Orzo with Favas and Peas

Before moving to Seattle I'd never eaten fava beans, and rarely heard anyone talk about them. Since then they seem to be becoming more and more trendy. My first summer here, I ended up at Restaurant Zoe and had the most amazing meal. The only vegetarian main course portion they serve is a seasonal risotto. Which is fine by me - they serve some of the most delicious risotto you've ever had. But on my first visit, I had the fava bean risotto which was so good that I couldn't stop eating it, even though we'd ordered way too much food and felt stuffed for hours afterward. Two and a half years later, I've finally started cooking with fava beans myself. I'm not sure how easy they are to find elesewhere in the country, apparently you can sometimes find them already shelled and frozen. But if you do see them fresh and in their pods, they're definately worth the effort.


You'll need to shell them, boil them briefly to loosen the skins, and then remove the inner pod. While you don't want to leave these for too long, you can refrigerate them for a a day or two after this is done. They're also quite tasty in spring salads or as a topping for bruschetta. They're nutty but still bright and pair well with other spring vegetables. For more information and recipe ideas with fava beans check out this article from npr.

Orzo with Favas and Peas
Serves 2

1/2 cup shelled fava beans*
3/4 cup frozen peas (or fresh if you can find them)
zest from 1/2 lemon
juice from 1 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, sliced
1/2 cup orzo
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp chopped mint and/or chives
sliced parmesan

*Note: For 1/2 a cup shelled beans, you'll need about 1/2-3/4 lb beans. To shell fava beans, remove beans from outer pods, bring water to a boil and cook beans for approximately 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in ice water to cool completely. Pinch out skin and gently pop out inner beans. This can be done up to 2 days in advance. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.


Combine beans, peas, lemon, olive oil and garlic in a food processor and puslse until well combined but still slightly chunky. Cook orzo according to package instructions. Drain orzo and return to pan. Mix in pea mixture and 1/2 of chopped herbs. Season to taste. Add pasta cooking water to this if necessary. Serve topped with parmesan and chopped herbs.

Sophisticated Ice Box Cookies

I've been researching cookies for the last couple weeks trying to find just the right thing to make for mother's day. I wanted to find something that was delicate (and feminine) enough for the holiday - something that would pair well with a cup of afternoon tea. And something appropriate for the time of year - nothing too rich, or dark, or dense. And, because I live across the country from my mother, it would also need to be rather sturdy and prime for shipping. I was inspired by this recipe on Lottie + Doof for Claudia Fleming's Lemon-Poppy Seed Shortbread, but I didn't want to stop at one variety. So, still looking along the lines of shortbread, I thought about this Earl Grey Ice Box Cookie from Martha Stewart. Since I'd made these as part of my Christmas package this past year I wanted to find a variation on the flavor. Which then lead me to these recipes from Smitten Kitchen and Martha Stewart for "slice and bake" or icebox cookies that can be adapted for various flavorings. In the end I went with a recipe from Martha's Baking Handbook, that wasn't so much a shortbread but a crisp butter cookie with eggs and granulated sugar.


And while I had my base recipe set, I still had to determine the flavorings. I still liked the lemon poppy seed idea, it's classic, and something my mom would like. But I wanted to step outside the box a bit for the others. I doubled the recipe and made 4 variations. There would need to be something chocolatey. And perhaps some espresso. And lots of citrus, and a few nuts. And maybe some dried fruit. Or tea, I do really love the earl grey cookies. And I made some lemon chamomile shortbread growing up that was absolutely delicious. And maybe some spices and herbs like tyme or rosemary. So after much brainstorming, I came up with the following: Lemon Poppy-Seed, Chocolate Orange Espresso, Rosemary Grapefruit, and Almond Chai. But then I thought about it some more, and decided to change things around a bit: Lemon Poppy-Seed, Grapefruit White Chocolate, Espresso Cardamom, and Orange Espresso. It didn't help that I kept reading recipes and kept looking for flavor combinations. And then I discovered that my white chocolate had been, emm, invaded by some little creatures, and decided that would be scrapped. So the final combination was Lemon Poppy-Seed, Orange Pistachio Dark Chocolate, Espresso Cardamom Walnut, and Ginger Grapfruit Almond.

Icebox Butter Cookie
Adapted From Martha Stewart Baking Handbook

Makes about 5 dozen cookies

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sanding or granulated sugar, for rolling

Cream butter and 3/4 cup sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 min. Add egg and vanilla, beat to combine. Slowly add flour until thoroughly combined. Divide dough for desired flavors.

Note: To make all 4 varieties described below, you will need a double batch of the above recipe.



Add ins -

Lemon Poppy-Seed Variation
1/2 tsp lemon extract
Zest of 2 lemons (about 2-3 tbsp)
2 tsp poppy seeds

Orange Pistachio Dark Chocolate Variation
Zest of 1 orange (about 2-3 tbsp)
3 tbsp finely chopped unsalted pistachios
2 tbsp finely chopped dark or bittersweet chocolate

Espresso Cardamom Walnut Variation
2 tbsp instant espresso powder
2 tbsp finely chopped walnuts (raw)
1/2 tsp ground cardamom

Ginger Grapfruit Almond Variation
2 tbsp finely chopped candied ginger
Zest of 1 grapefruit (about 3 tbsp)
2 tbsp chopped sliced almonds


Add flavorings described above, mix to combine thoroughly. It's easiest to do this with your hands since the dough is quite firm at this point.


Preheat oven to 350. Shape dough into long tube shape, wrap in parchment paper and squeeze with a straight edge to make a uniform tube. Slip into a paper towel cardboard tube and twist ends to compress. Freeze for approximately 20 minutes. Remove from tube and roll in sugar to evenly coat perimeter.


Slice into 1/4" rounds. If you're using larger add ins such as nuts of dried fruit, the cookies may break apart when slicing. Form them back together and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or foil. Bake for 15 minutes until edged are slightly golden. Transfer to a cooling rack. Cookies should last about a week stored in an airtight container at room temperature, or longer in the freezer.

Alternately, you can save the uncooked sliced dough for baking later. Dough will last about a month.

Perfect Black Beans

I'm usually fine using beans out of a can. But every now and then, I get the urge to actually use the dried kind. It does take much longer, and is sometimes disappointing, but this recipe makes the wait worth it. With a little advanced planning, it's actually very easy and the consistency and flavor are far superior to anything you can do with canned beans.


We had them with fajitas, which were, umm, kind of disappointing. We undercooked Jon's flank steak so it was a bit chewy, and I decided I'm not a fan of "chicken" flavored seitan. Oh well, atleast the beans and the salsas were yummy.

Black Beans
Serves 4-6

1 cup dried black beans
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1/2 serrano pepper, finely diced
1 tsp olive oil
salt to taste

Soak beans over night at room temperature. Drain and rinse beans. Heat olive oil in a 2qt saucepan over medium heat, add onion, garlic, pepper, and bay leaf, and stir until fragrant. Add drained beans and add water to cover the beans by about an inch. Bring to a simmer and cover, continue to simmer for 1-1 1/2 hours. Half way through cooking, add salt and stir. Check for consistency and seasoning at 1 hour. When beans are softened, remove lid and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes allowing excess water to evaporate.