Merry Two-Days-After-Christmas! I’m sorry I didn’t get to pop in again before the big day and share some last minute sweets – after 6 months of intense work, travel, and just generally keeping it together, my body finally called for a time out, and I was out cold with the flu from Friday afternoon until Wednesday morning. I’m still taking it pretty easy, but I’m on my feet again and actually grateful for all the time I’ve had to rest. Time to do a few little things I’ve been meaning to get around to forever, like order a new bed and organize my photos from this year. And more importantly, time to reflect, to think about all the accomplishments of this past year and to take stock of what I’d like for myself in the next one. Although having the flu isn’t the most ideal of circumstances for vacation, I’m glad I’ll start the new year refreshed and refocused.

I made this simple black bean soup the other night to eat while snuggled up in front of a movie. I’m thinking ahead to my annual winter cleanse and testing out new recipes to see if they’re worth including. This soup seems to fit the bill – meat and grain free, low fat, flavorful, quick and easy to put together from cupboard ingredients, and filling enough for dinner on a cold December night. The soup itself is not very complex in flavor, but all the add-ins – feta cheese, pumpkin seeds, and lime wedges – add good contrast and brightness to the smooth and spicy broth. Be warned, the poblanos are surpisingly hot! They look sort of non-intimidating, but they pack a punch.

Black Bean Soup with Roasted Poblanos

Adapted slightly from Bon Appetit. Serves 3-4.

• 2 fresh poblano chiles
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 large dried ancho chile
• One 14.5 oz can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 3 c. chicken or vegetable broth
• 3 c. cooked black beans (about two 14.5 oz cans, rinsed and drained)
• kosher salt to taste
• 4 TBS roasted, salted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• 1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese
• 1 lime, cut into 4 wedges

1. Preheat the broiler. Place the poblanos on a foil-lined baking tray, and broil for 8-12 minutes, turning every few minutes with tongs, until the peppers are blackened all over. Remove the peppers from the oven, and place them in a bowl, covering the bowl immediately with plastic wrap. Let the peppers steam under the plastic wrap for 15 minutes, then peel off and discard their skins, remove and discard the seeds and stems, and finely dice the pepper flesh.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and crushed garlic cloves and saute until onion is golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. Remove the seeds and stem from the dried ancho chile and discard. Place the ancho chile in the pan with the garlic and onion and cook, stirring, until chile has softened and become pliable, about 1-2 minutes. Add the garlic, onion, ancho chile, and tomatoes to a blender and puree until smooth, then return the puree to the saucepan. Stir in the broth, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and simmer until the soup is thickened, about 10-15 minutes. Stir in the beans and the diced poblanos and cook until heated through, about 3-5 minutes. Season to taste with salt.
3. Divide the soup between 3 or 4 bowls, topping each with 1 TBS of pumpkin seeds, 2 TBS of crumbled feta cheese, and a squeeze of lime juice. Serve immediately.

The post Resting // Black Bean Soup with Roasted Poblanos appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I have two more days in Russia, and although it’s been a good trip, I’m looking forward to going home. Mostly because I miss Trevor. I know, I’m a huge sap, but he’s the best (he had brownies sent up to my hotel room! From 4,000 miles away!) Also, I kind of miss my parents, freezing rain is not my favorite type of weather, so… yeah, I will be happy when we land in Boston. But I promise to enjoy my last two nights.

Since we eat out for every meal here, I try to be especially conscious of the choices I’m making at restaurants and of maintaining a healthy lifestyle in general. I have some things working in my favor – a free gym which I can use without leaving the building, about 8-gillion bottles of water dropped off in my room every day, and limited mindless snacking options. But other things, like the propensity to serve sour cream with everything here, and the temptation to order a glass of wine every night, are working against me. Luckily, many traditional Russian dishes are pretty vegetable heavy. At breakfast, I’ve been having roasted mushrooms and boiled carrots with my eggs every morning, lunch always starts off with a vegetable soup, and there’s plenty of vegetable-centric mains to choose from on most menus – like pumpkin ragu, mushroom pie, and stuffed peppers.

Stuffed peppers, while certainly not unique to Eastern European cuisine, are a particular favorite of mine recently (in fact, I had them for lunch yesterday). This stuffed-pepper phase of mine was kick-started by the Mexican-style peppers that they serve for lunch at Bacco’s, which are filled with quinoa and black beans, and topped with cheese and enchilada sauce. Then, after having the meat-and-rice-stuffed version a few times at our cafeteria in Russia, I wanted to make them myself. I combined the two ideas, but kept a Mexican twist in there – the end result was peppers filled with a deliciously savory beef, quinoa, and black bean mix and topped with a smoky-spicy chipotle sauce and plenty of cheese. This is a meal that I feel good about.

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or Google+. Thanks for reading!

Stuffed Peppers with Black Beans, Quinoa, Beef, and Chipotle Sauce

Serves 4.

• 4 large bell peppers, tops cut off, seeds and veins removed
• 1 c. quinoa
• 2 c. water
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 large onion, minced
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 5 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp chipotle liquid (from canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce)
• 1 c. cooked black beans
• 1 TBS tomato paste
• 1 1/4 c. canned crushed tomatoes, divided
• 1/2 c. shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese
• 1/3 c. crumbled cotija cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and then add the stemmed and seeded peppers. Boil for 3-5 minutes, just to blanch the peppers, then remove with tongs or a slotted spoon and set aside. Once cool, place in a casserole dish.
2. Rinse the quinoa, drain, then add to a medium pot with the 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, lower heat, cover pot, and cook for 15 minutes, or until “tails” of quinoa have unfurled and the quinoa is tender. Fluff up with a fork and set aside.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the minced onion and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the ground beef and break up with the back of a wooden spoon, and brown thoroughly, which will take about 5-8 minutes. Add the chili powder and chipotle liquid to the pan, and stir to evenly mix. Taste for seasoning, adjusting with more chili powder or chipotle if desired. Add the black beans, tomato paste, and 3/4 c. crushed tomatoes. Cook for about 5 minutes, allowing the sauce to thicken, stir in the quinoa, then season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Spoon the beef filling into the peppers, filling to the top, and arrange the peppers in the pan. Mix the remaining 1/2 c. of crushed tomatoes with 1/4 c. of water and pour into the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the peppers with the cheddar or monterey jack cheese, then cover the pan with foil. Bake for 40-50 minutes, then remove the foil, and broil the peppers on high for 5 minutes to brown the cheese. Serve with the crumbled cotija cheese.

The post Stuffed Peppers with Black Beans, Quinoa, Beef, and Chipotle Sauce appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Sometimes I plan out the “Cookbook of the Month” early on and cook from the book just so I can write a thorough review.  And sometimes I just happen to cook from one book so much that it naturally becomes the book I want to feature.  This month has been one of the latter kind.  Super Natural Every Day, by Heidi of 101 Cookbooks, is not a book that needs much introduction.  As one of the first and most popular food bloggers to grace the internet, I can’t imagine that there are many people in the food community who haven’t heard of her, or her three natural foods cookbooks (Cook 1.0, Super Natural Cooking, and Super Natural Every Day) .  Like many others, her blog is the one that originally inspired me to start my own – it was the first that I followed, and I still look forward to her posts, which invariably feature healthy recipes packed with ingredients I love.  However, I’ve never really felt the need to buy one of her cookbooks, perhaps because her site is already filled with recipes I want to try.  When I found this one in the library though, I figured I’d take it home and flip through it, and I ended up cooking from it all month.

All of Heidi’s recipes are vegetarian, and very health focused.  They are also decidedly unfancy – mostly they’re hearty one-bowl salads that are just the kind of thing I love to make and eat at the end of a busy work day, with just enough leftover to throw in a tupperware for lunch the next day.  Over the course of the month, I tried several recipes that I really enjoyed – this kale, coconut, and wheatberry salad, orzo salad with broccoli pesto and avocado (although Trevor said I already had too many recipes like that to share it with you), and, my favorite, broccoli gribiche – a warm salad of hard-boiled eggs, potatoes, broccoli, and a tangy sauce of vinegar, mustard, capers, and fresh herbs that is oh-so-French.  On my immediate shortlist?  Couscous-Stuffed Tomatoes, for whenever tomatoes start to look really good, and this Macaroon Tart with Blackberries, as soon as I get up to Maine and visit my favorite blackberry picking spots.  I have plenty of other recipes dog-eared in the book, and am moving through them much quicker than I do with most books, but really I’m not surprised – summer is the perfect time for the kind of produce-heavy, quick-and-easy cooking Heidi showcases in her book.

I was planning on making this salad last night, when, ahem, it was still June.  But then I really, really wanted a hamburger, and only Boston Burger would do.  So I decided you wouldn’t mind too much if June’s cookbook was posted on July 1st, gave in, and had a delicious burger with guac and pico de gallo (although, for maybe the first time in my life, I actually couldn’t finish the whole thing), sweet potato fries, and a frosty Blue Moon.  It was so worth it.  But tonight, I got back to my healthy, bloggerly ways, and made this black bean, roasted cherry tomato, and feta salad, with a perfectly ripe plum for dessert.

This salad is something special – cherry tomatoes roasted with maple syrup until they taste like candy, hearty black beans, crunchy toasted almonds, and fresh feta cheese.  If you use really good ingredients to start, it’s the kind of salad that tastes like way more than the sum of its parts.  Because the flavors seemed very Mediterranean to me, I threw in some fresh oregano and thyme for another layer of flavor.  Definitely give it a try (or at least try the oven-roasted cherry tomatoes – you’ll never look at cherry tomatoes the same way again), and if you’re vegetarian, or just the kind of person who likes to eat easy but filling vegetarian meals, I wholeheartedly recommend Heidi’s latest book.

Black Bean and Oven-Roasted Cherry Tomato Salad

Adapted slightly from  Super Natural Every Day.  Serves 4.

• 4 c. cooked black beans (or canned beans, rinsed and drained)
• 1 recipe (about 1 cup) oven-roasted cherry tomatoes, see below
• 3/4 c. slivered almonds, toasted
• 1 TBS lemon juice
• 4 oz. high quality feta cheese, crumbled
• Sea salt (optional)
• Extra virgin olive oil (optional)
• Fresh oregano (optional)
• Fresh thyme (optional)

1. In a large bowl, toss tomatoes (and their roasting oil), beans, lemon juice, and toasted almonds.  Crumble feta on top and gently stir in.  Taste for seasoning.  If necessary, add additional lemon juice, olive oil, or sea salt.  If you’d like, add a small handful of chopped fresh oregano and fresh thyme and stir in.  Serve at room temperature.

Oven-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Recipe from  Super Natural Every Day.  Makes about 1 cup.

• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 1 TBS maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Wash tomatoes and remove/discard stems.  Slice each cherry tomato in half and place cut side up in single layer on baking sheet with rim.  In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, maple syrup, and salt, then pour over the cherry tomatoes, doing your best to get some oil on each tomato.  Roast for 45-60 minutes, until tomatoes begin to caramelize.  Let cool, then store in a glass jar topped off with extra olive oil (will last up to one week in fridge). Enjoy in your favorite salads, or just eat straight out of the jar.

The post Cookbook of the Month: Super Natural Every Day appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I really wanted to call this “the fastest soup in the west.”  ‘Cuz, you know, I just cut up some chicken and opened some cans and threw in some spices and BAM, there was dinner.  No pre-meditation, just a sudden flash of inspiration followed by a rush to the kitchen to create the meal I has just tasted in my imagination.  And, you know, it’s Southwestern, and it was fast, so… fastest soup in the west?  Yes?  Man, my cheesy side is just dying to get out right now.  Dying.  But I feel a little better at least having told you how kinda-funny I think I am.

Anyway, this recipe was created mostly out of laziness.  On the cleanse menu for Saturday night was Pink Parsley’s Red Chile Chicken with Black Beans and Rice, which has been on my to-make list for almost forever, but I was procrastinating making dinner because I didn’t feel like making multiple components to a meal (although on looking back at that recipe, it actually is pretty easy.  Still, one pan is better than two).  Plus, I wanted soup.  Big, hearty, spicy soup.  So I took the four ingredients in the name of that recipe (chile, chicken, black beans, and rice), and morphed them into a soup in my head.  And once I got the idea of a spicy, tomatoey chicken soup, I couldn’t shake it, so I went down to the kitchen and made the soup I was imagining.  And it turned out really good, for very, very minimal effort. So I wrote down the recipe, and here it is.  Make it when you’re feeling under the weather or lazy or bland or too tired to make anything else, and I’m pretty sure you’ll be pleased with the results.

I included this recipe as part of my winter cleanse rotation – you can find the rest of the recipes for the week here.

Chili-Chicken Stew with Black Beans and Rice

A Katie at the Kitchen Door original.  Serves 4.

• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 TBS minced garlic
• 2 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 tsp sauce from canned chipotles in adobo
• 1 TBS harissa (or chili-powder, adjust amount to spiciness of your favorite brand of chili powder)
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 (28-oz.) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3/4 c. rice
• 3 c. chicken stock
• 1 c. water
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 c. frozen corn
• fresh cilantro, lime wedges, and jack cheese for garnish (optional)

1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-heat, and add onion once oil is hot.  Sautee onion for 3-4 minutes, until translucent, then add garlic, and sautee for another minute.  Add chicken pieces, chipotle sauce, harissa, and oregano, and brown chicken on all sides, which should take about 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. Add tomatoes, beans, rice, stock, water, and bay leaf to pot.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer on low, uncovered, for about 30 minutes.  Check pot occasionally during this time, and add water if necessary to keep rice covered.  After 30 minutes, check chicken and rice for doneness, then add frozen corn and cook for another 2 minutes.  Remove from heat, and serve hot, garnished with cilantro, freshly squeezed lime juice, and jack cheese.

The post Chili-Chicken Stew with Black Beans and Rice appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

That’s a promise.

These drastic measures are a direct result of the evils of facebook.  Because maybe Trevor and I were indulging in a little trip down memory lane via backwards facebook stalking.  And maybe around 6 months ago a disturbing presence began to make itself known.  And maybe that presence was the gradual rounding of my face.  And arms.  And legs.  But mostly face.  And you know, this really isn’t that surprising (see danishes, brownies, tapioca), or truly that alarming (yet), but it still needs to be remedied.  Gotta nip it in the bud before I get too old to do anything about it.  Actually I’m just depressed by the fact that when I get to Maine (tomorrow!) my skinny little brothers and marathon running mom and five soccer games a week dad are all going to be able to run a 5k faster than me.  We’re competitive.  (Once, I took my best friend Steph along to a family picnic, after which my entire family started competing in races – running, cartwheeling, hopping on one foot.  She was completely baffled.)

So, the three sticks of butter recipes are going to have to be put on hold for a while, and we are going to focus on minimal butter consumption, healthy activities.  Like running.  Let’s talk about running.  Let’s talk about how much the first two runs suck when you decide it’s time to get in shape after a 2 month hiatus (I know, two whole months, but it’s just been too hot here to focus on exercise.  And there’s been more exciting stuff to do.  See drinking in the pool.)

Well, there it is – deciding to start running again sucks.  Especially when it’s still 90 degrees out at 8pm.  But there are some things that you can think about to make it bearable, like all the reasons you’re running.  Like, for example, I’m running so that my family won’t laugh at me.  Or, I’m running so that I won’t die before I’m supposed to.  I’m running because I can’t afford to buy new shorts, again.  I’m running because I like to feel strong.  I’m running because I want to want to run again.  I’m running because I know how good it can feel.  I’m running so I won’t feel guilty eating chocolate.  (Who am I kidding, I think I can count the times I’ve felt guilty about eating anything at all on one hand.)  I’m running because I promised to buy myself a slinky dress if I get skinny again.  I’m running because someone once told me “once a runner, always a runner” and I believe it.

So there, that was my little motivating moment for myself.  And maybe for you, too.  Because really what inspired all those thoughts was this thought, that I huffed and puffed to Trevor on the first run in a while: “How much would it suck if you’d never done this before and you didn’t know how good it could get? That running could be something beyond pain?  That it could be empowering, enjoyable?”  (Well, maybe I only said the first of those sentences out loud.)  And I kinda wanted someone out there struggling with all the initial suck to know that it’s totally worth it.

Now that that’s out there, let’s move on to the grub.  In my mind, this is the perfect black bean recipe – saucy, spicy, and a little bit sweet.  I know a lot of people aren’t huge bean fans, but I could eat these for days.  They fit all of my criteria – cheap, healthy, and delicious.  This particular recipe is the creation of Rebecca from Foodie with Family, which she has graciously allowed me to share.  The bean recipe itself is very healthy, coming in at 265 calories, 10 grams of fiber, and 10 grams of protein per serving.  (See bottom for rough nutritional and cost analysis.)  I’ve turned them into enchiladas which are less healthy but more satisfying when you want a full meal, and that still have all the nutritional benefits of the beans, tomatoes, and herbs.  These beans are also killer over couscous if you’re looking for a happy medium recipe – a full, balanced meal, without the not-exactly-diet-friendly tortillas and cheese.

So that kicks off our healthy streak.  Try these, let me know what you think, and get excited for the next healthy recipe – it’s the perfect late summer meal and one of the best recipes I’ve tried all year.  Happy healthiness.

Saucy Black Bean Enchiladas

(Serves 3)

Bean recipe adapted slightly from Foodie with Family

• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 2 TBS minced garlic
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 small can petite diced tomatoes
• 1/3 c. orange juice
• 1/8 – 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 TBS ground cumin
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp oregano
• kosher salt to taste
• 4-6 flour tortillas
• 2/3 c. shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese
• 1 can enchilada sauce, or half of this recipe
• fresh, chopped cilantro, to garnish

1. In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add onion and sautee until translucent.  Add garlic, red pepper flakes, cumin, chili powder and oregano, and sautee for 1 minute.
2. Add beans, tomatoes, and orange juice to onion and spice mixture.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until beans are bubbly and thickened, about 8-10 minutes.  Remove from heat.
3. If making enchiladas, preheat oven to 400 °F.  Line casserole dish with tortillas, overlapping slightly.  Scoop some of bean mixture into tortillas one at a time, rolling the tortilla up and flipping over so that seal is on the bottom of the pan.  Pour enchilada sauce over, and sprinkle with cheese.  Bake for 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and gooey.  Garnish with fresh cilantro.

.

.

Nutritional and Cost Analysis (Nutrtition estimated using SparkPeople’s recipe calculator):

Nutrition: Beans only – 265 calories per serving (3 servings per recipe), 10.2g fat, 10.5 g fiber, 10.7 g protein.  Enchiladas – 645 calories per serving, 24.3 g fat, 13.8 g fiber, 23.4 g protein
Cost: Beans only – $3.59 per pot, $1.20 per serving.  Enchiladas – $4.99 for pan, $1.66 per serving.

The post Healthify Yo’self – Black Bean Enchiladas appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.