Garlic Lo Mein Noodles w/ Black Beans & Sweet Potato Ribbons

This is a recipe of convenience.  I got home late one night with few groceries in the house and no leftovers.  I didn't feel like making a grocery store run.  So, I went in the kitchen seeking inspiration and suddenly the black void was filled with light.  I decided to pull together a dish with lo mein noodles, garlic, and black beans.  I just happened to have some leftover sweet potato rounds (thinly sliced with a mandoline) on hand that I used for a trial run of making homemade potato chips, and the sweet potato lover in me decided to add those to the mix.  I used this recipe for Homemade Noodles with Black Beans and Tamari as a guide.

Garlic Lo Mein Noodles w/Black Beans & Sweet Potato Ribbons

Ingredients:

• 1 package Lo Mein Noodles
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp cilantro
• 1/3 cup scallions, chopped into 1/4 pieces
• 1/4 cup Low Sodium Tamari
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp tamarind paste
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup sweet potato rounds, thinly sliced with a mandoline
• 
  

Directions:

Heat the sesame and canola oils in a large frying pan over medium heat.  Add the next four ingredients and cook until the garlic begins to brown.  Add the scallions, tamari, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, oyster sauce, and tamarind paste and cook until the sauce has reduced and is syrupy.  Add the black beans and sweet potato rounds.  Stir to combine.  Cook for a few additional minutes.  Add about 1 cup of water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer the sauce until it reaches the desired consistency.  

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Toss with the garlic sauce and enjoy.  Garnish with chopped cilantro, green onions, or roasted sesame seeds.  

Tipsy Apple Fruit Roll-Ups

Homemade applesauce is a comfort food.  It reignites those childhood memories when I would go crazy over a pot of hot, chunky applesauce.  Quite naturally, one of my favorite things to make with a batch of apples is homemade applesauce.  A huge perk to making applesauce is it's healthier than almost any other apple recipe (contingent on the fact that you keep the sugar additions to a minimum) and you have the versatility to eat the applesauce plain or incorporate it into other dishes.

The apples used in this recipe mostly came from a tasting of local Maryland apples at work.  Unfortunately, I don't remember all the varieties.  There was certainly a few Golden Delicious, a MacIntosh or two, a sweet variety, a tart variety, and one variety that turned out to be quite mealy.  Mealy apples are ideal for cooking and baking since most people do not enjoy eating them and the cooking process helps to break them down and release their natural juices.

Drunken Applesauce

When I make something like applesauce, I don't follow an exact process so I don't have an exact recipe.     So, here's a guide to my Drunken Applesauce:

1. Wash, peel, core, and chop 6-8 medium apples
2. In a large pot, combine apples, 1 cup water, a pat of butter, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp Allspice, 1 tbsp vanilla extract, 3 tbsp cinnamon, 1/3 cup brown sugar,  1/4 cup regular sugar, 1/2 cup brandy, 1/4 cup Triple Sec
3. Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Cover and reduce heat to medium low.  Cook for 25 to 30 minutes.  

Cook's Notes:  1.) If you use sweet apples, you can reduce or eliminate the sugar.  2.) While it's fine to use regular brandy (like I did), apple brandy is ideal.  3.) I usually add orange juice and orange zest to my applesauce.  I didn't have any on hand the day I made this, but I highly recommend including about 3/4 cup of orange juice and 1 tbsp orange zest.  

Tipsy Apple Fruit Roll-Ups

So, here's my 30-second elevator speech on the utility of applesauce.  Applesauce is often used as a substitute for oil in baking, a meal pairing with pork, and it is easily incorporated into a variety of sweet and savory dishes.  In the past, I've baked apple bread using applesauce.  I recently made one of my favorite smoothies--Pineapple and Apple Smoothie--with sliced pineapples, applesauce, pineapple and apple juices, and shaved ice.  However, I think one of the most distinct uses of applesauce is fruit leather.  

While I am calling these Tipsy Apple Fruit Roll-Ups due to the brandy and Triple Sec in the applesauce, all of the alcohol cooks off during the cooking process so they are actually kid friendly.  This is also a super easy, kid-friendly recipe.  The most difficult thing about fruit leather is preparing the baking sheet and cutting/rolling up the fruit leather afterwards.  

Tipsy Apple Fruit Roll-Ups

Ingredients:

• 2 cups applesauce
• 2 tbsp key lime marmalade

Directions:

Preheat the oven to the lowest temperature setting (170º for me).  Heat the key lime marmalade in the microwave for about 20 seconds or until melted.  Combine with the applesauce and set aside.  

Line a large baking sheet with a silicone mat, nonstick aluminum foil, or plastic wrap.  I used plastic wrap with great results.  Use a spatula to spread the applesauce mixture in the baking pan into a thin layer.  Bake for 4 to 5 hours or until dehydrated and the mixture remains firm to a finger's touch.  

Transfer to a rack and let the fruit leather cool completely.  Peel off the mat/foil/plastic wrap.  Lay the leather on a sheet of wax paper with the smooth side facing down.  Use a pizza cutter, kitchen shears, or a sharp knife to cut the leather into strips.  Roll up the strips and store in a mason jar.  

The Amazing Apple Pancake

Brunch

I have a confession to make.  Cue drumroll... I am not much of a breakfast person.  *Gasp*

It's not that I dislike breakfast.  I just am not willing to put in the extra effort to cook anything, during the week, when I have to wake up at 6 a.m.  So, for the past few years, my breakfast has consisted of oatmeal and whole grain cereals.   While I ate a good amount of oatmeal in graduate school, I've inadvertently embraced whole grain cereals as my breakfast of choice over the past year.  It's quicker. There are four that I eat rather consistently--Kashi Golean Crunch Honey Almond Flax, Quaker Oatmeal Squares,  Giant (store brand) Fiber Select Bran Cereal, and Trader Joe's Toasted Oatmeal Flakes.   These cereals are flavorful and full of complex carbohydrates, making them a great source of energy.  When eaten with reduced or low fat milk or a soy or almond milk, in my case, whole grain cereal is an excellent breakfast choice that provides nutrients from two food groups.  It's also pretty low in calories, which gives me a little more leeway to enjoy healthy snacks during the day and have a satisfying lunch and dinner without going over my calorie recommendations.

Enter weekend brunch.  Brunch is altogether a different beast than breakfast.  Brunch can go as late as 4 p.m. and combines traditional breakfast foods with the savory foods that are more often associated with lunch and dinner.  With work obligations out of sight and out of mind, brunch is a time to finally relax, indulge, and savor your food.

Apples Galore

I spent the past week promoting local food, farmers markets, and Maryland apples on my job.  After so many apple tastings, I thought I would have to take a break from eating apples.   But, how could I not take advantage of having an apple corer (used for my job) on hand?   This amazing device peels, cores, and slices apples in about 30 seconds, resulting in a slinky apple. I kid you not...

I also bought apples at the market this past week since they were on sale, and I hate to waste food.  So, quite naturally, I woke up yesterday morning wondering what could I make with apples.  I considered applesauce and fried apple pies when I suddenly remembered this awe-inspiring recipe from The Kitchn for The Apple Pancake.  Honestly, it had me salivating for days after I first saw it.  The rest is history, folks.

My apple pancake turned out quite different from theirs.  Apparently, I didn't chop my apple finely enough so they didn't condense and caramelize as much as they should have.  Instead, my apple were stacked and layered (a technique I've been trying to figure out for quite a while).  I also substituted one ingredient and added walnuts.  This pancake was quite delicious for brunch and an excellent dessert for dinner (with a side of fat free frozen vanilla yogurt).

Here's the recipe for my final product...

The Amazing Apple Pancake

Ingredients:

• 3 medium Gala apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into half moons
• 4 tablespoons white sugar, divided
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 5 eggs

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.  

In a small bowl, mix 3 tablespoons of sugar with the cinnamon and ginger and set aside.

Cut the butter into chucks and place them in a deep cast iron skillet.  Put the skillet in the oven for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the butter is melted.  Remove pan from the oven and carefully sprinkle the brown sugar over the melted butter.  Add the apples on top of the brown sugar and sprinkle the cinnamon mixture over the top.  Put the skillet back in the oven to caramelize the apples and sugar.  

Whisk the flour with the remaining sugar, salt, and nutmeg.  Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly with a large wire whisk to beat out any lumps.  When the flour is smoothly incorporated into the milk, beat in the vanilla and the eggs one at a time.  Beat the mixture by hand for 2 minutes, or until foamy.  Allow the batter to rest for 5 minutes.  By now the sugar should be bubbling around the apples.  

Remove the skillet from the oven and pour the batter over the apples.  Bake for 20 minutes or until the center is set and sides are lighted browned.  Remove from the oven and allow to rest for a few minutes.  Slice and transfer to a serving plate to enjoy.  

Recipe adapted from thekitchn.com -- Weekend Breakfast Recipe: The Apple Pancake