Donut Army

This side dish is very easy to put together. The crunch of the seeds makes for an interesting texture, and nutty flavor, that complements the beans.   French Green Beans with Sunflower Seeds Earth, Water, Fire, Air Barbara Friedlander Meyer 1 lb green beans, tips removed 2 T butter 1/2 c sunflower seed Steam green beans until cooked, yet firm. In large pan, melt butter over low heat (or heat oil). Add beans, seeds, and salt and pepper. Increase to medium. Stir gently until beans are lightly browned. Serve immediately.

Delicious! Not as simple as some lentil salads, but the extra effort is worth it. The smell of the caramelizing onions is worth the price of admission, alone. Ultimately, this recipe yields a dish of rice and beans -- perfect if that's what you're after. But you may want to consider serving with salad and a starch. Mujadara Cooking Light 7 c water, divided 1 c uncooked long-grain brown rice 1 1/2 tsp coarse salt, divided 3 large yellow onions 1/4 c olive oil,  divided 6 sprigs thyme 1 T cumin 1 bay leaf 1 c brown or green lentils, rinsed 1/4 c pine nuts, toasted Bring 4 cups water to boil in a small pot over high. Add rice and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and boil for 10 minutes. Drain. While the rice parcooks, halve and thinly slice the onions horizontally. Heat a medium pot or baking dish with a lid over medium-high, and then add 3 tablespoons olive oil. Add sliced onions, thyme, and remaining 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Reduce heat ...

Many years ago, I was having a lovely lunch with a coworker at the Metropolitan Bakery in Philadelphia. We had these delicious muffins, which I immediately replicated in my home kitchen upon my return. Metropolitan Millet Muffins Metropolitan Bakery   1 cup millet 2 cups all purpose flour 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 3 large eggs, slightly beaten 1/4 cup milk 1 tablespoon vanilla 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cups) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup brown sugar, packed Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter 12 1/2 cup muffin cups. On a baking sheet toast millet in one layer in the oven until lightly golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Cool millet completely. Into a medium bowl sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the millet. In another small bowl stir together the eggs, ...

] The chicken part of this recipe is extremely forgiving. You could use this as a "clean out the fridge" dish in terms of what vegetables to use and in what proportions. I recommend cutting the chicken into chunks, or even using tenders. It will help with consistent cooking, but keeping the chicken moist. The rice cannot be messed with. It'll get gloppy if you rush it at all.   Chicken and Rice with Cilantro-Poblano Sauce Cooking Light 3/4 c scallion, chopped, divided 1/4 c cilantro 1/2 tsp coarse salt, divided 1/4 tsp pepper, divided 1 14 oz can stock, divided 1 poblano, seeded, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced, divided 2 T olive oil, divided 1 8 oz package cremini mushrooms, sliced 1 c long grain rice, uncooked 1/2 c water 1 tsp cumin 2 T parsley, chopped 1 T butter  4 6-oz boneless skinless chicken breast 1 tsp olive oil 1/4 c cherry tomatoes, halved Combine 1/4 c scallions, cilantro leaves, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper, 1/2 c stock, chile...

I love this recipe! I haven't quite figured out how to make it attractive -- my cabbage wedges always fall apart. But, for serving at home (or, for focusing on flavor and not worrying about presentation), one of the nice things about this recipe is portion control -- you can make it in small batches by cooking a wedge on demand. In this way, you have fresh braised/roasted cabbage every day with dinner (rather than roasting it all in one go and having leftovers, with the pros and cons of reheating cooked cabbage). The original recipe calls for roasting for 45 minutes. I like some crunch to my vegetables, so I pulled this out of the oven after only 25 minutes. Roasted Cabbage Wedges with Orange and Caraway Cooking Light 1 tsp caraway seeds, crushed 1 tsp orange rinds, grated 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 3/8 tsp coarse salt, divided 1/4 tsp turmeric 3 T unsalted butter, softened 1 head green cabbage 1 T olive oil Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine caraway, rind, peppe...

] This is one of those recipes that I thought was going to be a gimmick, but turned out to be amazingly delicious -- a bread I dream of having on hand on those weeks when I haven't made it. There are extra steps to this loaf, given the boiling requirement. But it was actually quite simple to do and only resulted in one extra pan to wash.   Everything Bagel Bread Loaf Bright Eyed Baker 2 1/2 c bread flour 1 c whole wheat flour 1 T sugar 1 1/2 tsp yeast 1 1/4 tsp salt 1 1/4 c warm water 2 T olive oil Toppings: 1 1/2 T sesame seeds 1 1/2 T poppy seeds 1 T dry onion flakes 1 T caraway seeds 1 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp coarse salt Boiling: 8 c water 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp salt 1 egg, beaten In a large bowl, whisk together the bread flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Add 8 ounces (1 cup) warm water and olive oil and mix in until a dough forms. Turn out onto counter and knead for 10-15 minutes, incorporating up to 2 ounces (1/4...

When I first made this cake, I was under the impression that I didn't like pineapple upside-down cake. Turns out, I just don't like the ones sold at the grocery store and served at the church potlucks of my childhood. This one is a nice combination of spongey cake with a caramel/fruit topping. If you're careful, you can eat enough fruit before the pineapple cooks down that you can trick yourself into thinking you've been healthy. I choose to make this cake in one pan. I saute the pineapple, make the caramel, return the pinapple, and put the cake on top of it -- all in the same cast iron skillet. The only trouble with this plan is that the recipe is written for a 10" skillet, and I have a 9" and a 12". Believe me, I've tried with the 9" and it's just too small, so I use the 12". Which is perfect for holding one whole pineapple, but does mean the cake batter is a bit thinner than intended. Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Cook's Illus...

Tortillas are one of those foods that, once you realize how easy they are to assemble and fairly foolproof to bake, you wonder why you ever suffered through store-bought. Not to mention that these are way healthier --- or, as healthy as fried bread made with Crisco can be. This variation on the plan flour tortilla comes from the book Tacos: 75 Authentic and Inspired Recipes by Mark Miller. But, I editorialized -- something is off with the proportions, and, his cooking instructions were more for burrito-sized tacos than for taco-sized tacos. One of the forgiving things to remember about dough is that it rather enjoys being set aside. So, even if you are a small group having a smaller dinner, assemble this dough through the step of portioning the dough and rolling into balls. Then, cook when you want that night, and pop the rest (covered) in the fridge until you need them next. Also, as with making pancakes, the first one kind of never counts. If you're using an electric ski...