Barbecue Baked Beans w/ Crushed Pineapple & Quorn Grounds

Have you noticed the earthy hues of leaves slowly and meticulously painting the landscape like the delicate brushstrokes of a painter's brush?  Have you been unexpectedly hit in the face by a cold north wind?  Are you rearranging your schedule to accommodate Sunday night football?  Maybe so, maybe not.  Regardless, these are all telltale signs of autumn unfolding here in Maryland.  I am feeling mixed emotions as I long for the dog days of summer and crave for the warming comfort of fall foods.  Thankfully, baked beans are the perfect antidote for my momentary blues, perfectly marrying summer cookouts and fall bashes.  

I have a kind of special relationship with baked beans.  It was my first signature dish and, growing up, I was the Chief Engineer of Baked Beans in my house.  I can vividly recall my intrigue with mom's process as she sauteed onions and bell peppers and cooked them in a cast-iron skillet with ground beef on the stovetop.  The ground beef mixture was then transferred to a pot with canned baked beans, brown sugar, barbecue, honey, and yellow mustard and slowly simmered into a sticky, sweet reduction of beans. Hmmm, delish!  I always knew if I could cook these delicious baked beans, I'd never have to worry about going hungry.

This version is a vegetarian homage to the baked beans that my mother taught me to cook many years ago.

Barbecue Baked Beans w/ Crushed Pineapple & Quorn Grounds

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1-12 oz bag Quorn Meatless & Soy-Free Grounds
• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1-14.5 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1-8 oz can crushed pineapple in pineapple juice, partially drained
• 1-28 oz can good quality Vegetarian Baked Beans
• 3/4 cup hickory smoke barbecue sauce 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 275º.  In a large dutch oven or pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and sauteed the red onions, red bell peppers, and garlic until soft, about 4-5 minutes.  Add the Quorn meatless grounds and cook an additional 4-5 minutes.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.  If using a pot, transfer the mixture to a large ovenproof dish.  Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the liquid has reduced. 

Wild Rice Burgers

I've been on a wild rice kick here lately.  I picked some up at my local Trader Joe's a while back and it's mostly been sitting in the cupboard keeping company with the bulk Indian spices.  This weekend, I decided to change that and went to the web for some inspiration.  My initial search for wild rice recipes retrieved several rice pilaf and rice salad recipes.  That wasn't what I was looking for at all.  I actually wanted something unique and totally out of the box.  I eventually googled wild rice burgers and landed on one of my favorite food blogs, theKitchn.  Voila!

One look at their recipe for wild rice burgers and I was sold.  I had most of the ingredients on hand and it seemed like the perfect thing to make in bulk for the upcoming week.  I doubled the recipe and used the ingredients I had on hand, substituting red bell peppers for celery and combining a mixture of regular Italian-style breadcrumbs (1/4 cup) with Seasoned Panko breadcrumbs (3/4 cup).  After cooking the patty,  I topped it with low-fat provolone cheese, spinach, broccoli and clover sprouts, avocado slices, and Duke's mayo.  The final result was substantial and packed with flavor.  I was very impressed by the fact that it didn't fall apart (like many of the flimsy veggie burgers I've had). Finally, a vegetarian burger worth writing home about.

Get the recipe here: http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-wild-rice-burgers-157678

Tofu & Eggplant No-Boil Pasta Bake

I have a confession to make:  I absolutely hate cooking grains.   


I've probably made mushy pasta once in my entire life and rice isn't terribly complicated to cook, but I live in fear when it comes to grains.  In the case of pasta, the trepidation begins in the grocery store when I'm faced with the crippling decision of what type of pasta to buy--whole grain or refined [IMO: Whole grain tastes great with tomato-based sauced, but refined (white) is better, flavor-wise, for cheese-based sauces].  Then, when I get down to the nitty gritty of actually cooking it, I have to decide to salt or not salt the water (I actually prefer one bouillon cube); rinse or not rinse the pasta (never rinse unless you're making a pasta salad!); and, prepare a tomato-based, cheese-based, or oil-based sauce.  It probably doesn't help that chefs who cook rice and pasta on cooking shows are usually crucified by the judges.  So, I am partially justified in telling you that I ceremoniously breathe a sigh of relief each and every time my pasta is perfectly cooked al dente and my rice fluffs properly.  


Imagine my excitement when I received a recipe for a Chicken & Tomato No-Boil Pasta Bake from The Kitchn.  I knew it was something that I absolutely had to make and I bookmarked the recipe for future reference.  Fast forward several months later and I am frantically thinking of ways to use several perishables in the refrigerator (i.e. cottage cheese, spinach, and eggplant).  Dip?  Hmmm... maybe.  No-Boil Pasta Bake?  Yes, yes, yes, most definitely!  The rest is history.  


I borrowed heavily from The Kitchn in this recipe, but I made it my own by substituting chicken for tofu, adding diced eggplant, and layering julienned spinach and thinly sliced tomato across the top.  I was scurred (scared) the cottage cheese would throw off the flavor content, but this pasta is to die for.  This will definitely be coming a staple in my kitchen.  After all, it's psuedo-healthy and doggone delicious!

No-Boil Tofu & Eggplant Pasta Bake (Modified from The Kitchn)
serves 4 to 6

8 ounces (1/2 pound) dried rigatoni pasta, uncooked
1 tub extra firm tofu, chopped into small logs
4 large cloves garlic, roughly minced
1/2 of one large eggplant, diced
2 cups cottage cheese
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
3 cups fresh spinach, julienned
Freshly ground black pepper & 1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
2 cups milk * (see Note)

Cheesy Basil Topping
1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh herbs, such as basil, thyme, and sage
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Heat the oven to 400°F and lightly grease a 3-quart casserole dish with olive oil. (Ideally you would use a heavy Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid, but you can also use a standard 9x13-inch casserole pan, tightly covered with a double layer of aluminum foil during baking.)

In a large bowl, mix the dried pasta, chopped tofu, minced garlic, and diced eggplant. Stir in the salt and a healthy quantity of black pepper.  Stir in the cottage cheese. Spread this mixture in the prepared baking dish and layer the thinly sliced tomatoes and spinach on top.  Pour the milk over top. Cover the dish tightly. Bake for 50 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Remove the dish from the oven and turn the oven up to broil.

Meanwhile, prepare the herb topping. In a small food processor or chopper, whiz the breadcrumbs, cheese, herbs, salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, blending until the texture resembles wet sand.

Slowly remove the lid (or foil) from the casserole dish. Be careful, as steam will billow out. Spread the herbed breadcrumbs over the bubbling pasta and return the uncovered dish to the oven. Broil for 5 minutes or until the topping is toasted and crispy on top.

Take the casserole out of the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Eat with a green salad and a glass of red wine.

* Note: The more fat in your milk, the thicker and more luxurious this dish will be. I have only made this with whole milk, which worked very well. I see no reason why lower-fat milks would not work as well, but they may be soupier, with a thinner sauce, when you first remove them from the oven.