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I might be obsessed with beets…

…or with the farmers’ market guy, because I bought beets from him again, and this time I made.. drumroll… Ćwikła!  (No, I have no idea to pronounce the Polish.)  It’s basically grated roasted beets mixed with horseradish.  I just have no idea what to do with it now because it’s a relish, I have a lot of it, and I have no meat.  I guess I could just eat it with cheese on bread as the main element of the sandwich?  But horseradish is pretty strong…

Actually, my housemate warned me, with sincere concern, several times before I made this, that horseradish has been used as an instrument of torture.  Apparently wreaks havoc on mucous membranes… can even cause blindness!  But it’s delicious.  I guess you’ve gotta live on the edge to get the good stuff.

Ways to Make Tuna Salad Better

Canned tuna mixed with mayonnaise isn’t bad, along with whatever else you’re eating with it.  But I’ve added some things to the mixture itself that make it significantly more delicious.

Diced celery, salt, and black pepper are standard.  I’ve also added things like…

• diced raw red onion (white onion works, too)
• lemon or lime juice (add a little at a time till you like the taste)
• cottage cheese (you don’t really taste it, and it’s a lot healthier than mayonnaise!)
• a little bit of dijon mustard (again, to your taste)
• a little bit of cayenne pepper (because I add that to everything)
• minced parsley

You can add some or all of these, depending on what you’ve got.  Then, try adding craisins to your sandwich or salad—so unexpectedly good.

Stuffed Bell Peppers (Vegetarian)

I made this over the summer, adapted from a recipe I found online meant for a slow cooker.  I made it in the oven, and it was amazing!

I think it’s fitting how my “before” and “after” pictures are accompanied by a wardrobe change…

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Beet Soup

I need to charge my camera battery, so all I could do was take a picture of the final product with my laptop’s Photo Booth.  Beet soup served with sour cream and parsley:

The beets are from the super nice guy at the Farmers’ Market. I was surprised this actually turned out really good!  I’m even bold enough to say that someone who doesn’t like beets very much would probably still like this.  I took advice from the internet but improvised somewhat.  Here is the resulting recipe, which makes a lot:

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The Secret to Cooking Dry Beans…

 …is the Dutch oven.

I know, it just looks like a regular pot with handles.  That’s pretty much what it is, but the cool thing about it is that it can go on the stovetop AND in the oven.  Which, as it turns out, is the secret to cooking dry beans, WITHOUT EVEN HAVING TO SOAK THEM FIRST.  

Normally you have to soak them in water overnight and then boil them at just the right temperature for an hour or two while really keeping an eye on them.  And if you’ve only ever used canned beans, you’re missing out on the incredible black-beans-cooking smell and sense of accomplishment of doing it yourself.  It tastes a bit better and costs less, too.

So this is how you do it: Put the black beans in water covering them 1.5 inches, in a Dutch oven pan.  Bring the pot to a boil, while preheating the oven to 250.  Put the cover on the pot and “bake” for 90 minutes, checking halfway through to see if they need more water.  (I’ll admit I did pre-soak for just a few hours, but I don’t think it’s necessary.)  

BEHOLD: PERFECT BEANS.

Spinach-Ginger-Walnut Pasta with Chicken

Now that I can actually (sort of) cook, here goes my first official food blog post!  I’ll get on my game and start taking pictures soon.

Last week, I hadn’t gone grocery shopping in awhile, but I still had a handful of good ingredients, so I decided to just go for it and cook something.  The result of throwing together what I had was pretty tasty.

Here are the ingredients you need (this makes a LOT… I was eating it for a week, but that’s ‘cause I didn’t share):

• a whole box of whole wheat rotini pasta (the corkscrew shape) or whatever kind you want
• 1 boneless skinless chicken breast
• a whole package of spinach or baby spinach
• 1 chopped onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger, or more if you want
• butter or olive oil
• cumin, cayenne pepper, and salt
• a handful or two of chopped walnuts
• a handful or two of golden raisins
• shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:

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