Dinner

Recently we stopped by Living Kitchen , a very nice vegan and (subject to ingredient availability) organic restaurant, and had a tasty thick cauliflower soup. I picked up a head of cauliflower today and decided to try making a similar soup. I had made a c auliflower soup back in February 2011  that was good but I wanted to better it. I found a roasted cauliflower soup recipe from a very nice site by a woman named Jessica  and it looked great. The key ideas were to roast cauliflower, coated in a little olive oil and along with garlic cloves, at  450°F for 15m, then blend with sauteed onion. I made a few changes; I used the convection ("air bake") function on my air fryer toaster oven  which cooks faster and went with 400°F for 15m, instead of using oil, I mixed in Coconut Secret brand c oconut aminos garlic sauce (soy sauce or their normal coconut aminos would have been fine), and I used oregano instead of thyme.  I didn't have any bouillon cubes on hand or bro...

I'm so excited that friends of mine just had a baby and I'm first in the meal train to bring food over! It's always a privilege to be able to be connected in any way with a new baby and I'm thankful that I get to take food over. I like to include fenugreek when I cook for new Moms to help stimulate lactation; I don't like the flavor of fenugreek but when I cook with it, I always make sure that the fenugreek is enveloped with many other strong flavors so it doesn't show through. Here is what I did. Ingredients 3 cups red split lentils 2 cups kale (I used frozen, but fresh is fine) 1 cup spinach 2 cups cauliflower florets 1 1/2 cups broccoli florets 2 cups carrot (2 medium carrots) cut into 3/8" chunks and then halved 1T finely (1/8") chopped ginger 2 medium cloves garlic, finely (1/8") chopped (about 1 1/2 T) Vegan bouillon cube 1t turmeric 1t garlic powder 1t cumin seed 1T fenugreek seed 6 cups water 2 cups chopped bell pepper (approx. 1/4" x...

We have a new store that opened near our house last week called Sprouts ; we visited and found it doesn't have the variety and quality of coops or Whole Foods Market , but it's nice that it's nearby so we may occasionally visit. They had a few products we've not seen elsewhere, such as  Lightlife brand vegan "sausage" ravioli  that I picked up and decided to make today. It's not particularly healthy as it has 16g of fat and a long list of ingredients, but I thought we'd try it. (It turns out it had soy which my wife is a bit intolerant of, so I prepared some pasta instead for her but used the same sauce, side dish, and salad for her.) I made a homemade sauce by sauteeing chunks of just-ripe but firm tomato, bell pepper, garlic, and onion, and mixing in oregano, salt, and black pepper when off the heat. I don't often make tomato sauces - this one was good! I put, in this order, onion, garlic, frozen cauliflower, and frozen baby lima beans into a la...

I had a half head of cauliflower that I wanted to use and found that my wife had cooked some black-eyed peas. I also had a turnip that needed to be used. I decided to make a waterless main course, and serve sauteed plantain slices on the side, along with a lovely purple carrot and icicle radish slices. Here is what I did. Ingredients 1/4 cup onion cut into 3/8" cubes 1 clove garlic, finely (< 1/8") minced Medium turnip, peeled and cut into 1/4" cubes About 2 cups of cauliflower florets (about half a head) 1/4 of a medium Meyer lemon juiced and remainder chopped into 3/8" cubes (only if organic; if a non-Meyer lemon or lime is used, use just the colored outside zest) 1/4 t salt 1/4 t freshly ground black pepper 1/8 t turmeric 1/8 t dried oregano Process I put, in this order, the onion, garlic, turnip, cauliflower, and black-eyed peas into a large Saladmaster stock pan. I cooked waterlessly - i.e., I covered the pan and heated it on medium high until the vapor rel...

I had a little potato leek soup leftover and had purchased a head of cauliflower today. I thought I'd make a soup with cauliflower and seitan (I had some chorizo seitan from Upton's that I also bought today). I steamed about half the cauliflower, cut into florets, for about 3 minutes, covered, then removed the water, put about a cup of the soup base in, as well as 1/4 of the seitan package (about 2 ounces), 3/4 of a bell pepper cut into strips, a tablespoon of nutritional yeast, a pinch of salt, 1/4 t freshly ground black pepper, and 1/2 t garlic powder. I simmered, uncovered, for 7-10 minutes, then served, along with cucumber slices and crackers. Simple, fast, and nutritious! Results Dinner was good. I like thick soups, but this also would have been good with more of the soup base. nding Ideas for the future Chunks of potatoes would have been good, as well as chives. I was in a bit of a rush to put dinner together, so something more "interesting" than crackers, su...

The weather became cold tonight and I felt like a warm soup. I thought I'd make a main course of a curried cauliflower dish along with a dhal. Frankly, I prefer a chunkier not even quite stew to dhal often, but though I've tried cooking dishes like lentils at the low end of the water and high end of the time required, I generally get a product more liquidy than I expect (I do like dhal and soup, but often try for something thicker, which I also like!). Tonight, I ended up with a nice consistency of my lentil dish which was actually just a tad bit dryer than it could have been. Here is what I did. Ingredients 1 1/2 cups brown lentils 1 1/2 times as much water (i.e., 2 1/4 cups) 1 cup carrot cut into 3/8" slices (I used 3 small carrots; if they weren't thin, I'd have halved them, as well) 2 cloves garlic, finely (1/8") minced About 2T organic Meyer lemon, including all (flesh and rind), cut into 3/8" cubes (if no organic Meyer lemon or no Meyer lemon at all...

I have never riced cauliflower  and should try it sometime to use in making a delicate dish. However, I found frozen riced cauliflower at Whole Foods Market - what could be easier?! I decided to make a simple cauliflower rice dish. Ingredients 1 cup brown rice (uncooked) 2 cups water Vegan bouillon cube 1/4 t salt 3 cups riced cauliflower 8 ounces tempeh cut into cubes approx. 3/8" in size 1t ginger, finely (1/8") diced 1/4 cup onion cut into approx. 3/8" cubes Process I prepared brown rice the normal way by simmering, covered, for 50m the rice and twice as much water, along with the bouillon cube and water. I quickly opened the rice pot when it was done, mixed in the cauliflower, and covered and let stand another 10 minutes till the cauliflower was defrosted and slightly cooked. While the rice was cooking, I prepared the tempeh. I heated on medium high a cast iron pan with a very little bit of oil (maybe 1/4 t), then rubbed the oil off, leaving a light glaze. I added th...

We're in the midst of our favorite event of the year, the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival , the country's largest such festival, and just a few miles from our house. My wife and I usually spend all day (maybe 10a-10p or beyond) and we bring our daughter to a number of films that she may appreciate and enjoy. I review films for a South Asian regional magazine,  Saathee - my online review for the week is available. My daughter and I had about 3 hours off this afternoon, so came home for a bit, and I made one of her favorite dishes, macaroni and "cheese", for the two of us, using  Daiya brand macaroni and "cheese" (with vegetables) . I also prepared a large serving of steamed cauliflower and kale (she got raw kale, which she prefers) by pressure steaming in the Instant Pot for 3 minutes and serving with a bit of salt.

I had soaked three kinds of beans to make a main course, but I hadn't decided what the dish would be. At the coop today, they had organic cauliflower on clearance. I like how cauliflower cooks down quickly under pressure and can form a thick gravy-like matrix for other ingredients. Though only a few minutes would be needed, I thought I'd cook the cauliflower along with the beans for 25 minutes. Here is what I did. Ingredients 1/3 cup each: Anasazi, and Flageolet beans, rinsed and soaked overnight (or rinsed and then soaked in boiling water for 3-5 hours), then rinsed again Enough water to just cover beans Florets from small or medium head of cauliflower (large florets quartered) 1/4 t ground cumin 1/2 t garam masala 1/4 t turmeric 2 white mushrooms cut into 1/4" thick slices, each slice then halved Approx. 1/2 cup onion diced to approx. 3/8" cubes 5-6 leaves kale, roughly hand torn into approx. 1/2" squares, stems excepted 1t finely (1/8") diced ginger 2t l...

I found red chard on sale at our coop today; we've not had chard in a while, and I had a head of cauliflower in the refrigerator, so I thought of cooking a chard and cauliflower dish. Preparing it waterlessly (using a quality Saladmaster  pan and cooking, covered, on low) sounded good. Here is what I did. Ingredients 2/3 cup onion cut into approx. 1/4" x 3/4" pieces 2 cloves garlic, finely (1/8") diced 5 cups (maybe 2/3 or a bit more of a medium head) cauliflower florets approximately 3 cups (packed) greens (I used red chard, but other kinds of chard, kale, or, if you like a bit more "bit", mustard greens could be used instead); I used 5 chard leaves, cut the stems into 1/2" lengths to make up about 3/4 cup, then hand stripped the leaves to approximately 1" pieces (about 2 1/2 cups) 1/4 t (or to taste) salt 1/4 t turmeric (optional) 1/4 t garlic powder (optional) 1/4 t black sesame seed Process I put into a large Saladmaster stock pan, in this o...