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I’ve been thinking a lot about food lately. No surprise there, right? However, I’m not thinking about which dessert to make next, but rather how I can eat in a healthier, more responsible, and sustainable way. Because of this, I’ve decided to do a 21 day “cleanse” diet. I’m not going to go into the whole story here, but if you’re interested and would like to read more about it; why I’m doing it, what I’m eating, and how I feel, see the link at the top of the page which says “21 Day Cleanse Diet” or go here. At the bottom of that page, you’ll find links to each week’s progress reports.
One of the reasons I’m doing this is to challenge myself as a cook. Can I make healthy, gluten-free, vegan food that people will actually want to eat, regardless of whether they are purposefully choosing to eat this way? I think it’s possible and this black bean soup is a great way to start.
So what about you? Are you thinking more about what you eat? Are you making a conscious effort to eat healthier and how? What are some of your favorite healthy dishes?
Black Bean Soup with Avocado Salsa
Printable Recipe in PDF
1 lb dried back beans
1 cup diced carrots (2 med.)
1 cup diced onion (1 ea.)
1 cup diced celery (about 3 stalks)
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper (1/2 pepper)
1/2 cup diced yellow bell pepper (1/2 pepper)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 ea 28 oz can of diced tomatoes (I used organic)
32 oz vegetable stock plus 3-4 cups water (or more veg stock)
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper
Cover the dried back beans in water and soak 8 hours or over night. When ready to cook the soup, drain the beans and rinse.
Heat a large soup pot and add the olive oil. Add the carrots, onions and celery and saute until soft. Add the garlic and bell peppers and saute another 2 minutes. Add the dried oregano and cumin, mixing it all together.
Mix in the diced tomatoes and then the 32 oz of vegetable stock. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook until the beans are soft. You will need to add water or more stock as the beans absorb the liquid. Add it in, one cup at a time, as needed. When the soup is done (about 1.5 hrs), add salt and pepper to taste. Serve, topped with avocado salsa and a side of corn tortilla quesadillas (with soy cheese if vegan).
Avocado Salsa
1 avocado, diced (ripe, but still firm)
4 oz cherry tomatoes (I used multi-colored ones)
2 green onions, sliced
1/2 lime (juiced)
1 Tbsp fresh cilantro (chopped)
salt and pepper
Dice the avocado and cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Slice the green onions (white parts and some of the green) thinly on the diagonal. Combine all ingredients, taking care not to mash the avocado.
When I was a kid and into my early twenties, my mother and I would make home-made ravioli a couple of times a year, especially at Christmas. She would make the dough herself and we’d roll it out by hand into giant circles, with me holding one side of the stretchy dough to keep it from springing back. I’m not sure why, but it’s been a long time since we’ve made ravioli and I had a hankering to do it again. This time though, I wasn’t in the mood though to roll out the dough by hand. Plus, I wanted a new kitchen toy; the KitchenAid Pasta Roller Attachment for Stand Mixers
So, being the ever frugal one in my house, I went around and gathered up all my husband’s change. The man leaves it everywhere; in jars, on counter tops, in his pants pockets. Does he think it expires? I swear, it’s like one of those cell phone commercials where the kid doesn’t want to use rollover minutes because they’re from last month. The coins are still good the next day!
I took the change to my local Coin Star machine where I was able to redeem it, fee free, for an Amazon.com gift certificate. I used this certificate to help pay for my new toy. But wait, you ask, just how much change did you find? I found $77.45 my friends, and that goes a long way considering those rollers are on sale right now on Amazon.
So, the day before I’m about to start a 21 day vegan/gluten/sugar/alcohol/caffeine free diet (don’t gasp too loud), what do I do? I make these ravioli for my “last supper.” They were fabulous, a wee bit decadent, and perfect served with a salad of baby greens and a wonderful bottle of white wine.
Goat Cheese and Spinach Ravioli with Creamy Mixed Mushrooms
Printable Recipe in PDF
Ravioli Filling
4 oz goat cheese
4 oz fresh ricotta
1 egg
3.25 oz cooked spinach (5 oz raw)
.25 tsp nutmeg
salt and pepper
Cook the spinach and squeeze out the excess water. Chop into small pieces. Combine with the rest of the ingredients.
Pasta Dough Recipe
2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
2 eggs
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
Many recipes call for putting the flour in a mound on the counter, making a well, and mixing in the egg. I prefer to do it in a bowl because I think it’s a bit easier to control the egg and keep it from spilling out the sides.
Put the flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Mix the egg with the olive oil in a small bowl and then pour into the flour well. With a fork, gently start to incorporate the flour into the egg. As the dough comes together, use your hands to gather it into a ball. Once you can get it into one mass, knead it on your work surface for about 5 minutes until the dough becomes smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for at least 1/2 an hour.
Roll out the pasta dough, either by hand or in a pasta machine according to directions. I rolled mine out to the last setting, #8. Do it in small batches because the pasta dries very quickly. Roll out a few strips of dough, put on the filling, cut the ravioli and repeat. I used about 1 tsp of filling per ravioli and cut them with a ravioli cutter like this Round Ravioli Stamp
To cook the ravioli, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 tsp salt. Add the ravioli one by one to the pot and stir gently to keep them from sticking together. They will take about 4-5 minutes to cook and generally, when done, will float on top of the water. Remove with a large slotted spoon, or pour (gently) into a colander.
Mixed Mushroom Cream Sauce
4 oz white mushrooms, sliced
3 oz oyster mushrooms, sliced
2 oz shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 oz portobello mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup white wine
6 oz cream
fresh thyme (about 1 Tbsp)
salt and pepper
Heat a large sauté pan on medium and add the butter. Let it melt and add the mushrooms. If your pan is not large enough, you may want to do this in two batches so as not to crowd the mushrooms. You want them to cook, not stew and they will let off a lot of water. When the mushrooms are dry and starting to brown, add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the wine and allow it to reduce by half. Add the cream and reduce by one third. Add the thyme and salt and pepper.
Note; I put some of the sauce on a large platter. Put a layer of ravioli, another layer of sauce, ravioli, and topped with sauce. I did it this way rather than stir it all together and risk breaking the ravioli.
I love markets. I love the beautiful array of produce, the gleaming fish, the wet floors, the smell of meat and flowers. There’s something about a local’s market which can put me in touch with a culture more than any museum, monument or religious structure.
Rome is filled with many options for buying food; large wet markets, both indoors and out, small supermarkets, and speciality food stores. There’s no shortage of beautiful vegetables and fruit, meats and cheeses and one can eat well, and cheaply, without ever setting foot in a restaurant, should you choose (though I’m not recommending you skip out on the city’s fantastic ristoranti ). Below are my favorite markets in Rome from my visits in the last two years.
1. Nuovo Mercato Trionfale (Andrea Doria Market);
Located at corner of Via Tunisi and Via Andrea Doria.
Open Monday-Saturday from 7 am-1:30 pm.
Located near the Vatican Museum (Via Tunisi is the street just perpendicular to the museum entrance), the Mercato Andrea Doria is large modern market, all indoors under one roof. It’s in a building about 1 block square and filled with mostly food vendors. It’s known as the “Andrea Doria” market, for the street on which the main entrance can be found but its official name is Nuovo Mercato Trionfale. It’s huge, with tons of choice, quality product, and the vendors (with the exception of maybe the fish guys who seem to have a permanent scowl), all seem friendly. This is a place I would frequent daily if I lived in the neighborhood. I wish we had such markets in my neighborhood at home.
If coming down Via Tunisi from the direction of the Vatican, you will find a back door entrance before reaching Via Andrea Dorea. Entering here will bring you right into the fish market section. Keep walking and you’ll find cheese, meat, and produce. There’s also an assortment of people selling kitchen small wares and clothing but food items rule here. What you won’t find are the touristy souvenirs common to the markets closer to the center. Unlike markets in other parts of the world there are no prepared food stands here or even a bar at which to get a cup of coffee or glass of wine. However, if staying in the neighborhood, you could buy your house wine from the stall selling it from large kegs by the bottle (which you can bring your own and refill).
During my visit, we came across a guy at one of the salumeria stands slicing prosciutto off a large leg. He offered a taste and then proceeded to ham it up for photos with one of his co-workers. I bought “due etti” (200 grams) of prosciutto and a bag of mini buffalo mozzarella balls. As he’s bagging the cheese, he warns me with all seriousness, “don’t put this in the refrigerator. Eat it today.” Italians believe buffalo mozzarella must be eaten fresh, within 24 hours of being made and this was no exception. I promised.
To go with the prosciutto and mozzarella, I found some perfect tomatoes and basil from a smiling woman and spend a grand total of 8 euros for everything. We also check out the incredible array of meats in the butcher section, including one guy who is rolling up a ground beef involtini with slices of prosciutto and fresh arugula.
To give you an idea of what can be created with 8 euro’s worth of fresh prosciutto, mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, see the photo below. Paired with some pizza bianca from a local forno, a bottle of wine, and some other cheese, we had a wonderful, easy supper for under 20 euro for 4 people.
2. Mercato di Campo dei Fiori-Open Monday-Saturday from 7 am-1:30 pm.
The Campo dei Fiori sits smack in the middle of the Centro Storico (historical center) of Rome. The market there may cater predominately to tourists, but the food there is good quality nonetheless. What impresses me the most, is the time the vendors take to artfully arrange the produce in their stalls. Everything looks so beautiful. There are also a number of non-food vendors selling flowers, clothing, hats, small kitchen wares, and jewelry.
The last time I was at this market, I bought 2 hats, an assortment of Murano glass necklaces (there had to be thousands, all different) and from a table selling dozens of different dried spices, a bag of arrabiata mix (which later turns out to be ungodly hot). There’s also an older gentleman who has become a market fixture, selling a special slicer-dicer, mostly to tourists. He has his spiel perfected in English, down to the jokes. Everyone who watches buys something from him.
Many of the vegeltables can be bought partially prepared and many of the stall owners sit throughout the day, cleaning vegetables, trimming artichokes, and snipping the ends off beans. Above, is one of my favorite vegetables, called puntarelle; it’s a bitter green and hard to find in the US. On the left, whole puntarelle, being cleaned and prepped in the middle, and the finished product on the right. It’s usually served as a raw salad with a lemon-anchovy dressing.
Also not to be missed at the Campo di Fiori is the Salumeria on the southeast corner of the piazza and the famous bakery, il Forno, selling pizza bianca hot from the oven on the northeast corner.
3. Mercato Testaccio- Located in Piazza Testaccio, Open Monday-Saturday from 8 am-1 pm.
This market is located in the Piazza Testaccio, two blocks from via Marmorata. We made a stop here one day on our way to Ostia Antica. This is a real local’s market where people come to do their daily shopping and not at all set up for tourists. However, if you were staying in the area it would be a fun place to shop for dinner. There are plenty of produce, meat and cheese vendors along with a few others, including one selling comic books, illustrated buttons, and magnets.
4. Volpetti- Via Marmorata 47, Open Mon 8 am-2 pm and Tues-Sat 8 am- 8:15 pm, closed Sundays
Volpetti is one of the best known delis in Rome. It’s a very small place packed with more delicacies than possible to take in at one time. Only a few blocks from the Testaccio market, we stopped here to buy picnic lunch supplies on our way to Ostia Antica. The choice is overwhelming and there’s no shortage of offers to tastes just about anything they sell.
They have a huge assortment of cured meats, every kind of cheese imaginable (they have a case with just goat cheeses in it!) and a wide variety of prepared foods. We ordered an assortment of sandwiches of buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto, bresaola, mortadella, and spicy salami all on pizza bianca. The guy behind the counter cut them into pieces and placed them on a big paper platter, wrapping it all up for us. We also got some marinated eggplant and marinated white anchovies. Our lunch to go was 17 euros and fantastic.
Do you have a favorite market in Rome? If so, let me know!
If you’d like to see more about Rome, please see my travel site at www.wired2theworld.com
For more travel related food posts, check out http://wanderlustandlipstick.com/blogs/wanderfood/
Finally, if the photos here look familiar, check out this blog’s header. The background photo was taken in the Campo di Fiori during my visits to Rome in 2008.
I’ve come to the realization that prolific citrus trees are like summer zucchini; you find yourself using them in every dish possible and then leaving sacks of them on your neighbor’s doorsteps in the middle of the night. I’m not saying I did this, but I know someone who has….
We have an gnarled old Meyer lemon tree in our back yard which is about as wide as it is tall, and considering that it’s shorter than I am, could almost qualify as a “Meyer bush” if such things existed.
For the first few years we lived here we got sporadic lemons and thought that the tree might have been so old it was dying. Then, a couple of years ago I gave it some citrus food and extra water and suddenly the lemon angels were singing “hallelujah!” and we had a tree which while still stubby, was now heavily laden with the kind of sweet-tart lemons for which Meyer trees are known. Now it’s blessing us with twice yearly crops and I am always on the lookout for new ways to utilize them.
So consider yourself warned; there may be more recipes with lemons to come. It’s raining here and I can’t be out there “sharing” with the neighbors if you know what I mean.
They say that men have better spatial ability than women. The feminist side of me (yes, I just used the “f” word) says “bosh!” to that theory. Ok the feminist side of me would never use a word like “bosh“, but you get my meaning… Anyway, every time I do something which requires reading a diagram and I get frustrated, my husband likes to remind of this fascinating tidbit. It just infuriates me further.
In my previous life as a chef I made many pot stickers, these little savory packages filled with meat and vegetables, which are both fried to give a nice crispy texture to the bottom, and then steamed to complete the cooking. However, I’m sure I did not use an authentic folding method to create them and it’s been almost a decade since I made them from scratch. Armed with a recent gift of Andrea Nguyen’s Asian Dumplings
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I read the instructions.
I studied the hand drawn diagrams.
I re-read the instructions and diagrams.
My first dumplings just weren’t right. Oh, they would have cooked up just fine (and in fact, they did), but they didn’t have the shape I wanted. By the way, this is in no means a reflection on the instructions and diagrams in the book, but rather on my god-forsaken female spatial (in)abilities. Grrrr…
Type A personality that I am, I wanted my pot stickers to look like the ones I’d eaten in restaurants. In Nguyen’s book, the shape is called “pleated crescent.” Oh sure, there are easier ones, with cuter names like “half-moon” and “pea pod” and “big hug,” but I wanted mine to be the right kind. Those of you who are also type A, know what I mean.
Then I remembered a post on Steamy Kitchen which showed a method for pleating dumplings. With sticky hands on my keyboard, I looked it up and it turned out to be a post written by guest blogger La Fuji Mama. This method seemed a little easier than the pleated crescents. I got the hang of it quickly and then suddenly, a light bulb went on in my head.
I went back to the book.
“Same same, but different” as they say in Thailand.
La Fuji Mama’s method looks similar to Nguyen’s and once I got it, I could then adjust my pleating to create the “pleated crescent” if I so wanted. In the end, both methods work equally well, look nice, and once cooked, taste the same. In fact, as Ngyuen says in her book, “Asian dumplings do not have to look perfect to taste good. You can work and eat your way toward making good-looking ones.”
