Brussel sprouts on the stalk look like an amazing alien creature. They are green and most delicious in spring or early fall. Delicious alongside anything umame,as well as roasted potatoes they are also full of actual nutrients. They just went on sale for 50 cents a 6 oz bag at our local fruit market.
My two favorite methods are roasting or as a weird mixed slaw which is picnic safe as it contains no mayo:
Roasting
1. Preheat oven to 425F
2. Take 6 oz brussel sprouts Remove any funky leaves, then rinse.
3. Peel a thin slice off the the stump. Then Make an x in the stump. If very large, skip this step and slice head in half. If you want slice half a sweet onion in with this.
4.Drizzle olive oil (2 tb) on a casserole dish or roasting pan, add two cloves garlic sliced thin. Toss to coat.
5. Put in oven for 20 minutes turning half way through. Remove and salt to taste pref with a large flake salt.
6.Drizzle with one of the following dressing options and serve:
Maple Ginger Soy
3 tb soysauce (tamari for gf folks) ,2 tb maple syrup (honey works too) and 1/2 inch ginger grated plus a pinch of dried ginger. Mix allwith 1 tb water.
Lemon and oil:
Mix1/2 lemon's juice (2-3 tb) with 2 tb olive oil. Toss to coat. You could add 1-2 tb leftover pesto from another night.
Lemon soy
Mix Juice (3-4 tb) of a lemon with 3 tb tamari/soy sauce.
Butter and thyme/rosemary
Melt 3 tb butter , add 1 tb leaves removed from stalk.
Brussel slaw
1.Wash and remove stumps from 8 oz sprouts.Slice into shreds.
2.Wash and slice 2 green onions
3. Optional half a tart apple,cubed
4. 1 grated carrot
5. Optional 1 tb poppyseeds,
6. Optional4 oz fresh broccoli crown sliced into tiny florets. If choosing this option double the dressing.
7. Optional 1 oz. Bacon or coconut bacon or shredded parmesan, &/ or 1/4 tsp smoked salt
8. Optional 1/4 cup currants or raisins
9. 1/2 cup dried cranberries
10.2 tb walnuts, sunflower seeds or pecans
12.Dressing-follows below
13. Toss all together, S&P to taste
Dressing for Brussel slaw
Mix 1 Tb brown, whole or spicy mustard, with 3 tb maple syrup (or one of honey+1 of water), 3 tb cider vinegar, and 2 of olive,or sunflower oil.
Showing posts with label cf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cf. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Monday, October 14, 2013
Handroll night: Sushi/ kimbap for the rolling impaired. GF if careful
My secret shame is that any food requiring a tightly rolled pile of ingredients with a fragile shell tends to break under the weight of my enthusiasm. When I smoked, I was bad at making handrolled cigarettes. My jelly rolls always turned into trifles which, while delicious, were not the yule log I was actually attempting to make. It has taken almost a decade for me to consider my home made rolled omelets passable for handrolled sushi night. I am good at making sauces and fillings for maki and my rice is even good but I cannot master the art of rolling. While Rabbit is the past master of making maki look gorgeous I just suck at it. I love sushi. I thought I was going to have to submit myself to begging Rabbit to roll every time we made it or ponying up for what was an extremely expensive taste in the plains even though at the time I was rarely eating the fish kind and mostly stuck with veggie sushi.
About two years after I met my Rabbit, I was hanging out with Rabbit, Sisterlady, Lawyer Duo, and Yeti Lawyer. Sisterlady introduced me to The Editor, her best friend. After a nice day with them hanging out in KC we adjourned to The Editor's house with newly purchased fish. Sisterlady and I helped finish up the veggie chopping while the Editor finished up the miso soup and prepped some fish fillings. When we got to the table there was a soup, big rice cooker full of seasoned rice, several plates of veg filling and two kinds of fish fillings. The Editor then took out 2 pkg of Nori (under 2$ a pkg there as it is here) and cut them into 1/4ths with a pair of scissors and put that on another plate. We folded the squares diagonally stuffed in little bits of rice and fillings and rolled them into cones ...all of which is way easier than making maki, at least for me. Thus was born my habit of making sushi for random dinners, my love affair with the rice cooker and the standby of handroll potlucks (where everyone brings a different topping and the host provides miso soup, rice, nori and beverages. I usually also make sure to make the sauces. The appeal here is that everyone gets what they want. The meaty people get their fish. The vegans can avoid the egg and the soup is still good without the tuna. Sushi is generally dairy free, veggie rich, and gluten free provided one carefully reads labels.
The ingredients:
2 cups Rice + 4 cups water
cook rice as usual In my case this means pulling out my rice cooker
you may stove top..be careful not to stir too much
when cooked mix in
2 tb sugar
3 tb rice vinegar (don't try and sub here...it's foul)
1shot sake or mirin
into your cooked rice
fan with a hand fan (or stir in front of a very clean box fan) as you slowly stir this in until the surface rice is slightly sticky but dry -you will be familiar with the texture if you have eaten sushi
Usual suspect fillings
Shitake- soak dried mushrooms in warm water until plump. squeeze out and stack 3-4. Roll these to slice as you would chiffonade.
Cucumber. Peel or not to peel. That is the question. Either way make 1-2 inch by 1/4 in vertical match sticks pieces and remove the seeds. Use them in gazpacho or something.
Avocado. Save making this until your guests are arriving. Slice in half Vertically.Remove pit by thwacking your knife into the pit and twisting gently. Then remove flesh of avocado with a spoon. Cut into preferred shapes. Assume for 2X as many avocados as you think is reasonable as I have literally only met 1 person who hates avocado enough to pass it up in Sushi.
Kimchi and other pickles- shred so it doesn't bust open your rolls
mung beans sprouts-just wash them
Carrots. Peel and shred.
green onions=cut into 1-2 inch segments and shred vertically.
Spicy tuna filling-
I eat fish. Rabbit does not. There is no local place close enough for me to trust that my tuna will be safe and so I go without most of the time. This is not worth getting if it's just us. If you happen to live near a fishmonger with sushi quality tuna then grab 1 filet of sushi quality tuna on the day you will have your fish/ keep cool and refrigerate immediately.
Use this recipe
tamago-good recipe also on this site
http://www.howtomakegreatsushi.com/2009/12/how-to-make-spicy-tuna-filling.html
Instead I ask for 1-2 tiny slices of lox at the deli and slice it- yes I know this is cheating. It's still yummy in the rolls
we always also add sriracha mayo- or equal parts sriracha and mayo or veganaise stirred with a fork until pinky orange.
Note for gf reader DO NOT buy Aka miso if making miso along side your sushi...there is barley in it. Read the labels to make sure your miso has no modified food starch, msg, barley, or added soysauce as unless labeled otherwise soysauce contains wheat. Generally you will have two or three brands of white miso to select from after reading the 30 varieties usually present as most pan asian markets. Miso lasts for about 6 months so be prepared to use it in a variety of contexts or to make alot of soup (no hardship in my house).
About two years after I met my Rabbit, I was hanging out with Rabbit, Sisterlady, Lawyer Duo, and Yeti Lawyer. Sisterlady introduced me to The Editor, her best friend. After a nice day with them hanging out in KC we adjourned to The Editor's house with newly purchased fish. Sisterlady and I helped finish up the veggie chopping while the Editor finished up the miso soup and prepped some fish fillings. When we got to the table there was a soup, big rice cooker full of seasoned rice, several plates of veg filling and two kinds of fish fillings. The Editor then took out 2 pkg of Nori (under 2$ a pkg there as it is here) and cut them into 1/4ths with a pair of scissors and put that on another plate. We folded the squares diagonally stuffed in little bits of rice and fillings and rolled them into cones ...all of which is way easier than making maki, at least for me. Thus was born my habit of making sushi for random dinners, my love affair with the rice cooker and the standby of handroll potlucks (where everyone brings a different topping and the host provides miso soup, rice, nori and beverages. I usually also make sure to make the sauces. The appeal here is that everyone gets what they want. The meaty people get their fish. The vegans can avoid the egg and the soup is still good without the tuna. Sushi is generally dairy free, veggie rich, and gluten free provided one carefully reads labels.
The ingredients:
2 cups Rice + 4 cups water
cook rice as usual In my case this means pulling out my rice cooker
you may stove top..be careful not to stir too much
when cooked mix in
2 tb sugar
3 tb rice vinegar (don't try and sub here...it's foul)
1shot sake or mirin
into your cooked rice
fan with a hand fan (or stir in front of a very clean box fan) as you slowly stir this in until the surface rice is slightly sticky but dry -you will be familiar with the texture if you have eaten sushi
Usual suspect fillings
Shitake- soak dried mushrooms in warm water until plump. squeeze out and stack 3-4. Roll these to slice as you would chiffonade.
Cucumber. Peel or not to peel. That is the question. Either way make 1-2 inch by 1/4 in vertical match sticks pieces and remove the seeds. Use them in gazpacho or something.
Avocado. Save making this until your guests are arriving. Slice in half Vertically.Remove pit by thwacking your knife into the pit and twisting gently. Then remove flesh of avocado with a spoon. Cut into preferred shapes. Assume for 2X as many avocados as you think is reasonable as I have literally only met 1 person who hates avocado enough to pass it up in Sushi.
Kimchi and other pickles- shred so it doesn't bust open your rolls
mung beans sprouts-just wash them
Carrots. Peel and shred.
green onions=cut into 1-2 inch segments and shred vertically.
Spicy tuna filling-
I eat fish. Rabbit does not. There is no local place close enough for me to trust that my tuna will be safe and so I go without most of the time. This is not worth getting if it's just us. If you happen to live near a fishmonger with sushi quality tuna then grab 1 filet of sushi quality tuna on the day you will have your fish/ keep cool and refrigerate immediately.
Use this recipe
tamago-good recipe also on this site
http://www.howtomakegreatsushi.com/2009/12/how-to-make-spicy-tuna-filling.html
Instead I ask for 1-2 tiny slices of lox at the deli and slice it- yes I know this is cheating. It's still yummy in the rolls
we always also add sriracha mayo- or equal parts sriracha and mayo or veganaise stirred with a fork until pinky orange.
Note for gf reader DO NOT buy Aka miso if making miso along side your sushi...there is barley in it. Read the labels to make sure your miso has no modified food starch, msg, barley, or added soysauce as unless labeled otherwise soysauce contains wheat. Generally you will have two or three brands of white miso to select from after reading the 30 varieties usually present as most pan asian markets. Miso lasts for about 6 months so be prepared to use it in a variety of contexts or to make alot of soup (no hardship in my house).
roasted plums(or other stone fruit)
Slice fruit in half
remove pit (I like to use a grapefruit spoon)
add some grated ginger or honey if you want
place in pan under broiler at 400 for 10 minutes
eat alone or with ice cream of choice or some cream and chopped nuts
remove pit (I like to use a grapefruit spoon)
add some grated ginger or honey if you want
place in pan under broiler at 400 for 10 minutes
eat alone or with ice cream of choice or some cream and chopped nuts
corn and avocado watermelon salad
dice 1/4 red onion,
remove kernels from 1 cob boiled corn,
dice 2 avocados
and 1/4 watermelon (or apples actually),
add 1/2 bundle mint (3 tb)chopped and /or basil
toss with 3 tb lime juice
1 tsp chile powder
and 1 tsp salt
-nom!
remove kernels from 1 cob boiled corn,
dice 2 avocados
and 1/4 watermelon (or apples actually),
add 1/2 bundle mint (3 tb)chopped and /or basil
toss with 3 tb lime juice
1 tsp chile powder
and 1 tsp salt
-nom!
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Laziest dinner ever. mushroom pizza
1. Wash a Portabella mushroom
2. You know that partial container of spaghetti sauce in the back of the fridge?
Check for ick and if not icky pour a few tb in the mushroom cavity
3. fill cavity with other tasty noms and top with cheese if desired. Put on a cookie sheet.
4.bake 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees or on a grill
5.You will need a knife and fork.Eat with salad....If you have the energy, otherwise just grab the carrot sticks.
2. You know that partial container of spaghetti sauce in the back of the fridge?
Check for ick and if not icky pour a few tb in the mushroom cavity
3. fill cavity with other tasty noms and top with cheese if desired. Put on a cookie sheet.
4.bake 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees or on a grill
5.You will need a knife and fork.Eat with salad....If you have the energy, otherwise just grab the carrot sticks.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
watermelon, feta, mint salad gf (vegan options)
Watermelon is a cheap sweet delicious source of fiber, hydration and flavour as well as being very cooling. So you get an enormous one because it's 29 cents a lb or something and you're not partial to beverages with chunks. (Not a problem for me but even then we have leftovers.)What will you do with the remaining half melon? Mint is under utilised in urban centers mostly because so many people don't realise how easy it is to grow. Feta packs a punch and is cheap mostly because of how little is actually used here (1$ for 1/4 lb of bulgarian feta) and because feta is cheap here. The silent workers here are parsley (flat leaf if you can...the texture makes a difference) and a lime. These both add lots of nutrients. I get my mint from the community garden we're in and parsley is 59 cents a bunch.(Note:mint stored in the freezer after rinsing is fine here). This also takes almost no time of effort and looks pretty. Thinking about bringing it to a wedding pot luck soon, in fact. The key is in the proportions.Do not store for more than a day or two as the results are mushy and gross after a weekend.
Cut 1/2 of a large watermelon into 1inch chunks (approximately). Save the rinds for pickles or if you are me remove the skin and add the grated white to the salad (time permitting).
Wash 5-6 sprigs of mint and 1/2 large bunch of parsley. Cut into tiny pieces with a pair of scissors. Kids can help with this. Put these in the bowl with your melon.
Add the juice of 1/2 a lime. Toss. Crumble 1/3 of that 1/4 brick of feta on your salad. Toss again. Chill on ice for buffets and the like.
You can also skip the feta if you are vegan or dairy intolerant. Cashew Parm also tastes good here.
Cut 1/2 of a large watermelon into 1inch chunks (approximately). Save the rinds for pickles or if you are me remove the skin and add the grated white to the salad (time permitting).
Wash 5-6 sprigs of mint and 1/2 large bunch of parsley. Cut into tiny pieces with a pair of scissors. Kids can help with this. Put these in the bowl with your melon.
Add the juice of 1/2 a lime. Toss. Crumble 1/3 of that 1/4 brick of feta on your salad. Toss again. Chill on ice for buffets and the like.
You can also skip the feta if you are vegan or dairy intolerant. Cashew Parm also tastes good here.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
leek and potato soup (vegan)
1.In larger soup pot dissolve 2 cubes or 3 TB vegan chicken flavor
boullion or soak three dried shitakes cut into bits with 1 tsp salt in
three boiling cups water
2.Take 2 lg cleaned leeks sliced into rounds or cut fine please use all but the toughest of the green parts and all of the white.add 4 toes of garlic chopped.
3. Saute leeks and garlic in olive oil til green parts turn emerald
4. Add leeks to the pot add 2-4 clean and chopped potatoes or parsnips. I like red potatoes and parsnips for this application (if you don't peel them it's not as fancy looking but generally has more fiber) add optional 1 tb of nutritional yeast
5.Allow to boil until the potatoes fall apart. add optional 1 cup blonde beer, hard cider or white wine and allow alcohol
to blend with other flavors and simmer down.
6. Add one TB brown mustard (skip it if you don't have it)
7. 2-3 cups almond milk (or you could use soy but rice will taste gross)
can be served cold and pureed
can be served hot and pureed
If you want it thicker simmer longer or use more potatoes
if you want to make it heartier/healthier you could add carrots, peas, frozen and thawed bits of tofu (chewy texture), chard,mushrooms,asparagus,kale or cabbage (though bok choy turns out pretty gross here) broccoli isn't a great idea here as it gets bitter when stewing.
2.Take 2 lg cleaned leeks sliced into rounds or cut fine please use all but the toughest of the green parts and all of the white.add 4 toes of garlic chopped.
3. Saute leeks and garlic in olive oil til green parts turn emerald
4. Add leeks to the pot add 2-4 clean and chopped potatoes or parsnips. I like red potatoes and parsnips for this application (if you don't peel them it's not as fancy looking but generally has more fiber) add optional 1 tb of nutritional yeast
5.Allow to boil until the potatoes fall apart. add optional 1 cup blonde beer, hard cider or white wine and allow alcohol
to blend with other flavors and simmer down.
6. Add one TB brown mustard (skip it if you don't have it)
7. 2-3 cups almond milk (or you could use soy but rice will taste gross)
can be served cold and pureed
can be served hot and pureed
If you want it thicker simmer longer or use more potatoes
if you want to make it heartier/healthier you could add carrots, peas, frozen and thawed bits of tofu (chewy texture), chard,mushrooms,asparagus,kale or cabbage (though bok choy turns out pretty gross here) broccoli isn't a great idea here as it gets bitter when stewing.
Bake fried tofu / marinated baked tofu/ glazed tofu
I came up with this
method after giving myself a lovely 1 1/2 in long tofu pan frying scar
and decided only things like latkes were worth that kind of pain.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Put parchment on a baking sheet or your
tofu will adhere with a death grip to the pan. Cursing and possible
spatula injury may ensue. take your 1 lb block of water packed tofu (not
the shelf stable stuff here) and cube into blocks about 1 inch cubes or
1" by 2" blocks (shrinkage will occur). Toss in spices if desired. Space evenly on papered cookie sheet. Spray or brush with oil. This all
takes maybe 5 minutes. Put in oven. feel free to roast squash or garlic
or whatever because it's going to be heating up your house and using
fuel for 1/2 hour. Bake 15 minutes and flip the tofu then bake another
15. allow to cool. put in bags to store for up to 10 days in the
fridge.
Alterations:
Marinated you can choose to bake marinated tofu. Pirst let tofu set on a plate or in a bowl and drain at least 1 hour. Then place in marinade of choice (lime juice , tamarind paste, ginger and soy anybody?) in bowl or zipbag for up to 2 days. Proceed as above or roast whole bricks and slice for vegan lunchmeat that doesn't taste like meat but goes great with sriracha veganise, avocado and sprouts.
Glazed- take sweet sauce of choice like mango chutney,honey with sesame seeds, bbq sauce and brush or spread lightly with a spoon on one side during 1st half of baking and on other during 2nd half. reduce heat to 375 to reduce scorching of sugar.
Alterations:
Marinated you can choose to bake marinated tofu. Pirst let tofu set on a plate or in a bowl and drain at least 1 hour. Then place in marinade of choice (lime juice , tamarind paste, ginger and soy anybody?) in bowl or zipbag for up to 2 days. Proceed as above or roast whole bricks and slice for vegan lunchmeat that doesn't taste like meat but goes great with sriracha veganise, avocado and sprouts.
Glazed- take sweet sauce of choice like mango chutney,honey with sesame seeds, bbq sauce and brush or spread lightly with a spoon on one side during 1st half of baking and on other during 2nd half. reduce heat to 375 to reduce scorching of sugar.
the 70's throwback TST (tempeh sprouts & tomato)
Toast some brown bread (that's something hearty & whole grain I like whole rye but you could totally use a gf bread)
If so inclined schmear on mayo, butter, mashed avocado or vegan aioli (recipe for cheating follows)
Take a big handful mixed sprouts from your sprouter (or little dandelion greens,cress spinach or carrot leaves) and slap them on your toast. take a tomato, salt it & slice it and slap it on the other half of your toast (sometimes I just put the halves together & eat here) or take 2 slices per sandwich of tempeh 1/4 in thick & marinate in 2 tb soysauce 1 tb honey/maple syrup 2 drop liquid smoke 4 tb water) and then pan fry in olive oil & add to your sandwich or just add sliced cuke & avocado
yum!
vegan aioli is made by 3 tb vegan mayo(like veganaise) 1grated toe garlic 1 tb lemon juice mixed
As always check tempeh, bread and soy for gluten if that is an issue.
If so inclined schmear on mayo, butter, mashed avocado or vegan aioli (recipe for cheating follows)
Take a big handful mixed sprouts from your sprouter (or little dandelion greens,cress spinach or carrot leaves) and slap them on your toast. take a tomato, salt it & slice it and slap it on the other half of your toast (sometimes I just put the halves together & eat here) or take 2 slices per sandwich of tempeh 1/4 in thick & marinate in 2 tb soysauce 1 tb honey/maple syrup 2 drop liquid smoke 4 tb water) and then pan fry in olive oil & add to your sandwich or just add sliced cuke & avocado
yum!
vegan aioli is made by 3 tb vegan mayo(like veganaise) 1grated toe garlic 1 tb lemon juice mixed
As always check tempeh, bread and soy for gluten if that is an issue.
super easy 20 minute frig pickles
cut a smallish cucumber into your preferred pickles shape (usually rounds)
add 1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tb salt
1 tb korean chili powder
add 1 tb sesame seeds
optionally 1 green onion and 1 minced clove garlic
put this in a jar and shake- put in frig for 15 minutes
eat quickly as it will go bad fairly quickly
Fabulous quinoa burgers... Finally figured out how to make em vegan (GF option if using gf stuff)
WARNING: these taste nothing like meat but are tasty & full o' protein
makes 6-8 burgers
Take 1 cup quinoa
rinse this in a sieve to remove the saponin
boil in plenty of water until tails appear on quinoa strain through sieve to remove (about 15-20 minutes)
(boiled quinoa keeps for a few days & taste good in salads like wheat free tabbouleh and can be frozen after boiling for easy prep)
3/4 cup garbanzo flour (may be labeled as instant hummus or chenna flour at store)
more garbanzo & add one egg/ egg replacer (like flax in water)instead for binding
1/2 fine chopped onion (opt)
2 cloves minced garlic (opt)
3-5 OZ LIQUID FLAVORING (for example curry paste, soysauce, worchestershire ,ketchup (find a vegan one or make it) a-1 sauce)
as always if you are allergic to wheat gluten or other things be a good label reader.
this last one used 2 oz steak sauce 1 dash liquid smoke & 1 oz worchestershire
& 2 oz soy sauce
mix well until squishy. pan fry on med heat until each side is crispy 3-4 minutes
or heat oven to 425 F and place on lightly greased cookie sheet turning halfway through (about 8 minutes)
as an added bonus this can be made from inexpensive dry goods
last served with home made frig pickles & ketchup on rye as well as a pile of arugula & tomatoes (note: rye contains gluten, so don't eat it if you are celiac.)
http://www.vrtisworks.com/
makes 6-8 burgers
Take 1 cup quinoa
rinse this in a sieve to remove the saponin
boil in plenty of water until tails appear on quinoa strain through sieve to remove (about 15-20 minutes)
(boiled quinoa keeps for a few days & taste good in salads like wheat free tabbouleh and can be frozen after boiling for easy prep)
3/4 cup garbanzo flour (may be labeled as instant hummus or chenna flour at store)
more garbanzo & add one egg/ egg replacer (like flax in water)instead for binding
1/2 fine chopped onion (opt)
2 cloves minced garlic (opt)
3-5 OZ LIQUID FLAVORING (for example curry paste, soysauce, worchestershire ,ketchup (find a vegan one or make it) a-1 sauce)
as always if you are allergic to wheat gluten or other things be a good label reader.
this last one used 2 oz steak sauce 1 dash liquid smoke & 1 oz worchestershire
& 2 oz soy sauce
mix well until squishy. pan fry on med heat until each side is crispy 3-4 minutes
or heat oven to 425 F and place on lightly greased cookie sheet turning halfway through (about 8 minutes)
as an added bonus this can be made from inexpensive dry goods
last served with home made frig pickles & ketchup on rye as well as a pile of arugula & tomatoes (note: rye contains gluten, so don't eat it if you are celiac.)
http://www.vrtisworks.com/
aloo tamatar bhaji (potato tomato yummy stew) and cucumber raita (vegan)
heavy bottomed pot (I use a #10 sized cast iron skillet)
Cumin 3 tb whole and 1 tb ground
2-3 tb butter,olive oil, or ghee (olive oil seems to work better than many other plant oils)
1 onion
5 toes garlic
1 3 in piece of ginger
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric
32 oz canned tomatoes
2-3 oz lemon juice
2-3 med potatoes (waxy type) washed and chopped into homefry sized cubey things (no need to peel)
1 jalapeno(2 serranos or 2 thai chiles) chopped & one half green pepper (or use more chiles but most kansans won't eat it)
salt to taste
1 bunch cilantro
water
Optional (1 10 oz can drained chickpeas or equivalent cooked amount)
1.warm pan on med high heat, heat oil then add spices and onions, ginger and pepper but not the garlic as it will burn
2. when onions are translucent add garlic, stir fry another 1-2 minutes then dump chickpeas & potatoes and coat in spices
4 next: put all in crock poton medium high or bigger soup pot and dump in tomatoes
3. add 3 cups water for crock pot on high or 3-5 cups in soup pot. simmer until tomato sauce consistency 1-2 hr open on stove top or 8 hr in crockpot ..now salt to taste add lemon , more ginger,spices or oil for changes in consistency and flavour as desired (gets better with a little time too)
garnish with chopped cilantro
serve with rice and cucumber raita, and maybe some naan
--------------------------------------------
cucumber raita
-----------------------
add
1 clove garlic minced
2 tb fresh chopped onion
1/2 cucumber chopped
add one cup yogurt (or soy yogurt) or 1 cup vegan sourcream plus 2 tb lemon mixed well
mix in salt to taste
small pinch garam masala
1 tsp whole cumin
mix and refrigerate for 1/2 hour minimum before serving so flavors blend
Cumin 3 tb whole and 1 tb ground
2-3 tb butter,olive oil, or ghee (olive oil seems to work better than many other plant oils)
1 onion
5 toes garlic
1 3 in piece of ginger
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric
32 oz canned tomatoes
2-3 oz lemon juice
2-3 med potatoes (waxy type) washed and chopped into homefry sized cubey things (no need to peel)
1 jalapeno(2 serranos or 2 thai chiles) chopped & one half green pepper (or use more chiles but most kansans won't eat it)
salt to taste
1 bunch cilantro
water
Optional (1 10 oz can drained chickpeas or equivalent cooked amount)
1.warm pan on med high heat, heat oil then add spices and onions, ginger and pepper but not the garlic as it will burn
2. when onions are translucent add garlic, stir fry another 1-2 minutes then dump chickpeas & potatoes and coat in spices
4 next: put all in crock poton medium high or bigger soup pot and dump in tomatoes
3. add 3 cups water for crock pot on high or 3-5 cups in soup pot. simmer until tomato sauce consistency 1-2 hr open on stove top or 8 hr in crockpot ..now salt to taste add lemon , more ginger,spices or oil for changes in consistency and flavour as desired (gets better with a little time too)
garnish with chopped cilantro
serve with rice and cucumber raita, and maybe some naan
--------------------------------------------
cucumber raita
-----------------------
add
1 clove garlic minced
2 tb fresh chopped onion
1/2 cucumber chopped
add one cup yogurt (or soy yogurt) or 1 cup vegan sourcream plus 2 tb lemon mixed well
mix in salt to taste
small pinch garam masala
1 tsp whole cumin
mix and refrigerate for 1/2 hour minimum before serving so flavors blend
red green salsa
red green salsa.
Throw this in a pot with 2 cups of water on med high heat.
chop 1/2 a red onion and 2 large handfuls cilantro (about half a bunch)
1-2 cubanelle or other red sweet pepper (1/2 cup or so)
2 green onions chopped
1 1/2 lb of tomatillos peeled washed and quartered...or halved if they are tiny like some of ours.
juice of one lime
salt to taste
1 serrano diced (use the seeds if you want heat or leave them out if you want medium or don't use if you can't handle heat
1 tb ground cumin
1 squirt sri racha if you like
1 tb cider vinegar or more lime juice
Now stir.
Allow to boil 10 minutes or so. mash or use a food mill or blender. Cool and put it in a jar in the fridge.
sesame spinach ( and other greens) gf if needed
You just roasted some tofu and made some rice
You need edible greens...
Take 1 lb leaves wash em'. Remove woody parts.
Please don't be skittish about ingesting a variety of edible greens. Use what's in season, you can grow it and will be ok cooked. Eating what's available encourages biodviersity, your health and can save you money. (For ex right now in may spinach is tres expensive but the kale is coming up, and so is arugula and dandelion greens. Last month cress was cheap...and if the strawberry spinach would grow it should have shown up then..alas.
Pour 1 tb off the top of your tahini or direct from a bottle of sesame oil
add 1 tb lemon juice and 3 cloves garlic, if desired grate in 1/2 inch fresh ginger.
Heat and allow greens to wilt . Add 3 tb soy sauce (gf if needed) and a small handful of sesame or sesame and flax seeds. Serve hot or chilled. Some greens freeze well, some do not.
Cook until most of the liquid is dissolved and evaporated and your greens are bright green.
options:
add 1 tsp honey or maple syrup if sweetness is desired with the soysauce
add 1/4 tsp thai or korean chili powder with the soysauce.
This is good packed with a protein and rice balls for lunch, as part of bibimbap, sushi filling, as a sandwich topping or omlette filling and along side bbq tempeh or pulled jackfruit bbq.
You need edible greens...
Take 1 lb leaves wash em'. Remove woody parts.
Please don't be skittish about ingesting a variety of edible greens. Use what's in season, you can grow it and will be ok cooked. Eating what's available encourages biodviersity, your health and can save you money. (For ex right now in may spinach is tres expensive but the kale is coming up, and so is arugula and dandelion greens. Last month cress was cheap...and if the strawberry spinach would grow it should have shown up then..alas.
Pour 1 tb off the top of your tahini or direct from a bottle of sesame oil
add 1 tb lemon juice and 3 cloves garlic, if desired grate in 1/2 inch fresh ginger.
Heat and allow greens to wilt . Add 3 tb soy sauce (gf if needed) and a small handful of sesame or sesame and flax seeds. Serve hot or chilled. Some greens freeze well, some do not.
Cook until most of the liquid is dissolved and evaporated and your greens are bright green.
options:
add 1 tsp honey or maple syrup if sweetness is desired with the soysauce
add 1/4 tsp thai or korean chili powder with the soysauce.
This is good packed with a protein and rice balls for lunch, as part of bibimbap, sushi filling, as a sandwich topping or omlette filling and along side bbq tempeh or pulled jackfruit bbq.
Monday, February 13, 2012
A brief history of me and eggplant balls(gf)
Years ago, when I was vegan, I came across a recipe that
said you could make plausible veg sausage from eggplants. I was dubious at the
time but being a new vegan and generally excitable about cooking I went through
3 or 4 pretty vile attempts until the machinist cried mercy for both budgetary
and gastronomic reasons. We did not have a food processor that worked well. Now in the years since I have learned a good deal more
about cooking including how to play nice with eggplant and when you really need
a food processor. I hadn't really
thought about this for years. Shortly after this I fell in love with gimme
lean.
Cue last year. I find out I'm not supposed to eat wheat...the
primary ingredient in most veg sausage...including gimme lean. I now eat dairy.
So about a month ago we're visiting a big chain
grocery store for the sole reason that it was open later in the evening and they always have a
cheaper price on almond milk and I excited to discover a no added gluten
vegetarian sausagey product (that is one that is made in a factory where
wheat,rye barley,etc might come into minimal contact with it so somebody like
me with a moderate wheat allergy can still deal with it occasionally). Given
that literally every other veg sausage product is crawling with not only a
metric ton of gluten (in the form of seitan, or some times wheat based
tvp)added salt, weird colors, and a general air of unwholesomeness. The label
had a short list of actual food ingredients that I'm not allergic to. I was
psyched. Then I found out the the meatballs float and work in soups without having to be rushed
to table (bean sausages really really do not) and really delicious. For the
record I used to prefer veg sausage to meat ones and when I was a kid ate still
ate meat that didn't live in water so keep this in mind. For ease of
convenience the product is made by Dominex from mostly Eggplants.
http://www.dominexeggplant.com/products-meatballs.html
It's a little
eggplanty ,which I happen to like as well. The one catch is that one Dominex Vegetarian Eggplant Meatballs (under
1 lb) is 6$. Again 6 whole dollars for less than 1 lb of admittedly really
quality convenience food. Thus my search for a eggplant ball recipe that
satisfies was renewed. Again I struggled ,but this time being familiar with the fiddlyness of bean flours, I was triumphant. Lo, this baby recipes can be altered with an endless permutation of funky sausage flavours including swedish style, irish style BBQ, and my favorite ginger soy with cilantro....mmm.
Eventually I will post all the varieties I now have but for
now, we begin with:
Eggplant Meatballs with Italian Herbs
This recipe is big as making 2 lbs of sausage is roughly the
same pain in the neck that making 1 lb is. You will need a food processor to do this. Really.
I promise. It’s ok because it freezes and pre making patties for occasions is
super easy. Store these in wax paper for up to 3 months.
Chop
1 lg or two small eggplants
1 lg onion
into a roasting dish
with 3 tb olive oil.
Toss to coat and leave at 350 for 25-40 miutes until eggplant
is mushy. This will depend on the size of your dice
While the eggplant is cooling
Add 1 tb fennel
2 tb red pepper flakes
1 tb soy sauce
Some stale parmesan or romano if you have it cut into small pieces
1tsp fresh parsley or ½ tsp dry
2 TB fresh basil or 1 tb dry
½ head peeled garlic
½ tsp dried sage
1 tb cider vinegar
5 grinds black pepper
And
1 sprig rosemary is you have it
Mix in the food processor and grind. now grind your eggplant
up in the food processor until lightly lumpy (about the same texture and homemade
baba ghanoush). Mix together. If you aren’t avoiding egg and want these to be
able to hold together well enough to put in soup add an egg. Now, knead in 1
cup soyflour, garbanzo flour or falafel mix (in
which case halve the peppers and remove the parseley) or fine bread
crumbs if they don't make you sick. The falafel tastes the best and
the soyflour has the ‘meatiest” texture..you pick. Now add ½ cup chopped walnuts. This is important for texture.
If the mixture doesn’t resemble a firm
cookie dough with lumps add more flour or more liquid to adjust.
Oil your hands and Squish into tube shapes for later use and freeze or make into
patties/ link shapes which should be precooked before being frozen. Store in airtight
containers.
To precook:
Preheat oven to 425 F
Line a cookie sheet with parchment and rub or spray with
olive oil.
Place as many links/ patties on tray as desired.
Bake for 30 minutes turning halfway through. If you cook too
long they will dehydrate and eventually burn (it takes a awhile). If they
dehydrate but do not burn they work well in stews.
Continue baking until all dough is used up.
Please use gf ingredients if you want gf food.
Please feel free to play around with this and share your tasty variations.
Monday, February 6, 2012
caraway lentil stew -recipe is easily halved or multiplied, freezes well (vegan)
2 cup/ 16 oz brown or green lentils
6 cup water or veg broth
2 cubes or 2tb vegan boullion -unnecessary when using veg broth (use no salt variety please as the salty flavour gets eaten by the starches if added during cooking and makes the sodium level sky rocket. They also make your lentils take forever to cook. )
1lb or more cooking greens , a large head of kale or 1/2 a small head of cabbage (or any other mild cooking green such as chard ,spinach,dandelion,mustard, mache, etc... or for a sour soup 1/2 cup good sauerkraut)
7 toes roasted garlic (mashed) or 4 of unroasted (minced)
2 sliced onions sliced in rings or one cleaned leek (use the greens too)and one onion
2 tb caraway
lemon juice, apple vinegar or white wine for brightening
4 veg sausages of your choice (completely optional- but holy grail sausage and eggplant sausage are neato in this one)
2 whole sliced carrots if desired
5 sliced mushrooms if desired
1-2 waxy type potatoes if desired
1- 2 tb olive oil
1. put broth or water in large pot (or crock pot) add boullion, (if using), lentils and caraway
2.wash your greens(even if they are pre washed)
3.bone your greens for kale or mustard .Make an ok sign with your dominant hand with the narrow end of poking through the hole. Pull firmly with non dominant hand and squeeze gently with dominant hand. This should neatly de-rib the really woody sections of kale, collards, or mustard . The ribs can now be chopped fine and used as you might use celery.
4. rip up de ribbed greens or slice cabbage. Throw in your soup pot pot.
5.take all other veg except carrots and potatoes and saute in olive oil until onions are transclucent, taking care not to let your garlic burn ( if roasted just add it to the soup during the simmer. cool with brightening liquid of choice, lemon, wine , vinegar (go very light and add more during the simmer if desired). add all veg including roots to soup pot.
5. once lentils begin to soften (about 45 minutes)reduce to simmer.
6. adjust seasoning like salt, brightener, pepper,caraway add sausages. keep warm until serving
for crock pot version just saute veg and prep all and add to crock pot on low for no less than 8 hrs. no need to pre boil. soup should be creamy and lumpy in texture . add sausages during last hour of cooking (as otherwise they fall apart). eat within 4 days or freeze it.
kale(and other)greens
This is possibly the simplest cooked format for greens I have. It works with kale, collards, chard, sorrel, mustard,spinach, broccoli and cauliflower leaves. Also, sweet potato leaves, so I hear) turnip but please mix turnip with something else because otherwise it gets unpleasant. Most of the time it's pretty close to free because it's february and the garden is still making kale. This stuff freezes well. It's tasty healthy and easy. It's good hot or cold. This means it's the one used most frequently on everything from bibimbap to serving it with BBQ Tofu and cornbread.
1 lb (usually 2 biggish heads) cooking greens (anything but cabbage). Rinse well
Rip leaves from veins using your hands and rip up smaller if very large Set these aside. Toss dry bits but save stalks. Chop the stalks.
Mince 4 cloves garlic
1/2 chopped onion (red or yellow but not white as we need the sweetness)
Heat 1 tb Oil (usually olive) in cast iron The iron will change the flavour in a good way. Add the onions and stalks from the greens and saute until the onions become translucent. Now add the garlic. If you added it earlier the flavour will be less strong and more bitter because the garlic probably burned.
Add the leaves now .
They should wilt and be about 1/3 smaller before you
Add 1 tb lemon juice ,
1/2 cup water
and either 1/2 TB bird chile powder or 1TB samabal oelek or 1/4 tsp cayenne and 1/2 TB ancho pepper powder.
1 TB soysauce or 1/4 tsp smoked salt
greens should turn vibrant and lightly chewy. If you like them less chewy or you picked older/ rougher greens (like collards or plantago for example) add an extra 1/2 c of water.
Stir occasionally until water evaporates. Serve.
1 lb (usually 2 biggish heads) cooking greens (anything but cabbage). Rinse well
Rip leaves from veins using your hands and rip up smaller if very large Set these aside. Toss dry bits but save stalks. Chop the stalks.
Mince 4 cloves garlic
1/2 chopped onion (red or yellow but not white as we need the sweetness)
Heat 1 tb Oil (usually olive) in cast iron The iron will change the flavour in a good way. Add the onions and stalks from the greens and saute until the onions become translucent. Now add the garlic. If you added it earlier the flavour will be less strong and more bitter because the garlic probably burned.
Add the leaves now .
They should wilt and be about 1/3 smaller before you
Add 1 tb lemon juice ,
1/2 cup water
and either 1/2 TB bird chile powder or 1TB samabal oelek or 1/4 tsp cayenne and 1/2 TB ancho pepper powder.
1 TB soysauce or 1/4 tsp smoked salt
greens should turn vibrant and lightly chewy. If you like them less chewy or you picked older/ rougher greens (like collards or plantago for example) add an extra 1/2 c of water.
Stir occasionally until water evaporates. Serve.
Rummaging the fridge papaya salad
Optimally you will have most of the ingredients on hand...except the sprouts and green papaya. Dinner will be ready in less than 15 minutes because I'm tired from going to 8 million places for groceries as is my wont and the last stop was the Thai market over at Berwyn where they sell prepped green papaya shreds for under 2$ a lb. This isn't a proper papaya salad. I just like it anyway.
For the sauce:
2 tb tamarind paste or 4 tamarind pods (soak either in 2tb water and squish until the water is DARK Brown
1 tb honey
2 tb soysauce
2 tb samabal oelek or sri racha
1 green onion
2 tb dried shrimp if you like but totally not necessary
mix this and toss with the other stuff
You'll need
1 lb shredded and seeded green papaya
3 tb peanuts chopped or crushed
basil
cilantro
baked tofu chunks
another chopped green onion
And any of the above you like:
leftover mushroom steak bits
broccoli leaves
any leftover lettuces that haven't wilted
mung sprouts if you want
pieces of fresh tomato
leftover cooked green beans
rehydrated cellophane noodles if you like (put 2 pkg mung/ yam noodles in a bowl and pour boiling water over them.drain and chill for later. Mix into salad after chilling.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Hot Cocoa Sorghum Brownies
Whole grain and vegan if you like or eggy if not. These beat wheat flour brownies with a stick.
2 eggs beaten or 1 tb ground flax with 2 tb hot water allowed to sit 5 minutes (cheaper than cage free eggs and might be healthier anyway)
6 tb cocoa powder (I'm not going to lecture you here about making sure you get one of the slave labour free brands..much) These also taste good without the cocoa. Just add an equal amount of spices or flour and you're good.1/2 tsp dried chiles of choice I like bird chiles here but 1/2 tsp of cayenne or 1 tsp of ancho taste good here too
1 tb cinnamon
1 cup packed brown sugar. Ditto on the slave labour. (This means a legitimate fair trade co-op grown variety or 'inferior' beet sugar like imperial or holly brand. Either way you're stirring in a touch of molasses to make it "brown sugar".) Or you can use 3/4 cup of honey instead and add 1/4c more barley flour
1/2 cup oil / butter/ coconut fat
(or 1/4 c applesauce or pumpkin puree and 1/4 of the fats above)
1 Tb vanilla
3/4 cup sorghum flour (see note)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (aluminum free if you have it)
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup add in like more chocolate, chopped ginger, nuts totally optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-by-8-inch baking dish.
In a large bowl, beat together eggs, cocoa powder, sugar, oil and vanilla.
In a medium bowl, sift or whisk together barley flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to egg mixture, mixing well. Stir in walnuts, incorporating them well.
Pour batter into buttered pan or if you're like me and hate doing dishes lay down parchment in a lasagna pan and double the batch. If desired dust with more cocoa, cinnamon.
Bake until a tester comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Leftovers freeze well.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Adapted from "Bob's Red Mill Baking Book"
Here's a link to a table of slave free chocolate manufacturer's.
and this explains why you should pony up the extra $ and just eat less cocoa and sugar aside from the obvious health reasons on the latter.
Beans.... a preliminary guide
Beans.... a preliminary guide
For most of you reading this cooking beans from scratch is old hat. This makes sense..beans are far and way the cheapest form of protein available (short of cannibalism), they are versatile,tasty, filling, healthy, and ubiquitous in virtually every cuisine on earth for thousands of years.
However , it has come to my attention that there are many , many, many of us who do not understand how to make our dry beans tender moist and pliable in a manner suitable to people used to convenience foods. These methods allow one to by pass the expense and BPA in canned beans and retain most of the convenience. Storage methods discussed later.
For bean in this post I mean broad beans of all types, soybeans, lupins, Vigna,chickpeas and Phaseolus types. Lentils ,peas and other pulses are generally prepared differently.
Here, I present 2 methods which both require this 1st step
Step one:
Take 1lb bag of beans and pick through for bits of rock, beans without skin, rotten/gnawed on parts and rinse to remove road crap. (I call this showering the beans.) Prep Flavoring agents. In my case I usually cook beans with plenty of garlic onion and cumin because my my favorite are black beans. I add lime, salt and ancho chiles at the end. to navy beans I leave them be as there are widely differing methods to spice these guys and I use them to make a creamier lower fat macaroni and cheese, a garlic dip, and in baked beans. To red beans I usually add garlic, green pepper, red onion cumin oregano and tomatoes. Adzuki beans get left alone until they're done cooking as they're used for sweets. Whatever.
1. Low tech
post shower Soak overnight in 2x as much warm water as there are beans. Leave it alone covered with a cover, towel or whatever at room temp. Drain (no you can't skip this. feed your plants the water) and cover with 2X as much water as the current volume. That usually means 1lb of beans ends up with 2 qt of water at this stage. Add any seasonings desired except salt and vinegar (salt and vinegar make beans stay hard), onions garlic, wine , whatever. Bring to a boil and cover...reduce to a simmer boil 40 minutes to 2 1/2 hours here's a chart telling you how long each type takes http://www.chezbettay.com/pages/basics1/basics_beans1.html
2.'high tech"
This is what our crockpot lives for. It takes less energy, less effort and less hands on time to create good beans this way than any other method. You plop your 1 lb of showered beans into the crockpot with 6 cups water or unsalted flavoring liquid. (salt and vinegar make beans stay hard) cover and turn on low. Add seasonings that aren't salt or vinegar. Go away for 8 hours. If it's too thick add water. If your beans are too firm wait a while.
The one caveat is that yes you do need to cook them for the full 8 hours or risk poisoning yourself. According to Wikipedia "Some kinds of raw beans, especially red and kidney beans, contain a harmful toxin (lectin phytohaemagglutinin) that must be removed by cooking. A recommended method is to boil the beans for at least ten minutes; undercooked beans may be more toxic than raw beans. Cooking beans in a, slow cooker because of the lower temperatures often used, may not destroy toxins even though the beans do not smell or taste 'bad'(though this should not be a problem if the food reaches boiling temperature and stays there for some time)."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bean.
3. the gassy (um quick) method...just don't . this method makes sub par beans that make your gastrointestinal tract infamous rather than your gastronomy. Go ahead and use some other bean. You can even buy frozen or canned just this once. I won't tell.
4. A pressure cooker. These are apparently awesome for this and real energy savers. Unfortunately, I don't have one and I don't know how. Check another blog.
Sorry.
Yeah now I have one. These ARE awesome. Rinse and pick you beans add 2 cups beans and fill water to the minimum fill line. Attach lis per directions. Cook on high until pressure hisses. Reduce to simmer and do something for 35 minutes. Your beans are done. Look at the chart that comes with yours.
Yeah now I have one. These ARE awesome. Rinse and pick you beans add 2 cups beans and fill water to the minimum fill line. Attach lis per directions. Cook on high until pressure hisses. Reduce to simmer and do something for 35 minutes. Your beans are done. Look at the chart that comes with yours.
Storage: why you can use this instead of canned.
Crockpot:
If you used a crockpot you can leave anything but chickpeas in there for 3 or so days adding about 1 cup of water a day to replace the amount lost by evaporation
The chickpeas will get water logged and gross. Drain them after 1 day at most unless they are in Chili.
If you aren't crock potting them allow them to cool.
Frozen:
You can pour them into any bpa free container and stack in the freezer. Freezer bags filled and squished flat work well here as do freezable glass jars.
Jars should only be filled 2/3 to allow for the water in the beans to expand as it freezes. If using on stovetop add 1/2 water to heat. put them in other things in the oven or you can nuke them if you want. I don't but then we don't own a nuker and I'm freaked out by possible radiation in my starches.
fridge;
Pour into jar and store in fridge. (any old jar will do)
As a puree: This is what we call lowfat refried beans. Take my blackbeans recipe from above ..pour off 1/2 the bean liquor (into soup maybe?)and apply a stick blender until smooth.
You can do this..It's easier than writing about it even.
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