Posts Tagged Recipe

Making a New Home

Aug 24

Posted by Jessie in Jessie Bea Eats! | No Comments

I am finally settled in to my new home in Southern California.  It’s beautiful here.  The sun shines everyday, there are gorgeous mountains to look at (and hike up), and the pace here is just a bit slower than in New York.  I’ve made a couple of weekend trips already (Los Angeles, Las Vegas) and for someone like me who loves to take get-away trips, it seems California is going to suit me just fine.

Hearty Rice Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette and Toasted Pecans

I’m still searching for a job (and anxiously awaiting the results of the CA Bar Exam in November) so I currently find myself with far too much free time on my hands.  This of course is not a bad thing, it’s just a huge change for me.  You see, studying for the Bar is like having 3 full time jobs for 2 months.  It’s brutal, it’s exhausting, and it’s completely overwhelming.  And that’s just studying for it!   Then you have to take a 3 day, 18 hour exam.  Oh, and did I mention that law school really doesn’t prepare you for the subject matter on the exam?  Yeah, it’s not a pleasant experience.

So now that I have 3 (three!) months to wait for my results, I’m finding myself slowly returning to normal.  There are far less headaches, cups of coffee, take out containers, and flash cards in my life these days.

What does this mean for the blog?

Well, it means that I’ll actually be blogging more frequently again!

Starting now, with this Hearty Brown Rice Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette and Toasted Pecans.

You see, it’s really freaking hot in Southern California right now.

108*?!  Not something I’ve ever experienced before.  Not something I really enjoy either.  It’s unseasonably hot here, and even though I live in a gorgeously air conditioned house, I can’t bear to cook or eat hot foods.  So, I made a big pot of rice the other night, and made this salad with it.  It’s cool and light while still being hearty.

You can use any type of rice you want in this recipe.  Even leftover chinese take out rice is fine.  Here, I used a Brown Rice Medley that a friend introduced me to.  It’s fairly quick cooking for brown rice and I love the variation in textures.  If you have a Trader Joe’s near you, I recommend picking up a bag.

So here we go with the recipe!

Hearty Rice Salad with Red Wine Vinagrette and Toasted Pecans

Hearty Brown Rice Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette and Toasted Pecans

  • 1 1/4 cup rice, cooked and cooled
  • 1/2 cup chickpeas, drained
  • 1 cup baby spinach, packed tightly, julienned*
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 2 tbsp raisins (optional)
  • 2 tbsp chopped pecans

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the rice and the chickpeas.  Add the spinach.  Set aside.

For the Vinaigrette:  In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, and basil.  Whisk to combine and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in the raisins so they start to soak up the dressing.

For the Toasted Pecans**: In a small dish, microwave the pecans on high for 20 seconds at a time, until they smell fragrant.  It usually takes 45 seconds or so.

Assembling the Salad: Add the vinaigrette and the toasted pecans to the rice and chickpea mixture.  Toss to coat. Cover tightly and let chill in the fridge for at least an hour before serving, so they flavors can combine.

Notes:

* To julienne the spinach, gather it into a fairly neat pile, with most of the leaves facing the same direction.  Then just thinly slice it lengthwise.  You can also just roughly chop it- it will work just fine.

** This is how I “toast” small amounts of nuts.  It works great and doesn’t heat up the kitchen.  It’s also harder to burn them!

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Individual Hot Pizza Dip

May 15

Posted by Jessie in Jessie Bea Eats! | 1 Comment

I’m sorry about this recipe.  I really am.  It’s freaking delicious and takes about 3 minutes to pull together.  It’s going to be a problem around my apartment.

So here’s the thing: it’s not even remotely fancy or healthy food.  It’s hardly even a recipe.  It’s cream cheese, red sauce, and shredded cheese microwaved and served with pita wedges.  But oh god.  It’s finals, I’m graduating from law school in 2 weeks, starting bar review the day after commencement, moving, and sometimes I just want to eat my anxiety, okay?  And this stuff does the trick.  It’s hot and melty and tomatoey- my definition of comfort.

Hot Pizza Dip

Clearly more excited to eat it than to take a decent photo- or even wipe off the splatter.

Individual Hot Pizza Dip

  • 1 tablespoon cream cheese
  • 2-3 tablespoons marinara sauce
  • dried oregano
  • fennel seeds*
  • crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon shredded cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, etc.)

In a microwavable bowl (cereal size) spread the cream cheese in an even layer.  Layer on the marinara sauce, a sprinkle of the oregano and fennel seeds and crushed red pepper flakes, if using.  Top with shredded cheese.  Cover with a paper towel and microwave on high for 1 minute, or until the cheese is melted. Serve with toasted pita wedges.

—

  • Okay, so this probably tastes better if you bake it in the oven instead of microwaving it.  But really people, I’m talking 3 minutes until you have hot delicious pizza dip.  Get over crunchy cheese and nuke this.  If you have more time or want to feed a bigger crowd you can make this in a large pan and bake it for a while and I’m sure it will be delicious.

*The fennel seeds make this taste a little like sausage- this is my dad’s trick and I use it all the time on pizza or in pasta dishes.  Crush the seeds lightly in the palm of your hand before you add them to a dish.  I buy mine in the Indian section of the grocery store.  They come in a bag and are much cheaper than the ones in the tiny bottle in the spice aisle.

**In the photo I sprinkled some nutritional yeast on top.  See, it’s healthy now!

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Pizzetta Bianca with Caramelized Onions

Feb 27

Posted by Jessie in Jessie Bea Eats! | 1 Comment

I made pizza dough (I highly recommend this recipe) a few weeks ago and only used about 1/4 of it to make a calzone and 2 mini bread sticks.  So, I wrapped it up tight in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer for another time since pizza dough freezes really well.  Last night I took another 1/4 of the dough out and let it thaw in the refrigerator over night.

So for dinner tonight I knew I was going to have pizza, but the question was what kind?

I didn’t have any cheese on hand save for a bit of parmesan, so I decided to go for something a bit less ordinary than the pizzas I usually make.  I decided to caramelize some onions and add them to a white pizza.  This came out really well, if I do say so myself.
Take your time caramelizing the onions- the longer you let them cook at a low temperature the better.  Don’t fuss over them, the cooking time is long but they really only need to be stirred a few times.  You can put a lid on them and walk away for a while if they are over low heat.

This pizzetta is definitely for garlic lovers!  If you’re less keen on garlic, try using roasted garlic and spreading the mashed cloves over the dough before you bake it.

Pizzetta Bianca with Caramelized Onions

  • 1/4 of this pizza dough recipe (or enough dough to fill an 8×8 square baking pan)
  • 1/2 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • dried oregano
  • dried basil
  • crushed red pepper flakes
  • parmesan cheese (optional)
  • fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.  Line an 8×8 square baking pan with parchment paper and spray with olive oil.  Stretch the dough to fit in the pan.  Spray with a bit more oil.  Set aside.

In a large skillet over low heat, spray a generous amount of olive oil then add the onions.  Cook very slowly until they turn caramel colored- not crispy!  It should take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.

Add the sliced garlic to the pizza dough, followed by a bit of each of the herbs and a shake or two of crushed red pepper flakes.  Then add the onions and the optional parmesan cheese.

Looking a bit... *beige* before baking

Bake for approximately 12-15 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Sprinkle the parsley over, if using.

I had half of this for dinner tonight with a salad.  If you want to make this to serve 4, just use half of the pizza dough recipe and use a bit more of each ingredient to cover the pizza.

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Vegan Split Pea and Carrot Soup

Feb 20

Posted by Jessie in Jessie Bea Eats! | No Comments

I’m home sick today, feeling pretty lousy.  I was craving soup, but all I had in my cupboard was creamy tomato and butternut squash soups.  Creamy soups are not at all what I want when I don’t feel good.  I had about a cup of dried split peas in the cupboard and a huge bag of carrots in the fridge, so I figured I’d make some split pea and carrot soup.  This is really tasty and simple — and it requires minimal effort, which is perfect when you’re pretty sure your sinuses are squeezing your head into oblivion.

The colors of the raw carrots and split peas are really pretty too.  Please make sure you pick through your dried split peas before you cook them for the soup– I almost always find a tiny stone or two in there.  Also, this soup is vegan as written, optionally vegetarian if you use butter, and also optionally fat-free if you sauté the onions in water.  Holy versatile!

Split Pea and Carrot Soup

  • 1 Cup dried split peas, carefully checked for debris and rinsed
  • 2 1/2 cups water
  • 1 large carrot, finely diced*
  • 1/2 large sweet onion, diced*
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • dash pepper
  • 1 tsp vegetable bullion (optional)
  • 1/8 tsp Liquid Smoke (optional)
  • 1 tsp earth balance (vegan margarine) or olive oil or butter or water

Melt the earth balance over medium heat in a large pot.  Add the onions, salt and pepper.  Cook until the onions are translucent.  Add the carrots, bullion, liquid smoke, and water.  Bring to a boil over high heat then knock the heat back to low/medium low to simmer for 30 minutes or until the split peas are tender.

At this point, you can blend the soup (or half of the soup) in a blender for a smooth soup, or leave it chunky.

Notes:

  • No picture of the finished soup because let’s be honest- it’s not attractive.  Tastes great though!
  • * Here is a good time to use one of those mini food choppers if you have one.  You want really small pieces of carrots and onion if you are going to leave the soup chunky.
  • The liquid smoke is optional, but I think it gives the soup a nice flavor.  I add it here because most traditional split pea soups have ham hocks or bacon in them and the liquid smoke mimics that flavor.  You could also saute some crumbled vegetarian bacon or ham in with the onions to get the same effect.
  • You can make this soup fat-free by omitting the earth balance or oil and just using a bit of water in the bottom of the pot to saute the onions.  I like the flavor of the earth balance here though.

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