Dinner

Happy Halloween! I had a little pumpkin puree on hand and was very happy with my recent ( October 18th ) experiment cooking with seitan and pumpkin puree. I came up with the idea of cooking seitan with vegetables and pumpkin, then mixing in fresh, raw tomatoes when I served. I made the mistake of mixing the tomatoes in with the couscous which I had thought to make as a side dish - and, in hindsight, I think my "mistake" was fortuitous as it nicely elevated the taste and presentation of the couscous. Here's what I did. Ingredients 1/2 cup whole wheat couscous 3/4 cup water (I accidentally used 1 cup) 1 cup frozen Brussel sprouts Vegan bouillon cube 2/3 cup tomato cut into 1/2" cubes (much of a small-medium tomato) 2T minced basil leaves 3/4 cup onion cut into thin half moons app. 1/4" x 1 1/2" 8 ounces of seitan (I used strips, but any convenient size can be used) 1 1/3 cups carrot cut into 3/8" widths (I used two medium carrots) 1 2/3 compressed cups k...

I was trying to decide what to make for dinner tonight when my daughter suggested using a Trader Joe's brand cauliflower pizza crust . We rarely go to Trader Joe's, but did visit last week and I found and bought this crust. I thought that it would be like a soft cauliflower "shell" but it turned out to be a thin disc. In  Food for Life classes, I love teaching a citrus fennel salad and today came up with the idea of making a chickpea salad with citrus. I combined chickpeas with tangerine pieces, salt, miso, fresh basil, roasted bell pepper, and freshly ground black pepper. I also served leftover Mexican kale salad from my Food for Life class this past Sunday. Results The crust was a bit crumbly and broke into a few pieces when I turned it over in the oven. Though my family enjoyed it (and I did to some extent), I thought that the crust was not nearly as good as regular wheat crusts or even other gluten-free crusts I've had. Ideas for the future The chickpea sal...

I wanted to continue experimenting with pumpkin puree to add a holiday taste to main courses, like I did with my seitan dish  last Wednesday . I thought that I'd try a dhal. Ingredients 1 cup red split lentils 4 T pumpkin puree 1 cup eggplant cut into small 1/4" cubes (I used 6 small graffiti eggplants) 1 clove elephant garlic cut into small cubes app. 1/8"-1/4" (or regular garlic cut into 1/8" or smaller dice) 1/4 t turmeric 2 1/4 cups water (red split lentils cook in a ratio of one to between two and two and a half of lentils:water pressure cooked for 13-18m; I picked 16m) 1/4 cup onion cut into approx. 3/8" cubes 2T lemon or lime juice (we were out, alas, but tangerines have just started becoming available - yay! - so I used fresh squeezed tangerine juice, instead (optional) 1T vegan yogurt per serving  Process I put the lentils, pumpkin, eggplant, garlic, turmeric, and water into my  Instant Pot  pressure cooker and cooked for 16m. After the cooking was...

My friend Fran Costigan  is in town for a cooking demonstration tomorrow and I was lucky to meet her today for lunch. I wish that I could attend her demonstration tomorrow but hope that we can have her back for an event in the future. For dinner tonight, I decided to make a waterless dish. Here is what I did. Ingredients 1/8 cup leek, carefully cleaned, and then cut into 1/2" squares (alternate: 1/8 cup onion cut into 3/8" cubes) Medium sweet potato cut into 3/8" cubes 3/4 cup frozen shelled edamame 1/2 cup (compressed) kale, roughly hand torn into approx. 1" squares (stems composted) 2t lime or lemon juice 1/4 t turmeric 1/4 t salt Process I put, in this order, the leek, sweet potato, edamame, and kale 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 20 minutes. When I was ready to...

I was thinking of, with respect to the upcoming Halloween season, making a pumpkin dish. I didn't have much time to put dinner together and had hoped to find cubed pumpkin, but I didn't. Instead, I bought organic pumpkin puree. Here is what I did. Ingredients 1 clove elephant garlic chopped to about 1/8"-1/4" pieces (or a clove of regular garlic finely diced to about 1/8") 8 ounces of seitan (strips or cubes, as preferred) 1/2 medium green tomato cut into 3/8" cubes (maybe 3/4 cup) App. 1/2 cup roasted bell pepper cut into approx. 1" x 3/8" strips (maybe 2/3 of a medium pepper) 8 ounces pumpkin puree 1/8 t turmeric 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper 1/4 t garlic powder 1/4 t salt Process I put, in this order, the garlic,  seitan, tomato, bell pepper, and pumpkin 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...

My daughter and I were out and came home with my wife and daughter hungry, so I got to work cooking right away. We picked up thin sweet potatoes from the farmers' market this weekend, which I was anxious to cook. I also got from the market a cross between kale and Brussels sprouts called kale sprouts ; I described in March 2015 finding these in the market place as kalettes™   and really enjoyed them (today my family popped the raw ones in our mouths and loved them, stems and all). I've not found them more recently until I saw them this weekend. I thought that I'd use kale sprouts for the main course. I wanted some sort of bean or maybe seitan to go with it and didn't have any beans soaking. Luckily, for times like this, I have a few cans of chickpeas on hand. In order to bulk up the meal, I thought I'd use a tube of prepared polenta that I had on hand. My wife recently returned from a trip to Bulgaria and found ample vegan options and great food choices. She brough...

Yesterday we bought of yummy items from the Carrboro, NC Farmers' Market, including fresh bell peppers. They have a wonderful deal that if you buy at least two pounds of any kind of peppers, they will fire roast the peppers right there for you, which is what we did. These roasted peppers are so good, and as they cooled in the plastic bags that they put them in, some liquid accumulated, which I ended up using in today's meal. I also got great oyster mushrooms, baby ginger, a new variety (to me) of heirloom apple, baby bok choy, watermelon radish, Sugar Baby watermelon, elephant and regular garlic, white kale, and more. I used a lot of the ingredients in today's meal. Ingredients 1 clove elephant garlic, chopped into pieces slightly smaller than 1/4" (alternate: 2 cloves regular garlic finely chopped to about 1/8") 2-3 handfuls of oyster mushrooms, tough ends removed, then hand torn into maybe 1" lengths (alternate: other mushrooms can work, such as shiitake or...

I wanted to make a chickpea dish so soaked some chickpeas. I loved the waterless sweet potato I had recently made and hoped I'd cook sweet potato this way again soon. Here is what I did. Ingredients 1 1/2 cups chickpeas, rinsed, soaked overnight (or, in my case, for about 5 hours in initially boiling water) and rinsed again Just enough water to cover chickpeas Vegan bouillon cube 2 cloves garlic, fnely (approx. 1/8") diced 2 stalks green onion, cut into approx. 1/2" lengths 2 medium sweet potatoes cut into approx. 3/8" cubes (I used a Japanese sweet potato and a locally grown orange one) Half dozen shiitake mushrooms, cut into approx. 3/8" widths 1/4 cup onion cut into 3/8" cubes 1t fresh lemon or lime juice 1/4 t turmeric 1/2 t ground cumin 1/2 t salt Process I put the chickpeas, water, bouillon cube, and garlic into my  Instant Pot  pressure cooker and cooked for 20m (unsoaked take 35-40 and soaked take 10-15 minutes, but I wanted them nice and soft). Wh...

I prepared red pinto beans in the pressure cooker (soaked and then rinsed and cooked for 23 minutes with just enough water to cover the beans). Once done, I mixed in most of a 14.5 can of roasted diced tomatoes, a clove of elephant garlic diced to between 1/8-1/4" cubes, a little ginger similarly diced, a bit of salt, freshly ground black pepper, and dried oregano, and simmered on low for about 7-10 minutes. Results Dinner was very good! My wife particularly loved it. I included green radish ; it was good though a bit strong. Ideas for the future This dish reminded me a bit of Indian rajma. I should make rajma and should experiment with more red bean dishes. I'm not sure why I don't use red beans more often.

A few days ago when shopping, my daughter suggested picking up some whole wheat pearled couscous. I had a portabello mushroom left over from yesterday's Food for Life class (Kickstart Your Health class 2, where I served oatmeal with apple, a chickpea - quinoa salad, and portabello fajitas). Here is the meal that I put together tonight. Ingredients 1 clove garlic, finely (1/8") dieced 1/8 cup onion cut into 1/4" cubes Dozen artichoke heart quarters, frozen Medium carrot cut into 1/4" slices then quartered 2/3 cup whole wheat pearled couscous 1 cup water 1 vegan bouillon cube 1/4 t garlic powder 1T nutritional yeast 1t fennel seeds 1/4 cup leek, thoroughly washed (washed, cut into quarters, and carefully washed again) and cut into 3/8" cubes (most of the white portion of a medium leek) Portabello mushroom cut into 1/2" slices and then halved 8 ounces of seitan 1/2 t lemon or lime juice 1/2 t salt (optional) 1t jerk seasoning Process I put the garlic and onio...

I found fermented vegetables from Farmhouse Culture brand on sale at the store today, and purchased "garlic dill pickle" fermented vegetables  (cabbage, water, salt, cucumber, dill, garlic). The corn yesterday was such a hit that I made something similar today using an Anaheim pepper and sale priced leek. Here is what I did. Ingredients 3T leek (or onion) cut into 3/8" squares 1T fennel cut into 1/4" pieces 1/2 cup frozen shelled edamame 1 cup kale (I used chopped frozen; if fresh, roughly hand tear into approximately 1/2" pieces) 1/4 cup marinara sauce 1/4 t salt Process I put, in this order, the leek, fennel, edamame, and kale into a small  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 20 minutes. I added the sauce, mixed, and covered the pan again, letting it cook for another 5-7 minu...

I loved the white bean and artichoke dish from Saturday and thought of serving it as a spread on some nice fresh bread that I had purchased today. I simply reheated the bean dish and served it atop bread, topped with pickle and slice of onion. I purchased a kind of pepper that I've not had before, maybe 6" long and maybe 1 1/2" wide, said to be a bit hotter than a jalapeno. I was thinking of blending the pepper with the bean for the spread, but it turned out that the pepper was quite mild. Instead, I prepared some white corn and mixed in the pepper, after cutting the pepper into approximately 3/8" squares and cooking on a cast iron pan with no oil and over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.