepper
2 medium onions, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 carrots, halved and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 celery stalks halved and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
16 oz. cooked garbanzo beans
1 large bunch of broccoli
1/2 head green cabbage
8 cups cooked rice


Marinade 
1. Whisk together 1/2 cup soy sauce, water, 2 tbsp sesame oil, garlic and ginger in a medium dish.
2. Cut tempeh in half crosswise (the halve the depth) and then again horizontally (to halve the length). Place in marinade and let soak 1 hour at room temperature, or overnight in the fridge (I recommend an overnight soak).

Cooking
1. Heat oven to Broil. Place tempeh on baking sheet covered in foil. Let brown for 5 minutes. Turn tempeh over, use excess marinade to baste, let brown another 5 minutes. Let cool then cut into 1/2 inch squares.
2.Whisk maple syrup,vinegar, an remaining soy sauce into leftover marinade. Set aside this sweet-and-sour sauce.
3.Heat 1 tbsp sesame oil, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and crushed red pepper in large skillet/wok over high heat. Saute onions for 2 minutes, add carrots and saute for 2 minutes. Add celery, saute for 2 minutes. Add peppers, broccoli, cabbage, saute for 2 minutes.
4.Once vegetables crisp-tender, add tempeh and sweet-and-sour sauce. Let simmer for 2 minutes to absorb flavor. Serve with rice.