Veggie Bowties (florentine?)

This is basically yesterday's pasta, but with more tomato and some spinach-like greens, rather than a kohlrabi.   I'm really not certain what these greens are...  they're like a cross between what I generally think of as spinach and chard.   Too "ruffled" for most spinach, and without the "earthiness" of chard.

• Olive oil for sauteeing & drizzling
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 medium/large red onion, sliced into sticks
• 6-8 little carrots (probably 1.5 large grocery carrots), chopped
• 1 small yellow squash, chopped into disks
• 1/2 medium zucchini, chopped into disk
• 1 bunch spinach or other leafy green vegetable...  1/2 lbs, minus stalks. and torn up
• 3 medium tomatoes, diced
• 4 fresh basil leaves
• 3 sprigs fresh oregano
• 1/4 cup malty beer (I used My Biere De Garde, this time)
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Salt & Black pepper to taste
• 6oz bowtie pasta
• (non-vegan -> grated parmesan cheese to taste)

Pretty much the same process as last night, too.   The biggest difference is that the greens went into the sauce immediately after the pasta went into the boiling water.   This gave them just enough time to wilt nicely, without overcooking.  If anything this one tasted a little better than last night's, probably due to the extra tomatoes. 

Veggie Bowties

The Thursday before last, I picked up some tomatoes at the roadside farmer's market on my way home.   I love cooking with fresh tomatoes, and I'll be glad when I'm harvesting mine, but until then, I won't mind getting them from the CSA and farmer's market.   Those are usually much more ripe and ready than the ones from the grocery.

The CSA this week included a good bit of squash and zucchini, as well as a couple of kohlrabi and a big red onion.   They also had some little carrots, with tops.   Those still have the "carrot" nature, but they have a bit different flavor and texture from most of the carrots that you get at the store.

I'm just sort of rambling at this point, I think.   Quick Primavera pastas are pretty much a weekly staple for me during the summer.   Especially since I started participating in the CSA, since I wind up getting a big pile of fresh vegetables that I don't necessarily normally buy, and the pasta makes a really good "glue".   I'll hopefully post a few recipes from these things, though they will mostly be variations on the same theme that this one uses.

Enough talk...   This makes 2 servings.

• Olive oil for sauteeing & drizzling
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 medium/large red onion, sliced into sticks
• 5-6 little carrots (probably 1 large grocery carrot), chopped
• 1 small yellow squash, chopped into disks
• 1/2 medium zucchini, chopped into disks
• 1 kohlrabi, sliced into chunks
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 6-8 fresh basil leaves
• 3-4 sprigs fresh oregano
• 1/4 cup malty beer (I used my Saison Sombre, since it just went into the keg)
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Salt & Black pepper to taste
• 6oz bowtie pasta
• (non-vegan -> grated parmesan cheese to taste)

I chopped all of the vegetables but the tomato, to try and make sure all the water that came out of the tomato would go into the sauce.  Next, I got the fry pan heating on medium high heat.   When water flicked onto the pan sizzled, I added enough oil to lightly coat the pan and added the garlic, onion, and carrots.  At approximately the same time, I got the water for the pasta heating on high.   Next, I got the tomato chopped up, and tore up about half of the basil leaves and set aside half of the oregano leaves.

Once the onion had mostly lost the purple color and started turning translucent, I added the rest of the vegetables, the prepared half of the herbs, the red pepper flakes, and some black pepper and a little salt. 

After the water came to a boil, I added the pasta, brought the water back to a boil, put the lid on the pan and turned the heat off.   I cooked the pasta for about ten minutes.   Meanwhile, I got the rest of the basil ready to tear, and stirred the sauce every minute or two.   It was just starting to stick to the pan with about 2 minutes left on the pasta, and with about 1 minute left, I added the beer to deglaze.

When the pasta was finished, I dumped it and the water into a sieve and shook it somewhat dry, and then dumped it into the pan with the sauce.  I added the last of the herbs and drizzled a final bit of olive oil over the pasta as I stirred it up.   I finished with stirring in some fresh parm.

Quick Steamed Corn on the Cob

 From July 16, 2009.   I think I was explaining this one to someone who'd never heard of steaming corn.    I may be confused, though.
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Some ears of corn

Shuck the corn and remove the silk. Take a microwave safe dish (I prefer pyrex or some sort of ceramic) that's large enough to put your corn in. Put about 1/4" of water in the dish, and put the corn in. Cover the dish with plastic wrap (i wind up using 2 pieces: one vertical, one horizontal). Microwave for 2.5 minutes per cob, turning the dish midway through if your microwave doesn't have a turntable.

Roasted Beets and Leeks with Spicy Couscous

From June 9, 2009.   Once the CSA started coming in, I had to think of things to do with various vegetables that I don't normally buy in the grocery.  Roasting almost always works well.   If you eat a lot of beets, remember that you ate a lot of beets in visits to the toilet over the next day or so.  Well, you'll probably remember it either way, but if you go in thinking, "I ate a lot of beets recently," you're more likely to just let things go, rather than immediately coming to the conclusion that you've got cancer and need to call a doctor.
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2 bunches small beets
4 leeks
1 carrot
2T olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste
1/2t - 1t garlic powder or 2-3 cloves of garlic

Wash and cut stems and taproots from the beets, then quarter or half them, depending on the size of each individual beet. Half, clean, and then chop the leeks into 1-2" lengths, and cut the carrot into pieces of a similar size to the beets. Put the vegetables in a 9x13 casserole and drizzle heavily with olive oil, then sprinkle with kosher salt and 15-20 grinds of black pepper. Sprinkled garlic powder over it all, or peel and cut the ends off of 2-3 cloves of garlic and toss them in whole. Toss to get everything coated. Baked at 400 for 25 minutes, stir the mixture, and let go for another 25 minutes.

1/2 cup water
2-3 T bragg's liquid aminos
1 1/2T watered down miso paste
1T chili paste
1/2t chipotle powder
1t garlic powder
1/2t thyme
1T olive oil
1/2 cup dry couscous

Put everything but the couscous into a pot and brought it to a boil. Added couscous. Stir to mix the "broth" evenly, and then take it off the eye and let it sit for 5-10 minutes.

Dish couscous onto plate, spoon vegetables on top of couscous.   If I have it, I'll add gorgonzola, as the sharpness of the cheese matches well with the sweetness of the roasted vegetables and the spiciness of the couscous.   It will be just dandy without the cheese, though.

Roasted Root Stew

This was for a get-together with the Nashville Smial (Tolkien fan group) around January 24, 2009.   The idea was to make something that hobbits would eat, and I was trying to aim for something sort of seasonal, too, so I decided to go with some perennial herbs (rosemary & thyme can handle pretty chilly weather) as well as some that are easily dried, and root vegetables. I don't know if hobbits would have sea salt, black pepper, and olive oil, but that's OK. It turned out delicious, though. This makes 3-4 servings.


4oz onion quartered
.1oz garlic, crushed, mostly whole
3.3oz parsnip, peeled and cut into 2-3 inch lengths, 1/2 inch wide or so.
5.3oz turnips, peeled and cut into 1-2 inch cubes
4.7oz carrots, peeled and cut pretty much like the parsnip
11oz small red potatoes, quartered
.18oz rosemary
.18oz thyme
3 small bay leaves
1T dry parsley (fresh would be better, but i don't have a lot of that, so i'll use it for the real one)
3T olive oil
1t sea salt
20 grinds black pepper

Combine in dutch oven. stir so everything has some herbs and oil on it. Bake at 400F without lid for 40 minutes. Stir at least twice.  Be sure to remove the thyme and rosemary from their stems, since it's a bit of a pain to do that once everything is cooked.

Remove from oven and add:

1 large pinch dry basil
1T (mounded) tomato paste
1 cup red wine
1/4-1/2 cup water


Bring to a boil and let it simmer back down for 20-30 minutes, until the sauce is nice and thick.  Serve with some good crusty bread.

Thai-Style Tempeh and Asparagus

I cooked this on September 22, 2008.   I've made something similar a couple of times since, but I should really revisit this one this spring.   My comment when I wrote down the recipe:  "Tastes like summer."

Tempeh is one of the more interesting meat substitute type things.   Mostly (to me) due to the fact that it has some texture that tofu really can't reproduce.  

Remember that this is stir-fry, so have everything chopped up on a board next to the stove, ready to shove into the wok at a moment's notice.
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4oz tempeh

Marinade:
1/2t lime - juice
1/2t sesame oil
1T soy sauce
1T rice wine vinegar
1t hoisin sauce

Cut tempeh into sticks and marinate for at least 15 minutes, turning occasionally.

Sauce:
Outer part of the lower section of lemon grass stalk
1/4 veggie boullion cube
1/4 cup hot water
1T soy sauce
1T rice wine vinegar
1/2t sesame oil
1/2t lime -juice
1 1/2 t sugar
1/2 t ground white pepper

Flavor veggies:
1 thumb-sized knob of ginger, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small thai hot pepper, diced
The heart of one lemon grass stalk

Veggies:
1/2 onion, chopped into sticklike pieces
6oz asparagus, after breaking ends off, cut into ~2" pieces
3 stalks of bok choy, leaves cut into 3" squares, stalks cut into piece of a similar size to the asparagus

finishing:
1/3 cup unsalted dry roasted cashews
2t of cornstarch in 2T of cold water, stirred up.

Put 1T of walnut oil (I thought I was buying peanut) into a wok, and got it hot. Added the marinated tempeh to the hot oil, and let it sit while I shook the pan around some, to keep it from sticking. After a minute or two, I turned the tempeh over and let
it cook for another minute or two, so it would get a nice little crust on both sides. It absorbed almost all of the oil, and I let it cook mostly dry for another 30-45 seconds before dumping it out to a rack. I added another tablespoon of walnut oil and got it hot, and then added all of the flavoring vegetables and stirred them around in the oil for 10-15 seconds (until they were fragrant, i.e. until the pepper made me cough) before adding the onion and bock choy stalks. I stir-fried that until the onions turned translucent, maybe a minute and a half, and then added the asparagus and stir-fried that for another minute and a half before returning the tempeh and adding the bok choy leaves. I continued to cook everything just until the leaves started to wilt, and added the sauce and cashews and let it cook for another minute. Then I re-stirred and added the cornstarch mixture and cooked for another 30 seconds before pulling it off of the heat.

Serve over brown rice.

Simple Bean Chili

July 29, 2008.    I think I called this "simple" because it used cans of beans, rather than dry beans.      I've never thought chili was particularly complicated, though.   I think the most complex one I have made was from "Vegetarian Southwest", and that involved roasting and peeling several pounds of peppers.   It was also worth it.    On the other hand, this one could be easily modified to make a crock-pot stew.

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1/2 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalepeno, seeded & chopped
2 small "cow horn" peppers (you could use half of a bell), seeded and chopped
1-1/2 cups of chopped tomatoes
1/2t salt

1 can of black beans
1 can of pinto beans
1 bean-can of water

1t turmeric
1t cumin seeds
2t black peppercorns
1/2t thyme
1/2t oregano
1t chili powder
1/2t hot mexican chili powder
4 dry pequin chili peppers

1/2 capful of liquid smoke
1/2 capful apple cider vinegar
1 pepper from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce + 1T of adobo sauce
2 bay leaves

ground the dry spices in the spice/coffee grinder.
heated cast-iron dutch oven / deep skillet on medium high, and added some butter to coat the bottom once the pan was hot.
sauteed the vegetables with the salt until the onions were translucent and the tomatoes were mostly falling apart, and the majority of the water was cooked out. added the beans and the water, and then everything else. simmered on medium-low heat for about an hour and a half, until it was thick and i could see the bottom of the pan for around half a second when i stirred. it would be ready sooner without the extra water.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

When I'm making salads, I have this pretty much on tap.   The oil is healthy, the balsamic brings lots of flavor (and a $5-7 bottle of it will last quite a long time, if you keep it specifically for salads).   The combination is simple.   Unfortunately, Kroger stopped carrying this Spanish Olive Oil, so I've switched to some other stuff.   It's alright, but I liked the Spanish stuff much better.

Get about equal parts (this is around a teaspoon) of mustard powder and fresh ground black pepper, and half or less that amount of salt (I've got kosher salt in this picture).   Dump them into your jar.









Add the balsamic vinegar to fill the jar somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 of the way.   Fill the jar the rest of the way with olive oil.   Let it all sit for an hour or two, so that the water in the vinegar will dissolve the salt.

Chickpea and Potato Curry

February 14, 2007.   This is a favorite, and i should really make it again sometime.
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curry powder (grind in a coffee grinder, or mortar & pestle, if you need to relieve some stress):
1T black peppercorns
2t ground coriander (i had some left over)
2t whole cumin
1t turmeric powder
1t black mustard seeds
1/2t whole fennel
1/2t cilantro
1/2t crushed red pepper
1/4t anise seed
1/4t nutmeg
1/4t cinnamon
1/4t allspice
3 cardamom seeds

vegetables:
1 onion, diced
4 jalepenos, diced (store-bought... weak)
3 cloves garlic, minced
28oz yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch or so cubes
28oz can whole tomatoes (meant to get diced...)
1/2 bag of dried chickpeas, soaked per the bag & then cooked for about 1/2 an hour. (i think 2 cans of them would work just fine)

oil:
2T peanut oil
1T olive oil
2t sesame oil
1/2T butter

get the oil hot in a large, deep skillet. dump the curry powder in, and stir it around & let it cook for a minute or so, then add the onion, garlic, and peppers. cook all of that until the onions are looking limp and translucent, and then add the potatoes and stir them around for a bit before adding the tomatoes and chickpeas. i think i also added around 1/2 the tomato can of water, just so everything could cook down nicely. the canned tomatoes also bring a bit of salt, so you don't have to add too much (i like adding soy sauce to it). simmer until it's thickened & everything is soft, 30 minutes is good, an hour is better (and it's even better the next day).

Tomato Olive Dip

Constructed on February 1, 2007.   This worked quite well as a dipping sauce for some ciabatta bread, and would probably work well for other crusty breads. 

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6 kalamata olives
3 cloves of garlic
1 6oz can tomato paste
3-4T olive oil
1t italian seasoning
1/2t black pepper
1/4t crushed red pepper

buzz everything up in a food processor (after peeling the garlic and pitting the olives, preferably).  let it sit for a bit, so the flavors can come together.

Vegetarian Dirty Brown Rice

October 7, 2006.   This is rooted in things along the lines of Cajun Rice, but uses Textured Vegetable Protein for the protein, rather than the diced Andouille Sausage.  One thing to keep in mind is that the TVP will absorb some of the water pretty quickly, so extra water is needed beyond what the rice will take in.

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1 med. onion
1/2 large bell pepper
2 stalks celery
2 cloves garlic
2 medium and one small jalepenos (only one of these was actually hot, after licking the inner disk when i cut the stem off, which is why so many)
2T olive oil

1 cup brown rice
1/2 cup TVP (textured vegetable protein)
3 cups of water

1 vegetable boullion cube
1 teaspoon rubbed thyme
1 tablespoon parsley
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 teaspoons hot sauce (i used Captain Rodney's Corazon del Fuego)
2 tablespoons soy sauce

dice the vegetables heat up a large, deep skillet with the oil. when it's hot enough to make ripples in the oil (or you can smell it), add the vegetables & sautee until they're limp (or at least until the onion is translucent) (5-10 minutes). add the rice, and stir that around in the oily vegetables for a minute or two, you want it taking on some color again, but not to the point of turning brown, add the water. then add all of the seasonings and the TVP & bring it to a boil. turn the heat down to low, cover, and let it simmer for 45 minutes or until all of the water is absorbed.

Veggie Chili

This is also from May 17, 2006.   I'm still tempted to bring a vegetarian chili to one of the chili cookoffs at work.   the secret to good flavor with one of these is to use a bunch of peppers, rather than a bunch of chili powder.   too much chili powder will give it a weird grainy taste.   This one was pretty spicy, but not painfully so.

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1 pound pinto beans, soaked overnight
1 large onion, chopped
3 banana (cowhorn?) peppers, seeded & chopped
4 jalepenos, chopped
1 large bell pepper, seeded & chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/4 cups dry TVP
1 cube vegetable boullion
2T chili powder
1T ancho powder
1T chipotle powder
1 1/2 t cumin seeds, ground
2 bay leaves
1 oz dry tomatoes
2t basil
leaves from 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
leaves from 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
2t salt
1t black pepper

i covered the beans with water by about 3 inches, and just threw everything else in there with them on medium heat. turned it down to a simmer after it started boiling. wait for the veggies to fall apart, which should be in the 2-3 hour range. you should add water if it's getting dry while you're waiting for that to happen. used fresh thyme and rosemary because that's what i have. i'd guess between 1 and 2 teaspoons of each, dry. you could probably use a little less water & salt, and use a large can of diced tomatoes, instead of the dry ones, too, but once again, that's what i had.

Spicy hummus

From May, 17 2006.   It's hummus.   Spread it on stuff.   Especially tasty in a grilled cheese sandwich.
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8 oz dry chickpeas (garbonzos)
3T tahini
1/3 cup lemon juice
5 cloves garlic
1/8 oz dry tomatoes (ground in coffee grinder)
1t basil
1t turmeric
5 "bird's eye" thai peppers (the tiny ones)
black pepper to taste

follow the soaking instructions on the bag of chickpeas, then cook them for an hour and a half or so, drain them (keeping the water) and dump them in a food processor that has the chopping blades attached. add everything else and turn the processor on after pulsing a few times. while it's on, add the leftover water until it's got the consistency that you want (i like mine a little thick). this is a mildly modified version from what's in "The Joy of Cooking".

Curry Rice and Lentils

I made and dehydrated this around March 27, 2006 for a backpacking trip.   I should really do more of this sort of thing, because it's cheap and easy.   Reconstituting it takes about 15-20 minutes after you've added boiling water.   This fed 3 people who had just backpacked 7 or 8 miles with the peak temperature in maybe the mid 40's.   it snowed on us at one point that morning.

It's also really tasty with a handful of raisins in it.  the sweetness complements the spice and salt quite nicely.

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Lentils:

1/2C lentils
2t onion powder
1t garlic powder
1t black pepper
1t salt

put all this in a pot that's about 1/2 full of water and poil it for 45 minutes or until most of the water is absorbed/ boiled off

Rice:

1C brown rice
2T olive oil
2t sesame oil
1 medium onion chopped
1 medium bell pepper chopped
1 stalk of celery chopped
3 jalepenos chopped
4 cloves of garlic pressed or diced
2-3T curry powder
1 vegetable boullion cube
2t black mustard seeds
2.5C water

in a deep skillet heat the oil, then add the mustard seeds and get them hot. then add the vegetables and cook them down for a bit. then add the rice and stir it around until it's toasted some. add the water and boullion and curry powder and bring to a boil, then put a lid on and simmer for 45 minutes or until the water is absorbed.

Curry powder:

(sorry, no amounts, because i just wrote down what i put in, and not how much.)
coriander
cumin
funugreek
turmeric
2 cardamom seeds
crushed hot pepper
wasabi
thyme
cilantro
lemon peel
dry mustard

Black Bean Dip

From January 9, 2006.   I got this from Malachi, who I suppose got it from some cookbook, but I don't remember which one, though I do remember him telling me.   You can actually use any beans or salsa that you want with this.   This used Jack's Screamin' Hot, which is on the order of painfully hot to me, which a couple of friends would consider "tasty", and a couple others would call "OMGWTF??? OW OW OW"
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1 can of black beans, drained
3-5 tablespoons of salsa
1t cilantro
1t cumin
1t hot pepper (crushed red works... i used some of my dad's stuff)
1/2t black pepper
1/2t garlic powder
1T lime juice

combine in the bowl of a food processor and then buzz it all up until it's a thick paste, near the consistency of a thin peanut butter.   transfer to a serving vessel.   chill for a few hours for the flavors to meld.   eat it cold or warm it up and melt some cheese on it.   either way, it's tasty.  

Mushroom Tomato Pasta

Here's one from August 31, 2004 that exemplifies the seat-of-the-pants cooking I enjoy.   Some days, you don't realize the bounty that your pantry, refrigerator, and spice cabinet have to offer until you realize that you really don't want to go to the grocery, and haven't been for a couple of weeks.
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 so, i had some penne rigate and some fresh tomatoes and peppers that i got from my parents last weekend, and not much else, so i figured i'd do something with that. digging through my cabinet, i found some dried mushroom "medley"... hmmm, this sounds promising.

4-5 tablespoons(???) extra virgin olive oil
3 small tomatoes, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 hot pepper of unknown species (one of the milder hot peppers)
1 package of dried mushrooms
1.5 cups(???) water
1 teaspoon tobasco
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
salt and black pepper to taste
2 cups penne rigate

reconstituted the mushrooms by boiling them in the water in a small saucepan for a few minutes. combined everything but the pasta in a bowl, while the mushrooms boiled, thought about how to mix it all together for a couple of minutes, then just dumped it all in with the mushrooms. kept all that simmering the whole time i cooked the pasta, so it was thickened up a bit by the time it was ready. ran the pasta through a sieve, then tossed it back into the pot i cooked it in, dumped the sauce on top, and stirred it around for a minute.

i was amazed that i managed to get the pasta/sauce combination "just right"... i tend to have a bit too much sauce. it was mighty tasty, and even better with parmessean sprinkled on top.

Macerated

What's better in late spring and early summer than fresh picked berries, covered in sugar and acid, and left alone for their cell walls to disassemble?   Or any time, for that matter.  

This was a batch from May 28, 2004, that I brought in to work to dump on some brownies.    A little whipped cream will bring it all together.
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1 lb. strawberries (you can do this with any berries, though)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2t lime juice
2T red wine
3T water

Combine everything in a bowl, cover and refrigerate.  A couple of hours would be good, but overnight is even better.  

Fresh Salsa 1

From August 26, 2003
_________________________

2 cups of raw tomatoes, diced
1 jalepeno pepper, diced
2 green onions, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lime juice
1-2 teaspoons cilantro
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt

mix it all together, let it sit for an hour or two, for the flavors to come together.

Veggie Lentil Curry 1

From August 16th, 2003... 

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1/2 bag of lentils
4 small yellow squash
1 medium zucchini
2 medium golden potatoes
1 medium yellow onion
1 medium jalapeno pepper
3 small cloves garlic
2-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
enough curry powder to make a roux with the oil (i.e. 2-4 tablespoons)
1 12oz can of coconut milk
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce

Cook lentils in water for about 40 minutes (or as per the instructions on the bag)

 
Cook the oil & curry until the spices have started to brown slightly and are aromatic.  Add the onion & garlic and cook them for a minute or two (until translucent).  Add the rest of the veggies and stir to coat everything in the spicy oil.  Then dump the lentils in (water & all).  Add soy sauce & coconut milk.   Simmer over medium-low heat until the whole thing is at your preferred thickness, or until your rice is finished cooking.

Serve over rice.