Grilled Leek

Way back when, when the Mama Bird and I were still getting fresh vegetables from the co-opt every week, we had an influx of leeks. My experience with leeks prior to that was limited entirely to knowing that Farfetch'd carried one in Pokemon. I had never actually seen one before, and I had no idea what they tasted like.

But suddenly, I absolutely had to eat those leeks. I wanted to make a super healthy dinner and I wanted it to involve leeks and I wanted to feel like I was one of those people who tracks their every meal and knows exactly how many carbs they've eaten over the last week, and I wanted to FEEL HEALTHY.

(...on that note, I recommend using LiveStrong if you want to track that kind of stuff. I use it all the time.)

But back to the leeks.

I found a recipe through TasteSpotting and told Mama Bird that I was taking care of dinner that night. And to not touch the leeks. She was amused by my dedication and told me to do whatever I wanted.

This is a super easy recipe. You cut the leeks, cook them with some stock and chickpeas, and then make a lemon-honey-dill dressing and serve it with some feta. Doesn't that sound awesome?



I have no idea why I was so driven to eat those leeks that day, but it was a solid direction. Mama Bird really liked the flavors, but it's definitely not a dish to serve to a meat lover. It would also work really well as a side, since it doesn't serve many. It also sounds really fancy to announce you're serving leeks and feta with a lemon-honey-dill sauce.

On a non-healthy note: Happy Birthday, Mama Bird. I hope you enjoyed that cheesecake, cause it definitely wasn't healthy. <3

Smoky hummus!

This is a ridiculously easy hummus recipe. Although honestly, all hummus is easy once you've made it. I posted about it a while ago, but didn't have any sort of recipe to share, so I decided it was time to experiment again until I could come up with this.

Sister Bird loved this hummus. As in she would go out and buy me the ingredients for it so I would make it for her. Now that she's back at school, I guess I won't be making it as often, but that's only because I know I'll be the only one who ends up eating it, since Papa Bird hates anything that has curry powder in it, and Mama Bird claims it's too spicy.

They're both wrong, it's delicious.

Smokey Hummus
(Makes 5 servings, with 178 calories and $0.60 per serving)

5 cloves garlic

15.5 oz chickpeas, half drained

3 tablespoons tahini

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon Frank's red hot

1 teaspoon sriracha

1. Mince garlic.
   
2. Combine everything in food processor.
   
3. Blend until smooth, adding additional liquid from chickpeas if hummus is not smooth enough.
   

Butternut Squash Soup

Mama Bird has been pretty amazing recently.  Not only did she magically produce a brand new immersion blender from our basement when I mentioned I was thinking of buying one, she signed us up for a Community Supported Agriculture.  If you don't know what that is, it means that every Wednesday for the next two months we get a box of locally grown vegetables.  I was quite excited about it when she brought the idea up to me, because I knew that it meant I'd be getting vegetables to play with that I had never cooked.  Sure enough, last week we had a butternut squash and some leeks.  I haven't messed with the leeks, although Mama Bird stole the potatoes that were meant to become the chips for the fish and chips I'll be making sometime this week.  Hopefully Thursday or Friday, if Skyrim doesn't steal my entire life.

I wasn't sure I'd like this soup, because I've never been a huge squash fan, and I don't tend to enjoy sweetness.  But I liked this.  I dipped some bread in it at first, but I don't think it needs that.  It tastes thick, like it has cream, but it's all healthy.  I'm hoping to eat it for lunch this week to make up for the amount of naughtiness I've been eating- remember that coconut ice?  It's all gone now.  I throw out the remaining third after I gained enough strength to resist it.  Sadly, I didn't ever take a picture of it...   nor do I have a picture of this soup.  It just doesn't look great, sadly.

But it tastes good.  If you want a light healthy soup, give it a shot.

Recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking.

1 butternut squash

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 onions

4 cups vegetable broth

2 apples

1.5 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon coriander

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Cut squash in half longways, microwaving if the skin is too tough.
   
2. Scoop out seeds.
   
3. Coat in olive oil and roast at 400 for 15 minutes.
   
4. In slow cooker, combine cubed and peeled apples, onion, broth, and spices.
   
5. Cover and cook on high while waiting for squash.
   
6. Peel squash, and cut into cubes.
   
7. Cook on low for 8 hours.
   
8. Blend.
   

Not eating meat has not killed me.

I feel obligated to post under that title because it's been a full week and I haven't updated, which makes me sad. A week without cooking? The only thing sadder is a week with no reading, which I would be totally unable to endure. The more observant of you may notice I posted a button for a 'Books' section, which remains... empty. I will be posting some stuff there once I have a few hours in the evening, because I haven't had a night at home since last Thursday. Which is also why I haven't really been cooking.

My meatless month is still going well. I don't really crave meat unless someone mentions a specific dish, like my coworker telling me about the rub he used to grill up a few steaks, or smelling fajitas when sitting in a TexMex restaurant. Other than that, I've not missed it nearly as much as I thought I would.

And as someone pointed out to me, yes, I know it isn't actually vegetarian to eat fish. I'm technically pescetarian for the month. And I have been eating a lot of delicious fish.

So what have I been eating? Stuffed peppers, tuna-cannellini spinach salads, some pizza, some pasta... and a lot of just mixed veggie salads. Baby corn, red onion, carrot, cucumber, spinach, lettuce, green pepper, and other things I can't even remember. Oh, and I tried a veggie burger from a new local burger joint. Boyfriend Bird ordered a tuna burger, partially because he likes eating things he can't make at home and partially because he'd feel bad eating a huge burger in front of me. The veggie burger was nothing like the ones I would occasionally eat as a child, and it was not bad. But I didn't love it like I wanted to. I'm hoping to make my own and see how they turn out.

I do have a few recipes to share with you, as well as some pictures of my dog getting filthy in our backyard, but Blogger is being mean about uploading the pictures, so that will be for later. I won't be home until Sunday, but hopefully I'll have the time to bake the next round of muffins and share some of the things I've made.

After a brief but passionate fling with Mama Bird's camera, I'm thinking of spending a few hundred dollars and buying myself a nice one. Is it crazy to buy a nice camera solely for pictures of food? Something tells me definitely maybe.

Caramelized Onion Sandwich

The vegetarian adventure is going well. My grandparents are visiting right now, and my grandfather enjoyed eating his Denver steak- not the cut, but a recipe I will share here someday- as slowly as possible, and discussing how delicious it was with a big grin. They're here for a week, and I'm thinking it's going to be a very difficult week. But it's nice to see them.

The decision to make this came from my looking at the archives and realizing I had not made anything off my list of things I had eaten in England, other than that coconut ice I tried to recreate.

Y'know, that's probably vegetarian too. Maybe I ought to make that this week.

Anyhow, I realized that re-creating that list was a goal I had set myself that I had made no progress on. Granted, it's not exactly a pressing goal, but... I said I would do it, darn it, and I was going to do it. So the first meatless dish I came to was the onion sandwich, and I cringed slightly.

I remember how proud of myself I was when I ordered that. A sandwich with no meat? Just vegetables? Well, darned if I wasn't the most cultured American in all of London. Who cares if it came with fries? I was still cultured and proud of it. The smug pride lasted until I took the first bite, and realized it was sweet and served cold.

It wasn't bad, mind. I ate most of it, as you can tell by the quarter that was left by the time I remembered to take a picture. But it wasn't something I would ever order again. So why would I want to cook one for myself?



Because I made mine savory. Worcestershire sauce (also, how English!) instead of sugar, and on toasted bread with melted cheese. And a bit of mustard, because it sounded good. Instead of the fries, I served it with enough broccoli on the side that my sister asked if it was the serving plate for everyone else. She was disappointed. My family was amused by my sandwich, but I enjoyed it.

It could have been less calories if I had used lighter bread, but I decided I wanted something firm to stand up to the cheese, and because I thought at first the onions would be very oily. They weren't, but the bread was still delicious.

Hopefully I'll be making more England food after this month is over. But so far, I'm really enjoying the lack of meat. Hopefully Darth Bird is holding up!

Recipe from Closet Cooking.
(Makes 1 sandwich, with 500 calories and $2.38)

Half a large onion

1 tablespoon oil

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon thyme

2 slices cheddar cheese

2 slices oatmeal bread

1. Slice the onion thinly.
   
2. Heat up oil, then saute onions until no longer firm.
   
3. Reduce heat, add water, and stir occasionally for 15-20 minutes.
   
4. Toast bread.
   
5. Add Worcestershire and thyme to onions, and scoop on top of bread and cheese.
   

Today's lessons learned:

• I have come to really like onions, but perhaps not enough for daily onion sandwiches.
  
• Savory onions are much more delicious than sweet onions.
  

I'm not a Carnivore... nor an Omnivore.

I've been quiet this week. Sorry, it's been a stressful week, and I really haven't cooked much. The basement that I live in flooded, so all of my belongings are waterlogged and scattered through the dry part of the basement. Which is really everything but my room. Papa Bird has become very displeased with the fact I never really unpacked when I came home from college, and I have agreed that it's about time I go through my belongings and either keep them or get rid of them.

But most importantly of all that, my favorite stuffed animal ever, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, got wet. He still hasn't forgiven me. I don't blame him.

Other things have been happening too, but suffice to say I just haven't felt like cooking. Not that I've had the time, anyway. But hopefully next week, things will be much calmer, and I'll do some posts I've been meaning to share for a while.

I'm also finally working on a different layout that makes me feel less like I'm in middle school. This one has started driving me crazy. The beginning of the 'remodel' is up at the top, although I haven't gotten my act together for that new section you see.

What I really wanted to say is that starting tomorrow, I've decided to not eat meat for a month.

I wish I had some noble reason for this. A stand against animal cruelty, a desire to make people really think about how unsustainable our current meat 'production' methods, or so on, but there's no noble reason here. I just think it will be interesting to try. If nothing else, it will force me to try some interesting recipes that I wouldn't have otherwise tried, so I think I'll be happy.

Unless my friends taunt me with food. Which I already know they will.

I haven't worked out a full meal schedule yet, which isn't too surprising. But trust me, I've collected PLENTY of vegetarian recipes to try out. And a lot of beans.

Sick birds don't cook

A lot has been happening, but not in my kitchen. I've been sick and incredibly grumpy because of it. Grumpy birds are dangerous. I've been downing cough drops, tea, and every cold medication I can find, but nothing seems to be helping. I just hope I'm not contagious, or my office is going to be very angry at me.

The week hasn't been a total loss: I beat Portal 2. Yes, this is a cooking blog, and I probably shouldn't dedicate an entire post to video games. But I don't think you really want me to detail how I ate nothing rice and beans this week, either.

Ye gods, that game was absolutely everything I could have hoped it would be. GLaDOS was perfect and witty all over again, it was a full-length game, there were more than two characters, and my Cube, my beautiful angel returned, and... oh, too many amazing things. It's inspired me to go play through the Half-Life series. I've started Half-Life: Source twice now, but never gotten past the 'Blast Pit' chapter. Hopefully this time I'll pull through. I'm also probably going to do something crafty in honor of the Companion Cube, but don't expect that for a few months. I'm rather slow.

I'm also extremely tempted to make Portal cupcakes, but my ideas aren't terribly creative right now. I'm also only 12 pounds away from my weight-loss goal, so cupcakes aren't exactly the best idea right now. Maybe if I made whole-wheat cupcakes. Although I think muffins are much better suited to being whole wheat, don't you?

I think that whole-wheat bread tastes much better than white. Many of my friends agree with me, but I know at least one who thinks whole-wheat is disgusting. For a while I thought he was absolutely insane, but then I remembered bananas nauseate me, and I can't stand the taste of egg. We've all got our food quirks, and I didn't really think the 'whole-wheat versus white' would ever be a problem. And it hasn't been. Until I decided to make calzones for our weekly get together, and I showed up with four pounds of whole-wheat dough.

I mentioned a few posts ago that I had bought a copy of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, and I bet you thought I hadn't used it yet. I've only used it once so far since our house is usually swimming in carbs, but I can't wait until I have an opportunity to make it again.

I am curious/nervous about using generic flour instead of King Arthur for making dough, though. I'll have to experiment on it and see how much of a difference in taste it makes.



This time I used 90% King Arthur flour. I had to top off the last cup of unbleached flour with some generic stuff, and this turned out fine.

I've read on a few blogs now that measuring out and preparing all of your ingredients before starting to actually cook is a big time-saver, and a much better way to cook. I'm trying to get in that habit, so we'll see if it really helps me. We'll see if I remember to do it more than once.



I hadn't really messed with yeast before arbitrarily deciding to make four pounds of dough. Except that time I made naan. I'm still trying to gain confidence in working with yeast, so... I took a picture at what the yeast mixture looked like at this point so I would know what to look for in the future. I swear I'm not crazy, just planning for the future.

Do crazy people say that? I hope not.



One thing I've learned in my short bread-making experience is that dough is always stickier than I expect it to be. Without fail, it will stick to my hands in new and creative ways, and I will be stuck with half of the dough on my fingers. I keep saying I've learned my lesson and that I'll use more flour in the future, but... it hasn't happened yet.

I made this dough on a Sunday night, for dinner on Tuesday. I kept it covered in the fridge, and it was very hard for me to not check on it every hour on Monday, but I managed somehow. Not that peeling the top back would have hurt it, probably. Bread is still a mystery.



For some reason, I've been on a vegetarian streak this week. I haven't had any meat since Sunday, when we had Easter ham. The truth is that I haven't wanted to cook because I don't want to spread my plague, and since I dislike cooking for just myself I've been eating incredibly simple dishes, à la rice and beans. But I promised to not bore you with those details.

In all seriousness, I've been eating more meatless meals because I know how many calories meat can bring to the table, and I've realized it doesn't have to be the focus of every meal. There was plenty of chicken available for the calzones, and I opted to not use any. Just sriracha, spinach, onions, and cheese. And I didn't miss the meat at all.

Mind you, I still could happily eat nothing but meat for an entire day. I've just learned that meat isn't the end-all be-all of culinary experiences.



Remember to poke holes in your calzones if you don't want them to explode. Because they can, and they will. These were incredibly simple to make, and were pretty fun to do with a group of friends. I'm curious if they'd freeze well. I really hope so, because I've been crazing a buffalo chicken calzone and if that turns out well, I see many in my future...

Today's lessons learned:

• Dough is sticky. Use a lot of flour on your hands.
  

Spinach and Cheese Lasagna Rolls

Lasagna rolls have been on my list of things I've wanted to make for a very long time. I bought the lasagna noodles a long time ago, and then once they were out of sight, they were certainly out of mind. Yes, if I had a witty bird-brain joke, it'd certainly go right here.

I surprised Mama Bird when I told her these were vegetarian. She informed me that Papa Bird would be very disappointed, as he gets a lot of his meals from raiding our leftovers. Apparently Papa Bird doesn't like cooked spinach. He also doesn't like curry powder. I'd call him crazy, but Boyfriend Bird dislikes it as well.

(Actually, I think they're both crazy.)

But back to the lasagna rolls. I did not get many good pictures, partially because my camera's battery was dying, partially because I was hungry and rushing, and partially because I forgot. Take your pick.

These come together very easily, though. It's as simple as making the noodles, mixing everything up, rolling them, and popping them in the oven. The original recipe calls for breading the rolls before baking them, but Mama Bird and I opted to just put sauce on them and bake that way. I think I would have enjoyed the crunch that the breadcrumbs would have given them, but they certainly weren't lacking in taste.

The only other alteration to this recipe is that I have no idea how much mozzarella we used. Mama Bird had bought a block of mozzarella, and when I told her the recipe needed some she just grated up the rest of it. I saw it in the bowl five minutes later and just assumed she had measured it because the recipe was sitting right next to said bowl. So I just mixed everything else up in the bowl, and it wasn't until the rolls were going in the oven that she asked what I did with the rest of the cheese.

Ignore the 'lack' of meat in this recipe, with this much delicious cheese, you won't miss a thing.



You cut the lasagna rolls in half, so you don't just taste pasta. I only boiled 10 pieces of lasagna at first, and ate one. Our pan wasn't entirely full, but we had to make more anyway because I apparently understuffed the rolls. I think they were fine that way, but maybe you want even more cheese in every bite.



Here is another plate that, if only I had plated it well, could have looked amazing. But I was hungry, it smelled good, and Mama Bird was already eating. Waiting was not an option.

Spinach and Cheese Lasagna Rolls from My Kitchen Addiction
(Makes 25 rolls, about $1.48 and 414 calories per 5 rolls)

12 lasagna noodles

5 ounces fresh spinach

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup cottage cheese

4 ounces mozzarella cheese

1 ounce Parmesan cheese

1.25 cups marinara sauce

1. Preheat oven to 425.
   
2. Boil lasagna noodles according to directions. Drain and set aside.
   
3. Cook spinach, drain and shred.
   
4. Combine spinach, ricotta, cottage cheese, mozzarella, Parmesan, and salt and pepper.
   
5. Cut lasagna noodles in half and put about a spoonful of cheese mixture in each half.
   
6. Place seam-side down in PAM'd tray.
   
7. Pour marinara over top and bake for 20 minutes.
   

Today's lessons learned:

• Make sure Mama Bird has measured the mozzarella before you just use it blindly.
  

You are not a Carnivore!

One thing that has always driven me crazy has been when people refer to someone as a 'carnivore.' It's normally vegetarians who do it, in my experience, although I know other people do it as well. It drives me crazy because no one is a carnivore, no one. No one eats only meat. So why say something so inaccurate?

Of course, the reason this mostly irritates me is that 90% of the time it comes up, it's a vegetarian describing a dish, saying 'this dish is so good it'll trick even carnivores!' No, it won't trick carnivores, I don't care how good your veggie burger is. That doesn't mean they won't like it. If I eat a veggie burger or something, I know it's not meat, but that doesn't mean I'm going to spit it out and hate it.

I guess what really bothers me is just people who refer to others as carnivores. They're not. They're omnivores, even if they like meat more.

But, in case I annoyed anyone with my rant, here is a vegetarian recipe! In fact, I would say it's almost vegan, but I top it with cheese. The other day I made a black bean soup from A Year of Slow Cooking, which is obviously my favorite cooking site. I made it because I wanted to have something healthy after having a few days of rough dieting, and I was tired of eating boring lunches. So I made this for just Mama Bird and I, as well as some cornbread, and it was my lunch for more than a week.

I was nervous about it at first because the texture took a little getting used to, and it really looks like chocolate pudding. But it tastes delicious. With hot Rotel and just normal taco sauce, it had enough of a kick to satisfy me. I put a little in the freezer, but I feel like defrosting it watered it down a bit, which was a little disappointing. I really liked it, overall, and am definitely going to be making it again, maybe in a month or so.

And now my family migrates north to visit more birds. We'll see how much I end up eating. (Hint: it will be a lot.)


Black Bean Soup from A Year of Slow Cooking
(Serves ~6, approximately $1.43 per serving)
Ingredients

46.5oz black beans

10oz diced tomatoes

2 cups of broth, vegetable or chicken

2 tablespoons taco sauce

1.5 cups frozen vegetables

Directions

1. Blend vegetables together in blender.
   
2. Empty all ingredients into crockpot, without rinsing, and stir.
   
3. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
   
4. Blend everything to a smooth texture.
   
5. Serve with some cheese and cornbread.
   

Today's lessons learned:

• If you try to puree the vegetables directly from the freezer, be prepared to wake the whole house.