Crazy Couscous Cakes

You know you’re having a lazy Monday when you look for inspiration on the back of boxes in your pantry. I happened to have a box of couscous mix on my shelf—specifically a mango salsa couscous mix from Marrakesh Express (yeah, it’s a Hormel brand… sue me). I know, mango salsa and couscous isn’t exactly the flavor pairing I would have chosen, either. But, it was part of a set of six boxes I bought at Costco, so I was kind of stuck with it. And, it’s great with shrimp! (at least that’s what the front of the box shouted at me in annoying pseudo cursive font).

The back of the box had what sounded like a great meatless Monday recipe. And, besides the box of couscous, I had the ingredients on hand… so, why not? After I finished descrambling the ridiculous font (Seriously, why would a company use a lowercase j look like an upside down question mark? If I were any older or crankier, I’d be might peeved off.), I got down to business with this might fast recipe.

Southwest Couscous Cakes

• 1 (6.1 oz) box of Marrakesh Express Mango Salsa CousCous (you know, the one I was holding in my hand reading the recipe from)
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (11 oz) can corn, drained
• 1 (4.25 oz) jar diced green chilies, drained
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 T chopped fresh cilantro
• 2-3 T all-purpose flour
• 3 T olive oil, divided
• Salsa and sour cream for serving

Prepare couscous according to package directions. Stir in next six ingredients. In large skillet, over medium-high heat, in 1 T oil, spoon couscous mixture (¼ C at a time) and gently press into a circle using the back of the spoon.

Cook 1½-2 minutes per side until lightly browned and crisp. Repeat twice with remaining couscous mixture. Serve with salsa and sour cream, if desired.

Results

While nice in theory, poor in execution. The flavors are all there, and taste great combined, but I was thwarted by the cake-i-fying of this recipe. Here I present the only three cakes that actually came out looking like cakes.

I was going to serve them over lettuce as a bit of a salad topper, but they just did not hold up to the frying. No matter how little or long I let them fry, they crumbled upon flipping. (I even tried a two-spatula method… no luck). Plus, on the gross side of my thought train: The black beans reminded me a little too much of rabbit turds.

But, this recipe isn’t a complete loss. If you kept this as a salad (so omit the eggs, flour and olive oil from the recipe), it would make a great side to fish or veggie tacos. Or, if you love carbs like I love carbs, just throw the salad on top of our tacos.

Bread-Based Vegetables

As I’ve mentioned before, Mr. Moo loves his carbs. Recently, he has started to really dislike eating fruits and vegetables unless they come in yogurt form. And, as all adults know veggies in yogurt is kind of nasty. Ergo, I’m always trying to cram more vegetables into the little man’s diet.

Enter vegetable breads… specifically, carrot, zucchini, and pumpkin/squash. I found this easy, remarkably flexible recipe in my Joy of Cooking.

Carrot Nut Bread

• 1½ C all-purpose flour
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 t baking powder
• ¼ t ground cinnamon
• ¾ C sugar
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• ½ C vegetable oil
• 1 t vanilla
• ½ t salt
• 1½ C grated carrots
• 1½ C ground pecans or walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 9×5″ loaf pan. Whisk the first four ingredients together. In a separate bowl, blend together the sugar, eggs, oil, vanilla, and salt.

Stir the dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Blend the carrots and nuts in with a few strokes. (Don’t over mix, but make sure that everything is evenly combined.)

Scrape the batter into the greased pan. Bake until the bread pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 45 minutes (mine took about an hour). Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes before unmolding to cool completely on the rack.

Here are a few variations that I’ve found to work:

• Add ½ C raisins to the carrot bread for additional sweetness. (Soak the raisins in a bit of water or orange juice to plump them up before mixing them in.)
• Replace the carrots with 2 C grated zucchini, squeezed of excess moisture.
• Replace the carrots with 1 C pureed pumpkin, squash, yams, or sweet potatoes. When making this change, use ¼ t baking powder (instead of the full teaspoon) and then add 1 t ground ginger, ½ t ground nutmeg, and ¼ t ground cloves in addition to the cinnamon.
• If you have a nut aversion, this recipe still works if you just leave them out.

Results

Now, I’m not saying that this bread recipe is the best vegetable delivery mechanism, but when you’re dealing with a picky toddler, it’s a bit better than just serving up plain bread. For grown-ups, it holds up pretty well in the morning with coffee.

First Meatless Monday Recipe: Daikon Radishes

I like radishes. There, I’ve said it. I like them in salads and even steamed whole (radish leaves are a little bit bitter, but taste super yummy with a touch of garlic and olive oil). Anyway, after a while, all radish lovers need a change from the regular sliced salad fun.

Then, my veg box came containing a lovely (and huge) daikon radish. What to do with just one? I found a ridiculously easy recipe at allrecipes.com. This makes a great cold side dish for Asian-inspired meals.

Daikon Radishes

• 1½ C daikon, chopped
• ¾ t salt
• 1 T rice vinegar
• ¼ t ground black pepper
• ¼ t sesame oil

In a mixing bowl, toss daikon with salt. Cover, and refrigerate until 1-2 T of water is released, about 30 minutes. (Mine was more like two hours since I kind of forgot I was “making” this recipe.)

Drain and rinse daikon, removing as much salt as possible. Pat dry with a paper towel, and return to bowl. Stir in rice vinegar, black pepper and, if desired, sesame oil. Cover, and refrigerate at least 8 hours.

Results

Tangy, tasty, and a little bit bitter. The original recipe said that the sesame oil is optional. But, I think it’s mandatory. If not , you just have salty radishes in vinegar. The sesame oil adds a depth to this remarkably easy recipe.

Meaty Mushrooms

I try to go meatless a few dinners a week (much to my meat-loving husband’s chagrin). But he’s hard pressed to argue when the veg box arrives with gorgeous portobello mushrooms such as these:

Photo by my lovely sister, Emily

You can easily make these bad boys into portobello bugers. But why squish them between bread and slather them in cheese when they are so absolutely lovely? Instead, I decided to marinate and grill the heck out of them. Mostly because I wanted to keep them intact rather than super chopping, and with the holidays upon us… well, cutting carbs where I can makes me feel like I’m actually being healthy or something.

Portobello Salad

• 2 portobello mushrooms
• 3 T balsamic
• 1 T olive oil
• ½ t dried basil
• ½ t dried oregano
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• Salt and pepper

• Veggies for the salad (I had purple cabbage, leaf lettuce, and radishes handy.)

Remove the stems from the portobellos and chop.

Whisk the marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Marinate the mushrooms for at least 30 minutes, turning over a few times to make sure everything is coated.

Grill portobellos for 5 minutes each side. If you live in a cold weather climate and have stupidly put your grill away for the season (sigh), you can do these on an electric grill or stick them under the broiler. I used my George Foreman, so lacked that on the grill flavor. But, since the Foreman cooks on both sides, it was an easy 5 minutes.

While the mushrooms are grilling, chop your lettuce and veggies. Toss them (don’t forget the chopped mushroom stems) with the leftover marinade. If your salad is a wee bit dry, add a bit of olive oil. Salt and pepper as necessary.

Serve the salad topped with the mushroom cap.

Results

A super easy one bowl type of meal. It could have used a bit of an extra crunch. Next time, I’ll add some toasted walnuts or pine nuts. And, this would definitely have tasted better if had been grilled over charcoal. But, Midwestern beggars can’t be choosers. (Quite frankly, I’m just glad that it’s still warm enough here in Chicago to not need a hat with ear flaps… because when it gets that cold and Paul busts out the ear flap hat, my tongue gets a bit sore from all the biting…)

Well, it certainly is healthy and made me happy to eat it.

Making a Mess of Mac and Cheese

Have you ever had that awesome culinary moment when you’re watching a cooking show and you start to think, “Boy, this looks good. I think I’m going to make this.” So you grab a pen and a scrap piece of paper you have lying around and write down the recipe, getting a little smug with your old school cooking know-how. (“This is so how they did it before the interwebs,” you snicker to yourself… thinking of all those housewives jotting down notes as Julia Child drinks fake wine and whisks like a mad woman.) And, you realize that you have all the ingredients so you walk over to the kitchen after the show is over and you start making that recipe for dinner. It’s going to be awesome.

Even though you know that the program was taped or a rerun, you don’t even think about looking over the recipe a second time. Bah, with the cookbook! Double bah, to checking your measurements online.

To you, dear stupid fool, I say: DON’T FORGET THE F-ING FLOUR!

To my credit, I wrote down the flour in the ingredient list. I just didn’t write down where to put it in the recipe. What I had was still mac and cheese, just not the stable, non-drippy mac and cheese the hosts were inhaling with delight at the end of the episode. So, here’s the recipe from Cook’s Country TV (reg required) as it should be… not as I made it… (They’re the people from America’s Test Kitchen… which if we’re getting into it, I prefer the test version to the fake folksiness of the country show… but the butter usage on the country-fried version is really divine.)

Macaroni and Cheese with Tomatoes

Serves 8-10

• Salt and pepper
• 1 lb elbow macaroni (see note)
• 1 (28-oz) can petite diced tomatoes
• 6 T unsalted butter
• ½  C all-purpose flour
• ¼ t cayenne pepper
• 4 C half-and-half
• 1 C low-sodium chicken broth (or use veg)
• 4 C shredded mild cheddar cheese
• 2 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Adjust oven to middle position and heat oven to 400°. Bring 4 qts water to boil in large Dutch oven over high heat. Stir in 1 T salt and macaroni and cook until just al dente, about 6 minutes. (The show was very explicit about undercooking the macaroni so that it would absorb the tomato flavor in the next step.) Drain pasta and return to pot. Pour diced tomatoes with their juices over pasta and stir to coat. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until most of liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Meanwhile, melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat until foaming. Stir in flour and cayenne and cook until golden, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in half-and-half and broth until smooth. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture is slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Off heat, whisk in cheeses, 1 t salt, and 1 t pepper until cheeses melt. Pour sauce over macaroni and stir to combine.

Scrape mixture into 13×9″ baking dish set in rimmed baking sheet (a MUST unless you like melty cheese all over your oven) and bake until top begins to brown, 15-20 minutes. Let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Results

Well, beside the gigantic flour omission? Pretty good. Gooey, but good. Make sure you really whisk the sauce or you might tend toward a grainy texture on the cheese.

That’s why you need the baking sheet under that pan… oh, the mess!

I thought that this would be a big hit with Mr. Moo, but alas, the tomatoes freaked him out. Even after I picked through the mac and cheese, he gave me his super skeptical look and then politely asked, “Sandwich, please?”

I might try to make this one more time with the flour before I go back to my Velveeta shells and cheese+salsa = dinner routine. (Oh, yes, I did just say that… I LOVE it… I LOVE it… I LOVE it… )