Category Archives: vegan

parsnip “fries”

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Parsnips only came onto my radar within the past six or so years– they just weren’t a part of my early life for some reason but now I’m a major fan.  They look like white carrots but have a sharper taste to them and they are so easy to prepare.  And they’re delicious!  Bonus.

I found this recipe in the current issue of Bon Apetit and promptly got to the business of trying it.  It’s so simple.  You toss cut up parsnips with olive oil, salt, pepper, chopped rosemary, and minced garlic and then you roast for about twenty minutes.  Sprinkle a little cumin on them and call it a day.  Trick your kids and picky-eating friends into thinking they’re fancy French fries and they’ll totally go for it.  Except these are waaaaaaay better than fries.

Baked Parsnip Fries with Rosemary (from Bon Apetit magazine, March 2012)

  • 2 1/2 lb parsnips or carrots, peeled, cut into about 3 x 1/2″ strips
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary, plus 5 sprigs rosemary
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon (or more) ground cumin

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Mix parsnips, chopped rosemary, garlic, and oil on a large rimmed baking sheet.  Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.  Spread out in a single layer.  Scatter rosemary springs over.

Roast for 10 minutes; turn parsnips and roast until parsnips are tender and browned in spots, 10-15 minutes longer.  Crumble leaves from rosemary springs over; discard stems and toss to coat.  Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon cumin over.  Season to taste with salt, pepper, and more cumin, if desired.

mid-week middle eastern meal

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I used to work at an ad agency in metro Detroit.  I love that city, I really do.  I could devote a whole post (or two or ten) about my love for it but will start by talking about the food in the cafeteria at the ad agency I used to work at.  It was run by people of Lebanese and Yemeni descent and the food very much reflected that.

I had a few exposures to Middle Eastern food before living in metro D but it was pretty much restricted to pita and hummus.  The cafeteria opened my eyes to the beauty of things like shish tawook, chicken kafta, and a beautiful dish called mujadera.

Mujadera involves lentils, (and you know how much I love lentils) rice, and onions– both cooked and caramelized.

I had plenty of rice on hand but also had farro and thought that might make a nice substitute.  Farro is in the wheat family, similar to barley.  It is hearty and nutty and delicious in savory dishes.

While the lentils, onions, and farro were cooking on the stovetop I turned my attention to caramelizing some onions to top the mujadera with.

Caramelizing onions is easy and the results are delicious.  I’d venture a guess that even people who don’t like onions under normal circumstances like caramelized ones.

If I were making caramelized onions to go on a burger or to top a pizza I might stop at the below….

But for this dish you want them brown like the below image.  I don’t even mind if they’re a little on the black side even though the recipe warns you to be careful of burning them.

I was psyched to find this recipe in a cookbook I had because Wisconsin is relatively void of Middle Eastern food and now I can make this for myself at home.  Score!  Takes me back to my days of eating lunch at the cafeteria in Detroit…

Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions (Mujadera) (from “How to Cook Everything” by Mark Bittman)

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped, plus 1 large or 2 medium onions, halved and sliced
  • 1 clove minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 2 cups lentils, washed and picked over
  • About 6 cups chicken, beef, or vegetable stock, or water, warmed
  • 1 cup long- or short- grain rice (or farro)

Place 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large, deep saucepan and turn the heat to medium.  A minute later, add the chopped onion and cook until it begins to become tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper, and cook 3 minutes more.  Add the lentils, stir, and add about 4 cups liquid.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils begin to soften, about 20 minutes.  Add enough of the remaining stock or water so that the lentils are covered by about an inch of liquid.  Stir in the rice.  Cover and turn the heat to low.

Meanwhile, place the remaining oil in a medium skillet and turn the heat to medium-high.  Cook the onion slices, stirring frequently, until they are dark brown but not burned, about 15 minutes.  Scoop out the onions and let them drain on paper towels while you finish cooking the lentils and rice.

Check the rice and lentils after 20 minutes.  When both are tender and the liquid is absorbed, the dish is ready.  If the lentils and rice are not tender, add more liquid, cover, and cook for a few more minutes.  If, on the contrary, the rice and lentils are soft and there is much liquid remaining, raise the heat a bit and cook, uncovered, stirring until it evaporates.

Serve the rice and lentils, garnished with the caramelized onions.

taco tuesday

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I love me some lentils.  I don’t think I had ever even eaten lentils until I was in college and discovered that I liked the vegetarian version of my dorm cafeteria’s shepherd’s pie more than the meat version.  Lentils are super hearty and I hear they are good for you too.  Bonus!

 I’ve done a bit of experimenting with brown and red lentils and recently bought some French lentils which are green in color.  I don’t discriminate against lentils based on color.  They’re all equally good in my eyes.

I must admit, the dish I am about to share with you was not prepared by me but rather by a visiting friend and I immediately deemed it blog-worthy so took photos and asked for the recipe.  (Clearly I was so hungry that I rushed the photo-taking part…  Forgive me.)

 My friend made tacos out of lentils.  Tacos!  Who doesn’t like tacos??  The lentil tacos were so full of flavor and so hearty that I definitely didn’t regret the fact that they were meatless.  In fact, I celebrated that they were meatless.  Even though I love things like bacon and a nice roasted chicken I rarely prepare meat at home so I have a decent repertoire of vegetarian main dishes and this recipe will no doubt be added to it.  I suggest you do the same!

Apologies for the sparse posts lately.  I am in the midst of moving and thus not cooking/baking so much these days since all of my stuff is in boxes and my fridge looks like a total bachelor’s with nothing much apart from condiments in it.  But I will be settled into my new place soon and promise to return to more regular posts in the very near future!

Lentil Tacos (recipe found at www.runnersworld.com)

1 cup onions, diced
1/4 cup celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup brown lentils, dry (note: I had French and red lentils on hand and used a combination and it worked just fine)
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup water or vegetable broth
3 tablespoons dried black currants or raisins, minced
1 cup salsa, plus additional for topping
8 6-inch corn tortillas
shredded lettuce
chopped tomatoes
shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

In a large frying pan over medium heat, sautée onions, celery, and garlic in the olive oil for five minutes or until vegetables are soft. Stir in the lentils, chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Cook for one minute. Add the broth and raisins. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender (add more water or broth as needed). Remove the lid and cook an additional 10 minutes (until lentils are thick), stirring often. Fold in the salsa. Wrap the tortillas in a damp white cotton towel and microwave on high for one minute. Spoon the lentil mixture among the tortillas. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese.
Serves four.

kale chips!

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Yep, I said kale chips.  Wha-wha-what?  This from the same lady that brought you cherry pie, blueberry cobbler and strawberry cupcakes in recent weeks?  Yes, and those are precisely the reasons why kale chips are now called for.

I’m going to be honest with you, until about a year ago I had never eaten kale.  It just looked (and sounded) like it would taste bad.  I envisioned it being bitter and chewy and not nice at all.  But oh was I wrong!

There are several kinds of kale– I usually buy the curly-leafed kind that you find in grocery stores, but this weekend at the farmer’s market they had this lovely blue-green, flat-leafed variety and I couldn’t resist.  I’m all about aesthetics.  Plus, the flat-leafed kind takes less time to bake– a major bonus during the summer months when you want to have your oven on as little as possible.

Apart from kale the only other ingredients you need are olive oil, salt, and pepper.  So simple!  You just rinse the kale (I put mine in my salad spinner to dry it off, but you can also pat it dry with a paper towel), toss it will a little olive oil and then sprinkle with salt and pepper and that’s it!  Anyone can do this. 

You might think that you are making more kale chips then you really need but be forewarned: what starts out looking like the above image winds up looking like the below image:

Yeah, it shrinks a little…

This is the tastiest health food you’ve tried in a while.  It tastes like it should be bad for you but is really so good for you.  It’s packed full of beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, and calcium.  I just read that on wikipedia.  Apparently it is also an anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory and may contain anti-cancer properties.  Can Doritos do that?  I think not.  Better get to it!

Kale Chips

  • bunch of kale, rinsed and dried
  • olive oil
  • salt
  • pepper

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Remove kale from thick stems.  (Discard stems.)  Toss in bowl with small amount of olive oil (just enough to coat the kale) and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake on rimmed cookie sheets for 25 minutes for flat-leaf kale or 32 minutes for curly-leaf kale.  (You want the kale to be crispy like a potato chip!)

 

simple summer salad

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I figured it was high time I featured something green on the blog and with summer upon us and lots of picnics and barbecues ahead of us this here recipe is one you need to have in your arsenal.  People who don’t even like salads like this salad.  Small children who normally run away from vegetables and that neighbor of yours who eats a steady diet of fast food and not much else like this salad.  You get the point.

The ingredients are simple and few: spinach, strawberries, and dried cherries (or cranberries).  I like to add pecans or walnuts for a little crunch, but it is just as good without them.  And it’s even better with candied pecans or walnuts.  Trust me on this one.

A tangy and sweet poppy-seed dressing that is equally easy to make pairs nicely with it.

Bring this one to your next party– it can be thrown together in no time and is a total crowd pleaser, I promise.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

  • 8 oz bag of spinach, rinsed and dried
  • ½ cup strawberries, rinsed, stem caps removed and sliced
  • 1/3 cup dried cherries or cranberries
  • 1/3 cup pecans or walnuts, optional
  • Poppy seed dressing (see recipe below)

Place spinach in large salad bowl and top with strawberries, dried cherries or cranberries, and nuts.  Add desired amount of poppy-seed dressing (note that recipe yields enough for several salads) and toss to coat.

Poppy Seed Dressing

  • 1 cup canola oil
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon poppy seeds

Whisk all ingredients together in small mixing bowl.  (Stores nicely in refrigerator for future use.)