Category Archives: recipes

meals recipes

Soy-sesame roasted Brussel sprouts, mushroom brown rice with leek, and apple-plum compote with ginger

February 25, 2012 – 5:55 pm

All of that sounds super fancy, doesn’t it? That was kind of the point.

As I’ve reported in the past, I enjoy grocery shopping. While it’s not too far away, going to H Mart is still always a treat. There are so many amazingly beautiful and interesting vegetables that I don’t have any clue what to do with but buy anyway (yu choy! baby radishes!).

Everyone’s been going on and on about baby Brussels sprouts lately. I don’t know how they became the cool vegetable, but I knew I wanted to try them. I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do and it developed as I wandered around H Mart. I needed more sesame oil and I thought the nuttiness would be a good compliment to the earthy flavor of the sprouts. Soy sauce was an obvious choice, as was garlic, and ginger was on sale. I knew I needed something acidic, so I grabbed oranges.

But one can’t make a meal of Brussels sprouts alone (well, OK, you can, but …) so I needed a hearty grain. Quinoa (which, fine, I know is not actually a grain) didn’t seem quite right, so I went pretty basic: brown rice. I picked up mushrooms (not at H Mart, sadly, which probably would’ve been smarter) and figured those, the leek I’d picked up and a bit of garlic would be just perfect.

To round out the meal, I knew I wanted something a little sweet and fruity. Apples are always my go-to for this, and on a whim, I grabbed a few plums. I knew both things would be wonderful with a bit of ginger.

Apple-plum compote with ginger

  • A combination of apples and plums, peeled cored and coarsely chopped to make 3 cups of fruit (I used four apples and three plums — I’d say it was about a 2-1 ratio of apple to plum, but I think it’s pretty flexible)
  • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1-2 teaspoons agave syrup or maple syrup (or a bit of sugar — my goal here wasn’t to make this too sweet but just amplify the sweetness already there)
  • Salt to taste

Everything goes into a saucepan. Let this simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the fruit is softened and the water has been reduced. Feel free to break up some of the fruit chunks as you go, but it’s still supposed to have some substance. You’ll know when it’s done, but it will probably be about 20 minutes. I would start this first and just set it aside when it’s done. It will cool to the right temperature by the time everything else is done.

Mushroom brown rice with leek and garlic

  • 1 leek, finely chopped
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 8 ounces of mushrooms, chopped (I used crimini, but whatever mushrooms you like)
  • 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock/water
  • 1 cup brown rice
  • Salt if needed (if you’re using stock, you may not need salt)
  • 1 tablespoon oil — olive or vegetable

Saute the leek and garlic until softened and translucent. Add the mushrooms (and a bit more oil if necessary) and cook while stirring for about 5 minutes or until the mushrooms have softened. Add the stock/water (taste for seasoning) and bring to a boil. Add the rice and reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for about 40-45 minutes or until done (By the way, basically, after you’re done with the vegetables, you’re just following the directions on your package of rice).

Soy-sesame roasted Brussels sprouts

Preheat oven to 450 degrees (F)

  • 1 pound baby Brussel sprouts, cut into uniform pieces (generally halved, but if you have bigger ones, possibly quartered)

Dressing:

  • 2/3 cup soy sauce
  • 1/3 cup orange juice (preferably freshly squeezed)
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon agave/maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Set aside while you prep your Brussels sprouts.

Stir your Brussels sprouts in with the dressing and let them absorb some of it for a bit — you’re not necessarily going to let them soak in the dressing for too long of a time, but toss them in it for a couple of minutes.

Spread your sprouts onto a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes, turning halfway through. Once you take them out, transfer to a bowl and pour over some of the leftover dressing (which you will have since I estimated too much).

The rice should be done about the same time your sprouts are, unless you’re much faster at prepping than I am. Your compote is done, though, and is probably waiting for you. Pile everything onto a plate and enjoy with a nice white wine or a beer (the seasonal bocks that are out right now are a good choice). Also post the photo of your meal to Facebook to make all your friends and family jealous.

Tags , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink | Comment (0)
recipes

My fool-proof tofu ricotta

August 24, 2011 – 6:41 pm

TofuEvery vegan cookbook has a recipe for this and every recipe is basically a variation on a theme.

This is the one that works for me.

1 pound firm tofu, drained but not pressed
2-3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1-2 tablespoons Italian seasoning (or just basil)
1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/4-1/2 cup water
salt to taste (but you’ll probably want to use more than you’d think)

And it’s easy enough: Everything goes into the blender or food processor (crumble the tofu a bit) and blend away. Add the water as necessary — the texture you’re going for is thick and creamy but it should not be loose.

Now what do you do with it? Clearly, all manner of savory dishes you’d use ricotta for work here — lasagna, stuffed shells, just topping your pasta with it. Pizza would also work.

(Tofu is kind of tofu, in my opinion, although I’m sure there’s some subtle variations between brands that I don’t notice, but I do think Nasoya makes a good product. Also, I needed an image for this post. Why isn’t there an image of the tofu ricotta? Because I used it all up.)

Tags , , | Permalink | Comment (0)
recipes

Watermelon “gazpacho” and avocado-edamame crostini

July 27, 2011 – 5:42 pm

Watermelon "gazpacho" and avocado-edamame crostini

If you live in almost any part of the United States, you’ve possibly noticed it’s hot. Even with air conditioning, the prospect of cooking has seemed unpleasant to me. Combined with that the heat tends to sap my appetite, food hasn’t really excited me lately.

While still hot, the past few days have been less humid here and quite nearly pleasant at some points. I wanted to eat again, but the idea of standing over a hot stove or oven still didn’t really appeal.

This was my solution.

After eating the spicy watermelon soup at Cafe Green on my birthday, it was in my mind to try to recreate it. I also read The Many Melons of Summer on NPR.org today and decided I was in a mood for melons. That, in itself, is a little odd since I’m not the biggest melon fan, but I figured their cool sweetness would suit me right now.

I figured a bowl of what was basically watermelon juice, though, wasn’t quite a meal, so I needed something to go with it. A quick search for “vegan dips” pointed me in the direction of an avocado-edamame dip. All of this sounded like it would be mighty tasty together and really didn’t require cooking — just a blender.

(While I consulted a few recipes online for ideas, I did make both of these up for the most part.)

Watermelon gazpacho
4 cups pureed watermelon (I strained mine but you don’t have to)
1 red bell pepper
1 cucumber, peeled and seeded
1 jalapeño (optional)
1 shallot
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon lemon juice (or half a large lemon)
A few sprigs of fresh mint
1 tablespoon vinegar (apple cider or red wine — this isn’t that important but helps round out the flavor)
Salt and pepper to taste (I recommend making it slightly — but not overly — salty)

This is easy — roughly chop everything and throw into you blender. And then you blend it. I had to do it in a couple of batches and I had to puree some of it in steps, but if you have a big enough and powerful enough blender, you probably won’t have to.

Chill while you make your crostini.

Avocado-edamame crostini
Several slices of Italian bread
Olive oil
1 cup edamame, thawed
1/2 avocado
1 clove garlic
1 shallot
1 tablespoon lemon juice (or hey, remember that lemon that you used in your gazpacho? Use the rest of it here!)
Salt and pepper to taste.

Place your slices of bread on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 425 degrees for several minutes on each side (drizzle the other side with olive oil when you flip) until brown and crunchy but not burnt.

All the other ingredients go into your blender — you may need to add a bit of water to loosen it up enough to blend. If you have a food processor, you can use that. You definitely want it to be a spread, though, and not a sauce.

Once your bread is out of the oven and cool enough to not burn your fingers (or you know, if you’re me, not), spread a bit of the avocado-edamame spread on each before serving.

And then you eat and feel like you just made something that’s super-fancy (because it does taste super-fancy!)  when really, all you did was throw some things into a blender.

I drank Left Hand Brewing Company‘s Sawtooth Ale with this meal. Its mild bitterness and herbal qualities gave a nice balance to the sweetness of the soup and the creaminess of the crostini.

Tags , , , , , , | Permalink | Comment (0)
recipes

Polenta Enchilada Casserole

June 18, 2011 – 7:23 pm

I am perfectly willing to admit this was an experiment and the results were imperfect. I do think, however, the overall concept has good potential.

I like enchiladas. I like making them. But, of course, corn tortillas come in a pack of at least 50 (sometimes 100!) and I usually only use about 10 or so when making enchiladas. The rest get to live in the freeze until the point I decide they’re too freezer-burned to use again.

Now, I suppose the solution would be “find more uses for corn tortillas” but I also wondered what would happen if I made enchiladas without them? (Although please note: In this form, I did end up using a few. I did mention that the results were imperfect, right?)

So it occurred to me that polenta might make a good base for enchiladas. Although, yes, “polenta” is technically Italian, but it’s close enough to something Mexican and I’m not going for authenticity here. I made my polenta the traditional way — stirring cornmeal in simmering water — but I think instant or even prepackaged would work here.

Ingredients:

  • Polenta — in this case, I used 1 cup of cornmeal to 4 cups of water. I’m not quite sure what that was prepared, but it was enough to make about a 1/2 inch layer on the bottom of an 9-inch by 12-inch baking dish.
  • 1 28 oz. can of red enchilada sauce (or make your own)
  • 1 15 oz. can of black beans (a little less than 2 cups)
  • 8 oz. of frozen chopped spinach (I didn’t measure, but I’d say about 2 cups worth)
  • 1 4 oz. can of diced green chiles
  • 1 2.25 oz. can of sliced black olives
  • 4-5 corn tortillas

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your polenta and spread in the bottom of an 9 by 12 baking dish. Unless you used prepared, it will need to set up for a bit. It’s not essential it cools completely but you don’t want it to be mush.

Poor a generous amount of your enchilada sauce on your polenta. On top of that, spread your black beans, spinach, green chiles and black olives into an even layer. Top with a bit more enchilada sauce. Cover with corn tortillas, tearing them to achieve complete coverage if necessary (some overlapping is OK) and pour more enchilada sauce on top.

Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through — nothing really needs to cook, after all. Cut into generous portions and serve with avocado, tomatoes and lettuce if so desired.

One of the things I would’ve done differently is have made my own enchilada sauce or maybe have used a bit less. I did buy the cheap one from the store, but in combination with everything else, the dish was maybe a bit more salty than I would’ve liked. I’ll know next time.

However, I like the texture and I think an additional layer of polenta on top instead of the corn tortillas would have worked, too.

So while it wasn’t a complete success it wasn’t a failure at all. I’ll try this again.

Tags , , , , , , , | Permalink | Comment (0)
recipes

Savory Asian-inspired Oatmeal

June 2, 2011 – 6:08 pm

Not the best photo, but you get the point.

I like to cook. But often when I get home from work, I’m too tired to want to do too much. Some of this is a matter of laziness, sure, but mostly, I just want dinner and I want it right then.

I don’t know where I first read about the concept of savory — as opposed to the usual sweet — oatmeal, but Mark Bittman mentions here the idea of making a basic porridge and then mixing in various things to suit whatever meal you have. And while I know about fancy steel-cut oats and all of that (and I’m sure the general idea would work with them too), that’s not necessarily suited to a quick and lazy weeknight meal.

Quick-cooking oats, however, are microwaveable and done in minutes.

And for me, it wasn’t really a question of what I was going to add in:

Soy sauce, furikake and my beloved chili garlic sauce.

You can mix in whatever savory stuff you like (Bittman recommends salsa, which is an interesting idea) but I tend to put these things on everything. Even when it probably makes no sense.

Furikake is a rice condiment and often includes fish or egg in the ingredients, so I’ve had to check it carefully. This particular one is mostly sesame seeds with dried vegetables, mustard (although it’s not particularly spicy) and seaweed along with salt and sugar. Really, you will start looking for things to put it on.

The instructions:

Cook the oatmeal according the package directions. If you’re feeling industrious, feel free to use the stovetop method, but the microwave is fine here.

Once the oatmeal is done, it’s time to start mixing. I used about a half tablespoon of soy sauce to a half cup of uncooked oats, about a tablespoon (and a bit more) of the furikake and probably a half teaspoon of the chili garlic sauce. Honestly, though, this is all to taste.

The variations here seem almost endless. Bittmam also mentioned adding in green onions and mushrooms as suggestions, and I think that would suit the Asian flavors of this pretty well. I think with some thought, other vegetables could be incorporated (I like the idea of chopped and slightly steamed carrots both in terms of flavor and texture).

But really, for a meal that takes under 10 minutes, this is amazingly tasty.

Tags , , , , | Permalink | Comment (0)
recipes

Hot spinach-artichoke dip

May 28, 2011 – 10:00 am

This photo is actually from a while ago — I haven’t lived in that apartment for two years. I also wish I could remember what the beer was (served in a wine glass because I’m classy like that) but I think it was some kind of high-alcohol fruity Belgian-ish thing.

But that’s not so much the point.

This is one of the few actual recipes I’ve created — as opposed to just throwing things together. I wanted to make a vegan spinach-artichoke dip that didn’t involve any “fake” products — no vegan cream cheese or sour cream or anything. I think there’s a place for those things in the world, absolutely, but I more wanted to focus on easily acquired ingredients. You can play with the proportions, too — want to use one can of beans and more tofu? You can do that. This is easily adaptable and mostly to taste.

No one is going to be fooled into thinking this is cheese or any other diary products, but my goal wasn’t to fake anyone out. More I wanted to created something that incorporated what is awesome about spinach-artichoke dip — the hot creamy texture and the spinach and artichoke. And you know, also taste good. It absolutely works on both accounts and I’d gladly serve it to non-vegan friends.

Spinach-artichoke dip

2 14 oz. cans Great Northern Beans
6 oz. firm tofu (I used silken in the box, but fresh would work too)
4-5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons tahini (this is optional, but good)
2-3 tablespoons nutritional yeast (also optional)
1-2 tablespoons white miso
1 tablespoon vegan margarine
1 box of chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained
3-4 chopped artichoke hearts (I used about half a 14 oz. can, but one of those little jars is perfect)
couple dashes hot sauce to taste (optional — I use Chili Garlic Sauce in just about everything, but whatever red hot sauce you have that you like is great)

Drain beans and add into blender/food processor along with tofu, garlic, tahini, miso and margarine. Blend until smooth — adjust seasonings to taste (more tahini, miso, nutritional yeast, etc. I didn’t add salt since the miso was already salty, but now would be the time to do it).

Pour into bowl and mix in spinach, artichoke hearts and hot sauce if using. Mix until all the ingredients are combined and taste for final seasoning.

Transfer into glass pie pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until golden on top and heated through. Serve with warm pita and/or tortilla chips.

Tags , , , | Permalink | Comment (1)
recipes

Samosa mashed potatoes

May 22, 2011 – 5:50 pm

I really love samosas. They are a starchy delight — dough filled with a spicy potato mixture and then fried. They’re not good for you, clearly, but that’s kind of what makes them mighty tasty and they have become a comfort food for me in a lot of ways.

I’ve had some annoying car problems lately — fortunately, they’re problems that came up before I was stranded by the side of the road. I’ve also had money to pay to get these problems fixed. But this was money I had wanted to spend on more fun things. It was time for samosas if there ever was one, but of course, seeing that my money had just gone into my car, buying them from one of our local Indian places seemed like a bit of an indulgence, no matter how cheap they are (and they are generally cheap).

I figured I could replicate the good parts of it and make it a bit healthier. (And when I say “healthy” — well, it’s still potatoes we’re talking about. I don’t think carbs are absolutely evil, but potatoes aren’t exactly the most nutritious food on the planet, either.)

In Veganomicon, there’s a recipe for Samosa Stuffed Baked Potatoes, and that always sounded amazing to me. I will make it following the recipe one day, but Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero (understandably) want you to buy all kinds of spices and toast them and well, I am poor and don’t have that kind of time.

I do, however, have this:

So well, this isn’t so much a recipe as it is an idea.

I cooked my potatoes, mashed them (roughly — part of what I like about samosas is the chunks of potato) with the cooking liquid and bit of Earth Balance (maybe a tablespoon to about 1 1/2 pounds of potatoes — I didn’t measure, and while it wasn’t a lot, I still felt it needed some creaminess) and then curry powder to taste. I’d say it was maybe a tablespoon and a half, but I didn’t measure. It was really until it just tasted right. And then I added in about a cup of frozen peas (it was what was left of a bag, but it was a good ratio).

It more than nicely fulfilled my desire for starchy, spicy comfort food. I’m not pretending it’s good for me (but I mean, it’s got a veggie in it) but it’s at least better than encasing this filling in fried dough. I also have enough of it to enjoy for another couple of times. I look forward to having it for lunch tomorrow.

Tags , , | Permalink | Comment (0)