Greens and Chickpeas with Couscous (Vegan)

Well, it's CSA season again, and we just got our first share this week. Since we got a lovely bunch of chard and one of curly kale, I decided to make an old favorite. This recipe can be made with just about any kind of greens you have on hand--spinach, chard, kale, collards, mustard greens, beet greens, etc. It's quick, easy, and very satisfying. I served it with whole wheat couscous, prepared with vegetable broth and olive oil.

Greens & Chickpeas
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Pinch Cumin Seeds
Pinch Coriander Seeds (optional)
Pinch Red Pepper Flakes (more if you like it spicy)
1 Onion, (red ones look nice in this dish) cut in half and sliced
2 Cloves Garlic, cut into matchsticks

1 Bunch Chard, stalks and leaves separated and chopped. (Stalks cut into 1" pieces, leaves into bigger chunks)

1 Bunch Kale, stalks and leaves separated and chopped. (Stalks cut into 1" pieces, leaves into bigger chunks)
1 Can Chickpeas, drained and thoroughly rinsed (15 or 19 oz, whatever you have on hand is fine) (or 2 cups cooked chickpeas)
Salt and Pepper, to taste

In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil and spices over medium heat. Once the spices start to smell really good ( a minute or two), add the onion slices and garlic. Stir, and cook until the onion starts to soften and separate. Add the chard and kale stem pieces only, stir and cook for a few minutes, until they brighten up. Add the leaves, stir and cook until they start to look tender. Add the chickpeas, and cook until they are heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over couscous, rice, or another cooked grain.
Enjoy!

Peppers Stuffed with Wild Rice (Vegan)

Now, these peppers were initially going to be stuffed with hulled barley. Unfortunately, I left the pressure cooker at too high heat, and I was greeted with the smell of freshly scorched barley, and a pan that required 8 hours of soaking to clean.

So, I decided it was better for everyone if I left the grain cooking to my rice cooker, and started again, this time with brown and wild rice. I was pretty pleased with the results! This also a great recipe for whatever leftover rice you may happen to have on hand. Just make sure it totals 4 cups, or so.

Peppers Stuffed with Wild Rice
Serves 4

4 Large Bell Peppers
1/2 large red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 TB olive oil
1 1/3 cups cooked wild rice
2 2/3 cups cooked short grain brown rice
1 cup cooked or canned, drained chickpeas.
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
Handful fresh parsley, chopped
2 TB balsamic vinegar
Salt
Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice the tops off the peppers. Put the tops aside, and remove the seeds and stuff from the inside of the peppers. Rinse out the peppers, and set aside.

Chop up the pepper tops, onion, and garlic. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion, garlic, and peppers, just until the onions are soft. Remove from heat.

In a big bowl. mix up the rices, sauteed vegetables, chick peas, parsley, sunflower seeds, and vinegar. Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper and salt.

Stuffing, all mixed up!

Put 1/2" of water at the bottom of an 8" square baking dish (I used my brownie dish).

Fill the peppers to overflowing with the stuffing, and shape the excess into a mound on top.

Stuffed and ready for the oven

Place peppers in the baking dish, and bake, uncovered for 30-40 minutes, 'till the top looks a little crispy, and they're hot all the way through. (Obviously, if you're using leftover refrigerated rice, it'll take longer)

Serve!

Lemon Asparagus Brown Rice Risotto in the Pressure Cooker!

Inspired by a Martha Stewart recipe I saw on Pinterest, I decided to make a whole-grain vegan version, in my trusty pressure cooker. The thing about making risotto with brown rice is, it just isn't as starchy as white arborio rice, so the result can be more soupy than creamy. To combat this, I added brown rice flour, to create a roux, and make the finished texture more like traditional risotto.

Pressure Cooker Lemon Asparagus Brown Rice Risotto (serves 4)

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

1 Shallot, chopped (a small onion also works)

1 1/2 Cups Short Grain Brown Rice

1 1/2 TB Brown Rice Flour (all-purpose flour also works in a pinch)

1 Cup White Wine (or broth)

4 Cups Vegetable Broth

1 Pound Asparagus, cut into 2" pieces

1 Cup Chickpeas, drained (canned or cooked)

1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast (or Parmesan Cheese)

Juice of half a lemon

Zest of half a lemon

Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a 4 quart or larger pressure cooker over medium-high heat. 

Add shallot, and cook until soft. Add brown rice, and stir until each grain is fully coated in oil. 

Add brown rice flour, and mix thoroughly, to create a roux.

Add wine and stir, letting the alcohol cook off.

Add Broth, stir thoroughly, and lock lid in place.

Bring to high pressure, reduce heat, and cook at high pressure for 15-18 minutes.

Quick-release pressure and remove lid.

Stir thoroughly, and make sure to keep rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Stir in asparagus and chickpeas.

Cook for 3-5 minutes more, until the rice is cooked, the sauce is thick and creamy, and the asparagus is cooked to your liking.

Remove from heat, stir in nutritional yeast (or parmesan cheese), lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

Maple Fig Granola

Here's a recipe for yummy fig granola, inspired by Mark Bittman's granola recipe. I served it this morning as a crunchy topping on steel-cut oatmeal and bananas.

Maple Fig Granola (makes about 5 cups)

3 Cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
1/2 Cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
1/3 Cup Cashews, Chopped
1/3 Cup Sunflower Seeds
1/3 Cup Flax Seeds
1/2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
Pinch Sea Salt
1/4 Cup Pure Maple Syrup

4 dried figs, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all ingredients (except figs) in a large bowl, until thoroughly mixed.
Spread mixture in a large baking pan with sides.
Bake 30-35 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from oven and place pan on a cooling rack.
Mix in chopped dried figs.
Let cool, and then store in an airtight container (a mason jar is perfect) in the fridge.

Delicious as a topping for oatmeal, yogurt, or as breakfast cereal. Yum!

Pressure Cooker Vegan Mushroom Risotto

Since I'm lactose-intolerant, I've been trying to reduce the amount of dairy in my diet. After reading a few articles about nutritional yeast, I decided to take the plunge and buy a bag from the grocery store. It lends a savory, umami flavor, so I thought mushroom risotto would be a good place to try it.

The result was a savory, yummy risotto, which was a perfect weeknight dinner on a cold winter's night.

Mushroom Risotto

4 TB olive oil

1 small shallot, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

10 oz package mushrooms, sliced (I used Baby Bella)

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

1/2 cup white wine

3 to 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 1/2 TB Nutritional Yeast (Or 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, if you want to do a vegetarian version)

1 TB truffle oil

Sea Salt (to taste)

In a 4 qt or larger pressure cooker, heat the olive oil over high heat.

Saute the onion and garlic until soft.
Add the mushroom slices, saute.
Add the rice, and mix until the oil coats each grain.
Add wine and mix until the alcohol cooks off.

Add three cups of the vegetable broth.

Lock lid in place and bring to high pressure.

Cook at high pressure for 4 minutes.

Release pressure, remove lid.

Stir in nutritional yeast, truffle oil, and salt.

Cook over medium-low heat for another 3-4 minutes, until the rice is firm, but cooked. If the risotto gets too dry, add more broth.

Yum!

Sautéed Kale with Garlic & Onions

Tonight, Sean made his delicious pasta carbonara with the rest of the batch of homemade fettuccine. We were craving greens, so I made sautéed kale to go with!

Sautéed Kale

1 bunch kale leaves, coarsely chopped

1 red onion, halved and cut into 1/8" thick slices

2 cloves garlic, slivered  

2 TB olive oil
Salt & freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Heat oil in a 3 qt sauté pan over medium heat.

Add garlic and onion slices. Stir and cook until they have softened somewhat and the onion has separated.

Add salt and pepper.

Add chopped kale. Using tongs (or two wooden spoons) flip and stir the kale and onions, making sure to coat all the kale in the oil.

Reduce heat and cover the pan.

Cook for a few minutes more, stirring occasionally, until the kale has softened but is still a nice bright green color.

This recipe also works well with Swiss chard, spinach, beet greens, etc.

Whole Wheat Fettuccine & Marinara

So, I was reading The New York Times the other day, and came across this easy-sounding recipe for marinara sauce. Since the recipe only contains a few ingredients and takes 15 minutes to cook, I simply had to try it!

The result was a bright and tomato-y sauce. It was super tasty, and despite it containing seven (!) cloves of garlic,  the flavors were very well-balanced. The recipe was also a lot of fun to do, thanks to the step of hand-crushing the whole tomatoes. I was able to find D.O.P. certified San Marzano tomatoes at my local grocery store. I imagine getting the right tomatoes makes a very big difference in the finished product.

I paired my sauce with homemade fettuccine, made with my trusty pink KitchenAid stand mixer. Here's the pasta recipe, adapted from the KitchenAid instruction book that came with my pasta roller set.

2 Cups whole wheat all-purpose flour
1 1/2 Cups semolina flour
4-5 eggs (depending on size), beaten
2 TB water
1 TB olive oil
1/2 Tsp. Salt
Extra semolina flour for dusting.

Mix all ingredients in mixer, speed 2, with flat beater for 30 seconds, 'til combined.

Switch to dough hook and knead at speed 2 for 2 minutes.

Knead dough by hand for 1-2 minutes more.

Cut dough into 8 pieces, and form each into a flattened ball.

Cover, or wrap in plastic, and let dough rest for 20 minutes.

Roll out pasta dough and cut to desired shape. (I rolled to thickness 4 and used the fettuccine cutter)

Boil in salted water for 3-5 minutes, drain, and serve.

Williams-Sonoma has a great video on how to use the rollers to make fettuccine: