Spicy Goat Cheese Dip

Since Im fessing up to my astronomical failures as a cook allow me to confess to another ridiculous thing I cannot manage to succeed at.  Nachos.  You heard me correctly.  Melted cheese and tasty fixings over chips.  Couldnt be simpler, right?  Anyone can do that.  Yeah anyone except me it would seem.  Having never attempted to make them before I thought the broiler would be the way to go.  30 seconds later I was waving out the fire on my organic blue corn chips.  Another dinner ruined.

In my defense nachos were never something we ate in my house growing up.   And the horrible alien cheese sauce drenched corn chips at the fair or the mall arent nachos those are just wrong.  So I dont have a food memory of this dish to lead me to create a long forgotten favorite recipe.  All I had was a strange craving for cheesy corn chips after eating a quick meal at the Great Dane (a locally famous brew pub with good beer and a gluten free menu) and being mocked by the monster nacho plate being eating by people at a neighboring table.

Giving up cheese in Wisconsin is like giving up on snow in the Arctic, it just isnt possible.  It is everywhere and it knows where to find you when you least expect it.  Once you stop eating it you suddenly notice how prevalent cheese is.  Where as you once thought phrases like "cheesehead" or "the cheese state" are just cute metaphorical terms of endearment we use to talk about the area, you know now that the place literally is made of dairy and you cant escape seeing it.

Ive gotten pretty good at ignoring all the amazing cheese this town has to offer and hardly mind that everyone around me makes yummy noises while nibbling on their latest gourmet cheese discovery at parties.  But everyone once in a while as I happily eat my bunless burger and salad a little rodent somewhere in my head will start screaming "Cheese!"  I try to ignore it but it gets more specific, "Ooey gooey sinful cheese drenched macaroni and cheese hot and fresh out of the oven!"  Then things go down hill into something along the lines of "Nachos! Nachos! Nachos! Nachos! Nachos!"  Until the part of my brain that hasnt been taken over by gerbils riffles my brain to find a solution that will make the cheese obsessed brain animals happy and not make me sick.  Anyone who read my vegan mac and cheese post knows that it is no small order to fill.

Thankfully I have a very understanding fella who is no longer surprised that the woman he lives with occasionally (okay on a very regular basis, shut up) goes crazy and insists that directly after lunch we must go to Whole Foods so I can look into making nachos immediately.  It probably helps that he usually benefits from my moments of madness by being rewarded with delicious food for the low low price of doing my endless dishes.

So the only way I could see this nacho thing going down was to indulge in goat cheese which I allow myself every couple of weeks because it doesnt seem to negatively effect me too much and lets face it I need some sort of cheese or I really will snap in the face of all this temptation.  However the goat cheese dribbled chips burst into flame because nachos under the broiler probably wasnt my greatest idea ever.  The cheese sauce I salvaged off of the wreckage on the other hand was amazing!  So whereas I cannot suggest asking me to ever making you something as simple as nacho I can tell you that this accidental goat cheese creation is a great dip.

Now world please do tell me how in the hell does one make nachos?

Spicy Goat Cheese Dip

1 5-ounce log goat cheese
1/4 cup heavy cream or coconut milk
1-2 chipotle peppers, chopped
1-2 teaspoons adobe sauce from chipotle peppers
1 jalapeno, finely chopped


Place goat cheese in a oven safe bowl.  Heat for 20 seconds or so until it becomes soft and easily mixable.  Add heavy cream or coconut milk until the cheese is the constancy you like, you might not need all the liquid depending on the goat cheese youre using.  Stir in the chipotle, adobe sauce and jalapeno until well combined.  Place in oven at about 375 degrees until cheese begins to brown on top.  Serve warm with good quality corn chips.

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Extremely Spicy Bean Curry

The fella and I love spicy food especially of the Indian variety but this recipe was something else.  He was actually pretty okay with it but I made the mistake of trying it for the first time while I was at work.  I wasnt expecting it to be that overly spicy because Im no wimp.  Boy was I wrong.  Gladly the lunch room was empty that day because this curry was so hot I was crying.  In a very good and happy way its just I dont exactly make a habit of sitting alone in public at work weeping over my food.  It gives people the wrong impression I guess.

This curry is so good it manages to both be very very hot and tasty at the same time.  So if youre not big on spice I would suggest making it with the least amount of chilies suggested in the recipe and it should have a nice bit of kick to it.  If you really want to challenge yourself go ahead and add all the chilies and be prepared to have a pleasant fire in your mouth. 

And dont be put off by the long list of ingredients, they are mostly spices that require no effort on your part other than tossing them in the pan so it is actually a really quick meal once the beans are cooked.  I even cheat by making my beans in the crockpot while Im at work so I can start cooking as soon as I get home.  With that short cut this very hot meal takes almost no effort.

So there you go all my friends that are fans of insanely hot food, give this a try and let me know if its hot enough for you.  If not Im scared of but impressed by your idea of spicy.

Extremely Spicy Bean Curry

1/2 cup of dried chickpeas
1/4 cup of dried kidney beans
1/4 cup of lentils (puy lentils or black lentils are best)
2 tablespoons of coconut oil
1 generous teaspoon of black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of ground cumin

1 teaspoons of agave nectar
1 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
1 teaspoon of turmeric
dash of cayenne
2 - 4 dried red chilies
1 large tomato, finely chopped

1 small clove garlic, minced
2 - 4 fresh red or green chilies, finely chopped

Rinse the chickpeas, kidney beans and lentils in a strainer. Soak overnight in enough water to cover. Drain, transfer to a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the beans are tender - roughly 1 hour.  Or put beans in crockpot covered in water at low heat for 6 hours.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. When hot, toss in the mustard seeds and cook until they begin to pop. Add the cumin seeds, ground cumin, agave nectar, salt, coriander, turmeric, cayenne and dried chilies. Stir quickly and add the tomatoes, garlic, and fresh chilies. Stir a few times and cook until the tomato is softened - roughly 5 minutes.

Drain off some of the water from the cooked beans and add the tomato mixture to the pot. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for another 10 - 15 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Garnish with the fresh parsley or cilantro.  

Original recipe from Lisas Kitchen blog. 

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Cumin Crusted Lamb and Cashew Cauliflower

I have this habit of refusing to remember that the concept of marination is involved in cooking.  I read recipes ahead of time, comprehend the words "marinate over night" then selectively erase that phrase from my memory.  Then when the night comes that I want to make that recipe its as if evil elves have come in and rearranged the world since the last time I looked at the recipe and malevolently invented the word "marinate" just to torture me.  Well at least thats how it feels when Im looking forward to something for dinner and see that horrible world and realize that not only do I have to make new plans for dinner I also have to prep a part of tomorrows dinner.  And darn it at that point I just want to eat.

I mean Ill follow some pretty crazy cooking instructions with no problem but marinating things just irks me every time, I never learn.  Twice last week this happened to me as if I was trying to subliminally teach myself a lesson by planning to eat two recipes with one of my least favorite words in it.  This recipe for cumin crusted lamb was totally worth eating dinner late while waiting for the meat to get all sticky and soft in the egg white and saki.  The meal was amazing and the chemistry of the marinade really did something wonderful to the texture of the lamb so that I would be more than happy to eat this again.  The slightly spicy cashew cauliflower only made the meal better.

However the spicy chicken thighs I had planned for tricked me two nights in a row.  So I added "marinating" to the list of things Im leaving to the fella from now on since Im apparently unable to grasp the concept.  He was more than happy to prep the chicken and really loved the end result.  I dont know if it was because I was still holding a grudge against that recipe for making me have to re-plan dinner or if the recipe wasnt just for me but I wasnt a fan.

So there you have it of all of the things I can do Im stymied by the idea of putting meat in tasty liquid over night to make it even more tasty.  How sad is that?  I maintain that all recipes that have a marination step should start out with "warning marination ahead" in big bold letter before the ingredient list just to prevent these sort of cooking failures from happening.  Who is with  me?

Cumin Crusted Lamb

1 egg white

1 tablespoon rice wine or saki

2 teaspoons rice flour

1 teaspoon salt, more to taste

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 pound boneless leg of lamb or lamb shoulder, cut into strips about 1/2 inch by 2 inches

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons cumin seeds, lightly cracked in a mortar or grinder

2 tablespoons whole dried red chili peppers

4 scallions, white and green parts only, cut on diagonal into 1-inch lengths

Sesame oil, for seasoning.

In a deep medium sized bowl combine egg white, wine, rice flour, salt and pepper. Add lamb and set aside to MARINATE 1 HOUR. 

Heat a large skillet (non stick works best) over high heat until a drop of water sizzle on contact. Swirl half the oil into pan and carefully add lamb, spreading it in a single layer. Let sear a moment, then stir-fry briskly just until lamb is no longer pink on the outside. Transfer to a plate. 

Swirl remaining oil into empty pan, add cumin seeds and chilies and stir-fry a few seconds until cumin seeds start to pop. 

Add scallions and stir-fry 1 minute. Then return lamb to pan and stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes more until lamb is cooked through. Turn off heat, sprinkle with salt and drops of sesame oil, and serve immediately.

Original recipe in New York Times food section.

Cashew Cauliflower

2 tablespoons oil

1 shallot, diced

1 medium head cauliflower, cut in florets

1 star anise

2 dried red chilies

salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup of water

1/2 cup cashews

Place oil in large frying pan over medium low heat.  Cook shallot in oil until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes.  Add cauliflower and raise heat to medium high to brown the cauliflower.  When the cauliflower has some color to it and is just starting to get tender, add the star anise, chilies, and salt and pepper.  Stir fry ingredients for another minute.  

Add water to the pan, turn heat back to medium low and cover.  Cook for about 10 minutes or until cauliflower is tender.

Remove cover from cauliflower and add cashews to pan until theyre toasted, raising heat if necessary.  Remove star anise and chilies to serve.

Modified from a recipe in Padma Lakshmis Tangy Tart Hot and Sweet.

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Look Ma My Bread is Famous

 Photo by Steve Apps of the State Journal.

The interview I did with my foodie friend Lindsay for the local newspaper here in Madison just went up today.  As you may know May is Gluten Free Awareness month so she talked to me and a couple other people in the Madison gluten free community about our experience of going without wheat.  And the most important part of the whole thing of course was the food. 

I cooked four different very photogenic loafs of bread that the papers photographer did a great job of capturing.  Ill post the recipe for the banana cardamom bread I reverse engineered from the fellas favorite gluteny recipe next week.  The other three recipes are from some of my favorite gluten free bloggers so be sure to check those out in the article as well.

It was a fun experience.  Now that people know what Im doing over here I better get back to some serious blogging.  But after all that baking I need some time off from making bread.  Im all breaded out.

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Spicy Kidney Beans with Tomato and Yogurt Sauce

These cold windy fall evenings are perfect for rich spicy curries. And we all know how much of a curry obsession I have so when I saw yogurt, goat cheese and kidney beans in a recipe I was all over it. This recipe is perfect so there isnt much for me to add. Three chilies made for a very spicy curry though so be warned if you like to take it easy on the heat scale.

I paired it with Helfrich Gewurtraminer and some almond naan and couldnt have been happier. It seems crazy but Gewurtraminer and curry is amazing. The wine was a easy sweet spice and fruit wine with okay body but after a few bites of curry and it just popped, making both the wine and the food that much better. Learning this fact has only helped fuel my obsession for two of my favorite things.

Spicy Kidney Beans with Tomato and Yogurt Sauce

1 1/4 cup of dried kidney beans

1 cup of yogurt
2 tablespoons of chickpea flour
1/2 cup of goat cheese, mashed with a fork

1 small clove of garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne
3 - 4 fresh chilies, finely chopped

2 tablespoons of oil
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon of asafoetida

1 large tomato, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of garam masala

2 tablespoons of fresh parsley, chopped


Soak the kidney beans overnight in enough water to cover. Drain, transfer to a medium large pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cover and simmer until the beans are tender - roughly 1 hour. Drain the cooked beans and set aside.

Whisk together the yogurt and chickpea flour until smooth. (The chickpea flour helps to prevent the yogurt from curdling. I made my own by putting some chickpeas through the coffee grinder.) Mix in the mashed goat cheese, stirring well to make sure the cheese breaks up evenly throughout the yogurt. Stir in the garlic, salt, turmeric, cayenne, and chilies. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a medium large pan over medium heat. When hot, toss in the ginger and asafoetida and stir and fry for a few minutes. Now add the tomato and garam masala and simmer until the tomato thickens - roughly 5 minutes.

Stir in the cooked kidney beans and yogurt mixture. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens to your desired consistency. Garish with the parsley and serve over hot rice.

Original recipe from Lisas Kitchen Blog.

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On Sheep Wolves and Sheepdogs

Many of us have recently seen the movie that just came out called American Sniper. Of course, being married to a SWAT sniper, my husband and I were really excited to see it as well. I must say that the movie was outstanding and boy did it tug at my heartstrings since I could relate in many ways to things that were portrayed in the movie. However, one of the things that has continued to float in my head is the story of sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs that they touch on in the movie.

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The following is an excerpt from On Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs by Dave Grossman

One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me:

“Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident.” This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another. Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.

Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.

I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin’s egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful. For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.

“Then there are the wolves,” the old war veteran said, “and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy.” Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

“Then there are sheepdogs,” he went on, “and I’m a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf.”

If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero’s path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.

If you find yourself with the sheep…please hang with the sheepdogs!

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Being the wife of a police officer I have heard this story many times before seeing it played out in this movie, but it is so true of the world we live in today. For me, it is tiresome to constantly hear all the cop bashing on the news, in social media, and even from people I come in contact with every day.  When did our society turn our police officers... the men and women that put their lives on the line for you and me everyday... into the enemy?? When will our society lift up the sheepdogs instead of the wolves? All I know is how incredibly thankful I am for the sheepdog in my life!

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Spicy Coconut Milk and Mushroom Soup

It started innocently enough with my 3 jalapeño curry, the fella amped it up with 4 Serrano in his pea and paneer dish and the chef shamed us with this evilly delicious soup. There were 5 unseeded habenaros involved. I think it is safe to say I will not be continuing the spicy cooking challenge by making a jerk sauce with 6 Scotch bennet peppers. Im okay with letting Jacob win, he is after all the professional.

The really amazing thing about the soup was that not only was it hot but it was tasty as well. Yes it made us all cry in the very best way while clutching our beers (mine sorghum from Red Bridge and theirs Founders wet hopped seasonal) but it also had great flavor. The habenaros open up every taste bud you never knew you had to all the other things going in the soup. Citrusy lemon grass, salty fish sauce, herbal cilantro, creamy coconut milk. They all work together to make something amazing.

Were all crazy people who like spice so the heat wasnt a problem for us. If you arent up for that much spice you can put in less peppers or cook some of the heat off of them by frying up the onion puree which will cut the spice a bit. And if the spice is still too much in the finished product you can do what we resorted to and pour it over some brown rice and toss in some paneer to add something to compete with the habenaros.

Spicy Coconut Milk and Mushroom Soup

1 1/2 cups mushrooms, chopped
2 tablespoons oil
2 medium onions, chopped

3tablespoon lemon grass puree
1teaspoon fish sauce

5 cloves of garlic
1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
5 habenaro peppers, seeded

3 cups coconut milk
6 Cubeb peppercorns, ground (1 teaspoon of regular pepper and a pinch of clove would work fine)
2 1/2 cup chicken stock
3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped (mint or basil will work as well)


In a pot heat oil over medium heat then add mushrooms and one of the chopped onions. Cook until browned. Add lemon grass and fish sauce.

Puree remaining onion, garlic, ginger and habenaros in the food processor. Add in one cup of the coconut milk and puree until you have a paste. If you want to lesson the heat of the soup sauté this puree until the onions are no longer raw before adding to the pot with the mushroom mixture.

To soup pot add remaining 2 cups of coconut milk, peppercorns, and chicken stock and bring to a boil.

Add cilantro and simmer soup for 5 minutes. Serve over brown rice with paneer or tofu to cut spice if needed.

A purely original Jacob Schenk recipe.

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