plums in the icebox

elisa gabbert's best beans and rice

Ed note: This is the second in my Writers Eat series. I'm asking writers I admire to share their favorite recipes and/or foods here on Plums in the Icebox. The food will sometimes be tied in with the writer's work, but sometimes not. If you're a writer and you're interested in participating, let me know!

This edition of Writers Eat comes to you courtesy of writer and poet Elisa Gabbert. I asked her to participate because I know she likes food and I trust her judgement, even on controversial (in my opinion) topics like the wearing of vests. Also, she eats gluten-free, like me!

Elisa's smart and funny and has a interesting blog, The French Exit. Her book of poems, also called The French Exit, is also smart and funny. The recipe you're about to read is, you guessed it...smart and funny! So get ready to learn while laughing.

Other cool things about Elisa: She's from El Paso (an hour from Las Cruces, where I lived just three short months ago). She collects and writes about perfume. She doesn't like Elizabeth Bishop.

Elisa actually sent me a few recipes, including one for Watermelon Gazpacho, but I'm mourning warm weather so fiercely I couldn't bring myself to make such a summery dish.This Best Beans and Rice recipe is actually three recipes masquerading as one, as you'll see; you'll learn a fast way to make rice, a beans dish and an easy salsa. 

I have never actually made anything with blackeyed peas before, but I heeded the strict warning (see below) not to make this with any other type of bean, and wow. Blackeyed peas. Who knew they were so great? I will definitely be cooking with them again, maybe tossing a can into the next pot of chili I make.

The Best Beans and Rice

This is appropriate year-round. It’s something I make at least a couple of times a month because it’s easy to keep the ingredients on hand. It’s also cheap, satisfying, makes great leftovers, and is vegetarian (easily vegan). Hat tip to Chris and Allison Tonelli introducing me to the wonder of canned black-eyed peas.

For the rice:
Rice
Water
Salt

The beauty of my rice recipe is that you don’t have to measure anything. Dump some rice (I especially like basmati but any kind will work, though I wouldn’t recommend using brown rice as I’ve never tried to cook brown rice this way; also, don’t believe the hype, have you noticed how long Japanese people live?) in a big pot with a lid – a cup or so should work depending on how many people you’re feeding; also leftover rice is nice to have around. Then stick the pot under the tap and add water till it’s at least 2-3 inches higher than the level of the rice, but not so high that you risk boiling the pot over. Add a big pinch of salt and put it on the stove over medium-high heat. It’s best to get this started, and then start on the beans, so you’re in the kitchen the whole time and can keep an eye on the pot, but that’s not all you’re doing in there. Basically, you just want to bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat so the rice keeps moving around but things don’t get completely insane. The idea is, you’re boiling the rice like pasta. Once the water is boiling, the rice needs somewhere between 5 and 15 minutes to finish cooking. How do you know when it’s done? Just stick a fork in and pull out a few grains. You can tell when it’s getting close just by the look of the grains (un- or undercooked rice is smaller and more translucent), but just taste to make sure. When it’s done but a little al dente, pour everything into a mesh strainer, shake off the extra water, and dump the rice back into the pot, then cover and let it sit on the stove (off the heat) until everything else is ready to go.

For the beans:
1 onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tablespoons of butter or your fat of choice
2 cans black-eyed peas (or less, or more – this recipe scales easily)
Salt & pepper
Ground cumin and/or coriander (optional)
A splash of cider vinegar (optional)
Hot sauce (optional)

1. Melt the butter or heat your fat of choice (oil works, natch, and bacon fat is great if you’re not a vegetarian) in a big skillet (you want a wide pan so the beans can thicken up).
2. Add the onion and sauté until it starts to get golden. Then add the garlic and give it another 30 seconds or so. (At this point, if you want, you could add a little cumin and coriander, maybe ¼ to ½ teaspoon each, and toast them for another 30 seconds or so, but it’s not really necessary.)

3. Next add the beans – you’ll want to drain off some of the liquid first but I don’t bother rinsing them or anything like that; a touch of the canning liquid helps create a sort of sauce. (NOTE: Do NOT be tempted to substitute black beans, pinto beans, or any other favorite bean. There is truly something magical about black-eyed peas in this recipe. If you’re cooking your own dried beans, that’s another story, but then why are you reading this recipe? Also, be sure to get the black-eyed peas that aren’t already seasoned with pork and who knows what. Whole Foods sells plain canned black-eyed peas that have never let me down.) Season generously with salt and pepper. If you like things tangy, a splash of vinegar and/or vinegary hot sauce like Tabasco is nice.

4. Bring it up to a simmer and let it bubble away for 10 minutes or so, so the flavors can blend and whatnot.

For serving:
Obviously you’re going to want to put some rice on a plate or in a bowl and then top it with some beans. But don’t stop there! I always add some combination of the following: shredded cheese (cheddar or jack makes the most sense), sour cream, fresh lime juice, salsa, chopped or mashed avocado, chopped tomatoes, more hot sauce, etc.

If you’re feeling ambitious, the beans and rice are especially delicious (like most foods) with fresh salsa. Here’s how I make it when I have time.

Fresh Salsa
½ onion, about, chopped into big chunks
A handful of cilantro, leaves and small stems
1 jalapeno, top and core removed and cut into big chunks
1 big can of tomatoes, drained
1 lime
Salt
Optional/to taste: Olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar

Finely chop the onion, jalapeno and cilantro in a food processor, then scrape into a bowl. Put the tomatoes in the food processor and pulse until they’re finely chopped/liquidy. (Whole tomatoes work best for this, but diced work too. The fire-roasted kind adds a nice touch.) Add the tomatoes to the bowl along with the juice of a lime and about a teaspoon of coarse salt. Stir this around and taste for seasoning. I like to add just a dash of sugar and sometimes I little olive oil and red wine vinegar to round things out, but it depends how you like your salsa. Test with tortilla chips.

If you have leftover salsa, heat some up in a saucepan the next day and crack a couple of eggs directly into it, then cover and poach over low heat for five minutes. Serve the eggs and sauce over crushed tortilla chips. Brunch!

Elisa may quibble with this, but I did use brown rice (although it was basmati. It was all I had!) I wasn't sure if it would cook up correctly according to this method, but it did! It definitely took a bit longer than 15 minutes, more like 20-25, but it worked surprisingly well. I opted for the cumin as flavoring for the beans, and tried a bit of chile powder in there, too. I also used a few little capfuls of apple cider vinegar, as Elisa suggested. Overall, the Best Beans and Rice definitely lived up to its name. I've eaten many, many varieties of beans and rices in my day, and this dish puts the perfect spin on a classic. I don't know if using blackeyed peas can even REALLY be a considered a spin, but it was certainly different for me and yeah, it was awesome.

I got all set up to make the salsa and realized I didn't have cilantro, so I decided to just use the salsa I had in a jar in my fridge. I topped it with shredded cheese and it tasted great. I ate this again the next night with a little saute of kale and tomatoes on top, which was equally as good. I had a feeling this dish would make great leftovers, and I was right. 

So go make these beans for dinner on a cold night and laugh and learn and read Elisa's great blog, The French Exit. 

my sunday in food

I had big plans for this weekend, mainly involving finishing sewing my Halloween costume (a matador), writing blog posts, and cooking a lot. I didn't get too much cooking done yesterday, although I did make and photograph this week's recipe for Eat of the Moment on Hello Giggles, but you'll have to check there on Thursday to see what it is. OH and I roasted some eggplant slices, too! So good with Parmesan. But as for today, it's only a little past 3 and I've already made a happy mess of my kitchen.

This morning I made Breakfast Apple Cobbler via ApronStrings. It came out looking a lot different than Anne's picture, but it was still good. My boyfriend R didn't really dig it, so more for me! (no pics, sorry!)

I spent the afternoon making a large batch of burritos meant for freezing. I have wanted to do this for MONTHS so I'm happy I finally made the time to do it! Basically, I got a bunch of large burritos (GF for me, flour for R), heated up a few cans of refried beans, chopped some chiles, boiled a few potatoes and bought a bag of shredded cheese. Then I assembled the burritos by putting a bit of each ingredient in the middle of each tortilla and rolling it up following this method. Next, I rolled the burritos in aluminum foil and labeled each one. Some had chile and some had potato and some did not, so I reflected that in the labeling. They're in the freezer now, so I will let you know how they turn out. I had a picture here of the burritos being assembled, but it was really bad so I took it down.

The burritos are easily portable so I can take them to work and R can take them to campus with him. We can eat them for snacks or lunch, reheating with salsa and/or hot sauce.   I'm hoping to do another batch of breakfast burritos with egg and black beans soon. I might also redo these using shredded chicken or tofu, and possibly salsa on the inside, too.

And for dinner I'm hoping to make something with salmon and kale, then settle in for a few episodes of Downton Abbey. Have you seen it? I started watching last week and I am OBSESSED. Like completely and totally obsessed. I find myself thinking about the characters all the time...it's weird. But the show is amazing! British people, class issues, love affairs, secret lives, beautiful Edwardian gowns, and now for the second season, WW1. So intense! I love it.

What did you cook this weekend?

stuffed cheesy chicken green chiles

This is the first thing I made with my precious NM green chiles. It was delicious and the actual assembly of this is very easy. It ended up being way more time consuming than I anticipated, because I roasted the chiles right before I stuffed them. And roasting the chiles took a long-ass time; I did it with the broiler,  in batches. It worked ok, but I couldn't get the chiles roasted evenly enough and my hands were tingling quite a bit. I now know why most people in NM buy chiles already roasted. And wow I miss that smell in the air, even in the Albertson's parking lot!

chiles, unroasted. some are red!

chiles steaming in the crockpot after roasting. They were just chilling in there with the top on, I wasn't cooking them more or anything.

The filling in this recipe is partially inspired by Pink Parsley's AMAZING Baked Chicken Taquitos, which you should go make ASAP if you like Mexican food. 

These steps are assuming you've already roasted and peeled the chiles. 

Stuffed Cheesy Chicken Green Chiles

serves 2-3 people

total time: about 30 minutes

total hands-on time: 10-15 minutes

What you'll need:

8 good-sized green chile peppers

1 cup of shredded chicken

1 cup of corn

about 3/4 cup (plus a few tbsps more for topping) of shredded cheese

2 oz of cream cheese, softened

cumin to taste

chile powder to taste 

What you'll do:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Combine corn, chicken, cream cheese, shredded cheese, cumin and chile powder in a small bowl.

2. Cut a slit in each chile, towards the middle (do not cut the entire length of the chile). 

3. Stuff each chile with the corn and chicken mixture and then top with more (shredded) cheese.

 

4. Bake for about 15-20 minutes.

I served these with a tomato salad made with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and chopped avocados. The stuffed chiles were not nearly as spicy as I thought they would be, so if you're scared of spiciness, give this a try anyway. 

help! help! with food photography

So, I know the photographs here on Plums in the Icebox aren't top-notch, and I'm starting to feel self-conscious about it. I've read a whole bunch of food photography FAQs and stuff online, but I'm not sure they're helping. I know you're supposed to use natural light and white plates and the macro setting on your camera. Never use flash. Oh, and have a DSLR, of course!

But let's be real: I don't own white plates. I got one at the thrift store in a nod to being like other food blogs but sometimes it's dirty and honestly, I find plain white plates boring. I can't always use natural light because of much of what I'm taking pictures of is my actual dinner that I made after I got home from work, at night. I don't have a DSLR because I'm poor. Ditto for Photoshop (my editing happens in iPhoto and sometimes Picnik). I try to use the settings on the camera to my advantage, but I even if I play around a lot, it still looks kinda crappy.

this is a crap photo. also a preview of a recipe coming soon!

I want to take better pictures but I'm kind of at a loss. I've been using the light from my dining room lamp (at night) because I think it looks better than the fluorescent light in my kitchen. Do I need to be doing more with the camera settings? The white balance? I have a Canon PowerShotSD1400 IS that I actually really like, but I need help! 

So, food bloggers or photographers or anyone at all, any tips? What can I be doing with what I've got? Any and all help is appreciated!

friday links! week of 10/14

EATS:

-12 ways to stay on a food budget via 100 Days of Real Food

-Tips for buying organic on a budget via The Kitchn

- On HelloGiggles, I posted recipes for granola bars (last week) and hangover soup (yesterday).

-Mung Bean Hummus? I've never tried mung beans, but I would. via FitSugar 

-Easy Rosemary Lemon Chicken Bake. Definitely making this soon. via Harper's Happenings 

-The Vegan Stoner is a cute blog I just discovered. All of the recipes are hand-drawn! 

READS:

-The food issue of Australian lit mag The Lifted Brow looks awesome.

-Uncanny Valley issue 0001 is now available! Get this awesome journal edited by my friends Mike Meginnis and Tracy Bowling and including work from Robert Alan Wendeborn, Roxane Gay, Brian Oliu and Gabriel Blackwell.

-The Grand Canyon Brings People Together by Molly Prentiss in the latest issue of >killauthor

-One of my favorite poets, Richard Siken, is interviewed on the BOMBlog. What the interviewer says about Crush is so true; I read that book my senior year of college and I totally feel like it broke me and put me back together again in a new way. My writing, too.

-Poetry Is Not a Project by Dorothea Lasky

roasted leeks and brussels sprouts

The inspiration for this recipe is twofold and Twittered. First, my Twitter friend Sarah tweeted that her husband made roasted leeks and I was like OMG I'm doing that (I love leeks). Then I got some big brussels sprouts at the Farmer's Market and thought of my friend Juliet, who is a brussels sprout FANATIC and helped me get over my fear of them (via a roasted brussels sprouts recipe on Twitter, of course) last spring. So I decided to roast them together (leeks and brussels sprouts, not Sarah and Juliet. HAHAHA most obvious joke ever!) to see what would happen.

So good, you guys. Brussels sprouts are in season now, but leeks are kind of a spring/winter vegetable, so I bet this is even better when they are at their peak. This might work better with smaller brussels sprouts, because the different vegetables will cook at closer to the same rate, but I still really liked this how it was. The differing textures of the two vegetables complemented each other really nicely. The leeks become amazingly sweet and the brussels sprouts get done on the outside, but stay kinda juicy on the inside.

Roasted Leeks and Brussels Sprouts

serves 2 as a side

total time: 30 minutes

total hands-on time: 5 minutes

What you'll need:

4 small leeks (or 2 large, I only had small)

about 15 large individual brussels sprouts

olive oil

honey

balsamic vinegar

garlic powder or fresh chopped or crushed garlic

salt

pepper

What you'll do:

1. Preheat your oven to 350.

2. Wash your leeks REALLY well, then chop off the white bulby end and the dark green leafy end, too. Slice the rest lengthwise and then slice horizontally into imprecise chunks (not the nice even circles leeks naturally lend themselves to).

3. Wash the brussels sprouts and chop off their ends, then remove any sketchy-looking discolored or spotted leaves.

4. Toss all of these veggies in a roasting pan. Add a few generous glugs of olive oil, about 1 tbsp and  half of balsamic vinegar, and then drizzle it all with some big sqiggles of honey. Mix this all up with your hands and then wash your hands because they will be dirty. I'm being imprecise on measurements here, but this is really about your taste. Make sure you have a higher ratio of oil to vinegar and you're set.

5. Sprinkle on the salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste, then mix it all up with a wooden spoon or other tool.

6. Bake for about 25 minutes, but periodically take the pan out and shake it so the vegetables get evenly roasted. The leeks will be darker than the brussels sprouts.

Some of the leeks will be a little bit crispy; I like this, but if you don't, check more frequently and maybe cook for 18-20 minutes rather than 25. 

And now, come to think of it, this recipe might be better if you did chop the leeks into rounds. So try that! And, as always, if you do try this, I'd love to know what you think.

my new favorite midnight snack: cinnamon pears

I'm a night eater, and I have a huge sweet tooth. If I could spend every weeknight shoving Swedish Fish, Hot Tamales and Ritter Sport chocolate bars down my throat while catching up on my Google Reader and watching crap TV shows, I totally would. But as I think I've already surpassed my life's allotment of Red dye 40, I need to find other things to eat when the nighttime hunger strikes. Here's my latest favorite:

 

Cinnamon Pears

total time: 2 minutes

total hands on time: 1 minute?

serves 1

1. Dice a pear (leave the skin on; more fiber!) and put it in a microwave-safe bowl.

2. Sprinkle on a bit of cinnamon and sugar; it will work better if you mix the two before putting them on the pear. 

3. Microwave on high for 1 minute 30 seconds. Pour off excess liquid.

And that's it! Almost too easy to be warrant a whole recipe post. Microwaving isn't SUPER healthy, I know, so I guess you could bake this (or toaster oven it) if you were so inclined. If I had had some Cool Whip, I would have added it. You can sub honey, agave nectar or an artificial sweetener for the sugar, if you'd like. A scoop of Greek yogurt, some raisins or even a scoop of vanilla ice cream would also be scrumptious* here. Easy, cozy on a cold night, and healthy, too.

*I kind of can't believe I used the word scrumptious, but "good," "tasty" and "delicious" are getting old on this here food blog.

Also, if you're visiting Plums in the Icebox for the first time (via Food Coma, HelloGiggles, or even if you just Googled on in), welcome! If you'd like, please leave a comment, subscribe to my RSS feed or follow me through Google Friend Connect (the widget in the upper left corner). I'm glad to have you.

roxane gay's haitian macaroni & cheese

 Ed note: This is the first in a series I'm calling Writers Eat. Basically, I'm asking writers I admire to share their favorite recipes and/or foods here on Plums in the Icebox. The food will sometimes be tied in with the writer's work, but sometimes not. If you're a writer and you're interested in participating, let me know!

I asked Roxane Gay to be the first writer to participate in this series because she's one of my favorite people on the Internet. She's a badass fiction writer, an extremely dedicated editor of PANK and Bluestem, and she's crazy smart, too. Roxane is also crazy nice and possibly the funniest person on Twitter. We agree on many things, such as the brilliance of Laura Ingalls Wilder and the amazingness of Gone With The Wind. Roxane has a book, Ayiti, coming out in just a few days. You should buy it, but I'll mention now that the book is about Haiti and the Haitian diaspora experience. So, Roxane's recipe is a Haitian macaroni and cheese! I'll let her tell you more about it:

"Haitian" Macaroni & Cheese

"Haitian" Macaroni & Cheese or really, the macaroni & cheese I grew up with that my Haitian mother makes and is indeed made in Haiti but probably has French origins because the base of it is essentially a bechamel. 

Ingredients:

5-6oz of freshly grated Parmesan

1 12oz can of Carnation evaporated milk

1 stick of butter (you can substitute margarine and/or use 1/2 stick of butter or margarine if you want to cut calories)(Ed note: I did use only a half a stick and it worked great.

1 box of the pasta of your choice. (I like medium shells but any adorable pasta (OMG BOWTIES) will work.)

Salt and pepper to taste

1.Boil salted water (not too much salt, you know, just to taste and yes I am terrible at recipes). Add pasta.

2. Cook until all dente or a little softer than that. Remove and drain pasta. Put the pasta back in pot. 

3.Add stick of butter, stirring pasta until the butter melts.

4. Add the can of condensed milk and 2/3 of the shredded parmesan. Mix together. Add black pepper to taste. I use freshly ground and am liberal with the pepper but that's just me. Go with your gut on this.

5.Place this sassy combination (Ed note: sassy combination! I'm laughing out loud) in a glass baking dish. I use those round ones that are the diameter of a pie pan. As you can tell, I am not much in the kitchen so I don't know the fancy terms.

6.Cover the top of the sassy combination by evenly spreading the remaining parmesan. If you're feeling dangerous, sprinkle a pinch of pepper over this.

7.Bake at 350 degrees until the cheese on top is nicely golden browned. This generally takes 30-45 minutes.

8. Eat the most delicious dish ever. 

It's Carrie again. I made this tonight and it was DELICIOUS. I've never cooked with evaporated milk before and I have to say I was a little wary of it, but it made the best sauce! I followed Roxane's lead and was VERY LIBERAL with the black pepper here and it definitely added a nice little kick to the dish. I made two teensy modifications to this by baking it in a cast iron skillet, rather than the glass dish Roxane suggested, and I also sprinkled a little bit of paprika on top before putting it in the oven. For me, it took about 20 minutes to bake, but ovens and pans can vary.

I think this is a great dish for a weeknight dinner now that the weather is getting colder. It's classic comfort food, but this version of mac & cheese is really easy. I've made baked versions of mac & cheese before, and this is easily the best-tasting and the least labor-intensive. Serve it alongside some sauteed greens or maybe some roasted root vegetables.

Please do check out Roxane's book! Her mother, the originator of this recipe, took the photograph that appears on the cover. I should also mention that Roxane's name is spelled with one N. Not TWO Ns! ONE N.