Pages

Showing posts with label entree. Show all posts
Showing posts with label entree. Show all posts

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Curried Red Lentil Stew with Winter Veggies

So, it's the beginning of flu season. This means people around me are sick. And by people around me, not even necessarily people I know -- in the grocery store the other day, I saw someone who looked like she was about to pass out (pale features, sheen of sweat, red nose, bundled up far more than the temperatures outside called for). Cold and flu season makes me want to eat things that are going to help boost my immunity (and, let's face it, that are just plain good for me).

And, since the days are more frequently cool / cloudy / wet, I want to consume warm things -- stews, soups, bakes. teas & coffee, etc.

This is where a curried red lentil stew comes in. This particular stew has onions, garlic, ginger, turmeric, lentils (hooray protein!!), dark green veggies*, and more immune-system boosting goodness. Regardless of whether any of these actually help me stay healthy during the winter months I like to imagine they do -- and it creating a large batch of this stew provides me with several days of quick, healthy meals.

I ate this alongside a gluten-free flat bread (that turned out crispier than I would have liked), but it would also go well with brown rice or a nice pliable flat bread, like pita. If you want to up the spice (again, this might depend on the curry powder you choose), add a pinch of red pepper flakes at the same time you add the lentils.
Thick Red Curry with Winter Veggies

Curried Red Lentil Stew with Winter Veggies
2 teaspoons oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium sweet potato, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1-inch piece ginger, minced

1 cup fresh cauliflower florets
2 tablespoons curry powder**
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds (optional)
3 dried curry leaves (or 1 bay leaf)
1 cup red lentils
3 1/2 cups water

1 cup fresh kale, chopped

Warm the oil in a medium-sized soup pan, over medium-high heat. Add the onion, sweet potato, and salt, and saute 4-5 minutes, until the onion and sweet potato begin to brown. Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic and ginger. Saute another 2 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients except the kale, bring to a boil, and reduce the heat to low. Cover and allow to simmer 18-20 minutes, until the cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and lentils are soft. 

Stir in the chopped kale and remove from the heat. As soon as the kale has wilted (this took less than a minute for my curly kale), taste and add salt, if necessary. Serve hot.

Special Notes:

*I also chopped some of the green parts of the cauliflower -- about 1/2 cup worth, and added those. Biting into them was a bit like biting into a piece of cabbage in the stew, and something I would do again, but this is definitely up to you. If you do add them, add them 2-3 minutes before you add the kale and before you take the stew off the heat.

**I use a medium-hot curry powder with a moderately high ratio of turmeric. If you use a sweet curry powder, start with 1 tablespoon and add more toward the end, if you desire. As always, it's easier to add than to take away!

Friday, August 10, 2012

French Lentils with Marmalade

For a recent Sunday dinner with E & Co., I decided I needed to make a serious effort to use up things I've had in my pantry. The primary targets: lentils and tamale masa.

French Lentils with Marmalade over Masa Polenta
With the masa, I made a polenta and served it under the lentils (in part, because E isn't a fan of lentils). That will (hopefully) appear in a future post.

The salty polenta base complimented the sweeter lentils nicely, but they could be served on their own, tossed on top of a salad, or be used in a variety of other ways. I selected to mix these with marmalade mostly because that's what I had on hand (inherited from E's previous roommate, actually) and I figured it would work out okay. I actually really liked the way they turned out though, which is why I'm sharing it with you.

French Lentils with Marmalade
1 cup French lentils, rinsed and drained
3 cups water
Generous pinch salt

2 tablespoons marmalade, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Combine the lentils, water, and salt in a pot over medium heat. Allow to simmer until the water is completely absorbed and the lentils are tender. Remove from the heat and stir in the marmalade and black pepper. Serve immediately.

Note: this also tasted good the second day, chilled. Do what makes you happy.




Sunday, August 5, 2012

Oat Groat and Lentil Salad with Raisins, Carrot, and Spring Onion

For Sunday dinner a few weeks ago, with E and two of our friends, I wanted something that would 1) be cool(ish) since it's been pretty warm outside and 2) use up some of the pantry staples I've got on hand. This led to a quick evaluation of my pantry and noticing that I had half a bag of lentils and a lot of oat groats. I've written about oat groats before, but in case you're new to the blog and to groats, they're the unprocessed oat and cook up similar to barley or brown rice, texture wise.

In my local grocery stores, groats have also been cheaper than brown rice of late and although they don't combine with lentils or beans to create a complete protein, for most people that's not really a problem -- most of us get plenty of protein (granted with vegetarians and vegans, this can be a bit of a problem). Lately, I'm not concerned about it, because I've been making my many smoothies with vanilla soy milk (great grocery store special) and so I'm getting a fair amount of protein there, and in other places.

I baked the groats, despite the extra heat that would cause, because it meant I could also go walk the dog. You can cook them on the stove top, but this might result in them breaking up a bit more (and looking more like normal oatmeal). Aside from cooking the groats and lentils, this salad comes together quickly and can be eaten warm -- I do recommend allowing it to chill overnight though, if you've got the spare time, because it allows the flavors to blend. Do not reheat it!

This recipe was inspired by a different grain-and-lentil salad I used to make frequently just after moving to Iowa, and a salad I recently tried, from a grocery store near the coast.

The raisins add a nice sweet bite from time to time, the carrot some extra crunch, and the onion really draws the whole salad together. If you're garlic-squeamish, you can leave it out (scape season, after all, is really short), but I like the complexity it adds. The chipotle adds a slight smokey note without really adding spice.

Oat Groat and Lentil Salad with Raisins, Carrot, and Spring Onion
1 cup uncooked oat groats
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch red pepper flakes

1 cup uncooked whole lentils
2 cups water
1 tablespoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
1 tablespoon chipotle paste*
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup raisins
1 large carrot, diced
1/2 cup spring (or green) onion, chopped (greens only)
1 teaspoon garlic scape, slivered (or 1/2 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Place the oat groats, 2 1/2 cups water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and red pepper flakes into an oven-safe baking dish that can be covered. Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until groats are "to the tooth."

Meanwhile, on the stovetop, add 1 cup lentils, 2 cups water, and dried oregano to a small pot. Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender and most of the water has been absorbed. Stir in the chipotle paste and salt. Remove from heat.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine raisins, carrot, onion, garlic scape, and lemon juice. Add the cooked, and slightly cooled, groats and lentils, and stir to combine. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes, preferably overnight, before serving.

*Chipotle paste: I take tinned chipotles and blender them all at once, then store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator to use as needed.

(sorry for no picture this time)


Monday, June 18, 2012

Eating Carrot Tops, plus (another) smoothie recipe

In my CSA box, I got carrots. I love carrots. But when you don't buy them in a pre-packaged bag, they come with greens which most people throw away. There's really no need for this. Any of you who read this moderately regularly will know how much I hate throwing things away (part of the reason I want a few chickens, eventually) if they could be composted or otherwise recycled. Since I don't have a compost heap, this means a lot of creative uses of the parts of veggies a lot of us throw away -- from bases to broths, to things like this lightly sweet recipe for...you guessed it! Another smoothie!

Carrot-top Smoothie
This is one of my favorite smoothies of late, in part because it has such a fresh flavor and because it's a brilliant, bright green. It's not particularly sweet, so if you like sweeter smoothies, add a tablespoon or so of agave, honey, or other sweetener of your choice. Personally, I think the apple juice adds enough sweetness, without adding much flavor -- unlike the vanilla soy milk, which also adds some sweetness, in addition to protein. The oats help thicken it.

Ready to try it? Yes? Carrot fronds (not the stem, that can be woody) work best for this recipe. If you're still wondering why eat carrot tops, here are just a few reasons:
  • a good source of potassium, chlorophyll, and vitamin K
  • brightens flavors in everything from salads to a garlicky pot of beans
  • Americans throw away a ridiculous amount of food waste
Carrot-Top Smoothie
1 cup carrot fronds, lightly packed
1/4 cup frozen apple juice concentrate
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
1/4 cup oats

Add all ingredients to blender and puree until smooth. Add more liquid, to reach the desired consistency, if necessary. Serve.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Butternut Squash Quinoa Oat Burgers

Sundays are "family dinner" night with my roommate and several of our friends. The actual number of us any given Sunday is between two and four, with occasional exceptions. I love Sunday dinners because it means



1) I'm actually eating with other people
2) I often get the opportunity to cook for others
3) Everyone's willing to contribute, if asked

When I lived in the Midwest, I ate with people a lot more often than I do now and I miss the social aspect of eating with people I care about -- even if we're not actually eating the same thing (though it's nice when we are). Sundays help fill this gap.

In the skillet
One recent Sunday dinner, there were just going to be two of us and I decided I wanted to make veggie burgers (just fyi, if you're wondering, most store-bought veggie burgers contain gluten). I thought about asking the woman who was coming to bring GF buns, but then decided we could just throw the burgers on corn tortillas since I already had those around and we're both operating on a budget. I thought I had an old can of beans at home, bought in the fall before I decided to stop buying cans of beans in favor of just making my own beans from dried and freezing some for later use. As it turns out, I didn't. And the only beans I had prepped were chickpeas. No thanks, not for this.

What I had instead was a can of butternut squash (bought cheap, organic, and still in date, don't worry). I decided to work with it and this recipe is what resulted. The nice thing about this is that the butternut squash acts as a really good binder, the oats help absorb extra liquid and add a little fiber, and the quinoa provides plenty of protein. I served this with homemade sweet potato fries (oven baked). Play with the spices a bit, if these don't appeal to you.

Butternut Squash Quinoa Oat Burgers
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon hot chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon onion powder, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon cardamom

1 14-ounce can organic butternut squash (or equivalent fresh -- baked & pureed)
1/2 cup gluten-free* rolled oats (not quick or instant)
Oil

Cook the quinoa in the water, simmering over medium heat about 20 minutes or until tender and water is absorbed. Careful not to scorch the quinoa. Mix in the spices, and then combine with butternut squash and oats. Let rest for 20 minutes, to allow flavors to blend and oats to absorb extra liquid. Form into patties an appropriate size for your bun, and about 1/2-inch thick.

Cook patties on a lightly oiled pan, over medium-high heat, about 3-5 minutes per side (depends on how evenly your pan heats and how moist your squash was), until both sides are brown and firm. Serve.

*Remember, some people with gluten-sensitivity don't react well to GF oats either, so be sure to check. If you don't have gluten-sensitivities, you can use regular oats. If you, or the person you're cooking for is sensitive to GF oats, substitute rolled quinoa flakes, if available.
Done!b

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

CSA Pickup 1 - plus CSA Salad with Garlic Scape Dressing

I picked up my first CSA share just the other day and was delighted with my produce -- not only was my produce beautiful, I found way more of it in my bin than I expected! Here's what I got:
First Pickup from my CSA
  • Green Romaine Lettuce
  • Red Butterhead Lettuce
  • Red Russian Kale
  • Carrots
  • Japanese Turnips
  • Kohlrabi
  • Spring Onions
  • Sugar Snap Peas
  • Lambsquarters (so excited about this)
  • Edible flowers (caledula -- the yellow & orange ones; bachelor buttons)
  • Garlic Scapes
My CSA also sent along a recipe to encourage me to use the garlic scapes (when I joined last week, they gave me a handful for free since they weren't selling this year -- apparently people are hesitant to buy them, which makes me sad because they're one of my favorite things as far as early produce goes!). The credit for that recipe (below -- anything in parentheses are my suggested changes based on dietary restrictions) goes to HappyDirt Veggie Patch (unless, of course, they took it from someone they didn't credit in the letter included with my produce).

The opportunity to support local, chemical free produce farmers excites me because I've wanted to join a CSA for several years, but as I mentioned before, haven't felt stable enough in a place. This year, in part because I'm trying to shift to more conscious living in general, I decided that it was important to me to support local agriculture (especially because I have so little room for my own garden) and to make a real effort toward more creative cooking and eating more whole foods. Plus, there's the opportunity for surprise plants, like the lambsquarters (which is another plant you can forage in many areas) that I'll get to figure out how to use.

First CSA Salad
For my first dish with these lovely veggies, I decided to make a large salad using the butterhead lettuce because from past experience, I know that won't last as long. On top of that, I added some thinly sliced carrot (1), thinly sliced Japanese turnip (1) and chopped turnip greens, and then sprinkled some edible flowers over it all. My friend Caitlin joined me for dinner and brought tempeh for protein, which made this a lovely meal.


I made the dressing basically as directed, except subbing in agave for honey (since I was out of honey) and reducing the amount of oil by a fair amount. I can't stand salad dressings that leave my lips feeling greasy even though I know the chemistry behind salad dressings does actually dictate a certain amount (not sure that that is) of oil to the rest of the base. Those changes are not reflected in the recipe below, which is supposed to prepare about 1 cup of dressing -- enough for several salads!

Garlic Scape Dressing
2 garlic scapes, coarsely chopped
Equivalent amount spring onion, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon honey (or agave)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, or similar brown mustard
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
dash salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a blender, combine all ingredients, except the olive oil, and blend until smooth. With blender on low, slowly add the olive oil until well blended.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Ambercup Squash with Forbidden Rice and Cranberries

When my local growers market was still running, I bought several varieties of squash I hadn't tried before, or had only tried once or twice. I've been slowly working through the pile and recently tried my ambercup squash. I hadn't tried this type before because in my grocery stores past, it was always just in a pile of winter squash with no flavor profile descriptors to be seen. Fortunately my growers market did a much better job with describing it -- though for the life of me, I can't remember what the sign near the bin of these squash said.

Forbidden Rice
I wanted to bake my squash and stuff it and so I looked at my ingredients and saw I had some forbidden rice (a black rice) I'd purchased from my co-op around the same time I bought the squashes. I decided to boil it up, adding split red lentils and some flavorings, and then stuff the rice mixture into the baked squash.

This recipe was nice, because of the small size of the ambercup squashes I used. I could cut them in half and stick two halves in my toaster oven (I could have also used my regular oven, but I didn't actually need to make all the filled squash right away), start the rice, and take the dog on a run -- and do all this after work. After 30 minutes, the squash was quite tender, the rice was ready for lentils and cranberries, and I only had a little bit longer to wait for dinner.

I made the conscious decision to make this recipe vegan, because I know at the beginning of the year, a lot of people make promises to themselves about the eating habits they will adopt in the coming year. My regular readers know I play with vegan recipes regularly, but if you're new to the blog this is a great recipe to start with -- it's savory, filling, and doesn't use (too many) bizarre ingredients. If you don't have access to forbidden rice, you could certainly use a short grain brown rice in a very similar way. Nutritional yeast, which provides a lovely cheese-y flavor without cheese, is available at most major grocery stores now -- but certainly in the bulk section of stores that focus on whole food approaches to eating and online. And this filling could go in a number of different winter squashes, be eaten on top of salad, or (in the summer, though you might have to sub out the cranberries unless you're like me and stock up on cranberries while you can or happen to live in a place that keeps them in the freezer section of the grocery store year-round) stuffed in a large tomato.

Without Sunflower Seeds
You can use fewer cranberries, but I really like cranberries and try to eat as many as I can while the season permits, hence the wide range. They'll definitely add a tart flavor to your dish if you use way too many, but I liked the lightly tart taste they provided for this meal.

After all the hyper-indulgent food from the past month, this dish is a welcome respite, and full of flavors that still match the season without being the flavors of the season.

Roasted Ambercup Squash with Forbidden Rice and Fresh Cranberries
2 small/medium ambercup squash, cut in half with seeds removed
2/3 cup forbidden rice
2 cups water
1/4 cup split red lentils
1/2-1 cup fresh (frozen) cranberries (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon fines herbes
1/4 teaspoon salt
2-4 tablespoons nutritional yeast (to taste)
Shelled sunflower seeds, optional

Bake the squash, cut side down in a baking dish covered with a thin layer of water, for 30 minutes at 350 degrees then remove and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, combine rice and water in a small saucepan over high heat. When it boils, turn the heat to low and cover the pot. Cook 30 minutes.

After the rice has cooked for 30 minutes, increase the heat, remove the lid, and stir in the lentils, cranberries, and red pepper flakes. Cook 10 minutes and then stir in the fines herbes, salt, and nutritional yeast. Cook another 5-7 minutes to allow flavors to combine (add a small amount more water if the mixture begins to stick to the bottom of your pan -- you want it dry, but not so dry that it sticks).
Rice, lentils, cranberries, pepper flakes
Spoon the rice mixture into hollow part of the squashes and sprinkle the top with sunflower seeds, if desired.
(I like that they add a bit of extra crunch) Use salted and roasted, or raw, depending on your personal preference. Serve warm as a side dish, or a main meal.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Butternut Squash Soup with Three Types of Sweet Potato


Joyous thanksgiving. Let us use today as another reminder to focus on the things we are thankful for now (my friend Erica, over at Kinds of Honey is particularly good at finding small moments of beauty in the everyday and she reminds me, through her blog posts to be a more grateful and gracious person, something I am quite thankful for) and, at some future point, discuss the problems with celebrating Thanksgiving.

This dish was born out of a mini-dinner party, and a request for butternut squash stew. E wanted a chunky soup (more like a stew), with veggies--and I'm not one to stay no to veggies! When we went to the grocery store, we picked up sweet potatoes, three varieties, to add color, texture, and taste to the soup. We also decided to add carrots (because I always, always have carrots around). This is an easy, moderately low-fuss soup and could easily be made for Thanksgiving if you're prowling for a last minute idea!

At our grocery store, we actually had more than three types of sweet potato to choose from, plus yams. But we went with a white-fleshed, white-skinned sweet potato (O'Henry), a garnet sweet potato, and a Japanese sweet potato. For the soup, I cut these into moderately large bite-size chunks and scrubbed but didn't peel them, since all of the sweet potatoes were organic). If you can't find three types of sweet potato in your local markets, don't worry about it. Just buy three medium sized sweet potatoes and go with it. 
 
For the butternut squash: organic, canned butternut squash puree has been ridiculously inexpensive at my grocery store for several weeks now, so that's primarily what we used. But, I also had a butternut squash I wanted to roast up anyway, so we used about 1 pound of freshly oven-roasted butternut squash in the soup and I save the rest of the meat for another meal. I roasted the butternut squash while I cleaned, walked the dog, and was waiting for the bread to rise appropriately.

Pureeing about half the veggies you use lends to a thicker soup (you could also use less water, but with big chunky veggies, I think this looks weird and the flavor is pretty strongly "autumn" anyway). This is easier with an immersion blender, but could also work in a food processor or a regular blender. If you use one of these methods, please let the soup cool sufficiently so you don't scald yourself, or cause a lid to blow off from heat!

While I worked on the soup, E set a lovely table. She was excited about the opportunity to have a real dinner party, complete with a local wine, and a properly set table. And, truth be told, I felt excited about it too. She arranged my winter squashes and pie pumpkin around a piece of tableware from her family, and then we lit a lovely "holiday" scented candle.

The recipe I based this on actually uses shallot instead of onion, so if you've got easy access to that, I encourage you to use shallots . E and I didn't have shallots on hand and operate on a pretty limited grocery budget. If you wanted to make this vegan, you could use olive oil in place of butter, and coconut milk (perhaps 3/4 cup) in place of the whipping cream.

Butternut Squash Soup with Three Types of Sweet Potato
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 large onion, chopped fine

1 White sweet potato, with white skin (O'Henry), chopped
1 Garnet sweet potato, chopped
1 Japanese sweet potato (red skin with white flesh), chopped
3 medium carrots, sliced into coins
1 small apple (I used three large crab apples)

3 pounds butternut squash puree (see my notes above about this)

8 cups water
1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons lemon juice

½ cup heavy cream, scant

Melt the butter in a large soup pan, over medium heat. Add the onion and saute 1-2 minutes, until the onion begins to wilt. 
Stir in the chopped sweet potatoes and carrot coins. Cook 5-7 minutes, stirring infrequently, so the potatoes will begin to caramelize. Add the apple and cook another 3 minutes. 

Add the butternut squash puree and 4 cups of water. Bring to simmer and cook 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Use an immersion blender to puree about 1/2 the chunky vegetables. Return to the heat and add remaining 4 cups of water. Bring to a simmer again. Stir in the salt, brown sugar, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Cook until all the vegetables are tender (to your liking; I like them with a little crunch the first day so they're not complete mush the second day).

Stir in the heavy cream. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve hot. 

Serves 4-6

Friday, November 11, 2011

Rachael's Happy Curry

This recipe makes a ton of servings, or at least 8-10. My friend Rachael recently made it for me while she was in town. The original recipe comes from Simply in Season and Rachael made a few adjustments to the original recipe, which I tried my best to capture in the recipe below. It's a lovely meal for a cold autumn day. The day we ate it, we'd gone on a long hike in the mountains and for a while we hiked in snow--the first snow of the season, in this part of the country, which felt magical. As Rachael put it at one point when she tried taking a picture of me, "It's okay though, because it's like you're in a fairy tale."

And the entire weekend was like a fairy tale. We saw snow and a bit of a bus, or some other yellow piece of metal deep in the woods. We traipsed through clouds. We hiked through snow that was up to our hips. We scrambled up rocks and back down them. We went to Goodwill and the grocery store and drank local Viongier and local, organic chocolate vodka. We hiked daily, we baked and cooked, we had long conversations. We wandered through the First Friday art walk and looked at beautiful things we (for the most part) knew we couldn't afford. We went on a mini road trip. We talked about how we were both living lifestyles most people we know don't really understand and how small moments, like watching a video a friend of Rachael's made about Holden Village, make us feel like we're making the right decision for us, at this point in our lives.

While Rachael was here, we listened to Iron & Wine while making dinner, to a song, "The Perfect Space" by the Avett Brothers, that made us think of our friend Brenna while we drove on our mini road trip. We listened to Cat Stevens and The Beatles and a short story ("Paper Lantern") by Stuart Dybek, as read by ZZ Packer.

We talked about how we liked working outdoors--though Rachael works outside more than I do and I'm a bit jealous of it--and environmental education. We talked about how much we liked being able to go hiking or kayaking after work and how the best conversations either of us have occur while we're moving around. I felt more grounded, less like I was just existing, in a somewhat grounded way, in this liminal spot. But I also realized I was going to feel sad when Rachael left. I want her to live near me. I only feel that way, at this point, about a couple of people--though there are a lot of people I'd love to see more often. Rachael's a lovely, kind woman and I'm glad she's been such a constant force in my life over the past three and a half years, and especially during the last year as so many other things in my life have felt in transition.

It felt, to me, like having family around and helped me feel more like I belonged in the place I'm in, because Rachael and I were equally interested in having quiet adventures together--not the type that involve going out to the bar, necessarily, or constant entertainment in the traditional sense, but in ways that allowed us to interact with the places near here, with the place I live, with the food we were eating--which was almost entirely local and organic. Her visit made me feel less homesick--and simultaneously more because I knew I'd miss her when she leaved. It made me feel more like an adult. Rachael's someone I don't have to work to be around, which is sometimes the most comforting thing--which I needed more than I expected.

One of the best things about making this curry: that we worked on it together. I baked brown rice, sliced (the recipe calls for minced) garlic and ginger, and found things in my kitchen for Rachael. She worked on the rest and we talked about the things in our life that felt the most immediate, and also listened to a Day of the Dead mix full of wonderful songs. After we'd both had our fill of food, there was plenty of curry left over, so I could think of her as I ate some of the leftovers and send her back on the road with some of it, perfect for eating on the road, presumably while sitting in her distinctive car on her at a lovely vista.
Curry

Rachael's Happy Curry
1 large onion, chopped
1 tableespoon ghee, coconut butter, or olive oil

1 tablespoon garlic, sliced
2 tablespoons ginger, chopped
2 serrano chile peppers, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon each: turmeric, ground cumin, black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2-3 bay leaves

14 ounces coconut milk
1/4 cup tamari (we actually used some marmite and extra water)
3 large tomatoes, diced

1 1/2 cups dried red lentils
5 cups water

1 medium head cauliflower (cut into 1 1/2 inch florets)
1 large sweet potato
1/4 head cabbage (we didn't use this, but I will next time I make it)
1-2 cups peas (again, we didn't use this but next time I will)

Salt

In large saucepan or soup pot over medium-high heat, saute onion in coconut butter or oil, until transparent but not brown. Add garlic through bay leaves and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook and stir constantly for 3 minutes. Do not let spices, garlic, and onion brown. Add the coconut milk, tamari, and tomatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, bring lentils to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add, with liquid to soup pot.

Add the cauliflower, sweet potato, and cabbage to the soup pot and cook until just tender, about 5-10 minutes. If using peas, add at the end of the cooking time. Taste and add salt, if necessary.

Serve hot, over brown rice with toppings (optional) such as: Indian chutneys & pickles, fresh diced pears, roasted sunflower seeds, plain yogurt, or a squeeze of lemon.

Friday, October 28, 2011

A Little Medusa's What I Need (Garlicky Swiss Chard with Raisins)


Pan Muerto...well, kinda, not really
When I was a the Growers Market the other day, I couldn't resist taking pictures of a few of the more innovative Halloween-ish decorations. The bread coffins above were one of my favorites though and could turn into an easy Halloween decoration if you needed something last minute--or just something to help you get a little more in the spirit (I'md definitely in that category).

Also as regular readers know, the other day, I blogged about my little crocheted devil. I've also crocheted a tiny medusa, using the same yarns and the same book. She was a little more difficult to put together, mostly because of her snake hair and placing her head on her body. I think my medusa might be looking downward a bit much -- just look at this picture!

But, that's okay. She was a good project to work on during Knit at Nite and she went together quickly, which I appreciate in a project. It's nice, sometimes, to be able to sit down and finish the majority of a project during an evening knitting at a local bar with friends. Yes, really. As a friend I ran into on my way to the bar pointed out, "what a wild night." I think he realized how this sounded because he continued by telling me that he learned, when he lived in Norway, a woman wasn't a real woman until she could knit. Nice save, friend. Nice save.

Something about Medusa--probably her greenness and my vague sense of guilt about buying greens and then not eating them right away--did inspire me to cook up the chard I bought the other night though. This is a pretty simple recipe, perfect for a quick dish after a day at work. It's inspired from a favorite tapas that I first had when I was 13. If you're serving this to kids around Halloween, you could call it Medusa-hair (green snakey swiss chard with raisin eyes!).

This dish goes well with steamed brown rice drizzled with just a touch of tamari, or with roasted butternut squash. Or, if you're me and you don't have either of those on hand or easily prepared, you can also pair this with a nice bread (I used gluten-free, spread with a little bit of Tofutti cream cheese) and an heirloom apple, bought from my favorite farmers at the Growers Market, sliced.

Garlicky Swiss Chard with Raisins
Olive Oil (about 1 teaspoon)

3 medium cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 bunch Swiss chard, thoroughly washed and chiffonaded 

Salt
Red pepper flakes, to taste (I used about 1/4 teaspoon)
1/4 cup raisins

Heat a small amount of oil in a pan over medium-low heat and add the garlic.
Uncaramelized garlic
Stir frequently, until the garlic has just begun to caramelize. It should only be a light golden color.
Caramelized Garlic

Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the Swiss chard and saute 4-5 minutes, until the chard begins to will.
Chard, just before I add it -- I don't remove the stems unless they seem particularly tough
 Add the salt and red pepper flakes, cook another minute. Add the raisins and cook 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve hot.

Garlicky Swiss Chard with Raisins







Thursday, October 27, 2011

Lemon-y Snickett Risotto

Ingredients, minus dairy products
It's almost Halloween! What better to do than to have Halloween-themed food (which I fully intend to do for at least a couple of posts--hopefully that intention will actually happen!)? This post is inspired by E's recent endeavors into a (wonderful) lemon risotto. She's made it a couple of times now and it seems worthy of sharing with others. I'm not sure which site she got it from originally, either, but I am going to try and write it up to best reflect what she does when she makes it.

So, what makes this risotto lemon-y snickett risotto? Honestly, not much. Okay, not anything. Totally unauthorized re-use of the name (hence Lemon-y with a hyphen and snickett with two "t's") BUT, this basic lemon risotto can be dressed up with little "lumps of coal" (aka black olives), reptile tongues (aka carrot curls), or fire flecks (aka red pepper flakes).
Risotto in Pot
E seems to have endless patience for stirring the risotto rice--but honestly this doesn't take that long to make, as far as risottos go. In the past, I made a risotto that took forever to cook. And I don't remember it being as tasty as this one. The original recipe calls for parsley, but we haven't used it yet. I imagine it would brighten up the flavor nicely and provide lovely little flecks of green to make it look even fresher (serpent scales to go with the theme of lemon-y snickett?). We also haven't used shallots, but instead just use a bit of yellow onion. I suspect that the lightly garlicky flavor of shallots would be beautiful in this dish, so if you can get your hands on it, you should definitely use shallot in favor of the onion. Don't skip the lemon zest. It'll taste fine without it--but you get an extra hit of lemon flavor whenever you bite into a zesty curl.

Like many risottos, this dish is rich. But fabulous. And I would happily make/eat it for breakfast if I wanted something savory/lemony one morning and had all the ingredients handy. I might also saute some mushrooms and add that, but E doesn't like fungus, so we haven't tried that.

Lemon-y Risotto
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cups arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
ZestingTools & Zest
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
3 tablespoons lemon juice (at least!)
4 teaspoons grated lemon zest

Bring broth and water to a simmer in a large bot over medium heat. Reduce heat to low; cover to keep warm. Meanwhile, saute onions in the olive oil and butter over medium-low heat, until tender, about 6 minutes. Reduce heat to low, add the arborio rice; stir one minute. Add wine and stir until evaporated. Add 1 1/2 cups broth; simmer until absorbed, stirring frequently.

Add remaining broth 1/2 cup at a time, simmering until completely absorbed before adding more broth. This will take about 35 minutes. Stir in cheese, then lemon juice. Add zest just before serving.
Risotto with "fire flecks"

Monday, February 7, 2011

Vegan White Chili




The Midwest has gotten blasted by cold air (again!) this week. We're seeing highs in the single digits (gasp!) before the wind chill for the first part of this week. This seemed like the perfect excuse to make a hearty chili. A while back I purchased some white chili blend from Pendery's Spices, but I hadn't experimented with it. Chili generally feels heavy to me--but I know it'll feel even heavier when the weather starts getting warm again.

The basic recipe comes on the chili-blend package and calls for chicken. I use seitan instead. You can make your own seitan--there are a lot of recipes available on the internet, or you can buy a mock chicken product. There are many varieties of mock chicken products out there and in this recipe, I use one made by White Wave.

I keep telling myself one of these days, I'll make seitan. But then I keep telling myself one of these days, I won't be a poor, time-crunched student. Maybe.

You could also make this chili gluten-free by increasing the number of beans and withholding the seitan altogether. Seitan is made from vital wheat gluten and therefore can't be given to people with wheat or gluten intolerances/allergies.

My vegan version of white chili(double everything, if you want) is below:

Vegan White Chili

1/2 pound baby lima beans (or other small white bean), soaked 6-8 hours or overnight and then cooked, according to package instructions, approximately 1.5-2 hours, depending on the type of bean you use.




While the beans are cooking, prepare the rest of the chili:


3 tablespoons olive oil, vegan margarine, or a combination
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 4-ounce can drained, chopped green chiles
2-3 fresh jalapenos, or to taste, chopped*
4 ounces seitan
1/2-1 cups low-sodium vegetable broth, depending on how thick you like your chili
1.5 tablespoons white chili blend
Salt
Freshly cooked brown rice, quinoa, or wheat berries


Heat the oil in a medium pan, over medium heat. Add the onions and saute 2-3 minutes, until translucent. Stir in the garlic and cook one minute more. Add in the canned chiles and jalapenos. Saute 2-3 minutes, until the jalapenos start to get limp. Stir in the seitan and cook 3-4 minutes. Add the cooked beans, along with 3 cups vegetable broth, and the chili blend. Simmer for 15 minutes. Adjust salt, if necessary, and serve hot over brown rice.

*If you slice the jalapenos in half and take out the seeds and veins with a spoon, you can reduce the heat. Be sure to carefully wash your hands with soap and water you handle peppers.

It's also probably important to note that many traditional white chilis are topped with a mild white cheese, such as Monterrey Jack. I haven't found a vegan cheese I like well enough for this purpose--but perhaps you know of one? If you're feeding a lacto-vegetarian, you might top this with a mild, grated white cheese--or at least put the cheese in a bowl on the table.