Baked Potato with Mushroom Gravy (No Added Fat)

I had some prepared vegan gravy and made a simple meal. I simply poked Russet potatoes a few places (to make sure that pressure wouldn't cause them to explode) then put them in my Instant Pot pressure cooker atop the trivet with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water and pressure steamed for 20m. I mixed in mushrooms and cooked the gravy down a bit, then served atop the potatoes. I also had a massaged kale salad and baked beans.

Brussels Sprouts with Baby Lima Beans, Forbidden Rice Pad Thai Noodles with a touch of Peanut Satay Sauce, Grilled Artichoke Heart - Tomato Salad (No Added Fat)

Brussels Sprouts are on sale and I had a 1 pound bag of them. I thought that I'd use the Sprouts and cook them with baby lima beans, starting with a gentle saute of the Sprouts. Here is what I did.


Ingredients

• 1/2 cup onion, cut into 1/4" cubes
• 1 garlic, finely (1/8") diced
• 1 pound Brussels Sprouts (I counted 34), outer leaves and ends trimmed and then halved (almost 4 cups)
• 1/4 + 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 t salt
• Vegan bouillon cube
• 2 cups frozen baby lima beans
• 1 1/2 cups carrot (I used one large carrot) cut into approx. 3/8" slices
• 1/2 cumin seed
• 1/4 garlic powder
• 1/4 t turmeric
• 1 T dried chives
• 1/2 cups onion cut into 3/8" cubes

Process

1. I put the garlic, onion, and Brussels Sprouts into  my Instant Pot pressure cooker and used the saute function to saute, waterlessly, frequently stirring, on low for about 5 minutes till the onion was lightly browned.
2. I added 1/4 cup water, salt, and the bouillon cube, and reduced the saute to low. I continued stirring but less frequently for about 3-4 minutes until the water was absorbed.
3. I then added 1/2 cup water, the lima beans, carrot, cumin seed, garlic powder, turmeric, and chives; I mixed and cooked on low pressure for 3m.
4. After the cooking was done, I waited a few minutes and gently released pressure, then mixed in the onion.

I made a grilled artichoke heart - tomato salad with black pepper, ume plum vinegar, and lemon juice. As a side, I had some organic forbidden rice pad thai noodles (just brown and black rices; it cooks in a 5m boil), which I served. I had a little peanut satay sauce leftover; my family loves the sauce. I put a little sauce on their noodles and even less on mine (I was going to  call dinner "almost no added fat" but I put so little sauce on that I'll go with "no added fat").

Results

We all enjoyed dinner. The main course was better than I expected but a little softer than I had wished for.

Ideas for the future

I should try cooking Brussels Sprouts this way again, but should go with just 1 or 2 minutes of low pressure cooking.

Brown Lentil Dhal with Potato (No Added Fat)

I thought I'd make a brown lentil dhal; lentils cook under pressure in a ratio of 1 to between 1 1/2 and 2 for 15-20 minutes; I wanted a souply dahl so thought I'd go for a 1:3 ratio for 20 minutes. Here is what I did.


Ingredients

• 1 cup brown lentils
• 3 cups water
• 2 cups Russet (or other) potato cut into larger 1/2" cubes (a medium potato)
• 1/4 cup onion cut into 1/2" cubes
• 2 cloves garlic, finely (< 1/8") minced
• 2 cups carrot cut into 3/8" slices (about 3-4 small carrots)
• 1 packed cup kale, roughly hand-torn into approximately 1" pieces (stems excepted) and then cut down into approximately quarters via knife
• 1 cup frozen sliced mushrooms
• 1/4 t turmeric
• 1/2 t black salt
• 1/2 t cumin seeds
• (optional) small piece of organic Meyer lemon, skin and interior intact
• Another 1/4 cup onion, this time cut into 1/4" cubes
• 1T lemon juice (I used Meyer lemon juice)
• (optional) 2 T organic Meyer lemon skin, cut into 1/2" pieces

Process

1. I put the lentils, water, potato, 1st batch of larger cut onion, garlic, carrot, kale, mushroom, turmeric, salt, cumin seed, and lemon into my Instant Pot pressure cooker and cooked for 20m.
2. After the cooking was done, I waited a few minutes and gently released pressure, then mixed
3. When I was ready to serve, I opened the pot slowly, and added the additional 1/4 cup onion, lemon juice, and lemon pieces. 

I was out of brown rice, so used white Jasmine rice on the side, as well as peas and carrots.

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending

Potato - Eggplant Jumble (No Added Fat)

I had some friends over and had made a very early dinner for them when my daughter and wife came home, so I had a fun, extended cooking time, launching right into our own dinner. I used pans that I had just used for the earlier meal, so I didn't have extra cleanup. I wanted to get a meal going and served quickly, so decided to make a waterless meal. Here is what I did.


Ingredients

• 1/2 cup onion cut into 3/8" cubes
• 2 cloves garlic, finely (1/8" or so) chopped
• 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/2" cubes (just under 1/2 cup)
• 1 cup eggplant, cut into 1/4" pieces
• 1 cup frozen chopped spinach
• 1/2 of a small (about 14 1/2 ounce) can of diced tomatoes (i.e., about 7 ounces)
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 freshly ground black pepper

Process

1. I put, in this order, the onion, garlic, potato, eggplant, and spinach into a small Saladmaster stock pan; it almost filled the pan. I cooked waterlessly - i.e., I covered the pan and heated it on medium high until the vapor release started jiggling, then I reduced the heat to low till the jiggle stopped. I let it cook for about 20 minutes.
2. I mixed in the diced tomato, salt, and black pepper, and served.

I also made some quinoa (1 part quinoa to 2 parts water, simmered with a vegan bouillon cube, and cooked with edamame and bell pepper). For a salad, I diced tomato and cucumber, and mixed in Meyer lemon, black salt, ground cumin, and freshly ground black pepper.

Results

Dinner was good, but I think my family enjoyed it more than I did. My daughter doesn't like quinoa, so even the small side dish was more than enough for her. Surprisingly, she said that my potato main dish would be a great Thanksgiving dish, but I do think that is way overrated. Unlike when I pressure cook, the eggplant did contribute some flavor, but it wasn't strong.

Ideas for the future

I should try more waterless dishes with potato, and include ingredients like beans or maybe tempeh. I wonder what a vegan cheese sauce might be served atop such a dish, maybe tasting a bit like a "loaded" baked potato. Adding roasted or baked eggplant cubes or slices at the end might also be a nice touch.

Lemony Cauliflower with Black-eyed Peas and Turnip (No Added Fat)

I had a half head of cauliflower that I wanted to use and found that my wife had cooked some black-eyed peas. I also had a turnip that needed to be used. I decided to make a waterless main course, and serve sauteed plantain slices on the side, along with a lovely purple carrot and icicle radish slices. Here is what I did.


Ingredients

• 1/4 cup onion cut into 3/8" cubes
• 1 clove garlic, finely (< 1/8") minced
• Medium turnip, peeled and cut into 1/4" cubes
• About 2 cups of cauliflower florets (about half a head)
• 1/4 of a medium Meyer lemon juiced and remainder chopped into 3/8" cubes (only if organic; if a non-Meyer lemon or lime is used, use just the colored outside zest)
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 t turmeric
• 1/8 t dried oregano

Process

1. I put, in this order, the onion, garlic, turnip, cauliflower, and black-eyed peas into a large Saladmaster stock pan. I cooked waterlessly - i.e., I covered the pan and heated it on medium high until the vapor release started jiggling, then I reduced the heat to low till the jiggle stopped. I let it cook for about 20 minutes.
2. I then opened the pot, and mixed in the lemon juice and lemon pieces, salt, pepper, turmeric, and oregano.

Results

Dinner was good! I added a bit of jalapeno to my serving. I couldn't taste the turnip, but the cauliflower and lemon worked well with the black-eyed peas.

Ideas for the future

I have not been very good with constrasting colors in presenting my meals. I wish that I had some roasted red bell pepper on hand, as that would have added to the visuals. The main course was good but could have used a little more flavor, perhaps capers or olives. Mustard seed and maybe ground cumin would have been nice, too.

I should explore more ways of cooking with turnips. This was fine to enjoy the nutrition of turnips, but there was no flavor that I could detect coming from the turnips.

Edamame and Eggplant with Whole Wheat Orzo

I have a little Miyoko's Kitchen vegan mozzarella left and thought I'd make an eggplant dish with some cheese. Eggplant cooks nicely (in just 3 minutes!) in the pressure cooker, so I started that going. By the time the eggplant was done, it tasted great with no cheese, so I skipped the cheese. Here is what I did.


Ingredients

• 5 cups eggplant (skin intact) cut into 1/2" cubes (maybe 4/5 of a medium eggplant)
• 2 cups shelled edamame
• 2 packed cups kale, hand-ripped into roughly 1" squares
• 2 cloves garlic, finely (< 1/8") minced
• Vegan bouillon cube
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup onion cut into 1/4" cubes
• 1/2 t tarragon (I couldn't find my tarragon so used oregano instead)
• 1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 t salt

Process

1. I put the eggplant, edamame (I used frozen; if fresh, I'd just mix in at the end), kale, garlic, bouillon cube, and water into my Instant Pot pressure cooker and cooked for just three minutes.
2. After the cooking was done, I waited a few minutes and gently released pressure, then added the onion, oregano, pepper, and salt.

I served with whole wheat orzo and a salad.

Results

Dinner was quite good! I really liked the eggplant dish; though I like the taste of eggplant, it changes to be more a background matrix when pressure cooked. It served the firm bite of the edamame well.

Ideas for the future

My original idea would have worked if I had integrated tomato into the cooking, maybe making some sort of ratatouille or caponata. I should try a Turkish Imam Bayildi dish sometime!