Big Bowl of Fabulousness: Beans and Rice on Steroids

I had a dish similar to this one in Portland at one of the food trucks on 11th Avenue. I knew when I got my bowl that it was going to make me happy.  The characteristic smell of beans and rice, perfumed with lemon and garlic, and ohhhhh, the olives!  The bowl I had I think was called the "Big Bowl", and it had brown rice, black beans, cucumber, onion, tomatoes, cilantro, cheddar cheese and green olives on it. This was topped with a bright yellow sauce that was reminiscent of a hummus, but more lemony, and rich tasting.  A dollop of yogurt and a splash of salsa finished it off.  I was in heaven, I tell you. Heaven.  After some sleuthing, I found out that the sauce, which was the magical part of this concoction, was a Tali sauce, so I did some research and some tweaking, and came up with this Tali sauce recipe. I also added feta for the salty edge it imparts and for its pairing with the olives.

This bowl of fabulousness is my favorite take to work lunch.  It can be served at room temperature or even cold. Warning though.....the garlic scent that will waft through your workspace may send vampires running.  This is one of those dishes that you'll return to again and again, and, you won't feel badly doing so.  Try it.  I think you'll like it.

Big Bowl of Fabulousness

Serves 8

2 cups uncooked long-grain brown rice

1 lb. beans (or 4 cans)

2 cups Greek yogurt

Salad Ingredients

1 English cucumber, large diced

1 medium sweet onion, finely diced

2/3 c. green olives, sliced

11/2  c. feta cheese

¼ c. chopped cilantro

1 lb. tomatoes, large diced

Tali Sauce

1/2 c canola oil
1/2 c slivered almonds, toasted
1/3 c cooked garbanzo beans
1/4 c cooked soybeans
4 garlic cloves
1/2 c water
1/2 c lemon juice
1/3 c nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp ascorbic acid or citric acid

Directions for Beans and Rice: 

Soak beans overnight.  Drain and cook beans at a simmer in a heavy bottomed pot.  Water level should be about 2-3 inches above beans.  Add water as needed.  When beans are tender, drain and salt them.

About 1 ½ hours before serving, preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Boil 3 ½ cups of water.  Meanwhile, coat the bottom of a glass baking dish with 2 t. oil and sprinkle on 2 t. kosher salt and 2 c. rice.  When water is at a full boil, add it to the baking dish and cover the dish with 2 layers of foil.  Be sure to cover tightly to prevent steam from escaping.  Bake at 375 for one hour and five minutes or until rice is tender.  Let it sit, covered, for 10 minutes.  Remove foil and fluff with a fork.

Directions for Tali Sauce:
Combine oil, almonds, beans, and garlic in food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and puree until completely smooth.

Directions for Serving:

Make a salad with the vegetables and feta.

Serve by placing rice and beans in a bowl.  Top with some of the Tali sauce fabulousness.  Top that with the salad and a dollop of yogurt. You may want to consider adding some salsa to the top too, but hey, I’m just crazy that way.

Enjoy!

Mu Shu Pork: An authentic combination of textures and tastes

For some reason, I had the taste for Mu Shu--you know, those lovely pancakes filled with a tangy, slightly sweet, combination of vegetables, eggs, and meat.  Problem?  This is a dish that has been changed so much from its Chinese origins, I don't know what real Mu Shu is.  To this end, I went on a mission.  I spent several hours looking up recipes for authentic Mu Shu online.  I also searched a few "authentic" Chinese cookbooks.  I found some similarities, that in general, found that recipes from China used more fungus, and recipes from America, more vegetables than different fungi.  I used some ideas from Ming Tsai, when I added lime to the Hoisin sauce, to cut the sweetness.
This hybrid is authentic to the taste of some traditional Chinese recipes, with the addition of more vegetables.


I made this with homemade mu shu wrappers, which were amazing. I will put that recipe on line soon.  You can use frozen mu shu wrappers, but homemade are much better.

Serves 4-6

1 pound pork loin, finely julienned


2 t. minced garlic


2 t. minced ginger


1 cup soaked, sliced shiitake mushrooms


½ cup soaked, sliced black mushrooms or other dried mushrooms

20 dried Lily buds, hard part removed, torn in half, lengthwise and soaked

3 cups shredded Napa cabbage


1 carrot, thinly julienned into matchstick sized pieces

3/4 cup bamboo shoots, julienned (may use canned that have been rinsed well in cold water)


2 cups bean sprouts

1 bunch green onions, cut into ½ inch pieces

4 eggs, beaten

Sauce:

1/2 cup hoisin sauce (I like Lee Kum Kee)

juice of 1 lime

1 t. ginger

1 t. garlic

2 T. oil

For serving: 12-16 Chinese Pancakes (Mu Shu Wrappers--Recipe to come)

Directions

1.            Bring 1/2 cup oil to about 350 degrees (almost smoking) in a wok or deep, large frying pan,  add the pork. Using a strainer, quickly move around the pork and cook until medium rare, only 1 minute. Remove, strain pork and set aside.

2.            Leave 2 tablespoons of oil in the wok and return to high heat. Add eggs to hot oil and scramble. Set them aside with cooked pork.

3.            With remaining oil in wok, stir fry the garlic, ginger, and shiitake mushrooms until soft, about 2-3 minutes and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

4.            Add the cabbage, bamboo shoots, and wood ear mushrooms and continue stir frying 2-3 minutes.

5.            Add back the pork and eggs.

6.            Add half of the hoisin-lime and check for flavor.

7.            Meanwhile, in a steamer or wrapped in plastic in the microwave, heat the pancakes until hot.

8.            Lay individual pancakes on plates and paint on hoisin-lime sauce Top with Mu-Shu and roll up to serve.

New York Style Bagels: An attempt at perfection

What's better, I often wonder, than a great bagel.  But, they are so hard to come by--those wonderfully chewy, yet soft bundles of fabulousness.  Now, you may wonder why in the world you would take the time to make bagels.  Well, I'll be honest.  I think the bagels we get in stores and even in "bagel" restaurants, quite simply, suck.  Who boils their bagels anymore? I know Gothem Bagels in Madison does, and several places in Skokie and of course, New York do, but I don't live there. I live in Champaign, Illinois. The closest thing we have to real bagels is Einsteins, and I've already shared my opinion of their attempts.

Because of this, I have spent about a year learning about bagel making. I've read, watched videos, and had made several attempts at this process. What I found out is that ingredients, as is often the case, are key. In this case, you need high gluten flour (I use Sir Lancelot from King Arthur Flour, which has 14% protein) and distilled water as well as diastolic malt powder (also available from King Arthur Flour).  Armed with these ingredients and a bit (not too much, honestly) of time, you can create, in your very own kitchen, a more than acceptable bagel.  For the topping, I tend to go with the everything, which for me includes flaked sea salt, black and white sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried garlic and onions, flax seeds, and chia seeds.  You can use any combination you like, but whatever you do, include a bit of flaked salt. It is the kicker here.

I love these bagels.  I make them small, 3 oz., and believe they are a perfect size for breakfast, but the recommended size is 4 oz., so do whatever you wish.  I have just slightly adapted this recipe from The Bread Baker's Apprentice.  Kudos to this most amazing cookbook.  If you love to bake bread, get it.  It is genius and has revolutionized my baking techniques.

New York Style Bagels

Adapted From:  Bread Baker’s Apprentice

Yield:   12-18 bagels

Ingredients:

Sponge

1 t. instant yeast

4 c. unbleached high gluten flour

2 ½ c. room temperature, distilled water

Dough

½ t. instant yeast

3 ¾ c. unbleached high gluten flour

2 ¾ t. table salt

2 t. malt powder

To finish

2 T. baking soda

Directions:

For the sponge, stir the yeast into the flour in your stand mixer.  Add the water and stir only until it forms a smooth, sticky batter.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until the mixture becomes very foamy and bubbly (about 2 hours).

For the dough, add the yeast to the sponge and stir.  Add 3 cups of the flour and all of the salt and malt.  On low speed with the dough hook, stir on low until the ingredients form a ball, slowly working in the remaining ¾ cups of flour.  The dough will be very stiff.  Knead on medium low for 6 minutes.  At this point, take a bit of the dough and try to stretch it out like you are going to blow a bubble with it.  If it easily rips, knead another 2 minutes.

Divide the dough into 3 ounce pieces for smaller bagels, and 4 oz. for large bagels.  Form the pieces into balls and place them on the counter covered with a clean towel. Let them rest for 30 minutes.  One at a time, stick your thumb into the center, through each ball.  Evenly stretch the hole until you have a hole approximately 2 inches in diameter.  Place each bagel on a cookie sheet with parchment that has been lightly sprayed with oil.  Place each 2 inches apart on the sheets.  Mist the bagels with oil and put in a food grade plastic bag.  Let sit for 30 minutes.

Before refrigerating over night, put one into a bowl with cold water. If it floats, it is ready to retard.  If not, let them rest for another 10-20 minutes.  Retard in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours.  When you are ready to bake the bagels, preheat the oven to 450 degrees and put the racks in the middle of the oven.

Remove bagels from the refrigerator.  Bring water to a boil in a large, wide pot.  When boiling, add the baking soda.  Put 4-5 bagels in the boiling water and boil for 1-2 minutes (the longer the boil time, the more chewy the crust of the bagel).  Use a slotted spoon and chopstick to flip the bagels over and boil another 1-2 minutes.  Remove and sprinkle with topping of your choice.  Place on a parchment lined sheet pan that has been sprinkled with cornmeal.

When all bagels have been boiled, place them into the oven and bake until browned to the desired doneness, rotating and switching top and bottom pans after 5 minutes.  Cook a total of 12-15 minutes.  Cool on a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes before cutting or eating.

Enjoy.