Sweet Corn, Squash & Pepper Hash with Black Beans

Sweet Corn, Squash & Pepper Hash

I know that it's Sunday, but looking forward at my week, I thought that I'd better go ahead and throw up my Meatless Monday post!

I could schedule it to post tomorrow, but I figure, why wait? Instant gratification is so much more rewarding anyway.

My weekend in food consisted of a delicious dinner at Tasca with the A-Girl (the homemade gnocchi had to be the highlight of the meal) and a leisurely lunch at Lazy Ox downtown (which resulted in a parking ticket, but it was worth it!).

And last night, possibly as a healthy detox from an indulgent weekend, I made this delicious vegan recipe for Sweet Corn, Squash & Pepper Hash with Black Beans. In fact, I love it so much, I've been making it almost weekly. It's kind of like an everything but the kitchen sink dish with farmers market ingredients.

The combination of sweet corn (coming in strong at the market right now), summer squash (any variety works great), and bell peppers is healthy, delicious, and satisfying. The black beans and brown rice give the dish the protein and fiber components that make it a complete meal. In fact, it's a great way to make use of leftover rice, which I always seem to have stashed away in my fridge.

I finish the dish with fresh cilantro, but any herb like basil or parsley would be great. And the secret ingredient? A dash of hot sauce! This provides a nice kick and vinegar to bring out the flavor of the vegetables.

It's also a one pan meal, and I find that my twenty buck cast iron skillet is the best receptacle for the recipe. Clean up is a cinch.

Even better, what's great about this recipe is that you can experiment. Sometimes, I use cherry tomatoes instead of peppers. And when I have kale lurking about, I throw it in, too. I mean, you can never have enough kale in your life, right?

So think of this as a template for a simple, healthy vegan meal. You can change it up, throw other ingredients into it. The hash is great leftover, or served for breakfast with a sunny side up egg on top.

Sweet Corn, Squash & Pepper Hash with Black Beans
Serves 4 people
Cooking time: about 25 minutes
Vegan; gluten-free
Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups summer squash, thinly sliced
• 2 bell peppers, seeded and chopped
• 2 ears of corn, kernels removed
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 1 (16 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 cups brown rice
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
• salt & freshly ground pepper
• hot sauce for garnishing (optional)

Directions

1. In a cast iron skillet or other pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until beginning to soften.
2. Add the garlic and saute for another minute.
3. Add the squash, corn, and peppers. Cook until beginning to soften (about five minutes).
4. Stir in the beans, brown rice, and cilantro. Cook for another few minutes, until the vegetables have finished cooking. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
5. To serve, spoon the hash onto a plate. Garnish with a little chopped cilantro if desired. Serve with hot sauce. Enjoy!

Source for Ingredients

• summer squash, sweet corn, bell pepper, onion, garlic, and cilantro from West Hollywood Farmers Market 
• organic black beans and brown basamti rice from Trader Joe's 

Pan-Cooked Summer Squash with Tomatoes & Kale

Pan-Cooked Summer Squash with Tomatoes & Kale

It's Monday again, and I'm off to the West Hollywood Farmers Market. That means that's it's been a week since my last visit to the market.

As many of you know, I love eating greens and savory vegetables for breakfast. I do it almost every single day--cooking up baby bok choy with sesame seeds and low sodium tamari one morning, then sauteing baby spinach with garlic and lemon the next morning.

So this morning, I was confronted with the remains of my last market visit--two lovely white summer squash, a bowl full of sweet yellow cherry tomatoes, and a few dark green fronds of kale. Inspired by this recipe for Pan-Cooked Summer Squash with Tomatoes and Basil from Martha Rose Shulman that appeared in her wonderful New York Times column, I decided to saute thinly sliced squash and kale with garlic in my cast iron skillet, and finish them off by adding the cherry tomatoes and cooking them down to a wonderful sweet tomato sauce.

The cherry tomatoes (rather than their larger counterparts) worked beautifully in this recipe. And the kale? Well, it was delicious! I love adding kale to almost anything, and perhaps it was penance for my late night vanilla shake and fries at the 101 Cafe last night, following a great show at the Hollywood Bowl of Disney's Fantasia.

I happily scarfed down this dish with eggs and toast for breakfast, and plan to finish the rest off with my farmers market purchased lunch.

Pan-Cooked Summer Squash with Tomatoes & Kale
Serves 4 people
Cooking time: about 20 minutes
Vegan; gluten-free
Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 cups summer squash, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup kale, thinly sliced
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, julienned (optional)

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for one minute. Then, add the squash, cooking until tender and slightly translucent.
2. Add the kale and cherry tomatoes, and continue to saute until the tomatoes cook down and the kale becomes tender (about 5 minutes).
3. Stir in the basil (optional). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Source for Ingredients

• summer squash, cherry tomatoes, and kale from Studio City Farmers Market
• organic garlic and extra virgin olive oil from Trader Joe's 

Meatless Monday: Panko-Crusted Squash Blossoms with Feta and Pine Nuts

Panko-Crusted Squash Blossoms with Feta and Pine Nuts

Everything tastes better when it's panko-crusted, don't you think?

Panko are Japanese style breadcrumbs that have a crisper, airier texture than most Western style breadcrumbs. I prefer them to traditional breadcrumbs and always keep my cupboard stocked with a bag. While they used to be available only at specialty Asian grocers, they're become more widely accessible over the last few years. Even Trader Joe's sells them now.

Succotash With Baby Squash, Fava Beans, Sweet Corn & Pancetta

While I'm off in NYC, downing delicious culinary delights, I thought I'd leave you with this lovely spring succotash recipe.  Every time I type the word succotash, all that goes through my head is Sylvester the Cat's catchphrase, "Sufferin' Succotash!" For this sufferin' succotash, I cook up some pancetta lardons, and then saute an array of farmers market vegetable confections in their fat.  This succotash is great as a stand alone lunch, side dish to a wonderful dinner, or served under grilled fish or slices of pork tenderloin (which is how I served it the other night).

Succotash With Baby Squash, Fava Beans, Sweet Corn And Pancetta
Serves 4-6 people
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
1/4 cup pancetta, chopped into lardons
1/2 cup red onion, peeled and chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 cup corn kernels (about 2 cobs of corn, kernels removed)
2 cup baby squash, thinly quartered
1/4 cup fava beans, blanched and peeled
pinch of pimenton (smoked parprika)
salt & pepper to taste

Directions
Saute the pancetta over medium high heat until starting to brown.  Add the red onion and jalapeno, and saute until tender.  Then, add the corn and the squash, cooking until tender.  Finally, stir in the fava beans, pimenton and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Enjoy!

Meatless Monday: Organic Zucchini Soup

Happy Meatless Monday!  Today, I'm writing up one of my favorite soups to make on a cold day - Organic Zucchini Soup!  I add a little peeled potato and pureed this soup to give it a creamy texture (sans the cream, of course!).  While technically a fruit, zucchini is handled like a vegetable in the kitchen and has many health benefits.  It's low calorie, fiber-rich and contains vitamin C, manganese, vitamin A, potassium, folate, copper, riboflavin and phosphorous. This is a delicious, meatless, healthy soup that you're sure to love!

Organic Zucchini Soup
Serves 6 people
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
4 organic zucchinis (large), chopped
4 cups vegetable stock
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
1 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons roasted walnut oil (for drizzling)
salt and pepper

Directions
In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and saute until just softening (about 5 minutes).  Add the garlic and chili flakes and saute for 1 more minute.  Then, add the zucchini, potatoes, stock, thyme and bay leaf and bring to a simmer.  Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender until smooth.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  To plate, ladle some soup into a bowl and drizzle with roasted walnut oil (good olive oil would also work).  Enjoy!

Source For Ingredients
organic zucchini, organic potatoes, chili flakes and organic onion from Trader Joe's

organic vegetable broth and organic bay leaf from Whole Foods

organic garlic and roasted walnut oil from Hollywood Farmers Market

Summer Succotash with Purple Spring Onions & Baby Squash

Happy Monday Divas! Yesterday, I hit up the Hollywood Farmers Market and scored and incredible bounty of food, everything from Santa Barbara black shrimp, to Bison short ribs, to organic wax beans in three colors, to organic heirloom bell peppers! I have some fabulous recipes planned this week, including Zinfandel braised bison short ribs, which I'll be begin marinading tomorrow so that can soak for 24 to 36 hours before braising. But in the meantime, I thought I'd share a quick side dish that I threw together using ingredients easily found at the Farmers Market this time of year! This is also a vegetarian dish for all your veggie lovers out there.

Now, a succotash is traditionally made with corn and shell beans or lima beans, but in this case I made mine with corn, purple spring onions & baby squash for a lighter take on the dish. This is quick to make - taking less than 30 minutes to throw together - and it's a great way to spice up a vegetable side dish. Serve this succotash with fish, shrimp or chicken for a lovely, light summer meal! Or, if you'd prefer to keep it vegetarian, add beans or tofu and enjoy! Happy Cooking Divas!

Baby Squash from the Farmers Market

Domestic Diva's Summer Succotash with Purple Spring Onions & Baby Squash!

2 ears of corn, kernels removed
1 bunch purple spring onions, purple parts sliced into rings (regular spring onions may be substituted)
2 cups baby squash, thinly sliced (regular squash may be substituted)
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp chili flakes
salt & pepper

Directions:

In a saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and saute for a 2 minutes. Add the garlic and chili flakes and cook for 1 minute longer.

Add the squash and corn, saute until cooked, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme and season to taste with salt & pepper. Enjoy!

Source for Ingredients:

organic purple spring onions, organic corn & organic baby squash from Hollywood Farmers Market

Music on Tap:

Okkervil River - The Stand Ins

The sequel to 2007's The Stage Names, this album has been on heavy rotation in my car all week! Similar musically to Bright Eyes, except more focused (and less pretentious), Okkervil River has quietly become on my favorite music acts. Check out this album (and their others) and I promise you won't be disappointed!