Romanesco Cauliflower with Mixed Vegetables

Kiddo's Vegetable and Chickpea Soup, Cauliflower with Spinach (No Added Fat)

Kiddo is going to be making vegetable soup with chickpeas for this weekend's So Many Kids in the Kitchen program (12:30p on Saturday the 13th, east coast US time - facebook.com/somanycooks) and practiced a batch tonight. It was good! I made a simple side dish of waterlessly cooked cauliflower with spinach, as well as a salad of artichoke, tomato, and olive. It was a filling and tasty meal!

Air Fried Sunchoke with Vegan Field Roast Apple Sage Sausage (Almost No Added Fat)

I had some sunchokes and decided to air fry them. We had some Field Roast vegan sausages; I cut them into long pieces and cut the sausages into halves, then air fried, along with some rings of onion, at 350°F for 9m then 425°F for 2m. I also made mixed vegetables with spinach, cooked waterlessly, and a salad with tomato, cucumber, radish, salt, freshly ground black pepper, lime juice, and ume plum vinegar. The sausages have 7g of fat per link and one link sufficed for the three of us, so I'll call this an "almost no added fat" meal.

Results

Dinner was good. The sunchokes were crispy; my wife enjoyed that texture and I did, too (though my daughter didn't), but I think I'd like to try them roasted or maybe boiled.

Ideas for the future

I should get sunchokes again and try roasting them or maybe trying them raw and diced in a salad.

Black-Eyed Peas with Brussels Sprouts (New Year's Hoppin' John inspiration), Baked Potato, Guacamole (No Added Fat, Gluten-Free)

Happy 2020! It's tradition in the south of the U.S. to start the new year with Hoppin' John. We ate out on New Year's Day due to schedule issues, so this was our first home dinner of the year and, while I didn't make a traditional Hoppin' John, I made a main course inspired by it.

I did a waterless black-eyed pea dish. I put into a Saladmaster stock pan, in this order, chopped onion (and I would have put in a clove or two of garlic if I wasn't out; I did have garlic greens, which I added later), fresh black-eyed peas, Brussels sprouts cut into approximately 1/4" cubes, bell pepper, garam masala, turmeric, kala namak (black salt), and freshly ground black pepper, as well as a few tablespoonfuls of stewed tomato. 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, then I mixed in some lemon juice and salt.

I also made (10 minutes under pressure in my Instant Pot pressure cooker) baked potato. I mixed avocado with lemon juice, onion, garlic powder, salt, and freshly ground black pepper, and served this guacamole atop a lettuce leave. An optional (not gluten-free) garlic cracker/chip topped the guacamole.

Results

We all enjoyed dinner. The black-eyed peas were well spiced and hearty.

Ideas for the future

I should explore more black-eyed pea ideas. What about a mash mixed with vegetables? Or mashed patties air fried?

Waterless Seitan, Potato, and Green Beans with Garlic Simmer Sauce; Israeli Couscous with Peas (Almost No Added Fat)

I decided to make a waterless dish in a large Saladmaster stock pan. I cooked waterlessly some potato and seitan - i.e., I put in garlic, onion, seitan, diced Yukon Gold potato, and frozen green bean pieces, 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. I like Frontera Foods' conveniently packages sauces; nevermind that they describe them as appropriate for carnivorous dishes, these are good for plant-based dishes and are reasonable in fat content. I used one of their garlic sauces and mixed it in to the dish, then cooked, stirring a few times, for another minute or so.

I also made an Israeli couscous dish by sauteing a bit of onion, then adding a cup of the Israeli couscous, 1 1/4 cups water, 3 leaves of kale (roughly hand torn -skipping the stems, which I put in our compost bound container - into about 3/4" pieces), a few shakes of salt, 1/8 t or less of turmeric, and about 1/3 cup of frozen green peas. I brought to a boil and cooked on low heat, covered, for about 8-10 more minutes.

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending

Field Peas with Brussels Sprouts and Red Chard, Volcano Rice (No Added Fat, Gluten Free)

I had some dried field peas; I made a dish with them a month or two ago and thought I'd make another one. I read an article extolling their virtues and suggesting a 30m cook time. I tried 6m under pressure.

I soaked about 3/4 cup of field peas for about 5 hours then drained, covered with enough water to just cover, and cooked along with a cup of chopped red chard (chopped into 1/2" squares) for 6 minutes under pressure. In the meantime, I cooked 1/2 cup of Brussels sprouts by briefly putting them in the blender.  started heating a Saladmaster stock pan under medium heat with 1/8 cup of onions cut into 1/4" cubes, then added the Brussels sprouts once the onion was warm. 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.

I combined the cooked field peas, Brussels sprouts, and pinches of garam masala, turmeric, cumin, salt, lemon pepper, and garlic powder, along with a tablespoon of Meyer lemon juice and about 2 T of additional raw onion chopped into 1/4" cubes. I served with volcano rice and a macadamia nut milk smoothie with blueberry and mango.

Results

The meal came out well, though I think it could have been more flavorful. My wife quite liked the meal.

Ideas for the future

A little bit of jalapeno or hot sauce would work well with the main course. I should experiment with cooking chopped Brussels sprouts more, perhaps mixing in a sauce of some sort.

Waterless Caulifower and Plantain, Bean and Lentil with Millet and Flax Crackers (Almost No Added Fat)

I had a head of cauliflower and decided to make a waterless main course. I simply cooked it in my large Saladmaster stock pan, putting in half moon red and sweet Vidalia onions, a chopped clove of garlic, then florets from almost the whole head of the cauliflower, and finally a little bit of spinach. 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, then I mixed in about 1 or 1 1/2 ounces that I had leftover of  an 8 ounce bag of Key Lime skillet sauce (I think it was 1g or 2g of fat per serving), a handful of chopped flat parsley, salt, and lemon pepper.

While that was cooking, I sauteed with no oil on a cast iron pan a plantain cut into 3/4" rounds. Once lightly blackened, I quartered the rounds and then, once the cauliflower was done, mixed them in to the main course.

When I was cooking a recent Food for Life class and needed baked tortilla chips, I instead used a cracker that I used to occasionally get, Sami's millet and flax
garlic and plain chips. They're great - I can't understand how they are so luscious (the garlic is quite strong!) and seemingly decadent, but they are only 2g (3g for the garlic) of fat per serving (sixth of the bag). I had (and still do!) plenty of leftovers from a few days ago when I made the bean and lentil soup; I didn't add more water but heated it up and spread the thick paste atop some of the crackers.

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending

Edamame with Kale and Shiitake Mushroom (No Added Fat)

For dinner tonight, I got a waterless dish going by putting, in this order, a chopped clove of garlic, 1/8 cup onion cut into approximately 1/4" thick half moon slices, a half dozen kale leaves roughly hand torn from the stem into approximately 1" squares, and 1 cup of frozen shelled edamame into a small Saladmaster stock pan. 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 12 minutes, then opened the pan, mixed in 1/4 cup crushed tomato, a bit of salt and kala namak (pink salt), freshly ground black pepper, Italian seasoning, and cumin. I covered and continued to cook on low, and a little lemon juice.

In parallel, I had sauteed on a cast iron pan with no oil 4 large shiitake mushrooms and half moon slices of onion. I mixed this into the main course before serving.

I also made corn -on-the-cob (for the family) and -off-the-cob for me, including jerk seasoning, salt, and lemon juice. Brown rice completed the meal.

Results

The main course was surprisingly good. The lemon and tomato really brought the edamame alive.

Ideas for the future

I should use edamame more often in my dishes. I wonder what air fried edamame might be like.

Tempeh Burger with Peanut, Waterless Broccoli/Spinach/Squash (Almost No Added Fat)

My wife and I like tempeh, but my daughter doesn't and tonight she wasn't eating with us, so I took advantage and made a tempeh dish. In addition, she's not crazy about squash, so I integrated squash into a side dish.

We were getting ready to go to the season finale for Flash Chorus, so I thought I'd make a quick and easy dish. I sauteed thin sheets of tempeh, along with onion and roasted red bell pepper, on a cast iron pan with no oil except for a little bit I rubbed on and then off. I served it on sourdough bread with less than 1/2 t of peanut butter smeared atop (peanut butter is 8g of fat per tablespoon, so this was about 8/6 = 1 1/3 g of fat, which is quite low) and a nice quality Dijon mustard with chablis, plus greens.

I made a waterless side of broccoli, spinach, squash, and jerk seasoning. Tomato slices completed the meal.

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending

Air Fried, Waterless Green Beans and Seitan

I put, in this order, a little onion and garlic, frozen green beans, and seitan 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 10 minutes.

Then, I mixed in bread crumbs, nutritional yeast, and lemon pepper. I put it in my Cuisinart air fryer and "fried" (with no oil) at 350°F for 5 minutes.

In my Instant Pot cooker, I also cooked acorn squash and Japanese sweet potato (13 minutes under pressure). I served the main course, along with the squash and sweet potato, plus some tomato slices.

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending

Waterless Cabbage and Black-Eyed Peas (No Added Fat)

I made a waterless dish tonight. I put, in this order, onion, garlic, black-eyed peas, chopped (1/4" cubes) Japanese sweet potato, and cabbage 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. I mixed in lemon juice, salt, lemon pepper, cumin, and turmeric.

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending

Waterless Seitan, Brussels Sprout, and Cauliflower with Mixed Wild and Brown Rices and Avocado Salad

Shredded Cabbage and Seitan (No Added Fat)

I had some finely shredded cabbage left from this weekend's Food for Life class and decided to make a waterless dish. I  put garlic, ginger, broccoli stalk cubes, onion, seitan, the cabbage, Roma tomato cubes, dried oregano, salt, and black pepper 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.

I served with some freshly chopped cilantro. I also served Madagascar Pink rice, as well as heirloom tomato slices.

Results

Wow, we all enjoyed dinner. Frankly, I was a little concerned when the dish was underway as the batch of seitan that I had purchased wasn't as tasty as I had hoped. But the flavor combination was excellent and it didn't need any additional spices.

Ideas for the future

I love the results of waterless cooking and should more regularly cook this way. I don't cook with cabbage that often and should also do more of that.

Collard - Vegetable Rollups (No Added Fat)

I came home and got to work almost immediately making dinner. I had purchased collard greens several days earlier and wanted to use them; I thought of the idea of collard rollups and found a recipe that suggested blanching the collard leaves and then filling; I may try this interesting recipe with coconut curry sometime.

I didn't have time to cook beans so used a 13.4 ounce box of kidney beans and a bit of canellini beans that I had on hand. 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 for about 20 minutes) the beans along with a clove of chopped garlic, along with other chopped vegetables (a green onion, broccoli including stem, and about a half dozen olives), plus 1/4 t salt, 2T nutritional yeast, and 1/4 cup marinara.

I blanched the intact collard leaves one at a time by putting each leaf in a pan with about an inch of boiling water for 15 seconds a side, then setting aside. Once cool, I removed the thickest part of the spine, added the bean-vegetable filling, and rolled.

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending

Hemp and Chickpea Tempeh with Broccolini and Cauliflower, Quinoa (Almost No Added Fat)

My wife and daughter are traveling on Friday and I'm teaching tomorrow, so this is my last meal for the family till they return. My wife had picked up some broccolini, which I thought I'd make a mixed vegetable waterless dish out of. I picked up some Hempé brand soy-free hemp seed and chickpea tempeh, which I air fried at 350°F for 4 minutes then 400°F for an additional 2 minutes.

I put, in this order, a little onion, half a head of broccolini chopped into 1/2" pieces, maybe 2 cups of frozen cauliflower florets, 3/4 cup frozen bell pepper slices, and a large baby bok choy, cut into 1" lengths, 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.

I mixed the "fried" tempeh and vegetables, then mixed in 4T of Frontera brand key lime skillet sauce (1g of fat per 2T). I served with sprouted quinoa and some delicious tomatoes.

I don't list this as "no added fat" because the tempeh has 7g of fat per serving, which is a quarter of the package. I used maybe 4/5 of the package; divided by the three of us, we each got about 4/15 or 1/4 of the package, so about 7g of fat. That's still not bad!

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending

Braised Tofu (or Tempeh) with Bell Pepper, "Cheesy" Riced Broccoli (Almost No Added Fat)

The hurricane is slowly passing us by and finally we had some sunshine today - but also tornado warnings this morning, a lot of rain, and nearby areas experienced flooding. We are lucking out and haven't even lost power, but I'm still focused on bringing down my frozen food inventory.

I recently bought frozen riced broccoli (blanced organic broccoli and salt), and decided to cook it waterlessly (I just put it in my small Saladmaster stock pan, 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 7-10 minutes, really just to defrost and heat up. I made a "cheese" sauce to serve atop the broccoli by blending soaked cashews, water, nutritional yeast, garlic, salt, and, for color, a little bit of tomato and red bell pepper.

I mentioned in the recent past about, for me, a new tofu company called Hodo Foods . I bought their braised tofu and used it with dinner as the main course by sauteeing with bell pepper and onion (on cast iron with no oil); my wife doesn't eat tofu as it doesn't agree with her, so her serving was of tempeh instead of tofu.

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending

Eat up Frozen Food in Preparation for Hurricane Florence: Vegan Harvest Pizza, Waterless Broccoli and Kale, Cinammon Vanilla "Toastable" Quinoa Tart

Hurricane Florence is bearing down on the Carolinas and I am concerned about those who live or have property along the shore. I remember living through Hurricane Fran, which was scary, and that was a category 3 storm; this could hit category 5 and be much more destructive. However, I'm hopeful that by the time it hits our area, we'll get perhaps 30-40 mph winds, which wouldn't be bad.

With that as a long preamble, we are not going to be surprised if our power goes out, so I thought I should start eating up frozen foods. If we do lose power and have frozen foods, they will quickly spoil and need to be discarded. I had a favorite frozen pizza, Vegan Harvest by American Flatbread on hand; I love its crispy crust and find it better than some pizzeria pizza.

I also made a waterless broccoli dish with broccoli, kale, garlic, onion, lemon juice, turmeric, garlic granules, and salt. I recently found a nice breakfast dish with organic grains and quinoa called a Cinnamon Vanilla "Toastable", which I served with organic raspberries akin to dessert.

Results

Dinner was good. I love the pizza and am glad that I had a big serving of the vegetables (and seconds) so that I only enjoyed one slice; it's good but not low in fat. The vegetables were quite good. My daughter didn't like the "toastable", but my wife and I did. It would indeed be good with breakfast, but was nice with our dinner.

Ideas for the future

I should get these toastables once in a while and use them with breakfast or again try them with dinner. A fruit sauce or maybe a little melted chocolate and chopped fruit would be good atop the toastable.

Bean Trio over Curried Millet and Brown Rice Ramen Noodles (No Added Fat)

For dinner today, I wanted to use some beans but hadn't soaked any. This is the reason I keep a few cans of beans around; I had a 15 ounce can of organic "salad beans" (chickpeas, kidney beans, pinto beans). I did a waterless preparation of the beans with onion, garlic, kale, and mixed vegetables cooked in a Saladmaster stock pan. 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 though 10-12 minutes would have been enough (I just wasn't ready to serve).

I mixed some red curry paste with millet and brown rice ramen. The bean mixture went atop, and roma tomato thirds triangulated the plate.

Results

Dinner was good! The curry paste was just spicy enough for my daughter and I liked it; my wife added some hot sauce. I was pleased about how easy, nutritious, and quick this meal was!

Ideas for the future

We all like curry pastes; I should cook with them more often. I'm glad that Thai Kitchen brand has a variety of marked vegan sauces. I occasionally teach Thai vegan cooking and show students how to make curry pastes in a mortar and pestle; it's not difficult but takes a bit of time.

Vegan "Sausage" Ravioli with Homemade Tomato Sauce, Cauliflower and Baby Lima Bean Melange

We have a new store that opened near our house last week called Sprouts; we visited and found it doesn't have the variety and quality of coops or Whole Foods Market, but it's nice that it's nearby so we may occasionally visit. They had a few products we've not seen elsewhere, such as Lightlife brand vegan "sausage" ravioli that I picked up and decided to make today. It's not particularly healthy as it has 16g of fat and a long list of ingredients, but I thought we'd try it. (It turns out it had soy which my wife is a bit intolerant of, so I prepared some pasta instead for her but used the same sauce, side dish, and salad for her.)

I made a homemade sauce by sauteeing chunks of just-ripe but firm tomato, bell pepper, garlic, and onion, and mixing in oregano, salt, and black pepper when off the heat. I don't often make tomato sauces - this one was good!

I put, in this order, onion, garlic, frozen cauliflower, and frozen baby lima beans 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 15 minutes, then I mixed in a little salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.

Results

My daughter loved the ravioli. We all loved the sauce. The side dish was fun - it was soft and seemed to melt in the mouth, and had nice flavor.

Ideas for the future

I don't know why I don't cook with cauliflower more often. It's versatile and cooks down nicely to serve as a "supporting character" for other ingredients.

Root Vegetable Hash Brown, Baby Lima Beans (No Added Fat)

I made a Yukon Gold-sweet potato-carrot hash cooked on a cast iron pan, plus a waterless baby lima bean and greens dish, along with a mixed tomato and olive salad. Dinner was good!