Oatmeal w/celery & MARMITE!

I like to have a bowl of oatmeal before going to sleep. By bedtime, it's been long enough since dinner that I'm usually hungry again; if I'm not hungry and don't eat something before I retire, it's pretty likely that I'll wake around 3am in hypoglycemic starvation mode and hoover up a box of cereal or a kilogram of cheese or something (the metabolism, it is a blessing and a curse). Oatmeal is a nice option because it's a low glycemic index food and not too heavy. Unfortunately, most of the stuff you flavor oatmeal with is sweet, which defeats the purpose of eating something that's low GI, and in any case I prefer savory foods when peckish.

So of course I was intrigued by Mark Bittman's Serious Savory Breakfast post on the NYT Diner's Journal blog, and immediately tried it out. Very satisfying. In later trials I upped the savory ante by adding a dollop of Marmite. Umamilicious!

Ingredients

1/2 cup quick oats

3 stalks celery, chopped

soy sauce

sesame oil

marmite

To make

1. Put oats, celery, and 1 cup of water in a small pot. Cook on high heat, stirring occasionally, until oatmeal thickens to desired consistency.

2. Add a few splashes of soy sauce, a teaspoonful of sesame oil, and a teaspoon of marmite. Stir until blended.

Nice with a glass of tomato juice on the side.

Stewed Lentils & Tomatoes

I made this virtuous-seeming vegetarian dish for dinner to atone for a day spent gorging on cake. It tasted anything but penance-y, though: this is really yummy, with a nice stick-to-your-ribs quality which often seems to be lacking in vegetarian dishes.

The recipe below is slightly adapted from the one I found at smittenkitchen.com, which adapted it from Barefoot Contessa at Home.

Ingredients

~2 tablespoons good olive oil


2 cups large-diced onions (~2 onions)


2 cups large-diced carrots (3 to 4 carrots)


4 cloves-worth minced garlic


1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes


1 cup French green lentils

2 cups water

1 vegetable boullion cube


2 teaspoons mild curry powder


2/3 teaspoon dried thyme


1.5 teaspoons salt


1/4 teaspoon pepper


1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

To make

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or medium stockpot. Add the onions and the carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onions start to brown. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon. Add the garlic and cook for one minute more.

Add the tomatoes, lentils, water, boullion cube, curry powder, thyme, salt and pepper to the pot. Break up the tomatoes as much as possible using the wooden spoon.

Raise the heat to bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer covered for about 40 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Check occasionally to be sure the liquid is still simmering. Remove from the heat and allow the lentils to sit covered for another 10 minutes. Add the vinegar, season to taste and serve hot.

Vegetable & Chickpea Ragout

This recipe is adapted from one at Self.com (the original is embedded in this story which involves prepping parts of 5 meals all at once, so the version below makes it stand-alone). This is a tasty dinner that will leave you feeling both satiated and healthy, because it's meat-free! (for an extra kick of self-satisfaction, toss the ragout with whole-wheat pasta, as I did)

Ingredients
olive oil
1 med onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1/2 head broccoli, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup chickpeas
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp dried oregano

~ 1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts, drained & rinsed
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup sliced black olives

penne, cooked (whole-wheat for added smugness)
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

To make
1. Heat a pan over medium heat, add about a tablespoon of olive oil. Add onion, red pepper, broccoli, and garlic. Cook until veggies soften a bit.
2. Simmer tomatoes, chickpeas, cooked vegetables, salt, pepper, oregano, and 1/2 cup water in a medium pot until liquid is reduced by half, ~20 minutes.
3. Add artichokes, peas, and olives to pot. Cook 10 minutes more.
4. Toss ragout with cooked penne and chopped basil.

grilled red onions

a summer favorite of mine that goes well with burgers, etc. (or anything else you care to grill, i think).

1. slice red onions into flat slices with concentric circles

2. mix equal parts of
- worcestershire sauce
-olive oil
-soy sauce
-balsamic vinegar

3. marinate onions in this mixture at least 1/2 hour (you can go much longer if you can/would like) and grill to desired level of charredness.

in response to the call for aubergine recipes

(read from bottom of these)

the call:












(oops, on my phone typed eisthwise for widthwise)

considering this recipe again, i think we also sprinkled chopped parsley with the salt and oil.

Classy Grilled Cheese

In theory, grilled cheese sounds pretty great: it's melted cheese on bread, what could be simpler and more delicious? In practice, sadly, what you often wind up with is American "cheese" (or that abomination of my youth, Velveeta) on white toast coated with margarine. It doesn't have to be that way, people! Swap in better ingredients and you've got yourself a grown-up, almost *gourmet* snack. You can even add sliced tomatoes or herbs like oregano if you want. Classy!

Re: cheese. The tomato basil cheddar is the star of the show, but cheddar doesn't melt super well. So, for structural reasons I also include a softer mild cheese: it helps the sandwich hold together better when you flip it, and improves the mouthfeel, I think.

Ingredients
2 slices firm, hearty whole wheat bread
tomato, basil, & garlic cheddar
Havarti (or other mild cheese that melts well, such as Monterey Jack or Colby)
olive oil (I used the lighter kind meant for sauteeing, though you could also try extra virgin for stronger flavor)

To make
1. Heat a frying pan over medium high heat.
2. Build sandwich. Add cheese in 3 layers, with the cheddar inside of two thin layers of the Havarti or other cheese.
3. Drizzle olive oil on the outer side of each slice of bread, then use knife or fingers to distribute over surface.
4. Place sandwich on hot pan and cook for a couple minutes, pressing down on it once or twice with a metal spatula. Turn sandwich over, continue to cook until cheese is nice and melty.

Mark Bittman's Pasta with Slow-Cooked Portobello Mushrooms

I made this portobello and tomato sauce with fusilli yesterday. It's super easy (you can mostly leave the mushrooms alone for 45 minutes, just move them around the pan occasionally), and smells great while cooking. The mushrooms felt very substantial, so I didn't miss meat in my dinner, but if I have some ground beef lying around the next time I decide to make this, I might try adding it.

Egyptian Edamame Stew

This dish is described as "a riff on the Egyptian classic ful medames, a highly seasoned fave bean mash" in the planner/recipe-book where I found it. It's easy to make, and light but filling; I ate it first with quinoa for dinner, and later enjoyed the leftovers with some whole wheat pita bread.

Ingredients
About 3 cups shelled edamame (meaning, beans are out of the shell)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large zucchini, diced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped mint
3 tablespoons lemon juice
(optional: original recipe called for 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, which I did not add, but you may want to try)

To make
1. Cook the edamame according to package directions: bring a pot of water to a boil and toss in the beans, for about 5 minutes if the edamame has been thawed, longer if they are still frozen.
2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until they start to soften (~3 minutes)
3. Add zucchini and cook, covered, until onions start to brown (~another 3 minutes)
4. Add garlic, cumin, and coriander (and cayenne pepper, if using) and cook, stirring, until fragrant (~30 seconds)
5. Stir in tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until slightly reduced (~5 minutes)
6. Stir in the edamame and cook until heated through (~2 minutes)
7. Remove from heat and stir in mint and lemon juice.

Vegetarian Chili with Chocolate

A hearty, tasty vegetarian dinner! The basic idea: make chili, stir in chocolate at the end. If you have your own favorite chili recipe (and if you do, I'd like to hear about it!), you could try making it and then adding the chocolate for some extra depth.

This particular chili is not at all hot, so if you're one of those masochistic types who likes your food to hurt you, you might want to add some hot peppers or Tabasco or something.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small clove garlic, minced
half an onion, chopped
1 small red pepper, cut into ~1-inch pieces (I used a red pepper because that's what I had, you could use green)
1 16 oz. can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 oz dark chocolate (72% cocoa)

To Make
1. Use a large saucepan. Heat the oil over medium heat, then cook the garlic, onion and green pepper until slightly soft, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, kidney beans, broth, cumin, and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat.
3. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes.
4. Break up chocolate into small pieces, then stir into chili until melted.

Enjoy with crusty bread!

Sauteed Cauliflower with Tomatoes and Basil

Cauliflower is not a vegetable that I eat very often. Not because I have anything against it; it's just not the first produce that comes to mind when I'm deciding what to make with dinner (maybe because it's not green or orange). But I was browsing around a nearby organic/specialty grocery here the other day and saw some inspiring heads of cauliflower (hm, I bet that's a phrase you've never encountered before), so I took one home and cooked it up with some garlic, basil, and tomatoes. The sauteed cauliflower had a nice chewy nutty thing going on, and was filling enough to serve as a light dinner all by itself. Well, with some cheesecake for dessert :)

Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower
olive oil
a 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes
dried basil (because that's what I had, though I'd like to try this again with fresh basil)
3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced or put through a press

To Make
1. Prepare cauliflower florets: Remove leaves from head, remove stem as much as possible. Cut off individual florets, then cut those in half or even quarters to make uniformly-sized pieces of a little over 1 inch square (for quick and even cooking)
2. Heat a couple tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, until oil shimmers.
3. Add florets, and cook till they start to brown (about 7 minutes).
4. Clear a little space in the center of the pan, and add a bit more oil and the garlic. Cook the garlic for about a minute, then mix the garlic/oil into the cauliflower.
5. Add tomatoes and several shakes of basil, to taste. Can add a little salt and pepper too, though I didn't. Simmer for a few minutes, until cauliflower is chewy, not mushy.

Cheddar and Apple Sandwich

Ingredients:
sharp cheddar cheese, sliced
granny smith apple, sliced
dijon or whole-grain mustard
good chewy whole-grain bread (I always make this with the Bread Alone WW Sourdough)

Assemble for a tart 'n' tangy meat-free sandwich

Crockpot Roasted Winter Root Vegetables

Another good one from A Year of Crockpotting, found here, though I halved the recipe and used turnips and sweet potatoes instead of rutabagas. This one takes a little more prep, to wash/peel/cut up the veggies, but it's tasty. I ate this with quinoa for dinner (omg yet ANOTHER vegetarian meal! I'll need to get a pork recipe up here soon)

Ingredients:
~1 pound carrots
~1 pound turnips
~1 pound parsnips
a large sweet potato
-1/4 cup chopped parsley
-2 T olive oil
-1/2 tsp kosher salt
-1/2 tsp black pepper
-1/2 tsp basil

To make:
Peel and cut the veggies into 2 inch chunks.

Put all the vegetables into your crockpot, and add the olive oil, basil, salt, and pepper. Toss with your hands to coat fully coat the vegetables.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4-5. The vegetables are done when they have reached desired tenderness.

Butternut squash chillijack

My husband made this one night and it immediately became my favorite dinner.

2 Butternut squashes peeled, seeded and diced (good luck with that, my husband said peeling the things was the hardest part)
2 red onions, diced
1/4 cup sliced jalapeno
1 tbs chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tomatoes, diced
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese
a handful of cilantro

Put the squash, onions and chilis in a roasting pan and season with chili powder, cayenne, salt and pepper. Drizzle with oil and toss well. Roast until just soft at 375 deg (25-35 minutes).

Put them in a big serving bowl add tomatoes, corn, cheese and cilantro. Mix gently.

Drool.

Eat.

Baked Sweet Potato with Garlic Green Beans & Quinoa

A vegetarian dinner omg :-0

I had a large sweet potato and a bunch of green beans that really needed to be used soon, and no meat in the house :-0 But this nearly all-plant-based dinner (there was butter involved) was tasty, filling, and pretty as well.

Baked Sweet Potato
Here I followed the instructions in the Cook's Illustrated Best Recipes cookbook, modified here for a single potato:
Scrub the potato and lightly prick with a fork.
Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Rub the potato with olive oil (I used the lightly flavored kind, for sauteeing).
Put the potato on a foil-lined baking sheet.
Bake until a knife tip slips easily into the center of the potato, 40-50 minutes.
Dot with butter and season with a little pepper.

During the last ten minutes or so of the potato's baking time, I prepared the quinoa and garlic green beans:

To make the quinoa: Rinse 1/3 cup of quinoa in a strainer. Put quinoa and 2/3 cup water into a saucepan, bring to boil over medium heat. Lower heat a bit and simmer until water is gone (but no longer!)

To make the beans: heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a skillet/saucepan. Add about a clove's worth of minced garlic and cook for a minute or two. Add green beans and a handful of edamame (more green, and protein!), and about a tablespoon of butter. Cook and push around till the baked potato comes out.

Probably you could skip the olive oil with the beans, and just cook the garlic in butter (I just didn't think of adding butter till after I used oil)