Zucchini-Spinach Soup

Zucchini and spinach are two vegetables that are relatively cheap and easy to find at the store, even in winter, so I'm making this soup from Caldwell Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease to accompany Creamy Avocado White Bean Wraps (which I'm pretty sure will be tasty regardless of how this soup turns out).  Sameer doesn't tend to approve of sandwiches for dinner, so I try to make sure any I feed him are extra special sandwiches and either hot or served alongside something hot (such as this soup). 

Ingredients
9 medium zucchini (about 3 lbs), chunked
1 large onion, coarsely chopped (1 cup)
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 cups vegetable broth, or water, or a combination of wine and broth or wine and water (I'll be using broth or broth and some water.)
2 tbs miso, Bragg Liquid Aminos, or low-sodium tamari (optional) (I'll use Bragg's because I keep it on hand.)
8 oz (or more) fresh spinach, coarsely chopped, or 1 box or bag of frozen spinach
2 cups frozen corn
pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Combine zucchini, onion, garlic, and 3 cups of liquid in a soup pot.

2.  Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover, and simmer about 10 minutes until zucchini is tender.

3. Blend soup mixture with an immersion blender until smooth and a rich, green color.

4. Add miso, Bragg's, or tamari, if desired.

5. Add corn and spinach and any other vegetables you wish. Heat until corn and spinach are warm but not overcooked.

6. Add pepper to taste.

[Edited 2/3/13: The flavor of this soup was really good, but the texture was watery and chunky at the same time.  To be fair, I had to add 2 extra cups of water just to cover the 5 chopped zucchini I used, and I did blend it up AFTER adding the spinach to make it easier for Simran to eat (she didn't care for it).  I think in the future I'll either refrain from blending the spinach or add a can of white beans or lentils to make it a smoother consistency.  I'm sure Simran would prefer the latter.]

Creamy Avocado & White Bean Wrap

I saw a link to this recipe when I was making another recipe from EatingWell.com and it sounded appealing.  I'm pairing it with soup to make it more meal-like and winter-appropriate.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar (I substituted champagne vinegar because of personal preference.)
• 1 tablespoon canola oil (I used extra virgin olive oil because it's what I had on hand.)
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce (I love these things!)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups shredded red cabbage
• 1 medium carrot, shredded
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed
• 1 ripe avocado
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons minced red onion
• 4 8- to 10-inch whole-wheat wraps, or tortillas

Directions

1. Whisk vinegar, oil, chipotle chile and salt in a medium bowl. Add cabbage, carrot and cilantro; toss to combine.

2. Mash beans and avocado in another medium bowl with a potato masher or fork. Stir in cheese and onion.

3. To assemble the wraps, spread about 1/2 cup of the bean-avocado mixture onto a wrap (or tortilla) and top with about 2/3 cup of the cabbage-carrot slaw. Roll up. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Cut the wraps in half to serve, if desired.

[Edited 2/3/13: I blended the avocado and white beans with an immersion blender instead of just mashing them. Simran loved it. Sameer and I both really liked these wraps but I will make the following changes in the future: don't bother with cheese -- we couldn't even taste it; put the red cabbage and vinaigrette ingredients in a food processor to get them more finely chopped and easier to eat; use an additional teaspoon or so of chipotles in adobo -- the bites that featured that flavor were significantly tastier than the bites that didn't.]

Meal Planning

We're having wet weather today, so Simran and I are putting off our grocery shopping until at least tomorrow.  That means dinner tonight has to come from things we have 100% on hand at home.  As always before grocery shopping, I did a clean-out of the fridge and took inventory of what needs to be used up (I'm telling you this because I assume if you're bothering to read about my meal planning you are curious as to how I do it. If I am wrong but you want to know what I'm making, you can skip to the list by just looking at the bold faced meal names below).  This is what I base a good portion of my meal selections on -- using things up (I realize this is how most people meal plan, but I've only ever found "how to" descriptions from meat eaters who simply explain how they manage to use up a whole chicken over the course of a week -- FoodNetwork had an entire show devoted to it).  The other thing I tend to take into account is using up whatever fresh produce I'm buying this week (e.g., if I buy fresh spinach, I end up with way too much spinach for one dish, so I plan enough spinachy meals to use it up -- this is particularly important when it's an item that won't typically keep more than a week, like spinach). 

This week we have in the fridge:  flour tortillas in both burrito and fajita sizes, extra broccoli I didn't use last week along with a couple handfuls of baby carrots that won't be fresh much longer, some sliced green and red bell peppers that didn't get used up because I bought six bell peppers last week, and half a dozen miniature whole wheat pita pockets.  Here's what I'm making:

Stir-fry:  I'm making stir-fry tonight because I have all the ingredients necessary on hand.  The aforementioned broccoli, baby carrots (I'll just slice them each once length-wise -- better to use them this way than let them go to waste), and sliced bell peppers.  There is a little tofu in my freezer leftover from last week's spicy vegetable curry and the last of a batch of homemade seitans already thawed in my fridge since making spaghetti last night.  I always keep brown rice on hand, and I think we have canned water chestnuts and baby corn too.  Done.

Seven Layer Tortilla Pie with Red Cabbage Slaw:  This recipe calls for seven tortillas (one of the things I wanted to use up) and is delicious, so that's why I'm making it.  It also calls for salsa, which I always seem to have on hand despite no one in our house ever eating it outside recipes, and fresh cilantro, which only ever gets used up if I use it in multiple dishes like I'm doing this week.  The slaw calls for red cabbage and carrots, and will use up a good portion of the leftover plain yogurt already in the fridge.

Creamy Avocado and White Bean Wraps with Zucchini-Spinach Soup:  Sameer doesn't believe soup or sandwiches are dinner, so when I make them, I make them together.  It's a lot of work for something he doesn't like all that much, but I love sandwiches, and I like having leftover soup in the freezer for last-minute lunches.  This recipe will use up the last of the tortillas (I'm not bothering to buy wraps) as well as more of the red cabbage, which always requires multiple recipes to use up since a head of cabbage is enormous (I often get a tiny bag of the pre-shredded stuff, but it's more expensive and significantly less fresh).  The zucchini-spinach soup will use up however much of the spinach isn't used for pita pizzas.  It's also a Simran-level-healthy recipe and something she can easily eat with us.

Pita Pizzas:  We had these last week, but it left us with pita pockets and feta to use up.  They're good enough to have two weeks in a row, and they're really quick and easy, which is nice since Sameer's dentist appointment this Thursday afternoon won't leave a lot of time or energy for cooking.


Veggie Burgers with Artichoke-Bean Dip and crudites:  We still have two boxes of Morningstar veggie burgers in the freezer and don't need that many on hand, so we'll have those on fresh homemade rolls with whatever cheese and vegetable fixins we feel like.  The artichoke-bean dip is another Simran-level-healthy recipe that she can easily eat because it's pureed.  This is a reasonable Friday night dinner (meaning it doesn't require too much effort) if I make the rolls Thursday afternoon/evening and chop the crudites Friday morning or earlier. 

Penne a la Vodka?  We typically keep the ingredients for this dish on hand -- Tofurky Italian sausage, a jar  of vodka sauce, whole wheat penne rigate, and whatever random vegetables are leftover from other things.  We might end up having this meal Saturday or Sunday or not at all. 

As always, we also have a frozen pizza and ingredients for making spaghetti.

The Esselstyn Breakfast (a.k.a "Oatmeal and Fruit")

I don't normally "cook" breakfast, particularly since a lot of the healthiest options tend to be cereal, but this recipe sounded a lot like what Simran eats for breakfast everyday (hot baby oatmeal flavored with a couple spoonfuls fruit puree -- the fruit of choice changes based on what we've got, but she loves them all).  It also sounded like something Sameer and I would like, so I'm going to make it for all of us, puree a portion with an immersion blender for Simran, and see how to make this work for a daily breakfast.

Ingredients
Old-fashioned rolled oats
Unsweetened almond milk or low-fat soy milk
Fruit of your choice (I'm not sure how well they'll puree for Simran, but I think raisins and prunes would be good, as would bananas mixed with whatever organic frozen fruits I've got in the freezer -- I'll move them to a bowl in the fridge the night before.)
Walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Start with old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking oats), uncooked, either plain or topped with GrapeNuts for crunch or with another cereal like Grainfield's Raisin Bran or shredded wheat (no sugar added).  (The GrapeNuts sound appealing, but I'm going to omit them initially since I'm not sure how well Simran could eat them without teeth, even if they're ground up.) 

2. Instead of milk, use oat, almond, or nonfat soy milk.  Apple juice, cider, and orange or grapefruit juice (include the sections) are also delicious.  (I'll be using unsweetened almond or low-fat soy milk.  I still wonder where he has found nonfat soy milk.  I've never seen it in my life, and I go to a lot of stores.)

3. Top it all with raisins, sliced bananas, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, or peaches.  (This first time I'll use bananas and either raspberries or peaches, depending on which I currently have in the freezer.)

4. If you don't have heart disease, add some walnuts.  (Keep in mind this recipe comes from a book about reversing heart disease, so a lot of the ingredients are based on keeping intake at nearly zero fat.)

5. Heat in a pot on stove top according to rolled oats package directions.

Classic Veggie Pizza

In honor of Sameer's birthday today, I told him he could have whatever he wanted for dinner.  He chose homemade veggie pizza with herbed crust.  I'm not sure if it's true or he's just being nice, but I still feel honored that he claims his favorite pizza is the kind I make at home. 

Ingredients 
1 herbed pizza dough
1 cup mozzarella or Italian cheese blend, grated (the higher number of cheeses in a pizza, the more Sameer seems to like it -- I'm not sure if he's aware of that, but I've noticed when he comments)
2 tbs fresh grated Parmesan (you can omit this if it's already part of the Italian cheese blend)
1/4 cup cheddar, grated
2 cups pizza sauce (This is an approximation. I use about 2/3 of a jar of the store brand organic sauce, and I don't know how big the jar is. 10 oz? 12?)
1/4 cup green and red bell peppers, chopped
2 tbs yellow onion, chopped
4 oz sliced black olives
any other vegetables of your choosing (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.  Roll out the pizza dough as described in the herbed pizza dough recipe and place it on a round pizza pan sprinkled lightly with corn meal (to avoid sticking).

2. Add pizza sauce, vegetables, and cheeses, in that order.  Cook pizza in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes.

Deviled Baby Potatoes

I got this recipe from Caldwell Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.  Since I don't think they'd make much of a meal on their own and I don't want to pair them with a fancy vegan salad we might also hate -- and thus end up eating a frozen pizza after dinner like we did after last week's Quinoa in Color -- I'm going to make Outback Steakhouse-style salads to go with this, with whatever organic, non-iceberg lettuces I can find at WholeFoods this week, cucumbers, onions, homemade yogurt-based ranch dressing, croutons, and maybe even some shredded cheddar.  We used to have such salads every couple weekends with cheese fries as a meal, so I'm considering these deviled potatoes to be the part we're making healthier here. 

Ingredients
12 red new potatoes
Hummus and Green Onion Sauce

Directions

1. Steam 12 small red potatoes for about 20 minutes, then plunge them into cold water in a big bowl. Chill.

2. Slice each potato in half. Using the small end of a melon baller or a small spoon, scoop out a hole in the center.

3. Fill each hole with Hummus and Green Onion Sauce, Sweet Corn Sauce, or Walnut Sauce, mustard, or some other sauce of your choice.

4. Top with a few parsley or cilantro leaves and serve.

[Edited 1/25/13: Sameer said, "These are really good!" and expressed surprise that they were "Esselstyn approved."  They are quite good.]

Hummus and Green Onion Sauce

This recipe comes from Caldwell Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.

Ingredients
10 tbs no-tahini hummus
1/2 cup chopped green onions, white and green parts
2 tsp Dijon mustard

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients until combined.  Serve.

Simple No-Tahini Hummus

This recipe comes from Caldwell Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease and is a staple of a lot of the other recipes from the same book.

Ingredients
1 15 oz. can chickpeas (2 cups cooked), drained and rinsed
2 garlic cloves, chopped
zest of 1 lemon
2-3 tbs fresh lemon juice
4 tbs vegetable stock or water
1 tsp low-sodium tamari or Bragg Liquid Aminos (optional)

Directions

1. Combine chickpeas, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, and stock in a food processor and process until smooth. Add more stock if too thick.

2. Taste and add as little tamari as possible.  (With 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, you probably won't need extra seasoning.)

Variation:  Add 1 cup loosely packed cilantro or parsley; use cannellini beans instead of chickpeas.

[Edited 1/25/13:  Simran really liked this.  She just kept eating it with a spoon.]

Baby's Lentil & Squash

I have finally made something Simran ate without my having to hide it in something else or trick her.  Since Sameer and I are vegetarian, we don't feed Simran meat, so I try to feed her lots of vegetable protein sources, mostly in the form of different sorts of peas and lentils.  She grew relatively accustomed to my hiding pureed lentils in her vegetables, but I overcooked them last time and they were bitter and too dry and lumpy.  This displeased her.  Today I made a fresh batch of red lentils with lots of water (she likes her food essentially liquid) and a box of frozen organic winter squash puree.  It turned out great.  I personally would drink it from an over-sized mug if ill or unable to take time to eat a real lunch.  Simran ate several bites without ever making her "this is disgusting" face.

Ingredients
1/2 cup red lentils, rinsed and checked for stones
2 cups water
10 oz. squash puree (or other vegetable puree of your choice -- whipped sweet potatoes would work well)

Directions

1. Combine lentils and water and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until lentils are mushy (about 20 minutes).

2. Blend the lentils and remaining water (ideally with an immersion blender -- easier to use and clean).  It will be a very thin consistency, but it will thicken as it cools.  Stir in warm squash puree.

Brownies

Sameer suggested I make brownies for his 32nd birthday rather than a chocolate cake so that we don't each end up eating half a cake.  This seemed like sound logic, and brownies are also a lot faster and easier than making an entire cake and frosting, so here is the brownie recipe I'm using, originally from AllRecipes, but my version below incorporates changes from one reviewer.  The frosting glaze ended up seeping into all the brownies when I made these before, possibly because the melted butter was too hot, but that turned out to be delicious, so I figure I'll just do things the same way this time and see how it goes.

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder

frosting glaze:
3 tbs butter, melted
3 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbs honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.

2. Mix together 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder in a small mixing bowl. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients. Spread batter into prepared pan.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.

4. To Make Frosting: Combine 3 tablespoons melted butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar. Consistency should resemble a thick liquid glaze. Spread over brownies while they are still warm.  

Gnocchi with Spinach and White Beans

This is one of the quickest, easiest healthy recipes I have.  It's also really good.  The original is called Skillet Gnocchi with Chard and White Beans and comes from EatingWell.com.  I usually make it with spinach because I'm more likely to have fresh spinach on hand for other recipes, but it would work equally well with chard, kale, or pretty much any other dark leafy greens.  I also find that it's tastier with the gnocchi boiled instead of fried in a skillet.  I don't like my gnocchi crunchy.

Ingredients

• 1 16-ounce package shelf-stable gnocchi
• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup water
• 6 cups chopped chard leaves, (about 1 small bunch) or spinach (I usually use more to add bulk without adding calories, also just to use up whatever leftover greens I happen to have.)
• 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings (don't drain -- use all the juice)
• 1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

 Directions

1. Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil.  Add gnocchi.  It takes about 3 minutes to cook -- you'll know it's done when it floats.  Drain.

2. While water is coming to a boil and gnocchi is cooking, cook onion in a non-stick skillet over medium heat for 1-2 minutes.  Add garlic and water. Cover and cook until the onion is soft, 4 to 6 minutes. Add spinach (or greens of your choice) and cook, stirring, until starting to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, beans and pepper and bring to a simmer. Stir in the gnocchi and sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover and cook until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling, about 3 minutes.
  

Kitchari

I pulled this kitchari recipe from Caldwell Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.  I reduced the amount of jalapeno in his recipe from 2 to 1.  One jalapeno minus the seeds is still plenty of heat, so two seems like it would be excessive.  He also suggests seasoning with Tabasco, which just sounds disgusting.  After making this and eating it, it sounds even more disgusting.  It's surprisingly good without any additional seasoning, so I would recommend trying it as written before adding anything to it.  I ended up adding some cilantro chutney with garlic and regretted it.  I think this will end up becoming a staple at our house based on its healthiness coupled with ability to be filling.

Ingredients
1 cup yellow split peas
2 cups brown rice, uncooked
1 large sweet potato, cubed (2 cups)
1 small head cauliflower, chopped into bite-size pieces (2 cups) (Neither Sameer nor I care for cauliflower, so I didn't see the point in buying any.  I'm omitting this ingredient.)
1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp cumin seeds (Turns out I had no cumin seeds, so I just used ground cumin.)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 tsp asafoetida (a.k.a. hing -- abundantly available in Indian grocery stores, but I've never found it anywhere else.  It's a key ingredient with a garlicky/oniony kick, so don't try skipping it or the dish will end up painfully bland.)
4 tsp peeled, grated fresh ginger (I'm using jarred ginger paste because I'm both cheap and lazy and I already had some in the fridge. Fresh tastes slightly better, but it doesn't make that much difference once it's cooked into something. Dried/ground ginger is NOT an option.)
1 heaping tbs white miso (optional) (I didn't bother buying miso, so I won't be including any.)
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
spinach
lots of cilantro, chopped

Directions

1. Cook peas in 12 cups of water about 10 minutes, until soft but not broken down.

2. Add rice, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and turmeric, bring back to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook until softened (about 40 minutes).

3. Stir-fry cumin seeds in a small, hot frying pan until slightly darkened, shaking pan constantly and watching closely so cumin doesn't burn. (I skipped this step and the next since I had no cumin seeds and it was getting late.  I just added the cumin, ginger, and jalapeno directly to the cooked split peas and rice mixture. It worked out fine.)

4. Add jalapeno peppers and ginger and stir-fry for a few seconds, adding water if necessary.

5. Add spice mixture and asafoetida to peas and cook over low heat for about 45 minutes. Add optional miso and pepper and stir.

6. To serve, put a handful of spinach in a bowl, add hot kitchari to wilt it, and top with chopped cilantro.

Thai Green Curry

Over Christmas I was introduced to Thai green curry from a local Thai restaurant.  I decided to take a stab at making my own at home.  I found the recipe I plan to use (sort of) tonight on about.com courtesy of a Google search.  My local supermarket predictably didn't have essentials like kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass, but they did sell a jar of Thai green curry paste that had all the exact same ingredients listed in the recipe, so I just bought that instead.  Whatever.  I wasn't looking forward to sauce-making anyway.  I'm not going for "authentic" today so much as "using up things I already had," so you'll see lots of substitutions on the ingredients list.  If they don't work out, I'll try to stick to the recipe better next time.  My notes are in italics.  I'll have to come back to this and make adjustments based on how everything turns out.

Ingredients

• GREEN CURRY PASTE:  (Nope.  I'm just using a jar of ready-made Thai Kitchen brand green curry paste.  Had no desire to take Simran hunting for an Asian grocery store to get half this stuff.)
• 1 stalk fresh lemongrass, sliced finely and minced OR 3 Tbsp. frozen or bottled lemongrass
• 2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 2+1/2 Tbsp. [wheat-free] soy sauce, OR see 'Other Sauces' below recipe*
• 1-2 tsp. brown sugar (to taste)
• 1-3 green chilies, minced (to taste)
• 1 small onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger, sliced
• 2 kaffir lime leaves (fresh or frozen), snipped into thin strips with scissors, OR substitute 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 loose cup chopped fresh coriander leaves and stems
• 1/4 cup fresh basil
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce, OR substitute 1 more Tbsp. regular [wheat-free] soy sauce
• OTHER:
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, OR substitute 1 bay leaf (Going with the bay leaf because I have some already. I plan to grate some lime zest into the mix too since a different recipe suggested that.)
• 1 can good-quality coconut milk (Nope. I'm using the can of lite coconut milk that has been in my pantry for several months now.)
• 1.5 to 2 cups firm tofu sliced into cubes, OR equivalent of wheat gluten 'chicken', OR canned chickpeas, drained (I'm going with firm tofu here.)
• 1 small yam or sweet potato, cubed
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into chunky pieces (I'm doing thin slices of green and yellow bell pepper instead.  I remember no red bell pepper in the restaurant version, and green and yellow just seem like they'd taste good here and look prettier.)
• 1 cup snow peas (I have none.  I'll be adding finely cut broccoli florets, zucchini, and a handful of frozen chopped spinach instead.)
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
• 2-3 Tbsp. oil for frying (I will probably reduce this amount by at least 1 tbs.)

Directions

1. To make the green curry paste, place all paste ingredients in a food processor or blender. Add a few Tbsp. of the coconut milk, enough to blend ingredients. Process well.
2. Place oil in wok or deep frying pan. Turn heat on medium-high and add paste. Stir-fry until fragrant (about 1 minute), then add the coconut milk. Add wheat gluten or tofu and stir to combine.
3. Add lime leaves and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
4. Add yam/sweet potato. (Note: if more sauce is desired, add up to 1 cup good-tasting vegetable stock.) Cover and simmer another 7-10 min, or until yam is soft enough to pierce with a fork.
5. Finally, add bell pepper and snow peas. Stir and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes, or until snow peas are cooked but still retain some of their crispness.
6. Do a taste test for salt and spice. If not salty enough, add up to 2 Tbsp. more vegetarian fish sauce, soy sauce, or sea salt. If too salty, add a little fresh lime or lemon juice. If too spicy, add more coconut milk until desired taste is reached.
7. To serve, transfer to a large serving bowl or plate up individual portions. Sprinkle generously with fresh basil. Accompany your curry with Thai jasmine-scented rice, Thai brown rice or your choice of noodles. (I'll be making some brown rice at Sameer's request.) For an extra special treat, serve this dish with my Easy Thai Coconut Rice. ENJOY!

*Other Sauces Used in Green Curry: Normally fish sauce is used to flavor green curry. If you're a vegetarian who eats fish (a 'pescatarian'), using fish sauce instead of soy sauce will give you a 'greener'-looking curry paste. If not, another excellent vegan substitution for fish sauce is Thai Golden Mountain Sauce. (I could not find this. If I have to add anything, I'll just add Bragg's Liquid Aminos.) Use equal parts soy sauce and Golden Mountain sauce to equal a total of 3 to 3.5 Tbsp.(the flavor will be rich enough that you can then leave out the dark soy sauce).

Other Vegetables: Other vegetables that work with this recipe include: broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, chopped spinach, green beans, eggplant, squash, and zucchini.

[Edited 1/19/13:  I made this curry this week and it was really good.  Surprisingly good since it is so healthy.  Sameer liked it better than the restaurant's version, though I think the restaurant's version was too spicy for him.  I ended up making the sauce from one can of lite coconut milk (I'll try full fat in the future, but the lite turned out fine), about a cup of vegetable broth (additional liquid made it easier to cook the vegetables, plus added a little salt), a couple tablespoons each of green curry paste and Bragg's Liquid Aminos, and the zest of two limes and the juice of one.  The fresh basil is essential, as in most Thai recipes.  Dried will NOT do.]

Quinoa in Color

I found this recipe in Joel Fuhrman's book Disease-Proof Your Child.  It sounds a little bland, but it's important to me that I cook at least one dinner per week for Sameer and me that is something I would actually feed Simran too.  She's going to be eating the same food as we do really soon.  I plan to add some cilantro to this dish for flavor and color.  Avocado slices added on top would probably be good too.

Ingredients
1 cup rinsed quinoa
2 cups water (I might consider using low-sodium vegetable broth for added flavor.)
1/4 cup red peppers, chopped
1/4 cup green peppers, chopped
1/4 cup orange peppers, chopped
1/4 cup yellow peppers, chopped
1/4 cup red onions, chopped
1/4 cup carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 can (16 oz) organic pinto or adzuki beans (I plan to make some slow-cooker beans this week from dried pinto beans and will just use a pound of those.)

Directions
Mix all ingredients in a pot, except the beans. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat to simmer for about 15 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat and add the can of beans.

Pumpkin Lentil Soup

This recipe comes from Caldwell Esselstyn's book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.  This is a dish I plan to serve to Simran too, so I'll have to see how much Tabasco sauce seems reasonable to feed to a baby.  I haven't seen the finished product yet, but I have a feeling I'll be taking an immersion blender to all of it and making it a sort of pumpkin lentil bisque, rather than just blending up Simran's portion.  (Lentils and white beans blend up nicely to make soups creamier without adding much of anything but fiber and protein.)

Ingredients
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
2-6 garlic cloves, diced
3 ribs celery, chopped (3/4 cup)
3 carrots, chopped
2 cups red lentils
7-8 cups vegetable broth or water
1 large can pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp dried marjoram
1/4 tsp dried thyme
lots of Tabasco

Directions

1. Combine onion, garlic, celery, carrots, lentils and broth or water in a soup pot. Bring to a boil.

2. Lower heat and simmer, covered, 30 minutes, or until vegetables are soft and lentils have turned to mush.

3. Add pumpkin and spices and simmer until all is blended.

4. Add Tabasco to taste. (This is verbatim from the cookbook.)  "The Tabasco makes the difference. You will be surprised at how many shakes you need -- 15 to 20! Be fearless!"
[Edit: After making this, I suggest 5 shakes of Tabasco to start -- enough to add flavor but not enough to overpower.  Sameer added more to his own bowl and said it tasted far too vinegary. He ended up adding La Victoria mild taco sauce and liked it best that way. I liked it as written. Simran screws up her face in distaste with every bite I feed to her, but she does that with most things she perceives as 'new.']

Chik'n Piccata

I recently discovered Gardein brand frozen vegetarian meats and bought a couple different varieties.  One of them was chicken scallopini, and I wasn't sure how one serves such a thing, so I looked around online and ended up making them into veg chicken piccata with this recipe.  I've never eaten real chicken piccata, so I'm not sure how this compares, but I enjoyed it and I'm making it again tonight to finish off the bag of veg chicken scallopini.  The real chicken piccata recipe comes from Giada de Laurentiis of FoodNetwork.

Ingredients
2 Gardein vegetarian chicken scallopini chicken breast things (or click the link above for Giada's info on using actual meat)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

2. In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.

3. Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

White Rolls

I never buy hot dog or hamburger buns.  They're too underwhelming for how expensive they are, and they never come in the right number.  I always use this recipe instead to make my own.  The number produced is equally weird, but they taste so wonderful that Sameer and I end up eating the rest of them as dinner rolls, sometimes warm with butter, sometimes plain.  The entire batch is inevitably gone inside 48 hours.  Set aside plenty of time to make these since the dough has to rise more than once.  If dinner depends on these rolls, I typically make them a day in advance and keep them in a ziploc bag.  I'm being adventurous today and only making them 4 hours before dinner.  I plan to make veggie burgers tonight and have some more of the rolls tomorrow night with chik'n piccata and green bean casserole.

Ingredients
3 cups bread flour
3 tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup dry milk powder
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F / 45 degrees C -- I know it's the right temperature when it feels warm on my hand, but just barely.  If you've heated milk for homemade yogurt, it's like that.)
2 tbs butter, softened
1 (.25 oz) package active dry yeast (also known as 1.5 tsp, if you bake enough you buy the big jar like I do)
1 egg white
2 tbs water

Directions

1. Place the bread flour, sugar, salt, milk powder, water, butter, and yeast in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Set on Dough cycle; press Start.
2. Remove risen dough from the machine, deflate, and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into twelve equal pieces (or eight if you want them big enough for burgers), and form into rounds. Place the rounds on lightly greased baking sheets. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth, and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes (longer is fine too -- I often abandon my dough for well over an hour when tending to Simran). Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. In a small bowl, mix together the egg white and 2 tablespoons water; brush lightly onto the rolls. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown.  (If you skip or forget the egg wash, it's fine.  The only difference is they won't be quite as golden brown or crusty on the outside.  They taste just as good.)

 

Penne alla Vodka

This is one of Sameer's and my favorite dinners, especially when we're short on time or just feeling lazy.  That's why I usually reserve it for a weekend meal, like tonight.  I first came up with it when Sameer made some veg pepperoni from scratch and it was a little too spicy to eat straight.  I sliced it up and threw it together with some whole wheat penne rigate and a bunch of vegetables.  It's really good, really easy, and any unhealthiness from the tomato cream sauce seems to be undone by the enormous number of vegetables.  It also makes for good leftovers.  All vegetable amounts listed below are approximations and can be changed or omitted according to your own preferences.

Ingredients
12 oz whole wheat penne rigate (I use about 3/4 of a box at a time to make enough for Sameer and me and a couple servings of leftovers.)
4 Tofurky Italian Sausages, sliced (or 4 servings of something similarly spiced)
1 12 oz jar vodka sauce
1 medium onion, halved and sliced (I like the yellow Spanish onions best)
1 crown of broccoli, cut into florets
3 carrots, sliced diagonally (not super important, but it makes them easier to capture with your fork and eat)
1 large bell pepper, sliced (I like to use green or red, or sometimes both)
1-2 small zucchini, quartered and chopped
1 small yellow squash, quartered and chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas

Directions

1. Brown Italian sausage slices in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Set aside.

2. Cook onions until starting to turn translucent.  Add other vegetables and saute lightly.

3. Add 1/2 cup water, toss vegetables, cover, and cook until water is mostly evaporated and vegetables are tender but crisp (a good cue is when the broccoli has turned bright green -- the water helps cook everything through steaming, which is just faster than sauteeing when you've overfilled the skillet with vegetables like I do).

4. Reduce heat to low, add vodka sauce and cooked Italian sausage, and heat through.  Serve hot.

Red Beans & Rice

Since Simran has her 9-month checkup this afternoon, I want to make something quick and easy for dinner tonight.  If I do all the chopping in advance, I can throw red beans and rice together in under 30 minutes.

This is an easy, healthy, tasty, inexpensive recipe that provides plenty of leftovers for lunches (it keeps well in the fridge for several days).  I make it regularly.  The original recipe is from Robert Irvine of FoodNetwork.  My version has a couple of minor changes, like omitting the onion powder (made it gritty) and replacing the chopped garlic and salt with garlic salt (faster and less effort).  Also, the first time I made this I didn't have hot sauce, so I ended up using several tablespoons of mild La Victoria brand taco sauce.  I've also made it with just plain hot sauce.  Sameer's and my favorite version includes a healthy dose of both the mild and "brava" versions of La Victoria's taco sauce.  It adds more flavor without too much heat.  (Note:  You can make this dish vegan by replacing the butter with olive oil.)

Ingredients

• 1 large red onion, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, stem and seeds removed and small diced (or use half green and half red, like I do -- it just looks more festive that way)
• 2 (1-pound) cans red kidney beans
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce (I like La Victoria's "brava" taco sauce best.)
• 2 tablespoons mild taco sauce
• 2 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 cup white rice
• 1 tablespoon butter (replace with olive oil to make this dish vegan)
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro leaves (optional)

Directions
Heat butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. Saute onion, celery, and bell pepper until tender. Stir in kidney beans, garlic salt, pepper, and hot and mild sauces. Reduce heat to low and let mixture simmer slowly while you cook the rice.

Bring the broth to a boil and stir in rice. Return to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes without removing the lid. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.

Fold rice and beans gently together and transfer to a serving dish. Serve garnished with cilantro.

Confetti Twice-Baked Potatoes

This recipe comes from Caldwell Esselstyn's book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.  It's crazy healthy, like everything else in there.  I plan to take the stick blender to a few spoonfuls and feed it to Simran tonight.  I'm also pleased to see I can make this hours ahead of time, shove it in the fridge, and just heat it up in the oven half an hour before dinner.

Ingredients
12 medium Yukon gold potatoes
2 cups or more oat or nonfat soy milk (I have never seen nonfat soy milk in a store in my life, despite months of searching, and I don't know what "oat milk" is, so I'll be using low-fat soy milk and some leftover almond milk I need to use up)
1 16-oz bag frozen corn
2 cups green onions, chopped
2 large red bell peppers, seeded and chopped (2 cups) (I plan to use one red and one green.  To make it more confetti-like.)
1 tsp granulated garlic or chopped fresh garlic
pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Scrub potatoes, pierce with a knife, and bake for 1 hour.

3. Remove potatoes from the oven, carefully cut in half, scoop out insides into a large mixing bowl, and arrange skins in a baking dish.

4. Whip hot potatoes, adding milk slowly until quite soft.

5. Add corn, green onions, bell peppers, garlic, and fresh ground black pepper. Mix well.

6. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes.

Note: You can include pretty much any vegetation you want in the insides.  Whipped butternut squash, grated carrots, chopped broccoli, peas, lima beans, parsley, cilantro, etc.  I'll be including some frozen peas tonight to up the protein level.  I regret not buying fresh cilantro when I was at the Whole Foods two hours ago.

Colorful Broccoli Salad

I have two new habits I'm building this month:  have at least one green vegetable with every dinner (we do most nights anyway, but this means when we have pizza we also have a salad -- that sort of thing) and make at least one dinner per week that is the level of healthfulness Simran has been living by.  This essentially translates to eating mostly fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and avoiding oil, salt, added sugar, and animal products.  In the next month she will be eating less strained baby food and more of what Sameer and I eat (but pureed), and I don't want her diet to immediately suffer from that.  She'll have plenty of time to acquire a taste for chocolate cake and bricks of cheese when she's older.

Since I'm not used to cooking at quite this level of healthiness, most of my initial Simran-level recipes will be coming from Caldwell Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease (Dr. Esselstyn works at the Cleveland Clinic and is a leader in using nutrition to cure and prevent things like heart disease) and Joel Fuhrman's Disease-Proof Your Child (Dr. Fuhrman is to kids what Dr. Esselstyn is to heart disease patients -- eats by the same basic rules, but with more allowance for healthy fats from things like avocado, nuts, and small amounts of oil, as well as small amounts of dairy).

Today's Colorful Broccoli Salad comes from Dr. Esselstyn's book.  This recipe is how I learned that I like bok choy.  To make a full meal tonight, I'm pairing it with Confetti Twice-Baked Potatoes from the same book.

Ingredients
2 bunches broccoli, florets in small pieces, stems sliced
2 large onions, quartered and separated
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped (1 cup)
3 pieces bok choy, chopped in 1-inch sections, including both white and green parts (I tend to use the entire bunch, just because I don't have any other meals planned that would use it)
4 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tbs nutritional yeast
1 tsp mustard, any kind
juice and zest of 1 lime

Directions

1. Steam broccoli until just tender and bright green, remove from heat, and put in a large bowl.

2. While broccoli is steaming, spread onions on a baking sheet and broil until browned on one side, watching carefully. Turn and brown other side. Remove and scrape into bowl with broccoli.

3. Add peppers, bok choy, and green onions to broccoli.

4. Mix vinegar, nutritional yeast, mustard, lime juice, and zest in a small bowl and pour over broccoli. Chill before serving.

Pie Crust

This Alton Brown recipe is what I've used for years any time I want to make a pot pie or most other sorts of pies or tarts.  I've also used it to make cheese and onion pasties (which are essentially hot pockets).  It's flaky and delicious and surprisingly easy to make (read: I cut a lot of corners with this recipe and it still turns out great).  I replace the lard in his recipe with vegetable shortening.

Ingredients

• 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) butter, chilled (use vegan butter such as Earth Balance to make it vegan)
  
• 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) vegetable shortening, chilled
• 6 ounces (approximately 1 cup) all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling dough
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1/4 cup cold water
• Approximately 32 ounces of dried beans, for blind baking

Directions

1. Place butter and shortening in freezer for 15 minutes. When ready to use, remove and cut both into small pieces.

2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt by pulsing 3 to 4 times. Add butter and pulse 5 to 6 times until texture looks mealy. Add shortening and pulse another 3 to 4 times.

3. Remove lid of food processor and add a small amount of water. Replace lid and pulse 5 times. Keep adding small amounts of water slowly and pulsing until mixture forms into a large ball of dough.

4. Place ball of dough in large zip-top bag, and then press into a rounded disk and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

5. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

6. Put pie pans in refrigerator to chill.  (I always skip this step and everything is still fine.)

7. Remove dough from refrigerator. Cut along 2 sides of the plastic bag, open bag to expose dough, and sprinkle both sides with flour. Cover again with plastic and roll out with a rolling pin to a 10 to 11-inch circle. Open plastic again and sprinkle top of dough with flour. Remove pie pans from refrigerator and set first pan on top of dough. Turn everything upside down and peel plastic from bottom of dough. Place second pan upside down on top of dough and flip again. (I don't do all this; I just use the rolling pin to move the dough into the pie pan. The main idea is just not to stretch the dough.) Remove first pan from atop dough. Trim edges if necessary, leaving an edge for meringue to adhere to. Poke holes in dough with a fork and place in refrigerator for 15 minutes.

8. Place a large piece of parchment paper on top of dough and fill with dry beans. Press beans into edges of dough and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove parchment and beans and continue baking until golden in color, approximately 10 minutes longer. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack. Let cool completely before filling.

Candied Pears

Grandma Franklin, my mother's mother, used to make this dish for every Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner.  She called them "spiced pears," but their flavor comes more from candies than from spices, so I've amended the name over time.  These pears were always a favorite of my brother's and mine, and I remember calling my grandmother and asking for the recipe in 2004 and 2005, when Sameer and I started spending the holidays together and I hadn't yet bothered writing down any recipes I used.

Please note all amounts listed below are approximations. You can vary them wildly and it shouldn't matter too much.

Ingredients
1 (28 oz.) can pear halves in heavy syrup
1 (10 oz.) jar maraschino cherries (without stems)
1 cup maraschino cherry syrup (not the same as grenadine, which is pomegranate syrup -- you can typically find maraschino cherry syrup with either sundae toppings or drink mixers at the grocery store)
12-15 Red Hot candies (If you can't find Red Hots, you can substitute other less potent cinnamon candies such as Hot Tamales and just use more.)
7 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half

Directions
1. Combine a few of the maraschino cherries (smushed to release their juices), all of their liquid from the jar, the additional cup of maraschino cherry syrup, Red Hots, cloves, and cinnamon stick in a small sauce pan over medium heat.
2. Simmer syrup, mashing Red Hots with a spoon until they have almost completely dissolved, about 7 minutes (I'm making that number up -- it could be anywhere between 5 and 15 -- I've never watched the clock while doing this.)
3. While syrup is simmering, drain the pears and put them in a heat-proof container just large enough to hold them all (your goal is for as much of the pears to end up submerged in syrup as possible).
4. Remove syrup from heat and strain through a sieve into the dish with the pears. (The sieve keeps out the tiny un-melted candy bits, as well as the cloves and cinnamon stick.  You can make do without it, but I'd hate to have to.  Rinse your sieve immediately after using it, before the syrup dries into all the tiny holes and becomes difficult to clean.)  Add most of the remaining maraschino cherries to your pears, seal container, and refrigerate until cooled.  These pears are best made up to 5 days in advance.

Christmas 2012

I'm late posting this, but I still wanted to preserve our Christmas 2012 menu for posterity since it was Simran's first Christmas. Here is what we ate:

Tofurky Roast (no recipe -- it comes from a box)
Tofurky Gravy (no recipe -- it also comes from a box, but was weirdly lumpy)
Maple-Whipped Sweet Potatoes
Basic Sauteed Kale
Apple Pecan Cornbread Dressing
Cranberry Waldorf Salad
Pumpernickel Bread Bowl with Dill Dip and crudites
Candied Pears (my mother's mother's recipe, which she made for every Christmas and Thanksgiving)
Chocolate Cake with Homemade Chocolate Frosting

Basic Sauteed Kale

At one point I spent a lot of time looking for ways to eat more dark leafy greens.  This is one of my favorite leafy green recipes.  The original recipe is from EatingWell.com.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1-1 1/2 pounds kale, ribs removed, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2-3 teaspoons sherry vinegar, or red-wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

[Edited 2/14/13: I recently made the best iteration of this dish I've ever had.  Here was the secret -- since I'm typically too lazy to measure, I used one small bunch of kale as sold by the grocery store (it was just right for two people), the 2 cloves garlic and just over 1/2 cup of the water stated in the recipe, then 2 shakes of crushed red pepper, 2 shakes sherry vinegar, and 2 shakes of salt from the salt shaker.  The salt shaker in question only has one hole, so it probably only takes 1 shake if you have a more generous shaker.]

Directions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a Dutch oven (or just a massive soup pot, like I use) over medium heat. Add kale and cook, tossing with two large spoons, until bright green, about 1 minute. Add water, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the kale is tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Push kale to one side, add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil to the empty side and cook garlic and crushed red pepper in it until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Stir in vinegar to taste and salt.

Coconut Curry Tofu

Tonight we're having coconut curry tofu for dinner.  I found the original recipe on AllRecipes.com, but I've made a few changes.  The original recipe is, I think, meant to be a Thai dish, but mine turned out sort of Indian, probably because I replaced the curry powder and chile paste in the original recipe with a mild Indian curry paste.  I found the curry paste on accident when I meant to buy chile paste, but I like how it tastes, so I've never bothered correcting how I make this dish.  One bonus of this dish is that it's vegan without really trying to be, and Sameer and I try to incorporate one vegan dinner into our meal planning each week.

Ingredients
2 bunches green onions
1 (14 oz.) can lite coconut milk
1/4 cup soy sauce (or Bragg's liquid aminos, as I prefer), divided
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 tbs curry paste
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
16 oz. firm or extra-firm tofu, cubed
4 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
4 oz. fresh mushrooms, chopped (I've started omitting the mushrooms since Sameer hates them and insists they taste like fish.)
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped (This is not an instance where you can use dried instead.)
4 cups bok choy, chopped (If you can't find good bok choy, it can be omitted, though I think it adds a lot to the dish.)
salt to taste

Directions
1. Remove white parts of green onions, and finely chop. Chop greens into 2 inch pieces.
2. In a large heavy skillet over medium heat, mix coconut milk, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, brown sugar, curry paste, and ginger. Bring to a boil. 
3. Stir tofu, tomatoes, yellow pepper, mushrooms, and finely chopped green onions into the skillet. Cover, and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix in basil and bok choy. Season with salt (as needed -- don't overdo it; if you're using soy sauce at its full sodium level, you might not even need salt) and remaining soy sauce. Continue cooking 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender but crisp. Garnish with remaining green onion.  Serve over steamed white rice (I like basmati).