Sun Dried Tomato, Feta and Oregano Muffins

As much as I love sweet baked goods, I think I like savoury baked goods better because you can eat them more often! This muffin is a variation on another savoury muffin I made before - caramelized onion, sage and cheddar muffins. This time I did things a little bit different using sun dried tomatoes, feta and oregano, and I used all purpose flour instead of whole wheat and all milk instead of half heavy cream. I loved the texture of the muffins which was tops with scone-like crispy edges and insides that were nice and soft. The tomato flavour is really strong so I might cut back a bit on that next time though.

It's been a really long time since I've participated in the blog event No Croutons Required. This month, you have to make a bread recipe (quick bread or yeast bread) that you think would go well with soup or salad. I think this muffin would go great with a Greek red lentil soup or Mediterranean pepper salad. You have until July 20 to submit your entry. I can't wait to see all the savoury baked goods!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
A Dilly of a Cheese Scone
Cheddar and Black Pepper Scones
Irish Soda Bread
Cheddar & Dill Beer Bread Rolls

Sun Dried Tomato, Feta and Oregano Muffins
Adapted from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book

Makes 12 muffins

3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tbsp salt
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp dried oregano
10 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled a bit
2 large eggs
1 cup milk, at room temperature (I used 1%)
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped (rehydrated in hot water if not packed in oil)

Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a standard 12 cup muffin tin with muffin papers (or butter and flour the cups or spray them with nonstick vegetable cooking spray).

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, black pepper, sugar and oregano

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter and eggs. Whisk in the milk until combined.

3. Add the cheese and sun dried tomatoes to the flour mixture and gently toss with your fingers to coat. Make a well in the center. Pour the butter mixture into the center of the well and using a rubber spatula, gently pull the flour mixture into the center of the well until just combined.

4. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each cup until full. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until lightly golden and a wooden skewer inserted into the center come sout clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Mediterranean Pepper Salad

I'm still eating my daily salad for the salad challenge and will post a roundup of the past week on Sunday. But for now I will post about this other really yummy salad as I want to make sure I get in on Jacqueline and Lisa's No Croutons Required pepper challenge!

Since it's been so hot here I've been craving salads a lot so I've gone through many different salad recipes over the last while. This one is a definite favourite. I've made it 3 times so far (which is a lot for me) and plan to make it many many more times. I've always wanted to make Greek salad at home but never knew how (which sounds kind of ridiculous because really, how hard is it?) - and now I feel like I've found it. Though it doesn't have any oregano, and Greek salad doesn't seem to usually have peppers. I liked eating a big bowl of this with a savoury muffin for a meal. And this salad has also made me realize how much I prefer cubes of feta to crumbles. With cubes you get a nice bite of flavourful feta - versus crumbles where you can barely taste it unless you add a ton.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
French Barley Salad
Tabbouleh
Warm Vegetable Salad with Sesame-Maple Dressing
Santa Fe Pasta Salad

Mediterranean Pepper Salad
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes 4 meal size servings.

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup cold water
1 tsp salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 a red onion, cut into a 1/2-inch dice (use less if your onion is huge)
3 bell peppers, your choice of colors (I used one red, orange and yellow)
4 roma tomatoes (or 1 cup grape tomatoes)
1/2 long english cucumber
1/4-pound firm feta cheese
1/4 to 1/2 cup pitted sliced kalamata olives
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Swish together the red wine vinegar, water, kosher salt and sugar in a small bowl until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Add the red onion and set it aside.

Meanwhile, time to practice your knife skills. Core and seed your bell peppers and chop them into 1/2-inch pieces. Chop the tomatoes into 1/2-inch pieces. Chop the cucumber and feta into similarly-sized chunks. Put your peppers, cucumber, feta and olives in a large bowl.

By now, your onions will have lightly pickled, both sweetening and softening their blow. Drain them and add them to the other vegetables in the large bowl, but reserve the vinegar mixture. Pour a quarter cup of the vinegar mixture over the salad, then drizzle with olive oil. Season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper, or to taste. Toss evenly and serve at once, or let the flavors muddle together in the fridge for a few hours.

Tabbouleh

I know this isn't the most innovative salad, and in fact is really not innovative at all. But it was super delicious and I haven't participated in No Croutons Required (a monthly soup/salad blog event) for a while, so I'm submitting this! This month's theme is soup/salad with grains. I wanted to include this salad in my mom's birthday meal since I know she's been wanting to find a good tabbouleh recipe for a while. I remember she tried one out but no one really liked it that much - I think because of the mint. So I skipped the mint in this one, and we all loved it. Even my stepdad, who said he always says no to tabbouleh, had a second helping. For those interested, my mom's birthday meal included this tabbouleh, insanely delicious focaccia (which is kind of fried while baking mmm, more on that in another post), olive tapenade, broccoli lemon feta pecan pasta, roasted vegetables, and lemon lust cake.

I don't feel the need to search for a better or different tabbouleh and will definitely make this again. I would love to try adding the suggested additions to make it more of a substantial meal salad - chickpeas, roasted red peppers, cucumbers, olives. Bulghur isn't available at the grocery stores near me, so I have to get it from a warehouse/specialty food store that's about 30 minutes away. My boyfriend was in the area one day (while I was at home) and he called me to tell me he was at that store. A store I think he doesn't really enjoy going to when I'm with him because I say I just need to pick up 2 or 3 things and then get lost looking at all the different kinds of grains, beans, dried fruit, etc. He went to search for the bulghur because he knew I'd been wanting it. How sweet is he? Oh and did I mention that he did all of the chopping for this salad?

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Bulghur Grape Salad
French Barley Salad
Santa Fe Pasta Salad
Balkan Roasted Vegetable Salad

Tabbouleh
Adapted from Rebar: Modern Food Cookbook

1 cup bulghur
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp cracked pepper
1 bunch parsley
1/2 small red onion (Ashley note: The recipe recommended using 1 small onion but I thought it'd be too much so only used half. But the salad can definitely handle 1 small red onion so it's up to you.)

1. Combine bulghur and salt in a bowl and stir in the boiling water. Cover tightly with plastic wrap for 20 minutes. (Ashley note: Mine took longer than 20 minutes - maybe 30-35.) Uncover and fluff the grains with a fork. Let cool to room temperature.

2. Meanwhile, make the dressing by whisking together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and seasonings. Set aside.

3. Wash stemmed parsley, shake off excess water and dry on a clean kitchen towel. Mince the parsley and red onion. In a serving bowl, combine cooled bulghur, prepared parsley and onion. Pour dressing over the ingredients and toss thoroughly. Let the salad rest before serving (30 minutes), or cover and store in the refrigerator.

Beet, Barley & Black Bean Soup

I've missed a couple of months for the No Croutons Required event, but I'm back with a delicious soup! The theme this month is soups or salads featuring legumes. When I make soup, I like having a good variety of vegetables, a grain (like barley), and protein (beans usually). I was very anti-bean before but since I started to try and eat healthier and take better care of myself, I've been slowly accepting them and trying to incorporate them into my diet frequently. Soups are a great way to do that! And what bean is more accessible than the black bean (in my mind anyway).

Well since I love beets, and this soup is a meal in itself, you can guess that I loved it. I've never used tarragon in my cooking at home, and have only had it a few times when out. I like it but it's something different to get used to. I think this soup could benefit from a variety of herbs, and it actually calls for 1/2 cup of fresh dill. Which is a lot of dill, even though I love dill - so I put that as optional in the recipe.

I thought I'd have more time to update my blog now that school is finished but it turns out I've found many other things (including work) to fill up all my time! Currently I'm looking for an apartment and obsessing over places. I hope the place we find has a relatively decent size kitchen with some counter space! I can't wait to try out my grandma's convection oven for baking (which is currently in storage but will be taken out when I move).

Other soups I've made:
Choklay's Tibetan Lentil Soup
Baked Bean Soup
Corn Chowder
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

Beet, Barley & Black Bean Soup
Adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance

1 tsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
5 cloves garlic
2 tsp dried tarragon
Black pepper
8 cups water
4 medium-size beets, cut in half & half again, sliced 1/4 inch thick
3/4 cup pot barley
2 tbsp soy sauce
15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained (about 2 cups)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Dill (optional)

In a stockpot over medium heat, saute the onion in the olive oil for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tarragon, and pepper; saute until fragrant (about a minute). Add 8 cups of water, the beets, barley, and soy sauce, cover, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the beans and simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent the barley from sticking together, or unitl the barley is tender. Add the balsamic vinegar. Add dill if desired.

Corn Chowder

I'm a day late for the No Croutons Required event but hopefully the lovely Holler & Lisa will still accept my entry! This month it's spicy soups, and I have to admit that I don't love eating a lot of spicy food. I'd rather be able to taste my food with only a bit of spiciness, and not have my nose start running! (Though occasionally I do love eating sushi with tons of wasabi, but that's a different kind of spicy.) The soup I made was corn chowder, and the original recipe calls for 2 jalapeño peppers but I am wimpy so I only put in one.

When I was growing up, I loved that my birthday was in August because it meant I got to eat corn on the cob for my birthday. Now I often forget about corn, so it was great to come across a recipe for corn chowder. I'm really on a soup kick right now, which has not yet been evidenced in my blog but trust me when I say there are many soups to come! I'm loving soups because they're something that are relatively easy to make, you always get leftovers, and they can often be quite healthy.

I loved how thick and filling the soup was. I'd like to try and create my perfect corn chowder so to make this soup again, I'd try swapping out the potatoes for sweet potatoes, use less rosemary (as I'm not a big fan), use more onion, and maybe try adding another herb. I just realized that I photographed this soup in the exact same way, in the exact same bowl as I did for the last No Croutons Required Soup! How unimaginative. Or maybe it should be a tradition or maybe I need to get more soup bowls!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili
Santa Fe Pasta Salad
Parmesan Corn Risotto Cakes

Corn Chowder
adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance

Serves 4 as a meal.

1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium-size onion, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 large red bell pepper, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 cup carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice (approximately 3 carrots)
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
A few dashes black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups vegetable broth
3 cups frozen corn kernels
2 medium-size russet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch chunks
1 bay leaf
Pinch cayenne
1/4 cup plain soy milk
2 tsp maple syrup

In stockpot sauté the onions, bell peppers, carrots and jalapeño in the olive oil over medium heat until the onions are translucent, about 7 minutes. Add rosemary, thyme, black pepper, and salt; sauté 1 minute more. Add the broth, corn, potatoes, bay leaf and cayenne. Cover and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the tomatoes are tender. Uncover and simmer 120 minutes more to let the liquid reduce a bit.

Remove the bay leaf and puree half the chowder either using a hand held blender or by transferring half the chowder to a blender, pureeing till smooth, and adding back to soup. Add the soy milk and maple syrup, and simmer 5 more minutes. Let sit for at least 10 minutes and serve.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

This is my entry for Holler and Lisa's new food blog event, No Croutons Required. The theme this month is vegetarian soups - though I'm not sure if chili would be considered a soup? This is more stew-ish anyway so let's call it a very chunky and delicious soup!

I'm not usually a fan of chili, probably due to all the ground meat (or in my case it would be fake ground round/meat). But as I said, this isn't your regular chili. I'm kind of obsessed with sweet potatoes - or maybe not obsessed but if anything has sweet potatoes in it, I want to eat it. So the fact that this "chili" is full of sweet potatoes definitely helps, and combined with the onions makes it slightly sweet. I cut back on how spicy it was so feel free to add cayenne, extra chili powder or some jalapeno peppers to this.

This chili is simple, very easy to make, filling, healthy and yummy! What more can you ask for? It was a great discovery for me for something quick and healthy to make on a weeknight.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Sweet Potato Black Bean Salsa
Sweet Potato Badi
Balkan Roasted Vegetable Salad

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili
Adapted from The Clueless Vegetarian

Serves 3-4 as a meal.

1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 cup vegetable broth
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 28-oz (796mL) cans diced tomatoes
2 19-oz (540mL) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp crumbled dried oregano

Heat the oil in a large saucepan* or Dutch oven. Add the onions and cook, stirring, over medium heat until the onions are soft - about 5 minutes. Add the chili powder and the cumin and cook for another minute or so. Add the vgetable broth and the cubed sweet potatoes, reduce the heat to low and cook, covered, until the potatoes are almost tender - about 10 minutes.

Add the tomatoes with all the juice from the can, the beans, salt, and oregano. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then let simmer until the potatoes are completely tender - about 20 minutes.

*Go for the Dutch oven if you can, unless your saucepan is really very large.