Creamy Coconut and Yellow Split Pea Soup

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 carrots, chopped

2 leeks, chopped

2 Bay leaves

1 cup yellow split peas, rinsed and picked over

8 cups (1.9 L) vegetable stock

1 medium zucchini, chopped

1 small head cauliflower, chopped

2 cups coconut milk

cayenne pepper, to taste

salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Heat the oil in a large pot on medium heat. Add the carrots, leek and Bay leaves. Stir and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the peas to the pot. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the vegetable stock. Stir well. Bring the soup to a boil and reduce it to a simmer. Simmer the soup, partially covered, for 45 minutes or until the peas are tender.

When the peas are tender, using a whisk, whisk the soup to try to break up the cooked peas. Add the zucchini and cauliflower to the soup. Using a spoon, stir well, bring the soup to a boil, reduce it to a simmer, cover and simmer the soup for 15 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender.

Add coconut milk, cayenne pepper, salt and fresh ground black pepper to the soup. Serve.

Vegan Chocolate Cake

Earlier this year I was in a low-residency teacher training course where a group of us would drive form all corners of this isle and converge on a farm/intentional community for the weekend and have a bunch of intensive talks/workshops. I loved this group of people and miss them dearly now that the course has concluded. Part of my warm memories from these course weekends are the foods that people brought to share. My friend Liz soon become known for this vegan chocolate cake she brought each time. "Vegan" might imply that it is healthy, but it really it is still full of sugar and chocolate, just minus the eggs. It is kind of decadent in a way that sneaks up on you. After the second or third slice, one realizes the light, airy vegan cake is actually quite an indulgence but by then the sugar is doing its magical work. Also it is incredibly quick and easy to make, so a late night sugar jones can be quelled within a half an hour.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups plain flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla essence 

Mix all together electric mixer great to get rid of all the lumps. Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes (approximately).  Check with a knife. If mixture is still wet leave in the oven a few more minutes.

Beet Slaw

2 lbs. beets, raw and grated
1/4 cup lemon juice, (about 1/2 a lemon, squeezed)
1 orange
1 tsp. ginger, fresh
1/2 pint blueberries

1. Shred peeled beets into a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, mix lemon juice with the zest (peel) of the orange.
3. Grate ginger into the mixture and stir.
4. Toss with the beets. 
5. Top with blueberries. 
6. Let sit for an hour or overnight to enhance the flavors.

Carrot Coriander Soup

This was deeemed new favorite soup by both members of the household, a particular victory for the girl who presently wishes to subsist on smoothies and crackers. Apologies for the metric. My source is on this side of the pond and, though I haven't yet taken to weighing everything with a scale, I've learned to eyeball a kilo of carrots here and there.

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion , chopped
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 potato , chopped
• 450g carrots , peeled and chopped (about 3-4 large carrots)
• 1 litre vegetable or chicken stock
• handful coriander (about ½ a supermarket packet) 

1. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion, then fry for 5 mins until softened. Stir in the ground coriander and potato, then cook for 1 min. Add the carrots and stock, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat. Cover and cook for 20 mins until the carrots are tender.
2. Tip into food processor with the coriander. then blitz until smooth (you may need to do this in two batches). Return to pan, taste, add salt if necessary, then reheat to serve.  Serves 4.

Chickpea Bulgur Salad

1 cup medium-ground bulgur
2 garlic cloves, crushed
juice of 2 1/2- 3 lemons
salt and pepper
7 T extra virgin olive oil
one 14-ounce can of chickpeas, drained
3 cups loosely packed chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 cup loosely packed finely chopped mint leaves

In a medium saucepan, bring bulgur and 1 1/2 cups of water to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork.

Add all other ingredients to bulgur and stir together.

Serves 6.

Stir Fry Sauce

This went into a stir fry of frozen edamame and peas, fresh broccoli and green beans, served over brown rice.

1/2 cup water or veg broth
3 tablespoons tamari
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon Mirin
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
3 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1 shallot, diced

In a small bowl, combine the water/stock with the tamari, cornstarch slurry, vinegar and sesame oil.
In a medium saucepan, heat the sunflower oil until shimmering. Add the ginger, garlic and shallot and cook over high heat, stirring, until fragrant and golden. Add the frozen veg, if using. Allow to cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes. Add the stock mixture and boil over high heat until thickened and glossy, about 1 minute. Add fresh vegetables and stir fry a few more minutes until al dente.

Vegetarian Split Pea Soup

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
2 cups dried split green peas, picked over and rinsed
5 cups water
juice of 1/2 lemon (reserve the zest)

a few pinches of smoked paprika


Add olive oil to a big pot over med-high heat. Stir in onions and salt and cook until the onions soften, just a minute or two. Add the split peas and water. Bring to a boil, dial down the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the peas are cooked through (but still a touch al dente). Using a large cup or mug ladle half of the soup into a bowl and set aside. Using a hand blender (or regular blender) puree the soup that is still remaining in the pot. Stir the reserved (still chunky) soup back into the puree - you should have a soup that is nicely textured. If you need to thin the soup out with more water (or stock) do so a bit at a time. Stir in the lemon juice and taste. If the soup needs more salt, add more a bit at a time until the flavor of the soup really pops.

Ladle into bowls or cups, and serve each drizzled with olive oil and topped with a good pinch of smoked paprika and a touch of lemon zest.

Serves 4 to 6.

Kale, Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew

A comforting, nutritious stew that was given the thumbs up by everyone in the house-- even the picky three year old. I'll be putting this one in the rotation of regular dinners. Also, all the ingredients are commonly available in our current neck of the woods, which is not often the case for new recipes here in the land of cabbage and carrots.

Serves six to eight


1 medium yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons fresh ginger (chopped)
3/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (((I omitted)))
3/4 pound kale
2 large sweet potatoes
1 can (15 oz) chickpeas
6 cups (1 1/2 quarts) vegetable broth
1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
2 cups brown rice



1 Cook the rice according to the package instructions – I combined 2 cups long grain brown rice and with 4 cups water, brought to a boil, and simmered for 50 minutes.

2 Prepare the vegetables: Dice the onion. Finely chop the 2 cloves garlic and 2 teaspoons ginger. Wash the kale, remove the tough stems and roughly chop. Dice the sweet potato into bite-sized cubes.

3 Prepare the soup: In a large pot, heat at about 2 tablespoons olive oil. Cook the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, 2 teaspoons ginger, 3/4 teaspoon turmeric and 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper, and cook for 1 minute.

4 Stir in the sweet potatoes. Then add the 6 cups vegetable broth and bring to a simmer.

5 Once the stew is simmering, add the kale and chickpeas. Simmer for about 20 minutes until the sweet potatoes are tender.

6 Stir in one cup coconut milk.

7 Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve over brown rice.

Fava Fennel Mint Salad

First, remove the outer pod. The easiest way to do this is to grab the pointy end of the bean (the part that used to be attached to the plant), and try to pull off the stringy bit that separates the two halves of the pod. Crack open the pod and remove the inner pods.
Blanch the pods in boiling water briefly (like 1 minute), and then shock them in ice cold water. This keeps them nice and bright green. Next, take each little pod and remove the outer covering to reveal the beautiful, bright green fava bean. Chop up the rest of your ingredients.


Ingredients
2-3 lbs fresh fava beans, (1 1/2 to 2 cups shelled)
Salt
1 small bulb fennel, thinly sliced
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, shaved
10 fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced
2 scallions, sliced
Extra virgin olive oil
Lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper

Prepare fava beans as described above. Toss together fava beans, fennel, and scallions. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, add salt and pepper, and mix. Squeeze in lemon juice to taste. Mix in Parmesan cheese and mint leaves and toss to combine.

Ratatouille

The source recipe for this was already very easy, but I trimmed it down further by omitting the bell peppers-- I love them but they don't love my wee one. Wee one also declared after trying a bite of the finished rat' that the eggplant was making her mouth sore. So, this is a goodie, but I'll be looking for more alternative veggies to put into it the next time I make it.

* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1 leek, diced
* 1 eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
* 4 small zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 pounds tomatoes, chopped (I only had 3 fresh and then I added 1/2 can of tomato paste and a few cups of water)
* 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
* salt and pepper
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Heat olive oil in a heavy soup pot on medium heat. Chop leeks and add to oil. Once the leeks begin to smell good, add the diced eggplant to the pot, stirring well to coat the eggplant with oil. At this point all the olive oil will have soaked into the eggplant, so you need to stir often to keep things from burning until they soften some. Chop the zucchini and stir it in once the eggplant has softened a bit. Chop the garlic and add to the vegetables, stirring well. Add the tomatoes (and for me, the tomato paste and water, about 1 cup). Mince the thyme and add it along with salt and pepper to taste. Stir well and cook two minutes. Turn down heat and cover the pot. Simmer until everything is soft and well blended - about 40 minutes. Stir in basil and remove from heat.

Makes 4 servings

Olive Oil Tart Crust

from Z&C site, a much-needed alternative to the rich, rich butter crusts... this one turns out crispy and relatively light. Now I just need to perfect the savoury tart filling.


- 250 grams (8.8 ounces*) light whole wheat flour (French T80), or a 50/50 mix of all-purpose and whole wheat
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon dried herbs (I use rosemary or thyme)
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) olive oil (or the oil of your choosing, provided it withstands cooking)
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) cold water

Makes enough to line a 28- to 30-cm (11- to 12-inch) tart pan.

Grease the pan lightly if it doesn't have a nonstick coating.

Combine the flour, salt, and herbs in a medium mixing bowl. Add the oil and mix it in with a fork. Add the water, mix with the fork until it is absorbed, then knead lightly (I do this with just one hand, in the bowl) until the dough comes together into a ball.

Turn the dough out on a lightly floured work surface. Sprinkle a little flour on the ball of dough and on the rolling pin, and roll the dough out into a circle large enough to fit your tart pan. Turn the dough by 45 degrees (a quarter of a circle) every time you roll the pin and back, adding a little more flour underneath and on the dough when it seems on the verge of becoming sticky. The trick is to do this in quick, assertive gestures (channel the spirit of Julia Child) to avoid overworking the dough.

Transfer the dough carefully into the prepared pan and line it neatly. Trim the excess dough (re-roll it and cut into decorative shapes to top the tart), and place the pan in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

You can then blind-bake the crust (prick with a fork first), or garnish it straight away, depending on the filling. Either way, it will take 20 to 25 minutes at 200°C (400°F) to bake thoroughly.

* That's about 2 cups, but really, measuring flour by weight is the only way to ensure accuracy. Consider buying a digital kitchen scale: it will prove an invaluable tool, and the simplest models are not super expensive.

Lemon Cilantro Cole Slaw

4 cups thinly sliced green cabbage (about 1 small head)
4 green onions, sliced fine
1 cucumber, julienned
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (2 lemons' worth)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Shred cabbage and put in a big bowl along with green onions, cucumber and cilantro. Put olive oil, lemon juice, salt, maple syrup, and mustard into a glass jar. Put lid on and shake until oil and acid are emulsified. Add to cabbage mixture and refrigerate overnight.

Slow-Cooked Vegetable Braise

New to braising, this yummy one used up a lot of our CSA bounty this week. It's adapted from a recipe in Deborah Madison's "Local Flavors" cookbook.

3 T olive oil
2 bay leaves
2 onions, cut into large pieces
7 plump garlic cloves, peeled and halved
3 thyme sprigs
6 sage leaves
12 small (3- to 5-inch) carrots
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 c cheery tomatoes, halved
1 very large summer squash, cut into slices
1 c frozen lima beans thawed
1/2 c cauliflower florets
1 medium zucchini, cut into slices
1/2 c+ vegetable broth

Warm the 3 T oil with the bay leaves in a large casserole or Dutch oven over low heat. When fragrant, add the onions, garlic, thyme an sage. Cover and cook until onions are translucent. Add carrots and cook for 2-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add all other veggies in layers with the quickest to cook on top. Add broth, cover and let simmer for 30-40 minutes.

Sesame Cole Slaw

This is colorful and flavorful and proved a nice complement to some sauteed turbot and a light carrot-ginger soup. A perfect dinner for one of the first warm days of the year-- mid 70's and humid. Went well with a chilled Riesling. In spite of the marketing, I decided to try the Kung Fu Girl Riesling and it was a good sipper.

2 small heads of cabbage, napa and red (thinly sliced it was about 5 cups)
1/4 c sesame oil
1/2 c sunflower oil
1/2 c rice vinegar
2 T black sesame seeds
1 T red pepper flakes
1 1/2 T minced fresh ginger
1/3 c chopped cilantro

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix. Let rest for 10-15 minutes before serving to ensure that all the flavors have a chance to come together.

Apple Tart with Teff-Walnut Crust

I love teff. What I discovered about the teff peanut butter cookies we made earlier in the week is that teff is so loaded with protein and iron and other mighty vitamins that it is impossible to have a sweet binge on things made with it. This is coming from a person who can easily sit down with a plate of cookies, mind you. Two teff cookies, three tops, and one is totally satisfied, thinking, maybe I'll read some difficult poetry instead of lying on the couch to stare at the ceiling fan in a carb and sugar coma.

So this crust is similarly exhilarating, and crumbly... holds together a little bit better after the whole pie has been baked and has had some time to cool in the refrigerator, but tastes deep and rich-- without overwhelming the fruit.

Filling:

5-6 apples, peeled and sliced (I used honeycrisp)

2-3 T Earth Balance

1 T cinnamon

Crust:
1 c chopped walnuts
1/3 c brown sugar
1/3 c sunflower oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 cup teff flour

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.

Crust:
Mix ingredients in Vita Mix blender (dry attachment) on lowest setting until consistency resembled coarse meal. Press mixture into bottom of lightly oiled 9-inch tart pan.
Bake 12 minutes, or until crust becomes a smidge darker.

Filling:
In a large bowl, toss apple slices with cinnamon. Heap the apple mixture into the tart pan. It creates quite a mound, but they cook down considerably. Dot the pie with Earth Balance. Bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool.

**Even better with almonds instead of walnuts and pears instead of apples!

Cranberry Sauce

Super easy, quick and delicious.

8 oz. fresh cranberries
3/4 c orange juice
1/4 c sugar

Place all the ingredients in a sauce pan and cook on medium-high for 15-20 minutes or until most of the liquid has reduced – stirring occasionally. You’ll hear the cranberries popping – don’t worry, that’s what you want them to do. Remove from heat and serve.

Teff Peanut Butter Cookies

Having never baked with teff before, I made these cookies strictly by the book, or, by the package, as it were. The Bob's Red Mill bag of whole grain teff flour featured this recipe for cookies, and, since dairy and gluten free J was itching for something sweet today, and since I am always itching for something sweet, I thought wed give em a try. I was skeptical to say the least. No egg and no sugar? Also, I expected a somewhat sour taste like the teff-infused injera bread I've had at Ethiopian restaurants. Well, the sourness is no doubt the yeast or starter for the injera, because teff by itself, while hearty and dense, is delicious. I almost added some chocolate chips to this-- for insurance purposes-- but J refused. I'm glad he did because they baked up yummily without it. Though I am tempted to experiment now... teff brownies, anyone? The one thing is that they are crumbly, so once one starts to handle a teff cookie, one better devour it quickly!

1 1/2 c teff flour
1/2 t sea salt
1/ c maple syrup
1/2/ c sunflower oil
1 t vanilla
1 c peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350. Set aside an ungreased cookie sheet. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients. Set aside. In a food processor blend syrup, oil , vanilla, and peanut butter. Add the wet ingredients tot he dry ingredients. Blend well. Shape dough into walnut sized balls. Place on cookie sheet and flatten gently with the tines of a fork. Bake about 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Yields 24 cookies.

Wild Rice with Dried Cranberries and Toasted Almonds

I should mention that we are embarking on an experiment in gluten and dairy free eating. I've experimented on myself before, at the recommendation of my acupuncturist, but this time there are more imperative health issues for J that deem it so. I'm pleased for a new cooking challenge. What's in: fresh fruits and veggies; soy products; poultry and fish (in limited amounts); all other grains in the non-glutinous family (quinoa, rice, etc.)
What's out: dairy and dairy derivatives (casein, whey, etc.); wheat and all gluten lurkers; red meat (not that I ate it anyway, and J only ate it once in a while, but I think he's calling a moratorium on red meat now as well);
Not sure: oats? corn?
So we'll be mostly vegetarian, sometimes vegan, and increasingly inventive when it comes to breadiness from here on out.

Day 1's dinner involved rotisserie chicken (cheating already, I know... not home-cooked), roasted root veggies and this yummy wild rice dish. Tasted very autumnal as well.

1 cup wild rice, washed and drained
1/2 cup almonds, toasted in a dry pan
1/2 cup red onions, slivered
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Fill a large pot pot with generously salted water. Add the wild rice and boil, uncovered for 55 minutes or so. You will know the rice is done when many of the grains are cracked open and tender, revealing the lighter inside.

Remove from the heat and drain off the water. Stir in the nuts, red onions, and dried cranberries.

(Can also use pine nuts instead of almonds.)

Roasted Roots

For the past couple of years I've snapped up this bag of root vegetables from Harmony Valley Farms whenever I see it at Whole Foods. Something about this (relatively) local, organic grower makes the most delicate and savory little carrots and turnips. The bag also includes parsnips, rutabegas, celeriac, and, on ocassion, sunchokes. Beautifully colorful varieties of carrots and turnips, too, not the old wan standbys. If we lived in Madison, I'd be hopping on their CSA membership. Unfortunately they don't seem to deliver to Chicago. Another reason to love them, this tasty marinade for roasting they included on the package. This beats my plain old olive oil rub down any day.

2 T olive oil
2 T maple syrup
2 T tamari (wheat free)
1 bag of "soup mix" root vegetables, chopped into 3/4" pieces
2 t dried thyme

In a medium bowl, combine oil, maple syrup, tamari and thyme. Toss root vegetables in oil mixture and spread evenly in a roasting pan. Roast at 450 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

(Could also use ginger instead of thyme.)

Fennel and Lima Bean Soup

1/2 a white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 c chopped carrots
1/4 c white wine
2 c frozen lima beans, thawed
1/4 c (or more) fresh fennel, green tops and stalk, chopped
1 container of Imagine No-Chicken broth
1/2 t white pepper
1 t dried thyme
1 t dried parsley

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil in the bottom of soup pot over medium heat. When transclucent, add white on all other ingredients. Cook together for 30 minutes or so. Then transfer to a blender and process until smooth.