Archive for the ‘Vegetarian’ Category

Homemade Granola

Monday, May 24th, 2010

A few participants on our 40/40/40 challenge chose using bulk ingredients to make cereal.  Quite a few other participants decided to cut down, or cut out entirely, processed food.  Homemade granola is an easy way to cut out some of those processed foods – you know, the boxes of Tony the Tiger lurking around, or the box of Ego’s hiding in the freezer.  And many of the ingredients for granola are available for bulk purchase, cutting down both the cost of the cereal and the packaging waste.

For as much as I like to sit down to a fancy shmancy gourmet meal, I do prefer a simple cereal.  Nothing overly spiced, not too many ingredients, and balanced on the sweetness.  My favorite recipe thus far is from the Joy of Baking website.  Even with this recipe, I generally don’t add all the seeds listed, and I always use sliced almonds rather than the whole almonds.

For the wet ingredients, I follow the recipe exactly.  Well, almost.  I usually try to eyeball honey when I’m using it in a recipe.  I hate to waste the honey in a measuring cup.  One of the great things about making your own food is being able to control the ingredients.  Honey is widely available now at farmers markets and farm stands, in different grades and from bees on different flower diets.  Each batch has it’s own subtle, but distinct taste.  This producer is a favorite of mine from Wisconsin.

After the wet ingredients have come to a boil, mix with your assemble dry ingredients.  As I said, I keep the dry ingredients simple:  oats, sliced almonds, and some sesame seeds.

After the ingredients are thoroughly mixed, spread the entire batch on a baking sheet.  The recipe says to either butter the sheet or line with parchment – I always line with parchment.  That way, I can lift the granola in the parchment after it’s cooled and easily funnel into a container.

I bake mine closer to the 40 minutes, stirring often.  I like the granola to be crunchy, and the longer it bakes, the crunchier it will be after it cools.  Do be careful to watch it in those last few minutes, though.  The almonds, especially, will start to char.

Oh, and have I mentioned the scent of granola baking in oven?  Heavenly.

The next day, I happily have a simple bowl of simple granola with whole milk for breakfast:

I’m curious as to other recipes out there for bulk cereal.  Anyone have one to share?

- Melissa

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Cream of {insert vegetable} Soup

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

I make a lot of soup.  Soup accomplishes a lot of things, all at once: it’s usually pretty quick and easy to prepare, it uses up a lot of those extras or straggler ingredients hanging about in the fridge, it lends itself to large batches, and it freezes well.  In short, it’s a pretty economical food.  I used to have a few standard soups that I would prepare; however, when I joined my first CSA back in 2007 I found that I regularly had an abundance of vegetables that needed to be processed into something, and soup became a weekly adventure.

Of course, that abundance in vegetables occurs mostly in the summer and fall.  During the winter I still make soup out of lingering winter squashes, but by spring, I’m no longer making soup regularly.  My stash of soups right now in the freezer is depressingly low after months of lunches and last-minute dinners.

Since one of my challenges is to make large batches of healthy, sustainable meals so that I can restock my freezer, it figures that I will be making a few batches of soup in the coming weeks.  I picked this challenge because, although I am in the habit of making and freezing food during the summer and fall, I usually don’t cook as economically in the spring.  At this time of year, my attention usually turns to gardening rather than cooking.  And it’s bad enough that I don’t have the convenience of reaching into the freezer for an easy meal, but it also means that I waste energy with more frequent trips to the store, and my freezer certainly isn’t working as economically being half empty.  I’m using this challenge to get me back on track.

And, just as luck would have it, the perfect vegetable has come along to rescue me from the navy bean/butternut squash soups of winter: asparagus!  Blending asparagus into a soup is one of the few ways I care to eat it long after the local season has passed.  I will be buying copious quantities for the next few weeks.

The following recipe is based on my general recipe for vegetable soups.  At different points in the year, I will switch out the asparagus for other seasonal produce.  Different vegetables get their own herb pairing: asparagus and broccoli with thyme, zucchini with rosemary, fresh peas with mint.  I always use homemade chicken stock as the base, but a good quality vegetable stock can be substituted to fit into a vegetarian diet.  And although I’ve never done so, silken tofu can be added in place of the cream for a vegan soup.  Also, for this soup, I add in a small additional quantity of chopped asparagus for a texture contrast.

Cream of Asparagus Soup

  • 2 pounds green asparagus, rough chop, plus 4 or 5 additional spears finely chopped
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 boiling potato, peeled and cubed
  • 5 to 6 cups chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Begin by sauteing the onion in a bit of olive oil in a 4 quart heavy pot over low heat until soft, stirring frequently.  Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Add the potato and asparagus and cook while stirring frequently for about 5 minutes.  Add the stock and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat until soup is at a simmer, cover, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until asparagus is very tender.

Puree the soup by blending in batches, or by using an immersion blender.  The soup should be smooth in consistency.  Return to pan if using a blender, add thyme and cream, and bring to a slow boil.  Add finely chopped asparagus pieces and simmer until the pieces are slightly tender.  Taste for salt and pepper and adjust accordingly.

- Melissa

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Eating from Our Garden

Monday, April 26th, 2010

OK, so it’s baby steps, but it’s fun! We have had a meal with spinach from our garden (seeds I planted last fall that I thought we would harvest before winter, but they didn’t grow until spring), three meals with asparagus from our now 3-year old patch (we have to expand the amount of asparagus we grow!) and yesterday I harvested LOTS of rhubarb. Today I am making the traditional rhubarb cobbler type thing, and also plan to try a recipe from Mark Bittman’s cookbook, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian – Red Lentils and Rhubarb with Indian Spices. Here is the recipe:

1 cup of dried red lentils, washed and picked over (you can also use yellow split peas)
3 or 4 stalks of rhubarb, chopped
2 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tbsp minced garlic
4 cardamom pods
1 tbsp mustard seeds
2 cloves
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1 ancho or other mild dried chile
salt
2 tbsp cold butter or peanut oil (optional)
chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

1. Combine the lentils, rhubarb, ginger, garlic, cardamom, mustard seeds, cloves, pepper, and chile in a saucepan. Add water to cover by about 1 inch. Cook at a steady simmer until the lentils are soft. Usually 20-30 minutes. Add salt as they get softer.

2. Remove the cardamom pods and the cloves. Stir in the butter or oil if you are using it. Taste and adjust the seasonings, then garnish and serve over rice, or with chaptis.

- Andrea Schmidlin

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Dave Zobott Talks About Veganism

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

When we announced the start of our 40/40/40 program in church on April 11, Dave Zobott offered to be a resource for anyone who was considering exploring veganism as their 40 day commitment. Dave and I recorded a conversation recently (well, more of an interview–I mostly just asked questions) about veganism.

Even if you’re not going vegan for 40 days, I think you’ll find Dave’s words to be thoughtful and helpful as you travel your own 40 day path.

Dave talks about the evolution of his thinking, his struggles along the way, and his decision, just over a year ago,  to go vegan.

He talks about the importance of knowing why veganism appeals to you. His journey to veganism took several years, but once he truly knew his values, that knowledge became the foundation that made the smaller daily decisions relatively easy.

Dave gives practical tips for shopping, cooking, eating at restaurants and others’ homes, and lots of resources for vegans and those considering taking the plunge.

Click here to listen: To Be A Vegan

- Anne (with thanks to Bob for recording and editing!)

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Ramp Pasta

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

One of my challenges for the 40 days is to make a double batch of food, and save a portion of the batch as leftovers in the freezer.  Originally, I thought that this meal might qualify, as a pound of pasta is quite a bit for 3 people.  That is, until a certain 5 year old in our house ate 3 servings each night for two nights.  And I’m not even kidding.  He even licked the plate.

This recipe calls for ramps, which are sometimes referred to as wild leeks.  They grow natively in this area, but only for a few short weeks in the spring.  Unfortunately, finding them for purchase can be a challenge.  I was lucky enough to pick these up at the farmers market in Madison, WI last weekend, as well as some young red onions which stood in for the shallots – both from an organic vendor.  Whole Foods sometimes has a small supply of them.  Ramps have a unique onion/garlic flavor that becomes sweet and mild when cooked.

This recipe comes from the website Seasonal Chef.  I added about a 1/2 pound of crumbled Italian sausage to the dish – I sauteed the sausage after I caramelized the onions in the same pan, and added the sausage at the very end.  I used sausage from sustainably raised hogs from Hasselmann Family Farm, which is available for purchase at the Geneva Winter Market.  The sausage added a nice element for us meat-eaters, but the dish would have been great in it’s original vegetarian version as well.

Ramp and Caramelized Shallot Pesto Pasta

20-25 ramps
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest or lemon juice
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 shallots
1/4 pine nuts
1 lb spaghetti or pasta of your choice
1/4 cup grated parmesan

1. Trim roots from ramps and slip off outer skin on bulbs, if loose. Blanch ramps in a 6-quart pot of boiling salted water, 5 to 10 seconds, lift out of boiling water and transfer to cutting board. Coarsely chop ramps and put in a blender with zest or lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

2. Add pasta to boiling water and cook a few minutes, then ladle out 1/2 cup pasta water to add to blender when you process the pesto. Continue cooking pasta until al dente.

3. Meanwhile, chop shallots and saute in olive oil for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until shallots turn golden. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes before adding to the blender along with the pine nuts. Puree until smooth, adding 1/2 cup hot pasta water to thin.

4. Drain cooked pasta in colander, saving some pasta water, and return pasta to pot. Add  pesto and continue cooking for several minutes, stirring to coat evenly, and adding hot pasta water, if needed. Stir in parmesan cheese and transfer to serving dish.

If anyone is able to find a good local source for ramps, please leave a comment below.  I will make another attempt at freezing a batch of food, hopefully with a batch of celeriac soup – stay tuned!

- Melissa

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On our way!

Monday, April 12th, 2010

I want to send out a big thanks to everyone who signed up yesterday for the 40/40/40 challenge.  We are officially up to 30 participants – 3/4 of the way there!  Of course, nothing says that we have to stop at 40.  We would love to have as many people as possible participating.

Also, since it is Monday, and knowing that there is some interest in pursuing a vegetarian and/or local food diet for 40 days, I want to pass along the website Meatless Monday as a link for support.  The site caught my eye today because this Monday’s menu includes a recipe for Asparagus Wild Rice Frittata.  It won’t be long now until fresh asparagus starts showing up at farms and farm stands.  I rarely eat asparagus out of season, and so I am just a bit excited at the prospect of eating my fill in the coming weeks.  The website lists this particular recipe as a breakfast item, but I think it would make a fantastic dinner paired with a light salad.

If you haven’t already, please join us on this challenge by signing up here, or after the service on April 18th at UUCE.

- Melissa

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