Farro Eggplant Kale Casserole

Farro cooks chewy and moist in a rice cooker with 2 cups water/stock per cup of farro. Sliced zucchini, sliced eggplant, sliced tomatoes, kale are are good layers to add to this casserole. This time, I went with whatever was handy. Casseroles are perfect to use up leftovers.

Ingredients
2 cups cooked farro, seasoned
½ cup seasoned ricotta cheese
½ cup colby jack cheese, grated
½ red onion sliced thinly
½ cup sliced black olives
1 cup seasoned cooked ground turkey (optional - I use TVP instead)
1 long Chinese eggplant, sliced into rounds
1 cup chopped kale


Preparation

1. Assemble in layers: onions, farro, ricotta, olives, colby jack, eggplant, farro, TVP or ground turkey, ricotta, kale, olives colby jack
2. Cover with an aluminium foil and bake in 425°F oven for about 30 minutes
3. Top with thin sliced zucchini and serve warm with cucumber raita

Vegetarian Chili and Cornbread

Until I came across Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) a decade ago, home-made chili was plain old pinto beans cooked in spicy broth and thickened a bit by mushing some of the cooked beans in the pot,

Since that first time I made a five-alarm chili with cornbread for D's birthday, Chile and Cornbread have become a favorite at home, an inseparable pair in my kitchen. Not the five-alarm kind for me or the kids, though.

Beans and lentils, packed with nutrition, are easy to incorporate in daily diet. This chili can be cooked overnight in a slow cooker. On working days, this used to be my preferred method.

Soak and pressure cook the beans and save them in the freezer (measured into smaller portions so I don't have to thaw the whole batch) during the weekend or whenever I can work it in. Throw the beans, onions, tomatoes, spices, TVP or minced Wheat Meat, together with enough water into the slow cooker and allow to simmer overnight; or start it in the morning before heading off to work and have it ready by dinner time that evening.

There are wonderful cornbread recipes on the web. But here I add my signature flax meal and nutritional yeast. For a quicker version of chili, I sometimes use McCormick™'s Original Taco Seasoning Mix and canned pinto beans with TVP. Otherwise a blend of ground spices work well to adjust the flavors to taste.

Ingredients
For the chili:
½ cup TVP
2 cups cooked pinto beans
1 medium onion, minced
2 or 3 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced
chopped cilantro for garnish
spices:
2 to 3 Tbsp McCormick's Original Taco Seasoning Mix
-OR-
1 tsp each of : chili powder, paprika, oregano, cumin powder, coriander powder, onion powder, garlic powder (adjust to taste)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp canola oil
salt to taste

Preparation

1. Heat the canola oil in a pot, sauté the onions, garlic, add the spices and tomatoes and stir till spices bloom a bit, throw in the rest of the ingredients, cover and simmer on medium-low for about 45 minutes, stirring on and off and checking that there is enough water.

For the Cornbread
¼ cup flax meal
¼ cup fine cornmeal
½ cup all purpose flour
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp salt
1 egg
3 Tbsp Smart Balance Omega™ Butter Light
¼ cup milk (plus a few tablespoons more as needed)

[The quantity makes about 6 regular size muffins or a dozen mini muffins]

Preparation

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375° F and spray or brush some oil in the muffin pan and keep handy
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, stir to mix well; cut in the butter till incorporated; then add the milk a little at a time while stirring/whisking to make a thick yet flowing pancake-like batter
3. Pour the batter into the muffin cups about 2/3rds full and bake in 375° F oven for about 15-20 minutes; check half-way and turn the pan around; it is done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean

Home-made Pasta with vegetarian"meatball" sauce

Dry packaged pasta of all shapes and varieties is fairly inexpensive and readily available and I use them a lot. However, ever since we received a simple pasta maker as a present last year, we have started making home-made pasta on and off. I admit, it is a labor of love, something I reserve for a lazy Sunday afternoon when we are winding down the weekend, preparing for another hectic week ahead.

Now that my daughter is a willing sous chef (at times), we've made this a sort of once a month weekend ritual - to make home-made pasta. I get the dough ready right after lunch and let it rest in the fridge. After tea/snack time, we make the fresh pasta, with my daughter turning the handle as I pass the sheet through the slot to get it thinner and thinner and then finally pass it through the fine angel-hair slot and allow the strands to dry for 10-15 minutes and cook it for a short 2-6 minutes (depending on the size/shape of the pasta) and enjoy it for dinner with a sauce or two.



Pasta dough is usually made with fine durum wheat, semolina flour. However spelt flour and a combination of all-purpose and semolina flours seem to work well. Pasta dough can be made with eggs or without. I prefer the dough without the eggs.

Home-made Pasta Dough, without eggs
½ cup fine durum semolina flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 Tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp salt
3/4 to 1 cup water, as needed

Knead the dough well, adding a little water at a time to keep the dough dry but still comes together to roll into a ball. Knead some more till cut surface shows pores. Cover in a plastic wrap and leave in the fridge for an hour or so.

Then, follow the instructions for using the pasta-maker and shape the pasta as desired; allow to dry and cook briefly till al dente.


Broccoli Cream Sauce


Ingredients
2 cups broccoli florets, steamed
1 small boiled potato, if handy (optional)
½ cup cream or half-and-half
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup grated Mozzarella cheese
¼ cup grated Colby Jack cheese
finely minced garlic
ground or dried oregano to taste
ground or dried sage to taste or any other favorite herbs
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Preparation
Heat the cream in a sauce pan with the garlic; mush part of the steamed broccoli and the potato if using, add it to the saucepan; when close to boil, stir in the cheeses, adjust spices to taste; off heat toss in the remaining steamed broccoli florets.


Vegetarian "Meatball" Sauce


Ingredients
1½ to 2 cups TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein)
1 to 3 slices of favorite bread, as needed
1½ to 2 cups boiling water, as needed
¼ to ½ cup all purpose flour
1 Tbsp finely minced garlic
salt, paprika, chili powder to taste
oil for deep frying
1 can diced tomatoes, or favorite canned pasta sauce to be used as-is

Preparation

1. Place the TVP in a heat-safe bowl, add hot water - first just enough to immerse it, and when it is all absorbed and TVP still feels dry and hard, add a bit more - just enough to soften the TVP without making it watery; cover and let it stand for a few minutes till TVP still holds shape but is no longer hard
2. Heat the ready-made pasta sauce or the diced tomatoes in a sauce pan, on medium low, with the garlic and spices
3. Squeeze out the water from TVP, knead in one bread slice and ¼ cup all purpose flour first; if the dough is still wet and hard to form into balls keep adding more bread slices and a little of the flour at a time till the dough is just right to shape into small balls for deep frying
4. Deep fry in oil, drain and add to the boiling pasta sauce, allow to simmer together for a few minutes; turn off heat, garnish with fresh herbs if handy

Vegetable Bread Tart

I had about half a loaf of good whole grain bread that needed to be used up and was tired of the usual bread upma, or sandwich or making croutons and this tart seemed like a good idea.

The filling can be anything like for spring rolls (cabbage, carrots, spring onions) or samosa (potatoes, peas, carrots). However, I had some leftover mixed vegetables I had steamed for the kids - corn kernels, green beans, peas and carrots - so, I used that instead. Spinach or other greens would be a good filling too. Or, can use any mince meat or even TVP if preferred, for the filling.

We usually have Neufchatel, Jarlsberg, Parmesan, Mozzarella and Colby-Jack cheese handy at home, so, I use a combination of whatever I am in the mood for while cooking.

Ingredients
2-3 cups steamed vegetables
½ cup Neufchatel cheese
salt and spices to taste
6-8 bread slices
freshly grated Parmesan , or Jarlsberg cheese if handy

rolling pin
cooking spray

Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 400°F
2. Prepare the filling: combine the vegetables, Neufchatel cheese and spices, adjust to taste, keep handy
3. Flatten the bread slice, one at a time, with the rolling pin and use a jar lid or cookie ring or something round to cut circles out of the flattened bread, save the edges of the slice after cutting
4. Combine some of the cut away edges of the bread and some grated cheese in a blender or food processor and pulse a few times to break it down a bit, keep handy
5. Spray some cooking spray into muffin pan, place the flattened bread circles carefully into each mold and push down gently, allowing the edges to form a nice flower-like lip
6. Add the filling, and cover with the bread+cheese mixture that was pulsed down coarsely
7. Spray some cooking oil on top and bake in the 400°F oven for about 12-18 minutes, checking to make sure it doesn't char and burn
8. Remove from oven, serve warm with dips or chutneys or simply enjoy it as-is

rustic cabbage and potato stew

Irish Cuisine invokes images of hearty potatoes, cabbage, beer, stews, soda breads and more beer. Now, I have not truly tasted authentic Irish foods yet, and am hoping to do so when we plan a vacation next year.

But, meanwhile, I had bought this fragrant, fresh and earthy rosemary artisan bread hoping to have it with some hearty soup or stew for a weeknight dinner, and started looking around for some Irish stew recipes. Then decided to just go my own way and make something healthy, yet quick and easy to dip the rosemary bread in.

Since, we have a bunch of small/new/baby potatoes we had dug out of our garden recently and since I discovered a chunk of shy cabbage from a few weeks ago hiding in the lower back corner of the fridge, this cabbage and potato stew came about sort of unthinkingly. But, as it turned out quite hearty and tasty, I might as well jot down here for days when I can't think of anything exotic to serve for dinner :)

Anything as simple, yet tasty and wholesome as this, I pass off as "rustic" - just a little marketing ploy - not that a square meal at home needs marketing...

Ingredients:
16-20 baby potatoes
1-2 generous wedges of large green cabbage
1 cup granulated TVP:Textured Vegetable Protein^† (Optional)

for the broth:
6-8 cups vegetable stock (or water)
4 Tbsp coriander powder
2-3 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (or dried rosemary)
2 Tbsp cayenne pepper powder
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp garlic powder
salt to taste
(any other favorite flavoring can be used for the broth)

Preparation

1. Start the broth simmering in a large pot
2. Thoroughly clean the potatoes if leaving the skin on
3. Drop the potatoes in the simmering broth, cover and simmer till potatoes are partially done, then throw in the cabbage
4. Simmer till fork tender, adjust taste
5. To thicken the broth, I simply mushed a few of the potatoes that were cooking in there till desired thickness
6. If preferred, add some TVP:Textured Vegetable Protein for some body and, of course protein (i left it this time)

Chunks of unpretentious rosemary bread dipped in this simple yet wholesome stew was a perfect meal for the cold, wet, windy evening we had a few days ago.

^† For a nutritious and filling meat substitute, sometimes I make Wheat Meat, and run it in a blender to granulate it. This makes a non-soy protein substitute when needed, like in mock ground beef burrito.