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?

Vegetarian Summer Series #5: Indian Potluck Inspired Jalepeno Dal (Red Lentils) and Cilantro Chutney

The move happened! We spent 2 hours Thursday night with the help of a friend and 6 hours Saturday moving all our things over.  I'm climbing around mountains of boxes and digging in various backpacks and suitcases for what to wear to yoga practice and to work, but what's the first room I get in order? The kitchen of course!  I can only indulge in Dominoes gluten-free vegetarian pizza and Chipotle so long.

TOP 5 NEW THINGS THIS MONTH:
1) Going out to eat Vietnamese food unexpectedly-got to try Banh Xeo! a rice flour based crepe. The restaurant only had seafood/meat based but I am eager to try out mushrooms instead at home. Vietca says they even sell pre-measured flour with the tumeric portioned out at the markets. I got lots of lettuce in my box right now so this would be great! Want to grow herbs or pick up some mint and shiso (aka perilla, tia to, beefstake leaf, or Gee So according to the seed catalogue for evergreen seeds)

2) Bought sea snail from Marukai .................to eat (not a pet!) Gonna say I'm not a fan of the cartilege like texture.

3) Not food related, but I have had three people offer to pay me for helping to care, cook or make a product in the last week! Really weird...but it times well with the furlough...if I can make the time to do it.

4) Bought a hybrid nectarine plum from one of my favorite farms (I think it's Maciel Farms) at La Jolla. They don't have a name for it yet...any ideas? Fellow yogi Sara-squared says "nums" -which is my favorite so far. Dave says "nectum" which I thought was kind of gross since it sounds very similar to another word.

5) Got a vacation planned for the Denver, CO area for next month-I have never been! Anyone have recommendations for things to do or places to eat? Also hoping to visit the Rocky Mountains park for a day trip.

I broke the streak of raw food, to bring you spicy jalepeno red lentils. I was supposed to have a potluck with a few co-workers last week but they wiggled out of it on me the day before.  I still made the dish since I needed vegetarian Tuesday food anyhow. The recipe comes from Food Network (actually Wolfgang Puck) with very minor modifications.

Dal on the left and variation on Aloo Gobi on the right

 DAL WITH JALEPENOS
Makes 4-6 Servings
~40-50 minutes for making spice, prepping and cooking.

• 1/4 cup ghee or clarified butter  substitute red palm oil or coconut oil
• 1 1/2 cups diced onions
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 jalapeno peppers, cored, seeded and minced
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds, toasted and crushed
• 2 cups orange lentils
• 2 tablespoons finely minced ginger
• 2 tablespoons Garam Masala, (food network provides one if you visit their website or see what I used below)
• 1/2 tablespoon salt  (or to your taste)
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• 3/4 cup diced tomatoes
• 1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 8 cups chicken stock veggie stock (I used 4 cups stock and 4 cups water and it came out ok)

1. In a large pot, heat the oil and stir-fry the onions just until wilted, do not brown.

2. Add the garlic, jalapeno, cumin, lentils, ginger, garam masala, salt, pepper, sugar and bay leaf. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes, until the herbs and spices bloom (aromatic).

2. Add the tomatoes and deglaze with the vinegar.

3. Add the stock, bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer and cook until lentils are tender (about 30 minutes), stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust seasoning with cumin, salt, pepper and sugar.

 My sister provided me a garam masala recipe and you don't need to do any toasting or grating (not sure how much a difference it makes, but I'm short on time these days).

GARAM MASALA (I think it was the first one that I used for the dal recipe, but it was a bottle of spice she made for me):

Garam Masala #1
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tsp ground cardomom
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 ground nutmeg

We have just ground cumin and coriander so I don't do the following steps. I
also used a pepper grinder or just used black ground pepper. but if you have
the whole seeds here's what to do:
On medium heat, shake cumin and coriander seed for 3-5 till they pop and brown.
remove from heat and let cool. place all ingridients in a coffee grinder or
food processor and grind till smooth. store in an airtight container.

Kitchen Cupboard Garam Masala
2 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp coriander
2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground cardomom
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp allspice

Also, because my CSA "boxmate" said she doesn't make a lot of spicy things, thought I would share this recipe that uses one spicy pepper and just makes enough for a few servings (not overwhelming for someone cooking just for one).

CILANTRO-CHUTNEY-inspired by my brief few months working at a Persian inspired restaurant after college. Just grab your blender/food processor and let's make this 4 ingredient peppy sauce. Top it on your breakfast tacos like me, have a go with it on salad or maybe as a dipper for your grilled veggies (or chicken or beef).

Ingredients
1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves and stems
2 cloves of garlic 
3 tbsp white vinegar
1 jalepeno, de-stemmed and cut

Put all ingredients in the blender/processor. Blend until uniform sauce forms. All done!

I think I asked enough questions above, so nothing here this week!