Red Beans and Rice

When I first became a vegetarian in college my mainstay was those bags of Zatarain's red beans and rice. In the many, many, many years since college I've come to avoid pre-packaged meals as much as possible. I've often looked at red beans and rice recipes, but reading over ingredient lists I've been left uninspired and I have to admit I've not tried a single one I've looked at. Maybe they all would have been delicious, but I just wasn't motivated by them to try. So, of course, I finally decided to make my own. I don't know how this ingredient list will strike you, but let me assure you it is very delicious. The recipe is not a lot of work, but it does take quite a long time for the beans and rice to cook. For that reason this is an excellent meal to make on the weekend when you have some extra time, then you can use the leftovers for lunches during the week.

About 1 lb. of small red beans (if it's a little over or under that's no big deal), sorted, soaked and rinsed
About 2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
6 oz. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. yellow mustard
1 tsp. dried oregano
6 c. water, plus more added during the cooking process
1 c. rice
1 scant Tbsp. sea salt
1 pound container of fresh salsa (I got it in the deli section of the grocery store), or 1 recipe Pico de Gallo.

1. Lay the beans out on a large kitchen towel and sort through them removing any debris or discolored, broken, or  malformed beans. Rinse the beans to clean and then place them in a large bowl covered with 2-3 inches of water. Let them soak for at least 6 hours up to overnight. Once they have soaked, rise them in a strainer and set aside.

2. When the beans have been soaked and rinsed heat the olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion and let it saute until soft, about 7 minutes.

3. When the onion is soft add the tomato paste, mustard and oregano. Let the tomato paste melt as you stir the mixture around to evenly coat all of the onions.

4. Once the tomato paste is distributed evenly over the onions add the beans and about 6 cups of hot water, or enough to cover the beans by about 2-3 inches, and bring to a boil.

5. Let the beans cook at medium boil (not a gentle simmer) for about 2 hours until they are completely soft, stirring occasionally and adding more hot water when it starts to evaporate too much. You want to keep the beans submerged in a lot of liquid so that they have room to move around in the pot and cook evenly.

6. When the beans are fully cooked but not falling apart, add 1 c. of rinsed brown rice and a little more water if necessary. Let it cook for 45 minutes longer, partially covered, and stir occasionally but keep an eye on it because you'll start letting the water evaporate at this point to form a thick sauce.

Here the salsa has just been added.

7. As the mixture boils only add more water at this point if it is about to dry out, but just enough to keep it boiling without drying out. Keep stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan at this point to avoid burning. When the rice is fully cooked, after about 45 minutes, add the entire container of fresh salsa and let it cook for 15 minutes longer as the liquid continues to evaporate into a thick sauce.

This is how thick the sauce should be.

 This makes 6-8 servings and tastes lovely topped with fresh Guacamole.

Quick Pickle Red Onions

I eat these like popcorn when I make them. Even if you don't want to make them to eat as a snack on their own, they are great on tacos, wraps, sandwiches or salads. In my opinion, these have just the right balance of tangy, salty and sweet. I love them on corn tortillas with Black Beans, Guacamole, and Scotch Bonnet Salsa.

1 c. cold water
1 1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp. kosher salt
1 Tbsp. unrefined sugar
1 large or 2 small red onions

1) Whisk everything but the onions together in a glass container large enough to hold the liquid and the onion (I use a pyrex 4 c. measuring cup)

2) Slice the onion into thin strips. You could do rings, or any shape you want, I just think strips are the easiest shape to deal with.

3) Place the onions into the liquid and weight them down with a small glass or ceramic object (such as a small plate, bowl or lid). Let the onions sit at room temperature in the liquid for 1-5 hours.

4) Drain the onions in a strainer and briefly rinse them off in cool water. Store the onions in a glass container in the fridge for at least a week, maybe longer.

This makes about 2 c. of onion pickles depending on the size of your onion. The photo to the right is of my taco spread with pickled red onions.

Kimchi Tofu Scramble

I've been keeping a secret this winter. I never thought I was superstitious until I considered sharing my secret and realized that I was afraid I would jinx it if I said it out loud. So I'm not going to say it out loud, I'm just going to quietly type it. The flu has been going around this winter, and from my understanding it's pretty nasty. I was fully expecting our family to get infected, but we never did. In fact, most of us have not even gotten a cold this winter. With two kids in elementary school and a toddler who puts everything in her mouth, including other people's tooth brushes, I couldn't figure out how we were avoiding getting sick. Then I realized that it's probably from eating fermented foods so much.

My husband and I eat lacto fermented sour kraut, kimchi, curtido or jalapenos several times per week. My daughters eat lacto fermented cucumber pickles almost every day. The fermentation process develops the good bacteria that help to build the bacteria colony in your gut (which I heard likened to a second brain in a TED Talk recently). If you have a well developed bacteria colony in your gut, you are able to obtain maximum nutrition from the foods you eat during the digestion process which may enable your body to fight illness because it's not lacking in nutrition. I think this is what has kept us from getting sick.

You can find lacto fermented kimchi (and other products) in the refrigerated section of most health food stores, but they are very expensive. I think they're so costly because they need to remain refrigerated and cannot sit in hot warehouses or trucks. At least that's the only reason for the high price that I can come up with because they're extremely inexpensive to make yourself. For this recipe I add the kimchi at the last moment after the greens have been wilted to just heat it through so as not to kill the good bacteria with high heat. It's best to prep everything before you start cooking because the dish goes quickly once you start adding things to the pan.

2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 small onion (any color), diced
4 scallions, thinly sliced (green and white parts)
10-12 mushrooms (crimini, button or shiitake work well), diced
White or black pepper to taste
1 lb. firm or extra firm tofu, crumbled to look like scrambled eggs with your fingers
1 Tbsp. fermented Korean bean paste or chile garlic paste
2 1/2 Tbsp. shoyu or tamari 
1/2-1 c. Kimchi, home made or store bought
5-6 leaves kale (or other green), thinly chopped

1) Slice the vegetables and have them ready to add. Rinse the tofu and pat it dry. Preheat the sesame oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat.

2) Add the scallions, onions and diced stalks of your greens (if you're using a hearty green like kale, collards, gai lan or broccoli) and onions and a bit of white or black pepper. Toss to combine and let the onions cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

3) Add the tofu by crumbling it with your fingers into the pan and toss to combine. let the mixture cook for an additional 3-5 minutes, then add the mushrooms, toss and cook for another 3 minutes.

4) Add the fermented Korean bean paste (or chile garlic paste) and shoyu or tamari and toss it around to dissolve the paste into the scramble and coat everything with the sauce.

5) Add the greens and cook until wilted (kale or gai lan will take longer than spinach or watercress).

6) Once the greens have just wilted add the minced kimchi and toss to combine everything well. Remove from the heat once the kimchi is warmed and serve. 

This serves 4 and looks nice garnished with black or tan sesame seeds and minced fresh chives.

Curried White Bean Spread

In my Indian Chickpea Salad post I likened that salad to a deconstructed hummus. I like that salad so much that I decided to reconstruct it into a white bean spread/dip. You can use this like hummus. I like using cannellini beans rather than chickpeas (aka: garbanzos) for this dip because they get smoother and creamier. You could also try navy beans.

3 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar or fresh squeezed lemon juice (I like it better with the vinegar)
2 Tbps. water, plus more for thinning during mixing if necessary
1 15 oz. can cannellini beans (or 2 cups cooked)
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp. curry powder (hot, sweet, whatever you want)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
2 Tbsp. tahini
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1) Place all of the ingredients into a high-speed blender or a food processor and mix until fully combined and smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Add more water 1 Tbsp. at a time to facilitate blending if necessary.

2) Taste and add more curry, vinegar or lemon, or salt if needed.

This makes about 2 cups of bean spread.

Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup

Recently I had what I can only call the one true tomato soup that I have ever enjoyed. However, upon later reflection I realized that it probably had cream in it and I just didn't realize it at the time. So, of course, this prompted me to create my own version of a creamy tomato soup, and what better way to get a nice, rich flavor than by roasting the ingredients first?

2 containers Pomi diced tomatoes, or 2 28 oz. cans whole or crushed tomatoes
1 large red onion, roughly chopped
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. dried parsley
3/4 tsp. dried oregano
3/4 tsp. dried rosemary
3/4 tsp. dried basil
3/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. black pepper
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 c. vegetable broth
2 c. plain milk alternative such as soy, almond or oat (don't use anything too thin like rice milk)

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the tomatoes, onion, herbs, salt and pepper into a 2-3 quart baking dish and toss to mix. Roast the mixture for 3 hours. Add the garlic after the first our and then stir the mixture every 20 minutes after the first hour (this ensures even roasting and keeps the top bits from burning).

2) When the mixture is done roasting let it cool a bit and then transfer to a blender and blend until completely smooth.

3) Add the mixture to a large soup pot along with the vegetable broth and milk alternative. Bring the mixture to a boil and let it simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper if necessary.

This makes 4-6 servings and would go excellently with homemade Garlic Bread, Spicy Kale Chips, Sauteed Italian flavored Tofurkey pieces, cured olives, a salad or Pizza. 

The photo to the left is so that you can see the Pomi tomato product I used. I find it in the "Natural Foods" section of my local grocery store. I like this product because it's not in a BPA lined can.

Hummus and Apple Cider Vinaigrette

I keep hearing how good raw apple cider vinegar is for you so I've tried to use it more but the flavor is a little stronger and more sharp than I like. However, when mixed with a little hummus it makes a lovely creamy vinaigrette.

1 heaping tsp. dijon mustard
1 small drizzle of pure maple syrup
Small pinch of sea salt
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar (the raw fermented kind if possible)
2 heaping Tbsp. hummus (I used my Edamame Hummus recipe)

Place all of the ingredients into a small jar and whisk or shake until blended well.

Mung Bean Dal

I'm calling this Mung Bean Dal, but you could use any kind of split peas or lentils. If you use lentils or split peas you will need to reduce the cooking time to about 35-45 minutes. Once you begin the cooking process things go quickly at first, so have all of your vegetables prepped and spices measured and ready to go.

Often times when making Indian food it's OK to make substitutions when you don't have a certain spice. However, I think that the fenugreek seeds are what give this recipe the most delicious aspect of it's flavor. You can find fenugreek seeds at Indian or African grocery stores, specialty spice stores, some well stocked spice sections in the regular grocery store, or online. They look like a malformed tan grain (maybe kind of like buckwheat groats). Once you smell them you will recognize the scent if you eat a lot of Indian food.

Since fenugreek is a big, chunky, whole spice (as are some of the other spices you'll be using) you either need to toast it and then grid it, or cook it in a screaming hot pan until it explodes (I prefer the second method because it's easier).

2-3 Tbsp. unrefined coconut oil or canola oil
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. corriander seeds
1 tsp. fenugreek seeds
1/4 tsp. brown mustard seeds
1 tsp. freshly grated ginger
1 large white or yellow onion, minced
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. sweet paprika
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
4 large tomatoes, minced with their juice or 28 oz. crushed tomatoes
2 c. mung beans or split peas or lentils, sorted, rinsed and drained
Vegetable broth (8 c. or more)
Juice of 1/2 a fresh lemon, about 2 Tbsp.
Fresh cilantro (1/2 c. or more as you like)

1)  Heat the oil over high heat in a large soup pot. Once small wisps of smoke arise from the oil add the cumin seeds, corriander seeds, fenugreek seeds and mustard seeds. Quickly throw the seeds into the oil and place the lid on the pot. The seeds should immediately begin popping and then calm down after about 30 seconds.

2) After 30 seconds of popping seeds, turn the heat down to medium and put in the onion, garlic and ginger and stir to mix. You want to do this step quickly so that you don't burn the seeds. Continue to saute the onions, garlic and ginger until soft but no browned, about 5-7 minutes.

3) Once the onions are softened add the other spices (curry powder, salt, turmeric, paprika, and cumin powder. If you happen to have some amchur around you could toss in 1/2 tsp. of that as well).

4) Mix the spices with the onions to coat and then add the 2 Tbsp. of tomato paste and let it melt as you stir it around to mix it with the onions.

5) Add the diced or crushed tomatoes, the mung beans and about 4 c. of vegetable broth (or more if you need it to submerge the beans). Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to a low boil/high simmer, and let it cook for at least1 hour, stirring occasionally, or until the beans are completely tender. Make sure to add more liquid as necessary if it starts to evaporate too much, I usually end up adding another 4 c. of broth as the beans cook.

6) Once the beans are completely tender, continue to let it cook until the liquid evaporates to your desired thickness, keeping in mind it will continue to thicken a bit after it cools. Add about 1/2 c. of fresh cilantro and the fresh lemon juice, and stir to incorporate. Serve garnished with additional cilantro over rice or with naan bread.

This makes about 8-10 servings.