Ginger Fried Rice

This was from today's food section in the New York Times. Sounds like a delicious way to use left over brown rice (which I always seem to make more than I need) and a simple midweek meal. The protein comes from a poached egg on top. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/dining/271mrex.html?ref=dining

My trip to the Bulk Bin. Long overdue!

I have been reading about BPA seeping into our canned goods (see link below) and have decided to try to stop eating canned beans and tomatoes. Apparently, tomatoes are the worst in terms of leaching BPA from the can because of their acidity. In any event, if you are not aware of the hazards of BPA, they are well documented from the FDA's recent findings to the New York TImes editorials. But I digress!
The idea of soaking my own beans seemed very intimidating and time consuming as well. However, after mustering my courage and attempting a couple of dried bean soakings from the supermarket, I realized I was ready to experience the bulk bin store. Basically, it's an entire store of whole grains and natural ingredients. There are not plastic containers, cardboard boxes or packaging of any sort. Just bags and whole grains. Aisle upon aisle of the most exotic and mundane. They have lentils of five different varieties, flax seeds, chickpeas, black beans, adzuki, you name it. I could not have been more excited when my grand total of four different items (chickpeas, kidney, lentils and black beans) came to a grand total of 9 dollars. Trust me, I bought enough beans to feed a family of four for at least a couple of weeks. Now granted, you wouldn't want to eat the beans/grains without lettuce, vegetables, spices etc, but still a pretty incredible bargain. If you don't have an entire store devoted to this philosophy, check out your local health food store and give it a try. It will be an adventure to say the least.

(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/naomi-starkman/tests-find-wide-range-of_b_342967.html)

Vegan Oatmeal Cookies with Nuts and Chocolate Chip

Working from my favorite cookbook, Bittman's Vegetarian cooking, I decided to try a vegan version of the classic oatmeal raisin cookie. Truth be told, I had a chocolate craving and we had nothing sweet in the house...What's a girl to do? This was even easier than a traditional recipe because you don't have to whip the butter or soften it. You substitute any kind of neutral oil, canola, corn for the butter and apple sauce for the eggs. I used rice milk instead of cow milk which I prefer anyway. I added chocolate chips and walnuts to give it a different twist and the result was terrific. The whole process took about ten minutes to prep and another 15 in the oven. Next time I will freeze half the dough since we now have about twice as many cookies as come with any trader joes bag. As an added bonus, our whole house smelled like a bakery on a rainy day. Very cozy!

Tofu Stir Fry with Scallions

This was an incredibly simple and satisfying dish that I made tonight. From Mark Bittman's vegetarian cooking, it calls for:
1 1/2 pounds of extra firm tofu (drain before cooking)
3 tablespoon peanut oil
1 tablespoon garlic chopped
1 tablespoon ginger chopped
(2 dried chili, optional)
2 bunches of scallions
1/2 cup veggie stock or water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
(sesame seeds sprinkled on top, optional)
Cut the tofu into 1/2 inch or slightly larger cubes. Put the oil in a large skillet over high heat. When hot, add the garlic and the ginger and the chiles if you're using them and cook stirring for about ten seconds. Add the tofu and the white part of the scallions, cook stirring occasionally until the tofu begins to brown. Add the stock and cook, stirring until half of it evaporates, add the green parts of the scallions and stir for about 30 seconds.
Add the soy sauce , stir and taste adjusting seasoning.
I added a splash of peanut sauce (from TJS) which made it extra delicious. Next time, I might even use more scallions, ginger and garlic. This was a winner!

Vegetable Garden and Compost

One of my new years resolutions is to start a compost and a vegetable garden this year. Mark Pollan recently wrote that a sixty dollar investment in a garden can generate over seven hundred dollars worth of food. A pretty good return on investment! Also, I am troubled by the idea that the food we throw away in the trash ends up in landfills that contributes to global warming. I am planning on attending a short workshop at Silverlake farms in next few weeks if anyone is interested in joining.

Pear Almond Upside Down Cake

Last night I tried my first foray into baking. We were invited to a dinner party and asked to bring dessert. Once we did a run to the store for the buttermilk and almond paste, this was pretty straightforward. The only problem was with the kids running around I forgot to put in the baking powder. Ten minutes into the oven, I saw it sitting on the counter and realized my mistake. Instead of throwing in the towel completely, I decided to mix it into the batter and lower the bar of my expectations. Shockingly, it turned out just great. The presentation was beautiful and the result was delicious. I used a recipe from Mark Bittman's vegetarian cooking cookbook. It was a variation that he outlines under the plum upside down cake recipe. Definitely recommend this one.

A simple vegetarian meal for the kids

Sauteed polenta and added some red sauce (tj's marinara) on top. Steamed broccoli and mixed it in with Ruby's polenta. She loved it!

Red Lentil Stew

Josh requested a lentil stew recipe. Here's one that sounds great from one of my favorite web sites 101 cookbooks.

Red Lentil Soup Recipe
Be sure to pick through your lentils carefully. I somehow always find pebbles or clots of dirt hiding in their midst. Better to catch them on the front end, before you chip a tooth. And to make this soup vegan, just skip the feta at the end i bet some chopped avocado would be a good alternative.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 shallots, chopped
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

6 cups good-tasting vegetable stock (or water)
1 1/3 cup red lentils, picked over and rinsed
1/2 cup brown rice, picked over and rinsed
as much fine grain sea salt as you need

slivered almonds, toasted
black oil cured olives, chopped
feta, crumbled

In a big soup pot, over medium heat, combine the olive oil, onion, shallots, and red pepper flakes. Let them brown, and caramelize a bit, stirring occasionally. Stir in the broth, bring to a boil, then stir in the lentils and rice. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until the rice is very tender, and not at all toothsome. By this time, the lentils will have collapsed into a thick slop of sorts. If you need to add more water/broth at any point do so a splash at a time, until the soup thins out to the point you prefer. Unless you used a salty broth, you will likely need to salt generously, until the the soup no longer tastes flat. Serve each bowl topped with almonds, olives, feta, and a slight drizzle of olive oil if you like.
Serves 4 - 6.

Thai Noodle Sticks with Peanut Sauce

Courtesy of Josh. This sounds great and will look forward to trying soon.

8 ounces uncooked rice stick noodles
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon grated gingerroot
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 cup water
4 ounces bean sprouts
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into fourths and sliced thinly crosswise
2 green onions, sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Heat 2 quarts water to boiling in 3-quart saucepan.
Break noodles in half and pull apart slightly; drop into boiling water.
Cook uncovered 1 minute; drain.
Rinse in cold water; drain and set aside.
Mix peanut butter, soy sauce, gingerroot, and red pepper in same saucepan until smooth.
Gradually stir in broth.
Add noodles, bean sprouts, bell pepper, and onions; toss.
Sprinkle with cilantro

Vegetarian Burrito

Today we had black bean burritos for lunch with salsa, cheese, fresh cilantro and a dab of sour cream on top. Such a simple pleasure and so easy to make. We used white flour tortilla, but you could go even healthier depending on your dietary considerations. There is no shortage of variations to add into the mix. Peppers, shredded carrots, corn, spinach- whatever you have on hand. I have made burritos with lentils instead of black beans and goat cheese instead of jack cheese. I also remembered to freeze the extra tortillas I had on hand because they only last a few day in the fridge. A great variation on a traditional sandwich lunch or quick mid week meal.

Orechiette with Pistachio Pesto

This recipe is courtesy of Lissa Dutton who made it for us over Christmas. Excellent dish.
Ingredients

1. 1 pound orecchiette
2. 7 ounces unsalted roasted shelled pistachios (1 1/2 cups)
3. 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4. 2 tablespoons chopped mint
5. 1 garlic clove, minced
6. 1/2 cup finely shredded pecorino cheese, plus more for serving
7. 2 scallions, cut into 2-inch lengths and julienned
8. Salt

Directions
1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. 2. Meanwhile, in a food processor, pulse the pistachios until coarsely chopped. Add the oil, mint and garlic and pulse just to combine. Transfer to a pasta bowl, stir in the cheese and scallions; season with salt. 3. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Return the pasta to the pot. Add the cooking water and the pesto and cook over low heat, tossing, until coated, 1 minute. Transfer the pasta to the bowl and serve, passing extra cheese on the side.

Thai Noodle Sticks

I was very intrigued by this item at trader joe's as I am a huge fan of Thai cuisine. But what to do with them? I followed the back of the package and then improvised a little. I chopped lettuce and shredded lots of carrots to make it almost like noodles served on a Thai salad. For the dressing, it was a combination of peanut oil, pepper flakes, a little bit of sugar and lime. I also added garlic an some red onion for extra spice. Yum!

Home Made Curry Powder

For my Saag Paneer, I needed curry powder and Mark Bittman recommended making it home made. I decided to give it a try even though I was missing a couple of the ingredients. Overall, it was a pretty simple process and incredibly fragrant. Probably took about five minutes at most and you can keep it in your pantry for months if sealed tight.

Saag Paneer

This is an indian dish that is delicious. Main ingredients are tofu and spinach. I went off of Bittman's recipe from his COOKING AROUND THE WORLD book, but you could probably find many like it online. It was quick and very good for a cold rainy night. The only problem was I used frozen spinach which made it too watery, so next time will definitely go for fresh spinach. Basically, you just sautee garlic and ginger with curry powder, add the spinach, then add yogurt and a little cream (or 1/2 and 1/2). Fold in the tofu (drained but not cooked) . I garnished with some chopped cashew and served with Trader Joe's naan bread over brown rice. Except for the small amount of 1/2 and 1/2, a very healthy meal!