Susan's Cooking Blog

Preserving the Harvest

2011-10-02T18:19:25Z

It has been a fun summer in my garden and I have been using the produce plus great prices in the stores right now for many fruits to make preserves to enjoy throughout the rest of the year.

Most pickle and preserve recipes contain a LOT of salt and sugar and I don't eat refined sugar and keep to a very low sodium diet. But I've found that you can substitute pureed dates or date syrup for some sweetness and eliminate or significantly reduce the sodium with some thought.

Two very successful recipes I've made this year are for salsa and mango chutney.

Here's the recipe for the salsa. It was originally posted by Bryanna Clark Grogan on a VegSource message board. My notes are in brackets.

Fresh Salsa
8 garlic cloves
1 large onion
1 large green pepper, seeded
1/4 cup drained pickled jalapeño peppers OR 2 or 3 fresh seeded hot green chilies OR use 1 Tbsp pureed canned chile chipotles[I used fresh jalapenos from my garden]
2 (28 oz) cans diced tomatoes, very well drained [I used equivalent amount of fresh tomatoes from my garden, peeled and seeded]
OPTIONAL: 1/4 cup tomato paste [I used this]
2 Tbsp lemon juice or red wine vinegar [I used fresh lime juice]
1 - 2 tsp salt [I left this out]
1 tsp dried oregano (or 1 Tbsp fresh) [I left this out]
OPTIONAL: 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or Italian parsley [I used about 1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro]
1 tsp dried red chile flakes (if you like it really hot--but remember that this salsa gets hotter as time goes on) [I left this out]

If you have a food processor, pulse the garlic cloves, then add the onion and green pepper, cut in chunks, and the jalapeños and pulse until minced. Add the drained tomatoes and the remaining ingredients and pulse until well mixed.

If you don't have a food processor, then you'll have to chop everything fine by hand.
Keep in tightly closed jars in the refrigerator. It will keep refrigerated for several weeks. Some clear liquid will rise to the top. Pour it off or stir it in, depending on the consistency you like. [Because I was making this in bulk, I then proceeded to heat the mixture to boiling, then ladle into sterilized jars, sealed them, then processed in a boiling water bath for 30 min.]

I used this recipe from Saveur magazine for the Mango Chutney with a few alterations:

I did not use the oil. I water sauteed the garlic, onions, etc.
Instead of the habanero or scotch bonnet peppers, I used fresh chopped jalapenos.
I left out the brown sugar. Mango is sweet in its own right!
Because I left out the sugar, I only used half the amount of vinegar and lime juice.

I'll post some of the other pickles and preserves I've been making in a separate entry.

Tomatoes Galore

2011-08-07T23:35:03Z

I just love tomato season. So many varieties; so little time to capitalize on them though!

I've been making tomato sauce from the plums/romas:

Shown above is a quick sauce made from sauteed onions, mushrooms, fresh tomato puree, garlic and Italian seasonings, served on top of "zoodles" (spiralized zucchini sitting in for noodles). Scroll down to the description of zoodles in this post.

I have a zucchini glut so also used some stuffed served with tomato sauce on top. I sliced a medium zucchini into chunks then hollowed the slices out with a melon-baller, and did a thinner zuke "boat".

Here they are stuffed with a tofu "ricotta", fresh herbs and sun-dried tomatoes:

They were great with the simple tomato sauce.

However, when the tomatoes are the sweetest most delicious heirloom varieties, simply sliced is the ticket for me. A 14 ouncer heirloom took center stage on my lunch plate today:

Yesterday's feature was slightly smaller but oh so delicious:

Both lunches were served with an adapted version of the Whole Foods' Health Starts Here Broccoli Salad with Almond Chili Dressing.

Burger Madness (Vegan)

2011-07-24T16:27:26Z

Summertime finds a certain amount of burger madness chez Susan. I thought that a post featuring various vegan burgers would be fun and might provide you with some new avenues to explore.

There are many options for the base for a good vegan burger: beans (including tofu), grains, mushrooms, etc. Here are three of my current favorites.

Umami Mushroom Burger

I adapted this from a recipe found here. I made a few changes to the recipe to improve its nutritional profile. I altered the recipe by reducing the sodium (used half the called-for Tamari and used low sodium soy sauce instead, plus used only 1 of the 2 tsp of Worcesterhire sauce). I also didn't use the grapeseed oil. I water sauteed the shallots and garlic and only used a light spray of olive oil spray in the pan when cooking the burgers.

I didn't use parmesan cheese, of course. I substituted 2 TBSP of nutritional yeast. I used raw cashews, untoasted. I substituted rolled oats for the whole wheat flour, and pulsed the oats in the dry container of my Vita-Mix to make them more flour-like in consistency.

I saved the soaking water from rehydrating the porcinis and then used that liquid to moisten the burgers a bit while I was incorporating the oats. And I left them in the fridge for a good 45 min. before cooking.

Roasted Beet Tofu Burgers

These vibrant-looking burgers are from a recipe on fatfreevegan. I've made them a few times and always enjoy them. They are a more delicate burger so probably wouldn't be able to stand up to grilling, but when baked they are great. If you wanted them sturdier, you could add some oat or whole wheat flour.

Lynne's Black Bean Burgers

I also really like a black bean burger recipe developed by Lynne, a member of Dr. Joel Fuhrman's member support forum. Lynne uses black beans, very finely shredded carrots, and brown rice as the base of her burgers. I served them on top of a grilled portobello mushroom, then topped with: grilled onions, roasted red peppers, 1 TBSP low sodium salsa, and a dab of Dijon mustard.

Black Bean Burgers
by Lynne Murray

1 lb dried black beans, cooked (on the soft side)
1 medium onion, minced
1 large red pepper, minced
1 Tablespoon dried basil (Lynne uses Penzey’s and so do I!)
2 cloves garlic, pressed
4 carrots, peeled and shredded very fine on a box cutter
½ to ¾ cup pre cooked brown rice

Water sauté onion and red pepper and garlic. Once starting to get soft, add basil. After several minutes add carrots – they don’t need much cooking. Mash the beans with a potato masher until partially mashed. Mix in veggies and brown rice. Form into ball form, about the size of a small burger. Put on a plate, or plates, cover with plastic wrap and chill. Once chilled you can press into patty form. Lynne cooks hers in her toaster oven on broil. Broil just enough to get hot through and a bit crispy on the outside without browning.

Black Bean Chipotle Soup

2011-06-07T02:47:58Z

I've been loving a sort of ad hoc black bean soup I've been making lately.

It is based on a recipe from the Rick Bayless cookbook, Mexico - One Plate at a Time. His recipe includes Masa "Gnocchi", which I didn't make or add to the soup, but I bet they'd be great. Interesting concept. I just wanted straight soup with no other starch but beans.

Ad Hoc Black Bean Chipotle Soup

Ingredients:

1.5 cans cooked black beans (I ran out of dry... they are much better if you cook them yourself).
4 med sized roma tomatoes
1 med sized red onion
4-5 whole garlic cloves
2 tsp of chipotle in adobo sauce (or more to taste)
3 oz raw baby spinach
Chopped tomato, onion, cilantro for garnish (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Halve tomatoes and set them in a baking dish lined with parchment paper, along with whole garlic cloves and onion very roughly chopped. Use a dish with some lip on the sides so the juice of the tomatoes doesn't run off. Roast veggies until they are mostly soft and you can pick the skins off the tomatoes. Remove from oven and cool slightly.
Meanwhile, put black beans (with liquid) in a med sized sauce pan and bring to a low simmer.
Remove skins from tomatoes and add them along with any accumulated juices into a high speed blender along with the garlic and chipolte. Puree until smooth. Add cooked onion chunks and blend on low speed for a short time just to chop them a bit more finely.
Add puree to simmering beans. Cover and simmer until mixture -20 thickens a bit (approx. 15- 20 min.).
Remove cover and stir in baby spinach. Cover and let wilt, stirring every few minutes to incorporate the spinach into the soup.
Serve topped with chopped onion, tomatoes, cilantro and a dab of leftover savory salad dressing if you have it. I used some leftover "caesar" dressing made with roasted garlic and cashews.

Eggplant Bolognese

2011-06-04T15:37:47Z

I tried another recipe from the Whole Foods' Health Starts Here collection - Eggplant Bolognese.

Click here for the recipe.

I thought this was excellent. Instead of serving it on pasta, I served it on spiralized zucchini which was very lightly steamed. To make the zucchini "pasta" I used a Spirooli. See below for everything that you've always wanted to know about spiralizing vegetables and more.

Green Lemonade

2011-05-07T16:14:00Z

This is a naturally tart/sweet juice that tastes just like it sounds, like lemonade with a twist - of green, that is.

I'm told this recipe was originally published by Natalia Rose, but I don't have her books so can't be sure. It has been circulating on internet cooking forums for years in various forms.

This recipe requires a juicer, not a blender.

Green Lemonade

Ingredients:
2 organic Fuji apples (or similar)
1 whole organic lemon, peel on
1 big head of organic Romaine lettuce
5 stems organic lacinto kale (or other greens)

Just juice, stir, and enjoy!

Fiddleheads

2011-05-07T02:10:00Z

If you see these in the market:

buy some! These are fiddleheads, which are actually the shoots of the ostrich fern. They are a short-lived delicacy.

Steam them lightly, add a light squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and serve with a bold nut-based sauce.

Early Spring is fiddlehead season! These are foraged, not commercially grown usually.

Broccoli Salad with Almond and Chili Dressing

2011-05-02T02:03:00Z

I've been browsing my way through the fledgling Whole Foods' Health Starts Here recipes. You might have seen some displays, books, and discussion about this new initiative launched by Whole Foods. The initiatve is focusing on bringing ideas, literature, recipes, and prepared food (only in some of the stores) that support a nutrient-dense, health-promoting message.

None of these efforts work if food doesn't taste fabulous and have curb-appeal. This one definitely passes both tests.

The broccoli is lightly steamed, then combined with an excellent dressing. Click here for the recipe.

I made a few changes to the recipe:

Instead of the 1/2 cup of almond butter I used 2 TBSP raw almond butter for 3 med stalks of broccoli. I served it on a bed of baby greens instead of noodles and/or bean sprouts. I think bean sprouts would be great with this but I didn't have any. I did use 1/2 a serrano pepper, deseeded.

I'm sure it would be delicious with the whole 1/2 cup of raw almond butter but that would be way too rich of a recipe for me.

I thought it was great and will definitely make it again.

Green Goddess Salad Dressing

2011-04-30T18:36:00Z

I've been playing with a new salad dressing that is quickly becoming my new favorite. It is based on the Green Goddess recipe in the cookbook Veganomicon. I've expanded on it to include way more vegetable content.

It is creamy and tangy with cilantro and some fresh garlic. The recipe is easy to make in a high speed blender.

Here's my recipe:

Susan's Green Goddess Salad Dressing
Yield: 6 generous servings

1 medium zucchini, chopped coarsely (5 5/8 oz weight)
1/2 cup water
4 whole green onions, trimmed and coarsely chopped (white and green parts)
4 green onions, white and light green part only, coarsely chopped (all green onions together weighed 2 5/8 oz)
1 cup flat leafed parsley, including non-woody stems (1 oz weight)
1 cup cilantro, including non-woody stems (1 oz weight)
3 cloves fresh garlic
1 TBSP lower sodium miso
3 TBSP raw tahini
3 TBSP fresh meyer lemon juice (use less if using other lemons)
1/3 cup nutritional yeast

Add ingredients in order listed to container of high speed blender. Blend on high until smooth.

It thickens a bit after blending so adding some water to thin leftovers is probably good idea.

Brussels Sprouts

2011-01-17T19:12:00Z

One benefit of Winter in my area is the fabulous vegetables that are in season. Kale, mustard greens, collard greens, and brussels sprouts are some of my favorite vegetables.

Many Winter greens actually taste sweeter if they've had a nip of frost. This is especially true of the humble brussels sprouts. I love it when I can buy them still on the stalk.

You can steam them, add them to soups or stews, quarter or shred them and do a fast steam-fry (just add a couple of TBSP of liquid into a wok or saute pan heated to med-high and saute until tender-crisp).

They are also easy to prepare by simply roasting them.

Toss them in a little bit of good balsamic vinegar for the last few minutes of cooking. I often make a meal of them.

Ethiopian Fare

2011-01-09T19:42:00Z

I've been enjoying exploring the recipes in my new copy of Appetite for Reduction, Isa Chandra Moscowitz's new cookbook. One of my favorite recipes so far is Mushroom Tibs, a spicy mushroom dish.

It is coated with a interesting combination of sautéed garlic, onions, ginger, plus curry, paprika, cumin, thyme, cloves and more! Excellent dish.

As suggested in cookbook, I paired it with 2 other Ethiopian dishes, Ye'abesha Gomen (sautéed and braised collard greens) and Ethiopian Millet (which contains tomatoes, onion, ginger and spices).

The collards are tender and delicious and the Mushroom Tibs and millet work beautifully with it.

Susan

Appetite for Reduction

2010-12-21T01:23:00Z

I've always admired Isa Chandra Moskowitz's creativity and flair with coming up with great vegan meals. I own a few of her cookbooks, including Veganomicon and Vegan with a Vengeance. There were many times, though, when flipping through a cookbook of hers that I wished she'd use less oil, remove the refined flours and sugars .... now she has!

Isa's new cookbook, Appetite for Reduction, appeared on my porch a week or so ago and I've been having a great deal of fun exploring her new collection of vegan recipes.

There are many recipes I want to try: Pineapple Collards, Sun-dried Tomato-Walnut Salad Dressing, Sushi Roll Edamame Salad, and Mushroom Tibs (spicy mushrooms with curry).

Last night I made my first foray into this cookbook with this excellent chili:

Chipotle Chili and Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts. It was excellent.

Thanksgiving Centerpiece

2010-11-24T17:47:00Z

There's still time to create a fun centerpiece for your Thanksgiving dinner.

Consider this exceptionally cute one:

The recipe can be found here .

Personally, since I don't eat dairy, I'd replace the cheese cubes with melon.

Susan

Not Your Usual Baked Beans

2010-07-25T19:41:00Z

An easy dish for a BBQ, camping, or a potluck is baked beans. However, most recipes call for molasses or other sugars and tons of salt. Here's an easy, very healthy alternative I first heard about in the discussion forums of Dr. Joel Fuhrman's website. It was created by a member there, Barb (who also writes a great blog about healthy eating ).

The key to the sweetness of these beans is soaking them and cooking them in carrot juice.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb of navy beans
1 onion, chopped (sweet ones like Videlia or Texas would be good here)
4 cups fresh carrot juice (more or less, see method)

Method:

Pick over and rinse the beans. Put them in a crockpot or slow cooker. Top with diced onions.

Pour carrot juice in to cover the beans plus one inch.

Cover and soak overnight. In the morning, cook on high in the slow cooker for 4 hours, then turn down to low for another 4 hours. If you need to leave the house, you could also cook them on low the whole time.

These smell and taste like baked beans, but have no salt, no sugar, and no additives.

For a less sweet version, you can substitute no salt vegetable broth for half the carrot juice. Barb says these are great with parsnips cooked in with them. I'll have to try that.

Kitchen Chalkboard

2010-07-12T00:21:00Z

I just moved into a new (for me) house and finally have the right place to put a kitchen chalkboard. I tend to have too many lists going on at the same time and wanted a place to consolidate them. So far I love it!

I placed a custom order with Piazza Pisano . Hand crafted, hand carved, cute and serviceable. What more could you want? The company was great to deal with, the board was very reasonably priced, and my order arrived before they said it would. Excellent service and follow-up.

Al Pisano is the craftsman. See Al make another of his creations below:

Vegan Kohlrabi au Gratin

2010-07-10T19:56:00Z

Kohlrabi is a versatile vegetable. It can be baked, added to stir fries, soups and stews. It's also easy to grow. The common type found in most grocery stores is green:

Although the purple ones are pretty if you find them.

This dish is a nice side dish that can be made ahead and reheated.

Vegan Kohlrabi au Gratin

Ingredients:
2 medium size kohlrabi bulbs, peeled, halved, and sliced approx. 1/4 inch thick
1 cup unsweetened soymilk
1/4 cup raw unsalted cashews
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 TBSP lemon juice (or more to taste)
dash of freshly ground nutmeg
2 TBSP fresh thyme leaves, plus a few small sprigs for garnish if desired

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Put soymilk, cashews, mustard, lemon juice in a high speed blender and blend until smooth.
Arrange half the kohlrabi slices in the bottom of a baking dish.

Pour half the sauce over the slices, then add a 1/2 dash of nutmeg plus half the fresh thyme leaves.

Add the rest of the kohlrabi, sauce, nutmeg and thyme.
Cover and bake at 350 for approx. 45 min., until cooked through but not mushy. Remove cover and cook for an additional 10 min to lightly brown the top.

Remove from oven and let sit 10 min before serving.

This dish holds well on a buffet table and has a nice presentation when garnished with fresh thyme sprigs.

Beets and Beet Greens

2010-05-01T14:12:00Z

On busy weeknights I often have something simple for dinner. And it is hard to get much simpler than this.

I love beets (or beetroot if you're from over the pond). When I shop, I try to find beets with their greens still attached. Beet greens are quick cooking, tasty, and pretty too.

I steam the well washed greens briefly:

On the weekend I roast beets then rinse and slip the skins off. Dinner can be as simple as a plate of beet greens, topped with beets.

Drizzled with a little balsamic vinegar. Add some freshly ground pepper. I love this combination.

Followed by a bowl of soup, this is a great weeknight dinner.

Strawberries Have Arrived

2010-04-11T01:12:00Z

I was delighted to see beautifully ripe organic strawberries in the market yesterday. I've missed them.

Wanting to give them front row center today, I served them atop a fresh Spring greens mix for lunch today. Drizzled with a clear sweet/sour dressing comprised of only raspberry vinegar and pomegranate concentrate. Sprinkles of raw unhulled sesame seeds.

A toast to Spring in Northern California.

Marinara Magnifica

2010-03-24T00:45:00Z

There's nothing like a great homemade Marinara sauce that's been cooked for hours.

I base my recipe on this one from Cooking Light magazine.

It is rich tasting and complex when cooked for the full 3 hours. I make a few changes to the recipe, though. Here's the original recipe from Cooking Light with my changes in brackets.

Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil (I leave this out and dry or water saute onions instead
6 cups chopped onion (about 3 medium)
1 tablespoon sugar (I substitute 1 TBSP date syrup)
1/2 cup dry red wine (you can leave this out, but it is better with)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (I leave this out)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
(I add 1 fresh bouquet garni... see Preparation notes)
1 teaspoon salt (I leave this out)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
6 garlic cloves, crushed
2 (24 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes, undrained
2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste

Preparation

Heat oil (or dry saute) in a Dutch oven over medium heat; add onion and sugar (date syrup). Cook 30 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally. Stir in wine; cook 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

I think that a bouquet garni adds to the sauce:

In this case it has: fresh parsley stems, fresh thyme sprigs and a couple of bay leaves. (Read about Bouquet Garni here.)

Great sauce. Sometimes I leave the garlic cloves whole in the sauce. It gives a slightly milder sauce for some dishes. Also good is adding a lot of smaller dice mushrooms after you've cooked the onions down partially. By the time the mushrooms cook down over 3 hours, they add a great 'meaty' texture.

A Simple Supper

2010-03-21T22:45:00Z

Eating a healthy and tasty dinner doesn't have to be complicated. Dinner a few nights ago started with a Spring greens salad:

which was followed by this:

Mashed sweet potato surrounded by grilled and roasted vegetables: grilled onions, grilled oyster mushrooms, fennel roasted with balsamic, with some mushroom gravy.

Easy simple supper.