Asparagus Bread Pudding

About two weeks ago the Robber and I went to Whole Foods to buy him some chicken and I came across some asparagus bread pudding in the hot foods section and thought it looked delicious so I bought a little square to try it. The Robber said, "Oh that is a you food" by which he meant "This looks strange but it might turn out to be good." Hmmmmmph. I said. Hmmmmmph. And of course in the end the Robber loved it enough that I thought I should replicate it at home and this is how I did it. I looked at a few recipes online and then just kind of made things up as I went and was fairly pleased with the result, as was the Robber.

Next time I'll increased the liquid by 1/2 cup because this was a little bit dry and I won't precook the vegetables. As the Robber said, "If you make this again, I would be happy."

Ingredients:

1 lbs. bread, cut into 1/2-1" cubes and left overnight to dry out (alternately you can dry them out in the oven at 150F)

2 lbs asparagus, cut on the diagonal into 1" pieces

1 C. sliced green beans

1 C. buttermilk

1/2 C. chicken broth

1 C. heavy whipping cream

6 eggs

2 tsp. salt

6 oz. soft goat cheese

12 oz. feta cheese

Slivered almonds

Directions:

1. Prepare bread as above. I used sourdough hoagie rolls and thought they were quite delicious in the pudding.

2. In the blender, combine buttermilk, broth, cream, eggs, salt, and cheeses. Blend until smooth.

3. Pour egg mixture over bread cubes in large bowl. Allow to soak for minimum of 15 minutes, submerging the cubes entirely in the liquid mixture.

(Here I sauted the green beans and asparagus until slightly tender, but I wouldn't do that again.)

4. Preheat the oven to 375F. When oven is hot, scoop 1/2 of the bread mixture into an ungreased 9 x 13 glass baking pain. Spread 1/2 of vegetables over bread mixture. Repeat with second half of bread mixture and then vegetables. Generously sprinkle slivered almonds over the top of the pudding.

5. Bake at 375F for 45 minutes or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to sit 15 minutes before removing from pan. Serve warm.

Green Beans With Corn

After a long hiatus, I dipped back into my Indian cookbook by Balkejar et al. to create a dish for a family medicine potluck. I wanted to make something that wasn't carbohydrate-full, like most of the fare for potlucks. This dish, while having its problems, certainly fit well into the rest of the foods presented and got eaten entirely, although no one commented on it to me. Overall I found it rather too strong and wished that the flavors of the ginger and the garlic were less overpowering, although admittedly the combination was rather interesting. In the future I might half the amount of the spices (as well as the salt-- too much), or substitute a smaller amount of powdered ginger and garlic salt for the actual ginger and garlic. I used fresh green beans, which are my current favorite fresh vegetable, and cooked for the same amount of time with nice effect. The green beans were cooked but still a bit crunchy at the end, just how the Robber would like them. I also omitted the red chile, and seeing as how it was spicy enough without it, didn't feel the loss. Furthermore, I found the kidney beans somewhat superfluous. Like all recipes like these, the proportions are probably best played with to find something most satisfactory to you, but following the original recipe will yield a tasty-- if strong--vegetable product.

Ingredients:

1 tsp. oil
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 medium red onion, diced
1/3 cup frozen corn kernels
1/4 cup canned red kidney beans, drained
6 oz. frozen green beans
1 fresh red chile, seeded and diced
1 garlic clove, chopped
1-inch piece fresh ginger root, finely chopped
1 T. chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp. salt
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced, to garnish

Directions:

1) Heat the oil in a karahi, wok, or heavy pan for about 30 seconds, then add the mustard seeds and onion. Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes.

2) Add the corn, red kidney beans, and green beans. Stir-fry for 3-5 minutes.

3) Add the red chile, chopped garlic and ginger, cilantro, and salt and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes.

4) Remove the pan from the heat. Transfer the vegetables to a serving dish and garnish with the diced tomato.

Nutritional Notes

Serves 4-- per serving:
84 cal energy
3.44 g fat
0.50 g saturated fat
11.13 g carbohydrate
2.70 g fiber