leeky brussels slaw

this is just a quick lil side dish i whipped up the other night. everything is sliced very thin so it cooks in no time! i think brussels sprouts slaws are also a good way to get those who claim to hate the sprouts to change their minds. anyway, kris said it was really good so i snapped a picture and decided to share.

leeky brussels slaw
ingredients:
1 leek, white and pale green parts thinly sliced
1/2 pound brussels sprouts, thinly sliced
1/2 tomato, diced
sprinkle of paprika
sprinkle of crushed red chili flakes
coarse salt to taste
olive oil for cooking

put enough oil in a pan to coat the bottom and heat over medium. add the leeks and saute until they begin to soften. add tomatoes and sprouts and cook a few minutes until sprouts are softened and bright green. add spices to taste and you're done!

-d

chocolate chunk zucchini muffins

my mom makes the. best. zucchini cake. it is light and moist and amazingly delicious and she serves it with fresh whipped cream. it really is fantastic. i haven't tried making a vegan version of her recipe (though after writing that it has shot to the top of my to do list) but when i saw this recipe in gourmet i imagined her cake in cupcake form with chocolate. well....that's not quite what i got. according to gourmet these are cupcakes but i'm calling them muffins because they are really much denser than the ideal cupcake should be. plus they don't have any frosting on them so they don't have that cupcake-y feel when you're eating them.

however! i'm not saying these are bad. no no no...put yourself in a muffin state of mind and they will hit the spot. they are full of chocolatey goodness and with the flecks of green zucchini you can trick yourself into believing that they are healthy and a perfectly acceptable breakfast muffin. i made slight alterations to the recipe 1. to make it vegan and 2. based on what i had on hand.

chocolate chunk zucchini muffins
(from gourmet, september 2009)
ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup plain non-dairy yogurt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup zucchini, coarsely grated
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

whisk together flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

whisk together sugar, oil, yogurt, and vanilla in a large bowl until thick and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. mix in flour mixture until just incorporated. stir in zucchini and chocolate chips.

divide among lined muffin cups and bake until tops spring back when lightly pressed, 30 to 35 minutes. cool in pan 5 minutes, then turn out to cool completely.

-d

stir fry sauce

i found the prettiest chinese eggplants and the cutest teeny tiny shiitake mushrooms at the farmers market last week and made a delicious stir fry with them, along with some red bell pepper, onion and lots of ginger and garlic, served over soba. rather than using the soy vay from the fridge, i decided to make my own stir fry sauce. i didn't have a plan which is why there are 11 ingredients in it. true, i probably could have made something just as good with a fraction of the ingredients but sometimes it's fun to just start pouring things in a bowl and see where you end up. i ended up with something very tasty.

stir fry sauce
ingredients:
2 tablespoons white miso
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon vegetarian (mushroom based) oyster sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses
pinch of dried thai basil

mix everything together!

-d

succotash

kris found a succotash recipe online called autumn vegetable succotash. really i would call it more of a summer vegetable succotash with the zucchini, yellow summer squash and corn but pish posh that's really not important. the good news is that you can probably still find many of these ingredients at your local farmer's market and whip them up into a bright, fresh meal in no time. the original called for lima beans but i was all out of those so i used shelled edamame instead. also i was so ready to make this that i totally missed the part where it says it makes 8 servings. in order to save you from having succotash for days*, i cut it all in half below.

succotash
ingredients:
olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 red bell peppers, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 yellow summer squash, diced
1/2 cup frozen shelled edamame
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoons fresh sage, coarsely chopped

heat enough olive oil to coat your skillet over medium-high heat. add onion; cook until translucent, 2 minutes. add garlic, bell pepper, zucchini, squash, edamame, and corn. season with salt and black pepper; cook, stirring, until vegetables are tender, 10 minutes. stir in sage, and serve (we served it over black rice).

*though may i say that the open faced crispy succotash tacos i made for lunch one day were really, really good?

-d

turnips with miso

i'm always looking for new vegetable side dish ideas and i never ever think of turnips so this one was especially exciting. i loved the earthiness of the turnip paired with the smooth mellow miso butter and just a hint of bitterness from the greens. the original recipe calls for japanese turnips with the greens still attached. well i struck out twice on that one as i could not find japanese turnips or any turnips at all with greens attached. to make do i just picked out the smallest purple topped turnips i could find and bought a separate bunch of turnip greens. i also subbed margarine for butter. this is a delicious, quick and easy side dish that i will definitely make again!

turnips with miso
(gourmet, september 2009)
ingredients:
3 tablespoons white miso
3 tablespoons margarine, softened, divided
3 pounds small (1 1/2-to 2-inch) turnips with greens (or 1 bunch turnip greens)
1 1/3 cups water
2 tablespoons mirin

stir together miso and 2 tablespoon margarine.

coarsely chop turnip leaves. halve turnips (leave whole if tiny) and put in a heavy skillet along with water, mirin, remaining tablespoon margarine, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then boil, covered, 10 minutes.

add greens by handfuls, turning and stirring with tongs and adding more as volume in skillet reduces. cover and cook 1 minute. uncover and continue boiling, stirring occasionally, until turnips are tender and liquid is reduced to a glaze, about 5 minutes. stir in miso butter and cook 1 minute.

-d

orzo with lima beans and tempeh

we had our first rainy day of the season. it was a downpour...all.day.long. one of the beauties of unemployment is that, in the occasion of a monsoon, it is (usually) not absolutely necessary to leave the house. my goal was to make dinner with things we had in so that i could stay nice and dry and enjoy the storm from the safety and dryness of the apartment. we were running low on fresh vegetables (does half an onion count?) but luckily there was half a bag of frozen lima beans in the freezer. we also just did a shopping at rainbow and stocked up on tempeh so that was in. here's what i decided on for the main meal components:

first things first i roasted the garlic.

then i made a marinade for the tempeh with the beer, a squeeze of lime, soy sauce, peanut oil, cumin, coriander and chili powder. let the tempeh sit in it for a bit then pan fry to get it nice and crunchy on the outside pouring in the marinade as it cooks to get a little glaze on the outside.

to put it all together i caramelized the onions then sauteed the limas with olive oil and salt and pepper. i chopped up the roasted garlic cloves and added them to the pan.

when the orzo was done cooking i tossed it all together and lo and behold it was quite yummy. and i stayed perfectly dry and got to stay in my loungy cashmere-like pants all day long.

-d

pineapple basil vinaigrette

a few days ago i had leftovers and salad for dinner. not wanting it to be boring, i decided to do a little something different with the salad dressing in order to keep things interesting. i did a quick scan of the kitchen and saw basil and pineapple....done! i blended this with our immersion blender but a food processor or regular blender would work as well. i think this dressing would also be tasty tossed with a grain as the base of a dinner bowl.

basil pineapple vinaigrette
ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup (heaping) pineapple, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

blend all ingredients and pour it over the dish of your choice.

here it is in action:

-d