Indian dinner by my wife

I taught a 3-hour photography workshop today and came home to find that my wife, who doesn't enjoy cooking, made dinner. She made dhal (lentil soup), fresh Indian roti flatbread, curried potatoes, and basmati rice.

Baked squashes with pearled barley

Tonight I tried a new vegetable, Boniato (Ipomoea batatas, also known as tropical sweet potato, batatas, and camote), said to taste and look like a cross between baked and sweet potato, being drier and less sweet than sweet potatoes we commonly eat in the U.S. I baked it at 400°F for about an hour; the skin was quite firm but the flesh inside was soft and ready. It was tasty and reminded me of chestnuts in flavor. I also baked Kabocha and acorn squashes and made a pearled barley stuffing for the acorn squash.

Leftovers - Black Japonica rice with tempeh and pepper, cabbage koshimbir, salads

We had leftovers from the potluck last Saturday, the Black Japonica rice with tempeh and bell pepper that I had made, a cabbage koshimbir (raw cabbage, crushed roasted peanuts, and spices are the main ingredients) that my wife had made, and tabouleh and barley salads. I also served some sour dough bread with a dipping artisanal extra virgin olive oil.

Himalyan Red Rice with heirloom Trout Beans

I discovered a lovely rice yesterday, Himalayan Red. It is similar to brown rice, but more fragrant and possibly more nutritious with a pretty rusty rosy color, and it tastes quite nice! I may make add Himalayan Red Rice to my list of staples. I sometimes have problems digesting beans so don't eat them often, but these Trout Beans didn't seem to cause a problem. Served with pearl onions, raw vegetables, steamed okra, and a wheat English muffin, it was a tasty and low fat meal. Instead of having a traditional red beans and rice, this turned out to be a red rice and beans dinner!

Braised greens with tempeh

I had to put dinner on the table pronto, so put this together in about half an hour. I made braising greens with tempeh. The yellow carrots were tasty, but my all-time favorite carrot is the burgundy one - I wish I could find it in the stores or farmers market for more than a fleeting week or so, if that, each year! I was at a potluck dinner yesterday and made a rice-tempeh dish that will show up as a leftover in a few days. On Friday, I was a computer science and mathematics judge, and was served dinner as part of the competition.

Eggplant - bell pepper saute with black and mahogany rices

Unlike how I've made eggplant sautes in the past, I used no onion, but did use diced red and yellow bell peppers. It came out quite well with flavors of the many ingredients (e.g., rosemary from my garden, fresh ground black pepper, red wine, capers) coming through nicely with a rather subtle and not at all overpowering garlic undertone.

I recently bought Lundberg Farms Black Japonica rice, consisting of short-grained black and medium-grained mahogany rices. I like this company's products but am not sure I've had this variety before. I used my Zojirushi rice cooker and cooked the rice in vegetable bouillon, as I usually prepare rice. It was fabulous, one of the best rices I've had in memory! I served the wheat sourdough bread with artisinal extra virgin olive oil. I have a bunch of celery to use up, hence its appearance again tonight!

Pasta with pan-browned garlic and vegan "sausage"

I used up the third of four links from the Mexican Chipotle vegan "sausage" that I first tried last Friday and topped the pasta with artisinal extra virgin olive oil as well as Eat in the Raw's Parma! vegan "Parmesan cheese" (high in B vitamins, iron, Omega-3 fatty acids, and trace minerals, and made from raw organic walnuts, Red Star nutritional yeast, and Celtic sea salt - "and love"). I have a great source (Weaver Street Market) for seeded ciabatta bread - the fennel adds a fabulous taste! - and served it toasted with Earth Balance (a staple spread for me - non-hydrogenated margarine with no trans fatty acids, and tasting just like butter). The heat of the "sausage" was much easier to enjoy in this dish than how I had prepared it last.

Thai/Indonesian Cooking Class

Tonight was my Thai and Indonesian cooking class. This is the tasty result of not my cooking, but my students' work. They made Indonesian Stew over noodles (seen in the bowl), Indonesian Tempeh and Vegetables, Cilantro Tomatoes, Cucumber Salad, and Thai Jasmine rice. They also made a yummy dessert (not shown here), Cashew Chip Meltaway cookies.

Spiced Cabbage

I had to put a meal together quickly today, and took well under an hour to saute and spice (including paprika, ginger, cumin, and turmeric) cabbagge and serve it with salad and a garlic bagel. By the way, I don't eat out often, but did last night as we were out till late, so ate at a Mexican restaurant.

Basmati rice with peas, sauteed tempeh, root vegetables

I got home late, around 11p, so put together a simple dinner of basmati rice with fresh English peas served with tempeh and root vegetables, including watermelon radish.

Grilled vegan "sausage" - mashed potatoes - asparagus - Italian bread with olive tapenade

I don't often cook with items mimicing meat, but a few days ago, I found an interesting artisanal vegan "sausage" by the Field Roast Grain Meat Company, a company established in 1997 in Seattle which seems to make an entirely vegan product line with wheat gluten (seitan) and not soy as its primary ingredient. I purchased a package of four links of Mexican Chipotle ("combines the smoky heat of chipotle peppers with the richness of traditional Oaxacan style Mole made from pepitas and cocoa"). It was good, though too spicy! I used up two links so in the coming days will experiment with using the other two in a pasta dish or with polenta.

Portobello Mushroom Grill over Orzo, Dinosaur Kale with Pearl Onions

Not shown here is toasted wedges of organic wheat sourdough farm bread with a dipping sauce of artisanal Greek extra virgin olive oil and garden-fresh rosemary. Note that dinosaur kale is a nickname for lacinato kale.

Cabbage-Potato Stir-fry (in honor of St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 2006)

Sides include a quinoa dish, English peas, and a salad with heirloom tomatoes.