Cassoulet Forestiere

November's Vegetarian Times has a story this month called "Bulk Buying 101," which includes a number of delicious looking recipes.  One that caught my eye was "Cassoulet Forestiere," a vegan version of a traditional French cassoulet. 

Cassoulet, according to Wikipedia, is "a rich, slow-cooked casserole originating in the south of France, containing meat (typically pork sausages, goose, duck and sometimes mutton), pork skin (couennes) and white haricot beans."  The Vegetarian Times version of course doesn't include meat, subbing a variety of meaty, wild mushrooms (hence the "Forestiere") and vegetables, but retaining the traditional while beans.

This recipe takes several hours, so it's a perfect one for a chilly weekend day or day off from work like today.  Yesterday, I picked up some dried cannellini beans.  Early this morning, I put the beans up to soak, and then headed to the Rockville Whole Foods to pick up the rest of my ingredients.  This particular Whole Foods, as you can see in the linked blog, has an amazing bulk section. In addition to dried beans and nuts, you can get a variety of grains, spices, seasonings and dried mushrooms and peppers.  So, in other words, it was the perfect place to shop for ingredients for recipes celebrating the bulk aisle.  In addition to grabbing some lentils, split peas and mung beans for another recipe in the issue, "Mixed Dal with Tomato Tarka," I also bought dried chanterelles and morels there.  Note that dried morels will give you sticker shock ($228 a pound!) but that you won't need very many to make this recipe.  You can easily sub less expensive dried mushrooms if you prefer.

Dried Wild Mushrooms Pre-Soaking (Chanterelles left, Morels right)

While the mushrooms were soaking, I cleaned and chopped the leeks, and then the carrots and garlic.  When the mushrooms were done soaking, I chopped those, and sauteed everything in my Le Creuset French Oven.  Following the recipe directions, I added in the mushroom soaking water, a can of tomatoes and the soaked beans, and immediately wished that we had registered for a slightly larger French Oven.  That said, I managed to squeeze everything in to simmer for two hours.

Leeks, carrots, mushrooms and garlic cooking

I wish the recipe was clearer on a few points here.  First, there are no pictures (perhaps by the time the recipe is posted on-line, there will be) so I wasn't sure what the final consistency should look like.  The only direction is that, after the two hour simmering period, that the mixture should be "a little soupy."  The recipe noted to bring the mixture to a boil covered, but not whether it should have been simmered covered or uncovered.  I went with covered.  I think it also would have helped to mention that you needed your most enormous cooking receptacle, since I think my layer of breadcrumbs (I used panko since that's what we have in the house) may have been too thick - another reason a picture would have been helpful.

Topped with breadcrumbs and ready to bake.

That griping aside, it tasted very hearty and was a great chilly, damp fall day dish.  I did salt it a little bit at the table, but otherwise, it's seasoned nicely.  I think it will reheat well, but I'm worried the breadcrumbs may get soggy.  If I make it again, I may add a little something green to it to give it some more color.  I sprinkled some dried parsley on there, but fresh would have been better.

Now that Fall is coming, what's your favorite seasonal vegetarian or vegan dish?

Gardein Seven Grain Crispy Tenders

Tonight, I was in the mood for a quick dinner, so I decided to make Gardein Seven Grain Crispy Tenders with a side salad.  The Gardein tenders took 15 minutes in the toaster, but, in retrospect, I should have left them in a bit longer, as the breading didn't crisp up as much as I would have liked.  I'll cook them for longer the next time, but, in the meantime, I prefer the Mandarin Chik'n.

I think it's also funny that the "serving size" is two tenders.  Does anyone eat two little tenders?  And the five tenders I had aren't really even that scary from a nutrition standpoint: 250 calories, 12 grams of fat, 20 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber.  The sodium would clock in at 600mg.  Maybe they thought the fat to calorie ratio was a little scary?  Also, after 75 minutes of vinyasa yoga, I am still hungry.

My side salad was baby spinach, raw mushrooms, grape tomatoes, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.  We've had half a lemon in the fridge for awhile.  I've wrapped it tightly in foil, and I've been squeezing the lemon on my salads over the past few days.  Much better than bottled lemon juice!

Quinoa Stir-Fry

My goal tonight was to use up some leftover broccoli, carrots and green onions so I decided to make a quick stir-fry. 

Rather than use rice, I used some of the quinoa we inherited from friends of ours who were moving overseas and looking to liquidate their kitchen.  For some reason, I always find myself googling the cooking directions for quinoa even though its ridiculously simple.  For each cup of quinoa, add two cups liquid (water or broth).  Pour it all together into a pot, bring to a boil, and let simmer, covered, for 15 minutes or so until the liquid is absorbed.

While the quinoa was cooking, I prepped my veggies: green onion, mushrooms, garlic, carrots and broccoli.  The sliced mushrooms at Giant were the same price as the whole mushrooms, so I grabbed those. Less prep time is always good!  I made sure to chop everything smaller than I normally do, as the quinoa is small and I wanted an even veggie/quinoa distribution.

Using olive oil, I sauteed the green onions and mushrooms first for a few minutes, seasoning them with salt and pepper. Then, I added the garlic and stirred it until I smelled a nice garlic aroma, and then added the broccoli and carrots.  I then reduced the heat to medium and covered my stir-fry pan with a lid.  When there was about two minutes left on my quinoa, I removed the lid and seasoned the veggies with sesame oil, cumin, some Bragg's liquid aminos and toasted sesame seeds.  I poured the veggie mix over the quinoa, and, voila, dinner.

We had the quinoa mix with a side salad of spring mix, cucumber and raw mushrooms, dressed lightly with lemon juice, a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper.  I am really digging raw mushrooms in salads lately. 

I mentioned Bragg's Liquid Aminos above.  This product frequently show up in vegan recipes, and I see ads for the Bragg line all the time in Vegetarian Times and Yoga Journal.  The liquid aminos are a nice substitute for soy sauce, with the main benefit, in my mind, being that they are much lower in sodium.  Yes, they do have soy protein, but they're certified GMO-free and thus safe for my sensitivities.

The big selling point for Bragg's Liquid Aminos it that it claims to have 16 essential amino acids, which serve as building blocks for our body, and help our bodies properly make use of vitamins and minerals.  Call me a skeptic, but I'm not sure if a few teaspoons of Bragg's makes a huge difference in the amount of amino acids we need to stay healthy, but it adds a nice flavor to dishes and it's not bad for you, so it can't hurt to have a bottle in your pantry.  If you're concerned about getting enough amino acids in your vegan diet, look for "complete proteins" like buckwheat, amaranth, quinoa and soy.

Keep It Simple: What I Ate Today

So, one of the reasons I haven't been blogging lately is that I've been a bit overwhelmed by the exercise.  For someone with my Type-A tendencies, I was getting wrapped up in making something different and inventive every night, photographing it perfectly and writing something semi-interesting about it.  If cooking and eating was my full-time job, that would work for me.  But between working, commuting, frequent traveling, yoga and other pursuits, sitting down to cook something, take pictures of it and write about it while eating it was wearing me out a bit.

But, does blogging have to be so complicated, or am I over analyzing the situation?  One might ask the same question about going vegan, actually.  On the surface, it might seem overwhelming to go on a vegan diet.  If you start looking at books and blogs, you'll see a range of choices and advice.  Soy or no soy?  (Well, for my soy-allergic self, that was easy).  Raw?  Gluten-free?  Macrobiotic?  GMOs?  BPA?  Organic?  Low-Glycemic?  Alkaline foods?  Meat substitutes?  Nut milk or rice milk or coconut milk?  Nut cheese?  "Clean" foods?  Sprouted bread?  Convenience foods?  Oil is okay!  Wait, oil is not okay?  Local!  Carbon footprint!  Is your head spinning yet?

Whether it's blogging or eating, it's easy to get overwhelmed with the myriad of options you have in front of you.  And I know that, when I get overwhelmed, all I want is macaroni and cheese.

So, what it comes down to is that the "diet" that works for you is one that you can realistically sustain.  And that looks different for everyone.  For me, maybe it's a nicely photographed, colorful, homemade dish one day, and a frozen meal the next.  

So, as I was standing in line at the grocery store, I had an epiphany.  I can't be the only person out there that's trying to make going vegan work with a decently busy schedule.  What does someone like me eat every day?  Would it be helpful for me to share how I make doing the vegan thing workable, even if it doesn't involve a lot of fancy cooking?

So, hence, for the time being, I will bring you what I ate today.  I'm hoping this will show the variety of ways you can make a plant-based diet work for you. 

On Sunday, I used our rice cooker a huge batch of Rice Select Whole Grain Blend, which is wild rice, brown rice and rye berries.  This grain blend will be in my meals throughout the rest of this week.  By varying the veggies and proteins I incorporate with my dinners, I'll give myself the variety I crave, but still save time by having pre-cooked rice on hand.

In the fridge, I had some kale and red onion leftover from Sunday's dinner, along with cremini mushrooms.  At Whole Foods, I picked up some multicolored grape tomatoes.  I chopped everything in small pieces and gave the veg a very quick saute in olive oil.  I personally like it when my cooked veggies still have a little crunch, so I often don't saute for more than 5 minutes or so.  Good seasoning is also a must for me, so I included sea salt, ground black pepper, Italian seasoning blend and red pepper flakes. 

For dessert, I had a big bowl of grapes.  I'm partial to seedless green grapes, and there was a huge display at the store today for $2.99 a pound.  Sold!

Rice Noodles with Vegetables and Adzuki Beans

Thanks to my recent purchase of coconut aminos, I'm having lots and lots of fun with Asian inspired cooking.  Tonight, I decided to do a vegan stir-fry with adzuki beans and lots of fresh vegetables, including red onion, shitake mushrooms, yellow bell pepper, baby carrots, garlic, bok choy and fresh cilantro.

The adzuki bean is small in size and reddish/purplish in color.  According to wikipedia, they have been used in Asian cooking for centuries, with fossilized beans found in ruins dated to 4,000 BC!  The beans are a good source of protein, iron, magnesium, potassium and folic acid. While they're often used in sweet preparations, I enjoy them in savory dishes like tonight's concoction.


I finely diced 1/4 of a large red onion and half a yellow pepper.  I then thinly sliced a large handful of shitake mushroom caps (I find the stems to be too tough), as well as eight baby carrots (if you're using a whole carrot, 1-2 peeled should be sufficient). 

Once this selection of the veg was cooking, I heated a 3/4 full kettle of water on the stove and began sauteing the onions, mushrooms and peppers in oil, seasoning with black pepper.  When the kettle was hot, I put the rice noodles in a metal mixing bowl, poured over the hot water, and let the noodles soak for 10 minutes.

As the noodles soaked, I added the carrots and 3/4 of the can of adzuki beans.  I then minced three cloves of garlic in my chopper, sliced the bok choy and chopped the cilantro.  I then added these last three ingredients, and, when the garlic was fragrant, added some coconut aminos and sesame oil.

When the 10 minutes of soaking was up, I drained the noodles and stir-fried them with the vegetable bean mixture for two minutes, allowing them to absorb the flavors of the sauce and finish cooking. I then put the noodles in a bowl and garnished them with sesame seeds.

The result was very flavorful and filling.  If I made it again and wanted to add a spicy element, I would add a bit of Sriracha or some red pepper flakes. 

Spicy Rainbow Stir-Fry

One of the biggest things I missed when I started dealing with my soy allergy was Asian inspired cooking.  I thought I had come to accept that I wouldn't be able to enjoy these types of dishes again.

Fortunately, my fellow yogini and food blogger Valerie came to the rescue.  Valerie blogs at City Life Eats.  She follows a vegan and gluten-free diet.  Since she can't have soy sauce either (in her case, wheat is the culprit), she also needed to find an alternative.  Her discovery?  Coconut aminos.

Coconut aminos are made from the sap of coconuts.   According to the product website, coconut aminos are a great source of amino acids, which help with rebuilding muscle tissue, enhancing the nervous, immune and digestive systems.  They also taste remarkably like soy sauce.

I decided to do a colorful stir-fry with a variety of veggies, including shitake mushrooms and bok choy (which is a great source of Vitamin A and Vitamin C!).  I used  the coconut aminos to make the sauce, and served the vegetables over brown rice.

This had all the amazing flavors I've been missing without the unpleasantness of an allergic reaction.  Thanks for the great recommendation, Valerie!

Spicy Rainbow Stir-Fry
Serves 3-4

1/2 a red onion, thinly sliced
8 shitake mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced
1 large yellow pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup of shredded carrots
1 head of bok choy, green and white parts, sliced
2 tbsp cooking oil of choice (I used olive because that's what we had in the house)
2 tsp sesame seed oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
Sea salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes to taste
2-3 Tbsp of Coconut Aminos (or use soy sauce if you don't have allergy issues)
4 cups of cooked brown rice
Sesame seeds

In a wok or large pan, heat olive oil and sesame seed oil.  Toss onions and mushrooms and season with salt and black pepper.  Saute until softened, 3-4 minutes.  Stir in carrots, peppers and bok choy and cook until heated through, another 3-4 minutes. 

Add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.  Add coconut aminos, scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pan as you stir.  Season with red pepper flakes (a little goes a long way!)

Serve over brown rice and garnish with sesame seeds.

Sunday Night Dinner: Stuffed Peppers

Awhile back, I mentioned that I was looking forward to making stuffed peppers, and I finally got around to it this evening.  After researching a few recipes, I decided to wing it.

There's a number of variations you can do with stuffed peppers.  You can serve them cut in half, with each side of the pepper forming a little bowl, or you can take the top off and stuff the entire pepper.  Either way, you will want to make sure you scrape out the seeds and the inner white parts.  For this recipe, I elected to cut the peppers in half, figuring that it would be easier to store and transport the leftovers for lunch.  I seasoned the insides of the peppers with salt & pepper and put them in a baking dish coated with cooking spray.

For the stuffing, I sauteed red onions and mushrooms, seasoning them with salt and pepper, and let it go until the onions were translucent and the mushrooms were soft.  I then added sliced grape tomatoes, a can of cannellini beans, and four cloves of minced garlic.  When the garlic was fragrant, I stirred in some leftover bulgur and some rough chopped arugula, and seasoned everything with Italian seasoning.  I then took the filling off the heat and stirred in some mozzarella daiya.  Once the daiya melted into the filling, I stuffed the six pepper halves and then topped them with more daiya.

I covered the dish with foil and put it in the oven at 375 for 45 minutes.  When there were 10 minutes to go, I removed the foil to let the tops get a little crispy.

Peppers, mid-assembly proces

I can see many variations on this dish, using the formula of something with a meaty texture, a grain, beans, something to add creaminess, additional veg, and a green veg.  Here are some ingredients you can use in various combinations for your own stuffed peppers:

Meaty Texture: mushrooms, vegan sausage, vegetarian grounds
Grain: bulgur, quinoa, brown rice, couscous
Beans: black beans, pinto beans, chickpeas, kidney beans
Creaminess: daiya or other cheese alternative (vegan), boccatini, cotija, feta (lacto-ovo)
Additional Veg: zucchini, corn, onions, garlic, tomatoes
Green Veg: spinach, arugula, kale, swiss chard

My peppers tonight have more of a Mediterranean vibe  I can see a delicious Mexican version with onions, vegan chorizo sausage, quinoa, black beans, cheddar daiya or cotija, corn and spinach, seasoned with cumin, garlic and cilantro, perhaps drizzled with some tomatillo salsa.  You don't necessarily need to use a meat substitute or beans or a cheesy element - feel free to add or subtract any ingredients that you'd like!

Vegan Eggplant Rollatini with Daiya Cheese

I can't recall exactly what brought about my craving for eggplant rollatini this week, but I decided to indulge myself and give making it a shot.  I also decided I'd try and do a vegan version.

Eggplant rollatini involves taking thinly sliced eggplant, frying it, stuffing it and baking it in sauce.  Since I've never made it myself before I consulted two recipes to get a sense of the techniques involved.

I used my mandoline to slice the eggplant.  The advantage of using the mandoline is that you get uniform pieces and the slicing goes very quickly.  I then salted the slices and let them drain on paper towels.

I then set out to make my sauce.  I chopped a medium size yellow onion and a large handful of sliced cremini mushrooms, seasoned them with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and sauteed them in olive oil.  I then added five cloves of minced garlic.  Since there were some brown bits on the bottom of my saucepan, I deglazed it with a bit of wine.  I then chopped up 10 roma tomatoes and added them to the pot, along with some very generous sprinkles of Italian seasoning.  When it came to a vigorous bubble, I turned the heat down and let it simmer.

I then dried off my eggplant and prepared to fry it.  Sometimes, eggplant rotini is breaded, but I didn't like how my test breaded piece came out.  So, instead, I just pan fried the eggplant plain.  I used some olive oil in the pan, but also spritzed the eggplant pieces with olive oil cooking spray.

Once the eggplant pieces were done frying, I set them aside and began work on my filling.  I had some leftover kale from earlier this week, so I sauteed that with some garlic.  Once that was done cooking, I used tongs to put a small heap on the edge of the eggplant, and topped the heap with daiya mozzarella and fresh thyme and parsley.  

I then rolled the eggplant into tight little packages and put them in a square glass baking dish.  I had a little kale & garlic left over, so I sprinkled that, along with the leftover herbs, on top.  Then, I covered the eggplant rolls with sauce and a generous sprinkle of daiya.  

I let the whole thing bake for just under 20 minutes in a 400 degree oven, the point at which the cheese had melted and the sauce was bubbling.  It was a little hard to get out of the pan - in hindsight, I probably should have used toothpicks and let it sit longer, or perhaps made a chunkier sauce or let it cook longer so it was less wet.  But, the flavors were nice and it was a filling dinner, so I am counting this experiment as a success.

 

Still Alive and Cooking

Yes, it's been two weeks since my last blog and likely that long since I actually cooked a meal that didn't involve macaroni and cheese or reheating pizza.  Fear not - I've had a number of work related dinners out over the past few weeks, so I have been eating meals other than those usually consumed by picky three year olds.

While I finally had a night at home, I'm headed out of town on yet another business trip tomorrow.  So, I decided to go simple tonight: whole wheat rigatoni with sauteed onion, mushrooms, garlic, yellow pepper, spinach and grape tomatoes.  The "sauce" was made with tomato paste concentrate, parmesan, black pepper, italian seasoning and a touch of white wine.  It was a light dish perhaps more suited to summer than a Fall, torrential rain filled evening, but at least it didn't come from a box.

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.

The First Dish of Kitchen 2.0: Sauteed Seitan with Mushrooms and Kale

You might have noticed a lack of actual cooking posts recently.  There's a good reason for that.  We've been reorganizing our kitchen, washing, assembling and putting away our culinary wedding gifts and packing up our old cookware and accessories to donate.  (Mom, I know you're reading this - I finished the thank you notes today).  So, for the past week, the kitchen has been essentially a construction zone, which meant no cooking for moi.

But, today, the last of everything was put away, which mean the kitchen is back open for business!  I decided to inaugurate Kitchen 2.0 with something special, but not so special that my husband,  who has spent the whole week washing dishes, wouldn't have a pile of dishes in the sink when I was done.

Over the weekend, I had picked up a copy of Veganomicon, which bills itself as "The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook."  Veganomicon contains over 250 vegan recipes, as well as 70 pages of basic preparation and cooking techniques for fruits, veggies and grains, as well as suggestions for kitchen accessories for the vegan kitchen. 

I've been wanting to make something with seitan other than my vegan cheesesteak.  There are a number of good vegan recipes in Veganomicon.  I was torn tonight between page 174's "Seitan Piccata" and page 186's "Sauteed Seitan with Mushrooms and Spinach."  In my meat eating days, I loved a good piccata.  However, piccata involves dredging in flour, which meant more dishes and a mess.  So, I turned to the Sauteed Seitan recipe, which was billed as "how Julia Child would have cooked if she was a vegan."

I did decide to make some swaps.  The recipe called for onions, but I've been dying to make something with leeks lately, so I decided to use those.  I used cremini mushrooms rather than white.  And, since our local market has some incredible kale and grape tomatoes, I decided to incorporate those as well.  And, in honor of the piccata, I decided to use a little lemon.

Soaking sliced leeks prior to cooking.

If you're not familiar with leeks, here's a quick primer.  Leeks are a member of the onion family.  They look like a green onion on steroids, but have a milder flavor than their tiny cousin.  They also should be cooked, rather than eaten raw.  Since dirt gets trapped in their layers as they grow, you want to clean leeks after you slice them, rather than before.  An easy way to do this is to soak them in a bowl of water, breaking up the slices with your fingers to ensure all the hidden grit escapes. 

To slice all the veg, I used our new santoku knife.  Santoku loosely translates from Japanese to English as "'three virtues' or 'three uses', a reference to the three cutting tasks the knife performs well: slicing; dicing; and mincing."  It alleges to provide more balance than a typical chef's knife, especially when prepping veg.  True to the promise of the Santoku, I was able to get thin, precise slices of everything with minimal effort.

The original recipe called for something with a good lid, so I decided to prepare everything in our new french oven, which can be used both stovetop and in the oven.  I also was so excited to have a french oven that I decided to use it, despite never having cooked with one before.  You're not supposed to use this type of cookware with "dry" cooking, so I made sure to use plenty of olive oil so as not to damage the enamel prior to adding the vegetable broth and wine.  I did panic a little when the seitan and leeks started to stick to the bottom of the cookware, but the nice brown bits came right up when I incorporated the liquid and scraped them gently with a wooden spoon.

Hooray for not destroying the good cookware!

I was glad to make the extra effort of using the sauce and broth, as well as some fresh lemon juice.  It added an extra flavor dimension.  But, in my "oh crap, I broke my big girl cookware" moment, I may have added a little bit too much broth, which overwhelmed the wine a bit.  I also think it would have benefited from being served over some brown rice, farro or barley.  I may add some when I reheat the leftovers, which would soak up the leftover broth quite well.  But otherwise, a filling, hearty dish!

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.

Adventures in Spices: Smoked Paprika and Za'atar

Awhile ago, I had bought some smoked paprika and za'atar with the intention of using them to season homemade pita chips.  I still haven't gotten around to making the pita chips, but I did decide to experiment with the seasonings in tonight's concoction.

Smoked paprika is sometimes  referred to as "Smoked Spanish Paprika."  It's made from "smoked, ground pimiento peppers," and, not shockingly knowing it's alias, it can be found featured in Spanish cusisine.

When I bought the smoked paprika at Whole Foods, the cooking consultant who helped me locate it recommended I pair it with Za'atar, a "mixture of sumac, sesame seed and herbs frequently used in the Middle East and Mediterranean areas."

Tonight, I put some wild rice up in the rice cooker. While that was bubbling away, I sauteed a finely diced Vidalia onion in olive oil and stirred in some cremini mushrooms, chickpeas, diced yellow pepper, shredded carrots, minced garlic and kale.  I stirred in the cooked rice and seasoned the whole thing with a teaspoon of Za'atar and half a teaspoon of the smoked paprika.  I definitely got the smokiness I expected from the paprika.  And, it was a nice flavor adventure compared to my typical Italian (oregano, basil) or Mexican (cumin, cilantro) influenced concoctions.

Taking A Step Back from The Fake Meat

Believe it or not, this was done in 15 minutes!

I've been following Vegetarian Times' 28-Day Veg Bootcamp, which is designed to help you kick start a vegetarian diet.  While I consider myself officially kick started, I thought it would be fun to look at some tips and get inspired.

I also got a nice good reminder about something that's pretty important.

VEG DIET MYTH OF THE DAY:
Meat substitutes are bona fide health foods.

BUSTED: In the same way that meat wasn't meant to be a human's primary food source, neither are meat's vegetarian doppelgangers designed to be consumed in mass quantities. Like other processed foods, they should be eaten in moderation, but they certainly can play a part in a healthy diet. For optimum health, resist the urge to rely on packaged meat substitutes to form the basis of every meal, and approach them like treats instead. That way, you'll have time to get acquainted with all the wonderful whole foods out there that make terrific meal centerpieces: meaty mushrooms, hearty squashes, rustic root vegetables, and satisfying grains.

I used to pride myself on avoiding processed meat substitutes.  It was easy for me to do it, given most of them are mainly soy.  Lately, I realize I've been getting a little giddy about soy-free meat substitutes.  In the process, I've gotten away from the core of how I like to cook: fresh veg, whole grains, natural proteins.

So, tonight, I decided to get back to basics and cook a meal that was both convenient and 100% fresh.  I had some Israeli couscous that I grabbed from the bulk bin at Whole Foods a few weeks ago.  While that was cooking up, I sauteed shallots, portabello mushrooms, tomatoes, cannelini beans, garlic and tons of fresh spinach, seasoning it with freshly ground pepper, sea salt, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes.  I combined the couscous with the veg and added in some vegetable broth to help the cooking along.

I did a couple of things to up the convenience factor.   First, I used a really good knife.  The higher quality the knife, the more smoothy and quickly chopping goes.  However, I also used pre-washed and pre-cut mushrooms and bagged baby spinach, both of which cut my prep time further.  To get the garlic minced, I used a Hand Chopper, rather than cutting it by hand.  Canned beans are practically instant - open, rinse and add to pan.  Since Israeli couscous cooks in 8-10 minutes, I had dinner on the table a little more than 15 minutes from when I started.

Now, I still expect to enjoy Quorn and Grain Meat Company products from time to time - they're not junk food, after all.  But, I clearly have the ability to cook a convenient meal with fresh ingredients, and it's worth the effort.

Choosing My Plate: Veggie Loaf with a Side of Mushrooms and Spinach

Those of you who follow me on Twitter know I was super excited about today's USDA announcement of Choose My Plate, especially about the recommendation to make half your plate fruits and vegetables.  Even before I was a vegetarian, I tended to have a ton of fruits and veggies with every meal, and, now that I've given up most animal products, I'm eating more produce than ever before.

So, I kept Choose My Plate in mind with tonight's meal - half a plate of veggies, 1/4 protein and 1/4 grains.

I decided to try The Field Roast Meat Company's Classic Meatloaf.  The "Meatloaf" is made from a variety of veggies - carrots, celery, onions, tomatoes, garlic, etc., along with some whole greans and soy-free, vegan friendly protein. To prepare the "Meatloaf," you put it on a baking sheet, baste it with ketchup and let it cook in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.  When it's done, slice and serve (and douse with more ketchup - it definitely needed a little more moisture).

For my veggie half, I sauteed red onions and portabello mushrooms in olive oil, then stirred in fresh baby spinach and fresh chopped chives.  I topped the veggies with toasted pine nuts and mozzarella style daiya.  Loved how the veggie mixture came out!  I am usually impatient with cooking mushrooms but I let these go until they really had cooked through, and it was worth the wait.  The pine nuts added a nice crunchy texture to the dish as well.

Yet Another Concoction

It was time to use up what was in the fridge yet again, so dinner was a concoction.  Tonight's experiment involved roasted brussel sprouts (30 minutes at 425 - make sure to coat them with olive oil and season with salt and pepper).  In a saute pan, I worked some shallots, sliced mushrooms and garlic in olive oil.  After that was done, I stirred in leftover wild rice, the brussel sprouts and some parmesan cheese.

Concoctions

As I was rushing to get out of work in time to get to yoga class, the fiance called me to let me know he'd be home late.  And then he asked "What are we having for dinner?"

Crap.

Yes, I love to cook ridiculously time consuming recipes.  But, sometimes I am:

A) Lazy
B) Facing a random assortment of things in the kitchen that seem to make absolutely no sense
C) Hungry enough to start gnawing on furniture

When this set of circumstances occurs, dinner is a Concoction.

Concoction is a term of my mother's - we can call her the Queen of the Concoction.  She can survey the fridge and the pantry, throw in whatever random things are available in no set amounts (aka "Enough"), cook it on the stovetop for no set time (aka "Until It's Done").  This, essentially is how I learned to cook, and also why my secret dream is for Chopped to have an amateur competition, because Mom and I would so take everyone down.  In fact, as I was sharing the blog with Mom, she said she liked it, but also asked "Are you just going to do recipes?" and I replied, "No, I promise to blog about Concoctions."

Behold the Concoction as it sautees and bubbles!

So, tonight, when I first walked in the door at 9:30, fiance was still at the gym and hunger was hardcore setting in, it was definitely Concoction time. 

First, I surveyed my options - we needed a grain, a protein and lots of veggies.  Since I love weirdo grains, we fortunately had a lot of options.  I decided to go with one with a shorter cooking time - pearled couscous.  Pearled couscous is also known as israeli couscous.  The grains are slightly larger and rounder than regular couscous.

As for protein, we had a ton of canned bean options.  I decided to go with chickpeas, since the couscous was taking us in a middle eastern direction anyway.

Next, I surveyed my produce options - leftover green onions from my veggie enchilada experiment, leftover celery root from the lasagna experiment, garlic cloves, mushroom slices and broccoli raab (okay - so I might have picked the last two items up at Safeway on the way home from yoga, but I didn't have to use them tonight).  In case you're not familiar with it, broccoli raab is a slender green vegetable.  And, as I learned tonight, it's not a form of broccoli.

After I chopped everything up, I heated olive oil in my large skillet and got the couscous going.  The onions went in first, followed by the mushrooms, fresh ground pepper, celery root, broccoli raab and chickpeas.  I added some leftover vegetable broth and let the whole thing cook down.  When the veggies were sauteed to my liking (maybe 12 minutes or so - I only know because that's how long the couscous took), I tossed in the couscous and shredded parmesan and, voila, Concoction in around 18 minutes.  And yes, it was tasty!

The finished product!

Ultimately, when you're pressed for time, you can eat a frozen meal, which is about as appetizing as a frozen brick and likely about as good for you, or you can make a Concoction.  So, if you are looking to make your own Concoction, here are some tips:

1.  Concoctions work well if you tend to have good stuff already in the fridge.  If the only stuff in your fridge is mustard, a leftover hot dog bun and bologna, you are not going to be happy with your Concoction.  So, start eating fresh produce, whole grains and beans if you're not already.

2.  Keep a well stocked pantry - As much as I eat fresh, there are a number of non-perishable items that aid any cook.  Canned beans keep well, and if you're leery of BPA, you can get ones that are BPA-Free.  Also, having a variety of quick cooking whole grains - quinoa, couscous, whole wheat pasta - will help you out.  If you really are in a crunch, I am also a fan of microwaveable pouches.  Seeds of Change makes a nice grain blend.  You should also have olive oil, an arsenal of spices and herbs (fresh is better in most cases, but dried works in a pinch . . . ha), and garlic cloves.  Cartons of vegetable broth are also a nice touch.

3.  Prep produce in advance - if your stuff is pre-washed and chopped, your Concoction will come together more quickly.  You can also have fresh-cut items on hand, like the sliced mushrooms I bought.  There are also fresh stir-fry mixes, shredded carrot and cabbage, chopped pepper mixes, bagged greens, etc. The faster you cook, the faster you eat.  And the more produce you eat, the healthier your meal is.

4.  Make Sure It's Pretty.  This is another edict of Mom's - "Food should be colorful."  As the saying goes, you eat with your eyes first.  The more of a variety of colors there are on your plate, the more appetizing the Concoction will be.  And, since fresh vegetables are the best way to put a lot of color in your meals, incorporating them in the Concoction will make your meal healthier.  So, you can do brown rice and mushrooms if you please, but I guarantee you'll be happier if you put in some carrots, yellow pepper and zucchini.  The trick is having all that stuff on hand in the first place, granted.

5.  Have something to put all this stuff in.  Having a lot of storage containers will facilitate both your prepped items, and leftover ingredients and additional servings of the Concoction for you to eat for lunch the next day.  We like these GlassLock containers.  They seal securely, which is important if you are bringing food to a potluck or bringing leftovers to work. 

I'll likely feature more Concoctions as the blog goes on, so stay tuned.

Sunday Blog 2 of 2: Celery Root & Mushroom Lasagna

I've been somewhat obsessed with celery root since the fiance and I took a trip to Montreal a few summers ago.  We had a celery root salad that I can still taste if I think hard enough about it.  I've been dying to play with it in the kitchen ever since, but I just now got around to it.

Celery root - it looks ugly, but is mighty tasty!

 I mused around for several recipes that sounded intriguing, and landed on this Celery Root & Mushroom Lasagna from Food & Wine magazine.  I've had it printed out for a month, and was determined to make it this weekend.

For those of you not familiar with Celery Root, our friends at Wikpedia share that:

Celeriac (Apium graveolens rapaceum) is also known as celery root, turnip-rooted celery^[1] or knob celery. It is a kind of celery, grown as a root vegetable for its large and bulbous hypocotyl rather than for its stem and leaves. The swollen hypocotyl is typically used when it is about 10–12 cm in diameter; about the size of a large potato. Unlike other root vegetables, which store a large amount of starch, celery root is only about 5-6% starch by weight.  Celeriac may be used raw or cooked. It has a tough, furrowed, outer surface which is usually sliced off before use because it is too rough to peel. Celeriac has a celery flavour, and is often used as a flavouring in soups and stews; it can also be used on its own, usually mashed, or used in casseroles, gratins and baked dishes. It can be roasted like a potato, giving it a crispy edge.

After procuring the necessary ingredients, I fully intended to make this three hour (yes, you read that correctly - three hour) recipe right when I got home from the grocery store.  But, after a much needed long nap and getting Blog #1's pie in the oven, I got a bit of a late start - around 8:00 p.m.

I love the fact that this recipe is so veggie heavy.  Pounds of mushrooms, leeks, celery root and shallots!  And, it was easy to make veg - I eliminated the prosciutto and used a vegetable broth (Pacific Natural Foods) in lieu of the chicken broth.   Also, a tip: rather than buying individual packages of herbs, you can just get a Poultry Blend, which will have just enough of the sage, rosemary and thyme (yes, I now have "Scarborough Fair" in my head).

Clockwise from bottom right: cremini mushrooms, leeks, celery root and soaked porcini mushrooms.

Now granted, despite all the produce.  healthy is not exactly how I'd describe it . . . we're talking pounds of cheese, lots of heavy cream.  But, have you ever tried to peel and chop a celery root?  It's like hacking through lumber.  I was literally sweating.   The chopping alone took about 20 minutes, so, if you find chopping tedious, this is not the recipe for you.

The aforementioned ragu.

However, if you're willing to put up with all the hacking, this recipe is tremendously rewarding.  The smell of the vegetable ragu was intoxicating - shallots and mushrooms and leeks and celery root in olive oil and butter, along with a bundle of fresh herbs . . . it was all I could do not to just eat it all while it was cooking.  It would make a terrific pasta sauce. 

After the ragu and cream sauce were done, and the lasgana noodles were boiled, the assembly began.  

The recipe called for fresh basil and fresh mozzarella, in addition to the ragu and cream sauce.

And here it is, after an hour in the oven.  It's 11:07 p.m. and I'm eating my first piece and wow, was it worth the wait!