Barley, Kale and Kidney Bean Stew

Posted: February 22, 2012 | Author: onewomaninaricefield | Filed under: Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

I love the way barley tastes in soups. Barley is, in my opinion, a vegetarian’s best friend. It is filling and tasty and chewy enough to occupy your jaws. I prefer barley’s texture in a soup more than any other grain out there. I would say that I like barley’s chewiness more than meat’s, but I think a lot of people might disagree with me on that. That’s fine, I’m going to go on loving it in my way. And can you believe that this soup is the very first time I have tasted kale?! I know! The local Farmer’s Market has rad deals on huge bags of kale and arugula, so we’ve been getting a lot of it lately. First the arugula, which I love in frittatas, and now kale. This soup was amazing. Jake and I love chunky, chewy soups and this one fit the bill perfectly. This recipe is from a really great cookbook called “Vegetarian Planet” that is slowly becoming one of my favorites. I like to buy cookbooks that have pictures because that gives me an idea of what I’m shooting for. This one doesn’t have pictures, but I’ve never had a bad recipe from it so far. This was my third time cooking with barley. Every time I eat it I keep reminding myself that I need to cook with it more often. The first time I tried it was with this Potato Spinach Bake. Then I made a Beefy Bacon Vegetable Soup for Jake using barley, but since that had meat in it I obviously didn’t eat it except to taste-test during cooking. The really good soups using barley that I remember from my childhood were always beef stock and beef chunks, so although I figured it would work well with veggie stock I was still nervous. This was a dream come true, for my love of barley and for my beginning obsession with kale. I think kale chips are next on the agenda.

Barley, Kale and Kidney Bean Stew
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups sliced onions
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup pearled or hulled barley
1 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon salt (or more, to taste)
10 cups veggie stock
1 large russet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cups 1/2-inch thick carrot rounds
1 small bunch kale
1 1/2 cups canned kidney beans
2 tablespoons lemon juice
black pepper, to taste
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1. In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add the onions and garlic and cook 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the barley, sage, salt and 7 cups of the veggie stock.
4. Cover and bring to a boil. Then turn the heat to low.
5. Let the stew simmer 25 minutes.
6. Add the potato, carrots, and 2 more cups of veggie stock.
7. Cover the pot again and let the stew simmer 10 minutes more.
8. While the soup is simmering, cut the stem and inner stalk from the kale, or tear the leafy part away with your hands. It should make about 6 cups.
9. Add the kale to the soup along with a cup of water or stock.
10. Simmer 10 minutes more, adding more stock if the stew seems too dry.
11. Add the kidney beans, stir well, then add the lemon juice.
12. Taste the stew and adjust the salt and pepper seasonings according to your taste preference.
13. Ladle the stew into bowls and top with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and Parmesan cheese.

---

Apple-Chipotle Salsa

Posted: February 21, 2012 | Author: onewomaninaricefield | Filed under: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

First thing’s first, this recipe is amazing. Not only is it so tasty that it totally ruined my calorie counting diet for the day, but also it made a TON of salsa. This is the perfect recipe for a party with lots of hungry mouths to feed. I found this recipe in my ever-increasing-in-value-to-me “Vegetarian Planet” cookbook. Jake and I tried this on tortilla chips and on crackers and we have come to the conclusion that it’s best on a nice wheat cracker or a roasted garlic Triscuit. I was actually going to post a soup recipe tonight but this was so good that I couldn’t possibly wait a night and deprive everyone of this. Make sure you get the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce rather than substituting, as I think that made a big difference in the taste and texture of the salsa.

Apple-Chipotle Salsa
3 Fuji apples, cored and chopped
1 cup minced red onion
2 green bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch squares
2 chipotle peppers, canned in adobo sauce, chopped fine
1 small garlic clove minced
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper, to taste

1. Combine the apples with the onions and bell peppers in a large bowl.
2. In a small bowl, combine the chipotles, garlic, lime juice, cider vinegar, olive oil and cilantro and stir.
3. Add this to the fruit mixture.
4. Stir well and add the salt and pepper.
5. Serve immediately or keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

---

Zucchini Delight

Posted: February 20, 2012 | Author: onewomaninaricefield | Filed under: Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

This recipe, from the fabulous Sarah Kramer and Tanya Barnard’s cookbook “How It All Vegan!” is absolutely fantastic! It has just the right amount of cheese (I used real cheese because I’m not quite vegan yet) to satisfy that fat-craving part of your tongue but not so much that it makes the dish unhealthy. Next time I’m going to layer this instead of mixing it all together and add olives to the recipe, or maybe top it with some feta instead of mozzarella. Yum yum. The recipe had me mixing the rice, uncooked, into the casserole. I disapprove. Though it’s good in theory (the rice SHOULD cook as the casserole cooks) it was not in practice. The rice within the mixture cooked. The rice on top or too close to the top just got crunchy and never really cooked all the way through. Next time I’ll put the rice and lentils, mixed together, as a base layer and add the veggie mixture on top of that. This recipe made a HUGE long pan of this stuff. I used one of those 9-inch long glass baking dishes and it filled it to the brim. This is fantastic for a busy week like this one (midterms). It took us 3 days to finish it…chowing down on this nom-able dish for lunch AND dinner each night. So worth it. Plus, who doesn’t like zucchini? Maybe aliens.

Zucchini Delight
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated
1 28oz. can diced tomatoes
5 cups zucchini, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cooked lentils
1/2 cup jasmine rice

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Combine 1/2 cup of the cheese, tomatoes, zucchini, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, salt, lentils and rice in a large casserole dish.
3. Mix well.
4. Top with the rest of the cheese.
5. Bake uncovered 30-40 minutes or till the rice is done.

---

Vegetable Crumble

Posted: February 19, 2012 | Author: onewomaninaricefield | Filed under: Uncategorized | 9 Comments »

This lasted one day in our house. 24 hours. Not a minute more. It was so delicious that between Jake and I it was gone in a flash. I got this recipe from my “1000 Vegetarian Recipes from Around the World” cookbook. I actually altered the recipe to the one you see below to make it vegan! And it was still yummy! Also, almonds are expensive so we used walnuts for the topping instead and it came out just fine. The great thing about this recipe is it is a good base recipe. You can take this and sub in other veggies (like broccoli, cauliflower’s healthier looking sister, for instance) or add more than one type of veggie (if you’re strapped for time this would be a good moment to pull out a bag of frozen California mix veggies). No matter what you do this will still taste good. And we all need recipes like that in our lives. In fact, I think pretty much everyone has a recipe similar to this one somewhere in their mental box. I know my mother has one that I grew up eating quite often (it’s tasty and easy too). Do you have your own version of this recipe? What do you do differently?

Vegetable Crumble
1 cauliflower, cut into florets
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups plain soy milk
1 1/2 cups canned corn kernels, drained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
5 slices Veggie Galaxy cheddar “cheese”
salt and ground black pepper

for the crumble topping:
scant 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
2 tablespoons Earth Balance butter
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup blanched walnuts, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Cook the cauliflower in a large pan of lightly salted boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain well. Reserve the cooking water.
2. Heat the oil in a pan and stir in the flour. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and gradually stir in the milk and 2/3 cup of the reserved cooking water. Return the pan to the heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook for about 3 minutes until thickened. Remove the pan from the heat.
3. Stir in the corn, parsley, thyme ad half the Cheddar into the sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Fold in the cauliflower, then spoon the mixture into an ovenproof dish.
5. To make the topping, place the flour in a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingertips till the mixture resembles bread crumbs.
6. Stir in the oats, almonds, and remaining Cheddar.
7. Sprinkle evenly over the veggies.
8. Bake for 30 minutes or till top is golden brown. Serve hot.

---

Stuffed Tomato Parcels over Tilapia

Posted: February 17, 2012 | Author: onewomaninaricefield | Filed under: Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

This recipe from “1000 Vegetarian Recipes from Around the World” started off as a recipe simply for the tomato parcels. Then Jake thought maybe we needed to eat something a little more substantial for our meal. I suggested rice. He suggested fish. He won. I’m actually really glad we tried the fish, because the flavors leeching from the tomatoes (which we placed on top) infused the fish with some tastes we probably wouldn’t have come up with on our own. This would probably be even better with chicken, but I draw the line after seafood, so no chicken this time. For my own defense, it would’ve also been delightful with a pot of brown rice (maybe with some chopped walnuts and parsley mixed into it too…yum). You can try it this way over fish, or chicken breasts, or just make the tomato parcels and some rice.

Stuffed Tomato Parcels
4 tilapia fillets, thawed (if frozen)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons walnuts
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 pound spinach, thick stalks removed and leaves shredded
4 beefsteak tomatoes
1 1/2 cups diced mozzarella cheese
pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Heat the oil in a heavy pan. Add the walnuts to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, till toasted brown.
2. Add the onion and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, till soft but not brown.
3. Add the garlic and spinach, cover and cook for a further 2-3 minutes till the spinach is wilted.
4. Remove from the heat and let it cool.
5. Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
6. Preheat oven to 400F.
7. In a square baking dish, layer the tilapia fillets.
8. Cut off and reserve a thin slice from the top of each tomato and scoop out the flesh. Do not pierce through the tomato.
9. Chop the flesh and stir it into the spinach mixture along with the cheese.
10. Fill each of the tomato shells with some of the spinach and cheese mixture and replace the tops.
11. Position the tomatoes on top of the tilapia fillets.
12. Spoon extra spinach mixture into the baking dish to fill any gaps.
13. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or till fish is cooked through.

---

Greek Beans and Giveaway Winner!

Posted: February 15, 2012 | Author: onewomaninaricefield | Filed under: Uncategorized | 7 Comments »

This recipe for Greek Beans from “1000 Vegetarian Recipes from Around the World” was really tasty and easy. I love recipes that involve throwing a bunch of things in a pot and then sitting around and drinking a beer or a coffee and waiting for them to finish cooking. Next time, I think I’ll try letting these beans sit and heat up on the grill alongside whatever else we’re cooking, to see if it will give them a nice smokey flavor. I have a nice cheap metal pan to put them in, so if it would happen to get ruined I wouldn’t need to cry about it. This has also made me think about other ways I can create nice bean mixtures. Next time I’ll try a couple of different kinds of beans, and instead of vegetable broth I’ll add a nice cup of stout or porter. I also think this would benefit from a little bit of brown sugar. Of course, then they might not be Greek beans anymore. Yum!

Greek Beans
2 cups navy beans (canned and drained or cooked and drained)
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 3/4 cups vegetable bouillon
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs oregano
1 tablespoon tomato paste
juice of 1 lemon
1 small red onion, chopped
1/4 cup pitted black olives, halved
salt and pepper

1. Put the navy beans in a flameproof casserole dish or a thick bottomed pot.
2. Add the olive oil and crushed garlic. Cook over gentle heat, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes.
3. Stir in the vegetable bouillon, bay leaf, oregano, tomato paste, lemon juice and red onion.
4. Cover the casserole dish and simmer for about 1 hour or till sauce has thickened.
5. Stir in the black olives, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or cold.

And now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for…the winner of the giveaway is (drumroll please)…my fabulous bloggin’ buddy over at The Onyx Plate! Check out her own mouthwatering blog and then visit the grocery store (because you’ll definitely want to eat after reading!). Thanks for everyone for entering and subscribing to my blog for a while! I hope you stick around and enjoy. Who knows what giveaway I’ll do next…it might be hard to top this one.

---

Arizona Giveaway!

Posted: February 7, 2012 | Author: onewomaninaricefield | Filed under: Uncategorized | 17 Comments »

Long long ago, I promised that I would do a giveaway when I reached 100 “likes” on my Facebook page. I hit that milestone a few weeks ago and have been plotting my giveaway ever since. Now it is time. I present to you…my Arizona Giveaway!

There is a reason behind this themed giveaway. I’m originally a born and bred Midwestern gal from Ohio. I went to live in China for a while and finally came back to the USA for graduate school. I went to undergrad in Ohio and wanted to try an area of the US that was totally different from where I grew up. So I went to grad school in Flagstaff, Arizona. I ended up liking the Southwest so much that I decided I wanted to stick around for another year or so. I started my 2nd Masters down in Tucson, Arizona and that’s where I am right now. In going from Ohio to China to Arizona I learned to appreciate different foods and that’s one of the reasons this blog was born. So this giveaway celebrates the love I have for the tastes of Arizona.

I purchased these lovely items from the Seasoned Kitchen in Flagstaff, Arizona where they carry quite a few impressive products from around the state of Arizona, plus a bunch of BEAUTIFUL kitchen products I can’t afford on a GA’s salary. The coffee is from one of our favorite coffee shops in Tucson, Raging Sage Coffee Roasters, which is a four minute bike ride down the street from our house. Great, right? There’s also a kitschy secret Arizona prize I’ll send along that is not pictured here.

TO ENTER:
I would like to have just as many folks following my blog via their email as I do on my Facebook page. So all you have to do to enter this giveaway is to sign up to recieve an email subscription of my blog. You don’t have to keep the subscription after the giveaway is over unless you want to. I just want to be invited into your inbox life for a while to see if there’s room for me there. If you are already subscribed to my blog, then you can enter the giveaway by posting a comment on this blog entry telling me one thing you’d like to see me attempt to cook this year.

I’m going to pick a winner on Valentines Day evening and will post the winner the next day. So please enter by February 14th, 2012 to be considered.

The Winner will Recieve:
3 Southwestern cookie cutters: cactus, buffalo and chili pepper
RisingHy hot sauce in Habanero Hot
High Desert Farms Prickly Pear Cactus Butter
High Desert Farms Jalapeno Green Jelly
Raging Sage Coffee in Raging Sage Blend
(plus the secret kitschy prize!)

---

Glazed Baby Onions

Posted: February 6, 2012 | Author: onewomaninaricefield | Filed under: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Until I made this recipe, I had never tasted baby onions. I got this recipe from “1000 Vegetarian Recipes from Around the World.” I had the good luck and foresight to get some frozen baby onions from Trader Joe’s when we were there buying olive oil on Sunday. They came frozen and already peeled, which made the recipe a lot easier. If you want to do this from scratch you’ll need to cover the baby onions in boiling water for about 2 minutes and slip off the skins. Jake and I ate this with a side of brown rice and some sausage (mine vegan sausage and his a nice German sausage from Sunflower Markets). The flavors of these three things really complemented each other well, I think. This recipe is permanently in my regular rotation from now on. I never knew baby onions (also called pearl onions) could be so delicious! Glazing these little gems is definitely a great idea and brings out the best of their flavor and smells. You’ve just GOT to give this one a try yourself this week. After all, this was pretty easy and I know after slaving away in the kitchen over all that Super Bowl food that you need a bit of a break.

Glazed Baby Onions
1 pound baby onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 1/4 cups vegetable bouillon
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
about 1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
fresh thyme sprigs, to garnish

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Add the onions and cook, stirring constantly, for about 8 minutes until golden all over.
3. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
4. Add the bouillon, thyme leaves, sugar and wine vinegar, stirring till the sugar dissolves.
5. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes or till the onions are tender when you pierce them with the tip of a sharp knife and the cooking liquid is reduced to a syrupy glaze.
6. Stir in the balsamic vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
7. Transfer to a serving dish and serve either hot or cold, garnished with fresh thyme leaves.

---

Spicy Bean Curd Triangles

Posted: February 5, 2012 | Author: onewomaninaricefield | Filed under: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Did you know that “bean curd” is just another way to say “tofu”? A lot of people in the USA have problems with tofu. I don’t really blame them. It doesn’t look too appetizing in the first place and if you’ve never had it prepared properly then you may never know how good it really is. I love tofu. I didn’t much care for it until I moved to China and learned that rather than being a meat SUBSTITUTE, in Asia tofu is a regular part of many dishes, starring alongside meat or sometimes the focal point of the dish, using meat as a flavoring tool. People in China and all over Asia have all sorts of tricks to make tofu display its true star power. If only I had time to taste and learn everything they know! Like a Bean Curd Buddha. This recipe from my “1000 Vegetarian Recipes from Around the World” cookbook intrigued me because it used few ingredients and promised a pleasing and fragrant dish. It did not disappoint. I think tofu skeptics might even approve of this one, but make sure they’re cool with Chinese five-spice powder too…it’s rather a lot to take the first time if you’re not used to it. This is a great greasy meal for vegetarians (hey, sometimes we like to eat naughty food too!) and I’ve a mind to throw these on the grill next time we use it to see how nice they’d grill up (extra firm tofu grills really well). Anyway, I had two pictures of this dish. One looking directly down on the dish and one from the side that gave a little bit more of a close-up on the tofu. I couldn’t choose so you get to enjoy two photos this week…and they’re not as terrible as some of my others have been! Slowly I’m getting the hang of this picture thing, though I really think I need a pretty new camera.

Spicy Bean Curd Triangles
1 tablespoon sea salt
4 1/2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ginger root
1 pound firm bean curd, well drained
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
2 leeks, shredded and halved
shredded leek, to garnish

1. Mix together the salt, Chinese five-spice powder, sugar, garlic powder and ginger powder in a bowl and transfer to a plate.
2. Cut the bean curd cake in half diagonally to form triangles. Cut each triangle in half and then in half again until you’ve formed 16 triangles.
3. Roll the bean curd triangles in the spice mixture, turning to coat thoroughly. Let it stand for an hour.
4. Heat the vegetable oil for deep frying in a wok until it is almost smoking.
5. Reduce the heat slightly and add the bean curd triangles to the wok. Cook for 5 minutes, till golden brown.
6. Remove the bean curd from the wok with a slotted spoon, set aside and keep warm till needed.
7. Add the leeks to the wok and cook for 1 minute.
8. Remove from the wok and drain on paper towels.
9. Arrange the leeks on a warm serving plate, place the bean curd on top and garnish with the fresh shredded leek. Serve immediately.

---

Green Easter Pie

Posted: February 2, 2012 | Author: onewomaninaricefield | Filed under: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Good or bad news everyone! According to that groundhog, Phil, we’re going to have six more weeks of winter. If you feel a suddenly sad, then lighten up a bit. You may have to wait a bit longer to pull out your summer shorts, but that DOES mean that you get six more weeks of soups and stews and hot dishes on cold evenings. Even though it doesn’t get that chilly here in Tucson, I could use some of the bite taken out of the air. That’s why I just up and ran to the kitchen when I saw this recipe in my “1000 Vegetarian Recipes from Around the World” cookbook. The picture doesn’t look too great but this certainly was a yummy meal. This was delicious and filling; a great comfort food for a winter’s day. I have always loved the way things like rice and pasta cook up in a casserole or pie. Just like they were always meant to be there.

Green Easter Pie
butter, for greasing
3 oz. arugula leaves, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup risotto rice
3 cups hot veggie bouillon
1/2 cup dry white wine
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 tomatoes, diced
4 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup bread crumbs

1. Lightly grease a 9 inch/23 cm deep cake pan and line the base.
2. Heat the oil in a skillet and cook the onion and garlic over low heat for 4-5 minutes or till soft.
3. Add the rice to the skillet. Mix well to combine, then begin adding the bouillon a ladle at a time. Wait till each ladleful of bouillon has been absorbed before adding the next.
4. Preheat the oven to 350F.
5. Continue to cook the mixture, adding the wine, until the rice is tender. This will take around 15 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat.
6. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, peas, arugula leaves, tomatoes, eggs and 2 tablespoons of the marjoram.
7. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Spoon the risotto into the prepared pan and level the surface by pressing with a wooden spoon.
9. Top with the bread crumbs and the remaining marjoram.
10. Bake for 30 minutes or till set. Cut into slices and serve.

---