I hate to waste food. So after a recent party instead of just tossing the leftovers, I made an effort to to come up with a meal that utilized the crudites that were left.

I didn’t want another raw food meal or a stir fry rice thingy.

This reminds me a little of pot roast; vegetarian style , of course.

It kind of looks like that, don’t you think?

I just sauteed the vegetables as they were, added them to some linguine added feta cheese, balsamic vinegar and Ghee. You could also use butter.

This was a complete meal and quite different from the ingredients original incarnation.

My secret ingredient ? Live music in my kitchen!

Check out this video performance of “Summertime” by Dolinar Spahija!

Meatless Monday! has become an event around here.

Often, I’ll have guests and serve cocktails.

The children are always looking forward to what the day will bring.

Today, I gave careful consideration to Meatless Monday! and decided that trading meat for copious amounts of cheese, eggs and cream wasn’t truly in the spirit of what I was trying to achieve.

The carbon footprint of Meatless Monday! could be improved.

Today’s meal is vegan.

It is a healthy and complete one pot dish.

You can look at it as a kind of cleanse from a weekend of dining out and a fresh start to the week.

The kids rolled in on a rainy cold afternoon and asked if there was something hot to eat.

This rice pilaf got rave reviews from my girls.

Ingredients

1 cup brown basmati rice
2 cups water
1 large carrot
1/2 white onion
3 scallions
4-5 cloves garlic
1/4 cup cilantro
1 can garbanzo beans
1 cup corn
1 cup peas
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method

In a large saute pan add olive oil, garlic, onion, carrots, rice and pine nuts.

Allow to simmer for a few minutes.

Then add corn, peas and scallions.

Allow to simmer a few more minutes then add water and cilantro and allow too cook until the rice is tender.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with more cilantro

I woke to a cold and snowy day and considered the possibilities.

I had thoughts of stew, like when I was a child. The kind that came from a big pot on the stove which mom made in the morning anticipating children who would be stuck in the house all day; a snow day.

Well, since becoming a vegan it is dishes like these that I miss the most; the kind which come from big pots and are swimming in gravy.

Then I considered, “what was my favorite part of those meals?” The pearl onions!

I loved those sweet slippery gems. For that matter I loved all the veggies and remember pushing dark beef bits to the side.

The gravy would be the tough part. I’ve kind of avoided this kind of thing as I am not a big fan of “substituting” processed fake meat products for meat.

This was really easy, just a bit labor intense.

I started by boiling the pearl onions; skin and all, in water for about 3 minutes.

Remove them and run cold water over them then cut off the root end. Gently squeeze and the “pearl” pops out.

Set those aside and prepare the mashed potatoes and keep them warm until you’re ready to serve.

Ingredients:

½ cup olive oil
6-7 carrots chopped
2-4 cloves of garlic sliced
4-5 cups of baby bella mushrooms halved
3-4 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp vegetarian stock / bouillon
5-6 cups of water depending on your desired thickness
1 cup of peas
1-2 cups pearl onions (depending on your preference)
Pinch or so of dried Tarragon

Method:

Put the oil in the pan and start adding garlic and carrots

Allow them to sauté, add the tarragon

Add the mushrooms and the pearl onions and allow to continue cooking

Mix the water and the cornstarch and add to the pan

Add the vegetarian bouillon

Add more water if necessary

Allow to cook until everything is tender and serve over mashed potatoes.

This is not sexy food. It’s not flashy or photogenic, for that matter. It is also not fattening, unhealthy or expensive and it is the one of the most important ingredients you will ever use.

It is flavor. It is, as a former boyfriend used to say, “food from nothing”.

The current economic climate as it is has forced us all to make changes in our eating habits. Whether we dine out less or buy less expensive cuts of meat we are all cutting back.

Some may see this as an inconvenience; I choose to see it as a long overdue necessity and a personal challenge.

Marie Antoinette noticed centuries ago that the peasant children who played in the sun and ate unfettered farm food fared much better than cloistered royalty who consumed predigested culinary creations from the royal kitchen.

Today we have it backwards. The wealthy have access to organic food and nutrition information and the bloated masses consume food created in laboratories with double digit shelf life.

The abundance of land and animals has driven the American diet into historically uncharted territory.

The American kitchen’s staple the frying pan gets a lot of use while the rest of the world uses a stock pot.

A stock pot is a magical cauldron which draws flavor out of humble ingredients and gives life to an otherwise listless meal.

Nutritious though beans and legumes are they can come up flat if not prepared with a skillful hand.

And when you consider that modern civilization was built on the backs of labor fed grains and pulses, there is no doubt as to the powerful life sustaining protein and nutrients packed inside these tiny nuggets.

With little more than 6 or 7 ingredients you can create the base to grand meals fit for a king.

With less than $35.00 I went to the grocery and picked up a few items and will prepare nutritious, tasty and filling meals.

The items purchased include carrots, shallots, garlic, celery, white wine, onion, parsley, bay leaf and lemon.

Years of hanging around the kitchens of my European forbearers has taught me a few things.

No. 1: the best part of the meal is often times stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Some cultures have a name for this stuff. My Eastern European grandmother used to call these scrapings, “shkrepkies”.

Whether it was animal or vegetable, you know what I mean. I used to love to soak up the goodies with leftover bread or scrape them off the bottom of the pan with a spoon.

That is where all the caramelized richness of the meal left itself while the rest of the juices hovered above; hinting at what lie beneath.

No. 2: It takes time to make a good meal when you don’t have a lot of money to spend.

Now, my grandmother, by the time I was born, had plenty of money and plenty of time but that didn’t seem to affect the way she prepared a meal. There was no such thing as waste in her kitchen and the cheaper the ingredients the better.

She made her own ketchup. She made beer and she had a garden. She made her own horse radish and her own pickles.

From her I learned that eating well was not the exclusive domain of the wealthy and you didn’t need meat to have a healthy meal.

I learned to get flavor out of everything and celery and carrots could be sexy!
When you slowly sauté carrots, celery, onion, shallots and garlic in a bit of oil they caramelize.

The sugar in the veggies turns brown and gets sticky. They become rich and abundant with flavor. Throw some white wine into the pan and it becomes even richer.

By adding water and Bay leaf you then develop a kind of sauce. After 6 hours on the stove at a slow boil you really begin to get something.

Place this pot in the fridge over night and wake early to put it back on the stove and toss in 1 lemon quartered and you’ve added a sophisticated layer of complexity to the flavor. In addition add your favorite herbs. I like parsley and sage.

The second day, allow the pot to boil another 8 hours then separate the solids from the stock and store separately. I do this for versatility. You can eat the veggies, puree them and use them in sauces or add them to rice or lentils or potatoes for a side dish.

The stock should be considered gold in the well kept kitchen.
The time spent creating this elixir will allow you to create a meal when lacking in resources or elevate your main dish to stellar status.

This recipe is a great base for soups and any vegan/vegetarian meal that you want to prepare. I will use it for gravy and sauces at my Thanksgiving dinner table.

This technique, learned in the kitchen of an immigrant with a 6th grade education, is the foundation of French haute cuisine.

With some patience and lust you can create luxury from a pauper’s purse.

Ingredients:

10 medium sized carrots peeled and chopped
10 celery stalks cleaned and chopped
1 large shallot peeled and chopped
1 large onion peeled and chopped
6-7 large garlic cloves peeled and chopped
2-3 bay leaves
1-2 cups white wine
1/4 -1/2 cup olive oil
Fresh parsley (to taste)
Dried sage (to taste)
Salt to taste

Method

Day One:

In a medium to large sized stock pot add the oil and begin to heat the pot.

Then begin to add, celery, onion, shallot, carrot and garlic.
As these begin to simmer add dried herbs stirring constantly.
Place a lid on the pot and allow to simmer on low heat. Stir occasionally and expect to see browning after 1-2 hours.
When the first signs of browning occur ad 1 cup of white wine and allow to simmer for a few minutes.
Then add 3-4 cups of water. Turn the heat to low and allow to cook for 2-3 hours adding water as needed.
I like to fill my pot to just an inch or two under full.
Allow to cool and place the pot in the fridge over night.

Day 2:

Place the pot back on the stove and add wine and water if needed. Add Bay leaf and add 1 lemon quartered with peel. Allow lemon to cook no more than 2 hours as it can become bitter if it stays in too long.
Add any fresh herbs toward the end of this process for maximum flavor.
After about 6 hours strain the stock into a storage container and place the veggies in a separate container.
Now you have stack which you can freeze for later use or store in the fridge for immediate use.

Every year around this time I like to eat light and healthy in anticipation of holiday feasting.

But at the same time I do enjoy those rich crock pot style meals that are easy and full of comfort foods and herbs which are reminiscent fall cooking.

My healthy, happy medium is this dish which I throw in the oven while cleaning the house or writing or even running a few quick errands.

I have adapted it from my mother’s recipe which used meat and white rice.
You can get fancy with it and use your favorite herbs and spices. Experiment. Have fun!

My dish is vegan and uses brown rice. I don’t know how much more healthy, nutritious, easy and comforting, a meal could possibly be!

Ingredients

1 ½ cups brown Jasmine rice
2 cans stewed tomatoes ( look for something all natural; no high fructose corn syrup)
3 cups of water
1 yellow onion
3 cloves of garlic
5 medium carrots
5 stalks of celery
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Chop veggies and place everything in your favorite clay pot or ceramic pot with lid and place in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 2-21/2 hours. That’s it.

You’ve got a quick nutritious and filling meal in the fridge. Get creative. Eat it in a wrap with refried beans; on a bed of fresh greens or warmed up on the stove with fresh parsley garnish.

I was craving sage! And by sage I mean Thanksgiving dinner, mostly the stuffing. But since I am shooting for the “unstuffed” look this Fall I wanted to come up with something that would have a rich texture, complex flavors and be healthy, nutritious, not fattening and still satisfy my cravings! Tall order but with a little luck; I had the ingredients on hand and not too much effort I managed to approximate the “stuffed” theme with out the aftermath; tight pants!

I started with my basic lentil recipe and added brown rice, and some chopped tomatoes. I also have an abundance of sage in my garden so I used that although I know for a fact that the dried stuff from the store works just as well. The secret, I think, is to slowly sauté the herbs in oil to extract the flavors.

I stuffed everything into peppers and baked them slowly. Eating healthy without feeling deprived, plus it was cheap! Lentils are the best bang for your food dollar around and full of nutrients; even protein. My good behavior left a little wiggle room today for a glass of wine! I love days like today!

Here’s the recipe which made enough to stuff 8 medium size peppers with some left over to make wraps for the children’s lunch tomorrow.

Ingredients

1 cup lentils
1 cup brown rice
1-2 Tbsp Oil or butter (I used coconut oil because I like the added flavor)
3-4 cloves of garlic
2-3 medium sized carrots
2-3 medium sized celery stalks
2 small tomatoes, chopped
Sage to taste (I used about 10 fresh fairly large leaves)
3 cups of water or vegetable stock, chicken stock; your preference
8 medium sized bell peppers (I used the orange, yellow and red variety)
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 325 Fahrenheit

In a large skillet add the oil, chopped garlic, fresh sage or powdered, chopped carrots, chopped celery and sauté until soft.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add the brown rice and lentils and coat them in the mixture then add the water and the tomatoes.

Let simmer until the water is absorbed. About 30-45 minutes.

Cut the stem out of the peppers creating a “cup”

Spoon the mixture into the peppers and place in your baking dish.

Here I will add enough water to cover the bottom of the dish; sometime I add a little white wine for flavor.

I don’t like my peppers to be mushy so I bake them just until they are tender; about 30 minutes.