Vegetarian

Spicy Mashed Chickpea Salad

Spicy Mashed Chickpea Salad

I’m excited to share this idea here. It’s pretty simple to make and so delicious.  I’m a big fan of chickpeas but they do need a lot of love to really get their flavors going. Mash them up with some cumin, lemon and a touch of heat and you have a delicious salad to tuck into pita bread, roll on a tortilla or kale leaf, serve as a dip or as a base for a tartine.

This is how I made this batch, but you can add or hold ingredients to taste.

Use one can of chickpeas, drain and mash it slightly to keep a bit of a crunch.

Spicy Mashed Chickpea Salad

In a separate bowl mix well until creamy:

  • 1 tbsp pure tahini
  • 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Juice 1/2 lemon (aprox. 1/2 tbsp)
  • 1/2 tbsp water
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp of Huy-Fong Chili Garlic Sauce (it can be replaced with Sriracha or fresh chopped garlic and chili flakes)

Spicy Mashed Chickpea Salad

Mix the sauce with the mashed chickpeas.

Spicy Mashed Chickpea Salad

I spread half of the salad evenly on top of a slightly toasted bread. Added some thin sliced cucumbers, watermelon radishes, chopped parsley, toasted almonds and lunch was ready.

I was so hungry…Taking the pictures was pure torture.

Spicy Mashed Chickpea Salad

I ate the other half of the salad as a dip for the extra cucumber slices and I finger licked the bowl.

Baba Ganoush

Baba Ganoush 5 ingredients dealiciouscooking.com

I first remember tasting Baba Ganoush when I was about 7-years-old. Our neighbors in Brazil had Syrian roots and they were pretty much responsible for my first taste of Middle Eastern food. Birthday parties in their home were, in one word, scrumptious. Best of both countries. Baba Ganoush, Hummus, mini Kibbees, Dolmas, Brigadeiros (Brazilian chocolate fudge bites), and coxinhas (Brazilian chicken fried dumpling.)

I don’t think I tasted Baba Ganoush again until I moved to the States.  Every time I eat Baba Ganoush I go back to my neighbors Claudia and Andreia’s birthday parties and Sunday suppers. I see their dad, Senhor Luis, in the kitchen mixing some Za’tar and proclaiming I would never taste anything like it.

I wish I could share this Baba Ganoush with Senhor Luis and tell him “thank you” for the delicious memories.

THE DEAL: I used 4 small eggplants (2 Casper and 2 Szechwan) from our garden for this recipe. It was the perfect amount and use for our fresh picked eggplants.

Fresh Eggplants from Garden dealiciouscooking.com

Roast the eggplant and garlic with the skin on. I dressed the eggplant slices with Trader Joe’s Pacific Smoked Salt and black pepper for extra flavor.

Roasted Eggplants for Baba Ganoush

Add all the ingredients to the food processor. Since the eggplants were so tender I didn’t remove the skin. I used pure Tahini sauce and I needed to add a little water to the final mixture to thin it out a bit.

Baba Ganoush dealiciouscooking.com

 

Baba Ganoush

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Ingredients
  

  • 4 small Chinese eggplants or 1 medium regular eggplant
  • 4-6 garlic cloves peel on
  • 3-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice according to taste
  • ¼ cup tahini sauce
  • ½ teaspoon salt plus extra depending on size of eggplants
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil plus some extra for drizzling
  • Pinch of paprika for garnishing

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F. Slice eggplants in small pieces. In a bowl, toss eggplant slices with salt and 1 tbsp of olive oil. Place it on a baking sheet along with the unpeeled garlic. Roast until tender, 30-40 minutes. Remove the eggplant and garlic from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing the garlic peel.
  • Place the eggplant, garlic, tahini and lemon juice in a food processor and process until fairly smooth. Add the olive oil and salt and process it briefly. Scrape the mixture into a bowl, taste and add more lemon juice or salt to taste.
  • With the back of a spoon, make a swirl in the top of the baba ganoush, drizzle olive oil in the swirl grooves, and sprinkle with paprika.

 

 

Black Rice with Kale, Mushrooms, Marsala Wine and Feta Cheese

Heirloom Forbidden Rice Package

This ‘black rice’ came in my Easter basket and to tell you the truth I thought it was just wild rice. I was not excited. Disappointed even.  As I put the bag in the pantry, I briefly read the package description…which led to Google search…that proved I live under a rock. As it turns out this Heirloom forbidden rice is NOT wild rice and it’s the healthiest rice in the world.  How haven’t I heard of it?

Down to the facts. Heirloom forbidden rice (aka black rice) has high level of minerals, antioxidants, is rich in a class of flavonoid antioxidants called anthocyanins, which are potent anti-inflammatories and have specifically been linked to a decreased risk of heart disease and cancer as well as improvements in memory.

Best of all, black rice taste a zillion times better than white or brown rice. It’s nutty, slightly sweet and it looks way sexier than any other rice.

This rice is not cheap so if you want to make it ‘dealicious’ keep checking the Whole Foods bulk section (it goes on sale sometimes) or try Cost Plus World Market where the one I got seems to come from.

There are good recipes out there for black rice but I had to use the kale and mushrooms in the fridge, so I came up with this recipe. It was the perfect side for our baked salmon.  Any type of kale would work for this recipe, but I used Earthbound Organic Baby Kale from Costco. Broccoli rabe (Rapini) or spinach would work too.

Black Rice, Kale, Mushroom with Marsala rice and Feta

 

Black Rice with Kale, Mushrooms, Marsala Wine and Feta Cheese

Dominique for DealiciousCooking
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Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup uncooked heirloom forbidden rice
  • ½ medium purple onion chopped
  • 2 cups crimini or white mushrooms sliced
  • 4 cups of raw baby kale
  • 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp Marsala wine
  • 1/4 cup of crumbed goat cheese or feta cheese
  • 2 3/4 cups of beef broth or water to cook the rice
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • black pepper

Instructions
 

  • Start by cooking the rice with the beef broth in the rice cook. If you don’t have a rice cook, simply follow the directions in the package replacing the water with beef broth. If you don’t have directions (bought it in bulk) bring beef broth to a boil and add the rice. Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes in medium heat. Remove from heat and let stand covered. Reserve.
  • On a separate pan, sauté the onion in the olive oil until it becomes translucent. Add mushrooms and Marsala wine. Cook for about 3 minutes and add kale, salt and some pepper. Cook until kale reduces its size and looks fully steamed. Turn heat off. Add the cooked black rice mixing it well. Taste and adjust with more salt and/or pepper. Cover and let it stand for a few minutes, allowing the rice to absorb the kale/mushrooms/Marsala wine juice. Sprinkle the cheese over the rice before serving.

 

Tofu and Spinach Crustless Quiche Gluten Free

Easy Tofu and Spinach Crustless Quiche Gluten Free

This is the first recipe I’ve created using coconut flour.  Normally, I’d use regular flour or whole-wheat flour but I wanted to make a wheat free side dish for our vegetarian dinner tonight. It turned out really good for such a easy and healthy dinner fix. The coconut flavor it’s really noticeable but the kids didn’t mind. They actually really enjoyed it so I’ll be packing some in their lunch boxes tomorrow.

The more I learn about wheat and gluten the more I feel like banning it it from our diet. Also, I’ve been noticing that the less gluten I have on a daily basis the better I feel – less bloated, more alert, less cravings, etc.

Here is what got me really fired up about coconut flour: it’s gluten, grain free, high in fiber and low in carbohydrates. Though it is free from gluten proteins, coconut flour contains an impressive number of other proteins.

I’m still researching and learning about cooking and baking with coconut flour but for this recipe I knew I’d need more eggs and almond milk because coconut flour is very dry and substituting other flours with it doesn’t exactly work. Ditchthewheat has this quick tips & tricks post on dealing with coconut flour.

Coconut flour is way more expensive than regular flour but that’s ok because it goes a long way and it’s healthier. Sprouts sells it in bulk ($3.99 lb. ) so I got a small amount to experiment with.

Here is to a healthy week!

TOFU & SPINACH CRUSTLESS QUICHE – Gluten Free

  • 4 cups of fresh spinach
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup of grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 ½ cup of almond milk
  • ¼ coconut flour
  • 1 half of Trader Joe’s Organic Sprouted Tofu (Extra Firm) or ½ of one Extra firm tofu block (water drained)
  • 1 tbsp of salt
  • 1 tbsp of onion powder
  • ½ tbsp of garlic powder
  • 1 tsp of Paprika
  • 1 tsp of cayenne pepper

Chop spinach slightly and quickly sautéed it in a little bit of olive oil OR cook it in the Microwave for 1 minute (reserve). Blend all the wet ingredients until smooth. Add everything else except for spinach. Blend it well, stopping a couple of times to mix and scoop unmixed ingredients from blender cup walls (coconut flour can get really lumpy.) Lastly, mix spinach with the blended mixture. Spray a small Pyrex or oven dish with spray oil or coat the dish with olive OR coconut oil (use your hands or a sheet of paper towel to spread the oil). Pour the mixture and top with shredded cheese (totally optional). Bake it at 400F for about 20-30 minutes or until top is firm, brown and crusty. Let it cool off before cutting.

Tofu and Spinach Crustless Quiche Gluten Free

 

Mexican Quinoa Skillet

Mexican Quinoa Skillet

When I found the nutritional power of quinoa some years ago I went on a quinoa frenzy. The kids really like it and the possibilities were endless. Quinoa with baked beans, quinoa salads, and quinoa patties were among some of our family favorites.  But one fine day the quinoa magic was gone. “Mom can we just have rice instead?” I was devastated but determined to make them fall in love with it all over again.

And so it happened tonight.

This was a total spontaneous quick fix and a great side dish for our roasted pork loin.

Here is how I brought the quinoa magic back.

I cooked 1 cup of quinoa with some salt, granulated garlic and cumin. While the quinoa was cooking I sautéed one small shallot in some extra virgin olive oil on a skillet.

Sauteed Shallots

I added approximately 3 cups of raw chopped kale.

Chopped Kale

Next, I added approximately 1 cup of organic black beans from a can (rinsed),1 cup of organic frozen corn (rinsed in hot water), salt and pepper.

Black Beans and Corn

I turned the heat off and added the cooked quinoa plus 1 cup of medium heat salsa from a jar. I mixed it well and finished by patting it into an even shape carving a little bit deeper in the center for the eggs.

DSC_0305

I spread some more salsa over the top, sprinkled some Mexican style shredded cheese and cracked two eggs in the middle (one of the yolks didn’t make it. As you see this is the real deal and I was too hungry to care.)

Eggs over quinoa

It baked at 400F until the egg looked cooked then I broiled for just a couple of minutes to get the cheese crispy. I garnished it with chopped green onions and cilantro.

Mexican Quinoa Skillet

 THE DEALs

 Sprouts: Organic curly kale for 98c each this week

Frozen Corn and all frozen brands 20% off ends 03/26

Ralphs: Dozen large eggs grade AA  $1.99

Sweet Potato & Kale Hash with cranberries, walnuts and egg

Sweet Potato and Kale Hash with egg

I don’t really have much to say about this dish besides it was a pretty good breakfast and I could eat it again for lunch…and dinner. I like sweet potatoes and all the good stuff that comes with it. Apparently, if you eat a baked sweet potato instead of a baked white potato your blood sugar will rise about 30 percent less! And because one can’t get enough ‘super food powers’ just add some green, nuts and protein and you get a tasty and nutritious dish.

SWEET POTATO & KALE HASH (put an egg on it)

  • 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into small cube shapes
  • 1 shallot or 1/2 of red onion, finely chopped
  • 3-6 leaves of any kind of fresh kale finely chopped (I used Dino kale this time but any Kale will do)
  • 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon of Liquid Aminos (optional)
  • 1/8 of chopped walnuts
  • 1/8 of dry cranberries
  • eggs
  • water
  • 1 tsp salt (use 1/2 tsp if you are not using the Aminos)
  • Extra virgin olive oil

Coat a fry pan with some OOil (1 tbsp) Sauteed the onion/shallots in medium heat until translucent. Add the sweet potatoes, salt, cayenne and about 1 tbsp of water. Cover and cook about 8 minutes. Add more water if the potatoes are still uncooked and sticking to the pan. When the sweet potatoes are tender (just stick a fork into one cube and try). Once the sweet potatoes are cooked add the kale+optional aminos. Cover and cook for another 2-3 minutes. As the hash is finishing add the cranberries and walnuts. Divide (or not) the hash among 2 plates, topping each with one or more lightly fry eggs.

Some notes about this recipe:

  • Make a bigger batch and keep in the fridge for those “what should I have for breakfast?” days. It re-heats great!
  • If you are not a kale fan try substituting for spinach. Same goes for walnuts. If you don’t like them try pumpkin or sunflower seeds.
  • Put one or more eggs on it.
  • This measurements are not exact but this recipe was good for approximately 2 servings.
  • The smaller you chop the sweet potatoes the quicker they will cook.

Sweet potato and Kale Hash with OE egg