Tag: fall

Cannellini Bean Vegetarian Meatballs

Wow that is quite a mouthfull for the name of a simple recipe!

I wanted to bring the vegetarian version of meatballs to a banquet where they served meatballs. The organizers decided that the vegetarian alternative would be to leave out the meat; however, most vegetarians like protein so leaving out the meat is not a solution. This challenge got me this amazing recipe though so no complaints.

These beanballs are mouthwatering, my corgi thinks they are meat. How do I know he likes it? He starts putting out his paw to shake my hand without being asked and he licks his bowl for another 10 minutes after he finished eating hoping he can find some more.

Let’s talk about the cannellini beans briefly. They are the main ingredient and with their high protein content they replace the meat easily.

These beans originated in South America, most likely in Peru or Argentina. Today, they are popular all over the world but surely are a vital part of the Northern Italian cuisine. They are part of the kidney bean family so with its kidney supporting qualities they are beneficial during the winter time. Also, there is evidence that these beans help with diabetes and weight loss.

When trying to find a replacement for meatballs, cannellini beans seemed like the perfect choice. These nutty, earthy and savory flavored beans are a fabulous addition to this Italian staple. They taste more like chestnuts so they really add a lot of flavor to the dish. I would suggest to make the beans at home from scratch rather than buying the canned version. I could taste the difference for sure.

Enjoy this tasty dish!

RECEIPE

Makes 10 beanballs (2 inch in diameter). I usually end up doubling the recipe if I cook for the family.

Ingredients

  • a heaping 1/2 cup of dried cannellini beans (1 can)
  • 1 yellow onion, graded
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
  • a handful of pistachio nuts, chopped
  • a handfull of fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1/4 tomatoe sauce
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning,
  • 1 tsp salt

Tomato sauce:

  • 1 bayleaf
  • salt and peper to taste
  • garlic
  • 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
  • 1 Qt jar of tomato sauce

Italian seasoning

  • 1 tsp fennel, ground
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp basil
  • 1/4 tsp chilli pepper

METHODS

  • Soak beans overnight or at least for 8 hours. Cook them for 2 hours or until done.
  • Preheat oven to 350F.
  • Boil a big pot of water and cook spagetty according to its instructions.
  • Coat a baking sheet with a thin film of oil.
  • Put the beans in a large bowl and mash them with a potato masher. You can use a food prossesor for this step.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients chopped pistaccio nuts, 1 egg, breadcrubs, oil, tomato sauce, parsley, salt, Italian seasoning, garlic cloves and onions.
  • Mix well
  • Using about 2 Tbsp portion of the mixture, form balls by rolling between the palms of your hands.
  • Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet evenly spaced.
  • Bake for about 20 minutes or until the balls have a nice golden brown color on the outside.
  • While the beanballs are baking, prepare the tomato sauce. Choose your favorite Pasta sause, add 1/4 basmatic vinegar, 1 bayleaf, 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning, garlic and salt to taste. Cook for 10 minutes. Serve with the beanballs.
  • Serve warm with tomato sauce and spaghetti.

enjoy!

Receipe, photos, text by twincitiesherbs.com.

Creamy Celeriac Soup with croutons

This delicious dish uses this forgotten vegetable, celeriac. The sweet and bitter celeriac is the perfect vegetable to eat as we enter the colder months. It can also nicely offset the heavyness of other dishes that we eat during the holidays. The celeriac along with the potatoes are cooked in a stock and are infused with thyme and bay leaves. Serve with cream and some croutons or hazelnuts on the top. Enjoy!

RECIPE

Ingredients

oil

1 medium onion

2 large garlic cloves

1 tsp dried or 2 tsp fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 lbs celeriac, peeled and cut into 1/2 ” chunks

1/2 lb potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2″ chunks

1 slice of bacon, cut into small pieces (optional)

4 cups of vegetable or chicken stock or more

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup hazelnuts or croutons

chopped parsley

crushed red hot pepper to taste

Preperation

Cook bacon on medium high heat, in a little for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Sautee onion in a little oil for about 5-10 minutes, stir often. Gently fry the garlic for a short time, do not burn. Add the thyme, bay leaf, celery, the potato chunks, bacon pieces and the stock. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium low heat. Cook for about 40 minutes or until all the vegetables are nice and tender.

Remove the bay leaf and let the soup cool off to room temperature. Pour in the cream. Puree the soup. You can use an immersion blender or a regular blender.

Return the soup to the pot and start warming it up. Add salt, pepper and red hot pepper.

Serve with croutons or hazelnuts and parsley.

If using hazelnuts, heat up a pan and lightly roast the hazelnuts for 6-8 minutes. Make sure they are toasted on all sides. Chop the cool hazelnuts.

Enjoy!

Receipe, photo and text by twincitiesherbs.com.

French Onion Soup (soupe à l’oignon)

I have always loved French onion soup. Of course, it is made with lots of onions … and these charamelized onions give the soup its rich color and flavor. Also, there is a little more to the soup than just throwing all the ingredients together … follow this recipe and you can make a perfect onion soup. Oh and when you serve it, play some nice French music with it. Last time I ate French onion soup, we were at the restaurant called Naniboujou by Grand Marais, Minnesota after canuing in the Boundary Waters and they happened to play the Cd from the movie Amolié… ah total bliss…

Today, we often see this soup in fancy restaurants; however, it traditionally started out as a peasant food made with the simple ingredients: onions, beef broth and cheese. It is the perfect soup for the winter. The secret is in the preparation. It takes a long time to slowly charamelize those onions but it is so worth it! You get this wonderfully savory flavor with a little hint of sweetness. Oh and of course the ingredients. Your soup will be as good as the ingredients used. I prefer making the beef stock at home and let’s not forget the cheese! Try to get the best cheese you can buy! I like using gruyere cheese, but you can try other rich flavored cheese as well.

RECIPE

Serves 8 people

Ingredients

  • 6 larger onions (1kg) onions
  • 5 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 Tbsp flour
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 3 Tbsp brandy or cognac
  • 2 Qt beef stock
  • 2 bayleaves
  • few fresh thyme springs
  • toasted sliced French bread (about 2 slices per serving)
  • cheese (1/4 cup per serving)

Method

Peel the onions, cut them in halves (Make sure you remove the first 2 tougher layers of the onions). Cut them into very thin slices.

In a large pot melt the butter. Add the onions and the sugar, stir. Cook on medium high heat for about 15 minutes until onions are translucent. Stir occationally.

Turn heat down a notch and continue cooking the onions for 40-45 more minutes or until they are nice and brown but not burnt. Stir occationally. Do not cover the pot.

Stir in the flour and mix. Let it cook for 5 minutes.

Add the wine and the brandy. Mix. Cook for 3 mintes. Don’t skip this step, it gives that interesting bite to the soup.

Add the stock, bayleaves and thyme springs and cook for 25-30 minutes partially covered.

When ready, salt and pepper to taste.

You can serve the soup in individual bowls if you wish. Add the toasted bread and 1/4 cup of cheese per bowl on top. Broil on high for 5 minutes. Or you can serve the soup in a big pot and just let people serve themselves.

Serve immediately maybe with some French wine. I used Famille Bogrier Vouvre Chenin Blanc white wine, a very lovely wine from France.

enjoy!

Whole wheat sweet potato muffins

These sweet potato muffins are lovely autumn muffins! They are packed with nutritious ingredients of the season and get their special flavor from the spices: cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, mace and cloves. enjoy!

RECIPE

Ingredients

  • 2 cups/240 gr of whole wheat flour (white flour is fine too)
  • 2 tsp pumkin pie spice ( China cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, mace and cloves)
  • 1 stick (8 Tbsp) of butter (115g) at room temperature
  • 1 cup of sweet potato, mashed (1 medium sized sweet potato)
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup of raisins or dried cranberries (optional)
  • 3/4 cup of nuts, coarsley chopped (optional)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375F.

Take butter out of fridge.

Bake the sweet potatoes.

Sift flour, pumkin spice, baking powder, baking soda, salt in a mixing bowl. Add the nuts, raisins or cranberries. Set aside.

In a seperate bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the lightly beaten eggs, vanilla, butter milk and the sweet potatoes. Mix.

Quickly mix everything together. Do not overbeat. You can sprinkle sugar and nuts on the top if you wish.

Lightly oil a muffin tin. Evenly distribute the dough between the 12 muffin cups.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. The muffins are ready when a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

Let cool before serving.

enjoy!

Recipe, photos and text by twincitiesherbs.com.

Mini apple turnovers (almás mosoly)

This tasty dessert will satisfy your autumn sweet tooth any time. They are simple, puffy and delicious. No need to buy puff pastry from the store, you can make the buttery, flaky puff pastry with the three simple main ingredients: butter, cream cheese and flour. There is something about simple, delicious dishes that are just that … simple and delicious… and this dish is surely just that… My recipe came from this blog (source).

RECIPE

Ingredients

  • 1-2 apples, firmer baking apples (I used 2 cortland)
  • 1 pkg cream cheese (220 gr)
  • 2 sticks of butter (220 gr)
  • 1 1/3 cups flour (220 gr)
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 1 tsp apple pie spice or cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • handful of chopped nuts

Directions

Have all ingredients at room temperature.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Combine the cream cheese, butter, flour, salt and sugar. Put the dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Take the cold dough out of the fridge, cut it in half. Put one half back in the fridge to keep it cold while you are working with the other half of the dough..

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin about 2-3mm thick. Cut out round shapes with a cookie cutter. My cookie cutter is 2 1/2 inches in diameter but you can use whatever size you have. Cut the circles big enough so they can fit the apple slices or vice versa cut your apples so they can fit in the circle.

Place the apple slices on half of the cut out shapes and fold the other half of the circle over the apple slice. Put the prepared pieces on the preoiled cookie sheet.

Bake for 18-20 minutes in the preheated oven.

Repeat with the other half of the dough.

Make the sugar coating. Add 1 tsp apple pie spice or cinnamon to the 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. Put the apple turnovers into a bigger bowl and toss them with the sugar/cinnamon mixture. I did this when they were still warm. I found that when done while hot, the sugar sticks better but please feel free to experiement.

Sprinkle with the chopped nuts.

Now ready to serve.

enjoy!

Photo and text by twincitiesherbs.com.

Source of the recipe

https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/106421768/posts/6271

Dutch baby with apples

This morning I was craving something delicious made with apples … most likely because yesterday we went out to an orchard to pick some apples and of course we have a lot of apples now. Then I remembered I could easily make Dutch baby and put apples in it. Dutch baby is made with three basic ingredients: milk, eggs and flour and seasoned with vanilla and apple spice. I also added apples to satisfy our autumn cravings. Watch it poof up in the oven and wow your friends and family with this tasty filling breakfast. I served it with caramel sauce that further please those ‘autumnish’ cravings … Oh and I still have raspberries growing in my back yard so I had to use some.

RECIPE

Serves 4 people

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole milk milk
  • 5 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 3 Tbsp butter, divided
  • 1 tsp apple cinnamon spice
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 Tbsp sugar
  • 1-2 apples peeled, cored and sliced (sour, baking apples are the best)
  • caramel sauce
  • nuts for serving

Directions

You will need a 10″ (2 inch deep) oven proof skillet or soemthing similar in size to bake this dish.

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Mix flour, milk, eggs, salt, vanilla, 2 Tbsp melted butter, sugar, apple spice until no lumps remain. You can use an electric beater on high speed for 1 minute but it can easily done by hand too. Let it rest for 1 hour if possible. It can be made the day before and stored in the fridge, just let it warm up to room temperature.

Meanwhile gently warm up a little butter in a pan. Caramelize the apple slices on both sides. Set aside.

When dough is ready, heat up skillet and put in the butter, caramelized apple slices and pour the batter in.

Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the top is nice and golden brown. The pancake will be puffy but will settle after 5-10 minutes.

Serve with powdered sugar, ground walnuts, caramel sauce and fruits – of course all optional.

enjoy!

Potato soup with lovage

Lovage is an old European folk remedy but has been forgotten. I would like to bring some attention to this valuable plant with this recipe. In the old days, it was used like parsley is used today, it grew in the gardens of everyday folks. It has an unusual flavor, more like citrusy celery. I used my Potato leek soup receipe (source) but added lovage instead of kale at the end as lovage wonderfully enhances the flavor of the potatoes. Of course, it is a great plant to use to get the body ready for the colder months.

Lovage (Levisticum officinale) can be used for medicine and culinary purposes. It has been around for thoasands years but the Greek physician, Hippocrates (460 – 370 BC) made it popular after adding it into the culinary world after he used it successfully during the epidemics of his time. It gives myraid of health benefits from of course improving digestion to reducing arthritis, water in edema and the skin and many more. It is definatelly a big digestion remedy and it is even aphrodisiac. Lovage is a warming sweet, bitter and aromatic plant. I have it growing in my garden right now, a small little shoot grew very quickly into a large plant.

  • twincitiesherbs.com
    twincitiesherbs.com

RECIPE

Ingredients

  • 8 medium sized Russet or Yukon potatoes (about 1.5-2 pounds)
  • 3 medium sized leeks, peeled and sliced
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 2 large slices of bacon or to taste (optional)
  • stock (vegetable or chicken)
  • 1 tsp paprika powder
  • 1/2 tsp of fennel seeds
  • 1-3 thyme sprins
  • 2 dried bay leaves
  • handfull of chopped up lovage
  • 1/2-1 cup of cream
  • salt and freshly ground pepper
  • crushed hot red pepper flakes to taste
  • Parmesan cheese to serve

Preparation

  • Wash and slice up leeks. Slice leeks thin with a sharp knife. Use more the white part (cook the greenish part in the stock or discard). Put the sliced leeks in a bowl of cold water for 1/2 hour. This will get all the dirt out of the leeks. Clean well. Strain the liquid using a colander or pat dry. 
  • If you decide to keep the peel on the potatoes, clean and soak potatoes in some cold water for 1/2 hour. Scrub off any dirt. If you decide to peel potatoes, you can skip this step and just peel and slice the potatoes thin.
  • Sauté leek slices in some butter for about 10 minutes or until you can smell the aroma of the leeks. Add 1 tsp of paprika and fennel seeds to activate for 1 minute and stir. Add 1/4 tsp cold water, stir. 
  • Fry up some sliced bacon if you decide to use it. 
  • Add potatoes and bacon to the leeks. Pour in the stock enough to barely cover the vegetables. Add the thyme and bay leaves. Start heating the soup carefully until it starts bubbling but not boiling. Quickly, turn the heat down and slowly cook for 1 hour. 
  • Clean and cut up lovage.
  • When soup is done, add the lovage.
  • It doesn’t need to cook. 
  • Add cream, salt, black pepper, hot red pepper flakes. Don’t cook anymore.
  • Serve hot with a little Parmesan cheese.

enjoy!

Source

Matthew Wood. Eartwise Herbal

Text, photos and recipe by twincitiesherbs.com

Italian spinach/mushroom lasagna (vegetarian)

I have been making lasagna recently quite a bit. It is not too hot outside yet so I can turn the oven on but we want something on the lighter side too … so this dish seems to fit the bill. Of course, you can make this dish any time of the year. Lasagna is an Italian specialty. Traditionally, it is made with layers of tomato sauce based ragu, cheese and béchamel sauce. In this dish, I replaced the meat with spinach, mushrooms and cheese. I served it with red wine that seemed to compliment it very nicely.

Spinach is a great vegetable for the spring, it is hardy and nourishing for the liver.

Of course, an important part of the lasagna is the pasta. The best is if it is home made but good, high quality packaged pasta will do too.

Also, the cheese is also important. Try to get the best quality you can afford. Honestly, when I was in Italy, the first thing that I noticed was how tasty the cheese was in their dishes. I like to use a mixture of cheeses, here I used fresh mozzarella cheese balls, feta cheese and Parmesan cheese.

I make my own Italian seasoning but of course any store bought mix would work too. I think this is a nicely balanced mixture of spices grown in Italy. They are carefully selected herbs so one herb will not overpower the other. Also, they all are carminative therefore will help with digestion. Historically, we can thank the ancient Greek doctors who added these herbs to dishes so people can get their benefits all year along.

The warming, aromatic oregano is the key ingredient in pasta dishes. I like to use it because it gives a nice, distinctive flavor to Italian dishes. The sweet fennel seeds are acrid and compliment the strong aromatic oregano in the dish. The delicate basil is probably the most loved and popular spice used in Italian cooking. If you can, try to use the fresh plant instead of the dried. Its aromatic flavor is a nice addition to any Italian dish. The pungent chili pepper is not a big part of the Italian cuisine but Italians enjoy adding a little to their pasta dishes. The oregano and the fennel seeds both can offset the heat of some stronger spices.

Italian seasoning

2 TBSP (6 tsp) dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil or handful of fresh basil

2 tsp ground fennel seeds

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/4-1/2 tsp hot red pepper or to taste (optional)

RECIPE

Serves 6-8 people

Ingredients

  • lasagna pasta (I used 10 strips)
  • 10-16oz spinach (frozen is fine too)
  • 4-8 oz chopped up mushrooms
  • olive oil
  • 2 slices of bacon (optional)
  • 1/2 cup of tomato sauce + (more for the top and the bottom if needed)
  • 1 cup of Parmesan cheese (1/2 cup for the filling, 1/2 cup for the Béchamel sauce)
  • 8oz (100g) fresh mozzarella balls
  • 8 oz (200g) of feta cheese
  • 1 Tbsp of Italian seasoning plus more for the top
  • handfull of fresh basil leaves (if you have them)
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • About 4 oz grated Mozzarella cheese for the top

Bachamel sauce ingredients

  • 5 Tbsp of butter
  • 1/2 cup of flour
  • 2 cups of milk
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 2 egg yolks (optional)

  • Rosso Piceno wine. Bottled by Saladini Pilastri 2018 (optional) It is the best and not expensive!
  • parsley leaves (chopped)

Directions

Start boiling the water for the pasta (omit if your pasta does not need to be boiled).

Preheat the oven to 400F and have the rack in the middle of the oven.

Making the filling: In a pan, sauté bacon (optional) and mushrooms in a little oil for 5-10 minutes. Transfer into a bowl. Meanwhile wash and take stems off the spinach. If using frozen spinach of course no need to do it. Sauté in a little oil and water. Remove and try to drain off water. Chop spinach well and transfer into the bowl. Add mashed feta cheese, tomato sauce, 1 egg, garlic, 1 Tbsp of the Italian seasoning (see recipe above). Mix.

Preparing the béchamel sauce. It is not too hard, just follow the steps. I used a whisk. Warm up 5 Tbsp of butter on low heat, when melted increase the heat to medium high and add the flour slowly, stirring continuously. Then start adding the milk very slowly, stirring after each addition and wait for a minute to let the flour mixture soak up the milk. When you start seeing bubbles, it is done. Take off heat. Grate some nutmeg. Add 1/2 cup of Gruyere cheese (optional) and 2 egg yolks. Last time I forgot the eggs and the sauce was still fine. So I will add here that it is optional especially if you are already adding cheese. Mix well. I use a double boiler but is not necessary.

Prepare the lasagna pasta according to its directions. If you need to boil the pasta, put it in the boiling water that was started in the first step. Proceed according to its instructions. When done take out of the water and try to make sure they don’t stick to each other. I like to cook the pasta more at the end to prevent sticking. So try to make sure you have everything ready before the pasta is ready so you can start assembling the lasagna.

Assembling the lasagna: Put a thin layer of the béchamel sauce or tomato sauce on the bottom of a 3 Qt size baking dish. (2Qt size will work ok too). Place 1 layer of the pasta strips on the bottom of the pan. Put the filling on top of the pasta, followed by the fresh mozzarella balls (cut up if using the larger balls), pour the béchamel sauce and top it all with another layer of the pasta. Spread some pasta sauce and the shredded mozzarella cheese on the top. Sprinkle some Italian spice on the top.

Turn the oven heat down to 375F and put the lasagna in the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is nice and golden brown.

Serve hot with a little grated Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley on the top. I really enjoyed a glass of red wine with the dish. I felt like I was in Italy! I would recommend this bottle of red wine if you are looking for one to try (please see details above in Ingredients).

enjoy!

Source

  • Matthew Wood: Earthwise
  • Paul Pitchford: Healing with Whole Foods

Photo, recipe, text by twincitiesherbs.com.

Sauerkraut dish with kielbasa

This delicious dish is very easy to make. I probably should have called it the bachelor/bachelorette sauerkraut dish … but it is not just for the bachelors/bachelorettes, it is the perfect dish whenever you want to make something quick but tasty and healthy. Of course, you can never go wrong with sauerkraut, it is so healthy.

It is a super easy recipe but I would like to note a few things. The onion has to be finally chopped and the dish needs to be cooked well otherwise it will have a raw taste.

There are two types of sauerkraut. One is preserved with vinegar and the other is processed with salt. I prefer the salted version as it is less acidic and is better for health. This version acts as a probiotic and supports gut health and digestive functions. Of course, the vinegar version would be fine to use, too.

RECIPE

Serves 6-8 people

Ingredients

  • 1 onion, finally chopped
  • oil (sunflower, lard)
  • 4 large slices of bacon, chopped into small pieces
  • 1 tsp sweet paprika powder
  • 1 cup of cold meat stock
  • 1 apple, cored, peeled and chopped
  • 1 tsp caraway seeds
  • 1/2 tsp mustard
  • 2 lbs of sauerkraut, well rinsed
  • red chili pepper (optional)
  • 1 lb of kielbasa or sausage
  • sour cream to serve
  • rice or potatoes to serve
  • bread
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  • Chop the onions making sure they are finally chopped. Also chop the bacon. Sauté onions and bacon in some oil for about 10 minutes on medium high heat. Sauté the apple pieces for a few minutes.
  • Add the paprika, stir for 1 minute to activate and add the cold stock, stir.
  • Rinse sauerkraut well with water.
  • Add the sauerkraut, stir. Continue adding, the mustard, red chili pepper (optional) and caraway seeds. You can add the meat too. If the meat is already cooked, you do not have to add it at this point. Although I personally like it if any meat is cooked in the dish regardless whether it is precooked or not. If you don’t include it at this step, just add it at the end.
  • Cook for 45-60 minutes until the sauerkraut is well cooked.
  • Season with salt and pepper.
  • Serve with sour cream and your choice of bread, potatoes or rice.

enjoy!