smoky tempeh (marinated in liquid smoke, maple syrup, water & chili powder) & peach salsa soft tacos!
November 1, 2011
August 3, 2009
How To Roast Mushrooms And Blow Your Own Mind
Ingredients
Mushrooms (what variety of mushroom you choose is up to you. Good choices: baby portabellas/cremini/white button mushrooms, whole and washed, with their stems cut level with the caps; shiitakes, washed and torn in half; chunks of portabella; maitakes, halved (watch for burning); they’re all so good)
Olive oil (for coating — the amount you need depends on taste and the amount of mushrooms)
Sea salt and black pepper
Optional: crushed garlic, thyme, a squeeze of lemon, soy and ginger (in which case, just sub peanut, sesame or plain vegetable oil for the olive oil)
KEEP IN MIND: mushrooms shrink when you cook them by about half, especially less meaty ‘shrooms like maitakes and shiitakes.
Preheat your oven to 475. Prepare a cookie sheet or shallow baking pan by lining it with parchment paper. Wash your mushrooms, and cut off ends of stems. Put mushrooms, salt, pepper, and oil in a bowl (add optional ingredients, except lemon, at this time), and toss to coat. Set bowl aside (don’t rinse it!). Pop your mushrooms in the oven. Check them after about 10-15 minutes, stirring them a bit. Continue to cook 5-10 minutes, until mushrooms are browning (if using whole mushroom caps, their texture will become slightly wilted/wrinkly). Remove from oven, and place mushrooms back in the bowl in which you’d originally seasoned them. Toss again to coat with the olive oil in the bowl (if you’re using lemon, squeeze now), adding more if mushrooms seem dry.
These are a great side dish. They’re also wonderful tossed with pasta, or atop a crusty slice of bread with a salad.
July 2, 2009
Tessipes For The Vegetarian Set
I’m not a vegetarian, but sometimes I throw the idea around (and then discard it); I don’t usually eat lamb, because god damn they’re cute, but my love for cows is, apparently, about a notch and a half below my love for burgers. That said, it’s kind of nice — for the environmental reasons, the money reasons, and the conscience reasons — to skip out on meat every so often. Last night I made carrot ginger soup and it was good enough that I thought, hey, I could do this! Then I chased it with a prosciutto sandwich because I can’t do it, it turns out. If you’re a veg, hats off to you. Here’s a recipe with no meat or meat by-products, though I used dairy (butter and yogurt). You could easily sub the butter with light-tasting olive oil (an olive lover I am not) and skip the yogurt — a couple of croutons would be rad.
Carrot Ginger Soup
5 or 6 large-sized carrots, washed & scrubbed & coarsely chopped
1 big or 2 medium-sized leeks, washed super-well (sandy!) and sliced into thin rounds
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 -2 tsp minced fresh ginger (I find this difficult to eyeball — I peel and finely chop as much ginger as can fill a cupped palm, but I really like ginger)
2 Tbsp butter
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup orange juice (I’m not insane, it’s good)
2 cups water, or 1 cup water and 1 cup dry white wine
Dollop of greek yogurt (if you’re cool like that)
Sautee garlic and ginger in butter over medium heat until golden. Add leeks, stir, lower heat to medium low and sautee until soft, adding wine after a couple of minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Let simmer a couple of hot minutes, then add water, orange juice, and carrots — the liquid should barely cover everything. If it doesn’t, add a splash more water or OJ. Then go read a book or have a beer or something until the carrots are soft (fork will cut them easily), about 15 minutes or so. It depends on how well you chopped those carrots (judging you!). When the carrots are soft, let the soup cool for about 5 minutes, then puree in a blender. Return to pot and let simmer over low heat as you check yo’ seasonings. Adjust as necessary. Spoon into bowls, stir in about half a teaspoon of greek yogurt, and serve.
Note: if you’re stuck with a ton of leftover ginger, as you undoubtedly will be, it’s wonderful steeped in tea, grated into spice cake batter, or just slice up the damn thing (peeled) and put it in iced tea or a big pitcher of water with sliced lemons or oranges.
July 2, 2009
Basil and Sweetcorn
The combination of Basil and sweetcorn works together to create a pretty a really interesting taste and a perfect side dish to grilled meat or chicken. The recipe itself is fairly straight forward but this one is definitely worth trying.
Serves 4.
A Good Handful of Fresh Basil
4 Corn on the Cob (Fresh if available)
1 Tablespoon of Butter
A Good sprinkle of Salt and Pepper
In a large bowl, slice the the corn off the cob- if your using fresh, don’t bother straining any of the excess juice that comes out, it all adds to the flavour. Chop the Basil roughly and put to the side.
Place a sauce pan over a medium heat and add the butter until melted. Add the corn, toss, and then add the basil. Keep the mixture moving by stirring for about 3 Min’s.
Season with the Salt and Pepper and serve piping hot!
July 2, 2009
I love the idea of adding seasonal fruit to what is already a light, refreshing summer dish! This recipe requires very little cooking, but if you wanted to make it heartier, you could add bite-sized sauteed chicken breast or tempeh.
You’ll need (for six servings):
- 2 1/2 cups (about 3/4 pound) fresh strawberries, stemmed and quartered
- 1/2 pound jicama, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 teaspoon minced jalapeño peppers
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 pound avocados, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch dice
Salt- 6 (6-inch) yellow corn tortillas
Chili powder- 6 tablespoons crumbled queso fresco
- 6 cilantro sprigs
- 1 lime, cut into 6 wedges
Preparation:
Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In large bowl, mix together strawberries, jicama, cilantro, peppers and lime juice. Add avocados; fold together gently. Season with salt. Arrange tortillas on oven rack in one layer. Toast about 10 minutes or until crisp and starting to brown. Mound 1 cup strawberry mixture in center of each tortilla. Sprinkle each tostada with chili powder and 1 tablespoon queso fresco. Garnish with 1 cilantro sprig and 1 lime wedge.
I am going to make this and you are going to love it.
April 28, 2009
Little Eggplant Stacks
As a vegetarian, I’m always looking for quick and delicious recipes. This is what I threw together in about 15 minutes last night. It involves some ‘cheating’, if you have more time (lucky you!) you…
You’ll need:
About 4 baby eggplants (find glossy black ones that shouldn’t require ’salting’)
Haloumi cheese (or another cheese that can be broiled, or indeed goat’s cheese or whatever you have on hand)
Jar of fire roasted red peppers (I use Trader Joes)
Store bought Cilantro-lime pesto (or regular basil pesto) (Or make pesto yourself!)
Basil leaves to garnish, if the mood takes you and you have them on handPreheat a broiler (avoid frying the eggplant if you want a nuttier flavor and don’t want to use a ton of oil in this recipe). Slice the egglants into 1/2 inch discs and place them on a baking sheet, without overlapping. Either brush with grapeseed or olive oil, or spray them if it is easier. I happen to have a spray, actually a ‘gourmet mist’ of balsamic vinegar infused with pomegranate that I also gave the eggplant a quick shot with. Season with a little sea salt and pepper. I also sprinkled some Middle Eastern spice, zaatar, because it added flavor and was in the same cupboard as the ‘pomegranate spray’! Not necessary, I just like to give the eggplant a little more personality. You could use lemon pepper or any other additional flavoring.
Slice the haloumi cheese into about 2 inch square pieces (depending on the original shape of the cheese, you’re just making small pieces to add to each stack really, so shape them how you will) and add this to the baking sheet. Place under broiler and cook until the eggplant and the cheese are brown, about 6 minutes each side. If you find the haloumi is losing moisture as it cooks, you may need to use a separate baking sheet, but I try to minimize cleanup by using the same sheet.
Meanwhile, have your red peppers cut and ready to add to your ’stacks’ and make a quick green salad using whatever you have at hand. When ready remove cheese and eggplants from broiler and take a slice of eggplant and layer with the cheese, red pepper, dollop of pesto…repeat to use all ingredients to make enough stacks for your hungry crowd. I try to raise my stacks to about 3 layers of each ingredient, just because it thrills my family to tackle ‘high towers’, please yourself as to the height. Either way, end with a cap of eggplant and a dollop of pesto, adding your basil leaves as a final flourish, if desired.
Enjoy!
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