Potsticker and Vegetable Stir-Fry

This recipe has become an almost weekly staple in our house, and I'm surprised that it has taken me this long to blog about it. Trader Joe's makes the most delicious potstickers, and my kids are wild for them. This recipe lets me use up all sorts of leftover vegetables into a really tasty and ridiculously fast dinner.

You need: 
2 tbsp. oil (I use coconut oil for this)
16 frozen potstickers of your choice
1 tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp. honey
3 medium carrots
2 bell peppers (1 red, 1 yellow)
2 clove garlic
1 tbsp. finely chopped fresh ginger
1 medium red onion
¼ medium green cabbage
3 oz. snow peas
Toasted sesame seeds

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the potstickers and cook until lightly browned on all sides, 4 to 6 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons water to the skillet, cover, and cook until the water has evaporated and the potstickers are heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce and honey; set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, peppers, garlic, and ginger and cook, tossing occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the onion, cabbage, and snow peas and cook, tossing occasionally, until the vegetables are just tender, about 2 minutes more.

Divide the vegetables and potstickers among bowls and drizzle with the soy sauce mixture. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, if desired.

Cinnamon-spiced sweet potato soup with maple croutons

A month ago, my friend Leah had a mild surgery that required a friend to swoop in and make dinner and snuggle her babies. Ok, I might had added that second part just for me. Anyway, she's a vegetarian, so I decided that a warm cup of soup that makes a ridiculous amount of leftovers would be perfect for dinner that night and extras for lunch during the week. She has two wee ones at home with her, so she needs to eat, eat well, and eat easily. This was going to do just the trick. I easily doubled the recipe below so there was plenty to go around. If you can make this recipe with a friend and a great pint of a really good stout, it's even better (thanks, Dave.)

You need:

4 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 in. pieces
1 lg. onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
pinch of nutmeg
1 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4 in. pieces
2 tbsp. vegetable bouillon base
2 dried bay leaves
2 slices leftover crusty bread, cut into 1 in. pieces
1 tbsp. maple syrup

Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the carrots, onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are starting to brown at the edges 8 to 10 minutes. Add the spices and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the sweet potatoes, bouillon base, bay leaves and 6 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the vegetables are very tender, 10 to 12 minutes.  Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bread and cook, tossing occasionally, until golden brown. Remove from heat, drizzle the maple syrup over the top and toss to coat. Discard the bay leaves. Using an immersion blender (or standard blender in tow batches) puree the soup until smooth. Serve with the maple croutons.

Duckfat's New England Clam Chowder

A few months ago, Good Housekeeping magazine featured the best local favorites from iconic restaurants in their home states. Anyone who knows me well  knows that I am in love with all things seafood and all things New England. I want to retire to the North Shore of Boston and eat clam rolls until I meet my maker. Although we've spent some time in Maine (mostly in Bar Harbor), we've never spent any quality time in Portland. I decided to try out this recipe, which I admit is a little time consuming, made famous by Portland's Duckfat Restaurant.

It. was. amazing. My friend Dave echoed my sentiment when I brought some along for lunch. It is truly worth the effort.

You need:

1.5# fresh or frozen cooked clams, thawed and chopped (or a similar equivalent of canned, chopped clams)
12 oz. bacon, chopped
1/3 c. flour
1 lg. onion, finely chopped
1 med. carrot, finely chopped
1 lg. stalk celery, finely chopped
3 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
4 c. bottled clam juice
1.5 c. heavy cream
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tbsp. hot sauce
1 tsp. fresh thyme

Set a fine mesh strainer over a 4 c. measuring cup. Place clams in the strainer. Reserve clams. To juice in measuring cup, add enough water to reach 2 cups. Set aside.

In a large 6 to 7 qt. saucepot, cook bacon on medium low for 15 minutes or until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and transfer bacon to paper towel lined plate. Reserve pot with rendered fat.

Transfer 1/4 c. bacon fat to a skillet. Heat on medium. While whisking, add flower and cook 8-10 minutes until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Set aside.

Heat pot with remaining bacon fat on medium. Add onion, carrot, and celery. Cook 12-14 minutes until vegetables are tender. Add potatoes, clam juice, reserved clam water, and 1 tbsp. salt. Heat to simmering on high, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to maintain summer. Cook 10-12 minutes until potatoes are tender. Into pot, add reserved flour and cook 3-5 minutes until chowder thickens. Stir in cream and heat to simmering. Add Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and clams. Return to simmering. Stir in thyme and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Garnish with cooked bacon.

Savory Pumpkin and Sage Soup

I made a terrible error the other day at the store, mostly due to my devastatingly pathetic skills in basic math. I decided to make this pumpkin, beef, and black bean chili for us and a couple of colleagues. It's just delicious. The recipe calls for six cups of pumpkin, cubed. Fortunately, Trader Joe's carries already cubed fresh pumpkin, which is significantly easier than buying pumpkins and cutting them up. You know what isn't the same as six cups? Six pounds. But I bought six pounds of cubed pumpkin. 

Calling all back up pumpkin recipes!! Fortunately, this delicious savory pumpkin soup was in this month's Good Housekeeping magazine. It made a LOT of soup, enough for a couple of lunches, soup and grilled cheese night for dinner, and a quart to send to my friend Leah. I didn't make the accompanying sage and shiitake garnish, but try it out! Enjoy!!

Late Harvest Caponata

My vegetable drawer runneth over. My hectic schedule has not afforded me the opportunity to preserve as much of my late summer produce in the forms I'd like to have put together, and the fruit flies are surrounding the dish filled with my friend Dave's succulent tomatoes. I needed to do something. I put this caponata together inspired by a food network recipe, but I made some adjustments based on what I had in the house. It made three 1.5 pint containers worth, as well as a smaller pint jar which I plan to share with the man whose tomatoes made up a good deal of the dish. It was delicious. For dinner, we mixed some in with a light garlic quinoa, sprinkled with just a little fresh Parmesan cheese and some fresh herbs sprinkled on top. Perfect.

You need:

1 lg. onion, chopped
4 c. chopped tomatoes
2 bell peppers, chopped
2 eggplant, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/3 c. golden raisins
2 tbsp. capers
1 tbsp. dried oregano
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Coat the bottom of a very large skillet or dutch oven with olive oil. Turn the heat to medium, and salute the onions until soft. Add the eggplant and celery. Cook for 8 minutes. Add the peppers and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the raisins, oregano, and 1 c. water. Cook for 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes, capers and cider vinegar. Cook an additional 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve by itself or over rice, pasta, pizza dough, etc. etc. etc.

Pumpkin and Chicken Curry with Basmati Rice

Tonight, a small group of good friends will gather to remember a dear friend whom we lost in 2009. She was kind and funny as hell. Each year, on her birthday weekend, we head to her favorite watering hole for Guinness on tap and reminiscing. That means I need to get dinner on the table quickly and easily - no fuss and little energy. In this month's Parents magazine, there was a entire series on pumpkin recipes. I knew I had all of the ingredients already in the pantry and freezer, so I decided to give it a shot. And I'm lucky that my kids like curry. I just tweaked it a little to suit our tastes, leaving out the cayenne and replacing the spinach with swiss chard.

You need:

4 tsp. olive oil

12 oz. chicken breasts, cut into thin strips

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 tbsp. minced ginger

1 tbsp. minced garlic

1 c. unsweetened coconut milk

1 c. canned pureed pumpkin

2 tbsp. curry powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3 c. shredded swiss chard

2 tsp. lemon juice

2 c. steamed basmati rice

Heat 2 tsp. oil in a large skillet. Add the chicken and cook until just done, about 4 minutes. Remove and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions, garlic, and ginger. Cook for 5 minutes or until tender. Add the coconut milk, pumpkin and spices. Add 1/2 c. water. Simmer, uncovered, for ten minutes. Add the chicken and swiss chard and cook until wilted. Stir in the lime juice. Serve with the rice. 

Stewed Peppers and Tomatoes with Eggs

A few weekends ago, I took advantage of a bountiful gift of tomatoes from a dear friend of mine. Before my children could gobble them up like nuggets of nature's candy, I spent an afternoon peeling, seeding, and milling them to make a few quarts of sauce. While planning this week's meals, I noticed that Wednesday was going to be a difficult evening to get something interesting on the table due to the number of events overlapping from after school until the evening hours. I've made a similar dish in the past, but with a Mexican flair, so I decided to take advantage of some of the sauce I made and a few leftover vegetables from last week's share. It was ridiculously easy to put together and the kids loved it.

You need:

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 bell peppers, sliced

salt and pepper

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 28-oz.  can of whole tomatoes (I used the jar of sauce I made)

8 large eggs

chopped cilantro

4 slices of toasted bread

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and cook, covered, for four minutes. Add the peppers, season with 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper, and cook for six to eight minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook an additional minute. Crush the tomatoes in your hands and add to the skillet along with the juices. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes. Make eight small wells in the sauce and carefully crack an egg into each one. Cover and simmer for six minutes. Uncover and cook until the whites are set and yolks are at your preferred doneness. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve with the toast.