Random Vegetables with Savory Peanut Butter Sauce

I had some “Thai” peanut and sesame baked tofu in the fridge. I wanted to serve it with the spaghetti squash and beet greens from last week’s Farmer’s Market. The problem was I had already stirred quite a bit of basil pesto into the spaghetti squash the night before and I needed a sauce that was compatible with both pesto and sesame peanut tofu. I must have looked in five different cookbooks for inspiration when I came across Deborah Madison’s Quick Peanut Sauce in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. (I have said it before,” If you want the best vegetarian cookbook out there, that is the one.)

The random vegetables are just that—whatever you have on hand, whatever you feel like eating, or whatever you find in your CSA box or Farmer’s Market. Garlicky and tangy and sort of sweet, this, my variation of Ms. Madison’s sauce, enriches an assortment of vegetables, as well as grains and proteins. Serve it cold, spooned over your choice of goodies.

Heaping 1/3 cup chunky (unsweetened) peanut butter

¼ cup rice wine vinegar

2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced

1 ½ tablespoons tamari soy sauce

2 teaspoons brown sugar or honey

1 teaspoon chili oil

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

¼ teaspoon Real Salt, or to taste

¼ cup water

In a bowl, mix the peanut butter, vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, chili oil and water with a fork. Taste and add the salt if you deem necessary.

Makes about 1 cup.

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Roasted Carrots with Polenta and Anasazi Beans

A road trip from Durango to Moab, down in the Four-Corners area of southern Utah and Colorado, takes you through the “don’t blink” town of Dove Creek. If you don’t blink, on the north side of the road you will pass the Adobe Milling store that sells local pinto beans and the more gourmet Anasazi beans, named for the ancient Pueblo culture that lived in this area. Dove Creek Colorado calls itself the “Pinto Bean Capital of the World”, but I came away with a bag of Anasazi beans from the store. Paired with polenta and Roasted Carrots—well, tonight will be our third meal of the same.

I make a 1 cup recipe of polenta beforehand and let it cool in a 9 x 13” dish. Robbie cuts the cold polenta into squares and into the oven it goes—along with the carrots roasting to perfect golden tenderness.

ancho and guajillo chiles

I followed my basic recipe for pot beans, adding a couple of chiles, because they were sitting in a bowl on the kitchen counter asking to be used. The same with my go-to polenta recipe—easily cooked in the microwave. The roasted carrots are “simplicity itself”, to quote Anna Thomas, whose recipe I followed. In her cookbook, The New Vegetarian Epicure, Ms. Thomas suggests a meal of roasted vegetables and polenta. She includes roasted whole garlic and sautéed greens along with the roasted carrots and other surprises. I highly recommend the cookbook.

The vegetable broth and lemon juice add bling to the carrots. Since I keep a jar of Rapunzel powdered vegetable broth in the pantry, I mixed one teaspoon of powder with 2 tablespoons of hot water.

Roasted Carrots

1 pound small carrots

About1 tablespoon olive oil

Real Salt

2 tablespoons vegetable broth

1 ½ teaspoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice.

Preheat the oven to 400° F. Trim the carrots and scrub them well. If the carrots are not small, cut them into stick no more than ½ inch at their thickest point.

Put the carrots in a shallow baking pan and drizzle the olive oil over them Sprinkle lightly with salt. Toss them around so the oil and salt are evenly distributed. Mix the broth and lemon juice together and sprinkle over the carrots.

Roast the carrots about 45 minutes, moving them around every 20 minutes or so. The broth will evaporate and the carrots will become golden. If they are turning too dark before they are tender, add a wee bit more broth, but not so much that there will be liquid in the pan when the carrots are done.

Makes 4 to 5 servings.

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Green Lentils with Kale and Steamed Quinoa

We are finding gorgeous tomatoes in our Ranui Gardens CSA box this month. You could use them in this stew-like dish, but I like to savor the rarity and freshness of the heirlooms in salads, sandwiches and raw—and use canned tomatoes here. I choose quinoa as the bed underneath the vegetables—feel free to substitute rice or any other cooked grain.

Precook the kale in another saucepan and add it at the last minute to the lentils.

1 ¼  cups red or tri-color quinoa

1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 onions, chopped

2 tablespoons smoked paprika

2 teaspoons ground cumin

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 cup green lentils, sorted and rinsed

1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes

Real Salt

1 bunch Lacinato kale, stems removed and discarded

Freshly ground black pepper

Rinse the quinoa well to wash away the saponin coating. (Saponin is a natural pesticide quinoa produces so birds won’t eat it. It doesn’t harm humans; it just makes the quinoa bitter if not rinsed well.)

Bring 2 ½ cups of water to a boil and add the quinoa. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the water is absorbed, about 30 minutes. Just as with rice, do not stir—tilt the pan to see if there is any water left. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium flame. Add the onions and cook, stirring often until the onions are translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the paprika, cumin and red pepper; cook and stir for several minutes.

Add the lentils, the tomatoes and 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat; cook and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, adding more water if needed. The lentils should be tender to the bite.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the kale leaves and simmer them until the greens are tender to your tongue, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the water and let the kale cool on a cutting board.  Chop—about 1 inch apart with your knife, in both directions to cut the leaves. Stir the kale into the lentils. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over the steamed quinoa.

Makes about 4 servings.

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Pesto Grilled Tofu

Let’s make pesto with the lemon basil and sweet “Genovese” basil in our Ranui Gardens CSA box and this time slather it on tofu, like I described in the last post. But let’s grill instead of bake the tofu out of respect for the heat—it’s just too hot to turn on the oven.

Start steaming brown rice before even pulling the tofu from the fridge so it will be cooked and ready to serve with the hot-off-the-grill tofu.

14 ounces (or thereabouts)  extra firm tofu

1/3 to 1/2 cup fresh basil pesto

Prepare the tofu. Turn the block on its side and cut into three thinner blocks, 1/2 to 5/8-inch thick. Keep the blocks in a stack and cut all the way through to make six triangles. Press out excess water: place the tofu triangles in a large shallow dish on top of a clean tea towel (without terrycloth nubs.) Cover with another towel or paper towels. Place a second dish on top, one that fits inside the first, and place something heavy in the dish–I use my blender. After 5 or 10 minutes the tea towels will have absorbed excess water, and the tofu triangles will be easy to pick up.

Brush oil on the grill grates and preheat the grill to medium heat. Remove the tea towel and arrange the tofu on a plate. Spread generously with pesto.

Cook the tofu triangles, pesto side down first, 5 to 10 minutes. Spread pesto on top of the triangles and turn them over. Cook a few more minutes, then spread with more pesto. Turn off the grill and let the residual heat melt the pesto into the tofu. Serve on a bed of brown rice.

Makes 3 to 6 servings, depending on how much you like tofu.

Pesto tofu on rice with salad

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How to sell beets to a beet hater

• Start with golden beets, they are sweeter and the earthy flavor inherent in beets is less than in the red ones.
• Roast the beets, in the oven or on the grill—the result is concentrated sweetness–much more yummy than if the beets were boiled.
• Catch the beet-hater off guard by tossing roasted golden beets into a grain salad with spicy vinaigrette.
• When you acquire beets topped with greens as gorgeous as the ones in today’s Ranui Gardens’ CSA box—wilt the greens and incorporate them into the salad.
• Add roasted chopped walnuts and a bit of feta cheese, for crunch and saltiness.
  

  Golden Beets and their Greens

Barley Salad with Golden Beets and their Greens

4 medium beets with their green tops

1 cup pearl barley, rinsed

½ teaspoon plus another ½ teaspoon Real Salt

1 tablespoon coconut oil

2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 cup chopped red onion

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons rice vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice

Up to 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 or 3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts, lightly toasted

Heat a grill or oven to medium-high or 350° F. Cut the tops off the beets and set them aside. Gently scrub any dirt from the beets and wrap them up in foil. Roast the beets on the grill until they are-fork-tender, 45 minutes to an hour. Let them cool until you can handle them and remove the peel with your fingers. Dice the beets into ½-inch cubes.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan bring 3 to 4 cups of water to a boil. Stir in the barley and ½ teaspoon of the salt and return to a simmer. Cook until the barley is tender to your tooth, about 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Wash the beet greens. Strip away and discard the stems.  Cut the greens into ribbons, about ¼-inch thick.

Heat the coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the mustard and cumin seeds along with the onion and and cook until the onion turns translucent. the mustard seeds will pop. Add the beet greens and cook, stirring every so often, until the greens have wilted, about 5 minutes.

Mix the beets, barley and wilted greens in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk the olive oil with the vinegar, the remaining salt and the cayenne. (Use less cayenne if you want the salad less spicy.) Pour over the beets, barley and greens, and stir until everything is coated with the dressing. Refrigerate until the beets and barley are cold.

To serve, toss in the feta and walnuts. Taste and adjust the salt and cayenne if you determine the salad needs more seasoning.

Makes about 6 cups.

Golden Beet and Barley Salad

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Dinosaur Kale Risotto

If you have been following my blog for a while, you know that I am a great proponent of the pressure cooker for quick and healthful meal preparation. I especially like to use the pressure cooker for risotto—in addition to being a time-saver, the result is perfectly cooked creamy rice, something restaurant chefs fail to achieve with consistency.

Dinosaur or Lacinato Kale

Dinosaur kale is also known as Tuscan kale, Lacinato kale, black kale or cavalo nero. It has dark leaves, almost blue-green, flatter than curly kale leaves and really is the most prized kale of all. I once read a nutrition article–where I don’t remember—that said Lacinato kale is richer in cancer-preventing antioxidants than its cultivar varietals.

This risotto is green and white and very tasty. Arborio rice is recommended for risotto. It has plenty of starch for creaminess, and the grains plump as they cook into perfect bites to your tooth. Brown rice just doesn’t substitute.

2 tablespoons olive or grapeseed oil

1 cup finely chopped onions

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 ½ cups Arborio rice

½ cup white wine

3 ½ cups vegetable stock

½ teaspoon salt

1 bunch kale, stems removed and chopped in 1/2-inch pieces

2 tablespoons chopped basil or cilantro, optional

½ cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese

Heat the oil in a pressure cooker. Over medium heat, cook and stir the onions and garlic, for about 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the rice, and continue to stir to coat the grains. Stir in the wine and stir for about a minute. Add the vegetable stock.

Lock the lid in place. Over high heat, bring to high pressure. Lower the heat just enough to maintain high pressure and cook for four minutes. Take the pressure cooker to the sink and stop the cooking by running cold water over one half of the lid. When the pressure indicator has dropped, carefully remove the lid.

Return to the heat and stir in the kale and chopped herbs, if using. Cook and stir constantly until the kale has cooked and shrunk, about 5 minutes. If the risotto seems dry (not creamy) add more vegetable stock, continuing to stir. Stir in the cheese. Taste and add more salt if needed. You can also brighten the flavors with a splash of red wine vinegar—about a tablespoon.

Makes 6 servings.

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Baked Zucchini, Rice and Eggs

ribbed Roman zucchini

If we have zucchini in our Ranui Gardens CSA box this week—this must be summer. I can hardly wait for our tomatoes! This zucchini is ribbed Roman zucchini, Costata Romanesca, a varietal more flavorful and in my mind a step above the insipid green zucchini found commercially year round.
We also have shallots and marjoram and summer savory in our pick–here is an easy dish to show off all 4 garden-fresh goodies. Besides, I seem to always have a cup or so of leftover rice in the freezer since I cook up more than feeds the two of us with my 2 cups water: 1 cup rice ratio.
Sorry about asking you heat up the oven in this hot weather–know that you can prepare and bake this recipe before the temperature climbs to its daily high, either first thing in the morning or after dinner. It’s delicious hot, warm or cold. The cheese and breadcrumbs on top gets golden brown and crunchy: make in a shallow dish so every serving has some yummy topping.

shallots, marjoram, summer savory and chopped zucchini

1 slice whole grain bread, lightly toasted

1/3 cup toasted sunflower seeds, optional
2 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
About 1 cup finely chopped shallots
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 to 4 small/medium zucchini, cut in ½-inch cubes, 4 to 5 cups
1 teaspoon fresh marjoram leaves, chopped
1 teaspoon chopped fresh summer savory
1 cup cooked brown rice or quinoa
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup grated cheese, cooks choice
½ teaspoon Real salt
Pinch cayenne pepper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat a deep pie dish or an 8 x 8 baking dish (2 quart) with olive oil.
In a food processor, grind the toasted bread and sunflower seeds into crumbs. Set aside. (You can substitute panko or other ready-made breadcrumbs, if preferred.)
In a skillet over medium flame, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the shallots and garlic and cook and stir 4 to 5 minutes, until the shallots are translucent. Stir in the diced zucchini. Cook and stir until the squash softens, but remove from the heat before it turns mushy, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped herbs and the cooked rice. Add the eggs and about half of the cheese along with the salt and cayenne. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
Evenly sprinkle the remaining cheese topped by the breadcrumbs. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Bake about 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Let sit a few minutes before cutting.
Makes about 6 servings.

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Quinoa and Parsley Tabbouleh

Quinoa Tabbouleh

High protein quinoa substitutes for traditional bulgur wheat in this Middle Eastern parsley and grain salad. Quinoa is considered a complete protein because it contains all 8 essential amino acids. It’s also higher in unsaturated fats and lower in carbohydrates than most grains. You can use red or tri-color quinoa, I used regular quinoa this time.

Rinsed quinoa

Remember to rinse the quinoa well as this will get rid of the saponin it contains.  Saponin is a natural pesticide quinoa produces so birds won’t eat it. It doesn’t harm humans; it just makes the quinoa bitter if not rinsed well.

1 cup quinoa, rinsed with hot water

2 cups water

1 bunch fresh parsley

2 tablespoons finely chopped arugula leaves

1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch wedges, or 2 medium tomatoes, chopped

½ cup grated carrots

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon Real Salt

Pinch cayenne pepper

In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Stir in the quinoa and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the water is absorbed, about 30 minutes. Just as with rice, do not stir—tilt the pan to see if there is any water left. Set aside.

well-chopped parsley

Meanwhile, trim and discard the parsley stems. Chop, chop, chop the leaves until they are very fine, no piece larger than the head of a pin. you should end up with a heaping 1/2 cup of chopped parsley.

Transfer the quinoa to a bowl, fluffing with a fork. Stir in the chopped parsley, arugula, carrots and tomatoes.

In a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice, oil, garlic, salt and cayenne. Pour over the quinoa and toss well. Season to taste with more salt and lemon juice, if desired. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to chill.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

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Red Mustard Green and Soysage Pilaf with Oranges and Olives

Red mustard

You may have noticed an occasional red mustard leaf or two in our Ranui Gardens CSA weekly salad mix. This week John is giving us an entire ½ pound. This is a gorgeous “green”, more variegated purple/green than  red—though with cooking the bright purple color, disappointingly, leaches out. To preserve the color, toss the chopped greens into the rice mixture at the very end, just to wilt. Expect a spicy, peppery, substantial pilaf.

As with all greens, strip the leaves from the stems after washing. Discard the stems. If you just can’t stand throwing them to compost, chop the stems and sauté with the soysage. Soysage is my word for non-meat soy based “sausage.” I use Gimme Lean brand ground sausage style, which is readily available in grocery stores here in Park City. The flavor is so familiar that I once fooled my father-in-law, who grew up on a farm in North Dakota. As the name indicates, there is not a lot of fat in soysage, requiring a sauté with ample oil.

The pilaf recipe is a variation of one from my beloved reference cookbook, Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini, by Elizabeth Schneider. In my habit of penciled notes in the white margins of cookbooks, I jotted “excellent, double the cooking times.” I have included the additional time adjustment in the directions.

Chopped mustard, green olives and orange zest

Red Mustard Green and Soysage Pilaf with Oranges and Olives

1 tablespoon plus 2 tablespoons grapeseed or olive oil

1 cup brown basmati rice

1 clove garlic, minced

½ teaspoon fennel or cumin seeds

2 cups vegetable broth or water

4 to 8 ounces soysage, cook’s choice

½ pound red mustard greens, washed, stems removed and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

¼ cup chopped pitted green olives

½ teaspoon grated orange zest

1 orange, peeled, cut into sections, and diced

1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon honey

Heat the first tablespoon of oil in a medium saucepan. Add the rice and cook, stirring often, until you see a bit of golden color, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and fennel, stirring another minute or so, but don’t let the garlic turn brown.

Add the vegetable broth, cover, and return to a boil. Lower the heat as low as possible and cook until all of the water is absorbed, about one hour. (To see if the water has been absorbed without stirring, tilt the pan to the side.) Let sit about 10 minutes; this “finishes” the rice.

While the rice is steaming, heat the remaining oil in a medium to large skillet. Cook the soysage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks, until there is a golden, meat-like color to it. Set the skillet aside, but keep warm.

Prepare the mustard greens, olives, orange zest and sections and set aside. In a bowl, whisk the lemon juice and honey together.

When the rice is hot and has sat the requisite time, reheat the skillet with the soysage. Fluff the rice into the skillet with a fork, stirring in the red mustard, olives, orange zest and orange dice, along with the lemon/honey mixture, and incorporating the soysage. Serve as soon as the mustard has wilted.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Red Mustard Greens and Soysage Pilaf

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Curried Potatoes and Kale

Our friend from Teasdale Utah, down in the middle of the state just minutes from Torrey, arrived last week bearing kale from her neighbor’s garden. With the wonderful variety of potatoes we have been getting from Ranui Gardens I made a spicy curry dinner. This coconut sauce and vegetables are perfect over steamed brown basmati rice with red quinoa —3/4 cup rice:1/4 cup red quinoa: 2 cups water. Serve with chutney and yogurt or raita.

In this recipe, the prep steps for the tofu, potatoes and kale are given separately. Multi-tasking is efficient here: prepare the potatoes while the tofu is being pressed, and boil the potatoes while the tofu is crisping and boil the kale while the onion and garlic cooks.

well-scrubbed potatoes

Curried Potatoes and Kale

1 (12 ounce) block extra firm tofu

1 tablespoon plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

4 medium potatoes, any variety, well-scrubbed

1 bunch kale, stems removed and discarded

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 ½ teaspoons turmeric

Pinch cayenne

½ teaspoon (or more, to taste) dried red chile pepper flakes

1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk

Salt to taste

Drain the tofu from its water and cut in half lengthwise. Place on a tea towel in a baking dish and cover with a part of the towel. Top with a second baking dish and place something heavy inside; it should weigh 1 to 2 pounds. Monitor so that the weight stays centered over the tofu pieces and press for about 10 minutes. The tea towel will absorb much extra moisture, even though you started with extra firm tofu. Dice the pressed tofu into ½-inch to ¾-inch cubes.

Golden Tofu Cubes

Heat the first tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium flame. Add the tofu cubes and cook about 10 minutes, turning the tofu after a few minutes, until the cubes are golden on at least 2 sides. Remove from the pan and set aside on paper towels.

Bring a saucepan of water to boil with a good amount of salt. Cut the potatoes into 1-inch chunks, add them to the pot and simmer until the potatoes are just tender, about 20 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the pot and set aside.

Add the kale leaves to the salted water. Simmer them until the greens are tender to your tongue, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the water, saving about 2 cups of the cooking water. Let the kale cool on a cutting board and then chop—about 1 inch apart with your knife, in both directions to cut the leaves.

Heat the remaining oil in the skillet over medium flame. Add the onion and garlic and cook and stir until the garlic is translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the turmeric and cayenne and the pepper flakes. Add the coconut milk, and the cooked potatoes and chopped kale, stirring everything around. Stir in the golden tofu cubes and enough of the reserved cooking water to make a wet sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally to let the flavors meld and heat the vegetables and tofu. Season with salt and more chile pepper flakes to taste.

Makes about 4 servings.

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