Simple Arepas

When AJ and I were in Colombia, we lived off of arepas, which are the most magical cooked and grilled masa dough cakes, for about the American equivalent for about fifty cents each. They were as big as your face, weighed about half of a pound and usually had cheese already melted into the dough. Every arepa stand made their own hot sauce to go with it, and usually had a woman up to her elbows in an industrial size bucket of dough grilling them on the street all day long. They were served with ham, cheese, eggs, sausage, veggies, fruit, jam-- on the side of soup, by themselves, cut in half as sandwiches--- every which way. They are really cheap and really delicious.

So we eat them a lot at home.

Whole Foods and most Mexican markets have the Colombian brand masa flour called "masa arepa" and it comes in white and yellow depending on what type of corn you might like. The Colombian brand is called "P.A.N." and has a cute Rosie the Riveter-esque woman on the front. I tried a new flour recently, which I like OK, but not as much--  however it lasts so long that I am stuck with it for another month or two. As long as it is PRE-COOKED CORN FLOUR, you can make an arepa. The dough has to be able to expand with water immediately (thus the precooked necessity)-- the type of flour I currently have is concurrent with making empanandas and tamales as well as arepas.

I do not mesaure this recipe. It is all about feel and getting your hands dirty :)

You will need:
Masa arepa
Salt
Water
Butter
Toppings (today we have my recently made refried beans, Cremoso (fresh Mexican farmer's cheese) cheese, chopped tomatoes, pickled onions, cilantro and avocados)

First: In a mixing bowl, measure out about four handfuls of masa arepa. Add a pinch of salt and mix with your fingers.

Second: Add water and mix with your hands. The dough will take a minute to fully absorb the water so add it slowly. The consistency should resemble fresh, Play-dough. If it sticks to your hands it is too wet and you need to add more masa arepa, if it is too crumbly it is too dry and needs more water.

Third: Make your arepa dough into balls and flatten in the palms of your hands into round, thinner "pancakes." You can make them fatter if you want to cut them in half and stuff them, however I am usually in a hurry to serve and prefer a smaller arepa that cooks faster. I like them between a quarter and a third of an inch thick when I make them.

Fourth: Coat your griddle or cast iron pan with a layer of butter. Have heating on medium-high. When your arepa pancakes are well formed, put them in the pan to cook.

Fifth: If you are having refried black beans with your arepas, like we are tonight, have them heating on the stove at this point.

Sixth: The arepas take about 5-7 minutes per side to get to the "golden brown and crisp outside with a chewy inside," texture.

Seventh: While your last few arepas are getting crisp on the stove, prep your other toppings-- today we have chopped cilantro and tomatoes, pickled onions, avocado and slices of Cremoso.

Eighth: Decorate your delicious arepas while they are still hot! :)

Happy dinner! Love Nicole and AJ

Ps. Our other favorite way to eat these arepas is with a slice of Cremoso cheese and a fried egg for breakfast.

Refried Black Beans

You will need the homemade black bean recipe from previous in this blog to make these black beans (or if you were in a pinch, obviously you could substitute canned black beans). I usually turn 75% of my black bean batched into refried beans to be in the fridge for general food stock for quick bites during the week.

Ingredients:

Olive oil

1/2 of a medium onion, diced

Chili powder (to taste)

Cumin (to taste)

Salt (to taste)

Four garlic cloves, minced

Black beans, about five heaping cups

1/2 of a lime, juiced

First: Saute your onions in a oiled-pan on medium high until translucent, about seven minutes. Add chili powder and cumin about two minutes in so that the tastes set into the onions as they cook. I use about 1/2 tablespoon of chili powder and one half tablespoon of cumin to begin, and then taste and season from there. Add garlic, and saute until tender, about three more minutes.

Second: Drain your black beans of most (about 75%) of the liquid that they cooked in with a slotted spoon. I am preparing these beans straight from my slow cooker as you can see:

Third: Add drained beans into your saute pan, stirring for a moment until they are warm and completely mixed with the other ingredients. Taste your beans--- season with more cumin, more chili and salt if you like, at this point.

Fourth:  Turn heat to low on the pan. With a potato masher or dough knife,  mash your beans until they are a nice, pasty consistency. If they need more liquid, add water, or better yet, use the liquid they cooked in until they are a texture that you like (some people like their refried beans really runny and some like they thick).

Fifth: transfer to a smaller sauce pot and return to medium-low, add the juice of half of a lime and add any additional salt for your taste's approval.

Eat with arepas (next recipe), in tacos, as a side or with your morning eggs. YUM! These last in the refrigerator for about five days in a good container (AJ says more, of course, but I like to recommend on the safer side...)

ENJOY!

Buckwheat Pancakes

...Because Pancakes are great for breakfast AND dinner :)

You will need:

1 cup of buckwheat flower
1 teaspoon of baking powder
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup of milk (I use almond)
2 tablespoons of melted butter
Coconut oil for frying

One: Mix your dry ingredients.

Two: Melt your butter in a pan on the stove, then mix it with the other wet ingredients.

Three: Mix your wet and dry ingredients together, like so...

Four:  Cover your griddle (I use my cast iron pan) with a thin layer of coconut oil, and have heated on medium to medium-low. Using a quarter-cup, pour out your pancake batter onto the warm pan. (We had one get away from us on this first go-around).

Five: You know the pancakes are ready to be flipped when the raw batter begins to bubble on the side facing up:

Six: Cook all pancake batter, making beautiful pancakes that are golden brown, slightly toasted with the gentle take of coconut oil, mmm mmm mmm!

Seven: EAT YOUR PANCAKES :)

We enjoy ours with berry preserves and maple syrup.

xoxo

Quick Pickled Onions

MMMMMmm!! Pickled Onions!
Great on sandwiches, tacos--- and coming up in a minute, arepas.

But first!

You will need:

One Ball jar with a lid (for storing later)
One medium red onion, sliced in thin rounds
Three garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
1 table spoon of sugar
1 and 1/2 teaspoon of salt

One: Place sliced onions in jar, neatly packed, and place the garlic in as well

Two: Whisk vinegar, salt and sugar together

Three: Pour over the top of the onions and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour before using.

You can store this closed jar in the fridge for up to two weeks and use on whatever you might like!

Japanese Soba Noodle Soup

You can make this soup with any kind of noodle you would like: soba, udon, ramen and any variation of fresh or dry. For the sake of keeping it gluten free, we are having it with soba noodles today.

This soup is both sweet and savory, extremely light and very filling. There a lot of variations of ingredients, but I made the simple gluten free version this evening and if (!!) you leave out the dashi, this recipe is vegan.

For the Broth:
1/2 cup of Dashi*
1 large strip of kombu (or even a sheet or nori seaweed if it is all you have around)
5 tablespoons of Mirin**
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons of rice vinegar
1 teaspoon of salt
1/3 cup of tamari
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 "thumbnail" sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced

For the Soup:
1/2 block of extra firm tofu (7 ounces) cubed
3 carrots, diced
1 cup of slivered Napa cabbage
3 small tat soi green heads (aka rosette bok choy) chopped coarsely
12 ounces of dry soba noodles
1 pinch of wakame, if desired
3 small leeks, chopped thinly

*First: Prepare your dashi in the soup pot. Dashi can be made with JUST seaweed for a vegan soup or seaweed and dried bonito flake (fish flake)-- it is preferable to make it with bonito, it tastes MUCH BETTER. You can get both dashi and mirin (or something like it) at any Asian grocery as well as some Whole Foods.
To make this dashi I added two sheets of nori seaweed and 1/2 a cup of dashi with 16 cups of water. I brought this to a boil, removed the nori, turned it to low and then whisked what was left (if you use kombu seaweed it will not dissolve into your broth, nori will so it is important if you want it out of your soup to whisk your dashi AFTER you remove your nori)

**Mirin is a sweet rice-wine product from Japan. Some of them (as there are various makers and distributors) contain high fructose corn syrup so I am really picky about which type I buy. If you don't want to seek out Mirin you can substitute it for an additional 3 tablespoons of rice vinegar and three tablespoons of sugar in this recipe.

Second: Mix Mirin, rice vinegar, sugar, salt, tamari, garlic and ginger in a bowl and add to the broth on low heat. Stir well for a minute or two. Stir in diced carrot and cubed tofu and turn the heat up to medium.

                                            


Third: Boil water for your soba noodles to cook in a separate pot.  Cook them according to the directions on the package-- mine took seven minutes of boiling and then needed to be rinsed with cold water after they were drained.

Fourth: About five minutes before you are ready to serve, stir in your cabbage, tat soi and wakame (if you want it!) Keep the heat on the soup at this point on medium low because you don't want to over cook the vegetables.

Fifth: Dish your cooked and rinsed soba noodles in your serving bowls (I make a heaping nest of soba noodles) and then ladle your soup on top. Top with chopped leeks or scallions and serve! :) Delish.

Bon appetit! Love AJ and Nicole

Homemade Vegetable Stock

We are going to make a lot of soup this winter. A lot. And it is so nice not to have to purchase broth or bouillon or stock (because it is literally a kitchen waste product and you can make it at home with your compost).

So, save your vegetable skins, onion skins, garlic bits, carrot tops, even wilted lettuce: THAT'S RIGHT! EVEN WILTED LETTUCE. I am trying the new tactic of having a tupperware in my fridge that keeps my vegetable compost for a few days until I am ready to make stock.

First step: put all of your vegetable trash in a pot. Since I know I want to use this for a pho recipe that I am making tomorrow, I even put in some wild shit like ginger skins. Be mindful of what you want to make, for example, if you are making a delicate butternut squash soup, I wouldn't put red beet tops in your stock unless you want a pink colored soup. So...be a bit mindful. The no-fail ingredients are carrots, onions, garlic, celery-- in this one you see pictured I also have old cabbage, wilted Napa cabbage and old turnips.

Second step: cover your veggies with water completely!

Third Step: Simmer your submerged veggies for about two hours, covered.

Fourth Step: Drain the veggie chunks out of the stock. (Look how steamy! Mmmmm!)

Congratulations! You now have vegetable stock for any occasion! Let this cool and use it in any recipe that calls for broth! :)

(Tomorrow we will use this particular stock for vegetable pho!)

Homemade Blackbeans

This is a STAPLE PEOPLE :)
I make a batch of beans, usually black beans every week. They cost around $1.79 per pound dry, and then they keep in the fridge for about a week-- not to mention how many uses they have: an arepa topping, taco or enchilada filling, they can go in soups or chili or with eggs for breakfast; the list goes on and on.

For this recipe you will need:

A slowcooker(!!)
4 cups of dry black beans
1 medium onion (diced)
4 cloves of garlic (minced)
1/2 tablespoon of cumin
Salt to taste

First, rinse your black beans in a colander and go through them-- sometimes I find little stones and such mixed in, so this is an important step. The last thing you want is to bite into your steaming, delicious slow-cooked black beans and break a tooth. I used to skip this step because I like to go fast, and then OTHER people would bite into little rocks and I would feel so horrible that the guilt and shame alone of being too lazy to take the extra step and possibly cracking my guest's crowns gets me to rinse them each and every time now.

SO DO THAT.

Now, put your rinsed beans and diced onion in your slow cooker and cover with water completely. I usually put double the amount of water in (so 8 cups)

DO NOT PUT ANY SALT IN AT THIS POINT. NONE. ZERO. ABSOLUTELY NO SALT. It will keep your beans from getting soft; no one likes crunchy beans.

SLOW COOK.
I cook them (covered*) on low for 8-10 hours, stirring every couple of hours and checking the water level. You are going to have the opportunity to drain them before you use them in any recipe so you can't over-water them while they are slow-cooking...

About an hour before the slow cook cycle is up (say at hour 9) and maybe you have an intention to eat them inside of a taco or something, at this point I stir in the cumin, minced garlic and I salt it to my liking.

DELICIOUS.

Eat them hot and seasoned...

Or drain off 90% the liquid, put them on the stove on medium low heat and mash with chili, cumin, garlic, salt and a hint of lime for "refried beans."

...or let them cool and put them in the fridge in a sealed container until you are ready to use them in another amazing and delicious dish!