Vegetables are Delicious: Red Curry and Pumpkin Risotto

The other day I watched Forks Over Knives, a documentary promoting a vegan diet. I'm not about to become a vegan anytime soon, but it did inspire me to use more vegetables. Pumpkins are just coming into season, so I grabbed a small one at the store last week and made this quinoa risotto to warm me up on the crisp fall evenings we've been having lately!

Red Curry and Pumpkin Risotto
one small pumpkin or squash
one medium sweet potato
one medium sweet onion, diced
one small bunch rainbow chard
red curry paste *
3/4 cup quinoa
1/2 can light coconut milk
vegetable stock (about two cups)

Peel pumpkin and sweet potato and chop into bite-sized pieces. Toss with olive oil and salt. Roast at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Meanwhile, sauté onion and stems of chard over medium heat until caramelized. Add coconut milk and curry paste and bring to a simmer. Add quinoa. Add vegetable stock 1/2 cup at a time. When quinoa is almost ready to crack, add cooked pumpkin, sweet potato and chopped chard leaves. Cook for another 5-10 minutes or until chard is done. Serve with a wedge of lime.

*Start out with 1T curry paste and taste the broth as you go. If you want the flavor to be stronger or spicier, add more 1/2t at a time, but remember: curry needs to cook! Don't add too much curry paste towards the end!

Beer is Delicious: Stout and Pretzel Truffles

I believe we discussed the similarities between stout and dark chocolate not too long ago? 

I was in St. Louis at the Schlafly Tap Room two weeks ago and I happened to meet the beer soulmate of dark chocolate: Raspberry Coffee Stout. It has the richness of stout, the bitterness of good coffee and the sweet fruity aroma of raspberries to finish. Needless to say, I love it. 

So this past weekend my new favorite stout got together with some 75% dark Olive & Sinclair chocolate and made truffle babies. It was a beautiful, beautiful thing, as you can see.  

Beer and Pretzel Truffles:

(based on this recipe from Honest Cooking)

3 bars (just under 9oz) Olive & Sinclair dark chocolate

1/2 cup heavy cream

2t coffee flavoring or raspberry flavoring (available at Whole Foods)

3T stout 

3/4 cup salted pretzels, crushed (or cocoa powder) 

Warm cream in pot over medium low. Add chopped chocolate and coffee flavoring and whisk to combine. Remove from heat and add stout. Whisk until the mixture looks like very thick ganache. Place in the fridge in a shallow dish for about three hours or until firm. Scoop into 1/2t balls and roll in crushed pretzels or cocoa powder. 

*Serve IMMEDIATELY if rolling truffles in pretzels. The pretzels WILL go stale in the fridge no matter how well you cover them. 

*Can't find this very special Schlafly beer? Try a milk stout. 

News

Dear friends,
I am starting a new job today! I AM going to try to get in a post before I leave for St. Louis on Saturday! Check back next Tuesday for more updates :) I hope you all have a wonderful week full of fall weather, soft sweaters and hot tea.

Dessert is Delicious: Horchata Sorbet

A few weeks ago I had the great good fortune of dining at Mas Tacos for the first time. All I have to say is: Yes, please! Since then, I have been back three times and I fully intend to go once a week for the rest of my life. I'm not a huge fan of Mexican food but I love everything that Mas Tacos has fed me. My favorite so far: a fried avocado taco, creamy and warm and topped with crunchy, tangy red cabbage slaw. To go with it, a refreshing watermelon agua fresca. 

On my second visit my lovely friend Katie (who is now in Spain) ordered a horchata, a drink flavored with rice, almonds, vanilla and cinnamon. I immediately ran home and tried to make horchata ice cream. I'm not going to lie to you, it was a miserable failure!  

Who was I kidding? I, having never made horchata before, am obviously not going to be able to top Mas Tacos. My lazy yet wonderful solution? Horchata sorbet. I bought horchata from Mas Tacos and popped it into my ice cream machine. Delicious. 

No ice cream maker? No problem. Make granita! Put your horchata in a shallow baking dish in the freezer and scrape with a fork every 40 minutes or so until it looks like an italian ice. 

I used 4.5 cups of horchata (makes about a quart of sorbet). That means you need to buy three glasses at Mas Tacos (you WILL have some left over to drink). It's important that you ask for "no ice." If you want your sorbet to have more of an ice cream consistency, use 4 cups horchata and 1/2 cup heavy cream. Freeze overnight before serving. Recommended toppings: slivered almond and cajeta.