Lemon and Kale Inspiration Brightens Up My Leftovers

Kimberly Wilson, the founder of my yoga studio and home away from home, Tranquil Space, has a wonderful blog called Tranquility du Jour.  Recently, she added a new feature to her blog, Meatless Mondays, that features a vegetarian friendly dish every, well, Monday.

This Monday's recipe was Kale + Quinoa Pilaf, which looked scrumptious.  Since I've been promising my husband to make better use of our leftovers, I decided to incorporate the flavors from the pilaf into a dish that used the farro I made earlier this week.

First, I made a dressing with one finely chopped shallot bulb, the juice of half a lemon, two tablespoons of olive oil, freshly ground black pepper and sea salt.  Next, I chiffonaded some tuscan kale into ribbons.  Once the kale was ready, I put the farro in the microwave for one minute to warm it, stirred in the kale, and microwaved it for another minute.  I then poured the dressing over the hot kale and farro and stirred it well until it was well combined and I could smell the lemon.

The lemon and olive oil dressing is extremely simple and makes a huge difference in flavor!  It's bright, crisp and light, and made our whole kitchen smell like lemony goodness.  Husband ate and enjoyed as well.  Note to self - use lemon and olive oil dressings more often!

This dish is a great example of how you don't need a ton of time to prepare a healthy meal.  It took a whopping five minutes to put together.  Having the some farro pre-cooked definitely helped, but if I had made this with quinoa, it wouldn't have taken much longer.

Vegan Farro Alfredo

I was all set to just do a quick concoction with my farro and whatever I had in the fridge.  But, right before I left work, I saw a Facebook post by Made Just Right by Earth Balance for Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo that looked absolutely delicious.  I had a number of ingredients already in the fridge at home, so I decided to do a farro alfredo.

I followed the recipe fairly closely, with a few changes.  First, I cut the tofu a bit smaller than the recipe suggested, and broke it up with a spatula as I cooked it.  I used Nasoya's Extra Firm Tofu Plus, which is fortified with B6, B12, D and Calcium.  It never hurts to get extra of these vitamins!  There's only 8 grams of protein per serving, which surprised me, especially compared to last night's Gardein dish, which had 17 grams.

Anyhow, I don't think I drained the tofu as well as I should have, as it didn't brown as much as the picture did.  I did also elect to season it with white pepper and sea salt before adding the veggies, rather than wait to season at the end as the recipe suggested.

I also omitted the peas, as I am not a pea lover.  In retrospect, I could have upped the broccoli and the carrots to compensate, but it didn't occur to me at the time.  Since I had pre-cooked the farro last night, I added it into the veggies with a few minutes to go to warm it through.  Also, I used unsweetened almond milk instead of soy milk, since I had an open carton of almond milk in the house.  I also used Italian Seasoning rather than just basil, and I reseasoned the whole mix with sea salt and white pepper after adding the sauce into the veggie and farro mix.

I was definitely happy with this dish - it was creamy and flavorful, but perhaps a bit on the heavy side for a weeknight dinner.  Granted, it was a lot lighter than the non-vegan version of an Alfredo.  To lighten it up a bit, you can probably omit the tofu.  Also, the husband was even willing to try it and pronounced it good and repeatable.  I have some leftovers in the fridge, so we'll see how it reheats!

Concoction Again: Farro with Kale and Mushroom Sauce

I was in concoction mood tonight, and decided to hit our local market after work.  I picked up yellow onions (I prefer red, but they were looking sickly), kale, cremini mushrooms and some pale yellow peppers from Scenic View Orchards, which supplies a number of produce items to the market in the summer months.

I finely diced half of the onion and sliced the mushrooms.  While those were cooking up in some olive oil, I seasoned them with freshly ground black pepper.  Then, I finely diced the peppers and tossed them in as well.  I added some minced garlic, and once it was fragrant, squirted in some tomato paste.  From there, I added white wine, oregano, red pepper flakes ,sea salt and basil.

Yellow peppers from our local market.

As that bubbled, I chiffonaded (is that even a word?) some kale.  For those of you who aren't familiar with this technique, it's cutting greens into ribbon like strips.  Here's a helpful tutorial.  The curly kale was a little challenging to roll, but I made it work.  I was hoping the chiffonade would help it wilt faster and I was semi-successful in this regard.  However, I decided to throw a lid on it to help it along.

We served this over leftover farro.  It was spicier than I intended (methinks the peppers were not "sweet" as advertised), but husband and I like spicy, so I was ok with that.  If you don't have farro or aren't into it, I think this would also make a nice pasta sauce.

Food Network Star Recipe, Veganized

I love the Food Network, and I'm especially fond of Food Network Star, where culinary hopefuls battle it out for a chance at their own series.  This season's winner was Jeff Mauro.  His concept, Sandwich King, makes "every sandwich a meal and every meal a sandwich."   All of his recipes look amazing, but, like most of the food featured on food competitions, tend to be meat-centric.  The one I saw on his show this afternoon was no exception - Greek Tacos with ground lamb.  But, since I love Greek food and it featured lots of produce, I decided to attempt to make it over into a vegan meal.

It was a fairly easy swap.  I made the cucumber, tomato and onion relish as directed, except I forgot that we didn't have red wine vinegar in the house.  Instead, I used apple cider vinegar.  Removing the seeds from the cucumber definitely helped from keeping it to watery - using a spoon was the most efficient way to do that.

For the "lamb," I sauteed some striped eggplant.   After removing the eggplant from the pan, I added some seitan.  I then made the sauce as directed - minced red onion, freshly minced garlic, tomato paste, oregano, salt and pepper and red wine.  Since I was making a vegan version of the recipe, I didn't make the yogurt sauce.  And, instead of making it a sandwich, I made up a pot of farro to use as a base. 

It may have been heresy to Mauro's concept, but it worked.  I liked the contrast between the warm, wine-y, meaty seitan/eggplant mixture and the cool relish.   The farro added a nice chewy texture as well.  The recipe was also a hit with our dinner guests, my cousin and my cousin's 14 month old daughter, who is quite the gourmand for a toddler! 

My favorite part of this recipe was my inaugural use of tomato paste in a tube.  I was always hesitant to make anything with tomato paste, because I feel like I never end up using the whole little can.  The tube allowed me to just squirt out what I needed to add enough flavor and color to the sauce.  I know it's been around in this form for awhile - why it took me so long to take advantage of it, I have no idea.

Choosing Ingredients: Why This Tomato and That Onion

Farro with zucchini, red onion, red and yellow tomatoes and goat cheese.

Since I like to throw together a quick dinner, I often feel like I cook without really thinking.  But, as I prepared tonight's dish, it occurs to me that I do put a lot of thought into which ingredients I choose, but I just don't articulate that process.  So, I decided to talk about each ingredient in tonight's concoction and why I chose it.

I started by mincing a red onion.  I gravitate towards red onions versus white or yellow for a few reasons.  Mainly, I like the color contrast of purple in my dishes.  I also think it has a more interesting flavor.  Tonight, I chose to mince, rather than slice or dice so that the onion would integrate better into the dish.  If you are looking for quick tips on knife skills for onion, or if you'd like what mincing looks like, this video from FoodNetwork.com is a great resource.

Once my onion was minced, I heated olive oil in a large saute pan.  Sauteing food in a large pot means a quicker cooking time than using the oven, a firmer texture for your veggies, and a cooler kitchen (crucial for when you're in a heat wave like we are!).   Get a big saute pan and cook everything in it - less clean-up than making your veg in separate pots and pans!

When you're sauteing food, it helps to have some sort of oil or butter in the pan to prevent sticking, get your veggies to brown or caramelize and add flavor to the dish.  Cooking spray is fine if you're concerned about calories, but I don't think it does you any favors flavor wise.  Butter can add richness to vegetable dishes, but I prefer olive oil.  Not only is it lighter (and easier on the stomach), but it, in moderation, can help with lowering cholesterol levels and controlling blood sugar.  Also, healthy fats help your body absorb fat soluble vitamins such as A, D, E and K.  It also has nice shelf life (though we go through it very quickly!). 

I always like to have something green in my dish.  I like the color contrast the green provides with any sort of grain base.  Kale and spinach are often favorites, but tonight, I was craving something more substantial that I could dice, so I went with zucchini.  In addition to having a nice crunchy texture when sauteed, zucchini has a number of nutritional benefits, including good amounts of folate, potassium and vitamin A.

I almost always cook with fresh tomatoes, which I keep on my counter to preserve their texture and flavor.  For me, I find fresh tomatoes to have more visual appeal and a more interesting texture than canned diced.  Crushed or diced tomatoes make a good sauce in a pinch, but if fresh tomatoes are available, grab 'em!  For cooking, I tend to use grape tomatoes.  The small size of these tomatoes means less chopping, but also additional visual interest for the dish.  I usually halve them or quarter them.  You can also get grape tomatoesin a variety of colors.  Tonight, I used red and yellow, but you can also now find brown, purple and green ones, as well as multi-color assortments, at your local market or farmers' market.  From prior experience, the brown ones tend to turn first, so if you buy an assortment, use the brown ones sooner rather than later.

I talked about the virtues of farro earlier this week.  I gravitate towards whole grains for the health reasons, of course: fiber, less spiking of blood sugar, etc.  But, frankly, they taste more interesting than refined grains like plain pasta and white rice.  There's a chewiness and a nuttiness there that's not present in refined grain products.  If I didn't have farro, I might have gone with an israeli couscous (larger grain than plain couscous),  quinoa, or a wild rice blend.

Seasoning is another thing that's key to me enjoying a dish.  I tend to gravitate towards Italian or Mexican flavors, though you've seen me experimenting with some middle eastern flavors like za'atar.  Tonight, I went with dried oregano and basil.  I prefer fresh basil, but we didn't have any handy.   And, regardless of the flavor direction I'm headed for, I always use salt, pepper and freshly minced garlic in savory dishes.  Salt and pepper help enhance the natural flavors of the vegetables, and fresh garlic adds a nice oomph to foods.  When I want to kick the heat up, my go to is red pepper flakes, which are crushed, dried chilies. Just a few shakes add some good heat that won't overwhelm the rest of your dish.

While I've been trying to cut back on dairy, I do sometimes like to add cheese to my dishes.  Tonight was one of those nights.  Fresh shredded Parmesan (not the powdered kind!), Asiago or Romano cheese are often in my arsenal.  They have a lot of flavor, so you don't need a lot of them to add dimension to a dish. They aren't the moistest of cheeses, however.  Wanting a creamier option for tonight's dish, I used fresh goat cheese.  Goat cheese is creamy and tangy, and can either be stirred into a hot dish a la tonight's concoction, or crumbled on top of a room temp meal.  Tonight's goat cheese came from Vermont Creamery, whose products are all rBST free.

It probably took me longer to write this blog than to make dinner, but there you have it.  In summary, when I cook, I gravitate to meals that involve:

• Fresh ingredients that taste good and are good for me
• A variety of colors and textures for visual interest and, for lack of a better phrase, "yummy mouthfeel"
• A quick cooking technique that doesn't involve a lot of time or pots or baking dishes
• Seasoning that adds depth and a spicy kick
• Leftovers that can be easily reheated for lunch or incorporated into a new dish

 So, while I like to experiment with more complex dishes, sometimes it's just as easy to consider the above five bullets, spin through the grocery store and throw together something yummy in about 15-20 minutes.

Adventures in Farro

If you haven't tried farro, you are missing out.  When I googled it to provide you with a definition of this tasty whole grain, I encountered a number of articles that discuss how people often argue about what farro really is.  In my mind, this NY Times Article provides the best description:

Farro is not wheat, but a plant and grain all its own. A grain of farro looks and tastes somewhat like a lighter brown rice. It has a complex, nutty taste with undertones of oats and barley. But lacking the heaviness of many whole-wheat grains, farro tastes more elegant than earnest.

Farro needs to be soaked and then boiled, so if you are planning on including it in a quick dinner, I recommend doing what I did, which is to make a big pot of it on Sunday and stick it in the fridge.  The cooked farro will keep well.

When I got home from yoga, I heated some olive oil in a large saute pan.  When the oil was ready, I added chopped portabello mushrooms, yellow and red cherry tomatoes, pinto beans, minced garlic and kale.  To help the kale along, I put a lid on the saucepan so it would steam down.

I seasoned the dish with a pinch of sea salt, some freshly ground pepper, za'atar and smoked paprika.  I had thought about adding some goat cheese, but after starting my copy of Forks Over Knives on the metro this evening, I asked myself whether or not the dish really needed dairy and decided it would be fine without it.

The result was hearty and filling, with a nice dash of spicy-smokiness.