Vegetarian Crock-pot Irish Colcannon

This may be a good idea, I thought a while ago. And it was. This actually turned out pretty great and I’ll be making it again the next time I have a head of cabbage laying around without a plan for its life. It’s a good time for crock-pot recipes here in Fresno California. The weather is hot and I swear the air conditioning can barely keep up. It’s really nice to have a crock-pot option rather than adding more heat to the house by running the oven. This recipe would go really well with some sausages…vegetarian or otherwise.

Crock-pot Irish Colcannon
6 medium potatoes, chopped
1 small cabbage, chopped
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon Earth Balance butter or margarine
salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup soy milk
4 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup white cheddar cheese

1. Combine everything except the milk, eggs, and cheese into a crock-pot. Set on medium for 6 hours.
2. Turn off the heat on the crock-pot, add in the soy milk, and mash the contents using a potato masher.
3. Pour the eggs on top of mixture in the crock-pot and turn to high for 2 hours till the eggs are set.
4. Very quickly, so as not to lose too much of the captured heat, sprinkle the white cheddar on top and replace the lid.
5. Continue to let it cook on high 2 hours, or till cheese is melted and eggs are cooked through. To make sure the eggs are cooked, merely tilt the crock-pot slightly and see if the mixture on top wiggles.

Lentil Soup with Ribbons of Kale

I was researching fun new ways to use kale one day and came across this recipe from cookbook author Robin Robertson. I got really excited. The recipe sounds simple and delicious, plus I’ve always wondered whether or not I’d like a Robin Robertson cookbook. Your shopping list for this recipe is below, but the link to the recipe on her website is above. I wasn’t disappointed in this. It was a great hearty soup to come home to at the end of a long day.

Lentil Soup with Ribbons of Kale
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 cups dried brown lentils, sorted and rinsed
6 cups vegetable stock or water
1 tablespoon tamari soy sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 or 5 large kale leaves, tough stems removed

 

Lentil Soup with Ribbons of Kale. Robin Robertson.

Barley Salad

Barley Salad

I adapted this from a recipe in the Vegetarian Slow Cooker Cookbook and made it for Christmas dinner. Yes, Christmas. In case you haven’t already guessed, my life has been so incredibly hectic (for various reasons) that I have been sitting on a ton of recipes that need to be posted. I am trying to be better. I really loved this salad. It was garlicky and oniony and wonderful. I love those flavors. Most of the family wasn’t as excited about it as me because there are so many other wonderful, comfort-food-type things at a Christmas dinner, but I was proud to provide a healthy, fresh offering for those who wanted it. I haven’t made this since, but I have a feeling it’s going to appear often this summer when the air is full of heat and a chilled salad with a little bulk would be well-appreciated.

Barley Salad
1 cup uncooked barley
3 cups water or vegetable broth
1 15-oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
6 green onions, chopped
4 celery ribs, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Cook the barley in the water or vegetable broth till tender. Let it cool completely.
2. Mix the barley, kidney beans, tomatoes, green onions, and celery in a large bowl.
3. In a lidded jar, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, paprika, salt, and pepper. Shake well.
4. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix.
5. Let it sit at least 2 hours (the longer it sits the better it is). Serve room temperature or chilled.

Chicken with Lemon Grass or Ga Nuong Xa Ot

Chicken with Lemon Grass or Ga Nuong Xa Ot

It’s been a few years since I made a recipe from my “Street Cafe Vietnam” cookbook. I altered the recipe to use red pepper flakes and make it a bit easier. Don’t be intimidated by this dish. It’s actually incredibly simple and is one of my go-to last minute dishes for Jake when he wants some Vietnamese food but we don’t have a ton of time. To make it even easier, I keep a tube of pulverized lemon grass in my fridge at all times and follow the directions on the tube to sub the stuff in to my recipe. In the end, it’s barely any work at all, and it looks and tastes super impressive. I highly recommend this for your next busy night.

Chicken with Lemon Grass (Ga Nuong Xa Ot)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 stalks lemon grass, finely chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
4 oz. water
2 teaspoons nuoc mam (fish sauce!)
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 onion, chopped
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
pinch of raw sugar
salt and black pepper, to taste

1. In a medium skillet, saute the garlic and half the lemon grass in the oil till they’re soft but not brown.
2. Add the chicken. Stir fry till all sides are white.
3. Add some of the water and stir. Then add the nuoc mam and turmeric, stirring to incorporate.
4. Add the rest of the water, continuing to stir, then add the onion and cook till it begins to soften.
5. Add the rest of the lemon grass, the red pepper flakes, sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir well.
6. Cook 2-5 more minutes and serve hot over rice.

Caldo Verde Soup

A visitor in our driveway.

Happy Autumn everyone! I know it may be a little early for a lot of you, but last week in Alaska we had our first freeze, the leaves are changing color, and the air is crisp and cold for a good portion of the day. Shorts and t-shirts are behind us; jacket season has arrived. I’ve been cooking some recipes from the “Appetite for Reduction” cookbook, trying to decide if I want to purchase it for my very own. My current copy is on loan from the public library. I always seem to forget that libraries have cookbooks too and I can try them out before I purchase them. Since it’s autumn, it’s definitely time for soups (although I think EVERY time is time for soups). The original recipe had some baked tempeh crumbled into the soup, but I didn’t have tempeh at home that day so I used TVP. If you’re not a strict vegetarian you can always use sausage chunks or ground sausage to flavor the soup, in which case I would probably use the sausage grease to sauté the onions and garlic rather than olive oil. Also, if you’re a vegetarian and you have a favorite veggie sausage, this might be a fun moment to add that into your dinner. This was a really mild soup, not really spicy or herby enough for me. However the red pepper flakes did give it a nice bite at the end, so it wasn’t a total loss, and the soup itself was pretty simple to make.

I hope all of you enjoying the last bits of summer in your areas will have an extra sip of mojito for me. In the meantime I’ve supplied a couple extra photos in this blog post of fall at our house for your looking pleasure. The night after we took this photo of having dinner on the lawn, we had our first freeze. I think “Seize the Day” definitely applies.

One of our last chances to have dinner on the lawn before it gets uncomfortably cold. Yes, that IS a caribou burger on Jake’s plate.

Caldo Verde Soup
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds, crushed
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and black pepper, to taste
5 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 bunch chard, stems removed and chopped, leaves shredded
1/2 cup TVP

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, sauté the onions, garlic, and swiss chard stems in the oil till soft.
2. Add the caraway seeds, thyme, red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper. Stir and cook 2 minutes more.
3. Add the potatoes. Stir well and cook a couple minutes.
4. Add the vegetable broth and bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook 20 minutes or till potatoes are soft.
5. Turn off the heat and let it cool 5 minutes. Then use a potato masher to mash up the mixture to your favorite consistency.
6. Add the TVP and the chard leaves and turn the heat on to a simmer again. Simmer till the chard is soft and the TVP has rehydrated itself, around 5 minutes.
7. Adjust seasoning and serve hot.

 

Caldo Verde Soup

Sweet Grain Curry Stew

Sweet Grain Curry Stew

This recipe came about as I was trying to use up a bunch of veggies. I wanted a hearty stew that felt light so I decided to focus on sweet tastes. I was thinking of something along the lines of the Sweetcorn and Lentil Soup that I made a while back. I remember not liking that soup much at the time, but I’ve made it since using a little less sugar and sherry and a little more salt and it’s been nice. This soup reminds me a bit of that recipe. The touch of curry powder in this gives it a savory, spicy complexity. This would work well with any sweet winter squash you may have sitting around burning a hole in your pocket. Not a vegetarian? Try chicken broth instead of the veggie broth, and add some shredded chicken breast to the stew. If you want a creamy soup add the soy milk (or regular milk) at the end. The picture you see here is without soy milk. I tried it both ways and it’s actually good either way. Why the sweet dumpling squash? Well, I needed to use one up and honestly I’m sick to death of roasted squash. I feel like every time someone I know gets a squash they say: “Let’s roast it!” and I feel like there’s got to be more to squash than that. This sweet dumpling definitely delivered in this recipe. Jake is not a fan of squash and I asked him if he minded it this time. His reply? He said that the flavors blended so well that he honestly barely noticed he was eating squash. I feel like I really accomplished something there. As I write this blog post I actually find myself wondering what would happen if I did halve and roast some sweet dumpling squashes and use them as an edible bowl for this soup rather than put the squash into the soup. Hmmmm. If anyone tries this please post in the comments below and let me know! Now I’m curious!

Sweet Grain Curry Stew
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 sweet dumpling squash, seeded and chopped
3 tablespoons ground flax seed
1 cup brown rice
1 cup red lentils
1/2 cup bulgur
1 cup corn kernels
2 tablespoons parsley
1 1/2 tablespoons basil
1 tablespoon curry powder
5 cups vegetable broth
1 cup soy milk, optional
salt and pepper, to taste

1. In a large stew pot, sauté the onion and garlic over medium heat till translucent.
2. Add the yellow bell pepper and squash and sauté till the bell pepper is just tender.
3. Add the flax seed, brown rice, red lentils, bulgur, corn, parsley, basil and curry powder. Stir and cook 5 minutes.
4. Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook till the grains and squash are tender. The grains will soak up a lot of liquid. Add extra water if needed.
5. Turn off the heat and add soy milk, stirring to incorporate.
6. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve warm.

Sautéed Swiss Chard with Olives

Sautéed Swiss Chard with Olives

I just found “The Voluptuous Vegan” cookbook in a used bookstore and decided, without knowing anything about it, to take a chance and purchase it. Myra Kornfeld’s name was familiar, though I couldn’t remember from where at the time (later I remembered that she’s worked for Vegetarian Times). This is the first recipe I’ve tried from it and I am in love! The sharp acidity of the lemon, the saltiness of the olives, and the pungent aroma of the garlic worked so well together. I plan to try this same recipe with kale and perhaps with collards in the future. Another great thing about this recipe: its ease and quickness. It was very simple to put together; not a ton of steps. It was also pretty quick. I can imagine that if you have some kiddos to help in the kitchen and tear your chard leaves into pieces it’d be even easier. I’m a fan of putting kids to work in the kitchen. I often try to enlist my niece for a step or two in the preparation. I have fond memories of learning to cook and helping my mother, and part of my good relationship with food came from that, I think. So get your kiddos into the kitchen for this one and have them help. Memory possibilities are everywhere.

Sautéed Swiss Chard with Olives
4 garlic cloves
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 pounds Swiss chard, red or green, stems separated and chopped, leaves ripped into bite-sized pieces and rinsed (but not dried)
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, chopped

1. Mash the garlic and salt into a paste in a bowl with the back of a spoon.
2. Blend in the lemon juice and olive oil. Set aside.
3. In a deep skillet, add a spoonful of the olive oil and garlic mixture and sauté the Swiss chard stems till just about tender.
4. Add the Swiss chard leaves, with the water still clinging to them and sauté in the water till wilted.
5. Turn off the heat and add the rest of the garlic and oil mixture to the skillet as well as the olives. Toss well to combine.
6. Serve HOT over rice.

Indian Spiced Rice

Indian Spiced Rice

We loved this recipe from the “Vegetarian Planet” cookbook. It was a great side dish to some teriyaki tofu (me) and teriyaki chicken (Jake). Shocking confession: I realized when I started dinner that I had run out of white rice! So I used brown and it was still yummy. I highly recommend it. However if you do this, remember brown rice’s longer cooking time and adjust the rest of your cooking work accordingly. I even heated up some leftovers the next morning and ate a fried egg over the top for breakfast…yum!

Indian Spiced Rice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon ginger powder
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin or cumin seeds
1 1/4 cups uncooked Jasmine rice or brown rice
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried lentils
3 cups water
1 russet potato, peeled and cubed
1 small yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 cup peas
3 tablespoons raisins
1 tablespoon butter

1. In a large saucepan, heat the oil, add the onions and cook till softened.
2. Add the garlic, ginger, coriander, cardamom, nutmeg, and cumin. Cook 3 minutes, stirring.
3. Add the rice and sauté 2 minutes, stirring. Add the salt and lentils, then the 3 cups water. Add the potato and put a lid on the saucepan.
4. Bring the mixture to a boil then turn the heat to the lowest setting. After 10 minutes, add the bell pepper, peas, and raisins.
5. Stir well, then cover the rice again. Cook 10 minutes or till the rice, potatoes, and lentils are tender.
6. Stir in the butter and serve.

Slow Cooker Cabbage and Potato Soup with Caraway

Slow Cooker Cabbage and Potato Soup with Caraway

I have been neglecting this blog, so shamefully, I know. It’s harder to update when you’re juggling 3 part time jobs and trying to take care of all the things you want to do. Some things have changed. Obviously, I’ve gotten a third job since you last saw me here. Also, I have 3 chickens: Chirpy, Gertrude, and Pickles. I will post a picture of them one of these days. I made this soup a while back and haven’t had a chance to post it yet. This is the moment. I altered this recipe from the “400 Best Ever Soups” cookbook to be done in a slow cooker, so that’s what you’ll see below.

Slow Cooker Cabbage and Potato Soup with Caraway
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 small onions, sliced
6 garlic cloves, halved
3 cups shredded green cabbage
4 potatoes, unpeeled and diced
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
salt, to taste
5 cups of water
1 cup soy milk (optional)

1. Pour the olive oil into a crockpot set on high. Add the garlic and onions and let it sit, stirring occasionally, for an hour or till just tender. Alternatively, to expedite this process, sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil in a skillet and add them to the crockpot when just turning tender.
2. Add the cabbage and a small sprinkle of salt and let the cabbage sweat out some juices for about 30 minutes (this, coincidentally, gives you plenty of time to dice the potatoes).
3. Add the caraway seeds to the crockpot, and the potatoes. Sprinkle another bit of salt. Add the water. Let this sit on high for 30 minutes then switch to low.
4. Let the crockpot sit on low till the cabbage and potatoes are tender and falling apart. Somewhere around 4-6 hours. Add more water to the crockpot as needed.
5. Before serving, use a potato masher (or a blender) and mash up the soup to a desired consistency. You may add the soy milk (or regular milk) at this point if you want the soup to be even more creamy.

Egg Foo Yung

Egg Foo Yung

We may or may not (ie. definitely DID) have overcooked the shrimp in the photo above because we weren’t paying close enough attention. When I say “we,” I mean ME. Haha! This recipe was awesome. We’ll just neglect to mention for the moment that this recipe is no longer a correct representation of the modern Chinese language and focus instead on the taste. This recipe from my so-loved “Encyclopedia of Vegetables and Vegetarian Cooking” was really wonderful. I was skeptical because I didn’t know how a recipe featuring bean sprouts would turn out. Apparently the answer to that is: WONDERFUL. The original recipe used green bell peppers, but I only had orange on hand that day and it turned out really nicely. There was also nothing to tell me what KIND of bean sprout to use, though the picture in the cookbook showed those nice fat ones…mung bean sprouts. At first I couldn’t find any in the stores, so I got some of those thinner stalked alfalfa sprouts. Then I happened to walk into the local co-op market (conveniently located across the street from my place of employment) and saw not only mung bean sprouts, but LOCAL Alaskan mung bean sprouts. Jackpot! So I actually ended up using about 75% mung bean sprouts and 25% alfalfa sprouts…and putting in a little bit extra. I used the five spice powder for the eggs, but as I’m not a massive fan of that spice I would not use it next time. In fact, I don’t think you need the egg in this recipe at all. The bean sprout stir fry was so good on its own that we gobbled it all down without any leftovers. Definitely put this on your list of new recipes to try. It was pretty easy and delicious.

Egg Foo Yung
salt and black pepper, to taste
3 eggs, beaten
generous pinch five spice powder (optional)
3 tablespoons canola oil
4 scallions, sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 green or orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 to 3/4 cup bean sprouts
3 cups cooked white rice
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1-2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1. Season the eggs and beat in the five spice powder, if using.
2. In a large frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil till quite hot and add the egg.
3. Cook as if it were an omelet, pulling the mixture away from the sides and allowing the rest to slip underneath.
4. Cook the egg till firm, then remove from the pan and slice into small strips.
5. Heat the remaining oil in the pan and stir-fry the onion, garlic, green pepper, and bean sprouts for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.
6. Stir in the rice and heat thoroughly, mixing well.
7. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds, then return the egg and mix well.
8. Serve immediately, very hot.