Happy Mother’s Day

What a great day to be alive! The skies were blue, there was a little nip in the air and I felt completely rested this morning. This was one of those days where I actually enjoyed the morning and being a night owl those don’t happen too often. ;-)

We started our morning with a big mug of tea. Today we are having my latest favorite combination of: white tea, tulsi tea and rose buds. The new Bodum glasses that I picked up at Marshall’s happen to have the same size top as the Bodum tea cups with the tea insert which makes it easier to start our day with a double green tea.

This morning Dan asked for a green smoothie. It makes me smile that Dan likes green smoothies enough that he requests them for breakfast.

My breakfast today was fresh veg and fruit juice. When I make juice I never use a “recipe” but rather just start cutting up things that I have on hand and send it through the juicer. After you have made juice for a while you get a feel from what works. Additionally you can do the same thing I do and taste the juice as you go along and add things to make the taste suit you. Typically I use both green and sweet things in the juice. I also like to add lemon and/or fresh ginger to the juice when I have them on hand. Today’s juice contained: 4 kale leaves, 2 stalks celery, 1 large beet, 1 small apple, and 2 carrots. I pour this into a frozen glass, stir in chia seeds and add ice. I shared this juice with Dan to increase his natural vitamin and mineral content at breakfast. After you start making fresh juice I think you will find that your body starts to crave it as mine does.

Dan bought us both 7” tablets last week. He liked the small size since they fit easily in a jacket pocket (and my purse). I have been playing around with mine too and so far I like it. After I have had more time using it I will let you know what I think. One thing I know that I like so far is how portable it is. I love that is small enough to fit easily in any of my purses and I have some small bags. ;-)

The later afternoon meal with my parents was very simple. For appetizers we had two simple dishes. The first was roasted red peppers and onions dressed with sherry vinegar, smoked paprika, parsley and almonds. The second dish was marinated mushrooms and peppers finished with parsley.

The main dish was a fruited quinoa topped with lightly wilted Brussels sprouts, garlic, cumin, apple, dried apricot, golden raisins and grapes that I finished with lemon zest, lemon juice and sliced almonds.

After the meal we rushed to get to MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art) for the showing of “Cafeteria Man”. It was the story of chef that took over the food program for the Baltimore City school system and his fight to make the cafeteria food both local and fresh. Talk about a thought provoking and touching story, wow! If the documentary is shown near you and you have an interest in school nutrition this is good film.

We then went home so that I could whip up a batch of nut cheese to take with me to the restaurant. I know that sounds odd but let me explain. David (at the restaurant) is also vegan and hadn’t had nut cheese so I wanted to take him some to try. Corey isn’t a vegan but he is trying to give up dairy so I had to take him some. Will does a wonderful job coming up with vegan dishes for us and loves to try new things which meant I wanted him to taste it too. Me taking nut cheese to the restaurant makes more sense now right? ;-) This batch was raw cashew and macadamia that I flavored with fresh garlic, sherry vinegar and nutritional yeast. I served it a spread on top of the tomato and raisin pesto/chutney and finished it with black pepper and fresh minced parsley. (FYI Will liked the nut cheese as did Jonathon. Corey has had it before so I know he likes it. David took his home so we will have to see what he thinks.)

We got to the restaurant late because it was Mother’s Day and they were packed from brunch on. When we arrived at 8pm things were definitely starting to slow down and I am sure everyone was happy to have a break. Even though we hadn’t given him any notice Will quickly made a three course menu for us when he heard we were there. Seriously, we didn’t expect that but it was extremely nice of him to do that with zero notice. Are you starting to see how we could get pulled into going out to eat every night? These guys make it way too easy for me to take the night off from cooking. Darn them, LOL! ;-)

Our first course was a Greek orzo dish with zucchini, tomato, garlic, lemon, olives and oregano. Fortunately for me Dan doesn’t love olives, which means I got most of them. I do love olives even though I know that aren’t the best for me with all the salt they contain. Of well, I can’t be perfect all the time because that just wouldn’t be any fun. Okay so maybe I should say I am not going to be perfect all the time.

The second course was AMAZING! Can you tell I liked it? This dish was sriracha and soy marinated tofu topped with radish, green apple, celery and carrot salad. Seriously this recipe hit all my buttons, spicy, salty, crunchy, soft…..definitely good stuff.

The final course was a whole wheat pizza topped with mashed sweet potato, golden raisins, curry powder, and almonds topped with lemon dressed arugula. I have never used mashed sweet potato as a pizza base before and after tasting this I have no idea why that never occurred to me before. This is why it is so great to go out to eat. Every time I eat out I get more great recipe ideas.

I also had to post this picture of Stephanie being silly. In case the picture doesn’t say it all Steph is quite a lot of fun. LOL

Happy Thoughts:

• I love hearing the Westminster chimes in the morning. We live near an old clock tower with chimes and when we have the windows open you can hear them every 15 minutes. This is another one of those things that I take for granted that I shouldn’t. The chimes remind me of my childhood and my grandmother which is a great thing to think about on Mother’s day.

• It was great to start the morning with the windows open. I love having fresh air in the house. I also love that on a very high pollen day like today (I only know this from the weather channel) I have no sign of my seasonal allergies. While I didn’t change my diet because of allergies it was a very welcome side effect. ;-)

• Every time Dan asks me to make something nutritious I smile. He enjoys having green smoothies for breakfast and that makes me very happy. I get a lot of email from you that ask how I get Dan to eat as healthy as I do which reminds me how much progress I have made with his diet. The only thing that I do is that I share all the new health information as I learn it with Dan. I think that knowledge is power and when you understand the true impact of the choices you make on your health it results in better decisions.

• The fur children bought me a present for Mother’s Day. Wasn’t that incredibly sweet of them and Dan? When he gave me the earrings he said they were from “the kittens” (that is what we call the fur kids since they still act like kittens) since I am their mom. Awwww, too cute. ;-)

• Lunch today turned out very well. My father commented how good the roasted red pepper salad was. Will miracles never cease? ;-) I enjoyed the Brussels sprouts dish which was my variation of something that we had at Jaleo (one of Jose’s restaurants in DC). Who could possible ever get bored eating vegan when there are so many possible combinations of vegetables, fruit and seasonings?

• I really enjoyed the movie today and highly recommend it. As much as I study nutrition and health there is always an angle to explore that had not occurred to me. I walked out the movie saying that I need to get involved in childhood nutrition somehow. Only time will tell what that means for me.

• When we walked in the door at the restaurant Kristin said happy Mother’s Day to me and wanted to know how my day was. Of course I said thank you and told her that the kitchen bought me earrings. It is little moments like this that remind me that there are many nice people in the world though the bad ones seem to make much more noise.

• Dinner out was lovely as always. Yes, I will admit that we have been out to eat 4 days in a row and that is probably excessive. I will need to make up for slacking on my kitchen responsibilities this coming week. LOL, I wonder if I can do it.

Signing out:

It was another wild week for me. I didn’t really expect last week to be busy but somehow it was. How does this keep happening? This coming week is supposed to be hectic. Let’s hope I can pull it together enough to make a few meals in my own kitchen. If I can’t do it I am sure the gang will be happy to make something for us. Can I be much more spoiled? Okay, don’t answer that. LOL

I hope your weekend was a good as ours. I will chat with you again tomorrow.

Spanish Influenced Meal with Red Peppers and Mushrooms

Last night I had a hard time sleeping, for some unknown reason I was still awake at 1:49am. *ugh* When the alarm went off at 6am for the farmers’ market it was tough to drag myself out of bed. Of course I went but I wasn’t in the most chipper mood. ;-) As usual we did a quick lap around the market to see what the farmers had and to get our blood pumping. It seemed to help a little.

When we got to one of our favorite organic farmers he was just setting up. We gave him a hand unloading the truck and had everything out and on the tables in a few minutes. Doesn’t it always change your mood when you help another person? No matter how tired I am when I leave the house I always know I will feel better once we get to the market.

Once we got back from the market I realized I had forgotten a few things (including my list, duh). Dan and I walked over to the grocery store for another 5 pounds of organic carrots and a bag of apples (both for juice of course).

As tired as I was this morning the idea of making food was not the slightest bit appealing, though we needed to eat and my parents were expecting me to cook a late mid-day meal which has become traditional. I had barley mushroom risotto in mind but there was no way I felt like that much stirring. That is where the idea of soup came from; it was definitely much easier and just as tasty.

Since I was in the mood for Spanish food I decided to flavor the soup as if it were a tapas dish I order often. Knowing that I was going for a Spanish influence on the soup I decided to make my healthy version of another dish I order at our local tapas restaurant for our appetizer. It is very simple and takes only a few minutes to prepare if you are using jarred peppers. Here is what I made:

Slightly Sweet and Sour Roasted Peppers with Almonds and Capers
Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 peppers, roasted and skin removed, cut into strips
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon agave
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon sliced almonds
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely minced
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
dulse granules, to taste (or flaked sea salt)
1/2 tablespoon capers, drained – optional but recommended

Directions:

Drain the roasted red peppers thoroughly and place in the container with a tight seal.  Or roast your own, directions here.


Water sauté the garlic for a few minutes until the water has evaporated. Combine the garlic, sherry vinegar and agave and pour over the peppers and refrigerate until needed.  Toss the peppers periodically to make sure they all absorb the flavor of the marinade.

To serve, bring the peppers to room temperature (to maximize the flavor). Top the peppers with almonds, capers, parsley and freshly cracked pepper. Add dulse or salt if desired. With the capers I didn’t think it needed any additional saltiness.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 44.79
Calories From Fat (25%) - 10.98

Total Fat - 1.34g
Saturated Fat - 0.11g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 36.07mg
Potassium - 204.69mg
Total Carbohydrates - 8.13g
Fiber - 2.78g
Sugar - 0.28g
Protein - 1.47g

Comments:

The appetizer was definitely the star of the meal. Everyone remarked that it was so good and there was not a drop of oil. *pats self on back, LOL* Dan, who does not like peppers but eats them anyway, said “this was the best pepper dish I have made in a long time” and that he would be happy to eat this again. Seriously for Dan to mention this means it was home run. I really hope you try this. It is lightly sweet from the agave, a little tart from the sherry vinegar. There are salty pops from the capers, freshness from the parsley and crunch from the almonds. Can you tell I liked it? ;-) LOL

Mushroom and Barley Soup with Spanish Flavors

The poor soup almost didn’t stand a chance with the popularity of the appetizer. But I think it held its own. ;-) If you like mushrooms, lemon and smoked paprika you will enjoy this. The cashew crème fraiche added a little richness to the otherwise fat free soup. Here is what I did:

Spanish Flavored Wild Mushroom and Barley Soup
Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 cups dried wild mushrooms
4 cups water
2 carrots
3 stalks celery
½ red onion
6 cloves garlic, peeled
4 cups water
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon tomato paste
½ teaspoon cumin seed, ground
1 cup barley, uncooked
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons freshly parsley, finely minced
1 lemon zested and juiced
4 tablespoons cashew crème fraiche
smoked paprika to top cashew crème

Directions:

Combine the dried mushrooms and 4 cups of water in a microwave safe container. Heat until hot and allow the mushrooms to soak for 30 minutes. When the mushrooms are tender cut them into pieces that will fit on a spoon and strain the mushroom soaking liquid to add to the soup.

While the mushrooms are soaking cut the carrot and onion into rough chunks and put in your food processor. Chop the celery finely and add it to the food processor as well. The processor blade alone doesn’t do a great job on the “strings” in the celery. Toss in the garlic and process until everything is finely ground. You want the smallest pieces possible as you were making a Bolognese sauce. The mixture will almost be the consistency of mush.

Place this mixture in a larger heavy pot and add the other 4 cups of water. Add the mushrooms, soaking liquid and the remaining ingredients except (parsley, cashew crème and smoked paprika for garnish). Simmer (with the lid slightly ajar) until the barley is tender. This will take about an hour depending on the power of your burner. Be sure to simmer so the liquid doesn’t evaporate and stir every 10 to 15 minutes so you know it is sticking. Add more water if necessary.

To serve, remove the bay leaf, top the soup with a dollop of cashew crème fraiche and a pinch of smoked paprika

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 321.98
Calories From Fat (8%) - 27.14

Total Fat - 3.28g
Saturated Fat - 0.61g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 126.45mg
Potassium - 798.67mg
Total Carbohydrates - 70.25g
Fiber - 14.66g
Sugar - 4.26g
Protein - 9.8g

Comments:

This is definitely not your traditional mushroom barley soup but we really enjoyed it. I like the lemon aspect as well as the smoked paprika. Of course I love any opportunity to get the antiproliferative properties of mushrooms into us. I will definitely make this again. All four bowls were empty at the end of the meal so I think everyone liked it.

Last night:

Dan and I decided to kick back and relax after the late mid-day meal with my parents yesterday. While I cleaned up the kitchen Dan watched a little sci fi he had DVR’d. Then we decided to watch a movie. While I don’t always mention movies this one was much better than we both expected so I wanted to share. We finally got around to watching “It’s Complicated”. Neither of us are huge Alec Baldwin fans but we both like Meryl Streep so we expected her to do a good job. I have to admit Alec Baldwin was much better than we expected. Parts of the movie had us both laughing out loud it was so funny. If you haven’t seen it I would recommend it if you need a “funny movie night”.

We ended up skipping dinner and having popcorn with the movie. Dan had his usual strawberry banana soft serve after the movie. I swear he could eat that stuff every night.

This morning:

After the market today and our unexpected trip to the grocery store for the things I forget we were a little hungry. I wonder why since we skipped dinner? For breakfast this morning we split a cantaloupe. I really love fresh local melons. They are so flavorful and juicy when they are in season.

Then we had a quick bowl of oatmeal topped with an equal amount of frozen wild blueberries, and a spirnkle of cinnamon and ginger and a tablespoon of ground flaxseeds for omega 3's.

Dinner tonight:

At the moment dinner is completely up in the air. We may have something simple like a big salad with lentil and walnut pate. But I actually have no idea. Also being so full from lunch doesn’t give me any desire to think about dinner at the moment.

Unrelated Note:

I think Dan wants to watch another movie this evening. If we choose something worth watching I will let you know about it later tonight or tomorrow.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Talk to you again soon.

Vegetable Paella with Seitan Sausage

This is a dish that I have made for many years. In the past it would have included chicken, chorizo sausage, shrimp and mussels. It tastes just as good to me now without the meat or copious amounts of olive oil that I used to use in the dish. You can make this without the seitan sausage but I think that makes it a little more authentic. I used smoked paprika in this dish because I love the stuff but regular sweet paprika is also fine. Here is what I did:

Vegetable Paella with Seitan Sausage
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 red onion, peeled, cut into quarters and then ½ inch slices
5 cloves garlic, peeled and finally minced (be certain to let it sit for 10 minutes so the allicin can develop before adding it to the hot pan)
¼ cup water to sauté the aromatics
2 seitan sausages, cut into bite size pieces (Italian or Chorizo... I will try to post the chorizo recipe tomorrow)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika (sweet is also fine)
1 large pinch saffron
1 ½ cups brown rice (I used sprouted short grain brown rice)
3 cups water
2 roasted red pepper, diced
2 cups artichoke hearts, quartered (either canned and drained or defrosted from frozen)
¼ cup olives, pitted and sliced
½ cup chickpeas, to add protein (can be omitted)
½ cup peas (I was out of frozen peas but usually include them)
¼ cup fresh parsley, minced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 lemon, cut into wedges for garnish
Salt and pepper for serving

Directions:

Water sauté the onion and garlic until soft. Add the seitan sausage, paprika, saffron, rice and water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Then add the peppers, artichoke hearts, olives and chickpeas and cook until rice is finished. Add the green peas, parsley, lemon zest and juice once the rice is done. Serve with lemon wedges on the side and season each serving individually.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 486.29
Calories From Fat (8%) - 37.97

Total Fat - 4.5g
Saturated Fat - 0.67g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 364.3mg
Potassium - 719.65mg
Total Carbohydrates - 89.22g
Fiber - 12.49g
Sugar - 2.8g
Protein - 26.56g

Comments:

If you are looking for a one pan dinner this is a winner. It reheats beautifully. I suppose you all know what is going in Dan’s lunch tomorrow. I serve this with a green salad so we get our raw veggies too. Because this is a rice based dish it is very filling in a healthy “stick to your ribs” sort of way. You could also add mushrooms to this and that would be great. I have made it with either fresh or dried mushrooms. Even time I make I think I should try adding cubes of baked tofu but never have. I think that would be wonderful in the dish. I used short grain rice in this dish since reading that the authentic versions are made with medium grain rice that is similar to Arborio in terms of texture. Short grain was a close as I could get with brown rice. I think this would also be good with barley in place of rice but I haven’t tried it yet. The fresh lemon juice and zest is what makes this dish, in my opinion. But I am a lemon fiend so that may be why I think that.

Each serving of this dish contains approximately 3,500IU of vitamin A, 140mg of calcium, 4.8mg of iron, 110mcg of folate, 65mcg of vitamin K, 325mg of phosphorus, 125mg of magnesium, and 25mcg of selenium.

You may have noticed that I didn’t add salt to the dish while it was cooking. I have been trying to reduce our sodium intake so we are trying to add salt to our servings instead of during cooking. I will let you know it that results in more or less sodium in our diet.

Unrelated note:

The weather was glorious today. We had a bright sunny day with a record breaking temperature of 87 today. I am certain that spring is here to stay now. The birds are outside singing and the bees are buzzing. It is the perfect weather day. Our overnight low is supposed to be 63 this evening. I am in heaven!

My latest goal is to make meals that are easy to reheat, or are best served raw. Dan’s schedule has been so unpredictable lately that I never know when he is going to get home from the office. To keep us from eating at 10pm I have decided to get our dinner made earlier so that it can be reheated when he gets home. This is not how I prefer to cook but it looks like it is going to be necessary for a while. I wanted to let you know since it may change the recipes you will be seeing. Tonight’s dinner was planned based on this notion. I made it in a short enameled cast iron pan with a tight lid so I could keep the entire dish (except the peas and parsley) warm in a 150 degree oven until Dan arrived.

Tomorrow I am going to try to get some work done in my garden. I have quite a muddy mess outside but if I don’t get out there soon the weeds will overtake the garden with the warm weather we have been having. I have a tremendous herb garden that I love. Herbs work well for me since they thrive on neglect. In the perennial herb garden I have: chocolate mint, lavender, rosemary, chives, pineapple sage, variegated sage, French tarragon, Greek oregano, Mexican oregano, variegated thyme, lemon thyme, fennel and dill. Additionally I plant a lot of parsley and basil each year. Normally I grow a few different veggies, but the bulk of our garden is really herbs. Since we belong to an organic CSA I find that herbs make more sense for us. Are any of you gardeners? What do you like to grow?

Spanish Flavored Barley Risotto with Mushroom

Dan and I tend to plan dinner together on the weekends. What this really means is that I am tired of planning what to have for dinner and am looking for suggestions. Plus Dan knows that what I make on Sunday will turn up in his lunch for a few days so he has a vested interest. In the morning after we have breakfast we start discussing the options for dinner. It usually starts with the fresh produce we have on hand and then we move on from there. We always make a big green salad, this is a given. Today’s salad was a simple one of baby spinach dressed with lemon juice, lemon zest, oregano, brined artichokes and red bell peppers. The salad was nothing too difficult so it escaped the camera.

Risotto is something that everyone loves so we opted for a healthy version made with barley. We had criminis in the refrigerator that I wanted to use so that is where this began. I decided to take it in a Spanish direction on a whim, but this turned out quite tasty. Even my parents asked for leftovers. So I would say this is omni approved and I added no oil to this dish. Here is what I did.

Spanish Flavored Barley Risotto with Mushroom
Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 yellow onion, peeled and finely minced
3 large cloves of garlic, peeled and finely minced
¼ cup water to sauté aromatics (onion and garlic)
1 pound barley (dry)
Water necessary to soften barley (approx 8 cups)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon thyme, dried
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
14 ounces diced tomatoes
2 cups Crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
¼ cup fresh parsley, finely minced

Directions:

Water sauté the onion and garlic until soft and the water has been evaporated. Add the barley and cook it, stirring very often, until the barley begins to toast lightly (you will smell this before you see it, takes a minute or two at most). Begin by adding enough water to cover the barley by a ¼ inch. Stir it for a minute and reduce the heat and cook for five minutes during which time much of the water will be absorbed. Add more water to cover the barley by a ¼ inch, stir and cook for five minutes. Continue this for about 25 minutes. Then add the salt, thyme smoked paprika, tomatoes and mushrooms and check the barley for tenderness. You will probably need to cook the barley a total of 45 minutes but it doesn’t hurt to check it early. When the barley is almost finish reduce the heat to as low as it will go and cover the pan. It will absorb most of the liquid. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and parsley just before serving. Taste for seasoning before serving so you can add salt and pepper as necessary.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 225.28
Calories From Fat (3%) - 7.21

Total Fat - 0.86g
Saturated Fat - 0.18g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 252.93mg
Potassium - 414.5mg
Total Carbohydrates - 49.69g
Fiber - 10.17g
Sugar - 2.98g
Protein - 6.89g

Comments:

I have always been a huge fan of risotto. In the past I made my risotto from carnaroli rice. Arborio was always too soft for my taste. I guess you could say I was particular about my risotto. Changing over to barley was a big deal at our house (for me). I felt as though I was betraying some sacred Italian trust. But just as I gave up olive oil I have also given up white rice, even when it is carnaroli. This texture of barley made in the risotto style is similar to that made from rice. It isn’t the same, but it is close enough for us. If you like smoked paprika and lemon you will enjoy this dish. Those are the first two things I can taste in this dish. It is very filling and makes a nice entrée course that doesn’t require fat for flavor.

Unrelated note:

The day has gotten away from me and I still need to exercise. So I need to get that done soon so it doesn’t keep me up tonight. Tomorrow is another busy day with appointments most of the afternoon. After that I am going to run a couple of errands. The posts tomorrow may be sparse, or late.

I hope you all had a great weekend and I will chat with you again soon.

Cumin Scented Buttercup Squash and Green Rice

(pictured: green rice, cumin buttercup squash and seitan)

Not surprisingly I didn’t plan dinner tonight until late this afternoon. I seem to be incapable of deciding ahead of time what we are eating. Whenever I try to plan meals when the time comes to make them I invariably no longer want the planned dish. I guess you could say I am fickle when it comes to food.

Something in my brain wanted smoked paprika today. I guess I have Spanish food on the brain thinking about New Years Eve since we will be celebrating at a Spanish restaurant. Green rice is always a favorite of mine so deciding to make that was the easy part. The buttercup squash was sitting in the wire basket looking at me so I decided to add him to dinner. Yes I do think food has personalities and this squash was a he, definitely. Enough of my particular idiosyncrasies, back to the food.

One of the things I like about squash is its content of vitamin A. I don’t think we can ever have too many natural antioxidants. I decided to season the squash similarly to the rice, but with some difference in flavor. The smoked paprika was the common thread in the two dishes. I adore smoked paprika and use it whenever I think about it. Did you know smoked paprika is a source of vitamin A and C?

In addition to the squash and brown rice we also had one piece of each slow cooker seitan experiment. I am going to put those results in a separate post to make it easier to find later. Other than the seitan, here is what I made tonight.

Cumin Scented Buttercup Squash and Green Rice
Makes 3 generous servings

Rice Ingredients:

1 cup brown basmati rice
2 cups water
1 pinch salt
3 tablespoons fresh ground cilantro (about 6 tablespoons packed leaves)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika (or to taste, I love this stuff you may want to start with less)
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon green onions

Squash Ingredients:

1 buttercup squash, cut in half, top to bottom, seeds removed (about 4 cups cubes)
olive oil mister
½ teaspoon cumin seed
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black peppercorns
½ teaspoon of smoked paprika

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine rice, water and salt and bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook until the rice is tender (approximately 40 minutes). Allow to stand 10 minutes after you turn off the heat so the rice can finish steaming.

While the rice is cooking cut the squash into cubes no larger than 1-1/2 inches square. Mist the squash with oil. I use a pump style mister that I fill with extra virgin olive oil. Combine the cumin seed, kosher salt, black peppercorns and smoked paprika in a spice grinder and pulse to lightly grind. Sprinkle the cumin spice over the squash and roast for 40 minutes, or until tender. The exact time the squash will take depends on how they are cut. Additionally I used a convection oven, which cooks food a little more quickly.

After the rice has been allowed to stand for 10 minutes fluff the rice with a fork. Add the ground cilantro, smoked paprika and vinegar and continue to fluff the rice to evenly distribute the cilantro and seasonings. Add the green onions just before serving so that they will stay fresh.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 311.84
Calories From Fat (12%) - 36.95

Total Fat - 4.34g
Saturated Fat - 0.76g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 317.18mg
Potassium - 726.73mg
Total Carbohydrates - 62.82g
Fiber - 2.96g
Sugar - 0.69g
Protein - 8.46g

The numbers above assume one teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil was used when the squash was sprayed with oil.

Comments:

I really enjoyed this meal tonight. Both the rice and squash had a lot of flavor. It was a comforting meal that was perfect for a cold night.

Each serving of this meal contains more than more than 3,200IU of vitamin A, 240mg of phosphorus, 120mg of magnesium, and 15mg of selenium. This portion of the meal was very filling, which was why the photo only shows two small pieces of seitan. In fact this meal may have a little too big as I am now a bit too full.

Unrelated Note:

I need to write up the seitan post now. I hope to have that up in the next hour and a half.

Smoky Red Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup

When I saw Bryanna’s soup I knew I wanted to make my own version of it. I changed the soup a little because I was in mood for something Spanish inspired soup last night. I ran out of time to post this last night.

I love the texture of this soup. Be warned I tried using my immersion blender first and ended up with the Vitamix for the perfect creamy texture. Next time I will start with the Vitamix so I only have one appliance to clean.

We love sweet potatoes and I make a lot of version of sweet potato soup. Since the spuds we buy are organic I leave the skins on for added nutrition. The Vitamix has no difficulty chewing through them. Sweet potato skins do muddy the color of the soup a little, but the nutrition is more important to me. I omitted celery (a typical aromatic) since I thought that would result in a much more brown soup. You could add some fresh fennel bulb if you have it on hand for a similar flavor. Here is what I did.

Smoky Red Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup
Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 large red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 large carrots, scrubbed and cut into chunks
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
water to sweat vegetables (about a ½ cup)
2 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into chunks
1 ½ cups red lentils, sorted and rinsed
14 ounces tomato sauce
water to cover
1 teaspoon smoked paprika, or to taste
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
4 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted
4 tablespoons parsley, finely minced

Directions:

Water sauté the onions, carrots and garlic over high heat until soft. Add the sweet potatoes, lentils, tomato sauce and enough water to cover the vegetables. Turn the heat to medium and cook until the sweet potatoes and lentils are soft.

Place the soup in your blender in batches for a velvety soup. I initially tried using my immersion blender and wasn’t satisfied with the texture and ended up putting the soup in the blender.

Return the pureed soup to the pot over low heat. Add the smoked paprika, salt, black pepper and sherry vinegar.

To serve, top the soup with sliced almonds and minced parsley. I also dusted the top with a little smoked paprika for color.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 249.95
Calories From Fat (12%) - 29.12

Total Fat - 3.49g
Saturated Fat - 0.38g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 559.38mg
Potassium - 740.38mg
Total Carbohydrates - 45.2g
Fiber - 9.14g
Sugar - 6.32g
Protein - 12.66g

Comments:

I loved the texture of this soup it was smooth and creamy like my broccoli and white bean soup. The flavor of this soup is hard to pin down. I couldn’t taste any tomato flavor but like the antioxidants it added. Almonds and parsley added a lot to this soup in terms of crunch and freshness. My husband thought this reminded him of barbecue, I think it was the smokiness from the paprika.

Each serving of this soup contains over 14,000IU of vitamin A, 90mcg of folate, and 180mg of phosphorus. The best part of making a big pot of soup is that we can have it for lunch with a salad for the rest of the week.

There may not be many posts today since today is cooking class. I will post again tonight if I have anything interesting to share. Otherwise, I will be back tomorrow. I hope you all have a great day.

Fideua Con Setas

This dish is my combination of two Spanish dishes that I love. I combined the garlic and mushroom tapas dish with fideua. If you are unfamiliar with fideua it is a Spanish pasta dish that is made in the risotto style with pasta (fideo) that is similar to angel hair but is an inch long.

I used fresh maitake mushrooms in the dish due to their reported ability to fight cancer. If you can’t find fresh maitake mushrooms they are also available dry. The smoked paprika adds not only smoky flavor but also a lot of vitamin C (a powerful antioxidant).

This dish is very smoky from the paprika. The garlic is also strong but not overpowering. The texture of the dish is soft and starchy, but the strands of pasta retain their individuality.

Fideua con setas
Broken Spaghetti (risotto style) with mushrooms
Makes 4 small portions

Ingredients:

8 ounces of whole wheat spaghetti, broken into 1 inch pieces
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup of sherry
1 tablespoon of smoked paprika
1/8 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon of kosher salt
3 garlic cloves, grated (allow to sit 10 minutes so that allicin will develop)
6 cups of water or veg stock (you may not use it all)
12 ounces of fresh maitake mushrooms, torn into bite size pieces
¼ cup of sliced green onions

Directions:

Toast broken pasta, smoked paprika and crushed red pepper in olive oil over medium heat until the pasta is a little brown. Add sherry, salt and garlic and stir pasta until sherry has been absorbed. Begin adding water or veg stock ½ cup at a time and stir as you would risotto. Continue to add water and stir until pasta is al dente. Then add the maitake mushrooms and cook for an additional two to three minutes. Stir onions into the dish and serve immediately.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 290.83
Calories From Fat (14%) - 40.13

Total Fat - 4.59g
Saturated Fat - 0.68g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 243.35mg
Potassium - 377.05mg
Total Carbohydrates - 51.93g
Fiber - 7.9g
Sugar - 2.11g
Protein - 10.55g

Comments:

If you want pasta for dinner, but want something different this is a great alternative. I have made fideua with mushrooms for a year or so now, and I love the smoked paprika and garlic in this dish. This pasta is good with salad made with sherry vinaigrette.

Smoky Spanish Tortilla

This Spanish version of a frittata has a base of potatoes and a smoky flavor from the cumin and smoked paprika. I love traditional Italian frittatas and frequently make them with potatoes. Today I decided to make a Spanish version with the smoked paprika. The flavor of this dish is quite good.

Smoked paprika contains a lot of vitamin C, if you didn’t know.

Smoky Spanish Tortilla
Serves 4 with a salad on the side

Ingredients:

10 ounces of red potatoes
¼ cup of green onions, sliced
½ tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
12.3 ounce package of Low Fat Firm Silken Tofu
2 tablespoons of almond flour
3 tablespoons of almond milk (unsweetened)
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
½ teaspoon of kosher salt
¼ teaspoon of cumin
1/8 teaspoon of turmeric (added for yellow color)
¾ teaspoon of smoked paprika
salt and pepper, to taste - for the top of the tortilla

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (convection).

In the pan you are going to make the tortilla in cook the potatoes in the olive oil over medium low heat until at least ½ done (about 10 minutes). Add the green onions before adding the “egg mixture”.

To make the “egg mixture” put the remaining ingredients (tofu through paprika) in a food processor and process until there is no pockets of tofu that haven’t been incorporated. The mixture will completely smooth, except for the cumin seeds.

Pour the “egg mixture” over the potatoes and smooth the top so it is reasonably level. Add freshly cracked black pepper and sea salt to the top of the tortilla. Put the pan in the oven for 30 minutes and test to see if it is done. It will be firm on the top in the middle when it is done.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 170.68
Calories From Fat (22%) - 38.03

Total Fat - 4.38g
Saturated Fat - 0.6g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 327.79mg
Potassium - 539.56mg
Total Carbohydrates - 21.38g
Fiber - 1.54g
Sugar - 0.58g
Protein - 12.93g

Comments:

The flavor of this tortilla is excellent. It is smoky from the paprika and cumin. The potatoes are cooked through. The texture is close to the egg-based version, but I want to tweak it a little more. Expect to see a revised version of a frittata in the next few weeks.

Gazpacho with Avocado

Everything in this soup is good for you. It is full of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals as well as being anti-inflammatory. I am not going to detail the health benefits of every ingredient this time since it will take up too much space and I want to post the recipe tonight. I will cover the benefits of a few of the ingredients that I have not discussed previously.

Avocado is high in monounsaturated fat, like olives, and has been shown to reduce total cholesterol if eaten regularly. The specific monounsaturated fat that avocados contain (oleic acid) was recently been shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer. Avocados are also a good source of potassium that helps to reduce blood pressure. It also appears that eating as little as 2 ounces of avocado with your vegetables increases the bodies absorption of the carotenoids that vegetables contain.

Tomatoes are rich in lycopene (a carotenoid) that has been widely studied for its cancer preventing properties. It has been theorized that lycopene reduces most types of cancer. According to studies, the body is better able to absorb the lycopene when the tomatoes are cooked (as is the case for canned tomatoes) and are consumed with fat.

This soup is cool and refreshing as well as very good for you. I make this soup often when the weather turns warm. I think of it as a liquid salad.

Gazpacho with Avocado
makes 2 dinner sized servings or 4 - 6 appetizer servings

Ingredients:

28 ounce cans of diced tomatoes
1 english cucumber
½ red onion
2 cloves of raw garlic
1 raw red bell pepper
1 ripe avocado
1 roasted red pepper
1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar
½ teaspoon of harissa
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
½ teaspoon of kosher salt
½ teaspoon of dried oregano
Extra virgin olive oil for garnish
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine canned tomatoes, 1/2 of the cucumber, red onion, garlic, roasted red pepper, avocado, vinegar, harissa, paprika, salt and oregano in a blender. Process to thoroughly combine and continue until the mixture is completely smooth. Finely dice the remaining English cucumber and raw red bell pepper. Refrigerate the soup and diced vegetables separately to thoroughly chill. To serve, pour the cold soup into a cold bowl and top with the finely diced vegetables. If you wish you can drizzle the top of the soup with a little extra virgin olive oil and a grind of fresh black pepper. It is also good topped with tofu sour cream and/or a little fresh parsley or cilantro.

Nutritional Information (assumes 2 servings):

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 323.09
Calories From Fat (42%) - 136.28

Total Fat - 16.28g
Saturated Fat - 3.1g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 528.87mg
Potassium - 1935.89mg
Total Carbohydrates - 43.89g
Fiber - 14.82g
Sugar - 23.15g
Protein - 9.14g

Comments:

We like our gazpacho to be light and cooling since we normally eat this when it is hot and humid. This gazpacho has the lightest touch of heat in the background from the harissa, raw garlic and onion.