Candied Cherry Tomatoes

24 cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup red wine
2 Tbs water
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds, or roasted black sesame seeds

1) In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together the sugar, wine and water.
2) Stir until the liquid becomes a syrup, about 15 minutes.
3) Drizzle in the lemon juice and stir. Remove from heat.
4) Insert toothpicks into the tomatoes. Dip each one into the liquid to coat, then roll in sesame seeds and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet to set.

Review: I couldn't find cherry tomatoes at the grocery store, so Mike convinced me to try the heirloom variety pack of grape tomatoes. They are tastier, which adds to the sweetness of the syrup. This sweetness was balanced by the sesame seeds, which also gave it a satisfying crunch. This is a cute, and easy, appetizer.

Adapted from:
Women's Health Magazine Jan/Feb 2016

Mushroom & Lentil Pilaf

1 cup sprouted rice blend
2 'not-beef' bouillon cubes
2 Tbs avocado oil
1 leek, white and light green parts chopped
1 lb baby bella mushrooms, diced
15oz can of lentils, rinsed and drained

1) In a medium saucepan, cook rice according to package directions, but add the bouillon cubes to the water.
2) Meanwhile, saute the leeks and mushrooms in oil over medium-high heat, in a large saute pan. Stirring frequently, saute until most of the mushrooms' water has evaporated.
3) One the rice and leek/mushroom mixture has finished cooking, add the rice to the large saute pan, along with the can of lentils. Mix well and heat until hot throughout the mixture. Serve warm.

Review:  I was in such a rush to make all of the holiday dishes, that I didn't pay attention to the recipe I planned to make. Therefore, I had rice already boiling before I realized I was supposed to cook quinoa. My oops turned out for the best, because the hearty flavor of this dish just wouldn't fit with quinoa. This had a deep, earthy flavor that was so very savory. I adored it and non-vegetarian family members asked for the recipe!

Adapted from:
http://thesethingsilove.com/2013/03/mushroom-lentil-quinoa-pilaf/

Sprouted Rice With Butternut Squash & Haricot Verts (original recipe)

1 butternut squash, peeled and diced
2 cups sprouted rice blend, uncooked
1 Tbs ground sage
1 Tbs rosemary, crushed
1 cup pinot grigio
1 leek, white and light green parts chopped
1 lb haricot verts, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup walnuts, toasted

1) Preheat the oven to 400F. Grease a rimmed baking sheet and add butternut squash. Spray with olive oil cooking spray and bake for 45-50 minutes, until browned.
2) Meanwhile, cook rice according to package directions, typically 25-30 minutes. Combine cooked rice with sage and rosemary.
3) In a large saute pan, mix the leeks and pinot grigio. Bring to a boil and allow wine to reduce to about 1/4 cup, about 7-10 minutes. Add haricot verts and cover, steaming the beans until bright green, 3-5 minutes.
4) To serve, make a bed of rice and top with haricot verts, butternut squash and toasted walnuts.

Review:  I've been chronically fatigued and disinterested in cooking as of late. This has led to eating a lot of crap. So, I pledged to do things differently this week and committed to cooking. However, my disinterest led to not looking for new recipes. I instead grabbed random produce at the grocery store this weekend. I spent much of today pondering what I could make with the ingredients I owned and this is what I came up with. It was unbelievably delicious. The tanginess of the wine reduction was such a great counter to the sweetness of the butternut squash and then toasty flavor of the walnuts was a nice finish. The haricot verts/leeks/rice were a nice base to such a wonderful flavor combination. Yum!!

Spiced Mixed-Nut Pie

3 eggs
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 Tbs spiced rum
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp Instant Clearjel
3 cups salted, roasted, mixed nuts

1) Preheat oven to 375F. Set aside pie plate with prepared crust of your choosing.
2) Beat the eggs with the brown sugar, corn syrup, rum, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, ginger, vanilla extract and Clearjel, in a large bowl. Stir in the nuts. Pour pie mixture into prepare pie crust.
3) Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the pie is mostly set. Let cool completely.

Review: This looked like such a fun pie to make for the holidays. It originally called for dark rum, but couldn't find any in local liquor stores, at least none in a size less than a liter! So, I used a bit of Captain Morgan's, though I considered using an espresso rum. I also liked using Trader Joe's mix of nuts, since it included macadamia nuts! Yum. So, it did seem similar to a pecan pie, but was so much more exotic. I looooooooved this pie!!

Before baking:

 After:

Adapted from:
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/spiced-mixed-nut-pie

Thanksgiving Dressing (original recipe)

2 lb pumpkin, peeled and diced
16oz bag wild rice
4 cups vegetable broth
2 Tbs olive oil
1 leek, white and light green parts chopped
1 pkg fresh sage, chopped
2 portabello caps, chopped
2 cups walnuts, toasted

1) Preheat oven to 400F. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss pumpkin with 1 Tbs olive oil. Roast in oven for 45-50 minutes, until browned and tender.
2) Meanwhile, combine wild rice and vegetable broth in a dutch oven. Heat on the stovetop over medium-high heat, until boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 45-50 minutes (until broth is fully absorbed).
3) Once the pumpkin and wild rice has been cooking for 30 minutes, bring out a saute pan. Combine 1 Tbs olive oil, leeks, mushrooms and sage. Heat over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes, until most of the water from the mushrooms has evaporated.
4) Toss all the ingredients together in a large bowl, serve warm.

Review: Ha! I made an original recipe, just from the top of my head. Thank goodness it turned out so wonderfully delicious, or I'd have nothing to eat for the holiday. This made a tremendous amount of food, so there's plenty for me and some to share.

Sage & Maple Roasted Chickpeas, with Kale & Mashed Sweet Potates

15oz can chickpeas, rinsed and dried
2 Tbs olive oil, divided
2 Tbs maple syrup, divided
2 Tbs fresh sage leaves, chopped
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 medium sweet potatoes
1 bunch kale stems removed, chopped into 2-inch pieces

1) Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a large, rimmed baking sheet with olive oil spray.
2) In a medium mixing bowl, combine 1 Tbs olive oil and 1 Tbs maple syrup. Add the sage and chickpeas, toss to combine.
3) Pour chickpea mixture onto the rimmed baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Roast until the chickpeas are browned and crispy, about 30 minutes.
4) About 20 minutes into the chickpeas cooking, pierce the sweet potatoes all over. Place on a paper towel in the microwave. Microwave on high about 7-8 minutes, until soft.
5) When the sweet potatoes have cooled slightly, peel the skin off with your hands. Divide the sweet potatoes among your serving bowls. Mash each with a fork, then drizzle with remaining 1 Tbs of olive oil and 1 Tbs maple syrup, stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
6) Toss the kale with the chickpeas on the rimmed baking sheet. Spray with olive oil cooking spray and put back into oven for another 5-7 minutes, until kale has wilted and crisped.
7) Top mashed sweet potatoes with chickpea and kale mixture. Serve immediately.

Review:  I hate cleaning kale, so I bought a bag of prewashed, prechopped kale. However, it doesn't remove the stems. This made for a messy meal as I had to spit out the stems (totally not edible). I also believe my kale didn't crisp up because of the stems. Oops, big mistake. Regardless, this was really tasty. Sweet potatoes and maple syrup are always a great flavor combination. Then, the chickpeas caramelized (not dried out like chickpea snacks) and the kale balanced out the sweetness. It's a great fall dish!

Adapted from:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/christinebyrne/sage-and-maple-roasted-chickpeas-with-crispy-kale-and-sweet?bffb&utm_term=.iug7680LE#.xclPm3BzD

Pickled Snap Peas

3/4 lb snap peas, ends removed
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 Tbs pink Himalayan salt
2 cups water
fresh dill, several weeks later

1) Dissolve the salt in the water, at room temperature. Never use iodized salt to make this brine, as it will prevent the fermentation process from occurring.
2) Stuff snap peas and garlic into a quart mason jar. Try to wedge them in tightly. Place a pickle pebble on top, to keep them below the brine.
3) Pour brine in carefully and make sure there's enough to cover all the vegetables. Cover with an airlock lid.
4) Set aside in a cool place, out of direct sun. After 2-3 weeks, test the ph. Once it's below 4, wedge in the fresh dill and place it in the fridge. Remove the dill after one week and enjoy!

Review: I began this recipe on 9/12/2015. On 10/14/2015, the ph finally got below 4 and I could put the dill in. The dill was removed on 10/25/2015 and we got to enjoy this goodness. These are definitely pickles. They're dilly, they're salty, they're crisp. And, oddly addictive. I would never have expected these to be so good, but they're amazing. They're also full of all sorts of prebiotics and probiotics, since they're lacto-fermented.

Adapted from:
http://phickle.com/we-can-phickle-that-dilly-snaps/