Chai-Spiced Applesauce

A few weeks ago, I noticed that the grocery store was selling chai-spiced apple cider and I thought "I bet I could make a chai-spiced applesauce that is pretty good." I used the following recipe to make two batches of sauce - for one, I cored the apples but left the skins on and did not mash the apples after cooking (making the dish more like baked apples than a true sauce), for the other I skinned the apples and mashed them into a sauce. Both versions came out pretty tasty, so choose the preparation that sounds better to you. As with any applesauce recipe, it is pretty easy to scale up and down on the ingredients depending on the amount of apples you happen to have on hand and on your own taste.

Chai-Spiced Applesauce

4-6 lbs. apples

1 c. water or apple juice

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 stick cinnamon

1-2 tsp. ground cardamom or 3-4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed

1 tsp. whole or ground cloves

1-2 tsp. ground ginger or 1 T. fresh ginger

1 star anise cluster

1. Core, peel (if desired), and dice apples and place in a large stock pot with water (or apple juice), brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger, and star anise. Cover and simmer over medium heat until apples are soft (~30 minutes), stirring occasionally. Uncover and simmer for another 10-15 minutes to reduce liquid.

2. Remove cinnamon stick and star anise cluster (and caradmom pods and whole cloves, if used). Mash with a potato masher (if desired).

Pumpkin Parmesan Orzo

When I lived in Syracuse, I spent many a Saturday morning at the Central New York Regional Market, wandering through the many produce, baked goods, and other assorted vendors. The market never disappointed, and when I am back in town to visit friends, I often visit the market to pick up some fresh fruits and vegetables for the weekend's cooking. Last weekend, I found the stand for Flour City Pasta, which offers up organic pastas infused with locally-sourced herbs, vegetables, even fruits. I picked up their "autumn harvest orzo" - a blend of apple cinnamon, pumpkin, parsley sage, and beet orzos. Included in the package was the following recipe for orzo in a pumpkin sauce. If you don't live in Central New York, I'm guessing that it will be almost as good with plain orzo as it is with the flavored pasta. Serve this as a side dish or alongside a fresh green salad.

Pumpkin Parmesan Orzo (~4-6 servings)

1/2 lb. orzo

1 T. butter or olive oil

12 sage leaves, chopped + additional whole leaves for garnish

1 shallot, diced

1/3 c. milk

1 c. vegetable broth

1 c. pumpkin puree

salt and pepper to taste

1/3 c. grated or shredded parmesan cheese + additional for garnish

1. Cook orzo to al dente, according to package directions. Drain.

2. While orzo cooks, heat oil in a medium saucepan and sauté sage and shallots over medium heat, about 5 minutes.

3. Add milk and half of vegetable broth to saucepan, continue to cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.

4. Stir remaining broth and pumpkin puree into saucepan and simmer about 10 minutes or until sauce reaches desired thickness. Add salt and pepper if desired.

5. Toss orzo, parmesan cheese, and sauce. Garnish with additional sage leaves and shredded parmesan.

Whole Wheat Blueberry (Almond) Bread

Summertime brings lots of fresh fruit to my apartment - or rather, it brings me to berry patches which results in me bringing home lots of fresh fruit. While I use some of the fruit quickly - eaten fresh with yogurt, stirring into scones, mixing into lemonade, or making preserves for future peanut butter and jelly sandwiches - I also store a lot in the freezer to pull out for later. A few weeks back, I was craving some blueberry bread, but wanted something healthier than the muffin-type breads I've made in the past. This loaf fits the bill - whole wheat flour, rolled oats, reduced oil content - and, of course, lots of juicy blueberries. I made the recipe twice over, once in a large loaf with only blueberries, and once in mini loaf pans with both blueberries and almonds. Both came out delicious!

Whole Wheat Blueberry (Almond) Bread (1 large loaf or 3 mini loaves)

2/3 c. packed brown sugar

3/4 c. skim or 1% milk (or try with almond milk, if you are lactose unfriendly or just want a different flavor)

1/4 c. applesauce

1/4 c. canola oil

2 eggs

2 1/4 c. whole wheat flour

1 c. rolled oats

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries (if frozen, allow to thaw for 15-30 minutes)

1/2 c. almonds (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease either 1 8-9" loaf pan or 3 mini-loaf pans.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, milk, applesauce, and eggs.

3. In a large bowl, stir together flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in wet ingredients. Using a wooden spoon, stir until just combined.

5. Fold in blueberries (and almonds, if desired). Pour into prepared pan(s).

6. Bake at 350F for 45-55 min or until a toothpick comes out clean. (I found that the smaller breads took about 45 minutes and the larger bread took about 55-60 minutes). Remove bread from the oven and allow to cool for ~10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pan and turn out onto a wire rack to continue cooling.

7. Slice and serve with a bit of butter, homemade preserves, or just on its own.

Black Bean and Corn Salad

Hello there, faithful readers (if there are any of you left)! I've been offline for a while, at least as far as The EmT Plate goes, but that doesn't mean that I have abandoned the kitchen. I'll try to catch up with some recent recipes over the next few days...starting with today's contribution.

With summer in full swing here in DC, I've been making a variation on the following salad almost every week to serve at potlucks, pack in lunches, and complement dinners. The base for this salad (black beans + corn + cilantro lime dressing) can be mixed and matched with celery, bell peppers, green onions, red onions, chickpeas, red beans, green beans, or whatever else you have handy. And if there are things on that list that you don't like, just don't include them in your salad - it will still be great. Also, the amount of dressing to make will depend on how big a salad you make and how much dressing you like in the salad - if you are using all of the ingredients for the salad, make more dressing.

A couple of weeks ago I found a package of red sweet corn at the grocery store. When cooked, the kernels fade a bit on the outside, but they are still a beautiful scarlet once you cut them from the cob and thus make a colorful addition to this salad. If you are using fresh corn, boil it for about 5 minutes in lightly salted water, then let it cool before cutting off the kernels. If you are in a hurry, you can run the corn under cool water to speed the cooling process.

Black Bean and Corn Salad (a good size for a picnic or a few days worth of lunches)

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped OR 1 T. dried cilantro

1-2 T. lime juice

1-2 T. white balsamic vinegar or white wine vinegar

1-2 T. olive oil

1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed thoroughly

2 ears sweet corn, cooked and removed from cob OR 1 can (15 oz.) corn, drained and rinsed thoroughly

5-7 green onions (use the white bulb + some of the green stalk), sliced thinly OR 1 small red onion, diced

5-7 stalks celery, diced

1-2 bell peppers (red, yellow, orange, or green), diced

Optional: 1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas, red beans, or green beans

1. Combine garlic, cilantro, lime juice, vinegar, and olive oil in a small bowl and allow to sit while preparing ingredients for remainder of salad (15-30 minutes).

2. Combine beans (black + any optional ingredients), corn, onion, celery, and bell pepper in a large bowl.

3. Pour dressing over salad and stir thoroughly. Ideally, allow salad to sit for at least half an hour before serving to allow flavors to meld.

काला चना का सूप (Kala Chana ka Soop - Black Chickpea Soup)

काला चना, or black chickpeas, are among my favorite legumes. They aren't available in cans here in the US, though - so if you cook with them, you will have to buy them dried and then soak and cook them - which means that cooking requires some extra planning and time. On the upside, many grocery stores (at least here in DC) are beginning to expand their Asian foods section - just yesterday I saw kala chana at Wegmans. If your local store doesn't carry black chickpeas, however, explore the nearest Indian grocery.

This recipe uses the black chickpeas as the basis for a soup broth. You won't need all of the chickpeas after cooking - the extras can be sprinkled on salads, processed into hommous, or eaten however else you'd like - or you can keep them as a part of the soup if you prefer.

As with my previous black chickpea recipe, this requires the use of a pressure cooker - if you don't have one, you'll need to increase the cooking time for step 1 to 1-2 hours, or until the chickpeas are tender.

काला चना का सूप (black chickpea soup) (~4-6 servings)
1 cup dried black chickpeas, washed in 3-4 changes of water
6-7 cups water
2 1" sticks of cinnamon
4 black cardamom pods, lightly crushed to break the skin
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. ginger-garlic paste (store-bought or make your own by grinding together 1-2 cloves garlic and a quarter-sized piece of ginger)
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
2 T. vegetable oil
1 quarter-sized piece of ginger, cut into matchsticks
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 T. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. ground tumeric
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (including stems), chopped

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight in enough water to cover them by 2 inches. Drain and place in pressure cooker with water, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, and garlic-ginger paste. Secure lid and cook over high heat until high pressure is reached, then cook 3 minutes more. Remove from from heat and allow the pot to depressurize on its own (approx. 20 minutes). Open the lid and check to see if beans are soft. [If beans are not soft, add additional water, cover, and bring to high pressure and cook another 1 minute.]

2. Transfer the mixture to a large cast iron pan or other large pot [if there is too much liquid, remove some and save it to add as liquid evaporates during cooking]. Stir in the tomato sauce and cook over high heat for about 5 minutes, then reduce heat to medium-low and continue simmering for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

3. Heat the oil in a medium saute pan over medium high heat. Cook the ginger sticks (stirring frequently) until golden, about 1 minute. Add the cumin seeds, coriander, and tumeric in quick succession and cook about 30 seconds. Stir in diced tomato and cilantro and cook for 1-2 minutes more.

4. Set a strainer or colander atop the pressure cooker pot and pour soup mixture through in order to separate out chickpeas. Remove and discard cardamom pods and cinnamon sticks. In a food processor, combine tomato mixture and 1/2 - 1 cup of cooked chickpeas and process until smooth. Add this back to the soup, along with additional liquid and some whole chickpeas (~ 1/2 cup), if desired. Return soup to a low boil over medium heat and simmer for a few minutes until heated through.

5. Serve with fresh chapati/roti, or if you don't want to make fresh flatbreads, with crackers or a few slices of store-bought crusty french bread.

Food on the Fly - DC

Between gigantic snowstorms that shut down the nation's capital for much of early February and travel for work and fun, I've been a bit remiss in posting recently. However, I would like to mention a couple of great places that I have come across recently in my quest for good food in DC...

First, DC sweet teeth have been taken by cupcakes for a couple of years now. However, places like Georgetown Cupcake, CakeLove, Baked & Wired, etc. have one major problem - they aren't very accessible to a large fan base, most of whom are stuck in offices all day and don't have the time to sojourn to Georgetown, U St., or other locales for a cupcake. Enter DC's new favorite trend - mobile eateries that carry their food in a van or truck and drive around downtown until they find a parking spot - then using Facebook and Twitter to broadcast their location. Born of this trend is Curbside Cupcakes, which makes some of the best cupcakes I've had - not too big or too small, priced decently ($3 - it sounds steep, but is actually spot on for perennially-overpriced DC), and most importantly, open to suggestions from their fan base. A few weeks ago I suggested carrot cake, and lo and behold it was on the truck this week (although with a plain cream cheese frosting, not the ginger-infused topping I'd suggested - I guess I'll have to experiment with that on my own). Another fan requested chocolate with a minty green top for St. Patrick's Day and yesterday and this weekend the truck has pulled up at Shamrock Fest and the DC St. Patrick's Day Parade with green cupcakes in ample supply.

Another purveyor of street food that I keep my eye on is Fojol Bros. of Merlindia. They aren't active right now - their latest update says they plan to be back on the streets mid-March (coming right up!) - but last summer their truck of (mostly) Indian food delights attracted large crowds wherever it stopped. In addition to Indian-style curries (both vegetarian and meat-based) served in a range of sizes, they help DC-ites beat the heat with lassipops (frozen lassis) in flavors like ginger and mango.

If you are in the mood for tasty curries before Fojol Bros. hit the streets again, and you happen to be near McPherson Square or Farragut North, check out Spice Express Indian Bistro, with locations at 1025 Vermont Ave. NW and 1020 19th St. NW. A lunchtime plate of rice and two curries (generous portions all around) costs $6.99 + tax. I recently had their palak paneer and chana masala and found both to be excellent. The bistro also has wraps, single curry plates, and other specialties.

An added bonus if you patronize these places - both Fojol Bros. and Spice Express use primarily recycled and biodegradable materials for their carryout boxes and flatware.

Snowmageddon II - Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

As Snowmageddon blew itself out late this afternoon, moving on after leaving us with something in the neighborhood of two feet of snow here in Arlington, I stayed warm and toasty indoors by baking a strawberry-rhubarb pie. The strawberries were the last of a batch I picked last summer, the rhubarb I found during a 7 am trip to the grocery store yesterday morning before the storm came in (no eggs left, but frozen rhubarb and pre-made pie crust were in stock and on sale!).

The recipe I used was quite similar to the one found in this post from May, with a few changes:
- I also added 1/2 tsp. of orange zest to the sugar / flour mixture.
- I used more strawberries (3 1/2 cups) than rhubarb (2 1/2 cups) this time around.
- Because I was using frozen fruit, I let the fruit / sugar / flour mixture stand for 45 minutes before pouring it into the pie plate - then increased the baking time to 1 hour 25 minutes (keep foil on the edges of the pie for the first hour).

The pie came out quite delicious - although very juicy. To avoid the hassle of having to clean out leaked juices from your oven, place the pie on a shallow baking sheet, or place the baking sheet on the rack below the pie.

Snowmageddon I - Pesto-Spinach Lasagna

DC is in the midst of its second major snowstorm of the winter (we had Snowpocalypse in December, which brought 18-20") and its third snowstorm of this past week (last weekend we got about 6 inches and on Tuesday we got another 3 inches). With the Capital Weather Gang calling for a total of 16-26" (or even 30"+) and the local network affiliates on overdrive with wall-to-wall weather coverage, it is time for cooking and baking.

First up during the storm (after braving the crowds at the grocery stores, of course): Pesto-Spinach Lasagna. This is my favorite lasagna, and I have my best friend to thank for it. She made me this lasagna to keep me fortified during my doctoral candidacy exams, and I have been craving it ever since. Making this particular pan was bittersweet, though - I used up the last of the pesto I'd make using homegrown basil from this past summer. Well, that's a bit of summer sun to cheer me up amidst all of this snow, at least!

Lasagna freezes quite well in individual servings if you have too much - allow the pan to cool completely, wrap each slice in a piece of plastic wrap, then put the individually-wrapped servings into a freezer bag and freeze - you'll be able to pull out a piece at a time as you need it.

Pesto-Spinach Lasagna (12 servings)
1 T. dried currants, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes
1 1/2 recipes pesto (for recipe, go here)
1 1/4 lbs. spinach or 1 1/2 lbs. swiss chard (or 2 14 oz. cans spinach, well drained)
2 T. olive oil
1/2 c. minced onions
3 T. pine nuts
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb. ricotta or cottage cheese (low fat, if you prefer)
1 1/2 c. parmesan cheese
1 lg. egg
nutmeg (to taste)
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 12 oz. box no-cook lasagna noodles (or 1 lb. regular lasagna noodles, cooked)

1. Cook spinach "dry" (just with the water clinging to its leaves) over medium heat until just wilted, remove from pan and chop.

2. Heat olive oil over medium heat, brown onions, pine nuts, and garlic. Add chopped spinach and currants, cook about 2 minutes.

3. In a large bowl, stir together spinach mixture, ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, egg, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

4. Preheat oven to 350F. In a 9 x 13 baking dish, assemble the lasagna as follows (listed in order from bottom to top - thus start with the noodles and end with the pesto):
4 lasagna noodles (overlap slightly)
1/4 spinach - cheese mixture
1/4 pesto sauce
Repeat - Repeat - Repeat (you'll have four layers when you finish)

5. Cover pan with foil and bake at 350F for 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Snowbaking - Mint Chocolate Chip Brownies

Last weekend the DC metro area was socked with about 6 inches of snow - perhaps not much compared with the 20-30" we are expected to get during our current storm (more on that in posts to come) or the 18-20" we got during the Snowpocalypse of December 2009, but still more than enough to justify a bit of snowbaking. For this endeavor, I decided to try brownies made with the mint & chocolate chips I found at the grocery store during the holiday season. If you don't happen to have mint & chocolate chips on hand, try these with white, milk, or dark chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or whatever your favorite mix-ins happen to be. These brownies come out moist and on the cakey side.

Mint Chocolate Chip Brownies (~ 24-32 brownies)
3/4 c. butter
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla (or mint extract)
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 c. milk
1 c. mint & chocolate chips + additional chips for sprinkling on top

1. Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with nonstick spray and preheat oven to 350F.

2. Melt butter in microwave (1 1/2 - 2 minutes). In a large bowl, combine melted butter, sugar, and cocoa powder and stir with a wooden spoon until well mixed. Add eggs and vanilla and stir until just combined.

3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk to the butter mixture, stirring after each addition. Fold in mint & chocolate chips.

4. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick can be inserted and removed cleanly. If desired, sprinkle additional mint & chocolate chips on top of the batter about 10 minutes into baking.

5. Remove pan from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for about 2 hours, then cut into squares. If you cut a little earlier, use a plastic knife to reduce the amount of brownie that sticks to your knife.