ethiopian bbq lentils, minty kale, and celeriac remoulade over quinoa

This meal started with an impulsive purchase of celeriac, a root vegetable related to celery. I just finished reading "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan, which was fantastic, and have been working on reducing my processed food intake. 17,000 new foodlike substances are released every year and they're not doing us very much good. I admittedly get excited about some of the new vegan food items. However, I'm going to focus my excitement on vegetables, fruits, and grains that I haven't yet experienced. Although the new vegan marshmallow Dandies are incredible...

I scoured the internet for a tasty celeriac recipe and happened upon one. From there, I designed a few dishes I thought would complement it well. I was very satisfied with the individual dishes and how they interacted, so I recommend trying them out! We've been eating it for four days and we're not sick of it yet!

Ethiopian BBQ Lentils

2 c lentils
3 c water

1 c water
2 carrots (chopped)
1 c tomato sauce (I recommend Susan's homemade sauce, but work with what you've got)
1 T red wine vinegar (herbed recommended)
1 T olive oil
1 T berbere (mix yourself or purchase)
1 1/2 t tamarind concentrate (probably not necessary)

1 T molasses (sorghum)

1 T paprika
1/2 t salt

Clean and wash the lentils, picking out any pebbles or dirt. Toss the lentils and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Let it simmer until most of the water has boiled off, around 20 minutes.

Add another cup of water, the carrots, and the tomato sauce. Actually, you might as well add everything else at this point as well. I don't really have a recommended berbere recipe, but it's a crucial part of the dish. If you don't have a mix or all of the ingredients, add as many of them as you can! Cook for another 20 minutes or so until the water's gone and the lentils and carrots are well cooked. If the lentils are burnt and sticking to the pan, you've gone too far.

Minty Kale

We picked up some local Red Russian Kale at the co-op! I also picked some mint that was invading our garden. Soon, I can pick up invading dill weed from around the garden too!

olive oil
1 onion
~4 cloves of garlic (chopped)

1 bunch/4 cups of chopped Red Russian Kale (other varieties , collards, or spinach would work as well)
1 T mint
1 1/2 t dill
1 1/2 t lemon juice

Sautee the onions for a few minutes until they are translucent. Add the garlic. Let them sautee for a few more minutes. Add the kale. Let it cook until it shrinks down to a manageable level. Add the mint, dill, and lemon juice. Cook it for a few minutes, then put it on low while the rest of the food is cooking.

Celery Remoulade

Follow this recipe: http://veganyumyum.com/2007/11/celery-remoulade/


I went a little wild style with the food processor, so it was more of a mash than a slaw, but it was still delicious.

I really enjoyed this veggie and I hope you do too! Next up is rutabega, so please post your favorite rutabega recipe.

Quinoa

I kept the quinoa basic and let the other dishes shine.

3 c water
1 1/2 c quinoa

Let the water boil (in a pot). Slam the quinoa in the pot and let it cook until it has absorbed the water. Fluff it with a fork occassionally for best results.

We also topped it off with a nice piece of focaccia bread from Basil's Harvest.

serbianesque beans

We decided to make some bean-based dish last week. I've had an aversion to using dried beans, because I've been too impatient with them in the past. But I trudged through the pantry and found an incredibly old and suspect bag of black beans. Their age made me uncomfortable (not usual), so I disposed of them and selected some pinto beans. I soaked them for several days until I remembered them and we were hungry.

My mom makes delicious Serbian beans, so I decided to replicate them. I consulted my trusty Serbian Women's Auxiliary of St. Michael's Church (Saratoga, California) cookbook, but couldn't find the recipe in the index. (Yes, I realize it's in there, but couldn't locate it at the time). I poked around on the internets and found a few references that guided me (particularly this one: http://eastethnia.blogspot.com/2005/10/beans.html). It definitely turned out better than my previous attempts at making beans from scratch and tasted way better than canned beans. I still have a long way to go to match my mom's though. It looks kind of gloppy, but I swear it is tasty!


Here is an attempt at constructing the recipe. I will make a better effort at keeping track next time!

A few cups of beans - maybe 4 dry cups? (I used pinto but feel free to experiment)
Several more cups of water

Olive oil
2 Carrots
1 Large Onion
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Celery Stalk

~2 Tablespoons of olive oil
~1 Tablespoon of flour
~1 Tablespoon of paprika

Put the beans in a pot. Cover them with a few inches of water. Let them soak overnight. Don't forget about them.

Replace the beany water with clean water (use the old water for gardening?)
Boil those beans for at least an hour and a half. I'd go a little longer - mine were kind of hard.

While the beans are boiling, sautee the veggies.

Next, make the zaprška (essential!). Heat the oil in a different pan, then slam the flour and paprika in the oil. Mix it around for a few minutes.

Put the zaprška in the veggie pan and turn down the heat until the beans are ready. Toss the veggies in the bean pot. Let them hang out for a few minutes - maybe 10. You might want to toss in a bay leaf or two. Salt to taste.

Prijatno!

cheezy tofu bagel sandwich

Yay our first blog post! Tom loves sandwiches, and I'm a particular fan of the breakfast variety, so we're starting things off with this tasty, cheezy, tofu bagel sandwich. We ate this for dinner, but I would place it in the breakfast arena because of its "eggy" tofu patties.



Ingredients

12 oz silken tofu
1 tbs nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbs olive oil

1 medium sized onion
2 Bagels

1 recipe cheezy sauce or 2 slices vegan cheese
note: we used the cheezy sauce recipe from Veganomicon

recipe makes two sandwiches

Cut the onion into slices. Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a frying pan and toss in onions. Stir until coated with oil and allow to cook.

Put tofu, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper in food processor and blend. Pour remaining 1 tbs olive oil in frying pan and tilt until oil coats bottom. Next is the tricky part. Using a 1 tbs measuring spoon, scoop out tofu mixture and drop into pan (watch out for hot, oil splatters!). Place 3-4 seperate tbs in pan depending on size (see picture).

Allow to sit 4 minutes before touching with spatula or fork. When edges begin to brown and pull away from pan, gently slide fork or spatula under mixture and flip. Don't worry if it gets a little messy, think of it like cooking an egg, not a pancake. Cook until both sides are browned and remove. Continue process until tofu mixture is used up (see picture).

Toast bagels, then load up with tofu patties, cheezy sauce, and grilled onions. enjoy!