Ban Xeo-Vietnamese Crepes (naturally gluten free and easily vegan)

Sometime last year Danny introduced me to these bright yellow savory crepes at a favorite Vietnamese restaurant. Vietca told me it was very easy to make, especially if you pick up a bag of premixed rice flour and tumeric. Before he had ordered it and let me rip off a piece without meat in it, I only stuck to my vermicelli noodle salad with lemon grass tofu and stir fried fat rice noodles with veggies. I probably never would have tried this dish on a whim.

My co-worker was also surprised when I ordered the dish for our post-hike lunch, he asked "that's a Vietnamese dish?" because the place we went had a little more twists on their food. I guess it is not familiar to most people as pho unless you are close with folks who know Vietnamese food.  Lack of familiarity is similar to my co-workers thinking when I ate vegetarian it's just salads. So much variety within cuisines beyond the familiar/popular dishes that we can discover. I love to stumble across them, through people, travel or a post (saw an article from Facebook on an illness affecting the senses and sex that can come from certain infected fish, which lead me to people interested Russian comfort food because of the Olympics (mmm, dill pickle and mushroom soup-rassolnik sounds fun).

I tried this recipe from the Kitchn, without needing to make substitutes, other than leaving out the split mung beans and not doing a mix of herbs, just one. I didn't have the cilantro for the filling either. I think what I bought was shiso or perilla, checking out these gorgeous pictures of common herbs in Vietnamese cuisine at Girl Cooks World. It imparted a very flavorful lemon taste to me.Anyway, next time I would probably try to plan ahead enough to try the mung bean to give the recipe a bit more protein staying power.

Makes 2 crepes

1. Filling
*1/4 cup soaked split yellow mung beans overnight
1/2 to 1 pkg bunapi mushroom-rinse and chopped off the bottom part to separate mushrooms
2 scallions (white and green parts), chopped
1 cup mung bean sprouts, rinsed

Heat a pan on medium, add 1 tsp oil and let it heat a few minutes.  Cook up the white part of the scallion and the mushrooms. until lightly browned. Put aside in a bowl while you get ready to cook the crepe.

2. Crepes-if you have a bag of premixed, skip the first 3 ingredients (depending, check to see if your mix has salt in it)
3/4 cup rice flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
2/3 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup water

Put a tsp of oil the pan and let it heat a few minutes on medium. While waiting, whisk together all ingredients in a Medium bowl. Pour in half the batter and spread it around to form a circle. Add half the cooked filling evenly sprinkled on top of the crepe. Let bottom brown and batter cook through. About 5-7 minutes. On mine at 5 minutes I folded the crepe in half and after a minute flipped it on the other side. While waiting for your crepe to cook you can prepare the greens.

3. Greens-(to wrap around the crepe) 
3-5 large lettuce leaves
4-5 different sprigs of herbs

Rinse them, remove the herb leaves from the stem.

4. Sauce-
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons water
1 clove garlic, crushed

Mix together. 

To eat your crepe dish, rip off a piece of crepe, wrap a bit of lettuce around it, tuck a leaf or two of herbs, and dip into the sauce. Refreshing and light meal.

 Have you discovered a new food this month? Has the Olympics inspired you in anyway?

Squashing cravings: Butternut and Barley Lemon Pilaf

How are those resolutions coming? I re-started (for the third time) a book that suggested creating an inquiry for each month. The author gave examples for January and February as "what is holding you back?" and "how can you find a daily or weekly way to indulge?" and then said to have at the rest of the months with your own prompts.

Food-wise, for these months I have to say sugar is holding me back. Having some daily dessert tends to make for sluggish mornings. Dave is giving up processed sugar entirely for possibly a year and even suggested if I wanted to join him, that I give up high sugar fruits like berries...I adamantly said I will eat my fruit seasonally thanks, San Diego has too much variety to let that go to waste. Besides whole fruit gives you fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants-that has to offset some of that natural high sugar, right?

 I took the chocolates to work to share but my little pint of coconut mint chip "ice cream" and waffles in the freezer remain. I can't bring myself to just throw them away (dairy free and gluten free stuff is expensive, yo'...but I know, what's the price for my alertness/well-being? Logic doesn't always win still, alas.)Will attempt just to have a weekly "pig out" day. I will try not to buy any processed sugar or regular cane sugar-just coconut sugar for most things, honey, maple syrup and molasses for the oatmeal.

For a more regular weekly indulgence I'd be ever so pleased to just have a relaxed cup of coffee and cookie or baked good for breakfast, which I normally only do on vacation for whatever reason. Daily, I'd ideally like to help myself fall asleep/train my mind by getting some meditation in before bedtime even if it's only 5 minutes or less to start.

Maybe if I fill up on enough satisfying entrees I won't miss sugar so much. Usually something with sour flavor or lots of different textures helps me feel more at peace (not clamoring for crazy portions of dessert). How do you kick your sugar cravings?

This dish just might help. Butternut squash is the soft, rich, sweet taste. Barley can provide some toothsome fiber and whole-grain carbs. Try throwing in some cooked beans if you need non-meat protein. I am using black eyed peas. Plenty of flavor from the lemon juice and garlic. Today's recipe comes to you from my second CSA box, Farm Fresh to You, who pulled it from eatingwell.com. Shopping tip: If you have trouble finding barley, see if there's a Korean market near you. Otherwise, try a natural food store or one that sells grains in bulk. Please note barley is NOT gluten free. But if you need it to be try the recipe out substituting  quinoa or arborio rice.

Butternut and Barley Lemon Pilaf-

*2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
*1 med onion, chopped
1 14 oz can reduced sodium veg broth (or homemade stock)
1 3/4 cup water
1 cup pearl barley
2 cups peeled butternut squash (3/4" cubed)-this was 1 squash for me, I separated the seeds from the guts and spread out to dry to eat toasted later!
*1/3 cup chopped herb such as parsley
1 tsp lemon zest (freshly grated)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic inced
1/4 tsp salt or to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste
Optional: add half a cup of cooked beans to each serving for extra protein.

*I omitted these items. I used about 1 tsp on onion powder instead, added near the end of cooking.

If you do have onions, heat the oil in the large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until softened about 2-3 minutes.

If no onions, just add broth,barley and squash to the large saucepan. Bring it to a simmer and then reduce heat to medium low to keep a simmer until the barley and squash are tender. During this time, add 1/2 cup of water at a time as needed to keep the barley from sticking and stir. Do this until the water is gone or until the dish is a desired tenderness. I like my barley a little toothsome, so this ended up being 20-25 minutes.

(Alternatively the original recipe has you adding all water at the beginning and simmering for 45 minutes. My variation is similar to risotto cooking by involving more little bits of water, more watching/stirring but had a shorter cook time.)

Take off heat and add the herb (if you have it), lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. If using beans add them now. Mix gently and serve.

Any or all of the three prompts you'd like to answer feel free, if you try to recipe or even just want to say hello-I'd love to hear from ya'!

Left-over red wine: Braised Root Veggies and Pioneer Woman Tomato-Chicken

Happy new year to all! We had a quiet, home-made dinner and a DVD date (very sad the "Love Actually" type "New Year's Eve" movie that came out last year was not available cheaply on any of the streaming services or Redbox kiosks. They all wanted $10. Instead Lord of the Rings second movie.) This resulted in a headache the next morning and leftover red wine since only one of us was drinking.

What to do with the wine that would clearly not be sipped in a glass? I asked my trusty fellow recipe finding friend, who shot me not one but six recipes she thought might be worthy. I chose two of these. Given it's "cold" here in San Diego (reaching the 40s at night) I wanted to use the oven. The chicken tomato entree she had tried (and that one is here!) and other is a deeply flavored, vegan pleasing dish that just worked wonderfully with the bounty of winter root veggies in the CSA box. You pair the recipes with a grain or pasta to soak up the delicious sauces. I ate them together on the same plate with  rice.

You can use whatever root veggies you have or like. Just add it up to 2lbs (strongly recommend getting a scale if you don't have one, it helps give you flexibility when you interchange vegetables for same weight or in gluten free ratio baking... but I also tried to note number of vegetables I used in case you can't get your hands on one.)

WARNING: if making these dishes together, do on an afternoon or early evening when you have plenty of time.  All together with prep and cooking, I jammed in the kitchen for 2.5 hours. Once the chicken goes in, you'll be free for an hour. I opted for something silly to kill time, the Carrie Diaries. You might be able to do the prep faster if you have a helper of course! Anyways, it's not always practical to cook this long but if you want to indulge yourself or make something nice for guests, go for this!

Wine-Braised Root Veggie from Eating Well

2lbs root veggies: It still looks like 6-8 x 1 cup servings!

2 russet potatoes

1 fennel and stems (save leaves for later use, perhaps the chicken recipe)

4 x 6” carrots

2 watermelon (milder, not as spicy) radishes-they looked about billiard ball sized

¾ cup red wine (I tried Zinfandel)

4 oz dried mushroom (I used shiitake mushrooms (about 5 x 1” diameter dried))

8 oz white mushrooms (halved if large)

2 bay leaves

2 tbsp fresh oregano or 2 tsp dried herb* (original recipe was thyme)

½ tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground pepper

2 cups broth (couldn’t find mushroom broth called for,so using veg bouillon cube)

Tools to get out: 13 x 9 pan. Cutting board. Small pot to heat up wine and dried mushrooms.

    Preheat oven to 350

Heat the wine until steaming in the small pot. Remove from heat and add dried mushrooms.

     The original recipe notes you can peel the root veggies. I didn’t bother as I use my organic CSA box, so I just scrub the veggies to remove dirt and leave the peels on. It cooks so long the vegetables are tender even with skins. For oblong root veggies cut into 3” pieces, for round roots cut into 1” wedges. Wash the mushrooms and place them along with the roots into the 9x13 pan. 

    Strain wine into a mixing bowl/measuring cup. Set mushroom aside to chop up and add with rest of veggies. To the wine mix in and whisk oregano or other herb, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Pour over veggies. Add broth, bay leaves and garlic cloves.

Cook covered with foil at 350 for 45 minutes. Then uncover and cook 1 hr more (see steps below if making with chicken)

Pioneer Woman's Tomato Chicken over Grains/Pasta

4- 6 servings

While your root veggies cook, start on the chicken. Only a few substitutions from Pioneer Woman’s recipe. I used more olive oil instead of butter and instead of canned tomato, used fresh tomato. If you want to see some drool worthy pictures go to her website, step by step!

• 8 pieces Chicken Legs Or Thighs
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 3-4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 3 lbs fresh tomato (about 6 reg round tomatoes)
• 2 Tablespoons (Heaping) Tomato Paste
• Fresh herbs: gave fennel leaves a try!
• 8 cloves Garlic
• Cooked pasta (16oz) or rice or quinoa to soak up the tomato sauce
• Grated Parmesan Cheese, For Serving (optional)
• 1/2 cup White Wine (or Red Wine)

Tools: dutch oven or stir-fry pan + 2 glass baking dishes, tongs to turn chicken, 

     If you have an oven proof pan or dutch oven use this, if not grab your stir-fry sized pan and heat oil in it. I had to do my chicken in two batches so use half the oil in each batch if this is your situation too. Salt and Pepper your chicken. I had leftover Paula Deene seasoning* so I used this instead. 

   Turn on your stove top fan. While waiting for the oil to heat, peel the skin off the cloves of garlic. Begin chopping tomatoes if using fresh.

  On med-high brown the chicken on all sides (about 2 minutes). 

   While the chicken browns (btwn flips), you can continue chopping the tomatoes. Measure out your wine also.

 If not an oven proof dish, move your browned chicken into baking pans. I used 2 9x11 inch pans.

 You’re going to make the sauce now. Keep the heat on, add the wine to the pan used to brown the chicken to get the tasty scrapings. Then add the tomato paste and tomatoes to that pan. Bring to a boil

While waiting for the sauce to boil, chop up your herbs & start doing some of your dishes unless you’re lucky enough to have a helper!

 Remove tomato-wine sauce from heat. Then add to the pans of chicken. Cover with foil. 

 If making with the wine-root veggies, uncover the wine-root veggies at their 45 minute mark and kick the oven up to 400F.  Add the chicken drumsticks and bake for 1 hour. Continue to stir the root veggies periodically during the cooking.

Paula Deene seasoning:

1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder

What kind of food/health goals do you have this year? I would like to do a 5-10 post theme, pair trying a new restaurant with looking for cool local shops and give HIIT a try to refresh my exercise routine. Dave would like to give up sugar for a year but I asked him to wait until after his birthday. Not that I HAVE to join him, but it'd be helpful to break my sweet tooth for awhile (feeling sluggish even after enough sleep). I'd have to modify and keep honey/coconut sugar/maple syrup in for my oatmeal.

What to do with Agar Agar? Make a Coconut Milk Dessert-Puckery Good Lime Bars (soy free, can be vegan)

Having fun with the camera art filter with the less than photogenic citrus dessert

Inspiration: First I purchased a package of kanten bars (or agar agar) at the Japanese market. These are very odd looking, plastic-y looking footlong, semi-translucent bars. I never thought of agar as something to eat. Agar makes me think of the science experiment I did in grade school. Dad helped me dissolve agar powder and pour it into petri dishes to serve as a growing medium for bacteria cultures. Walked around swabbing items around the house like door handles, areas of the bathroom and our pet dogs' noses. Contrary to my young intuition of what would be dirty and have more bacteria, the experiment taught me it's how much use influences the bacteria present! 

Anyway, agar agar is a good substitute for gelatin for vegetarian/vegan folk. It's made from seaweed. However, I did read a message board that suggested some teeny sea critters could be inadvertently taken in the process. Makes me think though, when we harvest veggies sometimes we lose bugs too. I don't think I know anyone that strict, but maybe you do and should be aware . Cook's Thesaurus has a lot of useful information about equivalencies in different forms of agar and other gel-ing agents. They also make notes about which types of fruits need to be cooked first so that the agar or gelatin can set. From this recipe and the other I would like to try, it's important to keep the agar warmed (but not boiling) on the stove to keep it from setting before you're ready.

Second, this month my fabulous co-worker shared a large basket of limes with us.  Dave hasn't had Corona's lately so, what to do with all 20 (hey I collected them over a week, just taking 5 at a time, don't judge!) of them other than hot water/lime juice in the morning and squeezing over stir-fried greens? 

A perfect opportunity came up to use both agar and limes as my friends were having their annual holiday potluck party and it didn't sound like many desserts were on the menu. Had to patch together a few recipes to make it work for what was on hand and to meet the gluten free desire! But the results were worth the chance taken. My changes and notes in strike out or after * This could be made vegan with a butter substitute.

Give yourself some time for this one, not an instant 1/2 hour dessert. Again apologies I don't have an estimate as I was simultaneously making the noodle salad I posted about last time and the coconut macaroons. If I had to gander maybe 1-1.5 hours for prep the filling and crust including baking. Then add 3 hours to chill. It yields a 9 x 11 pan of the dessert.   

For time saving, I am fairly certain I have seen pre-made gluten free pie crust sold at Whole Foods. I just don't have one near me (half an hour drive one way) so it was easier to make from scratch since I had everything in the pantry. Or perhaps you could just try making the filling as a custard and eating alone or serving with some store-bought gluten free crispy vanilla cookies or graham crackers (gluten free version also hard to find for me locally, only seen them at Whole Foods again.)

Don't be afraid of the coconut milk, with all that lime juice and sweetness, I could not even taste the coconut flavor. 

CRUST from Brittany Angel's Key Lime Bars-

1/2 Cup Butter at Room Temp (*note to self: try using coconut oil as a vegan option)
1/4 Cup Sugar (Refined or unrefined-a white sugar will work best- such as xylitol, or organic cane sugar)
160 Grams (1 Cup) Sweet Rice Flour   Gluten Free Flour Baking Blend (recipe below)
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 TBS Cold Water

GLUTEN FREE FLOUR BLEND from Land O'Lakes
To make flour blend, combine 2 cups rice flour, 2/3 cup potato starch, 1/3 cup tapioca flour and 1 teaspoon xanthan gum. Use appropriate amount for recipe; store remainder in container with tight-fitting lid. Stir before using.

FILLING from Post Punk Kitchen's Latchkey Lime Pie
1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest
2/3 cups fresh lime juice (*# depends how juicy your limes are, mine were heavy and I used 7)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond *hemp milk, at room temperature (*imagine any type of non-dairy milk will work)
2 tablespoons agar flakes (or two teaspoons agar powder and skip the soaking step) (*or use 1 kanten stick with the soaking method)
1 16 oz can coconut milk at room temperature
2 tablespoons tapioca flour (or try it with corn starch or arowroot – but I like tapioca best) *I did try cornstarch and had lovely results
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla


1. Start out by preheating the oven to 350F. In a small sauce pan, soak the agar in milk substitute for about 15 minutes for your filling.

2. Make your gluten free flour blend for the pie crust if needed.

3. Use a food processor or you can make do using 2 blunt edged dinner knives (or if you happen to have a pastry cutter tool), by combining the first two crust ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces to blend with the sugar.

4. Add the rest of the crust ingredients and mix to incorporate evenly. You may need to use your hands if not using the food processor.  A dough should form.

5. Butter/grease your pan-I used a 9 x 11 glass baking pan and did not realize to do this as it was not in the original recipe instructions (maybe using the original sweet rice flour changes this, but my GF flour blend stuck stubbornly). Then press the dough into an even layer in the pan.

6. Bake for 30-45 minutes until the crust is lightly browned. Remove and let cool.

7. While your crust bakes,work on the filling. Grate the zest off and then juice the limes.

8. Mix together coconut milk, tapioca, sugar and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl. Make sure your coconut milk is at room temperature so that it doesn’t affect the agar when you add it to the pot.

9. After soaking agar, turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Watch it so that it doesn’t boil over. Immediately reduce heat and let simmer for about 5 minutes, until agar stick (kanten) is dissolved. If using powdered it will only take about 5 minutes to dissolve. (original directions say 15 minutes for agar flakes)

10. Very slowly whisk in the coconut mixture and then the lime juice and zest.  Whisk often for about 10 minutes, until mixture has thickened. If it isn’t thickening, turn the heat up just a bit, but you don’t want it to boil.

11.  Add the filling to the crust, then let cool on the counter for about half an hour. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, until fully set.


How to you plan to unwind during the holidays?

2013 Vegetarian Holiday Delights-Noodle Salad and Unconventional Sweets

I'm really surprised I hadn't shared this recipe with you, one of my old favorites from Epicurious, with a few adjustments. Inspired by hearing about how much meats were going to be dominating holiday feast this year, the lonely semi-vegetarian set out to add more veggie power. This recipe is wonderful if you receive or grow  large seemingly unmanageable amounts of dill.  It is somewhat similar to the post earlier this year about the spunky grapefruit noodles salad in that it's a refreshing, sweet-spicy salad.

Also, how surprising and embarrassing, I found out I'm saying the main spice (tumeric) in the recipe wrong! Courtesy of my friend Kelvin, learn about those foodie words we have been saying incorrectly : 

#48 TER-muh-rihk. Not tomb-er-rick.

Also the rooster sauce...SHREE-ra-cha is the right way? Oh dear. It's like telling me to call the Wild Animal Park, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. It hurts.

Pineapple Noodle Salad topped with Sweet Turmeric-Tofu and Roast Cauliflower

 Serves 4-6

Apologies for no time estimate, I was also cooking molasses macaroons and a lime bar recipe at the same time...

Salad

1/2 cauliflower head (yield about 1.5-2 cups chopped)

Olive oil

1 fresh lime

4 cups of chopped lettuce (recommend 1 cup of lettuce per person)

1 pkg Saifun noodles (lists as 4 servings on package)-plan to use about 4 oz dried noodle per person. Use any thin rice based noodle for it to be gluten free.

 Tofu Marinade

14 oz package of firm tofu

2 tbsp sweet chili sauce

1 tsp tumeric

Dressing

 1/2 cup fresh dill chopped (I might increase this next time, I could not taste it that well, but this was another herb that I froze and had leftover from summer-all I had on hand. Cilantro or mint might taste nice with this too.)

 1-14 oz can pineapple rings and juice

 2 garlic cloves

2 tsp lime juice

1 tbsp sugar

1/4-1/2 cup soy sauce or Bragg's Liquid Amino (to taste)

1 thai chili (I used one "ice cube" of chili I froze from the summer)

TO DO FIRST, THINGS THAT TAKE A LITTLE EXTRA TIME: 

*First, get the cauliflower (1.5-2 cups) chopped into bite sized pieces -Squeeze of half lime and toss with 2 tsp olive oil. Save the other half of the lime for the dressing below. Roast at 400F on a foil sheet for 20 minutes until you can easily pierce with a fork but is still has bite to it.

* Drain & chop 14 oz block of firm tofu into bite-sized cubes. Use 2 tbsp sweet chili garlic sauce and 1 tsp tumeric to toss with tofu in a medium mixing bowl or tupperware (just be careful, tumeric can stain plastics and woods yellow). If you have time, let marinate for 10-30 minutes.

*Get water boiling:  Boil or soak noodles-I used saifun (rice and cornstarch based) noodles and soaked them for 10 minutes, and then boiled another 3-5 minutes or until desired softness. Drain and rinse in cold water. One thing I really liked about saifun is they stayed pliable after being refrigerated. Other noodles may need re-heating to be able to be eaten with favorable soft texture.

WHILE WAITING FOR CAULIFLOWER AND TOFU:

*Chop lettuce (I used about 6 leaves-it made about 3 cups) thinly. Chop green onion or onion tops. 1/2 a cup.

*Make the dressing  in a blender: 1/2 to 1 cup fresh dill chopped,  1 can pineapple rings and juice, 2 garlic cloves, 2 tsp lime juice, 1 tbsp sugar, 1/4-1/2 cup soy sauce or for gluten-free option Bragg's Liquid Amino.

* Place 1-2 tsp oil in the frying pan and heat over medium a few minutes before you want to cook the tofu. Place the tofu in the pan and let it sizzle and lock in the flavorings for at least 5 minutes.

Molasses macaroons (original posts-substitute molasses for syrup or agave)

Since I've done this Chocolate Covered Katie recipe before, just wanted to report that I substituted molasses for the original plain flavored macaroons' stevia/agave and think they are just warm and fuzzy! These were my back up desert to my vegetarian lime bars (no eggs, no gelatin. I did use butter only because it was in my freezer, am pretty sure coconut oil would taste just fine)-which I will hope to get better pictures for you and post within the next 30 days about.

FYI, macaroons are different from macarons if you read the mispronounced foodie link above.

Another fun finding: at the holiday feasting Albert showed us a new Taiwanese dessert he discovered at a street fair, he dubbed ice cream burritos. Vanilla ice cream with peanut-brittle bits and cilantro leaves wrapped in a spring roll type paper (not sure if it has a specific name, it's not the Vietnamese spring rolls that you have to soak in hot water first, you can just take these paper thin pieces right out of the bag and roll them up-though if you're looking for gluten-free/wheat free this dessert must omit the wrapper unless you make your own or find one to substitute-if such a thing exists do share!) Any how, this blog A Hungry Girl's Guide to Taipei,  shows us some pics from a vendor and the peanut brittle is actually shaved! There are soy-based ice creams or even coconut based vanilla ice creams (I have had and love the SO brand from Sprouts and now Target even carries it) if you're not doing dairy.

What's left on your holiday to do list?

Fall Vegetarian Comfort: Provence Style Zesty Stew

Here comes fall with preparations for the holidays ahead! At a loss for what vegetarian/vegan do for holiday meals when they dine with the omnivores if they aren't in charge of the hosting/menu? They might not admit it to a host or others bringing the food for fear of inconvenience but the making do with the meat-free dishes such as mashed potatoes, salad and picking bacon bits off the green beans does not make for satisfaction.

They'll likely fend for themselves to bring something they can enjoy, but asking others to bring a few more veggie-friendly dishes to munch on would be appreciated for certain (also giving everyone at the table extra vitamins, minerals and fiber woo hoo!) Instead of reaching for the meat-analogue Tofurkey, why not offer another filling dish with less sodium! The recipe that follows is also gluten-free (we folk who get glum being unable to have most pies and crispy-onion-topping green beans).

Province Style Tofu Stew

Adapted from Williams and Sonoma Soup cook book to be veggie friendly

For people who eat fish the original calls for 1 lb of firm white fish. A similar recipe I was given by a former mentor also added a soft cheese to her fish stew and there was no orange zest. See what's in your fridge/pantry, and play around and make this recipe your own! I added beet greens because I didn't have tomato pieces and wanted more texture/substance. Veggies rock as they tend to be very interchangable in most recipes.


Equipment: optional blender or food processor to make a less chunky soup
Prep-work: rinse and chopping and zesting, 5-10 minutes worth; optional homemade stock made fresh 2 hrs (or grab from your freezer)

3 servings

 

1 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced (substitute celery if you cannot find)
1 large garlic clove, minced
2-3 tbsp of tomato paste OR 14 oz chopped tomato (fresh or canned, saving juice to use in this recipe)
2 cups of vegetable stock (may make 1 cup of red wine if on hand, I didn't have)
zest of 1-2 small oranges
12-16oz package of firm tofu, cut into 1/2" cubes
1/4 cup dill (or another herb, original recipe calls for parsley)
2 cups thoroughly rinsed beet greens (or other greens), chopped

1. In a medium soup pot over med-high heat, warm the oil. Add the onions, stirring occasionally until lightly brown. Less than 5 minutes. Add carrots and fennel. Cook until slightly softened about 4-5 minutes. Add garlic cooking 1 more minute.

2. Add tomatoes and their juice, wine and/or vegetable stock and orange zest. Reduce the heat to medium and bring to simmer. Add the beet greens. Cover with the lid cracked open slightly for about 10 minutes, veggies should be well softened and your kitchen smelling great.

3. Blend about 1/3 of the soup to puree in the blender/processor and then return it to the pot (careful about the lid coming off due to the steam build up-let the soup cool a bit first OR if you have a stick blender go for that instead)

4. Add the tofu and heat until warmed through.

5. Put soup into bowls and top with the chopped herb.

Tastes great served alone or with some bread (yes, there's gluten free ones out there) or add 1/4 to 1/2 cup cooked grains, beans or quinoa per serving for extra belly-filling goodness. 


I attended a cardio kick-box class this week and the instructor reminded us to eat mindfully (chewing slowly to notice the tastes, the smells, the colors, the conversation being had with loved ones) and go ahead and indulge having a bit o' the "bad" stuff.

What sensations describe your Thanksgivings?