Boil 'em, Mash 'em, put 'em in a stew-Potato Recipes

As much as I love shopping at farmer's markets, I didn't plan far enough ahead to hit one before a mid-week potluck. So, I bought a 10 pound, $3 sack of carb-a-licious-ness at the local grocers and only ended up using half of that for the mashed potatoes and half of what was made had to be brought back home due to the overwhelming amount of food at the party. I got spuds coming out my ears! Luckily potatoes are a blank canvas of endless possibilities. For this past week and into next week I did these 3 recipes: Aloo Gobi (changed to use broccoli and peas), mashed potato patties & baked bean soup.

RECIPE #1

 Vivid little gems! The yellow tomato is a low acid variety I got from one of the vendors at the La Jolla Farmer's market on Sundays.

 I really just eyeballed the amounts, this is all the broccoli I got after splitting the box with my CSA partner. Hence, adding peas for additional vegetable power!

 The finished product. One of my favorite Indian food recipes because the spice list is not overwhelming.

Sort of Aloo Gobi (using broccoli and peas instead of cauliflower) adapted from Indobase.com
makes about 5 side servings

3 small broccoli florets and stems, rinsed and chopped (about 1 cup)
1 cup frozen peas
4 potatoes (chopped into 1/2" pieces, about 2.5 cups)
2 small tomato (about 1.5" diameter), 1 large tomato; coarsely chopped
1 tsp tumeric powder
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1 tsp ground coriander
salt to taste
2 tsp olive oil

Heat oil in large sauce pan on medium heat. Add broccoli and potatoes to cook for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. 

Add all other ingredients except frozen peas. Cook 5 more minutes or until potatoes can be easily pierced by a fork. Add frozen peas and cook a couple minutes until heated through.

I ate this as my starch and veggies with turkey loaf patties this week from the Runner's Feed website.

RECIPE #2

 
Leftover Mashed Potato Salmon Patties (can leave out salmon for vegetarian)
 Makes 4 patties

Start by heating up a large frying pan on medium-high heat. Put 2 tsp of oil of your choice in.

In a medium microwavable bowl, I started with 2 cups of my leftover mashed potatoes (dairy-free, made with plain unsweetened carton coconut milk from Costco and seasoned with olive oil blended up with chopped cilantro leaves and garlic) and after I reheated them slightly, added an egg to hold it together. You may be able to use a "flax egg" for this but I haven't tested it yet. Mixed in about 1/2 cup of Daiya brand cheese to add a buttery taste, and if you eat fish, add 1/2 a cup of flaked salmon too for extra flavor. I used canned, but I imagine smoked would be extra dreamy. I made the patties from 1/2 cups of the mix.

Brown your patties for about 3 minutes per side and serve hot.

I ate this for lunch with Jayne's egg drop and fish ball dumpling (gluten free ones at Ranch 99!) soup and then for breakfast the rest of the week.


RECIPE #3

Ginger Beer (the store was all out of bottled rootbeer!) instead of typical brown sugar for a vegetarian protein at the Thanksgiving table. 

 Not surprisingly, I had a lot of beans leftover from Thanksgiving. That crowd isn't too adventurous, though I think the one other vegetarian was pleased to have another option to munch on...or maybe every one was afraid of the bumbling around the family in this case. So I planned to make this soup inspired by my mom's cooking and sister telling me she made a version of it the other week. I planned ahead pulling some frozen home-made stock from the freezer before. Not a photogenic soup, but hearty and comforting for the season.



Ginger Beer Baked Bean Soup 
about 4 servings

3 cups baked beans, I used Baked Bean recipe from Epicurious (slightly modified below)
Homemade or store-bought Veggie stock: 3 cups
333 grams raw potatoes (about 2 med-small potatoes) chopped into 1/2" pieces
163 grams (about 4 stalks/leaves) of celery *

Put 1/2 cup broth in a large saucepan to simmer on medium-high. Separate celery stems and leaves. Chop celery stalk into small 1/4" pieces. Add to simmering broth to cook. Cook 5 minutes.

Chop potatoes and add to pot. Simmer 8 more minutes. Add additional broth if needed. You can pierce the potatoes with a fork but they are still firm.

In a blender add the rest of the broth , celery leaves and 2 cups of baked beans. Blend to desired consistency
.
Add blender ingredients to the pot of potatoes and celery. Bring to a boil and then simmer on med for 25 minutes until celery and potatoes are desired softness.

*Next time I would use less celery or a different root/stalk veggie since I am not a big celery fan. Celery overpowers the sweet bbq flavor.


Ginger Beer Baked Beans from Bon Appetit
Makes 8 servings
 

3 1/2 cups chopped onions

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 15-ounce cans cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained

1 1/2 cups root beer (preferably artisanal)

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons mild-flavored (light) molasses

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/07/root_beer_baked_beans#ixzz2DIEj9K17

 2 cups chopped onion (2.5 small onions)
2 tsp olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
4 15 oz cans cannellini beans (white kidney), drained and rinsed
1.5 cups of Ginger Beer (cane sugar preferred)
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp molasses
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 cups root beer (preferably artisanal)

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons mild-flavored (light) molasses

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/07/root_beer_baked_beans#ixzz2DIFRUmkc

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/07/root_beer_baked_beans#ixzz2DIEj9K17

Pre-heat oven to 400F.

In large (oven proof if you have) saucepan heat the oil on medium-high. Add the chopped onions. Stir, cooking until browned. About 8 minutes.

Add garlic and stir, allowing to cook 1 minute.

Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to boil.

Place saucepan into the oven if oven-safe or transfer into a large glass pan (I used 9x 13) and cook for 30 minutes.

Enjoy with BBQ food or use it to make the baked bean soup.

What is your favorite Thanksgiving leftover recipe? Do you have any Thanksgiving traditions?

On a random note, Shades showed me this musical video last night and I can't stop thinking about it. The characters look like bean and vegetable shapes (butternut squash on the right?), adorable! Love the kidney creature's dance..but seroiusly, BE SAFE FOR THE HOLIDAYS! 

3 1/2 cups chopped onions

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 15-ounce cans cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained

1 1/2 cups root beer (preferably artisanal)

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons mild-flavored (light) molasses

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/07/root_beer_baked_beans#ixzz2DIEj9K17