Heirloom beans and rice

I just discovered heirloom beans, and having tried a few varieties, will never go back to ordinary store dried beans or canned ones.  What a difference.  If you are trying to incorporate more beans into your diet, you owe it to your taste buds to check out http://ranchogordo.com.  These beans are guaranteed to be 2 years old or younger.  With soaking and a pressure cooker, these beans are almost instant food.


1 Cup (dry) brown rice
3/4 cup Rio Zape Beans - soaked for at least 4 hours (any variety of heirloom beans will do, this is what I used today)
2 onions, diced
4-6 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 parsnips, peeled and thinly sliced
pinch of salt

I made short grain brown rice in my rice cooker.  (very easy, add rice & water, and press a few buttons, within 2 hours you have perfectly cooked rice that didn't need any attention).

Water saute 2 diced onions till translucent , then add a package of sliced baby bella mushrooms and some garlic.  sautee some more, then add carrots and parsnips.   Let it breathe for a minute or two, then add in the soaked beans, and enough water to cover everything.  Cover and lock the pressure cooker, and bring to high pressure.  Cook for 9 minutes at high pressure and use natural release.  When almost ready to serve, remove lid and bring to a boil.  Add a pinch of salt and the cooked rice.  Boil for about 5-10 minutes, or till beans/rice is the consistency you want.  Serve in bowls with spoons.

Eggplant Salsa over Baked Potatoes

This was from the other night, I'm behind in my posting.

If you don't alreadyown the Big and Healthy Cookbook from the Wellness Forum, you'll want to call them and get a copy. (614-841-7700).  It's full of lots of healthy vegan recipes.

I roasted 2 Italian eggplants (small), and separately sauted (in water), chopped onion, minced garlic,  mushrooms and Trader Joe's fire roasted onions and peppers.  (the local pepper crop was not good this season, too much rain.  Every pepper I bought had mold on the inside - yuck!  The TJ's frozen fire roasted peppers, on the other hand were great!).  I ran this mixture plus the eggplant thru the food processor, for a coarse chop.  I then put it all back in the saucepan and added a can of fire roasted crushed tomatoes and some nutritional yeast and let is simmer.  This was fabulous over baked potatoes.

For lunch the next day, it was equally yummy  served cold on toasted whole wheat pita with hummus.  In fact, there are enough leftovers for lunch for a few days.  Yum!!

Vegan Chili

I found this recipe http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=16131.0, while searching for seitan chili recipe. I omitted the oil, and used a full can of red beans and one of pinto beans, instead of 1/2 of pinto and 1/2 can of black beans.  D is not a fan of black beans, and I don't like opening 2 cans that will leave me with leftovers, though I'm sure I could put them to good use later in the week.  Otherwise, we went with the recipe as written.  I served the chili over red rice, and it was very good.  As usual, I didn't cook with salt/pepper, and we found it didn't need any, though your mileage may vary.

Mushroom Barley Soup

I used a recipe in Lorna Sass' Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure as a guide.  Her book is extremely useful when you are converting recipes to use with a pressure cooker.

As usual, I ditched the oil, and water sauted several small diced onions.  I added in some minced garlic while the onions were browning.  I added 4 diced carrots, 1 cup of barley, 1 bag of sliced crimini mushrooms from Trader Joes and 6 cups of vegetable stock (which in my kitchen is 6 cups of water and 6 tablespoons of the Wellness Forum's "Not Chicken Broth" powder) and  some dried dill.  Cook on high pressure for 18 minutes and soup will be ready.  I used double the barley of the original recipe, but didn't double the liquids, since we like a heartier soup.  I don't add salt/pepper when I'm cooking, you'll likely want these when you serve the soup.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We were guests this year, so I have just one dish we prepared and brought with us.  If you haven't checked out www.fatfreevegan.com, you really should.  Susan has lots of wonderful recipes that don't have any added oils or fats.   This holiday dish is a bit of an exception.  It's more of a dessert sweet potato dish, than a side.  It's a definite crowd pleaser. http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/12/sweet-potato-casserole-with-pecan.html

Stuffed Squash

It was a very orange day in my kitchen today.  First the pumpkin/carrot soup, then the stuffed squash.

I cut 3 delicata squash (one very tiny, for our little guy, the rest were average size, maybe 1#) in half, scooped out the stringy parts and seeds.  Placed all the 1/2's face down on a nonstick pan and roasted in the oven for an hour at 400 degrees.

I prepared Near East Whole grains w/ pecans on the stovetop, ditching any added oils.  When all was ready (if you start the grains 1/2 an hour after the squash, all will be ready together), I stuffed the cooked grains/nuts into the squash and served.  For the little guy, we scooped out the cooked squash and mixed it with the grains on his plate.  The little squash shells really hold their heat, and we wanted his food to cool off fast. 

Very easy, and no leftovers.

Pumpkin Carrot Ginger Soup with Coconut

My sister started to tell me about a yummy pumkin/carrot soup that had coconut milk in it.  She sent me the link, and since I made quite a few substitutions, here's my version of the soup.

1 medium pumpkin or winter squash (mine was probably 2-3 #'s and was a sunshine squash from our CSA fasrm share). Cut into quarters, scoop out the stringy parts and seeds and roast in the oven at 400 for about an hour.

1 bunch of leeks, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4-1/2 Cup Shredded coconut
3 large carrots, finely sliced
1-2 teaspoons minced ginger
water

Water saute the leeks till soft, add in the garlic and cilantro (I didn't have fresh, I used the frozen cubes from Dorot, available at Trader Joes) and ginger.  Stir, and add in the carrots and coconut.  Cover and simmer till the carrots are soft, time will vary based on how thin you slice them.  Cube the roasted squash and add to the soup pot, along with enough water to cover everything.  Simmer covered on low for 15-20 minutes.  Carefully blend with an immersion blender in the pot, or wait till it's cooler to use regular blender.

Radiatore with Aurora Sauce

Robin Robertson's new cookbook just arrived from Amazon (have  I mentioned I'm a cookbook junkie?).   This was very easy to make, and was liked by everyone!  I ditched the oil to brown the onions, but otherwise followed the recipe.  We started with a large salad for the adults and leftover butternut squash soup for the little man (by request).

Easy Winter Squash Soup

Start with fresh winter squash, about 2-3 #'s.  I have been getting incredible delicata squash from our local farmer's market.  Very sweet!  I cut them in half (I used 3 today), scooped out the seeds and stringy pulp, and spritzed them with the tiniest bit of olive oil, then sprinkled on some chipotle powder and cinnamon.  I baked them at 400 degrees for about 45-50 minutes.  When the squash was cool enough to touch, I scooped out all the flesh into a medium soup pot. I added a full container of Trader Joe's unsweetened grain milk.  (I recommend plain plant milk, not vanilla for this soup).  I blended with the immersion blender while everything was still cool, then warmed on the stove before serving.

We had this with rice/tofu/veggie stir fry in tomato sauce and everyone cleaned their plates without any fuss.

Butternut Squash and Lentils with a side of Broccoli

The squash/lentils recipe came from Lorna Sass' Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure.

I started with small sweet onions that I've been getting at our local farmer's market, and added fresh butternut squash (also from the farmer's market) and dried lentils from whole foods. The pressure cooker is a relatively new piece of equipment in my kitchen and I'm finding it to be a great time saver when I need to get dinner on the table in a hurry. I water saute everything, so I ditched the olive oil in the recipe.

Our farmer's market has had incredible broccoli this fall. I cut it up, place it on a silicon pad on a pan, spritz with the slightest amount of olive oil (I have a mister gadget so the food doesn't drown in oil) and sprinkled on nutritional yeast. I baked it at 400 degrees for about 15 min. If the smoke detector goes off, take it out sooner.

Easy Wraps

Here's another recipe that is very easy to put together.

Start with a wrap. Warm it up. I like Trader Joe's brown rice wraps, but any wrap will do. Spread some hummus on it, and some salsa. (I am partial to Muir Glen salsas). Heat some cooked brown rice, and add to the wrap. Top with edamame and sliced tomatoes. Roll up, and enjoy. Keep lots of napkins handy.

Easy Veggie/Tofu/Rice Stirfry

This is a very easy meal, we have it several times a week, with different variations. If you are fortunate enough to have a Trader Joe's nearby, you can get everything you need in one store.

Equipment: Large non-stick flat pan with cover

Ingredients: fresh or frozen veggies of choice, cooked brown rice (or any whole grain variety, red, brown, black, etc. We like Trader Joe's brown rice blend, which is brown rice, black barley and radish seeds), tomato sauce, baked tofu.

We love mushrooms, so I usually start with those. Water saute the mushrooms in a small amount of water. Dice the baked tofu and add to pan (for variety, crumble up veggie burgers or use tofurky sausages.) Also, baked tofu comes in many seasoning flavors, experiment with these). Add in your favorite seasonings (for the tomato version, we like garlic and basic, fresh is best, but dried powder will do in a pinch). Dice the rest of your veggies and add to pan, cover and simmer till they are soft. D doesn't think he likes eggplant, so I peel baby eggplants so he won't notice them. Zucchini or Spanish Squash is another favorite for tomatoe sauce, as are red/yellow peppers. When the veggies are soft, add in a small jar of tomato sauce (or homemade if you have some.. we like Trader Joe's Pizza Sauce, it has no added oils), and your cooked brown rice. Mix well, cover for a few more minutes.

Other options on the same theme:

Asian stirfry - snowpeas, broccoli, string beans, and use low sodium soy sauce (or Braggs Amino) instead of tomato sauce. For seasonings, we like garlic and ginger.

Mexican stirfry - corn, green beans, mushrooms, stewed tomatoes, season with ancho chile pepper or chipotle pepper if you like it hotter. (D is not a fan of this option, "it's too spicy, mommy", your mileage might vary.)

You can also sub in cooked beans for the tofu, or as an addition to the tofu.

Tip: A good rice cooker makes rice preparation very easy! Alternately, Trader Joe's sells cooked brown rice which is even easier. :)