kale salad!

I never thought I would come around to this! But I did! I was resistant to putting sweetened stuff in it but the driedcranberries make it especially fun.

1 bunch kale, washed, stems removed, cut into ribbons
dressing: 1 lemon worth of juice, neutral oil like canola, salt, pepper, garlic powder, *toasted sesame oil*
pine nuts
grape tomatoes, sliced in half
dried sweetened cranberries
avocado

grated Parmesan (add just before eating)

Mix well, let it sit with the dressing on it for half an hour at least to sort of "cook" the kale, i.e. break it down a bit with the acid from the lemon. Don't put too much salt in the dressing. Also be sparing with the canola oil.

Brussels sprouts

About 5 years after vowing to conquer my last remaining food vegetable fears (brussels sprouts and beets*), I finally cooked brussels sprouts yesterday (I'd eaten them at other people's tables in the interim, but not cooked them myself.)

NB: measure the oil and cut them in half and place cut side down for best results. Sometimes I eyeball the oil and I think I end up using too little and they're subpar, especially the ones that were face-up. I trimmed the ends a bit, then did the classic "coat a pound of them in ~1.5 TBS olive oil, scant 1/2 tsp sea salt,and ground pepper" and baked at 400 on an (ungreased) baking sheet for 20-30 minutes" deal.

I cut some of them in half and left others whole. Most recipes didn't say to cut them in half,
which seemed odd.

Conclusions:
1) cutting them in half is better, generally speaking.
2) they are in some ways just a  vehicle for salt and oil (and pepper), and I am just fine with that. Honestly - if you eat a lot of vegetables, if they make up a good portion of your diet, it can be hard to get enough fat to keep you full. Or not quite HARD, really, so much as it can sometimes be easy (at least for me) to be so enthusiastic about the soup or vegetable chili or whatever you made that you eat a bunch of bowls of it for a meal or two meals - and, while filling and nutritious and tasty, that stuff doesn't have much fat in it. And then you get hungry an hour later.So I am making a point of not shying away from vegetable recipes that incorporate more oils and fats.
3) yes, they are sort of just cuter, more expensive mini-cabbages, but the fun of roasted cabbages that make convenient finger food is worth it sometimes.

*I have given myself permission to give up on beets. I don't like really like sweet vegetables. (I am also OK with never learning to like fennel bulb and asparagus. Brussels sprouts and some other green vegetables just have a bad rap, and it made sense to work through my prejudices about them, but fennel and asparagus have strong unique flavors that I can't get into.)

Collard greens (vegetarian)

This is only to remind myself what I've done and liked, not because I think it's some amazing recipe..

1 lb precut collard greens (stems included)
3/4 of a medium onion
~3 cloves of garlic, minced
red pepper flakes (several good shakes, maybe half a teaspoon? more than I'd use for a head of bok choy)
oil
pinch of salt
water

Saute the garlic for  maybe half a minute in the oil on medium heat,then add the red pepper flakes and the onion. Saute for a bit.I did not let the onion brown, mostly because my heat level was off and it was looking like it was going to burn. Add the collard greens, stir to coat with some of the oil. You may have to wait a second for some of it to wilt/compress before adding more,but you should be able to fit a whole pound in a 4.5 quart pot. Keep stirring a bit to coat all leaves with the oil.  Sprinkle a little salt.  Add a few splashes of water so that you can braise rather than continuing to saute.

Turn the heat down to pretty low and cover the pot.  Stir every so often and let it cook for maybe..half an hour? Til the stems are soft enough and mild enough to be pleasant.

(Green) split pea soup

from http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=936650 with modifications

6 cups water + Vegetable Bouillon powder (maybe 2 heaping TBS)
2 cups dried green split peas, rinsed (I used a 1-lb bag, that may be more than 2 cups)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup chopped carrots
3 celery ribs with leaves, chopped (celery leaves are bitter and gross and not a substitute for parsley or whatever people may claim.)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried marjoram I used oregano 'cause I didn't have marjoram
1/2 tsp ground cumin
(omitted salt because bouillon is salty)
1/4 tsp pepper


I just dumped all this in a crock pot overnight, no sauteeing first. I heated the crock pot up a bit while I was chopping vegetables, and I boiled a kettle of water to dump over it. I left it on high for maybe half an hour and then turned it to low and let it cook for about 8 or 9 hours.

Verdict: pretty good.

cabbage soup

I am really only posting this so I'll think of it next time I'm looking for something simple to cook.  I've been having a really hard time finding things to cook that don't do weird things to my blood sugar or at least what I imagine is my blood sugar and this seems to be decent. In the past I haven't added anything for protein to cabbage soup and I think adding the sausage really helps.

In a 5 or 6 qt crock pot:

-about three quarters of a large head of cabbage, chopped (as much as will fit in the crock pot basically)
-one medium onion, chopped
-tomato stuff, chopped or food processed - about a  28 oz can worth
- 3 carrots
-3-4 cloves of garlic
-freshly ground pepper
-a few tbs of bouillon powder
-vegetarian sausage, sliced (I have been using the Tofurkey italian sausages, which are particularly cheap at Trader Joe's) Sometimes I add them at the end instead.
-water to cover - boiling water will speed everything up

Cook on high for a few hours, then for the last forty-five minutes or so, add
-a few handfuls of barley (optional)

Minestrone

I've made minestrone a bunch of times but was never incredibly happy with it. I had dinner at a friend's house a few weeks ago and they'd made a really great vegetarian minestrone from Moosewood. I'm actually not sure if this is the exact same recipe (there are so many different Moosewood cookbooks) but I was pretty happy with the way this came out. Putting green peppers in was a new thing for me, so that may have helped. Here's roughly what I did, which is a variation on what's listed in the link. (I made this last week so my memory's not perfect.)

http://www.ivu.org/recipes/italian/minestrone2-j.html

• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 5 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 cup celery -- minced
• 1 cup carrot -- cubed
• 1 cup zucchini, cubed
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley -- chopped
• 1 1/2 cups cooked garbanzo beans
• 1 potato, cubed
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 3 cups tomato puree (~42 oz canned tomatoes blended in Cuisinart)
• 3 1/2 cups water or less - to cover (use water from cooking garbanzos if possible)

Saute garlic and onions in oil until they are soft and translucent.
Add 1 tsp. salt, carrot, celery.
Mix well.
Add oregano, black pepper and basil.
Cover and cook over low heat 5-8 minutes.
Add green pepper, zucchini, stock, puree, and cooked beans.
Cover and simmer 15 minutes.
Add tomatoes and remaining salt.
Keep at lowest heat until 10 minutes before you plan to serve. Add parsley for the last ~20 minutes of cooking.

kale/chickpea soup

I tried this recipe tonight, slightly modified.

Original said:
You could also switch out the beans for chickpeas and use cumin and smoked paprika and crushed red pepper and I think also get a very nice soup with a different flavor.

Bean Soup with Kale

Olive Oil
8 large garlic cloves, crushed or minced
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
4 cups chopped raw kale
4 cups vegetable broth (I add more if needed)
2 15-oz cans of white beans such as cannellini or navy, undrained
4 plum tomatoes chopped (I used 2 cans of diced tomatoes)
(optional) 1/2 butternut squash, cubed or a couple of sweet potatoes
2 tsps. dried italian herb seasoning (or 1 tsp each dried thyme and rosemary)
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, heat olive oil. Add garlic and onion; saute unitl soft. Add kale and saute, stirring until wilted. Add potatoes or squash and saute, stirring until soft. Add broth, bean and all of tomatoes, herbs and salt and pepper.

Sometimes I put 1/2 can of the beans in a blender with some broth and blend until smooth and I stir that in the soup to thicken or use a hand blender in the pot at the end of cooking.

Simmer on low for a couple of hours.
---
I used canola oil (olive oil isn't good for high heat), slightly more kale, vegetable bouillon instead of broth, a little less than half a (large) butternut squash, only one can of chickpeas, a large onion (plus a little more I had in the fridge added later), a little more than half a 26-oz package of chopped Pomi tomatoes, added a single stalk of celery, and used the red pepper flakes/paprika, and cumin as seasoning.

Kale/cheese/quinoa

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1/2 of a large bunch of kale, shredded into thin ribbons (I include the stems, especially if they're not too tough.)
grated cheese (maybe 3 oz?) I used Havarti but anything would probably be tasty

Put quinoa and water in a pot; bring to a boil. Cover and lower the heat. After 15 minutes, turn off the heat. Dump in the shredded cheese and stir a little bit with a fork. Add the shredded kale and stir a bit too. Put the lid back on and let sit for about 5 more minutes to lightly cook the kale and melt the cheese. Stir again and eat/serve.

Colcannon

Traditionally this is made with milk or cream, but I make it with yogurt because it tastes better.

Potatoes (maybe 6 small and one larger Russet)
1 small head of cabbage
1 onion
~2 cups of yogurt
salt
pepper


Cut potatoes into pieces and drop into boiling, salted water. Boil until soft.
Meanwhile, slice up cabbage and onions. With cabbage I go for pieces about the size of a finger. Onions too, I guess. Heat some oil in a second large pot on medium. Saute the onions for a while, until almost soft, and then dump in the cabbage and stir around a bit. After you get tired of that, add some water (maybe 1/2 cup?) (use reserved water from the potatoes if you have it) and a few sprinkles of salt. Cover the pot and let the cabbage steam/braise until soft but not mushy.

Drain the potatoes, mash them up with the yogurt, then add that to the pot of cabbage. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Lentil soup w/ tomato & cumin

EDIT: I finished cooking this, and ate it, and it wasn't bad but it wasn't that great. It's possible the frozen spinach was off in some way, but it might just not be a flavor combo that I like.
----
Usually I make very plain lentil soup - celery, onions, carrots, lentils, maybe spinach or parsley. So this is newish.

And as a side note, lately I have been better with doing mise en place - the deal where you take out all your ingredients at the beginning and measure, peel, and chop whatever needs measuring, peeling, and chopping before you start combining anything - and it really makes cooking feel more enjoyable. It feels more orderly and less chaotic, which makes it more relaxing and lets me enjoy the process rather than just the results.

Adapted from http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/02/vegetarian-lentil-soup-recipe-with.html

1 T oil
1 T ground cumin
2 small/medium onions, chopped small
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground coriander
fresh ground black pepper to taste
2 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 cups brown lentils
5ish cups of water
1 TBS-ish of bouillon powder
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes with juice
2 cups frozen chopped spinach
salt to taste

Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed pot. Stir in onion, minced garlic, cumin, ground coriander, and black pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are softened, about 4 minutes. Stir in the paprika and cook about 1 minute more.

Add lentils, water, and bouillon powder (or maybe add that in after lentils are done cooking, since the salt in it might make them not get tender so easily), reduce heat, and simmer uncovered about 30-40 minutes, or until lentils are quite tender.

Add diced tomatoes and juice and chopped spinach and simmer uncovered 20-30 more minutes, until soup ingredients are well blended and lentils are starting to break apart. Season to taste with salt and serve hot.

stew

Nothing fancy here, but I had never made stew with meat in it before so I want to keep track of what I used. (Almost twenty years of almost-vegetarianism will do that to you.) I think this has a lower meat:vegetable ratio than most, but I figure that if I can make stew with no meat, I can make stew with less meat than you're supposed to...whatever "supposed to" means, anyway.

5 stalks of celery (I think)
5 carrots
4 onions
1 turnip
8oz mushrooms
3 cloves of garlic
1 lb stew beef
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
4 smallish potatoes

maybe 2 TBS thyme (dried)
maybe 2 TBS paprika
salt
pepper
1 bay leaf
some dried rosemary (less than 1 TBS)

I used an 11-quart stockpot, which had lots of extra space in it. Cut up and sauteed everything except tomato stuff, beef, garlic and potatoes for a bit, then added those and sauteed a bit more, then water. Cooked slowly for a long time...at least an hour, maybe more like two? The meat seems tender enough.

kale-cranberry barley salad

This is a copy of something I've seen (but not eaten) in the Whole Foods salad bar. I went for a higher ratio of kale to barley, and I made sure not to overcook my kale (theirs looks pale sometimes.)

1-1.5 c pearled barley
1 bunch kale (lacinato)
1-2 onions
balsamic vinegar
4 oz dried cranberries
olive oil
lemon
salt
pepper


Cook some pearled barley: I used between 1 and 1.5 cups of dry barley. Cook in 3x as much water: boil water in pot, add in barley, return to boil, cover and turn down to simmer. Official instructions I've read said 45 minutes' cooking time, but I let it go only about 30ish, and then turned off the flame and let it absorb some more water. There was still water left in the pot, but I figure that helped keep the grains separate and non-mushy.

Saute/almost-sort-of begin to caramelize an onion (I used 1 medium, I'd use two if I'd had more) that's been sliced thin - I did thing onion rings and then sliced into 2-3 cm long pieces. Remove onion to bowl.

Add slight bit oil in pot, add 1 bunch lacinato/dinosaur kale which has been washed, stems removed, and chopped into bite-sized pieces. Cook lightly, possibly add a bit of water and cover it. Really just go slightly beyond wilting it.

Add to that bowl with the sauteed onions: about 2 TBS balsamic vinegar (or more), 1 TBS olive oil, some salt, some pepper, some lemon juice (1/4 of a lemon?) Now add in kale, warm barley, and about 4 oz of dried sweetened cranberries. Stir, adjust spices. Consider adding a little white sugar if it needs it. Good cold.

African Chickpea Stew

I made this recently with my aunt. Recipe archived from here. We used just a fork to mix it, added some tapatio for a kick, and served it over quinoa. It's amazing how sweet it is. It almost tastes like it has added sugar.

Ingredients
1 can chick peas
1 1/2 lbs uncooked sweet potato diced
1 can diced tomatoes (low sodium or no salt added)(I used a 14-16 oz can, or 28oz for a doubled recipe.)
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup carrots, sliced
Spice paste (recipe below)
Spice Paste Ingredients
4 8 cloves garlic (always increase teh garlic!)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Spice Paste Directions
Blend all spice paste ingredients in a blender or mini food processor until a thick paste forms.
Add water one teaspoon at a time if necessary.
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a large skillet and simmer until vegetables are tender.
Serve with brown rice or quinoa.

this was edible*

EDIT:  Over a year later, I need to go back and give myself credit for this. It's a reliably tasty dish that I make often.

[*oh how the standards for this blog have fallen!]

Cook about 3 cups (dry) red lentils until soft. A 2 qt pot is not quite big enough for this.

In separate pot, saute 1.5 onions, chopped, maybe until they start to get brownish, then add a bunch of curry powder, some cumin, some chili powder, some berbere (I think it actually needs the berbere, even though I only used it the first time because I ran out of curry powder), some garam masala, some salt. If you have not randomly begun cooking at 8:30 pm with whatever you have in the house, you might wish to buy some fresh ginger and mince it and throw that in. Cook some more. Dump in 28 oz pureed tomatoes (or a can of whole peeled tomatoes with basil, whirred in the blender. See above re randomly cooking with what's on hand) and 3 cloves of garlic, chopped. Cook for a bit.

Dump lentils into the curry mixture. Add a can of coconut milk. (Coconut milk covers a multitude of sins.) Adjust seasonings. Heat through and eat. Becomes more awesome if you put a few spoonfuls of yogurt into it.

moderately healthy food for lazy people

This is for lazy people because it doesn't involve sauteeing anything first, or cutting up many vegetables, or actually mincing the garlic.

rinse and put in a gigantic pot (because it will foam and boil up a lot):

- red lentils (maybe two cups)
- barley (maybe half a cup)

add:
1 onion, chopped
a few cloves of garlic, chopped
1 yam, peeled and cubed
a tablespoon or so of curry powder
lots of water
a splash of oil (to help prevent boiling over)

cook on high until the lentils fall apart. then add a can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed, and cook until the barley is tender.

add: a tablespoon or more of vegetable bouillon powder, salt to taste.

yellow split pea soup

Like most things here - nothing special, but I like to remember the amounts I used.

1 lb of yellow split peas, soaked (for about 24 hours because I kept forgetting to deal with them)
handful of pearled barley
1 large onion
2 carrots
3 stalks of celery
4 cloves of garlic
~1 tbs of thyme
salt
chardonnay (to deglaze pan)

I sauteed the onions, carrots and celery with thyme and liberal sprinkles of salt for maybe 10-15 minutes. Dumped them into the crockpot, which had been slowly heating up (on high) with the split peas and the water they'd soaked in. Dumped in the handful of barley and the chopped garlic. Deglazed the frying pan with chardonnay, dumped that in the crockpot, left it on high for about 4 hours. It could go longer, probably.

Has a reasonable amount of flavor.

Cauliflower Cheese Soup

From the Moosewood Cookbook, but found here.

Cauliflower Cheese Soup (Serves 8-10)

3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 large cauliflowers, one chopped, one cut into neat and uniform little florets
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. salt
6 cups water
3 cups grated cheddar cheese
2 cups milk
2 tsp dill
1 tsp caraway seeds next time I think I'll grind them first--they're kinda strange floating around in soup
black pepper to taste.

1.) Place the potatoes, garlic, onion, salt and water into a large pot. Add the chopped cauliflower chunks (reserve the tidy florets!). Bring to a boil and simmer until the vegetables are very soft (~30 minutes).
2.) While the veggies are cooking, steam the reserved cauliflower florets until tender.
3.) Puree the stewed veggies in batches in a blender. Or use an immersion blender, which would probably reduce your chances of spilling hot soup everywhere like I did. Return the puree to the original pot, stir in the steamed cauliflower florets and the remaining ingredients. Heat gently until the cheese is completely melted. Serve topped with extra cheese and fresh pepper.