Lamb Olive Tagine

There was still a half pound of local, organic, grass-fed lamb from last year farmer market in my freezer, and since it is the season of fresh lamb soon again with Easter slowly approaching, I decided to cook it in a wonderful recipe by Nigella Lawson. A simple stew with onions, kalamata olives, capers, a good amount of good red wine and slowly cooked for 1 1/2 hours.

• 1/2 pound lamb shoulder, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 TB olive oil
• 1 large sweet white onion, peeled, halved and cut into thin half moons
• 1 cup whole kalamata olives, drained (preserve 2 TB brine)
• 4 TB capers, drained (preserve 2 TB brine )
• 1 TB tomato paste
• 2 cups of cabernet
• 1/2 TB cumin
• salt, pepper to tasted

In a heavy bottomed pot, heat the olive oil, and brown the lamb cubes in batches so that each batch has enough bottom surface individually to brown the meat on all sides for a few minutes; add salt and pepper to each batch. Save the browned meat on a separate plate. Once oll the lamb is browned, add the onions, the kalamata and capers brine, and cook onions down for 3-4 minutes. Now, add the meat back in, the olives, kalamata, cumin, tomato paste and the red wine. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid, and cook covered on very low heat for about 1 1/2 hours until the lamb is extremely tender. Serve with couscous!

Winter wonderland, once again

This week, we went from this

to this on April 1 (no joke!)….

to waking up this this…… I guess I will be going skiing again!

Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce and Mussels

I was ready for a beautiful simple spaghetti with tomato sauce dish for a while. 

Spaghetti marinara with mussels (2 servings):

• 4 oz spaghetti, cooked to instructions, al dente
• 1 white sweet onion, finely (!) chopped
• 1 garlic glove, minced
• 1 TB extra virgin olive oil
• 2 anchovy filets
• splash of red or white wine
• salt, pepper
• 1 small can chopped, no sodium added organic tomatoes (I used the Trader Joes brand)
• 2 fresh tomatoes, chopped
• 1 hot cherry pepper, finely diced
• a few mussels (I used frozen, they are easier to portion)
• fresh basil, chiffonade
• handful baby spinach
• 2 TB daiya mozzarella vegan cheese

In a skillet, heat the olive oil and add anchovy filets, and heat them until they melt into the oil. Add the finely chopped onion, and saute on medium-low until they are browned and caramelized. At this point add the garlic and saute only for 1-2min because it burns fast. Add the wine, mix it in and let it cook down until no liquid is left in the pan. Take the pan off the heat, and mix in the canned and fresh tomatoes. Pour the entire mixture in a food processor (I use a vitamix for an extra smooth, silky consistency), and puree until smooth. (Note: I do it at this point because the tomatoes cool down the mixture and I can actually process it in the food processor without risk of steam exploding out of it). Once pureed, the mixture goes back into the pan and is heated back up on medium-high heat. I add the basil and the mussels. Once the mussels are heated and cooked (and open), I removed the shells and leave the mussels in the sauce. Last I add some baby spinach and vegan daiya cheese to make the sauce extra creamy. Mix in the drained spaghetti, cook for about 1 min, and serve.

Moroccan Chickpea Salad

Browsing through the current Clean Eating magazine, the Moroccan chickpea salad caught my eye: bursting red and orange colors mixed with perly-white chickpeas, hints of green (mint) and bits of star-white (feta). Shortly, I had to make it. My version is slightly different but all Moroccan and a feast for the eyes, too.

• 1 cup cooked chickpeas
• 2 small or 1 large carrot, peeled and with a julienne peeler sliced into thin strands
• handful cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1/2 red bell pepper, small dice
• a few spring of fresh thyme
• salt, pepper to taste
• 1 ts cumin
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• juice of 1/2 orange
• 1/2 ts honey
• 1/2 TB extra virgin olive oil (fruity type)

Place all the vegetables in a container. Remove the leaves from the thyme spring, chop (or not) and add to the salad. Add a slight bit of salt and pepper. In a cup, mix the cumin, cayenne, orange juice, honey and olive oil. Whisk, and pour over the salad. Let the flavors come together for about 1h in the fridge, and serve!

Vegan Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce

When the snow still piles up outside with new snow showers despite 'spring break', salad does not sound too appealing but a bold, spicy, hot, red tomato sauce with some happy meatballs does. This is an Indian inspired spicy tomato sauce with store-bought vegan meatballs and spaghetti. Now, snow, bring it on!

Spicy tomato sauce (makes about 3 servings):

1/2 TB grapeseed oil

1 TB whole cumin seeds

1 ts whole fennel seeds

1 ts black mustard seeds

1/2 white onion, peeled

2 inch ginger, peeled, roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves

1 hot chili (or srichacha hot sauce)

1 small can of no-salt added organic diced tomatoes

1 ts tamerind paste

1/2 TB garam masala powder

1 bay leaf

salt to taste

1/2 TB sugar

10 meatless meatballs (e.g. Trader joes)

In a food processor, puree the onion with ginger, garlic, chili (or hot sauce) and the tomatoes.

In a heavy skillet heat the grapeseed oil and toast all the seeds until the mustard seeds start popping and the seed mix smells fragrant. Now, add in the tomato mix, and combine with the seeds. Add in the tamerind paste as well as the garam massala and bay leaf. Simmer for about 20 min on medium-low. Add in the meatless meatballs, and simmer for another 5 min. Add salt to taste. If the sauce it too tart, add some sugar or agave nectar to taste. Serve with spaghetti!

Double Chocolate Mocha Cookies

Today was one of those days when Sunday started with lingering in bed with a cup of coffee, the laptop and while glancing at Food TV deciding I definitely have to make those gooey chocolate cookies that Giada was feeding to her adorable daughter. Later in the afternoon, waiting for the line-up of stars and robes at the Oscars to start, I ventured in the kitchen and produced the most wonderfully smelling double chocolate coffee cookies with a chewy, brownie like texture. 

Note: I did not have chocolate covered espresso beans, so I substituted with some fresh ground coffee. Worked just as well.

6 oz semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

2 TB earth balance buttery stick

1 TB freshly ground coffee beans

1 cup allpurpose flour

2 TB unsweetened cocoa powder

1 ts baking powder

1/4 ts fine sea salt

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 tablespoons water

1 TB spiced rum

1 ts pure vanilla extract

2 TB semi-sweet chocolate chips 

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Use a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the chocolate and earth balance. Place the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the ground coffee, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. In another medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, water, rum and vanilla extract. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until thick and smooth. Fold in the melted chocolate. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Giada used an ice cream scoop and made large cookies, but I was for smaller ones that I could eat with my morning coffee, so I used a melonball scoop. Scoop small praline sized balls of the batter onto the prepared baking sheet. Leave about 2 inches between raw cookie dough. Bake until slightly puffed and the tops begin to crack, (13-15 min for small cookies, 18 to 20 minutes for larger, ice cream scooped cookies). The dough makes for about 2 1/2 cookie sheets, which I baked in several batches. Place cookies on cooling rack, and allow the cookies to cool completely and serve.

Malted Multigrain bread

When I browsed through the latest King Arthur Flour catalog, this bread caught my eye. Whole grain, great texture and likely great flavor (the picture in the catalog looks better!). Unfortunately, the recipe required so many ingredients I did not have at home, I had to improvise. This bread has a wonderful crust with a dense, chewy texture and full flavor.

2 1/4 cups warm water

1 cup multigrain flakes (Trader Joes brand)

1 TB diastatic malt powder

2 cups King Arthur Premium Whole Wheat Flour

2 cups King Arthur All-purpose flour

1/4 cup vital wheat gluten

3 TB whole flax seeds (optional)

2 TB cumin seeds (optional)

1.5 ts sea salt

1 ts instant yeast

1 TB Baker's milk powder

In a bowl, mix the warm water and the multigrain flakes and the malt powder, and let soak for 15 min. In a second bowl, mix all the flours including the instant yeast and the milk powder. Pour the flours into the wet mix, and using a stand mixer with a kneading hook mix the bread dough for about 3-5 min. It should be a spongy, not too wet texture. 

Rest the dough covered with a dish towel at a warm place for about 3 hours.

Soak a clay baker for about 30min in warm/hot water. Dry the bottom part with a towel and lightly grease. Use the bread dough and form a long shaped bread that fits into the clay baker. Cover with ceran wrap, and let rise for another hour in a warm place.

Cover the baker with the top part, and place into a cold oven. Set temperature to 400F. Bake for 60 min covered, then remove the lid and bake another 10 min. A thermometer inserted into the loaf should read 205 F. Remove bread from the oven and place on a cooling rack.

Vegan Vegetable Coconut Curry

This is a great dish for people who like bold (vegan) flavors: thai curry, coconut and vegetables which stand up to it. This also work well with white fish, e.g. haddock, and even frozen white fish, which typically looses most of its delicate flavor during the freezing process. For vegetables, use what is on hand. I had kale, spinach, haricot vert, edamame and frozen corn. A delight!

Makes 2 larger servings:

1/2 ts grapeseed oil

1 TB red Thai paste

1/2 TB crushed garlic (or 1 garlic clove)

1/2 TB crushed ginger from a jar (or 1/2 inch fresh, grated)

1/2 can of light coconut milk

1.5 cup water

handful (frozen) haricot vert

handful frozen corn

handful frozen edamame

handful frozen kale (@ Wholefoods market) or 4-5 leaves, destemmed and sliced, fresh

1/2 package frozen baby spinach

Optional: 2 small frozen haddock filets.

Note: It is in the middle of winter and fresh vegetables are not local and expensive; in the summer this would be a dish to make with local ingredients. In the winter it works just as well with inexpensive frozen vegetables.

In a large pot, heat the oil and mix in the Thai paste, garlic and ginger. Stir and heat up, but don't try to brown it, just toast for about 1 min. Add in the coconut milk and water, and stir to mix all the ingredients to make the curry sauce. Bring to a boil, and reduce the heat to medium simmer. Add all the frozen (or fresh) ingredients, and let simmer for about 15min. 

This is a great dish that looses nothing of its bold flavor when reheated.

Vegan Polenta with Porcini Mushrooms

Venturing down a new avenue: polenta! It is a nice alternative for a vegan plate, adding a slight luxurious quality. What better than that for a Valentine's weekend? It can either be creamy  and served immediately after preparation, or it can be cooked, cooled and then cut into serving sizes. Regularly, it is only cooked with water and salt, but to make it richer one can add milk and butter. In a vegan variety, I added almond milk and a bit of earth balance, as well as the juice of a 1/2 Meyer lemon. Served on a bed of sauteed dried porcini and fresh portabella button mushrooms. Delightfult!

Polenta: (makes 4 servings)

1 3/4 cups of polenta

1.5 cups water
1.5 cups almond milk

1TB earth balance (vegan butter replacement)
some salt
juice of 1/2 Meyer lemon juice

Sauteed porcini and portabella mushroom (1 serving):

1 cup portabella button mushroom, cleaned and quartered

1/2 white onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 ts olive oil

0.5 oz porcini mushroom, reconstituted in hot water

1/2 TB veganaise

1 TB BBQ sauce

thyme, for garnish

Polenta: Bring to a water and almond milk to a boil, and whisk in the polenta. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the mixture thickens and the cornmeal is tender, stirring often, about 15 minutes (or less). Turn off the heat. Add the earth balance, and stir until melted and the lemon juice. The lemon juice really made a difference--it makes the polenta seem brighter somehow, but not lemony. 

Pour the polenta into a heat-proof glass dish, spread out and cool. Once cooled, you can cut off slices.

Sauteed Mushrooms: in a skillet, heat the oilve oil and sauteed the onion and garlic, and once translucent (3min) add the fresh mushroom. Sautee for about 5-8min, til softened. Add the reconstituted porcinis with some of the liquid. Stir, and let simmer on medium-low for about 10min. Add more liquid when the sauce become too dry. Once done, turn off the heat and stir in the veganaise and the bbq sauce. It makes it creamy and gives it a full, deep flavor. Serve with polenta.

How to make Gluehwein?

There are endless piles of snow everywhere, and one of the perks of warming up in winter is drinking Gluehwein. Gluehwein is a German mulled red wine, often found at the numerous christkindls markets during the snowy, cold season. It makes for a great hot spirits during the deep freeze ;-)

Gluehwein

1 bottle of red wine (a Barefoot cabernet or even the new Barefoot Sweet Red work very well)

1/2 TB mulling spices (ca. 5 cloves, 1/2 stick of cinnamon, 1-2 cardamon pods, dried orange zest)

2 TB sugar

3 TB spiced brown rum (like Captain Morgan, or I use a very famous Austria spiced rum, Strohrum)

1 orange

Pour the entire bottle of wine in a large enough pot, and heat the wine slowly. Add the mulling spices, the sugar and the rum, and stir. Discard the rind-only ends of the orange, and cut it in half, and then into quarters. Thinly slice the orange, and add to the gluehwein. Heat, but don't boil. Once it is heated, stir, and put on a low simmer to keep it hot. Serve hot in a cup with some of the orange slices! Keep warm!

Borscht

The snow is coming down, unrelenting, and ignores the fact that Phil, the groundhog, predicted today that spring is around the corner. With dinner tonight I went to Russia, another place drowning in snow this time of the year... A bag of frozen beets from the summer's surplus was the inspiration for this soup.

Vegan Borscht (makes 3-4 servings):

2 medium sized beets, washed, scrubbed, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice

1 medium sized sweet potato, peeled, and cut into 1 inch dice

1/2 TB grapeseed oil

1/2 white onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 carrot, peeled and diced

1/2 stalk celery, washed, small dice

1 cup of vegetable broth

1/2 can of fireroasted, crushed tomatoes

1 TB apple cider vinegar

1 TB white sugar

1 bay leaf

Optionally:  sour creme or greek yogurt for serving

In a pot, heat the oil, and saute the onion and garlic for 2 min. Add the carrot and celery and saute for another 2 min. Add the sweet potato and beets as well as the vegetable broth, tomatoes, bay leaf, apple cider vinegar and sugar. Bring to a simmer, and then simmer on medium for about 20 min until the beets and potato are tender.

Baby, it's cold outside.

With the latest arctic air masses coming down from Canada, Maine has a cold spell with temperature at -5F (and -15F with wind chill). Oophs. That means getting out the Def Con 1 winter clothes (looking like the Michelin man), and eating hot soup. I found this wonderful vegan soup on Green Kitchen Stories, and I tried it out over the weekend, changing it around slightly. How does Renee Zellweger say in "Jerry Maguire"? "You got me at hello". Or better this one got me by its beautiful name: white velvet soup.

White Velvet Soup:

1 cauliflower, cut into florets

1 TB grapeseed oil

1 white onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup lima beans (used canned, I used dried one which I cooked)

2 cups of vegetable stock

for serving: hot sauce (recommend Sriracha).

Use a steamer inset for a pot, and steam the cauliflower florets for ca 20 min. Meanwhile, saute the onion and garlic clove in the oil until only translucent, but not browned (it's called white velvet). Once done, pour the mix in a blender. Add the cooked beans to the blender/food processor. Once the cauliflower is steamed, add to the blender, too, and the vegetable stock. At this point, I let the whole mix cool for about 1h, and then pureed it til smooth. (Don't mix hot ingredients, ever! The whole stuff will explode. Been there, done that). 

Pour the pureed soup back in a pot, and reheat gently. Serve with a squirt of hot sauce.

Penne with Slow Cooked Tomato Beef Sauce

We had another snow storm a few days ago, and now it is Cold with a capital C (the wind chills supposedly will to approach -35F tonight but I have NO plans to be outside). Nevertheless, there is wonderful soft fresh snow, blue skies and endless cross country ski trails, and after 10min of skiing I am getting warm no matter the actual temperature. However, coming back from skiing I am ravenous! Pasta, please, with slow-cooked tomato sauce over vegetables!

2 oz penne pasta, cooked according to instructions

1 cup frozen vegetable, microwaved for 3.5 min

Slow-cooked tomato sauce:

1/2 large can of Wholefoods crushed tomatoes with basil

1/2 TB olive oil

1 garlic clove

1/2 white onion, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and cubed

2 stalk celery, washed, and cubed

1 bay leaf

100 g lean ground beef (you can leave this out)

3 TB red wine

2 TB Trader Joes red pepper spread
handful baby spinach leaves.

In a skillet, heat the oil and saute the onion and garlic, and once translucent add in the carrot and celery. Saute everything on medium-low until slightly soft. Add in the beef and sautee for 3-4 min. Add in the red wine, and stir. Simmer until the wine is cooked off. Add in the crushed tomatoes and 1/4 (tomato) can of water and the bay leaf. Stir, heat until bubbly and then pour the tomato sauce into a small slow cooker, which is set to high. Add in the red pepper spread. It takes about 2h to cook on high, or you can let it simmer for 4-5 h on low. I made it around lunch time, and had it ready when I came back from skiing at 4pm. Before serving, add in a handful of baby spinach leaves, which should wilt down immediately in the hot sauce.

Note: in my opinion, frying the onions and garlic first takes out the 'raw' taste of the sauce (instead of adding all ingredients straight to the slow cooker), and the sauce gets a more caramelized, complex flavor while making the beef really tender during slow cooking, especially if you have an inexpensive cut of beef.

Breakfast for skiers

The sun is shining, the sky is bright blue, a thick layer of brandnew snow on the trails, it is freezing cold outside and it is the weekend -- time to hit the cross country trails and soak up the sun, fresh air and get the soul going. This requires a protein rich breakfast, and for the first time in a while, I am eating Greek yogurt again. It is sweetened with stevia, sprinkled with thawed frozen raspberries, Vermont muesli and to add some extra superfoods topped with Goij berries and honey. Skiing, here I come!

Tempeh Spinach Curry

While it is snowing outside like there is no tomorrow, what better to do then to cook and make a bit pot of a curry?This one is from scratch and vegan.

2 medium sized potatoes, about the size of a fist, peeled and cubed

1 ts coconut oil

1 ts whole cumin seeds

1 ts black mustard seeds
1/2 ts curry powder
1/4 ts turmeric

1/2 ts garam massala

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped

1 canned diced fire-roasted tomatoes

1 large red bell pepper, diced

1 jalapeno pepper, small dice
1/2 block of tempeh, cut into 1/2 inch sized cubes

1 ts Rapunzel vegetable bouillon

2 large handfuls of fresh baby spinach

In a large skillet, melt the coconut oil and add in the cumin seeds  and mustard seeds. Fry until the start to 'pop' (like popcorn). Now, add in the remaining spices and the onion. Mix well, and saute for about 2-3 min, constantly stiring sot that it does not burn. Add in the tomatoes, and stir. The tomatoes will cool down the mix so that it can be pureed safely (without it exploding in your face because of he hot steam), so, before heating it up further, pour the mix into a blender, and puree until smooth. Pour the mix back into the skillet and add the cubed potatoes, bell pepper as well as the jalapeno pepper. Turn heat to low-medium, and simmer for about 15-20 min or until the potatoes are tender.

Add the bouillon, tempeh and the baby spinach. Simmer on low, just to heat through the tempeh and wilt the spinach for about 5 min. Transfer to a large family-style bowl, and serve.  (If not vegan, add some creme fraiche at this point.)