October 2007

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Vol. 6, No. 10

Featured Recipes

Peppered Kale & Potatoes

I grew several varieties of kale in my garden this year, which I have been using in many new ways.  Kale is a very nutritious vegetable, loaded with phytonutrients. This is delicious, healthy, and quick to put together which makes it a favorite lunch time dish.  I even like this for breakfast!  We like this with Sriracha red chili sauce over the top for even more heat.

Preparation Time:  15 minutes
Cooking Time:  20 minutes
Servings:  2

2 cups red fingerling potatoes, chunked
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 portobello mushrooms, coarsely chopped
4 cups packed, coarsely chopped dinosaur kale
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon chili paste
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place the potatoes in water to cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook until fairly tender, about 8-10 minutes.  Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, place the onion, garlic and mushrooms in a large nonstick sauté pan or wok. Do not add any liquid.  Dry fry over medium heat, stirring frequently, for about 5-6 minutes, until onions and mushrooms are fairly tender.  Add the kale and stir gently to combine. Continue to cook, stirring frequently for about 2 minutes, then add the potatoes.  Cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, then add the soy sauce, chili paste and pepper.  Cook an additional 5 minutes, until kale is tender and potatoes are somewhat browned.  Serve warm.

Hints:  Small red potatoes may be substituted for the fingerlings, if desired.  If you can’t get dinosaur kale (also called Lacinato Blue), use regular kale, but remove the stems first. 

Stovetop Bulgur Pilaf

This is a delicious earthy fall pilaf that would be a wonderful addition to your Thanksgiving menu.

Preparation Time:  15 minutes
Cooking Time:  1 hour
Servings:  4

1 onion, chopped
2 cups vegetable broth
½ cup white wine
½ cup uncooked wild rice
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
½ cup uncooked bulgur
½ cup chopped green pepper
½ cup chopped red pepper
1 tablespoon soy sauce
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
freshly ground black pepper
½ cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Place the onion in a large non-stick pot with 1 tablespoon of the vegetable broth.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion turns a slight golden color.  Add the remaining broth, the wine and the wild rice.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook for 30 minutes.  Add the mushrooms, bulgur, peppers, soy sauce, crushed red pepper and several twists of freshly ground black pepper.  Mix well, cover and continue to cook for an additional 25 minutes, until grains are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.  Stir in parsley and serve.

Hearty Chili

This chili is made with sun-dried tomatoes which gives it a rich tomato flavor.  Make sure you use the dried ones, not oil-packed.

Preparation Time:  10 minutes (cooked rice needed)
Cooking Time:  45 minutes
Servings:  4-6

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup water
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1  26 ounce jar fat-free marinara sauce
1  16 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1  16 ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup cooked brown rice
½ cup vegetable broth
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Place the onion and garlic in a large pot with the water.  Cook, stirring frequently until onion has softened slightly.  Cut the sun-dried tomatoes into pieces using a scissors and add to the pot along with the remaining ingredients.  Mix well, cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook over low heat for about 40 minutes, until flavors are well blended.

Hint:  Instead of the brown rice, use one cup of the Tofu TVP from the May 2005 newsletter.

Moroccan Harira

This is another variation to the Moroccan Red Lentil Soup that was in the February 2007 newsletter.  This one is made with regular brown lentils and canned tomatoes which are readily available everywhere.  This is a very thick, hearty stew, which is delicious on a cool fall evening with a loaf of fresh bread.

Preparation Time:  15 minutes
Cooking Time:  1 hour
Servings:  8

1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
8 cups vegetable broth
1  15 ounce can chopped tomatoes
1  15 ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup dried brown lentils
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
½ cup orzo
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Place the onion, celery and garlic in a large soup pot with about 2 tablespoons of the vegetable broth.  Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables become softened slightly.  Add remaining vegetable broth, tomatoes, garbanzos, lentils, tomato paste, lemon juice and all of the spices to the pot.  Mix well, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook for about 40 minutes until lentils are tender.  Add orzo and cook for another 15 minutes.  Stir in fresh cilantro and parsley and serve at once.

Griddle Cakes

These delicious griddle cakes are based on a recipe from Marla Erickson on her website, Marla’s Marvelous Meals, www.vegsource.com/marla.  My sister, Carol Van Elderen, first made these almost like the original recipe and really liked them.  She served them with fresh tomato slices over the top when delicious fresh tomatoes were available last summer.  Then she told her neighbor, Dave DeGraaf, about them and he also did some experimenting, coming up with a wheat free variety, using only the cornmeal, but loaded with vegetables, such as red, yellow and orange peppers, grated yellow and green squash, chopped cilantro, fresh tomatoes, onions and garlic.

These are a wonderful savory griddle cake, best served with some kind of a topping, such as fresh tomatoes, salsa, mushroom sauce, gravy, or try the Red Pepper Sauce in this month’s newsletter.

Preparation Time:  15 minutes
Cooking Time:  15 minutes
Servings:  makes 11-12 griddle cakes

1 1/3 cups soymilk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup cornmeal
¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
dash salt
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 cup grated zucchini
½ cup chopped green onions
2-3 tablespoons coarsely chopped black olives
2 tablespoons chopped pimiento, well drained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

Combine soy milk and lemon juice in a measuring cup and set aside.

Combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl.  Combine the remaining ingredients in another mixing bowl.  Add the soymilk mixture to the cornmeal mixture and mix well, then stir in the vegetable mixture.  Ladle batter by ¼ cup scoops onto a hot non-stick griddle and cook until golden brown (this takes a bit longer than pancakes). Flip and cook until griddle cakes are browned on both sides.  Keep warm in a low oven until ready to serve.

Hints:  To make these without the wheat flour, use 1 ¼ cups of cornmeal and no wheat flour.  If you use chopped fresh tomatoes, drain them well first.  In addition, if you are using garlic, onion, and peppers, you may want to sauté them in a very small amount of vegetable broth before using in the recipe.

Red Pepper Sauce

Preparation Time:  5 minutes
Cooking Time:  30 minutes
Servings:  makes 1 cup

2 large red bell peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
½ tablespoon prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce

Place the peppers, onion and garlic in a food processor and process until quite smooth.  Transfer to a pan and add the remaining ingredients.  Cook, uncovered over low heat for at least 30 minutes to intensify flavors and reduce sauce slightly.  Season with a bit of sea salt, if desired, before serving.