Miso Soup with Kale, Lentils, and Mushrooms

After a few days in which Río was miserable over his teething process and we all got precious little sleep, I craved eating something medicinal and restorative. Enter this wonderful soup, which packs a punch in protein, minerals (especialy iron and calcium) and satisfies without being too heavy.

I happened to have black garlic and dried porcini mushrooms at home, but if you don’t, regular garlic and fresh mushrooms will do just fine!

2 shallots, finely minced
3 cloves black or white garlic, finely minced
4 stalks green onions, both green and white parts, finely minced
1 cup cooked lentils
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced, or dehydrated mushrooms soaked in warm water for a short while
3 cups vegetable broth
3 tbsp miso
3-4 cups raw, chopped kale

Heat up a dry pot until, when you drop a bit of water in it, it moves around like mercury. At that point, add the shallots, garlic, and green onions. Stir around until translucent and a bit golden, then use a bit of the broth to deglaze the pan.

Add lentils, mushrooms, and the rest of the broth, lower the heat, and cook for 5 minutes.

Add miso and cook for 5 minutes more.

Add kale and cook just until wilted.

Butternut Squash with Beans and Leeks

It’s always a special day when we get a big delivery from Rancho Gordo, purveyors of delicious and unique heirloom beans. Sure, you can open a can of beans (I do that sometimes, too!), but cooking your own beans from scratch yields a much more flavorful and textured batch. So every week we cook a pound of beans–different beans every time–to use in that week’s cooking.

This week we cooked Domingo Rojo beans, which were delicious, but I’m sure this recipe would work with any red or black bean. The combination of creamy, baked squash with the beans is comforting and satisfying.

1 small butternut squash
1 cup cooked black or red beans
1/2 cup chopped leek, white and green parts
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup water or vegetable broth
1 tbsp ras-el-hanout

Cut the squash in half lengthwise, remove seeds and stringy innards, and place in a 375 degree oven, face down, for 45 minutes or until the squash is soft and creamy throughout. At this point it should be easy to peel. Cut the peeled squash into 3/4-inch cubes.

While the squash is cooking, saute leeks and garlic in a little bit of vegetable broth. After about 3 minutes, lower the heat and add the beans and the ras-el-hanout. Cook for about 10-15 minutes.

Gently mix in the squash cubes.

Quick Buckwheat and Adzuki Bean Stir-Fry

Russia has been in the news lately, and I had buckwheat at home, so I put together a quick and satisfying dinner made of some cooked and sprouted items I had at home.

Adzuki beans are delicious when cooked, but they are also very easy to sprout: just place them in a jar with water for 24 hours, and then change the water every few hours until they develop little tails and are soft enough to eat. You can enjoy the sprouts raw or, as in this recipe, quickly stir-fry them.

1 cup cooked buckwheat
1/2 cup mung beans, sprouted
1/2 cup baked butternut squash
about 2 tbsp red onions, finely chopped
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Heat up olive oil in a pan. Add onions and swirl around some. Throw in squash, beans, and buckwheat, and cook for about 5 minutes or until hot and combined. Add salt and pepper and serve hot.

Chickpea “UnTuna” Salad

I like deli meals and Salade Niçoise – as evidenced by this post! But the ready-made “vegan Toona” we used did not hit the spot. It was very oily, salty, and oddly textured. Give it a try; you might like it better than me. But I found a homemade solution that is very tasty and satisfying. It’s a recipe adapted from Sweet Potato Soul, with a few modifications. We didn’t have umeboshi vinegar, but we did have my friend Nancy’s quince-infused vinegar, which is fantastic. I also decided to add some nori to the recipe for a more “fishy” taste. The result was delicious!

2 cups of cooked chickpeas
1/2 small avocado
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp vinegar (we used quince, and I bet apple cider would be nice, too)
1 celery stalk, chopped
2 tsp celery seeds
2 tbsp minced green onion
1 tsp chili flakes
2 sheets of nori, torn into squares

Place everything in the food processor and pulse just a few seconds, until everything is mixed and the texture is to your taste. YUM!

Warming Stir Fry with Sprouted Lentils

It’s that time of year! Evil flu strains that have managed to escape the clutches of the flu shot are invading our immune system and making us feel lousy. To help a beloved afflicted person, I made this for lunch. It’s warming and nutritious, and yet light, so as not to encumber a system already busy fighting viruses. The innovation here is that, in lieu of a cooked grain or bean, I’m just very lightly warming sprouted lentils. It keeps them fresh and springy to the taste.

The day before making this dish, you’ll have to sprout the lentils, which is very easy – simply place a cup and a half or so of lentils in a bowl and cover with fresh water. Change the water after a few hours, and then change it again in the morning. You’ll even see little tails beginning to form! Drain the sprouted lentils and set aside.

Now, to the main show:

3 garlic cloves, minced
1.5 inch ginger, minced
1 cup water + 1 tbsp veggie bouillon or dried vegetable powder or 1 cup vegetable broth
1 large carrot or two or three small ones, cut into thin rings
5 large shiitake mushrooms, sliced (if using dried ones, soak them in some warm water before cooking)
3 cups of green vegetables (I used about 8 heads of baby bok choy and about four leaves of dino kale)
20 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ginger powder
1-2 tbsp soy sauce
2-3 cups lentil sprouts

Place garlic and ginger in a wok and add about 3 tablespoons of the broth. Turn on the heat and swish around, until the garlic and ginger are aromatic. Then, add the carrots, and cook for another couple of minutes, adding 1-2 more tablespoons of the broth. Then, add the mushrooms and continue cooking; add about half of the soy sauce. Add the greens and cook for about 5-6 minutes, adding broth whenever the bottom of the wok dries up and stirring as you go. When the greens begin to wilt, add the tomatoes, cumin, ginger, and continue cooking a couple of minutes until the tomatoes soften. Finally, add the sprouts and the remainder of the broth and the soy sauce. Stir-fry everything together for a few minutes, until the sprouts are warm, but before they become mushy. Serve warm.

Note: I didn’t serve this with a side of tahini, but I bet it would be a blast.

Lentil Pâté – Faux Gras

 Ahoy there! I have a new version of vegan pâté that will knock your socks off. It is packed with protein and has no added oils beyond what’s in the walnuts and lentils. Most importantly, it’s delicious with fresh vegetables for a nice snack. We served it for holiday dinner and our guest christened it as “faux gras”, and so it shall henceforth be known!

2 cups lentils
1 cup walnuts
6 large mushrooms, crimini or similar
1 yellow onion
about 1/3 cup vegetable broth
1 tsp tomato paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp Kala Namak salt, or to taste

Soak lentils overnight until they soften – it’ll improve the nutritional content of the dish. The next day, cover with water and cook until soft.

While the lentils are cooking, slice the onion thinly and cut mushrooms into little pieces. place two pans on the stove. In one of them, dry roast the walnuts for about 10 minutes, until they develop deep brown spots. In the other, place about 1 tbsp of vegetable broth and saute the onions for about 10 minutes or until translucent and brownish. Add more broth to prevent sticking to the pan. When onions are soft, add mushrooms and continue cooking until the onion is an appealing shade of brown. Place walnuts and onion-mushroom mixture in food processor and pulse-process until smooth. Add the lentils and pulse until everything is mixed to your desired consistency. Add tomato paste, cumin, and Kala Namak salt to taste and pulse until everything is to your taste. Serve with wedges and sticks of  vegetables, like cucumbers, radishes, carrots, celery sticks, or bell peppers, or use as an unusual and delicious sandwich filling.

Pasta with Roasted Vegetables

It’s been a quiet solstice here, and I’ve been using new recipes. For some reason, I’m more attracted to simple ingredients these days, as close as possible to their original form, so there are lots of salads and soups and not a lot of mock animal things. In this recipe, too, I resisted adding meat or cheese analogues of any kind, and I think you’ll find the simplicity refreshing.

The recipe is adapted from this Forks Over Knives recipe, which, in its turn, comes from Thug Kitchen. I had winter vegetables, rather than the summer ones in the recipe, so I used those, and I added a half-cup of garbanzo beans. I’d love to try the original sometime, but I worked with the bounty I had and the result was spectacular.

1 cup brown rice pasta spirals
15 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup small broccoli florets
4 asparagus stems, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 leek, sliced into rings
1 red pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup cooked garbanzo beans
juice from 1 lemon
1 tsp marjoram
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Start the water for the pasta. In the meantime, heat the oven to 350 degrees and place a silicone mat on a baking sheet. Place the vegetables, the garlic, and the garbanzos on the sheet in one layer. Drizzle with the lemon juice and sprinkle the marjoram. Mix a bit with your hands to make sure the lemon is everywhere. Place in oven for 20-25 mins.

In the meantime, cook the pasta, drain it, and return to the pot. When the vegetables are done, add them to the pasta and drizzle balsamic vinegar. Mix and eat to your heart’s content.

Farinata de Ceci

This easy, savory chickpea flour pie is a great thing to eat and serve hot right out of the pan, and it’s festive enough to entertain guests. If you have a rosemary bush at home, this is the time to use it! The recipe comes from Chloe Coscarelli‘s Italian cook book.

2 cups warm water
1.5 cups chickpea flour
3 tbsp olive oil, plus more for pan
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp fresh rosemary
fresh ground black pepper

Mix water and flour in a bowl and let rest for 2 hours.
When ready, preheat oven to 500F. Place a round iron skillet in the oven to warm for 10 mins.

Meanwhile, skim foam off chickpea mix, add oil, salt and rosemary. Remove hot iron skillet from oven, add a bit of oil and swirl around to grease. Carefully pour batter into pan and pop back into oven for about 25 mins, or until lightly browned and crisp. Run a knife around the edges and unmold. Slice up and serve warm.

The leftovers, toasted in the oven the next day, are particularly wonderful with a bit of tomato sauce and vegan mozzarella!

Dark Lentil Stew

I had wonderful guests today and made them lunch, which included this lentil dish. It’s not authentic Indian or Moroccan, but rather a haphazard creation including spices from both cuisines. I made it in a slow cooker and, for various hosting reasons, used the high temperature setting. I imagine you could make this over a longer period of time using the low setting, or even let it simmer slowly on the stove.

1 tsp olive oil
1 yellow onion
2 cups masoor daal
1 tomato, cubed
1 small eggplant, cubed
7-8 mushrooms, sliced
1 garlic clove, thinly chopped
1 tbsp ras el hanout
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
3 cardamom pods

Heat olive oil in pan. Slice onion thinly and caramelize in the oil.
While this is going on, place daal, tomatoes, eggplant, mushrooms and garlic in slow cooker. Add the onion. Cover with boiling water about an inch and a half above the ingredients. Add all spices – be sure to crush the cardamom pods before placing them in the pot. Cook on high setting for three hours or on a low setting for longer.

Christmas Lima Beans

This evening we ate Christmas Lima Beans, toasted with lemon juice and massaged kale (with olive oil) and lightly seasoned with a teaspoon of Pike Market dipping herbs. We also had a large platter of crudités with tahini and sliced, roasted potatoes.

The reason I mention this very simple but delicious meal is that I keep encountering vegan cookbooks that call for super complicated dishes that try to recreate, in a healthy/compassionate form, convenience food with animal ingredients. It’s nice to eat that way once in a while–I made the mac-and-cheese pretty recently and it was yummy–but the bottom line is that, regardless of your eating regime, eating more simply and relying mostly on vegetables and fruit is a good idea.

I also mention this because there are many, many kinds of interesting and delicious beans in the world, and they are so flavorful that they don’t require much fuss to make a good meal.