Lunch Salad

With summer here my kale salads are now featuring tomatoes and corn!  I still use diced almonds and sesame seeds (duh) with grated garlic.  I also toss in minced basil and some fresh oregano, salt and pepper to taste.  It is probably the most filing salad I could think of! 

Bean Burgers

Summer is all up in my face!  The heat is just crippling and of course that mean it is time to fire up the BBQ grill and do some outdoor cooking so indoors stays chilly.  Everyone is touting their burgers and dogs as the best and having grill-off as a matter of principle but whatever! I am not competitive nor do I think a bean based patty is a replacement for a beef patty.  Bean burgers are a completely different cuisine not to be confused with the meaty mainstream but they also provide a whallop of protein swell texture and make use of all the fixin's at a typical barbecue (lettuce tomato mustard so on).  In addition to the 'batties' (bean-patties, I am still trying to make up new words for vegan food) there is a cream of potato soup and brazed Brussels sprouts. What I am saying is we are going to 

turn this:

into this! 

Braised Brussels Sprouts:

     There are a lot of ways to cook brussels sprouts but the way that I have found that seems to be the most popular among people I feed is the braised brussels sprouts in a balsamic reduction.  What is surprising to me is that it is almost as easy as steaming them after you cut them in half.  

The main trick is t let the pan with oil get HOT (I used coconut oil but just enough to give the pan a light coat and help heat transfer, we are not doing a deep fry).  I use a teaspoon or less of mustard seeds as a temperature gauge, when the seeds pop it is time for the brussels sprouts to go in.  The fun part is the B-sprouts will actually pop and hop in the hot pan while they cook, and they dont take that long.  After about 8 minutes you can stir them up so the round part is facing down and let it go for another 5 minutes.

At this point you could already serve the little darlings with some garlic infused butter but just as much fun is to mince some garlic in, toss in a bit of onion and a few splashes of balsamic vinegar, turning it down to medium heat.  Make sure you have the stove fan on high when you splash in the vinegar because your hot skillet will vaporize the stuff which can be pretty intense if the ventilation is not good. Slowly add balsamic vinegar, like a teaspoon at a time,  and let it cook off the water to make a thick sauce that is coating your brussels sprouts.  how much you add depends on how saucy you want the dish to be and how many brussels sprouts you are making . . . I probably added close to a 1/4 C of vinegar over the course of 15 minutes.  I served them with a sprinkling of sesame seeds.  

Home Made Buns:

     I always turn to the Tassajara bread book for my bun-like entities and this is no exception.  3 cups war water with yeast and a table spoon of sugar start things off.  The first 3 cups of flour go in to make a relatively soupy batter that you let sit and rise.  then you slowly add in 3more cups string in the same direction and being conscious not to break the strands of gluten that have formed.  This is also where you add salt and any extras you would want (might I suggest garlic or rosemary or both).  Once the dough is thick let it rise a second time before forming the buns.   

I had never made buns so I tried a few different ways and by far the best was to make a flat bread with a  roll on top (maybe there is a better way but this worked great for me).  

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes

Veggie Black Bean Patties:

   Do not underestimate the importance of vegetable content! Using shredded beet and carrot is a re-occurring theme in my cooking because they add color texture and sweetness that is subtle and earthy.  In addition to that mess we add in green onions and roasted fennel bulb.  for those who like to measure it is about 1 C of each fennel, carrot, beet and about a 1/2 C onion

Saute it all together with a minimum of oil, I think I got away with 1tablespoon. adding in some mushroom, garlic and sunflower seeds.  the sunflower seeds are for texture, I really enjoy the pop of pan roasted sunflower seeds in a Battie. 

The beans are cooked before hand in a pressure cooker where I used 2C of black beans with 1C of kidneys and the corresponding 6C vegetable broth (water is fine too but the broth really adds depth to the flavor of the beans).  Pour off the water after cooking (save it in another pan to be reintroduced but we want the patties firm and not too watery).

Mash the beans with some fresh fennel and mix in the vegetable mass.  the vegetables should be simmered long enough that they mostly fall apart as you mash them in.  Keep stirring/mashing until you form a nice batter that is thick and holds shape when rolled.  If  the batter is too thin add in some flour to thicken it up ( i used corn meal so my patties would be wheat free).  

Roll the mix in to large walnut sized balls (similar to golf ball size or the size of a lime)and roll the ball in a bit of corn meal.  The corn meal helps keep the patty from falling apart on the grill and makes sure it is easy to lift off.  It also adds a bit more dryness that helps hold it together.

The patties only take about 5 minutes on each side and then can be served on a bun with spinach/lettuce, mustard, ketchup and all your other favorite fixins.  I would suggest trying some grated carrot and beet as a 'burger' topping or the classic avocado! 

Creamy Potato Mushroom Soup:

     Make mashed potatoes, with extra water and a lot of oil!  again we learn that the secret to a 'creamy' texture is the combination of oil and water with some emulsifier, in this case potato starch.   I used 5lbs of russet potatoes boiled in enough water to cover them and then started mashing.

I used a combination of coconut oil and earth balance for my fatty content and a hearty amount of garlic and pepper for seasonings.

The mushrooms were sauteed in olive oil and garlic with popped mustard seeds and green onion.  I think the soup would have been fine without the mushrooms but I really like the extra texture and flavor that comes with adding them in.  Plus we had extra mushrooms around.  I twas about 2 cups of sliced crimini mushrooms added into the soup.

Served!

Speedy Lunch

I know I know. . .I need to do a full meal and get back to explaining how to make plant based living seem simple and fun! Time keeps getting away but at least I keep lunch coming :)  

This one is a bit of a cheat.  I used the re-fried beans Johnny made earlier in the week with the Barley I made tuesday night (easier than making rice and damn barley is good! ) to make somethign like an open faced taco . . .no not a tostada, the tortilla is not fried and there is not tomato or lettuce for it to be a tostada.  I did dress the tortilla with a bit of oil, garlic powder and nutritional yeast.  I also topped the barley/bean mix with fresh avocado and cilantro.  It was really yummy so I had seconds (and thirds .. .i eat a lot)

Lunchy Lunch!

summer is oh so close. . .but I am faking ti until tomatoes are actually in full swing.  Zucchini is already here in force so lunch was a make shift ratatouille with bell peppers mustard seeds fresh tarragon and basil.  After some sauteing the tomatoes are crushed in and stewed.  The ratatouille simmers while the polenta is stirred up.  I never know the right ratios for polenta to water because more water just makes it more runny and sometimes I like my polenta firm and sometimes I like it soupy but 2:1 gets the right ball park.  spoon some ratatouille over polenta and yummm!  

Another Lunch

Asparagus season is coming to an end and while it makes me want to curl up and cry until the next spring sprouts shoot up i am more inclined to celebrate its passing!  For lunch I had a grilled asparagus sandwich with grated carrots, radishes, and sliced red bell peppers.  The asparagus was sauteed in copious amounts of garlic with a little olive oil and a splash of soy sauce.  The bread was lightly toasted and slathered with locally produced spicy mustard.  I ate two of these and was thinking of going for a third but alas I ran out of asparagus

Strawberries Smoothed

 No joke it is summer.  The weather pushes into the 90's (that is 32-37 C for you out side of the US) on a regular basis and I cannot help but make like a lizard and lay in the sun. . . I just prefer a comfy chair or blanket in place of a hot rock.  The other way I win over your typical reptile is I can have a smoothie while I bask in the glory of our day time star.

I get these strawberries fresh from the farm and get the tops taken off so I can freeze them. . . of course (in case you didn't know) I am a science geek and I happen to have access to liquid nitrogen.  

This chilly liquid sits at a cool 77K (-196 C or -320 F) and while it does not freeze something 'on contact' as popular television would have you believe it does freeze the strawberries so fast that the ice crystals have no time to form and the cell walls of the strawberries stay intact through the freezing process.  This means when you thaw them they are almost as good as fresh picked (but we all know nothing is really as good as fresh picked). In terms of a smoothie this also means that less ice is trapped in the straw berries and you get a smoother smoothie. 

the vapor around the container is condensing water

that is LN2 boiling around the berries

so cold they crack

ready to transport!

To actually make the smoothie take your frozen strawberries (how ever they are frozen) and combine about 1C of the frozen darlings with 1C of almond milk (if you are sassy you can make your own almond milk so it is a raw treat).  Add more almond milk or a bit of water to get the consistency you like; depending on how much you put in you can get it anywhere from a nice sorbet to something more like a drink.  I use a few mint leaves a quarter of a lemon and a table spoon of agave to balance out the sweetness without detracting from a bit of a tart hit when you first sip with a cool mint flavor lingering after the berries are in your belly.  a bit of vanilla extract (or raw vanilla bean) goes a long way to balance out the flavors and make this healthful drink seem a bit like a desert!  

I have had one or three of these in the last week and I am eager to share! so come do some porch sitting with me we can yell at the other coop across the street! 

Salads for Dinner

Some days are just not what you want them to be. . . .your mind gets stuck on some idea and you spend a beautiful day inside writing letters you are never going to send. There is only one thing that helps . . . 

COMFORT FOOD

Potato salad, pasta salad a nice green salad to get those vitamins minerals and fiber and then a bean salad for that protein kick that makes tomorrow easier.  Ill tell you right now that this is going to be level less 'recipe' than usual.  I did some experimenting with the potato salad and it was PHENOMENAL.  

So lets turn this mass of veggies---->

<----------- into this mass of tasty!

The pasta salad get nixed in this post, because well it is a day like that but it is pretty simple.  Cooked pasta tossed with peas corn garlic and olive oil.  Salt and pepper to taste. For ratios you want to aim for something that is mostly pasta accentuated with some vegetables. 

 The green salad is also straight forward.  I used a spring mix with raisins, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, diced almonds, some shredded radish and a sprinkling of calendula petals for color!  Calendula (aka marigolds) have edible petals  that dont have much in the way of flavor but add amazing color to salads with a texture that is consistent with the rest of the dish. 

Bean Salad:

   Using a pressure cooker (or enough forethought that you soak the beans beforehand and have enough time to cook them)  prepare enough beans for your meal; I did about 3 cups dry white beans and 1 cup dry kidney beans (it comes out to about 6 cups of cooked beans) 

 I diced in some raw beets to add some color and sweetness and a bunch of long beans cut into one inch segments.  I also shredded carrot and zucchini into the mix.  Not only does this give an additional texture and some bonus vegetation but ti also provides more color which makes your typical bland bean salad seem fun and exciting! 

Seasonings can be as simple as salt and pepper but I strongly urge the use of some summer time herbs like oregano basil and thyme.  We had a bounty of rosemary in the kitchen so I used that as my primary flavor, using paprika to add a bit of spice and color (yes paprika can have spice you just need to get the fresh stuff)

 of course I used fresh grated garlic, yum! 

I tossed the salad with a combination of olive oil and white wine vinegar (though you can use any vinegar you like).  I wan to make up some measurement for how much I used but I honestly have no clue, though you do want about equal parts oil and vinegar!  The goal here is to make the salad moist without drowning it, add in slow amounts alternating olive oil then vinegar (too much olive oil is easier to deal with than too much vinegar) until the beans are evenly coated without there being a pool of 'dressing' in the bottom of the bowl

Potato Salad:

    I have a problem with potato salad. . . I dont like mayonnaise.  I didnt like it when I was an omnivore and i found the vegan versions just as unappealing.  I still used it when I was making some dishes but damn it!  I didnt want to this time.  I used an adaptation of a cream sauce I made for a pasta primavera alfredo.  Again with a bit of forethought I would have soaked the almonds for 30-60 minuted before I made this but i didnt know I was going to do this until i was in the store holding a jar of vegan mayo and cringed.  

I blended 1 cup of almonds with 1 large block of silken tofu (seemed about 2 cups worth) and 1/2 cup olive oil.  knowing that this was going to a potato salad I was not shy about using some vinegar to thin it out (just a couple table spoons) 

I used mustard, a pinch or two of salt and a bit more vinegar for flavoring while a few more splashes of olive oil were there to push the sauce to a more creamy texture.  I was surprised at how quickly  it all came together but in the time it took the potatoes to boil I ended up with my own vegan sauce for potato salad (That I refuse to call mayo because it is nothing like that stuff).

You cook the potatoes . . .just boil them.  I like to used red potatoes boiled in an open pot so I can make sure they dont get over done.  For my house i sued five pounds of potatoes (you might as well too because left over potato salad is GREAT).   

Mix the potatoes with the almond-tofu sauce (lets call it almofu sauce, or someone make up a word for this stuff we need a vocabulary to describe these things that does not relate it to some dairy counterpart) a hearty helping of black pepper and grated garlic ( i must have grated 20 cloves for this meal) and some diced parsley.  I also diced it the celery greens because I like the color and flavor.  I dont grate carrots for this dish, I coarsely chop them with the celery because then everything has a comparable texture.  I also use a few spoon fulls of sweet pickle relish to round out the pallet of sweet, sour, salty, and spicy.  

I feel like I am forgetting something but like I said it was an experiment and I will have to repeat it again and see what changes. . .though i hope nothing because I could have eaten this potato salad for days! (though my brother would not even try it, he has something against pickles in relish form or otherwise).

(the change in coloring of the potato salad is due to lighting only)

Enjoy!