Southwestern Quinoa

This recipe is slightly modified from a side dish from the Food Network.  Serve this version as an entrée.

Ingredients:
1 bunch scallions, sliced, OR 1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded, deveined, and minced
2 t. canola oil
4 t. tomato paste
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. chipotle chili powder
1 t. salt
2 3/4 c. water
1 1/2 c. quinoa, rinsed
2 bell peppers, chopped (any color will do, but 1 green and 1 orange make the dish colorific)
1 15-oz can corn, drained
2 cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

Method:
In a large skillet, sauté the scallions or onion and jalapeno in the canola oil over medium heat until the vegetables have softened.
Stir in the tomato paste, ground cumin, chipotle chile powder, and salt. Add the water and quinoa, stir, and bring to a simmer.
Simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is soft but not mushy, 15 - 20 minutes.  Add the bell pepper, cover, and steam 3 minutes until the bell pepper is tender-crisp.
Stir in the corn and pinto beans, and warm through.
Stir in the tomatoes, and serve immediately.
Serves 4.

Burrito Bowl

This recipe kind of seems like I should have thought of some riff on this idea myself, but since I didn't, I'm thankful Southern Living magazine did.  I tweaked it to make it vegan and a little more "from scratch", but it's otherwise as they published it:  YUM!

Ingredients:
1 c. brown rice
2 1/2 c. water, divided
1 t. salt, divided
2 T. canola oil, divided
juice of a lime, divided 
3 large Roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and de-veined, minced
3 T. finely chopped onion
2 15-oz. cans black or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 t. chili powder
1/2 t. ground cumin
2 ears corn, shucked, de-silked, and kernels cut away from the cob
4 c. finely chopped romaine lettuce
2 ripe avocados, diced
4 T. vegan sour cream

Method:
Combine rice, 2 c. water, 1/4 t. salt, and 1 T. oil in a large saucepan with a lid.  Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 40 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Let rice stand 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork

Meanwhile, combine the tomatoes, jalapeno, onion, juice of 1/2 lime, and 1/4 t. salt.  Set aside.

Combine beans, remaining 1/2 c. water, chili powder, cumin and 1/4 t. salt in a small saucepan.  Cook over medium until beans are hot, about 5 minutes.  Remove heat and cover to keep warm.

Heat remaining 1 T. oil in a medium-size cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly charred (about 5 minutes).  Sprinkle with juice of remaining 1/2 lime and remaining 1/4 t. salt.

Divide rice, beans, corn, tomato mixture, lettuce, avocado, and sour cream between 4 wide, shallow bowls.  Serves 4.

Farmer's Salad

This simple and delicious salad comes from Ursula Ferrigno's Truly Italian cookbook.  We served it over brown rice.

  

Ingredients:
2 10-oz. bags of frozen broccoli florets
4 T. extra-virgin olive oil
3 T. lemon juice
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
salt and freshly-ground pepper, to taste
2 cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
handful fresh Italian parsley, chopped

Method:
In a medium stockpot fitted with a steamer basket, steam broccoli until tender-crisp.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix the olive oil, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.  Add the steamed broccoli, pinto beans, and parsley, and toss to combine.

Serve warm, over a bed of grain such as brown rice if desired.

Serves 4.

Warm Kale Salad

This recipe is courtesy of Food Network Magazine, and it is quite rich and tasty.  It serves about 4.

Ingredients:

1 T. extra-virgin olive oil

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

5 scallions, sliced (white and green parts separated)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 t. Cajun seasoning

2 15-oz. cans kidney or pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes

3 c. frozen or fresh kale (or other greens as you choose), chopped

Louisiana-style hot sauce

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the celery and scallion whites and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft (4 - 5 minutes).  Add the garlic and Cajun seasoning and cook, stirring, 30 seconds.  Add the beans, tomatoes, and 3/4 c. water.  Bring to a simmer and cook until the liquid is slightly reduced, 10 - 12 minutes.  Stir in the kale and cook until tender.  Add the scallion greens and a hot sauce, to taste.  Serve warm.

Swiss Chard Tacos

Not familiar with Swiss chard?  It's a leafy green vegetable with edible celery-textured stems, related to beets.  Use it like spinach in general cooking.  We've had a very successful year with Swiss chard in our garden, so I've been looking for new things to do with it.  I'd seen Rick Bayless do Swiss chard tacos on his PBS show Mexico: One Plate At A Time before and had made a mental note of it just because it was a vegetarian recipe.  However, I didn't have an immediate use for it.  Later, I was unable to remember exactly what he did.  You can imagine my delight when I found this recipe for Swiss chard tacos in Martha Stewart's Living magazine.  As usual, I have adapted the recipe, if only slightly, to suit my tastes and needs.  And as always, you can definitely do the same!

Ingredients:
1.5 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 small red onion, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds and separated into rings
3 small cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
5 large leaves Swiss chard (stems removed and composted), washed and coarsely chopped
1 c. cooked pinto beans (canned is fine), drained and rinsed
1/4 t. coarse salt, or to taste
freshly ground black pepper
6 taco-sized corn tortillas (I haven't considered myself a fan of corn tortillas in the past, but I enjoyed them in this recipe.)

Method:
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.  Cook the onion rings until soft.  Add garlic slices, and cook 1 minute more.  Stir in the chard, and sauté until the greens are wilted.  Add the beans, and cook until warmed through.  Season with the salt and pepper.

Heat tortillas on a hot cast-iron griddle coated with non-stick cooking spray, turning so that each side is warmed and slightly browned.

Spoon chard filling into corn tortillas.  If desired, also top with Tomatillo and Chipotle Salsa.

Serves 2.

Yummy Vegetable Hodge-Podge

Last night I made a delicious dish based on (1) vegetables I had in the fridge that needed to be used and (2) my fond memories from the now-bygone restaurant La Montagne. You can use whatever vegetables you want in this...the main thing is to use a only little bit of each of a lot of things. Try to keep the colors varied and include some type of bean.

I served it over wild rice last night, then over couscous today with the leftovers. With the rice or couscous (or orzo or other pasta or whatever you want) and some bread, it's pretty much an entire meal. Last night we chose to eat it with toasted baguette. It was perfect!

2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 small jalepeno peppers, diced (Again, you can use what you want and don't have to use what you don't want, so don't let the jalepenos turn you off if you don't like spicy food. Maybe try half of a yellow bell pepper instead?)
1/2 onion, diced
2 handfuls frozen chopped broccoli
1 handful frozen green peas
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 medium zucchini, diced (Yellow squash would work just as well.)
2 handfuls chopped sundried tomatoes, reconstituted according to package directions (I freeze the water I use to reconstitute them. I pour it into ice trays then transfer the cubes to a freezer bag. Later I use them to add flavor when I make winter squash soup.)
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
salt and black pepper, to taste
about 2 T. olive oil
(I also used about 2 teaspoons of capers last night, but I think sliced black olives might have been better. Chopped mushrooms and/or asparagus and/or kale and/or Swiss chard and/or cherry tomatoes would be great in this, too.)

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium to medium-low heat. Add the carrots, peppers, onion, frozen broccoli, and frozen peas and sauté lightly until the onions are becoming transparent. Add the garlic and sauté 1 minute more. Add the zucchini and sauté until it is tender-crisp (or however you like it). Add the tomatoes, beans, salt, and pepper, and toss to coat. When the beans are heated through, serve this over a bed of your choice (rice, wild rice, couscous, orzo, other pasta, etc.) and with bread. Voila! Dinner!

PS - If it tastes bland, you probably didn't use enough salt. You can salt at your plate, too, to fix it. Enjoy!

Pasta and Potato Vegetable Soup

This is my version of a recipe I believe I got from "Vegetarian Times" several years ago. Perfect for the weather we've been having lately!

1 small onion, diced
1/3 - 1/2 c. chopped celery
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. dry red wine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes with juice
1 T. dried parsley (or 1/3 c. chopped fresh parsley)
1 T. dried basil
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. salt
8 cups vegetable broth, water, or any combination of the two
1 medium potato, peeled and diced
3/4 c. dried pasta (macaroni, penne, or something like that)
1 15-oz. can pinto beans (or the bean of your choice), rinsed and drained
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a large soup pot, sauté onion, celery, and carrot in olive oil and wine over medium-high heat until onion is transparent. Add garlic, sauté another minute. Add tomatoes, herbs, salt, and water or broth, and bring to a boil. Add beans, pasta, and potatoes, and cook at a low boil until vegetables are soft, potatoes are fork-tender, and pasta is cooked. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Vegan Chili

This is a recipe from The NEW Farm Vegetarian Cookbook that I modified. It is my standard vegetarian chili recipe now. I had a dedicated meat-eater tell me this is the best chili she had tasted in her life...So there you go!

Ingredients:
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T. expeller pressed canola oil
1 c. TVP (Texturized Vegetable Protein)
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. plus 2 T. chili powder, divided
2 t. salt, divided
7/8 c. boiling water

2 cans of beans, rinsed and drained (e.g. 1 can of pintos and 1 can of red kidney beans)

3 1/2 c. tomatoes and tomato sauce and even water (You pick the combination, depending on how thick you like the chili. I use 1 can of tomato sauce, 1 can of petite-diced tomatoes, and a little water to wash the tomato residue out of the cans.)

1 t. cumin
pinch black or red pepper

Method:
1. In a stockpot, sauté onion and garlic in oil until soft.
2. Soak TVP, garlic powder, 1/2 t. chili powder, and 1 t. salt in boiling water for 10 minutes, then add to the stockpot.
3. Add beans to the pot.
4. Add the tomato mix, 2 T. chili powder, cumin, 1 t. salt, and black or red pepper to the stockpot. Begin to simmer.
5. Simmer for 5 - 10 minutes before serving, to allow the flavors to "marry."

Serves 4.