Yum, onions

Last week I made two dishes that required deeply caramelized onions. At that point, the Boyfriend (who does not care for anything in which onion is the dominant flavor) was in California for an undetermined amount of time, so I figured I'd better jump on my opportunity to take down 5 lbs of onions in one fell swoop.

After thinly slicing an entire bag of onions and putting them in the biggest dutch oven I own, I added a stick of butter, turned the stove to low heat, and let the onions and butter do their thing. I cleaned the kitchen, then stirred the onions. Vacuumed the house. Stirred the onions. Read a few chapters of a book. Stirred the onions. Spaced out for a while. Stirred the onions. Basically, my entire afternoon was dedicated to killing time while the onions did their thing. It got pretty frustrating toward the end, because they smelled AMAZING.

By the time they were ready, it was time for me to get ready for dinner with The Boyfriend's family. Dinner was amazing, but that's a story for another time. So, the onions got scooped into a container so I could deal with them when I got home.

Back to the onions. Half stayed in the container, while the other half went to make French onion soup. So, back into the dutch oven they went, along with:

• 6 c. beef flavored broth*
  
• 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 c. white wine**
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. thyme

I let everything simmer for 30 minutes or so while I finished cleaning the kitchen, then put it in the fridge for lunch the following day. One of my co-workers joined me for lunch the next day. I didn't have any gruyere or swiss on hand, so we just ate it with hunks of bread and a salad. So tasty. While part of me thinks it's a pity The Boyfriend hates onions, I just remind myself that there's more leftovers for me.

* I used Better than Boullion's No-Beef base because that's how we roll at this spinster's house.
**White is what I had on hand. Next time I'll probably use red.

"So, what," you ask, "happened to the rest of those caramelized onions?"

Well, I'll tell you.

I made mujadara. It was so good that I think I've sworn off chicken and rice forever. Chicken and rice is my go-to dish when I'm sick, and although we've given up meat, chicken and rice is what I crave on days I feel lousy.

Mujadara is incredibly simple to make. You will need:

• caramelized onions
• 1 c. lentils
• 1 c. basmati rice

That's it. No, really. Cook the lentils and the rice, and mix everything together. It's mindbogglingly good. So simple. So delicious. My brother was in town for the evening and between the two of us, we took down almost the entire pot of mujadara. I had a little left over for lunch the next day, but that's because we went out to have a couple of beers. I'm pretty sure if we'd stayed in, there wouldn't have been any left.

Also, neat little trick I learned: caramelized onions can be frozen. Oh, and another quick note, both of these dishes can be made vegan by switching the butter for a spread like Earth Balance.

Been a while, right?

Wow, time slips, doesn't it?

The Boyfriend is on his way to California to chase down a dream, so, I'm on my own until our house sells. With that being said, I've had a productive couple of days. The Boyfriend can be a bit of a finicky eater, so I've been making foods that I know he wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole.

Lined up for dinner this week:
- Split pea soup
- French onion soup
- Spinach, goat cheese, and squash tart (The Boyfriend had a hissy fit when I told him I was making this. Apparently, it sounds amazing. Initially, I was told that he was uninterested.)
- Mujadara (pronounced moo-jha-dra)

Although I'm going out to dinner tonight, I'm spending the afternoon making dinner for this week. First up: split pea soup.

Let me start by saying I've never been a fan of split pea soup. My mom made it exactly one time that I remember, and I recall not eating it. Now, my mom was a phenomenal cook, but I took one bite of that soup and decided I would rather go to bed hungry. My siblings followed suit. My poor mother. At least my dad loved it.

A few weeks ago, I'd promised two of my co-workers that I'd bring soup for lunch the following day. I had split peas leftover from another recipe and decided to take the plunge. The soup almost didn't make it to work. It was so good that I considered making something else to take so I could horde the rest in my freezer. Alas, it was late, the grocery store was closed, and I didn't truly feel like making more soup. The Boyfriend wouldn't try it (he too has been scarred by bad split pea soup), but lunch the following day was completely silent.

Enough talking, onto the recipe:

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 carrot (medium/largish), diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp vegetable base (I use Better than Boullion, but you could just use vegetable broth instead of water)
• 6 - 10 c. water (depending on how thick you want the soup to be)
• 1/2 tsp liquid smoke (optional)

Add onion, carrot, celery, and olive oil to a large, heavy bottomed pot. Cook the vegetables until they are tender.

Now, you have a choice here. You can either: Add everything else to the pot, bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer until the peas are falling apart and it feels like silk in your mouth. Or, you can toss everything in your crockpot. This week, I chose the latter, but it's because I needed my stove free so I could caramelize some onions.

I'm eating this with a salad and a nice chunk of crusty bread. And yes, the leftovers are going in my freezer.

Maybe talking to plants really does work

Good news everyone: the grass that we planted last week has started to grow! Little blades of green are popping up all over our front yard. So exciting. I'd like to think it has to do with the pep talks directed at our grass seeds.

More good news: I finally own a garlic press. I don't know how I made it this far in life without one. Seriously. Such a time saver. Totally a single use kitchen gadget that I can no longer do without.

Also, the pollen seems like it's finally starting to die down. Just a little bit.

In other news, G and I had several fabulous dishes this week. Two were from Post Punk Kitchen. Those recipes are what we're going to be focusing on today.

First up, we have Chesapeake Bay Cakes.

You will need:

• 8 ounces tempeh
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 bay leaf

• 3 tablespoons Vegenaisse
• 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard (stone ground Dijon works, too)
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup very finely chopped red bell pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspooon salt
• fresh black pepper
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs, plus extra for dredging

First, combine the tempeh, soy sauce, olive oil, and water. Bring the water to a boil, and cook, uncovered, for about 15 minutes, until most of the water has evaporated.

While the tempeh is cooking, combine the rest of the ingredients in a big bowl. After the tempeh has cooked, mix everything together.

At this point, I had to go to work. So I did. When I got home, I scooped up about 1/4 c. of the mixture for each cake, formed them, dredged them in breadcrumbs, and fried them in a couple of tablespoons of canola oil.

Did you know that asparagus is in season? It is. G and I downed an entire bundle of asparagus after each of us polished off a couple of these cakes. We're not ashamed.

Next up, we have Ancho Lentil Soup with Grilled Pineapple.

We were fortunate enough to have our homeboy Greg over for dinner last night. He helped G grill the pineapple, and he was nice enough to stick around after dinner and offer to help wash dishes. I think the soup had something to do with it.

Anyway, getting to the point, get your soup pot out, 'cause you're gonna need it.

You will also need:

• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 2 dried ancho chilies, seeds removed and ripped into bite sized pieces
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced small
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Seranno pepper, seeded and chopped (add another if you like more heat)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups lentils, washed (I used brown, that's what I had on hand)
• 7 to 8 cups vegetable broth or veg broth and water mixed
• 3 tablespoons of lime juice or to taste
• Cooking spray
• 6 to 8 pineapple rings
  

First, combine the chilies and coriander seed in your blender or food processor. Blend them until the chilies are ground and the coriander is broken down, but not quite a powder. Add the cumin.

Heat the oil in your pot. Add the veggies and cook until they're soft. Add the chili powder, and cook until fragrant. Add the lentils and vegetable broth, bring to a boil, and cook until the lentils are soft.

While the lentils are cooking, grill the pineapple. We grilled ours until it had these beautiful char marks and the pineapple was starting to get kind of soft. By the time the grill heated up and the pineapple was grilled, the lentils were finished. When they're done, add the lime juice.

I was really bummed out when I realized that I forgot to bring the leftover soup to work with me. I was looking forward to this soup most of the morning. On the bright side, I have lunch for tomorrow. I'm going to bed now so lunchtime can get here sooner.