Black Bean Soup with Toasted Cumin Creme Fraiche

I've had a bag of Cayuga Pure Organics black beans in my pantry for quite some time waiting for the perfect use.  We do eat rice and beans on occasion, and beans certainly go in chili around here.  But it didn't seem right to use these beautiful beans in a supporting role.  I wanted them to be a star. 

Enter Smitten Kitchen and her Black Bean Soup with Toasted Cumin Seed Creme Fraiche.  She had me at chipotle pepper.  I go in waves with chipotles where I need to eat them in everything.  Alright, I lie, it's more like everything I eat could usually be made better with chipotles.  I love the smoky spiciness with just about everything.

 The other thing that made this soup attractive is that the heavy lifting is all done in the crockpot.  The beans go into pot with chopped vegetables, water, seasoning and magically turns into soup in just a few hours.  There was some discussion over at Smitten Kitchen about the different timing required by different crockpots.  Mine was just about the same as reported - 3 hours on high for well cooked beans, maybe just a bit longer. 

This soup is also very healthy and light.  To add a bit of indulgence, I decided to make the creme fraiche as well.  Trader Joe's carries a Vermont creme fraiche which makes this step equally easy.  I toasted cumin seeds and ground them in a converted coffee grinder.  Adding a good dollop of the creme fraiche gave another layer of flavor and creaminess to the soup without overdoing it. The original recipe included chopped sweet peppers which I omitted, but adding those in makes the soup even healthier!

I served the soup and its creme fraiche topping with warm (homemade) pita bread and green salad.  We also experimented with a bit of sharp New York cheddar as a different topping and enjoyed that quite a bit.

Black Bean Soup (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 medium red onions, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 1/2 lbs. dried black beans
• 1-3 tbsp. chopped chipotle pepper in adobe sauce (adjust for your preferred heat)
• 7 cups hot water
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• salt and pepper, to taste

1. Pick through dried beans to remove any suspicious-looking specimens.
2. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onions and cook until soft and just beginning to caramelize, about 10 minutes.  Add garlic and cumin and stir mixture for about 1 minute. 
3. Transfer onion mixture to slow cooker.  Add beans, chipotle peppers and 7 cups hot water.
4. Cover crock pot and cook on high for about 3 hours, until beans are very tender (it's okay to pick up the lid and taste them in order to check).
5. Transfer two cups or more (I did about half) the mixture to another bowl and puree with an immersion blender (or use your food processor or blender). Return puree to slow cooker.
6. Stir in lime juice, salt and pepper.  Serve in bowls with your favorite topping.

Meatless Monday: Apple and Cheddar Quesadilla with Passion Wasabi Mustard

One year, I will be set up in both my larder/freezer and local food connections to take part in the Dark Days Challenge.  I'm finding some interesting ideas as I watch others follow through and trust me, locavores, I am taking notes.

For now, I take the day-by-day ingredient-by-ingredient approach to keeping things local and seasonal.  One recent lunch got me pretty close.  Upon examining the fridge and the pantry, I realized that I had New York apples, New York Cheddar and a jar of Passion Wasabi Mustard that was purchased for us locally in Hawaii.  My tortillas were from Trader Joe's, although a product of some far off place.  Altogether, not an unsuccessful impromptu local meal for a cold dark season. 

Apple and Cheddar Quesadilla with Wasabi Honey Mustard

• 2 whole wheat tortillas
• 1 tbsp Passion Wasabi Mustard (or other favorite mustard)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup freshly grated New York extra sharp cheddar
• 1 medium crisp tart apple, cored, halved and sliced 
• olive oil, in mister

1. On one tortilla, spread mustard within 1 inch of edges.  Sprinkle half of the cheese.  Top with apple slices.  Add remaining cheddar cheese and top with second tortilla.
2. Lightly mist a nonstick frying pan with olive oil and heat to warm.  Place quesadilla in pan and heat until slightly melted.  Flip and repeat. 
3. Enjoy!

End of Summer Grain Salad with local spelt and heirloom tomatoes

IMG_0162, originally uploaded by Brooklyn Forager.

(Please forgive the quality of the photos lately. Camera issues, so I'm relying on the old iPhone)

A quick breeze through the farmers' market over the weekend brought us a last blast spelt salad complete with all local ingredients. I found some beautiful heirloom tomatoes including a green zebra, some crisp cucumbers and radishes. With these, I chopped up some fresh basil and mint from our garden and tossed them all in a red wine vinaigrette. The final ingredient was some warm local spelt cooked in vegetable broth and white wine. I tossed the vegetables and the warm spelt together and got a nice warm grain salad with lovely crunch and late summer flavors.

Meatless Monday: Fry-poached egg with Pecorino and homegrown tomatoes

Redux. , originally uploaded by Brooklyn Forager.

I've been meaning to do more meatless monday posts, especially as it seems that I'm eating more meatless meals worth writing home about (well, you know).

This week, I was looking for a quick dinner for one with the requirement of using up a couple of small tomatoes from our last terrace crop. Having learned about fry-poaching an egg over at thekitchn.com, I knew I had to try it.

The result was incredibly yummy and simple. To fry-poach an egg, start off your egg in a bit of oil or butter. When the white starts to firm up, throw an ice cube or a tablespoon or two of water into the pan and cover. The white steams lightly leaving a soft texture with just a hint of the fried-crunchiness that I love so much.

To put together the meal, I sliced tomatoes and layered them on a piece of warm wheat toast. I flopped the hot egg on top and smothered it with fresh black pepper and fresh-grated Pecorino Romano.

Poke the yolk so it runs, poached-style, over the sandwich and enjoy. Alongside this masterpiece of a meal for one, I sipped Vivallis Vigna Giere 2007, a Moscato Giallo with a hint of sweetness and citrus with some floral overtones. Overall, a nice pairing for a quick weeknight meal.

Locavore Dinner Party, Part II: Grilled Bok Choy with Spicy Vinaigrette

DSC00802, originally uploaded by Brooklyn Forager.

Going back to the dinner party mentioned a couple of weeks ago, there is much more locavore-action to discuss! One of the dishes that we made was Grilled Bok Choy with a spicy vinaigrette, one that I hope to reprise this weekend. (Recipe from Serious Eats, Dinner Tonight)

This couldn't be more simple and certainly is wonderfully delicious. I took baby bok choy (I think regular bok choy would also be great and might actually stand up to the heat longer) and sliced them in half length-wise. I placed these on the grill for just a couple of minutes until there was some nice char (next time, I'm going to brush them with a bit of sesame oil or the vinaigrette to allow for more even charring). Generously drizzle the spicy sesame vinaigrette and enjoy!