Jimmy Nardellos Peppers with Tempeh and Mushroom, Guacamole with Greens atop Thin German Bread (No Added Fat)

I picked up some nice looking Jimmy Nardellos peppers at the farmers' market today. I hadn't seen these before but read that they saute well. Here is what I made.


Ingredients

• 8 ounces tempeh cut into thin (app. 1/4" thick) 3/4" squares
• About 10 Jimmy Nardellos peppers, rinsed but with stems intact
• 1 t onion, chopped into 1/4" cubes
• 3 ounces mushroom cut into 1/4" or so slices (I used frozen but either fresh or frozen would be fine)
• 1 clove garlic, finely (1/8") chopped
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 t lemon or lime juice

Process

1. I sauteed the tempeh in a cast iron pan that I had put a few drops of oil onto then wiped clean first to leave a small oil residue. I sauteed for maybe 10 minutes on medium - medium-high heat, turning occasionally, till brown, adding the onion and mushroom about halfway through.
2. In another cast iron pan similarly prepared, I sauteed the peppers on medium heat, stirring occasionally, till all peppers had a bit of blackening, about 10 minutes, adding the garlic about halfway through.
3. I mixed the contents of the two pans together, along with the salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

My daughter came up with a good recipe from Ruby Roth's Help Yourself Cookbook for Kids that called for making guacamole (I just mix avocado, lime juice, onion, garlic, and, when I have it, rosemary - I used oregano instead today), then mixing in greens including kale. We did that, along with purple cabbage, and served atop heated thin German bread.

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending

Pinto Bean with Spinach and Potato, served with Supergrain Garden Pagoda Pasta (No Added Fat)

I wanted to make a pinto bean dish today. Here is what I did.


Ingredients

• 1 cup pinto beans, rinsed, soaked for at least 5 hours, and rinsed again
• Enough water to just cover beans
• 2 Yukon Gold potatoes cut into 1/2" cubes (about 2 cups)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1t finely chopped ginger
• 1/2 t turmeric
• 1 1/4 cup chopped spinach (I used frozen but fresh would be fine)
• 1 1/4 cup onion cut into 3/8" cubes
• 1 3/4 cups (large bell pepper) bell pepper cut into 3/8" cubes
• Juice of 1/2 lime (or lemon)
• 1/2 t (or to taste) salt

Process

1. I had my wife put the beans, water, potato, garlic, ginger, and turmeric into my Instant Pot pressure cooker and set it to cook for 30m.
2. After the cooking was done, I waited a few minutes and gently released pressure, then mixed in the spinach, onion, bell pepper, lime juice, and salt, and served, topped with a bit of salsa (no salsa for my daughter's portion).

I also made some "supergrain garden pagoda pasta" which has as all organic ingredients of corn flour, quinoa flour, dried spinach, and dried beet and/or dried red bell pepper. I served that on the side with a bit of nutritional yeast (marinara for my daughter).

Results

Dinner was good! We all enjoyed it. The potatoes added a nice soft but relatively neutral tasting texture.

Ideas for the future

I could have added more vegetables, such as possibly broccoli or corn, but the dish was good as I made it. My wife had forgotten to include a vegan bouillon cube when she cooked the beans; it would have added a bit more flavor. Were I not cooking for my daughter, some jalapeno would have gone well with the main course.

Pinto Bean and Red Lentil Stew (No Added Fat)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups beans rinsed, soaked overnight, and rinsed again
• 1/3 cup red lentil
• Just enough water to cover lentils and beans
• 1 1/2 cup Yukon Gold potato (medium potato) cut into 3/8" cubes - 23m
• 2 cups eggplant (about 1/2 eggplant) cut into 3/8" cubes
• 1 1/2 cups carrot (medium carrot) cut into 3/8" width and halved
• 1/3 cup fennel cut into 3/8" cubes
• 1 cup onion cut into 3/8" cubes
• 10-12 oregano leaves
• 2t lime (or lemon) juice
• 1 t garam masala (or 1/2 t turmeric)
• (optional) 1/4 t fenugreek seed
• 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 t (or to taste) salt

Process

1. I cooked the beans, lentils, water, potato, eggplant, carrot, and fennel for 23 minutes (20-25 would have been fine; I wanted a thick result, so went with 23m).
2. After the cooking was done, I waited a few minutes and gently released pressure, then mixed in the onion, oregano, and spices.

I served with a tomato salad (heirloom tomato and some grape tomatoes that our neighbor brought over while I was cooking, Kalamata olives, fresh basil, ume plum vinegar, salt, and black pepper), as well as a kale rollup from Fruitive from our Washington, DC trip that we returned from last night (that isn't gluten-free, but I am labeling this entry as such because of the main course).

Results

The main course was tasty! I love what pressure cooked eggplant does - it doesn't seem to add appreciable flavor (even my brother-in-law who doesn't like eggplant didn't notice when I served him an eggplant dish recently) but thickens a dish.

Ideas for the future

I should more carefully explore how lentils and beans cook well together. I just experimented with a third of a cup of lentil - I wanted to add more, but that's all of the red lentils that I had.