Category Archives: Vegetarian

Chayote !

As I wrote on Facebook the other day, I picked up a chayote at Farmland because I had never tried it before. Once home, I forgot what it was called except that it started with the letter C.

Mystery Produce

The Produce Guide to the rescue!!!

And, the both trusty and creative Allrecipes.com website provided the perfect basic recipe. Click HERE for the original recipe.

Here is what I did:

The squash. I added a medium zucchini to the chayote

Ingredients

2 tablespoon olive oil
2 clove garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, sliced
1 chayote squash, cut into 1/2-inch strips
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
ground black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
1 tablespoon lime juice

A few folks on Allrecipes.com suggested adding extra garlic and sliced onion, so I did.

First, heat olive oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add garlic, squash, salt, pepper, sugar, and red pepper flakes. Stir together and cook 2 to 3 minutes.

Add lime juice to the squash mixture and cook 2 to 3 minutes longer, until the squash is slightly wilted, but still firm and crunchy. Taste, and add more salt or sugar if needed.

Done. Yum!

This was really tasty and the perfect amount for two people. The chayote was more crunchy than the zucchini – which was fine with me, but you might want to start the chayote first if combining with more watery veggies such as zucchini or yellow summer squash. And, check out the original recipe for other variations and ideas.

Parmesan Shells and Cheese – Mac and Cheese for Adults

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I had half a box of small shells, 7 ounces, to be exact, a few chunks of Parmesan Reggiano in the fridge, had milk that had not gone bad (always a miracle) and wanted something with at least a feel of comfort food. A big thank you from me to About.com: Southern Food for providing the perfect meal!

For those with little patience when making a roux, I can tell you that you can rush through the process and not ruin things. Fun fact about me: one of the first things my Mom taught me to make was a traditional roux, albeit with regular salted butter rather than the even more traditional version made with clarified butter. Years later, when I was vegan, I created many “creamy” textured dishes using a roux made with olive oil and non dairy “milks” or other liquids. I’ll have to experiment with all that again and post about it. But, in the meantime, back to this post!

For the original recipe, click HERE.

Here is how I did it – just a few variations (one of which, I just realized, I did not mention when I reviewed the original recipe on About.com. I forgot to mention that I added grated carrot.)

3 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 medium carrot, grated
7 ounces small shell macaroni, uncooked
1 1/4 cup soft bread crumbs
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
paprika, optional – acutally, I forgot about it, but I would have used it had I remembered at the end!

Preparation:

In a saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Stir in flour, cooking until hot and bubbly, about 1 minute.

This is NOT how it is supposed to look!

Gradually stir in chicken broth and milk. Add the salt and pepper. Continue to cook, stirring, until thickened and bubbly.

Still looking scary.

De-lumping techniques that my mother never taught me. 🙂

Stir in the Parmesan cheese and continue to cook and stir until cheese is melted. Then add the grated carrot.

See, it all ended up nice and creamy with no lumps. :=)

Meanwhile, cook the shells in boiling salted water as directed on package. Drain well and add to the sauce mixture, blending well.

My volume (versus depth) perception was not working. Would they fit?????

They fit - easily!

Transfer to a lightly buttered 2-quart baking dish. Combine bread crumbs with melted butter and parsley flakes; sprinkle over the casserole.

ready for the oven. I forgot to take a pic after it was done.

Bake at 325° for 25 to 35 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with paprika before serving, if desired.
Serves 4 to 6.

This was really good. Nice flavor and texture – not as gooey, perhaps, as some may prefer, but it was creamy enough for me, and Steve liked it a lot, too.

And, I can’t say that I ever made a recipe that called, specifically, for “soft” bread crumbs, or, if I did, I just used regular dry ones…So, how to make? I had some whole wheat bread in the fridge, so I tore it up and put it in the toaster oven at 250 degrees for a 10 or so minutes, then crumbled it up more by hand and let it sit a bit longer.

Still too squishy.

There, good enough! A bit of crunch but still a bit soft.

And, here is a good tip: Melt the butter in the microwave in a container big enough for the breadcrumbs, then add the breadcrumbs and seasonings to the butter. If you don’t use a microwave, melt the butter stove top in a pan big enough for the breadcrumbs.

Nuke the butter for 20 seconds or so - keep an eye on it! Then add crumbs.

To end with a more attractive picture, here is the chopped fresh parsley that I used. 🙂

Parsley, parsley!

Brown Rice and Vegetable Casserole – thank you, Whole Foods!

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THIS is the ultimate comfort food, as good for your body as it is for your soul. See the end of the post to learn how to make it vegan, not just vegetarian.

I discovered this wonderful recipe while searching online for something to serve with a pork chop recipe I was trying out for the first time.

I didn’t have any potatoes on hand and also wanted to have only one other dish with which to deal (a fond (truly!) “thanks” to Professor L’Homme for making me forever uncomfortable ending a sentence with a preposition!) while trying out the pork chop recipe. Luckily, I quickly found the following recipe when I searched via Google for “rice and veggie casserole.”

I followed it practically to the word, although I did not have any chives or fresh oregano to garnish. I also chopped up a shallot along with the onion that is called for.

Just the ingredients look super!

Note: The parsley has been in water in the fridge, loosely covered with a plastic bag, for three weeks! Look how fresh it stayed! There is NO excuse, if one has a fridge, for not having fresh parsley on hand. <grin>

Brown Rice and Vegetable Casserole (Click the recipe title for the original and tons more great recipes from Whole Foods Market.)

Serves 8-10
Serve this hearty dish alongside grilled meats. Feel free to use leftover brown rice in this recipe, and other grains such as wild rice and quinoa also work well.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 (8-ounce) package sliced mushrooms
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 medium yellow summer squash, chopped
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 cups cooked long-grain brown rice
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped oregano
2 tablespoons chopped chives

There is nothing like freshly grated Parm-Reggiano cheese....

Here are ALL the ingredients! Except the olive oil. 🙂

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large skillet, warm olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add bell pepper, mushrooms, zucchini and yellow squash. Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are just tender, 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook 2 minutes longer. Add salt and pepper.

My 12" skillet was VERY full at first!

But it all cooks down.

In a large bowl, combine rice, cooked vegetables, cheese, eggs, parsley and oregano. Pour into a lightly oiled 9×13-inch casserole dish. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown on top. Garnish with chives and serve immediately.

With the rice. Actually, I mixed the cheese and egg in the skillet rather than in a separate bowl.

Ready to bake

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I left it in the oven longer that called for by the recipe, but it is one of those handy dishes that don’t depend upon removal from heat at an exact time.

DONE! And very yummy.

So, there it is. A definite keeper in the Dennis/Breton household. If you follow a vegan diet, use soy cheese and, for the egg, use flax seed. Just grind flax seeds with water (about 1:3 per egg) in a blender or surbachi for to get and egg-like binding quality.

Perfect Oven-Roasted Vegetables

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I need to do another post to finish up Easter, especially so I can share the recipes of the lovely items that other folks brought. But, it has been a busy few weeks.

I was totally booked the entire weekend of April 10-11 and again this past weekend, with the weeks in between Easter and now taken up by preparing, as Board President and de facto volunteer Admin person, for my church’s annual meeting (www.wakefielduu.org) on 4/15 and also for my father-in-law’s Celebration of Life service on 4/17. All went well, but I was glad to finally have time to cook a meal last night!

It was just the simple but tasty Garlic Chicken Leg Quarters and, to keep things on that simple theme, I thought I would roast potatoes and also roast the other veggies. BUT…how to do everything at once without having to set multiple timers and add the other veggies after the potatoes, etc. ? I didn’t want to have burnt broccoli and hard potatoes, but I didn’t want to have to open the oven once I put the chicken in! (I guess I was still feeling stressed for time even though I didn’t even have a meeting to go to after dinner. 🙂

ANYWAY -here is my solution. I found a recipe for roasted broccoli and potatoes that said, along with seasoning and a few tablespoons of olive oil, just put it all together in a 9×13 casserole, cover tightly with foil, and bake at 400 for 45 minutes to an hour. How easy is that?

The chicken is supposed to cook for 50 minutes at 425, so I just cooked both dishes at 400 for the hour and that was that – ready to serve.

For the veggies, I used broccoli, carrots, new potatoes, and mushrooms for the veggies, chopped some fresh rosemary, and added sea salt and freshly ground pepper before roasting. They were fabulous! Not quite the same crunch on the outside that you get when roasting veggies uncovered, but there was still a satisfactory firmness to the outside and that lovely intense flavor that comes with roasting. And, because the dish was covered, there was no charring of the broccoli, the musrooms were not shriveled, and all the veggies has a creamy sort of texture on the inside.

Here is the original recipe on which I based my roasted veggies – and from which I learned about covering with foil! Click the name of the recipe to go to the original recipe web page, courtesy of Teri’s Kitchen.

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Roasted Broccoli and Potatoes

1 medium head broccoli or bunch broccoli crowns, tough ends removed, remainder cut into medium florets and small stems
3 small potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400° F. Place broccoli and potatoes in a 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Add the next 4 ingredients and toss or stir to combine. Cover tightly with foil. Bake until the vegetables are tender, about 1 hour. (If you prefer crispier vegetables, check them after 45 minutes.) Remove the foil and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Return to oven just until the cheese melts slightly. Serve hot or room temperature.

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If I am going to roast just one type of veggie (especially potatoes) or a group of veggies that all take the same time to cook, I am sure I will still use the uncovered method. But, if I am not sure how long it will be before dinner (the covered ones will hold at a “keep warm” temperature) or want to combine veggies in one simple dish, I will be using the covered method of roasting veggies. And, not just for hurried home meals. This is good enough for company!

Tomato Sauce – my favorite using canned tomatoes

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I have discovered the perfect tomato/pasta sauce. You can leave out the sausage for a delicious vegetarian version, or use another type of meat. Use just one or all or less or more of the optional ingredients, simmer for as short or long a time as you want, but use this (or Mark Bittman’s original recipe) as your basis for sauce from canned tomatoes and you can’t go wrong. I used all the optional ingredients but the mushrooms when I took the pictures for this post. But the last time I made it, I used all but no bell pepper. And, my first version had no meat and no mushrooms. Each was super. Just have fun with this one!

Note: if using sausage or another sort of meat, be sure to brown it in the same pot you are using to saute the veggies and simmer the sauce. You don’t want to lose any flavors.

All-purpose tomato sauce

Based on a recipe by Mark Bittman

https://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/29633150/

From the plants that wintered over in our bedroom. Still going strong in March!

Here is my version:

5-6 Italian sausages, sweet, hot, or both. (optional)
2 Tbsp olive oil (optional if using sausage)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion or 2 medium onions, chopped (about 2 cups lightly packed, give or take)
3 -4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup of chopped green bell pepper (optional)
1 1/2 cups (or so) chopped fresh mushrooms (optional)
2 green chili salsa peppers, de-seeded and chopped (optional)
2 red chili salsa peppers, whole – to be removed later. (optional)
2 28 oz can whole tomatoes, liquid reserved (4 cups or so) chopped or broken apart by hand.
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley or basil leaves (optional)

Just one of my "bunch of ingredients" shots. 🙂

Directions:

If using sausage, heat the 2 T olive oil in pot over medium heat, add the sausages, and brown each side, about 8 minutes total. Remove from pan, set aside, and cut into pieces before adding back to the sauce.

Brown the sausages at least 4 minutes per side.

Put the 1/4 olive oil in the pot over medium heat.

Add the 1/4 olive oil to the leftover fat and brown bits from the meat, if using.

When the oil is hot, add the onions, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 3 minutes.

Then add garlic and, if using, chili salsa peppers, bell pepper, and/or mushrooms and cook for another few minutes.

All the veggies - no mushrooms in this round.

Next, slice and add the browned sausages or other meat, if using, the tomatoes, and as much liquid as you would like depending on desired thickness and how long you have to simmer the sauce.

Next - the sausage, or other meat, if using

Add sugar and dried herbs and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes break down and the mixture comes together and thickens. The longer, the deeper the flavor! Although, it still tasted great with a shorter simmer. But, be sure to taste for spiciness as you simmer if using the fresh hot peppers and remove if the fire gets more than you like.

starting to simmer

Once it is at the thickness you want, taste, adjust the seasonings, stir in any fresh herbs, and keep warm. (Or let cool, cover, and refrigerate for up to several days; reheat gently before serving.)

Close to being done - time to take out the salsa chili pepper!

I am so pleased with this recipe. Never mind the vibrant taste with no extra sodium, etc., it makes more the the 24-26 oz that comes in most jars of sauce. I am sorry, 26 oz is just NOT enough if you want more than a smidgen of leftovers!

Oh, I need to include an apology, here. I recently used this recipe for a church potluck . I was careful to chop only one hot pepper and then put only one whole not pepper to simmer in the sauce for a while. I kept checking the level of heat while simmering and took out what I thought was the ENTIRE hot pepper almost two hours before serving time…Unfortunately, the pepper had split and I had taken out only HALF of that pepper when I deemed the sauce flavorful but safe for a potluck… Church and cooking friend Marjorie, whom I told about my error, did report that it was hot, but I didn’t see anyone in active distress – I am hoping everyone who tried it liked it hot!

But, next time, the hot peppers will go in cheesecloth for easy and complete retrieval!

Granola – Quicker and easier than I thought

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You’d think that someone who lived at least 10 years of her life as an ultra “crunchy granola” type (vegan for a while, even) would have made granola before. No pun intended. 🙂

But, I had not until this morning. Why not until now? I think the idea of heating up the oven and having to stir something rather spill-able on cookie sheets gave me the second thoughts.

Why now? Let’ see…Steve will eat oatmeal, but he really likes to put all kinds of stuff in it, which means breakfast featuring oatmeal was turning into a big procedure, with having to keep in stock and set out each time all the nut, seed, and dried fruit “condiments.” I griped, and Steve suggested granola. “Good idea,” I thought, but then remembered that most store-bought granolas are high in fat, include high-fructose corn syrup, and can have scary-sounding ingredients in them. Time to make my own!

I looked around online and found a few recipes to use as guidelines, made sure I had enough rolled oats, and picked up some more nuts and dried fruit. But I kept putting off making it. It was the picture of granola spilling all over my oven as I stirred it during the toasting process. But then…

Lorna Sass to the rescue! Specifically, her granola recipe in her delightful cookbook, Recipes from an Ecological Kitchen, by Lorna J. Sass. You will find it verbatim at the end of this post, including her comments at the beginning of the recipe.

Here is why I like it: She gives directions to toast the granola in a skillet rather than in the oven! Okay, so I did spill on the stove-top while stirring, but that is ever so much easier to clean up than if granola falls into the bottom of an oven. And, as she notes, it is more energy efficient to use a burner for a few minutes rather than heating up the oven for 1/2 an hour. Plus, the recipe is low in fat.

I used Lorna’s recipe for the general idea of proportions, but I used all oats and a handful beyond the three cups, 1/2 cup each of chopped walnuts and almonds, and a cup of dried fruit – a mix of pineapple, cranberry, and raisins. I added a tad extra oil and used 1/2 cup of maple syrup since I was using more dried goods than called for in the original recipe.

before toasting

I love my old cast iron “fryer.” I really need to season it because I have used it quite a bit for stews, especially tomato-based, acidic dishes, and have not keep up with proper cleaning and seasoning methods. But, it is great for keeping most of the granola in the pan!

just about fully toasted

heat turned off and fruit added

Cooling off. Note mess on stove top 🙂

I did have a slight mishap when stirring the granola as it cooled and opted to finish the cooling in big bowl.

This is a great recipe. I just had some with yogurt and I think it has just the right balance of sweetness, crunch, and chewiness. So, there it is. 🙂

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[Here is the original recipe from Recipes from an Ecological Kitchen, by Lorna J. Sass.]

Triple Grain Granola Makes about 4 cups

The advantage of making your own granola is that you can control the amount oil and sweetness and, ideally, use all organic ingredients. (Although touted as healthful foods, many commercial granola mixes are loaded with sugar and fat.) Of course, it’s much cheaper to make granola yourself-and very simple.

The possibilities are endless, but here is one to begin with. Unless you are heating up the oven for another purpose, the most fuel-efficient way to prepare granola is to pan-toast it. Make up a big batch and refrigerate it for up to 1 month or store it in the freezer for up to 8 weeks.

Skillet: 5 to 7 minutes
Oven: 20 to 30 minutes at 375 degrees

1 cup each old-fashioned oatmeal (rolled oats), wheat flakes, and rye
flakes, or 3 cups oatmeal
½ cup walnuts or almonds, coarsely chopped if desired
¼ cup unhulled sesame seeds
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup safflower or light sesame oil
¹/3 to ½ cup (depending upon desired sweetness) maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
½ cup raisins or currants (optional)

In a 10-inch (or larger) cast-iron skillet, combine the grains, nuts, sesame seeds, and cinnamon.
In a measuring cup, combine the oil, maple syrup, and vanilla, and pour over the dry ingredients while stirring. Mix well to blend.
To pan-toast: Toast over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until oats and nuts become crispy and brown, the sesame seeds begin to pop, and the maple syrup emits a burned-sugar aroma, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Stir in the raisins (if using). Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
Transfer to a tightly sealed storage container.

Cook’s Notes: If your skillet is smaller than 10 inches, pan-toast the granola in batches.

To oven roast: Combine the oat-nut mixture and the rest of the ingredients (except for the dried fruit) in 1 large or 2 small cast-iron skillets or spread on 1 large jelly-roll pan. (Cookie sheets can also be used, but be careful to avoid spills when stirring.) Bake at 375 degrees (the oven doesn’t have to be preheated), stirring every 5 to 7 minutes, until grains are dry and crisp, about 20 to 30 minutes. Follow steps 4 and 5.

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Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup

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This is fabulous! I’ve been meaning to try making this from scratch for ages. It was worth the wait.

I found a number of variations online, but you don’t need to go fancy for this soup. A special thanks to Dennis Caswell for the recipe on his Rock ‘N Roll Kitchen blog. You know, I just love the Internet. 15 years ago, who would think that anyone with 1/2 a brain and a computer could easily find recipes shared by a complete stranger living in Great Britain?

Here’s how I made it:

That’s a bit over a pound of tomatoes and closer to 2 lbs of red peppers.

I just sliced the tomatoes in half, seeded and halved the peppers, halved one onion, and peeled 6-8 cloves of garlic. I then rubbed them with olive oil and sprinkled with dried basil.

Ready to roast!

I started them off at 275 degrees, but it was slow going, so I upped it to 400 at the end. Different recipes give different temperatures and lengths of time, but figure 20-45 minutes depending. In the end, you want them to look like this:

Roasted!

Well, it is a little hard to tell in this picture. And, FYI – I flipped the tomatoes part-way through. But, you basically want the skins split and wrinkled on the red veggies, and it is fine if they get a bit charred.

Next, I peeled off the really tough outer layer of the onion halves. The garlic was a bit tough, too but it ended up not causing an problem with the soup’s texture. however, next time I will roast the garlic with the skin still on and then peel.

I then put the roasted veggies in a pot with 3 cups of puoltry/veggie stock.* I think it was three cups – perhaps 3 1/2. I know I have three cups left:

The rest of the homemade stock

Well, lets go for 3 cups and add more if you want a thinner texture. I used 8 cups of water when I made the stock that morning but seemed to lose more liquid than usual. See below for how I made the stock.

The final step was to use my handy-dandy new immersion blender and puree the whole lot right in the pot. You can also put part of the stock and the veggies into a regular blender and then add back to the rest of the stock. Then, I seasoned with salt and freshly ground pepper. heated it up, and that was it! I hear it freezes well, but I think we will be eating it all in a short time.

Yum! (And, YES, I LOVE my new range!)

So, there it is. A lovely soup. It would be great served chilled in the summer, also. Now I want to try the variation I found called: “Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup With Onions, Garlic, Garbanzo Beans & Oh Why Not? Artichokes” Click HERE to see the recipe on the blog Farmgirl Fare.

*And, for the stock: from the freezer, the neck and innards from one turkey and one chicken, three corncobs (Just pop them into the freezer after you eat the kernels off – the BEST for stock!) a handful of asparagus stems, and, from the fridge, some leftover raw kale, a stick of celery, a carrot or two, half and onion, a bay leaf, and…probably a few cloves of garlic – I can’t remember. Into the pressure cooker with 8 cups of water it went for 30 minutes after it came to pressure. NOTE: you can use whatever you want – more poultry parts, just veggies, whatever. However, I highly recommend corn cobs in all stock. They add a great flavor!

So, that’s it for now. Thanks for reading. 🙂

Rosemary Cauliflower Soup

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Get ready to die, as in “this is to die for!” A BIG thank you to Béatrice Peltre, the author of La Tartine Gourmande. I am not even going to post the recipe ingredients or procedure here, just the link to the details. If you love to cook, you should check out her blog!

Rosemary Cauliflower Soup. Just click the name to go to the recipe.

This soup is exquisite enough for company or a very special romantic dinner for two. It is also quite suitable as the main course or vegetable of a quick weekday meal. Truly a winner.

The total prep and cooking time is not much over an hour, with more cooking than prep going on, leaving plenty of time to prepare and/or cook the rest of the meal, whether it be something along the line of the rosemary chicken leg quarters I paired with my first batch, or perhaps just some substantial crusty bread and a light dessert.

Here are a few pictures of my first time making this soup, followed by the results of my 2nd go-round when I used a homemade but not recipe-specific vegetable broth and a combination, about 1/2 each, of broccoli and cauliflower.

The ingredients for the broth.

This made a most wonderful broth or stock. And, even for those who think they don’t like fennel, you won’t dislike this. The fennel adds depth without contributing a specifically “fennel” taste.

Main Soup Ingredients

Just a picture showing the amounts/proportions. Of course, for soups, casseroles, and the like, proportions are not as crucial as they are when baking.

1st saute

Shallots add such a nice color to things, along with a smoother texture than most types of onions provide.

2nd batch of ingredients done!

It is time to add the broth when the bottom is getting a bit browned.

Ready to simmer for a bit.

This is the last picture I took when making this soup for the first time. I am hoping to remember to take a picture after finishing up my second batch, which I have been making as I FINALLY write up and post this recipe on my blog! Of course, it will look different, since I used half broccoli…

Well, here is the picture:

the 2nd time - broccoli and cauliflower with standard broth base

Well, it looks pretty and all, but…no way as good as when I followed the original recipe. FYI, I had lots of both leftover broccoli and cauliflower florets from the veggie tray we did for the Wakefield UU Church auction last week, which is why I used both veggies. Here is my take:

I added the requisite chopped fresh parsley (about a HEAPING tablespoon) salt (1 tsp) black pepper (1/2 tsp freshly ground) after adding a tsp of salt, and “dash” of nutmeg (about 1/4 tsp freshly grated) PLUS a tsp of coriander power to make up for not using the original vegetable broth recipe and…certainly pleasant and edible, but NOT to die for. To live forso as to enjoy, yes, but NOT the great shakes of the original recipe. … Okay, I am letting it stay at just below a simmer on the stove for a bit. Then I will see if I can fix it up a bit…. 1/2 an hour or so later…

Hey! It’s very good after some low temp simmering, beyond the just “pleasant” flavor. Yes, the broccoli is too strong for this recipe as to getting the exquisite results obtained from the original version using just cauliflower. But, I really like that this is a “creamy” soup that does not use dairy for that special texture. Nothing against dairy from me, but it is nice to have a way to prepare a veggie dish or soup that has a comfort food taste and texture without the usual comfort food fat and calories – or lactose tolerance issues.

Anyway – this recipe is a keeper for me, in both the original and experimental formats.

Vegetarian Chili – quick and easy!

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A thank you to Emeril Lagasse for this one. I’ve never watched TV all that much, but my impression is that, beyond Julia, he is one of the first to have realized that a cooking show can be entertainment and thus helped get the whole Food Network thing going. Or, maybe I am wrong – but he does have some good recipes.

Anyway – I needed a vegetarian chili recipe to test for our church auction. I didn’t include the words “quick” and “easy” in my search terms, but I might as well had. Here is what I used as the basis: (My adjustments follow)

Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
1 cup chopped red bell peppers
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 to 3 serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded, and minced, depending upon taste
1 medium zucchini, stem ends trimmed and cut into small dice
2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 3 ears)
1 1/2 pounds portobello mushrooms (about 5 large), stemmed, wiped clean and cubed
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespooon ground cumin
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
4 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
3 cups cooked black beans, or canned beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup vegetable stock, or water
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Cooked brown rice, accompaniment
Sour cream or strained plain yogurt, garnish
Diced avocado, garnish
Essence, recipe follows, garnish
Chopped green onions, garnish

Directions

In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, bell peppers, garlic, and serrano peppers, and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the zucchini, corn, and mushrooms, and cook, stirring, until soft and the vegetables give off their liquid and start to brown around the edges, about 6 minutes. Add the chili powder, cumin, salt and cayenne, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and stir well. Add the beans, tomato sauce, and vegetable stock, stir well, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro. Adjust the seasoning, to taste.

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For the seranno peppers, I used what the tags says are “salsa chili” peppers that we have, still producing fruits in November after having brought them in before the first frost last month!

You’ll see them in this picture:

The fresh veggies for the chili

I also used only 1 Tbsp chili powder (for those around Wakefield, the dark kind from Farmland) and two teaspoons of the cumin powder. BUT, I used a trick that I learned from Lorna Sass and toasted a tablespoon of cumin seeds in the oil for about a minute before adding the first ingredients at the beginning of the process. I also added a heaping tablespoon of cocoa powder when the other powered spices were added.

I made two batches. One with one 15 oz can of black beans and one 15 oz can of red beans (like pinto) and the other with same sized cans – one each pinto and garbanzo. I think I like the second combination better, but that is a matter of taste. I used three chili peppers in the first batch but only two in the second. I like my chili pretty spicy, but these batches are for the public so I didn’t want to blow anyone away! And, frankly, this chili is so flavorful, it doesn’t need to blow your socks off.

I will probably add some dried oregano to the final version, also.

I’ll end with pictures of the chili cooking process – great colors!

Toasting the seeds - the scent is fabulous!

First batch of veggies: onion, red bell pepper, garlic, and chilis

More veggies - this is after the liquid has sweated out

final spices added and ready to simmer and thicken!

Anyway – that’s it. I still have three or four more recipes from the past month to post… One is for a cauliflower soup to die for! Soon, soon….

Mashed Potato Casserole with collards, cheese, and caramelized onions

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WOW. This was, to quote the native Wakefield MA person that I am, “wicked good!” (Should I add “Menga? I have no idea how to spell it, but the last time I heard it (other than from some long-lost and quickly again forgotten person I ran into last year) was at Lanie Island in the 1980s. Scary times. However, I digress. <grin>

It was time to use up things in the cupboard and fridge. I had lovely potatoes from Farmer Dave and exquisite carrots from Flats Mentor Farm, both via the Wakefield Farmer’s Market, and collard greens from the garden I help with by the lake. By the way, the best way to keep greens such as collard, kale, and chard, is to put them like cut flowers in water, cover loosely with a plastic bag, and store in the fridge.

This is after TWO weeks in the fridge!

So, I started by searching for “potatoes and collards” and found this:

Collard-cannon with ale-braised onions & raw milk cheddar

I pretty much followed the directions, although I added grated carrots and I didn’t happen to have a block of high-test cheese in the fridge. I actually did have a small amount of super cheddar from the Farmer’s Market, but not enough for the recipe and better savored with a cracker or two, anyway.

The original recipe didn’t have any set amounts of ingredients, but it was easy enough to wing it. Here is what I used for ingredients:

About 3 cups chopped collard greens, not tightly packed:

(See Simmered Greens – Collard, Mustard, and Arugula for tips for chopping collard greens)

chopped collards, one- cup measure on right for scale

The original recipe calls for steaming the greens, but I opted to blanch in boiling water for just under 3 minutes.

Not shown here, but I also grated a few small carrots – maybe 1 cup loosely packed after grating.

About 2 and a half pounds or so of potatoes with skin left on
1/2 cup or a bit more low-fat plain yogurt
2-3 TBSP olive oil
1/4 cup or more hot water:

Potatoes getting the pre-mash cook

After cooking to fork tender, I mashed the potatoes with a few dollops of low-fat yogurt and some olive oil, along with a bit of hot water to get the right texture. Next, I caramelized the onions to be folded into the mashed potatoes.

Here are the results: about five cups of mashed potatoes.

Three of my favorite tools

As aside, here. I just love pyrex measuring cups. This is my quart – or 4-cup one. I have the 1, 2, and 8 cup versions, too. Really handy! And, of course, the knife my Mom gave me years ago. Just a treasure. And, my new handy-dandy heat-resistant up to 400 degrees “spoonula.” Okay, on to the onions.

Three medium to large onions, sliced
2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 cup or so beer

Just starting to brown

First, I heated up two TBSP or so olive oil in my saute pan. (Yes, it’s All-Clad and I love it!) I sauted the onions on high, stirring frequently, until they started browning nicely, as shown above – up to 10 minutes. Then I cooked them for another 10 or so minutes on med-low until they got really brown:

Ready to deglaze!

The next step is to deglaze the onions with beer. I’ll just quote the original recipe: “When they were nicely browned, we deglazed the pan with a cup or so of brown ale — gathering up all those delicious browned bits that clung to the pan and granting the onions a bit of that delicious beer-y flavor.” I couldn’t say it better myself. 🙂

before reducing the deglazing liquid

After scraping the pan to loosen all the tasty bits, I let the onions stay on a low simmer for a few minutes until just about all the liquid evaporated. Then, I folded them into the potatoes:

Taters and onions. YUM!

Next it is the layering game. Put 1/2 the taters in a greased baking dish and cover with all the collard and carrots. I used my 10 inch square corning ware pan.

Great colors, don't you think?

The last ingredient is about 2 cups of grated cheddar cheese. I just used regular New York Sharp. I then sprinkled half the cheese on the veggie layer:

Half-way assembled

Next, I added the rest of the potatoes and topped it off with the rest of the cheese.

Ready for the oven

I used my toaster 0ven. I have the Cadillac of toaster ovens. It is a Krups 6-Slice Digital Convection Toaster Oven, as recommended by cooks Illustrated, and it rocks. I just used the regular oven setting versus convection for this dish. 1/2 an hour at 375 degrees did it. (Pre-heat first if using a regular oven.)

YUM:

Ready to eat!

Okay – here is the list of indgredients and the instructions all together so you can copy and paste to a file for printing:
I pretty much followed the directions, although I added grated carrots and I didn’t happen to have a block of high-test cheese in the fridge. I actually did have a small amount of super cheddar from the Farmer’s Market, but not enough for the recipe and better savored with a cracker or two, anyway.

The original recipe didn’t have any set amounts of ingredients, but it was easy enough to wing it. Here is what I used for ingredients:

About 3 cups chopped collard greens, not tightly packed
1 cup grated carrot
2 and a half pounds or so of potatoes, peeled or not
1/2 cup or a bit more low-fat plain yogurt (or sour cream)
2-3 TBSP olive oil
1/4 cup or more hot water as needed for mashed texture
3 medium to large onions, sliced thin
2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 cup or so beer
2 cups grated cheddar or other type of cheese

1) Chop up the potatoes and set to boiluntil soft.
2) Slice onions and saute in olive oil until caramelized.
3) While potatoes and onions cook, chop collard greens and grate carrots and cheese.
4) Add beer to deglaze the onions, and simmer for a few minutes until most liquid is gone.
5) Mash potatoes with yogurt, olive oil, and hot water as needed.
6) Fold onions into mashed potatoes
7) Lightly grease a shallow baking dish and spread with 1/2 the potatoes.
8) Cover with collards and carrot (and/or any other veggie) and top with 1/2 the grated cheese.
9) Spread on the rest of the potatoes and top with the rest of the grated cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees in a pre-heated oven.

To accompany, I also prepared a very interesting dish that I will blog about the next time I have a moment. My reason for this dish? I had fennel in my fridge. Why? I don’t remember why…well, last week I was going to try a recipe that used it but never got around to it. I don’t remember what the recipe was…BUT, the good news is that the dish I made was super. You can find it here:

Italian Sausage with Fennel, Peppers, and Onions Check back later for my post about it. Enjoy!