Vegetarian Ribollita

What's better on a chilly, rainy Sunday than a big bowl of hearty soup?

Okay, lots of things, but for the purpose of THIS blog, you have to admit that soup ranks right up there on the comfort food scale and the warm fuzzy feeling it evokes. I do, however, feel it is my duty to warn you NOT to make this (or any other food involving a knife) if you're also indulging in my other favorite rainy-Sunday past time: watching football. Fortunately for me- although not so fortunate that it happened in the first place- I nearly sliced my finger tip off early on in the veg chopping process instead of at the end. That means that not much was contaminated before I could slap a bandage on my finger and get on with things, namely, grabbing a new cutting board, washing my knife, and throwing away a small pile of diced carrots and starting fresh. Oh well. Other than hurting like a mother and making it difficult to type, this time wasn't nearly as bad as the last time I got on the wrong side of my 7" Santoku knife... but that's another story. ;)

Vegetarian Ribollita

Ingredients:

olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

1 rib of celery, diced

1 bell pepper, diced (preferably red, yellow, or orange)

1 cup of cherry tomatoes, diced

1 zucchini, diced

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 bay leaf

1 Tbs. herbes de provence

1 Tbs. dried basil

1 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

salt & pepper to taste

6 cups vegetable stock

2-3 inch piece of Parmesan rind

2 (15.5 ounce) cans of beans, drained and rinsed (I used pinto & cannellini this time)

6 ounces of spinach (fresh or frozen)

multi-grain bread, cubed and baked at 350 degrees until golden brown and crunchy

Directions:

In a large soup pot over medium heat, saute the onion, carrots, celery, and bell pepper in olive oil for 8-10 minutes or until the vegs starts to soften. Add in the cherry tomatoes and zucchini, continuing to cook for another 5-7 minutes. Dump in the canned tomatoes and all spices and simmer for several minutes before adding the vegetable stock and Parmesan rind. Lower the heat and simmer, covered for 10-15 minutes. Lastly, add in the beans and spinach and simmer for another 10 minutes or until the spinach is wilted. To serve, drop several cubes of toasted bread in the bottom of the bowl, cover with ribollita, and toss a few more croutons on the side. Finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and you're set.

Enjoy!

Garden Lentils

Over the last couple of years, I've learned just how versatile the humble lentil is... it's not just for soup, you know. ;)

I think I've mentioned before how I grew up in a kind of "meat and potatoes for dinner" household, so I wasn't exactly exposed to a lot of different flavors. I had a stay-at-home mother who made dinner for the family each night, but what she cooked was geared towards my father's taste (thus the meat & potatoes) with a few of her (New England influenced) family favorites thrown in. So what does this have to do with lentils? Well, the only time I ever saw them was when they made an appearance in soup as a filler (much like barley was treated... but that's a post for another day), or in the bland, goopy lentil soup that only my mother seemed to like. I never had them as the main focus of a dish until I started experimenting with more and more vegetarian dishes in the last 2 years or so.

And can I just say... why the hell did it take me so long?! Lentils are one of my favorite go-to meals now, not only because they're so quick and easy to prepare, but also because the flavor possibilities are practically limitless. So, whether as a main or side dish, I've jumped on the lentil bandwagon!

Garden Lentils

Ingredients:
1/2 cup lentils
2 cups water
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 shallot, diced
1 carrot, diced or shredded
1 rib of celery, diced
6 oz spinach (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. garlic powder (or fresh... but you know my feelings on this stuff by now)
salt & pepper to taste
1 Tbs. red wine vinegar
1 Tbs. fresh basil leaves, torn
1 Tbs. fresh mint leaves, torn

Directions:
In a medium pot, bring the lentils and water to a boil. (Do NOT add any salt to the water because the lentils don't soften if you do... trust me, I learned this the hard way in the beginning.) Boil the lentils for 10 minutes then drop the heat to low, cover, and simmer for another 20 minutes or until the water has been absorbed.

Meanwhile, in a large saute pan over medium-low heat, cook the shallot, carrot, and celery until slightly softened, about 5-7 minutes. Add in the spices (EXCEPT the fresh basil and mint), tomatoes, and spinach and continue to cook until the spinach has wilted.

Once the lentils are cooked, stir in the red wine vinegar before adding the lentils to the spinach mixture. (Why not just add the vinegar to the spinach directly? I find that the spinach turns brown, and although it's still mighty tasty, it's not very appealing in color.) Remove from the heat and finish with the fresh herbs. (Again, why not add in the herbs earlier? They too will turn an unappealing shade of brown when cooked, so it's best to garnish the finished dish with them.)

Enjoy!

(Vegan) Mexican Mocha Brownies

So we're planning another little fete tomorrow night at work to celebrate the birthday of one of the techs, and I was volunteered to make my Vegetarian Tofu Chili. While that was easy enough to throw together after work tonight (it's simmering away in the slow cooker even as I write this), I couldn't resist the urge to finally try out one of the recipes from the vegan baking cookbook another co-worker loaned me. I've been intrigued by the concept of vegan baking, namely, how in the hell that works without eggs and butter, and my vegan co-worker was all too happy to loan me her copy of The Joy of Vegan Baking: The Compassionate Cooks' Traditional Treats and Sinful Sweets by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. If nothing else, it was certainly educational reading and answered many of my questions with regards to vegan baking.

So. To go along with my chili, I decided to try one of the easier recipes and make brownies. However, being me, I couldn't leave well enough alone and put my own spin on it.

(Vegan) Mexican Mocha Brownies

original recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking: The Compassionate Cooks' Traditional Treats and Sinful Sweets 

by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

if they taste as good as they smell... yum!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 Tbs. previously brewed, strong coffee
2 tsp. ground flaxseed
1/2 cup previously brewed, strong coffee
1 Tbs vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups AP flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of cayenne
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup non-dairy dark chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, apple sauce, and 2 Tbs of previously brewed coffee.

In a separate bowl (I used a glass measuring cup), whisk together the ground flaxseed and 1/2 cup of previously brewed coffee before adding it to the sugar mixture along with the vanilla.

In yet another mixing bowl, whisk (or sift) all of the dry ingredients together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined. Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips and pour batter into an 8"x 8" glass baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until the edges are set and the center is still shiny. Cool before cutting.

Enjoy!

******************************************************************************************************************

all that was left... that's the mark of a great brownie!

Addendum: The brownies were a HUGE success at work tonight! I can't imagine making them any other way from now on because these were incredibly moist and fudgey... some seriously deep chocolately goodness. Yum... :)

Black Bean & Corn Salad

Black Bean & Corn Salad

Ingredients:
black beans, drained and rinsed
sweet corn
tomatoes, diced
roasted red peppers, diced
red onion, diced
orzo pasta
assorted spices: chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, cilantro, salt & pepper
lime juice

Directions:
While the orzo is cooking to al dente (just about 8-9 minutes), in a separate pan, saute all other ingredients except the lime juice. Drain the orzo (reserving some of the cooking liquid) before adding to the rest of the ingredients, and splash in enough of the reserved cooking liquid to keep things nice and moist. Finish with a squirt of lime juice.

Okay, so notice how I didn't give any measurements? That's because it should ALL be done to taste. Today, I just made enough to pack for dinner tonight, but it also translates well into a larger quantity to feed a crowd.

Enjoy!

Banana Bread... & Muffins

Pretty much, anytime I have bananas in the kitchen that are too ripe (for me) to eat, I make a batch of banana bread. I really like how it can be made into either a standard loaf OR in the form of muffins, and this time, I split the batter to make some of each. I like this recipe because it's pretty forgiving and easy to switch things up by adding in any number of tasty flavors to suit your mood. This particular batch included chocolate chips and chopped walnuts, but I think my all time favorite combination is with peanut butter and chocolate chips... or cocoa powder and walnuts... mmm... What was I saying? Oh, right. Whatever combination floats your boat will turn out great... and they're fantastic for breakfast or as a snack. This time around, I froze the loaf and put the muffins in an airtight container in the fridge where they'll last the rest of the week.

Banana Bread... & Muffins

this recipe made 12 muffins & 1 loaf

Ingredients:

4 ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup apple sauce (I keep jars of this in my pantry, usually the unsweetened kind)

3 eggs

1 Tbs. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups AP flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt (I always use fine sea salt)

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Optional Add-ins: 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 1/4 cup natural peanut butter (or any nut butter would be tasty), 3/4 cup chopped nuts, 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the bananas, sugars, vegetable oil, apple sauce, eggs, and vanilla. I usually mash the bananas right in this bowl before dumping everything else in and stirring together with a wooden spoon. I suppose you could use an electric mixer if you really wanted to, but it's not exactly hard to mix these few ingredients together with a spoon... and it means fewer dishes to wash if you skip the mixer.

Anyway, in a separate mixing bowl, whisk (or sift) together all of the dry ingredients before adding them to the wet ingredients. As tasty as the final product is in it's basic form, I really like to play with my add-ins and hopefully, you thought about it before starting. If using the cocoa powder, whisk it in with the dry ingredients before adding to the wet. If you want to use a nut butter, stir that into the wet ingredients before adding the dry. If your preference is for the chopped nuts and/or the chocolate chips, I like to combine those with 1 Tbs. of flour to coat them before folding them into the completed batter. (Why the extra bit of flour? It prevents the heavier nuts/chips from sinking to the bottom of the pan during baking, allowing them to stay suspended throughout the batter as it bakes.)

For bread, I like to use 2 of the 8"x3"x2" loaf pans and bake at 325 degrees for 55-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs clinging to it. Cool in the pans for 15 minutes before turning the bread out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Like any quick bread, this stuff freezes beautifully... if you can resist eating it all right away. ;)

If your preference is for muffins, this amount of batter will make 18 large (if cups are filled all the way) or 24 standard (if cups are filled 3/4 of the way full) muffins. Bake at 325 degrees for 22-25 minutes, until a toothpick blah blah blah. I only let muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes before turning them out on a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

A New Happy Place

Seamus in ghetto kitchen

While writing for my previous food blog several years ago, I was living in a house in a not-so-great part of Baltimore which I always referred (not so affectionately) to as the ghetto. Even though I enjoyed cooking in general, it wasn't always a pleasurable experience in my small kitchen with its inadequate counter space and outdated appliances. Well, about 18 months ago, I moved to a lovely house in Annapolis and the newly renovated kitchen is absolutely divine; lots of counter space, new appliances, and ample cupboard/pantry storage as well as a large fridge and freezer. I've rediscovered the joy of cooking- and developed an interest in baking- in this kitchen, and I take full advantage of it on a nearly daily basis.

Kailan in new kitchen

The other big difference in my new Happy Place is the latest addition to my family: Kailan. After I lost my old man Seamus when he was almost 15 years old, I ended up adopting a 3 year old golden retriever. Growing up with dogs, and having a dog of my own for the last 10 years, they're an integral part of my life and, naturally, follow me into my Happy Place. Now, as much as I love my goldens, it's a bit of pain in the ass to have to wipe down the counters and stove top- before I can even start cooking- to get rid of any hair that may have floated into my work space. Annoying? Yes. But I've learned to live with it and now it's just a part of my routine, much like washing my hands and preheating the oven before I even gather the first ingredients.

Kai staying out of the way

Whereas Sea would sleep in the middle of the kitchen floor, forcing me to step over and around him, Kai wants to be right next to me, squeezing himself in between me and the counter. After he pulled this stunt while I was removing a tray from the oven- squeezing himself between me and the open oven door, forcing the oven door to close on my arm- I learned 2 important lessons: (1) Use an oven mitt instead of just a pot holder when reaching into a hot oven, and (2) Kai is NOT allowed in the kitchen when I'm cooking! It took him awhile, but he finally learned to respect the invisible line surrounding my work space when I'm in the kitchen, and now he'll just flop down in front of the dishwasher, or better yet, on the sofa in the living room where he can still see me. That's not to say he doesn't occasionally try to sneak in between me and the counter when I'm not paying attention, but now I can just point and he heaves a big sigh before moving back to his spot.

See? Happy Place. :)

Veg(etari)an Minestrone Soup

With fall upon us, I have this driving need to make soup. It's a comfort food and I find it be very soothing, both in the eating AND in the process of making it because I can just go with the flow and toss in whatever I have in the fridge/freezer/pantry. One of my favorite forms of cooking is what I like to call the Pantry Game: What can I make with what I've got on hand? Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I kind of rock at this game because I keep a very well stocked pantry and the creative challenge really gets me thinking outside the box. Soup is one of the easier pantry challenges because, basically, anything goes. Having basic staples like different kinds of pasta, canned beans, canned tomatoes/sauce/paste, loads of frozen vegs, and an abundance of spices allows me the freedom to experiment whenever I feel like it.

I'm off work today and it's been overcast all day after rain moved through last night. It's not exactly cold out, but with the lingering dampness, it's the kind of day that just screams for something cozy to eat in front of the TV with the dog in your lap. (That's just a suggestion, albeit one of my favorite serving suggestions... you can eat it however you want.)

Veg(etari)an Minestrone Soup

Ingredients:
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 carrots, chopped
2 ribs of celery, chopped
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, diced (I usually just use a can of diced tomatoes, but thought, what the hell?)
1 bay leaf (I always throw a dry bay leaf into my soups)
1 Tbs. garlic powder (oh go ahead, use the fresh stuff if it doesn't give YOU a migraine)
1 Tbs. dried basil
1 Tbs. dried rosemary, crushed
1 Tbs. dried parsley
1 Tbs. dried dill
1 Tbs. lemon pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (I didn't necessarily want a spicy soup, but it gives a nice heat in the background)
salt & pepper to taste
6 cups of vegetable stock (I suppose you could use water, but why? chicken stock is another good option if you don't care about it being vegetarian)
1 (24 ounce) jar of marinara (whatever you have in the cupboard is fine; I never actually use the stuff with pasta since I like to make my own, but it works fabulously in this application) *feel free to use tomato sauce instead or even V-8 juice
2 inch piece of Parmesan rind (I've mentioned this before here) *omit for vegan recipe
8 ounces of mixed veg (if you don't have this staple in the freezer... *shakes head* you're an idiot, and just made a whole lot of extra work for yourself) *depending on the brand, this will include green beans, corn, lima beans, peas, carrots, okra, and/or potatoes
1 (15 ounce) can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (really, any kind would work- these happen to be MY favorite)
1 cup of dried ditalini (elbow macaroni or orzo would work here, or even rice)
7 ounces of extra-firm tofu, diced and baked (I've mentioned baking tofu before here)

Directions:
In a large stock pot over medium heat, cook the onion, carrots, celery, and cherry tomatoes in olive oil until softened, about 10 minutes. Add in all spices and stir to combine before pouring in the vegetable stock, marinara, and Parmesan rind. Raise the heat to medium-high and bring soup to a low boil for about 10 minutes before once more reducing the heat to medium and adding in the mixed veg. Continue to simmer the soup for another 10 minutes or so, until the added vegs start to soften before tossing in the beans and dry pasta. By now, the soup should be thickening somewhat so turn the heat to low, add the tofu, and cover, simmering for another 5-10 minutes until the pasta is cooked. Don't forget to remove the bay leaf before serving. And, like most of my soups, this one freezes beautifully... if you have any leftover, that is. ;)

Enjoy!