Autumn Spiced Turkey with Pan-Roasted Garlic Green Beans & Peppered Wild Rice

Yes! Autumn is here - well, sure, it has been here for a little while - and it is splendidly chilly. Now we can bake more, indulge in the change of seasonal produce, and prepare more warming foods. Smashing.

Moving into colder weather, a little while back I wanted something hearkening to summer while still welcoming in the warmer meals, and so I came up with the following.

Crunchy, mildly spiced, slightly sweet, and savory, all. Addictive, really. Caya 2012.

(Full recipes available upon request):

Using thin slices of organic turkey, I browned them briefly in a cast iron skillet with the beautiful cinnamon, cardamom, and clove combination, plus a little bit of sea salt.
 

As they cook, I place the turkey in the oven on warm. Caya 2012.

Meanwhile, local green beans roasted in another pan with a little garlic and black pepper. The flavor from pan roasting versus other methods of cooking, such as boiling, is quite delicious, not to mention appropriate for this time of year.

Don't cook until they are brown and mushy, for goodness sake! When they turn a vivid green and are tender, they are done. You don't want to cook all the nutrients out of them. Caya 2012.

All the while my wild rice was cooking away, with a little olive oil and a bay leaf in the water. Taking the leaf out once finished, I seasoned with a little wholesome unsalted butter and plenty of black pepper.

Oh, wild rice is my favorite kind! So flavorful and earthy.

Enjoy.

Remnants of Summer VII: Pan-Roasted Ginger Lime Cauliflower with Vegetable-packed Madras Curry & Basmati

I comment on my interest in learning more of Indian cooking in my previous curry post here. I also show what I currently use for a curry sauce, as it is quick, deeply flavorful, and a quality product supporting organic agriculture.

So, with that referral out of the way, this time it is Madras loaded with classic peas, carrots, garbanzo beans, onions, garlic, and fresh cilantro, accompanied with my own pan roasted cauliflower featuring the bold balance of jalapeno, ginger root, garlic, and fresh squeezed lime.

(Full recipe(s) available upon request):

Talk about a vegetarian-themed meal. But I tend toward more produce than meat...Caya 2012.

Cauliflower is seriously under-rated and under-valued. Yummy stuff, people. Caya 2012.

Full plate, yes. Caya 2012.

Remnants of Summer VI: Miso Soup with Kombu, Broccoli & Cauliflower And Swiss Chard with Shallots & Garbanzo Beans

Comfort food, as the daughter of the Caya house knows it to be.

This stuff is liquid healing...soothing, settling, filling. Miso was a common kind of broth for me growing up, used for minimalistic healing soups when sick, in heartier vegetarian soups for dinner, and as flavorful components to other sauces and gravies my mom made.

Chard on the side is a great green, high in antioxidants with blood-sugar regulation properties! It's a yummy summer plant easily whipped up in five minutes. Add some olive oil, shallots, and savory garbanzo beans, and you're away.

(Full recipes available upon request)

Not my mother's miso soup recipe, but I've done that one. I'll have to post it as some point...Caya 2012.

Swiss chard, shallots and garbanzo beans with a little sea salt to taste. Caya 2012.

Remnants of Summer V: Banana Anise Seed Pancakes & Large Fry-Up Version!

Raw, leafy, fresh foods are delicious and refreshing in the summer, naturally. And then you get those lovely, cozy mornings where nothing will do but to have a big fry-up. On these days - key note here - nothing else is eaten.

Now, most importantly in my philosophy of food, the point is never to be stuffed, or to feel gross. How horrific. Food is meant to be enjoyed, which includes the digestion stage as well, at least in my opinion.

The pleasure starts not with the first mouthful, but rather when you enter the kitchen and take out the smattering of ingredients you know you will need for the cooking process. And it is a process, but a pleasant one! I don't hold that fun things have to be quick. On the contrary...

I honestly don't know why I hadn't thought of this before, as it seems quite obvious to me now, but anise seeds with banana! The flavors compliment beautifully in a pancake.

(Full recipe available upon request)
First there is the simple but scrumptious pancakes-with-grease-cutting-grapefruit-on-the-side version:

Add extra wedges of ripe banana on top along with the tart compliment of grapefruit, Caya 2012.

To make, I use ripe banana wedges in the pancake batter, folding in gently at the end with the anise seeds, before ladling out in the cast iron skillet...

Batter being made...Caya 2012.

About three at a time in the pan...Don't be put off by jutting chunks of banana, the batter will cook up around them! Caya 2012..

And flip them once they've browned nicely on the first side, about 3-5 minutes. It gives a lovely crispy edge. Caya 2012.

One batch of batter makes a good bunch. I keep them warm in the oven until the last, naturally. Caya 2012.

Then - another day - I made a fry-up version of the same pancakes, with crispy bacon, sausages, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Scrummy things!
*Between versions I cleared up my system a bit with various seasonal and raw produce, and more water.

The fry-up version, with a few local organic sausages, bacon, sauteed whole cremini mushrooms, and zesty grape tomatoes, plus extra bananas and (real) maple syrup - only way to go. Caya 2012.

Note: If you have never tried halving some ripe tomatoes and frying them face-down in a cast iron skillet with a little butter, you are missing out on a delightfully juicy, zingy addition to savory french toast, eggs and bacon, or - as displayed here - the full works!
 
...And you really won't need any more food the whole day long. Keep up on water, and maybe indulge in a bit of strong ginger tea in the evening, before bed.

Remnants of Summer IV: Parsley, Radish, Wheatgrass, and Romaine

Vivid green, rosy crunch, spicy, biting, full flavors all pull together for a feast in Summer heat.

I use fresh herbs as large tufts in spring and summer salads, for health as well as flavor benefits.
With this meal, I added a side of kalamata and hearty green olives, some cubes of mild feta cheese, and left-over chunks of fennel-spiced chicken sausage from a previous dinner.

Caya 2012.

Remnants of Summer III: The Easiest Home Made Croutons

I've had some decent store-bought croutons, and I have no problem with well-made store bought food-stuffs at all, but my father made croutons, and his method was brilliantly simple. And by far more satisfactory than store-bought ones.

These are the off-shoot of my father's. It is truly so simple, subject to the flavors currently of your interest.

This batch I made a head of any forth-coming salad making, let them cool for a short while - munching all the while - and stored them away in an old yogurt container for mounds of fresh greens and vegetables.

Using a lovely loaf of roasted garlic clove artisan bread, I did as the following images show:
 

Slicing roughly half an inch to an inch both ways to create fairly consistent cubes...Caya 2012.

Tossing in a bowl or a bag with generous olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, and herbs of choice - in this case oregano...Caya 2012.

Once they bake in the oven until golden brown and crusty, this is the result. So aromatic! They can be quite easily munched then and there...Caya 2012.

And on a salad...with garbonzo beans, grape tomatoes, avocado, and home made honey mustard dressing:

Incredibly filling with the balance of beans, greens, summer fruits, and croutons. Caya 2012.

Remnants of Summer II: Slivered Zucchini Parmesan Omelette

I had never tried this before, but with a left-over wedge of zucchini in the fridge and a terrible wish to not waste the gorgeous thing, I tried to fix up an interesting idea.

(Full recipe available upon request):
Using a peeler, I stripped off a pile of beautifully emerald slivers of the vegetable, then sauteed them in a cast iron skillet with some oregano, basil, and butter.

Wonderfully aromatic and comforting. Caya 2012.

Add beaten eggs, some whole or soy milk, plenty of freshly mortar-and-pestled black pepper, some sea salt - but not much! - and a dash of parmesan cheese, pour in over the zucchini once it has cooked to softened green with a little browning, and grab a spoon for maneuvering your omelette into being.

Roughly rustic, but good. Caya 2012

 And serve...with ruby slices of grapefruit, to balance.

Caya 2012.

Remnants from Summer I: Whole Grain Spicy Grilled Chese & Warm Garlic Tomato Dressed Baby Spinach Salad

I've been away a bit, in addition to Summer having been a light, fairly fresh or raw-food intensive lazy season, so here follows some catch-up of a few feature kitchen endeavors.

Remnants of Summer I

Crusty, earthy brown, textured whole grain bread from the local bakery's 'half-day' sale - or something the like - is ideal for a little bit of soft melted Munster with spicy mustard and sliced tomatoes. I like to accent nearly anything with giant fistfuls of raw greens in the summer too, so I indulged in the ridiculously simple, solid flavors of garlic, olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, and jewel-red grape tomatoes on the side.
*See more for the warm-dressed spinach salad here!

It is straight forward and seriously satisfying!

Caya 2012.