Dinner

I decided to make a thick dhal with red split lentils. These lentils are prepared in a ratio of one part to 2 - 2 1/2 parts water pressure cooked for 13-18 minutes. I wanted it to be thick, so I went with a 1:2 ratio for the full 18 minutes. Here is what I did. Ingredients 1 cup red split lentils 2 cups water 2 cups eggplant cut into 3/8" cubes (maybe 2/3 of a medium eggplant) 2/3 cup fennel root cut into 1/4" cubes 1 1/3 cup carrot (one large carrot) cut into 3/8" lengths 2 cloves garlic, finely (1/8") chopped 18m 2t baby ginger, finely (1/8") diced (or 1t regular ginger) 3/4 t ground cumin 1T lemon or lime juice 1/2 t salt Process I put the lentils, water, eggplant, fennel, carrot, garlic, ginger, and cumin into my  Instant Pot  pressure cooker and cooked for 18 minutes. After the cooking was done, I waited a few minutes and gently released pressure, then mixed in the salt and lemon juice. I served the dhal with brown rice (which I cooked in a 1:2 ratio with ...

My wife is still away, so I could cater to meals that I know my daughter would particularly enjoy. She loves brown rice, black beans, and guacamole, and that's what I made tonight. I didn't get a chance to soak beans overnight, so covered them with maybe 1/4" extra water above the beans and pressure cooked for "0 minutes" - i.e., just let the  Instant Pot  come up to pressure then turn off. I put fresh water in, again to 1/4" above the beans, and pressure cooked for 25m (the beans ended up very soft - fine, but I could have cooked for 20-23m maybe).

While my wife is away, I made a simple macaroni and "cheese" dinner with Daiya brand Alfredo-style "mac and cheese". I also waterlessly cooked garlic, black-eyed peas, and fresh kale into a  Saladmaster stock pan. I covered the pan and heated it on medium high until the vapor release started jiggling, then I reduced the heat to low till the jiggle stopped. I let it cook for about 15 minutes.

My wife is traveling so for a few days I get to use tofu, which my wife can't eat due to problems with digesting it. I cooked on a cast iron pan some tofu, fingerling potatoes, broccoli, mushroom, onion, and garlic. I mixed in some bok choy in the final minutes of cooking and served with coconut aminos (like soy sauce) and dried chives. I also made brown rice pasta.

I found nice purple and yellow waxed beans in the store and thought I'd cook them with seitan. Initially, I was going to cook the beans on a cast iron pan, but then I decided to make a waterless dish. I put, in this order, a chopped shallot, maybe 25-30 beans (half yellow and half purple), and most (6 ounces?) of a package of seitan chunks into a large Saladmaster stock pan. I cooked waterlessly - i.e., I covered the pan and heated it on medium high until the vapor release started jiggling, then I reduced the heat to low till the jiggle stopped. I let it cook for about 15 minutes, then opened the top and mixed in a little salt, garam masala , freshly ground black pepper, and salt. I also made a salad with shredded cabbage, kalamata olives, freshly ground black pepper, salt, a generous amount of lime juice, a little balsamic vinegar, and maybe 15 small freshly picked oregano leaves. I serve with quinoa. Results Dinner was better than I had expected! It seems quite consistent that ...

I was shopping at  Whole Foods Market  today and picked up some belgian endive. I didn't think that my daughter would like it, but was pretty sure that my wife and I would enjoy it grilled. I was tempted in the salad bar area with some thick grilled slices of onion; we've had Vidalia onions on sale, and I thought I'd grill some of them. What I ended up doing is grilling thick slices of onion on a cast iron pan (with no oil); a few minutes into the cooking, I added slices of the endives. I also waterlessly cooked some black-eyed peas, butternut squash, kale, and a bit of garam masala; I mixed in a little lime juice, salt, and pepper, and served my daughter. For my wife and me, I then also mixed in the grilled vegetables. Some quinoa and thick slices of heirloom tomato on multi-grain English muffin completed the meal. Results My wife was in a rush to eat so I served rather quickly and didn't taste and fine tune the seasonings before serving. She enjoyed the meal, as did I...

We have been getting good organic peaches from the store and yesterday I tempted my family with the idea of grilling some peaches, something I've not done in a while. As I prepared to work on dinner, I decided instead to try waterless cooking. Here is what I did. Ingredients 1/4 cup onion cut into approx. 1/4" x 3/4" strips 8 ounces of seitan (I used pre-cut strips but any size cut would be fine) 2 cups mixed frozen mixed vegetables 1T finely (1/8") minced ginger 1 medium peach cut into approx. 3/8" cubes (about a cup) 1/4 t salt 1/2 t garlic powder Process I put into a large Saladmaster stock pan these ingredients, in this order: onion, seitan, vegetables, ginger, and, finally, peach. I cooked waterlessly - i.e., I covered the pan and heated it on medium high until the vapor release started jiggling, then I reduced the heat to low till the jiggle stopped. I let it cook for about 20 minutes. I then mixed in the salt and garlic powder, and served, along with bro...